Kasper didn't think he would miss Baxter, but his older brother formed a buffer between him and the overeager assistant. Baxter had been gone one day and Kasper was glad it was Friday.

Tate had left the hospital with Mattie, but Doyle had another night. Gray asked him not to visit, because he had a romantic dinner planned. Hospitals weren't very romantic.

Instead, Kasper went to see the twins. Maybe the nanny needed a break after being with them all day.

Dolores was younger than him, but not exactly his type. She could comfort the boys with her soft bosom and arms. She answered the door and smiled. Maybe it was a mistake, he imagined her a reality TV fan like Sofia Whitby.

"Mr. Kane."

"I stopped by to see the boys."

"Come in. They're playing. It's almost bath time."

"I can help. It's easier with two people."

She shook her head. "I couldn't ask you to help. Your suit."

"I offered."

She bit her lip. "Okay."

"I promise I won't wind them up."

As he stepped into the kitchen, the boys were crashing into each other on ride-on toys. One kept pressing the button for the loud electronic horns, while the other said, "Beep, beep." It was probably Jamie, because he talked.

He stepped over the gate. "Whoa traffic jam."

They laughed and climbed off the toys and ran for their tools. Kasper laughed at their memory. "No tools. It's bath time."

He picked the closest one up while Dolores picked up the other one. They also gated and baby proofed the nursery, so he undressed them, while Dolores ran the tub. He wondered if Ivy handled bathtime alone.

Once their shirts were off, he saw Jamie's outie belly button and Jonny's less prominent one. Baxter confessed for the first six months, it was the only way he could tell them apart. Kasper still struggled. Once they were down to their diapers, he took off his suit coat and tie. Then he rolled up his sleeves.

Dolores lifted one, so he carried the other. Once both were in the tub, she said, "I'll wash one and hand him to you to dry off."

"How did you plan to do it alone?"

She shrugged. "I can carry both."

The boys played and splashed water. He took a towel from the closet and wiped the floor. Jonny cried when the water went on his head, but Jamie laughed. Baxter wanted them to start swim lessons. Kanes needed to swim before they could learn to sail. The twins had years before they were ready for their grandfather's boat.

Wrapped in a thick towel, he took the first little body into the bedroom. Jonny laid still on the changing table while Kasper fumbled with a diaper. He had watched both Ivy and Baxter plenty of times. Even Jimmy had changed Mattie. Elena watched over him and instructed him the tape went in the back.

Kasper was proud of himself when he secured the disposable diaper without getting peed on. The footed pajamas were harder, but Dolores appeared with Jamie. "Hold him. I'll show you."

She made it look easy by putting his arms in first and then bending his legs. In a flash, she zipped up the front and it was story time.

Kasper diapered and dressed the second boy with the same result, although less efficiently.

"Do you want to read?"

He smiled. He wanted to make up for their father's absence. After Goodnight Moon, he kissed each boy and put them in their cribs. They were too big to share a crib like when they were infants.

They played hard, but slept well. Ivy always bragged about how fast they fell asleep. He felt proud of himself as he picked up his coat and tie and left.

Downstairs he asked the nanny if she needed anything. "No. I've been caring for them since they were babies. Not for a week, but I can handle them."

"I know. Baxter and Ivy would never have left them, if they didn't have full confidence in you. I'll come back again over the weekend. Please call the house if you need anything. I know you have the number."

"Yes. I do. Thank you."

He smiled. "It was fun."

On Tuesday night, Kasper sat in the breakfast room eating dinner alone. His mother wasn't eating because she had attended a luncheon. His father was out with his cronies leaving Kasper on his own.

Percy entered the breakfast room at a speed he never traveled. "Kasper, a phone call."

The hair on the back of his neck stood up. "What?"

"The nanny."

"The twins?" He jumped up and picked up the extension in the kitchen. "This is Kasper."

"I've slipped and I need help."

"I'll be right there." He hung up and hollered, "Where's Mac?"

"With your father."

He had changed into jeans and without thinking sprinted out of the house and through the backyard and gate. When he reached Baxter's door he was winded. The door was locked. He rang the bell, and an older woman he didn't know answered the door.

"What's happening?"

"Her arm's hurts. I need to take her to get it looked at."

"Where are the twins?"

"In bed." Dolores sat on a chair in the sitting area off the dining room.

He walked over. "What happened?"

"The wet bathroom floor. I slipped."

"With a boy in your arms?"

"No, I was getting a towel. My mother came as fast as she could. She helped me."

He sighed. "I was around the corner. You know I could have helped too."

"Dolores, we need to go."

