Darren stopped just shy of the water and looked over at me. "Swimming isn't so bad once you get the hang of it. But, until you learn, I don't want you going too far out. When the water gets to your shoulders, I want you to stop and not go any further, okay?"

I nodded. Clearly, if he was concerned about the water going too high then I needed to be worried, too. And I knew I wasn't going to do anything to scare him because I knew what that was like.

"Do you want me to go in with you?"

I nodded and gripped his hand tighter. I wasn't quite ready to try it on my own just yet. Maybe after being in the water for a few minutes, I would feel better.

He took a step and I followed him as we headed into the water. It covered our feet and worked its way up our legs until I felt it reach my stomach. I gasped as my shirt began to stick to my skin.

"What, is it cold?"

I bit my lip. "Just a little."

He moved in front of me and moved his arms around in the water. "Do you like it so far?"

I nodded. "Aren't there fish in the water?"

He nodded. "Yeah, why?"

My eyes widened and I reached out for him. He laughed as he wrapped his arms around me.

"They won't hurt you, Aly."

"How can you be so sure? They need to eat something."

"They don't want to eat you. Believe me."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What, are you saying I'm gross?"

"Aly, I never said that."

I wiggled out of his arms and splashed water at him. "I hope the fish eat you then."

He laughed and splashed water at me. We continued until both of us had water dripping off of us and we were out of breath.

I looked out at the lake and took a step further in. I took several more until the water was just below my shoulders. I looked back at Darren and realized he was several feet away from me.

"Aren't you gonna come out more?"

"The fish might eat me."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't think they'd eat daddies. They have cooties."

"Cooties, huh?" Darren slowly made his way to me but the look on his face said he was going to do something. I wasn't aware of what that was until he reached me. He put his arms around me and held me against his chest. "Hold your breath."

"What?"

"One..."

"No..."

"Two..."

"Daddy..."

"Three!"

I screamed as Darren pushed off the ground under us. We lifted off the ground for a second before we headed back to the water, faster than I would have liked. I inhaled a deep breath just before we both submerged under the water.

I opened my eyes and couldn't see anything around me. The water was too green for me to see anything. Part of me was bummed that I couldn't see the fish or anything in the water. But the other part told me that was a good thing. Maybe I didn't want to see it.

Before I could count to five, Darren pulled us back to how we had been standing and helped me so I wasn't stuck under the water anymore.

He smiled at me as he shook the water from his hair. "Well?"

I coughed out the bit of water that had gotten into my throat as I rubbed the water from my eyes. "I don't like that." But my voice didn't sound scared. Just annoyed.

He laughed. "That'll teach you not to mess with a daddy."

"But you're my daddy so I can."

He hummed. "I guess that's allowed. But only you can mess with me."

"I like the sound of that."

 "Do you like swimming now? It's not quite swimming on your own since your feet aren't really off the ground but I'd like to think it still counts."

"Maybe someday I can try actually swimming. But, for now, this is nice."

He brushed my hair over my shoulders so it fell down my back. "Yes, it does."

---

Darren had packed hot dogs to make for dinner. He had a fire going for us and he got all the hot dogs cooked so all I had to do was, well, eat them. I made several marshmallows before Darren said it was time to go to bed.

Darren laid down in his sleeping bag and rolled so he was facing me. "I'm glad you like camping with me. I'm not sure what I'd do if you didn't like it."

"I guess you'd just have to leave me at home."

"I wouldn't want to leave my little girl home all by herself."

"Daddy, can I tell you something?" I lowered Ted so he was rested against my chest so I could see Darren better. The moon was high in the sky already but wasn't providing as much light into our tent as I would have liked. Darren said he brought a light but I didn't want him to waste it while we were sleeping.

"Of course."

"I'm not so scared anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Like... of being with you or being left alone or anything."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," I said softly. "I feel safe with you. I know you won't hurt me and you won't let anyone else hurt me."

"That's right."

I let out an audible exhale. "I'm gonna go to sleep now. I'm tired."

"Good. You'll need your rest this weekend."

I shut my eyes and relaxed into the sleeping bag. "I'm glad you're my daddy."

"I'm glad you're my baby." Darren rolled onto his back. "Good night, Aly."

"Good night, daddy."

---

Edited 7/23/2022