"What we need to do is make sure they fall in love with them as much as we are," George suggested with a stroke of genius, though he wasn't too sure how they were going to accomplish that.

"Any ideas how we do that?" Gabi asked. It had been a long day, especially for her. She could be forgiven for having her brain not quite up to speed yet.

"Mmhm," he murmured. "We let them help," he suggested simply enough. "We get them involved, but we make sure we set aside time for them, too."

"We can definitely get the babies on a schedule that means the boys get uninterrupted bedtimes, that's for certain," she agreed. "But I'm also sure that any number of people would happily take the girls for an afternoon."

"I think what we need to do is impress upon them that these are their little sisters and that they are going to look up to them someday," George added. What he wanted was for the boys to decide on their own what it meant to be big brothers.

"Family," she agreed softly. "I have faith in them. They'll be wonderful big brothers." Of that, she had no doubt. Her boys were robust, yes, but they had very big hearts.

"I'm sure they will," he agreed with a warm smile. He had the utmost faith in the boys and was certain they'd come around, even if it took a little convincing at first. "I'm pretty sure they'll have the boys wrapped around their fingers."

"They are beautiful girls, George," she murmured, admiring the sleeping babe in her arms. "Thank you." Raising her eyes, she smiled at him, her gaze filled with loving tenderness.

George arched his brows, a little surprised that she was thanking him, when he thought it should be the other way around. "No, Gabi. Thank you," he told her, equally tender in his voice and expression. "Maybe I should be thanking Jake," he added with a grin.

She snorted with laughter. "Maybe we should both thank him," she agreed. "Goodness, I was at my wits' end that day. You were definitely my knight in shining armor."

"More like a doctor in a lab coat," he said with a smirk. "I will always be grateful for Jake running into me that day," he told her, not for the first time. It was how they'd met.

"His one and only act of rebellion in seven years," she said with a quiet giggle. "I might almost be convinced he knew what he was doing."

"Perhaps it was fate," he said, though they'd been over all this before and had never reached a conclusion. What did it matter, so long as they were together"

"I will never forget the look on your face when I showed up at your door at 2am, though," she admitted in amusement. "I can't believe you didn't notice I was driving through that whole conversation."

"I wasn't expecting you to come over in the middle of the night," he admitted, an almost shy smile on his face. "But I'm glad you did," he added, leaning closer to brush a kiss against her lips.

"It was the most spontaneous thing I have ever done," she admitted ruefully, smiling into his kiss. "Something about you made me brave."

"We were meant to be together, Gabi," he told her, in a soft voice. He not only meant it, but he believed it. "I might be the doctor, but you healed me with your gentleness and your kindness and your love."

"We healed each other, sweetheart," she answered tenderly. "I would still be a mouse if it weren't for you. Well, I am still a mouse, but I roar on occasion now."

"You're not a mouse; you're a lady. There's a difference," he told her. "Unless you're squeaking because I'm tickling you," he teased, the corners of his eyes crinkling with humor.

She laughed at his humor, warmed by how delight and contented he seemed to be with the results of the last nine months. "I still think you do that only to hear me snort like a piglet," she informed him in response, her grin belying the accusation in her tone.

"Piglets are cute," George informed her, which naturally by extension meant she was just as cute. "We have his and hers piglets," he said with a teasing grin and a nod of his head at the infant girls.

"You realise your implication is that I am a sow, right?" she pointed out in amusement. Not that she minded - Gabi was quietly in love with pretty much any animal, which only made their lack of pets even stranger.

"It would make me a boar," George remarked. "Not to be confused with the kind that puts people to sleep," he added with a smirk, though he often wondered if he didn't do just that to some people. He was a quiet sort, but willing to speak when he had something worth saying.

"Fierce and handsome" I can see that," Gabi said with a smile, the compliment genuine even if it was a little clumsy. "Do you want to take the gown off" You don't need it anymore."

"Fierce?" he echoed, chuckling. "You think I'm fierce?" He blinked at her question, having totally forgotten about the gown. "I guess I could, couldn't I?" he said, though he seemed in no hurry to disturb his small bundle in order to do so.

"Of course you're fierce," she said happily. "Don't think I didn't hear you on the phone to Miranda this morning, putting your foot down about Cian and Lani taking the boys to the beach for the day."

George frowned. "It's not that I don't trust them," he said, in his own defense. "I just know how rambunctious they can be."

"I know," she assured him. "And the boys need a good long distraction so they don't worry over us being away. Miranda already has Ro getting into everything, and Rufus isn't guaranteed to be at the house. Cian can handle them."

"And Cian and Lani have Kai," George pointed out, who was a little younger than Ro and the boys, but still capable of getting into things. "She adores them," he added, though the same could be said for Ro.

"The main thing they've got is the beach and the sea, and if they need a hand, they've got Peter within yelling distance to entertain them," Gabi pointed out. The little boy who never grew up was growing up happily with his new family out there on the bluffs.

"Ah, we'd best take the call then," George said, seeing as how Humphrey was the Granger family patriarch. It seemed "Old Man Granger" was going to be the first to hear the good news.

