A/N: Thank you for being so patient with these absences. This chapter and the next are connected but I split them into two because it was so long. Hope you enjoy!

The very next morning, Sherlock wakes with a gasp. He sits up immediately, groping around for his phone (which was under John) to check the date. Mentally kicking himself, he jumps out of bed to run down to Mycroft's bedroom.

Sherlock runs right in, not bothered by his brother and Lestrade asleep in a tight embrace.

"Mycroft, wake up!" Sherlock yells.

Mycroft jumps up, just as Sherlock had seconds before, but Lestrade is slower with the waking.

"What, what is it?!" Mycroft asks, panicked.

Sherlock turns his phone around to show Mycroft the date. "It's July 29th. I forgot John's birthday."

Mycroft rubs his eyes. "Well, brother, you weren't exactly speaking to John on his birthday."

Lestrade grumbles something about 'putting it gently', then turns over onto his other side to go back to sleep. Sherlock sits on the edge of their bed.

"I…" Sherlock sighs. "What am I to do?"

Mycroft shrugs. "I'm sure you can think of something."

"No, I can't! I need your help!"

"You know John better than I do."

"Well, duh, but I still need help!"

Mycroft opens his mouth to say something, but burrowed deep in the covers, Lestrade beats him to it.

"Will you two shut up? Some people are trying to sleep in this bed."

Mycroft rolls his eyes and tosses the sheets back, then steps out of the bed. He motions to the door, so Sherlock follows him. They're silent down the stairs to not wake anyone else, until they're in the kitchen.

"Coffee?" Mycroft offers.

Sherlock nods, burying his face in his hands. "What am I going to do? John must be so upset."

"Of course he's not. He hasn't brought it up at all and it's been over three weeks."

"But…" Sherlock groans and drops his head to the island countertop.

His coffee is ready in less than a minute, so Mycroft places it in front of him. He lifts his head to take a sip, then drops his forehead down again.

Before they can start talking again, they hear someone slowly hopping down the stairs. They both look the direction of the stairs until Declan waltzes in looking a mix between disheveled from sleep and tired from lack of sleep.

"You guys can't sleep either?" he asks, plopping down next to Sherlock.

"Can't sleep?" Mycroft asks. "It's nearly seven."

"Exactly," Declan replies, yawning widely.

Mycroft laughs, but Sherlock just buries his face in his arms, now cushioning his face from the cold countertop.

"Hey," Delcan starts, "What's wrong with you?"

"I forgot John's birthday," Sherlock mumbles into his arms.

"Uh…wh—"

"He forgot John's birthday."

Declan chuckles. "Damn, that sucks." He quickly stops chuckling. "I mean, that's unfortunate I'm sorry."

Sherlock just sighs.

"Any ideas of how to make it up to him?" Mycroft asks for Sherlock.

"I don't know. If I forgot Ellery's, I'd probably plan something really special, like a trip to her favorite museum or something like that, something she enjoys. I'd pack a lunch of her favorite meal, which is spinach and strawberry salad with raspberry vinaigrette. I'd get her a gift of something she loves, like books or crazy earrings or something. I'd spend a day doing something she likes, I'd try to make her feel special. I think that's what would be the most important."

Sherlock had lifted his head to watch Declan during his speech. So when Declan finishes, Sherlock glares at him and says, "That doesn't help me at all."

"Oh good god, brother. Listen to him. Do something nice for John. Do something John enjoys because John's been cooped up in this house for weeks doing whatever you want. I'm sure John's itching to go out somewhere."

"We went out somewhere last night and look at how that ended up."

"Fair point," Mycroft says. "So obviously don't do that again. Look, at least compromise. You won't feel comfortable doing something you don't like but John does like, so do something in between. Go somewhere where you'll be safe, but that he'll enjoy."

Sherlock runs a hand through his hair and starts to think while Mycroft turns to Declan.

"And what's wrong with you?"

"Well, last night after laser tag, Ell invited Duke and I over to hang out. It was fun, but Ell told me that her mom doesn't want Duke in the house anymore."

"Why?" Sherlock asks.

Mycroft gives him a 'are-you-serious?' look.

"Oh…" Sherlock sighs. "Because he's gay."

