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 29:
"God these seats are great Mo." Riley commented with a smile on her face as she wandered down the aisle of their section. Morgan was trailing along behind her, every so often peering around and taking in the sight of Yankees stadium
It had been quite a while since she had attended a Yankees game but when Riley had gotten the tickets, she hadn't anticipated Peter landing a big case and having to work late the last few nights, along with Sonny, which is precisely why Morgan was here with her now. She didn't have anything better to do either and a Yankees game sounded like fun, even if she was extremely pregnant.
Turning down the row where their seats were, Riley led the charge and matched the number on their ticket stubs with the number on the seats. At the sight of their chairs, Riley let out a soft sigh of relief and lowered herself down, offering Morgan a hand to take whatever Morgan didn't want to carry, such as her jacket, or her purse. She just wanted to be as helpful to her pal as possible and if that meant holding her jacket while Morgan got as comfortable as she could on the plastic stadium seats, then that's what she'd do.
Morgan had originally been crazy excited at the idea of sitting in the stands and watching the Yankees kick ass but she was already finding herself feeling drained and tired. It was hard for her to move in general; her joints ached, her body had extra weight from the baby and, although being super pregnant made it a little bit harder for her to see where her feet were going, she still managed to make it to her seat without incident, which she carefully lowered herself into.
"I can't believe Peter passed up these seats." Morgan prodded and nodded her head in the direction of the field, which was closer than Morgan had been expecting. "Also can't believe he passed up an opportunity to sit next to you and watch the fucking Yankees."
"It's not like he planned on it Mo, he wasn't super thrilled to be missing out but I know that sometimes work takes precedent. I promised him we'd go to another game whenever he can." Riley let out a soft laugh, crossing her arms over her chest.
"He's probably lucky he's got Sonny who's so willing to help him out." Morgan smiled and Riley shook her head. "What do you mean no?"
"Mo, it's also Sonny's job so he sort of has to."
"Huh, well, that's…definitely a good point." Morgan remarked flatly. "I guess you have a point."
"Yeah, well, I guess it's probably a good opportunity for Sonny too though." Riley stated. "Peter's a great attorney, him and Sonny work well together."
"I know right, they're such a great team. Sometimes I still can't believe that Sonny made it to ADA from SVU."
"He's a good lawyer." Riley offered with a shrug. "If he didn't deserve it, he wouldn't have gotten it."
Morgan let out a laugh, "still, he used to be my partner."
"Yeah, and then you fucked him. That would've been awkward for you to keep working together, especially once you got hitched."
"Even more awkward now that I'm pregnant." Morgan joked. "Can you imagine if him and I were on SVU together now? He'd never let me leave the precinct."
Riley took her bottom lip in between her teeth and glanced out at the field, watching the players as they busied themselves with batting practice and fielding drills. Morgan had known it was still a bit of a sore subject with Riley, the idea that she wasn't able to have a baby of her own would be tough on anyone, but that didn't mean the topic was off limits, hell, nothing was off limits when it came to the two of them, not anymore.
Not since Riley had told Morgan her only secret. She didn't regret it, no, Morgan did deserve to know, but it was getting harder and harder to cope with. Riley loved that Morgan was having a baby, she just hated that she couldn't.
"Are you and Peter still trying to have a baby?" Morgan asked, lowering her voice slightly.
Using a shrug as her answer, Morgan leveled Riley with a glare and growled at her, urging her to delve deeper into the unusual situation.
"You can't cop out this time." Morgan mumbled. "I'm your best friend."
"I know." Riley groaned in response. "I don't know what I'm doing lately. We're not using protection but we haven't for a long time. It doesn't matter because it doesn't work anyways. I think we're in a decent place right now, we have the wedding to look forward to, so it's all sort of up in limbo until after we're married."
"But if he loves you-"
"He does love me, but sometimes it's hard. I'm a lot to deal with on a good day, I definitely don't envy Peter for being with me."
"Ry, you're a great catch." Morgan snorted. "He loves you, that's what people who love you do, they stick by you."
"Yeah but sometimes it feels like maybe I'm too much for him. You know what happened to my parents, my dad left, he went on to have a family of his very own that didn't involve me, that could happen to me too."
"Yeah but your dad was an asshole, Peter's not." Morgan leveled her friend with a firm look. "Ry, if you're having these thoughts, maybe you should talk to Peter, lay it out, tell him what you're feeling."
"I can't…honestly Mo, I'm scared shitless." Riley hissed and felt her muscles tensing. Before she could get too worked up though, she peered down at the seats in front of her and inhaled a deep breath. "What if I never have a baby and ten years down the road he resents me for it? What if we're together for thirty years and all of a sudden he explodes on me and tells me that I ruined his life and that he's not happy and he needs to get out of our marriage and I'm left old, broken and all alone?"
"Okay, first of all, I think your imagination has gotten even more active than I remember, and second of all, talk to Peter. Maybe he's okay with the fact that-"
"You say that like it'll be a nice, casual conversation." Riley's eyes bugged out of her head and she held her breath before she could start to really panic. "What if I never have kids, ever?"
"Chill out Ry." Morgan shook her head and winced as she shifted in her seat. "You're getting worked up over nothing. You need to sit down and talk to Peter, then the two of you need to figure your shit out and come up with a plan."
Riley nodded her understanding and blew out the breath she had been holding. She was still incredibly nervous and horrible scenarios of him getting frustrated and even leaving her continued to run through her mind, but she was with Morgan, they were together, they were at the game and the Yankees were getting ready to play.
Sucking in a few more deep breaths, Riley managed to calm herself enough to maybe enjoy the game. Morgan leaned her head on Riley's shoulder and ran her hand across Riley's back, simply basking in the feeling of being next to her best friend while they planned on watching some great baseball.
A comfortable silence fell over them and they merely sat in their seats, watching batting practice come to an end. The two girls continued to watch the action on the field, which was coming to a lull, a few players warming up here and there, the pitchers heading out to the bullpen to get loose, but it was enough to keep them entertained without having to say anything to each other.
After standing and sitting for the anthems, Morgan leaned back over and rested her head on Riley's shoulder yet again, seeking out a comfort that only her friend could give her. She was content with watching the game in silence with Riley, seeing as it would be the last game she'd ever attend without having a baby to contend with.
In Morgan's mind, she counted down the days until she'd see her own little wee baby, which was only a few weeks away, unless something went awry, and boy could things certainly go awry. She had known all about the bad things that could happen to people, it was part of her job to witness the worst that humanity had to offer, but Morgan would be okay, she had to be oaky.
A few innings into the game, Morgan's body was feeling incredibly stiff from the hard seats; sitting for a long time was getting to be a drastic feat for Morgan though and it wasn't until the sixth inning that Morgan was really starting to feel the wear and tear on her body. Her legs ached something awful and she was starting to feel a little off kilter, but it was worth the pain to watch the Yankees play their hearts out, hopefully coming out with the win that they so desperately deserved.
"God damn, I totally didn't think sitting down in the stands would be this hard on me." Morgan mumbled and let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm so freaking huge, and so freaking uncomfortable."
"Oh the joys of being pregnant." Riley remarked with a teasing smile.
"Yeah." Morgan let out a sigh and ran her palm across her lower abdomen.
"Hey, don't get mad at me because you're super fertile, or that your husband has very potent sperm."
