Chapter 2
Authors note: Thanks for the reviews :)
I was awoken to a knock on my front door. I quickly slid out of bed and tiptoed towards the front door. Who would be knocking at 3.30 in the morning? When I reach the front door and look through the peephole, I get a huge surprise. Standing in front of my door was Bex, Macey, Liz and Zach. I rip the door open and stand in silence, waiting for them to say something.
"Hey Cam," Liz says at last, before jumping into my arms.
"Lizzy!" I gasp, hugging her tightly. I let go of Liz and hug Bex and Macey before standing back again and looking at Zach. "Hi." I whisper. Zach smirks and steps forward, pulling me into his arms and hugging me tightly to him. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you too." I reply.
"Do you think we could come in?" Bex asks. "It's a little cold out here."
"Of course!" I says, ushering them inside. "So...is it over? Are they gone?" Zach nods and I break out into a grin. I motion for the four of them to follow me into the living room. "Sorry about the mess..." I say, as I open the door.
"Oopsy daisy!" Liz squeals as she almost trips over the sofa leg. Suddenly there's a loud wail from down the hallway.
"What's that...?" Macey asks slowly
"I'll explain in a minute." I says, rushing off down the hallway.
"Was that a baby?" I hear Liz whisper as I head towards the crying.
"Hey baby girl." I say quietly, lifting my daughter into my arms and cradling her to my chest. "It's ok, mummy's got you." I gently sway side to side, trying to calm the little girl before I go back in to the living room to face everyone again. As soon as she is calm again, I head back into the living room.
"Cammie!" Liz gasps as I re-enter the room.
"Is she...is she yours?" Bex asks and I nod.
"Guys, I'd like you to meet Emilia Morgan Goode." I say, watching as Zach's eyes widen.
"Goode?" He repeats and I nod.
"This is your daughter Zach," I say. "Our daughter." I rephrase.
"She's beautiful Cam." Macey says and I smile.
"Thanks." I reply, shifting Emilia into a more comfortable position.
"Da!" Emilia coos, reaching out for Zach who pales and gulps.
"She...she knows who I am?" He stutters and I nod.
"I've shown her pictures of everyone and I talk about you guys to her sometimes...even though I know she's not really taking any of it in."
"Does anyone know?" Bex asks and I shake my head.
"Not even your mum?" Zach asks and I shake my head. "Abby?" I shake my head again. "Solomon?" I shake my head again and Zach gulps. "I am so dead." He mutters to himself. I glance down at Emilia who had her head resting on my shoulder, watching Zachs every move.
"Can we come home now?" I whisper and Liz nods enthusiastically.
"Of course! Whenever you're ready. I mean, you'll probably have to pack everything up, right? So that might take a while but..." She rambles and I giggle.
"Lizzy, take a breath." I joke and Liz giggles. "There's really not much for me to pack anyway, I've only been here for a week, I haven't even unpacked most of my stuff yet."
"Well, we can leave in the morning, be back in Roseville by lunch time. We can call your mum and get her to set up a room for you guys." Bex says and I nod and smile. "If that's ok with you of course."
"Absolutely!" I say, kissing the top of Emilia's head. "We're going home baby girl!" I whisper, pressing my cheek to her head. "Do you guys want to get some rest? You must be tired." I ask and the girls nod. "The sofa pulls out into a bed and there's a single bed in the spare room." I reply.
Once I had settled the girls, I headed back towards my room. I paused, watching Zach from behind, who was stood in the doorway of Emilia's room.
"Are you ok?" I ask quietly, knowing that Zach had heard me walk up behind him. He nods and turns slowly. "Zach..."
"Cam..." We say at the same time. "Sorry you go...no, you...I'll..."
"I wish I could have been here for you Cammie." Zach suddenly blurts out and I nod, my eyes filling with tears.
"I know." I whisper. "Are you...are you sure you're ok?"
"Of course. A little shocked. I never really thought about having a family. I mean, it crossed my mind, you know, starting a family with you but...I don't know where I'm going with this..." He mutters and I giggle.
