“Know how much you love swimmin’,” he murmurs.

I turn to face him then I leap up and down, clapping my hands. He grins at me, flashing that deep, long dimple that completely transforms his face.

“Race you!”

He snorts, but I’m off and running before he even gets a chance to respond. I run up a hill, then down another until I can see the large lake, with it’s perfectly clear water ahead. I’m just at the top of another hill when Danny catches up. He grips my waist and hurls me backwards. With a laugh, I latch onto him and take him with me when I fall.

We stumble down the large hill, bumping and grazing our skin as we roll. Yet the entire time, we’re laughing. We hit the bottom with a thump, and Danny grips me, rolling us both until we flop into the water. I squeal as it surrounds me, freezing my skin and causing me to shudder. I manage to close my mouth and stop screaming just before we both go under. Danny doesn’t let me go, he keeps his arms around me, and moments later we both re-surface.

“Fuck,” he laughs, shaking his blonde hair around. “Didn’t plan on entering quite so dramatically.”

I giggle loudly. “You don’t do anything in half measures, do you?”

“Hell no, Tom Cat.”

I splash a heap of water at him, and he laughs, splashing some back. This starts a splashing war that has us both laughing so hard our stomachs hurt. By the time we get out of the water, we’re soaked, laughing and completely content. We climb to the top of the hill and sit, staring out at the horizon. The lake meets more rolling hills, with a few scattered trees. I lean into Danny and like always, we chat freely. Until the snake. I’m sure one day I’ll laugh about the snake, but for the moment, it’s certainly not funny. It comes out of nowhere; suddenly it’s just there, slithering toward us. I scream, leaping up. Danny is on his feet beside me in seconds.

“Stand still,” he orders.

Like that’s going to happen. Snakes are my biggest fear, and this one is huge. I scream so loudly that I hurt my own ears. My heart is beating heavily, and my entire body is tingly with fear.

So, I do the only thing that makes sense in that moment. I throw myself down the hill - headfirst. It wasn’t my brightest moment, but in my panicked attempt to get away, I wasn’t thinking. I roll and stumble, my body screaming at me to just stop. I can’t, though. I roll and roll until I hit the flat ground just before the lake.

For a long moment I lay there, groaning in pain. My heart is still thumping, and my body aches everywhere.

Danny is down the hill in a second, and when I roll to look up at him, I expect to see worry in his expression - instead, he’s smothering a laugh. As soon as our eyes meet, he throws his head back and roars with laughter. I cry out and cover my face, ashamed that I did something so stupid. Danny gets onto his knees, reaching for me but I slap his hands away.

“Aw, Tom Cat, come on,” he laughs. “It was funny.”

“It was not funny!” I cry, slapping his hands again.

“Tom Cat, it was fuckin’ hilarious. Didn’t you think of running the other way?”

“I was scared!” I protest, covering my face in shame.

“So you threw yourself down a hill?”

“Shut up, you asshole!”

“Aw, come here.”

He grips me, pulling me onto his lap. His body is still shaking with laughter as he holds me tight.

“It’s not funny, Danny.”

“Kinda funny...”

“You’re horrible.”

“Can’t help it. It’s not every day a girl throws herself down a hill in front of you.”

I can’t help it. I burst out into a fit of giggles too. It was kind of stupid...

“You make my fuckin’ days bright, Tom Cat.”

I snuggle in closer, laughing along with him.

Danny makes me content.

Maybe one day, I’ll tell him how much.

~*~*~*~

PRESENT - SPIKE

“Fuckin’ find out,” I bark down the phone, before slamming it closed.

I begin pacing the room. Fuck, things aren’t going to plan. This is causing me to get far more involved than I would have originally liked. I won’t stop, though. I won’t stop until that cunt is on the ground, bleeding before me, begging to be saved. He’s proving to be hard to find, though.

Fuck it. Fuck everything. My head isn’t in the game like it should be, and it’s starting to piss me off. Damn Ciara for coming in and confusing the fuck outta me.

“What’s happenin’ Prez?” Granger asks, lighting a smoke.

I reach for the packet, pulling one out and pressing it to my lips. I flick the lighter and inhale deeply. After a few puffs, I remove it and answer him.

“Hogan ain’t in the location we thought he was. The fucker is not easy to find and it’s startin’ to piss me the fuck off!”

Granger nods, narrowing his eyes. “What now?”

“We’re gonna fuckin’ find him. We just gotta be smarter about it.”

“What’re you thinkin’?”

I meet his gaze. “We make a deal.”

“Prez, that ended badly last time. You sure you wanna go back into that place?”

“Don’t got nothin’ to lose this time, so yeah, I wanna go back in. Only way to bring him out, is to get involved.”

“It’s a fuckin’ risk.”

I inhale the smoke again, feeling the nicotine swim through my veins. “It’s a risk I’m willin’ to take.”