Doug's jaw dropped. Had he heard her right?
"Mine? They're my girls?" he repeated, unbelieving.
"Go away, Doug." She said sorrowfully.
"Carol, I-"
"GET OUT!"
She angrily pointed to the door. Doug hung his head and walked slowly out the door and to his car, driving to his cold apartment, playing sad songs the whole way there. He stepped into a dark lonely home, regretting that he had ever come back.
Beer. He needed a beer. Doug crawled to the fridge and took a cool brown bottle from the shelf, opening it and beginng to drown his sorrows. After he had downed two bottles, he had come up with a solution, that being to call Elizabeth. He picked up the phone and dialed her number.
"Hello."
"Elizabeth, it's-"
"You've reached Elizabeth and Ella. We aren't home, but please-"
*Click*
Doug then remembered that it was only two in the afternoon and she would still be at the hospital. He dialed the number there. It rang four times before someone picked up.
"County General." An annoyed voice said harshly. Kerry. Just what he was looking for.
"Kerry, it's Doug, is Elizabeth there?" he said.
"Doug, you'd better get in here! We are swamped and I swear, if you aren't back from this 'break' of yours in ten minutes, I will fire your ass so quickly-"
"Kerry, just let me speak with Elizabeth, damnit!" He shouted, slurring his words and letting tears show in his voice. Kerry obviously handed the phone to her, since she was the next to speak.
"Doug?" Elizabeth said. "Is something wrong?"
"Elizabeth, did you know they were mine?" He blurted out.
"What do you mean?" she replied, her voice steady as if she were lying.
"The twins. Did you know they were my daughters?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"For the same reason I didn't tell her, because she told me not to!" Her voice had risen from a murmur to a shout. "Doug, let me take this in the lounge. Hold on a moment."
"OK." Doug waited a moment while Elizabeth went into the lounge.
"There, now you can talk." She said when she returned.
"You should've told me, Elizabeth!" He shouted.
"She made me promise." Elizabeth reminded him.
"Did you know I have a son? A son I never met or speak to? I didn't want to do that to any more of my kids and now I have."
"Well, why the bloody hell are you blaming me? She made everyone promise not to tell, even Mark!"
"Mark knew?"
"Of *course* Mark knew, Carol told Mark all her troubles until three years ago. He was there all those times you broke up and when you left and he was her Lamaze coach when she had the twins. He comforted her and held her and helped her breathe!"
"Damnit, Elizabeth! I didn't know!" Doug fumed for a few silent moments.
"I didn't think she'd ever tell you." Elizabeth said quietly, breaking the silence.
"Well, she did." He muttered. "I said that I knew Luka was their father and that I couldn't believe-"
"You WHAT?!"
"I told her I couldn't believe she was so quick to sleep with another guy."
"How could you? Do you know how wrong you were?"
"I didn't know they were mine, Elizabeth!"
"But still, you...." Her voice trailed off. "I'm not going to argue with you, Doug. I'm just going to tell you that I think you should go talk to her and tell the girls."
"Will you tell Kerry for me? I'd rather sit here and drink then go to work."
"Don't you dare, Douglas Ross. I want you to go back to Carol's and tell her you're sorry."
"Elizabeth...."
"Just do it, Doug." Elizabeth said, hanging up on him. Doug sighed and stood, getting his coat and again getting in his car and driving to Carol's house. He knocked at the door, waiting a few moments for Carol or the girls to appear.
His girls. He had two daughters.
His mind rid itself of thoughts when Carol looked out the window. She rolled her eyes and shut the curtain, not bothering to answer the door.
"Carol! Carol, open the door!" He pounded on it with his fists. "It's me, I just came to apologize!"
No response.
"I'm sorry, Carol!"
Still no answer.
"Doug, is that you?"
A little voice somewhere above his head caught his attention. Doug stepped off the porch and looked at the second story window.
"Hey, girls." Doug replied, looking at them in a whole new light now that he knew they were his.
"Whatcha doin'?" Tess asked.
"Trying to get in." he replied.
"Why didn't you come look at our room, Doug?" Kate asked.
"Because I had to go away and now I'm back and your mom won't let me in."
"You can climb up to our window!"
"Get on the porch, we can pull you in!"
"No, girls, I don't think that would work." Doug smiled at their innocence.
"C'mon, try it!"
"Pleeeeeeeeeeease, Doug?" Tess stuck out her lower lip and Kate imitated her.
"Fine, fine." Doug laughed and stood on the porch rail, pulling himself up onto the roof and sliding into their room.
"Do you like our room, Doug?" Kate gestured to the messy room with her hands.
"Yes, it's gorgeous." He answered.
