Chapter 4

This arrangement went on successfully for almost two years before the someone else found out.

It was Jess. Becker had finally popped the question and she was over at Abby's with an enormous stack of wedding magazines and planners. Connor had fled the invasion of pink and white, and the curious speculation of if Becker could get his act together why couldn't he?

The twins had building blocks and plastic toys scattered all over the living room. "They're just so cute!" Jess sighed, looking up from her comparison of different places around London to hold the ceremony. Becker had put his foot down, they had to be married at least a year before they started trying for one of their own.

Abby snorted, "Right now. When they're doing something and not trying to wreck the whole house." They also tended to fight like cats, that went back to when they could barely roll over. They'd inch closer to each other then start wailing away on each other. Whoever said twins were always best friends had clearly never met Amelia and Nick.

Just this once, the one time it really mattered, James forgot to text Abby if he could come over. It was late, they normally didn't have anyone over anyway during the week, it had been a very long dinner meeting with the minister and he just plain forgot. When the hallway door opened up Amelia looked up and squealed.

"Daddy daddy daddy!" She chanted as she bolted down the hallway. Abby realized what was happening just as James came into view with Amelia perched on his hip. She was angelically resting her head on his shoulder.

He saw Jess sitting beside her on the couch, wedding memorabilia piled everywhere. "Oh hell."

"It wasn't going to stay a secret forever." Abby said grimly and hoped Jess was friend enough to let her explain. Her head was currently whipping around from the sudden appearance of Lester, Amelia calling him daddy and Abby referring to a secret. It didn't take a genius to figure this out.

"Were you hiding back there this whole time?" She was aghast.

"He wasn't hiding, he was over at his house. He lives next door." Abby explained and waited for the other shoe to drop. Jess was thoroughly confused.

"Abby...I know it's not my business...but what's going on here?"

"Amelia's his daughter." Her best friend replied, with a bit of a blush.

"They're yours?" She started at James, "But Connor?"

"She's his." Abby corrected, "Connor knows. It's complicated."

"I can't believe this."

"Believe it." James shrugged and turned to Amelia, "Sweetie, make your mad face." The little girl loved an audience, she screwed her face up in her best scowl before grinning at them all. The family resemblance showed plainly through but it was really odd to see that expression on a two year old.

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't bring this up at work. My life is difficult enough." James requested, acting entirely like her boss even though he was wearing jeans and t-shirt, standing barefoot in Abby's living room.

Jess looked over at Nick who was ignoring all this. "What about Nick?"

"Nick's Connor's. They're not identical." Abby shrugged, "I had a fling."

"Can I talk to you privately for a minute?" Jess tried to hold on to her manners. James shrugged again, "I'm going back home. I'm serious about not discussing this at work Mrs. Parker." He turned around and walked back down the hall with Amelia. "She didn't eat much dinner." Abby called after him, "Get her to eat something before bed."

Little dark haired Nick barely looking up from his toy trucks and spaceships as his sister was whisked away convinced Jess that this was a regular occurrence. Jess gulped and waited until he vanished back down the hall before speaking again.

"Abby? You had a fling with Lester?" She just couldn't believe it. Abby knew this would be everyone's reaction and she made a spur of the moment decision to come clean about everything. "Technically, I had a fling with Connor in the cretaceous. Look, do you want a drink?"

"Yeah. I think I'm gonna need one."

Abby got up and poured them both a glass of port. "James and I...we've had a thing going for a long time."

"How serious a thing?" Jess was fascinated in a morbid sort of way.

"Not that serious. Friends with benefits. He didn't want to go to the trouble of dating and I didn't want the hassle of a boyfriend chasing me around. I already got all the annoying boyfriend behavior out of Connor without any of the perks anyway."

"But he's your boss!"

"So? We kept it professional at work. Nobody's ever suspected."

"What about you and Connor?"

"There wasn't an 'us' until we got trapped. For the obvious reason, I never told him about James. Remember what an ass he was when we came back and he was desperate for a pat on the head from Burton?"

