For snarkmcsnark ;) xo

Amanda and Nick wanted so badly to stay home with Zara, Lilyjoy, and Rubyjane to play with them and get them used to life in the New York suburbs, but since they were in the middle of an active case, it was all hands on deck, even for them. Wanting to spend time with her granddaughters, Audrey happily volunteered to watch all three of them for free.

At the precinct, Olivia took Amanda aside in her office to tell her what Bedelia had said about their familial tie between the Rollinses and the Grangers. Predictably, she was shocked, but to her credit, she recovered quickly.

"Wow." Amanda sighed heavily as she leaned back in her chair and held her hands to her middle as she felt Grace and Zion tumble around inside her. "So far I've got two new siblings, become closer with you, Alex, and Casey, mended bridges with my mom, and now I have an uncle who has had history with our squad probably since I was a little kid? What's next? A sibling before Leon turns one? My mom loves kids, but I don't think she'd be able to handle having another…"

Though Amanda loved her siblings dearly, part of her hoped, foolishly, selfishly that she'd at least get one more so that Leon could have a playmate closer in age than Maggie Blue.

Olivia, meanwhile, remembered how Bedelia had confided in her about her darker fears of her husband coming for her and hurting her, so she didn't say anything to Amanda's ramblings, instead changing the subject.

"You up for a field trip?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"It's been awhile since I've been out in the field with you, and I miss it." Olivia elaborated. "Wanna come?"

"Alright. Where are we going?"

"To the hospital to see your sister. We need her version of events, and I haven't been able to see her about this yet, anyway."

Amanda sighed again. "I haven't seen her since last time, but are you thinking that she'll open up if she sees me?"

"You got it, Sunshine."

Olivia rose from her own chair and rounded her desk. When she got to Amanda, she pulled her to her feet and steered her towards the office door.

"Go get your things and meet me by the elevator in five minutes."

Amanda did just that, and they made small talk with each other, although when they were outside in Olivia's Crown Victoria and riding along, Olivia was the first one to say something real.

"Alex and I are going to be pulling a page out of yours and Nick's book."

Amanda arched an eyebrow. "Oh? You guys plan on five kids?"

Olivia laughed hollowly. "Well, not five, but we want at least one more so Rachel can have a playmate."

"Since Noah worships Maggie Blue?"

"That, and Alex and I aren't getting any younger. Actually, we're on the real estate market because we're looking at brownstones for sale. Our apartment is beginning to feel cramped, and Noah has entered a climbing phase. It's like living with a baby jungle cat."

"Good luck with that. We lucked out by getting a house in a family neighborhood and also in that Zara entertains herself and the twins entertain each other."

As Amanda said this, her hands went down to her swollen middle as she let out a puff of air. Olivia noticed.

"How are the twins in your belly?" she asked kindly.

"We gave them their names last night," Amanda suddenly felt like she had to choose her words carefully. "And they've been wiggling around every hour, on the hour ever since."

"What names did you guys pick?"

"I'll tell you when we get there because it'd be awesome to have your complete attention without having to worry about traffic, too."

Eager now, Olivia did everything she could to get to the hospital faster, short of using the siren.

"Okay, we're here now." Olivia said ten minutes later when she had parked the car and they were walking from the parking lot and onto the sidewalk. "Will you tell me the babies' names?"

Amanda nodded and stood in front of her, framing her middle for Olivia to see. "I swear up and down that it's a coincidence because Nick thought of the names while we were apart, but we've got Grace and Zion."

Olivia's heart immediately clogged up as she thought of her angel babies.

"Oh, Amanda." she gave her a smile as she spoke softly. "I know you know about my Gracie-girl, but how did you know about my sweet Zion?"

"Alex brought him up while we were having a heart-to-heart."

"And you told Nick about him and Grace?"

"Only because my mind went straight to them, and I told him that it had to stay between us and you guys." Amanda said quickly. "We want to name our babies for yours. Is that alright?"

Olivia hugged Amanda the way a mother hugs her child. "It's perfect, sweetheart, and the nicest thing anyone has ever done for us. Alex is going to be over the moon when I tell her."

Amanda melted as she always did when Olivia hugged her, mostly because she cherished their unique bond. She didn't want to, but she pulled away first.

"Would you like to hear their middle names, too?"

"Yes, please. I won't tell anyone but Alex."

"I don't know who is where, but we have Zion Moises Javier for baby boy."

