Idina sat with Walker until he fell asleep in her arms, rocking him. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "Next week will be better, mom promises." It had almost been perfect. They had been so close.

She picked him up and carried him into the other room. Aaron was sitting with Erika; she had fallen asleep on him.

"How're the other kids?" he asked.

Idina pouted as she sat down on the other bed with her son.

"Triplets went down quite easy, they are exhausted. Lucinda kept whining 'dada,' but I think she wanted attention more than she wanted you or there would have been a little tantrum," she said. "Walker's a bit down because of supper, probably more me than her," Idina said. "Oh, but next week, he'll forget all about it," she mused, kissing his brow, and cradling him like he was one of the triplets. "How's Erika?"

Aaron rubbed her arm. "I wish I could take all the pain away," he said, his eyes a bit glassy.

Idina sighed and sat down beside him. "This is going to be a conceited coming from me, the person who cannot do this one bit, but the thing with being a parent is that you cannot. You cannot take it away and you cannot prevent it. And I can barely deal with that, it is a lot. When they're inside you I just rubbed my bump and always said I'd stop anything bad and with Walk and triplets I could until they were born, and then bad things happen and especially with the triplets I've been terrible with dealing with that, but thing is that we have to, at some point, and we can't do anything about it."

"We can be the best parents we can be," Aaron replied.

"I physically can't," Idina muttered. "I could, before last year, but now I cannot be as good as I used to be. And I know you're new to this and it's not fair that you don't get that time when they're babies and you get to control everything except when they choose to sleep, which is rarely on schedule, and you've got two grown up kids to deal with too and I promise I'm trying to be as helpful as I can be and I love you."

Aaron put his free arm around her. "I know love," he replied. "I could not work as hard as you, I have a pretty easy life you know. All the kids, my wife makes so much money I only work because I want to, not because I need to."

Idina smiled. "I want that for you," she replied, kissing his cheek. She kissed their daughter too.

"She, um," Aaron started. "She said she loved me, and that is I am a rather good dad. And I know you wanted her to say it, but I do not want it to become a thing."

"She said it to me too," Idina said quickly, stopping him. "A few days ago. I thought it would make you upset and I would have said something tonight if things had not gone the way they had because of the cards. I hoped she would say something to you," Idina finished.

Aaron kissed his daughter's head. "I love her so much," he said, a tear falling down his face. "It hurts; I'm scared," he muttered.

Idina wiped it away. "I know," she said. She did. She was feeling it too.

"She's my daughter," Aaron muttered, repeating the phrase. "My daughter. I did not know I wanted kid this much."

"And you've got Walk," Idina said, "And three more little milk vampires in the other room."

Aaron chuckled. "I lucked out. You were right about Erika."

"You were right about the triplets," Idina said. "I am so grateful for them. And you, and everyone."

Aaron was grinning ear-to-ear. "Merry Christmas, Chickadee."

"Merry Christmas," she replied. "I miss being pregnant," she admitted. "Not all the side effects, I just miss talking to them and I miss the way we were before everything happened with Taye. We were simply happy with our little secret and I was normal. Walker was happier too."

"I wish we could change it too, Dina," he said. "I'd do anything to change it, you know that."

"Yeah... and I know there is nothing we can do about it."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked, his face losing the whimsical trance he had been in talking about how happy they were.

She shrugged. "I am feeling bad about what it is doing to Walk, and going to do to our family, forever, because it is not going away. I want it to go away, Aaron," she said, starting to tear up. "The look on Walk's face tonight, made me sick."

Aaron hugged her in silence until Idina let out a small sob. "Shh, baby, I'm here."

"The triplets are going to look at me like that one day," Idina said. "Erika does, she is better at hiding it. You do, too, sometimes, when you are tired. Mom, dad, Cara, they look at me like that all the time, like they are waiting for something to happen. It has been a year; I am not getting better than I am now. And everything is so hard right now."

"We'll find ways to make it easier," Aaron promised. "When you need something, let me know."

Idina nodded, then went back to her son. "He fell asleep by himself," she mumbled, "and he's too old for all that don't let the kid get used to co-sleeping nonsense." She smiled slightly. "We'll be okay, in the end, right?"

Aaron nodded in agreement.

"It's a good thing we don't know they were triplets," she continued. "I would have liked to have known about Cindy, of course, but you know the stress and all of it, it is a good thing the way it worked out. You know they recommend reducing to two because the chances of everything going wrong to go down and I would not have been in the right headspace to have that conversation at all. Sorry if I am rambling, I missed talking to you and now it is all coming out."

"I missed talking to you too," he replied. "Come here?"

Idina pouted, but slowly lifted Walker and brought him over with her. He groaned, walking up.

"Mommy?"

"You're going to cuddle with Aaron and me," she said.

"Okay," he replied, closing his eyes again and getting close to Aaron. "Love you, daddy," he muttered.

