"Are you serious?" Stephanie huffed out as she followed her husband out of their bedroom, with just barely enough time to pull her robe on to cover herself. "Why do you have to go to her? Can't she come here? She came into the city for that stupid appointment." She didn't see why her husband needed to wake up at the crack of dawn to make a three-hour trip up north.

"We've been over this Steph" Alexander stated grabbing his thermos to fill with coffee. He had been awake nearly all night with a stomach tossing and turning over excitement and nervousness.

After the fateful meeting at the fertility clinic where it was announced that the mix up had occurred Alec had been texting back and forth constantly with the women – Teddy. Who was unexpectedly the mother of his two children? They had finally been able to free up their busy schedules and set aside a day for Alexander to meet the girls. Of course they remained under the agreement that he would meet them as a friend only, and then they will see how things moved forward.

"Teddy would need to come with Joey and Charley, and that's too much to expect from her. For goodness sakes the girls are only three, you cant do that to them. A three-hour car rides there and back? That'll be six hours stuck in a car" Alexander insisted. He gave his head a shake as he went to grab his keys "trust me this is much easier."

"Well it doesn't seem fair" Stephanie sighed and crossed her arms over her chest like a child pouting over not getting a new toy.  She glanced out the floor to ceiling windows of their high-rise apartment peering at the streets bellow.

"You know Steph" Alec walked towards the women and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You're welcome to come too. This is your family now as much as it is mine."

"Not really" Stephanie answered with a low sigh refusing to make eye contact with him.

For a moment Alec was taken back and he realized for the first time how hard this could be for his wife. They had been trying for four years now to have a child with no success – that's why they had gone to the doctors after all. But even after appointments and tests they still hadn't been able to conceived. And now, here walks in women that naturally conceived and birthed not one, but two children. Teddy had been able to do something Stephanie had been trying so hard for. No wonder his wife seemed so upset and distant lately.

"Besides" Stephanie stepped away from his reassuring hand "I have plans, as you should have had too." The women turned on her husband with her icy eyes, "you cancelled on our friends Alexander."

"I think they would understand if they knew the reason," Alec said, trying to be the diplomatic one again. "I can go golfing with the boys any other Saturday, and having another dinner with the same people we see every weekend isn't as major as you think it might be."

"Golfing and those dinners keep us in the loop. It ensures we have strong connections to the right people," Stephanie nearly squealed out in anger.

"And that is exactly what I am planning to do today" Alec flashed a smile. He leaned in and gave his wife a little peck on the lips. "Connect with the people that matter most. Family."

"I'm your family too," Stephanie mumbled. She waved her hand slightly towards him "oh just go. I'll go to the damn dinner alone. Since apparently our social life matters only to me."

Alec sighed softly to himself; he knew there was no fighting with his wife when she got this way. Crossing the floor he went to the door "okay, I'll be back before bed and tell you all about the girls. I love you."

Stephanie glanced his way "love you too."

With a final nod Alexander headed out the door and down to the parking lot. Hopefully he would dodge the cottage traffic if he got out on the road quickly enough. Getting in, he drove off towards the high way.

Although the drive north was a long one it gave him plenty of time to think things through. He had purposefully dressed down for the day, far more relaxed than he was normally in jeans and a flannel shirt, that way if the girls wanted to play than he wouldn't hesitate.

Maybe his daughters liked art too – wouldn't that be a sweet thought? His daughters, he had daughters. He couldn't resist the smile. He had the day planed already. He would get there, treat them to lunch and then go to the park where he would push them on the swings. The girls would have so much fun with him, he was sure of it. Maybe do some art with them if there was time. There was a point in life where he dreamed of becoming an artist, but he went into advertising instead – Stephanie thought it would a more stable decision for their future.

And if things went well, hopefully he would get more time with the girls. He was lucky to get this day with them, and he knew changing his schedule would take some skill. But he knew he could pull it off. Next weekend he might even be able to come back for another visit.

