Author's Note:

Okay so real quick, just wanted to let you guys know that I'm going on a trip and won't have any way to post while I'm gone, so I probably won't be able to post the next chapter for a week and a half or two weeks but I'll try to write as much as I can when I'm gone and I promise to post as soon as I get back home. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy!

[Paige's POV]

"So do I just…do I just say it or?" The girl sitting beside me asked. "I don't really know how this whole thing is supposed to go." Parker admitted looking up briefly for guidance on how this talk is supposed to start.

"Yeah if that's what you want to do, whatever you're comfortable with." I said. "And if you aren't ready we don't have to have this talk now. Just because it was brought up doesn't mean we expect you to tell us if you don't want to just yet."

Parker's eyes moved away from me and back to her lap and I figured she was just trying to decide exactly what it was she wanted to say, if anything at all about her sexuality. We sat in an awkward silence for a couple of minutes before she looked back up at me. When she did I expected her to look more scared than she did, due to her initial nerves and hesitation. But when she looked up at me I didn't see much fear in her eyes. She looked a little nervous and her leg was bouncing slightly, but other that she didn't seem all that troubled. Nothing compared to the small freak out she had in the locker room earlier today.

"Okay then, umm I guess…" Parker paused for a second taking a deep breath and I could tell that the girl's nerves were picking up a little, "I guess I might be gay."

Parker's words came out as more of a question than a statement and her tone was far from the usual confident one that she tends to speak with.

"So you haven't exactly figured it out yet?" I asked curiously picking up on her hesitation right away. It was unlike Parker to question what she was doing. She was the kind of person who made up her mind about something and was confident about her decision right away whether it was right or wrong, good or bad.

"I definitely like girls in the way that you like girls, I'm sure about that, but how do I know that I don't like boys like that too? Maybe I just haven't found the right one yet?" She removed her gaze from me and returned it to my hand that was still covering hers.

"So you think you might like boys too then?" I asked already starting to get a little flustered. I was terrible at talking about things which is why Emily was the go to, but Parker chose me for this one for some reason and I wanted to deliver for her, so I figured if I just at least kept the conversation rolling without pushing her too much then we'd be okay.

Parker shrugged a little and I could immediately tell that she knew that she didn't like boys the way she did girls. So why didn't she want to admit that? Maybe Parker really was afraid of coming out and what people would think about her being gay.

"What made you start thinking about all of this?" I asked. I wasn't sure if that was something you're supposed to ask someone when they're trying to come out to you, in fact I had no idea what I was doing, I just figured we'd be fine if I kept the conversation going until we either got somewhere or she told me to stop.

"I've always kind of thought about it because of you and mama." She stated with a small sigh, "And I've never really have had deep feelings for a boy, I mean I guess I haven't had them yet for a girl either but I've kissed boys before and it's never felt like I'd imagine it would, you know?" She glanced up at me to see if I was following what she was saying and when she saw that I was genuinely intrigued, encouraging her to continue, she did.

"So that's when I really started thinking about it, after I kissed a few boys and didn't really feel anything at all. Honestly for a while I just thought that maybe I just hadn't kissed the right boy yet and that's why I hadn't felt anything for them."

"But then you kissed a girl?" I questioned. I didn't really mean to say it out loud, it more so slipped, but Parker nodded anyways not seeming to be bothered by me filling in blanks for her.

"Well technically she kissed me, but yeah then I kissed a girl." She said and when she moved her eyes to her lap again I could see a faint smile form on her face as she paused attempting to figure out where she wanted to go next in the conversation.

"And you felt something." I guessed after she didn't say anything for a while, earning a small nod from the girl next to me. I didn't want to push her so I waited for her to be the one to continue on if she wanted to.

After a few more moments of slightly awkward silence Parker finally spoke again, "That's when I really started to consider it. Or started to be honest with myself about it. Looking back I guess I always kind of knew." She admitted as she started to play with my fingers distracting herself from the moment, "I was never ashamed of it or anything like that cause I don't think there's anything wrong with being gay, but I just wasn't sure yet. Like really sure and I wanted to be before I told anyone about it."

