Bevis looked at the display on her hotel bed. She had a thing about laying everything out and then looking at each item, but this was clearly self-explanatory. She felt frozen on the spot and to the core. Dread rose and stayed ... nightmare!

"Let's see what you got?" Chelsea said, bringing her bag to Bevis' double bed, "We can compare."

Bevis remained in place. Silent. Chelsea stopped next to her, looking at the items on the bed. She dove into her bag in frantic desperation, pulling out the objects and laying them out.

"Should we panic now or later?" she whispered.

"I'm already panicking," Bevis said, "let's do a comparison check."

"Okay," Chelsea said, rolling her shoulders, "I'm ready."

"Branded T-shirt," Bevis began.

"Check," Chelsea replied.

"Lip ice."

"Check."

"Brand new map."

"Check."

"Water bottle with filter."

"Check."

"Safety manual for a raft."

"Check."

"Three flares with a gun."

"Check."

"Grappling hooks with rope."

"Check."

"Writing pad, waterproof pen and a waterproof bag."

"Check."

"First aid items with burn blanket."

"Check."

"Loss of sanity and palpitating heart."

"Check."

The two women stared at the items before both inhaled and blew their breath out through pursed lips.

"What are we going to do?" Chelsea whispered.

"Do? I know what I want to do," Bevis whispered as she paced away from the bed and back, "you didn't check with Jake what kind of trip this was ... did you?"

Chelsea grimaced, "Sort of," she sighed, "he said it was an outdoorsy trip, but I didn't ask anything more. We both required an escape, which fell in with our leave time."

Bevis paced again. Chelsea watched her friend, concern in her gaze. It couldn't be as bad as Bevis made out, could it?

"Why are you so worked up?" Chelsea asked, "Haven't you done this kind of thing before?"

"Kind of thing," Bevis muttered, "Chels, we don't even know what kind of thing this is. Worked up? This is not worked up ..." she paced again, "this is sheer bloody panic."

"Come on, Bev," Chelsea murmured, "I've seen you do rock climbing, canoeing, and a bunch of other stuff."

Bevis stopped staring blankly at her friend, "When did you see me doing these ... things?"

"At the rock climbing place ... it was indoors, but still," Chelsea said.

"What happened when I tried it?"

"Ahh ... you broke your wrist," Chelsea whispered, "but there was that canoeing class you took."

"What happened there?"

"Well ..." Chelsea sighed, "you capsized in the pool and nearly drowned."

"Right," Bevis nodded, "and the bunch of other stuff ... find one thing I succeeded at."

"There was the ..." Chelsea began; she frowned and stopped talking, "... ah no. But ... what about when you ..." Again, she stopped, "Oh... yeah ... no."

Bevis waited, raising her eyebrows questioningly, "I'm going to die this week."

"That may not happen," Chelsea said, "I'm sure they will do loads of safety things with us and have all that relevant gear."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Bevis sank to the bed, her shoulders hunched, "I pray to God above they do. Otherwise, I'm in a load of trouble."

"We still have tonight," Chelsea said, trying to make the best of a huge mistake for both of them, "a nice dinner; we can have bubble baths, and there is a plus ... Brad won't be here to see you kill yourself off slowly."

Bevis turned to stare at her friend, "That was going really well until the end there. Way to be brutally honest, Chels."

"Look, I'm really sorry I didn't check with Jake after he gave me the tickets to the plane ride," Chelsea said, pushing off the bed and looking at her best friend, "you were miserable and eating way too much ice cream plus you home delivery for groceries consists more of tissues, alcohol and pain killers along with loads of junk food ... I just wanted to get you away from all of that and get you thinking about something else."

Bevis sighed, "Thank you for caring enough to do anything about me in a mess," she shrugged, "you did achieve a goal of yours ... I will be thinking of something else this week."

"Great," Chelsea smiled, "what?"

"Staying alive and getting home to hug my plants," Bevis said, standing and hugging her friend, "I'm just glad Brad won't be there to see it."

"What do you mean I'm going to dine with the more experienced group in a different dining room," Brad asked, looking at the changed itinerary Candy had handed him, "this is ridiculous; I've prepped for the beginner's group."

"Yeah, well, you can't go with them," Candy said, "something about a change in requirements or conflict of interest. I'm not sure," she said, marking things on her clipboard, "all I know is your group will be in that restaurant waiting for you to update them on the upcoming trip. Jason says he has everything for the experienced group and will take your preparations for the beginners."

"Fine, but I'm not happy about this," Brad said, "when things are discussed, they need to be stuck to, and this is not good for professionalism."