Maybe, just maybe, one day in the future Joey and Charley will be able to come spend a weekend at his place in the city.

In less time than expected Alec was passing the large wooden "Welcome to Cold Springs" sign. In a matter of moments Alec was driving towards the local bookstore – where Teddy said she worked. When he parked his car he glanced up at the small house and Alec read the sign hanging above the door "Turn The Page, cute name." climbing out he went to the trunk and pulled out the gifts, then he marched up to the front door. Was he supposed to knock? He was technically a visitor, but this was a public store. So knocking would be weird right?

Taking a deep breath he stepped inside the store, a bell dinging above his head. "I'll be with you in a moment!" a cheerful feminine voice called from the back of the store.

Alec glanced around the store, gazing at how warm and cozy it was. Top to bottom oak bookshelves packed with reading material. There were mismatched rugs across the hardwood floor. And in nearly every corner was a sweet little reading nook.

But what caught his attention the greatest were the two little girls tucked away in the large bay window. They were seated together on the cushions and had what looked like paper spread out in front of them. With crayons in hand the two were busy coloring. They were giggling to each other and reaching across to colour on each other's pages.

One of the girls glanced up and noticed Alexander standing in the doorway. She beamed and gave a wave. "Hi!" the little girl cheered happily. She pushed herself off the bench seat and skipped over to stand in front of Alec. "You're new. I'm Joey."

And in that moment his heart broke.

She looked nearly identical to her mother, with the same round cheeks, moonlit hair, and slender fingers. But her eyes – those were all Alexander's. So this is Joey, the youngest of his children. The bright and bubbly one according to her mother. Which he is quickly learning to be true.

He flashed her a gentle smile. "I'm Alec" he said happily "what have you got there? Are you coloring?"

"Yes!" Joey cheered and went back to her spot on the bench and crawled up next to her sister. "You colour with us?" she held out a purple crayon with big eyes of begging.

Alec couldn't resist chuckling a little "yeah sure." He got down on his knees and bent over the bench. The other little girl – Charley – slid him a blank piece of paper. Alec glancing down at the crayon thought for a moment before he started to draw. He made swift work of his sketching, and soon his quick movements caught the attention of the two girls.

Joey, being the more talkative of the two pointed at the small purple circles he had drawn. "What's that?"

With a smile he glanced up at her "what's small and round and purple?" he quizzed.

Joey looked at Charley in loss and nodded for her sister to answer. This must have been what having a twin was like, what it meant to have siblings. Having each other's back. They were only three but the two girls clearly supported each other that way.

"Plums?" Charley asked curiously looking at the drawing with a tilted head.

"Close" Alec said, "but not quite. Guess again?"

Charley never got a chance to give another guess because her mother had come back from between the shelves with a customer. "I'll be right with you" she reassured him without looking his way. It wasn't until she was behind the counter that she glanced at him. She gasped out "Alexander? You're early"

Alec raised his hand in a wave, "yeah I might have gotten up extra early and hit the road."

"Clearly" Teddy stated. She turned to the customer with a forced smile and checked out the stack of several books. "Thank you and please come again," she said happily handing the bag out. Once the bell rang signaling the customers exit, she rounded from the counter and went to Alexander. "You seem to be settling in just fine," she pointed out.

The man was starting to get the feeling he had done something wrong, but he didn't know what. Wasn't this what they had planned? For him to come today before lunch? Sure he was maybe a tad bit early, seeing as it was only just after breakfast. But can you really blame him for being excited to meet his daughters.

Teddy sighed softly and smiled at the two little girls "I see you've met the girls." She lifted one of the little ones and took their seat on the bench, setting the girl back in her lap. Kissing the girls cheek she let out a low laugh. "This one here is Joey, short for Josephine" Teddy introduced.

"Yes Joey here introduced herself to me earlier" Alec said reaching over and giving the girl a bop on her nose.

"And this one is –" Teddy was about to introduce Charley but she was beaten to it.

"Grapes!" Charley cheered happily with a gleeful clap.

