(A/N:) Hi everyone! New chapter! This is definitely one of my favorite chapters, so enjoy! And don't forget to review!

Oh, and italicized is a flashback!

CHAPTER THREE

Aria heard the doorbell ring and started rushing to the door. Before opening it, she smoothed out her dress and did a few inhales and exhales. It was a little past four and Spencer said she would try to be home early, which generally meant four thirty.

She swung open the door and smiled widely, trying to seem as calm as possible and not as if she were about to drop a bomb on the poor guy. Lord knows she put him through a ringer a few years back. She flashed back to that summer. The last few months of senior year consisted of A, who was Mona the whole time after all, trying to convince Aria and her friends that Ezra was A. That alone put a strain on Ezra and Aria. Then, the mess was cleared up and the two decided to move to New York together once she graduated.

But a week before graduation, Spencer happened. Aria had gone over to the Hastings and poured her feelings out about how scared she was to be in a new city living a domestic life with Ezra. Yes, she loved him like crazy, but it was a lot. He was older and wanted a real relationship, while Aria wanted to just be a little free. Spencer kept saying she deserved better and to do what she wanted and apparently what she wanted was Spencer. Aria remembered pulling back from Spencer's hug and looking into her eyes. Before either of them knew it, Aria had pressed her lips to Spencer's and things got rather heated.

A few days after graduation, Aria walked into Ezra's apartment as if nothing had been happening with Spencer, but when she saw Ezra smiling and packing up belongings in boxes, she broke down. She confessed to Ezra that she just couldn't do it, couldn't be with him.

Aria's eyes did a sweep over the apartment and she almost fainted. Boxes were labeled with the words clothes, books, knick knacks, and kitchen. Aria must have been green because Ezra rushed to her side. "Aria, are you okay? You look like you're gonna be sick."

They sat down on the couch and Aria started shaking her head and crying, Ezra held her to his chest and repeatedly asked what was going on?

"What happened, babe? Did something…happen?"

Aria pulled away. "Ezra, I'm sorry. I can't do this. I can't go to New York with you. I…I just can't. This doesn't feel right. I love you so much, but I can't be with you."

Ezra's eyes brimmed with tears and he shook his head, "Why? What happened, Aria?"

"I'm just not ready for the commitment." The words hit Ezra like a baseball bat. Aria was so much better than Jackie, but it was like déjà vu. Not ready for the commitment. Ezra was shell shocked, though. To his mind, they were so in love. They were about to be out of this small, rumor-filled town and be able to be together one hundred percent. Ezra swallowed hard and muttered, "Is there someone else?"

Aria was silent and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she started sobbing. Ezra sighed, "Who is it? Jake? Jason?"

Aria shook her head, "No, no, it's not them, I swear."

"What, did you meet someone new?" Ezra interrogated, though he seriously doubted that she was leaving himself, who she thought was her soul mate once upon a time, for a complete stranger. "Please, Aria, just tell me who."

Aria took a few shaky breaths before stuttering, "Sp- Spencer."

Ezra gasped a little and moved away from her. He was not expecting that name to spill from her lips.

"Hey, you made it!" Aria smiled, leaning in for an amicable hug. He hugged her back, but quickly let go. Aria sighed, "Let's talk in the kitchen. I'm making brownies for a bake sale, so I have to cook while talking. I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all," Ezra said. "As long as I get a brownie."

Aria forced a little laugh, "Of course. I hope I'm not taking something away from your schedule."

Ezra shook his head and sat down at the dining room table. "No, not at all. I was supposed to monitor detention, but I got Mrs. Welsh to cover it."

Aria leaned against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. "I can't believe you still work at Rosewood," she said softly.

"It's comfortable… How's Rosewood Elementary?"

Aria shrugged, "Probably a nicer atmosphere than the high school. But then again, I think I just had a rather special high school experience."

"I can testify to that," he chuckled. "But, you're good though?"

Aria pulled the brownies out of the even before answering. "I'm fine, can't complain. How about you?"

Ezra readjusted in the chair and responded, "Same with me. Can't complain. I am working on a book right now, though, and I've got a publisher interested."

