It was a Wednesday when they first traveled as a family.

About a week before Elsa was to attend her first day of school, Jack decided to take his family to a short vacation and visit Disney World. Elsa had been dreading the coming of September ever since she turned five, for though she loved to learn, she was incredibly shy and terrified of the thought that she would have to meet new people. Jack wanted to ease his eldest daughter's nerves and thought that a trip to the "happiest place on earth" might just serve as a temporary cure to her anxiety. Besides, he had been with Merida for nearly eleven years, but except for the honeymoon in Scotland, they had yet to travel somewhere far together.

Anna was the one who reacted first when Jack gathered them in the living room to propose his plan. It was likely that all three responded at the same time, albeit differently. But it was Anna who jumped out of the couch and rushed to her father, and her tiny kisses blotted Jack's view.

"What do you say, Mer?" Jack asked, turning to his wife when his younger daughter had settled beside him.

"I think it's brilliant. But ultimately, it will not depend on me," Merida answered before turning to her eldest child who sat on the couch across from them. "Elsa? What do you think, my dear lass?"

The smile on Elsa's face made one thing clear—they were going to Disney World.

For her daughter, Merida was willing to take a short leave from work. Jack convinced her that it was better to leave on a weekday so the park would not be as crowded as it would be on weekends. And though she would not admit it, Merida was very much excited about the trip.

The sky was still a swirl of inky black when they left in Merida's Chevy. It had been her car since she first came to America, and while Jack had told her hundreds of times that it was just waiting to break down, she still refused to let go of it. It had never failed her despite his warnings. At least, not yet. Besides, Jack's own car was borrowed by Emma that week, so in spite of his misgivings about it, he had to settle with the Chevy.

All was going well when Merida took the wheel first to give Jack enough time to rest before his turn. Elsa and Anna wanted to remain awake for as long as they could, but both eventually gave out when the first rays of the sun emerged from the eastern sky. They barely had any sleep last night, their excitement keeping them from it. Merida chuckled when she glanced at the rearview mirror to find her daughters tangled in each other's limbs, mouths slightly open.

Driving down the open road with the window rolled down, Merida felt as if she were sixteen again in Scotland riding Angus. The summer wind blew her hair back, and she never felt more alive. How different her life could have been had she not listened to her mother and stayed in Scotland. And how different would it also be had she decided to pull through with her original plan. Because while Merida initially decided to leave the family business to pursue her dream of traveling once she won the MacGuffin Case, she eventually found satisfaction and contentment in her career as a lawyer. The talk of changing her fate had been merely just that—only words and nothing more.

Merida allowed her eyes to travel to the seat beside her where Jack slept, his head resting uncomfortably against the window. When he first came to the firm as an intern, he was but a tall lanky boy who remarkably knew how to push all her buttons. Now, as he sat only inches away from her, she could not deny that he had grown into a far better man than she thought he would be. Her fate changed when she met Jack. Or perhaps he was always meant to be a part of it. Either way, she could not say that she regretted it in the least.

At that moment, Jack woke up. He rubbed the sleep from his bleary eyes then reached out to hold Merida's hand at the wheel. She looked at him, and without words, she understood what he wanted to say. In spite of enjoying the drive, Merida could only hold on a few minutes longer. She stopped the car at the side of the road, and she and Jack switched places. When her body slumped against the seat, she instantly fell asleep.

Their agreement was for Jack to wake them when they reach a diner in Virginia for breakfast. And while they were fortunate to have reached Virginia, Merida was awakened for very different reasons.

"What happened?" she asked when she was stirred awake.

Jack nervously dragged a hand to his nape, his face contorting as it usually did when he was thinking. How could he explain what had happened to his wife without him getting mauled?

He ended up saying, "It turns out that the Chevy hates me as much as I hate it."

Merida narrowed her eyes at him, and Jack had no choice but to continue. "The car suddenly died while I was driving. I was lucky enough to stop it here." Merida looked out the window to see that they were parked at the shoulder of the road. In the middle of nothing but rolling green hills. "And now, the Chevy won't start."

The car never stopped before with her, as Jack had described, and she started to think that maybe the car really did not like him at all. Merida reached out to turn the key herself, but the engine merely let out a soft clicking sound.

