The bright smiles in the photograph break Kristina's heart the longer she stares at her phone screen. Corinthos-Davis House serves as the backdrop, her bump present as Dex's arm rests around her hip, the cold air somewhat clouding their mouths as they smile. Part of her wishes she could go back to the house's opening day, where the only concern on her mind was the business's smooth introduction to the general public. Instead, she's standing outside of Diane Miller's office, waiting for the door to open, and after a few minutes of light knocking, it does.

"Kristina," Diane looks her up and down, "Glad you could stop by. Come on in."

"Thank you," the young woman passes her by, taking a seat. Diane closes the office door and makes her way to her desk, "How much did Dad talk to you about this?"

"All he sent me was the complaint," she begins, "and I have to say, it's quite something."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Well, Molly and TJ are accusing you of breaking your agreement to be their surrogate for their daughter. Should the court rule in their favor, they'd maintain sole custody of said daughter. It could go either way depending on the evidence, but the legal language Molly implemented here is quite, shall we say, strong."

"Do you think I have a shot?"

"I do. Kristina, dear, you should know me well enough by now that losing isn't in my lexicon."

"I know, I know, I just…I want things to work out. I want to get my daughter back with me and keep my relationship with my loved ones intact."

"That's not possible."

Kristina raises her eyebrows immediately in response. Diane purses her lips and crosses her arms, sitting back in her chair, "It's not possible?"

"Unfortunately, with something as…messy as this case is going to be, at least emotionally, with sister against sister, sacrifices have to be made. You have two options here: you can fight this lawsuit or you can have Molly voluntarily dismiss this lawsuit."

"I love Molly and TJ; they're family. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for them."

"Right-"

"But that little girl is also my family. She came from me, and I'm going to fight as hard as I can to get her back."

"That's your final decision?"

"...Yes."

"Okay," Diane nods, pulling out a notepad, "let's get to work then."

"What do you need from me?"

"In a word: everything. You're arguing that Morgan Davis-Ashford should legally be with you when you signed an agreement stating otherwise."

"Yeah, but she should legally be with me."

"On what basis?"

"She's my daughter."

Diane's eyebrows shoot up in intrigue, leaning back in her chair.

"Is that so?" she asks.

"Yes, it is."

"And you have evidence of this?"

"...No."

"But you're sure Morgan is your daughter?"

"Yes."

"How?"

Kristina gently bites her bottom lip, taking a deep breath, "I…slept with someone before the second procedure."

"Second procedure? You tried once before?"

"Yes. After I signed the contract and had a bunch of tests, I went through the IVF procedure. I…I miscarried before my first checkup."

"I'm sorry about that."

"Me too," Kristina takes a shaky breath, "and Molly…she came to me after that and wanted me to try again."

"And you agreed?"

"Well, she came to me the day after and got a little pushy about it. But after some time, I agreed to do it again."

"So between then and the second IVF procedure, you were involved with someone?"

"Still am," Kristina nods, her head ducked down.

"And you slept with this person?"

"I did."

"So, in theory, this person, this man, is the father of your child?"

"Yes."

"Who is it?"

"...Dex Heller."

Diane blinks a few times, her eyes wide. She drops her pen onto the notepad, processing the information given to her.

"Dex Heller," she repeats, "Your father's employee, Dex Heller? Rookie mob enforcer, Dex Heller? Dead man walking, Dex Heller?"

"Yes, yes, and yes."

"And your father's okay with this?"

"Well, no, but there's nothing he can do about it."

"Oh God," Diane shakes her head, pinching the bridge of her nose, "So not only did your father's employee, shall I say, knock you up, but he willingly let his daughter be given away?"

"He doesn't know about this."

Diane freezes in her spot, eyes wide, "I'm sorry?"

"Dex doesn't know that he has a daughter. He looks at that baby and thinks of her as his 'niece.'"

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yes," Diane gets to her feet, pacing around the office, "Dex being in the dark about his daughter all but guarantees he'll get custody of his daughter."

"What?"

"Did you honestly think you'd be able to get exactly what you want out of this?"

"You don't think I can?"

"My dear, I know you can't."

"How come?"

"Precedent. I'm not sure if you remember, but your brother faced a very similar, near-exact situation like this one."

"Right…" Kristina sighs in defeat, "Between him and…Lulu and Maxie and Spinelli. Spinelli got sole custody."

"Correct. Falconeri v. Jones set a rule of law that didn't exist before, and it's one that will likely be upheld in this circumstance."

"So…what, I have to make Molly look unfit?"

"Well, she'll certainly make you look unfit."

"That's her MO. I don't want to do that."

"Then we'll have to get technical," Diane sits back down, "For one, we need hard evidence that you and Dex are Morgan's biological parents, which means DNA tests will have to be taken. I'll work that out with Molly."

"Okay."

"The next step is the contract. We'll need a copy of it and we'll need to see if there's any part that gets you out of this and gets Dex custody."

As long as the baby is biologically related to one or both of us, there's no issue.

It hits her like a truck. Molly's remark bounces around in her head, screaming at her with a hyperactivity she hasn't felt in awhile. Diane catches the wide-eyed expression, raising her eyebrows in response.

"I…" Kristina takes a deep breath, "I remember when I signed the contract, Molly said something about it."

"Which was what?"

"If the baby is biologically related to one or both of them, then there isn't a problem."

"There isn't a problem for them, specifically," Diane writes on the notepad, "but if what you're saying is both true and in writing, then they have no official claim to maintain custody. That coupled with the DNA tests should make this a slam dunk, all things considered."

