_________________

.

.

.

"River, chew!" Mateo said through the screen while she munched on her cereal.

"I am chewing." She said, her words muffled due to her mouth being full. Of course she wasn't chewing. She was swallowing mouthful of cereal as she prepared a decent breakfast for her housemates and lunch for her kids.

It had been a week since they were back in New York and the kids were going back to their kindergarten that day. And she was going back to work only next Friday because it was the beginning of a new month and she also had a lot of paper work to fill and a report from the psychiatry and neurology department stating she was fit to resume work.

And the director of the hospital, Mr. Simmons, had called her last day saying she could take all the time in the world and he would personally see to it that her schedule wasn't as hectic as it was before, something River knew for a fact had to do with a certain Italian sleep-deprived Capo who was face-timing her at five in the morning, Wyoming time.

"Mateo, you are snoozing." River rolled her eyes as she washed down her cereal with some coffee.

It was seven in the morning in New York and the surgeon had woken up feeling like she hadn't eaten in weeks so the first thing she had done was getting herself some light breakfast.

Of course, she was going to eat the peanut butter pancakes drenched in Nutella that she was going to prepare for her kids since it was their first day back in school!

Dr. River Johnson was capable of eating and eating without being too full to eat any more.

"I am not!" He said, yawning.

River gave him a flat look before taking out all the ingredients I would need for their breakfast since she was done making the chicken sandwiches and and cut fruits for the kids' lunch boxes.

"What are you making?" He asked. He was in his office, his face resting on his palm. He looked like he had been working all night. Of course he was, he was eyeballs deep in work, having to juggle dealing with the investigation and his international business, along with his cover as a restaurant owner.

"Pancakes for breakfast. Chicken sandwich for lunch." She stated, putting together the dry ingredients into a bowl.

"I miss your cooking." He yawned yet again.

"I am not the one staying in Wyoming longer than planned." River commented, rolling her eyes.

He looked over at her with a little smirk on his face. "Miss me?"

She gave him a look and then said extra sweetly, "Of course I do honey love. You know I can't live without you, munchkin!" She pouted, making sure she rocked sideways like she had seen all her the Korean actresses do when they were trying to be cute.

He rolled his eyes. "That doesn't suit you at all!" He pointed out before turning back to his phone.

"Why are you not sleeping Mateo?"

"I had work to do all night."

"You should get some rest. You look like a zombie." She said as she broke the eggs into the bowl.

"I will. I am worried I won't wake up on time if I sleep now." Mateo sighed, typing away.

"Wake up for what?" She looked up.

"Seeing the twins off to school." Mateo said absent-mindedly, still typing away on his phone.

She stopped mixing the batter as she looked at him.

'Aww.' River couldn't help the cute pout that formed on her face. Mateo looked over at her when he didn't get a reply. And he had to admit that this pout was indeed cute though it didn't go with her personality.

"Don't give me that look. I am their Papa. I am not missing any more of the important days in their lives." He said, stretching his arms as he did. "I am going to get myself some coffee. Be right back."

River nodded and got back to working on the food.

Mateo and River face-timed throughout the hour. She woke the kids up at eight. Lucas was in their room and Kiara was in River's because she had wandered into it early morning.

"Papa, what about the puppy?" Lucas asked, taking River's phone in his hands.

"I told you, Luke. We are not getting the puppy until Papa gets back." River narrowed her eyes at her impatient prince who just pouted.

"Papa, when are you coming back?" He turned back to his father's face on the screen.

"In a week or two." He shrugged. He had left his work aside and was giving his undivided attention to the both of them, but Kiara had been increasingly grumpy the past few days because Mateo was taking too long to get back so she refused to talk to him.

"Ki, you won't say hi?" Mateo asked, winking at his little pumpkin who just looked away with a huff.

River shook her head laughing and placed a kiss on their daughter's hair. "You really going to ignore your Papa baby?"

She nodded her head furiously and got off the chair, running away to her room.

"Papa, Ki's sad you are not here." Lucas pouted. "You made my sister sad."

Lucas handed River the phone and ran after his sister, calling out to her.

River laughed and looked at the screen to see Mateo looking grim and guilty.

"Mateo, they are five years old. They will forget about it the minute you come back and pacify them." She told the man-child of a baby daddy. "And get them the puppy they want so bad."

He just nodded before getting up from his chair.

"Where are you going?" River sighed, knowing that the Capo would be brooding away because his babies were mad at him.