"Love you too, Walker," Aaron replied, but he was already asleep. He turned to his wife. "Chickadee?" He asked.

"No, it's okay," she said. "If he wants you to be his daddy. That is good. I am not going to come between you two." Then she started talking to herself: "It really is over; this is our life now. I failed co-parenting."

Aaron leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I know it's not what you wanted for Walk or promised me when we started dating, but this is good, for all of us."

She smiled the faintest bit. "I want to do right by him."

"You are," Aaron assured. "And Dina?"

"Yeah?'

"Tell Erika she's a good kid tomorrow," he said. "Like don't make it obvious or anything but, reassure her, you know?"

"I will. How do you think the meeting with the Olsens will go?'

"Well, I am hoping," he answered. "They seem like good people."

"They've been asking me of Walker like Lego or Hot Wheels because they don't want him to feel left out since they got some gifts for Erika."

"That's more than my mom can muster," Aaron said. "They'll both do good to have more positive adult role models."

"I'm sure your mom will come around," Idina encouraged. "Moms are like that, you know," she said lightheartedly. "Well, I hope I will not be like that, but most moms of their generation are. They come around eventually."

"I'm not sure I can forgive her."

Idina blinked, taken aback. Aaron was always one to forgive and make peace. He knew when to let things go and not escalate until they were in a place to problem-solve. His deal was forgiveness.

He must have read it on her face for he continued: "She knew exactly how I felt. She was such a good mom growing up, and I honestly do not know what changed. But she knew that I wanted Erika to be a part of the family and I wanted to become a family with her, and how happy I was when we started feeling like a family. And then the triplets came around and she was so happy when we thought twins. And she had been nice to Erika and Walker. Then this. She hurt them." He gestured to the kids in his arms. "We all have lines and she found mine."

Idina kissed his cheek supportively. "I'm here for you," she whispered. "This whole family is, we all love you so much. You are our heart."

"I know, love," he replied. "Thank you."

"If I wasn't worried, I'd wake the triplets up, I'd bring the over so that you could be smothered in children."

~

At the airport, they met up with Jane.

"Jane!" Walker explained, running up to her on the airstrip where they were about to board the jet. "I'm so glad you're here," he said, speaking a mile a minute. "Come, you have got to help mommy with the triplets before they get too cold. I have been helping out a lot. I am a very good boy."

Jane chuckled. "You're a wonderful son, Walk," she assured him.

"Did you have a good vacation? I had a pretty good one, but we have to go home now," he moaned. "So, we're going to sit around at home because school doesn't start for a week and a bit still."

"Well," she said with a smile, "sounds like there's still a bit of vacation left."

Walker grinned and took her bags so that her hands were free to help his mother.

"Jane, hi," Idina said, relieved, hugging her nanny. "Oh, I have missed you. I want to hear everything," she said. "It is so good to have another adult. Children surround me all the time."

"I'm almost an adult!" Erika said.

"No," Aaron replied. "You are not allowed to grow up until I get my full eighteen years of being your dad. You can stay seventeen, but I will not allow growing up."

"Sucks to be you," Walker replied. "We're going to grow up and you can't stop it."

"No, you're not, stop talking," Idina said, smothering him. "Let's go, we've got a plane to catch."

Walker rolled his eyes. "It is right there, mom. We will not miss it."

~

"This doesn't look like LA," Walker said, puzzled, as he looked out the window. "Where are we? I thought the pilot said we will be descending soon. It has not been long enough. What is going on?"

"Well." Shit. Idina had gotten so wrapped up in the surprise she forgot how she was going to surprise him. "we're not going home; yet."

"What, why? Are you going to a fancy doctor who can fix your brain?"

"What? No, Walk, we are going to Disney World in Florida."

"Oh."

"You're not excited?" Aaron asked.

"I would rather a doctor that could fix mommy, but Disney World is going to be fun. Will security have to follow all of us around?"

"Yes," Idina said firmly, "however, I've made plans for you and Erika to go around the park without Aaron and me, provided you two behave and listen to your security escorts."

"That's a strange sentence," Erika said, chuckling a bit. "Just surreal. Disney World. Security escort." Her face was lit with a wide smile. She looked down at the baby boy in her lap and kissed his cheek. "Aren't you lucky," she said to him quietly, kissing his cheek as he babbled happily.

"You've never been?" Walker asked.

"You've never been either," Idina pointed out. "You've been to Disneyland."

"Oooh, Disney World's the better park, right?" he said, his excitement growing. Idina felt relief come across her tense shoulders as she confirmed.

"Yeah," Aaron confirmed. "Um, surprise?" he offered.

Walker went over and hugged him, then hugged his mom.

"I'm going to have so much fun!" he announced, fist bumping the air. "How is it going to work? What are we doing?"

"I'll explain when we get settled in the hotel," Idina said.