Birthday Surprises

"ZACK!"

The bedroom door flew open. Elsie ran over to the bed and began to shake her brother mercilessly, but to no avail; his body remained still except for the steady rise and fall of his chest. Annoyed, the little girl let out a sigh and left the room. Moments later she returned with an ice-cold bucket of water.

"I warned you," she sighed in an almost sympathetic voice, and then dumped the bucket of water on her brother. Zack roared and shot out of bed, replacing his sister's sympathy with enormous amusement.

"WHAT THE-"

"I tried to wake you up nicely, just like Momma said, but you wouldn't get up! And how could I let you sleep through your own birthday? That would be terrible!" Elsie reasoned. "You should be thanking me!" She grinned innocently as a soaking wet Zack began to fume.

"You are the most annoying little sister EVER!" He bellowed. She knew he didn't mean it, though. Zack really did love his sister; he just wasn't a morning person.

"Breakfast is ready, and Braxtynn just got here, so I think you should put on some dry clothes and come eat. Chop-chop!" The little girl said as she clapped her hands. She flashed him a smile and skipped towards the door.

"Oh yeah! Happy Birthday!" She added. With a giggle, Elsie pranced out of the room and high-fived her older brother Cal who had witnessed the whole thing.

Zack stomped towards the door, sprinkling tiny drops of water on the floor around him with every noisy step he took.

"Stupid sister," He muttered as he slammed the door shut. The boy moped to his dresser and fished out a faded green shirt and some over-sized cargo pants. Still mumbling under his breath, Zack peeled off his dripping pajamas and pulled on his dry outfit. The pants were a bit large for his liking, but they would have to do. Today was Zack's birthday after all, and he had no desire to prolong the day's events any longer. After combing his damp (yet somehow, still messy) hair, Zack opened the door and scampered to the kitchen where his family was waiting.

"Well, well, well," Said a familiar voice as Zack skidded in. It belonged to a muscular man with electrifyingly blue eyes and short, well kept hair. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed in front of him. "Look who finally decided to wake up!"

A broad smile spread across Zack's face.

"Braxtynn!" He exclaimed as he dashed towards his brother. The SOLDIER braced himself as Zack hit him full force with a bear hug. Out of his entire family, Zack loved his oldest brother the most.

"Woah, there," Braxtynn wheezed. Nevertheless, he returned the rib-cracking squeeze. "You're a bit stronger than I remember you being," He said in a genuinely surprised voice after releasing Zack. "A bit taller, too," Braxtynn observed after eying his brother carefully.

"Two inches. I've grown two inches since Elsie's birthday," Zack said matter-of-factly. Braxtynn looked impressed. "Though, I'm not sure how I got stronger," The boy continued as he curiously poked at his flexed bicep.

"It's been almost ten months now, Brax," Mr. Fair said grimly as he buttered a piece of toast. "If you were around more, you could help him put on some muscle."

Braxtynn sighed and slid into the chair next to Cal, who was shoveling sausage links into his giant mouth. It wasn't a pleasant sight.

"I have work, Dad. You know that," Braxtynn tried to explain, but Mr. Fair was not satisfied. Before he could reply, Mrs. Fair shot him a look from the counter, and he didn't say another word. Oblivious to the tension, Zack plopped down in between Elsie and Cal.

"Here you go!" Mrs. Fair said cheerfully as she set a meager plate of sausage and eggs in front of her son. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks, Mom," Zack said as best as he could through his mother's smothering hug. When she let go, he descended upon his meal like a vulture on his prey; every tiny crumb had gone from his plate to his stomach in a matter of minutes. Poor Elsie just stared at him, mortified.

"So when can I open my presents?" Zack inquired desperately while wiping his mouth, as if he had wanted to ask the question all morning. And naturally, everyone knew that was the case.

"Patience, pipsqueak," Cal mumbled through a mouthful of eggs. "Some of us actually want to enjoy our meal."

"You're one to talk," Zack muttered under his breath. His mother gave him an admonishing look from across the table, but he could tell she was amused by his comment.

"When everyone is finished, you can open your gifts," His father decided. From then on, Cal ate at a remarkably slower pace, and Zack glared at him until he finished his last mouthful.

After everyone had finally finished their breakfast, the family moved into the living room. Zack dropped down in the floor while his parents and Braxtynn filled the couch. Elsie happily sat next to him, but Cal just sulked as he sank down next to the pair.

"Alright," Mrs. Fair said to herself has she pulled some boxes from behind the couch. One was about the size of a shoebox, and the other was rather small. There's no way a sword could fit in those boxes, Zack thought to himself.

