Cherry Floats & Love Bugs
~oOo~
Scooping the last of the red sprinkles onto the cream-topped Cherry Float, Amanda's sight falls to the empty glass beside hers. From the living room, she can hear the tingling sounds of Bella Notte playing. The DVD menu must have restarted itself about 20 times now and while Amanda is already sick of the song, her mini-me on the couch is still happily humming along.
Grateful that her daughters can't tell the time yet, Amanda pushed their scheduled movie night for an hour. But now Dominick is already two hours late and while she knows he is okay–he has enough foresight to know she will worry and therefore texts her every 20 minutes–she doesn't think that Jesse can be kept distracted for much longer. Billie, luckily, has fallen asleep on the armchair a short while ago. While Amanda doesn't mind slowing down and kicking back, her firstborn seems to have followed in her Uncle Sonny's footsteps and simply can't sit still for very long. And while that trait is much cuter in the body of a six-year-old than in a grown man, Amanda wishes that her daughter would understand that some things just take time.
Grabbing her cell phone from the countertop, she dials Dominick's number and waits for her boyfriend to answer the call.
"I'm sorry!" are his first words out before she can even greet him. "We lost the deposition transcript and then opposing counsel buried us in paperwork but I think it's under control now."
"So you are on your way? I've got the Cherry Floats ready and Jesse wants to hit play on Lady and the Tramp again."
"Amanda…" Dominick doesn't need to finish the sentence.
"You are not coming home, are you?"
"I'm sorry. It's just–It's Valentine's Day and I felt bad keeping the Junior ADAs here. But if I want to be able to enjoy the evening with the three of you, I will need to get this paperwork done first."
Amanda's annoyance with her boyfriend immediately gets replaced with a feeling of love and sympathy. The last place Dominick wanted to be today was the office and she knew he would never leave them hanging if not for a good reason. These days she was just easily irritated and wanted Dominick around constantly.
"You are too good for this world, Dominick Carisi."
"And you are too good for me, Amanda Rollins."
"Not even a little bit." She takes the plastic cup with the Cherry Float into the living room and hands it over to her daughter, who snuggled up in her favorite blanket, before sitting down next to her. "So, realistically, how soon do you think you will be home?"
"I hope to be out of here by 7 pm. Billie will already be asleep, but it should give us enough time for dinner and a movie with Jess."
One look at the clock on the wall confirms her thoughts–he won't be home for another four hours at least.
"We wanted to make some Baci di Assisi and the girls want to give you their cards."
Jesse's head shoots up and her eyes sparkle.
"Baci?" she asks, her nose covered in pink whipped cream.
"Yes, baby. Uncle Sonny will come home for Baci."
"'onny home?" Billie mumbles, her eyes still half-closed, as she looks around the room before her eyes settle on her mother.
"Sonny's on the phone, baby," she explains before moving her attention to her boyfriend again. "Can you put on FaceTime? There are two someones who would love to talk to you."
Moving the phone from her ear, she hits the video button and waits for Dominick's face to appear on the screen. She can't help but smile when his exhausted but happy eyes find hers.
"Hey." He grins at her like a sappy teenager with a crush.
"Hey." They have been a couple for almost a year now, partners for eight, and yet they feel just like they did the night in the courthouse after all their stars finally aligned over the Hudson: giddy, happy, and hopelessly in love. "Quickly say hi to them so you can finish work and come home to us."
She hands the phone over to Jesse, makes sure the girl has a tight grip on it, and then pushes herself off the couch to get her own Cherry Float.
The sounds of excited squeals and happy babbling from her daughters follow her into the kitchen.
Amanda had hoped that things would change once Dominick had made a name for himself in the DA's office. But now, one month into being Hadid's second in command, Dominick is back to his old schedule of fourteen hours days.
Having finally climbed the career ladder the way he had always hoped, they knew that it would come with more responsibilities and work, but she had also hoped that he had learned to delegate more by now. He helped hire a great team but his sense of responsibility means he wants to deal with everything himself.
She knows he misses them, probably even more than they miss him. While Dominick tries to be home for bedtime every night, it doesn't always happen. It makes him feel like a neglectful father-figure and Amanda hates that she can't make him see that him trying is proof enough of his commitment to their little family. There is no one who loves Dominick more than Billie and Jesse, probably not even Amanda herself, and a few missed bedtimes will not make her daughters' feelings change.
On her way back to the couch, Amanda finally notices the snow coming down outside. While she isn't opposed to having New York's streets emptier, and therefore freer from perps, she wishes that Dominick would be home before the snow starts to stick to the streets.
