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River hummed as she danced around the kitchen, preparing lunch for the twins, Mrs. Marley and herself. She had decided on a simple turkey sandwich and some yam fries.

They loved it.

She loved it.

But she wasn't too sure if she would get to have it.

"Life of a surgeon!" She exclaimed, sighing. She said that out loud a lot.

Truth be told, she had no plans to have kids. All she wanted was to be a bomb ass surgeon, who conquered the Orthopedic field.

But now that she had had them, she could not even imagine a life without them.

After all, her Lukey and Ki were the lub and dub of her heart.

Hey, that's actually a pretty good sentence. Her inner voice cheered as she continued cutting the yam.

"Mommy?" River was interrupted from her conversation with herself by the sweetest cutest voice in the world.

"Ki love, why are you up so early?" River asked in her baby voice as she picked her little one up, adjusting her on her hip as she went about doing her work, only after placing a few kisses on her face.

It was five in the morning.

River had absolutely no right to complain about her lack of sleep due to work when this is what she did on her off days. But she couldn't help it; it was everyday she could make lunch for her little darlings! And she loved cooking!

"I had a nightmare." Kiara mumbled into the crook of her mother's neck.

"Oh you did? Wanna tell mommy? They say dreams don't come true if you tell someone about it. Or say it out loud." River said, still using her baby voice. She had heard wishes didn't come true if they were said out loud but he hoped the same applied for nightmares.

River could not go about talking in her baby voice to her little Lucas. He threw a tantrum every single time. "Mommy, how many times do I have to tell you? I am a big boy Mommy, I am not a baby!"

He probably got it from his dad. River mentally sighed. She wished she knew what their father was like, or who he was. Starting out, she was confident she was all they needed and they would always have Sebastian as their father figure and it would all be fine but she knew what it felt like without her dad, and she lost him when she was twenty-two. They never even got to meet their dad. They were too young to ask questions but some day they will and she really needed to start thinking of an answer to tell them than the usual "He is not in the picture." she slapped on everyone else.

"Really?" Little Kiara asked in a low voice, sounding very tired. River knew for a fact that her daughter was going to go right back to sleep in her arms in a couple of minutes.

"Yeah honey." She said, trying to close the lunch boxes with a single hand and failing. She decided to just leave the lid on top and made her way to her bedroom with her in my arms.

"I dreamt of Flynn hitting Lukey with his water bottle." She said, snuggling closer, her arms wrapped around her mother's neck while River adjusted her so that she was holding her little girl with both arms.

Someone just hold me before I faint from all this cuteness! Her inner voice squealed when she heard what exactly her baby's nightmare was.

That's her nightmare? That someone hit her brother?

The twins loved each other so so very much. And they made their Mommy's heart swell with pride. There was only two things River was sure about her children: One, that she loved them more than anything in the whole wide world and two, she along with Mrs. Marley, her mother and grandmother were managing to raise them pretty well.

"Oh don't worry baby, you know your brother is strong right?" She asked her, kissing her hair as she laid her down on her bed.

"Yeah.." She hummed; her eyes half shut.

"He will protect himself just how he protects you." River whispered.

She didn't reply but her lips curved into a small smile as she snuggled into the pillow. River covered her baby with her duvet before placing another kiss on her forehead.

God really did bless me when he gave me these two darlings. The inner voice was beaming with pride. He really did.

River tiptoed out of her room and into the children's, making sure her little prince was comfortable and warm before placing a kiss on his forehead.

"Love you Mommy.." He mumbled in his sleep, making her heart swell.

"I love you too my baby."

"I am not a baby." His eyebrows furrowed in his sleep.

River laughed, covering her lips to not wake him up. "I know big boy." She ruffled his hair before tiptoeing out of there as well.

She walked back to the kitchen to finish off with packing the lunch and since she had a lot of time left, she proceeded onto making some waffles and toast for breakfast.

She finished off all the work and quickly had her breakfast before going back to her room and getting ready as quietly as possible for work. She had to report to work at eight in the morning and that was around when the kids usually woke up. The preschool was from nine in the morning to three in the evening.

She quietly grabbed her bag, phone, car keys and lunch as she left.

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River was in my cabin, talking to an arthritis patient when it happened.

