Chapter 4: Things are Looking Good

"I can't decide who she looks like Van, you or Joe." Phil said as he cooed over the infant bundled in his fiancé's arms.

"Oh, Ashleigh most definitely looks like her mother. I wouldn't put the burden of looking like Joe on anyone."

"Hey!" Frank snickered at his brother's mock indignation. He stroked his niece's soft cheek with his finger. The infant turned her face toward the finger brushing her cheek and opened her mouth hungrily, catching Frank's knuckle in the process.

"Oops! Someone's hungry." Frank chuckled and handed his niece back over to her mother.

"I'll head upstairs to Joe's old room and feed her." Vanessa could already feel a warmth spreading through her chest as she pulled her daughter to her and headed upstairs.

"Go ahead and start lunch without me Laura, this could take a while." The new mother called over her shoulder.

"Are you sure sweetie? We can wait."

"That's okay, one of you can hold her while I eat. Just save a plate of food for me." Vanessa smiled and disappeared to the second floor of the Hardy's old Victorian home.

"I'll go check on her after a while. She gets some of her best sleep after a feeding." Joe said as he watched his wife reach the landing and turn in the direction of his old bedroom.

"The baby?" Aunt Gertrude asked.

"No, Van." Joe chuckled.

"I keep telling her she could just switch to formula and add a little rice cereal in it for that eight o'clock feeding and that baby will be sleeping through the night in no time. That's what my mother did for me and Fenton. Heavens, by the time Fenton came along I was old enough to feed him when it was Mother's turn to host Bridge night…" Gertrude yammered on about how things were done three generations ago while Laura sipped her tea, discreetly rolling her eyes when her sister-in-law's head was not turned her way.

Laura was simply relieved that her granddaughter had cute, round little ears like Vanessa's. For Joe's young family's sake, she hoped Ashleigh took as much as possible from the Bender side of the family. The more human she was, the safer she would be. It was hard enough thinking about what Frank had to deal with, but at least he and Phil were going to consider adoption after they had been married a year. The possibilities of elfish offspring in Frank's branch of the family would at least end with him, and that came as a great comfort to Laura. The less Elf blood that pumped through the veins of her descendants, the safer her family would be…

….

"Mornin' Sunshine!" Biff Hooper greeted his girlfriend as she gracefully crossed the den from the bedroom. After a night of surveying the rooftops and alleyways of downtown Bayport, a sated and justified Amy Johnson had let herself into Biff's apartment just a few hours before he had to get up for work and slept the day away while her inamorato left for his job as a trainer in a gym he hoped to own one day.

Biff was still slightly sweaty from his day of work, an attribute that Amy would normally find revolting, especially in a human. But Allen "Biff" Hooper was no ordinary human. He was a vampire hunter and slayer, and as such, he supplemented his diet with vampire blood to give himself the strength to carry on the long standing Hooper family occupation. His girlfriend, Amy, was a well-over six hundred year old vampire. An odd couple, no doubt. But it was their mutual respect and friendship for Frank and Joe Hardy that brought the unlikely duo together.

"Did you have a pleasant day at work?" Amy asked as she walked up behind his muscular frame and encircled his waist with her own dark, lean arms. She kissed the back of his neck and watched as gooseflesh rose where her cool lips had touched him. He hummed blissfully as he continued to filter through the day's mail, separating his mail from his roommate's, Chet Morton. He reached two square, white envelopes and stopped, gazing at the handwritten addresses on the front. One was addressed to Mr. Chester Morton and Guest. The other was addressed to Mr. Allen Hooper and Miss Amy Johnson.

"Ah! Frank and Phil's wedding invitations." He held up the two envelopes so that Amy could see them over his shoulder. "Guess they sent your's with mine since you're with me all the time. Maybe Zeke's came to the apartment, you reckon?"

"I will have to ask him when I see him later tonight." Amy said quietly. Biff turned to look at her, there was a emotion crossing her features he was not familiar with.

"Are you okay Amy? Something wrong?" Biff asked. Amy Johnson always carried herself with such poise and an air of confidence that what Biff was seeing right now was completely foreign to him. If he could have compared that look to anything, it would be that of a scared and lost child. "Amy? Ameyo?"

Amy shook her head at the sound her true name, but quickly composed herself and an easy smile graced her exotic features.

