The air is stale as it whips past Dex's face, salt lightly singing his nostrils as he breathes it in. Arriving at the pier took very little time out of his day, and he welcomes the time he could potentially waste looking through the cracks and crevices the police failed to examine. Any excuse to avoid his mother is a good one.

"Dex," Frank approaches him. A few dockworkers pass them by, ignoring their presence, "You called?"

"Yeah," Dex looked towards the hallway, "I, uh, wanted to check the place out, see if there's anything we can find to get the guy who killed Sonny."

"We already looked and found nothing; same with the police."

"I know, but there has to be something. I doubt the shooter would really just vanish with no clues left behind. No accidental clues, anyway."

"...Okay," a few more goons show up behind Frank, "well, we're here to help, whatever you need us to do."

"Thanks."

The group of men travel down the hallway, slowly creeping onto the main dock of the pier. Frank and the other goons wince as they approach the center, a flash of where Sonny lied in their vision. Dex frowns at the sight, a small lump forming in his throat.

"This, uh," Frank rubs his upper lip, "this is where he was shot."

Dex crouches down, noting a long, semi-circular, faint red-violet streak that outlines where a pool of blood used to be. The lump grows bigger, and he sniffs as he stands up, taking as deep of a breath as he could muster.

Krissy… he thinks, God, I'm so sorry.

"I had some guys check out the watchtower over there," Frank points up, picking out a tall, wooden structure off to their right, "That's where we think the bullets came from."

"And you said you found nothing?"

"Right. Nothing stuck out."

"Hmph," Dex furrows his eyebrows, standing back up. He wipes his eyes, feeling them ache, "uh, I'm going to check it out myself. Maybe something's surfaced since what happened."

"You're going by yourself?"

"You're free to join me if you want."

"...We'll be posted outside."

The group of men exit the pier, each one looking back at the dried pool of blood with a sickness in their heart. Dex is the last in line, staring for a few minutes more than the others. He pulls out his phone, his heart skipping a beat at the image of Ciara, her baby teeth growing in, on his lock screen. He unlocks the device, pulling up the last text thread he was in.

To: Kristina (1:34 PM)
Just checking in.

He eventually follows the bodyguards out the second he hears a power hose strike the pavement, rushing out to avoid looking at the dock worker cleaning off the last of the blood. They all stand firm at the entrance, Frank nodding and walking to the right once he noted everyone's attendance.

"Can I ask you something?"

The young man's not sure when Frank stopped leading the way, or when he ended up at the front, "Huh?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you taking charge in this? Last I checked, Brick runs the organization now, and he didn't say anything about looking into the shooting."

"Right, he didn't, and still hasn't," Dex takes a deep breath, "I'm doing this for Kristina."

"She asked you?"

"No, uh, I'm doing this on my own."

"I thought you two split up."

"We did, but she's still important to me."

"How so, besides her being Ciara's mother?"

Dex stops in his tracks, causing the group to follow suit. He turns to stare them all down, "She witnessed her father, a man that she, and all of us, loved and respected, die right in front of her. The least both of them deserve is closure and justice."

"I don't disagree," Frank nods, "and it's clear that you still love her."

"I do."

"Then we should continue to the watchtower."

"Good idea," Dex dons a warm smile, returning to the back. The men make their way to the tower, staring up at the ladder to the top.

"I'll have the men stay down here," Frank said, "and I'll be at the door to the room."

"Sounds good," Dex steps forward, grabbing the railing and climbing upwards. It takes a few minutes to reach the balcony, the door shutting behind him and Frank standing in front of the window. The young man takes a deep breath, scanning the room. He approaches the control station, looking out of the window that oversees the pier. Two fingers come together, forming a gun as he aims in that direction.

"A sniper for sure," he mutters to himself, "There's gotta be something here."

He leans closer to the station, examining each button and panel readily observable. His feet shuffle along the wooden floor, angling himself as if he was the shooter.

He fired from here… the young man thinks to himself, an eerie chill running down his spine as he continues the simulation, turning away from the window. The moment he faces the floor, it hits him. A small black object sticks out from the floorboards, buried underneath the panel table. He drops to his knees, gently grabbing it with his fingertips, wiggling it just enough to free it from its confines.

