A/N: So, this chapter is a little different. It actually covers some of the things from the last chapter, but from Patrick's POV. Enjoy!

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Making Annie an official part of their family meant a lot to him. Until they finalized the adoption, they were at the mercy of state agency workers digging through their lives and watching what they did. He and Teresa both hated that, even if their social worker was a rather nice woman. Now, they could get on with their lives as a family unit. Just them.

Though, it wasn't until that morning that he realized that perhaps Teresa was handling this better than he initially thought. He could only watch and listen as she opened up to Annie about the significance of her mother's cross and why Annie could still be scared. He took her hand, squeezing it. She never ceased to amaze him, but he selfishly hoped she knew he was here for now in those moments when she faced her fears. He would hold her, support her, and love her-just like she would do for him, just like they would do for their family.

At the courthouse, Annie stood between the two of them, bouncing on the balls of her feet, as the judge spoke to her. His chest grew heavy when she proclaimed to the judge: "I want to be Annie Jane now!"

The woman smiled kindly at Annie. "I think we can take care of that if it's ok with your new parents, but maybe Annabeth Jane sounds a little better to them."

"I like Annie better, but I guess my Grandma was Annabeth, too. Mommy really likes her a lot. She still keeps her from being scared, even in heaven, so I guess I can be Annabeth."

A blush crept across Teresa's features. When he squeezed her hand, she looked over at him with a smile on her face. She was so beautiful, both inside and out.

In the end, Annie got her wish. Well, they all did. With the bang of her gavel, Annabeth Jane was legally their daughter. They assumed the responsibility months ago, but now it was legally their responsibility to care for and provide for Annie-and between him and Teresa, that was something they were more than equipped to do. It was something they wanted to do. He wrapped his arm around Teresa's shoulders as she flashed her teeth in a wide smile.

With Annie between them and the judge off to the side, they took their first official family photo. There would be many more photos with his wife and daughters. This was only their beginning.

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When they arrived at Stan's on Saturday and he immediately started trying to send Annie away, he knew something was wrong—probably Tommy related. He didn't mind walking his daughter to get a push pop and away from some traumatic experience she didn't need.

After securing the orange sorbet push pops—they were quite good—Annie showed him to the park. She sat next to him on the bench as they ate their treats.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Why did Uncle Stan not want me to go into the house?"

He met those green eyes full of curiosity. Parents may want to protect their children from things, but that didn't stop them from making observations about the world around them.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I have a guess, but I don't know for certain."

"So, if you told me why, it would be a lie?"

"Well, not a lie, but I wouldn't be able to promise you that I know the answer. Sometimes, adults don't have the answers either."

"Hmm. I think it's because my other dad is there and maybe he was drinking his special juice. Uncle Stan didn't want me to see him because he's mean when he drinks his special juice."

His body went rigid. That was his guess too. Though, he was curious about Annie's thoughts. Not that he'd take Annie back to that house until a moment before he knew the coast was clear, but it wasn't something they could or should avoid forever. Annie was an astute little girl.

"Well, how do you feel about that?"

If he had his way, they would've all piled back into that taxi immediately and drove away. He didn't want Teresa around him, earning more scars, either.

"Will you get mad?"

"No."

"I miss him." A wave of sadness crossed her face. Perhaps going down this road was asking too much of a six year old. "He said I was his little girl, but then, he sent me away. I like being with you and mommy in California. I like my school, and my friends are nice. I wouldn't know them if I were in Chicago! But why didn't he want me anymore? He didn't even tell me goodbye. Not for real. He said I would come home, but then, he didn't even want me to come home. And he didn't tell me that. Sister Grace said that's a lie. Lies are bad."

"Lies are bad, but sweetheart, you shouldn't take it personal."

"What do you mean?"

"It means that you're a very special little girl."

She scrunched her nose up. "So people can lie to me because I'm a special little girl?"

He laughed inwardly. A little Teresa in the making! "That's not what I meant, Annie. Lies are bad. Sometimes, people tell them to try to protect others from the truth. Usually, they are bad. They can hurt people."

"Then, what do you mean don't take it personal?" Not only was she an astute little girl, but she was sure to ask what things meant to further her arguments.

