Guilt and empathy had flooded right through Aria when she had watched Maggie receive the news that her mother had been in a car accident, and Aria's heart had crumpled right as the other woman's eyes had flooded with tears of fear and uncertainty. So, when Maggie had begun to try and explain the unfortunate situation that had been revealed to her, Aria told herself that she was going to be a good person, and most importantly, a friend to Maggie in this hard time she was going through. But when Maggie had so forwardly asked Aria if she could watch her seven year old son, she had been more than a little taken aback. "Are you sure?" Aria had automatically asked, doubting at first Maggie's sanity to leave her child with an almost complete stranger, and also her own child-caring skills; she had only ever had one babysitting job in her life, and she'd never been asked back, a gesture that Aria took to be a bad sign. Maggie had given Aria a questioning look, which caused her to remember the vow she'd made to herself earlier that day to be a better friend to her new co-worker, although this favour she was doing for Maggie required a lot more responsibility than Aria had anticipated she'd be asked of on their first day of friendship. Maggie's face broke the indecisive state Aria had fallen into, though, and Aria agreed to help out in any way she possibly could.
Now, she and Ezra sat in a taxi cab on their way to collect the little boy from an elementary school in Astoria, and Aria grew more anxious than ever as the car journeyed further out of Manhattan and the fare rose considerably higher each minute the cab was stuck in rush hour traffic. It was almost as if her reluctance to take a cab anywhere had become a phobia. "We're not going to make it on time," Aria worried aloud, noticing the tailback of traffic they were stuck behind.
Ezra grabbed her hand soothingly and rubbed small circles on her palm as he reassured her. "Relax, we still have fifteen minutes until the school day ends. Besides, if we do happen to be late, I'm sure this can compensate for our bad punctuality." He pulled a plastic grocery store bag from the cab floor, and lifted it onto his lap. Aria sat up, not having noticed the bag before, and she was now intrigued to see what it held. Ezra pulled out a packet of chocolate covered pretzels, some gummy bears and a magazine specifically written for children with an interest in cars and trains. Aria was overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness, and couldn't believe that Ezra was actually there for her. No matter how awkward this situation was for Aria, it had to be at least ten times worse for Ezra, and he was still there to help and reassure her. Her heart was smiling.
"You are possibly the best human being to exist," Aria cooed, kissing him lightly on the cheek. Her nerves were subsided a little by just by Ezra's kind words, and the soapy scent of his freshly washed shirt. As she snuggled into his chest, tiredness from the night before suddenly hit her like a brick wall. Aria let her eyes flutter closed, imagining how good it would feel to just rest her eyes for a moment, but all too soon, the cab stopped short and awoke her from a half lucid haziness and she quickly became alert.
"Twenty five dollars," The driver barked impatiently, and Ezra rushed to pull his wallet from the pocket of his cord jeans. Aria wanted to protest to the rude driver was supposed to be providing a public service, and that this was no way to treat paying customers, but Ezra gave her hard stare, which settled this issue to be one that she could add to her list of many reasons why not to take a cab. She and Ezra stepped out onto a street that was filled with mingling parents coming to collect their children from school, and Aria felt somewhat claustrophobic and disoriented as she looked around the pleasant suburban townhouses. She could barely see the entrance of the school due to the crowds of children fleeing from its gates, and she began to panic, wondering if they were late for Malcolm's exit time.
"I think we need to head over here," Ezra said, pulling on Aria's hand and directing her to an area where there was a break in the distribution of people. They snaked their way through the crowds and into the playground, and Aria's nerves instantly calmed when she spotted a young boy sitting on the edge of a brick wall, and a teacher standing next to him. The child was undoubtedly Malcolm; he had the same heart shaped face as Maggie and his hair was of the same brownish tone.
"I think that's him." Aria pointed to the boy, and his teacher's eyes lit up. She took this as their key to make their way across the playground, all the while looking up towards Ezra nervously. She gathered that Maggie had called to tell the teachers the situation, and that Malcolm was aware of it too, but she couldn't help but feel a little out of place now they were actually here.
"You must be Aria," The middle aged woman said as Aria and Ezra approached the wall. Ezra gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, encouraging her to answer the curious teacher.
"Yes, and this is my boyfriend, Ezra." Aria froze. She hadn't even meant to say that, it had just slipped out before she could catch her thoughts. The teacher seemed to be growing impatient of Aria's sudden muteness, but soon Ezra had jumped in for her, saving the day as usual.
"I understand that this situation is far from ideal for Malcolm, but we are in direct contact with his mom and have been given specific instructions on what to say and what not to." Ezra's voice was like a magical spell. He had softened the teacher's demeanour and it was clear that she was now in their favour, and most of all, trusted that the young couple would be capable of looking after her student.