'What is with my family???' She thought.

"Relax, I just want another mug of coffee." Mateo flashed her a smile before walking away, rolling her eyes because that smile had not reached his eyes.

.

.

.

Michelia woke up around eight thirty to see the trio off at the door. Mateo was facetiming the entire time and Lucas was back to talking to him but Kiara was still giving him the silent treatment.

Alessia hadn't come home the last night. She was out doing Alessia stuff.

Their bodyguards - Victor, George and Davis - were waiting outside the door.

In the past week River had realized that George and Davis were very soft-spoken and knew how to carry themselves around the kids while Victor was all brooding and unapproachable. Alessia had told her how good these three were and there was no chance of anyone ever hurting one of them in their presence.

River was really glad to hear that but her Mommy senses always made her keep her guard up and not trust anyone blindly.

After all, the last time she trusted one of the mafia men, he drugged her lemon cookies and she ended up in the hospital.

Alfredo had come across as such an amazing and trustworthy person back at the Wyoming Ranch. River had even taken shooting lessons from him. And trusted him with her little babies. But he turned out to be working for the other side. And he was dead. Mateo had killed him and probably made sure nobody ever found the body.

River sighed.

She sat down on the passenger's seat while Victor on the driver's while the kids were helped onto their car seats in the middle row and George between them. Davis was in another car, driving it to the school so that Victor and she could come back in it.

"Hiiiiiiiiiii!!!" River turned around in her seat as soon as she heard the irritating voice.

"UNCLE ADAM!!!" Lucas and Kiara cheered in unison, Kiara straining to get a look at their Uncle.

"Hi my little niece and nephew!" She heard his voice. George took her phone in his hand and held it a bit away from them so that both of them could see him.

"We miss you Uncle Adam, and Papa too." Lucas said while Kiara nodded though a frown formed on her face as soon as he mentioned their Papa.

She gets her stubbornness from her Papa.

"We miss you too babies. Papa and Uncle want to come home so bad but we are stuck here. We will be back in less than a week." He said in his little squeaky kiddy voice.

"You promise?" Kiara asked in a small voice.

"Of course honey. Now give Uncle Adam a big smile!" Adam exclaimed which Kiara obeyed without any hesitance.

River took the phone from George's hands and saluted the idiot. "Sup Smith?" She asked.

"Well well well Dr. Johnson, long time no see."

"I am not the one who abruptly left without even saying good bye." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, I have always been spontaneous." He gave her a mischievous grin while she rolled her eyes again.

"Uh huh."

"We will be back soon. Don't miss me too much." He snickered and Mateo's hand flew from off the frame and smacked him across the head.

"Oww...!!"

Lucas snickered behind and she turned to give him the look. The typical 'behave yourself' look that every mother gave her children at some point or the other.

Mateo got back to his chair and the couple talked a bit more, him making sure everything was packed and taken care of again.

"Mateo, I have being doing this since they started going to preschool. Chillax!" River rolled her eyes. She had been doing that way too many times lately.

They reached the school shortly where she left the kids with her phone and the bodyguards while she went to talk to the principal of the school who apologized again and again because the kids were kidnapped from school premises last time.

She told him the lie that Mateo and she had agreed upon and he readily agreed to having the bodyguards around. River was pretty sure that he and the school authorities were fed a hefty amount of money for that.

"Okay buh bye." River crouched down in front of her twins.

"Have fun kids." Mateo smiled.

"Bye Mommy. Bye Papa." The kids yelled as they walked into the building, their bodyguards following them. The two men had casual clothes on and didn't look the least intimidating so River hoped the other kids in their class didn't feel uncomfortable with their presence.

"River?"

River turned around while Victor tensed at the voice.

It was Aaron Grady. He was Flynn's father. He was the father of the sweet little boy her baby girl had a crush on.

"Aaron, hi." I said, walking towards him and leaning in to his outstretched arms. After the incident where Kiara fell and sprained her ankle and Lucas pushed Flynn, the two parents had been on a talking basis. And Flynn was now Lucas' best friend though Kiara was still shy around him.

'Ahh young love I tell you.' River smiled as soon as the duo's faces came to her mind.

Flynn has even had a sleep over at their place this one time Aaron was flying out of the country on a business conference.

"Woman, I called you after the kids were kidnapped and you didn't even pick up!" He said pulling away but still resting a hand on her arm.

"You might have heard what happened afterwards." She smiled sadly.

