Nick drove straight home and helped with the bags again. He didn't miss a look Cesaria gave to his sister, after which Sonya had an important phone call to make.

"Nicky I need to talk to you" she said once they were alone "I know you're unhappy about me leaving, but it was important to me"

"I know mom and I'm sorry" his eyes teared up a little "I promise, from now on, it's your way. I love you and I want you to get healthy, that's all that matters"

She smiled and hugged him tightly. Her son's words and his honesty delivering them, made her feel better. She knew what a hard year it's been for him, more than a year even. Now that she needed his support Cesaria was worried he'd want to take over everything, believing that this would cure her. That is why she took some time, she needed to think. She needed to grasp the fact she was seriously ill so she went to visit her daughter in Miami, to tell her and to rest before what was about to come. She was going to fight this, there was no doubt about that. But she needed a few days.

Now that it looked like Nick was going to support her she was relieved.

"You made up?" Sonya was smiling at them.

"We are ok" Cesaria smiled "now, how about I make my children something to eat"

Nick wanted to say he'd do it, she needed to rest. But Cesaria loved cooking and when they were kids, after they moved to New York, they'd spend time with her at the kitchen, trying to help with the cooking.

"Can you make your chocolate cake?" Sonya asked, licking her lips "I'm in love with it"

Cesaria chuckled but nodded "only if you two help"

"Of course Nick will" Sonya smiled wickedly and Nick frowned at her "what? I'll help eating"

As Cesaria took things out of the fridge she listened to her children bickering, Sonya reminded Nick about a time he tried to separate the eggs and ended up leaving shells in the batter and Nick reminded her that she doesn't know how to even start. Listening to the conversation she was taken back all the years ago, a young Sonya and a young Nicky. Even though they were much older, they were still hers and she wanted to be with them as long as she could and the cancer wasn't going to keep her away. She felt something wet run down her cheek and a few second later the kids stopped talking, she could almost feel them look at one another.

"Ma?" Nick rushed to her, followed by his younger sister.

"It's ok" she tried to calm them.

"Mom!" Sonya hugged her "don't be sad, Nick promised to separate the eggs perfectly!"

Cesaria smiled and patted Sonya's cheek and kissed Nick's "come on, let's start working on the cake, cause you get dessert only after dinner" the comment was directed to Sonya.

"So who is this friend you're staying with?" Sonya probed while he helped mixing one of the batters, Sonya's job was to criticize his work and ask inappropriate questions.

"Just a friend" Nick shrugged, trying to focus on the dark chocolate he was mixing in the large bowl. He didn't want to share, he didn't want to explain how complicated the situation was.

"But he's ok with you staying there?" she continued and Nick thought it would be best for her to think the friend was male "cause I'm gonna stay here and there's no room"

"Right now it's ok, and I'm gonna see about another place later" he wasn't thinking about it up until now, how long could he stay at Amanda's? They didn't talk about it and the way things were going, his thoughts about staying on the couch were long gone.

"I think that's good enough" Sonya approved and called their mother to continue. She stuck her finger inside and Nick shook his head "what? I need to make sure it's good"

"You've tasted this cake so many times, you know it's good" he took the bowl out of her reach and Cesaria smiled at them.

"You should being a piece to your friend" Sonya said and Nick wasn't sure if she meant something by it, did she suspect anything? "As a thank you"

"I will if you leave something"

At dinner that talked about seeing the doctor tomorrow morning. Cesaria wanted them all to go and Nick was glad she was keeping him in the loop. They changed the subject after that and talked about the weather, the food, the cake (not about Nick's friend). Nick took a few pieces for Amanda and left promising to drive them to the doctor.

"Love you mom" Nick gave Cesaria a hug and a kiss "and you" he gave Sonya a serious look which quickly turned into a grin "I love you too"

"See you tomorrow Nick" she smiled at him before shutting the door.

Amanda was sitting on the couch with a bottle of beer in her hand. She had a long day with work, a GA meeting and a walk with Frannie. She wanted to stare at the TV (which she was too tired to turn on) and drink her beer.

When the door opened, for a second she forgot about Nick staying with her, and was ready to kick the burglar's ass. But when Nick's beautiful face appeared (he had a box with something that looked like food) she felt so much joy, she wasn't even sure why.