"I'll transfer it through, then," the nurse told them. "Press the blue button after you pick up to put it on speaker." She nodded toward the telephone on the bedside cabinet, slipping out of the room to return to the desk and do just that.

"Thank you," George replied, turning to find the phone on the table so it wouldn't ring too loud or too long once the call was put through.

Thankfully, the telephone was set at a volume that would not disturb the sleeping babies, so when it rang, it was a gentle level. Gabi chuckled. "I never thought the Old Man would be the first call in."

"I thought it would be your dad," George admitted as he reached for the phone. "Hullo?" he said, greeting whoever was on the other end, presumably Humphrey.

"Ah, George, there you are," came the familiarly gruff but warm voice of the family patriarch. "I take it they've arrived then?"

"They have," George confirmed. "We have a Tara and a Sadie, respectively. I'd put them on, but they aren't feeling very talkative right now," he teased. "Would you like to speak with Gabi?"

"Tara and Sadie." It sounded as though Humphrey was writing this down. "Good names, I like them. Oh, is she awake" I would have thought she'd have passed out by now."

"No, she's awake. Tired but awake. Can you do me a favor though?" George asked. "Give us an hour or so to share the news with Gordon and Cian before you pass it along?" After all, Gabi's father and brother deserved to know before the rest of the family.

"Of course, dear boy." Humphrey's grin was audible. "I just wanted to be ahead of Miranda with the big news for once. May I tell her as well" The look on her face will be a joy to behold."

"By all means, please do!" George replied, the grin on his face heard in his voice. "Hang on and I'll give you to Gabi," he said, looking over to see if Gabi was ready for a phone call. "Ready?"

"Sure!" Shifting Tara to her other shoulder, Gabi reached out to take the phone. "Hi, Humph ..."

In George's arms, Sadie was still staring up at her father's face, but there was a suggestion of the disgruntled in her expression. She smacked her lips, her face starting to screw up in the first threat of tears.

"Oh, dear," George said, looking back at his daughter, once Gabi had the phone. "What's that look for, hmm?" he asked the little bundle with the disgruntled expression on her face. "Did we disturb your nap?" he asked, moving to his feet so that he could settle her against his shoulder and rub gentle circle against her back while he walked the room.

Sadie snuggled into his neck, but the threat of tears remained, turning into a thin wail that suggested it wasn't the phone call that had her so worked up. Gabi tipped the phone to her chin briefly. "Try her with a bottle, sweetheart."

George nodded in reply to Gabi as he murmured soothingly to the baby, though that didn't seem to be doing much to soothe her, which left a couple of other things to try. He did as Gabi suggested, moving over to one-handedly retrieve a bottle from the fridge and put it in the bottle warmer.

"Hush now," he murmured. "It will only take a minute."

Sadie did seem a little calmer with George soothing her, but her cries were insistent. Over on the bed, Gabi chuckled at something Humphrey said, but answered with, "I'm going to have to go, Humph. We have hungry babies here."

"They aren't going to want to eat in unison, are they?" George asked as he waited impatiently for the bottle warmer to do its thing.

"Okay, Humph. Love you back." Setting the phone down, Gabi smiled over at George. "Trust me, it's easier when they eat and sleep at the same time," she assured him. "It took me a long time to figure that out with the boys. Getting them on the same schedule is easier in the long run."

"Well, there are two of them and two of us," George pointed out, just as the bottle warmer dinged to let them know it was ready. "Want me to heat up another one?"

"Just set it going and get to feeding Little Miss Demanding there," Gabi told him. "I should be moving around, anyway. The sooner I'm up and moving, the sooner we can get home with these two."

"Gabs, you just gave birth not more than a few hours ago," George pointed out, the husband in him more prevalent than the doctor at the moment. He put another bottle in the warmer, gently shushing the baby in his arms, who he deemed could wait two more minutes.

"Oh, I am very aware of that," she assured him laughingly, easing her legs out of the bed. "I need to shower and change, too. Preferably before Rebecca comes around to heal me up. There's something awfully undignified about being sweaty and yucky when someone is trying to help."

"Okay, babies first and then shower. How's that sound?" he suggested, seeing how the ravenous little urchins were unlikely to patiently wait until their mother was clean. He could have fed them both, but it would go easier if they shared the task.

"Yes, doctor." She flashed him a grin, rising slowly from the bed to make her way over to the bottle warmer. "Feed Sadie before she starts to soak your shoulder, sweetheart. I'm fine."

"All right," he said, not bothering to argue, now that she was on her feet. He carefully rearranged his daughter so that she was settled in the crook of his arm and offered her the bottle. "How's that now" Better?" he asked her.

Sadie latched on near instantly, tiny hands reaching for the bottle and grasping at his fingers as she suckled. She wouldn't likely have very much, but this was just her first feed.

"Such a hungry little monster, you are," he whispered, holding her effortlessly, still on his feet. He was tired, too, but not nearly as tired as Gabi and was afraid if he took a seat, he just might fall asleep.

Anyone who wasn't familiar with brand new parents might have found it odd that both of them stayed on their feet to feed the newborn girls, but tiredness was definitely a battle to fight right now.