I have been so excited to write this chapter! this idea has been in my head basically since I finished the series. you'll figure out pretty fast what's going on. :) oh, and just as a warning, I am leaving on Saturday for a mission trip and I won't be back until next Saturday. it's kind of an internship so I'm going to be pretty darn busy. I probably won't update for another two weeks but i'll get as much writing done as possible next week. thanks so much for the positive feedback guys! keep it coming!

"We all romanticize the people we adore." - John Green

I woke up one morning, feeling strangely rested. Upon opening my eyes, I realized that the late morning sun was spilling through the windows and on to the bed, which is how I woke up. Maxon wasn't beside me but I had gotten used to waking up without him on some mornings. I brushed it off, content with getting another couple hours of sleep until I realized that it was the late morning sun and I never slept this late. I sat straight up, noticing a pile of presents on my legs.

I rubbed my eyes. For the first time in my life, I had completely forgotten about my birthday. The door to our bedroom swung open and Maxon strolled through unceremoniously. "Happy birthday!" he shouted as he walked to the balcony and threw open the doors to let fresh air in. I laughed at him. "So I was thinking, today is your eighteenth birthday which is actually a pretty insignificant birthday but it is significant for me because it is your first birthday that I get to spend with you. However, I can't help but feel a little cheated for not getting to celebrate the seventeen birthdays prior to this one."

"You weren't around…" I began but he held up a finger to stop me as he continued to pace around our bed.

"So, to make up for that, I have decided that I am going to give you a present for every birthday I missed, excluding this one because I am very much here for it." He sat down on the bed and crawled over to meet me. "To start things off, here are your first three."

I rolled my eyes at his goofy smile, reaching for the first present. "Maxon Schreave, I believe you are spoiling me."

He considered my statement and then shook his head. "No, I think you will find that you secretly wanted all of these presents."

"How long have you been planning this?" I suddenly asked, pausing in my efforts to unwrap the small box in my lap. I had only been living here as his fiancé for about two months. How did he possibly know to get all of this stuff?

"That doesn't matter. What does matter is that present you are about to open. We are under a very strict schedule today so we must get moving."

I rolled my eyes again and finished opening the present to reveal a plastic container filled with strawberry tarts. "I should have known," I said to him, nodding. "I'll eat them while I get dressed." I set them aside and got another present. This one was a picture of the two of us together at the Elevation, laughing as we walked through the gardens holding hands.

"You don't have any pictures of me on your desk yet so I chose this one; it's my favorite and I have the same one on my desk," he explained.

"Thank you," I said politely and reached for the third box which was significantly bigger than the other two. Inside this box was a white silk scarf that I had indeed wanted for a long time but my maids held out on making. I guessed that this was why. "Thanks so much!" I exclaimed, rising up to throw my arms around him.

He fell back on the bed under my weight but soon recovered and kissed me deeply. His tongue traced over my bottom lip and I groaned, wanting more of him. Our wedding day really couldn't come fast enough. He suddenly pulled away and said, "Strict schedule, remember?"

I groaned again but this time out of dissatisfaction. I got up out of the bed and walked over to my suite as Maxon told me, "I think your next three presents will be waiting for you with your maids."

Excitement got the best of me and I ran to my bathroom where a garment bag was hanging in plain view with two other boxes sitting on my vanity. I reached for one of them but Marlee slapped my hand away. "Not until we say so," she warned, taking the two boxes and whisking them out of the room.

I sighed and let Mary do my hair and makeup. She put my hair in a beautiful side braid with loose curls hanging out. Finally she moved to the garment bag and unzipped it, revealing a beautiful denim button-up dress with quarter-length sleeves. The scarf would look perfect with it. I put the dress on and Mary helped arrange my scarf in a loose knot around my neck. Finally Marlee brought back the smaller boxes. In one of them was a pair of beautiful gold dangly earrings and in the other one was a selection of gold bangles. I laughed, knowing that there was no way Maxon coordinated all of this himself. In the last few months that I'd been living with him, I quickly learned that he's lucky to match his shoes.

I joined him out in the hall where he was waiting. "So where are we going?" I asked, taking his hand loosely. I felt him run a finger over my engagement ring; this seemed to be a habit of his whenever we held hands.

"Well, we have to pace ourselves because it's only eleven o'clock and I still have to give you twelve presents. So, I thought a nice lunchtime picnic would be the perfect way to stall a little bit," he informed me as we walked outside into the gardens. He led me to our bench and I saw that he had decorated the area with my favorite flowers and had set up a blanket with a basket of food already waiting for us.

