A/N: Thank you, Julie, for your spectacular beta skills. I added a little something you suggested. :)

Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. I know I have been slow with posting, and I'm sorry.

Last chapter lost like 100 readers from the normal amount. Are there like 50 of you that read it more than once? That's super cool. But otherwise, I hope I'm not losing people. I promise that eventually this all leads somewhere. That being said, this isn't the chapter that does that. All right, I'll shut it.

Wait. One more thing. In case you may have forgotten, it is 1999 at this point in the story.

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A Change In Me

Chapter Ten


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After lunch with my parents, Dickie walked with us to the park so Sophia could play. I wanted her to pass out because I had every intention of going home with Dickie that evening. It had been a long week, and I was ready for a break.

We sat on a bench and watched Sophia run around the playground.

"Watch me, DD!" she shouted as she hopped up onto the smaller swings. "Look how high I can go!"

"Wow!" he shouted at her and then smiled at me.

I took his hand and leaned into his shoulder. "I needed this."

"Something going on? Is Joe giving you trouble?"

"No. I'm just a little overwhelmed dealing with the whole sharing thing."

He kissed the top of my head. "Once we are all living together, things will settle down. Speaking of … I think we need to set a date."

"Really? I haven't even thought about that yet. What were you thinking?"

"Spring? Maybe May?"

"That's not a lot of time."

"It's plenty of time. You know I already talked to your father about expenses. Don't worry about anything, you just pick out what you want."

I peaked up at him. "You spoil me."

"I like taking care of what's mine."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"I still want to adopt Sophia. Have you talked to Joe about it?"

The smile fell from my face and I turned back to watch Sophia. "No. I don't think he's going to go for that."

"You know I can adopt her before we are married."

I pulled away from him. "I can't do that to him, Dickie. And even if you did adopt Sophia, it wouldn't erase Joe from her life. From our lives. Do you really want it to be an ongoing battle when it comes to her?"

He gave me a tight smile. "No. You're right. You shouldn't have told him."

I leaned back against him. "Well, I did. And now we have to deal with it."

He didn't respond for several minutes. "I have a dinner party next weekend that I need you to come to."

"Okay. That sounds fun."

"Mommy!" Sophia screamed as she ran to us. "Did you see?"

I smiled brightly. "Did I see what, bug?"

"I hopped off the swing!"

"Wow, you're so brave. Was it scary?"

"No, it was fun." She jumped up and down several times. "Fun! Fun! Fun!"

Dickie laughed. "What did she eat earlier?"

"I think Mom slipped her some cake."

"Cake! Yummy! Yummy!" She spun around several times and fell to the ground.

We both stayed quiet, not wanting to instigate any tears.

She smiled, apparently unhurt. "I gotta go potty."

"Okay, bug. Let's go."

.

I walked her over to the community restrooms. I hated using them, but I kept a small container of antibacterial soap on me. I always cleaned the toilet seats before I let her use them. She was doing a fairly aerobic potty dance as I prepared her seat.

"You having fun with DD?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded as I lifted her onto the toilet. "Do I still get to talk to Daddy tonight?"

"Of course."

"Will Daddy move into DD's house with us?"

I pulled back in surprise. "No, Sophie. Daddy has his own place. Remember?"

"But I get two daddies!"

"Are you going?" I tilted my head down toward the toilet.

"Oops." She smiled and then closed her eyes to relax.

"Sophie, did someone tell you that Daddy didn't want you?"

She opened her eyes and bit her lip. "I dunno."

She was lying. My child had no idea that she was trying to con the master. "You can tell me, bug. I'm not mad. I just want you to know that it's not true. Daddy didn't know about you because I kept you a … surprise. Daddy was gone and I wanted to tell him about you when he came home."

She giggled. And finally peed. "I'm a surprise?"

"You were. Now Daddy knows you and he loves you."

"Okay."

Well, if only all of life's problems were so quickly solved.

I cleaned her up and placed her back on her feet. "Pull up your pants so we can wash our hands."

