A/N: Hey y'all! Thank you so much for all the positive response I got on the first chapter for this story. Here's the second one for you, and I want to give my thanks to my Betas slytherinprincess8870 and ItsInMyBlood. Sadly, ItsInMyBlood won't be continuing, but I wish her the best of luck at her new job. Without much ado, I'll let you get to the chapter.

Disclaimer: As much as I wished I owned, Switched at Birth, I don't. All I can do is use the characters for my own schemes.

Text messages are in bold. Signing is in italics.

~Mock


Bay coasted along the roads, searching for that place she knew the timeline would be. Even though she'd only seen it once, the path was engraved into her mind, and Bay knew it would never leave. She glanced at her phone yet again, hoping to see the little blinking light that meant she had a text message. She wasn't expecting anything, but to her surprise, the red light was there, quickly turning on and off.

The first stop light Bay was at, she turned the screen on to her phone, eager to read the message, but groaned when she saw who it was from.

Mom: Where are you? You need to come home for dinner now.

Bay rolled her eyes. She knew her mom didn't really understand why this was so important to her, or why she couldn't face Daphne right now. It wasn't even really about Noah, though Bay kept trying to tell herself it was. It was how she could see in Daphne's eyes that she blamed Bay for Carlton's predicament, because Bay had shot her mouth off to the newspaper reporter. Bay didn't know what else she could have done except fight back. It wasn't like she said she wanted the school to be 50% hearing, she just wanted to finish out her high school education there. Keeping the pilot program kids would have been enough for her. Bay had to get away from Daphne's accusing stare for at least one night.

Even though she knew it would be useless, Bay checked one more time for a response from Emmett. Nothing, just as she expected. She was getting anxious. If Emmett didn't show up, this trip would be a complete waste of time, and to top it all off, she'd be in huge trouble when she got back home. Her parents might consider Emmett a valid reason to leave if they were in a good mood, but not if he didn't come.

The stoplight switched back to green, and Bay revved the gas pedal. She was determined to reach her destination as fast as she could. She wanted to make sure she would get there before Emmett if he decided to come. She had to make sure she knew what she was going to say and practice her signing just in case. The last thing she needed to do was to make a fool out of herself again.

Bay finally pulled onto the back roads that would lead her to the timeline. She listened for the familiar roar of Emmett's motorcycle, and was pleased when she didn't yet hear it. That meant she still had some time to prepare, assuming he was on his way. God, she hoped that he'd come. They needed to resolve whatever was going on between them if either of them ever had a prayer of moving forward in their lives.

Bay rounded one last corner, and there she saw it. The beautiful timeline Emmett had created for them was still there, and amazingly, the spot was free from any other pieces of street art. She was surprised Zarra and her gang hadn't added onto it before she left, or that Smack hadn't been here. Then again, it was an insanely difficult spot to find, so perhaps it wasn't that shocking. Whatever the reason, Bay was so, so happy they hadn't. This was a special place for her and Emmett only. No one else could touch it.

Bay doubted anyone else even knew it was here. She was sure that without Emmett's map, she'd never have come across it. She didn't know how Emmett had even found the place to begin with. She'd have to ask them if they got the opportunity today…

No. Today had to be about fixing whatever issues had come up between them. Bay couldn't let her wandering mind dictate her words. Bringing up something random would only lead Emmett to believe that she wasn't serious about trying to make everything right.

The last time Emmett had talked to her when he said that he couldn't just be friends with her had hurt more than Bay wanted to admit. She knew that she needed Emmett in her life some way or another because he was the only one in the entire world she felt really understood who she was. Others could try all they wanted and everyone accessed a part of her, but no one other than Emmett had truly met Bay Madeline Kennish-Vasquez. Zarra had met Bay Vasquez, the street artist who was unafraid of the ghetto and steered clear of high society. However, she was a stranger to Bay Kennish, the girl with a heart and who just wanted to be a part of deaf society so badly, but knew she never truly could.

But Emmett had uncovered all of those sides to her. He brought out everything she'd kept hidden from everybody else, even herself. He'd been the only one to support her choice in finding her dad. Even Bay's own mother had kept that information secret from her. But Emmett was willing to do anything to find him, just for her.

Bay knew just how much it hurt Emmett to be around her right now. It was the same hurt she felt deep inside whenever she was with him. As much as she hated to admit it, they couldn't just be friends when it hurt that much. But Bay was positive she couldn't cut him out of her life either.

She stepped out of her car and went around to the side where Emmett had depicted what he'd hoped would happen for the future. BAY AND EMMETT FOREVER. Bay wasn't sure about that part just yet, though she couldn't deny that the words had an alluring appeal and stirred up feelings in her chest. God, sometimes she wanted it so badly…

But all she could do now was hope that Emmett would come, and that they could reach a conclusion without yelling and screaming (or in Emmett's case, signing aggressively), or simply just not decide what to do from there on out. It would be a hell of a ride, whatever happened. Today, Bay knew that her life was going to be changed again. Whether for better or for worse, she couldn't tell just yet.

A few moments later, Bay heard the familiar growl of Emmett's motorcycle. It took everything in her to fight the temptation to turn around. She wanted him to come to her so that he didn't have the option of staying on his bike, tell her to leave him alone, and ride off again. They were going to talk and have a solid conversation, whether he wanted to or not.

