Chapter Twenty Eight

It had been an extremely busy day. The kids had begged to go to the zoo until Alex relented, which didn't take long. They spent the day exploring all of the zoo's exhibits, spending extra time watching the monkeys play. Meredith had watched as Alex had imitated the monkeys, and the kids in turn imitated him. They had stocked up on all of the essentials in the gift shop, which included an assortment of hats, stuffed animals and balloons.

On the way home, they had stopped at the grocery store and stocked up for the week. Once home, they had settled into playing games, watching movies and making dinner. Meredith had offered to cook, but Zola stopped her.

"No, Mommy! Can Uncle Alex cook?"

"He makes good food!" Chimed in Bailey.

They both chortled at that, but Alex readily agreed.

After dinner, Meredith had been doing the dishes while Alex was talking to Zola in the living room.

"Uncle Alex, do you live here now?" She asked.

Alex looked over at Meredith, who stopped what she was doing and walked out to the living room. They were going to need to talk to her.

"What would you think about that, Zo?" Meredith asked.

"I think it would be great!" She exclaimed. Then we could play every day!" She thought for a minute, then asked, "Where is he going to sleep?"

Meredith and Alex exchanged nervous glances. "Well, he's going to stay in my room." Meredith explained.

Zola processed this the best she could. After a minute, her face fell. "You mean like Daddy used to?"

"Uh, Mer, why don't I take the little ones up and get them ready for bed?" Alex asked, wanting to give the mother and daughter some space.

Still stunned by Zola's question, Meredith simply nodded.

"Okay, guys! Let's get ready for bed!" He called, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. He scooped up Ellis and held Bailey's hand as they went upstairs.

Meredith crouched down in front of her daughter. "Zo zo, your daddy loved you very much. All he ever wanted was for you to be happy. I know how much you miss him."

The little girl nodded sadly. "He was the best daddy."

Meredith swallowed hard. "Yeah, yeah he was."

Zola sat there for a minute, clearly still trying to understand. "Mommy, is Uncle Alex going to be my new daddy?"

Meredith felt like the air was getting sucked out of her. She tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. "Zola, Uncle Alex is always going to be there for you. He will always help you, play with you, and he will always love you. But Zo, he is not trying to replace your dad."

"That's true, Zo Zo." Alex said as he came down the stairs, sensing Meredith needed help. He came over to them and sat next to Zola on the couch. "Your dad is your dad. I never want to take his place. What I promise you, Zola, is that I will do anything for you. I'm always going to be here for you, and I'm always going to love you. My job is to do what I know your dad would have done. Like, take you to the zoo, and have princess tea parties, and feeding the ducks. And protecting you from your Mother's cooking."

This got a small laugh from Meredith and Zola.

"And my job is to help you remember him, too. To tell you, and Bailey and Ellis, all the stories I know about him. But only if that's okay with you, Zo."

She studied him for a moment, then smiled. "It's okay with me, Uncle Alex."

He saw Meredith quickly wipe away a tear. "Come here, munchkin." He wrapped Zola up in a big hug. "I love you kiddo."

Zola smiled. "I love you too, Uncle Alex."