Shane merely stood rooted to his spot, staring at me owlishly.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded, crossing my arms. I was tired of him just standing there. I wanted him to say something, but I didn't want the twins to overhear. I stepped outside and shut the door behind me before repeating my question to Shane.

"I was—I came here t-to see you," he stammered, wringing his hands together nervously.

"Well, you saw me," I snapped. "So if there's nothing else…" I turned back to the door, but before I could grab the doorknob, a hand grasped my arm to prevent me from going on.

"W-wait, Caitlyn," he began.

I wrenched my arm from his grasp. "Don't you dare touch me," I snarled, my eyes blazing with contempt. Shane flinched and recoiled, looking at me with something akin to pain in his eyes. I wanted to scoff. Since when did Shane Gray ever feel remorse? But then, Nate's obnoxious reprimanding, telling me to be nice, repeated in my head. Huffing, I crossed my arms again and lowered my voice. "What are you doing here, Shane?" My gaze was lowered, refusing to meet his.

"I came to see how you were doing."

"I'm doing fine, thanks for asking." I looked up at him. "Why do you care all of a sudden?" When Shane flinched again, I held back one of my own. I hadn't meant for it to come out snappy, rude even. I was just curious.

It was obvious he didn't like my question. The corners of his lips turned down, and Shane averted his gaze. When Shane began biting his lower lip and shoved his hands in his pockets, I knew he was uncomfortable.

"Alright, then," I said slowly, trying very hard to not be a bitch. "Anything else you needed?"

Shane's hazel eyes finally rose to meet mine. "Yeah," he said, "who are the kids?"

"Thomas and Gemini," I answered. I should probably have told him right then, but I chickened out.

"Who's the dad?" Shane asked, giving me an anxious look.

I nearly said Derek. He was my neighbor and best friend back in Texas. He drove me to and from school nearly all of the year. Derek was the father figure my children never had, and for a while, he nearly did become their father. We dated for two years, but the relationship never went anywhere, so we broke it off. The kids positively adored Derek, and I loved him as though he were my brother.

Even now, we're still best friends. I probably should've called him sooner, though. Derek had just finished his final year in college but work in a New York hospital for a few years, and he made me promise to call once we were settled in and comfortable. But then again, I wasn't very comfortable at the moment, and I didn't think Derek would've minded me telling Shane he was the father. After all, both twins had called him 'Daddy' up until they were four.

Thomas and Gemini called him Uncle Derek after that, but occasionally, a 'Dad' would slip out from habit. I didn't blame them. Derek would've made a wonderful dad, and they needed a father figure in their lives. Especially Thomas. The idea of telling Shane that Derek was the father was becoming very appealing, through my desperation. (And a small part of me wanted to see his reaction.)

"Derek Alexander," I murmured.

Something flashed through Shane's eyes before they reverted back to their anxious state. "Who's he?" His voice was hard, but his fist was clenched, his body emanating anger and insecurity.

"My best friend."

"Some best friend," Shane muttered, shoving his fists into his coat pockets.

Well, we were in a relationship, and we did fuck once or twice. We were, however, safe, unlike Shane and me.

"My best friend," I repeated in a slightly louder tone, "is the father figure for my children. But Derek is not the father."

"Really?" Shane breathed, relief obvious in his voice.

I nodded. "Yeah, really. A jackass is actually the father of the twins." Shit. There was no backing out now. I had to tell him.

"Caity—"

"It's Caitlyn to you."

Shane sighed and repeated my name. I rolled my eyes. "You"—Shane took a deep breath and looked at me seriously—"You didn't get raped, did you, Caitlyn?"

I burst out laughing at his question. Oh, how absurd Shane was being. Honestly. The father of my children showed up at my doorstep, asking if I had been impregnated after getting raped. A ludicrous situation.

"I'm being serious, you know," Shane mumbled, a faint blush splashed on his cheeks. His lips were upturned in a slight smile, for some strange reason.

Stifling my giggles, I wiped a tear of mirth from my eye. "I-I know you are. It's just that when you hear the whole story, you might end up laughing too." Or running away, I added silently.

"Why do you say that?" Shane leans in closer to me, as though waiting to hear a secret from me. Well, it sort of was, I admitted to myself.

"Because, Shane"—I darted my gaze down to his feet and wrung my hands together nervously—"you're the father." My voice was loud and clear, as though I wasn't nervous in the slightest. Had I not been looking at his feet, I wouldn't have known Shane staggered back a step. I looked up quickly to see Shane gripping the railing for support. "But don't worry, I don't expect anything," I hastily told him. I'm actually surprised you're still here, I thought.

Shane was staring at me with an expression that could only have been described as pure shock. I vaguely noticed the hand gripping the railing was shaking, the knuckles completely white.

"What?" he whispered. Though it came out quiet, it was clear and sharp, demanding an explanation.

