Happy Birthday
July 31 st , 2022
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday my wonderful darling, happy birthday to you”, Nate half sang half whispered in Lynn’s ear early in the morning.
She was still sleeping, but of course his voice woke her. Oh, and maybe it was his hand between her legs that had a big impact on her waking up as well. Nate left wet kisses along her neck until he reached her collarbone.
“Nate,” she giggled with her eyes still closed while his hand wandered dangerously near to her core.
“What? You don’t like my singing voice?” Nate stopped kissing her, a fake pout in his lips.
“Yes... Yes. I… I’m just not used to someone being so nice to me,” she stuttered a little.
“I know, darling, but it’s my job to change that. Boyfriend’s duty,” he chuckled but stopped abruptly.
His eyes widened and he looked at Lynn in shock. The moment he was about to pull the blanket over his head to disappear in shame, Lynn said,
“What did you just say?”
Nate didn’t answer and successfully hid his face underneath the blanket, mumbling something Lynn couldn’t understand. She grabbed the hem of the blanket and pulled it down again, revealing Nate’s cherry red face that he had scrunched together in a painful expression.
“What did you just say?” Lynn repeated and she couldn’t hide the smile on her face.
“Boyfriend’s duty,” Nate repeated so low, she almost missed it.
Nate opened one of his scrunched eyes to look at Lynn, waiting for a reaction while his whole body was filled with fear.
“I like the sound of that.” Lynn smiled at him.
In a second Nate’s face relaxed, his eyes wide and one side of his mouth started to curl upward.
“Yeah?”
“Yes, honey. I’m not good with relationships so I don’t know if and how to declare yourselves as boyfriend and girlfriend. Does that just happen, or do you talk about that? I wasn’t brave enough to ask you,” Lynn babbled, underlining her statement with wide gestures.
“Right? It was so much easier back in school when you just wrote a letter to ask if someone wants to be your girlfriend or boyfriend,” Nate sighed before letting his head fall back into the soft pillow.
“I would have loved a letter.” Lynn winked at him.
Nate’s head was turned in her direction and she could see a smirk appear on his face before he jumped out of the bed and ran towards the desk on the other side of the wall.
“What are you doing?” Lynn laughed, watching him curiously.
“Wait!” he said, holding his outstretched palm towards her while he dug in the drawer .
While exclaiming a loud “Ha” he grabbed a mossy green notebook and placed it on the surface of his desk. Then he grabbed a black pen and started to write something on one of the sides of the notebook. It took him a while, before he ripped the page off the book and jumped back into the bed. Lynn couldn’t stop laughing about the almost dorky and playful behavior of Nate. He placed the paper in her hand.
Lynn Summers,
Most beautiful woman on this planet. My sunshine, the woman that makes me smile and laugh and feel happy. The woman that not only repaired my knee but also my mind. The only one that manages to silence my demons with a simple touch. When I’m with you, I don’t have nightmares and now I am running out of cute things to write. You’re already looking at me confused. So, Lynn Summers, do you want to be my girlfriend?
Yes No
Lynn smiled like a maniac when she grabbed the black pen out of Nate’s hand and circled “Yes” multiple times. Then she gave the paper back to Nate, who was smiling as wide as Lynn.
“Girlfriend,” he whispered before leaning in to kiss her.
“Boyfriend,” the doctor whispered back only a second before their lips collided.
Nate pulled her close, parted her legs with his knee and ground his hips against her. She could feel his hardening length underneath his boxers and the way he pressed it against her core, made her lower belly feel like it was on fire.
“Let me show you what I have in store for you as your boyfriend,” he whispered in Lynn’s ear with a rumbling gravel in his voice. She felt his voice vibrate through her whole body and ground her hips against his. Nate groaned in response, grabbed the hem of the oversized shirt that Lynn wore as pajamas, and pulled it over her head. She arched her back a little to help him get rid of the thin fabric and as soon as her bare upper body laid down on the mattress again, she could see Nate’s blown pupils.
