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Coming back to the hospital felt surreal. And it made River happy beyond expression. She had a night shift at the ER and she was the queen she was. There were a quite a few cases due to an accident at the construction site. And such cases required an orthopedic surgeon more than anyone else.

"Dr. River Johnson back in action, I see.!" Dr. Jamie Dewell who had false claimed her psychologically unfit was on call as well, and he was glad to see his friend back at work.

"And kicking all of your asses as well." River shrugged, taking off her blood covered gloves and dumping them in the bin before opening the tap to wash her hands with soap.

He nodded and then said. "You owe me a date." He was not going to forget his end of the deal that soon.

River raised a brow. She remembered him putting forward this condition playfully when he agreed to help her out, but River now had a new card up her sleeve.

"Did I tell you that I managed to get married in the few months I was away?" She gave him a sly smile. The Jamie Dewell she knew since medical school was a flirt, but he steered cleared of committed women, and what was more sacred that a bond like marriage?

"WHAT?" To say that he was shocked, would be the understatement of the century.

"To who?" He asked, clearly confused. He didn't know of anyone she was romantically involved with before she left and he had seen Mateo around her for only a day or two so he didn't think of him as a possible candidate.

"The father of her twins." Jacqueline joined them, a smile on her face. "They reunited and now they are a happy family of four."

Jamie looked at River in awe. He was truly happy for his friend though he was disappointed that he had missed out on such an incredible and amazing woman, but he was glad that the twins got both their parents and that River's family was now complete, though he never thought it was incomplete before - River was enough to fill in for both the mother and father's role.

River grinned at her best friend whom she had seen for the first time since the shift started.

"I would hug you but I haven't bathed in two days." Jacqueline grinned back at her best friend. She was so so so happy to see her best friend that she almost resembled a Chesire cat with the wide grin she had in place.

Jamie left the two best friends alone.

"You have any ongoing cases?" Jacqueline asked.

"Nope, I was about to go get some coffee." River smiled. "Tell me we still have the same caterers and their yummy croissants."

"We do." Jacqueline shook her head laughing. She was indeed very happy to have her best friend back.

The two best friends linked their arms together as they marched their way to the hospital cafeteria, home to the most delicious baked goods they knew.

"When is Mr. Adesso coming back?" Jacqueline asked. The last time she talked to River was at noon when she had come to finish off the paperwork and she seemed pretty pissed at the Italian God who was still at Wyoming.

"Oh he's back." River informed, rolling her eyes.

"Really?" Jacqueline was surprised. "But didn't you say he would only be back next week?"

"Well, he pissed me off in the morning and flew back to pacify me." River shrugged as she stood in front of the counter. "Two caramel macchiato, one with two pumps of cream and another with just chocolate sprinkles."

Jacqueline raised a brow as she took in what River had just told her. The Capo actually flew back just so that he could pacify her?

She voiced her speculations. "He did that just because you were mad at him."

River puckered her lips. "Well, not exactly. Someone threatened to harm me as well."

"And two of those croissants and chocolate muffins." River pointed at the goodies when the lady at the counter placed the two cups of coffee in front of her.

Jacqueline looked at her best friend as if she was the dumbest human she had ever met. Or clueless.

"He did it for you. Whatever he did." She said, a smile on her face as she said it. She was so happy that her best friend finally had someone who would go to any lengths to make sure she was safe and secure, and would do anything to bring a smile to her face.

River nodded absent-mindedly as she paid for the food and thanked the lady. She passed her best friend her coffee before making her way to the stools next to the window. "Yeah, he did. So?"

"Don't you realize what that means?" River might have forgot to let her best friend in on the confession Mateo had made, mostly because the orthopedic surgeon's mind was preoccupied with all the shit that was going on in her and her little family's life.

"He loves me." River told Jacqueline, a small smile on her face. "He said it to my face. He has been in love with me since we met again last year."

Jacqueline's face had confusion etched on to it at first but then it quickly morphed into elation. "Oh my god!!" She squealed happily.

