By Saint Patrick's Day, Alexis had finished a week of hellacious midterms and was looking forward to a fun night with her fiance. Her bags were packed to head home to his strong, sensual arms, his wonderful smile, his impressive...other parts, she thought with a little laugh as she watched for her train at the Am-Trak station. God, she wanted to get her man in bed, or the couch, or anywhere else they could find to bang each other's brains out.

The trip into the city passed quickly; she watched an episode of BBC's Sherlock on her iPad so that by the time the credits rolled she was pulling into Penn Station by Madison Square Garden, and after fighting her way through the crowd with her suitcase, she saw Dave and Lanie waiting to meet her, along with their children.

'Hey! What are you guys doing here?'

'Shane got held up at home and asked us to meet you here in his place,' Lanie explained, rocking Finn's pram back and forth to make sure he stayed sleeping in the busy terminal.

'Who all is coming?' Dave inquired as he kept an eye on Carey and Violet as they walked hand-in-hand in front of him, Carey making sure his little sister didn't run off.

'Just the Espositos and you guys. We are keeping it small for this one, not like the one a few weeks ago where it was pretty much an excuse to have a family party.'

'Alessis.' Violet came back with Carey, took her hand as she smiled. 'We gonna have yummies tonigh'?'

'You know it.'

'Wha' kin'? 'Tal-ee-an like us?'

'No, we're not having Italian food, sweetheart,' Alexis laughed. 'It's a surprise.'

'Whee! I love suh-pises!'

'Considering you were a surprise for Mama and Daddy, I expect nothing less,' Lanie murmured, making Alexis giggle.

When they arrived at Alexis and Shane's apartment, Alexis was almost ready to cry at what greeted them: the space was clean, not just things tidied up but spotless and sparkling, top to bottom clean. There were fresh flowers on the table and Shane had put on Alexis' Peggy Lee album so her hauntingly melodious voice invited them in. The man himself was just coming out of the bedroom, adjusting his shirtsleeve cuffs when he looked up and saw his fiancee was home and had brought friends.

'Hello, Almost-Doctor Weaver,' he all but purred at her with a smile.

'Hello Already-Doctor Weaver,' she replied, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him; the sight of it had the three little kids freaking out.

'Eeeewwww.' Carey stuck out his tongue and wrinkled up his face. 'That is so gross, why does everyone do that?'

'It how to say 'love you',' Violet sighed, her little romantic heart fluttering in her tiny chest.

'Love!' Finn declared it loudly as Dave helped him out of his winter coat and boots. 'Love 'Let! Love Ca-wee! Love Mama! Love Daddy!'

'I know, you love us all,' Dave chuckled, then straightened up after Finn was taken care of and the kids were heading into the living room. 'I could definitely use a drink.'

'Me too. A big one,' Alexis yawned. 'Sorry.'

'How's the wedding planning going?' Lanie asked, uncorking a bottle of wine. She poured a couple of glasses and raised an eyebrow when she saw Alexis gulp half of it down in a single shot. 'A little stressed out?'

'Not stressed, just...trying not to let the setbacks get to me,' she confessed.

'What kind of setbacks?'

'Well, since Jojo was born, the rabbi died, my mother tried to pick up my fiance at our engagement party, we lost our spot at Shane's temple for the ceremony and when we tried to sign up Daniel Brick for the online interfaith minister program instead of getting rabbinical study guides in the mail he got a big box of porn.' Alexis paused for another drink. 'And that freaked him out so badly that he changed his mind about doing the entire thing.'

Lanie and Dave looked at Shane, who nodded sadly. 'Are you guys okay?' Dave asked hesitantly.

'Yeah, I mean I understand Daniel's reasons, he doesn't want to get fu...screwed again,' Shane amended, remembering there were small children nearby, 'and he even sent apology flowers to Alexis in Princeton he felt so awful. And it's cool, but now we are really in a bind for an officiant.'

'Well, tonight, let's focus on the positive,' Lanie suggested with a warm smile as she topped off her glass and Alexis' with the wine. 'We've got an amazing dinner ahead of us and from the sounds of that intercom buzzing, there are more friends here.'

Alexis grinned, stepped over to push the button. 'Hello?'

'Hi Alexis! It's the Esuh-positos!'

