Chapter 3

Eventually, the doctor and nurses left them alone to enjoy their babies. If the anyone in the delivery room thought it was the least bit odd there was two fathers they kept their opinions to themselves. Connor got the real story when he went to get some tea.

"They think you're a surrogate! They think we're the parents and you're our surrogate mum!" He blurted out quietly when he returned. "Icky." He tried to ignore the brief stab of jealousy that rose up in him when he saw that James was laying on the bed next to Abby, helping her hold the twins while they slept.

"That makes sense. It explains why no one asked any personal questions." He commented. "The nurse is coming in to do the DNA test in a bit."

Right on que, a new nurse walked in with some cotton swabs in her hand.

"Good morning." She said cheerfully, "I understand we're doing a paternity test today?"

"Yes." Connor answered her from his chair next to the bed. Her professionalism ruled when she simply swabbed inside the mouth of the babies, and Connor and James.

"How long will this take?" Abby asked.

"Anywhere else this would be a send out test and it could take up to a week, but you have good luck and perfect timing. We perform it in house every Monday and Thursday and this is your lucky day. First shift will run it when they get here at six. You could have the results by four."

The moment of truth was rapidly approaching. "Abby, we've got to start calling people as soon as it gets a little later." Connor said, "They'll think it's odd if we don't."

"And I can't be here when you do." James said. He kissed Abby on the cheek and touched the babies one last time before sliding off the bed. "I've got to go in and look as if I didn't stay up all night."

"So I got tomorrow off right?" Connor said cheekily as he smoothly took over the spot James vacated. "It's only fair!"

"I don't see how it's fair, but knowing how badly I'd like to stay I won't deprive you of it. I'll tell Burton I've given you the rest of the week off. He can whinge at me about it."

"Thanks mate." Connor called after him as he left.

Jess squealed into the phone when Abby called her and in the background she heard a man's voice whispering something. "Can I come see them now?" Jess pleaded with her, "There's time before work, do you feel up to visitors?"

"Sure." Abby said, and then with a wicked grin she added, "and bring Becker. I know he's awake." From her friends horrified gasp she knew that she had hit the nail right on the head.

"How long have you two been sneaking around?" Abby demanded. "Don't lie, I'm tripping on pain meds and could say just about anything."

"Um...three months...we were keeping it quiet so we didn't run afoul of Lester's sexual harassment and workplace dating policy."

"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that." Abby had read that memo and laughed herself silly. "Well, I don't think he's ever actually enforced it unless you get caught shagging in a storage closet like Munson and Taft." That was legendary office gossip.

"We don't want to risk it." Jess replied, "and besides, it's nice not having people staring and speculating at us all day. If everyone knew it'd be a bit like being in a circus."

"I totally know how you feel." Abby wholeheartedly agreed.

As expected, Burton threw a fit when Lester told him that he'd given Connor the rest of the week off to spend with his new family. Lester let him rant for a while before finally pointing out that at the end of the day, Connor worked for him and was only on loan to Burton's company. Annoying Burton would normally be the highlight of his day, but this was a special day.

It was hard to slide into the routine. Jess had taken some pictures on her phone that he caught her showing off around the detector when she was supposed to be working. The small, entirely female crowd was a big tip off that no work related conversation was going on. It was always a baby or an engagement ring that drew them like magpies.

He busted up the party with a few well placed comments about personal time and thought about dressing down Jess for starting it but she beat him to it. That was her latest strategy for staying out of trouble. Taking the words out of his mouth.

"I know I shouldn't have but look," She held up a photo showing the twins laying side by side facing each other, "aren't they so adorable? I couldn't resist showing Matilda, and then Julie came over and Mandy and it just got out of hand."

He pursed his lips and took the phone away from her to examine the picture closer, well aware that he was pretending never to have seen them before. "I will admit they are cute," he said grudgingly, "and I truly hope they take after their mother and not their father. Now if it's out of your system now?"

"Right, back to work." Jess stuck her phone back in her purse and was thankful he didn't come over when she had the picture of Becker holding the little girl out.

Back at the hospital Abby was taking her first shower as a mum while Connor watched them. She came out of the bathroom dressed in a comfortable button up nightie that was more like a dress than a nightie.

Connor was laying on the hospital bed with an armful of twins looking terrified of moving. That was exactly how she had left him fifteen minutes before.

