The first birthday she had spent in Paris had been a good one, so far, albeit a little quiet. Still, quiet was a positive thing, in comparison to the demands of her new job in war crimes, which had taken her all over the world in the six months since she had started. She enjoyed it, of course- she was doing the job she loved in some of the most beautiful places she had ever seen, how could she not? Yet, it was nice to relax at times, to return to their apartment in the French capital and escape from the world for a little while. And that was exactly what she intended to do today.
She sighed, adjusting her position on the brown leather sofa as she idly flicked through the various TV channels, most of which were in rapid-fire French, before turning it off, leaving the room in silence. Max would be home soon, and she should probably at least make an effort to look nice, seeing as he had hinted that he might take her for a meal at her favourite restaurant on the outskirts of the urban sprawl. She was just about to stand up when her phone vibrated against the glass surface of the coffee table, creating a dull buzz which made her jump slightly. Picking it up, she saw that she had an email, on her personal account rather than her work one, which admittedly was a rare occurrence these days. Intrigued, she opened the inbox, seeing the name 'Gerry Standing' in bold, and the subject line 'Happy birthday- here's your present' in a thinner font underneath.
Her curiosity building further, she tapped the screen to open the email, noticing that it contained a video file. Whilst she waited for it to download, she wondered what it could possibly be- she had agreed in advance with her former UCOS family not to send each other presents, purely for the sake of ease, and she had already received the cards they had sent instead, which were currently decorating the mantelpiece. As soon as the video became available, she pressed play, turning up the sound to full volume. The video began with Gerry, in his living room at home, and there was a slight pause before he began to speak.
"Erm…well, none of us wanted to leave you completely without a present, and we wondered what we could possibly get for the woman who has everything, so…this is it. I had to get Cait to teach me how to use that movie maker thing so the editing is a bit crap, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. We miss you, Sandra."
She smiled sadly as the video cut to Steve in the UCOS basement, grinning at the camera.
"Sandra! Hi. Just wanted to say happy birthday, and I hope that French guy of yours is treating you well, 'cause you deserve it. Anyway, have a good day, and if you ever come back to London then the drinks are on me. Au revoir!"
Her smile turning into a grin as she remembered the final days she had spent with the team, the fond memories of Steve's perfectly timed jibes making her chuckle. The video cut again, this time producing an image of Dan, again in the office which she had formerly lead the team.
"Sandra, bonne anniversaire. Or happy birthday, as we would say here in England," he added dryly, as Steve and Gerry snorted in the background at his perfect French accent. "I hope you have a wonderful day, and enjoy this little video that we've made."
Even though they hadn't spent much time working together, Dan's sincere message was a lovely addition to the video, which was fast shaping up to be one of the best presents she'd ever received.
"Happy birthday!" came a chorus of female voices gathered around a dinner table; Gerry's ex-wives and daughters, as well as Gerry Junior, all smiling and waving at the camera.
Next to appear was her former boss, Strickland. "Sandra, I hope you're enjoying your new job in France, and I have it on good authority that you're brilliant at it. Have a lovely birthday."
"Sandra, happy birthday," the familiar voice of her mother sounded through the speaker on her phone. She was glad to see that Grace looked well, sat in her favourite chair by the window in her room at Whitemead. "I hope you have a lovely day, darling, and I want to meet this Max before I go, so feel free to come for a visit. Bye bye."
She almost dropped her phone as the entirety of the crowded Met canteen yelled 'Happy birthday!' and rolled her eyes in mild irritation as someone added 'woof woof!' Yet her annoyance quickly evaporated when the image of the familiar setting was replaced with one of Brian and Esther, sat together on the sofa in their cosy living room.
"Sandra, happy birthday," Esther opened, smiling warmly. "I did have a lovely bracelet in mind for you but I think Gerry's idea of making a video is much better. I hope you're having a wonderful time in France, you're so lucky getting to explore the world. Have a lovely day."
Brian hesitated as his wife finished her message, clearly uncertain of what to say. She didn't blame him; it had been a long time since they'd seen each other.
"Erm…hello, Sandra. I hope you're alright, over there in Paris. Did you know that there's more dogs than children in Paris? Anyway, erm, happy birthday. I hope you have a good day. Things have been different without you, since both of us left, and I just wanted to say that UCOS was the best time of my life. It saved me, in a lot of ways, and it was all because of you taking a chance on me. So thank you, and you deserve to have a brilliant birthday."
The video ended there, and she was left with Brian's poignant words replaying in her mind. Tears began to fall, slowly meandering in shiny trails across her features. She heard the front door open, and she quickly wiped the tears away as Max emerged from the hallway, a small yet neatly wrapped present in his hands.
"Happy birthday," he begun, before seeing her tears. "Sandra, what's the matter?"
"It's nothing, honestly, I just got a really lovely present from Gerry and everyone back in London. Here, you can watch it if you like," she smiled as he sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her tightly.
She laughed and smiled all over again as she rewatched the video along with her partner, and Brian's message almost brought back the tears.
"What a lovely present," Max said quietly after it had finished. "You miss them a lot, don't you?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I do."
"Well, I think you should open this, then," he handed her his present. She frowned curiously, taking it from him and slowly removing the silver wrapping paper, to reveal a long, thin, rectangular box, which she opened. Inside were plane tickets to London, one for her and one for Max, plus the details of a five star hotel room which he had booked for a week, starting tomorrow.
"Max," she laughed. "This is…amazing! But how did you get us time off work?"
"I'm the boss, remember. I think we need a holiday which doesn't involve any work, and I knew how much you missed everyone, so…I planned this. Besides, you've met my family, so I should meet yours."
"Thank you so much," she smiled gratefully, pulling him into her arms. Gerry had been right; she was the woman who had everything. Or everything she needed, at least- a loving partner, a wonderful family in London and the job she loved.
A/N: Well, Beth, what can I say? Many people would consider us opposites, in many ways- you love pop music, I love alt-rock; you're a Tory, I'm left-wing. Indeed, even this very fic is based on an episode of New Girl, a show that you don't like. Yet, as the old adage goes, opposites attract, and although we've had our differences, we're still friends. We met through our one shared love (apart from Criminal Case) which is New Tricks, and so I've written this little story for you to say happy birthday xxx