The rest of the ceremony went without incident, and as everyone gathered to congratulate the bride and groom before the reception, the wedding party stood together and greeted guests. Grace and Jack happily shook hands and hugged their guests as the rest of the wedding party greeted family and friends. Booth stepped over toward Aiden as he stood behind Antonia and whispered something into her ear to make her laugh. He crossed his arms over his chest and eyed the younger man carefully.
Antonia smiled at her father and looked up at Aiden, her hands full with Melody, she looked back to Booth. "I have the prettiest flower girls, don't I?" She asked playfully, as Aiden shook his head.
"Grace needed someone to step up, and he was the only one left back there." Booth said with a laugh. "Gawkiest flower girl I've ever seen." He laughed.
"Hey, I was pretty." Aiden said, lifting Melody from Antonia's arms, he stuck his tongue out at Booth. "Melody said so."
Booth laughed and shook his head. "Don't teach her bad habits." He said, reaching out to tickle the little girl.
"Are you kidding me? I taught her how to stick her tongue out at people weeks ago." Ace said as he stepped up behind Booth and clapped his hand on his shoulder. "Looking good there, flower girls." He teased.
"You're never going to live that down." Antonia said, looking up at him as he shrugged and laughed, his eyes narrowed at Ace.
"It was a worthy cause." He said, glancing to Grace and Jack as they talked with guests. "Did you two just come over here to tease me?" He asked, watching as Booth's expression became a bit more serious.
"Actually, I just wanted to let Antonia know that Doctor Sweets was here." He said, noting that Aiden didn't appear know exactly who he was talking about. "He's a family friend, a psychologist." Aiden nodded his head as something clicked in his memory.
"I saw his son earlier." She said, looking slightly nervous. "Thanks, Dad."
"Didn't want you to be surprised to see him or anything. I know it was a long time ago." He said, knowing how sensitive she always was about that time in her life, and how the thought of someone knowing about some of the more personal aspects of her past affected her. "Love you."
"Love you, Daddy." She said, watching as her father and Ace walked away.
She looked to Aiden. "Doctor Sweets was the psychologist that… after…"
"I remember." He nodded, remembering a conversation about her experience after the kidnapping, he leaned down to kiss her cheek. "It's okay." He said, feeling her body melt into him for a moment, she closed her eyes and tipped her head back, after a moment she looked up to see those green eyes staring back at her.
"You're my constant." She whispered. "You're my control."
"You give me far too much power." He said, lightly turning her, so that she was facing him, still looking up into his eyes.
"You've earned it." She said, her eyes sparkling up at his, as he leaned down to kiss her nose. Her nose scrunched a little, and he kissed her lips tenderly.
"Ant!" The voice squealed through the crowd, breaking their kiss and sending Aiden's eyes up into a playful eyeroll, that made her let out a slight giggle. "Ant!"
"I swear to God, if you ever say again that you don't relate to children…" Aiden said with a laugh, as she smiled up at him.
Antonia turned around to see a flurry of brown hair and a purple dress come skimming through the crowd. Her smile was happy and bright, and Melody turned to see what she was looking at, her smile appeared as well.
"Fiona!" Antonia exclaimed, picking the little girl up into her arms for a hug, she grinned and looked to Aiden. "Hey, Uncle Aiden."
"Yeah, yeah. Old news. I get it." He mumbled playfully.
"Hi, Melody!" She signed 'hello', and waved to her friend, who seemed very excited to see her new friend again.
"Oh my gosh, Uncle Aiden. You were so hilarious when you came outside as the flower girl! I laughed so hard!" She exclaimed.
"Is that all everyone is going to talk about?" Aiden asked, looking around.
"Yes, I'm afraid so, Son." Ian said, catching up with his granddaughter, he patted his son on the shoulder as Aiden shook his head. "Sorry about that, Antonia. She's a slippery one." He laughed, glancing to see Liz waiting to congratulate Jack and Grace.
"Oh, it's fine. I like feeling like a Rockstar." She teased.
