Kate’s eyes fluttered open for a moment before closing again still full of sleep. She was not too tired to realize what day it was and a smile crept slowly across her face and her eyes opened and she saw, not the smiling face of her loving mother, but the off white wall of her room in the mansion. Kate’s smile faded as reality came crashing down on her and she remembered where she was. She wasn’t just outside of Deene in Northhamptonshire, but in New York City, thousands of miles away from her Victorian fabric walls and that smiling face waiting to wake her. There would be no breakfast in bed or Birthday surprise. She wasn’t even sure if anyone knew it was her birthday.

Kate rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity, thinking about all the things she was missing and, for the first time, the excitement of being outside of Kirby Hall wore off and she felt that horrible pull of homesickness. She thought about how she couldn’t follow Jensen about the house reading Shakespeare to him as he cleaned and went about his day, randomly inserting over dramatized lines in the appropriate places. Or how she couldn’t go and sit with Mrs. Davies as she made diner and talk to her about anything and everything she could get out of older woman about the outside world. She had been in the world and there was much less to tell. Even if she returned tomorrow these little things would never be the same. The world of Kirby Hall hadn’t change but she had. Kate may have had the same face and smile and the same way of talking, but she had seen the world for what it really was. It was average and normal. It wasn’t this fantastical place she had envisioned it to be and that had changed her. She had lost that sparkle of wonder somewhere out in the city and she couldn’t find it to save her life.

Kate eventually rolled out of bed and slowly moved to shower and get dressed. She had to have stood in her closet for an hour before she picked out a dress, which she threw a burgundy cardigan over and paired with some burgundy heels. Kate came out to look at herself in the mirror for a while before deciding she was acceptable looking enough and headed out of her room only to remember that it was also Tuesday, which meant that Gawain or Maya and Twyla were more than likely in class and she couldn’t bother them there. She stopped in the hall and sighed deeply, settling on heading down to the kitchen for breakfast before figuring out anything else for the day.

She had a rather large breakfast seeing as it was already 11 when she had woken up, rather late for her, and she was famished, so by the time she had finished it was close to 12:30. This was as good a time as any to practice for the day and she headed down the hall to the music room to play for a bit.

The rest of the day drowned on just as averagely. She went down to the Russian Tea Room after finishing her piano practice and they gave her a small cake. They had remembered her mentioning the occasion days earlier with utter excitement. It was a nice gesture but wasn’t the one she really wanted. Kate spent half of the day checking her phone for calls or texts only to find nothing. No one had remembered her birthday. Not even her mother had taken the time. So, as you can guess, by the time Kate got home from high tea she was pretty upset about the whole thing. How could no one know it was her birthday? She may have not told them all but they didn’t ask either, and Sam and Mrs. Taylor could have easily found it out from her file. Even her mother, who she could always count on to remember, hadn’t. She hadn’t heard from the woman since she had blown up on her a month and a half earlier, but Kate had thought she would break the silence for her own daughter’s birthday.

Kate sat on her bed and lifted her phone to her ear listening to the ringing as it connected with her far off home.

“Hello,” an oh-so-familiar voice formed on the other end of the line forcing a smile to cross Kate’s face.

“Hello Mrs. Davies, it’s Kate. “

“Katie, darling, of course I know it’s you. I have only been listening to your voice since you could talk. How are you, dear? Are they treating you well?” Kate could hear the excitement in Mrs. Davies voice and smiled again.

“I’m absolutely lovely and they couldn’t be kinder. May I speak to my Mum? “

“Oh I’m sorry dear. She is rather busy and can’t come to the phone at the moment. Would you like me to take a message?”

“No that’s alright, I’ll try again later then. “

“Alright dear. I’m glad they’re treating you well, but I must be off. Don’t forget to ring again soon.”

“Okay and thank you Mrs. Davies. “

“Of course dear and Happy Birthday.”

“Thank you. Good Bye. “ Kate hung up the phone and stared at the screen before tears began to pour from her eyes in streams. Her own mother had been too busy to talk to her on her Birthday. Had she really been so horrible the last time they had spoken? Kate’s mother had always been her one consistency. Yes the woman had her issues and tended to be all over the place, but when it came to Kate she was always the same. She made every holiday special and worked so hard to make Kate happy and well. It was mind boggling for Kate to think that her mother was living without even a thought of her these days. They had remembered her birthday and done nothing about it, and somehow that hurt far more than them forgetting ever could.

