Despite being called to the precinct, the rest of Sophia's day at The Watering Can went by quickly, and the next thing she knew, she was clocking out and arriving home.
"Hi, mama!" Melissa chirped, running over and hugging Sophia around the waist. "I love you!"
"I love you, too." Sophia patted her daughter on the hand. "Will you let me go so I can put my things away?"
"Okay!" she chirped before she skipped away, calling for Noah.
Once she put her things away, Sophia headed over to the dining table, where she found Alex perusing a real estate website. Olivia was in the kitchen, making dinner. Sophia sat down at the table.
"Hey, Sophia!" Alex greeted her, closing the lid of her laptop and looking across the table to her. "How was the rest of work?"
"Refreshingly normal, but busy—turns out that all of the projects we were working on today were for the Rollins' gala tonight."
Olivia left the kitchen and hugged Sophia. "How fun. Will you go change and encourage Melissa and Noah to wash their hands for dinner?"
"Sure, but why are we eating so early?"
"Because we are expecting Jesse Rollins at six-thirty. Alex and I are going to look after her while Amanda and Dominick go to the gala. Melissa and Noah just don't know yet."
"Got it." Sophia bobbed her head. "Off I go."
After dinner, Melissa had an epiphany.
"We ate early!"
Sophia nodded. "Yes, we did."
"How come?"
"Because Cousin Jesse is coming, and my mamas are going to watch her while I go out with Casey!"
"Who is Cousin Jesse?" Melissa asked blankly.
Sophia heard the question, but it came out in French. This caused both Olivia and Alex to stare in surprise.
"You two speak French?" Olivia asked.
"We speak five languages between us."
"Which?"
"English, French, Spanish, Italian, and ASL, because in this town, you just never know."
"Good point. I speak those, too, actually. Alex is fluent in French."
Not wanting to be left out, Alex interjected, "Melissa remembers it all?"
"Oh, yes. We spend a lot of time together, and she loves to learn. I'm pretty sure she has a photographic memory, too." Sophia explained. "She just 'changes lanes' when she's confused—it's like a nervous habit."
She turned back to her daughter.
"Do you remember Amanda? She's from Nana Olivia's work, and we met her over the weekend."
Melissa, thought about it, but soon brightened.
"I remember her!" she cried, remembering to switch back to English.
"Good girl." Sophia praised. "Today I found out that Amanda is my big sister."
Melissa's mouth dropped open slightly in astonishment.
"Amanda has a baby girl named Jesse, and that means that she's your cousin. Do you understand?"
Melissa nodded, and this time, she found her voice. "Yep! Jesse is coming here?"
"That's right! We ate early so that I have time to get ready to go, and so you and Noah have extra time to play with Jesse!"
"Oh! Got it!"
"I'm glad. Run along, now."
Melissa just hesitated, furrowing her brow.
"What is it?" Sophia asked gently.
Melissa mimicked holding a phone horizontally. "Can we call Casey?"
"Sure, sweetie." Sophia stood from her spot at the dining table and beckoned for Melissa to follow her to the living room. "Do you miss her?"
"Yeah…"
They sat together on the couch, and Sophia dug her phone out of her pocket.
"Well, fret not, Melissa." Sophia opened to FaceTime app on her phone and selected Casey's number. "I'm calling her right now, and we'll see her!"
No sooner were the words out of her mouth, then Casey picked up and her face was filling their screen.
"Hey, you!" Casey greeted Sophia. "Couldn't wait?"
Sophia smirked. "More like my Mini-Me was pining for you and wanted to say hello."
Sophia handed the phone to Melissa and then proceeded to turn to butter as her loved ones interacted.
"Hey, sweet pea!" Casey cooed to the toddler. "How are you?"
"I'm happy, but I miss you."
"I miss you, too, baby, but guess what?"
"What?" Melissa asked innocently.
"I'm coming to your house later to pick mommy up for a date, and I'll see you then!"
"Before bed?"
"Yes, baby. Before bed.
Melissa exhaled noisily, in relief. "Okay! Love you, mama!"
Casey's heart caught in her throat at the term of endearment, but she took it in stride. "I love you, too. Will you give the phone back to mommy now?"
"Okay!"
Melissa deposited the phone into Sophia's outstretched hands and wandered off to go look at a book. Aware of Olivia and Alex watching—they had heard Melissa's 'mama' comment and paused to see Sophia's reaction—Sophia got up quickly and headed to her bedroom, not speaking again until there was a closed door between her and the rest of the family.
"Wow!" she said, holding the phone out so Casey could see her. "I knew Melissa cares about you, but I didn't know it was enough to call you mama…"
"I don't mind it. I like hearing someone call me that, and I guess it's practice for when her siblings are here." Casey said thoughtfully. "It's nice that she thinks of me that way. It makes us all a family."
Sophia smiled. "I can't wait until it's forever with you, Red. Forever with you sounds like a perfect ending.
"I feel the same way. I wish I could just hold you and Sophia right now. I just want to hold you both."
At that, Sophia sighed blissfully; Casey gave amazing hugs. "You know, I love Olivia and Alex, and I love getting to know Noah, but…"
Casey arched an eyebrow. "You're not jazzed about living with your parents and your baby brother while in your twenties?"
"Bingo. How old were you when you moved out?"
"Sixteen."
Her answer had been so casual that all Sophia could say was, "Come again?!"
"It's another story for another day…"
Casey's words trailed off, and she looked like she was becoming lost in thought.
"Are you okay?" Sophia asked gently.
Casey nodded. "We'll talk about it later, babe, but I promise I'm fine. Are you working tomorrow?"
