By the time the crowd of people returned to the Esposito house in Chelsea with their tree, Shane was getting a little antsy to see his little girl. It was one thing when he had to go to work and his little one was at home with her mumum but voluntarily leaving Petra behind was a different story altogether.

He didn't like being away from his baby girl any more than necessary.

As soon as he had his winter things off, Shane made a beeline for the kitchen to find Esposito's mother in the kitchen stirring a pot of some delicious smelling concoction that appeared to resembling chilli. 'Hola Mama Espo,' he greeted her, earning him a warm hug from Rosalita.

'Hola new papa, your little girl is having a nap right now.' She picked up the baby monitor, gave it a little wiggle. 'She's snoring like my little Tessi-chica.'

'She gets that from me,' Shane replied proudly.

'Where is Alexis?' Rosalita looked around. 'I thought for sure she'd be here and hovering over her daughter like all new mamis.'

'Meredeth took her to pick up a few things for dessert. Even if she hadn't, I know Meredeth would have found an excuse to take her on a detour to help with her therapy.'

'Therapy?'

'Alexis has been seeing a counselor for some of her new-mom stress.'

'Oh, that!' Rosalita waved her hand. 'That's not therapy, that's common sense. She feels overwhelmed, she sees a doctor for it. Can you pass me the hot mustard?'

Shane turned, found the spice jar on the counter, then went on alert when he heard Petra begin to stir through the baby monitor. 'Looks like someone doesn't want to be left out.'

He gave Rosalita's cheek a kiss, then headed upstairs to find his little girl nestled amongst protective blankets in the middle of Meredeth and Esposito's bed; she was fully awake and looking around, just beginning to fret a little when Shane walked in.

'Hello, my precious gem, how are you? Did you have a good nap, I bet you did, this is a nice cozy spot for a sleep isn't it?'

Petra offered up a gummy little grin, kicked merrily; as Shane felt her bottom to check for a fresh diaper - yep one of those was definitely in order - he gave her a kiss. 'We've got some excited people waiting for us downstairs, don't we? Yeah we do.'

'Shane?'

He turned around, saw Tessi, Dell and Violet in the doorway. 'Hey guys,' he told them softly, 'Petra's up but she's still a little sleepy. Did you want to say hi?'

'Yeah, little babies are fun,' Dell replied with a grin. 'Especially ones like Petra when they are all bubbly.'

'Well next time she bubbles up her dinner, she's all yours pal,' Shane teased him.

'Baby throw up, so what? I threw up plenty I bet.'

'I have lots too,' Tessi added, making Violet shake her head.

'I was hanging out with you guys to get away from my gross brothers,' she reminded them, climbing onto the bed to see the action up close.

'Well right now, Miss Petra needs a fresh diaper, then we are going to find Mumum and a snack.'

'A fresh bum? See ya!'

With a little kiss on Petra's wrist, Violet was off like a shot; she was clearly taking her no-gross policy to heart. Giggling Tessi shook her head, watching Shane put Petra on the bed. 'What a silly girl she is,' she told Petra, 'she forgets that she was a little baby like you once too.'

'Bah!' cooed Petra, and Dell joined his Tessi on the bed while the baby had her nappie freshened.

'Exactly, Petra, bah! We all started out small, and we all had bums that needed to be changed. I bet she even liked helping her mama when Finn was a little baby like you.'

'Well, that's step one accomplished,' Shane decided as he snapped the onsie back into place, then rooted around in Petra's bag for her matching pants and socks. 'Now it's time for food.'

'Shane?'

'Yeah, Dell.'

'Can I...maybe could I have a turn feeding Petra her bottle?'

'If Alexis says sure, that's fine with me' Shane agreed, tickled that a pre-teen boy was so eager to look after the little ones. Or he could be taking a page out of TJ's book and taking care of the little ones so he could achieve his own ends while still genuinely enjoying their company. 'What do you think?'

'Blb!'

The group of four headed to the kitchen, where they found Alexis drinking tea with Honey-Milk and Meredeth. Before Shane could so much as open his mouth, Dell marched straight over to Alexis, and laid his head on her shoulder.

'Lexie,' he all but crooned, nearly causing Alexis to choke on her tea.

'Uh, yeah? what's with the eyes?' she asked on a laugh.

'That would be how my son butters me up when he wants something,' Honey-Milk replied. 'What's up Delaney?'

'Pretty Lexie, may I hold Petra to give her a bottle?'

'Sure, as long as Shane sits with you,' Alexis told him, lifting an eyebrow when Dell let out a little cheer. She gave Honey-Milk a thoroughly confused stare. 'What's with him?'

'He is aiming to take over TJ's mantle of resident babysitter. He told me he wants his baby-sitting certification so it's an easy way to make money without it interfering with his social life.'

'I see.'

'Hey, if you're not okay with it,' Meredeth started but Alexis waved her off.

'No, it's okay, really. It's part of that whole no-judgement thing I'm working through with Doctor Mulgrew.'

'Ah, gotcha.' Meredeth nodded. 'Well, then, if Dell and Shane have the baby looked after, how about we ditch the tea and go for that mulled cider for the big kids?'

'As soon as I pump out for Petra's bottles, you are on.'