"Do you know how many kids must pee in the pools here in one day?"

This was the announcement Shawn just had to loudly make when the family entered Duke's Lagoon. Audrey visibly reacted with a grimace and Jon reached around her to pop Shawn on the back of the head.

She did not need anything to discourage her from joining them in the water activities.

Shawn's response to the smack was to charge ahead into the park as though he knew where he was going. He did not know where he was going and ended up in the baby area where he got funny looks from the kids already there.

"Mom and I wanna relive the moments we missed with you," Jon teased him as the teen tried to escape the little kids who were awed by his presence. "But this is takin' it a little too far, don't you think?"

Shawn shot him a dirty look as a toddler tried to hand him a juice box. "I've never been here before," he replied grumpily. "And I forgot the map."

"They have maps here," Jon pointed out.

Shawn scrunched his nose up as he exited the splash pad as quickly as he could. "Yeah, not walkin' back and forth between the map and wherever you guys are. It's already gettin' too hot."

Jon glanced at the pool at their feet and gave Shawn a smirk. "I'll be happy to help you cool off anytime. Just say the word."

Shawn eyed him suspiciously and inched closer to Audrey.

Jon laughed at him and headed off to where he'd seen a map. From there, Shawn quickly planned out the day, careful to get the rides that would keep them cool but allow Audrey to stay in her coverup if she wanted to.

Jon was not thrilled with any of the rides Shawn picked out as they sounded too close to the rides he'd been hurt on at Action Park.

"These rides were tested for kids," Shawn remarked as though Jon was being unreasonable.

"So were the Action Park ones."

"Yeah, but I've never heard of crash test dummies being dismembered by any of the rides here."

"I'm sure we won't have any problems like we did there," Audrey reassured him. "I've been watching, and no one's been thrown off a slide or hit anything."

"Yeah, I guess." Jon made a face and pushed his aviator sunglasses up on the bridge of his nose.

"If you don't feel comfortable, you can always ride the baby rides. And Duke's Lagoon apparently has juice boxes."

Jon moved to pop him again, but Shawn was ready and dodged him easily with a smirk on his face. Jon shook his head and laughed, "Alright fine, let's get this over with."

The rides, of course, were nothing like the ones at Action Park. They were just the right speed so that Jon enjoyed them while Shawn and Audrey were mildly entertained.

Ultimately, there was not much to do at the Lagoon as it was just a small offshoot of the main park. After an hour, the family headed to a cabana Jon had reserved for them to eat lunch and discuss the rest of the day.

Jon settled into one of the lounge chairs while Shawn sprawled out in another. Since there were only two chairs, Audrey was left sitting at the dining table alone. Jon saw her watching them and held his hand out to her.

"Shawn's talkin' names, Aud, I think you need to be over here."

Audrey walked over to them and, after a moment's hesitation, settled herself on Jon's lap. Her bare shoulders pressing against his bare chest made her shiver slightly as an electric current ran down her spine. He noticed this and kissed her neck which only heightened the sensation.

"So," Audrey said, trying to ignore how close she was to Jon, "are these names you like or don't like?"

"Like," Shawn said, turning himself around so that his feet were propped up on the back of the lounge chair and his head was in the seat. As he watched the ceiling fan lazily turn he ticked off the names, "Chloe, Claire, Madison, Amber, Michelle, and Amelia."

"I like Amelia," Audrey said. "I had a friend at the Joffrey Ballet School named Amelia. We called her Mia."

"Amelia Turner," Shawn said thoughtfully. "Not terrible."

The mention of the school Audrey attended when she was a child sparked a conversation about famous dancers whose names she liked. This went on until Shawn became restless. Then they headed back out to the rides again.

The Pipeline Plunge had two slides that snaked around each other. The blue one was opened and allowed riders to see the path in front of them while the black slide was fully enclosed and very dark. Audrey waited for them, amusedly wondering if Shawn would be able to get Jon on the black slide. He must have because she saw Jon haul Shawn away from water after they got off the ride, furious the teen had tried to get the raft to ride the side of the walls using the principals he'd picked up from Jon's Action Park stories.

It wasn't possible to do it on the ride, but Shawn's attempts had given Jon traumatic flashbacks of the Cannonball Loop and he was not happy about it.

Before heading back to the main park, the family spent some time at a small wave pool. Until this point, Audrey had not taken her jumper off, despite being soaked several times. However, at the wave pool, Jon and Shawn's shirts promptly came off and were discarded at her feet. She gathered them up and absently put them in a nearby chair along with their towels with her eyes fixed on Jon. She was so caught up in staring at him, that she didn't realize she was taking off her coverup and adding it to the clothing pile.