He was feral for her.
His hungry eyes wandered over her body, followed by his index finger that carefully stroked along every part of her. He was worshiping her, showing her how much he loved her body and that she was perfect for him.
It was the biggest compliment she’d ever received.
He took his time letting his fingers playfully twitch one of her nipples while he leaned his head towards her to place wet kisses along her jawline. Lynn had her eyes closed and enjoyed every careful touch of the man she loved more than anyone else. Nate’s ridiculously soft lips followed her jawline until he reached her ear – knowing well that behind it was one of her sweet spots. He let his tongue slightly brush over her ear lobe until his lips sucked on said spot.
“Nate,” Lynn moaned in response and wrapped one of her arms around his upper body to find a hold somewhere. But as he was only sleeping in his boxers, her hand didn’t find anything other than his messy hair, pulling his head back a little and away from her ear .
Nate whined because of the hard pull, opened his eyes and looked at her. Lynn still had her eyes closed, her lips slightly parted and she looked like an angel in his eyes.
“How could I be so lucky to have someone as beautiful as you as my girlfriend,” he whispered. Lynn opened her eyes, and her chestnut ones met his. Because of his blown pupils they looked almost completely dark with only a shiny icy blue ring around his pupils. It was beautiful.
He didn’t let her answer, turning her on her back and placing himself above her, his hands on each side of her head. Lynn could feel him press his length against her core and she growled in impatience.
“Nate.”
“What do you want, darling?” He smirked at her, underlining his question with another movement of his hips. He was already fully hard and he couldn’t wait to rip his boxers off.
“Fuck me. No teasing, please. I need you,” Lynn whispered, sparkles dancing behind her eyes when she smiled at him.
Nate lowered his upper body and connected his lips with hers in a fierce kiss. At the same time his hand wandered down her body and met the hem of her panties. He slipped it inside and roughly dragged one finger through her folds.
“Shit,” Lynn inhaled sharply. She hadn’t expected him to start right away, but as quickly as his fingers came, they left her again, making her feel empty.
“Just wanted to check how wet you are already,” he growled, before pulling Lynn’s panties down her legs .
“Always, when I’m with you.” Her answer made a moan slip out of his mouth and the hand that had been on her core now stroked his cock through the fabric of his boxers.
“What are you doing to me, Lynn Summers?” he asked before sitting back on his ankles to get rid of his underwear. He slid both of his feet out and threw them behind him on the floor of the room.
“It’s called love, Nate,” she giggled, slightly moving her now naked body on the soft sheets of the bed.
He climbed back on top of her, parting her legs with one of his knees and hovered his lips right above hers. He knew exactly what he was doing, as he lowered his hips enough so that the tip of his cock put a little pressure on her clit.
“No teasing,” she moaned but couldn’t stop her eyes from rolling back in her head.
They’d had sex a few times after that first date and she never felt as good as she felt with him. Although Nate told her he hadn’t really had sex in the past decade, he truly hadn’t forgotten how to treat a woman. It hadn’t taken him long to get back in shape.
“I love you, too,” he whispered on her hot lips and waited for her silent permission to enter her.
Lynn bucked her hips a little, feeling more pressure of his dick on her clit. Nate smiled into her skin, lined up his cock with her entrance and slowly slid himself in. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her fingernails gripped into his skin. Lynn’s brows were slightly furrowed while they both waited for her to adjust to his size. She’d probably never get used to the initial sting of his size .
A few heartbeats later Nate carefully started to pull his cock almost completely out before burying it deep inside of her again. He wanted to be as slow and gentle as possible until she was fully adjusted but it seemed like Lynn was feeling better than he thought, because she wrapped her legs around his waist and crossed her feet above his butt.
