*sorry if this is a little boring, idk. I'm getting somewhere though!

We tried hard to stop it from happening but with Alex's approval and his father's lack of involvement, Alfie was past the point of return. It had killed me, I'd never lost my temper like I did last night and it opened my eyes to something. Alfie wasn't counted upon to give them anything, the kid chose to and it was surely enough his own choice. He wanted to be strong, he wanted to contribute. My kids would be awaited, as painful as it was there was always that vow you took to your familia. Vows are promises, they must be kept.

It sucks.

"You know, if you keep pulling faces like that Carmyne might learn them from you." Amara casually warned me as she picked up a blanket and folded it.

I rubbed my eyes, "I think we need to sort something out."

"You're thinking about Alfie." she placed the folded fabric next to her as she sat.

"Of course I am."

"Carmyne would have to do it too. She's the eldest, girl or not." Amara said it like a fact. I groaned.

"But -"

"I think I fear her - them - being helpless without us, more than them going through the worst." she interrupted, "What would suck is them regretting the decision we made. Be real for a second Dominic, if you're not strong - in this world you burn."

"It's not okay."

"In the institution there are professionals who can teach, who can make it happen." she let out a breath, she probably didn't expect she'd ever say this in her life, "I see now that without that we'd be at the hands of god knows who, maybe even dead. We won't live forever and we can't be around all the time." She'd had plenty more time than I had with feelings, so she'd had plenty of time to think things over - she was far wiser than I was.

"I get it. I'll do it then."

She frowned, "Do what?"

"I'll teach Carmyne, I'll teach them myself."

"Okay." she said standing to put the blanket away.

"One thing." I held up a finger, she turned to face me closing the cupboard in the foyer.

"Yeah?"

"We'll never rejoin the mafia."

"Deal."

After lunch was sat at the table with a blank piece of paper, I knew there'd come a time in my life where I'd have to put down a plan - one for my family and their future. Today was that day and now was that time, I'd make a life for my kids where death wasn't an expectation at every corner you turn.

"You want to build an estate." she said droning with a 'don't be a fool' look in her eye.

I nodded, "With facilities and stuff, why just train our kids and leave it at that?"

She rubbed her temple, "Sorry what are you talking about?"

"We build an estate and include facilities et cetera in there, we train our kids using those resources and start a generational thing. Like a new familia without the mafia."

"Like X-men?"

It was my turn to pull the 'don't be a fool' look. "No, Amara."

"That's what it sounds like!" her tone was defensive.

"Well, at least you get the idea." I sighed. She grinned.

"So it is like X-men."

I waved it off, "Non importa."

She giggled, "Okay, let's draw this out."

"You'll be the interior designer of course." I smiled.

"Your company will build it no doubt."

We sat for a solid few hours writing up our master plan, we ended up pulling out the MacBook and using that instead. The paper started looking like a bunch of scribbles.

After spending the entire day planning exactly what we were doing, Dominic's drawing skills had us a draft of what it would look like and I had already figured out the entire scheme of the house. What was left to do was get people to work on it.

We purchased the perfect lot of land the next couple days, it was just on the edge of the coast and near our old home. It was a large plot of land situated on the top of a cliff, it overlooked the ocean and in the other direction the city. I don't think since I'd been here, that we'd really gone to places that weren't like this - and though they most likely did exist, this was the best kind. After spending another few days mapping out the land with the company and having a bunch of materials ordered it became a waiting game, well at least for Dominic.

For the next couple of weeks I spent it trudging around with a pram, ordering the furniture, accessories and decorations needed for a three-story home. The few weeks after that Dominic helped me pick out the equipment and furniture required for both the training facility and education centre. We'd be running a full blown institution, and I was hoping Alfie would be a part of it.

We spent a lot of our time making plans, a curriculum and syllabus to follow for our 'institution'. We got some much needed help from professionals, a license and other required documents and started on our textbook and book collection. We had all the required text from the general national curriculum and the next part was to somehow steal Dominic's books back from the Vitiello Estate. Which was a risky but necessary move. We just hadn't done it yet.