'Come on up, you guys. Man, Tessi is getting so big!'

'She'll be five in less than a month,' Lanie sighed. 'Which means Carey will be six. I feel old.'

'Now, now, Elenia,' Dave teased his wife with a finger wag. 'I thought we were done being sad for the night. What about that amazing dinner tonight?'

'Yes, wedding stuff.' Lanie put aside her maternal wistfullness and looked at Shane and Alexis, the former getting plates and cutlery ready for dinner while the latter took at seat at the kitchen table. 'What is on the menu tonight?'

'A mishigas of stuff, no real theme or specific cuisine. Rosemary bread to start, then a tomato-veggie-rotini soup, followed with a rotisserie chicken breast, mashed potatoes and stewed pears. And dessert will be oliebollen, courtesy of Body.'

'Is he doing the cake?' Dave asked but before he got an answer, there was a knock on the door, letting them know the Esposito clan had arrived.

Shane greeted them, holding out his hands automatically for baby Max. 'Let me have a look at that one,' he crooned, smiling when Meredeth handed over the five week old baby.

'He's been fed and burped and changed, it's why we're a little late,' she apologized with a little head tilt, then looked at Tessi and the twins. 'Okay guys, in we go, boots and coats off.'

'Hi Shane, we are here to help you decide on a wedding dinner!' Tessi reassured him. 'We are good tasters, we help Mami lots in the kitchen.'

'Vi'let here?' Leo inquired shyly; his tummy always got a little funny-feeling, but in a good way, whenever he was around her. 'She vis'in' too?'

'Ah-course she vis'in'.' See? Lanie an' Dave here too,' Trini pointed out to her brother, and marched straight over to them. 'We gonna help Alessis an' Shane.'

'Good to know, because you never fail to tell us just what's on your mind, sweetie,' Dave replied, absolutely charmed by her young bravado.

'O-kay. Hi-hi, Alessis, how doin'?' Trini rounded the table and climbed into Alexis' lap, gave her a friendly smile. 'I happy today.'

'Well, that's good,' Alexis laughed. 'I am hungry, and I'm guessing the caterer should be here soon?'

'It's barely five, Lex, they'll be here,' Shane reminded her nicely.

'I know, but the way our wedding planning's been going since New Year's Eve, it's understandable, right?'

'Yeah, Shane, it un-ah-san-ible,' Trini chirped, and held out bunched fingertips to Alexis. 'We 'tick a-gedder, girl.'

'Trini, my dove,' Esposito chuckled as he twisted the top off the beer Shane had passed him, 'do you even know what Alexis is talking about?'

'No, bu'...bu' we girls an' we 'tick a-gedder.'

'That is so true,' Tessi nodded with solemn blue eyes as she sipped on the big-girl can of Fresca her mother was letting her have. 'We have two girls and two boys in our house, and me and Tah-rini suh-tick together.'

There was another buzz at the intercom, letting them know the caterers had arrived and that at least this one branch of the wedding planning would go right. At least, Alexis prayed it would as she gulped down more wine.

Shane kept a watchful eye on his fiancee through dinner, noting that while she was bright and friendly her wheels were still working in overtime and she kept on reaching for the wine glass. Tonight it seemed it was her turn to get a little sauced, and he didn't blame her at all - between the wedding planning going pear shaped at almost every turn, the comedown off of her exams and the decision she still needed to make on her counseling project, if anyone needed a night off from their brain it was her.

Thus when their guests left for the night he helped the sleepily drunk Alexis to her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her balance as he lead her into their bedroom.

'Come on, my little strawberry,' he murmured to her as she tried to walk straight and failed miserably, nearly bumping them into the wall more than once. 'Just a few more steps.'

'There is so much to do,' she mumbled.

'And it will work out, isn't that what you're always telling me?'

'Yes.' Alexis slumped on the bed, pulled at her shirt. 'I wanna get naked with you, fuck your brains out.'

'As much fun as that would be, you are going to drink this.' Shane pressed a bottle of Gatorade into her hand. 'You will thank me for it in the morning.'

'Okay. Then the sex.'

'In the morning, Alexis. We'll have sex in the morning,' he told her, as if they were discussing waffles or pancakes, but it was no use pointing this out to her, as she'd flopped sideways and was already down for the count.