Author's Notes: (Very) brief addendum to Cat Scratch Fever written in 'you' P.O.V. (Happy Birthday, Janelle!)

Disclaimer: At night, when I dream, they belong to me. The trouble is, they're never there when I wake up. ;-)


The little boy dozes happily in his mother's arms, his lips etched into a smile, his face flushed from the excitement of the day. You can't help but smirk when you notice how the icing from his second birthday cake lingers everywhere but his mouth, and that the conical birthday hat has slipped lazily onto the side of his head. It's been one hell of a day, and your son is only now coming off the sugar high that began the moment the moppets invaded your living room.

Shaking your head and rolling your eyes as the memory, you step over the litter of paper cups and conical hats, making your way to your family. She is watching you out of half-lidded blue-green eyes. "Hey," she says softly, her arms wrapped tightly around her son's small frame. "Did you enjoy the party?"

Your smirk widens at the question. "I was just thinking that we should do this every day," you say, and you know she hears the sarcasm in your voice by the way her eyes begins to dance. "Maybe even renovate the living room to make room for a mini-mosh pit. We can charge admission."

"Just as long as you clean up afterward," she replies softly, shooting you a tiny grin before closing her eyes and resting her cheek against your son's tight curls. You know she is tired after the long day, so you do something that you never thought you'd ever do. You grab a nearby blanket and tuck it around your family, your lips curling themselves into a small, albeit warm smile.

You're not sure when your life became birthday parties and pin the tail on the donkey. You're uncertain when you stopped shutting out the world and started letting people in. The only thing you know is that you like your life. And that maybe, for the first time in as long as you can remember, you're truly happy. And as you watch your son slumbering peacefully in your fiance's arms, somehow you know that that's enough.