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"I haven't read them in years," reasoned Abby, plopping another stack into the trash. "It doesn't make sense to haul them all the way to California, just to put them back into storage, again."

"You could leave them here, at home," he winced, as another bundle of magazines met their fate. "You don't have to throw them ALL away, Abby!"

"It all right," she sighed, as Jake made an effort to save her old periodicals. "It's no big deal."

"If you say so," he slowly replied, letting go of the trash bag. "When are you coming to bed, Abby?"

"In a while," answered the young woman, opening another box. "I want to get rid of all my junk, before I change my mind."

Jake quietly watched her for a few minutes, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, and then back again. When he didn't leave, Abby looked up from her box.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"I'm meeting all those people tomorrow..." hesitated Jake, his eyes pleading with her where his words could not.

With an understanding smile, Abby got up from the floor and walked over to her friend.

Sighing gratefully, Jake closed his eyes as Abby wrapped her arms around him. When their lips met, Jake felt sure he could face tomorrow with enough courage to make her proud of him.

When Dick arrived the following day, Jake quickly went out to meet him before the former warden had a chance to come inside the house. Jake didn't want to risk triggering Abby's protective nature again, and thought it best to keep the two apart until this meeting was over.

Knowing where Jake was off to, Terry visited Abby and suggested that she and Ricky spend the rest of the day with them, at her parents' house.

"Abby," he coaxed, "it's better than staying here, by yourselves."

To Terry's delight, Abby agreed, and the four babies were soon on the floor playing with each other, under the watchful supervision of Abby and Terry. With all the happy baby sounds coming from the living room, it didn't take long for John and Izumi to join them. Abby was a little surprised to see her father and uncle not at work in the middle of a weekday, and soon realized that they wanted to spend as much time with her and Ricky as they could before they moved. Abby only wished that Jake was there to share in the laughter.

The triplets were beginning to crawl, and this new ability kept everyone busy, for now that the little ones were mobile, they frequently strayed from their play space on the floor.

"There goes Ruthie, again," said John, getting on all fours and pursuing the laughing baby.

"The girls certainly are a handful," Izumi smiled lovingly.

"They're also very loud," Terry good-naturedly chuckled. "Abby, when Ricky starts teething, at least you only have one baby to listen to. Try three all at the same time!"

Debbie crawled over to where Ricky was nestled on Abby's lap, and looked up at her big sister.

"Do you know who this is?" asked Abby, as the little girl inspected the baby boy. "This is your nephew, Ricky."

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