River smiled bashfully before taking off the wrapper from her muffin. "I know I know." She rolled her eyes.

"Not that dummy!" Jacqueline had her Chesire cat grin back on her face. "Of course it is obvious that he is in love with you from his actions and his straight forward confession."

River was confused now. So if it was not about him being in love with her, then what the hell was her best friend so excited about.

"So what are you hinting at?" River asked. She was still clueless about what her best friend was trying to say.

Jacqueline gave her a knowing look. The few years that she had known her best friend, Jacqueline always thought that River was aromantic and that she really didn't care much about relationships. She was such a solid character, her personality and looks were always attracting attention but River never had a care in the world about them.

To her, none of the men and women who pined over her mattered. She was a fuck and flee sort of person and she never cared. But talking about Mateo, talking about his feelings for him in such a casual way, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, Jacqueline realized that her best friend also felt something for the father of her children to some extent.

"You like him." She grinned. It was her Chesire cat grin again. River wondered if her cheeks didn't hurt from grinning so wide.

River gave her a flat look. Her best friend had gone cuckoo.

"I know I like him. What is there to not like about him?" River rolled her eyes as she continued to devour her muffin. She would have moaned out loud if she hadn't controlled herself - it was that good.

Jacqueline shook her head. That was not the kind of emotion she was talking about.

"You, my dear friend, feel something you have never felt before, towards that Italian work of art."

River narrowed her eyes at her best friend.

Italian work of art? Is that what Jacqueline and probably Alison were calling her baby daddy?

River didn't know the feeling that gnawed at the pit of her stomach when she heard her best friend address Mateo the way she did but she did know that she did not like the feeling at all.

"I don't know what you are talking about." She said. "Nor am I interested in this conversation."

It was Jacqueline's turn to roll her eyes and she looked sideways, her heart picking up rate when she saw a man that she swore she saw when River had come in the afternoon to finish off the paperwork.

On any other day, Jacqueline wouldn't have thought too much into the matter but since Mateo Adesso coming into her best friend's life and all the drama that followed, she really was not going to take anything for coincidence.

She scooted closer to her best friend and then whispered as she stared at the street below. "There's a man right behind us who I saw at the hospital this afternoon."

River took a peek and smiled. It wasn't some suspicious guy. It was just her bodyguard, Victor.

"Oh well, it's not like this hospital belongs to us." River was in a playful mood and she planned to mess with her best friend for a short while.

Jacqueline looked over at the orthopedic surgeon disbelievingly. One would think that she learnt her lessons from all that had happened in the past couple of months. Then again, wasn't River a very careful person who never fell prey to anything that easily?

Then why the hell was she acting like this?

Did being with Mateo and the security he provided make her lose some brain cells?

River, on the other hand, could not let the façade going for any longer. She knew to lie when necessary but this was her best friend and the expression she was making was way too hilarious. So the orthopedic surgeon burst out laughing, much to the confusion of the nurse.

River turned in her seat and gestured to Victor to come over.

"Victor, this is my best friend Jacqueline and Jacqueline, this is my bodyguard Victor." River lowered her voice as she introduced the two people.

"Nice to meet you Ma'am." Victor was a gentleman, and he made Jacqueline's heart skip a beat.

"Same goes for you... Victor." She said bashfully.

River raised a brow - this was the first time she had seen her best friend so nervous around a man after her break up five years ago.

She made a mental note to add these two to her potential couples list along with Adam and Alessia. A smile made its way to her face when she realized that the two pairs were bound to end up together because well, the surgeon was never wrong about anything.

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It was half past ten when his over-excited twins went to sleep. And Mateo was the happiest man in the world. He was so glad to be back home. Home where his children and River were.

He was so angry at himself for what he had told River, and he knew that no matter how nice she behaved with him, River was going to hold a grudge for a long long time and she had every right. He was willing to be on the receiving end of her anger because he knew that he deserved it. He had crossed the line in his fit of rage and jealousy, and he knew that he had hurt the woman he loved in the process.

