"And do you, Nick Amaro, take Maria Grazie to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

I do. Those two words were supposed to change his life for the better, create a solid commitment, and create the meaning behind his marriage, enforcing it to help it sustain all ripples that would come sooner than later. In the beginning, it was fine. They fought over little things here and there but it was never anything drastic. They made love often, were happy to see each other every morning, went out to dinners, cozied up on the couch, everything a normal couple would do. They seemed to love each other but somewhere down the road, Nick Amaro began to feel different about his marriage. While he planned on staying committed to his wife, he did not feel the way he did during those seconds in the marriage ceremony where they said their vows and their "I do's". Something that was there then wasn't here now. He felt their relationship became stale. Every day, it was the same routine but Nick wasn't about to let his marriage fail. He was loyal and he did not want to break Maria's heart. He knew that one day it would be the way it was when they were dating. The music just fell out of tune and would soon return to the way it was before.

That day came, giving him a temporary burst of joy. Maria was pregnant and nine months later, they had a wonderful baby girl. Nick, overwhelmed and ecstatic about the new change also felt uneasy. The uneasiness came from the thought that this was basically his lock into this life and that there was no key. He was very happy to have Zara enter his life as it added new life to his marriage with Maria. Even so, after Maria gave birth to Zara, she started getting jobs overseas more often. Serving in the Armed Forces was never an easy job and when Maria came home from time to time, Nick could see how much she missed her daughter.

Her daughter. He remembered Maria referring to Zara as 'her' daughter and not 'their' daughter. The negative thoughts were creeping into his mind but he shrugged it off as it was most likely just a dialogue mistake.

But when Maria came back to New York when she could, she seemed different. Every time, Nick saw this other woman. It wasn't Maria Grazie, the woman he believed he'd spend the rest of his life with. Granted, working in Iraq would change anyone but even before this, Nick questioned his decision of marrying Maria. It's not that he didn't love her but did he love her the way he should have? And if he didn't, why didn't he get out the minute he felt something was off? He was a man who believed in divorce wholeheartedly but yet, did not have the guts to divorce his own wife. Add Zara in the mix and he could not bear to separate from his wife when his daughter depended on both of them. It seemed selfish of him. His daughter came first no matter the price.

On a Sunday night, he helped prepare the dinner table as his mother worked her magic in the kitchen. Zara was watching cartoons in the living room and Maria had once again been deployed to Iraq. He prayed for her safety every day and hoped she would return home safely.

He also made some changes with his own life. He decided to leave Narcotics and go on to something better.

"Nick, you're going to work at SUV?" His mother asked him when he came next to her to try the food she was making.

"SVU, ma'. Special Victims Unit," he said, taking a fork and taking a bite of the food that was already done. "SUV is a car. And that's delicious," he moaned as he chewed.

"And it's dinner! So you can wait till it's done," she said in a joking manner. She made a shooing gesture with her hands and Nick held up his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright, I'm backing away now," he laughed. His mother joined him and he gave her a kiss on her forehead before joining his daughter in the living room.

The boiling pot in the kitchen, the aroma of his mother's home cooking, the sound of his daughter's laugh and excitement when something occurred in the cartoon she was watching, and the sweet comfort of his home gave him a feeling of content.

Maybe he was overthinking.

He had everything a man would want.

He had a family, a home, a wife, a daughter, and now a new job.

His life was perfect in the eyes of everyone else so he decided to treat it the same way.

This was his life and he decided to accept it.

"This is detective 2nd grade Nick Amaro," Captain Cragen said, introducing him to his new colleagues.

"Wow. Second grader already, huh? Must have caught some big fish?" A young blonde woman asked. Her name was Amanda Rollins. She was the first once to walk up to him and shake his hand which he readily accepted.

"Nah, just kissed a lot of ass," Nick replied. When his hand touched hers, he felt a tingle. He wasn't sure if she felt it too but she smiled at him and he smiled back. He wasn't sure what this feeling was and he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out. Even so, he did not let it show on his face and figured it would pass. After all, Amanda Rollins was a beautiful woman. Anyone who didn't agree clearly wasn't right in their mind. Her blonde hair looked like it was scented like strawberries. Her clear and glowing skin looked fragile and as if it could easily bruise but her demeanor contradicted that. Her bright blue eyes had so much depth in them and her smile screamed radiance.

He listened to Cragen speak about who he'd be partnered with and noticed the upset look of the woman named Olivia Benson. He heard rumors but decided to wait till later to ask his temporary partner, Fin. He wanted to ask Fin more about Amanda too but figured that would be weird and would set off signals he did not want being out there. Even so, he gave her a quick glance but she didn't seem to notice.

It wasn't like he was actually interested in having a relationship with her. She was his coworker. He was merely curious. That's all it was. He wanted to know more about all his coworkers and form strong bonds with them to make the workplace ideal. He was married.

But he just wanted to know about Amanda a little more.

No harm in that, right?

Please review! I know this is a boring start but it gets better.

I feel so bad about never updating all my previous stories, some for 2-3 years, I can't even remember. But I'm thinking of putting other stories on an extended hiatus (as if they weren't already…) because I seriously don't remember where the heck I was going with them.

I will update my other rollaro two shot this Saturday and hopefully update one of my other stories that day as well.

Hope you enjoyed! Leave me feedback, it's how I grow.