"Does it all look alright?" Maxine asked still fussing with the stack of paper plates.

"It looks perfect." Dodger tried to reassure.

"Are you sure though because this is her first birthday party and I want it to be perfect."

"Max I've seen less food at wedding receptions." Dodger laughed. "She isn't even going to remember today."

"But we will!" Maxine said obviously frustrated. "Everyone is coming over today to help us celebrate her birthday and it needs to be perfect! I don't want to look back at the pictures in 16 years and the napkins don't match the plates!"

"OK." Dodger said confused. "Do you want me to go and get different napkins?"

"Why! What's wrong with the ones we have?" Maxine asked frantically checking the napkins.

"Nothing! I thought that's what you wanted!"

Maxine sighed in frustration. "No I want you to take Minnie and go and pick up the cake!"

"Fine, I'm going!" Dodger said frustrated that nothing he could do lately was right. He scooped Minnie up in his arms before storming out the door mentally cursing himself for not bringing the buggy but there was no way he was going back in there.

"You're mummy is a little bit mental right now." He told Minnie who was happy enough in his arms trying to chew her favourite dolls head off. "But we still love her don't we? Yes we do."

"Tony please tell me your kidding!" Dodger begged jostling Minnie who was starting to get wrestles. "Maxine is going to go spare!"

"I'm sorry Dodger but there's nothing I can do." Tony apologised but Dodger didn't want his apologies he wanted the cake he ordered.

"Tony we put in this order months ago! Maxine organised a whole party around this cake! What am I meant to do now? We're having a princess themed party with a castle cake! I need that cake."

"Look I am sorry but there is nothing I can do, I'll give you a full refund." Tony said.

"I don't want the money Tony I want the cake!" Dodger shouted making Minnie cry. "Ssh ssh It's OK beautiful girl."

"I can't just magic one out of thin air."

"No but you could have baked the cake when you were meant to!"

"And I apologised but it must have got rubbed of the calendar."

"Well we still have," Dodger looked at the time on his phone and swore. "OK, we have an hour and a half, you can make a cake in that time right? It can't be that hard just bung some flour and eggs in a bowl and Mix!"

Tony snorted and rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah that's all it is! I do also have a restaurant to run you know."

"And I'm going to have a house full of kids in the next 2 hours and they're going to be expecting cake! Oh! and Maxine will kill me if I go home without the cake."

"The supermarkets have birthday cakes. That will be you're best bet, no bakery is going to be able to bake a cake in that time."

"Thanks Tony," Dodger said sarcastically. "You've been a big help."

"OK here's the plan." Dodger said walking in the door with Minnie. "We're going to tell mummy the truth and hope that she leaves me still breathing."

He had spent the whole afternoon running around every supermarket looking for a princess cake that would pass as the one Maxine had ordered without any luck, He'd finally had to settle on a butterfly shaped cake after running out of time, knowing he had to be back for the party seeing as he had carted the guess of honour around the whole time. He was already running late and Maxine was going to kill him seeing as Minnie wasn't even dressed yet and the guest's would be arriving any minute.

"Max?" Dodger called out wearily as he entered the flat. "Maxine?"

Sitting the bag with the cake down on the table and Minnie in her play pen Dodger went back to the main bedroom knowing that's where she'd be.

"Hey stranger." He said sitting down on the bed next to her. "What you doing?"

"Just looking at photo's." Maxine smiled holding up the book she had been filling in for Minnie since she was born. "Sometimes I cannot believe that she is mine. That I finally got my happy ever after."

"What's brought all this on?" Dodger asked softly.

"I know I'm a pain sometimes." Maxine said smiling at him, making his heart beat a little faster. "And bossy and hard-headed and a lot of things but every morning when I wake up and look at you I am so grateful that despite all of that you stuck around. That you didn't just love me but Minnie as well."

Dodger felt like he couldn't breath. "Max."

