Sam slipped out of bed quietly before Polly woke. That was a feat in itself because he wanted to wake her up, it was the best part of all this crazy they lived through, waking up next to her, with her snuggled up beside him, because that's where she always was and they loved making the most of those first few minutes.

Today was special though and Sam left the house quietly.

Half an hour later he sent her a message.

'Gus will be there in 15 minutes to pick you up, dress warm. It's cold outside Baby.'

Despite numerous replies Sam didn't answer her and Polly eventually gave up, showered and rugged up just as her brother arrived. "Don't know why I am here, but I was told to pick you up and deliver you, that's all." He muttered grumpily.

"Deliver me where?"

"Pfft….like I'll tell you. Get in the car Polly."

"How much did Sam have to pay you to do this?"

"Awww, Pol you know I'd do anything for you." Gus drawled and pretended that he did not mean a word of it. In truth he would, if she needed help he was there in a heartbeat but he enjoyed teasing his sister and when Sam came to him with his plan he was more than happy to go along with it and whinge about it at the same time. "This though, comes with a hefty price tag. It's freakin' early."

"How's Olivia?" Polly was surprised that Gus and Olivia were still going strong, her brother didn't have a great long term track record, even with those he really liked, give it a good six months and he was out of there. Now that Olivia had been around for more than a year and they were actually living together there was some hope that he might finally settle down.

"Lonely now that I was dragged out of bed to run this errand."

"Poor Gus."

"It's freakin' cold Polly. Next time Lover Boy wants to surprise you, he can call an Uber."

"I am sure he'll make it up to you. Aren't you going to the hockey on the weekend?" Sam and Gus got on well, sometimes too well and they would often catch up to watch a game and have a few beers and more than once Sam had staggered through the door three sheets to the wind after a night out with Gus. Polly did love that they got on; Austin had pretty much dismissed Gus, which had annoyed her. He asked him why on earth would he want to be a cop and told him that following in his parent's footsteps was unimaginative. That put the nail in the coffin of Austin and Gus ever getting along. Polly didn't need them to be best friends but she would have liked to have them in the same room sometimes without the hostility. Initially she had a go at Gus about it, but in reality she couldn't blame her brother for being pissed off.

"Yep." He pulled up at the edge of a park and Polly saw Sam standing beside a raging fire pit with two chairs and a table set up around it. "Hey, Happy Birthday Sis." Gus leant over and gave her a kiss on the cheek as Sam started walking towards the car. Gus loved the look of delight on his sister's face. This guy adored her and Polly was just as crazy for him and she deserved to be treated like a queen today.

"Good Morning Sweetheart." Sam waved at Gus as he left them to it. "Happy Birthday my beautiful girl." His kiss was long and slow and sweet. "Welcome to the dirty thirties."

"You're sneaky."

"Yes I am. Come on, time for breakfast. The day is young." He tugged on her hand and led her over to the picnic. The ground crunched beneath their feet as the made their way across the icy grass. It was quiet, no one else was mad enough to be out in the early morning cold except them, they were mad. Snow had that magical ability to make the world seem less chaotic. The city rose out of the frosty morning and fortunately the sun was starting to make an appearance in the clear blue sky. It was a perfect winters morning.

Settling down in one of the chairs, Sam draped a rug over her knees and handed her a plate of food. It was obvious that he had gotten his brother to prepare breakfast because Sam wasn't that organised, he could cook well enough he just didn't. Breakfast was all her favourites; smashed Avocado on toast, roasted tomatoes, rocket and bacon together with some fresh fruit, including Cherries and a bottle of champagne.

"This is perfect."

"Are you surprised?" Sam had tried really hard to make the whole day a surprise and he had hoped he had pulled it off.

"Yes, you are sneaky. I must remember that."

"Do you want your present now or later?"

"Can we do that in public?"

"Is that all you think I am good for? Sex?"

"It's such good sex though. That is a gift, each and every time."

Sam leant both hands on the arms of the chair Polly was rugged up in. Her nose and cheeks were glowing red from the cold but she looked so happy. "Are you warm enough?"

"Yes." Sam adjusted her beanie before he kissed her softly. "Happy Birthday Sweetheart. Welcome to the festival of Polly."

"I love it already. What's next?"

"Oh, it's a big day." Was all that Sam told her. "I hope you are well rested." Sam handed Polly and envelope. 'For my drunk ant, it's a return to the scene of the crime.'

He took her to play mini golf, the scene of their first date. Polly squealed with delight, this was so much better than any actual gift he could have given her. Especially when he followed it up with lunch in a small café similar to the one they used to have their coffee dates after school and a long walk along the Riverwalk despite the cold.

Sam dropped Polly off at a day spa for an afternoon massage, manicure and Pedicure and promised to meet her at home. She had no idea what he had planned for the rest of the night but did tell her that when she got home all would be revealed.

When she walked into the apartment it was quiet yet the bedroom was filled with balloons and each one had a star hanging from it as they bounced off the ceiling and Sam was nowhere to be seen. The note on the bed gave her very little to go on. 'Dress up Baby, tonight you are the star of the show.' He had placed it on top of a dress that he had picked from the wardrobe. He wasn't controlling in any sense of the word and never told her what she could and couldn't wear but tonight he wanted her to look the part. Apart from the dress he had left the rest up to her.

