Chapter Text
July, 1999
"Jamie said I might find you here," Catherine announced her presence with thorough amusement.
Vincent spun, causing the water he was engulfed in to form a vortex. He found Catherine perched atop a boulder, watching him with a grin. For a moment he panicked; how had he not sensed her approach? He must have been so absorbed in the water, he hadn’t even acknowledged the sense. "Catherine," he gasped slightly.
She giggled softly, seeing, sensing his nervousness and embarrassment. She hunched over her jean shorts and wrapped her arms around her tank-top and white cotton over-shirt. "It’s so hot Above... I thought the children would be down here too."
"Many haven’t noticed the heat wave," he explained, still uncomfortable, but now because of her lack of clothes.
"So you thought you’d beat the rush?" she asked playfully.
"No... no." His heartbeat had slowed to normal and his mind sank into that comforting cocoon of her mere presence. He swam up close to the rock the she was observing from. "The water... it’s soothing. It helps me think."
She was immediately concerned and came down off her perch to kneel on the sand next to him. "Have you been troubled lately?"
He stared into her eyes and nearly drowned in them. They were so beautiful and caring. He could lose himself in their depths without even a second thought. "No," he whispered, still entranced, "I simply needed to think." She smiled, and he melted. His heart was claimed by that smile. His whole life would forever be for the sole reason of seeing that smile. "Come," he invited before he could realize what he was doing, "join me."
"I don’t know about that," she looked at him skeptically, giggling. "You know where that got us last time."
"Mom! Father!" Jacob called from the ledge above the water. "Watch me jump!"
"Yes," Vincent mumbled ironically to Catherine. "They make it impossible to forget."
"Mom, Dad, are you watching?" Anna called, coming up behind her brother.
"Jacob!" Catherine called up to her son. "Sweetheart, be careful, the water’s kind of shallow."
"It’s okay, mom," Anna reassured. "We do this all the time."
"Why do you keep saying ‘we’?" Jacob turned to his sister, thoroughly annoyed. "You never actually do any of the exciting things I like to do."
"Well... no," she looked away bashfully. "But," she smiled back at him. "I’m always right here next to you whenever you do it." She shrugged, "That should count for something."
"It does," he smiled and nodded. And with that, he spun around and dived face forward into the water. He bobbed back up, quick as a cork, and wiped his eyes clear to see where he jumped from. "Come on, Anna! Your turn!"
Anna took a short deep breath and carefully set her toes on the edge. Her stomach turned and she took a step back. "No, I don’t think I can do it," she shook her head vigorously.
"Anna," Vincent called to her, "you can do it. I’ll catch you."
Anna crept forward again, her toes barely off the edge. She looked down to find her father right underneath her, waiting, arms outstretched. She hesitated and then slowly backed away. "No, it’s okay. I think I’ll just climb down."
Jacob shook his head, and gave up on his sister, expecting her to back down. Instead he concentrated on Catherine. "Come on, mom! The water feels great!"
"No, honey, I’m okay right here," she assured him.
"Are you sure?" Vincent swam up to the edge and lifted himself slightly to be almost nose-to-nose with her. "It’s awfully hot out there," he whispered, a suggestion in his eyes and voice.
"It’s a little crowded in there for my taste," she teased and kissed his nose. "I’m sure."
A huge splash occurred out of nowhere, and everyone turned to Jacob when he began squirming and fighting something under the water. "Anna! Cut it out!" She emerged to the surface laughing and Jacob splashed her, just as she had cleared her eyes.
"Hey!" Anna protested, and immediately spun around to find Catherine. "Mom," she whined, "that wasn’t fair!"
"And your grabbing his feet underwater wasn’t warranted," Catherine regulated. "That’s enough now. Stop your arguing." Catherine pulled back to climb to her feet, but Vincent caught her arm.
"Wait." He stared into her eyes in deep concern. "Are you feeling all right?"
"I’m fine, Vincent," she insisted, but came closer, complying with his directions.
"You feel a little warm." He drifted his hand across her forehead and down her neck.
"Vincent, it’s a thousand degrees Above, of course I’m..." Catherine tried to jerk away, but it was too late. Vincent had grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into the water. She fell face first and came up gasping for air. She wiped her face as the twins’ laughter filled the cavern. Breathing hard, she glared at Vincent, who shrugged casually. Slowly a seductive smile grew on her lips and she swam close to him and looped her arms around his neck. "That was pretty clever," she granted him.
He dipped his face close to hers, letting his breath drift across her face. "I thought so."
"Mm-hm," she nodded and drew him close to initiate a kiss. But just before he reached her, she slid her hands into his hair and pushed his face under the water. She let him go quickly and, as he came up sputtering and spitting, she casually back-stroked away from him. "But I’m pretty clever too," she finished smugly.
Vincent wiped his face and shook his hair away from his eyes. As soon as he found Catherine he dived for her, laughing and splashing her as much as he could.
"Mommy, daddy, that’s enough! Stop your arguing!" Anna yelled to them.
A lone, quiet figure stood at the entrance of the cavern, watching with pride. He jumped when a hand touched his shoulder and a voice called to him.
"Father?"
"Joe, my boy!" Father greeted Joe Maxwell, putting a paternal arm around him. "What can I do for you?"
Joe looked into the cavern and found the spectacle at which Father had been watching. With a forced smile and an accepting nod, Joe took a deep breath and turned to Father once again. "I was hoping to talk to you about that incident the other day."
"Joe, I have told you time and time again; we are not giving firearms to the sentries." Father led Joe away from the cavern.
Away from the sounds of water splashing and the distant laughter of a new family.