Disclaimer: I do not own the Pretty Little Liars characters, just Zack, Sophie, and the storyline.

Previously on Loving Them:

He thought back to what Aria had told him about the twins and typed in their birthday: 0104. No.

Initials: 9773. No.

He tried a few different combinations before finally deciding it was worth a try. 0906. Labor Day 2010. The day they met.

He didn't expect it to work, but the phone unlocked, and he quickly put his number into it before handing it to Aria across the backseat. She nodded in thanks.

"Say goodbye to your daddy, guys,"

"Bye," Zack said, waving.

"Bye," Sophie repeated sullenly. "I get to talk to you before bed, right?"

"Right," Ezra assured, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Bye Princess, bye Zack."

He gently shut the door and walked back to the sidewalk. Aria got into the driver's seat and started the car. She gave him a wave and a small smile before driving away.

Ezra watched the car, waving in case Sophie or Zack was looking, until he couldn't see it anymore. He then walked back to his own car and drove back to Emily's, feeling much better than he had in a long time.

Hanna Marin was having an awesome day, especially for a Monday.

Spencer had gotten in the night before and Emily was due to visit in a couple weeks. She was shopping with a basically limitless budget because of her job as a fashion consultant for several big name celebrities and Caleb's job as a special effects worker in high profile action and sci-fi movies, she was having an amazing hair day, and her and Caleb's little Shih Tzu puppy, Stud, hadn't had an accident the night before.

While she was shopping with Spencer, and Stud, in her bag, her phone rang with the newest Beyoncé hit. Hanna pulled it out and looked at the caller id.

Emily is calling :)

Hanna showed Spencer the phone and excitedly pressed accept.

"Emily!" she said as soon as she answered. "How are you? You never call me."

She heard Emily laugh. "Han, you sound like my mother. Like, exactly like my mother."

"How are your little kiddies?" Hanna asked, ignoring Emily's previous comments. "And Maya? How is Maya?"

"The kids are great. Maya is great. Aria is great and has two kids. Ezra is staying in my and Maya's guestroom until he flies up to Cali to see you and Caleb and Wes-"

"Wait," Spencer, who had been listening in, said. "Repeat that least part, Em?"

"Oh, um, Ezra is staying with-"

"Cut the crap, Em," Spencer said. "The part about Aria."

"Right, well, Aria has two kids. Four year old twins. Sophie and Zack."

"Wait, and the father is…" Hanna said.

Emily said nothing.

"Em…who. Is. Her. Baby. Daddy?"

"Hanna!"

"Shut up, Spencer. I'm getting answers."

"It's Ezra."

"And has Ezra known about these twins?"

"…no."

"And does he now?"

"Yes."

"And how long have you known?"

"I don't know…likeaweek."

"Like a what, Emily Catherine Fields?"

"…like a week…"

"Emily!"

"Hanna…"

"Emily!"

"Spencer…"

"Why didn't you tell us? Spence, we have to get down there and meet Aria's kids and see Aria, not to mention chew Aria out for not telling me I have a fucking niece and nephew-"

"Um…you can't. I don't think Aria even wanted you to know about her, much less Zack and Sophie. I just…you know I don't like secrets since…"

"Yeah," Spencer said softly. "We got it."

"But I'm coming in two weeks, so I can bring pictures and-"

"Aria," Hanna interrupted. "I'd like you to bring Aria."

"H-Hanna…" Emily sputtered. "I can't just…drag Aria down here. And I have to go, I called you while the kids were at gym so that I would have an excuse to leave the conversation."

"Try, Emily," Hanna begged. "Please. We miss our best friend."

Emily sighed. "I'll try, but I guarantee nothing. Talk to you later?"

"Yes, you will," Hanna replied before abruptly ending the call. "Spencer," she said, "I think that we are about to get the whole gang back together."

Emily hung up the phone, groaning. I am going to get an earful from Hanna later…why did I think that was a good idea?

Emily sighed, standing up and making her way towards the gym. She slipped in and saw the class finishing up a game of sharks and minnows. Sophie was the shark, but missed everyone in the class while waving to Emily. Emily waved back, and Sophie continued to play with her classmates.

The gym teacher, Paul, came over to stand next to Emily.

"Hey, Em," he said, "How's Maya?"

