((This thread takes place on Dec 20th, Lee's birthday))


Tarin had actually let her out of the apartment without him. Mind you, it still wasn't out on her own, but at least it was out. That day, she had gone for lunch, then to see a movie with her brother. One of those really horrible science fiction movies that they had always gone to see when they had been younger.

The day had actually been rather enjoyable, too, slightly surprising as that was to Lee. Mind you, there were some definite differences, such as the fact that she had had to get up to go to the bathroom during the movie, something she had never had to do before she had had a baby pressing on her bladder.

But, it had actually been a good day. Robert had actually been nice to her the entire day, and hadn't said a single bad thing about Tarin.

Though, that might have had something to do with the fact that it was her birthday.

But Lee didn't know what, if anything, was planned for the rest of the night. That first year they had been together, Tarin had been upset that he hadn't known when her birthday was to plan anything. Since then, there hadn't really been any birthday celebrations, but they had had some pretty busy Decembers since then.

Either way, Lee wasn't expecting anything different from normal when she unlocked the door and walked into the apartment

Finally, Tarin thought as he happily bustled around the kitchen. Finally he and Lee were going to be able to have a nice, quiet, birthday at home. It was delightful, it was spectacular, the food was going to be awesome. Awesome occasions meant Mexican food, Mexican food that Tarin had cooked himself, and as he checked the clock on their microwave, he smiled. Everything was going exactly to plan.

As soon as he had the thought, Tarin knocked on wood and checked the lock on the front door. Yes, he was expecting Lee, but no he did not want anyone else to come through the door and surprise hi. He hadn’t dressed silly tonight, but he had dressed a little bit nicer than usual in one of his button-ups and a nice pair of jeans. Yes, Lee loved the cowboy hat, and maybe it would make an appearance later…but tonight was more about all that normal they were finally starting to work out. Babies were normal, birthdays were normal, Decembers without concentration camps were definitely normal.

Lee was out, and as difficult as it had been for Tarin to let her go without him, he’d taken solace in the fact that she was with her brother. Despite the fact that he was pretty much a complete and utter arse, Robert would keep Lee safe. Besides, they were just going to a movie and lunch. Tarin hadn’t panicked at all…well maybe for a moment…but he was better now.

The only other problem he’d faced as Lee’s birthday had approached, was what to get her. It wasn’t that they had everything but considering how tightly they’d both had to live for so long…material possessions simply didn’t have the meaning to the two of them that they had to other people. That made shopping for Christmas and birthday presents difficult…especially when the two events were so close together. Tarin had developed a plan though…an excellent plan, and it probably had something to do with the recent truce that had developed between himself and Robert…and hopefully Lee would like it.

It sat in an envelope, one corner deftly tucked beneath the plate he’d set for Lee at their dining room table. Perfect. The timer on the oven was set, the guacamole had been made, the tortillas were ready to be warmed. Now all Tarin needed was for Lee to get home. Her key turned in the lock and Tarin made his way into the entry hall, ready to help Lee with her coat and anything else she might need.

As she got closer to her apartment, Lee could smell someone cooking, the smell wafting through the hallway. She couldn't quite identify what it was, though. She could only tell that it was cooking.

And it was getting stronger the closer she got to the door that led into hers and Tarin's apartment. And even stronger as she came to a halt right outside the door. Lee frowned slightly; she hadn't been expecting anything special, but it was her birthday, was Tarin cooking for her?

Key in the door, turning the lock, and then she was walking into the apartment. To find Tarin standing there waiting for her.

And sure enough, the cooking smell was coming from their place. Tarin was cooking for her, but it didn't smell anything like any other time he had cooked, other than maybe that night Rupert had been there and everything had burnt.

Lee's nose wrinkled slightly at the smell as she slowly made her way into the apartment further, closer to Tarin. "What is that you're-" Lee started to say, but had to cut herself off. Even before the words had stopped, Lee was running past Tarin, toward the bathroom. Hopefully, she'd be able to get there quick enough.

Lee was home! Tarin grinned in anticipation. Anticipation of her reaction to the food, the present, and a normal night at home on her birthday. Normal holidays were something that Tarin and Lee didn’t get to play around with enough, and it was a nice change of pace. In fact, normal was coming much more easily these days. Tarin was pleased.

”Hey you…” he said, moving forward to hug and kiss his wife before starting her birthday dinner. Lee started to ask what he was cooking for dinner…and then walked right past him.

Oh man…she was heading towards the bedroom…and the bathroom. Tarin frowned and cast a glance in the direction of the cooking Mexican food. It would be fine on the warmers. Tarin followed Lee and winced at the sounds. Pregnancy was so darn confusing…Lee loved Mexican food. The baby…apparently did not.

”Hey…you okay?” Tarin said, knocking on the door gently.

Sitting on the floor beside the toilet in the bathroom, Lee wasn't even yet considering how she was going to manage to get herself and her stomach up. She was a little too busy...using said toilet at the moment.

