**Chapter 22**

**Ethan's POV**

Julia and I were chilling at Keilen and Emily's place. We had made it a goal to hang out with our friends at least once a week outside of work. It was a great way to help Julia de-stress and distract herself from the upcoming competition. But that was a worry for another day.

I listened as Keilen vented about not having Emily around because they didn't have anyone to watch Mason. Since his parents and sisters were either working or would be away. I could sympathize with his desire to have his wife by his side.

"Why don't I babysit Mason for both of you to attend the event?" I happily offered.

"You sure," Keilen asked, fidgeting with a pen, "It could be about eight hours, and we won't be able to rush home for an emergency," Keilen hesitated with his brow furrowed.

I nodded, staring at him as his eyes glassed between the kitchen and me. I wondered what made him so nervous. I babysat Mason before for them.

"Ethan, you're good with Mason when we're there or for a few minutes by yourself, but these hours?" Keilen questioned, his voice wavering slightly.

As we discussed, Emily, Julia, and Mason entered the room. Mason eagerly followed behind Julia, who sat beside me on the L-shaped couch, with Mase happily climbing into her lap.

Emily noticed Keilen's tense expression and asked, "Why do you look like that, babe?" She flung herself onto their leather couch. Keilen glanced at me, then back at Emily, biting his lip as if hesitant to repeat our conversation.

"I offered to babysit Mase on Thursday since I'm off Friday, so both of you can attend the conference," I honestly stated, looking at Keilen, who avoided my gaze.

Emily's eyes twinkled with mischief as a smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she listened to me. She bit her lower lip slightly as if trying to stifle a laugh. I didn't get what was amusing, but I had a feeling she would tell me soon.

Her shoulders shook lightly with contained humor, and she leaned forward, her head tilting to one side, "Oh, sweet Ethan," Emily said, a smirk playing on her lips. "No, you can't watch Mason by yourself. He's a lot, especially for you," she added. "Keilen doesn't know how to tell you."

I felt a sting of offense, my stomach twisting. 'Why not?' I asked, my mouth agape in disbelief. Did they not trust me?

Emily leaned forward, a playful glint in her eyes. "Do you really want to know?" she asked, clearly enjoying the moment. I nodded, bracing myself for whatever she was about to say.

"How about I help him with the babysitting?" Julia offered as she rubbed my back.

"Yeah, you guys can do it," Emily and Keilen eagerly replied quickly.

"Why is it not a no for her?" I asked, my voice tinged with hurt as I felt my chest tighten.

Julia engaged Mason in conversation, her nurturing side shining through as he eagerly soaked up her attention. Meanwhile, I tried to mask the sting of rejection, forcing a smile even as my eyes dropped to the floor. It hurt more than I wanted to admit.

Emily's eyes twinkled with mischief as a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She bit her lower lip slightly, trying to stifle a laugh. "Ethan, you're great with Mason when we're around, but for eight hours straight?"

She glanced at Keilen, who gave a short nod, encouraging her to continue. "It's not just playing with him. There are diapers to change, meals to prepare, and sometimes Mase has meltdowns for no reason. Jules is more equipped since we deal with this regularly in the pedi ward."

Keilen chimed in, his voice gentle, "It's not that we don't trust you. It's just," Keilen paused.

"Okay, I get it, stop, Jules is better! I will be more fun, right, Mase?" I asked, forcing a smile as I gave him a fist bump, his tiny hand meeting mine.

Keilen rubbed the back of his neck, "Ethan, it's just... Mason can be a handful, especially for that long." he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"It's okay," I stated.

Determined to prove my worth, I decided to go shopping for toys and snacks for Mason. If I showed up prepared, they'd see I could handle it. I chuckled bribery might be the best way to win this competition. As I answered, Jules called and hid the supplies I got for her.

"So, you're going to cheat?" Julia teased on the phone as I showed her the toys I saw, her laugh echoing through the speaker.

"All is fair in love and war," I joked as I showed her the toys.

"Fine, have fun wasting money when I win just by being cool," she joked as I snorted on purpose.

