BENEATH THE SURFACE : When fire meets ice

Jason's coworkers had just wrapped up a delightfully tuneless version of the birthday song, their voices harmonizing in a way that could only be described as endearing.

They turned their heads in unison, eyes glued to the cake, where the words "Happy Birthday Jason" had been squashed and awkwardly rewritten in light purple icing.

"That's my bad," Tracy chimed in, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "My three-year-old slapped his palm on the cake." She paused for dramatic effect. "But don't worry, there was a double layer of wrapper over it, so no actual palm contact.

"You know what? It's totally fine, Jason reassured her, a grin spreading across his face. Given how his life had been lately, a palm-slapped cake felt oddly fitting.

"Blow out the candles already, Jason! They're melting away to nothing!" Bella exclaimed, her excitement infectious. He took a moment to gather his thoughts; he needed a wish. Once he had his wish firmly in mind, he blew out the thirty candles in one breath—only to fail woefully on his first attempt. The second try was more successful, and as the flames flickered out, his coworkers sprang into action.

Being nurses, they handled the cake like a medical emergency. One person swiftly removed the candles while another grabbed a stack of paper plates. Bella followed closely behind, expertly slicing the massive cake into precise squares.

As soon as the first row was cut, another coworker began transferring slices onto plates which were quickly passed around the break room with napkins and plastic forks. A few pieces of cake were shoved into Jason's hands, and he began scarfing it down.

They all stood up, knowing their break could be interrupted at any moment. Tracy licked the frosting off her fork and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why the hell did you come to work on your birthday, Jason?

He grinned back at her. So I could spend it with all of you. She shot him a skeptical look; as a mom of three, her bullshit detector was finely tuned. "No, really?.

"That's true, actually," he continued. "Besides, I didn't have any other plans. The pitying looks he received were hard to ignore; the lack of plans was by choice. His brother Nate and his best friend Jesse had offered to take him out for dinner, but he’d insisted on working this shift instead. "I’m planning to celebrate with some friends tomorrow, he added quickly.

Bella chimed in with happiness. "Saturday is the hospital's holiday party, You can't miss it. "He hesitated. "Yeah, I don't know about that... Everyone's bringing a date, and you know I'm critically single.

"Bella brushed a strand of her dark hair back into her ponytail and said confidently, "You can just sit with Vee and me! You know my girlfriend loves you."

"It's mutual," he replied with a chuckle. "But I don’t want to be a third wheel.""You won’t be! Just come! Who doesn’t like a free dinner at a fancy hotel? Plus, they give away great raffle prizes. "He felt cornered by their happiness but managed to dodge their invitation for now.

"But why is it held the first weekend in December?" he asked, trying to buy time. "I'm not even sort of in the holiday spirit yet." Honestly, he didn’t expect that to change over the next three weeks.

"It's early every year because they figure everyone gets busier as Christmas approaches," Tracy explained matter-of-factly. Bella added, "And you should really come! It’s your first holiday party since starting here in February. It'll be good to show you're part of the team."

"Okay, fine! I'll come," Jason relented. "But don't be surprised if I bail right after dinner."

"That's fair," Bella said with a nod. "It’ll be nice to see you get out of the house for once." She knew all too well about his recent moping; after moving in with her back in August when Jesse and Nate got together, she had witnessed firsthand how much he'd retreated into himself since he always crushed on Jesse.

As he tried to finish off the last piece of cake he'd saved for himself, it slipped off his fork and landed squarely on his scrub top. Swearing under his breath, he dabbed at the frosting trail with a napkin. After tossing the mess into the trash can along with his empty plate, Tracy called out to him from across the break room.

"Would you mind taking some cake to Rose in the kitchen? I promised her a piece when she saw me bringing it in. "Given the size of that cake, there would be plenty left for the overnight staff as well.

I would be happy to," he replied gratefully as Tracy handed him a big slice on another paper plate. "Thank you everyone!" he called out since they all chipped in money to buy him the cake. As he left the break room and headed down the hall toward the kitchen, he glanced at the frosting stain on his scrub top again—it looked sloppy and unprofessional. He'd have to clean it up with soap and water before returning to work.

In that moment of distraction, he bumped into someone coming around the corner, his linebacker frame colliding with theirs like two opposing players on a football field. The impact sent Vincent Maloney falling onto his backside while his tablet flew from his hands.

Jason glanced around frantically for his plates only to find them balanced on Vincent's chest, held there by smashed slices of cake that had survived their collision.

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Author's Note:

What do you all think about this chapter? let me know your thoughts.