I nodded in understanding before becoming slightly confused again, "but you still said that you 'might' be gay. So if you're still not sure then why are you telling me?" I asked gently not wanting to sound as if she had to answer my question if she didn't want to. "If it's just because what happened in the locker room and you're not ready then we don't have to do this. I don't want you to feel pressured or anything like that Parker."

"I know we don't mom, but I wanted to. I'm glad you said something." She admitted as she met my gaze, "I haven't really had anyone to talk to about it and I wanted to talk with someone to help me sort it all out but I didn't know how to bring it up." She said and I felt relief wash over me at her mention of me saying something earlier didn't upset her, instead it had actually given her an excuse to bring up the topic with someone.

Parker seemed to be thinking over the matter herself before she stood up off the couch and began to slowly walk around the room, stopping from time to time to look at me in thought before continuing to turn and pace the room steadily, which I let her do without a word.

Parker finally stopped in front of me turning her full attention to me and asked curiously, "How'd you know?" And I could hear her tone turn hopeful as if I could solve all her problems with a simple answer.

I knew my answer wasn't going to solve anything for her though, because her struggles with being gay and mine when I was her age were completely different, "Umm, well I always liked girls, I knew that I did, figuring out that wasn't the problem for me. The problem was that I didn't want to like girls because I was scared that liking girls the way I did was wrong and I was scared of what people would think or say about me when they found out that I did."

Parker nodded in understanding, "I don't really have a problem with that though, that's her problem." I was surprised that Parker had actually brought up someone else in this conversation. I was assuming that the 'her' she just accidentally brought up was Brooke but I decided to leave her out of it for now, knowing that Parker wouldn't want to talk about it and if she did that she would bring it up herself.

I redirected my attention to Parker as she continued to go on, "I'm used to people saying things. I'm not scared of my family knowing either because you and mama are obviously going to love me no matter what, so that's not a problem. And Kacey and Taylor aren't a problem either." I watched her as she paused, a small look of concern slipping onto her face.

I looked at her curiously as she furrowed her eyebrows in thought, a frown evident on her face, "What is it?" I asked not knowing why she stopped in the middle of her explanation as to why she didn't have a problem with people knowing about her sexuality.

[Emily's POV]

I was sitting on the second floor off to the side, out of sight of the two girls downstairs. It wasn't extremely hard to hear what they were saying but when they chose to speak in whispers or light voices I was missing parts of their conversation. I was fully aware that this was probably a terrible move on the parenting side but I couldn't help myself, I wanted to know what was going on and if Parker really was coming out. I knew she would tell me eventually, probably even later today but I knew that she wouldn't go into as much depth as she was currently going with Paige and I didn't want to miss anything if I didn't have to. I was focusing as hard as I could on the voices from downstairs as they began to become low and I was having trouble hearing anything at all.

"Whatcha doing?" A whisper came from behind me, so close to my ear that I could actually feel the person's breath on the side of my head.

I grabbed my chest as I jumped and turned my head around quickly to find Kacey trying to suppress a laugh knowing that I was ease dropping on Parker and Paige.

"Doing something we're not supposed to are we?" She asked with a smirk, as I stood up off the floor, Kacey following as I walked away, "you know the best place to ease drop is from the kitchen. Voices from the living room echo great in there. Plus you can sit on the counter right up against the living room wall and snack. It's much better than the far corner of the hallway where they can't see you."

I rolled my eyes as I walked into her room where she had come from. Kacey continued to follow with a slight chuckle and lightly closed the door behind her when she entered the room. "Seriously what are they talking about down there that you find so intriguing?"

I shook my head knowing from what I had heard of Paige and Parker's talk that she hadn't told Kacey yet. "Nothing that you need to know about Kace." I said hoping she would just drop it.

Of course the young girl had no intentions of doing that though as she dramatically put a hand on her hip and tapped her chin in thought, "Hmm what could it be." She asked to no one in particular as she moved her narrowed eyes over to me before studying my face and repeating herself, "What. Could. It. Be."

I avoided her eyes, scared I would somehow give something away even though it was a long shot for the girl in front of me to guess that her sister was downstairs coming out to Paige. I leaned away from the girl when she walked over to me and grabbed my face forcing me to look at her. I swatted her hands away from my cheeks as I stood up and looked at the girl like she was crazy but she continued to study me anyways.

