Author's Note: Thanks to Leigh Ann (leighann415) for offering some suggestions for this! *Hugs*

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," Joy said to the little girl, whose head was now buried in her shoulder. Joy had been a mother for approximately a full year now. It was hard to believe she'd survived. Not only that, she and Bob were still together, and closer than ever. She knew some people had bet they'd never last, especially her mother-in-law, Elka.

"Is our birthday girl ready?" Melanie asked excitedly. "I can hardly believe she's one!" She gently took the child from Joy. "This reminds me of when Jenna was this age. She's so precious. But you better watch out, Joy. Because kids grow up fast. And one day, you'll make wake up and find Betty gone, and your husband, too."

"Excuse me, Melanie?" Bob asked, walking over to them. "I waited a long time to marry Joy, and I'm not about to let her go!"

"I know," Melanie said, smiling apologetically. "I guess I was just thinking about my life. As usual. I know Tom and I are happy now, but sometimes I still remember the times I spent with my kids. And Anders."

"Melanie, that was a long time ago. Way before any of us ever came to Cleveland," Joy reminded her.

"You're right," Melanie agreed. "I guess I just keep thinking about everything that happened around this time last year. You guys got married in Vegas, the rest of us got thrown in jail, and you adopted this little angel. It's all so unbelievable."

"Come on, let's get this show on the road," Elka said, entering Stormi's with her husband in tow. "Some of us might not have much time left, so we can't wait forever to celebrate this kid's birthday."

"Well, nice to see you, Mum." Joy said, going over to kiss Elka's cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just cut the cake," Elka said, pushing Joy away.

"We can't," Joy said. "Victoria and Johnny aren't here yet. I hope their plane from LA wasn't delayed."

"Maybe they had to make an emergency landing," Melanie said, grinning. "Wouldn't that be ironic?"

"Melanie, the odds of that happening twice are, like, a billion to one!" Joy said, exasperated.

"Never fear, Victoria Chase is here." She made her grand entrance, alongside Johnny. "Sorry we're late, When you're a star, these things happen."

"OK, now can we start the party?!" asked Elka, squeezing Bob's hand.

"Yes, old woman, we can start now!" Joy said, sighing. If she'd thought Elka could be annoying just as a roommate, actually being related to her was worse.

"Before we have cake, shouldn't we do presents first?" Melanie asked. "Wait, what about Owen and Wilbur? Didn't you invite them?"

"Yes," Joy replied. "But Wilbur's come down with chicken pox. We couldn't risk him getting his aunt sick!" Joy laughed, once again taking Betty into her arms.

"Great, one less gift to open before we get cake!" Elka said. "You shouldn't keep old people waiting."

"You've survived world wars, the Depression, and the invention of fire! I think you can last through one bloody birthday party!" Joy exclaimed. Betty reacted by crying immediately.

"Joy, we mustn't upset our birthday girl," Melanie said in a sing-song voice.

"You're right. I'm so sorry. This day is supposed to be all about you." Joy kissed her daughter's forehead once again.

"Well, now that that's settled, can we move on to presents? Those who've won an Emmy should go first," Victoria said.

Joy rolled her eyes, but quickly realized it was pointless to argue with her. "All right, Victoria. What did you bring for my daughter?"

"I know this won't seem useful right now, but I'm sure she'll be glad she has it when she's older," Victoria said, handing over a flat, thin package.

As she opened the package, Joy could only wonder what her friend thought was appropriate for a one-year-old. "An autographed photo?!" she exclaimed when she revealed what was inside.

"Yes," Victoria said. "People will pay big bucks for those on eBay, but I gave Betty one for free. Only because she's my goddaughter."

"Well, thank you," Joy said. She knew it certainly wasn't a normal baby gift, but by Victoria's standards, it was better than she'd expected.

"Here's my gift," Johnny said, standing up and handing Joy another package.

Joy opened it, surprised to find a CD inside. "Lullabies by Johnny Revere? I didn't think this was your kind of music!"

Johnny grinned, shrugging in embarrassment. "It's not, but...well, I thought the baby might like it. That's not sold in stores, by the way!"

"Thank you," Joy said, standing to give him a one-armed hug with Betty in her other arm.

Everyone "Aww"-ed at Johnny's choice of gift. "OK, now can we move on to the good presents?" Elka asked.

"All right, old woman. But if you've gotten my daughter something that's alive, or anything explosive, I'm going to kill you!"

"Jeez, Joy, I know we've never gotten along, but I'd never be that mean! Not to my own grandchild, anyway." Elka smiled sweetly. "Here. I figured the baby might like this, since it comes in a bottle." Elka handed over an oddly-shaped package.

Joy opened it, to reveal a bottle of wine. "Elka! Who gives alcohol to a child?!"

Elka shrugged. "Well, I wasn't sure what to get her, so I figured, like mother, like daughter."

Joy looked ready to strangle her mother-in-law. Bob stepped in to try to calm her. "Now, Joy, we don't want to make a scene. We're detectives. We fight crime, we don't create it." He smiled at her, hoping make her remember that this was supposed to be a happy occasion.

"Thank you, Bob. You're right." Joy forced herself to smile. She kissed her husband, grateful that he had known just what to say. It was one more sign that she'd picked the right man in the end.

"Open my gift now!" Melanie could hardly contain her excitement. The box she handed over to Bob and Joy was huge. "I better take the baby," she said. "You'll need two hands to open this."

"Melanie, what on earth did you buy?" Joy asked as she unwrapped the package. Inside was a cardboard box, literally full of picture books. "What are all these?"

"Well, I got to thinking back to when my kids were small. Oh, they were both so adorable." Melanie sighed at the thought of them. "I used to love reading stories to them until they fell asleep. I remembered most of the books that Jenna loved, and I got them for Betty. I figured every child should have a collection like this."

Tom took Melanie's hand. "Plus I threw in a couple suggestions, too. I mean, some girls aren't into the princess thing, right?"

Joy smiled. She knew Tom was right. From an early age, she knew she wasn't going to wait around for a man to rescue her! "Thank you both. So much." Joy hugged Melanie tightly, and then Tom.

Melanie turned to the baby in her arms. She had forgotten her earlier upset, and was now grinning from ear to ear. "See, we all came here tonight to give you presents because we love you," she said. "And your mommy, too. I don't know where any of us would be without her."

"Oh!" Joy hugged her friend again, feeling tears in her eyes. "I could never have survived this last year without all of you. Especially Melanie. I loved Betty from the first moment I held her, but I wasn't quite prepared for what being a mum was like. I must've called her a hundred times in the first week!"

"I was glad to help," Melanie said. "Who would've thought, at this age, we'd all be helping to raise a child? Moving to Cleveland changed all of us, and it looks like that's not over. But the one thing that'll never change is how I feel about you guys." Now she, too, was crying.

From there, the group began hugging one another. Even Joy and Elka managed to be civil. The feeling in the room right now sort of made them forget why they'd been so angry just moments ago. Joy knew Melanie was right. Cleveland had changed her. Because, if she hadn't moved here, she wouldn't have the life she had now. And it was one she wouldn't trade for anything.

The End