"Shut your face." Morgan growled and Riley shook her head in retreat. She offered Morgan up a reassuring smile and Morgan let out a sigh at the gesture. Okay, so maybe Riley had a point, it wasn't her fault that she had gotten pregnant so quickly after deciding that she wanted to try to have a baby. "I guess I just didn't think being pregnant would be this hard, he moves all the time and it's so uncomfortable."
"I bet." Riley nodded her head in understanding. "Hey, do you uh, do you think maybe you'd let me feel him again?"
"Of course you can." Morgan smiled at her friend and straightened up in her chair, trying to figure out where the best place to feel him would be. She leaned forward and ran her hand over her lower back before cocking her head to the side and furrowing her eyebrows together. Riley shot her a concerned look and Morgan merely let out a soft cry in response. "Ry…I uh, I haven't felt him move since Sonny left this morning now that I think of it."
"That was hours ago." Riley pointed out and readjusted herself in her own seat, taking a few seconds to study her friend up and down.
"I don't…Riley, what if something's wrong with him?" Morgan whimpered. "Riley-"
"Morgan, just…calm down for a second okay, why don't we just get ready and leave, I can drive you to the hospital if you want, to be on the safe side." Riley offered and all Morgan could do was nod her head yes in response as fear flooded through her veins.
She just prayed that her baby would be okay.
XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX
On the case, that's what Sonny was that day, that's what he didn't mind being, especially when Morgan was getting closer and closer to being due. If he had the opportunity to gain as much ground as he could with his job, then that was a good deal in his eyes. He often found himself looking at his phone, hoping for texts from his wife but so far today, there hadn't been a single one. He knew she had gone with Riley to watch the Yankees, and it wasn't like he couldn't text her himself, asking her how she was doing, but he didn't want to disturb her.
He knew that she was going to be in the stands, and her attention would be best kept on the game itself because flying baseballs were dangerous. If she wasn't paying attention, who knew what could happen to Morgan, she could be hit with a ball, or something heftier like a bat- no, he wasn't going to disturb her.
Except that had been ages ago and, glancing at the clock on his laptop, he realized that chances of the game being over were pretty good. He could certainly text her now and see how she was doing.
'Still busy at work, missing you.'
Yes, that would do. He set the phone back down and turned his attention back to the case file in front of him. A few minutes later, there was still no response from Morgan. Well that was a little bit odd; usually she was really good at responding to him quickly, especially if she wasn't at work, which he knew she wasn't.
So what did that mean? Sure the two of them could've gotten a little distracted, maybe Morgan had decided to go for food after the game with Riley, but in his gut, he knew it had been way too long since Sonny had heard from Morgan, and he was getting more anxious by the second. What if something happened to her, what if something happened to his baby?
Standing up from his desk, he left his office and wandered down the hallway, closing in on Peter's door. Knocking, Sonny waited to be beckoned inside before doing so, moving to sit in the chair in front of his desk. Maybe he could enlist the man's help in figuring out if Morgan was okay, at least then he'd feel a little better.
"Have you heard from Riley recently?" Sonny quipped casually and Peter stole a quick glance at him before looking back to the screen of the laptop in front of him.
"Not recently." Peter replied, without giving Sonny too much to work with.
Well that wasn't helpful, not even a little bit- couldn't Peter tell that he was anxious? Couldn't he see that he just needed someone to make him feel better about not hearing from Morgan?
Okay, well, considering when he had sat down, he had been going for casual, maybe this was his fault. He could've blatantly asked Peter for help, or for reassurance. If he had mentioned not hearing from Morgan and being a little worried about her, surely Peter would tell him that all was probably fine.
But he hadn't mentioned anything. He hadn't said a word.
Leaning forward, Sonny moved his elbows to rest on the edge of Peter's desk before blowing out a long sigh. Peter turned his attention towards Sonny and stared at him, confusion etched on his face.
"You seem miffed." Peter stated and lifted a hand up, waving it in Sonny's face. "What's up?"
"Miffed sounds like some weird sex move." Sonny mumbled before shaking his head and focusing on the task at hand. "Speaking of sex moves, where's Riley tonight?"
"Yankees game" Peter seemed even more confused than mere seconds ago. Sonny had known that, unless maybe he forgot.
"After that? It should be over by now." Sonny pointed out and watched carefully as Peter stole a look at his watch, leaning back in his chair as he let out a sigh.
"Did you check to see if maybe it went long?" Peter offered up and Sonny shook his head no.
Without having to be asked to do so, Peter pulled up the game stats on his laptop, looking at the final score in bigger font at the very top of the page. If there was a final score, that meant the game was over, so it obviously wasn't still going.
"So?" Sonny questioned.
"It's over. Is there something wrong?" Peter asked and gave his friend and colleague his undivided attention.
"I'm fine, I guess, I'm just…shit, I haven't heard from Morgan in hours and when I texted her, she didn't respond." Sonny threw his one hand into the air and tipped his head back, looking up at the ceiling.
"Maybe they went to get something to eat." Peter offered with a shrug. "There are lots of things they could be doing."
"Mo always texts me back and now she's so close to being due, I'm just worried- what if something's wrong?"
"I'm sure wherever they are, they're fine." Peter stated.
"You're probably right. I guess I just…I worry so much, especially when I'm not at home with her, you know, not that I'm complaining about my job, because I'm definitely not complaining-"
"If you're that worried, I can try calling Ry." Peter suggested. "No big deal."
"Would you really do that?" Sonny's eyes seemed to light up at his offer, as simple as it was. "I mean, that'd be great."
Peter stole one final glance at Sonny and watched him for a few seconds as he tried to relax. Pulling his eyes off of Sonny, he picked up his office phone and dialed Riley's number, cradling the device against his ear and listening to it ring.
Her voicemail kicked in and he debated leaving a message, but it wasn't like he needed her to call him back, so what was the point? He ended the call and set the phone back into the cradle, meeting Sonny's wide, worry filled eyes.
Sonny seemed absolutely frazzled and Peter let out a sigh, debating calling Riley one more time. If she didn't answer this time, he'd actually leave a message and maybe then he'd even try calling Morgan too. He wasn't quite at the same level of freaking out as Sonny but he knew that the man needed answers.
Peter made quick work of dialing Riley's number again, holding the phone back against his ear, praying that she'd answer this time.
When her voice came on the line, he noted that it sounded slightly frantic, but he didn't get a chance to ask her what was going on because she spoke first.
"Oh my god Peter!"
"Hey, whoa, Ry." Peter was taken aback by her tone, wondering why she sounded completely and utterly terrified.
"Peter, I'm scared, Morgan's scared- we're at the hospital and I'm not sure…fuck-"
"Ry, just tell me what you know, okay?"
"She couldn't feel any movement from the baby when we were at the game." Riley stated frantically. "That was a while ago, Peter, I don't know what to do, I don't know what the fuck is going on. Morgan's in some room with a doctor and I'm out in the hallway waiting for someone- anyone- to tell me what's happening with her."
"Okay, look, I'll let Sonny know, I'll tell him to get there as soon as he can, can you…can you stay with her until he shows up?"
"I uh- yeah. Yeah I can." He heard Riley suck in a breath. "Hurry, please, she needs Sonny, she needs him!"
"We'll both be there as soon as we can, just hang tight."
Waiting, Peter listened for Riley to hang up first and when she did, he practically threw his phone back where it belonged and jumped to his feet. Sonny was standing up too, staring at Peter with wide eyes and not a clue as to what was going on with Morgan.
