The group finally decided to stay at the cabin and just relax and grill out. The crowd in town would be too hard on Tim and Rob. Rob has a hard time maneuvering his chair through large crowds and Tim's anxiety rises to a dangerous level. Besides, everyone was a little tired from the drive, unpacking, etc.

"So, what kind of animals are in these woods, Kelsey?" Austin asks as they relax around the firepit.

"The usual, deer, possums, raccoons, coyotes and an occasional bear." Kelsey answers as she lays some pork chops on the grill.

"Wait. Did you say bear?" Tim asks with a raised brow.

"Yeah, black bear." Kelsey nods even though Tim couldn't see her. "They like getting into the garbage cans."

"Looking for food." Chance signs.

"Do you not think that the smell of these pork chops will lure them in?" Tim asks in a worried tone.

"The fire pit will keep them from getting too close." Kelsey replies.

"If we see anything, Tim, we won't say anything." Austin says with a smirk.

"Well, then I won't mention the low growl that I just heard behind you, Austin." Tim says with a forced smile.

"WHAT!!??" Austin yells as he jumps and looks around behind him.

"See, two can play at that game." Tim says with a bit of sass.

"Okay, you two." Adam says as he rubs Tim on the leg. Adam could tell that Tim sometimes gets aggravated by the constant jokes.

"You mentioned something about boating. What kind of boats do you have?" Chris asks quickly to help change the subject.

"Well, dad has a couple of john boats for fishing and a couple of paddle boats, you know the kind that you paddle like a bicycle." Kelsey answers.

"Oh, that sounds romantic." Adam says as he squeezes Tim's hand making him smile.

"And he also owns a pontoon boat that is sitting around the corner in the lagoon. There's a ramp there that was built by the previous owner for easy wheelchair access." Kelsey says as she knew Rob probably was thinking he would be left out again.

"Just how big is this lake?" Tim asks. Of course, he didn't know what a pontoon boat was, but he did know it was a pretty good size.

"Very big." Kelsey answers. "Oh, and there's a bunch of innertubes for those that want to go tubing."

"That sounds fun." Nate says.

They gather around a large picnic table to eat their supper of pork chops, boiled corn on the cob, potato salad, macaroni salad, baked beans, deviled eggs and ending with a nice cold watermelon.

When the firepit began to die down, they decide to go inside. Rob, of course, finds a ballgame on tv., which draws the attention of everyone except for Tim and Adam. Adam heads upstairs to take a shower. Tim grabs a book that he had brought with him and goes outside on the deck to read in peace and quiet.

Tim gets comfortable in one of the deck chairs and begins to read. The sounds of the lake at night were very calming. The frogs and the crickets were instrumental, Tim closes his eyes and gets lost in their sounds.

He slowly opens his eyes when he hears rustling in the leaves next to the deck. He turns his head toward the sound. Something was moving right next to the deck where he was sitting. Fear overcome him as the sound moved closer. He slowly closes his book and lays it aside very quietly.

What in the hell was coming out of the woods and was just a few feet from him. He held his breath as he listened.

The sudden sound of the garbage can lid falling to the ground causes him to spring from his seat. He feels his way over to the door.

"Oh, sh*t." He mumbles when he realizes the door had locked behind him when he came outside. He freezes in his tracks when he hears a low grunt. Definitely a bear

"Oh, my God." He whispers as he tries the door again. Definitely locked.

"ADAM??!!! GUYS??!!! SOMEBODY???!!! PLEASE!! OPEN THE DOOR!!!" Tim yells as he beats on the door in a panic.

"What the hell!!" Rob says as he quickly pauses the game.

"Was that Tim?" Chris asks.

"SOMEBODY PLEASE!!!!" Tim yells again as he continues to bang on the door. Tears stream down his face. He had no idea if the bear had run off or if it was coming after him.

Adam comes running down the stairs as he hears his boyfriend's cries for help. As he reaches the bottom of the staircase, he met the others running from the den.

"The door must have locked behind him." Kelsey says as they run to the door.

Adam quickly unlocks and opens the door.

Tim stumbles pass them and falls to his knees as he tries to breathe.

"He's having a panic attack!" Adam says as he gets on his knees beside his lover and pulls him into a hug. "It's okay. I got you."

Chris takes a peek outside to see what could have caused the attack. There he sees it. A black bear rummaging through the garbage can. Tim's screaming and yelling had no effect on the hungry bear.

"It's a bear." Chris says.

"A bear?" Nate asks as he runs to the door to see.

"I .. I can't." Tim says, shaking his head as he gasps for air. "Adam, I can't ... I can't bre ...breathe."

"Shhhh, you're safe, Sweetie. Calm down." Adam says softly as he gently rocks his lover. "Shhh, I got you. You're okay." He says again before he starts to hum softly. 

Tim breathes heavily as he tries to get air back into his lungs. 

"That's it, Baby. Just breathe." Adam says in a soft whisper.

Tim whimpers quietly as he lays his head on Adam's shoulder.

"He's okay." Adam says softly as he looks up to see the worried look on their friends' faces.

"D*mn, that had to be scary as hell." Austin says as he stares at the two men on the floor.

"I'm sure it was. I know we all have disabilities but I honestly think Tim suffers the worst one." Chance signs. "I can't imagine not being able to see what is walking up on me. I'd be petrified."

"Me too." Rob answers in sign language. They didn't want Tim to hear what was being said. "Makes me ashamed for the times that I feel sorry for myself." Austin and Chance nod in agreement. 

"I have a headache." Tim says as he raises his head and rubs his forehead.

"I'll get you something, Tim." Kelsey says as she heads to the bathroom for some pain reliever.

"You feel like standing?" Adam asks as he rubs Tim on the back.

"I just want to go lie down." Tim says as he runs a hand through his hair.

"Here ya go, Sweetie." Kelsey says. She places a couple of Tylenol in Tim's hand. He pops the pills into his mouth and washes them down with the water Kelsey had given him.

"Come on. Let's go to bed." Adam says as he stands to his feet and helps Tim up. "We'll see y'all in the morning." Adam calls over his shoulder as he and Tim start up the stairs.

*******

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