Chase ate quietly, and at a moderate pace. Getting him out of the habit of eating fast had been a trial, but he was getting better. His food would not be taken away from him before he was finished with eating, It was all really good-- the spaghetti, the bread-- Chase was glad that they'd come here to eat rather than going elsewhere less personal, and less home-like.

Chase finished with his meal shortly before Gemma, for his portions had been a good deal smaller and he'd been taking his time, when Jorge posed the question.

>> “What would you like to do next? It’s your day after all.”

"Um," Chase wavered in his seat, glancing at Gemma. What were they supposed to do next? He didn't know what was customary for celebrating birthdays. Well, he had an inkling-- there was cake and presents, but they'd just eaten and Chase didn't want to be too pushy. He wasn't even sure if they were going to have cake, or if he'd be recieving any presents.

"I don't know," Chase confessed lamely, his voice hesitant and quiet as he looked between Gemma and Jorge, "What do you usually do?"

>>“You both are very welcome. But don’t spend the whole night inflating my ego. Enjoy, eat, and be merry. And don’t be stingy with how much you take. There’s plenty of food.”

And so they did. By the end of dinner, Gemma was so stuffed she could barely move; Jorge's cooking got to her once again. He was damn good at that. One does not let a man like that go.
Chase seemed to enjoy the feast as well; and so did Lizzie.

>>“What would you like to do next? It’s your day after all.”

Jorge was a really great host for a birthday. She gave him a bright smile. Chase, however, was modest as ever. Content, with a smile in his eyes, but so very polite.

>>"Um. I don't know. What do you usually do?"

"Na-ah, that's not the rules" she wagged a finger at him "The birthday boy gets to decide. That's what my kids taught me."

And boy did Valerie have a lot of birthday rules.

"If you want to stay in, we stay in. We can play, or watch a movie." she offered "If you want to go out, we can do that too. But you have to call the shots. Am I right or am I right?" she asked with greath authority, looking at Jorge

Jorge waited with bated breath. All kids loved their birthdays, at least the one’s that he ran into. They loved to celebrate, to get a chance to call the shots, to be able to do exactly (or nearly) what they wanted to do. It was one of the few times a year a child gets to legitimately order an adult around. Obviously not to the point of obnoxiousness, though. But Jorge had little fear that such was what Chase was planning. The kid was far too sweet to have that kind of streak in him.

>> "Um. I don't know. What do you usually do?"

He had to smirk. Far too much modesty in the boy. But before he could say anything, Gemma jumped in. Exactly as a caring step-mother should…

>> "Na-ah, that's not the rules…The birthday boy gets to decide. That's what my kids taught me."

He had to laugh. He met both of her kids and had an inkling who she was talking about. Valerie was a tough girl and could scarcely keep from being pushing. He knew that Gemma had her wrangled in but he could only imagine what she was like as a child with the knowledge that her birthday was HER day. The thought alone made him smirk but he voiced nothing of that.

But Gemma did have a point. It was Chase’s day, therefore he should decide what he wants to do. Even when he was a child, he too was given that special right. He saw no reason to deny that to Chase now, especially when he had already been denied it for so long in his short life.

>> "If you want to stay in, we stay in. We can play, or watch a movie…If you want to go out, we can do that too. But you have to call the shots. Am I right or am I right?"

He chuckled as he reclaimed his seat at the tabled and turned his kind eyes onto Chase after giving Gemma an agreeing nod.

“Your mother is right,” he grinned. “Today is your[/i] special day so you get to call the shots.”[/color]

>> "Na-ah, that's not the rules. The birthday boy gets to decide. That's what my kids taught me."

Chase felt his shoulders sag slightly. He wasn't asking for sake of indecision, really... he was indecisive, but moreso than that, he wasn't too sure what he was supposed to want to do.

>> "If you want to stay in, we stay in. We can play, or watch a movie. If you want to go out, we can do that too. But you have to call the shots. Am I right or am I right?"