Kate stayed in her room for the rest of the day only emerging once to get herself diner. So it was no surprise when midnight rolled around and she was still there. Kate’s stomach growled as she sat on her bed staring at the menu for Casablanca. She had been sitting there like that for about 10 minutes now debating whether to press play or not. It had been a tradition in Kirby Hall for her and her mother to curl up in bed and watch it every year. It was one of Kate’s absolute favorites and somehow watching it alone didn’t seem right.

Kate got out of the bed tossing the remote down onto the disheveled comforter before throwing on her slippers and heading down to the kitchen to get one final meal before just heading to bed and getting this horrible day over with.

Upon entering the room she spotted Andrew baking away as always. She had completely forgotten that they had arranged to meet around 11. It was a good thing she had gotten hungry; she may have stood him up completely if she hadn’t.

“I’m so sorry Andrew. Our meeting completely slipped my mind.” She took her usual perch on the counter and looked at him, not realizing her eyes were red and puffy and she was nowhere as neat as she usually was. If she had taken the time to look herself over in the mirror she probably who have fixed some things.

Ahh the nightly baking ritual. Just as calming and peaceful as ever. Though the mansion was never truly asleep it was during this time that Andrew could have some measure of peace. He worked hard at his job and anything else he decided to do during the day. The mansion was a busy place while classes were going on. It was busy when they weren't too. At night the pace slowed since a good number of the inhabitants slept then. Tonight Kate had said she'd meet him here in the kitchens. She was going to pick up where...he had left off with his Russian studies. She was late. It was an hour past the time they'd agreed upon and she hadn't yet shown. As if he'd summoned her merely by thinking of it, Kate appeared just as he was sliding some pastries into the oven to bake.

She looked a mess. Andrew wasn't being mean. Normally Kate was quite pretty. However tonight she was disheveled and looked like she'd been crying. He wondered what had happened to cause that. He felt a twinge of anger at whoever or whatever had caused it. It wasn't right to make her cry. Instead of moving to clean up the mess from his latest culinary creation Andrew moved over to the counter where Kate sat instead.

"It's fine. More importantly, you've been crying. What's wrong?"

Whatever it was he wanted to put it right. That is, if he could. He was rubbish at heroic stuff. Had someone decided to make him the hero of a novel he would have been a pretty poor one. Some tall skinny guy who baked and was just as likely to try and rescue the prince as the princess? That would make for a great story indeed. Regardless, Andrew stood there and waited. He'd do something to cheer her up at least even if he couldn't fix the problem.

>>It's fine. More importantly, you've been crying. What's wrong?

"Is it really that obvious?" Kate looked into Andrews eyes and saw concern with a twinge of anger. It was plain to see that he was worried about the fact that she had been crying and it was nice to know, "it's nothing. I was... watching a sad movie, that's all." There was really nothing he could do short of going to England, and she didn't want to burden him with it when she knew he had problems of his own.

She mustered up a fake smile and tried her best to act like she was fine, "Alright so where did we leave off last time? Or do you want to forgo the Russian and give me a baking lesson instead." Kate's hands fidgeted in her lap as she fought back the urge to start crying again at the thought of the events from earlier in the day. Her breathing was becoming shaky and her smile was wavering.

Unless Kate was just that easily moved to tears there was no way a movie could have caused this. He frowned inwardly but figured that if she didn't want to talk about it then he couldn't make her. Kate was trying to act as though nothing was wrong. It wasn't true and Andrew knew it. But he also knew what it was like to try and hide something that was upsetting. He still wasn't sleeping well after all. She smiled a fake smile at him and inquired about what they would do today. That gave Andrew an idea. First though he leaned forward and gave Kate a quick hug. Maybe it wouldn't do much but he could try at least.

"I think we'll work on baking. We can get this mess cleaned up and get to work. By the time those pastries are done we should have the next thing ready to go."

Everyone liked cake right? So they would bake a cake. With luck that would cheer Kate right up. Andrew went over to the sink and started the washing up. He turned his head just enough to see Kate out of the corner of his eye.

