This is Prompt No. 46-Home

"Not even a tiny hint?" Mitchie begged.

Shane rolled his eyes as he shook his head. This was about as bad as "Are we there yet?" "No," he said…again. They had been traveling for almost two hours on the underground buggy system, and Shane was looking forward to the end of the line.

"Can I hold Shania?" Mitchie asked, and Shane readily gave her the baby, hoping that her daughter would keep Mitchie interested until the end of the drive.

The buggy pulled up to the end of the line and Shane hopped out so that he could help Mitchie alight from the contraption. He noticed that her eyes were wide with curiosity and her cheeks were pink with excitement, and he couldn't help but smile to himself. He was now more confident than ever that his present to his young wife would be favorably received.

"Ready?" he asked Mitchie.

She nodded and began walking towards the steps leading up to the prop room in the theater, Shane following her with a smile on his face. They climbed the steps and stepped into the small room, immediately making their way to the front of the theater where Mitchie then turned to Shane and asked, "Now where?"

Shane stepped out in front of her and flashed her one of his most dazzling smiles, enjoying the element of surprise he held over her. "Now, we call for a buggy."

"Another one?" Mitchie asked, wrinkling her nose at the thought of having to sit in a buggy once again after the long ride she had just had.

Shane nodded. "Yes, but it's not far." He hailed a buggy and helped Mitchie inside, both of them being careful not to jostle Shania as they stepped inside. Shane gave the driver an address that Mitchie couldn't hear, and then he sat back next to her, opening his arms for his daughter in order to give Mitchie a rest.

Mitchie gladly handed her baby over, but without Shania's darling little face to study, Mitchie found her mind once again riveted on a long list of questions regarding the nature of Shane's gift. "Not even-"

"No!" Shane said, his voice tinged with comical exasperation. "We're almost there," he told her.

Wisely deciding not to push her husband any further, Mitchie settled for staring blankly out the window, watching the town of Washington D.C. go by. Impatience made her shift in her seat, though, and soon she was shifting enough for her actions to be classified as wriggling. She bit her lip so that she wouldn't ask anymore questions, but she let out a sigh by mistake.

Shane glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, amused. She was never going to make it if he didn't say something to her. With a sigh of his own, he shifted Shania over so that he held her in one arm and then he wrapped his free arm around Mitchie's shoulders, pulling her close to him. "Only a couple of hints," he warned, his breath teasing her ear.

She looked up at him, surprised. "Really?" she asked, half expecting him to get annoyed again with her questions.

Shane nodded. "Really," he said. "But you can't ask anything too obvious, like 'What is it?'."

Mitchie gave him a mock pout. "Now that's no fun," she told him sullenly.

He laughed at her comical expression and said with a shrug, "Take it or leave it."

There was silence for a moment, and then Mitchie asked, "Is it big?"

Shane thought for a moment. "Not compared to others of its size."

Mitchie let out a slight huff at the vague answer, but then berated herself slightly. Vague answers were better than nothing. "What color is it?" she asked, "or is that too obvious?"

Shane shook his head. "No, that's fine. It's yellow."

Mitchie frowned, trying to think of something relatively small and yellow. Nothing immediately came to mind. Mitchie remembered Jason's birdhouse and asked, "Is it a boat?"

Shane snorted but replied, "Too obvious."

Mitchie glared up at her husband, who completely ignored her. He was not going to help her out, was he? "Fine," she said, but the question she was going to ask was interrupted by Shane placing Shania into her arms and placing a blindfold around her head.

"We're getting close," he explained. "I don't want you to see where we're going before we get there." Mitchie made a small sound of protest, but Shane cut her off by kissing her. In return, she nipped his bottom lip, making him pull away with a laugh. She hadn't bit him hard enough to even break the skin, but her message was clear; she wasn't happy with this arrangement.

They rode in the buggy for a few more minutes, and then, abruptly, the buggy stopped. "Here we are, sir!" the driver called.

"Thank you!" Shane called and took Shania once again from Mitchie's arms. "Not that you would," he prefaced, "but I wouldn't want you to drop her."

Mitchie started to protest, "I would never-" but then she stopped. She realized that Shane was right. Being unable to see made it more difficult to keep one's balance, and should she fall from the buggy, she just might drop her daughter, no matter her intentions. "Fine," she mumbled.

"Here, let me help you," Shane said, helping her step down onto the street.

"Thank you," she said softly, feeling her stubbornness dissipating. Shane squeezed her hand to show her that he understood, and then began to lead her forward.

Mitchie sniffed the air, relying on her sense of smell to tell her where she might be. There was no smell of salt or fish, so Mitchie knew that she was not anywhere near the ocean. The only smells drifting along in the air she inhaled was the scent of horse, dried leaves, and Shane. That helped her in absolutely no way.

Shane stopped after a few paces, and Mitchie heard the sound of the buggy pulling away, taking the scent of horse away as well. "Ready?" he asked her.

"Yes," Mitchie said softly.

Shane untied the blindfold and let it fall away from her face. "Happy birthday," he whispered as she gazed at her birthday present.

For the first time, Mitchie was glad that Shania wasn't in her arms. She might not have dropped her getting out of the buggy, but she most certainly would've dropped her out of shock upon seeing her gift. "Oh!" was all she could say.

In front of her was an exact, human-sized replica of Jason's birdhouse. It was a tiny little two-story house, smaller than many of the houses Mitchie was used to seeing, and she finally understood Shane's first answer. It was yellow in color, just like Shane's second answer had been, with white scalloped trim and a wraparound porch.

"Oh, Shane," Mitchie whispered, awed.

"Do you like it?" Shane asked, grin on his face.

Mitchie nodded. "But how in the world did you afford this?" she asked, noting that the house, and the two houses on either side of it, were quite nice. "It must've been expensive."

Shane shook his head. "It wasn't," he assured her. "Part of the benefits you get when you work for the UUS is the promise of a home to "retire" with when you finish working. President Lincoln has granted each of our team members any vacant house they'd like in Washington."

"It's wonderful!" Mitchie exclaimed excitedly. "Thank you Shane, it's the best present ever." She turned back to the home and sighed happily. A home of her own, given to her by the man she loved. What more could she want out of a birthday?

"Who lives in that house?" she asked Shane, pointing to the house on the right, a quaint little blue house just begging for a loving family.

Shane grinned. "Nate and Caitlyn," he told her. Mitchie gave a little cry of happiness and her smile widened.

She turned to the house on the left and asked, "And who lives in that house? Jason?"

Shane's smile grew even wider and he shook his head. "No, but he'll live close by. The people that live there are the second part of your surprise." He turned to the windows and waved his hand in a beckoning motion.

Whoever was inside must have been waiting, because almost immediately, the door open and a familiar pair of faces flew out. They stood on the steps for just a moment, waiting for Mitchie to recognize them. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers and she let out a little scream as she ran toward them.

"Mitchell! Anna!"

A/N: Most of you won't be surprised at her present, but were you surprised at her second present? Let me know! Hope you liked it even though you guessed! :D