Jon turned at the right moment to see her do this. It took tremendous effort to bring his eyes up to her face. She was smiling curiously at his reaction since he'd already seen her at the store. Caught, he splashed Shawn roughly to hide his embarrassment.

Jon wasn't the only one who had trouble bringing his eyes up to her face. Nearly every adult head swiveled when she walked over to join them in the pool.

Shawn, though he was proud of her courage, and the way she looked, quickly grew tired of the rude staring and thought Jon should do something about it. He was more than a little miffed that Jon wasn't interested in starting any fights nor would he let him start any.

The waves at the end of the pool were unimpressive and try as he might to make things interesting, it was difficult when his people were as wrapped up in each other as they were. Shawn caught Jon staring at Audrey multiple times and vice versa.

Tired of being ignored he scolded impishly, "Aw, c'mon! Go back to the cabin and get a room already."

Jon pulled his attention from Audrey and shot him a warning look.

Invigorated by the teasing that had been handed to him, he continued with a smirk, "Hey, Mama, why don't you come sit over here so your boyfriend can better view of you?"

Jon glared daggers at him. Audrey had been standing in front of him until Shawn called her over. He liked his view of her just fine and the kid ruined it.

In retaliation, he made a scoop out of his hands and dragged them through the water towards Shawn. When his hands broke the surface a surge of water splashed over the teen, drenching him completely.

Audrey waded over to them and got caught in Shawn's revenge. She was left sputtering and coughing from the water that was dumped over her. This sparked a furious back and forth of splashing water that took them further into the pool. They continued their fighting until one of the waves came up and took all three of them down.

They pulled themselves out of the water, laughing. Jon helped Audrey to the edge of the pool holding her much closer than necessary. Shawn grinned as Jon dipped his head to kiss her. When they finally remembered they weren't the only ones at the pool, Shawn gleefully snorted, "Seriously, if you guys could get through this trip without kissin' at inappropriate times…"

Jon gave him a pinched look. Audrey put her hands on her hips and gave Jon a secretive smile and a wink. "He's right, you know."

Instinctively Jon knew where she was going. "True."

"It's not right. We aren't being very good parents.."

"No, we aren't. Our kid actually likes bein' out with us in public."

"What do you say?" she asked, nodding at a very confused Shawn.

Jon looked at the teen and grinned. "I say we oughta fix that."

Before Shawn knew what was happening they surrounded him and got him with exaggerated kisses on the cheeks.

He stood between them with his hands on waist and didn't react.

Jon and Audrey exchanged surprised looks. Shawn saw this and remarked, "Was that supposed to embarrass me?"

He saw the look of disappointment on Jon's face over his lack of reaction. Remembering that they were supposed to be making up for lost time, Shawn decided to humor them. In a very loud whine he wailed, "Gross! You guys are so embarrassin'! Parents are the worst!" and promptly burst into peals of laughter.

Jon rolled his eyes and splashed him again.

Shawn grinned as he shook wet hair out of his face.

"Seriously," he said, looking pleased with himself. "If you wanna embarrass me, you're gonna have to try a lot harder than that. I'm shameless."

Back in the main park, the trio rounded out the day by going back to a few favorite rides from the day before and a few new ones. As the day went on, the heat grew, and the family was far more tired than anyone wanted to admit. Still they continued on.

Jon found himself constantly checking on Shawn as he couldn't help but wonder if the teen really was having a good time because the park really was for young kids.

The perpetual grin on Shawn's face said he was having the time of his life. There was no worry, sullenness, or melancholy in his features. In fact, Jon hadn't seen any of that since they left Philadelphia. He knew it was still there though; it had to be. Kids didn't have their ties to their biological parents severed so severely and not be deeply affected by it.

He knew that from experience.

But this was their weekend to forget all of that. The rest could wait until they got into family counseling.

Eventually the trio had to admit that they needed a break. Luckily, Shawn had the perfect ride in mind- the Sky Ride, a scenic fly over of the park.

Well, perfect for him and Audrey anyway.

Apparently Jon had an issue with heights.

"It looks like one of those ski lifts," Shawn said as their turn on the ride came up. "I thought you used to ski at all those rich people's resorts."

"I did."

"Don't those things go higher than this?"

Jon shoved his hands in the pocket of his swim trunks and made a face at the ride's seating.

Shawn eyed him worriedly then glanced at Audrey who shrugged. "You ride with him, Mama. In case he throws up."

The teen wasn't quick enough to dodge a smack to the back of the head this time.

The Sky Ride was a slow peaceful ride. The speed was just enough to cool its riders off and give them a chance to relax, which Shawn was taking advantage of. He almost forgot about Jon and Audrey.

