"I'm so happy right now," Hannah whispered as she strengthened her grip on JC and tried to bury her face deeper into his chest. "Maybe we should just buy a house on this lake and run away together. Then we can spend every summer evening just like this. I could open a bar, you could build yourself a studio in the basement. It would be perfect." Hannah mused as a gentle breeze rocked the hammock they were lying in. After an evening of cooking out, swimming, and smores around the campfire, JC and Hannah resigned to the hammock next to the pier. The rest of the family still sat at the campfire, joking around and tossing back beers.

"That's the first time you ever said anything like that," JC said softly.

"Like what?"

"Like that. I don't know, just long-term stuff. Future plans."

Hannah tried her best to prop herself up on one elbow, but the netting was making it quite difficult. "Of course I think about us long term. I just want to take things slow is all. I just got out of a really long relationship, and now I'm jumping into another one. I just don't want to rush it. But that doesn't mean that I don't think about a life with you. "

JC brushed a stay hair that had fallen loose behind her ear and smiled at her gently. "Ty calls you his sister-in-law."

"And, how does that make you feel?"

"It scares the shit out of me." Hannah couldn't help but laugh. "But I'm starting to mind it less and less," He murmurred, and nuzzled his lips against her neck.

"Thanks for inviting me here. I love watching you with your family. You seem so content."

"My family means the world to me, and we aren't able to get everyone together very often. I look forward to this weekend every year." Hannah paused and let out a deep sigh. "And don't let my mom worry you. She will like you, she will. She's just a little rough around the edges."

"You told me she was excited to meet me."

"I fudged a little...I didn't want her to scare you away. Its just...she was really close to Brad, and she is took it pretty hard when we broke up. And she feels," Hannah stopped and furrowed her eyebrows.

"What?"

"She just feels like this whole thing is silly because of the distance. Like, how can we really know each other? Anyway, I don't want to talk about it. Just be nice to her like you are, and she'll come around, I promise."

He kissed her collar bone in response.

"OK, you guys, if you're going to start that get in the house. I can keep everyone outside for a good 10 minutes. Be fast!" Mallory gave them a wicked smile as she hopped on the edge of the hammock, sending the whole thing swinging.

"You're so funny Mal. Besides, we only need like three minutes."

"Hey!" JC interjected, and the three of them broke into a fit of giggles.

"Interesting sweatshirt, Mal. Hmm, I don't recall you ever attending Southwestern Law School."

"What can I say, Mr. Chasez is quite the gentleman."

"Like it is so hard to go into the house and get your own sweatshirt?" Hannah retorted.

"Whatever Nana. I know you, you brought him here on purpose didn't you. Just for me."

Hannah shrugged innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well JC will confirm my suspicions, right?"

"I knew nothing of this alleged set up until I got here. But I'm with ya Mal, its seems a little fishy."

Hannah lifted her hand from JC's chest and waved it dismissively. "Whatever."

"Well planned or not, thanks. I'm having fun flirting, if only for the weekend." Mallory pushed her feet off of the ground to give them another swing. "So, Rob wants to get a sing-along going, and we you guys need to join in."

"Mmm, I don't want to," JC moaned. "I'm happy right here."

"You better go sing. If you really want to win my mom over, you'll have to prove yourself."

"Geesh, no pressure or anything."

"Besides," Mallory spoke up. "I've never seen you sing before. Just so you know I might resort to my teenybopper days and pass out."

"Well I can see I'm not going to win this one," JC said as he gently pushed Hannah off of him and planted his feet on the ground. "Let's go do this then."

The three of them walked over to the fire, grabbing fresh beers from the cooler on their way. Hannah and JC took the two open lawn chairs, and Mallory squeezed next to Tyler on the giant boulder where he was perched.

"So Hannah," her mother spoke up, "Do you have any new songs to play for us tonight? I haven't seen you perform at the bar for awhile." J

C couldn't help but smile at the blush that coated her cheeks. He reached out and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"I have a new one I could play, but I um, I don't want to go first."

"You're always so shy about singing! Its just us, Nana."

"I know Mal. I still get nervous though. I like to write the songs, not sing them."

"Well how about I start us off with a rousing version of 'Sweet Caroline,'" RJ said as he picked up the guitar and began strumming sour chords. The entire Anderson clan burst into the Neil Diamond classic. Tyler didn't hesitate at all before he joined in the fun, and just when JC finally felt himself loosen up and start to sing, his phone vibrated wildly in his pocket.  He rolled his eyes and pulled it out to glance at the number, but when he saw Eric's name on the screen he hit the ignore button.  Hannah shot him a worried glance, but he shook his head.  He sucked in a breath and began singing again with gusto, swaying to the music with Ty and Hannah.  Carole caught his eye and he offered her a shy smile.  When she returned the smile, JC could feel his heart soar.