His eyes latched on to her, "Abby, I've got a cramp, do you mind?"

"You've got a cramp? What do you think I went through last night?" She teased him as she lifted the second baby up so he could move. It was the boy. Abby carefully slid into bed beside him. "I don't ever want to hear you complaining about cramping."

"I'm sorry, you're amazing." He kissed her forehead, "I can't stop looking at them. They're cute when they're asleep." He caught her look, "And when they're not asleep. They're just all around cute, cuter than a baby cat- I'll just stop talking now. I'm over excited."

Abby settled herself in under the blankets and cuddled her son close. "Seriously, what do you want to name them?" Connor asked her once he got full control of his mouth again. "I've moved beyond my desire to name them after a Jedi Master and the head of the New Republic. Not bad names to live up to all the same."

"I want to wait, until we get the results of the test before I say anything. I'd feel weird discussing names when I'm not even sure..."

"I know what you mean Abby. I want them to be mine so bad, and then I feel bad because I know James feels exactly the same way, and then I feel weird I can emphasize with him. It's very confusing."

Overcome with emotion, Abby kissed him, then turned back to study the babies. They were were both dark haired, with little white speckles on their skin. The doctor assured her that that would wear off in a day or so. When they opened their eyes they couldn't tell the color, his were dark, probably brown and hers were much lighter, almost a slate gray color that could change to anything as she grew.

Abby started counting the little fingers and little toes again, marveling at how tiny their fingernails were. Connor watched her be maternal and swore that he'd do whatever he had to to make her happy.

As the afternoon wore on they kept glancing at the clock in the corner. Abby had spoken to the doctor and when the results of the paternity test arrive they wouldn't be told until no one was there except for the three of them.

When six rolled around Jess, and some other ladies from work came in. Connor went out to get some dinner and let the ladies make cooing noises without a male audience although Abby could have told them that he had spent the entire day making those same noises at the babies.

He ran into Jack in the corridor by the elevator on his way back. "Hey!" Jack greeted him with a handshake. "I understand congratulations are in order?"

"Thanks mate, wanna see them?" Connor spun around and led the way into the room. He showed Jack into the room and stood by proudly as Abby showed off his new niece and nephew. Discretely, Connor pulled out his phone and texted James, 'lots of people here, don't come now. Visiting hours end at nine so come after that. Abby can give permission for you.'

A minute later he got a reply, 'test?'

'Don't know. Tonight. Awkward questions if we looked at the results now.'

They didn't know it but they both mentally thought the next three hours are going to be miserable.

They were right. James ended up pacing around his condo on pins and needles. Connor was just as edgy but people chalked that up to being a new dad. Only Abby knew the real reason. At eight thirty the floor nurse stuck her head in and told the crowd of well wishers to wrap it up, they had to leave at nine. Most people took the hint. Jess stayed the longest, but she was getting her baby fix on. Becker wasn't going to be happy about this when he saw her later. She wanted one now...

Finally Jess left. "I wonder if I should warn Becker that she wants one now?" Connor mused aloud. "She held sweetie more than I did." He had nicknamed the girl Sweetie and the boy Junior.

"I think he can figure it out for himself." Abby replied dryly. "Is the floor clear yet?"

Connor did a quick recon mission around the recovery floor to make sure all of their visitor had left before he returned and called James.

James answered on the first ring. Connor asked, "How far away are you?"

"In the parking lot." Where he had been hiding for the last hour. "Have they all left yet?"

"Give it a few minutes just to make sure no one is hanging about in the gift shop before you come up. I'll meet you at the elevator." Connor promised him.

Abby flipped the sealed envelope that held the results over and over in her hand. The doctor had slipped it to her right after everyone left when she did her final exam for the evening. Junior was sleeping in his incubator and Abby was nursing Sweetie when Connor returned with James.

Connor looked away while they embraced. He tried not to think about how weird this was, but it was the way it was. Abby pushed herself up further in the bed. "Are you ready for this?"

"No. But go on." James said, looking more nervous than Connor or Abby had ever seen him. She ripped the envelope open and pulled out the single sheet of paper. Her eyes scanned down it rapidly and and Connor pleaded, "Abby don't keep us waiting here, I might pass out."

She took a deep breath before she answered them, "It's the most complicated answer."

Connor felt his heart stop. They weren't his. They were James's. Those adorable, wonderful babies he had spent the whole day falling in love with weren't his.

