**Short chapter for you guys, I was out of town and I didn't bring my laptop with me, so this is all I had. Anyway, this will lead to a next huge chapter. I hope you enjoy and as always, please review. Thank you for the guests that take time and put a few good words for me. It made my day. Also, my frequent active readers with awesome reviews in all different languages, I thank you for your continuous support.

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND 1

It was the Thursday night before her father birthday and Faith paced impatiently around her apartment, waiting for her study buddy to come back.

"There you are! I called you but it all went straight to voicemail." She exclaimed as Bailey's face appeared at the door.

"Sorry. My phone went dead. What's up?" Bailey steps inside, drops of rain from his wet clothes dripped onto the floor.

"Are you going back to Seattle this weekend to attend the Foundation Gala? I've heard your family was invited because uncle Derek and aunt Mer were board members."

"Probably not. I'm not so interested in the fundraising banquet. I'd rather stay here and study." Bailey thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Great!" Faith exclaimed excitedly. "Then can you attend the Microbiology workshop and take notes for me? I've got to be back home from Friday to Sunday morning."

"A dinner at Elliot's then?" Bailey rubbed his hand and smiled wickedly.

"Deal." Faith rolled her eyes.

"What's the occasion anyway? I mean you never skip class or workshop because of any banquet or party." Bailey was curious about his friend's trip.

"Oh, my Dad's birthday is tomorrow and we want to give him a surprise. So your mom let the twins and me stay at your house to make the birthday cake when we're back at Seattle tomorrow afternoon. Also, Theo and Teddy's birthday on Sunday and my parents plan to celebrate it on Saturday, and they need my help. I've heard the surprise is going to be mind blowing." Faith cheerfully explained to Bailey.

"The twins turn 18 on Sunday?" Bailey stuttered in disbelief.

"Uh huh. Why?" Faith's eyebrows crunched up.

"I'm gonna go back with you." Bailey spoke up without hesitation. He didn't know if he was upset about the fact that Teddy lied to him or excited that her 18th birthday was coming up.

"But you said you'd stay here? Also who's gonna take notes for the workshop then?" Faith twisted her mouth to one side, wondering.

"I'll ask Maria. She'll be glad to help us out." He tried to come up with the solution.

Faith stared at Bailey for a while then she exhaled and murmured. "Bailey, you're coming back for Teddy's birthday, right? What's between you and her? "

Bailey looked down on the floor. "I like your sister." He mumbled.

"You like my sister? She's my little sister, Bailey. You're twenty three, complicated and experienced. She's seventeen, sweet, and innocent. Please don't just like her and chase after her then break her heart one day." Faith shook her head.

"I love her, Faith." Bailey confided to his close friend.

"Are you serious?" She asked him again.

"I am. I am willing to come and be interrogated by your terrorist father so that I can take her out." He sighed.

Faith chuckled as she listened to Bailey's confession. She reassured him. "My dad is not that bad. If you are serious then we all welcome you to our family. She's my dear sister, Bailey. Please don't break her heart."

"I think it's more likely that she breaks my heart. But anyway, I'm flying with you tomorrow if that's okay with you. And I will have the workshop notes handled." Bailey grins.

"Deal." Faith nodded.

….

It was a lovely Friday afternoon and the twins sat absentmindedly at Meredith's kitchen as they waited for their sister. Meredith walked over the kitchen counter and smiled at them: "Make yourselves at home. Uncle Derek won't be back until eleven and I'll be on call tonight."

"Thanks for letting us destroy your kitchen, aunt Mer." Teddy waved goodbye to Meredith as she left the house.

The two were left alone in the huge mansion. Teddy started to break the eggs and separated the yolks and the whites. She glanced at Theo who was helping her pouring the wheat into a huge bowl.

"She still hasn't replied you?" Teddy asked.

"No." He quietly answered and shook her head.

"I'll talk to her." Teddy insisted her brother.

"No point, Teddy. It's okay if she can't understand. She's like her mother, sweet and fragile. That was really shocking for her to see me fleeing." Theo sadly confided to Teddy.

"C'mon, it was just one time! If she likes you she should understand your issues." She exclaimed.

"I thought about it, Teddy. Jane might come back to me this time, but what if my issue visits me and I run away from her again? I mean there's no guarantee that I am completely recovered. I can't just be happy with her one day then scare the crap out of her another day. You've seen me in my dark mood. And you were scared, too. That's too much for a sweet girl like Jane to handle. And I don't want to see her sob miserably like Aunt April. I have issues with girls' tears." Theo sighed, thinking about all those years listening to Chelsea's snivel through the phone.

Teddy didn't try to argue anymore. She knew her brother spoke the truth. She's heard Theo yelling at night and seen him waking up in sweats with some hallucination. Her father had to prescribe him with anti-anxiety medication for eight months, and the sisters were asked by their parents to keep Theo occupied all day, so that he would be too tired at night and go straight to sleep.

"I see you, bro." Teddy gently patted Theo's back.

"I like Jane, Teddy. She made my heart beat fast when I put the bandage on her face. But maybe she's not the right one for me now. Maybe when I grow older, I could be able to find another girl who's bruised and battered like me, that's when someone is ready to be in a relationship with me." He murmured.

Teddy shook her head, thinking about how he could be so negative despite his smiling with cheerful attitude all day. She knew the last twenty months he was really back to her favorite joyful brother again, because she witnessed his nightmares gradually disappeared. It was sad that getting to know Jane brought back Theo's tragic past.

Yet, unlike Theo, Teddy was a natural cheerful and optimistic person. She smiled: "You're thinking too much. Why don't you wait until Sunday morning? Jane knows you're back on Saturday, so she might come and find you. Don't leave her this time, don't let your love slip away, you hear me? Just wait, wait until Monday morning before you determine your relationship status with her."

