Thank you for the reviews :) Now, let's take a small break from the angst, shall we?

Chapter 32

"Go away," Clara told him in a playfully harsh voice as she put herself between John and the stove once again when he had tried to peer into the pot. It was no use at all. Clara wouldn't allow him anywhere near the food.

"I'm just trying to help," he argued and tried his very best not to laugh at the tiny woman standing in his way. If he wanted to he could simply lift her up and carry her out of the room, but somehow John doubted that Clara would like that very much.

"Oh no, not today," she replied, "It's your birthday and I won't allow you to lift a single finger."

John glowered at her in reply. "Is it because I'm old now that you think I can't lift a spoon?"

"Precisely. Now go and sit in the living room. Relax. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

"That's really not fair, you know? I'm missing the past five years," he growled, a deep frown appearing on his face, "Technically I'm only 54. I should be celebrating my 54th birthday, not my 59th."

Finally Clara's features changed and they took on a thoughtful expression as if she was considering his idea. "Actually, that's a great idea. If I get to turn 26 again in November and-" she broke off when she realized that John had only tried to distract her to have a chance at looking into the frying pan, "Hey, hey, hey, no peeking!"

"I just wanted to look!"

With a sigh Clara reached for the wine bottle and the two glasses on the kitchen table and handed them over to him. "Here's what you can do. Go into the living room and open the bottle. I'll be with you in a few minutes. Now shoo!" she said and started shoving him out of the kitchen.

When John realized that further protests would amount to nothing at all he retreated to the living room and sank down on the sofa, waiting patiently for Clara to finish cooking. He wasn't sure why she was making such a big deal out of his birthday because he couldn't imagine that they had done this in the past five years. He hadn't celebrated his birthday for ages, well, except by spending the evening with Missy. Maybe that had also changed during his marriage?

With a defeated sigh he leaned forward and opened the bottle before pouring them both a glass of the white wine Clara had chosen for the occasion. Hopefully she hadn't gotten him a present. Although. . . would that really be so bad? Was making his birthday a special occasion so bad? Lots of married couples celebrated their birthdays. Maybe he should just accept and enjoy it?

John took a sip from the wine and leaned back on the sofa, only now realizing how exhausted he was. It had been a stressful day at work and Bill had stopped by once more even though she wasn't technically shadowing him anymore and he had answered a lot of her questions about her next exam. John liked that girl and he knew that one day she would make a good doctor, but her questions really were exhausting.

It really took her only a few minutes before Clara returned to the living room, carrying two plates that held a delicious looking risotto.

"Just so you know," Clara said with a smile, "I also expect a nice dinner on my birthday."

"Thank you," John said sincerely as she handed him the plate, "And consider it done."

They ate in silence for a long moment and suddenly John didn't mind the extra attention at all anymore. In fact, he thought that it was perfect. A quiet evening, a wonderful meal and of course Clara's company. He was glad that they had finally found a middle ground, a way that worked for both of them because the last thing he wanted was to lose her.

"I hope you don't mind that I haven't gotten you a physical present this year," Clara said after a while, "I wasn't sure what to get you, so I figured I'd give you a promise instead."

John watched as she reached for an envelope and handed it to him. At first he frowned at her until Clara gestured for him to open it. When he did, he found only a photograph inside, one of himself and Clara in front of a small house in Scotland.

"That was the house we had booked for our holiday, where you proposed," Clara explained, "My present for you is the promise that we'll go back there. Whenever you want. Just say the word and I'll book it."

John smiled at her in reply. "That is a wonderful present," he said and leaned forward to press a kiss to her lips, "I'll check my schedule after the weekend."

His response seemed to surprise her. "You wanna go that soon?"

"Of course," John replied, still smiling, "We should go while the weather is nice. It really is a wonderful idea."

The expression that appeared on Clara's face could only be described as smug. "Alright," she agreed, "Sounds good to me."

Suddenly Clara lowered her gaze, a sort of mischievous look on her face, and John wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He had come to know her quite well in the past few months, but at times he still couldn't tell what was on her mind.

"Is there anything else?"

"No," Clara said immediately, "No, it's nothing. Just a silly thought."

"What thought?" John enquired.

She inhaled sharply before she spoke. "There's a thing I usually did for your birthday, but I'm sure you don't want that right now, so-"

"What thing?" he frowned at her.

Finally Clara raised her head to look at him and she did so for a long moment as if she was considering something. Then, before John could react, Clara moved to climb on top of him like she had done several times before that and pushed him back against the backrest of the sofa. Clara bent forward and a few seconds later their lips locked in a long, sweet kiss. John could still taste the wine on her soft lips when he leaned in and opened his mouth to let her in while his arms closed around her back to keep her exactly where she was. He loved kissing her, loved how close they were, loved the warm, tingling sensation of arousal when she pressed herself against his crotch. One of these days, John thought, he would go further at last. He didn't really want to wait for much longer.

