March 12th, 2019.
Jake groaned and rolled over, shoving his face into his pillow as he listened to his daughter yell 'Happy Birthday, dad!'. Soft laughs came from her mother who was lying next to him.
Heather smiled feeling Jake wrap his arms around her body, pulling her close and hiding his face in her side. They had all stayed in Jake's apartment the night before, wanting to be together for Jake's birthday.
Two weeks ago, when Jake initially left Lucia, he had returned to his apartment to find it slightly trashed and her gone.
It was a relief to know he wouldn't have to fight her on anything. As soon as he started to clean up, he heard to door open again and froze thinking it might be Lucia.
But the hand on his back told him different. Heather had come over to help him, for some reason feeling like this was her fault. It definitely wasn't.
Running her fingers through his hair, she nodded for Juliet to go and get what they had gotten for him. There was a breakfast ready outside but Jake didn't seem to want to move.
"Hey you," Heather whispered, her fingers softly tugging on his locks, watching him move his head so he could see her, "What's up?"
Jake shook his head, a small smile settling on his lips. Work was exhausting this week and he wanted to stay in bed all day.
"Nothing, I'm just exhausted," Jake said, lying his head on her arm and leaning up, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.
"I hope you're not too worn out," Heather mused, pulling back from him. She had plans for that night and she wasn't about to forget them.
Jake's head lifted at that, the small mischievous smile on her face had him questioning what she was doing.
Heather didn't answer his look, instead she kissed his lips and tugged the covers off him as she got out of bed.
Jake groaned, throwing himself out of the bed, trudging down the hallway to the kitchen where Juliet was bouncing with excitement.
It was the first occasion within their family since Jake and Heather got together and she had told almost everyone. Her teacher, her friends, her grandparents when they were on the phone, Kaitlin when they met her in town the day before.
The parents were sure almost all of D.C. knew at this point.
Jake's heart swelled at the banner on the kitchen wall, handmade by Juliet with Heather's help. A stack of pancakes, eggs, bacon, a potato hash sat on the kitchen table beside the bouncing seven year old.
"You guys," Jake chuckled, leaning over to kiss Juliet's head while Heather poured his coffee for him.
"Do you like it dad?" Juliet asked, eyes wide as she looked between him and her mother, a broad smile on her face.
"I love it little bug," Jake reassured, realising that this was the first time in six years he had gotten anything like this on the morning of his birthday.
***
Jake was about to explode. He could physically feel his temperature rising watching Heather around the office. Her tight black dress hugged her just right, everywhere.
Jake knew she was doing it on purpose. He knew she was getting him worked up. It almost felt like before they'd had Juliet. Their sex life had been nothing short of filth.
"Hey birthday boy! How's your day going?" Abby's voice cut Jake loose from his thoughts. It didn't last long, his break from reality was about to walk into his office.
