A/N: I swear, this story was only supposed to be five chapters.

"Babe, have you seen my other shoe?" Lindsay called from the bedroom as she searched in the bottom of the closet for the missing pump.

"Um, there's a pair of boots out here."

"Think about what I asked and think about what you said."

"You weren't lookin' for a pair, were you?"

"No, but thanks for the effort."

"Any luck?"

"No, I'm going to have to find something else to wear."

"Well there are some boots out here."

She chuckled and took her shoes off, then traded her black slacks for some khakis before going out into the living room.

"You said there were boots?" she asked, looking in the spot where they usually kept the shoes.

"Over here."

Smiling, she sat down on the couch and put her feet on his lap so he could slide the shoes on.

"When are you coming home?"

"I'm off at four."

"You ready for tonight?"

"Couch potato night? So much you have no idea."

"Any special requests for snackage?"

"You know what sounds really good? That limeade stuff you got that one time."

"From that one place where they have that one thing?"

"Yeah, that's it."

He smiled and pulled her closer, kissing her deeply.

"Happy anniversary, sweetie."

"I love you."

"I love you too. Go to work. Bring home bacon."

"Regular or maple?"

"Oh get out of here, beautiful."

She chuckled and stood up from the couch, grabbing her coat from the hook by the door.

"Bye Colton. See you later."

"Ba!" he replied, giving her his good-bye salute and a smile, then turning his attention to the Rubik's cube that Adam swore he was old enough to appreciate.

"Have a good day honey. Be safe."

"I will."

She slipped out the door and closed it behind her, then stood there for a moment, listening to the one-sided conversation on the other side.

"Hey bud, want me to do that for you and then we can trick mama into thinking you did it all on your own? Okay, okay, not ready for that kind of prank yet. That's okay, I respect your loyalties."

She grinned and shook her head before boarding the elevator and heading off to face the day.

"Hey Linds."

"Hey Stell. What kind of garbage are you reading?"

Stella chuckled and held up the small circulation weekly paper.

"The "I Saw You" section," she answered with a grin. "They're like the classifieds only not as bad."
"Meaning?"

"I see you every morning," she read, the amusement evident in her voice. "You have long hair and are usually holding a coffee cup of some sort. I'm the one always listening to my mp3 player and singing to myself. You have a nose ring. You seem awesome. Friends?"

Lindsay chuckled and sat down at the table, sipping her coffee and glancing at the paper.

"I caught your eye and it was hard not to. You were in your Air Force uniform. We were staring at each other for so long in the produce section. I think we were there for 10 minutes. You took the checkout line next to mine. Why didn't we exchange numbers? Let's do it now."

"I saw you sitting in class. We have one class together and I doubt you've even noticed me, but I can't help that your shortish brown hair, cute style of clothing & little limp in your leg (from falling off some bleachers) are all so, well, addicting. I told you to get better soon, maybe next time you'll let me carry your bags. See you next Wednesday!"

"I saw you at a sushi joint I frequent, then I saw you around the corner from my work. I saw you at the movie theater, and plenty of times where you work. Tell me what it is I need to do to see you more, besides purchasing a cocktail after getting in the door. I hope you read this entry & hope you find it clever, because my bag of tricks is empty, so now it's now or never."

"Okay, that was way too cheesy for words," Stella commented with a laugh. "Sometimes you can find really good ones though."

"You were the pulchritudinous deli-girl. I was the one with the eyes screaming intentions of spending the rest of my life with you. Meet me at the old 'Blvd' on October 14th, at 6:00?" Lindsay read. "Hey, that one is cute. I wonder if she'll meet him."

"Would you?"

"Not without proper backup."

"Good girl."

"Your turn."

"To my Perfect Twenty-Three, thank-"

"Wait, what?"

"What?"

"Let me see that."

Stella couldn't hide the smile on her face as Lindsay took the paper and read the entry for herself.

To my Perfect Twenty Three,

Thank you for loving me, marrying me, giving me a son, always going halfsies on the covers, finishing my popcorn, playing video games, sharing secrets, holding my hand, making me laugh, doing the dishes, never letting me settle, long kisses, cookies and milk, foot rubs, multicolored duct tape, silly faces and everything else that I forgot to mention. I love you to every –er and –est and even more. Happy two years.

