PART 2

Sometimes, in those rare moments when I'm not busy and the triplets aren't yelling at me, I can lay back and relax in my pajamas. Preferably I'm relaxing while watching a John Hughes movie. I don't know what it is with John Hughes movies, but they are just so addicting. The notion that my high school crush would somehow realize that I was the love of his life – who wouldn't be addicted to that?

As a result, I grew up wishing that I was Samantha Baker or Claire and that one day I would meet my Jake Ryan or my John Bender (who would look suspiciously like a young Judd Nelson), and they would be The One. Everything would work out.

I think my problems began when I grew up, but I still hung on the to belief the John Hughes fairytale existed in real life. Which explains a little about how I ended up with William-freaking-Darcy. I still believed that the aloof guys had a personality deep down, and they were just waiting for me to reveal it.

Yeah, right. Thank you John Hughes. That's how I ended up with triplets and a broken heart at eighteen.

If my life were a John Hughes movie, in this moment where Richard is staring at my child and thinking David is his son, the plot would suddenly give me a reason so that I didn't have to admit that my kids' real dad is his personality-of-a-dead-turtle cousin, William Darcy. Unfortunately for me, I don't have a script and John Hughes is dead, and therefore is incapable of directing my life.

So, as I see it, I have two options at this point: Close the door on Richard and pretend he's not there. Or let him in and explain everything. If I go with the first option, I'm fairly certain Richard wouldn't leave it at that, and would pound on my door until I let him in. So, I guess Option #2 is what we're going with today.

Sigh.

I step into the hall and start closing the door, and say through the door, "David, take James and Olivia to your room. I'll just be in the hall for a minute."

"Who's at the door?" I hear Olivia ask David as I close the door.

I take a deep breath and turn around to face Richard, and brace for the oncoming sh*tstorm.

I see right away that this is not going to go well. The blood is completely drained from his face and he's bent over holding his chest, breathing in and out as if he was having an asthma attack.

"Richard, calm down," I say going to stand beside him as he tries to stop hyperventilating.

"What…" he pauses, trying to breathe, "…the hell…" he breathes, "…did I just see?"

I hesitate before answering. "Uh… that was my son, David," I answer truthfully.

He looks up at me as if I was the biggest idiot in the world.

I panic and blurt out, "During a hurricane, up to 90% of people who die end up dying from drowning." Stupid mouth.

Richard, unlike last time, doesn't laugh at my outburst and instead only glares at me.

"Ok…I'm not helping," I mumble.

"Now I know why your friends told me to come see you," Richard says in a voice completely without humor; something I thought I'd never hear from the affable man.

Damn. Charlotte and Jane couldn't just leave well enough alone. They must have checked up on me and asked Richard if we'd spoken, and then apparently made good on their threat and gave him my address.

As I stand in front of Richard, I wonder if I'm happy that it's only Richard standing out here. It could be worse. It could be Darcy.

Getting tired of waiting for me to speak, Richard yells, "You better start explain to me why there's a mini-Richard inside your damn apartment who thinks I'm his father!" He is mad – red face, flared nostrils, hands clenched at his sides.

OK, so he is really, really mad.

Of course he's angry – He thinks I hid his children from him. I Richard is this upset, I hate to imagine how William would react to this news.

I take a deep breath and say in my best 'mom' voice, "OK, I will tell you… but you have to calm down first." The 'mom' voice is a lifesaver when needing to diffuse stressful situations. I discovered it while trying to convince the triplets that water or milk is better than juice. It's also been invaluable in my career as a lawyer – with this voice I can discuss or debate my way out of almost anything.

Voice, don't fail me now…

Apparently 'the voice' is working its magic today, because Richard's breathing slows down and his face stops looking like a ripe tomato.

As I watch him calm down, he breaks eye contact and I see his entire face fall. Richard is one of those people who are made for joy – I knew that the moment I met him. But now, I see his whole demeanor turn so… sad. Just so sad.

"How much do you need?" he asks as he slides down the wall to sit on the floor of the hallway. He puts his face in his hands.

"Excuse me?" I ask, really confused.

"How much money do you need for them?" he asks, from behind his hands. He's deep in thought as he sits in the cold concrete floor.

"I don't need money."

"You need a better apartment, at least. Something bigger. I assume there's not enough room for all of you. I can deposit money to your account every week. I spend a lot of my time working and traveling, but for now I'll work on clearing my weekends for them." He stands up, his face full of conviction, and adds quickly, "I'll figure something else out to free more time in the long run."

