(no subject)

[newbvampire]

WHO: Open
WHERE: The Import Precinct.
WHEN: The evening of the 18th.
WARNINGS: Maybe some foul language from some of the guests, or Yusuke?
SUMMARY: Jack Bauer gets a surprise birthday party.
FORMAT: Whatever you feel like. Make sub threads as you please and such. Go have fun!

It had taken some frantic searching all over the city, but Seras had managed to find a cake for Jack. Sadly though it hadn't let her much time to get the decorations together. Still, she did what she could and there was at least a banner and a few balloons in the precinct's break room. Hopefully Captain Bauer would like it. With a final check of everything completed she went to go wait outside of his office and catch him before he left the building. Everyone else would wait in the break room until she brought him back and then jump out shouting surprise.

Maybe she had better make sure the Captain wasn't armed first.

Comments

[crabulous]

Zoidberg arrived right on time and uninvited! He waved at the other attendees then went straight for the cake, sniffing it delicately before searching for a knife and plate. No sense in letting it sit there, may as well dig in right away!

[out_of_time]

Once Jack resigned himself to the fact that he was getting a party whether he wanted or not, he decided that he ought to at least greet the people who had come to celebrate his birthday.

...starting with the strange crablike creature that he'd never met before who was beginning to demolish his cake. Jack approached a little awkwardly, racking his brain to confirm that yes, a complete stranger was eating his cake. "Hi, thanks for coming," he said, forcing a smile. "You enjoying things so far?"

[crabulous]

"Oh yes!" Zoidberg answered around a mouthful of cake, bits of frosting covering his mouth frills and even the top of his head. He truly looked like the happiest camper around. "This is quite a shindig you've got here! What's the occasion anyway?"

[out_of_time]

Jack stared.

"It's, uh, it's my birthday." He was definitely going to have to talk to Seras about who she invited or didn't invite to these things. "I can see you're enjoying the cake."

[crabulous]

"A-ha! That would explain the cake and presents!" He smiled, obviously delighted with the news. He liked birthdays, birthdays meant food, and sometimes party favors! Perhaps he would be allowed to take some food home for later! What a splendid idea! "Happy birthday, friend!"

[out_of_time]

More staring. This was turning into one of the more surreal birthdays Jack had experienced in a life that had by no means been ordinary. "...Thank you," he said after a moment of mental fumbling for words. The wide range of experiences he'd had simply hadn't prepared him for awkward social situations involving alien crabs. "Tell me, how did you find out about this? Did Seras invite you?"

[crabulous]

Zoidberg shook his head, mouth frills flopping about randomly, crumbs spraying from his mouth in an impressive display of filth. "Oh no! Miss Seras didn't invite me. I used my powers to find the party!"

[out_of_time]

It was quiet in the precinct. Too quiet. And empty. Where was everyone? Had something happened? No alarms had been triggered and Jack had received no intelligence on possible threats during his long, lonely birthday at work, spent so far at his desk.

Now he got up from his desk. Did he hear something coming from the break room? His mind ran through the possibilities- infiltration, staff abductions, sabotage, gas. In his life, any of these was a possibility, even on his birthday- especially on his birthday. Jack stepped out of his office and drew his weapon.

[newbvampire]

Seras bolted to her feet the second she saw Jack draw his weapon. "Uh, sir? Is everything alright?"

[out_of_time]

Jack looked around suspiciously. "I'm not sure. Something doesn't feel right. Seras, have you seen anything out of the ordinary lately?"

[newbvampire]

"No, sir." Seras prayed he wouldn't be able to tell she was lying. "I think everyone just headed home early. It is the weekend, sir."

[out_of_time]

Oh right. Normal people sometimes rested, didn't they. Still, Jack's instincts told him something was up. "I thought I heard something coming from the break room, something unusual. Have you been in there lately?"

[newbvampire]

"That was me, sir. I was going over some files there and having a cuppa." That sounded plausible. Hopefully it would be enough to get the Captain to relax and not shoot anyone in the break room. "There was actually some of them I wanted you to look at. It's probably nothing, I just want to make sure."

[out_of_time]

Jack holstered his weapon, frowning. "All right. I'll take a look if you want." Not like he had anything else to do. And his instincts were still sending him messages.

[newbvampire]

Yes, he believed her! Normally she'd feel bad about lying to Captain Bauer at all, but this was a special case. Seras spun around and walked over tothe break room, opening the door and holding it for Jack. "Thank you, sir. I promise it won't take long."

[out_of_time]

Jack stepped through the door, felt a sudden flare of alarm within him, saw the banner, and then-

"What the hell-"

[newbvampire]

Seras was right behind him, a huge grin on her face. "Surprise! Happy birthday, sir!"

[out_of_time]

Jack turned around slowly, his mouth slightly open. "Seras. You..."

No words came. He could believe that she'd put together a surprise birthday party for him. He couldn't believe that she'd put one over on him.

[newbvampire]

Seras fidgeted a bit, but she was still grinning. "Um, I hope you like it, sir. I know you were trying to keep it a secret, but it just didn't seem right to not do something for you with all that you've done for everyone here."

Presents Table

[newbvampire]

[One of the tables against the break room wall has been cleared off and a small neatly written sign saying "Please leave presents here." set down on top of it.]

[newbvampire]

One of the presents is a small, hard case. Attached to the top of it is a note that reads as follows.

"Happy birthday, sir. I wasn't quite sure you would like this, but if nothing else I hope it will help keep you safe while we're out on call.

Best wishes,

Seras"

Inside is a brand new HK 45c compact pistol with four spare magazines.

[out_of_time]

Jack picked up the weapon gently, running his hands over it, confirming its excellent condition. He already had about four of his preferred sidearm, but decided not to mention that to Seras, lest she be stammering and sheepish for the rest of the night. Instead, he tested the slide, checked the lever, gave his new weapon a thorough examination before looking up at Seras.

"Thank you Seras. And thank you for putting all this together." Even if he didn't want a party, he had to appreciate the sentiment behind her going through all this trouble.

[newbvampire]

His praise made her grin ear to ear. He'd done so much for her it was nice to finally do something for him and to know it was appreciated even if he was trying to avoid it made it even better. "You're welcome, sir. I was happy to do it."

[out_of_time]

He smiled a little. "You realize I'm gonna have to pay you back for all this sneaking around on your own birthday, right?"

[newbvampire]

She laughed "You don't have to, sir. It's not like they really matter for me anymore."