"Your mommy and I never want you to think you did something wrong because you didn't. You didn't deserve for him to lie to you. He made some very bad choices that were not your fault, and we don't want you to feel bad about those choices. There was nothing you could do differently."

"But sometimes our choices affect others. That's what Sister Mary Jean said to me and Riley."

He looked away as he grinned slightly. They received a letter the day before they left home about Annie and Riley being overly talkative in class. Annie and Riley would be losing their recess privileges all next week. Teresa wouldn't like it if he were seen to be promoting that misbehavior in any way.

"They do. You know, I wondered for a long time why my first wife didn't want to be married to me anymore."

"Yeah, but she was mean! Aren't you glad she's gone?"

He laughed from deep within his chest. "I am now, but when it first happened, I was very sad. I didn't know what I could have done better to make her not want to be married to me anymore. Sometimes, we learn we are better off for the other person's choices."

"Are we? If their choices make us really sad?"

That gave him deep pause. In the case of Angela, that was absolutely true. Seeing her for who she was—but also learning the kind of love he was capable and deserving of from Teresa—really helped his healing along. When he married Angela, he expected forever to mean forever, but it didn't. To be sure, it hurt like hell the moment he learned what was going on. Her actions caused him a lot of self-doubt. He eventually recovered-or at least he was on the mend.

But Annie was expressing the loss of a parent. If he had to guess, based on how quickly she bonded to him, she was always a daddy's girl. She looked up to Tommy. He was tasked with helping her grow and learn things. He was meant to be her protector and care for her no matter what. Instead, she was on track to become his rehabilitation center and cleaner much like Teresa had. He was glad she wouldn't have to go down that path; he was glad she'd found a place with them. Indeed, he would have it no other way, but the promise of a better life wouldn't make the loss and betrayal-that feeling of unworthiness from the one you thought would always be in your corner-much better.

Even if you could find a new family to build new memories with, a part of him knew what that felt like. Once upon a time, he was the apple of his mother's eye, practically glued to her hip. After all, it's where he picked his psychic skills. His dad just fine-tuned his abilities to carry a con.

His earliest memory was the woman with blonde curls like his, singing "You Are My Sunshine" to him as he sucked his thumb. She also made really good Sloppy Joes.

When he was small, she would kiss his cheek as she sat him under her psychic's table. "Does my handsome little Prince Paddy remember what he's supposed to do?"

He would always nod enthusiastically because playing the game just right would result in great reward for him. If he could stay quiet the whole time someone was in the tent, he would earn points-and then points would turn into treats. Though, the treats depended on who was willing to deal with her that day. She had a lovely smile, and people seemed to like her. He was always her handsome little prince, even as he grew bigger.

He'd listen while she told her customers what they wanted to hear most. She spoke with an accent, he realized now. He was too young to know to ask her about that, and his father never spoke of her. Maybe it was Irish. He'd probably never know.

In two months, it would be 26 years since he'd last seen his mother. After 26 years, he still had the same questions about why she left. What made her decide that she had enough and left her son to wake up on his 8th birthday, expecting to be gifted with some trinket a carnival goer left behind in her psychic's tent, but finding his mom gone instead? Why that day? Why didn't she take him with her? Was he not worthy of her love or even the most common of courtesies? Like Tommy, she didn't even say goodbye.

Was he better off for his mom's choice to leave him and the extreme worthlessness and loneliness he felt? Wasn't that a direct tie in to the Angela situation or how he almost fumbled things with Teresa? To be sure, he became an adult and made choices of his own, but the choices of others could have lasting impact on you.

He liked to think that he'd worked through that. He grew up and got away from his father and the carnival. After his divorce, he'd gone to therapy. He was independent and much stronger now. Indeed, he'd built an entire life in spite of his parents and his beginnings! He was certainly happy to be here with his wife and daughters.

Even though they provided a home and family for Annie and she reacted well to her new life, perhaps he was oversimplifying things. Expecting Annie to understand something he still couldn't quite grasp was asking a lot. After all, given the chance, he would still see his mother. He would ask the same question as Annie: why?

Maybe she was just expressing something he'd learned to bury deep.

