"I can't believe I'm doing this," Amara said. 

She stared into the mirror, bringing the flat iron through her now-straight hair. Her makeup was done a little darker than usual, thanks to Gabby's help, and she was surprised that she was still able to fit into one of her good dresses. Ever since she had had the twins, she hadn't been able to fit into a lot of her old clothes, but she hadn't cared. She had nowhere to go, really. Until tonight.

Gabby entered the bathroom and grinned at her best friend. "You look so nice!"

"Thanks," Amara said. "I hope this is a good idea."

"What do you mean?" Gabby asked. "You and Ethan were made for each other. As far as I've seen anyway."

"Yeah, but dating?" Amara ran her nails through her hair. "I don't know. I like him, and I know he had a thing for me way back. I just hope I'm not staking our friendship here."

"Nah, you'll be fine," Gabby said. "Come on. He's waiting for you."

Amara followed Gabby down the stairs, fully expecting Ethan to be standing there. But he was nowhere to be seen. 

"Okay, I thought he was waiting for you," Gabby stated. She looked around, confused.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Gabby and Amara both looked to the door, confused, then back at each other. Amara moved to the door and answered it.

Ethan was standing there, looking well-dressed in his suit, and holding a bouquet of flowers. "Good evening, Miss Gray. May I have the honour of taking you out for the evening?"

"You already asked me out earlier," Amara grinned. "But yes, you may."

She took the flowers from Ethan and turned to Gabby, who was looking on.

"I can't tell if this is adorable, or insanely hard to watch," Gabby said. 

Amara suppressed a smile. "I think it's nice."

Ethan grinned. As he took her arm in his and led her to the car, Amara looked back at Gabby, who was watching from the door. 

"Call me if there's any issues with the twins," she said.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Gabby said, waving a hand. "Go have fun!"

----

Amara felt butterflies in her stomach as the pulled up to the restaurant. She was glad Ethan was taking a night off from cooking and letting someone else do it for a change. He was getting really good, and she knew he'd make an amazing chef someday, but, like everyone else, he needed a night off too.

Most of the butterflies were directed at her new, growing feelings for Ethan, but Amara also knew that she was nervous about leaving the kids. She had left them with Ethan before, but never Gabby, and this was different. When she had left them before, she had no other choice. Now, she was choosing to leave them at home, and, admittedly, she was feeling a little guilty.

"Are you okay?" Ethan asked as they sat at a table.

"I think so," Amara said. "Just a little separation anxiety."

"Oh, I see," Ethan said. He scooted his chair in so that he was closer to the table. "They'll be fine, but let me know if you feel like you need to end the date early." He shrugged. "I understand."

Amara smiled. "Thanks." She shifted. "This is the first date I've been on since I got pregnant."

Ethan looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. Actually, Joshua was the last guy I went on a date with." She cringed at the thought.

"Well," Ethan said, "hopefully I can be a better date than him."

"You already have been," Amara grinned. She picked up her water glass. "Seriously, I've been meaning to thank you for helping me out so much with the babies. You've been more of a father to them than their actual father. I really appreciate."

"Hey, that's what friends are for," Ethan said. He opened his menu. "I'm just sorry I wasn't the one who killed him."

Amara nearly spat out her water all over him. She wiped at her mouth with a napkin and quickly composed herself. "First of all, that's horrible. Secondly, you wouldn't have killed him, even if you wanted to."

"You're right, it never really did cross my mind, and I probably wouldn't have done it anyway," Ethan admitted. "I just wish I could have done more against him. If I wasn't worried about how it could make you look, I would have gone off  at him right there and then at the custody trial."

"It doesn't matter what you did against him," Amara stated. "What matters is what you and Gabby did for me. You both quit in protest of the way he was treating me."

Ethan opened his mouth, but Amara lifted her hand and continued, "I know you quit to go to culinary school. But would you have done it then if I hadn't needed the help?"

Ethan was quiet for a minute. The way he was twisting his face, Amara knew he was seriously thinking about that question.

"I don't know," Ethan said. "I wish I could say yes, but--I guess we learned a lot more about who Joshua was after you got pregnant."

Amara nodded. "Yep."

They chatted about this and that throughout their appetizers and while they waited for their entrees. Like everything else, their conversation somehow ended up on the topic of the murder investigation.

"I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist," Ethan said, "but do you know for sure that he's dead? It's not just a publicity stunt?"

"Well, I haven't seen him since he died, if that's what you're asking," Amara answered. She tossed a piece of hair over her shoulder. "But Nicole has a funeral planned for this weekend. I think she wants to get it over with before they can arrest her."

"Do you think she did it?"

"I don't know," Amara said. "I'm kind of leaning towards no. For--reasons I can't explain."

They were quiet as the waiter approached and placed their plates down on the table. Ethan waited until he left to start speaking again.