"Alright well you don't look mad, so we can cut out anything involving her getting in trouble and trying to get mom to let her off the hook before she tells you." She said before pausing to think, "And she would have told both of you at the same time fi it was the thing that you all were fighting about last week, so it isn't that." She stated pausing once again before her head tilted to the side and she studied my face again for a moment.

"You had that proud mom look plastered all over your face earlier when I found you in the hallway so it has to be good. But what's good that she'd tell mom and wait to tell you, that you want to know about so bad that you have to listen in on?" she questioned and suddenly her face turned soft and her eyes widened a little as a hopeful look came across her face with a small grin, "is she coming out?!"

My jaw dropped in shock that she had somehow came to the correct conclusion, "What, no. I didn't even know Parker was gay." I said trying to sound as convincing as possible but Kacey simply laughed at me as she plopped down onto her stomach on top of her rustled bed sheets.

"First off mama just for future references, don't sound so panicked when you're lying about something, it gives you away right off the bat. And second you definitely knew Parker was gay, the girl is not subtle at all about it, whether she thinks she is or not." She said casually as if we were speaking of the weather.

"Wait so you do know? I thought Parker just said that she hadn't told anyone." I asked as the girl directed her attention to the magazine that was now in front of her.

"She didn't tell me, she didn't have too." She said, never removing her eyes from the page she was currently on.

I looked at her waiting for her to continue and when she didn't I walked over to her grabbing the magazine and tossing it over onto Parker's bed giving the girl a look encouraging her to continue.

"Yes mother?" Kacey asked uninterestedly, oblivious to the shock I had about her knowing.

"Come on, spill what you know." I simply stated curious as to how long Kacey has known about Parker, who clearly didn't think that anyone had any idea.

Kacey sighed as she sat up crisscrossing her legs in front of her as I joined her on the bed waiting for her to explain, "I don't know, she's like my best friend, I guess I just know her." Kacey said seriously before laughing a little, "plus like I said she's not exactly subtle when it comes to her attraction to certain people."

"That's it? You just know her and you've caught her checking out girls, that's all it takes to convince you?" I asked, although I guess it was a reasonable explanation.

"Well I mean seeing her making out with a girl in the backyard a couple weeks ago is really what sold me, before that it was only just an assumption. Just like yours and moms." She said with a small smile on her face knowing that that was the information I was looking for.

"What?!" I asked a little surprised. "Was it that Brooke girl?" Her being the only female friend of Parker's that I knew about, I had no idea who else it'd be.

Kacey nodded, "yep but that's all I know." She stated. "Parker hasn't told me anything about it and honestly I didn't even know that Brooke was a lesbian until I saw them kissing that night. Hell I didn't even know that they were friends but it explains why she hung out with those guys for so long."

"What do you mean those guys?" I questioned figuring that this had something to do with Parker's school issues.

Kacey shrugged, "not my place mama."

I nodded knowing she was right and that I'd have to wait to find out more from Parker, "can you at least tell me about Brooke? Is she trouble, I mean should I be worried that Parker likes her?"

"It's not really Brooke you have to worry about, it's her sister and her sister's friends that you have to worry about. Those are the girls who mess with Parker and sometimes me if I get in their way. Brooke used to do it cause she had a problem with Parker too but now she does it because she's told to, I don't think she really wants to though, I mean clearly she's changed her mind about Parker or they probably wouldn't be making out in the backyard, but those are just my thoughts on it all."

"Why does her sister have a problem with Parker?" I asked not expecting to get an answer.

Kacey shook her head, "Mama I'm not telling you anything else about them. That's her business and I'm not going to piss Parker off again by spilling anything else about her previous problems. But like I said you have nothing to worry about when it comes to Brooke, she's kind of nice nowadays which I'm going to go ahead and guess is because of Parker."

"Fine." I said knowing that Kacey wasn't going to give me anything more than she already had, "thank you for letting me in on something though."

The other girl nodded and I started making my way back out of the room, "don't get caught." Kacey said and when I turned around she had another smirk on her face.