"I'll wash up. Meanwhile you can start getting out the ingredients."

While he washed Andrew listed off all the ingredients for the cake he had in mind one by one. When his washing was done and the items they'd need were clean, the ingredients were all laid out and ready to go.

Kate was surprised when Andrew just hugged her and went about getting ready to bake. She stared at the back of his head for so long that she almost missed hit instructions.

>>I think we'll work on baking. We can get this mess cleaned up and get to work. By the time those pastries are done we should have the next thing ready to go. I'll wash up. Meanwhile you can start getting out the ingredients

Kate nodded her head, "Okay," And hoped off the counter to start grabbing the ingredients as he called them out, lining up each on neatly on the counter. She stayed silent in the fear that her words would betray her and she would no longer be able to hide it.

Kate could barely focus as Andrew carefully poured each ingredient into the large mixing bowls. All she could seem to handle doing at the moment was trying to not cry again. She stayed silent in the fear that her words would betray her and she would no longer be able to hide it. It got easier as time went on and the urge faded but it was still hard to pretend with him.

After about 45 minutes the cake was formed and baking in the oven. Kate hoped back up on the counter and stared at her fidgeting hands in her lap.

Kate was quiet while they worked. He showed her the techniques and gave her some basic instructions. She could work on recipes and more advanced things after she'd gotten the basics down. It went quickly and in Andrew's opinion she learned well. The silence had been somewhat unsettling but understandable. Whatever had upset Kate was likely still bothering her. Once the cake was in the oven and Kate back up on the counter Andrew looked at her.

"You did well." he paused for a moment as he washed, "So what's really wrong? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just don't like seeing you like this."

He knew something had happened to cause her to be like this. Andrew just didn't know what and he couldn't do anything to help if he didn't know the cause. Prying like this wasn't generally his style. Andrew preferred to just let the other person tell him when they were ready. He knew the value of privacy and secrets. In this case he made an exception because he just didn't like seeing Kate like this.

>>So what's really wrong? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just don't like seeing you like this.

Kate looked into Andrew's waiting eyes not really sure what to say. It may have been hypocritical of her to not want to tell him, but she didn't feel right doing it. As far as she could tell she had always painted her mother as someone who cared about her more then anything else in the world. How could Kate stand here now and say that she didn't care enough anymore to even say hello? How could Kate even admit to herself that it had been real, let alone tell Andrew? Kate wanted to believe that she had heard wrong and that her mother hadn't ignored her on her Birthday, a day she had spend so much time to make sacred and special for her daughter since that day in London, but she had heard Mrs. Davis plain as day and there was no denying it.

Kate took a deep breath and thought of what she could say to cover the truth, "It's my Birthday." It came out as only a whisper but it was the only thing she could think of when her mind was so focused on the truth.

Kate hesitated. It appeared she had to think hard about whether or not to tell him. Andrew willed himself to understand and not be upset. He was doing the very same thing at that moment by not telling her about the shooting. After what must have been forever to Kate the girl whispered something that he just barely caught.

Andrew blinked once.

He blinked twice.

And then he started racing about the kitchen collecting all the things he'd need to make some frosting. The problem was as clear as day. Here it was Kate's birthday and no one had bothered to celebrate. If he had to guess her mother had probably done all sorts of things for her daughter on her birthday. To go without it being acknowledged at all, well in that situation anyone would at least feel bad.

"What are your favorite colors Kate?"

At that precise moment Andrew couldn't remember if he'd asked her that before. If she'd told him the information just refused to come at that particular moment. He was looking at the food colorings at the moment. He'd need two. One for the all over frosting and one for the lettering. There weren't any piping bags in the kitchen that he knew of. However it was entirely possible for him to use a zip top bag and cut off one of the corners. Same result and Andrew didn't have to tear the kitchen apart looking for a piping bag.

>>What are your favorite colors Kate?

"My favo...um...well I don't like purple much but...um..." Kate was completely taken off guard by the question. Of all the things to ask that was really not what she expected, "blue and...um...green or... white? I'm sorry I wasn't really expecting you to ask me that." Kate watched Andrew rush about and was temporarily distracted from things. His question had been so random it had taken her completely by surprise.

