A/N-

Guys i'm sorry for the wait. I had to get caught up on schoolwork though :/ I don't think my parents would be too impressed with me failing out of college the third week i'm here because i was too busy writing a lesbian love story...

Anyways, thanks as always for the lovely reviews :) they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :)

I'm actually kind of nervous about this chapter because i already know i didn't do the Fitch family justice, but i want to save some of their loveliness for a chapter i have planned at a later date.

I hope you guys like it regardless!

Enjoy!

Skins isn't mine. :'(

"Shouldn't I be the one who's nervous?" Naomi asked the next day, shooting me an amused glance as we drove down the street.

"Probably," I sighed, stilling my bouncing leg, "sorry."

"Don't be," she smiled, "why are you so nervous anyways? Did they react bad when you told them about my legs?" I looked down at my hands, an all new wave of panic washing over me, "you did tell them, right?"

"I didn't think to," I admitted sheepishly, "third house on the left."

"You didn't think to tell your family that I can't walk?" she asked, anger in her voice, as she pulled up in front of the house.

"No, I didn't, because strangely enough, when I talk about you the first thing that comes to my mind isn't the fact that you can't walk." I looked over at her and could tell she was trying not to be angry with me. I knew my words helped because the corner of her mouth twitched the slightest bit when she turned to look at me.

"I'm glad to hear that, but this isn't something you just spring on people."

"That's what we did with my friends," I pointed out, "and they didn't care."

"This is different Emily, this is your family, today is going to dictate the rest of our relationship." I rolled my eyes.

"That's being a bit dramatic," I said, she kept her face neutral, "okay I'm sorry, I was too nervous to tell them over the phone, but I should have."

She let out a sigh, "too late to change anything," She pulled the handle of her door and pushed it open, "now we're both well and truly nervous, so let's just get this over with yeah?"

I smiled at her and got out of the car. I waited patiently for her in the driveway and when she was safely in her chair we made our way up to the front door.

"Uh, Em?" Naomi asked, just as I was about to knock on the door. I looked down at her with question in my eyes, "how am I going to get inside?"

"What do you," I followed her gaze and realised what she was talking about. There was about a six inch step up into the house, and no way for a wheelchair to get over it. "shit."

"I mean I can do small steps myself, but that one's a little high and I might tip over."

I raised my eyebrows at her before looking back down at the step, deep in thought, "what if I helped, made sure you didn't tip?"

"I still don't know if I'm strong enough."

"I can push you up idiot," I told her, receiving a scowl in return, "you just get the front wheels up and I'll do the rest."

She looked skeptical, but I smiled reassuringly and it seemed to be enough for her. "Alright, but if I tip over I'm taking you down with me."

"Understood," I smiled before knocking on the door. A few moments later it opened up to Katie standing behind it.

"Bitch," She greeted me before turning and walking away, leaving the door wide open. I rolled my eyes and stepped behind Naomi to help her into the house. It wasn't an easy task. Naomi had to roll back and get the two front wheels up the step, and did almost tip backwards during the process. After that I had to lift the back end of the chair up and push it through the door. It wouldn't have been so hard if I didn't trip over the step myself and accidentally fall into Naomi, almost causing her to fall out of the chair.

"Well that was interesting," I stated as I stood up and brushed myself off, Naomi just laughed and shook her head as I closed the front door.

"Emily get your arse in here!" Katie shouted, Naomi looked at me with an amused expression.

"Shall we?" I offered, walking ahead of her towards the living room. She nervously smiled and started to follow me. I rounded the corner into the room first and everyone was already in there. Freddie and Katie were sat on one couch, mum and dad on the other, and James was on the floor playing play station.

"Emily!" My mum greeted, her and my dad standing up and walking toward me, "Where's Naomi?"

Naomi hesitated behind me so I gave her a nervous, but reassuring smile. She bit her lip and slowly rolled herself into view. Everyone went silent. Mum and dad were staring at Naomi with wide eyes, Katie was staring at mum and dad, I'm sure gauging their reactions, Freddie was smiling at me, and James was still staring at the telly.

I cleared my throat and put a gentle hand on Naomi's shoulder. "Mum, dad," I addressed them, "this is Naomi."

Naomi stuck her hand out confidently with a huge smile on her face. But I could see that she was absolutely terrified underneath it.