Almost.

At the halfway point of the ride Shawn turned around to check on his people who were behind him.

He immediately burst out laughing.

Jon was leaning against the side of the cabin with one arm resting on the rail pinching the bridge of his nose. With the other hand he had a grip so tight on Audrey's thigh that Shawn could see the white imprints of his fingertips against her tanned skin.

"Hey, Mama," he called out with his eyes on Jon. "Are you gettin' any blood flow at all to that area?"

Audrey gave him a "knock it off" look while Jon opened his eyes enough to give him a dirty one. After the ride ended Shawn tried to find an "I survived the Sky Ride" shirt for Jon who did not appreciate the joke.

The rest of the day was spent checking out the various shows the park put on. Shawn wanted to be sure wouldn't scare a baby.

While the diving show Audrey chose to go to was entertaining, it was very wet since they sat in the red seats. Shawn noted they needed to sit farther away when the baby joined them.

He was completely unimpressed by Jon's show choice: Free Folk of Middle- Earth Show. Shawn was completely against this as he felt Jon was going to make him read Tolkien like he made him read Twain.

He absolutely was not going to waste the upcoming summer doing any reading.

While Jon and Audrey were amused by the show, Shawn was not and spent his time talking to an equally bored seven-year-old whose parents were happy to have their child whine to someone else.

The final shows on Shawn's list brought very strong reactions out of him. The Princess Story was a whole-hearted yes for his future sister. Bubba Bear, however, was most definitely out.

Shawn was under the impression that this particular mascot was a face character that roamed the park. He had no idea it was a frontman for an animatronic band a la The Rock-afire Explosion at Showbiz Pizza.

He had the misfortune of discovering this when the red curtains he was standing in front of to study his itinerary parted behind him and a voice with a Southern accent said cheerily, "Howdy folks." Thinking he was in someone's way, he turned to apologize only to find himself face to face with the commander of an army of animatronic animals. Bubba Bear was the biggest of them and the most terrifying.

"We're here to do our best to please ya," the chipper voice continued as the Bear grinned his empty grin.

Shawn was duly traumatized by this unexpected fear come to life. He already had issues with Billy Bob and Mitzi Mozzarella who had given him nightmares ever since he and Cory went to Ellis' birthday party at Showbiz when they were in third grade. Bubba was creepier than Chuck E Cheese and the entire Rock-afire Explosion band put together and his sister would not be going anywhere near it.

The remaining park hours were spent at the carnival games where Jon and Shawn competed to win Audrey the biggest prize. The victor was Shawn with a giant stuffed dolphin, Audrey's favorite animal. Jon claimed that Shawn was competing alone as he was always aiming for the little teddy bear holding a heart.

Shawn told him his bruised ego was showing.

Audrey, of course, saw no difference in the winnings and loved them both the same.

Later, at Shawn's begging, she allowed him to sample the various food carts they had missed the day before with the promise he'd leave room for dinner. As soon as the last bit of cotton candy and nachos were eaten, the little family headed back to the cabin, tired and happy.

Shawn settled down immediately at the kitchen table to add a string of new names to his list: Ziva, Zoe, Chloe, Madison, Amber, Michelle, Amelia, Kimberly, Heather, Gabrielle, Julia, Claire, Isabelle.

"Hey," Jon remarked looking over his shoulder at the list. "Kimberly?"

"Yeah."

"Like the pink Power Ranger?"

Shawn froze and a deep embarrassment overcame him.

There was no way Jon should have known he watched this. He was positive the man was asleep when it was on. Mortified as he was, curiosity got the best of him and he asked, "How do you know the Pink Ranger's name?"

It was Jon's turn to freeze in embarrassment. "I've caught a few episodes when nothin' else has been on," he stammered unconvincingly.

Audrey overheard him say this as she walked out of the bedroom to join them. "What are you talking about?"

Although he should have been reassured that watching the kids show wasn't a big deal if his teacher watched, Shawn wasn't and blurted out, "Jon watches Power Rangers."

"So do you," he snapped, worried about what Audrey would think of him. Comic books were one thing, this show was an entirely different matter.

"Oh, yeah?" Audrey did not seem surprised by the revelation. Instead she surprised them by adding, "Trini's my favorite."

Jon and Shawn stared at her with their mouths slightly open.

It took a moment for things to settle in his mind and once they did, Shawn threw his hands up in annoyance. "If everyone here watches Power Rangers why have I been hidin' in the closet with the portable tv at seven in the mornin' every Saturday?!"

"That's what you've been watchin'?" Jon asked in amusement. "With the way you act, I thought it was Barney or somethin'."

