Disclaimer: I do not own the 39 Clues or any of it's characters.

*Ian's POV*

Jonah's swim shorts fit surprisingly well, a little large, but once I adjusted the string at the waist, not too bad. The design on the other hand, was horrific. I would never have been caught dead in such a color. I mean, who wears emerald green shorts? But, if I didn't want to stand out more than I already did I knew it meant making some sacrifices. It wasn't as if I could as him if he had another color.

Once I was downstairs I realized I had no idea where to begin to look for the pool. I wandered towards the back of the house and found a set of French doors that led outside onto a patio through what appeared to be a study. I had to hand it to Amy. The view of the property was spectacular, much more beautiful than I remembered. The pool was huge, and just down the hill from where I stood. As expected, everyone was already down there having fun, without me.

I was still five yards away when Teddy started barking at me. Who invited a dog to the pool party? The worst smell on Earth is that of wet dog. He would've run at me if Reagan didn't grab hold of his collar at the last second possible. I made a mental note to thank her later.

I sat down on a beach chair by the poolside and made myself comfortable. Natalie came over and sat beside me a couple of minutes later. We didn't talk for very long before Hamilton and Dan cannon-balled into the pool next to us. I was furious, not to mention, soaking wet. I was about to start yelling at them both when Natalie started laughing. She stood up and dried her arms off as she yelled, "Seriously?! Was that really necessary? When are you guys going to grow up?"

Dan yelled back, "What are you gonna do about it?" at the same time that Hamilton hollered, "Natalie you're in a bathing suit by the pool. How didn't you see this coming?" And then he turned to Dan and loudly enough for us to hear said, "She never learns, that one" as he shook his head.

Natalie let her hair down and took off in their direction. She did a perfect flip and landed straight between them in the water, splashing them both. She wasn't actually mad at them. I couldn't wrap my head around it. I sat back down in one of the beach chairs and tried not to look too bewildered, as she resurfaced and they all began to laugh. I decided to lounge in the chair I had chosen, even though Natalie wasn't sitting with me anymore.

I closed my eyes and tried to relax in the sunshine, which is easier said than done when you've grown up watching your back. Before too long I hear the chair next to me squeak as someone sat down. I assumed it would be Amy or Natalie, seeing as they were the only ones with whom I could have an (almost) normal conversation. To my surprise it was Sinead. She didn't say anything, simply nodded and leaned back into her own chair. I was surprised and touched by the gesture. It seemed like such an insignificant act for her, but it meant she was trying; she was open to giving me another chance. There were a dozen other chairs she could have chosen, including those next to Madison, Reagan, and Amy on the opposite side of the pool, but she chose to sit next to me.

A couple of minutes passed, and she must have noticed I was watching the game of basketball that had formed in the pool because she leaned slightly in my direction and said, "You know, you could say something, and then I'd probably answer you, and then you could say something else. That's typically how conversations go, and if you are actually here because you decided you want to get to know any of us, that would be a good start. Plus, they'll probably go easier on you if they at least think you're trying."

I let her words sink in. "I am trying, for the record. I've just never been...good...at this."

She laughed, "Good at what? Talking? It was hard to get the Ian I remember, to shut up"

She had a point. Back then I had always had an answer for everything, and even though it was unnecessary there had been countless snide remarks directed at each and every person here. I looked across the pool to Amy and began recalling all those comments I made to Amy about her stutter, or her clothes, or her hair; it filled me with regret. "No, making friends," I said halfheartedly, still replaying each moment in turn.

"Well, Natalie seems to have figured it out, so I think there's reason to hope for you yet. It wasn't easy for her either, you know. But she was even worse at being alone. You left. She adapted. I have to be honest it caught us all off guard. Dan more than anyone I think."

I winced. "Yes, I had noticed that they were quite comfortable around each other. If my family could have seen Natalie these past couple of days, I'm not sure if they would've died of mortification or skinned her alive", I sighed, "but maybe that means she's doing everything exactly right. And I mean, she's so happy when she's with him. I don't know that I will ever be able to accept them together, but I certainly lost my right to judge."

I glanced at Sinead. Her face was contorted like it gets when she's trying to keep from laughing. "What?", I asked completely at a loss.

And then she let out the laugh she'd been holding. "They're not a couple. They tried that once a while ago, but it never really worked or lasted."

"They aren't a couple? But, they seem so close. I mean when she got here he carried her bags up to her room, and everyone was teasing him. And then when we were watching the movie he had his arm around her, and they were all cuddled up. And then, when the movie ended he even carried her up to her room, instead of waking her or letting me carry her. Wait, then what did you mean when you said Dan was more surprised than anyone?"

"I only meant that when he stopped seeing her as a little spoiled brat, and started seeing her as a real person it kind of scared him. But, he was exactly what she needed when you left. It was like she was lost in the middle of the ocean in a storm, and Dan was this life preserver that was there out of nowhere. He helped her get to shore, to us, but she never really let go of the one thing that saved her from drowning."

I tried to take this all in, as I watched Natalie riding around on Dan's shoulders in the water. She dunked on Hamilton, and everyone in the pool erupted in cheers. Hamilton tackled them both as Dan tried to swim away. But when they emerged Dan picked her up and spun her around, as they all laughed. It seemed, as much as I despised Daniel, I owed him more than I could ever repay. He stayed and was there for the person I cared about the most, when I disappeared. I trusted Natalie's and Amy's judgement of character more than anyone in the world, and it seemed the one person they truly shared was Dan. I hated thinking it, but somehow, someway, I knew I would have to become friends (or at least civil), with Dan Cahill.