Authors Note: The opening scene is inspired by my friend's comment on the TV guide cover. I was looking at in the grocery store the other day. Her comment "He's got a little scruffy thing going on, makes him look even sexier." As a reminder, Anastasia is supposed to be 7, and is very, very, VERY loosely based on my 7 year old little sister, who most people think is my daughter when we go out, probably has something to do with the fact that I have a 6 year old. The passages in italics are flashbacks, I thought it makes sense, but you never know, none of you are in my head. And a very big thanks to Ebony10 with out her, I wold still be working on this chapter, and it would still be very far from done.
Disclaimer: It would take some sort of divine intervention to make them mine, and at this point I would rather use that kind of gift for the perfect weather we had all week that seems to have diapered today :(
She was happy. She had been stranded in a rather overgrown wilderness when a rugged sexy mountain man had come to her rescue. She knew it was a dream—she had this dream often. What was different was that her mountain man was blond with blue eyes. Normally he was a variation on the Brawny man. Trying to figure out why her dream man was starting to take on the appearance of a certain annoying blond consultant would take too much effort for a dream. She was really starting to enjoy this new variation when he suddenly sprouted a pirate hat and eye patch. This was new too. She wondered if they were going to end up on a pirate ship next, but no. Instead, he just pulled her close and started to kiss her.
Her eyes flew open. While that part of the dream was not unusual, the gentle weight she felt on her chest and the soft breath on her cheek were uncommon. Then she remembered—she was on vacation at Disneyland with her brother and his family and Jane was with her. In fact, she had felt sorry for making him sleep on the floor for the past two nights and had decided that he could sleep on the bed with her. She remembered the last thing she had said to him before going to sleep was no touching. Apparently, in his sleep he had forgotten.
She slowly turned her head so that she could look at him. He was still lying on top on the covers and she was still under them. His arm however was gently wrapped around her, his leg was pressed up against hers, and his face was close enough for her to almost feel the slight growth of a beard on his face, evidence that he had not shaved yesterday or today. She was slightly disturbed by the thoughts that were going through her head: that he looked even sexier than he usually did with just a little bit of growth on his face. She quickly shook her head to clear it and gently got up so as not to disturb him, he got so little sleep, and she wondered why it was that he seemed to have slept so well last night. It was probably because of all the goofing off he had done with her nephews the day before.
She watched him as he rolled over slightly into the spot she had just occupied and settled his head onto her pillow. It looked like he had taken a deep breath when he had moved his head, but she just dismissed it and went into the bathroom to get ready.
Jane waited until Lisbon had shut the door to the bathroom before he opened his eyes. He had woken up just minutes before Lisbon had. They had been close, but not touching and he decided to see what she would do if he had been touching her. He had expected her to get mad, but apparently she was fine with it as long as he was asleep. He filed that away for another day. He rubbed his chin and noticed the growth that was there. That's what he got for not shaving for two days. He got out of bed and decided to shave before Lisbon got out of the shower.
By the time Lisbon stepped out of the bathroom in her purple plaid shorts and white shirt, Jane was clean shaven and sitting on the bed watching Handy Mandy. "Do you think that by watching this, it will really help small children learn Spanish?" He asked.
"No, I think it's just to make them comfortable with hearing both languages together. Your turn for the shower." Lisbon still had a towel wrapped around her head and looked a little disappointed.
"What's wrong?" Jane asked, getting up and moving towards the bathroom.
"Nothing. Still a little tired, that's all." Jane couldn't help but notice that she was looking at his clean shaven face and wondered if she had actually liked his slightly scruffy look. He again filed that away in the part of his mind reserved specifically for information on her before going into the bathroom to get ready.
When he got out of the shower Lisbon had her hair pulled back into a pony tail and was completely dressed. He was a little surprised to see Anastasia was already there. "Good morning, Anastasia. How are you today?" He asked, overly dramatic and with a bow.
