A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and support for this. I have no clue where the ship is headed but I'll let you know when we get there.
"Happy birthday, Trish," Alex said as she sat down across from Bobby and Trish at the little cafe Bobby and Alex frequented since the early years of their partnership.
"Thanks, Alex," Trish replied with a smile as the waitress came and set down their respective orders. "We ordered for you, hope you don't mind," she explained when Alex frowned at the scone and frothy coffee that were now sitting in front of her.
"Not at all," Alex replied, taking a sip of the cinamon flavored espresso. She smiled again before passing a small jewelery box over to Trish, "Happy Sweet Sixteen."
The teen smiled again at the older woman and opened the box to discover a golden locket shaped like a book, on a thin golden chain. Curiously, Trish opened the locket to discover two pictures inside: one of St. Michael, patron of police officers, and the other of St. Jerome, patron of orphans. She looked back up at Alex with tears in her eyes.
"It's so you'll remember that they are always watching over you," Alex told her, tears welling in her own eyes.
"Thank you," Trish replied, unable to say more for fear of her tears breaking loose and running down her face.
Bobby glanced at the pictures engraved into the locket and then glanced back at his partner, his own gratitude etched in his eyes as he silently thanked Eames.
"What's next on the agenda?" Alex asked a little later on as the trio ate their breakfast.
Trish shrugged, "Ask him," she motioned with her head to her uncle. "He won't tell me."
"You didn't guess," Bobby said, as if it was a perfectly reasonable explaination.
"Guess what?" Eames wondered aloud.
"His middle name," Trish replied, the annoyance clear on her face. "Oliver?"
"No," Bobby replied, never taking his eyes off his muffin.
"Try Greek mythology," Alex advised the girl. She already knew Bobby's middle name - and she knew he'd be quite ... put out if she outright told his niece what it was.
"That's assisting, Eames," Bobby said, his head shooting up to send a half-hearted glare at his partner.
Alex's eyes went wide, "Well it's not like she's the enemy, Goren." She shrugged, "Besides, it's not like I told her to look up the Odyssey, or something like that!"
"You just did!" Bobby complained.
"Odysseus," Trish said, now very sure of herself, "You're middle name's Odysseus."
Bobby just glared at his partner as he nodded slightly. "Yes, my mother was going through a period of obsession with the Odyssey when I was born."
The resounding laughter caused the other other patrons of the cafe to look at the trio in concern and amusement.
"How's your birthday so far, Trish?" Lewis asked the teen as he greeted the pair when they arrived at the show.
"It's been pretty good so far, Lewis," Trish replied with a smile. She looked around at her surroundings and asked, "What's all this?"
"You didn't tell her?" Lewis asked his long-time friend.
"I thought it would sound better coming from you," Bobby said defensively.
Lewis just sighed and turned back to Trish, "This is Phase Two of your birthday: lazer tag."
Trish raised her eyebrows, "Lazer tag? I didn't know you could play that with three people."
Lewis pointed to a group that was forming by the doorway, "Try ten people."
Trish's eyebrows were getting quite a work-out as she watched the four Deakins' tramp out of their SUV, followed soon by another car containing Mike, Alex and Carolyn. She turned to her uncle and asked, "Lazer tag? Where'd that idea come from?"
Bobby scratched the back of his neck as the rest of the group arrived. "Actually, it was my idea," Carolyn said with a grin. "I thought this would be safer than you actually shooting your uncle after living with him for a month."
The laughter that responded Carolyn's statement was loud and heartfelt. Most there knew how ... exasperating the big detective could get. "It's not that bad, Carolyn," Trish commented before frowning and tilting her head to one side in the same manner as her uncle. "No, no, not that bad. It gets close, though."
Jenny just grinned at her new friend, "Happy birthday, Trish." Her sister, Sammy - older by two years, handed the birthday girl a small bag.
"Thank you," Trish replied with a truthful smile. This was proving to be the best birthday she'd had since her mother had died. She passed the bag to her uncle, "I'll open it after we kick your asses at lazer tag."
"We?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, "Who's we?"
"Me, Alex, Carolyn, Jenny and Sammy."
"Wait a minute," Mike argued, "You can't have a team full of women! Barek and Eames are the best shots I know!"
Trish just cocked her head at him with a look, leaving the talking to Carolyn who said, "She just did, idiot. It's her birthday, Mike, she can do whatever she wants." The teen just smiled in a very self-satisfied manner after Carolyn's statement.
"How do we plan on winning this thing?" Angie asked the four men on her team as they all 'geared up' for the match.
Lewis shrugged as her, "I'm about as clueless as you are."
"If Goren and Logan can keep their partners' attention occupied we should be able to take care of the girls," Jimmy said, shooting a look at his two detectives. "That is ... if we can keep Barek and Eames out of play through most of this thing."
"I'm not really sure that's possible," Bobby said, "Eames is a little thing and it's easy to miss her and end up hitting the wall behind her head. I think we have better luck focusing our attention on evading them and just biding our time until the timer runs out."
"Are you afraid, Goren?" Mike asked his coworker with a smirk as he 'checked his weapon'.
Bobby sent Mike a look that revealed the danger of the situation as he said, "Yes, Mike. Yes, I am."
"We're going to lose, aren't we?" Angie asked Lewis as they made their way into the combat arena.
"Without a doubt," the mechanic replied, keeping his voice low so as not to attract the wrath of Mike Logan (who was still dilutional into thinking that the men - and Angie - could win).
"I can't believe we actually won!" Mike said gleefully as the group sat around a large table in a nearby pizzaria for lunch.
"What are you talking about Logan? They won, you spent the entire game getting shot," Barek said with a grin.
"Taking the attention away from Bobby and Deakins as they kicked your guys' ... butts to Kingdom Come," Mike said cheekily.
Trish gave him a look that clearly said she doubted his logic before Lewis said, "Oh, Trish, I almost forgot - I have your birthday present back at the house. I didn't think you'd want to carry it around all day."
"That's okay, Lewis, you can give it to me later," the birthday girl said as their waitress arrived with their previously ordered. "Thank you, Uncle Bobby."
Jimmy shook his head, "I still find it a little hard to believe that you're actually an uncle, Goren."
"You and me both," Bobby said. "I never really expected Frank to have kids.
"But you're glad he did, right?" Trish asked, suddenly very anxious.
Bobby smiled at her reasuringly, "Beyond glad."
A/N: So? What do you guys think? The second half of her birthday is up next.