A Family

Vanellope's face registered shock, confusion and delight in quick succession. She suddenly launched into a happy dance, skipping on and off her throne and jumping up and down. "YES!" she squealed, like she was accepting a marriage proposal. Tamora smiled down at Felix who returned her grin. They knew had made a good decision about adopting the little President. Almost a year of thinking out loud and making decisions couldn't be wrong.

Vanellope was suddenly full of questions. "Am I gonna live in your house? Will I have my own room? Can I come back here sometimes?" "Yes, yes and yes," Calhoun bent down, a smile stretching across her face, different to her usual lopsided smirk "Now let's go home."

The train ride to Game Central Station was quiet, proud parents gazing at their little one as blissful thoughts formed in her mind. At one stage her tiny hand flew to her mouth as she whispered "I…have a family" Felix opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't find anything to say so he just squeezed the girl's hand gently as the train pulled into the busy station.

The Fix-It Felix Junior train was a different story. The excitement hit Vanellope hard after the calm contentment. More questions flew out of her mouth than ever and she bounced on the wooden seat, making the rickety train rattle. "Where am I gonna sleep?" "You'll see." Calhoun grinned. "What about my stuff?" "Everything is sorted out." Felix assured her.

"What about Sugar Rush?" "You'll go by train on arcade mornings, like me," Tamora began "And you can visit whenever you like." Finished felix as the train pulled into the station "Now let's go home."

Ralph sat on the sofa in the Calhoun house living room. His insides were inhabited by happy butterflies as he waited for his friends to come home. He had always been in favour of the couple's ideas to adopt Vanellope, and now that it was finally happening he was borderline ecstatic. The doorbell ringing startled him out of his thoughts and he rushed to the door. He flung open the door only to find himself face to face with Q*bert. "$&*?" the little orange guy exclaimed at the zealous response. "Oh, sorry, Q*bert" said Ralph vaguely, looking across at the doorbell. It was a little low, so that Felix could reach it if he stretched his arm. But not THAT low. "How did you…nevermind. How can I help you?" Q*bert nodded at an empty sugar packet on the ground beside him "£^*!" he said. Ralph nodded and ran into the kitchen. He grabbed a bag of sugar and ran back to give it to his neighbour, who thanked him in his language and started rolling it back to his home with his long nose. Ralph smiled a little as he watched his neighbour waddle away but it wasn't until he turned to close the door that his smile really lit up his face. Not too far away three familiar figures were walking along the path, their heights ranging from tall enough to teeny. He waved excitedly at his friends and while Tamora and Felix waved back, Vanellope just let go of Felix's hand and ran towards her best friend. As she threw herself onto his shoulder and hugged his neck she squealed "I was so excited about everything I forgot you live here!"

"Plenty of houses here and he decides to slum it in our attic." Smiled Tamora, a little breathless after catching up. "And I regret nothing." Ralph smiled back, watching Felix struggling to catch up. Felix breathlessly stumbled up to the door and smiled while panting. He took Tamora's hand, then Vanellope's, and they walked into the house as a family.

"…And this is your bedroom!" Felix gestured grandly at a door. Vanellope's head tilted to one side in confusion. "I thought that was the utility room?" she asked. "Well, you come here a lot and we didn't want you to wander in and see. We wanted it to be a surprise." He pushed the door open and gestured with a swish of his arm like a posh doorman. Vanellope walked in, looking around with sheer amazement. The walls were painted turquoise, with swirly lollipops and wrapped sweets painted on. "Ralph did it," Felix told her "Who knew he was so artistic?" Vanellope didn't reply, she was walking around her new bedroom, hushed like she was in a museum, gazing at the pink chest of drawers and pastel blue carpet and mint green bedcovers like they were exhibits. "It's amazing…" she whispered, when suddenly a loud splat from the kitchen broke the stillness of the moment. "RALPH!" came Tamora's enraged voice, followed by the clang of a saucepan and a shout of "Ow!" from Ralph. Vanellope giggled "What are they doing in there?" "Well, they're supposed to be cooking because usually that's my job…" Felix looked towards the door "Maybe I should intervene." But just then a call came from Ralph "DINNER'S READY!" When they reached the kitchen, the new dad and his daughter saw that the only thing on the table was a carton of ice cream and some bowls.

"We made an omelette but Wreck-It went and dropped it on the floor," Tamora explained "So we decided to go straight to dessert." Vanellope punched the air and hopped onto a chair and Felix grinned and followed. They all helped themselves to ice cream and sat talking and eating like one big family.