AN: Each chapter is a one shot that comes from a longer fic that I'm slowly chipping away at. They are all technically connected but can be read separately.

JULY

The woods were eerily quiet, save for the faint rustle of leaves in the cool breeze. Laurel sat cross-legged near the fain glow of the embers from the dying fire, the warmth barely reached her. She stared at the dirt in front of her where she had drawn a crude, makeshift cake. At the top of the hour, the quiet beep from her watch broke the silence, signaling it was now midnight.

"Happy Birthday to me," Laurel whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind. She traced one of the lines in the dirt absentmindedly, a wistful smile on her face.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked sharply behind her.

She jumped, nearly destroying her dirt creation as she turned to see Chris standing just beyond the firelight, his arms crossed and his expression wary.

"You scared me," Laurel said, hand on her chest.

"Sorry," Chris replied, though his tone was less apologetic and more curious. He walked closer, his green eyes narrowed as they flicked from the dirt drawing up to her face.

"What is that supposed to be?"

Laurel looked down, her cheeks flushed, "It's a cake…today's my birthday."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"What's the point?" Laurel shrugged, her voice tinged with bitterness, "It's not like there's anyone around to celebrate. Besides, I'm used to celebrating by myself. I've done that far more than anything else."

Chris sat down across from her, his curiosity piqued. Laurel didn't often talk about her family or childhood so maybe this was a chance to extract some information.

"Why? Family didn't celebrate?"

"Family? They didn't really care about me, let alone my birthday. For the first eleven years the only thing I got on my birthday was the same thing I got every other day. Chores."

Chris frowned, his jaw tightening at the thought of what she must have endured.

"The first time anyone acknowledged my birthday was when I got into Hogwarts. Hagrid baked me a cake and bought me my first gift, Hedwig. It was the first time I felt like I mattered."

Chris was silent for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then he spoke, "You deserve better than only a handful of happy birthdays."

Laurel just shrugged, "We don't always get what we deserve. But let's focus on happier things. What were your birthday's like?"

Chris' lips curved into a small, bittersweet smile, "They were…perfect. My mom was always busy, everyone in the family was, but on my birthday, she'd always make time for me. We'd spend the entire morning together, just the two of us. She'd let me pick the cake flavour, and we'd bake it together. It was the one day where I felt like I had her all to myself before the chaos of my family converged for dinner."

"Sounds nice."

"It was," Chris said, his voice growing quieter, "We'd decorate it too. I was terrible at it, no artistic talent, but she didn't care. She'd laugh and tell me it was perfect. I've been trying to hold onto those memories ever since…everything happened, but it's hard."

They sat in silence for a while. Comfortable for once in the silence amidst the memories of the past.

OCTOBER

Chris woke up and was surprised that Dani was already up. She was not known for being a morning person but today there she stood, a wide smile on her face and in her hands was a box of cake mis and a can of frosting.

"Happy Birthday!" she yelled.

"What?" he asked, still half asleep.

"I know it's not much, but traditions are important. You said so yourself."

Chris stared at her, a mix of surprise and gratitude washed over him, "Where did you even find those?"

"Snuck out yesterday," Dani said nonchalantly.

Laurel then reached into her pocked where she had placed the resurrection stone, "I'd also like to try this…to call Piper."

Chris' breath caught and his gaze was focused on the small black stone in the palm of Laurel's hand. It had been years since he had last seen his mother. The magic used to call forth spirits hadn't worked for about five years. Ever since the demons started to walk the earth.

"My magic works differently," Laurel shrugged. She didn't know if this would work but she decided to hold onto hope.

Laurel then turned the stone in her hand as she thought of the Halliwell matriarch. The air grew colder and soon there she was, standing before them. She was a faint, ghostly figure but it was unmistakably Piper Halliwell.

"Chris?" she said, her voice filled with love.

"Mom," Chris choked out, tear streaming down his face, "I…I miss you so much."

Piper smiled, her eyes shining as she reached out to pull Chris into a hug but her hands just passed through him. Unfortunately, Laurel's magic did work differently and that meant that Piper could not become corporeal.

Laurel stepped around the mother and son reunion and only paused a brief moment to pass the cake and frosting to Chris before she left to give them some space. She took up her position on the nearby couch while Chris and Piper wandered into the Kitchen.

It was a short time later that Piper floated through the wall and approached Laurel, "Thank you. For everything."

"He's worth it," Laurel replied.

Together the duo ate the cake while Chris soaked up the last moments he would have with his mother before she faded away leaving him with a bittersweet ache in his chest.

Chris looked over at Laurel, her cheeks full of cake and felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. Even in a world as broken as theirs was at the time, there was still room for love. And that was enough to keep him going.

Word Count: 968