Throw Me to The Wolves & I Will Return Leading the Pack

Summary: Morgan, the newest member of SVU hasn't had much luck with men, but her new partner might just be the one for her, if only she could let Sonny Carisi know. Men come much easier to her friend Riley, who's maybe not prepared for the challenge that Peter Stone provides.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Law and Order SVU, Morgan and Riley however are all mine.

Chapter 18:

"Your apartment is so cute." Audrey remarked and Riley shook her head with a smile. It was the hundredth time she had said that since they had arrived at her apartment after Morgan's bridal shower and Riley was almost sick of hearing it.

"Mom, I'm not going to be living here much longer." Riley said, repeating what she had said the other times her mom had commented on her place.

"Right, right." Audrey waved a dismissive hand in the air. "You're going to be moving into a house with your boyfriend, whom I've yet to meet."

"He's coming soon." Riley rolled her eyes and headed into the kitchen. Tonight's dinner was going to be simple because she had no real desire to cook a full-blown food selection, not after all the baking she had done for Morgan's shower. Sliders and fries, with a salad on the side, that's what they were having, and as soon as Riley could get the fries onto a tray, they'd be going into the oven. "In the meantime, sit, have some wine or something."

Audrey did as she was instructed and sat at the table, watching as Riley ripped open the bag of frozen fries and spread them out onto the cookie sheet. She then shoved them inside the oven, set the timer and made quick work of getting out a square grill pan from the drawer below the oven.

Minutes later, she had the fries flipped to cook on the other side and half of the dozen sliders were grilled up and resting in a glass baking dish with tin foil over the top to keep them warm. Before she had a chance to get the other half of the sliders into the pan, there was a knock on the door and Riley leveled her mother with a glare before taking off for it, ripping it open to find Peter standing there, a single pink rose in his hands.

"Uh?" Riley's eyes fell on the flower and he let out a laugh.

"Not for you." He shook his head and she scoffed.

"I don't know if I should be offended or not. You've never brought me a flower."

"I never really had to impress you now did I?" He countered with a smirk and she waved him inside, closing the door behind him. He paused and looked at her, easily sensing her anxiety over this whole dinner but he wasn't sure why.

He was a respectable man and he knew how to act around parents. Maybe it wasn't about him though, maybe she was afraid for what he might learn from her mother tonight, maybe there were things that she didn't want him to know.

Well that was a tad bit hard to believe. There wasn't a lot left for her to tell him, especially not since she had a full-blown panic attack the very first time she spent the night with him. He had grown accustomed to her anxiety, even knew when it would be a real big problem, so what was it about tonight that had her on edge?

"You don't really have to impress her, I make my own choices." Riley murmured and let him take off his jacket, holding the rose as he did so as not to ruin it. Once his jacket was hung on the rack, she handed him back the flower and led him into the kitchen, only to find her mother working at the stove, grilling up the rest of the sliders. "Mom, this is Peter."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He spoke firmly and held the rose out for her. Audrey smiled at him, took the flower and handed Riley the tongs that she had been using for the sliders.

"You are a handsome one, aren't you?" Audrey cooed, Riley was quick to pull a taller glass out of the cabinet, fill it halfway with water and set it on the counter for the rose. Audrey gently put the rose into the water and offered Peter her hand. "Audrey Prescott."

"Peter Stone."

"My boyfriend." Riley threw in, almost as an afterthought. "He's a district attorney."

"Oh like that fiancé of Morgan's?" Audrey questioned, finally pulling her hand away.

"Actually he's the ADA, Peter's just the DA, technically Sonny works for him." Riley explained and moved to flip the patties as the oven timer went off.

"Is that right?" Audrey quipped and ignored Riley as she wandered over to the kitchen table with Peter, who tossed Riley a look.

He kept stealing glances at her as she fished the tray out of the oven and dumped the fries into a wide serving bowl before wandering over and setting them on the table.

She then went right back to the stove, working away at getting the last of the patties cooked, all the while setting the slider buns onto the cookie sheet that had just come out of the oven. Without hesitating, the buns went in the oven and she freed the patties from the pan, tossing them in with the other ones before setting them on the table too.

"How'd you two meet?" Audrey asked, her sole focus on Peter, who was stealing looks at Riley every few seconds, making sure she was good handling all the food.

