Aki- Happy and sad at the same time is this bittersweet last chapter of 'A Walk in the Park' and yes, they go to the park. Read and enjoy. I thank all of you who started with 'Christmas Miracles' and stuck it all the way through to the end here.
What I always wanted
It was a beautiful morning. The birds were chirping merrily outside and Mr. and Mrs. Mariano lay cozily inside their bedroom, sound asleep and peaceful…but not for long.
The light was suddenly turned on and someone jumped on top of the two in bed, making both grown.
"Get up, get up, get up…"
"Amber, you are much too big to do this anymore," groaned Jess trying to push her off, but to no avail.
"Wake up," whined Amber again, maneuvering into the gap between Jess and Rory ,
"No, no, no. Too early…," crooned Rory, trying to evade waking up.
"I'll give you ten minutes," warned Amber, climbing out of the bed and standing by the foot of it, "Until I come back with the bucket of ice water." And with that she exited
Rory half rolled over to look at Jess. "Do you think you should go through with that threat?"
"Have you met your daughter?"
"Getting up," said Rory, sitting up hesitantly in bed.
Jess also sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed, "Why did our daughter have to turn out so vindictive?"
"She gets it from you," replied Rory stumbling to her dresser.
"Even I'm not even this cruel."
…
Not long later the two came out of their bedroom, rubbing their eyes and sloppily dressed. Rory spotted something in the corner of the living room and shook he head in disbelief.
"She actually had a bucket of water."
Amber came out of the kitchen looking cheery, "Hey, Mom, Dad."
"What was so important that we had to get up at the crack of dawn to do?" asked Jess in reply.
"A picnic," answered Amber as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"A picnic?" Jess questioned incredulously.
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Because."
"Why?"
"Because."
"You know your sixteen, right?"
"Come on, when's the last time we've done something together."
"Um…yesterday."
"No, all three of us."
"Last weekend."
"Just the three of us."
"Just all the three of us?"
"It's been forever. So we're going to the park and having a picnic. It's already packed."
"You got us up to have a picnic?" said Rory in aghast. "I'm pregnant, I need sleep…and you're a teenager. Aren't you supposed to be tired all the time?... And! I can't drink coffee!"
"Stop complaining. You'll wake up fine when you're greeted with the cool breeze outside…By the way, you might want to bring a jacket."
"What?"
Later at the park…
The park was comfortably empty as the small family walked through it, trying to find the ideal picnic spot. Amber had recruited Jess to carry the sizable basket of food while he walked slowly behind the two girls.
Amber took a deep breath of the crisp morning air and reminisced for a moment. "It's a miracle," she muttered to herself.
"What?" asked Rory, confused by Amber's sudden statement.
"Oh, um, this, you know. Me and Dad and you and my future little bro or sis. Everything that I always wanted."
"And what was that?" asked Rory curiously.
Amber smiled and then stated matter-of-factly, "A family."
Rory observed her teen daughter for a moment and asked another question in genuine interest, "And that's a miracle?"
"Of course it is," explained Amber. "I've always thought so. I mean, it's not that crazy. All you need for miracles to occur is love…oh, the perfect spot." Amber ran over to claim a hillside under a tree. Rory paused on the sidewalk and watched as Amber and Jess, daughter and father, began setting up. Maybe, just maybe, it was a miracle, maybe that is what a family was.
Rory placed a hand on her stomach. Things were going to be different this time. Rory glanced up at Amber and Jess, blinking back a few pending tears. Things were going to be different from now on. She was going to be the mother she always should have been. She was going to be the wife that stood up for and stood beside her husband. And she was going to continue to be the daughter, the granddaughter, and the friend she should be.
But she still had a lot to learn, they all did. Although it seemed that Amber had a better grasp on life than she, and probably Jess, did. She wished everyday life could be as easy as this, as a walk in the pack and a picnic under an oak tree, but it wasn't. But really, thought Rory, that hard stuff, the tough lessons learned, the painful mistakes, those were the times that made moments like this so worth living.
"Mom, come on," whined Amber, waving Rory over, already comfortably reclined on the picnic blanket.
"Yeah, Rory, come on," added Jess, mimicking his daughter's tone, earning him an evil glare.
Rory smiled and understood instantly what her daughter had been talking about mere minutes ago. This truly could be nothing short of a miracle.
Okay a few things. I'm not one to beg for reviews, wait, yes I am. Come on, push me over one hundred people. It's the last chapter of a series; the time to review is now!
Now that I'm done being weird. I have a C2 called 'One Shot Heaven,' for great or just really, really good one shots. Check it out. If you want to make a suggestion, leave it in a review, or e-mail me. If you want to join the staff, again, tell me in a review or e-mail me. It's simply a C2 for amazing one-shots of any ship or plot, angst or fluff or anything in between. I love stuff that is unique.