Erika had a tight grip on Aaron's hand while they waited in the lobby. Still unused to upscale venues, she bit the inside of her lip. She looked around, not seeing the Olsens as the waitress checked their reservation. She was holding Soren with her other arm, and the baby gurgled and giggled, pressing his hands against her face. Aaron said something she did not catch and tickled the baby's foot, making him squeal and kick his feet in delight. She looked up at her dad, who had a large smile on his face.

He kissed her forehead, saying: "It's going to be great tonight," then motioning for her to take a seat beside Idina and Jane.

Everyone was here because this was her family now. Well, everyone except the dog who was back on the other side of the country, but she figured they would understand that bringing Louie would have been a bit too much. They wanted to meet everyone... and Erika was fairly certain she wanted them too. And this was everyone, at least, everyone who lived in the house.

She kissed the baby's chubby cheek as he gurgled more, content and grabbing at her dress. Aaron put an arm around her, and she leaned into his side.

"You're so good with him," he whispered to her.

She felt the heat rise in her cheeks and she turned her face away, smiling. Aaron hugged them both, kissing his kids on the head. She took her little brother's hand. The triplets liked her, and it was honest. They were too little for it to be anything other than genuine, as long as they were taken care of, they were usually in enamour of their entire family. Erika told herself she would always be there for the little ones if they needed her. Idina and Aaron were such good parents, and she wanted to be an equally good sister to them.

"I'm hungry," Walker groaned, crossing his arms, and sitting on the floor. He made a face at Zephyr while Idina was not paying attention, the kid lurched and squealed, startling his mother who had been engrossed in conversation, and making Erika chuckle.

This was a family; one she was a part of. Her heart was racing. Was she certain? What would the Olsens think? Did it matter what they thought?

Erika chewed on her lip and played with Soren, trying to distract herself.

Did it matter what Diane and Richard thought of the Menzel-Lohr's? If they did not approve, what would she do about it? What could she do about it? This was her family now, and she was with them and that was that. And she wanted to be with them, at least she thought she did. She did not and she was delusional in some way. It was hard to know.

Diane and Richard knew her, even in the way Idina and Aaron think they know her. Either way, both sets of adults had a better grasp on life than Erika did.

She put a hand over Aaron's. At least this felt nice. That was something.

Erika knew she was not perfect like Elsa had been. She also did not know why that mattered, or why it was eating at her so much.

"What do you want to do in the park tomorrow?" Aaron asked. "What are you excited about?"

"Micky Mouse-shaped food," she said instantly. "It looks so good. Lots of chocolate and things I have never tried before."

Aaron's face lit up. "I need a full list of what is good and bad. Full," he stressed. "And, I would not be surprised if there are some here. Oh, and look for some pretzels, they are amazing. Get them fresh if you can."

"Thanks," she replied, leaning into him again.

"I want you to have a nice holiday," he said.

"It's been so much fun so far," she told him. There were bad bits, but more good ones. Not to mention it was a holiday! "Walker has been doing a whole ride plan. I told him we do not have to do everything on the first day, but he seems determined." A weight lifted as she started talking about how excited she was for tomorrow. She took Aaron's hand to hold it while she talked, looking up at his attentive face occasionally.

It did not matter what the Olsens would think. She liked this, and it was hers. Not exactly what she had imagined, but it was better than she could have hoped. And it was hers.

"What are you and Idina going to do?" she asked.

"I think we'll take the triplets to a little kiddy pool with Jane," he said. Then shrugged. "Dina's a bit worried about getting mobbed."

She nodded and pouted in sympathy.

"You can come with us too later in the day when you're done with the triplets," she said.

"I think you two will be having too much fun to be dragged down by some old guy," he replied.

She shrugged, "Maybe."

The hostess said they could be seated now, and Idina looked relieved as she turned to Erika and smiled, who smiled back. Erika held the baby with both arms as Aaron kept one around her, guiding her through the labyrinth of seats and people.

"Oh my, Erika!"

She turned to see Diane and Richard coming from the entrance.

"You look so grown up!" Diana said, coming over, her hand hovering as she could not figure out how to greet her.

Erika was glad she was carrying Soren.

Richard shook hands with Aaron and Idina while they tried to figure out the seating arrangements between a barrage of introductions and nice to meet yous.

