Lena grins as she lies on the hospital bed, she listens to the nurse as she recites all the do and don't to her, letting her know what to expect and even if she is a surrogate she will go through all the things a normal pregnant woman would.

She stops the nurse as the woman starts to talk about how it may not work or she may miscarriage but Lena knew better, she was prepared for the task long ago, she will have Richie Russo's child one way or another.

Even if Spencer had wanted her to get pregnant she knew it was too much of a risk, she knew chances of getting pregnant at first time was low. And, Richie was not just someone who would lie in between a woman's leg, so the idea of surrogacy was perfect.

It was a perfect solution, and if ever Richie wanted a DNA test done, the results would be positive, she smirks as she thinks about Alana, that woman will forever be doomed. Even if the cruel truth that it would be her child she will forever hate her husband for what has to come.

*******

"Don't cry mommy" Ricardo wipes his mother's tears as he hugs her.

"You are stepping on my wound" Alana grumbles as she tries to push the dog off her.

"He just wants to hug mommy" Rick pouts as he orders doggo to get down of the bed.

"Are you not sleepy?" Alana asks her son as she shifts a bit on the bed.

"Can we not go home and sleep?" he asks as he puts his car away.

"Mommy can't but you can, I did tell you to go with granny" she sighs as she runs her hand through his hair.

"No, not with granny but with daddy" he whines as he throws his legs around and Alana hold his little legs on her hands stopping him so he does not kick her.

"We cannot go with daddy" she sighs.

"But why, I want to go to daddy. Daddy, Daddy, Dadddyyy" he starts to scream louder and louder.

"Enough Rick" Alana shouts at her son covering his mouth and the boy sniffs as tears starts to pool in his eyes and Alana sighs in defeat.

"You can go with daddy if you want but mommy will not" she sighs and the boy's stares at her in confusion.

"Is it because daddy shouted at you mommy?" he asks as he touches her cheek and Alana kisses on his palm as she lies down.

"It's because daddy does not talk at all" she states closing her eyes.

*******

Alana slowly packs her things before she asks both her son who were jumping on the bed to get down but Ricardo is too happy to care as they were going home.

"I want to have ice-cream when we reach home" he breathes heavily as he continues to jump.

"No, you are not, now get down"

"No, first promise you will" he argues.

"Are you arguing with me right now?" she asks him and the boy stops jumping as he grins.

"No, I am making a deal with you where we will both end up happy" he grins making her laugh.

"Aww is my boy already making deals?" she teases pulling him closer to her.

"Yes, daddy says dealing where both people end up happy is the best" he nods his head and her smile fades.

"Don't listen to daddy" she warns making him pout.

"But daddy is so cool, I want to be like daddy"

"No, you will not be like daddy"

"But mom, dad is the best he can drive, he can cook and he orders people around" he protests making his mother sigh.

"And he cheats too" she grumbles as she orders the dog to get down.

Walking out of the room both mother and son along with the dog makes their way out of the hospital, she meets her father at the counter where he is clearing their bills as he asks her to wait for him in the car.

"Daddy" Rick shouts as he lets go of his mother's hand and runs towards the man.

Richie grins as he picks up his son and twirls him around while the dog jump up and down in happiness.

"You came, where did you go?" he asks his father who kisses on Rick's forehead before he eyes his wife.

"I was away" he replies as he smiles at Alana.

"Should have stayed away" she grumbles walking past him.

"Let me take that" he asks trying to take the bag and she happily let it go.

"How are you feeling?" he asks politely walking beside her.

"None of your concern"

"Would you like to stop for something?" he asks and Rick shouts for ice-cream.

"No"

"Alana, we need to talk sooner or later"

"About?" she questions as she abruptly turns to face him and Richie gulps.

"I cannot take back what I did but..."

"You can continue with me as if nothing changed but just as you cannot take it back I cannot stay and pretend it is okay"

"Let's go somewhere private and discuss" he requests but she shakes her head no.

"Please Richie, I just cannot. I cannot just erase the image of you with her in our bed, try as I might I cannot...

And do not blame it on your drinks, because I have been in drunken state more than you yet I return back home alone...

I never let my mind wander or desire anyone else when I am drunk. But the mere thought of how you can so easily share something so intimate with someone else breaks me...

I am so easily replaceable in your life terrifies me, how could you even just do it, just like that?" she asks making him close his eyes in frustration as he does not know how to handle this.

"Are you two fighting?" Rick's voice makes both of them feel guilty at doing it in front of their child.

"He has been begging to be with you, perhaps staying with you for few days won't harm him" she sighs as she caresses her son's cheek.

"I want both of you back home" he states but she shakes her head no.

"It is not home to me anymore" she whispers as she kisses her son's cheek before walking towards her father's car.

