AN: Thank you for your patience! The month of April will be busy for me (with good things), but I'll try to update as frequently as I can. The beginning of this chapter is mildly NSFW.
do you know every battle that you've had to face / is making you bulletproof?
Amanda rummaged through the freezer for a brand new container of mint chocolate chip ice cream. With Jesse and Luca at Sonny's parent's house, it was safe to eat dessert without two sets of grabby hands wanting some, too. Setting the fresh quart onto the island, she popped off the top before retrieving a big spoon and a bowl from the cabinet. Frannie hovered at her bare feet, excited that somebody was eating and she could potentially reap the benefits of the meal. Amanda scooped a giant glob of the ice cream into her bowl, eagerly licking any melting excess off of her thumb in the process. She wore only boy shorts and one of Sonny's old plaid flannel shirts that hung on her more like a dress, still warm from being plucked straight out of the dryer. She was planning on settling down on the couch and watching television until she fell asleep - her idea of a luxurious Saturday night.
As she slung another hunk of mint chocolate chip into her dish, she felt Sonny come up behind her. His lips grazed her hair and she quirked an eyebrow as she teased, "what do you think you're doin'?"
"Givin' you a hug," he replied innocently, one hand squeezing a cheek of her ass and the other snaking around her waist and sliding deliberately up her torso.
"There's a lotta hands involved in this hug," she observed with a smirk.
"Well, in case you didn't notice," he began, "the only kid who's home is the one who's asleep and can't walk..."
"Ohhh, I see." Amanda arched her back slightly, tilting her head back until it encountered his shoulder. "I wanna eat my ice cream..." she pouted coquettishly.
Leaning in, he swiped a finger around the rim of her bowl, picking up melted ice cream with it. He held it out in front of Amanda as he challenged her mischievously, "who said you couldn't do that, too?"
Standing up straighter again, Amanda turned around to face Sonny so he could properly watch her take his sticky-sweet finger into her mouth. She made a show out of nipping playfully at it once she pulled away, then soothed the sting with her tongue again. He let out a low groan of desire that she felt in the warm pit of her own stomach and she grinned with excited satisfaction. Pressing closer to her, Amanda felt her lower back bump the counter as Sonny pinned her in place to kiss her. The intensity with which his mouth met hers was like he was ravenous for her, and it stirred up enough longing inside of Amanda to temporarily distract her from her dessert.
Grabbing his face between her two hands, Amanda shivered at the way the stubble along Sonny's jaw prickled against her palms. "I love it when you're all scruffy. It's so sexy," she panted into their kiss.
"Oh, yeah?" he growled with a low chuckle. "Well, I love it when you wear my shirts..."
"I was hoping you'd notice," she murmured. Standing on the tips of her toes, she hopped up so she was perched on the edge of the island. She wrapped her bare legs around Sonny's waist, trapping him - as if he was going to go anywhere.
A rough palm slid up the side of her thigh and she felt his fingers curling around the waistband of her underwear. "I'm gonna f-"
Suddenly, Amanda's phone began to vibrate loudly on the island and she jerked her mouth away from Sonny's to watch the device bounce around the counter top.
"Ignore it," Sonny ordered huskily.
She squirmed beneath his touch, conflicted. "What if it's work?"
He began to create a trail of kisses down her neck. "You're extremely busy."
Unable to resist, Amanda stretched out one arm and snatched up her phone. She pressed it to her ear. "Hello?" she answered breathlessly.
"Amanda?" a female voice came over the speaker.
Amanda eyes fluttered closed as she felt Sonny's thumb circle her nipple, his hand now shamelessly shoved all the way up and underneath the button-down she was wearing. "This... is Amanda," she managed.
"It's Mia..."
She immediately snatched at Sonny's wrist, stopping him mid-grope, wanting to give the teenager her full attention. "Mia? Hi... what's going on?"
Sonny froze when she spoke his niece's name, eyes wide in anticipation.
"The test was right: I'm pregnant," Mia told her. "The doctor said I'm really pregnant."
"Oh, Mia..." Amanda sighed, her stomach clenching with dread.
"What? What's happenin'?" Sonny hissed anxiously.
"Five weeks," Mia whispered.
"What do you wanna do?" she asked the teenager gently.
"I don't know. I really don't know," Mia croaked. "I... could you and Uncle Sonny come over next week? I can't tell my mother alone."
"Sure," she nodded. "Just tell us when and we'll be there."