His brain has gone full tilt into 'problem solver' mode. "I'll try to be there for school functions. I can't promise I'll be there for every single one of them, but I'm pretty sure I can rearrange enough to be there for most of them."

I sit there and just stare at him, waiting for my brain to catch up.

He really thinks the triplets are his.

He starts chuckling sourly and shakes his head, "Now I know why your sister was asking me all those questions. I guess that asking Mary for a date is out of the question... No wonder I got that total 'hateness' vibe off of the three of them." He starts combing his fingers through his dark hair and staring into my face. "Damn. So you knew who I was, princess? I don't remember you, but then again, I spent my younger years so drunk that I don't remember half the things I did."

"They're not yours," I tell him. The idea of help does sound appealing, but I won't make him think he's the father just for my convenience.

He starts laughing, still devoid of any humor. "I get why you wouldn't tell me about them for these past… what… eleven years but now that I know, I won't let you keep them away from me," he says, with his anger mounting. "They. Are. Mine."

"No," I reply. "They. Are. Not. Yours."

"He looks exactly like me! Anyone who saw him could tell you that!"

I shake my head again. "I'm telling you, they are not yours."

"Then who the hell are they?!" he yells, his hands in the air, exasperated.

I hesitate before speaking. "Remember when we first met, and you told me you always kept your promises?"

"I don't know how that is relevant in this –" he starts to say.

"Just answer the question," I interrupt.

"Yes, I remember, but I don't see ho-"

I interrupt him again, "Were you telling the truth when you said that? If I made you promise not to say anything about what I'm about to show you, would you keep the promise?"

"Of course I would. Once I give my word, that's it."

I nod my head towards my apartment. "What I'm about to show you will answer all your questions, but you have to promise not to say anything to anyone – especially not… not to their father. Do you promise?"

"I am the father," he says, still convinced that somewhere along the line we hooked up and I got knocked up. How blurry must his misspent youth be if he can't remember that we've never slept together?

"Just promise me," I repeat.

He sighs. "I promise."

I nod my head and turn the doorknob slowly, giving the kids time to run back to their room and pretend they weren't on the other side of the door, spying. As if they'd actually gone to their rooms when I asked them to. I know my people.

I lead him into the apartment, my heart beating faster and faster as I take each step deeper into the underworld… okay, not underworld, but I know all hell will break loose when Richard sees Olive and James, adds that to David and comes up 'Darcy'.

"How big is your place?" he asks, as he looks around my tiny apartment. I can tell he thinks it's small. And it is small. Walk two steps through the door and you're already in the living room, a few more steps and you're in the kitchen.

"Three bedrooms," I say, not wanting to have this conversation.

"You need something bigger," he says.

No kidding, I think. "I can't afford anything bigger." And, honestly, I can't. All my money goes to pay my student loans, food, utilities… The list goes on and on. "But we're fine here," I add.

"Don't worry, I'll get you something bigger," he says, still looking around. "I won't have my kids squished in and living on top of each other."

I roll my eyes. If Richard is like this, I would hate to see Darcy. "We're fine like we are. It's only the four of us." I should have stopped there, but of course my filter-less mouth continues, "You should have seen us when I was still in school, and we lived with my sister and Charlotte. Now that was hard."

He face instantly transforms; the look of contrition is almost overwhelming. "I'm sorry, Liz… If I would've known…"

I shake my head, wanting to relieve his unnecessary guilt. "Don't worry about it. Really. What's past is past, and we made it through alright." We're outside of James and David's room, when I stop before I turn the knob. "You will keep your promise, and not say anything to anyone?"

He nods his head.

I close my eyes and breathe in before I let him inside.

The triplets are all sitting in the floor as if they've been reading the whole time.

Yeah, right. As if.

They all look up at the same time and stare at Richard. David and James look at him with eleven years of bottled-up hate. Olivia just looks up in awe and adoration.

"Guys, this is Richard. He's not your father," I tell them quickly. I don't know if they don't hear me or just don't believe me, but their demeanor doesn't change. Considering how much they look like him, I don't know if I would believe me either.

I decide to go with Olive first. At least she's not shooting daggers out of her eyes. "This is Olivia," I tell Richard. I motion for her to stand up and come towards me.

I look at Richard to see if he's figured out who their real father is. Olive and James look so much like William; there is no way he doesn't get it.

