This is kind of long, but I hope you guys still like it!
When Sophia was dressed in comfortable clothes again, she joined Casey at the kitchen table, and it was to see two steaming mugs of tea, the proper fixings, and a tray of heated cheese biscuits. There were also a file folder, notepad, and pens on the table. They were in for a long chat.
"You ready to talk now?" Casey asked.
"I am." Sophia began making her tea to her preference. "Let's begin."
They sat together, and Casey opened the folder, moving it to where Sophia could see it.
"I heard that you met the Langans in Central Park, all on your own?"
Sophia bobbed her head. "Trevor and Maisie, and their kids—Eloise and Arjan. Eloise is Melissa's age."
"Good to know." Casey said sincerely. "Did you know that Trevor was basically one of SVU's top 'archenemies,' or whatever for over a decade?"
"Trevor described it more as 'butting heads,' but he wasn't too detailed because Melissa, Eloise, and Arjan were all in earshot. What happened that made him stop being the squad's rival?"
"This is what I've read from files, but Olivia was framed—very convincingly—for murder, even though she was knocked out of commission with influenza."
Immediately, Sophia was bewildered. "What?!"
"It's what happened, but stay with me—Trevor was hired to represent Olivia, and long story short, even though they wanted to kill each other at the beginning, he got her off of the the charges, completely."
"Has he been a friend of the squad ever since?"
"Yes, and he even represented Noah, when Olivia was in the final stages of adopting him. Trevor also figured out where you and Amanda were, today."
"Oh, my God…"
"Trevor is also responsible for drawing up these papers." Casey waved a hand over the folder in indication. "These documents will ensure that you and I will have custody over each other's children. Do you understand what that means?"
"I do." Sophia nodded. "You're already baby boy's mother, but this means that I would, by law, be his mother, too."
"Yes." Casey said. "And I would lawfully be mother to baby girl, and Melissa. This also covers any future kids that we have, or even adopt, should the opportunity arise."
"And Trevor gave these papers to you while Amanda and I were still gone?" Sophia asked, connecting the dots.
"He did, and I've already signed everything where I need to."
"Is there anything that I need to know before I sign it?"
Casey shook her head. "There's a lot of Legalese, but no fine print that I saw. I read it over while you were out, to make sure."
Sophia picked up one of the pens and uncapped it. "Where do I sign?"
After Sophia had signed, initialed, and dated all of the right places, Casey put everything to the side.
"Wait. Where are you going?" she said in surprise when Sophia got up.
"One moment."
Sophia was mentally preparing herself to tell Casey about her twin theory, and about the Rollins babies, but she needed something to do with her hands. Her knitting bag and its contents would help.
"Knitting, huh?" Casey said when Sophia returned and began working on what looked like a blanket. "This must be serious."
"Oh, it is, but first—what are you going to do with those documents? I imagine they're time-sensitive."
"They are. I'm going to hire a messenger to take them over to Trevor's office building when I get to my own office in the morning."
"That's good." Sophia sat back in her chair and picked up the pace on her knitting. "Red, how old were you when Savannah was born?"
"I was fourteen, and in grade nine." Casey recalled.
"What happened when Violet told you all that Savannah was on the way?"
"Everyone but me freaked out."
"Really?"
Casey nodded. "There's a year between Tiffany and I, but even then, she acted a lot older because she wouldn't willingly participate in pranks with Junior, Ellington, Beatrix, or Virginia."
"From what I've seen around the shop, she still doesn't."
"Definitely true. Tiffany also never took too kindly to me preferring Captain America comics and Hardy Boys novels, over Wonder Woman and Nancy Drew; those were what she liked." Casey took a sip of her tea and swallowed. "There's also the five years between Junior, Ellington, and I, and the four that Beatrix and Virginia have up on me."
Sophia did the math. "Meaning that that would have put them as freshmen in college, and seniors in high school when Savannah was born?"
"Correct—they were grossed our that our parents still had sex, and Tiffany had a drama queen meltdown; she was famous for those, back in the day."
Sophia shivered. "What did you do?"
"I was just elated, because it meant that I wasn't the youngest anymore."
"That's quite mature."
