AN: Today's the anniversary of the day I first posted the In This Together story. I never would have imagined how big it would grow and look forward to seeing where it could go.

Bendy awoke slowly that morning, becoming aware of his surroundings in stages. The softness and warmth of his blanket, the faint sounds of the wind rustling the trees, and Ink Blot curled up nest him, purring softly. All these things seemed to invite the little toon to stay in bed and sleep the day away, but even though there was a part of him that wanted to, Bendy could feel an excited energy fill his being. It just isn't possible for a toon to spend a whole day being lazy. Even Boris, who was the laziest of the toons, still spent plenty of time playing with the kids or tinkering away at some project of his. So with only a small amount of reluctance, Bendy sat up with a yawn.

The first thing Bendy noticed was that he had slept in a lot later than he usually did. While sleeping in had become a habit of his, courtesy of his late-night exploits, usually, someone woke him up or the general nosiness of everyone's activities would rouse him. It was then he noticed how quiet the house was. Bendy knew everyone was still inside, as he could sense their ink and see the glow of their souls, but they weren't making any of their usual commotions.

He could also tell they were all really excited about something, as all of their souls were shining brightly with that emotion, but for the life of him, Bendy couldn't figure out what everyone was excited about. They had just had Halloween a few days ago and there weren't any other big holidays for a few weeks. As far as Bendy knew, no one was expected to come over. As far as Bendy could tell, it was just another normal day.

His curiosity getting the best of him, Bendy hopped out of bed, Ink Blot in his arms, and started heading downstairs. Everyone's excitement increased when they heard him moving, only making Bendy more curious about what was going on. He could tell everyone was in the living room, but they had the lights off and the curtains drawn shut so he had a hard time seeing what they were doing, though it did seem a lot more crowded in there than normal.

"Dad? Mom? What's going on?" Bendy asked as he reached the bottom floor and headed into the living room.

"Surprise!"

Everyone shouted as the lights were turned on, momentarily blinding Bendy. Blink the spots out of his eyes, Bendy gasped in shock at seeing the room decorated with balloons in streamers with a cake on the table surrounded by colorfully wrapped presents.

"What is all this Bendy asked?" Once he was able to find his voice.

"It's your birthday silly," Alice giggled, sticking a party hat on Bendy's head. "So of course your celebrating it."

"I thought my birthday was in February," Bendy replied, wracking his memory. While dates and times were a hard thing to grasp in the perpetually dim studio, especially once it had been turned into an inky hell, Bendy had always had the impression that February held some special significance to him.

"Most people do consider February 10th to be your birthday," Henry explained, coming over and scooping up the toon. "That was the day your first episode aired and so most of the Studio and the public treated that day as your birthday. But to me… today had always been your birthday. It was on this day that I created you… first drawing you on paper, eager to introduce you to the whole world. Don't you think this day is a lot more appropriate?"

"Yes," Bendy nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. The day his dad created him was far more special than the day people first saw him on screens.

"Now how about we get this party started," Henry suggested with a grin, getting cheers from all the toons. The day passed by in a happy blur, full of games and sweets followed by presents. Alice and Sammy performed a song they had composed, the Butcher Gang gave Bendy a potted flower they had grown themselves, Boris gave Bendy a windup toy train he had built with the help of Tom and Norman, and Linda and Allison gave Bendy some paints so he could paint all the sculptures he liked to create.

But Bendy's favorite present was the one Henry gave him, the very first sketch Henry drew of him in a beautiful frame. Bendy couldn't help but tear up a little at seeing it. Even after the falling out, Henry had had with Joey, he still cared about Bendy and the toons to hold onto the sketches after all these years. Bendy hugged Henry for a long time before finally enjoying the party.

As Bendy got ready for bed that evening, he couldn't help but smile at the sketch as he put it on the table next to his bed. He was so lucky to have a Creator that loved him so much, even after all the hardships and trials Bendy ended up putting him through. His Creator loved him and Bendy loved his Creator. No matter what, Bendy would do all he could to keep his family safe. With that in mind, Bendy drifted off with dreams full of his loving family…