"Wha...*yawn*," Bowie blinked sleepily, raising his head to look at Tonya.

 "Nothing." Tonya smiled and ruffled his fur. "I'm just getting up."

 Bowie jumped off the bed and stretched.  Tonya got up, stretched, and walked to her closet.  Glancing out the window, she began to pick through her shirts.  She paused and looked out the window again.  The sun shone brightly and she couldn't see a single cloud despite the thunderstorm the night before.

 She smirked and selected one of her older shirts.  Slipping on a pair of cut offs, she quickly brushed her hair, and put it up into a ponytail.  She turned to find Bowie politely staring out the window, waiting.

 "Ready?" she asked.

 He turned and began to wag his tail, "Time for breakfast?"

 "Yeah sure." Tonya answered opening the door.

 "Can I have a hamburger or a sausage?" Bowie looked hopefully up at her as he walked beside her.
- - - - - - -
 Walking into the kitchen, the pair realized they were the first ones up.  Tonya turned on the coffee pot and started a pot brewing.  While she couldn't stand the taste, several other members of the household lived on it.  She rinsed Bowie's water dish and filled it with fresh water.  Opening the cupboard by the sink, she pulled out Bowie's vitamins and monthly heartworm pill. 

 "Yuck!" Bowie grumbled as Tonya knelt to give the pills to him.

 "I thought you liked your vitamins?" Tonya blinked.

 "Yes, but not that chewy one," Bowie made a face, "It tastes like a banana peel."

 Tonya laughed and shook her head, "Well, I'll give you a choice." Bowie cocked his head expectantly, "Either you take your heartworm pill and deal with the taste...or you can get heartworm."

 Bowie thought about it a moment, "What's heartworm?"

 "Think really long, killer spaghetti slowly filling up your heart, sapping your energy, and slowly killing you.  I have pictures.  Wanna see?"

 Bowie's eyes grew wide, "Can I have my pill?"

 Tonya fed him the pills and Bowie dutifully swallowed them all.  He looked at her with pleading eyes, "Now can I have a hamburger or a sausage?"
- - - - --
 Tonya had just finished cooking Bowie's hamburger and was letting it cool when Techno stumbled into the kitchen.  He was dressed, but hadn't shaved and was pulling a comb through his hair.  She poured him a cup of coffee, pulled out a chair, and handed him the mug after he sat down.  He sipped it carefully, then downed the mug's contents.

 Tonya refilled the mug, and grinned, "Welcome to Café Mac Mickle.  What can I get you for breafgest?"

 Techno just looked at her for a minute before answering, "What do you mean?"

 "What do you want for breakfast?  I can cook a lot of things.  You name it, I'll fix it."

 "Can I have my hamburger now?" Bowie asked pawing her leg.

 Grabbing a fork from the drawer, Tonya swiftly cut the hamburger and placed the plate on the floor.

 "What are you eating?" Techno asked as she turned back to him.

 She blinked, "Umm...haven't decided yet.  I'm torn between waffles and

scrambled eggs.  Though bacon sounds good, too.  Maybe I'll have all three."

 "I vote for the waffles." Alec said walking into the kitchen, "And coffee if you've got it ready."

 "I second the coffee, but I'd prefer the eggs and bacon." Sebastian said as he sat down.

 Tonya looked at Techno.  He was watching Bowie eat, "I guess I'll have eggs and waffles."
- - - -  - -
 An hour later, everyone was in the kitchen.  French toast, pancakes, and fried eggs had been adding to the menu as the rest of the household woke up.

 "Mmmm...Good Brefgest!" Tonya declared pushing her chair back grinning.

 "Breafgest?" Alec said raising an eyebrow and smirking at Tonya.

 Her grin faded slightly and a faint blush crossed her cheeks. "Breakfast." she said clearly, hoping he wouldn't press the issue.

 Alec opened his mouth to say something else, but noticed the look Zarbon was giving him and decided to let it drop.  Even though the girl he loved could heal just about any injury, Alec knew there was no point in pressing his luck.

