Hey everyone!! The song for this chapter is "Breathe Your Name" by Sixpence None the Richer.

You are in my heart
I can feel your beat
And you move my mind
From behind the wheel
When I lose control
I can only breathe your name

"No kidding?" Link's blue eyes were locked on Corny as he spoke, albeit somewhat reluctantly. "So, she just dumped her off and left?"

"Hey!" Sophie cried softly, letting her spoon dip into the ice cream she'd dished into bowls for desert. "Nobody dumped me off…I'm not a bag of garbage."

"Aww," Link turned to look at her quickly, chucking her chin with his finger, "I didn't mean it like that, sweetie."

Amber watched as Sophie melted at Link's touch, and found herself smirking involuntarily. She could feel Corny's eyes on her, and raised her stare to meet his. The corners of his lips turned into a slight smile, and she returned the look. Amber let her spoon push into her ice cream, but didn't eat it. She pushed her chair back slightly, and cleared her throat.

"Sophie, help me with the dishes," she requested gently, and Sophie groaned loudly.

"Amber," her name was long and drawn out, "I want to eat my ice cream before it melts!"

Amber pursed her lips and stood, beginning to gather the plates into her arms.

"I'll help," Link volunteered, standing as well, offering Amber a gentle smile as he began to gather plates. She could feel her cheeks warming, and nodded, pushing her way through the dining room and into the kitchen. She let the plates slide into the sink and turned the faucet on, preparing to wash them. She heard Link enter the kitchen behind her. He moved gracefully toward her, sliding the dishes into the sink and stepping back. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and he watched her for a moment.

She stood at the sink, knowing what he was preparing to say. It was inevitable; she could almost predict his exact words.

"Listen, Amber, I'm sorry. About everything."

Bingo. She kept her eyes on the dishes, and heard him move behind her.

"I know we didn't exactly end on the best terms. You were a conceited little brat, and I was a stupid kid. I thought I had the world figured out when I was seventeen years old." He sighed softly, and she slowly turned to look at him, "I can't even remember why we hated each other so much." His blue eyes were watching her, and she averted her gaze from him.

Amber wanted to tell him exactly why; she wanted to be the voice of reason in this situation, but suddenly, she couldn't remember either. It had been six long years; high school seemed like lifetimes ago. Her relationship with Link seemed like a different world.

"So, what happened between you and Tracy?" She was desperate for a change of topic; desperate for him to stop watching her with those eyes the color of a swimming pool.

His gaze fell suddenly, and he shuffled his feet.

"She wanted….deserved… a lot more than I could give her. She deserved someone who could buy her beautiful things, spend lots of money on her. She wanted to go to college, I wanted to travel." He glanced up at her, seemingly asking her if that was enough of an explanation. "We just had different dreams."

Amber screwed her mouth up.

"Love isn't about what you can give someone, Link."

"Yeah, well, when you're eighteen, it is." Link let his tongue dart out to wet his lips as he grabbed a dish towel and began to dry the dishes Amber placed on the countertop. "How long have you and Corny been together?"

Amber shot a sideways glance at the ring on her finger, and felt the corner of her lips twitch into a smile.

"We've been together for a little over two years," she nodded, "Engaged for about six months."

"Wow," he sighed softly, "I never thought…well, I never thought a few things."

She looked at him curiously.

"I never thought Amber Von Tussle would get married…I never thought Corny Collins would get married…and I sure as hell never thought you'd end up marrying each other."

Amber chuckled softly, and then nodded.

"Yes, it's certainly somewhat surreal."

"I'll have to give him a man-to-man talk. You know, make sure he knows that you were mine first. If he breaks your heart, I'll break his face." Link was grinning.

Amber pulled her lips together, trying to ignore the heat rushing to her face.

"What are you doing back in Baltimore, Link?" She wondered softly, "I mean, this country must have some more exciting places to live than Baltimore."

"It does," he admitted after a short silence, "but Baltimore is my home."

Sophie pushed into the kitchen suddenly, carrying her ice cream bowl to the sink and dropping it in.

"Link, can I show you something?" She looked hesitantly up at him, and he glanced at Amber before laying the towel on the counter.

"Sure," he grinned at her, "as long as Amber doesn't mind that I'm ditching her."

She waved her hand at them, and Sophie scurried out of the kitchen, Link following close behind.

Amber let the water drain, and sighed. She suddenly felt a pair of strong hands on her hips, and warm breath on her neck. She smirked, closing her eyes.

"Ooh, Link…I told you we can't do this while Corny's here." She let her face break into a grin, and turned her head to look at him. Corny's mouth turned into a frown, and he took a step back. She turned, resting her arms on his shoulders. "Oh, it's just you. Well, that's okay, then."

