Luke squealed and Danny grunted. Liz sighed and Ressler let out a groan.

"Tummy time is supposed to be hard work" said Liz with a yawn.

The bedside table was cluttered with bottles and Liz's breast pump, soothers, a onesie that had an equal chance of being clean or dirty, a blanket and an alarm clock that read 5:45am.

Liz and Ressler were both lying on their sides with their bodies half propped up on pillows, facing each other with the comforter flattened between them. The twins lay on their stomachs on top of the comforter in their pajamas.

"It's way too early to be awake" said Ressler, his words slurring with sleepiness.

"They clearly don't think so" said Liz with a yawn, "they usually fall back asleep good after this feeding yet."

The twins were finally on a steady-ish feeding diet where they woke up twice overnight and they usually fell asleep well after they were satisfied, but that hadn't happened this particular morning.

Danny squealed again and they both smiled at their son. He was holding his head up, but couldn't maintain that for long and it suddenly flopped back down to the comforter.

"Woah buddy" said Ressler, supporting his son's head for him. "You shouldn't be doing that yet" he said, his voice high and sing-songy as he baby talked. Liz laughed. "You're way too little for that stuff. Way too little."

Ressler laid his head on the comforter, his body bent at a very uncomfortable angle. He readjusted, his head left laying about a foot and a half in front of the twins at eye level. A few loose curls fell onto his forehead and Liz gently swiped them away.

Luke wiggled his legs under him and squirmed, falling down again, arms and legs flailing.

"Hey buddy" said Ressler, putting a hand on his head, "you should go sleepy. We have a big day ahead, you have to go visit the doctor."

Luke might not have understood a word his father said but he understood the tone and he did something that neither of his parents was expecting in the slightest.

He smiled.

Not a small close-lipped smile, but a real, gummy grin. His eyes were open and alert, the deep blue orbs focused on his father's face.

"He can see me Liz!" said Ressler. "Actually see me! He's studying my face! He's smiling at me, not just for the fun of it Ressler moved closer and Luke raised his head, his eyes going even bigger then they naturally were. "Oh that's too close" said Ressler, moving back, and sure enough his head fell back to the bed, eyes refocusing.

"Move your fat head Don" said Liz, pushing her husband's head out of the way and lowering her own for their son to study.

Ressler moved over to Danny to try and get him to do the same thing.

"My head's not fat" he objected.

"It's not not fat" said Liz, cooing at Luke. "It's not long like most adult's, it's quite round and large. And you gave it to our sons. I should know because they wrecked havoc on their way out."

"Hhhmmm" said Ressler, bringing a hand to his head and focusing his attention on their other son. "Danny's not doing it. He's no fun."

"Sucks to be you" said Liz, hogging Luke for herself.

"That's okay" said Ressler. "My back hurts anyway." He lifted Danny and straightened out until he lay flat on his back and placed Danny on his chest. The baby thrashed and Ressler boosted him higher, laying him far up his chest. He scrunched up his fine round bulbous nose and let out a cry, his bottom lip trembling and his huge blue eyes erupting with sudden tears.

"Clearly somebody's had enough tummy time" said Ressler, rolling him over to his back and sitting up a bit so that his head was uphill.

"We're not sleeping again this morning are we?" he asked Liz, leaning against the headboard.

"Nope, I don't think we are" said Liz with a sigh. "We might as well get up and shower soon. I actually have to do my hair today. Can't go to the doctor looking like this."

"We'll shower these two too" said Ressler. "It's been four days."

"You know what? Hold that thought" said Liz. "Look" she pointed at the infant laying between them on the covers. He had his legs pulled up close to his body and his face was scrunched tight.

"You little stinker" said Ressler. "That's all you do hey? Eat, sleep and poop."

"And keep us up" said Liz. "Plus, that's how they grow."

"Our kids are boring honey" said Ressler.

"They're not boring" said Liz, watching the babies for a minute. They rolled and drooled and grunted and then did it all over again. "Okay, maybe a little bit."

"But Luke can smile, that's something! Luke!" he lifted Luke and held him a foot from his face. "Luke. Smile."

His hands were full so Liz reached out and tickled him lightly on the belly. He rewarded them both with a cheeky smile, full lips bowing wide in a genuine form that nearly split his face in two, and tiny dimples in his fat cheeks.

