"So, Andi will be a year old soon..." Locus said to Felix, one day

Felix looked up from shining his knife collection. "So?" he asked

"So-" Locus began

"We should plan a birthday party for her!" Donut piped up

"Donut, she's still a baby! She won't remember her first birthday!" Grif grumbled

"Grif, not many people remember their first birthday." Simmons sighed, looking up from his book "And no, it's not a suppressed memory or bad experience. I remember mine. And mine wasn't a big deal."

"So-"

"There was only me, my parents, and my godparents." Simmons said, "My parents fed me cake, and gave me my presents, which were all tasteful for a one year old, and that was it."

"Wow, I thought first birthdays were supposed to be a big deal." Grif shrugged, "You know, the baby is about a year old.

"Well, they can be if you want to be the over ecstatic parent." Felix pointed out

"We don't need to give her a big birthday party. Alex should get a few presents, some cake, and wear a cute little party dress, that's it." Locus said

"Ooh, can I sew it? I think an adorable lightish-"

"You're NOT, making it pink or lightish red or...whatever colour of the sort! It can be green or orange." Felix interrupted

"Felix, Andi is a girl." Locus said slowly, "Maybe sewing one pink dress won't ruin her completely."

Locus then turned to Donut. "But maybe sew an orange or green dress, just in case she decides to complain or get the other dress dirty."

"Okey dokey, Locus! You can count on me." Donut beamed, "Something breathable, like cotton or polyester."

"Someone will need to buy some decorations for Andi. Just some streamers and a package of balloons will do. Someone can go out and buy a cake for her. And a few of you can go buy her a small present." Locus said

"I'll buy decorations, if Simmons can help me remember what to get." Grif volunteered

"I'll decorate the place with said decorations, knowing Grif will be too fucking lazy to do it." Tucker said

"I'll take care of the cake." Carolina said

"We'll get the lil' gal a present or two, won't we, Wash?" Sarge chuckled

"...This is not going to end well." Wash sighed, "I'll make sure they're child appropriate."

And so the planning for a birthday party began. Over the next few days everyone went out and did their assigned tasks. Donut immediately began picking fabrics and looking at possible dress designs for Andi's party dress. Simmons and Grif went down to a party store and bought a few rolls of streamers and coloured balloons. Carolina found an adorable marble cake with green and pink frosting on it and had it customized to read "Happy 1st Birthday Alex" on it. Wash and Sarge were scouring the toy aisles for an appropriate toy for a one year old baby.

Andi was perfectly fine during all of this, until the day of her birthday. Felix woke her up and took her down to breakfast. She was seated in her high chair and given an unusual breakfast. She was given cut up pancake pieces. She looked at the food strangely before beginning to fuss. Locus put a piece on her spoon and fed it to her.

Andi hesitated, like any baby, but began to smile when she realize how sweet they tasted. She made a grabbing gesture for another piece.

Andi finished her breakfast without any further complaints. Locus then got her dressed into the party dress Donut had sewn for her. Andi wasn't really happy to be wearing her new party dress. She wanted to be able to crawl around in pants, not when her knees were exposed. She gave Locus a sour look and pouted.

"You can pout all you want, but I'm not taking off that new dress Donut had sewn just for you." He said, picking her up

Andi was then put into her playpen while everyone else began setting up. She whined and called for anyone to come play with her, but they all were ignoring her. She sat down and silently played with her two plushy dolls.

Andi was suddenly starting to feel a bit tired from sitting in her playpen all morning. She lay herself down and felt herself get sleepy. Felix then came by and picked her up. He then took Andi to the kitchen and set her into her highchair.

Andi looked really upset. She wasn't hungry, she was tired! Felix then gave her something to eat, something a bit too sweet for her liking. She spit it out and began to fuss. "Andi, it's cake!" he reasoned, "Cake is yummy."

She gave him a mean glare and began complaining again. He sighed in irritation and took her out of her highchair. "You are being so difficult today." He grumbled, handing Andi over to Grif.

Everyone then gathered into the living and pulled out their presents. "We'll have Andi pick the present she wants opened, and we'll go from there." Felix explained

Andi was slowly nodding off. But Grif kept bouncing her so was able to stay awake. She whimpered and squirmed to get out of his grip. Grif finally relented and put her down onto the floor. She began to crawl away to the corner where her blankie was. She was tired and wanted to sleep for a bit...

"No, no Andi. You have to open your presents first." Felix scolded, turning her towards the stack of presents for her.

Andi began to bawl her little heart out. She didn't want to open or play with her presents, she didn't want to eat cake or be the centre of attention, she wanted to have a nap! But nobody was letting her have a nap. Andi began throwing a bit of a tantrum, hoping she could get what she actually needed.

Locus noticed his little girl's pleas for a bit of a rest. He picked her up and carried her upstairs to her room. "Baby," he murmured, "It's okay. Time for you have a bit of lie-down. I know you're tired."

"Dada." She whined, as Locus took off her dress and fit her into a soft onesie.

Andi seemed to calm down a bit when she was placed into her crib. She plopped herself onto the bed and lay down. Locus covered her with a soft blanket, closed her curtains, and turned on her night-light. Andi out a tiny yawn and slowly fell into a light slumber. "See you later." He murmured, kissing Andi's forehead.

Locus went back downstairs and found everyone slowly cleaning up and taking things down. "This was a fucking waste of time!" Felix grumbled, "We give our daughter a great little party, and she throws a tantrum!"

"Felix, she was tired. She wanted to have a nap. Andi fell asleep once she was in her crib." Locus reasoned, "We should have planned our schedule better. We should have put her down for a nap sooner, and not kept her awake for so long."

Felix thought this over. "We'll continue her party later, but let's let our Birthday Girl sleep." He suggested, "She'll be more happier that way."

An hour later, Locus brought Andi down in her onesie. He felt she didn't need to wear a party dress for a small celebration with their friends. Andi was in a much happier mood. She eagerly crawled over to her presents and patted it. Felix helped her open it and found stacking rings. Andi smiled and began to chirp, wanting to play with them. Once her presents were opened, Felix decided to try feeding Andi cake again. She giggled and ate the sweet pastry. She loved the balloons, especially when she hit them. She loved eating cake, and she loved her new toys.

After her first birthday they all learned an important lesson. Let the kid what they want, and not what the adults want. Despite the little hiccup, it had been a successful and unforgettable first birthday.