"Moises Javier." Olivia echoed, her Spanish pronunciation perfect. "Moses was one of the most well-known leaders in the Bible, and Javier means bright; that's an excellent combo."

"Thank you." Amanda beamed. "Our daughter's middle names kind of just came to me, and these ones, we just want to keep in the family, especially since Zara's middle names are Audrey and Belle, for Nick's mom and Maria's."

Olivia was hanging on to every word now. "Oh, please tell me the rest of dear Grace's name!"

"She's called Grace Olivia Alexandra—for you and Alex."

Again, although overwhelmed with a lot of love and affection, Olivia hugged Amanda, thankful once more that they were friends and that they were as close as they were.

And Amanda hugged her in return, happy to have a small break from the madness.

The duo was much more composed and professional when they went to call upon Kim, and it was a good thing because she was so sad that feeling was rolling off her in waves as she laid in her hospital bed, dressed in a hospital gown and propped up on pillows. She also had a number of blankets on her body to keep her warm because even though it was the middle of summer, she felt very cold.

Kim knew she was in trouble, but missing her children mixed with feeling like she'd just been run over by a bulldozer made her emotionally drained.

Amanda had never seen her wild, crazy, flamboyant sister so sad before.

"Kim," Amanda said as she and Olivia sat down in the chairs beside her bed. "I feel super lame for asking this, but how are you feeling?"

"So exhausted, but headed straight to rehab when they say I can go."

She looked at Olivia.

"Is my mom okay?"

Olivia nodded. "She is, and she's getting rest, too."

Kim's face bore an expression of relief on it before she turned back to her sister. "Did you take Lilyjoy and Rubyjane? Are they happy? Has daddy bothered them or Maggie Blue and Leon at at all?"

Only because Kim was her sister and they'd always have their sisterly bond, whether they wanted to admit it or not, Amanda answered her questions patiently.

"I'm with Nick now, and we're building a family together, but we took Ruby and Lily in without a second thought because they're family. And they are so happy, Kimmie."

"Thank you for telling me that."

"Daddy hasn't come for them or Maggie Blue or Leon, but we'll protect them and mama if he tries."

Kim seemed very satisfied with her sister's answer because she turned back to Olivia, adapting an official, businesslike persona.

"How much trouble am I in? I just want to be good."

"That's encouraging to hear, Kim." Olivia told her. "We came here to get your version of events because we held your father, but he didn't say a word to incriminate himself."

"Sounds just like him to do that. Do I need a lawyer?"

"Not unless you feel you need one, or you weren't serious about wanting to be good. Are you willing to cooperate?"

"I am," Kim said so sincerely that Amanda found herself believing her. "But what about that warrant? I was being stupid when I skipped out on it."

Remembering a conference call she'd had with Barba, Alex, and Casey only an hour beforehand, Olivia responded, "If you cooperate fully with Amanda and myself right now, and you agree to be willing to testifying against your father if or when it comes down to that, I have reassurances from three of my colleagues who appealed to a judge on your behalf that the warrant will be completely taken off the table altogether and you won't face jail time for it."

Kim looked like she was about to cry, but she held it together and told her visitors exactly what happened, including admitting to doing cocaine and even that she got kicked around a great deal when he got irritated with her for being sad. Also not to be forgotten was the tossing of the murder weapon and that while she had been present at the attacks of, she didn't lay a hand on either Lilah Malcolm or Zoë Hugo.

The sincerity and remorse in Kim's voice was so clear that by the end, not only did Olivia and Amanda believe her, but they were also thinking that it was clear that Kim was Odis Lee's pawn and that he was clearly the mastermind between the two of them. Neither woman believed that Kim would be going to jail now.

Before Amanda and Olivia left, Kim called out to her big sister.

"Amanda-June, can I talk to you a second?"

"Of course," came Amanda's very surprised answer.

Olivia took her leave of the sisters, telling Amanda that she'd wait for her down the hall.

"Where are Lilyjoy and Rubyjane right now?" Kim asked when they were alone.

"Nick's mom Audrey is babysitting them and Nick's daughter, Zara. Audrey loves with her whole heart, and the twins aren't excluded from that."

"They're already getting the better future I wanted for them… Do you and Nick love Lily and Ruby?"

"Like they were ours."

Kim reached for Amanda's hand, smiling when she took it.

