A/N: Super short chapter guys but if I had made it any longer, I would have had to change the rating. AHEM.

Daughter o'mine, thanks for writing that part for me. I lurve it. Almost as much as I love you. September. Putting a kibosh on the return flight methinks.

"What's a 'versary, mama?" Colton asked, tipping his head to the side and looking up at her while she wiped the oatmeal off of Ben's face.

"An anniversary is kind of like a birthday. It comes every year. Your birthday is the anniversary of the day you were born."

"You get presents on a 'versary?"

"Sometimes. Daddy and I aren't doing presents this time."

"What you gonna do?"

"We're just going to go out to dinner."

"That all?"

"We might do something else, we'll see."

"How long you been married to daddy?"

"Five years."

"I 'most four."

"I know."

"You been married then I born, huh?"

"Yeah."

He climbed up onto the rung of the chair and stood there for a second, contemplating what she'd said.

"Mama, when you knowed daddy?"

"What do you mean?"

"I knowed Isa all the days. But you didn't knowed daddy all the days 'cuz you live in Totana and he live in 'Zona."

"Yeah, we didn't meet each other until we were grown up. We both moved to New York and we met each other at work."

"When was that mama?"

"That was seven years ago."

"Seven is bigger than five."

"Yes it is."

"You not marry daddy fast?"

She chuckled and shook her head and tied Ben's shoe, then took him out of the high chair and let him stand next to a chair.

"No, daddy and I were just friends first. Then we dated, then we got married."

"Dated?"

"We were boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Like Mac and Jo?"

"Kind of the same but kind of different."

"Oh. You always love daddy?"

"Daddy was my best friend for a long time. And I loved him like that. And then it became a different kind of love."

"There's other kinds?" he asked, flabbergasted. Love was love and he didn't see why there should be any difference.

"Yeah, there's some different kinds."

"How?"

"You love Isa and Ben both right?"

"Yeah."

"You love Isa because she's your best friend but you love Ben because he's your brother. You can't love Isa for being your brother can you?"

"No!" he laughed. "Isa's a girl. She can't be no brother."

"See, you love them different."

"I love Chewy 'cuz hims my kitty and I love Qwerty 'cuz hims my doggy. Like that mama?"

"Yeah, kind of like that."

"So you love daddy 'cuz he your friend and then you love him 'cuz he your boyfriend and then you love him 'cuz he your hubband?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"Okay."

"It will make more sense when you're older."

"You always say when I older."

She smiled and finished cleaning up the kitchen, wondering if she was going to have time to get ready to go or not. Adam would be home in half an hour and she hated making him wait, even for a few minutes.

"Come on Ben, let's go play," Colton said, taking his brothers hand and tugging him towards their room. Ben let go of the chair and stood for a second before he took a step. He was getting so close to walking alone but still needed someone to hold his hand. Colton was patient and walked slowly beside him, not trying to pull him along or getting frustrated when Ben fell down. Lindsay grinned as she watched them toddle away already babbling to each other, lost in their imaginations.

Candlelight flickered with the beat of their words and soft laughter wrapped completely around them. They were essentially unaware of anyone else in the room and the rhythm of their banter was less than interrupted by the waiter who discreetly refilled their coffee several times after their food was gone. The subjects were light and inconsequential and they held hands across the table like a young couple madly in love, but also like an old couple deeply in comfort. His thumb grazed across her knuckles as he smiled at her and she blinked slowly back at him, an age old ritual of flirtation. It never seemed to get old, they could perform these dances thousands of times over and never get tired of them. His eyes drifted in the direction of the door and he cocked his head to the side in question. She nodded and they slid out of the booth, putting their coats on and heading out into the night. Their hands swung between them as they walked, feeling like the only two people in the world. She'd been worried about being alone when she first moved here, being by herself in a city of millions. Sure, she'd found her footing at the lab, but it wasn't until she'd found Adam that she had stopped feeling so isolated.

"Phase two?" he asked softly, dropping her hand and wrapping his arm around her shoulder instead. She hugged him back and kissed his cheek.

"I'm game if you are."

"I'm always game," he chuckled, leading her down the street and around the corner.