"You're the father of my two gorgeous children, Gemini and Thomas. Gem is older, but only by a few minutes, and she takes a lot after you. She has your hair, your smile, but she has my eyes. Thomas was born second, obviously, and has a few more of my qualities than yours." I let my lips quirk up into a small, fond smile. "But he acts like you did when you like a girl." I looked up at him, finishing my little monologue. It didn't look like he could take much more. "It's funny how even after all these years, my kids like a combination of both of us."

"Don't you mean our children?" he asked hoarsely, his eyes wide.

"They may share our blood, but they've only known my love," I snapped, crossing my arms. Sighing, I rubbed my temple gently. "Shane, I told you to not worry about it. You don't even have to meet the kids if you don't want to. I just wanted to tell you. Well, technically, it was Nate who wanted you to know, but that's beside the point."

"C-Can I meet them?"

"Of course you can. Half their genetics are yours, after all. Just don't start acting all 'Daddy' on them," I warned, giving Shane a look. "They don't know you, and they're just kids." Shane nodded and mumbled his understanding. I opened the door and walked to the kitchen with Shane in tow. "Gem, Tom, there's someone who wants to meet you guys." I glanced back at Shane in amusement; he looked as nervous as when he met my parents for the first time.

Gem turned around in her seat to look at me. "Who is it, Mom?"

Grabbing Shane's arm, I pulled him up in front of me to get closer to the twins. "Kids, this is Shane. I knew him when I lived here before I moved to Texas."

"Oh, okay!" Gemini jumped off her chair and walked up Shane. "Nice to meet you, Shane!" she said, smiling brightly up at Shane. She held out her hand for him to take.

Shane gave a tentative smile, probably finally realizing he was the father of twins. Gem looked so much like Shane, and the smiles on both of their faces were nearly identical. "It's nice to meet you too, Gemini," he said quietly, shaking her outstretched hand with care for a moment.

"And I'm Thomas." My son followed his sister out of his chair and walked up to Shane, holding his hand out as well. Shane gave a nod and shook his hand. "You know," Tom mused, "you look kind of familiar." He trailed off thoughtfully, blinking up at Shane with his curious hazel eyes.

"Okay!" I interrupted hastily, for fear Thomas would figure it out. He was always an intelligent kid and highly resourceful. I didn't want to take any chances. "Enough introductions, you guys." I gave them a smile and hoped it didn't look as nervous as I felt. "Why don't you talk for a bit? I'll give you some time alone." Shane deserved some bonding time with the twins at least. He was the biological father, after all. I picked up their plates, took them to the sink, and began washing them.

"Mom?" I heard Thomas ask as he came up behind me. I could practically hear the cogs working in his mind.

I hummed in response as I worked hard on a particular egg stain.

"That guy, Shane, was… weird."

I stopped scrubbing for a moment but still didn't turn around to face him. "And why is that, sweetie?"

"He looked like Gem. A lot. And I think I remember seeing him before."

My eyes widened, and I bit my lip nervously. He had never seen Shane before, and I made sure of that. Turning around to Thomas, I lowered myself to make eye contact with him. "What are you talking about?"

"Shane was in a picture," he said slowly, wringing his hands together, "with you, another girl, and Uncle Nate." Thomas' nose wrinkled slightly in concentration. Another habit he'd picked up from me.

My eyes narrowed at Thomas who shifted guiltily under my gaze. "Where did you find this picture?" I demanded. The phone rang, but I made no move to answer it; Gemini said she would answer it.

"In your yearbook," he said quietly. "Or maybe in one of the albums you kept under your bed."

I raised an eyebrow. "And why were you in my bedroom, under my bed?"

"Sarah and Gem were trying to make me put on a dress," Thomas explained, his tone taking on a bit of a whine. "I had to find an escape." His eyes were filled with worry and guilt, and I almost laughed at him. I gave him a small smile and ruffled his head before getting back to the dishes. "Shane had his arms around you," he said bluntly.

I nearly dropped the plate I was holding. Before I could say anything, Gemini ran into the room to hand me the phone, saying it was their Uncle Derek. Smiling, I took the phone. It looked like Derek beat me to calling him.

"Hello?"

"Hello, my beautiful friend," a deep, baritone voice murmured happily into my ear.

I chuckled softly. "Hi, Derek. It's great to hear from you," I said, cheering up immediately. "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing," he said smoothly. I raised an eyebrow. He wanted something. "But hey, do you think I could come over to visit?" I knew it.

"Yeah, of course," I told him, a hint of concern leaking into my voice. "But what brought this up?"

"Well, hospitals in the Big Apple ain't all it's cut out to be. Way too much blood, babe."

"But you've lived in New York for the past eight years!" I exclaimed, laughing quietly. He was finally finished with college, I was ecstatic for his return. But when I found out he had to stay in New York for a job, I was devastated. Derek visited every opportunity he got. But I also had to move, so it wasn't that bad.

"I got assigned to work in the Trauma Center," said Derek, deadpanning. "I had to stitch up someone who had five shot wounds and two stab wounds. Need I say more?"

