| �Baja!� By Kasey Just a note of interest to some: All of this story takes place in real places I have actually visited...the only one I haven�t been to is NYC, which is where the fictional studio is, obviously...but the lake and all the places within/around it are real...so enjoy! Also, let�s assume this takes place as if Jeremy and Natalie hadn�t broken up, okay? It just makes it easier that way, since I started it when they were still together! �And we�re out.� �Good show, everyone, we�ll see you in two weeks!� Dana said, standing and walking to her office to get her bags. Due to Olympic coverage for two weeks, the members of the Sports Night team found themselves with group vacation time. Isaac was relaxing at home, Kim and Elliot were both going on cruises but to different places, and Dana, Casey, Dan, Jeremy, and Natalie were all going to Dale Hollow Lake, the lake where Casey had practically grown up. Dan and Casey started back to their office. Casey had insisted they drive to the lake, despite the fact that it was on the Tennessee-Kentucky border and would be a VERY long drive, so they were leaving as soon as everyone had all their bags. Secretly, Dan thought it was possible that Dana had talked him into it, since she was deathly afraid of airplanes, but he didn�t say anything. Casey had managed to rent a van at a decent price, so there was room for all of them to be relatively comfortable. �So WHY are we going to this particular lake again? There are a million lakes closer than this one.� Casey sighed. Dan had been asking the same question for the past month. �Dan, I told you. I went to this lake every summer for two weeks with my family when i was growing up, and I haven�t been back since I was 22. So we�re going.� �And HOW long is it going to take to drive there?� �We should get there around eight tomorrow, depending on how long we stop for food.� �And why can�t we fly like normal people?� �Because it�s tradition to drive there.� Sighing, Dan grabbed his suitcase and started toward the elevators. Casey followed, and they met up with Dana, Jeremy, and Natalie, all carrying various luggage. �Everyone ready?� Casey asked. Everyone voiced their enthusiasm, and Casey led them out to the van, which was parked in the garage. The drive was long and arduous. Everyone switched off driving and navigating. They were nearing the lake as the sun set, and as they crossed the bridge over it, Casey could hear Dana gasp in the seat next to him. �It�s so pretty...� �Yeah,� he said. �This used to be a lot longer of a trip than it is now. They straightened out this road a lot.� When they reached their cabin at a place called Willow Grove, it was around 9, and everyone was anxious to get unpacked so they could sleep. It was actually a nice cabin, sort of big, with three bedrooms. Which brough about a problem. It was obvious that Natalie and Jeremy would share a room, but which of the remaining three would? Finally it was decided that Dana and Dan would get the two bedrooms, and Casey would sleep on the couch. When Dana woke up the next morning, she got dressed and walked outside, anxious to see the lake in full daylight. She stepped out the back door and looked around. Maybe 50 feet in front of her was the lake. There was a boat dock to her right, and there were a million birdhouses, all in different forms, like Cinderella�s castle and a ranch. Boats zipped around out in the main part of the lake. �I never get over the beauty of it all.� Dana jumped a mile at the voice in her ear. She turned around to see Casey standing beside her. �Casey, you scared me.� �Sorry.� He smiled innocently. �So. Should we go wake up everyone else and pick up my family�s boat or what?� �Your family�s boat?� �Yeah. My dad�s speedboat is down here, and he said I could use it for the two weeks. They still come down every year, but I never get the vacation time to come.� �Definitely. Let�s go tell them to get their lazy butts out of bed.� They walked back into the cabin to find Dan and Jeremy sitting at the table, drinking coffee. �Hey, Dana, Casey, want some coffee?� Dan asked, indicating the half-full pot on the counter. �Sure,� Casey said, pouring himself some and sitting down. �Does someone want to wake up Nat?� �I will,� Dana volunteered. She walked into the dim bedroom and opened the curtains to reveal the sun. Natalie�s sleeping form turned away from the bright light and pulled a pillow over her head. �Come on, Natalie. You�ve gotta see this place,� Dana said. �It�s beautiful. We�re about to go get the boat and ride around the lake. Come on.� Slowly, Natalie sat up. Both of them walked out into the kitchen to find that Casey was no longer there. �Where�s Casey?