Not all fragments are earth shattering revelations or lead to life changing decisions. Some are just happy moments in time, that build upon other happy moments in time. Of course, these could lead to said earth shattering revelations later on.

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Dempsey was not in a good mood when he got back to SI 10. His snitch had been a no show, and he'd wound up wasting the better part of an afternoon trying to chase him down in some less than desirable establishments. So when he stomped through the door and threw his coat in the general direction of the coat rack, he was a little taken aback to see a creamy puffy thing sitting just as nice as you please, in the middle of his desk. It was in one of those little cake boxes and it was atop a blue envelope. It hadn't been there when he'd left, so he figured that Harry had put it there while he had been out wasting his time.

He sat down and she looked up as he did, and did the brow thing he liked so much. A smug smile tugged at her lips. He liked that, too.

"How did it go?" she asked, giving no other indication that anything was afoot.

"It was a bust," he replied. "Total waste of time. What's this?"

"Looks like one of those creamy puffy things you like so much."

"Yeah, I see that. What's it doing on my desk?"

"Maybe the birthday fairies put it there."

Ahhh, she remembered his birthday. A warm feeling started spreading inside his chest, and his frustration at the day melted away.

"Birthday fairies, huh? Are these fairies blonde haired and blue eyed?"

"Maybe one of them. Happy birthday, Dempsey."

"Thanks. I mean it. This is great."

"Open your card," she pushed.

He pulled it from the envelope and laughed. The front had a picture of a dog. It said, in bold blue writing, "In dog years you'd be dead. Happy Birthday!"

Inside, "James, I'm glad you're not dead. Happy birthday, Harry xx"

James. He liked that.

Harry, kiss kiss. He liked that more.

He looked up to find her smiling at him, and he couldn't help but smile back. "I see you went the sentimental route," he joked. "It's nice to know how you feel, Harry.

"You're welcome." She hesitated. "I also have this."

She produced a small, gold box from somewhere and passed it over to him. He stared at it for a moment. It had been a long time since someone had given him a gift and he wasn't prepared for the warmth that intensified and left him feeling strangely vulnerable. "You didn't have to do that," he said, all humour gone from his voice. "I wasn't expecting anything."

"It's not much," she confessed. "But I saw it and it made me think of you, so. . ." she shrugged. "I hope you like it."

He opened the box to see a miniature Colt Python key chain. His delight swiftly chased away any maudlin feelings he had. There was no way she'd just seen this somewhere. She had put thought and effort into finding him a miniature of his gun, and had probably special ordered it too.

"It's a –"

"Colt Python 357 Magnum," he finished, grinning from ear to ear. "I love it. Thank you."

"Happy birthday," she said again. "Drinks later?"

"Absolutely. First round's even on me."

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