Ages:

Jim - 57
Melinda - 53
Ned - 32
Katie -28
Aaron - 24
Michele (six months pregnant) - 24
Mackenzie - 18
Lana - 10
Emma - 7
Asher - 4

Ned scowled as he tugged at the tie he was being forced to wear.

"Can someone please tell me why this engagement party is a black-tie event?" Ned muttered.

Katie just shrugged her shoulders, unable to bring herself to protest. She was in love with the dress that she was lucky enough to find to wear, after all. It as this gorgeous black dress that fell to just about her knees and had an intricate gold design on the front. Her hair, while not as curly as Mackenzie's, was still pretty wavy and swept to the side. It was held in place with a gold pin at the nape of her neck and was so ornate that she didn't need any other kind of jewelry.

Melinda even talked her into wearing a cute pair of black, strappy heels. She considered it a minor miracle that she was still upright and walking after an hour. She hadn't worn heels since before Asher was born.

"Stop whining, big brother," Mackenzie scoffed, fixing her hair in the mirror. She was bold and beautiful in a red, strapless cocktail dress with an embellished skirt. "Besides," she continued, turning around to smile at him. "This is nothing compared to the penguin suit you'll have to wear during the ceremony. You know how Meech has been with her ideas for this wedding. No one has the balls to say anything to her."

Ned rolled his eyes. "Michele just had to do the whole princess thing with her wedding, didn't she?" He muttered and leaned in enough to kiss Katie before she turned to go and find their son. "And of course Aaron let her. I wouldn't have the balls to say no to a pregnant Katie if she were pregnant."

"Maybe one day soon. Where are you, little man?" Katie said, looking around for Asher. "Come out, come out wherever you are."

The small ring of his playful laughter came from behind the curtains and she pulled the back to reveal the little blond-haired boy. His hair had just lightened last summer from his mother's brown and she'd actually wept when she'd first seen it.

"There you are!" Katie kneeled down before her son, hugging him and then holding up his tie. "Now I've gotta put on this on you, but look, daddy, has one too. Same color and everything."

"Okay, mommy. Do what you gotta do," the little boy giggled and stopped squirming around then, his arms straight at his side as he grinned at her widely and excitedly. "I'm as straight as a stone."

"That's right little man. Don't whine like your daddy does," she whispered and clipped the tie to his button-up shirt. "There. Very handsome, Ash. Go look." Asher grinned and went to the mirror to look at his green tie, smiling as he fiddled with it. Katie stood up straight and fixed her dress before holding her arm out to Mackenzie. "Come with me, little sis. Let's go find mom."

"Nana? I can help!" His face lightened up at the thought of getting to see his favorite person besides Katie, his grandmother.

"Yep. We're gonna go find nana," she laughed, picking him up as she glanced back at Ned. "Aren't you coming, honey? I bet Scott's looking for you by now."

The two sisters managed to find their mother in no time at all and Asher practically jumped into Melinda's arms and smothered her with kisses. Mackenzie was immediately distracted by the young man that was talking to her Ned. Pulling Katie away from watching her son and mother talk about who knew what, Mackenzie pointed to the strange man.

"Who is Ned talking to?" Mackenzie demanded, looking at the black-haired man. He was mysteriously handsome to her and she didn't like that she didn't know who he was.

"That's just Scott. The guy I mentioned to Ned before," Katie said, looking at her. "You remember him, right? The guy that nearly came between Aaron and Michele?"

"Okay, so, he's Ned's new partner?" the blonde asked, trying to remember the gooey details of when her brother had found Michele in bed with Scott in their dorm room when she was thirteen. That was all she remembered. "How's he doing?"

"He's doing better. Still mostly wrapped up in the handbook, but Ned's helping him. Aaron's still good friends with him too, he was the roommate he switched to his freshman year." Katie explained, trying to jog her memory.

Mackenzie still couldn't remember if she'd met him before. Had she?

What she definitely knew was Ned had recently started to make quite the name for himself at the precinct. He had been paired with an older detective who had recently retired, so Ned had been up for a new partner when Scott must've joined the force. Mackenzie hadn't heard much about the new guy (maybe she should've paid more attention to her brother's college stories.) but she did know that he had been working with Ned for a few months now and they got along really well. And... well, Mackenzie knew she was practically gawking at the man at this point.

Scott was tall, practically taller than her father, Ned, and Aaron. He had dark, thick hair and she could see his dimpled smile from across the room. Those dimples were already making Mackenzie want to melt into a puddle. Katie watched her younger sister with a knowing smile on her lips. For some reason, she wasn't surprised that the blonde immediately developed a crush on him.