I rolled my eyes and walked out of the room returning to my previous spot on the floor, trying to get into a comfortable spot where I could hear Paige and Parker like I had been able to before I was interrupted by Kacey.

[Paige's POV]

My daughter opened her mouth but closed it quickly before words could come out, slightly shaking her head as she lowered her eyes to her feet, "Do you think grandma and grandpa would be mad?" She asked in a small voice not daring to look up at me.

As soon as she asked I knew she was questioning what my dad and Pam would think about it, considering the things she had grown to learn over the years about the struggles they had with coming to terms with Emily and I's relationship when we were teenagers. Honestly I didn't know the answer to that question. Of course my dad and Pam had come to accept that their daughters were gay years ago and everything was fine in our relationships with both of our parents, there was always a possibility that they wouldn't take Parker being gay well right away.

Parker was never one to care about other people's opinions of her, however she did care about her family's opinion of her and out of the three of our children Parker was the most concerned about making everyone in the family proud of her. So I of course wasn't going to give Parker a reason to worry about coming out if that's what she was on the road to doing.

"Of course they wouldn't sweetheart. They love you Parker, you know that."

"Yeah but they loved you and mama too and they still freaked out about it." She said matter-of-factly as she walked over and collapsed on the couch next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder.

I nodded knowing that the girl was right, "They did, but Parker you have to understand that all of that happened a long time ago, they understand now or they at least try to understand." I tried to explain as I wrapped an arm around my daughter and pulled her closer to me. "I promise they aren't going to have a problem with it, I won't let them okay. And you've seen your mother talk about the past with both of them, she would never tolerate them saying anything bad to you under any circumstance but especially this one."

Parker slightly lifted her head off of my shoulder to meet my gaze before softly stating, "Maybe but neither of you can stop them from thinking bad things about me." She concluded sadly with a heavy sigh and the look on her face as she thought about that made my heart break.

"I know it's hard Park. Trust me I was terrified of him too." I said as I recalled how hard it was for me to come out to my parents, knowing that my dad wasn't exactly fond of the kind of lifestyle I was living.

The thought of him hating me was terrifying when I was a teenager and I didn't want Parker to feel that way, but I also knew that there was no way to stop her from thinking the worst. The only thing that would be able to put her mind at rest was facing him at some point and finding out from him whether he would have a problem with it or not. I felt a tinge of anger suddenly come over me at the thought of him still having so much power over something that wasn't his choice or business. I literally felt like I was sitting with my teenage self, trying to convince her that her dad wasn't going to hate her and it still tore me up inside.

"What made you do it then?" She managed to mumble out.

"I just got tired of hiding who I really was from everyone. I wasn't happy. I was so worried about people finding out that I wasn't able to be in a relationship with anyone and I was miserable because I was scared all of the time." I said honestly, "and then one day I just said screw it and blurted it out to them over dinner."

Parker let out a small laugh that I probably wouldn't have noticed if her head wasn't right under my ear, "And he freaked out." She sighed out. "I remember you telling me the story a couple of years ago."

I nodded, "Yeah he did, but it didn't last very long. Sure he wasn't happy at first but he got used to it and he tried to understand all of it. You have to remember Parker, he was raised in a family that didn't believe in this kind of stuff. He's old fashioned and was from a conservative family. It was just new to him, but like I said he got over it. He's okay with it now, he knows that our family isn't any different from any other one."

I felt Parker nod slowly against my shoulder and when she didn't say anything I took it as a sign to continue, "Your grandma is fine with it too now. Your mom just talked to her about it when she got out of the hospital." I mentioned hoping that it would ease her worries a little.

"She did?" Parker asked.

"Mhm. Your mom didn't remember fixing things with your grandma so she brought it up again when she was staying at their house. Your grandmother feels terrible for the way she acted when mama came out to her, she wouldn't have a problem with you being gay Parker. Neither would my dad, they both adore you and you know that."

Parker nodded once again, "I guess you're right."

"Aren't I always?" I asked cockily, hoping that it would make the girl feel a little more comfortable. She didn't like talking about her feelings and I didn't really either so having his conversation was a big deal for the both of us.