Shawn ignored him and held his thumb and forefinger millimeters apart. "That screen is so small; I have no idea if Kimberly was replaced by a different actor or by an ant."

"There's a movie version coming out next month," Audrey said as she went to the refrigerator. "Do you guys want to go if we can find the time?"

Jon and Shawn looked at Audrey in surprise then quickly turned to downplaying any interest they had in the movie. She said she would just go by herself and Jon and Shawn immediately changed their mind.

Audrey rolled her eyes.

Shawn resumed reading his list.

"I've also added to the list of names my sister absolutely cannot have," Shawn informed them. "Katherine, Brenda, Christine, Gwen, Valerie, Janine, Melanie."

Jon made a face. "Why do those names sound so familiar?"

"They're your ex-girlfriends!" Shawn and Audrey said in unison.

Jon blinked and stared at them for a moment before saying defensively, "Brenda and Gwen are not ex-girlfriends. I dated them once."

Shawn put his hand on Jon's shoulder. "Brenda Turner. Gwen Turner."

Jon shivered, shaking his head with a look of horror as he backed away from the table.

Jon and Shawn had planned ahead to allow Audrey to make one more meal, so she didn't feel like everything was out of her control. She already knew that tomorrow she was not allowed to do anything that resembled work.

So she made the last meal memorable: fried chicken, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, and strawberry shortcake.

The cabin was filled to the brim with the aromas of a home-cooked meal and a warm coziness. Conversation was slow with large bouts of silence, but it was a content stillness. Afterwards, Shawn and Jon helped Audrey clean up before heading to the couch for some television.

It was while watching the Tonight Show with Jay Leno that the contentment was upended by a sense of foreboding Shawn couldn't shake.

He turned over on his back to look up at his people. Audrey was snuggled up against Jon who had his arm around her absently kissing her hair from time to time. With one hand she massaged Shawn's head and with the other she massaged Jon's wedding ring finger.

Everything was perfect.

Too perfect.

Shawn turned back on his side and stared at the television screen.

Everything had been going too well since February. September really, but it was his fifteenth birthday that brought them together as Jon and Audrey began to "not date".

Thoughts, memories, and emotions collided and churned within him. He began to feel numb as he tried to understand his feelings on everything that had happened in the last year.

Since Chet left, he'd prayed and hoped and begged for him to come back, to come get him, for them to be a family.

Now he had a family. One he'd always dreamed about.

He had everything Cory had. Maybe a little more since he was the focus of their attention and would be until his sister came along. Cory, being the middle child, never had that.

To live a life just slightly better than his best friend was incompressible to Shawn now that he really thought about it. Things like this just didn't happen to him.

Nothing good ever happens to Shawn Hunter.

And yet it was happening.

Next weekend they would take the next step towards making it permanent.

His prayers had changed since February; he now prayed and hoped and begged that Chet would stay away.

Far away.

And that he wouldn't find Virna.

He didn't want anything to take away what he'd always wanted.

To be like Cory whose biggest worries were Topanga, grades, and not having marshmallows in his cereal because Morgan ate them all.

To be normal.

He just wanted to be normal.

The only way to be normal was for his biological parents to stay away.

Melancholy settled over him as his brother Eddie came to mind.

He tried not to think of his half-brother, but what happened to him was what now feared would happen to him.

He was pretty young when Eddie went to live with his grandmother for a reason he never understood. Shawn couldn't remember how long he was gone; it seemed like forever to him.

Then, after an explosive fight with Chet, Virna left.

Chet stayed with but he was angry, always complaining and grumbling about all the work to be done. He sent Shawn out once to mow the lawn, but he was only six and had yet to get a growth spurt to make him tall enough to safely push the mower. Chet sent him out anyway and Shawn tried his hardest to do what he had seen Uncle Mike do to start the machine.

A woman from a trailer several places down drove by and saw him trying to pull start the engine. She jumped out of her car screaming at him to stop like he was trying to steal parts from the thing. Shawn was so startled he accidentally started the mower. The shock threw him to the ground, and the machine took off on its own causing the woman to shriek more.

Chet staggered to the door of the trailer, shouting about the screaming. The woman turned her attention to him and started yelling all sorts of nasty names at him. She threatened to call DCFS.

It wasn't the first time the social services had been called and Shawn didn't want to go through that again. So he lied and said he was just playing with it. Chet went along with it screaming at him for being stupid and trying to get himself killed.

The woman didn't buy it.

Police showed up.

They left as usual having bought whatever story Chet dreamed up.

Shawn stayed inside from that point on, and Chet's complaining grew. Retrieving beer cans for him all day wasn't enough. He needed more help around the house.

