A belated birthday story for dream1990. :) Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :)

A Hat In Time belongs to Gears For Breakfast. :) Hat Kid's name in here is Charlotte.

The Best Day Of All

Snatcher woke up and rubbed a hand over his face, gazing down beside him to see his niece, Charlotte, still sleeping beside him, having come into his room early that morning for comfort after she had had a nightmare. He hadn't minded, promising her he'd scare away the bad dreams.

He now stretched and gently brushed a hand over Charlotte's head. "Kiddo? Time to wake up," he cooed to her.

She groaned and opened her eyes. "Uncle Snatcher?" She asked sleepily.

He smiled. "Let's see those bright eyes," he said, the end of his tail tickling her feet. She giggled and moved to crawl away from his tail that began chasing her feet. Giggling again, she pounced on the pillow behind her uncle, rolling over onto her back and giggling some more.

"Ah, just listen to those cute giggles," the shadow-like being said, scooping the child up into his arms and kissing her forehead in affection. "Good morning, my little shadow."

"Morning, Uncle Snatcher," she said.

The shadow-like being listened but didn't hear Adam or Emily. "Hmm. I wonder if your parents are awake," he said.

The two moved quietly down the hall, but found the door to the couple's bedroom closed. "They must still be sleeping," Snatcher said quietly. "Let's move quietly to the kitchen and surprise them with some breakfast."

"Okay," Charlotte whispered.

Snatcher got the ingredients out to make waffles, which Charlotte helped out with. In fifteen minutes, the kitchen began to smell wonderful. "Uncle Snatcher, do you know how to make cinnamon rolls?" The child asked.

"I certainly do and was about to make some," he said. "How did you know I was thinking that?"

She giggled and shrugged. "I didn't," she said.

Chuckling, he playfully booped her nose and set to making the cinnamon rolls, putting the waffles in the oven on a warming plate and putting the oven on the warm setting to keep the food nice and hot. He had just put the cinnamon rolls in the over and taken out the waffles when Emily and Adam came into the kitchen. "What is that wonderful smell?" Emily asked curiously.

"Uncle Snatcher made waffles!" Charlotte said happily. "And cinnamon rolls!"

"Wow," Adam said with a smile. "It smells wonderful."

"Coffee's still brewing, but should be ready in a moment," Snatcher said. "And now some eggs and bacon. Scrambled eggs, fried eggs, or omelets?"

"Scrambled sounds good," Emily said.

"Coming right up."

Adam got coffee for him and his wife after it was done and Snatcher served up breakfast. "Enjoy," he said with a smile.

The food was delicious and the couple complimented Snatcher. "This is so good," Adam said.

"Where did you learn to cook so well, Snatcher?" Emily asked.

"I read a few cookbooks and have been watching you when you cook, Emily," he said before looking a bit bashful. "I...I wanted to learn, but...I wasn't sure how to ask."

"Oh, Snatcher," she said, getting up and giving him a sisterly kiss on the cheek. "You can ask me anytime to give you cooking tips if you want."

The shadow-like being blushed, not sure what to say. "Mommy made Uncle Snatcher blush!" Charlotte exclaimed with uncontrollable giggles.

"Well that's not very fair, is it?" Adam said, grinning as he looked at Snatcher. "You get Charlotte and I'll get Emily?" He asked.

"Deal," Snatcher said.

Emily laughed and took off running with her husband chasing her and Charlotte also took off with Snatcher right on her heels. Adam caught his wife and the shadow-like being caught the little girl, the whole family laughing happily.

After they all pitched in to clean up the kitchen, Adam had an idea. "Why don't we all head to the beach?" He asked. "We can have a picnic and set up a few beach games."

"Yay!" Charlotte said happily.

"What a wonderful idea, honey," Emily said.

"That does sound like fun," Snatcher said.

And fun it was. Snatcher was amazed at the beach and curiously exploring, not seeing Charlotte sneak up behind him when he was near the water and she jumped on his back. "Gotcha!" She squealed.

Startled, the shadow-like being lost his balance and staggered, falling into the water tail first. "YEEEEEEEEEE!" He cried out, jumping straight out of the water like a rocket. "COLD!"

