Author's note: Okay so I love Aiden/Emily and am desperate to write a story about them as there are certainly not enough already on here! One thing though that I often have trouble with, with a show like this, is that it's hard to give it the same intensity as the show so I hope I do this justice.

By the way I couldn't find a video to playback Aiden leaving Emily so unfortunately I have to do my best to remember. And haven't seen season 2 yet so am currently unaware of Nolan's living arrangements.

Full Summary: Emily has spent years running from her past but when a mysterious man turns up Emily is forced to face reality and choose. Her life in the Hamptons or the man she loves?

Warning: Rated M for sexual situations and language. Also slightly OOC.

The benefit was going well by most accounts and Emily was eagerly anticipating the presentation. Not of course that she really cared about the elderly of the Hamptons. Oh no. What she was looking forward to was Janet Williams' – eh altered – speech. The seventy year old woman had posed as a witness to her father's "crime" and Emily knew that once the woman started reading the speech Victoria had prepared for her that she wouldn't even care what she was saying. Which was handy because Emily had already swapped her speech with her own creation which would cause a stir in Conrad and Victoria's comfortable lives… as well as Janet's.

The game was far from over and Emily certainly wasn't planning on outing the Grayson's just yet. But this speech would certainly scare the Grayson's enough to make them aware they were being hunted. So to speak.

And Janet was going to get her comeuppance.

The marquee was packed full of people half of them already drunk. In the corner Emily could see Nolan and Padma talking to Daniel and Ashley and she felt a slight pang of guilt as Daniel looked at her, confusion and love evident in his face.

"Ah Ems! Come and join us." Nolan called waving her over. Emily gave them a forced smile and made her way over to the group. Ashley handed her a glass of champagne. Daniel turned to Emily.

"You look good." He told her softly. Emily looked away making it clear she wasn't interested. Ashley watched the exchange with fury and pleasure. She was glad Emily didn't want Daniel back because if he did then she knew she would have no hold over him.

"The benefit seems to be going well." Padma commented.

"Yes it is." Nolan replied quietly. "I can't wait to hear Ms. William's speech. What about you, Ems?" He asked. Emily shot him a glare.

"It should be interesting," she replied. There was silence in the group for a moment as they all surveyed the party. Nolan turned to Daniel.

"So what was it you were saying before about that Japanese guy?" he asked loudly, catching Emily's attention. Her ears listened to the conversation as she pretended to talk to Padma.

"Eh yeah. Satoshi Takeda. One of his guys arrived earlier looking for Dad. Hope he's not pulling out of the deal…" Daniel's brow furrowed as if the thought had just occurred to him.

"You talked to Tek… whatever his name is- last year, right Ems?" Nolan turned to face her.

"Eh I don't know… Japanese guy. Invested last year? Rings a bell. Why?" she asked pretending she hadn't been eavesdropping.

"Oh Daniel here was just saying one of his people arrived earlier looking for Mr. Grayson." Emily nodded. "Oh look. Janet is about to start." Daniel's head suddenly shot up.

"Oh there's that guy. I'll be back in a minute." He told them absentmindedly as he made his way over to the guy. Emily turned her attention to Janet Williams.

Victoria took to the microphone first.

"Hello everybody and welcome. I'd just like to thank you all for coming for this worthy cause. I won't bore you by talking too long. Let me just introduce one of recipients of this fine new system who is here to tell you how this initiative has changed her life. Everybody – Janet Williams." Victoria introduced, standing down as Janet hobbled up onto the stand. Some cameras flashed and people clapped as Janet took her position.

"Thank you Ms. Grayson for that lovely introduction. My name is Janet and… oh dear. I seem to have misplaced my speech." The elderly woman said looking confused as she searched through her bag. Nolan and Emily shared a panicked glance before Janet retrieved the speech.

"Ah here it is. The old memory's going so I had to write it all down. Wouldn't want to forget something, would I?" she joked straightening the speech out.

