Dinner was almost ready when Barek's car pulled into the driveway behind Deakins'. John slid out of the back seat and headed for the cabin as the door opened and Maggie came barreling out to greet them, with Eames behind her, stopping in the doorway. John lifted her into his arms and hugged her. "Happy birthday, sweetheart. How's my girl?"

"Good, Grandpa," she answered as she squeezed his neck.

Barek leaned over John's arm and kissed her."Happy birthday, honey."

"Thank you, Aunt Carolyn. Where's Uncle Mike?"

"He'll be over in a minute. He's getting something out of the car."

Logan slammed the trunk and came around the car with a large shopping bag, rubbing his head. Maggie frowned. "Did you bump your head, Uncle Mike?"

John took the bag as Maggie jumped into Logan's arms. "Kinda. How's my birthday girl?"

She squeezed his neck and kissed him. "I'm good. Guess what?"

"What?"

She leaned back to be certain they would all hear her. "Uncle Bobby's not my uncle."

"He's not?"

"No. He fixed it so he can be my daddy!"

"He did? How'd he do that?"

Eames was shaking her head at him. "No, don't..."

Too late. "Well...he putted me inside Mommy's tummy like he did my baby."

Logan put a monumental effort into keeping a straight face. "Really?"

Eames took her from him and said, "Let's go inside." To Maggie she whispered, "Not now, baby. You can explain it to Uncle Mike later."

"I can't wait," he muttered, still trying not to laugh.

They joined Jimmy and Angie Deakins in the living room, but Logan kept going, heading into the kitchen where Goren was finishing the spaghetti Maggie had asked for. He looked up when Logan entered the room. "It's about time you got here."

"Don't ask. Spaghetti?"

"It's what Maggie wants for dinner."

He nodded and leaned back against the counter. "So, I hear you fixed it."

"Fixed what?"

"Whatever you had to fix to be Maggie's daddy."

"Oh, that. What was I supposed to tell her? She thinks I fixed it and I can't explain that there was nothing to fix. She won't understand that. I don't want her thinking I didn't want to be her daddy, because that's not true."

"I keep telling you that you have been her daddy since day one."

"You know what I mean."

He shrugged and took the serving bowl of spaghetti Goren handed to him. "I can't wait to hear how you put her in Mommy's tummy, though."

"What?"

Logan laughed and headed for the dining table. Goren closed his eyes and swore softly. Something told him it was going to be a long night.

After dinner, Maggie opened her presents. From the Deakins, she got a baby doll with dark hair and eyes like hers, complete with clothes and accessories. Grandpa gave her a CD of bedtime songs, a new pair of jeans and a pink shirt she had asked him for, and she knew he would have a new toy for her when they went to Aunt Reggie's next week. He always did. Barek gave her a remote control police car and a DVD of The Wizard of Oz. From Logan she got a floppy bunny that would become her favorite bedtime buddy and an Elmo game. Her parents gave her a Thomas the Tank Engine railroad set she had been asking for. She took the last gift and climbed into Goren's lap with it. She knew it was her books, and she was excited to see what he got for her this year. The first book was Sandra Boynton's Hippos Go Berserk. The brown one with her name in gold on the front was Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers.

Then they brought out the cake and settled around the living room, enjoying the relaxed evening and the delighted child who bounced around among them. The captain and his wife left before it got too late. John, Logan and Barek had planned to stay the night from the beginning. Barek was sitting in a chair near the coffee table, John sat in another chair directly opposite her, Goren and Eames were on the couch, and Logan stretched out on the floor near Barek's chair. Maggie was beginning to wind down. Settling herself on her mother's lap, she gently rubbed Eames' stomach. "Are you sure there's a baby in there, Mommy?"

"Yes, honey. I'm sure."

She got quiet and Goren groaned. He knew what that meant, and he sought out Eames' eyes. She shrugged. Maggie sighed. "I still don' get it."

"Don't get what, baby?" Logan asked.

"How Daddy got him in there and why he can' take him out so I can play with him."

Logan started laughing and Barek smacked him, carefully hiding her amusement. John looked away, so Bobby and Alex couldn't see his expression. He dearly loved every one of his grandchildren, but this one was special, and she always had been. Goren closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead and Eames hugged the little girl in her lap. Maggie sighed impatiently. "Daddy telled me I can unnerstan' when I'm thity-five, but I wanna unnerstan' now."