"You really think she'll talk to me again?" Theo genuinely smiled as he listened to Teddy.

"Of course. You're a nice guy; you're as charming as Dad. My girlfriends couldn't help but lay eyes on you. And I also think Jane is smart and understanding. I know her. You two will make a nice couple. How about keeping your high hopes for the sake of my effort to matchmake you two?"

"Okay." He sheepishly nodded.

"Okay. Help me pour all the ingredients in the mixer please." She beamed at him.

…..

Bailey impatiently rushed inside his house since he was aware of Teddy's presence. He spotted the little girl laughing enthusiastically as she and her twin messed up the kitchen with the pound cake and the frosting.

"Faith! Bailey!" Teddy cheerfully yelled as she saw them. She dipped the little finger in the frosting bowl and licked it happily when Faith approached her. "The frosting tastes so good, Faith! I bet half of this creamy thing will be gone before we have a chance to spread it on the cake."

"Indeed. Let me help you decorate the cake." Faith also dipped her finger in the bowl of frosting and smiled genuinely.

Bailey sighed as he looked at this adorable scene in the kitchen. He admired the fact that Teddy, Theo and Faith bonded so well as siblings. He silently stared at the smallest figure of the three, the one who made his heart skipped a beat by singing with her father.

"Bailey! Come up here! I'll let you try my awesome homemade frosting." Teddy crooked her finger.

"Hey Teddy, can I talk to you for a second?" He asked her, his face was sheepishly red.

"I want to talk to you, too." Teddy grinned then dipped a big spoon into the frosting before following Bailey.

Bailey was nervous as he waited for her in the front yard. He wanted to ask her why she lied about her birthday. He wanted to know if he was forcing her into a date and she was scared of it.

"You talk first." Teddy smiled as she naively swallowed the frosting on the silvery spoon.

"No, you talk first." Bailey was trying to be polite.

"Okay then, remember you still owe me two things? I happen to know there will be dancing in the banquet tomorrow and I would like you to attend and….be Jasmine's partner." She whispered.

Bailey could not utter any word. He was sad that she lied to him about her birthday, and now he was even disappointed that she used his promise to ask him to be with Jasmine.

"I thought I told you that I don't want to be matchmade with Jasmine." He scowls at her.

"You did. I have my reason to ask you such favor, Bailey. Please." As she insisted on him, she looked down, trying to avoid his indignant eyes.

Bailey shook his head and sighed. "Teddy, I am twenty three, and I am a medical student. I am a grown up. Please don't ask me to do silly things as if I was a boy in your high school."

"You promised me to do two favors. Keep your promise." She said sternly.

"Tell me the reason why I should be at the banquet and dance with Jasmine tomorrow?" Bailey crossed his arm, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at her.

"If you're not there Jasmine will very likely invite Jason to come over. We both know that Jason likes Jane very much and he will flirt with her, and since Jane is miserable she will likely approve Jason's feelings for her. And Theo…." Teddy stuttered. "Theo…he really needs Jane to give him an answer because he's been desperate. Theo likes Jane, Bailey. And he has a troubled past, and I want my brother to be happy." Teddy decided to speak the truth regardless how angry Bailey would be.

"So you do this for Theo because you feel sorry for him? And you keep saying that Jasmine is a good sister yet you continue to give her false hope that I will love her?" Bailey shook his head with total disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Bailey that this is unfair to you. But it's very important that Jason is kept out of the game while my brother is vulnerable. I just want Jane to be lucid and have no influence when she decides how she wants to deal with my brother. You've heard of his accident. He suffers, Bailey. And he likes Jane. He deserves another chance." Bailey can tell her eyes are teary.

"You think you can handle everything, Teddy? You try to prove people that you are smart and in control of every situation. You care about people and you do your best to make them happy. So tell me, Teddy, have you ever spared a thought about my feelings? Like have you considered that I'm hurt when you ask me such favor?" Bailey raised his voice. He felt like he was taken advantage all the time by this girl.

"It's fine if you don't want to do it. I'll figure it out myself. Don't ask me why I do crazy things to my brother, Bailey. You don't understand because you have never seen someone suffered like that. Everyone in my family has a dark past and I do my best to make them happy. That is a truth." Teddy snorted.

Bailey slipped out a big sigh. Then he gazed at Teddy, his voice clear and determined:

"Teddy, you are well aware of people's feeling towards each other, so I am pretty sure you know my feelings for you. I guess you choose to ignore it anyway, because you lied to me about your birthday and now you ask me to go and dance with Jasmine whatsoever. What you're doing to me really hurts me, Teddy. But I will do this favor for you, because I know your father taught you that real men keep their promises. I do keep my promises. That said, this would be the end of what's going between you and me. So, you can just consider me a brother from now on. I'm totally fine with that. You are my close friend's sister, you and your family make it very clear to me."

Teddy could not utter another word when she heard Bailey's words. Tears started to fill up her eyes and despite her effort to keep them from falling; a stream of water ran down on her face. She quickly turned away from him as she murmured: "Sorry, I'm not crying to gain your empathy. Please come inside."

Bailey hated that every time they encountered, he was exposed to this girl's vulnerability. He approached her and intended to wipe her tears away like he used to. Yet he hesitated and finally he spoke up: "I'm sorry if I was harsh and mean to you, Teddy. Please don't cry." Then Bailey walked inside.

Teddy quickly wiped her tears and composed herself then followed him not long after. She returned to the kitchen with her siblings, smiling as if nothing happened. Faith and Theo waited until Bailey disappeared from the kitchen when they both spoke up: "What's wrong?"

Teddy sheeplishly smiled. "I'm a carefree and light-hearted person. And now someone starts to occupy my mind."