"Scott has hung out with Aaron and Ned a lot out of work, so they all get along pretty well. He's single and comes over for dinner a lot because he can't cook, so downside, but he's great with kids. Asher really likes him." Katie explained and on cue felt a tug on her dress from her son. "Hey, bud. Look who's here!"

"Scotty's here?" He giggled excitedly. "Can I go see him and daddy?"

"Of course he is, little man. He's your Uncle Aaron's best man," Katie set him down he took off running toward the pair.

She managed to tear her eyes away from the mystery man, Scott O'Neill long enough to give her sister a look. "So he's six years older than me like Aaron?"

"Oh, that's nothing," Katie waved her hand dismissively. "Age is but a number, Mack. Mom told me that."

Secretly, Mackenzie was doing a happy dance on the inside. She definitely had her sister's blessing. "But as I said, you should also be interested to know that Scott is a part of the wedding party." Without giving Mackenzie time to respond to that particular piece of information, Katie waved at them, "Hey Ned! Scott! Get over here!"

Mackenzie had half a mind to punch her sister in the side, but Asher, Ned, and Scott were already approaching and there was no way she could get away with it now. She'd had to wait until later.

Scott caught Mackenzie's eye and he smiled, flashing only one of those dimples at her this time. She had to remind herself not to grin like too much of an idiot when she returned a smile. Really, her biggest concern at the moment was making sure that Katie didn't say something too embarrassing about her.

Of course, that was too much to hope for.

"I figured that everyone in the wedding party should get to know each other," Katie said with a straight face.

"Mommy!" Asher flew into his mother's legs and she picked him up.

"Hey bud," Katie said, kissing his cheek.

Katie was managing to pull off a nonchalant air very well, much like Melinda can in a ghost situation, but Ned saw right through it and was giving her a suspicious look.

"So Scott, I'd like you to meet Katie's middle sister, Mackenzie. She just graduated from high school last month. Mackenzie, this is my new partner Scott." Ned said, nodding to her and then back to Scott.

Scott extended his hand towards her. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mackenzie," Scott says. "I've heard quite a bit about you from both your brother and Ned."

There was the barest hint of a Brooklyn accent when he spoke and she found it incredibly endearing.

She slipped her hand into Scott's and felt her cheeks heat up even further when his warm fingers wrapped around hers and brought her hand to his mouth, pressing a delicate kiss there. Seriously, she didn't doubt that she looked like a tomato right now.

"I'm sure Aaron or Ned have told you all sorts of stories," she said, laughing. "But you should also know that I have just as many stories about them both. If you ever want any good material to tease either one of them with, just come to me."

Ned scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh really? Like what? What could you possibly have on me?"

"Let's see..." Mackenzie held up a finger. "There was that time that I was babysitting Asher and you and Katie came home completely trashed and you tripped going up the stairs and your pants fell down." Then another finger. "There was that time when you locked yourself out of the house when I was having a sleepover with Katie and tried to get in through an open window, but we thought you were a burglar so we called the police on you." She held up the third one and chuckled. "This time was the best. It was so funny, Scott. Ned nearly—"

"Okay, I think that's enough!" Ned exclaimed, covering her mouth.

She looked very smug, but that look instantly disappeared from her face when Ned zeroed in on the way that her hand was still tucked in Scott's.

"Why are you guys still holding hands?" Ned laughed.

Scott and Mack immediately let go of each other.

She wondered if it was possible for her cheeks to burst into flames, they were just that hot. Katie was extremely pleased with herself by the look on her face, and Mackenzie knew that she was going to be hearing about this for a while. But before Scott can even say anything, Ned pushed him back towards the other end of the room.

"Come on, I think we need to rescue mom from our ancient great Aunt Monica," Katie said, nudging her side. Katie could read the look on her face well. It was one she'd seen in the reflection of Ned's eyes through their childhood. Hope. Love. "He definitely likes you Kenzie. Stop worrying."

Mackenzie peeked back over at Scott, wondering if what her older sister was true.

Did Scott like her?

They had only spoken for a grand total of thirty seconds, and even that had only been some basic introductions. Still, there was the way that he held onto her hand...

Mackenzie was pulled from her musings when she realized that Scott was watching her in return. He smiled directly at her and she grinned back at him, waving a little.

"Oh yeah," Katie said and pulled her toward the table their mom was sitting at. "You totally like each other. What's up with us girls all falling for older men anyway?"