As Ezra talked with the teacher, Aria thought it was about time she acknowledged Malcolm. "Hi, I'm Aria," she said brightly, unsure of how to perceive the young boy. He seemed to be quite intently focused on a small object he held in his hands, but looked up towards Aria and smiled.
"I know," The little boy said, beginning to laugh.
Aria was bewildered for a second. Had Maggie told her son about Aria only on their first day of working together? "You do?"
"Of course. Mrs Goose told me before you came over," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Aria smiled at Malcolm. Her nerves had almost completely subsided, especially now she knew Malcolm was going to be easy to get along with.
"What have you got there," Aria asked, referring to the toy he encased in his small hands.
"You like trains, too?" His eyes lit up, and he stepped off the wall to come and show Aria his possession.
"I don't know very much about trains, but I'm sure you could teach me." Aria watched as the little boy smiled excitedly, and began to pull on his teacher's shirt sleeve for attention. "Mrs Goode, Aria likes trains too!"
"Well, it looks as if you guys are going to have a great time, then," Mrs Goode said, smiling down proudly at Malcolm who was now running his toy train along the bricks of the wall they were stood next to, annotating with all the realistic noises of a steam train.
"I'm sure we will," Ezra replied, taking Aria's hand firmly in his own. "Are you ready to show us the way to your house, Malcolm?"
The boy nodded his head enthusiastically, and came to stand beside Aria and Ezra. "See you tomorrow, Mrs Goode!" He waved as the three headed towards the school gates. They walked through the suburban streets, which Aria noticed weren't too different from Rosewood after all. Ezra and Malcolm chatted away contently about his school day, while Aria puzzled on her cell phone's map app, trying to decipher exactly how far they had to walk to the address Maggie had given her for the apartment. Luckily, Malcolm was a great aid to Aria's struggle with technology, and he directed them round several corners and counted off the amount of blocks they had left until they reached his street. "You see that big, blue door over there?" Malcolm chanted, pulling on Aria's hand. She was taken aback slightly by how relaxed Malcolm was in the presence of people he had never met before, but took this as a positive aspect about the little boy; if he had been shy and unsure, the situation would be ten times worse than it was now, and Aria was thankful that everything was going to plan.
"I see it," Aria confirmed. She heard Ezra chuckle as she matched her excited tone to that of Malcolm's.
"That's our house!" He rushed along the street so fast Aria feared he was going to trip over his own feet, and came to a halt outside the famous blue door.
"He sure is friendly," Ezra said into Aria's ear as they walked behind at a considerably slower pace than Malcolm.
"He's adorable. I think we're going to have a busy night ahead of us." She brushed her hand against Ezra's, looked up towards his freshly shaven face. "Thank you for speaking up back there. Again, I really couldn't have done this without you."
"You're welcome. As long as I'm spending time with you, I'm happy," Ezra replied, peering around Aria's petite body to see where Malcolm had gone to before placing a long, gentle kiss on her perfectly bow shaped lips.
"Ewww!" A small voice came from ahead, and Aria immediately pulled back to see Malcolm covering his eyes at the entrance to the apartment block. Ezra began to laugh nervously, before grabbing a hold of Aria's small hand and leading to her towards the young boy. "You guys are gross," Malcolm commented, as Aria searched around in her purse for the set of keys Maggie had given her a couple of hours previously. She suddenly felt embarrassed that she had let herself go in front of the little boy, and wanted more than anything for him to forget it and, god forbid, not tell his mother. Maggie was sure to take it the wrong way, and Aria did not want to be out of favour with Maggie just as the two were beginning to form a friendship.
Once in the hallway of the apartment, Malcolm ushered Aria and Ezra into a bedroom which was painted a variety of different shades of blue and had thousands of little boy things scattered around on various shelves and surfaces. On the far wall was a mural of an old fashioned steam train, which Aria noticed was the same image which was printed on the bed's comforter. She smiled, imagining the fun and joy Malcolm must have in this wonderful, themed bedroom, where all his toys and passions were held. She looked towards Ezra, and saw he was doing the same she was just the moment before; his eyes wandering the room, taking in every detail, from the colour of the lampshades to the way each knot twisted in the original oak floor. She saw a memory in his hazy eyes, and realised that coming in here must have triggered something for him about his childhood – a territory that Aria had, regrettably, yet to ask him about in detail.
"Where is it, where is it? Where is it?" Malcolm cried impatiently, interrupting both Aria and Ezra from their thoughts. Malcom was crouched on the floor, his hands searching ferociously in a rather large, and chest like toy box.
"What've you lost, buddy?" Ezra asked the exasperated seven year old, crouching down to his height.
"I can't find my green steam train." He stood, and circuited the room sadly.
"I'm sure it'll be there somewhere," Ezra offered, obviously terrified in case the boy was on the verge of a tantrum.
"But I wanted to show Aria and tell her about all the parts and functions," Malcolm wailed, his voice cracking and his eyes beginning to brim with tears.
