A/N- Happy Monday! Thank you for those who followed and favorited this story! I think I've changed my mind about adding a certain thing into the story that would make you all want to have my head on a stake, I think.
Disclaimer- Same as always: I don't own the show or the characters from the show. This does come from my imagination and I don't profit from this.
Third POV:
It's the day after Christmas and Nolan dodges a swerving car on the highway while Emily looks back at her sleeping daughter, her pigtails flopped over her face. They left early this morning so they could get to the Hamptons before the Christmas traffic hit, but they didn't leave early enough. Emily turns back around and faces Nolan.
"How much longer?" She asks, excitement lighting up her face. They were going to stay at her house for a few weeks to have some peace and quiet time and to reunite with old friends.
Nolan looks ahead at the traffic, "I'd say another hour or so."
He sees some if the excitement disappear, "Oh, okay." She twists back in her seat so she's facing the road, "Do you think we should've called first?" He hears a little anxiety in her voice, so he takes her hand and holds it on the console.
"I thought we could go to your house first, get settled, maybe tell Arrayah?" He says in a quiet sing-song voice.
Emily looks at him with a small smile on her face and quietly says, "Tell her what? That we're together or the other thing?"
"I was hoping both." He says cheekily, picking up her hand and kissing it without taking his eyes off the road. Emily can feel the skin tingle from the kiss, even though she should be used to the tingle.
"You're so excited to tell her." She chuckles, but is overly happy that he is accepting Arrayah as his.
"Of course I am!" They continue down the highway and through the traffic while making small talk until they reach Emily's cottage.
"It hasn't changed much." She notes, noticing that the brush surrounding her home is thicker than she remembered, but the house looks the same.
"Yah, it looks better in the spring and summertime, but everything is still the same. I've cleaned it since you've been gone, but nothing is out of place." Nolan explains, pocketing the keys. He gets out, gets Emily's crutches out, and opens her door.
"I think I could've managed." She stands up and out of the car, thankful to stretch her legs from the ride from the city to here, and kisses his cheek.
"You wake up Arrayah and I'll start on the luggage." He whispers against her ear, and then lightly kisses her lips. Emily nods and opens the back door to his car. She lightly places her hand on Arrayah shoulder and shakes it a little.
"Wakey wakey, Raya." She calls lightly. Arrayah opens her eyes, closes them, and then opens them again. She brings up her hands and rubs her eyes and face.
"Where are we, Mommy?" She yawns, sleep still lacing her voice.
"Well, sleepy-head, we're at Mommy's house." Emily unbuckles Arrayah's booster seat, helps her out and grabs her backpack of toys.
"The one where I met Uncle Nolan?" Arrayah reaches up to the sky to stretch.
"Yes, that one." Emily leads Arrayah up the stairs to the door, which Nolan has already unlocked for them. Inside all of her furniture is covered with white sheets, but the room is clean.
"I got to see your room when I was here." She chirps, more awake after the little walking.
"Really? Do you think you could show me where it is?" Emily knows very well where her room is; she knows this house like the back of her hand.
Arrayah happily obliges and runs up the stairs, each footstep sounding like a stomp. Emily takes her time getting up to the second level, and goes to the door Arrayah is standing by.
"This one?" Emily points at the door they stand by.
"I'm pretty sure! Uncle Nolan said this one was it." Emily smiles and hopes that soon she wouldn't be referring Nolan as an uncle for too much longer.
"Well, let's take a look." Emily opens the door and feels her heart strings tug when she sees the room. It's almost like it was before she was take, right down to the books stacked on her bedside table. The only thing difference is that the bedspread and sheets are missing.
"You're right, Ray-bear!" She cheers and she can see her beam with pride, "Now, let's go pick you out a room."
"I'm not sleeping with you?" Arrayah asks, cocking her head to the side, her curly pigtails tilting with her.
"No, we only slept in the same bed because Uncle Nolan's apartment only has one bed. Here, there are two other bedrooms you can choose from. We can paint it and decorate it anyway you want." Emily leads Arrayah down the hallway to the first spare bedroom. Inside is a white metal bed with just a mattress. Across from the foot of the bed is a small settee with a table next to it. A white antique dresser is to the right of the bed and a bookshelf is built near the closet. Arrayah walks around the room, sets her backpack on the settee and goes over to the bookshelf.
"Did you read these books, Mommy?" She asks, running her hand along the spines of the books she can reach.
"A while ago I did. Would you like to read them?" Emily sits on the bed to give her legs a break.
"Yeah. Can I sleep in here?" Arrayah rushes the last part, but Emily catches it.
"Are you sure? You haven't seen the other room." Emily tells her, even though the other room is practically identical, with only the bed frame color and room color being the biggest differences.