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After everything, dinner with the Lisbon family went well. He knew his wife didn't expect him to foot the bill for a nice dinner for her family, but it was worth the calm experience and lessening Karen's exasperation.

When Annie asked when they would eat, the shame and embarrassment for not having dinner ready ran deep on Karen's face. It wasn't her fault. Tommy derailed the day, but she probably felt like a terrible host. Tommy had a special way of derailing things quickly.

At dinner, Teresa's eyes glowed as she held her nephew. He even snapped a photo of her wide smile when the little boy grabbed a fistful of her hair. With pride, he thought that they would be able to do this with their new daughter in just a few months.

Annie enjoyed entertaining her uncles and trying to capture the attention of her new cousin. He talked to Stan and Jimmy for quite a bit about cars. He wondered how Teresa would respond if he surprised her by flying Stan, Jimmy, Karen, and the baby out after she gave birth. It was something to think about.

He never had a family the way she did, and she seemed happiest when she was surrounded by as many loved ones as possible—without the weight of Tommy's struggles on her shoulders. She cared deeply for her brother. They went through a lot as kids, but no matter what they went through together, she couldn't carry him forever.

That night, listening to Teresa's account of what happened that day made him deeply angry. Tommy's behavior that day-the fact that he slapped her-was so far beyond the pale that he didn't know what to think. He had never been one for fighting very much, but that might have pushed him over the edge. He was surprised she had not lost herself in a rage.

Yet, the way she told the story told him everything he needed to know about the incident. While the slap was a surprise, the real injury was to her soul. She didn't speak in anger. She spoke in sadness, even with a hint of hopefulness that her younger brother could still turn things around. Knowing everything she knew about addiction and having gone through the same with her father, she refused to see what most would accept as the reality.

Perhaps sibling relationships were something he'd never understand.

He let her finish before speaking. He wanted to encourage her not to feel bad and to just cut all ties for good. Though, her capacity to love made her the woman he loved; she didn't just give up on people easily. And knowing the woman he loved, he knew she would become defensive if he mentioned anything like that. She didn't need someone else coming at her today.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"That you had to go through that. As much as we want to protect Annie from that, I wish I could have protected you from that as well."

She could give so much of herself, and she didn't deserve to be hurt in the process. Indeed, her brother's actions today caused emotional pain deeper than the physical slap to her face. He wished he had protected her heart better today.

"Honey, you don't have to protect me."

"I know the indomitable Teresa Lisbon Jane can take care of herself because she don't need no man…but that doesn't mean her man doesn't want to protect her."

She laughed, but he meant that. Maybe she was the one who carried a gun and had hand to hand combat training, but to whatever extent he could, he would protect her.

It didn't take him long to figure out what he should do here. Since their first dance in the kitchen of their old home, dancing had been an unspoken love language for them where they could seek comfort and not worry about the problems of the world.

He extended his hand to her. "After the day my green eyed girl has had, I think this calls for a turn or two around the dance floor. Don't you think?"

Helping her up, he pulled her into his arms. He loved holding her close. Without any music, they swayed to an invisible beat as Teresa settled her head over his heart. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as he thought of how he held his real heart in his arms.

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Their trip back to Sacramento was rather uneventful, and when Monday rolled around, Teresa was back to work. He didn't broach the subject, but he knew she'd been poking around about Tommy. Of course, that was her little secret to keep.

He put his mind to other things. Teresa was 24 weeks along, and it was high time they got the nursery together. He was happy to take on that project, but he needed to start placing suggestions to get some ideas.

On Tuesday, he sent her pictures of nurseries to get her opinion on decor. She simply sent him a text back that said: "Dear God, no Pepto Bismal colors."

On Wednesday, he sent her furniture pics. About an hour later, she sent him a text message. He would've felt bad about distracting her at work, except he knew she was bored out of her mind. These were welcome distractions.

"Honey, why are you sending me these?"

"Just want to see what you're thinking about the nursery!"

"I'm only 24 weeks! We have time to think about this!"

"I want it to be perfect when she arrives."

"It will be perfect. Can we maybe think about it this weekend?"

"Sure."

Only, he had other plans for the weekend. Annie was invited to Mimi's sleepover birthday party. Unbeknownst to Teresa, she would be staying the whole weekend with the Hightowers.