Kate chose to sit and wait for him to explain instead of asking the obvious question.

Blue and white would look good together. As an added bonus he would only need to use one food coloring.

"Light blue or dark blue?"

Andrew asked as he mixed the ingredients for a quick frosting. If he was standing in for years of birthday tradition then he wanted to get the shade right. The frosting came together quickly. Andrew separated some of the frosting, white as could be, into a smaller work bowl to wait. Meanwhile he stood ready over the larger bowl with the bottle of blue food coloring waiting for Kate to tell him how dark she liked her blue.

>>Light blue or dark blue?

"Um...Light blue?"

It seemed to click in Kate's head as she watched Andrew mix the ingredients together and a white substance form in the bowl. He was making frosting for the cake. He was going to frost it in her favorite colors because it was her birthday and she wasn't having a very good go of it.

Kate couldn't hold it back anymore and tears started to fall down her already tear stained cheeks as she watched Andrew mix in the blue food coloring. All she could think about was watching Mrs. Davies make her cake in the Kirby Hall kitchen. She would sit on a stool in the middle of the kitchen watching and testing the batter and things as the stout old Irish woman went about the task. It had been one of those birthday traditions she was so greatly missing.

Andrew was lost in his own little world of mixing. He had to make sure it was just right. When he finally looked up from his bowl of light blue frosting Kate was crying. The bowl was put aside as Andrew walked over to Kate. How did you go about comforting a crying girl? That wasn't something Andrew had really ever had to do. Giving it his best guess he hopped up on the counter beside Kate and put an arm around her.

"I'm sorry about missing your birthday. I didn't know, not that that is any excuse."

Sam and possibly Gemma would have known. They were the two that saw the files most often. Andrew wasn't sure he'd ever seen Kate's file. Sure he'd watched some of the information get filled in but he hadn't seen anything about Kate's birth date. As for Sam and Gemma, well they were both busy people. It wasn't easy doing what they did for the school.

"Next year, even if no one else remembers, we'll do something for your birthday. You and me. You have my word."

He wasn't about to make a promise for something like that. If it had been a few days away sure. However an entire year? The thought of having a promise weighing on him that long was frightening. Andrew smiled at Kate, hoping to get her to cheer up a little.

>>I'm sorry about missing your birthday. I didn't know, not that that is any excuse. Next year, even if no one else remembers, we'll do something for your birthday. You and me. You have my word.

Kate look over at Andrew through tear filled eyes, "You really don't have to do that." It was very nice of him to offer, but she couldn't make him agree to something like that when they didn't even know if they would still be around each other in a year, "And really that's a fine excuse, I didn't tell anyone. I guess I am just used to people already knowing. It's not really the fact that no one knew that bothers me anyway. I just..." Kate let her voice fade away and disappear into the terror of telling another human being what was really wrong. Why was this so hard? She could just spit it out and let it be. She could just tell Andrew what was really bothering her, seeing as he seemed to genuinely care and want to know, instead of making things up and doing a horrible job at it.

Andrew gave her a squeeze and hopped back down.

"You don't have to tell me. Trust me, I know all about not wanting to tell people things."

He wandered back over to where his frosting was waiting and began looking for a zip top bag. Once he found one he got the white frosting put in it. He'd wait to cut the corner off until the cake was done baking. With that done it was just a matter of waiting on the cake to get done.

"And I know I don't have to do it Kate. I want to."

Andrew leaned against the counter and watched the timer on the oven tick away the seconds until the cake was done. How could he make her feel more comfortable? Maybe share and share alike? After having told Verdy about the shooting Andrew found the idea of telling someone less frightening, though no less undesirable.

"Share and share alike? I tell you something that's been bothering me and you tell me why your birthday has been so bad?"

>>Share and share alike I tell you something that's been bothering me and you tell me why your birthday has been so bad?

Kate thought about this carefully before she answered. She had been wanting to know what was bothering him in an attempt to make him feel better like he was trying to do for her.

Kate's tears were starting to fade as she regained her composure not having fully lost it in the first place, "If you really want to know that badly I suppose I can tell you. It might help to say it out loud anyway."