"That's where you went the other day, wasn't it?" he asked. "You went to go talk to her."

"Yeah," Amara said. She watched his face. "But don't ask about what. I promised I wouldn't say."

"Wow, must be pretty important for you two to be getting along," Ethan took a sip of water.

"It's just--she told me some stuff that makes me believe that she didn't do it," Amara said, thinking back. "I don't want someone to go to jail for a crime they didn't commit. I don't know if you saw her after, but she was absolutely hysterical."

"Maybe she's just a good actress," Ethan suggested.

Amara shook her head as she thought about it. "I don't think so. But she knows everyone thinks she did it." She shifted in her seat again. "I just wish I knew who did, you know? I didn't do it. You didn't do it. I'm pretty positive Nicole didn't do it, and I'm pretty sure Gabby didn't either. So who's left?"

"Maybe it's someone we haven't met," Ethan said. He paused and narrowed his eyes. Amusement flashed through them "Did you just say you're 'pretty sure' it wasn't Gabby?"

"Gabby's not a killer," Amara said. "But neither are you, and you just said you were sorry that you didn't do it." She sighed. "I'm sorry, I know she didn't do it. She was out with Ken, I know that. I'm just--I'd really like to get an answer. Because I'm not in the clear until someone is either found out or confesses."

Ethan watched her. Amara saw sympathy passing across his face. It was like he wanted to maker her feel better, but he didn't know how.

"Well," he said after a minute. He reached across the table and took her hands in his. "It sounds like the only thing we can do is wait. And distract ourselves until we can get an answer."

Amara smiled. "I'm willing to be distracted if it means more nights like these."

Ethan grinned at her. "That was so cheesy."

Amara let out a laugh that felt so good she wanted to do it again. With all the pressure that had been on her over the last few weeks, it was nice to just enjoy herself.

As the night went on, Amara realized that her butterflies had disappeared and she was really getting comfortable with Ethan. It was also very different from her date with Joshua. With Joshua, they had gone to a fancy restaurant then back to his apartment for drinks. But this time, they went to a restaurant they both knew and loved. There was no alcohol--Ethan didn't drink and Amara had sworn it off anyway--so there was no need to question who would be driving  home.

Maybe it was the combination of all of the above, or just that she knew Ethan better than she had ever known Joshua. Either way, instead of a night of regret, it was a night of fond memories. And as cheesy as it sounded, Amara really was looking forward to more nights like these.

---

A few weeks later, Amara was scrambling to meet deadlines and fill orders. Her business had taken off way quicker than she had ever anticipated. Really, she hadn't had time for much else, except eating, sleeping, and taking care of the babies. And at nine and a half months, the twins were getting more and more active.

Abigail was starting to crawl. As soon as she realized she could start moving around on her own, she had been trying to crawl as much as possible. Joel was still content with being moved around by someone else, though he had quickly realized he wanted to keep up with his sister. As such, he had started scooting around on his rear end in an effort to copy her.

Both of them were now responding to their own names. Joel was also beginning to recognize names like "Gabby" and "Abigail." Amara almost cried when he pointed to her after Gabby asked him, "Where's Mommy?" Abigail was trying to talk, and was getting increasingly frustrated when she couldn't form the words. Amara's mom said she had been the same way at that age.

Speaking of Amara's mom, she and the rest of the family had been up for a few days to see the babies and Amara. They lived three hours away, so it was a special treat for them. Mom had noted that Joel was a mirror image of Amara, except for his eyes. They were still a bright blue, like Joshua's had been. She also confirmed that Amara's hair had never been as light as Abigail's, so she must have gotten that from his side as well. 

Abigail's eyes had turned from a murky blue to brown, which was what happened to Amara and her brother, Peter, when they were babies. Amara's dad said that Abigail's facial features were all Joshua, but Mom said she was supposedly more of a blend of Joshua and Amara. Amara wasn't sure if her mom was just trying to make her feel better by saying that, but she also pointed out that there was no doubt she was his kid just as much as she was Amara's.

All in all, the babies were progressing well, and Amara was proud. She was also seeing a different side of Peter now that the babies were able to play more than the last time he had seen them. Mom said it was because of the new girl he was seeing, but Amara knew that he was  happy to be able to start forming a relationship with his niece and nephew. 

In spite of the shock of Amara's pregnancy and journey to single-motherhood, it was nice to know that Amara had her family's support behind her, and that they loved the babies just as much as Amara had ever hoped they would.

A few days after they left, however, the happiness of the last few weeks faded. The phone rang as Amara was on her cell phone with another client. Gabby answered it, just as Amara was hanging up.

"Oh, yeah, just one second." Gabby held out the landline to Amara. "It's for you."

Amara took it from Gabby as she put her own phone down. "Hello?"

"You need to come down to the station," A familiar voice said. It was Connie. "We've just had an update."