"Nice to meet you Mr. And Mrs. Fitch," Naomi said, her voice faltered, but just barely. I know she noticed the look that my mum shot me as she slowly shook her hand. One that clearly asked what the fuck I was playing at.

"Lovely to meet you as well Naomi, and you can call me Rob," Dad said, his happy voice breaking through the tension that filled the room. Naomi smiled a more genuine smile at him and took his outstretched hand.

Mum remained silent next to him and I could see the cogs turning in her mind. The all too familiar tight lipped smile of disapproval on her face made my heart sink to my knees.

"Can we eat now?" James asked, taking everyone's attention away from the awkward interaction, "I'm bloody starving."

"Yes," My mum said, fake smile still in place, "of course." She walked around me to go into the kitchen and the rest of us slowly followed behind her.

Before I could walk through the door Katie grabbed my elbow and roughly pulled me back. I shot Naomi a quick apologetic and she nodded her head with a smile.

"I'm guessing you didn't warn mum and dad before you got here?" Se asked.

"There is nothing to warn them about," I said, a hint of anger in my tone, "for fucks sake she's paralyzed, so fucking what?"

"Emily, I know to you it isn't a big deal but to a lot of other people it is," She said calmly, which was unnerving in itself. Katie was never calm, "and if you didn't notice, mum doesn't seem to be taking it too well."

"No fucking shit," I spat, immediately regretting snapping at her, "look, can you just help keep things calm? I'll talk to mum after dinner."

"You fucking owe me."

"Yeah just add it to my tab," I waved her off and walked back into the kitchen.

I gave Naomi a peck on the cheek and sat down next to her. We both watched Katie smack James on the back of the head, forcing him out of the chair he usually sat in.

"Where am I supposed to sit?" James whined, crossing his arms over his chest as Katie sat in his chair.

"On the floor?" Katie suggested, prompting a giggle from Naomi.

"Eat at the counter," mum said, sending a pointed glare in Katie's direction.

"I have to stand and eat?" He continued, his tone still the same, "this isn't fair!"

My gave him an innocent look, "It's a six seater table, James. What do you want me to do?"

Dinner passed by without issue. Dad spent the meal interrogating Freddie and Naomi about their schooling and work, they seemed to pass his test for the most part thankfully.

Naomi and I both relaxed as the conversation got flowing and it seemed my mum wasn't going to make any remarks. I had to give her credit, she really was trying. It was hard enough for her that Naomi was a girl, I think adding the whole paralyzed thing onto that just made the situation a little harder for her to handle. But she was managing, and I was thankful.

By the time dessert rolled around we had consumed almost two bottles of wine between the six of us, most of which was drunk by my mum. We were all chatting about nothing as we tucked into our raspberry cheesecake, and I was actually having a good time.

"Thank you so much for dinner," Naomi said to my mum as we all finished the last bits of our dessert, "it was delicious."

"Oh of course, Naomi," mum smiled at her, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

I grinned at the interaction. Despite her reluctance to do so, I think my mum actually liked Naomi. I didn't blame her, really. Naomi was a very likable girl.

"Where can I find the loo?" Naomi asked, turning to me with a smile on her face.

"It's just down the hall," my mum said before I even had the chance to take a breath, "second door on the right."

"Thank you," Naomi smiled politely at her before setting her napkin on the table and quickly kissing my cheek, "I'll be back," She said with a wink before turning and making her way out of the kitchen. She almost made it out of the room before my mum spoke again. Almost, but not quite, so she heard her clear as day.

"Don't be so rude, Emily, aren't you going to go help her?" mum asked, I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion.

"I think she can find the toilet just fine," I said with a small laugh.

"That's not what I meant," She said as if it were obvious what she was talking about, but I still had no clue, "we don't have any accommodations. She won't be able to do it on her own." Her words literally sucked the air out of my lungs. Everyone in the room turned to look at her, mouths gaping in disbelief.

Naomi turned around, her face flushing and annoyance in her eyes, "Actually Jenna, I'm more than capable of using a toilet on my own," She said, her tone condescending, "but thank you for your concern."

We all watched silently as Naomi turned back around and wheeled herself out of the room. I waited until I heard the bathroom door click shut before I turned to my mum, fury in my eyes.