Casey nodded. "I was always the levelheaded one, even though I was the youngest then. These days, I'm somewhere in the middle."
"Hey, how old were you when Abby was born?"
"Twenty-eight. I remember it very well because she was born while I was in the hospital, recovering from being attacked."
"That part of your life must be burned into your brain." Sophia said sympathetically.
"It is. My legs were battered, and I couldn't stand without support for awhile, but I'd been making progress. It just wasn't enough process to be allowed to be out in the waiting room with my family."
"Then what happened when you met Savannah for the first time?"
"Senior brought her and Violet to my room, and they put Abby on my chest. She had been fussing, but when I started talking to her, she stopped because she liked listening to me."
"That's really special."
Casey nodded. "My parents have a framed picture from that moment in their bedroom. What's got you curious about all this? You've already got Noah, and the baby on the way as younger siblings."
"Olivia and Alex need to hurry up and find out what they're having so they can give that kid a name already…"
"I totally agree, but back to the point: besides the little kids, you've also got Amanda and Kim as older siblings. That makes you smack dab in the middle."
"Something I totally don't mind because six months ago, I thought I was an only child."
Sophia fell silent again, just processing the events of the day again.
It was a long few moments before she spoke.
"Beth Anne dropped a major bomb on us: she's pregnant."
"Woah."
"Exactly—Amanda, Kim, and I really didn't see it coming, but my sisters were very dramatic about it."
Casey laughed at the thought, and said, "How are you, though?"
Sophia beamed. "I'm positively ecstatic."
"Fantastic. And was I right about Amanda's parents considering you as one of their children?"
"Yes, actually, and Beth Anne made a point to tell me they included me because they think of me as one of their children."
"Because you're biologically related to Amanda and Kim?"
"Yes. She also says she feels responsible for me because if she'd never let my dad go, Olivia wouldn't have ever met him… and I wouldn't even exist."
"She isn't wrong."
Sophia nodded and counted the stitches in the row she was working on. "I also left that dinner with two new surrogate parents."
"Beth Anne and Benoît?"
"Uh-huh, and they both love me as much as they love Amanda and Kim."
"Awww. It sounds like there's a lot of love in the family." Casey put her hands on her middle as she felt the baby stretch out. "You've got another mother, a father, and three new siblings. Adding Noah and the baby to that, that's five more siblings than you had last year."
Remembering the other part of the bombshell, Sophia laughed. "Actually, it's more like I have seven other siblings."
"I beg your pardon? That means Beth Anne would have to be carrying triplets."
"Well, she is."
Casey was taken aback. "Oh, my goodness. How are she and Benoît?"
"Dazed, but very happy because even it was a surprise, they really want this. They're also pleased that all three of their daughters are on board."
"How are Amanda and Kim? I remember when we found out that Abby was on the way, we didn't believe mom until she showed us a sonogram."
"Amanda and Kim both spat their drinks out at first, but then they warmed up to it because I did."
"Good. When is Beth Anne due?"
"In the spring, and she's totally showing."
Casey leaned back in her seat and glided her hand over middle. "I can fathom twins, easily because half of my siblings are twins, but I don't think I could fathom three babies on the inside at the same time."
Sophia said nothing to this, her mind immediately back to suspicions about her own womb, and she picked the pace on her knitting. Of course, Casey noticed.
"Okay, what?" she said.
"Casey, I found out that twins run in my family, specifically on the part of the family tree belonging to my dad. So does red hair. Beth Anne told me so."
"Wow. Did finding out about the triplets make you curious?"
"More like they confirmed something for me."
Casey reached over and palmed Sophia's belly, just wanting to touch it for a moment. "Do you think that there could be more than one baby in there?"
Sophia sighed blissfully at the soft pressure Casey's hand there. The baby seemed to like it, too, because she immediately pressed against Sophia, in effort to get close to her other mother.
"Yes, I do think I haven't brought it up because things have been so crazy."
"I don't blame you." Casey sat back in her chair again. "Things are somewhat slower, so we're talking about it now. You weren't this big when you carried Melissa, were you?"
"Not at this point, no." Sophia put her knitting aside and pulled back her shirt. "What if there are twins in there?"