"I'm Walker," the boy announced, standing beside Erika.

"Nice to meet you, Walker," Diane said, shaking his hand. The boy smiled up at Erika.

Soren babbled and reached out to Diane.

"And who are you?" she asked in a high-pitched child voice, smiling at the baby.

"This one's Soren," Erika said, kissing the baby. "He is in a good mood today. Jane, she is the nanny, she has Cindy - Lucinda, and Idina has Zephyr in the car seat because he is a bit fussy," she said quickly, unsure what exactly to say.

"Why don't we sit down," Aaron suggested, and Erika shot him a thankful glance.

Erika tried to put the baby down in a high chair, but he wailed and reached out for her. Aaron picked him up, but he continued reaching for Erika.

"Shh, I've got you," she said quietly to him as she took him back. He gurgled in contentment as she lifted him and rested him on her shoulder.

Aaron pulled a chair out for her, seating her across from the Olsens before taking the chair right beside her. Walker was quick to sit down on her other side, pushing Idina and Jane to the ends of the table, with babies who like their brother did not want to be seated in the high chairs.

"We got some gifts for you," Richard said, pulling the bags onto the table. "We didn't have time to wrap them," he apologized.

"That's okay, thank you so much," she replied.

He slid one over to Walker, saying it was for him. The boy's brown eyes were gleaming as he pulled a large Star Wars Lego kit out of the shopping bag.

"Thank you!" he exclaimed loudly, holding it up for his mother to see. "I'm going to put it together as soon as we get home!"

Erika tenderly took hers, opening the bag to find a bunch of yarn and books.

"Idina said you like handwork," Diane started.

"So, we thought you might like to learn how to knit or crochet. There is a set of needles and hooks for each, enough of the good yarn for a sweater, and then some smaller skeins for practicing stitches. The books have a bunch of patterns in them, so you can make something you will use," Richard finished, too excited to let his wife say much more. They were both grinning, staring her down for her reaction.

Erika pulled out a collection of soft greys and whites. "It's so pretty," she said with a wide meek smile. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

Soren reached out for some, but she pulled his hand away, stuffing everything back into the bag and placing it at her feet.

"Thanks," she said again, smiling and blushing.

"We've got something else," Diane said, "we made this with Idina and Aaron, so it's from all of us," she explained.

Erika looked up at her parents a bit shocked, but curious. They were both grinning back at her.

Diane slid a thin rectangle, wrapped in green paper, across the table to her. There was a large blue bow on it, covered in large sequins.

Erika opened the package, trying not to ruin the paper. Soren kept reaching out for it, so she gave him the corner she had opened, and he happily pulled it off, making everyone at the table coo for him. He clapped his hands giddily.

The gift was a pre-printed photobook, a picture of her from elementary on the front and her name in cursive script.

"We gathered everything we could find," Diane said, "and Idina and Aaron sent us a bunch of pictures they took."

Erika felt the heat rise to her cheeks as everyone looked at her intently. All staring. She bit her inner lip and flipped through the pages, a small smile forming on her lips. Chewing on her nail to stall, she tried to figure out what the right thing to say would be. Thank you did not seem good enough.

Aaron was looking over her shoulder at some of the pictures from her former years, thinking about how much he had missed, wishing he had been there. Of course, there was no way he could have been, he had been living on the other side of the country, but even then... she was his kid, he was supposed to be there, but he had not been there then. Even if he was here now. She had been with them just over a year. That was about... he did the math... five percent of her life? And it made up the majority of this picture book.

"Do you like it?" some asked. Erika was not sure who.

She nodded, still chewing on her thumb nail, and running her fingers awkwardly over the pictures as she tried to keep a grip on the baby. "Lots," she said, feeling the need to say something.

"Stunned to silence," Aaron joked, and she felt a genuine smile of relief grow on her face. She looked up at him and mouthed a thank-you.

Idina was smiling the whole evening. Erika talked a lot, looking up at her and Aaron for confirmation every so often as she talked about events or some minute thing about their house Idina never knew Erika had noticed or liked.

"All the stones, the pool area is made to like real stone, they're all smooth but not slippery." Erika described every detail of her new life as her nervousness lessened. If someone were listening, they could have drawn up a floor plan of their house. "And, um, yeah I like it with Aaron and Idina," she would say often as if it was not already apparent.