"First of all I'd just like to say that until you reach my age you won't fully appreciate…" Janet's speech continued as she thanked and told everyone how the initiative had improved her life. But Emily wasn't really listening. Her attention was focused on Victoria Grayson. Emily hadn't changed much on the speech. Just enough the Victoria would notice the difference and watching the older woman now Emily could see her speech had had the intended affect. Victoria was glancing around the room as if looking for the culprit but of course she didn't see anything.

"And to finish, on behalf of all my fellow pensioners I'd just like to thank Conrad and Victoria Grayson…"

Emily didn't hear the end of the speech. She didn't hear her glass drop from her hand shatter. She didn't hear the gasp that escaped her mouth as she stared in shock at the man who was walking towards her.

Beside him Daniel remained oblivious to the fact that Aiden had stopped listening. Because he, like Emily, was staring in shock at her.

Unlike Emily, he didn't turn around and storm away.

X

Aiden watched her go with a mixture of confusion and guilt. Confusion at seeing her there and guilt at how things had ended between them all those years ago.

Beside him he noticed Grayson was staring after Amanda – or whatever she called herself now.

"Girlfriend?" Aiden asked conversationally as he picked up a drink.

"Ex-fiancée." Daniel replied taking a sip of his own drink as he watched Nolan follow Emily. Aiden raised his eyebrows.

"Why the ex?" He asked. Daniel glanced at him as if wondering if he was to be trusted. Eventually he replied.

"I honestly don't know."

X

Nolan glanced through the door to the balcony and found the familiar blond.

"Ems?" He called coming up softly behind her. Emily wiped a tear away, unwilling to let him see her weak.

"What do you want Nolan?" she asked sounding annoyed. Nolan shoots her a mock-offended look.

"You know after all this time I thought you might actually, you know, trust me." he tells her. She crosses her arms stubbornly as she shoots him a look. "C'mon. Who am I going to tell?" he asked. Emily rubbed away a lone tear that had slipped down her face.

X

The door slid open.

"I owe you an apology." Aiden says slipping through the door. Emily shakes her head.

"The only thing you owe me tonight is your absence." She sits up. "You made a fool of me."

"Wasn't my intention." He promises her. "But I had to win that exercise. Takeda would never have let me go if I had failed."

"Go where?" She asked him looking more concerned than she liked.

"Takeda found my sister." He takes a breath, looking straight at her. "I leave tonight." Emily looks startled.

"But you're only half way through your training." She reminds him. He shakes his head.

"Doesn't matter. This might be my last chance… her last chance." His expression looks pained. "Look I will come back for you," His hand reaches out to touch her cheek. "I promise." He pulls away and stands up, walking over to the door. Emily made a split-second decision.

"Aiden, wait." She said standing up. He turns to face her slowly, his face cautious.

"I'm coming with you." she tells him but he shakes his head.

"No. It's too dangerous." He tells her.

"Exactly. I've already lost everything." They take a step towards each other. "I'm not losing you too." Aiden watches her for a moment as he gets closer, only hesitating slightly before his lips meet hers. His hands around her waist pull her closer to him as she wraps her hands behind his head. He pulls back.

"Meet me in the maze at midnight."

X

"So what's with you and Mr. Brit?" Nolan asked. She looks away from him. "Ems?"

X

Emily's heart pounded as she entered the center of the maze, her bag in hand.

"Aiden?" she called looking around. Startled she took a step back as her gaze fell on her mentor sitting in the corner.

"Your lover has left you behind." Takeda tells her. Emily shakes her head.

"No. he wouldn't do that." she tells him. Takeda walks slowly towards her.

"Oh but he has. The man you trusted has left you."

X

Nolan stared at her, waiting for a reply. Emily looked away as other memories surfaced in her mind.

"Ems—"

"Nolan, butt out." She snaps at him. Nolan held up his hands. There was a light knock on the door. Emily didn't turn but Nolan did.

"Daniel Grayson is looking for you." Aiden told Nolan who nodded.