*******

"Daddy, why do you make mommy cry?" Ricardo's question makes his father look away from his work.

"I don't know" he replies making the boy put his game away.

"Mommy says not to be like you, so when I marry I will never make my wife cry" he states making Richie chuckle.

"We will see" he winks at him son's way who gets down from his seat before he straddles on the dog's back.

"Go, go" he cheers wanting to ride his dog who whines as he just lies on the ground and closes his eyes.

"He is not a horse, Rick" his father chides the boy who huffs before getting off the dog's back.

"Daddy, what are you doing?" Rick questions as he makes his way towards his father.

"Work"

"I want to work too" he demands and Richie pulls out a paper and pen for him to work.

"Now don't disturb" Richie warns his son as he focuses back on the file he was reading.

Richie reads the clauses on the file Lia sent him, even if he was not longer to get involved in any deals Lia had specifically asked for him to join her.

He frowns wondering what the girl had in her mind regarding him as after what happened in the meeting with Salvatore, that man had fairly warned everyone to not involve Richie in any dealings or things.

Sitting back on his seat Richie thinks what he can do next, as nothing makes sense. As it seems it's not Lucero who calls all the shot but Salvatore, but even if Salvatore does call the shot there are families that is not happy with the things are ongoing.

Reid family was one of them, but now that they have been eliminated he wonders who is stupid enough to go against them. Richie picks up the file he got from Lia and frowns, Storm family were close to Salvatore but after Lia's father's accident the man was bed-ridden and Lia along with her mother is handling everything.

"Daddy, look" Rick's voice brings Richie out of his thoughts as he stares at the paper the boy showed him.

"What is that?" he asks.

"I don't know" the boy shrugs his shoulders making Richie smile as he picks up his son and puts him on the table.

"You cannot just say that, you should know what you are doing" his father states making the boy think.

"I don't know what you are doing dad, so it's fair" he grins cheekily.

"You sometimes remind me so much of your mother" he ruffles his son's hair.

"Mom says I am just like you" he counters making Richie shake his head.

"Maybe, maybe not"

"I will go play" Rick informs as he jumps off the table before running out of the room with doggo.

*******

Richie puts his files away as he gets up from his chair only to frown when his phone starts to ring and it's a surprise that Flora Lucero number blinks through his phone, he takes the call but before he could even say a word hers makes him sigh.

"Why is there a thirty minutes call between both of us in my log book I have no idea about?" she questions.

"Perhaps even I did not know"

"Cheeky Russo, but I would not have survived in this place if I did not know better" she states making him sigh once again.

"Can you not just delete my number and forget it all?" he requests making her laugh.

"Of course, I can but what's the fun in that?" he feels her grin even through the phone.

"Flora"

"You are planning something against my family Russo and I cannot just stay aside"

"Listen..."

"Because I would like to join and watch it burn down my own self" her words make him pause.

"Excuse me?" he asks not understanding.

"I am not proud of what my father deals or what my husband does and I as much as you want it all to stop"

"Do you even know what you are talking about?" he asks her.

"Maybe if your wife came back home every year with a child for you to hold that is not yours you will understand my feelings"

"Listen, I do not know what the deal between you and your husband is but let's just forget this ever happened"

"The thing is Russo, you will not survive your next step if you want to take it. You may think you know it all but you don't...

My deal is still open, if ever you want a help then call me and just be careful things sometimes are not the way it's presented"

"I can say the same about this call from you" he retorts making her laugh.

"I will wait for the call" is all she says before the line goes dead.

*******

Lena munches on the popcorn as she watches Spence pace back and forth around the room in frustration, she hopes she does not get the burn from it.

Shifting on the couch she turns to watch the show on the television, she laughs at the scene playing before the screen goes black.

"What's so funny?" Spence asks as he puts the remote away.

"Not you for sure, go away" she grumbles trying to take the remote but he just takes the popcorn from her hands.

"What's your problem?" she asks getting up.

"You, when the fuck will this work?" he demands and she groans in response walking away.

"I swear Lena if this..."

"Stop harassing me" she shouts back at him in irritation.

"I will when your stupid plan works, I do not see anything happening and everything is going exactly how I do not want to"

"Well not my fault, if you were fucking the wrong sister all this time and now the right one is fucking someone else" she grins making him hiss her way.

"Shut the fuck up"

"Okay" she shrugs her shoulder and he push her a bit harder away.

"Hands to yourself asshole" she snaps as she stumbles and holds onto the chair.

"Grace is being difficult to reach and you are not getting pregnant any sooner" he sighs running his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Well, why don't you go and get back with Vicky, was not it your plan to use her all along"

"She is of no use and even if I get back with her, what's the use? It will backfire my hardly their relation with Grace...

