Katie Ashley - The Pairing

Pesh grinned. “I will. I promise.”

Megan leaned up to kiss him. “You’re too sweet for your own good. You’re always going to have me playing bad cop when it comes to discipline.”

“But you love me anyway, right?” he murmured against her lips.

“So much I was almost ready to reconsider our plan about when we’re starting a family.”

His eyes bulged at her response. It took him a few moments to speak. “That means a lot that you would do that, but deep down I know how you really feel. So, I’m going to be good and patiently wait ten more months before confiscating your birth control.”

“It’s a deal,” she replied, before kissing him again.

As soon as he finished with his last patient, Pesh practically sprinted from the exam room. He hustled into the doctors’ lounge, trying hard to keep his head down and not call any attention to himself. He wanted to be able to get out the door without anyone calling him back for a consult or to pull a longer shift. Once he had retrieved his things, he started for the parking lot.

“Dr. Nadeen!” Kristi called.

Inwardly, he groaned. “Yes?” he questioned, as he turned around.

“You weren’t leaving, were you?” she asked.

He exhaled a defeated breath. “I was planning on it. Does someone need me to cover for them?”

Kristi winked at him. “Thought you were screwed there for a minute, didn’t you?”

A relieved laugh escaped his lips. “I did.”

She smiled. “I have something for Megan.”

“Honestly Kristi, you didn’t need to do anything else for us.”

Waving her hand dismissively, she handed a pink gift bag to him. “I wanted to do this.”

After peeking inside, Pesh smiled before he leaned down to hug Kristi. “Thank you. I’m sure she’ll love it.”

“You tell her we miss her around here.”

“I will.”

She patted his back. “Now go on home to your girls.”

He nodded and then hurried out the door. Today had been his first day back after taking both paternity leave and some of his many amassed sick days. As he slid into the seat of his Jaguar, he felt a rush of embarrassment at how he had actually gotten teary on the way to work that morning after leaving Megan. It had been the longest shift of his entire life. He thought he would never be through so he could get home to her.

Even now, the usual ten-minute drive home seemed to take an eternity. He anxiously drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He’d tried not to pester Megan with too many calls and texts, but after the tenth, “How are you guys?” text, she’d told him to lighten up and get his head in the game at work.

That’s why he didn’t even bother telling her he was on his way home. As he pulled into the driveway, he noticed Emma’s SUV. He was glad to know that Megan hadn’t been alone without him. When he pushed through the garage door into the kitchen, Emma was at the stove. “Hello,” he called pleasantly.

Whirling around, she gave him a beaming smile. “Hello to you, too.”

“How are my girls?”

“Good. They’ve slept most of the day.”

Pesh nodded. Noticing how quiet the house was, he asked, “Where’s Mason?”

“Patrick came by and got him, along with Noah and Caroline, a little while ago.” She cocked her head at Pesh and grinned. “Although he swore to me that he wouldn’t ruin their dinner, I have a feeling they’re having ice cream right now.”

Pesh smiled at the mention of his son. Although he wasn’t Mason’s biological father, the love he felt for him was just as strong as if he had been a part of his conception. From the moment he’d been able to adopt him, he had felt an even stronger bond than before, especially whenever he saw “Mason Nadeen” written on his pre-school paperwork.

More than anything, he relished being a father. He had been forced to wait so long, while desiring it so hard, that it made it all the more sweeter. Because Mason adored baseball, Pesh had bought season tickets to the Braves, rather than the opera. Even though Pesh had never been athletically inclined, he signed up to help coach Mason’s Little League team as well. Every time he heard Mason say “Daddy,” it warmed his heart the same as it did to hear Megan say “I love you.”

Pesh eyed the dishes on the stove. “It’s awfully kind of you to come stay with Megan on my first day back. But we certainly didn’t expect for you to cook.”

“It’s my pleasure. Besides, it kills two birds with one stone—I can feed my family and yours. Aidan’s coming by after work.”

“Good. I’ll be glad to see him.”

As his gaze swept toward the living room, Emma laughed. “Go on. You don’t have to stay here with me. I know you want to see your girls.”

He smiled. “Thank you. I have missed them terribly today.” After giving Emma a quick kiss on the cheek, he made his way into the living room. At the sight of Megan sleeping on the couch next to a frilly pink Pack N Play, his chest swelled with so much love and pride he felt like it might explode. Peeking over the side of the Pack N Play, he eyed his dark-haired daughters.

After waiting so long to become a father, he had been doubly blessed when they found out they were having twins. While Aidan liked to claim that his fear of the twin gene in his family had bypassed him, and instead, it had found its way to Megan, that wasn’t entirely true. His girls were identical twins, which had nothing to do with old wives’ tales. The two of them looked so much alike that Megan put different colored socks on them to tell them apart.

Although it had freaked Megan out a little at the prospect of two babies to care for along with Mason, Pesh was thrilled. Every aspect of the pregnancy and birth had been special to him. Thankfully, Megan had been blessed with great health, although she had been advised to take early maternity leave to stay off her feet. After her clinicals, she had accepted a job in the ER at Wellstar, where they sometimes were on similar shifts. The girls arrived only a few weeks short of their due date and were both healthy five pounders. Six weeks later, they were thriving and were the greatest joy in his life.

Sucking relentlessly on her pacifier, Maya’s wide eyes took in her surroundings. She stretched and flailed her arms. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to hit her sister. Since Sara remained sleeping soundly, Pesh bent over and picked Maya up. He kissed her cheek before drawing her close to his chest. As he stared into her tiny face, he couldn’t help the surge of love that overtook him. For all the years of struggle and heartache he had endured, it was moments like these that made him feel as though he was finally complete. His heart was full, and he was so thankful.

