Annie and Josh knocked on the door of Owen and Teddy's new house. They were hosting a not a birthday party family dinner a couple days after Annie's birthday. Annie had refused to go if it was a birthday thing for her.

Teddy gave Annie a hug as she came in , "happy not your birthday."

Annie laughed, "thanks."

"You don't have to knock," Teddy said, "just come in."

Josh replied, "next time."

"Really," Annie asked.

"Any time," Teddy said, "we have a key for you."

"Why," Annie asked.

"Because we want you to feel like you can come whenever you want," Teddy explained.

"Haven't I always just appeared," Annie asked.

"You have," Teddy said, "last time I lived in seattle you were good at just walking in after class on a friday."

"I was 20," Annie said, "it was my second home. I also remember getting told off for not texting first."

Teddy laughed, "one time."

Annie replied, "we all learned our lesson."

They could hear Owen in the kitchen.

"Does Uncle Owen need help," Annie asked.

Teddy nodded, "you can go ask but I don't think so."

"I'll go," Josh said, "you two can catch up, it's been a busy week."

Teddy said, "it has. You've both been on nights and I'm on days. Bailey isn't putting me on nights."

Annie asked, "do you know when we'll get the schedule for thanksgiving weekend?"

Teddy said, " no but I have Christmas. we're all going to work Christmas Eve into Christmas Day then get New Years off. People with young kids get to be home Christmas morning. I did ask us all to be grouped as a block for holidays. Otherwise poor Evelyn will be pulling her hair out."

Annie asked, "will we go to baker for New Years?"

Teddy nodded, "I think so. You, josh, Owen and Nathan should go skiing. I'll stay at the cabin with Evelyn and Meghan."

"Can we do one walk in the snow you and I," Annie asked.

Teddy said, "I hope so. We'll have to see what the weather does and how I'm feeling."

Annie nodded.

Teddy asked, "how are things going being on Amelia's service?"

"Neuro is slower then I like," Annie said, "she's nice enough though. She doesn't let us do a lot of hands on with patients but her lab is cool. She almost boiled a brain with sound waves in the lab today."

Teddy smiled, "she has some interesting research for sure. If things had played out differently and she hadn't dated Owen we could be friends but I don't know what she thinks of me."

Annie suggested, "talk to her. She's been nice and forgiving of mistakes in the skills lab. She doesn't expect I'm perfect because of my name."

Teddy asked, "are you and josh getting pushed harder still?"

Annie said, "Maggie Pierce doesn't love me. You, Owen and Nathan push me but you know what I can do. Bailey is hard on everyone. Robbins likes to challenge me so does Karev. Grey and Webber like to make all of us work. Avery doesn't have much time for interns. Kepner is a good teacher. It's also me being afraid to let you down."

Teddy shook her head, "you won't let me down."

Annie asked, "when do you find out what the baby is?"

"Halloween ," Teddy said with a smile, "it feels so different then you did."

"Baby brother," Annie asked.

"You're not going to let that go, are you," Teddy teased.

Annie laughed, "if I say it enough it might come true. Then you'd have one of each."

Teddy shook her head.

"They'll be so much younger than me I'm basically the cool aunt anyway," Annie said.

"I'm the cool aunt," Meghan said, "since I'm actually their aunt. How about the world's best big sister?"

Annie laughed, "I'll take it."

Owen joined them in the living room. Teddy looked at him and nodded.

"I know you said you don't do your birthday and you don't like a fuss but we can't ignore it," Teddy said.

Annie looked panicked, "I don't do my birthday. Like I don't do graduation parties or family photos."

Teddy put her hands on Annie's shoulders, "who's here sweetheart?"

"You, uncle Owen, Josh, Meghan, Nathan, Faroke, Evelyn," Annie said.

"Exactly," Teddy said, "all people you know and who love you. You're safe."

Annie took a deep breath, "okay."

"Not a birthday fan," Nathan asked.

Josh glared at Nathan, "her birthdays were a lot like mine as a kid."

"I remember a couple fun ones for you," Meghan said.

Josh nodded, "you and Nathan made them special. The year you guys took me go carting I was 13. That was my favorite."

Annie said, "my 16th was my favorite. I was at the fall Kamloops competition, just mom Chris and I. We went out for ice cream at midnight So we could celebrate the moment I turned 16. And our whole team had a pool party with pizza at the hotel after the competition."

"My 23rd," Meghan said, "it was my first year of medical school. It was my first real date with Nathan."

Owen added, "my 9th. We went on that camping trip in California."

Teddy said, "my 46th or my 13th. My whole soccer team slept over and my mom set up this make your own pizza station and we had ice cream sundaes."

Nathan said, "my 26th. It was the first time Meg cooked for me."

Meghan smirked at Nathan remembering that night. She knew it wasn't the dinner she had made that night that made it his best birthday .

Evelyn said, "my 24th. Robert proposed that night."

Faroke said, "I don't have a favorite."

Meghan said, "in February we'll make sure you have the best birthday party."

"Laser tag," Annie suggested, "or rock climbing."

"Swimming," Owen said.

Josh shouted, "go carting. We have to take him go carting."

