Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am

An hour later Ferin was seated at the island in the pirate bar, marveling at the kiwi in her hand. Natasha was across from her folding laundry. "I wonder who the first person was to decide to try eating one of these."

Natasha never looked up from her folding. "I haven't a clue," she replied just as Johnny came down the stairs with Dunn who took a seat beside Ferin.

Tash smiled. "Hey babe." She kissed Johnny on the cheek.

"Hey," he murmured as he eyed the laundry, plucking a blue thong out of the pile and eyeing Natasha suspiciously. "How come I've never seen this before?"

Ryan was doing his best to contain his laughter and Ferin merely cracked a grin. She knew Tash was embarrassed, it didn't take long for her cheeks to flush red.

Natasha quickly snatched it away from Johnny, ignoring his question. "So now that everyone knows I own a blue lace thong, what do you really want?"

"Nothin," he grinned.

Ferin turned to Ryan, slapping him on the leg playfully. "So what are you up to today?"

He shrugged his shoulders and watched Tash continue to fold clothes, his eyes never wavering as he answered. "Not too much, heard rumors Joe Frantz was going to show up to film, for what I'm not sure, but it should be an action packed day."

"Oh lord," Ferin mumbled as she turned her attention to Tash and laughing softly. "Maybe we should just skip this whole pool party slash barbecue and disappear for the day,"

Tash looked up after folding the last shirt and nodded slightly. She had no intent of becoming the brunt of one of their jokes, which was something that usually happened when they were filming. Filming always brought out the insane personalities that all of the boys seemed to posses.

"Oh no you don't," Johnny stood up straight as he caught on to their silent agreement. "You're going to brave the hell that the rest of us have to endure."

"Yeah no skipping out," Dunn added. "Or you'll become the focus for the day. You don't want us hunting you down, believe me."

Definitely not something that sounded appealing Ferin thought, However turning the situation around could be interesting.

"I would love to get Bam so good on his own show." Ferin grinned as she turned to Ryan hoping for the same enthusiasm.

Dunn eyed her suspiciously. "I don't know," he replied cautiously as he thought about it. "The last time Knoxville and I pranked Bam, he ended up buying his friends Cadillac, and I ended up with a very damaged custom made bike."

Johnny laughed as he remembered. "Oh but we got him good," he snorted, referring to cutting the top off the hummer, and stealing Bam's credit card.

Ape wandered down the stairs and joined them at the pirate bar as the room suddenly grew quiet.

"How come no one is eating?" Ape asked as she picked up her tea kettle to fill it with water again, then she stopped suddenly. "Nothing is gonna pop or explode if I continue is it?"

Everyone broke out into laughter. Poor Ape, she had clearly lived with Bam for far too long.

"No everything is fine," Tash assured her. "We were just trying to think of a way to prank Bam while they're filming tonight."

Ape's eyes lit up. "Oh well if you think of something good, be sure to let me in on it."

They agreed, as Johnny and Dunn settled down for the breakfast Ape had made not too much earlier.

Tash picked up her laundry basket and placed in on her hip. "Well you ready to go?" she asked Ferin.

Ferin nodded and got up of her stool, "we'll see you guys in a little while."

Ape raised her eyebrows as she placed her tea kettle back on the stove. "Where are you to going at eight A.M.?"

"For a run?" Johnny guessed as he filled his plate with pancakes.

The girls nodded. "We've been here a week and we haven't seen all of this fourteen acres Bam brags about so we're going to go check it out."

"Frickin crazy," Dunn mumbled. He glanced at Ferin and Tash then to Ape. "Being up this early is frickin crazy."

Laughing softly Ferin bounded up the stairs behind Tash. Tash headed up the next set of stairs to put her laundry away as Ferin tore away her track pants, leaving her in shorts and a sweater as she put on her running shoes while she waited. This was one of the few times during the day when she could be completely relaxed and not have to worry about what she looked like or what anybody thought of her. When Tash returned, they headed outside. Ferin took a deep breath, breathing in the warm air. They turned the corner near the garage and headed into the back yard.

