Juice was sitting on a swing, slowly moving his feet forward and backward. His eyes were aimed at the letter which he had found in his mailbox.

Dear brother,

I'm sorry for asking mom to bring you Mikey. Believe me when I say I didn't see another possibility. I don't know what your life looks like those days, maybe you even have a family yourself. But I know Mikey will be safe around you – and I don't need to explain to you why he wouldn't be safe with mom. I'm sorry for burdening you with my shit. I hope that you're well and happy.

I miss you, Juan. There are many things I'd like to say to you, but I can't find the right words yet. I hope we can restore our relationship once I'm out again.

I love you,
Suzie

Juice glanced up and looked around the playground. Mikey rushed down a slide, clumsily landed on the ground and got on his feet again, where after he waddled back to the stairs. Juice blinked his eyes to get rid of the blur. The letter felt so surreal.

Right after he had fled from Queens, they had called each other a few times. In the end he had decided that it was too dangerous for the both of them to stay in contact, and with the promise that he would let her know when things were safe again, she had agreed to drop contact.

He had never fulfilled that promise. His life in Queens had been pushed to the background, the dangers waiting there for him nothing but memories of a dark nightmare. He had never called Suzie – afraid that he would awake old demons. It was a period in his life that was far in the past, but this letter showed him how tough things had been for his sister and now he felt ashamed for neglecting their relationship. He shoved the letter into his pocket, intending to answer it soon – she had written down her contact information on the back. Maybe he could even visit her one day, together with the boy.

"Let's go back," he told Mikey.

One last time his nephew went down the slide, then he ran towards Juice and grabbed his hand. "We're going to eat? I'm hungry." He rubbed his stomach.

Juice lifted the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, I'm sure aunt Lotte made us something delicious."

There was a nasty feeling in his stomach at the mentioning of Lotte's name. Since he had interrupted her phone call, his thoughts were itching inside his head. She had looked like he had walked in on something – or was that just his imagination? Maybe he was getting paranoid. But still... The last time he had ignored his intuition, it had led to Dana's abduction. Again he felt the urge rise to look into Lotte's family, to see if there really was a sister whose existence she had never mentioned. Sure, it could be – he had never told her about his sister either. Even Dana and he had only talked a few times about his family.

But still... Looking into his own girlfriend felt so wrong. Then he would give in to his distrust, to the power Maddox was still holding over him.

Nevertheless the unrest kept gnawing. It had been her suggestion to go to the playground with Mikey. Juice had been too deep in thoughts to have a serious conversation with the kid and he was glad that he knew how to enjoy himself. But had there been a reason that she had wanted them out of the house? Did she want to finish that call?

Suppressing a sigh, he tried to shake off his distrust.

Juice and Mikey walked around the house to the backyard since Juice lacked a key of the house. As soon as he opened the garden door, his eyes widened. The whole garden was filled with people and there were colorful streamers between the trees. The moment the crowd became aware of them, his brothers and a group of croweaters started to cheer. Shyly, Mikey pressed his face against Juice's leg, and he lifted the boy and put him on his hip.

"The hell is this?" he asked overwhelmed.

Lotte made her way through the crowd and kissed his lips. "It's a little welcome home party. For you and for Mikey." Her eyes held his. "And because of our new start, but nobody needs to know that," she whispered.

Juice felt the heat rise to his cheeks. The past two hours he had thought a lot of shitty things about her while she had been organizing this for him. Ashamed, he stroked her back as she turned around and together with Mikey he followed her. He put down the boy around Jax and Opie's kids and felt that he was getting emotional again. He still barely had a hold over his emotions, causing him to take a few deep breaths as he watched how the kids and the other guests showered Mikey with welcome home presents. Every time the boy opened another box, his smile grew.

Juice pressed a kiss to his head and headed inside, walking past the barbecue. Lotte was busy in the kitchen and smiled at him as he neared her.

"So it wasn't your sister who you were calling?" he asked.

"No, I just couldn't come up with a better excuse, I didn't want to tell you that I was calling Kozik to organize a last minute surprise party.

Relief washed over him. On a whim he pushed her against the fridge and pressed her lips on hers. After an intense kiss he leaned with his forehead against hers, feeling immensely grateful.

"I don't know how to thank you, Lotte. For everything you've done for me – and for what you're doing for Mikey now. You're an amazing woman."

Her fingertips brushed the stubble on his cheeks as she looked at him with a warm smile. "The three of us will be alright. I promise you that you will feel happy again, even if you have to take little steps."

He closed his eyes while leaning into her. "I love you," he whispered.

It hurt to admit, even when he knew that his feelings for Lotte didn't change a thing about the love he felt for Dana. He however couldn't deny that Lotte was sweet beyond words and he didn't want to think of the mess his life would have been without her.

As he opened his eyes again, he saw tears in hers. Once more he realized how little he had given her compared to what he had taken from her.

"I love you too," she said softly, her fingertips stroking his cheek as their lips connected again. Tenderly they melted together in a kiss full of hope and gratefulness.