A/N: So I didn't make this explicitly clear in the first chapter but in this story all four of them (Amanda, Sonny, Al, and Billie) have positive blood types. Which means the whole +/- aspect of things doesn't come into play here.
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Mercy Hospital - Monday Evening
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Sonny was eventually able to get Amanda to breathe and settle down. And once she had the couple and Liv made their way back into the waiting room.
As requested by Amanda, Al left after filling in the needed medical information Billie's doctors asked for. She could tell he wanted to stay, but likely left in an attempt to keep things somewhat amicable.
Liv and Velasco had to leave not long after to help out Fin and Muncy, who had gotten hit with a big case. So the couple now sat in the emergency room alone as they waited for word on both girls. And though the uncertainty regarding who Billie's father might be weighed heavily on Amanda, she tried to push it to the back of her mind. Because while she knew it was important for her to look into the situation, Billie making it through surgery and surviving this ordeal was what mattered most at this time and she wasn't going to pursue anything serious, like a test, until she was sure her little girl would be OK.
Amanda looked at her watch. "It's been nearly three hours since we got here. I don't understand what's taking so long for them to come out and tell us something."
Sonny gently rubbed her thigh up and down. "I'm sure we'll be hearin' from Jesse and Billie's doctors any minute now." He said, trying to stay positive. But she could tell that he was also growing more frustrated and concerned as more and more time passed without any news.
Another 10 minutes went by and just as Amanda was about to make her fifth trip to the front desk to ask for an update on Billie and Jesse, the couple saw a female doctor approach them.
"Amanda Rollins?" The young auburn haired woman asked her.
She nodded, stood up and asked, "Are you one of the doctors treating my girls?"
"I'm Dr. Russo and I'm the orthopedic surgeon who operated on Jesse. I want to let you know that everything went well. Surgery took longer than anticipated because her break was more complicated than it initially appeared to be. But I was able to stabilize the fracture and we've put her arm in a temporary splint until the swelling goes down. When it does we'll put a cast on her and Jesse will need to be in that for at least the next 8 weeks. Maybe longer. But her arm should heal completely and will be as good as new soon."
Amanda nodded. "I'm glad to hear Jesse won't have any lasting damage and that her arm is going to be OK." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "And what about Billie? How is she?"
"I unfortunately don't have any details regarding your younger daughter's condition." Dr. Russo informed her.
Amanda closed her eyes and nodded. "OK." She then asked, "Can we see Jess?"
"Of course. She's still a little groggy, but awake." The doctor motioned for the couple to follow her.
The three made their way to Jesse's room on the floor above. It was a shared room that fortunately didn't have another person in it at that time.
When the couple walked up to the door they saw a sleepy Jesse, with her left arm in a splint, propped up in the bed.
"She has no memory of the car accident." Dr. Russo told them quietly. "It might come back, it might not and the neurosurgeon who did a short check up on her said that's normal and it's fine if it doesn't. The concussion Jesse suffered was mild and there will be no long term effects from it."
Amanda nodded.
"I'll give you some privacy. If Jesse needs anything, alert us using the buzzer near her bed. One of her nurses will come out."
Dr. Russo started to leave but then doubled back around. "As soon as there's word about Billie someone from her medical team will look for you in here." She then hurried off down the hall.
Amanda and Sonny each took a deep breath and entered Jesse's room.
"Hi baby." Amanda said smiling softly as her and Sonny walked over to her daughter's bedside. "How ya feeling?"
"My arm hurts." Jesse whispered. She then reached for her head with her right hand. "And so does my head."
Amanda gently stroked her hair. "It's because you were in an accident, sweetie." She told her, though purposely chose not to elaborate further for now. "But you'll be OK and feeling better soon."
The little girl's eyes scanned around the room and then asked, "Am I…in a hospital? Where's Billie? Is s—she here?"
Sonny glanced over at Amanda and, seeing that Jesse's questions about her sister were causing her to grow emotional, answered for her.
"You are in the hospital." He said as he squatted down and took Jesse's good hand into his. "And Billie's here too. She's gettin' all fixed up like the doctors fixed you up so you can't see her now but you'll be able to once they finish."
Amanda stayed quiet but gave him a small, sad smile.
Jesse nodded and told them, "I'm tired."
Sonny kissed her hand and stood up. "You get some rest, OK?"
Amanda leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "We love you baby."
Her eyes started to flutter. "I love you too."
Jesse slowly started to drift off to sleep and once she did Amanda carefully removed one of her pillows so she could lie down better on the bed.