"Oh, there's mommy!" Fiona said, as a young woman with dark hair made her way toward them, her face had a bit of a stern look on it, as she approached, her focus directed at Fiona.
"Fiona Lee, there are a lot of strangers around here, you cannot just rush off like that." Anna said, approaching them, she watched Fiona look concerned for a moment, her body pushing slightly into Antonia's as if looking for some support.
"Grandpa was watching me." She sighed, watching her mother shake her head. "But Mommy, I needed to find Ant. You haven't met her yet. Ant, this is my Mommy, Mommy, this is Ant." She said, as Antonia carefully let the girl to the ground, and Aiden helped Melody to the ground, the girls clasped hands and stood beside Antonia, giggling.
"Anna, it's wonderful to finally meet you." Antonia said, pulling out her most polite smile she could muster. She knew that this woman didn't like her, and she wasn't exactly sure why, but she thought the world of Fiona, and was willing to do her best to make it work.
"I've heard so much about you." Anna said, smiling tightly at the other woman, she glanced to Aiden, and noted his pleading look. "It is so nice to finally meet you too." She said, looking to her daughter, who was happily talking to Melody, as Melody signed to her, and Aiden crouched to help them. "Have they already met?" She asked, looking to the two girls as they giggled together.
"Fiona is a very affable child, I've observed." Antonia said, catching Aiden's eyes as he looked up at her, not exactly surprised by her response, but surprised by her lack of blatant truth. He knew that she was very upset that Anna had been deceived, but he could see from the look in her eye that she was his partner in many ways, always having his back. She looked across the lawn to see that her mother was trying to get her attention. "I'm sorry, if you'll excuse me. I believe my mother is calling for me." She said softly, turning toward her Temperance, she saw Parker standing nearby, looking on at the crowd. "Parker, you know Anna, Aiden's sister in law, right?"
"Yeah." He said, watching her with a confused expression, an expression that she completely ignored and smiled at.
"Mom needs me, I'll be back." She smiled as she turned toward Aiden as he stood up. He leaned down and kissed her quickly. "I have to go face a fear." She whispered to him, she smiled at Ian and Anna, and quickly made her way toward Temperance.
Antonia approached Temperance, noting that she was talking to Doctor Sweets. His role in her life was very brief, but it was also extremely relevant and important. She knew him only a short while after Booth had been released from prison, as his family had moved toward New York, and he had not been present at her parent's wedding, or Parker's wedding. But he was here now, and she could feel a tight anxiety in her belly as she approached her mother, who reached for her hand before she even turned to face her.
"Sweets, Daisy. This is Antonia." She said with a proud smile, tugging her toward them. "Doctor Antonia Booth." She said, watching her daughter's ears turn red, as she threw her mother a pleading look.
"Doctor." Sweets said, nodding his head, his eyes wide with surprise, or something else as he looked into her eyes. "Very impressive." He smiled as he reached his hand out to shake hers. "Antonia, it's amazing to finally meet you again." He said, smiling happily at the young woman before him, obviously impressed at her growth and accomplishments.
He was looking directly into her eyes, and she was finding it very difficult to find her words, remembering back to that time in her life, knowing that this man knew so many secrets. Her eyes flicked to the woman he was with, a shorter, perky woman, her mother had said her name was Daisy. She had remembered a conversation with Temperance previously that Daisy was once one of her mother's interns, and she turned to shake her hand.
"I think it's just remarkable how much you look like both of your parents, and a doctor, so distinguished and intelligent, just like you are, Doctor Brennan." Daisy said, shaking Antonia's hand, she continued on and on as Antonia still struggled to find her words. When her hand was released from Daisy, she took a step backwards, and almost directly into a set of very familiar arms.
She looked up into his green eyes, a genuine smile on his face as he placed his hand on her waist and extended the other hand toward Sweets. "Doctor Sweets, Special Agent Aiden Fitzgerald. I've heard a lot about you from Booth. He is always talking about your profiling abilities." He said, as Sweets gave him a slightly confused glance, before smiling happily and shaking the younger man's hand.
"Aiden works with Booth and Agent Harding. He and Antonia are engaged." Temperance said, watching as Sweets smiled even brighter.
