CHAPTER EIGHT

DISCLAIMER: Still don't own anything

Aria sat at the table while Ezra fixed her some dinner. Lately she'd had pretty normal cravings, so he was trying to get the basics down now, before she started craving weird things like chocolate pickle cake and burned mac-n-cheese with blueberries and whip cream on top.

He sat down next to her, holding two plates of scrambled eggs, and stole another glance at the picture Aria was holding. She had a dreamy look on her face, and he couldn't blame her. He kissed her cheek and gently took it from her.

"If you want the baby to grow more, you should probably eat something." He said teasingly, kissing her forehead gently. He has to be extra careful with her lately. It wasn't like he was abusive and rough before; but when they made love, sometimes it did get a little fast and furious. Even though they'd only been intimate a few times since she had moved in with her mom, he still worried he was too rough on her. Aria, however, practically begged him to be rough with her which was quite a temptation.

Aria looked over at him, as if reading his mind. Which she probably was; this pregnancy had pretty much synchronized their thoughts. "You can be a little rough with me, you know. I doubt you scratching my back and biting my neck will endanger the baby."

Ezra laughed so hard he almost choked on his eggs, "Well, if you put it that way…" He trailed off.

For the next few minutes they ate in silence. Ezra gently nudged her foot and Aria giggled. He loved playing footies with her, like they were still in grade school. She'd just nudged him back when the door opened. Ella came in, laughing and red faced, with Zack stepping in behind her.

They were still in the entryway when they started kissing. Embarrassed, Aria coughed and kept coughing for a good 30 seconds before Zack and Ella finally noticed.

Blushing, Ella said, "Oh God, I uh, we thought you had to work tonight! Umm.." She trailed off, looking away until she saw Ezra. "Ezra! Hi! I thought you wouldn't be coming today."

"He wasn't going to, but I had an ultrasound." Aria said, "It's probably a good thing we were here, too, otherwise we'd be The Secret Life of the American Teenager." Aria stood up, picking up hers' and Ezra's plates as she walked to the sink.

Ella, Zack, and Ezra looked at her with gaping mouths and confused eyes. "What is that? Is that a code for something?" Zack asked as he and Ella moved to sit down at the table.

"It's a show about this girl who gets pregnant in high school and she's supposed to learn all about growing up to be responsible and take care of her baby. Instead it became an unrealistic soap opera where both the mom and the daughter got pregnant and then the other daughter, who's like 13, graduated high school and moved to Florida."

She looked up to find Ezra staring at her in horror, "How do you know about this?"

Aria rolled her eyes, "Hanna watches it, of course." With that, there was a collective sigh of relief and the night continued as normal.

Once Ezra and Zack had left, Ella was just beginning to clean up the table while Aria did dishes when she noticed the ultrasound image laying there. "Aria, is this… it this your baby?"

Aria nodded, "Yeah. That's our baby. Mine and Ezra's."

In a sudden burst of emotion, Ella pulled Aria into a hug, saying, "No mother wants their child to become a parent at such a young age, Aria." For a second, Aria looked down at the ground, ashamed. Ella had always been so supportive.

She looked about ready to cry until Ella said, "But this baby is still here," she patted Aria's tummy lightly, "and I can't wait to be a grandmother." She pulled Aria in for another hug, tears shining in her eyes. "Now, go to sleep. The baby needs it."

The next morning came too soon for Aria's liking. She was still groggy when she and Ella parted ways in the cafeteria. Aria zoned in the girls, and felt the sudden vibration of her phone. Before even looking at it, she knew it was A. She didn't even bother to check the text. A was probably just wondering if she was constipated.

Sitting down, she noticed the silence. "Um, guys?" She said, and then noticed all of them were staring at their phones in dismay. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she flipped open the message from A.

Hey Aria! Do you think they'll plan you a baby shower?

Attached was a picture of the ultrasound. She stared in pure horror. A had some serious issues. Despite her normal non-violent attitude, Aria was tempted to take out her fork earring and stab the bitch.

"Aria, is it true?" Hanna asked, breaking the silence at last.

Aria nodded mutely, looking at them with guilt-ridden eyes. "Yes, it is, but I didn't want to keep it from you. I just wasn't ready to tell you guys yet."
"How far along are you?" Emily asked, looking more concerned for Aria than pissed at her for not telling them.

"Do your parents know?" came from Spencer.

"Does Fitz know?" Hanna asked.

Waving her hands in the air, Aria shushed them, saying, "Guys! One at a time here. Em, I'm only 7 weeks along. Yes, both my parents and Ezra know. That's why I got a job and moved in with my mom."

Instantly the stress drained from their faces. They looked about to start badgering her again, but she had one more question. "So you guys aren't mad at me? This is kind of a massive secret."

They looked at her as if she just asked if breathing could kill you. "Aria," Spencer began gently, "we're not mad. You're only 7 weeks along. Most people don't tell until they're 12 weeks or more. I think Melissa was 13 weeks when she told us." Spencer flinched slightly at the memory of Melissa's fake pregnancy.