“So needy,” he commented but she only dug her heels in even more. Nate growled, pushing himself even deeper inside of her. Her moans intensified and he knew he was hitting the right spot inside of her. His thrusts increased in speed while his mouth collided with hers once again. Their kiss was sloppy, wet, and full of fire. Their tongues danced with each other before Lynn dug her teeth in Nate’s lower lip. He whined but could feel the knot in his stomach building faster and faster.
“Don’t stop,” Lynn begged, her heels digging deeper in his butt and he knew he would have some bruises there tomorrow.
Nate grabbed both of Lynn’s hands, intertwined their fingers and placed them above her head.
With every thrust of his hips he reached the spongy spot inside of her, making Lynn tumble over the edge while screaming his name. The combination of his name out of her mouth, the pain of her heels on his butt and her beautiful expression as she rode out her orgasm, made him spill deep inside of her with a final thrust.
Nate was panting and he felt Lynn’s legs shake around his waist. She opened her eyes and started to laugh while unwinding her legs and letting them fall to the mattress next to his broad body. Nate carefully pulled out of her and let himself fall next to her.
He raised an eyebrow on her but she only looked at him and laughed even louder, crunching her nose and making adorable sounds.
Nate couldn’t hold back and started to laugh as well, although he didn’t even understand why they were laughing.
“I can’t believe…” she started with heavy breaths, her body still shaking from exhaustion “…I had to turn thirty to finally like my birthdays. It’s not even 8am and this is already the best birthday of my life.”
Nate turned towards her and placed a single kiss on her nose.
“From now on I’ll make you like every birthday. I promise!”
“That sounds fantastic.” She smiled at him.
“Let’s have a shower.” Nate slipped out of bed and reached his hand out towards Lynn.
“I don’t think I can walk,” Lynn answered, a slight touch of shame flickering in her eyes.
“No problem, darling. I’ve got you.” Nate rounded the bed, placed one of his hands under her knees and the other under her upper back. With ease he lifted her from the sheets and carried her bridal style towards the bathroom.
Because it was Sunday, Lynn didn’t have a regular shift in the med-bay and Nate had promised to make her some breakfast. They quickly changed into some comfortable clothes and left her room to head to the communal kitchen.
The moment they walked through the door, a loud “bang” could be heard and Lynn was covered in confetti. She practically jumped in the air, turned around to Nate and buried her face deep into his chest in fear. It vibrated while he laughed, putting his hands on her back and clapping it assuring.
“Turn around, darling,” he said to her and Lynn did what she was told.
Her fear disappeared in a second when she looked into multiple smiling faces; Marta, Oliver, Toby, Jakob, Tia, Birdie, Peter and, to her big surprise, her mother Thea and her father Jensen. Her mouth opened and formed a perfect “o”, but she wasn’t able to say a word. Marta realized that she was overwhelmed and exclaimed, “surprise!”
She was standing next to Lynn, a weird looking cardboard cylinder still in her hands. Lynn looked around her and finally noticed that she and the floor beneath her were covered in confetti.
“Marta and Oliver made breakfast and called your friends and parents so that we can celebrate your special day,” Nate explained, because all of them were still awkwardly standing around the room.
“Oh, that’s actually a really nice idea. Thank you so much.” Lynn smiled, shuffled on sore legs towards Marta and engulfed her in a hug.
“Happy birthday, sweetie,” the Deputy Director said before placing a kiss on Lynn’s cheek. After the two women separated, Lynn headed towards Oliver to give him a hug as well. The blond Agent chuckled.
“Happy birthday, Lynn. This was all Marta’s idea, I just helped to get everything ready.”
“That’s important, too. Thank you, Oliver,” Lynn answered, the smile on her face impossible to fade.
Lynn gave another hug to all her colleagues at the CIA as well as Toby before she swallowed the lump in her throat and stood in front of her mother. They had messaged a few times but it was more of a casual “hope you’re okay” text that her mother sent from time to time but they hadn’t actually spoken since the happenings at Ann's funeral.
