A/N: Sugar warning, there's sweetness ahead!

Fishing, swimming, kayaking, hiking... every outdoor activity imaginable had been partaken in during the days spent on the shore of the lake. Every day was finished with a loud and enjoyable cookout around the camp fire, followed by ghost stories and songs and plenty of laughter.

JJ absolutely loved it.

On the third morning of their stay, she was gently shaken awake early in the morning. She could tell straight away that the sun hadn't yet come up from the darkness in the tent. There were birds chirping in the distance, muffled only by the rustle of trees nearby.

"What?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes blearily as she snuggled under the sleeping bag. Will knew she liked to sleep in when she wasn't training, so she had no idea why he was waking her up so early.

"Come on. I wanna take you somewhere," he said softly, pushing her hair back from her face. "You won't regret it"

Ten minutes later, they were climbing out of their swag, dressed for a gentle hike. It was still dark, and they took care to not make too much noise as they made their way out of the camp and towards a well loved hiking trail that Will had gone up and down many times as a kid.

The hike to the top of the outcrop only took about half an hour. They walked in comfortable silence, occasionally breaking the silence with gentle chatter or a playful nudge. By the time they reached the top, JJ was wide awake, the cool morning air having energised her for the day of lake activities that surely lay ahead.

"Here," Will said gently as they reached what appeared to be a dead end. He pushed forward, grasping her hand and leading her through a thick section of foliage. When they broke through to the other side, they were standing on a clearing at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the lake. Straight ahead of them was a clear view of the park in which the reservoir lay. The sky was a dark purple, with the slightest touch of pink and orange indicating the sun was due to rise very soon.

Will led her over to a large flat rock that sat nearby, taking a seat and guiding her to sit beside him. She smiled, leaning into his side and resting her head on his shoulder as she took in the stunning view before them.

"This is beautiful," she said softly.

"It's one of my favourite places. Hardly anyone knows about it. I'd be surprised if anyone outside my family knew it was here," Will replied, draping an arm around JJ's shoulders.

They sat in a gentle silence for a few minutes, watching as the sky lightened ever so slowly, before Will took a deep breath.

"I actually brought you up here for a reason, JJ," he said softly, making her sit up straight and turn to look at him. Suddenly, she was aware of his hesitancy. But even so, he smiled, reaching over and taking one of her hands.

"Everythin' I said to you back at Nationals is completely true. I can't imagine my life without you in it. And I know this is probably soundin' like a proposal and you're ready to run back down that trail-"

JJ laughed, the feeling of anxiety in her stomach dissipating with his words.

"-but I promise it's not. I know we're not ready for that step, we have all the time in the world. But what I do want to say is... I used to scoff at the idea of a soulmate. Until I realised how I felt about you. And then we started datin' and somehow, god knows how, I fell even more in love with you, and... it kind of only clicked for me recently that... you're my soulmate, Jennifer Jareau"

JJ's heart seemed to swell in her chest, her smile spreading across her face as his blue eyes locked with hers.

"Everythin' just clicks with you. Everythin' feels right. Nothin' is forced, nothin' is uncomfortable... it's just... complete. You're my soulmate, and that's why... I wanted to give you this"

He opened his other hand, revealing a small ring box. JJ gently took it from his palm, opening it slowly as he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her back into his side.

When she opened the box, it revealed a beautiful rose gold ring. It had an intricate knotted design around the top of the band, set with cubic zirconias for a little extra sparkle.

"This is a promise. It's a promise that I'm never gonna hurt you. I'm always gonna love you. It's a promise that this is serious, and that we have a future together. And... that one day, when we're both ready... I'll ask you that question, and we'll spend the rest of our lives together"

JJ beamed, allowing him to slip the ring onto the middle finger of her right hand. When he had done that, she looked up at him, smiling as she leaned in to kiss him.

"I love you. I promise you're not getting rid of me," she teased as they broke apart. He laughed, pulling her in beside him as they turned their attention to the sun which was just starting to peek over the horizon.

What a way to start the day.

"Momma, I want to have a sleepover with Uncle Will and Auntie JJ!"

The loud exclamation came from Bailey-Rose as they were eating dinner around the fire. Bailey-Rose was snuggled in between JJ and Will on the log they were sitting on, which had been her chosen position every night. She had really taken a shine to JJ, following her around every day begging her to play, and JJ had happily obliged every single time.

However, when she heard Will's niece calling her 'Auntie JJ', JJ turned to Will with a look of surprise on her face. He grinned, leaning over to speak quietly in her ear.

"That's it. You've been inducted into the family. No goin' back now"

She giggled, turning back to face the fire as Will reached around behind Bailey-Rose and rubbed the small of his girlfriend's back in gentle circles.

"I don't know darlin', their tent is awful small and you like to starfish in your sleep!" Lisa replied, throwing an apologetic look towards her younger brother. "What happens if you kick JJ and she can't win any gold medals next year?"

The adults all laughed as Bailey-Rose looked over at her mother in confusion. "But I only little Momma! I can squeeze!"

