"Did Catherine say how long she would be away Vincent?" A concerned Father asked one evening when Vincent lost his concentration during a game of chess and for the forth night in a row.
"No, only that it could be as long as a week. I know she is very busy. I can feel how weary she is even as we speak. She hasn't stopped all day and her investigations are keeping her working way into the the early hours."
"And I expect that you worry that she isn't getting enough sleep or something to eat is that it, Vincent?"
"Yes, Father. Catherine likes these separations little more than I do, and she crams as much into her day as possible so that she isn't away any longer than she has to be."
"What you need, Vincent is a distraction. Something to take your mind off of things while she is gone. Something that will make the time go faster for you. No doubt Catherine misses you, Vincent, but she does at least have her work to occupy her mind, so that means one less of the pair of you to go crazy." Father told him with a smile.
Before Vincent could reply, a shuffle from the doorway made them both look up, and Mouse reddened as he was caught eavesdropping.
"What is it, Mouse, were you looking for me?" Father asked him.
Disregarding the question entirely, for he had forgotten that for which he had gone to see Father in the first place, Mouse told them, "Mouse help Vincent. Mouse know good game."
"Mouse, now you know what the rules are on eavesdropping." Father scolded him, stopping from saying more only when Vincent laid a hand on his arm. "It is all right, Father, let us see what Mouse has to say. Any distraction is better than these long empty days."
"But obviously not chess eh, Vincent. Very well, Mouse, tell us this good game."
"Secret." Mouse told them with a beaming smile on his face. "Vincent come, two days. Play good game."
"Better and better, Vincent. Two whole days of distraction and by the time you come back Catherine should be home. Why she may even be back here before you will."
"There is little chance of that, Father. Okay, Mouse I'll play your game. When do we start?"

The following morning after Mouse had arranged for Arthur the racoon to be fed during his absence, he and Vincent set off with back packs, a rope and lanterns for their journey to the catacombs. Mouse was still secretive about his 'game' and would only tell Vincent that he would enjoy it.
The pair had always got on well together, and they chatted about all kinds of things as they walked along through the well lit tunnels. However, from time to time a lapse of silence fell between them and Vincent found his mind would turn to Catherine and he missed her greatly.
They had travelled for half a day, when they stopped to rest, after which Mouse picked up his own pack and told Vincent, "Game start. Mouse go first." and with that he was gone. Vincent didn't see where. Smiling, Vincent used his acute sense of hearing to pick up vibrations from Mouse as he scurried away like his namesake, and Vincent began to see what the game entailed and followed quickly.
Mouse was even faster, using the tunnels like some glorified mouse warren, racing away without a sound, using decoys to distract Vincent as he threw a pebble down a shaft to plop into the subterranean pool below.
Vincent spun around, the sound echoed, and he stopped dead, listening intently, it was difficult now to tell which way Mouse was actually headed. Walking slowly and silently, Vincent thought he was closing in on Mouse, when suddenly Mouse popped up from somewhere behind him, shouted 'Boo!' and raced off again, before Vincent had time to turn around.
A short sharp roar escaped Vincent's lips, at being foiled so easily, and he knew he would have to employ more of his senses than just hearing. Sniffing the air, he followed Mouse's scent, and grew excited when he knew he was getting close. But Mouse was one step ahead of him, and just as Vincent jumped out to cry 'Got You!' a peal of laughter came from another tunnel, and Vincent found himself face to face with only Mouse's jacket!
By now Vincent was getting thoroughly cunning, and without realising it had completely forgotten about Catherine. Vincent employed methods his other side would use when tracking prey, by using all his senses and intelligence. Snuffing out the light from the lanterns that burned along his stretch of tunnel, and putting his own inner light on a low flame, he crept silently through the tunnels, heading off Mouse. In the dark he felt Mouse would become disorientated, and he could get ahead and capture him. Yet Mouse was a lot more intelligent than people gave him credit for, he wasn't called Mouse for nothing. His bright eyes had seen everything that Vincent had done from a very convenient crack in a tunnel wall from a ledge above, and as Vincent walked out of sight, Mouse jumped down and re-lit all the lanterns laughing silently to himself as he did so. Then he jumped back on to his ledge and called through the crack in a ghostly voice, "Vin-cent.Vin-cent."
Vincent jumped. "Mouse is that you?" Vincent turned to see the tunnel re-lit and a shiver ran through him, as if someone had walked over his grave!
There was silence, as Mouse stifled a giggle behind his hand, and sped swiftly away to another hiding place.
Vincent stood, a shadow of a smile on his face, as he realised he had been tricked once again.
"When I find you Mouse," he threatened, loud enough for Mouse to hear wherever he was, to which Mouse could not suppress a giggle. Picking up on the sound instantly Vincent ran towards it, and for once caught Mouse unawares, as he bent over double silently laughing. Stealthily, Vincent crept up behind him, then when he was mere feet away, he pounced, literally pounced, knocking Mouse to the floor, and virtually knocking all his stuffing out. Grinning Mouse got to his feet. "Good game, Vincent?" he asked. "Time for tea?"
Helping him to his feet, Vincent put his arm around Mouse's shoulders, "It most certainly is." Answering both questions. "Come let's go down by the river and camp there for the night."
Mouse beamed. "When I go camping, I take my mug with me." he giggled. "You go camping?" Vincent asked in amazement.
"Its another game." Mouse told him. "You must answer, 'You can go camping. You try."
Vincent grimaced. "When I go camping I take my backpack with me."
Mouse shook his head. Nope, you can't go camping."
"But why? You did." Vincent stated accusingly.
"Mouse took a mug."
"And I took a backpack. Why can't I go?"
"If you take your vest you can go."
Vincent frowned, as Mouse continued to giggle uncontrollably. "Need more people to play this game." he told Vincent. "Play it when we return to hub."
Thankful Vincent nodded heartily, totally baffled.