"Hey" she smiled and sat up straight "how did it go?"

"It was ok" he walked over to the couch and sat down next to her "I brought you some of the cake we made"

"A cake?" she was expecting an update.

"We talked and tomorrow she has a meeting with the doctor, we will all go and hear what he has to say"

"And in the meantime" she opened the box "you made a cake"

"My mom and me" he let her know "Sonya was mostly bothering me"

Amanda chuckled but didn't make any comments, the cake looked good and she wanted to taste it. Nick stared at her as she chewed and waited for her to say something.

"I hope you don't want any" Amanda reached into the box and took another piece "Cause I'm not sharing"

Nick smiled, she had some chocolate smeared by her lip and he moved closer, leaving barely an inch between them, his mouth lingered by hers and he slowly licked the chocolate, leaving Amanda speechless.

"You taste better" he said and took a sip of her beer "I'm gonna take a shower"

Amanda smiled to herself as she watched him walk into the bathroom. Sometimes Nick did things like these, something she didn't expect, but gave her butterflies.

For a while she sat on the couch and listened to the sounds coming from the bathroom, the water running down Nick's body. That image made the butterflies even stronger but she gave up on the idea of joining him, they were both tired and right now she just wanted to sleep next to him. When the sound of the water had subsided Amanda got up, threw the bottle away and wished Frannie a good night.

She climbed into the bed and didn't have to wait long for Nick to show up. He entered the room wearing a pair of boxers and a t shirt he used to sleep in. When he got under the covers Amanda inhaled his scent, hoping he wouldn't notice. She always loved the way he smelled after a shower, she couldn't identify the scent. She wanted to ask Nick if he bought that product because of the smell, but she had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate the question.

Nick looked at Amanda, noticing the slight smile on her face and gave her a quick kiss on her soft lips. He rested his head on the pillow before turning to her again.

"Amanda" he looked at her "how was your meeting?" he remembered her mentioning it earlier today and wanted to hear about it even though she didn't talk much about them. He knew how important they were for her and he was glad she didn't miss them.

"It was fine" she said and from the look on her face Nick knew he wasn't getting more information. Even though he was curios Nick accepted he answer, there was something so private in those meetings, he couldn't completely understand it.

"Good" he caressed her forehead "I'm here for you too, you know"

Neither said anything else and they drifted off to sleep trying to not to think about how long he was actually there for.

The morning seemed to be identical to any other morning. The sun was shining, people were out and about, the streets were busy. But for Nick it was far from ordinary. So many days in the last year (years) have changed his life, but this one wasn't his fault, this one he had no control over. This was the hard part, other times he could think about his mistakes, how he should have acted differently. Unless…maybe it was all those things (divorce, a secret kid, being arrested twice, injury, retirement…), the long list was a lot for a life time, yet alone a few years. Maybe he was to blame for that too.

"Nick?" Amanda said softly, she noticed he was lost in thoughts and knew whatever he was thinking about wasn't good "wanna join us for a jog?"

"Yeah" Nick had enough time before he had to drive over to his mother's place, sitting at home would be a bad idea and a run with Amanda and Frannie sounded good.

He got dressed quickly and they all walked into the street.

Running next to Amanda and Frannie did wonders. The air, the exercise, Amanda. It made the day seem normal, as if going with his girlf…Amanda for a jog was his routine. They returned home and Amanda walked into the shower so she could get ready for work. Nick didn't even realize how sweaty he was and wondered if maybe he had a hard time keeping up with her.

"How about some water" Nick looked at Frannie and filled her bowl.

"Hope you're not spoiling her" Amanda stepped into the room, a towel wrapped around her and Nick smiled at her.

"Are you scared she'd like me more?" he teased and took a few steppes towards her. He didn't give her a chance to reply and kissed her, not caring that she was fresh out of the shower while he was still sweaty from the jog.

When their lips parted the two of them stared at one another for a few seconds and Amanda was the first to speak.

"It's gonna be ok" she wasn't sure why she said it, this wasn't something she could promise. But it seemed like it was what he needed to hear.

Nick gave her another kiss and walked into the shower. When he walked out Amanda was gone and Frannie was eating her food. He got dressed fast and left the apartment. Not ready for any of this.