"Thank you!" Tess grinned.
"It's not very clean, though." Kate looked a bit disappointed.
"That's alright, my apartment isn't very clean either." He said comfortingly.
"Can we see it one day?"
"Yeah, can we?"
"Pleeeeeeeease?"
"Pleeeeeeeease?"
"Yeah, sure, girls." Doug smiled.
"Chickadees, who are you talking to?" Carol asked, coming up the stairs.
"Doug!" Tess shouted.
"Tess," Doug said, but it was too late.
"What do you mean, 'Doug'?" Carol came into the room, carrying a basket of laundry, her mouth opening when she saw Doug in the room and the screen from the open window leaning on the wall. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was invited in by our girls." He replied, trying to control his temper.
"Ours? You were never here, Doug, don't call them ours when they are mine."
"You never had the courtesy to call me and tell me I had them, Carol!"
Unbeknownst to the arguers at the moment, Tess and Kate slipped out, heading for a more quiet setting.
"You didn't call, either, Doug! I didn't want you to blow up in my face!" her voice was loud and menacing.
"I wouldn't have blown up, Carol." He said, checking his tone to make it quieter. "I...I love you. I love them. I want them."
"You can't have them, they're mine. They're staying with me." Carol out and out refused.
"They have a right to know. You took that right away from them just like you took it away from me!"
"I won't tell them, because they won't seeing you. They're mine."
"I always wanted to marry you and raise your children. Now I have that chance and you won't let them near me!"
"They'll ask question, Doug! They'll wonder why Daddy wasn't here their first six years and why Mommy and Daddy don't live together." Carol's voice told him she was near tears. "They already think you don't love them." *Or their mommy.* she silently added.
"Fine. Fine. If you're not going to tell them, I am." Doug threw aside the bear Tess had handed him and ran downstairs, eager to his daughters who they were to him.
"Doug!" cried Carol, running after him.
"Girls, where are you?" Doug called through the house. "Tess? Kate?" He looked outside. They weren't there. "Ollie ollie oxen free!" he said, thinking they were hiding. "Come on girls, this isn't funny any more."
"What is it , Doug?" Carol asked.
"I can't find the girls." He said, beginning to look in ever crack and corner.
"What do you mean, you 'can't find them'?"
"I'm they're not here."
"Not here?"
"Not in the house, not in the backyard." He looked on the porch. "Not out front or in the street."
"Little cheeseheads, where are you?" Carol called in a sing-song voice. She went upstairs and ran back down a few moments later. "They aren't there, Doug. They aren't anywhere." Her voice was rigid, her face pale, and her eyes wide.
"Don't worry, Carol. We'll find them." He comforted her, taking her hand.
"No, you don't understand! I have to worry!" she cried. "They're the only family I have! They're all I have to...." Carol stopped speaking.
"To what?" Doug asked.
"To remind me of you." She whispered, letting her eyes drop to the floor. Doug's heartbeat quickened.
"We'll find them." He kissed her forehead. "I promise." Carol bit her lip, letting the tears go. "Don't cry, stay here, I'm going to ask the neighbors. Maybe when they went to play." He kissed her cheek, said, "I love you, Carol." and left, returning eight minutes later.
"Did you find them?" asked Carol, wiping at her eyes but knowing the answer since there were no children clenched onto his hands.
"No." he shook his head sadly and Carol started a new batch of tears. "We'll find them, Carol."
"What if we don't? What if they were kidnapped and we never see them again? What if-"
The ringing of the phone interrupted her vocal thoughts. Doug seized it, hoping it was someone with information.
"Hello?"
"Carol?"
"Elizabeth?"
"Doug, is that you?"
"Yes, we can't find the girls. Have you seen them?"
"As a matter of fact, a waitress from Doc's recognized them from Carol and called over here. Carter went to go get them."
"Oh, thank God...."
"Doug, what is it?"
"They found them, they're at the hospital."
"The hospital?!"
"Is that Carol?"
"Yes, Elizabeth, we'll be there in ten minutes."
"Alright, goodbye."
Doug hung up the phone to see Carol smiling hugely.
"They really found them?" she asked happily.
"Yeah, they somehow got to Doc's." he replied, grinning.
"Thank God," Carol sighed, throwing her arms around Doug's neck on an impulse.
"That's what I said." Doug answered, kissing her on an impulse. Carol responded for a few moments then pulled back, shocked. She touched her lips absent-mindedly.
"We should go find them." She said quietly.
"Take the El or the car?" he asked.
"El. It'll be faster." She replied.
"It will?" Carol nodded. Honestly, she didn't want to be stuck in a small car with Doug, with whom she felt so tensed with at the moment. "Alright, the El then."
