MANSTEAD ONE - SHOTS

DEAR NAT

It is Natalie's birthday and, while she is surrounded by her friends and family, a part of her is missing; Will is away in the Witness Protection Program, thus can't be with his loved one on her special day. As he is not allowed to use his phone, Will manages to convince his brother to give Natalie a handwritten letter from him to open on her birthday.

Natalie steps away from her little surprise birthday party to reach her bedroom and open the letter Jay Halstead has just given to her; even before the freckled man told her anything, she had a feeling she knew exactly who it was from.
As soon as she is sure no one is going to barge in and interrupt her, Natalie takes a deep breath and finally grabs the letter from the faded yellow envelope that protected it from prying eyes to read it.

"Dear Nat,
Today is your special day; today is all about you, and whatever you want to do. I hope someone surprised you with breakfast in bed this morning, bringing you those little homemade blueberry cupcakes you love so much and a cup of warm but not too hot coffe, as you hate it when it is too hot because it burns your tongue and you always say it takes you too much time to drink it; I hope someone snuck in a little note in between the tissue layers saying how precious you are and how loved you are, and how you make every day so much better just by smiling and being yourself.

I hope you did everything slowly this morning, and took your time to choose the best clothes to wear and paint your nails picking out your favorite one from the huge nail polish set April gave you as a Christmas gift: you probably chose the red one as, for some reason, you say it makes you feel like a movie star, but I hope you didn't: while every color looks amazing on you, that golden nail polish with little glitters on it really makes you shine brighter than any other. I never told you this but, every time he sees it on your hands, Owen tells me you look like the fairy princess of the story you read to him at bedtime too often for his liking: I have to be honest with you, he doesn't like that story Nat, he finds it boring, but he asks you to read it anyway because you look so carefree while talking about castles in lands far away, and princes and elves, and that makes him happy too. He says he makes him smile seeing his mommy so happy and free of any worry.

I hope you walked out of your house with the biggest smile on your face, and that the radio played each one of your favorite songs while you drove to work: perhaps some Taylor Swift, as I heard you listening to her music a lot in the past months after that teenage girl came into the Hospital saying she was the best artist of the last decade and told you to check her out.

I hope you walked through the doors of Gaffney totally oblivious about the surprise party everyone surely planned for you, but I know you went through the whole day trying not to make anyone notice you actually knew something was up: you're just too good of an observer not to notice when someone is hiding something from you. And this, I know from experience. I also know you played nonchalant because you love seeing the look on peoples faces when they are proud of themselves for having done a cute gesture.

When your shift ended, I hope you returned home and took a long bath just the way you like it: I can imagine Maggie texting you saying she's coming over with just a few of your friends to have a girls night for the special occasion, and then showing up with the whole of Chicago in tow.

Then, I'm sure you'd choose to wear the white shirt with tiny sunflowers all along the sleeves I gifted you for Valentine's Day because you always wear it when you want to go with something nice, but not too fancy. And lastly, I hope with all of myself that you are going to have such a great time at your party, that you are going to feel all the love your friends and your family have for you, and that you are going to be reminded of how important you are and how life without just wouldn't be the same.

I wish I could be with you today Natalie, kissing you all over that adorable face of yours, tickle you and make you laugh until tears come out of your eyes; I wish I could tell you in person that you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, and that I love you more than words can express. I wish I could be there to tell you, for every year, one thing I love and admire about you and maybe serenade you with my guitar until you beg me to stop because you're crying too much and your makeup is going to get ruined. I know that if I can't be with you though, there's no one to blame but me.

You deserve to know the truth, and I promise to tell you everything as soon as I can; but please, don't think about that right now: just smile, drink and open your presents.

I am so thankful that you are in this world and that I have been lucky enough to meet you: you are a wonderful human being, Natalie Manning, and everyone should tell you that everyday, but even more so today.
Happy Birthday, Nat. To many others, my love, raise your glass to the sky. I love you.
Yours truly,
Will."

Natalie can't help crying a little at Will's words, wishing with all of herself that he'd be with her; but she knows he wouldn't want her to be sad the day of her birthday, and this he said on his letter as well, so she quickly splashes her face with some water and smiles, thinking of all the great people chatting downstairs she's lucky to spend the special day with. She puts the letter back in the envelope, and then places it under her pillow; as she walks down the stairs to get back to her party, she thinks about Will and how tight she is going to hold him as soon as they're reunited.