After about twenty minutes, the office door opened slowly and Grace came out, holding Melody's hand. She was now dressed in an orange and pink sundress with matching sandals. Her hair had been brushed, and she looked much happier. They stepped into the lab, where the little girl looked around at the big space and moved further into Grace as she held her bunny in her other hand.
Aiden spied the two of them from his spot on the platform, where the bodies were, and he quickly stepped down the stairs, grateful for the higher platform so that the little girl couldn't see what was going on up there. He snapped the gloves off his hand and discarded them properly as he swung down the steps fast and into view. Melody looked around Grace's leg to see who was coming toward them. "Beautiful." He signed to her. His signing was limited, but he knew the key words that could make an impression, and Melody smiled shyly from her spot against Grace's leg. "I think Angela is just about ready." He smiled, glancing toward Angela's office. "Where's Tex?"
"Agent Fitzgerald?" Antonia's voice traveled through the lab and his eyes flicked up to meet hers. From the tone, it almost sounded like he was in trouble. From the glint in her eye, he could see it was just an act. "May I have a word with you, please?" She asked.
He turned his head and looked to Grace, who lifted her eyebrow in a 'what did you do wrong this time?' kind of way. "Yes, Ma'am." He said, turning his head, he heard Grace's giggle as he quickly moved toward the office and Grace made her way to Angela's office with Melody.
He stepped into the office, closing the door behind him, and was immediately grabbed by the wrist. "Hey, what are you…" He said, as she pushed him against the door, and immediately began to kiss him, her hands pressing into his shoulders as she felt him melt into her arms. "Mm…" He groaned against her mouth as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him securely. "I missed this." He whispered.
"I didn't think you said a proper hello earlier." She whispered seductively, staring into his eyes, she watched as they flicked from her lips back to her eyes again. "I love you."
"I love you." He said, leaning in for another kiss, slow and sensual as they explored one another with their mouths, hands roaming as the kiss deepened. When he pulled from the kiss, he was nearly breathless. "How are you feeling?" he whispered.
"Tired, clingy, needy…"
"And a little hungry." He said, watching her bite her bottom lip slightly as she lifted her eyes to his and he laughed lightly. "Always a little hungry." He said, letting her ear drop to his chest and her arms wrap around him, he held her to him as she sighed softly. "It's still there, still beating for you." He whispered. "Have you been sleeping okay?" he whispered.
"No." She mumbled against him.
"Looks like you sleep pretty well in here." He whispered.
She turned her head and growled lightly into his chest, looking up at him, she made a face. "You know what? Maybe I didn't miss you after all." She mumbled playfully as she attempted to pull away from him, he pulled her into him tighter. "You are so mean to me." She mumbled.
"I tease because I love." He said, kissing her forehead. "We should start the interview."
"Interrogation." She mumbled, looking up at him, she watched him lift an eyebrow. "Interview." She corrected, smiling as he shook his head. "You know that I just love to argue."
"It's part of your charm." He said, kissing her tenderly as he listened to her gentle whimper. She tucked her head onto his chest for another moment and breathed deeply. He moved forward and quickly swiped his thumb across her lips as she watched him playfully. "Grab your water bottle, and let's go." He said, turning around to open the door, he watched her roll her eyes as she moved toward her desk. "That's enough of the evil eye. You have to take good care of yourself." He said, stepping out into the lab, he listened to her mumbling under her breath, and watched as she walked past him into the lab, giving him a gentle nudge with her elbow along the way.
Antonia walked slightly ahead of Aiden toward Angela's office, his hand on the small of her back as they spied Grace sitting next to Melody on a couple of rolling chairs, as Angela sat on her desk, laughing about something Grace said. They looked to Antonia stepping into the office, and Aiden waved over at Melody, who smiled at the two of them.
"Hey Fitz… got a little…" Angela said, touching the top of her head, indicating that his hair was sticking up slightly. He moved his hand to his hair and pushed down the offending strands that had come out of place during Antonia's 'hello'.
"Thanks." He said with a grin, shrugging as he glanced to Grace. "So how are we going to do this?"
"I have a camera set up over there. Grace explained it to Melody already, and we have the microphone here on the desk. We recorded asking her permission to use the camera to answer questions." Angela explained. "Who will be doing the interviewing?"
"I will be doing it, as well as the interpretation. Aiden can stay in here, but just so we don't make her nervous, you and Grace can step out. I don't want her to be overwhelmed." Antonia explained. "Too many emotions can make it difficult for a witness to continue, especially a child. We don't want her to be worried about sparing our feelings."
"Right, and you're not emotional at all." Aiden rolled his eyes playfully as she glared at him. "I love you."
"You do know that doesn't always work, right?" Antonia asked, lifting an eyebrow at him, he smiled at her and she glared. "Let's just get this started, shall we?"
Grace and Angela excused themselves, and Antonia and Aiden sat down comfortably beside Melody for a moment They turned on the equipment with the controller that Angela left for them. "Are you okay?" Antonia asked Melody, watching her nod her head, glancing to Aiden, she smiled. "We are going to ask easy questions first. What is your first and last name?"
