Niffty snickered excitedly as she and a couple of the kitchen staff members quickly set up the cake and snack table near the back of the conference hall, scuttling around and dusting off the furniture as Husk and the others tried to set up a few other tables and chairs. "Oh, Niffty! For fuck's sake, calm down." Husk groaned, "Ugh, the party hasn't even started yet and I'm exhausted."

"You know, Husky, maybe I can give you a massage after we get set up. You know, if you want." Angel offered; his voice was flirtatious, but genuine. Husk chuckled and said, "Um… maybe. Let's see how this plays out." "They're coming," Charlie gushed, dashing over to Husk, "They just arrived, I just heard someone come through the front door. Hazel and the others will be here any second now."

"Alright, calm down, princess." Husk urged, "I'll go meet them out in the lobby. I'll see if I can't buy you guys just a few more minutes to finish setting up." "That's quite alright, Husker." Alastor said, grabbing Husk's tail and giving it a gentle tug to stop the cat demon in his tracks, "I will go stall for time. You'll probably get a few more extra minutes of setup time if I do it." Husk groaned, crossing his arms in frustration as Alastor gestured for the others to continue their preparations before trotting out the door.

"Self-important jackass," Husk snarled, "He clearly hasn't learned a goddamn thing." "Just let it go, Husk." Vaggie groaned, "We're almost done setting up, anyway. If they're not back right after we're done, you can go and fetch them. Alright, people, it's looking great. Let's wrap it up and get into position."

Alastor hummed as he strutted down the hall, making his way out to the lobby and spotted two people heading towards the bar. His eyes widened as he realized it was Rosie with a tall, muscular cannibal gentleman on her arm. Alastor stammered for a second and called out, "Rosie!?" Rosie and her companion turned to see Alastor approaching. The man placed the small present he was holding into Rosie's hands and moved to get between them, but Rosie stopped him, shaking her head and giving a reassuring smile as she patted his arm. "Alastor." "I almost didn't think you'd be able to make it." Alastor greeted, "So nice to see I was wrong. And who's this… buff young fellow?"

"This is Carne. He's my escort for the night." Rosie said with a smile as Carne tipped his hat. "The window-washer?" Alastor asked, "Hmmm… I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, given your fondness for working-class men. No offense, Carne. But I would've figured a lady of your standing would prefer to court someone a bit more… well, a bit more like yourself." Carne growled at that, flashing his teeth and only to stop when Rosie gave his arm a little squeeze.

"Anyway, I suppose you're here for the festivities, yes? I'm so glad you were able to attend. I know it'll mean a lot to Hazel. And to Husker, too, of course." Rosie rolled her eyes and sighed, saying, "Could you just show us where the party room is, Alastor? Please." "Yes, yes, of course," Alastor smiled, "Right this way."

Carne gently patted Rosie's shoulder as she let out a tired groan and followed Alastor back to the conference hall. As the three entered, Alastor noticed the lights were off, he looked around and found the light switch. As soon as he flipped it on, balloons fell from the ceiling and everyone sprung out, cheering, "Surprise! Happy birthday," "Rosie!?" Husk squeaked. "What are you doing here?"

"Great, now we have to set up the damn balloons again." Shwick groaned. "Fuck, could today get any worse?" Just then, Husk's phone started ringing with Hazel's ringtone; Husk quickly answered the phone and said, "Hey, baby girl. What's up? Oh, uh… okay. That's fine. Yeah. Yeah, it's conference hall number… seven. Okay. Great. See you soon." Husk hung up and let out a frustrated scream, "Argh! Hazel just called; she said they're gonna be here in five minutes! We won't be able to get this all fixed back up in just five minutes!"

"Husk, calm down," Vaggie said, grabbing husk's shoulders and pulling him down to her eye level, "Just take a deep breath; relax. We've got your back. Go wait for her and the others in the lobby. We'll get this fixed back up and I'll have someone come and get you when we're done. Okay?" Husk nodded and said, "Okay. Okay, good plan. I'm gone." As Husk pushed passed Rosie and the guys, he whispered, "Sorry, Rosie."

Rosie watched as Husk ran down the hall towards the lobby, crossing her arms and flashing Alastor a suspicious look as she said, "You've been running him ragged again, haven't you?" "Hmmm, not really. Truth be told, the whole day has been nothing but a nightmare for all of us." Alastor groaned. "Carne, be a dear and help them tidy this up. I'll be there in a second to help." Carne nodded and dashed inside the room, dropping Rosie's present at the table before joining Gate in handing Shwick and Vaggie balloons. "You coming, Alastor? By the looks of this, they could use all the help they could get. Especially if we have less than five minutes to put it all back together."

