"Lunch is here!" a familiar voice called into the house, and since Sam and Penny were already sitting at the lunch table, they both smiled at their grandson, who joined them in the kitchen the next moment.

"Gray, it's so good to see you," Penny greeted her grandson with a smile as he came over and hastily began unpacking the pots, as they had already set the table and were obviously waiting for him.

"Sorry to be late. Mum's car wouldn't start. Sami must have left the lights on last night while she was driving. So Mum called me and asked me to bring you the food quickly," he explained to his grandparents, embarrassed, why he was ten minutes later than usual.

"How's your studies coming along, boy?" Sam asked him, after dismissing his objection with a wave of his hand as not so bad, and helped his grandson fill the plates.

"So-so," the brown-haired young man answered with little enthusiasm, as he scooped pasta onto his grandmother's plate, which was already far too full. She didn't eat that much anymore at her age. Sam, who was busy with the vegetables, paused and looked questioningly up at his grandson.

"What do you mean, so-so? Are you taking another break to find yourself?" Sam asked grumpily, earning an annoyed look from his grandson. A little over two years ago, Sam had made no secret of the fact that he hadn't thought much of it when his grandson, just 18 years old and graduating from high school, flew to Australia and spent eight months traveling the country, working whatever he could find to earn a living. He had no doubt that this was a valuable experience for a young man. He just didn't want his grandson to do that and be so far away because then he wouldn't have been able to help him if something happened to him or he was close to starving.

"No, I won't, Pops," Grayson replied. "I'm doing an internship with Hannah right now," he reminded his grandfather. He'd been working for a few weeks alongside his veterinary studies at Hannah Sparks's practice, which she had taken over after her mother's death. As a marine biologist, she already had a basic knowledge of anything that could swim, but when Lizzie was getting on in years and couldn't work as much anymore, the vet was sorely missed in Pontypandy, and so Hannah had studied veterinary medicine for a few more years so she could take over the practice.

"That must be exciting," Penny chimed in. As a child, she'd always dreamed of being a vet, but the older she got, the more the fire service had piqued her interest. She didn't regret it, but it didn't change the fact that she'd always enjoyed working with animals.

"Well, the most exciting thing so far was Uncle Aidan rescuing a cat from a power pole yesterday, and Rory's little boy's hamster getting washed out to sea in its cage. Otherwise, we've just had the usual. Cats with conjunctivitis, dogs neutered, rabbits with colds, or vaccinations and microchipping."

"How does a hamster..." Sam began, finding this the strangest of everything his grandson had just said, but paused and quickly waved his hand when Gray was about to explain. "No! I don't even want to know!" was all he added. Pontypandy had always been home to the strangest rescues. He certainly shouldn't have been surprised that they were getting stranger and stranger at times.

Grayson and Penny laughed quietly at his reaction before Gray looked at his watch and was startled.

"I have to go again. My lunch break is almost over. Love you all!" was all he said, as he quickly packed up the pots and scooped the last of the vegetables onto his grandmother's plate, who hadn't had time to protest, and quickly kissed her on the cheek. He patted his grandfather on the shoulder again goodbye. The grandfather didn't even look up from his plate and was even less disturbed by his meal. Even now, he only raised his hand with a grunt in farewell before shoveling another forkful into his mouth.

"So long, Gray, and thank you!" Penny called after him before the young man closed the door behind him with a curt 'Bye.'

"The youth of today! They always have to rush around so much," Sam remarked after swallowing, while Penny was dissatisfied that none of the children and grandchildren at least left the pots for them to wash themselves, if they had to have their meals cooked for them.

Gray's brief visit, however, reminded Penny of the early days when they'd learned about him and his siblings. So she decided to ignore Sam's grumbling and instead engage in more pleasant conversation.

"Do you remember when Mairi revealed to you that she was having triplets?" she asked her husband with a smile, and he grinned immediately as well.

"Oh, yes. I remember pretty well. We'd known she was pregnant for a long time, but the day she'd actually only wanted to know the gender, she was completely out of it from the doctor and came straight to me at the station because she needed fatherly advice and comfort," he replied amusedly, shoving the last forkful from his plate into his mouth, while Penny still hadn't finished half of her food. Sam had always been the faster and, above all, better eater of the two of them.