I swear that bastard, I don't know what he did but Grace is wary of me. She is not so easy going anymore. There is always something on going with her every time I ask to meet"

"You must be losing your touch"

"Will you shut up?"

"I am trying to" she grins before jumping away as he once again tries to push her.

"Why are you so desperately trying to be with Grace anyways?" she asks curiously.

*******

"None of your business" he grumbles as she turns to walk away.

"No tell me, I don't understand it. All I know is your father wants to get back in that Price family and now you are involved...

What's with the Russo's too?" she asks following him.

"Why can you not just do as ask?"

"Because soon I may be a Russo as well" she winks halting him on his steps.

"Excuse me" he asks turning to face her.

"I am not as stupid as you think, I took the test and guess who holds the next Russo inside of her" she pulls out a pregnancy test and shows him.

"Fuck" he curses as he takes the test and grins as the stupid idea worked.

"Now be a good and tell me your plans" she grins.

"I don't know, Price has always been the first priority, we have equals rights to be in that family as anyone in there...

Russo, he was not in the picture not until both Russo and Alana rubbed me off. I wanted to get in whatever shit Alana's family is into...

There are things bigger and dangerous out there, people powerful than Price. And to take down someone like Price is not an easy game, I need back up...

But if only Alana was not a cold bitch, I have watched her drowning in drinks night after night but all she gave me was cold shoulder no matter how polite I was...

Then suddenly she gets married and now her husband calls all the shots at the business her father handles...

Son of a bitch, he is playing some double game I swear. He is best friend with Nicholas but now suddenly he is friends with Lucero's, I am not understanding what he is trying but whatever it is I will be sure to figure it out...

Lucero, that's a big game out there" he mutters the last part.

"Richie seems like a nice man, I don't think he has anything under his sleeve and did we not checked everything, he did not have anything in him" she speaks and he shakes his head.

"Whatever, you just make sure to blast his relation with Alana with the news of your pregnancy. I need to find a loop hole to crack Price down, I need them distracted as well as all of their supports"

*******

Ricardo's squeals distract Richie as he turns to look out of the window towards his son, who giggles as he plays in the small pool trying to swim.

"What's next?" Donovan's words bring his focus back.

"I do not have any plans for now, all I can do is wait"

"Did you contact Lia?" he questions and Richie shakes his head no.

"No, its clear Salvatore is upon my case and I cannot risk getting exposed. Lia, she may be too young but too smart for her own good...

It may be a trap, I do not want to look desperate and jump for the first bone they throw"

"Good, her mother has always been known for tricks, stay away from them. What about that call you got from Flora...

You think that girl is trying to trap you too?" he asks.

"I am not going to make any moves for now, I will have to wait. This thing I just feel it's bigger than I can handle"

"Well, it's not late. You can still step out go back to normal" the man suggests and once again Richie's eyes go back towards the window.

"Normal, huh?" he smiles as he watches his wife trying to pull out both his son and dog out of the pool but fails.

"Our deal was for you to keep my daughter happy" the man reminds him.

"And I always keep my part of the deal intact" he replies as he gets up from the seat.

*******

"Daddy" Ricardo screams as runs towards Richie wrapped in a big towel and before he slips and falls down Richie picks up the boy.

"Hey, champ" he grins as he wipes few drops of water from his son's face.

"What are you doing here?" Alana asks as she glares his way.

"It's my day of the week to take him with me" he reminds her.

"Well at least you remembered you have a son" she remarks.

"I also have a wife who is not in good terms with me" he cheekily replies making her glare fierce.

"I am not the problem in this relation"

"But you are also not agreeing to be a solution"

"Get out of the house" she demands as she turns to walk away.

"Come back home, baby" he pleads.

"No" she whispers with her back to him.

"We cannot live our lives being so miserable, we are making it difficult for Rick as well" he states as he walks closer to her.

"Exactly, that is why I want you out of it" she replies making him sigh.

"I will bring him back in few days" Richie speaks before he sneaks a soft kiss at the back of her head.

*******

"Dad, how long are we staying at gramps house?" Rick asks on their way to home.

"Until mommy says otherwise"

"Can you not make mommy come back?" he groans as he picks up his car.

"If only your mommy was not so difficult"

"We can always trick her to be back home" he grins making Richie look at his son.

"Oh yeah"

"Yeah, like give me ice-cream and..."

"You are not going to take ice-cream from anyone Rick, no strangers no ice-cream, got it"

"But someone needs to eat it dad, else...else it melts" he argues and one look from his father stops the boy.

"What would you like for dinner?" Richie asks to make his son's mood better.

"Anything but fruits" the boy groans.

"Your gramps loves you" he chuckles.

"Not as much as fruits" he giggles making Richie stare at his son strictly.

"Be nice to them, she just wants to make sure you are eating healthy" he states and Rick just smiles as he stares out of the window.