The couple each took a seat in the two empty chairs nearby and sat quietly staring at Jesse, who was snoring lightly.
After a few minutes he turned to Amanda. "I know the last thing on your mind is food, but it's important you get somethin' into your system. Especially since you skipped lunch. So how 'bout a cup of coffee?"
She nodded.
"OK." Sonny stood up. "Be right back."
Amanda watched as he exited the room and then went back to staring at Jesse. And with nothing else to do but think, a couple of seemingly insignificant moments that had recently taken place reentered her head and as they did they suddenly took on a whole new meaning.
VVVVVVVVVVVV
July 2022
Amanda's Apartment - Saturday Morning 9a
After hearing a knock Amanda made her way to the door and opened it.
"Ooo bagels." She said as she motioned her boyfriend inside and closed the door. "Girls are gonna be happy to see those."
Sonny chuckled as he set the box down on the counter. "It's not the only thing I brought." He reached inside a bag he was carrying, pulled out an old school photo album and handed it to her. "Look what my Ma gave me when I stopped by my parents house for dinner last night."
Amanda's face lit up. "Sonny baby pictures. I'm glad she finally found this. I thought I'd never seen any photos of you from when you were a kid."
The two headed over to the sofa and began looking through the album together.
"Look at those chubby cheeks." Amanda said as she pointed to a photo of Sonny from when he was about two-years-old.
They continued combing through the album and when she saw a photo from when he was around seven or eight, she squinted and jokingly said, "I think I see some gray hair on you in this one."
Sonny rolled his eyes and playfully nudged her. "You do not."
Both started laughing until they heard the pitter patter of little feet heading their way.
"Hi Uncle Sonny." A still sleepy looking Billie said a little sadly.
He scooped her up onto his lap. "Why the long face?" The counselor asked.
"I got spots." She informed him and then looked over at her mom. "Can you wash them off?"
A concerned looking Amanda and Sonny looked at each and then back at Billie.
The blonde put the album on the coffee table, placed a hand on her daughter's forehead and then proceeded to lift up the little girl's arms and look around. "Billie what spots? I don't see anything."
She pointed to her face. "Here."
Amanda squinted and then subtly mouthed to Sonny, "I don't know what she's talking about."
He turned Billie toward him and looked at her face closely when it suddenly hit him. "You mean the spots around your nose?"
Billie nodded.
Sonny chuckled. "They're just freckles. You don't have to worry about those."
Amanda turned her around. "Oh yeah, you do have freckles." She smiled softly. "You probably got them from spending so much time outside in the sun this week."
"But you and Jesse don't have them."
Amanda tucked some loose strands of Billie's wild morning hair behind her ears. "We don't. Not everyone gets freckles."
"Well I don't want them." She told her. "Can you wipe 'em off?"
Sonny and Amanda exchanged nervous looks. He turned Billie toward him again. "Sweetie, you can't wipe 'em off. Freckles aren't like dirt. They're part of your skin."
"And you can barely even see yours." Amanda added. "They're light."
A disappointed Billie frowned.
Seeing she was still upset about it, Sonny lifted her up, set her down in between him and Amanda on the couch and grabbed the photo album.
He began flipping through it and then pointed at a photo of himself around Billie's age.
"Look, this is me." Sonny said. "What do you see above my nose?
Billie squinted at the photo and then after a short time yelled out, "Freckles!"
He nodded. "They faded away as I got older, but I used to have them when I was little. Just like you do."
"Will mine go away someday?" She asked hopefully.
"They might." Sonny told her as he placed the album back down on the coffee table. "And they might not. But I hope yours stay, you know why?"
She shook her head no.
"Because you have the cutest little freckles I've ever seen." He said as he lightly tapped her nose.
A much happier Billie grinned and gave the counselor a hug.
August 2022
Park - Sunday Afternoon 1p
Amanda, Sonny, Jesse, Billie and Frannie stopped for some ice cream before taking an afternoon walk through the park by Amanda's apartment.
"How's the ice cream girls?" Sonny asked smiling as he watched them happily tackle their gigantic waffle cones.
Jesse gave him a thumbs up. And then Billie, who did everything she saw her older sister do, gave him one too.
Jesse pointed at her little sister's thumb, which unlike her own bent backwards. "What's wrong with your thumb?" She asked. "It isn't supposed to do that."
Billie, thinking there was something wrong with it, began to grow upset.
Amanda fixed her mouth to say something to Billie but stopped when Sonny bent down beside the 3 and 1/2 year old and started speaking to her.
"It's not a bad thing." He told his goddaughter. "You just have somethin' called a hitchhiker's thumb. So do I."