"Then that's another kid of ours to love and raise and give kisses and hugs to. We could also ask my parents for tips on raising twin babies." Casey gave the bump a few kisses. "We're in this together, Sophia. I love you, and I would never leave you high and dry over anything."
"For better or for worse, you'll be my wife… and I'll be yours."
"That's right." Casey smiled at her. "Now—who was the redhead in your family? I was going to ask you if it was on Olivia's side because I did Melissa's hair yesterday, and hand to God, I swear it's going from brown to red."
"Wow." Sophia remarked, fixing her shirt. "And it was my Great Aunt Scarlett who was the redhead. Apparently, Beth Anne met my dad when they were very young, and she met a number of the Rollins folk back then. She told me a lot tonight during a one-on-one chat, and she even said that Great Aunt Scarlett had the brightest red hair ever."
"Wow. Too bad you don't have pictures."
"Before I left The Plaza, Beth Anne told me that she would send some next week."
Casey gave an approving nod. "And you said Scarlett was a great aunt; whose sister was she?"
"Nana Coraline's—they were identical twins."
"Oh, boy." Casey laughed nervously. "Was Nana Coraline your father's mother?"
"Yes, and she passed from cancer in the months before Amanda was born. Great Aunt Scarlett, though, she only passed last year."
"How old was she?"
"One hundred."
Casey shook her head in wonder. "So your genes are stacked quite well, even though most of the odds are astronomical—you could be carrying twin redheads, and you could live to a very old age. Did you learn anything about Beth Anne's family?"
"No. They didn't really come up, but I'm sure they will." Sophia picked her knitting back up and continued on with her project. "She invited us to their place in Georgia next year: they have a mansion down there."
"That's neat. I wonder if Olivia knows."
"Probably not. Beth Anne plays it all close to the vest, and I imagine Amanda does, too—the saying 'like mother, like daughter' applies to those two."
Sophia arched her back and blew out a breath as the baby changed positions in a random, overly dramatic way.
"Red, there's another thing that we should talk about tonight."
"The babies' names?" Casey guessed.
"Yes. I'm down for just about anything—my only personal stipulation is that they have to be easy to spell. When I was a kid, my spelling skills were atrocious."
"Hey, you're preaching to the choir. It took me a long time to understand the concept of double letters in a name or a word when I was learning how to read. Let's just say that four older patient siblings was a wonderful asset to have."
"That's cute. Does that also mean that your Cassandra was short an s for awhile?"
"Sadly, so." Casey sighed. "But easy to spell names are a go. Anything else?"
"Not that I can think of. Surely you've got a preference, though."
For some reason, Casey was blushing now.
"What?" Sophia asked, laughing.
"I think it would would be nice if we could somehow incorporate our parents' names into what we give the children."
Sophia took this immediately. "I vote middle names, though, because of Junior, Senior, and Trip."
At this last person, she meant Junior's firstborn son, also named Augustín Ladislav Novak. On paper, he was called Augustín III, but Trip was a convenient nickname that he went by.
"Of course, but this means that we'll have to double up on middle names for the girls, if we're going to get Violet, Olivia, Alex, and some version of Beth Anne's name."
"That's okay." Sophia took the notepad and the pen, and prepared to write. "What should we name baby boy?"
"I like Henry."
Sophia smirked at how fast Casey had said this. "Been sitting on that for awhile, huh?"
"I have." she admitted.
"I like it, too. What does it mean?"
"Estate ruler."
"Perfect—then baby boy will be Henry Augustín." Sophia wrote the name down.
"Wait." Casey said. "What does Benoît mean?"
"Blessed. You want to use his name?"
"He does care about you, and Benoît is pleasant to say."
Sophia wrote the full name down and read it aloud. "Henry Augustín Benoît Benson. Keeper?"
"Yes. That's one kid down, and two to go." Sophia separated the page into columns to keep track. "For the girls, should we stick to old fashioned names, like Melissa?"
"As long as they're cute, and not too outdated."
Casey agreed to this, and they were soon poring over baby name sites on their laptops.
After awhile—
"What about Agnes?" Casey suggested. "It means pure."
