The bright rays of sun that streamed into the multiple windowed room were bright, almost too bright for Charlie's delicate eyes to handle. She squinted against the vibrant indicators of morning, and pulled the covers up and pulled the pillows on top of herself. She ignored the creak of the door hinges that Bass kept promising to fix but never did, and also ignored the mocking chuckle that she heard from the other side of the room.

"Today is a special day Charlotte, you should be itching to get the day started."

"Sorry Bass, but I don't consider birthdays a special occasion anymore."

"Well you should, because first off, you're special regardless of the day, and second, birthdays are special so, that's two reasons to get up."

Bass had made his way to the side of the bed and sat down, careful not to sit on any of the lean, sprawled out body on the bed. He kissed her lightly on the forehead, and pulled the covers back as to prevent her from going back to sleep.

"I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes, just don't go back to sleep okay?"

As Bass quietly left the room, Charlie groaned in annoyance. It was her birthday, why couldn't she do what she wanted to do, which was sleeping in of course. But, since Bass had gone to the obvious trouble of preparing something special, she pulled herself from the way too comfortable bed, and pulled on some casual clothes. She may be getting up, but she was definitely not going to be fancy about it, especially at this hour.

The stairs usual creak greeted her as she made her way slowly down towards the main hall, where she was assuming Bass would be. She was thankful that at least the lights in the downstairs portion of the building were dimmer, and didn't quite blind her like the light in her room.

The main room, which was nestled just off a door to the right of the entrance hall, was a cozy room, large and comforting; with its massive fireplace and chairs so comfortable it was hard not to fall asleep in them. The room was adorned with ornate pictures and vases, which the two had together picked out. Charlie's favorite was a simple painting, for it depicted a small rural town, with houses grouped in a circle with its regular seasoned crops in the middle, and the reason she liked it so much, she supposed, was because it reminded her of her home long ago.

But as she walked into the room that she had spent so much time in, she noticed that the chairs were out of place, and the small coffee table that she often propped her feet upon when she read, was not in its usual spot. Two of the large chairs, her favorite and Bass's favorite were pulled into a position in front of the window, with the little coffee table in between them. On top of the table was a little package, wrapped in a red paper, with a golden bow topping it off.

Charlie smirked a little, since Bass always overdid things more than she really cared for. Bass and her had a very rigid, so to speak, type of relationship. They fought quite a bit, but one always made it up in some way to the other, and Charlie considered this a future apology for whatever Bass did to make her mad next.

She heard the click of boots behind her, and she turned quickly and without warning, ran up to embrace him a deep hug, a type of hug they hadn't shared in a long time. He was warm, and the faint smell of whiskey clung to his coat. Charlie didn't mind, in fact, she tended to like it quite a bit.

"Bass, I don't know what this is, but thank you."

"Well, why don't you open it and find out?"

With a little smile, Charlie made her way over to the chair and sat down, as Bass followed and sat down opposite her, with his head resting gently on his hands watching her movements with gentle eyes.

Charlie delicately removed the bow and sat it beside her, and then proceeded to rip the paper off of the mystery box. It was simple and made of cardboard and she stuck her hand out to Bass in instinct, as she didn't have her own pocket knife on her to remove the ties around the box. She cut them quickly, and opened the top. There was a small clothed box inside, no bigger than her hand, and she gingerly pulled it out.

She then opened that, and inside was a necklace, beautiful and intricate. It was a small rose, with rubies to make up the small petals and emeralds assembling the stem and leaves. It was absolutely gorgeous, and Charlie was absolutely stunned by it.

"Bass this is—I mean how or where did you get this?"

"That's not what matters is it? I mean do you like it?"

"No it doesn't matter, and of course I do Bass, it's absolutely perfect."

She removed it from the box and went to put it on, but before she could, Bass took it from her hands and gently moved her hair aside to put it on for her. It was perfect on her, the emeralds bringing out her eyes beautifully. Beautiful. That was the only word Bass could think of to describe it. You could tell by Charlie's smile she loved it, and for that he was glad. Bass hadn't genuinely smiled in quite some time, but this time, I don't think there could've been a more genuine smile in the entire world.

"Happy Birthday Charlotte."