"Alright."
"Hang in there, Mia. It's all gonna work out."
"Uh huh..."
"I'll talk to you soon, okay?" Amanda promised before they hung up. After the call had ended, she set her phone back down with a sigh.
"She's really pregnant, isn't she?" Sonny grumbled.
Her blue eyes met his. "Yeah, she is."
"I wanna kill Ethan," he breathed, shaking his head in disgust. "That son of a bitch, he's got no clue what he's done..."
Amanda frowned. She could see the lines etched in Sonny's forehead and around his eyes as he seethed in anger. "Ice cream?" she offered sweetly, nudging the bowl she had been momentarily distracted from toward him.
He scowled, then sighed and picked up the spoon like he didn't have it in him to protest. He dug it into the ice cream and took a bite. "You told her we'd help her tell Teresa?" he asked thickly.
"Yeah." She opened her mouth eagerly like a little kid. "Gimme a bite."
A flicker of a smile crossed Sonny's features at her request. Obediently, he fed her a spoonful of ice cream before getting himself another bite. "Probably best if there's a buffer," he mused through the mint chocolate chip. "I told you what Teresa was like when Mia told her she was takin' a break from school..."
Amanda nodded. "You said her head spun around."
"Pretty much," he replied grimly.
She quirked an eyebrow in amusement as she observed, "you're eating all my ice cream."
"Oh, yeah," he grunted. He thrust the bowl and spoon toward her before he got a spoon of his own and jabbed it into the container Amanda had abandoned on the island.
She took the bowl but set it down at her side. "And... weren't we right in the middle of something?" she reminded Sonny. She tugged at his t-shirt insistently as she insisted, "gimme a kiss."
Sonny waggled his eyebrows and put down the ice cream. "Just a kiss?" he smirked, a cold palm sliding up either side of her thighs.
A flirtatious grin tugged at Amanda's lips. "Some other stuff, too."
"Coffee?" Liv offered as they hovered outside of the courthouse on a sunny Tuesday morning.
"Yeah. Large, black," Amanda answered her appreciatively. "Thanks."
"You okay, Amanda?" the lieutenant asked after she had ordered from the familiar cart. "You seem a little... distracted."
"Yeah..." she replied automatically, then sighed. She was too tired to pretend. "Well, no. Sonny's niece, Mia... she's pregnant."
Liv's eyes widened in surprise as she passed Amanda her drink. "Oh, no.."
"Yeah." She popped open the top of the cup to eagerly take a sip of the coffee. "Sonny's head practically exploded when she told him. Her mother doesn't know yet. Nobody knows but us."
"What's she going to do?" Liv asked.
"I have no idea," Amanda admitted. She gave Liv a pointed look. "You can guess how the Carisi family feels about abortion..."
"Mm..." Liv quirked an eyebrow. "And how do they feel about unwed mothers?"
She gave a little snort of laughter. "She's screwed either way. She could have the baby adopted, but I don't know if she's ready to think about doing that." After a beat of contemplative silence, Amanda continued, "I always thought my family was screwed up. I mean, don't get me wrong, they are, but... it's weird. Carisi's family, I always put them on a pedestal, you know? Two parents, nice house, nobody with a raging alcohol problem or gambling addiction... but over the years I've realized they've definitely got their issues, too. They're just a different kind."
Liv nodded and gave Amanda a knowing sideways glance. "Honeymoon's over."
The playground was busy on a spring day. The sound of children giggling and shrieking with joy floated easily through the warm air. Jesse and Luca moved side-by-side on the swings like two little pendulums; when one kicked high, the other swayed smoothly backward. Ruby dug in the sand near by, young enough to still be fascinated by the way the tiny granules slipped through her fingers. Their brother, a chubby-cheeked toddler...
...was missing.
Amanda's heart started pounding in her ears and her throat began to close. Flooded with fear, she turned around in circles over and over again, hoping to see her forth child. It was so bright out - the light from the sun was blinding - and she couldn't make out faces in the crowd. Her feet like they were trapped in cement, preventing her from taking action. She wanted to scream but she was rendered breathless. He was just a little kid, he couldn't be separated from her, he needed his mother. Did Sonny know what was going on? Why couldn't he help her? Why-
"-'Manda! Amanda!"
