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"There is still no cure for the common birthday." –John Glenn

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Chapter 16

In Which Our Heroine Grows A Year Older

It was three o'clock in the morning, and Cappi couldn't sleep.

One day until my birthday, she thought to herself.

She was sitting in her bed, looking out the window. She could see the mountains in the distance, a faint outline against the pale gray sky. The moon was hovering above them, looking as if it would drop from the sky at any moment and come to rest on the treetops just outside Cappi's window. She could also see the old Porter House. It dominated the hill at the top of Ridgeway Road and looked unforgiving and cold in the darkness. There were no lights on in the house.

For some reason, though she wasn't really sure what the reason was, Cappi reached over and flicked her lamp on and off three times, as if calling to someone in the darkness beyond her window. To her surprise, she was greeted with three flickers of light in the distance. A second story window in the old Porter house had answered her call.

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The day passed quickly and fell into night. Darkness enveloped Cappi's room as she again lay awake in bed. She watched as her clock ticked away the minutes, counting down the seconds to her birthday.

"Happy birthday, Cappi," she whispered into the darkness as twelve o'clock flashed across the clock.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"What in hell?" Cappi asked herself, sitting up in bed.

There was a light tapping noise coming front outside her window. She turned on the lamp on her bedside table and crept to the window. She looked out, but didn't see anything. Cappi turned around to get in bed, but the tapping began again before she could even take a step. She turned back to the window, unlocked it, and pushed it open. She stuck her head outside and looked around. There was a figure sitting on the porch roof that reached out from beneath the window. the figure was crouched low to the roof, just within the circle of light spilling from the window. It had a cowboy hat pulled low over its eyes.

"Jack?" Cappi asked, squinting at the darkness.

The figure moved forward, and Jack's face was removed from the shadows.

"Jack, what the hell are you doing out there?" Cappi asked.

She moved away from the window, allowing Jack room to climb through. He stumbled through the window and landed softly on the floor, crouched on his haunches. He then straightened up and stared at the girl in front of him. She was wearing nothing but a tight-fitting tank top and matching underwear. When she noticed his wandering eyes and her state of undress, she blushed, pulled the quilt off of her bed, and wrapped it around her body.

"Stop staring, Kelly," she said, punching Jack lightly on the arm.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it," he replied. His usual grin plastered across his face.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked.

"I just wanted to be the first to wish you a happy birthday," he said, his grin never faltering.

"You climbed up my back porch and into my window in the middle of the night, scaring the shit out of me, I might add, just so that you could be the first person to tell me happy birthday?" she asked incredulously.

Jack nodded. Cappi opened her mouth to say more, but she was cut off by Jack's lips covering her own.

She pulled away and smiled, "Thank you. You're crazy, but thank you."

"Oh, that's not all. These are for you," he said, grinning and thrusting an eclectic bouquet of flowers into her hands.

Cappi stared at the bouquet for a moment before speaking.

"Are these from my grandmother's garden?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jack replied, "Sorry. Gifts are expensive."

"I love you, Jack Kelly," Cappi said, smiling and pulling him in for a kiss.

"I love you more," he replied.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"I love you times infinity."

"Well, I love you times infinity and one."

"That's not possible."

"So?"

"So it's not possible. You can't argue something that isn't possible."

"Cappi?"

"What?"

"Shut up and kiss me."

"Okay."

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A/N: ((sigh)) I fear the fluffy pink llamas have returned. Maybe I'll write something dark soon to cure myself of this fluffiness. ((shrugs)) Who knows? Please review.