"Me neither. But as soon as I found out, I knew that I couldn't have an abortion or have her adopted. I knew that one day, when I was able to come home...which is now I guess...that you'd be happy. You are happy right?" I ask, the thought of Zach deciding he didn't want to be part of Emilia and I's life suddenly popped into my head. "I mean, I don't want to pressure you into anything and..." Zach suddenly stepped forward, cutting me off with a kiss.
"I love you Cammie," he whispers when he pulls away. "So, so much, and Emilia. Of course I'm happy. As soon as we get back to Roseville, we can start looking for an apartment, start living together, as a family."
"I'd like that." I say, leaning up to kiss Zach again before we are interrupted by Emilia crying again. "Sorry, she's teething." I explain. "And neither of us really sleep well during the first week of living in a new house."
"How many houses have you had to stay in?" Zach asks quietly, following me into the nursery.
"Five." I reply and Zach curses quietly under his breath, and I lift Emilia out of the crib again. "Do you want to hold her?" I ask Zach.
"Um...sure...ok...I mean, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to calm her or anything but..."
"It's ok." I say quietly. "Just hold her like this and do what I say and she'll calm down." I gently place Emilia in Zach's arms and move his hands so that he was holding her securely. "Now just sway a little, not too much, just side to side." I watch as Zach does what I say, glancing down at Emilia as he does.
"She looks like you." He says after a while of us being stood in silence and I give a small laugh.
"She's got your eyes." I reply. "You're a natural." I whisper, running my hand over the back of Emilia's head. "I think she's asleep again, if you want to put her back in her crib?" I ask, smiling to myself as Zach looks down at the baby in his arms again.
"Would it be ok if I just held her for a little longer?" He asks quietly, glancing back up at me. I nod and smile.
"Of course." I agree. "I'll leave you to it." I say, backing out of the room and heading into my own.
"Cam?" Zach whispers, tiptoeing into my room an hour later. "You still awake?" I sit up in bed and smile at him.
"Is Emilia asleep?" I ask and Zach nods. I lift the covers and motion for him to join me in bed. "I love you." I whisper, resting my head on his chest.
"I love you too Gallagher Girl."
"Em, em?" Emilia babbles and I giggle.
"M&M's?" I repeat and she nods, clapping her hands together. "Not right now sweetie, breakfast first." I say, watching her little face drop.
"She's addicted to M&M's too?" Macey asks and I shrug.
"They're really good." I mutter, sitting down in front of Emilia's high chair.
"Ok, I've dismantled the crib. Do you have a box for it?" Zach asks, walking into the kitchen and pressing a gentle kiss to Emilia's forehead.
"I think it's in the spare room." I say whilst trying to regain Emilia's attention, who was looking up at Zach, babbling and reaching up to him.
"How did you do all of this by yourself?" Bex asks and I shrug.
"I had to, I didn't really have a choice." I reply. "Emilia's a really easy baby. I just set her in her bouncer while I packed."
"So she's what, 9, almost 10 months now?" Liz asks and I nod. "Did you not even suspect you were pregnant when you left?" This time I shake my head and place the spoon of porridge in Emilia's mouth.
"It didn't even cross my mind until about a week after I left." I say, putting the spoon down in the bowl.
"Was it hard?" Macey asks passing me a cup of tea.
"Was what hard?" I ask, thanking her and taking the cup.
"Labour." I nod and wince.
"What was worse, was that I couldn't have you guys or even my mum there with me. The pain was terrible but it was all worth it when I saw Emilia for the first time."
"Ok, all packed up. Is there anything else Cam?" Zach asks, carrying the box containing Emilia's crib, into the hallway.
"Uh, no I don't think so, everything else was here when I got here and the high chair collapses so...I just need to pack up our clothes and the rest of Emilia's bottles and things like that and we can go." I say, lifting Emilia out of the crib and placing her on Bex's lap. Bex stiffens and puts her arms awkwardly around Emilia's waist.
"Uh...Cam..."
"It's ok." I say lightly, walking out of the room. "She'll just play with you hair." With that, Emilia grabs a handful of Bex's long hair and wraps it around her tiny fist.
"Cam!" Bex calls. "I don't know how to look after a baby!"
"You'll be fine!" I call back as I enter Emilia's room.
AN: The next chapter will have Emilia and Cammie returning to Gallagher. Please review!