I Dreamed A Dream
Part Three - Just Us
By Breigh
breighbers@juno.com

Ok, this series needs explanation, and here's one:
This series starts around 6 years after "The Storm". When Doug left Carol was pregnant, and she decided to not tell him about the baby. Instead of having twin girls, she had twin boys, Ben and Joel. (You might not like the idea now, but trust me, it grows on you as the series goes along. Also, this story is one of my first, and the next ones are a lot better developed, and they're better than this one, this is just the one that explains everything and gets you into the series.) One day Doug comes back to Chicago for a conference and finds Carol and he meets the two little boys that he never knew he had, and that's where it all starts! Feedback is always appreciated, send mail to: Breighbers@juno.com

Doug and Carol tell the boys that Doug is his father...but the boys have something else planned.



"Got it!" Ben yelled as he ran over to the door. He opened it and saw Doug standing there. "Hey Doug." "Hey dude." Doug said as he walked into the house.

"Doug, do you wanna play this video game with me?" Joel asked looking over at Doug from the couch.

"Joel, we have other things to do, not play video games." Ben said very mater of factly.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot." Joel said jumping off of the couch and running into the kitchen followed closely by Ben. Carol came down the steps and smiled at Doug.

"Hey." She said walking over to him.

"Do Ben and Joel always have more important things to do than play video games?"

"Not usually, but tonight, they're making dinner." Carol said with a smile. "Doug, they both had a really good time with you yesterday. I've never seen them so happy."

"Well, I'm glad, I had a really good time with them." Doug paused and looked into the living room, he saw only Ben's head turned to him, and the back door was open. "Ben, where'd your brother go?" Doug asked looking in.

"Oh, he went to get something out of the back yard." Ben said setting a thin glass in the middle of the table.

"Alright." Doug said looking back at Carol. She was just smiling at his fatherly instincts. "Did you figure out how to tell them?" Doug asked as Joel ran by them. "Joel?" Doug asked looking around Carol.

"Huh?" He replied as he ran up the stairs.

"I was thinking about it all day, and I think we should just tell them the truth. They probably won't be able to understand it yet, which is probably in our favor."

"Yeah, I guess…" Doug began as Joel ran by again, he was carrying his kid radio/karaoke machine.

"Doug, their kids, they do weird things, you've just got to ignore it." Carol said with a slight laugh.

"Hey Ma, what is that station that you make us listen to sometimes in the car?" Joel yelled from the kitchen.

"What?" Carol yelled turning around.

"You know, the one where the songs have no words." Ben yelled to confirm his brother's request.

"Hey, their kids, they do weird things, you've just got to ignore them." Doug said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but that's a little too weird." Carol said in a low voice so that Ben and Joel wouldn't be able to hear her. "Boys, what are you doing?"

"Ma, just tell me!" Joel yelled.

"97.8." Carol yelled back.

"Ok, thanks." Joel said as Carol and Doug looked over to see Ben carrying plates over to the table.

"Do they do this all the time?" Doug asked with a chuckle.

"No, never." Carol said as she too laughed at her sons. They were now running all over the kitchen. They watched as Joel went over to the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of milk. "Guys, do you need help?" Carol called into the kitchen.

"No mom!" Ben yelled.

"Stay out there!" Joel finished.

"They're up to something, I know it, I used to do the same thing." Doug said with a smirk.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Carol said returning the smirk.

Ben and Joel made Carol and Doug go upstairs while they made dinner. About 10 minutes later Joel ran up to get them.

"Mom, Doug…you're table awaits." He said with a smile.

"Alright." Doug said with a smile as he got up. Joel took Carol's hand, and then he took Doug's hand, and pulled them down the stairs. Ben was sitting over by the radio and the lights were dimmed. As Joel took them into the kitchen Doug and Carol both smiled. In the middle of two place settings was a flower in a cup. It looked like it was just pulled out of the ground. "That must have been what he went outside for." Doug whispered over to Carol.

"Here you go." Joel said as he sat down Doug in one seat and Carol in the other. He still had both of their hands in his.

"Joel, Ben, aren't you guys going to eat with us?" Carol asked looking around to them.

"Nah, we're eating in the den." Ben called to them. Joel took the his hand that held Doug's hand, and his hand that held Carol's and moved them together. He put Carol's hand in Doug's and then smiled up at them both. Doug glanced over at Carol, and she glanced at him. They watched Joel as he walked over to the counter and got two sandwiches. He carried them over and set one in front of Carol, and the other in front of Doug.

"We can't use the stove or microwave, so we had to make peanut butter and jelly, and chips." Joel said running over to get the bag of chips. He poured some on Doug and Carol's plate. "And milk, we know that helps get the peanut butter down." He said nodding. Doug and Carol began to pull away their hands, but Joel jumped at them. "Guys!" He said taking their hands and placing them back together. Then he ran out of the kitchen, and Ben turned on the radio. They heard Ben run away and Carol looked over at Doug.

"They're some kids." Doug said with a smile.

"I don't know what got into them, they've never done anything like this before." Carol said with a laugh.

