"Excuse us for a moment" Nick had to walk out of the room and Amanda followed him, closing the door behind her.

"Nick" she reached for his arm.

"A little warning would have been nice" he looked at her.

"Well, I wasn't sure how to tell you, the ADA asked me to talk to you and I..." when the ADA told her, she had no idea how to tell Nick that his father has a pregnant girlfriend, she couldn't just say congratulations, you're going to be a brother. The thought made her chuckle and Nick gave her a puzzled look.

"I'm sorry" he took a step towards her "I just don't know what I'm supposed do to"

Amanda gave him a reassuring smile "listen to him, he just wants to talk to you"

Nick nodded, there goes his not getting involved plan, he wanted to just let it go and he was being sucked in. Maybe he didn't have a choice? Being born to this kind of a man meant never being free of him?

But he wasn't that kid who was always afraid to do or say the wrong thing, who didn't know what he did wrong and why his father was always so mad. And he wasn't the man who testified against him, who almost lost the relationship with his mother and sister because of that, he wasn't that broken man who was so lost then. He was different and he knew why.

He was happy.

For so long he had forgotten what happiness felt like, as if it was something that only other people felt but only a distant memory for him. Until he allowed himself to be really happy, allowed himself to accept the feeling he's been having, feelings that scared him for a long time. But once he admitted it to himself, accepted it and realized their love was the right thing – he was happy.

Nick gave her a quick kiss, a gesture that surprised her a bit since they were standing by the ADA's office.

"Sorry about that" Nick walked in and Amanda followed.

"It's alright" the man stood up and introduced himself "and this is Ms. Silvia Rodríguez"

"You look just like him" she looked almost scared when she said that, as if it was meant to be only a thought.

Nick was bothered by the comparison but didn't show it, this wasn't the first time somebody told him he looked like his father. Nick sat down in one of the chairs in front if the ADA's desk. The woman, Silvia, sat down too and Amanda leaned against the wall, there were no other seats available.

"I've asked you to come here so I could tell you about the plan for this case, I'm sure you know that your father is being charged for assaulting Ms. Rodríguez" she looked down when the ADA mentioned her name, almost ashamed of it "Ms. Rodríguez is having second thoughts about pressing charges…"

Nick didn't have to listen anymore, he knew exactly what the man was about to say. What was it about his father that made people feel like he didn't have to pay for his actions? No matter what, he was always forgiven.

"Listen" Nick stopped the ADA in the middle of a sentence "I'm sure you did your job and know all about the trial in New York, you know nothing came out of it. This man deserves to go to prison, but I will not testify" he turned to the woman "I don't know what you found in him, but you deserve better, I don't know you but someone who treats you badly and does…" he looked at her arms, the long sleeves probably hiding fresh bruises "this to a pregnant woman…you can't ignore it, you need to do the right thing for you and for your baby"

"I know" she whispered, not looking at Nick.

"Good" Nick stood up "I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but…" he shrugged and looked at Amanda "we need to go"

Amanda smiled at the ADA before stepping out of the door and following Nick to the parking lot.

"You ok?" she asked and he shrugged again.

"I don't know what people find in him" Nick looked into her eyes and noticed the twinkle in her eyes, as if his remark made her laugh but she was trying to fight it "it would have been funny if he wasn't such a terrible person"

"You're right" she nodded and caressed his hand "but seriously, this is exactly a thing you can't change, I'm not saying you have to accept it, but try not to let it get into your head, if you don't want to get involved in this, then don't, I have your back, always" she smiled at him "even if you want to get involved, ok?"

"Thanks" he leaned in for a quick kiss "I love you"

"Let's get back home"

"Mommy!" Ethan was happy to see his mother and ran to her.

"Hey baby, did you have fun with your sister?" she caressed his hair and looked at Zara "how are you hon? You're staying for dinner?"

"No, I need to get back home. Look at the shirt we bought for Ethan today"

"Look mommy" Ethan stretched it a bit and looked down as if he was reading the writing.

"It says" Zara reminded him "I have the coolest dad"

"And mommy" Ethan added almost instinctively and Amanda rewarded him with a kiss.

"That's right" she smiled.

"Come on Zara, I'll drive you home" Nick opened the door.

"Bye Amanda" Zara gave her a hug and turned to her little brother "and bye to you too, the coolest kid ever"

"Bye Zara" Ethan kissed her "I love you!"

"Love you too kid" she winked and grabbed her bag before walking to the front door.

"Thanks for watching him" Nick sat in the car.

"No problem, I love spending time with him"

"You're always welcome, you know that" he glanced at her.

Maria got married over a year ago but from the little Zara shared and the pieces of information he gathered, there was trouble in paradise. He did want Maria to be happy, after all, he was, she deserved that too. So Nick hoped the arguments Zara mentioned were just a hiccup.

"I know, but…Jeff moved out" seemed like it wasn't a hiccup "so I don't want mom to be alone tonight"

"That's a good idea Zara" he was proud of his daughter, she was such a caring person, she had a good relationship with her older brother and loved her younger one.

When he returned home Amanda and Ethan had set the table and she placed the food on the table.

"Daddy we're hungry!" Ethan exclaimed when he saw his father walk through the door.

"Good thing I'm here then" he rushed to them "did you wash your hands already?"

"Yes we took Frannie for a walk" he said.

"Sit down and I'll join you soon" Nick kissed his cheek and smiled at Amanda before walking towards the bathroom.

"And shoes" Nick heard Ethan say, probably telling Amanda about their day at the mall.

"Let's eat" Nick kissed Amanda's lips and sat down "we're hungry, aren't we?"

"Yes!" Ethan reached for his fork and Nick served the food and told the boy to chew slowly.

