Kate rolled over in bed, surprised to find there was room. She wasn't really awake, it was Sunday, and she thought Rick would have been there. He had been when she fell asleep. They hadn't slept together yet, but they had been sleeping in the same bed for a couple of days. They hadn't even been on a date. They couldn't. They were stuck at school.

Kate sighed and sat up, looking around the room. Rick wasn't there. She frowned, then got up. He was allowed to do things on his own. She didn't mind. But usually she woke up first. She went over to the sink, to wash her face – and there was a note on the mirror.

Happy Birthday Beckett. Get dressed and come to the common room :)

Kate grinned. They had remembered. She put on jeans, uggs and a checked button down shirt, and walked down to the common room, wondering what her friends had done.

She opened the door, and was greeted by shouts of 'Happy Birthday' from Javi, Ryan, Jenny, Shannon, Maddie and a boy she knew by sight but didn't know his name. There was a little heap of presents on the floor, and there was also a table with chairs around it, with a birthday cloth, and a vase of flowers. Kate grinned. Then Rick appeared through the door – carrying a huge tray loaded with food – pancakes and crispy bacon! And a huge pot of coffee. He put it on the table, and looking a lot less worried than he had been when he was holding on it, came over to her.

"Happy Birthday, Beckett."

"Thanks, Castle. And you guys, just... Wow. I have never woken up to a birthday like this."

Shannon smiled. "It was Rick's idea. But Maddie thought of sneaking away and bringing you down to it."

Kate smiled even more.

"D'you want to have breakfast while it's hot, or open your presents?" Maddie asked.

Kate opted for breakfast, and they all sat down at the table, talking and laughing. Rick had made a huge quantity of pancakes, and they were delicious. Kate sipped her coffee, and watched her friends. To her horror, she felt her eyes prickling – she had never had a birthday like this, where she felt so welcome, and so accepted. Rick noticed – he was good at noticing – and he put a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head and smiled, to tell him nothing was wrong. He winked at her, and stuffed a 4-story pancake sandwich into his mouth. She couldn't help but laugh as syrup dripped out of it onto the table, and soon everyone else was laughing too.

Maddie introduced the new boy as Mike. Kate had a feeling Maddie had liked Mike all along. Shannon was sitting next to Javi, and they looked so cute – Kate could hardly stop smiling. Rick whispered in her ear.

"You having fun?"

"It's perfect. Thank you so much Castle," Kate whispered back. He laughed.

"We've hardly started. You haven't even seen your presents yet."

She grinned. "I'm ready to start looking," she said, and since everyone was done eating, they went to look at the gifts.

There were some cards, all from her friends. And there was one from Mr Johnson. She made sure she'd opened them all. She had. She took out her phone, and checked for messages. But there weren't any. Oh well, it was only ten. She'd spoken to her mother since their fight, and everything seemed okay. So she'd send a message later...

She was determined not to worry about it – she was going to have a great day. She hoped Rick hadn't noticed the sadness that had been on her face, and tried to get excited about her presents again.

Shannon and Maddie had joined together and bought her a dress. It was beautiful – Shannon was great at choosing clothes. It was red, and short, but not too short. It would hug her body, but she had just the right curves for it.

"You can wear it la-" began Maddie, but Rick gestured frantically, and she stopped. Kate raised her eyebrows at them, but if they wanted to surprise her, she could cope. She wasn't a huge fan or surprises, but she had a feeling the ones today would be nice.

Jenny gave her an Emeli Sande CD, which she thought was great. The guys had clubbed together too, but they wouldn't give her any clues, and they said their present was outside. Rick had something else for her as well. He told her to close her eyes. She felt him lift up her hair, and fasten something round her neck. She opened them, and saw the necklace. It was a small, plain gold heart, on a simple gold chain. Not too flashy, but still pretty. She put her hand to it, and smiled at him.

"It's because you've had mine since the day I met you," he said. She pulled him into a hug. She hugged everyone else, then Shannon said she had to go upstairs to get something. Kate looked at her curiously. So many secrets today! Rick put his arm around her.

"She's going to meet us outside," said Javi, and he began to lead the way to the back door. When they were just outside, Rick put his hands over her eyes.

"Again?" she said, laughing.

"Well, it was a bit big to wrap," said Mike. Jenny took her hand, and guided her along. She wasn't quite sure where she was – she was trying to keep track, but they were making her turn.

Kate heard some whispering, and she thought she heard Shannon.

"Can I look yet?" she asked.

"Almost," said Rick, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"Okay!" Maddie said, and Rick took his hands away. What stood before her were two bikes – pedal bikes, but they were still cool.

"The blue one is yours," Javi explained. "But we were at the second hand bike shop, and we found we had enough money to get another one. It can be for whoever you want to go bike riding with," he said, looking pointedly at Rick.

"Thank you so much!" Kate said, her eyes full of delight. She gave him a big hug, then went to hug Ryan and Mike as well. "It's an awesome present."

"Glad you like it," said Ryan, grinning.

"We should say that there were donations from a lot of other people. The dancers. Even Alice and Lauren."

"Really?"

"Lauren likes you a lot more now you're not with Tom," said Shannon, smiling and tucking her red hair behind her ear. Kate saw Javi watching her. She laughed.

"Can I ride it now?" she asked.

Shannon went around the corner of the shed, and reappeared with two bike helmets. She gave one to Kate, and one to Rick.

"Off you go." She handed Rick a backpack, and produced their jackets as well. "Rick, keep her busy until at least four. Got it?"

Rick smiled. "I knew the plan already."

Shannon laughed. "I was just checking," she said. "Have fun, Katie."

Rick grinned. "Come on Beckett, we know when we're not wanted."

Kate got on her bike. It was even adjusted to the perfect height, and the tyres were pumped up. She put on her jacket and helmet, and Rick got on the other one.

"Wait," Kate said as they were about to start. "Aren't we supposed to stay here still?"

"I asked Mr Johnson," said Maddie, "And he said just for today, as long as you're back by six, which you will be, and you don't do anything too stupid, or too sensible."

Kate laughed. "That sounds like Mr Johnson," she said. She pushed the bike off, and Rick followed her – soon they were racing along the road. Kate didn't think she'd ever been this happy. Her mother popped into her head. She wondered why there'd still been no message. Not from her Dad either. It was really weird. But she put it out of her mind. Rick was overtaking her – and she had to do something about that!

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it :-). Tell your friends? :P Love to you all, hugs n loveballs Z xxx