Kate Freelander had never really liked Valentine's day. She had never celebrated it, and didn't intend to start any time soon. So, needless to say, she was very surprised when, on the morning of February 14th, she woke up to find a dozen red roses sitting just inside her door.
Getting up to retrieve the flowers, however, Kate was more surprised at her reaction. She was beyond curious to find out how they had gotten into her room, and who they were from.
As much as she'd said that she didn't expect or want any valentines when Well, Magnus and Henry had inquired into her plans for the day, Kate found that her stomach filled with butterflies- She definitely knew who she wanted the gift to be from, she realised with surprise.
Walking over, she foud a small envelope hidden inside the delicious-smelling bundle.
Holding her breath, she opened it to reveal a light pink card and a cherry chocolate bonbon- one of her alltime favourites.
Much to her chagrin, the card was signed- typically, Kate thought- 'From Your Secret Admirer'
Opening the closet to her left, Kate quickly shoved the card in, pulled out her own handmade cards and headed off to find the boys.
Racing through the many floors and hallways of Old City Sanctuary, she mentally cursed just how big the place was. Finally, she arrived at Will's quarters, at exactly the same time as Henry.
Smiling at him, Kate suppressed her racing heartbeat (which didn't go unnoticed by the techie's superhuman senses)
Internally chiding herself, she silently cursed Henry's sweet, if geeky, personality as another wave of butterflies left her feeling 15 again.
Thinking about the fairly boring day that was sure to follow, Kate left, heading towards one of the Sanctuary's many kitchens after sliding a little card tied with yellow ribbon under Will's door.
Kate reflected that she suddenly wished she hadn't made so many cards to give out- it would take her most of the morning to find everyone.
Time that could be better spent discovering her secret admirer's identity.
As she grabbed some cereal from the cupboard, Kate reflected that, for once, she actually cared.
Sitting in the Sanctuary TV room later that day, Kate barely noticed the tears running down her cheeks untill Helen called her attention to them.
Cursing the Brits eagle eyes, she wiped the moisture from her cheeks and turned her attention back to the predictable girly romance they were watching.
'Tell me again- Why are we doing this, Magnus?' Will called from his seat to Kate's left
'Do you have anything better to do right now, Will?' Henry chided, elbowing him in the ribs.
'True...' Will replied, wincing.
'Besides- We always do this. It's Valentines Day after all, Will' Helen added, passing around the little bowl of chocolate hearts that replaced their customary popcorn.
'Ahhh, about that- Does anyone know anything about the dozen roses that mysteriously appeared in my room this morning?' Kate directed her words at the boys, hoping to spot a telltale embarrasment on one of their faces
Much to her annoyance, neither reacted
A few minuted later, Kate caught Wills eye to see that he was silently pointing at Henry's back while he wasn't looking.
Nodding, Kate barely surpressed the huge grin that threatened to give her away.
Luckily, Henry turned around in time to see a tiny glimpse of Kate's expression before a calm mask fell over her face.
That tiny glimpse was enough to let him know that he'd suceeded.
Silently celebrating, Henry quickly scribbled a note on a peice of paper, folded it into a tiny tiny aeroplane and sent it flying across the room.
Not his style, Henry reflected, but oh well.
He gave a sigh of relief when the plane cleared Will's head without attracting his attention, and flew into Kate's lap without incident.
Unluckily, he failed to notice Helen's eyes tracking the little plane across the room.
As Kate read the note, Henry held his breath, waiting.
After about half a minute (in which Henry didn't breathe once), Kate nodded slightly in answer to his note, and turned back to the movie.
Unaware to the other, throughout the rest of the movie, both Henry and Kate alternated from staring at the clock on the wall and the screen, willing time to speed up and the movie's plot to finally come to an end.
What seemed, to them, like an age ofterwards, the final credits rolled, and the movie finished. Helen, Will and Big Guy left the room (the latter having come to clean up about 20 minutes before), leaving Kate alone in the room with Henry.
Realising this, Kate walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek, whispering 'See you soon, Hank' as she walked to the door.
Watching through a tiny hole in the wall, Helen smiled as she quickly moved from her place next to the door. She was glad she had finally confronted Henry the week before, helping him have the courage to do something about his feelings towards Kate.
It seemed to have worked, as the two had left the room smiling- And of course, she hadn't missed the note during the movie, or Kate's reaction.
If only she could help herself that easily, Helen sighed at the thought of yet another boring Valentine's Day alone.
Opening her office door, Helen noted that she was the only member of the Sanctuary staff with no plans for the day. Will was heading to the nearby town with an old friend, Biggie had the day off and was leaving after lunch, and now Kate and Henry...
Shaking her head to clear it of distractions, Helen turned her eyes to her desk. Or, more specifically, the pile of files that sat atop it- Files she was supposed to read.
Picking up the folders, she walked over and sank into her comfortable sofa, preparing herself for a good long while.
She was about a third of the way through the first file when she noticed it- A single miniature rose, tied to a note and sitting on top of the half-height bookshelf in the corner of her room.
Genuinely curious, she walked over and gently picked up the delicate flower, admiring the sweet scent and bright colour of the delicate petals.
Placing the tiny flower on her desk, Helen turned her attention to the envolope. She opened it to reveal a folded peice of heavy white paper.
The folded paper turned out to be a note, which Helen read as she walked around the hallways that made up the Sanctuary.
'Well', Helen thought 'Things suddenly got interesting'