Jo knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in," her husband called softly from the other side.

With his permission, she slipped inside.

"Good morning, mein Jo," he said cheerfully.

His eyes were still a bit glazed with sleep, and his curls were rather delightfully rumpled, making him look like a boy. Seated on their bed, he was mostly dressed, his cravat still loose around his neck. He gave her a sweet smile.

"Good morning," she replied, bending to kiss him lightly.

"Thou has let me sleep in, I suspect," he said, one brow quirking with a knowing smile.

Jo grinned, unable to keep a secret. "Well, it is your birthday, after all!"

He gave a little, dismissive wave of his hand.

"Pah. There is no need to make a fuss over an old man, Jo."

"Don't say that," Jo said with a frown. She stepped closer to him and tied his cravat into a neat bow. Her husband was not even forty yet! "You are still a young man, Friedrich. Why, just yesterday, you were crawling on the floor playing with Fritz, and the day before that, climbing trees with Will!"

"I am happy only to have another year with you, and with our boys," he insisted - referring of course not to their own children, of which there were none yet, but to his nephews and to the students of Plumfield, all of whom he treated as his own sons. "I do not wish to be celebrated."

He wrapped his arms around her, and she looked down at him, unable to help an impish grin.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that," she said.

Poor Friedrich barely had time to look at her in confusion before the chorus of merry voices rang out from the hall:

"For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow…"

"Jo!" Friedrich laughed, getting to his feet now that he was fully and properly dressed. "What is this?"

With furrowed brows, he stepped forward, and opened the door to see the group of singers.

"It's your present!" Jo replied, having to raise her voice over the music as the rounds of "for he's a jolly good fellow" continued. "...Well, one of them, anyway. You didn't think that I was going to let you get away with no fuss on your first birthday as my husband, did you?"

Shaking his head in wonder, Friedrich had a slight smile touch his lips. "Perhaps, but I should haf known," he called back, then he beheld the boys.

Even Jo, with her rather unpracticed ears, could tell that the newer boys were out of town. Thankfully, the boys who had been at the Plumfield School for more than a few months had gotten quite good under Friedrich's tutelage. The older boy's baritone voices, as well as the fiddle and trumpet, drowned out any mistakes well enough. Besides, Friedrich certainly wasn't listening for mistakes.

"For he's a jolly good felloooooooooow," the boys finished, "which nobody can deny!"

As they erupted into cheers, Friedrich put a hand to his heart, clearly moved.

"But this is too much," he murmured.

"Nonsense," Jo replied, not unkindly. "Nothing is too much for you."

He looked at her for a moment, looking very much like he wanted to kiss her - and she almost would have let him, too, even in front of everyone. But there would be time for that later. An instant later, the boys swarmed around him.

The more eager boys shoved in to clap Professor Bhaer on the back or shake his hand warmly. He embraced those who were willing, and with grateful nods of his head, thanked them for the lovely performance. The younger boys tentatively crept forward afterward to offer a hesitant handshake and a shy "happy birthday, sir," and he warmly expressed his gratitude.

Standing back to watch, Jo could not help but smile at the charming scene. There was no doubt that the boys respected her husband immensely, and admired him dearly - as well they should.

"And thank you, Mrs. Bhaer," he said, turning to his wife once all the boys had gone through their rounds of well-wishes. "For I am certain you haf put them up to this."

"They hardly needed encouragement from me," Jo said with a smile, turning her face away to look back at their young charges.

"We practiced every day for a week!" enthused little Fritz.

Friedrich laughed. "Did you! And when did you find the time, hmm?"

"When you were on your walks," replied Will proudly.

"Ah, yes, of course," Friedrich said with an understanding nod.

Most of the boys loved Fritz, and it was difficult for the professor to get any time away. When he could, however, he went for a stroll on his own, deep into the wood. Most of the time, before he could go, a boy would come to him to ask for advice, or he would get caught up discussing a philosophical or religious principle with one of the older teenagers. Yet for the last few days, once Mrs. Bhaer had alerted them of the professor's upcoming birthday, they had eagerly awaited Professor Bhaer's walks, and had not once kept him from them. It was only then that he could be far enough out of earshot for the boys to practice unsuspected.

"And it shows," Jo decided, ruffling the hair of the nearest boy affectionately. "It was very well done, lads. But now, it is time for lessons."

For once, at least, there were no groans of complaint. The boys filed off back downstairs.

A smile playing at his mouth once more, Friedrich raised his eyebrows.

"And this is my other present? No grumbling from our pupils?" he guessed, teasing her lightly.

Jo laughed. In answer, she gave him a light kiss, before turning to follow their students down the stairs.

It took a moment for her to hear Friedrich's step on the stair afterward. She could only guess that he had remained there to take in the moment and seal it into his memory. Though she had been inclined to give him the day off, she knew that he genuinely loved teaching, and would not wish or a day away from it. So instead, she let him go off into his library to give some boys their German lesson, while she slipped away to do her teaching for the day.


At lunch-time, Friedrich entered the grand dining hall with an expression which Jo immediately found amusing. He had lifted his head and was sniffing the air delicately.

"What is that?" he wondered, with hopeful curiosity rather than displeasure. Every syllable was wonderfully heightened by his dear accent. "Where are the boys?"

"It's time for cake!" Jo announced. "Or rather, cakes!"

And so appeared their students, carrying little cakes of all different sizes, shapes, and textures. Some were light and fluffy, others denser; some were sprinkled with berries.

Friedrich stood astounded as the boys laid their creations, one after the other, on the long wooden dining table.