I squealed and went straight for the basket, pulling out my favorite foods and setting them on the blanket between us. "Blue crab isn't even in season right now!" I exclaimed, picking up the box of crab cakes for closer inspection.

He smirked. "Supposedly not." I nudged him in the shoulder and took a bite out of one of the crab cakes. I looked up at the sunny sky and sighed, sadness working its way into my heart. This was my first birthday without Dad. Maxon sensed the change in my mood. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. It's just that…every year on my birthday my dad would get enough money together to buy me my favorite kind of cupcake from this bakery in town. He could only ever afford one for me but I looked forward to that cupcake all year. It really wasn't even that good; it was just that it was from my dad," I confessed. I smiled at the memory. "But strawberry tarts will do just fine." I patted Maxon's knee and we ate the rest of our lunch in companionable silence.

When we were finished I laid my head in Maxon's lap and we picked out clouds and made pictures out of them. Eventually he cleared his throat. "As much as I love doing this with you, we have more presents to attend to, don't we?"

I sat up as a maid approached us carrying about six different boxes. I gasped as she put them on the blanket in front of us and started sifting through the pile. "Which should I open first?" I asked him, putting a hand over my mouth in shock.

He laughed and pulled one large box out. "This one. And do take note that I wrapped all of these."

"I knew the second I saw the first present; you're not the best wrapper." I winked and started tearing at the paper. Inside the box were two pairs of pants; a gray pinstripe dress pant and a pair of jeans, darker than the other ones he had given me. I opened my mouth to thank him but he stopped me.

"I know you said that you don't really want them anymore but I figured having another couple pairs couldn't hurt. And seeing how good you look in them…" his voice trailed off and he blushed, looking away from me.

I laughed. "Maxon Schreave, have you been checking me out?"

He blushed even more and shook his head. "Merely assessing your best assets. Anyway, next present!"

I shook my head at him as I opened the next box, revealing two of the nicest blazers I had even seen. One was plain black and the other was a gray pinstripe that matched the pants. "These are functional. What's next?" The next four presents were personalized stationary, another picture I recognized from his wall of Marlee and I on the Report, gold fountain pens, and a bejeweled hair clip. "Where am I going to possibly put all of these?" I asked, laughing as I neatly stacked the presents together for the maid to take away.

I looked up and saw Silvia approaching us. "Your Majesty, I apologize but we need you…"

Maxon cut her off. "Silvia, I told the advisers not to bother me today."

"Oh, um, I apologize King Maxon but I was actually talking to Lady America. There are some urgent wedding plans that just came up and must be dealt with today," she reported.

I bit my lip and looked at Maxon sadly. "Sorry. Duty calls," I sighed. He stood and offered me his hand to help me up. I brushed the back of my dress off and kissed Maxon quickly. "I'll see you later?"

"Do what you need to do and then meet me in the music room," he instructed.

"Okay," I said, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. I followed Silvia inside and upstairs to my study where Marlee was waiting with apologetic eyes. "What is it?" I asked, suddenly worried that something had gone wrong with the wedding plans.

Marlee glanced nervously at Silvia and said slowly, "Mary just talked to me about your dress…"

"And?" I prompted.

A smile slowly crept across Marlee's face. "And she said that you can try it on today for a fitting!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

I felt my eyes widen. "Really? Why do I need a fitting? I thought it is a custom dress, just like the rest of my dresses."

"Well it's still been a month since you were last measured and you have three months until the wedding. You're probably going to have one every month until then," Silvia explained, setting some papers on my desk. "We thought today would be a great day to surprise you with the dress."

"And it would give Maxon time to organize your next present," Marlee added. "So let's go!" She waved me to the door and we both went upstairs to my suite where Mary was waiting with a white garment bag.

I had not paid much thought to my dress since I sat down with Mary to actually design the dress. I just hoped Maxon would like it. Mary was bouncing with excitement when I walked in and she squealed when I reached for the bag. "My lady, here it is!" She was obviously very proud of her work. "Get undressed so you can put it on!"

I obeyed her orders and shivered as I stood in my room in just my underwear, putting my arms across my chest for some modesty. It was silly really; Mary had seen me unclothed dozens of times before. She held the skirt of the dress open to put my head through and I shimmied it down over my body, letting it settle on my hips so Marlee could do up the buttons in the back. The buttons, I suddenly groaned mentally. That long row of buttons.

