Chapter 36.4

Jason took Alina, Alice, and Ava to Joe's Diner for a quick snack. He recalled how he promised to get Alice another giant parfait, and he couldn't help but spoil her by buying her one again. Right after that, Jason, Alina, and Alice, all lip-synced to Bon Jovi which confounded Ava who was experiencing all this for the first time in person.

Finally, after a slight delay, Jason led them to an old fashioned theater where they watched the first Toy Story movie together. Jason, who watched the movie with Elizabeth, paid more attention to the group. He smiled when he saw Alice cheering Woody who was down, and when she gasped with horror when Woody and Buzz were picked up by Andy's neighbor who enjoyed destroying toys. He felt smug when he saw her sitting in the chair, her legs dangling since she was short while munching on a large bucket of popcorn. And secretly, he used his lens to take pictures of her face, along with the group from different angles.

Yeah… these will definitely go into the family album, Jason thought. Alice's first time in the theater …

After the movie, Alice skipped out of the theater while holding Jason's hand when the latter pointed at the park that was across the road.

"Hey," Jason said while looking at the rest of them. "You guys wanna take a walk in the park?"

"Yeah!"

The others agreed, especially Alice who jumped up while exclaiming her agreement and Jason led them down the park.

"You've got a friend in me, you've got a friend in me," Alice hummed, singing the song from Toy Story.

"Boy, you've got a friend in me," Jason joined in, singing in a soft voice and surprising Alice. "Yeah, you've got a friend in me."

"If you've got troubles, then I've got 'em too," Alina sang, chiming in and Alice's smile grew wider as they continued singing together.

"There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you," Jason sang.

"We stick together -" Alina sang when Alice joined her.

"We can see it through," Alice finished, their voices merging into one.

"Cause you've got a friend in me. You've got a friend in me," Jason, Alina, and Alice sang together. Jason gestured at Ava to join them but the android only tilted her head bemusedly.

"Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am," Jason continued with raised arms like it couldn't be helped.

"Bigger and stronger too," Alice said while jumping onto a bench. She flexed her non-existent muscles as she sang.

"Mmm, maybe," Alina laughed while shaking her hand, indicating that Alice might be wrong.

"But none of them will ever love you -" Jason sang while picking Alice up and leaning next to Alina.

"- The way I do," Alice finished.

"It's me and you, boy," Alina sang while placing her hands on Jason's shoulder.

"And as the years go by," Jason said while putting Alice down on the bench again.

"Our friendship will never die," Alina sang loudly.

"You're gonna see, it's -" Alice sang.

"Our destiny!" Ava sang in a soprano voice while Alina's and Alice's voices merged with hers in the background. Jason smiled while gesturing at her with encouragement.

"You've got a friend in me. You've got a friend in me," All four sang in unison. "You've got a friend in me!" [2]

Alina and Alice looked at each other before turning to Jason and all three laughed while Ava smiled.

"Ah, that was awesome," Jason said while laughing. "I really needed that, kids. Thanks."

"Yeah, we really should do this more often," Alina said. "So karaoke next time?"

"Now, now. Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Jason said.

"So what's next?" Alice asked, her eyes bright with anticipation at what they would do next.

"Well," Jason said. "It's time for dinner and since I didn't cook that means …"

"KFC! Alice yelled while cheering. Jason smiled when he heard her but stopped when he looked over Alice's head and at a tree that was half-hidden in shadows.

"Yeah … yeah, KFC then," Jason said, his smile faltering for a moment before he focused on Alice again. "You guys go ahead and, uh, I'll - I'll see you back at the mansion."

"Dad?" Alice asked and Jason refused to look at Alice's eyes, the feeling of guilt overpowering him.

"Something's come up," Jason said evasively. "Again. You three go on without me."

"Jason …" Alina asked with some concern. She felt that recently, Jason has been acting differently; he always kept secrets from her but not like this.

"I'll be fine," Jason said while gesturing at himself cockily. "Fenrir, remember?"

That doesn't make you invincible, dummy, Alina thought as she held Alice's hand and left with Ava. Her phone kept vibrating as texts from worried friends like Asami poured in, and she finally replied to them as she walked away.

Jason kept staring at the tree near the bench, his eyes refusing to even blink. A few minutes passed before he spoke, his voice soft but commanding. "You can come out now."

The sounds around him faded as he focused on the breathing figure behind the tree who slowly stepped into the light. Despite focusing his hearing at its maximum, he couldn't hear a footstep as the shadow approached. The hooded figure watched Jason for a moment before slowly lowering their hood and Jason's breath stilled.

The face was so familiar yet distant, her cold blue eyes were shining like crystal blue sapphires, her creamy milk-white skin was as delectable as ever, and that smooth dirty blonde hair was just as he remembered. Jason's eyes lingered on her sweet, petal-like lips for a while, yet the look she gave him was far different from what she would bestow him previously.

"Katelyn," Jason whispered, his voice deep and husky from the various emotions he was feeling. Jason smiled as he looked at Katelyn, his emotions incredibly complicated.

[2] Toy Story's song "You've got a friend in me" by Randy Newman.