The family sat around the dinner table, enjoying a great meal and each other's company. The meal was full of chatter about their lives at work, Anchor Beach and their personal lives. After dinner, the kids all helped Stef and Lena clear the table and put the dishes into the dishwasher. As they were cleaning, John felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a text from his twin brother, Jack.

Hey John! My parents and I will be in town around lunchtime tomorrow. We're planning on driving around and visiting with some folks, but don't have any dinner plans. We'd love to come by or meet you all somewhere. Just let me know!

"Who's the text from, Love?" asked Stef, noticing that John had stopped helping with the dishes.

"Jack," John said, looking up at her. "He and his parents are going to be in town around lunchtime tomorrow, but have plans until the evening. They want to know if we want to meet for dinner."

Stef glanced at Lena, who shrugged at her. "I think it's a great idea," Lena said. "We could have dinner outside where there's more room."

"Don't you think we'll be a little cramped?" asked Jesus. "I mean, just with all of us, it's pretty full."

"Yeah, but we can't be rude, Jesus," said Stef. "We should have them over for this first dinner where we're meeting all of them. My only question is: what on Earth are we going to cook for them that's going to be enough for all of us?"

"We could order takeout," Lena suggested, causing Stef to chuckle loudly.

"Oh, no," Stef said. "We are giving them a home cooked meal this first time."

"You know, I could always make my famous spaghetti," said John. Stef and Lena glanced at each other with thoughtful expressions on their face.

"Do you think you'll be able to make enough, John?" asked Lena.

"Yeah, no problem. We'll just need to have enough ingredients for me to match two batches of it. That should cover all of us, no problem. And we should have leftovers."

Stef nodded. "I can grab some things after work tomorrow," she said. "What all do you need, Love?"

"I'll make you a list."

While John pulled out a piece of paper and started scribbling down ingredients for his spaghetti recipe, the doorbell rang. Jude ran to the front door and answered it. Connor stood in the doorway.

"Hey," Jude said brightly. "Come on in. We just finished dinner and putting everything away."

"Cool," Connor said, following Jude into the kitchen. "John excited about seeing his twin tomorrow."

"Of course I am," John said, not looking up from his note. Jude and Connor giggled at John's ability to throw himself into their conversations like that. "I'll be right with you guys."

He finished writing up the ingredient list and handed it to Stef, who glanced over it.

"This everything?" she asked.

"Should be," said John, nodding. "Just get enough for two servings of all of the ingredients, and that should be plenty for everyone. Thanks, Mom."

"No problem, John," Stef said, smiling at him. "Go hang out with Jude and Connor."

John turned to Jude and Connor. "Sorry to keep you waiting," he said. "But you two know me, I have to get the spaghetti recipe exactly right."

Jude and Connor nodded, grinning at John, who pulled out his phone again and responded to Jack's text with a note explaining the plan for the next day.

"I'm so excited to meet Jack," Connor said as he followed Jude and John outside to the backyard patio. They sat down together, Jude and Connor holding hands.

"Me, too," said John. "I'm really glad that everyone is going to get to meet him and his parents."

"Have you met his parents yet?" Connor asked.

"Briefly," John said, sitting back and putting his feet up on the table. "We had a quick lunch before they had to leave when they were visiting this summer. David, Jack's dad, had to get back to work on a case. He's a lawyer."

"What does he do?" Jude asked.

"Interestingly enough, he prosecutes sex crimes," said John thoughtfully. "If Loomis had attacked me in Los Angeles instead, we might not be sitting here right now. David, Margaret and Jack would have found me then. Things would be way different than they are now."

"How about Margaret?" Connor asked. "What does she do?"

"She's a nurse at a hospital in LA," said John. "She helps deliver babies in pediatrics and helps the mothers care for their babies when they are first born."

"They sound like great people," Connor said.

"They are," John replied, nodding. "And Jack is wonderful."

"What's he like?" asked Jude. "I didn't get a chance to meet him last time."

"He's a bit like me, to be honest," John said. "Super nice guy, not afraid to be assertive, always wants to help other people. He told me the last time he was here that he wants to get into politics. Or maybe be a lawyer."

"Does he look like you?" Connor asked.

John nodded, pulling out his phone. He opened up the photos app on his phone and scrolled to a photo of him and Jack at dinner during Jack's last visit.

"He's on the left," John said, pointing out Jack. "We took this after dinner before he and his parents had to leave."

"Not bad," Connor said with a sly look at John. "You're almost as good looking as him," he added with a devilish laugh.

"Excuse me?" John retorted with an equally mischievous look on his face. "Clearly, I'm the better looking one."

They all laughed at that as Lena stepped onto the patio with them.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"John thinks highly of himself," explained Connor. "I told him Jack's the better looking one, but he didn't seem to agree," he added, laughing again with Jude.

"Well, I may be biased, but I'm inclined to agree with John," Lena said, giving John a kiss on the forehead."

"Thanks, Mama," cooed John.

"Anything for you, my dear," Lena replied. "Now, come on. We're gonna start a movie."

The boys followed Lena into the house and gathered with the rest of the family in the living room. Jude and Connor sat next to each other on the couch, holding hands. John sat next to Connor and pulled a blanket over himself, knowing he might fall asleep during the movie. Stef entered the living room carrying two bowls of popcorn. She handed one to Brandon, before offering the other to Lena. She then pointed the remote at the TV and hit play, sitting back and relaxing with the family.