Chills and Thrills

[Patch Adams]

When Nicholas hid behind Layla, Patch gave an exaggerated gasp. "Oh no. My kryptonite!" He clutched his chest and dropped down to his knees. "Curses!"

With a shaking hand, he pointed to the young boy and narrowed his eyes. "You have bested me for now, little one. But this is not the end of me! You will see me again!" He shook his fist up into the air.

[OOC: Feel free to move them forward ^-^]

[Layla Harlow]

Layla rolled her eyes at the overly dramatic display of defeat that Patch was showing for her son. People were glancing at the three of them as if something wrong because Patch was on the ground and Layla was laughing with her son. Okay, perhaps the scene itself was a little odd, but Layla didn't care what the other people thought of them. Nicholas was laughing, he was happy and Patch even seemed to be, too. That was ultimately the only thing she wanted to come from today.

"Alright, alright. Let's go ride things. Nicky, are you hungry or thirsty? You should drink some water because we've been out here walking around a lot. You too, Patchy," Full mom mode came into effect and she dished out some water bottles from the bag that Patch had packed for all of them. She uncapped Nicholas' bottle and he took it with a roll of his eyes. She could practically hear him telling her to stop being such a mom, but she couldn't shake the habit. Especially seeing as how she did the same thing when she handed Patch his water bottle.

Layla grinned at Patch when she realized what she had done and once Nicholas handed her the water back, she took a drink. "So which ride next? The corkscrew one, the spinning wheel of puke or the super tall one way over there," She pointed to the far end of the park.

Nicky jumped up and down, "Wheel of puke! Wheel of puke! C'mon Patch!"

[Patch Adams]

Layla's full on mom mode made Patch laugh as he straightened himself up and accepted the bottle from her. "Thanks mom." He rolled his eyes, mimicking Nicky in that respect. He, of course, knew the little kid appreciated Layla's mothering. He may squirm and whine whenever Layla tried to hug or kiss him too much but Patch would always see the small grin on his face as he did so.

The choices Layla gave Nicky had Patch snorting at the choice he ended up making. The kid was definitely turning out to be more like Patch than he had initially thought.

"Last one there is a piece of mom's apple pie." He teased, jerking his shoulders up at Layla in not-too-sincere an apology. It was a running joke they had that of all the things she cooked, apple pie was not her best. At all.

He took off running, though obviously waiting for Nicky to keep up.

[Layla Harlow]

Patch's response was met with a playful glare that only lasted a second before she broke out into a smile and ruffled his hair, "You're welcome my little munchkin." Two could play at that game if he wanted to poke fun at her mom-ness! Of course she loved their banter and even if she got ganged up on by her favorite boys, she couldn't get enough from it. The two of them were so much alike sometimes that it made her feel like someone was squeezing her heart.

"Hey!" Layla's hand flew to her chest in mock hurt as Nicky burst into a fit of laughter. He doubled over and nearly missed Patch's head start. Once he noticed though he took off sprinting after.

Layla was a little more reluctant to run at first, but then she figured she'd just have to beat them in order to show them both up. Heaving the bag over her shoulder, she took off after her boys and caught up to her little boy just then. Her muscles were lacking, she was too frail to keep up, but she was trying and she was laughing which was the only thing that mattered.

Once the three of them came up on the wheel, Nicholas inched past Patch and threw his hands in the air, "Aha!! I won! You're mom's apple pie, ha!"

[Patch Adams]

"Seriously? Of all nicknames, munchkin? I've been taller than you since we met." He rolled his eyes and laughed at Layla's mock hurt. Sometimes, he wondered if he was rubbing a bad influence on her boy, and then at times, it was like seeing himself when he was a kid. It was a trip.

As always, Patch let Nicky win. He exaggerated his loss, complete with heavy breathing and demanding a redo. "You cheated!" He exclaimed before taking a deep breath and looking up at the wheel of puke.

"Here goes nothing." He said before handing the tickets over to the operator. He let Nicky and Layla move up first, before joining them. "Brace yourself, child. That funnel cake will come up." He chuckled sinisterly, rubbing his hands together.

[Layla Harlow]

"You're a munchkin at heart, Patchykinz," She smiled wider.

