Chapter 10: Magic Kingdom, Pool Day (Saturday)

A/N: Sorry for the delay in between chapters. Happy New Year!

Schedule
8pm Monsieur Paul (Epcot: France)

"Thank you," Maura said to the barista as she handed her two fresh cups of coffee. Maura and Jane were back at the Magic Kingdom and had decided to stop at the Starbucks on Mainstreet USA for coffee first. The park was a lot busier today than it had been throughout the week, but this was to be expected on a Saturday.

Maura found Jane waiting outside the coffee shop and handed her her coffee. "What do you want to do first?" Maura asked.

"Thanks," Jane replied, taking her coffee. "I was thinking maybe we should head to the back of the park. We can start with Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and the rest of Frontierland before lunch. Depending on how long the lines are we could also start Adventureland before lunch, too.

"Okay," Maura said as she started walking towards the back of the park, linking arms with Jane as they walked. When they arrived at Splash Mountain, Maura looked at the ride with skepticism. "Am I going to get wet on this ride?" she asked.

Jane shrugged. "Maybe people in the front get a little splashed, but I don't see a lot of people walking around soaked. I think we'll be fine," she answered. "Besides, it's a classic; you have to ride it with me." Jane gave Maura her best pouting face.

Maura rolled her eyes, but she couldn't say no to that look from Jane. "Fine," she said with a laugh. "I'll ride, but let's get in line before I change my mind."

They had to wait about 30 minutes in line, but since they were together, they didn't mind the wait.

They were able to get the second row to themselves in one of the boats.

"This is cute," Maura whispered to Jane about halfway through the ride. "Is this ride based on a movie, too?"

"Yeah," Jane said.

"We should watch it."

"Mmm, I don't think we should," Jane replied.

"Why not?" Maura asked, turning to look at Jane in bewilderment. In her confusion, she stopped paying attention and didn't notice that they were at the drop. Maura shrieked in surprise as they rode down the 'mountainside.' When they got to the bottom, their boat hit perfectly, sending up a large splash that perfectly drenched Maura, causing her to shriek again.

Jane buckled over laughing. Even though she was sitting right next to Maura, she was almost entirely dry.

"Jaaannnee," Maura whined as she pushed her wet hair out of her face.

"I'm sorry," Jane tried through her laughter. "I really didn't think we would get that wet on this ride."

Maura glared at Jane. "We didn't get wet. I did!" she snapped, her mood contrasting the happy go-lucky tune of Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah playing in the background.

Maura was still annoyed as they exited the ride, which let out into a store.

"Come on, Maur," Jane said good-naturedly. "I really am sorry. I'll buy you a towel and a new shirt."

Maura sighed. She hated being wet, and her hair was unsalvageable without going back to their hotel room. On the other hand, she couldn't really blame Jane. She had no control over who got wet on the ride. "Okay," Maura relented. "But can we also find a bathroom so I can freshen up."

"Of course," Jane said.

Maura looked around, quickly finding a towel, but she couldn't find a shirt that she liked. Luckily, her shorts weren't very wet, so she didn't need to find new ones. "Jane, they don't have anything," she complained.

"Just pick something you can live with for now," Jane suggested. "We can always find something better in another shop. Right now, you just need something dry."

"You pick," Maura said. She was sure she would regret this decision as soon as the words left her mouth, but they would be here all day if Maura had to decide.

Jane smiled before she started looking around the shop. "Here," Jane said, presenting Maura with a bright orange tie-dyed tank-top that had a print with the outline of the ride and the words "Making A Splash."

Maura looked at the shirt, then back at Jane. "Really?" she said.

"You like tank-tops better than t-shirts," Jane reasoned. "And this will fit well. I know you don't really like orange, but with your white shorts, it will be cute. I promise."

"Fine," Maura huffed, taking the shirt and towel to the register.

When they stepped out of the store, Jane said, "There's a bathroom over there, and here's a hair-tie in case you need it." Jane handed Maura the hair-tie she had in her pocket in case it got hot."

"Thank you," Maura said as she headed to the bathroom to change. In the bathroom, she changed her shirt before cleaning up her face. She decided to braid her hair in a French-braid to get it off her face. When she finished, she examined herself in the mirror. While she would never choose to go out like this, she had to admit that she didn't look terrible. Jane had been right that the top fit her well. If she were being honest with herself, she would say she looked relaxed and like she was on vacation.