"Mine? They're my girls?" he repeated, unbelieving.
"Go away, Doug." She said sorrowfully.
"Carol, I-"
"GET OUT!"
She angrily pointed to the door. Doug hung his head and walked slowly out the door and to his car, driving to his cold apartment, playing sad songs the whole way there. He stepped into a dark lonely home, regretting that he had ever come back.
Beer. He needed a beer. Doug crawled to the fridge and took a cool brown bottle from the shelf, opening it and beginng to drown his sorrows. After he had downed two bottles, he had come up with a solution, that being to call Elizabeth. He picked up the phone and dialed her number.
"Hello."
"Elizabeth, it's-"
"You've reached Elizabeth and Ella. We aren't home, but please-"
*Click*
Doug then remembered that it was only two in the afternoon and she would still be at the hospital. He dialed the number there. It rang four times before someone picked up.
"County General." An annoyed voice said harshly. Kerry. Just what he was looking for.
"Kerry, it's Doug, is Elizabeth there?" he said.
"Doug, you'd better get in here! We are swamped and I swear, if you aren't back from this 'break' of yours in ten minutes, I will fire your ass so quickly-"
"Kerry, just let me speak with Elizabeth, damnit!" He shouted, slurring his words and letting tears show in his voice. Kerry obviously handed the phone to her, since she was the next to speak.
"Doug?" Elizabeth said. "Is something wrong?"
"Elizabeth, did you know they were mine?" He blurted out.
"What do you mean?" she replied, her voice steady as if she were lying.
"The twins. Did you know they were my daughters?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"For the same reason I didn't tell her, because she told me not to!" Her voice had risen from a murmur to a shout. "Doug, let me take this in the lounge. Hold on a moment."
"OK." Doug waited a moment while Elizabeth went into the lounge.
"There, now you can talk." She said when she returned.
"You should've told me, Elizabeth!" He shouted.
"She made me promise." Elizabeth reminded him.
"Did you know I have a son? A son I never met or speak to? I didn't want to do that to any more of my kids and now I have."
"Well, why the bloody hell are you blaming me? She made everyone promise not to tell, even Mark!"
"Mark knew?"
"Of *course* Mark knew, Carol told Mark all her troubles until three years ago. He was there all those times you broke up and when you left and he was her Lamaze coach when she had the twins. He comforted her and held her and helped her breathe!"
"Damnit, Elizabeth! I didn't know!" Doug fumed for a few silent moments.
"I didn't think she'd ever tell you." Elizabeth said quietly, breaking the silence.
"Well, she did." He muttered. "I said that I knew Luka was their father and that I couldn't believe-"
"You WHAT?!"
"I told her I couldn't believe she was so quick to sleep with another guy."
"How could you? Do you know how wrong you were?"
"I didn't know they were mine, Elizabeth!"
"But still, you...." Her voice trailed off. "I'm not going to argue with you, Doug. I'm just going to tell you that I think you should go talk to her and tell the girls."
"Will you tell Kerry for me? I'd rather sit here and drink then go to work."
"Don't you dare, Douglas Ross. I want you to go back to Carol's and tell her you're sorry."
"Elizabeth...."
"Just do it, Doug." Elizabeth said, hanging up on him. Doug sighed and stood, getting his coat and again getting in his car and driving to Carol's house. He knocked at the door, waiting a few moments for Carol or the girls to appear.
His girls. He had two daughters.
His mind rid itself of thoughts when Carol looked out the window. She rolled her eyes and shut the curtain, not bothering to answer the door.
"Carol! Carol, open the door!" He pounded on it with his fists. "It's me, I just came to apologize!"
No response.
"I'm sorry, Carol!"
Still no answer.
"Doug, is that you?"
A little voice somewhere above his head caught his attention. Doug stepped off the porch and looked at the second story window.
"Hey, girls." Doug replied, looking at them in a whole new light now that he knew they were his.
"Whatcha doin'?" Tess asked.
"Trying to get in." he replied.
"Why didn't you come look at our room, Doug?" Kate asked.
"Because I had to go away and now I'm back and your mom won't let me in."
"You can climb up to our window!"
"Get on the porch, we can pull you in!"
"No, girls, I don't think that would work." Doug smiled at their innocence.
"C'mon, try it!"
"Pleeeeeeeeeeease, Doug?" Tess stuck out her lower lip and Kate imitated her.
"Fine, fine." Doug laughed and stood on the porch rail, pulling himself up onto the roof and sliding into their room.
"Do you like our room, Doug?" Kate gestured to the messy room with her hands.
"Yes, it's gorgeous." He answered.
"Thank you!" Tess grinned.