"A daddy's girl through and through," she replied with a grin, playfully smacking his fingers as he stole another forkful of vegetables from her. They both knew she wouldn't be able to finish her plate anyway, but she didn't have to let him get away with everything—even if it was just in jest. "Tell me again what it was like back then. I need something to laugh about again," she then demanded as he stood up laughing to finish their digestive tea, which they always drank after lunch.

I had been sitting at the computer in the station with a cup of tea, wondering how to start the last report about the incident in which we had to rescue Chester, whose butt was stuck in a broken park bench. I know I should have asked him and Josh to tell me how it happened, but since I already suspected it was another prank by Josh and the twins, I just didn't want to know at the time. The report wasn't about how it happened, but rather how we solved the problem.

The emergencies were getting increasingly bizarre at times anyway, and I'd received so many calls from our dispatch center asking me if I was trying to pull their leg that I feared the same thing would happen again with this one and wanted to avoid it somehow. But how could you seriously explain something like that? Especially that we had to cut him out of his pants because the fabric pants had gotten caught on the edges and splinters, making it easier to get him out that way.

"Daddy!" my daughter's desperate cry startled me, and the next moment she was storming through the stairwell door, straight into my arms.

"Mairi?" was the first thing that came out of my mouth in surprise, because I hadn't seen her so upset in almost 18 years. "My goodness, Princess, what's wrong? Is something wrong with Pip?" I immediately asked her, worried, as she pressed herself against me, sobbing into my shoulder and crying like a little girl.

"Chester, he...it's..." she began between sobs and whining, but that was enough information for me. It was clear to me that the guy had broken her heart again, and as I'd promised him, I was already thinking about a suitable place to hide his remains.

"What did Chester do? I'm going to teach him what it means to hurt you. Should I beat him up first or just kill him? I know places where no one will find him..." I promised Mairi immediately, really just asking her for the sake of form. Once I was alone with him, it would only lead to one thing anyway: that he had hurt my daughter.

"Dad! Surely you won't do any of that!" Mairi protested, shocked, and pulled away from me at least enough to glare at me. I was completely confused by her behavior. Why was her anger directed at me now? Was it the hormones? "I'm pregnant, Dad," she said, as if to confirm my thoughts.

"I already know that," I shrugged. It still didn't explain why she stormed into the station, completely distraught, seeking comfort from her father for something Chester was supposed to have done. I still didn't know what this was about or what exactly Chester was supposed to have done.

"But not that they're going to be triplets," she said, and I froze. Now I understood a little better.

"Oh," was all I could say, though, as I feverishly considered whether to congratulate her and cheer her up or offer her heartfelt condolences. I mean, triplets?! When she'd already had more to do with Josh and Chester than with Piper?!

"At least there are two boys!" she told me as she plopped heavily into my chair, blew her nose into a tissue, and reached for my tea, which was still sitting there untouched. I'd been looking forward to it so much. Now I had to do without again for one of my children, even though I thought those days were long gone.

"Are you sure?" I asked her immediately, trying to remain rational, pulled up a chair, and sat down so I could look her in the eye. Twins were already in the family, but triplets?! That was even more unlikely than winning the lottery. Those gynecologists could easily make mistakes.

"The doctor is, definitely," she said, handing me a sheet with a few ultrasound images from different perspectives. I looked at the images closely, and on one of them, I could see something that looked suspiciously like three heads. If I, as a layperson, could recognize that, there must be something to it.

I could understand Mairi so well that it plunged her into such despair. Nevertheless, it was my job as a father to reassure her. What else could she do but gather some courage?

"What's bothering you so much about this? You're not alone. We'll all help you..." I began to reassure her, because that's exactly how it was. We hadn't let Liam, Aidan, or her down yet, and the three siblings felt the same way about each other. Besides, there were still so many friends in town who would be happy to step in and help her out.

"I'm not overwhelmed by this, Dad," Mairi corrected me seriously, but immediately became uncertain again as tears welled up in her eyes again. "Actually, yes. I mean, two boys, maybe even three?!" she then stated in despair, and I was starting to feel really uncomfortable because I still didn't understand what she was getting at. "What if they turn out like Liam and Chester? I mean, Liam is my brother. I could pass it on, and Chester is... just Chester. Think back to when the two of them were together, but you could always send Chester home when it got too much. But I can't do that with one of the babies. Now I'm supposed to raise two, maybe even three of those rascals?!" she then explained her strange thoughts to me, and I was even more confused.

