They carry the dishes into the kitchen and find all the Scorpions, their girls, Flavio, and Ciro sitting at the long table when they walk back into the cafe.

Bart yells, "float like a butterfly, sting like a scorpion!" 

Everybody joins in at the end of the sentence. Logan laughs and takes the empty seat next to Dino. Dino wraps his arm around Logan and looks into his eyes. "How are things, bro? With you I mean?"

Logan shrugs and Dino pulls him in a headlock. "Don't pretend you don't care. We're all sitting here with mixed emotions, pride and fear swirling together. None of us can watch her in pain and we can't even imagine what it has to be like for you. Did it take her long to come to?"

Logan nods and rubs his face.

"That must have been damn scary, man. But she's okay, right? Ricardo kept swearing she wasn't back in the shadows."

Logan turns his gaze to Ricardo and nods at him. "Yeah, she's okay. I've never seen her this bruised though..."

Bruno cuts him off to say he's never seen her this hurt either before Logan continues. "Her jaw was dislocated. They put it back in place without local anesthesia. Her cheekbone is broken en they are not sure whether her ribs are broken or bruised. But they definitely hurt badly. She can't chew without pain. Or laugh. But there's no internal bleeding... I was scared to death..."

Bart angrily asks: "Why the hell did they put that jaw back in without something for the pain?"

Bruno answers: "Because she didn't want that damn poison in her body. She woke up before she reached the hospital and demanded to be taken right back."

All the men at the table laugh before they go silent, all taking a moment to think about Scorpia. The woman who's stronger than all of them together.

Bruno's phone rings and Duane's name appears on the screen. He puts it on speaker and yells: "Hey Duane! You're on speaker! We're all together."

"Hey everyone! Are you all okay? Celebrating your win?"

The men cheer and bang on the table.

"How's your queen doing?"

Logan says she's sleeping but okay.

"No man, she's not okay. She's out of this world. Beautiful and strong. So fucking strong that I'm in pain every time I breathe."

They laugh and Duane explains the reason for his call. He wants to find out if they're interested in joining a tournament he is organizing with a friend and is taking place two months from now. He also asks if Bruno's willing to fight Freddie one more time, for old times sake.

Bruno laughs and adds: "Ask him if he wants to fight Scorpia. Wanna bet he's suddenly very busy that day?"

"Are you telling me he's scared of Scorpia?"

Bruno's loud laughter thunders through the cafe and he tells him all about the tournament Scorpia and Freddie first met.

Duane laughs along with him. "You've got yourself a very special sister. I would love to see footage of her early days sometime."

"That can be arranged, Duane. Maybe even in a movie theater. But we're celebrating now. We don't have time to talk to a loser like you."

Duane yells between chuckles: "Official invitation will be there soon and the next round is on me!"

Ciro feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulls it out to look at the screen.

Dannazione.
I shake out of my bed every time Bruno laughs.
If you can sneak off without anyone noticing, could you come up?

He shows Flavio the screen, who nods to let him know he gets it. Ciro stands up and no one wonders where he's going because they are all busy talking about the tournament.

Scorpia carried Leo to his own bed and closed the bedroom door behind her. She is waiting for Ciro to come up at the top of the stairs. Ciro ascends them two steps at a time and pulls her into his arms when he reaches her. She clings to him, relishing in the familiar, protective feeling.

Ciro kisses her forehead and holds her close, showering her in his love. "Ti amo, sorellina. Sono fiera di te."

They sit down on the couch and Scorpia rests her head on his lap. He strokes her hair as he used to when she was little. His little sister. Insanely strong but his sorellina forever. His heart overflows with love for her.

She falls asleep and he protectively wraps his arm around her, puts his feet up on the coffee table, and takes a picture of her to send it to Flavio. Flavio replies with a row of hearts and Ciro knows he understands.

Pizzas from mister Gentile are delivered downstairs in the cafe. According to one of the Gentile nephews it was all arranged by Scorpia. All Devastazione and Diavola. The men attack the food and Logan enjoys a slice of Diavola with his eyes closed, thinking back on the first time he ate it, sitting at his kitchen table, with the beautiful miss Pia sitting across from him.

He smiles at the memory. She changed everything. She gave him a life of love, excitement, and fun. A full life.