Luckily, she hadn't had a whole lot of morning sickness throughout the pregnancy, though that probably had a lot to do with the condition she had been in for half of it. However, this proved that morning sickness was a very poor name for it; this was most certainly not the morning.

Then Lee heard a knock on the door behind her, followed by Tarin's voice. Lee simply groaned slightly as she reached for something to wipe her mouth with.

"I...don't know," Lee finally said, her words slow. "And what is it you're cooking?" She continued with her nose slightly wrinkled again. She didn't want to say it smelled disgusting, but it kind of did.

Morning sickness. Tarin was not good at dealing with morning sickness. What kind of dumbass had decided to call it morning sickness anyway? Probably some idiot man who only saw his wife in the morning and didn’t understand that morning sickness happened all the time. What an ass.

Lee responded finally with something other than retching and Tarin slowly opened the door, making his way into the bathroom and sitting on the floor next to Lee. She asked him what he was cooking and Tarin smiled a slow smile, ”Mexican. Same as always.” he said, smiling slightly as Lee wrinkled her nose.

”But. I guess we’re eating Chinese tonight.”

As she finally managed to speak, Lee heard Tarin entering the bathroom behind her. And then felt him sitting down beside her, and Lee glanced over to him.

At least she was feeling a bit better here, further away from the smell coming from the kitchen, but it was starting to get worse again. Of course, Lee realized a moment later, the door was open again, letting more of the cooking smell waft into the room.

Lee frowned, her nose still wrinkled when Tarin told her that he was making Mexican food that night. Of course he was, if it was a special occasion, Tarin always made Mexican. She loved Mexican. The food Tarin made was pretty damn good, too.

And yet she had gotten sick almost as soon as she had gotten into the apartment and smelled it. "Sorry," Lee said, trying to smile at her husband. "I don't know what it is..." as she took a breath, Lee had to clamp her throat shut and the smile disappeared again. "Can you close the door?"

Great...her most favourite food in the world, and she needed Tarin to close a door between her and it to try and keep her from being sick.

”But. I guess we’re eating Chinese tonight.”

At least Tarin didn't seem to upset about it, about the fact that all his hard work cooking seemed to have been wasted. He was still smiling at her, at any rate.

Lee tried to smile back again. At least it seemed to come a little easier this time. "Will the hat still come out tonight, even if we're eating Chinese?" She asked. She sure hoped so.

Poor Lee. Silly morning sickness. Tarin awww’d in sympathy as Lee wrinkled her nose, and at her request he reached out with a foot to push the door shut. He wasn’t holding it against her, not at all. These things happened, and her condition was at least every bit as much his fault as hers. How could he be mad? Besides, even sitting on the kitchen floor, pale from being sick…she was beautiful.

Yeah…the Mexican was definitely out. It was a shame, but Tarin knew where the Tupperware was, and there was always the chance that they could eat some of it later. Maybe tomorrow would be different…Tarin had read about aversions, and valiantly hoped that wasn’t what this was. Sometimes aversions stuck around after pregnancy. It was almost enough to shudder, but Tarin didn’t.

Instead, he laughed when Lee brought up the cowboy hat. She really did love that thing. Out he reached, holding her close and rubbing her back for a moment. “Only if you wear yours.” he said grinning at the mental picture of the two of them eating take-out in their cowboy hats. Normal for them was just slightly different than normal for everyone else.

”I’ll go beat that food into submission and open a couple of windows. Give me a slow hundred-count.” That said, Tarin kissed his wife’s forehead, and slipped out of the bathroom, pulling the door shut behind him as he headed for the kitchen.

He didn't say anything, but Lee heard the door click shut, and slowly the smell from the cooking food started to get a little better, a little less strong. Lee could still smell it, that was a definite, but it was a bit easier, at least.

Tarin actually laughed when she asked about the cowboy hat, and Lee had to look at him a little shocked. Why did he laugh about her asking about the hat? She loved that hat, more than she loved Mexican. About the only time she was against seeing that hat was when they actually had things to do. And that was only because they wouldn't get anything done if he put that hat on.

But then he was reaching out and hugging her, rubbing her back, and Lee leaned against him. But then he spoke, and Lee blushed even as she smiled at him. "Only if I wear my hat, too?" Lee questioned, feeling a bit better now that Tarin was distracting her even more with thoughts and talk about cowboy hats. She shrugged. "You might be able to convince me to put it on."

Not much longer after that, Lee felt Tarin kissing her on her forehead and saying that he'd go take care of the food. And open some windows. Lee simply smiled at her husband in thanks, then watched him get up and leave the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Lee simply continued to sit there on the bathroom floor for a few moments, breathing slowly, trying to figure out whether she was finished being sick. She sure hoped so. Even if it didn't look like they would be eating the food Tarin had made for that night, he had still planned something for her birthday, and Lee wanted to see what else her husband had up his sleeve for the evening.

Finally, Lee pushed herself back up to her feet and started cleaning herself up before making her way out of the bathroom. She just hoped that the food would be put away and the open windows would have dispersed the smell enough that she wouldn't be returning to the bathroom any time soon.