"Morgan." Riley threw out.

"Through Morgan." Peter added, figuring she didn't want to mention that she had gone home with him the first time they had laid eyes on each other. Was that why she was so anxious? She didn't want her mother to find out how easily he had gotten her into bed? "Morgan had cracked her first case and we were all out to celebrate."

"Oh so you knew Mo first." Audrey nodded. "I was going to say, I wondered where my daughter would've ever picked up an attorney."

"Mom I've dated lawyers before."

"Not that I've ever met." Audrey pointed out, fixing Riley with a small glare. "You say you date all these men and never once introduce them to me."

"That's not true, I brought Joey McCain home."

"Ninth grade hardly counts Ry."

"What about…Dante Calhoun?"

"Wasn't he your prom date who left you there?" Audrey shot back and Peter couldn't help but let out a laugh at that. He didn't think it was funny that she had been ditched at prom, just that her mother knew enough to call her out on saying that guy was a boyfriend. "Not that I don't love you Ry, but you're pretty terrible at relationships."

"I'd respectfully disagree." Peter cut in, but both girls could tell by his grin that he was merely teasing.

"Why would you want my daughter?" Audrey questioned. "Not that there's anything wrong with her-"

"Jesus mom." Riley gaped, angrily pulling the buns out of the oven and setting them on a plate. She then headed over and joined the two of them at the table, everything else had been set out earlier. When she sat down, she felt Peter's hand on her knee and her body relaxed ever so slightly at his touch. "I love Peter."

"And I love your daughter."

"So I've heard. You even bought a house together." Audrey stated. "Honestly figured her and Mo would just be old lonely ladies for the rest of their lives, so it's sort of nice to know that my girl bagged a successful attorney who's as handsome as you."

"I can see where you get your boldness from." Peter turned his attention to Riley and she could only blink at him. God what the hell was wrong with her mother?

"Temper's from her dad though."

"Seriously, can we not talk about him?" Riley groaned.

"He left me when she was twelve, never had much to do with her after that. He got himself a brand-new family-"

"Mom." Riley kicked at her shin under the table, but only managed to jerk the entire table instead.

"I often wondered if that was why she had such an aversion to serious relationships."

"My dad wasn't around that much when I was a kid either." Peter said softly, trying to reign Riley back in. He didn't want her to feel like she had anything to be embarrassed about, he just wanted her to have a nice, calm, relaxing evening. Nothing that happened tonight would change how he felt about her. "That's actually why I came back to New York, he passed away a few years ago and when I was here for the funeral, I was offered a job."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear about your father." Audrey had enough decency to bow her head, giving Riley a split second to look at Peter, who was smiling at her, trying to convey with words that she had nothing to be worried about. Riley let out a sigh and tried to relax into her chair, waving her hand at the food on the table.

"I know it's not much but I just baked so much stuff for Mo…" Riley offered.

"It's fine." Peter replied.

The three of them took a few quiet minutes to dole out portions and prepare their sliders and once everyone had a plateful of food, her mom was quick to dive back into the awkward conversation side of things.

"Riley, does he know about your lady issues?" Audrey hissed at Riley but she wasn't very quiet, not even a little bit.

"Yeah mom. And if he didn't, he does now."

"Well I just want to make sure he knows. Some men are adamant about having kids that biologically belong to them."

"I love her no matter what." Peter threw in. "Even if we have to adopt."

"Sweetheart, you've found yourself a keeper." Audrey grinned. "Please tell me you're a Yankees fan?"

Peter let out a laugh and looked from Riley to Audrey. He was definitely a Yankees fan, especially after spending over a year being exclusive with Riley. She wouldn't have kept him around if he wasn't.

"I am. I actually used to pitch for the Cubs."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I wrecked my shoulder though and never made it back. So I became a lawyer."

"You ever play the Yankees?"

Peter contemplated her question for a few seconds but offered up a shrug, "no, Mets though."

"That's too bad, if you had, Riley was probably there. Her and her dad used to go all the time. They'd have giveaway days and the two of them would line up like four hours before they could even get into the stadium." Audrey said. "She'd come home so excited and so exhausted because we're talking it'd be a good eight-hour long day at the ballpark."