In response she giggled and whispered something in Lisbon's ear. "See, I told you." Lisbon said to her before turning to Jane.
"Are you going to tell me what you two are whispering about? Or do I have to guess?" Jane smiled. He had promised himself that he would have a good time today if it killed him. He was really going to try for Lisbon's sake—he hadn't thought of this when he had decided to crash her vacation.
"I had told Anastasia that you were going to wear pants, despite the fact that it is supposed to be close to 90 today." She was trying to control her laughter now and it was almost working. He couldn't help it—they were just both so cute—he found that he, too, was...well, it could only be described as giggling.
"Uncle Patrick," Anastasia said when they had finally stopped laughing, "Are we going to get pancakes for breakfast this morning? My brothers said they got pancakes for breakfast yesterday." Lisbon just rolled her eyes. She had given up on convincing the boys that Jane was not their uncle yesterday and decided not to argue with her today.
"Well, if your aunt is ok with that, then sure. Let's get some pancakes." Jane held his hand out for her to grab and they walked out the door as Lisbon grabbed her backpack and followed.
They went to Denny's again and for the third day in a row they had the same waitress. She remembered Jane instantly. Who wouldn't remember his killer smile, Lisbon thought as the waitress made a crack about how he had a different woman with him every day. Jane didn't correct her and, when she left to turn in their orders, Lisbon pinched him on the arm.
"Hey, what was that for?" He asked, rubbing his arm. Instead of answering him she turned to Anastasia and, in a play on when he was giving instructions to her nephews the day before, started explaining the reason behind her actions.
"You see, sweetie, sometimes you have to show a guy who's boss. Now, a guy shouldn't hit a girl—it's against the rules—but sometimes it's the only way to get through to a boy, to show them who's boss. Just remember that when you have to keep your guy in line. That it's important to wait until after he's done making a fool of himself to punish him. It's more fun that way." She smiled at Jane and he tried to act mad, but it didn't work.
They ate breakfast with Lisbon spending most of the time entertaining Anastasia. Jane understood what she was doing, trying to protect him and make it easier for him to spend the day with them. He wanted to tell her it was ok, that he didn't need her to take extra precautions, but he didn't. It was nice to see that she cared about him. It was also nice to know that he had an out if he needed it, but he hoped he wouldn't.
They were done eating now and Anastasia hadn't stopped talking the whole way into the park. They were all the way into the park when she stopped to take a breath and Jane was able to get a question in. "Anastasia, tell me. Are you a princess girl or have you gone over to the dark side of tiny bopper and tween rock star?"
"I don't know what that means, but I still like princesses. Some of my friends at school like Hannah Montana and High School musical and I guess they're ok, but I wanna meet the princesses, not Hannah Montana. Daddy says that kids shouldn't try to grow up to fast." In a move that would make Jane proud she gave him a killer smile and grabbed his hand. "Mom and Dad took me on all the boy rides yesterday. They said that you and Aunt Teresa would love to take me on the rides I want to go on today." She smiled again and started pulling him towards Sleeping Beauty's Castle.
"Daddy! Daddy! Look at the castle. Do you think Sleeping Beauty really lives there?" Jane looked down at his hand and smiled. The little girl with blond curls was looking in awe at the castle in front of them. Her excitement was contagious and he found himself smiling down at her.
"She does if you want her to, sweetheart." He told her. He looked over at the woman holding her other hand. She had beautiful blond hair—just like their daughter's—and he felt like the luckiest man alive.
"Look, there's a carousel!" His daughter yelled, letting go of her parents' hands to rush over to it. "Can I ride on it, Daddy? Please? I love the horses!"
"Jane, you ok?" He shook his head and looked over at the women he was with today. Not a tall blond, but a petite brunet. Not a small curly haired blond girl, but a little girl with dark hair and green eyes. He noticed for the first time how much of a family resemblance there was between Lisbon and her niece.