"Grapes?" Teddy asked in confusion glancing at her second daughter.

"The picture" Charley clarified pointing to the drawing Alec had started.

Alexander chuckled slightly "you're right. They are grapes." He turned the picture around so the girls could see it clearly. He had drawn a bunch of grapes that were perfectly shaded.

Teddy's eyes widened "oh wow. You took drawing grapes to a whole new level."

"I hope that's a good thing," Alec said sheepishly. She wasn't wrong. He had gone a little overboard with the fruit. It had started to look more like it belonged in one of his old classes rather than a simple coloring session with his daughters.

"It is an interesting thing," Teddy answered, but there was a small smile pulling at her lips. "As I was about to say this here little one is Charlotte, but we call her Charley for short. So you girls got to meet mommy's new friend?" she asked ruffling Charley's hair a little. Although the girls wore identical style dresses with a flowered design, Charley's was a pale pink and Joey was rocking a pastel blue. Alec would need to remember how to tell them apart.

Joey eagerly nodded "he coloured with us!" she cheered, with her sister nodding in agreement.

"I see that" Teddy laughed and leaned in close to her daughter to peer playfully over her shoulder. "What did you girls draw?" she whispered as though it was a secret.

"A kitten!" Joey answered holding out her sheet. It was rather good – for a three year old – if Alec was being honest.

"Oh I love it" Teddy cooed eagerly taking the sheet from her daughter. "What about you Charley?" she encouraged the more quieter girl gently.

Charley held out the drawing "flower garden." Much like her sister she had an eye for art. She might not be as dedicated or focused on it than Joey – or at least that's how Teddy described her. But Charley was still just as good.

Teddy smiled and took the second drawing. "Oh girls these are great" she gushed "and you know what? I am going to put them on our fridge later!"

"Yay!" the two girls cheered in sync with a set of little claps.

Alec couldn't resist the chuckle. These girls were honestly just too cute to handle. They were so small and cheerful and giggly. Everything about these girls screamed happiness. And Alec could just imagine the next time he had a bad day his daughters would be able to put a smile on his face.

"Well" Teddy started, looking at Alexander "since you're so early, why don't we go to the park for a little? It's nowhere near lunch time yet and the park is right by the local diner."

"I don't see any harm in going to a park" Alec said looking at the girls with a smile. "But would you girls like the park? Wanna go play?"

Both nodded eagerly and held great smiles. Teddy with a small smile stood from the bench, setting Joey on her feet. "Let get you both ready," Teddy said guiding the girls to the doorway. A little closet was tucked in the corner that Teddy opened.

"Want any help?" Alec offered standing quickly to attention.

"I've got it" Teddy answered herding the girl's close. Getting down to her knees she grabbed the little toddler shoes and slipped it one by one onto her daughter's feet.

"I want yellow shoes," Charley stated pointing in towards the closet. This was the most Alec had heard the girl speak the whole time he had been around.

Teddy looked as though for a moment she was going to deny the request, but quickly she gave in and nodded. Grabbing the new shoes she changed what was on the child's feet. Moving on to sweaters she grabbed a couple light ones. Summer had come to an end and the air was starting to get chill, especially this close to the town lake.

Alec needed to admit he was rather impressed with how well Teddy was handling balancing two children at once. Of course she was used to it, but Alexander knew it was no easy feat. If he was expected to get two toddlers dressed to go at the same time, he was bound to fail. But this did show what Teddy had been living with over the last three years. She had learnt to handle everything successfully on her own. And in some ways it was starting to make Alexander feel terrible and regretful for not being there with her. Sure he didn't know about the twins, but these were his daughters. He should have been there. Why would god do this to him? Why keep him away from his babies?

Well he wasn't going to let this happen any longer. Teddy would not need to do things on her own for another second. He was here now to start carrying the load. And that started right here with getting the girls dressed.

