'It's so quiet here.' Amanda and Sonny held hands and walked through the huge garden - the only sounds came from the two little girls running and excitedly screaming in front of them.

'Hmm,' he agreed. 'No wailing sirens at all hours of the day, no heavy traffic, no loud and drunken people underneath your window in the middle of the night…'

'You don't know that, it's daytime right now,' she laughed, but she knew exactly what he meant. It was quiet here - not far from their workplaces in Manhattan, yet a world away.

Jesse ran up to them and pulled Amanda's free hand. 'Momma, this is so cool! We can have a swing in this garden and a slide and a treehouse and a sandpit and… and…'

'It's okay baby girl, we're just looking remember? It's not a done deal yet.'

'But I love it,' the now six-year-old called out.

'She gets that sense of drama from you,' Sonny whispered in Amanda's ear and was treated to a teasing push from her elbow into his side.

'I love it too!' Billie copied who clung to Sonny's legs.

'Let's have another look inside, okay?' He picked up his stepdaughter from the grass and carried her into the living room, where their real estate agent had been waiting for them.

'How do you guys like the garden?'

'It's… it's amazing,' Amanda uttered. 'Everything about this place is just amazing.'

Their agent nodded enthusiastically. 'It's great, isn't it? There aren't many places like this on the market. The neighborhood has recently been rewarded the most family-friendly of Staten Island and there are plenty of schools and daycare centers for you to choose from. 'I've raised my two girls here myself actually, and I can tell you that they loved how close they were to the city, yet had everything here they needed. Which is a nice comfort for the parents too, isn't it?' she smiled, which Amanda dutifully returned.

'We're going to go around the house another time,' Sonny explained to save Amanda from the chatty agent.

The lady agreed. 'It's always good to get a second look at all the rooms once you've seen the whole place.'

Jesse already ran up the stairs as the others followed. 'This will be my room and that one could be Billie's. I can finally have my own room!' She twirled around in her yellow dress while pointing out the size of the biggest bedroom of the house.

Sonny scratched his head and laughed at the sight of her. 'And where will Momma and I sleep?'

That question was something the six-year-old hadn't thought of and she walked back into the hallway. 'Uhm… there, maybe?' She pointed at the smallest room on the first floor.

'Alright, and what about…'

While her girls and Sonny were already talking about who was getting which room, Amanda headed to the bathroom. It was nice. Everything about this house was. It was spacious, very light, and in a quiet neighborhood full of other young families. It was perfect.

'What do 'ya think?'

She turned around and showed him a careful smile. 'It's great. It really is.'

'But…?'

She took a deep breath before answering that one. 'It's just, I don't think we can…'

'Manda, we talked about this. Mom and Dad are more than happy to help out, lend us some of the money for the mortgage. Plus, they've offered to babysit the girls. My sister too. And us living so close to them makes all of that a lot easier.'

'I know and I'm grateful to them, but don't you think it's too much? I mean, being so dependent on others just doesn't sit right with me. I don't know, I'm just…'

'You're used to taking care of you and the girls by yourself. You always have,' he finished for her. 'But you're not alone anymore. You've got me now. And with me comes my whole family I guess,' he added hesitantly, not exactly knowing how she would respond to this.

A sudden wail coming from the other room put an end to their conversation. 'Let's discuss this later, I think it's time for Billie's afternoon nap,' Amanda sighed and Sonny agreed.

'Hey, Bills, what's up?' he asked as soon as he found her in one of the empty bedrooms. He lowered down to sit on one knee and welcomed the youngest Rollins' girl into an embrace.

'I wanna play too. Jesse says I can't,' the three-year-old cried, wetting his blouse with her tears.

'She can't do the backflip yet,' Jesse stated matter of factly while showing off her gymnastic skills in the empty room.

'I think we should go home and let the estate agent know that we get back to her when we've made our decision,' Amanda decided before heading down the stairs. She looked back one more time and was suddenly hit with a sudden realization upon seeing her girls and Sonny - her little family - standing there. Her mind's eye was currently filling with lively pictures. A toddler bed for Billie in one room and a big girls' bed for Jesse in the other room, toys scattered all over the floor and wooden wardrobes painted in her daughters' favorite colors were what she saw. She could imagine her girls playing in the yard while she and Sonny would have a beer out on the porch, making plans for later. She pictured large, family dinners at the kitchen table and a presents-filled tree at Christmas while the fire crackled in the fireplace.

Her grip on the banister tightened as she steadied herself. It suddenly all made sense.

Back home in their - what now felt like cramped - Manhattan apartment, they put Billie down for her afternoon nap. They'd dropped Jesse off at a friend's house for a play date on the way home, which meant it was just the two of them left.

'How did you feel about the house?' Sonny asked as he put two cups on the coffee table and joined Amanda on the sofa.

She sighed before turning her head to look at him. 'It's perfect. It really is.'

That answer softened his features and brought a smile to his face. 'You think so?' There was a sliver of hope in his voice.

'Were you afraid I wouldn't like it?'

'Maybe. I don't know. A little?'

She lowered her head against his chest and took his hand in hers. 'I think I just needed some time to get used to the idea. I mean, I've lived here for years. This is the only home my children have had. It's the only real home I've ever had. I think for me it's just hard to get used to the idea that I'm giving up on all of that.'

He kissed her on the crown of her head. He knew that this wasn't the only reason she'd been hesitant, but he wasn't going there again. The fact that she'd admitted that the house was perfect, lifted a weight off his shoulders. 'We don't have to decide straight away. We can think about it for a little longer, get used to the idea of moving,' he suggested.

'No, you were right before. The whole reason why we're looking at houses in the first place is that this apartment is getting way too small for us four to live in, let alone when the new baby arrives. And if we don't take this offer now, that house will be off the market before we know it. We don't have any more time to waste.' Automatically her free hand moved to her swollen belly and she put it there.

Sonny's hand followed suit and he put his hand on top of hers. Their unborn daughter had something to say too, as he could feel her move inside of her mother's belly. 'Let's sleep one night on it and decide tomorrow morning, okay?'

'But tomorrow is a Sunday?'

'Yeah, but I already checked with the agent and she assured me that we could call her any day of the week.'

She turned her head around just in time to see the enormous grin that had formed on his lips. 'You knew I would cave in, didn't you?'

He laughed and shook his head in denial. 'I only hoped you would,' he assured her. 'When I saw you looking over your shoulder just before we climbed downstairs, I saw that sparkle in your eyes. You could actually see it, couldn't you?'

How he did it, she didn't know, but he had always been able to read her mind. 'I… I did. Yeah. It suddenly was just as clear as day. That house is the place for us.'

'Hmm, yeah I think so too,' he agreed. 'But I just want you to be comfortable with everything before we make such a big decision. It does involve my family and I don't want to push this house on you, we can always look at other places that are more within our budget or…'

She put a finger to his lips. 'Dominick?'

'Hmm?'

'I'm happy as long as I have you and my kids with me. And this house…' She nods her head. 'We shouldn't wait any longer. We should take it. It's the right decision to make.'

'Are you sure? I mean, are you a hundred percent sure?'

'Thousand percent if that's what's needed. Let's make that call.'

He pressed his lips to hers, hard and full of passion.

They were both ready for a new start. Ready for a new chapter of the book they were writing. Together, as a family.