When Sophia returned home, she had just enough self-control to put her things away without making a lot of noise. Once her bedroom door was shut behind her, however, and she saw Casey on their bed, all of her composure jumped out of the window.
Before she'd left, Casey had been wearing regular clothes, but now, her hair was up in a messy bun, and she was wearing only a bra and underpants. Her beautiful baby bump was on display, and Sophia could see, from where she stood, baby Henry moving was moving restlessly around; he didn't like being contained by Casey's shirts and dresses.
Speaking of Casey, she'd been reading a law book, but when she saw Sophia come in, she put it on the bedside table and smiled at her.
"Hi, beautiful. Have fun while you were out?"
"Oh, yes. I have a new sister now, and I even found out what Alex is having."
Sophia stepped out of her shoes, tights, and skirt. When she got on the bed, she straddled Casey.
"I'm just so in love with my family." she said.
Casey kissed her. "That makes me so happy. Olivia sent me the picture of you holding Noah, Serena, and the sonograms. Were those of the little babies?"
"Yes. I got the idea to hold all of my little siblings, although I can't wait for the day when that will really happen."
"The picture was cute." Casey rubbed Sophia's back. "So your parents are keeping Serena?"
Sophia nodded. "They are. Alex told me that they were more than ready to be Serena's mothers, but only as long as I was ready to be her big sister."
"I imagine that you liked Serena when you found her with Aria because you love babies, but what did you say?"
"I had a chat with Amanda earlier about things like sibling rivalry and jealousy, for which I'm glad, because that helped me work through my more ill feelings. I was able to say yes."
"Fantastic. Did you know that Olivia's mother was also named Serena?"
Sophia bobbed her head. "Yes, and by the way, baby Serena already knows my voice."
"Awww." Casey grinned. "What's the news on your other sibling?"
"I have a baby sister on the way by the name of Diana Pearl."
"That's a gorgeous name. So for your New York siblings, you now have Noah James, and Serena Diamond, and Diana Pearl?"
"Uh-huh. And then Beth Anne says that she and Benoît will be working on the triplets' names in the next month or two."
Sophia kissed her soundly on the lips.
"I'm just so happy, Casey. I never thought I'd get my happy ending."
"I never thought I'd get mine, either."
Casey undid the rest of Sophia's clothes and tossed them to the floor. Then she began pressing light kisses to Sophia's neck, cleavage, and breasts. It was clear that she was wanting to move on to something else.
"Okay," Sophia said after a few moments. "Where is the scar that you were talking about earlier?"
Casey removed her underwear, and ran a finger along her left thigh. A long-since healed, but long, jagged scar could be seen.
"Is this from what happened in the courtroom?"
Casey nodded. "Yes. I got eight stitches, and four of them were inside."
"Wow."
"Look at this." Casey pointed to another scar, closer to her inner thigh. "This is from when I was attacked in my office. A flower vase shattered, and I got a very bad cut."
It was faded like the other scar, but going horizontal, away from Casey's thigh.
"How many stitches for this one?" Sophia asked softly.
"Eleven." sighed Casey. "My legs and face were also beaten, and I had a bout of amnesia for a spell."
Sophia began rubbing Casey between her thighs. It was a spot that she knew Casey liked.
"Red, you're a survivor, and I'll always be proud of you for that." she slipped a finger inside Casey and began pumping gently. "You're so strong, and so beautiful. I love you."
Even as her body began to automatically move to the rhythm that was being created, and even when her speech became punctuated by sighs, mewls, and gasps, Casey still managed to stay in the conversation.
"I love you, too. I never thought I'd find my great and true love after everything I've been through, but now you're here, and I've never been more at peace in my life."
Feeling awash with emotion, Sophia kissed Casey and continued to work on pumping her finger in and out of her. Casey just allowed Sophia to take her.
After a minute or two, Sophia spoke again. "You also have that third scar? From where you got hit with a glass bottle?"
"Mhm." Casey surprised herself again by staying in the conversation . "Eighteen stitches, and a blood transfusion. Hey!"