He knew that the relationship between him and River were progressing and it was only a matter of time before he got what he wanted - a complete family with River.

He was going to make her his lawfully wedded wife. And he was going to be the husband of the most amazing woman he had met in his life.

He just hoped that the pig-headed orthopedic surgeon felt the same way for him, because he knew that as much as he would respect her decision, he would be the happiest man on earth if she felt the same way towards him, and somewhere in his mind he knew that she indeed had feelings for him.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Michelia said as she sat down next to him on the balcony couch, handing him a glass of mixed fruit juice while sipping on her own. It was a moonless night, the sky embedded with a million stars, shining like the city lights below.

"You are going to get a cousin in law soon." Mateo smiled as he gratefully took the drink. How times had changed! Michelia had always been the kind to bring out beer for any occasion and now she had resorted to fruit juice, because that's what she could drink while she was feeding her little boy.

Michelia returned her good friend's smile when she heard that.

She absolutely adored River Johnson and she would be one of the happiest people alive when the two of them finally got married.

Mateo sighed and then said, "She doesn't want to concentrate on our relationship now. There is too much on our plates already."

Michelia nodded in understanding. There really was too much on everyone's plate right now.

"And she thinks Alessia is in danger."

This was new news.

Michelia furrowed her brows as she turned to her cousin in law. "What do you mean? Leo said someone threatened you with River's life."

"River thinks that is some kind of a distraction and you know that she-"

"-is never wrong." Michelia smiled. She heard about that a lot in her brief time knowing River.

"And did you talk to Sia about it?" She asked.

Mateo let out a deep sigh as he turned to his friend. "You think she would be willing to listen."

Michelia smiled sadly. That was true too. There was no way in hell that Alessia was going to listen to any of them.

"As long as we are on alert, I think it will be fine." She said finally, after staying silent for a good two minutes. "Sia can take care of herself, and we will have her back so I don't think anyone will be able to harm her."

"I really hope that's the case." Mateo sighed again. To have a target on you was not as frightening as having one on your loved ones.

He was not going to focus on anyone in particular. Everyone close to him - River, the twins, Alessia, Michelia and Lorenzo - every one of them were going to be protected. He could not afford to have them harmed in any way. All of them were way too important.

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It was early morning when Mateo picked River up and she was hella sleepy. She knew it was going to take her some time to get back to her non-existent sleeping schedule.

"You look like you crawled out of a grave." Mateo smiled amusedly as he opened the passenger's seat for her, taking her duffel bag from her.

She was too groggy to form any real sentences so she just flipped him off and got in the car while Mateo dismissed Victor until her next shift and tossed the bag on the backseat.

"Here." He passed a package. The smell had her swooning. He had gotten her some freshly made garlic bread from the bakery just near their apartment. He loved the food there and he also knew that River was probably going to sleep all day as soon as they get home and he did not want her going to sleep on an empty stomach.

"You are the best!" She squealed just the way Kiara squealed when she was exciting. Now he knew where she got it from.

It was just amazing how their children were a mixture of the both of them.

"I think I will take a kiss as a thank you." Mateo said cheekily, leaning closer to her.

River rolled her eyes. This man child was going to be the death of her, wasn't he?

She leaned towards him as well, surprising him and before he could do anything, she had moved back after placing a quick kiss on his lips.

"Hey, that's cheating!" He whined like the man child he was while River burst out laughing, sticking her tongue at him and making faces while he pouted.

He joined her in on the laughter but pulled her closer, this time capturing her lips with his.

River let him do it, snaking her arms around his neck and closing any space between them while he sighed in contentment into the kiss.

This woman had become his haven without giving him any warning. She was the best thing that happened to him, along with his two beautiful children and he wanted to protect all three of them with everything he had.

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A silhouette watched the couple making out in the car with blood-thirsty rage. Here, they were making out and having fun, living the life and being happy with their family while his loved one had been killed.

He was not going to forgive them for what they had done.

He was going to make sure that each and every one of them died a terrible death, a fate worse than the one they had given his loved one.

He was going to make sure of that.

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