Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me, neither does this story idea, really.

Story takes place in between season four and five. Sometime after Tom was electrocuted.

Worst Anniversary Ever

a story by oc-lover-6

Lynette woke up that morning, tired, but with a smile on her face. Before she had even opened her eyes she rolled over in attempt to snuggle up to Tom, but he wasn't there. It was a rare morning when he got up before her, but she wasn't surprised. It was their anniversary after all. And he did like to try and be romantic and surprise her. Lynette recollected the last couple anniversaries.

Their ninth wasn't the greatest. It consisted of her waiting two hours in the freezing cold because Tom meant to surprise her, but she didn't want him to. And then, he forgot to cancel the surprise plans. But, it did make them realize how much they really loved each other, despite their troubles.

Their tenth was hard too. Mostly because it was a really difficult year for them. Kayla was creating problems. They just let that one drift by but they had a small dinner.

Their eleventh was fun. Karen knew that they had been having troubles, so she agreed to take Penny, Susan took the twins and Gaby had Parker. They had a relaxing weekend at a five star hotel.

But now it was their twelfth anniversary.

Although, twelve wasn't really a milestone, she felt like it should be. Twelve years, Lynette thought. She liked the sound of that.

She yawned and hopped out of bed. After pulling on her robe, she descended the stairs. Tom was no where to be found in the kitchen, in the garage or in the bathroom. Lynette began to wonder what he was planning. She decided to call him.

She grabbed the phone and dialed his cell. She heard the familiar sound of his ring tone coming from their living room. She followed the sound and found Tom sitting at the work desk on the computer.

She saw him answer his phone put she didn't reply back.

"Hello?" Tom said again in frustration.

Lynette was behind him, so she walked up quietly and ran her hand up his back lightly and placed a kiss on the side of his cheek from behind. "Hello," she whispered into his ear. She let her arms fall loosely around his neck and rested her hands gently on his chest. She kissed the top of his head.

"Good morning," Tom said happily. "You're in a good mood."

"Yes, well why wouldn't I be? It's a very important day, after all."

"Awh, you remembered," Tom said in a surprised tone.

Lynette raised her eyebrows and looked at him in a confused manner. She wasn't sure if he was trying to make a joke or not. "...of course I remembered, Tom."

"Well, I guess how could you forget," Tom began. Lynette laughed in agreement but became confused when he added, "I have been talking about it for weeks. And it's finally up for bid! All I have to is make sure no one else wants it more than me, and it'll be all mine."

"What?"

"The engine part."

"Oh," Lynette realized, finally figuring out that he wasn't referring to their anniversary, but to an engine part he had been wanting for months. "Yeah, that is exciting..." she trailed off. Maybe it was just a strategy to trick her into thinking they weren't doing anything. Yeah, that must be it, she thought. "I'll go make the coffee."

"Okay," he said, his eyse focused on the screen.

Lynette went to the kitchen and poured two cups. Hers had two spoons of milk and his was black. "So," she said when she returned to the living room. "What's the plan for today?"

"Oh you know, just the usual."

She wasn't sure what to make of that.

"Okay," she said, trying to sound casual. Had he really forgotten. Really? She didn't want to believe it, but she knew it was true. She got up from her seat in the kitchen, glaring at him with a look that could peel the paint on walls. "I'm going to Susan's. Be back by lunch."

"See you then, babe."

"He - what?" Susan gasped.

"You heard me."

"You're kidding," Bree said.

"Nope."

"Go kick his ass! I'll do it for you," Gaby suggested.

"No, no," Lynette laughed. Gaby always knew what to say. "He could just be trying to surprise me," she took a sip of coffee. "But I doubt it."

"Well, men are like that. Once you settle down, the romance is gone. And the sex. God that's why I'm never getting married."

"Edie, you've been married twice!" Susan laughed.

"Yeah," Edie defended. "But once because I got pregnant with Traverse and the other time to a gay guy! I've never really considered myself married. Anyways, this is about Lynette."

"Yeah, so what are you going to do?" Bree asked.

"I don't know. What would you do?" Lynette asked. "That wasn't rhetorical, what would you do?"

"Me?" Bree asked. "You do realize my track record with men isn't exactly the greatest."

"Well, who the hells is?" Edie interrupted. "This is what you need to do..."

Edie knelt into Lynette and told her her plan. Lynette began to smile. She always liked Edie, despite what all the others said. She had such an honest, upfront wisdom about her. And Lynette decided to follow it.