Maybe this time

It'll be lovin' they'll find

Maybe now they can be more than just friends

She's back in his life and it feels so right

Maybe this time, maybe this time

Maybe this time love won't end

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Epilogue

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Walking through his front door, hanging up his suit jacket, Harvey halted in the doorway. He loved watching his girls. Donna had Ella on her hip, holding Aubrey's hand as the little one was twirling around the kitchen. They hadn't heard him come in because the music was blasting loudly since the blender was also swirling at high volume.

When Donna turned off the machine, Aubrey clambered upon a stool at the counter but let herself slide right off when she spotted Harvey. "Daddy H!" she shouted excitedly. Ella wriggled free from her mother's grip and ran up to Harvey enthusiastically.

He had crouched down in time to catch them both. "Hi girls." He wrapped an arm around each of them and scooped them up. Pretending to struggle under the weight he said, "How much ice cream did you eat today, because I swear you are both heavier than this morning."

Aubrey and Ella giggled in that way that only little girls can do. "We ate them all," Aubrey claimed. "All. All gone," Ella confirmed. Harvey pouted. "It was so warm at the office, I was looking forward to popping a popsicle in my mouth." He sat Aubrey down at the counter. Looking at Ella, he tickled her tummy. "Did you eat them, Ducky? Are they in your tummy?"

"One," the smallest one squealed. "Mummy two," she pointed at Donna.

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side, Missy," Donna said to her daughter. She eyed Harvey. "And you, Specter. I'm still convinced you give them pure sugar each night because they are hyped!"

"I can't help it that my dazzling presence makes them excited." Harvey made a gesture as if he was tossing his hair over his shoulders.

Donna rolled her eyes at him but Aubrey giggled. Harvey winked at her and she flashed him a smile. Donna shook her head. Harvey and her eldest were in cahoots together since day one. They were both smooth talkers and Harvey had taught her the art of negotiation. What started out as a negotiation on how many books he would read at bedtime, had become their thing. A competition on who could take their opponent down first. It surprised Harvey everyday anew how a kid in elementary school could go head-to-head with him. She was born to be a lawyer and he couldn't be prouder.

It wasn't just a back and forth of demands, Harvey had taught Aubrey to plead her case and if her arguments were solid he'd give it to her. It had gained him her trust.

Ella generally followed Aubrey's example but accepting Harvey as someone who was more than a fun person that takes you to the park or the river to feed the ducks, had taken time. Harvey had worked hard for this. He had let Ella set the pace but made sure he was always around to be involved if she let him.

They had tried to take it slow, with Harvey sneaking out of Donna's apartment a few times but Ella woke up so early that they abandoned this quickly. They sat the girls down and asked them for their blessing. Aubrey understood very well what was going on and asked Harvey to just keep her mom smiling all the time. She later confided in him that Donna tended to be much more lenient when she was happy. Ella just asked if Harvey would take her to feed the ducks. His yes sealed her blessing.

He had kept his promise and often when Ella was awake really early he'd get up with her and run with the toddler in the stroller towards Brooklyn Bridge Park. They'd feed the ducks, with Ella shouting them awake if it was that early in the morning. A round of all the devices on the playground, always a double check that the carousel was indeed closed at this hour, hitting the dog run to pet some animals that Ella befriended over time. It was there someone addressed him as Dad when they spoke to Ella. He had corrected them but he had to admit, it was those mornings that made him aware of his role in their lives and how his feelings had changed.

He had accepted them, taken care of them, and even loved them for they were sweet girls and an extension of Donna. But as time crept by and he went off on his own with the toddler and she chatted with him, ran to him if she fell, accepting his consolation, overcame her fear of dogs by his guidance, and he monitored her actions from the corner of his eyes as he chatted to other parents, he realized he felt like a parent and loved her like she was his own. The realization warmed his heart as he had been a bit afraid that he would find it rather difficult with Jack around and his own family history with stepdads to go all in, to feel the right thing, but it had happened naturally, without him even making an effort.

If Ella allowed Harvey a lie-in, Aubrey would sometimes join them but more often than not she was still sound asleep, taking after her mom. She was still catching up on the lack of sleep she had in those months she cared for the girls alone in California. Harvey and Ella always arrived home with fresh coffee and pastries and this would usually lure mom and daughter from their comfy beds. If not, Ella would accomplish it with a round of jumping on the beds.

