Cinderella

They had been in the shoe department. Like forever.

"Come on, Rollins, make up your mind already. Jesse's getting fussy. Aren't you Jesse?" He has Jesse on his hip and is vigorously bouncing her around.

"Yeah, you're making her fussy."

"No, I'm soothing her."

"No you're not!" She reaches for Jesse. "If you bounced me around like that I'd throw up all over you. Give her to me."

"Nah, uh uh." He pulls Jesse away from her grasp. "You need to focus. Pick something. We'll never get out of here if you take a Jesse break."

She grumbles and goes back the pile of sandals she's considering buying. He takes a good look at the pile too and sees an opportunity.

"Hey, Rollins."

"Yeah?"

"Why are you even considering those pairs with like those bright doodads on them and stuff? Don't you girls worry about matching or something?"

"Matching? Are you serious Carisi?"

"Yeah, Jesse's with me on this one, aren't you, baby girl?" He reaches down to pick up a brightly colored sandal and waves it in Jesse's face. She ducks away from it in fright, burying her face in his chest. He knew she would do that. He can't help but grin wickedly back at Amanda.

"Give me that," she says and grabs the sandal away from him. "Scaring Jesse like that . . . "

"Hey, we were just having fun. Weren't we Jesse?" He has gotten the baby to smile again and turns back to Rollins. "Your little girl here just knows how ugly that shoe is."

"Sandal."

"Shoe, sandal, whatever. Just buy something." He says casually.

Amanda picks up a virtually unadorned pair of sandals. They are fashioned out of clear plastic. "Will these do?"

He grins. "Yes, those will do nicely."

"Boys," she says to Jesse, looking up and rolling her eyes at him.

She turns to the clerk. "Ma'am? Do you have these in a six?"

Carisi returns to the store later and finds the clerk that had been helping them.

"Excuse me, Miss? I was in here earlier and we were looking at some shoes."

"Yes, I remember. You've got an adorable baby with good taste."

"She does have good taste, doesn't she?" Carisi smiles, but then lowers his voice conspiratorially. "Do you remember which shoes we bought? What size they were?"

"Dammit! What the hell?"

Carisi hears Amanda banging around in her closet.

"Can I help you with anything?" he pokes his head in and asks her, but has to quickly remove the involuntary smile from his face when he sees why she's pissed.

"Yeah." she says waving the clear sandals they had purchased the other day in his face. Then she drops them on the floor. "Look."

She puts a foot into one of them and it's so loose that the back strap won't even go up onto her heel. She shows him how her toes slide around and the heel falls off and when she just tries to take a step. "I literally can't walk in these things. What are they, a ten?"

"That's unfortunate." He is trying very hard to keep a straight face. Very hard.

"Seriously, right? I don't know how this got mixed up. God, now we have to go back to the store and exchange them so I have something to wear to that dance-thingy tonight. These are the only sandals I have that match that dress I got." She brings her hand to her brow and shakes her head. "Ugh. I so did not want to spend my day this way."

"I can't believe that witch sold my sandals to someone else!"

"Hey, it happens." He grins to himself not looking at her.

"Let's get something else. Not here."

"What are we going to do? Go door to door until we find the perfect shoe?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Princess," he says wryly and gives her that look.

"What? I'm not a princess."

"Hey, if the shoe fits . . ."

She's about to protest when she notices him pulling something out of a bag he's been carrying.

"You?!"

"Yeah."

She looks down at him kneeling in front of her as he finishes tightening the clasp of the sandal he has just lovingly put on her foot. When he's done he takes her foot into both of his hands and looks up at her warmly.

"Feel like a princess yet?"

"I think so," she says softly and reaches forward to run her fingers through the streaks of lighter hair near his temple.

"Good." He chuckles. "Because you won't be getting any more of this Prince Charming stuff from me."

"Really?"

"Nope."

"Not even tonight?" she leans even farther forward, her hand on his cheek now, tipping his chin up. Her blue eyes lock with his. "You know, technically it IS a ball. That's when the princes come out I hear."

"Well . . . " he hesitates.

She wriggles her eyebrows at him and he grins back. " . . . Maybe just for one more night."