I held her up to the sink as she washed her hands. I wanted to know now more than ever who told her that Joe didn't want her. "Did Auntie Val tell you that Daddy didn't want you?"

"No." She skipped over to the blowers and held her hands up, waiting for me to push the button.

I frowned as I stood over her, hand poised over the button. "Who told you, Sophia?"

She grimaced at me and waved her hands like I didn't know she was waiting to dry them.

"Who?" I pressed.

"I dunno." She looked away from me.

I wasn't going to get anywhere with her without causing a major meltdown. And the last thing I wanted to deal with was a tantrum. So I let it drop.

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OoOoO

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I was a nervous wreck by the time Dickie picked me up for the dinner party. I had not met any of his co-workers, and now I was meeting them as his fiancée. I was sure that they would wonder just who I was, getting Dickie to propose so quickly. And then I worried that they would think I was just looking for a meal ticket since I had a child.

He smiled at me as I walked out onto the porch, buttoning up my coat. "You look like I'm taking you to your execution."

"More like a cross examination. They are all lawyers after all."

"They will love you. In fact, they already love you. They think you have been a good influence on me." He pulled me to him and kissed me. "You are a good influence on me." He pushed his erection into my stomach.

"Geez, Dickie. Keep it in your pants. We're on my parents' front porch."

"I can't help it. You look so sexy." He rubbed up against me again and groaned in frustration. "We have to get going."

.

We pulled into a ridiculously fancy neighborhood, not too far from where Dickie lived, but definitely in the next income bracket. It even had a gate with a guard. I kept fidgeting with my scarf as we got closer to the lit up house with all the cars in front. I was surprised that there wasn't a valet.

Dickie helped me out and kissed my cheek once more. "This is Ted and Felicia's house. He's a junior partner, and I hope to have his job some day." He flashed me a mischievous smirk. "Soon."

"So does that mean he would be fired?"

He chuckled. "No. It means that we could live in a house like this. It has nothing to do with Ted. He's a non-equity partner, and I would actually like to eventually be an equity partner, but that will take some time. And probably some forced retirements to take place. But first I need to make junior partner."

"Oh." I nodded even though I knew nothing about how law firms worked.

Not too surprising, there were staff working the party, one to take your coat and another to lead you to the festivities. I took in the fancy artwork and furniture and wondered if this was really the type of home I wanted to have. Sure, it was beautiful and spacious, but it didn't feel that much like a home to me. I tried to picture Sophia twirling around in one of her impromptu ballet performances. That would only end in disaster in a home that felt more like a museum. I definitely didn't want to raise children someplace they couldn't play.

Dickie led me through several groups of people, standing around and chatting with small plates of hors d'oeuvres and fancy glasses of various drinks. They all smiled and greeted us, the women scanning my navy blue dress with an appraising eye. I swallowed back my nerves as I returned their smiles, probably mirroring their fakeness.

Finally we arrived in front of a short man and his wife, who was wearing enough jewelry for three people.

Dickie gestured to them. "Ted, Felicia, this is my fiancée Stephanie. Stephanie, this is Ted and Felicia Ryder, the hosts of this wonderful evening."

I gave them my most impressed-looking smile. "This is a beautiful home. It's such a pleasure to meet you."

Ted tilted his head towards his wife. "It's all Felicia. She's the mastermind behind all the interior design. I just hand her my credit card and hope I don't come home to fluorescent green walls."

They all tittered at his comment, so I joined in too.

Felicia quickly whisked me away from Dickie and introduced me to several other wives. I noticed that there weren't any female attorneys present.

"So does Kreiner not hire women?" I asked a Mrs. Smith, an older woman who had a quick wit and easy laugh. She seemed the least likely to be offended by my inquiry.

"Oh, heavens no." She shook her head. "That old fart is as traditional as they come."

I giggled at her remark. "I haven't met him yet."

"Don't be worried. He's a softy underneath it all. He and George, my husband, go back years. I used to baby-sit his son, who is standing over there looking down Rita's dress."

I discreetly swiveled my head to see the younger Mr. Kreiner. "Is that his wife?"

