He brought her to Hell. She was certain he brought her to Hell.

It was hot and not just normal hot that she was used to in Los Angeles during the summers. It was a sticky and humid and muggy all at the same time and all you wanted to do was dive into an ice pool and stay there all day kind of hot; the kind of hot that made you want to chop off all your hair that moment and Laura was praying, and almost begging Ross to tell her anything more about this mysterious place he was taking her too, hoping it had some sort of version of her fictional ice pool that she planned to stay all week in.

"I promise you that you will love it," Ross told her as they made their way through the terminal at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.

She wasn't happy about not getting any thing more out of him, but she trusted him. Hell didn't actually sound so bad when it was with him...since he'd been giving her subtlest clues throughout their twelve hour flight from Nice, to Rome, finally landing in Bangkok, to which some referred to as the Venice of the East. He dropped the words 'jungle' and 'tent' far too often while flying high in the air and she had looked at him weird ever since he asked her if she ever just wanted to 'get lost', whatever that meant.

But now...now that they were in Asia, of all places, things were kind of starting to fall into place. Laura stopped him for a moment, and pulled her hair up into a ponytail, getting it off of her neck that was already beading with sweat. Yep, he brought her to Hell.

"How do you know I will love it?"

Ross laughed back at her as he double checked the board for departures, which only confused her even more. "I've known you for over ten years and loved you for almost all of them. I know you probably better than you think I do. Trust me, you will love it," his eyes scanned over the monitors quick and double checked the paper in his hand. "Alright, we need to go to B4."

"B4? Like gate B4? There's another flight?"

Ross grabbed her hand and brought it up to his mouth, kissing the back of it. "One more quick flight, and then a car ride, and a boat ride and then you can pass out on the bed when we get there."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

While Bangkok International airport was large, it actually didn't take them that long before the B terminal was staring back at them in the face. Laura readjusted the bag on her shoulder and watched Ross figure out their next move. It brought her back to their days in Cape Town actually, when he was trying to one up surprise after surprise and he would turn around about six times, just like a dog does, to make sure he was going in the right direction and to plot his next five steps so she wouldn't know exactly where they were going. This was no different. But while she loved those surprises and the thrill and wonderment that came with him, she really, really wanted to know where they were headed. Flying into Bangkok was one thing and she'd actually love to truly visit the city, but it was not their final destination.

There was another flight, and jungle and a tent and one too many boat and car rides for her liking. She would've been just fine with landing in Bangkok and that being that. They could have an amazing adventure here. But he had a plan and even if there were one too many rides involved, she was looking forward to this plan and spending their first anniversary in a place he just liked to call away.

"Let's get some food," Ross said, her attention going away from her thoughts and towards the food court. "Sushi?"

Laura nodded and followed him as he lead the way. It wasn't a chain name that she was familiar with but it looked authentic...and she was craving sushi. It'd been ages since she had any at all. She remembered the Sushi Thursdays that used to happen on the Austin and Ally set and the food fights that occurred. She smirked, recalling one particular one that got so out of hand that the entire Sonic Boom set was covered in rice and fish. Calum had started it, by tossing something at Raini. She retaliated and it hit Ross, and his toss hit Kevin and so on. Almost everyone was involved in the fight and she remembered not being able to catch her breath because she was laughing so hard. There was no work done that day. None at all.

"Can you at least tell me how many more hours until we get there?"

"You just can't stand it, can you?"

"No," she pouted before putting another roll into her mouth. "You haven't given me any clues at all and I'm starting to think you're just taking me to the jungle and I won't be heard from ever again."

Ross laughed at her. She knew she was being a little demanding, but he was being even more suspicious than usual. "You'll be heard of and I'm banking on everyone in the jungle to hear just how loud you can be in our tent." He wiggled his eyebrows before she playfully kicked him under the table they were seated at. "I promise you that it won't be long and it will be worth it."

She felt him take her hand once they were back on their feet and they walked towards their second gate for their second, and hopefully, final flight. Holding it tight, she saw him double check the transfer tickets he held in his other hand before picking up his guitar (which he insisted on bringing with them instead of Riker taking it back with him to Los Angeles) and heading towards a couple of empty seats.

"We have about twenty minutes."

"Where and what is Chiang Rai?" Laura read from the board that was hanging over the check in desk.

"It's this magical place in the middle of the jungle where we will be celebrating our one year anniversary."

She punched his shoulder lightly. "Don't be a smart aleck."

He poked his tongue out at her before an announcement over the speakers told them they'd be boarding soon, and by soon, it meant within minutes. Within minutes she was walking ahead of him down a skinny hallway towards a smaller plane with smaller seats. She wasn't complaining about that though. As much as she loved the extra room in first class to stretch out her short legs and curl up into a little ball, she loved being even closer to him to sleep on his shoulder instead. She had no clue if he actually liked that at all, but she did and that was the only thing that mattered.