"Yeah? I remember he took off for weeks and didn't even tell you."

"That broke my heart. He was ignoring me...and James was still there, still not demanding anything from me, just being there for me. I almost broke up with Connor then."

Abby took a drink, "I felt less alone with the man I wasn't dating then the man I was. It was horrible. I was miserable."

"What happened?" This was like a movie, Jess was half expecting to hear the sad soundtrack turn up in the background.

"I got pregnant. I wasn't sure who the father was. James was a little vexed at me that I never told Connor about him and he insisted that I do so. That was a wild night." Abby closed her eyes remembering.

"I can imagine." Jess sipped on her own drink. "You had to tell him you were having an affair."

Abby pursed her lips and tried to explain. "It never felt like an affair to me. Like, I loved them both in different ways maybe. I don't know. I'm screwed up. I've accepted that."

Jess reached out and patted her arm, "You're not that screwed up. You've got two lovely children."

"Yeah, something good came out of it. Anyway I didn't want to do a paternity test until after the baby was born. It's a bit risky to do it before. And we found out it was twins, and there was a chance that they could both be the father. One for each of them."

"Wow."

"Yeah. Wow. We had to find a way to get along. It took awhile, it certainly didn't happen overnight. Connor realized what an ass he was being and forgave me for what I did. James never expected anything from me one way or the other."

"So now you live in joining flats and don't tell anyone?"

"Yeah. Well, we always knew that as soon as they started talking people were going to know. I'm only telling you the whole story because you're my best friend. Everyone else is just going to think I'm a slut."

"You're not a slut." Jess said automatically invoking the girlfriend code to defend each other. "Just...complicated. So that's why you never married Connor?"

"That and he's never asked me. That was part of the problem before, he just expected me to be there and never actually asked me. James has been working on him, he's a lot better about things now. Having competition right next door has been good for him."

Jess looked down at her wineglass. She had emptied it without realizing. That gave her extra courage. "So...are you having any more kids?"

"I don't know. Connor would like a few more. James is quite happy with the one. I don't know. Why?"

"I was just curious..."

Abby looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Are you trying not to ask if we all have wild sex together?"

"Abby!" Jess's blush betrayed her.

"No. We don't. Three's a crowd..." she sighed, "and they're accepting of me being in love with two men...but they most definitely are not."

"So...you and Connor...and you and James..."

"It's not like we have roster drawn up!" Abby protested. "I sleep over here most nights unless Connor is gone, then I go over there. Sometimes I stay here alone. It just depends what I feel like. James likes to be alone a lot also, that's probably why this arrangement works."

She filled up their glasses again. "It's odd, but I've been happier since we moved here than I think I've ever been in my life. When Burton has Connor zipping all over the world for weeks at a time he doesn't have to worry about me because he knows the farthest I'll go is right next door and James did more to get our relationship back right than I did."

"That's so odd. That guys can be that way."

"You've heard the old joke if you give a guy a million dollars and ask him what he's going to do with it?"

"No."

Abby laughed, "Two chicks at once." Jess joined her in laughing. "I don't know why I just thought of that. I hope I can keep the gossip at work down."

"There won't be any. I've got your back...only...can I tell Becker?"

"Yes. You can tell Becker, but not all the finer details, that's protected under girl talk. Just tell him I had a fling and we didn't want to split the twins up. If he wants details he can ask Connor."

"I don't imagine he's going to want details." Jess said. Connor picked that moment to return. "Is is safe? Am I going to be attacked with bows and lace?" He called theatrically from the living room. "Girls?"

"We're in here!" Abby called out and Connor appeared in the doorway a moment later, "she knows, James came to get Amelia without calling."

To both their surprise, he started laughing. "He owns me a hundred pounds! Hahahahaha!" He bent over clutching his gut as he laughed.

"What?"

"He bet me years ago that I'd give it away!" Still laughing, Connor went back to the living room. A moment later they both heard the hall closet door open.

"So that's it? You just treat it like one big house?"