"I promise you I won't ever take my babies back from you and Nick, especially because they're already fitting in with you and your growing brood," Kim pointed to her sister's cute, blossoming baby belly. "But after you guys adopt them, or something, and I get better, would it be alright if I came back to visit and see how they are? I know I said I might not come back to them, but now that I've had time to think, I want to have the option of still being able to know them, even if you turn into mama and I become Aunt Kimmie."

To say that Amanda was floored by how selfless her sister was being was an understatement, but after everything that had just happened, Amanda would've been downright cruel if she'd said no… and she wasn't that heartless.

"Of course you can come visit."

"Thank you, Amanda. I love you."

With zero hesitation, Amanda responded, "I love you, too, Kim," and even placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before fixing her blankets and leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Out in the hallway, Olivia perked up when Amanda returned.

True, she had missed being out in the field with Amanda, but she had had a feeling that going to see Kim would somehow be therapeutic for her favorite blond detective. Her thoughts were confirmed when when Amanda sat on the bench beside her, a little teary-eyed.

"Amanda," Olivia said, sitting behind her. "It's okay to cry."

"A-are you sure?"

Olivia held her close in a hug, although she wasn't going to let go until she was sure that Amanda would be able to handle herself again. She was very used to comforting Alex during her hormonally-induced crying jags now, and this would be no different.

"One hundred percent. I'll wait for you, and I promise I won't tell."

Amanda cried.

Three days later, July 12th

The Ramble, Central Park

4:45 pm

As a child, but especially during her life on the bayou with her parents, Bedelia had never heard either of her parents tell her that they loved her. She knew it was because she'd been born a girl.

That being said, even though she was a young teenager when Amanda was born, she made a vow to herself that she'd love her and any future children unconditionally, even if their father was too full of himself to care. Bedelia would love her children the way that she should have been loved as a child.

Amanda-June, Kimberly Paige, Maggie Blue, and sweet Leon were Bedelia Rollins' life, through the good and the very dark, and she would do anything for any of them.

Anything.

"Mama?"

"Yes, my baby Blue?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Today, Bedelia was taking Maggie Blue to the park as part of a 'mama daughter' day. Bedelia had missed the little one greatly when she and the others had been hiding. She'd also been preoccupied with Leon, too.

Today was about reconnecting. Leon was being babysat, and they even had Frannie Mae tagging along, as per Maggie Blue's request because she loved her so much.

"Mama?"

Bedelia bit back a chuckle at her daughter's one track mind. "Yes?"

"Frannie is a g—"

Maggie Blue's words tapered off when she saw someone on the path ahead of them and she became so filled with fear that she froze and wet her pants.

Even Frannie Mae saw the unwelcome person when Mggie Blue did, and went on the defense, protecting the small human, standing in front of her and baring her teeth.

When Bedelia saw who they were looking at, her stomach dropped.

"Odis Lee," she hissed, standing in front of the other two when he approached. "What are you doing here?"

Of course, given that it was almost late afternoon, this area of the park was deserted, so there was nobody to watch this unfolding scene… or knock the open flask of whiskey out of his left hand.

"I've come here to get what I want and to do it the right way." (Despite his obvious alcohol intake, he still managed to speak as though he was as sober as a judge, and that freaked Bedelia out immediately) "Now let's go somewhere that we can't be bothered."

Bedelia stood her ground. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

SLAP!

"Yes, you are." he stepped even closer and held Bedelia's cheek and chin in one hand. "You are still my wife, and you will obey me."

So steeped in old Southern religion was Odis Lee that he had a perverted sense of marriage and what it meant.

"And if I kick you or bite you?" Bedelia seethed.

"Tit for tat, Bedelia, and I might even go for Maggie and the dog."

At that, Bedelia wrenched herself out of her husband's grasp and gave him a solid shove backwards before turning to look at Maggie Blue. She was holding on to Frannie Mae's collar, terrified and trying to figure out what her parents were fighting about.

"Run, baby." Bedelia urged her. "I'll find you and Frannie."

Even at Maggie Blue's young age, she understood what she was being told, but she didn't want to.

"Mama, no!"

"I love you so much." Bedelia bent down and kissed her daughter's cheek. "I will find you both. Go."

Confused and really scared, Maggie Blue took off through the brush on the side of the path leading towards the main path down by the sidewalk. Frannie Mae hurried along beside her.

Straightening up, Bedelia turned back to her husband, only to have him immediately start dragging her in an opposite direction in an area that was more secluded.

She said nothing because she was too busy hoping and praying that she just make it out of this new nightmare alive.