"This is sooo boring!" Norman interrupted Sarah's scary story. Once again everything wasn't enough for him and he didn't pay attention to his surroundings.

"Norman, your stick bread is burning," was just my counter-comment and he immediately jumped up, pulled up the stick with the bread, which was burning like a torch, and waved it around.

"Norman Price!" Penny took the stick away from him and, hissing, stuck it into a bucket of water next to her. "As a cadett, you should know by now that you can't flick out a fire?!"

"It's possible with a match too." Penny touched her forehead in disbelief.

"A match is different than a stick of bread, of which, by the way, can fall off burning parts if you throw it around." I pointed to his shoes, on which lay the piece of bread I had just mentioned. I should have known better. Norman immediately screamed and kicked his foot hard. No one noticed where the burning bread flew, because Norman's shoe hit me in the forehead and knocked me out.

While I was startled to hear the girls, including Penny, calling my name, I also noticed that the boys were all trying to hold back their laughter as I immediately sat back up.

"NORMAN! SIT DOWN AND DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING ANYMORE!"

"Yes, Fireman Sam." He mumbled something to himself as he sat down, everyone around us now laughing at him. "What about my bread? I'm hungry. Can I make myself some more?"

"I'll make you a new one. You heard Sam. Shall we hope that you can at least eat without putting anyone in danger, or should we chew it for you either?" The laughter around us grew louder as Penny squatted down next to me as I heard those words and she held a cooling pad to my forehead. Even I had to control myself not to laugh and now a smile came back to her face before she got Norman's stick and added new dough to it.

"Um, Fireman Sam?"

"Yes Derek?"

"What smells so strange here?"

I kept my nose to the wind, wondering if the smell of burning was still coming from Norman's charred shoes, when...

"There...Penny's tent is on fire!" Sarah shouted and everyone jumped up.

"So what do we have to do in this case?" Penny was always calm and took this opportunity to teach the children something.

"Penny, your tent is on fire!" Norman interjected, stunned.

"Thanks, Norman. I noticed it."

"Then why are you standing here like that?" He was completely amazed at how anyone could remain so calm.

Penny groaned in annoyance and picked up the bucket of water. Meanwhile, I went to Venus and got the fire bats. It was just a corner that had caught fire and wasn't worth panicking - but the children did exactly that and were now running wild. Norman screamed and waved his arms wildly, Derek followed suit in a somewhat milder manner. James holed up in his tent wailing while Sarah, Mandy and Hannah grabbed pots to fill with water in the river.

Penny was about to dump the bucket of water over the small flames when Norman snatched a pot of water out of Mandy's hand and, how could it be otherwise, stumbled.

Before I could even notice what's going on, the pot hit me in the stomach and an ice-cold gush of water poured over my lower half.

Thanks to Penny, the fire was out and she looked at me in shock for a moment - just like the children - before they all burst out laughing.

I grabbed the fire bats and, growling, stowed them back in Venus before going into the tent and changing. Since we would only be camping for one night, I didn't have anything with me except my sweatpants - so that had to do. I then hung my wet clothes over a branch of the tree that towered over my tent.

"Norman, this is my final warning. Sit down, don't touch anything or make any more wrong moves! One more incident and I'll tie you to the nearest tree with the chain from Venus's winds."

"Yes, Fireman Sam." He grumbled while everyone else giggled.

"Why were you so calm, Penny? Your stuff was in danger," James asked.

"Because it was just my stuff, James."

"I don't understand," Hannah intervened.

"Things are always replaceable. A person's life and health are not. Besides, it was only a small flame. It posed no immediate threat and panic is always dangerous. Anyone who panics makes mistakes and gets in their own way. It may be difficult in some situations, but if you always remain calm and remember what you learned as a cadett, you will help yourself and others out of a dangerous situation better than if you panic."

"Can you still sleep in the tent?"

"Probably not, Mandy."