“Mom,” Lynn’s voice almost broke at the end of the single word. She couldn’t stop the tears from falling while she stood two feet in front of her mother. Nate had silently followed her through the room, thanking the others for coming while one of his hands lingered above the small of Lynn’s back. Giving her the right mixture of support and freedom in this overwhelming situation. Now he was closer to her his hand pressed on the fabric that covered her upper body. He stabilized her in more ways than just the physical.
“Happy birthday, baby,” Thea whispered before reaching out both her arms to give her daughter a tight hug. The two women were holding each other close, Lynn silently crying into her mom’s shoulder, while Thea patted her back from time to time.
“I wish she would’ve been able to be here, Mom. ”
“Me too, baby. Me too. She would’ve been so proud of you for doing such a good job, saving the world with your work.”
“I’m just their doctor, Mom. It’s not me who’s saving the world.”
“You stitch them back together so they can go out there to save the world again. It’s your work as well. Ann would be proud of you and I am too.”
Nate rounded the pair and reached his hand out to Jensen, breaking the ice, making things easier for Lynn.
“Sir.” Nate nodded.
Jensen hesitated for a moment but then shook Nate’s hand with a quiet “Agent.”
A second later Lynn appeared next to Nate, linking both of her hands around Nate’s bicep. It was a very clear indicator that she wasn’t willing to give her dad a hug. She hadn’t forgiven him. He hadn’t texted her once since his harmful words at the funeral and Lynn was pretty sure he’d meant every word of it.
Jensen tried to muffle a few coughs and Lynn rolled her eyes. She knew that was him trying to show her that he was still struggling with his COPD and it felt like a silent accusation; “Look I am pretty ill you’d better forgive your poor father”, but the pity strategy wouldn’t work with her.
“Happy birthday, Lynn,” he added after a few more coughs.
Lynn looked at him with a blank face, only nodding in response. Everyone felt the growing tension, so Marta’s voice was a welcome distraction from the rumbling family drama .
“Breakfast is served, everybody please take a seat.”
Lynn unwrapped her hands from Nate’s arm, turned around, and made big steps towards the dinner table. Nate gave Jensen a weak smile before following after her.
The table was filled with delicious breakfast dishes; pancakes, waffles, French toast, a big bowl of oatmeal, and even hearty dishes like scrambled eggs and different variations of sandwiches. Lynn could identify one of them as Marta’s special sandwich with cream cheese, ham, and salad.
“This looks amazing. When did you make all this?” Lynn asked surprised, her head turned towards Marta and Oliver.
“We were up pretty early. Couldn’t sleep anyways…” Oliver answered, throwing a knowing glance between Nate and Lynn.
The doctor blushed immediately and scrunched her face in shame. Oliver and Marta burst into laughter and Toby followed after realizing what Oliver meant.
“Hey it’s your birthday. You can celebrate it any way you want to,” Toby commented. As he was sitting right in front of Lynn, she kicked her feet under the table and hit him on his shin. Toby whined before scowling at her. Lynn placed some French toast and a waffle on her plate, a smile on her face.
Nate was sitting on her right side, Marta to her left. They faced Toby and her parents, making the tension rise again. Thankfully they ate in silence, some small talk here and there. Lynn felt one of Nate’s hands around her shoulders, resting on the top of her chair, and she tried to avoid leaning into him. Except for her parents, all of the people round the table knew about them dating again. After the weird encounter with Oliver and Marta on the day of their picnic they’d decided to let everyone know so that they didn’t have to sneak around the building or look behind them before kissing each other. Of course the secrecy gave their relationship some sort of adrenaline rush, but with everything that had happened to them, they were just happy with some normal dating.
“That was an amazing breakfast,” Thea said with a shy smile towards Marta and Oliver.