"You will see me winning," I declared.

"Talk to you later. I've got to return to work to prove my worth to get nominated for the Nurse of the Year competition. It's my first time having a real shot," she said happily.

Many of Julia's fellow nurses told her they were rooting for her, making it clear how much this event meant to her. I smiled as the cashier scanned the markers and poster board. It would mean a lot to Julia if we made the posters together.

As I headed out of the mall, carrying bags filled with toys and snacks, I couldn't help but think how life was going. Julia and I were in a good spot. I was developing a civil relationship with Sophia, and that was cool.

"Hey, Dr. Ethan," I heard someone happily yell as I turned around.

"Dr. Ethan!" Charlie called out again as she headed towards me with Alex and a young boy trailing behind her.

Alex still had his hair neatly styled black in a crew cut as he held a little boy sleeping on his shoulder. All I could notice from the young boy was his jet-black crew cut, similar to Alex's. He cuddled on Alex. He couldn't have been older than six or seven.

Alex pushed a double stroller with who I assumed was Vivi and Nate sleeping in the front. The only ones with energy were Charlie and the boy, who might be her twin. Alex's genes were strong; their ocean-blue eyes were bright, standing against their fair skin.

"Dad, this is Dr. Ethan, who saved my teeth," Charlie said happily, showing Alex her smile. He happily smiled at her.

I asked her if she followed my advice for caring for her teeth. She eagerly nodded yes.

"Hey, Charlie, who is everyone else?" I asked.

"This is Chris, my twin," Charlie said happily, as Chris looked annoyed by stopping. "And that's AJ sleeping in Dad's arms," she eagerly added.

"And this is Vivi and Nate," she said, pointing to each sibling.

"No waking them up, Charlie," Alex said tiredly. I could see he had his hands full today, dark circles under his eyes betraying his exhaustion.

Yeah, I know Ethan. He's pretty cool and likes Marvel just as much as us," Alex said, looking at the boy beside Charlie, who smiled at the news.

"That's so cool! Who's your favorite Avenger? Mine is Iron Man, like my dad. Who could totally be him," he happily said, looking at his dad with admiration.

"How are you, Alex?" I asked politely, as Charlie took her brother's interest by telling him again how I saved her tooth. I could tell she told the story a lot, with him saying, "I know."

"Tiresome, they're a handful, but got to love them," he said happily, looking at his kids with tired eyes and a soft smile.

"How are you, by the way? I haven't seen you since that cooking competition," he smiled, a bit of fatigue in his voice.

"I'm good, just been busy," I said honestly. So much had changed since that day, but all was good.

"What brings you guys out shopping?" I asked, looking at all the gifts at the bottom of the stroller.

"Well, we're starting our shopping early to get little Mason a gift, and everyone wanted to come," he said teasingly.

"Yeah, I wanted to pick the gift for him myself," Charlie said happily, her blonde curls bouncing as she spoke.

"Yeah, we had to come. Besides, Nate wanted to pick something himself, so we all had to come, except for Ms. Sophia, who was working," Chris started, his tone mirroring Alex's tired but loving demeanor.

"It would've been more fun if Mama was here," Charlie added, her pouty lips forming a frown.

Sophia's absence was because she was at work. It's nice to see even her stepkids loved her and missed her.

"I hope to see you all at the party," I said happily.

"Yeah, you totally will," they said as Alex wished me goodbye.

"Hey, before you go, do you need help getting everyone to the car?" I asked, seeing him struggle with the stroller and bags.

"Yeah, if it's not too much trouble," he said.

Charlie happily held my hand while Chris walked beside me, chatting with his dad. As Alex settled AJ into his car seat, I looked closer at him.

His jet-black hair and matching eyebrows made me realize he naturally had black hair, not bleached like his dad's. His nose looked similar to Sophia's only difference was a slight upturn, but no other similarities. His naturally tanned skin was slightly darker than his siblings', setting him apart.

He looked different from his siblings, with the only hint of resemblance to Alex being a slight similarity to Chris. A strange sense of familiarity stirred, though I couldn't quite place why.