Author's Note: Thanks for all the lovely reviews… sorry again for taking so long to update, but I should be back more regularly now!

The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!

When the car finally pulled up in the driveway of the beach house, Joe hopped out of the car first, intending on opening Clarisse's door, but he instantly met the smirking countenance of Scott. He knew Scott was dying to tease him a little more, but Joe wasn't going to give him the opportunity- he wasn't in the mood and he did NOT want Clarisse stirred up again.

"Don't you say one word," Joe said warningly as he passed him, and walked around to Clarisse's side of the car, but Scott was undeterred, still grinning as Clarisse stepped out of the car. Joe couldn't help but smile when Clarisse looked towards him, and Scott's smug smile quickly disappeared- he was still in awe, and even a little scared, of her.

"Scott, we'll call you when we're ready to leave," she said before turning to walked toward the house, Joseph close behind, and smiling- Scott was clearly dying to tease Joseph more, but he was obviously afraid of irritating her again… she was glad Joseph had ceased to be in awe of her years and years ago…

"So, where are we going for dinner?" he asked as he unlocked the door, before stepping back to let her in first. She smiled mysteriously over her shoulder at him as she passed, not saying anything, before disappearing into the kitchen.

"It's a surprise," she began as he followed her in, before she changed the subject. "But right now, I could do with a nice hot cup of tea… no, you go and sit down," she added rather bossily, gently pushing him in the direction of the kitchen table.

Joe watched with a fond smile as she moved easily around the kitchen, first putting the kettle on, and then retrieving two cups, sugar and milk from the cupboard and fridge.

He chuckled softly, enjoying watching her work, but she must have heard as she turned to give him a quizzical look.

"What are you laughing about now?"

"I'm laughing at you- I never thought I would see the day when you would be so domesticated!"

"I used to make my own cups of tea!" she said a little indignantly, and he began to laugh again.

"You misunderstand me- I didn't mean to insult you… it's just that I find it cute that you're so clearly comfortable in the kitchen… Do you think you would have had this type of life if you hadn't married Rupert?"

Clarisse looked thoughtful- she had very rarely wondered what her life would have been like if she hadn't married Rupert (but she didn't want to- she wouldn't have had Phillipe and Pierre, or met Joseph)… but it was interesting to wonder…

"I doubt it- if I hadn't married Rupert, my parents would have found another aristocratic male for me to marry."

"Do you mean… you still would have been forced into an arranged marriage?" Joseph was horrified, but Clarisse nodded calmly, wise to the ways of her parents' generation.

"Yes… marrying for love wasn't really an option for then… in fact, it was seen as down right common."

"Imagine what they would have said about you marrying me… for love!"

"They probably wouldn't have approved, but I don't care," she sounded firm, and she meant it-she didn't really care what they would have thought.

"I'm happier with you than I was with Rupert…. But we don't need to worry about that anymore," she said carelessly as she brought over the two cups, and placed one in front of him as he looked up at her with a broad smile.

"True… why worry about the past…" before he pulled her down to kiss her.

When they broke apart, she smiled down at him.

"I suppose I should go and get your birthday present," she said teasingly, and he grinned.

"It's about time… just wait until your birthday rolls around, kiddo!"

"Kiddo?!" Clarisse laughed in astonishment. "You are only a few years and a few weeks older than me!" before she disappeared out of the kitchen, and he heard her jog lightly upstairs.

A moment later, he was surprised to see, when she came back, that she was carrying three brightly wrapped boxes of varying sizes- one was flat, the second was the size of a thick box and the third was the size of a watch box.

"What on earth…" he began as he set them down in front of him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Happy birthday darling," she said quietly as he stared at the packages for a moment before pulling her around and down to sit on his lap, kissing her firmly, genuinely touched at the effort she had put into his presents.

"Thank you baby," he murmured into her ear before she stood up again to let him unwrap his presents.

He opened the smallest packaged first, and was literally blown away at the diamond cuff links nestled in the box.

"I couldn't resist," she said quietly when he looked up at her, dumbfounded, but she was glad that she had got them.

"Thank you," he finally said, after staring at them again. "I'll definitely be waring them to dinner tonight."

"I bought these before you rented them from the video store," she explained when he unwrapped the Indiana Jones DVD set. "But I knew you liked them…"

"Now we can watch them all the time!"

"Great!" she groaned, but it was only good natured as she had discovered she had liked the movie she had seen, and she assumed the other two would be similar.

"And the shirt…" she began awkwardly when he unwrapped the blue dress shirt. "I know it's rather unromantic, but…"

"You don't need to provide a running commentary on the gifts you've given me- I love them all!" he said firmly, sitting her down beside him.

