Happy Easter! Unless you don't celebrate it then happy Sunday haha. Quick author's note before I go do some line edits on a friend's story (blegh)- thank you SO much for the reviews and welcome to the handful of new followers/favorites I garnered! Yay I'm glad you found this story and I'm glad you're enjoying! Now this is true story from my life- a kid at work (I work at a daycare) actually decided to do this to his parents and they didn't know what to do with him. I suggested the swear jar situation and viola. Problem solved. :P

The chapter title is from "Go the Distance" from the movie Hercules. Underrated Disney movie, I think.

i have often dreamed of a far off place

As they had expected, telling their friends and families that they're moving to France for a year does not go off entirely well. Peter and Veronica express the barbarity of the situation despite the fact that it will most likely be a rewarding experience for all involved. They complain about not being able to see Grace whenever they like and Spencer has to bite back a retort that they don't exactly utilize their proximity to their advantage now, anyway. Emily says that Bennett will truly miss having Grace in his class, Aria talks of how much Spencer will miss out on and Hanna articulates her jealousy that they're going to spend a year in, arguably, the fashion capital of the world. The only one who doesn't respond with malice, jealousy or longing is, ironically, Melissa. She tells them it'll be a spectacular experience for the three of them and that they're making a wonderful choice. The shockwaves stay with Spencer for weeks after the fact.

The move isn't permanent, so they don't put their house on the market. Instead, they cancel their subscriptions, forward their mail overseas and turn off all utilities. A few weeks after Grace's fourth birthday, they take the eight-or-so-hour flight to Paris, en route to their next adventure. It's Grace's first time on an airplane and she marvels over every little thing. She doesn't fall asleep despite the dim cabin lights and it being well after midnight; as a result, she's an exhausted, cranky mess when they do eventually arrive in Paris. The time difference messes all three of them up for days, but when they do adjust, they take in the magnificent Parisian atmosphere that will be their home for the next twelve or so months and are ultimately content.

Spencer's been hard at work ever since they arrived, partnering with the American University of Paris in her study of children with ADHD. It's fascinating research and it resonates well with Spencer considering she possesses the disorder as well. It truly is remarkable that a behavioral disorder so commonly found in America is so rarely found here, in France. She completes her work each day and long-distance calls her boss back home to report her findings. Toby, on the other hand, has picked up a few odd jobs here and there, but hasn't truly found anything stable. He's fairly okay with that; it means he can spend more time with Grace and the two can explore their new city when she's not in school.

Speaking of which, preschool is absolutely nothing like it is in the United States. It's free, for one, and it's all day, for another. Grace is occupied by école maternelle, la moyenne section for the majority of her week, save for Wednesday which is something her parents still don't really understand. But otherwise, she absolutely loves it. She goes to school with plenty of other children who don't speak French, but they're learning and to hear her tiny voice spiel in broken French is one of the cutest things her parents had experienced thus far. Every few weeks or so, Toby and Spencer receive a binder full of Grace's schoolwork, handwriting practice and artwork she's made in free time. It's astounding to see what she's been learning; mostly, it's things children in America wouldn't learn until midway through elementary school. Besides scholastic things, however, Grace is also picking up on cultural clues and certain behavioral things her classmates do. And one of these surprises Toby to near silence.

"Hi Gracie," He greets her one chilly afternoon in late February. "How was your day?"

"It was really good, Toby, how was yours?" She replies, tugging her backpack more firmly on her shoulders.

Toby stares at her and asks, "What did you just call me?"

"Toby," She answers. "Isn't that your name?"

"It is," He confirms, taking her hand and departing the school in the direction of the metro. "But not to you. To you, it's daddy."

"But Laurent calls his mommy and daddy their names," Grace insists. "And so does Jean-Luc. And Catherine."

"I have never heard any of your friends call their parents anything but mom and dad," Toby disagrees. "Are you lying to me?"

"No I'm not," Grace defends. "They do it."

And sure enough, as they're boarding the metro towards home, a little girl from Grace's school spiels in an upset French before beckoning her mother for something Toby can't quite understand. When her mother ignores her request, the little girl begs harder, employing her mother's name and not her title. Grace smiles triumphantly, saying, "See? I told you."

Toby shakes his head in disbelief. "Okay, well… They might be okay with that, but I'm not. So why don't we stick to daddy, okay monkey?"

"No way, Toby," She disagrees. "You are my daddy and I am your kid but you don't call me 'kid.' You call me my name. And I want to call you your name."