"So you don't want a boy?" I asked, trying to figure out what exactly was bothering her about it.

"Don't talk nonsense, Daddy. Of course I wanted one. I wanted one so badly. For Chester. Doesn't every man want a son? But I only wanted one! Now at least I'll have two of those rascals like Chester and Liam. What if the third is a girl? Good heavens! Poor thing! She'll end up like I did when I was little," she wailed again, throwing herself into my arms again, while I rolled my eyes in annoyance. It wasn't as if she suffered more from the two boys' pranks than they did from hers. She had known pretty well how to tease the boys, but of course, in her panic, that took a back seat.

"Mairi, stay calm. How children are or will be has nothing to do with genes. If that's the case, every single one of you should have been like Aidan," I tried to reassure her without giving my words much thought, but it only served to make her look up at me, less than amused.

"Very funny, Daddy," she admonished me before blowing her nose into her handkerchief again. Oops! That wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear.

"You can do it, Princess," I said with a smile, to show her that I firmly believed in her. She was a talented organizer, just like her mother. Nothing had ever been difficult for you either. Not even managing a horde of children. Besides, she had Chester, who completely fulfilled his role as a father and seemed to love her almost more than I did back then—and that was saying something!

"Do you really think so?" she asked me, sobbing, wiping her damp cheeks with a new tissue when the tears finally seemed to stop.

"If anyone can do this, it's you and Chester. You make a great team," I revealed to her how strongly I truly believed in her and her husband. "I'd be less worried about them being boys and more worried about you having three babies. Three times as many diaper changes, bottles, and screaming..." I started talking, intending to calm her down, but I stopped when I saw her unenthusiastic look and wondered for a moment if I'd said something wrong.

"Thanks, Dad. You're a real help when it comes to mental rebuilding," she remarked dryly, just as I realized what I'd said, and I shrugged with an embarrassed smile before pulling her back into a hug.

"Don't worry, Princess. You're not alone. You have your husband, Josh, your brothers, Fiona, and your mom to support you," I tried to reassure her further, remembering that they were all happy to help if you just asked. You, especially, always loved children so much. You could never have enough, even when you were so exhausted in the evenings. No one was as happy about the triplets as you were.

"What about you?" Mairi asked, who had unfortunately noticed that I hadn't mentioned myself in the group. Well, since I didn't want to lie, I couldn't help but put it in a slightly friendly way.

"I'll come in the evening to read them a bedtime story, but I'm definitely too old for the daily hustle and bustle," I replied with a shrug, and her look told me that she found that neither comforting nor amusing. "What? Three babies, Mairi!" I tried to remind her that it was simply too much for me, and that didn't even include Piper and the two troublemakers Josh and Chester.

"Well, thanks, Dad," she replied grumpily, before I pulled her into my arms with a laugh and promised her that, of course, I would help her anytime, and that it was just a joke. It did make her smile, though, and I was pretty lucky that she didn't take me at my word so often and made me babysit all three of them because, as I had said, she, like her mother, had a talent and a knack for children...and luckily, Chester did too!

"It's always good to laugh about it afterward, isn't it?" Sam said with a grin as he leaned back on the couch they'd moved to. A glance out the window told him that they weren't enjoying the garden today, and he really needed to pull out some weeds. He didn't garden as much anymore, but he still did a little. He didn't let anyone stop him while he could, and whatever long-handled garden tools hadn't been available when he couldn't bend down so well, he had built himself to make things easier.

"Absolutely. Mairi had worried more than necessary. She really had more trouble with that one girl than with both boys combined. She was always up to no good and was much worse on her own than Chester and Liam combined. No wonder they named her after you," Penny remarked with a grin, just to tease her husband a little.

"Very funny, Pen! As if that were the reason, let alone the name means anything," he replied with a reproachful look, but couldn't help but grin as he put his arm around his wife and turned on the television. A rerun of one of those Ryan McChin movies was about to start, and he wanted to watch it with his wife to reminisce a little more about the time when they were younger.

To be continued...