My chuckles turned into loud guffaws at his comment. I could imagine Derek stitching the poor dear up, his face green and terrified to death. "Of course you can stay here, sweetie. Dad loves you."

"And I love you, Caity! You're the best!"

"I already knew that," I drawled smugly, my lip curling into a smirk.

I could hear Derek's comforting chuckle. "Of course you did, Caity-Lynn," Derek crooned. I rolled my eyes. How he abused my hated nickname. "I have to go hand in my resignation form. I'll call you tomorrow, alright?"

"Sure, DeeDee," I said sweetly.

Derek laughed. "Bye, Caitlyn."

"Bye, Derek." I hung up the phone and saw the twins standing there, staring at me. "Good news, guys. Uncle Derek is coming soon." Wait. Why were they both here? I raised an eyebrow. "Where's Shane? Shouldn't you two be keeping him company?"

Gemini looked down. "Shane left."

My blood ran cold. And suddenly, I felt it begin to boil. "What?" I whispered, keeping my voice down for fear of yelling.

"He left," she repeated. I could tell she was surprised by the anger in my voice.

I heaved a huge sigh. I should've known. I knew shouldn't have let my hopes rise when he asked to meet them. It was Shane. Of course he wouldn't commit to a family. But no, I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. I knew he wouldn't love them immediately. I knew he would run.

But I'd hoped he would stay.

*SHANE'S POV*

I had to get out of that house. Caitlyn told me I had kids; twins for crying out loud! The news was too much. And I couldn't barge into their tight-knit family, even if I was their father. I'd missed out on too much of their life, and they'd probably be mad since I had left Caitlyn when she was pregnant.

But when I found out—wow. They were everything I could've wanted in kids. Thomas looked just like Caitlyn, but he had my eyes. He was tall; much taller than Gemini. He was exactly like Caitlyn: smart, strong, and always thoughtful. And Gemini—she was gorgeous. So bright and bubbly, and she looked just like me! She even liked Tootsie Rolls! They were my kids and every bit as beautiful as Caitlyn made them out to be. The minute I saw them, I loved them with all my heart. I wanted to hug them, to kiss them, to say I was so, so sorry for not being there for them and their mother. But they wouldn't want me in their family. Not after what I did to Caitlyn.

Caitlyn. I sighed wistfully. She looked just as radiant as she looked when I first saw her. She didn't look like she'd given birth to twins; Caitlyn looked like she was in the prime of her life. But her eyes—they looked far too old beyond her years. Tired, scared, confused. I wanted nothing more than to hug her and shower kisses onto her. I wanted to apologize for all I'd done to her. But I knew she would just push me away and punch the living daylights out of me.

I couldn't believe I did this to her. No wonder she was so pissy to me. I'd left her alone to take care of our two kids right after leaving her for her best friend, Mitchie.

Mitchie. Oh, how I regretted leaving Caitlyn for her. I didn't love her, she didn't love me. And even if I did love her, it could never come near the love I felt for Caity. Tears threatened to spill. I walked out on Caitlyn, and I walked out on two beautiful children. I left three people alone, two of which didn't even know who I was.

I failed them.

I was so stupid! I took the road never traveled. I had a chance to lead the life I'd always wanted. I could've completed those dreams I had with Caitlyn. I could've been a father to Thomas—the one to teach him how to throw his first football or play a guitar. I could've been an overprotective dad to Gemini and spoil her rotten. I could've been a—a husband to Caity. I would've proposed, had I not hooked up with Mitchie.

But I screwed up. Horribly.

Guilt coursed through me, and I pushed my muscles even farther. I was the reason they were alone, the reason Gem and Thomas didn't have a dad. I felt so low. I wanted to go jump off a cliff so I could feel half as bad as Caitlyn did when she had to face the pregnancy alone, all because I was a jerk. I ran into my house and up to my room, slamming the door in the process. For the longest time, I merely stood there, sweat and tears dripping off my face, panting heavily. There was a knock on the door, but when I made no move to answer it, Nate opened the door.

"Shane?" he called out, his body casting a shadow into my room. I could hear the anger and frustration in his voice. "Caitlyn called."

"R-really?" I could hear my voice crack, sobs threatening to make themselves heard.

"Why, Shane? You had one shot—one fucking shot to make up with Caitlyn, to make this work. So why the hell didn't you take it?"

I flinched at his furious tone. There were so many different reasons, I wanted to say. But I didn't have any more control on my voice as I did ten seconds ago. I merely collapsed on my bed with a sigh and curled up into a little ball. I heard the floor squeak and footsteps, and Nate sat on the edge of my bed.

He placed a hand on my shoulder. "You're such an idiot, Shane," Nate whispered, the anger gone and sympathy evident in his voice.

I merely whimpered. "I know, Nate. I fucking know."

So what do you think? I personally like how it ended...but i guess that doesn't matter too much. Haha (:

Anyway, please review!!