Aria grinned – honestly this time – and said, "That's great, Ezra! That's really great." She placed a few excess brownies on a plate and placed them on the table in front of Ezra. "You want anything to drink?"

"Got any coffee?"

Aria laughed, "I live with Spencer. Our house might as well be the coffee emporium of the world."

Ezra nodded and smiled. She grabbed two mugs and poured some freshly brewed coffee into each cup. "You want any sugar or anything?"

"No, I'm fine." She smiled at him once more and moved to the table.

Once she sat down, she took a sip before saying, "Look, Ezra, I'm sorry we haven't talked in a while. I know that we agreed to still stay in each other's lives and be friends, and I haven't followed through with that as much as I would like to."

"Aria, it's fine," Ezra assured. "Is that what you wanted to talk about? You said on the phone that you wanted to talk about something?"

Aria opened her mouth, contemplating on what to say. She wanted to wait for Spencer. As if on cue, Aria's phone buzzed and she excused herself. When she was answered, it was Spencer.

"Don't be mad," Spencer started on the other line. "There's no way I can leave early today. Any way you could ask Ezra to reschedule?"

Aria sighed. She knew this would happen. "No, he's already here. Look, I'll just talk to him. It'll be less weird anyway."

"Are you sure?" Spencer asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Aria confirmed. Before Spencer could say anything else, Aria hung up and returned to Ezra.

"Hey, sorry, that was Spencer. She's held up at work, so I guess I'll talk to you without her."

Ezra nervously nodded and Aria sat down next to him. He honestly had no clue as to what this was about. One of the last times they had a serious talk was when Aria confessed she was gay and leaving him. Ezra suddenly wondered if this announcement would top the last. Little did he know, it definitely would.

"So?" Ezra prompted.

"So," Aria started, "Spencer and I have been talking and we're both just at a point in our life where we're ready for a baby. But, we don't… have the right… equipment." Aria paused and smiled awkwardly. "We were wondering if you would maybe… assist us?"

Ezra's jaw drop and he immediately wished he could be anywhere else. "Are you asking me to be your, be your sperm donor?"

Aria gulped, "Yeah. I –we- completely understand if you aren't comfortable with that due to our history or just due to the weirdness, but we would really appreciate your sperm. Like, really appreciate it."

Ezra nodded slowly. "Did you two… discuss this and come up with me? For the best option?"

"We did, actually," Aria confessed. "We didn't want it to be a stranger, we felt like you would consider it, and as far as we know, you have good genes. You don't have any heart conditions or birth defects, do you?"

"Uh, no…" Ezra murmured. "Would it be you or Spencer?"

"Me, because I have less work, me and you are closer, and I'm less stressed than Spencer."

Ezra stared at Aria. He couldn't believe she was asking this. "What, would we just…do it without protection?"

Aria laughed and blushed, "No, no, no. You would deposit your sperm and then a doctor would take it and then insert it in me so I could –"

"I get it," Ezra interrupted, stopping her while she was ahead. "Isn't that really expensive, though?"

"It is," Aria agreed, "but there's not a whole lot of options. And adoption costs more, so we'd do this." She paused and noticed how freaked Ezra looked. She sighed and intertwined her fingers with his. "I know this is a very weird situation, but if you did this, we would be so happy. We can't have a baby and you would be giving that gift to us. It would mean so much, Ezra." She stopped and Ezra nodded, but stayed silent.

"And, if you did this, you could be involved in the baby's life. You could come visit anytime, watch the baby on weekends, help with names, all that stuff. And, I know you still might feel insecure about Malcolm. Maybe this could console that a little bit. Bring some closure. We would give you entitlement to the baby. You'd be so much more than just a sperm donor, Ezra."

Ezra pulled his hands away and breathed in sharply. "Can I have a few days to just think it over?"

Aria nodded, "Of course you can! I don't expect you to just agree without any hesitation. Take as long as you want, Ezra."

Ezra smiled a little, "Uh, I'm gonna head out. But, I will definitely think about this."