� �Oh, he already left to go talk to the guy in charge of the boats that stay here and get the boat,� Dan said. �He told me to have everyone change into swimming gear and be ready to go when he gets here.� Upon closer examination, Dana realized that Dan and Jeremy were both in t-shirts and swimming shorts. Natalie stumbled back into the bedroom and returned a few minutes later in an oversized t-shirt to cover her bathing suit. �I burn terribly,� she explained. Dana also went and changed, and when she came out, Casey was standing, wearing a pair of sunglasses. �Hello, Mr. Jose Feliciano,� she joked. �Ready to go?� he asked. They all grabbed towels and headed out for the boat which was docked in front of the cabin. Casey sat in the driver�s seat, Dana and Natalie in the bow, and Jeremy and Dan in the back. Once they were out of the No Wake Zone (the area near the dock where boats have to go slow so the wake doesn�t create waves, which make it hard to dock), Casey sent them speeding across the lake. Dana giggle giddily as they hit a wave, as did Natalie. After zipping around for a little while, with Casey acting as a tourguide, they pulled into a small cove and Casey turned off the engine. �Who wants to swim?� Dan immediately threw on a life belt and dove in. Natalie followed, then Dana, who did a perfect swan dive, then Casey, who cannonballed off the front like a kid. Jeremy tentatively climbed down the ladder. It was amazing how a lake and a boat could make them all feel like children. Dan was floating lazily on his back when he was hit with a splash of water. He looked around and saw Natalie a few yards away, a mischevious grin on her face. �Oh no you don�t!� he said, splashing her back. The water hit Dana instead, who retaliated, spraying both Dan and Casey. Soon water was flying everywhere, and the sound of giddy laughter and splashing could be heard throughout the cove. ~*~*~*~ �Hey, guys, guess what!� Dan said excitedly on their third morning there. �They offer snorkelling classes! Who�s in?� �I am!� Casey said immediately. �Sounds good,� Jeremy said. Natalie cast a nervous glance at Dana. �I don�t know, guys...� �Oh, come on, Nat,� Dan said. �I...okay.� �Dana?� Dan asked. �Um....no thanks, guys...� �Come on, Dana! It�ll be fine!� �Sure,� she said, unable to ignore the trepidation growing in her. Which kept growing, even as they set off with the instructor to go snorkelling. Natalie pulled Dana aside. �You don�t have to do this...� �Yes, I do. I will overcome my fear of fish,� Dana said with much more enthusiasm and self-assurance than she felt. One by one, they all jumped into the water, Dana being last. She looked terrifiedly down, and froze as she heard Casey say �Oh wow...� Finally gathering courage, she swam further from the boat and looked. The naturally clear water served simply as a barrier between sky and land. Casey had told her that where the lake was had been a valley which flooded originally, which meant the lake was incredibly deep, but she could still see things. A fish swam by, and Dana was amazed at the indifference it showed toward her. Smiling and realizing there was nothing to be afraid of, she kicked her feet and headed off towards where the others were looking. ~*~*~*~ After the snorkelling trip, the group decided they were ready for anything and decided to rent borrow inner tubes from the family staying in the cabin next to theirs. Hooking both of them to the back of the boat, Dan and Casey got in them. Natalie, who�d been learning to drive the boat from Casey, started a wild game of crack the whip, sending both of them skidding over the wake. At one point, Dan slammed into Casey, which started a war between the tubers. Casey figured out how to spray water by sticking his hand in the water, which of course meant that Dan had to retaliate. The war ended when Dan slammed into Casey so hard that it sent both of them flying off of their tubes. Natalie circled back around to pick them up, and when she got to them, they were engaged in a water wrestling match. Finally they got back on the boat, laughing and dripping. Of course, this meant Natalie and Dana had to do the same: Dueling Tubes, as they dubbed it. Casey sent them into a spiral, crossing their own wake. Dana flew out, Natalie having wedged herself into the tube on her knees. They proclaimed Natalie they �Champion Tuber� and set off to swim in another small cove. As Casey turned a corner, they saw a slew of boats surrounding a rock wall, from which people were jumping. �Oh, I�d forgotten this place!� he exclaimed. �Come on, guys, it�s a blast!� He anchored the boat a little ways out, and the five of them swam to the cliff. There were five different levels to jump from, all completely natural. While Jeremy stayed on the first jump (being not fond of heights) and Natalie and Dan on the third (Which was still of an impressive height), Dana and Casey both ventured to the fourth jump. As they stood and looked out over the edge, Dana began to get nervous. �Casey, I don�t know...