I smiled when the girl beside me giggled a little, "That depends. According to you, yes. According to mama, noooo." She stated while shaking her head and letting out another small laugh.

"Fair enough." I agreed before we fell into a comfortable silence. I waited a moment longer before my curiosity got the best of me.

"Is that why you just 'think' you're gay? You don't want to say you're sure about it because then you have to tell your grandparents and you think they're not going to be okay with it." I questioned, feeling like there had to be more to it than that, "I don't want to assume anything but Parker you seem pretty sure to me."

Parker shrugged as I let her think about my question for a little while before she spoke, "I'm pretty sure." She said, "About my sexuality, I mean. I think I'm gay."

"If you're so sure then why do you keep saying 'might' and 'think'? There's something more to this Parker, I know you and you're not one to second guess yourself about things that are big like this, so why don't you tell me what you're really scared of."

I was scared I was pushing her too far and was being to forward when she didn't respond right away. I had no intention of forcing her to tell me anything she didn't want to but I wanted to know what was really bugging her so I could help her out. It was hard to help when you didn't know what was wrong. I was relieved when she answered the question even though it took her a while to do so.

"You know how I am with feelings and things like that, it scares me." She admitted before sighing and pulling away from me so she could face me, "...She scares me."

"Who, Brooke?" I asked curiously, Brooke being the first person I could think of.

Parker's face quickly turned terrified and I kicked myself for bringing the other girl up before Parker could herself, "What?! Who said anything about Brooke?" Parker asked a little too panicked for it not to be the girl that was making Parker question her sexuality or I guess confirm her sexuality for her.

"Sorry. I'm assuming again, I really have to stop doing that, sorry." I said while shaking my head, not being able to learn from my earlier mistake and just keep my mouth shut. Parker seemed to calm down instantly and I was glad that all it took was an apology.

I waited for her to say the next thing not wanting to stick my foot in my mouth. I waited patiently even though it was taking the girl a long time to say anything at all. We must have sat there for 15 minutes before the girl looked up at me again and began to speak timidly.

"I'm not supposed to say anything." She said sounding worried.

"You don't have to honey. You did good today and if you don't want to talk about it anymore then you don't have to."

"You wouldn't say anything right?" She asked hesitantly, "if I talked to you about Brooke?"

I shook my head, "of course not. I'm not going to talk to anyone about what you say in this conversation, you don't have to worry about that, okay?"

Parker nodded before taking a deep breath, "Brooke's gay, but no one knows except for me." I nodded showing that I understood before she continued, "and she doesn't want anyone else to find out. She has the same problem as you did, I mean with the being scared of what people would say and think of her if she came out, especially her family."

"So you guys are...together?" I asked still unsure exactly where Parker stood when it came to Brooke.

Parker shook her head, "according to Brooke we're not even friends." I felt my eyebrows furrowing in confusion as I looked at the girl, waiting for an explanation. "When we first met we didn't really get along that great, we actually could barely stand each other to be honest."

"So then you guys hate each other and the girl you like isn't Brooke?" I asked not really following, once again the girl shook her head.

"No it's Brooke, I just don't know what we are mom, that's why I need help."

"Help with what?" I asked nervously. Here comes the part that Emily is for.

"With Brooke." Parker stated as if it was obvious, "she won't even admit that we're friends but we are, at least I think we are. We might even be more than that, I have no clue though because Brooke confuses me so much." She said with a frustrated sigh. "One minutes she's screaming at me like I'm her mortal enemy and the next she's looking at me like I hung the moon...ugh, she's just driving me crazy and I have no idea what to do because I really like her but at the same time I'm kind of tired of the whole thing."

I slowly nodded as if I understood what she was talking about and while I caught most of what she was saying I was a little confused and overwhelmed. "You're going to have to give me a little more kid, I'm a little confused still." I said deciding to just be honest instead of pretending to fully understand, "so you know she's gay but you're not sure if she likes you because she goes back and forth? But you might be more than her friend? So...things have happened between you two then?" I asked nervously.

"We've kissed before. In fact that's what led me to finding out she was gay in the first place. She just came up to me and kissed me one day." Parker said and by her tone and the look on her face she seemed to still not be over that one, "who does that mom?! I thought she hated me and we were in the middle of an argument and she just grabs me and kisses me." She says still shocked apparently by the action.