Peter glanced at Riley, only to find her staring intently at her slider. She wasn't embarrassed by what she had done, she was merely saddened at the fact that there were so many good memories of her and her father, yet now all she ever felt was anger at the mere mention of the man. She hated that he had tainted her outlook on dads, and to hear her mom talk so casually about the man who had ripped their family apart bothered her.

"I love free things." Riley muttered, her voice held very little conviction. "Even if it meant standing next to an asshole for hours on end."

"He wasn't always an asshole."

"No." She shook her head but didn't say anything further. Grabbing her slider, she lifted it up and took a bite, almost daring her mother to push her some more.

"So I hear you're living in Boston." Peter offered, hoping to get the whole evening back on track.

"I moved out there once Riley was back in New York ironically enough. She went out there for college and I'd go visit her more often than I probably should've and I just fell in love with the city."

"Fortunately, not the Red Sox." Riley remarked, forcing a smile onto her face.

Playful banter and lighter conversation followed through dinner and Riley was visibly relaxing now that all the father talk was out of the way. Once the table was clear, thanks to her and her mom, she laid out a cake she had baked as well as plates, forks and a knife.

"My Riley was always a good baker." Audrey grinned, watching as Peter cut the cake for them, doling out slices onto plates. Riley wandered away from the table and came back over with three mugs of coffee, milk and sugar had been on the table from earlier. "Mo though, she couldn't bake a cake if her life depended on it."

"Thank god she had Riley then."

"Thank god they had each other." Audrey chuckled. "Mo's like a second daughter to me, poor girl had a vicious mother who cared more about appearances than raising a decent human being. Riley protected her from the day they met and Morgan was always there for Riley."

"They're very close, I definitely respect Morgan. She's a great detective and her fiancé is a great attorney." Peter commented. "He's definitely a first-rate addition to my team."

"Hey speaking of Morgan's fiancé, you and him should come out to dinner with us tomorrow night. Riley, tell Mo she should ask that Sonny fellow of hers. It's still my treat, but I really want to meet him."

"Yeah." Riley nodded, knowing that that way the attention wouldn't be solely focused on her and Peter, much like it was tonight. "I'll text her after."

"Peter, you'll come, won't you?"

"Of course."

Riley let out a sigh of relief and pushed her chair back, excusing herself. Peter looked at her with concern but she threw a smile onto her face and waved him off, disappearing from the kitchen faster than anyone could say 'boo'. Peter looked across the table at Audrey and found her studying him, almost curious about him being in the apartment.

Was she sizing him up? Was she trying to find a flaw in him so that she could tell Riley all about it and how he was no good for her? Was she-

"I think you're good for Ry." Audrey stated in a low one, breaking Peter out of his thoughts.

"She's good for me too." Peter nodded and sucked in a breath. "Can I ask you something?"

"Certainly."

"I want to ask her to marry me." Peter paused, and Audrey was clearly hanging on his every word. "But only if you approve."

"That's a decision for Riley, but I'll definitely give you this: I like you Peter Stone."

He leaned back against the back of his chair and set his hands on the table, a smile taking up residence on his face. Audrey smiled back at him and not another word was said between the two of them, not until Riley walked back into the kitchen, her gaze going from one to the other.

"Mom…" Riley trailed off and she reached a hand out, setting it on Peter's wrist. "Thanks for not leaving like dad."

"Well someone had to look after you." Audrey laughed, but when she peered over at Riley, she stopped and took a more serious stance. "You're my baby girl, and I will always be there for you."

"Still."

"I'm just glad to see that you've found yourself a wonderful man like Peter here, it makes me worry a lot less about all the trouble you could get yourself into."

Riley smirked at her mother. She could get into enough trouble with Peter just fine on her own.

XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX

She held Peter's hand as she walked with him to the sidewalk outside of the apartment. She had wanted just a few minutes alone with him, if only to gauge his reaction to meeting her mother, but overall, she knew he wasn't deterred. There were worse things in her past that he knew about that could've sent him packing, but he hadn't yet, she couldn't imagine a single dinner with her mother, who wasn't even that bad, would drive him away.

"You really don't have to come to dinner tomorrow night if you don't want to." She stated, leaning against the wall outside the front entrance. He stood in front of her with his hands tucked into his jacket, looking back at her. "Don't feel like she guilted you into it or anything."