The two dramatic boys both exclaiming in defeat and victory made her laugh harder. She was out of breath and she could feel how out of shape she was, but it was worth it. She could see how much Nicholas was enjoying their time together, the three of them. He always told her how happy he was that Patch was part of their family, even with Isaac gone, he could almost see how much she needed Patch. And he always pointed out how much better she looked after time with them. Even little Emma was like a cure to Layla's grief and that girl had her wrapped tight.

With Nicholas placed in between her and Patch, she got him settled before herself and the pre-ride nerves whirled inside her. She wasn't afraid of heights, spinning rides, sudden stops, but the jitters always managed to find their way to her. Nicky nestled in between the two adults around him and had such a determined expression set on his face, that he looked as if he were concentrating hard on keeping the funnel cake down. Layla laughed and instinctively reached for Nicky's hand, for her own comfort. "You two are going to make me regret making this an option," She giggled and squeezed her eyes shut as the ride began to move.

[Patch Adams]

"That doesn't even make sense." He chuckled in response.

Once they were on the ride, the look on both Nicky and Layla's face made Patch unbelievably happy. The voices in his head practically cowered in the presence of such joy and he sighed contentedly, slinging an arm around Nicky as he settled in between them.

"Oh you're going to be making a lot of regretful mistakes today if I can help it." He smirked and got ready for the ride to move. He held on to Nicky tightly and threw his arm up when the ride caught momentum.

[Layla Harlow]

Layla wasn't sure she'd have been able to feel as comforted and genuinely okay in this situation with anyone other than Patch. It would have been forced for Nicky and the seven year old would have caught onto it in a heartbeat. But with her best friend, she could let loose a bit and not have to worry about keeping Nicholas so close under her watch because she knew whatever she lacked in attention, Patch more than made up for. He was just as protective of the boy sitting between them as she was and that was a hard thing to accomplish.

His response made her laugh, "I don't think I like the sound of that!" But she lied, she did. Always so in control of the way things went in her life, she needed a chance to relax and let whatever happened happen. Patch was going to make her have fun one way or another even if the decisions weren't the best to be made, they wouldn't hurt anything. Oh she just hoped the decision to ride this puke wheel didn't end in one of them getting sick!

Nicholas laughed and threw his arms up like Patch did, while Layla squeaked and laughed. As the ride began to slow, she took a deep breath to rein in her giggles and finally opened her eyes to look over at the boys. Nicholas was smiling, and dramatically yawned, stretching his arm up by Patch's face, "Didn't even feel a thing!"

[Patch Adams]

When the ride slowed and Nicky displayed his bravado, Patch simply chuckled and made a show of being sick as they got off the ride. "I think I'm going to be sick." He gagged close to Nicky as a threat.

As they walked off the ride, Patch looked around for their next trip. The sight of a snack cart, however, made him pause and point it out to Layla. "Food?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

And then the rest of the day was spent bingeing on carnival food and rides and before they knew it, the sun was dropping below the horizon and they had run out of rides to get on. Nicky was also slowing down and leaning against Patch as they walked, a clear sign that he was tired. Patch only needed to look at Layla and then at the tired kid to let her know that they should head home.

Patch ended up giving Nicky a piggy back ride and they weren't even near the car when he heard the steady breathing of a sleeping kid.

[Layla Harlow]

Nicholas wasn't the only one showing signs of exhaustion, Layla had laughed more, smiled more and walked more than she had in months. With Patch giving Nicholas a piggy back ride, Layla wrapped around his arm and rested her cheek on his shoulder while they walked. Her baby was fast asleep against the back of her best friend and the sight of it alone could have made her cry. It was terrible really the way that Nicholas couldn't have gotten this kind of attention from his real father, and yet, she didn't think she wanted anyone else to be the person who gave it to him. Patch was good for Nicky, better than most people had ever been. And she could see that Nicky was just as good for Patch.

"I think we successfully knocked my kid out for the night, mission accomplished, yeah?" She looked up at him, all previous worries forgotten, all of her stress wiped for the moment. This was one of those days that she was happy she could have with the ability she was given because she could relive it in full detail as often as she wanted and she could show Nicholas when he was older how days like this were what shaped him.

