Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 82nd cycle. Now cycle 83!

"Close & Open"
Nora (AU!Beth)/Grace (OC), Emily (OC; Nellie V.)
Sunshine Girls 2 series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

It had been going on three weeks since the party and the great "US-Scotland" debate came into play, and there had yet to be any kind of resolution. Grace was not ready to make a decision, and Nora was being the picture of understanding, telling her to take her time. They were keeping it to themselves for now, not wanting anyone to get any ideas until they knew for sure. The only person who knew was Emily, and that was exactly where Nora had gone one day when she needed to speak from the heart and she couldn't hold it in anymore.

She was let in by Emily's uncle, and she'd gone up to her room to find her. She knocked at her bedroom door, which was shut. "I'm busy!" Emily called out, almost harsh. Nora blinked.

"It's me," she spoke, and a second later, the door opened. Emily was there, phone in hand, and she looked stunned.

"I was just about to call you," she revealed. Nora came in and Emily shut the door again.

"What if she goes?" Nora launched into it immediately. "Why did I have to tell her she should go?"

"Nora…"

"I mean I know it's what I was supposed to say, but it's been so long now and I think she might go."

"Nora…"

"It's too soon, it can't just end this way, we were only…"

"Nora!" Emily finally shouted, getting the blonde to stop.

"Sorry, I just… I'm freaking out."

"Yeah, well, that makes two of us…" Emily saw she still had her phone in hand and she put it down. Finally, Nora had gotten a chance to look at her, really look at her. She hadn't been kidding, she was freaked out about something.

"About… Grace?"

"Not about Grace," Emily shook her head. Her fingers were twitching the way Nora knew them to twitch when she was so nervous she was this close to take a chomp at her nails.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, so… so many things… Well, one thing… Although, it could be two things. It could be three things… Oh, it could be nine things… No… No, no, that wouldn't be… Damn it, why did I have to think about it, now it's definitely going to be… nine…"

"Woah, hey, you're going to pass out if you don't breathe, what are you…" Nora tried to stop her from pacing so urgently that she might drive grooves into the floor. When she had her by the shoulders, Emily took a breath, let it out, repeated this once more before she confessed.

"I'm late." Nora stared at her, blinking.

"Late… as in…"

"As in all bread and no jam, as in get your trunks on, kids, it's a clear day at sea, as in…" Emily Holt was known to go on rambling, but in the state she was in now, she might never stop unless someone stepped in. Nora waved her hands in her face and she finally stopped.

"How late?"

"Enough that I was calling you to know if you'd come with me to get a test, I… I can't be, can I?" she begged.

"Wait, was this… Not your little adventure in the bathroom at my birthday, that was just…"

"Can you not call it an adventure?" Emily pinched at the bridge of her nose. "And do you honestly think that I would lose it at your party? In a bathroom, no less? No, that was just… scratching an itch," she shrugged innocently.

"Emily!" Now Nora was the one picturing things she didn't want to see.

"Sorry…" she breathed.

"Are you okay?" Nora asked, hugging her.

"That's what I've been trying to ask myself. I mean I keep trying to think like… your parents did it, with you, and things turned out alright, didn't they? So it might not be so bad… But there's Kelly, and…"

"Have you talked to him?"

"Before I know? Why would I do that?" Emily blinked. "No, it's better that I know for sure, right?" She was trying to be calm and collected about it all, Nora could see. She could also see that this was a good but fragile façade. Underneath, there was panic waiting to happen.

"Then let's find out."

They'd gotten into the car, and Nora had driven them off to the store. But Emily wouldn't get out of the car. Nora asked if she wanted her to go for her, and Emily shook her head, but she still wouldn't get out. When Nora asked if she wanted to go to a different store, maybe one that was further away from home, she finally nodded. So they kept driving, until finally they could get somewhere Emily was okay with.

They must have stood there debating what test might be better, which one was clearest, which one was 'less shady looking' as Emily put it, for a solid half hour. Then she'd just sighed and took the last three they had to choose from and took them to the register. Nora had nearly needed to pull her back when the cashier had looked at the three pregnancy tests and turned a pointed look on to her. They took the bag and left.

"Do you want to wait until we get home, or…" Nora asked.

"What about your parents' house? The empty one?"

"They're going to take my key away someday if they find out what we've been using it for," Nora sighed, but she drove them there.

She stood outside the bathroom door, hearing Emily mutter to herself as she opened each box, read the instructions and did as told. Nora might have found it funny if she didn't know how stressed Emily was in there. Eventually the door opened, and Emily stepped out, her phone in hand with the timer ticking down.

"What if they're positive?" she turned back, and Nora stepped forward.

"We'll get you through this," she vowed.

"What if Kelly doesn't want to…"

"I'll smack him silly. Then we'll get you through this," Nora went on, and Emily's smile only barely rose to her lips. "He loves you, Em. And I know that some people have secret jerks living in them, but Kelly's not one of those. He's in it for the long Holt haul." Emily threw her arms around her, and Nora kept her close. "No matter what, just remember you've got me, and you've got Grace." Or maybe just me.

When the timer beeped to an end, Emily took a shuddering breath. "Be right back, I'll just…" she pointed to the bathroom. "Yeah…" She'd sequenced and timed it so that they would all be ready at the same time. Nora waited out in the hall, and she didn't go off assuming she was as nervous as Emily was in that moment, but her heart was still drumming at a rapid pace.

THE END/TO BE CONTINUED (DAY 1740b)

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!