"That's wonderful," Diane said, a sweet smile plastered across her face.

"Oh, and we have a dog too!" she said.

Walker perked up, elaborating: "He knows how to dance, and play tag and hide and seek. We trained him together."

"I have some videos," she said, getting her phone. "We couldn't bring him with us this time, so he's at a hotel right now, like a dog hotel in LA, not the Disney hotel," she clarified. "We miss him, but they let us video chat in the evening."

"Show the trick course one," Walker said as Erika went through the files.

She smiled and handed the phone to Robert. Idina could hear her kids giggling in the recording as they led the dog through a mini obstacle course they had made outside and had him dance on a little podium.

"Better than his mom!" Aaron could be heard teasing from out of frame.

"He seems like a wonderful pup," Diane replied, handing her phone back. "You both have done a great job training him."

~

Lucinda was getting fussier, and Idina excused herself to change her baby.

She turned to the corner to the toilettes, baby on her shoulder, little feet kicking her. Idina froze.

"Taye?"

He was as wide-eyed in shock as she was.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Taking Walker to Disney!" she whisper-hissed. "You can't be here." Her brow furrowed. "Why are you here?" Her heart was pounding, and the lights were brighter than they had been a moment ago. She took a step back and felt the tension in her back ease a little. She dropped one hand to dig her nail into her thigh, the sharp pain making everything clear.

"I'm filming a show," he said quietly. His hands were behind his back.

"Well, shit," Idina muttered. If Walker saw him, there would be a scene.

"How are you?"

Lucinda, bless her, started fussing again.

"I have to go," Idina muttered, but Taye was standing close to the door, and she could not bring herself to push past him.

"Walk's here?"

"You can't see him," she replied, her voice going cold.

"I want to see my kid. Is he good?"

"Having a wonderful time. You cannot see him." A tone started ringing in her ear. She patted Lucinda's back, trying to remind herself she would have to put the baby down before she let anything happen. She was shocked her had lasted this long.

Idina bit the inside of her lip until she tasted blood, and the lights dimmed again, her heart still beating fast but no longer pounding in her ears.

Taye looked around, trying to get a glimpse of where Idina had come from.

"Taye, please leave him alone," she whispered. She could feel herself starting to tremble.

They stared at each other for seconds, until Taye nodded and looked away. "Okay," he sighed. "And um, I don't think I really told you face to face, but I am sorry, for everything."

"You should be. More than fucking sorry." Idina's hand dug into her side again, threatening to rip her black dress. She bit down on her tongue.

He took a step back in shock at her bluntness, now no longer in front of the restroom door. "I- how- you," he stuttered.

She could feel her anger boiling up, making her head clouded. Everything she had always wanted to say, all the heartache and tough times. All the yelling at herself in the mirror when no one was home. Right now, she could say all of that to him.

"I'm fine," she replied in a flat monotone voice. "I don't have to explain myself to you," she told him. And she did not anymore. Not even Walker was between them. "I have to look after my kid."

For the first time, he seemed to notice that she was carrying the baby and took a few more steps away from the door.

Idina rushed inside, placing Lucinda down on the changing table before gripping the sides of the sink, shaking so violently she thought she might fall over. Splashing some icy water on her face, Idina tried to collect herself as she felt tears well up in her eyes. Running hands through her hair and pulling at the roots, she paced back and forth, then splashed some more cold water on her face. A sob escaped her lips... but it was not her.

The baby!

Right, she was here to change a diaper, then get back to her family. Staring at herself in the mirror, she clenched her jaw and closed her eyes.

How did the breathing exercises go?

You had to breathe out.... No, first you had to count.

No!

Breathe in, then count, then out, then count. Repeat.

Repeat.

Until everything slows down, the tone dissipates, and the lights stop flickering.

And all that was left staring at her was a red-eyed face.

Lucinda, right. With a deep breath, Idina turned back to the baby.

"I'm sorry little one," she muttered, humming a tune to calm her.

~

Aaron kissed her forehead when she got back. "That was a bit long," he whispered.

"Oh, you know, meltdowns in the bathroom," she joked.