What's printed on the object causes his heart to drop to the pit of his stomach.

"No…" Dex mumbles, looking the item over. It exists as a black card, with three jagged, diagonal lines shooting across the top left corner: lemon yellow, peach, and magenta, "No way…"

"Dex," Frank knocks on the door, "everything okay in there? Find anything?"

"Uh…" the young man immediately pockets the card, "nothing. The guy really did his due diligence."

The door then opens, "Sounds like he's done this before."

"Well, uh, I mean," Dex mentally kicks himself, "you, me, and the cops couldn't find anything. Not counting any fingerprints or DNA, of course. It just…seems like the shooter made sure to cover himself. Whether or not he's a pro, I don't know."

"It's still a pretty keen observation, but you've always been like that."

"...Yeah," Dex looks past the bodyguard, "We should probably get going before some dockworkers find us up here."

"Right. Let's go," Frank travels down the ladder first, the young man coming close behind. Once they scurry back to the entrance of the pier, they divert in their paths. Dex settles into his SUV just as the men depart from the parking lot, pulling out the card once more. Dread begins to creep into his veins, bile settling in his throat. A buzz in his back pocket snaps him back into reality, and he stores the card in his front. The message he gets does very little to ease his current state of feeling.

From: Kristina (1:49 PM)
Get to Kelly's. Now.

Ciara's laughter is music to Kristina's ears: the first time that day she's felt at ease with the world around her. They sit inside of Kelly's, situated by the side window, the baby in her mother's lap as she consumes a spoonful of mashed strawberries.

"Yummy, huh?" the young woman asks.

"Yeah!" Ciara coos, trying to have some more, and her mother obliged.

"You really helped Mama and Uncle Dante out, sitting with us and making us feel better while we talked. You were a good girl today."

"Good girl!"

"That's right," Kristina kisses the baby's forehead, "my good girl. I love you."

"Wuv you, Mama."

Her heart flutters at the remark, and she settles into the chair, staring out the window while Ciara continues to eat. The sun shines bright through the top window, striking her brown eyes with a subtle fury, causing her to ignore her phone vibrating in her back pocket.

"Sunny!"

"Hm?" Kristina looks down at her daughter, who points at the window, "What?"

"Sunny!" Ciara repeats, staring with wonder.

"...Yeah. Sunny. That's right," the young woman kisses the back of the baby's head, feeling blonde hairs against her lips, doing her best to not break down into tears, "You…You're my sunny, you and Dada."

"Where Dada?" Ciara looks around.

"He's busy today, baby girl."

"See Dada?"

"You want to go see him?" Kristina asks.

"See Dada!"

"I think that's a great idea."

The mother and daughter look up to see a blonde woman standing at the chair across from them. Her blue eyes ring familiar to Kristina, a chill running down her spine.

"Do I know you?" the young woman asks.

"I…I was just…taken aback by how beautiful you and your family are," the woman sits down across from them and extends a hand, "Nikki."

"Kristina," the young woman reluctantly takes her offer.

"Your daughter's adorable. She looks just like you."

"Thank you," Ciara beams up at her mother when their eyes meet.

"She looks so happy."

"At least one of us is."

"I'm sorry?"

"...Uh," Kristina clears her throat, "it's just…my dad passed away recently."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, um, it's been really, really tough."

"It's a good thing your daughter is here to ground you," Nikki rests a hand on top of Kristina's, "I can only hope her father's been a source of support as well."

"He has, yeah, even though he's hurting too. He's not the only one who lost their dad."

"...Oh," Nikki nods slowly, the image of Dex clawing at the back of her mind, "Is that so?"

"I'm sorry. We just met. I'm saying too much-"

"No, no, it's okay. I was the one who intruded in the first place," the older woman leans in, smiling at the baby, "and the last thing I want to do is cause any problems for you and Ciara."

"How do you know my daughter's name?"

Nikki pulls back, a slight tinge of regret. Kristina's face shows an apprehensive surprise while Ciara looks around aimlessly.

"How do you know her name?" she repeats the question.

"I…" the other woman takes a deep breath, "I guess there's no point in continuing this."