Aria's heart broke at the genuine sadness the little boy was feeling towards his favourite toy being lost, but also for the fact that he had been so excited to share the special object with Aria. She couldn't think of a sweeter gesture. "Hey, it's okay, Malcolm. Ezra actually has a surprise for you, anyway."
Malcolm's face lit up, and a small smile pulled at the corner of his tiny lips. "You do?" He asked, looking towards Ezra.
"I do. Let's go through to the living room and we can find out what it is!" Ezra said excitedly, and Malcom almost instantly cheered up and lead the way to a large, open living room. The little boy slid his shoes off, and hung his backpack on a hook by the door before sitting on the edge of the couch, eager to find out what Ezra had for him. Aria watched from the doorway as Ezra came over to sit beside Malcolm, revealing the plastic grocery bag which held the magazine and snacks he had shown Aria earlier. The two conversed lightly, before Ezra told Malcom to close his eyes. The little boy shut his eyes tight, and placed his hands over them to assure Ezra that he was not going to peak, while Ezra debagged the present and placed it in Malcolm's lap. "Open up!"
Malcom's grin stretched wider than that of any Aria had ever seen on such a small boy, but it soon faltered into an expression of confusion and intense bewilderment. "How did you know I liked trains?" he finally asked, looking between both the magazine and Ezra.
"Magic," replied Ezra, tapping the little boy's nose, causing him to erupt into a fit of giggles.
The rest of the afternoon went by extremely fast, with Malcolm sitting between the couple on the couch, the three of them reading parts of his magazine out loud and munching on the snacks Ezra had brought them. Aria couldn't help but feel how right this all seemed. The way Ezra acted with Malcolm was completely and utterly inspiring; the amount of concentration and time he had dedicated to the little boy for the short three hours they had been with him was possibly the loveliest thing Aria had ever witnessed. And she couldn't help but feel as if she and Malcolm were bonding nicely too, the way he adored her made her simply want to wrap him up in a giant bear hug. The situation did feel somewhat odd, though; Malcolm only being eleven years younger than Aria made her sort of feel more like an older sister than anything else, but she was sure that hadn't affected his train of thought, and that the interest he had in pleasing her was real. However, what both Aria and Ezra had not been prepared for was the questioning Malcolm had for them after his brain had absorbed as much information on trains and cars a small boy was capable of.
"Where is my mom?" His tone, although it had a curious hint to it, also had a sense of longing and uncertainty, as if he had just realised that the people who were currently sitting on his living room sofa were not regular guests and were, in essence, complete strangers. He stood from his spot on the couch and padded his way over to the large, bay window which looked out onto the quite, residential street.
Ezra and Aria made eye contact, each one of them speechless. How were they supposed to tell this playful and intelligent little boy something that would only cause him to be distraught and upset? "Your mommy had to go see your grandma for a little while," Aria finally said, knowing that she couldn't exactly tread around that part of the truth.
Malcolm peered out the window, and then sat on the sill, releasing a sigh. "But we only go and see Grandma on Sundays," he replied, frankly. If Malcolm wasn't a seven year old child, Aria would have thought he was challenging her, but of course this wasn't the case; Malcolm was feeling unsettled, and who was Aria to blame him for that.
"Well, Grandma needed to speak to your mom about something tonight, so Aria and I are here to look after you for a little while." Ezra's reply was natural and swift, and Malcolm seemed to be eager to believe him.
"Okay," The little boy said, jumping down from the windowsill and walking over to sit by Aria and Ezra again. He was quiet for a moment, and Aria worried that the rest of their night wasn't going to go as smoothly as she had originally thought, but finally Malcolm spoke. "What are we having for dinner?"
Aria froze. She hadn't thought about that at all, and Maggie hadn't mentioned what not to feed Malcolm, or if she had even planned a meal for them tonight.
"Can we have chicken nuggets?" Malcolm asked, perched on the edge of the sofa as if he were about to jump around in glee. Aria didn't know what to say. She had no clue if Maggie was one of those 'organic moms' who wouldn't allow a processed food packet passed her front door, or if she were relaxed about she and Malcolm's eating. While she pondered over her decision, Malcolm became more and more impatient, and obviously Ezra could sense this.
"I'll go and see what supplies there are in the kitchen," he murmured, walking out of the room in search for the kitchen and leaving Aria behind to entertain a hungry and impatient seven year old.
