xp_logs | Jean/Kevin: So You Said It's Your Birthday

Backdated. After a particularly tough year, Kevin comes up with a quiet but special birthday dinner for Jean.

It was odd that Kevin had asked her to be ready for dinner at four in the afternoon. While he was certainly old enough to qualify for early bird specials for dinner, he had never shown any inclination to join the white hair brigade. But the invitation has clearly said to be ready by 4pm, nicely dressed but not formal. At four on the dot, his crisp knock hit her door.

Still undoubtedly curious, Jean nevertheless did as Kevin asked and was ready by the time he was there. She wore a forest green sweater with a simple gold chain, black slacks, and a pair of black boat shoes with green laces.

"Alright, what's this about?" she said with a smile.

"Happy birthday, Doc!" Kevin said, a bit more brightly than he normally did. "You look very nice. You ready for dinner?"

Jean tilted her head. "Maybe," she said, laughing. "Are you not going to tell me?"

"Do I need to? You don't just want to trust the ethically nebulous spy to come up with suitable birthday plans?" He raised his eyebrows at her. For Kevin, he was positively casual, wearing a light sweater under his blazer, no tie, and a pair of brown brogues. He looked like the young English teacher who turned a stuffy private school upsidedown from a film.

Smirking, Jean closed her door and locked it. "I just hate surprises. But I'll try to hold my curiosity at bay."

"It's not a tremendous secret. I just don't want you googling the restaurant until we get there. Come on, I even booked the nice coupe from the mansion pool." They fell into step down to the garage, as Kevin collected the access keys to the BMW Z4. Kevin tended to prefer the anonymity of public transit, and when he did book out a car, it tended to be the blandest sedan in the garage. The slick silver two-seater convertible was unexpected.

"So, I made a playlist for this. It even has songs released after you were born." He locked his phone into the dash and once she was in, pulled out and within minutes was on the highway headed towards upstate.

Jean blinked at his selection, glancing around at the shiny exterior and running her fingers along the plush interior with a bit of a smile. At his playlist comment, she quirked a brow. "Wow," she whistled. "Impressive. That must have taken a lot of research."

She was silent for a moment. "I really appreciate all the effort, but it's not even a special birthday," she admitted. "Unless you count being alive after a hell year."

"I have to admit, I asked Lewis and Hardy for help on the playlist. But I approved everything." He said, patting the seat next to her leg twice. "And you're right. You've had a really shitty year. So I thought you could use a nice night to not think about that. It's a little over two hours to the restaurant, so you've got time to enjoy the Fall foliage and the last round of nice weather. Or, if you want to talk about it, you've got a private space and a friendly ear for as long as you want."

Jean glanced out the window. "I prefer the latter," she mused. "It'd be great to not be in my own head for a while. I've been there a lot these last few weeks. Especially getting my ass kicked up and down North America."

Her attention flickered back over to him. "What was your favorite birthday?"

"1965. I turned 31. I'd just been promoted to head my own field office. My wife thought she might be pregnant and we were waiting to hear back from the doctor's office. Had dinner at Toots Shor and then saw the new Neil Simon play that had just opened - The Odd Couple. You?"

Jean smiled. "Hard to top that one," she said. She leaned her head back against the car headrest.

"I think mine was the year I found out I got into medical school. I planned a trip to Estes Park, Colorado with my roommate Misty to celebrate. We'd saved up all year to go hiking, then stay at the Stanley Hotel. The ghost tour was a bust, but we did have the best drinks and room service and got a lovely view of the mountains in the morning on our hike. I quickly found out that Misty was definitely a city girl and not the hiking type, but she tried," she said with a laugh.

"She try to throw you off the mountain when she heard you were only halfway through the hike?" He said, smoothly passing a pair of transport trucks and suddenly they were surrounded on both sides by trees covered in turning leaves.

Jean didn't reply at first, staring up at the fiery oranges and reds that enveloped them with a sense of quiet wonder at the beauty of it. She felt 5 years old again, taken in by the simple awe of nature.

"Wow."

Kevin grinned. "I figured you appreciate it."

Jean watched the trees sway in the breeze, the occasional leaf slipping off to dance across the highway like a rush of flame. "I wish I could walk in them. I haven't been out in the forest in forever. And we have one right at our doorstep. How sad is that?"

"It's coping and it's part of the healing process. And this..." He motioned to the forest around them as they sped along. "This is also part of the process. Don't beat yourself up for doing what you need to do to get through the days, so long as you don't

lock yourself out of the stuff that you eventually need to do to get fully healthy again. Believe me, I know this well."

"I'm mostly drifting from one crisis to another," Jean said. "Part of me is grateful because I don't have to think about it. Just focus on getting people better so I don't blame myself for not doing more to prevent them from being put there. And then a quiet moment rolls around...and I hate it."

"That's because surviving and living are two different things. I trust you to figure it out, so long as you let your friends in to help." Kevin passed a slow moving van, getting ahead to keep her view unobstructed. "Do you want a war story that illustrates my point? I'm old, so I have a couple."

Jean smiled a little. "Sure," she said.

"There was a guy I served with briefly. Combat engineer. Build bridges and walls and roads while getting shot at. All over the Korean front. So his time is up, he gets the Golden ticket back stateside. Starts working as a contractor in Northern California, building housing developments. Turns out, he's so used to hearing gunfire and artillery fire while working, he had problems running his crew. Ends up solving it by having a trailer on site where he can go into and listen to a record of Hollywood sound effects of gunfire and war so he can focus and go back and do his job." Kevin explained and then grinned at her. "Imagine being at a point that you can only do what you love if you can convince yourself you could be killed at it? You deserve more, Red."