After that, the questions began. Aria admitted that A had rigged this, starting with the dog attack. They gasped and cringed in all the right places. As sick and sad as it was, they still were supportive of her and pissed at A.

Lunch with the girls was pretty great. In hushed voices, Aria had told them when they talked about the baby it had to be in "I'm at a funeral, please don't let the mourning family hear me" whisper. It worked pretty well.

Hanna, of course, was busy looking up outfits for the baby. "If it's a girl, you should bring her home in something white. Like maybe a dress with cap sleeves with pink ribbons on it. Oh, and for a boy, a sailor suit! With the little hat too."

Aria just chuckled and rolled her eyes, "Okay, but you get to tell Ezra that."

Spencer was online, looking up "pregnancy literature" for Aria. So far, she had five or six books for Aria and three for Ezra, as well as some for Ella and Byron.

Aria noticed Emily hadn't said anything, so she reached over to put her hand on Emily's arm. Emily snapped out of the trance she seemed to be in and looked at Aria. "I'm sorry, I know it's exciting to be having a baby, but Aria, you're so young."

"Em, I know this is a bad time. I'm still in high school. I know Rosewood isn't the best place. And I know with A still around it's still dangerous. But I need you guys to help support me. I'm having this baby. When I start showing, or A has my pregnancy printed in the paper or whatever, I'm going to need you." With that, she stormed off.

Spencer and Hanna glared at Emily. "What?" Emily said. "I didn't say anything that wasn't true! Guys, my parents won't let me see Aria when they find out! I'm sorry, but I just don't think her keeping the baby is a good idea!"

Hanna stared at her and when she spoke, her voice was low, "Em, I know you're just looking out for Aria. But right now, she needs it." She smiled, her mood suddenly cheerful again, "Besides, imagine a little baby Fitz. One that we get to spoil rotten."

Emily looked at her for a second, then stood up, saying, "I need to go apologize." And with that she was gone.

Hanna and Spencer smiled at each other, before Spencer went back to looking up "pregnancy literature" for them all.

Later that night, Aria was in the Apple-Rose Grille, taking yet another table when she saw Byron and Meredith walked in. She looked at the hostess, silently begging her to put them in another section.

Things with her dad hadn't been getting better. For the most part, he ignored her, instead choosing to only deal with Ella, an even then, only over texting and email. It was bad. Add in that he told Meredith, so whenever she saw Meredith at school she was glared at in a, "You're a whore and your father loves me best" way.

The hostess, who only knew Aria as the new server and that Byron was her dad, and as such, put him in her section. Great. Not only was she stuck with three table, two of them five-tops, but also her angry father and his slutty mistress.

She managed to finish the order she was taking and smile at them, running off to go refll some other's drinks. Knowing Merebitch would complain and probably get her fired if she didn't get over there soon, she hustled over, order pad in hand.

"Hi, what can I get you folks to drink?" She said, smiling as if they were just any other customers.

"Hello Aria," her father said in a stiff, formal voice. "We'll just have two red wines and some stuffed mushrooms. We won't be here long, I just wanted to give you this." He put the key to her old car on the table.

She froze, then said, "That's yours, I thought."

Still stiff, he replied, "Your mother and I talked about it, and since it was her car too, we've decided you can keep it, since, well, you know, because of your condition."

Condition. Aria was so angry she wanted to scream. Her baby was not a "condition." But holding that anger in, she said politely, sliding the key into her apron pocket, "I'll have your food right up."

A little while later, as Aria was cleaning off her dad's table at closing time, she saw a hundred dollar bill tucked under the ketchup bottle. She reached for it, expecting it to have a note from A written on it, since her dad hadn't left a tip. Instead, when she opened it, a note fell out, and it read,

You're a good waitress. Love, Dad.

Aria smiled. Even though he wasn't speaking to her, and he had to hide the money from Meredith, it still meant a lot to her that he cared.

She'd just clocked out when Ezra arrived, 9:30 on the dot, to pick her up. She got into the car quickly, thankful for the heat, since it was still cold out in January. Aria kissed him quickly, and then was shocked to hear a "Ew!" come from the backseat.

She whipped her head around and was surprised to see Malcolm behind her. "Hi Miss Aria!" He waved, "Ezr- Dad and I are having a sleep over!"

She looked over at Ezra, and he gave her the look of, "I'll explain later."

"Why are you having a sleep over?" She asked, a big smile on her face. She really liked Malcolm. He was such a good kid, and she was happy that her baby would have an older brother to look after her.

"Mommy said that there's going to be a snow day!" He replied, brimming with joy.

"Well, how does she know that?"

"She said that the teachers all did a snow dance so they could stay home!"

Aria giggled. "Well, I'm sad that I have school tomorrow, or else I'd see if your dad would let me come over too."

"We already asked your mommy, and she said you're sleeping over too!"

And with that, Aria's face fell, and she turned to face the front.

AN: Well, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Thank you guys for all the reviews, it really means a lot to me. Hope you enjoy! XOXO, Emily