The One Where The Lines Get Kinda Blurry

The One With All The Photos

Jen waited until she was absolutely sure he was in a deep sleep before she slipped out of his arms and out of his bed, threw on her robe and made her way across the bedroom. She paused as a floorboard gave a loud creak and he stirred, rolling over and reaching out to where she had been lay only seconds earlier. Thankfully he didn't waken as she disappeared through the doorway and made her way quietly down the two flights of stairs to the main living area, calling briefly into the furthest spare bedroom on the way and collecting a large bag that she'd hidden there. It took her well over an hour to do everything she had planned and as she slipped back into bed beside him, her feet and hands as cold as ice, he winced in his dreams and instinctively pulled her into his loving embrace where she lay, slowly warming up until she drifted off to sleep alongside him.

David was the first of the couple to wake on this cold, grey Tuesday morning. He ran his hand over his stubbled face as he yawned and stretched, his leg brushing against the woman who lay sleeping next to him. The woman who he'd been dreaming about in the night. He couldn't remember the exact details of his dream, just that they'd been vacationing together on a tropical island somewhere, just the two of them, but the sun lounger had been washed out to sea with her lay on it and no matter how hard he swam, he couldn't catch up to her, the lounger creaking loudly as if it were about to break in two. And then after what seemed like forever, she'd been washed back his way on a giant wave but was bitterly cold and shivering so he'd had to hold her really close and tight until she was warm again.

He sat and swung his legs out of bed, heading to the bathroom, when he noticed a note on the table next to him. 'Don't go downstairs. If I'm asleep when you read this, wake me x'. He cast his eyes back over her curled up body, her back facing him as she bathed in blissful slumber. He shook his head softly to himself as he crept to the toilet, returning only a few minutes later to see her still in exactly the same position. He slipped carefully back in beside her, the movement of the bed causing her to stir and turn over so that he could now see her beautifully relaxed face, her arms reaching out for him instinctively and resting on his chest. 'I'm not waking you' he thought as he settled himself down into the pillows and lay watching her, her ribs rising and falling in a hypnotic, repetitive pattern. Twenty three minutes passed by until she slowly began to emerge from her sleep, stretching her legs straighter and rubbing at her eyes which opened after a few seconds and met with his smiling gaze.

"I told you to wake me" she said sleepily.

"You looked far too peaceful to disturb" he said softly, "Besides, I was enjoying watching you."

"Creep" she giggled, stretching herself out completely and then rolling her body on top of his in one smooth move. "Happy birthday honey" she said with a huge smile, cupping his cheeks and kissing him firmly on the lips as he locked his hands behind her back.

"Mmmmm it definitely is a happy birthday already" he replied against her mouth, pulling her even closer for another long and highly enjoyable kiss. "Can we just stay in bed together all day?" he asked as their lips finally drew apart.

"That would be a very enjoyable way to spend your birthday" she agreed, "but I'm not sure that's very fair to Cleo."

"I know" he said, "but it's a nice thought."

"It is" she said as she dipped down for another quick kiss. "Now we can carry this on... or we can head downstairs for your presents and save this kind of fun for later."

"Can't we have this kind of fun now and later?" he asked, flashing his best puppy dog eyes at her. "I mean, it is my birthday."

David got his way, Jen putting up only very minimal resistance, and almost an hour passed before they were finally ready to head down the stairs. "Stay here, you're not allowed to follow until I say it's okay" she teased as she disappeared from view, leaving him stood waiting in the corridor for a couple of minutes. "Right, you can come in now" she called and seconds later David's broad, T-shirted frame appeared in the doorway. The room was fairly dark since all the blinds were still closed, but there was a warm glow being cast by what looked like several strings of fairy lights strung across the far wall. He made his way deliberately over towards them, and Jen who was stood nearby smiling at him. As he got closer he realised that the lights were interspersed by about a hundred photographs hung by little pegs. There were several pictures he recognised instantly from the book that Court had shown them at their first private Friends reunion, alongside several that he had never seen before, ones obviously taken by Jen.