"Morgan's at the hospital." Peter announced but he kept his voice low and as calm as he possibly could. "Riley took her there a while ago."
"What? Why?" Sonny's eyes bugged out of his head. "Is she okay? Oh shit, is my baby okay?!"
"I don't know, I just know…we have to get there as soon as we can."
Sonny merely gaped at Peter, wondering what the hell was going on and why there wasn't more information available? He had managed to talk to Riley, but apparently, she didn't know much either.
God he just needed to get in the car and rip roar across town to the hospital. He needed to be with Morgan, he needed to make sure she was okay. He wasn't going to be able to do anything other than worry about her until he laid his eyes on his wife.
XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX
Morgan was going to be okay, she had to be okay because Riley didn't know what she'd do if her best friend was in any sort of danger. Plus she had the baby to be wary of, he too had to be okay because Riley didn't want Morgan to lose him, and she didn't want to lose Michael either.
There was a panic that hadn't left her body since Morgan had stated that the baby hadn't moved since Sonny left and even though Riley had her own shit to look after, she knew that this was important, way too important, hell, she wasn't going to leave Morgan at the hospital, no matter what.
"Come on." Riley murmured and readjusted her butt against the barely padded seat of the waiting room chair.
Riley let her eyes fall shut and waited, praying that Morgan and the baby were okay. She also prayed that the guys would arrive soon because as much as she loved Morgan, she just wasn't that great in dire situations; she was far too anxious and panicky. Her heart was pounding, her chest felt tight and she tried desperately to remain as calm as possible because Riley was well aware that she wasn't going to be of much help if she freaked out at this point in time.
But when Sonny burst through the doors, Riley felt her entire body relax at the sight. He was here, he was here now and he could be the one to demand answers from the hospital staff. He could announce that he was Morgan's husband and then the people working there would give him all the information that they could, the same information that they refused to give to Riley because she was simply a friend.
Thank the higher powers that Sonny was here, even if he looked like he was about to freak out.
"I'm so sorry, I should've called you earlier but it all happened so fast." Riley remarked, her eyes wide with worry.
"Where is she?" Sonny shot back and before Riley had a chance to answer, Peter jogged through the doors too, stopping to take a stand next to Sonny. "Riley, please tell me she's okay."
"I don't…I don't know Sonny." Riley shook her head and looked down at the floor. "They took her away from me and no one will tell me anything. I don't even know where exactly she is."
"Fuck!" Sonny exclaimed and lifted his hands up into the air, running them through his hair as he stomped across the floor.
Peter brushed past him and moved closer to Riley, taking her into a comforting embrace. He knew that the worry should rightfully be placed on Morgan but Riley was the one he could hold, Riley was the one who was freaking out in front of him, Riley was the one prone to panic attacks and this was certainly cause for a panic attack.
"You need to ask them where she is." Riley instructed and pointed just down the hall, towards a closed off area with a window separating them from the nurses and staff behind. "They won't tell me anything because I'm just a friend, but you're her husband, she's your wife, they have to tell you."
Sonny sucked in an anxious breath and turned in the direction of the window that Riley had pointed too. Without anyone else saying anything more to him, he wandered over and stood patiently in front of it, waiting for the woman behind the glass to acknowledge him. He wasn't going to start off being demanding, no, he was going to start off being polite, after all, he knew that it was easier to get information by being nice, even in dire situations.
At long last, the woman behind the glass lifted her head up and met his eyes. She furrowed her eyebrows together and suddenly Sonny wondered how panicked he really looked. If he was honest though, Sonny didn't care at this exact moment, he just needed to get to Morgan, he needed to be right by her side, no matter what happened.
"I need to see my wife." Sonny stated firmly yet politely and the woman nodded her head in understanding.
"Name?" The nurse requested.
"Morgan Carisi."
"Carisi…okay, yeah, she's the one who came in claiming that couldn't feel her baby moving. She's right down the hall, first room on the left." The nurse answered him before he could ask anything more.
Sonny bowed his head and took in a deep breath, praying that she was okay, "what's going on with her?"
"Unfortunately, I can't divulge that information to you but as far as I'm aware, the doctor is in speaking with her right this very second. If you're quick, you can join the conversation."
Sonny turned back towards his friends and when Riley waved him forward, he shot her a smile and broke out into a jog, heading down the hall and taking a turn into the first room on the left.
As soon as he was inside, his eyes landed on Morgan, who was lying down on a hospital bed wearing one of the flimsy paper hospital gowns, the doctor within the room talking to her softly. She was hooked up to all sorts of machines and a steady rhythm of beeping noises echoed in the room. Once she looked his way though, all conversation seemed to stop and the tears instantly welled up in her eyes, sending Sonny's heart into overdrive.
Was she crying because they had lost their baby, had something happened to his child in the hours since he had last laid eyes on her? Was something wrong with her?
"Mo." Sonny whispered and moved closer to her, enveloping her into his arms and hugging her tight as the female doctor took a step back, allowing him easy access to Morgan. "I'm so sorry Morgan."
"It's okay." She mumbled in response and hugged him right back, feeling the tiniest bit better by his sheer presence in the room. "I'm okay, right doc?"
Sonny turned his head towards the doctor but didn't let go of Morgan, instead, he settled his butt onto the edge of the bed and slipped an arm around her shoulders, letting her know that he was right there and he wasn't going to be going anywhere.
"Yes, Morgan here is fine, your baby is fine but just to be on the safe side, we're going to run a few more tests and potentially keep her here overnight. She's far enough along that if we have to, we can induce labour or proceed with a C-Section." The doctor explained with a soft smile on her face. "We just want to make sure that we haven't missed anything."
"Oh thank god." Sonny breathed the words out and let his head fall gently onto Morgan's shoulder. She reached her hand out and ran her palm over the top of his thigh, giving his flesh a reassuring squeeze as she did so. "Thank god."
"Unless you have any further questions, I'll leave you two alone for a little while and someone will be back to get you prepared for the next test." The doctor stated and Morgan nodded her understanding before Sonny followed suit.
The doctor made a move to leave the room and pulled the door shut behind her, closing them in and allowing them the privacy they deserved. Morgan turned to face him and immediately felt his lips pressing against her forehead, a gesture that she was grateful for, seeing as she had been all alone since Riley had brought her in to the hospital.
"Riley's scared shitless out there." Sonny said softly and ran his hand through Morgan's hair, his fingertips brushing over her scalp in what he was hoping was a comforting gesture. "You've even got Stone waiting for you, wanting to know if you're okay."
"Really?"
"Yeah really." Sonny nodded and buried his nose in her hair, taking a deep inhale of her scent. "They're so worried about you. I called you and texted you after I thought the game was over and you didn't respond. I might've had a bit of a freak out too. You can ask Peter about it. He called Riley though and she finally told us where you two were."
"I'm sorry Sonny Bunny." She murmured, and that was all that he needed to hear. He didn't blame her but he had been worried sick about her.
Morgan curled into his hold further and let her eyes fall shut. She was okay, their baby was still with then and Sonny was right by her side. When he tightened his grip on her, she felt her body relax even more, her mind drifting away slightly, guilty about how anxious he could've possibly been when she didn't respond.
"Why don't you let me go send them home and then I'll come right back to you, okay? Or did you want them to stay?" Sonny quipped and Morgan let out a soft hum as she considered his offer.