Sonny, who had better dexterity and control over his finger movements, gave a normal thumbs up sign but then bent his thumb backwards in a way that matched Billie's, which caused the little girl to smile.
He stood up and reached for her free hand, which she slid into his and the foursome continued their walk together.
September 2022
Amanda's Apartment - Saturday Night 9p
After checking in on Jesse, who was sick and had gone to bed early, Amanda made her way into the living room.
"Billie it's getting late." She said to her daughter, who sat on the sofa watching a movie with Sonny. "I let you stay up later than normal but now it's time for bed."
"10 more minutes?" Billie pleaded.
Amanda shook her head no and fixed her mouth to respond but was interrupted.
"Pretty please?" Sonny said as he made a pouty face, revealing his dimple.
Billie mimicked him and stuck out her bottom lip, revealing an identical looking dimple on her own cheek. "Pretty please?"
Amanda playfully rolled her eyes, sighed, but then smiled. "Alright. I mean, how can I say no to those two dimpled faces?"
Sonny and Billie grinned.
"But just 10 more minutes." She told her daughter.
Billie nodded and then snuggled closer to Sonny, who put his arm around her.
VVVVVVVVVVVV
The genetic traits Sonny and Billie shared weren't that unique but Amanda's heart was telling her it couldn't all just be a coincidence either. So though she still wasn't going to take a deep dive into the paternity situation, she decided to gather a little more information about blood types to see how likely it was someone with Al's blood type could be Billie's father.
She pulled out her phone and began Googling and quickly came across an ABO blood type calculator that determines a child's probable blood type based off the types of his or her parents.
Amanda entered in hers, A, Al's, AB, and then looked at the possibilities that came up: A, B, and AB.
"O's not listed." She whispered.
The blonde clicked out of the page, searched "blood type chart" and opened one of the many that popped up. She compared her type with Al's and it showed the same possibilities: A, B, and AB. Amanda then compared her blood type with Sonny's and it showed two possibilities: A and O.
She closed out of the page and pulled up another chart, which showed the same results as the first one. Amanda then looked at just the AB part of the chart and saw it was impossible for someone with that blood type to have an O child. Even if the other parent was O.
"Al can't be Billie's father." She said to herself as she lowered her phone. "Which means Sonny is."
It was in that moment, the moment she knew for sure, that Amanda became overcome with a wide range of emotions. The first of which was anger. At the diagnostic center for somehow botching the paternity test and making them think for all these years that Al was Billie's father when in actuality there was no way he could be. But along with being mad she was happy. Happy that Sonny turned out to be the daddy Billie thought he was for most of her life and that she was the child Amanda knew he prayed so hard would be his, despite being told it was unlikely.
She was also a bit worried medically, wondering if Billie's treatment might be effected as a result of her medical team not having the correct information. Having worked SVU for so many years, she knew doctors generally used the background history as a baseline, meaning they didn't take it as gospel and often conducted several tests to confirm specific information given to them. Still, Amanda didn't want to take any chances with her daughter's health and planned to relay her concerns the first chance she got.
However above all else Amanda mainly felt a tremendous amount of heartache. Because as much she tried not to think about it, she was conscious of the fact that there was a very real possibility Billie might not make it. And knowing that she could not only die, but die without knowing Sonny was her daddy and for the two of them to build memories together as father and daughter absolutely devastated her.
Amanda slowly buried her face into her hands and sobbed quietly.
She continued to cry softly for a few more minutes, stopping only when she heard a light knock on the door. "Amanda Rollins?"
Amanda wiped her eyes and stood up. "Yes?"
A middle aged woman in scrubs said, "Billie's doctors would like to talk to you."
"Is she out surgery?" Amanda asked, hopefully. "Is s—she alright?"
"I don't know." She told her honestly. "I was just asked to get you."
A scared Amanda sniffled and then looked back at Jesse.
"We'll have someone sit with your other daughter while she's asleep and let you know if she wakes up and asks for you." The woman told her, sensing the blonde's hesitance to leave Jesse.
Amanda nodded and then followed the hospital staffer out of the room.
VVVVVVVVVVVV
It took Sonny much longer than he anticipated to get coffee. The line at the hospital's coffee shop moved slow and on his way back to Jesse's room Beth Anne called him to see how the girls and Amanda were doing. She couldn't leave Mason and Jim, who had some lasting impairment as a result of his stroke, for long stretches without notice and was therefore unable to drive down into the city. So Sonny stopped and filled her in on the little information he had.
