The Life and Loves of Emily Grayson

Author's Note: So, I had this idea for a while, but I thought I should hold off on it until I finished my other Revenge Story. Of course, I caved. I know I need to update my other story, and I intend to. I have so many stories I need to update, and I will update them all, it will just take some time. Please bear with me. So, I had this long explanation for what this story is about, but I thought that maybe I'd let the story speak for itself and then answer any questions later. This is a Jemily story. In the beginning, I did pity Daniel, and though I wanted Emily to end up with Jack, I did not hate them together. However, I think recent events have proven that Daniel is not a good person, and I am not rooting for him and Emily in any way shape or form. Nevertheless, that relationship will obviously play a substantial role in this story. Enjoy.

Chapter One

"Careful!" Jack called again. Carl gave him the annoyed sort of look eight-year-old boys give overprotective parents. It wasn't that Jack wanted to be a helicopter parent or anything; it was just hard not to get a little paranoid. The first few years of Carl's life had not exactly been, well, safe. Between his mother being murdered on their honeymoon and Conrad Grayson's attempts to frame or harm Jack and his family, Carl had been at risk more times than Jack was comfortable with. Things had been relatively quiet the last few years, but Jack could never really shake the paranoia. Sometimes he considered leaving the Hamptons, but it was the only home he had ever known. Besides, he felt like Charlotte and Nolan both needed him, though in different ways.

Checking his watch, Jack made note of the time. He had to be in bed early tonight because the Stowaway was hosting an event tomorrow that would take a lot of prep. He knew he would not get to bed early. Single fathers never have that luxury. Still, leaving the park might be a good idea.

Jack headed over to Carl, "Sorry to break up the fun little man, but we gotta start heading home soon."

Carl frowned, "I just made a new friend."

Jack looked over at the little girl standing next to Carl and nearly collapsed. It was like he was a little kid again. This girl, she looked so much like Amanda Clarke, his best friend from childhood. Some of the features were a little different, and her hair was a different style, shorter with bangs, but the color of the hair, the eyes, the smile, it was unbelievable.

"Hi. I'm Paige." The girl said, all smiles.

Carl beamed, "She's not from around here, but she said she loves it. I was just telling her about how we live right near the beach, and guess what? She's never been to a beach!"

Carl seemed so excited about his new friend. Jack wasn't exactly surprised. This girl had the same warm, fun loving energy that Amanda had when he met her so many years ago, the energy that, even at ten, he had known he wanted to be around as much as possible pretty much the second he met her.

"Paige!" he heard a voice call, and his heart stopped for the second time that day. He would know that voice anywhere. It made sense really. He should have known the second he saw the little girl. They looked too similar for it to be a coincidence. "Sweetie, we have to go."

Jack turned, and there she was. Emily Thorne. No, Emily Grayson he corrected in his mind. She was married to Daniel; she was a Grayson now. Then, he uncorrected it. She would never be a Grayson. She wasn't capable of it. It might be her name, but she would never truly be a Grayson.

"Emily." He breathed, and she looked at him, confused.

"Hi, um, do I know you?"

Jack sighed. He should have expected this. He knew about Emily losing her memories. Still, seeing her, it all felt so strange. And this time, he was the one with the secrets.

"Yeah, sorry, um, I'm Jack. Porter." He waited for some show of recognition, but there was none, "We used to be, well, friends. A while back. I heard about your, um, memory problem. I'm sorry about that."

"Mommy, what is he talking about?" Paige asked, looking up at her mother with confusion.

Emily smiled awkwardly, "Paige, sweetie, why don't you and your new friend go on the monkey bars for a minute or two, and then we'll get going okay?" Paige nodded and her and Carl headed towards the jungle gym.

"I'm sorry. You're here with your daughter and I just brought that up like … I should have thought. I was just … surprised, to see you. I heard you moved to Connecticut."

Emily nodded, "We did, but my husband's sister is getting married, so."

Jack nodded, "Yeah."

"I'm sorry, about not remembering you. There are so many things that … well, after all this time, I thought I would have it figured out, but it seems like I'm always coming across something."

Jack shrugged, trying to pretend his heart wasn't hammering in his chest, "It's okay. I mean, I'm the one who didn't stay in touch so…"

Emily nodded, "So, um, is he yours?"