 Tonya stood and stretched, "Well, I cooked so you guys can clean." And before anyone could protest, she was gone.
- - - - -
 Daniel had come inside to enlist some help from the men.  The lawn mower had just died, and he couldn't figure out why, nor get it to start again.

 The guys were in the TV room watching Atlantis with Sally, Poopsie, Jessica, and Dee.

 "I hate to interrupt, but could someone give me a hand with the mower."

 "What wrong with it?" asked Techno.

 Daniel shrugged, "It just died.  I can't figure it out"

 Sally turned off the tape and sighed, a smile playing across her lips. "Some people..."

 As the group left the TV room, Tonya came bounding down the stairs with Bowie hot on her heels.  She had three fishing poles in each hand and a tackle box hanging at her hip.  She paused only to open the door before bolting outside.

Following her out they found her clipping something to the line of one of the poles.  She reeled up the slack, turned, and cast the line across the lawn.  She reeled it in and did it again.  By the third cast, the group had recovered from their shock.

 "I've heard of grass carp, but this is ridiculous." Alec quipped.

 "Having any luck, Tonya?" Sebastian asked as she turned back to the porch to exchange poles. 

 She cocked her head and looked at him questioningly, "With what?" Then she turned and cast with the new pole.

 "With your fishing." Jessica said getting into the act.

 "What kind of bait are you using?" Poopsie asked with a smirk.

 Tonya rolled her eyes and cast again. "Have you people never been fishing?" she asked slightly annoyed. "You have to test the lines.  If you don't, bad things can happen." she exchanged poles again.

 "Like what?" Dee asked. "The fish catching you?"

 "Like..." Tonya cast the line, but it was tangled in the reel so it only went about five feet, landing with a thud. "Like that.  If I'd actually been fishing, that would have made one hell of a splash and scared the fish." She tugged on the line, reeled it in, and cast again.  This time it made it about 10 feet before snagging.

 "What do you know, the girl actually has a point." Sebastian smirked then winced at Zarbon's glare.

 Tonya ignored him and switched poles.  This one cast perfectly, but wouldn't reel without putting tension on the line. "Now this would probably cause you to miss catching your fish." she sat this one aside with the other one that she needed to work on.

 The next pole was an open reel and Tonya looked at it for a minute before picking it up.  She always had trouble with this kind of pole.  She'd never snagged or tangled the line, but she always tried to reel it the wrong way.

 The line cast perfectly, but once again she could not remember how she was supposed to hold it to reel.  She wanted to flick her tail in frustration, but Daniel was among the group.  Finally, she remembered and reeled in the line.

 Switching poles immediately, she heard Sally's good-natured protest of, "But you only cast that one once!" Flipping the last line out, she was glad she was almost done.

 Bowie pounced on the object that had held his fascination for the past five minutes.  He snapped it up in his mouth, but didn't try to swallow.  He was unprepared for Tonya's reaction.

 "Bowie!  Drop that now!" He spit it out and cringed as Tonya put down the pole and quickly walked to him.  She dropped to her knees and grabbed his muzzle firmly. "Don't ever do that again!" she said firmly, looking him in the eye, "I could have been using a lure for weigh and you would have hooks stuck in your mouth." She hugged him, "I just don't want you to get hurt," she whispered.

- - - - - -
 After supper, Tonya sat at the table tying hooks.  Big hooks, medium hooks, small hooks, treble hooks...she was doing it all.

 The five guys came in carrying a deck of cards, a couple boxes of poker chips, a bag of chips, and some salsa.  They were slightly surprised to find Tonya had taken over most of the table space.

 Seeing the mess on the table, Daniel asked, "Soo... when are you going fishing?"

 "Tomorrow." Tonya answered without looking up.

 "Really?" Alec said, "Mind some company?"

 Tonya looked up surprised.  She raised an eyebrow and smirked, "You fish?"

