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“Daddy! Daddy! Hide me”! Billie darted between Carisi and the bar, peeking out from behind him. She was giggling and panting for breath, waiting for Velasco to catch up to her.
“Hey no fair, hiding behind the prosecutor”, Joe smiled at Carisi and motioned to the bartender.
“You know you don’t have to keep the kids occupied like this Joe”. Carisi reached down and picked up his giggly daughter, who laid her head down on his shoulder and relaxed in his arms.
“They can be a handful, especially when they’re all together like this”. Sonny nodded to where Noah and Jesse were motioning for Joe to come play another round of Hide and Seek with them. Bella’s kids had joined in too.
Joe gulped down the club soda and laughed. “I don’t mind. They’re great kids, Counselor”.
“Come on Uncle Joe”!
“Duty calls”. He held a finger up to Jesse and turned back to Billie, who seemed comfortable right where she was. “You wanna join us, Daddy’s Girl? Or stay here”?
Carisi kissed the top of her head, and she squeezed tight around his neck.
“Stay here”. She whispered.
“Come on, you haven’t seen Noah in a while…..besides”, he paused, looking around for Rollins. “I think it might be time for me to rescue mommy from Nonna”. Serafina Carisi was fawning over her daughter in law just as much as she was her grandson. Sonny knew there was only so much Amanda could take…..the amount of PDA his family expressed was…..a lot. And large doses like today could be overwhelming when you’d only been immersed in it for a year or two.
“Come on, you’ll be my partner this time, help me find everyone”. Joe held his hand out and Billie leaned forward, letting Sonny put her down.
“Okay”! She scrambled off towards her sister.
“Joe…..thank you”. The younger man waved him off and followed the kids.
Sonny watched them for a while, then his eyes turned back to Amanda.
“Do you remember”.......Olivia Benson started, as she set her wine glass down on the bar next to Carisi and took his arm in her hands. Finally she’d managed to catch him alone. She’d been watching him…..them for the last hour or so. Thinking about how far Amanda and Sonny had come……
His brow raised in curious anticipation of where this was going. He switched the beer to his other hand as his former boss wrapped her hands around his arm and nodded to Amanda.
He followed Liv’s eyeline back to his beautiful wife…..She was positively……glowing. Standing amid his family, (hers had thankfully gone home early, even smaller doses needed of the Rollins clan to keep his wife happy) radiating beauty and joy….he couldn’t be prouder or happier to call that woman his wife. He was still just as truly, madly, and deeply in love with her as he was the first time they kissed.
“You were still one of mine”……she paused again, being very deliberate and careful with her words.
The two of them watched for a few seconds as Serafina Carisi whispered something in Amanda’s ear that made her toss her head back and attempt to cover her mouth as peals of laughter burst from deep within her. The ending snort made them both chuckle.
“It was when she was going into labor with Billie”. His smile faded, just a fraction. Dimples slightly less noticeable. Olivia hugged his arm tighter. “You came to give me an update and I was…..surprised you’d left her side at the hospital”.......
Sonny nodded. How could he ever forget. He swallowed back the pain and focused on how happy he was now. No need to think about how things used to be….how much he wanted this back then.
Amanda’s eyes scanned the room, searching for something…..not the baby. Fin had baby Nicky safe and sound in his arms, talking the finer points of jelly donuts versus zeppole with Serafina (Sonny was sure he was just teasing her to get a free batch brought to the precinct) and Velasco somehow convinced the kids into playing a game of Uno, maybe a way to help calm them down a bit. Her gaze landed on Carisi and immediately her expression softened.
Olivia watched the two of them just stare at each other for a few seconds before Amanda gestured towards the empty side of the restaurant and held up three fingers and wiggled her eyebrows at him.
He nearly choked on the swig of beer in his mouth before clearing his throat and nodding his answer. Amanda blushed and turned back towards Serafina and Fin.
Apparently Liv only had three minutes with Carisi before he and Amanda snuck away….again….stealing another few moments of alone time.
“You and I both knew…….back then…..there was never really a question…..he wasn’t good enough for our girl”.
Olivia’s voice was so full of emotion, it dropped to nearly a whisper.
“You said, and I quote, I just want her to be happy”. Tears pricked at Olivia’s eyes. Seeing how far these two had come since then…..Sonny getting everything he wanted. Amanda…..getting everything she never even knew she wanted…….Liv could not be more thrilled for them.
“Look at her, Carisi……She is! I’ve never seen her this happy…..this…..free….It’s……you know you are a huge part of that right? And look at you! You thought you’d be married….with kids…..and here you are”......Liv sniffled, and wiped away a tear.
Sonny set his beer on the bar and turned to embrace the woman who’d started out as his boss, and become one of the most important people in his life. The woman he shared god-parent duties with for years. There was never any question of who would be Nicky’s god-mother too. Liv hugged him back, and he squeezed tighter, turning his head toward her, so only she could hear him.
“Liv……I want so much for you…you deserve to have this too”.
He felt her try to take a deep breath and fail so he just held her. Over her shoulder, he saw the concern in his wife’s eyes and brushed her off. It was gonna be okay. Ever the one to lighten the mood, he gained a smirk and whispered again.
“And look, just say the word and I promise….I won’t push any more of my single or divorced cousins your way”.
Now it was Olivia's turn to laugh. She pulled away from him just as Amanda walked up.
“Everything okay”? Amanda brushed Olivia’s hair back, then twisted her compass necklace around so it faced the right direction and furrowed her eyebrows questioningly at Sonny.
Liv wiped away the tears and gave Amanda a hug too.
“It’s all good. I’m just….I couldn’t be happier for you two”.