After a while Tash couldn't stand the silence any longer, "so what do you think?" she asked between even breaths.

"About what?" Ferin asked casually as she glanced over at Tash.

Natasha cast her a glance that clearly said 'don't lie to me, you know what I'm talking about' but she humored her anyway. "About West Chester, Ape, Phil, the boys," she paused momentarily. "Bam?"

Ferin sighed this was inevitable. "Everything is great Tash, they're wonderful people, and I'm glad I let you talk me into coming."

Natasha laughed as they rounded a corner and headed down a path in the trees. It wasn't exactly the response she wanted but she wasn't going to press the issue any further because she knew Ferin would shut down on the subject, or get pissy. But that wouldn't deter her from hoping that Ferin and Bam make something out of their love hate relationship.

***********************************************************************************

"What are you thinkin?" Ferin asked after a few moments of silence. They were now on their way back to the house.

Busted was the first word that popped into Natasha's mind. She turned to Ferin and tried to keep a straight face. "Nothing."

Ferin shook her head, she knew she was lying. "Oh don't give me that Tash, you never drop a subject that quickly." They jumped over a log as they continued down the path they had discovered. "What gives?"

Defeated Natasha slowed down to a walk. "I'm glad that you decided to come with me Ferin. But having you for company and to get you away from you parents wasn't the only reason I wanted you to come here with me."

Ferin stopped to eye her friend, Tash continued. "I was hoping that by bringing you here, you would have other things to think about other than Cody."

Ferin's eyes widened and Natasha held up her hands in self-defense. "Please don't get mad Ferin, I just worry about you. I know you loved Cody, but he's gone. Has been for almost a year now, and I know that everything back home reminded you of him some way or another. What happened wasn't your fault, and you couldn't have prevented it. You have to let him go."

Ferin sighed and sat down on a log near by, tears brimming in her eyes as she fought to keep them back. Natasha was right, she needed to get away, and she needed to forget.

"I still miss him," Ferin whispered as Tash's arm slipped around her shoulders. She glanced down at the ring she now wore on her right hand.

Tash realized what she was doing. "Oh sweetie," she murmured as she hugged her friend close. "I'm sure all that Cody would want for you right now, is to forget about what happened and move on and be happy for the time that you got to spend together."

Ferin closed her eyes and sat up straight. "You're right, but it's so hard."

Tash grinned, "wanna run that by me again?"

Puzzled, Ferin simply stared at her friend. "I said it was hard."

Tash shook her head, "no the other part."

"You're right?"

Tash nodded, "again."

Laughing Ferin playfully pushed her away. "All right Natasha Hudson, you are right...for once."

Tash pretended to look hurt, "for once?"

Ferin shook her head and stood up then reached for Tash's hand pulling her up to. "Yeah, I've clearly allowed you to spend too much time with Knoxville."

Natasha grinned. Speaking of Knoxville, now was as good a time as any. "Umm Ferin, what do you really think of West Chester?"

They began jogging again. "I really like it, why?"

"Well," Tash said as they picked up the pace a little. "West Chester is about to become known as home."

Ferin thought about that statement for a minute then stopped dead in her tracks and smiled. "You guys bought the house didn't you?"

Tash's grin grew into a brilliant smile as she nodded. "We move in at the end of the month."

Laughing Ferin practically pounced on Natasha and hugged her. "I'm so happy for you guys."

Tash smiled and they started jogging again. "Would you ever consider thinking about making here your home to?"

Ferin took a deep breath and thought about it for a moment. "I don't know Tash, I mean my family is all back in Nevada."

"So is mine."

"My job is back there too," Ferin added. "I can't just quit."

"You don't have to quit, you can start a massage parlor here."

"You need money for that," Ferin kept trying to make up excuses. "I don't have allot of money."

"I'll help you."

Ferin shook her head, "I can't Tash."

Natasha laughed, "Yes you can, I'll help, and don't you argue it, just think about it, and have fun for now. Tonight is going to be a blast."