"...You're sure I won't be able to win custody?"

"Kristina, you were willing to give your baby to technical strangers, people not directly related to her, who can't provide for her medically, among other things. To the judge, it shows that you're putting your wants and needs above your child's. That'll make you unfit."

Kristina bites her bottom lip, eyes cast down at her lap. She runs her hands down her thighs, resting her palms against her knees.

"I know it's not fully ideal for you to have sole custody go to Dex, but that'll be better for you than losing access to her completely. Should all go well, you and Dex can discuss arrangements and go from there."

"Do you think he'll go for that?"

"Depends on how forgiving he is. I don't doubt this betrayal and secrecy will hurt him, but he'll have to consider the baby and what's best for her."

"Right…"

"Don't give up hope," Diane says gently, "If Dex is a good man, good enough to earn your love, it'll work out," she scribbles a few more notes down, "Now, let's make sure Morgan ends up where she belongs, shall we?"

"We shall."

Days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months in the time it takes to blink, and after a few back-and-forths between Molly and Diane, the judge sets the trial before the end of the year. Meetings between Kristina and Diane continue at a steady, weekly pace as the seasons pass and work at Corinthos-Davis House returns, among other realities. It all sits with her as she arrives home, her car ride from Diane's office full of silence. She unlocks the front door and freezes when she locks eyes with the couch.

The bunny toy, she stares at its faux-marble black eyes, its yellow plush coat and cream blanket perfectly clean as she absent-mindedly closes the door behind her, oh my God.

"Dex?" she calls out as she sets her purse on the coffee table. She picks the doll up and looks at the staircase, "Dex?!"

Her heart stops when she sees him turn the corner, standing at the base of the stairs. He gently bounces the baby against him as he carries her, brown eyes directly fixated on Kristina.

"Welcome home," he grins, slightly adjusting himself to better support the infant.

"H-How…?" Kristina stutters out as he walks down and approaches her, "How?!"

"Molly and TJ needed a babysitter."

"They let you bring her here?"

"Well, TJ did. Molly doesn't know."

"That's pretty risky of him to do."

"Yeah, but what Molly doesn't know won't hurt her," Dex shrugs, grinning down at the infant, "Besides, Morgan deserves a chance to meet her Aunt Krissy."

"...You asked TJ to let her stay here, didn't you?"

"No comment."

Kristina smirks at him, her heart fluttering when he makes a face. Her attention shifts to the baby, eyes beginning to brim with tears the longer she stares.

"She's here…" Kristina whispers, eyes brimming with tears, "She's really here. Can I hold her?"

Dex gently passes the baby off, helping Kristina cradle her. Bright brown eyes stare up at the pair in awe and curiosity, a smile gradually breaking onto her face and a giggle leaving her mouth. The pair emulates her in response.

"You're home," Kristina coos, "you're finally home."

Dex pulls back a bit, a slight frown on his face as they take a seat on the couch. He watches with a twinge of sadness as Kristina gives the baby the yellow bunny.

"Hi, baby," Kristina whispers gently, "it's Mommy. It's so nice to see you again."

"I'm so glad we're getting this chance to reunite," she lifts the infant's head as they face Dex, "and we have Daddy to thank for that."

Let her have this, Dex thinks, forcing himself to keep quiet, because after the trial ends, she'll likely never see Morgan again. Don't be an ass and ruin the moment.

"Can we have some space?"

He blinks, snapping back to reality, "Uh…uh, yeah, sure. I'll be…upstairs if you need me."

"Thank you," Kristina beams, leaning in to kiss him. Once he disappears around the corner, she gazes at the bundle in her arms.

"I'm sure Aunt Molly and Uncle TJ have been great to you. They really, really wanted a baby, and I…I promised them one. In a way, I promised them you, but I…I couldn't commit. I made some pretty big mistakes this past year, and I'm going to be paying for them for a long time."

She gets to her feet, meandering around the couch, bouncing the baby in her arm cradle, "Your aunt and I don't like each other right now, and I…I don't know if things will get better. I know it's all my fault that this is even happening, but you're my little girl. I thought I could live in a world where I'd call you my niece, but I was deluding myself."

She sits back down on the couch, smiling at the content infant, "You got my eyes and his hair, my lips and his nose," she begins to choke up, "I'm so sorry for all of this. I promise you, once this trial is over, you'll be right where you belong. You'll be here."

"Kristina," Dex rushes down the stairs, stopping to her left.

"What's up?" she shifts the baby around, standing her up, "Is everything okay?"

"TJ called; he's on the way home."

"Oh…" Kristina bounces the baby, who stares straight up at Dex, "um…five more minutes?"

"Krissy-"

"Please," she stands up, holding the infant against her chest, "I don't know when, or if, I'll see her again. Let me have just a little more time with her."

"I need to take her home-"

"She is home."

"Kristina."

The woman bites her lip, trying to figure out an appropriate response. Dex raises his eyebrows expectantly, opening his arms up. Kristina sighs in defeat, cuddling the baby against her.

"Hey, baby girl," she whispers, planting a kiss on the infant's head, "I'll see you soon, okay? I love you."

"Thank you," he says, adjusting the little girl's positioning as Kristina passes her to him, "I'll be back."

The woman doesn't speak, sitting back down on the couch. She looks on as Dex closes the door behind him, tears tumbling down her cheeks. Her cries are silent as she breaks down, her face buried in her hands as the quiet space of the penthouse sits on her, crushing her completely under its massive, invisible weight.