A/N: Now, we return to our regularly scheduled program. Just so you guys know, I seriously couldn't resist the names I gave Ezra's parents. I'm not even sorry.

Disclaimer: I'm so ready to eat the chili I heated up for lunch.

After telling the Beach City Grill staff about his new apartment, Ezra knew the next step would be to call his parents and have them ship all of his belongings from their house to Santa Cruz. He was a little apprehensive about the call. His family didn't even know he'd returned to the States, much less that he was adopting a child and setting up a home across the country. At least he knew his parents would be supportive of him, unlike Priestly's parents, who were very strict and unwavering.

Ezra held onto that thought as he took out his phone and dialed his parents' phone number, waiting with held breath as the call connected. "Hello," a pleasant voice answered not half a minute later.

Ezra let out a sigh as he spoke. "Hey, Mom."

"Ezra!" his mom shrieked with joy as she recognized her son's voice. "John, get in here."

"What is it, Mary?" Ezra heard his dad ask in the background. The worry in his voice was strong.

"Ezzy's on the phone!" Mary answered ecstatically. "You're on speaker, Ez."

"Hey, Dad," Ezra chuckled. "No need to give him a heart attack, Mom."

"Of course there is, if it's you calling," Mary retorted playfully. "How've you been? We don't get to hear from you nearly enough."

"I'm doing good," Ezra answered honestly. "I'm actually in Santa Cruz right now."

"With Priestly?" asked John. Unlike Priestly's own parents, his Uncle John and Aunt Mary were more than accepting of their nephew's eccentric style. They supported him just as much as they did Ezra, and even helped him move to Santa Cruz when he turned 18. "How is he doing? And what are you doing in California? Aren't you supposed to be in Jamaica until August?"

"Yeah, I was," Ezra began nervously. "But plans have changed a little."

"What's going on?" Mary asked, concerned.

"I'm, uh, adopting a baby in July," he told them with a shaky laugh. "I'm going to be a daddy."

"I'm going to be a gramma!" Mary got excited again. "Ezra! That's so exciting! When will you get the baby? You said July?"

"Yep. He's supposed to be born sometime in July." Ezra then launched into the story he'd told his cousin, about the teenage girl he'd come to care for and her request. "So I came here to see Bo and set up a home of my own."

"Why didn't you come back here, though?" asked John. "You know we would help you out with anything you need, plus you'd still have a good job with the company."

"I know that," Ezra sighed. "And, believe me, I thought about coming back home when I agreed to adopt the baby, but I needed my best friend. I know you guys know more about kids than Bo or I do, and you won't hesitate to help me, but I need my best friend in this, too."

The couple on the other end was quiet for a moment as they considered all their son had told them. "Well, I guess I can't argue with that," Mary finally relented. "Goodness knows John and I needed our best friends when you were born."

"I think I spent more time with Aunt Sandra and Uncle Jim than I did with Nana and Papa," Ezra joked. "Or with Granny and Granddaddy."

"You're probably not wrong," John agreed.

"But you'll come visit after the baby's born, right?" asked Ezra. Despite wanting his own place in the same city as his cousin, Ezra couldn't deny that he would need, and want, his parents' emotional support, especially in the beginning.

"Absolutely!" both parents exclaimed. "You couldn't pay us to stay away," Mary added.

"Alright," laughed Ezra. It felt so good to have his parents' support in this life changing event. It meant more to him than he could ever express.

Life was going really well. Ezra had quickly adapted to working at Beach City Grill, and it wasn't long before he was just another one of the family. He came to love Tish. She was such a good match for Priestly; Ezra couldn't have picked a better woman for his cousin.

Priestly was flourishing. Having his best friend back in his life was amazing for him, and having his cousin and girlfriend getting along so well was more than he could have asked for.

Piper became a pretty good friend. She and Ezra easily bonded over art and children. The young woman shared some helpful tips for taking care of young children, and she was super fun to be around.

Jen was something else. The more Ezra spent time with her, the more she intrigued him. After buying his apartment, Jen had stepped in and practically took over unpacking the boxes Ezra's parents had sent from their home and setting up Ezra's new apartment for him. Ezra just stood back and let her. It amused him more than anything else, and Jen seemed to enjoy setting up the home. Ezra liked setting up his apartment with Jen. It made his heart flutter in ways it had only a few times before. The more time he spent around the younger girl, the more he realized how much he liked her. It made him both excited and terribly nervous. But that wasn't enough to deter him from asking her out.

"Hey, Jen," Ezra said one night as he and Jen were closing at the grill.

"What's up?" Jen responded, not noticing the slight tremble in his voice. Looking over her shoulder, she saw him acting a bit odd. "Everything okay? You seem nervous about something."

"Uh, yeah," Ezra stammered. He took a deep breath, then looked up at Jen. "Would-would you like to go to dinner with me tomorrow night?"

