"Hi, mamma." Isabella is walking out of Mel's room with Toby on her hip as we approach. I'm taking the kids to meet Melanie before we have dinner.

Isabella smiles when she sees us and Toby hides his face from us in her neck. I kiss both sides of her face in greeting.

Her eyes glisten as she looks at me; I know she likes it when I call or refer to her as my mom openly.

I let her know we wanted to stop by and visit Melanie before dinner with Annalisa and Sam.

"Dinner with everyone. JP is back; that's how he likes it." She informs me, and my mind once again replays the images of yesterday night, and my heart rate picks up.

"Toby, please say hi to friends?" Isabella coaxes. He peeks his warm brown eyes at me, and I smile at him, and he gives me a small smile before I hear a quiet "Hi."

"Hi Toby, it's nice to see you again," I tell him. "Can I show you some of my family?" Toby gives me a slight nod. I introduce him first to Lucy, then Miles, and finally Kai. He lifts his head off Isabella's shoulder and stares back at Kai.

"Maui!" He squeals. We laugh at his sweet innocence.

Kai's hair is longer than Miles's, and he has it down today. "Nah, little man. I'm more like Maui's little brother," Kai chuckles.

Toby surprises us all when he holds his arms out to Kai. I smile to encourage Kai, and he takes Toby from Isabella's arms, and Toby hugs Kai around his neck. "Sing "You're Welcome" pwease."

"Okay, how about after dinner? I'm going to go say hi to your mom first." Kai tells him. Toby nods then leans towards Isabella.

Dot looks up when I peek my head inside. "Stella, come in, child." She smiles as I walk in. "Well, who do we have here?" She smiles at the kids.

"These are my kids, Lucy, Kai, and Miles. Guys, this is Nurse Dot." I introduce them.

"It's so good to meet you, Nurse Dot." Miles walks to Dot, ignoring her outstretched hand, and engulfs her in a big hug, lifting her. "Moms told us you were one of the people who helped her years ago. Mahalo."

Dot chuckles, "It was my pleasure. Stella is one tough cookie, but I'm sure you all know that."

"Do we ever," Kai comments, smiling at me.

"How is she doing?" I ask about Mel.

Dot's smile fades. "Damien was here this morning. He says a few weeks, and that's being generous. JP was here this morning, too. He said he was going to call you to go over the legal paperwork soon." My heart clenches, reality setting in that this is actually happening.

I walk around the curtain, fighting to keep in my shock at how different she looks in just the couple of days that I last saw her last.

"Hey, there's my girl," Mel weakly greets me as I sit on the bed and hug her.

"I guess you heard."

I nod, and I touch the corner of my eyes to keep the tears at bay. "What can I do? What do you need?"

"Just being here has given me so much peace, Stella. And now that JP's back to himself, I know things will be okay. I know you will take care of my children like they are your own. Speaking of kids, who are these beautiful faces you brought for me to scare away." She jokes.

I introduce the kids, and they each take her hand as they say hello or Aloha.

"Well, I can only imagine what a great time you all have together, especially with Stella," Melanie says, smiling.

"Moms is way fun, but she's also super tough and sometimes too strict." Miles comments, smiling at me, "but we all know how lucky we are that she took us in. We'd probably be in jail or even dead if it wasn't for her."

"She gave us hope when our own families made us feel hopeless," Kai tells her.

"Mom showed us kindness and love when no one else would," Lucy adds, resting her hand on my shoulder.

Melanie has tears falling down her face as she listens and squeezes my hand. "You are amazing, Stella. Despite everything that you've been through and seen, you still have a lot of love to share with those you come across."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's time for her medicine, and I have to run her vitals." Dot says.

I lean down to kiss Melanie's head, telling her I will stop by tomorrow and that I love her; she whispers she loves me, too.

"She is really nice. I'm sure it's hard to see her like this." Lucy says, hooking her arm in mine as I nod.

"Oh good, you're here!" Annalisa exclaims as we come out of the hall. "Dinner's ready, and I was just about to call you." She greets the kids and leads us to the dining room.

I'm happy when I see Cristian, Topo, Enzo, Rocco, and Mateo in the dining room and hug them each. Then, I introduce Rocco and Mateo to the kids.

"Where are the girls and Rio?" I ask my mom as she's helping Toby in his booster seat.

"Went out, didn't want to be bother, but I tell them no bother, but they no listen." She shrugs.

Carmen and Lola come running in and give me a hug when they see me. "You came back!" Carmen says happily.

"I promised you I would."

"Can I sit next to you?" She asks me, but I'm between Lucy and Miles. Lucy gets up quickly, smiling at me as she does, and moves across from me; Carmen thanks her and takes the seat next to me.