Marlee patted my back as she finished and I stared at myself in the mirror. The dress was perfect and everything I had imagined. The lace that covered the bodice and made up the sleeves that hugged my upper arms to my elbows and the short turtleneck was elegant and regal. The white silk belt at my waist with jewels on the front gave the dress the right amount of flair. And the skirt was full and for the first time since I had been at the palace, I was wishing the skirt had more tulle. It was perfect. Except for one thing.

"Soooo…what do you think?" Mary asked nervously.

I bit my lip before saying, "I love it. I do. But, uh, how difficult would it be to put a zipper in the back?"

"A zipper? I thought you wanted the buttons," Marlee said, her voice confused.

"Well, I do want them but they're hard to get undone and at the end of the day…literally, at the end of the day…" my voice trailed off. I looked at Marlee desperately, praying she'd understand what with her relationship with Carter.

She was confused until her eyes widened to be saucer-size and her mouth formed an 'O.' "Wow, yeah, you're definitely right. I never even thought of that. Mary, is there any way we can keep the buttons and put in an invisible zipper?"

Mary moved around to the back of the dress and I fidgeted as she studied it. Finally she sighed and nodded slowly. "Yes. I think the zipper would need to start here," she touched a spot on my back between my shoulder blades, "and would end here then at the skirt." She moved her hand lower to where my tailbone was. "There would be about ten buttons at the neck but it would be so uncomfortable to have a zipper there. This could work."

I smiled, relief flooding me as I remembered Maxon complaining about the buttons on my dress and then effectively ruining my dress when he took it off. I released a breath I didn't realize I had been holding and ran my hands over the dress. "Do I have to take it off?" I asked as Marlee wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

"Sorry," she said. "But, it is your birthday and you have a fiancé downstairs waiting for you to give you the rest of your presents. You can put the dress on again in a month once Mary has fixed the back."

I sighed and my shoulders sagged when Marlee moved around me to start undoing the buttons – which did take about two minutes. There was no way Maxon would have been able to do it himself on our wedding night.

Ten minutes later I was in my new dress again and heading downstairs to the music room. Maxon was sitting on a bench down the hall from the room, a book open in his lap but he was staring at the wall in front of him instead. "Hey," I greeted coyly when I reached him.

He started, obviously lost in his own thoughts. "Hey! Ready for your next present?"

"Of course!" I reached for his hand and he held on to it as we walked in the music room and before me I saw my whole family. They had yet to visit me in the palace and I was so happy to have this as their first-time visit. May ran up to me and threw her arms around me.

"Happy birthday Sissy!" she squeaked.

"Thanks, May!" I hugged her back and then released her so I could hug Kenna next. It was an awkward hug what with Astra squeezed between us but it felt good to hug my big sister; something I wish I could do more often. I kissed the top of Astra's head and then moved on to Mom.

"I miss your father; I wish he was here," she whispered in my ear as we swayed back and forth. I had made it my mission to get closer to her over the last month because she was the only parent I had left. It felt wrong for me to not be close to her when Maxon didn't even have that opportunity. I called her at least once a week and since our first visit I had been able to go over for dinner twice. One time it was just me though because Maxon's schedule was making it increasingly difficult for him to find the time to leave.

I nodded, tears burning in the back of my eyes. "I know, me too." When I pulled away I wipe my fingers under my eyes, making sure none of my makeup was running.

Mom walked me over to a loveseat and made me sit down next to Maxon, who casually crossed his legs and put an arm around my shoulders. I tried to focus on something other than the feel of his hip pressed against mine which became a lot easier when he dropped another present into my lap. "This is from your entire family and myself."

It was small and I had no idea what it could have been. I made a show out of guessing what it was and rattling it near my ear. Finally I opened the box and saw a key resting inside. "That's for you and Maxon whenever you want a small escape from the palace but you don't want to go far," Mom explained.

"Mom, I already have a key to your house," I reminded her.

Maxon choked back a laugh and shook his head. "This key is for the barn on the same piece of property that was renovated to be our own getaway."

I raised my eyebrows and looked away from him to Mom. "Really?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "It's the least we could do."

I pouted graciously and reached for the other box Maxon was holding. "How many do I have left?" I asked curiously.

"After this, two."

I raised my eyebrows, wondering where the time had gone. This present was another key with a note in the box with it.

My dearest America,

This is a very personal present and I felt it deserved some explanation.

