AN: Thank you as always for your wonderful comments - they truly make my day :) I'm glad you liked their date - it looked too cute in the promo pics not to include it here! So this chapter has a pivotal moment for them moving forward - hope you enjoy :)

CHARLES

It was Friday afternoon and Charles was still on a high from his date to Battery Park with Liza last night. They'd sat in the park cuddled up on the bench for about two hours, talking and laughing - not able to get enough of hearing little stories about each other. When the temperature started to drop they'd walked hand in hand back to their cab and headed back to Charles's house. He didn't ask her if she'd stay over, it just seemed to be an unspoken agreement that they'd spend the night together as he had the house to himself. He wasn't sure if she'd done it consciously or unconsciously, but over the last month she'd left bits and pieces of her things at his house, and he now had a drawer in his dresser that he'd cleared out and now held a few items of her clothing, a hairbrush and some toiletries. He'd even taken note of the shampoo brand she used and picked up a bottle when he went grocery shopping so that she'd feel at home when she stayed over. The smile on her face, and the tender kiss she placed on his cheek, when she saw it in his bathroom told him she appreciated the gesture.

When they'd got back to his house, the air around them had been electric and as soon as the front door had closed behind them, their mouthes met, tongues collided and coats were discarded as he pressed her against the wall and reaquainted himself with the feel of her body. Their need for each other was desperate as they fumbled with clothing, without breaking the kiss. They'd tripped on the first step and started giggling as he'd fell on top of her. He remedied the situation by scooping her up in his arms, eliciting a suprised squeal from Liza, and carried her the rest of the way up the stairs and into his bedroom. It wasn't long before the rest of their clothes were forgotten and the world around them was forgotten as they lost themselves in each other once more. They'd made love to each other all through the night, until they collapsed into a satiated tangle of limbs and fell asleep in each other's arms.

They'd both had huge grins on their faces during the morning meeting, and he'd had to really try hard to concentrate on what everyone else was saying and not stare at her. His concentration skills and restraint had been further tested when he and Liza had had a conference call with their rockstar author. It had started out with them holding hands under the table, like teenagers in school, but when her leg had accidentally brushed against his, all the blood in his body had rushed south. Liza had expertly handled the rest of the call, as his ability to form logoical thoughts was severely impaired. She looked amused at his flustered expression and he guessed it was true what they say about women being better at multi-tasking.

Liza had found excuses to swing by his office a couple of times during the afternoon and they'd had a few precious moments together. He smiled as he thought of how much he always looked forward to their next interaction.

It wa 3 PM now and he was leaving early to pick the girls up from school. He wanted to spend some time with them tonight so he could talk to them about Liza. He was a little nervous - he knew they liked Liza, but he wasn't sure how they'd handle the idea of another woman in his life. They were excited to see him as he rarely finished work early enough to pick them up. They were even more excited when he told them he was taking them to their favourite icecream parlour. He watched happily as they tucked into their desserts and marvelled at how they managed to pack so much away into such small bodies. He listened and laughed at their childish enthusiasm as they animatedly told him about their days, and smiled proudly as he thought about how amazing his two little girls had turned out.

As the girls took a breather between their icecreams and their milkshakes, Charles considered the best way to approach the topic. "So, you know how Mommy and Daddy haven't been together for a while?" he began.

Nicole nodded, "Mmmhmm - Mommy left and now you're getting divorced." He had to hand it to his eldest daughter - she was nothing if not to the point.

"And how do you feel about that?" he asked tentatively. He really hoped they weren't holding out for him and Pauline to get back together.

Nicole and Bianca looked at each other then Bianca spoke for them both. "It's okay - it was strange at first Mommy not living with us, but we're kinda used to it now."

"And you seem happier now Daddy, and we like that" Nicole added.

"Yeah, you smile a lot now" Bianca chimed in.

Charles smiled - his daughters were more observant than he thought. "I am happy. And Mommy's happy too. And even though we're living in separate houses, we still love you so much - and you'll still get to see us both all the time." The girls nodded and it seemed like they understood. Now was the trickier bit to explain. "How would you feel if I told you that the reason I've been happier lately is because I've been spending time with another lady?"

Nicole looked alarmed and Bianca's face fell. Charles's heart sank at their reactions – maybe they weren't ready for this. "Is it that Rahda lady?" Bianca asked. Charles sighed in relief - maybe it wasn't that they were averse to the idea of him being with someone else, just that they were particular about who it was.

"No. It's definitely not her" he assured them.

Their collective sigh of relief was almost comical. "Good, because I don't think she really liked us" Nicole replied.

"Yeah, she was mean" Bianca added. Looking back, Charles didn't really know why he'd got together with Rahda in the first place. He'd never had any real feelings for her and she never seemed to gel with the girls – not like Liza had. He reasoned it was a misguided attempt to get over his feelings for Liza, but he should have realised that was never going to work.

"It's not her – don't worry. So, you wouldn't have a problem with me being with someone else?" He waited with bated breath for their answer.