Richards's eyes look like they're about to fall out of his head. The way he stares at her first, then James and David again, I know all of his questions about their paternity are answered.

"You look like a prince," Olive whispers reverently. She's right. Richard is standing there, still in his tux and looking very handsome – I can see why Olive would think he just stepped out of a fairytale.

Then Olive's eyes become teary as she stares up at him. "I was wrong," she says softly, "they're green." Suddenly, she throws herself at him, enveloping him in a hug that almost knocks him over. "But I was right that you would come back for us! James and David said you wouldn't, Daddy, but I just knew you would!" she says crying, burying her face in his chest and wetting his shirt with her tears.

Richard doesn't know what to do. I doubt he's had much experience with children. After a moment he just closes his eyes and hugs her back.

Tears escape my eyes as I see the scene in front of me.

What the hell have you done, Elizabeth Bennet?

Olive steps back from the embrace, but still looks up at him in adoration.

"Olive, honey," I say gently, "he's not your daddy."

She ignores me, still caught up in the fantasy that her father has come back for her, and her Happily Ever After has come true. This is just what I wanted to avoid. I would do anything to protect her from the disappointment when she meets Darcy, her real father, who couldn't care less.

She smiles as she looks up at him. Richard must notice she's craning her neck to see him, so he kneels down to her level.

"Hi. I'm Richard Fitzwilliam, and its a pleasure to meet you, Olivia," He says, his eyes full of love for Olive. Of course he would feel affection. They are family, after all.

She looks down at her hands and blushes. Finally realizing how forward she's been, she steps back looking very bashful and embarrassed.

Richard chuckles. "Just as shy as her daddy," he whispers under his breath.

"You can call me Olive," she says quietly, "like the tree." She looks like she wants to say something else, but she hesitates – opening her mouth, and then closing it again. She finally says, "At the end of books, the handsome prince always saves the princess." She shyly grabs one of my hands and squeezes it. I'm not sure if she thinks I'm the princess or she is.

He smiles a warm, friendly smile at her as he stands up and faces the boys. "You must be David and James." Richard extends his hand for a handshake.

The boys ignore his hand and keep dishing out the evil eye, dislike radiating out of them.

"Look," James says, taking a step forward, "we don't need you. We haven't needed you for the last eleven years, so we don't need you now." He pauses for that to sink in for a minute. "If you've only come back to screw my mother, I have some bad news for you – she's got us to protect her from you this time."

"JAMES!" I yell, embarrassed by what he just said.

Richard just mumbles, "Darcy protectiveness and loyalty, right there…"

"I'd advise you to leave," David adds, pulling up to be as tall and intimidating as his eleven-year-old body can manage.

"No!" Olive cries. She moves to stand between Richard and her brothers. "He's staying!" she tells them, brooking no opposition.

"He abandoned us!" David and James scream back in unison.

"Guys! He's NOT your father!" I scream, loudly enough to get their attention over the shouting.

All three turn around and look at me.

"He's not your father," I repeat again, quietly this time.

"How can he not be my father? He looks exactly like me!" David asks as he stares at Richard.

"I'm not your father, but we're related… I'm your dad's cousin, which makes me your cousin, too," Richard tells him.

"That's pathetic!" James snorts, and turns to his siblings. "He's making it up so he doesn't have to deal with us!"

"William James Bennet, apologize right now!" I tell him firmly. Richard can be a lot of things but he is not the one James should be calling pathetic.

"William? You named him William?" Richard chuckles.

Crap. I just had to name him William. I shouldn't have named him William.

I ignore Richard's question.

"Why should I apologize to the man who abandoned us?" James yells back at me.

"Whoa, there, Junior! First of all, don't yell at your momma. She's too young to be getting wrinkles," Richard tells him as he walks to stand in front of him. "Secondly, you're as charming as your old man," laughing at his own joke. "And thirdly, William? Really?" he says looking up at me.

I ignore Richard again, look at James and say, "And fourthly, he's not your dad."

"Yeah. What your mom said. I'm really not your dad," Richard pipes up.

Everything quiets for a moment as the three finally believe that Richard is not their absent father.

Olive starts crying again. "So if you're not my dad, then where is my dad?" she sobs.

Richard looks to me, clearly wanting me to field this one. I open my mouth but nothing comes out.