The alert signal in her watch went off. It meant only one thing. All doctors were supposed to help out in the ER due to some major accident or something. She left Mr. and Mrs. Alisten with Eric and her nurse as she hurried towards the ER wing, her friend Dr. Tony joining her from his office.

"What's going on?" She asked him.

"There was a blast in the subway. Multiple blasts. Some fucking suicide bombers!" He showed her the news he was reading on his phone as they quickened their pace and eventually broke out in a jog.

They pushed open the swinging doors to the ER and were met with some really horrible sights.

"Please doctor! Save my son!!" A lady came forward, holding River's hands between hers. Her head had a deep cut which was bleeding profusely and her arm had a second-degree burn

River nodded earnestly. "We will do everything in our power. Now please get yourself treated." She squeezed her hands giving her a reassuring smile before she took out her stethoscope and walked over to an unconscious patient.

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"Mommy!!!" Kiara cried her eyes out while Lucas hugged her from the side, asking her not to cry. "Mom! I wanna see you!"

"Yeah baby, I know I know, Mommy miss you both too." River tried to shush her but she just wouldn't listen.

River was at the cafeteria getting coffee between surgeries and treatments when her mom called and her little Kiara was crying her eyes out.

She had been in the hospital for four days now and Kiara had fallen from the swing at school and had injured her ankle.

And since she was just four, they couldn't give her any strong pain killers, and the painkiller she was prescribed just wasn't doing its job. It didn't help that Kiara had a very low pain tolerance. Not that she expected a four-year-old to endure it.

It was all just terrible timing.

"Baby, don't cry.." River said helplessly, her own eyes tearing up.

She hiccupped and wheezed and continued sobbing. And then her watch beeped. Kiara looked up, knowing exactly what that meant.

"NOO!! NO!! MOMMY!!!" She started screaming.

River looked down at her watch.

"I am sorry honey." She hung up the phone, wiping away her tears before pocketing her phone and hurrying to the OR wing. She hoped her mother would be able to calm her baby down. Only she could do anything right now.

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River walked out of the OR, nodding at the patient's parents, giving them the best smile she could muster.

"She'll be fine. We will keep her under observation for forty-eight hours but you can meet her once she's shifted to the ICU." She said while the parents thanked her profusely.

She gave them another smile before going to get her things and change into her regular scrubs and coat.

She had thirty-seven missed calls from her mom's phone and twenty-nine from the home phone. It was surely her little girl.

Can't we go home for a bit? Her inner voice whined. My little girl needs me and you don't even care!

River felt all the worse when she heard that in her head. The bitch really needed to shut up.

Before she called back, she checked her phone to see if there's any other emergencies she had to attend to.

River had one message.

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It had been four days since Dr. Johnson came to check on Mateo and he was getting restless and impatient for reasons Adam termed as "schoolboy crush". He didn't believe he had such immature feelings towards her but he did admit to himself that he wanted to see the surgeon who had saved his life. It was always her intern, that dumb timid Fentell, who made the rounds or sometimes other residents.

They all kept saying she's busy at the ER. He didn't know whether he should believe them or investigate whether that nurse opened her mouth or not.

Mateo turned to look at his cousin, Leonardo typing away on his phone, a cigarette in his mouth.

Motherfucker had to do it front of me. He thought bitterly. First it was his stupid best friend and now his brother. He wondered if he had such shortage of sensible people in his life that he was being tended to by idiots like the pair.

It had been almost a week since he drank, smoke or did drugs. It was taking a toll on him.

He couldn't wait to get out of the hospital and off medications and get back to work and the life he loved. But he had to endure about seven more weeks of it before he could do that. He suddenly felt respect for pregnant women who had to restrain from all of it for forty weeks.

Mateo stared at the puff of smoke his cousin exhaled

One puff won't hurt, will it?

No it won't. He decided

"Give me a smoke." Mateo forwarded his hand in his cousin's direction.

"Nope." Leonardo said, not even looking up.

"Leonardo-"

The door opened and Marsileo entered.

" Doctor Johnson is here, capo." He announced.

He moved aside to reveal the goddess, who looked barely like herself today. Though she did still look like a goddess.

Mateo found himself lost in her.

The motherfuckers weren't lying after all. She looked like she would drop dead any second now.