"As long as she's nice" Nicole replied, smiling at him. Charles smiled back – sometimes she seemed so wise and mature for her age.

"Yeah, and she has to like playing with us too" Bianca chipped in. Charles chuckled – everything should be as simple as it is through the eyes of a child.

"So, someone nice and who likes playing with you?" He was pretty sure Liza ticked those boxes.

"Yeah - like Liza"

"Yeah, Liza's really fun to play with."

Charles blinked in surprise, not having expected them to make suggestions. "You girls really like Liza don't you?"

The girls nodded. "She's really funny, and she makes the best cookies" Bianca informed him.

"What about if it was Liza?" Charles asked tentatively, "what if I told you that she was the one that I've been spending time with?"

Nicole and Bianca contemplated this and regarded him curiously. They looked at each other and seemed to engage in their sister telepathy before looking back up at him.

"Would she be your girlfriend?" Bianca asked.

"She would be, yes" Charles watched them as they took in this information, waiting to see what their verdict would be.

"What would we call her?" Nicole asked. She was older so she was thinking more about the dynamics and the concept of stepparents.

Charles smiled at them and spoke softly as he explained. "You'd just call her Liza, just like you always have done. And she'd still do all the fun things with you that she did before - she'd still play games with you, make cookies, and read you stories. So what do you think?" He'd spoken to Liza about this and she didn't want the girls to feel like she was trying to replace their mother, but she wanted to be involved with them and for the girls to know that she'd be there for them if they wanted her to be.

After some more sister telepathy, they looked at him and smiled. "We think it's a good idea" Bianca declared.

Charles breathed a sigh of relief. "You do?"

"Yeah, we want you to be happy Daddy" Nicole added.

He smiled in gratitude at his amazing, empathetic daughters and reached across the table and took one of each of their hands in his. "Thank you."

"Can we have some more icecream?"

Charles laughed – it was going to be okay. He had the approval of the only two people whose opinions mattered to him.

When Saturday rolled around, Charles was a little less nervous now that he'd spoken to the girls and they seemed okay. He'd cooked for the four of them – he'd asked Liza what she'd like, but she'd just said that she would be happy with anything and to make something that the girls would like. He was pretty sure she was nervous about coming over today, even though he'd told her about his conversation with the girls. It meant a lot to him though that she valued his daughters opinions and wanted them to be happy.

She texted him to say that she was on her way over, and when the doorbell rang he didn't have chance to answer it before the girls sprinted over and flung the door open. Liza looked a little startled but quickly recovered and smiled widely at the girls. "Hey Nicole, Bianca. Wow, you girls have grown so big since I last saw you!"

The girls beamed up at her, clearly liking Liza's comment that they'd grown. "Can I take your coat?" Nicole asked her.

Charles raised an eyebrow in surprise – they were never this courteous with guests.

"Thank you Nicole, that's very kind of you" Liza replied as she shrugged off her coat and handed it to Nicole.

"I wanna take it" Bianca whined, nudging her sister.

Oh, this could turn into an argument. Charles needn't have worried though because Liza effortlessly diffused the situation. "Oh, well why don't you take my scarf?" she appeased Bianca, smiling at her as she handed her the scarf.

Bianca was happy with this compromise and smiled at Liza before both girls ran off to the cloakroom with Liza's things.

Charles chose this moment to approach her. "Hey" he smiled, greeting her warmly.

"Hey" she breathed, returning his smile.

He placed his hand on her hip and leaned down, kissing her tenderly on the cheek. "They like you."

Liza beamed at the compliment. "Well I like them too."

As the girls came stampeding back over to them, Liza turned her attention solely on them and he smiled seeing the natural motherly instinct in her.

"Liza, do you want to play Polly Pocket with us before dinner?" Bianca asked.

"Of course I do - I love Polly Pocket!" Liza replied enthusiastically.

"Cool! Daddy tries to play but his fingers are too big."

Charles grinned as the girls grabbed Liza's hands and pulled her up the stairs to their playroom, chattering animatedly all the way. Liza looked over her shoulder and smiled at him, letting him know that she was fine. He checked on dinner and gave them about 10 minutes before he quietly crept up the stairs to check on them, wanting to make sure the girls weren't terrorising Liza.

He peaked round the playroom door unnoticed, and the scene he was met with melted his heart. The three of them were sat on the floor, Polly Pockets scattered all around them. Liza was putting on silly voices as she picked up various characters and the girls were giggling, totally enraptured by her. He was about to turn and go back downstairs, wanting to give them their time together, when Bianca asked a question.

"So are you Daddy's girlfriend now?"

Liza was caught a little offguard. "erm, yeah - I guess I am."

"Do you love him?" Nicole asked, causing Bianca to giggle.

"I do – very much." Charles smiled – he would never tire of hearing that.

"Good" Nicole replied. It was a simple as that for her – all she needed to know was that Liza loved him. And with that, they went back to playing Polly Pocket.

Charles felt like he would burst with happiness as he made his way back downstairs, listening to the giggles of the three most important people in his life. This was it for him – this was all he would ever want.