Disclaimer: The cute little kid in this epilogue is the only thing that belongs to me. Nothing else is mine.
A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews for this entire story! You guys are the best! But, since I'm in a good mood today, and if I don't know if I'll get the chance to get back on before spring break is over, I'm not only going to put the epilogue up, but the two surprises as well! So, review as much as you want! The more I get, the more the possibility of a second story rises… So, thank you so much to AliuIce0814, daisyduke80, Miss Hermione Jane Granger, fantomfairy, momiji'sunusedhalo, Fantasy's Magic, Jedi'Pirate Jaeh, Majestik Moose, unorthodox yo-yo, Maira Blue, karmine, and Halo for your wonderful reviews! So, here we go!
Epilogue
One year later…
Riley pulled into the driveway of his best friend's estate, parking as crookedly as possible just to annoy him. He took off his sunglasses and jumped out of his Ferrari, quickly running up the stairs and ringing the doorbell. The book he had written before they had found Cibola had finally picked up in popularity, and he had been out of town for the past four months because of it. He had felt terrible since Ben had called him and told him that Abigail had had her baby, and this was the first time that he had been able to see the new addition to their family, who was now three months old.
The door opened a minute later, and a smiling Ben was on the other side. "Hey, come on in, Riley!" he said, closing the door behind him.
"Hey, Ben. Sorry I wasn't able to come sooner to see your little bundle of joy. This is the first time I've been home in four months. I haven't even been to my apartment yet, since you can see that all my luggage is still in my car…"
"We understand, Riley, but you could have stopped home first," Ben told him with a smirk.
Riley opened his mouth to reply, but was stopped short when the sound of crying reached his ears from the next room. "Oh no. Little bundle of joy trouble?"
"Yeah," Ben muttered with a sigh. "She was fine this morning…"
"That's all right, Ben," Riley said as he followed the older man into the large living room. "Babies are babies. They're unpredictable."
They saw that Abigail was pacing when they entered, trying to stop a tiny, brown-haired, three-month-old girl from crying. "Oh, hi, Riley," she greeted when she saw them. "Sorry about this. She was fine a minute ago."
"As I told Ben, it's all right," Riley replied. Then, he smirked at the treasure hunter. "Did she start crying because her daddy left the room?"
Ben returned the smirk. "Or because his uncle entered it," he retorted.
Riley didn't look amused. "Funny," he muttered before turning to Abigail, seeing that she looked fatigued. "Let me see this little bundle of joy, Abs."
"Are you sure, Riley?" Abigail asked, anxiously trying to calm the baby down. "I can get her to stop crying and then-!"
"No, Abi, that's fine. I can take her now," Riley interrupted in answer, extending his hands out in front of him.
"Well, all right…" Abigail carefully handed her daughter over to the younger man, watching as he began to gently bouncer her around to try to calm her while supporting her.
"You don't wanna' cry, do ya'?" Riley asked with a small laugh, beginning to walk around the living room. "'Cause crying isn't fun for you or the people around you. Wouldn't you rather be laughing? Now that, my dear, is fun."
Ben and Abigail watched in amazement as the little girl slowly stopped crying and looked up at the techie in awe. Riley smiled back down at her. "There you go," he said. "Now come on. Laugh."
"I must say I'm impressed, Riley," Abigail commented. "You're the first person who has gotten her to stop crying besides Ben and I."
Riley smiled at her. "That's because I'm her Uncle Riley, and I'm awesome," he explained.
Then, the three-month-old's tiny fist flew up and hit Riley beneath his chin. She began to laugh as the techie made a face at her, and Ben and Abigail even laughed since their younger friend had been hit in the face. "Now that was funny," Abigail said to her husband.
"So, you think that's funny, do you?" Riley asked his little niece, who was still smiling up at him. "How about airplanes? Do you like airplanes?" He began to rock her a little higher in his arms, the small girl laughing with each swing. "Look, you're almost as tall as me!"
"He's so good with her," Ben muttered, amazed as he shook his head. "I never thought that Riley would get along with her so well, especially since this is the first time they've met."
"They'll definitely be close," Abigail agreed with a smile. "He'll have to babysit when both of us are out."
"Why? Because he'll do it for free?" Ben teased.
Abigail smirked and kissed his cheek playfully. "No. Because he clearly loves her and will take good care of her," she told him.
Ben nodded, but then he quickly turned to his best friend when he forgot one very important detail about his daughter. "Hey, Riley. Did we ever tell you her name?" he asked.
"Um, no you have not," Riley answered, beginning to gently spin the three-month-old in a circle. "Last time you were able to get a hold of me, you were still undecided."
The treasure hunter laughed. "Her name is Clara," he told him.
Riley stopped spinning in circles and looked at his best friend with a raised eyebrow, nodding thoughtfully. "Pretty. But let me guess. Her middle name is Barton."
"How did you know?" Ben asked with confusion.
The techie opened his mouth to give a snappy comeback of how ever first and middle name of someone in the Gates line was some person's name in history, but then he grinned. "Lucky guess."
Clara suddenly laid her head against Riley's chest, her deep blue eyes closing. In a minute, she was sound asleep in his arms. Abigail moved forward to take her from him, but Riley shook his head and carefully sat down on the couch. "I don't want to disturb her," he whispered in explanation.
"Okay," Abigail said, sitting down on a chair across from him. "Riley, we have something we want to ask you. Besides being Clara's non-biological uncle, Ben and I were wondering if you would also be her godfather."
A smile appeared on Riley's face. "Of course I will," he told her, making the couple smile also "It would be an honor to be Clara's godfather."
"Thank you so much, Riley," Ben said. "It means a lot to us."
Riley shrugged carefully. "Hey, I do what I can," he replied. Then, he looked down on the sleeping Clara. "So, is she going to be a history nerd or a mean document lady?"
Abigail rolled her eyes. "How about a smart-alec computer hacker?" she asked sarcastically.
The younger man looked up at her with a smirk lighting up his face. "If the tides turn in my favor."
"She's not going to be a computer hacker," Abigail said sternly. "Especially not an annoying, sarcastic one like you."
Riley pretended to look hurt. "Thanks, Abs," he pouted. "I love you too." Then, as he shifted to a more comfortable position, he felt something press against his leg from his pocket. Wondering what it was, the techie reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver bracelet with a diamond pendant on it… something that he had found in St. Joseph a year before that he always kept with him until he found the right person to give it to.
"What is that, Riley?" Ben asked. "It's beautiful."
"Oh, this?" Riley looked down at the bracelet, and then moved his eyes to his sleeping niece. "It's… It's just something that I got for Clara. It's too big now, but she'll grow into it."
Riley suddenly gasped when a slight movement caught his eye and turned to the window when he felt a sudden presence, and for a split second, he saw the man that had given him the final clue to the treasure in Missouri. Then, after a wink, he was gone.
Abigail smiled as she watched Riley turn back to Clara and put the silver bracelet against Clara's hand, and then her tiny fingers uncurled and grabbed it tightly. Yes, her daughter and Riley would be very close, she had no doubt.
But Ben looked at Riley seriously. "Now, Riley. Being an uncle and a godfather is a lot of responsibility-!"
"I know, Ben. Don't worry," Riley interrupted, smiling as he looked up at his best friend. "You have nothing to fear."
A/N: Well, that's it for that part! Onto the two surprises! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are greatly appreciated. Thank you!