"Here let me help" Alec insisted. He got down beside Teddy on his knees and leaned over to grab the free sweater belonging to Joey. But Teddy reached at the same time and before either adult knew what was coming, they bonked heads hard.

"Fudge stick" Teddy groaned rubbing her head and sitting back on her heels.

"Sorry" Alec mumbled massaging his forehead.

"I told you I was fine" Teddy stated reaching forward and snatching the sweater. "I got this."

Alec sighed a little; he seemed to have messed up with the women a second time. All he had been trying to do was help her, get involved with his daughters. And instead he hurt their mother.

Teddy sighed softly. Maybe she was being a little too harsh on the man. She knew it was no excuse but she hadn't exactly had the easiest day so far. Charley had been up in the middle of the night with a bad dream and came crawling into her mother's bed in tears. Teddy spent half an hour trying to calm her daughter down, than another thirty minutes before she could actually fall back to sleep. Then she received an early morning wake up call from the baby in her belly and a large burst of morning sickness.

There was also the fact that Teddy hadn't really wanted a man around. She had for years been hoping to avoid this – the sudden intrusion of a man. But she couldn't deny this any longer. Alec was here. And he wanted to be involved. She didn't have the heart to refuse him. Maybe it'll be good for her daughters anyways. Or at least she hoped it would be.

Reluctantly she handed the sweater over to Alec. It was a small step. But a meaningful one. And it wasn't wasted on Alexander. For a moment he felt accepted, started to feel like this was possible.

Moving towards Joey the man helped the little Girl Guide her arms into the sweater and happily zipped it up for her. "What do you say Joey?" Teddy coached pushing herself off the floor and grabbing a small jacket of her own.

"Thank you" Joey said with a smile.

Now with everyone dressed and ready to go Teddy grabbed a large beach bag and set it over her shoulder. Than she opened the door and taking hold of the girl's hands, she guided them out. Alec followed shortly after her, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "So the park?" he asked keeping in time with the girls. "What do we do there?"

Teddy laughed a little "what? You've never been to the park?" she teased.

"Well I mean it's been a couple decades and I certainly have never gone with two little girls" Alec explained.

Teddy smiled a little "you know what? I think I'm going to deny answering that and instead leave it to your imagination. Besides we are already there."

The park was in the centre square of town, making it only a five to ten minute walk from any major store front or homestead. It had large open grass surrounding the playground, and every possible piece of equipment that a child could dream of. Several slides, some small straight ones not very high and another tall one that twists around, there was ride on animals, a sandpit and swings.

Heading to a wooden bench near the sandpit Teddy set the beach bag down. Charley and Joey quickly swarmed to the bag.

"Can I make sand castle?" Charley asked trying to peer into the bag by standing on her tip toes.

Joey had started tapping excitedly on her mom's arm trying to get her attention. "Ball pleases. Ball pleases. Ball pleases."

Teddy took out a pail and shovel first, handing it over to Charley. She proceeded to then remove a bouncy ball and giving it to Joey. "Okay girls you stay close by" she reminded them. But the girls had already happily run off. Charley plopped down in the sand to start building and Joey was a couple feet away in the grass kicking the ball around.

Alec lowered himself onto the bench beside Teddy. He glanced around the park in silence for a moment. He was quick to realize several of the other caregivers in the park were flashing quick curious looks his way. "Hey uh is it just me or are people staring at me?"

The women laughed a little and gave her head a shake. "Probably yeah. But it's not because of you, it's mostly me they're curious about."

Raising an eyebrow Alec asked "why? You're not some secret killer are you?"

"Would I tell you if I was?" Teddy teased him with another laugh. "Okay no I'm not. But it's because the people of this town have never seen me with a man before. Of course no one knows about how the twins were conceived, I'm sure they figure it was a pervious relationship where the guy walked out on me" she explained. "But anyways yeah. I'm usually without a man. So seeing me here in the park with you. It was bound to get some tongues wagging."

"We didn't need to come here if this was going to cause trouble for you" Alec said softly.