She dried out her wet shirt as best she could before folding it carefully and placing it with the towel in the plastic bag from her purchases. Leaving the bathroom, she scanned the crowd for Jane, eventually spotting her near the bridge that overlooked Splash Mountain.

"Better?" Jane asked as Maura walked up to her.

"Yes," Maura replied.

"I'm really sorry, Maur. I didn't think either of us would get that wet on the ride."

Maura smiled. "I know. It's not your fault. I'm still glad I went on the ride."

"Here, I'll carry your bag," Jane said reaching to take the bag with Maura's wet items. "I know you probably don't like it, but I think you look cute," Jane said honestly.

"Thank you," Maura replied, rising on her tiptoes to place a soft kiss on Jane's lips. As she pulled away, she added, "Honestly, it's not as bad as I expected."

Jane let out a light laugh.

Noticing the other bag in Jane's hand, Maura asked, "What else did you buy?"

"You're gonna hate me," Jane said as she opened the bag.

"What did you buy?" Maura repeated, her voice laced with amused skepticism.

Jane pulled out a box that looked to be about 8 in x 10 in x 1 in. She opened the box and removed a picture frame shaped like the ride with their printed ride photo in the frame.

"Oh my god," Maura whined. "You did not!"

Jane laughed. "Come on. It's adorable!"

"I look ridiculous!" Maura exclaimed. The photo had clearly caught Maura mid-scream on the way down the mountain. Her face showed her surprise, and she was holding onto Jane as though her life depended on it.

Jane turned the photo back towards herself to look at it more. "I love it," she said.

Maura rolled her eyes. "Do not show that to anyone," she pleaded.

"Fine," Jane conceded. "But I still think you look cute." She put it back in the box before adding, "I'll just keep it for myself."

Maura wrapped her arms around Jane's neck and pulled her in for a soft kiss, keeping in mind that they were surrounded by kids and families. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You're adorable," Jane whispered back. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Jane," Maura said as she let go of Jane. "Should we ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad next?"

"Sure," Jane replied. They had to wait nearly 45 minutes for the ride. After riding the roller coaster, they explored Tom Sawyer's Island. They tried to go to the Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen in Adventureland for lunch, but without a reservation, they weren't able to get in, so they back tracked to Frontierland and ate at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café, which turned out to be better than expected. Maura had the Southwest Salad while Jane had the Pork Carnitas Nachos. At Maura's insistence, they also shared the Veggie Rice Bowl.

They had FastPass reservations for Pirates of the Caribbean just after lunch. Both women enjoyed this ride immensely and Jane found a pirate Mickey Mouse stuffed animal that she purchased for TJ for Christmas. She also bought herself a plastic sword, much to Maura's displeasure. They ended up skipping a few rides in Adventureland, but they made sure to ride the Jungle Cruise before making their way back to the Haunted Mansion, where they had their next FastPass. Jane absolutely loved the Haunted Mansion ride, quickly declaring it one of her favorites.

Before leaving the park, Maura convinced Jane to ride the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh again since they were able to get a last minute FastPass. They also decided to ride It's A Small World again since it was a classic.

After exiting the ride, Jane asked, "Is there anything else you want to do here?"

"No, I don't think so," Maura answered, looking at the map.

"Do you want to go back to the hotel and sit by the pool for a while before dinner?"

Maura hesitated. "I suppose," she answered. "I'm not ready for this to be over yet," she added. "I know we still have tonight and tomorrow morning, but we won't be coming back to the Magic Kingdom. I think because the Magic Kingdom is quintessential Disney, leaving here really makes it feel like the vacation is ending."

Jane laughed sadly. "I don't want this trip to end either," she admitted. "Why don't we wander through some of the shops on our way back to the front of the park? We can also take a few more pictures with the PhotoPass photographers. Then we can head back to the hotel."

