darker_london | Happy Forgotten Birthday! (Deirdre, Caitlin)

Deirdre's birthday had taken place on the 29th of October and she was now twenty years old, which she found weird. The birthday itself had been wonderful, however. She had spent it with her girlfriends and her friends and even though Peter had been asleep, she hadn't felt neglected or unloved. The difference between teenage Deirdre and the twenty-year-old Deirdre was that she knew exactly how much people loved her. She was a demon, and she still had people who came after her when she was taken away. To Paris. And those people had been nearly all over Europe before they found her. They had supported her through her recovery and they had been behind her when she decided not to keep the baby. She was lucky and she knew it.

It wasn't until the 6th of November when Caitlin realised she had forgotten her eldest child's birthday. Deirdre herself hadn't noticed at all. She had felt nothing lacking from her birthday so when her mother rang her, completely distraught about it, Deirdre was incredibly confused as to what she was on about. And it wasn't until Caitlin wailed, "I'm the worst mother in the world to forget my daughter's twentieth birthday!" that she finally caught on.

"Oh. Oh. Oh, Mam, that's okay!" Deirdre quickly added, because Caitlin might be just as offended that Deirdre hadn't noticed Caitlin's absence. "I had a really good day, Mam. I'm not mad, I promise!"

Caitlin, who was used to Deirdre throwing magnificent fits whenever she was neglected (and considering Caitlin had abandoned her at 5, and only come back into her life when Deirdre was 16, Caitlin figured that Deirdre was certainly justified in that feeling) was taken aback by Deirdre's easy going dismissal of Caitlin's faux pas. "Didi, Darling, are you sure?! It wasn't intentional, I'm just so-"

"I know, Mam!" Deirdre interrupted. "You have little Moira now, and you have work too, and Finian and Dylan to think about. It's okay! Do you want to go out to dinner or something soon?"

Caitlin was stunned to silence, something that did not happen to Caitlin often. "I...I..I would like that..." She finally finished up. "I'll have a present for you by then!"

Deirdre laughed loudly and then she sat on the floor, phone in her hands. "Mam, you don't have to get me a present! Though you know...I do like them. And you could possibly get me a horse. You know. To make up for the terrible slight against my...thingy..."

Caitlin laughed then too, completely relieved that Deirdre hadn't yelled at her. She was so proud of the woman Deirdre was becoming, and she wanted Deirdre to know that. "Well, we'll just see, Darling. Tomorrow night then?"

"It's a date! Oooh, scandal. See you then, Mam!" Deirdre called, and then she hung up and headed to the kitchen to bake a cake. Because cakes were good any time. Even a week after your birthday was over.