Marta shot Lynn’s mom a smile back before all of them cleaned the table and stored the leftovers in food containers together. Afterwards, they scattered around the room talking to each other, laughing, and drinking different variations of coffee. After Lynn had told the story of how Nate tried her special vanilla latte macchiato the first time, Toby immediately demanded to get one as well and Tia and Birdie agreed. Marta and Oliver had tried it before, so they stayed with whatever was in their mugs.
Although it had been two weeks since Lynn and Nate had announced their relationship, Marta and Oliver were still too anxious to do the same. With the hierarchy within the Agency this could possibly cause some trouble and none of them wanted to change the team or even quit. Was it morally right to hide it? Probably not; but it was understandable.
Lynn caught the two lovebirds giggling with each other and secretly touching each other as often as they could. Oliver even had his right hand on Marta’s thigh the entire breakfast, brushing his thumb over her jeans. They were adorable and it was a shame that they couldn’t be open about it. At least they were able to be when they had couples nights with Nate and Lynn. This was something they discovered over the last few days, mostly cooking together or watching a movie.
One night even Tia and Birdie joined, which was a rare occasion. Although the two nurses stayed at the compound as well, they both had boyfriends outside the Agency. They had talked to Lynn about it because of course they wanted to leave the headquarters for dates and other stuff couples do. Lynn was totally understanding but ordered that one of them always had to be in the building in case of an emergency.
It was great to see them all so carefree this morning. Toby had become very good friends with Tia and Birdie when Lynn was hurt and not able to work. He had also been there after the betrayal came out and before Lynn was officially allowed to work again. Right after Ann’s funeral.
Speaking of Ann. The emotional break between Lynn and her father was the only thing that stopped Lynn from exploding with happiness.
Everyone could feel the tension, shooting Lynn a pitiful smile then and now. Marta’s idea to invite her parents was great and it would have been the perfect time to forget about what happened at the funeral. But it turned out that it was still lingering between them, her mother Thea the only buffer between the two stubborn and hurt people.
Lynn was on her way to talk to Peter Davis, who was standing next to Oliver and Marta. She wanted to take him away, so that the two had some time to talk on their own and share some secret intimacy but her fast steps were interrupted by someone touching her shoulder from the side. She startled, before turning around and looking into the Chestnut eyes of her father.
“Lynn…” he started, his expression impossible to read.
The doctor looked at him with parted lips and the moment she was about to build the walls around herself again, she saw the warning glare from Nate behind her father’s back. He stood there, alone, with only a mug of coffee in his hands, watching the situation and willing to intervene if needed. His glare said it all.
Give him a chance.
And that was what she did.
“Dad,” she said.
It was the first time in months that she had said this word. A word that meant so much to her. So many conflicting emotions. From love to hate to insecurity. Guilt and Anger. This word contained all those memories she had locked away somewhere in her heart and now they threatened to come back to the surface.
“Can we talk for a minute?” Jensen asked, hope glistening in his eyes.
“Sure. Let’s head somewhere more private. I’ll show you my room,” Lynn answered and turned around without waiting for his answer.
Jensen followed her without a word, leaving Thea and Nate behind. Both of them with eyebrows knitted together in worry.
They entered her room and Lynn collapsed on the couch in it .
Her therapy couch.
Her dad took his place next to her, shifting uncomfortably and looking for the right words to start this overdue conversation.
“I’m sorry,” he finally said, looking at his daughter with tears in the corner of his eyes.
He was too proud to let them fall, but Lynn saw them and she knew that it meant a lot. Her father was like Ann; they never cried. No injury, not even the death of his own parents made him cry. Or his daughter. But here they were and he looked at her with tears very visible.
Lynn grabbed one of his large hands with hers and smiled at him.
“I’m sorry, too,” she whispered, her own tears falling freely down her cheeks and onto her shirt, leaving dark wet circles on the fabric.
“You don’t have to be. I talked to my therapist about the funeral and realized that I had no right to talk to you like that. What happened to Ann is not your fault and I don’t want you to feel guilty for it. There is only one person to blame and he already got what he deserved,” Jensen sighed.