Layla chewed on the inside of her cheek, "Thanks ya know, for being you and whatever." She kept her eyes down when she said it and even shrugged against his shoulder hoping that he wouldn't take it as some big sappy display of gratitude because she definitely didn't know how to do that sort of thing.

[Patch Adams]

Pulling Layla close to him, they walked back to the car slowly. Patch didn't want the day to end. He didn't want to go back home, to his thoughts in bed alone. He wanted this euphoria he was feeding off of Nicky and Layla to never end.

"Makes you wish we could do this everyday so he doesn't want to stay up late anymore, huh." Patch teased.

The thanks he got from Layla made him smile. The little bump on his shoulder made the smile turn into a smirk. Layla, ever the romantic. Patch knew how very not sappy the young woman was and that was one of the things Patch identified with her with. They were both so bad at displaying signs of affection. Sometimes he felt the way he was with Nicky was the only time he could show Layla that that was how he felt about them both.

They were his family, plain and simple.

"Nah, don't mention it. You know this kid keeps me alive."

[Layla Harlow]

She didn't know if she was slowing him down, if Nicky was or if they were both just reluctant to leave. She was happy with him and Nicky. Leaving meant going home to an empty apartment, curling up in bed with her seven year old and thinking about how much she missed everyone that she lost. Luca, Isaac, her parents even. She would dream about a life that she couldn't have but that had been within her grasp. She'd think about never having the chance again. The nightmares would make her restless and she'd eventually give up on sleeping and just lay there playing with Nicky's hair while he slept instead.

"Like you wouldn't believe. That kid has too much energy," She laughed and shook her head. It really was amazing how much of a night owl her kid was. Never an early bird though, dragging him out of bed was always a hassle in the mornings. He was an afternoon kind of sleeper.

Layla smiled at Patch's response and squeezed his arm. Sometimes she wondered if he knew that he was the only other person that kept her alive. Between her and Nicholas she knew she could never disappear on either of them. "I know, but still. I mean you are pretty much his favorite person besides me so just don't change. He likes you this way, how you are with us."

[Patch Adams]

"Emma's at that age too. She's constantly talking and if she's not talking, she's singing. And if she's not singing, she's in the corner doodling on the wall." He chuckled affectionately.

He patted Layla's hand and shrugged. "It's a burden I'm willing to bear. And no, I am not changing all this awesome for anything." He joked.

They finally got to the car and he deposited Nicky in the backseat as gently as possible. "Why don't you sit at the back, let him have something to put his head on." He patted Layla on the shoulder before starting the car.

[Layla Harlow]

"That girl is going to be a handful when she gets older too, just you watch Patch," She smiled. Layla could see it now, Emma all grown up into a teenager, being chased by every boy in school, a heartbreaker in training. And not far behind would be Nicholas ready to beat any guy up that messed with her. There wouldn't be one without the other, they'd always be a duo.

Layla snorted and nudged him, "Yeah, too much awesome to handle for most people. But you're still not as awesome as me, let's face it. I'm kind of the coolest person there ever was." She laughed and rolled her eyes. The two of them were quite a pair. She glanced back at the park that was now a bit of a distance away and she sighed. Next time she'd insist on bringing Emma.

As he laid Nicholas in the backseat, she had already prepared to climb in the back with him before Patch said anything. She nodded and smiled before climbing in and buckling her son in before allowing him to reposition himself with his head in her lap.

[Patch Adams]

Rolling his eyes in amusement, Patch nodded. "Don't I know it."

Snorting at the self praise, which Patch knew for damn sure she didn't mean a word of, the umbrakinetic sighed exaggeratedly. "Yes, well, I can't deny that only because you have this one." He jerked a thumb in Nicky's direction and grinned.

Once they were all in the car, Patch drove off to Layla's home. It was spent in silence, both out of exhaustion and comfort on Patch's part. It had been a really good day. Though he wished he could extend it, he knew he had to get back to reality. One where his company was only the voices in his head.

They arrived at Layla's house and Patch went to the back seat to pick Nicky off the seat and into his arms. He stood by the door, waiting for her to open it as he had his hands full and once they were in, he put Nicky in his bed and stood by the doorframe, looking in on the kid. "You got a great kid there, kiddo." He said softly to Layla.