A/N – I'm writing this story because everyone could use a good Kate and Tess fic every now and then. Personally I haven't really watched much ER (except the final Mark episodes) since Season 6… so that's why I'm sticking with these particulars:

1.Kate and Tess both moved to Seattle when Carol married Doug (yes, they're married)
2.Doug and Carol did not have, or try to have any more children
3.Everybody from Season 5 is still there (and healthy!)
4.Nobody from Seasons 6-present has arrived or left with the exception of Susan Lewis
5.Mark and Elizabeth are married but no Ella, Rachel lives with them but no drug problem!
6.This takes place at the present time, so Rachel is about 17, Kate and Tess are 6 ½

Second A/N (sort of a disclaimer/warning) – Okay, obvious disclaimer… I don't own any of the ER characters… any characters you read and you're like, "who the heck is that!" those would be mine and I forbid anyone from using them in their fics without permission from me! Warning is I am not now, nor have I ever been a twin so I really don't know what that relationship is like… but I do have 4 sisters. Also, this is my first ER fic so please be kind… or if you're going to be harsh… be harsh in a kind way please.

Seattle, Washington- June 2006

"Mommy, she stole my shorts!" An exuberant 6-year-old squealed. "Mommy! Mommy, come here! She stole my shorts, Mommy!"

"Tess, your mommy is packing right now," Doug Ross calmly said as he walked into the room shared by his twin daughters. A fight of this nature was not abnormal in the Hathaway-Ross household, but Doug scarcely had the opportunity to witness said fights as he was usually out the door just after 7am. "Kate, give me the shorts."

"But they're mine, Daddy!" Kate protested. Both were certainly averagely rambunctious for their age, but Tess seemed to have a very short fuse, while Kate would let things build up inside of her until she had a big tantrum. "See it says K-A-T-E right there!"

Doug took the tiny pink shorts from Kate's hands and looked at the tag in the back, which Carol always took great care to inscribe with their names should a fight such as their present one ever come up. Raising his eyebrows at Kate he looked over to her twin and shook his head, "Sorry kiddo, it does say Kate."

"What? Let me see those!" Tess cried and snatched them out of Doug's hand. Sure enough the precious pink shorts had her sister's name neatly printed on the tag. She couldn't believe she'd been wrong; they looked like her pink shorts. "Fine! I don't like your stupid pink shorts anyway!"

Doug shook his head as he watched Tess storm away, she was most likely going to her mother's room for a hug. Checking his watch again he grimaced and looked down at the utter mess the twins had made of their identical suitcases. "Didn't anyone ever teach you two how to pack?"

"Daddy, we're only six." Kate giggled as she slid her legs into the shorts. She wanted to be sure to wear them on the first day of their trip, primarily to drive her sister crazy. Accepting the fact that Doug would finish packing for her, she ran down the hall to find her mother.

"And they looked like mine and I wanted to wear my pink shorts today and they said Kate inside and I can't find my pink shorts and it's not fair!" Tess sobbed.

"Tess… sweetie, I know… oh, I know… but it's okay. Really, it's okay. Would it make it better if I found your pink shorts too? Auntie Elizabeth would love to see you both in the pink shorts she bought you." Carol reassured.

"Okay!" Tess grinned, hopping off the bed and running back to her room, stopping to stick her tongue out at Kate on the way. "Mommy's going to find my pink shorts too!"

"I thought you said they were stupid!" Kate teased back.

"No, just your shorts are stupid!" Tess yelled as she ran through the door. Both Kate and Tess had long, curly, dark hair like their mother, but had their father's skin tone, and sometimes his personality seemed to jump right out of them; particularly when they weren't going to get what they wanted.

Carol spotted Kate running towards her and scooped her up into her arms. Kate was definitely excited about their trip, but looking at her daughter she chuckled, "Kate, did we forget something this morning?"

"No." Kate answered back, confused.

"Are you sure?" Carol prodded. Kate looked around as she was carried to her room, wondering what she'd forgotten to do.

"Yes." Kate replied.

"Okay…" Carol laughed as she saw Doug repacking their suitcases. "Here Doug, take your topless daughter."

Doug reached out and took Kate from Carols arms, "Guess I missed that one, huh?" he asked her as she laughed. He pulled out a pink and blue shirt that matched her shorts from the small suitcase that had the name Kate printed on the front with little pink and purple hearts surrounding it. Checking the tag, he showed it to the room and announced, "It says Kate," before putting it on his daughter.

