"Carisi?" He answered the phone, cradling the mobile phone gently between his chin and shoulder. He looked through the several forms scattered on his desk. He'd been staring at the case files for hours trying to piece together a formative list of criteria for voir dire the next morning. He was in for a long night, that was for sure.
"Mr. Carisi?" The voice on the other line said. It wasn't a voice he expected to hear. He recognized it instantly.
"Sienna? Yeah, this is Carisi. What's up?" Dominick sat up straighter, shivers of worry running down his spine as his old office chair squeaked at his adjustment. Sienna never called him. And he was pretty sure she only had his number as an emergency contact when she couldn't get ahold of Amanda.
He looked at the clock and realized the SVU organized a bust this afternoon. It wasn't one of major complication or high profile, so he opted to sit this one out to prepare for the start of a bigger trial in the next few days.
"Sorry to bother you. Um, I tried to call Amanda…" Sienna started, her voice edgy.
"No problem. Yeah, she's out…What's going on? You sound a bit shaken up." Carisi added, finally putting his pen down. "Is it the girls?"
"No no, the girls are perfectly fine. Billie is with Mrs. Langley at the daycare. Um...but Mr. Carisi, I just got a call about my mom in Jersey. They took her to the hospital...my dad is with her but…" Sienna said. She tried to mask it but her worry slipped into the tail end of her sentence.
"I can't get ahold of Amanda...and I'm really sorry to do this, but.." Sienna went on.
Immediately Carisi was on his feet, reaching for his suit jacket on the backside of his chair.
"Hey Sienna, it's alright. Are you at the apartment?" Carisi said, stepping through his office doors, shutting it behind him. He ran his hand over his pocket to double check that his keys were there. They jingled lightly as he moved.
"Yes, I'm...just here with Jesse. I just got her from school. It was a half-day today. I don't…"
"Hey, Sienna, just take a seat and a breather. Don't worry 'bout a thing. I'm on my way to come get Jesse. We'll get everything taken care of so you can get on your way to seein' your mom." Carisi said, walking through the narrow strip of desks. It was somewhat early in the day so some of the desks were still vacant from ADAs and law assistants taking a lunch.
He moved the phone away from his ear, covering the speaker as he approached the office secretary's desk.
"Hey Caroline, can you cancel my 4 p.m.? With Buchannan. I've got a family emergency to go take care of real quick. I'll be back in a little while." He whispered gently, motioning to his phone.
She nodded, curious at his panicked expression.
"Hope everything is okay!" She followed in an audible whisper as he waved to her in thanks.
"Uncle Sonny! What are you doing here?" Jesse exclaimed as she ran to the door when Sonny announced his presence. He used his spare keys to Rollins' apartment to get in, setting them gently on the table by the door.
"Hey, Kiddo! I came to pick you up. Ms. Sienna is going to go see her family. How do you feel about spending the afternoon with me while Momma is at work?" Sonny said, kneeling down so he could be at the six-year-old's eye level.
"Yeah!" Jesse exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. He laughed, wrapping his arms around her as hoisted her up until he was holding her as they moved through the apartment.
"Hey Sienna, how are you doing?" Carisi asked as they made it to the kitchen, "What's going on? Your mom in the hospital?"
Sienna nodded, a stray tear staining her face as she sniffled. She raised a manicured hand to wipe it away. "Uh, yeah. My dad called me about an hour ago. My mom was in an accident, just in Montclair...They're taking her in for surgery in a little while.."
"Oh no, I'm sorry, Sienna," Sonny said, setting Jesse down.
"Jess, go grab a few color books and your iPad," Sonny instructed as he reached to grab her pink backpack that was discarded on the back of a bar stool. The little girl nodded, running to her room.
"Frannie should be alright in her cage. Jen usually comes by in an hour or so to walk her." Sienna said, standing up taller, rubbing her face again.
"Alright, that works," Carisi said. He reached into his back pocket to reach for his wallet. He grabbed it and opened it, fishing two twenties out of the pocket.
"Does Jesse have any homework I should be concerned about?"
Sienna nodded, rambling off some small assignments Jesse was tasked with for the long weekend. Carisi nodded as he held out the cash to the nanny.
"Here. Take a cab. It's the quickest. You might be able to spare some time before she gets taken back to surgery." Carisi offered as Sienna's eyes widened.
"Really? Wha-," Sienna started, another round of tears starting to pool in her eyes.
"I've been there, kid. Go be with your family. Don't worry about Amanda or anything. Just focus on your mom and her getting better. We'll go light a candle for her when we get Billie at the church tonight." Carisi said, offering the young woman a smile.
"Thank you, Sonny. I-" Sienna started, pocketing the money. She smiled back at him and grabbed her water bottle from the counter as she moved towards the door. She pulled up her phone to search for cabs in the area.