"Melody Hunter." She signed, glancing nervously at the camera, Antonia smiled and tipped her head.
"How old are you?"
"Five."
"Do you know what your mommy's name is?"
"No. She was sick. The police man came and took her. She didn't come back." Melody said, watching Antonia's eyes as she cuddled her bunny.
"When the police man took your mommy, where did you go?"
"To a place with other children." She signed, glancing to Aiden. "There were no mommies or daddies."
Aiden and Antonia exchanged a glance. "And then you went to live with the Cameron's?"
"Sandy visited. She liked me, and she could talk to me." Melody replied, her brow furrowing as she seemed to get upset. "I am sorry." She signed.
"You're sorry?" Antonia asked, watching the little girl's eyes move from Antonia. She reached forward and touched Melody's shoulder, trying to get her attention, and the little girl refused to look. Aiden watched as she turned her head and closed her eyes.
"Tex." He said softly. "Give her a second." Antonia's eyes moved to Aiden, and she watched him for a moment in silence. They remained patient, and she could see that he was thinking about something. He reached forward and touched Melody's hand. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He then took the arm of the chair and pushed it a little, sending the chair in a circle.
"What are you doing?" Antonia asked, watching the little girl's face light up as he spun her a little faster. "Aiden?"
"Things were getting a little too serious there for a second." He said, winking at her. He slowed the chair and turned Melody to face Antonia.
"Melody, you can trust me. Why are you sorry?" Antonia asked her, watching the smile on her face disappear for a moment. She stared into Antonia's eyes for several moments, and it was clear she was trying to build up her bravery.
"I don't know." Melody replied, watching Antonia.
"You don't know why you're sorry?" Antonia asked.
"I came home with Sandy, and now the police came to take her and Mitchell away because of the bad men."
"Did you see the bad men?" Antonia said, watching as Melody looked to Aiden and back to Antonia.
"I saw them. They didn't see me." Melody replied. "When they left, I looked for Sandy and Mitchell, and Mitch." She signed, tears coming to her eyes as she started to sniffle. "The bad men hurt them. There was blood. I was scared. I hid under my bed. I didn't want them to come back."
Antonia read the signs out loud, her voice soft and almost wistful as the words left her lips. Her eyes were transfixed on the little girl, and she could feel herself starting to feel very warm. She stopped talking, though Melody kept signing, and it was almost as if Antonia had completely moved inside herself for a moment as the ringing in her ears seemed to be getting worse. Aiden watched as Antonia's eyes seemed to glaze over, her focus no longer on the little girl, but somewhere else.
"I was waiting for Deuce, and I heard a big boom…and when I heard the big boom, I tried to hide under my bed, but the man came in and found me and he put the blanket on my head and took me away."
"Tex?" Aiden said, noticing that Melody had stopped signing. She was staring at the terrified look on Antonia's face. She started to sign Ant's name, trying to get her attention. Antonia was sweating, her body trembling. Aiden turned off the recording device, and the camera for a moment. "Tex, look at me." He reached for her hand and as soon as he touched it, she gasped and stood up, pulling from him as if he had burned her.
"I can't do this right now." She said, her eyes wide with a look that resembled terror. "Aiden, I can't do this. I am going to send in Grace to finish the interview." She turned to walk out, stopping when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She stared at that door, willing it to swing open. She could hear her small voice in her head describing her own ordeal, her pain, her fear. She could feel those hands on her, grabbing her, the ropes on her hands. "Aiden." She whispered, almost as a warning, but it came out as a whimper.
"You know you can do this. You know that all of that was in the past." He whispered. "You know that you're projecting. It's okay, I'm here now, nothing is going to happen."
"I don't think I can." She whispered.
She closed her eyes, feeling his arm over her shoulder, his closeness as he pulled her into him. She could feel his breath, smell his closeness, she could hear the sound of his heart beating. "I know you can. We need to do this for Melody. We need to find the truth, and find out who did this. We need to help find that little boy, so that these people will never hurt another person again." He whispered. "That's why you do what you do, Antonia. That's why we do what we do. It's your choice whether you want those memories to be a weakness or a strength. Either way, I'm here." He said, feeling her pull tighter against him.
She looked up into his eyes and the sincerity and love in their depths were almost enough to make her cry. It was then that she felt a hand in hers, though this hand was much smaller. She looked down into the dark blue depths of the little girl, the concern in her eyes was immeasurable. When their eyes locked, she tilted her head. "Are you going to find the bad men?" She asked Antonia, the innocence in her eyes shining through brightly.
Antonia paused for only a second, and she pulled from Aiden, leaning her back into him to feel his strength in his support. "We are going to find the bad men, Melody. With your help, we are going to find the bad men, and make sure they never hurt anyone ever again." She said, her eyes flicking to Aiden as he nodded in affirmation. She took a deep breath and glanced to the recorder and camera. "Now let's see if we can get a good description of these bad men." She said to Aiden, but ensuring to sign to Melody as they made their way over to their chairs once more, to finish the interview.
"I love you." Aiden whispered, catching sight of those brown eyes that he had fallen helplessly in love with, before following the two of them.