Declan nods. "Yeah. And it's not like Duke's overly flamboyant, not that it'd matter if he was. All he did was mention once that he was going out this weekend with some guy he met, and now her mom is really mad. Ell said her mom used really derogatory terms. I mean, Ell was really upset by what her mom said."

"So you're conflicted over what to tell Duke."

"Of course. I don't want Duke to be upset, and I certainly don't want him to think Ell feels that way about him."

"That's quite the dilemma," Mycroft says.

"Why do people have to be such arseholes?" Declan asks.

Sherlock chuckles. "At least you didn't forget your significant other's birthday."

"Said significant other isn't even upset, Sherlock."

"Said significant other is a nice person who cares for you," Declan says.

"Yeah," Sherlock agrees, taking a sip of coffee.

"When are you planning to do something for his birthday?" Declan asks. "Tonight?"

Sherlock shrugs. "Depends on how quickly I can come up with something."

"Well, I invited everyone over for our usual movie night. You and John are welcome to join, of course."

Sherlock's eyes brighten and he perks up. "That's it!"

"What's it?"

"A surprise party! John likes parties, and if it's here I'll feel safe!"

"That's…actually a great idea," Mycroft says. "That way John can be celebrated by many people who care for him."

"Yes, perfect! Dec, invite more people. Anyone from school, anyone who John likes. I'll call Lily and Jenna to help me pick out decorations, I'll ask Harvey and Brady to get food and drinks, I'll order a cake—"

Declan stops him. "You should ask Paris to make a cake. He made one for Harvey's family a few weeks ago and it was to die for."

"Perfect," Sherlock says. "What else do I need?"

"The rest of us can gather music," Declan offers. "You call the girls and buy decorations this afternoon, then get John out of the house with enough time for the rest of us to set up. We can have the party at seven."

"Brilliant," Sherlock says.

The three in the kitchen finish their coffee then return to their bedrooms. Sherlock doesn't have plans to go back to sleep, so he gets on the internet to try to find John the perfect birthday gift.

Sherlock is told it's an appropriate time to call the girls at eleven, so exactly at eleven he calls Jenna.

"Hey Sher!" she cries when she answers the phone.

Sherlock rolls his eyes. "Hey Jen," he pointedly replies. She laughs. "I'm calling to ask for your assistance."

"Oh? You need my help? With what?"

"I'm throwing John a surprise birthday party tonight."

"Wasn't John's birthday a few—" she cuts herself off. Sherlock is thankful she realizes his fault before she points it out. "That's wonderful," she cheerfully amends. "What do you need my help with?"

"Decorations."

"Oooh!" she squeals. "I love decorating for parties. I'm available in an hour, want to meet up then?"

"Sure," he says, then they make plans when and where to meet. He hangs up after thanking her and rings Lily, who is equally as excited to help with the surprise party. She agrees to meet him and Jenna, then hangs up.

Sherlock checks a mark off his mental checklist. The next thing to do is shop for the cake supplies, since Paris is stuck at work until afternoon and will barely have enough time to bake. Sherlock had said he could just buy a cake, but, like the girls, Paris was very happy about being asked to help and didn't let Sherlock cancel the cake order.

He can't go shopping with John, obviously, so he has to lie to get out of the house. Then, as he's thinking of a lie, he remembers picking up last night that Olive wants to break up with Lane. He wants to ask her about it, so he calls her to ask her to go shopping with him.

"Shopping? Really?" she asks over the phone.

"Yes, I require your assistance."

"With?"

"Well, I need to buy cake supplies and I want a second opinion because if it's up to me I'll get chocolate and chocolate."

"Fair enough," she says. "I'll meet you in ten."

He shoves his phone into his pocket and goes downstairs, where John is watching television.

"Hey, where you going?" John asks.

"Olive just called and asked for my assistance in…something. I'm going to her house."

"Oh," John says. "Do you need me to go?"

"No, it's okay," Sherlock says. He knows that their excessive closeness over the past few weeks will cause John to contently stay home. Sherlock bends over the back of the sofa to plant a kiss on John's lips. "I'll be back in a while."

John smiles. "Okay. Love you."

Sherlock kisses him one more time, then dashes out the door.