 "Yes." Alec nodded, then shrugged, "Well, I have."

 "Is there a limit on this fishing trip?" Sebastian asked.

 Tonya grinned, "On the fish or the number of people?  People no, fish yes."

 "What is fishing exactly?" Zarbon asked.

 "Come with us and find out." Alec replied.

 "If we pack a lunch, we could make it a picnic." Daniel added.

 Tonya looked at Techno expectantly.  He frowned and looked at the guys who just grinned.  He sighed, realizing it would be quicker to give in.

 "What's going on it here?" Poopsie asked as the girls came in.

 "We're planning a fishing trip." Sebastian answered.

 "Oh yeah?" Poopsie grinned, "Can I come?"

 "Me too?" asked Jed.

 "You can all come." Tonya replied, "If you can find more poles.  I've got plenty of bait and lures and such."

 "There's some in the garage." Techno answered, "What time are you going?"

 "Four."

 "In the afternoon?" asked Sally.

 "In the morning." Tonya replied with a grin.

 "Mind if we meet you there?" Daniel asked.
- - - - - - -
 By nine the next morning everyone, but Tonya, had gathered in the kitchen to pack the picnic lunch.  On the fridge was a note from Tonya reminding them to stop at Wal-mart or somewhere and pick up fishing licenses.

 "She didn't really leave at four did she?  She was joking about that, right?" Sebastian asked Techno, while handing him things to put in the cooler.

 "No, she didn't leave at 4." Techno answered.

 Sebastian grinned at Alec, "Told you."

 Alec frowned and started to pull out his wallet.

 "She left about 3:30." Techno continued.

 "Really?" Daniel asked.

 "Yup."

 Alec grinned at Sebastian, "Looks like you owe me." Sebastian grumbled a reply.
- - - - -
 "There's her truck!" Jed exclaimed pointing to the little teal Ranger.

 Alec pulled up next to it and the group got out of the van.  The parking are also contained a fire ring with a cooking grate and two large picnic tables.  To the left was a clear path to a wide, sandy, flat beach by the water that was partly shaded by the tall trees.  It was obvious Tonya wasn't there.

 "Where do you think she is?" Zarbon asked.

 "There's a path over here." Sally called.

 Following the path down the sharper incline through the trees, the group found a narrow strip of land between the hill and the water.  Just around the bend, on a slightly wider spot, they spotted Tonya.

 Two poles had their lines in the water and Tonya was crouched next to them.  She was staring intently at the bobber, her hand hovering over the reel.  Suddenly the bobber dove under the water and Tonya snatched up the pole.  She jerked it back slightly and began to reel.

 The frown turned into a smirk, "Gotcha you little s.o.b.  Think you can eat my worm and get away with it, think again." Pulling in her catch, Tonya grinned.

 "I thought you said you had all the bait you needed." Sebastian called.

 The group laughed as Tonya stuck out her tongue.  The blue gill flipped its tail as Tonya tried to remove the hook.  She released it, adjusted the worm, and then cast again.

 "He was bigger than the last one." Tonya said.

 "What was that?  Four inches?" Alec asked.

 "Yup, there about." she grinned, "It was a hobbit fish."

 "Is that all your catching?" Techno asked.

 Tonya walked toward them, paused, and pulled a line from the bank.  It went into the water and had clips on it.  Pulling it up three catfish, 13", 13.5", and 15" respectively, appeared.

 "No.  Caught these earlier."
- - - - -
 The other girls, Daniel, Alec, and Sebastian had returned to the wide beach to fish.  Zarbon and Techno remained with Tonya in her secluded hide away.
 Tonya kept tossing disapproving glances toward the noisy group around the bend. "Noisy, noisy, noisy!" she grumbled.

 Zarbon chuckled at the irony. "So are you ever going to explain this to me?"

 "Explain what exactly?" Tonya replied cocking her head.

 Zarbon shrugged. "The whole point of it I guess.  Why you do it."