"Let us know how she is." He added as Sienna grabbed her backpack and headed out of the apartment. She nodded over her shoulder as she left.
"Jesse, what did your mom teach you about the subway?" Carisi asked as they walked out of the apartment. He looked down at the small girl. Her blonde hair was braided back by two thick, brightly colored scrunchies. Her frilly pink backpack was tightened on her back. He didn't usually take the subway but he was in a hurry and it seemed easier than jumping through the hoops of a car seat and losing his good parking near his office.
"Always hold Momma's hand!" She said, smiling a toothy grin at her godfather.
"That's right. So come on, grab my hand. Just cause Momma's not here doesn't mean the rules don't apply. Not all of them, anyway" Sonny said, reaching his arm out. He would be a liar if he said Jesse's big brown puppy dog eyes didn't make him bend on some things.
"Can we have ice cream before dinner?" She asked, hopeful. They passed an ice cream stand and her eyes widened in excitement.
"Alright, if you're good, that rule might be able to be bent." Carisi laughed as Jesse took his hand.
Carisi barely paid attention to his phone the entirety of the way to One Hogan Place. Instead, he kept a firm focus and grip on Jesse. It was a busy area of the city and he didn't want her to get lost in the hustle and bustle. The entire ride, he stood with his back to a pole and listened to his goddaughter talk his ears off about the latest Kindergarten gossip.
"Tyler really said that?" Carisi asked, frowning as they finally made their way into the elevator to his office. Kids really could be jerks.
"Yeah! I told him to shut up because Momma says if you can't say anything nice, then to be quiet." Jesse said, using her hands to exaggerate.
Carisi laughed at her expressions.
"That was good of you, Jess. Next time don't say shut up though, it's not very nice." He scolded gently as the elevator came to a stop, "Alright, kiddo, we're going to go down to my office, okay? People are trying to work though, so we gotta' use our inside voices."
"Okay, Uncle Sonny," Jesse said.
They walked through the halls. Jesse was true to her word, keeping her storytelling to a minimum as they made their way to his office. Carisi ignored the looks as they passed through the sea desks before entering his office. Caroline held up several pink slips at the main desk for him. He nodded back, jutting his head into the direction of the small girl at his side.
He unlocked the door and Jesse ran in, sitting in the wooden chair closest to the door. Carisi moved in, helping her take her backpack off. He set it next to the desk, moving abandoned books out of the way so Jesse would be able to grab her coloring books and iPad easily.
"Jess, stay put. I'll be back in two seconds." He said once she got settled.
She looked up from her opened coloring book and nodded gently.
"I didn't know you had children, Counselor!" Caroline said, eyes wide, "She's so cute!"
"Oh she's-" Carisi started as he approached Caroline's desk but the assistant launched into her messages for him.
"Buchanan called. He's alright with moving the meeting, but he said he's stopping here to drop off some paperwork for you."
"That's fine. Anything from SVU?"
Caroline shook her head, confused, "Are we expecting something from them?"
"Nope. I assume she'll call my cell, but if Detective Rollins calls or shows up, let her back. I'm just doing trial prep."
She nodded, handing him the rest of the messages, "I'll call you before letting anyone else back."
Sonny thanked her and went back to his office.
"Uncle Sonny, I finished my homework."
"Did you? Get all your letters done? How about your reading?"
"Yep! I did it all. I wrote letters A to G and I read my Dr. Suess book." Jesse said, flashing him a wide smile. She reached over and grabbed a baby carrot stick from the cup Carisi had given her. He wasn't sure if she'd eaten lunch figured some vegetables he packed in his lunch would tide them both over until either Amanda called him back or when he needed to get Billie.
"Wow, you did all that? You're one smart cookie."
He reached over and grabbed one of the carrot sticks.
"Sorry, one smart carrot." He winked at her.
Jesse giggled loudly as the door opened to Carisi's office.
"Carisi, here's the list of-" Buchanan walked into the office without so much as knocking. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed the small girl sitting.
"Oh, sorry. These are files for the McLaren case. I used them in a previous round and figured you could use them. I'm thinking you're going to need all the help you can get. " He said in his loud, bellowing voice.
"Uh, thanks, John." Carisi said, still puzzled at John's sudden entrance, setting down the other half of the carrot stick, "I'll look at these and get back to you before our meeting tomorrow."
"I didn't know you had kids, Counselor," John said, handing him the file. He waved at Jesse who only stared.
"Ah, she's my goddaughter. Detective Rollins' daughter. Jesse say Hi." Sonny said, looking at Jesse. He cocked his head in confusion when she only continued to stare.
"You didn't knock on the door. My momma says that's rude." Jesse said, frowning at the big man. He stared at her in confusion before turning to Carisi.