"I hope you're hungry, Professor," said young Fred with a grin.

Still appearing quite flabbergasted, Friedrich chuckled. "My boy, I do not think an army could be hungry enough to eat all of this! Look at it!"

And so he strolled around the table, his hands behind his back, ambling from one plate to another, admiring each of the unique little cakes, complimenting each boy on the expertise of the design, or the artfulness of the placement of the berries.

"I suppose you will allow me to share?" he asked Jo.

Jo laughed merrily. "Sit down, boys, and enjoy the fruits of your labor!"

They were very glad to oblige. Some trading took place around the table, but most of the boys were eager to eat the cake that they'd made with their own hands. It was a matter of some pride whose cake would be chosen by the Professor, but he asked which cake Mrs. Bhaer had made, and that was the one he selected.

It was certainly not the most nutritious lunch that had ever been consumed at Plumfield, but Jo did not care one jot.

There was a great deal of chatter and laughter around the table that day. At the behest of some of the boys, Professor Bhaer regaled a few tales of life in Berlin when he had been a boy. Most of them, at least, were too polite to ask how long ago that had been.

"Well," Friedrich said at last, leaning back in his chair. "I think that is quite enough."

"Yes, let's get cleaned up, and then it will be time for free play," Jo announced.

Friedrich turned to look at her in surprise. "What of the rest of the boys' lessons?"

"They've already done them for the day," Jo replied airily.

"What? All of them?"

The boys were quick to confirm Mrs. Bhaer's report.

"We practiced music this morning," Jack reminded the professor.

"And science!" declared Will. "When we did our, ah, experiments with all the different types of cakes! We followed the method and everything, sir!"

Though he was smiling, Friedrich raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what of your mathematics?"

This produced a moment's puzzlement before Bobby saved the day.

"We had to do some figuring to make sure that all of the cakes were warm and ready at near the same time," he pointed out.

"Yes, and then we calculated the fastest route to the picnic!" shouted Frank.

A dozen pairs of eyes turned on the boy, who was suddenly still and quiet.

"Oh," he said, his voice very small. He swallowed. "That is, sir, the, uh, surprise picnic."

It only took Jo's laugh to set all things right again, and for Frank to feel alright about mistakes.

"And that gave them some geography practice, too," Jo agreed. "Well, come on, Professor; let us have our picnic."

"Wait one moment," Friedrich said good-naturedly. "There is one subject left, and that is history."

Now at this, the boys were quiet once more. It was true; their abridged lessons that day had not yet touched upon this subject.

Then, Friedrich grinned. "Ach, yes - you have heard stories from an old man! Now go, clean up, then enjoy the afternoon."

There were cheers and laughs, before the boys obediently gathered up their plates. Once the plates were all washed, dried, and put away, they would be free to go.

That meant that Jo and Friedrich were free, too.

"You are not an old man," she insisted once again. "I wish you would not say so."

Friedrich shrugged, not truly bothered. "You make me feel young again, mein Jo," he said affectionately.

He offered her his arm again, and she took it. They had only a short detour to make into the kitchen - it was there they confirmed that the boys were doing their task of cleaning, and Jo also picked up a small picnic basket. Then together they strolled out into the afternoon sunshine.


It was a warm day, but as proper and fastidious as he was, Friedrich remained in his coat and cravat. It was not until their walk was complete, and they had settled on the shore of Walden Pond in a secluded place, that he finally consented to loosen his cravat and shrug off his coat.

"This is wonderful Jo, truly," he murmured in pleasure, tipping his head back to let the sunshine warm his face. "Thou hast out-done thyself."

Jo was for a moment too happy to speak. She was quite content, having grown a bit sleepy from the sunshine and the walk, as well as a small luncheon of bread and cheese, after the cake they'd already had.

For a time they lay there in the quiet. After the bustle and fun of Plumfield, the silence was strange. It occurred to Jo that here, in this little glen of the forest by the pond's edge, they were quite alone.

"Friedrich," she said, sitting up.

He did not open his eyes, but he smiled a little. "Hmm?"

With a grin, she started pulling off her shoes and stockings.

"Come and join me," she said.

And without waiting, she ran a few steps to the water's edge and leaped in.

Before she had waded even up to her waist, she cried out in surprise and laughter at the coldness of the water.

"Jo!" he called, hurriedly following.

"It's alright, only cold!" she assured him. She dipped her head under then, to more fully adjust herself to the chilly temperature. In Concord, it was so cold in the winter that even in summer, the water did not yet warm to tolerable.

"Thou worriest me," he said as he waded toward her.

"I'm alright," she said again, "only cold."

Accepting this invitation, he put his arms around her. Even though in the water, it was very unlikely to help her to warm up, it was exactly what she might have hoped for.

Then she laughed again, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now what was that you were saying about being old?" she teased.


After a pleasant swim and a very short splash fight - Friedrich was such an incorrigible gentleman that he had to be convinced by quite a few volleys before he would splash her in reprisal - and a somewhat longer walk, Mr. and Mrs. Bhaer returned home.

The students of Plumfield, occupied with their out-doors games and amusements, were too polite or too otherwise occupied to make any mention of the fact that their teachers both looked quite damp.

Fortunately, the walk and the sunshine had dried their clothes enough so that they were not dripping as they ascended the wooden stairs.

And so they returned to their room, and Jo softly shut the door. Crossing the space between them, she gave her husband a gentle kiss.

"Happy birthday," she said with a smile. "Now then - let's get you out of those wet clothes."