A/N: Oh man I hated this chapter when I started it. I could not get it to go where I wanted. In the end it doesn't have the details I saw, no old jeans and ponytailed hair, but the feel of it is way more than I had envisioned. That's better.

"Hey Linds, have you seen my coat?"

"Which coat?"

"That brown one."

"I put it by the door."

"Oh thanks. Are you guys ready?"

"Just about," Lindsay replied, coming out of Colton's room.

"No hat mama."

"But it looks cute on you."

"No," he said, shaking his head and pulling the hat off.

"Oh alright. But if your ears get cold, don't come crying to me."

"Okay mama. Tater come?"

"Yeah, Taylor's coming."

Colton clapped happily as Lindsay tried to wrestle him into his coat. They were headed to the park for the afternoon and at Taylor's insistence that they needed current family pictures.

"Mama, we play?"

"Yeah, and we'll play sooner when you put your coat on."

He smiled and let her zip the coat up, then reached his hand up to her.

"We go now."

"Yes sir."

He grinned as they left the apartment, happy to be venturing outside. He touched all the walls in the elevator and babbled excitedly when they finally made it outside.

"See mama?"

"What is it?"

"Tree! Snow!" he shouted, taking Adam's hand too and pulling them down the street.

"I think he's excited," Lindsay said, quickening her pace to keep up with the boys while Taylor giggled and followed them.

"Swing daddy!" he screeched at the park entrance, before breaking away from them and running across the snow to the swings. He fell down partway there, but got back up and ran again until he got to the swings. Adam wiped the snow out of the seat and put Colton in it, then gave him a little push.

"Mama see I?"

"I do see you. Do you think daddy will let you go up higher?"

"Up daddy!" he hollered, kicking his legs in glee. "More!"

Adam continued to push him higher until Lindsay's heart jumped into her throat. It was a safety swing and he wasn't going as high as it seemed, but she couldn't help worrying.

"Daddy! Dat!" he said, pointing to the slide. Adam slowed the swing and lifted him out of it. Colton raced over to the small slide, climbing up it carefully and then standing there at the top, trying to figure out how to navigate the snow.

"Mama?"

"Do you need help?"

"Help."

She walked over and brushed the snow off the slide and Colton sat down happily.

"Go!" he shouted before pushing off and zooming down the slide so fast he didn't have time to put his feet down at the bottom. He skidded across the snow, coming to a stop a few feet from the end of the slide, and sitting up dazedly. For a second they all worried that he was about to burst into tears, but instead he clapped and stood up, begging to do it again. He completed a few more runs, then jumped up and pointed at the big slide.

"Dat?"

"No bud, I don't think so," Adam chuckled, imagining them both biffing it from the very top of the slippery slide. "Let's try something else."

"What?"

"Do you want to get some snowballs to throw at mama?"

"Yeah!"

His enthusiasm was misplaced though, as Lindsay had been quietly making snowballs when no one was looking and took the opportunity to pelt Adam in the face.

"Hey!"

She giggled and lobbed another one at him, hitting him in the chest just as he had managed to make his own snowball. Colton was in near hysterics, laughing and jumping up and down as his parents pelted each other with snow. Lindsay was a lot better at it, packing and launching at least five before Adam could make even one. And usually when he threw it he missed completely. Lindsay finally declared victory, tackling him to the ground and smashing a snowball against the side of his face.

"Ah, that's cold!" he shrieked. She just laughed as he tossed her into the snow.

"Watch out, it's Jack Frost."

"Let go of my nose," she said, shaking her head a little.

"I will on one condition. Next time we battle, it has to be something we're more evenly matched at."

"Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots?"

"Exactly," he said, standing up.

"Help me up, gentleman?" she asked, waggling her fingers at him. He obliged and pulled her to her feet, pressing a quick kiss to her lips before they dusted the snow off of each other. Colton stood there nearly transfixed as he watched them, grinning as they so blatantly flirted. He was used to seeing them like this, it was just how mama and daddy were.

"Again, again!" he chanted, hugging their legs.

"No way, mama gave me a brain freeze."

"That's just because daddy's a temperature wimp."

"Hey, don't talk me down in front of the boy."

She grinned as Colton tugged on her hand.

"Mama, over dere."

"You can't want to play on the springy toy, those things suck."

"Doggie," he said, pointing at the metal animal attached to the spring.

"Alright, but you're going to hate it."

She walked over there with him, brushed the snow off and lifted him up. He was happy for a second, looking around and rocking gently.

"I done."

"Told you."

They were wet and tired and cold walking back home an hour later. Taylor had stood back and snapped pictures while they played, capturing split seconds in time of happiness and love that were cemented forever.

"What do you guys think about hot chocolate?" Adam asked, unlocking the door and letting Colton rush inside ahead of them.

"Sounds good," Taylor said with a nod.

"As long as you make it really hot," Lindsay agreed, hanging the coats by the door. "I'm freezing."

"Now who's the temperature wimp?"

"Shut up Adam."

Taylor giggled and sat down in the overstuffed chair pulling her legs underneath her. Colton patted her knee and smiled at her, his cheeks still red from the cold.

