"I can't believe they actually get to come home with me!" Amara said as she tucked Joel into his baby carseat.

The babies were now four days old. Amara and the twins had to stay at the hospital for a few days just to check up on things and make sure things were okay. In that time, Peter and Amara's dad had visited, as well as a few people from work and some other family members that Amara hadn't seen in a while. She was surprised how many people showed up to meet the babies. 

Thankfully, they had been given the all-clear to leave, and Amara had never been so eager. Mom had left the day before, and Amara was more than ready to get away from the hospital. Gabby went out for McDonald's with Ken, and they were going to meet Amara and Ethan at home. 

"Are you ready?" Ethan asked. He was holding Abigail's carseat.

"Yep!" Amara stood and lifted the seat.

The two headed out to the car and placed the seats in the back seat.

"I wish I could sit back there with them, but there's not enough room," Amara said. She shifted in the front seat.

"Well, maybe we could look into getting a minivan," Ethan suggested.

"Maybe," Amara said thoughtfully. "I could trade my car for one."

By the time the two of them reached their home, Amara was getting excited again. She glanced into the back seat and smiled at the two carseats. She was a mom now. Her heart fluttered. This meant big changes, but now she had two children of her own. That was something to be proud of. She made a vow right then and there, that she was going to be the best mom ever.

But it wasn't that easy. By the time they had finished lunch, Amara had gotten up three times before it had gone cold. The babies needed to be fed, changed, burped, cuddled, and held. Thankfully, Ethan and Gabby jumped in as soon as they were needed, and let Amara get in things like a shower.

The first night was crazy. Gabby and Ethan were up, but Amara eventually sent them to bed, since they both had work in the morning. Neither of them could breastfeed either, so there was almost no point in them being up anyway.

Amara slept on the floor in the twins' room for the first few nights, especially that first one. Every time one of them made any noise whatsoever, she was wide awake and checking for any problems. She quickly learned that, while Abigail slept silently, Joel made little squeaks while he was sleeping, so every little noise didn't necessarily matter.

Over the next few days, Amara realized that she was really getting to know her kids. Abigail slept with her little tongue sticking out. Joel had a freckle under his eye. Abigail was usually the one to start the crying; Joel didn't start until she did. One thing was for sure, the two had a bond somehow, and it was something Amara knew she'd keep an eye out for.

A week later, Amara sent Gabby and Ken on a date for some alone time. Gabby had been doing so much; she would get up early and go to work, then got home and took care of the babies, while Ethan made dinner, and Amara brushed her hair, or went to the bathroom, or whatever. She had been so involved that Amara wanted to thank her. Ken had also come by to help more often than not, so she wanted to thank him too.

That night, Amara flopped on the couch, exhausted. The twins were sleeping in their bassinets, not five feet away.

"How're you doing?" Ethan asked, sitting by her legs.

"Tired," she admitted. "But I want to thank you for helping out. Really."

"It's nothing," Ethan shrugged.

"No, it's a lot," Amara sat up. "You and Gabby have been doing so much. And you've been making dinner almost every night, which I really appreciate."

"Yeah, well--I've actually been meaning to tell you about that." Ethan scratched the back of his neck.

Amara sat up, almost concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Over the last little bit, I've been wanting to go to work less, but I've always been feeling eager to cook," Ethan said. "I don't know for sure, but I think I'm going to apply to culinary school."

"Seriously?" Amara grinned. "That's great!"

Ethan smiled as she hugged him. "I don't know if I'll even get in, but its worth a shot. IT would be better than working for that jerk of a boss."

"Hey," Amara sat back. "Gabby has an interview next week, I don't work for them anymore. If you become a chef, then we won't have to have anything to do with them anymore."

"I look forward to that day," Ethan said, sinking back into the couch.

There was a brief moment of silence, except for Joel's squeaking in his sleep. Without Gabby around and with both babies asleep, there really wasn't much noise anyway. Amara spoke up again.

"We should celebrate."

 Ethan gave her a knowing smile. "Ice cream?"

"Do you mind?" Amara gave a sweet smile. She had been trying to cut back, so there was none in the house.

"Are you okay with being alone?" Ethan asked.

"The store's like, five minutes away," Amara said. "I think I can handle my own babies for that long."

"If you're sure."

Ethan was out the door in minutes. Amara stood and walked over to the two bassinets. To her surprise, Joel was awake, blue eyes searching the ceiling. Amara wondered if they would change to brown at some point. Most babies had blue eyes at birth, but sometimes they changed. 

Her heart melted when he looked away from the ceiling and right at her face. He seemed to be studying her face, almost as if he recognized her. She smiled and watched him wave his arms around, not even aware that they were a part of him yet.

Turning her gaze to Abigail, she couldn't get over how round her cheeks were. Mom had said that she took after Amara that way. Even as she watched, Abigail's eyes fluttered open and her eyes met Amara's. Her eyes were more blue that Joel's and she had the lightest eyelashes.

Amara's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the front door. Hesitant to leave her kids alone, Amara did so anyway and moved to answer it. She paused, realizing that she was in her bathrobe, but she didn't mind. Whoever it was would just have to accept that she was new mom who got ready for bed early.

Amara reached the door and opened it, preparing to send the person away. But when she saw who was there, her heart stopped.

"Joshua?"