Thanks for the reviews :) I don't know if any of you have been to Disneyland, CA, but, if you have, some of the places/restaurants in this fic might not be found there, so sorry for that. :o The reason for that is that I´ve been to DisneyWorld in Orlando, and considering I was writing this fic while at work, with no internet access, I couldn't check if they had the same things in CA too and later was too late to change.

Chapter 2

They were sitting inside The Crystal Palace, a character themed restaurant out-looking the Castle. Aaron was snuggled comfortably on Kate´s lap, playing with his new Roo plush toy while she fed small pieces of waffle.

It was around 11am and the sun was slowly but persistently reaching its peak, so they had decided to find a shelter from the rising hear and grab something to eat in the process. They had already done some of the have-to-do rides, like Peter Pan´s Flight, Dumbo and The Adventures of Winnie The Pooh; the last one being the kids´ favorite so far (so much that they had bought each of them a toy of their choice: Aaron opting for soft, smiling Roo, while the girls went with Pooh and Eeyore), after which they figured out it´d be the best to try the said restaurant, where they could meet the characters while the kids were still so into them. The twins had settled themselves one on each side of Jack - their obsession with their new ´coolest person in the whole wide world´ baffling to Jack and quite amusing to both Kate and Jenny and Megan – but had been turning around to see if Winnie, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore were coming so often that Jack and Kate decided to make them switch seats with Jenny and Megan, so that they were now sitting next to Kate and Aaron, with free view at the passage from where the characters were supposed to show up.

Jack smiled as he listened to them chatting excitedly about all the things they had done and all the characters they had seen and gotten autographs from. They were good kids, well behaved, with a flicker of mischief in their personalities and incredibly cute, so much that, in the moments like these when he watched them chew on their Mickey-shaped waffles, smiling and giggling, he started to wonder how his and Kate´s daughter would look like. They still hadn't seriously approached the subject of having kids of their own, but considering their relationship was going steady and they were both truly happy together, it seemed like a next logical step and, as the months passed, the thought of a curly-haired, freckled little tomboy or princess – whatever she turned out to be (in his mind, he always imagined a daughter, although, of course, a son would be great too) – didn't seem to leave his mind.

He was brought back from his thoughts by the girls´ excited scream and hand clap. He turned around and there they were – Winnie, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger – slowly making their way between the tables, stopping to interact with the kids and pose for photos.

Ashley and Casey were so excited at a prospect of meeting some of their favorite Disney characters that, when Winnie and the company finally reached their table, they ran towards them in such a hurry they almost knocked down the table, Jack catching a cup of Coke with his free hand just in time to prevent it from crashing onto the ground.

He watched them giving bear hugs first to Winnie and Eeyore, then to Piglet and Tigger, while Kate snapped a few pictures.

˝Jack, I´m hugging Winnie, I´m actually hugging Winnie! ˝the girl squealed, trembling from excitement, and Jack laughed, giving her thumbs up.

When they were done, the twins thanked to their new friends and stepped away n could have his turn. The toddler, however, wasn't as brave, suddenly getting all silent and shy and it wasn't until he was in the safety of Jack´s embrace, his little arms wrapped up tightly around Jack´s neck as he balanced him on his hip, that he agreed to pose for the photo, insisting both Jack and Kate were in it with him too.

After snapping a couple of pictures of Jenny and Megan with the characters and one group photo, they said goodbye to them; Ashley and Casey waving for as long as they could still see them, and even Aaron sneaking a shy wave as Kate held him on her hip. They packed their things and headed down the Main Street to find the best spot for the approaching parade, deciding that riding any of the rides so close after the kids had eaten would result in nothing but piles of vomit and sick tummies, something neither one of them was too eager to deal with.