When the counselor finally got back to Jesse's room, he was told by a nurse there was an update on Billie and that Amanda was meeting with her doctors.
So Sonny hustled to where he was told his girlfriend would be and when he entered the private room he saw her standing by the bed gently stroking what appeared to be a sleeping Billie's hair.
"She's gonna be OK." Amanda told him quietly, smiling.
Sonny put down the two coffees in his hands and sighed in relief as he made the sign of the cross. He then made his way over to Amanda and hugged her.
"Thank God." He whispered into her ear as he held her closely. "I was so worried."
"Me too." She said. "But the worst is over."
"So what did Billie's doctors say?" Sonny asked as they finally pulled apart.
"They upgraded her condition from serious to fair, which I know doesn't sound great but they're only classifying her that way because she's gonna feel a bit uncomfortable the next few days." Amanda began. "Anyways, Billie's surgeons were able to figure out the source of the internal bleeding and stop it. Her bruised spleen is minor and will get better in time with rest. And though they had to remove the damaged kidney, her other one looks really good and will probably grow a little bigger to compensate for losing the other. So Billie will need to avoid contact sports to protect it but she'll be able to lead a normal healthy life with just the one."
Sonny nodded. "That's great." He smiled down at the sleeping little girl. "How long does she have to stay in the hospital?"
"For at least a week." Amanda told him as she adjusted Billie's covers. "They want to make sure she doesn't develop an infection. But hopefully after that we'll bring Billie home and she can continue recovering there. She'll need to rest a lot for the first week, but then can start doing some light activities after that."
Sonny nodded, turned his attention back to Amanda, gave her a quick peck on the lips and took her hand into his.
"This is the outcome we were all prayin' for." He told her. "Literally. My Ma's at church lightin' a candle for Billie now."
She gave him a small smile.
He ran his free hand through his hair. "Is she gonna be wakin' up soon or do they think she'll be out for a while?"
"The latter." Amanda said. "Either way I don't want to leave this room again until she wakes up; so Billie's not scared when she sees where she is and on the off chance something unexpected happens."
She stopped to sigh. "But I also can't just leave Jesse in a room by herself for hours either. She isn't hurt as badly as Billie, but she's still little and needs someone with her too." Amanda paused for a moment and then added, "I wish the girls weren't in different wings on different floors. It makes it so hard to be there for them both. I feel like no matter what I do I'm gonna be letting one of them down."
Sonny gently rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. "You're not. You're a good mom Amanda. We both know that if it was possible for you to be in two places at once, you would be. But it's not. You're only one person and there's only so much one person can do. So how 'bout we do this. You stay with Billie for the night while I stay with Jess."
"Really?"
"Of course." He said, a little surprised she wasn't expecting he'd want to. "We're probably gonna need to pull the detective-ADA card so they let me since I'm not a blood or legal relative, but I'm sure it won't be an issue since you'll be in the hospital. And then when Jesse gets discharged, which I'm guessin' will be in a day or so, I'll stay with her at the apartment."
Amanda nodded and stared deeply into his eyes. "I know there wasn't a lot me or you could do in this situation to help the girls but you giving blood for Billie and just being there for the three of us means the world to me. I hope you know that."
He released her hand and rubbed her upper arms. "You, Jesse, and Billie mean the world to me. And though you're not technically my family yet," Sonny said, emphasizing the yet. "You're my family in the ways that truly matter. And there's no place else I'd rather be than here with you all. Wherever here is."
Amanda smiled and he scooped her up into his arms again and hugged her. And as they quietly held each other she found her gaze shifting to Billie. Eventually she broke the silence, but so did Sonny.
"There's something I—"
"Since both girls are—"
The two let go of each other.
"What were you gonna say?" Sonny asked curiously.
Amanda stood quietly for a moment, contemplating whether or not to tell him about Billie like she was about to just a few seconds earlier but ultimately decided it still wasn't the right time to do it. "It can wait. What were you going to say?"
"Just that since both girls are sleeping this is probably a good time for me to go catch a cab, get my car, run to your apartment and get everyone some clothes, the girls' tablets, chargers and whatever else you think we all might need."
"That's a good idea." Amanda told her boyfriend. "I'll type up a list and text it to you. And I'll work on getting permission for you to stay here tonight."
Sonny nodded and then told her, "You should call your mom too. She's worried."
"I will."
"Alright I'll be back as quick as I can."
He gave her a kiss on the cheek, smiled down at a peaceful looking Billie and then headed out.
Once he left Amanda slowly slid down into the chair by her daughter's bed. She turned and looked over at her little girl, ran a hand through her hair and sighed.
