She laid down, facing his side of the bed. Her red curls framing her face, falling freely over her shoulders. Her eyes were shut, as she enjoyed her last few minutes of quiet and freedom. They had a routine and it was his turn to make breakfast. Even if the said routine was never respected.

He was always the one, getting up a couple of minutes before her to fix her something to eat. Every morning, without fail. She knew it was his way of making up for the times he'd be called in to work unexpectedly or for when he wasn't home like he had said he would. He was the one who worked hard but he refused to let her do the work, even on days like today, when it was supposed to be her turn. And for that reason, it didn't feel right not to enjoy the extra lazy time she could get.

The bed still held the warmth of his body which she enjoyed, it made her feel as though he was still laying next to her. She moved her hand over the wrinkled white sheets and smiled to herself, tucked underneath the covers.

"Good morning and welcome to Wake Up With Jeff, it is six o'clock. Today is Sunday, March 17, 1991. Two months after President George H. W. Bush announced—"

The vibrant and cheerful jingle of the alarm clock, set on Ariel's favorite radio station echoed throughout the room. She let out a heavy sigh, knowing her time in bed was running out. The host continued to deliver the daily news while she changed position, turning on her other side.

There was a glass of water and a packet of anti-migraine pills right beside it and a slightly torn Danielle Steel book underneath, all placed on the bedside table, facing her.

Soon, the door opened and her face felt the freshness of the early morning. She half-opened her eyes, pretending to still be asleep but the smile on her lips betrayed her. In came a brown-haired man, carrying a tray full of baked goods.

"Rawr" Brandon emitted, in a long-throated growl as he made his way towards her.

"You're an early bird this morning." The redheaded woman pointed out, deciding to quit her sleeping charade and once again turned around to look at the time, turning off the alarm in the process.

"It's only five past six." She flashed him a warm smile, sitting up.

"Well, today is a special day." The man responded, setting the tray on her lap as he leaned down to her level, planting a soft kiss on her lips.

"Oh, that it is." She mumbled, letting the kiss linger.

"Before you say anything, I tried to make it look nice but I didn't have a rose so I used this breadstick instead. If you use your imagination, it kind of looks like one." He scrunched up his nose. "Maybe from afar. Or if you close your eyes." Brandon explained, pulling away from her.

Confused, Ariel looked down at the tray on her lap and immediately threw her head back, laughing, now catching on as to what he was referring to. In his mother's vase stood a single breadstick, there to replace the flower. It was those little things that reminded her of how much she adored him.

"Darlin', it's food. It's the one thing in the world better than flowers." She giggled, taking another glance at the tray. Brandon had climbed onto the bed and slid his legs underneath the covers beside her.

"You know, I'm not the one you should be spoiling today." She continued, her blue eyes locking with his.

"You need all the strength you can get. You can't have a fun-packed family day without energy." He retorted, slightly tilting his head.

He knew he had made a point.

***

The orange juice, coffee, scrambled eggs and toasts were soon gone and Ariel was repleted, feeling ready for the day. She grabbed the mini-sized fork and fed some of the remaining pieces of fruits to the man beside her who opened his mouth and quickly ate the bites he was given. It went on for another minute or two before they were both brought out of their little world by strong squeals, filling the entire apartment.

"Uh-oh." Brandon said, pausing.

"I guess we're not alone anymore." Ariel nodded her head, pushing the tray down to her feet.

"I wonder who she gets this strong set of pipes from." He scoffed playfully, getting out of bed.

"Why are ya lookin' at me like that? I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"Yeah, right." Shaking his head in amusement, he watched her hold her hands up in defense, giving him an innocent look, one she used too often and got away with just as much.

"I'm gonna go feed the beast." He announced, now standing by the door and gesturing towards the hall with his thumb.

Brandon walked down to the living room, the sweet melody of a lullaby gracing his ears, and stopped in his tracks when his one-year-old daughter came to view, sitting on the floor, playing with her toys in her park.

"Who is that? It's daddy, yes it is." He gushed as the blonde-haired girl looked at him with curious eyes.

She kept her eyes on him while he slowly walked in her direction, bending down to look over her. Her head followed his movements, her big blue eyes looking up at him.

"What are we gonna do, what are we gonna do? It's bottle time, Bubba Bear." Brandon bent over, holding his arms out to pick her up. She gurgled in response, as if she understood what he was telling her.

As soon as she was picked up, Juliet began to cry and her father brought her close to his chest for comfort.

"I know you're hungry. Can you be patient for daddy for one more minute?" He softly asked her and she briefly complied, now distracted by the collar of his shirt. Taking advantage of that, he set her down on her highchair.

"Isn't that much better?" He asked her as she wiggled her feet.

"JuJu, look. Who is that?" The new dad took out a small stuffed horse from his black and grey jacket and held it in front of her, moving it a little.

The baby held out her tiny hand to touch the pink hat the horse had on its head when she heard the sound of her lullaby coming from behind her. She grimaced and quickly started to cry again, visibly not pleased with the melody she was hearing.