The estate was starting to be built tomorrow, followed by the training facility and the education centre the following day. I'd spent a lot of money to have all my men focused on this one project for the coming months, the sooner we had it built - the safer we'd be. After all, once we moved into an institutional type setting the mafia's rule didn't apply there. It would a crime to attack us. Not that crime had stopped them before, but I'd found my own loopholes. Dare my father mess with me.

Amara grabbed her bag, tucking her hair behind her ear and grabbing the keys. I held Carmyne in my arms and smiled as she wiggled around, she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen and seeing her made me feel accomplished. Anything else I'd ever done in my life paled in comparison, this was my greatest achievement.

Amara and I had decided to head out for lunch since we hadn't done so in a little while, the restaurant we were going to was just along the water and we were heading down the beach right after.

"I want another one." I mentioned whilst tucking Carmyne into her car seat, Amara chuckled. "I'm serious."

"A baby?"

"Yes please." I grinned, sliding into the driver's seat.

"I'm surprised." Amara admitted, "I didn't peg you for a daughter guy."

"Oh but I am." I assured her.

We pulled up to the restaurant and took a seat just inside, near the window. I got to hold Carmyne, which had become a thing for us – since I rarely put her down anyway. Amara chose to let me, she liked the idea of the stereotype 'daddy-daughter' relationship.

We talked about funny things Carmyne did, things we didn't know babies could do or had mannerisms of. We bonded over the child like nothing else, she was the most positive thing that joined us – the most positive thing that held us together. My love for Amara only amplified, I know that there can be no one else that I could feel this way for.

"You don't like fruit on pancakes?"

She giggled, "Why is that such a shock?"

"We've been together for almost a year now and still I'm learning new things about you."

"I'm always changing in the slightest way, you'll never get bored." She winked. I couldn't agree more. She cleared her throat, which I'd learnt only happened when she caught someone looking at her.

We'd gotten used to the fact that most people tended to eye us in the wrong way, men were always going to stare at her and I would have to accept that, and women were always staring at me and she'd have to accept that. Though we came across the occasional homosexual and it was entertaining to say the least. Amara found a constant fascination with gay men, she would just talk their ears off and that meant they spent a lot more time making me feel uncomfortable.

"We good?" I asked her putting my fork horizontally across my plate, and eyeing her from under my lashes.

She nodded, "Yep, are we leaving now?"

"Whenever you're ready baby." I smiled. She got up and I followed suit.

Amara took a turn of holding Carmyne as we walked along the coast, she truly loved the child and you could tell by just watching her as she smiled. It was almost involuntary how a smile instantly spread across her face as she looked over the child.

I watched her as we walked, this was my family and it was beautiful. My beautiful wife, my beautiful daughter and the picture of my country in the background.

"I hadn't really thought, do you like living here? I mean, you have your country too." I looked to her as she looked up at me. She looked amused by my question.

"I'm from Canada Dominic." She simply stated.

I frowned, "And?"

"I don't want to live in Canada, Dominic." She sighed.

"Oh." I pouted, "What about – "

She cut me off, "There's really nothing else, Canada or Germany. I want neither."

"There's New York."

She raised her brows, "You want to live in New York?" she looked even more amused.

"No," I admitted, "I was just trying to be considerate."

"Don't stop, it's cute." She chuckled. I smiled watching her bounce a little as she did, startling Carmyne to look around.

After returning home we somehow ended up laying in bed with the baby on her back between us, we managed to do this almost every night without really realising. Plenty of our time was spent playing with Carmyne and fiddling with her little limbs, there wasn't much else we wanted to do.

While thinking this we'd both led a pretty full life, we'd done things most people never go to do in one lifetime and experienced a life of luxury. We had strong relationships with the people we cared for, and each other. There was nothing more we'd have wanted. What was left to do was finish this project and have Claire and the girls move in with Leo and my other trusted friends from the estate. We couldn't do this without them.

They would be our familia.

Now it was about moving on, looking back was pointless and what I saw in front of me was finally somewhat of a bright future. Hopefully there won't be any major problems.