Life became very busy for Erik once his designs were accepted by the Coppola family. He was allowed to work in the rock quarry and pick out his own stone, and was assigned a team of workers to begin the project on the site of a decrepit ancient roman building that was to be torn down. In an attempt to preserve history, Erik took some of the stone that had been used in the old building to use in the house, and preserved the stone foundation with only minor necessary repairs rather than replacing it. Giovanni was quite impressed with Erik's attachment to ancient Roman stonework and admired his ability to preserve the history of a culture that wasn't even his own. It was finally clear to the old man that Erik had adopted Italy as much as Italy had adopted him.

Without even realizing it, Erik had spent more time in Rome with the Turri family than he had in any one place since he left France. The event didn't go unnoticed by Giovanni and his daughter however, and while Erik was out in the quarry or in the work site for hours a day the pair of them planned to celebrate the day simply enough.

Father and daughter were waiting to surprise him when the sun set and it became too dark to work any longer. Erik was confused by the darkness of the house as he approached it from the outskirts of the city; normally when he arrived home at the end of the day the house seemed warm and full of life, but tonight it was completely dark. The young man tensed considerably when he saw the house, instinct telling him to expect the worst when he entered but reason telling him the father and daughter had likely just gone to visit one of Gaia's sisters for the evening and had forgot to mention their plans. Sure enough Erik was able to breathe a sigh of relief when he got to the door to find a note rolled and neatly tied with a ribbon resting in the mailbox. Its contents explained Gaia and her father had gone to dinner and wine with the physician up the street, and gave an address in case Erik should like to join them. Erik tucked the note neatly into his heavy wool coat and opened the door to slip inside out of the cold.

Moving to the fireplace, Erik revived the flames before turning and spotting Gaia and Giovanni grinning in the fresh light. "Surprise!" They announced, Gaia holding up a large glass serving dish filled with ladyfingers soaked in espresso and layers of sweet cream dusted with chocolate, creating what was undoubtedly the most indulgent looking tiramisu Erik had seen from Gaia yet. Both the master of the house and his daughter were grinning from ear to ear and Gaia bounced on her toes some in excitement.

"Oh Erik I know you don't really like attention but I just couldn't help it. You wouldn't even tell us when your birthday was so I thought we could celebrate it all today," she grinned.

"What exactly happened today?" Erik demanded, self consciously.

"My boy, today is the anniversary of the day I chased you out of the rafters and onto the ice. Come and sit, we've been slaving away all day. Gaia even goaded me into helping with supper, but she wouldn't let me touch the tiramisu though, so it's certainly safe to eat," Giovanni told the boy, embracing him firmly and guiding him to the table to partake in the massive spread of food they had laid out. Erik bit the inside of his cheeks firmly, unable to comprehend what was going on. Nobody had ever done anything like this for him before. When he was a boy his mother had been goaded into giving Erik a birthday party, consisting of a cake and a gift from one of his mother's childhood friends. When Erik had asked if he might have the gift of a pair of kisses from his mother as a gift, one for then and one to save, his mother had cried and beaten him at the very suggestion. Nothing so kind had ever been done for him since, especially for no apparent reason like this. Nobody had ever been so willing… excited even, to celebrate his arrival in their lives. He wasn't sure how to react to all this.

"I… Thank you."

"Nonsense Erik, eat!" Gaia demanded, piling food onto his plate with a grin, including a generous helping of tiramisu. While she plated his food, she whispered so only he could here. "I have a present for you, but I have to give it to you away from Papà. Can I come to your room later?"

Erik nodded and she smiled, kissing his masked cheek before standing up again. "Papà has a present for you!"

"Gaia don't spoil the surprise!" Her father scolded, but with a smile. Erik raised a brow under the mask, and Giovanni pressed a small metallic object in Erik's hand. The boy inspected what he discovered to be a gold ring, its face engraved with a square and compass crossing one another, encasing a gothically carved letter G. A sturdy gold chain was linked through the ring, and Erik looked up at Giovanni curiously. He didn't have to wait long for an explanation. "This is the ring my father gave to me when I was invited into the brotherhood that has immensely enriched my life. I know that whatever happens to me, my Brothers will be there through thick and thin, and that should I need it I and my family will have a place to live and foot to eat anywhere we see that symbol," Giovanni informed him, pointing to the symbol on the ring. "I want to offer the luxury to you, Erik. I know you are a traveling man, and I don't expect for you to stay with us forever. But I would feel more at ease knowing you will always have Brothers to take care of you in your hour of need."

