Hey guys! Hope you like this. It's just a cute little something for April's birthday - it was requested on twitter and I couldn't say no. Enjoy!
XxX
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Jackson asks, leaning forward on the other side of the counter as I whip up a batch of vanilla frosting.
"I'm sure," I say. "I promise. Wouldn't be my birthday if I didn't make my own cake."
He laughs, and I look up from the bowl I'm stirring to meet his eyes and smile. "True, true," he says.
"Plus, we both know you'd slaughter this thing," I say, opening the oven to peek in at it. "It's almost done. It'll be ready to take out in just a few minutes."
I continue to whip the frosting at an alarming rate, glancing at the door as I hear it come open. "Who is that?" Jackson asks, then picks Harriet up out of her high chair where she'd been snacking on Cheerios. "Is that grandma? Huh? Is that grandma?" He lifts the baby up high into the air, which makes her squeal with happiness.
"Happy birthday to my favorite daughter-in-law!" Catherine comes around the corner holding at least three colorful bags in each hand, weighed down by the size of them.
"Oh, my god," I say, pausing my stirring. "You really didn't have to do all this, Catherine… I…"
"I wanted to, sweetheart," she say, walking behind the counter to kiss me on the cheek. "Plus, they aren't all for you. You know I can't resist a visit without getting a little something for my sweet grandbaby." She makes her way to Jackson and stretches her arms out for the baby, whom he hands over to her. "Hi, little miracle. How are you? How are you?" She gives Harriet kisses on the cheeks, which makes the baby smile her three-toothed smile. "What a smile!" Catherine gushes.
"I know, those teeth, she's-" In the middle of my sentence, I'd started to stir again and flipped a dollop of frosting right in the middle of my pink shirt that I had put on for the party. "Oh, shoot," I say. "Damn it."
"What'd you do?" Jackson asks, looking over from the dining room table where he was setting the gifts.
"Spilled on myself," I say, dipping my finger in the spot and sticking it in my mouth. "As usual." I sigh. "I gotta go change." I glance at the clock; everyone else should be getting here any minute now. "God, I'll be right back. I'll hurry. But just let me… the cake… I'll just…"
"You don't worry about that," Catherine says, handing the baby back to Jackson. "Let me put the cake together. You go change. It's your birthday! Relax, honey. Take a breath. I can do this much for you."
I raise my eyebrows and let out a short breath. "Are you sure?" I ask.
"One-hundred percent," she assures me. "Go put on something nice. I'll make this cake look gorgeous, I promise you. And Jackson, leave that baby with me. Don't go stealing her now."
He chuckles, and I hurry off to our bedroom to find something suitable and clean to wear for the party. I shut the bedroom door behind me, strip off my dirty shirt and pants, and flip through my clothes in attempt to find a dress.
As I nix outfit after outfit, I hear the door open and shut again in the recesses of my mind, but it doesn't dawn on me who's come in until I feel a pair of sturdy arms wrap around my bare waist.
"What…" I murmur, touching Jackson's wrists. "Are you doing."
He smiles against my neck, stepping even closer to me so his chest is pressed right up against my back. "This is the first time I've had you alone all day…" he says. "I want to take advantage of it."
"Jackson," I say, still looking through my clothes as he kisses my shoulder. "There's no time. People are gonna be here any second. It's my party! I can't be late to my own party."
"Oh, who says," he murmurs, lips moving against me. "It's your birthday. You make the rules."
As we converse, I hear more people come in the front door. As Catherine welcomes them, I hear Arizona, Richard, Meredith, and Maggie's voices. They're only the first of many who are supposed to show up, and I'm not even out there to welcome them into our home.
"Jackson, people are here," I say, widening my eyes. "We can't… we…" He stops my words by pressing his lips to mine and opening his mouth, taking the back of my head in his hand.
"We can't what now?" he asks deviously.
I smack his chest weakly. "Stop," I say, and kiss him again. He backs me up to the wall of our closet and lifts me up so my legs wrap around his waist, holding me tight around the middle so I don't slide down. "Okay," I say, after he bites down on my lower lip. "Really fast. We have to go really fast. And when I say really fast, I mean… insanely fast."
"Whatever you say," he chuckles, but just as he goes to reach for my underwear, an ear-splitting scream breaks the air from outside our bedroom door, which is followed by an eery silence.
"Oh my god, that was the baby," I say, scrambling down from the wall and shoving on the nearest article of clothing I can find, which just so happens to be my long-sleeved black t-shirt nightgown that I slept in last night, wrinkled on the floor. Jackson is close on my heels as I throw open our bedroom door to find everyone hovering around the table, assumably gathered around our child.
"What happened?" I say, shoving my way through them. I can hear her crying, which is both unsettling and comforting at the same time. If she's crying, she's alive. "What happened?"
"She's fine, she's fine," Catherine says, but moves out of my way when I pick Harriet up off the kitchen chair she'd been propped up on. Once she's in my arms, her screaming calms considerably, but she continues to whimper and chew on her fists. "I was lighting the candles and she must've been attracted to the fire. She tried to put one out with her little hand."
I gasp and pull Harriet's hand away from her mouth to look at it, but Catherine calms me down. "She didn't touch a flame," she says. "She just knocked one off onto the table, but I put it out. It scared her, is all. Everyone got all excited and it frightened her. She's okay, I promise you."
I hug our baby close and kiss the side of her head over and over again. "Oh, little bug," I say. "Did you just wanna get in on Mommy's cake?"
"She does take after you," Jackson says, coming around from behind and rubbing Harriet's back. "Always wanting in on those sweets."
I look up at him with a relieved expression on my face. "Scared me for a sec," I whisper to him.
"I know," he says. "Me, too."
Later, after I'm in an outfit better than a nightgown and everyone is sitting at the table around me, I have Harriet on my lap as the cake sits in front of us, candles unlit.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear April, happy birthday to you!" Everyone sings in unison, and I can't keep the wide smile off my face.
I pretend to blow out the candles, and in the blink of an eye, Harriet leans forward and takes two big handfuls of the cake in her fists and squishes it, raising them above her head in victory while giggling. I smirk, shake my head, and watch her as she shoves the cake into her mouth with glee.
Jackson laughs, snaps a picture, and leans over to kiss each of our cheeks. "Happy birthday, baby," he says.