She pointed to Carl and Paige playing by the monkey bars. Jack nodded, "Yep. That's Carl."

Suddenly Emily's eyes lit up in recognition, "Oh, Carl Porter." Jack looked at her, curiously. "Charlotte's always talking about him. Amanda Clarke's son, right?" Jack gave her an awkward nod, "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you."

"Well, it was nice to meet you. Maybe we could meet up sometime, catch up, see if I remember anything."

Jack nodded, "Yeah. Uh, yeah that would be, that would be good."

"All right, great." Emily took her phone out and started scrolling through contacts, "Paige and I have to get going, but here is my number, and you can just put yours in there if you want. We'll find some time."

"Absolutely." He said, entering his number in her phone and giving her is so she could do the same, "Sorry it's such a dinosaur. You'd think with Nolan as a friend, I would always get the newest tech, but I'm a bit more old school. Plus, it never made much sense to me, throwing out a phone because they came out with the next model."

Emily nodded, "And that would be Nolan Ross, I'm guessing." He looked at her, curious, "I know we used to be friends. He didn't keep in touch after … but since you both live in the Hamptons and apparently we were friends, it wasn't a far stretch."

Jack smiled, "Yeah, Nolan's eccentric, but he's a great friend. Probably the best you could ask for. I mean, I used to have a dog, who I loved, by the way, but even he wasn't as loyal as Nolan."

Emily smiled, "That's nice." She motioned to Paige who came running over. Carl followed closely behind. "So, I guess I'll see you later then."

Jack nodded.

"Yes mommy?"

"Sweetie, it's time to get going."

The girl nodded, "Will I see you again?" Carl asked shyly.

Paige looked up at her mom, questioningly, "Yes, I believe you will."

"It was very nice meeting you." Paige said politely. Emily gave her an approving smile.

"You too. I'll see you around." Carl replied.

"All right buddy. We gotta get going too. Daddy's got an early day tomorrow." Carl nodded reluctantly and followed his dad, "It was good seeing you Emily."

"You too Jack. We'll keep in touch." Jack nodded. So much for an early day. He knew that the second Carl was asleep, he would be calling Nolan.

Emily woke up in a cold sweat. She glanced at the clock; it was almost 1:00 in the morning. Slowly, she got out of bed and headed to the kitchen for a cup of water, plan B for dealing with the nightmares. Then she changed her mind. They weren't home. She was not familiar with the layout of this palace Daniel had grown up in. It looked like it was time for plan C, a nice, warm shower.

Emily had been having the nightmares for years. They were always vague, and she couldn't even always remember what they were about. What she could remember made no sense; a little girl screaming, a man in handcuffs, her mother-in-law's face. She supposed it had something to do with Victoria shooting her on her wedding day. It would be easy to be terrified of the woman, but the rest … Emily had been seeing a therapist for years, trying to piece her life together. It was not easy, and no matter how much time she spent in that office, she never walked away feeling satisfied.

Plan A was Daniel. He was always so loving, so kind. When she woke from the nightmares, panting for breath, a terrified look on her face, he would rub her back to calm her and kiss her temple. He always asked about the dream, but she never told him. It was too foggy and confusing, so she just said she couldn't remember, which was mostly true. Sometimes, if she was extra antsy after a nightmare, he would tell her one of their stories. Her favorite was of how they met. She would try to picture it: her the new girl, accidentally spilling a drink on the suave, charming son of the people whose boat she was on. She liked hearing the stories. Sometimes it seemed like none of these memories would ever come back to her, and she had long ago accepted that as the most likely possibility. However, there was still a part of her who wanted to remember seeing Daniel for the first time. She wanted to know if she had felt embarrassed, if her heart had sped up at his beautiful smile? She wondered how long it took for them to fall in love. It wasn't a mystery to her, loving Daniel Grayson. She had grown to love him so much over the past six years. He was so amazing to her, so gentle, patient, and sweet. He always made her feel loved and looked after, but he also gave her the respect you give someone when you know they are capable of looking after themselves. He believed in her, loved her, and he had given her a beautiful gift in getting her pregnant. She loved Paige more than anything. And she loved that she remembered everything about Paige. Paige came after the amnesia, so every first, from the first time she opened her eyes, to her first steps, to the first time she said mommy in that adorable way of hers was Emily's to keep. She remembered all of them, every single moment. She was so grateful for those memories.

