Author's note: This one-shot is dedicated to crypticnotions, one of my favorite authors and fellow Careesers. Today is her birthday and this is my "gift" to her. #TeamVirgo #VirgoSeason

This story was inspired by a drabble challenge started by PiscesChikk. She gave a hefty list of prompts for a drabble and I took three of them from her list and ran with it. It's absolute fluff and mostly out of character, but oh well. I hope you all enjoy it anyway.

Lastly, I want to give a special thanks to SWWoman for beta'ing this for me so quickly. You are one awesome lady.

Disclaimer: I do not own Person of Interest or any of its characters so please fall back CBS and Warner Brothers.

Taylor placed his hands over Joss' eyes and led her up the stairs of their stoop and into their brownstone home. "Taylor, what are you up to?" Joss asked.

"Just trust me, please." He guided her through the house and into the dining room. "Happy birthday, mom!" Taylor said with a grin after lifting his hands, uncovering Joss' eyes.

"Surprise!" Joss looked around to see all the smiling faces of her family, friends, her partner, Fusco, and even a few of her fellow detectives from the precinct.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, truly touched that her son, her baby boy, managed to pull off such a surprise. With help from her mother of course. She was impressed by the decorations, the balloons, and the large chocolate birthday cake with lit candles at the center of the dining room table. "This is amazing. I'm speechless..."

"Well, that's a first," Fusco joked. Joss shot him a playful glare as the guests chuckled at his remark. "Don't just stand there. Blow out those candles before we have to call the fire department."

"That's my partner, always the charmer," Joss retorted sardonically. She walked over to the table and bent over to blow out the candles. She closed her eyes and made a quick wish.

The joyful group gave a small round of applause, making her feel five years old again. Before she could make a snide comment, music filtered in the room, signaling the start of the party. Her mother took the cake to the kitchen to slice and serve later, while her sister started to bring out the food. Joss' brother in law passed bottles of beer and glasses of wine around to the guests.

Oh, wow. This is really a party, Joss thought as one of her uncles pulled her towards the make-shift dance floor in her living room. "Come on and shake a tail feather with me, Joss."

An easy grin crossed her lips before she playfully replied, "Only if you can keep up Uncle Ray."

She danced, ate, drank, and conversed with her guests. She was having a good time, but realized the one person she wished was here with her was still missing. A ring of the doorbell renewed her hopes as she hopped from her seat on the couch, insisting that she'd answer it and let in the new party guest. Opening the door, all she saw was a large bouquet of colorful flowers and a load of balloons.

"Happy birthday, Joss," came from a familiar voice behind the flowers. "Sorry, I'm a little late to the party."

Her smile faltered a bit before she held it. "Well, at least you made up for it with flowers and balloons, Paul." She took the bouquet from his hands and moved over to allow him entrance. "Come on in, the party is just getting started."

John, Shaw, and Harold managed to wrap up their latest number with little fanfare. Watching as their number got on the Greyhound bus and ride off to a new town and to a new life was satisfying, if not a little anticlimactic, at least for Shaw.

"So what now?" she asked.

"We take the rest of the night off until the next number, Miss Shaw," Harold informed, checking the text message that he just received on his phone. "Unless..." he drifted off as he finished reading the text from Taylor, "...you two want to join me in attending a party."

"Do I have to wear a dress and listen to classical music?" She frowned. "While the thought of free food is appealing, I'll pass if I have to wear heels and rub elbows with the wealthy elite," Shaw replied.

"I didn't think you had much of a social life, Finch. What's the occasion?" John asked with a smirk.

Ignoring the jibes from the two former government operatives, Harold answered, "It appears that Taylor has thrown a surprise birthday party for his mother and we've been invited."

John looked to his phone and saw no new messages. "Why wasn't I invited? I didn't get a message," Shaw complained, unaware that she had mirrored John's thoughts.