She gulped at air as if she had been drowning and had finally broke the water's surface. She could feel sweat sticky on her forehead and chest as she scrabbled at the tangled sheets enveloping her in order to jerk herself upright. Blue eyes wide, she blinked around the dark room frantically: there was their bureau, the armchair piled with clothes for dry cleaning, the book shelf crowded with novels and law school texts and picture frames. To her right was Sonny, turning on his light, bare limbs rearranging themselves to sit up next to her. It was all familiar, but Amanda was trembling with anxiety, an emptiness deep inside of her still aching and uncomfortable.
"It's alright," Sonny told her. "It was just a dream. You're okay."
Amanda couldn't seem to open her mouth just yet. She lifted one set of shaking fingers and pushed her damp bangs away from her forehead.
"Amanda, hey. You're alright," Sonny soothed in the same way he did when one of the kids had a nightmare, clearly noticing how distressed she was. A hand slid beneath the back of her shirt, his warm palm making slow circles against bare skin as he watched her carefully. "I'm right here."
She swallowed hard and nodded, grounded by his touch.
"What was it about?" he asked after a minute of quiet.
Gingerly, she bent her knees up to her chest. "I was at the park. With the kids. The one we used to go to in Long Island City. The baby went missing."
His brow furrowed. "Ruby? Or Luca?"
Covering her face with her palms, Amanda bowed her head. She felt overwhelmed with a combination of emotions: lingering terror from her dream, disappointment that the child she thought was real was not, and embarrassment that a year later she would have to admit to Sonny that their unborn son still occupied her unconscious. Her eyes began to burn with tears she was far too proud to shed. "No."
Sonny's hand paused. "'Manda..."
"It was so real, Sonny," she whispered, lifting her head to peer over at him even though she felt pathetic. He was looking at her as if he felt badly for her. "I didn't see him. I just knew he was there, that he belonged with me. I knew he was mine. Ours."
Sonny exhaled. He dropped his gaze and studied the wall at the opposite end of the room as he reminded her quietly, "we have three great kids and all of them are safe."
"I know that," Amanda insisted nervously. "Don't you ever think about him, though?"
"I try not to," he admitted, tone grim. "I hated seein' what that did to you."
She picked at the fabric of their comforter and admitted sheepishly, "I've dreamt about him before."
He turned his head and narrowed his eyes on her. "Why haven't you told me?"
Amanda shrugged. "I didn't want you to think... to think that I loved any of the kids less or... that I wasn't happy, or..." she trailed off uselessly.
Sonny angled his body to face her better and set a palm atop her bare knee. "I'd never think that, Amanda." He sighed and shook his head. "It's just, I don't know what to say," he admitted softly, "I didn't know then and I don't know now. It's not that I never think about it."
"It's... different for you. He wasn't part of your body," she whispered, the words a little painful for her to speak.
He squeezed her knee wordlessly.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, a distinct heaviness lingering between them. Amanda felt a twinge of guilt, both for rousing Sonny and for making him shoulder the weight of her lingering grief. "I'm sorry I woke you up," she sighed eventually. Turning her head, she leaned in to give him a soft kiss. "Go back to sleep."
"Hey," Sonny said as she began to pull away, a palm cupping the side of her face. He looked her in the eye as he told her, "you're an amazing mother to all of our kids, even the one who isn't here with us."
She felt her breath catch in her chest at Sonny's words, appreciative of the sentiment and touched by his attempt to comfort her. "Thanks," she managed.
He leaned in kissed her again gently."Y'want anything? Some water? A shot of whiskey?"
Amanda shook her head and offered him a weak smile. "Nah. I'm alright."
Sonny nodded. "Think you can go back to sleep?"
"Yeah," she lied.
"Jesus, Amanda. Slow down," Sonny pleaded from the passenger's seat, a hand bracing him against the glove compartment.
"I'm not going fast," Amanda scoffed as she sped down Verrazano bridge into Staten Island. "You only think so because you drive so slow in comparison."
"Well, I'm not tryin' to get to my sister's in a hurry," he grumbled petulantly.
She sighed. "I'd rather just get it over - what the fuck do you think you're doin'? Use your goddamn blinker!" she yelled suddenly as she was carelessly cut off by a shiny red Jeep. "Man, who teaches y'all to drive in Staten Island? A blind old lady?"
"Okay, that's your one Staten Island crack of the day," Sonny ordered. "No more."
