Otis and Adi had gone out into town for a late lunch and to spend some time alone together. It was Otis's birthday, and all he asked for was to spend time with Adi. When they came back to the farm, Adi paused in front of the door.

"Please don't be mad..."

"What?"

She threw open the door, and pushed him inside.

His whole family, assorted family friends, Adi's parents and little Joshie and his parents had assembled to throw him a surprise birthday party, as well as to celebrate him beating cancer.

"Uncle Otis!" Joshie ran up to him, and Otis scooped him up into his arms.

"Hey, buddy!"

"Happy Birthday!" Joshie drew away from Otis, staring at him critically. "You cut all your hair off..." He leaned away from Otis, crossing his arms over his chest in a childish pout.

"Aww, come on buddy, don't be mad at me. I didn't cut it...It fell out..."

"What?"

"I was sick...Really sick. It fell out because the medicine I had to get was so strong."

"Oh..." He wrapped his arms around Otis's neck, resting his head on his collarbone.

As the party progressed, Adi noticed Otis becoming very drunk, very rapidly.

"Hey, honey." She murmured, taking the beer bottle out of his hand and sitting it on the table.

"Hey, mama!" He kissed her.

"Sweetie..." She cooed, placing her hand gently on his chest. "How much have you had to drink?"

"Uhhhhh..." He counted off on his fingers. "Four beers and two...? Three? two. Two shots of Jack."

"Okay." She reached up to stroke his cheek. "Honey, don't be mad at me when I say this, but how about you drink some water, okay?"

"You cuttin' me off?"

"No. I just don't want you to be so sick tomorrow."

"Oh. Good idea!"

She giggled. "I tend to have those." She kissed him. "Like marrying you."

"Mmm...that was technically my idea."

She sighed. Even drunk, he still wasn't wrong. "You're right."

"So that was MY good idea. If it had been your idea to marry me, that would have been a BAD idea."

Adi heard her mother's laughter, and looked over to see her shaking her head, cackling.

"It certainly would not have. I love you more than anything." She stood on her tip toes to kiss him.

"Mm...Maybe you ain't so smart."

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up and drink your water."

"Yes, Mama."

Adi knew that a year ago, Otis would still be able to drive with that much alcohol in him. But the chemo and not being able to drink large quantities like he was used to during his treatment had drastically lowered his tolerance.

"Adi, I'm hot..."

"Yes you are, baby."

"No, I mean like...I need a fan."

"Did you take a shot of tequila?"

"...Maybe."

"Yeah, you still have salt on your hand." She sighed.

"Sorry, mama..."

"No, what? I'm not mad." She took his face in her hands, kissing his nose. "I'm not mad."

"You promise?"

"I promise, sweetheart. I would tell you, wouldn't I?"

"Yeah...Holy fuck, it's warm in here." He stripped his hat away from his head, fanning himself with it.

"Uhhh, Otis...?" She had been the only one to see him without his hat in months. She grabbed his arm. "Put your hat back on, honey. No one noticed yet..."

"I don't care. I'm too hot..."

"Otis, you'll regret it later."

"Okay..." He placed the hat back on his head. Adi caught sight of Joshie, who had been standing behind Otis. His eyes were filled to the brim with tears. He bravely wiped them away, coming to stand next to Otis. Suddenly, Otis's eyes lit up; he grabbed a fork and tapped on his beer bottle.

"Otis, what the fuck?!" Adi hissed.

"I uh...I wanted to thank...everyone...for uh...For coming...I...I uh...Obviously didn't know about this, so...But thank you...It...It really means a lot to me that you all came to celebrate my birthday...Uh, to celebrate me, I guess. I...I'm...overwhelmed at how many people are here...How many people care about me enough to celebrate my birthday and being cancer-free...I...All my life, all I wanted was people to care about me...it...it uh...really warms my heart to see that so many of you do. And that so many of you are happy that I'm still around to celebrate another birthday. So...Thank you."

The room erupted in applause; Adi's eyes filled with tears as she stood by his side, hand on his chest, like they always were. He took her hand in his and kissed it, smiling down at her.

The party wound down and they headed off to bed. Otis collapsed into the blankets, smirking. "Hey, am I gonna get my birthday present?"

"You're drunk."

"Indeed. So?"

She laughed, climbing on top of him and cupping his groin, kissing him. "You wouldn't last."

"H...Hnn..." He whimpered, throwing his head back.

"Oooh, Baby. Come on. Don't give up so easy, now."

"I'm not..."

She gave in, but how could she not, with a face like his?

The next day, Joshie wouldn't leave Otis alone. He had realized just how sick Otis was, and how close he had come to losing his uncle.

When Otis retreated to their room in the mid-afternoon, Joshie soon disappeared, too.

She found Otis curled around his pillow, like he always was in her absence, Joshie behind him, snuggling into his back, also sound asleep.

She gently shook the little boy awake. "Come on, honey. Leave your Uncle Otis alone for a few minutes, okay?" She feared what would happen if Otis began to have a nightmare with Joshie in the room.

"But I don't want to leave him..."

"Sweetie..."

"I don't want him to die..."

"Ohh, honey. He's all better now."

"But he still looks sick."

"I know, sweetie. It scares me, too. But he IS all better. It's just going to take him a while to not look sick. It really took a lot out of him."

"Is his hair gonna grow back?"

"Yeah, buddy. It already is, see?" She stroked what little hair Otis had begun to grow back.

"So he'll look the same again?"

"Yeah, honey. He'll be Uncle Otis again..." She sighed. "Y'know, I missed my husband there for a long time. He was really, really sick. Couldn't get out of bed some days..."

"You love him a lot...I'm sure it made you sad."

She smiled softly. "It did. But he's okay now. And I'm very happy." She paused. "Come on. What do you say we help Gramma Firefly make some dinner, huh?"

"Okay!" He said, jumping off the bed. Otis stirred slightly, whimpering in protest and shifting.

"Shhh. Uncle Otis is sleeping, remember?"

"Oh...Sorry..."

That night, Adi awoke to an empty bed. She lay awake for a while, but after a few minutes, began to worry. She stood, searching for Otis. He wasn't in the bathroom. He wasn't working on a project.

She wandered down the stairs, catching a shadow in front of the Christmas tree.

"Baby?"

"Hey, mama."

"What're you doing down here?" She descended the stairs, smiling as she took in the scene.

He was sitting in front of the Christmas tree, a Santa hat pulled down over his head, and envelope in his hand.

"We've been through a lot this year, haven't we?" He asked.

She sighed. "Yeah, baby. We have."

"But you stood by my side through it all...You were always there."

"Of course I was. I took a vow to you, Otis. That I would be there for you-"

"In sickness and in health." He finished. "Well...You've stood with me in sickness..."

"What's that envelope...?"

Smiling, he passed it to her. "Now will you stand with me in health again?"

She tore open the envelope. In it was an official letter from his surgeon, stating that he had won his battle against lung cancer.

"Merry Christmas, Adoria." He murmured.

Tears rolled down her face. "Thank you, baby...This is all I wanted this year. This is the best present...Better than anything else you could have given me. I get to keep my husband."

"Sorry. I don't come with a receipt." He smirked.

Playfully punching him in the chest, she kissed him.