It was still hard. She hated that she only had six years of memories. Sure, she knew the simple things. She remembered the things she must have learned in school, spelling, grammar, math. She remembered how to brush her teeth and how to ride a horse. She remembered who the president was seven years ago. Those were all there. It was the personal stuff that was missing. She couldn't remember her family, or where she grew up, or her first kiss. She knew some things about them of course; Daniel had told her what he could. He said she was very closed off about her parents, having lost them so traumatically at such a young age, but he knew some things. He knew she had been in foster care, and that her foster father had abused her and her siblings until she had stopped him by stabbing him. It was so hard to picture, taking a life. She had trouble believing she was capable of it, but Daniel said that people always surprise themselves with what they are capable of when they are scared, or angry, or feeling betrayed. He would get quiet then, and Emily would wonder if he judged her for what she did, but he assured her he didn't. He knew about her past when she married him. He knew she had gone to juvie for what she had done, and knowing that she trusted him with that knowledge had made him love her even more.

Daniel had filled her in on what he could, as had Charlotte, Daniel's sister whom Emily loved as her own sister from the second she met her. Still, there were gaps. Daniel and Charlotte had not known her her whole life, and there seemed to be things she never told them. Such as the fact that she was allergic to strawberries, which she had discovered at a benefit two and a half years ago. Daniel kept apologizing, but she didn't blame him. After all, if he didn't know, it was because she had not told him, and that was on her. She knew he tried, and she loved him for it. Still, she was always getting little reminders. Like today, with Jack. He had seemed so nice, and she hated the defeated look on his face when she had not been able to place him. How could she not know who this person was? How come Daniel had never mentioned him? She would have to ask him. He had to take a later flight than her due to work, so for now, it was just her and Charlotte living in Grayson manner. Apparently, she had spent a lot of time here before her and Daniel had gotten married, but of course, she had no memory of it. It always felt kind of scary, sleeping in new, unfamiliar places. It reminded her of when she woke up in a hospital bed six years ago, unsure and scared. She did not like the feeling of not knowing, of being helpless. She wished Daniel were here; he always made her feel safe. She imagined that was part of what she fell in love with, though she could never know for certain.

"Hey, this is a nice surprise." Nolan said as Jack came barreling in, "What's up?"

"Why wasn't your phone on?" Jack asked, clearly frustrated. Something was up, though Nolan did not know what yet. He examined Jack; the man was pacing, antsy. He kept brushing his hair aside, a nervous habit that Nolan had noticed years ago.

"It wasn't charged. I'm doing that now."

Jack scowled in frustration, "You're a tech genius and you can't remember to keep your phone charged?"

"Whoa, hey, calm down. All right, have a seat, tell me what's going on."

Jack sighed. He didn't sit, but he did stop pacing, for which Nolan was grateful. It had been giving him a headache. "Emily's back." He finally said.

Nolan nodded. He should have figured that would be what had Jack so upset, "Yeah."

"Yeah? You mean you knew?"

"Well, I knew Danny boy was coming to town for Charlotte's wedding. Sort of assumed Emily would be with him." Jack didn't say anything, "I'm guessing you ran into her."

"At the park, with Carl. She was there with her daughter and, I mean, the girl looks just like she did when she was … its, its like getting in a time machine. And Emily, she looks … I just, I don't know what to do with this." He collapsed on Nolan's couch. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"What's there to say? Neither of us is really a part of her life anymore-"

"Which was your choice if I recall correctly."

"There's a possibility that she never would have gotten her memories back even if we had tried-"

"We still could have-"

"We've been over this, Jack. You think I wanted my best friend to forget me? You think I wanted out of her life forever? But she was happy, for the first time since I've known her, for the first time since she was eight, she had a happy, normal life. A kid, a family, no thoughts of loss, or pain, or vengeance. After everything, she deserves that."

"Even if she has that life with the monster who shot her in the first place?"

"You don't know-"

"We know it wasn't Victoria because Aiden was holding her at the time, but she confessed. There are only three people she would ever consider taking the wrap for, I don't believe Charlotte's capable of that, even if she had a motive, and Patrick was with you."