"What the FUCK." I demanded, she actually jumped at my outburst. " 'She won't be able to do it on her own'? She's not a fucking toddler!"

"Emily, you're overreacting," She said, the calm tone of her voice only fueled my rage. I think my blood was actually boiling.

"Overreacting?" I demanded, standing up out of my chair, "I'm fucking overreacting?" I shouted, "For fucks sake! You're such a fucking insensitive bitch!"

"Emily," My dad said, warning in his voice. I looked back at him.

"No, dad," I said before turning back to my mum. "Why do you have to do things like this? Why do you have to try and sabotage every good relationship that I have?"

"I wasn't,"

"Yes you fucking were," I spat, "I saw the way you looked at her when we got here. You think she isn't good enough for me because she's a paralyzed woman." She had the decency to look ashamed. "Naomi is a person," I said, my anger being replaced by the pain of still not doing anything right by my mum, "She's the most beautiful, kind, funny, fucking brilliant woman I've ever met and you can't look past the fact that she doesn't have a cock and she can't use her legs."

"No, Emily, it's not like that," She tried, "it's not that she's a woman, you know I've been better, I've accepted who you are isn't going to change."

I couldn't decide if her words made me feel better or worse, "so you only disapprove so much because she's paralyzed?" I asked, letting the hurt into my voice.

"I just want what's best for you, Emily."

"Naomi is what's best. I've never felt happier than when I'm with her, more cared for and fucking wanted. She's just," I was at loss for words, "she's my best friend and so much more. I don't care if she can walk or not because the person she is isn't defined by her legs. It's defined by her." I looked down at my hands before allowing my eyes to lock onto my mother's again. For the first time in my life I felt like she was actually hearing what I was saying, she was hearing and trying to understand, "Can't you just accept that?"

She didn't speak for a few moments, just looking up at me with so many different emotions in her eyes I couldn't even tell one from the other, "Okay," She said quietly.

"Thank you," I replied and sat down in my chair, noticing for the first time that everyone else had left the room.

"I'm sorry I've been so horrible in the past," she said after a few more moments of silence, "I had no right to act the way I did, and I didn't deserve for you to give me a second chance. But I'm glad you did because I love you Emily. I want you to be happy, if a paraplegic girl is what does that for you," She paused, looking up at me with complete honesty in her eyes, "then as long as she doesn't hurt you, I'll try."

I smiled genuinely at her and got up to wrap my arms around her. She squeezed me tight and I returned the favour, only pulling away when Naomi entered the kitchen again.

"I apologise, Naomi," mum said, turning toward my girlfriend with an apologetic look on her face, "I have a bad habit of making a fool of myself in front of people Emily cares about, I didn't mean to offend you."

Naomi smiled sweetly at my mum, "water under the bridge Jenna," she said light heartedly, "just try not to make a habit of implying that I'm incapable of things. I may not be able to walk but I'm not a incompetent."

"Of course you aren't," mum said with a smile. She patted Naomi's shoulder twice before walking out of the kitchen. I smiled apologetically at Naomi and she shrugged in response.

"So what'll it be, go hang out with family Fitch for the rest of the night, or get the hell out of here?" I asked as I walked up to her. She smiled and put her hands on my hips once I was within her reach.

"As lovely as your family is, I think I'd like to head out. I've got some last minute coursework I've got to get done for the morning."

"Sounds good to me," I said, leaning forward and gingerly pressing my lips against hers, "just as long as you'll come do it at mine."

"I don't know, Fitch," she said, a teasing tone to her voice, "there are far too many distractions for me to get any actual work done." Her hands lowered to my bum and she squeezed lightly, prompting a jump and a squeal from me.

"Hands to yourself, Campbell," I reprimanded her, grabbing her wrists and bringing her hands back up to my hips.

"You're no fun," she pouted, I laughed and kissed her one last time before walking around her and into the living room.

"We're gonna head out, got coursework to do," I announced to my family.

"Okay kid," dad said, standing up and wrapping me in a Fitch hug, "thanks for coming."

"Thanks for having us," I shot back with a smile. He kissed my head and turned to Naomi.

"It was lovely meeting you Naomi," He smiled his million dollar smile, "I hope you'll come back again."