Aaron raised a brow.

"A little bird told me what you do other than architecture." She shrugged.

Mateo strained his ears as soon as he heard that. What was she talking about?

Aaron's eyes widened as soon as he realized that River now knew the truth.

The truth that Aaron Grady actually worked for Dmitri Petrov, the younger brother of Sergey and late Mona Petrov. According to River's good tattoo-artist of a friend, Eric, Dmitri had informed him about Mona kidnapping the twins through Aaron. And Eric knew the connection between Aaron and River because, well, he had eyes and ears at all places of New York at all times.

"Yeah, I did." Aaron said finally, knowing that there was no use pretending anymore. "Dmitri is heartbroken about Mona's death. She might have been a psychotic bitch but she still is his sister." He said, pursing his lips.

Mateo's eyes widened when he realized that the man his baby mama was talking to had something to do with the Russian Mafia. How the hell could she be so calm about it?!!

River nodded in understanding. Even she had no anger left towards her and she only did bad to her and her kids. It was weird that a woman River had never seen in her life had managed to do the amount of damage she did.

"Dmitri doesn't suspect any of you though. He thinks it could be the Boss. After all, Mona was trying to snatch his position from him and blaming it on Mateo will kill two birds with one stone."

River bit her lips, nodding. That actually made sense.

She had never met the Boss of the Russian Mafia either. She just knew that his name was Sergey and that he was the elder brother of Mona and Dmitri. It was safe to say that all three of them siblings weren't her favorite people in the world but she guessed Dmitri wasn't that bad, considering he did help her find her babies though Mateo would have even if she hadn't.

"Give me your new phone number." He said, pulling out his from the vest pocket.

River looked down at her phone to see that Mateo was still on the line, and he was staring at her with a stoic face.

"I will tell you another time." She smiled apologetically at him. He nodded in understanding. They said their good-byes and Victor and she got into the car.

River was not so surprised to find that Mateo still hadn't hung up and was looking increasingly irritated.

"Are we going to fight over this right now?" She asked, rolling her eyes for the nth time that day as she put on her seatbelt.

"I have nothing to say to you. You are impossible and stupid." He said in a detached voice, turning around to his laptop.

"I thought you had nothing to say." River commented and narrowed her eyes when Victor let out a chuckle which he quickly covered up by pretending to cough into his fist.

"Why are you in contact with a man who works for the Russian Mafia?" He asked, his irritation and anger seeping into his words.

River took her time fishing out her air pods from her purse and connecting them to her phone before she spoke, "I was friends with him before I knew he had a connection with the Mafia or that the kids were yours. And he is also the dad of Lucas' best friend so.."

"Now that you know who he is, don't you think you should be keeping your distance?" He scuffed, furiously typing away, not glancing at her even once.

"Mateo, Dmitri helped us find the twins okay?"

"Dmitri did? Really? Last time I checked, I found the kids!"

"So did I. And that was thanks to Dmitri!"

"I can't believe you River. I get that you want to keep your options open but-"

River hit the end button without a second thought, feeling her blood boil with rage.

So much for trust, understanding, promises and respect!

Her phone rang; it was Mateo. She declined the call and stuffed her phone into her purse, staring ahead as she grit her teeth, blinking back the pathetic tears that threatened to leak out.

"Ma'am, Capo is calling." Victor was eyeing his phone.

"I don't care if you pick it or not but I am not talking to him." She said.

He picked up his phone and looked at her nervously as he listened to his Capo before connecting it to the car audio system. River quickly pulled out her phone from her purse. "River, listen-" She turned up punk rock on Spotify.

Victor sighed and spoke but all River could see was his moving lips and after briefly speaking who knows what, he hung up.

River knew that she was supposed to be the mature understanding tolerant one between the two but he really did cross the line.

One step forward, two steps back.

She admitted that there was some sparks going about between the both of them, but one, nothing was official so even if she was 'keeping her options open' he had no right to speak that way to her and two, how the hell is being friends with a fellow parent and being grateful to the man who played a role in her finding her kids 'keeping her options open.'

River's phone rang again and this time it was Adam. She refused to pick it up as well but he started sending messages, one of which caught her eyes.

She smiled a bit and replied,

River sighed and put the phone back after turning off the music and tossed her air pods inside as well. She going to lose them one of these days.

"Victor, take me to the hospital."

"But ma'am-"

"It wasn't a request."

.

.

.

_____________________