Once they learned they were having girls, he and Megan had decided to give them both Indian and Irish names to represent their combined heritages. Maya, which meant princess and honorable in Indian, was coupled with Katherine, to honor Emma, whose middle name was Katherine. Without Emma, he and Megan never would have met. Sara, which meant ‘soul’, was given her mother’s real name, Margaret, as her middle name.

At the sound of Megan’s gentle snores, he smiled. “Did you wear your mommy out today?” he asked Maya. She opened her tiny mouth like she wished she could respond to him. “Let’s wake her up.”

After he swept a strand of Megan’s long blonde hair out of her face, Pesh leaned down to kiss her cheek. She stirred as her eyes fluttered opened. “Hey,” she said with a lazy smile.

“Hello, my love,” he replied.

“How was your first day back?” she asked, as she stretched her arms over her head.

He grimaced. “Absolutely miserable without you and the girls.”

Megan smiled. “We missed you, too.” She jerked her chin up at Maya. “She cried for thirty minutes straight after you left. I think we have a serious Daddy’s girl on our hands.”

“Really?” he asked, gazing down at Maya. He couldn’t help the warm glow that spread through his chest at Megan’s words. At just six weeks old, his girls were already showing distinct and different personalities. Maya was inquisitive and fought sleep to be awake to see what all was going on. He’d ended up holding her more than Sara simply because Maya often exhausted Megan by not going to sleep. Sara, on the other hand, was already very sweet tempered and a natural snuggler. She probably represented his more laid-back, quiet personality where Maya was likely to be a little firecracker, just like her mom.

Maya stared up at him, her dark eyes peering intently at him. “Did you miss me, my little princess?” A fleeting smile appeared on her face.

“Oh my God, she smiled at you!” Megan cried.

“But babies don’t respond with smiling until later. It must be gas or something,” he argued.

Megan nudged his leg with her knee. “She most definitely smiled at you, Pesh.” She rose off the couch to rub Maya’s cheek. “You smiled at your daddy, didn’t you?”

Without taking her eyes off of Pesh, Maya flashed another smile and waved her fist. The sight caused tears to sting his eyes. He blinked fast, trying to clear them. He didn’t like feeling emotionally weak in front of Megan. But he knew he was busted the moment Megan murmured, “Oh baby.”

She slid her arm around his waist, leaning up on her tiptoes to burrow her face in his neck. “Do you know how much my love for you grows because you just got teary over your daughter?”

He glanced down at her in surprise. “Really?”

“Mmm, hmm.” She gave him a brief kiss. “After Davis, all I ever wanted was for my children to have a father who loved and adored them.” She smiled. “You make that dream come true every day.”

He brought his lips to hers. His mouth worked frantically to illustrate all that he was feeling inside—the intense love that he felt would burst from him. “I love you,” he murmured against her lips.

“I love you, too.”

Just as he started to kiss her again, a loud commotion in the kitchen drew them apart. Megan rubbed his cheek tenderly before bestowing a kiss on Maya’s head. She then jerked her chin towards the kitchen, and he followed her. Patrick had just burst through the backdoor with all the kids in tow.

“We’re back!” Mason called, as he bobbed around the kitchen. Three-year-old Noah and his two-year-old sister, Caroline, made a beeline for their mother. They began chattering non-stop to Emma while their bodies shook with unspent energy.

Pesh watched with amusement as Emma’s hand came to her hip and she pointed her stirring spoon at Patrick. “You gave them ice cream, didn’t you?”

Patrick shrugged. “I’m a grandfather. Spoiling them is what I’m supposed to do.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and then you bring them home to detox on my watch.”

“Mommy, I hungwy!” Caroline protested, stomping her foot. With her auburn hair swept back in pigtails and her emerald eyes narrowing in determination, she looked just like her mother. Well, her expression was pure Aidan.

“Caroline Fitzgerald, you get one ice cream cone in you, and you start acting like you have no manners. We do not stomp our feet to get what we want.”

She appeared thoughtful for a moment before saying, “Pwease Mommy, I vewy hungwy.”

Emma grinned. “Go wash up and then have a seat at the table in the dining room.”

“Come on guys,” Mason said. At almost four-and-a-half, he was always the caretaker of his younger cousins. Noah and Caroline followed him into the half bathroom off the kitchen.

Cradling Maya in his arms, Pesh joined Emma at the stove. “Something sure smells good.”

“Thank you. It’s Megan’s favorite chicken casserole. Then there’s broccoli and cheese casserole, green beans, and some cornbread, extra crispy on the edges just like Megan loves it.” The corners of her mouth turned down in a frown. “I’m sorry it’s not Indian food.”

He grinned. “I would have been very surprised if it had been considering how much you didn’t appreciate it many years ago.”

Patrick nodded in agreement. “That’s quite a spread you’ve fixed for us.”

Emma smiled. “I was happy to do it.”

“Are you feeling all right?” Pesh asked, motioning to her expanding belly.

Emma patted her bump lovingly before responding. “I think I’ve felt the best this pregnancy out of all the others. You would think with a three and two-year-old, I would be exhausted all the time, but it’s amazing how good I’ve felt.”

Patrick gave a beaming smile. “I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be having yet another grandson to carry on the family name.” With a wink, he added, “Not to mention the fact he’s been given fine Irish names.”