In the whirlwind of baby plans and Annie's adoption, they'd never celebrated their anniversary. With everything that had happened in their lives since they met, perhaps it seemed ridiculous to even pay attention to the first time he spoke to her at Lenny's. But it wasn't to him. Nothing seemed ridiculous about celebrating their love, their new life together.

On Friday, he picked Annie up from school, and they talked through things. She'd known about Teresa's surprise all week.

"So, do you remember what I told you?"

She nodded. "You and mommy are taking a special trip, so I'm staying with Mimi for the weekend—but it's just for the weekend! You will be back on Sunday. That's the day after tomorrow, and I can call you from my iPad."

"And?"

"Be a big girl, and be a good girl."

He ruffled her hair. "That's right. You're going to have so much fun with Mimi."

She grinned at him. Admittedly, this part worried him a bit. She'd never spent the night away from them, and she seemed a bit worried about the details. So, he told her exactly when they would be back and how to get in touch with him.

He may have wanted a romantic getaway with his wife to celebrate their love, but that didn't mean he was running away from his daughter. Traveling without her felt a bit strange, but people did it all the time. And they needed a little time alone before their new arrival.

He loaded bags for himself and Teresa into the car as he went to meet her at work. Annie would go home to San Francisco with Madeleine; he and Teresa would head to the airport.

The CBI was rather sparse at this hour. Anyone who could be gone was gone. He appreciated that work ethic.

Madeleine grinned when she came to meet them and escort them upstairs. "Patrick. Annie. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing good." So far, Annie was holding her own.

"So, does she know yet?"

"Nope. Not a clue."

Madeleine laughed. "I'm glad you have that element of surprise about you. She's going to love it! I'm sure the girls will have fun."

"Hey guys!" Teresa came out of her office.

Annie made her way over to Teresa and gave her a squeeze. "Mommy!"

"Hi, baby. Are you ready for your sleepover?" Annie nodded enthusiastically, settling some of his worries about how she might do.

Madeleine looked at her phone. "In that case, I think we should get going! Traffic is crazy, and Mimi's other guests will be arriving in a few hours."

Teresa tapped Annie's shoulder. "Go give daddy a hug."

It still made his chest feel heavy when she called him that. It wasn't a sexual thing, but she had made him a father. He was still getting the hang of it, but she may never know how much he cherished that role.

Annie was at his side, giving him a hug. He knelt down to her level to give her a squeeze, when she whispered in his ear. "I'll be good, daddy! And you'll be back on Sunday."

"That's right. I'll be back on Sunday, even if you're not good. But be good for Miss Hightower."

The little girl nodded as he kissed the side of her head. They all walked out together. He and Teresa watched as Madeleine and Annie drove off.

He noticed a tear slide down her face, so he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her into his chest. "Baby, it's ok. She will be fine."

"I'm fine!"

"Really? Your eyes have this thing where they just excrete water."

"Shut up! It's just…it's her first time away from us." Her voice broke a little, making his chest tighten. Maybe he should've run his weekend plans by Teresa before. He didn't think through how this might affect her.

He brought her other hand to his lips, kissing the back of her hand. "She's going to do just fine. I've been working with her all week. We want to empower her to be her own person outside of us."

"I know."

"And besides, I've made plans for us."

She turned to face him. "We're going to dinner? I'll need to go home and change."

He shook his head. "Nope. Not going home. Your chariot awaits." With a suspicious glare, she followed him to his car.

He wouldn't answer any of her questions until they arrived at the airport.

"What are we doing here?"

"Well, it would seem I have two tickets for a weekend trip to Hawai'i."

"Hawai'i?!"

He nodded, as he pulled up their boarding passes on his phone. "Two first class tickets for a weekend getaway to Hawai'i!"

She flashed him a toothy smile. At least she liked the idea. But suddenly, her smile fell. "Weekend getaway? But babe, Annie…"

"Is staying with Madeleine until Sunday. I've already cleared it with both Annie and Madeleine."

"Are you using our daughter to keep secrets from me?"

"I am."

She laughed as she took his hand and laced their fingers together. "So Hawai'i?"

"First class, even."

She rolled her eyes. "You can be so over the top sometimes."

"Yeah, but you love it."