He has to hand it to her; that's technically true. Arguing with Grace is almost as exhausting as arguing with Spencer sometimes; he's always thought his daughter was the clone of her mother and if it weren't for those bright blue eyes, the ones identical to his own, he would think that he simply had no part in her making. Toby takes her home and begins to fix dinner, as it's nearing four-thirty and Spencer should be home within the hour. Grace counts to one hundred in French, her newest accomplishment, and Toby has to say, he's honestly impressed. She's learned faster than he ever has, and he had the greatest tutor in the world.

When her mother does arrive home, Grace greets her with an enthusiastic hug and asks, "Hi Spencer! How was work?"

"I'm sorry, what did you call me?" Spencer replies, reciprocating the hug in confusion.

"This is her new thing," Toby informs his wife, setting the table. "She says since we don't call her by her title, she doesn't have to call us by ours."

"Oh really?" Spencer smirks. "Is that how it works?"

Grace nods. "Let's eat now. I'm starving."

Throughout dinner, Grace name-drops them at least a dozen more times, as if trying to make a point. Her parents receive the message and are ultimately puzzled on how to get her to stop. She continues to do so as dinner is finished, as Spencer cleans up after them and as Toby ushers her into the bathroom for a bath and to ready herself for bed. He combs through her wet hair afterwards with many complaints of, "Ouch, Toby! That hurts!" Desperately, he tries to ignore it. When he frees her, Toby retreats to the master bedroom in order to answer some emails, but Grace follows him anyway, lingering and just slightly lost without the multitude of toys she'd left behind at home.

"Are you doing work?" She asks, bouncing onto the bed beside him.

"A little," He answers. "Just getting all of our stuff at home squared away."

"I want to watch a movie," She decides. "Can we watch Netflix?"

Toby agrees, "Can you give me a few minutes, though?"

"I know what I want to watch already," Grace informs him. "Hercules."

"Hercules, huh?"

"Have you ever seen that movie, Toby?" She wonders and Toby tries hard not to roll his eyes when she says his name. "It's really good."

"I bet Hercules called his mommy and daddy mom and dad," Toby says and she frowns.

She continues to pester him about watching the movie until he relents. Toby switches off the lights as Grace switches the movie to full screen. Just as he's about to leave, she pleads, "Wait, watch it with me, Toby. Don't go away."

So he does. He drapes his daughter with a blanket and settles in beside her. Moments later, Spencer enters the room to find them totally engrossed in the film and chuckles a bit. "What are we watching?"

"Hercules," Grace whispers, not taking her eyes off the screen, but patting the open space on the bed beside her. "Come watch."

She obliges, snuggling into the warm cocoon her husband and daughter have made. "Family movie night?"

"Spencer, have you ever seen it?" Grace asks and finally, Spencer's figured out a way to kick Grace's new habit.

"Actually, I haven't seen it in a while. But do you know what?" Spencer begins. "I think it's cool that you want to call daddy and I by our names."

"You do?" Grace asks in surprise and Toby looks just as shocked.

"You do?"

"Absolutely," Spencer agrees. "You can call us by our names anytime you want. But there's going to be some consequences."

"Like what?"

"Well, you know your swear jar?" Spencer questions and Grace nods proudly. "You get a dollar every time daddy or I say a bad word and when you get enough money, what are we going to do?"

"Take me for ice cream," Grace answers easily.

"Right," Spencer smiles. "But here's the thing- every time you call me Spencer or daddy Toby, we're going to take a dollar out of the swear jar."

Grace's eyes go wide. "What?"

"Yeah," Spencer says firmly. "So think about that the next time you want to call us by our names, okay?"

Toby shoots her an impressed grin and she returns his look triumphantly. Grace considers this and says, "Okay mommy."

"That's better," Spencer kisses her crown. "Now what did I miss?"

"Hercules is a god, but this bad guy, Hades, wants him to die so he can rule," Grace explains. "And Hades lives in- what's it called, daddy?"

"The underworld," Toby offers and Grace nods.

"Yeah, the underworld. So Pain and Panic steal baby Hercules and make him drink this yucky potion," Grace goes on. "It's so he'll die, but he doesn't drink all of it, so he doesn't die. He lives with these people now and he's super duper strong! He picked up the cart and the goat and the hay over his head!"

"Oh my god," Spencer grins. "That's impressive!"

"Yeah," Grace agrees. "And no one's nice to him. So he's going to find new friends, I think."

"I would too," Toby puts in. "You think he'll find what he's looking for?"

"Yeah," Grace says. "Mommy says everyone finds what they're looking for someday."

Toby shakes his head, a smile evident on his face. "Your mommy's right about that one, Gracie."