Thanks for the reviews. An extra long chapter for you today (almost 3000 words!), comprised mostly of fluff, with a little bit of angst at the beginning. And for once, I did not have to do research. ;)

Chapter 20.

"Tell me about your parents," Kate said later that night as she waited for sleep to claim her. She shifted onto her side so that she and Jack were facing. "I mean I know your dad's the Chief of Surgery, but what's he like?"

"My father is a brilliant surgeon, but he was a lousy dad," he confessed, tracing her hipbone in lazy circles.

Was that why he was so opposed to the idea of becoming a father himself? she wondered. Because he was afraid that he would be just as lousy at it?

"He never beat me," he rushed on with a guilty expression, as if remembering who he was talking to. "He was just never around. He was a drinker too – whenever I got into a fight, or came home with less than an A, he'd just pour himself another glass of scotch so he didn't have to deal with it. Or me."

The man she'd met at the hospital was nothing like what he'd just described. She raised her arm to stroke the back of his neck, saddened by the bitterness in his tone. "Remember when I told you Wayne didn't know? About the baby?" she added in case he misunderstood her meaning.

He nodded, his hand leaving her side, falling flat against her spine in a protective gesture. He knew how hard it was for her to talk about.

"He didn't – at first," she explained. She swallowed hard, fighting back the wave of bile that rose in her throat at the memory. "When he started kicking me, I screamed for him to stop – that I was pregnant – and you know what he said?"

He didn't speak; she could see that he was waiting for her to get the rest of her story out, so she decided to press on, before she lost her nerve. "He said, "You'll thank me for this one day"." She squeezed her eyes shut as her voice broke, determined not to cry again. She was tired of crying over him; of holding onto her rage at what he'd done. "See, my father never wanted me." At least not her biological one. He'd told her as much, years later when he insisted that if he'd had his way, her mother would have had an abortion. "I left town – moved halfway across the country – and he didn't even care enough to come find me."

When she opened them again, his dark eyes were focused on hers with a look of such tender concern that she felt the last remnants of her anger melt away. She might never be able to forgive Wayne, but at least she had something to thank him for. "Your dad loves you," she told him. "The fact that he even wants to have dinner with us proves that he's trying."

"Come here." He held his arms out to her, and she scooted into them, laying her cheek on his chest. "You're amazing, you know that?"

She felt her face split into a grin at the compliment. "If these last two nights are any indication, you're not too bad yourself," she joked, lifting her head again, eager to recapture the playfulness of earlier in the evening.

He kissed her in response, winding his fingers through her curls to keep her mouth anchored to his, and before long, they were wrapped up in each other again.

"You ever wonder how different your life would have been if you'd been raised by somebody else?" he asked as he held her afterwards.

"All the time," she agreed with a wistful smile.

"I've never been anywhere but here – America," he confessed.

This revelation took her by surprise. "Not even for your honeymoon?" It wasn't like he couldn't have afforded it if he'd wanted to; somehow she'd always pictured him taking his wife somewhere romantic… and expensive.

"We spent a couple of days in Hawaii, but then I had to go back to work. I was gonna take some time off after the divorce – go somewhere far away from everything – but then Claire showed up on my doorstep…"

His expression grew troubled again. "I've been cleaning up his messes my whole life."

"I've never been to Disneyland," she told him, while they were comparing childhood scars. "My mom was saving so we could come out here, but Wayne found the money and spent it all on booze."

"Must've been some bender," he quipped. He hesitated a moment, then admitted, "I've never been either."

Now she was really shocked. "You're kidding?" she insisted, even though she could see that he wasn't. "You're telling me you've lived in Southern California your whole life and you've never been to Disneyland?" His parents were loaded: what was their excuse?

"My dad could never get the time off work," he explained with a shrug that she knew from experience was meant to mask something else. Disappointment. "At least that's what he always said."

"Why didn't you go yourself?" she asked him. He'd had twenty years.

"I never thought about it."

Something in his voice told her that this wasn't the case. She smiled as an idea occurred to her. "We should go!"

He laughed, as though he was having trouble deciding whether or not she was being serious. "Disneyland is for kids, Kate."

"So we'll bring Jayden and Sophie," she insisted, warming to the plan. "They'll love it!"

He still didn't look convinced, so she decided that a little emotional blackmail was in order. After all, it was for his own good. "You don't want them to miss out too, do you?"