John smiled sympathetically, remembering having those talks with his own children. "They all ask sooner or later."

Goren looked at him. "Which one of your kids asked when they were three?"

John laughed. "None of them. But not even Alex had Maggie's...curiosity."

Eames gently nudged Goren. "Guess where she gets that?"

Maggie looked over the coffee table. "Do you know, Uncle Mike?"

"Know what, bunny?"

"How to put a baby inside a mommy?"

Goren looked over at Logan, a small smile on his face as he watched him trip over his tongue. "Well, Uncle Mike?"

Logan sighed and cleared his throat, starting over again. Like Goren, he didn't have it in him to lie to this child. "Sure I do, sweetheart."

"Did you ever put a baby in someone?"

"Uh, no." Barek made no effort to control her laughter. Logan frowned at her, then motioned for Maggie to come over to him. She slid from her mother's lap and settled on his stomach, and he asked, "What's wrong with Daddy's explanation?"

"He telled me it's a Mommy and Daddy thing. That doesn' tell me how."

"Oh." He laughed again. "Brought down by a three-year-old. I love it."

"So you explain it to her, Mike," Barek insisted as she took a breath.

He looked at Eames who shook her head. "Don't look at me. I had to handle the 'Where did Grandma go when she died?' question. I deferred this one to her father."

Logan looked at him. "Lucky you."

Goren sighed heavily. "Hey, mouse, why don't you run and get your pajamas on?"

"You gonna read the Hippo book to me, Daddy?"

"Of course."

She got up from Logan's stomach and ran off. Goren turned to his friend. "If you have any bright ideas, let's hear 'em."

"Come on, man. I don't even have any kids. I'm not ready for this talk."

"You think I am?"

"Good grief!" Eames exclaimed. "Just tell her something age appropriate."

"I tried that, remember? You said she wouldn't go for the stork explanation. Now if I can find a door..."

"Stop it," she laughed as he playfully grabbed her shirt.

"A door?" Logan asked.

"Yeah. She wanted to know where the door is that I put the baby in."

He started laughing again. "That kid's gonna kill me. A door? How'd she come up with that one?"

Goren shrugged. "You got me."

Eames nestled into his arms. "I don't know what to tell her. Dad?"

"Sorry, honey. I can't help you much with this one. When you were six, you bought the stork story. All of you did until you were actually old enough to understand a more detailed explanation, and your mother handled that with you and Reggie."

"Great. What about you, Bobby?"

"No one ever explained it to me. I just found it out on my own."

"Same here," Logan said. "I'm glad Maggie doesn't have to wing it."

"I don't know about that," Barek teased. "With you two clowns clueless about what to say..."

Goren raised his eyebrows. "You want us to give her a biology lesson, Carolyn?"

"Us? Oh, no," Logan protested. "You even start in that direction, and I'm outta here. I know that kid. If you start telling her how it really works, she's gonna want to see a demonstration. I'm not even going there."

"I'd kill you."

"Yeah, there's that, too."

Maggie came bouncing back into the room in her pajamas. Goren smiled warmly at her. "Come here, mouse. Your shirt is on backwards."

"I couldn' do the buttons inna back, Daddy. So I turned 'em aroun'."

"That was a smart thing to do," he said as he lifted her onto his lap. "And these are called snaps, baby."

He slid her shirt off and turned it around, snapping the back up for her. She settled into his arms. "Like this?" she said, holding up her little hand and trying to snap her fingers. "Or like when we play ball?"

He laughed and hugged her. "It's the same word for all of them. It just means something different."

"How canna same word be somethin' diff'rent if it's-a same?"

"That's the way our language works. One word can mean different things, depending on how you use it."

"Why?"

"I don't know why. It's the way the English language developed."

"But it's stupid."

Leaning her head against his arm, Eames could feel Goren relax beside her, and she knew it was because he was relieved at the change in the line of questioning from their little girl. He was much more comfortable talking about languages than he was trying not to discuss sex with her.

"It is stupid, but that's the way it is."

"Ball..." Logan commented.

"Ball what, Uncle Mike?"

"Ball can mean more than one thing. So can cow, block, pig..."

Maggie turned confused eyes to her father. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yes, they can."

