Jonathan had no experience in buying birthday presents.

The only time he had ever bought a present for someone was when he gave Tim that custom illustrated travel mug. Even then, he had taken long to decide what to gift him and it was a very cumbersome process that he did not want to repeat.

Thus, when Charlize told him that Gabriella's birthday was coming up and she would be glad if he came, he was stuck on the question of choosing presents again.

With Tim, at least he had known his interests, likes, and dislikes, which helped him settle on a travel mug. However, buying a gift for a ten-year-old was entirely new territory, one that he had never ventured in before.

After much contemplation, he left his apartment and rang the bell of the apartment next door.

Shortly after, the door opened, revealing none other than the ever mischievous Hanson twins—Billy and Mandy.

"Hi Uncle Jon!" The greeted him in unison, wide grins spread on their faces.

They were probably the same age as Gabriella, he thought, perhaps they could help him out if they miraculously refrained from causing chaos.

"Uh... Hi..." He mumbled, "Is your mother around?"

"Yes, but why do you want to see her?"

"I want her permission to take you two with me to the supermarket," he replied, vague as always.

Their eyes lit up to hear that, "Really?"

"You'll take us on a shopping trip?"

"We can help you with the groceries!"

"I can push the cart around!"

"I am good at stacking things!"

"I know how to find the checkout counter!"

Jonathan had to slow them down, their eagerness become a bit too much for him, "I don't have to go for groceries but... Where exactly is Mrs. Hanson?"

"We'll fetch her right away. MOM!" They vanished into the apartment instantly, returning with Gloria after some time. 

She had most likely thought the twins were joking when they came up to her to ask permission to go with Jonathan to the supermarket, but seeing him at the door, she was quite surprised.

"See, we told you he's here." Then turning to Jonathan, the twins spoke up, "Come on, Uncle Jon. Tell her you need us to go with you on an errand."

"I do need their help," he confirmed, overcoming the initial hesitation. "You remember Doctor Fischer, don't you?"

"Yes, of course. How is she doing?"

"Yeah, she's... She's alright. Her daughter's birthday is coming up and I'm not particularly skilled at choosing gifts for children. Gabriella must be the same age as the twins, so I thought I could use some advice..."

"A birthday present?" The twins cheered excitedly, not caring that they cut him off mid-sentence because they already got the gist of it. 

"That's even better than grocery shopping!"

"We have plenty of ideas!"

Gloria looked amused, her eyebrows raised as she turned to their neighbor standing outside. "You're actually asking two ten-year-olds for gift advice?"

"Desperate times," Jonathan muttered, adjusting his glasses nervously.

Billy and Mandy were already bouncing with excitement. "Well, for starters, we know exactly what ten-year-olds like since we're ten, too."

Their mother shook her head, assessing their enthusiasm and their characteristic habits of causing chaos, "And then you will end up creating a mess and Doctor Crane will regret ever asking for your help."

"No, we will not!"

"We promise."

They chorused, "Pinky promise!"

However, as Gloria said it, Jonathan considered the possibility of those hyperactive twins getting out of hand once outside. The thought of navigating the supermarket with them—a place that he avoided going alone even—suddenly seemed terrifying and disastrous.

She caught the reluctance on his face and a moment of silent communication passed between them. Both were aware of the potential disasters and the slim possibility of actually accomplishing the task. 

But then, she relented, finding it adorable that Jonathan had thought of taking the twins with him to pick the gift. She waited to give him time to back off if he was thinking about it, but he said nothing.

"Very well, you can take them with you," Gloria agreed. Turning to her children, she added, "Billy and Mandy, you will listen to Doctor Crane completely. No wandering off. No touching anything without permission. And no stealing."

The twins looked sheepish but agreed to those ground rules, "Of course. We would never steal, Mom. Come on..."

"And no bothering Doctor Crane about any other purchases," she concluded.

"Hey, then why are we offering our gift choosing services for free?" Billy remarked, folding his arms over his chest.

It was a rather amusing sight, seeing Jonathan stand there awkwardly while Gloria tried to hammer some sense in her kids' heads. "Be grateful I am allowing you two to go out. Given your antics, you should be grounded."

At that warning, the twins straightened immediately, "Thank you, Mom, we'll remember that and not bother you for a week."

She knew exactly where that resolution would end up, "Really?"

Billy mumbled, "Nah, too long. But for four days, maybe...?"

"Three," Mandy mumbled.

"Yeah, three," they settled finally.

It was impossible for even a single day to go by without them bothering her but she let it slide, "I look forward to peace in the house for three days then, and if you don't comply, I will never give you permission for any such errand again."

The twins cheered, already racing to slip on their shoes and jackets, "We understand, Mom. Don't worry!"

Jonathan looked at the bouncing, excited children, wondering what came to his head that made him think of such an idea to take them along of all people.

"Do you think you have enough patience to deal with this double trouble?" Gloria asked, knowing full well the havoc her kids could get up to.

"I hope so," he mumbled, steeling his expressions into the usual emotionless look. "Thank you, Mrs. Hanson. I will bring them back in an hour or two, at most." 

 As they left, Gloria's last warning rang out, "Remember, don't do anything to annoy Doctor Crane."

"We promise, we won't!"

However, it was safe to say that promises by William and Amanda Hanson were mostly made to be broken.