However, for a long time, Ella still wouldn't let Harvey do bedtime. He was fun during the day but at night she refused his presence. They didn't push her and followed her lead. It was an unexpected afternoon that turned this around.

On Wednesday afternoons, Donna would always drop Ella off at tiny tots ballet and then quickly race off to pick up Aubrey from school and hurry back to be just in time for the final twirl of her youngest.

Aubrey was never in the mood for the rush her mother subjected her to on Wednesday. She wanted to chat with her friends on the way out, maybe arrange a playdate or do another twirl on the bars of the school grounds. She had taken every curb, bench, edge of planters in sight and walked them painfully slow. And then she slipped. It was a hysterical scene with Aubrey screaming, lots of blood, and Donna on the verge of tears. It looked worse than it was but the chin that split open needed to be looked at.

In the car, Donna called the ballet teacher, who assured her it was fine and she'd involve Ella in her next class. Harvey was next on her list. He immediately ran out of the partner meeting he was hosting and took the subway to get across town as quickly as possible since it was rush hour. That tiny detail, when he told her later that night, warmed her heart. Harvey hated the subway with every fiber of his being but he just cared about the fastest way to get to her daughter.

Ella hadn't cared for all the ways her teacher tried to coax her into joining the 6-year-olds in her next class. Mommy was late, she had been told, but she knew very well that this was beyond late and sat quietly on the bench along the wall. It was forty minutes into the next class when Harvey opened the door. Ella's eyes lit up when she ran into his arms. As she laid her head down on his shoulder, she cried softly, letting out her anxiety and relief.

Harvey had carried her home, comforting her and promising her with words a toddler understood that he'd always be there if mommy couldn't.

It had earned him her full trust, someone she could emotionally invest in and Ella specifically asked for Harvey that night. Harvey's heart in return had tripled in size when he sat in her bed, she snuggled in his arms with Alfie as she fell asleep before the story was finished.

Since then he was fully accepted into the Paulsen household.

Filling the popsicles mold with the mixture from the blender, Donna felt Harvey watching her.

"What?"

"How long until those are frozen?"

"Four to five hours," Aubrey piped up before Donna could answer.

Harvey groaned. "This heatwave is going to be the end of me."

Donna shook her head at him with a soft smile on her lips.

"Taking on these two didn't have you bat an eyelid," she pointed at Aubrey and Ella who ran off into the garden to their swingset. "But a few days in the high 90s and you go all melodramatic on me, Specter."

She moved into him, rummaging with his tie, as he drew her in, his hands on her hips.

"Well, they have me melting." Harvey pouted.

"The girls or the high temperatures?"

"Both! In equal measures," Harvey laughed as he planted a kiss on her nose.

"I still can't believe you agreed to that hysterical mermaid glitter wallpaper," Donna said, throwing Harvey's tie on the counter. "It still hurts my eyes every time I walk into that room. I was ready to veto it."

Harvey leaned in for a kiss, resting his forehead against hers. "I can't help it. They make me soft."

"So you're saying you would end up in a puddle on the floor if we added a third?" Donna asked softly.

"For sure, you'd have to mop me up. I'm not ashamed to admit that."

Harvey kissed her cheek and started to unbutton his sleeves.

"How about we go for an ice cream at that cart in Prospect Park and pick up sushi on the way back?" He looked at her expectantly.

Donna took a deep breath. "Sure, but I'm going to skip the sushi."

Harvey frowned. "Why, you love their spicy tuna rolls?"

"I just don't feel like them. Maybe in another nine months or so," Donna said breezily but her insides quivering.

Biting her lip, she looked straight into Harvey's dark eyes as realization dawned on his face.

"Are you—?" His eyes grew wide.

Donna nodded shyly. A wide beam appeared on Harvey's lips and he immediately picked her up, twirling her around, Donna softly shrieking as he kissed her fiercely.

"I love you," he whispered in between kisses. "You're giving me everything I thought that wasn't in the cards for me." Donna gently ran her fingers through his hair. So grateful she got her shot of a happily ever after with this wonderful man after all.

Harvey kissed her again as he carefully placed her down.

Donna fingered the nape of his neck. "What are you going to do if this one is a girl too?" She licked her lips. "You are far outnumbered already."

He ran a thumb along the edge of her mouth, looking at her with adoration in his eyes. "Be the happiest man alive."

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I hope I did y'all proud with this one and it lived up to your expectations. Thank you all for this journey. Please let me know what you think in the reviews.