"Isn't that what their mom is for?" he pointed out, but she'd made up her mind. She shot him a Look, and he made a show of letting out a theatrical sigh. "I guess we're going to Disneyland," he agreed.

"Admit it – you're excited," she teased him as they approached the turnstiles, her pushing Sophie's stroller while he led Jayden along by the hand beside her.

She was still amazed by the impression that he'd left on the little boy; without a male parent – or even prospective parent – to look up to, he seemed to have adopted Jack as a kind of honorary father figure. First, he wanted him to help him get dressed, then he insisted on holding his hand as they crossed the car park, and he still hadn't let go.

"I'm thirty-seven years old, Kate," Jack reminded her, as though this was an affront to his dignity, but she could see that he was trying hard not to smile. "I'm not excited."

"You're older than my grandma!" Jayden announced, joining the conversation, and Kate almost choked on the coffee she was nursing.

"Really? How old is she?" she asked him as Jack struggled to look offended.

He considered this for a moment. "As old as the dinosaurs," he told her, and this time, she couldn't contain her laughter.

"Relax," she whispered to Jack, taking her hand off the handle and moving it to his jaw so that she could kiss his check. "This is meant to be fun."

"Easy for you to say," he complained. "You didn't just get compared to a dinosaur."

"You're not old," she assured him, letting her eyes wander down over him with a wicked grin. "Trust me."

He seemed satisfied with her appraisal, so she turned back to Jayden. "What d'we wanna do first?" she asked him. She'd spent the last few days showing him pictures on the website, preparing him for their trip.

"Nemo!" he cried, hopping up and down as she reached into Sophie's diaper bag for their tickets.

"How did I know you were gonna say that?" she told him, giving his hair a playful scruff. "Soph?"

"Nemo!" she chirped, echoing her brother, though Kate doubted she had any idea what she was agreeing too.

"What's Nemo?" Jack asked, looking apprehensive, as though he were anticipating something akin to waterboarding.

"First SpongeBob, now Nemo?" she teased him as she handed the tickets over to be scanned. "You have a lot to learn, my friend."

Hours later, Jack was learning. He now knew all about Nemo and Star Command and A Bug's Life.

He also knew that not all children liked Mickey Mouse after Sophie threw a fit when he tried to pat her on the head, and that it hadn't been the smartest idea to wear brand new sneakers after Jayden dragged them onto the spinning tea cups and then threw cotton candy up all over his shoes.

But despite tantrums and kid vomit, he was enjoying the day more than he'd expected to. There was something about the little boy's innocent enthusiasm that made the park seem almost magical and he was glad that Kate had suggested bringing them along.

"Where to next?" he asked him as they fed them burgers out on the deck of one of the restaurants, watching the ducks paddle by, fishing for crumbs. He glanced out across the water, to the island playground they were yet to visit. "The Pirates' Lair?"

But Jayden shook his head. "I wanna go on the big slide!" he argued, turning to point towards a huge fibreglass formation.

"You wanna go on that one?" Jack asked him in what he was sure must be a sceptical tone. "Splash Mountain?"

The little boy responded with a vigorous nod. "Yeah!"

"I don't know, buddy," he told him, catching Kate's eye to see what she thought. "It looks a little big for Sophie." So far they'd spent most of their time in Fantasyland, where all of the toddler-appropriate rides were.

"It's okay," she agreed. "One of us'll just have to sit it out."

Jack wasn't really wild about the idea of getting soaked and then having to spend the afternoon in chaffing wet jeans. "You go," he told her. "I'll stay with her."

"Are you sure?" she checked, hesitating while Jayden tugged at her hand.

"Absolutely," he agreed with a smile, trying not to sound too eager.

He should have known that she would figure it out. "Don't tell me you're scared of a little drop?" she teased him.

Wary, was a better word for it. "You call that 'little'? It's gotta be at least fifty feet." He didn't want to think about what would happen to anyone who fell out. They'd probably land in his OR with a shattered spinal column… or worse.

"You can hold someone's life in the palm of your hand but you baulk at a children's log ride?" she insisted with an incredulous frown. She allowed the little boy to pull her up from her chair. "What're we gonna do with him, Jay?"

He watched them walk away towards the line before returning his gaze to the toddler in front of him. She was drinking apple juice from a pink Sippy cup, staring at him from beneath her thick lashes, waiting for him to do… something.

"What am I gonna do with you?" he wondered out loud. He had no idea how he was supposed to entertain her without Kate. She was the one with all the instincts.

