Sorry if this was asked before couldn't find it.

Does Doug even know he has twin girls?? I know Carol was supposedly faxing him a letter when she was pg, think she was going to call him after delivery, but never knew for sure if she got thru or even kept trying. I can't believe that he knew,or he would have been out there pronto. It would not fit his character to ignore them! Help!

Thanks~Sandy

-- Sandy VH (superjet90@aol.com), February 24, 2000

Answers

Long ago I saw an episode in which Doug admitted to a nurse (I don't remember her name-young, Hispanic, tiny) that he had a son, and he didn't know his son's name. Poor Doug. Children, children everywhere but not a Dad, I think.

-- Mary (marygregc@aol.com), February 24, 2000.

I believe he does know about the girls. Carol had an off-screen phone call with him, where she told him not to return, and (*sigh*) he followed her wishes. She was very upset when relaying the news to Mark. Also, she hadn't been returning her phone calls, though it was alluded to that she phoned Doug after the twins were born. I do agree that it's out-of-character for him to not return, now, for Carol whom he loves so much.

The nurse he told of his son was Wendy. That little tidbit apparently is not significant to his present life, or TPTB simply forgot about it. I'm guessing this son was born in an entirely different situation, possibly from a one-night stand, back in his womanizing days. Being that Doug is a completely different person, I don't buy for a minute that he would stay away from Carol for so long, even if she tells him to.

-- Leigh (WillnGraceNYC@yahoo.com), February 24, 2000.

*IS* Doug a completely different person? I thought his final episode was indicative of his shallowness and selfishness. Carol specifically told him she wanted him to stay, and that she would not leave Chicago. Instead of talking about it and trying to find a solution that was acceptable to both of them, as you would think a loving couple would do, he just up and left without a backward glance, seeming to not take Carol's wishes into consideration at all. Of course, we never got to see any more of this story line, like what happened when he moved out of Carol's house? It just seems weird that a couple with so much history would suddenly want nothing to do with each other, or that Doug would not at least want to see his babies. Of course, all my questions might be answered at the end of this season when Carol leaves ...

-- Cindy (tailchasers51@hotmail.com), February 25, 2000.

Well, we're dealing with ER writers on this one, but suffice it to say that Julianna Margulies and George Clooney believe (as they've been quoted) that the Doug they saw created and "worked with" would not be doing this to Carol at all. If you want a purely "ER" reason why Doug didn't up and leave *immediately*, look at the facts as presented: Since Carol delivered two weeks early, on November 25th, either Doug hung around taking care of things for two weeks or so, during which time they were intimate, or those babies aren't his.

Doug changed. He asked her to come with him, she asked him to stay. He's been calling her, she doesn't call back. That's where we stand.

-- Phyl (erfan@flash.net), February 25, 2000.

He obviously knows he has a son, because he mentioned him. As for the girls, yes, he knows. Carol was seen faxing him a letter in "Responsible Parties" and she told him to "read it and sit with it." and then they would "talk about it." In "Great Expectations" she asked Abby if she could make a long distance phone call from her room. When Abby asked where to, she said "Seattle." Later, after telling Mark that they [Tess and Kate] needed a father, Mark replied "Doug's been seeing them."

-- Teddy (richarr@earthlink.net), July 20, 2001.