"Who's next?" RJ said, looking around the circle.  "The professional?"

"No way!  He goes last, so no one has to follow him," Mallory laughed.

"Oh, he's really not that good.  You'd be amazed at what technology can do," Tyler teased, earning a shoulder-punch from JC and a surprised shout of laughter from Hannah.

"Tell you what. You just get us started on one, and if we think you're good enough, we'll let you sing by yourself," RJ said.

"Sounds like a plan," JC laughed, relaxing a bit in his chair.  "Um...Does everyone know The Night Chicago Died?"

"Yess!" Tyler hissed, pumping his fist.  Hannah, however, was looking at him like he'd sprouted another head.

"You know... Daddy was a cop...On the East side of Chicago...Back in the USA...Back in the bad old days..."

"Oh!  I love this song!" Mallory yelled.  Hannah looked around wildly as everyone started to join in.

"In the heat of the summer ni-i-ight, in the land of the dollar bill," JC crooned, shooting a cheesy smile at Hannah.

"When the town of Chicago di-i-ied, people talk about it still!" Everyone was shouting along, swaying and laughing.  Hannah saw her mother grinning as she clapped and she cocked her head toward JC, silently asking for approval.  Carole shrugged, which Hannah took to mean that the jury was still out.

"Oh my God!" Hannah suddenly shouted.  "I do know this one!  I heard my mama cry!  I heard her pray the night Chicago died!"  JC snorted in laughter as Hannah jumped up and danced along. 

When the song was over, the whole family clapped and whistled. "I'd say you earned a chance at a solo," Carole said softly when the shouting had quieted.  JC felt his stomach drop as RJ handed the guitar over.  He took a moment to tune it, smiling when Hannah mumbled, "Thank God."  Just as he was about to strum the first chord, he felt his phone ring again.  This time, he didn't even take it out of his pocket.  He was already sitting next to the two people in the whole world for whom he would interrupt this gathering.  He punched the ignore button and raised his head to smile at everyone.

"You probably know this one, too, so please sing along," he said, dipping his head shyly.  "It's kind of special to me for a lot of reasons.  A good friend wrote it, another good friend sang it with me several times, and, for the first time I mean every word I'll sing."  He looked at Hannah out of the corner of his eye, smiling at her look of love.

"Oh, swoon!" Tyler cackled.  JC snorted as he strummed the first few chords.

"Whenever I'm weary, from the battles that rage in my head; You make sense of madness, when my sanity hangs by a thread..." he began.  He smiled at Mallory's starry-eyed stare, and felt a thrill when he saw Hannah's whole family wrapped up in the words he was singing for one of their own.  Even Carole had her chin resting in her hands, and she swayed back and forth with a little smile on her face.  He turned to wink at Hannah as he sang the words, "Now and forever...I will be your man."  She gave him a cheesy wink of her own, and stretched out to let his voice wash over her.When he finished the last chord, he looked up for everyone's reaction, but there was silence. 

Finally, RJ broke it by saying, "Right.  The professional is not allowed to sing anymore.  And... the professional is not allowed to judge the rank amateurs in the group.  Oh!  And the professional must return the guitar to the previous untuned state.  I don't know if I can sing on pitch if my guitar is tuned."

"Don't touch that guitar until I get to sing," Hannah threatened.  The family laughed as JC handed it over and held his hands up.

"What'choo singin'?" Tyler asked, reaching around JC to tap the back of Hannah's head.

"You'll see," she said, waving him off as she adjusted the strap.  As she strummed a few chords, JC felt his phone vibrate again.  Hannah saw his shoulders slump and nodded to him. 

"Go ahead," she told him.  "I'll mess around for a minute."

JC gave her a look of pure gratitude as he stood to pull his phone out.  He rolled his eyes when he saw Eric's name again and he stepped away from the group to take the call.

"I'll just tune this to my own specifications while he's gone," Hannah said.  "Since he's probably got perfect pitch, this will maybe sound a little more normal to the rest of us," she snickered.  Tyler rolled his eyes and nodded.  She strummed away for a few more minutes, familiarizing herself with the instrument once more.  When she could see that everyone was starting to get a little restless, she looked around to see where JC was and saw him gesturing wildly as he paced along the shore.

"Go ahead, honey," Carole said, her voice a bit hard.  "He can catch up when he gets back."  Hannah sighed and nodded.  Whatever good will JC had built up with her mom, clearly he had just erased it.