"And if you think I'm confused now, ha you should have seen me that night. And then on top of that she leaves without any sort of explanation and then she avoids me for days and finally when I confront her she gets mad at me." Parker looks at me with wide eyes and points to her chest, "me mom! Like I did something!"

Parker shook her head as another frustrated noise came out of her, "You can't just act like that especially when that someone you kissed and yelled at for asking about it doesn't even know for sure if she's gay. She confused the hell out of me and frankly I'm still a little confused and this happened months ago."

"Are you sure you like her because I'm still not getting it. It doesn't sound like you like her very much at all." I said hesitantly due to Parker's now agitated mood.

Parker sighed heavily seeming to have the weight of the world on her shoulders as she moved back over to the couch and sat down putting her head in her hands, "I didn't. But then she finally talked to me about it. She said that she was sorry for kissing me like that and I don't know she seemed kind of nice when she wasn't screaming at me." She said as she pulled her head out of her hands and looked up at me shrugging, "She told me that she was gay and we got into this deep conversation about her family and just a bunch of things and I guess after that I just saw her differently."

"I mean she's always been really attractive and everything don't get me wrong, but other than that I didn't look twice at her. She was kind of a bitch and I hated her sister so why would I bother to take a second look at her before. But after the kiss and everything I couldn't stop thinking about her mom."

"You got to know the other side of her? The better, nicer side?" I asked even though I didn't have to. It was written all over Parker's face that even though the girl drove her crazy she couldn't seem to shake Brooke and it didn't seem like she wanted to or had any real intention of doing so.

"The real her." Parker stated with a nod. "Yeah and that side of her is great, but it's a lot when she pretends to be what people expect her to be, the bad side of herself I guess. She's scared and I don't even think she's close to coming out." She stated.

"Is that what you're scared of?" I asked finally understanding the issue.

Parker looked up at me with scared eyes, "what if I come out and it changes things. I mean we finally got to this place where she acts like herself around me and is nice when we're alone. We're practically a couple when we're not around anyone. We kiss and sometimes she lets me hold her hand and stuff like that. Of course she's still a little aggressive when people are around but even that's gotten a little better. I don't even know how she really feels about me now though, the girl can't even admit that we're friends for god's sake. What if she doesn't want me mom? What am I supposed to do then?"

That's when I realized me and Parker were both pretty much afraid of the same thing. We were both scared she was going to come out and get her heart broken by the bad girl, who apparently wasn't all that bad, Brooke.

"Listen Parker, you can't base these kind of decisions on some girl that may or may not even like you. If you're hiding who you really are from people and you don't want to any more than that's your decision to make. You have to do what you think is best and yeah there might be some consequences to that decision, but I promise you'll be happier once you don't have to pretend to be someone you're not anymore." Parker nodded, "And hey who knows maybe when Brooke sees that coming out's not so bad she'll be more open to the idea."

"Your right it's not her decision what I do." She said as she thought about it for a second, "I think I'm going to do it." She said with a small smile.

I smiled back at her, "really?" I asked proudly.

"Yeah I think it's about time to do it, but maybe not everyone at once, you know. Just you and mama for today and then go from there. A couple people at a time." She said not wanting to get ahead of herself.

"That sounds like a great start, I'm so proud of you. And when you tell your mom I'm sure she will be too." I said as I pulled her into me, hugging her tightly. I pulled away from her after a moment and looked across at her, "okay you ready to tell mama?" I asked with a small smile.

Parker returned the smile and nodded her head, "yeah." She said seeming a little more excited than nervous to tell Emily, which made me even prouder of the girl sitting in front of me.

"Hey Em!" I called out in the direction of the second floor. Knowing Emily, she hadn't gone very far. I saw her come around the corner and trot down the stairs excitedly, "yeah?" Emily asked as if she didn't know what was going on down here.

"Mama I have something I want to tell you." Parker said as she waved Emily over to the couch, all signs of nervousness pretty much gone. Emily smiled as she walked over and sat down next to Parker, waiting for the girl to say what she already knew.

