Hey Guys, so it's officially MirrorSparkles1234's 19th Birthday (21st of July) and she's just so special that I had to give her the wonderful present of fluff! So Happy Birthday Katie, I hope you have a truly wonderful day and I love you loads! 3
Dom and Arthur crept quietly into Zosia's room that morning, Arthur holding a tray containing a plethora of exciting breakfast things. A plate full of pancakes, covered in blueberries and golden syrup, a hot steaming mug of coffee with a hint of cinnamon and a pile of envelopes in various colours, some neatly stamped and addressed with post marks from various places and the rest with her name scrawled across the front in writing which so clearly belonged to a group of medical professionals.
"One. Two. Three!" Dom whispered enthusiastically before bursting through the door and flicking the light switch, causing the whole room to be plastered in a bright white glare. With a cheeky grin he continued to sing "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Zoshieeeeeeeee..." before pausing, ripping the bed covers from where they had been brought up to protectively guard her face from the intruders, leaping into her bed, pulling her up into a sitting position with an arm around her shoulder and kissing her lightly on the forehead then quietly but quickly finishing "Happy Birthday to you!" and embracing her in a tight hug. Zosia glared at the Junior Doctor as he released her from his grip and sat at the end of her bed while Arthur shuffled awkwardly before mumbling
"Urr um H-happy Birthday Zosia." Dom rolled his eyes at the uncomfortable looking F2 before loudly exclaiming
"We made you a special birthday breakfast!" and motioning for Arthur to place the tray down in front of her. Zosia continued to scowl at Dom as he grinned at her like a Cheshire cat, until she looked down at the tray in front of her and the golden syrup covered delight she was greeted with left a huge smile plastered across her face.
"See Diggers, I told you she'd just melt into a little cuddly kitty cat as soon as we put blueberries in front of her" Dom chortled as Zosia's face glowered a conspicuous shade of pinky red.
Zosia ate her 'special birthday breakfast' and went through opening her gargantuan stack of cards, finding various garish, brightly coloured cards full of cheesey birthday messages from almost everyone on Keller, a few from Darwin (even a forced scribble from Jac Naylor on one group message), numerous relatives, including some in Poland such as her Great Aunt Marcelina and her younger cousins Ola and Patryk. With a soft smile on her face she gathered up the pile of cards, feeling incredibly well loved and even slightly touched by her father's message 'Happy Birthday Zoshie, Jestem z ciebie dumna'. As Arthur cleared away the plates and scattered bits of torn envelopes Dom stood up and took Zosia's hands in his. With a sparkle in his eyes he stood her up and spoke softly
"Now come with me, I've got something special to show you." Zosia chuckled softly and teased
"Dom if I weren't completely sure you're gay I'd be a little worried about what this 'surprise' is." Dom narrowed his eyes at her jokily as he replied "Oh ha ha Selfie. Just shut up and sit there" and signalled to the couch. "This" he pulled out a blue envelope and a brown paper parcel from behind his back and spoke cautiously "is from your Dad." He noticed as her eyes widened and her jaw line hardened stubbornly, through gritted teeth she growled
"I do not want anything from him." At that moment Arthur came to sit down next to her and spoke quietly
"Zosia just wait, please." At this she turned her head towards the F2 sitting next to her with bright, shining eyes and nodded slightly before turning back to Dom. He handed her the package which she placed carefully on the table in front of her in order to prise open the pale blue envelope. Her fingers traced over the striking curled writing on the front, her eyes almost certain they recognised it while her mind forced her not to believe it. As she tore open the envelope slowly, concentrating intensely she took a very deep breath. Inside the pastel coloured envelope was what seemed to be a very pretty, handmade glittery birthday card with brightly coloured butterflies and flowers protruding of the page. Inside the card was a soft, pale yellow with a neatly written message in silver gel pen;
'My Darling Zoshie,
Wszystkiego najlepszego dziewczynka, przepraszam (Happy Birthday baby girl, I'm sorry)
Mama x'
Dom and Arthur were watching her with grilling eyes as she looked up at them with big brown eyes swimming in unshed tears. Dom loosely wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she retrieved the small brown parcel from where she laid it to rest earlier and paused for a long minute. Dom ran his hand up and down her arm lovingly as he whispered gently
"Go on Zosh, open it, we're here for you." Warily, she picked off the tape at the side of the package to reveal the black edge of a plastic CD case. As she pealed the rest of the paper off she discovered a disc with 'Zoshie' written on it in thick black marker pen.
While Arthur placed the Disc in the in the DVD player Dom proceeded to wrap Zosia up in blankets on the sofa next to him and force her into a cuddle. Arthur then came and sat down on the other side of her with the black remote in his hand, turning to Zosia and asking
"Are you ready?" before pressing play, to which she replied with a quaint nod as her face paled slightly. For a few seconds the screen went totally black before an almost unfamiliar face appeared. Anya had mahogany red hair, slightly thinning and faded, a clear plastic breathing tube in her nose and there was a blue oxygen cylinder sat dejectedly in the background. Zosia recognised the setting for the video as the old downstairs spare room which had been converted for her Mama while she was undergoing (or not as the case may be) her treatment. Zosia bit her lip and tried to fight back the tears while Dom continued to squeeze her tighter, Arthur even placed a supportive hand on her shoulder and the recording of her mother began to speak;
"Hi Zoshie." She stopped and took a ragged breath. "I hope you're having a wonderful birthday my darling, and I suppose if you're watching this that means I'm not around to see you become a year older. I hope you won't be sad though my sweet girl, it's not a sad day, it's a perfect day. I still remember the day you were born, you were all arms and legs with your little head of dark hair, and you just looked so tiny and perfect in your Dad's arms – now look at you, you're all grown and I bet you're even more beautiful than the last time I saw you. I hope you're looking after your Dad Zosh, I know you and I know you'll have blamed him for my death but it's not his fault, it's nobody's fault, it's just one of things I'm afraid baby. I don't regret my decision though, I know it's my time to go and I'm certain you'll do great on your own – I'll always be there with you though love, never forget that." There were tears welling in the ill women's eyes at this point as she stopped and took another deep breath. "Anyway! It's your birthday, there's no time for me getting all soppy and emotional now. Your present; it's not much but I hope you'll treasure it, it's simply a piece of advice that my Babcia gave me when I turned eighteen – 'Komu pora, temu czas' (When it's your time, you have to go.) Never forget to follow your dreams Zoshie and good luck. I love you so much my lovely girl" Anya blew a kiss at the screen which Zosia automatically mimed catching as a trapped sob caught in her throat. "Do widzenia (goodbye)" and then she was gone all over again.
There was a knock at the door which Arthur got up to answer, while Dom stayed almost still until Zosia turned away from the now blank TV to look at her best friend.
"Okay beautiful?" he asked her as her eyes sparkled in his direction. Before she could say anything in reply she was interrupted by a deep voice gingerly calling her name. The pair turned around to see Guy and Colette hovering in the doorway; Colette was holding a white cake box while Guy just stared at his daughter's obviously tear-stained face. Zosia stood up, releasing herself from her best friend's embrace and slowly walked towards her father. He looked over at her hopefully but nervous until she reached him and fell into his arms, her whole head full of so many emotions.
"Przepraszam (I'm sorry)" she whispered over Guy's shoulder. He smiled into her uncombed hair with tears in his eyes and replied softly,
"ja też (me too)." The other three looked on at the reunited father and daughter feeling all kinds of joy from what they'd achieved until Colette chirped up and said,
"Come on then guys, stop looking so glum. It's Zoshie's birthday and we've got cake to eat!" causing everyone to erupt with a wonderful relaxed and worry-free laughter.