"Yes, Chrissy, it's on it's way, probably'll beat the moving van there." Steve replied, smiling. Next to him stood Jaime, trying to wait her turn at speaking with their daughter.
"Thanks, Dad. I forgot and put my planner in there, I'll be lost at school without it! Is Mom there?"
"Yes, I had to wrestle for the phone with her, now stop that!" Steve made fighting noises and Jaime laughed in spite of herself. "Give me that phone, you nut!"
"I'll talk to you when we're on our way, honey. Love you!" he told her, then passed the phone to his wife.
As he switched places with her in the phone booth, he caught sight of the pendant Jaime always wore, and he was filled with memories of the day it was lost and found.
"Happy Birthday, dear Chrissy….Happy Birthday to you……"
"And many more…." Rudy Wells added, making Chrystal giggle. "Thanks, Uncle Rudy! This is the best birthday ever!"
"I'm glad, honey, now make a wish, and the Birthday Fairy will make it come true." He told her solemnly. Jaime came in with ice cream and overheard him. "Rudy….." she groaned.
"It's true, Mommy, I did wish and it did come true!" Chrystal exclaimed, then turned as Steve and Oscar joined them at the table.
"What did you wish, sweetheart?" Jaime asked, placing a plate of cake and ice cream in front of her.
"That you and Daddy wouldn't have to go away for my birthday this year, and you didn't." She beamed, then suddenly threw her arms around a startled Oscar. "And that you would come too, Uncle Oscar."
There was a moment of silence, then Oscar managed to say, "Thank you, honey. I'm glad I came too. And I want to promise you….." he swallowed hard, "Your mommy and daddy won't have to leave on important stuff on your birthday again, I'll do my best to make sure of that."
Jaime wiped her eyes as Steve said quietly, "Thank you, Oscar. Chrissy, you know Mommy and I will try to always be there for you, don't you?"
The little girl nodded, then seeing her mom's upset face, started to sniff. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad. I know you won't leave me on purpose."
"Of course, baby…." Jaime hugged Chrystal to her, then cleared her throat. "Now as soon as you finish your cake, you can open your presents. Your Aunt Linda should be here by then."
"Okay, Mommy!" A smile appeared as fast as sunshine on her daughter's face and she dug into her ice cream as Steve muttered an excuse and vanished into the kitchen.
Leaving Rudy and Oscar to finish their dessert, Jaime followed him into the pantry and without a word went into Steve's arms. "Steve….I didn't know, oh that breaks my heart…."
"Shhh, it's all right. I didn't either…" he choked out, overcome by their child's words. "For Oscar to promise…..he means it, sweetheart."
"I know…Do you know how lucky we are that she doesn't hate us, or Oscar….." Jaime's tears started to flow, and Steve got his own emotions under control so he could comfort her. "Of course she doesn't hate us, Jaime, she knows we came home as soon as we could, Mom and Dad made sure she understood."
"I know, what would we do without them…" Jaime sighed, fumbling for a Kleenex. Steve smiled and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. "Here you go, honey."
"Thank you, Steve. What would I do without you?" She blew her nose, then took a deep breath as Chrystal's voice carried into the room. "Mommy, I'm finished!"
"Come on, sweetheart, let's open some presents." Steve took her hand and kissed it, then led her back to the dining room.
It was after Chrystal had thanked her parents for the bicycle and helmet they gave her, that Jaime noticed her locket was missing from around her neck.
"Steve, don't move….I've lost my pendant!" she said, panic rising in her voice. At once she dropped to her knees, feeling around the carpet, then was joined by an understanding Rudy and Oscar.
"Where was the last time you saw it, honey?" Rudy asked, as Steve carefully went around the house, using his bionic eye to center on the floor in each of the rooms.
"I…I don't remember….I know I put it on this morning." She replied, trying not to get upset.
After an hour, Jaime was resigned to never seeing her mother's locket again when Steve came up behind her and put his arms around her. "How much do you love me?"
Jaime had a tingling in her heart, and started to grin. "As much as I love anything, even more then my pendant."
She felt him trying not to laugh. "As much as that, huh? Okay, you can have this."
A laugh bubbled up inside her as she saw the heart-shaped pendant come over her head then felt Steve's fingers gently fasten it around her neck.
" Where did you find it?"
"In the pantry, sweetheart." He kissed her neck, then found her lips on his as she turned in his embrace.
"Remind me to go looking for things with you in there, sometime." Jaime cooed.
TBC