Amanda pouted but left the topic of his hometown alone. She wasn't looking forward to an afternoon at his sister's, mostly because she was anticipating a disaster. Mia had asked them to be her buffer when she told her mother that she was pregnant, and while neither of them had the heart to refuse, they definitely weren't excited about it. They were familiar with Teresa's quick temper and high expectations; she could be generous and sweet, but she was also demanding and explosive when upset. Her nerves had understandably been frayed from the ordeal surrounding her daughter's assault, but she had only become more frazzled in the aftermath. Mia leaving school had devastated her - a pregnancy would only serve as salt in the wound.
"Hi, you two!" Teresa greeted them cheerfully when Amanda and Sonny stood side-by-side on her front steps. She flung her arms around each of them in a hug before pulling them inside. "Come in. You want a beer? Some wine?"
"Nah," Sonny replied. "Thanks, T."
Amanda shook her head to refuse. "Me neither, I'm good."
"Well, alright. You're not pregnant again, are you?" Teresa chuckled as they all moved into the living room.
She suppressed the urge to cringe. "Ha, no."
"Mia, your uncle and Amanda are here. Come downstairs!" Teresa called. She dropped down into an arm chair and looked between her brother and sister-in-law expectantly. "So... what's the occasion?"
Sonny cleared his throat, his knee knocking against Amanda's as he fidgeted in his spot next to her on the sofa. Moments later, Mia came down the stairs and cautiously took a seat next to her uncle. For a terse minute, nobody said anything.
"What's goin' on with you all?" Teresa laughed.
"I'm pregnant," Mia blurted.
Teresa's mouth hung open and all of the color drained from her face. "What?" she breathed. Shakily, she rose to her feet, eyes wild with her shock and horror. "You have got to be kiddin' me." She rounded on Amanda and Sonny and demanded, "did you two know about this? Dominick?"
"Yeah, we knew," Sonny admitted sheepishly.
"And you kept this from me? All of you?" Teresa cried. "Mia, how could you? I can't believe this!"
Amanda pulled in a steady breath before she said, "this isn't her fault, Teresa-"
"Don't try and be her friend!" Teresa snapped. "This is serious!"
"She's right," Sonny interjected. "This isn't her fault."
"I can't believe this is happenin'! You're a kid!" Teresa began to pace, dragging a hand through her blonde hair. "I didn't think this... situation... could get any worse..."
"Alright, alright. Calm down, Teresa-" Sonny begged.
"Don't you dare tell me to calm down," his sister snarled.
"She has options," Amanda told her sister-in-law gently. "She can have the baby adopted, she can t-"
"I don't wanna hear it. I don't wanna hear any of this." She paused to face Mia again, her eyes filled with angry tears. "I have worked my whole life in order to give you a better one, and now... now this? It was all for nothing!"
"That isn't fair," Amanda protested, suddenly protective of the teenager. "She didn't plan for any of this to happen. Mia's a smart and ambitious girl. She can have a bright future, it just might look a little different-"
"Oh, suddenly you're a parenting expert 'cause your life is so perfect?" Teresa spat, eyes narrow as she stared down at Amanda. "I think we all know that if it wasn't for my brother, you and your daughter's life would have looked a hell of a lot worse."
Amanda suddenly felt like she had swallowed glass. The obvious venom in her sister-in-law's comment stung; she was so shocked by it that she was rendered temporarily speechless. Pink blotches began to blossom against the skin of her chest and cheeks as she imagined what else Teresa thought about her - or worse, all of the other things she could have remarked to the rest of the Carisis.
"Teresa, enough," Sonny exclaimed angrily, rising to his feet and pointing an emphatic finger at his sister as he spoke, "that is enough. You've got absolutely no right to talk to Amanda that way."
"Well, she's got no right thinkin' she can parent my kid!" Teresa retorted loudly.
Amanda found her voice, but fought to keep it even given her level of surprise and embarrassment. "I'm not trying-"
"I'm talkin' to my brother," Teresa interrupted sternly.
"Mom, please..." Mia begged from her place on the couch, very obviously mortified.
"Mia, I can't... I can't even look at you right now," Teresa sobbed, now crying freely. "Everything you've worked for... down the drain..." She shook her head, covered her face with her hands, then declared, "I need some air." She stalked away from them toward the back of the house and disappeared.
"Mia, why don't you go grab some things from your room," Sonny instructed his niece calmly. "You can stay with us for the weekend, give everybody a chance to cool off."
