When Javier Esposito opened his eyes, he immediately regretted the decision. It felt like someone was bludgeoning him in the head with a cast-iron frying pan. His tongue felt thick in his mouth and tasted like he'd been licking the bottom of the sewer.

What the hell had happened?

"Oh good, someone's finally awake."

Manfully holding in a whimper, Javi cracked open one eye and peered up at the red blur looking down at him. Slowly, the blur coalesced into Alexis Castle, who seemed to be upside down and hovering.

Then he realized he was lying down with his head hanging off of the side of something and she was upright. "Huh?" he managed to say, causing the redhead to heave a sigh of exasperation.

"When dad never came home I got worried and took a cab over here," she said, then waved a finger around. "This place makes the aftermath of a high school party look tame."

Party? Oh, right….

It'd come as a shock to everyone when, less than a year after tying the knot, Kevin Ryan and his wife Jenny had divorced. Though they clearly adored each other and the marriage had thrilled their parents, they couldn't make it work. The split had been amicable and Kevin had been happy that Jenny finally let herself admit that she was in love with her 'friend' Laura, but he'd still been down for quite a while after the divorce.

He had liked being married.

Once he started to perk up, Javi and Castle had decided they needed to throw him a 'Welcome Back to Bachelor-hood!' party.

It had been EPIC.

Javi had no idea how Castle had managed to contact so many of Kevin's insane male relatives, but the Old haunt had been packed with prime examples of what Irishmen should not drink tequila. Castle had been glad he'd had the foresight to take all the pictures and memorabilia off the walls before the party and Beckett (the only woman actually invited) decked one of the Liam's when he grabbed her ass.

The rest of the assorted Ryan family teased the hell the Liam, who was quickly absorbed back into the crowd to become involved in whatever debauchery they were planning.

There it also but a couple of very high-end strippers and Javi couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard one of them discussing Dickens with Castle and Beckett.

As the night wore on, most of Ryan's cousins wandered off to God only knew where (though one was passed out, shirtless, on the bar with splotchy purple dots drawn all over him and another was duct taped to a wall) and Castle and Beckett had retreated to a corner booth to flirt, Javi and Kevin remained in their booth, shoulders together, talking.

Okay, there may have been some flirting…not entirely out of the ordinary, but the make out session had been new.

Finally taking stock of his surroundings, Javi realized he had passed out in one of the bar booths. Kevin was still out cold, his head resting on Javi's hip.

Without thinking, Javi reached down and patted Kevin's hair. "I think your dad's in the corner with Beckett," he muttered, causing Alexis to heave a sigh and grumble about therapy.

Under his palm, Ryan stirred, craning his neck to look up at Javi. For a moment, he looked confused and startled, causing Javi to worry that last night was going to make things awkward.

Then Kevin blinked and smiled.

Javi grinned back.

Yeah, things are going to be okay.

Comments, pretty please?