•

April meant a lot of things for Jace.

For one, his plastic surgery residents were preparing to take their fifth year boards in a few weeks, so, Jace was pretty much hands off in work to let them do their thing. He'd guide them through their work, but he also made sure he put enough into their training over the past five years of rotations on his service for them to be capable of performing the simple surgeries alone.

Plastics was a tricky thing to figure out as a resident, but Jace had confidence in his residents to excel. So, Jace was lucky enough to spread his scheduled surgeries out this month, and he only needed to be in work four days a week, except for the nights on call and any traumas that may come in.

It was usually a quiet month, though. February and March were busy after a quiet January, and April was slow, but not quiet.

Jace was just glad to not be holed up in the hospital most of the month. He'd barely been able to see Penelope, though she'd been crazy busy, too, and that second date of theirs had only happened in March because cases in the FBI and the hospital kept getting in their way.

Penelope had planned the second date, and it was exactly what Jace had expected. They went to a new sci-fi movie they'd both mentioned wanting to see over their texts, and it had left them both terrified afterwards, so, they'd headed back to the stand and picked up tickets for the comedy movie showing in ten minutes.

It made them feel a lot better, and they'd ended the evening with a walk through the park where a light festival was going on. Jace took so many photos his phone almost lost storage space. Not a single photo didn't have Penelope in it.

There was a food truck there, too, so they'd picked up some amazing kebabs and Jace drove Penelope home to her apartment. She invited him in again for a drink, but he could only stay for twenty minutes before he had to leave to pick Zara up from a playdate with Ziggy.

They hadn't done much more than make out before Jace had to leave, but it had left him with the same warm feeling in his chest when he kissed her goodnight.

Jace was falling in love with her. He was absolutely falling in love with her, and everybody knew.

Zara told him to say hi to Penelope whenever she found him texting on his phone, and quite often Penelope would be on the phone for a quick chat on her break at work when Zara was being picked up from school, so the conversation often turned to what Zara had learnt today at school and Penelope praising how smart she was.

Nessa and Naya alternated between who was giving him shit over being a lover boy. Julien just laughed and left them to it. Liv also enjoyed giving him shit over it, because Penelope told Emily about their dates and talks, and Emily told Liv, and Liv teased Jace.

Jace didn't mind it, honestly. It was nice to tease Liv in return over Emily. It felt like they were grown ups more than before. They were both raising children. They were both seeing women who worked in the same dangerous job. They had thriving careers of their own.

They were really grown up.

Part of being grown up, though, and part of being a parent, was the lack of alone time to spend with other adults.

Jace and Penelope were not at that point in their relationship. Emily and Liv were. So, when Jace found himself having a Friday off, and Zara had an inset day at school, he offered to take her and Ziggy to the park to burn off some energy.

Zara text Ziggy off her iPad on the Thursday evening, and Ziggy agreed on the Friday morning. Jace knew the team had just closed a case the night before, so, Emily and Liv could have a lazy day and Dave would likely do something with Nora and Colin to keep himself entertained.

So, Jace extended the invitation to Penelope, too.

Penelope:

What are your plans for this beautiful friday?

Jace:

I'm taking Ziggy and Zara for a playdate cause of the inset day.

Wanna tag along?

We always stop for slushies and ice cream :)

Penelope:

I'm sold!

What time?

Jace:

I'm picking Ziggy up at half twelve. Let's say one?

Penelope:

I'll be waiting!

So, Jace made breakfast for him and Zara and helped her pick out a cute little blue shorts and t-shirt co-ord set, then did her hair and clipped some blue bows into the pigtails to match her outfit. He talked her through tying her own converse laces, then threw on his own outfit.

Jace was hot blooded. He wore shorts all year round, even when it snowed. It used to drive his mother crazy when he was a kid.

Still, he found a nice pair of blue Nike basketball shorts and a white t-shirt to reflect the sun, pairing it with some blue Jordans to match Zara's colour scheme. They looked cute, if Jace said so himself.