"It's fine." Peter nodded, watching as she dropped her gaze down to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you not want me to go?"

"What?" Her head jerked up and she locked her eyes on his. "No, I mean, I don't care, I just don't want you to feel obligated."

"Riley you're never an obligation." Peter said softly and untucked one of his hands, reaching out with it to take hers. "I'll go because I want to go."

Riley took her bottom lip in between her teeth and forced a small, hesitant smile in his direction. She wasn't sure what was bothering her, most likely a mixture of all sorts of things. She was supposed to be moving soon, but they hadn't bought a bed yet, nor had they even remotely thought about painting.

It was all so overwhelming at times, and now to add a dinner with her mother into the mix, she wasn't sure what had pushed her over the edge, but she knew that she'd be glad when it was all over.

"Come here first so we can all go together?" She requested and he stepped forward, moving to lean against the wall beside her, his hand moving away from hers so that his arm could slide around her shoulders.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I don't know." She breathed the words out. Well that wasn't what Peter was expecting. He was figuring she'd say she was fine, or insist that nothing was wrong, but that wasn't even remotely close to what she had said.

"Well is there something I can do?"

"Do you know any sassy gay lawyers that I can be friends with?" She countered and he nudged her with his hand, drawing her eyes up towards is.

"What?"

"Well Morgan has that Barba guy now." Riley sighed. "And I guess I'm just used to being her sassy bitchy friend and now I don't feel like she needs me."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about." Peter let out a chuckle and Riley leaned against his side, resting her head on his shoulder. "You've known her a lot longer than Barba, he's just like a new shiny toy to Morgan, she's excited by him. That excitement will wear off and she'll go back to her favourite toy, the toy that's always been there for her."

"You just compared me to a toy." She deadpanned.

"You can be my toy anytime you want." He purred.

"Except tonight. Stupid mom being a stupid cock-block." Riley muttered but when he laughed at her, she found herself genuinely smiling for the first time in over an hour. "I can't wait until we have our own house all ready so I get to sleep with you every night."

"Imagine all the fun little quirks we'll get to learn about each other in the process."

Riley let out a bark of laughter and peeled herself away from him, grinning at his statement. She was excited for that too, but also a little nervous. It didn't matter though, Peter was the one for her, no matter what stupid bad habits he might have, and she figured he felt much the same about her.

"You'll have to learn to leave the seat down." Riley pointed out, patting him on the chest.

"You could learn to make sure it's down before you sit on it." He teased.

"I mean, if you want to continue to have a nice sex life, you should probably just put it down." She scowled jokingly. "I also like to keep extra stock of food and pantry items, so we'll have to get you familiar with my methods."

"Dually noted."

"Anything hiding in your closet I should know about now?" She pressed and cocked her head sideways. He shook his head no and reached out, grabbing her one arm and hauling her forward, wrapping his arms around her as she gently collided with him. "You're not like a secret hoarder or-"

"Nope." He rested his chin on the top of her head and she let out a soft sigh of content, happy to just stand there in his embrace.

"Hmm, okay."

He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and pulled himself away, but not letting go of her hand. She sucked in a breath and glanced back to the entrance of the apartment, but when he gave her hand a squeeze, she focused back on him.

"We haven't seen the Yankees in a while," Peter started and she furrowed her eyebrows at him, "your mom, when she was talking about how you used to go to the giveaway days with your dad, I just thought maybe we could do that sometime."

"You want to go stand in a line outside Yankees stadium for hours on end for some free baseball memorabilia?" She questioned.

"Yeah, why not?"

"I haven't done that in years."

"Okay, so, do you want to?"

Riley took a few seconds to consider her answer, but she knew what she was going to say before she even had to think about it, "I'd love to."

"Great, so you pick a game with a giveaway and let me know."

"I will do that." She nodded with another smile. "Not to be rude but you should go before I start to feel like I could do bad things to you in the alley. Oh and let me know when you get home?"

Peter shook his head at her but offered her up a grin, waving at her as he peeled off, wandering down the street further to hail a cab. She watched him for a few more seconds before heading back into the building, wandering through the halls until she was at her own door.