"I think you can tell them they can go home, and that I'm alright. I'm sure Riley wants to get out of the hospital, and I've got you here now, you're not going to leave me." Morgan stated but opened her eyes, peering at him before raising one eyebrow, "Right?"
"No Mo, I'm not going to leave you." Sonny murmured in response. "I'll be right back though, I promise."
"Okay."
Reluctantly, and with much difficulty, Sonny peeled himself away from Morgan and slowly made his way out of the room, pausing in the door to steal one more glance back at her. She forced a smile onto her face and waved him off, watching until she could no longer see him.
Once Sonny was back out in the hallway, he let out a sigh of relief knowing that Morgan was okay and that their baby was okay too. He carried on towards the waiting room and came to a stop in front of the duo, who were both sitting in the chairs waiting for any sort of information. Peter was holding Riley's hand and she was leaning in towards the chair he was occupying, her head against his shoulder.
"She okay?" Riley asked immediately and kept her eyes locked on Sonny.
"She's good." Sonny nodded. "They're keeping her to run some tests but they're thinking everything's good."
"Even the baby?" Riley pressed and sat up straight in her chair, fearful of what the answer was going to be. The baby had to be okay, she didn't know what she'd do if Michael was in danger. "Is he okay too?"
"So far, yeah." Sonny said softly. "She told me that I could tell you guys you can go home if you want, if anything happens, I'll call you and let you know."
"Sonny, she's my best friend-"
"Maybe he's right." Peter cut Riley off and fixed her with a pointed look. "If Morgan's okay, let me take you home to somewhere more comfortable. We don't need to spend hours sitting in a hospital waiting room if she's fine."
"It's okay Riley, I've got this." Sonny stated, confidence evident in his tone. "She's my wife; I can take care of her."
Riley took her bottom lip in between her teeth and considered his statement. God she figured it was time for her to let him take the lead and protect Morgan the way she had been for years. He was her husband after all, Sonny deserved to be the one looking out for Morgan.
If anyone was capable of looking after Morgan, it was certainly Sonny. Riley trusted him, he was good for Morgan, he treated her well, he looked after her, he protected her, and he was the one who could easily be called Morgan's best friend.
"Yeah, okay. But you call me first okay, you call me if anything changes." Riley instructed and Sonny nodded his understanding. "Take care of her."
"I will."
"And take care of yourself too. If you need me to bring you anything, like a clean change of clothes for her or you, you just let me know." Riley pointed out.
"Got it Ry." Sonny smiled at her and Riley couldn't help but smile back at him. "Don't worry, she's in good hands."
"Ha, yours or the doctor's?" Riley forced a chuckle.
Sonny didn't wait for them to leave the waiting room before he made his way back in to see Morgan. When he wandered through the door, he immediately stepped over and sat down on the bed next to her, letting her get comfortable against him. He held her and felt her body relaxing against his, hoping that everything was going to be okay. Until she was out of the hospital, and in the comfort of their home, then he wasn't going to be taking any chances.
"Mmm, I love you Sonny." She murmured and nuzzled her nose into his neck.
"I love you too Morgan. You really scared me today. You always text me back, and when you didn't…I just got so worried. I didn't know what to think Morgan, I just…I didn't want anything bad to have happened to you."
"It didn't." She said softly but didn't meet his eyes. "I'm okay, the baby is okay, everything's going to be fine."
"I wish I knew how you can be so confident." Sonny shook his head. "You're my world Mo, I want to do right by you, forever and always."
"You already have Sonny, don't you see that?" She tipped her head back and popped her one eye open, looking at him with it. "You're the love of my life, you've made me so happy. The baby gave me quite a scare too, but it's good now, we're good now."
"Okay."
"Okay." She closed her eyes and settled in, slipping her hand around his arm. "Do me a favour, just lay here with me until my next test, I want you to hold me, it makes me feel safe."
"I can do that." He nodded his head once with a smile. "I can definitely do that."
XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX
"Are you okay?" Riley posed, standing at the front door of her house. Peter was right in front of her, not making a move to take off his jacket. She peered at him and wondered what he was thinking, what had him so distracted that he wasn't getting ready to join her without his jacket?
"Yeah, I'm good, sorry. I think I'm just going to head back to the hospital." Peter answered and looked Riley over, trying to figure out how she felt about him doing just that. "I think it'd be good for Sonny to have someone there for him for a little while longer."
"Sounds like a good idea, I should go back with you, I don't even know why we left." Riley posed but Peter was quick shake his head at her. "What do you mean no, she's my best friend, I was the one who took her there to start with-"
"You just stay here."
"Peter-"
"I'm just going to take him some clothes, maybe stop for some food."
Riley looked at him and gave him a firm nod of understanding. In all honesty she was sort of tired from being at the Yankees game most of the evening, plus being home was definitely better for her anxiety. Hospitals tended to make her nervous, more so than normal, and there was nothing better than being able to curl up in her own bed, even if she knew she'd struggle to sleep until Morgan was out of the hospital, safe and sound in her own home.
"If you're sure." Riley pressed. "Because I can definitely go with you."
"I can handle this." Peter gave her a little smile and Riley forced one back at him. "I'll be back soon."
"Right." She let out a sigh but reached out and grabbed his hand, holding him in place for a little longer. "If you need anything, just call me okay? Or if anything changes, please let me know?"
"I will, I'll be back-"
"I know." Riley cut him off with a smile. "I'll keep your spot in bed warm."
"Thanks." Peter bowed his head, letting out a chuckle, and then turned towards the door, pulling it open the slightest little bit before pausing and looking back over his shoulder at her. She remained still, standing, waiting for him to leave, but she wasn't rushing him out of there, no, in all likelihood, she was probably waiting for him to say that he changed his mind and that she was welcome to come with him. "I'll see you later."
"Yeah." Riley murmured and reached a hand out, running it down his arm. "I love you."
"I know." He smiled at her and she smiled back at him. "I love you too."
Riley pressed her lips together but didn't say anything more to him. Peter hesitated for a split second but pulled the door open the rest of the way and walked outside, waiting to hear the door click shut behind him. It wasn't until he was about halfway to the driveway before he heard the familiar click and a flood of relief traveled through him.
He was scared for his best friend and his wife, he was anxious that things weren't as fine as they claimed to be and he knew that he wasn't going to be resting easy at his place, so the least he could do was take them some clothes and food because if Sonny was going to be spending the night at the hospital, he didn't need to be doing it in a suit.
Yes, Sonny, his best friend, he was the reason why his mind was running a mile a minute. His baby had been in danger and the idea of losing him must have driven Sonny mad, to the point where he had wandered into Peter's office asking about Riley. Peter certainly couldn't picture how he would've reacted had Riley been in Morgan's position.
She was everything to him and he couldn't even fathom the idea of doing what Sonny was doing: staying next to Morgan and assuring her that he was right there with her. Bad things happened to good people, so how was it that Sonny knew that things were going to be okay, how did he know that their baby was going to make it into the world unscathed?
The easy answer; he didn't. But Peter didn't understand how Sonny Carisi had been so calm when they had left. If he had been there, and Riley had been in Morgan's position, surely he wouldn't have been able to keep it together as well as Sonny had, especially not with her infertility issues.
Maybe Sonny just had faith that things would turn out for the better, maybe he truly believed that bad things weren't going to happen to his unborn child.