"No. And his father would smack him upside his head if he saw that. His wife is the pregnant woman over there." She flicked her eyes to the right. "Tiffany."

"Oh." I looked around the room and noticed Dickie talking with a pretty brunette. "Who is that?"

"Diane. She has been after your man for a while."

I frowned at that. "Isn't she married?"

"She's Mr. Kreiner's personal assistant. The only one here who isn't at least an associate. The Ryder's are a pretentious couple and they never invite any of the other staff. She must have brought Mr. Kreiner tonight."

"Oh. Do I have anything to worry about?" I smiled nervously. "About Dickie."

She looked away from me, towards my fiancé, who was laughing with Diane. "Not from her." She turned back to me quickly, a bright smile on her face. "Now, you should meet Anne Morgan. She's closer to you in age, and I'm sure she'd be thrilled to have another younger wife to get to know."

"Okay, that would be great. No offense, but I do feel like I'm about ten years too soon to be here."

She smiled warmly. "None taken."

I did meet Ann Morgan, who was very sweet, if not a little bit of a doormat. She was so quiet that we mostly sat in silence until Dickie came by and stole me away to meet his bosses, the Kreiners.

Kreiner Sr. was very kind, and he immediately warmed up to me. He even asked to see pictures of Sophia, something no one else had done. Of course, my pictures were in my purse, but he summoned a server to get it for me. It only took a few minutes before we were looking at my favorite recent pictures of Sophia, one from the night she met Joe. He winked at me when I stuttered over who Joe was, but he didn't make any comments.

Kreiner Jr., on the other hand, was exactly the opposite of his father. His eyes, more often than not, roamed across my body rather than stay on my face. Dickie didn't seem to notice, thankfully, but he did disappear with Kreiner Jr. before we sat down to dinner. I had a bad feeling about what they were doing. I noticed a couple other younger lawyers returned with them to the large dining room, all looking jumpy and with dilated eyes. I made a mental note to ask Dickie about it later.

.

Once we were back in Dickie's car, I turned to him and gave him a serious look. "What were you doing with that douche bag Kreiner Jr.?"

He gave me a curious look before starting the car and pulling onto the lane. "I assume you mean because he was ogling you?" He huffed. "What do you expect, when you wear something low-cut like that? Stephanie, you're an amazingly attractive woman, and Eric is a normal man."

I looked down, but couldn't see anything with my coat and scarf. "And you're okay with him basically undressing me with his eyes right in front of you?"

"No. But he is my boss, and I know you would never let him do anything inappropriate."

"Inappropriate? I think that was inappropriate!" I crossed my arms and snuggled back into the heated seat. "And you're avoiding the question. Where did you go?"

"We went to the study."

"And?"

"And nothing you need to worry about. Boys being boys, that's all."

"Dickie, I know I can be a little naïve, but it looked like you had been …" I frowned, a little afraid to outright accuse him of doing drugs.

"I was drinking, Stephanie. It was a spectacular bottle of absinthe. I don't even know where he got it."

I looked out the window to gather my thoughts. Something felt off, but I didn't really know if alcohol could make someone look the way he had. "You didn't smell like you had been drinking."

"I didn't drink that much - I couldn't. I would've been in the hospital." He reached over and grabbed my hand, waiting for me to look at him. "I won't do it again if it makes you upset."

I bit my lip, considering if I wanted to press the matter. "You promise?"

"Of course."

"Isn't that stuff illegal anyway? What are a bunch of lawyers doing with illegal substances?"

He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. "We can be a reckless group. But don't worry. I will keep my distance from Eric if that is what you want. I just wanted to help my career."

I sighed. "It's not that I want you to stay away from him. I just don't like him. Or trust him."

"Noted. And I will keep him away from you from now on if that will help you feel better."

"Thank you."

.

It wasn't until after we had made love, and I was almost asleep that Dickie turned to me with a frown. "I would prefer you to not have pictures of Joe in your purse."

I blinked at him, and stifled a yawn. "I'm sorry. He gave it to me when I took her to see him this week."