Wordlessly, Mia nodded before scurrying upstairs to her bedroom. Amanda remained sitting on the couch, chewing the inside of her cheek, while Sonny dug the heels of his palms roughly into his eyes in frustration. Neither of them spoke, most likely because enough had been said already.
Luca had attached himself to Sonny's leg in the doorway of his bedroom, out of bed and curious about the activity in the house. "Alright, c'mon, ya little monster," Sonny chuckled to him quietly, ruffling the little boy's hair. "Go back to sleep."
Now changed into old college sweatpants and a tank top, Amanda slipped past them in the hallway in search of a distraction from the events of the evening. "I'm gonna make sure Mia's all settled."
On the first floor, she found Mia huddled on the living room couch. "Want me to make you some tea?" Amanda offered her as she moved into the kitchen. "It's peppermint. It'll settle your stomach."
Mia nodded. "Okay."
She set the kettle on the stove before retrieving the box of tea from a cabinet. "Sorry you've gotta camp out on the couch. I'll pull out the trundle bed in Jesse's room tomorrow night."
"This is fine." Mia burrowed deeper beneath the big blanket Amanda had gotten her earlier. "It's a nice couch."
Amanda found a clean mug and dropped a tea bag inside. When the kettle began to whistle, she quickly removed it from the heat to dump the boiling water into the cup. She carried the warm drink over to Mia and carefully passed it to her.
"Everybody hates me," Mia whispered, clasping the warm mug in between her palms. "My whole family hates me."
"That isn't true. I don't hate you. Neither does your uncle," Amanda insisted, sitting down next to the teenager. "And your mother is just... afraid. She's sad this all happened to you. She loves you."
Mia shook her head. "No, she only loves me when I live up to her expectations. And this... this is the biggest disappointment. I know that she thinks this is my fault. If only I hadn't lied about Ethan in the first place..."
"Don't go there, Mia," Amanda urged her. "You aren't to blame."
She looked over at her as she admitted softly, "I'm really scared."
Amanda frowned. "Mia... I know I'm older than you, but I remember how scary it felt, havin' a kid on my own. It's a big decision. Taking care of a baby... it's not easy."
"I don't know what to do," Mia lamented. "I've always been told abortion is a sin. But if I have the baby, I'm so afraid... I'm so afraid it'll... be like him. That it'll be bad."
"Nah, that's what's best about babies: they're born innocent little things," Amanda assured her with a small, nostalgic smile. "They're born perfect."
Nodding, Mia bowed her head and seemed to be focusing intently on the tea in her cup.
"There are plenty of people in the world who can't have kids, who'd love one," Amanda continued. "That's an option, too."
"I'd have to... be pregnant the whole time and give it up right away? Right when it's born?" Mia asked meekly.
Amanda studied Mia's face and saw a combination of innocent confusion and apprehension. She must be so overwhelmed, Amanda figured. Pulling in a deep breath, she shook her head lightly as if to dismiss the topic of conversation. "You should get some rest. This stuff, it can wait a little bit," she concluded, giving Mia's blanket-clad leg a reassuring pat. "Frannie usually sleeps with us, so she won't be a pain. Maybe in the morning we can all get breakfast or something." She stood up as she offered, "if you need us, just come upstairs. I'm a light sleeper."
Mia gave her a weak smile. "Thanks, Amanda."
"No problem." She plucked Fluffy up from off of the floor and cradled the cat in her arms so she could carry him upstairs in hopes of keeping him from bothering Mia. She set him outside of Jesse's room and he quickly slipped through her cracked door; Amanda often found him napping close to the little girl.
When she entered her own bedroom, Sonny was sitting on the edge of their unmade bed. He rose to his feet when she shut the door behind herself; his features were wrought with worry. "'Manda, what Teresa said to you earlier-"
Shaking her head, she waved her hand as she walked further into the room. "Let's not talk about it."
He hurried after her. "It's not true. She's just upset about Mia-"
"It's alright, Sonny," she interrupted, reaching for her comb on the bureau, feeling more uncomfortable with every second that passed. Typically thick-skinned, Amanda was surprised by how embarrassed she was by Teresa's remark. Maybe it was because she had spent years yearning for the Carisi's approval; she thought so highly of all of them. It was unsettling to know that one of Sonny's sisters had likely been judging her from the start.
"I could tell it hurt your feelings," he went on gently.
"'Hurt my feelings?' What am I, five?" Amanda scoffed, dragging her brush through her long hair. Her blue eyes were icy and narrow with disdain - even though Sonny's observation was totally accurate.
