"Are you boys going to be good for Gigi?" Adam asked, wiping Colton's lunch off his face.

"Yeah, prob'ly."

"What does that mean?"

"Uh, means that maybe I might make a mistake and then if I promised to be good it would be a lie. And then I would be in even more trouble for lyin'."

"How about you promise to try to be good?"

"But Yoda say there is no try."

"That's just for Jedis. You're not a Jedi yet."

"Oh, okay. Then I will try to be good," he said with a nod, wrapping his arms around Adam's neck. "Where are you takin' my mama?"

"On a date."

"But where, daddy? You could tell me, I can keep secrets."

"Nope, I never, ever tell where I'm takin' your mama."

"Is it gonna be romantic?"

"Nah, we don't have time to be romantic."

"But don't you love mama?"

"Well of course I do. That's why I'm taking her on a date."

"But it gots to be romantic if you love her!"

"Okay, it's going to be romantic."

"Good. You gonna kiss her a lot?"

"Depends if she lets me."

"You gonna be back to tuck me in before sleepin'?"

"We'll try."

Colton giggled and rested himself against Adam's shoulder.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, son."

They stayed like that for a second before Colton pulled away.

"Hey Ben, you gonna try to be good for Gigi too?"

"Yep!" Ben agreed, playing with the rest of his lunch while Lindsay came at him with a washcloth. He shook his head back and forth, but she finally managed to wipe the peanut butter off.

"I think it's time for you to have a nap."

"Need efalent," he said, rubbing his eyes and looking around for his sock elephant. "There is."

Lindsay retrieved it from the floor and handed it to him while her phone rang. She looked at the screen and wrinkled her nose, answering as she went into the other room.

"What are you callin' me on my vacation for?" she said before going out of earshot. Adam chuckled and took the lunch plates to the sink where his mom was washing everything.

"So where are you two going?"

"I've got something in mind," Adam answered with a shrug. "She'll like it."

"Would you tell your dad that this old girl would love to go on a date sometime soon?"

"Don't worry mom, your time is coming."

"It is?"

"Yes, and I can't say any more."

She grinned and he slid his arm around her shoulders, kissing her cheek.

"Thanks for watching the boys for us. We haven't gone out in a while."

"My pleasure. It's the grandma's job after all. And I never get to see them so this is a bonus."

"Okay. We won't be too late I hope."

"Take your time. You both need it."

"Thanks," he said, giving her shoulders a squeeze.

"Daddy, is you and mama leaving now?"

"Yeah, as soon as she gets off the phone."

"Who's on the phone?"

"By the way she answered, I am betting it was Danny."

"Oh, do you think he's at home? Maybe I could talk to Isa and Sarah a little?"

"I bet he was at work, but maybe you can talk to the girls tomorrow."

"Okay," he agreed as Lindsay came back into the room. "Mama, was that Danny?"

"Yep."

"What did he say?"

"He wanted to be sure you were getting tickled enough," she teased, picking him up and kissing him.

"Mama, that's a story. Danny did not say that."

"He was just calling about work."

"What about work? Was it good news?"

"Yeah, it was."

"Did he catch a bad guy?"

"Yep, a really bad guy."

"Was it the man that hurt the old police man?"

"How did you know about that?"

"Me and Isa heard you grown ups talking. Did someone go to jail yet?"

"Yeah, someone's going to jail."

"I thought the guy who pulled the trigger died a while ago," Adam said, trying to remember the case from a few months ago.

"He did, but that doesn't mean we can't charge his old cohort with accessory and conspiracy."

"How do you think it will go?"

"I think it will go just fine," she said with a grin.

"Speaking of going, are you ready?"

"Yeah. You boys are going to be good right?"

"Daddy and I discussed this already."

"Oh, okay," Lindsay chuckled, kissing him and setting him back on the ground. "We'll see you later then."

"Have fun bein' romantic!" he said before following Ben into the other room.

Lindsay chuckled while Adam took her hand.

"Let's get out of here."

They said goodbye to his mom and left the house, both breathing in the warm air and just looking at each other for a second before hopping in the car.

"I can't believe we escaped that easily."

"Don't question it, babe."

"Can I question something else?" she asked as he started the car.

"Shoot."

"Where are you taking me?"