"Very funny," he watched her, "So, you think Link's going to be heading home soon? Cause…it's almost time for Sophie to go to bed, and I..." he kissed her neck, sending goose bumps over her skin, "am kind of ready for bed, too."

She felt her cheeks flush, and tilted her head so that he could taste her skin. She moaned softly, just enough for him to hear it, and then let her eyelids flutter close.

"Baby, I can't just kick him out," she sighed, even though right now she really wanted to.

"I know…but I can. I want you to myself, baby, I don't want to have to share you with anyone," he smirked at her, and she pulled back slightly from him, shaking her head.

"I'm sure he'll go soon," she smirked, "and then you can do whatever you want with me." She stepped back, flinging the dish towel over his shoulder. "Now help me dry these dishes."

Close to two hours later, and much too long for Corny's likes, Link had gone. He had bid them all farewell, and Sophie had pouted as she'd watched him drive away. Sophie had requested that Amber put her to bed that night, and she sat curled in the pink blankets on her bed as Amber perched on the edge.

"There," Amber sighed, pushing the covers around her tiny body so that she could barely move, "is that good? You ready for bed now?"

"No," Sophie replied simply, "I need a story first. You really should know that by now, Amber."

"And you should know that I don't do stories," she replied, starting to stand up.

"Amber, come on! All you have to do is make something up and say it. You never stop talking, and now you don't want to start?" Sophie watched her expectantly. Amber sighed.

"Fine! Just lay back and close your eyes." Sophie did as she was told, and Amber watched her. "Okay." She paused for a moment. "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess. And her mother was an ugly, horrible witch. Well, one day, this beautiful princess met a gorgeous prince. The beautiful princess was locked in a tower, and she would call her prince's name all night, and finally, he came to rescue her, and he asked her to marry him. The princess said yes, of course, and they lived happily ever after."

Sophie leaned up on her elbows, glaring at Amber.

"Does this beautiful princess happen to be named Amber?" She asked knowingly. Amber smiled.

"Well, as a matter of fact-"

"Because if this beautiful princess is named Amber, then you forgot the part about the gorgeous prince's adorable daughter." Sophie smirked. Amber scowled at her suddenly.

"Whatever, he had an adorable daughter. The end." Amber stood and started out of the room.

"And just because the princess had to call the prince's name all night doesn't mean you actually have to do it, Amber."

Amber turned slowly, looking at Sophie again.

"What?"

"I mean," she cleared her throat, "You sleep in the same room with Daddy. You know that he can hear you. You don't have to scream his name when you want to talk to him." She furrowed her eyebrows at Amber. "It's like you're playing Daddy's roll call game, except he's the only one who ever gets his name called, and he's not even the one saying it!"

"Sophie!" Amber hushed her suddenly, her face burning hot, "Have you ever heard of something called privacy?"

"Have you ever heard of something called whispering?" Sophie shot back, "I bet even Daddy gets tired of hearing his name that much. What do you do in there at night, anyway?"

"It is his roll call game," Amber spit the words back at her, "We're rehearsing. Now go to sleep." She flipped the switch and the room descended into darkness. Sophie called for her suddenly.

"Amber!" Amber rolled her eyes into the back of her head and turned, glaring at the child.

"What?"

"You and Link…" she hesitated for a moment, "You used to be in love a long, long time ago, right?" She watched her with huge brown eyes.

Amber felt a lump in her throat suddenly, and chewed on her lip. She wasn't sure if love was the right word for it. They had never been able to get their relationship right, probably because they'd never really had a relationship to begin with. It had been based on lies, and at the time, it had worked for them.

"Something like that," Amber nodded.

"But you love Daddy now, right?" The question came. Amber felt the corners of her lips turning into a smile.

"Right."

"Good," Sophie snuggled into her pillows, "I'm glad."

Amber felt her heart melt a little, and watched Sophie curl into the bed. She suddenly felt guilty, for always being so snappy with Sophie. She was just a little girl, and Amber often forgot that.

"Oh," Amber felt herself saying softly, "Don't worry, Soph. I'm not going to leave you and your daddy."

Sophie propped herself up again, watching her.

"What?"

"I said, I'm not going to leave you and your daddy," Amber replied quietly, still smiling, "I do love him, very much."

Sophie studied her for a moment, and rested against her pillows once again.

"Gee, Amber. I just wanted to know if you and Link were really broken up, because I want to marry him someday." She cleared her throat, closing her eyes, "You don't have to get all mushy."

The smile faded suddenly from Amber's face, and she glared at Sophie.

"Go to sleep." Her voice was back at its normal speaking tone. She shut the door behind her, and headed down the hallway toward Corny's bedroom. She slipped inside, and planted her mouth on his in a deep, affirmative kiss.

"Corny," her voice was breathy, and she whispered the name into his ear as his hands worked over her body. It was time for roll call.