"God, he looks like you" said Liz, looking up at the same smile on her husband's face. "Same exact smile." She sighed and stood from the bed, walking around to his side and accepting the stinky baby from his hands. "Nine long months and 17ish scrutinizing hours all for them to be your tiny replicas. Sigh."

Ressler laughed and stood with her, carrying Danny out of the room and next door to the nursery to use the change table in there. Liz joined him and they changed both boys, not putting a new diaper on them.

"Okay" said Ressler, lifting Danny, "give me Luke." Liz did and then ran ahead of him out of the room to start the tub and find their plastic tub seats. "Hurry up" he said. "We gotta beat those little firehoses."

He kneeled on the floor and took off their sleepers before lifting them over the edge and into their baths one at a time. They were big fans of baths, not so much of leaving them, but they liked the warm water and they loved it when someone gently rubbed their heads.

They bathed the twins before taking turns showering themselves and making breakfast.

They left shortly after for the doctor's office with only the twins, dropping Agnes at school and leaving Ethan at home with his Grama Lisa.

"My, my, what do we have here?" asked the nurse, lifting the twins from their carseats and lying Danny on the baby exam table, letting Liz hold Luke.

The doctor examined both babies from head to toe, weighed them and even stood them up on the table to see if they attempted to walk.

"Aren't you like way ahead of the game?" asked Ressler. "We have months before they're walking."

"Yes" he agreed, "but this is the stepping reflex. It should be there from day one, when I stand them up like this and just let their feet touch the surface here they stand and move their legs to attempt to balance. They take a step or two, see?"

"Oh" Liz and Ressler both nodded along.

The doctor announced that both boys were healthy chunky monkeys and made Luke smile.

He asked a bunch of questions and then let them all go home, making sure Liz's appointment was still on in two weeks.

They got home early afternoon and cleaned up some. Both Lisa and Robbie left for the rest of the day, intending to first visit an interior designer and then to spend some time visiting friends.

Ethan kept busy on the playground in their backyard, but it was a beautiful day and Liz wanted to get out.

"What do you say that we go for a walk?" she suggested. "Doctor says I should be walking and we could head out to Aggie's school, pick her up and hit the playground and ice cream shop on the way back. I know that's a decent hike, but it's all sidewalk and we have lots of time, we can go slow."

"Okay" agreed Ressler. "As long as we're back before tonight."

They were having their first friday-night get together with the entire taskforce since the twins had arrived. But because it was so bright and sunny outside they were gonna have a BBQ and grill some burgers and hotdogs.

"I can't believe we finally get to haul out our brand-new stroller!" said Liz, flying to the closet by the front door and digging it out, folding it open. It was specifically designed for twin carseats as well as a seat for one older child if they needed. Which they would, because Ethan wouldn't last 15 blocks. It also had a undercarriage for storage for their diaper bag and Agnes' backpack.

It wasn't the smallest, neatest stroller Liz had ever seen, but even if it was bulky, it was practical.

"Alright" said Ressler, scooping up the babies to change them, bundle them loosely and buckle them in. Liz called Ethan inside and helped him with his shoes, grabbing the diaper bag and tossing it in the bottom of the stroller.

"Do we have that leash thingy?" asked Liz, putting her own shoes on.

"You mean this one?" replied Ressler, holding up the little teddy with the tail. Liz buckled it around Ethan's chest and held the handle at the end of the tail, watching as Ethan pulled excitedly at it, singing to himself some self-orchestrated song with ever-changing lyrics.

"Let's go my lady" said Ressler, pulling the covers on both twins carseats so that the only opening was the little hole that let him see their sleeping faces from where he stood pushing the stroller.

"Better take the carrier too" said Liz, "in case we need it." She tossed it in the bottom of the stroller with the diaper bag. "Man, it's takes a lot of stuff to get out with newborns, even just for a walk."

"That it does" agreed Ressler. "Can you get the door?"


It was so bright outside that for the first time the entire year Liz could feel the heat of the sun permeate her clothing. She even took her spring jacket off and tied it around her waist, laughing at Ethan as he made a point of jumping on every line on the sidewalk without failure every three feet.

The twins were sleeping peacefully, their beautiful faces blissful in slumber, sucking contently on soothers.

Ressler was walking next to her pushing their stroller in a T-shirt and jeans, the slight breeze created by movement pulling the fabric tightly to his torso.