"Okay. I'll just go see what he wants." Nolan replied walking out the door past Aiden, nervously glancing back at his best friend.

X

"You ignorant bastard!" Emily hissed at him as he smirked at her.

"It's not my fault that you couldn't beat me at sparring." He argued clearly enjoying this.

"You know I can and I have." She reminds him, her face inches from his as she looks up at him. There is tension between them as Emily realises how easy it would be for her to just raise her head and kiss him.

"It's also not my fault that the reason you can't beat me is because you're so in love with me." he added as an after thought. Emily jumped back, her cheeks flaming. Had she been that obvious? Of course not, she scolded herself. She wasn't in love with Aiden Mathis and she hadn't been going to kiss him.

"Someone's conceited." She replies and he laughs.

"So you're telling me that you weren't about to try and kiss me a minute ago?" he asks taking a step towards.

"What? Of course not!" she fumed as he took another step towards her. His hand reached out and held her cheek.

"Well I was." he whispers and she doesn't think about it as she wraps her arms around his neck, her tongue already in his mouth.

X

Emily turned to face Aiden.

"Long time no see." She welcomed him though she didn't step towards him.

"How's your mission going?" He asked taking a step towards her. She took a step back.

"As well as expected." She replied. The tension between them was sizzling as Aiden took a cautious step towards her. Emily caught her breath.

What happened next was so fast Emily wasn't sure what happened.

A moment later Aiden's hands were on her hips as he pulled her closer while Emily's hands were on either side of his face, pulling it closer to her own. They stared at each other for a long moment before Aiden bent his head hesitantly towards her. He had never been as hesitant in Japan but much had happened since and Emily was glad he didn't take her willingness for granted.

Their lips met and Emily's mouth opened, letting Aiden's tongue in. She responded hungrily, her hands behind his head now pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. Aiden pressed her back against the balcony as she pulled herself up onto the balcony wall. Her legs wrapped around Aiden's waist as his hands supported her back.

Suddenly there was a noise at the door.

"Oh sorry. I… I just…" Daniel turned to leave. Aiden glanced at Emily as she attempted to catch her breath.

"No, no. You're ok. I was just leaving." Aiden replied. He glanced at Emily before walking past Daniel and out the door.

Emily was struck by a sudden thought. It was the second time she had watched Aiden walk out the door without knowing if he'd ever walk back through it.

And she didn't like that feeling at all.

X

The pounding on the door tore Emily out of her daze. Ever since her kiss with Aiden the night before she had been caught up in old memories that she had long since tried to bury but now she had no control over the memories that came back to her.

Emily stood up from her kitchen table and walked over to the door.

"What do you want Nolan?" she asked after she had let him in.

"Morning to you too sunshine." He replied leaning against the kitchen counter. "Did Daniel find you last night?" he asked. Emily nodded. After Aiden left Daniel had tried talking to her about something but her mind had been elsewhere and she had left before Daniel could get to his point.

"Eh yeah. It was nothing." She replied pouring herself a glass of orange juice and was stunned to see her hands were shaking. Get a grip; she scolded herself before turning back to Nolan, a smile on her face.

"So did Janet's sons get their letters?" she asked taking a sip of her drink.

"They did and the family is now in turmoil. How did you know anyway?" he asked curious as to how his best friend had known that the man Janet had told her sons was their father had not been. Or the fact that both their fathers were different men.

"My father told me. In one of his notebooks he asked me to make sure to let her know that her secret would always stay secret as he trusted me. Turns out my father was very trusted in Grayson Global." Emily told him smiling. Nolan nodded. He turned to look at her.

"And what happened between you and Mr. Brit?" Nolan asked. Emily didn't show any wavering.

"Nothing." Nolan gave her a disbelieving look. "We used to train together with Takeda. He just wanted to know how my mission was going." She replied annoyed at having to explain herself.

"Well whatever really happened it's certainly enough to bring him back to your door." He commented nodding to the door. Emily turned to look and another memory surfaced.