Flavio nudges his shoulder and shows him the phone. Logan's eyes show nothing but love as he stares at the sleeping Scorpia. "Ah, I was wondering where Ciro went. I'm glad she's not alone."

Freya walks up with a glass of whisky and puts it in front of Logan. Logan raises his eyebrow and she points at Flavio.

Flavio raises his glass, "to Scorpia!" Everyone there in the cafe joins in on the toast and as soon as the glasses are empty, Dino leans over the table and calls Bruno over to his side. Bruno walks over to him and stands behind Logan's chair, asking what Dino needs.

"What are we doing tomorrow?"

Bruno asks confused: "Tomorrow?"

"Si fratello. Domani è domenica." Dino sighs when he can tell that Bruno doesn't get it. "Brunoooo. It's Sunday tomorrow. What's a tradition on Sunday? And who's beaten to a pulp in bed upstairs? And won't be able to come to mamma? What are we doing tomorrow? Are we getting together here?"

The penny drops and Bruno looks at Logan. "Is that okay with you?"

Logan nods, knowing Scorpia wouldn't want it any other way. Bruno walks into the kitchen to call mamma and Lexy, who think it's a great idea, and start planning the whole event.

Bruno walks back into the cafe and says to Flavio: "I think you'll have to be here early tomorrow." Flavio raises both his eyebrows in slow motion and Bruno laughs. "We need your poached eggs at the very least."

Flavo smiles, "are we spending the day here tomorrow?"

Bruno nods and Flavio says: "I'll be here. Maybe she'll be able to eat my eggs."

Logan hears something from his pocket and makes his way over to the kitchen. He hears Ciro talk to Scorpia in Italian. It sounds really sweet and he seems to be tucking her in.

Logan hears Leo babble and Ciro says: "Come with me sweet little man. We'll go find daddy while mommy sleeps. Uncle Ciro will carry you downstairs."

Logan starts preparing Leo's bottle and soon hears his little man enter the kitchen.

"Daddy! Amo! Ciro! Amo!"

Ciro's heart skips a beat as he asks a bit shocked, "did he just say Ciro?"

"Yes, he did. He learned a lot staying at mamma's."

Bruno walks into the kitchen and Leo happily exclaims: "Buno! Amo!"

Bruno grins, "don't give away all the new words you've learned little man!" He sits down at the kitchen table and Ciro takes the seat next to him, holding Leo on his lap. Logan shakes the bottle and turns around to Bruno.

"Tell me about Leo's stay with mamma. You said he missed his mom badly?" Logan hands the bottle to Ciro, who looks almost as happy as Leo. He feeds Leo his liquid meal and stares at the little boy in love.

Bruno says: "When I arrived at mamma's house she asked me if Scorpia went down around 1.30. I was baffled because there was no way she could know that. Lexy and mamma didn't even know the scheduled time of the fight against Duane. But apparently, Leo panicked around that time and cried for his mom. The same thing happened all over again around the time Scorpia fainted. They didn't know what to do to calm him down."

Logan stares at Bruno in disbelief and Ciro listens closely as well.

"I sent Lexy a message to tell her about our wins and that Scorpia was seriously hurt and fainted. So Lexy knew you wouldn't be home right away to pick up Leo and that Scorpia couldn't come to the phone either. Matteo is the one who got Leo to calm down and eventually the little guy fell asleep."

Bruno brushes his fingers through Leo's hair with a soft smile on his lips. Leo is done with his meal and Ciro holds the boy against his shoulder to pat his back. Leo burps and whispers, "mommy."

Scorpia's voice sounds through the baby monitor right after. "Who stole my child? Ciro?"

Leo happily says mommy again and Logan takes him from Ciro. "Come with me my son, I'll take you to mommy."

Logan is almost out the door when Bruno asks: "Are we keeping tomorrow a secret for her?"

"Yes, for now. She will find out soon enough. I'm sure the kids all want to see her. But I have to take Leo to her now before she comes down to get him herself."

Bruno and Ciro chuckle and Logan rushes upstairs. His Bonnie is waiting at the top of the stairs and Leo goes wild when he sees her. "Leo! Calm down! We'll fall down the stairs someday. Hell Bonnie, when he starts to walk..."

Scorpia laughs and takes Leo from him. The little boy puts his hands on her cheeks and gives her one kiss after the other.

"Mommy amo! Bed! Leo too!"

