WHEW! Back everyone! In case you were wondering where I was, I was on a vacation to Yosemite… and dude, let me tell you that when you are there, you truly feel as though you are in the world of Ice Age 2… all the trees there were HUGE and it was so cool! Also, we went to the La Brea Tar pits and well… that's where there were Tar pits (Still there btw… and bubbly!) during the Ice Age and TONS of Ice Age animals were there… Mammoths, Sloths and Tigers galore! (Sadly, no possums…) and I ended up buying a small Mammoth stuffy so it could be a baby for my Manny and Ellie dolls! (Her name is Abby… Abby's gonna be in later chapters!) Either way, that's why I was gone… and I'm back now so… Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any Ice Age or Ice Age 2 characters!

A New Family Chapter 2: The Perfect Day

After everyone had eaten a decent breakfast and the Possums, Sid and Diego had gone their own ways… Manny looked over at Ellie who was looking at some flowers that grew in the campsite. Manny smiled as he walked over to her.

"Hey." He said kindly as he used his trunk to gently caress her face. Ellie smiled as she returned the favor.

"Hey." She replied happily as she started to nuzzle him gently. Manny looked down and blushed.

"Um... I was wondering if you maybe, wanted to hang out today or something?" He asked nervously… It had been quite some time since he had a mate and well… in all honesty… he had sort of forgotten how to deal with it… however, he did feel as though he was doing a fair job. Ellie beamed.

"I would LOVE to spend the day with you sweetie." She said smiling as she gave Manny a gentle kiss on the trunk. He smiled then led her to a nearby field that was adorned with small hills and large ponds and things such as that. Once there Manny looked at Ellie mischievously, an invitation for one of their favorite games. Ellie gladly accepted the invitation and squealed of glee as she started to run from Manny who was at the moment, chasing her. The two mates chased each other up and down the hills until Ellie finally came to a stop, allowing Manny to gently tackle her to the ground. Once they had landed on the ground they began to roll down the hill and ended up landing in one of the nearby ponds. They both laughed then sighed of contentment as they snuggled up close to each other and locked trunks and started to nuzzle. Manny smiled, even when she was soaking wet, Ellie was STILL the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

"I love you." Manny whispered into Ellie's ear, beaming as she smiled back at him and gave him a gentle nuzzle.

"Know what? I love you too!" She whispered back, smiling at him. Manny beamed as he continued nuzzling her. Her face then went to shock as she remembered something from before. "Manny!" She said excitedly "Today's your birthday!" Manny beamed.

"You're right, it is!" he smiled "Well isn't that interesting?" He then smiled kindly at her. "You know what? I already got the best gift anyone could ever give me." Ellie looked at him curiously.

"What would that be?" She asked.

"You." Manny replied. Ellie looked at him suspiciously.

"What do you mean, I'm a present?" She asked. Manny laughed embarrassedly as he started to exclaim.

"Well, back when Millie was still my mate… she would ALWAYS give me the best presents…. Wallace was born on my birthday actually…" Manny looked down sadly "He would have been 5 today…." Ellie looked at him sadly.

"Oh sweetie… I'm sorry; I know he was very special to you." She said as she locked her trunk with his and gave him a gentle nuzzle, hoping to cheer him up. He smiled at her then continued.

"Yeah, well, I have a feeling that somehow Millie caused us to get together… you know, like… she made the things happen that made us meet and become mates." Ellie smiled, she understood now.

"So." She said "In a way, I'm sort of like your present from Millie!" She said happily.

"Yeah, exactly!" Manny said cheerfully as he locked his trunk with hers and nuzzled her gently. He then looked down sort of sadly… as if he was worried. Ellie looked at him curiously.

"Manny, you ok baby?" She asked. He looked at her sadly.

"Ellie, can you promise me something?" He asked. She looked at him.

"Sure baby, anything you want." She replied. He locked his trunk tighter with hers then looked at her sadly.

"Promise me you'll do your best to stay out of danger… to… not get hurt. I don't know WHAT I would do if you got hurt." He said as Ellie looked at him, obviously touched.

"Oh baby, don't worry about me!" She said sympathetically… "I'm gonna be ok…. I won't die on you, I promise." She then lifted his trunk up gently and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips to seal her promise "I'll be there for you, always." She said as she gently nuzzled him. Manny smiled as he nuzzled her back.

"I love you SO much Ellie." He said happily. "I don't even WANT to think about what I would have been like if I hadn't found you. I'd probably be dead from something…" Ellie smiled and kissed his trunk again. The two mates spent the rest of the day together and returned to the camp to find that the other members of their 'family' had planned a party of sorts for Manny's birthday. After the party was over, the group went to sleep, or at least tried to. Manny had too much going on in his head for sleep really; he peeked over at Ellie, sleeping about 5 feet away from him like she usually did. Manny frowned as he noticed that she was shivering in the cold night air. He, not wanting to see his mate uncomfortable, and being a bit cold himself, Walked over and laid down next to her, carefully snuggled up to her so that she wouldn't be as cold. He then locked his trunk with hers. After about 5 minutes she woke up to find him there, and smiled.

"Couldn't get to sleep?" She asked him curiously. Manny blushed.

"No" He replied "I've got too much in my head right now." Ellie smiled as she gave him a gentle nuzzle.

"It took me a bit of effort to get to sleep too, I didn't wanna sleep, I'd miss you to much!" Manny looked at her with love in his eyes and kissed her forehead gently.

"It's the same here!" He said "I just wanted to be with you." Ellie smiled once more.

"Well, since we're together now… maybe we can perhaps, go to sleep…" She smiled as Manny gave a big yawn then looked at her with a pouty look on his face.

"But I wanna spend time with you!" He said in his best complaining voice. Ellie giggled.

"We can tomorrow, but right now we need to sleep." Manny rolled his eyes.

"Fine! We can sleep!" He said exasperatingly. Ellie giggled once again as she kissed his cheek gently.

"Night." She said softly. Manny then kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, my angel." He told her softly as they tightened their locked trunks then finally drifted off to sleep.

Ehh, this chapter wasn't as good as the others… but oh well! Either way… I need your help! Me and my pals (The ones who had the Ice Age party when The Meltdown came out) are planning to have a party when the DVD comes out but this time, it's at MY PLACE instead of theirs! The problem… I don't even know when the DVD is coming out…so If you can let me know ASAP when it's coming out, that would be GREAT! Thanks!

Next time, On "A New Family"

Ellie's getting better at being a Mammoth. And Manny thinks it's time that Ellie meet some OTHER female mammoths. BAD IDEA! Stop on by next chapter to figure out if the woolly couple can work their way out of THIS mess!