� �Dana, just jump,� he said smiling. �It�s not as bad as it looks. Come on, I�ll jump with you. On three...one, two, three!� They ran off the ledge at the same time, shouting cries of glee. As they popped up to the surface, Dana cried �Let�s go off the highest one!� �Actually, I haven�t jumped off that one,� Casey said. �But it�s worth a shot.� ~*~*~*~ �You know what I did once and haven�t done in a long time?� Jeremy said about halfway through the vacation. �Water ski.� �Yeah,� Casey said. �It�s been forever since I did that. Who�s in?� �I am!� Dan said immediately. �My family used to do that a lot...I actually taught Sam how, just like David taught me...� There was a slightly sad, partly unreadable look on his face. �I haven�t tried it, but it sounds like fun,� Natalie said. �I�ll try it,� Dana said. �My brothers used to go on water skiing trips in college, but I was never allowed in on them.� �So it�s settled,� Casey said. They all trekked down to the boat and headed out to a calm little side pass. Casey opened a compartment in the bottom of the boat to reveal two pairs of skis. �Who�s first?� �I�ll go,� Jeremy said. He got into the water and strapped on his skis, and actually was up a few times, never for very long. Dan went next, and seemed to have a distant expression on his face as he skiied a long way. When he got back in the boat, he looked sad and lost in his own world. �You okay?� Natalie asked quietly. �Yeah,� he said thickly. �Amazing what memories come back to you.� Casey skiied and actually went the furthest of any of them, going about two miles before dropping. With coaching from the boat, Natalie managed a short run at it, grinning the entire time. �Dana? You ready?� he asked. �I...I have no idea how to, Casey. I wouldn�t know where to start.� �Okay. Get in the water and I�ll meet you there.� �What?� �Just do it. I taught my friend in college how to ski, I can teach you the same way. Just get in the water.� Dana did as she was told and Casey jumped in after her. She got her skis on, then turned to Casey and asked �Okay, what now?� �Okay. First you want to get the rope in your hands,� he said, handing it to her. �Then you get in a ball like this.� He showed her, then held onto the back of her skis to keep her steadly. �Now put your arms around your knees...good.� Dana grinned. �Now, you�re going to want to call to Danny �slack!�, because that means you�re almost ready, and he�ll get the slack out of the rope.� �Slack!� Dana called. She could hear the engine a little louder than before, as though it were ready to start up. The boat started to move forward slowly. �Okay. When you�re ready, you�re going to call out �hit it!�, and then you�ll be going. Stay in the ball if you need to, you can sometimes stay up longer.� �Okay...� she said tentatively, then shouted �Hit it!� The boat roared to life. Dana looked around in surprise as she realized she was standing on top of the water, skidding across the surface. A wave came out of nowhere and knocked her down after she�d skiied about 300 yards. �Oh my God!� she cried. �That was GREAT!� ~*~*~*~ �Why do we have to go home tomorrow?� Dan whined like a little kid. �Because we have a show to do the day after tomorrow,� Casey pointed out. �But this is more fun!� �Of course. Actually, I remember when I was a little kid that I would cry every year when we had to leave.� �You cried?� �I cried.� �Amazing. Now I have something to use against you.� �Thanks.� �So where are Jeremy and Nat and Dana?� �Jeremy and Natalie are in their room packing up. And Dana...I don�t know. I�ll go look for her.� Casey set off through the cabin looking for her. When he didn�t find her, he walked outside to look. �Dana?� �Over here,� she said quietly. Casey saw her sitting on the side of the hill, staring down at the water, her knees pulled up to her chest. �Hey. I was looking for you.� �I know. I was just thinking.� �Thinking what?� �About how I wish we had real vacations more often.� �Don�t we all?� �Seriously. This was...I can�t remember I had this much fun, Casey. It was great to just be able to enjoy ourselves for two whole weeks at a time...� �I know what you mean,� he said, sitting down beside her. �It�s just like...we all did so many cool new things...I got over my fear of fish, jumped off a fifty-foot cliff, and learned to water ski all in two weeks. I�ve found my happily ever after.� �your what?� �My happily ever after. As in the place of my dreams where I could live forever.� �Mine too.� �Dana! Casey!� They could hear Natalie calling them from the doorway. �Dinner�s ready, guys!� Reluctantly, they stood and, walking hand-in-hand, headed back to the cabin. |