It's Your Birthday!
"Daddy Daddy Daddy!" the blur of an excited five year old barreled down the stairs of a lush Boston suburbanite home. Young Jack Shephard flung himself at his father, hugging him tightly around the knees. "Guess what guess what?!"
With a slow, deliberate motion of the hands, Christian pried his son off of him, watching the boy still hop continuously with a joy that was about to bubble over. "Then I will guess. Hm." He lifted a hand to his chin in mock thought. "Your mother is giving you a giraffe for your birthday?"
"Nooo!" Jack replied though giggles. "But it is about Mommy and my birthday! You were really close, Daddy! That was good!"
"Well it isn't every day that someone turns six," Christian said solemnly. "A giraffe is a big present for a big day."
"I thought of something even bigger!" To emphasize just how gargantuan in scale his idea was, Jack flung his arms into the air after executing an uncoordinated jump. He couldn't hold back the surprise any longer and blurted quickly, "Mommy said I could pick what I wanted for my birthday party and I know what I want!"
"You mean like a theme?"
"Yes! That's it! A theme!" Jack hopped again, this time managing to land on both feet simultaneously.
"What is it you were thinking about, son?"
"SUPERMAN!"
Christian stiffened. "Did you... tell your mother this was what you wanted yet?"
The mop of dark hair bounced as Jack shook his head vigorously. "Nope! I wanted to wait until both of you are home and you're home now!"
"Jack," the was a pause as Jack waited anxiously to hear what his father had to say. "Isn't there some other kind of party you would like to have? What about Army men? You still have that fort in the living room that you still haven't taken down yet."
"Nope!" Jack said again, shaking his head so fast that his temples were beginning to ache. "Superman is my favorite!"
"Son, you're going to be a big kid now. Big kids don't have Superman parties because they know he isn't real."
"I know, but I still like him."
"What is it that you like so much?"
"He's the best hero ever and can fly!" Another hop.
Christian then sunk to his knees, clapping his hands on Jack's shoulders. "You know who is real and are heroes and can fly?"
Jack gasped, his eyes widening as far as he could stretch them. Someone like that existed? "Who?" he asked in disbelief.
"Pilots, like the ones that are friends of your Army men. The Air Force is full of them. What would you say to a party like that, huh? Planes, pilots, the sky! It will be fun!"
His father's thoughts moved so fast and seemed to make sense. Jack had now abandoned his original idea and was quite possibly even more excited with the new one. "I wanna be a pilot when I grow up! I'll be like a real life Superman!"
Christian drew himself up to his full height, giving Jack a single pat on the back. "We can enroll you in lessons when you're older."