He watched as she stood holding her arm. The pain on her face made his heart race. Her mother was beyond overweight and walked with a gait that suggested bad knees. With their parents on the other side of the world and the nanny injured, who would take care of the twins? Maybe Ivy's mother could come.

From his travels, he knew Japan was twelve hours plus or minus, so it was morning. It didn't make sense to call Baxter, until he knew more, but the emergency room visit could take most of the night. He should have asked her to call him.

As he paced back and forth in the quiet house, he concluded that even a sprain would prevent her from caring for the two boys. They needed to be lifted and herded. It was hard enough for one person, nevermind an injured one. With regret he placed the international call.

"What'd you do?" Baxter barked into the phone.

"Not me. Your nanny is at the ER, she hurt her arm. I'm here tonight, but can you call Ivy's mother to stay with the boys?"

"They went away too." Kasper heard frantic conversation.

"Kasper, are Jonny and Jamie okay?" Panic pinged around the world from tower to tower.

"Ivy, they're asleep. She said she slipped on the wet floor. She can't watch them with only one good arm."

"We have to come home. My parents are away. We can't leave them with a stranger or your mother."

"Give me the phone." Baxter demanded. "Kasper, it has to be you. We could try to get an earlier flight."

Kasper thought of how excited his brother was for his vacation. "No. You would get home Thursday at the earliest. If I can handle them for two days, then I can handle them five. Mrs. Moran won't let us starve."

"Are you sure? Ivy will call Eleanor, she'll come help some. The boys like her."

"What about work?"

"Dad will pick up the slack. Call him."

"He was out when I was home for dinner before she called."

"I'll talk to him. Let us know how Dolores is."

Baxter was gone, and Kasper stood wondering what he had volunteered to do. It was too late to turn back. Normally, he would ask Doyle to help, but she could hardly move herself. Both she and Tate had newborns and couldn't lift the toddlers after giving birth. The twins liked Gray, but he would never leave Doyle, nor should he. Percy and Mrs. Moran were both too old.

It felt strange that money couldn't solve certain problems. Family was the most important thing and his needed him. Baxter doubted him in the office, but trusted him to keep his sons safe. Kasper loved them, and he would love Mattie and Beck just as much. The newborns were still strangers, but the boys weren't, except he might have to lift their shirts all day long.

A sourness filled his belly, was love enough? He only knew how to play with them. He put his first diapers on the other day, and had never touched one with shit in it. There was no way the two boys could go a day, nevermind five days without pooping.

First things first, he called Percy, so he could get the things he needed to spend the night. He didn't even have a warm coat.

It was late when Kasper finally climbed in bed in the guestroom with a baby monitor plugged in beside him. He had crept into the nursery and both boys were sleeping soundly, unaware of the crisis happening around them.

With regret and doubt swirling around him like a tornado, he didn't get the one thing he needed most, sleep. He couldn't find his voice, only basic words and gibberish came out. He tried to say he wanted a drink but couldn't convince Doyle.

"Mumma Mumma. Poo poo. Inky! Mumma!"

Kasper's eyes popped open. It was dark outside, but the boys were awake. They weren't crying, so he took the time to use the bathroom. When he walked into the nursery, it hit him. "Yuck. Who stinks?"

"Jon-yee." Jamie laughed at his brother.

He picked up the offensive child. "Jesus, what did you eat?"

He gagged at the sight and stench of the vial diaper. It took about ten wipes to clean around his scrotum, penis and ass. Math was his thing, but he didn't want to create an equation for how often he would have to do that. With both boys content in their cribs for the moment, he took the offensive diaper to the outside garbage and scrubbed his hands. Maybe Percy could send over some disposable gloves.

Back in the nursery, he cracked a window to air the place out. The frosty morning air came in, but he didn't care. How come the entire house didn't stink?

When he went to pick up Jamie, he felt a soggy diaper. At least, he hadn't crapped. "Did you piss all night?"

His nephew laughed at him. "Pzzz."

"Shit! I have to watch my language."

"Sit."

"My brother will kill me."

With two clean diapers, he carefully herded them down the stairs. Jamie bounced down on his bottom while cautious Jonny climbed backwards. He was too busy keeping them both from falling he didn't notice he knew the difference between them.

In the kitchen, they happily ran for the toys. Kasper searched for breakfast. What did they eat? There were no boxes of Captain Crunch anywhere. He looked at his phone, maybe he should let Baxter know they made it through the night before the day in Japan was over. He had a text from the nanny. She broke her arm, just as he had expected. He also had an email from Ivy. As he opened it his gut knotted. He thought he had a handle on it but there were a lot of instructions even for his photographic memory. The good news was he found out what the boys ate for breakfast, which was timely because one was crying.

This is going to be fun! ⭐️⭐️⭐️