"No, it's nice. It's not every night that I get to eat with you, especially when I get to eat food made by my sons."

"Yeah, I guess that's right."

"Yeah." Doug said with a laugh. Carol broke into laughter too.

"Oh my god! I know what this is about!" Carol said as her face lit up.

"What?" Doug asked as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"The other night, the boys asked for a dad, and a sibling for their birthday. They had a good time with you, and so…"

"Oh, so they want me to be their father?"

"I think so."

"Well, that works out good."

"Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" Carol said with a smile. Doug looked over, mesmerized by her. He wanted her so bad, and he feared that she didn't want him.

"You're gorgeous." Doug said with a tilt of his head.

"Doug, we talked about this, you've been gone for almost 6 years, you can't expect to come back and for me to fall into your arms."

"I never said that. But just because I've been gone for 6 years doesn't mean I stopped loving you, and you said that you still love me."

"Yes, but I'm not in love with you again." Doug lowered his head. This comment stabbed through him like a sharp knife. "Doug…" She saw that it hurt him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"Carol, you may not be in love with me now, but you will, because we're meant to be together, and we'll end up together." Doug said with a nod. Carol looked at him, and felt something rush through her that she hadn't been aware of just a moment before. Doug's words made perfect sense. They made sense in all aspects. Carol got up and walked over to him. She rubbed her hand through his hair. Doug took his hand and placed it atop hers, which was now sitting on his cheek. "Don't do anything you don't want to." Doug said. He didn't know what came over her, just a second ago she was saying how she wasn't in love with him, and now it looked like she was ready to jump on him. Carol smiled and looked down at him. Then she moved down and their lips met in a moment of passion. Neither of them had felt anything like that in a long, long time. But it was all interrupted when they heard giggling. Carol looked over and saw both of the boys hiding behind the wall that separated the living room from the kitchen.

"The boys." Carol whispered.

"Do you want to tell them now?" Doug asked as he ran his hands through her hair.

"Now is as good a time as any." Carol said as she stood straight up. "Ben and Joel, can you two please come in here?" Carol asked as she walked over and turned the light on in the kitchen. Then she went over and turned off the radio. The two walked into the room with huge smiles on their faces. Doug just looked over at them and shook his head from side to side.

"Was that romantic?" Ben asked as he sat down at the kitchen table next to Doug.

"Yeah, did it make you wanna fall in love?" Joel asked as he mounted the chair on the other side of Doug.

"We saw you guys kissing." Ben said with a smirk.

"Guys, Doug and I have something very, very important to tell you." Carol said as she sat down. Ben and Joel looked back and forth at Doug and Carol.

"Are you getting married?" Joel asked with a smile.

"No honey." Carol said as she put her hand over Joel's.

"Mom, is something wrong?" Ben asked, he was worried.

"No honey, everything is fine."

"Then what is it? Doug, is it something with you?" Ben asked looking over at Doug.

"No dude, I'm fine." Doug said as he put his arm around Ben.

"Boys, now I know this is going to be hard for you to understand now, but we want to tell you." Carol said as both of the boys nodded. "Boys, about 6 years ago, Doug and I were dating. We wanted to start a family, but Doug got a job and moved to Seattle, which is pretty far away." Again, both of the boys nodded. "Boys, after he left I found out that I was pregnant with you."

"Us?" Joel asked.

"Yes, you two. Anyway, I didn't tell Doug, or you guys about each other." Both of the boys looked back at Doug. "Boys, Doug is your father." Both of the boys looked at Carol, and then looked back at Doug.

"For real?" Ben asked looking over at Doug.

"Yeah, and guys, I'm so, so sorry. I wanted to be a dad more than anything, and I would never have not been here if I knew about you."

"Are you going to stay here now? Are you going to live with us?" Ben asked. Doug looked over at Carol.

"Actually, I got a job here today, and I'm going to be looking for an apartment. I'm not going to live here in this house, but I'm going to live here in Chicago."

"Why can't you live here?" Joel asked as he started to get upset. "Mom! I want our dad to live here!" He yelled turning to Carol.

"Yeah mom, why can't he live with us? Everyone lives with their mom and their dad." Ben argued.

"Hey, boys, I'm going to be like 5 minutes away, you guys can come and see me, and we can go out whenever you want." Doug said rubbing both of the boys' backs.

"Yeah, and we'll have to see, maybe Doug will move in here eventually."

"I want him to move in now!" Ben said jumping off his chair and running up to his room.

"Me too!" Joel said as he followed Ben. Doug just looked over at Carol.

"I should go talk to them." Carol said getting up.

"Well, how about I take one, and you take one, then we can switch."

"I don't know…"

"I'm their father, right? And now they know it, I think that this is as much my responsibility as it is yours."

"Alright, you can go talk to Ben, and I'll talk to Joel." Carol said as the headed up the steps.

"Ben? Buddy, please let me in." Doug asked knocking on the door.

"Why do you want to come in?"

"Because, I'd like to talk about this whole thing with you." Carol looked over at Doug; she was knocking on Joel's door.

"Why do you want to talk to me about it?"