X

Emily spun around as she heard the door slide shut. A moment later Aiden's lips were on hers and she had her hands on either side of his face. Aiden pulled back.

"How long have we got?" he asked sounding slightly breathless.

"Takeda let me off for the day." She replied smiling at him.

"Me too." He replied putting his hands on her hips as he pushed her back against the wall. He grounds into her as her arms wrap around his neck pulling him closer as the kiss got more passionate. His hands slip under her top and up to her breasts.

Emily pulled away for a moment and grabbed his hand as she led him to her bed. He hesitates.

"You sure?" he asked. Emily nodded and Aiden pushed her down on the bed before leaning over her, his kisses hungry and she responded eagerly as his hands lifted her top off her completely. Emily quickly pulled his t-shirt over his head before his mouth moved to her jaw and Emily pulled Aiden's jeans off him. Aiden's hands feel her breasts his mouth comes down on hers again before his hands move down to take her pants off.

Emily put a hand on his chest for a moment.

"Stop." Aiden looks at her, concerned.

"What? What's wrong?" he asks worried. Did he hurt her?

"Nothing's wrong. It just… there's something I need to tell you." she says looking at him. He nods uncertainly. "Um… see the thing is… I've never… I mean I haven't…"

"You've never slept with someone before." he clarifies and she nods biting her lip. "Does that mean you don't want to or…" he asks confused as to why this is important.

"No I want to. I just… I don't know. I don't know if I… I can. You know. Do it. Right." She confides hating herself for feeling weak but Aiden smiles at her encouragingly.

"You're fine. Look we don't have to, if you don't want to." He tells her but she shakes her head.

"Just shut up." She tells him and pulls his mouth down on hers again.

X

Emily looked at Nolan pointedly. He got the message. He walked over to the door, opening for Aiden.

"I guess I'll talk to you later Ems." He called before leaving through the open door. There was silence between Emily and Aiden as they stood on either side of the room.

"What are you doing here?" Emily asked him after a long pause. He takes a few slow steps towards her before stopping on the other side of the table.

"I came to talk to you." He told her, resting his hands on the back of a chair.

"Well hurry up. I'm busy." She snapped at him, unwilling to let him into her life again. She had trusted him once and he had broken that. In many ways she wanted to thank him. If he hadn't destroyed her faith in compassion then she probably wouldn't have been able to complete her mission.

She would never admit to him that she had loved him. That she had longed for his touch. For him to tell her how much he cared about her. This man had broken her heart and she refused to let him destroy her again.

X

Aiden's mouth moved along her shoulders as he unhooked her bra. His hands move to her breasts before his mouth moves there as well. Emily moans with pleasure as he nips and sucks her tits.

Emily is pleased to see Aiden wearing boxers. She has always been a boxer girl. Eagerly she pulls his boxers off him and doesn't hesitate as she moves her hand down to it. This time it's Aiden who groans with pleasure as Emily brings her mouth down as well as he slips her thong off.

Emily pulls Aiden's mouth up to hers again and he responds. She lets out a moan as she feels him enter her. Her body is sweaty and her heart is racing as he groans with pleasure.

It is then she knows she loves him.

X

Emily shakes the memory away. It is true she had loved him. Or she thought she had. Of course she never told him. That would be showing weakness and weakness was one thing Emily refused to acknowledge.

Aiden stared at her and she wondered what he was thinking about. Maybe he was remembering the first and only time they slept together too? Or maybe he's thinking about how lucky he was to have gotten rid of her when he did? For some reason the thought makes Emily's chest ache.

Eventually he speaks.

"I'm leaving again tonight after I finish up some things at Grayson Global." Emily tries to hide her emotions at his statement but she can't ignore the dropping sensation in her stomach.

"So what has this got to do with me?" Emily asks, taking a step back as he rounds the table.

"I… Amanda I can't get you out of my head. Ever since last night I can't stop thinking about you and… and I want you to come with me." She raises her eyebrows at him.

