Disclaimer: I don't own the ABC family show "Switched at Birth", which will here on be referred to as SAB

Story Title: Me and Emily

Chapter 11: The Past Haunts Us All

Authors Note: Hey all! Okay first off I want to thank all the people that wished me speedy recovery. Your kind words were really encouraging considering that I felt like crap. The doctor told me I had a middle ear infection, for days I couldn't hardly hear ANYTHING! I also had an upper respiratory infection; I still haven't kicked the cough from that. If you're still reading this note I would just like to say that I dedicate this chapter to all of my well wishers. You know who you are. :-)

"People signing without vocalizing, but will be mouthing all words"

'Thoughts'

"People signing and vocalizing"

Emily was sitting on the couch going through an old and tatty shoebox. The box was filled with pictures of various people, things and places. Emmett was across the room standing in the doorway of Ms. Baker's home watching her quietly. He couldn't help but grin while watching her sort the pictures into two separate piles with such a serious look on her face. He looked at her with the same wonderment Emily had viewed him with just hours earlier.

'I can't believe it…..I have a daughter,' he wasn't sure how to react to that, most guys had nine month's to adjust to the idea of impending fatherhood, 'Well at least I don't have to speculate anymore about why Bay chose my last name for her alias.'

Emmett hadn't even had nine hours to come to grips with his new reality before responsibility was suddenly foisted upon him. Everyone else had gone out to help with the towns clean up, minus Ms. Baker. She was staying here and organizing an evening meal for all the volunteers after a long day of hard work. Since this task had the lady of the house more or less tied up, Bay had hesitantly asked Emmett to look after Emily.

Emmett had both eagerly and apprehensively agreed to her unexpected but wholly welcome request. Bay had only set two boundaries before she left to go help out on Main Street. Bay's first condition was that they were not to leave the Bed and Breakfast. Fact is she just wasn't altogether ready to invite him into her home, humble as it was. The second condition is that Emmett was not to tell Emily anything about who he was until they had a chance to really discuss how all this was going to work between the three of them. He had reluctantly agreed to the terms. Watching her now, he was glad he did because he had no clue how he could even broach the subject. She was his flesh and blood child, but still a virtual stranger to him.

Feeling his gaze on her, Emily looked up. She was smiling after spotting Emmett. She waved him over to her excitedly. She smiled wider as he sat down next her. Quickly Emily showed him the pictures she'd been sorting through. A sense of pride washed over her as she watched her Mother's friend picking his way through her pictures. She didn't understand why but she felt like the man next to her, the man who had cut her food for her this morning, was very important to her. Sure he was the first person like her that she'd met ever….but there was this innate sense, a child's natural intuition per say, that told her he was so much more to her than that.

'I gotta ask Mommy about him,' was her deciding thought as she watched him with a strange sense of admiration that welled up within her from some unknown spring.

Emmett shifted slowly from one picture to the next. He was pleasantly surprised at what he saw reflected back at him from within each little rectangle. He saw all the average various picture types of family and friends. Pictures of school, the diner and other places he didn't recognize. Mixed in though were some very candid and artful shots. There was this one picture of a piece of decrepit and rusted chain length fence, with a beautiful climbing vine growing up, around and through it. There was another picture of a little girl who wasn't Emily sitting alone on a teeter totter. There was also a picture of a stack of books, some of them were clearly High School level literature while others were just simple picture books.

"Did you take these pictures," Emmett asked indicating the ones he'd already looked at while Emily smiled and nodded vigorously to him.

His favorite though, was not a picture Emily had taken. In the picture, Bay and Emily were sitting at a kitchen table. The two obviously had no idea the picture was being taken. Bay was radiant to him, wearing paint splattered blue jeans with holes and a black t-shirt that said something about drinking coffee. Her curls were unbound and fly away while the lines of her face were set with concentration. He couldn't help but chuckle when he realized that Bay was balancing her checkbook with a green crayon and doing her calculations in a coloring book. Little Emily was actually in the chair with Bay. She was fast asleep wearing her pajamas, holding on to her Mother's back, her little head cushioned on Bay's shoulder.

That's when he noticed something, Bay was wearing glasses, "Emily, since when does your Mother wear glasses?"

"A while now I guess, I was four when she got them. She only wears them for reading. Mommy says that…" here she covered her mouth as if to stifle impending giggles.

"Your Mom says what?" Emmett encourages her, curiously now.

Emily's eyes widen at him briefly, it seemed like she was weighing her options, "You promise not to tell Mommy I told you?"

Emmett nodded his head in agreement while Emily looked up at him imploringly, "Promise."

"Mommy says…..," this time she did giggle, "getting old's a bitch." Emily blushed brightly, covering her eyes now.

