They Say It's Your Birthday
A/N: Happens after the season finale; Ryan and Cate are married, and Lux moved in with Baze for a while but is now back with Cate and Ryan
"You're going to give her the jeep?" Jamie looked up from his position standing next to Math on the curb. "Your jeep?"
Baze nodded, smiling proudly as he positioned a massive red bow on the top of the jeep. "Yep."
Jamie looked confused. "Why don't you just buy her something?"
"It's her seventeenth." Baze continued to fiddle with the bow. "What are you meant to get a teenager for her seventeenth birthday? Plus Cate and Ryan will probably get her something big and I don't want her to think that I'm more of a loser than she already does."
Math and Jamie shrugged, continuing to watch as Baze continued to fiddle with the extravagant, over-priced bow.
****
"Happy birthday!" Cate smiled, walking into Lux's room and taking a seat on the bed as she watched Lux slowly wake up. Lux smiled, stretching and sitting up. "Happy birthday." Cate repeated, wrapping her arms around Lux.
Lux hugged her back, smiling. "Thanks." She whispered.
Cate grabbed her hand, pulling her out of bed. "Come on. Ryan and I have a surprise for you." She grinned and Lux smiled anxiously as Cate led her down the stairs.
"Happy birthday!" Ryan greeted her at the bottom and she hugged him thanks.
Cate covered Lux's eyes with her hands, the three walking out to the front lawn. "Surprise!"
Lux's smile grew wider as she took a few seconds to take in her present. Parked on the street before her was a new silver Honda CRV with a Happy Birthday banner wrapped around it.
Lux froze, looking between Cate and Ryan in shock. Ryan smirked at her, wrapping an arm around a grinning Cate as Cate held the keys out to Lux. "Happy birthday."
"Oh my god!" Lux squealed, recovering from her initial surprise, and jumping repeatedly before running over to the car, looking it over and squealing again.
She ran back to Cate and Ryan, basically barrelling them over in a hug as they laughed happily. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"You're welcome." Cate laughed as Lux pulled back, taking the keys and running back over to the car.
Ryan smirked, placing a kiss to Cate's head. "I think she likes it." He smiled and Cate nodded happily.
Lux opened the door, sitting in the driver's seat and looking around excitedly as Baze drove towards them.
"Baze!" Lux squealed, running over to Baze's car as he parked.
Baze climbed out of the car, smiling as Lux immediately wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her back tightly. "Happy birthday kid."
Lux grinned, pulling back. "Cate and Ryan got me a car!"
Baze paled slightly before he forced a smile. "Wow."
Lux smiled happily, not picking up on the disappointment in Baze's voice as she led him over to Cate and Ryan. It had been rocky over the past year, with Cate and Baze barely talking since he had interrupted her wedding to Ryan. Cate and Ryan had still gotten married, and Lux had moved in with Baze for a while, the teenager only recently accepting the situation and moving back in with Cate.
Cate smiled. "Hey, Baze."
"Cate. Ryan." He smiled politely, nodding his head to greet each of them, Lux wrapping an arm around his back as he wrapped one around her shoulders.
Ryan nodded, smiling. "Hey man." He said and Baze couldn't help but hate the guy a little more.
"You ready to go?" He turned to Lux after a few minutes and she nodded.
"What's with the bow?" Lux looked confused, taking in the bow on Baze's jeep, while Baze blushed, embarrassed.
Baze paused, thinking of a lie. "What? I can't want everyone to know it's my kid's birthday as I drive you around today?"
Lux smirked confused, before turning back to Cate and Ryan. "Thank you so much for the car!" She smiled, hugging Cate first then Ryan.
They laughed, clearly happy with their choice. "You like it?" Cate laughed.
"I love it." Lux grinned, nodding. "I'll see you tonight."
Baze nodded goodbye to Cate and Ryan, swinging an arm around Lux's shoulders as they walked to his car.
They had decided that Lux would spend the morning with Cate and Ryan, the day with Baze and the night at Cate and Ryan's again, Baze joining for dinner, mainly as a way to avoid any unnecessary tension for the adults, though to also allow Lux to spend time an equal amount of time with both of her parents on her birthday.