Hesitating for a second, she sucked in a breath and opened the door, spotting her mother sitting on the couch watching television, but as soon as Riley wandered in, Audrey looked right at her and smiled.

"I like him." Audrey stated and Riley rolled her eyes, throwing the lock on the door to secure it shut. She then wandered over and flopped down onto the couch next to her mom, curling up against her side. "He seems good for you."

"I think he is." Riley gave a brief nod. "I have to tell you something though."

"Oh god, what's wrong with him?" Audrey threw her head back dramatically but Riley gave her mom's knee a rough pat, drawing her attention back to her. "What?"

"We've been trying to get pregnant for a few months now."

"Before marriage?"

"Yes mom."

"Well you should just be glad I'm not catholic or else that'd give me a heart attack." Audrey teased. "Ry, you're a grown woman, you can do whatever you want."

"Right, but I still thought you should know. Obviously things haven't been successful or I'd be telling you a whole other set of news right now." Riley explained. "But I definitely want kids and Peter's on board with it."

"Huh well…I can't really say anything bad about him because I really like him Ry, he's a good man. And he's a lawyer."

"Yeah so if I get in to trouble, he can get me out of it."

"I think you mean 'when'." Audrey grinned.

"What?"

"When you get into trouble." Audrey nudged her in the shoulder with her fist and Riley let out a low, unenthusiastic huff. "I'm just glad you've found a man to settle down with. There were a few years there when I worried about you, a lot."

Riley curled into her mother's side further and let out a soft sigh, "yeah, I know."

"So you want to tell me how you two really started dating?" Audrey pressed and Riley's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Oh I believe that you met through Morgan but this is the first guy you've ever introduced me too, I want all the details Ry."

"Okay, well you're not getting all the details. But I guess I can tell you more than just 'through Morgan'." Riley confessed and sat up straight, looking at her mother. "It all started with a dare…"

And boy was Riley glad she didn't lose. Peter Stone was the best prize ever.

XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX

"Mom," Riley poked at her mom, her voice a whisper, "mom, you have to call him Dominick when they get here. He hates it."

"Then why would I call him that?" Audrey shot back, grabbing the cloth napkin off the restaurant table and draping it over her lap.

"Because that's what Mo's mom calls him, right because she refuses to call people by anything other than the name they were given." Riley explained and Peter shot her a look. She raised her eyebrows at him and sat back in her chair, wondering if maybe she was getting too old for silly little games like this. Then again, it was always fun to screw with Morgan.

"She refuses to call people…really?" Peter asked, an astounded look on his face.

"Yeah, her name's Charlotte and I've called her Charlie for as long as I can remember just to piss her off." Riley stated. "Even as a kid."

"Where would you have gotten that idea?" Peter countered and Riley tossed a look at her mother.

"She was a bad influence on me when I was a kid. Got me to be a little shit with Mo's mom and my very own dad, when he showed up of course." Riley offered up. "My mom was pretty devious back in the day."

"I can neither confirm nor deny that. Part of me gets Charlotte's point about names but nicknames are too adorable sometimes, and much simpler to deal with." Audrey gave a shake of her head. "Formality was never one of my strong suits and how can you expect me not to call a pair of little girls Mo and Ry, too cute, right?"

"Hey," Riley raised her one hand and both of them were looking at her, waiting for her to carry on, "it's just funny…I call you Peter, not Petey or Pete, but that has nothing to do with me being remotely like Charlie."

"Sometimes nicknames aren't as cute as the real name. Like to me Petey sounds like a toddler." Audrey piped up. "And Pete sounds like a wasted frat boy."

"Like you would know about wasted frat boys." Riley scoffed.

"Well you certainly would." Audrey grinned and Riley pressed her lips together. Fair enough, that was definitely a point for Audrey, but Riley wasn't deterred. Sure, she had known her fair share of frat boys back in the day, but even then, she wasn't as promiscuous as she had been before Peter.

In fact, it was in university that she had her last serious boyfriend, and that hadn't turned out very well. Indeed though, Riley had always known where the good parties were being held at M.I.T. but that didn't mean she went, in fact, most of the time she was too busy studying or doing assignments.

She was a smart girl after all, it was just a shame she had managed to get herself a bit of a reputation, a reputation so bad that even her mom was aware of it (though not to the full extent). Riley was sure Morgan expressed concern to her mother more than once when it came to her hooking up with guys, but it wasn't like either of them could do a whole lot about it.