"Feels like it's been a long day" Nick looked at Amanda.

"I know" she agreed and placed her hand on his thigh "but now we're having a quiet night at home. You had a nice time with Zara?"

"Yeah, she told me" he lowered his voice "Jeff moved out"

"Really? Is Zara Ok?"

"She didn't say much, but she wants to be with Maria" he glanced at Ethan, he was playing with his food a little, not listening to his parents.

"Makes sense, she is a good kid"

"Me?" Ethan asked, thinking they were talking to him.

"You are a good kid" Nick smiled at him.

They finished eating and cleared the table "you gonna give him a bath while I take Frannie for a walk?" Amanda asked.

"To poopie and peepee" Ethan explained.

"Yes, that's why we're going for a walk" Amanda caressed his hair "and when I'll be back we'll read you a bedtime story"

"Ok mommy" he waved at her.

Once Ethan was asleep Nick washed the dishes and walked into the bedroom. He felt exhausted, it really felt like the longest day and even though it was still early, going to bed seemed like a good idea.

"You're going to sleep already?" Amanda walked out of the bathroom, wearing only a towel.

Nick was about to reply, say he was tired, but her smile was enough to wake him up and he watched as she took out clean clothes from the closet.

"What?" she smirked when he didn't speak, Amanda felt his eyes on her "you like staring?" she threw a shirt on him and Nick chuckled as it hit him.

Amanda put her clothes on and sat down next to Nick, connecting her lips to his for a few seconds.

"I love staring, but love this more" Nick said quietly and pulled her into him again "I know you just put your clothes on but…"

Amanda grinned and got on top of him "I think I can handle it" Amanda was about to kiss him again when the sound of a phone buzzing interrupted.

"It's yours" Amanda got off of him after another peck "take it"

"This better be important" he was unhappy about the interruption, who could it be? No one from work had any reason to call him while he was on vacation. He didn't recognize the number and had a bad feeling.

"Yeah?" he answered but no one spoke "who is this?" he looked at Amanda "who is this?"

"Nick?" finally he heard a whisper.

"Yes, who is this?"

"Silvia"

The woman he met at the ADA's office a few hours ago "Silvia, can I help you?" Nick tried not to sound confused, but he was. Why was she calling? How did she get his phone number?

"I'm sorry, I…can I talk to you?" her voice was so quiet and he barely heard her.

"Eh…Ok" he wasn't sure what to say to Silvia.

"Can we…not over the phone?" she asked.

"You want me to come over?" he looked at Amanda again.

"I…if you don't mind" Silvia replied and Nick turned his attention to Amanda, needing her reaction, was she ok with this? Did it bother her?

"It's fine" she touched his arm and nodded slightly.

Nick took another moment, still not sure if he should go see her, but what could she say? He had a feeling he knew.

"It's ok Nick" Amanda whispered and kissed his shoulder.

"Where are you?" he asked and Silvia gave him the address "I'll be there soon"

"Thank you"

Nick placed the phone on the bed and looked at Amanda "I'm not sure about this…" he shrugged.

"I know" she scooted even closer to him "if you think this is the right thing, then go do it"

"I'm going but not sure why" he stood up and quickly put on a pair of jeans and a t shirt "see you soon"

Amanda got off the bed and hugged him before he could walk out of the room "I love you"

He embraced her, needing this closeness "I love you too" he gave her a soft and lingering kiss and left the room.

Nick parked the car and walked to the exact address Silvia gave him. This wasn't exactly the best neighborhood and he asked himself whether she was staying there, maybe she had family nearby?

Finally he reached the right place and spotted her sitting on a bench, there was a bag on the ground next to her.

"Silvia" Nick walked over to the bench and sat down next to her.

"Nick, thank you for coming, I'm sorry for calling" she said, looking down on the sidewalk.

"It's fine, you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"I…you said I deserve better but…I…" she looked away and she sounded shaky, trying to control the tears "I don't know what to do, Nicholas is all I have"

"Don't you have a family?" he asked.

"No" Silvia shook her head "I don't have anyone"

"I'm sorry to hear that, but you will have a child soon and you have to think about the kid"

"It's a boy" she caressed her belly.

"Then you will have to be there for this boy, I get that it's hard, but he is going to be the most important thing in your life and he will love you, so you know this is the right thing to do, you can't let him hurt you again"

"I know but…" she wiped away a few tears.

Nick knew how hard it was to do something like that, how strong you had to be, and she had no one to support her.

"Look Silvia, I can't tell you what to do, but I can try to help you, I can give you a bit of money, something to help you start over, I don't have much but maybe it could help"

"Oh…" she looked at the bag.

"Where are you staying?" she didn't reply and Nick realized the answer was nowhere, she probably couldn't afford the place his father paid for "do you have any place to go?" Silvia shook her head "isn't the ADA helping you? He can get you a hotel room"

"He said he'd try but they have budget issues I think"

"Listen" he had a lot of doubts about the next thing he said, but the words still came out of his mouth.

Amanda was sitting on the couch, enjoying the quiet house and a cold beer. She watched one of the stupid reality shows she loved, one that Nick really disliked.

"I knew you're on my side" she looked at Frannie who walked over to her and climbed on the couch to lie beside Amanda.

She patted the dog and took another sip from the bottle. She glanced at the phone, no messages from Nick. Amanda wondered how things were going. Nick was a protective guy, he cared so much about his family and Amanda loved that about him, she truly felt safer when he was there. She loved that unlike anyone else, he made her feel not alone.

The beer was empty by the time the show had ended and Amanda got up to throw it away, the dog remained lying on the couch.

The door opened and Amanda was about to say something, but when she saw Nick, and the woman who walked behind him, she knew exactly what happened.

"Amanda, you remember Silvia"