Carisi burst out laughing at Buchanan, "She's right, John. Shoulda knocked."
Amanda slammed her locker shut, eager to be out of the swat gear. Their bust had been a hit but and while the excitement had died down, she was not looking forward to the paperwork that followed such a day. She thought about texting Sienna that it was going to be a long night for her at the precinct but panicked when she couldn't find her phone. Usually, she left it in her pocket.
She made her way through the bullpen, frantically looking all over her desk when she made it. Where the hell had it gone?
"Amanda? Is this your phone?" Liv yelled from her office as she sat down at her own desk. "Looks like it's been going off."
Rollins sighed in relief as she walked into her Captain's office.
"Sorry, it must have fallen out of my pocket when we were in here." She unlocked the phone and widened her eyes at the number of texts.
"Six texts from Carisi, two calls from him, and 11 texts and calls from Sienna," Rollins said aloud.
Benson's face twisted in confusion as she looked at her own phone.
"Nothing from him for me. Probably not case-related. Shut the door and call him back."
"I'm gonna call Sienna first-" Her words were interrupted when her phone lit up again with Carisi's number. She answered, putting the phone on speaker so Liv could tune in.
"Hey Carisi." Amanda said, "I was just about to call you-"
"Hey, I have Jesse with me."
"Jesse is with you? Like at your office? Where the hell is-" Rollins started but Carisi cut her off.
"Sienna had a family emergency. She called me when she couldn't get a hold of you. I went and got Jesse a while ago. She's sitting her coloring and teaching Buchanan a lesson or two. Guy is really re-evaluating his career choices." Sonny laughed at the end.
Rollins laughed, both in relief and in the scenario of Jesse Rollin's schooling a big, bad defense attorney like Buchanan.
"I'm sorry. Thank you for getting her. I'll come and-"
"Hey, it's no issue. Just didn't want you bustin' Sienna's chops. Her mom got into an accident earlier and I told her to go. I already talked to Langley down at the church and she's keeping Billie for a while longer. " Carisi said.
Amanda looked to Benson who simply waved her hand. She understood.
"Alright, Carisi. I'm on my way down there." Amanda said, taking in the plethora of action that happened in the short few hours they had been away. She hung up, sighing.
"I'll take the paperwork home with me-"
"Amanda, the paperwork will be there in the morning." Liv said, looking up, "Go get Jesse and take her home. Take Carisi while you're at it. He's been working a lot of overtime since the McLaren case is about to start." She waved Amanda off with a set of ringed fingers and a sly grin.
"Uncle Sonny, I made you a color page. Momma said your office was ugly so I have to help you make it pretty." Jesse announced, finishing the final touches on her crayon art. She stared at it proudly.
"Ugly, huh? Well then, Jess, what did you make me to make it look better?" Sonny asked, putting his pen down and reaching his hand over his keyboard expectantly. His goddaughter happily obliged by setting the paper in his hand.
It was an explosion of color and flowers, which made sense considering she seemed to have every crayon in the 24 pack spilled out on the edge of his desk.
"It's beautiful, Jess. You're a real artist. I'm gonna have you sign it for me so I can sell it on the internet one day. You know, when you're big and famous." Carisi said, smiling. He reached into his drawer, finding a black sharpie marker to mark and date the drawing. He handed it back to Jesse who scribbled her 'famous artist signature' in the corner.
"Pick a spot on the wall and we'll put it up." He said.
"You wouldn't really sell it on the internet, would you Uncle Sonny?"
"Only if you make millions, kiddo." He ruffled her hair and handed her two small pieces of scotch tape.
"Hey, is Dominick back in his office?" Amanda asked Caroline, looking down at her phone. With the entirety of her luck, her phone died on the trek to One Hogan Place. She managed to get a text sent to Sienna before the beeping alerted her of a dying battery.
"Yes! Go ahead back, Detective Rollins. He blocked off everyone except you. He's got his daughter back there. Such a cute thing." Caroline raved.
"His daughter, huh? I know she's cute. She gets that from me." Rollins laughed, not bothering to correct the woman. She assumed Carisi hadn't either. Suddenly, she knew this was going to become a game. How long could they convince Carisi's assistant that he had kids? She smiled to herself, eager to share the joke with Sonny, as she walked back to her office.
Most of the desks were deserted, ADAs opting to take the rest of their work home with them. She scooted down the narrow hallway before stopping. She could see the thick ponytail of Vanessa Hadid standing next to Carisi, just outside of his office.
"Alright, Jury Selection at 9:00 am. We're in good shape, I think." Her voice was loud but eager. It was something Amanda had never heard. She was only used to Hadid berating Carisi, but it had been a while since she'd seen her. Carisi had grown into the ADA shoes he was trying to fill since then.
