"Alex, are you sure you're okay with this?" Jo asked now that they were alone. Izzie was on her phone in the next room, calling her neighbour to bring the kids over.

Alex had never been good at lying to Jo, but he also didn't want her to worry, so he just stuck with the facts.

"I signed away my rights here. Legally Izzie doesn't owe me anything."

Unfortunately, Jo wasn't falling for it.

"Yeah, legally whatever, I'm asking how you're feeling.

Before Alex could respond they heard animated voices coming from the front of the house.

"I won, I got to the door first!"

"The stairs were the finish line, I won!"

"You pushed me!"

"No, you tripped!"

And then they came bursting into the kitchen and Alex felt like time froze… except of course that doesn't actually happen and they were introducing themselves to him and Jo and asking them a multitude of questions. For a couple of minutes he just sat there silently as Jo engaged with them and Izzie tried to get them to ease up on the questions to no avail.

They were perfect. Alex didn't even really know them yet, but already he was sure of that. Alexis had Izzie's eyes, the biggest smile, and long blonde hair. She looked identical to pictures Alex had seen of Izzie when she was young. And Eli looked nothing like he had imagined. When he had pictured his son, he had imagined a boy looking like he did when he was younger, but that wasn't the case. That is, until Izzie made a comment about him smelling like he'd been playing with the pigs, and a crooked smile broke out on his face, just like his own crooked smile.

Finally, Alexis turned to him and asked, "Are you mute?" This snapped Alex out of his own head.

"Alexis!" Izzie chided.

"What? It's just a question."

Alex chuckled. "Um, no, I'm not mute. You two have just got a lot to say and I didn't want to interrupt."

"Oh, okay. Do you want to see our rooms? We built a fort in Eli's room yesterday and it's really cool!"

"Yeah, of course, let's see it!" Alex responded enthusiastically.

Alexis ran ahead to lead the way upstairs as the rest of them followed. Eli hung back to walk beside Alex at the back of the group.

Then quietly, so that only Alex could hear, he said, "Sometimes I get nervous too."

Surprised, Alex looked down at the small boy beside him. Eli reached into his pocket and pulled out a penny.

"Here," he said, "You can borrow my lucky penny. My mama did a magic spell on it so if you hold it you won't be nervous."

Alex took the penny and rubbed it between two fingers. "Wow, I think I feel it working. Thank you."

"Just don't lose it, okay?"

"I promise I won't," Alex said with a smile.

The rest of the afternoon and evening went by in a blur. The kids showed Alex and Jo their fort and all their toys and books, and taught them how to play a game they had invented called Sheet Rocket. Alexis and Eli were smart and funny and creative and Alex couldn't believe these two perfect tiny humans had been here for the past five years without him knowing.

Then they had all sat down to dinner together. Jo and Izzie were getting along great which he couldn't believe as they traded stories about work. And the twins let them know that they were also going to be doctors when they got older and already had several stuffed animal patients whose lives they had saved. And Alex got to learn all about their life here in Kansas, everything they loved about living right across from a farm, who their friends at school were, and what they were hoping to get for Christmas. It was a moment Alex wished he could stay in forever.

As the evening was wrapping up Izzie suggested they stay there instead of going to a hotel. So, Alex and Jo found themselves settling into a comfortable and tastefully decorated guest bedroom after wishing the twins a goodnight in the hallway.

"That felt like a good day," Jo said as they climbed into bed. "Are you happy you came?"

"Definitely. And thank you for coming. I don't think I could have done this without you." Alex leaned over and kissed Jo before lying down beside her.

"Mmm. Of course, babe. I love you."

"Love you, too."

Alex smiled and stared up at the ceiling. It had been a good day. He hadn't really had any expectations coming here, but still he was surprised by how well the day had gone. But there was a small uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't quite place. And as he continued to lay there, he could not fall asleep. He looked over to his side and saw that Jo was already sound asleep, her breaths slow and even. He considered waking her up to talk about it, but realized he didn't even know what he would say since he couldn't even figure out what he was feeling himself.

So, he got up and headed to the kitchen to get something to drink and hopefully ease his mind.