We all quiet down when arguing is heard coming from the hall.

"Where the hell were you? Adonis got a call from Carmen's friends' mom that her ride never came." JP's angry voice resonates through the room.

"Chill out; she's fine, isn't she?" Marco counters.

"Where were you?" JP asks again, slowly.

"None of your business." Marco retorts silence follows for a few moments.

"No car for a week. You will be driven and picked up wherever you go. Keep up your shitty attitude, and you can forget about going to the lake house next month with your friends."

"What? That's not fair!"

"Enough!" JP walks in, his face flushed from his anger, but he stops when he sees me.

"JP, you can't be fucking serious--" Marco abruptly stops when he sees us also, sitting at the table, and his face grows red when he sees Lucy.

"Watch your mouth, Marco." JP turns to glare at him before he takes his seat at the head of the table. Marco scoffs and walks away, but he realizes the chair next to Lucy is the only one empty. He rubs the back of his neck before he sits and keeps his eyes down.

"They yell at each other a lot," Lola announces as she takes a bite from a roll. "You get used to it." She says through the mouthful of bread.

"Lola, you know we don't eat until we bless the food." JP reprimands her.

Lola swallows the bread and peers up at him. "Sorry," She says quietly.

JP looks around the table; his hair is in a half ponytail today. "I apologize for being late, but I'm happy to see we have new faces joining us tonight." His gaze lingers on me as he speaks, and my face grows warm.

"Marco, it's your turn to say grace."

Marco looks up and scowls at JP, "Pass." He says through his teeth. JP stares back at him, and we can see the power struggle between the two as the tension in the room grows.

"I'll say it!" Miles volunteers cheerfully.

I look over at him, surprised; we eat together all the time, but we've never said grace.

This should be interesting.

Everyone settles in their seats and either interlace their hands or bow their heads or both. I catch both Lucy's and Kai's eyes as they look at me with questioning looks; I shrug in response.

Miles clears his throat before he begins, "I pledge allegiance to the flag..."

I look over at him, and his eyes are closed, and I realize he's dead serious. I look at Lucy, who's holding her hands over her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter.

"...of the United States of America..."

Cristian starts chortling down the table next to JP, as do Enzo, Topo, Joey, Rocco, and Mateo. Their shoulders are shaking from trying to keep their laughter under control. Annalisa buries her face into Joey's shoulders.

"...And to the Republic for which it stands..." Miles continues; I'm crying from trying to hold my laughter by holding a hand over my mouth.

"...one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Amen." Miles finishes proudly and opens his eyes, looking around the table.

We all burst out laughing; even Marco, who was so angry just moments ago, is full-blown laughing.

Miles looks around, confused.

"You're all supposed to say Amen, too." So he tells us, which only makes us laugh harder. JP hides his smile behind his glass of wine.

"What? That's how the cute little old lady said it in the movie; mom made us watch last Christmas, remember?" Miles says, looking at Lucy and Kai, who are both still laughing.

I wipe my eyes and squeeze Miles' shoulder. "You did good, Miles."

"I don't get it," Lola says, and the laughter begins again.

After we settle down, several servers come in and place our meals in front of us.

Carmen talks my ear off during most of the dinner, and I catch JP's watching us, and he smiles at me. Lucy helps Isabella with Toby, who doesn't seem to want to eat his dinner. Isabella tells us he's very particular about what he eats. Miles and Kai try to engage Marco in conversation, but he mostly shrugs or gives short answers.

"Hey, Mom, can you ask JP if I can borrow his guitar?" Kai asks me.

"Why do you guys call her moms? She's not that much older than you, dude." Marco points out, his tone mocking and the conversations quiet down.

"We know that we're not stupid," Miles replies as he narrows his eyes at Marco. "Our birth mom abandoned us when we were six, and our dad was an abusive drunk. Stella took us in and showed us what a family is supposed to be like, so to us; she's mom. If that bothers you..." Miles leans back, shrugging. "that's your problem."

The room fills with an uneasy silence.

I clear my throat, "John Paul," There's fluttering in my stomach that I can't control as it erupts when his dark eyes meet mine. "Can Kai borrow your guitar, please? Toby asked him to sing him a song."

"Tobin talked to him?" JP asks, surprised. "He doesn't talk to anyone...other than Isabella, me, and Mel."

And as if he wanted to prove a point, Toby speaks up, "Maui sing!" He even holds his arms out and open and closes his hands to Kai.

We head out to the back patio after dinner. The layout is breathtaking, and a rounded stone fireplace sits in the middle of a large sitting area.

A semi-circle couch that can hold up to twelve to fifteen people easily is around it. On the other side is a bar countertop with more stools to sit on. There are other lounge chairs and sofas as well.

