Surprise Party

Ripley stepped out of the portal. A rush of dizziness sent her crashing to her knees and the bags looped around her wrists rustled angrily as she stumbled. She crashed down in a puddle of mud, cursing as it splashed up into her face, and tried to pull herself back up.

“Oh, my god, Rip, what the heck is wrong with you? Hold on, we got you.”

Hands grabbed Ripley’s arm. Strong arms pulled her to her feet and she cleared her eyes to see her sisters, Leah and Corrie, standing there with matching grins. “Thanks,” Ripley muttered.

“No worries.” Leah glanced in the bags. “You get everything?”

“Box mix?” Corrie cut in with a judgmental frown. “You didn’t want to go from scratch?”

“No need. Replace water with milk, add an extra egg, some extracts and you’re good to go.”

Ripley glanced around the compound. Normally this place was lousy with people; Leo, Ani, Elexis, Sotirova, Lydia, Ali, Zeke, and even a few people who didn’t live here but loved to spend the night. But now it seemed deserted and she cocked an eyebrow at Leah.

“Are we still good?”

“They’re all still in Rājadhānī. Ani and Elexis are keeping Maddox busy with new training plans for the army. Lyudmila, Mildred, and Zeke are there to keep up appearances. You know how he is.”

“Mom has little Bo and Tomyris at the fairgrounds,” Corrie added. “Last one before winter. Sotirova and Ali are there, too.”

“Alright. Let’s get back to the house.”

An hour later, Ripley, Leah, and Corrie stood in the kitchen with rumbling stomachs only worsened by the smell of cooking food. Corrie nibbled on a piece of leftover chocolate and Leah gave the icing a hungry look. Ripley smacked her sister’s hand with a laugh.

“You don’t like sweets!”

“I’m hungry enough to not know the difference,” Leah shot back.

“Aren’t you hungry, Rip?” Corrie asked. “We opened two portals today; I’m freaking starving.”

Ripley shook her head. “I’m mostly just nervous. What if Maddox doesn’t like to celebrate his birthday? We’ve been together almost two years but it’s not like we’ve ever had a chance to celebrate birthdays; it’s always, battle this, war that, nearly freezing to death, blah, blah, blah.”

“Hey.” Corrie set down the chocolate and put a hand on Ripley’s shoulder. “He’ll love it, ok? Now, come on, let’s finish up decorating.”

Balloons, streamers, and banners soon filled the living room. The sisters carted out plate after plate; roast chicken, scalloped potatoes, roasted veggies. All things they could get here, in Cēna Barēkara, except for one: the cake. Ripley had baked a massive chocolate cake, a thing the people in this world had never seen before. She hoped it would be a good surprise and not the kind that revealed unknown allergies. Lydia would be here to heal any kind of reaction but she still felt nervous.

The front door opened and closed. Margie, Ripley’s mother, rushed into the room with Tomyris and Boudicca in tow. The two little girls, now nearly eight, rushed around the room with squeals of delight as Margie pulled off her cloak. Ripley stole kisses from both her adopted daughters, then gave Margie a hug.

“Hey, hon,” Margie said with a grin. “It looks great in here! You guys did a good job.”

“Thanks.” Ripley straightened a banner and wiped her hands on her pants. “I’m nervous.”

“Oh, don’t be nervous! He’s going to love it! I promise.”

The door opened and closed again. Sotirova and Lydia ran down the hall, followed closely by Ali and Zeke. Lydia carried her and Sotirova’s little boy, a two-year-old angel named Ash, on her hip.

“Hey, LT,” Sotirova said as he gave Ripley a one-armed hug. “Where do you want the presents?”

“Over there,” Ripley said with a pointed finger. “Wow, did you guys bring enough?”

“Hey, LT, it’s our first birthday with him!” Ali replied wiith a grin. “And the guy’s come a long way. We just want to show our appreciation and love.”

“I suppose.” Ripley gave Ali a hug. “How’s your training going?”

“Good! I’ve almost mastered earth! I could make you a sculpture that would put Michaelangelo to shame.” Ali winced and shook her head. “Not really. Being an Ikon is hard, having control of all these elements and never really knowing how you’re going to affect the world around you.”

“You’ll get the hang of it,” Ripley assured her. “You made it through Afghanistan with me, you can make it through this.”

“I’d take insurgents over demons any day,” Ali shot back.

“My training’s going good, too, if anyone cares,” Sotirova cut in with an offended sniff. “I was in Afghanistan, too, you know.”

Ripley and Ali rolled their eyes. “I’m sorry, Sotirova,” Ripley told him. “How goes raising the dead?”

Sotirova made a face. “It’s gross. I hate it. Let’s talk about how I made a baby, though!” He swung Ash up into his arms and held the boy out for display. “He’s so cute!”

-Careful!- Lydia snapped in Sister Speak, her hands flowing in graceful, sweeping motions. -I will not make you another one if you break him.-

The door opened and closed again. Mildred and Lyudmila joined the fracas, their arms filled with parcels as well. The hefty First Mage, Mildred, dumped her presents on the table and wrapped her arms around Ripley. Ripley tried not to laugh as her face was smushed into the woman’s generous cleavage.

“It has been too long!” Mildred cried as she pulled away.

“I saw you last week!” Ripley protested.