Slipping down into the small seat, she wrapped her arms around his just as he go comfy in his and the plane was safe in the air again. She watched him lean his head against the rest before turning her eyes out the window. She always loved watching the world zoom by beneath the clouds. These ones were so thin and every few seconds she could see the city below them as it floated by and changed gently into suburbs and then into grasslands before nothing but green was staring back at her. It was green everywhere; something that no one could ever say about going to Los Angeles. The green of the jungle filled her eyes and her heart; it looked like unchartered territories that she could only pray they were not going into. As much as she wanted to explore places and unchartered territories, she wanted a guide even more. A local guide who knew what the hell they were talking about and not leading them to their deaths. Laura felt the tap of his fingers over the skin just above her wrist and smiled as she turned back to him.

"I hope you'll like this place," he told her. "I wanted to do something special and adventurous, just me and you and no interruptions."

Her hand crawled over his, clasping over his fingers. "I'm sure I will love it, and anything with you is adventurous."

"Now, we both know that's not true."

"Can you at least tell me how much longer? Since you did steal my phone on the plane to Bangkok."

"Not long," he smiled down at her, putting his finger to her nose playfully. She kissed him gingerly as he linked their hands together over the armrest.

Laura didn't feel when her eyes closed at all, but they did and all of the sudden she was being shaken, and shaken, and shaken again to wake up by her loving boyfriend. After grabbing their carry-ons, he was guiding her towards baggage claim and getting her excited once more with more words like animals and bathtub. Yep, she was now that girl who got excited over the potential for a nice, long, soaking bath with more bubbles than her favorite champagne had when you first poured it into a glass. Of course, he still wasn't telling exactly what this place was and any of the things he'd plan for them to do over the course of the entire week...except, he did tell her, in detail, just all the things he was planning to do to her in the wee hours of the night. Those words had made her blush, something that, according to him, he would always love about her. But the real words she was looking for? A name. Just a name of where they would be staying. That was it, but he was just not giving it to her.

They were now on a motorized boat after being driven to a jetty that overlooked the Mekong River. They weren't going as fast as she assumed they would be, but they were passing the swampy marshes as fast as they could. They only had a few bags with them (again, they stuck Riker with all the leftovers to take back to home) and that was all they needed. She was still a little worried about what Ross had packed for her, but that was the least of her worries. More of her worries went to if and when a hippo would come up out of nowhere and eat them. Laura shook her head and made a mental note to stop watching Animal Face Off on Animal Planet. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw Ross get his camera out of his bag, and was preparing herself for some stunning images after he developed them after they returned.

"Laura," he called to her and she turned back, pieces of her hair that escaped from her ponytail flying back in her face. She tried to pull them back, but heard the snap of the shutter before she had a chance to.

"Are you going to take pictures of me this entire trip?"

"That's the plan."

It was only moments later, or so it seemed, that she was being welcomed with more smiles that she knew how to handle off the boat and into a tiny shelter where one of the staffers handed her a gloved mallet and asked her to bang the gong. She looked back and forth between them and Ross, trying to decipher if this was real at all, but the moment she swung the drumstick towards the hammered metal and the dizzying sound came from it, she wanted to do it again. Another staffer escorted them up the side of the hills and even more into the jungle where they'd actually be staying. Looks like Ross really wasn't pulling her leg there. They'd actually be staying in the jungle. In a tent. With a bathtub.

Ross was handed a scroll made out of bamboo after they went over all their activities...where Ross didn't skimp at all. She was sure that he had tossed Shor aside as his middle name and replaced it with adventure, because throughout the entire week, that's exactly what they'd be having - an adventure.

"We're going to let you get settled in and rested up a bit before we get out into Elephant training."

"I'm sorry," Laura sputtered. "Elephant training?"

The woman, Dara, her name tag read, nodded. "Elephant Mahout Training. You'll be instructed by registered mahout on how to drive the elephant. You'll love it. I'll make sure that you get Bounma. She's my favorite and so gentle."

"Who will I get?"

Laura watched Dara look Ross over, a little smirk coming up on her face. "Oh, I know you'll love Thong Kam. She loves to spray people with water from her trunk. So, watch out."

Once they checked in and had a chance to see their tent, which just happened to be the last one on the cliff, Laura was rushed away from the serene quarters and back out into the heat where she and Ross were trained and talked through just how to command an Asian elephant on how to walk and where to go. It wasn't the easiest thing on her end, but it was the coolest. The elephant she was working with, Bounma, was amazing and her story was equally so. She had come from being used as labor worker for a logging company and you could still see her scars from the beatings she took. She was gentle and quiet and all Laura wanted to do was hug her tight.

Thong Kam on the other hand...when Dara said she was a water sprayer, she wasn't lying; and with Ross trying to, emphasis on that trying part, command her to do the simple things, all she seemed to want to do was play. Playing meant getting into the river and spraying all of the water up over them all. Laura personally didn't get really wet, but Ross...well, he was another story.