"This music's not good, huh? I agree." Brandon mocked her facial expression. "Let's change it, alright?" He winked at her and quickly put the toy down before walking to the table behind her, closing Ariel's grandma's wooden music box and heading towards the music player that majestically sat on a dresser.

"Now for some country music, baby!" He exclaimed enthusiastically, turning on 'Chasin' That Neon Rainbow' by Alan Jackson, from his latest album that Ariel had gotten him the day it had come out.

The catchy notes echoed in the living room and the brown-haired man's smile grew in approval. His foot commenced to move in rhythm as his hand moved as well, his thumb and middle finger rubbing together to create a small beat. He then spun around and began to dance, doing moves that didn't fail to entertain his baby girl whom had stopped crying instantly.

From the pretend pulling rope dance move to the endless clapping, Juliet's eyes grew wide in amazement. Before she knew it, she found herself back in her father's arms, dancing with him all the while he held her hand in his, turning around. Happy squeals accompanied the beautiful voice of Alan Jackson.

By the time the chorus came, Juliet was back in her chair and Brandon was fixing her bottle for her, behind the kitchen counter.

"Chasin' that neon rainbow, livin' that honky tonk dream, 'cause all I've ever wanted, is to pick this guitar and sing." He hummed, holding the bottle that he shook as he sang the line of the song he already knew by pretended to use it as a microphone before spinning around once, twice, still to the rhythm of the music.

His daughter, on the other hand, opened her mouth, trying to eat the stuffed horse's face while her eyes remained on her silly father. He noticed her staring and offered her a smile, continuing on with his dancing and shaking the bottle at the same time.

"Well, there's quite a party going on in there." A familiar southern drawl came from behind. Brandon looked over his shoulder as the redhead took an halt to stand beside him, leaning over the counter to glance in the direction of their daughter.

"You don't turn a year old everyday." He pointed out, winking at her.

"I don't know if I want to know what you'll do for her 18th birthday then." She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him to her. Her lips went to lay on his cheek, feeling the roughness of his growing beard against her much softer skin.

Holding in her hand the breadstick-turned-flower, she received a sheepish grin from the man beside her, in response.

One of her arms slipped away and rested on the counter on which she leaned as Brandon did the same, both now facing the sweet baby in her chair. Juliet was still playing with the toy that her father had given her, looking excited to see her mother.

Creating one last beat to the song that was now ending, Brandon gently hit the countertop with both his hands, his right hand going first and the left one following right after.

He contemplated the human being he had created with the woman on his left and couldn't believe she was turning a year old today. She was so much like her mama. She had his bright smile and eyes. But the rest of her, however, was very much Ariel. From her eyes to her personality and joy-of-living. He couldn't have been more in love with the two of them.

"Hey, Juliet!" Ariel called. "What do you think we're going to do tod—"

"Look at mommy, how cute is she?" The bearded man cut her off, wrapping his strong arms around her waist, enveloping her into a hug from behind. He took advantage of their position to tickle her sides which sent Ariel into a giggling fit. She tried to talk through her laughter but only onomatopoeias came out.

"B., stop." She eventually said, attempting to put her shirt back in place and freeing herself from his embrace. The movement had uncovered her shoulder which hadn't gone unnoticed by her husband.

"Never." He teased, kissing her bare shoulder.

There was something about today that made him even more thankful than he already was for all the blessings in his life. Seeing her beside him and their daughter, it just did something to him.

"You're not allowed to marry somebody else." He told her in a whisper.

Ariel arched an eyebrow, surprised by the declaration but knowing exactly what he intended to say with that.

"I'm already married to you, you moron."

Brandon was about to say something back but faltered upon hearing Juliet coo.

"Your daughter is going to lose her patience with you. The poor darlin' must be starved."

"And we all know how the women in this family get when they're hungry." He scoffed, letting his wife go and grabbed the bottle he'd put down just before.

***

It was now well into the morning and the family of three was busy playing on the floor in the living room when suddenly, the phone rang. Brandon and Ariel exchanged questioning glances, wondering who could be calling them and who'd be the one getting up to answer.

Seeing as it was their little one's birthday, they both knew it could have been anyone, including their respective parents.

At that idea, Ariel was the fastest to get back on her feet and rushed to the ringing telephone, thoughts of her family back in Oklahoma crossing her mind and putting a wide smile on her face.

She quickly took a hold of the receiver and brought it to her ear. All eyes were on her as she spoke. "Hello?" She asked cheerfully.

"Oh, hey Conran." Her voice sounded a little less enthusiastic upon realizing that it was not her family on the other end of the phone.

She knew they'd be calling her some time today and that they all wanted to let her enjoy her time with her husband and daughter but she couldn't wait for her mama to call. She missed her so much and it was on important celebrations like today, that distance was a huge burden to her.

"Yeah. Uh-huh. Thank you very much, I'll make sure to give her a kiss for ya. Sure, hold on."

She put the receiver over her chest, covering it so Conran would not get his eardrum pierced by hearing her call out for her husband.

"Bran, it's Conran." She let him know as she leaned over to try and see if she could catch a glimpse of him from her spot in the hallway.