"Elsie dear, did you bring your present in yet?" Mrs. Fair asked the little girl. Elsie's eyes grew large.

"Wait just a second!" She exclaimed as she jumped up and ran off to her bedroom. She returned heaving a burlap bag that obviously carried something very heavy.

"Now we're set. Okay, Zack, how about you start with Brax's gift?" Mr. Fair suggested. Zack nodded excitedly and grabbed the largest box, and everyone remained silent as he ripped through the wrappings. Elsie was looking over his shoulder with excitement, and Cal was zoning out. When he finally tore the package open, he saw his own face… But it was distorted. There were scratches and scuffs warping his image. Zack's eyebrows furrowed, but then rose again as his eyes grew wide.

"It might be a little too big, but I bet you'll grow into it," Braxtynn said as Zack marveled at the gift. He pulled the shining helmet out of the box and just stared at it, smiling broadly.

"This is so COOL!" Zack laughed as he placed the helmet on his head. Brax was right; it was a bit big, and it wobbled on top of his skull, but Zack still loved his present. He slid the visor down and instantly imagined he was in the heat of battle.

"It was my old helmet. It didn't really fit anymore, though, and I thought you might enjoy it," Braxtynn explained with a half smile. Zack nodded vigorously, and the helmet slid off of his head. Elsie stifled a giggle, but he didn't notice her at all.

"Okay, next present!" Mr. Fair encouraged after a while, even though Zack was enthralled with his new helmet. He slid up the visor and grabbed his sister's gift with a groan... It really was heavy.

"What is this?" Zack asked, mortified by the boulder of a gift sitting in his lap.

"Just open it!" Elsie urged as she sat excitedly next to him. He peeked cautiously into the sack, not knowing what to expect. And what he saw was definitely not expected.

"Rocks…?" He questioned, but then quickly remembered his manners. "Uh, I love them-!" He stammered with a strange smile on his face. Cal didn't bother hiding his snicker. Elsie looked at Zack condescendingly, as if he didn't know the real value of his present.

"Keep looking," She instructed. Zack obediently followed his sister's orders and dug through the stones. Then, after minutes of searching, Zack finally found something that wasn't cold, hard, and grey. He pulled hard and yanked out what first just seemed like a piece of wood. Within seconds, however, Zack immediately saw it was a slingshot, finely balanced and decorated with intricate carvings.

"Oh, this is awesome!" He exclaimed, marveling at the projectile. "Where did you get it?"

"The carpenter made it for me. I told him I had no money for your present, and I even cried. Then he gave me the slingshot for free," Elsie recounted, as Zack listened intently. Not bad for a seven-year-old, He thought. "I collected all of the best rocks in town for you to shoot!" She said proudly.

"Thanks alot, Elsie! " Zack said genuinely as he hugged his little sister.

"Okay, last one," Mrs. Fair said as she pushed the smallest box towards him. He picked it and shook it, but what he heard didn't help him at all. Zack shrugged and began to rip into his tiny present. Mr. Fair slipped quietly out of the room, unnoticed by his son. Zack finally reached the contents of the package, but he was confused at what he saw.

"A bone?" Elsie asked, just as confused as Zack. She looked from her mother to Braxtynn, expecting them to explain why her brother had received such a strange gift. Then, all of a sudden, a tiny black mass bounded into the living room in front of Mr. Fair and dashed for the bone in the box. Elsie squealed in excitement, and Zack laughed as it made its way to his lap.

"A puppy!" Elsie exclaimed. "Zack, can we please share?" She pleaded desperately. Her father just laughed.

"Of course he's going to share. The dog is for the whole family," He explained. The black lab was darting from person to person, sniffing and licking every hand, foot, and face he could reach.

"He's so cute!" The little girl cried out as she scratched behind the dog's ears lovingly. "What are you going to name him, Zack?"

"Well…" He paused as he thought hard about his new pet's name. "He's jet black… And he moves really fast. He's like a shadow!" Zack declared, obviously very proud of his naming abilities.

"That's original," Cal snorted. Braxtynn delivered a hard kick to his thigh, which shut him up fairly quick.

"Thank you so much!" Zack told everyone as he admired his new things. A helmet, a slingshot, an adorable puppy… Maybe this wasn't such a bad birthday after all!

"Oh! I almost forgot," The oldest Fair started as he reached down behind the couch. "I found this leaning next to the door when I came in this morning."

Braxtynn sat up and pulled something up from behind the couch. He held in his hands a standard-issue SOLDIER sword with a note and a long, white feather tied to the hilt.