Richard sighs. "He's… busy right now," he tells her, "but he will come. I don't know when, but he will. I promise." Richard punctuates this with the stink-eye in my direction.

"Did he send you?" David asks, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He might finally believe Richard's not his father, but David wants to be clear he's still not off the hook.

Richard must know how pivotal this question is because he hesitates before answering. If he says, "Yes," then James and David will hate Richard for doing their father's dirty-work. If he says, "No," it will make it a little easier for Richard, but it will also serve as proof to them that their father doesn't care. In either case, I realize, whenever they do meet Darcy (and Richard is making it clear to me that they will), it is going to be an uphill climb for him. The boys do not forgive easily.

Richard finally admits, "No, he didn't send me, but –"

I interrupt before he tells them something about William, "Look, kids, Richard needs to go but –"

Shooting the stink-eye at me again, Richard interrupts me in return. "…but I'll see you tomorrow after school. What do you think?" he asks them.

Unh-uh. I don't think so.

Little does he know we'll be at their dentist appointment, so we won't be home after school. Ha!

Then Olive helpfully points out, "We have a dentist appointment tomorrow but maybe you can come with us! It's at 6 and we usually leave from here at 5:30." She motions for him to come down for a hug.

Well, damn. So much for my plan.

"I would love that, Acacia," he tells her as she wraps her arms around his neck.

After the hug, he stands and bows over her hand. "It was a real pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess Willow," he says, faking an English accent.

She starts giggling. "My name is 'Olivia' or 'Olive' like the tree, not 'Willow', silly," she says smiling from ear to ear.

Richard smiles, but then warily moves over to the stern looking James and David. He puts his arms up in a mock protective stance. "Wow, you guys make me feel like I'm being attacked on both sides. I need a cover system!" he says, laughing nervously.

He must speak the international language of 'Boy' because their look resembles Olive's awe and adoration, and David asks, "You play video games?"

"When I have some free time."

I have no idea how they gleaned that information from Richard's words… and, honestly, do I really want to know?

"What's your username?" James asks.

"FitzTheKing21." At this, the boys' eyes pop out of their heads.

"No way…" David intones.

"So cool…" James whispers.

"You're my hero –"

"I sent you a request –"

"You have to let us play with you –"

"OK, what are you guys talking about?" I finally ask because now things are just getting weird. Two seconds ago my boys were ready to skin Richard alive, and now they're telling him he's their hero?

"Mom, please don't be embarrassing! We are standing in front of a video game legend!" David informs me.

"Legend?" I stare at Richard and the boys, dumbfounded. "Listen, you know what? I don't even want to know… Kids, let's let Richard go. You'll see him tomorrow." I start pushing Richard out of the room and down the hall.

"Promise you'll play with us tomorrow?" David calls after him.

"Absolutely!" Richard assures them with a smile.

"Bye, Richard," Olive says, as we head outside of the apartment.

"Bye, Cedar," he responds as Olive giggles.

I quickly shut the apartment door behind me, and walk Richard out to the parking lot. We get outside and I brace myself for the sh*tstorm to come.

He leans against the wall, looks down and shakes his head – like he can't quite grasp what just happened. After some minutes he finally speaks. "I can't believe I just promised Darcy's sons I would play video games with them tomorrow," he whispers. His voice is raspy as if he is trying not to cry.

"Richard, I can explain," I lift my hand to his arm trying to console him. He looks at my hand and then up at me and I realize I have grossly misread him. He's not going to cry. He's trying to control his fury.

"Then start explaining, GOD DAMN IT!" he shouts. He turns away from me briefly, and then turns back; he hurls the questions at me one after the other, "Explain to me why you are hiding three Darcys in your house! Explain to me why you never told my cousin he is a father. Explain to me how you even met Will. Were you after his money? But if it was about money, why did you hide them from him? Was it revenge? What did he do to make you so mad that you would keep his children from him?!" he pauses for a moment and looks at me. "Oh… that's it, isn't it?"

I can see the gears in his FBI trained mind spinning, trying to piece it together.

He lowers his voice, but keeps me pinned with his glare, "You saw him yesterday with Charles, so you thought you'd get all dressed up tonight and… what?" Richard starts pacing back and forth, barely registering my presence as he works this out in his head. "You both acted like strangers, so something really big must have happened. Obviously, the kids don't know about him. They think he abandoned them… But I know Darcy would never, ever abandon his children… So he doesn't know." He stops, looks at me again. "So what made you keep this from him?"