“When you practically spit at me and wished that I was dead instead of Ann, that triggered all the guilt and shame inside me. If Nate hadn’t been there to support me… I don’t know if I would have ever made it out of that darkness,” Lynn sobbed, quickly standing from the couch to search for some tissues.
Her father stood after her, reached out his hand and whispered a loving “come here” before engulfing her in a bear hug .
“It’s not your fault. I was driven by grief and I can only apologize for the horrible things I said. This won’t change anything because I can’t take them back and I can’t make it undone but I’m sorry and I hope someday you can forgive me,” he whispered in her ear while holding her close.
She could feel his heart beating underneath his ribs. It was fast and it was strong.
“I didn’t know how to behave around you today. Sorry for being a dick again. Seems like I need to learn a lot,” Jensen sighed and then chuckled a little.
Lynn wiggled her upper body and he let her go from the hug.
“It’s a good thing that you’re seeing a therapist. That always helps,” she commented with a smile on her face.
“Yeah, it really helped me to grieve and to understand that I’m a very complicated person sometimes. I’m very fortunate that your mother is still by my side because I don’t deserve her after being such an asshole for the past few months,” he chuckled again, but Lynn knew that it was only to cope with the fear of losing his wife.
She never expected her father to be that reflective and it surprised her in a positive way.
“When you love someone, you stay by their side. No matter how rough the path looks ahead of you,” she commented, her mind slipping towards Nate and his beautiful smile that made her ears flush.
“Like you and this Agent, huh?” Her father winked at her.
“Nate. Yes. He’s my… my boyfriend,” Lynn answered with the widest grin on her face .
It was actually the first time he addressed Nate to someone as her boyfriend. And she liked the sound of it.
“That’s amazing. He’s a good guy,” Jensen commented.
“How do you know?”
“The way he looks at you. The tiny smile on his lips when he watches you move around the room. Oh and I can practically see his eyes turn into hearts when you look back at him. This man is head over heels for you, sweetie.”
Lynn looked at her father in surprise. Was it really that obvious that they loved each other? Nate Sheppard? The grumpy lone wolf now had heart eyes?
She had to smile again because she was so proud how far he had come. He wasn’t fully healed, obviously, but he had made huge steps towards having a normal life. He joked and laughed with their friends, had breakfast and movie nights with people, and he was more and more able to express his feelings. That was a huge step. Lynn made a mental note to talk to him about her father’s observations because she wanted to make sure that he also realized how proud she was and how proud he could be himself.
“And I’m head over heels for him,” Lynn answered her father.
“And that’s all that matters. I’m happy for you. But always use protection!”
“Daaaaaaaaaad…” Lynn whined before both of them burst into laughter.
Jensen pulled her into another hug and whispered “I love you, sweetie” in her ear .
The two headed back into the communal kitchen, freed from the demons in their hearts and with smiles on their faces.
Thea was currently teaching Nate one of Lynn’s favorite dishes from back when she was a teenager and Nate had even made some notes on his smartphone.
“What are you plotting here?” Jensen asked, making the two turn around and face the intruder.
Thea shot alternating glares between her husband and daughter, trying to read their minds or expressions.
“We’re good, Mom.” Lynn rolled her eyes.
“It’s about damn time!” Thea exclaimed and grabbed both of her loved ones into a group hug.
Nate looked at them with a smirk on his face when suddenly Jensen grabbed his free arm and pulled him into the middle of the chaos. Nate was surrounded by faces and arms and didn’t understand what the hell was going on.
“Welcome to the family, Son,” Jensen chuckled before the three Summers’ finally let go of the hug.
Lynn looked at her boyfriend with with a wide grin on her face and Thea said,
“You wanna be part of this family so you have to deal with the chaos that comes with it.”
“Oh I think I can handle that. It’s all worth it for this wonderful woman,” Nate laughed and gave Lynn a kiss in front of her parents’ eyes.