Mac's POV
Noel left a few hours ago to go on her sleepover date and Jack, Jack Jack, and I have been hiking for a while. We head to the restaurant to meet up with Mia and Cassian and Jack and I are equally nervous about it. I don't think Cassian will be like his dad but I don't want him to break her heart. I know she isn't my daughter or sibling but I still feel like I'm responsible to protect her. We walk in and Mia immediately spots us. We meet her and Cassian at the table and get introductions out of the way. "So Cassian how long have you known Mia?" Jack asks. "About 2 years. We met each other through some college courses we were taking." He says. "How long have you been dating?" I ask. "About 6 months give or take." Mia says. "6 months? This feels like deja vu." I say more to myself. "What?" Mia asks. "I'll tell you later." I say not wanting to bring up how much Mia reminded me of Riley. "Well Cassian what are you planning to do for work?" Jack asks. "I would like to work for something like the CIA or the FBI. Mia enjoys the think tank so I want something that I can do where we can still talk about similar things." He says. I choke on my water when he brings up the think tank. Mia notices and gives me the 'yea he doesn't know' look. "Yea Mia is doing really well at the think tank. She has great potential." I say playing along. We continue talking for a while and I can't help but think how Mia and Cassian's relationship reminds me of Riley and Aubrey's. We leave and I talk to Mia on the way home.
"Why were you acting so weird tonight?" She asks. "It's just..... Your sister was in a relationship with this guy named Aubrey. She kept it a secret for 6 months until she finally told me on a mission in Germany. The other thing about their relationship was Aubrey couldn't know what she did so she had to lie to him a lot. Eventually their relationship was full of too many lies for them to keep going." I say. "It's hard not being able to tell him what I do but we love each other and maybe someday I'll be able to tell him." She says.
Riley's POV
Izzy's party went pretty well and now it's time for me to go meet up with Noel, Olly, Leanna, and Bozer for breakfast. I get to the restaurant and spot them. "So how was it?" I ask them. "Pretty good." Noel says smiling. "Were you okay with your anxiety?" I ask. "Yea. Olly helped me through it." She says. "So what did you guys do?" I ask. "We watched Star Wars and Olly made bags of snacks and stuff for us. Then we played clue and I actually won for a change instead of losing to dad." Noel says smiling. Olly and her started having their own conversation and we eat. After we finish we head out side and Noel was getting her stuff out of the car. Leanna pulls me aside. "So I thought I would let you know. When I went to wake them up this morning they were sleeping together and Olly was hugging her from behind." She says smiling. "Well at least they have acknowledged their feelings for each other. Plus they're old enough to know how to make good choices so I trust them. They're smart kids." I say smiling. We say goodbye and Olly hugs Noel before whispering something in her ear. We see them both smile and we head home.
When we get home Noel and Izzy talk about the different events they both experienced last night. "Oh yea you have birthday presents to open." Izzy says. She sits next to Noel on the couch and I help gather the presents for her to open. There is a present for the twins that I told Izzy she wasn't allowed to open without Noel cause I didn't know exactly what it was. We all sit in the living room watching as she opens her presents. She got a new sweatshirt and shoes that were blue and the sweatshirt had the Disney logo on it. She continued opening presents until she got to the joint one. Mom starts recording the girls as they open it. They both give confused looks when they see a box with Disney character on it. "Open it." I say trying to figure it out myself. They open it and Noel picks up a piece of paper. "Dear Noel and Izzy, This year you are turning thirteen and next year you are gonna be highschoolers. We thought what better way to celebrate your 8th grade graduation than to go to Disney World with your family and don't worry Olly, Leanna and Bozer are coming too. Start thinking about what your gonna bring and let's end this school year with a bang. Love grandma and Jack." Noel says smiling. "Really?" Izzy asks. "Yep. Mom, dad, me, Jack Jack, Mia, Jack, Olly, Leanna and Bozer are gonna go with you to Disney World." Mom says. I'm crying a little because Mac and I had been wanting to take the twins and Jack Jack to Disney we just never got around to planning it. They both hug my mom and we all start discussing what we are gonna do.
After the kids head to bed I talk with my mom. "You didn't tell me you were planning a trip. Do you need help with any of it?" I ask. "Riley, this is supposed to be a vacation for all of us. What I need you to do is focus on trying to relax for a little bit. Same goes for Jack and Mac. Those two never stop working." She says. "I know. I promise I will try to relax on the trip as long as you let me know if you need help with anything." I say. "I will." She says. We smile and both head to bed.
