I lead Ava into the lounge and noticed how nervous she was about meeting everyone. To be honest, I didn't know what I was walking into either, but it seemed like they'd sent Remi out to get us.

"Who's here?" I asked Remi.

"Well, Ari came and she brought Nana Bella and Papa Teo... so.... everyone now." Remi laughed.

"Oh, God... is Micah here?" I asked.

"He is." Remi nodded.

"Ok... ok... it's fine..." I laughed nervously.

"Why are you nervous, idiot?!" Remi said, smacking me in the back.

"Do you have to do that?" I asked him, making Ava chuckle.

"Just shut up and walk." Remi said with a laugh, pushing me into the lounge.

Momma was the first to run over, Dad following close behind her.

"Hi, Momma." I chuckled, kissing her cheek and wrapping an arm around her.

"My baby." Momma smiled, resting her head against my chest for a moment.

"And this is Ava!" Momma said, almost bouncing in excitement.

"Hi." Ava smiled nervously, turning bright red.

"I'm this lovely man's mother." Momma chuckled, trying to resist but then pulling Ava into a hug.

Ava giggled and hugged her back.

"It's nice to meet you." Ava said.

"Aw, I'm so glad we got to meet you today! I've been dying to see the girl that's been driving my son crazy. And this man, is his father." Momma said, pointing to my father.

"Hello, Ava." Dad said, taking Ava's outstretched hand and shaking it.

"Hi." Ava said with a smile.

"And I'm Ari!" Ari cheered, running at Ava and hugging her tightly.

"Hi!" Ava said, seeming quite comfortable with Ari already.

"Hey, Ava." Vidal said, his arms wrapped around Kiara while Kiara stood there kind of timidly.

"Hi!" Ava smiled. "Oh, and Kiara it's nice to see you again!"

"Hey!" Kiara smiled with a nervous giggle, shuffling over and hugging Ava before she rushed back into Vidal's arms.

"My turn... move." Hazel chuckled, walking towards us and hugging Ava.

"Hey, Ava. I'm one of the big sisters." She chuckled. "Vidal and Romeo are my doing... and that's my husband over there, I think you've met him."

"Oh, yeah... Dr. Ferrari's twin." I chuckled.

"Hey, Ava." Ric said.

"And I'm still here, but I have to go back to the shop, someone is picking up a dress." Em said, walking over and hugging Ava. "It's nice to see you again, Sweetheart. I'm glad this worked out. I have to go now, but hopefully I'll see you around."

Em hugged me and then ran off.

"I'm that wonderful woman's husband and Evan's father." Killian laughed, shaking Ava's hand.

"Goodness... this is getting confusing." I laughed.

"Ok. I've done this before, I can explain." Remi said.

"No, please don't... you'll only confuse her." Micah laughed, making Remi frown and smack his arm.

"You must be Ari's husband." Ava said, looking at Micah who had his daughters in his arms.

"I am... and these are the girls." He chukled, unable to hug, wave or shake Ava's hand.

"Give me a munchkin." Theo chuckled, taking one of his sleeping nieces.

"Can I have the other munchkin?" Ava asked, holding out her arms.

The way she lit up when she saw the girls was adorable. I couldn't help but wonder if she was just holding herself back because of work.

Micah chuckled and handed his other daughter over to Ava. She was sleeping but she turned a little and wrapped her arms around Ava's neck.

"Alright... who's left other than me?" Aunt Isabella asked. "I'm Isabella... Gabe's Aunt."

"Hi! You're the one he thought the lady at the park was on his birthday, right?" Ava asked.

"Ava!" I groaned, making her giggle as she hugged Auntie Isabella.

"I'm this lovely woman's wife, and if I do dare say so myself... we're the ones who are responsible for all of these crazy people." Uncle Teo said, hugging Ava.

"You guys are Dr. Ferarri's parents... right?" She asked.

"Yup." Auntie Isabella laughed.

"I see... and... is that everyone?" Ava asked, looking around.

"Ok... you met my parents and my aunt and uncle. You met Killian, Em, Ric, and Hazel... you know Rico, Sophie and me obviously... then you know Evan, Romeo, Vidal and Kiara. Then there's Micah and Arabella, Theo and the girls... I think we're done." I chuckled.

Ava's expression was one of complete confusion.

"It's a lot. I know." Micah chuckled, seeing Ava's concentrated expression.

"Alright... I'm going to explain." He said to her.

"Ok." She chuckled.

"Isabella and Matteo, that's where is started. They had the twins, Ric and Rico... and also Emelia. Emelia fell in love with Killian, Rico's soccer friend... and Federico fell in love with Sophie. Sophie is Devan and Lucie's daughter, and Gabe's sister. Her friend Hazel fell in love with Ricardo, Federico's twin.... did you get all that?" He asked, after explaining slowly and pointing to everyone in question.

