The flight went smoothly although henry was anxious for his first flight and spent the last two hours asking if they were there yet. Luckily, the passenger next to the three thought Henry was adorable and did not seem to mind the youngster's incessant nagging. The flight landed and they got their luggage before heading outside to catch the express bus to their hotel.
Upon arriving at the Animal Kingdom Lodge Henry's eyes grew large as his open mouthed expression mirrored Emily's. He wasn't the only one who had never been to Disneyworld. Emily was secretly just as ecstatic to be at the most magical place on earth, as she had missed out on family vacations growing up in such a stuffy household. JJ was more than willing to book their first family vacation to one of her favorite places, knowing Emily would enjoy herself just as much as JJ's son.
They checked into their room and as soon as they opened the door Henry darted inside. He claimed his bed and jumped up and down with the amazing view of wild animals from outside the room. JJ entered next and nearly teared up as a twelve foot tall giraffe stood nearby eating leaves from over a fence. Emily came in behind the pair and lost her breath at the size of their room. She was so used to staying at seedy hotels while on cases that she had forgotten what resorts could look like.
"There's a welcome note on the bed," JJ mentioned as Henry rushed over to read it.
"Welcome to Disneyworld, Jareau family! We hope you enjoy your stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and if there is anything we can do to make your visit more magical let us know," Henry read slowly. He smiled, his front teeth missing as he read who the note was from, "Mom! It's from Mickey Mouse!"
"I see that buddy! Well, what do you two want to do first?" JJ asked as she wrapped her arms around Henry's neck and planted a kiss on the small boy's cheek.
"I want to go ride rides!" Henry exclaimed.
"Oh, Jay! Can we?!" Emily chimed in excitedly.
JJ laughed at the two and nodded. "There's a tram that will take us straight to whatever park you want to go to!"
They changed into comfortable clothing and Henry raced ahead of the pair down the hallway tot he elevators. They exited the large lobby and made their way tot he tram to the Magic Kingdom. It was past noon so the park was rather busy when they arrived. JJ pulled out the park map and asked her little explorer where he wanted to go first. Henry pointed out Tommorwland of the park and they were on their way.
The first ride they came across was the Buzz Lightyear attraction. Henry was stoked because he was absolutely in love with Buzz Lightyear. His eyes went wide once more when they rounded the corner and his idol was standing right there. Henry dropped JJ's hand and took off in a full sprint to hug Buzz. Buzz knelt down and hugged his fan back as JJ snapped a few pictures. Emily squeezed her hand and smiled. They got in line for the ride and JJ explained that it was a shooting game. Emily's attention was peaked.
"I bet I can beat you!" Emily boasted.
"Good luck, Prentiss," JJ laughed, knowing she had the best shot at the BAU.
The three got on the ride and Henry had a blast seeing all of his favorite characters all while haphazardly shooting at the targets. Meanwhile, JJ and Emily were making a show of it and shooting everything in their path with the ray guns. At the end of the ride the attendant announced JJ was the winner, much to Emily's dismay. Emily asked politely and the attendant agreed to let them ride again.
Another round and another close score but Emily won by 2 points. Henry frowned as JJ argued best two of three and they got back in line for a third round. By the third ride Henry was unamused and the two women fought for winner takes all. JJ won by a landslide and decided that meant Emily had to buy dinner. Emily pretended to be hurt but she had already planned on a nice dinner anyway.
Happy to be done with the competition, Henry decided they should ride Space Mountain next. Emily, however, was unsure about a roller coaster, especially one in the dark. She was grateful when they found out henry was just shy of the height requirement and was unable to ride.
"Henry and I will wait for you here," Emily offered, encouraging JJ to still ride her favorite ride. JJ was grateful and got in line.
Emily took Henry by the hand and they entered a nearby gift shop to get out of the sun. They were impressed by the amount of Mickey Mouse styled ears were available from the traditional black ears with logo to Pirates of the Caribbean and more. Emily let Henry try on every pair but the blonde couldn't decide until he came across a pair Emily hadn't expected.
"I want this one!" Henry exclaimed.
"Are you sure?" Emily asked looking a the pair of ears Henry was holding.
"They're my favorite!"
"Okay, then which pair should I get?" Emily asked as she held up two options. Henry looked around until he found the perfect pair and handed them to Emily. She smiled and nodded, agreeing they were perfect for her. She took the two hats and went to pay.
After they had properly fastened their ears on they grabbed ice cream and waited for JJ to get off of her ride. She came bounding out of the exit like a child with a huge grin on her face. She saw Emily and Henry and smiled even wider at their new accessories.