By the time they made it to Agnes' school Ressler had lifted Ethan to sit on the stroller too. Agnes looked shocked when she walked out of the front doors with her friends to see her parents and little brothers standing there waiting.

She ran over, excited, dragging her friends Sophie and Lila over to show off her new little brothers.

"See?" she said, folding back the covers on the carseats, "there's the new babies!"

"Woah!" said Sophie, her blonde curls bouncing. "They look exactly the same!"

"I know!"

"I wish my Mom and Dad would have another baby" whined Lila, who was an only child.

They left Agnes' friends and headed for the park, Ressler letting Ethan off the stroller when he begged for 'down' and then a block lager back on again. He was pushing the stroller with one hand, his other holding Agnes', who was walking between them, holding both of their hands.

Liz laughed lightly and Ressler looked over at her.

"What?" he asked.

"I just realized - this is it. This is my dream. Years ago, Reddington asked me what my dream for life was. I said, 'my husband and I are walking through the park, our daughter between us, holding both of our hands.' Well, here we are." She threw her hands in the air and exchanged an emotional smile with Ressler. "The three boys in that stroller? They're the best bonus life has ever given me. I got it. I got my dream life."

"'Everything's right with the world'?" he asked. "That's what you mean, kinda?"

She nodded and he did too.

"That's it."

"Yah, that's it."

They let the kids play on the playground while they fed the twins, stopped for icecream and then walked home in time to fire up the BBQ.


Ressler stood at the grill flipping burgers. It was right around 6 o'clock, the sun was sinking in the sky but still visible. He had Luke on his chest, wrapped to him using a blue baby scarf. Colin stood beside him, both of them nursing their first beer of the evening. They liked to drink during taskforce functions, but always in moderation. They'd be working on this beer for at least an hour.

Aram didn't drink at the moment, and he and Cooper were seated on the deck near the grill, all the men chatting up a storm.

"Yah, they can both smile now" said Ressler, stroking Luke's cheek affectionately. "We first caught it the other night when they wouldn't go to sleep and were keeping us up. They have to recognize our faces first but then they smile at us."

Colin pealed back the edge of the blanket that hid Luke's face, not covering it, but just because of the angle, and peered down at him, trying to meet his eyes. He attempts were in vain though, Luke didn't know that stranger.

Nathan came running up and distracted him anyways, grabbing his arms with a firm,

"Dad I'm starving!"

Ressler snatched a hotdog off of the grill and, juggling it because it was so hot, carefully passed it to Nathan. He was 11, he could eat it and still dig into dinner no problem.

He beamed at Ressler and then shoved the hotdog in his mouth.

"What do you say?" demanded Colin.

"Thank-you Uncle Don!" he exclaimed and then ran away to play again. There was a serious game of home free going on.

"Just don't tell my wife!" Ressler hollered after him. Liz liked them to eat meals properly, she was always after him to stop snitching out of the pot while he was cooking. She claimed it would ruin his appetite. It never had, but...

"Don't tell your wife what?" asked Liz, coming out of the house and overhearing the tail end of the conversation.

Ressler's face went blank, except for a small smirk.

"Oh, hey honey" he said, turning to face her, and gently kissing her forehead, carefully of the twins they both wore like jewelry. "What?" he asked, innocent as the slowly setting sun.

"You're lucky I put up with you" she said, nudging his chest.

"I am, aren't I?"

"You ready to eat? Those look like they're done."

"They are basically" said Ressler. Colin called the kids who all four came running and they sat to eat.

They were almost finished their pleasent meal when the air was peirced by a scream. Liz glanced around the table, but she knew it wasn't any of the kids. Everyone had stopped eating, even Ethan's cheeks were still, bulging like a chipmunk. She made a point to glance at everybody. Cooper, Charlene, Nathan, Colin, Natalie, Agnes, Aram, Yvonne, Ethan, Ressler, herself, Alina. Nope, they were all fine. It wasn't even coming from the yard, but rather somewhere beyond the fence. Whoever it was that was screaming had a terrifyingly shrill voice that had a way of carrying, because their yard was massive to such an extent that it was usually never penetrated by outside noise.