"I've tried it many times already. I've even checked the battery," Jack said. "There's a gas station only a few kilometers away from here. You stay here with the kids. I'll go get help."

Merida bit her tongue to keep from spewing out harsh words. She nodded and accepted his offer.

Jack was halfway out of the car when he turned back. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

Merida's face softened at his words. "It's not your fault. It was only a matter of time."

The tow truck came almost an hour later, and by then, Elsa and Anna had become quite agitated because of hunger. When they reached the nearest town, Jack told Merida to take them to the diner while he supervised the fixing of the car. She refused to let him let him leave without eating first, and he had no choice but to concede to her condition.

To distract the girls from the distressing situation, Merida took them around the town after lunch. By midafternoon, they met up with Jack at the repair shop. His mouth was compressed in a thin, hard line.

"The car can't be fixed until tomorrow," he told Merida.

"We found a small inn where we can stay for the night," she replied, trying to keep the mood hopeful. Jack was rarely unoptimistic, and seeing him so downtrodden made her feel rather uncomfortable. "Let's just make the most of the day before it ends."

"Mommy! Ice cream!" Anna shrieked as she jumped. Her tiny finger was pointing at a shop across the street.

"That sounds like a great idea," Jack said, carrying Anna in his arms before going to the ice cream parlor. Merida held Elsa's hand as they trailed behind them.

Jack bought soft serves for all of them. The sweet, cold treat was delightful against the warm weather and the day's misfortunes. The girls ate their ice creams as they watched the fishes in the aquarium displayed at the pet store beside the ice cream parlor.

"Daddy, look!" Jack heard Anna say, and he laughed when he saw her. Her mouth was in a shape of an O, her hands at either side of her face to puff out her cheeks.

"What's what wrong with your face, Annie?" he asked, bending down so that they were at eye-level.

"Anna's a fish," Elsa replied for her sister, giggling as she sat down beside her father.

"I didn't know I gave birth to a fish." Merida laughed.

Anna had been too busy making fish impressions that she did not notice her ice cream slowly melting in her sister's hand. Jack took it from Elsa who was grateful that her hands were saved from its sticky residue.

"Hey Fishface, your ice cream's melting," he said, handing the dessert to Anna. She quickly took it and began licking the sides of the cone.

The mention of Anna's new pet name led Elsa to wonder where her parents got their nicknames for each other. She asked her father first why he often called her mother "princess." Merida shook her head disapprovingly when Jack smirked at her.

"It's a very interesting story actually," he said, grinning at Elsa. "It was the first month of my work as an intern in your mother's firm. I was in her office because I needed her to look over a few documents. The door suddenly banged opened, and I saw your grandfather for the first time. He yelled, 'Where's my little princess?'" He even imitated Fergus's deep, jolly voice much to the girls' amusement.

"That was very humiliating," Merida muttered, hiding her face behind her hands.

"For you, maybe," Jack teased. "It was very amusing to see my hotheaded dragon lady of a boss be called a princess."

Elsa came to the rescue of her mother. "Where did 'frosty' come from?" she asked, and this time, it was Merida who beamed widely while Jack frowned.

"That's an even more interesting story," Merida began. "It was the winter of '03, and your father wagered a bet that he could climb one of the trees in Central Park without being caught. You see, he was always quite the troublemaker. And the fact that he felt old that time only inspired him even more. To his credit, he did reach halfway up the tree. Right before he fell on his bottom. A park ranger saw him, and he was fined almost $500 because he broke a few branches. To top it off, your father was absolutely covered in snow. His hair almost looked white when he sat up."

Jack scowled at Merida who seemed to be enjoying the memory way too much for his liking. The latter, on the other hand, couldn't care less and only laughed some more at his discomfort. He glanced, instead, at the darkening skyline behind the silhouetted buildings and felt a twinge of disappointment wash over him again.

"I'm sorry if we may not be able to make it to Disney World as early as we originally planned," said Jack, putting each of his hands on his daughters' backs.

"Don't worry, Daddy," replied Elsa as she looked up from her half-eaten ice cream. "I like this much better."

They never got to Disney World. But they were happy.

Yes, they were very happy indeed.