Jace packed Zara up into the car, texting Liv to say they were on their way, and set off.

•

•

Penelope was waiting outside when Jace pulled up. She opened the passenger door and got in, giving him a grin before turning her head to look at Ziggy and Zara in the backseats, Shadow lying in the middle seat with his head on Zara's lap.

"Hello, babies!" Penelope said. "And Shadow!"

"Hi, Penelope," they chorused, grinning at her.

"Liv said Shadow could come with us if dad said," Zara said.

"And he said," Ziggy said. "So Shadow got to come!"

"That's great!" Penelope said. "Are you guys excited for the park?"

"Yes!" Zara said. "Dad's taking us to the one half an hour away. It's got this massive climbing frame, and a zip wire, and really twisty slides, and a sandpit with diggers in it!"

Ziggy nodded, blue eyes wide with excitement. Jace couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that Zara's entire outfit matched the shade of Ziggy's eyes. He also found it funny that Ziggy's converse were brown, the exact same shade of Zara's eyes.

"Well, I am so excited for you guys to show me how cool you look doing all of that!" Penelope chuckled.

"We good to go?" Jace checked.

"Yeah!" the kids yelled.

Jace laughed, pulling away from the curb and back into traffic.

"You look really pretty," he said, glancing over at Penelope as he pulled to a stop sign. "It seems we've all got a touch of blue, today."

Penelope was wearing a pretty blue summer dress, blue pom pom bobbles holding half her hair up in pig tails. She also had blue eyeshadow to match. She looked so beautiful in blue.

"And you look very handsome," Penelope grinned.

"I get enough of this at home with my parents," Ziggy muttered to Zara.

"It's true love," Zara whispered.

Ziggy made a disgusted face.

"I'm never gonna fall in love," he declared.

"Really?" Penelope asked, turning her head to look at him. "You might change your mind when you grow up."

"Love can be beautiful," Jace said. "With the right person. Look at Liv and Emily."

"Look at JJ and Delilah," Ziggy countered.

Jace and Penelope both winced.

"You know, maybe we worry about that when you're a bit older," Penelope said. "You're only nine."

"I'll be ten, soon," Ziggy pointed out.

"In October. That's six months away," Zara said. "I turn eight before you turn ten. I turn eight in three and a half months!"

"Are you gonna have a birthday party?" Ziggy asked.

"I don't know, yet," Zara said. "Are you gonna celebrate your birthday?"

"I don't know," Ziggy said. "I didn't really celebrate it until last year, and it wasn't the best birthday I've ever had."

"Understandable," Zara agreed.

"Being locked in a basement would ruin anybody's birthday," Ziggy said.

Penelope stifled a gasp behind her hand, while Jace openly laughed.

"He's a mini Liv with his lack of filter," Zara said, looking at Penelope.

"But a mini Lilah with most other things," Ziggy added. "Hey, Jace, can we put the radio on, please?"

"Anything you want, dude," Jace chuckled, flicking the radio on.

"So..." Zara said, looking back at Ziggy. "If I have a birthday party, you're gonna come, right?"

"Yeah," Ziggy said. "Duh."

"Even though kids from school will be there, too?" Zara asked.

Ziggy shrugged.

"I'm not going to your birthday party for them. I'm going for you. I don't care," Ziggy said.

"You know, you might like some of my friends," Zara said. "You'll see them a lot if we go to the same schools."

Ziggy shrugged again.

"I have you. Why do I need other friends?"

"It's healthy to have a circle of people outside of your family that you can rely on," Zara said.

"I have that," Ziggy said. "Technically, I only have two blood family members in my life. The rest aren't blood family. So, friend family. Chosen family."

"People your own age," Zara said.

"You're my age," Ziggy said.

"I'm nearly two years younger than you," Zara said.

"Only one grade younger in school," Ziggy shrugged.

"You two remind me of Lilah and JJ," Penelope chuckled.

"We're not gay and heartbroken," Ziggy said. "Well, we could be gay. We're still little, though."

Penelope snorted.

"You're like an old married couple with the bickering," Penelope corrected herself.