"I'm ok." He said, still slightly distracted. He noticed for the first time that they had passed through the castle and were now standing in front of the carousel. "It's the horses. They really are beautiful." He stood looking at them for a few more minutes while they stood in line. He wasn't really paying attention to what Anastasia was saying and he didn't notice Lisbon's concerned look either. "I think I'm going to skip this one." He said when it came time to get on the carousel.
Lisbon didn't say anything, just nodded her head in understanding and handed him the backpack. Anastasia chose a white horse on the outer ring of the carousel and Lisbon stood next to her. Jane took Lisbon's camera out of the bag and decided to take some pictures of them. His daughter had always picked the brown horses. She had amassed a large collection of brown horses. It made him smile thinking about it. That was unexpected. He had expected to feel sad thinking about his daughter, but instead, he was actually happy.
He thought about his reaction for a minute. He had thought that by coming here with Lisbon and her niece that it would be like replacing the memories that he had of his daughter, but instead it was as if he was just enhancing them. Seeing all the new memories being made by this little girl just brought back the happy memories of the first time he had been at Disneyland with a little girl.
Jane was smiling when Lisbon and Anastasia got off the ride. Lisbon looked at him with a little skepticism. "Are you ok, Jane?"
"Of course I'm ok. There's nothing like the expression on a person's face the first time the ride the carousel at Disneyland." Jane said showing them the pictures he had taken of them on the carousel. If either of them noticed that there were a few more pictures of Lisbon by herself than of the two together, it went unsaid.
Jane was surprised at how eager Anastasia was to remain a little girl. They were walking through Fantasy Land when Cinderella made an appearance. The look on her face was one of pure joy.
"Daddy! Look—it's Cinderella! Come with me to see her, Daddy." She pulled on his hand to stand in line. "Take a picture with me, Daddy."
His wife smiled at him "Every girl needs a prince charming."
"Uncle Patrick, come take a picture with me and Aunt Teresa. Please?" Anastasia was looking at him with puppy dog eyes and he found he couldn't resist. He managed to smile and, to his surprise, realized that he didn't have to try very hard.
Next ride up was Dumbo the Flying Elephant. Jane had never really understood why little children seemed to love this ride so much. Maybe it was the sense of control they got from being able to fly high or low. Maybe it was the sensation of flying. Whatever it was, it never ceased to amaze him. They stood in line, Anastasia talking nonstop to Lisbon, which seemed to be the normal way of things. Jane watched the families around them. He saw mothers with sons and fathers with daughters. He saw families, happy families, all around him. It hadn't bothered him yesterday, but here, today, it was starting to get to him. He looked away from the other happy families and looked back at the family he was with. Watching them, he realized how happy they were. Would it be possible to be happy and still remember?
Lisbon was watching Jane out of the corner of her eye. He had been much quieter than normal the whole morning and she was wondering if this had been such a good idea. She should have encouraged him to just spend the day alone—not with her and Anastasia. It was almost their turn to board the ride. She turned to tell Jane that she would go on the ride with Anastasia again when the little girl spoke first.
"Uncle Jane, would you ride with me?" She gave him a sweet smile.
Jane looked a little shocked at first, but nodded. He took her hand and helped her onto the ride. Lisbon decided to wait for them and pulled out her camera. She took pictures of them every time they passed by and was surprised to see that the longer the ride went on, the happier he seemed to be.
"What do you want to do next?" Lisbon asked Anastasia when the ride was over.
"Tea Cups!" She said, bouncing up and down slightly. At the same time Jane said "Lunch".
"I think tea cups first, then lunch. I don't want to pay for lunch and then just throw it all up." Lisbon said, looking at Jane.
"Fine, fine, you're the boss." He joked, giving her a killer smile. Lisbon looked at him with her brows furrowed, it was his first joke since they got here and it seemed a little odd. She decided to ignore it and headed off for the tea cups.
