5:30 pm-

Aiden and Antonia said their goodbyes to his parents, with directions to Anna and Fiona's house, and plans to meet up for breakfast the following day. They started their ride to the restaurant, in a peaceful silence, as Aiden drove them toward their destination. "I like your Dad, he seems really nice." Antonia said softly.

"He's a good guy." Aiden nodded.

"You look a lot like him." She said, watching him glance toward her with a smile. "Melody really seemed to like him too." She smiled, glancing back to the little girl as she watched Antonia and Aiden contentedly.

"She is a little flirt. You know that." Aiden said, glancing to her in the rearview mirror, she pressed her finger to her lips and watched his eyes smile back at her.

"That's how she got you wrapped around her little finger." Antonia teased.

"And that is where I shall stay." He said, giving Melody a wink as they drove for a while longer in silence, and eventually they pulled into a subdivision of moderately sized homes with large yards, old growth trees, and a winding road that seemed to twist and turn endlessly. He drove quietly without saying anything further, though he could feel her dark eyes on him.

"Aiden?" Antonia said, staring at him as they drove down the road.

"Hm?" He said, looking toward her, his eyebrow raised as he turned back to driving.

"Where are we?" She asked, watching as he pulled the car down a cul-de-sac.

"Hm?" He asked again, watching her brow furrow. He looked back to the road, and pulled into a driveway of a moderately sized colonial style home, its windows empty of any curtains, and in the driveway was another vehicle, a large dark SUV that did not look familiar to her.

"Aiden?" She mumbled under her breath. "Where are we?"

He looked back at Melody, who smiled back at him as he put the car into park. "It could be home." He shrugged.

"Excuse me?" She asked, swallowing hard as she looked back at Melody. He unclicked his seatbelt, and climbed from the car, leaving Antonia staring at the house from inside the car. He took a step in front of his car, and looked up at the house. He could hear her getting out of the car, the door closing behind her, and after a moment, she was standing beside him. "You did not buy us a house." She said, staring up at him as he just looked at the house. "Aiden, please tell me you didn't buy this house."

"I did not buy this house." He said, glancing to her, he could see relief across her features as she sighed.

"Good." She said, looking at it for another moment. He listened and could hear Melody climbing from the car, hopping to the pavement, she ran toward them, and stepped up in between them, also looking up at the house.

"Unless you want me to buy this house." He said, looking at her. He looked down at Melody and nodded, and she reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a key, holding it up to Antonia.

She looked down to the little girl, holding up a silver key, a big grin on her face as she dangled it off her finger. "What is that?" Antonia asked.

"What does it look like?" Aiden teased. "Do you want to go inside?"

"Inside of this house?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "Inside of this house that you promised that you did not buy."

"I promise that I did not buy this house." He nodded definitively. He watched her eyes narrow at him as he plucked the key from Melody's fingertips and watched her smile up at him as he walked past them toward the porch, looking back to see if they were coming. He slipped the key into the lock. "Are you coming inside, or are you guys going to just stare at the house? Come on, we have reservations at seven." He called, slipping into the house.

"You said reservations were at six-thirty!" She called after him, taking Melody's hand, they walked quickly toward the house, and followed Aiden inside. They stepped into the foyer. To the right was a large family room, straight ahead were the stairs to the bedrooms. The house was empty, but pristinely cleaned, open and bright as the sun came through the many windows. "Aiden." She whispered.

"Come on, there's more than just the doorway." He teased as he led them through the family room toward the open kitchen, breakfast nook, and dining area. There was a back screened porch, and a fairly expansive yard. "You can put your gardens out there… and we can put a swingset over on that area over there for the kids." He whispered into her ear, noticing that goosebumps had found their way down her arm, and suddenly her hand was gripping his tightly. "Are you okay?" He whispered.

She swallowed hard and nodded her head, feeling a swell of emotions suddenly. She knew that if she opened her mouth to speak, she would probably burst into a sob.

"There's more." He whispered, tugging her hand. He led her through the small sitting room off the kitchen, a gas fireplace was nestled in a cozy corner of the house, and they then turned toward the front of the house, where he watched Melody hopping on the stairs eagerly. He smiled and nodded, sending her running up the stairs as quickly as she could, nearly tripping on the last step or two as she turned around and hopped to see them walking up the steps behind her. When they reached the top step, he pointed out a bedroom to the left, with its own small bathroom, the extra bathroom, and eventually whisked her away into the largest room. She let out a slight gasp at the large bay window on the back of the room, overlooking the backyard. She walked through the large room, admiring the large closet and bathroom that was nearly larger than her current bedroom, with a garden tub and separate shower, as well as a double sink. They walked back into the bedroom, only to see Melody hopping in the hallway, giggling as she ran off toward another room. "I think she likes it." He said, watching Antonia's wide eyes as he grasped her hand and walked with her down the hallway. The next bedroom was smaller, and he paused at the doorway. "This one could be the nursery." He whispered, listening to her response which was a bit of whimper as they stepped to the end of the hallway, the second largest bedroom where Melody was hopping around in circles. "And this is the big sister's room."