They slept peacefully down by the river, but when Mouse awoke Vincent had already got up and was nowhere to be seen.
"Vincent?" he called. "Where are you."
"Here." Came a very faint and ghostly reply.
Unable to see him, Mouse stretched, and went to the river to wash, alert all the time nonetheless. Listening intently he could hear a steady drip of water and something else a slight rasping of someone breathing, somewhere to his left.
Pretending to take his time over breakfast, he listened all the while, and then as quick as a flash, which startled Vincent so much, he visibly jumped, Mouse darted straight at him, though it was impossible to see he was there, hiding behind a shadowy crag. "I'll take my hat off to you, Mouse," Vincent told him. "You are excellent at this game."
"Need to. Survival game up Above." Mouse told him simply.
Vincent understood at once. "That's how you get away with all the things you bring down, is it?"
"Not stealing", Mouse told him sincerely. "Just borrowing. Little bit here, little bit there, they don't miss it."
Vincent laughed, there was no arguing with Mouse.
They spent the rest of the day talking and making the journey home, when Jamie and Kipper came to meet them.
"Hello, Mouse, have you been camping?" Kipper asked him. "When I go camping I take a knife with me."
"You can go camping." Jamie and Mouse chorused together, leaving Vincent thoroughly perplexed. They laughed at his expression. "He doesn't know it?" Jamie asked pointing at Vincent. Mouse shook his head his eyes bright with laughter. "That's great. Someone who doesn't know it, boy are we gonna send you crazy with this one." Jamie told Vincent gleefully, then continued. "Of course when I go camping I take a jam-jar."
"You can go camping." Mouse and Kipper told her both laughing their heads off.
Vincent frowned and ventured another try. "When I go camping," he told them "I take a lantern." The three burst into laughter telling him, "You can't go camping!" then Jamie stopped dead, her eyes opening wide. "Oh, I forgot why I was coming to find you, Vincent. Catherine is here."
Vincent's mouth dropped open. "Here! What, as in Below?"
"Yes. She is with Father."
Vincent was flabbergasted, he hadn't even known, so engrossed was he in Mouse's game, he had absolutely forgotten the time but what appalled him most was that neither had he felt her via their Bond. That troubled him somewhat, but he relaxed when he felt had she of been in trouble he would have felt it for a certainty.
Hurrying now, the four of them soon found their way back to Father's chamber, still laughing heartily at a totally bewildered Vincent by the time they crossed Father's threshold.
Catherine ran towards Vincent as he came down the steps her eyes lighting up with pleasure. "Arh, there you are, Vincent." Father said. "I was just telling Catherine about Mouse's idea to take you off to help pass the time. So did it work?"
"Yes, Father, it was marvellous, Mouse is such good company." Mouse beamed happily.
"Forgive me for saying then, Vincent but you looked perplexed when you came through the door."
"We have been teasing him with a camping game." Jamie told him. "More like driven me insane." Vincent told her with affection. "I just don't get it."
"I think I know that game." Catherine told them. Jamie frowned. "That's a shame. Go on then."
"When I go camping," Catherine began, "I take a cake with me."
"You can go camping." They all chorused together.
Placing a hand to his forehead, Vincent groaned, "Oh no, not you as well."
"What's this?" Father asked them.
"Believe me, Father you don't want to know." Vincent told him with a groan. "Then tell me, Vincent, what was this game that Mouse took you on?"
Vincent laughed. "Now that was a good game a sort of hide and seek."
Mouse looked indignant. "Not hide and seek. That's a children's game." he told them seriously. "We played 'Cat and Mouse.' he grinned mischievously and everybody laughed at the apt expression.

Later as Vincent saw Catherine home to her apartment, he asked her, "Catherine tell me, please, how does this camping game work?"
She was tempted to let the children tease him mercilessly, but knew how infuriating it was when one couldn't grasp it. "The rules of the game are, that you can only go camping if you take something with you beginning with the first letter of your name, otherwise you can't go."
A huge smile lit up Vincent's face. "So that's it." as an impish thought crossed his mind to drive Father mad with it on another day.
"Father told me you had gone with Mouse to find a distraction from missing me, did it work, Vincent?"
Vincent looked down at his feet. "I'm ashamed to say, Catherine, that it did."
"Then perhaps another time when you go camping you can take me with you. I know some good games too." Catherine told him mischievously.
Uncomfortable at what she meant, Vincent decided to play her at her own game, shaking his head he told her. "I am sorry, Catherine but I am afriad that I cannot."
"Why not?" she asked him, somewhat taken aback.
Smothering a grin, Vincent told her, "Because under the rules of the game, my Catherine, to take you with me, your name would have to start with the same letter as mine!"

Catherine one step ahead of him, replied exceedingly mischievously he thought. "In that case, Vincent so that you can take me camping with you I shall be VERY good."