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         "Something come up?" Kennedy asked quietly, looking at the girl sleeping against her side, then back up at Nicky. She set the crossword she was doing in her lap, giving him her full attention, careful not to disturb the sleeping girl.

        "I'm so sorry," he replied, smoothing his hair back and out of his face. "I had to perform emergency surgery on a burn victim." he shook his head solemnly. "She was only five. A shame, really. I hate seeing that shit."

        Everything that came out of his mouth was a lie. He'd actually been overlooking some extortion. The loans weren't coming in like they should have been; he'd had to go pay a visit to Sammy Russo to see what was going on; on Michael Bilotti's orders. Much to Sammy's chagrin, he got it taken care of in a pinch. He expected to hear complaints about overstepping his bounds tomorrow. What a lot of these punks didn't know was that Nicky was the only thing between them and getting whacked for not doing their job. It's a cutthroat business out there.

        "I get it, it's okay." Kennedy said, putting one hand up. "I never have anywhere to be anyway. Did she at least make it out okay?" she asked.

        "Oh yeah, after a couple days of recovery she'll be out and back home with her family. The scarring will be pretty bad though." It was miraculous how quickly he could come up with bullshit like that, and Kennedy was none the wiser. He took his coat off and hung it together with his hat. Kennedy rose and gently held Rori up. She was sleeping soundly.
      
       "It's a good thing that scars don't define a woman. Or shouldn't, anyway."

        Nicky was caught off guard, and he blinked a couple times, replaying what she had said over again in his head. If some wannabe wouldn't want someone because of some goddamn scars then he wasn't a real man worth a dime anyway. He supposed she was right, but that was an awfully dangerous idea in 1956, especially in New York.

        Kennedy scooped Aurora up and carried her into her bedroom, leaving the tucking in for her father. She took her own jacket off the hook and put it on along with her hat. She buttoned it on the collar. She found Nicky in the kitchen, rummaging in the now full cabinets for something to eat. He'd turned down Sammy's wife's offer for dinner. He didn't wish to insult the man's pride and further. That could be saved for later.

         "I left the rest of dinner in the refrigerator. Since you weren't around to eat." she said, laughing a bit. He looked up and smiled softly. He hadn't expected her to do so well on the first day.

        "Thank ya. I could get used to this, My wife never fuckin' turned the stove on."

        "You're welcome. May I ask where exactly is your wife...?" she asked, nervously putting on some driving gloves. Nicky scoffed softly and looked down.

        "She passed away about a month ago." he said, not meeting her eyes and purposely avoiding the cause of death.

        "Oh. I'm... sorry. I didn't mean to pry." Kennedy replied sheepishly. That went about the worst it could possibly go. "Rori is in bed, I left the tucking in for you. I should be going home now, have a good night Mr. Ricci." she waved.

        "Please, call me Nicky. You didn't pry, don't apologize. Have a good night Harlow."

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        Nicky crept into Aurora's room, careful not to wake her up. When she was sleeping, he walked on eggshells, sleep hadn't been coming easily to his troubled daughter. He sat down by her sleeping form and pulled the covers over her shoulders.

        "Hi papa," she said sleepily, opening her eyes.

        "Hello there cerbiatto. Is someone sleepy?" he said, brushing some of her hair off her forehead with his fingertips. She giggled softly.

        "I like..." her voice was trailing off. "Kenny..." she was fighting sleep hard at this point. "She's nice." her eyes fluttered closed and only minutes later she was snoring softly. He smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple, rising and leaving her quietly.

        Nicky peeled off his coat, thankful Kennedy didn't notice that he didn't take his jacket off at the door. He touched the damp red stain on his shirt gently. This was getting ridiculous.

note: sorry for the late upload guys. yesterday was a total shitshow, well more like this whole week and I haven't had time to write at all. usually i have a couple chapters written in advance. anyways, im sorry. please don't forget to vote, comment, and drop me a follow. i'll love u forever !!