"That sounds like Betty" said Ressler suddenly, springing to his feet. He was referring to the neighbour lady. She and her husband lived across the street behind their house. He quickly but carefully ripped Luke from his chest and dropped him into Charlene's arms unexpectedly, springing away from the table and sprinting for the back gate. The other men stood up and ran after him and Liz had to lash out an arm and snag Nathan from following his Dad.

They stood up more slowly, with the babies, and then followed the guys.

It was Betty's husband, Will. He had collapsed and by all Liz's non-medical judgement was having a heart attack. Thankfully all FBI agents were required to get some extensive annual advanced resuscitation training and she could see Aram on his knees trying - and failing - to find a pulse. Colin began CPR while Ressler called 911 and Yvonne took Betty aside and tried her best to help her.

The scene was pretty textbook, actually, Liz thought. Her and Charlene watched from the sidelines, along with other gathering neighbours until the ambulance arrived and took over. The kids watched on, awed into a silent reverence, and Liz knew they have to explain some things later, but that was the reality of life. It always ended in death.

She fervently hoped that today wasn't that day for Will, but to be honest, she couldn't be sure.

Ressler offered to drive Betty to the hospital and Yvonne went along, making calls to someone that Liz could only assume was family of theirs, likely a child, if they had one.

They returned an hour and a bit later to find everyone in the living room, awaiting them. The kids were having a coloring contest at the kitchen table by the looks of it, and Liz was nursing the twins.

Ressler shucked off his shoes and sat down beside Liz kissing her quickly and putting his arm behind her on the top of the couch, his hand falling on her shoulder, but making sure not to squeeze the baby between them who was feeding in football hold.

"What happened?" Liz asked him quietly.

He glanced back at the kitchen table where the older three were sitting, seemingly out of earshot.

"Well he's still alive. Their son was there with Betty when we left. But the doctors don't know anything else yet, it's too early."

"Well at least he's alive" said Liz.

"How are the kids?" asked Ressler, "they seen it all."

"They're distracted" said Liz, "but we should probably talk to them about what happened. And it's about time we taught Agnes what 911 is."

"Yah that's something she should know probably" said Ressler, sighing.

Liz readjusted her arm and Ressler brought his own hand up beneath her nursing blanket to hold the baby between them so she could move.

"Just take him" she told him quietly, "he's falling asleep anyway."

Ressler took the baby on his lap, sitting him up on his leg and supporting his head before patting him on the back. Liz fixed her shirt and called Agnes over.

What 911 was and when and how to use it was a difficult conversation to have with a child, but it was one of those things, like muster points and not to hide from firefighters if the house was ever burning, and not to get in a car with a stranger, that kids absolutely had to know.

And Agnes was going to be six in less then a month, they'd already put it off too long. After fielding some heart-attack related questions and showing Agnes how she could call 911 from anyone's phone without knowing the password, they let their daughter go, trying not to scare her too much.

But the events of the earlier evening has killed the mood and by 10 Alina had left, headed for an after party with her boyfriend who hadn't come, Cooper and Charlene had gone home to seek some beauty sleep and Colin had taken his kids because it was past their bedtime. That left only Yvonne and Aram sitting up in the living room with Ressler and Liz.

Agnes and Ethan were asleep in their respective beds and Ressler and Aram had answered the cries of the twins as they woke wet and hungry. They were currently in the nursery changing the boys while Liz and Yvonne went to the kitchen to make themselves a nonalcoholic drink knowing the guys would walk in soon, Liz heated a bottle as well. It was definitely fastest if they fed the twins at the same time, one from a bottle, one nursing.

Aram and Yvonne had seemed off all evening, keeping up appearances for everyone else, but lacking their usual close communication. And being in a healthy relationship herself that ran on nonverbal communication Liz had caught on.

As soon as the men had left the room she had sensed Yvonne's need for girl talk and inquired about it.

"It's just" Yvonne sighed, plunging a dirty dish from earlier into the warm soapy water in the kitchen sink. "We don't talk about it you know? Neither of us admit it, and if you asked him, he might even deny it. Heck, I might. But we are trying."

"Trying?" asked Liz.

"For a baby. Every day. Sometimes several times a day. I mean I can't remember the last time an entire day has gone by and we haven't had sex."

Liz laughed. Her and Ressler on the other hand hadn't had sex in over a month and wouldn't for some time. But this wasn't about them, it was about her best friends.

"I thought you guys had two more eggs harvested?" asked Liz. "What happened to that?"