"I'm not convinced that Queen V would even go to matt for the kiddies. She left David out to dry, and she supposedly loved him."

"The facts speak for themselves. She was covering for someone."

"Or she was trying to get a shorter sentence by taking a plea. She was the only suspect. The evidence was pretty damning, no jury would side with her."

"Grayson's don't give up without a fight. And Victoria already had a criminal record from when she was younger. She wouldn't have admitted it if she were guilty, and the fact that she did when we know she was innocent-"

"None of this matters anymore. Look, you know I've never been Prince Grayson's biggest fan. I've always thought Emily could do," he paused, eyeing Jack, "better. But after what happened, it changed things. "

Jack shook his head, "I don't see how."

"Jack-"

"And it wasn't like her covering for whoever she was covering for will get her locked away for life. That's a sacrifice she might be willing to make for Daniel. She went down for attempted murder, not murder. She'll get off in a couple years. Then what?"

"Well, her social standing will be forever ruined, as is her relationship with her son. But that's not the point. Not really. The Grayson's deserve to suffer for everything, for David, for Amanda, for Declan, but they say the best revenge is a life well lived. I was on board to help Emily with her mission, but I always wanted more for her, and so did David."

"This isn't about her mission. Screw her mission. This is about the fact that she's living a fake life."

"But she's happy. That's all I've ever wanted for her, and I'm not going to take it all away by forcing her to relive eighteen years of pain and loss." Nolan sighed, "Look, Jack, you agreed to go along with this. I know we don't agree about this, and considering how many times we've had this argument, reiterated the same points over and over, I think it's pretty clear we never will. But at this point, I thought we had agreed to disagree. "

"That was before. Emily's back now. That changes everything."

Nolan shook his head, "Even if Daniel is responsible for what happened to Emily that night, and I'm not saying I think he is, but even if he is, they've been together for six years now, and Emily's fine. He hasn't hurt her-"

"You don't know that. We don't know that. We don't know what goes on behind closed doors. They live in another state. We've kept zero contact. She didn't even know who I was. How … how would we know? How would we know if he was hurting her? How would we know anything?"

"Because even without her memories, Emily is still Emily. She's strong, and if Daniel had touched her, she would never have put up with it. Without her mission keeping her around, she wouldn't have stayed with him. There's no way."

"I don trust him. He's a monster." Nolan didn't argue. "If you think I'm gonna keep my distance now that she's back, you're insane."

"I sort of assumed, the way you came in here. Just, be careful. Daniel is dangerous."

"You keep saying-"

"I said I'm not sure he shot her, which I'm not, I'm saying Emily is happy, and can take care of herself, and that I don't think Daniel is hurting her, or that he would hurt the mother of his child, but that doesn't mean he's not dangerous, and without her memories, Emily won't know to protect you."

Jack shook his head, "I can protect myself."

A smell was wafting in from the kitchen. Pancakes. Charlotte must have made breakfast for the three of them. It was sweet of her, though Emily felt a little guilty. Charlotte was getting married, and she must be swamped with prep-work. If anyone should have breakfast made for them, it should be Charlotte. However, Charlotte had been a gracious host since Emily and Paige arrived a couple days ago, and Emily was always touched by how sweet Charlotte was to her. She may not have much love for the Grayson parents, but the Grayson children were the best family she could ask for, except Paige of course.

Emily made her way downstairs, following her nose to avoid getting lost in the mansion. "You didn't have to make-"

She stopped, surprised, then a smile appeared on her face and she ran to greet her husband. He kissed her hello, and she smiled. It felt so good to be in his arms again.

"I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow."

"I was able to move some things around." He said, giving her his charming smile, "I missed you," he added sweetly.

"I missed you too." Emily replied, kissing him again.

"Ewwww." The couple looked up to see their daughter watching them. Emily smiled at her daughter's adorable, juvenile comment.

"There's my princess." Daniel said. Paige's eyes lit up as she ran to greet her father. Daniel picked up his daughter and swung her around as she giggled. Then, he put her down and told her how much he missed her. Emily watched, smiling. It was moments like this she wondered how she got so lucky.

"I missed this." Emily breathed.

"It was only a few days." Daniel said with a chuckle.

