It was a week before Doctor Doctor's 35th birthday, and she and Professor Professor were trying to figure out how exactly to go about celebrating it. For the most part, Doctor Doctor was hoping they wouldn't have to make such a big deal about it. Professor Professor, on the other hand, begged to differ. He was hoping to make the whole occasion extra special, especially for her. He knew it wasn't entirely necessary to do so, but he wanted to go all out and make a spectacle about it.

"Are you really sure this is a good idea, Professor?" Doctor Doctor asked uncertainly. "The last thing I'd want right now is for all eyes on me, especially when I look like this."

"I don't mind having you look like that," Professor Professor countered. "You look beautiful when you look like that, actually. And of course, all eyes should be on you. It's your birthday."

"Well, if I want someone to gawk at me while I'm pregnant, I'd rather it be you than anyone else."

"Don't you want people to celebrate with you?"

Doctor Doctor proceeded to pout while blushing like mad. "The only person I'd like to celebrate my birthday with is you. Please, that's all I want."

Professor Professor sighed, sensing that this was a battle he was going to lose. "Alright, so be it."

"Is there anything you want me to help you with?" Oberon asked Professor Professor while they were out having lunch at Padella.

"Jawohl," Professor Professor replied. "See, I'm trying to figure out how to celebrate Doctor Doctor's birthday. She's turning 35."

"Ooh, congratulations to her. I'm sure she appreciates that she can grow older. We fae… well, we do get older but we're kind of ambivalent about it."

"Um, good to know. So tell me what you can do for Doctor Doctor's birthday."

"Hmm…" Oberon tapped his fingers to his chin. "Let me think. Well, I can use my magic to make your wife's birthday something special. How about I use my dream powers to see what her heart wants?"

"Well, she did say she wanted to spend her birthday with just me, but she never specified what she wanted her birthday to be like. We'll go with your plan."

Oberon clasped his hands together. "Splendid! I'm happy to hear that. After this, I'm telling Titania about the plan. I'm sure she'll be on board with it."

"Well, I certainly hope so. Doesn't she like to do that sort of thing, too?"

"Of course she does. It's not her entire thing, but she's known to enter people's dreams from time to time."

"Neat. You know, it's amazing what you fae can do. It's certainly not a coincidence that you still get people who revere and fear you all the same."

"Certainly not."

At that moment, a waiter stopped by and asked Oberon and Professor Professor for their orders, which they promptly gave.

"I'm so glad you asked me to eat here with you," Oberon said. "Best restaurant I've ever eaten at. Just one thing, though: you can't tell your wife about this. It would ruin the whole thing."

"I promise I won't tell her, but you have to keep up your end of the bargain, understood?"

Oberon nodded. "Of course, Professor. It'd be foolish to break a promise."

"How was lunch with Oberon at Padella?" Doctor Doctor asked.

"Nothing special," Professor Professor replied. "We just talked about all the going ons in our lives. He does love the place, though."

"Did you... talk about anything exciting?"

"Well, he did tell me that Maestro and Leoffled are engaged to be married, so we should expect to get a wedding invitation in the mail at some point."

"Oh... Maestro and Leoffled really seem to love each other, huh?"

"Oh, ja. Last time we spoke, in fact, Maestro couldn't stop talking about her and how she's his muse."

Doctor Doctor nodded. "I see. So... is there anything we can do for my birthday together?"

"I don't know. It's your birthday."

"You're right, but I'm not sure where to start. I can't really drink in my condition and I can't imagine you'd be welcome back at Knowhere Special after what you did over there. Huh. Maybe... we can celebrate at home? It'd be more intimate that way."

"Why don't we just sleep on it for now?" Professor Professor patted her hand. "We don't need to rush this thing right now."

"Okay." Doctor Doctor struggled to get off the couch for a second or two before successfully managing to do it herself. "I'm hungry again. Do we have any more tomato pudding we made last week?"

"I'm pretty sure there's still some left in the fridge. I'd be surprised if we didn't. There's enough of it to fill up a pastry dish."

Doctor Doctor's eyebrows perked up. "Wait, really?"

"Hold on, let me check." Professor Professor disappeared for a moment to check the contents of the fridge and then came back with some tomato pudding. "Okay, yes, we did still have tomato pudding."

"Oh, good. I really need some right now." Doctor Doctor proceeded to snatch away some tomato pudding out of her husband's hands and then eat some. "Best thing I've ever heard. I'm not sure if that'll still be true by the time I'm not pregnant anymore."

"Well, it's not exactly what I'd call good eats, but I'm glad you like it."

"Also, lately, I've also really been into shrimp cocktail sauce that's been mixed with mac and cheese."

"Uh, good to know." Professor Professor bit his lip. "Man, pregnancy can be weird, huh?"

"You got that right." Doctor Doctor winced a bit as she put her hand to their belly. "Shit..."

Professor Professor was starting to get alarmed. "What's wrong? Are you going into labor?"

"Nah, the baby just kicked really hard. She's been doing that a lot lately."

Professor Professor breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God."

"It can get pretty damn annoying, though."

"I bet. You know what to do when it's time, right?"

"Of course I do. We'll pack our things and go straight to hospital."

"Alright, just wondering. Anyway, here's hoping that your 35th birthday goes well."

"Me too."