They were now back in their tent and while she was letting the view soak in again, trying to memorize every line and every bump of the trees that lined the horizon in front of her, Ross was slipping down into the bath next to the bed and cleaning up the river water from his body and out of his hair. Thong Kam really did a number on him. Walking back inside, she picked up the itinerary that was on the bed, rolling the bamboo scroll out so she could see just what he had planned for their adventure during the week that they'd be there. She was already laughing at the full schedule tomorrow. Well, it wasn't full, full, but they would be getting up at the actual crack of dawn for a Jungle Stretch; and after that, a Burma Discovery Tour.

"What's the Burma Discovery Tour?"

"Hmm?" Ross looked over from the tub at her all spread out on top of the bed.

"The discovery tour we're going on tomorrow. What is that?"

"Oh," his eyes caught up to his thoughts. "That is a little mini tour by boat, car and a tuk-tuk around Takilek. We'll get to just see the towns and everything. I picked that for tomorrow because I know you'll kill me for getting you up mega early for that jungle stretch thing."

Laura scrunched up her nose at him, and knew he was exactly right. So, it was a good thing he booked the Myanmar tour right after. It kind of excited her to see what the town was like and what they would see. She listened as he remembered there was a visit to the Wat Prad That Doi Wao, which was also known as the Scorpion Temple.

"Apparently there's like two hundred steps to get to the top of it."

"Two hundred steps? You're carrying me up those right?"

"Talk to me when we hit one hundred," Ross laughed with her. "And there's a giant scorpion statue that I really want to see."

"You just want to see if there's any way you can take it home with you, right?"

He beamed back over at her. "Would you let me if it was?"

"I think you know the answer to that one."

Laura glanced down at all the other activities that were planned, smiling at all the 'romantic dinners' she saw on the list for the week ahead. It was so outlined, so put together and it made her wonder just how long he had been planning this trip. While she had put something together for him, it wasn't nearly as special as this was. Not that she was comparing, but this almost reminded her of the trip Henry had planned to Paris a few years ago. That had been special, but she was already predicting it would never be as special as this was going to be. The secrets, the surprise, the amazing elephants, a private tent, a remote location where no one was actually going to barge in and interrupt them at any point...this was more than special; this was memorable and personal. This had Ross written all over it.

Her eyes glanced over at him, with his head leaning back and his eyes all closed. Her lips curled upward a bit and she quietly got off the bed, tiptoeing her way over to him without him moving from his position. Squatting down, she folded her arms across the edge of the tub and stared up at him and was still kind of amazed that they were actually here. Together. After a year.

Laura's smile got even bigger when she thought out all the things that they had done together throughout the year. They reunited after five years apart, they filmed a major movie, started dating, jumped off a cliff, started to fall even more in love with each other, moved in together...everything so far they had done, they had done together and she couldn't wait to see what was next...even if it was climbing two hundred steps to a temple for a giant scorpion statue. She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, startling him a little bit.

"Sorry," she bit on her bottom lip. "Didn't mean to make you jump."

"It's okay. I thought you were asleep over there."

She kept her hands in his hair, and shook her head as she scooted a little closer to him on the outside of the tub. "How long did it take you to plan all of this?"

Ross leaned forward and her hand slipped away. "Not long."

"Liar."

"How long do you think?"

"Judging by the itinerary over there, I'd say about the entire time we've been dating."

He laughed at her again, shaking his head. "Not that long. But you like this?"

"So far yes."

"You're saying that because the elephant sprayed me, right?"

"Best part of this whole trip so far."

Ross closed the gap between them and brushed her lips with his. "Just you wait."

+++

When the brochure tells you to keep hydrated, you pay attention and plan accordingly. When the brochure tells you to be prepared for a hike, you think, bring it on. When the same brochure tells you that to reach the temple there are 200 steps, you roll your eyes, think it's joking and get excited because you're still thinking it's lying. It's not. The brochure never lies. Never.

Stepping onto the one hundred and sixty third step, Ross leaned over to catch his breath and looking up onto the last thirty seven of them and wondering how he was going to make it. Sure, he went to the gym and his stepping game was spot on, but none of that even compared to this. Of course, it didn't help that it was almost 100% humidity outside right now either. He was sticky and gross and probably looked like he'd been dragged through the Ganges river and across the Sahara desert, where as his girlfriend was looking quite the opposite. Her hair was in a high ponytail, a cute hat on top of it and her skin was glistening in the sunlight - yes, glistening. Not dripping or streaming with sweat rivers like his was. Hers was actually glistening, sparkling in the sunlight that spilled into the tree covered path up to the temple they were headed to. How was she doing that?

"Drink," she shoved a bottle of water into his hands. This would be their third, if he was keeping count right, bottle. Third on just the stairs and he was willing to bet he had drank more than half of all three.

"How are you not dripping in sweat and gasping for breath?"

"Because I hike everyday while you are in bed, sleeping the days away."

"I don't sleep the days away."

"Sure ya don't," she teased him, bringing the bottle back to her lips for a drink. "Only a few more to go."