"I shouldn't be so harsh on Riley, she did graduate from engineering with honours." Audrey added quickly, giving her daughter a proud smile. "At least she got my brains."

"And your good looks." Peter flirted and Riley smacked him on the arm, drawing his attention back to her. "Stating facts Riley."

"You can turn off the lawyer schmoozy act." Riley scoffed. "I'm your girlfriend, and it's gross to see you be all cutey patootie with my mom."

"Oh hush now girl, it's not every day your mother gets told she's pretty by a very attractive man." Audrey scolded.

"My sincerest apologizes Audrey but Riley is the girl for me." Peter smiled and took Riley's hand under the table. She smiled back at him and spotted two familiar faces crossing the restaurant and coming towards them.

Riley leaned over and gave Peter a quick peck on the cheek before settling back into her chair and throwing a wave to Morgan, who was leading Sonny to the table by his arm. He was dressed up in one of his usual three-piece suits, matching Morgan's sleek cocktail dress that looked like something out of Riley's- it was out of Riley's closet!

Had Morgan nabbed it when she moved out? Oh well, it didn't really matter. Riley had enough fancy outfits that she'd be fine for a while, in fact, tonight she was wearing a nice, rather conservative top, and a tight black skirt, Peter in one of his suits, though not a three-piece one.

"Hey Auds." Morgan called out and let Sonny pull the chair out next to Audrey, Morgan dropping down to sit on it as he gingerly pushed it in closer to the table. Once Morgan was securely in her seat, he offered his hand to Audrey and smiled widely at the older woman.

"I'm Dominick Carisi but please call me Sonny."

Audrey took his hand in hers and gave it a firm shake, "Audrey Prescott."

"She's like my second mom." Morgan tossed out. "Way nicer than that witch that is my mother."

"Oh, well, it's not like she could be any worse." Riley threw out.

"Pleasure to meet you Dominick." Audrey said, tossing her own daughter a look, to which Riley just nodded her appreciation. Perfect, her mother was going to play along with her idea of a joke.

"Sonny, please."

"But that's not your given name." Audrey pushed and Morgan's eyes widened for a split second, which was exactly when Audrey let out a small bout of laughter, reassuring the girl in question that she was merely playing a game. "Sorry, I couldn't resist after seeing Charlotte yesterday. It's nice to meet you Sonny. Now, let's get you two some drinks, yeah?"

Audrey was quick to wave the waiter over and let Sonny and Morgan request their drinks of choice, a beer for Sonny and a glass of wine for Morgan. When the waiter was gone, Audrey looked between the two newest table members and nodded her approval. She was proud of both of her girls for landing such fine young men, and it would seem they were both very, very happy, which was always good.

She was proud of the two of them, even if Morgan wasn't her own child, it didn't matter. She had spent enough time at the Prescott house for Audrey to consider her part of the family. She looked after her more often than her real mother did, she talked to her when she needed someone to talk to, she bandaged her up when she hurt herself, she listened when Morgan needed an ear- it was the same way she treated Riley, except Riley got to be tucked in at night by Audrey.

Riley was fed and bathed and generally looked after more hours than Morgan. It didn't matter to Audrey though, she loved Morgan as if she was her own daughter, and she was proud of the woman that she had become, her and Riley both.

"So how did you two meet?" Audrey asked, her eyes locked on Morgan. She had asked this very question to her biological daughter the night before, and now she wanted to know Morgan's story.

"When I transferred to SVU he was my first partner." Morgan answered easily. So far the interrogation hadn't really even begun, but Morgan felt great, she had aced the first question, she was on a roll. She just hoped that the rest of Audrey's questions were as easy.

"Oh, and once you started seeing each other, how was work then? I can't imagine working with your significant other was easy."

"Huh." Morgan got stuck on her answer but knew that honesty was probably the best. "Well we pretty much had to find other partners but it was fine because our whole unit was great."

"And now?" Audrey was relentless, but Morgan knew that about her. She had grown up with Riley, had known her mother from a young age and was aware that Audrey liked to get right to it, wanting to make sure that Morgan was in good hands.

