'This feels funny.'

'What?'

'Having cards night after not seeing the guys at work for almost a month.'

Castle only rolled his eyes and shuffled cards for the poker game they were going to indulge in. Shane, whether he realized it or not, was getting more and more antsy the closer they got to the wedding. Of course, it could also be the fact that the following Tuesday, he would be going to Princeton for two weeks to be with Alexis while she was sitting her finals, and his focus would be making sure she didn't go completely insane.

But tonight was not the night to worry about those kinds of things. Tonight was about the fact he had the loft to himself for the boys to come over for cards and manly discussions. Beckett and Jojo were going to Meredeth's for the evening, and while RJ was more than a little put out at not getting to see Trini, it was quickly replaced when he learned that Dell had invited him for a boys-sleepover. Then he hadn't been able to get out of the house fast enough.

Now the grown-ups had the place to themselves, though Castle was beginning to feel a bit like a babysitter himself the way Shane was buzzing around.

'You know,' he said conversationally, 'when you get wedding-edgy, you and Alexis flutter around the room the same way.'

'Flutter? I am a pathologist and an ex-pilot from the Israeli Air Force-'

'Who has a severe phobia of flying.'

'Whatever, the point is I am a certified bad-ass. And certified bad-asses do not flutter.'

'Shane it's okay to flutter,' Castle reminded him, reaching to the side board and grabbing a bottle of chilled beer. 'You are getting married, it's a big step.'

'I know, but I woke up this morning and I saw that it was June twelfth and it hit me. I'm going to be a married man in less than a month.'

'Bet that was a pretty wicked rush, huh?'

His knees had nearly buckled but there was no reason to let Castle know that, Shane decided and nodded complacently. 'Shane and Alexis Weaver. You think if she winds up working with the cops, they'll call her Lady Doctor Weaver like with Daniel and Andrea?'

'I have no idea.' The man truly was a goner, Castle thought, getting up to answer the knock at the door. He opened it to Ryan and Dave together, grinned like the Cheshire Cat. 'Welcome to the groom nut house.'

'See, that's one of the perks of eloping,' Ryan chipped in, giving Shane a slap on the back as he selected a drink from the sideboard. 'The jitters come afterward.'

'We thought about doing that, when we were in the Bahamas, but then we thought that would just create more problems than solve them.' Shane scratched his cheek; he never seemed to know what to do with his hands these days. 'It would feel like we were taking the easy way out from the problems, not to mention the fact we'd be breaking about a million and a half promises being so selfish.'

'You know I'd never hear the end of it from RJ if he missed the wedding,' Castle reminded him. 'And you would be forced to deal with one very pissed off three and a half year old.'

'I don't think I've ever seen that kid upset,' Dave commented, making his friend shake his head with pursed lips.

'Clearly, you missed the time when Kate put Omeo in the wash with the towels to freshen him up. RJ cried the entire time the washer and dryer were running and didn't shut up until Omeo was back in his arms safe and sound. You'd have thought someone stabbed him in the head the way he was carrying on.'

'Poor little guy. Sounds like Dell when he accidentally left Rex at his grandparents back at Easter.' Ryan sipped his beer. 'We had to go all the way back to the Bronx to my parents' house which of course made Mally go off like a siren because she was so tired and strung out on chocolate she just wanted to go to bed.'

'How is Mally doing these days with her animal protest?' Castle asked, having learned of the little girl's meat-free streak from Shane.

'Oh good God. I think Jenny is going to strangle her soon. She's gone from being sensitive to righteous, or as righteous as a three and a half year old can be.'

Shane thought of RJ giving him what-for over kissing Alexis. 'We have an idea. Go on.'

'This week, she watched Jenny making a chicken salad sandwich for Dell's lunch and she started saying 'poor shickens, Mama, say 'gassy' fo' the shicken souls.' I thought she was bad when she started mooing over the spaghetti and meatballs.'

'Welcome to my world, bro,' Esposito said dryly, taking the shuffled cards from Castle and dealing them. 'Now you get what I had to put up with when Jenny was pregnant and you were standing in solidarity with her on her no animals kick.'

