Written for the 'home' prompt at the ar_drabbles community on LJ.
Laura was propped up by several pillows, clutching a card in her hand, as he entered sick bay.
He bent down and greeted her with a small chaste kiss to her forehead. "Happy birthday."
She replied with a hum.
"Who's the card from? A secret admirer?"
She snorted. "It's from Layne Ishay. She read the date in my file."
"That was nice of her."
"She got me a gift too." She gestured toward the small locker beside the bed.
"When I was younger," she said after he had opened the locker to stare dumbly at its contents. "I dyed my hair every colour available on the market. The names always sounded much more exotic than the actual end result: chestnut, mahogany, burgundy."
He finally found his composure. "Blonde?"
"No," she giggled. "Ash blonde."
He chuckled.
"What would you call that colour? Battlestar Brown?"
"It has a tinge of red in it," he said as he reached out and touched the fake strands. He almost sighed with relief when he felt their softness.
"It was nice of her to find it for me," Laura whispered. "Now, Admiral," she said in a stronger voice. "Other than my medical staff, you're the only person who knows what today is, so I expect a gift."
He gave her a crooked grin before pulling an envelope out from his pocket and handing it to her.
She ripped it open and unfolded the large piece of paper enclosed.
"Bill, it's beautiful."
Her face glowed, as was his wish for her birthday.
Her finger traced the straight lines he had carefully drawn over the past few weeks. She lingered over where he'd printed 'Bill's study' and 'Laura's en suite'. She then touched the two words he'd written at the bottom of the page.
"Our cabin," she read.