'Okay my little gem, time to get your your night-time bottle and then into bed we go.'

Alexis finished fixing on Petra's fresh nappie, blew a raspberry on her tummy which made Petra squeal in delight. She loved funny noises except tummy rumbles from people holding her, Alexis mused, which she thought was a very odd thing, but then all babies had that as she'd learned from going with Lindsay to her mommy-and-me group for Zane.

She gave Petra another blast, which made her giggle again, then adjusted her sleeper. 'Let's go get you a snack.'

Alexis put the baby on her shoulder, wandered into the kitchen where she put the water on to float Petra's bottle. She had disavowed herself of the microwave while pregnant and was barely using it at all these days. She wondered if it would look a little too nuts to Shane to ask him if they should get rid of it since she barely used it but decided that could wait a few more weeks.

'What did you think of that episode of the show, my sweet?' Alexis asked Petra; the books said that talking to her in a normal voice as well as a gentle baby-talk one was good for her development. 'Do you think they will prove that mean lady had her husband killed? Or will Ava Anders get away with it and prove there is a perfect murder?'

'Ah!'

'I think you're right, I think Eve is smart enough to figure it out.'

When the water was ready, Alexis put the bottle in, continued to wander the kitchen and talk to her daughter, so grateful to have these moments where she felt so comfortable and relaxed. It just felt so blessedly normal to do this kind of thing, just hang out with her baby and not feel the choking pressure of those demons anymore.

Once the little one was asleep, she'd be rewatching that night's episode of her show, to catch any of the little details she might have missed while focusing on her daughter. Maybe she'd read the latest details on the production of And Then There Were None - the production had been thrown into chaos by the sudden family emergency one of its main stars Tommy Keane had had to deal with.

Being that Alexis had an inside track to this particular tale, she knew exactly what the family emergency was, that Sascha was the only surviving victim of the craziest bitch her friends had ever tracked down, Kali Wenthram. As Kali was currently in an unknown location under constant supervision like Hannibal Lecter or Paul Bernardo, Alexis hoped that meant filming would finally resume and they would be able to get the film finished for a screening at the next Toronto International Film Festival. Meredeth was the expert on such things, especially given that an old friend of hers from university was the principle editor for the picture; she and Alexis really wanted to see this be a success.

The timer went on the microwave, telling Alexis Petra's bottle was ready, so they Weaver girls settled themselves onto the couch but rather than turning on the TV again, Alexis put on some classic music on her laptop - Petra always seemed to sleep better when she had the little bit of music in the background. Like mother, like daughter, she thought proudly.

'This piano music is by a Polish gentleman named Frederic Chopin,' she told Petra in a soft, comforting tone. 'He came from a little village in Poland but he moved to Paris when he was big enough, kinda like how I went to Cambridge for university. I can appreciate now why my mumum and papa were nervous about me going so far away. I don't even like it when I have to go to the doctor's office without you, nevermind going around the world.'

Petra sighed happily as she sucked down her bottle, big blue eyes fixed on Alexis face as if she were waiting for more of the story, which made Alexis laugh a little. 'Okay, back to Monsieur Chopin. He was a great pianist and this piece, it's called Nocturne in E Minor. I know it's a little goofy name but they didn't get very creative until Mister Gustav Holst came along. That's the music we listened to last night, the Venus movement of his Planet symphony. I liked to listen to that in the background while I was studying in school. Made me feel smarter, and- oops, interrupted again!'

Alexis reached for the landline, smiled when she saw OCME come up on the display screen. 'Hello, you.'

'Hey, how are my favourite girls?'

'Well, Petra is having a bedtime snack and I'm thinking about having tea and the other sandwich I got for supper.'

'Did you order in?'

'Nah, Petra and I took a walk and said hello to Uncle Body.' Alexis shifted slightly so she could cradle the received between shoulder and ear. How's the night-shift going?'

'Good, slow. I caught a fresh body about an hour into shift, so don't be surprised if Ryan and Esposito are a little tweaked on coffee tomorrow during our family outing.'

'Which reminds me. I think I'm going to take Meredeth up on her offer.'

'Her offer?' Shane's tone was a little confused.

'She said that her mother-in-law isn't at the bakery tomorrow and wants to help Meredeth get food ready for all of us tomorrow so she offered that Zane and Petra can stay at the Esposito castle while we're out and know the babies are with a trusted and beloved member of the family.'

'Yes,' Shane replied without a moment's hesitation. 'Our little gem is too little just yet for ousie activities like that. I don't wanna spend the whole time worrying whether or not she'll be hurt. Next year she will be way more fun since she can walk and talk. Listen I gotta back but I'll see you in the morning.'

'Okay. Love you.'