"Linds, after seven years, can't you just accept the fact that it's going to be a surprise until we get there?"

"No."

"You are difficult," he sighed, running his fingers over the palm of her hand while she propped her feet up on the dashboard.

"I'm worth it."

"That you are, my dear. That you are."

They spent the rest of the drive talking about nothing, enjoying the fact that they were together and were free from life for a while. They loved every moment they spent with each other, but moments like these, times of their own making were so special and rare that it didn't matter what they were doing.

"You wore good walking shoes, right?"

"You told me to."

"We're going to walk a little bit."

"How much is a little bit?"

"A mile or so."

She nodded as he parked the car in the lot for the botanical gardens.

"We've never done this before."

"First time for everything."

"Adam?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

They spent a few hours meandering around the botanical gardens, letting time get away from them as they soaked in the sun and the calm. By the time they returned to the car they were both in need of water and food and they drove a few miles with the windows down and the radio on before they came to a sushi and steakhouse. It wasn't their normal fare, but it sounded good and it wasn't very busy. They were seated fast and spent several minutes giggling over their menus before placing their order.

"So I wanted to talk to you about something," Adam started, wiping the condensation off his water glass.

"Mysterious. Go on."

"I was looking at our bank accounts, seeing how much we spend each month, where we can cut back, all that."

"Is it bad?"

"No, it's good. All our student loans are paid off and we have a lot more in savings than I thought we did. But our apartment, that's a money sucker. We're paying a lot in rent for a space that's still pretty small and doesn't have a yard or very much privacy. It's a nice place, but I hate that the boys are cooped up in it so much."

"So your solution?"

"Start looking for a house."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I've looked at a couple in what I think might be our price range and I've estimated that if we save up a certain amount every month until the beginning of the summer, we'll have enough to put down that our mortgage payments would be slightly less each month than we're paying in rent."

"How are we going to find a house in the city?"

"There's a lot in Brooklyn right now."

"Brooklyn. We'd be closer to Austin and Danny."

"There's pros and cons to that," he chuckled, reaching across the table for her hand. "I know buying a house is a big deal. But I think we can do it. Especially if we find the right one. Think about it?"

"I'll think. It's kind of scary though. It's a big commitment."

"Yeah, but so was marriage and we're doing that just fine."

"It would be fun to decorate. And it'd be nice to have a yard, even if its just a little one."

"See?"

"We do need more space. The boys can't spend their lives inside."

"No, they can't."

"And we don't really have a place for grandparents to stay when they come to visit either."

"No, we don't."

"It's a good idea and I think it's time. I'm just scared of the finances."

"When we get home I'll show you what I've been working on. It doesn't seem so scary all written out."

"Okay," she agreed with a smile.

"You trust me with that?"

"What, to do the math right? Of course I do. It's why I married you. You can do the taxes."

He grinned and shook his head, wishing they were alone because he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and hold her for a very long time. Instead, he settled for squeezing her hand.

"Do you want to stay in Manhattan or try to find a place in Brooklyn or somewhere else?"

"I like Brooklyn. It sounds right. It's pretty there. And the boys would be happier with more space. I think we should do it."

"We're big kids now, babe," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, we are. You know, we could be about to buy the house that we'll retire in."

"We'll have rocking chairs on the porch."

"It's a deal."

Their feet left the ground and Lindsay sucked in an apprehensive breath, gripping Adam's arm tightly. He chuckled and removed her hand, instead wrapping his arms around her from behind, trying not to move too much as the hot air balloon rose higher and higher.

"It's perfectly safe," he assured softly, even as her heart pounded.

"I know that."

"Then why are you shaking?"

"Because hot air is the only thing keeping us from plummeting to our death."

"Yes, and bumblebees shouldn't be able to fly either."

She smirked and turned back to look at him, catching his eye just before he swooped down to kiss her.

"Come on, admit this is nice."

"It is, actually. As long as I don't think about it too much."

"Or at all," he said, his voice slightly lower. "Do you see that, babe?"

"See what?"

"All that. Everything out there, as far as you can see."

"Yeah."

"That's how much I love you, Lindsay. As far as you can see in all directions."

She smiled and leaned back against him, closing her eyes for just a moment.

"I love you too, Adam. Forever. Even in my next life, I'll find you."