On the drive over to Sonny and Morgan's place, Peter's mind had drifted to the possibility of having his own baby one day and dealing with complications like Morgan was currently doing. He couldn't…he just didn't understand where this sudden immense fear had come from? Riley and him had been trying for a while now with no results, but was she prepared to go further than in vitro? Would she desire kids bad enough to try something more? There was a fear inside of him, gripping his gut and twisting it hard.
Was this what it was going to be like for years to come?
"The hell is wrong with me." Peter muttered with a shake of his head as he finally made it in the front door of Sonny's home.
It had certainly been a long day and Peter's was far from over, him and Sonny had been in the middle of putting together a big case before they had rushed to the hospital and now here he was, alone in Sonny's house, gathering up some clothes so that he could head right back to the hospital to be there for his friend.
Sonny needed him, and if he didn't realize that, then, well, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He should be focused on Morgan, his attention should be undivided and Peter was merely going to show back up and be available if Sonny decided that he needed something. He cared about Morgan too, she was another of his good friends, and the thought of something bad happening to her or her baby just made his heart sink.
He set to work on finding a shirt and pants that Sonny wouldn't mind wearing for the night. He knew that eventually Sonny was going to want to change out of his suit, this was the least he could do for Sonny, who was his friend and also his right-hand man at work.
Bringing them to Sonny would help him out, and Peter was well aware that he had to grab some sort of food for his friend as well. For all the times that Sonny had been there for him (whether for personal or professional reasons), he knew now was the time to repay him as best as he could.
With an overnight bag loaded with clean clothes, as well as some sandwiches he had picked up from the deli just down the street from the hospital, Peter wandered back into the front doors of the hospital and made his way to the desk. He leaned against the wall next to the window, waiting patiently for the nurse to get off the phone, and when she hung up, her eyes locked on him.
"What can I do to help you?"
"I'm looking for Morgan Carisi's room." Peter answered calmly.
"Oh, hang on." She trailed off and her eyes moved from him back down to her computer.
"Thanks." Peter said.
"Right, yes…I'll just go see if she's accepting visitors." the nurse dropped her head, stood up from the desk and took off in a jog, disappearing down the hall. Peter watched her go and made a mental note which door she turned into, hoping that things hadn't changed much for the worse since he had left not all that long ago.
Before the nurse had a chance to come back out though, Sonny burst through the door and ran for him, stopping only a few feet in front of him and looking him over, scanning him from head to toe.
"You came back." Sonny pointed out with a knowing look. "But why did you…why?"
"Figured you could use a friend." Peter offered with a shrug. "And some food."
Lifting the small overnight bag upwards, he handed it over to Sonny, who immediately unzipped the top of it and looked inside, spotting the clothes he had brought for him. When Sonny looked at Peter again, he offered him the bag containing sandwiches. Sonny looked at Peter and forced a smile onto his face.
"Thanks man."
"No problem." Peter shook his head and glanced back behind Sonny, watching as the nurse from behind the desk casually walked out of Morgan's room and headed back for her chair. "How's Morgan?"
"Well uh…" Sonny let his sentence fade away and he shook his head, "the baby's good, apparently, but the doctor wants to deliver just to be on the safe side."
"What?"
"Yeah, she's going in for a C-Section in a little bit, they're just waiting for the operating room to be free."
"Oh wow. I guess as long as the baby's okay right?" Peter forced a smile onto his face, hoping to help soothe his friend. Sonny merely looked at him, smiling back at him.
"Oh yeah." Sonny nodded his understanding, and even produced a bit of a laugh. "So long as my boy's okay."
"I'm here for both of you, if you need anything, you just let me know."
"Thanks man."
"No worries." Peter shook his head. "That's what friends are for."
"Seriously though, I appreciate it." Sonny nodded his head again and turned slightly to catch a look at the door to Morgan's room. "I'm going to go back to Morgan though, if that's okay."
"That's okay." Peter continued to smile. "I told Ry I'd be back home soon. Good luck."
Sonny dropped his gaze down to his feet and when he brought his eyes back up, Peter set his hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. He had to have faith that everything would be okay, he had to be the one supporting Sonny at this point, he knew that this was a scary time for both Sonny and Morgan, and he was going to do anything that he could to make it easier for them.
"You're a good friend Stone." Sonny sucked in a breath and hiked his thumb in the direction of Morgan's room. Peter didn't say another word and neither did Sonny, there were no words that needed to be said, he was there for him, whatever Sonny needed, and Sonny knew that.
What else was there to do? The answer was simply nothing.
XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX
When her eyes looked at the red numbers on the alarm clock, she fought off the urge to groan. It wasn't quite three in the morning and Riley found herself awake, and not because of Morgan's predicament, no, this was purely her own fault.
Leaning back, she felt Peter's chest against her shoulders and his hand resting softly on her hip, and suddenly all she could think about was going to the bathroom; she really, really needed to pee. Carefully rolling onto her back, she shimmied to the edge of the bed and set her feet on the ground, flipping the switch on the lamp beside her bed so that she had a little bit of light to see her surroundings.
"Stupid bladder." Riley murmured and hesitated for another couple of seconds at the side of the bed before carrying on towards the bathroom. Her mind flitted to poor Morgan, who was still in the hospital awaiting a C-Section, and Riley couldn't help but feel a bit scared and worried for her best friend.
She headed for the bathroom with a heavy sigh, did what she had to do, splashed some water on her face in an attempt to rid herself of the grime from sleeping, and then headed right back to her bedroom. She silently prayed that Morgan, and the baby, were going to be okay- Riley shook her head, of course they'd be okay. Morgan was a fighter, and she had Sonny there with her, she'd be fine, she had to be fine.
With a deep breath, she turned her attention to the sleeping man in the bed.
Peter hadn't moved at all since she had gotten up to go to the bathroom and at the prospect of getting back into bed without waking him up, she sucked in an anxious breath and prayed that he was tired enough to remain out cold. Riley lowered herself down and sat on the edge of the bed before tucking her legs under the covers and shifting onto her side, stopping her movements as her back came into contact with his chest yet again.
When his arm came around her waist, she let out an uneasy breath and relaxed into the pillow, then she reached out and made a move to turn the lamp back off. Once the room was pitch black again, Riley tried to stop her brain, she tried to shut off her thoughts, but no matter what she did, she couldn't calm down enough to get comfortable.
As much as she didn't want to move, for fear that she'd wake Peter up, she had to, she had to at least try to get more comfortable next to him. Riley arched her back, shifted her hips and when her backside rubbed against his thigh, she bit down on her lip and considered her options. If she was going to wake him up, hell, she could at least make it worth his while, right?
And maybe if he was a decent enough distraction, then she'd be able to turn her mind off, maybe he could help her get back to sleep.
She carefully stretched out her leg and ran her toe up his shin, but he didn't move. She leaned against him harder and twisted her hips the tiniest bit, his limp arm moving as she did, his hand getting closer and closer to her inner thighs.
"The fuck am I doing?" Riley whispered and without hesitating, she reached down with her hand and gripped his wrist, giving it a gentle squeeze and guiding his hand upwards, forcing his palm under her shirt.
"Ry…" He whispered and tried to fight against her, slipping his arm around her middle, tucking his hand under her body instead. She fought off the urge to growl at his lack of cooperation but when she felt him press a kiss to the side of her neck, she found herself thinking that maybe he wasn't completely rejecting the idea after all. "What time is it?"
