"Looking After You"
As a quick side note, I got the title from a song called 'Look After You' by a band called The Fray. I recommend you listen to it because it's really good and sorta makes sense with Shay and Emily's current relationship. More great songs by The Fray include 'How To Save A Life' and 'Never Say Never'.
"That was a damn good hunt, eh bro?"
A pretty, young red-headed girl with pale skin and cerulean-blue eyes walked alongside Shay energetically. The musician was absorbed in his thoughts and appeared not to have heard her.
"Yo Shay!" Vicky lightly punched his shoulder.
"What?" he snapped, furrowing his eyebrows at his younger sister.
"Wasn't that blood simply delicious?" she asked. She picked up a twig and tapped it against a chain-link fence they were passing by. Shay stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and stared straight ahead, his face somber.
"Don't talk to me about drinking blood. If I had a choice, I wouldn't."
"Well what else are vampires like us supposed to drink to stay alive, huh? I'm seriously not in favor of this new 'attitude adjustment' of yours," Vicky told him tersely.
"This currently isn't exactly the most joyful time in my life. Do you expect me to go skipping around singing merry tunes all day?"
"Throw in a dress and it'd be an improvement."
"Hahaha."
Vicky snickered and came to a stop at the front gates of their uncle's three-story mansion, pressing a button on the outside intercom. "Open up Robert. It's the Uchihas."
"Denton," Shay corrected, frowning. He had changed his surname to his mother's. Uchiha sounded too Japanese for him.
"Right away miss," a low male voice replied from the diminutive speaker.
The gateway swung open with a protesting creak. Shay sauntered through a series of perfectly-trimmed hedges shaped like animals to reach the front doors of the luxurious mansion and was a little surprised to see Emily waiting patiently for him.
"Hey," he said quietly, giving his best friend a lazy, one-armed hug. "What's up?"
The actress seemed distressed. "A lot to tell you the truth," Emily said, running a hand through her dark-brown hair and sighing. Vicky—standing behind Shay—cast her a probing look.
"Something tells me I should leave you two alone." She winked at her older brother and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Emily was oblivious, blinking at the siblings in puzzlement.
"I thought you guys were spending some quality brother-sister time together. Don't let me intrude—"
"Nah, you and Shay should catch up. I needa go take a bath...Have fun kids." The red-head waved to Emily, thudded Shay on the back, and vanished inside. He followed suit with the brunette at his heels, taking off his jacket and tossing it aside when they entered the living room.
"Is it about the matter of me leaving?" he queried, flopping down on a crimson love-seat, cool and poker-faced. He folded his hands behind his head and looked at the fidgeting adolescent.
"Um, no..."
"Well then, what is it?"
Emily bit her lip then diffidently seated herself on his lap, resting her head on his chest and sucking in a deep breath before speaking.
"Promise me you won't freak out when I tell you?" Shay slowly nodded his head.
"I...I'm pregnant..." she blurted. She felt him tense up as the last word slipped out of her mouth.
"What the hell are you talking about? How is that even possible? You're not seeing any men...Right?"
"I was intoxicated and he was too...One thing led to another—" Emily broke off and burst into tears. Shay forgot his anger and tried to comfort the teen.
"Are you sure? How far along are you?" he asked in a soft voice, hugging her.
"I'm sure...About six weeks," the actress blubbered. She buried her face into Shay's neck and cried broken-heartedly. He waited for her tears to cease but they didn't.
"Em...Em...Stop crying okay? Just take it easy," he murmured, patting her back. This is a bit awkward…
"I...I'm n—not ready t—to be a...a m—mom," she wailed, gripping his t-shirt.
"Emily Marie Edwards, I swear if you shed one more tear…" Shay warned.
"Y—You're not h—helping me!"
The musician released a long, aggravated sigh and lightly kissed her on the lips. Emily hiccupped and stopped her waterworks, gaping at the ebony-haired man in shock.
"W—Why'd you kiss me?"
"To get your attention, which I can see worked. Now I want you to listen to me very carefully alright? One, I know this is a frightening thing for you but you gotta pull yourself together! Two, who is this guy so I can give him a taste of my fist for knocking up my best friend."