I only met your father once but in the brief time he visited here, I was able to talk about quite a bit with him. He shared with me that he loved your musical talent and told me that he was scared that should you become my queen you would lose your passion for everything musical.

This key is for the bedroom next to your study that has now been renovated to be your own personal music study. Only you have the key for it, allowing you to escape in there whenever the need arises. Inside the room there are brand new instruments and shelves full of music, including a section with your own personal compositions along with those in your family who have composed their own pieces before you. No one is allowed to enter the room without your permission (including myself) and when we do have children I will personally see to it that I watch them should you ever need to take a break for music.

I am not only honoring one of your father's last wishes for you but also, again, giving you something I know you would never ask me for. Take this key and use it well; I too am quite captivated by your siren songs.

-Max

I looked up at him with glistening eyes. "Really?" I whispered, not believing it. I knew something was going on in that room what with all of the noise and traffic of maids and contractors in the hallway by my study but I never expected this to be it.

He nodded, seeming somewhat exasperated by my reaction. "Really."

I threw my arms around him and kissed him, not caring that my family was watching. He kissed me back but he obviously remembered that we had company because he broke away after only a few seconds. We stayed in the music room for a few more hours until it was time for dinner, which was a candle light date on our balcony between the two of us.

"So…" I sighed, propping my elbows on the table in front of me after finishing the delicious meal, "two more presents."

He smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Yep, and I saved the best for last." A maid came out on the balcony with a medium-sized box and put it in front of me on the table. As I started opening it, Maxon started explaining. "Today was not the first time I had heard about the cupcake your father gave you every year; your mother actually told me about it last week. So, this is the same type of cupcake from the same bakery in Carolina."

My eyes were glued to the cupcake sitting in the box in front of me. I put a hand to my mouth and shook my head, not believing it.

"America." The way he said my name demanded me to look up at him. "I know how much your father meant to you and I know I could never fill that gap in your life but I want to care for you the way he did. Sure, you have your family, but I think he and I knew how to care for you in a way that men who love someone more than anything would. It's a different kind of love I have for you but I don't think it's any more or less than the love your father had for you. I know how difficult this day is for you; I know. I want to start my own traditions with you. I want to be the kind of father to my own children the way yours was to you. I love you and I never want you to doubt that."

"You always have the perfect thing to say," I sobbed, looking back down to the cupcake. I ate it, giving one half of it to Maxon. It truly was an awful cupcake but the memories attached were sweet as could be.

As the night drew to a close I had one present left and I had absolutely no idea what it was. Maxon led me back into our bedroom and stopped me in the middle of the room, taking my hands and speaking fervently. "We are young and I know that once we're married we don't want to start having kids for at least another year but I thought we could seek alternative routes to expand our family sufficiently before then."

I frowned, not having any idea what he was talking about. As he walked over to the door I had an epiphany and I knew before he back inside with a ball of white fur in his arms. The dog was small and obviously still young. It was a boy judging by the blue bow on its head.

"This is a maltese, about three months old. He's been potty-trained for the most part, we just need to keep an eye on him. I hope you don't mind that I named him; I figured you could name all of our children because that does seem like something you'd be better at than me. Say hi to your mommy Fitz," he mused to the dog, speaking in a voice I had never heard before. I soon realized that it was a very paternal voice.

I reached my arms out to the dog and Maxon placed him in them. Fitz immediately started licking my face all over and I squealed. I had always wanted a pet dog but that was a luxury Fours couldn't afford, let alone Fives.

"Do you like him?" Maxon asked nervously, petting Fitz's back.

I smiled at the dog, the warm face just inches from mine. "I love him."

We played games with Fitz for a long time, taking turns throwing a ball around our room and watching the puppy chase after it. We only had one accident while we were playing which we quickly cleaned up ourselves, Maxon asking very conspiratorial about the whole incident.

That night we snuggled into bed with Fitz snuggled between us, his small body relaxing and being claimed by sleep within seconds. "We tired someone out," I laughed, playing with the soft white hair on his ears.

Maxon smiled and looked up at me. "Was today a good birthday? It wasn't too much, was it?"

I shook my head. "It was perfect. This is going to sound snobby but I'd expect nothing less from you," I joked, running a hand up Maxon's bare stomach. He visibly shivered at the touch.

He leaned forward to kiss me passionately. I was soon breathless and had to pull away. "Hey, you're going to wake the baby," I warned him jokingly.

"I love you, America Singer," he whispered against my lips.

"I love you, Maxon Schreave."