"No it's fine," Maxine laughed softly. "I'm fine, just sometimes, sometimes I forget. I have this split second where I'm back there. I'm back with Patrick and I need everything to be perfect because that's how he likes it and I really hate myself for it sometimes Dodge because I know you are nothing like him but I can't make myself stop."

"Oh Max."

"Don't." She smiled. "Don't pity me. I was weak but I'm not any more I just need to keep reminding myself."

"You are without a doubt the strongest person I know." Dodger said fiercely. "And what that monster did to you was horrible but I will never let anyone hurt you again. Do you want me to phone you're psychiatrist and see if she can see you?"

"I know." Maxine said kissing his chastely. "And no, today is a good day, it's my baby's party and nothing is going to spoil that."

Dodgers face fell as he scratched the back of his head unsure how to tell her. "About that-"

"What took you both so long anyway?" Max asked checking her make up in the mirror. "Was she a pain?"

"No she was perfect." Dodger said.

"Good! Honestly I cannot wait for this party to be over." Maxine said exiting the bedroom.

"It was you're idea." Dodger said following her. "I was fine doing something just the three of us."

He could see Maxine mimicking what he said under her breath and smiled.

"I'm going to change her into her dress can you start putting the food out?" Maxine asked picking up Minnie and going into the bedroom. "Oh before I forget did you get candle's for the cake?"

"Yeah, I was trying to tell you," Dodger said before hesitating.

"We don't have time for this!" Maxine said popping her head out the bedroom door. "We cannot cake a cake without candle's."

"Well you're in luck." He muttered.

"What?" She asked. "Never mind pop down to price slice and see if they have any, if they don't you're going to have to go into town."

"I have the candle's it's the cake I'm worried about."

"What!" Maxine said rushing out he bedroom. "What's wrong with the cake!?"

"See the thing is when I went to collect it earlier Tony said there had been some sort of miscommunication-"

"What sort of miscommunication?" Maxine asked.

"If you'd let me speak-"

"It's just that Ste never said anything earlier when he dropped the cake round."

Dodger froze. "What?"

"Yeah he said he was up half the night baking but it was worth it have you seen it yet?"

"No. No I haven't."

"It's beautiful, it's even better than the pictures I gave him." Maxine gushed. "So what Miscommunication?"

"Oh just that I didn't know that Ste was going to deliver it was all." Dodger smiled.

"That is the last birthday party we are throwing." Maxine sighed out.

"Deal." Dodger agreed.

"Who knew kids could be that loud, especially Dee Dee she has a right pair of lungs on her." Maxine moaned. "And they ate all the cake. I was looking forward to that all day."

"You're in luck then." Dodger said hoping from the couch and hurrying over to the kitchen cupboard that he had stashed the cake. "I got us a spare."

"Aww really." Maxine laughed. "I knew there was a reason I loved you."

"I always thought it was my rugged good looks." He said bringing the cake and two forks over.

"Well that as well." Maxine laughed.

"Think of this as my present to you." He said plopping down beside her.

Maxine hesitated biting her lip.

"Actually I've got a present for you as well." She said springing from the couch. "Wait here."

Dodger started digging into the cake watching as she ran into the bedroom before coming out a few minutes later with an envelope in her hands.

"If you don't want to you don't have to." Maxine said handing him the envelope.

Dodger was curious as he opened it, once he started reading he could feel his heart start to race like it was trying to burst out of his chest. "These are adoption papers?" He asked more than anything.

"Yes," Maxine agreed. "But like I said you don't have to if you don't want to."

"Adoption." He said. "You want me to adopt Minnie?"

"It's more like the start of a really long process from what the lawyer told me but yeah I want you to adopt Minnie."

"Why?" He asked making Maxine laugh.

"Why not? You've been her dad since the minute she was born. I'm just making it official."

He could feel tears welling in his eyes but didn't let them fall, instead he brought Maxine to him hugging her as tight as he could. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Hey! Thank you for reading.

I originally planned chapter 3 to be the ending but then I watched the episode where Dirk wanted to adopt Hilton and realised I never even thought about putting something like that in my story and this chapter just kind of snowballed from there.