"Maya is great," Emily replied, smiling at Paul. "Her restaurant just got a good review from a notoriously nasty critic, so she's up to her neck in business. How's Laura?"

"Laura is about as good as a high school vice principal can be. Some kid was caught vandalizing the science room, another is threatening to sue the school because their brand new six hundred dollar iPhone was stolen…you know, same old same old. And she's really stressed about the AP English teacher, who's moving to Montana to be closer to her grandkids. It was very sudden because her daughter went into early labor and had a baby that's a couple months premature."

"Wow," Emily said, "Is the baby alright?"

"They have some concerns, but he should be okay. Her daughter, too. She just wants to help out with the other two kids."

"So…a job is opening up?" Emily asked. Paul nodded.

"Why, you interested?"

"No, I love the little kids and I do not want to go back to high school. I've just got a friend who will probably move into the area. His kids live here."

Paul nodded. "Divorced?"

Emily grimaced. "Not exactly…it's a long story. But there's a job?"

"Yup, and I can probably get your friend an early interview. You know how much Laura likes you and Maya."

"Thank you so much!" Emily smiled at him. "I'm sure that Maya could give you two a nice date night for your troubles. Get Daniel out of your hair. A nice dinner at her restaurant."

He laughed. "I don't think that Daniel will stand to be babysat, being a thirteen year old boy and all."

"Well, I have a class full of four year olds, maybe he could babysit or something?"

"Yeah, maybe,"

"Thank you," Aria said to the woman she was folding a shirt for, "Please come again soon."

The woman smiled and gave Aria a small nod, accepting her paper bag with the Ella's watermark on the front. When she was younger, she always joked to her mom that one day she would open up an antique shop named after her because she was so old. Ella had always laughed and told Aria to shut up, but that's exactly what Aria did.

It was a nice little place, with vintage clothes, valuable jewelry, and classic books signed by authors. Aria was somewhat a collector, as she had many things in cases that she might not sell if given an offer. She also had a nice little coffee shop that had been added later, toward the back of the store. It was a popular place for people to hang out together, and teenagers often came by when they wanted to study.

Aria sighed and leaned on the counter, wishing she could pick up Zack and Sophie herself, but the place was too busy. There were no seats left in the coffee shop and quite a few customers were browsing the racks of clothes and other antiques, so she had called and asked Amy to drop them off at the shop.

"Mommy!" Zack called as soon as he barreled into the shop, Amy and Sophie behind him. He ran over to Aria and she scooped him up, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"How was your day, Zackie?"

"Great!" he replied. "We played Sharks n Minnows in gym class and I was a minnow and nobody caught me! And Mr. Veco said that I should do a sport!" He beamed. "Can I, Momma? Can I do a sport?"

She laughed, giving him a butterfly kiss. "What sport, Zackie?"

The thought for a minute. "The one with the stick and the bayses."

"Do you mean the bats and he bases, Zackie? Baseball? Like the ones on the TV at the diner?"

"Yeah!" Zack said. "And maybe Daddy could coach. Justin's daddy coaches Justin's scroccer team!"

Aria froze for a moment, before giving her son a half hearted smile. "Yeah, maybe he could, Zackie. How was your day, Soph?"

"Good," Sophie replied, looking up at her mom. "We had color goldfish for lunch and Zack gave me all his purple ones and Donnie pushed me on the swings. I went so high!"

"Oh, do you think that Donnie has a crush on you?" Aria asked, setting Zack down and ruffling his hair.

"He's not 'llowd to," Zack interrupted matter-of-factly. "She's my sister. She can't have a boyfriend."

Aria and Amy laughed and Sophie shrugged.

"Thanks for getting the kids, Amy," Aria said. "I really appreciate it."

"Anytime," Amy replied. "I was on my break at the bank, anyways. Speaking of-" she glanced at the Big Ben model clock Aria kept behind the counter. It was by far one of the most expensive things in the store. "-I should be going. I have an appointment in fifteen minutes."

"Okay," Aria gave her friend a hug. "Thanks again."

Amy left and Aria took her kids back to the coffee shop. "Anthony," she said once she got there. "Can you make-"

"-one strawberry banana smoothie, one mango smoothie, and two cookies." He interrupted, grinning. "Coming up, Marie. Do you want to leave the kids here or take them up to the front with you?"

"Mommy, I wanna stay here and color," Sophie said. Zack nodded in agreement.