"I believe that Mr. Carter sent the message to me to insure that all of us would receive the invitation, Miss Shaw. Plus, I don't believe that you'd have to wear a dress, as Detective Carter would want her guests to be comfortable and have a good time. But perhaps you'd like to change into something more appropriate for a party," Finch suggested.

"Fine. As long as there's food. Do you think her mom cooked? I bet she did. Plus, I have the perfect gift for her." She grinned, thinking of the extra Glock 26 pistol she had in her home arsenal. She was sure Joss would love it just as much as the Nano she gave her for Christmas. "See you in an hour." She bade them farewell and walked off without another glance toward the two men.

"I suppose I'll be on my way. I too, need to make a stop to pick up a gift for the detective. Would you mind getting a card for me, John?" Harold asked.

"Yeah, no problem, Finch. See you at the party."

John looked at all the cards lined up in the pharmacy near Joss' apartment, trying to find the right card. Sure, he'd found a card for Harold to give to her within the first five minutes of his search, but he hadn't found the right card that would come from him. He may not be a man of many words, but he knew for sure that none of the cards he had been staring at for the past half hour were right for her. Every card was either too impersonal, too inappropriate, or worse─ too personal.

He sighed and reached for another card, this one more impersonal than the last. The front was a scenic picture of a beach and the inside simply stated, "Happy Birthday." He grabbed it and decided he would personalize it later. He walked to the cashier to pay for his purchases and headed to the party. If he had taken any more time searching for the "perfect" birthday card, it would be nearly over by the time he arrived.

When John arrived, the party was in full swing. He'd walked into Joss' place to the sound of up-tempo music playing loudly from her stereo while the partiers danced in some variation of the electric slide called the "cupid shuffle." Others were holding the wall, some holding bottles of beer or glasses of wine in their hands as they looked on at those dancing. He looked around and found that some of the other guests were talking amongst themselves, some groups more boisterous than others, and found some of them playing a card game on a small table.

All of these people and no sign of Joss, he thought.

John moved through the crowd, thankfully not drawing much attention to himself, and made his way towards the kitchen. He looked around and realized it was bustling with activity. He watched Joss' mom prepare more food with help from Harold "Wren", strangely without his jacket and his sleeves rolled up. Taylor hurriedly scrambled around the kitchen to his grandmother's orders, grabbing more platters of appetizers to place on the serving buffet in the dining room. At the kitchen table, Fusco was watching– with a mixture amusement, amazement, and disgust– Shaw eat what John instinctively knew was her third plate of food.

He finally found the birthday girl, all laughter and smiles, as she sat around her kitchen island with an open picture album, walking down memory lane with her friends and relatives. He didn't necessarily like how close her ex-husband, Paul Carter, was sitting next to her, nor did he care for seeing his arm around Joss. He knew they had mended their friendship. She had told John that much, but he didn't think that their friendship was all that Paul wanted to mend. Willing his green-eyed monster to take a back seat, he started towards the table where Fusco and Shaw sat.

"John?"

He turned to see a huge grin paired with luminous, if not slightly glassy, brown eyes looking back at him. With his signature smirk in place, he said, "Happy birthday, Carter. How many beers do I need to drink to catch up to you?"

She laughed as she removed Paul's arm from her shoulders and made her way over to where John stood. He didn't miss the glare Paul shot in his direction and he couldn't help the petty feelings of satisfaction that washed over him as his Joss– yes, his Joss– left Paul hanging in order to greet him. If John didn't know any better, he would have thought that she was going to hug him. But, she stopped short directly in front of him, almost as if she finally remembered they weren't the only ones in the room.

"You'll probably need to eat first before Shaw clears out the new platters Taylor just put out," she joked.

Shaw looked up, in mid-bite of a barbecue sauced wing, hearing Joss' comment. "Hey, I can't help it if I have a high metabolism." Spotting the platter that Taylor was carrying out of the kitchen, she asked, "Are those deviled eggs?"