Aria grinned, "Thank you for even hearing me out." She hugged him briefly, but he didn't reciprocate. "Do you want a brownie for the road?"

Ezra shook his head, "No thank you." He walked down the hall, but Aria was on his tail. He reached the front door and turned around. "It was, uh, nice seeing you. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Aria waved her hand, "Take your time. Do what you feel comfortable doing. But, again, you'd be helping us so much and we'd love it if you would do this for us. But, just take as long as you want."

She opened the door for him and he headed down the steps. Aria was about to close the door, but stopped. Once he reached the sidewalk, Aria peeked her head out and yelled to him, "But don't take too long! I'm ovulating in eight days!"

Ezra turned and gave her an awkward, crazed smile.

Yeah, this had definitely topped the last serious conversation he had with Aria. He got into the car and immediately clasped a hand over his mouth. Part of him was so touched to have been the person they wanted as the father of their baby, but the other part just thought it was so bizarre. He and Aria had talked so many years ago about how they wanted to have a big family and be a happy little mother and father. But now, she wanted to have a family with a mother and another mother, featuring himself as a person who would for sure confuse the kid.

And it was bizarre that he would have a child with Aria, but it just wouldn't be his child. He thought of Aria saying how he could be involved if he wished, but three's a crowd. Ezra couldn't even imagine living the parenting life with Aria and Spencer. He felt, and slightly knew, that Aria would be that mom who let her kids be free and feel what they want, but Spencer would be the mom to enforce curfew and grade expectations. Ezra didn't know what he would be like. He envisioned a scenario where the kid would get in trouble at school: Aria would be upset, but not take away any privileges. Spencer would most likely make the child do extra chores for a week. But, what would Ezra do?

Even though he went through Malcolm, he didn't know how to be a parent. The whole Malcolm debacle was close to a decade ago. Sure, Ezra thought he was pretty good dad for those few weeks, but he'd forgotten how it worked. Also, Malcolm was seven; he knew what was going on. But, the thought of a baby crawling around frightened Ezra.

Another factor, though, was one that made Ezra want to help out the most. And that factor wasn't the pride of being a daddy, it wasn't pride for helping two friends, the factor was Aria and her happiness. Ezra cursed himself but it was always Aria. He loved her so much still. He could barely imagine saying "no" to her face. She would be heartbroken! Ezra knew that Aria wanted to be a mother desperately, now more than ever. Ezra knew that if he were to agree, she would probably be the happiest she would be in a while.

But then again, he didn't know how happy she was. Sure, they texted or met up for coffee every now and then, but now a days, they just didn't know each other. That was another reason why Ezra hated loving her. He didn't know her as much anymore and they hadn't even kissed in eight years. But, Aria was like heroine to him. No matter what was going on, he needed it in his life. He needed it to be there for his selfish little needs. He knew if he said no to her, it would be the equivalent of going to rehab and never seeing the oh, so precious drug again. There could always be relapses, but Ezra didn't see it happening.

He sighed as he made a U-turn back down Aria and Spencer's street. He'd do it for Aria.

While Ezra was contemplating, Aria was trying to focus on decorating the brownies with candy corn and little pumpkins for Halloween. She just couldn't, though. She sat down in the chair she was sitting at during her chat with Ezra and sobbed into her hands. She really, really wanted this to happen and it would make it so much more special if Ezra helped. Not because she still had feelings for him, but because he had always been so great to both her and Spencer.

She really didn't want it to be a stranger and she didn't want to adopt. She also slightly cringed at the thought of carrying Toby or Wren's baby. She just wept harder and prayed that Ezra would just suck it up and give his goddamn sperm. It might have been a little weird, or even a lot weird, but she knew how crushed he had been once his so called son Malcolm had been ripped away from him. Now was a chance to have a kid. And a chance to be there since birth.

She heard the doorbell ring and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Damn girl scouts had been making evening rounds and Aria could feel herself getting fatter every time she stuffed a thin mint down her throat. But, she also didn't have the heart to tell a bunch of little girls to go away and begging wasn't attractive. After a few moments, she heard a knock.

She almost screamed, but she heard his voice. "Aria, it's just me."