Serafina and Dominick Carisi Sr.'s house was packed to the brim. Someone, Amanda assumed it had been Tommy, or Teresa's husband Tony, had been enlisted to string solar lights through the trees and along the fencing in the backyard. Now, as the sun started dipping, they were just coming on, giving the backyard a beautiful glow. Serafina had rented some tables and chairs from their church and had them set up around the backyard. Someone's Bluetooth speakers played some old Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra ballads. A couple longer tables had been set up on one side of the yard with heaps of food-between Serafina and the neighbors, there was enough there to feed a small country.

Despite Serafina's objections, Amanda came out of the back door with a pitcher of lemonade to refill the one that was nearly empty on the buffet table. She heard giggling, and turned to see Mia Morino, Sonny's niece, sitting cross-legged on the porch with Jesse and Billie, Tommy and Bella's daughter Jenni, and Amanda's nephew Mason blowing bubbles. Mia caught her eye and waved. Amanda waved back and continued down the steps, setting the pitcher down in a precarious open space.

"Wanna get out of here?"

Amanda leaned back into her husband's chest as Sonny slipped his arms around her waist. "God, yes," she said, "but I'm guessing that's not really an option."

"It's not," Sonny admitted. "Quite the rehearsal dinner, huh?" He turned them both around, his arms still around her, so that Amanda was facing the yard. Olivia and Noah, Fin and Phoebe, and Velasco and Muncy were all in attendance, mingling with Sonny's coworkers at the DA's office and Sonny's family. Amanda's mother Beth Anne, and her sister Kim were also in the crowd somewhere. And Serafina Carisi moved through the crowd, playing hostess. "You get a glass of wine?"

"I set my glass down…somewhere," Amanda bit her lip.

"Oh then it's been borrowed, refilled, and in someone else's hands for awhile," Sonny said. "Here." He plucked a bottle of red off the table and filled a glass. "Don't lose this one."

She ran her other hand down his arm. "Wasn't planning on it."

"Can I get everyone's attention, please?" Serafina's voice echoed over the lawn, and Amanda saw her standing on the porch, clinking her wine glass. The din died down. Serafina's eyes flickered over the crowd until she spotted Sonny and Amanda. "Dom and I want to thank everyone for comin' out tonight to celebrate on the evening of our Sonny's wedding!" She lifted her glass in the couple's direction, and Amanda felt her face turning as red as the pinot noir in her hand. She caught Olivia's eye and her friend nodded as if to say see, nothing to worry about. "We are thrilled to welcome Amanda and her two girls into our family! When Sonny first started talkin' about his new partner, he was less than flatterin', let me tell ya. But we could tell right away that even though he was puttin' up a fuss, he really loved Amanda. And the first time he brought her over to meet Dom and I, we knew right away it was only a matter of time."

Sonny rested his chin on the top of Amanda's head and slipped his free hand into hers, bringing it up to his lips to kiss her knuckles lightly.

"Anyway," Serafina continued, "party's not over and there's a ton of food. I don't see anybody eatin'!" she scolded, every bit the Italian mom. There was gentle laughter. "To Sonny and Amanda!"

"Sonny and Amanda!" the crowd echoed back. The couple raised their glasses in acknowledgment and the music lifted again.

"Hey, that reminds me," Sonny said, pulling her around the side of the house, hoping that no one noticed them sneak away. "Father Duffy asked me earlier about what we want him to announce us as."

Amanda frowned. "Announce us…what?"

"Y'know, like Mr. and Mrs. Dominick Carisi or whatever." Sonny glanced at the ground. "We never got around to talkin' about the whole name change thing. McNamara just put your last name on our civil certificate."

"Do you…do you want me to change my name?"

He shook his head. "I don't care one way or the other. Long as it's after the 'husband and wife' part, it don't matter to me."

"It would be a lot of paperwork to change my name," Amanda said. "And the girls…Jesse and Billie are 'Rollins' on everything at school, and at their doctor-"

"And you're Mrs. Rollins at Fordham," Sonny added. "Or Professor, or whatever the kids call you."

"'Teach', most of the time."

He grinned. "Yeah, okay then. So…we just stick with our 'professional' names, for lack of a better term?"

She thought about it. "Well, what if….here's an idea," Amanda suggested. "First off, apologize to Father Duffy for not having thought about this sooner. Second, just for tomorrow, let's go with Mr. and Mrs. Dominick Carisi. Just seems fitting at a real wedding to go with the same last name for simplicity's sake."

"You've met my mother…did you just use the word simplicity?" Sonny looked shocked. Amanda smacked him on the arm. "I get it, I get it," he laughed. "Okay. I gotta admit," he added, pulling her gently into his arms. "I'm gonna have a hard time not callin' you 'Rollins' anymore."

She melted into his button-down. "You can call me Rollins anytime you want."


"Uncle Sonny?"

Sonny pulled the covers up to just under Jesse's chin. Billie was already sound asleep, specks of chocolate from the cupcakes she'd snuck into decorating her cheeks. "Yeah, sweetheart, what's up?"

"Tomorrow when you marry Mommy again, are you gonna be me and Billie's daddy?"

He smiled. "Did your sister ask you to ask that again?"

"No. I just wanna know."

Sonny nodded. "I guess that's fair. I…" He sighed, thinking about it. Amanda was across the hall in the shower, and he wished she was here to help him through this conversation. I don't know if there's a right answer for this one…but here goes. "Lemme ask you this: What do you think a daddy should do?"

Jesse chewed on her lower lip with her two front teeth, a habit she'd picked up from her mother. "Um. They read you stories and take you to school. They read you bedtime stories and kiss you goodnight."

"Okay, that's a pretty good list. Anythin' else?"

"They keep you safe. Like you did with the monsters!"

That's a night I'd just as soon forget. "You're right." He waited.

"Daddies also keep mommies safe. And take care of pets."

"Yeah, they do." He brushed her hair off her forehead.

"You do all that stuff for us." Jesse looked at her sister, up at the ceiling, and then settled on his face. "So I guess you can be our daddy." She frowned. "That means we're gonna have to call you Daddy Sonny instead of Uncle Sonny."

Oh man. Keep it together, Carisi. Courtroom demeanor. Inside he kind of wanted to tear up. "Jess, you can call me whatever feels okay for you."

She sighed sleepily. "Okay, Daddy." She rolled over on her side facing her sister and drifted off to sleep.

Sonny ran a hand down his face trying to regain his composure. He kissed Jesse and Billie on the forehead, and carefully got off the bed. To his surprise, when he got to his old room, Amanda was already in bed. He hadn't even heard the shower shut off. She was sitting up in bed in one of his college t-shirts scrolling through her phone, but when he came in, a floorboard creaked, and she looked up.

Amanda's eyes widened at his expression. "Hey…are you okay?" she asked.

"I-" He choked on the rest of the sentence. "Yeah. I think I'm good."

"Trouble tucking the girls in?" Amanda sighed. "I figured too much sweet stuff before bed, but it was a party…"

"No, no, they were, ah, it was…it was fine." He flicked off the lamp and shed his t-shirt, climbing in beside her in only his basketball shorts. She rolled to face him and kissed him.

"You sure you're good? No cold feet for tomorrow?"

He brought a knee up and planted his toes on her calf. "Nope. Good to go."

"Can't believe your mother is letting us sleep in the same bed the night before our wedding."

"Well technically…I'm supposed to be on the couch downstairs. We're not gonna tell her." He kissed her again. "See you in the morning, Mrs. Carisi."

"What happened to 'Rollins'?"

He laughed softly. "Just tryin' it out."