The meeting with the doctor was over and Nick drove them home. The first chemo was scheduled for the day after tomorrow. So many things were said, the doctor's plan, Nick and Sonya's part, the side effects, what to expect and more.

They drove home in silence and Cesaria decided to go rest for a while, leaving her children in the living room.

"How long can you stay?" Nick asked, the doctor made it clear a recovery would take a lot of time.

"I'm here until mom's better" she sat down on the couch and took her shoes off.

"Is that ok with your job and your apartment?" Nick wasn't even sure what she was doing now, his mother mentioned she was bartending but Sonya changes so many jobs he wasn't sure.

"Don't worry about it" she looked away and Nick was even more concerned now.

"Sonya?"

"Nick?"

He didn't even have to ask anything else, suddenly it was clear to him why staying here wasn't a problem. He didn't like it.

"I can't believe it…" he lowered his voice, not wanting to bother Cesaria, but Sonya didn't let him finish the sentence, she stood up and didn't try too hard to stay quiet.

"You always do this Nick" she looked at him "act like you're better than me cause you don't want anything to do with dad. Well, guess what! I'm ok with him. And it's ok that he helps me with money so I can help OUR mother"

"A man who treated OUR mother like a door mat…"

Sonya interrupted again "oh! Well if it isn't Nick Amaro, the number one man to teach the human kind about treating others with nothing but respect and kindness, ha? The perfect husband and father. I think you've tried to solve more than one problem with your fists"

"And I paid for it" he regained control over his voice again and talked quietly "trust me, I lost a lot because of that. He never learned his lesson, he still thinks he hasn't done anything wrong"

"Well, it's none of your business, dad's helping me so I can stay here with mom, and sadly with you too and…"

"Fine" Nick raised his hands, he surrendered because this argument couldn't get them anywhere "I'm gonna go, call me if you need me and I'll be back tomorrow"

"Ok" she nodded.

"Love you" he gave her a quick kiss "call me"

"Toe swear" it was something she used to say to him when they were kids, a game she made up.

Nick smiled at her and left.

Sitting in the car Nick leaned back in his seat, he asked himself what was next. Sure, there was a schedule, but it didn't tell him when to feel what. Right now, Nick had no idea how to feel. He was on a rollercoaster that didn't stop, no matter how many times he screamed, how many times he puked. Nothing slowed down for him and he wanted it to, he needed a break, before it gets worse.

It was too early for Amanda to be back so Nick spent some time with Frannie, he took her for a walk and read some of the pamphlets the doctor gave him, there was so much information but Nick felt like he wasn't getting any of it, everything was in English but it seemed like a foreign language.

After few hours of reading the door opened and Amanda walked in, smiling at him. She greeted Frannie and walked to the couch so she could see what he was reading.

"How did it go?" she sat down and looked at him.

Nick shrugged, he didn't know the answer "she starts the chemo the day after tomorrow and we'll see. I'm reading all of these…" he pointed at the pamphlets.

Amanda took the one he gestured at and read a few sentences "are you thinking about going to a support group?" that's what it was about.

"What? No" Nick felt bad for saying that, he knew GA helped her but he didn't want to talk to a bunch of strangers "I mean…" he tried to apologize, but she didn't seem upset.

"It's ok" she caressed his back "but you can talk to me, ok?"

"Thank you" he gave her a soft kiss, her support was enough.

"And look" Amanda kept on reading "you can try yoga"

"I don't know about that either" he liked fast paced sports, boxing, running.

"Come on" she stood up and grabbed his hand "I'll teach you"

Nick was pretty doubtful about trying it, but then again, why shouldn't he? He wasn't into trying too many new things, why not start now?

"Ok" Amanda moved the coffee table to make more room and stood in front of Nick "this one is called warrior one, just do what I do"

Nick tried to mimic the pose, she was much more flexible but he did his best and once he felt like he was done Nick waited for a few moments until she tells him what to do next "now what?" he finally asked.

"You need to stay like this for more than ten seconds Nick" she smiled "I'll show you another one, it's called downward facing dog"

This time Nick just watched as she got into position and he couldn't control his lips when she seemed to be done "I like this one" he stared at butt.

"Very funny" she scolded him "your turn, come on"

Nick followed Amanda's instructions and soon stood in the same position next to her. He decided he wasn't into yoga, specially since she instructed him not to raise his head so he couldn't look at her.