"Continuing what?"

"I was hoping to start off on the right foot, Kristina. Truly. I don't want turmoil independent of you and I to affect our relationship."

The realization hits Kristina like a truck: "...You're Dex's mom."

"I'm sorry," Nikki frowns as Ciara coos in curiosity, "I just wanted to-"

"Does he know you're in town?"

"Yes. He was the first person I saw. We talked at his place and I saw a photo of you three together; that's how I recognized you."

"Why are you in town?"

"I wanted to check on Dex and be there for him after his father died."

"I doubt that went over well."

"I still wanted to be there," Nikki glances away just as Kristina pulls out her phone, shooting off a text message to the top thread she has, "He's my son. Even though he didn't get along with his father, the man was still a big part of his life."

"'Not getting along' is a bit of an understatement, isn't it?"

"It's the truth."

"No, the truth is that both you and his dad were bystanders while his brothers constantly attacked him."

"I had my flaws-"

"Being willfully neglectful is one hell of a 'flaw.'"

"I'm not sure how much Dex told you, but a lot was going on when he was a little boy. It's not as black and white as me letting him get hurt."

"Just because a lot was going on with you, that doesn't excuse what was going on with him. He needed someone to protect, love, and respect him, and you didn't step up and do that. Hell, he still doesn't have it, considering how you decided to invite yourself back into his life."

Nikki flinches, "Considering all the distance he put between us, I'd think that he would've moved on."

"You can't just move on from being abused and neglected as a kid."

"Time can heal a lot of wounds: time and therapy," the older woman then takes a deep breath, "I'm not interested in fighting with you, okay? You and Ciara are important to my son, and my son's important to me. I want a chance to bond with the family he's created."

"Going behind his back to do that isn't the smartest idea, especially since you two don't get along."

"I don't disagree, but I wanted a chance to at least see my granddaughter," Nikki leans in, scanning Ciara's oblivious face, "She's so beautiful; she looks so much like you."

"Thanks," Kristina forces out.

"And…I see so much of Dex in her too. God, the brightness in her eyes, that's absolutely from him."

"At least that's one thing you couldn't take from him…"

Nikki pulls back, letting out another exasperated sigh, "For what it's worth, I'm glad Dex has you. It means a lot that he has more family besides me."

"Besides you?" Kristina asks, flitting her eyes to Dex when she notices him at the front of the diner, "Aren't his father and brothers his family too?"

"Mom," the young man rushes over, "what the hell?"

"I came here for some food, and it was just my luck that Kristina and Ciara were here too."

"I'm so sorry," Dex flinches as he turns to Kristina.

"We were just having a conversation-"

"You have no business talking to my family."

"They're my family too. We're all we got."

"Dada!" Ciara cheers, reaching outwards for Dex, who picks her up.

"Hi, baby," he says softly, kissing her cheek as she settles into his arms. Nikki takes a breath as she gets to her feet.

"I should get going," she forces the words out, "I'm sorry for bothering you."

"The next time you think about coming back into my life, don't," Dex scowls. The older woman doesn't respond, turning and exiting the diner in a huff.

"She's a piece of work," Kristina shakes her head as Dex sits down, settling Ciara on his lap. She slides the bowl of strawberries over, "She really minimized what you went through."

"Of course she did. She doesn't get that her 'sacrifices' screwed up my life."

"Sacrifices?"

"It's a long story."

"Does it have to do with her saying that she's your only family?"

"...It does," Dex takes a deep breath, "Long story short, she dropped some news on me, and I'm still kind of processing it."

"Bad news?"

"Bad news."

"I'm sorry," Kristina rests a hand on his knuckles, his other hand holding Ciara tight against his torso, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not to pull a page from your book, but you two being here is enough."

"Whatever," Kristina rolls her eyes, relaxing against her chair while Dex attempts to feed Ciara what's left of the strawberries. Once the bowl is empty, he wipes her face.

"Dada," the baby looks up at her father, her smile wide and bright.

"Yeah?"

"Wuv you."

His heart flutters as he hugs the infant against him, her coo delightful, and for the first time in a while, the family of three shares a moment of uninterrupted bliss, "I love you too."