Hearing the motorcycle come to a halt, Bay only had time to take one last deep breath before she felt a soft hand on her shoulder.


Emmett drove as fast as he could while still staying relatively safe. He wasn't so stupid that he was going to get himself killed before going to see Bay. She was the only thing that mattered right then.

Pulling around the last corner he saw her standing right in front of the very last scenario he'd portrayed, BAY AND EMMETT FOREVER. She was unmoving, but even from the back so, so beautiful. Emmett quickly got off his bike, threw off the helmet, and jogged over to Bay. Taking one deep breath, he placed a hand lightly on her shoulder.

She turned around instantly at his touch and Emmett could immediately see that she was in turmoil. Her dark eyes betrayed all the emotions running through her head. But God, was she gorgeous. Emmett thought his heart might break just looking at her, cheesy as that sounded. He'd hated sappy clichés before, but was forced to acknowledge the truth in some of them after he'd met Bay.

"Hey," Bay signed, speaking at the same time.

Hey, Emmett signed back. He waited a moment from a response from Bay. It was clear to him that she needed to be the one to initiate conversation. Her eyes gave all of that away.

"Look," she signed slowly. "I understand that it's hard for you to be around me right now. And I don't want to cause you pain, but it's impossible for me to not be around you. Every second just gets harder and harder, because through all of this crap that's going on, you were the only one that really understood me. You were the only one who really knew who I was, not just who I pretended to be."

No way. She couldn't mean what Emmett thought she meant, could she? Was she really suggesting that they get back together even after all he'd done to her? Best to take this slow in case he got excited for no reason. It hurts to be without you, he signed. But it also hurts to be with you, and not be more than just a friend. Bay, you have to understand that I never stopped loving you, which is why it hurts so bad to be around you. I didn't fall out of love like I was so scared I would.

Bay's face was stunned. Crap! Emmett cursed himself for just blurting out that he was still in love with her. Way to go, he probably just lost her for good this time. Served him right for being such an idiot.

But what Bay signed next shocked him to the core. "I don't think I ever really stopped loving you either." She threw her hands down in slight frustration, and when she brought them back up again, her signing was more frantic, but Emmett could see that she wasn't really angry. There were small tears flowing down her face, and Bay didn't cry when she was angry, only when she was in intense pain. "And it really hurts to still be in love with you sometimes," Bay continued, tears now flowing freely down her face. "I know that you're sorry that you cheated on me with Simone, but how can I know that it's not going to happen again? If you get mad at me, why should it be any different this time around? And I feel awful for feeling that way sometimes, especially because I also know that we're beautiful together. Like, we were always supposed to be, even with all of this mess getting in the way."

So she was still afraid that this was going to happen again. Well, Emmett couldn't blame her. He'd feel the same if their situations were reversed. Bay's life had been completely uprooted when she found out about the switch, and she couldn't trust that this would turn out happily for her either. You can't know how much I hate myself for what I did, Emmett signed to her, desperate to convince her that he knew it wouldn't happen again. He swore to himself that it wouldn't. I haven't regretted anything more than that, and I swear I'm never going to do that again to anyone. No one deserves to go through that and I can never tell you how sorry I am. Bay's eyes formed more tears, but Emmett sensed a change in them. They resembled the tears she'd almost cried when he spoke to her with his voice for the first time. They were tears of hope.

Slowly, he reached out a hand and wiped the tears away with his thumb. With a movement that seemed almost involuntary, Bay leaned into his touch. It was so familiar, and it took all of Emmett's self-control to not take her into his arms and kiss her right there.

"I know that you're sorry," Bay signed. "And that's why I can't ever let you go."

Emmett hesitated once more. He thought he understood what Bay was getting at, and if he was right he'd be the happiest person in the world. What are you saying? he prompted her.

"I think I want to get back together," Bay signed, ever so slowly. "But it's not going to be like before, at least not for a while. I still have to be sure that we're going to be alright, and that nothing like what happened with Simone is ever going to happen again. I can't deal with that a second time. I barely dealt with it this time. Does that work for you?"

Emmett didn't care that things wouldn't immediately be perfect like before. He didn't care that Bay was going to keep him on a tight leash and watch him like a hawk for a while. All he cared about was that she was his once again, just like it should be. She was always supposed to be his, and even her being switched at birth couldn't keep them apart forever.

As long as you're mine, I'm happy, Emmett signed, unable to keep the grin off his face. He knew Bay was still uneasy, but he was determined to do his best to show her he was going to be the man she wanted and needed.

"OK," Bay signed, and then, unexpectedly, rushed forward and hurled herself into Emmett's arms. He held her close and rubbed small circles into her back, loving the feeling of rightness it gave him to have Bay back in his arms again where she belonged.

After a few moments, Bay pulled back, but it was only to tell him something. "I missed you so much," she signed, brushing away the last remnants of tears from her face. All Emmett had to do was give her one sign in return.

Same.


A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter, because I had a bunch of fun writing it! Next chapter is being written, and we'll get to see Daphne's, Noah's, and Melody's responses to Bay and Emmett being back together. Please don't forget to leave a review, and I'll update soon!

~Mock