"Oh," Ziggy and Zara said.

"We're not old, though," Zara said.

"No grey hairs," Ziggy said.

"Or zimmer frames," Zara said.

"Or-"

"I think we get it," Jace laughed. "Any radio station?" he asked, fidgeting with the controls.

"Any," the kids said.

Jace found one playing a pop song he knew Zara liked, Penelope humming along to it as Jace continued to drive towards the park. He glanced over at Penelope, meeting her eyes and giving her a smile.

She smiled back at him, nose wrinkling cutely and eyes wide with joy.

"This is gonna be a fun day," Penelope said.

"It will be," Jace chuckled. "With those two, it always is."

"Don't forget Shadow, dad!" Zara said.

"I'm sorry, Shadow," Jace said. "With those three, it always is," he corrected himself.

"Thank you," Ziggy beamed.

•

•

For the end of April, the weather made it feel like the height of summer. Jace was concerned about the kids getting burnt from the sun, or rather, he was worried the white boy in his care would go home to Liv as crispy as bacon.

So, Jace made the kids sit on the bench in the shaded parking lot and rubbed suncream into all visible skin, making sure their faces got plenty to protect them, too.

"Okay, go play," Jace said, throwing the sunscreen back in the trunk of his car.

The two kids raced off towards the park, which was quiet considering it was early Friday afternoon and most kids were still in school. Shadow raced after them, excited barks echoing through the air as Shadow followed his boy up the stairs of the climbing frame towards one of the slides.

"I'm convinced that dog is part human," Penelope said, closing Jace's car boot. "Either that or he's Ziggy's soul dog."

"No, I agree," Jace said, holding his hand out to her with a smile. "Wait, actually, I have suncream-"

"I don't care," Penelope laughed, tangling her fingers with his. "Might as well get used to it, right? Kids are sticky creatures."

"They really are," Jace laughed, locking the car with his other hand. "You're lucky they're old enough to clean their own hands and faces after ice cream. Wrestling with tiny sticky toddler hands to get a baby wipe in there is not fun."

"No, I can't imagine it would be," Penelope laughed.

They sat down on one of the benches in the park where they could see the kids at most times, and hear them at all times. It was impossible to not hear the infectious giggles and excited barks over their feet banging on the wooden frames.

"What was the baby stage like?" Penelope asked curiously, turning her head to look at Jace. "I mean, you did it all alone, right? How did you get through it?"

"Uh, well," Jace sighed. "It was rough. You know the way some mothers get post-partum depression? My ex wife had that. She refused to hold Zara once. She didn't even let the nurses put her on her chest. I can't blame her, though. I saw how much she hated herself for not being able to love her daughter. It was a traumatic birth, too."

"It was?" Penelope asked gently.

"Zara came out hands first," Jace chuckled. "Cece delivered her, so, she'll tell you the story at Zara's birthday party because she tells it every year. But, uh, they had to cut Kyla from one end to the other to get Zara out because they couldn't do a C-section safely with the position Zara was in, and Kyla was losing so much blood and it was just a disaster birth, to be honest. I can understand why she couldn't love Zara after that. She almost died."

"Oh, that is traumatic," Penelope sighed. "The poor woman. I get why she had PPD afterwards. I think that's one of the biggest things that scares me about having kids. The things pregnancy can do to your body, especially what it does after. It's... Horrifying."

"It really is," Jace agreed, blinking a few times so he would stop seeing the amount of blood that had been on Kyla. "But, uh, it was rough doing the whole baby thing. Zara was great, never really cried or anything, but I'd also never raised a child before, so, it wrecked me. I was also reeling with the fact I was a single parent, now, too. It was just not a good time in my life. She was a great baby, though. Cutest little chubby cheeks."

"It sounds difficult," Penelope said softly, squeezing his hand. "I'm really sorry you had to go through everything that way."

"It's okay," Jace said. "I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, even if it takes a while for you to learn the lesson you needed to learn."

"That's an optimistic outlook," Penelope said. "Sometimes you have to go after the things you want, though."