"Big sister." Antonia whispered. "Has she been here before?" Antonia asked, watching as Melody hopped about the room playfully, opening the closet door, and the door to the adjoining bathroom, as if she were leading her own personal tour.

"Maybe." He shrugged.

"Aiden." She whispered.

"Do you like it?" He asked, watching her glassy eyes as she tried to process his question. "Do you need a bit of time?" He asked, watching her nod her head. "Okay, let's let this all settle in your head for a bit, and we'll move onto the next gift." He smiled, taking her hand, she didn't move, making him stop in his tracks.

"Next gift? You said you didn't buy this house." Antonia said. "This isn't a gift, if you didn't buy it. Did you buy this house, Aiden?"

"I did not buy this house." He said, watching her scrutinizing stare once more. "I may have had an inspection done, and put a deposit on it, but I did not sign any mortgage papers." He said, watching her take a ragged breath. "Do you want your next gift?"

"Yes." She whispered.

"Well hurry up, dinner is at seven-thirty." He said, watching her jaw drop and her eyes narrow as he left the room quickly and descended the stairs.

"We're never eating, are we? There is no reservation, is there?" She called to him in a wobbly voice, sniffling away her tears. Melody took her hand and tugged it, and they followed him down the steps and out the front door. They waited on the porch with him as he locked up the house, and he turned around to her grabbing him suddenly, pushing him against the door. Her hands were on his chest, her eyes looking up at him. "I love you." She said, looking into his eyes.

"I love you." He said, dropping a light kiss on her lips. She quickly turned the heat up on the kiss, pushing him a little harder into the door. After a moment, they broke from the kiss and he found her eyes staring into his with a cloud of lust. "We should probably go get the next gift." He whispered breathlessly.

"Yeah. We don't want our new neighbors to get the wrong idea." She said softly, watching a sparkle in his eye as he took her hand. "I'm ready for my next gift." She said, taking a step back, she watched him shake himself a bit to get ready. He smiled at her and she laughed as he straightened his jacket and walked past her. He stepped down the steps, and lifted Melody easily into his arms as he swung her around and deposited her on the sidewalk. He signed something to her that Antonia couldn't see, and she nodded. Antonia walked around him and watched the little girl as she reached into the pocket of her dress, and pulled out another key. "What on earth is…" She started to say, as Melody pushed a button on the key, and the SUV in the driveway automatically started up. "Aiden." She said, eyes widening as she looked at the large vehicle that was parked in the driveway, and now running.

"You don't like the electric car starter?" He asked. "I thought you'd like that." He smiled.

"You got me a truck?" She asked, her voice now high pitched.

"Well, actually… I got us a truck." He shrugged. "Since yours was totaled, I figured you'd need a new vehicle."

"You already have a car. It was my SUV that was totaled." She replied.

"Yes, but… if it is our truck…" He said as he opened up the passenger side door, and reached across. He hit a button and turned on the emergency lights on the vehicle. "You get perks." He said, pushing a button, and let out a quick siren sound. He watched her eyes widen. "What do you think?" He asked, watching her grin brightly.

"I love it!" She said, moving toward him quickly, she wrapped her arms around him tightly, burying her face in his chest as she hugged him. While she was hugging him, she looked into the car, and sitting in the passenger seat, buckled in, was an old friend. "Deuce." She laughed, seeing her little stuffed elephant securely strapped in, she let a tear drop as she swiped it with her hand and sniffled, reaching in for her stuffed toy.

"I sprung him from evidence the other day. I figured he'd want to ride shotgun." He laughed as she looked past him into the car.

"What else is in there?" She asked, seeing some items in the back seat, she took a step back and walked around the car, swinging open the door to see that he had secured a booster seat for Melody, and on the other side, securely placed, was a baby car seat, already properly installed. "We're not going to need that for a quite a few months." She said, glancing to him.

"It'll be here before you know it." He said, dropping a kiss on her cheek as she continued to look in the car. "Do you want to take it for a spin?"

"Really?" She asked, a grin on her face as he shrugged.