"Not really, Connor rarely goes over there without a reason. For him a hundred pounds and gloating is a good reason." Abby rolled her eyes, "We're trying not to confuse them so Nick doesn't go over there very often either. He calls James Uncle James but when they first started talking they called everyone daddy and mummy. Amelia calls Connor Uncle Conn but she pronounces it UnCon."

"Where does she sleep?"

"Sometimes here, sometimes there. He bought her a frilly pink princess bed that she adores and now she wants to sleep over there every night but I won't let her." Abby grinned, "She's my daughter too."

"Where's she sleeping tonight?"

"Over there. We alternate. If she gets up in the middle of the night sometimes she comes back here, or goes over there. We've really got to put a lock on that door."

They stayed up late talking about Abby's odd family situation, and Jess's upcoming wedding. Jess always thought her life was complicated but that was nothing compared to this. At least she was positive she was only in love with one man.

After a while they heard Connor getting Nick ready for bed. It sounded like an epic naval battle was taking place in the tub for a while. Abby ignored it and Jess followed her lead. At nine Nick ran into the kitchen, dressed only in his pull-ups and a spider-man t-shirt. Connor was two steps behind him.

"Tell mama night night." Connor directed him.

"No!" Nick wailed and clung to Abby's leg. "No!" She picked him up. "You have to go to bed Nick, it's bedtime."

"NO!"

"If you don't stop shouting I'm not reading you a story." Abby threatened him. Nick truly thought about it for a minute. "NO!"

"Still want one?" Abby asked Jess skeptically, "Let me go put him down." Abby took the wailing boy to his room and set him down in his bed. Now he started chanting, "Story, story story story..."

"No, I told you to stop shouting and you didn't. I'll give you a kiss." Abby leaned down and kissed him on his forehead. "Hold Mr. Sid." She pressed a stuffed dinosaur toy into his hands. "I love you, goodnight." Abby shut the door on his screaming protests.

"Is it like that every night?"

"Just recently. It's not normally that bad." Abby confessed. "Terrible twos and all that."

"Maybe you should have read him that story." Jess hesitantly suggested, "would it have helped?"

"No. And you saw him think about it. He decided to keep screaming. Tomorrow he'll be a lot better about it." The hall door opening cut them off. James came through with Amelia still perched on his arm, but she had also been bathed and dressed in Barbie pajamas.

"She wanted to tell you good night." James said to Abby and Connor.

"Come here baby." Abby took her and hugged her. "Good night Amelia." Like she had done with her son, Abby kissed her on the forehead before handing her back. "Good night mama. Good night Uncon. Good night lady."

"She likes to say good night." James explained to Jess, "I see you got Nick corralled?" The crash of a toy banging off the wall punctuated the remark. Connor grinned, "More or less. Don't worry, wait until she's a teenager, then we'll see who's laughing." James sniffed his nose at Connor's remark and went back over to his house. He had always thought that his twin was the good twin.

"I'd better go too, I'll call Becker to pick me up. I shouldn't be driving." Jess said as she pulled out her phone to make the call. Connor and Abby went back into the kitchen to give her some privacy.

"So we're out?"

"Yeah. She won't gossip about us."

"Well then. Knew it was going to happen some day." Connor leaned in and kissed her just as Jess walked in the doorway. She squeaked in surprise. "Um, he's on his way. He's taking a cab so we can bring my car back."

"What do you think about all this?" Connor asked her casually as he started to rummage through the fridge. "I know you think something."

Jess sat down at the table, "Well...I think the kids seem happy, and you lot all seem happy...so I'm happy for you. That said, I don't think too many people should know all the details."

"We agree completely!" Connor said with a grin. Abby went into the other room to start stacking up Jess's collection of wedding catalogues. "Besides, after I got my head around it I realize that this could be really good."

"How so?"

Connor got serious, "What we do at the ARC is dangerous. If something happens to me then I don't have to worry about Abby, he'll look after her. And vice versa, of course."

"That's a very practical way to look at things."

He snorted and opened a bag of potato chips. "I've had to learn to be practical. Chip?" The oddness of the evening overwhelmed her and she giggled.

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