"Maybe thanksgiving weekend," Nathan said.

"I'm in," Owen said.

"I'll go," Annie said.

"I haven't gone since we took Josh I'm in," Meghan said.

"I'll stay here and have food ready," Teddy said.

"I'll stay," Owen said.

Teddy smiled, "you go. I don't like go carts anyway. I hate the fumes. You go and have fun. I'll hang out with your mom."

Owen asked, "are you sure."

"I am," Teddy said.

"Did you do anything for Annie's birthday," Nathan asked Josh.

"I did," Josh said, "she worked that night so we went out the night before and I made her breakfast."

"Did she like her gift," Nathan asked, "Faroke was jealous."

"She named the kitten Milo," Josh said, "you have no idea how much she's missed having a pet. She might like Milo more than she likes me. The kitten was only part of it. She hasn't taken the necklace off."

Annie was in the kitchen with Teddy and Meghan.

"What did Josh do for your birthday," Teddy asked.

"We went out for dinner the night before and he made me breakfast that morning," Annie said.

"New necklace," Teddysaid, she pointed to the necklace Annie was wearing. It was the outline of a heart with a little Opal, Annie's birthstone, at the point. The necklace was simple and elegant and it suited Annie's style perfectly.

"Josh for my birthday. I love it," Annie said.

"It is beautiful," Teddy said, "it's perfect on you."

Meghan teased, "we almost kept the other part of your gift."

"Milo the kitten," Annie said, "he's the cutest little ball of fuzziness. He purrs as soon as you touch him. He can't jump up onto the bed yet so he climbs up the blanket like a climbing wall. He was really funny chasing his ball around the kitchen before we came. I wondered how Josh hid that from me. Milo was on the couch when we got back from dinner."

"Nathan and I dropped him off," Meghan said, "Josh gave us the spare key."

"Thank you," Annie said, "we came in and saw Milo balancing on the back of the couch, then Josh gave me the necklace the morning of my birthday when we got up."

"Was it a good birthday," Teddy asked.

"It was perfect," Annie said.

"We'll come meet Milo soon," Teddy said.

"We have to get Faroke a pet now," Meghan said, "he loved Annie's kitten."

"I had guinea pigs and a bunny at his age," Annie said, "growing up I always had a lab or retriever and a cat."

"How hard are guinea pigs to take care of," Meghan asked.

"Snowball and Chocolate were easy. They lived in a cage in my room. They ate a lot of carrots and lettuce. They loved strawberries," Annie said.

"Faroke and I are still living at moms," Meghan said, "Nathan and I need to find something with two bedrooms. Then we can get him something like a guinea pig or rabbit. He'd love a kitten, but I don't want the litter box."

Annie asked, "have you started looking?"

Meghan replied, "I need to finish PT and get my recertifications for surgery. I need to work."

Teddy replied, "I understand that. Not wanting him to take care of you. Being independent it's hard to give that up and compromise when you're used to having your way. He loves you, always has."

"He wants us to move to his place but there's nowhere for Faroke and he's just getting settled into school," Meghan said, "he spends most nights at moms with me. We don't really like being apart anymore. We were apart for way too long."

"I get that. I don't sleep well without Owen now," Teddy said, "how is school going?"

Meghan said, "he likes it so far but he's finding it hard to make friends. He's not used to being away from me that much and is still shy."

"I understand that," Annie said, "it's hard to open up and make friends in a new environment. Did he like school before?"

"He's never been to school," Meghan said, "I've taught him with whatever I could find. His math is better than his reading and writing."

"Growing up as a teacher's kid I tutored a lot," Annie said, "I'm happy to read with him. I miss reading with kids."

Teddy asked, "will you read to the baby?"

Annie said, " I want to read to the baby. I may have ordered a few of my childhood favorites for them. I can't buy Robert Munsch books here. They need Thomas's Snowsuit, Mortimer, The Paper Bag Princess, Pigs, Mud Puddle and I'll Love You forever."

"Where did you get that list," Teddy asked.

"They were read to me as a kid. This baby should have them," Annie said, "only the last one will make you cry. The others are funny."

"My book worm. I don't know where you get that from," Teddy teased, "do you still take a book everywhere?"

"There's one in my purse now. The new Phillipa Gregory," Annie said, "it's calming. I like having a good book."

"I should start reading again," Meghan said.

"I have lots I've built up over the years and moved too many times," Annie said, "come grab what you want."

"Really," asked Meghan.

"Really," Annie said, "try on the National while you're there. It was hemmed for me. But grandma only turned the fabric under and she never cut it off. You could drop the hem and have it long enough again."

"When we come see the kitten I will," Meghan said.

After dinner Teddy brought out the cake. She knew the attention was a stretch for Annie but also thought that this was the place to help her learn that attention could be safe and okay.

"I can't believe my baby girl is 25," Teddy said, "where have the last few years gone? It seems like yesterday I was meeting a shy girl in the library at UBC for the first time. I don't know how I would have done the last few years without my Annie. I am very proud of her and what she's done in the last few years. Happy birthday sweetheart."

Everyone raised their glasses echoing Teddy's happy birthday.