The thing about love
Is i never saw it coming
It kinda crept up and took me by surprise
And now there’s a voice inside my heart that’s got me wondering
Is this true, i want to hear it one more time

Move in a little closer
Take it to a whisper
Just a little louder

"Oh, shit," Tyler whispered, turning around from his perch on the rock to find JC.  He caught his brother's eye and waved wildly to get his attention.  JC held up a finger and Ty shook his head emphatically.  "N-O-W" he signed.

Say it again for me
Cuz i love the way it feels when you are telling me that i’m
The only one who blows your mind
Say it again for me
It’s like the whole world stops to listen
When you tell me you’re in love
Say it again

Thing about you is you know just how to get me
You talk about us like there’s no end in sight
The thing about me is that i really want to let you
Open that door and walk into my life

JC snapped the phone shut and jogged back over to join the group.  As he sat, he heard the words Hannah was singing for the first time and his heart sank.  He glanced up at Carole to give her a small smile, but the older woman's lips were pressed together in a thin line.  As he cursed himself internally, he reached into his pocket and turned his phone off completely.  Hannah gave him a smile as she prepared to sing the next verse.

Say it again for me
Cuz i love the way it feels when you are telling me that i’m
The only one who blows your mind
Say it again for me
It’s like the whole world stops to listen
When you tell me you’re in love

And it feels like it’s the first time
That anybody's ever brought the sun without the rain
And never in my whole life
Have I heard words as beautiful as when you say my name

Say it again for me
Cuz i love the way it feels when you are telling me that i’m
The only one who blows your mind
Say it again for me
It’s like the whole world stops to listen
When you tell me you’re in love 
Say it again

As the last notes from Hannah's sweet voice rang over the group, JC felt his heart swell.  It was obvious she had written it for him.  He turned to her with a sheepish smile on his face.

"I'm sorry," he said.  "It won't happen again."

"It's okay," Hannah said with a shrug. 

"I loved the song.  I'm sorry I missed the first bit."

"I'll just have to sing it again for you, won't I?" she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Aren't we gonna sing Kum-ba-ya?" Tyler asked, sticking his head between them.  "I thought that was like required campfire repertoire?"

"If you lead it, we can sing it," RJ said, taking the guitar back from Hannah with relish.

"Aw, hell naw," Tyler laughed.  "You don't wanna hear me singing!"

"He's right," JC intoned, shooting a smirk in Ty's direction.

After a few more standard campfire songs, people began to drift from the group in pairs and threes.  Carole stopped to give her daughter a hug, but JC could see that whatever good will he had accrued disappeared the moment he took that phone call.  With a sigh, he smiled anyway.  Tyler gave him a goofy grin as Mallory led him toward the lake by the hand.

"Just you and me," JC whispered, when they were all alone. 

"I know!  And we didn't have to threaten anyone to make them leave, either," laughed Hannah.

"Your mom still doesn't like me," JC said sadly.

"She will, babe.  She will."

"I'm really sorry about the phone call. I wouldn't have taken it normally, but he called three times in like five minutes, and I thought it might be an emergency."

"Was it?" Hannah inquired.

"Nothing that couldn't wait until Monday," He ran a comforting hand over her cheek. "I'm really, really sorry I missed it."

"I know you are babe." She stood on her toes to give him a quick peck on the lips, then tossed her head in the direction of the pier. "So, what's going on there?"

JC glanced over her shoulder to see Tyler and Mallory sitting side by side on the dock, playfully splashing their feet in the water. Mallory's hearty laugh echoed off the water and she proceeded to rest her head on Tyler's shoulder.

"Just a little weekend fling," he responded with a smile. Even if it was just for a few days, he was happy to see his brother connecting with someone. He concentrated so much on his school work, he often sacrificed his love life.

"Mal's great," JC added. "How come you never told me about her before? She seems like you're best friend."

He couldn't help but notice her eyes light up when she started talking about her. "She is my best friend. And I don't know, she just never came up I guess. Now that I think about it, I haven't said much about my family aside from my dad and Jens, have I?"

"Not really."

"Well Mal is definitely like my little sister. We've just always connected. I mean, I'm close to RJ, Max, and Alicia too, but Mallory and I just click on a different level."

"I love her. She should come with you the next time you visit."

"What makes you think I'm coming to visit again?"

"Because you can't stay away from me."

"Hmm," Hannah moaned. "Well that is the truth if I ever heard it."

*****

"So I'm starting to think you're taking us to the most desolate part of the woods so you can chop me up and bury me or something."

"I am taking you to the most desolate part of the woods, but not so I can chop you up. I have other things in mind." She grinned evilly.