"He's an ADA, so we're definitely not partners anymore, I still see him at work every so often, but not every day." Morgan smirked, looking over in Sonny's direction. "Thank god, I can't imagine living with him and working with him, that's too much Sonny."

"At least he works." Audrey teased, referring to her own ex-husband, who hadn't worked very hard, or very often, throughout their entire marriage. "And an ADA to boot, my god you have just lucked out with men, the two of you."

"I win, I have a DA." Riley boasted and Morgan was quick to stick her tongue out at her, laughing as she did so. "I do."

"You don't do losing very well do you?" Morgan argued.

"She never did." Audrey snickered. "I love her for it though, thank god she didn't inherit her dad's work ethic, lazy asshole he was."

Riley straightened up in pride. No she was not a fan of her father's work ethic, and she had always been adamant that she wouldn't turn out like him, which was why it bothered her so much that she inherited his temper. She was better at controlling it now that she was older but sometimes it still managed to best her, and those were not pretty sights.

"How was the shower yesterday?" Peter threw out, trying not to let the conversation turn too deep into Riley's past. He had witnessed it last night and hadn't liked the way Riley seemed to be ashamed of it.

Morgan's eyes lit up and she opened her mouth to answer, but Audrey cut in, rendering her speechless.

"Ah yes, speaking of the shower, who was that Barba man really?" Audrey pressed. "And why was he even at the shower, not that I'm complaining, he was highly entertaining, I just didn't expect a man to be at a shower full of girls."

"Ha, shower full of girls is exactly where a man would want to be." Riley chuckled, Audrey shooting her a grin.

"He's one of my best friends, I'd consider him family even. He's going to be a groomsman in our wedding" Sonny answered quickly.

"He's also a sarcastic ass who loves getting on people's nerves. I needed him at the shower so that I could have someone to sic on Sonny's sisters." Morgan threw in. "He's great. Definitely my back-up husband, you know, for when this one is too busy being a fancy shmancy lawyer."

"How am I any fancier than Barba, he went to Harvard." Sonny retorted.

"Just how it goes Sonny Bunny."

"I don't think you're really his type, not unless you've magically grown a dick." Sonny said.

"They make toys for that." Morgan huffed.

"Mo, what about brother husbands?" Audrey tossed out and Riley rolled her eyes. "I watch sister wives and I've always thought having more than one husband would be nicer than having to share one husband with a bunch of wives."

"I tried that, Rafi said sure but this guy said no." Morgan jerked a thumb in Sonny's direction.

"Sorry for not wanting to share my wife and anyways, I have a better chance of running off with Barba than you do."

"I don't get why you don't see the logic in this situation, it'd be a win-win for both of you. You'd get all the sex and Rafi would do all the stuff you wouldn't want to; like Broadway and shopping." Morgan shrugged. "I don't see the big deal."

"Two guys I can get behind but like Peter had two girls once, or so I've heard." Riley raised her hands in surrender and she tossed her boyfriend a minx-like grin. "And I don't get it, you know, like logistically, and mathematically it doesn't work out in my mind…"

Morgan's mouth widened and she stared at Peter, who casually took a sip from his glass of beer, "Mr. Stone explain yourself."

"Okay, as young and hip as I sometimes think I am, this is a conversation better had when mom's not at the table." Audrey spoke up, looking from one girl to the other, leveling them both with a motherly glare. Riley raised a hand in surrender and Morgan shook her head with a smirk.

Audrey knew how to get them to behave, and Morgan would always behave for Audrey, she loved the woman, maybe more than her own mother, and who could blame her?

"Geez Stone, no wonder you don't like the word 'slut', you are one." Sonny snickered, clearly ignoring Audrey's request to break it up.

Audrey shrugged them off though and rolled her eyes, having put up with this sort of thing from the girls in their younger years enough to be used to it. As long as they weren't discussing the logistics of threesomes, what more could Audrey really ask for?

"At least my girlfriend isn't talking about adopting the lifestyle of 'brother husbands'." Peter remarked, a small smirk present on his face.

"Sassy McLawyer-Pants!" Morgan's voice was borderline on shrieking but no one seemed all that concerned, except for Riley, who stared at her best friend in awe. What the hell was really happening here?

