"Kathryn," a voice calls, penetrating the fog of my sleep. I turn over, pulling the puffy blanket over myself even more. It's grown a little colder as August ends, and the air conditioner in my room has done nothing to help with that.

The blanket is ripped away from me, and I groan, curling up in a ball. Goosebumps rise on my skin, and I cover my head with my arms.

Someone leaps onto my bed, followed by someone else, and the mattress rocks back and forth as they jump up and down. I shriek and open my eyes to see John and Alex, both in pajamas and sock feet, bouncing around my bed and flinging pillows at each other. When they see that I'm actually awake, they both bend down over me.

"A very merry unbirthday!" Alex loses his balance and falls off the bed, landing on the floor on his butt. John snickers and throws a pillow at him.

I sit up eagerly. "It's my birthday!" My morning coldness has been forgotten, and I give John a hug. It's kind of hard to believe that I'm fourteen now. A year ago today, I found out that I was getting adopted. A year ago today, my life changed forever. I look over at the clock on my desk. "It's also four in the morning."

John hops off of the bed and pulls me with him. "We know, honey. Come on, get up and get dressed."

"Why do I have to?" I rub my eyes and stand up. The cuffs of my pajama pants, which I rolled up last night, are now drooping around my ankles.

Alex is grinning wickedly. "We have a flight to catch, mija, and we're late, we're late, we're late!" He stands up and puts my blanket back onto my bed.

I'm caught off-guard. "What flight? Did I zone out during another family meeting?" John is already pulling a large suitcase from my closet, one that I never even saw before.

He snickers and hands me the suitcase. "Nope. This is called a surprise birthday trip. Now we're going to go and get dressed- you need to, too. There are clothes in the dresser for you, so you can match us."

The two of them exit, leaving me mystified as to what we're doing. I pull open the bureau drawer and find a wrapped package that feels squishy and soft, like clothes. When I unwrap it, a bunch of neatly folded clothes fall out onto my feet. There's a soft teal sweater and a cheerful yellow skirt, teal knee socks and what looks like a fedora. I'm confused for only the briefest of moments before it dawns on me that my dads must want me to dress up as something.

Once I get downstairs, it becomes a little clearer. John is wearing a striped shirt, shorts, and an electric orange snapback hat. Alex has a white collared shirt, purple shorts, and a hat to match John's, only bright green.

"I'm a platypus." The words fall out of my mouth as part shock and part amusement. "You guys have me dressed as a secret agent platypus."

John nods. "And I am Phineas, and your father is Ferb. I find it funny, too- normally, he's the one who does all the talking." Alex elbows him in the ribs.

"Am I allowed to ask where we're going?" I have a general idea, but I want confirmation.

Alex spreads his hands. "I'll give you...how many should we give her, John? One guess?" John nods. "We'll give you one guess, based on everything we've said and done this morning."

I don't even need to think about it. I throw my arms around them, squealing and sending my fedora to the floor. "We're going to Disney?"

John ruffles my hair, then bends down, picks up my hat, and sets it back on my head. "There you go, my dear, working things out like the secret agent you're dressed as."

Alex grabs the handle of his suitcase. "Come on, or we're going to miss the flight. I wasn't joking when I said we were running late."

*********

Twelve hours later, give or take a few moments, we're sitting on the beach of our hotel. Alex and John are sharing a lounge chair, and Alex keeps taking selfies. I've been alternating between swimming and lying in the sand under John and Alex's chair. We're going to the Magic Kingdom tomorrow, but we're just relaxing today.

"Was that your first time on a plane, Kat?" John calls to me on my third resurgence from the water. I don't even need a towel- the Florida heat is enough to dry me in a matter of minutes.

I nod, my wet hair sending droplets of salty ocean all over. "I was always fostered in New York, so there was no reason for me to fly anywhere." Many foster kids don't ever leave the state they enter the system in, but others are flown all over the country trying to find a good home. Emmy came all the way from France.

"Well, you held up surprisingly well. There was a lot of turbulence on this flight." Alex has set his phone down, finally, and has pulled a small book from his pocket. "Now go swimming so I can read to your father."

I pretend to gag and go tearing back down the beach, diving into the warm water. I love my dads, and I love that they love each other, but sometimes their lovey-dovey PDA drives me just a little insane.

When I walk back up, the two of them are kissing (again) and wrapped in each other's arms. I poke them, and they spring apart. "Hey, just so you guys know, the three of us are sharing a hotel room, so you two need to behave yourselves."

John looks up at me, laughing. "Okay, okay. We'll try our best."

"Thank you." I adjust the strap on my swimsuit and then grab a towel out of our bag. "Make sure you actually try."

********

The next morning, it's my turn to jump on the bed, and I do so with an evil enjoyment. Alex groans, and John rolls over the edge and lands on the floor. He takes the blankets with him, and Alex follows the blankets. I spreadeagle onto the bed, victorious. "Good morning!"

"What time is it, even?" John rubs his eyes, pushing Alex and the blankets off of himself.