"I can't take it anymore!" Stella said excitedly. "Adam wrote that for your anniversary and he wanted to make sure you saw it."

Lindsay smiled and wiped at her eyes that had started to tear up.

"Linds, he really, really, really loves you."

"I know," she whispered, reading over the entry again.

"Can I ask? What is that twenty three thing?"

"Um… it's because the earth is tilted for all intents and purposes at a twenty three degree angle. Much difference and the world as we know it ceases to function, weather patterns and all that. It wobbles a little, sometimes to twenty one, sometimes to twenty five. But mostly it's at twenty three. Adam says that I'm his twenty three degree angle."

"Wow."

"I need to go make a phone call."

"Happy anniversary kiddo."

"Thanks Stell."

She left the break room and walked down the hallway to the darkened office she shared with Danny. He was out in the field so she shut the door for some privacy and sat down at her desk.

"Hey babe," Adam greeted after a few rings. "How's work?"

"You are the most amazing man in the world, do you know that?"

"You saw it."

"Yes. What on earth did I ever to do deserve you?"

"Probably same thing I did to deserve you."

"I love you, Adam. I can't even say that enough."

"I love you too Lindsay."

"I'm going to try to sneak out of here a little early."

"Because I'm just so darn irresistible?"

"Something like that."

"Well whenever you get home, we'll be here waiting for our favorite person in the world."

"Give Colton a kiss for me."

"I will. See you later."

She smiled and hung the phone up, wondering how long it would be before she could focus on her actual work. She pulled her scissors out of the desk and cut the ad out, sticking it in the corner of the frame that held an impromptu family picture. It was perfect happiness right there and she couldn't take her eyes off of it. Yes, it would probably be a very long time before her mind swung back around to work.

"Okay, we've got caramel corn, cheese curls, tootsie rolls, gummy bears, beef jerky, string cheese, pudding cups, Capri Suns, candy bars, peanut butter, fruit snacks and goldfish crackers."

Lindsay lifted her eyebrows at the spread of junk food before her, then grinned up at him.

"Adam, did you get all foods with two names because it's our second anniversary?"

The look on his face told her it had been a fluke, but he ran with it anyway.

"Oh yeah, of course."

"So spoiler alert, what are we going to eat on our fiftieth anniversary?"

"Um… see, I still got a while to figure that one out."

"Adam?"

"Yeah?"

"I freaking heart you."

"You're so eloquent, babe. Think we're ready?"

"If you put that movie in," she said, opening the bag of gummy bears. "What are we watching?"

"Kung-Pow, Enter the Fist."

"Adam, is that the one with the tongue?"

"You die laughing every time he fights the cow."

"That's because he slides under it and milks it to death! It's so ridiculous. If the cow wasn't mooing it wouldn't be as funny."

"It's a good thing I thought of a back-up movie," he said, taking the DVD off of the coffee table. "Some Brendan Fraser for my lady."

"Yes."

He put the movie in the player then shut off all the lights and sat down next to her. She smiled and snuggled into his arms, tipping the bag of gummy bears towards him.

"Eat the clear ones please?"

"Only because I love you," he said, pinching her ear gently and taking a handful of gummy bears.

"Hey, you stole a green one! Give it back!"

"No way. You get the reds and the greens and the oranges and the yellows. You only let me have the clear ones."

"Hey, I let you have the yellow sometimes."

"Yellow and clear? Linds, you only let me have the pee colors!"

She burst into laughter and covered her face, falling against the couch cushions and trying to keep from snorting.

"What?"

"Pee?"

"Shh, you're gonna wake Colton up."

"I'm sorry."

"Must have tickled your funny bone," he noted, leaning over her and brushing her hair off of her forehead.

"Must have. Stop nibble nosing," she said, pushing him slightly away and giggling. He gave her a lopsided grin then sat up and pulled her back into his arms where she sighed slowly and laced her fingers with his.

"Linds, are you happy?"

"Over the moon. You?"

"Right there with you."

"I'm glad it's you, Adam."

"What do you mean?"

"Just that people fall in love every day. Sometimes it's the right person and sometimes it's the person you want. I'm just lucky that you're both of those things."

"I'm pretty lucky too."

"We should quit being so sappy and watch the movie."

"And eat junk."

"Amen."

