The wind whipped through the city as Doug and Carol walked up the steep steps to Carol's house. Reaching to open the screen door, Carol was met with resistance. "Damn," she muttered, trying again. Nothing. "Here, lemme try," Doug offered, stepping in front of her and slamming a clenched fist into the door. "Might wanna... get that fixed..." he grinned, holding the door open for her.
"Thanks for the advice," Carol replied sarcastically, unlocking the main door and leading the way into her house. "You can, uh, set those empty boxes on the kitchen table," she said breathlessly, lugging her suitcase into the living room and shrugging off her jacket.
"Okie dokie," Doug replied, wandering into Carol's kitchen and taking a look around. "Nice place ya got here," he told her, setting the boxes down and taking a peek inside her refrigerator.
Carol gave him a "heh" in return. "Well, it's not the tidiest at the moment, considering I left in a bit of a rush," she called into the kitchen.
"Yeah, nice place," Doug repeated. "But uh, this milk..." he said, shaking the carton lightly as Carol poked her head around the corner. "...not so nice."
"Aw, man!" she exclaimed. Yanking open the refrigerator door, Carol gave the contents a full inspection. "God, it smells like something died in there!" she said, covering her mouth and slamming the door shut.
"So I take it we'll be going out for lunch," Doug quipped with a grin.
"Did you tell her we were coming?" Doug asked, as they came to a stop in front of Helen Hathaway's house.
"Yes," Carol said, a bit nervously.
"Let me rephrase that," Doug said. "Did you tell her 'I' was coming?"
"She'll be fine," she said, avoiding Doug's eyes and his question. "C'mon, let's just go," she continued, getting out of the car and heading toward the house.
Doug grabbed her arm gently, forcing her to remain rooted to the pavement.
"Aw, Doug, c'mon," she pleaded. "She already knows I went to Seattle. What's she gonna do? Ground me?" she asked with a smirk.
Doug started to protest, but Carol interrupted him. "Let's gooo," she said, taking him by the hand and practically dragging him up the sidewalk.
Helen was at the door before Carol could ring the bell. "Carol!" she exclaimed, quickly opening the door to her daughter.
"Hey, Ma," she responded, giving her mother a quick hug.
"Hello, Doug," Helen greeted him politely. "Come on in," she offered, stepping aside so the two could enter the house.
"Are the twins awake?" Carol wanted to know.
"I put them down for a nap about an hour ago, so they should be waking up soon," Helen informed her.
The three exchanged glances and polite smiles as an uncomfortable silence enveloped them.
"Um, the girls are in your old room, Carol, if you'd like to see them," Helen offered.
Carol nodded her thanks and nudged Doug to enter the room first. "Go see your daughters."
Smiling nervously, Doug made his way into the room, careful not to make too much noise. He pushed open the door and paused there for a moment, almost afraid of entering. Carol stood in the hall, happy that her girls would finally meet their dad.
"Hey there, sweetheart," Doug said softly, leaning over one of the cribs that lined the wall to the right of the door. "You must be Tess," he said, as the infant opened her eyes and gurgled at him. Doug glanced at Carol, who nodded her head, showing him that he had assumed correctly.
Just as Doug lifted Tess from her crib, cries could be heard from across the room. "Ah, hello Kate," Doug smiled, leaning over Kate's crib. "Are you jealous?" he asked with a smile, setting Tess in her swing. "Up we go," he told Kate, picking her up and bouncing her a little to calm her. "Hi, Katie," he said, as Kate looked up at him, calm and silent. "Let's get your sister," Doug suggested, picking up Tess with Kate in his arms.
"You're a pro," Carol observed.
"Yeah, well, you get a lot of practice in pediatrics," he reminded her.
Carol just smiled and looked on as her family began to bond.
"Thanks so much, Ma," Carol said, kissing her mother good-bye. "We'll call before we leave for Seattle. You're coming out this summer, right?" she asked.
"Of course," Helen said with a smile, trying her best not to let her daughter see the tears in her eyes. "Bye my darlings," she cooed, as Doug and Carol headed out the door, a twin in each arm.
After piling the girls and their belongings into the car, the family headed to the Hilton.
"We could always stay at my place," Carol offered.
"My place has room service," Doug chuckled.
"The Hilton it is!" Carol smiled, leaning her head against the back of the seat.
The Hathaway-Ross family made their way through the lobby of the hotel with two screaming infants in tow.
"You check us in, I'll take care of the monsters," Carol offered, taking the girls and their carriers over to a nearby couch.
"Hi, I'm Doug Ross, I have a room reserved."
The receptionist behind the desk gave Doug his room keys and returned his credit card and drivers license.
"Do you have any messages for me?" he asked.
"Yes," the woman replied, handing Doug two pieces of paper. "A Mark Greene and a Leslie Fielding."
The second name caught Doug by surprise. 'Leslie?' he wondered. Suddenly he remembered. He had made plans to meet with her while he was in Chicago - before his plans had been slightly changed. Glancing at Carol, Doug quickly shoved the slips of paper into his pocket and thanked the woman at the desk.
"Let's go," he said casually, walking to where the three girls were seated, all of them silent now. "Finally got these two to settle down?" he asked, picking up Kate and heading toward the elevators.
Carol followed him with Tess, almost cautiously. She had seen the receptionist hand him his messages, and she'd also seen the quick look he'd given her before putting the notes in his pocket. Carol's instincts told her something was up, and she didn't like it.