Emmett just stared at her dumbfounded, not sure how to react; he found himself torn between amusement and the conflicting want to reprimand Emily for her language, "Your right, we won't mention that to your Mother but I also don't want to catch you using that kind of language again," is what he settled on when she finally uncovered her eyes.

"You asked," was her only response, as she looked mirthfully up at him, her face still as red as her hair.

'Yeah I asked alright,' Emmett silently agreed thinking about everything he'd "asked" for recently as he looked at his daughter.

She couldn't believe it. Daphne just couldn't believe it. Emmett had been gone for more than 24 hours without so much as a text message. She just couldn't fathom what would be so important he'd skip town without even telling her, let alone without at least making contact wither her. Daphne had been constantly texting him but he'd yet to reply to any of them. She half way wondered if his phone was even turned on at this point. Opening her phone, Daphne checked it for what felt like the millionth time, still there was no reply to any of her insistent inquiries. Closing the phone, Daphne refrained from the impulse to hurl it against the unforgiving concrete.

'Time to go talk to the one person who's got to know something about where he is….and why,' was Daphne's thought as she pushed off the side of her car walking towards the front entrance to Carlton.

Daphne entered the building, the door swinging closed slowly behind her. The hallways were wall to wall students. Lights flashed the length of the corridors and in the classrooms, signaling the end of one period. She slowly made her way through the mass of students who were hastening this way and that. Daphne managed to avoid being seen by the front desk, not wanting the sign in process to slow her down.

She hated to admit the fact to herself that she was so desperate for answers that she wouldn't tolerate anything that slowed her down now. It wasn't so much the fact that he went off without telling her, or even the fact that he wasn't texting her back. No it's not those things a lone that set her teeth on edge. What clenched it all for her was the fact that before he left, Emmett had been asking about Bay.

For Daphne, that just wasn't something that was acceptable for him to be doing. Sure she wasn't dating him anymore and she had Wilke after all, however the truth was that Wilke was just a stand in and even he didn't measure up to what….who she still wanted. She'd never really let go of her feelings for Emmett. Sure she'd broken it off with him but if she were brutally honest about it, she'd admit the fact that the only reason she had was because Bay was no longer available.

Daphne had stayed with Emmett all through High School because she needed, no she wanted him, loved him. It became apparent though a few month's into their relationship that Emmett did not really feel the same way about her. For him it was still all about Bay. He'd proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt to her the night of the accident.

Daphne thought back over the years. It had happened after one of Daphne's basketball games. Normally Bay didn't go to sporting events, let alone ones that involved the girl she'd been switched with. She was there because John Kennish had insisted that everyone be there because it was the first game of the play-offs. John wanted to beam with pride since it was his coaching that had got them there. So this game was a mandatory family event.

The game was over; Carlton had won. Everyone was slowly making their way out of the gymnasium. Normally Emmett would have driven Daphne home, it didn't work out that way though. Once they'd reached the parking, lot for some reason Emmett couldn't get his bike to start. The rest of the family had already bailed expect for Bay. She'd hung back waiting for the crowd to clear. When she became aware of their problem, she offered to give them a lift.

Before Daphne could respond, Emmett had readily agreed. So she grudgingly accepted Bay's solution. Just in case Bay was planning on any funny business, she possessively wrapped an arm around Emmett's waist, fixing Bay with a smug look. She took pride in watching Bay flinch at the sight before they all slide into "The Thing". Daphne had managed to make sure that Emmett was in the back with her.

The drive home was quiet; no one said anything and it seemed like it was going to be uneventful. How wrong she was. It all happened at a four way stop. No one else had been there so Bay didn't bother to stop and drove on through. That's when it all went wrong; another car had come speeding through the intersection. There wasn't time for Bay to react. Her eyes widened as the other cars headlights illuminated them. Bay had let out a scream that was abruptly cut short as the other car struck them on the driver's side. The last thing Daphne remembered was the erratic vibrations of the impact before everything went dark.

Daphne remembered the dull throbbing pain in her head first. She remembered slowly opening her eyes and taking in the scene around her. There were bright flashing red and blue lights everywhere, making her head hurt worse as she groaned. She could smell something sickening and choking but unknown to her. The next thing she noticed is that she was still in the backseat of the car, strapped in. Slowly she took stock of herself: some cuts and scrapes, a bump on her head, nothing she viewed as serious. Looking next to her, she noticed that Emmett was no longer in the car. Panic started to fill her, making her shake and break out in a cold sweat.

Daphne staggered out of the car, watching all the emergency response personal scurry about. She scanned her surroundings, searching for him. Not far from where she stood she took notice of the other car's front end, crumbled like aluminum foil. Disregarding the sight, she continued searching. She was stopped by someone in a uniform. She was talking to her but Daphne had no clue what was being said and she didn't care, her only concern was Emmett. The uniformed woman followed her as she limped away.

