Jessica had fallen asleep in Louis' embrace. He looked at her sleeping form and took a sip of his wine. He remembered the poem "A Drinking Song" from Yeats.

Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.

Yes, he had the love of his life before him. He knew in his heart that he had more than sympathy for her. He admired and loved her. He let out a long sigh.

As dawn began to break, Jessica roused from her sleep. She felt warm and comforted. When she realised she was sleeping in Louis' arms, she was stunned and embarrassed.

"You have woken up?" he said softly over her head.

Her heart jumped at his voice and she quickly sat up, removing herself from him. "I'm sorry," she said bashfully.

"Feeling better now?" 

"Yes, much better. Thank you." She answered without looking at him. Then, she spotted the wine stain on the carpet. "I'm sorry. I will send your carpet for cleaning." She pointed at the stain.

"It's ok. We will just buy another one. You can help to pick one for me." he replied good-naturedly.

"Ouch!"

She finally looked up at him when she heard his exclamation of pain. He was trying to move his arm. It was numb after being slept upon for the whole night. She moved forward to give his arm a rub to loosen the muscles. "Sorry," she said again.

"Enough of your apologies. It's so unlike you" he said teasingly.

"Do you mean I'm always rude?" she asked him back, looking at him.

"No, just domineering and dictatorial," he chaffed her.

"Just joking." He quickly added when she held on to her serious expression.

"Yes, I know." She finally let out a laugh and he laughed with her.

"I'm glad you are feeling better."

"Thanks. I better get going before the kids are up." She got up to leave.

"Will you be coming over to make your Jessie's pancakes?" He asked as he also got up to walk her home.

"Why don't we bring them to the park today? I think they can't wait to try on their new bikes."

"Good idea."

"Okay then. I'll prepare the picnic basket for lunch. Remember to feed them breakfast before bringing them over to my place."

"After which, you can pick the new carpet for me."

"All right, we have the day planned." They had reached her place and she had opened her door. They looked at each other expectantly. When nothing happened after a while, she said her goodbye and closed the door.

Louis lingered at her door. "Was she expecting a goodbye kiss?" he asked himself.

He finally returned to his apartment to catch a few winks before his kids got up.

Meanwhile, she had a warm shower but her heart was feeling even warmer. She indeed had a peaceful sleep; he had after all spent the night watching over her. The feeling was so sweet. "He is just treating you as friend. Stop having silly ideas." She reminded herself as she turned off the tap.

She proceeded to her kitchen. She boiled some water and dipped the slices of ham into it to cleanse them. She then left the ham to cool. She proceeded to fry some eggs and left them to cool too. Then she sliced the cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuces. She knew that the kids did not like vegetables in their sandwiches, so she prepared a separate set for them. She then took out some apples and grapes to substitute them as their vegetable intake.

By the time Louis had arrived with the kids, the picnic basket was filled and there was even a water cooler full of lemonade.

They spent the day at the park. Louis had truly enjoyed his children's company for the first time in his life. It wasn't an obligation to play with them, or a chore to entertain them. They were keeping each other company. Occasionally, he would glance at the woman who had made such a difference in his life. Her smiles and laughter filled his heart with happiness.

The kids, especially Alex, had enjoyed the time with their father too. They liked this daddy before them as he was fun and happy. He laughed with them. He did not snap at them. They loved having Auntie Jessie with them too.

Louis had taught Alex how to ride his bike while Jessica pushed Ashley in her tricycle and played in the sandbox with her.

They had their picnic lunch and proceeded to shop for a new carpet. Jessica had chosen a lilac carpet with white borders to match Louis' sofa and coffee table. This was her first touch for his apartment.

Weeks had passed and they never mentioned about Jessica's past again.

Jessica had created a lot of opportunities for Louis and Alex to bond together. She had got them to play ball, go cycling and even bathe together. Alex now looked forward to have Louis home every evening.

Meanwhile, Ashley had glued herself to Jessica. She insisted on having her hair tied by Jessica before she was sent to the childcare centre every day. Jessica had to give her a goodnight kiss every night. She had also become chatty with Jessica. She would even pick her own clothes when Jessica dressed her. She no longer followed Alex around.

Jessica and Louis continued to tease and throw harmless sarcasms at each other, but their mutual affections were also growing. Jessica had often stopped working to listen to the wind chime in her study and thought of Louis; while he would find excuses to call her during day, such as to ask what was for dinner and whether she needed him to pick up anything on his way home. They lingered longer and longer each night in front of her door, yet both of them did not express their feelings for the other.