Dimly, he heard Abby as kept she talking, "Connor, you have a son...James, you have a daughter. What are we going to do?"

"Junior's really mine?" Connor swayed with shock, "seriously?"

Abby rolled her eyes at him. "Yes. Really." He walked over to the infant incubator and touched his son on his hand. On reflex the baby grabbed his finger. "I have a son." He looked like he was going to start crying with happiness. "This is the best thing ever." James looked away from Connor's moment to zero in on the little pink blanket in her arms.

"Here," Abby patted the bed beside her, "come hold you daughter." Still stunned, James did as she asked. She passed the little girl over. She fussed a little when James took her but quieted down as he rocked her a bit. "She's beautiful Abby."

"I know. She's my daughter isn't she?" Quite rightly Abby was proud of her. "Now we can talk about names."

Two days later they took Nick Thomas and Amelia Grace Maitlan home from the hospital. The birth certificates were filled out correctly, but they all decided that even though people were going to figure it out when the twins started to talk, putting the moment of truth off a few years was a good thing. Abby wasn't married to either of her men anyway.

That night they waited until the babies fell asleep before making plans.

"How are we going to do this?" Abby asked them as they all sat on the couch together. "I know you want to be around her every second." She turned to James. He had spent the whole evening carrying Amelia around, except when Abby was feeding her. Abby didn't even have to change her diapers when James was around, an example Connor should follow if he had any sense.

He had already thought of that, "A few months ago the condo next to mine came up for sale. I optioned it, the option doesn't run out for another three weeks."

"You what?" Connor wasn't big on real estate terms.

"Optioned. It mean they can only sell it to me if I decide I want it and I have a few weeks yet to decide if I do."

Abby clicked to the possibilities sooner than Connor. "So if they were yours...we could move next door to you and no one would need to know how freaky I am."

"You're not a freak." Connor said sharply, "it's just too complicated for public consumption. Next door huh? We could put in an interior door, out of sight. We wouldn't all be living together...exactly."

"No. We wouldn't. Frankly until a few days ago I was positive I couldn't live with anyone long term. But the thought of watching Amelia grow up from a distance disturbs me."

"So what? She'd have a room in your place?"

"Not right away!" James protested, "She's a baby. When she's much older, I'd like her to live with me, but you'd only be next door. Technically, in the same condo if we join them with a door. It'd be like living on opposite sides of a house. People are going to work it out anyway once they start to talk and one twin calls me daddy."

"Yeah. Maybe." Connor was doubtful. He liked their flat.

Abby could see his mind trying to find a way to veto the idea. "Connor, they're twins. We can't raise them separately because we're all selfish people. It's not fair to them. What if it was reversed. What if I was openly dating James and you were the secret? What would you want us to do?"

"Ah hell Abby, there you go playing to my better nature." He rubbed his face and then grinned. "I suppose we might do a walk through, check out the neighborhood. Not sure about the neighbors though, I hear he's a bit dodgy."

James tried and failed not to smile at him. "It's a mirror image of my place. We can put a door in the back of the hall closet and then no one would see it as long as we kept the closet door shut on both sides."

"Thought about this much have you?" Connor ribbed him.

"A bit." James retorted, "Amelia's the only child I'm ever going to have. I'd be a horrible father if I let her grow up without me." He winced, "I'd be my own dad."

"My dad died when I was little." Connor volunteer to try and break the silence, "I was only eight. My mum tried to be mum and dad to me but...a kid needs a dad."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

While she encouraged her males bonding, this was getting to be a bit too morose for her. Abby coughed to get their attention. "I'm glad we're all agreed. How much will it cost?"

Connor winced when James told them. "I can cosign the note, if you can qualify. I expect you can. I gave you two an excellent credit rating when you came back." He grinned. Connor's was slightly worse than Abby's, but as he told him when he complained about it years ago, identical scores would have been suspicious.

"Let's do this then."

No one from work had ever been to Lester's house and he made sure to stay out of sight when Jess and Becker were helping them move. Actually, Jess was helping Abby with the twins and Becker was just tagging along to try and keep the baby longing in her to a minimum. He had a theory after she'd changed fifty or sixty nappies she wouldn't be so baby crazy. So far it wasn't working.

