She looked at me like I'd spoken something foreign to her.

I laughed.

"You can do it. I know you know how," I pointed out, going around to the front of the truck.

Her eyes were huge as she looked at me through the windshield.

"Get it in second," I ordered her.

I heard, more than saw, her follow my directions.

"Now you're already on a pretty good hill, but go ahead and keep trying until it goes," I instructed.

She nodded.

"I'll give you a push," I placed my hands on the tailgate. "Now take the parking break off."

She did and she started rolling backwards almost immediately.

I gave it a good shove, and she popped the clutch with ease.

It didn't start.

She popped the clutch again and the truck started with a loud roar.

I grinned as the motor caught.

The rumbling growl of the truck thundered in my ears.

What had my smile widening was the look of glee on Masen's face.

"It works!" She yelled loudly through the open window.

I nodded and walked to her. She'd stopped at the bottom of the driveway, bouncing in her seat once again.

"You okay to drive it?" I questioned her.

She nodded quickly.

"Yes!" She cried. "A thousand times yes!"

"Good," I said, leaning in and pressing my lips to hers. "I'll meet you at your place."

She drove like a bat out of hell, and I enjoyed the heck out of it as she did.

Mostly, it was the look on her face, the way the excitement practically radiated from her as she moved through traffic.

I moved right along behind her, following in her wake.

She'd gotten almost all the way to her house when my eyes met those of a very pissed off man watching Masen drive down the street in my truck.

I watched him watch her, worry spreading through me.

Pulling up behind her in her driveway, I got off and turned around, but the man was gone.

"What are you looking at?" Masen asked.

I pointed to the house.

"Ugh," she said. "That's Dash, and he thinks he owns the street. He gives me the creeps."

Brows furrowing, I turned to her.

"What does he do that give you the creeps?" I asked.

She shrugged.

"Watches me. And I swear to God, he times it so that he's always coming out of his house at the same time I come out of mine. I think he knows my schedule better than I do," she scrunched up her nose, bringing her hands up to rub on her arms.

I pulled her into my side.

"You're moving in with me," I ordered, allowing no room for argument.

She glanced up at me and rolled her eyes.

"Don't you think that's a little fast?" She patted my belly.

"No," I said.

She snorted and tried to turn, but I held her closer, placing her back to my front.

Placing one hand under her chin, I forced her to look up at me.

"Say 'yes, sir'," I commanded her.

I knew that'd get a reaction out of her, and it did.

She narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth at me, something she used to do so long ago that I'd forgotten the look on her face as she did it.

"Alright, tiger," I said. "You can have a day to contemplate it. And while you're contemplating it, I'll get some help to move your shit into my house."

She laughed, and it was one of the most beautiful sounds I'd ever heard.

"You're full of shit," she said, patting my hand.

I shrugged.

"Shit happens," I agreed, dropping a kiss onto her lips and letting her go.

She hurried up the pavement to her house, and I followed closely behind.

"You own this place?" I asked.

"No," she said. "I rent it from my Grammy."

"Your grammy owns this?" I looked at the house.

She nodded. "It was the house she used to live in, can't you tell?" She pushed.

I gave her a look.

"I knew that she lived here," I added. "I just didn't realize she owned it. If she owned it, why'd she live with y'all?"

She cleared her throat. "Daniela."

And then I felt like shit for bringing it up.

I watched her as she dressed, throwing her hair up into a sloppy ponytail on the top of her head, and then leaving the bathroom without any makeup.

"What happened to princess Masen who never left the house without makeup?" I queried, putting my foot into my mouth once again.

She smiled sadly at me and placed a kiss on my cheek before she shoved her feet into shoes, sockless.

"She's no longer here," Masen frowned. "She died with Daniela...and left with you."

I didn't have anything else to say to that.

Chapter 16.

I walk around like everything is fine, but deep down inside, my sock is slipping further and further into my shoe.

-E-card Masen "Now," I instructed, holding the mask up against the baby's face. "This is a breathing machine," I said. "When you give this breathing treatment to her, just hold it in front of her face, it's easier than actually strapping it on."

I showed them how to do it, then turned the machine on and held it over the infant's face.

The infant slept on peacefully in her mother's arms as I showed them.

"Now you try it," I handed the mask to the dad who looked ready to bolt.

Today I'd volunteered for the free clinic that the hospital put on every Monday morning. It lasted for about four hours; not only did I get to help the less fortunate, but I also got points that added up to a bonus at the end of the year.

Most people didn't want to give up their day off, but I liked money. I also liked helping people.

Add the two together and I was happy.

Not to mention that Booth was at work today, and ever since we'd gotten back together, a few days prior, I'd done nothing but think about the ass.

The ass who'd practically ordered me to move in with him.

I had to say, though, that I was kind of happy that he was forcing me to move in instead of giving me an option.

If I was given options, then my logical brain might try to take over my heart.

"You're doing fine," I nodded, backing away from the couple.

The mom was looking at her sick baby with sorrow filled eyes.

The baby was a little over four months old and had caught the flu.

She was on breathing treatments that were intended to help her draw breath into her tiny lungs, but if it didn't get better soon, I knew the doctors would be admitting her.

"Hey," Mia called. "Isn't that Booth?"

I looked over and smiled at my man.

"Yep," I agreed, watching him come out of the back of the ambulance. "And he's covered in blood."

He was currently straddling the man...or woman...on the gurney. Blood was all over his arms, all the way up to his elbows.

"What the hell happened?" Mia asked.

I didn't know.

"I'll have to ask him when he gets back out," I frowned, walking around the side of the room and checking on the other patients in the clinic before I went to Freya, the girl that was running things for today. "Hey, I'm going to take my fifteen-minute break okay?"

Freya looked up and nodded.

She was a pretty little thing, and fresh out of nursing school with a fire lit under her ass.

She was all for helping and throwing together anything that anyone needed.

She was also a pushover.

People would walk all over her, and she'd never said a word.

I, of course, tried valiantly not to do that. It wouldn't do to treat her the way others did.

"Oh," Freya smiled. "I'll come with you. I have to run and get a box of Band-Aids anyway."

I nodded and left the front door with her at my heels.