On the phone, Jesse is telling Dominick the plot of the movie they are about to watch. With Lady and the Tramp being a favorite in their household, Dominick knows exactly at which points to ooh and aah even when Jesse's rushed sentences make no sense.
Kissing both of her daughters on the crown of their heads, Amanda pulls Billie on her lap and gets under the blanket with Jesse. Taking a sip of her drink, she takes the phone from her daughter, and presses play on the movie.
Dominick takes one look at his girlfriend and lets out a deep groan.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"What?" Amanda gives him a challenging look.
"You know what."
"You mean this?" She moves her finger up to her nose and removes the whipped cream that got stuck there from when she had a sip of her float. Sticking her tongue out, she licks the cream from her finger while sending her boyfriend a mischievous grin through the phone.
"You know that is my job."
"I know that you're not here, so I have to take matters into my own hands, I guess." Blowing him a kiss, she snuggles up closer to Jesse and abruptly ends the call to him. Maybe knowing what's waiting for him, will motivate him to finish his work faster.
As this is the third time that Jesse requested this particular movie in as many days, Amanda can let her mind wander and doesn't need to keep watch for sensitive topics. It doesn't take her long to come up with a plan for the rest of the evening. If Dominick couldn't come home for Valentine's Day, maybe Valentine's Day could come to him.
Once the movie is finished, Amanda shares her idea with Jesse and Billie and while the younger girl probably doesn't understand half of what her mom tells her, Amanda's enthusiasm makes them both giddy. Asking them to play with their toys for a short while, Amanda sets off to get everything ready for their outing.
A quick call to the restaurant next door sorts out of dinner and it only takes a few more minutes for the insulated container to be filled and placed into a picnic basket. Finding her daughters surrounded by stuffed toys, Amanda holds two red costumes up to them.
"How do you feel about dressing up for Sonny?"
"I buggy?" Billie asks with a high squeal.
"If you want to."
Jesse giggles and jumps up and down in place like her sister.
Amanda dresses them quickly and pulling the hood over Billie's head, her little ladybirds were ready to go. Getting into her tan winter coat, Amanda stuffs a few blankets into the picnic basket and takes her daughters' hands.
"Ready to surprise Sonny?"
"Ready," the girls almost yell in sync.
When both Dominick's and her rental contracts needed renewing after Christmas, they agreed that it was the perfect time to take the next step in their relationship. Neither of their homes was suitable for a family and while they were worried about the housing market, they lucked out quickly. Their new home is a beautiful and light three-bedroom in Lincoln Square with an open-plan kitchen and more pantry space than even Dominick knows what to do with. It is a 30-minutes drive to 1 Hogan Place, but the close proximity to the 1-6 as well as Central Park for the girls was the selling point.
Dashing into the restaurant to pick up their meal, the three Rollins girls are quickly on the road down to Civic Center, Billie bouncing in her car seat all the way there.
Reaching the elevator, excitement and butterflies start moving in Amanda's stomach. Everything inside her knows that Dominick is close and she can't wait to curl up in her boyfriend's arms. The second the doors open on his floor, Billie is off, bug antenna bopping on her head. Jesse races after her, her headband almost sliding down into her face.
As fast as their little legs can carry them, they race past empty offices and one or two surprised attorneys who are on their way out. Halfway down the hallway, Jesse starts yelling for her Uncle.
"Sonny, Sonny, Sonny."
Billie's own version of "'onny, 'onny" bounces off the walls.
Amanda sees Dominick's head shoot up from the paperwork on his desk and a huge smile spreads across his face. He quickly gets up and walks over to his door, kneeling down so the girls can run straight into his arms.
Billie doesn't slow down before reaching him, knowing that Sonny will always be ready to catch her. Her plush antennae hit him right in the face but Dominick doesn't flinch for a second. He stands up, twirling his god-daughter around in his arms. Jesse jumps up on his legs until he picks her up too.
By the time Amanda reaches them, Dominick has propped both girls on either side of his hip, and with Jesse clinging to his neck, he has a free hand to poke the red antennae on his youngest goddaughter's hood.
"What are these pretty ladybugs doing in my office? Shouldn't you be outside, sitting on flowers?" he jokes. "Amanda, do you want to help me bring these little buggies back outside?" He takes a step towards the door but Billie's excited squeal makes him stop.
"No, 'onny! No buggie. I Billie and 'esse."
"No. You can't be Billie. My Billie doesn't have antennae."
"Sonny!" If Jesse knew how to roll her eyes, this would have been her moment to do it.
"But my Jesse doesn't have antennae either." He flicks a finger against his other god-daughter's headband.