Aaron took Lucinda from her. "Oh, there Cindy," he cooed. "You're supposed to be nice to mommy when she's helping you out."

"Mama," the baby parroted.

"Yeah, that's right." He took her little hand and waved it in Idina's direction. "Hi to mommy."

He got up and put all three babies in the high chairs, and this time no one pitched a fit. His attention soon returned to Erika. The conversation had died down and she no longer had the casual air about her. Her posture was stiff, and she poked at her food, stalling while she ate so she did not have to talk.

Diane and Robert were talking to Walker.

Aaron leaned over. "I'm so proud of you," he said to her.

She looked up, a bit startled, clearly not expecting him to say anything.

"I think I am too," she replied. "Can I have dessert?"

"Of course," he said. "How's the pasta?"

"Fishy," she replied, wrinkling her nose a bit. "I did not know periwinkle sauce meant fish. I thought it would be purple."

"Should have warned you," he admitted.

"Yeah," she said playfully, "you are supposed to do that sort of stuff. Tell me I will not like that food."

"Cross my heart I will next time," he said.

"Pinkie swears," she said instead.

He smiled. Walker's thing with that had rubbed off on her.

"I promise next time you accidentally order fish; I'll point it out."

Her smile was large and genuine.

"Want some of my chicken?"

"Please," she begged. "You can take all the pasta. My mouth is going to taste like fish for days."

Their table was suddenly quiet as Walker stopped talking and started shushing the Olsens. His face was contorted in a pout as he stared at something across the room.

"Walk?" Aaron asked. Idina and Jane were preoccupied with the triplets and bottles, not noticing.

"We have to go now," Walker said. "We're sorry, we forgot we have to go."

"No, we don't?" Erika said, confused. "What did we forget?"

"We have to go," he stressed. "We're sorry," he apologized, turning to the Olsens who were just as shocked as everyone else.

Idina, finally realizing what was going on, took his arm and brought him over to the hallway. Aaron looked over while she crouched down, talking to him quietly. He hugged her, and then she brought him back.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "My dad's here," he explained to the quiet table, "I saw him, and I want to leave." He was looking down at his feet. "Mom said she'd take me back, I'm sorry I should have said that first."

"It's okay Walker," Erika said. "We probably should all go."

"It's fine," Idina said, "if you want to stay. It is probably good that we take the triplets back to the room and wind them down before bedtime."

Erika looked between Idina and the Olsens, clearly conflicted.

"Maybe they can come back to the hotel?" Walker asked. "There's a lot of room!"

"I guess?" Idina looked to Aaron for his thoughts.

He shrugged. It seemed like the right suggestion for everyone. "No objections."

Erika's face lit up. "Do you want to come to the hotel?" She asked Robert and Diane.

"Sure," Diane said. Then, quieter, she asked: "I am assuming, the rumours.. they are true?"

"Taye beat up my mom," Walker said bluntly.

"He was very drunk," Idina said quickly. "He's not going to do anything now," she assured them. "But I'm not going to make Walk stay here if he doesn't want to."

Diane nodded; her face sympathetic.

"Okay, um, do we have to wait for the bill?" Walker asked. "Can I go stand outside?"

Idina started fishing through her wallet, counting bills. "I think that should cover it," she muttered to herself, asking Aaron for his quick math opinion.

Diane started to go through her purse.

"Oh no, please don't," Idina said, I've got it, and you barely finished your plates."

A waitress came over when she noticed everyone standing, and Idina put the cash on the table. "If it's not enough, you can charge it to the hotel room," she said. "The one the booking was made through, something came up, and we have to go, the service was very good," she rambled in one frazzled breath. Please do not go to the media saying I tried to dine and dash.

Erika took Aaron's hand as she stood up, then let go to grab one of the triplets. Soren's face lit up and he reached out for her when she got close to the highchairs. The girl smiled and took her little brother. Aaron helped her get him into the car seat while Idina called for a taxi. Walker kept looking around nervously.

"Don't be worried," he whispered to Walker.

"What if he sees mom? He will definitely want to talk to me. I do not want to talk to him."

"So far he hasn't," Aaron assured him, "and you don't have to talk to him, I promise."

"You sure, even if he's my dad?"

"Yeah Walk, I swear," Aaron assured him.