"Lena" he speaks making Richie frown as he slows down the car at the front of his house seeing the girl waiting on them.

*******

"Hey" Lena smiles as Richie gets out of the car and moves to help his son out.

"What's wrong?" he asks as he eyes the bag at her footsteps.

"We need to talk" she states.

"Uh-Oh" Rick whispers.

"What?" Richie asks his son who covers his mouth with both his hands.

"When mommy says we need to talk, it's never good sign" the boy states making Richie sigh.

"Let's get inside" Richie speaks as he makes his way towards the house.

"Where were you?" Rick asks as he stares at Lena who silently sits on the chair while Richie makes coffee.

"Where's Alana?" she asks looking around the house.

"I asked first" the boy frowns and Lena roll her eyes showing her tongue at him.

"Rick, go watch T.V" Richie requests his son who slowly jumps off his chair and makes his way out with his dog.

"What are you doing here?" Richie asks as soon as Rick is out of the kitchen.

"It's not like I wanted to come back"

"Then?" he questions making her lips tremble as few drops of tears fall off her eyelids.

"I am pregnant" she shivers and Richie just stands with the cups in his hand staring at the girl.

*******

"Is she back to look after me?" Rick asks as he starts to jump on the bed.

"No" Richie replies as he gets hold of his son and puts him down.

"Then why is she staying here?" he asks once again making the man groan as he gets in the bed.

"Sleep" he orders his son instead.

"Dad, will you tell me a story?" he asks as he lies beside his father before he giggles as doggo too jumps on the bed and curls around the boy's feet.

"Princess story?" he asks and the boy shakes his head no.

"That's mom job" he shrugs his shoulder and Richie pinches his son's ear.

"Don't insult your mother" he warns the boy who giggles.

"I am not" he whines pushing his hand away.

"If not princess then what?" he asks his son who just stares at his father and Richie smiles sadly as he kisses the top of his son's head.

"Your mother will kill me" he chuckles before he starts.

*******

"And that's how world peace happened" Rick recites the words of his father to Lena who scoffs at the boy.

"Do you even know what world peace is?" she asks the boy who kicks the pebble on the ground.

"But it sounds good"

"Whatever, so is your mom coming back anytime soon?" she asks the boy who groans.

"Mom is angry with dad"

"Oh why?"

"Don't know, they always fight" he sighs making the woman grin.

"That's because your dad does not love her"

"No" the boy protests.

"Rick, don't you feel alone and lonely always just hanging with the dog?" she asks the boy instead and he stares at his dog before at Lena.

"Doggo is fun" he replies and Lena picks up the boy putting him beside her on the bench.

"But will it not be more fun if you have someone your age, a brother who can play with you?" she asks making the boy stare at her.

"A brother?"

"Yeah or a sister" she smiles.

*******

Alana changes the cover of the bed before she puts a sleepy Rick on the bed, covering his body with a thin blanket she kisses on top of his head.

She smiles as she stares at his peaceful face, pushing the hair out of his forehead she keeps on staring at his sleeping face.

"Are you going to stare at his face all night?" her father's voice makes her turn towards the door.

"He is back after two days" she replies getting up.

"He does not have to do back and forth if you..."

"I am not going back to that house dad and we are never talking on about this topic"

"You..."

"And just know any of your cruel words will never hurt me to make me step out of this house, I have every right to stay in this house" she states making the old man sigh.

"Men gets weak sometimes"

"Oh please, we are not talking on this" she groans walking away.

"Yes, we are. Richie is a good man"

"Wow, he cheats on your daughter and yet he is a nice man will you say same if it was me who cheated on him or perhaps if mom ever cheated on you?" she asks her father who just shakes his head with a wary sigh.

"If you let every little thing like this..."

"This may look little to you dad not to me, maybe because mom let you cheat on her all the time does not mean I will suck it up and ignore it when my husband does the same...

I am not her and never will be"

"I never cheated on your mother" the man groans throwing his hands up in the air and Alana scoffs in disbelief.

"Perhaps, I have been swayed here and there but I never slept with any other woman okay. Let's just say, the thing is I know how the world we live in is...

I know us, especially we men can get easily distracted but as long as there are women like your mother and you to forgive us and even so fill our life with love that you give...

We may one day be on a good track and..."

"You are so not going to give me that lecture dad, oh I refuse to even listen the bullshit that is coming out of your mouth"

"That boy loves you, okay. Maybe both of us started on this wrong, but I have known Richie and his family for a while...

They are known for their loyalty and I cannot imagine him ever doing anything to hurt you, you have a child with him, you have been his wife for more than 2 years so you should know, what he is like...

Just, just close your eyes and just think, ask yourself that if he the kind of man that can cheat on you" her father request before leaving her with the jumbled thoughts.