"And where do you want to sleep then? Our tent is already full, but maybe we can move a bit?"

"That's very kind of you Sarah, thank you. But I have no problem sleeping in the open air."

"That's out of the question!" I now intervened. "The nights are getting cold and the dew will get you wet and cold. I also have a three-person tent. There's enough space in there."

A murmur went through the children, accompanied by one or two "Uhhs". We both ignored it and luckily the breadsticks and sausages were ready so the children could distract themselves with food for now. I just hoped that Penny accepted my suggestion too.

"Don't we want to play spin the bottle?" Norman then asked.

"Oh, yes. Please Uncle Sam."

"Okay, Sarah. How do you play this?"

"Whoever the bottle is pointing at has to do something that the person who spun said." Well, it wasn't that different from how we played it as children.

"But with Joker!"

"A Joker? Spin the Bottle? Really Norman?" Penny looked at him skeptically.

"Sure. We always do that. If the bottle points to a certain object, then everyone has to do that."

"Okay, then let's do this."

The children cheered and James ran into the boys' tent and got an empty bottle before sitting back down next to us, who had sat in a circle next to the fire. James was the youngest and was therefore allowed to start. As an joker, the children picked out the bucket that was still next to the fire and Mandy placed it between herself and Hannah.

"Whoever the bottle is pointing at has to touch their nose with their toes!" Everyone groaned as James turned and the bottle quickly stopped at Derek. We all couldn't help but laugh as Derek clumsily attempted it, only succeeding after he was lying on his back like a cockchafer.

"Whoever the bottle is pointing at has to reveal what scares them the most." Derek spun and his bottle pointed at Penny. Oh, this could be interesting.

"OK." She thought for a moment before answering, "My biggest fear is the possibility of losing a colleague in the field." She gave me a quick glance as she said that and I couldn't help but feel offended by being particularly addressed by her.

"Aren't you afraid for yourself anymore?" Hannah now asked her.

"Why should I? I know what I'm doing."

"But something can always go wrong."

"Of course it can, but if I would be afraid of that, then I would be in the wrong job." She reached for the bottle. "So: whoever the bottle is pointing at has to do ten push-ups." She shrugged perplexedly before turning. I certainly couldn't have had a better idea.

Norman groaned in annoyance and it took him no less than 15 minutes of loud cheering and cheerful laughter until he had completed his task.

"Soooo." His grin was so cheeky that I rolled my eyes in annoyance as he reached for the bottle. What would happen again now?

"Wait a minute, Norman!" Penny stopped him for a moment and went to Venus. A moment later she put my helmet on my head and lowered my visor, which everyone commented on with laughter, even me - except Norman.

"Ha, ha. Can I now then?" Everyone nodded. "Whoever the bottle is pointing at has to..." He took a break in tension, but that only made my nerves tense. "Kiss someone else - on the lips." That could only have come from Norman and the bottle promptly stopped on the bucket. Except for Penny and me, everyone groaned in annoyance.

"Penny, can I kiss you?" Derek asked loudly and Penny laughed.

"I'm very flattered, Derek, but let's put that to rest before this nonsense costs me my job."

"Oh, yeah sure." Well, then Hannah held out her lips.

"Okay, I'll count to three. Wait! Sam, Penny, just because you can't kiss any of us doesn't mean you don't have to participate. The bucket!" I felt myself blushing so I didn't need to look in the mirror. I turned to Penny, who was also blushing, before she shrugged and moved closer to me, flipping up my visor.

"We're ready, Norman." My voice threatened to fail, I was so excited. It was everything I had ever dreamed of - the only thing that really bothered me was the surroundings. It forced me to hold back and not be able to kiss her like I would have liked.

Norman counted, at the count of three we closed our eyes and a moment later I felt her lips on mine. My heart fluttered, my body seemed to spin and I felt comfortably warm. It took everything in me not to hug her and deepen the kiss. The commotion that arose around us caused us to scatter, only to see the children sitting there giggling.