Scorpia's jaw drops as she stares at Logan.

"Yeah, I don't know who has been practicing with him but he said awww when he fell asleep and I just heard him say Ciro and Buno. And Bruno told me a story about him... You're not going to believe what happened."

Scorpia sits down on the edge of the bed, holding Leo to her chest as she carefully falls down on her back. Leo nestles between her breasts and lets out a satisfied sigh.

Logan whispers, "jealous."

He lies down next to her and strokes Leo's back with his fingertips. Leo sighs again and Scorpia shoots Logan a questioning look. Logan tells her what Bruno told him in a soft tone.

Scorpia tears up and presses a kiss on Leo's hair. It's a feeling she can't describe with words, a deep connection with Leo. Like she carried him in her belly for nine months. Like her blood flows through his veins. Like their souls are connected.

She falls asleep and Logan kisses them both before going back downstairs.

The men go home one by one, except for Ricardo, who sticks around because Freya is still working. He takes the empty seat next to Logan, asking him how he's doing. Logan looks him in the eye, showing he has no clue how to answer that. 

Ricardo studies the strong Scot's face and reads all of the emotions in his eyes. He smiles and speaks from his heart while resting his hand on Logan's shoulder. "Conflicted, huh? You're so damn proud of her and know she's made for boxing. But at the same time, you never want to watch her go down again. Thank god she's so talented that getting knocked out is rare.

But this time she went down for you. To give you a shot at victory. To inspire all of us. This fight was different for her. She wasn't in that ring for herself. And even though she got really hurt, she wasn't in danger, because she was in control of her mind and body till the very last second."

He takes a sip from his beer and gives Logan the silence he needs to let the words sink in before continuing. 

"I've never seen her this way. And you know I've seen a lot. She has never been this strong before. Beautiful, sweet, kind, smart but most of all strong. She has always been strong physically.

But if you manage to stay calm in the middle of a storm, you're a hero. And you can only be that way if your anchor is strong enough. If there's enough love on the light side to prevent you from getting lost in the shadows, even if you choose to step into the dark. Her anchor is so big and secure that she knowingly walks into the shadows, coming back towards the light with a huge smile on her face when she's done."

He looks at Logan, knowing the words are finding their place in his head and heart. "Logan, you are her anchor. You've been from the very start but back then it wasn't strong enough to prevent her from getting lost. It is strong enough now. As long as she has you, she will always find her way back to the light. You're her compass. Learn to trust in it. No matter how scared of losing her you might get, your heart already knows."

Logan smiles and plays with his glass. "For a hulk, you sure know your way with words."

Ricardo laughs and drinks the last of his beer.

"I hope you know how much I appreciate you for taking the time to tell me all of this. Because sometimes I can't make sense of it. I'm not as intuitive as Scorpia is. I feel it, I just don't know how to trust in it. Or am afraid to... I never learned how. I learned how to shut down my feelings and ignore them. When she's awake and close to me it's easy to follow my heart. But in every other situation, my heart just breaks."

He thinks about what Bruno said earlier, "Bruno said something beautiful today. That his heart breaks every time she's hurt but that the crack heals when she smiles or shows her love. Maybe that's the trick to this. Learning to trust that the heartbreak is temporary. She makes everything better."

Logan gets up and starts clearing the table. Ricardo helps out and Marco sends the last guest home, locking the door behind him. Freya puts her hand on Logan's shoulder and says: "Go to bed boss. We'll be fine."

Marco agrees and sends Logan upstairs.

He thanks them, rushes up the stairs, his heart swelling when he walks into the bedroom.

Scorpia's hair is spread out on the pillow, one of her arms above her head, her free hand resting on Leo's back, an angelic, peaceful expression on her face.

He takes his shoes and clothes off in a trance, making his way over to his side of the bed, sliding under the sheets as he looks at Leo. The little boy is facing him as he suckles on Scorpia's shirt, looking calm and peaceful, a reflection of his mommy.

Logan relaxes, grateful for all the love in his life, a love he never believed existed. 

He sinks into dreamland, looking at his two biggest loves, meeting his Bonnie right there behind his eyes. 

⊱ ────── {⋅.♏︎.⋅} ────── ⊰

It took me some time to write this one.
But I wanted it to be right.
If you read it this far, I'm sure you understand.
Thanks for reading, have a great weekend!
XO Hankie.