But it was Casey's birthday party! How can Billy end up stabbed at a simple birthday party? Casey's no less! Well, that does sound a bit plausible. Seriously, only Billy.

This was probably suppose to be a bit serious but I was laughing at the turn of events. Ha.

Ah, leave it to you to turn a birthday party into a moment of pain and peril for Billy! I LOVE YOU!

This is lovely for all the right reasons. I love that you portray Billy in this giving and humorous way. It makes sense that he would throw Casey a birthday party and you can sense the sincerity and the tiny bit of delight he gets from taking Casey out of his comfort zone. He lives for it after all. You do such a wonderful job of the relationship between Casey and Billy polar opposites in once sense and yet also yin and yang in another.

Fave Parts:

Billy wavered on his feet, but Casey steadied him. Michael came up on the other side and together, they lowered Billy to the floor. The Scot's body was tense, but he didn't resist, not even as Casey leaned over his leg to see the damage.

Distantly, Blanke was apologizing. Someone was calling for help. But Casey ignored them; they were irrelevant.

"Doesn't feel so bad," Billy mused, just slightly breathless from his new position on the floor.

- You know why I LOVE this.

Billy made a face. "Do I get a vote?"

"No," Casey and Michael said together.

Billy's face drew into a pout. "But it's my leg," he said.

"And my party," Casey reminded him. "And I would rather not have you die because you thought throwing a birthday party was a good idea."

"Ah, well," Billy mused, shifting. Pain crossed his features and he closed his eyes, body still taut. "For what it's worth I'd do it again." He opened his eyes wearily. "Sans knife throwing."

"You're incorrigible," Casey said.

-Delightfully hilarious in the face of peril and bleeding out. Gotta LOVE it and I DO!

Billy's blue eyes were clouded as they met Casey's. "Is that an order?"

"Consider it my birthday wish," Casey replied.

"But now it won't come true," Billy said, voice airy as his eyelids fluttered and his eyes rolled back before his body went limp.

-funny and thud-worthy

Michael had been there until Billy had been stabilized. Then, he'd left Casey alone, citing paperwork to explain the incident to Higgins without getting any of them fired. There was some truth to that, Casey was sure, but he also knew that this first crack at privacy with Billy was Michael's birthday present.

Still, it was hard to be happy about anything standing next to Billy's hospital bed. He had been conscious for a bit, but groggy, and after a heavy dose of sedatives, the doctor said Billy would probably sleep until the next day.

-*sigh!

Billy lifted his eyebrows. "That seems like a creative use of understatement."

-I can SO hear him saying this!

Billy waved a hand in the air. "We all were taken away by the festive atmosphere," he said. "Accidents happen with such jubilee. Besides, the poor man keeps sending flowers. We have to absolve him before we deplete the supply on the eastern seaboard."

- I LOVE the forgiving Billy! It's so believable!

Billy's face brightened. "You're going soft in your old age!"

"I'm not," Casey snapped contrarily. "I just prefer my birthday to be somewhat less bloody."

"But not entirely devoid of it," Billy concluded.

"Let's just say we can avoid this part next year," Casey said.

"Is that tacit consent for a party next year?" Billy asked eagerly.

-AWWWWWW!

LOVED IT! I can't scrape the smile off my face.

"that were absolutely not cute (and absolutely did not end up in Casey's pocket to take home)." :D

"It's classified. Any more questions and you'll have to die or be permanently relocated" :P

Great story! :)

You are so excellent at your craft. I can't even begin to count all the reasons why. Well, maybe I could just rattle a few off...

1. First, your dialogue! It can never be said enough how flawless it is. The banter in this fic is exemplary. Casey's quip to Billy about pin the tail on the donkey is, as sockie1000 mentioned, priceless. Casey's entire discourse with Blanke was great. I could picture it all so clearly! And thanks for giving us some Blanke, by the way. That man gives me the giggles.

2. Secondly, your characters. I just love me some Casey/Billy friendship fic, and you do such an amazing job of playing them off each other so well. The fact that Billy apologized to Casey in the hospital after getting stabbed trying to give him a good birthday was so utterly Billy-like that it just about broke my heart. So sweet and so true to his character, I thought. Once again, such an excellent job of blending drama and comedy. And Casey sniffling at Billy's bedside? Absolutely lovely.

friggin' creativity! It rocks my socks. I was hoping for a fic that explained the birthday cake cutting incident...and here it is! And you've done it in such a way that it seems totally plausible, given how Billy always does seem to be a trouble magnet! The fanfic world needs needs NEEDS more talent like yours!

So thanks so much for giving us such delicious fic. Can't wait for more!

Well, I think calling me “fantastic” is severe overkill, but it made me smile so I thank you for the shout out and exaggeration all in one. And I do love these guys, thanks to all of your delightful fic. :) Someday, I’ll actually see them in action but until then, I’m happy to keep on reading.

Now to the story- I loved it, of course. The whole scenario is just unlikely enough to be totally fitting for this group. I chuckled all the way through, but for some reason, this is my favorite part:

"Am I the only one who thinks that knife throwing may not be an acceptable party game?" Billy interjected.

Casey turned, glaring at him. "It's just like pin the tail on the donkey," he snapped. "Only interesting."

Lol! That kills me every time. :D

I also love all of Casey’s reflection and that Michael gave him the alone time he needed with Billy. I wanted to give them all a group hug. I also love what you did with the ending—it’s such a nice moment between the two. And of course Casey is looking forward to next year!

Nicely done! :)

This was a perfect story written very much in character. Keep up the good work. I really enjoyed it.

Only you Faye would maim Billy with a knife used to cut the birthday cake!

It was utterly perfectly the boys. From Michael leaving them alone at the hospital to Casey thanking Billy.

I smiled through out and only cringed a little bit when Billy went 'Oh'.

I can't believe you wrote a fic for the cake-cutting accident. And yet, I am so happy you did!

Oh Blanke... I just rewatched "Mincemeat" the other night and was reflecting on how we don't have Blanke screwing things up in enough fics. It's like you read my mind!

' "You know what, never mind," Casey snapped. "It's classified. Any more questions and you'll have to die or be permanently relocated, and which option we go with will not be entirely your choice." '

Even with all the tension, I cracked up at this bit. Flustered Casey is still so very very Casey.

' "It's my party and yes, I'll cry if I want to, damn it." '

Awww... *hugs Casey*

' Casey shook his head. "You're incorrigible."

"And you're old," Billy replied. '

HA!

As you know, Casey and Billy are my favorite pair, so this just made my day. Thank you!