Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters from the show, I do, however, own a man called Howard, a girl called Lexie and the contents of this story.

Author Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, so many wonderful comments and thoughts. I'm glad that the overall reaction was a positive one and I hope that this chapter is a good enough aftermath...enjoy.

Without Warning

Chapter Ten

The room was silent but for once it was comfortable. Emily lay on her back staring at the plain ceiling, wishing it was the awful paper that used to lie above her bed at home. Her real home. She could feel her chest rising and falling with every breath, a completely relaxed body comforted by the gentle breathing beside her. Naomi had fallen asleep. Her blonde hair unevenly spread across one side of her face. It was shorter than she remembered, more layers giving it a volume she hadn't seen in almost two years. She could still smell the excitement of the past couple of hours in the air, could still feel the touch of Naomi's fingers breaking her skin. It felt like punishment. It hadn't been an act of love making, she knew that the moment she'd responded to Naomi's kiss. It was more a finality to a relationship they no longer had. She felt sad but expectant. She wondered if it was a complete goodbye, or a closing of a chapter. She liked to think that their relationship wasn't over, that they were simply putting the past where it belonged, allowing them to start again. She knew from the way Naomi kissed her lips and the way she slid her fingers across all the right parts of her body that there was still love between them. Romantic love that hadn't died in their failing relationship.

*

It was a relief when Naomi woke up to find Emily still beside her. She'd dreamt of waking up to her gone. It wasn't that she wanted to talk to her, or discuss what had happened. She knew they weren't at that stage. They hadn't had sex to start up their relationship. She didn't know why she did it. But she felt better, healed from the pain she'd felt. They weren't right, she wasn't even sure they ever would be. But they were in a new place. A place where the past was a memory that no longer carried into the present. She didn't want to share words with Emily, at least for a while. She suspected that Emily wouldn't mind her leaving. It was Emily's house after all and Naomi was usually the one to leave. It had always been that way. Emily stayed, even if it wasn't right and Naomi left even if it was.

*

Water began boiling over prompting Katie to jump up and turn down the hob, she pushed the wooden spoon into the pan, stirring the pasta. Once it had settled, she put the spoon down and opened a bottle of wine.

"Red or white?" she offered.

"Both?" Emily chuckled, rubbing her eyes and sighing.

"What's happened?"

She wanted to tell her, but she wanted to keep it to herself. Emily could feel the internal battle. If Katie knew she'd be able to let out the burst of hope she held inside, but if Katie knew, she'd probably be made to feel guilty and she wasn't ready to feel bad about it.

"Naomi and I," she began, the end catching in her throat.

Katie looked at her, expecting her to continue, waiting for the sentence to be finished. Emily reached for the nearest bottle of wine and poured herself a glass, downing it in order to gain some courage. But even a glass of wine didn't do much.

"We talked."

"What about?" Katie asked, pouring herself a small glass of white wine.

"Just talked, we got out everything we didn't say after the separation. There were so many things I never told her and so many things she'd never told me. Like, for instance, she had post partum after having Harley, I never knew."

"Oh."

She'd struggled to feel sympathetic towards Naomi, but after Emily's revelation that it wasn't Naomi's fault for the break up, she found her sympathy edging closer. William's birth had been easy on her; they bonded instantly. She imagined it was every mother's dream to have an instant connection with her baby. It had never occurred to her that Naomi had struggled, she'd seemed so fine whenever they crossed paths, she'd never looked past the surface to see what was underneath. They had been friends then, good friends. It was difficult to learn that she'd failed in her friendship, not seen that there was a problem, not offered her support. She felt guilty, ashamed and sad.

"When are JJ and Carol getting here?" Katie asked, feeling uncomfortable discussing Naomi's misfortune any longer.

"Fifteen minutes," Emily stated, opening the fridge and pulling out lettuce and tomatoes.

"Why exactly am I cooking a dinner for JJ and Carol?" Katie questioned, sipping her wine.

"Because JJ has been good to me and he's engaged; besides, we never did properly meet Carol at the reunion."

One of the tomatoes turned to mush as Emily sliced through it, she scrunched up her nose and tossed the fragile tomato aside. So much had happened in twenty four hours. Emily didn't really feel in the mood to be entertaining, but she'd invited JJ over a week ago and thought it rude to cancel at the last minute.

"But you'd rather go see Harley?" Katie guessed, taking the knife out of her hand, making Emily look her in the eye.

A tear reached her eyelashes, she didn't want to cry, she'd done enough of that recently. She rubbed her eyelid, disguising her tears. Katie could see through her, no matter how much she tried to put up her front, it wasn't going to work.

"He's okay," she told her sister, more to persuade herself than Katie.

"Doesn't mean you don't want to be with him," Katie replied.

