Hey guys! You may have realized I changed Ruby's eye color again...upon further examination I have found Ruby's eyes are indeed, green. Sorry for those whom I said her eyes were green. Anyway, enjoy the show, and see you next Sunday!

Summary: Liam knows its Ruby's birthday, no matter how she tries to hide it.

Liam knows its Ruby's birthday.

Although she thinks that he (or Chubs, Vida, and Zu) don't know that they have obtained this bit of information, the green-eyed brunette is about to be proven wrong.

In fact, today's plan rests on the fact that Ruby doesn't know that Liam and the rest of them know it's her birthday.

Standing in the living room that he and Ruby shared, Liam stood with Chubs, Nico, and Cate supervising the surprise party the gang had pulled together. Streamers, balloons, and banners were in the process of being strung from the ceiling and strewn throughout the room.

"Good job guys, looks like we'll be done in no time." Liam told the group quickly bustling about.

Somewhere in the room, he heard Chubs mutter, "Oh god, he's in his, 'go-go-go' mode. There's no turning back now."

"C'mon Chubs, positive attitude." He told him in an authorative tone. Still grumbling behind him, Chubs proceeded to lift a cake onto a small table covered in streamers and presents.

Presents! Liam remembered, suddenly fighting the urge to bounce on the heels of his feet like a child.

"I'll be right back you guys." Liam said turning to Nico and Cate. Both gave small thumbs up before turning to hang a large "Happy Birthday!" banner.

Slipping into his own room Liam looked around the room to see where his present to Ruby was. Peeping under the bed he found it tucked near the wall.

"Gotcha." Liam murmured gingerly picking up the small present. Tucking it under his arm, Liam pulled out his special gift box, littered with small indentations made with the sharp end of a scissor. Carefully placing the present into the medium-sized, orange gift box, and began the tedious process of wrapping the present.

How do I…oh right, under, over…Liam thought while clumsily folding the edges of the wrapping paper.

Actually, this party was not only about seeing Ruby surprised and annoyed (seriously, who knew she was so cute when she got annoyed?) but it was also the fact that this was Ruby's first birthday they've celebrated. It had been 7 years since Ruby's celebrated a birthday, and at least 4 since she's actually known its her birthday. Six years at Thurmond can strip you of your identity, leaving you with only a number, name, and color. Sometimes not even that much.

It was extremely important that this birthday was special. Very, very, very, important.

It was the day she was born, for crying loud. She was literally his life and soul and bravery and love. It was about time she knew that she was going to remembered, especially when it's the day it was made possible for them to meet.

So to hell with pretending it's no big deal.

Tugging his fingers through another loop, Liam pulled a red ribbon across the folded box, finishing a neatly tied bow. Leaning back to admire hid handiwork, he was surprised to see he had not failed at wrapping his present, in fact snuggly wrapped around the box. Getting out a pencil, Liam gently poked the eraser through the gift paper to match the indentations of those on the box.

Wiping his hands on his jeans, he took a peek at the clock to see Ruby would arrive in less than five minutes.

Jumping to his feet, Liam tenderly picked the present up from the table, careful not to jostle its contents. Walking into the living room, the room was colorfully decorated. Placing the red rectangle on the gift table, Liam moved to turn off the lights and hide behind the door.

As he stood behind the door, he could hear the girls' voices, and fought the urge to suppress a childish giggle.

Zu and Vida were acting strange.

Both kept sending tiny glances at each other, (like she didn't notice) were uncharacteristically excited, and bouncy, and were insistent that they stay at the café much longer than needed.

Not that Ruby minded, Isabella's Café did have quite delectable lemon bars and sandwiches. Not to mention the hot chocolate perfect for such a snow day.

Then, the strangest thing happened, Vida payed for her lunch.

The last time Chubs whined that it was her turn to pay, she gave him such a fiery glare that felt like she was about to sentence him and his soul to hell.

But Vida had been adamant that she pays, threating to burn Ruby's wallet if she even dared to split the bill. When cautiously asking the reason for the sudden kindness, hoping they hadn't figured out it was her birthday Ruby was relieved to hear Vida reply with,

"What, can't we just take you out every once in while?"

Of course, they hadn't slipped Ruby's suspicion just yet, but she was satisfied to know she had concealed her birthday.

So as she stood turn the key to open the door to her house, (with Zu bouncing on the heels of her feet behind her) she was totally unprepared to what would greet her on the other side.

Stepping into inky blackness and searching for the light switch, Ruby heard the door close behind her as Zu and Vida stepped in.

"What in the world-"

Light flashed on, illuminating the rest of room, and everyone in it. Blinking her eyes a few times, she took in the living room, which a) looked like Party City threw up all over it, and b) had a grinning Liam in it.

Damn it. Ruby thought to herself as everyone in the room yelled a "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

As the night progressed, Ruby found herself enjoying the party more and more.

Perhaps it was the slightly ridiculous party games, or the chocolate cake, but by the time it was gift giving, Ruby found she was excited for the brightly wrapped boxes.

"Everyone ready?" Cate addressed the room as everyone sat on the floor. Handing Ruby her first gift, the tag read in calligraphic script, from Cate. Peeling back silver paper, a small, shiny compass sat in the pint-sized box.

"Cate…is this…?"

Needing no explanation or confirmation, Ruby tucked the compass in her pocket and mouthed a "thank you" to Cate.

After getting through Chubs', Vida's, Nico's, and Zu's presents, Liam came out steadily holding a ruby-red present.

"Here you go darlin'." Liam told Ruby handing her the present.

As Ruby went about unwrapping her final gift, it shook.

Shook as if there was something inside.

Ripping open the remaining layers of bow and paper, Ruby tentatively opened the remaining flaps of the box with the holes in it.

What was inside melted her soul and tugged at her heartstrings.

A tiny, tiny puppy, just big enough to fit snuggly in her cupped palms lay curled up in the center of the box.

A pug. Her mind helpfully supplied as she cradled the boy-dog in her palms. The entirely black pup with ears that pulled downward and eyes that matched that of its fur awoke drowsily at the newfound light.

The pug looking up into Ruby's eyes with curiosity, and a look that said,

"Hello."

It was love at first sight.

Hours later, party gone, everyone in bed and fast asleep, Ruby found she was accompanied with one more boy she loved next to her.