"I am fine, I assure you. I suppose I am still a little sleepy." Amy answered quickly and silenced any further questions with a long, breath-taking kiss that left Biff slightly dizzy when she stepped away. After he had regained his bearings, Biff looked his girlfriend up and down, surveying her long, lean body.

"Do you need to go home to get ready for Frank's birthday dinner tonight, or did you pack something?" he asked casually as he tried to tamp down his growing desire for a little pre-dinner fun before they had to get ready for the party.

"I came prepared. You will be pleased, I assure you. Now Allen, please be kind enough to take a shower. Although I find your smell appealing, the stench of your clients' sweat is a bit off-putting." Amy wrinkled her nose and turned to the refrigerator to retrieve a bottle of Perrier that Biff kept a stock of just for her.

"Will you be joining me?" Although he could still smell the lavender of her soap on her skin, he knew it couldn't hurt to ask. Amy smirked and shook her head.

"Chet will need hot water to get ready for the party too, it would be selfish to use it up, then he would be running late to pick up his date." Amy advised. Biff shrugged it off and headed to the bathroom. She was right, as usual. Chet was getting off his shift a few hours early just so he could get ready, pick up his date, and join the old gang in a timely fashion.

When Amy could hear the water from the shower running she picked the wedding invitation up and read the outer envelope again. "Mr. Allen Hooper and Miss Amy Johnson." As if Frank and Phil saw she and Allen as a couple, a mated pair, unlike Chet's invitation which concluded with "and Guest." Amy slowly shook her head again. She loved Allen, despite their opposite natures. There was something about the brawny vampire slayer that vexed her and attracted her at the same time. The last ten months had been the happiest she had experienced since… She couldn't allow herself to dwell on it right now or she could see herself being mired in pain in grief for hours, days even. She snapped open the bottle cap of the Perrier and took a long drink. The slight saltiness and the effervescence cleansed her palate and cleared her mind, purging her of her melancholy thoughts.

The apartment door opened and a very tired Chet Morton entered the doorway, hanging his keys on the rack by the door.

"Hey Amy!" the nurse greeted the vampire casually. It must have been a very busy and involved shift if the various essences of blood, bile, and other forms of vitality and death clung to Chet and his medical scrubs like a sickening sweet perfume. Chet and any other human probably would not be aware of it, but the smells were sharp to Amy's sensitive nose.

"Allen should be just a few more minutes in the shower, then it will be your turn. What time did your tell your lady friend you would pick her up?" She began to exit the kitchen and head for Biff's bedroom to get away from the nurse's fragrance. Chet simply chuckled at Amy's term "lady friend."

"I told Beth I'd pick her up around eight-thirty." He looked at the clock on the microwave oven and slouched. "But if I'm a minute or two late it's not the end of the world." Amy's eyes widened and she scowled.

"Chester Morton, you should know better. Never keep a lady waiting!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Chet called back as he headed toward his bedroom.

"I took the liberty to lay out something presentable for you to wear. Allen told me about your fondness for flannel and plaid." Amy called back, smiling mischievously when Chet turned on his heel and scowled.

"Thank you Amy." Despite the sarcastic tone in Chet's response, the vampire could detect a note of gratitude.

…..

"Are you taking the whole night off or are you just having dinner with Frankie and his bunch and then staying the rest of the night?" Marco Prito asked his younger brother, Tony. Tony looked up from his bookwork and glanced at the duty roster posted on the corkboard on his office wall. He'd made sure they were more than covered for the anticipated Saturday night crowd. He wanted to enjoy this time with his friends, he'd been so busy helping Marco turn Pasquale's into the popular nightspot that it now was, he felt it was his turn to reap what they'd sown. Marco had certainly taken nights off to spend with his wife and kids, leaving Tony to run things by himself.

"I think I'm taking the night off, we're covered. Besides, I haven't gotten to spend much time with the old gang in a long time." Then he turned serious. "Gotta problem with that?" But he quickly smiled to show his older brother he'd been joking.

"I guess we can do without you for one night." Marco sighed with quite a bit of exaggeration. He leaned over and ruffled his younger brother's hair.

"Ay ay ay! Watch it! Do you know how long it takes to achieve this?" Tony fussed as he pulled a comb out of his desk drawer to smooth out the damage done. Marco rolled his eyes.

"How's this month looking by the way?" Marco asked his younger brother.