>> “Your mother is right. Today is your special day so you get to call the shots.”

Chase nodded and shifted, lips rolling together contemplatively. It was his call on what they were going to do. That was so much power.

"Um... maybe..." Chase trailed, running a hand through his two-tone hair contemplatively, "Um... maybe a movie?"

A movie sounded good. Then he could sit with Miss Gemma and Detective Jorge, and bask in the comfort of not having to worry about accidentally changing shape when touching someone. And, he wouldn't have to think about going somewhere, which would take a lot more decision-making. He looked between the two adults for consensus. Presuming that there would be consensus, Chase asked Jorge another question.

"Do you have Finding Nemo?" the shapeshifter mumble uncertainly. He almost felt bad for making such important decision as movie choice. What if Gemma and Jorge didn't like Finding Nemo? What if they didn't really want to watch it?

>>“Your mother is right. Today is your special day so you get to call the shots.”

Damn right. Gemma smiled at Jorge. She was getting used to having a kid again, after Val and Laurent were all grown up. Having Jorge around, and Jorge being such a great guy, also helped a lot. They felt like family already.

>>"Um... maybe... Um... maybe a movie?... Do you have Finding Nemo?"

Chase was still not sure if he was really in charge. But he made a suggestions, and that was all that mattered. Gemma smiled at him too, and nodded.

"Sure, movie sounds great! I think we all need some quiet time after that meal anyway, I would die if I had to walk right now" she chuckled, looking at Jorge "So, Jorge, do you think you can conjure up that movie? I don't think I have seen it yet..."

Jorge smirked as he saw the look on indecision on Chase’s face. It was obvious that the boy was not used to making these types of decisions and while that was humorous to see, it was also extremely tragic. Jorge didn’t come from money but even he got to decide what he wanted to do for his birthday and knew to look forward to his birthday. This seemed to be an entirely new concept for Chase. That really was sad to see. But he was thankful that he got to help participate in showing the boy that he could look forward to this day.

Chase was quiet for a moment as he thought before he finally skewed up his courage to respond with his decision.

>> "Um... maybe... Um... maybe a movie?... Do you have Finding Nemo?"[/color]

>> "Sure, movie sounds great! I think we all need some quiet time after that meal anyway, I would die if I had to walk right now"

Jorge chuckled as he looked over at Gemma. He had to admit that even he had created a feast that he was not entire sure if he would bounce back from quickly. A movie was definitely a good idea for the moment. That way they could relax, unwind, and get to the cake.

>> “So, Jorge, do you think you can conjure up that movie? I don't think I have seen it yet..."

He smirked.

“Not part of my sparse collect, but I believe I can get my hands on a copy. Hold on, okay?”

Jorge took a moment to step outside the apartment and wandered over to his neighbor, Ms. Kim. He had babysat her daughter enough times to know a good majority of the movies that the young lady had for her child. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had seen that title somewhere, especially since the young girl loved Disney movies.

A few moments later, Jorge returned to the apartment sporting a copy of “Finding Nemo”. He had yet to see the movie as well so it would be a learning experience for all of them.

“Alright right, who’s ready to get their movie on?” he grinned.

>> "Sure, movie sounds great! I think we all need some quiet time after that meal anyway, I would die if I had to walk right now"

Chase nodded in quiet agreement. He was full, too. It would be nice to just relax together. Then maybe they could have some cake.

>> "So, Jorge, do you think you can conjure up that movie? I don't think I have seen it yet..."

>> “Not part of my sparse collect, but I believe I can get my hands on a copy. Hold on, okay?”

Chase nodded. While Jorge left the apartment for his neighbors across the hall, Chase unfolded himself from his chair. He started to gather his dishes up, as if to clean up after himself, but whether or not he was successful in helping to clean up was beyond him—that was his mother’s call.

