Chapter 12

When Susan and the twins returned from their latest excursion, Susan could sense the difference in the atmosphere between Carter and Abby. "Ah, it looks like someone took Aunt Susan's advice," she said. Both Carter and Abby smiled at her. "Okay, now I know you guys made up! I'd say you both owe me a debt of gratitude," she said, smiling back at them. She would get the details from both of them later, when they were alone.

"I'm hungry!" Jill announced, tugging on her mother's pants leg. "When are we gonna eat?"

"The pizza should be here any minute," Carter said, which elicited cheers from the kids. "You wanna stay for dinner, Susan?"

"Nah, I wouldn't wanna intrude on the family gathering," she said. Abby gave her a look and gestured towards the twins. "Oh," Susan said. Obviously, they hadn't told them yet. "See you tomorrow, Carter."

"Actually, you won't. I took some time off."

"Oh," Susan said, a smile threatening to turn up the corners of her mouth. "I get it." She winked at Abby.

"Just get out of here!" Abby said, but she had a smile on her face. Susan happily obliged. She wanted to give the happy couple more time alone.

"I'm hungry!" Jill said again as soon as Susan had left. "Could we have some cereal?"

"The pizza'll be here in a few minutes," Abby told her. Jill frowned. She suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, it's Riley!"

They all wondered what she was talking about, but they soon found out. Jill picked up a picture frame from an end table. "It's a picture of Riley!" she said, smiling. "Who's that other boy?"

Carter looked at Abby. Abby looked at Carter. Since Abby obviously wasn't going to be any help in this situation, Carter walked over to the couch next to where Jill was standing, and sat down.

"How come you've got a picture of Riley, Carter?" she asked, climbing into his lap.

Carter smiled down at his daughter. "Actually, that's a picture of me and my brother, Bobby," he said.

"How come it looks like Riley?" Jill asked.

Carter looked to Abby for help. Abby said, "Pizza's here!"

In actuality, the pizza delivery guy had just pulled into the driveway, but Abby was happy to go outside and wait for him. The arrival of food took Jill's mind off her question.

________________________________________________________________________________

"Did you guys have fun today?"

Riley and Jill nodded vigorously. "Aunt Susan took us to the playground and she pushed me on the swing," Riley said. "It was fun."

"I'm glad," Abby said, tucking them into their beds. "Now you guys know if you need me, my room is right across the hall, okay?"

"Okay," they chorused.

"Mommy?" said Jill.

"Yes?"

"Do you think we could live with Carter instead of Uncle Eric? I like living in a princess house!" Jill said eagerly.

Abby bit her lip. "I don't think so, honey. This is Carter's house. We can't just live here forever, you see?"

No," Jill said sadly. "I like this house. It's a lot nicer than our apartment. Are we going back there?"

"No. We might even stay here in Chicago, and we can come here and visit!" Abby said brightly.

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"What did Aunt Susan mean when she said we were a family gathering?"

Abby gulped. She didn't think Jill had heard that. "Ask me tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Good night, Mommy."

"Goodnight Jill. Goodnight Riley."

Abby walked into the kitchen, where Carter was drinking a cup of coffee.

"What's so funny?" he asked, seeing the smile on her face.

"Jill just asked me if we could live in your house forever," Abby told him.

"Why can't you?" Carter asked.

Abby smiled, then realized that he was not joking. "We can't live here, Carter."

"Why not?" he asked.

"It just...wouldn't work," she told him.

He looked at her. "Why not? We could live in different parts of the house if you want." he suggested, which elicited a smile from Abby. "But it would be nice. We could both see the kids and everything. Besides, this house is too big for one person."

"Get a roommate," Abby suggested.

"Well, are you at least planning on staying in Chicago?" he asked her, holding his breath.

She appeared to be thinking for a moment. "I don't know, Carter."

Carter sighed. "Well, why not? You've had four years with them. All I want is for you to stay close enough so I can see them. Is that too much to ask?"

"Don't act like I owe you something-"

"You DO owe me something! You owe me the four years you spend in Atlanta hiding them from me!"

Abby looked down. "Well, what was I supposed to do? You hurt me, and I didn't want anyone to ever hurt my children like that. By the time I found out I was pregnant, I was already settled in Atlanta. Was I just supposed to come back so you could ruin their lives, too?"

