Amanda opened the door to her apartment and let Carisi go in first. While she was exhausted from the difficult Gen Z case, she noticed how defeated he looked. 'Hey, you okay? You did well out there today.' She put a hand on his shoulder which made him turn around.

He grumbled something along the lines of 'yeah, I'm fine,' and after taking off his jacket and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, he went straight into the kitchen. The noise that came from him opening the cupboards and taking out the pots and pans he needed was a bit too loud for Amanda to believe his answer to be genuine.

She let it slide though, knowing fully well that if there was something that was bothering him, he would tell her sooner or later. For now, the best thing to do was to let him blow off steam in the kitchen, while she would look after paying the sitter and checking in on her girls who were already in bed by now.

After seeing out Siena, she turned to her girls' bedroom and observed their sleeping forms, peacefully making the sheets move up and down with each in- and outtake of breath. It was the moment she could finally let all the tension out of her body, knowing that they were safe.

She looked at the stuffed animals surrounding her two daughters and the toys that were scattered around the room. In a few years' time, she would need to have the talk with Jesse, she realised. The talk about social media and how it could influence and affect her. How it could be dangerous if not handled with care. Her mother-instinct told her not to give her daughters a phone with an Internet connection, ever, but she knew she couldn't get out of it. These were the times they were living in and she just had to go with the flow, regardless of the risks that she would expose her children to.

She sat down on the edge of Jesse's bed and planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead. She did the same with Billie. 'Momma loves you,' she whispered before switching on the nightlight and switching off the main light in the bedroom. Leaning against the doorpost, she simply watched them, savoring the moment and the gratitude she felt for her baby girls to the fullest. It was something she occasionally did, especially after finishing up a case that hit close to home for whatever reason. She would do everything to protect them from harm. Do everything in her power to keep them safe. Her girls.

The hand on her shoulder pulled her out of her deep thoughts and led her back to reality.

'Dinner's ready,' Carisi whispered in her ear.

She turned her head and noticed the immense love in his eyes which were focused on Jesse and Billie. She knew he loved them practically just as much as she did like it were his own. And her babies loved him back just as much in return.

Her arms wrapped around his tall body on autopilot and she put her head against his chest. The fact that she could share these moments with him made her weak in the legs and her heart flutter.

Even though he wasn't in the best of moods, Carisi had done his best decorating the table with candles and two glasses of wine. He lifted two plates of spaghetti from the kitchen counter and put them on the table. 'Leftovers from yesterday, but I added some fresh parsley and vegetables to the mix,' he explained.

She took a bite. 'It's delicious.' How could it not? Everyone at SVU knew Dominick Carisi made the best Italian pasta in New York City. And she got to enjoy it on an almost daily basis.

They ate in silence, enjoying each other's presence and reflecting on the past days' events.

Amanda kept an eye on him though, monitoring him, trying to figure out what went through his mind. She worried for him, it wouldn't be the first time he'd struggled with how cases were handled, pulled from right underneath him or leading to unwanted results. The last thing she wanted is for him to burn out.

Her fingertips grazed the bare skin of his arm and she tried to connect by capturing his gaze.

The corners of his mouth curled up into a smile, forced, yet genuine as he looked back.

'You did good today, Dominick.' She gave his arm a gentle squeeze to let him know that she meant it.

He shook his head, didn't want to hear it. 'This time it was luck. If the Rivers brothers and that lady from the jury hadn't contacted each other before the verdict and that tweet hadn't been sent out, we would've lost the case entirely.' He sighed. 'We've lost so many cases lately. Our job is to help people, to help victims to become survivors. My job is to give these people the chance to get a fair trial, to fight for them in the court of law. But I feel that I haven't been doing much of that lately.'

It felt like something got stuck in her throat and she had to swallow a few times to clear it. 'What do you mean? You've been fighting like hell for our victims. Everything that has happened… None of that was your fault, it was out of your hands.' She grabbed the sides of his face and moved closer. 'Dominick, you did everything you could, don't blame this on yourself.'

He nodded but looked down in defeat. 'I know, I know.' He took a deep intake of breath and raised his head.

She caught the powerlessness in his eyes as he continued.

'It's just that I don't think I've ever felt so helpless since taking this job and I'm doubting whether I've made the right choice. I mean, what's the point if you can't help the people you're supposed to help?'

She pulled back from him and a smile of relief - one that confused Carisi - brightened her face. 'I didn't get the chance to tell you earlier, but there was someone who wanted to thank you today.' She relayed Willa's thank you but left out the part where Willa'd said that she could see that Carisi was really into her. She might come back to that part later.

'Ah, c'mon Rollins, you're just saying that to make me feel better.'

'Am certainly not, ask Liv. She heard it too.' She scooched over to sit on his lap and let her hand run through his hair. 'And Willa isn't the only one who you helped and not the only one who's forever grateful to you. Don't you see? Even though we sometimes lose our battles, we can still mean the world to the victims. They do see how hard we fight for them. And that,' she pushed with her finger into his shoulder, 'is exactly what you should keep in mind.'

His eyes narrowed imperceptibly and Amanda almost let out a sigh of relief when she noticed a smile playing at his lips. 'What did I do to deserve you, Amanda Rollins?'

She shrugged, grinning wide. 'Be careful with what you say, Counselor. You might get disappointed.'

'With you? Highly unlikely,' he retorted.

She felt her cheeks starting to blush and relished the feeling of being close to him and his strong arms around her.

'Dessert?' he asked.

'I have something much better,' she replied in a mysterious tone. She smirked and kissed his lips in short pecks. When he locked her lips in a longer, more passionate kiss, she hummed into it. 'Feeling better?' she exclaimed when they'd pulled back for air.

'Much better,' he exhaled.

She pushed back and got up. 'There's more where that came from.' Taking his hand, she let him into her bedroom.