Once she decided that she was, at least mostly, presentable again, Lee moved to the door and cracked it open, not yet leaving the room. "Are you done out there?" Lee called. In other words, was it safe for her to leave the bathroom.

Tarin hadn’t been lying when he said he knew where the Tupperware was. Despite the fact that they’d invested well, and made more than enough money…he still had a taste for left-overs. It was a comfort thing, something from home when he’d been growing up. His mom had been a great and prolific cook and there had always been something in the fridge to heat up when someone wanted something to eat.

He thought about that as he opened the windows and moved around to gather all the things he needed. The food was still hot, so it was a bit of a trial getting it into the plastic containers, but he managed alright, and the cool air flowing into the apartment had to be accomplishing its task. Tarin couldn’t tell though…he’d been around the smell too long, so he just hoped.

The lids were closed, the food was cooling in the refrigerator, and the temperature in the apartment had dropped significantly when Tarin heard the door open and Lee asked if he’d gotten the food taken care of yet.

”I think so!” he called back. ”Just….walk out slowly. I’m working on ordering.”

And he was. Tarin didn’t need a menu or phone number…it was like the third thing on their speed dial. So as Lee made her way out of the bathroom, Tarin ordered their dinner over the phone. They’d had Chinese recently…and hopefully Lee would be able to handle it tonight. The birthday was going to be good. It really was.

The air was much cooler breezing into the bathroom from the rest of the apartment once Lee opened the door. She was probably going to have to grab a sweater or something. Tarin likely would have to, too.

But the good news was it didn't seem to smell as much now with the door open. And Tarin's called answer confirmed that it was probably as safe as it could be then for her to come out. And that he was already calling for Chinese.

Instead of heading out to Tarin right away, though, Lee turned the other way when she stepped out of the bathroom, and went all the way into their bedroom, grabbing a sweatshirt for both her and Tarin, before slowly making her way toward the living room. She was stuck walking past the kitchen, where the smell had emanated from, but at least she could bypass it as quickly as possible.

"Here, it feels like you could use this," Lee said, holding one of the sweatshirts out to her husband. "So, what is your plan while we're waiting for food?"

As he hung up the phone and turned to look for Lee, Tarin was greeted with a sweatshirt. He’d been cooking, then moving around after Lee, then cleaning up all the food, so he wasn’t all that cool at the moment, but he took it anyway with a smile. She looked significantly less green and that was definitely a good thing. ”Thanks love.” he intoned, then moved to give her a gentle hug…with only a little belly in the way. That was happening more and more often as time progressed, but Tarin didn’t mind.

His wife wanted to know what his plan was for while they waited for the Chinese to arrive and Tarin shrugged his shoulders. ”We could try to find a movie or something.” he suggested nonchalantly, before looking deliberately towards the dining room table.

”Or I guess you could go ahead and open your present.”

Lee returned Tarin's hug happily after he took the sweatshirt from her. The first real hug of the night, since she had gone running for the bathroom before Tarin had had a chance to hug her before. It was weird, though, Lee didn't notice the growing size of her stomach more acutely than when Tarin hugged her.

A movie or something? That probably would have ended up happening anyway that night, though not for quite a while according to the original plans. But, there really was no need to rush to that, especially not when Tarin also suggested that he guessed she could open her present.

Lee grinned at her husband. "Yeah, let's do that," she said, leaning forward to give him a quick kiss. Then she glanced around the apartment. "Where is it?"

Shockingly, Lee wanted to open her present. Tarin couldn’t blame her. This was like…the first time they’d ever had the opportunity to just do that. Before it had always been make-up days and special occasions celebrated after the fact. This year they’d gotten Christmas and Lee’s birthday. There had been drama before…but it had all worked out. Somehow it had all worked out.

Tarin returned the quick kiss and gave Lee a final one-armed squeeze before going to grab the enveloped off the dining room table and walking it back through the apartment to hold it out towards his wife. ”It’s not super fancy…but I hope you like it.”

And hopefully she would. Tarin knew that Lee’s mom and sister had just been in town recently, and that Lee had been less thrilled about her mother in town than her sister. In fact, Tarin figured that Lee hadn’t been able t o spend enough time with her sister on their recent trip…so he’d made some calls…and…

Well, Lee would just have to see after she opened the envelope.

Tarin didn't tell her where her present was. Instead, he simply gave her another squeeze and a kiss before walking away. Lee followed him much more slowly, barely making it halfway to the table before he had made it back to her. Carrying an envelope.

Lee simply looked at Tarin with a confused expression on her face. Not that they had really ever done all that much for birthdays and such, but a simple white envelope?

Taking the envelope after a couple of moments, Lee looked down as she opened it and pulled out papers. Papers that looked like photocopies.

A frown on her face, Lee looked up at Tarin in confusion without taking a good look at the papers in her hands. "What's this?" She couldn't think of much more to say.