"So first you leave me without any explanation. Now you show up and expect me to give up the chance I've been working towards for years, just to run away with you?" Emily gives him a short laugh. "You know it might surprise you but I've actually moved on with my life. I don't need you coming in and messing it up for me."

Aiden doesn't look surprised by her response.

"I'm sorry for leaving you. Really I am. But I had no choice. It was too dangerous for two and Takeda would never have supported me if you came too." Aiden told her.

"You didn't seem to mind defying Takeda the night before." She points out and Aiden looks at the ground. All she feels now is confusion as she remembers the morning after.

X

He was staring at her. She knew it though she continued to pretend to be sleeping. Thinking back now she realised maybe he had known she was awake after all.

His hand reached out and moved a piece of her hair behind her. Emily kept her breathing low and even, even though her heart was speeding up.

"I love you." he whispered so low Emily wasn't sure if she heard him right. "I promise I won't let anyone ever hurt you." he had promised.

At the time Emily hadn't understood. For years afterwards she hadn't understood. Now she did.

X

"Look I know I shouldn't have said you could come and then leave but there's nothing I can do to change that now. Haven't you ever done something you know you shouldn't have but you know it's for the best?" He asked her and for a moment Emily was sure he knew. A moment later as he stared at her she realised he didn't know but it didn't mean he wasn't right. She got it.

"Even if I did want to go with you, and I'm not saying I do, I can't just leave. I swore I'd avenge my father's death and I won't stop until I do." She tells him. He is now just a few steps from her.

"And when does it end? You can keep going and get revenge on everyone who has ever wronged you but how does it end? I tried to avenge my sister after… when I was too late. I tried but in the end I realised there were too many people who I could make suffer and for what? To make me feel better? Nothing I did would have brought her back just as nothing you do is going to change what they did to your father."

He looks around. "Look my flight is at ten tonight. Think about it. If you don't show…I get the message." He bends his head and his lips brush against hers before he walks out the door for what could have been the last time.

X

"Haven't you ever done something you know you shouldn't have but you know it's for the best?" Aiden's words echo through her mind as she thinks back to a time when she almost understood his words.

Emily's hands shook as she sobbed. She hadn't shown weakness in the past two months since Aiden had abandoned her but now she can't hold back the sobs that rack her body.

When she first found out she had taken Takeda's advice. She used Aiden's betrayal to help her lose her compassion but now she still wondered if maybe… no. she couldn't let herself wonder or she'd lose her meaning.

Shakily Emily gets out of the car. She had finished her training and now she was glad. She couldn't imagine trying to tell Takeda why she had to come here.

She glances around as if to check no one is watching her and walks into the clinic. Her palms are sweating and Emily nervously rubs them on her jeans.

It's for the best, she thinks to herself as she walks up to the reception.

"Amanda Clarke." She tells the receptionist who looks up at her. Does she recognise the name? Does she know what her father did? Or what everyone thinks he did anyway…

But her face shows no recognition as she checks her computer.

"Amanda Clarke, a half twelve appointment for Dr. Richards?" She clarifies and Emily nods. "If you could just wait in the waiting area, Dr. Richards is running a little later and will call you in when he's ready." Emily nodded and shakily takes a seat in the waiting area.

Absentmindedly her hand rubs her stomach. She feels a layer of heavy guilt settle on her but she tries to shake it away.

"I'm sorry. I really am." She mummers apparently to no one. "But what other choice do I have?" she adds rubbing her stomach. There is no bump as of yet but Emily can imagine the little heart beat, pounding in her stomach. The little fingers and toes. Arms and legs.

Suddenly she stands up. She can't do it. She can't go through with this. She rushes up to the reception desk.

"Cancel my appointment please." She tells the woman.

"Would you like to reschedule?" she asks.

"No. that's okay." she replied rushing out the door. Once she was outside she stopped and breathed in the cold air. She takes a seat on the bench. What has she just done? She can't care for a baby…

X

The memory and those that followed haunted Emily and she couldn't get them out of her mind as she drove to the house she knew so well. She didn't knock as she opened the doors to the "Glass House" as she had become accustomed to calling it.

