My natural body alarm clock woke me up at 5:30 which had me reeling since I stayed up so late waiting for Ashton to come back.
I had felt him move me last night and tuck me into him but other than that I never woke up and fell back into unconsciousness.
His warm front was pressed to my back and his arm was loosely draped around my waist which made it easy for me to slip out of his arms and the bed.
I put my hair back in a ponytail and snatched the black button down he had been wearing yesterday to put over my tank top clad shoulders.
Leaving his room I made my way to the kitchen and started the coffee maker, hoping Ann didn't mind.
I heard the creaking of a door down the hall and soon enough Gracie walked into the kitchen looking as if she was sleep walking.
"Baby, why are you awake?" I asked her softly as she of course came to me with arms outstretched, ready to be held.
She said something that sounded like"I heard you." and then fell right back asleep on my shoulder.
I walked around the kitchen and living room area, rocking her slightly, and would take occasional sips of my coffee. Stopping by the glass windows in the living room I looked outside at the grassy backyard with Calum's footie goal still set up and the sun peaking up over the horizon.
Gracie was warm as I carried her around the two rooms in circles, waiting for everyone else to wake up.
Finally Ann's bedroom door opened and she walked out to the living room, smiling when she saw Gracie and I.
"Good morning." She smiled, obviously still a little tired. "She's up early." Ann nodded her head towards Gracie.
"She does this every morning." I smiled and followed her to the kitchen where she poured herself a cup of coffee, thanking me.
Five minutes later Ashton and Ender entered the kitchen, both groggy.
I noticed Ann watching us as Ashton came to kiss my head then take Gracie from me so I could go shower, a proud and adoring look in her eyes.
After I had showered and changed into black shorts and a white tee shirt, I came back to get Gracie ready, but she was still asleep.
Ashton tried to wake her up gently by bouncing her up and down but when that didn't work he had to tickle her sides until she started to squirm and wiggle, opening her eyes.
He handed her back to me and I took her back to the guest room and dressed her in the outfit she had picked out which was a dress with the top part being a faded yellow with one inch length sleeves, and the skirt of the dress was white and poofed out slightly.
She wanted to wear her black boots again but I had to tell her no and put on her white sandals instead.
Next I took her to the bathroom where I fixed her braids from where she had slept on them and then she sat on the counter while I finished getting ready myself.
Using the curling wand I borrowed from Ari I curled my hair into waves that were more controlled than my natural ones.
Ashton walked in on this part so he could start to shave and get himself ready.
Pulling out my makeup bag I started to apply some concealer which was always strange for me since I rarely wore makeup.
"Mommy, is that makeup?" Gracie asked me and Ashton looked up.
"Yes it is." I answered and moved onto my eyelashes.
"Why are you wearing it?" She asked again.
"Because I want to." I said and finished off on my face.
"You don't need it." Ashton said next to me and I rolled my eyes before picking Gracie up off the counter and sending her to the kitchen.
In Ashton's bedroom I laced up my white converse and put a black baseball cap on.
Breakfast was being cooked by Ann as I came back to the kitchen and sat next to Ashton at the bar eating some cereal and juice.
Ender had gotten ready by himself and came in wearing a light blue polo and khaki cargo shorts.
Once everyone was fed and teeth were brushed, the hassle of getting everyone out to the car proceeded.
Ashton still had my wallet in his back pocket and I was plotting ways to get it back the entire drive to the Australia Zoo.
The moment we pulled up, panic flooded into my system. It was much more crowded than I expected and was insanely busy.
Ashton turned back to look at me from the passenger seat and gave me the same look of nervousness.
We parked the SUV and made our way up to the gates. Ann went to go buy our tickets while Ashton and I pulled Gracie and Ender aside.
"Okay, I need you two to listen to me." I said and crouched down to their level so I could look them in the eyes.
"There are a lot of people here and it is a big place so I want you both to stay within eye sight of us at all times." I said to them and Ender nodded.
"Gracie," I looked at her seriously,"You have to hold onto someone's hand while we walk through the zoo. Either my hand or Daddy's hand but don't let go, understand me?"
She nodded and I stood up, taking ahold of her hand.
When I looked up Ashton was giving me a strange look.
"What?" I asked him.
"Nothing, you just referred to me as her dad." He said, a smug grin showing up on his face.
"Well if anyone was going to be, it should be you." I shrugged and he reached out to take my free hand, tugging me towards him so he could kiss my temple.
Ann came back over and handed us our wristbands for us to enter the zoo, so I helped Ender put his on while Ashton helped Gracie.
As we entered the zoo I became very aware of the actual amount of people that were crowding around us.