Sophie took the cup out of her mouth to smile at him, before replacing it. When she was finished, she held it out to him with both hands. "More!"

He refilled it with the last of the juice. "I don't suppose you can say 'Thank you'?" he asked with a wry smile as he passed it back to her.

She babbled something that sounded more like "Feh yo" and gulped it down in record time. "More!"

"I think that's it," he told her, showing her the empty bottle. How would Kate put it? "All gone."

"Al ga," she repeated, looking down at her own cup with a solemn expression.

"Gone," he articulated.

"Gaw," she tried again, mimicking him.

"Close enough," he agreed with a soft chuckle.

"Al ga!"

Before he caught on to what she was about to do, she had tossed her cup out of the stroller, flashing her tiny white teeth at him as she watched it roll across the planks.

"Hey!" He bent to retrieve it before it rolled off the platform, into the river, tucking it into the diaper bag for safekeeping.

She must be bored, he decided. "How about we go for a walk?" he suggested, releasing the brake.

He pushed her out of the restaurant, back onto the path, taking the scenic route to kill time.

When they reached the fence, he unbuckled her, lifting her against the railing so that she could watch the people coming out. "Kate and Jayden are in one of those little boats," he explained, keeping one arm firm around her middle as he pointed to the top of the mountain.

"Jay!" she cried, pointing after him as an Asian family plunged down the waterfall.

"Not that one," he told her.

"Jay!" she repeated, no less enthusiastic, as another boat crested the hill.

He decided not to waste his breath any more after that. "That's right," he agreed. At least it would be eventually.

When it was their turn, he could just make out the little boy's terrified expression. Kate, however, seemed to be having the time of her life.

"There he is," Jack announced, lowering her to the ground when they appeared, drenched and laughing, a few minutes later. He offered Jayden a high five. "Good job!"

The little boy beamed. "I wasn't scared at all, was I, Kate?"

"He was very brave," she agreed with a smile, signalling to Jack over his head that this wasn't entirely true when his attention was pulled away from them by the "pirate" ship.

"What about you? Were you brave?" Jack teased her as she strapped Sophie back in so that they could keep moving.

"She screamed, but I didn't scream," Jayden supplied.

"You screamed?" Jack asked her.

"So? Lots of people do," she complained. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," he assured her. "I just wouldn't have had you picked you for such a… girl."

She gaped at him in mock outrage, jabbing him in the side with her elbow. As she did, her ponytail slapped against him, leaving at trail of water across the back of his shirt.

"Whoa!" he cried, backing away from her with his hands up in surrender. "Just because you're all wet…"

That was when Jayden decided to get in on the act, hugging him around the legs and pressing his damp body up against him.

"You started it," Kate reminded him with a shrug when he shot her a helpless look, but she clapped to get the little boy's attention. "Okay, kiddo – that's enough. Let's go see if we can find some buried treasure." She took the handles of Sophie's stroller and they set off again, towards the dock.

Even though they'd called a truce, he couldn't help noticing the deliberate way she veered just a few inches off course, brushing her clothes against him as they walked. "I thought you said that was enough?" he reminded her when she pulled the band from her hair and shook it out just a little too hard, spraying him with droplets of water.

He wasn't sure how long it had been since he'd laughed like that, but he knew it was a while. Being with her gave him permission to live in the moment and start enjoying the simple pleasures he'd long denied himself: something he thought he'd forgotten how to do until now. She deserved to hear it and so much more.

"Kate?" he said, clearing his throat when Jayden ran ahead of them, to where the raft was waiting.

"I know. This was a great idea, right?" she finished for him, watching the little boy fly across the pavement with a smile. "Look at him – he's having so much fun."

She was giving him an out. All he had to do was agree with her. "That's not what I wanted to say," he told her, before he could chicken out again. This was it: his moment. He didn't know when he would get another one this perfect. He caught her hand in his as she stopped, pulling her around to face him. "I love you."

Her lips parted as she expelled a small gasp of surprise. "Did you just…?"

"I love you," he repeated, surprised at how much easier it was the second time. "I've been trying to tell you, but I guess I was afraid…" He wasn't sure what of exactly, but he realised how crazy it was when she rewarded him with a tearful grin, grazing his lips in a quick kiss as she threw her arms around his neck.

"I love you too," she whispered.

Jack with a toddler. That was pretty shameless. But who doesn't melt at the thought?

Next chapter: Dinner with the Shephards... ;)