"And mom won't make me?"

"Dina won't."

"If she tried to, you'll stop her?"

"She won't try," he promised, "but if she does, I promise I'll tell her no."

Walker smiled and hugged Aaron around his waste. "I like you," he said, making Aaron smile. All these years later and he still got excited when the lad accepted him as Idina's chosen partner.

"Why don't you help Jane with Cindy?" he asked.

Walker nodded and went around the table to help out, while, Aaron took Zephyr from Idina. The group made their way to the door, passing through a bunch of men in business suits.

Walker got close to Aaron and pressed himself into his side. "Dad's right there," he said.

Aaron looked around. Taye was talking, but he was moving toward the door. He had not noticed them yet. He was, however, on a collision course with Jane. He watched in slow motion as they apologized, realization dawning on both their faces as they recognized each other. As Idina looked up from her phone, her face fell. Her knuckles grew white as her grip on the car seat tightened. Walker hid his face in his hands.

Jane took Idina's arm and started leading her towards the door, but Taye reached out for her, asking if he could talk to Walker. She shook her head, figure stiff, and tried to shove him off and move towards the door.

"Stay away from mom!" Walker growled. He had left Aaron's side and shoved Taye away. The man stumbled backwards, and heads turned.

"Okay, okay," Taye said, holding his hands up. "How are you?"

"Leave. My. Mom. Alone."

"I am, Walk, I just want to know how you're doing."

"Fine. Leave mom alone." He crossed his arms, refusing to look Taye in the eye.

"Walk, let's go," Idina said quietly. She turned to Taye. "He's doing great." Then back to her son: "We're leaving."

"I want to be in his life more," Taye said, taking a step forward.

"No," Walker said.

"I'm your dad."

"I don't care."

"Walk!" Idina said sternly, pointing to the door, trying to do damage control. "Go sit in the car."

"No," he said, crossing his arms again. He put himself between his parents. "You're going to leave mom alone, that's all that's going to happen," Walker said.

Idina looked over to Aaron, wanting him to step in and take the kid away. His heart was pounding. Usually, he did not come between them. Now, he was expected to. He needed to swallow his nerves. There was nowhere to overstep anymore.

He gently tapped the boy on his shoulder, telling him he had to go to the car.

"I'm not leaving mom."

"This is a conversation for the adults," he said quietly, "no one's going to leave your mom alone."

Walker shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm not leaving mom," he said, his voice trembling.

"Walker..." Idina said quietly, "Pumpkin, mommy's going to be fine, please go sit in the car."

The boy shook his head, shooting an accusatory glare at Taye.

Aaron tried hard not to have a similar expression as he looked over at his wife's ex.

"Walk's clearly not fine," Taye said.

"I'm right here!" the boy exclaimed.

"Okay, lets take a breath," Idina said. There was still no colour in her cheeks. "Taye, when you signed away your parental rights, you stepped out of his life."

"It was the best decision at the time," he said. "If you got committed, what would have happened to our kid? I did not know you would cut my contact with him."

"I did not cut contact, Walker said he did not want to be in contact with you."

"Yeah," he said, backing his mom up.

"You're not doing yourself any favours right now," Idina warned. Her voice wavered. She was not sure how long she could keep this up. She wanted to go back home, not to the hotel room, and wrap herself in warm blankets and sit with her family. She also felt like she could fight a bear. "We've told you when Walker wants to-"

"I will never want to!"

His mom shot him a warning glare. "When Walker is ready, we will let you know. Clearly, that is not here nor now."

The baby started crying.

"Walk, please take him to the car," Idina said, hoping maybe if it were a helpful chore he would do that instead.

"I'm coming right back out," he said, but took the baby.

Aaron looked around, it was now only the three of them in the doorway to a sea of onlookers and cellphones. He brushed Idina's arm, letting her know he was still here. She was hanging in there.

"Okay, Taye," she breathed, letting the tension fall form her voice, "I am not telling Walker that he cannot talk to you. Aaron is not stopping Walker from seeing you. He has chosen that himself."

"He's eleven," Taye argued. "If he decided to drop out of school would you let him do that?"

"No," Idina said firmly, "but as the two people who are his legal guardians, we've decided that forcing him to talk to you is detrimental to him."