Silent for a few moments, she watched the trees roll by. "I know I do. But the world gave me this. And I'm trying my best to figure out why the hell for."

"Because sometimes chaos wins for awhile. I can't tell you how many people I've seen who were basically saints who got made to eat a shitburger their whole lives." He tapped on his phone for a moment, switching to a Beatles song he knew she liked. "I don't think there's a greater meaning in what happens. It's more important to find a way to get past with yourself intact."

Jean closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the words. She smiled. "When life gives you lemons, throw the lemons back at them."

"Or pour yourself a good slug of vodka and add a twist." He grinned back.

They traveled quietly for the next hour or so, enjoying the pleasant weather, the autumn leaves and the surprisingly apt playlist. It was a subtle reminder of their bizarre otherworld experience, that Kevin remembered many of her favourite songs. Finally, he pulled off the highway and into the parking lot of a rustic restaurant sitting outfront of a small orchard. To one side was a market stall and several families were roaming through the pick your own pumpkin patch.

Jean sat there in silence for a few moments, staring in silence at the scene that unfolded in front of them with an unreadable look on her face. Finally, she smiled, a touch of warmth lighting up her eyes. Thank you," she said.

"It's perfect."

"I had a feeling." He got out of the car, walked around, and offered her his hand to step out. "It's an old cider house. Apparently it was turned into a restaurant about fifteen years ago, but they kept the orchard and pumpkin patch of that pick your own stuff and seasonal farmer's market, while incorporating it into menu as well. Real farm to table stuff." Kevin pivoted as she took his hand and stepped out of the car.

"I told you, Red, you've earned a night off. And I appreciate you trust me enough to provide it."

Jean took Kevin's hand, climbing out of the car. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky in pinks, oranges, and purples, and the strands of bulb lights that hung from the poles of the pumpkin patch came on.

"Now let's just hope that nothing explodes and it'll be great," she mused idly. Glancing around as children chased each other through the pumpkin patch, the smile remained on her face.

"I didn't think you were the pumpkin patch type."

"I'm not, but I know you are." Kevin pointed to the stand. "We have a few minutes before our reservations if you want to get a cider and walk through it?"

Distracted by the festivities, Jean glanced over. "Hmm? Absolutely. I may or may not be buying a few pumpkins for the mansion as well."

"Go look for your gourds. I'll get our drinks." He checked his watch, "We have twenty minutes before our table comes up."

Jean smirked. "I'll save you a pumpkin."

"I'm dropping some rum in my cider. I already have a treat." Kevin said and motioned her towards the patch. "Get what you want. There's a pork tenderloin glazed in local apple cider vinegar that is calling to me."

Jean blinked at him expectantly. "Please tell me you're going to give me some rum too. That sounds delightful."

"After you choose your pumpkins. Go! Run around the patch! I'll meet you with the drinks in five." He waved her off before heading to the little market stand.

Jean gave him a smile "Thanks," she said. She walked along the piles of pumpkins. The air was mingled with smoke from the small campfires with families circled around them making smores and the smell of apple cider. Leaves crunched under her feet as she crouched down and picked up a small, perfect pumpkin.

"Hello," she said, turning it over in her hand. It reminded her of fall when she was a child, just before her powers manifested. Her parents would take her to pumpkin patches and corn mazes dressed up in their Halloween best. They'd pick up apple cider donuts and eat them for breakfast in the morning. Her sister liked to dunk hers in apple cider. They'd both wear their costumes for days. Halloween was only a few days after Jean's birthday so they made the week extra special.

Tucking the pumpkin under her arm, Jean took out her phone and snapped a picture, to keep as a memory.

"Hey." Kevin met her, passing a paper cup of cider to her. "Who is your friend?" He pointed at her pumpkin.

Jean glanced down at her pumpkin with a smirk. "This is Jack. He's king of the pumpkin patch," she said, taking a small sip of the cider.

"Wow, that's good."

"I worked with a guy named Jack. He stood a little taller than this." He collected it to take it to the car. "You ready for dinner?"

"We have got to get you to watch the Nightmare Before Christmas," Jean mused then nodded. "And yeah, I'm ready. Looking forward to see what they've got."

"I admit, I checked the menu beforehand." He swept her in,like she was the main event, but it wasn't at all possessive. There was a comfortableness there that hadn't been there before. "Sydney, party of two."

The host nearly injured himself with the speed he got them to a table.

Jean paused, tilting her head at the man, but said nothing save for a curious, bemused smile as she sat down at the table. "Thanks," she said, immediately tucking the dinner napkin in her lap.

"This place smells amazing."

"It better be. I mean, they told me it was great. I mean, there isn't even a twenty ounce steak on the menu." Kevin joked. "But I am interested in their ideas. Again, the pork. Maybe the spice crusted tenderloin on the pumpkin mash. What are you thinking?"

Jean laughed, then scanned the menu. "The apple sage turkey and pumpkin risotto sounds really good," she said.

"The reviews are very good and I might have mentioned when I reserved our table an outrageous tip if everything went well." Kevin nodded as a pair of glasses were placed in front of them and the waiter deftly poured two glasses of sparkling wine for them. Kevin picked his up and extended it as a toast. "Happy birthday, Jean. Believe me, you earned it."

Lifting her glass, Jean smiled. "Thanks. To better days ahead," she said, letting the glass clink against his. She took a sip.