They settled in an enjoyed the movie, mostly riffing it because they couldn't go long without mocking something. They both laughed themselves nearly to tears a few times, more out of the fact that they were making the same snide comments than that the comments were amusing.

"Eww, scarab beetles!" Lindsay shrieked, covering her eyes.

"That grosses you out?"

"They're going to eat his heart and there's sound effects! I can't handle it."

Laughing, he dropped a kiss onto her forehead.

"Honey, you make me laugh."

"They're gross!"

"I know, I know… watch out there's one on you!" he said frantically, pinching her side.

"Don't do that!" she said, jumping away with a shaky laugh. "You're mean."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't pass it up. C'mere."

He pulled her back into his arms and they stretched out along the couch, the movie long forgotten.

"I'll always keep you safe, baby. Even from imaginary scarab beetles."

She smiled and looked down at her wedding ring, the weight familiar and comforting as it shimmered in the artificial light. Leaning up, she kissed the underside of his chin, then moved to kiss him fully and intensely. He returned her fervor, cradling the back of her head to keep her close and sliding his thumb through the beltloop on her jeans. Her fingers brushed through his hair and landed on the back of his neck, eliciting a rough sigh from him. She giggled into the kiss, almost pulling away, but he had a pretty good hold on her and she couldn't move very far. He rolled them over so she was pinned between him and the back of the couch and they were tightly pressed together. Her eyes flew open at the movement and she was surprised to find that he was looking straight at her. Slowly she broke the kiss and took a moment to cement the eye contact before blinking. Usually by this time they would be headed into the other room, but this time he was just staring at her, his expression unreadable. It worried her a little and she grazed her fingers over his arm, a silent encouragement to say whatever was obviously on his mind.

"I still can't believe you're mine," he whispered, his hand dragging through her hair.

"I'll always be yours. I think I always have been."

The look he gave her sent a tingle to her stomach and she breathed in, slowly, closing her eyes. He kissed her again and she clutched at his shirt, pulling him as close as possible, vaguely wishing that it was physically possible to fuse to another person. She could feel him slowly running out of room on the couch and she deftly turned them halfway so they were exactly opposite of how they had started.

"Linds?" he said suddenly, breaking the kiss and looking down at her, his face more serious than she had anticipated at a time like this.

"What?"

"You remember when we used to make out just for fun?"

Her eyebrows raised and she cleared her throat curiously.

"You're looking at me like I'm crazy."

"You're not crazy babe, it's just that I think this is the first time that I have no idea what you're getting at."

He gave her a half grin and started to get up, but she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, encouraging him to stay where he was.

"Tell me."

"We're always going a million miles an hour," he said, stroking her hair back and running his thumb across her lips. "I mean, we manage to um… well you know. But a lot of times this," he said motioning to the couch, "is just a means to an end. I would never change that end, but we never really take our time getting there."

"So what do you want to do?"

"I just want to slow down as if we have all the time in the world. Like we used to."

"Back when it was all about falling in love and life wasn't in the way yet."

"Back when we were just naïve newlyweds and just seeing you took my breath away because I had the time to actually look."

"You are the most wonderful man that could ever exsist."

"You made me that way."

She smiled and very gently pulled him down to her, kissing him in the slowest and laziest way she could manage. Their lips swam together softly, giving consideration to things that had been getting neglected. Special attention was paid to talking without the words and it wasn't long before she found her head and her heart back in that place of newness and wonder, the place where they had first found each other.

She remembered those times on this very couch, wanting so badly for the moments to go on forever, but having to pull away in the name of work or agreements or late hours. She remembered the first time they had held each other like this, oblivious to the outside world; focusing on the weight of his body on hers and how she had never felt so warmly blanketed in such a consuming love before. She remembered wanting so badly to kiss him impossibly deeper, to figure out a way to communicate how desperately she loved him and not coming up with anything good enough. She remembered wanting him, fully and completely, and being slightly scared at the realization, for she had never felt it so clearly before, never with the intention of true love behind it. She remembered how her heart had fluttered when he pulled away slightly and wordlessly dropped his forehead to hers, letting their breathing return to normal while he tried to think of the right words. She remembered the look on his face when their eyes met and she knew how much he loved her.

And now, as she broke the kiss and looked at him again, anew and with much history at the same time, they both knew they had the rest of their lives, and it would be like this forever.