'Speaking of pregnant, how's Sloan doing?' Ryan asked Shane. 'I still can't believe her boyfriend turned out to be such an asshole.'

'Some men love the idea of their girlfriend being pregnant, and then can't handle what that really means once they understand the baby's on the way,' Castle pointed out, tossing chips into the middle of the table. 'I'm in.'

'I'm out.' Shane threw down his cards, reached for his beer. 'Sloan is doing fine, and so is little Devon.'

'That's going to be a rough road, a single mom with a baby boy,' Esposito commented.

'Well, Sloan's tough, you know? She can handle a lot of shit, and she loves being a mom so far. It's easier now that Devon's getting into a routine. Alexis has been calling her every day and making me take RJ over at least twice a week for a play date so Sloan can get some rest or do some chores and errands.'

'Really? She's had Lanie check in on her too,' Dave commented, then looked at Esposito, 'and I think Mere's done a little cooking for her as well, hasn't she?'

'Yep, made her come for a visit with Devon and sent her home with the cooler bag full of casseroles and soups to put in the freezer for easy healthy meals.'

'Are you sure Alexis isn't Wonder Woman, Shane?' Ryan asked teasingly.

'I'm sure. Excuse me a moment,' he replied as his cellphone rang and he stepped away to take the call. Back at the table, all the men looked at each other with excited, knowing grins.

'That man is in total denial,' Esposito said, making Dave confused.

'Denial about what?'

'That he's got pre-wedding jitters. The good kind, the hurry-up-and-get-here kind.'

'I know, it's all over his face, and before you say it-' Ryan pointed at his partner '-I renewed my vows with Jenny just last September, and we had a full and proper wedding ceremony so yes I do know what I'm talking about.'

Esposito held up his hands in surrender, threw in a few more chips to the table. 'Didn't say a word, bro.'

'Now that you mention it, I do recall the entire week before marrying Lanie I wanted to eat nothing but waffles with peach jelly and Fresca. It was my stress food at university,' Dave added when they all looked at him. 'I just thought I was avoiding turkey. Problem?'

Shane returned to the table, sat down as he bounced his phone against his palm. 'Nope, just Faisal letting me know that my wedding present for Lex is ready, it was delivered on the last truck of the night to his store. Anyone want a snack?'

'Shane, dude, it's okay,' Castle told him as he flipped over the cards on the table, making Dave and Esposito groan and Ryan cheer as he raked in the chips. 'We've all been there, and being nervous before your wedding is totally normal.'

'I'm not nervous,' he protested but it died when the others at the table simple looked at him. 'Okay, maybe a little.'

'What is there left to get put into place?'

'Seating chart for the reception, finalize the menu for the dinner, pick up table favours for the reception, finalize the song list with the DJ, do the announcement for the Ledger, pick up tickets for the honeymoon, pack for the honeymoon, but it's all planned, said and done. Just the final things to go over.'

'Alexis has her dress already?' Esposito asked and Shane nodded.

'Andrea is holding it at her place, Body has the wedding rings, we've got our speeches selected, and Rabbi Oliver has met with Body and Andrea to go over their roles in the ceremony, and-'

'Shane, slow down man,' Dave laughed. 'Have a drink.'

'No, no alcohol, hasn't been agreeing with me lately. Too antsy about seeing Alexis next week.'

'Ah, yes, she is going to be happy to see you, I bet.'

'You're filthy,' Shane replied without a single hesitation, making the Ry-Sposito monster laugh and Castle blush bright red.

'This is why I won't be there on the strippers night of the bachelor party send off, Shane. I don't care how open we are in this family, Alexis is still my firstborn baby girl and it was hard enough to learn she wasn't a..nope, can't even finish that sentence.'

'I simply meant that Alexis will be thankful to come home after her hard hours of studying to her man,' Dave said, then winked. 'But I'm sure the other thing you were thinking will be a nice way to...relieve stress.'