When Chase was done with that, he wandered into the living room, with Lizzie trotting closely behind, and he sat on the floor once again, petting the bulldog contentedly while he, Gemma, and Lizzie waited. After a few minutes, the door swung open and Jorge returned, bearing a copy of “Finding Nemo”.

>> “Alright right, who’s ready to get their movie on?”

“Me,” Chase sang quietly, getting up off of the floor. Lizzie groaned faintly as her designated attention-giver rose, and gave a faint “wuff” of disapproval as she, too, got to her feet. Chase had to sit down again quickly to appease the old bulldog.

Gemma, Jorge, Chase and Lizzie sat on the couch, watching the movie. It was a very comfortable setup: Lizzie curled up on Chase's lap, Chase leaning against her shoulder, and she, in turn, leaning against Jorge. Warm, comfortable, perfect movie watching position, and everyone was close enough to reach the popcorn.

Felt like a family.

Disney movies…they could be quite disturbing. Ranging from African animals acting out Hamlet all the way to classic fairy tales brought to like with a animated twist. All of it was done with a nice, jaunty tune and the animation could be very impressive to look at, but that did not hide the fact that Jorge was surprised by the very deep issues that they always managed to sneak into it. Take this movie, Finding Nemo for example. Fish father and fish son get separated, spend the length of the movie trying to get back to one another, challenging unknown dangers.

It was interesting but still, the cop mode in him was picking out the crimes that were happening left and right: Animal endangerment, kidnapping, assault, etc., the list just went on!

But the detective said nothing. Instead, with his arm wrapped around Gemma’s shoulders, he glanced over to see Chase enraptured by the whole movie. It was halfway through before he realized what exactly he was looking at…a family. The thought made his heart soar for a few seconds before he smiled a little stupidly and went back to watching the movie.

By the time it was over, everyone had been enraptured. Even Jorge, despite picking out the “crimes”, had gotten pretty enthralled. The movie was good, from what he could see Chase seemed to enjoy it, and now it was time for the next phase of the party to begin.

Leaning in, he whispered into Gemma’s ear while the boy was busy with Lizzie (who know demanded full attention now that the movie was over.).

“Hey, why don’t you start to set up Chase’s cake so that I can get his presents all ready?”[/i] he whispered. He was actually excited to see Chase open his gift. He really hoped that the boy liked them…

Chase liked snuggling up to Gemma like this. She was an Adapted, which on the downside meant no shifting to look any different—no looking more human, or more normal—but on the bright side of things, prolonged exposure to a person wasn’t a concern. Chase could sit beside Gemma for days at a time, if he so desired, and never once would he start turning into her, in the even that he let his guard down. The movie proceeded just as it always did. Chase liked movies—they were so predictable, and things always worked out for the better, by the end. Even when things went horribly awry, they got better.

A quarter of the way into the movie, Chases’ legs went numb from having one particular bulldog flopped out across his lap. Lizzie wormed her way under Chase’s hand, demanding only occasional pets by nodding her head, and thereby worming her way closer to Chase’s hand. Once the movie had run its way to the end, the group shifted, and the sudden stir of motion seemed to awaken the slumbering bulldog. Lizzie sat up with a jolt and, given a faint grunt of effort, hopped to her feet and hopped off of the couch. She uttered a faint “wuff” towards the youngest human of the group, urging him to follow suit.

“Liz-ard,” Chase groaned, peeling himself from his mother’s side unwillingly. The bulldog would have none of it—she was the first and only female in Chase’s life, and snuggling with Mama came after more important things… like tug-of-war and worshipping the dog. Lizzie retrieved her rope toy and, with the toy tucked between her two front paws, began to pick at it with her teeth and chew on the end. Chase had taken his seat on the floor, with the old bulldog before him. Convinced that she didn’t need him, Chase moved as if to get back up and return to Gemma and Jorge. Lizzie uttered a faint, growling “wuff”, as if to caution Chase against doing this. Chase sat down again. Yes, the bulldog had the boy wrapped around its little toe.