"I'd love to," Naomi said politely in return, I couldn't stop the smile from taking over my face as dad leaned down and hugged a shocked Naomi. She hugged him back and a content smile formed on her face. The nervousness from the beginning of the evening was completely gone, replaced by sheer satisfaction. Despite the small bump my mother created, my family was trying. They may not like everything about my relationship choices, but they were making an effort, and for that I was grateful.

"So that went better than I expected," I sighed as Naomi and I settled on my couch, books and coursework spread out around us.

"What, did you expect your mum to tip me out of my chair or something?" She asked, her eyebrows raised, "or for your brother to grab my tits instead of just staring at them?"

"No, I just thought she," I paused, the second part of her sentence sinking in, "he stared at your tits?" I demanded, annoyance rising in me.

"Yeah and he asked me how lesbians have sex," She laughed. My eyes widened and my fist clenched automatically. If James was anywhere near me I had no doubt I would have hit him.

"You didn't answer him did you?"

"No, you and Katie came back before I could."

"Thank fucking god," I sighed, "I'm sorry about him, he's such a little perv."

"It's alright," She assured me as she opened up her french book, "it was actually kind of funny."

"It's not funny when you've got to shove paper in a key hole so he won't watch you while you shower."

She looked at me with a shocked expression on her face, "He watched you in the shower?"

I nodded, "Katie too. We'd take turns beating the shit out of him any time we actually caught him."

"Jesus," She laughed before looking back at her book.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to my work as well. It wasn't long before I completely lost focus and found myself inching closer and closer to Naomi. She was concentrating heavily on her work, but after ten or so minutes I was completely leaning on her and she looked down at me with an amused smirk on her face.

"Yes? Can I help you?" She asked, setting her pen down on her notebook. I smiled sweetly and rotated my body so I was laying over the textbook on her lap, stopping her from doing any more work.

"You're very beautiful from this perspective," I commented, stroking my fingers along the under side of her smooth chin. "you're very beautiful from every perspective actually."

"Oh, fuck off," she laughed, shoving me back into a sitting position. She went back to her work but I continued to stare at her. She barely lasted a minute before pushing her books away and turning to me. "I knew I'd just get distracted over here."

"Quit your complaining and kiss me," I demanded, she rolled her eyes and gave me a ridiculously chaste peck on the lips. "A proper kiss, Naomi."

"You can have a proper kiss later, right now I just want to cuddle," She said, putting her arm around my shoulders and pulling me back into her. I settled into her side, my legs curled up underneath me and my head resting on her chest.

"Thank you," I said quietly after we sat silently for a few moments. The hand that had been making random shapes on my arm stopped.

"For what?" She asked. Her fingers started to move again.

"For coming to dinner tonight and not getting scared away, I know my family can be kind of intense sometimes."

"Well I like them," She said, I looked up at her with my eyebrows raised, "I do! Your dad's nice and James is kind of funny, even if he is a perv. And I appreciate that your mum was woman enough to apologise for being so ignorant."

"I'm really sorry about her. I should have warned you she would say something terrible."

"It really wasn't that bad, Em." She said, I wanted to argue but I knew it wouldn't really do any good, "anyways, I'd take ten million of her insults for you."

My heart swelled and I smiled into her shoulder. There were only a few times Naomi had gotten truly sentimental and sweet since we started dating. She liked to hide behind her sarcasm and humour, but every once in a while she let how much she cares actually show, and when she did I always felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while, and I felt myself drifting off to the soothing sound of her breathing and the feel of her fingers against my skin.

"Emily?" She whispered a while later, I was bordering unconsciousness but still able to give her a small grunt in response, "Je pense que je suis tomber en amour avec toi."

I scrunched my cracked my eyes and looked up at her, making my confusion evident, "what does that mean?" I asked, my voice thick with the pretense of sleep.

She smiled contently at me and kissed my forehead, "I'll tell you later, for now, just go to sleep." I wanted to argue and demand for her to tell me what she said, but my eyelids felt like they weighed a ton, so I snuggled into her as much as I could, breathed in her scent, and let sleep wash over me.

FYI i don't actually know french, so the little bit in there can very possibly be inaccurate. (I used google :p)

ANYWHO. I hope you didn't hate it too much!

Let me know what you think in that little box below!