"No, you can't. It's not his fault this happened. We were drunk and I have no memory of it. I just woke up the next morning beside him..." The brunette wiped her eyes and sniffled. "I'm still grieving over Rachel. You don't know how difficult it is for me Shay. Everyday I wonder why I'm still breathing; why I'm still here...My life has no point without her here with me."
"Wrong. I do understand what it's like. Shego leaving hasn't been easy for me either. But you got to realize you still have a lot of people who care about you and love you—I love you. So much that it nearly killed me to see you leave and move back here to England. I wanted you to stay," the musician explained. He smiled fervently and wiped away her remaining tears.
Emily sniffed and managed to smile back at him. "R—Really?"
"Duh. Of course I meant it."
She locked her arms around his neck, pressed her cheek against his, and closed her eyes. "What a mess I've gotten myself into."
Meanwhile at the Rosehart residence…
"It's been over a month and I haven't heard a single word from him. I'm worried that's he's done something stupid," Nessa said, gingerly peeling off the bandages on her arm and studying the healing cuts.
Rynn gave Nessa a washcloth to clean her wounds. "I'm sure he's fine wherever he is. Shay will come back, you'll see. He's totally in love with you. You're his woman." The elf grinned broadly at her friend.
"Can't argue with you there I guess. I miss him though," Nessa sighed. Kaine decided to speak up.
"I find him quite unflattering to be honest. What is it you see in him sis?" He crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side, wearing a puzzled expression.
"I see and understand him in ways others don't. And he's really sweet and romantic—even if his pick-up lines are cheesy. I could go on..."
Rynn giggled and leaned in to whisper something in her ear. Nessa turned bright red after the silver-haired woman pulled back, smirking.
"I refuse to give out the needless details of my sex life thank you very much!" she declared, staring defiantly at the elf. Her brother made a face and shook his head.
"You're hopeless..."
Hirith came into the room accompanied by Lincoln, cell phone in her hand. "I tried texting the idiot and calling him but he won't answer!" she exclaimed, frustrated. Nessa noticed Lincoln was unnaturally silent.
"Hey there Linc," she greeted. She waved at him from her spot on the couch.
A brief smile appeared on his lips. "Hello señora."
"Have you heard from Shay yet?"
"Actually, yes. I spoke with him a week ago. He is doing well in England."
Kaine noted the change in his sister's heart rate and frowned.
"Did he happen to mention if he's coming home soon by any chance?"
Lincoln sighed and gave Nessa an apologetic look. "I'm afraid not," he said sadly.
"— Maybe I can text him again and say that Nessa's having his baby," Hirith interrupted randomly. Rynn smacked her upside the head.
"No you're not!"
"Yeah, that'd work," Nessa replied sarcastically, "Hey Shay, I'm currently thirteen months preggo with your kid. Yup, he'd buy that fer sure. And besides, the last time we, uh—" she cleared her throat loudly, "—It was a few months ago."
One of Kaine's ears twitched conspicuously. Lincoln unexpectedly turned pale and began to hyperventilate. Hirith grabbed him and shook him roughly by the shoulders.
"Breathe dude! Breathe!" she yelled as if it would help him.
After about two minutes, Lincoln calmed down. Everyone was staring at him in stupefaction. He flushed pink, deeply embarrassed. "I suppose I should inform you all about something..."
"Lincoln?" Shay yelled, scaring the crap out of a group of neighboring pigeons that had been roosting outside the mansion and setting them aflight.
Emily stared down at her feet, instinctively crossing an arm over her stomach. "I'm guessing you want to strangle him right now..."
"No! I want to punch the living daylights outta him then throw his unconscious body down a thirty-foot well and throw rabid squirrels into that well!"
"Rabid squirrels?" Emily wondered out loud.
"Yeah, he's terrified of squirrels."
"Shay, I think you need to calm down before you hurt yourself."
"What's all the hubbub about?" A tall handsome man with fiery red hair and glasses stuck his head into the room and looked at the pair questioningly.
"It's nothing Uncle Ben," Shay muttered, not looking directly at his relative or the brunette.
"...Ugh...I feel kinda...dizzy," Emily suddenly groaned, making Shay look up.
"Are you feeling faint my dear?" Ben asked. He hurried over to her side and felt her forehead. "You feel a bit warm...Can I ask the maids to get you something...?"
"No, it's okay. I'll just go lie down for a while," the young actress acknowledged weakly.