"Oh, I see you've already picked your ears?" JJ asked as she pulled out her phone and took a picture. "Who did you chose?"
"I'm Rapunzel!" Henry exclaimed. JJ;s smile slipped a little but the boy continued, "She's my favorite princess because she has blonde hair and she is strong and can sing pretty. Just like you mama!"
"Oh, I see," JJ grinned, very proud that her son didn't mind wearing princess ears. Also beside herself that he identified with a princess that reminded him of his mother. She cherished the moment, knowing Henry would probably deny this in future years. She then looked at Emily, "Okay, so who does that make you?"
"I'm Flynn Rider! Obviously," Emily grinned.
"Obviously," JJ confirmed as she kissed Emily softly on the lips.
"Moooooooom," Henry groaned.
JJ looked at her son and suddenly realized she didn't have a pair of ears, "Well then who should I be?"
Henry and Emily looked at each other before both shouting, "Mother Gothel!" They high fived at their joke as JJ rolled her eyes. She was sure she was going to regret the pair being thick as thieves by the end of their vacation.
They spent the rest of the afternoon discovering the Magic Kingdom. From Fantasyland, to Frontierland they rode every ride and Henry met some of his favorite characters. Although he wasn't the only one who was star struck. JJ was over the moon to meet Belle and Emily couldn't get enough hugs from Cinderella. Then finally, they came across a pair that simply stopped them in their tracks. Standing before them were the infamous duo themselves, Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Henry rushed up to them and collapsed in Mickey's arms. Minnie gave the boy a kiss on the cheek and another family took a group shot of the threesome with their favorite characters.
"We're going to have to frame this one," JJ smiled as they reviewed the pictures on her phone.
"We make a good looking trio," Emily agreed.
The threesome made their way to Adventureland where they rode Aladdin's magic carpets and JJ got hit on by Aladdin himself, while Emily stood by pouting. They spent a good amount of time exploring every nook and cranny of the Swiss Family Treehouse before Henry decided it was time for dinner.
The day dwindled on and as the sun set they made their way to the Crystal Palace for a buffet they would never forget. Henry was excited to get all he could eat pizza and ice cream, while the adults enjoyed a wider palette. While they dined familiar faces from the Hundred Acre Woods made their way around the tables and JJ nearly fell apart when she got to hug Winnie the Pooh, her childhood favorite. Emily laughed at JJ's over reaction, finding JJ to be utterly adorable.
After dinner they bought some cotton candy and made their way back to Main Street to get a good view of the fireworks. Emily hoisted Henry on her shoulders so he could see over the crowd as she took JJ by the hand and intertwined their fingers. JJ squeezed lightly as she leaned in and kissed Emily's cheek.
"Thank you for today," she whispered in Emily's ear. Emily looked her in the eyes and smiled, overwhelmed by so many emotions from the day.
"Let's do this," Emily stated.
JJ looked at her partner perplexed and cocked her head to the side, "What?"
"We should make this official, I mean our family," Emily replied. JJ still looked confused. "Let's get married"
"What?!" JJ asked, shocked.
"I'm serious. Let's get married," Emily smiled.
"Really?"
"Really! I love you, Jay. I love Henry. I want to be your wife and his mother. I want to make our family official. I want to take care of both of you as long I live."
"Emily, are you sure?" JJ stammered. They had talked about marriage briefly in passing but the thought had never been a serious conversation. They had been dating for nearly a year and Emily had only just moved in a month prior. It wasn't as if JJ hadn't thought about it but she was taken aback by Emily's sudden declaration of love.
"Jennifer, marry me." Emily replied.
"Is that a question or a statement?"
"Do I really need to ask?"
"Absolutely!" JJ exclaimed.
"Absolutely, I need to ask? Or absolutely you'll marry me?" Emily tried to clarify.
"Absolutely, I'll marry you!" JJ squealed as she wrapped her arms around Emily's neck, "Now kiss me you idiot."
Emily obliged and the two shared a passionate kiss. Meanwhile, on top of Emily's shoulders Henry shielded his young eyes from such an egregious display of affection. JJ and Emily parted lips and exchanged teary eyed glances.
"Did you hear that buddy?" JJ asked happily. "Would you like Emily to be your new step mom?"
"YEAH!" Henry yelled as he wrapped his hands around Emily's chin and gave her an awkward face hug from his position. "You can be mama and Emily can be ummm, Flynn!"
Emily chuckled, "You can call me whatever you'd like, bud."
Their conversation ended abruptly as the music started and dazzling fireworks took to the sky. JJ intertwined her fingers in Emily's and leaned her head on Emily's shoulder as Henry perked up and pointed out his favorite displays. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day at the most magical place on earth.