"And fish can be a noun or a verb..."

"A what?" Maggie asked.

"Mike?" Goren muttered. "Stop talking."

"I don' unnerstan'," Maggie said. "What else is a pig if it's not a pig?"

"A slob, or a cop..." Logan explained.

"I said stop talking..." Goren warned.

"A cop? You mean a police...Like alla you?"

Goren sighed, giving Logan a dangerous look. "It's a term that's used like a bad name for police officers, Maggie."

"Did anyone ever call you a bad name like that?"

He nodded. "Lots of times. It's part of the job."

She frowned. "I don' like it."

"We don't either. But it's just a word. It doesn't matter."

"Yeah, sure," Logan grumbled. "Words don't hurt. Not at all. Ow! Hey!"

Barek had dropped The Three Musketeers on his head. "Look at that, Mike. Words can hurt after all. Stop confusing her, unless you want to explain it to her..."

"I was just helping him with ideas."

"Well, don't."

Eames reached over to the table and picked up Hippos Go Berserk, handing it to Goren. "Here, Bobby. Read to her."

Maggie tilted her head and looked at her mother. "But, Mommy. I don' unnerstan'..."

"No one really does, baby. It's one of those things that just is because it's the way the language works."

Maggie sighed heavily, a very familiar gesture of frustration. "Can we talk about it inna mornin'?"

Goren kissed her head. "Sure. We'll make a game out of it. You don't have to understand it to have fun with it."

"But I wanna unnerstan' it."

"We'll see what we can do."

She sighed again. "Okay, Daddy."

Once she was asleep, Goren carried her to bed. Then he came back into the living room. Logan was already on his feet. "I was trying to help," he protested.

"I'll give you to the count of five, Logan, and I'm already at three..."

Logan took off, out the back door, off the deck and down the beach. Goren didn't hesitate to take off after him. John got up from his chair, shaking his head and softly laughing. Eames and Barek were laughing as well. He hugged his daughter. "This is good to see," he said.

"What is?"

"Happiness, honey. When Maggie sat in my lap before, she told me now all she could think of to ask her wishy star for was a puppy."

"Don't even think about it, Dad. We can't handle a puppy right now. I gave Bobby the same warning. No puppy—not till she's older."

Barek had moved to the kitchen window. "I can't see them. You think Bobby's going to toss him in the surf?"

"Something tells me they'll both end up in the water, but yes, Bobby will be the one to do it."

"I don't think Mike will ever learn when to shut up."

John kissed his daughter again. "I'm about ready to turn in. These old bones aren't up for late nights like they used to be."

"What old bones?" Eames asked with a smile.

"The bones are old, Alex. But your daughter keeps the heart young."

She hugged her father. "She's good at that. Top of the stairs, last door on the right."

"Good night, girls."

They said good night and went out onto the deck. The night breeze was cool as it blew in off the water. Eames looked down the beach, but it dissolved into darkness before she could catch sight of Goren and Logan. "It was the 'pig' example that got him in trouble," she said.

Barek nodded. "He didn't mean to upset her, but that was what made Bobby mad."

"Do or say what you will and he can roll with the punches. But upset Maggie...that's asking for trouble."

"Mike doesn't ask for trouble. He begs for it."

They looked down the beach at the sound of voices and laughter. The two men approached the cabin, mounted the stairs and stepped onto the deck. They were both soaking wet. "Have a nice swim?" Eames asked.

"The water's nice," Goren replied. "Want to go out?"

"No, thanks. I'll take your word for it."

He moved closer to her, and she backed up. "Bobby, you're all wet. Go get changed."

"Oh, come on..."

"No. Now get changed."

Barek gave Logan a shove toward the cabin. "You, too, cowboy. You started all this."

"Hey, I'm the one who got tossed in the water..."

"You asked for it. He warned you."

Logan smiled. "I love watching that kid spin him in circles. I thought Alex was the only one who could do that."

On the other side of the deck, Eames had stopped fussing about his wet clothes. Pressed against his body, hands in his hair, she was lost in a deep kiss and the last thing on her mind was his wet clothes.

With a smile, Logan followed Barek into the house. He looked back in time to see Bobby's hand slide under her shirt. He flipped off the light over the deck and crossed the room toward the stairs. "I wonder if he's still looking for that door..."

fin