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10 Days Later
Amanda's Apartment - Thursday Afternoon 12:30p
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As much as Amanda wanted to bring up the paternity situation to Sonny while Billie was in the hospital, she was relieved she didn't because the days following the accident and the girls' hospitalizations were a bit stressful for them both.
Jesse was released from Mercy two days after her surgery and though Sonny had some help from Sienna and Beth Anne, who drove into the city when she could, he was her primary caregiver while Amanda stayed in the hospital tending to Billie.
And though Billie was recovering well from her kidney surgery, she developed a fever the morning she was originally set to be discharged so her doctors decided not to release her. However, it was gone by the evening and after being fever free for 48 hours Billie was finally allowed to go home.
XXX
Amanda opened up the apartment door, dropped the duffle bag she was holding by the entrance and entered while Sonny, who was carrying Billie in his arms, followed in behind her.
The trio headed into the girl's room, which Billie would have to herself while Jesse was at school, and Sonny carefully tucked her into bed.
"You hungry baby?" Amanda asked as she handed her daughter her Fire tablet.
Billie nodded.
"How 'bout some chicken noodle soup?" Sonny asked. "It's really good."
She whispered. "OK."
"We're gonna go in the kitchen and heat it up." Amanda told her.
Billie nodded and watched as they left the room. She then turned her attention to her tablet, sifted through the apps, selected one of her favorite games and began playing.
Sonny opened up the refrigerator to get the soup and when he did Amanda was astonished at all the food in there. "Serafina made all that?"
Sonny put the container of homemade chicken noodle soup down on the counter and opened the freezer, revealing several dishes, like lasagna, stew, and a green bean casserole, that could be heated up and eaten at anytime in the next couple of weeks. "And this. We won't need to cook anything for a while."
"That was really nice of her."
He closed the freezer, pulled out a pot, poured some of the soup into it and turned on the stovetop. "My Ma wanted to do somethin' to help but she knows the girls are still gettin' to know her and my dad and she didn't think this was the best time to be inserting herself into their lives."
Amanda nodded and told him, "I appreciate this a lot. Thank her for me."
"I will." He grabbed a spoon from one of the drawers and began stirring the soup. "Why don't you go shower? I got this."
"You sure?"
Sonny nodded.
Amanda nodded. "OK. Except I think I'm gonna take a bubble bath instead."
"Take as long as you want." He said as he turned the heat up. "Billie and I are good."
She smiled softly at him. "I know." Amanda then headed off toward the bathroom.
VVVVVVVVVVVV
When Amanda finished her long, but much needed bath, she wrapped herself in a towel and decided to stop by the girls' room to check on Billie.
She discreetly stood by the door and saw her little girl, who appeared to be done eating, clutching her plush Mirabel doll and curled up on her bed next to Sonny while he read to her. And as Amanda watched from afar, her heart began to swell. She decided then and there that she couldn't and wouldn't wait any longer to tell him about Billie.
Amanda watched for another minute and then made her way into her own room and began getting dressed. And just as she finished up Sonny poked his head in.
"Billie's asleep. So I was gonna put the soup away and clean up around the kitchen. Unless you wanted—"
"No I'm not hungry." She told him. "But the cleaning can wait. We need to talk first."
A concerned Sonny nodded and sat down beside her on the bed. As he did he noticed tears were welling up in her eyes.
"Honey, what is it?" Sonny asked as he held her hands.
"It was wrong." She blurted out to him. "The test."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "What test? A test they gave to Billie?"
Amanda shook her head.
He sat thinking for a second and then asked, "The pregnancy test?"
She shook her head no again.
Sonny stared deeply into her eyes. "Amanda what are you talkin' about? What's goin' on?"
Amanda took a deep breath, exhaled slowly and started to explain.
"You know how I had to call Al to come fill in his section of the medical history information for Billie that Mercy wanted?"
He nodded, but remained quiet and waited for her to continue.
"I was watching him and I saw that for his blood type he put down AB+." She paused for a moment and then said, "I'm A+ and, as you know, Billie's O+. Like you."
Sonny furrowed his brows. "OK…"
Amanda gazed deeply into his eyes. "It's impossible for someone with AB blood to have a child with O. I looked it up."
She felt his hands begin to sweat and noticed his breathing started to become more labored.
"W—what are you…s—saying?" He finally stuttered out after a long period of silence.
Amanda knew he already knew what she was getting at but needed to hear her say it out loud. So she did.
"Al can't be Billie's father." She said barely above a whisper. "Which means you are."