Hadid turned her head and saw Amanda lingering in the hallway. She offered her a gentle smile before turning back to Sonny's office.
"Bye Jesse. It was so good to meet you." Vanessa smiled before turning back.
"Detective Rollins. Have a good night." She said as she passed by.
Once Carisi's boss was out of sight, Amanda released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She sincerely hoped Jesse hadn't caused Carisi any trouble in the afternoon she had been with him. She knocked on the door before popping her head into the room.
"Momma!" Jesse called causing Carisi to look up from the pile of papers in front of him. Her daughter jumped out of the wooden chair and wrapped her arms around her mother's leg.
"Hey baby!" Amanda said, grinning at Jesse, "Did you have a nice day?"
Jesse launched into a tale of her day starting from Frannie licking her first thing in the morning to Uncle Sonny promising her ice cream before dinner if she was good.
"And I made Uncle Sonny a picture."
"Yeah, we put it up over there to make the office less ugly." Carisi deadpanned, raising a brow at his former partner.
A flash of red blushed across Amanda's face when she realized Jesse had spilled the beans.
"It could use a coat of paint," Amanda said honestly. She flashed a smile at Carisi.
He rolled his eyes and laughed.
"Jesse, why don't you go ask Ms. Caroline for some candy at her desk? I'm sure she has some." Sonny said.
She looked to her mother for approval who only nodded. "It's okay, we'll watch you."
Eager for a treat, Jesse ran out of the office in the direction of Caroline's desk.
"Sienna's mom got in an accident. She called me right after lunch. I knew you guys had a bust this afternoon." Carisi stood and started explaining.
"No, it's absolutely okay. I talked to Sienna on the way over here. Her mom is in surgery. Said she got there just in time to see her off. Thanks to somebody." Amanda's eyes were soft when she looked at Carisi.
"Glad to know she made it," Carisi said, giving Amanda a small smile. She stepped into the office, moving closer to him. She stopped when she was on the other side of his desk, looking up at him.
"Seriously, thank you, Dominick." She said, nervously looking down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the framed photo on the corner of his desk. Amanda recognized it immediately because she had the same printed photo on her desk back at the precinct. She turned to stare at it but stopped herself before Sonny could notice.
Warmth filled her chest as she thought about the man in front of her, a man that left work to take care of her daughter and gave her nanny forty bucks so she could make it to the hospital to bid her mother good luck as she went into surgery, a man that looked out for her in every possible way a man should, a friend should.
It was everything he'd done for her and for her girls in the past years, how close they'd become since he'd left the squad. She feared once she'd lose him after his shift to Assistant District Attorney and he proved himself to her to make sure they wouldn't.
She did something she should have done at a hotel in West Virginia, something she should have done on New Years Eve, something she should have done when he held her in an elevator after risking his entire career to make sure she was safe.
It was something she should have done in the kitchen when he made them dinner on a random night of the week.
"Come on, Rollins. She was perfectly fine. You know it's not a big deal aside from my whole office now thinking I have a ki-" He started, looking down at her.
She looked up at him, reaching on her tippy toes, mentally scoffing at her choice to wear boots with little heel in them before pressing her lips to his. She held her position for a moment, too afraid to back out and look at him, too fearful she'd made a mistake and just risked everything.
Her worry and fear melted away as soon as his arms wound around her waist, pulling her towards him. He kissed her back with fruitful passion, their lips moving together in a soft, gentle motion. Too soon, they broke apart. Amanda could feel his smile underneath her lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into his light blue eyes.
"If that was just for babysitting Jesse then…" He said, smiling at her. She laughed, a stupid grin plastered to her face. She wished they could stay in their little bubble for a while longer but Jesse's approaching sneakers echoed off the laminate flooring. Carisi unwound his arms from her waist and took a step away, moving back towards his chair.
"Momma, I got lots of candy!" Jesse squealed coming back into the office.
"Did you tell Caroline thank you, Jess?" Carisi asked. He started packing up papers into his leather briefcase.
"And please!" Jesse exclaimed.
"I suppose you'd been good then." He said, looking over at Amanda.
"Does that mean we can get ice cream?" Jesse asked.
"If you share some of that candy, we can talk about it. Uncle Sonny is going to come with us and make us spaghetti. We're going to shop and pick up Billie on the way home." Rollins said, holding her hand out. Jesse obliged, dumping several pieces of candy into her mother's hand. She turned to Carisi who was staring at her in confusion or wonder, she couldn't really decipher it.
"Sorry, you're coming home with us. Liv's orders. I can't do pizza again and I think we need to talk." Rollins said softly. Sonny sealed his briefcase before reaching over to grab a wrapped piece of candy from her hand.
"Sweet."