(Kenzi's POV)

Everything had happened so fast. Bobby Mackey's seemed like it was yesterday, when in fact it'd been about two years ago already. We paused the investigations as Brittany and I (along with the boys) had families to tend to now. Emily and Nick didn't have kids yet, but yet was the key word. I guess they were waiting to see how we handled it. Aaron and Brittany's daughter Cassidy Dawn was about three months older then AJ, but to them it didn't matter. Well, as for Cassidy, we all joking called her 'Case-a-dill-a' in reference as that was the first real food she'd tried. The others were content with calling Alexandra-Joan 'AJ' as her full name (Alexandra-Joan Pearl Bagans) was somewhat of a mouthful. AJ's middle name, to Zak and I, was something that reminded us of how she came. I'd gone into labor at Bobby Mackey's, and so AJ's middle name was Pearl, because that was the name of one of the ghosts that was trapped there. This point of my life was represented by Miley Cyrus's Simple Song.

But now it was super bowl Season again. And the girls and I would be throwing the 'tailgate party of the year', as they called it. This year the super bowl was bound to be good, it was the Dallas Cowboys playing the Minnesota Vikings. The game would start at 5:00, and everyone would be over by 3 for food and stuff. Aaron, Brittany, and Cassidy were already here before the doorbell rang. And since we had one of those glass outer doors before the wood one, Cassidy and AJ could see out.

"Nee! Em! Hi! Hi!" Cassidy and AJ called in their babble. Oh boy. Nick and Emily were here.

"Zak, Nick's here!" I called to the other room. Aaron and Zak were trying to figure out how to get the surround sound working, and let's face it, trying to navigate the house with toys everywhere wasn't as easy as it seemed.

"Hey Kenzi!" Emily called, poking her head inside. I laughed.

"You guys can come in, y'know."

"Yeah but…" Emily got cut-off by Nick, "Em, baby, they're just –almost-two-year olds. You grab one, I'll grab the other."

"Heyy, you cut me off." I heard Emily's sigh of annoyance, then the almost-sleepy sounding, "Nick…stop, not with the two of them here…quit it…" that must've meant he was kissing her. I laughed, but then so did Nick, coming in a minute later holding Cassidy. Emily came in after him holding AJ. Emily walked toward me and handed off AJ to me, saying, "I don't understand how you and Zak can do it. Doesn't she keep you guys up all night?" I laughed.

"Well, the bags under my eyes aren't from investigations!" I joked. And then we headed toward the kitchen to get the snacks and drinks ready.

Gametime:

"You guys ready?" I asked. Everyone nodded.

"Then let the super bowl begin!" I announced, flipping the TV on like I was an referee instead of someone just watching the game. Well, good news was the surround sound worked. Nice. About halfway through the game, Tony Romo managed to score. Brittany, Emily and I somehow said all at the same time, "God I hate him. He's so over-rated." The guys just laughed, smiling. It was understandable. But when Brett Favre scored three touchdowns by the end of the second quarter, the boys could tell we were upset.

"What?" Zak asked, laughing.

"He used to be a Packer. Good ol' Wisconsin. Green Bay Packers. Whata –"

"Brittany, if you say anything in front of the kids, this could turn into Bobby Mackey's again, but this time it'll be my claws on your face." I cut her off before she could say anything AJ and Cassidy shouldn't hear. She laughed, but stayed quiet.

"He's a dochebag. There. Clean enough for you?" she mocked.

"Yep. Who wants cake?" I asked, going to the kitchen.

"Me! I do! Me!" But this time two of my best friends, my husband, and his friends all answered like little kids. Aaron even (just because he knew I could tell) threw in a, "Dibs on first piece, bro!" And I just laughed.

The Vikings ended up winning the super bowl, 33 – 25. Emily grinned as she elbowed Brittany playfully, "Fork over the money, Birdie. $20." I high fived Emily, Zak coming into the room a minute later holding AJ, who was clapping her hands together and babbling about how pretty the confetti had been onscreen. Zak laughed, kissing her hair.