"Oh, very well." Alastor hummed, summoning his voodoo demons with a smile and a snap of his fingers, "There, done. Now, why don't we let them tend to this while we go off and help Husker buy some more time?" Rosie huffed, shaking her head before grabbing Alastor's wrist and practically dragging the red-clad overlord into the conference hall. Rosie huffed, pointing to Alastor then to the scattered balloons on the floor before walking off to help a few of the staff members. Alastor grumbled, waving his voodoo demons off to go help whoever they could and got to work.

"I'm so glad to see you were able to show up, Rosie." Charlie smiled, "We were afraid you'd be too busy to come." "Nonsense." Rosie said with a chuckle, "Any excuse to see my goddaughter is a good one. Plus, Husker and the Jackpot staffers know how to throw some of the best shindigs. Sure, there's never any eyeball salad, but that's just a small detail; not anything worth getting upset over."

"Yeah, well," Shwick chuckled, "After what happened last time, we kind of made an unofficial rule about certain kinds of 'cultural dishes.' Nothing personal, we just don't want to see our boss wind up in the hospital again." "True." Rosie laughed. "Oh no, what happened?" Charlie asked, wincing at the thought. "Oh, it's no big deal," Rosie chuckled, "He just grabbed a dish from the wrong platter is all. Honestly, I don't think I've seen him run to the toilet that fast in all the years I've known him."

"Hahaha!" Alastor cut himself off as he saw everyone else looking at him in annoyance; Rosie had her hand on her hips and her facial expression was clearly unamused, "Hmmm, tough crowd." Vaggie sighed and flew down, grabbing a couple of balloons and said, "Alastor, just pick up the balloons. Please, we don't have time for this."

Husk panted as he ran out to the lobby, heading to the front door and met Hazel and the others outside as they pulled up in Bucky's truck. Husk took a deep breath, adjusting his tie and suit jacket before running over and opening the doors for the girls as Bucky hopped out to help Hazel out. Hazel smiled as she ran over and wrapped her arms around Husk, saying, "Uncle Shwick told us what happened to the theatre. I'm so sorry, dad."

Husk smiled, returning Hazel's embrace and held her close. "It's okay, Hazel," Husk whispered, "At least your crazy aunt won't be bothering us again. Not anytime soon, at least." Hazel smiled and nodded as Bucky and Dalilah came over to escort her inside while Sugar Cube stayed behind to have a quick talk with Husk. Husk gestured Sugar closer and whispered, "We need to stall 'em."

"What? Why?" Sugar asked. "Because… let's just say there was a bit of a hiccup with setting up the decorations. Vaggie said someone would come and get us when they're done; we just need to buy them a few minutes. Ugh," Husk let out a moan as a sudden sharp pang hit him in his lower back and he said, "You know what, fuck being cleaver about it. Let's just bring them to the front lobby; I'll take it from there." Sugar Cube nodded and dashed off after Bucky and the girls as they all made their way into the hotel. Husk groaned, rubbing his lower back as he followed after them.

Sugar Cube followed Husk's lead as he brought the group to the sitting area and offered everyone a seat, letting out a moan as he sat down in the arm chair. "Just wait here for a bit," Husk groaned, "Ugh… there was some… difficulties with some of the equipment; probably just something got knocked loose during the trip over here. Vaggie said someone would come let us know when the party's back on."

Hazel, Bucky and Dalilah exchanged looks and nodded, getting comfortable on the sofa while Sugar Cube sat down in the other chair. "So, I heard Karol and yer psycho ex pulled some nuclear-level bullshit down at the Jackpot." Dalilah scoffed, "I'm sure Karol's gonna be in the wind for a good long while, but… what about Jezebel? Please tell me the cops caught her at least." "I wish," Husk moaned, "Those two pieces of work both got away, but the cops are looking for them. Doubt they'll actually find or catch them. Doubt they'll even really try. But, hey, a man can dream." Everyone nodded and clamored in agreement. Husk let his eyes close for a moment, waiting for Vaggie to come and fetch them; Husk gritted his teeth as another shock of pain rippled up his spine.

"You okay, dad?" Hazel asked. "Yeah, I'm okay," Husk nodded, "Just a sore back is all." Husk paused, pulling out his flask and taking a quick swig before tucking it away and said, "Nothing new, honestly. Since I started cutting back, the usual aches and pains have been a bit more… noticeable." "Hopefully it won't stop you from enjoying yourself tonight, Husky." Angel snickered as he walked up, "Come on, we finally got everything up and running again. So, let's party!"