He twisted a strand of her hair around his finger, then stole another kiss, wishing time could stand still for just a moment so he could look into her eyes and find his world in them. He turned her slightly towards him and a slow smile spread across her face while her hands clasped against the small of his back. He rested his forehead against hers and nuzzled her nose gently while she let out content sigh.

"We're supposed to be looking out there," she commented after a few moments.

"Linds, do we ever look out there?"

"You're better to look at."

"So are you."

"We're disgusting."

He chuckled and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I really should have thought to get a hotel for the night."

"Adam…"

"What? I should have."

"Now you're going to be thinkin' about it for two more days until we're home."

"And then watch out, lady."

They spent the rest of the ride taking in the scenery and flirting with each other, and for a while, it was almost as if it was new. She slowed down enough to think about how his arms felt around her, how his voice sounded, and the butterflies that still swarmed in her stomach when he whispered her name.

By the time their feet were back on the ground, the sun was setting and they were both ready to fall into bed. They stayed silent the entire drive, then sat quietly in the car once they had arrived. The stars were coming out and they watched them for several minutes, holding hands and taking in the silence.

"Adam?"

"Yeah sweetie?"

"Thank you for tonight."

"You're welcome."

"We should go in."

He nodded and they went inside, saying hi to his parents before going upstairs to check on the boys. They were sprawled out on the bed together, having kicked the blankets off. Ben was clutching his elephant and his pillow, while Colton was stretched out on his stomach, taking up as much room as he possibly could. Lindsay gently replaced the blanket over them and they both woke up, staring at her for a moment.

"Mama," Ben said, smiling and reaching up for her. She sat down and hugged him, kissing his plump cheek several times until he giggled.

"You guys had fun?" Colton asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, we did," Adam answered quietly.

"Did you kiss my mama?"

"Yeah, I kissed her a lot."

"I don't know why you do that, daddy. Kissin' is gross."

"How do you know?"

"I kissed Isa to try it out. It was spitty."

"That's because you're not old enough to kiss yet," Lindsay chuckled. "Does anyone else know you kissed her?"

"Just Sarah. She said it was gross and ewwie."

Adam laughed and tucked the blanket tighter around the boys.

"Time for sleep. We'll see you in the morning."

They gave the boys one more snuggle before standing up and leaving the room.

"You goin' to bed?" Adam whispered as they stood in the hallway.

"Yeah. You comin' with me?"

"Yep."

They went into their own bedroom and fought yawns while they changed clothes and brushed their teeth and got in each other's way as much as possible. Finally they climbed into bed, gravitating towards the middle and each other. She slithered up onto his chest and ran her fingers across his skin before kissing his shoulder and sighing.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure," he answered, his hands on her hips and his thumbs stroking over her sides.

"You saved me, Adam."

"What do you mean babe?"

"You saved my life. You didn't know it then and I wasn't really aware of it then either. But when we met, I was really bad off."

He didn't have to ask what she meant, but he held her a little tighter.

"And then we met and we seemed to always be together, and I wasn't so alone any more. You made me laugh. You made the darkness go away. Before you even loved me, before you really knew me, you saved me from myself. You saved my life."

He was quiet, not knowing what to say. He'd had no idea at the time that anything had been wrong, she'd been so happy and full of life, and that's what had attracted him to her initially. He'd never known her struggles at the beginning, never would have guessed.

"Thank you for seeing in me what I thought I had lost. And thank you for always making sure I see it again."

He was so overcome in that moment, with all the things they had been through all that was to come, and he couldn't even begin to sort it all out. His hands drifted up and found hers, lacing their fingers together and pulling her close to kiss her. She returned his fervor, breaking one hand free to run her fingers through his hair as he flipped them over.

"Adam," she breathed as his hand slid under her shirt and scaled up her stomach. He pulled away and looked down at her in the moonlight, dropping his forehead to hers and breathing deeply. She smiled and rubbed his shoulder gently before they moved again, curling up together the same way they did every night.

"Rain check?" she suggested.

"Yes."

She leaned up and kissed him softly, knowing they couldn't, because of their accommodations, take things where they wanted to take them.

"I love you, Adam."

"I love you too."

"Thank you for saving me."

"You are the most precious thing in my life, babe. You always have been. Thank you for letting me save you."