Sam laughed. "I think you might have to ask your Uncle Will really nicely, B-Rose"

Bailey-Rose turned to face Will, her best puppy eyes affixed on her uncle. "Puhleeeeease Uncle Will, can I please has a sleepover with you?"

Will chuckled, lifting his niece into his lap. "I think that can be managed. But you'll have to listen to JJ snorin' all night"

JJ scoffed, elbowing him in the ribs. "Excuse me, listen to yourself"

Everyone laughed as Will made a fake snoring noise, earning hysterical giggles from Bailey-Rose. JJ rolled her eyes, unable to fight off a grin as he continued to tease.

Just like he had said, it was easy. Everything was fun. His family accepted her and loved her just as her family did him. His brothers and their spouses were genuine and warm, and she had a real soft spot for his sister, Jules.

It was just perfect. Here, she wasn't Jennifer Jareau, World and Olympic Champion, leader of the US national team. She was just JJ. A nineteen year old girl who got to have a normal life. And there was nothing more she could want.

At first, Will wasn't sure what had woken him up. He felt a little disoriented as he stared around the dark tent, trying to focus his eyes on something to stop the feeling of vertigo he was experiencing from waking up in pitch black. But then, as he finally got his bearings, he heard a soft whisper coming from next to him, followed by a slightly louder voice that seemed to be talking through tears.

"Ssh, it's ok. It's ok"

He turned his head, squinting in the black and trying to focus his eyes on his girlfriend.

"It's just a nightmare," he heard JJ say softly. "They can't get you. You're completely safe with me and Uncle Will"

"They was outside," Bailey-Rose said tearfully, her voice so small and frightened that it nearly broke Will's heart.

"You're ok sweetheart," JJ said gently. His eyes now adjusted to the darkness, he watched as JJ pulled Bailey-Rose into her side and cuddled her tightly, using her free hand to wipe the tears from the little girl's cheeks. "I promise you're ok. How about you swap sides with me and lay between me and Uncle Will, would that feel better?"

"Yeah," Bailey-Rose said through a hiccup. She clambered across JJ, her teddy clutched tightly in her hand. Will turned onto his side, catching JJ's eyes in the darkness and smiling. She smiled back, lifting her sleeping bag so Bailey-Rose could shuffle beneath it.

"Everything ok?" Will asked softly, moving a little closer so his niece was sheltered between them.

"Yeah. B-Rose had a nightmare. But she's ok. We're gonna protect her," JJ said gently. As she finished speaking, Bailey-Rose cuddled up beside her, wrapping her skinny little arms around JJ's midsection and tucking her head into the crook of JJ's shoulder.

"Is that better?" JJ asked softly, lifting a hand to brush the little girl's curls off her face as she gave her a warm smile. "Nice and cosy?"

"Yeah," Bailey-Rose sniffled.

Watching as JJ gently stroked gentle trails down the side of Bailey-Rose's face, Will felt like his heart was going to burst. With Bailey-Rose's blonde curls, she could've passed as JJ's daughter, and right in this moment, he felt like he was watching her with her own child. She was so sweet, and so caring with all of the kids. Somehow, he already knew that this was the future he wanted. Kids, with JJ. Watching them grow. Watching her be a mother.

He shuffled a little closer, tucking Bailey-Rose between them as her heavy eyes began to drift closed.

"She adores you," he said, his voice barely above a whisper so as not to disturb his niece.

"Means you can't get rid of me," JJ teased, earning a chuckle from Will.

"Wasn't planning on it," he said, leaning across and pressing a quick kiss to her lips. They settled back down, snuggled beneath the blankets with Bailey-Rose fast asleep between them. Outside, the quiet of the night was disturbed only by the rustle of the trees and the occasional hoot of an owl in the distance.

Before too much longer, they were all fast asleep.

He could already hear his family up and moving around the campsite when the sun on the tent woke him up later that morning.

Glancing over to his right, he grinned when he saw JJ sprawled on her back, one arm flung up above her head, her mouth slightly open in a silent snore. Bailey-Rose was half on top of her, her head resting on JJ's stomach with her mouth wide open. One of her little arms was flung up across JJ's neck, making quite the amusing picture as the pair slept on.

Deciding to leave them be, Will tugged on his shirt, before quietly exiting the tent and zipping it behind him to let them sleep.

"Mornin' Billy!" Sam called from the middle of their camp where he was sitting beside Lisa, clutching a coffee.

"Mornin'"

"How was B-Rose? Hope she didn't give you too much trouble," Lisa said warmly as Will took a seat opposite them and gratefully accepted the cup of coffee his mom had brought over to him.

"She was fine. She woke up in the middle of the night with a nightmare, but JJ had her calmed down before I even realised. They're both still asleep, you should see them," Will chuckled. "B's using JJ as a pillow"

"Yeah, she's a starfish," Sam laughed.

"JJ's so good with the kids," Janine added as she came to join them. "They adore her"

Will smiled, nodding as he sipped his coffee.

JJ had always been considered part of his family since they had struck up their friendship. But it was nice to see how easily she still fit in now that their relationship had been redefined in the way it had in the last 12 months.

All he knew for sure was that he couldn't wait to see what the future held, and which ways they would grow together in the months and years to come.