"It bothered me."
Amanda turned to face the mirror, watching as blonde strands slipped through the teeth of her comb, Sonny hovering anxiously directly behind her. "At least she actually said what she's been thinking this whole time you and me have been together," she remarked crassly.
"That isn't true," Sonny insisted, visibly exasperated. "She says a lot of stupid stuff when she's pissed off. Look at all the shit she's called me since... well, forever."
She set her brush down and turned around again. Arms crossed over her chest, she met her husband's gaze, her features stony. "Yeah, well, this wasn't name-calling. It's clear she's got a pretty low opinion of me and my daughter."
"Our daughter," he asserted, appearing offended by her choice of words. "Whatever she says about you, she says about me, and I'm not gonna stand for it."
"What are you gonna do? Tell your mother?" she asked him with a snort of sarcastic laughter.
Sonny's jaw clenched and his lips pressed together in a hard line.
"Has she ever talked about me like that before, to you?" Amanda demanded. Even though rehashing the incident was making her cringe, she couldn't help but be morbidly curious. "Has anybody in your family? And don't lie to me."
"What? Of course not!" he sputtered, eyes big with outrage from the mere suggestion. "My parents love you like you're their kid. You know that."
"Your sisters?" she pressed.
His brow knitted together as he shook his head. "Absolutely not. They'd never have the nerve to talk about you to me."
She wasn't convinced. "That doesn't mean they don't think I'm trailer trash."
"Amanda-"
"Whatever, Sonny," she interjected hastily, walking away to yank at the covers on her side of the bed. Somehow, talking to him about his family's opinion of her was making her feel worse - like even more of a misfit outsider. "Worse things have been said about me. But this is really about Mia. I'm sorry if I'm causin' some... some big Carisi feud, but she's a good kid and she deserves support."
"I don't disagree," he replied diplomatically.
Amanda tugged at the three delicate rings that were stacked on her finger: her engagement and wedding bands, then the ring Sonny had given her after Ruby was born. She set them down on her nightstand. "So let's just... let it go."
"C'mon, don't be like that," Sonny pleaded. "We've gotta talk about this. Don't shut me out."
Her heart squeezed in her chest at the touch of desperation in his voice. Crossing her arms over her chest, she turned around and looked at him - he appeared as hurt as she felt. She couldn't quite meet his eyes; it was hard for her to admit that his sister's comment had made her sad. Amanda was ashamed, like she should have been able to brush it off and dismiss it - not let it eat away at her insides all night. "What do you want me to say, Sonny? Huh?" she asked him in quiet exasperation. "You want me to admit she hurt my feelings? Is that it? Fine. She did. She doesn't think I'm good enough for you. And she brought Jesse into it, like I was some terrible mother before you and me got together. Say what you want about me, but her..."
"Amanda, she's just jealous," he insisted weakly. "She's jealous because her marriage failed and all her attempts at relationships after that have failed, too. But you and me? We've got a good life. She wishes she had that."
"Well, maybe all her relationships failed because she's a crazy bitch," Amanda mumbled, glaring at the wall behind Sonny.
"I mean, that's my workin' theory, yeah," he admitted. He reached out to her, each of his hands squeezing at her upper arms. "But, God, 'Manda. Don't take what she said to heart. It's not true. I know you know that."
She rubbed at her forehead and exhaled. "I just wasn't expectin' to hear it-"
Their bedroom door cracked open, revealing Luca in his pajamas. "Mama? Daddy?"
Turning around, Sonny reminded him with a sigh, "Lu, you know you're supposed to be in bed."
"I wanna nuggle," the toddler declared, charging into their bedroom.
"Huh?"
"Nuggle."
"Snuggle, you mean?" Amanda guessed, smiling a little despite herself.
Luca nodded. "Yes." He toddled over to her and wrapped his arms around one of her legs. Peering up at her curiously, he asked, "where Jesse?"
"In bed, like you should be," she told him, setting a hand atop his blonde head.
"Where Ruby?" Luca went on.
"She's in bed, too," Sonny said.
"Let's all go to bed, huh? How 'bout that?" Amanda suggested lightly, shamelessly using her anxious son as a way to avoid further discussion with Sonny.
"Me in the middle!" Luca announced happily as he let go of his mother and clambered up onto the big mattress. "Bed time, daddy!"