"He'll get over it," Taye said. "It's only because you spoil him that he thinks he can get away acting like that."

"If we forced him to see you now, he would only pull away the moment he could," Idina warned.

"That rich, your adopted girl wanted nothing to do with you, now she's the golden child."

"That's different," Idina said.

"You forced her to stay with you. Or at least wooed her with money."

"We didn't," Aaron said. "We met her on her terms, which involved giving her space and time. Walker needs the same."

"If he stays with you two all the time he's going to remember me as the bad guy."

"You're acting like the bad guy," Idina snapped. Tears fell down her face. "He was glad that you went to rehab! He was rooting for you, but he said he did not want to see you yet. We have never said anything bad about you to him. He needs his space and time to figure it out for himself. You are not helping your case. I do not want this for him, I never wanted this for us. But this is where we are."

"Maybe we should go outside too," Aaron offered.

Taye took a step towards the door, and a step towards his ex.

Idina grew as stiff as a board, backing up into Aaron and nearly stoppling them over with the force. She struggled against him as he tried to steady them. Her breaths were short and frequent, her eyes glassy and no longer focused. Her nails dug into his skin in her panic.

"Dina," he said quietly, bringing her back for a moment.

"Help." She barely got the word out, tears flowing freely down her face. "I can't, I can't," she said between gasps for air.

"Let's go outside," he said quietly. He put a hand on her thigh, and she was quick to grab it and hold it there, her nail digging into him as he tried to ground her. She was chewing on the inside of her cheek, irises bouncing across the room.

"Dee," Taye said.

Idina's grip on Aaron tightened.

"We should take this outside for your sake," he said.

"Man, just go outside," Aaron said, his voice flat and completely done. He turned his focus back to Idina. "We should go outside, love."

Maybe she would feel less trapped, maybe they could stop it. She was trying so hard to keep it together.

He pushed wayward hair behind her ear, trying to get her to look at him. Her vision focused on him. She closed her eyes, doing the breathing exercise.

"I can't," she said quietly, shaking her head. "Please get me out," she motioned to all the onlookers.

"Okay, you'll have to walk with me, 'kay Dina," he said, talking her through it as the made the short distance. They were hit with the warm outside air, but his was still trembling. She had goosebumps up her arms

"Mom!" Walker ran over, closely followed by Erika.

They stopped a foot short, looking to Aaron for what they were allowed to do. Idina reached out and they both hugged her tightly. She whimpered, trying to hide it from the kids.

"Mom, I love you," Walker said. It made Idina's lips turn up for the briefest second.

Aaron could hear the triplets fussing, and Jane trying to calm them with a song. He petted Idina, hoping she would pull through. Her breathing evened, but when Aaron looked hopeful she shook her head.

Home, she mouthed.

Maybe the backseat of the taxi would work? Aaron was not sure how to coax her in there without letting her go.

"Mom?" Walker asked. "Can we go back to the hotel?'

Idina wiped her eyes and nodded, sniffling.

"Did Taye do anything?" he asked Aaron.

"No," Aaron said.

Walker frowned in disbelief. "He said stuff."

"He didn't touch her, Walk," Aaron replied. "And this could happen if we'd hadn't seen him tonight."

Walker was mad. He balled Idina's dress in his fist. "I want him to leave us both alone."

"I know," Aaron said. "He is doing that very well, but he loves you. Seeing you makes it harder."

"No excuses," the little boy growled, and Aaron backed off the topic. "let's go back to the hotel."

"Hey!" someone shouted, followed by a camera flash.

Aaron's entire body froze, except for one arm that flew up against Idina's eyes. News was out, people were here. Idina flinched, then clawed at his hand in a confused panic.

"There are paps, Chickadee," he said, but she tried to wrestle him as the kids backed off.

"You're going to hurt mom!" Walker yelled. "What's wrong with you?'

Erika covered her face as an onslaught of bright flashes appeared in the dark of the night, giving everyone headaches.

"What can we do?" Diane asked, surprising Aaron.

"I- She needs to get in the car, at least, or somewhere," he said frazzled.

"Okay," Diane replied sternly.

She put herself between the few cameramen, hoping to block their views, then motioned for Robert to some and do the same. Idina caved and leaned into him, and Aaron tried to steer her away and towards the door. This encouraged them as they came closer, trying to get a better shot.

