The Doctor's Choice

Chapter Six

A/N:

I apologize for the chapter delay, I was having technical difficulties with the laptop. Thank you so much for reading. I hope you like the update!

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"Seriously, Mom, it's okay. I want to take Abby to the beach with me."

"Evan Laurent Ellison," his mother fussed, "you've been seeing Isabella for a few months and, frankly, she isn't getting any younger. Abby's a dear, but won't she get in the way of something special you might have planned?"

"I am not proposing on this vacation, Mom."

"Don't you want Abby to have some brothers and sisters?"

"I don't need to be married for that."

"Evan!" Lauren tsked.

"Abby likes the yearly beach trip."

"There will be lots of trips. This is only the start of summer. Now, she's coming to stay with your father and I while you and Isabella get some quality alone time. Don't argue with your mother." Her voice was stern, but with the edge of a tease, "I'll hear no more of it. Drop her off Friday night so she doesn't have to get up early Saturday morning."

"Yes, ma'am," Evan conceded. Hanging up the phone he sighed and plopped down on the couch. An entire week with Izzy at the beach, all in all, not a bad deal.

"Daddy," called Abby.

"What's up?" Evan asked, pulling her onto his lap.

"Am I going to Nana's house next week?"

"You sure are!"

"When will you be back?"

Evan pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her on the head. "Only a week, Baby," he assured her, "and then we'll be back home, okay?"

Abby nodded, but buried her face in her father's neck, clinging to him. Evan rubbed her back gently and tried to soothe her. She had made leaps and bounds from where they had started, but there was a difference between an overnight here and there and a whole week.

"You'll call me to say goodnight?"

"Every night."

"With a story?"

"With a story."

Evan returned home from dropping Abby off and opened his suitcase. He tossed in a few shirts and shorts, a pair of flip flops, some jeans and his new swim trunks. Next he grabbed his dress bag and added a casual suit to his luggage, just in case a nice dinner was in order at any time. There was a great sense of relief that he was going out of town in the morning with Izzy at his side. The phone on his nightstand buzzed. The brief message from Lucy made him smile. She was spending the weekend with a new guy she'd met maybe a month earlier. He tapped out a quick reply before going to the bathroom to gather toiletries.

The following morning, Evan grabbed his stuff and made his way down the stairs. He locked the front door tight behind him and ran a mental checklist as he walked out to his old sedan. The engine started up with only a brief protest, and rambled off to the Kaplan residence. Izzy's grand-mother had "requested" she have him pick her up at the family house instead of the apartment. To date, he had never been in the same room as the elder Mrs. Kaplan which--according to Izzy--the family matriarch was less than pleased with.

He wasn't sure what to expect as he pulled up to the Kaplan house. With the exception of the front porch light and a lamp in the living room window, the home was dark. Evan walked up to the door and sent a message to Izzy, unwilling to ring the bell so early. He'd barely gotten the phone into his pocket when the door swung open. It stopped against the security chain. A raisin of a woman with white hair pulled back in a bun and thick round glasses peered through the space. The door shut and Evan heard the chain slide. The woman opened the door and ushered him into the living room.