Erik studied the ring for a long moment, wondering if being a part of such an organization could really have such power. Would strangers really allow him into their homes just because he wore their symbol? He wasn't sure how he felt about dedicating himself to any society, but from what he could tell there seemed to be no downsides. "Thank you, Master. I can't think of a better gift," Giovanni smiled and squeezed the boy's shoulder fondly.

"My boy… it would be a great honor to me if you would consider me a father as much as I consider you a son," it was true, Erik was the closest thing the old man had ever had to a son. The masked boy was quiet for a long while, so long Giovanni began to suspect he had perhaps offended the boy. It wasn't until Erik's shoulders began to quake ever so slightly and the boy moved from his chair to embrace the master mason tightly Giovanni knew his sentiments were returned. Gaia smiled as she watched them, tender tears in her eyes. She knew how badly her father had wanted a son, and she couldn't even begin to guess what Erik's life had been like before he came except that his parents must not have been as kind and wonderful as her father. She was immensely glad they had found one another, and was deeply moved by Erik's unexpected display of affection.

After dinner and dessert, Gaia left Giovanni and Erik to talk and drink by the fire. Once their talk died down and she heard her father retire to his room, Gaia crept downstairs with a package neatly wrapped in paper and tied with bold blue ribbon. She knocked at his door gently, and smiled when he opened it.

"Gaia! I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to come," Erik explained, and Gaia giggled some.

"Erik are you dunk?"

The masked boy puffed out his chest some, defensively. "So what if I am? I'm old enough to drink."

"Calm yourself, I'm not accusing you of anything horrible," She teased. "I'll just leave this with you then," Gaia smiled and offered him the package.

Erik took it gingerly. "You didn't have to…"

"I wanted to. Papà and I are glad you're here. I'm glad you're here," she added, with a private smile. "Well, are you going to open it or what?"

Moving to sit on the bed, Erik delicately untied the ribbon and pulled apart the wrapping without tearing it in the least. Gaia sat next to him and watched him, amused; she had never seen anybody open a gift so carefully in her life. Gingerly Erik pulled a small glass box from the wrapping, held together at the seams with elaborately designed gold that moved down into matching gold feet. Inside the box was anchored an intricate mechanical device leading to a key at the bottom of the box.

"Go on, wind it up," Gaia urged, and Erik obeyed. He turned the box over carefully so as not to disturb its delicate innards, and smiled as the prelude of Bach's Prelude in C Major. He listened in wonder as the tiny sound hit every note of the flowing melody perfectly, capturing every emotion in spite of its minuteness. When the music box lost its momentum and needed to be rewound, Erik simply inspected it with an artfully appreciative eye.

"It's wonderful. Is all your work like this?"

Gaia shook her head. "No, not really. I usually use wooden boxes. They last longer and sell a little better. But after I saw your little dancer I knew you would appreciate something like this more."

"The melody is one of my favorites."

The girl smiled. "Mine too. There's a street musician here, who plays cello and violin for change. I used to sit and listen to him play Bach's cello suite for hours and hours… I never had such an ear for music, though."

"I think you must!" Erik exclaimed, more enthusiastically than he had meant. "This… this was perfect. Not a single note was off," Erik praised and Gaia chuckled.

"I'm sure there was at least one. Drink some water before you go to sleep, you'll thank me in the morning," she promised, and Erik signed in resignation. He put the music box on a table by his bedside where sat two flowers no unlike the ones from the trick he had done for her with the shadows. Gaia turned down the sheets for him, and pulled off the boy's shoes. She smiled at him and moved to take his mask off to put it on the bedside table when Erik grabbed her wrist sharply. "Ow! Erik let me go this instant!" She demanded, ripping her wrist free and glaring down at me.

"I'm sorry!" Erik yelped, not having realized his own strength. "But you shouldn't have touched my mask…"

Without a word Gaia stalked out of the room, and Erik looked after her with a deep frown and hoped he hadn't hurt her too badly. He didn't realize Gaia's pride had been injured more than her wrist.