"Okay," Maura replied, still not sounding convinced. She really didn't want this vacation to end. She had loved every minute of it, even getting wet, and she had especially enjoyed spending so much one-on-one time with Jane. They had spent nearly every minute together over the past week, and with the exception of the incident at Blizzard Beach, they hadn't argued or gotten annoyed with each other at all. The incident at Blizzard Beach was also worth it because it ultimately brought them together.

They ended up walking through almost the entire park again, revisiting some of their favorite shops along the way, but eventually, it had to come to an end. While they were on the monorail back to their hotel, Maura remembered their conversation from earlier. "Why did you say we shouldn't watch the Splash Mountain movie?" she asked Jane.

Jane laughed, having forgotten about the conversation completely. "It's not called the Splash Mountain movie," she said. "The ride is themed based on the movie 'Song of the South," but the movie is considered to be very racist. I've never actually seen it myself."

"Oh," Maura said. "Why do they still honor the movie then?"

"I'm not really sure," Jane replied. "I think they keep the ride because it has become its own thing. Most people don't even know about the movie, and as far as I know, I don't think the ride itself has racist elements. It's always been considered one of the classic Disney rides like It's A Small World, Space Mountain, and the Dumbo ride, so I'm guessing that's why they haven't changed it."

Before Maura could respond, they had arrived at their hotel. They both changed into their swimsuits and went to sit by the pool.

While Maura got settled in the pool chairs, Jane went to the bar to get them drinks. Once she was situated in her seat, Maura couldn't keep her eyes off Jane. She couldn't believe that the sexy woman sauntering back towards her was actually her girlfriend.

"Like what you see," Jane teased when she got back to Maura.

"Yes," Maura answered honestly, making Jane blush. "Thank you," she added as she took her drink from Jane. Once Jane was seated, she continued, "I think this is the first time ever that I haven't been looking forward to getting back to work."

"Part of me doesn't want this week to end – it's been absolutely amazing – but the other part of me is excited for what comes next," Jane said. "I'm looking forward to getting back to our every-day lives together. I can't wait to spend my life with you. That includes vacations like this, but it also includes the boring day-to-day stuff. Every day that I've gotten to spend with you as my best friend has been better than days without you, so I imagine that actually being with you will be even better." Jane blushed shyly at her own words. She was never this open with anyone, not even her previous significant others.

Maura had tears in her eyes. "Jane," she said softly. "That's…I…thank you," she ended, feeling somewhat lame. No one had ever said something like that to her before, and it meant more to her than a million 'I love yous,' and 'you're beautifuls,' and everything else people had said to her over the years. She couldn't find the right words to express how she was feeling right now. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you, too."

Jane reached out and gave Maura's hand a squeeze. They sat hand-in-hand, quietly sipping their drinks and enjoying the comfortable silence. Finishing her drink, Jane said, "Let's get in the pool."

"Oh, I don't think so," Maura replied. "You go. I'll stay here."

"Come on," Jane begged. "Please come in with me. You were already covered in dirty ride water today, so the pool water shouldn't bother you."

Maura scrunched her nose. She hadn't thought of that earlier, but now that Jane mentioned it, she wanted to go right upstairs and take a shower. Instead, she decided to embrace the moment and gave into Jane. "Okay," she conceded, standing up to follow Jane into the pool.

When she lowered herself into the pool, the water was colder than she expected, causing Maura to gasp.

Jane laughed but reached out to Maura to pull her further into the pool. Maura let her feet leave the bottom of the pool so that Jane could drag her deeper. When Jane stopped, instead of returning her feet to the ground, Maura wrapped her legs lightly around Jane's waist from the front so that they were face-to-face. She was pleased by Jane's reaction when she heard Jane hitch her breath and felt the goosebumps cover her skin. Jane responded by wrapping her arms around Maura's back to support her. Maura loved the feeling of Jane's fingers lazily tracing patterns on her lower back as they floated silently in the pool, gazing into each other's eyes.

Maura bit her bottom lip when she realized that she was also turning herself on more than she had intended given that they were still in public.

"This is nice," Jane admitted.

Maura leaned forward to give Jane a light kiss on the lips. "I agree," she whispered. They stayed like that for a while, just holding on to each other until they started to get cold.

"Maybe we should go get ready for dinner," Jane suggested.

Maura nodded and reluctantly let go of Jane to exit the pool.

