Her eighteenth birthday had come and gone like the wind. They couldn't afford to throw any kind of elaborate party and, since Vanessa paid about as much attention to the date as she did her english class, the happy event would have gone formally uncelebrated if it wasn't for the smiling faces of her family and closest friends. John Jr was the first to greet her on the morning of the 4th; bounding into her bedroom like a rabbit on steroids and tackling the heap of blankets he knew to be hiding his older sister's skinny frame.

She'd woken up with the air knocked out of her, gasping hungrily, as John Jr screeched;

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" There was a smile the size of the sun on his face.

It was a moment or two before Vanessa could breathe. When she did manage to find her voice she returned her brother's brilliant grin with one of her own, though hers was much sleepier.

"Thanks, kid."

He'd hugged her then, and Vanessa's heart swelled with gratitude as her father joined them. He was a very tall man, having to duck under the doorframe for fear of hitting his forehead, with broad shoulders and a wide stance- Vanessa loved him very much, but she could understand why, growing up, her classmates had frequently informed her exactly how intimidating the generally silent Mr. Rae could be. He took up a lot of room without meaning to.

"Happy Birthday, sweetheart," Mr. Rae's eyes twinkled at his daughter. In his arms he carried two fair-sized parcels that had been carefully wrapped in some kind of newspaper. He sat on the edge of her bed, and handed them both to Vanessa.

"That one's from me," John Jr pointed at the bigger package, that toothy grin never leaving his face, and leaned comfortably against his father's shoulder as they both settled down to celebrate this special day with their favourite lady.

There were never many presents under their roof, but it was always a treat to receive them. Vanessa beamed as she tore into the first present, the bigger one, and headlines from the Destiny City Bulletin floated, unheeded, to the floor.

"Oh, wow!" she squeaked with glee as she pried open the box and retrieved her new baseball bat, "John Jr, its so shiny! How could you afford this?"

John Jr looked a little sheepish. Mr. Rae cleared his throat and answered for his son.

"Your brother's been doing a lot of work around the house for me lately. He paid for that," Mr. Rae gestured at the steel bat with his chin, "with his weekly allowance."

"That must have taken you forever!" Vanessa's jaw dropped open.

"Yeah, well," John Jr shrugged, light brown cheeks tinged slightly pink, "I'm just glad you like it."

"Of course I do, squirt," she said softly and, a smirk playing on her lips, gripped John Jr's skull in her hands and pulled him towards her so that she could peck him on the cheek. John Jr stuck out his tongue and made a disgusted face, attempting to push Vanessa away with his arms. His fingers squished into her cheeks and she burst into a fit of giggles, butt managed to leave a slobbery kiss on his temple anyways. Mr. Rae watched fondly as his children fought.

John Jr, who saw Vanessa as both his sister and a mother of sorts, was secretly pleased by this display of obvious affection, but pretended, like all boys his age, to be horrified.

"Gross," he groaned and wiped her girl cooties off of himself. "God, Vanessa, now I need to shower."

Mr. Rae laughed. It was a low, rumbling sound. "And we all know how much you hate those, Junior."

"I only need to take baths when I smell," John Jr informed them all coolly and crossed his arms over his scrawny little chest, but the twitches of laughter and the corners of his mouth gave him away.

Mr. Rae ruffled his sons hair, which was already messed from sleep, and turned his attention back to Vanessa. "Open the next one."

The second present was much smaller than the first, but still about the size of John Jr's head, and a flat rectangle. It felt delicate and Vanessa treated it with a surprising amount of consideration as she pulled at the tape and pealed back the wrappings. Her heart stilled, and the back of her eyes stung with tears.

"Oh. Wow."

"That was your mother's favourite picture." Mr Rae murmured, and wrapped his arms around John Jr as the little boy crawled onto his lap. "She loved pictures and scrap-booking, but never got an opportunity to put this one into an album. I had it blown up for you."

In her hands Vanessa gripped a wooden frame. Inside the frame was a photo of their family as it should have been; They stood in front of a tree at the park. Mrs. Rae, who had always been tall and beautiful, wore a striking yellow summer dress. Her belly was swollen with child, and she had one hand wrapped protectively underneath it; cradling the life of the unborn child. Her husband stood beside her, tall and imposing, with one arm around his wife's shoulders. On his shoulders sat an eight year old Vanessa. Her auburn hair was long and tied back in a braid. She was missing some teeth, but that did nothing to dissuade the child's happiness. She grinned at the camera, clinging to her father's ears so that she wouldn't fall to the ground, and her mouth was covered in what must have been strawberry ice cream.

"That's me," John Jr pointed at his mother's round belly.

"Its beautiful dad," Vanessa struggled to keep the frog out of her throat, as she embraced her father and her brother, "Thank you."