Considering no one was around, Ami threw herself onto her bed in a rather unladylike fashion and groaned. Flat kicked off in a matter of moments, not even bothering to put them in her closet like she normally did, organized by color and everything. Ami pressed her face into her pillow, her entire body aching from the mission today. A complete failure, as usual. Well no, they'd succeeded certainly, but it was only because of Wilson. He and Sasha had fought so hard, and she'd reeled over, attempting not to cough up the contents of her thoracic cavity.

Some hunter she was. Ami's eyes fluttered closed for a moment or two, her breathing evening out. Somewhere in her consciousness she realized she was tired, but that wouldn't do. She couldn't be tired. Ami's schedule was full- but then, it was always full. She never let it empty.

Except one day. Even in the military setting of Deus Ex, her birthday was special. December 11th, which was tomorrow. Wearily, she gathered the strength to detach herself from the bed, so as to grumpily shuffle to her desk. She wiped her eyes, pulling paper out from the drawers so as to write herself a note. Considering tomorrow was her only day off, she intended to spend it shopping, and doing nothing but lounging around her room. Hunter didn't get time alone often, and considering Ami was as introverted as they came, she was glad for the off time.

She put her head down on the desk, intending to write, but her mind wouldn't have it. She wrote down a few supplies, but her lights were quickly out.

---

"Daddyyyyyyyyyy." A squeal from the living room rang through the entire house, the whims of a small 6 year year old with pigtails echoing off the walls. Of course the squeals were immediately halted as her father came in with an enormous (or what seemed enormous to her tiny frame) bowl of popcorn. Her eyes were shiny orbs of desire as he placed it in front of her, with all the finesse of a ringleader before his circus. Ami was absolutely starstruck. "I get this?"

Her father chuckled and scooped her up with a single arm, lifting her high above his head while she giggled at the airplane noises he was making. "Of course you get popcorn! Popcorn for the princess!" It wasn't, but he couldn't tell her that. Inevitably her tiny body wouldn't be able to finish the whole thing, so he would finish it off for her.

"Let me down, let me down!" Ami urged, tiny hands reaching for the popcorn.

The father rolled his eyes and gave a slobbery kiss to her soft little cheek as he set her down on the couch. With one hand he plopped the entire popcorn bowl into her lap, secretly appreciating the way her little feet wiggled off the couch in a way that only a father could.

As his daughter munched her popcorn, he popped into the kitchen to fetch his wife. "Is it ready yet?"

"A few more minutes!" she said, clearly fiddling with candles on the iced creation.

"It looks fine."

A pout, and then Ami's mother sighed, wiping her hands on a cloth.

Ami, meanwhile, had already figured out how to turn on the tv with the remote, and was now pressing random buttons to make her favorite movie, Peter Pan, start. "Daaaaaaad. It won't staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaart."

It was then that Ami's parents decided to descend upon her, mother's arms filled with a tiny cake baked for 3 people. Ami dropped the remote almost immediately, her mouth making a doughnut out of her face. "Oh my gosh that's the biggest cake I've ever seen!" It was actually quite small, but her childish brain wouldn't know any different.

Father emerged with plates and cutlery, and they began singing Happy Birthday to her. It was a small birthday, but it was more than enough for Ami, who thought a bowl of popcorn and a small cake was the world in her hands.

After the cake had been distributed and eaten, Ami climbed up onto the couch, sitting in between her parents. Her father explained how to work the TV, showing her how to turn the VHS player on so they could watch the movie. When the familiar Disney tune began to play, Ami smiled excitedly, knowing she'd done something good. It was then that she began to eat the popcorn with her tiny hands, one small piece at a time. It was meticulous, but Ami was that way, even now.

Time went on, Ami watched with childlike wonder, even though she'd easily seen the movie twenty times. Her mother was never the type to sit through a movie, so she got up to do odd jobs like cleaning the counter or throwing clothes in the dryer- it wasn't neglect, her mother just never sat still through anything. It was okay for Ami though. She'd always been closer to her father, curling up to him as the movie went on. At one point during the movie, she coyly said, "You can have the rest of the popcorn, dad!" Truthfully, she couldn't eat another bite, but she didn't want him to know that.

Her father knowingly said, "Thank you Ami, that's very nice of you!"

One part of the movie Ami could never understand. "Hey daddy? How come if the Captain never beats Peter Pan ... why doesn't he just um ... why doesn't he just become friends with Peter?"

"Well that wouldn't make for a very good story, dear."

Ami didn't get it. "But ... but why can't they just be friends?" She was six, she didn't have the logic capabilities to comprehend it.

"In stories ... you have to have a bad guy, and a good guy. Otherwise it would be boring. Who would Peter fight without Hook there?"

---

Ami woke up on her desk, rubbing sleep from her eyes. It was one of the first dreams she'd had of her father- a positive one anyways. A pang of guilt struck her as she realized he probably thought her dead. A wife dead and a child dead- what a horrible fate she'd left her father.

Adam? Did he feel guilty about her presumed death? He probably thought it his fault- after all, cheating on a girl and then she mysteriously disappears? Everyone would suspect suicide. She hadn't thought of that. Was he guilt ridden? Perhaps the news hadn't reached him at all.

She shook her head. Ami constantly had to remind herself that she was't of that world anymore, she didn't belong to those people. There was no father, no fiance. That time had passed.

Ami stood up from her chair at the desk, realizing that making a shopping list this late at night was pointless. Unfortunately, she'd have to just wing it tomorrow, visiting her favorite spots and hoping she had enough time. One thing that was nice about being a hunter? Unlimited shopping locations. She could literally visit anywhere in the world.

Once more she buried herself in her pillow, pulling the covers over her shoulder. Her eyes flicked to her clock, which read somewhere around 4 AM. "Happy birthday to me," she said grumpily. How empty her room felt. No Adam curled around her, playing the role of big spoon. No parents on either side of her as she sat on the couch. Pulling a pillow closer, she noted that this was the loneliest birthday she'd ever had. A gulp as she swallowed her sadness, ignoring the loneliness. Instead, she pressed her face into her pillow, and lost herself to sleep once more.