"What, are you saying you liked sleeping alone?" Emily teased, turning to face her husband.

"No, but technically, we weren't sleeping."

Emily laughed. It didn't matter to her. Making love to Daniel was always amazing, but even just lying with him, being with him, that was enough for her. She had missed making love, but she missed this part even more, lying in bed together, his arms wrapped protectively around her. It made her feel safe and loved, which was all she had ever wanted.

Her phone buzzed on the end table. Reluctantly, she disentangled herself from Daniel and got up to check. It was a text from Jack. He wanted to know if she could meet him for brunch. Apparently Carl couldn't stop raving about Paige, and needed to see her again. Jack added that seeing Emily again wouldn't be the worst thing either. Her phone buzzed again with another text, Jack explaining that the bit about it not being the worst thing was him kidding, and that he was worried that might not come across, but he really did want to see her too. Emily chuckled. She couldn't help it. There was something so awkwardly honest about Jack. It was kind of cute. She texted him back that she was free, and she and Paige could meet him for brunch. She said he could pick the place and let her know how to get there. He texted her an address.

"Sorry about that." Emily said as she got back into bed.

"Who was it?"

"Jack Porter." She felt Daniel stiffen.

"What?"

"Yeah. I ran into him at the park with Paige. Carl is just as adorable as Charlotte always says." Daniel said nothing, "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about it. I was wondering why you never mentioned him?"

"Mentioned Jack?"

"Yes. He made it sound like we used to be close, but you never told me about him, about us being friends. You told me about Nolan, so why not Jack?" He didn't answer, "Daniel?" she whispered, poking his back lightly.

Daniel through the covers back, "I have to use the bathroom. I'll be right back." He was gone before Emily even had a chance to respond. It was odd. Daniel had never been evasive with her before. He knew how difficult not remembering had been for her, and he was always so helpful. He indulged every question, even the seemingly insignificant like did she have a favorite movie and had she ever played golf. He had never clammed up or gotten cagey, even when she had asked him about things like ex-girlfriends. He had told her about Ashley who had apparently been a friend of hers. He had even told her about Sarah, the last girl he had seriously dated before they met.

He said that things with him and Sarah had ended badly, and she had been the one to encourage him to make it right. He said her goodness inspired him, made him want to be Daniel and not Grayson, made him believe he could. He had been so sweet, so honest and vulnerable, and then she had told him that she loved him. It was the first time she had said it since losing her memory. She knew that she had probably said it many times before, but it felt like the first time to her. Daniel's face had been a mixture of gratitude and relief. Maybe he had been afraid she would never remember how she felt for him. In truth, so had she, but how could she help but fall for somebody so sweet? The way he was acting now was strange, but there had to be a reason for it. Emily trusted Daniel, he had earned it. He had done so much for her. Whatever reason he had for not telling her about Jack, for clamming up, she had to trust it was a good one.

Daniel stared at himself in the mirror. He could hear his own breathing, heavy, ragged. Porter. Why did Emily have to run into him? He should have known the bar owner would find a way back into Emily's world. He had always been obsessed with her. He may have denied it, but Daniel knew. Jack had broken up him and Emily once. He wouldn't let Jack take her from him again. He wouldn't let anyone. Closing his eyes, he remembered a day from years ago, the last time he was in the Hamptons, before they had moved and left all this behind.

He was watching Emily sleep. She looked so beautiful, like the first time he saw her. She was only at peace when she was asleep. When she was awake, she was confused and scared. It made sense. He preferred her this way, peaceful, happy. He wanted her always happy. After what he had done to her, he owed it to her to make her always happy. The mother of his child … 'Oh Emily,' he thought, 'Why did you have to lie? Why did you have to let my mother provoke you into saying those things on the boat? None of this would have happened if I hadn't thought …'

When the nurse had told him Emily and the baby had survived, he hadn't known how to react. If she really was pregnant, then what he had done was unfounded. Is mother had manipulated her, somehow, made her say things that weren't true. Maybe she knew Daniel was listening. Maybe she had even left the gun. How could she? On the boat, hearing Emily say she had faked the pregnancy to make him go through with the wedding, he had thought he could never hate anybody more, but now he knew he could. He hated his mother more than it seemed possible to hate anyone. She had made him do the unthinkable, it was because of her that he had shot and nearly killed his wife and his unborn child. It was unforgivable.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, "I never meant for this to happen."