"Don't you have a picture of the three of us?"

"I think so. Maybe from her birthday." I rolled away from him and tucked my hands under my pillow.

"How do you think it made me feel to see you showing my boss pictures of your ex and not have one picture of me?" He pulled me back towards him and leaned over me.

"I do have a picture of you – the one with us at the pier. It's one of my favorite pictures. But Mr. Kreiner was looking at pictures of Sophia."

He glared at me. "That's not the point, and you know it." He flopped back down on his side of the bed. "Fine. Go to sleep, Stephanie. I can see how it's going to be."

"How what's going to be?" I sat up and shifted to face him. I was so tired! I could hardly think straight. "Please don't be mad at me. I will remove the picture as soon as I get home." I crawled over to him and straddled him. "You know I love you."

"Do you?" He stared at me, a hard look on his face.

"Do I?" I shook my head and then leaned down and kissed him. "I'm marrying you, aren't I?" I sat up and smiled. "I make love to you." I kissed him again. "I plan on making you a very happy man, Dickie Orr, for the rest of your life."

He grabbed my hips, a small smile tugging at his lips. "The rest of my life? I think I need a retainer."

"A retainer?" I smiled. "You mean like a down payment?" I smirked as I slowly shifted my body down his, clearly making my way to his growing erection.

"That could work." He helped me shove his sleep pants down, and then I put him in a better mood. I was beyond exhausted by the time I laid back down to go to sleep.

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OoOoO

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The next few weeks were hectic, constantly trying to juggle everyone's schedules and letting everyone spend time with Sophia. I still wasn't completely comfortable leaving her alone with Joe, and I think he preferred me to stay with them as well. Watching him with her always brought a smile to my face. Our time together was easy and fun. Everything I had hoped it to be when I was pregnant and still in love with Joe.

Joe surprised me by offering to keep Sophia overnight on my birthday. He said that he figured that Dickie would have something planned for me. It was too difficult for me to agree, so I chickened out and told him I'd think about it. She had never spent the night away from home without me.

Then I took her to see him on one Saturday. Joe greeted us at the door with a childish grin.

"There's my girl," he said happily and then carefully scooped her up into his arms. He was still using a walking boot, but he hoped to be out of it in the next couple of weeks.

"Daddy!" Sophia kissed his cheeks repeatedly, earning several barks of laughter from him.

Joe turned back into his apartment and carried her in, leaving me standing in the door.

I scowled at them and huffed. "Oh hi, Stephanie," I said snottily. "Thank you for bringing Sophia to me once again. I know you're busy too, but it's so much easier for you to bring her to me instead of me coming to see her. That way you can fight with her to go to bed after she has fallen asleep in the car."

"Steph?" Joe asked, leaning around the corner and looking down the small entryway. "You talking to yourself?"

"No," I snapped.

"You can come in." He smiled at me, and I rolled my eyes at him. "But leave whoever you were talking to in the hall." He smirked at me and then disappeared within his apartment.

"Ugh!" I sighed loudly and then entered his apartment. I had brought one of Sophia's movies with me for us to watch. I had probably seen 'Bumblebott's Great Adventure' one thousand times, and I had plans to "accidentally" leave it at Joe's. That brought a smile to my face.

I walked into the small living room, expecting to find my daughter, but no one was there.

"Joe? Sophie?"

"In here," Joe called from the small den off to the left.

I flopped down on the couch and waited for them to come back out.

"Mommy," Sophia yelled excitedly. "Come here!"

"You come here," I returned.

"NO! You come here!"

"Nope. Not moving from the couch!"

"Mommy! Come here! It's a surprise!"

I looked up at the ceiling before hoisting myself back up and making my way over to the arched doorway. "What is it, So-"

I stopped in the doorway. Joe had turned his office den into a little girl's dream bedroom, complete with a pink ruffled duvet and flower-shaped pillows.

Joe stood up and gestured with a sweep of his arms. "What do you think?"

"I … uh ….wow." I looked around and noticed the small bookshelf with toys and books filling the shelves. He didn't miss a thing.