"So I want to be with my son, what's new there?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders. She didn't just want to be with Harley, she wanted to live with him every single day. She was sick of being outside of his life, outside of Lexie's. Things with Naomi may have changed, but they still weren't talking, having shared no words in the twelve hours since Naomi left her in the temporary bed they'd made on the living room floor. She knew there was no way of living with her children in the near future, not every day. But at least it was better than nothing. Katie's arm reached around her shoulder, pushing herself against Emily's side in an act of comfort.

"Lets enjoy the night, yeah? It's gonna be well good."

*

"It's positive?" Naomi asked.

"That's what the test says," Effy admitted, tossing the white stick into the bin, a smirk forming on her face, "First time I tested positive for something."

She was pregnant. It was official. She was also numb, void of thoughts and feelings, void of the ability to make a decision when making a decision was the only thing she needed to do. The future was a blur, the past a mess of alcohol and mistakes. She rested a hand on her stomach and thought of her latest mistake.

"Does Freddie know?"

The other mistake. The mistake she wanted to think about less than the one growing inside of her. She shook her head.

"You can't keep going on like this Effy, you need to tell him."

"I don't need to do anything," she stated, putting up her defence.

"So what? You get an abortion? Pretend this isn't happening?"

Raising an eyebrow, Effy let a small smile creep onto her face. But Naomi's frown was the only thing looking back.

"This isn't college anymore Effy, you're not a teenager anymore, you're an adult and now it's time to start acting like one."

The blonde was right. It was time to be a grown up, time to stand up to her problems, her mistakes and face them head on. But that didn't have to start tonight, did it? She nodded her head, allowing Naomi to know she understood.

"Freddie and I have a past Naomi, it's not simple anymore."

"Everyone has a past Effy, a couple of years in college counts for nothing though."

"It was more than that, we got married."

It was obviously a shock, those blue eyes that Effy had very rarely actually looked into, looked confused and somewhat unsurprised.

"When?"

"First year of uni, we got back together and by the summer we were married."

It felt good to watch Naomi's reaction. She'd lived her life observing other people, knowing what they themselves didn't know on occasion. It was always a bonus to keep her own life hidden.

"By autumn we were separated and by Christmas we were divorced, end of."

"Except that it's not," Naomi reminded her, "This baby is his child, he deserves to know."

"Just like Emily deserves to know you want to jump her?"

"I don't want to jump her," Naomi retorted.

"No, but you wouldn't say no if she jumped you."

There was a surprising look on Naomi's face, flushed and taken aback. Effy let her lips curl into another smile.

"Except that she already did jump you."

"I need to put Harley to bed," Naomi muttered, the conversation ending abruptly.

*

The happy couple sat on the sofa, their bodies connecting in all the right places. Two people acting as one. As Emily handed them a glass of wine each, she felt a pang of guilt. She was jealous and she hated herself for it. She missed the close bond two people shared, she missed the simple acts of sitting tangled in another person's arms and legs. Tonight was about JJ and Carol and she hated herself more for making it about her.

"To JJ and Carol," Emily toasted, holding up her freshly filled glass. Katie joined in and the happy couple grinned at each other, sharing a small, coy kiss.

"Have you made any plans yet?" Katie asked Carol, who was spinning her engagement ring nervously on her finger.

"Not yet," she smiled, "But I've always wanted to get married in the chapel my parents married in, it's by the coast and there's a reception room attached with a massive window overlooking the sea."

"Sounds lovely."

JJ's bride-to-be, her short, dark locks hanging carefully beside her face, excitedly told Katie about her thoughts. Emily watched them, the exchange of conversation so easy, so carefree. She'd always marvelled in her sister's ability to share conversation with anyone. It was an act she had never quite grasped. Her continually selfish thoughts distanced her from the dinner party. She didn't want to be there and her inability to make polite conversation with an old friend was making her appear anti-social.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, exiting the room, finding solace in her bedroom, a near full bottle of wine in her hands.

Destructive behaviour. She'd read about it a few times; people drinking to escape their lives. It was something she'd done before with regrets, but somehow she'd managed to return to that place. It was difficult to drink directly out of the glass bottle, but it was a challenge Emily took without argument. She could feel the drink pushing her into a stupor, her mind hazing up and her ability to react slowing.

"Emily?" Katie's voice asked as a tap came through the door.

There was no answer. It worried Katie, she could sense something wasn't right with Emily. The way she'd spoken earlier, she half expected her to reveal something bigger than she had. Something was bothering her twin. The disappearing act halfway through the evening wasn't fair. Katie didn't ask to be part of the dinner party, nor did she ask to be the main hostess. Her frustration made her open the door, regardless of whether Emily wanted her there or not.

"You can't just leave me out there Emily," Katie snapped at her sister.

Emily was lay on her bed, staring at the wall. There was no response. Katie stepped closer, adamant to discuss this even if Emily didn't want to.

"This can't be about talking to Naomi, or Harley."

"Who says?" Emily replied, turning around, facing Katie.

"I know you Ems, maybe better than you know yourself sometimes."