"Well, congratulations." He said, glancing to Antonia, as she smiled.
"Thank you, Doctor Sweets." She said, her voice finally found, though a bit lofty and light, she was proud of herself for finally speaking up, and could feel Aiden's eyes on her once more, taking the edge off her intense anxiety. "I met your son earlier, on his way in." She said, glancing to see the younger man she had seen enter the building before the ceremony.
"Ah, yes, Brendan." Sweets said, getting his son's attention. "Brendan, this is Antonia Booth, Doctor Brennan's daughter."
Brendan smiled, it was reminiscent of his father's and the resemblance to a younger Doctor Sweets unsettled her just slightly, until she felt Aiden squeeze her waist lightly in support. "I just realized, you're Doctor Brennan-Booth. I read your journal article on Entomotoxicology in forensics. Wow, it's an honor!" He exclaimed enthusiastically as he shook her hand, her eyes widening as she glanced to Temperance.
"How did you find that article?" Antonia let out a laugh. "They buried it at the back of the journal, and I'm certain they only published it because of the name."
"No, no way. It was intriguing, really." Brendan said, grinning.
"You have another groupie." Aiden whispered just above her ear, dropping his hand to guard his rib from her quick elbow jab.
"Brendan is studying anthropology and forensic science." Daisy said with a bright smile. "He's doing extremely well, and will be ready for his internship shortly." Daisy said, eyeing Temperance, who was looking off toward Grace and Jack.
"I tried to convince him to go into psychology." Sweets chuckled. "He wasn't interested."
"Well, psychology is a soft science." Antonia said, her stance defiant as she stood just a hair straighter. "Perhaps your son felt that it would be a waste of his time and intelligence."
"Woah…" Sweets laughed. "How did you do that? You sounded exactly like your mother, like exactly!" He laughed as Antonia's eye lifted, and her eyes met her mother's. She could see the amusement in her eyes and couldn't help but smile just slightly.
"Well, Brendan, I wish you luck in your studies." Antonia said with an encouraging nod. "I hope that the Jeffersonian is on your list of intern locations. We are the best at what we do. You're more than welcome to stop by for a tour if you like." She said, watching Temperance's nod. "I should probably check in with my sister. I believe we're getting photos taken before the reception. It was very nice to see all of you." She smiled politely as she shook their hands again, and turned sharply, nearly running into Aiden.
He smiled, watching her eyes lift to his, he looked for a sign of retreat, and found none. She was genuinely going to find Grace. "What?" She asked, taking his hand as she walked with him toward Grace.
"Nothing, just making sure you're okay." He said, giving her a little nudge.
"Oh, I'm okay. Are you okay?" She teased, giving him a nudge back.
"I'm great." He said, leaning down to kiss her temple.
"Where is Melody?" She asked, as he pulled her away from the crowd slightly, feeling like she needed a moment to breathe.
"She left me for an older model." He said, smiling. "My dad has her."
She let out a laugh. "Good." She said, feeling him pulling her toward the building.
"Where are you taking me?" She giggled, looking out at the gathering of people as he opened the door and ushered her inside. He walked with her down a hallway, away from the reception hall, holding her close to him. "Aiden?" She whispered, watching his eyes turn to hers, sending hers wider at the passion in them. "Aiden." She said, feeling as he pulled her into a quiet corner of the building.
"I wanted to make out with the maid of honor." He said, putting his back against the wall, he pulled her into him tenderly. "I am your biggest fan."
"Is that right?" She asked, following his jaw line with her eyes, she finally made it to his eyes. "You know, it's funny. I often have thought today of what it would be like to just be whisked off to a quiet corner, away from the prying eyes and hand shaking and hugs. I mean, Jack had a pretty good looking group of single guys standing up for him." She shrugged, watching his eyes narrow. "All of those handsome gentlemen, and here I am, the one making out with the flower girl at my sister's wedding." She said, and before he could respond, she pressed her lips against his, forcing him to completely forget his response.
The end... of this installment. Stay tuned for a new installment. You'll know it when you see it.
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