I had never been with a group of people this size and with Gracie and Ender there it only heightened my anxiety. I felt like everyone was closing in on me and I forgot to breathe for a moment.
"Carter." Ashton said to me and snapped me out of my phase.
He wore the expression of concern and squeezed my hand.
"You good?" He asked.
"Yeah, it's just a lot of people." I said, my eyes furiously glancing around my surroundings.
"We're gonna be fine. Just hold my hand." He gave me an assuring smile and I stepped closer to him, pulling Ender along with me.
Gracie walked between Ashton and Ann, holding onto both of their fingers. It made me happy to see Gracie warming up to Ann and I'm sure it made her and Ashton happy too.
The first thing we saw were the different types of lizards which Gracie called "slithereds" and Ender found that hilarious.
After that we saw Otters which Gracie loved and squealed while they splashed around in the water.
We wound along the pavement, stopping to look at turtles, alligators (that Ender absolutely freaked out over because he thought they were awesome) and then stopped at one of the rides there that was similar to the tea cup ride at Disney World.
Gracie and Ender wanted to go on it so we did as they wished, Gracie laughing the entire time we spun around. There was something about Gracie that whenever she laughed, you laughed, or whenever she smiled, you smiled.
When the ride was over Ann held Gracie's hand by herself to look at a few koalas until we got to the crocodiles and Gracie got scared.
They were loud and mean looking and would snap their jaws which she didn't like and practically climbed up Ashton so he could hold onto her.
She clung to him furiously as they followed me and Ender around because we wanted to see them. Ashton hung back with Gracie while Ender, Ann, and I walked up to get closer looks. Ender had me take his picture and then Ann took mine and Enders.
We watched the handlers feed them and talk about their backgrounds before we went back to join Ashton and Gracie.
After we had looked at the crocodiles we wanted to have lunch before going to see everything else.
We ended up at a place called Dingo Diner and had a nice lunch before heading back outside with replenished energy.
"I have to go to the bathroom." Gracie suddenly said and I nodded, looking around for one.
Ender wanted to go back to see the crocodiles again, so Ann offered to take him while Ashton would stay with me and we'd meet back at the crocodiles.
Finally I found a bathroom for Gracie and took her inside, Ashton leaning against a fence while he waited for us.
"Mommy I want to see the ele...ele.." Gracie tried to say while she washed her hands.
"Elephants?" I asked.
"Mhmm." She nodded.
"Okay, well we will see them soon, I promise."
We dried her hands off and I swept her up into my arms, walking outside to join Ashton, but when I got out there I couldn't see him.
My eyes scanned the area trying not to freak out until I realised why I couldn't see him: he was surrounded by a group of girls.
I didn't know what to do at first as I watched him chat with them, occasionally flashing a smile but ultimately keeping a stern-ish look.
"Mommy let's go get Daddy." Gracie said in my ear but I didn't move.
I was about twenty yards away from him and I couldn't hear anything he or the girls he was with were saying.
"Mommy." Gracie said to me again and I blinked trying to figure out if I should walk over to him or wait for him to see me.
Thankfully I didn't have to decide because his eyes flashed up and met mine. His hazel orbs went wide and he stood up straighter, said something to the people he was with, and began to walk in my direction.
The girls all whipped around as he left to see what direction he was going in and I made eye contact with a few of them.
One girl in particular with straight blonde hair smiled and waved at me which I found odd but smiled back slightly anyways.
Gracie reached out for Ashton as he approached us and he took her up in his arms, settling her on his side.
"Who were they?" I asked as we started walking to meet Ender and Ann.
"Just some girls I knew from when I was in school." He gave me a smile and reached out to take my hand.
We had only walked about ten yards when Gracie asked Ashton a question that had him looking at her like she was crazy.
"Is Mommy your girlfriend?"
"Yes!" He answered her, laughing. "You know that."
"I know. I was just checking." She giggled and we both burst out laughing.
"You were just checking?" Ashton asked her.
"Mhmm." She said and got quiet for a few moments before asking another question.
"Do you love her?" Gracie asked and I almost stopped in my tracks, my heart giving out right there.
Ashton's jaw dropped and he looked at me surprised but with a light behind his eyes.
He moved his lips like he was going to say something and my heart was beating out of my chest; expectant, hopeful, and terrified.
Instead of saying it out loud to me he opened his mouth like he was going to, smirked, then turned away to whisper in Gracie's ear.
She giggled as he did so and when he was done saying whatever he did he pulled away and spoke so I could hear, "But don't say anything; it's a secret."
Bewildered I opened my mouth to fire back.
"That's just wrong."
"You'll find out soon enough." He sent me a wink and my heart skipped a few beats at his words.