"Can you just keep an eye on them, please?" she asked the teenager. "They'll behave."

He agreed and began on their smoothies while Aria took them to the little green table meant for kids and got out their markers and paper.

"Marie!" Anthony called. "I got the smoothies and the cookies!"

Aria grabbed the food from Anthony and gave it to her kids, handing the strawberry banana smoothie to Sophie and the mango one to Zack.

"Be good for Anthony," she said to Zack and Sophie. They nodded and she went back up to the counter, sighing. She loved days like this, where her kids could come hang out at her antique shop, and it was just the three of them. But everything was about to change.

Time Jump—1 week later

"I got the job!" Ezra exclaimed as he burst through the door of Emily and Maya's house. "I start tomorrow!"

"Oh, thank god!" Maya exclaimed before Emily could say anything. "I thought you would never leave! Em and I need some…alone time."

"Maya!" Emily hissed, suppressing a giggle. "We had alone time just a couple days ago-"

"Ew," Ezra said, "Stop. I got that apartment and have to go sign the lease now, so I'll be out of your hair for a few hours. I think I'll go pick up Zack and Sophie from Aria's job and take them to the park or something to celebrate. Maybe to get a Slurpee."

"Great, see you," Maya said, scooting closer to Emily. "Will you be back for dinner? We're ordering Thai."

"I think I'll eat with Aria and the kids tonight, but I should be back by nine. And I can move into the apartment soon, so I think I'll be out of your hair by like Sunday? That's just six more days, Maya."

"So this is really happening, huh?" Emily said. "You're moving here to be a dad to Zack and Sophie. Aren't you worried it will be another Malcolm situation?"

Ezra immediately shook his head. "I feel so connected to Zack and Sophie, in a way I couldn't have been with Malcolm. I see myself in them. Zack has my eyes, and Sophie has my curls. Sophie does that thing with her ice cream and Zack's favorite color is green, like mine. So, no, Em. No doubts."

Emily smiled. "I'm glad, Ezra. See you tonight then?"

"Yeah, see you tonight."

Ezra walked into Ella's, hearing a bell chime above him. Aria glanced up from where she was helping a costumer and gave him a 'one sec' signal. He looked around the charming little shop.

He saw Aria in the shop, through the crowded but clean shelves, the perfectly placed furniture, and the little coffee shop in the back. He saw the bookshelves were stocked with her favorite classics, as well as a few of his that she didn't like, but admitted were classics.

He saw a section of jewelry and a couple shelves of various chinaware, and clothes in the back.

So, it was basically a run of the mill antique shop, but with the Aria twist that probably made it so charming.

"Hey," Aria said, snapping him out of his observation. "Sorry it took so long. What did you need?"

He cleared his throat. "I was hoping to take the kids out until you get off work. Emily mentioned that they come hang out here every Monday afternoon. Maybe we could go eat dinner together?"

Aria didn't seem to know what to say. She had seen a lot of him the past week. He had picked the kids up on Tuesday and met Aria at the park. On Wednesday, he had brought them to school, Thursday he had brought them to McDonalds, Friday they had all felt sick to their stomachs, and Saturday they all went to the park.

"Um, sure…they're in the coffee shop. No ice cream, okay? We're going to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner, and they have ice cream cake by the slice. They just had cookies, too, so maybe just no sweets?"

"Sure," Ezra said. "When do you want us back here?"

"Do you have your car? Just bring them to the house around six so I can redress them and whatnot. We can all leave for the restaurant around six thirty?"

"Sounds good," Ezra replied. "I'll go get the kids and…" he trailed off. Aria nodded uncomfortably.

"See you guys at six then…"

An hour and a half later, Ezra sat on the bench at the park watching Zack and Sophie on the merry-go-round being pushed by a couple boys that must've been sibling of one of the other five kids on the merry-go-round. The week before, Aria had informed him that it was okay for strangers to push his kids on the thing, as long as he took a turn with other kids once in a while.

He snapped a picture and was about to send it to Aria when he heard a voice behind him.

"It's been a while, Z. Where've you been?"

Oh, shit.

So sorry it's a day late! I had a swim meet yesterday right after school and was exhausted. So who do you think the person is? It shouldn't really be a surprise, so...

Reviewers get teasers! Very important teasers...

Love you all! Hope you liked the chapter. Next one up Tuesdayish.

-Cookie