"You're the master of your own destiny," Jace said wisely.

"You make it sound so medieval and fantastical," Penelope laughed.

"It is!" Jace said. "Mentioning fantastical, though. Zara saw something about a ren faire? It's in July and it's about an hour drive. We're gonna go. She asked if you wanted to tag along with us, and I said I would ask."

"I love her," Penelope grinned, finding the kids on the playground. "She's such a funky little kid. What seven year old wants to go to a ren faire?"

"She's obsessed with stuff like that," Jace said. "She spent an entire month dressing in these massive Victorian gowns we found in the attic when she was five. My mom made them for Ness and Naya when they were kids and Zara lost her mind over them. She wants to go to England purely to see all the old Victorian era things."

"I can't blame her. Victorian era things are fascinating," Penelope said. "Let me know the dates and I'll get one of the other techs to cover for me if we get a case. I am not missing a ren faire. What are you guys gonna dress up as?"

"Zara is going as a fae with these butterfly wings Liv got her for her last birthday, and she's got me to help plan this flower crown we're gonna make her. She's gonna look adorable and I am so excited to see her!" Jace grinned. "And she wants me to go as her Elvan warrior."

"Oh my god, that's adorable," Penelope pouted. "I need to get brainstorming on my costume, now. Oh my god. I don't know whether I want to be a maiden or a princess, or a fae, or a-"

"You can brainstorm it with us," Jace laughed. "And whatever you decide, we'll find you a costume, yeah? We'll make your accessories, same as we're doing with ours. It'll be fun!"

"I can't wait," Penelope grinned. "I really can't wait! Oh, I'm so excited, now. I'm gonna need to make a mood board. What colour scheme is Zara's fae? I want to compliment it but not drown it out, y'know?"

"How about," Jace said, "I send you pictures of her costume when I get home, and we can go from there? I'm sure whatever you pick will be great."

"That sounds great," Penelope grinned, squeezing his hand in hers. "Can I just ask you something?"

"Anything," Jace said.

"Kyla," Penelope said. "She's..."

"Not involved," Jace said, shaking his head. "I haven't seen her since the day she left. I got divorce papers in the mail and didn't contest them. She signed over all of her parental rights."

"Do you know where she is?" Penelope asked.

"She lost her mother young, and her father... I don't know specifically, but I know she's in Spain. Her grandparents moved out there when she was a kid and she was really close to them," Jace said.

"What does Zara know about it?" Penelope asked, glancing over to check on the kids.

"She knows the truth," Jace said. "An age appropriate version, at least. She had questions, I answered them. Honestly, she didn't seem that bothered. She's glad Kyla made a decision to take care of herself. She might feel differently when she's older, but, for now, she doesn't care."

"She's very mature with her emotions," Penelope said.

"It's the therapy," Jace said.

"She's in therapy?" Penelope asked. "Is she okay?"

"She's great," Jace said. "And she has a therapist if she's having a really hard time, but she isn't in therapy. I am."

"You are?" Penelope asked.

"My mom put us all in therapy before she died," Jace said. "Wanted us to learn healthy ways to process the emotions we were feeling. And I just never stopped. I'm down to one a month, nowadays, but it's nice to just have someone to be my emotional outlet. It really helped me find a healthy way to keep my humanity and my heart intact with everything going on."

"You know, you're... You surprise me more and more every single day," Penelope said.

"Why?" Jace laughed.

"Because you're literally doing everything possible to make sure you and your kid have good mental health and are happy and thriving and, honestly, I'm used to seeing the exact opposite from parents and kids in my line of work," Penelope said.

"I mean, yeah, that's entirely understandable. I would be surprised too if I saw the shit you did every day," Jace chuckled.

"Dad! Can you push us on the swings, please?" Zara yelled.

"Okay, baby!"

Jace got to his feet, Penelope getting to hers too. They walked over to the swings, finding Ziggy and Zara sat on two sings, facing each other.

"We're doing it this way so we can laugh at each other's inertia face," Zara said.