"Your godfather." Brandon whispered to Juliet's ear, kissing her on the cheek as he got up from the floor with her in his arms.

He made his way to where Ariel was standing against the wall and they proceeded to exchange what they were both holding. Ariel handed the telephone to him and he, on the other hand, handed her the baby carefully.

"Hey Nino, what's up?" He asked, moving his hand over his wife's arm, mouthing thank you to her. He then captured the device and brought it with him back inside the middle of the living room, making sure not to trip over the cable.

On the other end of the line, a slightly older man spoke from an outside telephone box, barely greeting his friend. His voice was rough, speaking into a handkerchief in the same hand in which he held the receiver.

"I spoke to my fink. He has informations on the Lombardi brothers."

Brandon frowned, hearing crackling and attempted to move the cable that had moved between his leg.

"Hold on, I can't hear you. Let me move." He let his friend and co-worker know, moving back to the hall and against the wall, where the phone was normally placed.

"They made arrangements for the transaction. We can bust them if we move fast." Conran continued, hurriedly.

"Where at?"

"White Plains, behind the interstate. Fielding's Warehouse."

"How long do you think it's going to take? It's Juliet's birthday and I—"

"I don't want to hear it, Bran. It's now or never. Come on, we've been waiting for this moment for months. MONTHS."

Brandon sighed. "Alright, I'm coming."

Ariel finally understood why her excitement had left when she had picked up the phone. Maybe she had sensed that her husband was going to have to get back to work. She had feared this moment especially today, of all days.

She hated her husband's profession more times than she liked it but she knew there was nothing she could do. She looked down at her feet, defeated. Juliet was back in her park and the redhead's curls fell over her eyes, hiding her face.

She didn't want to see her husband come up with an excuse to make her swallow the pill a little easier and she didn't want to see his broken smile as guilt would overtake him.

For a moment, she resented Conran for calling them but she knew he had not done so on purpose. She heard Brandon mumble something on the phone before he hung up.

Brandon tilted his head to look at his wife, standing in the middle of the living room, still in her oversized shirt.

He knew what she was thinking and he hated to leave her and their daughter right now, even more so knowing how much fun they had been having before the phone call had disturbed them but he was trying to look at the bright side of things and knew that the quicker this case was over, the better. Maybe then he'd actually get to have a day off.

"Baby, I'm sorry... I have to go."

It took everything in her not to roll her eyes. She had heard this sentence many times before. She didn't want to be mad at him but she didn't want to have to hide her disappointment.

"Brandon, it's Sunday. It's our daughter's birthday..." She pleaded with a stomp of her foot, playing with her fingers.

"I know and believe me, if I had to choose between staying here with you or going to work, the choice would be made faster than you could ask me the question. But I have to. There's no such thing as a Sunday for a FBI agent." He reminded her, walking towards her.

His hands quickly found her face and he cupped it gently, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs as he brought her closer to him. He pecked her lips and then her forehead tenderly. She accepted the kiss, leaning in momentarily.

Everything was short-lived for before she had time to realize what was going on, Brandon had already exited the room and was getting ready to leave.

Ariel turned her head to look at her innocent daughter, cheering herself up by reminding herself that at least she'd have her to herself for a couple of hours before her husband returned.

Putting his gun in his back pocket and grabbing his leather jacket, the anticipation of what was coming began to overtake the brown-haired man. He couldn't wait to get home to his girls and he had not even left yet. He'd be damned if he had to miss more than a few hours of his daughter's first birthday.

Brandon returned to the living room, walking briskly. He stopped once he was standing in front of his daughter and bent down to kiss the top of her head softly. He then wiggled his fingers in front of her before hooking his much bigger pinky finger with hers and leaning down once more to kiss her.

"I'll see you soon, pumpkin. You be good for your mama." He straightened up and gave Ariel a kiss on his way to the door.

Scratching the side of his jaw, he was about to put his hand on the doorknob when he heard her say his name, rushing towards him.

"Brandon, be careful."

"I will." He told her with a smile, turning around.

"No, I want you to promise me." She frowned, concern written all over her features.

Brandon nodded his head, not wanting to imagine how much stress he was putting on her, without meaning to.

"I promise you to be careful, as I always do." He reassured, stealing another kiss from her. She moved her hand over his shoulder, this time kissing him back properly, deepening it.

It was hard to pull away but he knew he had to or he'd never leave.

"I'll be back before you know it." And with that, he left, closing the door behind him.

Once behind the door, he smiled to himself, standing still for a couple of seconds. Ariel looked at the now closed door, a similar grin gracing her face. Amusedly, she reached for the doorknob and re-opened the door.

There, she found her husband facing her, looking as if he would have been the one to open the door again if she had been two seconds late.

"I Hart you." He said, pointing his finger at her.

Ever since they had gotten together, it had been an inside joke between the pair, a play on word with the last name they now shared and it had perdured, well after they had wed.

"I Hart you too."

Smiling at those words, he gave her a wink and closed the door for good. And for the last time.