She was right, of course she was right. But Emily was struggling to admit it. She didn't want to go there. But the words were already tumbling out of her mouth.

"Naomi and I had sex."

It was the last thing Katie expected to come from her. She stared at her for a minute or so, analysing Emily's reaction to admitting what had happened. She silently praised her powers of observation.

"And you wanted it to happen?" she checked, gathering information.

"Neither of us wanted it to happen, it just did."

"Maybe Naomi still loves you."

It was a suggestion that Effy had made first and one that Emily thought about constantly. She treasured the thought of Naomi still loving her, caring for her enough to take her back. But she also knew that so much had happened, even love didn't save everything.

"Maybe she just needed it to move on," Emily retorted.

"Maybe, but if I'm not mistaken, she's always loved you and probably always will."

"I broke her heart."

"And she broke yours, what does it matter anymore? You two have a family who deserve to be happy."

"She left, Katie, when I woke up she was gone. Surely that shows,"

"That she's scared?" Katie finished, before Emily had the chance, "That she doesn't want to rush things? You have no idea what that meant Ems, don't jump to conclusions."

"But,"

"No buts Emily Fitch, you two are well good together and the both of you have been nothing but miserable since you separated, now go over there and do something about it."

"I don't know."

She wanted to. Her heart was telling her to do it, to take the risk, to attempt to rebuild her happiness one brick at a time. But her mind was telling her what a disaster it could be. But surely it was worth the risk?

"I guess…I'll do it." Emily decided, "But what about JJ?"

"Forget about him, I'll look after the happy couple, though giving them a room would probably be all they'd need."

The twins laughed, a comfortable exchange of a joke was all that Emily needed, a moment away from her problems to give her enough energy to go to Naomi's and hopefully change their lives.

*

Knocking on the door brought no response. Emily was about to walk away when the door opened and she was forced to face her wife. They were still married. She wondered why they'd never made their separation official. She knew her reasons, but she'd never dared ask Naomi for hers.

"Yes?" Naomi interrupted her thoughts, staring at her as if expecting her to start the conversation.

Emily quickly remembered that she had been the one to turn up at Naomi's door and so was the one who needed to start talking.

"I, I came," she began, her palms sweating and her heart racing. She felt like a teenager, she felt like the first time she told Naomi she wanted to kiss her back in college; before she came out, before everything.

"Oh, did you come to see Harley?" Naomi jumped in, prompting a nod from Emily. She wanted to kick herself for taking the easy way out.

"He's asleep but you can come in and see him, just don't wake him."

"Of course not," Emily smiled, "I just want to see him."

The house was quiet as Emily followed Naomi upstairs to the baby's room. She slid through the opening of the door and watched her son sleep; stroking his cheek gently with a finger. She didn't stay there long, just long enough for her real reason to be less obvious. When she excited the bedroom, she found herself stood in the doorway of her old room. The ceiling caught her eye, made her choke on a gasp. There was only a small change, but it was big enough to hurt. Naomi's eyes were staring at her again, the blonde stood in the bedroom with a look of confusion in her eyes.

"About yesterday," Emily began before her courage vanished.

"You want to talk about it?" Naomi checked, "I thought we were just going to let it go."

"I know, but," Emily began, "I just wanted to, to talk."

Alarm bells rang in her head. Had Emily come to see their son at all? Or was she there because of the night before? Naomi could feel herself tense up, pushing a psychological barrier between them.

"It was just one of those things, a one time thing that people sometimes do after they break up, right?"

"Right," Emily whispered, the word falling from her lips with a mixture of regret and sadness.

"It's in the past, with everything else," Naomi assured her.

A nod, a small word of agreement. It all happened before Emily could control what she was saying or doing. She didn't want to agree, she wanted to take it back. Mostly she wanted to kiss those gentle lips, push her hands against Naomi's beautiful breasts, let her mouth create a fire on Naomi's skin. She didn't want to be stood behind Naomi, she didn't want to be following her towards the door, or walking out into the cool night air. But it was too late, the door had already closed behind her and she was crying, her face wet with tears and her body shaking with rejection.

*

"That's not true," Effy spoke softly, appearing behind Naomi as she held the door closed.

"What isn't?" she checked, though there was no need.

They both knew what Effy was talking about. They both knew that Naomi had done nothing but lie to Emily.

"I can't go through it again Effy, I just can't."

The brunette watched her, those deep eyes exploring her reactions. Naomi bowed her head, ashamed of herself for putting her unhappiness before anything else. It was too late. No matter how much she regretted it, she had made her decision. She had made it the moment she woke up to Emily beside her. She loved her, she would have done almost anything to be with her. But her mind was stronger now, stronger than her heart and it stopped her from making, what she could only consider, a very big mistake.

Author Notes: Disappointed by the aftermath? Happy? Confused? Whatever you're feeling, please let me know, or else I can't changed things enough to make you happy! :-) AKA, please review.