"After three." She answered and tipped her head back, his arm tightening around her middle. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"Hmm, liar." He mumbled and buried his face into the crook of her neck. "You should go to sleep though."
"I know." She sighed. "You're right."
He let out a chuckle at her in response and shifted behind her, pulling her entire body closer to him. Riley relaxed in his hold and felt him drifting off behind her, his arm loosening as he fell asleep.
She tried and tried to fall asleep, she kept her eyes shut and tried to think of good thoughts so that she wouldn't be distracted by all the fears and anxieties she had building up inside of her over her own situation, over Morgan's situation, over not knowing what was going on. It was no use though, there was too much weighing on her mind and at this point in time, she'd even be content with her phone breaking out into a ring, at least it would give her something to do instead of failing to fall back asleep.
But her phone never rang and Riley could feel her heart starting to pound. She didn't know what to do, she didn't know how to make sure Peter was happy with her. She didn't want him to leave her, but she knew that if he did, she wouldn't blame him, and even though there was so much other stuff on her mind, she knew that this particular issue was bothering her the most.
God, why did things have to be so complicated? Why couldn't she just get pregnant and the two of them could live happily ever after without having to resort to clinical methods?
Why couldn't Morgan have been perfectly fine and not in the hospital at that very moment?
Sucking in a breath, Riley moved out of his grasp and sat up in the bed, drawing her knees up closer to her chest and resting her hands on her knees. Peter was quick to wake up and when he reached back behind him and flipped the lamp on his side of the bed on, he rolled onto his back and ran his hands through his hair. Riley rubbed at her eyes and carded her fingers through her own hair, not entirely sure what her deal was.
Okay, well that wasn't entirely true, she knew what her deal was, she was scared, she was nervous and she wasn't sure how to breach the subject with Peter. It wasn't like she could bother Morgan either, no, she was in the hospital with her own issues to deal with.
"What's wrong?" Peter questioned and propped himself up on his elbow, looking up at her. She didn't meet his gaze though, instead, she looked across the room and locked her eyes on the door to their bedroom. "Ry?"
"I don't know." She sighed and dropped her knees down to the bed. "I've got a billion things running through my head and I just…fuck Peter, I'm scared."
"Scared?" He sounded confused and when she dared to look at him, she realized that he had a perplexed look on his face. "Of what? For Morgan?"
"Well…" Riley trailed off and turned to face him, reluctantly leaning down and pressing her hand against his chest. "Morgan, god, I don't know what to think. She must be freaked out so bad…and yes, that's scary but not really, she's at the hospital, she's in good hands, plus Sonny's there with her."
"Ry, 'not really'? It's the middle of the night, you're going to have to explain this to me in really simple terms because if you're not upset over Morgan then I don't know what you're upset about." Peter remarked and she dropped her body down to lay in front of him, pressing her forehead against his shoulder and sucking in a deep, hopefully calming breath.
"What if you leave me?" She asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper.
"Leave you? What- like now? Just because you can't sleep doesn't mean that I'm going to leave you."
"No, not now Peter, in the future. What if you get tired of me not being able to have kids?" She pressed and tipped her head back, meeting his eyes. "What if you decide that I'm too complicated for you? It's different for Sonny and Morgan, they're married, he's going to be the father of her children, but you…god you're just…"
"What?" He narrowed her eyes in on her and she let out a growl of frustration. "Riley, are you really talking about this in the middle of the night?"
"I can't stop thinking about this stuff Peter." Riley confessed. "I want you to be happy-"
"I am, with you." He cut her off and let his eyes fall shut for a minute while he clearly tried to compose himself. "Riley, I'm not going to leave you because you can't have kids."
"What if I never have kids though? What if I can't ever get pregnant?" Riley quipped.
Peter let out a low sigh and opened his eyes, meeting hers and feeling his stomach dropping at the sight of tears welling up there. He knew that Riley had always planned on having kids, but surely she didn't blame herself for the situation she was in now. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't have kids. Maybe one day she'd be okay with the idea of not being able to conceive naturally, but was that really something that he could deal with?
He was still young, and so was she, but did the idea of not having kids of his own sit well with him?
"I'm not sure what you want me to say here." Peter answered honestly.
"I don't know either. I'm just scared that one day you'll get frustrated with me and decide that you've had enough and take off."
"Riley, you have nothing to worry about okay, I'm not going anywhere."
"But what about later? What about years down the road when all you want is to have a kid of your own and I can't give that to you?"
"I don't know Ry, I do know that I love you, no matter what." Peter countered. "Do we have to figure things out right now? It's really late…"
"No." She shook her head with a squeak. "No we don't have to figure it out now."
Peter drew her closer to him and pressed a kiss against the top of her head. If this was his attempt at soothing her, it wasn't working, no, it only seemed to make Riley tense even more. She hated that they had been trying for so long to have a baby and nothing was working, she didn't even know what the next step was because to her, it felt more like giving up than moving on.
Surrogacy, adoption; sure but it wasn't the same as getting pregnant.
She just wanted to have a baby of her own.
"I don't want you to resent me." Riley apparently had a lot on her mind, but then again, it wasn't like Peter wasn't familiar with her habit of worrying. She had anxiety issues, the first night she had spent with him she had a full-blown panic attack. He was used to her nerves getting the better of her.
"Resent you for something that you have no control over?" He pressed. "I want you, I don't care about the other stuff."
"Seriously? You can't tell me that thirty years from now when we're still childless-"
"I want you." Peter cut her off. "There's other options, I just don't think that three in the morning is a good time to talk about them."
"No." Riley murmured.
"So can we please just go back to sleep and talk about this in the morning, when I'm functioning like a normal human being?" Peter teased and a smirk broke out on his face. She rolled her eyes at him and pressed her palm against his chest. "Riley, seriously, if I didn't want to be with you, I never would've said that I love you, because it's true, I do."
"I love you too." She said and let out another sigh. "I just…"
"It's okay to be scared, life is terrifying sometimes." Peter supplied. "Do you think maybe you could try to sleep now or do you want to keep talking, because I know that once you get something in your head, it doesn't just go away. So if there's something else on your mind- maybe Morgan, then we can keep talking."
She tipped her head sideways and gave him a nod, "I think I could try sleeping, I mean, unless you want to try something else."
His eyes widened and she arched her back, pressing her hips against his. Huh, well, if this was going to be how he was rewarded for dealing with her middle of the night freak-outs, then maybe he'd be more willing to talk to her the next time, maybe they could skip the conversation and get right to sex.
"I really do love you." She purred and all Peter could do in response was kiss her, long and hard.
XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX
Sonny felt peaceful, that was the best way to describe it, he felt absolutely peaceful while Morgan slept in the hospital bed beside him. When Sonny had disappeared into Morgan's room earlier, leaving Peter all alone in the waiting room, he hadn't expected the wonderful news that his baby was delivered safely to happen so fast.
Their baby was residing in a bassinet inside Morgan's room beside the bed and every time Sonny moved within the room, his eyes were immediately drawn to the tiny little baby boy, who had arrived quite a few weeks.
"He's perfect." Sonny murmured and wandered along the bed where Morgan was laying, half asleep. "He's got ten fingers, ten toes, two of whatever else he's supposed to have. Basically everything is in the right place."
