(Saturday)
Emily woke up around 7 and Bella was fast asleep so she changed her clothes, went downstairs and made pancakes with Nutella for breakfast. She sat the table and called Garcia. She invited Penelope for breakfast and the woman couldn't be more excited. She arrived there really fast with cupcakes and donuts. She helped Emily with some balloons and a happy birthday sign. They waited till 9:30 to wake the little girl up.
"Bella" Emily sang soothing the girl's hair. "Let's wake up birthday girl" she said and Bella moved a little. "Time to wake up" Emily said and Bella opened her eyes to find Emily and Penelope staring at her with big smiles on their faces.
"Hi" the girl whispered.
"Happy birthday" Emily said with a smile pushing some hair away from Isabella's face.
"Is my birthday today?" Bella asked confused.
"Yeah" Emily laughed and Bella jumped in her arms. "Happy birthday baby" Emily said hugging the girl and suddenly she felt the girl's body start to shudder. "Oh Bella, it's okay." She said running her hand on the girl's back.
"I wish dad was here" Bella cried.
"I know honey. I'm sorry" Emily said feeling bad. "Hey don't cry. Dad wouldn't want you to be sad today. He would want you to be happy and have fun." Emily said letting go of the hug.
"Yeah. We have a little surprise downstairs" Penelope said smiling and Bella just stared at her.
"Don't cry, okay?" Emily said wiping Isabella's face. She never asked the girl not to cry but that day she wanted Bella to have fun and she knew if she let the girl cry and be upset the day wouldn't probably go as they had planned.
"Let's go eat breakfast" Emily said and they headed downstairs.
"Surprise!" Penelope said as they walked into the dining room.
"Oh my god!" Bella said looking at all the things in the table. "How many people are eating here?" She asked laughing.
"Just us" Emily laughed. They sat and ate and the mood was completely changed. Isabella was happy and excited again. She missed her dad but she knew what her mother said was true. John would want her to be happy and that was what she would try to be.
Be happy and have fun.
They finished eating and sat in the living room.
"Time for presents" Penelope said carrying a big bag on her hands.
"Did you buy the entire store?" Emily laughed.
"No. Probably just half" Penelope said handing the bag to Bella.
"You didn't have to buy me anything. You gave me so many things in New York" Bella said.
"Oh munchkin, you didn't think that your fairy godmother would miss a chance to spoil you a little, did you?" Penelope said and Bella laughed.
"Thank you" Bella said and gave Garcia a hug.
"Go on! Open it up!" Penelope said excited.
Bella sat on the floor and was all smiles as she took the gifts out. She got two seasons of Doctor who, a doctor who backpack, a Harry Potter throw and a doctor who book.
"We'll there's something else" Penelope said and ran to get another bag in the kitchen.
"Garcia that's too much stuff" Emily said.
"This one is special" Penelope said handing a big wrapped box to Bella.
Isabella opened it and smiled big as she saw what it was. "Boots!" She said excited and opening the box really fast.
Penelope got her a new pair of red rain boots. This time it was 'Hunter' Boots.
"Thank you" Bella said dropping it on the floor and running to hug the woman.
"Did you like it?" Penelope asked smiling.
"I loved it" Bella said with a big smile and sat back on the floor to look at all the presents.
"Well my gifts for you must be open only later, okay?" Emily said.
"You got me presents? When?" Bella said.
"Well let's say I found the suit I was looking for" Emily said and Penelope and Bella laughed. Emily checked the time and said "Penelope, how about if we take this birthday girl to have lunch somewhere cool?"
"Oh yeah I think that's a wonderful idea" Penelope said smiling and Bella smiled too.
"Go shower" Emily said with a smiled and Bella ran upstairs leaving all her presents on the floor. Emily put them on the couch.
"You really spoiled her Garcia" Emily said.
"I had too. I couldn't control it" Garcia said and Emily laughed. Emily finished getting ready and took the gifts to the car. She put it all in the trunk and headed back. She went to Isabella's room and placed a brand-new outfit for her. Jeans and a navy blue Minnie Mouse shirt with red polka dots on it.
"Bella, I left a new outfit for you on your bed." Emily told the girl who was drying herself.
"Okay!" Bella yelled and Emily went downstairs.
Bella loved her new clothes. She got dressed and headed downstairs.
"Can you do my braids?" she asked Penelope as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Of course I can" Penelope said happily. She did the girl's hair and smiled at how adorable Isabella looked.
"I can't believe you're 11 now" she said.
"Me neither" Emily said making a face. "Oh god I'm getting old" she added and Bella laughed and ran to her.
"Did you like your outfit?" Emily asked as Bella sat on her lap.
"Yeah" Bella said smiling.
Emily gave the girl a kiss on the cheek. "Go get your shoes on so we can go" Emily said.
"Can I wear that?" Bella said pointing to her new red rain boots.
"Rain boots honey? It's sunny outside" Emily said.
"Pleeeease" Bella begged with puppy dog eyes.
