"I feel great," Max lied. "I could climb Mount Everest if the doc would just clear me."

Molly reached over the bars and put her hand on his shoulder. He raised his hand and covered her small hand in his. "Shouldn't you be in summer school?"

"Breanne's going to take me," she said. "But first I wanted to see you."

"You're all worrying too much. I'm fine. I'm Mad Max. I'm indestructible, remember?"

Molly's fingers traveled to the back of his neck. "You have a rash."

"I do?" He felt the small bumps there. "I'll tell the doc when he comes back. Speaking of the devil," he said as Dr. Stone entered the room.

"Good news and bad news," Dr. Stone said. "Your heart is in great shape and you've tested negative for Syncope."

"Syncope?" Breanne asked.

"It's a sudden and temporary loss of consciousness, or fainting," Dr. Stone explained. "Most people pass out at least once in their life, which doesn't usually indicate a serious medical problem. However, sometimes syncope indicates a dangerous or even life-threatening condition."

"What's the bad news?" Kari asked.

"The bad news is we're running out of ideas. We've already ruled out anxiety and heartburn."

"I know what's wrong with my Dad," Molly said matter-of-factly, her gaze still on Max's neck.

Everybody looked at Molly with renewed interest.

"He's got the same rash I get when I eat peanuts," Molly said matter-of-factly. "I've been allergic to peanuts since I was a kid."

Nobody bothered to remind her that she was still a kid.

Molly looked at Kari. "Remember the time I fainted and then I got that horrible rash and we found out later that the cookies the neighbor had made for us had chopped peanuts in them?"

Kari nodded. It was hard to believe Max's troubles could be caused by something so simple, but her daughter made a good point. "I remember. You had difficulty breathing. I took her to see the doctor immediately," she told Max.

Kari examined the rash on Max's neck, then looked at Dr. Stone. "Do you think my daughter could be on to something? Could his fainting spells be an allergic reaction?"

"It's possible." He pulled out Max's chart again. "It says here that you were recently tested at a facility for food allergies."

Color crept into Max's face.

Kari's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Were you tested before?"

"I didn't have much time when I filled out some of those medical forms they gave me the last time I was rushed to the hospital. They wouldn't let me leave until I assured them I would be tested for allergies. They pestered me for weeks until I sent them the necessary paperwork."

Dr. Stone rifled through Max's file. "The form has been signed off by-" Dr. Stone adjusted his glasses, "by a Dr. Einstein." He huffed. "What are you trying to do, kill yourself?"

"Did you eat any peanuts last night?" Breanne asked.

"No. But this morning I ate a small handful from a can of nuts I found sitting on the kitchen counter."

Breanne moaned. "Dan bought those."

"I always knew Dan had it in for me," Max teased.

Dr. Stone gathered his things and headed for the door. "I'll send in the nurse and have her take some blood samples so we can get to the bottom of this." He turned and pointed a finger at Molly. "You just might have saved your father's life. You're a smart kid."

Molly smiled.

The door clicked shut.

Molly looked from Kari to Max. "Did you ask her?"

He nodded. "Three times now."

"Did she say *yes'?"

He shook his head. "I thought I had a good chance while she thought I was dying, but now that she knows my condition might just be an allergic reaction to peanuts I don't think I stand a chance."

Molly huffed. "You guys are such dorks. I have spent my entire life praying that someday I would have two parents. And now that I do, I find out they're not adults at all, just a couple of children."

Breanne laughed.

"It's not funny," Molly told Breanne as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I might as well be the parent and I'm only thirteen." She looked at her mom. "You love him. Everybody can see it but you, so why don't you marry him?"

"Molly, this isn't the time."

"Lots of guys can't say the words. Just because he's not any good at communicating how he feels, Mom, he loves you. Why do you think he stands there like a dork staring at you every time you come into the room when he picks me up?"

"And you're not any better," she said, turning to her father, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Haven't you seen Mom staring from the upstairs window when we drive off? Sheesh. I'm always tempted to wave at her, but I know I'd get grounded for embarrassing her. I don't get it. Why are you both trying so hard not to be together? You never should have slept together in the first place."

"Molly!"

"It was irresponsible," Molly went on. "But even though you're both irresponsible dorks, you lucked out because you got me. What if you had ended up with the twins? Or that kid I saw on that new reality nanny show the other night. The little boy wouldn't stop screaming at the top of his lungs." She sighed. "I refuse to do the whole parent trap thing and waste my time trying to get you two together."

Max looked at his sister. "Do you mind?"

"Yes," Breanne said, "as a matter of fact, I do. I brought Molly here and I'm not leaving without her."

"Okay," he asked Molly. "What do you suggest I do?"

"Tell Mom you love her, duh."

He looked at Kari. "I love you, duh. I always have."

Molly shook her head. "Tell her why you love her."

A few seconds ticked by. "Her hair," Molly blurted. "Do you like her hair?"