"You're right, Brittany. He is a total doche. Well, I shouldn't be talking, I'm not a Wisconsin native. I was born in DC, moved to Michigan for school, then Vegas where I met Nick & Aaron. Then I wouldn't've met you guys. And she wouldn't be here." He said, motioning to AJ. He blinked at her, going all crossed-eyed and making his smile go crooked while her fingers went for his eyes.

"No no AJ. She like looking at my eyes. Must be the color." He concluded. I giggled, walking toward him so I could hold her for awhile.

"And trying to poke your eyes out, too. Who woulda thought that…"

"Camera Time!" Emily yelped suddenly. I sighed. Ever since Emily had gotten a canon PowerShot for Christmas, she'd been using it daily. I readjusted AJ in my arms, and moved so I was standing against Zak, looking up at him with this 'totally-so-in-love' expression. Zak was looking at AJ and I, his hazel eyes (damn, no wonder AJ liked looking at his eyes. She gets it from me) bright and this idiotic little grin on his face.

"Smile!" Emily said, and then the camera flashed.

But later that night, (as if being up every two hours to feed wasn't enough) AJ wouldn't stop crying. I'd tried everything I knew to try to get her to stop.

"Zak…" I moaned sleepily. It was four in the morning, and AJ had been asleep for twenty minutes before she started up again.

"Uhh…I feel like a frickin' zombie." Came his muffled reply. He had his head buried underneath two or three pillows, and had been sleeping that way for whatever few minutes we could get.

"She won't stop. I wonder why?" I asked.

"If we can just-" he paused to yawn. "Get her to stay quiet for a little while, this could work. But I think I know what's bothering her, anyways." I sat up now, and sluggishly got moving, somehow smacking my head against the maple headboard.

"Ow…even if I'm barely awake that hurt." I said, rubbing my now-throbbing forehead. Zak laughed tiredly, taking my face in his hands. His palms were warm, and he looked straight into my eyes. I couldn't help giggling at how Breaking Dawn (Twilight series)ish this seemed. I shivered and sighed contentedly as his lips touched my forehead, and then we both got up to see what was wrong with our daughter. I stumbled into the hall, but Zak beat me to her room. He came back to our room cradling her, nodding in agreement.

"Maybe this isn't as easy as I thought this was gonna be." He said, laughing softly. He sat on the bed, up against the headboard, rocking her slowly and humming. She didn't stop crying, although she wasn't as loud. I smiled.

"Zak, try giving her this." I grabbed the stuffed pink teddy bear that had been a gift from Nick and Emily for her first birthday, that was sitting on the dresser. The minute he held the bear in front of her, AJ reached for it and proceeded to stick the paw in her mouth. Suddenly I thought of Breaking Dawn again. Edward and Bella in their cottage, trying to deal with Renesmee, their half-human, half-vampire child as she grew. I grinned, resting my head on Zak's shoulder and cuddling closer to him.

"She's teething. That's why she's crying. I remember how it felt just having my wisdoms come in. Wow. That's it. Wow. Took us awhile, didn't it?" I joked softly. Zak turned to look at me with a 'coulda-told-me-earlier-I'm kinda-annoyed-and-really-tired' look, before the corners of his lips turned up in a heartwarming grin and he gently kissed me. Eventually AJ stopped attacking the bear's paw and fell asleep, and then Zak took her back to her room and tucked her in. He came back maybe five minutes later, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Somehow I'd slipped asleep in those few minutes. I felt Zak gently repositioning me so he could lie down, and moaned in response. He kissed my nose, saying softly, "Y'know when you're sleepy you kinda sound like a disembodied voice?"

"N-no, I never…realized t-that." I slurred. Sleep was taking control of me already, I didn't have much time until my light went out. So I curled into him, my head resting on his chest so I could hear his heartbeat. I sighed, finally calming down as our heats began to beat in time. But I did hear his faint whisper of, "Amilo, Kenzi. Sempre." Only when I was asleep did I realize he'd say he'd love me always in Italian. One of the romance languages and from the country that included Poveglia Island, where I'd seen a side of the man I loved that I hadn't known existed. But I'd never see it again. That I knew.