The excitement of Petra being able to flip herself to her tummy had all the guests, both old and young, in such a delighted frenzy that by the time the others had returned from their alleged in-town fun they returned to what Shane had come to think of as the Twelfth Precinct mad-house. As they all began to load up on the mid-afternoon snack buffet the children were full of chatter and energy with the elder ones helping the smaller ones fill their plates, while the adults chuckled and sighed nostalgically as they made jokes about more drinks once the little ones had gone to bed. It was, he thought, exactly what he'd missed out on being an only child who'd bounced from one continent to another to another routinely throughout his life. He'd loved living with his father, the feeling of modern and historic colliding in Amsterdam, then becoming accustomed to life in Israel with his mother - time that had ended in a nightmare during his mandatory military services and he'd found a fresh start in America.

That fresh start had brought him his friendship with Dave Robbins, and they'd reconnected when Dave had been the one to struggle forward out of a nightmare and start again. That fresh start had brought his path to cross with Lanie's, and Shane's - haha - path as a pathologist had brought him into Dave and Lanie's sphere once more, along with everyone else in the Twelfth Precinct, and that had brought him to Alexis, for which he'd be forever thankful. Nothing in his world had been the same since that first date when they'd gone for dinner, and now they'd been together nearly eight years, with their baby girl, he thought with a little laugh as he saw Alexis hold Petra in her arms and pass her a toy that the energetic tot immediately passed from her right to her left hand shake madly to hear its bright musical sounds.

As Shane watched Nessa and Heddie wander over, tickle Petra's toes which sent her into hysterical fits of glee, he immediately wondered how much long it would take for Alexis to be interested in having another one. He didn't want Petra to be an only child and despite how much he adored RJ and Jojo, Alexis had gone through her childhood and teenage years as an only child and he didn't want their for his precious gem.

'Here, drink this.'

Shane shook himself loose from his day dream, saw Ryan and Gil at his elbow like Tweddle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, the former with a bottle of Heineken and the latter with a plate of snacks. 'Huh?'

'You're thinking way too hard for a party, bro,' Gil informed him, 'unless you're strategizing for our epic game of Pictionary later no brain cells should be pumping that hard at a Saint-Patty's party.'

'There's plenty of time to figure out how to get Castle's daughter naked on your own time,' Ryan added with a dramatic shudder, and Shane chuckled, took a long head-clearing pull from the beer.

'I figured that out a long time ago, and it's a two way street.' Shane paused, gave a toothy grin. 'But it's so much easier in the shower.'

'Please, for the love of God, stop poking at those scars.' Ryan shook his head as the memory of how he and Espo had discovered the mystery woman Shane had been seeing was in fact Alexis herself. 'I have a daughter and so do you, plus your sister in law, imagine how funny it will be when they start dating.'

'Not a chance,' Shane replied instantly, 'I know what teenage boys are like and none of those filthy perverted animals are coming anywhere near my little rock. Only her uncle and her buddies here are allowed within ten feet of my girl for hugs and kisses.'

'Yeah, no sympathy here pal, I've got a son whose been in love since his sweetheart was a foetus,' Ryan reminded him, pointing across the room where Shane saw Dell leaning close behind Tessi and give a little jut of his head; the subtle flare of his nostrils told Shane that the young man was actually sniffing her hair before poking her in the ribs and without a word she'd loaded some type of dip and chips onto his plate. 'And Mallory, when she isn't hell-bent on hugging every tree she can find, she-'

'Dad, can I have some of that, please?'

Gil had to laugh when he saw the miserably hungover TJ approach him, pointing at his glass and shook his head. 'Sorry pal, you knew we were coming here today, you're the one who went out partying before we picked you up. Deal with it.'

'Mean old man,' he muttered, then snagged a Coke off the counter behind them. 'Hey, you know if you want, I can watch Petra tonight for you, if you wanna have a baby-free night with Alexis.'

'Not if you're begging for some hair of the dog,' Shane replied on a laugh, then scooped his little girl out of Alexis' arms as she came over to give her hubby a gentle kiss on the cheek. 'Right little

'Wiwiwiwi,' Petra burbled happily, flapping her little arms once more and squealing in delight when Shane blew a raspberry on her cheek.

'Ow, okay okay, no babysitting, she can watch you two go at it from the crib,' TJ decided, slinking off to find some aspirin - or another grown up who could sneak him a shot or two to cure the pounding in his head.

'Well, that won't be until much later, because a little birdie told me there is going to be a thing for Petra, Lanie, Finn, and this guy right here,' Alexis said, pointing at Ryan, who shook his head.

'Nuh-uh, double dose for Lanie, since her and Dave's anniversary falls on New Years, right?'

'Oh sure, sure,' Alexis replied vaguely, hiding the smile as she turned to get herself some food and nearly bowled over Mallory, who held two plates in her hands and held one out. 'Hi sweetie, that for me?'

'Uh-huh, and I know you're a carnivore but if you want meatballs, please get them yourself,' she informed her with a little apologetic grin. 'But the sauce on them smells pretty good! I think it's RJ's homemade sweet-n-smoky.'

'Thanks honey.'

'Also, RJ said that you-' Mallory gave Petra's free-foot a little tickle '-get to sleep over with us tonight, yes you do.'

Before either Shane or Alexis could say anything, Mallory had darted off, hollering to Rosie and Tessi about getting drinks, leaving Alexis and Shane staring at each other.

'As kind an offer as it is,' Shane started, but was interrupted when Castle, in his inimitable fashion, whistled loudly that brought the noise to a crashing halt and every last eye in the room focused on him.

'If I can have everyone's attention please, we are going to get started with the first of our celebration themed party games!'