Finally she spotted him; he was currently standing outside a bustling group of EMT's. This was when she finally lost her balance and fell to the ground, her relief at seeing him safe crippling her. The woman who had been following her took advantage of the situation and started assessing her. Daphne waved her arms trying to get Emmett's attention, confused about why he wasn't with her to begin with.

She didn't have long to wait for that answer. She watched as a gurney was lifted up, Emmett followed after the group. When the bed had been shifted to the side Daphne's breath caught in her throat when she saw Bay bleeding and unconscious. She was unhappy as she watched Emmett hovering as close as the emergency workers would allow him. She continued to stare as they loaded her sister into the ambulance.

She watched Emmett follow after her, preparing to climb into the back and go with her. That's when he caught sight of Daphne. The two of them locked eyes for an instant, her eyes pleading with him to come to her. That's when it happened, he hesitated. She watched as he looked back at Bay. When he turned his attention back to Daphne what she saw there made her heart bleed. The only thing she saw mirrored in his gaze was worry and a deep seated fear. There was no hint of apology in Emmett when he shook his head at her. Then without so much as a backward glance he climbed into the ambulance going with Bay, instead of coming to her where he belonged. Then and there Daphne made a vow that no matter what it took she would never let Bay take Emmett from her. Bay would never have him in any way, shape or form. She just couldn't accept that fact that ever since Bay had come into his life she always was left feeling like the other woman.

He'd pick Bay over her! He'd picked Bay over her and it was an unacceptable occurrence. It was that thought and that scene that replayed over and over again in her mind's eye. That's when she realized that Emmett didn't love her the way she loved him. Daphne spent the rest of her High School tenure trying desperately to be the one he wanted. She tried so hard to make him love her, nothing worked though. She knew that the only reason he stayed with her is because he didn't want to hurt her. He valued her friendship too much to do that. So Daphne held on, hoping against hope that something would change, but it never did.

In the end it was Bay, it would always be Bay. Daphne just couldn't accept that. So she held onto him, biding her time, waiting for Bay to move on. Daphne had decided that if he didn't love her that was fine but she'd be damned before she would let Bay have him. It started to seem like Bay was never going to get over the break-up. Then out of nowhere, Bay had started dating again. When that happened, with a heavy heart Daphne let Emmett go, secure in the knowledge that Bay was out of the picture. That's when she'd started dating Wilke, he may not be Emmett but at least he loved her. In the end that's all she had ever wanted, was someone who loved her.

Daphne was jolted back to the present when a student rushing to their next class knocked her into a wall. She humphed as she pulled herself up right again, ignoring the little upstart. After smoothing the wrinkles from her clothing, she resumed walking quickly to Melody's office. Her need for information grew, becoming almost impossible to contain. A new sense of urgency fueled her steps as she remembered her vow from so long ago.

Holly was currently sweeping broken glass up off of the sidewalk in front of the town's local pharmacy. Last night's storm had broken out a lot of the windows so the inside was damaged as well. Currently though, her, Travis and Bay were cleaning up the glass in front. Others were inside, boarding up the broken windows. Holly looked over in Bays direction. She was carefully picking up the larger pieces of glass with gloved hands. Then she would dispose of the jagged shards in a plastic trash can that she was dragging with her. Travis was not too far behind her, taking pictures of the devastation and cleanup effort for Emily.

Holly casually walked over to Bay, sweeping up debris near her, "So Bay, that's an interesting friend you've got there, he's a real looker too."

Bay recoiled slightly at Holly's seemingly innocent statement, "Is he? I haven't noticed," Bay looked briefly up at Holly, trying to gauge her level of interest in the subject.

"You haven't?" Holly rolled her eyes at Bay, "Well I have, he's tall, those eyes of his and then there's all that red hair. I like that color, don't you?"

"I suppose. Although there are an awful lot of stereotypes attached to red heads," Bay replied nonchalantly, trying to move off in a different direction.

Holly tapped Travis on the shoulder and sent him inside to take pictures there, and then she fixed her stare back on Bay, 'You're not getting away that easy.' Holly trotted after her, "Hold on, why don't you tell me a little bit about him. What I mean to say is, you've never brought any of your friends around here before."

"And I haven't started Holly. Emmett just kind of showed up, I had no idea he was even going to be here. Besides he's just my friend, not anything more than that," Bay was clearly starting to get annoyed with this line of questioning.

"You had no idea, really Bay? Is that what you're going with considering the fact that you spent the night with your surprise visitor," Holly gave Bay a very pointed look.

Bay whirled around angrily, "Look Holly, I didn't spend the night with him, or anybody else for that matter. I was just over there when the storm hit and I couldn't get home, alright!"