Sophia perked up; the previous name they'd tried had fallen woefully short. She wrote it down in the column for girl names… which was already quite long.
"That's adorable—Agnes Benson." she tried the name out. "What about middle names?"
"Olivia Violet."
Sophia wrote the name down on the paper and read it. "Agnes Olivia Violet Benson. It's perfect. What about Charlotte for a girl?"
"No."
Casey's response had been short, and to the point. Sophia arched an eyebrow at her girlfriend.
"What's the story behind that tone, Red?"
"A few years before I met Olivia, I was in a bad relationship. Things were great for awhile, and we were even engaged, too."
Sophia remembered a conversation she'd had with Olivia about Casey having been in a bad way once, with a bad person. She hadn't given details, but now Casey was talking about it, so she just chose to listen.
"Something went wrong somewhere along the way, in his mind, and he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He also hit me—a lot."
Casey rolled up her left sleeve and pointed to a jagged scar near the inside of her elbow.
"We were six months out from the wedding, and one night, I came to him to say that I was done and out. I caught a bottle he threw at me, but it cost me eighteen stitches and a blood transfusion from Tiffany."
Sophia winced. "I'm really sorry, Cassandra. Was his name Charlie, or something?"
"Yeah." Casey fixed her sleeve and kissed Sophia. "It was a long time ago, and I healed from it enough to let you in. I couldn't be happier."
Sophia gave Casey's hand an affectionate squeeze. "All of this about Charlie is to say that names like Charlotte, and anything related to it are off the table?"
"Yes, and thank you for understanding." Casey looked back at her laptop screen, reading through more names, away from the letter c. "Lover, what about Esme?"
"That's cute, and we could call her Ez for short. What does it mean?"
Casey checked. "It means esteemed."
"Then Esme is totally in." Sophia decided.
"What will dear Esme's full name be?"
Sophia thought about it and wrote it out. "How about Esme Alexandra Beth Benson?"
Casey melted at the sound. "That's perfect."
Before she could say anything else, though, her stomach rumbled audibly. Sophia heard it and laughed.
"And just like that—on to the next thing." Sophia stood and stretched her arms, legs, and back. "Do we still have ingredients for empanadas?"
"Yes." Casey watched Sophia go around the table and start rifling through the fridge. "Aren't you tired, though? The last twenty-four hours and change must have been really dramatic for you."
"They were," Sophia confessed. "But it's over now, and I feel better because I have the family I never thought I'd have, as well as members of the NYPD, a pack of assorted attorneys, and even a judge who dropped everything to find us today."
She turned to face Casey, her arms full of the ingredients needed for their meal, and closed the refrigerator door with her foot.
"I also get to come home to you, and even sleep with you at night. That gives me a lot of peace, you know." Sophia spread everything out on the counter. "I also slept hard for four hours, which works out well because I'm hungry again—even though I just ate fine, fancy food at The Plaza—and I'm wide awake."
Casey caved, thoroughly convinced. She stood, too, and put her hair in a bun with a hair tie that had been in her shirt pocket.
She then asked a question that she asked often—it was their emotional security, and it was always asked with a lot of love. Sophia's answer was always the same, and always with an equal amount of love.
"Have I ever told you how much I love you, Sophia Rose?"
"Only every single day." Sophia blew her a kiss. "Come help me?"
"You bet." Casey joined her at the counter. "Anything in particular that I should make?"
Sophia flashed her a cheeky grin. "I heard through the grapevine that you make awesome scalloped potatoes, and also ham and apple salad. We do have the ingredients for all of that, so…"
Casey sighed. "You were alone with Ellington and Beatrix again, weren't you?"
"I was, and we talked about food, but they told me to ask you about the French Horn Incident."
"I was only seven, and they were babysitting!"
Sophia put her hands on her hips. "But who the hell trips over a stationary French horn, and then breaks their leg?"
"We were playing Blind Man's Bluff, and it was Virginia's fault, really!"
"But I thought she wasn't there, from what they said?"
"But it was Virginia's tuba that had been left out." Casey elaborated. "She got in so much trouble, and to this day, I never heard her say so many Hail Marys before."
"What? Tell me everything!"
And Casey did.