"Six fifty-one. It's practically seven!" I climb down from the bed and slip into my bunny slippers. I brought them from home because they're my favorite shoes, next to my Converse.

Alex gets up. "I guess this was technically our fault for encouraging you to have that coffee ice cream last night."

After the beach last night, we went to one of those character dinners that they have at Disney. I got to meet all of my favorite princesses, including Moana, who actually came and sat with us for a while because she thought we were cool. Then, John had found out that apparently, the best ice cream in Orlando was only a few miles away. That turned into twenty miles of driving and wrong turns, but we did indeed find the best ice cream in Orlando. All things considered, it was an excellent way to turn fourteen.

Now, we're finally going to the Magic Kingdom- if I can make my lazy dads get up.

"Can we dress up again today?" I open my suitcase, which is full of what look like costumes.

"I guess we can. Who should we be today?" John stands up, too, and sits on the bed. Clearly, on vacation, he is not a morning person. I'm already raring to go.

Alex shrugs. "We could do Alice in Wonderland." He stretches, then opens the curtains, flooding the hotel room with light.

I hop up, clapping. I love Alice in Wonderland- it's one of my favorite movies, books, and musicals. I want to be in the ballet, because that's the only way I could ever be in it. I can't sing worth anything (doesn't mean I don't try), and I'm a really bad actress.

John points to a blue package in my suitcase, and I unwrap it. Inside is a perfect outfit for my cosplay- a light blue shirt and a white tulle skirt, black and white striped tights, white suspenders, and a black headband. I look up. "I don't own any of this stuff."

"Surprise. Happy birthday!" Alex grins. "We figured the Disney trip was your main present, but the costumes are a little something extra from us."

I jump up to hug him. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I grab the clothes and make my way into the bathroom to get changed.

********

I'm riding an adrenaline high as we step off of Space Mountain, and I can tell my dads are, too. The three of us are skipping down the 'street', all hand in hand. John's bunny ears are lopsided, and Alex's Mad Hatter top hat is thoroughly askew. We have had one of the most fantastic days ever.

Every single moment, from the first step through the gates, has been absolutely amazing. We got to meet some of my favorite characters, and I got to take a picture with Alice in Wonderland, who asked my for my autograph! John hopped around yelling at everyone to hurry up because he was late, and Alex tipped his hat and bowed to every princess we saw.

It turns out that Alex doesn't much like roller coasters- something we discovered when we dragged him onto Space Mountain after forty-five minutes of standing in line. His screaming throughout the ride was pure terror. He made John hold his hand for the whole ride, which meant I had to sit next to a total stranger.

"You three look happy," someone calls, and I jump. I don't like hearing voices I can't find any attachment to. Perched on a large marble fencepost and grinning at us is Peter Pan, his hat cocked at a rakish angle. He has an expression that Miss Falcon would have called 'cat who swallowed the canary'. I hate that expression, though, so I've decided that he just looks thoroughly self-satisfied.

"Yes, indeed," John calls back. He's playing with the chain on his pocketwatch, twirling it around his fingers like a cat's-cradle. "This is kind of a celebration."

"Oh, really?" Peter swings one leg and tips his hat to me. "What are you gentlemen and lady celebrating?" His dark red hair hangs over one eye.

I grab onto the fenceposts and brace myself with one sneakered foot, then precariously balance along the top ridge. Peter grabs my hand and pulls me up to the top of the fencepost with him. There's just enough room for both of us.

Alex laughs. "Be careful up there! We're celebrating the one-year anniversary of our daughter's adoption." He removes his top hat, runs a hand through his hair (which I know for a fact he didn't brush this morning), and then replaces it.

Peter claps cheerfully. "Oh, congratulations! You seem so happy together." A slight breeze ruffles the cardinal's feather in his cap.

"We most definitely are." My foot slips, just a tiny bit, on the marble fencepost, but I manage to steady myself.

"Careful!" Peter chuckles, then reaches into the pouch on his belt and pulls out a handful of something that glitters in the afternoon sun. Very carefully, he reaches out and sprinkles it on top of my head.

I laugh, and then sneeze. "What on earth was that?" Tiny shards of sparkling light fall around my face as I shake my head.

"Pixie dust." He grins. "An adventurous girl like yourself should have a little insurance if she's going to climb about like that."

John snickers. "Heaven knows this one needs it." Alex stands on his tiptoes to adjust John's rabbit ears.

Peter grabs the edge of the post and swings himself down. There's barely a thump as he touches the ground. "Well, glad to know I could help. It was very nice to meet you." He reaches up and catches my hand in his again, helping me put two feet on solid ground once more. He tips his hat to us one more time, and then I swear he disappears.

"You want to go and find a Dole Whip?" Alex asks, hooking his arm through mine. "It's this weird pineapple dessert thing they have here."

"You had me at pineapple," I reply, hooking my other arm with John's. As we set off, I have a tiny suspicion that Peter's fairy dust really worked- I truly feel like I'm flying.