The silence in the loft was disrupted as Maureen slid open the door with bang. Sighing dramatically, she flung herself down on to the battered couch, her legs coming to rest on Collins' lap.

"Tough morning, Mo?" he sniggered, watching as Mark rolled his eyes at the freezing air now rushing into the open plan space from the now open front door.

"Joanne was really weird with me this morning..," she said, examining her short fingernails.

Turning her body slightly, she glanced at Mark and waved her hand in the direction of the door, "Could you shut that Mark? I'm cold…" sighing, she turned back to her friend, "She barely spoke to me! And I KNOW I couldn't have done anything to piss her off yet today because we didn't even go out last night, so I wasn't flirting with anyone but she just seemed so ODD, like, she asked me five hundred questions about what I was doing today, and then before she left she just stood and stared at me for what seemed like forever and- what?!", she exclaimed, suddenly noticing that Collins had now covered his face with his hands, the low sound of laughing escaping through the cracks in his fingers.

"Collins! Whaaaaat?" Maureen pleaded, pulling his arms down towards her, she couldn't stand it when people laughed at her.

"You never said it?" Mark's voice came from the now closed doorway behind her, and she turned her head sharply. "Said what?!" she demanded, pulling her legs underneath her body so she could see both of them at the same time.

"Happy birthday, Maureen…it's Joanne's birthday…," Mark's statement was punctuated by slight snorts from Collins, who still hadn't composed himself.

Maureen's face suddenly seemed to drain of all of its color. Her mouth dropped, and she could hear her own heartbeat in her temples.

"No, it isn't! It isn't until the seventeenth!" she said, jumping up, the sound of the heels on her boots hitting against the floor echoing around them.

Mark pulled a small planner out from his jacket pocket, and opened it on the January page. The eleventh day was circled and had a Sharpie drawn 'J' in the middle of the small, grey box. Maureen traced the letter with her finger, gulping.

"Well, maybe you got it wrong…," she said quietly, looking up at Mark and he shook his head. "She wrote that in three weeks ago Maureen…"

She brought her hands up to cover her mouth, "Oh my GOD…I am the worst girlfriend in the world, why didn't either of you remind me?! Mark, you know how shitty I am with birthdays!" she groaned, one of her hands coming to rest on her forehead. She had a lot of work to do.

"Guess this explains it then," she said, zipping up her trusty white leather jacket. She turned away from the two men and ran from the loft without another word, once again forgetting to pull the door behind her, leaving the two men shivering from the icy wind.

N

She didn't notice she was squeezing her hands together so tight until she looked down and saw tiny marks on her skin from her fingernails. Blood rushed to them and they stood out starkly against her pale white skin.

The sound of the key turning in the lock made her jump, and she felt as though there was a hand in her abdomen, squeezing all of her internals organs so tight that she nearly couldn't breathe.

Joanne walked into the apartment, dropping her briefcase on the floor and hanging up her coat before she even looked at her girlfriend.

"Okay, pookie, before you say ANYTHING," Maureen rushed forward, taking Joanne's hands in hers,

" I know, I know, I KNOW, I messed up, I forgot your birthday and that's just awful but I really did think it was the seventeenth, you HAVE to believe me," she rambled, her eyes becoming glassy as they filled up with tears. She blinked furiously, no, this wasn't the time for crying at all. "I am so sorry, the boys told me and I don't know how I got the day wrong and oh my GOD, I am so horrible and I know I am and you can flirt with whoever you like, even Mark if you want, and I won't get jealous or try to make out with anyone to get you back or anything! And..and, I got you flowers, your favorite," she pointed to the crystal case that always stood so proudly on Joanne's coffee table, now filled to the brim with white lilies, "They are your favorite, right? And I tried to cook you something to make it up to you, but you know, there's a reason I don't cook and I went to check it and it fell out of the oven and I went to catch it and it went all over my arms, and..", Joanne looked down, seeing the searing red burn marks that seemed to cover Maureen's forearms, some parts of the skin even starting to blister already. She drew her eyes up to meet Maureen's watering ones and the diva continued,

"And, it was your favorite, lasagna, did I say that already, and-"

Maureen stopped as Joanne's hand covered her mouth, causing her words to become muffled.

"Honey, sit down..," Joanne ordered, pointing to the couch. Maureen turned and sat, watching as Joanne quickly fetched a pack of frozen peas that seemed to always just be in her freezer and wrapped them in some paper towels. "Here…" she said softly, pressing them on to the raw skin on Maureen's arms. The woman flinched slightly at the sharp pain, and it was then Joanne fully noticed what Maureen was wearing.

Her hair wasn't a mess covering half of her face like it usually was, it was pulled back into a ponytail. Her silver hoops glinted in the soft candle light, from the candle that Maureen had lit on the windowsill. Lavender, Joanne recognized with a slight smile. The dress Maureen was wearing was Joanne's favorite piece of clothing that her girlfriend owned. It was black velvet, with spaghetti straps and a slit on the left side. Maureen always protested wearing it because she felt it 'wasn't' her as it was too plain and wasn't expressive enough.

With a sigh, Joanne sat down beside her love. "It's okay…", she said, her hand resting on the packet of peas.

"But it isn't," Maureen sniffed, her hands clenching into fists as tears threatened to roll down her cheeks, "I messed up, I am really sorry, this was your first birthday with us being together and I just wanted it to be special and I thought it was next week and I had stuff planned for then and the DAMN lasagna spilled on me…," she moaned, her tears winning their battle against her eyelids and they fell down her cheeks like tiny diamonds, glistening.

Joanne wrapped one arm around Maureen and pulled her closer, "You know," she said, wiping Maureen's cheeks, "This might be the best present I've ever gotten-.."

"Oh my GOD I FORGOT A PRESENT", Maureen wailed dramatically, scrunching her eyes closed, "Mo, shut up for a second and let me speak," Joanne pleaded.

"You've already given me a present. This," she gestured around the apartment, "Shows me that you're committed to me…"

Maureen sniffed again, "I'm confused…"

"You remembered my favorites, the flowers I like, my favorite dinner, the candle…your dress, it shows you've actually been listening to me, you get me. And so what if you're terrible at birthdays..."

"I AM shitty at birthdays, you can ask Mark, I NEVER remembered his..," Maureen cut in, and promptly stopped, noticing the look on Joanne's face.

"Happy birthday…," she whispered, placing the bag of frozen peas on to the ground, her arms now numb from the cold. She took Joanne's face in her hands and kissed her softly, until she could feel the other woman smile.

"There are many ways you could make it up to me, if you're still sorry..," Joanne murmured, her hand brushing against Maureen's knee.

Maureen laughed, "Oh you bet!" pulling Joanne closer.

Hope you enjoyed! Please review and leave me suggestions for more fics, thanks!