"Just for a few hours. How come?"
"I'm officially inviting you and Melissa over for dinner tomorrow night. Plus, I'm sure that you want some quiet, even if it's just for a few hours."
Beyond the wall, Sophia heard what sounded like a block tower falling, and it was quickly followed by Noah's extremely delighted giggles.
"You're not wrong."
"Then come tomorrow at seven. Melissa can play or look at books, and you can tell me about your day while I make dinner."
Sophia's heart melted at how domestic it all sounded. She'd never had anything like that with Gunner, even before they found out they were going to be parents.
"How does that sound?"
"So perfect." Sophia smiled lovingly at her girlfriend. "I love you so much. See you in a little while."
Casey blew her a kiss. "I love you, too. See you soon."
After charging her phone and taking a shower, Sophia saw that she still had time before she had to get ready, so she put on some lounging clothes and headed out into what felt like a very crowded living room. No sooner had she arrived, though, than the doorbell rang.
Quickly crossing the room to the front door, Olivia said, "I've got it!"
She opened the door to find Carisi standing before her, pushing Jesse in her stroller.
"Come in!" Olivia held the door open wider and stood aside. "Come in!"
When Olivia closed the door behind their guests, Jesse noticed her immediately and reached for her. Olivia obliged the baby by undoing her stroller buckle and sweeping her into her arms.
"Hi, baby girl! You're going to hang out here tonight!"
Jesse just giggled cutely and sank into a hug that Olivia gave her. If she was with someone she loved, she was happy.
Olivia turned to Carisi. "Anything Alex and I should know?"
"Jesse just ate and she's dressed for bed. She should fall asleep soon, but if she wakes up, there's a bottle in there." Carisi pointed to the bottom compartment of the stroller where a brightly-colored diaper bag and a few other of her belongings could be seen. "There's toys, too."
Olivia had the ability to read her squad members like books because she just knew them all so well, and today, Carisi was no exception. After passing Jesse to Sophia, who was more than glad to take her, Olivia pulled Carisi to the side.
"You are squirrelly. What are you thinking?"
He answered, but his reply came so fast, that only one word was intelligible.
"Slow down, buddy." Olivia coached. "All I heard there was Amanda's name. What about her?"
"I want to propose to her."
Feeling something like motherly pride, Olivia hugged him. "Oh, that's wonderful! Do you know when you want to pop the question?"
"No, but I've been thinking about this for a long time. She's my best friend and the absolute love of my life. I'd do anything for her."
Olivia grinned as she remembered how Amanda had said almost the exact same thing about Carisi earlier, back in her office.
"You two would make a very beautiful married couple," she said sincerely. "But you really should be having this chat with Benoît and Beth Anne."
"I know, I know…" Carisi sighed.
"I'm really glad you told me, so chin up. I'm proud of you." she patted him affectionately on the cheek. "I'll have you know, though, that Beth Anne thinks well of you."
This was news to Carisi, and he was taken aback. "Really?"
Olivia nodded. "Uh-huh. She told me on her last visit that even though her family's history with our squad is 'colorful,' she still appreciates us for helping her daughters out whenever there's trouble. She said she's grateful to me for being a better mother to Amanda than she's been, and she said likes the whole squad, but you're her favorite."
Now Carisi was just feeling astonished. "She barely talks to me when she rolls through here—why am I her favorite?"
"It's because you're protective of Amanda, and you're the only guy from the SVU or associated with it who hasn't bailed on her."
"Oh, I could never leave Amanda for anything or anyone, and I fell in love with her long before Jesse even happened. I even love Jesse like she's mine."
"I'm so proud of you, Dominick." Olivia said again. "You just carry that confidence with you to the gala, and you talk to Amanda's parents—things will go great."
"Do you really think so?"
"Yes, I do." Olivia nodded. "One step at a time, though: first, go say goodbye to your daughter, and then go home to Amanda and kiss her, alright?"
"Okay."
Olivia watched as Carisi said goodbye to Jesse and then leave quietly, as she became distracted. When he was gone, Olivia checked the time and saw that Sophia needed to get ready for her date.
"Kid," she said as she approached her. "You need to get ready to go, too."
Sophia was on the couch, and Jesse was curled up against her, cooing to herself as she drifted off to sleep.
"I would love to start, but Jesse is blissed out and on her way to Snoozeville. This is like holding a sleeping cat."
Very carefully, Olivia took Jesse into her arms and then pulled Sophia to her feet. The pregnant woman stumbled slightly, but Olivia caught her.
"You okay?"
Sophia nodded and touched a hand to the swell in her middle. "I'm fine, but this kid gives me crazy vertigo, mom. Melissa was worse."
"You gave me crazy vertigo, too—for awhile, I thought you were going to be a boy, that's how bad it was for me—so I totally understand that."
"Did I give you anything else?"
"Ten extra days in my body and twenty-four hours of labor."
Sophia blanched. "Melissa was three days early, and she put me through twelve hours of labor."
Nearby, Alex was on the floor, playing with Melissa and Noah. When she heard Olivia and Sophia comparing notes, she shuddered and pointed to her own pregnant middle.
"I just hope that this kid isn't behooved to give me any more drama than he or she already has been. I also hope that I don't have a ridiculously long labor."
"Wishful thinking, Allie," laughed Olivia. "But should anything like that happen, I'll be at your side the whole time."
Olivia turned to Sophia.
"And you, my friend, really have to scoot your behind along."
"Right." Sophia remembered.
"And I'll come check on you in awhile."
"But—"
"Those are for sitting! Scoot!"
Giggling, Sophia hurried away.