[Emily's POV]

"I'm gay." Parker stated confidently as she looked at me, awaiting my response. I looked over at Paige who was sitting on the other side of Parker before looking back over to Parker with a smile, "Really, that's great baby. I'm so happy that you are comfortable with sharing that with your mother and I. We're both very proud of you." I said as I reached over and hugged her.

She returned the hug instantly, "thanks mama." She said as she continued to hug me. I slowly pulled away and looked at the young girl in front of me. I reached over and smoothed out her hair.

"Is that all?" I asked, fully aware that her and Paige's talk was a long one and that she probably wasn't going to want to have it over again with me right this second.

"Yeah for now. Mom can fill you in on some of the things we talked about, but I think I'm personally all talked out for today. I'm actually pretty surprised that me and mom lasted as long as we did." She stated as she stood up.

Paige and I both followed and stood up with her, "thanks for helping me sort things out mom, I feel a lot better now." Parker said as she hugged Paige again. Paige kissed the top of the younger girls head and returned the hug maybe a little too tightly but it didn't look like Parker minded, "anytime kiddo. I love you."

"I love you too." Parker said as she pulled away from Paige and turned to me, "and thank you too mama for understanding and being okay with all of this. I love you." She said as she pulled me into another hug.

"Of course. I love you too Parker." I responded as I kissed her on the side of the head and pulled away, watching her walk upstairs before sitting back down on the couch with Paige.

"So are you going to fill me in or what?" I asked excitedly.

Paige laughed and shook her head, "No patience." She teased. "At least save us both some time by just telling me the parts you didn't hear from upstairs." She said knowingly and I knew I'd been caught.

"You think you're so clever." I joked as I saw a smug look forming on her face after I basically confirmed she was right.

"Mmm well I am aren't I?" She asked as she leaned forward. I put my hand on her face pushing her away, "uh uh, not until you fill me in." Paige groaned as she leaned away from me and sat up straight again, "yeah not so clever now are we." I teased and Paige let out a small laugh.

"Alright so what'd you miss?" She asked.

"Well Kacey caught me right around the time you were telling her how you knew you were gay and I returned somewhere during the discussion about Brooke." I stated and Paige's face fell a little and I figured I must have missed something big, "what?"

Paige sighed and shook her head, "What, nothing. You didn't miss anything good. Just told her a little about why I came out." Paige was never good at hiding her feelings and I instantly knew that she was lying to me.

I looked at her questioningly, "Paige?" I asked hoping for her to just tell me, although I wasn't sure if I wanted to know based on the look on her face when she lifted her head to meet my gaze.

"She told me she was scared to come out to some people, but it's not a big deal, I talked to her about it." Paige said trying to get me to drop the subject.

I felt my jaw tighten when I came to my own conclusion as of who it was Parker was scared of that Paige wouldn't want to tell me about, "who?" I asked as I stood up, even though I didn't need her to tell me.

"Emily, calm down." Paige said as she stood up and grabbed my arm stopping me from moving.

I turned around facing her before asking again, needing to hear it before I did something about it, "who, Paige?"

Paige sighed letting go of my arm and rubbing her face, "you know who Em." She said and I just continued to stare at her waiting for her to continue, "My dad and your mom." She let out with a sigh.

I nodded before shaking my head, letting out a small laugh, "unbelievable." I stated as I walked over to the front door and grabbing Paige's car keys.

"Emily, what are you doing?" Paige asked worriedly as she grabbed me from behind again.

"I'm going to talk to my mother and then when I get home I'll be calling your father." I said through gritted teeth, trying to keep my cool, but I was getting really angry. I couldn't believe that my child was scared of coming out because of our parents. I knew that wasn't the only reason but it was one of them and I was going to put an end to it real quick.

"And say what Em?" Paige asked and I stopped when I'd realized that I couldn't talk to either of them without outing Parker. I could now feel warm tears streaming down my face and I wasn't sure when they had started and I wasn't completely sure why. I felt Paige's arms wrap around me and I couldn't believe that our daughter was scared that our parents weren't going to treat her the same once she came out.

