paradisalogs | IT'S A BABY-BONANZA!

[Almost subconsciously, York scoops up the little three-year old and sets him on his knee.]

We're on vacation?

[Give him a minute, he hasn't had any coffee yet. But he looks around, and this is certainly not his usual castle room. He gets the impression it's not Carolina's room, either, from the very brief glimpse he'd had of it before--at which point he twists around to verify that yeah, she's here too, and not looking too happy about this.]

Uh. Good morning.

[Carolina does her best to keep the anger out of her voice, because that would make this vacation extremely awkward for everyone and the last thing she wants to do is alienate her children in any way. She can play nice until the kids go back home. Nonetheless, she tugs the covers up to cover herself, despite wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants as pajamas (that she hadn't been wearing when she went to bed).

Jack happily claps his hands where he's sitting on York's knees, excited like nothing else.] Yes! C'mon Mommy! C'mon Daddy!

It's already the end of May?

[Somehow he'd lost track of time. But, well, here they are, and he has a little squirmy boy in his lap to prove it. York gives Jack a kiss on the top of his head and sets him down.]

All right, I'm up. Go see if you can find some clothes, okay? Is there coffee in this place?

[Laura waves Jack over to their side of the room, which has two brightly-colored suitcases full of clothes, swimsuits, toothbrushes, and everything else they might need for a week. Huh. That's not how it happened last year.]

There's a coffee machine over there, Daddy.

Thanks, Laura. Uh, how are you?

I'm good! We're on vacation!

[Carolina takes a couple more moments to get up out of bed, but the authority she can already hear in Laura's young voice is entirely too uncanny. Jack scurries over to his little suitcase, fighting with the zipper (and his excitement) to get it open in an orderly manner. Once he does, he quickly tears into it to grab like five different outfits to carry back to York.]

Remember? There's a pool!

[In all the clamor, Carolina gets up slowly from bed and makes her way to the bathroom, trying to be as silent as possible. She just needs a few minutes.]

Edited (htmllllll and all the typos so so sorry :c) 2013-05-19 18:09 (UTC)

[York puts on some coffee while Jack's looking through his clothes, though it will take a few minutes to brew.]

Pick one shirt and one shorts, Jack. They don't have to match. [Because hey, he only gets to see the kid once a year, he can wear whatever he wants. He'll help his son dress once he chooses some clothes and then starts looking around for a dresser or suitcase with his own clothes. And there it is - looks like the castle has packed him a bag full of summer clothes.]

[Once Jack's all dressed, including babby swim trunks, he hurries over to help York with his suitcase. The kid just really wants to go do things okay.

It's a couple minutes later when Carolina emerges from the bathroom, with an actual smile as she goes to help Laura if she needs any.]

Let's go swimming, Mommy! [Laura has a cute pink one-piece swimsuit under a flowery summer dress and seems to be looking for her towel. (Hint, she didn't pack one, but the hotel has plenty.)]

All right, all right. But we gotta have breakfast first and then wait at least 20 minutes. [Which will give him time to get his coffee. Also, it looks like the castle has helpfully packed his bright green Speedo.

He looks over at Carolina neutrally.] It's up to Mommy if she wants to come.

[Well Carolina's not going to miss out on the chance to see her kids, no matter how feels about York right now.] Let me get you a towel. [And pads over to the bathroom to grab one for Laura.

She glances over at York and replies in a neutral tone,] I'll meet you down at breakfast.

[He nods and finishes dressing so he can take each kid by the hand and lead them out, once he has his precious coffee (and then he holds Jack's hand; Laura is old enough to stick close to him). Sure enough, they're in a hotel sort of place and, judging by the shrieks and babbling coming from the other rooms in the hall, sounds like the other kids are back.

God, how had he forgotten about them? Had he really been that distracted by everything?

Yeah. Yeah, he really had. But nothing--not Carolina, not the castle, not whatever it was going to throw at them next--was going to keep him from letting them out of his sight for the next seven days.

Downstairs there is a breakfast bar set up, and York dutifully starts making waffles for the kids once they have a glass of juice and some fruit to munch on.]

[On the way down, Jack excitedly moves beside his father, ready for all of the pooltime, but he does at least allow for breakfast. He asks for a ton of blueberries on his waffles and once they're seated, digs in with zero patience.

Once they're all settled, though, Carolina will arrive down in the breakfast area, wearing a long blue maxi dress with a jacket over her shoulders. She'll take the extra seat and offer both kids a grin, while ignoring York as covertly as she can manage.]