"Inertia face?" Penelope giggled.

"Inertia is movement. It'll be the face we pull when gravity and inertia combine with the swinging motion," Zara said. "Like rollercoaster face is inertia face."

"I thought she said Roberta," Ziggy said.

"Who's that?" Penelope laughed.

"You tell me!" Ziggy said.

Jace laughed.

"Okay, which kid are you pushing?" Penelope asked.

"Either works," Jace said.

"Push me!" Ziggy said. "Please. You're strong. I want to go higher than Zara."

"What?" Zara said, glaring playfully at Ziggy. "Penelope's gonna make me go a million bajillion times higher than dad will."

"Oh, you may be overselling me," Penelope laughed, moving to stand behind Zara's swing.

"May the best duo win," Jace said, moving to stand behind Ziggy's swing.

"Oh, is that how it is?" Penelope raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it is," Jace laughed.

"Okay, enough flirting!" Zara said. "On three. Not after three. Push on three. One, two, push. Got it?"

"Got it?" Ziggy copied her.

"Are you copying me?" Zara asked.

"Are you copying me?" Ziggy asked.

"Ziggy is really stupid," Zara grinned, nose scrunching adorably as she wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"One, two, three!" Ziggy said.

Jace pushed Ziggy as he laughed, Penelope squeaking as she pushed Zara.

"You cheated!" Zara laughed, kicking her legs to give her more momentum.

"Nu-uh!" Ziggy laughed. "I followed your rules. On three, remember? Not after."

"You didn't announce the countdown," Zara pointed out.

"I didn't think I had to," Ziggy giggled. "I'm winning!"

"Penelope!"

"I'm trying!"

"Jace!"

"I'm also trying!"

"Hey, wait, where's the dog?" Penelope asked.

"He's playing on the slides," Ziggy said.

Jace glanced over. Shadow was sliding down the slides, skidding across the grass, then getting to his feet and sprinting back up the steps to get back to the top of the slide and repeat the process.

"Huh," Jace muttered. "You've got a weird ass dog, mate."

"I know," Ziggy said. "He's my best friend."

"Hey!" Zara whined.

"Best canine friend!" Ziggy corrected himself. "I'm sorry."

"You should be," Zara said.

"Good save," Jace muttered.

"Thanks," Ziggy said.

•

•

Ziggy was back home by seven pm. They'd wanted to play longer after ice cream, which Jace and Penelope agreed to, and then they'd decided to head to Patty's and have pancakes for dinner at her diner.

Shadow wasn't allowed in the diner because of health regulations, but Patty had a back patio where he could be safe, so, they'd kept him there until they were finished.

Ziggy had nodded off on the drive home, Zara half asleep beside him, and Liv had come out to the car to carry him inside because he was refusing to wake up when he was so comfy. Liv thanked them for taking him and Shadow out, then laughed at Emily trying to wrangle Shadow into the front door and away from the chocolate bar she had been eating when they pulled up outside.

"She's asleep," Penelope murmured, glancing in the back of the car as Jace pulled out of Liv's close. "She must be exhausted. They've had a very fun day. So have I."

"Me, too," Jace said. "Thank you for coming out with us. I know it probably isn't one of the best ways to spend a Friday off work-"

"Are you kidding?" Penelope said. "I've had the most fun today! They're hilarious together, that dog is so funny, and it's just been really really nice. Thank you for inviting me. Besides, it's nice to spend time with Zara and you together. She's a really great kid."

"Thank you," Jace smiled softly. "She adores you. That much is obvious. Absolutely obvious."

"Well, we won the swinging contest, so, yeah, I think I might've won her over," Penelope grinned.

"I let you win," Jace said.

"No you didn't!" Penelope laughed. "You gave up! And Ziggy did look quite green with all the swinging."

"Can't blame him. I'd feel sick if someone was swinging towards me," Jace said.

"Me, too," Penelope said.

"I did let you win, though. My mom raised a gentleman," Jace grinned.

"I will take your gentleman and crush it with my swinging skills next time!" Penelope said.