"They were all very thoughtfully chosen, and proves that you know me very well indeed… and, we can watch one of these movies when we get back from dinner."

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Definitely," he beamed as he hugged her tightly. "Are you feeling less angry at me now?"

"Definitely... as if I wasn't fine with you before!" she replied, enjoying the moment before she glanced at her watch over his shoulder, and almost shrieked in alarm.

"It's after five!" she cried, pulling away from him abruptly. "We're going to have to start getting ready- the reservations for seven, but we have a bit of a drive to get there!"

000

"Are you sure you're not going to tell me where we're going?" Joseph asked for the twentieth time as he followed his wife out to the car, a little over an hour later, and she couldn't help stopping and laughing.

"Don't you want anything to be surprise?"

"I don't like that many surprises," he confessed.

"But it's alright for you to surprise me?" she retorted as he helped her into the car, and he only laughed before walking around to his side of the car, avoiding Scott's gaze all the way.

"Alright… since you obviously can't wait, I'll tell you where we're going," Clarisse pretended to heave a great sigh when he got into the car, but she had been dying to tell him all day- she hated having secrets from him.

"You don't have to," Joe said, feeling guilty that she had obviously gone to a lot of trouble, and he had ruined her surprise. "I was just kidding!"

"It doesn't matter, I was going to tell you anyway…Sergio, your friend, sold the other restaurant, the one when we went to last year, and he's re-opened about 45 minutes away from the beach house… I found out about the restaurant by accident, but he was more than happy to reserve a table for us for tonight."

She smiled affectionately at the stunned look on his face before he swallowed hard- a clear sign that he was struggling with his emotions- so she took his closest hand in hers and squeezed tightly, conveying that he didn't need to speak.

"The only problem is," Clarisse continued after a pause. "That it is quite a busy night, so we might have to wait a while for our meals, which is fine with me…"

"That's fine with me as well… I assume Scott and a man or two will be hanging around," he finally said, still squeezing her hand tightly. "I'm just surprised that you're willing to sit in a crowded restaurant for me."

"I am," Clarisse said firmly. "Alright, I'm not 100 percent comfortable at the thought of so many people staring at us while we eat," she admitted with a smile when he gave her a pointed look.

"But there are some things… and some people," she added as she brushed her hand down his cheek. "That are worth doing anything for… even things you don't feel comfortable doing."

"And I appreciate it very much," he replied, holding her hand against her cheek for a moment, before changing the subject.

"I wonder why Sergio sold the other restaurant. I always thought that it was successful where it was…"

"Apparently it was successful, but he found that most of his regular clientele lived on this side of Pyrus, so when he was offered this place… We were actually very lucky to get in tonight because there is usually a huge waiting list to get a table here- it's quite a popular restaurant."

"But you, being you, were able to wheedle enough to get a table tonight," Joe concluded with a laugh, and she smiled.

"Maybe it had a little to do with me, but he told me he would always have a table for you, no matter when you and I, and I quote, 'decide to show up'!"

"Sounds like him!" Joe laughed.

"Incidentally, did you invite him… I forgot to ask…"

"Yes, but he was away then- but he wanted to be there, I know it… but I think you're being modest about your role in getting a table… he's been a fan of yours for years!"

"With a little help, and a lot of talk from you, I'll bet!" she retorted with a smile.

0

It was a 45 minute drive to the restaurant, but Joe didn't feel at all sorry for Scott driving, as he made perfectly clear when he grinned impishly at him when they arrived in the crowded car park, and he got out of the car.

His smile changed to one of pride when he helped Clarisse out of the car- as per usual, she looked beautiful in a pale green dress… he could never get sick of looking at her.

"What?" she inquired, looking puzzled as he continued standing and staring at her. "What are you doing?"

"Just admiring my wife," he said lightly as he held out an arm for her, and she looped her arm through, blushing slightly.

"Again?" she joked.

"Again," he affirmed. "All I can say is that I'm going to be the envy of every man in the restaurant!"

When they stepped through the door, the place went almost deafeningly silent as everyone turned to stare at them, and it was now Joseph's turn to feel uncomfortable, but when he turned to Clarisse, she was seemingly unfazed, smiling happily.

Thankfully, it was only a minute of staring before everyone turned back to their conversations as Sergio made his way through the room, weaving around people and tables, to greet them happily.

"I was wondering when you two were going to visit my restaurant again!" he joked as he pressed Clarisse's hand warmly before turning to shake Joe's hand. "But it is really good to see you both again… I'm sorry about the wedding… but Happy Birthday, Joe!"