"There's no closet, but I figured she wouldn't really need one here. But I did get her some drawers." He pointed next to me to a small set of white drawers painted with pink and purple flowers.

"Isn't it pretty, Mommy?"

"Yeah, bug. It's great." I smiled at her, but I was a little overwhelmed.

He made her a bedroom. How could I tell her that she couldn't stay here now? Sophia wasn't stupid. She knew what a bed was for. She'd expect to stay over. She already complained about going home when we visited. And I had never even done this for her. I had never made her such a beautiful room that was all her own.

Joe crossed over to me. "You okay with this? I thought if I was going to start keeping her, then she should have her own space."

I looked up into his eyes. I wanted to be angry, but it melted away the moment our eyes locked. He looked so worried about my reaction. And I hadn't missed how proud he had been just minutes before. He was just being a good father.

I smiled back at him. "I didn't realize you were so serious about having her stay over."

"I just …" He took a deep breath. "I love her so much. I want to be more than just this guy who is only there for good times and special occasions." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, I love having fun with her. But I want more than that."

I nodded and then looked over to watch Sophia playing on her new bed. "You should keep her this week on my birthday."

His whole face lit up. "Really? You're sure?"

"I told you I'd think about it."

"You told me that to put off telling me no."

I pursed my lips. "And you did this to what? Force my hand?"

"No. I did this because I want to be a bigger part of her life."

"I know. She's never been apart from me and my parents."

He smiled. "You can call anytime and talk to her."

"I probably will. So don't be mad if I wake you up in the middle of the night just to hear her breathe."

He chuckled. "No problem."

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OoOoO

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The night of my birthday, Dickie took me to one of the most expensive restaurants in town. He even bought me a fancy dress to wear. It was dark green and did wonderful things for my body. Dickie was very appreciative and promised to show me exactly how much after dinner.

We were just finishing up with our food when Dickie handed me a box that wasn't very big, but it had some weight to it. So not jewelry.

I smiled at him and held it up to shake it lightly. "Can I open it now?"

"Of course." He leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Happy birthday, Stephanie."

I anxiously tore into the package and discovered a box that said Nokia on the side. "What is this?"

"It's a phone." He smirked as he wriggled his brows. "The better to keep tabs on you with."

"The better to get me in bed with! Oh my God! A cell phone?"

"A cell phone. It's just like mine so I know it works well. The woman at the store told me it's been the most popular phone they have ever sold."

"Is it ready for me to use?"

He chuckled as he pulled the box from me. "Yes. I had her set everything up today. You're phone number is written on the handbook in the box." He opened it up and handed me the small dark gray phone.

I giggled as I turned it on. I knew a little about how to operate it already since it was just like his. "Can I call you?"

He gave me an amused grin. "If you must."

"Yay!" I quickly punched in his number and squealed when his name popped up. "It's already in here!"

"And it's saved on your speed dial."

"What number is it under?"

"One, of course."

I rolled my eyes at him and hit the green button.

He laughed as he fished his phone from his pocket and answered. "Hello?"

"Hi!" I said into my phone.

"I'm sorry, I can't talk right now. I'm having dinner with the sexiest woman."

"That's okay. I'm just calling to tell you that I need to go home and make love to my fiancé."

Dickie ended the call and held up his hand. "Check please."

.

I rolled away from Dickie and picked up my new phone. I glanced back over my shoulder. He was out cold. I smiled to myself as I snuck into the bathroom and sat on the toilet. I turned on my phone, holding my hand over it to muffle the sounds. It was after midnight so I wondered if Joe would answer. Only one way to find out.

I dialed Joe's number and waited for him to pick up. On the fourth ring, he did.

"Hello?" he whispered sleepily.

"Hey, it's Steph," I whispered back.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine, but I just wanted to … make sure Sophie was good."

He yawned and I frowned as I fought off my own yawn.

"Joe?" I whispered after a moment of silence.

"Did you hear her?" he asked.

"Hear what?"