Emily couldn't resist. "Okay. Go get the boots on" she said and smiled.
Bella put it on and they headed out.
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"So where are we going?" Bella asked as she buckled up.
"I'm not sure yet. Let's see" Emily said and started driving.
When they got to the park Bella looked a bit confused.
"What are we doing here?" She asked.
"I thought we could go on a walk before lunch" Emily said.
"A walk? No I'm too tired for that" Bella said and Emily laughed.
"Oh come on. Let's just walk a little" Emily said parking the car. They got out of the car and Bella took Emily's hand.
"Are you having a good birthday so far?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes.
They walked to the picnic tables and Bella smiled big when she saw everyone.
"Happy birthday!" Spencer said giving her a hug and everyone wished her happy birthday after that too.
"Did you like the surprise?" Derek asked.
"Yeah!" Bella said excited.
The girl absolutely loved everything. She played at the playground with her friends and just had a blast the entire afternoon. Emily didn't know exactly why Jeremy didn't go but she thought maybe it was for the better.
Everyone was happy that Bella was back with Emily and that she seemed happier than ever.
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Around 4 they gathered around the table and it was time for the presents. Bella loved everything she got, from a magician kit and a book Reid gave her, to the Disney gift card Gavin had bought. She loved it all.
As she was playing with some magic cards with Chloe, Emily said "aren't you missing a gift from someone?"
Bella just smiled knowing.
"Here. I hope you like it" Emily said handing a box to Bella.
Isabella opened it and smiled as she saw a bunch of tsum tsums inside. She took one out.
"That's to help you complete your collection" Emily said smiling.
"Thank you" Bella said and gave Emily a hug.
"Keep looking, there's something else inside" Emily said and Bella sat back down and started taking them out till she found a letter.
"You have to read it out loud" Emily said and Bella looked intrigued. She opened the letter and started:
"Dear Bella, I know that the last couple months have been hard, but you showed me how strong and brave you are. I'm sorry for the way you came to live with me but I really don't know what I would do without you by my side." Bella's eyes filled with tears. Emily put her hand on her shoulder so she kept going.
"I love you so much and I want this birthday to be remembered as a good one even though some important people are not here. As you can see you have a new family that will always be here for you no matter what and you might want to thank your uncle Derek for this one because he gave me the idea." Bella finished and she was smiling just like everyone else around her.
"Turn around" Emily said.
Bella turned the paper around and started reading.
"You deserve all the happiness in the world and I know a place you want to visit that can give you just that. So pack your bags!" she read.
"Where are we going?" She asked confused.
"Open this one up" Emily said handing a bag to Bella.
The girl opened it up and took a Mickey Mouse plush out of it.
"Are we going to Disney?" Bella asked turning to Emily and looking very surprised.
"Yes" Emily smiled excited. Isabella's face was even better than what she had pictured it would be.
"We are?" The girl asked in disbelief. "When?"
"Today" Emily said.
"What!?" Bella asked smiling.
"Our plane leaves at 7. And we'll be there till Tuesday night" Emily said.
"We're really going to Disneyland?" She asked as tears filled her eyes.
"Actually Disney World" Emily said.
"What?! Disney World in Florida?!" Bella said.
"Yeah" Emily said with a big smiled.
"Are you serious?" Bella asked crying.
"Oh honey. I'm serious" Emily said picking the girl up and Bella just cried.
The surprise couldn't have gone better.
"Thank you so much" Bella cried.
"You're welcome baby" Emily said putting Bella down.
"I'm so happy" Bella said hugging Emily.
"Oh there's more." She said letting go of the hug. "Gavin and Chloe are coming with us" she said and Bella's jaw dropped.
"We are?" Gavin and Chloe asked in unison and made everybody laugh.
"Yes" their mother said in unison.
Both kids ran to their mothers and started saying thank you.
"Are you serious? This is not a joke? Are we really going today?" Bella asked Emily. She still had tears rolling down her cheeks.
"We are! Why did you think I made you wear that shirt today?" Emily said and Bella laughed.
"Thank you so much mom" Bella said hugging Emily again.
"You deserve it honey" Emily smiled and ran hand on the girl's back.
"I told you she would love it" Derek said. Bella let go of Emily and hugged him. He lifted her up.
"I love you uncle Morgan" Bella said smiling.
"I love you too kid" he said and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"How about some cake now? I'm tired of crying today" Penelope said as Will brought the cake and everyone laughed.
Will placed it on the table and Derek put Bella down. The girl wiped her face and Emily helped.
"Ice cream cake! You remembered" Bella told Derek, excited.
"Of course I did" he smiled.
The girl stood on her knees on the seat as everyone sang happy birthday. She blew her 11 candles proudly with just one big blow.
She wished in her mind that she would have that family forever.
She missed her dad really bad, and she knew she would always miss him but looking around at those people she knew that was her place. She knew that was where she was supposed to be.
With her mother.
With her family.