JC just wanted to get to wherever it was they were going and sit down. It had been a long day, the May weather unusually hot and humid. The younger half of the family started the day with a game of touch football in the yard and followed it up with hours on the pontoon boat, downing countless beers and swimming in the middle of the lake. After a light dinner of sub sandwiches, Hannah shoved a backback on JC, tossed him a sleeping bag, and dragged him into the woods. They had been hiking for about 45 minutes already, up a slight incline, nonetheless. JC wanted to die.

The pair ducked under a overhang of pine branches and finally Hannah announced, "We're here!"J

C finished picking a few stray pine needles off of his t-shirt and looked up. They were standing in the middle of an opening, which was surrounded by a half circle of pine trees. He realized that they were up on a small cliff and he walked toward the edge, taking in the view of the lake from above. The water was glistening from the setting sun. "This is amazing," he gasped.

"I know, right? We're spending the night here."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah," she said as she removed the backpack from her shoulders and threw her tightly rolled sleeping bag on the ground. "Why, afraid you'll be eaten by a bear or something?"

"No, no. I figured we were camping with the sleeping bags and all, but I never thought...this is just incredible that's all."

"I didn't bring a tent, I hope you don't mind. I just didn't want us to have to lug it up here. Its not supposed to rain or anything. And if it does, well, we get wet."

"I've never slept outdoors before. Well I've fallen asleep on the chaise on my patio a few times..."

"Yeah, that almost counts. Now set your pack down and help me with these sleeping bags."

It was dark by the time they had gotten settled. They opened both of their sleeping bags and zipped them together to make one big bed. JC watched in awe as Hannah gathered rocks and sticks to make them a fire. When he gave her a questioning look, she just shrugged and said "girl scout." They sat there on the sleeping bag, Hannah sitting between JC's legs, his arms wrapped around her and his chin resting on her shoulder.

"So, think everyone is tearing up the Fishin' Hole with their amazing vocal abilities tonight?" JC chuckled.

"I think I'm glad I'm here so I don't have to hear it." Hannah laughed and looked up at JC, pulling him down for a soft kiss.

"Is there a reason Mal kept giggling whenever you hinted at where we were going tonight? Even Alicia winked at me a few times, and she's barely spoken to me all weekend."

Hannah sighed. "This is going to sound silly."

"Don't care."

"As soon as I said we were going off on our own tonight, they knew where we were going. So, we found this place when we were teenagers. Alicia and I were both like 16 or so, Mal was 12, and we came across this spot. We couldn't get over how beautiful it was, it was so secluded with the trees, the awesome view of the lake, the way it all faced westward so you could see the setting sun. Anyway, we were all saying how romantic this spot was. We all agreed that once we all had boyfriends, we were going to bring them here to," she paused. "Wow this is lame. We wanted to bring our boyfriends here to lose our virginity."

JC howled with laughter. Once he finally calmed down, he spoke again. "You talked about this with a 12 year old?"

Hannah slapped his arm lightly. "Like you didn't know about sex when you were 12? Anyway, Mal spent a lot of time with us. She knew way more than she ever should have."

"So you're meaning to tell me you lost it to Pat here?"

"Well that's the thing. I never did. We came here once and I was ready. Man, had I convinced myself I was ready. And right when we got to the main event, I chickened out. It happened eventually, but not here. I never followed through on my end of the pact. Mallory and Alicia followed through with their end of the deal, but I never did it. That's why they were giggling. The knew where we were headed."

"You were with Brad five years. You're meaning to tell me you never brought him here?" JC asked incredulously.

"Never did. His family always had a gathering over Memorial Day weekend as well, so he actually never came with me the first four years of our relationship. Can you believe that? He never came to the cabin once. Should have been a sign. Hindsight I guess...Anyway, he did come with me the last year we were together, but by that point things weren't good, and I didn't want to share this with him. So in a way, you're still my first."

JC tightened his arms around her and buried his head in her neck. "What makes you think I'm going to sleep with you?" he asked between kisses.

"Because I know you, baby. You can't deny me."

"Mmm, so true." He continued his assault on her neck, and slid his hands under the hem of her tank. "You do know we're going to be covered in mosquito bites, right?"

Hannah chuckled. "That's what the fire is for silly. We smoke 'em out. Now stop talking about mosquitos and kiss me again." Hannah crawled out of his embrace and made herself comfortable on the sleeping bag, pulling him on top of her. He shifted so his weight rested on her fully, and Hannah groaned her approval. He rested on his elbows and ran his hands over her forehead. Leaning forward, he placed a gentle kiss on both of her eyelids.

"Thank you for bringing me here. I'm glad I could share this special place with you."

"There is a reason it never happened here before. I guess it was supposed to be you."

