Hey everybody! OFFSCREEN PLOT TWIST! Babe took a paternity test before she died, and it proved that David is NOT her father… which means that AJ and Lea are NOT related. HAHA! *jumpsupontoatableanddanceslikeChandleron "Friends."* Thank you, dimmingsoul, for giving me that idea. Please review!

-Emma :)

"Dad?" I whispered. "What are you doing here? Y-you're dead… at least… I thought you were."

My dad laughed. "Don't worry about that, baby, I'm long gone… God, look at you… you look just like me."

I allowed myself to laugh.

"Everybody says that."

I thought about all the things that happened that my father missed… all the things we never got to experience together.

I summoned up the courage to ask him for something I'd dreamt of my entire life.

"C-can I hug you?" I asked, looking up at my father.

He laughed again and hugged me. I cried into his chest and he kissed the top of my head.

"I missed you." He said to me.

He let go of me and I finally noticed where we were.

We were sitting on the edge of the water at the bottom of Miller Falls.

He felt the water with his left hand and then rested it back on his leg.

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"What were you thinking about… right before you…?" My voice trailed off.

"Died? You… your mom… how cold the water was."

He laughed again and so did I. He put his arm around me.

"So… AJ Chandler… nice."

I cracked up.

"He seems like a pretty nice kid."

"He's the best."

We sat there for a moment in silence.

I needed to bring something up… I needed his help.

"Mom lied to me… about how you died."

My dad sighed.

"I know… but she was doing it for a reason… you could've died that night, too… never having seen the world."

I was crying again.

"She could've told me. I would've understood…"

"You know… you're a lot like you're mother. You're stubborn as hell; you want what you want when you want it. You're beautiful."

I was sobbing.

"I've been watching over you since the day you were born, and let me just say, you are growing up to be an amazing young woman."

I hugged him again.

"I love you, Daddy." I said into his chest, my voice muffled.

"I love you too, baby girl…"

And, then… the worst possible thing happened.

I woke up.

My eyes fluttered open. The first thing I heard was, "Oh my God, you're awake… oh thank God."

I turned to see AJ who I hadn't even realized was holding my hand.

He looked like he'd been crying for a long time, his face red and his eyes a little puffy, but he grinned that boyish grin all the same.

I looked around the room. I saw beeping monitors next to me. My arm was hooked up to an IV and there was a cast on my arm that AJ wasn't holding. Dr. Cara Castillo, my uncle David's wife, was in the room holding one of those doctor clipboards that I didn't know the name of.

She looked over at me and smiled.

"Hi honey! You're awake! How are you feeling? Pain? Numbness?"

My head was killing me and my arm was as well…

"Um… I'm… fine." I lied. "How long was I out?"

AJ cleared his throat. "36 hours… give or talk a few minutes."

"How did I get here?"

Cara looked at AJ and then me.

"You slipped on some ice and fell over Miller Falls. Thank God you landed on a ledge and hit your head and broke your arm. You have a sever concussion and your arm is broken pretty badly. AJ came down to save you… or you could've died."

I looked over at AJ, who shrugged. I smiled lovingly at him.

And then I looked back over at Cara.

"Do you know where my mom is?"

"She actually left to go get coffee about a minute or two before you woke up."

"She never left your side… not once."

I still didn't want to see her… but I guess I had to… so she'd know I was okay at least.

"Cou-could you get her for me?" I looked over at Cara.

"Sure!" She said and left the room with that.

AJ squeezed my hand. I sighed at looked over at him.

"AJ…" I whispered.

He leaned over at me and kissed my lips, his hand on my cheek. I smiled slightly into the kiss and so did he.

I pulled away and put my non-broken hand on his chest.

"I love you, AJ… thank you… so much." I was crying.

He kissed my forehead. "I'll always be there to catch you… since I couldn't this time." He looked like he was crying again.

I squeezed his hand.

"AJ, don't you dare act like me falling was your fault. I wasn't paying attention, and I slipped." I gripped his hand with my non-crippled one.

I kissed him again and that's when I saw someone I didn't really want to see:

My mother.

"Oh, thank God you're alright."

I pulled away from AJ and looked at my mother tearfully.

AJ took our looks as a sign that he needed to leave and mouthed, "I love you." and left the room.

My mom sat down in the chair next to my bed.

"I'm so sorry…" she whispered. I wasn't ready to acknowledge her.

"I did it for your own safety… I didn't want you to know because… you may not have ever lived had Vanessa got her way that night…"

I sighed. "I know… I get that… but, Mom, I would've understood…"

She was crying too. "When they told me what happened to you, I was sobbing… thinking that I could lose you… the same way I lost… Leo." She choked on his name.

Losing my dad must've been pretty damn hard on her…

"You can't go back there."

Okay, so this is the cleaner version of what I said.

"Mom, you lied to me for SIXTEEN FREAKING YEARS and you're sitting here asking me to not go to the ONE damn place that makes me feel close to my father? You can NOT do this to me."

She wouldn't look at me.

"I'm your mother, and you'll do what I say when I say it."

"No, Mom, I won't. You can't make me do anything. I want you to go."

"But-!"

"Mom, just get the hell out… please." I choked on the work "Please."

My mom stood up, choked back a sob, and left.

I sat there, staring at the wall on the other side of the room…

What had I done?

I know, I know, crappy ending, but I have to get to the most insane thing I have ever written in the next chapter… so I needed to do this. Sorry about that. Let me know what you thought! Please review!

-Emma :)