Baze arrives at exactly seven o'clock.

"You're on time?" says Cate. "Are you feeling all right?" she asks, smirking.

"Hey, I can be on time when need be," he answers, handing her a bottle of wine. She grins at it, knowing that the two of them will have a lot of fun emptying it.

"Come on in. Our daughter is just finishing up the salad."

"You got her to cook? How did you manage that? The only thing I can get her to make is a bowl of cereal."

"I'm not sure, but she's grown up a lot the past few weeks. I think everything that happened with you know who has really changed her."

Cate doesn't like to even mention the name of Lux's ex foster father. It turns her stomach to think of what her daughter went through when she was living with him. She's glad they never have to see him again, because she's not sure she'd be able to stop herself from hurting him.

A look of rage spreads on Baze's face. Cate is glad she's not alone in her hatred of this person, but she knows Baze would do a lot more damage to him than she could. She decides to change the subject.

"How's the bar going?"

They take a seat on the little couch in her living room.

"It's going really well. Our regulars have come back, and they're bringing friends with them."

"Fantastic. I bet you're all relieved it's going well."

"We are. Jamie has just moved back into the loft. He said he wanted to be close to the bar so he'd be able to cut out his travelling time, but I think he's just happy to be out of his mother's house."

"Yeah, I guess he can't be as hospitable with his lady friends when he has to bring them back to his mother's place."

Baze can only laugh.

"Hey," says Lux, moving into the living room.

"How are you getting on?" asks Cate.

"All done. I finished the icing on the cake as well," she says, happily receiving a huge Baze hug. Her father's hugs are one of her favourite things. He's so much bigger than her that he practically swallows her up in his arms.

They move to the table, Baze and Lux take one side, leaving Cate with the other side. She has set up the place beside her, just in case Ryan arrives. Cate heads into the kitchen and starts putting out the dishes of food.

"What's Jones up to tonight?" asks Baze, reaching for a bottle of orange juice. He pours a glass for his daughter before pouring two glasses of wine for himself and Cate.

"He's having a family night as well," she replies, smiling.

"Things going well between the two of you?"

"Everything is going really well."

"Good to hear. Have you heard anything from Bug again?"

"No thankfully," she says, taking a sip of her orange juice. She has come to hate discussing anything Bug related, as it tends to bring up bad memories.

Cate joins them at the table now that everything has been laid out.

"How do you think the date is going?"

She's been itching to get Baze's viewpoint on everything, given that he knows Math a lot better than her. He can't help but let out a little chuckle.

"He was so nervous. It was adorable," he says, loading his plate with food. Cate looks on with happiness. Perhaps he has forgotten that she is the cook, but he's certainly enthusiastic.

"Alice was a bit terrified. She's forgotten how dates work, I think," smiles Cate.

"Yeah, it's a bit rough when you've been in a relationship and you have to go back into the whole dating world," replies Baze, his face becoming very serious for a moment. Cate and Lux look at one another. Neither of them has wanted to bring up the whole issue of Emma since the break up, but she's clearly still on his mind.

"I don't think I could do it again, that's for sure. Hopefully the date will go well. They're both lovely people."

"Here's hoping. I'll get the full rundown when Math gets home."

"Yeah, Alice is going to give me a call when it's over. What did you think when he told you they were going to go on a date?"

"I was really happy about it. He's had a rough time with girlfriends. You know what he was like in high school with women. Well, it didn't get much better afterwards. I don't know why, but he gets so nervous with women."

"I know, I don't get it either. Alice has always been great with men. She always had a boyfriend, right up until she met Jeff."

"What were they like as a couple? I never met him."

"I always thought they were good together. He was a lot older than her, and he had kids, meaning she would be a step mum, but she seemed to take to it."

"You seem surprised at that?" asks Lux, happily enjoying her hard work in the kitchen. Even though she only made the salad, it's the best salad she's ever tasted.

"Yeah, I was. She was never a real kid person. Anytime anyone brought a baby to the station she would find something else to do in another room. I never thought she'd be a parent, even a step parent."

"Were you a kid person?" asks Lux.

Cate looks over at Baze, a very worried look on her face. How do you explain something like this? Especially to your own child. There aren't any words of advice he can offer.

"Um, no, I wasn't. But we all change," she says, a meek smile on her face. She's relieved when Lux nods her head and returns to her salad.

"Have you talked to Tasha recently?" asks Baze.

Lux immediately perks up, her head rising from her plate, smiling insanely at her father.

"She's getting out in two weeks. Good behaviour or something. Which means that I need to move up her party by a week. Is that all right?"

"Yeah, just give me the time and date, and I'll make sure everything is set up. You excited to get her back?"

"I can't wait. It seems like so long since she was here."

The front door opens.

"Hey," says Ryan, bursting into the living room and throwing his jacket on the couch. He leans down to kiss his wife before sitting down beside her, eagerly reaching for the plates of food in the middle of the table.

"Have you not eaten yet?" asks Cate, watching as her husband grabs for food.

"No, I never got the chance. I was looking after the baby while Julia was out running a few errands, and then we got talking about having a naming party for the baby. Baze, we were wondering if we could borrow your bar for the night?" he asks.

"Sure, no problem. Happy to help. Just let me know when you need the bar, and we can work it all out."

"Fantastic, thank you. We haven't settled on a date yet, we need to see when suits people, but I'll let you know. How have things been here?" he asks, happily annihilating the food on his plate. His stomach feels as though he hasn't eaten anything in days.

"Everything's great, we just started dinner. How's Julia and Matthew?"

"They're both doing well. I can't believe how big Matthew is getting already. Seems like only yesterday that he was born," he says, beaming with pride.

"I'm glad they're both doing well Ryan," says Lux, smiling at her step-father from the other side of the table. He happily returns her smile.

"Has there been any word from Alice and Math yet?"

"Nothing yet. They should just be getting to the restaurant," replies Baze, looking at his watch.

"Great. I know someone who's on tender hooks to hear all the gossip," he says, grinning at his wife.

"Yeah, I'm sitting by the phone, waiting for all the gossip," jokes Baze.

After dinner and dessert, the four of them gather in the living room.

"So what's new with school, Lux?" asks Ryan. He realises that he's been out of the loop for the past few weeks. Although he loves spending time with the baby, he's going to have to do something to bring his two worlds together.

"It's all right. There are a lot of tests coming up, so there's a lot of study to do."

"You'll do well. And I hear Tasha is coming back sooner than expected?"

"Yeah, in two weeks. She'll be out just in time for the exams, but she's been studying while she's been in. She'll probably be more prepared for the exams than me by the time she's back home."

Cate nods her head.

"Possibly, but then she's had a lot of free time to devote to her studies. You've had another few things going on recently."

"True. But now that everything is over and done with, I can get stuck in."

"I'm sure Jones will be more than happy to give you a hand. Just tell little dude to behave himself, all right," replies Baze. Even though her father is a very jovial man, she knows that he means every word of it. She wouldn't like to be in Jones' shoes if he ever did something to disrespect her.