"Because I think that we need to."

"Are you going to leave if I don't let you in?"

"No, I won't." Doug said as he heard the door unlock. The door opened and Ben stood shyly. Doug walked in and then shut the door behind him. Ben walked over and flopped down on his bed. Doug looked around his room, and got the chair from his desk and sat down in it. "Bud, I know that this is a lot for you to handle, and I know that you probably don't understand it."

"I understand it." Ben said as he looked over at Doug.

"Then, what's wrong?"

"Joel and me asked mom where our dad was for a while."

"Well, now I'm here." Doug said as he got up and sat down on the bed next to Ben. "Ben, I know that you might hate me. I remember hating my father when he left me as a little kid. But buddy, I would have been here if I knew about you guys."

"Why didn't mom tell you about us?"

"I don't know, but I wish she would have." Doug said rubbing his hand through Ben's hair.

"What are we supposed to do now?"

"Well, I say we get to know each other, and we'll go from there." Doug said looking down at him.

"Should I call you dad, or Doug?"

"Well, that's totally up to you. I don't expect you to call me dad yet, but if you want to, then that's perfectly fine. Whatever makes you feel comfortable."

"Can I hug you?" Ben asked.

"Of course you can buddy." Doug said as he moved over and picked Ben up. He set Ben on his lap and wrapped his arms around him. Holding that little boy made a rush of emotions come through Doug. He longed for the day that he would hold his child in his arms, and rubbed his hands through their hair, and hear them talk, and see them smile. Now, there it was-he'd missed out on 5 years of his children's life, but he wasn't about to let another day go by without seeing them, or at least talking
to them and telling them goodnight. "Ben, I know this is soon, but I love you dude." Doug said as he pulled Ben away to look into his eyes.

"I love you too…is dad ok?"

"Yes, Dad is perfect." Doug said as he kissed him on the forehead. Dad, he'd finally heard someone call him Dad, Doug thought as a huge smile came across his face. "Are you hungry?" Doug asked.

"Yeah, I don't think our dinner went too well." Ben said with a smile.

"No, it was great. But I think if you ever want to make a woman fall in love with you, come to me, I can give you a few pointers."

"We wanted you and mom to fall in love…did you?"

"Well, we'll have to see, I love her, and I think she loves me."

"I hope you get married, and move in here." Ben said excitedly.

"We'll just have to see, but how about now we go out and get something to eat?"

"With mom and Joel?"

"If they want to come."


"Can it just be us?" Ben asked.

"Why don't you want your mom and brother to come?"

"Cause, I always have to share mom with him, and we always have to do everything together. Can't it just be us tonight?"

"You just want it to be us?" Doug asked.

"Yes, please!"

"Ok, but then tomorrow I have to take Joel out."

"Ok." Ben said with a smile.

"Ok, well let me talk to your mom, and then we'll go."

"Alright, I'll wait downstairs." Ben said running out of the room. Doug sighed as he got up and walked out. Carol wasn't at Joel's door, but he heard her downstairs talking to Ben. Doug walked down and saw Ben pouting on the couch. Carol looked over at Doug.

"Doug, do you think you could go talk to Joel? He won't talk to me."

"Um…"

"He's taking me out to eat!" Ben yelled.

"No he's not!" Carol yelled back at the little boy.

"Carol, I did tell Ben that I'd take him out."

"Well Doug, right now one of our sons has locked himself in his room, I think that it's more important that we get him out." Doug just looked at her.

"But he promised! Just me and him!"

"Ben, no! You guys can go out tomorrow."

"Dad!" Ben yelled.

"Ben, how about this, I got 2 tickets to a BlackHawks game tomorrow night. If I go up and talk to your brother, then I'll take you to the game."

"Really? You have tickets?"

"Yes I have tickets." Doug said with a smile.

"Alright." Ben said giving in and sinking into the couch.

"Joel, it's Doug, can I come in?" Doug asked knocking on Joel's door.

"I don't know." Joel yelled.

"Why don't you know?" Doug asked, baffled by what that meant.

"What are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna talk to you." Doug heard as Joel started to unlock the door. He opened it and looked up at Doug.

"Hey sport." Doug said as he walked into Joel's room.

"Are you gonna move in here?" Joel asked looking up at Doug. Doug bent down to his eye-level.

"Maybe."

"Why weren't you here before?" Joel asked as he sat down on the floor. Doug sat down across from him.

"Because your mom didn't tell me about you."

"Why?"

"I can't answer that Joel, you're going to have to ask your mom."

"Are you mad at her?"

"At first, but now I'm just happy that I have you and your brother."

"Do you love us?" Joel asked looking up at him.

"Yes, I love you both, very, very much."

"How much?" Joel inquired.

"So much, that you can't understand." Doug said moving over to him. He stuck out his hand, and Joel took it. "Do you think that you can forgive me, and I can be a dad to you?" Doug asked holding Joel's hand.

"I always wanted a dad."

"And I always wanted a son." Doug said as he leaned over and picked Joel up. He placed him on his lap.

"Really?"

"Really." Doug said as he hugged him.