Sophia had withdrawn, and immediately, Casey was mourning the contact.
"Don't worry." Sophia cooed. "I won't leave you hanging."
Indeed, Sophia was kissing Casey all over, but then kissing her scars lightly and delicately.
"I love you, Cassandra, and you are the absolute love of my life." She moved her trail of kisses down Casey's body, to her belly, to her core, and back again. Her words came out between every other kiss. "Even with all of your scars, and the stories they have attached to them, you are the most beautiful woman in the world. You take my breath away every time you walk into a room."
Often, Casey and Sophia stayed up, talking about things like their pasts and how they felt about their bodies. That last part had really been a matter of much discussion ever since they'd found out that Sophia had two babies on the inside. Sophia had her demons about her past and her body image, good and well, but Casey had her own, and by now, Sophia knew them all. She also knew that the last man Casey had pursued a relationship with had rejected her when he'd seen her scars, calling her disfigured and ugly.
Casey began to cry. "Why are you so good to me?"
Sophia pulled Casey close, as close as their big middles would allow. She kissed her tears and wiped them away.
"I'm so good to you because I see you, and I want you as you are. I see you as my best friend, my companion, my soulmate, a mother to our children, and as my future wife. I look at you, and I see a treasure. I look at you, and I'm home."
With that, Casey made a decision to say something that she'd been sitting on for awhile.
Taking Sophia's hands in hers, she kissed them and said, "Marry me, Sophia."
The answer came without hesitation, a lot of confidence, and a kiss on the cheek. "Okay."
Casey felt her heart jump. While she'd been very serious, and they'd talked often about marriage, it still surprised her that the answer came so quickly.
"Wait, really?"
"Truly, future Missus Benson." Sophia hugged her new fiancée. "Do you have a ring for me?"
"As a matter of fact, I do."
Casey got up and retrieved the ring her mother had given her. She'd hidden it in her sock drawer.
Sitting back with Sophia, she showed her a beautiful diamond ring, set on a gold bad. On either side of the diamond were purple jade stones. The piece of jewelry had been recently polished and was sparkling brightly, but Sophia could see very easily that the ring had been around the block a few times over the decades.
"This was my Nana Laurel's ring." Casey slipped the finger on to Sophia's ring finger. "She was my mother's mother, back in Ireland. She passed this ring on to Violet, who then passed it on to me."
"It's beautiful." Sophia examined it in the lamp light. "I love it."
She leaned forward and kissed Casey for the umpteenth time.
"We're getting married!"
Casey returned the affection. "Yes, we are!"
"When—oof!"
For total reasons of their own, Agnes and Esme had chosen that reason to wake up and start kicking Sophia. Any more possibilities of transitioning to foreplay that would lead to Casey orgasming at Sophia's touch were gone.
"Agnes and Esme are hungry." Sophia sighed and got up, looking for pajama-like clothing to wear. "How is Henry?"
Casey moved her hand across the middle of her protruding midsection. Almost immediately, she felt a pair tiny feet press up near her ribcage. Also sighing, Casey followed suit and began putting clothes on, too.
"He's also hungry. Come on—I'll show you how to make corned beef hash baked eggs."
"Come again? Another Irish dish?"
Casey laughed. "Yes, and I didn't learn how to make it properly until law school. Tiffany showed me."
Both dressed properly, they were at the bedroom door now, and Sophia held it open for Casey. They didn't speak until they were past Melissa's room because they didn't want to wake her up.
"Do we still have any of that cheddar bread left?" Sophia asked.
The bread in question was one of Sophia's most common pregnancy cravings. It was perfect when topped with Casey's homemade lemon and herb flavored butter.
"Yes, but since the current loaf is down to the heel, I made three more loaves while you were out because I know how much you love it."
"Hey, thanks. That's really thoughtful."
They were at the bottom of the stairs now, and Casey smiled at her.
"You're quite welcome. Before we get to cooking and eating, though, we have to do one thing."
Sophia almost tripped over air. "What? Call our parents?"
"Yes." Casey nodded. "That."
When they made the calls a few minutes later, it was well-received, all around.