Fusco rolled his eyes and shook his head before he got up from the table. He grabbed a bottle of beer from a nearby cooler and handed it to John. "Here you go, big guy. Relax... if you can in that suit. Maybe you should go do that Cupid Slide–"

"Shuffle," Joss corrected.

"Yeah, shuffle, and take a night off for once," Fusco finished.

"Thanks for the unsolicited advice, Lionel. I'll take that into account," John replied in the low, icy tone he knew annoyed Fusco to no end.

Joss tried her hardest to hold in the giggle at Fusco's expense and failed miserably. "Come on John, let's get you some food," she said, pulling him by the arm into the dining room. John could feel Paul's eyes burning holes into his back as Joss escorted him from the kitchen.

Unfortunately, John had to share Joss with the rest of her party guests for the remainder of the night. He stayed behind to help her mother and Taylor clean up the mess left behind by the partygoers. Joss' mom put away the leftovers while John washed the dishes that couldn't fit into the overloaded dishwasher.

"You don't have to do that, John. You're a guest. I can't allow you to help any more than you already have."

"Please, Mrs. Roberts, I don't mind helping. You've done more than enough tonight and I honestly think you should take a load off. As a matter of fact, let me call a driver to pick you up and escort you home," John insisted.

Before she could argue further, Paul entered the kitchen. "Okay mama, I took out the last of the garbage. Anything else I need to take care of before we go..." His sentence trailed off as he realized John was still there. "Hey, man, you know it's pretty late and everyone else has gone home for the night."

John fought back a chuckle. This guy wasn't subtle at all. "Yes, I realize that. I'm just finishing up things here in the kitchen. Mrs. Roberts was a wonderful hostess and I'm showing my appreciation by handling the remaining cleanup. Especially now that I know she has an escort to make sure she gets home safely."

"Yeah, well don't overextend yourself. I can handle this," Paul replied, the tension in the room now growing thick.

Having seen a number of pissing contests among men back in her younger days, Joss' mom knew she had to diffuse the situation before it became volatile. She was a little more than amused and felt a sense of motherly and womanly pride for her daughter. Little did Joss know– or maybe she did know– that these two very handsome men were vying for her affections. Too bad for Paul that their ship had already sailed, crashed, and burned. She really couldn't see them getting back together.

"You know Paul, he's right. I am done here and my feet are killing me. Make sure Taylor is packed and ready so we can go. I'm sure Joss will appreciate being able to sleep in on her birthday tomorrow." She patted Paul on the arm and gently guided him out of the kitchen. She still loved her former son-in-law very much, but he was being a bit too overbearing right now.

"Good night John," Mrs. Roberts called out over her shoulder.

"Good night," he replied before turning back to the dishes.

As John dried and put away the last dish, Joss sauntered into the kitchen. "Hi," John greeted her.

"Hey," she replied with a soft smile. "Mom told me you were in here on kitchen duty. Did you at least have fun tonight?"

John remembered their brief moments together during the party. Joss trying, and failing, to get him to dance. Joss teasing him about how much smaller his plate of food was compared to Shaw's. How his hand lingered on hers just a little too long as he gave her a glass of the party punch he was pretty sure Shaw had spiked with Diesel vodka.

"Yeah... Tonight was fun. I haven't let loose like that in a long time."

"That was your version of 'letting loose'? Geez, I'd hate to see you all wound up." She walked to the fridge and dug around looking for something and closed the door in frustration after not finding what she was craving for. "Did you get me a present?" She asked with a teasing smile as her eyes sparkled with mirth.

"What were you looking for?" John asked, changing the subject so she'd forget about what she'd just asked.

"A slice of the birthday cake I never got to try. And don't try to change the subject. What'd ya get me?"

"I... got you a card," he replied reluctantly.

"A card? Like... a Hallmark card?" she questioned in shock. John didn't seem to be the card giving type.

"I don't think it's Hallmark, but yeah, a card."

"Well, where is it? Let me see it."