He laughed softly and then I heard the phone press against something. I could barely hear what he was saying. "Shhh…. It's okay. Go back to sleep, baby."

I felt like ice had just been poured over me. Was he with a woman? "Joe?" I called into the phone and then immediately looked up at the closed bathroom door. "Joe?" I asked again more quietly. The last thing I wanted was to wake up Dickie and then explain this call.

"Well, you woke her up." He turned away again. "Yes, baby. It's Mommy. You wanna say hi to her."

"Uh-huh," Sophia answered sweetly.

I sighed in relief. Relief that Joe had not brought a woman around Sophia. It had nothing to do with him lying in bed with another woman, probably naked, his body wrapped around hers. His muscular arms holding her tight. Nope. Not going to think about that anymore.

"Mommy?"

I smiled again. I hadn't realized how much I missed her. "Hi, bug. You being a good girl for Daddy?"

"I sleepy, Mommy." She was still half-asleep. "Daddy's a carrot." She giggled. "I'm a …." She snored softly into the phone.

"She's asleep again. Give me a second, Cupcake" Joe whispered.

I froze. I didn't think he realized what he called me. But I was also surprised that I didn't feel any stab of anger at hearing it. I sighed again as I waited for him to return, but it had nothing to do with relief. It was the feeling each time we were with each other. It lingered in the back of my mind, like a shadow that disappeared each time I mentally tried to shine some light on it. It wasn't happy or sad, but maybe somewhere in between.

"Sorry, I didn't want to keep waking her. I think she's sleeping lightly since it's a new place."

"Probably. So she's been good, no tantrums or crying fits?"

"No. She's been great, perfect actually … until bed time."

"Oh really?"

"She's in my bed. She refused to sleep in her room." He huffed. "Go ahead, make fun."

I giggled. "She's used to sharing a room, Joe. She still sometimes climbs into bed with me."

"Well, I tried to get her to stay in her room. I even … God, I can't believe I did this. I even sang to her that stupid song from 'Bumblebott's Great Adventure', which somehow found its way into my couch cushions last weekend."

"So that's where that went?" I asked innocently, knowing that he very well knew what I had done.

"Nice. And after watching it two times tonight, I can't say I blame you."

"So you sang? I didn't know you were a singer."

"Well, I must not be because she still wouldn't go to bed. Then I bribed her."

"Candy or cake?"

"What?"

"Candy or cake? It's the quickest way to get her to behave."

"You have no shame at all, do you?"

"I have a daughter who loves cake more than I do. That's way too powerful a tool to ignore."

He laughed quietly, his voice low and rough from sleep. "Well, I tried money. It didn't work."

"Not surprised. Four year olds just don't value the dollar these days. Something about not being able to do math, I think. Or maybe she just would rather eat her bribe." We both chuckled. "So then what?"

"Then nothing. I gave up. It's not weird that she's sleeping with me, is it?"

"I hope not. She's your child, Joe. And she's still very little. I think we're good for a couple more years."

"Okay. Well, then I admit that a small part of me thought it was sweet she wanted to stay with me."

"Awe. Your such a softy with her – AAH!" My heart leapt out of my chest as I turned around to see Dickie standing over me. He had placed a hand firmly on my shoulder and his eyes were narrowed.

"Stephanie? Stephanie, are you okay?" Joe's voice sounded through my phone, hanging limp at my side.

I put the phone back up to my face but I kept my eyes on Dickie. "I'm fine. Just … I woke up Dickie. I gotta go. I'll see you in the morning." I hung up without waiting to hear him say goodbye. "What the hell, Dickie?"

"I could say the same thing. Enjoying your new phone? It's nice to see that you called Joe as soon as possible."

I stood up and placed my hands on his crossed arms. "Stop. I was calling to check on Sophia. You know that."

"After midnight?"

"Well," I started, with the intent of telling him I was free to call whoever I wanted whenever I wanted. But I would rather have him happy than be right. I tilted my head and looked up at him through my lashes. "Someone kept me out and then kept me busy when we got back so I hadn't had time to call," I said flirtatiously.