"I'll take her to her bedroom," Shay said quietly, moving forward. Ben gave his nephew an apprehensive nod. Emily turned to the musician when he left, touched by his compassion.
"Please don't be mad at me," she said in an undertone, fixing her gray eyes on his pleadingly. Without a word, he lifted the teen warily into his arms and headed for the stairs.
"And it's not my fault if I throw up on you, okay?" The ebony-haired man grunted in response.
"I can't stay mad at you," he replied curtly, "My paternal instincts are starting to kick in so you're in luck."
"Not meaning to change the subject but, how is Shaiana doing?"
"Fairly well. She's been busy lately with her drawings...Either that or she's out with her...boyfriend. Not that I care." He shrugged nonchalantly.
"You don't like him do you?" Emily laughed. "But it's good to hear that she has someone to be with. You must feel happy for her though, despite your disapproval of her love choices. Am I right?"
"...I just don't trust her around boys. She, uh, tends to give in too easily to their wishes." Shay's eye twitched. "I know she's a smart kid so I shouldn't worry too much. Shaiana may have my looks but she has her mother's personality…Not a good mixture, I'll admit..."
"That's comprehensible."
He had finally reached the second floor without breaking a sweat. The musician opened her bedroom door, glanced around, and then gently placed her on the bed.
"Feeling better yet?
"Yes. Thanks Shay." Emily took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I really appreciate your support, you know that right?"
He lay across from her on the bed—studying the actress for a long, thoughtful moment—with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "That's what I'm here for," he said in a light British accent without realizing it.
She took his hand again, tracing the lines of his palm with her index. He shifted closer to her involuntarily.
"I can't ask you to play father if Lincoln doesn't step up. You have enough worries and issues of your own to deal with."
Shay blinked. "You don't have to ask me anything. I'll be here. That's a promise I can keep," he stated firmly. The teen felt her face grow hot as he placed a kiss on her forehead. The room was quiet for a few minutes until he spoke again.
"I'll let you in on a little secret: I had the biggest crush on you when we were kids. But you must have been too busy chasing girls to notice."
"Oh, I noticed. You followed me everywhere—even to the bathroom," Emily said reminiscently, grinning. "And you would pick flowers at the park and give them to me."
Shay smiled at the memory. "Things were different then. Less complicated," he joked half-heartedly.
"Since you told me that I believe it's only fair for me to tell you that you were my first boy crush."
"And your last," the musician added.
"It's also ironic how we lost our virginity to each—Mmph!"
He had clamped a hand over her mouth and turned all shades of red. "I thought you swore we'd never speak of that again!"
Emily giggled. "Making you uncomfortable am I Jacob?" Shay covered his face with a pillow to muffle his profanities.
In his back pocket, his cell phone beeped. The brunette snatched it and held it out of his reach, reading the long text message he had received.
"It's Nessa! She says: "Get your butt home because I'm really missing you. Don't make me go there and drag you back. It won't be pretty, trust me…Everyone says hi. I want you to come back to me in one piece, okay? I love you, ya big dork. XOXO."
Shay sat up and sighed loudly. Emily poked his chest, frowning at her best friend.
"Convinced you should go back home yet?"
"I am home..."
"You're booking a flight tomorrow and you're going back there. And no buts about it boy!"
Shay breathed in sharply and pursed his lips. "On one condition..."
"I'm listening."
"You'll go with me. I'm not leaving you here by yourself," he said seriously.
"It's a deal...You'd better get packing then..."
Shay stood up and stretched. "Alright, see you in the morning."
Emily smiled, happy he had so easily agreed. "You're making the right decision," she told him.
"Yeah, yeah...Good night." The musician ruffled her hair affectionately then silently left the room.
She flopped back down onto her pillows and heaved a fatigued sigh, lightly brushing her fingertips along her flat stomach. "At least something good will come out of this," she whispered softly.
Author's notes: I don't know how I came up with this idea of Emily getting preggo. I guess I had babies on the brain or something…I find it adds more drama for the characters—with Shay wanting to kick Lincoln's ass for knocking up his best friend and such. This story ends where I'm supposed to start off and role-play again, you see. But I'm indecisive about whether or not I should…What do you think? (Review, review, review on the double or I'll feed ya to a llama!)