Lux and Baze fell into comfortable conversation as they headed to the bar; They had grown very close after Cate had gotten married, though Lux's relationship with Cate had suffered.
"So what's the plan for today?" Lux asked, smiling at Baze.
Baze smiled back at her, looking between his daughter and the road. "Uh... I was thinking we'd head to the bar, say hi to Math and Jamie... then swing by the mall and look for your present."
That hadn't been the original plan, but Baze figured that way he could get Lux another present without her knowing. "You don't have to get me anything."
"Sure I don't." Baze smirked, nodding and looking at Lux knowingly.
Lux laughed. "Okay, you do, but you don't have to get me anything big."
Baze laughed, nodding, as they pulled to a stop in the same spot the jeep had been that morning. Baze swung an arm around Lux's shoulders, leading her inside the bar and up the stairs to his apartment.
"Happy birthday!" Math and Jamie yelled as Baze led Lux inside.
Lux laughed, hugging each of the men quickly. "Thanks."
"Did you drive here?" Math questioned as he and Jamie smiled, Jamie nudging her.
Lux looked between the three confused but grinning. "How did you know I got a car?"
"Are you kidding?" Jamie smirked jokingly. "When your dad's going to give you the only means of transport I have, I'm gonna know about it."
Lux looked confused before putting two and two together and turning to Baze who looked embarrassed but was pretending not to listen. "You were going to give me the jeep?"
"Yeah." Baze shrugged with a hint of sadness in his voice, slightly embarrassed but pretending it was nothing. "But hey, it's cool. We're going to go get you another present so it doesn't matter."
Lux looked over at him, not knowing what to say. Finally, she crossed the room and hugged Baze tightly. "Thank you." She whispered.
Baze nodded into her shoulder, holding the back of her head. Eventually, Lux kissed his cheek and pulled back.
She smiled at him, trying to relive the embarrassment he clearly felt. "Do you want to go shopping for my present now?" She asked smirking, and Baze laughed and nodded.
"Let's go kid."
They made their way to the local mall and walked around aimlessly for hours, both finding the shopping experience tortuous.
Finally Lux sighed. "Let's just go. Spending the day with you can be my present." She offered, smiling tiredly.
Baze shook his head, arm around Lux's shoulder. "Nope. We're not leaving until we find you a present."
Lux groaned jokingly and Baze laughed. "You're a girl-"
"Very observant." Lux interrupted, smirking.
Baze nudged her jokingly, continuing. "Aren't you meant to like all this girly shopping stuff?"
Lux didn't answer, stopping in her tracks and causing Baze to look at her confused. He followed her over to what had caught her attention, smirking when he saw what it was.
Lux rushed over to the pet store cage, instantly waving and cooing at the happy Golden Retriever puppies inside. She picked one of them up, laughing as it licked her face.
Baze watched her, walking over slowly as Lux turned to him, her lip pouted and her puppy dog eyes matching the puppy's in her arms. "Please." She begged.
"Your mom would kill me." Baze laughed, not taking her seriously.
Lux bounced the puppy in her arms, walking closer to Baze. "So? She'll get over it."
"Lux..." Baze sighed as the sales attendant came over to them.
The new arrival smiled, patting the dog. "He likes you." She noted, looking between Lux and Baze.
"See!" Lux grinned, holding the dog up in front of her and kissing the air directly in front of it. "He likes me!"
Again Baze sighed. "Lux..."
"Please dad!" Lux begged, not noticing what she said as she kept her attention on the puppy. "I promise I'll take care of him, and he could live at Cate's so you wouldn't have to worry about him..." She held him up next to her face, pouting at Baze. "Please. It would be the most amazing present ever."
Baze looked between Lux and the dog, thinking it over. On the bright side, he would be Lux's favorite and it would beat Cate and Ryan's present, but on the other side, Cate would kill him.
Baze sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Okay." He finally gave in.
"Okay?!" Lux almost screamed.