He sighed tiredly but I could feel his arms relax. "Just come back to bed. We'll take her to breakfast in the morning." He opened his arms to embrace me and kissed my forehead. "Joe should come too. It's time we meet."

.

OoOoO

.

The next morning I called Joe to let him know the new plan of going out to breakfast. He seemed a little put out that instead of the three of us it would be the four of us. I was already dreading it, except that I was desperate to see my little girl. It was strange that I was so eager to see her. It wasn't as if I had never spent the night away from her. But it had been the first time I didn't tuck her in or wake her up. And I think I wanted to see first hand that she was content with staying over at Joe's.

Joe agreed to meet us at Pat's Diner on the corner of Broad and Stanton. It was a pretty good place, not too expensive and not too fancy, filled with regular customers. Dickie had never heard of it so I offered to drive.

"Oooh, let me drive your car! It can be part of my birthday gift," I said excitedly and kissed him for good measure.

"Steph," he complained, "I don't let anyone drive my car."

"Pleeeease," I begged, batting my lashes at him.

He smiled and rolled his eyes, a sign he had been spending so much time with me. "Fine."

"Yay!"

We quickly made it to the car, and I smirked as I adjusted the seat to fit me better. Then I excitedly revved up the engine.

"Really, Stephanie?"

"Sorry." I made my way towards the Burg as Dickie frowned on the passenger side of the car.

"Why are you sitting that way?" he asked, annoyed.

"Sitting what way?" I looked over at him and made a funny face. "Sitting in the driver's seat of your awesome car?" I smiled and faced the road again.

"No, with your back arched like that." He gestured over at me. "You look like you're sticking your chest out."

"Are you kidding me right now?" I quickly looked over at him and then made the next turn.

"No. Why would I?"

"I don't know. I don't understand what you're saying." This was the strangest turn in conversation. Then I realized he probably thought I messed up his seat position for him. "The seat will go back, you know."

"I know that, Stephanie. I would not have let you drive if I didn't want to." He looked over at me, a slight sneer on his face. "Are you trying to get attention from the other drivers?"

"No." I slouched back into my seat a little. I had never even thought about how I sat. I had been driving since I got my permit at fifteen, over six years ago. Not once had I realized that I looked like I was pushing my chest out. I glanced at Dickie, but he was turned away from me, still frowning. "I didn't realize …"

He grabbed my hand and turned back to me with a smile. "It's fine, Steph. I shouldn't have said anything."

I nodded and then looked back to the road again, gripping his hand more tightly.

I could see Sophia bouncing in her booth seat through the window when we walked up to the diner. I tapped on the window and I could hear her scream for me. Joe's eyes met mine as he placed a finger over her mouth to shush her.

Dickie grabbed my hand as we made our way to the table. He had not said much about Joe lately, but I knew he had to have been a little insecure about his role in our lives. I wanted them to get along, even though I didn't expect them to ever be friends. I tugged his arm and pulled closer to him, giving him a light squeeze. He kissed the top of my head and patted my hand.

We stopped at the booth, and I smiled at Sophia. "Hey, bug!"

Sophia looked to Joe, who nodded, and then she jumped up and into my arms. "Mommy! I missed you soooooo much!"

I kissed her sweet little cheeks repeatedly, ignoring my questions about that little checking with Joe thing she had just done. "I missed you too. You remember talking to me last night?"

"Uh-huh." She smiled a toothy grin and then shook her head no. "No, I don't."

I shifted her to my hip after one more kiss. "That's okay."

"Hi, DD!"

"Sophia, my favorite girl!"

She lunged into his arms, and I surreptitiously watched Joe's reaction.

Nothing.

Too nothing.

It looked like it was his cop face. Hmmm.

"Joe, I'd like you to meet Dickie, my fiancé."

Joe leaned over and offered his hand. "It's nice to meet you. I'd get up, but the leg is still healing." He gave me a small smirk and then sat back after shaking Dickie's hand.

"It's good to meet you too. I hope you don't mind me changing the plans for today." Dickie gave Sophia a peck on the cheek before sitting her back down next to Joe.