Marco, unfortunately, had stepped in to the void filled by his grandfather's death right after he graduated from Bayport High School. He helped his father Paulo run Mr. Pizza while watching his buddies go off to college to take a tour in the military, then getting an education under the G.I. Bill. But baby brother Tony to was way too young to be of any help at the time. And when the time came and Tony got scholarship from the Knights of Columbus to go to Bayport Community College, yes he was a little jealous that Tony got to attend college and take a few business classes.

But changes in tax laws, filing employee earnings, using a computer, and what-not was starting to overwhelm business savvy Nonni*, Margarita Prito, Paulo's mother and the Prito matriarch. So when Tony finally finished enough classes at Bayport's community college and worked up the courage, he approached his father and brother with the wild idea to retire the Mr. Pizza name. They both balked. Close Mr. Pizza? Unheard of! Thankfully Margarita had stepped in with her support.

"Your Nonno* Pasquale came to this country with big dreams. And he worked hard, and he did well, but he always wanted something more than just a pizza parlor. He wanted something bigger, nicer… but eh…Your Nonno, he did not have much of an education, you know? He started this place with what he and his brother could scrape together, and look around you! Three generations later and we're still in the same little hole in the wall that Nonno and Enzo started. Paulo, look at your two boys! All Marco has known since high school is this place, and Anthony… he's lucky, he's got the education, the book smarts to run it right. It's a big risk, but let them try!"

"But Mama, Mr. Pizza has been a Bayport landmark for over fifty years." Paulo objected. He looked at his sons' young faces.

Mama was right, it wasn't fair to expect his sons to toss pies for the rest of their lives. He did remember his father talking to him during the nightly clean up of how he'd dreamed of having this big fancy eatery like the one he'd worked at back in the old country. But the business of making pizza and submarine sandwiches were all he'd ever known. Leave it to Nonni, and her gift for the art of compromise…

It was a big risk, there were times when Marco thought for sure he'd made the biggest mistake of his life, allowing Nonni to lend he and Tony part of her life's savings to find a new location, fix it up, interview and hire honest-to-G-d chefs, wait staff, the works. But Tony and Marco soon learned to play off each other's strengths. Marco concerned himself with kitchen and bar operations, Tony worked the books and did the moving and shaking of advertising, hiring the right wait staff, keeping the customers happy and coming back.

So for Tony to take one night off was not the end of the world. They'd worked hard in the past two years and they had made Nonni Margarita not only proud, but they had managed to pay her a quarter of what she had lent them back. Things were good.

"Things are good! Really good Marco. Nonno would be so proud, you know? When Nonni told us what his initial intentions were… I felt like we're finally making his and our dreams come true!" Tony sat back from his desk, loosened his tie and released the top button. That was the nonverbal sign to Marco that Tony was officially off-duty.

"Yeah." Marco smiled with a note of sentimentality in his voice. Then he perked up and gave his baby brother a warning glare. "Don't party too hard tonight. We run a respectable joint here. The part-owner getting shit-faced*, not classy."

"When was the last time you saw me get that drunk?" Tony asked innocently.

"I believe when you were spending your evening in the same company as you will be sharing tonight. A certain engagement party…" Tony rolled his eyes.

"I'll behave. Besides, that girl I met a couple of weeks ago, Robyn Blackmon, she's my date tonight. Don't want to get sloppy in front of her."

"Ah yeah. Her folks, especially her dad, Councilman Blackmon, are pretty good customers, here and back at Dad's place. Don't blow it!"

…..

Marco paced around the perimeter of Pasquale's, keeping eye out for rowdy patrons or couples getting a little too frisky on the dance floor. Like he told his baby brother, he wanted to keep Pasquale's a classy place for his patrons to enjoy. He walked over to one of his bouncers, a tall, broad shouldered, muscular African-American man named Shawn Winters.

"How's it lookin' from this end?" Marco asked quietly.

"Lookin' good from here, Mr. M." As the taller man surveyed his end of Pasquale's. "You know, you could have just buzzed me." He tapped the communication device in his ear that extended down toward his mouth.

"Eh, all that new fangled tech, that's Tony's thing. I'm more of a people person." Marco smirked. Shawn smiled and pressed his earpiece.

"Yo Danny, how's it near the bar?" Shawn buzzed his co-worker and fellow bouncer Danny Silvio.

"Eh, got a couple o' chowda heads that'll need a cab pretty soon. But other than that, everyone seems to be playing nice."