"Well that's scheduled for May" said Yvonne, "but honestly, we're both impatient. And you two having those precious babies didn't help."

"I know" said Liz, taking her hand. "And I'm sorry that it's hard on you. But I'm not sorry for the twins. Those boys are their father's whole world. And he's mine. They are my family, all of them. They're my sons."

"I know Liz" said Yvonne. "That's not what I meant. I'm not sorry for them either, in fact, I adore them. I'm just..." she trailed off. "I don't know."

"Hey" said Liz, lifting the bottle from the boiling water and heading back to the living room. "I'm sorry. Seriously, I sympathize with you, I truly do. My heart hurts for you. And I know Ressler would say the same, he's told me so, he just doesn't address it."

"I know" said Yvonne. "Nobody does, but that's okay. It's usually not what I want to spend my time during work doing."

They heard footsteps coming up the hallway and then the men rounded the corner, each carrying a baby in their arms.

"I don't know man" came Ressler's voice on the air. "It doesn't hurt to keep trying, that's all I can say."

"I know" came Aram's reply. "But I hate doing it to her you know? Because it's my fault. They just don't swim."

"And there's not much you can do about that" said Ressler. "I mean, May will be here before you know it."

They finally looked up and seen the women sitting on the couch, smiles on their faces.

"What?" asked Ressler, accepting the bottle from Liz for Danny and watching as she accepted Luke from Aram, sitting down and opening her shirt. Aram averted his eyes and Liz covered herself so they could hold a conversation without things having to be awkward.

"Oh nothing" said Liz. "Great minds think alike I guess. You two were talking about trying to have a baby weren't you?"

"We were" admitted Aram.

"And I told him May would be here before he knew it" said Ressler.

"That's true" said Yvonne with a sigh. "But what if it doesn't work again? Do you know how expensive it is? We can't afford it again, not within childbearing years anyway."

"And you know we'd all have your back if it came to that" said Liz, "but it might not. You can't think like that. Gotta stay positive."

"Yah" said Aram. "And in the meantime we've taken all the fun out of sex."

"So stop for a bit then" said Ressler. "You know you have another chance coming up in May. Try that first, if what you say is true then your odds are better with science on your side anyway. There's no shame in that."

"You guys have to do what works for you" said Liz, readjusting the feeding babe on her chest. "Nothing more, nothing less."

Ressler sat Danny up to burp on his leg and his eyes fluttered open, glancing around the room, his mouth open as he drooled on the cloth Ressler was dabbing at his mouth with.

"On the bright side" said Liz to Yvonne. "At least you haven't have to know what it feels like to push a ten pound bowling ball out of your hoohah. I did two. By the way honey" she said, turning to Ressler. "If we ever have anymore of your giant-headed babies they are coming out the side door."

Everyone laughed. "No argument here" said Ressler.

He looked at Aram. "And you haven't seen your wife nearly dying in pain and been able to do absolutely nothing at all to help her."

"Having babies isn't all a walk in the park" said Liz. "You get fat, you get stretch marks, you pee every five minutes, you are emotional, you retain water, you get so unproportional that the muscles in your back give up altogether. Everything hurts. But then you feel the baby move, even once and it all goes away. It's magic, how that works. You'll know what I mean one day, I'm sure of it."

"And believe me" said Ressler, "they move a lot. At least these two did, although they were especially squished I guess."

Conversation flowed for a bit as they shared intimate details with each other, one couple preparing and comforting the other. Liz and Ressler answered questions about their pregnancy, glad that their friends still had hope enough to ask them - what it had been like, how bad morning sickness actually was, if you could actually see the babies move through the skin, if you could feel it inside (both solid yes's Ressler confirmed). It was somewhat of a weird conversation to be having between friends, but the two couples had grown unforseeably close over the past year and they were open to it.

Aram and Yvonne like the chance to be able to share their struggles, to ask questions they felt weird asking a doctor or Google, and to know that they had people who would always be in the corner.

By the time they left an hour and half later the twins were both sleeping and Liz and Ressler were more then ready to do so themselves. But Aram thanked them sincerely and Yvonne hugged them and they knew that just being willing to have those conversations, to help them ease their minds of their worries for a night had helped. And they thanked them profusely, promising to keep them updated.

Then they went home and collapsed in their own bed, not having mechanical sex for once and got a good refreshing sleep.