She never would have guessed that her sweet little niece would be a thrill junky—admittedly a minor one, but it was under her direction that they spun the tea cup as fast as it would go, laughing the whole time. When the ride was over they were all so dizzy that they could barely walk.
"Ooh, hats!" said Jane when he was able to walk upright again.
"I want a hat! Aunt Teresa, will you get me a hat?" Anastasia was once again bouncing up and down giving her puppy dog look to her aunt this time.
"Alright, let's see what we can find." They walked towards the Mad Hatter and had fun trying on all the funny hats. They ended up all getting Mickey Ears. Jane and Lisbon had regular ears, but Anastasia went for the Minnie variety.
They went on the rest of the rides in Fantasyland, only then remembering that Jane had wanted lunch. They ate pizza and got ice cream as they walked around, eventually finding themselves standing in front of the jungle cruise. Lisbon knew for sure then that he was in a better mood than he had been in the afternoon when both he and Anastasia joined forces to get her to go on the ride.
"It's not that I don't like the Jungle Cruise. It's just that the jokes are so corny." Lisbon said in protest as they stood in line. Jane smiled at her.
"Did you know that the 'cruise directors' originally followed a script? It was a very strict script of what they were supposed to say, until Walt Disney overheard some guests saying that they didn't need to go on the jungle cruise because they had heard it before. After that they were allowed to improvise." Jane looked at Lisbon, expecting her to say something. Instead she just rolled her eyes at him.
"It never ceases to amaze me: all the useless facts you know. It's a wonder there's room up there for anything else." She tapped him on the side of his head. He quickly ducked away. "What? Did you think I was going to hit you?"
"Wouldn't be the first time." Jane mumbled under his breath, slightly rubbing his head where she had touched it and ushering them onto the cruise. Anastasia loved the ride. She laughed at all of the stupid jokes and at the silly animatronics animals. When they got off the ride Jane continued to do impressions of the tour guide for Anastasia's amusement—and Lisbon's, though she wouldn't admit it.
Lisbon was getting ready to tell Jane to tone it down a little bit (they were attracting an audience) when she saw a ride she wanted to go on. "Come on, Anastasia. I think you're going to like this ride." Lisbon said, walking towards it. Jane quickly noticed that he had lost his companions and followed behind them.
"Are you sure we should take her on this ride, Lisbon? I mean, it can be a little scary." Jane said. Lisbon looked over at him with a curious look in her face.
"No, I think it will be fine. I know she's seen the movies, all of them, and I love this ride. Besides, we took the boys on Star Tours yesterday and this isn't any worse than that." Jane still looked doubtful, but Lisbon just ignored him. Instead she talked to Anastasia about the movies and which one was her favorite. Jane did what would be called sulking on most people, but on him was more of a casual indifference.
They boarded the ride and Lisbon noticed that Jane was looking even more nervous than before. "Are you ok?" She asked, actually concerned this time.
"I'm fine." He looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
Lisbon and Anastasia were both enjoying the ride when Lisbon felt a gentle pressure on her hand. She looked down and noticed Jane was squeezing her hand with his eyes shut. Before she could ask him what was wrong she heard the recorded Indy voice on the ride say "Snakes, why does it always have to be snakes?"
She couldn't help it. She had to laugh. Jane was afraid of snakes. She never would have guessed—and they weren't even real. Who knew that he would have something in common with Indiana Jones besides the good looks? She decided not to say anything about his fear now, but instead would wait until it was the most opportune time, just to throw him off guard.
Anastasia loved the ride so much that they decided to go on it again. Well, to be honest, Lisbon and Anastasia went on the ride again. Jane decided to wait outside for them—something about a queasy stomach.
"Uncle Patrick, Uncle Patrick!" Anastasia called as they came walking out of the ride. "Aunt Teresa told me about another ride we can go on without snakes. Let's go, come on!" She grabbed his hand and started pulling in the direction that Lisbon had pointed out to her.