"It's not very clean, though." Kate looked a bit disappointed.
"That's alright, my apartment isn't very clean either." He said comfortingly.
"Can we see it one day?"
"Yeah, can we?"
"Pleeeeeeeease?"
"Pleeeeeeeease?"
"Yeah, sure, girls." Doug smiled.
"Chickadees, who are you talking to?" Carol asked, coming up the stairs.
"Doug!" Tess shouted.
"Tess," Doug said, but it was too late.
"What do you mean, 'Doug'?" Carol came into the room, carrying a basket of laundry, her mouth opening when she saw Doug in the room and the screen from the open window leaning on the wall. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was invited in by our girls." He replied, trying to control his temper.
"Ours? You were never here, Doug, don't call them ours when they are mine."
"You never had the courtesy to call me and tell me I had them, Carol!"
Unbeknownst to the arguers at the moment, Tess and Kate slipped out, heading for a more quiet setting.
"You didn't call, either, Doug! I didn't want you to blow up in my face!" her voice was loud and menacing.
"I wouldn't have blown up, Carol." He said, checking his tone to make it quieter. "I...I love you. I love them. I want them."
"You can't have them, they're mine. They're staying with me." Carol out and out refused.
"They have a right to know. You took that right away from them just like you took it away from me!"
"I won't tell them, because they won't seeing you. They're mine."
"I always wanted to marry you and raise your children. Now I have that chance and you won't let them near me!"
"They'll ask question, Doug! They'll wonder why Daddy wasn't here their first six years and why Mommy and Daddy don't live together." Carol's voice told him she was near tears. "They already think you don't love them." *Or their mommy.* she silently added.
"Fine. Fine. If you're not going to tell them, I am." Doug threw aside the bear Tess had handed him and ran downstairs, eager to his daughters who they were to him.
"Doug!" cried Carol, running after him.
"Girls, where are you?" Doug called through the house. "Tess? Kate?" He looked outside. They weren't there. "Ollie ollie oxen free!" he said, thinking they were hiding. "Come on girls, this isn't funny any more."
"What is it , Doug?" Carol asked.
"I can't find the girls." He said, beginning to look in ever crack and corner.
"What do you mean, you 'can't find them'?"
"I'm they're not here."
"Not here?"
"Not in the house, not in the backyard." He looked on the porch. "Not out front or in the street."
"Little cheeseheads, where are you?" Carol called in a sing-song voice. She went upstairs and ran back down a few moments later. "They aren't there, Doug. They aren't anywhere." Her voice was rigid, her face pale, and her eyes wide.
"Don't worry, Carol. We'll find them." He comforted her, taking her hand.
"No, you don't understand! I have to worry!" she cried. "They're the only family I have! They're all I have to...." Carol stopped speaking.
"To what?" Doug asked.
"To remind me of you." She whispered, letting her eyes drop to the floor. Doug's heartbeat quickened.
"We'll find them." He kissed her forehead. "I promise." Carol bit her lip, letting the tears go. "Don't cry, stay here, I'm going to ask the neighbors. Maybe when they went to play." He kissed her cheek, said, "I love you, Carol." and left, returning eight minutes later.
"Did you find them?" asked Carol, wiping at her eyes but knowing the answer since there were no children clenched onto his hands.
"No." he shook his head sadly and Carol started a new batch of tears. "We'll find them, Carol."
"What if we don't? What if they were kidnapped and we never see them again? What if-"
The ringing of the phone interrupted her vocal thoughts. Doug seized it, hoping it was someone with information.
"Hello?"
"Carol?"
"Elizabeth?"
"Doug, is that you?"
"Yes, we can't find the girls. Have you seen them?"
"As a matter of fact, a waitress from Doc's recognized them from Carol and called over here. Carter went to go get them."
"Oh, thank God...."
"Doug, what is it?"
"They found them, they're at the hospital."
"The hospital?!"
"Is that Carol?"
"Yes, Elizabeth, we'll be there in ten minutes."
"Alright, goodbye."
Doug hung up the phone to see Carol smiling hugely.
"They really found them?" she asked happily.
"Yeah, they somehow got to Doc's." he replied, grinning.
"Thank God," Carol sighed, throwing her arms around Doug's neck on an impulse.
"That's what I said." Doug answered, kissing her on an impulse. Carol responded for a few moments then pulled back, shocked. She touched her lips absent-mindedly.
"We should go find them." She said quietly.
"Take the El or the car?" he asked.
"El. It'll be faster." She replied.
"It will?" Carol nodded. Honestly, she didn't want to be stuck in a small car with Doug, with whom she felt so tensed with at the moment. "Alright, the El then."