"Yup... that makes sense." Ava chuckled.

"Ok... Then... Federico and Ricardo, had boys at the same time, those are Vidal and Theo... Then Em had Evan... then Romeo was born, Vidal's brother. The-" Micah said before he was interrupted.

"I hate to interrupt, but I think it's more accurate if you say Vidal, Remi's brother... just a note." Remi said, before Vidal smacked him in the back.

"Idiot." Vidal said.

"Watch the aggression, Stupid!" Remi yelled at his brother.

Ava laughed as Hazel grabbed them both and pulled them apart, getting between them.

"Don't mind them. Continue." Hazel said with a smile.

"Ok... So, Remi was born after Evan and he's Hazel's son... then my beautiful wife came after Romeo." Micah said.

"I see and then she met you and then Vidal met Kiara recently?" Ava asked.

"Yup." Kiara smiled, looking up at Vidal with so much love in her eyes, but he had yet to kiss her or even tell her he loved her. Vidal could be so oblivious and stupid.

"Ok... that all makes sense now." Ava laughed.

"Ok... sit down! Why are we all standing?" Ari asked.

"I have to go finish up in the kitchen. I don't know if I'll catch you two before you head out." Sophie said, kissing me on the cheek and hugging Ava before she went back into the kitchen.

We sat around for a while and everyone was talking to Ava, excited to have her around. They told her stories and got to know her and tried their hardest to embarrass me. Unfortunately, their efforts were highly successful.

Ava was bubbling with excitement and I had my family to thank for that. We were having an amazing date so far even though it was crashed by my entire family. Soon, Mila, who was in Ava's arms, woke up and looked up at Ava.

"Hi." Ava giggled.

Mila smiled and rubbed her eyes, continuing to sit comfortably in Ava's arms, she even played with Ava's hair which I thought was incredibly adorable.

"Mimi sleeping?" Mila asked.

"Yes she is." Theo smiled, gesturing to the sleeping toddler in his lap.

"Who dis?" Mila asked, looking up at Ava.

"I'm Ava." Ava chuckled.

"Gabey girlfriend?!" Mila squealed, making Ava chuckle.

"She is." I nodded.

"No. Not yet." Ava said, nudging me with her elbow.

I chuckled and then I looked down at Ava.

"You ready to go?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I think I've recovered from the food." She laughed.

"Ok. Let's go. We'll get plenty of opportunities to see everyone." I told her.

"Ok." She chuckled, handing Mila over to Ari.

We said goodbye to everyone and then we finally left and went to my car.

"That was amazing, Gabe. Your family is incredible." Ava said to me as I opened the door of the car for her.

"They're great." I chuckled, loving how well that meeting had gone.

She got in, and then I went around to get in beside her. We talked about her meeting with my family and then we drove to the waterfront to walk around and actually get to the fun part of the date.

Ava took my hand as she got out of the car and she dragged me out near the water.

"So, the food was good, huh?" I asked her.

"It was!" She giggled. "I loved it! Can you cook like that?"

"I can. I learned from the best." I chuckled.

"Yes! You, Gabriel Morelli, are a catch." She chuckled.

"Good... I need to be, so that a certain doctor agrees to be my girl in a few days when I can finally ask her to be." I laughed.

She laughed at me and then looked down at her feet.

"I'm sorry it took so long to let you in." She said to me.

"Don't be sorry. I think it happened perfectly. You know why?" I asked her.

"Why?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Because now you actually want to be here. You're comfortable with me and you know me and what I'm about. We already have feelings for each other. It's not just a silly crush anymore, I actually can see a future with you." I said to her.

"Are you sure about the kids thing though?" She asked me.

"Yeah. I am. I wouldn't have said I was ok with it if I couldn't follow through with my promise, Ava. I promise you that I'm perfectly happy with just us and maybe a puppy." I smiled.

"So... what's being a teacher like?" She asked me.

"It's very fulfilling. I like seeing the kids grow and change. It's amazing to see how they go from clueless to curious little creatures with lots and lots of facts stored in their little heads." I laughed.

"What about your summers? Do you just spend them with family?" Ava asked.

"I spend them at the restaurant helping Sophie and at the gym teaching martial arts classes." I smiled.

"Aw, that's cute." She giggled. "Do you actually know martial arts?"

"I do, I did classes until I was about sixteen, I think. But it doesn't matter anyway. I teach the toddlers and they basically just all attack me. It's more of an energy depletion class." I laughed.

"That's so cute!" Ava squealed.

"You really love kids, huh?" I asked.

"Yes! They're adorable. Perfect little miracles." She chuckled.