"Keep an eye on the party boys. Mr. T's entertaining Council Blackmon's daughter tonight. Capisce?"

"Capisce, Shawn." Danny answered back and moved in a little closer to keep an eye on the two patrons near the bar who had been there since eight o'clock.

"Nice! You're Italian's getting better."

"Thank you." Shawn smiled. Marco patted Shawn's shoulder and left the bouncer so he could maintain his vigil of the dance floor, and Marco headed toward the kitchen to see how ticket times were coming.

…

It was no accident that the same night Tony asked Robyn Blackmon out for a second date, was the same night Phil booked for Frank's birthday party, and was the same night he booked the local cover band. He wanted this night to be special. "The Expressos." Horrible name, yes, but they were quite good at performing a wide genre of music, and his in-house DJ Tommy had worked with them before.

Tony held Robyn Blackmon in his arms as they swayed to the music. He'd met the ad executive when she had approached Pasquale's to advertise in the local tourism magazine. There seemed to be a chemistry between them that neither could deny. Tony just felt something about the raven haired woman with pale blue eyes and a charming smattering of freckles across her face that made the workaholic melt. So two weeks after they first met, Tony finally worked up the nerve to ask her out on a date.

They didn't quite consider themselves a "couple" yet, but things were moving along, calling and chatting with each other on a daily basis. Her father, Councilman Randall Blackmon, was, historically, a good customer of Mr. Pizza's in his pre-political days. However, learning that his little girl was starting to date the son of the owner of the local pizza joint who only had a community college education did give him pause. Robyn was kind and honest enough to give Tony the head's up. Randall had really hoped Robyn would find a lawyer, doctor, or another politico to pair up with.

"Daddy's letting his position get to head. The Pritos are good people and you and your brother are running a fine establishment. Local food and entertainment critics have given you guys five stars fifteen months consecutively."

This assuaged any doubt Tony had about pursuing a relationship with Robyn.

"Have I mentioned how beautiful you look tonight?" Tony whispered in her ear, pulling her closer and enjoying the scent of her perfume.

"This will make the third time, so yes, you have." Robyn giggled and smiled. "You're nervous about me liking your friends aren't you?" Her impish features were highlighted by her short, trendy haircut, but all Tony could do was stare and nod honestly.

"You have a very, eclectic, circle of friends. They're very nice. Biff and Amy are an odd couple, but you can tell they care very much for each other. Chet's a hoot and his girlfriend Beth seems sweet, but they've just started dating too, right?"

"Yeah, they started talking about the same time we met. They work the same shift in the E.R." Tony confirmed.

"But what about the elephant in the room?" Tony narrowed his eyes to gage her reaction.

"Oh, you mean the two gay elephants dancing on the other side of the dance floor? Pffft… Tony, do you know how many gay men and women work in advertising? When I finally get around to introducing you to my circle of friends you're going to get the third degree from Lee. We've been besties since college and we've cried on each other's shoulders over many a romance gone wrong. And I'd be just as bitchy about any new boy he brought around as he'll be around you. So consider yourself warned."

"Yes Ma'am. So that means you're cool about Phil and Frank?"

"They're adorable. You can just see how much they love each other by the way they regard one another."

"They've been through a lot. Frank's had a rough go of it but Phil's been by his side the whole time. Not many hetero couples can endure what they've been through and still come out the stronger for it." Robyn could see the pride and adoration for Tony's friends in his face.

"That's true love." She whispered. Tony planted a kiss on Robyn's cheek.

"Now, you want to talk about true love, I wish you could meet Joe and Vanessa. Joe used to date Chet's sister, but she died tragically back when we were sophomores in high school. Joe got really down and was in a pretty dark place. Vanessa moved to town and started attending Bayport High. They were thrown together as lab partners, then they formed a friendship... She really helped pull him out of the funk he'd been in for months, and well, the rest is history. They got married not quite a year ago and she just had a baby. You'll like them when I finally get to introduce you to them, they're fun."

"You're fun. I like you Tony Prito, a lot. I feel like when I'm with you I don't have to put my "all business" face on. Like I can relax and be myself."

"I like you too, I mean really like…" Tony's heartfelt sentiment was cut off by some sort of commotion coming from the other side of the dance floor.

…

Author's Notes:

*Nonno = Familiar Italian word for Grandfather

*Nonni = Familiar Italian word for Grandmother

*Shit-faced = slang for drunk, inebriated