They had dinner reservations at Monsieur Paul at Epcot at 8PM, so they both took showers and changed into nice clothes for the evening. Maura decided on a white flowing knee-length dress, while Jane decided to pair dark blue dress capris with a cream sleeveless top. At the last minute, they both grabbed blazers in case the evening got cool.

They took the monorail to Epcot and walked slowly through the park, enjoying the atmosphere on their way back to the France pavilion. They were seated not long after they arrived at the restaurant. Maura was impressed with the décor. While nothing could top a real French restaurant in Paris, Maura decided that Disney had done a good job of recreating the Parisian atmosphere. The food was superb, but both of their favorite part came at the end of the meal. They were seated by a window. Just as their dessert was served, Epcot's night show, IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth started. While people were blocking the direct view of the lake, they still had a wonderful view of everything taking place above the water. Their waiter even took a few pictures of them with the fireworks in the background.

"I can't believe that we will be home tomorrow at this time," Jane said as they returned to their room later that night.

"I know," Maura replied. "I know it's late, but can we put another movie on after we get ready for bed. I'd just like to spend a little more time with you tonight."

"Of course," Jane said. "What do you want to watch?"

"You can pick," Maura told her. While Maura changed and got ready for bed, Jane decided she should pack up the rest of her things. They had both started packing while the other was getting ready for dinner, but while Maura had finished, Jane had not. As she was packing, she found the Yeti she had purchased early in their trip. She had planned to trick Maura, but her plan was forgotten with the change in their relationship and everything that had happened since.

She didn't realize she was still sitting staring at the stuffed animal when Maura returned, ready for bed. "What is that?" Maura asked.

Jane looked up. "Oh, I actually got it for you the first day we were at Animal Kingdom. I was going to play a joke on you," Jane admitted. "I forgot about it though." Jane handed Maura the Yeti and added, "You talked so much about the folk stories involving Yetis while insisting they weren't real, so I was going to try to scare you with it."

Maura laughed and took the Yeti from Jane. "It's too cute to be scary," she said, making Jane laugh. "I love it, and I love you," Maura added, leaning in to give Jane a kiss. "Did you pick a movie?"

"No, I didn't get that far," Jane said. "Why don't you just pick one while I change?"

"Okay," Maura said, getting into bed still holding the Yeti, which she placed on the nightstand next to her.

When Jane returned, Maura told her, "I found a Winnie the Pooh movie."

Jane laughed as she climbed into bed. "You're really liking Winnie the Pooh; aren't you?"

Maura shrugged. "It's cute," she admitted. "Besides, I like that it's about friends."

Jane rested her head on Maura's chest and Maura wrapped her arms around her girlfriend as the movie started. Jane was asleep within the first five minutes of the movie, but Maura stayed awake a little longer. She liked the movie, but she was mostly thinking about Jane. Jane had been right; now Maura was looking forward to getting back to their normal lives and being able to do all the day-to-day things together. Of course, she would always love going on vacation with Jane, but what she really wanted was a life with Jane. She wanted to spend the good days and the bad days falling asleep and waking up with Jane. She wanted to drive to crime scenes together (okay, maybe they did this most of the time before dating, but now it would be even easier). She loved knowing that this was her future. She no longer had to worry about losing Jane to her hypothetical future family because now Maura was her future family.

Maura felt herself starting to fall asleep, so she turned off the TV and wiggled lower into the bed without releasing her hold on Jane. She gave Jane a soft kiss on the top of her head and whispered, "Good night, Jane. I love you."

A/N: Maura focused chapter.

Disney announced this year (2020) that they are going to finally change Splash Mountain. As a kid, Splash Mountain was my favorite ride since I knew nothing about the movie it was based on. They're going to change it to a Princess and the Frog theme, so I'm looking forward to being able to ride that one day. Although, I do hope they also update the mechanics of the ride itself. Last time I rode, we got stuck on it for over 30 minutes listening to Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah over and over and over again. Even as a huge Disney fan, that got really really annoying. We got walked off the ride though, so we got to see the back-stage area for the ride, which was cool (they also gave us extra fastpasses ).

Also, IllumiNations ended in 2019, but since it was the show that would have been running when Maura and Jane visited Disney, I included it.