"Richard, your cousin wants nothing to do with me."

"Sorry, princess. I know my cousin better than I know myself and I don't believe you. If there is one thing he holds above all else, it is his love and sense to duty to his family."

I plead with him, "Trust me, I was going to tell him tonight. I didn't know he would be there, but then he was… That's why I asked you to get him for me; I was going to tell him. But he made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with me, so I ju–"

"You are an unbelievably selfish bitch, you know that?!" he interrupts. "One big bitch."

"You don't know me and have no idea what I've gone through. You–"

He interrupts me again. "Do you have any idea what my cousin has gone through? You stand here and give me excuses about how he spurned you in some way, so that's why you didn't tell him?! Did that hurt your little feelings? DID IT!?"

My anger is boiling. He has NO idea how much time I spent crying over his cousin! Or the fact that I was pregnant at eighteen. Or how I ended up getting kicked out of my house because his cousin knocked me up and deserted me!

Richard barrels on. "Oh, I totally understand your decision not to tell him," he says sarcastically. "I would do the same thing if I were a selfish bitch like you!" He continues to pace angrily as he dives in to yell at me again. "Yeah, little Olive doesn't really need to be walked down the aisle by her father on her wedding day! She clearly doesn't miss having a father in her life! And David and James are just fine without their father to help them through puberty!… I mean, your feelings were hurt?!" He comes to tower in front me, incredulous; his spit hitting my face as he yells, "You only, ONLY thought about yourself and spared not one care for your children and my cousin! How can you not tell him that he's a FUCKING FATHER?!"

He has NO idea what we've gone through! He has NO idea how badly his cousin has treated me. He has NO right to be yelling at me. NO RIGHT!

That's when I slap him… hard.

He holds his hand to his cheek and glares at me, but doesn't stop. "I see my cousin every day, working his ass off – dawn to midnight – to come home to an empty house, while you come home every night to a house full of laughter and children. That's just not right."

"You were the one who told me he hates children!" I scream at him.

"Random children! I didn't mean he would hate his own children!" he yells back.

Things are quiet for a moment. I don't respond to him as I try to control my anger. He paces further down the sidewalk, trying to do the same thing I assume.

He's wrong. Wrong about me and wrong about his cousin. This wasn't about me being selfish. I was protecting my children. If I were only thinking about myself, I would have gone the easy route and told him – no question, I could have used the help and the money. But, no, I thought of my children first. It wouldn't be worth all the money in the world to give them a father who would desert them. It's better to have no father, than a father who just doesn't care.

"They look so much like him," Richard finally says, now more softly. "David and James look like every picture of the two of us growing up." He chuckles lightly. "And sweet Olive….wow. It's like Willy was reborn a girl." He sighs.

Minutes go by as we both get lost in our thoughts.

Richard's right. They do all look like him. Even David. They have the same nose. Richard has it, too.

He shakes his head, "no father should be separated from his children." He sounds hurt. His mind seems like it's not really here as if it was somewhere far away.

"I have to go. I have a lot to think about. You do, too," he says tiredly.

"Please don't tell him. Don't tell anyone. You promised me," I remind him as he walks out to his car.

He turns around, "Don't worry, I won't tell him," he replies softly, with a sad smile on his face.

"Thank you," I say smiling back.

"I won't tell him, because you will."

Damn.

"Okay, let's go," I tell the three of them.

"He's coming," Olive says stubbornly, not moving from the couch.

"We told him 5:30 and he's late. Maybe something came up and he couldn't come," I tell her. He seemed pretty mad yesterday, and I just can't bear to have them wait for him and then not have him show.

"Mom, it's 5:31, he's only a minute late," James calls from the kitchen. "He'll show."

The doorbell rings.

Damn.

"He's here!" Olive yells excitedly, leaping from the couch to the door. She quickly opens the door and throws herself at Richard in a huge hug.

"Nice to see you too, Oak!" he laughs as he returns her embrace. Olive fakes annoyance at being called the wrong name, but I can tell she secretly loves the idea of him calling her different tree names. It's like their 'thing'. David and James give Richard a fist bump and a high five, respectively, and we make our way out to the car.

I'm trying to keep my cool, and be happy that he didn't disappoint them. But the things he said to me yesterday still hurt. The four of them start chattering away about their day at school. Something about Matt and Robert, and how Olive doesn't like them much. I tune out the particulars and idly wonder if this is what a typical family would look like on their way to the dentist.