When Clara broke the kiss to catch her breath she lowered her mouth to his ear and John could feel goosebumps ripple his skin when she spoke the words he had never expected to hear right now.

Clara made a suggestion. She didn't demand anything. She didn't push him. It was an offer that he could accept or decline. It was tempting.

John swallowed hard when she looked at him again, a playful smile on her lips, and he found himself nodding in response. Maybe it was the exhaustion. Maybe it was the wine. Or maybe it was simply because of the beautiful woman on his lap that he didn't find the will to resist when she reached between them and palmed him through the fabric of his trousers. Her touch and the warmth of her hand instantly started to drain the blood from his brain to pump it downwards.

"We don't have to," Clara said in a low, reassuring voice, "Only if you feel like it."

John huffed, smiling as he did, while she continued to massage him through his trousers. "What do you think?"

Clara giggled in response, an impish look on her face. "I think you feel like it."

He reached out, cupping her face in his hands, and pulled her back towards him. Their lips clashed in another, sloppier kiss.

"I feel like it," he half groaned when her hips started rubbing against his crotch, his trousers beginning to strain around his erection.

Then, suddenly, Clara broke the kiss and climbed off his lap to slide downwards until she came to rest on her knees right between his legs. The sight of her was enticing and frightening at the same time and John felt glad that Clara had decided to go ahead and open his belt because his own hands were suddenly trembling. John knew that he had slept with Clara countless times during the last five years, that they had been almost inseparable if the others were to be believed, but as far as he remembered it had been ages since a woman had touched him like this. And to him that seemed like a very good reason to be scared.

"Relax," Clara said gently when she pulled his trousers down a little. She smiled up at him. "I already know what you like, remember?"

Before John could say anything, Clara carefully wrapped her hand around him and placed a kiss on the tip. The feeling of her hand and lips on him instantly sent a surge of excitement through his entire body, but she didn't leave him any time to get used to the idea when her lips wrapped around his cock and slowly sucked him into her mouth.

John hissed sharply when he was surrounded by all that heat and wetness and his hands instantly wandered back to Clara. He needed to touch her, needed some kind of contact other than the very obvious sensation of her lips around him.

He was soon beginning to grow harder in her mouth as her lips started to run up and down his shaft, her hands wrapped tightly around the base the entire time. If John hadn't been sure that they had done this before, he was damn sure now because Clara knew him, she knew every inch of his skin, every spot she needed to touch that brought him closer. John leaned back against the sofa and took a sharp intake of breath.

"You're amazing," he panted, his fingers digging into her hair, "This is-"

He broke off when Clara tightened her lips around him, sucking him in until his tip hit the back of her throat, and he couldn't help but moan. Yes, she knew very well how to make him fall apart under her touch. John was completely at her mercy.

Clara eased off the pressure and allowed him to guide her. John was careful at first, testing, not really sure how far he could go as he pushed inside her mouth, but he was hard to the point that he thought he might burst and soon the temptation was too strong to resist. The sounds Clara uttered when his thrusts sped up, those little moans were enough to reassure him. The thought of her enjoying this almost pushed him over the edge.

"Clara," he moaned her name hoarsely, his breath coming out ragged now. He was so close. Just a little more. A little faster.

Then finally, as the sensation was beginning to overwhelm him, John could feel the tension build up inside of him. He attempted to warn Clara, to give her a chance to pull away, but the words got stuck in his throat and came out as a moan instead while he spilled himself inside of her mouth. Clara swallowed around him.

John sank back on the sofa until he was lying flat on his back and pulled his pants back up. For a moment he didn't want to move at all. He only just made space for Clara to lie next to him before he closed his eyes and focused on nothing but his own heartbeat and breathing. Slowly but surely he was beginning to come down.

"Happy Birthday," Clara chuckled next to him, her head leaned against his shoulder.

John opened his eyes again and looked at her and that was when he knew for sure. He loved her.

"Clara," he said softly and pressed a kiss to her head before he lay back down, "You are the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I hope you know that."

She chuckled. "I know."

When John woke up he noticed that everything was dark and that Clara was still pressed tightly against his chest on the confined space of the sofa, sleeping peacefully. They had fallen asleep just like that and for a moment he considered waking her so they could both go to bed, but it was sweet and not too uncomfortable, so John reached for the blanket to cover them both and simply closed his eyes again so he could go back to sleep, still holding Clara in his arms.