Adam and Emily laughed at his reaction and Charlotte laughed as she hung onto her uncle, who grinned mischievously. "Oh, you are going to get it, young lady," he said, flying to the water and diving in, making sure there were no dangers in the water. They surfaced after a moment and Charlotte squealed from the cold water.

Emily and Adam then joined in, swimming in the water as Snatcher kept an eye on Charlotte, who giggled and splashed him. He tickled her sides to make her giggle. "Dunk me, Uncle Snatcher!" She giggled out.

"Okay, hold your breath," he said.

She did and he playfully dunked her, keeping a secure hold around her waist so that she didn't sink before he lifted her out of the water a couple seconds later, his niece giggling still. "You're just full of giggles today," he said, chuckling.

He yelped when he felt someone tickle his ribs and turned to see it was Emily, who grinned at him. "What?" She asked playfully before squealing as her husband grabbed her and pulled her close to him.

Charlotte grinned. "Mommy and Daddy are funny," she said.

"That's because they deeply love each other," Snatcher said, smiling.

"Will you find someone someday too, Uncle Snatcher?"

He blinked and fell into thought. "I...I don't know, little one," he admitted. "I was once in love...a long time ago."

Charlotte noticed the melancholy tone her uncle's voice had taken. "It didn't work out?" She asked.

Snatcher was grateful at the child's words as it was a bit painful to talk about. "No, it didn't," he said truthfully.

She hugged him. "I hope you'll find someone one day, Uncle Snatcher. Like how my mommy found my daddy."

He smiled at her words. "You have faith in your old uncle?" He asked.

"You're not old, Uncle Snatcher," she giggled out.

He chuckled before floating on the water and Charlotte floated beside him for a bit before they headed back to the beach and Adam carried Emily out of the water, making her giggle.

Lunch was delicious and Snatcher looked up at the clouds, smiling. After lunch, Charlotte dragged him into building a sandcastle with her while Adam and Emily set up a volleyball net and played for a bit. By the time the sun was starting to set, Charlotte and Snatcher had built a very tall castle which Adam took a picture of before they packed up to head home.

"Movie night at home," Adam said. "I'll make dinner."

"I'll get the living room ready," Emily said. "Snatcher, could you and Charlotte put away the beach things?"

"Sure, Emily," he said.

Charlotte smiled. "I love days like these," she said.

"Me too," Snatcher said with a nod. "No work. Just relaxing and having fun with family."

They went inside and after everyone had cleaned up and Charlotte got into her pajamas, Adam cooked a wonderful dinner of pork ribs and potatoes with sweet peas and they settled down to watch a hilarious film. Charlotte opted to sit in Snatcher's lap, which he didn't mind, taking care not to drop any food on the child. Emily and Adam were snuggled close together as the movie played.

By the end of the film, dinner was finished and Emily sleepily rested her head on her husband's shoulder. He smiled and kissed her lovingly before looking over to see Charlotte was sound asleep against Snatcher's side. "Looks like it's bedtime," he said.

"Let's get her face cleaned up," Emily said.

"I can do that, Emily," Snatcher said. "You look ready to fall asleep."

She chuckled and gave him a sisterly kiss on the cheek. "Okay," she said. "Could you put her to bed too?"

"Will do," he promised, hugging her before going to the kitchen. He grabbed a paper towel and ran part of it under some water before gently cleaning his niece's face. She stirred and woke up, scrunching her face up a bit.

"Uncle Snatcher?" She asked.

"It's alright, kiddo," he said. "I'm just cleaning up your face before bedtime."

She yawned, but held still and soon, the shadow-like being scooped her up into his arms and carried her to her bedroom, rocking the child gently and humming a soft song. "Love you, Uncle Snatcher," Charlotte said before falling asleep.

"I love you too, my little shadow," he said softly, kissing her forehead in affection before he checked to make sure the house was locked up and he saw Adam tucking his wife into bed before he climbed into bed himself. Smiling, Snatcher made sure all was secure and then went to bed himself, sighing happily as he too fell sound asleep, having enjoyed the wonderful day with his family.

Happy belated Birthday, dream1990! :) I hope it was a good day! :)

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