"Happy birthday, boss!"

Julian moaned in his sleep, hiding his face on the pillow as I pulled the curtains away from the windows so the early snowy morning would greet my man on his special day.

"It really amazes me how you can wake up earlier than me" He said, his voice muffled by the pillow as he threw it over his head.

I giggled and tiptoed with only his shirt on my body, straddling his butt and back over the covers. I took off the pillow and kissed his cheek as he moaned and shut his eyes tighter.

"C'mon, sleeping beauty! I made you special breakfast and all!" I mumbled, pouting down at him.

"I'll have my usual, wench" He grinned, his eyes closed.

He groaned once I slapped his head. Then, he rolled onto his back, his hands grabbed my wrists and he pulled me down, making me shriek in surprise. I laughed as he pulled the covers over the two of us, and rolled on top of me.

"C'mon! Your eggs are gonna get cold!" I complained, as his mouth traveled over my neck and collarbone "And I have a surprise."

"I told you no parties" He grunted in my skin, his morning stubble tickling my neck.

"It isn't a party, boss." I winked at him, pulling his hair so he would eye me; God, I loved sleepy-eyed Julian, he was the sexiest man alive, especially in the morning, with his dark hair messed around his head because of my own hands, and his brown eyes a little drowsy "But I do want you to see what I got you."

"G, you don't have to buy me anything!" He rolled his eyes and firming my naked hips under him, once I started to maneuver out of the bed "I've got plenty of stuff, and I got the money to get anything I want. So-"

"Yes, I know you do. That's why I didn't get you just anything you could get at any store" I snorted.

"I should've known" He chuckled, his lips kissing mine chastely as he kicked the covers and sat, stretching his arms over his head as I got the tray with food.

"Here it is, honey. Your b-day breakfast." I grinned, setting the tray over his lap and kissing his cheek again.

"Well, what do we have here? Toast and jam, eggs, orange juice, coffee and- what's this?" He took the metal lid off one of the small plates and smiled tenderly at it "Is this supposed to be funny?" He asked, eyeing the plate's content and holding his grin, pretending to be annoyed; I grinned and nodded "Is this a small birthday cake in the shape of a peanut?"

"It sure is." I smiled, crossing my legs Indian style and taking the small matchbox to light the little tiny candle I stuck in the peanut shape chocolate cake "And it's all yours – peanut free, I assure you."

"Wait, are you- Don't even dare to- Ah, hell..." He blushed as I started to sing 'Happy Birthday'.

Once it was over and I clapped happily, he blew the candle with '34' written on it and eyed me with bad mood.

"You said no parties. This isn't a party." I shrugged, cutting the small cake in two, taking one of the slices for myself "Besides, you would be asking me to break my funny bone if you didn't let me have a bit of fun on your birthday."

"Obviously, because my birthday is all about you" He smiled, taking a sip of coffee and eating his slice of cake.

"Honey, one way or the other, everything is about me!" I grinned, wiggling my brows, and he laughed.

***

"Why don't we just skip work and stay in all day?" I grunted, putting my boots on over my leggings.

"Because the world won't stop just because it's my birthday, Miss McAllister." He grinned from his full length mirror, while he did his tie knot "Besides, don't you have some article to discuss with Cynthia? About fancy clothing or whatever?"

"All the fancy clothes I have are hand-me-downs. And old" I pouted at my own mirror.

"It's not old, it's called vintage" He grinned from over his shoulder.

"I do love you, you know?" I tossed him a kiss with my hand "But it's not about fancy clothing. It's gonna be about different shapes. We're still discussing with the celebrities that want to do the spread, but we're confident."

"Well, I know I've told you before, but I'm really proud and happy for you." He said as he took a sit in his small stool, putting on his shoes "You'll be the featured article in the December issue. That's really big, G."

"I know." I smiled as I went to choose my accessories for the day "I'm both excited and terrified. Of course, having Matisse helping me with the photo-shoot and the actual layout is some sort of safety net."

"Well, being terrified is kind of my thing, so you're preaching to the choir." He smiled as we got out of the closet together "But you did have a great idea, and you should be confident in your work. Now, what do you say I'll take you out to dinner, tonight?"

"Well, why don't we stay in and cuddle on the couch? Those really are my favorite nights."