"I never got a chance to even sign it. Besides," he opened the fridge and pulled out a small plastic container he'd hidden away in the crisper drawer, "I think you'd be more interested in this." He removed the lid to reveal the last slice of the Chocolate Overload cake from her favorite bakery. He'd been watching her most of the night and realized she never had a chance to enjoy her own birthday cake.

"You hid a slice for me?" Excitement for the cake almost overshadowed her curiosity about the birthday card– almost. "Hand over the cake and the card."

He sighed before he pushed the container across the counter to her and took the card out of his inner jacket pocket. "Here's the cake and the card the birthday girl so rudely demanded," he grumbled. He knew the smile on her face would be short-lived, but it was worth the temporary embarrassment.

She momentarily abandoned the cake while she fished the card out of its envelope. "Ooh, pretty beach. Let's see what it says inside."

And like he predicted, her smile– that radiant, larger than life smile, fell from her beautiful face. "That's it?"

"Like I said, I didn't have time to sign it." He felt the heat of embarrassment flush over his face.

"You're blushing," she observed.

"I'm not blushing," he immediately denied, feeling his face flush even more.

"Yeah... you really are. Oh, John you know you didn't have to get me a card. I didn't want a card from you anyway."

Feeling even more dejected he replied, "You didn't?"

"No." She walked closer to him, close enough that their bodies were barely touching. "I know you're not the card giving type. Besides, I wished for something else when I blew out the candles on my cake."

At first, the euphoric feeling of relief washed over him. But as she walked closer to him, placing herself in his personal space, he felt something akin to anticipation. Anticipation for what could possibly come next. Anticipation for what he'd dreamed about for so long now. His eyes drifted down to her lips and back to her eyes.

"What did you wish for?" he asked, the husky timbre of his voice betraying his more than platonic feelings for her.

"I wished," she started as she ran her hands up his arms to rest on his shoulders, "that you'd be here for my party. That part came true."

"Any other wishes?" His hands found their way around her trim waist, pulling her closer so that the soft curves of her body fit along the hard planes if his.

"Well... I also wished for a kiss on my birthday." She clasped her hands at the back of his neck, playfully teasing his hairs at the nape. "But my birthday isn't until tomorrow."

John took a brief glance at the digital clock on her microwave. It read 12:05. "Looks like tomorrow is now today." He bent down to slowly meet her lips. "Happy birthday, Joss." She met his lips the rest of the way with a lift on the tips if her toes.

The kiss was slow, soft, and sweet. Just as he imagined it would be– no, better than he imagined.

"Mmm. I think that was better than any card you could have given me."

"I agree," he replied, before kissing her again. The second kiss came with passion and heat. It was the kind of kiss where tongues dance, lips are nipped, and both parties have to finally part for air. The kind of kiss that could lead to more than kissing. The kind of kiss that caused them to separate and put physical distance between them.

"Wanna share this cake with me?" she asked, not regretting either of the kisses, and not wanting him to feel like he went too far and flee.

"Are you sure you want to share? This is your favorite cake. The slice is large for a reason."

"Ha, ha, ha. It's too big to eat all by myself." She broke a bite sized piece with her fingers. "Here, have a taste." She gingerly placed the piece in his mouth. She wasn't expecting the heat that rushed through her body when she felt the tip of his tongue softly lick the frosting from her fingers.

"I think we should use a fork, Joss."

She cleared her throat before replying, "Yeah. I think that's a good idea. Plus, you owe me a dance."

"A dance? You didn't say anything about wishing for a dance."

"I didn't. You promised me you would dance later when you turned me down earlier. You owe me a dance." She walked over to the small radio in the kitchen and turned the dial until she found a station playing a familiar tune.

She couldn't hide the smile on her lips as she felt John's hands on her waist, turning her towards him to hold her close. As they swayed to the croons of Etta James vying for a Sunday kind of love, Joss knew this would be a birthday she'd never forget.

Author's note II: If you were wondering what the prompts were: 1. Birthday card from Reese 2. Reese sees Carter with Paul, he's jealous 3. Carter & Reese's first kiss