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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 do n'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 was n'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 was n'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 could n'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 could n'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 do n'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 , did n'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 did n'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 , did n't you ? ''