On the bed was a present, with a note telling her to open it.

Just like she had given Sam a book for his birthday he had found an old leather bound copy of Little Women, her favourite book. Gently she opened the cover and ran her hands over the first page. It was beautiful but more than that, Polly couldn't remember the last time she talked about this book so the fact Sam knew it was her favourite made her teary. He just kept surprising her with everything he did.

Polly sent Sam a message to thank him and was simply told to be ready by 6pm. She tried her parents and got no answer so obviously they were in on this too and Gus was also suddenly elusive. So she just went with it, got herself ready and let the excitement build.

Polly never expected to be dropped off at the Planetarium. Sam met her, dressed up in a suit at the car and helped her out, his fingers curling around hers tightly. "Hi."

"Sam this is too much."

"No it's not. You look beautiful by the way." Despite the thick coat she was wearing Sam knew she'd look stunning, she always did and what he could see so far was pretty bloody good. Her hair was twisted up and away from her face and she wasn't wearing a lot of make-up because she didn't need it. "Happy Birthday."

As they got inside Sam helped her out of her coat and whistled appreciatively. Her black sequinned shift dress shimmered as she walked and it had been the perfect choice and he was in love with her black heels with straps that wrapped around her ankles that were covered in small spikes, however mortified he was when she told him how much they cost. Looking at them now though, they were worth every cent and she knew that he loved it when she wore them.

Inside waiting for them were Polly's entire family, including Al, Trudy, Jay and Kate, Kevin and his wife Paulette and Antonio and Sylvie. These people who had been around her since the day she was born. Sam's family were also there and all her friends, and she waved at Maya and Jack along with Chloe and a few work colleagues, including Alex and a few people from the zoo. Polly had certainly made herself at home there too; they loved it when she stopped by. She turned and looked at Sam, and by the look on her face he knew he had managed to pull it off, he'd surprised her. "How?"

"I'm sneaky remember." She buried her head in his shoulder for a moment, a little overwhelmed by all the attention.

Kim and Adam were the first to embrace Polly and her birthday festival was soon in full swing.

They danced the night away under the indoor stars; Sam certainly wasn't shy about making sure Polly's body was as close to his as possible during their one slow dance. There was no pretending he wasn't affected by her, there was no pretending to keep his distance, there was no pretending he wasn't crazy in love with her.

Kevin made sure he got in for a groove on the dance floor with his girl. Paulette had bought two children into their marriage and Kev had his boys and while he adored Maddi and Lacey, Paulette's teenage daughters, Polly had always been his girl.

"I feel a little old." Adam started. "It wasn't a night unlike this when I got home from work and caught Kim staring out at the peacefully falling snow, not knowing that peace was forever going to be a distant memory after that night. That night our lives changed forever when we saw our baby staring up at us, completely helpless but oh so beautiful. Although now I think of it she was probably looking at us thinking 'Do you two know what you are doing?' and in all honesty we had no idea. For almost nine months we had wondered and dreamed and yes completely freaked out about what our baby was going to become. And what a women she turned out to be. Thirty glorious years of wiping away her tears, among other less pleasant things, sharing her laughs, living her lows, enjoying her highs, celebrating her successes and watching her fall in love. She is spectacular, she is loved and adored by each and every one of you and for that her mother and I are grateful. I have loved being part of every minute of your thirty years Sweet Pea, even the shit minutes."

Adam had a tight grip on Kim's hand and Polly stood with both Sam and Gus, tears streaming down her face as Adam spoke. His speeches were few and far between but when he did it was always so heartfelt. "You, and your brother have bought us more joy than is actually fair. I hope one day you both get to be this happy. Happy Birthday Polly, you are our one in a million and I am forever grateful for that bout of food poisoning that your mother got that enable me to slip one through."

There was one final stop on the way home. Polly leant her head on Sam's shoulder as he drove. "Thank you for my present. It's beautiful, but how did you know I loved that book?"

"I remember you telling me once. I think we hadn't been going out long, it just stayed with me." Polly's hand was on his thigh and he covered it with one of his. "I think that should be our thing?"

"What?"

"Books. Let's build a library, so we can tell our story through books."

"You are amazing, you know that." Polly kissed his cheek.

Polly paid no attention to where Sam was going but she had wondered why he hadn't drunk much all night and when he pulled into the parking lot of the zoo she knew why.

He grabbed a couple of blankets from the trunk of the car and laid one on the cold metal of the bonnet and wrapped another one around Polly before he lifted her back up and placed both his hands either side of her. "Tell me to stop." He smiled cheekily.

"I don't want you to stop, ever." Polly ran her hand through his hair, gripped the back of his neck and crushed her mouth to his. "This should have happened that night."

"It's happening now Polly. I am so in love with you. I was that night, and now I can't live without you."

He slid her body down the car and pushed her skirt up. The warmth of Sam's hand made her gasp as lowered his head and kissed her bare leg as he wrapped one around his waist, feeling the spikes on her shoes dig into him a little and he liked it. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No." Polly fumbled with his belt as Sam worked her underwear off and slid her towards him and it was the perfect end to a perfect day. "Happy Birthday my beautiful girl, you amaze me everyday."

"Sam." Polly hung onto his neck. "This is it for me. Here with you, now. It's always been here. This is our place."