She said yes. Ryan said yes when he finally asked, dropping down on one knee on the deck one evening, sunset over the lake serving as the backdrop. They'd supped with Tori, Gordon, and the newest addition to the clan - little Nate - and then took Houdini for a walk. It had been the perfect evening, exactly what he had been waiting for since getting the stones from his mother's ring fitted into the setting he'd designed for Ryan.

The pre-wedding jitters he experienced weren't entirely unexpected. He remembered how nervous his sister was when she married Gordon, and how hard Gordon's hands had shaken while trying to place their mother's wedding band on Tori's finger.

He also remembered what had happened after the ceremony. How Tori had taken off down the dock - keen to celebrate with a jump in the lake, and how Gordon had simply shrugged and sprinted after her. The cleaners had valiantly attempted to return the dress to its original white, but it ended up being stored away slightly tinted.

With that in mind, he and Ryan had decided on keeping their wedding further away from the water. (Also making the troublesome pair promise to stay well away from the water's edge.) But somehow - and though he couldn't prove it Tom's almost sure it was at Gordon's suggestion - the photographer got it into his head that 'the happy couple should get their picture taken down near the lake!'

'The reflection. The gorgeous setting! What is the point of having a wedding so close to a lake without having at least *one* photo of the newlyweds close to or - OH - on the water?'

Which is how they ended up in the rowboat.

One minute they were listening to instructions - "Ryan if you'd turn your head a little to the right? Lovely. Yes. Perfect." - and - "Tom, she's your wife, not a cookie. Stop drooling, please."

They stood together in the boat, gripping each other's hands tightly as they tried to maintain their balance, grinning and giggling... and then... then Tom realized that the instructions had stopped.

Standing next to the photographer, and breaking the promise they'd made, were Tori and Gordon... Tori smiling and waving, the ever familiar self satisfied grin plastered on his sister's face. And Gordon - his best friend - Gordon's leaning on....

The boat starts to sway as Tom jerks, glancing down into the bottom of the rowboat that his sister has un-moored.

The oars. Gordon has them.

Swindled. Conned. Betrayed!

"Seriously?" Tom calls out, causing the boat to lurch again, "We've got a flight to catch!"

Gordon shrugs, "In a few hours!"

Catching on to the situation, Ryan laughs. "They're insane... They're." They're family, now. She gives Tom's hand a squeeze, pulling his attention back to her, "You - you knew they were gonna pull something. You called it. Better this than mess with your truck, right?"

Tom nods, first addressing her but then raising his voice towards the end of his reply and turning to address the amused onlookers. "Yes. You're right, but they'd still better FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET US TO SHORE."

"You've got legs." Tori shouts back, "Swim!"

It's a hell of a situation, but it could be worse. Tom starts to peel out of his jacket, trying hard to keep from jostling the boat too much and tipping his wife overboard. That's probably exactly what Tori and Gordon had in mind.

"Oh Tom," Ryan's mirth, even though she's trying to hide it, can't be suppressed. "You don't... Someone will take pity on us eventually."

He can't stop shaking his head in short disbelieving movements, even as he starts to catch the giggles that seem to have engulfed her. He sets to work rolling up his shirtsleeves - to catcalls from shore - though it's more a stalling tactic than having a particular point. Maybe he should just strip down to his undershirt and boxers, better entertain their family and friends, and keeping his suit dry and mostly clean... "This lot? I doubt it..."

Ryan wobbles again as Tom lowers himself down to start working at removing his shoes. After a light chirp of alarm she regains herself, gripping his steadying hand hard, and tips her head down to murmur to him, "Babe?" She leans a little closer, pretending to request a kiss. "Nate is getting every noise making toy we can find until he's twenty. Agreed?"

Laughing, he nods, raising himself up to plant a quick kiss on those devilish lips of hers.