"No snakes? Who said I had a problem with snakes?" Jane asked, glaring at Lisbon as he allowed himself to be pulled along.
"Aunt Teresa. She said you had your eyes closed when we went by the snakes and that's why you didn't want to go back on the ride. Now hurry up! It's almost time to meet Mom and Dad." Jane just shook his head at her. The honesty of small children always amazed him. He would have to remember to give Lisbon a hard time about it later.
The Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road was not where Jane thought they were going to end up, but he did enjoy the ride. It was more of the traditional roller coaster that people expect when they go to an amusement park. In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he talked Lisbon into going on it one more time. Of course he didn't have to try very hard.
They headed out of the park at that point. It was time to get Anastasia back with the others so they could go to dinner. Standing outside the hotel room waiting for Andy and Andrea to get back with the boys, Anastasia turned and looked at Jane.
"Uncle Patrick, I'm glad you're dating my aunty. Cause I really like you." She said, giving him a big hug around the waist. Jane bent down and hugged her back.
"I really like you, too." He said, the emotion evident in his voice. By this time the rest of Lisbon's family had shown up. Anastasia gave him a kiss on the cheek and waved goodbye as they headed towards Denny's for the third time that week for dinner.
"They have got to get a little variety in their lives." Jane said as they watched them go.
"That was very sweet of you." Lisbon said to him.
"I actually thought it was slightly funny, but whatever." He said turning to her slightly.
"You know what I mean Jane. With Anastasia right then. It was very sweet."
"You sound surprised." He said. Not waiting for her to respond, he asked, "How about we go to Disneyland for dinner tonight? Then you can get some of that shopping done that you've been wanting to do all week. Really, the team won't mind if you don't bring them anything. They probably wouldn't know the difference."
"I still want to do some shopping, Jane." Lisbon said, not bothering to ask how he knew that she wanted to do shopping. They spent the rest of the night at Disneyland, shopping and just walking around, looking at all of the people who were there.
Back at the hotel that night Lisbon again decided that Jane deserved to sleep in the bed—though on top of the covers again. He had done really well with Anastasia today and she knew it had been hard for him. She was laying in the dark, thinking about the day and how hard it had been on him at first when Jane interrupted her thoughts by laying a hand on her arm.
"Lisbon, are you still awake?" He asked quietly.
"Yeah, what's up?" she asked, rolling on her side to face him.
"I wanted to say thank you." He said, not moving his hand from her arm.
"For what? Letting you sleep in the bed?" She was trying to keep the mood light. She wasn't used to being so close to Jane in such an intimate situation.
"Well, yes, for not making me sleep on the floor, but also for today. No, let me finish. I know you knew I was…apprehensive about today, to say the least. I was scared, really. I didn't want to spend time with another little girl, make memories with someone that wasn't my own daughter, but that reminded me of my own. It was like everywhere I turned I saw her, remembered her and the first time we were at Disneyland. She was about Anastasia's age and it was just magical. And then we were on Dumbo and I remembered how much she had loved that ride and I realized that it didn't matter if I was with another little girl. I still have all of the memories of my daughter. I'll never forget her. I'll never replace her. That just wouldn't be possible. I wouldn't have realized that if you had made me leave that first day when I showed up unannounced. So, thank you."
Lisbon didn't say anything for a few minutes, looking at him through the darkness of the room. "Your welcome just sounds so cold at a time like this. I'm glad you had a good time. I did, too. I'm happy that I was able to help a little bit." She reached up and squeezed the hand that was resting on her arm. "Good night, Jane. Sleep well."
She turned back over to face away from him again. He didn't pull his hand away, but instead moved slightly towards her. Lisbon thought of protesting, but knew the day had been long and it felt nice. Not that she would say that out loud. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. Jane stayed awake for a little while longer. He waited until Lisbon's breathing slowed, signaling that she was in a deep sleep. When he was certain that there was no danger of her waking he pulled her to him slightly and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. He knew he would be sleeping well tonight.