Finally we made our way back to where Ender and Ann were watching some of the crocodiles.
"Hey guys! Ready to go see something else?" I asked as we walked up to the glass, Gracie a little more calm this time.
"Yeah." Ender said and gave one last longing glance at the crocodiles and then tagged along as we made our way to the other exhibits.
At the koala walk through, Ender was able to hold a koala and Gracie was able to pet it but not hold it since she was so small and under the age limit.
Apparently Ann had bought the special ticket as a surprise for the kids and I made sure they thanked her.
"Thank you Ms. Irwin." Ender said after he had gotten his picture taken.
"Thank you Irwin." Gracie said and we had a laugh before quickly correcting her.
"No, her names Ms. Irwin." I said to Gracie. "Or is there something else you'd prefer she call you?" I turned back to ask Ann.
"She can call me whatever." Ann shrugged.
"What about Grandma?" Ashton suggested and we all turned to look at him.
"Only if it's okay with Ann." I said.
"Of course it is, I can be Grandma." Ann smiled and ended up carrying Gracie around for a little while.
At the giraffe exhibit I stood back with Ann while Ashton took Gracie and Ender up close.
Glancing to my right I noticed the same group of girls from earlier standing nearby, occasionally looking over at me and then over at Ashton.
"Carter, are you okay?" Ann asked next to me.
"Yeah, it's just those girls over there. They were talking to Ashton earlier and I think they're following us around."
Once the words left my mouth I realised how absolutely crazy I sounded.
"I'm sorry, it's nothing, I'm just being weird." I apologised to Ann.
"No it's okay, why don't we get Ashton and move along to the next thing?"
I smiled gratefully at her and she went to go get Ashton while I remained back by a short wall.
When Ashton and everyone else got to the part of the sidewalk I was on, Ashton looked both ways to make sure no one was coming and set Gracie down, her little legs and feet somewhat wobbling as she ran across the concrete to me. Once she reached me I put my hands under her arms and picked her up, spinning her around in a circle before pulling her in close and kissing her cheek.
"I think the elephants are next, do you want to go see?" I asked her and she squealed in delight.
Walking in the opposite direction of the girls, we finally made our way to the elephants. Gracie's jaw dropped and Ashton hurried to get his phone so he could capture the moment.
We all took pictures with the elephants and I promised Gracie that if they had a stuffed elephant at the gift shop I would get it for her.
Thankfully when we arrived they did so I picked a small grey stuffed elephant and began to make my way to the counter before realising my wallet was in Ashton's back pocket.
He and Ender were off looking at the crocodile merchandise the zoo had so I came up behind them, scheming on my mind.
"Find anything you like yet?" I asked sweetly and Ashton turned around to look at me.
"We're still deciding." He smiled and I boldly leaned forward to press my lips to his ear while my hand carefully started to slide into his pocket.
"Well hurry up then." I whispered and then pressed a kiss to his ear, my hand dipping into the pocket as I distracted him and then gently yanked it out as I walked away.
"What the-" he said and then realised what I did. "Really Carter?"
"Really!" I called back to him as I sauntered away, sticking my wallet up in the air.
I paid for tee shirts for me and Gracie along with her stuffed animal. I made several failed attempts at trying to buy Ender's souvenirs but Ashton paid at the other end of the checkout counter from me, shooting me smug smiles the entire time.
By the time we had left the zoo Gracie was zonked out in Ashton's arms, clutching the elephant toy to her.
She napped the entire ride home but woke up when we walked through the door to the Irwin household.
"I'm hungry." She said to me as I set her on the sofa and Ashton went to go find her a snack.
The rest of the evening went smoothly as we spent it just hanging out with each other. Gracie and Ann started on a board game while Ashton and I watched. Ender was forced to take a shower by me since I told him he smelled like koala.
We ordered Chinese takeout for dinner and Ashton of course picked on me and Gracie for both having chicken fried rice which was "basic".
To that Gracie replied that he was basic and Ashton about fell off the couch.
We watched television for about an hour and then I got up to get Gracie in the bath and ready for bed.
She came out into the living room in a lavender coloured night gown to tell Ashton she was going to sleep so he could help tuck her in.
"Goodnight sweetheart." He said as he placed her bunny under the blanket like always and added her new elephant that she decided to name Ellie.
"Sweet dreams love." I leaned down and kissed her cheek.
"Night." She said and turned over in her blankets, snuggling up to her new toys.
Ashton and I left her room and went out to the living room with Ann and Ender to finish off our evening.
--
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
I hope you enjoy the chapter and I'll have the next one up soon!
As always, vote and comment if you'd like and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!
much love xx -M