"That was at least 2 minutes," Norman clarified, grinning broadly.

"2 minutes and 32 seconds. I looked at the clock. I had to remember to say something to Lizzie about her daughter's pickiness.

"Are you our aunt now, Penny?" Sarah asked beaming and we both blushed.

"Oh yes, that would be great," James commented on her question.

"Oh man, Sarah, James! The two of them have to get married first!" Norman always had to have the last word.

"Um, factually Norman is right!" The children looked at us as if they were expecting to hear something else from us, only the twins seemed quite disappointed.

"Well, I think I'll go into the tent. I'm tired," James said and left. I decided to buy him a new toy to thank him for the distraction.

"I think we should all go to sleep. It's almost midnight," Penny said after a quick look at my watch.

"Oh, you two just want to pick up where you left off. Maybe the tent was intentional, hmm, Fireman Sam?" Norman asked, grinning broadly and I raised a skeptical eyebrow - it was enough making him flinch.

"Are you forgetting that it was you who shot the burning bread into my tent?" Penny crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him intently, which made Norman immediately flee. "Is it really okay with you if I sleep in the tent with you?"

"Why shouldn't it? You don't bite, do you?"

"Probably not," she replied with a smile and I looked at her questioningly. "But I've never had anyone next to me who could complain."

"Once is always the first time. I'm willing to take that risk."

"You are and will always be a hero, Sam." She laughed and disappeared into the tent. I gave her a moment to settle in and change if necessary before following her.

"May I come in?"

"It's your tent, Sam!" I heard her smile before I saw it and yet it was more beautiful than any before. I thought about the kiss and my lips began to tingle at the thought of her silky lips on mine.

"It could have been that you were still changing." I crawled into my sleeping bag.

"Already done." She lay on her side facing me, so I laid on my side too and looked at her. She smiled and I followed suit. "Well, we got through the day pretty well, didn't we?"

"Well, the evening could have gone with a few fewer mishaps, but since we have Norman with us and neither the entire camp nor the forest burned down completely, it was probably a good day."

"How's your forehead?" She carefully touched the spot where the shoe had hit me and her fingers gently stroked it - this gesture caused a stir inside me.

"It's okay. The shock was greater than the pain."

"That pleases me." We were silent for a moment and just looked into each other's eyes. I could have continued to look at her all night. "The kiss was...beautiful," Penny murmured and immediately blushed. How much courage did it take her to say that out loud? I hadn't had it.

"I thought so too. Would you like to do that again?" I asked carefully and felt the heat rising to my cheeks. To my surprise, she nodded, smiling shyly. "Now?"

"Why not?!" She shrugged and I didn't need to be told twice. I immediately moved closer to her and leaned over her as she rolled onto her back.

We had been shy until now, but now all doubts disappeared as I sank into her eyes. I brought my face closer to hers, closed my eyes like she did and kissed her - not like I had just done in front of the children, but like I had always dreamed of and she returned my kiss, wrapped her arms around my neck and gave in to me completely.

Neither of us could tell how much time had passed when we parted, almost breathless, and looked into each other's eyes, but I could tell from her look that she was just as happy to be lying as I was at that moment - my legs would no longer support me.

"That was even nicer," Penny murmured and I stole another kiss from her.

"That was wonderful." I enjoyed her smile for a moment. "I love you Penny."

"I love you too, Sam." It was so incredible. All of my dreams just came true and none of them were as wonderful and exhilarating as reality was. I couldn't believe it, so I kissed her again passionately to convince myself that it was really true.

"I can't believe it, after so long, I can finally kiss you and hold you in my arms."

"It's like a dream," she agreed with a smile as she cuddled up to me and yawned furtively. "We should sleep, who knows what Norman has in store for tomorrow. Sleep well, my heart."

"Sleep well, little angel." I turned off the lamp, snuggled up to Penny and fell asleep more peacefully than I had in a long time.

THE END