Walker tried to push one out of the way, but Erika suddenly stopped him to Aaron's relief. The last thing they needed was another court date. The linked arms and tried to place themselves in between their parents and the rogue cameramen who were now in the way of the car door.

Aaron could hear the triplets crying form inside. Jane had thrown their blankets over the windows. There was not enough money in the world to pay her enough.

"Back up!" Walker yelled.

Taye came out to see the commotion. "What's--" he paused as some of the cameras turned onto him. "Walk, what are doing, get out of there," he said when he saw his kid through the crowd.

"Keeping them away from mom!" He yelled back before getting pushed further away, only stopping because he was holding onto Erika. "If you want to stop me, make them move," he challenged.

Taye pushed through the people closer to where Aaron was, closing his eyes and trying to get people out of the way of the car door, pushing away notepads as the crowd kept growing. By now, most people probably did not even know what was happening, only that someone famous was here.

Some of the men from his dinner group came out, horror written over their faces as a few tried to duck back into the restaurant before they were set upon. One of them was radioing for security, and another tried to pull him out.

"My ex has epilepsy," he told him, pointing to Idina. "You know, the Elsa girl. We need to get her somewhere else. And the kids," he looked around, he did not the babies anywhere and prayed for Idina's sake they were not getting trampled, "there," he tried to point out walker and Erika in the crowds, "they need to get out too."

~

Walker flailed at the security when they tried to pull him out and back inside the restaurant. "Help my mom!" he shrieked.

Taye ran over. "They're getting her out," he said. "You were closer."

Walker pushed him away. "Where's mom?" he looked back over, trying to run back in but was stopped.

"Are you, does that hurt?" Taye asked motioning to a cut on his head that was dotted with small beads of blood.

"No," the boy growled. "Where's Erika? And the babies?" he started to tear up. "I want my mom."

"Okay, I know," he said, sitting down beside his son.

Walker crawled away and sat by the hostess stand. Then he stood and looked out the window.

"Mommy's not okay," he said, not looking at him. "And it's your fault."

"It is," Taye said.

"Not the alcohol, yours."

"It is."

"Good."

They stood in silence.

An officer brough Erika in, and Walker ran to her, jumping on her with a large hug.

"Do you know where the babies are?" he asked.

"I think they were all in the taxi with Jane," she said. "I know I put Soren in, and she had Cindy."

"I gave her Zephyr," Walker said. "I think they're alright."

"Me too."

Walker smiled. "Do you know where mom is?"

Erika shook her head, and Walker hugged her tighter as someone burst trough the doors with Idina.

Walker's face lit up. "Mom!"

She was shaking, barely able to stand, her face a scary sort of pale. The security guard sat her down gently and her kids sat down beside her.

Idina did not do much, other than bring her knees to her chest and rest her head on them. Aaron came in a few moments later, looking a bit battered, and sat down beside them as a medic came to check everyone over.

"Mom first," Walker kept insisting.

"She'd not hurt," Aaron assured him. "We made sure." He kissed his wife's temple and tried to take one of her clenched hands.

"Are Diane and Robert okay?" Erika asked.

Aaron nodded, "I told them to get out when it started getting hectic." Then he noticed Walker's scratch.

"It doesn't hurt!" the boy insisted when Aaron wanted to check.

They were given a shock blanket, which they draped over Idina. She pulled it close around her shoulder, still keeping her head firmly in her lap to block out all the light.

"I'm sorry, I made the night bad," Walker said to Erika.

She shook her head and hugged him. "No, you didn't," she said.

Erika reached over him to pat Idina's back. The star was trying to hide it, but they all knew she was crying.

She shot up suddenly, startling everyone. "I think I'm going to throw up," she said to Aaron.

Her eyes blinked open, but she was quick to cover them again. "I'm very much going to vomit," she said, her voice hoarse.

"Mom needs a bowl," Walker said aloud, looking around for someone who would help. He frowned when he saw Aaron on his phone.

"I'm texting Jane," Aaron explained. "She is at the hotel with the triplets. Diane and Robert are helping her with them."

"I'm going to puke," Idina said again, groaning and rubbing her stomach.