I wave them all to the waiting room couches while I sign the kids in. Olive recognizes two boys on the other side of the room.

"Oh! Those are the boys I was talking about. That's Robert and Matt over there," I hear Olive telling Richard as I sit down. I look to where she's looking and see two blonde boys whispering to each other, and stealing glances in our direction. "They're cousins and I hate them," she whispers.

"Why?" I hear Richard ask.

"Robert's a bully, and Olive hates Matt because he gets better grades then her," David explains as he snickers.

"And they go to your school?" Richard asks. The kids told him all about their school for gifted on the way over.

"Yeah, they're both science geniuses," David says.

"That's so easy!" James tells a girl sitting next to him. "The answer is 36. Are you in special ed. or something?"

"James! Not nice!" I whisper harshly.

He looks up at me, startled; as if he can't imagine why I would be mad. "Mom, she's learning how to tell the area of a triangle. A triangle! I learned that when I was three. This is toddler homework!" He turns back to the girl in utter disbelief, "How can you be struggling with it? You're my age!" He truly can't fathom the issue.

The girl looks like she's about to cry.

Richard quickly turns to the girl and apologizes to her and her mom. He turns back to James and chuckles, "Wow, James, you sure do have a way with women. Just like your old man."

"You know," James tells Richard, "I used to think David was dumb until my mom made me socialize with other children. Then I noticed he wasn't stupid at all!"

I want to laugh. It was true. When they were little, James was constantly after me to have David tested. Then they went to kindergarten and hung out with some 'normal' kids.

"They're more than a bit advanced for their age," I inform Richard.

He looks over at Olive, who's reading George Orwell's Animal Farm. "Hey, can I see the pictures of the piggies. I always loved piggies. Is Old MacDonald in it?" Richard asks Olive in all sincerity. Poor man.

She gives Richard a quizzical look. "Noooo… There are no pictures and no Old MacDonald. It is about a pig named Napoleon, though," she says slowly.

"Oh! Does Napoleon go on adventures? Is that the one with the spider?" Richard tries so hard. He really does.

"No, you're thinking of Charlotte's Web."

David, thinking Richard is kidding about all of this, laughs and says, "You're funny!"

James, always wanting to be 'helpful' (see example of crying girl above), tells him, "The book is a political satire, dealing with the events that led up to the Russian Revolution and then through the Stalin era."

"Oh. Right. I knew that," Richard says, trying to look cool but coming off a little embarrassed.

James, who perceives that Richard knows no such thing, continues, "It uses farm animals to depict the different societal and political forces." He sighs, looking at Richard's confusion, and adds, "It's a metaphor."

I lean over to Richard, smiling and proud of my kids, "I told you. They're a little advanced." I lean my head back and close my eyes for a minute. I haven't stopped going since I woke up this morning. I got the kids up and shuttled them to school. Then I made a quick market run, so I would have some food in the house for dinner. After getting back and putting it all away, I rushed over to my court date. Spent all day in court with a judge, I swear… who… talks… so… slowly… I wanted to die. I rush from there to pick up the kids from their after school program, feed them something quick and then get them here to the dentist, so their teeth don't fall out.

Just a typical, easy day.

Listening to the quiet conversation between Richard and Olive is lulling me to sleep. She hasn't left his side since he walked in my door. She's telling him more about the plot of the book, its cultural significance and what makes it still relevant today. Richard just listens patiently and asks small questions here and there.

The nurse comes to call the triplets in, and I rouse myself to stand up and go in with them. Olive is a little scared of the dentist because they had to stick a needle in her gums last time. But I know I need to stay and talk to Richard some more. Maybe in a crowded waiting room, he won't yell at me.

"Guys, go ahead. I'll just wait out here with Richard," I tell them. The boys go in quickly, but I have to assure Olive that there are no needles this time before she goes back.

"You don't read much, do you?" I ask him as I sit down again.

"Nope," he chuckles. "Not if I can help it."

We sit there quietly for some minutes until Richard speaks again. "They are really special children."

"Yeah," I say smiling, "that's one way to put it."

"They are so much like Darcy, it's scary." He shakes his head in amazement.

I decide to ask him the question that has kept me awake all night, "You will keep your promise… right?"