*Ezra's POV*
The house had fallen dark from the past hours the three of them had spent in the living room, and Ezra felt along the hallway wall for a light switch as he walked towards the kitchen. After stumbling over a rug, and almost banging into a wooden bookshelf unit – that was invisible in the darkness of the hall – Ezra eventually found the kitchen, which happened to be much larger than he had imagined. He took in the immaculately decorated room, from the chrome finishings to the high end appliances, and wandered over to the giant fridge/freezer. He could hear Malcolm talking contently and Aria's occasional chuckle, just a whisper of the full melodic laugh that brought joy to his ears. He'd had fun this afternoon, spending time with Aria like this was definitely not what he had expected when they had agreed to meet up later, but nevertheless, this was definitely an insight to what their life could possibly be like one day. The admiration he held for Aria had been extended further than any elastic would stretch after watching the way she connected with Malcom tonight, and once again, Ezra found himself imaging them caring for their own child together one day.
"Ezra! We're getting hungry through here!" Malcolm and Aria called in unison, before exploding into a fit of giggles. Ezra chuckled and reached to pull open the freezer door, but stopped short when his eyes caught sight of a face he didn't think he'd ever see again. Ezra closed the door, and pulled off a photograph from a collage which hung on the magnetic surface. He blinked twice afraid that it was just a trick of the eyes, but the same smiling woman stared back at him, her arms wrapped firmly around a little, brunette boy, who just happened to share his mother's smile. Ezra placed the picture back underneath the magnet, and his eyes roamed across the rest of the collage. There were dozens of photos, several of a growing baby throughout the years which Ezra assumed to be Malcolm, and some of the woman – who had quite definitely caught his eye from the first photo he'd come across – with a group of friends at what appeared to be a college graduation. But the photo that really sent Ezra's stomach churning was one that was quite distinctly hidden behind edges of another. He pulled the picture out with shaking hands, examining it with all his concentration. The girl – around Aria's age – sat in a hospital bed, her short hair pulled back from her face and dressed in a blue maternity gown. She looked down at a tiny baby, who was bundled in a thick, blue knit blanket, with admiration and a hint of sadness in her dark, brown eyes.
And that was when Ezra knew. He didn't have to look at the date mark on the base of the photo, his brain had long ago calculated the last time he had seen Maggie and how this all added up. But how could he possibly not know he had a child? For seven years he had been unaware, and unable to be the best father he possibly could to this little boy.
But surely he was jumping to conclusions. There had to be a rational and legitimate explanation to this unexpected and surreal situation Ezra was experiencing at this moment. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Of course this would be why Maggie had dropped off the face of the earth after their school prom in junior year, and had cut all sources of contact with both Ezra and her best friends at school. When Ezra had tried to put himself in her shoes all those years ago, Maggie being pregnant had not been one of the things to cross his mind. But all sympathy he had for her was long gone now. If Malcolm really was his child, how on earth could she have kept such a burdening and humungous secret from him?
Ezra felt sick with shock, and couldn't stand to be in this claustrophobic and stuffy kitchen any longer. He dropped the photograph and walked as fast as he could out of the house which held so many memories that he hadn't been a part of. He couldn't bear to look back as he let the heavy door slam closed, all he wanted was to go home and pretend this day had never happened. Ezra didn't know whether knowing, or not knowing was worse. But could he really go on knowing that he may possibly have a seven year old son who needed a father to help him with his homework, and experience all the little things a father and son should together?
He padded slowly down the stairs, unable and unwilling to think about any of this havoc being true, but while he was trapped in his bubble of self-pity and anger, Ezra didn't hear the woman he loved the most cry out to him in desperation and confusion. He didn't notice when she ran out of the door, bare footed and determined to find out what was going on, clinging to his arm and pleading from him to come back indoors out of the rain. But Ezra did notice when a floral patterned umbrella crashed forcefully into his chest, and when that all too familiar face peered out from behind.
"I'm so sorry…" She began to say, but stopped short when she saw his face.
Ezra's body tingled with anxiety and panic as he closed his eyes in despair. Pent up confusion, and undoubtable fear graced Aria's face as she looked between her co-worker and the man she loved.
"Ezra?" Maggie whispered, barely audible. The woman's face drained of all colour and her hands relaxed in shock, the umbrella slipping and falling to the ground.
"What's going on?" Aria croaked, before Ezra stormed away, pulling his strong arm from Aria's embrace and leaving her to stand there in the pouring rain in sheer bewilderment.
What IS going on? Ezra asked himself, before heading out into the stormy, unfamiliar streets. He didn't know where he was going, but he did know that he had to get as far away from that house which held a potential bump in his carefully unplanned and uneventful life.
Hello, thank you for reading and putting up with the longer wait for this chapter! Now, before you shout at me, please consider where I'm coming from. I enjoy drama. Without little bits of drama every now and then, there wouldn't be a story. That said, Ezria dominate my thoughts practically 24/7, and I hate to see them hurting on the show. So please remember that not everything is always as it seems ;) Please review and let me know your thoughts, and once again, thank you SO much for all the reviews I have received, they really make me smile! Oh, and thanks to Emily (MustacheYouAQuestion) for her unconditional help and guidance throughout not only this chapter, but the story too. - Kate!