Jen was struck speechless. She couldn't deny the attraction she felt to Ezra. Besides being very handsome, he was also a very smart, sweet, and caring man. He had all of the qualities she admired in Priestly, but while she loved Priestly as a friend and a brother, she felt much more deeply for his cousin. Despite all that, she never expected him to ask her out!

"R-really?" Jen stuttered shyly, tucking her bangs behind her ear.

Now bordering on terrified, Ezra nodded his head jerkily. "Yeah. I-I like you a lot, Jen. Will you go out to dinner with me?"

A gorgeous smile lit Jen's features in a way that nearly made Ezra's heart stop. "Yeah, I'd love to."

Ezra felt a smile of his own pulling at his lips. "Awesome. Uh, where would you like to go? I don't really know of anywhere around here."

"There's a good restaurant a couple towns over," Jen suggested. "It's an Italian place, really laid back. It's one of those places where you'd fit in whether you wore jeans and a tshirt or a suit and tie."

"That sounds nice," Ezra admitted. "So, I'll pick you up from your place at... 6:30?"

Another beaming smile split Jen's face. "Yeah, sounds good."

"Great," Ezra couldn't keep the smile off his face. "You want me to walk you home?" he offered.

"You don't have to," Jen hedged. "I wouldn't want you to go out of your way." She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"It's not out of my way," Ezra assured her.

Seeing the hopeful look on Ezra's face, Jen just couldn't turn him down. "Okay," she accepted with a bashful grin. "Sure, I'd love for you to walk me home."

The walk to Jen's apartment was a pleasant one. The stars were shining brightly, and the two had fun pointing out their favorite constellations, especially once Ezra mentioned that he'd taken astronomy in college. All too soon, they found themselves at Jen's door.

"Thanks for walking me home," Jen said, feeling slightly awkward now that they had to part ways.

"No problem," said Ezra. "I enjoyed it."

"I did, too," agreed Jen. They stood in silence for a second, neither knowing what to say, but neither wanting to leave.

"So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Ezra said, internally head slapping himself for his lameness.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Jen repeated. Ezra turned to leave and was a few steps down the hall when Jen called out to him again. "Wait." Ezra turned around with an expectant look on his face. "Goodnight."

A soft smile pulled at Ezra's lips. "Goodnight, Jen," he returned gently, then continued down the hall and out to the street.

Once back outside in the cool night air, Ezra was reeling. "I've got a date with Jen," he mumbled excitedly to himself. "I've got a date with Jen! I gotta call Bo." Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Ezra fumbled to dial his cousin's number and waited with bated breath as the phone rang.

"Hey, Zig, what's up?" Priestly mumbled sleepily. He looked over at Tish, who had also fallen asleep.

"I've got a date with Jen tomorrow," Ezra blurted out in one big breath without even greeting his cousin.

That woke Priestly up. "You've got a date with Jen?" he repeated loudly, waking up Tish.

"Wha?" she hummed, not fully awake. "Wha's happ'nin?"

"Zig's going out with Jen tomorrow night," Priestly reported. "Give me details," he demanded, ignoring his girlfriend squealing next to him.

"We just got done closing up, and I asked her to dinner," said Ezra. "Then I walked her home."

"Awww! That's so sweet!" Tish swooned. "So where are you taking her?"

"Jen mentioned an Italian place a couple towns over. We agreed to go there."

Tish nodded, though she knew the other man couldn't see. "Good choice for a first date. It's nice, but not intimidating."

"So what time are you guys going?" asked Priestly, jumping at the change to help his cousin out with a first date. "Trucker'll let you guys off work for your date."

Ezra's eyes got wide. "I didn't even think about work," he realized and slapped a hand to his forehead. "Why didn't I remember work?"

"Who cares?" Tish dismissed. "You know Trucker will let you guys off early. We can totally cover for you."

"Thanks, guys," said Ezra as he let himself into his apartment. "I appreciate it."

"Of course!" Priestly replied as if it were obvious. "We're all hopeless romantics at Beach City Grill."

"Yeah," Tish agreed. "For mine and Priestly's first date, Trucker actually closed the grill so they could all help us get ready for our date. And they went all out for it, too, even though we were just going to the diner down the street at midnight."

"You took Tish to a diner for your first date, Bo?" Ezra laughed incredulously. "Really? I thought you had more class than that."

"Don't look at me," Priestly defended himself. "It was all Tish's idea. She decided waffles at midnight would be a fun first date. Who was I to disagree?"

"I can't argue with you there," Ezra admitted. "Well, I'm home, and it's late, so I'm going to bed."

"Alright. Night, Ziggy," said Priestly.

"Goodnight, Ez," Tish wished him.

"Night, guys." After hanging up, Ezra laid back onto his bed and thought about the night's events. A smile came onto his face as he thought of Jen and the way her eyes lit up when he asked her out. He reached up and ran a hand through his hair, and, fingering the ropey locks, an idea occurred to him.

A/N: I want an Ezra! And a Priestly! Can I have one of each please? Don't forget to tell me what you think about the chapter. Thanks for reading!