"We sound like a bunch of saps."

Hannah chuckled. "We do. I really mean it though."

"So do I." JC couldn't keep his lips off of her another minute. He brought his lips to hers and started slowly, opening her mouth with his tongue, then pulling back to lick her bottom lip. He settled his mouth on hers once again and continued the exploration of her. His hands didn't wander over her body, but rather stayed in her hair, massaging her scalp gently. He slid his lips down her cheek until he reached her ear. After a quick nip at her earlobe, he let out a soft whisper.

"This is supposed to be like your first time. We're going to treat it as such. Nice and," he nipped her again. "Slow," he breathed out.

Hannah shuddered at the mixture of his words and the warm breath on her neck.

He slid his lips down farther, and he started to kiss and lick at her collar bone and the hollow of her neck. His kisses were unrelenting.

"JC, you're going to give me a hickey." After one last lick of her neck, he sat back on her knees and threw off his shirt. Hannah sat up the best she could with him sitting on her hips, and ran her hands up his chest, playfully tweaking a nipple, then running a finger under the crease of his left pectoral muscle.

"I could look at you like this all day."

He pulled her shirt over her head and groaned his approval. "When we go to Florida we never have to put clothes on."

"Mmm, only two weeks. It will be the best birthday ever." She struggled to sit up farther so she could whisper in his ear. "I want to sit perched on top of you that whole day."

A surge of desire tore through his body. "Shit Hannah, you're making it really difficult for me to take it slow."

"You don't need to take it slow. I don't need anymore foreplay. I've been wet for you all day." She took his hand and placed it under the waist band of her shorts. "Feel." She moaned as he ran a finger over her. He rolled off of her and pulled off her shorts, and finally she lay naked before him.

"That's great that you're ready for me baby, but I told you, nice and slow." He shuffled out of his own shorts and boxers and placed his body weight on her once again. "I want us to remember every moment of this."

He started at her lips again, and moved his mouth painstakingly slow down her body. The air was beginning to cool around them, but they didn't notice. He covered every inch of her chest and torso with wet kisses and long licks. He bypassed the one spot she wanted him most and lavished the same treatment all the way down her legs. Finally, his hands covered her knees and he pushed them apart slightly. She lifted her knees so her feet rested firmly on the ground. One flick of his tongue was all it took and she was writhing all over the sleeping bag. 

"Baby its too much, I can't, I'm gonna," she panted. But he paid no mind, just continued his ministrations. She tensed and her back arched off of the sleeping bag. JC was glad they were secluded in the middle of nowhere, because he had never heard her moan so loudly.

"Ok, so if you think this is like my first time, you are sorely mistaken," she joked as she caught her breath. He placed one last lick over her most sensitive area.

He grinned as he slid up her body and rested his head on her breast. He reached for her hand and laced her fingers with is. Suddenly he was overcome with emotion.

"I love you, Hannah."

"I love you too baby."

"Can we make a deal? When we're in Florida, can we sit down and talk, I mean really talk, about the situation we're in? This distance thing, its killing me. There has got to be a way we can work this out."

"Of course we can. It's killing me too. I want to see you every day. I want to touch you every day. I want you to be able to make love to me every day. Phone calls and e-mails are great but, its just not the same."

"God you're amazing, Hannah. How did I get so lucky?" He kissed her again, slowly and deeply, saying everything he couldn't with words. Unhurried, he slid himself into her, and he felt her fingers curl around his back. Their pace was leisurely, more of a slow build to release than the frantic pace to which they were accustomed. The air was silent save for the slight sounds of their breathing, quiet whispers of affection, and a few crickets hidden in the trees. They came together, and continued to kiss as their breathing returned to normal. JC pulled out of her, but kept his body draped over hers, trying to protect her from the slight breeze.

"That was so good," she drawled, prolonging the sound of her o's.

"Was it worth waiting until you were 30?"

"29. And I'd have waited until I was 50 for that." Hannah paused, taking a few moments to run her hands over JC's bare back. "We have to carve our initials into the tree over ther in the morning. That's the rule. I'm the oldest, and mine have been missing the longest," she chuckled.

"Yeah, but it wasn't your first time, so I bet yours was the best. The other girls had awkward 17-year-old boys fumbling over them."

"Very true."

"Think Mal will try to bring Ty up here tomorrow night?" JC questioned.

"Ew, God I hope not. Let's not talk about them. Let's just sit here and enjoy each other."

"Mm, sounds good to me. Thanks again for inviting me. I'm having a great time."

"I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm happy to share it with you."

"That fantasy you had of buying a house here and running away, is sounding better and better," he murmurred, hoping after he said it that she didn't hear.