"Even better. Now, Miss McAllister, get that pretty backside of yours moving 'cause we're late" He winked, slapping my butt playfully as we got into the elevator.

"You never take a day off, do you?" I sighed, shaking my head.

"Sure I do!" He gasped, a hand to his heart, fake hurt on his face "I do celebrate Christmas, remember?"

"You're hopeless..." I chuckled, as the doors closed.

***

"Hi, sweetheart. I'm really sorry, I had the meeting with my CFO and Natalie. We're meeting with Weston and Griffin in ten. I think I can't make it home for dinner..."

It was nine pm and I was grinning to myself. Perfect, with him being late, it gave me time to draw my plan.

"Oh, alright. I understand. How was the meeting?"

"Not bad, actually. Paul" That was von Hauser's CFO, Paul Keaton "is outraged by what's going on with my uncle. Murder implications aside, the fact that he's planning on getting his hands on the company and sell it piece by piece to the highest bidders are making my CFO really angry."

"Good. About darn time!" I tossed and he chuckle "You think you'll be able to get that piece of crap out of the company?"

"That's... hard. He owns a lot of stocks. It's tricky, but Paul's confident we can twist this thing around. And we got the best lawyer team in the country" There was pride in his voice, and that made me sigh with relief.

His appointments with Dr. Platt were getting less hard, and more common. He was actually demanding to meet her almost daily, and I knew the woman was both happy and frustrated. I understood that perfectly, and we were all ecstatic with the fact that he was aiming to get better, and he was now able to control his urges alone – well, most of the times; sometimes he still needed me to hold onto his hand and distract him... It was going, slowly, but going. It was a long progress and I was a very patient woman with a very special man by her side to be able to support all of it.

"I know you do" I smiled into the phone, cursing as someone rang at our door.

"Are you expecting someone at this time?" He asked from the other side.

"I ordered pizza. Since you're late, I thought we could have pizza" I quickly tossed.

"Save some for me. I'll see you later, sweetheart. Love you" There was a smile in his voice.

"Love you too, crazy man." I giggled and hang up "And I do hope you don't hate me after tonight..." I added once I walked towards the front door.

***

It was pitch dark, and I heard the distinct sound of Julian's keys on the front door, where I had been waiting for the past ten minutes, ever since he texted me.

"Jesus, you scared the hell out of me!" He grunted, as he opened the door "Creepy, much?"

"Funny." I grinned, tossing my arms around his neck and kissing his willingly lips "So, how was your day, honey?"

"This looks like a fifties TV show: you, waiting for your man as he gets home from a long day in the office. Only, you're not in a dress, and that's very unfortunate..." He mumbled into my lips, lowering his hands to my butt and squeezing it, making me giggle "Although I'm starting to see the advantages of a good, tight, pair of jeans."

"Well, you were always a very flexible man." I lied, kissing his Adam's apple, and chuckling as I heard him groan "Now, why don't you take that blazer off, the tie, the shoes, and just relax? It's still your birthday, after all."

"Not in another five minutes, or so." He sighed, relieved, but did as I said, dropping his shoes by the door and stepping into the slippers "Why don't I get out of all my clothing, and try to compensate you for being late?"

"You need to eat something, first. You can't-"

"Sweetheart, I assure you I can a lot right now." He purred, his hands traveling up my back and tugging at my hair, lips and tongue sweeping me off my feet; I gasped, holding onto his shoulders "Let's forget about food and go to bed. Or the couch. Actually, let's go to the shower, because I really need my back scrubbed if you know what I mean."

I actually blushed, because... well, he would find out in just – I eyed his wrist watch – three minutes.

"So, not your birthday in about two and a half minutes." I mumbled, pushing him towards the living room "Any more birthday wishes before your time's up?"

"Yes, one. Get those damn jeans off" He growled, and I blushed even more.

"Julian-"

He grabbed my hair again and kissed me hard. I really tried to fight back, but once he had me trapped against the wall, I sighed and held him tight, my arms around his neck. And then I jolted as someone cleared their throat in the living room.

"People are waiting over here, lover boy!" The male voice tossed, and I heard him yelp seconds later.

"What the-" Julian started, but as soon as his watch beeped to mark midnight, the lights went on.

"SURPRISE!"