Then one day when he was nine, Shawn came home from school and there was Eddie out in the yard with the mower. He gave Shawn a nasty glare as he walked by and spat at him. Chet wouldn't allow any questions to be asked. He just yammered on for two days about how happy he was that he had his boys back together and that they were going to be a real family again.

It was several years later before Shawn learned the full truth of what Chet put Eddie's grandmother through. Shawn sided with Chet at the time because Chet was his father, his blood.

He loved him and didn't have anyone else.

Virna was absent again.

Then she came back, somehow they managed to do well enough to move to Cory's neighborhood.

It didn't last of course.

The good times never did.

Shawn chewed on the skin around his thumb as anxiety crashed over him.

As he lay with his head on a pillow on Audrey's lap, he clung to her hand instead of letting her rub his head, seized with an overwhelming fear that Chet would come in the middle of the night to take him away from them just like he took Eddie from his grandmother.

When Jon called it a night and shut off the television, Shawn tried to convince him to let them sleep on the couch together, but he was quietly reminded about their plans for the next day.

Mother's day.

The fear increased as they told him goodnight and went to their room.

"Did Shawn seem upset to you?"

Jon nodded. "I assumed he was thinkin' about Virna and worryin' about it. With Mother's Day bein' tomorrow I don't know how he's not."

"Yeah, probably." Audrey stopped what she was doing and looked at the reflection of Jon in the mirror she stood in front of. She sighed, "I hope just worry is all it is, and nothing actually happens."

"Yeah," Jon sighed too. "me too."

Audrey gave him a sad smile before disappearing into the bathroom. Jon took the opportunity to change his clothes as well. When she returned in her purple night shirt and shorts, Jon let out a low, appreciative whistle. She blushed and took the hand he offered.

"I love you," he whispered as he brushed back her hair and kissed the soft skin just below her ear.

She shivered as she leaned into him, smiling dreamily. "I love you, too, Jonny."

"It's amazin' how easy it is to say those words now. No effort at all," he grinned against her neck.

Audrey wrapped her arms around him and stood on the balls of her feet to kiss him.

"You need more practice."

He laughed. "In what? Kissin' or sayin' 'I love you'?"

"Yes," she answered teasingly.

In a quick sweeping motion, Jon had her off the floor in his arms, and over to the bed. Gently, he settled her onto the mattress and pulled the covers up to her waist before settling in next to her.

Tracing his finger down her arm, he said softly, "Busy day tomorrow, babe. You should sleep."

"I guess so."

He let his fingers slide underneath the hair at the back of her neck and rubbed the pressure points at the base of her skull. Her eyes began to drift close, jerking open every so often as she fought to stay awake.

It was a battle she lost.

He continued to rub her head as she sank into the pillows. He took one hand away to adjust the pillows around her so she could lie down properly. Her breath evened out and before long she was sound asleep. Jon tucked her in as she turned on her side and snuggled against one of the pillows. He left a lingering kiss on her shoulder, then stood up and left the room.

Jon stepped into the living room and saw Shawn sprawled out on the futon without it being pulled out into a bed.

He wasn't asleep.

"Hey," he tapped the teen's shoulder. "Busy day tomorrow. You need sleep."

Shawn grumbled something and half-heartedly pushed himself up. Jon frowned and took him by the arm. "C'mon, sit over there and I'll fix the futon."

Shawn stumbled over to the coffee table and sat down while Jon got the bed ready for him. When he turned around to tell him he could go to sleep now, he saw Shawn's red rimmed eyes.

"Hey, you okay, Shawn?"

He shrugged and stared at the futon. "This all seems too good to be true, ya know?"

Jon paused as his mind touched on everything that had happened in the past year. "Yeah, I do. Wanna talk?"

Shawn shook his head and stifled a yawn.

"Get to bed, kid." Jon said as he guided him over to the futon.

Shawn dropped heavily to the mattress and flopped on his side. Jon took the covers and put them over him before leaving. Just before he reached the bedroom door he hear an anxious whisper,

"Jon?"

He looked over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

The briefest look of fear flashed across the teen's face. "Nothin'," he said, flopping back down.

By the time Jon made it back to the futon, Shawn was pretending to be asleep. He pulled a kitchen chair over to the bed and sat by the teen's side, rubbing his head similar to the way he had rubbed Audrey's. He did this until Shawn was actually asleep then he made his way back to the bedroom.

Audrey was still in the same position she was in when he left. The desire to climb into bed next to her and hold her was overwhelming, but he pushed the feeling down, and climbed into his own bed.

One day things would be different.

One day very soon.

Thank you so much for spending time with my and for the comments. I really do appreciate them.