A/N: Sorry, sorry! I've been getting so much annoying ass writer's block lately! Also, I made a little trailer for this story on Youtube for you guys, it's only a few seconds long but i'm really proud of it and I think it'll help give you a better mental picture as to what Ember might look like. All you have to do is type 'Fifteen Months Later teaser trailer' into Youtube and you'll find it.
Enjoy!
-CyanRibbons
"Emy, Emy look."
As Maya tries to get her daughter to look at the iPad screen, the baby shows little interest and continues to munch on her teddy bear's ear while sitting in the middle of her mom's crossed legs.
"Ember, look who it is!" Maya coos again, pointing to the moving image of Gavin, who is smiling away at his best friend and her daughter.
"Hi dolly." Gavin grins, in a baby-directed tone.
The second the little girl hears the familiar voice, her eyes immediately lock on the iPad screen and she studies it quizzically.
"Oh come on, Em. No smile for uncle Ga-Ga?" Gavin questions, putting on his best 'disappointed' face.
That does it for the six-month-old, she smiles with a squeal and looks up at her mom. "Ga-Ga!" She babbles, making Maya nod vigorously at her daughter. The baby turns her head back to the screen and sets a hand on it.
"Don't cover his face, we won't be able to see him otherwise." Maya tells her, gently moving the baby's hand away.
"Is that a tooth I saw just then? Are those little bastards finally coming in?" Gavin questions, referring to the small buds on the bottom row of Ember's gums.
"Language," Maya warns, "but yeah, she still screams the roof down now and then when she doesn't have her teething gel, but it's not as much as she used to."
Gavin grins, "no more miserable Ember."
"I wouldn't say that," Maya says, before looking down at Ember, "you're still miserable teething or not teething, aren't you baby girl?" Maya smiles, pressing multiple kisses to the baby's hair before turning her attention back to Gavin, "anyway, how come you're up at this hour?"
He shrugs, shuffles in his seat at his desk and takes a bite out of an apple. "I woke up, got thirsty and then I couldn't get back to sleep. I could ask you the same question Hart, that baby doesn't usually wake up until six."
"Well now she wakes up at three, apparently." Maya sighs, unknowingly showing her tiredness to her friend.
Gavin gives her a sympathetic smile, "I would offer to watch her while you get some shut eye but you know…being one-thousand and seventy-eight miles away, it could prove to be a challenge," He smirks.
"Ga-Ga-Ga-Gaaa!" The baby squawks, prompting Maya to shush her.
"Quit yelling, do you want an angry Mrs Matthews on your back?" The blonde says, handing her daughter another toy in hope it'll calm her rowdiness.
"Speaking of the Matthews," Gavin begins.
Maya rolls her eyes, and throws her head back onto the bed's headboard for effect. "Here we go."
"You knew it was coming," he smirks, "how did the 'I'm sorry I disappeared for a year to have a kid' talk go?"
Maya's eyes dart to the closed door of the spare room and she turns the iPad's volume down before speaking, "if you must know…I came up with a plan."
"Do tell." Gavin urges.
Maya listens for any activity outside of the bedroom door, before explaining in a hushed tone, "Well, everybody except Mr and Mrs Matthews think Ember is my sister."
Gavin sighs, and throws some gum into his mouth, "Look, I think you and I both know that the truth will come out one way or another but you just don't want to believe it."
Maya blinks, "Gavin—"
"I think you should just tell everybody the truth." He cuts in, clasping his hands together as he rests both elbows on his desk.
"I can't, you know I can't." Maya protests, moving to rest her chin on the top of Ember's head.
"No, I know you're scared. You think this is a great plan, but you're doing more harm than good." He says, his baby-face turning stern and serious.
"Gavin, I slept with my best friend's boyfriend, I got myself pregnant with her boyfriend's kid! She'll hate my guts if I tell the truth." Maya explains, blinking back the tears that are beginning to sting her eyes.
"What's that cute little phrase girls always say? Oh yeah, sisters before misters? Haven't you and Riley been best friends since Kindergarten, do you really think she'll throw that away for a guy?" Gavin argues, raising his eyebrows.
"You don't understand. Gavin, what Riley and Lucas have is special." Maya says, as she twists a lock of her daughter's hair around her finger.
"And this Lucas guy," Gavin responds, waving his hand around, "were you both sober when you hooked up?"
Maya flushes, "yes, we were."
"Well I've known you long enough to know that you wouldn't have sex with someone you didn't have feelings for, and from what you've described him as in the time i've known you, he doesn't sound like the kind of person to use a girl."
Maya can't stop the thoughts from flooding into her brain, the memory of the only guy she ever had such feelings for. She remembers the last time she saw his face, it was as beautiful and perfect as ever, illuminated by the orange glow of the campfire.