"Yes. I always keep my promises. Plus, this is something I think should come from you," he looks over at me, "and I will make sure that it does." He looks down at his hands for a minute and sighs. "I also think you need to figure out a way to change their minds about him before he's faced with all that hate and anger from the boys. It's not good for any of them, my cousin included."

I nod my head. I know I will have to tell Darcy soon. And I know that I have to get David and James to think a bit more like Olive on the father issue. We're both quiet for a few minutes, listening to the hum of the waiting room.

"Sorry about all the yelling yesterday," he finally says. "I really shouldn't have gone off on you like that. I know I wasn't being very fair." He stops for a moment. "I was just really shocked and upset. There aren't very many Darcys left, and to find you are hiding three of them from Will and his sister… I reacted badly. I'm really sorry." He really looks like he means it.

"What do you mean 'There aren't many Darcys left'?"

"Both of his parents are gone. It's been just him and Georgie, his sister, for a long time."

I quietly take that in.

"How'd you meet my cousin anyways?"

I sigh loudly and close my eyes hoping he'll give me a break on that one for now. I am way too tired for that story.

Realizing that I'm dodging the question, he continues, "Darcy has always been an introvert so I know he doesn't date a lot. And when he does go out, he's pretty private about it, so I've only known very few of the women he's gone out with." I think he's not really talking to me, but just thinking out loud with that 'FBI brain' working. "Out of those very few there's only been one, really, he thought he was in love with… who made him actually think he might want to settle down with and have a family."

What?!

This makes me open my eyes and pay more attention. I'm hoping Richard will tell me more about this 'mystery woman' who pierced the Darcy ego. Part of me is jealous of whoever she was. I mean, here I am raising Darcy's children – feeding them, clothing them, loving them and trying to make them good people. I would not trade them for the world, but being a mom by yourself is not an easy job. And the whole time I'm changing diapers, keeping them from bickering in the car while I'm driving, and wiping the snot from their noses, Darcy is out there with some woman thinking about starting a family.

Well, hit me over the head with the irony stick.

"It was some years back… I never met her." Richard chuckles, "For a while there we teased him that she didn't exist… but she was a big deal for him." He looks at me thoughtfully for a minute, before we drift back to silence.

I wonder for a moment. Could it have been me? I won't lie, some part of me wants it to be true – that maybe I meant something to him.

Quietly I ask, "How'd they meet?" I try to act like I'm not dying to know the answer. "What was her name?"

He scrunches up his face, trying to remember. "I don't remember… something with and 'E'… Elena... Eleanor… Emily, maybe… something like that."

Close, but no cigar.

I close my eyes so Richard won't see the disappointment in them.

He starts laughing to himself again. "This whole thing is just surreal. You have to know, out of the two of us, I am definitely the one most likely to have knocked a girl up in my misspent youth. Huh, who would have thought… Darcy…" He shakes his head. "God! I wish I could tell someone!" he says, still laughing.

"But you won't right?" I ask, making sure he won't tell anyone.

"Of course not. Like I said, you will."

And with his confirmation, I lay my head back again and quickly drift to sleep.

Mommy 101: Sleep when you can.

"…and then the teacher picked Matt, because Matt is her favorite. Even though I totally knew the answer! Life is so unfair!" Olive tells Richard. They're chatting about her day while crushing David and James in some video game.

"Ahh, man! I'm on Richard's team next game!" screams David as he tries his best to blow alien life off the face of the planet. "Die, you alien scum!"

Don't get judgey – video games build hand-eye coordination. Um… yeah…

We've been home for an hour and Richard's still here playing and hanging out with the triplets. First they talked about school, their interests and other basic things, while Richard deftly avoided answering questions about their father. Then Richard and David got into a lively debate about the development of Nintendo's Mario franchise, from Donkey Kong through Super Mario Galaxy 2. Olive contributed to the discussion by trying to draw parallels between Mario's backstory and the plot of Animal Farm. While James engaged Richard in a discussion of how accurately the laws of physics were followed in the original Mario Kart.

I told you. My kids are a little advanced.

I'm sitting back, watching them from the doorway. They are all rolling around on the floor, laughing hysterically at something funny Richard just did. My kids look so happy in this moment. I mean, they've always been pretty happy kids, but seeing them in my home with this man they met yesterday – it's different somehow.

I

Knew

In

That

Moment

My

Life

Had

Changed

A/N: Thank you to all who keep reading my rambles and keep favoriting it and reviewing...it means so much to me!

Please review and tell me what you think of this Chapter.