He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Jack Porter carrying a bouquet of flowers, "Sorry." Jack said, "I didn't know anyone was in here."

"What are you doing here Porter?"

"I heard what happened. I wanted to see if Emily was okay."

"Does she look okay?" Daniel asked angrily.

Jack looked down, "No. No, she doesn't. Look, Daniel, this is hard, I know how you feel right now-"

"No, you don't. You know why? Because Emily is MY wife Jack, MINE. Regardless of what might have happened between you two, or what you may feel, she married ME. She was never yours."

"I had a wife. I lost her, in an incident that was actually remarkably similar to what happened to Emily, ironically." He smiled, slightly, "It's an irony Emily would probably appreciate." He said it with a quiet gentleness that made Daniel's blood boil.

"You don't know what she'd appreciate, Porter. And aren't you supposed to be dating Margaux?"

"And that means I can't be concerned for a friend?"

"Friendship was never what you wanted from Emily. I'm warning you Porter, you come near her again-"

"And you'll what? What could you possibly take from me, Grayson? I have nothing that could be of any value to you?"

"Maybe not, but there are still things of value to you. Margaux might learn some things that turn her off to you. Or, better yet, Social Services might decide you're an unfit parent."

Jack's face twisted in anger and he drew closer to Daniel, "That sounds like a lot of effort on your part. Why so afraid of me, Grayson?"

"You think it takes effort for a Grayson to get rid of somebody? Look at your life Porter! How did you get here? Do you think I couldn't stamp you out if I wanted to?"

Their faces were inches apart, anger in both of their eyes, but before anyone could strike anyone, they heard a groan. Both men turned to see Emily stirring. Her eyes started to flutter, and Daniel went to her side, his anger replaced with concern.

"What is it? Are you okay? What do you need?"

"Water." She choked out. Daniel nodded. He saw Jack watching, and decided to make a point. He placed his lips to Emily's forehead. She smiled, and he saw Jack wince. It gave him an inner glee, but he kept it hidden as best he could.

Emily closed her eyes again. She didn't seem to have noticed Jack at all.

Daniel headed toward the door, pushing Jack along with him. "She isn't exactly asking for you." Daniel said, "I think I'm the one she wants around right now. Her husband. Isn't that how it should be?" Jack didn't answer. He looked over Daniel's shoulder at the window to Emily's room. She was still sleeping peacefully, the smile that Daniel's kiss had brought to her lips still there. "Maybe you should let me take care of her." He flagged down a nurse and asked her about bringing Emily water. The nurse nodded. Once she was out of earshot, Daniel said, "I didn't ask her to get rid of you, but I could have. You're not family. You shouldn't be allowed back here."

"Charlotte let me in." Jack said.

Daniel nodded, unsurprised. For whatever reason, Charlotte felt a kinship to Jack. He supposed it made sense. Jack had been married to her half-sister, even if she had barely known the girl. Jack's son was her nephew, and his brother had been her boyfriend. All those connections, it would be hard for Charlotte to break ties, even is she knew how Jack had tried to break up him and Emily. Still, with what was going on right now, he was sure he could play the sympathy card, "I'll talk to her. I think you should go now. And I'd better not see your name in the visitors log."

It had been foolish of Daniel to think that they could come back to the Hamptons, even all these years later, and Jack wouldn't try and get in contact with Emily. Everything they had left behind, every reason they left, was still here. He would just have to make sure that Jack kept his distance. He would not, could not lose Emily. Not again. He had worked too hard to be the perfect husband, the perfect father, to have to perfect relationship. He had done everything for Emily, for Paige, and for the sake of his own conscience.

When he returned, Emily's eyes were closed. She was trying to sleep, but she had never been good about sleeping alone. He wrapped his arms around her, and he felt her sigh in relief.

"Emily?" He whispered

"Shh." She responded, "We'll talk in the morning."

Author's Note: So, what did you think? Any questions? Comments? Concerns? Anyone want me to continue? Please, I am anxious to read your feedback, and I really hope you liked it. And, again, I am working on the other one as well. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this one. Have a nice day.