An hour later, they were all packed and ready to go; well as ready as they possibly could be. A 3-month-long vacation in Chicago would be an exciting adventure, but it could also be a potentially hazardous situation with two children under the age of 10 who loved the feel of their own beds and blankies so much, they'd once packed up the SUV with their blankies and bed sheets for use in the hotel just to get the twins out the door.

"Okay girls, what's the rule when we're at the airport?" Doug asked, as the shuttle driver pulled away from the curb and headed down the street.

"Run around and make a lot of noise!" they answered in unison.

"That's right…" Doug replied with a gleam in his eye. Carol slapped him and turned to look at her grinning daughters.

"Okay, what's the rule we're going to follow when we're at the airport, girls?" Carol asked, not surprised when she heard two defeated sighs.

"Sit quietly and don't go anywhere without a grown-up." They again replied together, their voices squeaking towards the end.

"Can I have a coloring book, Mommy?" Tess asked. She couldn't remember how long it took to get to the airport, but even the 5 minute drive to school seemed like a long one, and she knew it had to be longer than the drive to school.

"Can you?" Carol said, giving her daughter the eye.

"MAY I have a coloring book, Mommy?" She repeated, and then catching her mother's eye she added a loud, "Please!"

"Yes you may; Kate would you like your coloring book too?" Carol asked as she handed Tess a book and a box of crayons.

"Yes please!" she replied, happy that she hadn't been caught forgetting to say please. She took her book and box of crayons and began coloring in a garden of flowers.

Tess loved her coloring book and was hard at work on a masterpiece, a princess and her castle, with lots of stars in the sky to make all different colors. She'd finished the princess and was just beginning on the stars when it was announced that they needed to pack up their crayons and coloring books because they'd arrived at their destination, the airport. Kate and Tess obediently put their things into their twin carry-on back packs and looked out the windows, hoping to see something interesting as they pulled up to the curb.

"Let's get out girls," Doug said, standing on the sidewalk, ready to lift the first child out of the van. That child was Tess, and after being put onto the sidewalk, she grabbed her bag and began to run over to the constantly opening doors of the airport.

"Hold it right there, missy." Carol said, jogging to catch up to Tess and take her by the hand. "We're all going in together."

"But that could take forever!" Tess pleaded, "Kate, don't you want to go inside right now?"

"Nope," her twin replied, satisfied to be in Doug's arms for the time being. She had already gotten comfortable and had her arms firmly wrapped around him, not wanting to let go. Doug knew it would never work so he pried her arms away and set her on the ground. Each twin had her carry-on backpack on, and was rolling her suitcase behind her as Doug and Carol tried to hold their hands while carting 2 large suitcases a piece. Security was as much of a hassle as it had been since 9/11, and almost more with the mandate that they'd need to take off their shoes and put them through the x-ray machines as well. This did not bode well for the other passengers in line as Kate and Tess promptly refused to remove their pink sandals with the large white daisies on the sides. Carol sighed and grabbed Kate while Doug was a little less calm and picked up Tess. They both thanked the shoe company silently for manufacturing the shoes with Velcro and in an instant the shoes were ready to go through the machine and Tess, then Kate walked through the metal detector, neither setting off the alarm. They then, excitedly, grabbed their shoes from the bin and began to put them on again.

"First timers?" the kind woman asked as Carol stepped through the metal detector with an apologetic smile on her face.

"Pretty much," she replied, "The last time they were on an airplane they were 3."

"Well you have a nice trip now," the woman said as the family of four got their shoes back on and headed up the escalator to their terminal, each now only carrying their respective carry-on bags as they'd needed to check the suitcases for their long flight.

"Thank you." Doug called over his shoulder as he jogged to catch up with his family. He saw what was going to happen, even before it happened as Carol stepped off the escalator followed by Tess and Kate who were holding hands. Both girls lost their balance and went down on the floor just in front of the escalator. Carol grabbed both girls by the waist and pulled them to the side to let the other travelers through. Each was equally stunned at what had just happened, and almost instantly they began to blame each other. There were no injuries save tiny bruises that were beginning to form on their knees; primarily it was just their pride that had been injured.