"I Billie. Billie 'illy." The three-year-old pulls on the back of her hood until it falls down from her head.
To his goddaughters' entertainment, Dominick's eyes widen and his mouth falls open wide.
"You are my Jese and my Silly Billie! Amanda," he turns towards his girlfriend, "did you know that this was Jesse and Billie?"
"What? I thought they were little love bugs." Amanda's facial expressions match her boyfriend's now, which makes the girls giggle even harder.
Dominick tickles them as well as he can with both of them pressed into his sides until they squirm out of his arms, sliding down his leg, landing on their feet again. Toddling over to Amanda's handbag, Billie pulls her favorite stuffed bunny out of it and just drops herself on the floor, happily playing. Jesse wanders over to Dominick's desk and rummages around the drawers for the crayons she knows he has stashed there.
Dominick and Amanda smile at the sight of her daughters and Dominick leans in to give his girlfriend a deep kiss.
"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?" He unbuttons her coat and places a hand over her slightly swollen belly. "I don't want you out in this weather."
"We are fine. We just didn't want to spend Valentine's Day without Daddy."
"I love you." He pulls her close to his body and presses a kiss against the side of her head. "How is our other baby love bug doing?"
"Kicking up a storm since the second we entered the building," she laughs.
Dominick looks down and moves his hand over her midriff.
"I can't wait to be able to feel her."
"Or him."
"It's going to be a girl, I can feel it. A little ladybird." He smirks at her.
"A ladybird?" Amanda laughs about her boyfriend's silly comment. "Are we going to call her Birdie?"
Dominick's face crunches up in dislike.
"I'm sure we can come up with something better than that."
"But don't you want a boy? Someone to play baseball with? Someone who shares your enthusiasm about Apple Watches?" she giggles.
"Why? I can do that with my girls. They can dance ballet or play softball, become internet entrepreneurs or lawyers. If there is one thing I know, it's that being a Rollins-Carisi means the sky's the limit for them."
"And your dad's name? I really want to pass it on."
"Maybe the next one will be a boy then. We will just keep trying."
Amanda raises her eyebrows at him.
"You are very sure of yourself there, Carisi. Who says I will have more babies with you?"
"You will, 'cause you loooove me." He flutters his eyelashes at her.
"And sometimes I wonder why," she laughs and rolls her eyes at him.
Walking over to the picnic basket, she gets the blankets and arranges them in front of his desk. Scrunching up her coat, she puts it up against the wall and gets comfortable against it. Pulling Billie between her legs, she gets their dinner and the bottles with the cherry soda out. Filling one of the glasses with the vanilla ice cream out of the insulated container and the soda, she puts a healthy amount of whipped cream on top of the liquid, smirking at her boyfriend.
"Don't empty that can just yet."
"I wouldn't dare. Sprinkles?"
"Always."
Amanda puts a handful in her mouth before topping the whipped cream with them. A cherry on top and the drink is ready.
Taking his first sip, Dominick gives her a surprised look.
"Yours has a bit of a kick to it," she confirms his thoughts. "I thought you might like the added Gin."
"Detective Rollins, do you regularly go out and spike men's drinks?"
"Only the drinks of the man that I loooove."
Jesse has found her way between Dominick's legs and nurses her second glass of float of the day while Dominick and Amanda finish their dinners. Once they are done, he pushes the boxes to the side and slides down until he is lying comfortably on the floor. Billie crawls out from between Amanda's legs and curls into her godfather's side. Jesse makes herself comfortable between her sister and her mom. Pulling Billie close, Dominick feels her breathing even out and it only takes a minute for her to be fast asleep. Checking on Jesse he can see that her eyes are falling close too.
"Long day for them?" Dominick turns to his girlfriend.
"Really long day. We made cards, watched Lady and the Tramp for the millionth time and I didn't put them down for a nap, hoping they would just conk out tonight, so we could have some alone time."
"Seems like it worked. We should probably take them home though."
"And we will. But for now, I just want to be here with you."
Amanda rolls to her side, snuggling up to her boyfriend as close as she can with her belly, a toddler, and a first-grader between them. Dominick moves his arm so Amanda can rest her head on his shoulder. Pressing her forehead against the side of his head, she looks up to his window and the heavy snow that is falling down outside.
"Amanda?"
"Mhhm?" she replies, already half asleep herself.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For coming over, for the Cherry Float, and for giving me as many baby ladybugs as I want."
"You are an idiot."
"I love you, too." He moves his head to give her a kiss. Pulling one of the blankets over them, he closes his eyes as well. "Happy Valentine's, Amanda."
"Happy Valentine's, Sonny."