"Oh its fine" Teddy reassured him. "People would talk either way. Seeing you come to the store more than once, watching you with the girls through the storefront window. It was going to get around either way. So might as well be now right in the open."

"Small town living eh?" Alec asked with a small chuckle of his own.

"Oh yes" Teddy agreed and teased, "small towns are full of gossips."

The young couple had fallen into a warm silence, that was only broken when Alec started to talk about Joey and Charley. "The girls" he spoke softly "they really are something amazing."

"I know" Teddy answered with a warm smile. Her girls were her life. They meant everything to her and she would do anything for them. "But it's nice to hear someone else say it for a change."

"How did you do it all? You did all this on your own?" Alec asked curious and impressed with it all. "Running the store, having twin daughters and raising them. You did all that. And I can see how well you handle it, how you balance."

"It wasn't easy at first" Teddy spoke softly, talking to him honestly "it was hard to keep the store open with babies around, I couldn't balance talking to customers and feeding, changing and putting the girls down for naps. But the older they got the easier it became. Sure there's still hard days, I mean last night wasn't an easy one with Charley waking up from a nightmare and taking an hour to calm her down. But those things are part of parenthood. You gotta take the good days with the bad."

"Charley had a nightmare?" Alec asked glancing over at the little girl digging in the sand contently now. "No wonder she was so quiet."

Teddy chuckled a little. "Nah that has nothing to do with it. Charley is always that way with strangers. But once she warms up to you she'll talk your ear off."

"Once she warms up to me?" Alec asked raising a curious eyebrow.

With a small sigh Teddy nodded. "Yeah. I suppose you can't really get to know the girls in one day."

"So what you're saying am I getting to come see them again?" Alec asked. He had known what Teddy was getting at but he wanted to hear her say it.

"I think it'll be best if you visit the girls again" Teddy said flashing a small glare that quickly turned to a smile. "That is if you want to."

"Of course I do!" Alec answered quickly. "I'm having an amazing day and it's only just begun." He took a deep breath and turned to the women, his dark hair had fallen over his eyes slightly. "Look I know this isn't ideal, I know that neither of us planned this. But the mistake happened. And to be frank I'm glad it did. I was nervous and terrified and shaking in my boots before I came here. But now that I've met the girls and seen how strong you must be to do this on your own. Well I want to be part of this all. I want to get to know the girls. Those two sweethearts and so adorable the way they answer for each other, and talk at the same time and play together but also separate. They're amazing!" his heart was ready to burst with love. He had only just met those girls but he already felt like he had known them all his life.

Teddy began to open her mouth to answer, but Joey had come running over and cut her off. "Momma!" Joey cheered setting the ball down "push me on the swings?"

"Did you say please?" Teddy asked the little girl.

"Please?" Joey repeated.

"Sure hun" Teddy agreed standing from the bench. Joey ran ahead of her to the little kid swing set. Teddy was about to follow but paused for a minute. She glanced back at Alec and finally gave him her answer. "Welcome to fatherhood."

Once Teddy and Josephine were settled at the swing set, Alec turned to glance Charley's way. He noticed how the little girl was watching her sister. Well this was an opportunity he was waiting for. He stood and went towards the girl. Kneeling down his flashed a smile. "Hey Charley" he said softly "would you like me to push you on the swigs?"

"I can swing too?" Charley asked looking up at him with her big round blue eyes.

Alec smiled warmly "of course." He stood and held his large rough hand out, which Charley quickly took with her soft, smaller one. Together they walked to the swing set. Alec lifted her into the seat beside Joey and carefully started to push her.

Teddy flashed him a smile. It was rare for the girls to get the opportunity to swing and play like this together. Usually she would need to push one at a time or put herself between the two swings and multitask.

Quickly the sound of little girl's giggles filled the air. They were smiling and glancing at each other. Alec was warming to the sound. It was music to his ears that he didn't know he was missing. He turned slightly to Teddy and told her gently. "If this is fatherhood, I think I'm really going to enjoy it."