Author's Notes: Many thanks to my wonderful beta, LariLee!

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After a long and taxing day, Severus was finally making his way back to his rooms. Everyone seemed to have been making great pains to embarrass him today. He had received countless cards from his colleagues and no one seemed able to pass him in the hallways without a trite, singsong greeting of, ‘Happy Birthday, Professor.’ He made a mental note to be deathly ill and in bed on this day next year.

He entered his rooms and breathed a sigh of relief. No more well wishers, no further acts of alleged kindness and gratitude. He was home.

He followed an extremely unusual scent coming from the kitchen and stopped dead. Standing there in the kitchen with her back to him was Camilla. She was hunched over a steaming cauldron, prodding the contents within tentatively with her wand. To his horror, he realized she was cooking.

He silently laid down the stack of cards he was carrying on the table and approached her stealthily. He came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist, nuzzling her neck.

She jumped and dropped her wand into the cauldron. “Dammit!” she cried, peering into the cauldron. She whipped around and hit him on the arm. “You scared me to death!”

Severus smirked and flicked his wand, causing her wand to fly out of the cauldron and into his outstretched hand.

Camilla stood with one hand on her hip and the other held out in front of her. “Can I have that, please?” she asked impatiently.

Severus merely laughed and approached the cauldron. He looked inside at the brownish-grey liquid churning and bubbling within and raised his eyebrows. “Interesting concoction. What is it supposed to be?” he asked playfully.

As he turned around, he was surprised to see tears filling her eyes. “It’s supposed to be your dinner. It was supposed to be special.” She quickly snatched her wand from his hand and pointed it inside the cauldron. “Evanesco!” she shrieked.

Severus stood there dumbfounded as she stood over the counter with her back to him, crying softly.

Great, Severus, what have you done now?

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her again. “Forgive me,” he whispered. “I’m a fool. It looked…delicious.”

Camilla laughed despite her tears. “It was horrendous,” she said with a sigh, leaning against him and laying her head on his shoulder. “I wanted to do something nice for your birthday. That’s the least a wife should be able to do for her husband. I should have known better than to try to cook.”

“Nonsense,” he said, planting feathery kisses along her cheek. “You are perfect, just as you are.”

Camilla turned around to face him, an oddly cold expression on her face. “I am far from perfect, Severus. Please don’t ever think of me that way. It’s just not true.” She took a seat at the table and began looking through Severus’ birthday cards.

Severus took the chair across from her and studied her face. How many times would he manage to upset her tonight?

Camilla paused as she came upon a large cream colored envelope. Her face seemed to drain of all color and her hands were shaking as they gripped the envelope. “Where did you get this?”

Severus gazed at her curiously. “It came with the post, I believe. I didn’t have time to look at all the cards.”

“Oh,” she said, handing the envelope to him. “Open it.”

Severus stared at her for a moment. “Are you all right?”

Camilla nodded. “I’m fine.” She waved her hand dismissively and gave him a strained smile.

He tore open the seal and pulled out a card that read, ‘To my dear son, on his birthday.’

“Who’s it from?” asked Camilla.

Severus looked inside. At the bottom were scrawled the words, ‘Love, Mum.’

“It’s from my mother.”

“Oh,” Camilla said quietly. “What does it say?”

“It does not say anything. What is wrong with you?” he demanded. Her eyes were wide and she was trembling.

“Nothing. It’s just… Well, it’s just odd that your mother is sending you a card. You haven’t spoken to her in years,” she replied, her voice shaky.

“Why is that?” More secrets were being kept from him! Severus wondered if he would ever know the truth about his life.

“It’s a long story,” she answered. “Basically, you had a row. You wanted her to leave your father and she refused. In your eyes, she picked him over you and you never spoke to her again.” Camilla’s eyes filled with tears again.

Severus gazed down at the card, pondering this news. “Why is she sending me a card, then?”

Camilla shook her head. “I don’t know, Severus. She still loves you, of course. Maybe she’s trying to make things right.”

He sighed and tossed the card on the table. He didn’t know what to think. When was his life going to make sense? Would he ever know the whole truth? The people who supposedly loved him seemed to be taking great care to keep it from him.

Camilla stood up and walked over to him with tears shining in her eyes. She sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. He laid his head on her breast and held her close to him. “I’m sorry, Severus. There are so many things that I wish had never happened to you. There’s so much pain that I want to disappear. Forgive me for not wanting you to go through it all over again,” she sobbed.

He looked up at her and wiped the tears from her eyes gently. “Please don’t cry,” he whispered. She really did love him. She only wanted to keep him from pain; he could hardly fault her for that, as much as he wanted to.

He held her for a while, stroking her hair as she nuzzled her head into his chest. “You know,” he said finally, “it is my birthday. And as much as I loathe everyone else’s gifts, I was looking forward to unwrapping yours.” He slid his hand inside her robes and was pleased to make contact with her bare skin again.

Camilla smiled slyly. “Well, I managed to completely screw up dinner. Let’s see if I can get dessert right.”

And with that she kissed him hungrily and they soon found a new use for the kitchen table.

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Author's Notes: Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I could say I've been busy but I had two weeks of Christmas vacation where I sat around and did nothing. So, I have no excuse, but I'm resolving to update faster from now on! I realize this is a short chapter, but there's a lot there with regard to the plot, if you look closely. Thanks to everyone who is still reading and, as always, reviews are much appreciated. : )