Holly threw her hands up in mock surrender, "Look I'm sorry Bay, I wasn't trying to imply anything exactly like that." It was here that she gave Bay a very meaningful look, "The only thing I'm trying to say is that when the rest of the town gets an eyeful of Emmett and the rest of your family together at dinner tonight, well, you just might want to come up with a better excuse than "He's just my friend" because trust me if you don't the town will." Holly moved on, going inside the building looking for Travis.

Bay threw her arms up in frustration, rolling her eyes, 'Yeah well I would, that is if I knew exactly what a better excuse would be.'

Sighing Bay went back to work, cleaning the sidewalk and musing about how the past haunts us all.

Melody Bledsoe was sitting at her desk in her office during her lunch break, however she was not taking advantage of her break time. Carlton was far too much of a bustling place for that. So instead of eating, she was shuffling through student files. Several students had come to her that morning asking for college recommendations. Judging from what she found out in their permanent records, most of them would have no trouble getting into good schools. One of them however had struggled in school considerably, had been truant a good deal of the time, and also seemed to have an issue with authority. At the start of this year, however, it seemed the young man had turned over a new leaf, still though, with a record like his he would have a rough time of it.

'I'll have to call him into my office to talk about what he hopes to achieve after High School,' was what Melody was considering as she reached for a student request slip to send with an office aide.

It was then that the lights in her office started to flicker rapidly, summoning her awareness of persons unknown. Wondering who was in need of her undivided attention, she looked up. What she found was a very disillusioned but resolute looking Daphne. Swiftly Melody gathered the files in front of her, shoving them in her desk for safe keeping. Daphne may have been applying for a job here but she had yet to be hired so leaving personal information lying about would be irresponsible on her part.

Melody gave her a tight smile, waving her inside, 'I hope everything with Kathryn is alright, Daphne looks just awful today.'

Daphne accepted the invitation and walked in awkwardly, taking a seat in front of her best friend's Mother's desk. Melody studied the young woman before her. She'd never before seen her best friend's daughter in such a state, not since she was eight years old anyway. Daphne was nervously picking at her clothes, her mouth set in a grim line, her eyes for lack of a better phrase befuddled and haggard looking. She'd never seen her look so distressed, not even when she'd found out about the switch, a situation that Melody felt she had handled quite gracefully. Especially when one considered the girl she'd been switched with and the family she hadn't known.

"So how are you today? Is everything….." she searched for the right wording, "going well at home?" Melody ventured, giving her young friend an encouraging smile, 'It's got to be something to do with Kathryn. That poor woman's condition has been deteriorating a lot faster than last time.'

Daphne gathered her thoughts all at once, answering the question asked of her with a question all her own, "Have you heard from Emmett recently?" Her signing was eager and quick despite her appearance.

Needless to say this was not the answer she'd been expecting, "Well you should know more about that than me. Isn't he staying over with you and Regina?"

"No he isn't," Daphne's green eyes widened a bit, "Emmett left town yesterday. Didn't he tell you?"

"No….he didn't say anything about leaving town," the school counselor was starting to look very perplexed, "All I know is that yesterday he went over there to hang out with Toby. When he didn't come home….well I just assumed…it wouldn't be the first time he'd crashed there without calling," was her feeble response, slowly looking more and more confused and a bit worried.

Daphne leaned forward in her chair, her face begging for answers, "So you have no idea where he is?"

"No, none," it was just then that something seemed to dawn on her, "You mean he didn't tell you where he was going?"

Daphne could only shake her head in response, "No, he didn't…..the only reason I know is because Toby told me," she added, as an afterthought, "Toby doesn't know where he is either or when he'll be back, just that he'll be gone for a couple of days."

"Well have you tried to contact him?" Melody suddenly found herself grasping at straws as a cold fear started to seep into her heart.

It was here that Daphne gave her an "Are you seriously asking me that?" look, "Of course I have but he hasn't responded to any of them. That's why I'm here asking you."

She felt icy fingers start to enclose her, "Well I'm sure he has his reasons," she put on a bright and false face, "I tell you what, I'll get in contact with him today and when he gets back to me I'll get back you. Alright?" her face may have been chipper but the slight tremor in her hands gave her away.

She sighed in response but figured it was the best she could hope for at this point, "Okay, I guess." Daphne stood to leave while they said their goodbyes but before she left, Daphne turned and looked at Melody one last time, "Did my Mother tell you that Emmett had been asking about Bay?"

Melody just stared, blinking at her, 'That's a good enough answer for me.' Daphne hurriedly left the room, leaving Emmett's Mom to ponder her last statement.

That's the end of chapter 11. Isn't Daphne just wonderful spreading Emmett's business all around?