"Ok, that's enough" she said and showed him how to get out of the pose "you did ok"

"Thanks, but I'm gonna stick to something else"

Amanda didn't say anything and walked to the fridge to get a glass of water "I'm gonna take Frannie out"

"I already did that"

"Thanks" she patted the dog "so I'm gonna take a shower"

"Call me if you're gonna do any yoga in there, I don't mind watching you do it" he winked.

"No yoga" she moved closer to him "but you can watch anyway"

Nick happily followed her into the small bathroom and undressed before Amanda could even turn on the water. She giggled when his strong arms wrapped around her.

Amanda always loved the way Nick held her, his body radiating warmth that surrounded her, making her feel sheltered. Sometimes she wanted to stay like that with until the end of their days, just be in his arms.

"Turn around" she pulled away "I'll soap your back"

Nick turned his back to her and let the warm water run down his body while Amanda took the bottle of soap and put some in her hand. As she ran her palms over his back Amanda smiled to herself, she still couldn't quite grasp what it smelled like and didn't see it on the bottle. She enjoyed rubbing his back and kept on going even when the water washed all of the soap away. Nick wasn't complaining, he liked the impromptu massage and let out an approving moan when she reached his lower back.

She rested her forehead against his back and inhaled his scent, moving her hands around his waist.

Nick placed his palms over hers and didn't say anything until she let him go. Her hair was wet and some stuck to her face so Nick gently moved it away while they stared at each other.

"We're wasting water" Amanda said quietly.

"I can't stop looking at you" he confessed, an invisible force preventing him to look away. He felt like right now nothing but them existed.

Amanda couldn't keep a smile from forming, the look in his eyes told her he meant it and she wasn't sure what to say.

"I'm gonna walk out now" he knew that if he puts his hands on her, it'd be hard for him to stay away.

He walked out of the shower and grabbed a towel to dry himself off. After getting dressed he waited for Amanda to join him in the living room. Frannie climbed on the couch and rested her head in his lap, Nick patted her till he heard Amanda step in. She walked straight to the fridge to grab herself the leftovers from yesterday's dinner.

"I'm starving" she said while she placed the plate in the microwave.

"Busy day?"

"The usual" she shrugged, not giving him more details "so how's your mom? She said anything?"

"Not much" he waited for her to join him on the couch before continuing "I don't know what she's thinking. I had a little fight with Sonya though"

"What about?" she wasn't surprised.

"Turns out our father is giving her money so she could stay here. Who knows how long this is going to take, and she has no income. So he helps her out, as usual. I just don't know how she can take anything from him, after…" he shook his head.

"Was she too young to remember?"

"I don't think he ever hurt her, just mom and me. But she saw it more than once. Some things you can't forgive, and I won't forgive him"

"You don't have to" she touched his knee "but you can't worry about her doing it. Try to focus on your mom. Both of you are here to help her, so, just do it" her plate was empty and she placed it on the coffee table, which Nick put back in it's place after their short yoga session.

"I know, but it bothers me. She acts like I need to forgive him too and I can't and I don't want to"

"So don't talk to her about it" she squeezed his knee "talk about other things, I'm sure you can find something else to talk about. Something neutral, like…food maybe"

Nick chuckled and nodded, he wanted to have a better relationship with Sonya but their father was a serious hurdle.

"And you can tell me when you're upset with her" she said and leaned in to kiss him, but Nick moved, not letting her lips meat his. He suddenly stood up, leaving Amanda on the couch with a confused expression.

"I'm sorry" he looked at her apologetically "I don't even know how many times I should thank you for this" he was talking about more than just giving him a place to stay "but I can't shake that I'm…using you"

"What?" she stood up.

"That I'm here while things are tough, but am leaving. And us, as much as I like it, I don't know"

"You think you're using me?" she took a few small steps towards him "you don't think that I like it when you're here? That when you hug me or touch me or whatever, you don't think that it makes me feel good too? Maybe I'm the one who's using you?" Nick didn't reply and just looked at her "and about this being temporary" she shrugged "well, what isn't?"

How will Nick react? Will Sonya and Nick get along? And will he ever try yoga again?

You'll find out soon