***

The supermarket closest to the Narrows was still two stops away so Jonathan had to take the twins with him to the subway station. 

He held their hands, worried he might end up losing them in the crowd. The responsibility he felt at the moment to make sure that he returned with Miguel's kids safe and sound was greater than any stress level his experimentation had ever put him through.

He could feel that the twins were resisting an urge to break free from him and run away just to give him a fright. Realizing that, he didn't let go of those tiny hands, even though his own hands got clammy when held too long.

"William, Amanda, I want you two to behave," he mumbled as they boarded the train, "I am not fond of going outside already. Don't make it worse."

"Why don't we decide what gifts Gabriella would like since we have nothing else to do here?" Amanda suggested.

"Great idea," Billy agreed, "What are you thinking of?"

Jonathan briefly zoned out as the twins discussed the best gift options among themselves. When their stop arrived, he took their hands again and stood up to leave after the passengers in front of them filed out.

"Uncle Jon?"

He was startled out of his thoughts and looked down to see Amanda, "Yes?"

"Why are you not fond of going outside?"

He paused, thinking about how to respond to that apparently harmless question. "It's too tiring."

"Why, are you sick?" Billy asked unabashedly, earning himself a lecture from Mandy who was narrating how it wasn't okay to ask pointed questions.

"No, I am not sick," Jonathan replied, feeling his ears prickle in embarrassment. It felt the distance between the supermarket and the station had stretched out somehow.

"Then, are you old?" Billy resumed, unaffected.

"I am most certainly not old," that once, his voice was slightly firm as he replied.

"Ah, there you go. We were wondering how long it would take for us to tick you off," the twins chuckled and he realized they were only playing around.

He didn't reply but only continued ahead with the twins in tow. The moment they entered the supermarket, Billy and Mandy transformed from semi-controlled children to whirlwinds of unbridled energy.

They absolutely lost control when they stepped into the aisle where toys and other gift items for kids were kept.

"Look, Uncle Jon!" Billy shouted, pointing to a display of remote-controlled cars. "These are AMAZING!"

"We should get Gabriella a robot!" Mandy declared, already pulling him toward a complex STEM toy section.

Jonathan's first challenge was simple navigation. The twins had tugged their hands out of his grip and were now revolving like tiny tornadoes in the kids' section.

"Be careful. Don't break anything," Jonathan said, his voice rising slightly with anxiety. But his request fell on deaf ears.

Mandy found a chemistry set and held it up. "This looks cool. Doctor Fischer would approve!"

"No explosions," he muttered. "Definitely no potential explosions."

Billy, meanwhile, had discovered a section of building sets. "Everyone likes LEGOs, Gabriella would love it."

"One at a time," Jonathan tried to keep them in check, taking the boxes from them and putting them back. 

"Does Gabriella like robots?" Billy asked.

"Or science?" Mandy chimed in.

"Or building things?"

"Or dinosaurs?"

"Or space?"

All those rapid-fire questions were making his head hurt. However, Jonathan realized he knew very little about Gabriella's specific interests.

Perhaps he should have just asked Charlize what she would want for a present and be spared the trouble of herding the Hanson twins.

But now that he was at the supermarket, he couldn't leave without fulfilling the purpose for which they came there. He took a deep breath, attempting to regain some semblance of control.

"William, Amanda, slow down. Listen to me and I will buy you one item of your liking," he thought he might as well negotiate since controlling them otherwise was impossible.

It seemed to work as the twins came up to him, leaving behind all the ruckus they were creating. "We're listening."

"I think we should buy something educational but not overwhelming," he spoke up, finally getting their attention. "I don't know much about what she likes but she might have an interest in... Science."

That came right off the top of his head. Science, he thought with a slight scoff. What could they find in the kids' section that was scientific but not boring?

The twins exchanged a look, engaging in a silent twin communication.

"There are a few science kits over there," Billy pointed, "but they looked boring."

"Oh, I know. We saw some stuff here," Mandy dragged her brother along and Jonathan followed, watching them scan the shelves, for once without creating chaos.

At last, they decided to buy a mini-telescope for Gabriella and once the task was done, Jonathan told them to pick one thing each for themselves.

"But Uncle Jon, Mom said we were not supposed to..."

"I will talk to her," he replied, understanding what they were implying. "Go ahead."

It took them a few minutes to decide but they returned with a box each. Billy had picked the LEGOs and Mandy chose a clay modeling set. Putting the three boxes carefully in the cart, they headed to the checkout counter.

By the time, Jonathan had paid and the boxes were securely placed in separate bags, he noticed almost two hours had passed since they left the Narrows and it was time for him to drop the twins back.

"Thank you, Uncle Jon," they chimed as they left the supermarket, that once holdings onto his wrists themselves as his hands were full with the shopping bags.

When they returned to the Narrows, Gloria was waiting. As she opened the door, her expression suggested she was impressed that they had managed a successful trip.

"No disasters?" she asked Jonathan.

"Surprisingly none," he replied although he did think about the near disaster the twins caused at the supermarket before he negotiated with them.

When he handed the bags containing Billy and Mandy's presents to them, Gloria remarked, "I made it clear that they were not to ask you to buy them anything..."

He shook his head, a slight smile flickering on his features, "Just a little thanks to the little helpers. I insist."

***