Roman has always kind of wanted to be a dad.

Not literally, of course. To be a dad you need to have sex, and that's something Roman has been avoiding for most of his adult life. Ironically Kendall, who couldn't reproduce biologically, had no problem with the fucking part, while Roman, whose sperm works perfectly well as far as he knows, couldn't fuck.

And now he's finally found a woman that he actually wants to sleep with, kids aren't an option.

He finds himself thinking back to the time when he was with Grace, playing Daddy to Isla. He had kind of loved that, even though the rest of his relationship with Grace was a nightmare, purely transactional. He gave her publicity for her ugly jewellery and she gave him arm candy in return, someone he could show off to his father and say see Pops, I'm normal. Logan hadn't even minded Grace being a single parent, perhaps knowing or suspecting that Shiv was his only real hope of getting a biological grandchild.

He finds himself thinking about Isla in the run up to the wedding. Imagining her as a bridesmaid, as little sense as that makes.

He misses her.

"What do you think about asking Grace and Isla to the wedding?" he asks Gerri on impulse.

She looks up from her work immediately, and he can tell from her expression that he's made a mistake. "Why?"

"I just… thought it would be nice, that's all." He toes his foot in circles on the carpet.

"I didn't know you were still in touch with Grace."

"I'm not." He hasn't seen her since the Thanksgiving where she publicly shamed him in front of the entire dinner table, including Gerri.

"Then why would you want her there?"

"I just thought, you know, new start, building bridges…" He can see Gerri isn't buying it. "It's not her I want there. It's Isla. You know, I was practically a dad to her for a while. I feel bad that I haven't seen her in so long."

Gerri nods slowly. He can see that she's feeling vulnerable and slides down so he's kneeling at her feet.

"It was just an idea," he says. "We don't have to ask them. It's stupid."

"If you want kids you really should be marrying someone else, Roman." She's not looking at him.

"Hey, I don't want anyone else." He takes her hand. "I would choose you over anyone, you know that."

"But if you want a family—"

"You're my family," he insists. "It was a stupid idea. I miss Isla sometimes, that's all. She made me want to be a better person… like you do."

She manages a small smile at that. "Alright. You can invite them if you want."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Just don't let Grace turn it into a publicity event for her jewellery, okay?"

"I promise." He lays his head in her lap. She puts down her work and strokes his hair as he closes his eyes.