"It's your car. Take me places." He said, nodding toward Melody, who was watching everything closely. She handed him the key, and Antonia grabbed it from him, handing him Deuce as she walked quickly around the other side of the SUV. He reached into the glove compartment for something quickly. He pulled out an envelope and handed it to Melody, who smiled back at him as he lifted her into her car seat and buckled her securely, carefully setting Deuce in the baby's car seat.

Antonia looked back at Melody, and saw the pink envelope in her hand, glancing to Aiden as he climbed in. "What is that?" She signed, indicating the envelope.

Melody held the envelope out to her, smiling as she took it into her hand. "It is for you." She signed back, watching Melody smile. "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you." Antonia smiled, glancing to Aiden, and back to Melody.

"You can open it now if you want." Aiden said, watching as Melody bounced a bit in her seat, wanting to see Antonia's reaction.

"Okay." She said, slipping her finger under the lip of the envelope, she slowly opened it. Sliding the card from the envelope, she smiled at the picture of the puppy on the front of it holding a ribbon with balloons in its mouth. "Cute." She signed to Melody.

"Open!" She signed back enthusiastically, giggling.

"Okay, okay." She said, opening the card, she first read the card's sentiment. "Happy Birthday, I ruff you". She giggled at the words, smiling at the little girl's excitement. "Ant." She read, looking to Aiden.

"I wrote, she dictated." He said, glancing to Melody.

"Ant. I love you. Happy Birthday. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for loving me." She said aloud, swiping at a tear. "My birthday is in December. Ask me what I want for my Birthday." She said out loud, glancing to Aiden, her brow furrowed. "Ask me what I want?"

"Ask her what she wants for her birthday." Aiden said with a laugh. He looked to Melody. "She's crazy." He signed, crossing his eyes, making her laugh.

"What do you want for your birthday?" She signed to Melody.

Melody looked at Aiden, and back to Antonia. She looked to Aiden again, and he nodded, pursing his lips slightly.

Melody watched him, doing the same with her lips, she placed her fingertips on her throat gently, humming softly, the sound becoming louder.

"What is she doing?" Antonia whispered.

"Just wait. She's been practicing." He said, watching her, he opened his mouth slightly.

"Mmmm…." Melody hummed, watching Aiden's mouth open slightly, she did the same "Muhhhhhh…" She watched him purse his lips again. "Mmmm…" And then he showed her his teeth. "Meeeee…" She watched him again, as he didn't make a sound, but simply showed her how to move her lips. "Muhmeeeee." She said, grinned brightly when she saw the reaction from Antonia that she expected.

"Aiden." Antonia whimpered.

"Yes?"

"Aiden, she… She just…"

"Muh mee!" Melody said again, her voice strange and loud, she pointed at Antonia. "Muhmee." She said again.

"Aiden. Aiden… She just… She…" Antonia said, starting to breath a bit too quickly. She fumbled for the door handle. "Aiden." She said again, stumbling from the car, Melody looked at Aiden with concern.

"She's okay. She's surprised." He signed to the little girl, letting out a laugh as he climbed from the car too. He met Antonia around the front of the car, taking her by her shoulders as she tried to slow her breathing, the card still securely in her hand.

"Do you need me to drive?" He asked.

"Yes." She whimpered. "Yes, please."

"Go give your girl a hug." He said, nodding toward the car, watching so that Antonia didn't trip over herself on her way to the passenger side of the car, he watched as she swung open the back seat door and unbuckled the little girl, pulling her from the car carefully so that she could give her a good, proper hug. He watched from the other side of the car as she set the little girl onto the ground, and began to sign to her emphatically how proud she was of her, how happy she was to hear her voice, and how there was nothing in the world that would make her happier than if she could make Melody's birthday wish come true.

"I love you so much." Antonia said, pulling the little girl into another hug, as Melody wrapped her arms around her tightly, closing her eyes as a tear escaped her eye as well.

"Hey…" Aiden said, getting Antonia's attention, he glanced at his watch. "We need to get going, ladies. Dinner reservations are seriously at six-thirty." He said with a smile as Antonia let out a laugh.

"Okay, little one. Let's go get some dinner." Antonia said, watching Melody grin brightly as she was placed back in her car seat with a snap of the buckle, and a kiss to her cheek. Antonia swiped at the tear on her cheek and quickly climbed into the passenger seat of the SUV. "I love you so much." She whispered to him. "I don't think you have any idea." She said, taking a deep, ragged, smiling breath.

"I have an idea." He smiled as he slowly started backing the car out of the driveway. He glanced at Antonia with a satisfied smile, as she opened the birthday card from Melody, and read it over, and over again, the smile never leaving her face.

Next up, the Hodgins/Booth Wedding... (Not sure if it'll be one update, or several broken up... we will see how eager I get.)

Comment comment comment. Next installment is being brain boxed.