It was a wonderful day to celebrate. Engineer was determined to incite enthusiasm in his older associate.

"DOC!" Engineer suddenly intruded into the medbay with a carefully wrapped box. Startled, the Medic accidentally knocked many freshly-sterilized instruments in the floor.

Medic grumbled, "Velkommen."

The doctor began to gather the tools from the floor. They'd all have to return to the autoclave again. Engineer set the box down on a nearby table and helped the doctor.

"Sorry about that, Doc. I have something for you."

"Ja? Vhat is it?" asked Medic.

"Well, you'll just have to find out for yourself. Here, I'll finish picking these up since I was the one who went and spooked ya into dropping all these. Go open that there box," Engineer continued picking up the last ones and took them to the sink.

"Please. Vash your hands first," the Medic quietly said.

"Doc. You've gotta know by now that you can trust me as much as yourself. One of my PhDs is in Biomedical Engineering."

Medic sighed and shook his head. He supposed he could trust Engineer to properly clean some of his things.

The doctor ripped the paper from the box and opened the flaps. Inside was a large, chef-like blade with jagged edges and a large handle.

"...but I already own many saws. Vhy give me another?" Medic asked.

"Ahh. See? This is how you and I are so different. I'm always asking how and you always question the purpose behind everything. You should consider becoming a psychologist, Doc," Engineer scrubbed the instruments.

"Pffft. Zhat's such a soft science. I'm content vith vhat I do," Medic rolled his eyes at the suggestion.

He picked the saw up. It was significantly lighter than his others. There was a tiny red button on the side of the handle.

"Vhat does this trigger?" Medic asked.

Engineer craned his neck to check out what the doctor was referring to.

"Oh that spits out a small flame so you can quickly cauterize wounds in battle," he rinsed the instruments and set them on a paper towel by the sink. "Thought ya might even enjoy abusing the flame feature. A little pyromania is healthy for the soul."

Medic let out a deep sigh. It was wonderful that he had such a considerate teammate but he didn't understand the importance of celebrating his birthday. It just meant he was another year closer to death. Why remind him of his mortality?

"Thank you, Herr Engineer. I appreciate your efforts to uplift my spirits."

"Is everything alright, Doc? You seem so down lately," Engineer crossed his arms and leaned against the same counter that Medic had been pressed against weeks ago…

The Medic's teammates all were aware that the enemy Spy had visited the doctor on Christmas Eve, but they were in the dark on what events had transpired inside the infirmary at that time. Medic recalled the intruder's gentle touches of the time with disgust and anger. All he wanted out of life was to purely connect with someone trustworthy. The event acted as a reminder of the filth of the world. Medic was now aware that no innocent thing remained untainted for long. The doctor's exposed skin soon grew cold and he felt shivers travel through his spine for a moment. He closed his eyes.

"I think I'm just feeling some post-holiday depression combined with the birthday blues. I've been even more useless in battle than usual thanks to my condition. I apologize," said Medic. He closed the flaps of his present box to keep dust off his new plaything.

"Oh, don't go beatin' yerself up. Gettin' older happens to all us. We're born curious and grow up adventurous. We spend our entire lives exploring and learning everythin' about the world we can. Along the way, we each leave our own unique footprints that will educate and inspire future generations," Engineer turned back around and rummaged through a few drawers.

Medic tossed his hands up. Clearly, what belonged to the Medic was up for grabs by the Engineer.

"Doc, you're a key component to our team. You always bring up great points when we strategize-asking each of us to seriously consider potential wherabouts of our BLU counterparts," Engineer's search halted when he pulled a box-cutter out and purposefully nicked his thumb.

Medic was instantly by Engineer's side. He forcefully grabbed the box-cutter and tossed it away from Engineer.

"Are you mad?! Zhat blade is disgusting! Vhat are you trying to prove?!" Medic poured alcohol on a cotton ball and pressed it against the slice. Engineer winced.

"You're also the most nurturing person on this team. I've seen how you baby all your doves and fight so hard to save us out there," said Engineer.

Medic cracked a smile at the thought of Engineer injuring himself to encourage others. He shook his head and laughed.

"You know, Herr Engineer.. You're even more sadistic than I am."

"Actually I'm a masochist," Engineer grinned.

Medic just about choked on his own laughter.

Maybe this birthday wasn't so bad after all.