He jolted back a step and I grinned with the rest of the people in the living room.

"Damn it!" Julian grunted, blushing like a boy as everyone stared at us with amusement "I said no birthday parties!"

"It's midnight." His sister Natalie grinned; she was the one who had probably slapped her husband for interrupting us "It's not your birthday anymore. Just a party with friends and family."

"And no kids!" Trevor grinned, sipping more of his beer.

"So, I know you didn't want a party – and this isn't a party!" I assured him, my hands on his shoulders so he would look at me "It's just your friends wanting to spend a couple of hours with you. And the pizzas and the beer, that's just extra."

"Happy birthday, old man!" Harmony shrieked, coming to hug him tight "Don't worry, I brought incense to clean your house of bad energy."

Julian eyed me with horror and I pressed a hand to my lips not to laugh.

"C'mon, yesterday's birthday boy!" Trevor called, opening a beer and tossing it Julian's way "Let's have some fun, tonight! The stripers are coming, as well."

"Did someone call a stripper?" Piet's voice grinned as he walked inside the apartment "Hey, old man! Thought I would miss your very first birth-"

"It's a birthday!" I hissed, taking the warm package from Piet's hands; I gave him the important task of getting dessert, the crepes Julian and I shared on our first date.

"Alright, Miss McAllister!" Piet hugged me tight "Thanks for doing this for him; you're the best" He whispered in my ear; I grinned and kissed his perfectly shaved cheek.

"Get your ass in there, stripper" I smacked his butt to get him in the living room.

"C'mere, you!" He grabbed Julian in a tight bear hug, and Trevor joined.

"I'm going to kill every single one of you" Julian threatened, but it didn't quite carry for he was chuckling by now.

"Congrats, Mr. von Hauser. On having such a nice house, not for your birthday" My sister Kim grinned, and Julian rolled his eyes, accepting her brief hug.

"Well, yeah, Jules' apartment is great!" Piet's voice was a shriek, and I frowned up at him, as did Matisse, Harmony, and Julian himself "I'm Piet's friend, Julian. I mean, I'm Rush Piet- I'm Piet. Hi."

My sister looked up at him with a frown and an amused look in her eyes.

"Piet, are you ok?" Natalie chuckled "Are you drunk?"

"Hell, no, I'm not drunk!" Piet grunted, combing his blonde hair awkwardly and too fast "G, can I help you with anything?"

"Nah, it's fine. Thanks for dessert" I grinned, walking to the kitchen to set the crepes down.

"I'm getting beers. Does everyone want one?" Kim asked around.

"I'll take this, pretty girl" Piet took the crepes from my hands and followed my sister quickly.

I frowned but grinned. Well, well, guess Mr. Rush had just found someone who would actually make his life miserable.

"Food!" I heard Harmony moan as I dropped the pizza boxes over the coffee table.

Julian looked a bit pale. He set an arm around my waist and kissed the hollow behind my ear as I handed him a cold beer.

"How mad are you right now?" I grinned, playing with his shirt's buttons.

"Pretty mad" He assured me, after a sip; his voice didn't sound mad, however, so I thought it would be safe to look up at him.

"Are you sure? You look calm. Are you high?"

"No, and not drunk, just yet. Thank you..." He mumbled, caressing my back with his fingertips, smiling down at me "This was unexpected, confusing and... well, nerve-racking, to be honest. But it's you, and I should've seen it coming."

"I wanted to do something special." I shrugged "And you can't buy this at any store, you know? Your friends and family."

"I know. And I'm happy for this." He smiled as he eyed around the room; he winced and I chuckled as Trevor let a piece of salami fall onto the carpet "Well, just get me drunk so I don't remember the kind of filth hanging around on our furniture, and we're safe."

"Will do" I grinned, kissing his jaw and pulling him towards the coffee table so we both could have something decent to eat.

"Just one thing, though."

I stopped once he tugged at my hand.

"You're paying for this, tonight" He purred in my ear, and the way his tongue traced my earlobe, I was more than willing to break this party up to get my 'punishment' now.

"I do hope that's a promise, boss" I grinned up at him.

"Oh, it is, Miss McAllister. I'm a man of my word" He grinned as well, but his kiss, for all it was worth, was sweet and soft.