"Evening Mr. Adesso." She said, more like whispered and turned to Leonardo, frowning at the sight of the cigarette.

"You want a puff? Looks like you could use one." He said, holding it out to her.

Leonardo hadn't had a proper introduction with her though he was there the second time she had visited Mateo. The last few days, Leonardo was back in Chicago so it was mostly Adam or no one who stayed over.

But Leonardo should have figured out how capable and professional Dr. River Johnson was so Mateo was pissed he talked so casually and disrespectfully towards her. Mateo refused to admit that there were other feelings involved which made him irritable towards people who talked to her like that.

Mateo glared at his cousin but to his surprise, River just blew out a deep tired breath and took it.

"Let's keep it between us." She said before she took a puff. But she started coughing.

Leonardo was ready to take it back from her when she put it back in her mouth, this time exhaling smoke rings as if she had been doing it for ages.

"I see you are a smoker." Leonardo mused.

She shook her head as she took another long puff, this time thoroughly enjoying it.

"Haven't done it in the last ten years." She sighed. The lack of sleep, food, rest and the stress from both work and Kiara's injury was taking a toll on her.

"When was the last time you slept?" Mateo asked her, pushing the buttons on the remote control so that now he was sitting up properly.

"Today morning." River shrugged, smiling a bit as she took the clipboard attached to the foot of the bed and paged through it.

Mateo raised a brow. That was a lie. But she said it so convincingly.

"For ten minutes." She added, a lazy grin on her face.

She took another puff and dropped the cigarette, stepping on it.

"Hey hey!" Leonardo exclaimed. "Do you even know how expensive that is?"

"Surely not enough to cause a dent in your bank account." She shrugged before putting the clipboard back in its place.

Mateo gave Leonardo a cryptic eye, a smirk on his face. Leonardo nodded, impressed.

Adam kept on telling anyone who would listen about the tiny crush the Capo had on the doctor and it was getting irritating. And people were taking his words so seriously and all were asking around if she was worthy of being the Capo's wife.

Mateo was shocked to see how far his men and women were thinking. He was attracted to the doctor but which straight man wouldn't be? She was perfection.

And he wanted her. He wanted to pursue her. He didn't do crushes. He was looking for the right woman to spend the rest of his life with. To become the wife of a Italian Capo and then Boss wife.

He planned to pursue her as soon as he was discharged because he knew the doctor wouldn't be interested due to professional ethics. She couldn't date a patient.

He didn't have any wires or tubes attached to him anymore but being in bed all day, doing nothing but watch TV or sort out paper works were boring. His abs had started disappear. And he desperately needed some action. Nothing was working in his favor.

"Everything's going as per schedule I see. You will start with your physiotherapy tomorrow?" She commented.

Mateo nodded, breaking out of his thoughts and looking up at her.

She was a fantastic woman but he had to admit that she was a bit boring, well all doctors were.

"That's good." She said, putting her hands in her pocket. "Then I will be off."

"Do you have to see any more patients today?" Mateo asked, knowing very well she didn't. She had her entire weekly scheduled sent to him. It was her off day today. No, he wasn't stalking her. Just making sure if he was being avoided.

"No. It's supposed to be my off day today but you heard about the blasts, right? They are still bringing in patients from under the rubbles and stuff. So all of us specialists been around for the past few days."

"Then sit here until you get called again." Leonardo said, giving his cousin a cryptic eye as he stood up. "I'll be right back."

With that, he left the room.

River contemplated for a moment before she sat down. "I am going to make a call real quick."

Mateo nodded as she dialed the number. No one picked up. But then she saw a message from her mom saying the kids were fine and Kiara was feeling better so River was relieved.

But this had Mateo confused. Who was it?

"Can I rest my eyes for ten minutes?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed, almost embarrassed. He nodded again.

"Thanks." She sighed again, leaning back onto the couch and closing her eyes.

Mateo took out his phone and texted the director of the hospital, instructing him to not call for her until he told him to. He replied in the affirmative within seconds.

Good.

Mateo stared back at her. She looked five years older with the bags under her eyes and a frown forever etched on her forehead.

He scanned her left finger which lacked a ring on tan line. She wasn't married and in Mafia world, unofficial relations didn't count. You were either married or single. So she was available.

And he was going to have her.

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