"Will you?" Jace laughed. "I have seven years of swing experience!"

"I'm the oldest of all of my stepbrothers. I have a lifetime of swing experience," Penelope said.

"Okay, I believe you," Jace laughed. "Just out of curiosity, am I going to have to fight any of your stepbrothers?"

"Why would I ever make you fight my brothers?" Penelope laughed.

"I'm just checking," Jace said. "I know some people are weird about their sisters dating. I beat up my sister's ex boyfriend."

"You did?" Penelope asked.

Jace nodded, pulling up at a red light. He glanced in the back, looking at Zara still sleeping, then over at Penelope.

"His name is Blue and he's a dick," Jace said. "He used to think it was funny to watch my sister cry because he hurt her too much for her to move from the floor and patch herself up. He didn't think it was very funny when he was the one who couldn't move on the floor and cried like a little bitch."

Penelope tilted her head, watching Jace as he pulled off from the red light.

"Naya or Nessa?"

"Naya. Ness doesn't bother with love or dating. She doesn't get it," Jace said.

"She doesn't get it?" Penelope asked.

"Nessa's autistic," Jace said. "She says there are much more beneficial ways to waste your life than by kissing people and merging bodily fluids."

"I think she and Spencer got along great when they met. That might be why," Penelope chuckled. "Naya's six years younger than you, right?"

"Yeah," Jace said. "She's the baby of the family."

"What happened to Blue?" Penelope asked.

"Last I heard, he skipped town 'cause he got his other woman pregnant and didn't wanna play happy families," Jace said. "Naya... It took her a while, but she's back on the right track, now."

"I'm glad she's okay," Penelope murmured. "She was really nice when we met in the bar."

"She's lovely," Jace smiled.

Penelope looked out of the window, sighing when she saw they weren't far from her apartment.

"I hate how busy we've been in work," Penelope said. "It's not fair we can't do today every day."

"It wouldn't be as special if we did it every day," Jace countered.

"It would be," Penelope said. "It's not what we do that makes it special. It's the company."

"Are you saying you like my company?" Jace grinned.

"I thought that was perfectly obvious by now, Dr. pretty eyes," Penelope teased.

"I like hearing it," Jace chuckled. "Can you blame me?"

"No," Penelope rolled her eyes fondly. "I can't blame you at all."

Jace pulled up outside Penelope's apartment building, parking up on the side. Penelope turned to look at him, giving him a small smile.

"I adore you," Jace said softly.

Penelope blinked, mouth falling open in shock as her cheeks flooded pink. She smiled, nose scrunching as she tilted her head to the side.

"I adore you," Penelope murmured. "So much."

Jace smiled back. He couldn't help it. Penelope was just... everything to him.

"Thank you for today," Penelope said softly. "And text me when you get home safely, please."

"Anytime, and I will," Jace said. "Thank you for coming out with us today."

"Anytime," Penelope grinned. "Say goodbye to sleepyhead for me?"

"You got it," Jace promised. "You wanna do something next week?"

"Absolutely," Penelope grinned, unbuckling her seatbelt.

She leaned forward, then stopped to glance in the back.

"She's out like a light," Jace assured her with a chuckle. "We're all good."

Penelope scrunched her nose again, leaning forward. Jace met her in the middle, bringing one hand up to cup her jaw gently as they kissed. Penelope pulled back after a moment, her thumb wiping away her lip gloss from his mouth.

"Why do you look better than me in every single lipgloss shade I wear?" Penelope muttered.

"'Cause I'm pretty," Jace said.

"You are the prettiest," Penelope beamed. "Goodnight, loser."

"Night, babe," Jace chuckled.

Penelope rolled her eyes, but Jace could see the blush on her cheeks, still. Penelope got out of the car, closing the door gently behind her. She headed to her front door, unlocking it and stepping inside before turning to wave goodbye to Jace.

Jace waved goodbye, waiting until Penelope had locked the door behind her and disappeared from view before pulling off, smile still painted on his lips.

•