"Thank you," Joe smiled, aware that Sergio had a few birthday stories from college up his sleeve, but they were rather tame compared to last night…

"Follow me, I'll take you to your table…it's one of the best in the house, in a corner… away from the door…"

Both of them felt conspicuous as they made their way through the tables, people still staring at them, before arriving at their table.

"You didn't have to give us your best table," Clarisse said in slight embarrassment as she sat down in the chair Sergio held out for her, while Joseph sat directly opposite her, back to the rest of the room.

"Yes I did, tonight is a special occasion… Joe and I go back a long way, and I can only imagine how disconcerting it would be being stared at all the time… did you want me to bring out a partition…?"

"No, we'll be fine."

"By the way, Joe, would you like a bottle of champagne to celebrate the occasion of your birthday?"

The question was innocent enough, but the half smile, half smirk on Sergio's face told both Joe and Clarisse that he knew all about the previous evening's escapade.

"No thank you," Joe said with dignity as Clarisse began chuckling to herself. "I'll be happy to stick to a plain Coke."

"Fine," he pretended to sound disappointed, before turning to Joseph's wife. "What about you, Clarisse?"

"A sweet white wine, please," she smiled sweetly back at him, and Sergio couldn't help but laugh in reply as they looked at him in surprise.

"What's so funny?" Joe asked, and Sergio smiled as he gave them their menus.

"I was just thinking… just watching you two together, I can remember all the times Joe talked about you, and called you 'my girl'…"

"Really?" Clarisse said interestedly, looking over at Joseph, who was embarrassed, but she wasn't- in fact, she was pleased and proud- it was true. "He talked about me a lot?"

"Quite a lot… always positive and the only negative stuff he ever mentioned was when you were upset or…. You know, I can still remember the moment I knew that you were 'the One'…

*******************************

Joe had been working at the palace for nearly 15 years, and while he had many late nights, he always had a night off once a fortnight to go out. It was very lucky that his night off coincided with a visit from Sergio, who had a weekend off from the restaurant he was working at in London.

"How's work at the restaurant?" Joe asked as they sat at the bar of a pub in Pyrus, two beers in front of them. "Boss still driving you crazy?"

"You bet- he honestly doesn't know how to run a restaurant, and I would tell him so if I didn't need the job so badly… I need the money so that I can open my own eventually."

"In Genovia?"

"Of course… so, how's your job going?"

"Fine… HM is being a complete jerk to his wife, but there's nothing I can do without being sacked…"

"How is she?" and they both knew he was referring to Clarisse, the Queen.

"She's fine- I know HM's infidelities hurt her a great deal, and the boys are both away at college or travelling, so she's rather lonely, but she is still busy as well…"

"Joe, I just asked you how she was," Sergio laughed. "I didn't need a complete, detailed answer!"

"I'm sorry… it's just that I'm worried about her being alone all the time and I can't exactly talk about it to the rest of the crew, they don't understand…"

"She's not alone all the time- you're there!"

"Yes, but I wish that there was more I could do for her…"

As Sergio listened to him talk about Clarisse, he realised that he found it endearing that he cared about her more than a bodyguard, but as a friend… they were friends, he knew that from whenever Joe mentioned her, but this concern was different… he had never seen Joe so concerned about anyone- he was a gentleman to all his dates, but this concern revealed deeper feelings… Joe had introduced him to several of his girlfriends, but there was never any passion there, unlike whenever he talked about Clarisse…

Suddenly it struck Sergio- Joseph was in love with Clarisse, and it was quite possible that she was 'the One' for him…

The only problem, Sergio mused to himself, was that she was married… to the King…

****************************

He grinned at the stunned looks on their faces before realising he had other customers to attend to, and he disappeared, leaving the two to look at each other.

"Well…" Clarisse said finally. "It looks as though everyone we ever knew was in on our relationship long before we suspected anyone knew…"

"Sergio was always very quick… and I did talk about you an awful lot…" Joe said, reaching over and pressing her hand, smiling at her tenderly.

"So… are you sure you don't want a drink?" she teased in a low voice, and he rolled his eyes.

"No thank you, madam. I take it that you're not going to let me forget this for a while, are you?"

"No… and I suspect that neither Scott nor Mia will either!"

"Were you really angry last night?" he asked, wanting to know- he didn't blame her in the slightest.

"Very angry," Clarisse said honestly, remembering her fury at 2:00 in the morning… she hadn't been used to being that angry at Joseph before- she had been at Rupert, on numerous occasions, but never Joseph…

"Grounds for divorce angry?"

"Not quite… I was angry, like I said, but then I thought about it- it was a boy's night out, and you deserved to go a little crazy… I just underestimated how crazy you boys would go!" she laughed lightly.

"That wasn't my fault… entirely," he added as she looked at him, an eyebrow raised in disbelief, before Sergio reappeared.