I remember how bad it hurt when Paige's dad made comments about me being gay and how bad it hurt when my mom gave me funny looks and tried to convince me that I wasn't really gay once she found out. I didn't want to out Parker to anyone, I wanted to let her do that on her own, but I felt like I had to protect her. I had to say something. I wasn't going to let either one of them make Parker feel the way me and Paige both did when we were teenagers.

"I don't know Paige, but I feel like I have to do something. Isn't that our job as parents? To protect them and make sure that other people don't hurt them?" I asked still a little angry that they had this power.

"Listen Emily, I talked to her. Is she scared? Sure, but there's nothing that we can do to change their minds and she knows that. I told her that." Paige said and she looked like she was starting to get angry as well, which wasn't what I wanted. "Sometimes we have to sit back and let nature take its course. Isn't that what you said to me earlier when I wanted to protect Parker from Brooke?"

"That's different and you know it." I said, although I saw her point.

"No it's not Em. Parker doesn't expect you to go full on mama bear on your own mother for her, she knows you would, but she can handle it herself. She's older now, she wants to do things on her own. I gave her a little push and she feels better about it, alright." I was frustrated and I still wanted to talk to my mother but I knew Paige wasn't going to let me out of this house under the circumstances, so I figured it was best if I let it go for tonight. I didn't want to make this about me and my experiences. This was about Parker and I knew she would be mad if I outed her before she had the chance to do it herself.

"Okay, your right." I said unwillingly as I tossed the keys back onto the stand by the front door. "I'm sorry I reacted like that." I said with a small sigh, "I just don't want them to hurt her. And I hate that they even made her feel, like how she feels isn't right even if it's just in her head. It's not fair."

"I know baby, but we can't do anything about it. No matter how bad we want to." She said as she pulled me into another hug. I wrapped my arms around her waist and let her hold me for a moment before pulling away. "How long do you think it'll be before she tells them?" I asked.

Paige shrugged as we walked back over to the couch, "I would count on it being sooner than later. I think she's wanted to get this over with for a while now."

I nodded in agreement, "I'm glad she talked to you about it, I don't think I could have handled it." I said truthfully.

Paige looked at me with her jaw dropped as far as it would go, "What?" She teased, "The great mama Fields not being able to handle a simple coming out talk with her daughter. My my my I think you've finally have lost your touch babe, that's right in your wheel house."

I hit her playfully on the shoulder as a big smile covered her face, "Shut up, you know what I mean. With the accident and all, it makes things harder. I'm still getting to know them and if she would have told me she was scared of our parents, I would have flipped out and I don't think she would have been able to stop me."

Paige shook her head, "They have more power over us than you give them credit for. I swear, wait until one of them throws a pout in your direction to make you cave. Brutal." Paige said teasingly but I bet it was true. I laughed at her, knowing that she probably gives in to a good pout every time.

"Well maybe for you," I teased back, "but for us tough parents, that's nothing."

Paige rolled her eyes, "Whatever you want to think Em, but I think that the accident may have turned you soft. I've seen no disciplining take place since you've been back."

I laughed knowing that she was right, "Maybe but that's because I just got back and I don't really remember anything. Just wait for it, I'm sure it'll come back after I get reacquainted here and I fall back into my usual self from before the accident."

Paige shook her head, "You mean when your memory comes back." She scooted closer to me and kissed me on the cheek as she leaned back and settled into the couch.

"Paige we don't know if that's going to happen, you know that." I said dropping the playful tone and looking at her seriously.

"No, what I know is that your memory is going to come back. I don't know when or where or how, but I'm sure it will." She said and she sounded so sure that I almost believed her as if she really did know. "Just give it time babe, it'll happen, we just have to wait." She said as she leaned forward and captured my lips this time before dropping back into her previous spot.

I sighed before settling down beside her, resting my head on her chest. I hoped that she was right and that I'd get my memory back at some point but honestly at this point I felt like we were going to be okay even if I didn't. I seemed to be falling back into things when it came to the three girls and with me going back to work soon, I feel like things can only get better. Soon everything would be normal again and maybe just as good as everything was before the accident like everyone had insisted. Maybe the accident even brought us closer and things would be better than they ever had been, which for the first time since I had gotten back seemed possible.