They had hired movers to do the actual heavy lifting. Connor and Becker were assembling their new entertainment center while Jess and Abby were unpacking the nursery stuff. The babies were safely laying on the floor on a thick mat with pillows all around them to keep them from escaping, even though they couldn't roll over. This would not be a good time for them to figure it out.

"This is such a posh building," Jess raved when she saw the place, "I love this view!"

"Yeah, we like it. It's certainly big enough for two kids. Not too far from work, and the schools here are excellent."

"I always thought you would pick something with a little garden myself." Jess said, "I didn't peg you two for a condo in a highrise."

"There's a balcony, we're going to convert it into a nice little garden area with some vines and things." Abby said. She couldn't go into the real reason for the move for a few years yet. Or hopefully ever, if she was lucky.

A week later they were safely moved in and the guys started construction work on the door. They were doing it themselves because the building had a rule against connecting units. Connor had taken woodshop in school and James had done a few minor repairs here and there over the course of his life.

They proved they were not carpenters but they got a door hung and it didn't look too bad. Privately Abby thought it was for the best that it would be concealed in a closet. Connor was proud of it. James agreed with Abby.

"Are you planning on coming back to work?" James asked her while they cleaned up the mess from the door. "I've never asked you before."

"I was planning on it right away, but now that they're here...I'd like to work part time for a while, working my way back up to full time, once they're a bit older. Can you live without me there until they're three months old?"

"I'll keep you job open as long as you want it." James promised her, "Matt's keeping the creatures looked after but I know he doesn't enjoy it the way you do."

"Now we have to make a vow to each other not to use the door unless we've confirmed no one unexpected is next door." Connor piped up. "Jess and Becker would have kittens if you suddenly appeared in the hallway."

A few days later Abby got the call that Connor was having to unexpectedly jet off to France for some reason. He raced home to pack a bag and kiss the her goodbye. "A week, maybe two. It's a big breakthrough if it works." He was talking a million miles an hour. "Oh I'm going to miss you!" He hugged her tight, "I'll be back so don't get too cozy next door heh?"

Connor kissed her again, and planted a kiss on Nick's forehead, "Be good for mummy. Love you."

"Love you too." Connor hadn't been home ten minutes before he was rushing off to the airport in a cab.

Five minutes after that she was just settling in to catch up on her telly watching when her phone chirped. It was James texting.

'can I come over?'

'yes.'

He must have texted her from in the closet. Five seconds later he was walking up the hallway to her. "I got the most amazing phone call from Connor. He made me swear to look after you and the babies, but not to get too comfortable in his spot."

James sat down next to her. "I very rationally explained it was my spot first and he said that I was just keeping it warm for him. God I hope our phones aren't tapped."

She laughed, "Connor checks them regularly. Hold him." Abby passed over Nick. "I've got to go to the loo. Amelia's asleep in her basket."

The bemused man stretched out on the couch and looked down at the baby that was intently checking him out. "You're a lot quieter than your dad. Thank heaven for that."

The next nine days were the closest thing to domestic bliss he had ever experienced. Abby moved the twins and their baskets over to his house at night and curled up beside him, she said it was so he could experience the joy of getting up forty times a night like she did. He didn't really mind as much as he thought he would.

Having Amelia in the evenings delighted him. He could already tell a bit about her personality. She liked to be held and talked to. Like any female, she didn't like to be ignored. She was serious baby, and sometimes frowned in her sleep. There was a definite family resemblance then. Jess even commented on it once without thinking, and fortunately without looking at Abby or the jig would have been up.

"Look at her little scowl, she looks like Lester!" Then she seemed to realize what she said, "Don't tell Connor I said that." Jess added hastily.

"Don't worry," Abby covered, "I won't."

Abby's sweetest memories after coming home from the hospital were of laying in bed late at night or early in the morning nursing the twins, with Connor's arms wrapped around her. She wanted to give James that memory also.

The first night Connor was gone she had her opportunity. Nick was sleeping soundly and Amelia started to fuss. Abby reached over and picked her up. James woke up when she started shifting around.

"Here, sit up." She coaxed him around so she could lean against him. He did as she asked and tickled Amelia's foot after she latched on. "Don't do that, it makes her bite!" Abby shifted his hand so he was helping to hold her up.

"I recall you like a little biting." He teased, fully at ease with her.

"From you, not from her! It's just odd when she does it."

He kissed her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Thanks for reading!