Carter rolled his eyes. "Stop being dramatic. You know me better than that. You know I would have done everything I could to take care of them if I had known they existed. But you didn't give me the chance. You kept them away from me because you were mad, but the only ones you hurt were them." Abby was left to ponder his words as he left the room.

__________________________________________________________________________

When Abby woke up in the large, soft, four-poster bed, for a moment she was confused. Where am I? she wondered. She knew she wasn't in her apartment in Atlanta.

Oh yeah, Carter's house. She sat up in the bed and sleepily glanced at her watch. It was 10:30. She leapt out of the bed in alarm. She couldn't believe she had slept that late!

After rushing into her clothes, she went across the hall and discovered that the twins' room was empty. Of course they're already up, it's almost noon, she chided herself. She heard laughter coming from downstairs, and followed the noise.

"And then I said, 'Would you like to dance?'"

"And Mommy said yes, didn't she?" Riley asked eagerly.

"Yes, she did."

"And Mommy was dressed up all pretty so she looked like a princess, wasn't she?"

Abby arrived in the kitchen in time to see the smile spreading across his face. "Yes, she did. She looked beautiful."

Abby saw the mischievous grin exchanged between Jill and Riley, and she knew what they had up their sleeves. They deserve a father, she thought, looking at the happy looks on their faces at spending time with Carter. I wonder how they'll react when we tell them they have one?

"What about that one?" Riley asked, pointing down. Abby moved a little closer, and saw that they were looking at a photo album. A sad smile came to her lips.

"That was when we had a party for everybody who worked in the ER, and-"

"Mommy worked in the ER?" Jill interrupted. Carter nodded. "When?"

"It was a long time ago, before you two were even born."

Jill gazed silently at the picture of Carter and Abby with their arms around each other. She seemed to be figuring something out. Finally, she asked, "Were you Mommy's boyfriend?"

Abby saw Carter's face redden, and she thought, Let's see him try to get himself out of this one. After a moment of silence, he said, "Yes, I was."

Abby saw the excited look Jill gave Riley, and she could see the wheels in her daughter's mind spinning. "How could you're not anymore?"

Abby chose this moment to make her entrance. "Hey, there you guys are," she said. Carter flashed her a grateful look.

"Mommy, Carter bought us some new toys!" Riley exclaimed. He held up an action figure.

Abby felt bad. He had bought the toys that she had wanted to buy for the kids, but didn't have the money for. "That's really nice, honey. Why don't you go in you room and play with them for a little while? I want to talk to Carter."

Jill smiled and nodded. She grabbed Riley's hand and led him out of the room, whispering all the while. Carter must have interpreted Abby's statement as angry, because as soon as the twins had left the room he said, "I'm sorry about getting into all that but I forgot what was in that photo album-"

"It's okay," Abby said.

There was a lengthy pause. "I wanted to apologize. I guess I got sort of mad, but I shouldn't have said what I did," Carter said slowly.

Abby smiled slightly. Good old Carter; always the first to apologize, even when he wasn't wrong. "No, I should be the one apologizing. You were right. I...shouldn't have been gone all that time, and not tried to contact you or anything. I guess I was just thinking with my emotions. I wanted to protect my kids, you know? But it wasn't the right choice," Abby finally admitted.

"You were doing what you thought was best," Carter said. Then, trying to make the most of the situation, he asked, "So, will you stay?"

Abby allowed a small smile to appear on her face. "Yeah, I'll stay in Chicago. It's the least I can do," she added meaningfully.

Carter smiled. "Great. Now all I have to do is convince you to stay here..."

Abby grinned. "Not likely," she asked, glad to lighten the moment, Then, she said, "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something else." Carter waited patiently. "I think it's time for us to tell them." Carter looked confused. "That you're their father."

Carter looked panicked. "Right now?" he asked, smoothing his hair nervously like he was preparing for an interview.

Abby shrugged. "Why not?" she asked.

"Okay."

"Are you going to tell them or do you want me to?"

Carter bit his lip. "I guess you should," he said finally. "You're their mother, after all."

"Okay; you ready?"

Carter nodded nervously. He followed Abby up the stairs, and it felt like the longest trek of his life.