[The kids are going to notice before long that Mommy and Daddy aren't talking to each other, but for the moment they're pretty excited to be in a new place. York has a bowl of cereal and some bacon himself (as many as he could grab).]

So I guess we're at the "Sunny Skies Retreat".

I thought we were going to the castle, Daddy.

Yeah, I thought we were there. But we're all here instead, so--it's still a vacation, okay?

[Laura seems to think about this for a few moments and then nods.]

[Jack digs into his waffles and fruit, nodding at both of his parents excitedly as he chews. Carolina goes to get a bit of fruit, some water, and a couple pieces of toast before returning to the table and starting into her breakfast as well.]

The Castle's on vacation, too, that's why we're here.

[She smiles more softly at Laura.] You're still a princess, even if we're here.

I'm always a princess.

[York has to grin and ruffle her hair playfully. Of course she is. He tries not to think too hard about whether she's really Carolina's daughter or Princess Peach's, but she does seem to have a bit of Carolina's bossy attitude.

Maybe not thinking about it too hard is the best idea here.]

How about we walk around and see everything first? By that time it'll be okay to swim.

[The bossy attitude is too easy to not forget, in Carolina's mind. As she's finishing up her breakfast, Jack excitedly shouts another yes! and starts pushing back from the table.]

Let everyone finish their breakfast first, Jack.

[Jack pouts, but York slips him a piece of bacon with a wink. He'll be done soon enough, and Laura looks slightly alarmed and shovels the last of her strawberries into her mouth.]

Chew, honey.

Mmm chwin addy.

Without talking. We'll wait for you.

[But once she's done, he'll look to Carolina for confirmation before helping them up.]

Should we check this place out?

[Carolina notices that slight slip of bacon to their son and barely resists glaring. She does, however, shoot York a sour look. Bacon isn't good for babies, okay.

Still, she does nod at the question.] Then we'll go to the pool after.

[To which Jack joyfully scarfs down that bacon.] Pool! Pool! Pool!

[Pff, he's like three by now. Ish. He can have bacon if he wants to. He'll take Laura's hand once they're ready and starts walking out of the dining area.]

Let's see if we can find a map. Pretty sure the pool's outside.

[They do find a signpost fairly quickly, with signs to "Playroom", "Petting Zoo", and more.]

What do you think?

[Doesn't matter if he's three-ish or thirty-three-ish, Jack is always going to be her baby. That's just how it works. As they get up, Carolina takes Jack's hand before he tears off and lets him pull her along the hallway. He heads past the sign in the direction to the "Playroom," ready to hurry them through the tour to get to the pool.]

He's deciding.

[York snickers a little as Laura puts on a superior expression and stays near her parents, even though she's clearly just as excited.]

Slow it down, buddy.

[Of course, once they get to the playroom, it's enough to distract any kid.]

Daddy! Can I jump in the balls?

Sure thing, honey.

[And Laura tears off to shriek and jump in the ball pit.]

[Luckily, Jack is also distracted and scurries after his sister to do the same. He giggles when he re-surfaces and waves over to his parents.] C'mon Daddy!

[Because he clearly knows who is the bigger goofball and who would better enjoy diving into a ball pit.]

Am I even allowed to?

[York walks over to watch the kids playing, which seems to involve Jack pretending badly to be a shark and Laura shrieking playfully. Hmm, well, conveniently he doesn't see any signs that prohibit adults.]

Geronimo!

[Hey, at least this time it isn't a pile of tribbles. Could be worse.]

[Carolina actually laughs at that, albeit quietly as she watches them where she's leaning against the wall of the pit. There really aren't any rules prohibiting the adults, but Carolina's not about to get in ~~because she's allergic to fun.~~

Meanwhile, now that York's in the ball pit, Jack tries to climb up on him to "dunk" him.] Careful, Jack.

It's okay, I've got him.

[He allows himself to be climbed on and makes a few mock-roars as the children try to "conquer the mountain". Of course, they're all laughing within a few moments and York's having actual trouble fighting them off because he's having too much fun.]

[Carolina watches with a widening grin as they do. It's surprisingly good to see York having a good time as much as the kids, but she keeps that sentiment tucked away.

It's good to see the kids, regardless of her animosity.]

I surrender! Do you want to stay here or keep going so we can get to the pool?

Pool!

[Jack seems to agree, so York makes a show of needing their help to get out of the ball pit so they can continue.]

We can come back here later, too. Whenever you guys want.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject