"When it comes to life, we spin our own yarn, and where we end up is really, in fact, where we always intended to be."
― Julia Glass, Three Junes

If their coworkers suspected they were more than just friends, they didn't speak a word of it during Phoebe and Fin's wedding. Amanda was grateful for that – there was no need to take attention away from the bride and groom just because she and Carisi finally put a label on the years long dance between them recently. But, to be completely honest, their demeanor wasn't all that different. They danced together, they sat together, they arrived together – and would leave together – but they probably wouldn't have done all of that together even if they weren't dating.

Amanda couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun. They danced, drank, and mingled with coworkers and friends. They laughed over stories that were told about Fin, and after the incredibly depressing year they had last year, it just felt good to be with other people, laughing and enjoying the moment.

They had just finished talking to Fin's son and his husband when Sonny looked down and noticed Amanda's glass was empty. "You wanna anotha' drink?" He asked, his accent heavier when he had alcohol in him.

Amanda quickly tried to determine how much she drank already when as she glanced down to look at the glass in her hand. "Sure." She finally decided – it had been a very long time since she let loose like this and she was going to enjoy it.

"Okay, I'll be right back." He said before he headed towards the bar and Amanda went back over to their table. After a moment or so, Liv, who had just finished talking to Munch and Cragen, returned to the table.

"You look happy, Amanda." Uncharacteristically for Liv, her voice held the rhythm of a song as she threw a glance over her shoulder to the bar where Sonny was standing in line. "And I think you know what I mean by that."

Amanda blushed, pushing her bangs behind her ear. "It's a weird feeling, I must admit. This is...different...than anything I've ever had before. But, yeah...yeah. I am happy."

"That's all Carisi has wanted for you for the longest time...to be happy."

"Oh, really?" The remark caught her attention and she raised an eyebrow as she leaned forward.

Olivia shook her head– she may have been tipsy, but she wasn't going to betray Sonny's confidence. She did, however, think about that day the she and Sonny talked in her office when Amanda went into labor with Billie. She probably knew more about his feelings for Amanda than anyone ever would have expected. "That's all you're getting out of me on that." She said firmly.

"I'm not sure if I've ever said it before, but thanks for going to bat for me and Carisi with Hadid and the DA's Office."

"I would do it all over again. You guys have always been...connected...and invested emotionally with each other. I don't think putting a label on it interferes with your ability to do your current jobs."

"Oh, hey, Cap," Sonny said when he returned to the table with two gin and tonics. "Can I get you a drink, too?" He asked her politely.

"Oh, no." Liv waved her hand. "That's okay. Some of us still have to find our way back to the city tonight via public transportation." She chuckled. "Well, Munch and I are taking the train back together, but there's no way he's more sober than I am. I didn't know he could drink like that still. I think I'm going to have to be his babysitter more than anything."

He handed Amanda her drink and then set his down on the table. "Oh, excuse me." Sonny said when he could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket. He made a face when he looked at the screen. It was a FaceTime call from his mother. He was torn between being amused that she figured out her cellphone well enough to make a FaceTime call and being worried that maybe something was wrong.

When he answered the call, he was greeted by Jessie's smiling face. "Hi, Uncle Sonny!" Or more accurately, a close up of her mouth and nose.

"Hey, Jessie Girl!" He replied as Amanda – and even Olivia- leaned forward to catch a glimpse of Jessie on the screen. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah," she nodded, pulling the phone away from her some allowing her whole face to be in view. "Billie and I are having the bestest time. I wanna sleepover here again. They said I can if it's okay with you and Momma. Can I? Can I? Can I?"

"I'm sure that won't be a problem," he laughed – thrilled with the fact that Jessie was having so much fun. He caught a glimpse of his mother in the background. "Since when did you know how to video chat, Ma? We tried during quarantine and it never went well."

Rosa came closer to the screen. "That's because I didn't have a cute little helper like Jessie here with me then."

"Yeah, I teached her how to do it!" Jessie announced proudly.

Who would have thought that a five-year-old would have been better at teaching his mother technology than he was? "I see."

"Oh, you look so handsome, Sonny," his mother said. "Let me see Amanda."

Amanda squeezed closer to Sonny so she could be more in the frame. "Wow. Momma's beautiful." Jessie murmured; eyes wide.

"Very beautiful," Rosa agreed. "Yellow is a good color on you, Amanda."

"Thank you," Amanda replied with a blush – even her own mother didn't say things like that to her. Beth would have critiqued the color of her eyeshadow or the shade of her lipstick. She also most certainly would have made a comment about how motherhood made her carry the weight differently in stomach now and she should have worn the spanx she packed instead of changing her mind because it was too hot outside. "Are you being good for Ms. Rosa?"

At the sound of her mother's voice, Billie appeared in the screen and reached her little hand out as if she was trying to touch her mother's face. "Mama, hi!" She grinned.

"Hi, baby! What about you, sweet girl? Are you being good?"

"They're little angels."

"And good helpers!" Dom chimed in from somewhere out of view.

"We helped pick 'matoes from the garden and tomorrow we get to learn how to make the 'matoes into sauce!" Jessie exclaimed. "That's soooooo cool. I bet it's better than a magic trick."

"Mmm. Sounds yummy!"

"I want a picture of you two for my mantel, okay?" Rosa said. "I mean it. Don't forget." She waved her finger at them.

"Okay, Ma..." her son replied with a slight shake of his head.

The group conversed for a few more moments before Olivia could hear Mrs. Carisi tell the girls it was time to say goodnight and to get ready for bed. Olivia watched with a smile as Sonny and Amanda blew kisses, waved, and said I love you to the girls, but she couldn't help the twinge of disappointment that tugged at her heart strings too – for Noah's sake. He would never get to know what it was like to belong to a family like that – to have grandparents like that.

"Here," Olivia began once they ended the call as she reached out her hand. "I'll take that picture for you two."

She extended her hand and Sonny passed the phone over to her. "Thanks, Cap."

Olivia couldn't help but to smile as Rollins and Carisi hugged each other but turned their heads to smile towards the camera. It captured the essence of their relationship so well. She had a feeling that picture would being taking up residence on Sonny's desk pretty soon. "You guys should go get out there and dance," she pointed towards the dance floor. "I better go find Munch. It's probably past his bedtime," she teased.

"Whatchya thinkin' about?" Sonny asked her softly as they were slow dancing to "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley.

Amanda, who was lost in her thoughts, didn't immediately respond.

He continued. "If you're thinkin' about the girls and want to go home tonight, we can. I understand. We can take the train back, too, and come back for the car tomorrow." He glanced down at his watch. "By the time we get back to Staten Island, it might be too late to go back to the city, but we can crash at my parents'."

"What? Oh, no. No. It's the opposite, actually," she finally said after her brain had time to process his words.

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," she smiled. "I feel so much better that they're with your parents and not my mother. Honestly, if my mother was watching them, I probably would want to leave tonight. Knowing they're in Staten Island with your parents, though, well, I don't feel like that at all."

He grinned – happy that she felt that way. "So, what were you thinking about, then?"

"I was just thinking about what it must have been like to grow up the way you did – walking into your parent's house today...I... I've just never felt that way before. It felt like a home...a real home. The type of home that I used to read about in books or see on TV and think that it never could possibly exist in reality."

"I was definitely lucky," Sonny agreed. "I just didn't understand it or appreciate it when I was growing up, you know? I don't know if I ever told you this, but my mom would bake bread every single day. I used to get picked on at school – the Italian boy with the fancy bread for his weird sandwiches – pepper and egg sandwiches, mind you...and I would beg Ma to just get a loaf of Wonder Bread and pack me a PB&J sandwich, but she never did. Now, when I look back, I realize I clearly had the best lunches in the entire school. It's one of those memories that make me realize how special my childhood was."

Amanda shook her head in disbelief. "I can't picture you asking for Wonder Bread. That contradicts everything I know about you."

"I was a kid – I didn't know any better," he protested.

"Tell me more about what it was like for you growing up."

"I mean, we weren't perfect. We had some hardships. We fought." He shrugged. "My pops was always a little tougher on me than he was my sisters, and he hated that my mom taught me how to cook, and clean and iron, but Ma always told him that she was gonna raise her son to be self-sufficient and he better teach his daughters how to be self-sufficient as well. So, he taught them how to put air in the tires of the car, change the oil, among other things – you know, basic life skills. Now, do my sisters do all of that? No...but do they know how to do it, yes, and that's all Ma ever wanted. Her mother was totally dependent on her father, and she didn't want her girls to be like that. Her father also never cooked himself food ever in his life, so she was determined not to let her son be like that either."

"It sounds like they balance each other well and make a good team."

"They do. A lot of other families in the neighborhood couldn't understand why your son would need to know how to cook and why your daughters would have to even know the first think about changing oil in the car. It was a pretty old school Italian neighborhood, but Ma...she knew what she was doing, she wanted her kids to be well rounded. She didn't care what anyone else thought."

He twirled her around for a second, and then she came back to nestle safely in her embrace. "I want my girls to be like that."

"They will be...they are...because they have you."

"And you."

He smiled. "Thanks, Manda." His voice was sincere, eyes sparkling at the mention of the girls. "That means a lot. I do love `em like they're my own."

"I know you do...that you always have." She realized it the first time he held each of her girls when they were only an hour or so old. The way his face filled with pride and wonder – even Dr. Al didn't have that look on his face when he held Billie for the first time. "And thanks for always being such a good sport when something comes up and we don't have any choice but to alter our plans. Or when we don't get the alone time we were looking forward to because of a nightmare or a fever or whatever else happens to come up."

His lip quirked up into a little smirk. "For as much as I do love them, I am really looking forward to spending this time completely alone with you. Sometimes...I want to be a little selfish and not share you." He gently traced his finger over the side of cheek and imagined how they'd spend the uninterrupted time they had together tonight when they got back to the bed and breakfast later that night. He dropped his hand quickly from her face before anyone saw them. "But I hate admitting that. It makes me seem like a terrible person."

"No, it doesn't," she assured him. "There are times when I don't want to share my time with you, either. Sorry that our relationship is a little...backwards...that we didn't get that time to be a couple – just the two of us."

"Nah, don't say things like that." He replied with a shake of his head. "This works for us...it makes us, us, you know? The girls are absolutely perfect. Every single wrong turn or missed opportunity was worth it because it led to them. Like we talked about a little in the car earlier, it was all part of God's plan or fate or whatever you want to call it. There's a reason why things happened this way."

She stared deeply into his eyes, and tilted her head the slightest bit to study him. "You really are amazing." It was still so surreal to her that someone like her, could end up with a man like him. "Maybe marriage isn't so bad after all..."

"Oh, yeah?" He raised his eyebrows, surprised. She made her views crystal clear on the idea of marriage, and there was a part of him that never thought she'd change her mind.

"Now, don't go getting any ideas just yet, okay? And don't go stoppin' at the first jewelry store you can find, either."

"Okay, okay," he chuckled as he led them around their little area of the dance floor, carefully steering them away from Kat and her girlfriend. He knew Kat was trying to be discreet, but the alcohol she consumed impaired her ability to channel her detective skills. It was so obvious that she was trying to determine if there was something going on between him and Rollins. Luckily, though, he didn't think she was able to hear their conversation. "I'll tell you what... if you do change your mind about marriage and all, you can propose to me. How's that?"

She laughed, her head tilted backwards slightly, and it was music to his ears. "You're serious?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I love you and I'm committed to being with you and girls...I'm all in. A marriage certificate won't make me love you guys any more, and not having one won't make me love you any less. There some benefits legally, of course, but there's ways around that with wills and beneficiary information, power of attorney and stuff like that... But if you do decide to propose to me someday, there's one stipulation. I still get to pick out an engagement ring for you."

"Deal." She agreed easily. "You're one of a kind, Dominick," she whispered. "You're amazing, no, sensational. No... there's not a word to describe what you are, Dominick Carisi." She couldn't stop staring into his eyes, and she knew she needed to look away from him before Kat busted them, but there was a magnetic pull between them that was making it difficult for her to do that.

Maybe it was the amount of alcohol they were consuming, or the fact that it was a hot and humid night as they danced around the backyard at Phoebe's family estate where fairy lights were giving off the most magical illusion, but she was transported back to another time – the night she turned him down outside of a motel hundreds of miles away from NYC and in that moment, she knew what she wanted. A redo.

He chuckled lightly as his hands dropped a little lower against her back – inching discreetly towards her six. "You're not so bad yourself, Rollins. Why don't we say our goodbyes and start heading back to the bed and breakfast?" He suggested, wagging his eyebrows, as he brought his hands back to a more respectable position along her upper back and shoulders.

She stared at his lips before she answered. She wanted nothing more than to kiss him in that very moment, and it took every ounce of will power she had to remind herself they couldn't do that at this particular time and place. "I like the way you think, Counselor."

His fingers caressed her arm lightly as he inched closer to whisper in her ear. "I told room service to bring champagne and chocolate covered strawberries and..."

She smirked and shook her head, effectively cutting him off from finishing that sentence. "That sounds sweet..."

"But?" He prompted her with a slight scowl.

"I don't want sweet. At least not first." She brought her bottom lip between her teeth seductively.

"Oh?" He was intrigued now. "What do you want?"

"A redo."

"A redo? Of what?"

"That night outside of the motel." And sweet - with chocolate covered strawberries and champagne- wasn't what that night would have been. They both knew that.

Someone who didn't know him as well as Amanda did, probably wouldn't have even noticed the way he blushed slightly. "Oh, yeah?" He asked, his voice low.

"Mmhm." She nodded. "That first and then we can indulge in all that sweet stuff after. What would you say to that?" She tapped her fingers against his chest.

"I'd say you got yourself a deal, Detective." He twirled her around once more as the song was coming to an end. "But perhaps, I should make a confession, first...in the spirit of full disclosure, of course." He said as she came to rest in his embrace.

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"Imagining what could have happened that night, Amanda," he began. "...it fueled many fantasies for many years." He was almost embarrassed to admit it to her. He didn't want it to seem like he used her.

Amanda wasn't even phased. "I did the same thing, too, Dominick," she replied, her voice equally as low.

He visibly relaxed. "Oh, you did, huh?"

"So many times, that I lost count." She whispered she his squeezed his elbow, silently saying I love you, without needing to verbalize the words.

"Then let's get outta here and make those fantasies become reality."