"Well, that's good. You'll be hearing a lot about them... maybe my gorgeous girlfriend could accompany me to the school fair next year." I laughed, nudging her gently.

"I think she'd love to... but you'd have to ask her when the time comes." Ava smiled. "What's the fair like?" She asked me.

"You wanna see some pictures?" I asked her.

"Yes, please!" She cheered, looking at my phone as I opened up my gallery. I let her scroll through the fair pictures freely and she laughed at a few of the pictures, then she stopped on one from two years ago.

"In this one from two years ago, you have a kid in your lap. Poor thing, her lips are almost blue." Ava said, seeing a picture of me with Lily in my lap.

"Yeah. She went and played with all the other kids and then refused to change her clothes, only for us to realize she didn't have a change of clothes. I was able to find her some from the school's merchandise and she changed into those... but she was still very cold. We wrapped her up in several towels and I think someone found a blanket at one point, but she was shivering for the rest of the day." I said.

"She's adorable though... but why were you with her?" Ava asked. "What about the other teachers?"

"Well, Lily doesn't do well with people. I was her teacher and she knew me, she's grown to trust me a little more than the others over the years." I explained.

"She's so cute, Gabe... did she get really sick?" Ava asked.

"Well, it was Friday, by the time it was Monday she showed up to school alright, but she was very tired. Poor thing fell asleep on top of her book and slept through the day." I sighed, thinking about how much Lily struggled.

"That was two years ago... is she still at the school now? Wait, this is your favourite, isn't it?" Ava chuckled.

"Yup. She's my favourite, I won't even deny that... although teachers aren't meant to have favourites, but we secretly always have one." I laughed.

"So you have one every year, I suppose?" She laughed.

"Well... not since Lily. She's not in my class anymore, but she's still my favourite." I laughed.

"What's so special about this girl?" Ava asked.

"Well, she's adorable... She hates people. She doesn't trust anyone. But somehow, she found it in her to trust me. She falls asleep in my chair, no one can get her to do math or science except for me. She's just special... she's different. And no one seems to understand that she doesn't need to be pushed. She doesn't need to be forced into things that make her uncomfortable. I'm the only one that can get through to her because I'm the only one that let's her do what she wants to, as long as she agrees to push herself a little and learn." I said.

"I see. Are there problems at home?" Ava asked.

"I have two reasons to believe there are. She's always hungry and always falling asleep." I explained. "But when I ask her about it. She has perfect reasons for why. Her parents never respond to emails or phone calls or anything, but her mother picks her up every day after school... I don't know... I have no reason to truly decide that there's something wrong at home."

"You know what I think, Gabriel?" She asked me.

"What?" I asked her.

"I think she has an amazing teacher who she trusts. And I think that if there's anything going on at home, she knows who she can tell." Ava told me.

"You're right. I'm happy with the fact that she trusts me. I want all my students to know they can come to me if they need anything." I smiled.

"You're a great teacher, Gabe. I wish I had a teacher like you when I was in school." She smiled.

"That means a lot to hear." I said, feeling genuinely touched.

"It's the truth. I mean you sound like that fun teacher, but you still put your students and their education above everything." She told me.

"That's the goal." I chuckled.

She smiled and she continued scrolling through the pictures.

"This looks so fun! It reminds me of the fair that my best friend and I always used to go to back in Canton... it happened once a year and everyone used to go to it. But Jordi and I made sure to go together at least once in the few days that it went on for. And we would have this competition. We went to every single station, played every game and saw who could win more of the games overall." Ava said.

"And? Who won?" I asked her.

"Me of course! I've always been super competitive. There was only one year that she won and I was so upset." Ava laughed. "It took me like three days to start talking to her again. To be fair we were ten."

"Wow. You were really upset about her winning." I chuckled.

"Yeah. Be prepared for me to beat you at absolutely everything." She told me.

"I will be prepared for that. But you better not stop talking to me when I win." I said to her.

"I won't. I've grown a lot since the age of ten." She giggled. "Alright, it's so pretty out here, We've got to take a picture."

"Alright. Come here." I said, wrapping an arm around her.

She got on her tippy toes so that her whole face was in the view of the camera beside mine. We took a cute picture together and then Ava made us take a few silly ones.

"There you go, Gabriel. Now you have proof that you took this beautiful doctor out on a date." She laughed, grabbing my phone and sending the pictures to herself.

"We look cute together, and look how pretty the background is?" She giggled.

"Those are some amazing pictures, I agree with you." I laughed.

"Let's sit down for a minute and then we can move on to our next activity." She smiled.

I sat beside her, taking her hand in mine and looking down at her. She was so pretty. Her brown eyes were so warm and welcoming, unlike when I first met her and they were cold and closed off. Something had changed in her. I wondered what had changed it.