"He's so beautiful." Morgan remarked, her voice soft and hushed so as not to disrupt the slumbering baby. She was feeling pretty exhausted, rightfully so seeing as she had recently been wheeled back into the room after her C-Section. "We got lucky with him."
"I got lucky with you too." Sonny pointed out and waved a dismissive hand in Morgan's direction. "I can't believe you willingly reproduced with me, you know? I don't- I never really considered myself great father material but with you…you and Michael are everything to me."
Morgan nodded her head, not entirely sure what else she could say to Sonny, or what she wanted to say. It was clear that he was in a state of pure bliss now that her and Michael were safe and sound, but Morgan knew that would soon wear off and maybe Sonny could avoid the period where he'd ask himself 'what if' questions until he made himself crazy.
Morgan did that very thing herself sometimes: what if Riley hadn't won the bet all that time ago, what if she hadn't transferred from narcotics, what if she and Sonny never got over the time when she had professed she had feelings for him and he had his sister in the apartment, what if she hadn't been able to get pregnant like Riley…the list went on and on.
Sonny's 'what ifs' would be more along the lines of: what if something bad had happened to Morgan, what if he had lost his son, what if he had lost Morgan but not the baby. Oh yes, his list of 'what ifs' was definitely a lot more traumatic than Morgan's, but he knew that no matter what, that was the thing that would drive a man to insanity; the constant 'what ifs' running through his head.
He couldn't do that to himself. She was fine, Michael was fine, they were both going to be okay.
"Mo, can I run something by you?" Sonny spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. Morgan, who had been staring at their son, peeled her eyes off the baby boy just long enough to meet her husband's gaze, but then she turned her attention right back to tiny baby Michael Anthony Carisis.
"Always."
"Mo, what do you think about asking Peter and Riley to be the god parents?" Sonny said softly. "If something happens to us, and then my mom and your parents, I think Michael should fall into the hands of Riley and Peter."
Morgan peered at him and thought about his statement for a few seconds. It was a pretty lengthy list but it sounded alright to her. She definitely didn't want her child to wind up with Gina or Theresa if something, god forbid, happened to her or Sonny. His mother would do a great job, and her parents would be okay at it, but after that, Riley would be a great choice.
"I think that's a great idea." Morgan stated and cocked her head sideways. "Huh."
"What?" Sonny quipped, watching Morgan carefully, but when she broke out into a smile, he rolled his eyes.
"Peter's going to be a godfather." Morgan snorted. "I just picture him running the Italian mob and wearing a fancy suit."
"Mo." Sonny groaned. "Not that type of godfather."
"I know." Morgan stuck her tongue out at him. "Still funny though."
"I think you need some rest." Sonny teased but Morgan was quick to lay down flat on the bed. She was tired, exhausted even, but the fact of the matter was that she now had a baby of her very own, a little boy who she never wanted to stop looking at.
He was too beautiful, perfect in every sense of the word, and she didn't want to miss a single second with him.
"You have to call Riley." Morgan blurted out. "Does she know?"
Sonny gave a shake of his head and looked to Morgan, watching as she pulled the blanket up higher and letting it fall against her waist. He blew out a breath and continued to look at her as she reached over to the table next to the bed and grabbed her phone, immediately handing it to him.
"You want me to call her now?" Sonny gaped. "Mo the sun hasn't even come up."
"So?" Morgan fired back. "Please, just call her, for me?"
Sonny gave in to her request and dialed Riley's number, lifting the device up to his ear. He wandered towards the door and out into the hallway so as not to wake Michael with his phone call. When the phone began ringing, Sonny wasn't sure what he was expecting but for her to pick up on the second ring wasn't it.
Riley was quick to answer, too quick for her to have been asleep when he called. Oh well, she had answered and that was all that mattered.
"Mo?"
Oh right, Morgan had handed him her phone, that's what he was using to call her at that very moment.
"No it's me."
"Sonny, hey." Riley let out a sigh on her end of the phone and Sonny fought back the urge to smile. He was a dad, he had a son, and this was the moment that he got to share that information with someone else.
"She had the baby." Sonny stated, amazement lacing his tone.
"Oh my god!" Riley shrieked, so loudly that Sonny moved the phone away from his ear for a few seconds. When he put it back against his ear, he could hear a lot of commotion on Riley's end of the line. "Sonny! That's great!"
"Yeah." Sonny breathed the word out, still in a state of shock at the fact that he was someone's father. "It's pretty great."
"Can I come- is Morgan- I'm coming there."
"Yes." Sonny chuckled at her stammering. "Sounds like a great idea."
Riley hung up the phone, leaving Sonny standing in the hallway feeling full of love. He took another second for himself before heading right back into Morgan's room, moving to stand by the bassinet next to her bed. Michael was making grunting noises, so Sonny quickly reached in and freed the baby from the bassinet, handing him over to Morgan, who took him eagerly.
"I can't believe he's really ours." Morgan whispered.
"I know Mo." Sonny agreed. "It doesn't feel real."
"Well it is." Morgan grinned. "You should call your mom too. And Audrey- oh and Bella. Shit and Liv and-"
"Mo, we'll get there okay, maybe when the sun's actually up we can call all these people, how's that sound?"
Bowing her head, she acquiesced, and remained silent, merely staring at her little tiny baby boy. Michael Anthony Carisi, god he was so small, his skin so soft, and his entire being made her feel happiness that she had never once felt before in her life. Her heart was full and she knew there was nothing in the world that she would ever love more than the baby in her arms.
The two of them simply sat there in silence, both parents watching their new baby. It was such a wonder, such a miracle that the two of them had created such an impeccable little human.
Morgan found herself feeling the exhaustion of the entire day rush through her and she reluctantly handed baby Michael over to Sonny, who gladly took him into his hold. It was at that moment that Riley's form appeared in the doorway wearing clothes that looked an awful lot like pajamas, or something that she'd wear on the weekends when she wanted to be comfortable.
"Is that…" Riley whispered, trailing off and looking at the bundle in Sonny's hold.
"Come in and meet Michael." Morgan whispered back, waving her forward.
Riley closed in on her best friend and took a seat on Morgan's other side, opposite from Sonny. She looked down at the baby in Sonny's hold and felt her eyes filling with tears. When she met Morgan's eyes, she took note that her best friend was nearly crying too and before they could stop it, both females started to cry.
Riley slipped her arm around Morgan's shoulders and hugged her tight, trying to soothe her. She could only imagine how totally overwhelming it was to be a new mother and Morgan hadn't even been expecting Michael to come into the world today. She felt a little bad for Morgan because no matter how much preparation her friend could've done, nothing would've prepared her for the sheer terror she had experienced earlier on when they had been at the Yankees game.
Peter meandered into the room after Riley but hesitated inside the doorway, not wanting to move in and overwhelm Morgan too much. She was already surrounded on both sides, he didn't feel the need to join them and add another person to the mix, not unless Morgan wanted him to.
"He was born via C-Section." Morgan murmured and Riley leaned over, pressing a reassuring kiss against the top of her friend's head. "I had a C-Section, it was really scary there for a while."
"No Mo, that's good, it's so good. So long as your baby is okay, it doesn't matter how he was born." Riley offered up, trying to keep her friend calm. "And so long as you are okay."
"I'm good. I'm fine." Morgan sucked in a nervous breath and held it, trying to keep herself as composed as possible. "I'm glad you made it here though, you too Peter."