 "It's fun and relaxing." Tonya said, "Gives you time to think about things." she grinned, "You can take a day off to fish, not catch a thing, and no one will really care that you didn't."

 Techno looked up from his book at her.  He had taken off the trench coat, and sat with his back against the bank.  "What about the primal urge to catch your food?"

 Tonya made a face, "I just catch 'em, I don't eat 'em." she said, "Don't like fish.  Yuck!" then she paused, "Well, at least I've never really had one I was fond of."

 "I know a good recipe for catfish." Alec said walking up, "My grandma gave it to me."

 "Then you can cook supper tonight." Tonya said grinning.

 "We'll need more fish." Alec replied.

 "I'm not the only one with a pole." Tonya groused playfully, "Did you need something?"

 "Nah, just checking to see if you guys were still alive over here.  See ya." He walked away.

 "So what do I do first?" Zarbon asked.

 Techno put the book down to watch the lesson.  To his surprise, Tonya didn't make a perverted comment or remark.

 She pointed to the poles leaned against the bank. "Pick one.  Preferably not the red one with the open reel." 

 Picking up a purple reeled pole, he sat next to Tonya. "Now what?"

 "What do you want to fish for?"

 "Umm...fish?" Zarbon blinked feeling dumb, "What are you fishing for?"

 Tonya smirked, "What ever will bite.  I'm not picky." she looked thoughtful, "I probably should start you out with a bobber and a smaller hook." She twisted to look in her tackle box, then quickly turned back to look at her poles.

 "What?" Techno asked.

 "They wait until you're not paying attention then they strike." she pulled out one of the hook holders and selected a small hook.  Clipping it to the swivel and adding a red and white bobber, she handed it back to Zarbon. "Now put a worm on the hook and you're set."

 "Worm?" Zarbon looked confused.

 Tonya rolled her eyes, "Hand me the blue tub." She opened it and pulled out a worm.  "This is a worm.  You put it on the hook and..." she broke the worm in half because it was too long. "Hand me the rag please." She wiped her hands. "Then you cast it." She stood and gave a slow demo without actually casting, then handed the pole to Zarbon.

 He took it and imitated her actions.  It only went about ten feet and Zarbon looked embarrassed. "Gomen." he mumbled.

 "Hey don't apologize." Tonya said, "I'm sure I didn't do as well my first time."

 "Do you have any worms left?" Techno asked holding a pole.

 Tonya bent and scooped up the neglected half of the worm, threaded it on the hook, and adjusted the bobber. "There you go."

 Techno cast and it landed about two feet from Zarbon's.

 "Now what?" Zarbon asked.

 "We wait."

 By the time lunch was called, both Techno and Zarbon had both managed to catch some fish.  They had added a second pole to each of their arsenals:  One on the bottom and one on the surface.

 Sally came to get them, and was surprised to see Techno holding up a catfish for Tonya to measure.

 "16 inches." Tonya declared, "Good job!"

 Techno grinned.

 "Well now, there.  That's a big fish you got there now." Sally commented.
 Tonya added Techno's fish to the stringer, then began to reel in her poles.  Techno and Zarbon did the same.

 Zarbon's eye widened as he began to reel in his second pole. "I...I think a have a fish." he said as the line began to dart back and forth.

 "Reel it in." Tonya said.

 Sure enough a 13" bull head catfish dangled from the line.

 "But...I didn't know...How?" Zarbon asked as Tonya added it to the stringer.

 "They do that sometimes.  It's just an odd thing they do." Tonya said, shrugging.
- - - -
 The group stayed at the lake until after the sun set.  Tonya produced a couple of bags of marshmallows, a box a Hershey bars, and graham crackers from her truck.  They are s'mores and laughed about the day.

 Finally they loaded up the fish they'd kept, now numbering 15, and drove home.  With a little help, the fish quickly became a lovely fish dinner and everyone agreed it was a fitting ending for the day.