HER VERY OWN NEVERLAND

Prompt Challenge Chapter.

Prompt: Even Fairy Tale Characters Would be Jealous (One Tree Hill)

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Katherine Marie Hotchner was the quiet child. Sure, she could nag like her mother and drive her siblings batty with the best of 'em, but all in all, she was the quiet child. Which is why, at 6am, the last person Emily expected to be shaking her awake would be her youngest daughter.

"Mommy! Mommy wake up!"

Emily groaned and rolled into her husband's warm back. The little voice would go away in a minute. It was Saturday, the day where all parents got the chance to sleep in. The Hotchner children took Mommy and Daddy's Saturday morning sleep in seriously. But apparently, there was an exception to every rule.

"Mommy!"

"That's your daughter," Aaron mumbled as he turned over and wrapped her up in his arms.

"Can she be your daughter today?" Emily asked with a pout. "I'm sleeping."

"I can't argue with a six-year-old who wants her mommy."

"I'm right here," said child replied. "And I'm not six anymore, Daddy!"

Oh.

Now the world made sense.

It was Saturday. It was Kate's birthday. It was Kate's birthday and the now-seven-year-old knew exactly what was in store for her. Maybe that was why Emily seemed to let it slip her mind. For the first time, she wasn't in charge of planning her child's birthday. Her mother and father had taken on that daunting task and Emily had a feeling that her daughter was about to be completely and utterly spoiled.

By now, Kate had climbed up on the bed and was bouncing on her knees on the mattress. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Emily looked up at Aaron, a glint in her eye. Moments later, she'd snatched her daughter by the waist and dragged her over her body, settling her in between her parents.

"No!" Kate cried. "Today's my birthday!"

Emily grinned as Aaron put on a surprised face. "Is it really?"

"Daddy! You know it's my birthday! I've been counting down for years!"

It was more like the last three weeks, but Emily didn't have the heart to correct her daughter today.

Aaron's smile was indulgent. "Weeks, sweetheart. You're still only seven."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Wake up! We promised Nana and Bumps that we'd be there by lunch time!"

Where Kate had gotten 'Bumps' for her grandfather, no one was sure. She was the only one who called Emily's father by 'Bumps'.

Aaron rolled over to check the time. "Katie, its six in the morning. We have more than enough time to Nana and Bumps' house."

The girl huffed, pushing herself up to all fours and scooting down the bed and to the floor. Emily marveled at how quickly she did it. "Fine. But we'd better not be late. Bumps promised me a huge present!"

Emily groaned as their daughter scampered out of the room. "If my father bought her a pony I'm going to kill him."

"A pony? I didn't think Kate wanted a pony," Aaron replied, curling himself around his wife.

"I don't either," Emily replied. "That doesn't mean my father won't buy her one. And if our parents are going to play that 'who can spoil their grandchild more' game, I might lose it. We're not going to have enough room in the car for all of our kids and Katie's presents."

"I talked to my parents, so they won't be the ones spoiling her," Aaron replied, kissing her forehead.

"Excellent. So whatever my parents have planned for this year, your parents are going to try and top next year. Kate's going to forget that we're not part of that world."

"You sound like a Disney song."

Emily laughed as he started to hum the song. She cuddled against him, threading a leg in between his as she settled down again. "Set the alarm, honey. We're going to have to be up in an hour."

"Then I'm officially decreeing tomorrow as this week's sleep in day," he said, letting her go to set the alarm.

Emily snorted in amusement. "You won't hear an argument from me."

It was hours later that the Hotchner family, followed closely by the Morgans and the Reids, turned into the driveway of Elizabeth and Jonathan Prentiss' home. The kids were used to seeing the large home, but as Emily exchanged a look with her husband, she'd bet everything she owned that her surrogate family was in awe.

And to think, Emily said to herself, There's still my parents' summer place.

She pulled the Hotchner car to a stop, unsurprised when the four children piled out without waiting for her to actually turn the car off. Even Seth, his booster seat having been dealt with by the older brother he idolized, was racing across the driveway as fast as his little legs would carry him. Emily and Aaron took a little bit more time, unpacking the back of the car and waiting for their colleagues.

"This is your parents' place?" JJ asked in awe, her youngest, Eric, on her hip.

"Yup," Emily replied, trying for cheerful. "You think this is bad, you should see his parents' place." She poked her finger into Aaron's arm.

"It's not much bigger than this," Aaron argued.

Penelope shook her head. "I have no idea how this can be so normal to you guys."

"Mommy! Come on! I want to find Bumps!"

"Then knock on the door," Emily called back, moving to take Aaron's hand as they made their way up the front drive. They made it to the front door just as Elizabeth Prentiss pulled it open.

"Nana!" The chorus went up

Elizabeth smiled and passed kisses out to her grandchildren. "There you are! Where's the birthday girl?"

"Here!" Kate exclaimed, rushing her grandmother, to wrap her hands around the older woman's leg. "Where's Bumps?"

"Inside. The conservatory."

The children let out a cheer and raced through the open front door. Emily grinned and shook her head as she climbed the steps to exchange hugs and kisses with her mother. "Apparently, they love Bumps more than Nana."

Elizabeth smiled. She'd relaxed more and more with every grandchild that had come along. Emily had been surprised at how much she had bonded with her mother with each of her children. She'd vaguely wondered if it was because Elizabeth hadn't been close with her own children, but stomped it down. Their relationship was repairing string by string, she wasn't about to damage it by accusing her mother of trying to make up for his mistakes with her own children. "Now, Emily, they know which grandparent is more likely to give in to their every whim."

"We're just hoping he hasn't gone over the top for Katie's birthday," Aaron supplemented, exchanging his own kisses with the Ambassador.

Emily's eyes widened when Elizabeth didn't immediately reassure her that no, Jonathan Prentiss hadn't completely gone overboard for his second granddaughter's birthday. "Mother, what did he do?"

"It might be better if I showed you."

So the entirety of their little posse made their way through the halls of the Prentiss home until they reached what was deemed the conservatory. Then Emily understood why. Kate was in her fairy tale phase. She adored fairies and princesses, preferably at the same time and it seemed like her parents had gone out of their way to create a fairy tale wonderland.

The conservatory was largely a garden, a year-round garden. For a reason Emily had yet to understand, her parents enjoyed gardening together. They tended a rather large garden in the glass-enclosed room and Emily could remember watching thunderstorms with her brother, wrapped in blankets under the same greenhouse roof. This time, however, fairy lights decorated all of the trees. There were stations set up around the room of costumes and face painting... Emily knew this was basically her daughter's dream. There was even a castle set up in one corner and Cinderella's carriage in another.

"Mother..."

"I managed to talk him down from having it outside, Emily, but that was the best I could do," Elizabeth replied.

Emily managed to dodge the children racing by. "I told him not to spoil her. She's going to start expecting it."

"It's one birthday, Emily, I'm sure it's fine," Aaron answered, rubbing the small of his wife's back.

"Good God, we're all screwed," JJ whispered as Elizabeth headed off to find her husband.

Emily closed her eyes. They were so screwed. They were going to be screwed for the rest of their lives when it came to birthdays.

"Mommy! Look! Look!"

Kate had found and dressed herself up in the best fairy outfit her little seven-year-old mind could come up with. Emily perched her hands on her hips.

"We're so screwed."