Baze laughed, nodding. "Okay." He confirmed. "But you have to deal with your mom."
Lux nodded furiously, hugging the dog with one arm as she wrapped the other around Baze and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squealed.
Baze laughed, pulling back and watching Lux talk to the dog. "You're coming home with me! You hear that, puppy. Your mine. You're so cute." She smiled, kissing him.
"But you have to promise you'll explain everything to Cate, and make sure you feed him and walk him and whatever else you're meant to do with a dog."
Again Lux nodded furiously, smiling and kissing Baze's cheek. "Thank you, dad."
Baze smiled, pulling back and looking at Lux. She looked up at him and smiled, a knowing look passing between them.
Finally, Baze turned to the sales woman. "How much?"
"800." The woman smiled and Baze looked shocked, knowing realistically it was a bad decision, but also knowing it was what Lux both wanted and needed.
Baze sighed, pulling out his wallet and handing over his credit card. They finalized the payments, signed the papers and ran through some of the requirements of looking after a dog before they made their way to the car.
Baze couldn't help but wonder if the decision had been a bad one, but as Lux buckled herself up and immediately hugged the puppy on her lap, he knew it wasn't.
They pulled up outside of Cate's place and Lux and Baze got out, both standing out front in the dark nervously, the puppy wrapped up in Lux's coat.
"You ready?" Lux asked, smiling slightly at Baze's nervousness.
He looked down at her and nodded, smiling nervously. "Let's go kiddo."
Cate came out to greet them before they could walk any closer and Baze and Lux's smiles disappeared when Cate froze. "Is that a dog?" She didn't wait for a reply, turning to Baze and placing her hands on her hips. "You got her a dog?"
Lux looked between her parents before bouncing the dog in her arms, smiling widely and waving the dog's paw. "He's a puppy."
Cate smiled at her slightly. "Uh huh..." She paused, looking at Baze furiously. "Lux, can you take him inside so I can talk to Baze?"
Lux looked hesitantly between Baze and Cate before nodding and slowly doing as her mom asked.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Cate hit Baze's arm. "You got her a dog?!"
Baze shrugged. "It's what she wanted, Cate."
Cate laughed dryly, running a hand through her hair. "Oh, yeah? Because that's what responsible parents are meant to do? Give their kids exactly what they want when they want it? Just when I think you can't get any more irresponsible you go and do something like this."
"Like what Cate! Giving my kid a present on her birthday?" Baze rubbed his hair frustrated. "God, Cate, what do you want me to say? That it was a stupid idea? Yeah, it probably was but that doesn't change the fact that Lux is happy, and for once I somehow managed to match the efforts of your perfect husband!"
Cate looked at him shocked. "Is that what you're trying to do? Beat me and Ryan?"
"It's not about beating you, Cate." Baze sighed, calming.
Cate folded her arms across her chest, watching him. "Then what is it, huh? Because honestly Baze, I don't know what else to do to try and fix this. Fix us."
"You can't fix us, Cate." Baze sighed. "The only thing between us now... is Lux."
Cate nodded, looking away from him, her eyes were glassy with tears. She knew Baze was right; she had ruined every chance of having a relationship with him when she had married Ryan, but somehow the feelings were still there, no matter how hard she tried to bury them.
Baze sighed, placing a hand on Cate's shoulder. "I'm sorry about the dog. I should've talked to you first."
Cate nodded, still not making eye contact. "It's okay." She finally whispered. "I'm glad she's happy."
Baze smiled, his hand moving to Cate's back as he gently led her inside. Lux was sitting on the floor with Ryan, laughing as she and he played with the playful puppy.
Cate couldn't help but smile as she watched them, eventually moving to sit on the seat besides Lux. "Does he have a name?"
Lux smirked, lifting up the puppy and holding him out to Cate who took him and placed him on her lap, looking at him. "Kirk Cameron."
Cate looked between Lux and Ryan, raising an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
"Uh huh." Lux laughed, taking the puppy back and playing with him.
No matter how hard she tried, Cate couldn't help but laugh and she nodded. "Okay."