"Even if it's still pretty much the middle of the night." Sonny added in and Riley forced a laugh out of her mouth. "Sorry about the timing."
"No worries." Peter shook his head, Morgan looking at him and nodding for him to come on in. He hesitated but moseyed on into the room, taking a seat in the vacant chair next to Morgan's bed. "Riley and I weren't really sleeping anyways."
"I was worried." Riley stated in defense and continued to look at her best friend. "But I should've known that Morgan here was perfectly fine. She's strong, smart and beautiful."
"Thanks Ry." Morgan blushed at her friend's words. "You are too."
Riley felt Morgan relax against her side the tiniest bit and the two of them let out a soft sigh almost simultaneously. Morgan giggled at their matching actions and quickly looked up at Sonny, widening her eyes at him. He stared back at her, wondering what she wanted from him but when her eyes drifted down to Michael, he knew that she wanted her best friend to hold their son.
He offered the baby in his hold over to Riley, who took him without a second thought, Sonny watching carefully as Michael settled into the woman's hold, not even bothered by being passed on.
"So, did you settle on the name?" Peter asked, changing the direction of the conversation to something a bit more exciting.
"Yes, no surprise here. Riley is holding Michael Anthony Carisi." Morgan answered and looked over to Sonny, who smiled wide in agreement.
"Mikey." Riley murmured, gingerly readjusting the baby in her hold, her eyes locked on his tiny little face.
"Yeah, Mikey." Sonny smiled, looking over at his wife, who gave him a nod in response.
"Awe." Riley hummed and kept her eyes trained on the baby in her hold. "He's so cute Mo, so itty bitty and adorable."
"I know." Morgan beamed and blew out a breath. "I freaking know."
Sonny made his way to his feet and wandered closer to Peter, sitting on the edge of the bed near his male friend. Peter peeled his eyes away from Riley holding the baby and looked at Sonny, planting a giant smile on his face.
"We were talking before and we were wondering…" Sonny trailed off, shooting a glance in Morgan's direction before carrying on, "if you two would be his godparents?"
"What?" Riley shot back at him, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "Mo, Sonny…what are…what?"
Morgan took in a deep breath and relaxed slightly against Riley's side, peering down at her slumbering baby's face, "we just thought that you and Peter would be good parents to our baby if something-"
"God forbid." Sonny cut in.
"If something happened to us. Obviously Sonny's mom would be first in line, and then most likely my parents, but after that, he'd be yours and Peter's." Morgan explained. Riley gazed at the baby in her hold and knew that she'd never let anything happen to him if she could help it. This baby was too precious, too perfect, and she'd be honoured to help raise him.
"Of course. It'd be an honour." Peter replied and blew out a low breath. "You know Riley and I would do anything for you two."
"When Sonny first brought up the idea of a Godfather, I just pictured you running the Italian mob." Morgan teased.
"Sexy." Riley beamed, stealing a quick glance at Peter.
"Okay." Peter shook his head with a small smile. "Just for you, I'll get myself a nice Italian suit and take up residence at the most Italian restaurant I can find."
"Okay, but please don't behead any horses." Sonny countered, a smile on his face as well.
"Not really my style." Peter said with another shake of his head.
"Godfather." Riley snorted. "Like Peter would ever be in charge of a mob."
"You're the godmother." Morgan pointed out.
"Like in Cinderella." Riley countered.
"No." Morgan rolled her eyes. "Just godmother, not fairy godmother."
Riley let out a huff, "that's not as fun."
"It's fine." Peter leveled her with a pointed look.
Peter extended his hand out towards Sonny and gave him a rough pat on the back before leaning back in the chair he was occupying. Sonny stole a look back at Morgan and watched as her eyes began to flutter closed, the poor girl still not wanting to give in to sleep. She looked tired, and he knew that she was tired, but she refused to take her eyes off their son.
Before she had a chance to move, or do anything, Sonny quickly stood up, moving over to Riley before gently scooping up their son, the very Michael Anthony, who had been brought into the world earlier that morning. He wandered back over to the chair next to Peter and lowered his butt down, taking a few seconds to get himself situated.
"I can't believe that he's here already." Morgan breathed the words out and Sonny could only nod his head, not entirely trusting his own voice to come out confident.
"I was so scared when you told me you hadn't felt him moving…" Riley trailed off.
"Me too Ry." Morgan whimpered. "Thank god he's okay though."
"And you're okay too." Sonny added in, finding himself feeling like his family would be okay, they could make it through anything that came at them.
With his first born in his hold, Sonny shifted on the chair but decided he wanted to be closer to Morgan before heading back over and sitting down on the bed next to Morgan, carefully readjusting the hold he had on little Michael so that Morgan could see his sleeping face.
"So cute." Morgan whispered and studied her child's face. Sonny took his chance and stole a look at Morgan, who's hair was messed up and her eyes were laced with tiredness, but she had never looked more beautiful to him. She had given him a gorgeous son, who would easily become his whole world.
He'd vow to keep Michael safe from the world and he'd lead him through life, passing on all of his knowledge and any of his skills that he desired. This was his boy, his life, his family, and nothing was going to hurt him, or Morgan, not if he had anything to say about it.
"I still can't believe he's here." Sonny said in a soft tone.
"I know." Morgan nodded her head once but kept her eyes locked on little, tiny baby Michael in his hold.
"He's so small." Riley commented. "It's hard to believe he came out of you."
Morgan smiled at her comment and peered up at Sonny, her mouth opening into a giant yawn as she did so, letting Sonny be the one to speak. "If you're tired Mo, you can go back to sleep, I've got things handled here- we've got things handled here."
"I just want to look at him for a little longer Sonny."
"Totally agree."
Morgan shifted slightly in the bed and ran her hand over Michael's little head, then she pressed a gentle little kiss against the side of his face. Sonny watched the whole thing with a smile on his face. The entire room was silent, watching the little baby command everyone's attention without having to do a thing.
"God I want one so bad." Riley hummed.
"Tell that to your fiancé." Morgan giggled.
Riley snorted at her friend but peered across at Peter, studying him, wondering what he was thinking. She wanted a baby of her own so badly, but things weren't going her way.
Truthfully, Peter wanted it too, but he was more concerned about Riley.
"Come look at him." Morgan called out softly to Peter, who nodded his head yes. He wasn't one hundred percent sure he wanted to interrupt their cute little family moment, but Riley was already in on it.
When Sonny motioned for him to come forward though, Peter looked over at Morgan, who gave him an encouraging nod. He carefully stood up from his chair and stepped over towards the bed, taking a seat on the edge of it and looking down at the peaceful looking face of Morgan's new baby.
"He's beautiful." Peter complimented and Morgan smiled wide at his statement.
"He looks like Mo." Sonny teased. "Thank god for that."
"You mean you're glad that he didn't get your nose?" Morgan joked.
"Can you imagine?" Sonny chuckled.
"What's wrong with his nose?" Riley's voice cut in. "I happen to think it's very fitting on your face."
Sonny froze momentarily, his eyes lifting up from little Michel to meet her eyes. When he met her gaze though, he knew that she was just teasing him, she had meant it as a joke and that's the way he had taken it.
"I'm so excited for him to finally be here." Morgan cooed. "Even if it was a little touch and go there."
Sonny couldn't agree more. He was ecstatic to finally be able to hold his son in his arms; it was just such an amazing feeling.