Aaron stood up and asked around, bringing her a brown paper bag just in time. Another medic looked over Idina again.

"She's concussed."

"What does that mean?" Walker asked.

"She had a concussion," the medic replied.

"No, she can't," he insisted. "That means she hit her head; mom cannot hit her head. It could make everything worse, how did mom hit her head?"

"We'd like to take her to the hospital for observation," Aaron was told.

"No," Walker instead, "she is not hurt, mom's fine. She cannot go to the hospital."

"They can look after her," Erika said, equally as worried.

"I can look after her," Walker said.

"We can call an ambulance if you'd like to admit her," the medic continued to Aaron, ignoring the outburst.

"Mom doesn't like hospitals," Walker told Aaron.

"Can we have a moment?" Aaron asked the medical officer. When they were alone, he turned back to Walker. "It's very standard," he said. "It doesn't mean anything is wrong with Dina, but even with the smallest concussion they will observe you for hours. Just to make sure. And we want to be sure nothing else is wrong, right?"

"Are you going to go with her?" Walker asked. "What about me?" He sniffled.

"I-- Walk, if you want me to stay with you I will," he said.

"Who will stay with mommy?"

"I don't know."

"Someone has to stay with mommy, what if I go."

Aaron shook head. "You and Erika are going to go back to the hotel, okay?"

"Maybe," he said, looking down. He hugged his mom. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

"Mm, a little," Idina mumbled, "You're so loud there, Pumpkin."

"Sorry," he whispered. "Aaron's going to go with you to the hospital mommy."

"I'm going home with you," Idina said, as defiant as her son.

"No, you do what the doctors say," Walker argued.

"Mmm," Idina agreed, hiding her face in her knees again.

~

They got home from the hospital in the early hours of the morning. No TV, no phones, the general shebang. No rollercoasters.

They tried quietly to open the door, not wanting to rouse anyone, but as soon as the door had latched behind them Walker crashed into Aaron, holding onto him tightly.

"How's mom?" he asked, then noticed Idina was there and squealed, hugging her instead.

"I'm doing alright," she said, smiling. "But you know the concussion drill, no tv, no phone."

"No tests or PE," he added.

"Yeah."

Erika came to the doorway too and hugged Idina.

"You two should be in bed."

"We waited for you," Erika said. "We made brownies. Are you allowed to eat brownies with a concussion? They are Diane's mom's recipe, and they are the best."

"Why don't you let them through the door before they try them," someone else, Diane, said.

"Oh, right," Erika said, giving them some space.

"They asked us to say," Diane explained as Aaron and Idina entered the main area. The place was neat, the kitchen lights low and the TV on but muted. "I hope you don't mind." Robert was dozing, head back on the couch. "I'm sure Jane's a very capable nanny, but with triplets and all I wasn't sure about leaving them alone with only one adult."

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

"Almost," Walker stressed.

"Thank you," Aaron said through a yawn, "very much, I appreciate it so much."

Walker helped his mom sit down and turned off the tv before running to the kitchen to get her a brownie.

"They said they were allowed to use the room service," she continued, "I wasn't sure, they had everything put on the room, but I can reimburse you for what we ate or anything really if they're not allowed."

Aaron shook his head as Erika handed them a brownie. "It's all good," he replied. "Thank you for looking after them."

"Try the brownie," Erika insisted. "It is way better than the cafeteria food. Do you want food? We froze pizza for you, I can out it in the oven." She did not wait for a reply but went to the freezer to pull out the slices and turned the oven on.

"They've been very worried about you," Diane said.

"I know," Aaron replied, looking over to where Walker was sitting with his mom, then over to Erika who was fussing over getting them food. "Usually, things are not this... hectic. Sometimes it is, but there are good moments too, and I swear we are a stable household for Erika. We were not bribing the courts. I know she and Walk worry about Dina all the time, I do too, and more than most kids should about their mom, but there is not much one can do about it." He was rambling lest Diane decided Erika should not be with him. That would top off the evening perfectly.

Diane shook her head. "You guys are the family she's always wanted. We could never be that for her. I'm very glad she's found people who love her as much as we do."

Aaron tried not to tear up.

"Now," Diane said, in that stern motherly voice mothers never unlearnt, "you really should try that brownie before it gets cold."