"Yeah, the hair's good. I like it."

"What does Mom say or do to make you want to spend the rest of your life with her?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but Molly interrupted again. "Tell her, Dad."

"You're getting on my nerves kid."

"Okay," she said. "Breanne and I are going to wait outside the door while you two talk." Molly grabbed Breanne's hand and led her out the door.

Kari and Max watched them leave.

The door clicked shut. "She's some kid," Max said.

Kari nodded. "She definitely has the Dutton gene. I didn't see it until now."

"I'm sure you meant that as a compliment."

"Of course."

"I do like your hair and the way your eyes sparkle."

Her lips curved upward.

"I do love you," he said.

"I love you, too."

"Marry me?"

"Absolutely."

Lindsay thanked the nurses and the doctor as she headed back into the main lobby. Twice as many people as before filled the waiting room. Through the large-paned window she spotted the taxi she'd called, but first she couldn't resist taking one last look at the baby wall. One woman had written, "After five long years, my husband and I are thrilled to announce that we are expecting our first child. Without the help of DLS, my dreams would never have come true." A picture was stapled to the note. A picture of the woman standing next to the man she loved-her eyes bright, her smile dazzling.

Lindsay turned away, her eyes welling again, so much so, she almost didn't see Cole standing in the lobby. "What are you doing here?"

"I turned around two minutes after I dropped you off. I've been sitting here waiting for you to come through that door."

"Why would you do that?"

"I didn't want you to go through this alone. It's a big step you're taking and I thought you might need some support."

"I thought you were angry with me."

"No," he said. "Never angry. Disappointed. Mostly because I wasn't ready to give you what I know you want most. I had these absurd visions of dating for a while before we got married and had kids together."

"You had visions of marrying and having kids with me?"

"Didn't you?"

"I'm a woman. It's expected of me. But you're a man-"

"Ahh, that's right. We men are cold, insensitive bastards who never dream of meeting that one perfect person and settling down. Men like me never waste valuable time fantasizing of a life with one special person."

"You thought I could be that one perfect person?"

He exhaled. "I still do."

"Even after all of this?" She gestured around the lobby.

He looked around. "After I dropped you off, I realized I wasn't ready to give you up. I don't think I knew until this morning how important having a baby was to you. Who am I to barge into your life and tell you what to do? I just want to give us a fair chance before we ever consider calling it quits."

"You're serious, aren't you?"

Taking hold of her waist, he pulled her close. Then he planted a good one on her mouth.

She sighed. A taste of Heaven.

Cole smiled. "I've never been more serious about anything or anyone in my life."

She held his gaze and lifted her chin. "I didn't do it."

He raised a brow, prompting her to gesture toward the hallway where the examination rooms were. "I didn't go through with the procedure because of you...because of us. I wasn't ready to give up the chance, you know, the possibility that there could be something more between us. I'm not ready to give up the dream of a wedding, the honeymoon in Paris, the feel of my husband's hand on my belly as our child grows inside of me. Maybe another day I will be ready to walk through that door again if destiny opens it. But not today."

His eyes misted. "Move in with me," he said.

She tucked her arm around his and ushered him out the door, enjoying the cool air against her face. "It's tempting," she said, taking in the streets of Los Angeles, enjoying the sounds of the city life before turning back to face the man she was falling in love with. "Let's date for awhile before we do anything too crazy."

"I'm already crazy," he said. "Crazy for you."

Their gazes held as images of her future danced in her head-a little boy with curly-blond hair and extraordinary blue-gray eyes smiling back at her.

Kari looked from the quaint house on Briar Street with its perfectly mowed lawn and newly planted flowerboxes, to Breanne. This was the house where Joey and Breanne had lived together for the past five years. "Are you sure you don't want to move back in and give Joey another chance? I've been talking to him," Kari told Breanne, "and he's serious about wanting a family. I really think he's ready to make things work."

Breanne laid a hand on her stomach. "He accused me of trying to trap him with this baby. I can't marry a man who's going to resent me every time the baby cries. What if I'm not home and our baby needs to be changed? As much as I love him, he's clearly not ready to have any major disruptions in his life."

Kari pushed fly away strands from her eyes. Breanne had asked her to come to the house with her today while she collected a few of her things. Kari had agreed because she hoped to talk Breanne into giving Joey another chance, but Breanne's mind appeared to be made up already.

Kari's heart went out to Joey. She'd talked to him more than once since he first called a few weeks ago. He was still seeing the therapist and he admitted to Kari that he'd been a fool all along. He was scared to death when Breanne first told him she was pregnant, but now that he'd had time to do some soul searching and some serious thinking, he was ready to make some changes. He loved Breanne and more than anything he wanted their baby to have two loving parents.

"Are you ready to go inside?" Kari asked.

Breanne nodded. "I don't see his car. He must be out."

"Did you tell him you were coming?"

"No." Breanne slipped her key into the lock.