This was one of the usual weekends that they spent at home again.

Jessica stood at the door watching the father-and-son pair "wrestled" on the bed. Their laughter could be heard in the midst of Alex's screams. A smile spread over her face. She finally called out, "Are you guys coming for lunch? Otherwise, I will just share the honeyed chicken wings with Ashley."

Louis and Alex stopped immediately and ran to the dining table. Jessica shook her head at them. No one would believe if someone said that Alex was not Louis' son; both of them were so alike. Not just in looks, but also in mannerisms and tastes. The honeyed chicken wings were one of their favourite dishes.

They gathered at the coffee table after lunch and Jessica caught Alex scratching his arm. She held his arm and saw a blister on it. Then, she spotted more blisters on his other arm. "Are they itchy?" she asked him.

"Yes, a little. They are fun to play with. There is water in them." Alex replied innocently to Jessica, but she was worried.

She then searched Ashley's body for similar blisters and she found some on her legs.

"I think they have chickenpox, Louis." she said worriedly.

"Let me have a look." He replied and examined his kids. "Let's bring them to doctor immediately."

It turned out that not only Alex and Ashley were infected with chickenpox, Louis too.

Jessica had three patients on hand. Both Alex and Ashley were suffering from the itchiness so she had to constantly apply the anti-itch lotion on them. They were generally still manageable as they would often sleep for an hour or two after their medication. "Don't scratch the blisters or they will break and form scars. Then, you will look ugly." She would warn the kids.

Occasionally, she would need to rock Ashley to sleep when the latter was feeling terribly uncomfortable and she could only express herself by crying. Alex, as usual, had taken care of himself. When he was really uncomfortable, he would just snuggle close to Jessica and Louis. Jessica would give him a few pats and some drinks as encouragement when she noticed his actions.

Louis was the one who caused Jessica to worry the most. His fever came that night after they visited the doctor and he was suffering from body aches. She spent the whole night wetting him to bring down his temperature. He was mumbling incoherently in his sleep. In his semi-consciousness, he was aware of her presence.

After a week, the kids were recovering fast. Some of their blisters had dried up and formed crusts. These crusts were beginning to fall off. Louis was still lying in bed. His temperature was gone but his body aches still persisted.

"Sorry, Boss. I really can't deliver the articles these two weeks. My kids are sick. So is Louis."

He overheard her conversation with her boss. He was touched. She had called them 'my kids'. He made up his mind.

The kids and Louis soon recovered under the tender care of Jessica. He was returning to work the following day and he walked Jessica home that night.

As she was about to enter her apartment, he grabbed hold of her hand and she turned around to face him.

"I love you," he said to her and waited for her response.

She looked at him in shock. Her mind and heart began to battle.

"You do know that I love you, don't you? Jessica." Louis asked while looking deeply into her eyes, searching her soul for an answer. She did not reply. She gazed back into his eyes. Tears formed at the rim of her eyes.

"Jessica," Louis continued, without losing hold of their eye contact. He held her hands in his own tightly. He did not want to lose her but he needed to give her a fair chance at choosing. "You know I would give everything I could for you, but I can't give that one thing that you wanted most." His voice trembled. He knew that she would understand what he meant but he wanted to leave it to no doubt. "I can't marry you. We can't have a legitimate child." He finally said it all to her. He watched her face intensely for her reaction, her response.

Jessica could hear the pain and anxiety in his voice. She looked away from his face. Louis would never lie to her. He was giving her a fair chance to choose. She knew. She knew it so clearly that it hurt. She loved Louis and he had just proven that he was worthy of her love. She would give anything to be with him, be with his children. However, she did not want to follow her mother's foot-steps; she did not want to a third-party in his marriage. She wanted to able to hold her head up high, and not in shame. Her thoughts were spinning in over-drive.

She took a look at him and she was undone. She loved this man and she could see his love for her too. She removed her right hand slowly from his grip and raised it to his left cheek. She ran her thumb along his cheekbone. Tears fell off from her eyes.

He did not remove his eyes from her. He was afraid to interpret her actions. He finally gave a sigh of relief when he saw her slight nod before she leaned forward and tilted her face upwards with her eyes closed. His hands held both sides of her face, his thumbs gently brushed her tears away and he kissed her firmly. He had to let her know he was resolved to make this relationship worked for them.

She had made her choice. She just let him love her, and she let herself love him.