Once Antonia sat down, there were several moments of awkward silence as Aiden situated himself beside his niece, pulling her into his lap as she giggled. "So what are you guys doing in town?"
Aiden's mother turned slightly, her eyes falling on her son as he smiled lightly at her, his attitude seemingly happy despite the dreary day. She looked at his appearance, an old t-shirt and jeans, his hair seemed to be getting a bit long, and there was a bit of a sparkle in his eye that hadn't been there when he had left Chicago. She looked at his lean figure and swore that he had lost a little weight, but wasn't going to mention it to him, at least not yet.
"Mom?" Aiden said again, trying to get her attention.
She shook her head a bit and sighed. "I'm sorry, it was… it was a very early flight." She sighed, trying to keep her focus on her son, and not the young woman who was sitting across from them. Antonia's leg bounced nervously, and her fingers seemed to be the most interesting part of her body at the moment. "We came to see you, Aiden. Fiona is on winter break, and we thought that we'd surprise you, and perhaps take in some of the sights around Washington D.C." She said, a tight lipped smile on her face as Aiden nodded his head and bounced Fiona on his knee as she giggled. "Are you not happy to see us?"
"No, of course I'm happy to see you." Aiden said with a genuine smile. "I was just surprised, that's all. Anna didn't mention anything on the phone the other day, and you usually don't take trips without Dad." He said with a shrug. "Are you alright?"
"Yes." She nodded. "We didn't mean to interrupt your day, Aiden. We can go and amuse ourselves if you prefer." She said, her voice taking on a strong air of guilt.
"No, no Mom." Aiden said, shaking his head, giving Fiona a little squeeze as the little girl giggled. "I'm glad you are here." He smiled. "Tex and I weren't sure what we were going to do today, and now we can make plans with you." He said, nodding toward Antonia.
Antonia's eyes widened slightly at his usage of her nickname, and he seemed confused by her look of surprise. "What?" He said, his expression humored.
"Tex?" Liz said, looking to her son curiously.
Aiden chuckled for a moment. "Oh." He laughed nervously, realizing what he had done. "That's just my nickname for her." He said, watching Antonia's eyes, finding that he was having a hard time reading them for the moment.
"I have quite a few nicknames." She said politely, she watched Liz's attention fall onto her and she smiled. "My mother and father call me Ant or Toni." She shrugged, though it was obvious that she was incredibly uncomfortable. "Mrs. Fitzgerald, would you or Miss Fiona like a glass of water, juice, or coffee?" She said, watching Aiden's eyes narrow slightly. She gave him a knowing look and he just shook his head.
"A cup of coffee would be delightful, dear. Thank you." Liz said, allowing a kind smile as Antonia stood up and glanced to Fiona.
"Would you like a glass of orange juice, Miss Fiona?" Antonia asked, watching the little girl's eyes as they looked up at her. She nodded her head and smiled. "One orange juice, and one coffee, coming up." She said, winking at the little girl as she listened to her giggle and walked around into the kitchen. She also didn't miss Aiden's smile as she gave his shoulder a squeeze and headed into the kitchen.
Aiden followed Antonia with his eyes for a moment, and glanced to his mother, who held his gaze quite strongly. He swallowed hard, feeling her stare boring into him for a moment. "So you just decided to come here and surprise me?" he shrugged.
"Well, your father is paying for this apartment, Aiden." Liz said, clearing her throat. "I just didn't want to be in Chicago today. I am tired of being reminded of things that are painful." She said softly, keeping her voice low for a moment. "I felt that this would be a good opportunity to share our nation's capitol with Fiona, and perhaps spend some time with you if you are available." She said, watching as Aiden nodded, his eyes moving toward Antonia as she stood beside the coffee maker, her eyes focused only on the carafe.
"It's February, Mom. It's cold outside, the monuments are all outdoors. It's not going to be a pleasant experience, the steps are slippery, it's snowing..." He said, sighing as he watched his mother's glare harden.
"There are plenty of museums, Aiden." Antonia interrupted, her eyes on the carafe still. "You could take them to the Jeffersonian. There is a wonderful exhibit on the solar system, as well as the largest collection of dinosaur bones in the world." She said, looking up to see the playful look in Aiden's eyes, she narrowed hers at him as he smiled.
"Dinosaurs?" Fiona asked with an excited grin.
"You see, Aiden. There is plenty to do here." Liz said, her eyes focusing on Antonia as she smiled politely.
"Tex, I thought you didn't like dinosaurs." Aiden said, continuing to watch his girlfriend, she shook her head and turned her attention back to the coffee.
"You don't like dinosaurs?" Fiona asked with a little gasp, she watched as Antonia turned her head and smiled.
"I think she's afraid of them." Aiden whispered loudly enough for Antonia to hear. He caught the playful scowl on her face and smiled.
"You're scared of dinosaurs, Miss... Miss..."
"Tex." Aiden whispered.
"You're scared of dinosaurs, Tex?" Fiona asked.
"I'm not afraid of dinosaurs." She said, pouring the cup of coffee for Aiden's mother. "I just don't think they're very cuddly." She shrugged, watching as Fiona smiled over at her. She turned toward the refrigerator and poured a small cup of orange juice, then turned toward their guests as she walked over with the coffee and orange juice. She handed the orange juice to Fiona, who took it with both hands, looking into Antonia's eyes. "You may call me Ant, Fiona." She said, watching the little girl nod her head. She then turned to Liz and carefully handed her the cup of coffee. "Would you like anything for your coffee, Mrs. Fitzgerald?"
"No thank you, dear." Liz said with a polite smile as she accepted the mug from Antonia. "And please, call me Liz." She smiled.
Antonia sat in the chair as the conversation began to flow quite nicely, her courage was increasing with each passing second. The more they spoke, the more comfortable they felt, until the sound of Aiden's phone interrupted the conversation. "Oh, hang on, let me get that." Antonia followed Aiden with her eyes as he walked to the counter and grabbed his phone. As soon as he saw the screen, their eyes met and he cringed. "Fitzgerald." He said into the phone as he sighed. "Yes, sir."
"Aiden?" Antonia said, standing up. "Excuse me." She said with a polite smile, she walked over to him and held her hand out for the phone.
"Yes, sir." Aiden said in the line, shaking his head as he indicated to Antonia that it was fine. "What time?"
"Aiden, phone." Antonia said, holding her hand out to him. "Aiden, give me the phone."
"Yes, sir." He said, shaking his head at Antonia.
Antonia glared and picked up her phone from the counter, dialed a number and stuck her tongue out at Aiden as he shook his head. She waited a moment.
"It's just Antonia, Sir. You don't have to..." Aiden said, glaring at her as she gave him a self satisfied smirk.
"Hey, Daddy." She said, listening to her father's voice, she heard his tired voice seem to lift a bit in spirit. "Aiden's mother and niece are in town unexpectedly, and he'd really like to spend some time with them. Do you think that you and Ace can handle the casework for the weekend without him?" She laughed a little, watching Aiden shake his head. "You know him, he's too polite to ask. Okay, I'll let him know. I love you too. Stay safe." She said, hanging up the phone, she set it on the counter and eyed him carefully. "Checkmate." She said, turning around, she walked back into the living room and resumed her conversation with Aiden's mother.