Morgan was definitely much more vocal than she usually was, was this Sonny's doing? Was she finally learning to stand up for herself without having someone there to back her?

Of course she could always handle herself, she had taken on a rapist on her own, gouged his eye so bad Riley figured he was permanently blinded, or close to it. Morgan could definitely take care of herself, in fact, she was sort of proud to witness her banter back and forth with Sonny in front of her very eyes.

"Well-"

"Sonny don't…he's the man who decides whether or not you have a job, just take the loss on this one." Morgan cut her fiancé off and gave him a patronizing pat on the thigh.

"I mean I wouldn't be opposed- no wait, I would be opposed. I don't do sharing." Riley considered what she was saying and shuddered at the thought. Two men was way too much work, she liked having Peter and just Peter. It was fine by her. "But like if that's what you want Mo, all the power to you, that's a lot of unnecessary pressure."

"Again, not if one is gay." Morgan argued.

The waiter reappeared at the edge of the table, asking if they were ready to order. Audrey was quick to say yes and put in her request for dinner, everyone else following suit. Once he was gone, a lull took over the table and no one really knew where to start off again. Leave it to Audrey though, the woman certainly didn't like long stretches of silence.

"So Mo, has your lovely fiancé met your dad yet?"

"Mo's dad's a surgeon." Riley explained in a hushed tone to Peter. "Obviously had to have a great job in order to pay for his wife's lifestyle."

"He has, just via video chat, but still." Morgan answered. "Dad's busy."

"Always was that man." Audrey let out a sigh. "Little girls need their daddies."

"Unless their daddies turn out to be assholes." Riley spat.

"Your dad wasn't always bad. Anyways Ry, you had me."

"My mom was subpar." Morgan snorted. "Thank god I had you too Auds."

"Will he be walking you down the aisle?" Audrey quipped. "Or will he be too busy to do that?"

Morgan nodded her head, "I think he'll be able to take some time off to walk his only child down the aisle. He was a busy dad, not a bad dad, plus what other option do I have."

"You could walk yourself down the aisle." Riley suggested.

"Which is how Riley's doing it when her big day comes." Audrey tipped her head towards Riley. "Peter have you met my ex-husband?"

Peter slowly shook his head no, "I've barely heard about him to be honest."

Riley sucked in an anxious breath but didn't feel like getting in to this whole thing tonight, and certainly not at dinner. She knew Peter was aware of what her dad had done to her, and he hadn't been a big fan of his father either, so in that regard, she figured he understood. But did that mean that Peter should meet the man? Should she have to introduce her boyfriend to the man that had been her dad for a reduced portion of her childhood?

"Just that he was a useless prick of a man." Riley muttered and tipped her head sideways.

"Ry." Audrey murmured and Riley shook her head. She didn't want to do this, she just wanted to enjoy dinner, and Audrey got that, boy did she ever get that. "So Mo, do you have your dress picked out?"

"I do." Morgan beamed. "I'll show you a picture later when my fiancé isn't sitting right next to me."

"She looks so pretty in it." Riley commented. "It's perfect."

"I'm so glad to hear that." Audrey smiled. "First dance song picked out yet?"

Morgan shook her head no. God, she hadn't gotten very far on wedding planning, especially not when it came to the details like that. She knew she had to sit down with Sonny and figure some of this stuff out but they rarely had more than a few hours together before it was time for bed, and Morgan wasn't ready to spend it planning a wedding that still seemed pretty far away.

She mentally reminded herself to make a list of this sort of thing because she wasn't going to pick their first dance song on her own, she wanted Sonny to be a part of it, and she figured he'd want to have a say too.

They were a team, they did things together, it wasn't always one person getting their way and the other not, they just meshed well. They fit. Sonny was her soulmate, and she wouldn't trade him for anything, even with as much as she joked about Rafael Barba.

"You've got time. As long as I'm invited." Audrey joked.

"Of course." Morgan blurted. "Front row seat too."

"Well, I'm just so glad you've found someone who will love you the way you deserve to be loved." Audrey praised. "Both of you girls."

Yes, this was what a mother should be like, this was what Morgan had missed out on as a child in her own home, but thank god for Audrey Prescott. She wouldn't have chosen anyone else to be her surrogate mom, nor would she have chosen anyone other than Riley to be her best friend.