Jenny and Megan expressed their desire to check some shops, so Jack and Kate proceeded with the kids alone, Jack pushing Aaron in a stroller they had got at the entrance and Kate managing the two girls. In the end, they were lucky enough to find a set quite close to the Castle and placed themselves down: Aaron climbing in Kate´s lap and giving her a sweet kiss, making her smile; and the twins making themselves comfortable next to Jack, of course.

The parade started 15 minutes after they had settled and Jack had a chance to watch it through the eyes of two very delighted six year olds, who were waving frenetically at the characters passing by and explaining to him from which movie they were, in case he had missed it.

Kate watched him interact with the two girls, ask them questions and smile at their at their happiness when one of the characters would spot them or squeeze their hands and she couldn't resist an affectionate smile appearing on her face, loving to see him that happy and relaxed and imagining him with the children of their own.

˝What? ˝he asked, bringing her back from her thoughts.

˝Nothing. ˝she said, blushing slightly. ˝You look happy. ˝she added and they locked eyes for a brief moment.

Jack smiled and leaned forward to give her a soft, loving kiss; then pulled back, took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers. ˝I am happy. ˝he said sweetly.

She gave him a smile and leaned her head on his shoulder; and they watched the parade together, hand in hand, enjoying the peacefulness of the moment.

Near the end of the parade, Aaron started to get cranky and restless, fidgeting in their laps and whining for no reason. Jack and Kate looked at each other, knowing that it was time for his afternoon nap and that, if it didn't happen soon, they were in for a full-blown fit. For most of the time, he was quite an easy kid, not used to throwing tantrums, especially not in public; but he was overwhelmed and exhausted and didn't know what to do with himself, and they knew they were in for their first real challenge of the day.

˝Come on, baby, you´ll feel a lot better after you get some rest. ˝Kate said softly, guiding him towards the stroller. ˝You don't want Mickey to see you like this, don't you? Just a little nap and…˝she stopped herself, catching Jack´s gaze, both of them knowing that she had said the wrong word; the word ´nap´ something no kid likes to hear, especially not while in Disneyland. And they were right, ´cause the next moment Aaron was on the floor, crying his eyes out and refusing every of their attempts to soothe him or get him off of the ground.

After many protests, kicks and screams, they finally got him to settle in the stroller, under condition that Jack held his hand until he fell asleep which, fortunately, didn't take long, ´cause his back were killing him as he tried to walk with the upper part of his body slightly bent down so he could reach the little boy´s hand.

They stopped in front of one of the colorful merry-go-rounds, trying to decide what to do next. The twins wanted to try some water rides, so Jenny and Megan, sensing that Jack and Kate needed a break, offered to watch the sleeping Aaron while they tried some rides with the girls.

˝Thank for this, Jenny. We own you. ˝Jack said, giving her the bag with necessities for Aaron, in case he woke up.

˝Remember that the next time I ask if Kyle could come too while I´m babysitting Aaron. ˝she replied, making him chuckle. Kyle was her boyfriend, a sweet kid, but Jack preferred to keep him out of the house when he and Kate weren't around, knowing how kids that age could be.

˝Nice try, but not gonna happen. But he can come to a barbecue I´m making next Saturday, if he wants. ˝he offered.

˝Really? ˝the girl squealed. ˝Thanks, Jack, you´re the best! ˝she said, giving him a big hug.

Kate laughed. ˝He really is, isn't he? ˝she said, climbing on her tiptoes and giving him a kiss that was supposed to be short and sweet, but turned out longer than she´d expected it to, him wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer into his body.

˝You guys are worse than me and Kyle. ˝they heard Jenny comment and the two teenage girls giggle and they pulled away, blushing slightly.

˝Careful…I might take back my offer. ˝Jack teased.

˝I didn't say anything. ˝the girl replied quickly, making Jack and Kate laugh.

˝See you in an hour, girls. ˝

They said goodbye to Jenny and Megan and turned towards the twins.

˝So…what do you wanna do first? ˝

Next: Jack and Kate have some fun with the twins and later Jack finds out an unexpected news ;)

Please R&R