"So," Joe asked finally after Sergio took their order, a sly smile on his face. "What made you decide to come here- apart from Sergio- and have everyone watch us eat?"

"I just wanted to do something different- our 'first date' was in an empty restaurant, so I thought…"

"You've been very thoughtful today, my dear," he smiled over at her. "And remarkably forgiving, considering last night…"

"Would you like me not to forgive you? Still… at least you came home," she said quietly, meaning to be flip, but Joseph understood her meaning.

"With a lot of help," he joked, squeezing her hand. "But I would have found a way of getting home…" and she looked up with a happier smile.

"Yes, I know you would have…"

000

Despite Sergio's suggestion that their meals could be out before anyone else's, they insisted on waiting their turn, not wanting to cause resentment.

"We don't care how long we wait," Joe said good naturedly when Sergio came over to apologise for the long wait. "We're happy to wait our turn… or, at least my wife is," and he shot Clarisse a mischievous look.

The restaurant was only half full when they received their meals, almost an hour after they arrived, but they weren't complaining.

"I actually prefer being served last- that means that the other customers would have left," Joe said a little later in their meal, well aware that people were still watching, albeit discreetly.

"Getting quite shy, aren't you?" she teased, gently, before she saw Sergio coming towards them, followed by a waiter carrying a cake lit with two candles. Joseph, following her gaze, turned around to see them, and then turned back to look at her, very surprised.

"Did you plan this?"

"No," she said honestly, just as surprised as he, but suspecting that Mia had something to do with this.

"Here's a little message for you," Sergio slipped a small piece of paper to Joe as the cake was placed in front of him. "We were going to sing 'Happy Birthday' to you, but…"

"I'm glad you didn't," Joe replied distractedly, looking down at the cake which had written, in blue icing, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE, FROM US", piquing both Clarisse and Joe's interest.

"Make a wish," Clarisse teased as he blew out the two candles, and then turned his attention to the note.

"Happy birthday Joe!

We hope that you enjoy the rest of your birthday, and that the cake makes you feel better!

Mia and her palace posse"

He chuckled as he re-read the note before passing it to Clarisse, who chuckled a few seconds later.

"Would you like to join us for a slice of Joseph's cake?" she asked Sergio graciously.

"I wish I could," he looked and sounded regretful. "But I have another large booking coming in soon…

"At almost half past eight?" Clarisse asked after checking her watch, looking slightly surprised.

"Yes… you'd be surprised- some nights we're open till ten or eleven o'clock…" before he was distracted by a large group of people coming in.

"He certainly is popular," Joe said admiringly as they watched him walk towards the group.

After a pause and finishing enjoying their cake as the remains of the cake was returned in a white box, Joseph sat back in his chair and stretched.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Wanting to get back to watch Indiana Jones?"

"Of course… besides, it's still my birthday, so we get to do what I want!"

"Alright, dear," Clarisse laughed as they both stood and looked around them. The restaurant was much emptier now, so leaving would be easier, which it was as they made their way to counter to pay.

Clarisse had her credit card out, ready to pay, but Sergio shook his head.

"The bill has already been taken care of."

By whom?" Clarisse was confused.

"I can't say- I've been sworn to secrecy- but I can say that they were very happy to pay for it."

0

Clarisse pondered the identity of their mysterious benefactor all the way back, before Joseph laughingly told her:

"We had a free meal!"

Scott and his partner, despite pretending otherwise, were clearly grateful when Clarisse dismissed them for the rest of the evening.

"Thank you for all your help," she said with an appreciative smile.

"It was our pleasure, Mrs Bonnell," they said together, and her smile broadened considerably at the use of her married. None of the men failed to miss the joy in her smile- she really did love being known as that.

"Have a great rest of the night, Joe," they said to Joe, before they drove down to the guest house.

Clarisse sighed happily before beginning to turn towards the house, but Joseph's arm around her waist tightened, preventing her from moving, and she turned to see him staring at her.

"You've been staring at me all evening, Joseph… I'm starting to wonder if I don't have something on my teeth…"

"Thank you for today," he murmured as he pulled her closer. "It was exactly what I wanted…"

She giggled slightly as they came nose to nose- he still drove her crazy, and she loved it… more importantly, she loved him…

"I'm glad," she replied in a soft voice before he kissed her tenderly.

"Upstairs or downstairs?" she teased when they walked into the lit hallway, having left a light on when they left.

"What do you think, my dear?" he replied as he playfully advanced towards her and she, smiled broadly, backed slowly towards the stairs.

"Let me see…" she pretended to think for a moment, before spinning on her heel and dashing upstairs, calling after her: "Catch me if you can!"