"Happy Birthday to me," she whispered, smoothing the last bit of frosting over the sad looking cake.

Birthdays always sucked, so why should this one be any different? She knew why. It was her twenty-first birthday and that had to mean something. Unfortunately she seemed to be the only one who remembered.

So here she was: pink frosting hiding under her nails, cake batter wavering over the edge of the counter, and two forgotten ingredients sitting lonely on the stove. What did baking powder and eggs really do in a cake anyway?

Any other day, the scene would have made her laugh, but not today. Not on her birthday and not when her partner was missing and they were about to be critiqued. It was so typical of him. He always showed up late with some excuse and she'd always forgive him because of those damn blue eyes and sincere smile that tricked her into believing him. Believing in him.

Didn't he always make it right? Even though he was a cad, he'd never really let her down. Not intentionally. He'd always found some way to salvage her disaster and make her smile. Just like the time she forgot to take that little bag of giblets out of the turkey and he simply patted her on the shoulder and told her it probably added flavour and knowing it was a lie she smiled up at him and thanked him for not calling her an idiot. Only now--ten minutes until their work would be marked-it looked like he wasn't going to show up at all. And so she was having the crappiest of birthdays known to mankind.

The cake looked pitiful. Maybe it wouldn't taste so bad after all. Taking a fork she plunged into the center to discover that not only was it uneven, it was not even cooked!

The river of tears opened up and were about to break when his voice stopped her. She spun around and took in his appearance. Mud covered him from head to toe and rainwater clung to his white t-shirt showing off all those wonderful muscles she'd only ever guessed he had. His eyes were brighter than the neon lights above her, standing out like two sapphires against his muddy cheeks.

"Jason!" she admonished.

"I'm late, I know," he relented, stepping to her with curiosity in his eyes. She followed his line of vision and noticed he was fixated on the cake-if it could be called that-as it slowly sank down on the counter, oozing uncooked batter from the inside out. "I see you started without me."

There was humour in his voice and it made the beat of her heart pick up. How the hell did he do that? How could he turn a potentially devastating situation into one of joy and mirth? She opened her mouth to ask him just that, but shut it quickly when he stepped even closer and she could smell the combination of earthy soil and hot flesh and she knew that was just who he was.

"You could say that," she finally said, scanning over his appearance and then back to the cake.

"Well, it's a good thing I got here in time, we wouldn't want you not to be able to enjoy your own birthday cake."

Her mind swirled with emotions. She touched his arm which was a mistake because his skin was warm and soft from gooey mud. It felt better than nice and that should worry her. Jason was not the type of guy she should be touching. He just wasn't. There was too much macho bolstering in him for him to really be fit for a relationship, but then there was another side to him. The side that helped her out and remembered her birthday even though he was covered in dirt and wet. "How did you-"

"What, you think I would forget your birthday? Not a chance. I even got those chocolate sprinkles that you like for the top." He went to hug her, but realizing his present state, he took a flustered step back. Something about that move touched Elizabeth deeply. Jason was also not the type to get embarrassed. Or maybe he was. Maybe all this time, the push and pull, the flirting banter, sly sexual innuendo and less than friendly touches really did mean something. Maybe, just maybe...

"Thanks Jason."

"No prob," he said smoothly, issuing her a casual wink.

She quirked her eyebrow and licked her lips, letting a mischievous grin fix on her mouth after her tongue had lifted. "I just have one question."

"Hmm?" he asked absently as he sent the cake sailing into the trash can and then began to measure out ingredients carefully.

Unable to stop herself, she rubbed his forearm again, taking off a sizable chunk of brown earth on her fingertips. "What's with the mud?"

Jason laughed. "You don't wanna know, Elizabeth. Trust me."