It had started out as a joke and the more they talked about it, the less of a joke it became, and the more she thought that a Sharpie tattoo wasn't going to cut it anymore. They'd both been inked on their own time and it wasn't a proclivity for either one of them, but this just seemed right. They'd actually waffled a few times on if they were going to do it, but finally she'd thrown her hands up and said "Well, are we or aren't we?" in such an exasperated tone that he could do nothing but laugh and tackle her onto the bed. Once they'd decided, that was it. They could have done it weeks ago, but there was something about making it an anniversary outing that made it more meaningful.

They entered the tattoo parlor giggling, her boots clicking on the floor. They'd made an appointment and pretty soon were seated in chairs next to each other. The finger tips of her right hand brushed those of his left as she reached across the empty space between them to take his hand. The needle didn't hurt so much as it bore a dull ache into her bones that was reminiscent of a horrible cramp but she craved his touch. It never failed to amaze her, even after five years, how one touch of his skin against hers could chase away any physical ailment. His eye caught hers and she saw the corner of his mouth turn up at the furrow of her brows. His thumb traced over the calluses that plagued her hands from years of rawhide braiding and she sighed.

"Adam."

"You okay?" he asked as his free hand tried to relieve the tension building in the carpals of her free wrist.

"Yeah," she nodded and watched as the artist replicated her husband's handwriting. "Peachy."

"Don't pass out on me."

"Me pass out on you? Dear, you're the one turnin' white."

He chuckled a little and shook his head.

"You knew I was a wimp when you fell in love with me."

"I was so tired of all those macho men," she teased, squeezing his hand. He smiled and leaned over to kiss her, but not pulling completely back when he broke it.

"You're almost done," he said, glancing down at the words across her skin.

"It's pretty small," she said, letting out a deep breath. "Good thing I'm not getting a tramp stamp."

He snorted a laugh.

"It wouldn't be bad. Kinda hot."

"I'm not Kat Von D," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Hallelujah."

She smiled then gave a tiny grunt as the needle went over a particularly sensitive spot.

"Babe?"

"I woulda chickened out if you went first," she breathed. "How did I do this the first time?"

"You were younger and pretending to be tough?"

"I think it was a shot of whiskey."

"Come on, I wanna see it," Adam begged as they stepped off the elevator. "It's been two hours, you can take the bandage off."

Lindsay grinned and reached into his pocket for the keys.

"It's all icky and so is yours."

"So?"

"So? I don't want you to see it until it's pretty. Let me wash it off. You're gonna want to touch it and that's just gross."

"You know me well," he said as the door swung open and they stepped inside.

"You can wash off in the kitchen and I'll wash off in the bathroom okay?"

"Alright. When did you tell Jo we'd pick up the boys?" he asked over his shoulder as she went into the bathroom.

"Tomorrow morning."

"Well what are we going to do until then?"

"Play Mario Kart… and other things."

"You're the only person in the world that finds Mario Kart to be an aphrodisiac."

"It might just be the guy I'm playin' with," she said in a sultry tone as she stepped out of the bathroom. He turned around and stared at her, the way the one light over the sink reflected in her eyes, how she leaned gently against the doorframe, the way her hair curled and framed her face and how her smile tugged on his heart. He walked over to her and kissed her gently, cradling her head in his hands and holding back from the intensity with which he really wanted to kiss her.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," she whispered, raising both eyebrows. He grinned and lifted his wrist so she could see it and she slowly brought hers up to the same level.

There was something so intimate about having each other's handwriting permanently on their skin and they both stood there silently for a moment, their eyes ranging over the words.

I love you

So simple, so true and so permanent, they both fleetingly wondered why they hadn't done this before. She looked up and met his eyes, smiling softly at how his breathing had quickened, nearly imperceptible to anyone else. She slid her hand up his shoulder and drew his lips to hers, nibbling gently before he stepped closer, pressing her up against the wall. She nearly moaned as their bodies came together as close as they could possibly be, his hands tightly on her hips and hers tangled in his short hair.

"You're beautiful," he said, his lips tickling over her neck and then up to tease her ear. She hummed gently and moved her hands so she could hold him tighter as her knees were already getting weak. He smiled at the effect he had on her, especially when her hand slid to the buttons on his shirt, undoing them quickly and trying to push the troublesome fabric off his shoulders. He chuckled and paused his own motions to help her, stopping to look into her eyes and say the things that never seemed right coming out of his mouth. She smiled, catching her breath again as his forehead touched hers, another point of heat between them.

"I love you," she said, husky voice breaking down the little bit of restraint he had left.

"I love you too," he managed to get out before they both sunk to the floor and forgot all the other plans they had had for the night.