"You need to crawl out of the hole you dug for yourself."
Gavin's voice pulls her from her reverie, and Maya shakes her head. "I better get Ember breakfast before she realizes she's hungry."
"Okay, but before you go…please, consider what I just told you…?" He asks, a little hopelessly.
Maya sighs, "sorry, i've made up my mind, and i'm sticking to it."
With that, she turns off the iPad before whisking Ember away and leaving her sleeping mom alone.
—
"Just so you know, if you break her I can't get a refund."
Riley ignores her best friend's complaints as she twirls around the small apartment with Ember giggling and squealing in her arms.
"Seriously Riley, why are you so hyper? The sun isn't even up yet." Maya asks, as the brunette dances around the couch.
Riley stops in front of Maya, and grins "Because, silly. I get to spend the day with my best friend, and her adorable little baby sister." She says, moving a hand to tickle the baby's tummy.
"But it's Tuesday, you have school." Maya reminds her.
"Nope, mom's letting me take the day off." Riley beams, as she bounces Ember in her arms.
Maya furrows her eyebrows, "are you saying Topanga Matthews is letting her daughter skip school?"
Riley flicks a hand at the blonde, "My best friend just showed up after disappearing off the face of the earth for a whole year, of course she's letting me spend the day with you! my mom's mean but she's not that mean."
Maya nods and smiles faintly, she is not looking forward to going out in public and risk bumping into any old friends. "Where do you plan on going then?"
"Well, there's a pool in this building that we have access to and if we head down there early it won't be crowded." Riley tells her, reminding Maya of the pool in apartment building that they haven't visited since they were at least eleven-years-old.
"Swimming, really? I hate public pools." Maya huffs.
Riley frowns, "come on Maya, babies love swimming!"
"Not Ember."
"How do you know?"
"She doesn't have a swimsuit."
"That's a lie, I saw you unpack one. Pleaseee Maya, it'll be fun."
She lets out an exasperated groan and scowls at Riley, "you know I think I liked annoyed, 'too many questions' Riley than this begging and whining Riley." Says Maya, referring to last night when Riley'd bombarded her with endless questions as to where she has been all this time, why she'd let Katy drag her off like that, and most painful of all; questions regarding Ember.
"So is that a yes?"
Maya sighs, rises off the couch and takes the happy baby from Riley while rolling her eyes, "Matthews, what to do with em'."
After about ten minutes, Maya is in the bathroom and has Ember dressed in a pint-sized red swimsuit. As the blonde finishes pulling her own clothes over the top of her blue bikini, she smiles down at Ember who's laying on her changing mat on the floor and turns to the mirror. Maya takes a slow breath as she comes to the realization that she has to once again become comfortable with her body. She's aware of just how lucky her young age has made her able to get her body back so easily after giving birth six months ago, but she's still adjusting to the changes.
Snapping out of her trance, she exits the bathroom with the baby on her hip and gives Riley-who was waiting outside the bathroom door in an equally as flattering purple bikini- the two toned whistle, prompting the brunette to roll her eyes with a chuckle.
Since the Matthew's apartment isn't that far from the pool, the girls arrive within five minutes and Riley turns out to be right; the pool is practically unoccupied apart from the couple with their two young sons who are giggling and splashing one another. Riley immediately jumps in, whereas Maya-holding Ember- dips a toe into the water skeptically, as she tests if the temperature is okay for the six-month-old.
She bites her lip, "What if she hates it?"
"She'll be fine Maya, now get in here; the water's great." Riley tells her, moving to float on her back.
Maya sighs nervously and heads down the metal steps, she slowly lowers herself further into the water with the baby, eyes locked on Ember as she anticipates her reaction.
As soon as Ember's little feet enter the water, she immediately pulls her legs up and clings to her mom as tight as she can making little noises that show her unease. "Shhh," Maya whispers, "It's just water, look it's fun." Maya smiles at the baby, and dips her hand into the chlorinated water to splash with it.
"Hey," Riley says, tilting her head. "I think she likes it!"
Ember begins to smile heartwarmingly as she kicks her legs around. "Ah-ya!" The baby babbles, kicking her legs harder. "Ouuh!" She says as she keeps her eyes on her mom through a smile.
Riley watches Maya and Ember with a great big smile plastered to her face, she tunes into how much the little girl adores Maya as her little eyes remain locked on her as she splashes, it has Riley wishing she herself had a little sister and as shows her adoration through her doe eyes she finds herself saying, "You know you'll make an amazing mom someday, Maya."
Maya is taken off guard, and she takes her eyes off Ember for a moment to look at Riley, her smile fading as her heart begins to speed up. She bites her lip, "Thanks Riles."
Leave a review and I will love you ;)
-CyanRibbons