"Ah what brings you to my humble home stranger?" Nolan asks coming down the stairs. Emily turns to face him and when Nolan sees her face her rushes forwards, reaching her just in time to wrap his arms around her as she breaks down sobbing. For once she didn't feel weak for crying in front of someone. She realised in years that had passed since Japan she had been holding so much in, so many emotions she was too afraid to show, because showing them made them real.

Nolan held Emily as she sobbed into his chest and he felt slightly guilty to be happy at seeing her like this. At least it proved she wasn't a machine. She really was human.

When she was finished crying Emily told Nolan everything from what happened in Japan to seeing Aiden again but she left out the pregnancy. It seemed too personal. She had never told anyone and she wasn't planning on. As she recalled the story Nolan listened and one thing quickly became clear.

"You still love him." Emily didn't argue. She had come to that conclusion on her own. "Do you want to go?" He asked. Emily didn't reply. She was torn. Part of her thought "He hurt her once why should she give up everything for him?" but another part of her said "She lost him once she couldn't do it again"

She didn't know which side was more dominant.

"Ems you know he has got a point. Where do you draw the line?" he asks. She looks at the ground.

"I've come so far though. I can't just give up now." She tells him.

"How about you just shorten the plan and reveal all before tonight. Then you get the best of both worlds." He tells her but she shakes her head.

"I have to go. I'll talk to you again soon Nolan." She told him. Nolan sighed as he watched her go, fearing she would be seeing him soon. And most likely tomorrow.

X

Aiden waited at the gate, glancing around one last time. With a sinking feeling he realised she wasn't coming. At first he hadn't expected her to but then after talking to her yesterday he thought there was chance. Now as the attendants ushered him towards the plane he was forced to admit he had been wrong. Amanda wasn't coming.

He knew he had been wrong to leave her in Japan in the first place but he couldn't tell her where he had been going. His father was with his sister and Aiden knew if he met them then he wouldn't leave and Emily wouldn't have been able to complete her own mission.

But he had arrived too late to save his sister but his father and he now had a better relationship.

X

"You know sometimes I think your sister might have had a better chance if her mother had ever cared about her." Dominick commented.

"Did she ever care about me?" Aiden asks his father. Dominick looks at him.

"Your sister's mother… she was very self obsessed. Drugs and drink were her only loves. Your mother on the other hand… well I loved her. And I think she felt something for me. But I do know that giving you up was one of the hardest decisions she ever made." He promises. Aiden looked away.

"What's her name?" Aiden asked hoping for any connection to his mother.

"She goes by a different name nowadays but when I knew her… her name was Vicky Harper."

X

Sadly he turned to plane and found his seat, settling in as he looked out the window.

"Sorry… is this seat taken?" Aiden turned. It was Emily.

"You came!" he cried as she took the seat beside him.

X

Nolan smiled as he read the letter Emily had left him, glancing around at the beach house that was now his. He grinned to himself as he turned on the TV and as expected saw Mason Treadwell.

"… In a shocking statement today author Mason Treadwell has revealed a huge cover-up in the infamous company Grayson Global. Mr. Treadwell said he has evidence and witness reports that prove that convicted terrorist David Clarke was not in fact responsible for the downing of flight 197…" Nolan grinned. His best friend really knew how to tie up loose ends.

He turned back to letter.

I don't know when I'll see you again but I promise I will.

Emily

P.S. Thanks.

X

"So what's the plan?" Emily asks Aiden who looks at her with a grin.

"What plan?"

Wow. That's really long. Okay so originally I planned this to be a one-shot but now I'm thinking a chaptered fic going on with Aiden and Emily continuing their lives together and the fallout from Mason's revelation! Let me know what you think as well as leaving a comment about Aiden's mom! And Emily was pregnant! Yikes!

So please review!