"I do…but I didn't pack anything. Am I supposed to wear these clothes all weekend? Will you like people being able to see I'm a cop?"

He shrugged. "I told you I'd never mind that. Besides, I packed a bag for you."

She raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Oh, don't be like that! I always know what you need."

"You like to think so, and to your credit, you get it right a lot. But I'm just picturing you raiding my panty drawer."

He grinned at her. "Don't worry. I know what you keep in your panty drawer. I packed it too. Like I said, I always know what you need."

A deep blush rose in her cheeks as she swatted his chest. "You know too much for your own good sometimes."

Of course, he'd always known where she kept her vibrator. He suspected he wasn't meant to know she even had one until a few months ago when she sheepishly asked if he would use it during sex. Her face was redder than it was now, but truly, he wasn't offended and happily complied with her request. It made for a great night, for the both of them.

If he'd learned anything in life, it was that there's more than one way to get where you want to be.

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Once they were settled on the plane, she took his hand.

"This was a nice surprise, honey."

"Of course. I have another surprise for you, too."

"I can't take another surprise vacation."

"Mmm." He sensed a bit of resistance as he unlinked their fingers to search his bag. He wondered briefly if planes frightened her. She always held onto him tightly on planes…not that he was complaining.

"You better not pull the Hope Diamond out of your bag."

He laughed a bit as he found exactly what he was looking for. "No, but close."

He placed a bag of her newfound favorite treat in front of her. "Oh! You brought my cookies!"

"Wouldn't leave the house without them!" She grinned widely at that. After the flight attendant brought her sparkling water and his beer, she dug into her snacks.

Though, at some point, their attention turned to each other as they started kissing. Short kisses. Long kisses. Deep kisses. They couldn't keep their hands off of each other. On some level, he felt like a teenager holding and kissing his girl in such a public place until the reason for their trip hit him.

Even with their love for each other, it was a new love. This was their first actual vacation alone. In some ways, they were still exploring each other despite everything that had happened over the last year. But it was good to know she felt the same way.

When they arrived, the car service he hired took them straight to their private villa. It cost a bit of money to pull this off, but he just wanted to be with her.

"Baby, this is gorgeous." She kissed him again, bringing her arms around him.

"I'm glad you like it…and me."

"Of course I like you. I married you."

"That's good to hear, I guess."

She smiled sweetly at him. "Do you like me?"

"I more than like you. I love you, baby."

"Is that the reason for the weekend?"

His face fell slightly before he schooled it. Did she forget? That day changed his life for the better. Well, a lot happened in the last year. He could tell her, but it might make her feel bad.

As he was thinking of how to proceed, she spoke again. "I mean, the weekend is to celebrate our first year together? I know things got a bit busy, and we didn't really do anything."

He smiled. "It absolutely is."

"You thought I forgot, didn't you?"

"I wasn't sure. You still surprise me sometimes."

"I'd never forget meeting my blue eyed boy." He loved when she called him that and reminded him that he was hers. "Though, I expected a trip to Lenny's, not Hawai'i."

"Lenny's? In your condition? I don't know about that."

She slugged his arm.

"I like Hawai'i. What are our plans? And what did you pack for me?" She went through her bag. "Patrick, all I see are swimsuits in here."

He shrugged. "Well, because being in my arms requires no clothing. I thought we might spend the rest of our time relaxing on the beach…or wearing one of the dresses I had delivered for you."

She looked uncertain as she averted her eyes to her bump. "You had dresses sent for me?"

"I did." He took her hand and led her into the master suite. "Had a local dressmaker send over a few maternity gowns in case we wanted to go out to dinner tonight. And the lady even said she would send a few shoe options for you."

She immediately picked up one of the dresses laying on the bed. Her eyes filled with happiness as she looked down at the coral strapless gown. Beautiful and glowing, it looked even better when she put it on for dinner that night with a pair of sandals. When she stood on her toes to kiss his lips, he knew he hit his mark.

After dinner, they went dancing. He was actually surprised she hadn't passed out from sheer exhaustion by that point, but he laughed and danced the night away with his green eyed girl.

Even as they celebrated only a year together, there was something natural about the love they shared, like this was how it was always supposed to be.