"Noted," Candy said, looking at her watch, "you'll need to freshen up and change if you're going to make the dinner in time ..." she glanced at him, "... you're always on about being punctual."

"Right," Brad nodded, grabbing his bags and heading to his room.

Candy exhaled and rubbed her forehead, "Mission accomplished."

"Nicely handled, and you didn't kick him ... you know where ... as you've been threatening to do," Jason said, handing her a takeaway cup, "hot chocolate with seven mini marshmallows."

"My hero," Candy said, taking a sip, "Hmm, delicious. I have moved Brad and his group to another dining room, so we won't have any explosions tonight ... can't promise anything tomorrow."

"Yeah, I have to devise something to make sure they don't see each other until we're out there," Jason said, "do you think she knows what's in store?"

"I'm guessing that now she has an idea that it's not a spa week at the hotel," Candy said, "We made the gift packs rather specific for what they will be doing."

"I hope she doesn't look at the map," Jason sighed, "if they pull out, we're in trouble."

"Why?" Candy said, "It's something they decide."

"Sure," Jason nodded, "but the trip is designed for the team to have the exact number to make it easier for each beginner to accomplish the journey."

"Never mind the couples stuff," Candy grinned mischievously, "I spent the afternoon looking for different things they could do to connect as friends instead of as a couple."

"Candy, you amaze me," Jason said, taking the documents from her, "clever, and no props are required. Wood gathering?"

"Those two," Candy said, "getting anything done this week will be a teambuilding exercise on its own."

"Fair enough," Jason said, looking at the rest of the list, "you've made everyday chores bonding moments for them. It's like giving the newbie the grunt work while everyone else enjoys the real delights."

"Trust me," Candy said, "seeing those two today ..." she shook her head, "I doubt they will be anywhere close to intimacy level by the time they get to the end of this week ... they are probably trying to think of ways to stay alive and just get through it. Did Jake even tell them what it was about?"

"He said he told them it was outdoorsy things," Jason said, grimacing.

Candy choked on her hot chocolate before laughing, "Oh ... low even for him."

"Told him that," Jason grinned, "but he had a relatively good reason."

"Let me guess," Candy scrunched up her face in thought, "he didn't want the tickets due to the rift between himself and Jane."

"Close," Jason nodded, "she broke up with him."

"Oh," Candy murmured, the laughter draining from her eyes, "I'm sorry that happened. Did she give a reason?"

"Incompatibility," Jason sighed, "I did warn him, but he simply said "opposites attract" and continued on his way."

"Sure opposites attract," Candy nodded, "but usually that is for things like ... she is a morning person, and he is a night owl, or she is an introvert and he an extravert ... those two were not even on the same planet when it came to differences."

"Yeah, I wish I could have gotten him to see that nine months ago," Jason said, looking around the lobby, "now he has a broken heart and is drowning his sorrows ... I don't even want to know how he is doing that."

"Nine months? They dated that long?" Candy said in amazement, "I'm surprised they lasted longer than nine weeks."

"Oh, it's been rocky from the start," Jason said, "I should know he is living with me at the moment, and I've witnessed every fight, every negotiation ... every painful conversation about moving forward. He shot me down once when I suggested he break up with her."

"Wow, then I have no sympathy for him," Candy said, throwing her empty cup in a bin, "he was warned, he was spoken to, and Jake continued dating her ... surely he knew all the fighting was not normal and don't tell me it's being part of a relationship."

"Okay, I won't. Even if that is what Jake said," Jason grinned, "how could he think he was working on his relationship? There was no relationship ... she wanted things her way, and that was it. She wouldn't even consider coming with him this week. Apparently, that is what they broke up over."

"Oh ... the drama," Candy sighed dramatically before looking at her watch, "whoo ho, you need to shower and change for dinner. You have forty-five minutes before you need to appear."

"I'll be fine," Jason said, "besides, you told Brad he had less."

"Yeah, I just wanted to get rid of him quickly," Candy said, grinning.

Jason chuckled, "Crafty. At least if anything happens, you'll be here to deal with logistics from this side and get some rest and recuperation."

"The last part is much needed," Candy said, smiling, "but thank you for the gifts for me stepping in at the last minute."

"Yeah, didn't expect Gill to have her baby this soon," Jason said, "she's a brilliant assistant, but I'm still happy you came ... you needed a getaway from everyone at home."

"You have no idea," Candy said, seeing the lift open, "that's your cue ... go."

Shoving him toward the lift, Candy watched him stride in, turn and give her a thumbs up; chuckling as the lift doors closed, she sighed, "Next on the agenda ... get Jason a girl. Sure. Easiest thing in the world," she muttered checking the list on the clipboard, "...not."