Santino has now joined us, and he and Marco are trying to get the fire pit going. I notice Marco seems less moody around Santino, which makes me smile, considering JP was the same way around him when we were kids.

Annalisa brings out marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolates for the younger kids to make s'mores.

JP comes out with two guitars giving one to Kai and the other to Miles to play. I notice JP has changed out of his suit and is wearing cargo shorts and a cut-off shirt. I try not to linger on his arms, which are much bigger than I remember; then again, everything about him seems larger, his shoulders, chest... Stop it, Stella! I shake my head.

Lola runs to him happily, and he picks her up, tickling her as she squeals in delight.

"You've got yourself quite the group, Piccola." Cristians accented voice comes from behind me. "Very loyal to you."

"Loyalty makes family, right?" I nudge him.

Cristian smiles at me, "Yes, it makes a family. So what's this they're making?" He nods to the S'mores.

I chuckle, "You've never had a s'more?"

"Some more of what?" He asks me, confused.

I can't help but laugh, and Cristian's confused face only adds to the greatness of this moment. I pull him with me towards the fire pit and grab one of the sticks.

I toast a marshmallow and then sandwich it between two graham crackers and a piece of chocolate. Finally, I hand it to him, "Tell me, I didn't just change your life."

Cristian chuckles, "That happened almost four years ago, in a hospital room, dolcezza." He takes a bite and grunts in pain. "It's hot!"

"Oops, I should have told you to wait a minute or two." I laugh. "But other than burning your mouth, it's pretty great, right?" I grin at him.

"It's good considering the simplicity of it." He shrugs, which makes me roll my eyes, smiling at him.

I notice Jessica and Letty walk out to the patio. I greet them as well as Victoria and Destiny when they follow. Rio, Bruiser, and Roman also join us.

"What's going on?" Letty asks, taking in the crowd.

"We're just having s'mores, and the Kai is going to sing a song for Toby," I inform them.

We mill around, finding seats throughout the sitting area; I sit next to Annalisa, and I notice Marco casually takes a seat next to Lucy across from me. Annalisa nudges me when she sees too.

Miles begins strumming and taps against the guitar, and Kai takes his shirt off, leaving him in his shorts.

"Wow, Maui!" Toby claps excitedly from Isabella's lap.

Kai begins singing, "You're welcome." I smile at how animated he is, doing some of the actions and dancing from the movie. Lola and Carmen sing along with Kai, as does Joey, which makes Annalisa and I laugh.

"Again! Again!" Toby requests when the song is over.

Kai is breathless from all the dancing and tells him he needs to catch his breath first.

Kai, Lucy, and Miles keep singing and playing the guitar quietly while everyone else converses.

I walk into the kitchen to grab some water, and I'm startled when I close the door to find JP standing in front of me. "I'm happy you're here, princess." He steps closer to me; I walk back until the island behind me stops me, and he leans in, caging me in with his arms on either side of me.

"You look beautiful as always," He whispers against my neck, and I can't control the sharp inhale I make.

"You should wear skirts more often," He trails his nose to the other side of my neck before he leans back and looks at me before his eyes move to my lips. "Easy access." He says, and I'm practically panting, and a throbbing begins in between my legs.

Get a hold of yourself, Stella!

He rubs his nose against mine before he reaches around and cups my ass firmly as he pulls me up against him, and I gasp again.

"God, that ass." JP sighs. "Did I ever tell you it's my favorite feature of yours?"

"JP..." I sound breathless.

"Don't worry, princess." He kisses me just under my ear. "I'm not going to do anything else, but I can't help it; having you so close yet so far away is fucking torture." His beard grazes my skin as he speaks, and I find myself leaning into him. His hands cup my face as he kisses my forehead then he walks away.

Leaving me a mess.

I hear him call out to the younger kids that it's bedtime, and protests follow. I take a few minutes to collect myself and then walk out, heading towards the girls.

"I'll let him tuck me in," Letty says as I approach them; I roll my eyes laughing and happen to catch Rio narrowing his eyes at that.

Letty turns around quickly from her spot on the couch. "Stella, be honest, is Rocco a player?" I look over to where Rocco is talking with Topo, Enzo, and Mateo.

"Um, I don't really know. I never hung out with Rocco outside of working with him." I tell her. Letty looks back over at him, and he happens to look at her at that exact moment; Rocco smiles and winks at her.

"Shit, I think I just came," Letty informs us. Jessica hits her arm, laughing hard, while Rio mutters something unintelligible and says goodnight to us.

I look over at JP, watching as he brings a beer to his lips, and takes a long sip before he looks back at me, licking his bottom lip before he smirks and like Letty, I don't have control over how my body reacts when it comes to JP.

~~~~~~~

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