"Of course not. I'm glad we are finally getting to know each other." I watched Joe closely. He appeared to mean what he was saying, except I didn't believe it. Something in the way his shoulders were squared told me that he had already made up his mind about Dickie, and it wasn't good.

"Me too." Dickie let me slide into the other side of the booth, across from Joe. "After all, we will all be parenting Sophia." He sat next to me and placed his arm over my shoulders. I could tell he was trying to mark me as his.

Joe took a deep breath. "Yes. We will."

Thankfully, the waitress showed up quickly. Since we hadn't really jumped into any conversation, we had all been staring at the menus and were ready to order. Well, Sophia had been coloring on her menu, and thankfully, she seemed clueless to the subtle tension in the air.

Dickie placed his menu down and smiled at the waitress. "I'll have the number five, over easy, toast dry." He looked at me. "I think you'd like the number three, Steph."

I looked back at my menu. I had planned on getting the five as well. "I think I'll get the five too." I smiled at the waitress and handed her the menu.

Dickie added, "She will take her eggs scrambled and also with dry toast."

I kept the smile on my face. Dickie had not kept up the ordering for me thing after I had mentioned it bothering me. But I felt this was for Joe's benefit. I could feel his eyes on me. I glanced up at him, and he gave me a very subtle lift of his brows.

Joe kissed the top of Sophia's head. "Remember which one you wanted, princess?"

"I want … friends toast!"

"French toast," Dickie inserted with a smile. "It's called French toast, sweetie."

"Okay," Sophia answered with a shrug.

Joe flashed me another cryptic grin and then placed their orders.

Dickie reached out just as the waitress was walking away. "This will all be on one check."

Joe leaned back in the booth, a gracious smile on his face. "Thank you, Dickie. That is very generous of you." I watched him closely, but he wouldn't look at me.

"Of course. It's nothing," Dickie said dismissively. He sat back, and placed his arm back around my shoulders, this time pulling me towards him.

Breakfast went how I thought it would. Polite, but awkward. It was a good thing that we all loved Sophia, and it was a better thing that she loved being the center of attention. Joe and Dickie did the whole job discussion for a few minutes. I had hoped that since they were both in law, they would have more in common. Not so much. And I noticed that Joe kept his eyes from mine throughout breakfast. It was weird, but I figured he must have been showing Dickie that he respected our relationship.

When we headed out to the parking lot, Joe went to his car to get Sophia's bag.

"Daddy! I wanna stay with you," Sophia called from my arms. It always felt like something slicing through me when she wanted him over me.

Joe turned back to us to deal with her, but Dickie scooped her away. He gave her the sucker he bought at the register and opened the back door. "Sophia, be a good girl and get in your seat. Mommy and DD will be right with you." She started to pout, but he pointed to the sucker now hanging out of her mouth. "You like your sucker?"

"Mm-hmmm," she murmured over the candy, nodding her head.

"In you go," he said cheerfully and deposited her in the car, shutting the door before she could protest.

I turned around, expecting to see Joe, but he had already gone back to his car on the other side of the lot. Suddenly, Dickie whipped me around and placed his hands on my face.

He kissed me softly and then pulled back. "I look forward to the day when we will all be going home together."

I grinned at him. "You mean Joe too?" I teased.

His eyes flickered in annoyance, then he pulled me to him more forcefully and kissed me hard. Once he released me, he gave me a smug smile. "I mean our family."

Joe cleared his throat from behind me, and I turned around, still within Dickie's embrace. Joe had his cop face back on, and I could see that his jaw was twitching. He did a really good job of smiling as he handed me the bag. But that was the thing; it was definitely work for him to do it. Almost without stopping, he made his way to Dickie's car and tapped the window, blowing Sophia a kiss. And then he practically bolted away from us.

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Okay, thank you for reading. And if you are one of those missing readers or repeaters - leave me a review this time!

Pat's Diner is real! Absinthe was still very much illegal at this time as well. Now, it's not. Have you tried it?