“As I said, too long.” Mildred winked and drew a bottle from her robes. “I brought wine. I have some choice gossip to share with you.”

“Alright.” Ripley laughed as Mildred hurried away and she turned to Lyudmila. “Hey, Mitera, how you doing?”

The former Scythian Sister shrugged her broad shoulders before giving Ripley a tight hug. “Being the highest ranking member of the Coven is difficult at times. But I have Mildred there to help me.”

“She is good for comic relief, isn’t she? I don’t think I’ve ever seen her angry, not even in battle.”

“Oh, she has her moments.” Lyudmila gazed over at the presents table and gasped. “That is…quite a few presents!”

“Yeah, well, everyone sort of went all out. A lot of them are from Arawelo and Graeme.” Ripley’s eyes went to the door as Leo walked in and she patted Lyudmila’s shoulder. “I’ll be back.”

Lyudmila nodded and moved off to talk to Margie. Leo hesitated in the doorway, his calloused hands playing anxiously with his scarf, but he smiled when he saw Ripley coming toward him.

“Hey, big guy.” Ripley had to stand on tiptoes to give him a hug; the Ṭhaḍā stood at least a foot and half taller than her. “How’re you holding up?”

Leo shrugged and rubbed bloodshot eyes. “The anniversary of Odo’s death is always difficult.”

Tears gathered in Ripley’s eyes as she thought of her best friend, Sergeant First Class Odo Castillo, who had died one year ago. He’d come through Afghanistan with her, nursed her back to health after her husband died, stayed by her side even though it tanked his career opportunities. Living without him had become a little easier but she would forever feel that hole in her heart.

“It’ll get a little better with time,” Ripley told him with a gentle smile.

“Perhaps. But I doubt I will ever find love again.”

Ripley didn’t know what to say to that. But the door slammed open and saved her from having to respond as Elexis plowed her way into the house.

“They are coming!” she cried. “They are almost here!”

“Oh!” Ripley felt her heart do a double thump and she clapped her hands. “Everybody hide!”

The group scurried behind chairs and tables. Ripley scooted beneath the dining room table, crammed in alongside Leo and Corrie. A few seconds passed before the door opened again and Ripley heard Maddox stomp into the foyer with Ani at his side.

“I do not know why you needed help with that training scenario,” he muttered to her as they made their way down the hall. “It seemed quite simple.”

“I know, I only wanted your advice.”

“Surprise!”

“By the Gods Above!” Maddox shrieked as he fell back a step to tuck his wide body behind Ani’s taller frame. He peeked out around her shoulder in open-mouthed shock to take in the presents, the decorations, the food, and he looked at Ripley. “What is this?”

“It’s a surprise party.” Ripley skipped to his side and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Happy thirty-third birthday, bebe!”

“November baby.” Ali clicked her teeth and shook her head. “Scorpio. Explains the moodiness.”

“Come on.” Ripley laced her fingers with Maddox’s and tugged him toward the group. “It’s a party for you.”

The next hour passed by in a blur. Ripley, glued to Maddox’s side, watched as he drank and laughed and talked. She remembered when she’d first met him, when he’d still been traumatized and ostracized by his own people. He hadn’t laughed or smiled but a year’s worth of therapy had changed that. Now he seemed a happy, well adjusted man rather than the brooding stormcloud she’d first fell in love with.

Leah pounded her fist on the table. “Cake!” she announced. “Time for cake and presents!”

Ripley kissed Maddox on the cheek then hurried to the kitchen. They plopped the candles down in the thick icing and lit them before carrying it out into the living room. Ripley, her soldiers, sisters, and mother sang a ragged happy birthday song as the others watched in fascination.

“What is that?” Lyudmila asked.

“It looks like a cake but it is brown.” Mildred leaned in close and sniffed the frosting. “It smells amazing.”

“It’s a chocolate cake,” Ripley explained as she set the cake down on the table. “I’m not a fan, but I figured I’d make it since you guys don’t have chocolate here. Maddox, come here. Make a wish and blow out the candles.”

“I am forever learning your strange traditions, wife,” he told her with a smile.

He leaned down and, after a slight pause, blew out the candles. Ripley clapped as Leah picked up the knife and began doling out generous slices of cake. The room fell silent. Ripley and Lydia watched closely for allergic reactions but they heard only gasps of surprise and delight.

“Ripley, this is amazing!” Mildred cried. “This is called what?”

“Chocolate.”

Mildred looked up at Lyudmila with wild eyes. “We must have this here.”

The Mitera finished the last of her cake and swept a finger around her plate to scoop up a blob of icing. “I am already planning the spell. This will soon be a new delicacy, I am sure of it.”

Maddox wrapped his arm around Ripley’s shoulders. She wiped a bit of chocolate from the corner of his mouth and snuggled in against his chest.

“Did you like your surprise?” she asked.

“I loved it. I wished for this. To be with these people, our friends and family, happy and whole until we are called to the Beyond.”

Ripley gave him a playful slap to the chest. “You’re not supposed to tell anyone what you wished for!”

“That is an Earth tradition,” Maddox told her as he leaned down for another kiss. “And this is Erde. Wishes are not simple, empty desires here. Magical things happen everyday.”

“I guess you’re right.” Ripley leaned up into his kiss and smiled. “At least everyone liked the cake.”