"Tater, help."

She smiled and unzipped his coat, then helped him out of his boots.

"Did you have fun today, Colt?"

"Uh-huh. In snow."

"Yeah, there was lots of snow, huh?"

"Brr."

She smiled and pushed a stray curl off his forehead, wishing she never had to leave.

"Colton, come get your jammies on."

"No!"

"Not for bedtime buddy, we just need to get your wet clothes off. Come here please."

He sighed and went into the other room. Taylor chuckled and looked through the pictures on her camera, wondering how many of them would actually look good full sized. It was more a hobby than anything; she would rather be an intrepid traveler, snapping pictures of current events as they happened, the moments that would go down in history, or at least the cover of Time Magazine. Maybe though, these moments were just as important.

"Adam, don't you dare."

Taylor looked up and into the kitchen, smirking as Adam advanced on Lindsay with a can of whipped cream. They were so childish sometimes it made her shake her head and wonder how they survived in the real world. Colton was sitting on the counter watching them with an expression that said he was thinking the same thing she was.

"Daddy, chocolate."

"You sound like your mama," Adam said, setting the whipped cream on the counter and picking up a small mug, filling it partway with tap water before pouring some hot chocolate into it. "There you go. Don't spill."

Colton took the mug, holding it the same way the grown ups did, taking a sip before draining the whole thing.

"All gone. Candy?" he asked, pointing at the marshmallows. Lindsay offered him one and he looked it over for a long time before he took a bite.

"Good?"

"No."

Taylor smirked as she watched them from the other room, feeling like a fly on the wall, but wanting to stay there forever, wrapped up in this warmth that radiated from the three of them. She watched the way they all looked at each other, full of love and pride and happiness, and she took a picture, hoping that somehow she could trap that feeling. She looked at Lindsay, this person who came out of nowhere and loved her right away, fully, and without question, this person who had been the most important person in her life for the last ten years. Her hero, when one really thought about it. Lindsay was the one to pick her up when she fell down, hold her when life hurt, tell her that she was wrong sometimes. No one else loved her that much, no one else listened to her that much, no one else supported her that much. She'd watched Lindsay struggle through bad relationships, job changes and her past coming back to haunt her. And she'd watched her come out the other side better and stronger. With all her heart, Taylor wanted to be like that. Take all that had happened to her as a child and release its power on her. Turn her experiences around and use them rather than be enslaved by them. A tear slid down her cheek as she watched the scene in the kitchen and hoped that someday she would have that, someday she would be standing there with a child of her own, a husband of her own, loving so deeply and indelibly, just as Lindsay had done for her.

More tears clouded her vision as she tried to focus her camera on Lindsay's smile, the one that spread clear across her face and straight into her eyes. The one everyone could feel miles away. The one that said everything was going to be just fine, just right.

Through perfectly formed and assembled pieces of glass, she watched life play out for several minutes before she got up to join it.

"I can't believe you've never seen this movie," Taylor commented, shaking her head and taking another handful of popcorn. "Peter Boyle?"

"Gene Wilder," Lindsay added.

"Mel Brooks!" they chorused.

"It's on my bucket list!" Adam defended.

"You're getting old, we'd better watch this in fast forward."

"Shut it, Taylor."

She grinned and deflected the popcorn he chucked at her head.

"My grandfather's work was doodoo!" Lindsay shouted along with the movie.

"Dude, you tried to give me a lobotomy with popcorn and I missed my favorite line."

"Oh man, this IS a Mel Brooks movie," Adam chuckled, shaking his head. "Why am I not surprised that the two of you like it?"

"It might be our most quoted movie ever."

"Lindsay showed it to me when I was ten. The more I watch it the more I catch the adult humor. I can't believe you ever let me watch this."

"Sank you, doctor," Lindsay replied with a giggle. Adam sighed and propped his feet up on the coffee table. He didn't understand about half of what the girls said when they were together. That was okay though, they both seemed to be happy with their own language. Lindsay smiled and leaned into him, tucking up underneath his chin and hugging him gently.

"Thank you," she whispered so only he could hear. She didn't have to clarify it, he already knew. It was thanks for letting her be like this, a little younger than she was, a little more immature than she should have been, slightly more girly than normal. He smiled back at her and they turned their attention back to the movie, spending the rest of the evening snickering at the off-beat humor and the fact that there were still things in the movie that neither Lindsay or Taylor had ever noticed before. It was late when the VHS finally started to rewind itself, and Adam stood up from the couch, stretching and picking up the popcorn bowl.

"We'll I'm done for the night," he said with a yawn. "You two staying up?"

"Are you kidding? My eyes are burning."

"Me too."

They all moved around quietly, locking doors and cleaning up, Taylor making the couch into a bed again so she could sleep on it.

"Night kid," Adam said, giving her a little shove.

"Night other kid," Taylor shot back. He just shook his head and went into the bedroom.

"Goodnight sweet face," Lindsay said, pulling Taylor into her arms and hugging her tightly. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Sleep good."

"I will."

Lindsay turned off the light and padded into the bedroom while Taylor settled under the covers, feeling more at home, more wanted, and more cherished than she ever had in her life.