"I'm sure." Arrayah doesn't turn back around, but continues looking around.
"That's off our list. What would you like to paint it?"
"I like the color. Can we keep it?" Arrayah touches the faded mint green and white wainscoting.
Emily studies Arrayah; she thought she would've painted them a different color, like purple or pink. "We can, but I think we should go over it with another coat of paint so it's easier to see the colors."
"But it can still be the same color, right?" Arrayah finally turns back to her mother after examining the room.
"It will be the closest color we can find." Emily nods. Arrayah walks over to Emily and throws her arms around her neck.
"Thank you, Mommy." She whispers in her ear and Emily returns the hug
"Well, looks like I'm missing out on the hugfest." Nolan calls into the room. Emily looks up as Nolan walks toward them, a small suitcase in his left hand. She motions him over, so he sets the suitcase by the bookshelf and joins their hug.
"Hey Nolan, at some point we need to run by a hardware store to pick up some paint. I think this room and a few others need a fresh coat of paint." Emily tells him, and he smiles.
"I'm okay with that." He shrugs and hugs Emily and Arrayah closer.
"I can't breathe!" Arrayah calls between them, wiggling her arms between them. They both laugh and let go.
"Is that all the luggage?" Emily asks, watching Arrayah migrate back to the bookshelf.
Nolan nods, "Yes, and all of your linens are in their respective bags in the laundry room."
"That's good. Do you think we could start a few loads then call everyone?" Emily leans into Nolan's side, both watching their daughter open an old book.
"Sure, we can do that." Nolan stands up and offers her his hand. She takes it and Emily tells Arrayah to come down stairs when she's ready. The couple makes it down the stairs and starts pulling the sheets off her furniture.
"When we go out, we should pick up some fire wood and groceries." Nolan thinks out loud. Emily nods and pulls a sheet off a chair.
"I'm going to go start on the blankets." Emily tells him and he barely notices since he's all caught up in his thoughts. She loads up the washer and throws and pours in the detergent and fabric softener they brought with them. She separates the next few loads out in piles across the floor and goes back to the living room, where all the sheets are folded up into a box Nolan brought out and Arrayah is curled up in the corner of the couch with a book.
"Whatcha reading?" Emily asks, not able to see the cover. She sees Nolan from a window, talking on his cell phone.
"The Secret Garden." Arrayah tells her, holding up the antique book. Emily can see the worn cover with its faded colors, but distinguishable figures.
"Can you tell me who's it by?" Arrayah looks at the cover and studies it for a second, preparing each syllable in her head.
"Frances Hod-gee-son Burnett." Arrayah sounds out.
"The middle names is Hah- j-sun, but close enough." Emily corrects and then sits down next to her, "Will you read it out loud for me?"
Arrayah looks unsure, but doesn't want to disappoint her mommy, so she begins on the first page. She's on the third page when Nolan comes back into the room from the porch. Arrayah looks up, but then continues reading. Nolan and Emily make eye contact and he mouths, "Have you told her yet?" Emily shakes her head and mouths back, "Now would be a good time." He nods and goes over to them, picks Arrayah up, sits where she was sitting, then puts her in the middle of them. She doesn't freak out like he thought she would, she actually laughs at him. Nolan makes eye contact with Emily and he has a look that begs her to begin. Emily clears her throat.
"Arrayah, Nolan and I have something important to tell you." She begins and waits till Arrayah's focus is on her, "You think that… Dwayne is your Daddy that asked for a baby?" She pauses and waits for Arrayah to nod, "How would you feel if that wasn't true?"
Arrayah doesn't take long to mull over the questions, "I would be happy and like it, because Dwayne's mean. Why?"
Emil bites her lip and looks at Nolan, who clears his throat, "What would you say if I was your real Daddy?" Emily can see the anxiety in his eyes and hear it in his voice.
"I would be really happy then! You're nice, and funny, and you're not mean." Her answer makes both Emily and Nolan sigh in relief, "Why? What's going on?"
"Well, when we got those tests in the doctor's office, they were actually a test to see who your real Daddy is, and they proved to be Nolan." Emily explains quickly. It takes a minute for the words to register in her head, but when they do, Emily and Nolan see her face light up, "Nolan's my Daddy?"
"Yes, I'm your Daddy." Nolan answers, his voice firm but loving. Arrayah spins around and sits on her knees while on her parent's thighs and throws her arms around their necks, crying. They wrap their arms around her, and Emily releases a nervous laugh.
"What's wrong, Raya?" She rubs her hand up and down her back.
"This is the bestest thing ever!" She cries into their shoulders, and both Emily and Nolan laugh to release their pent up anxiety. Nolan taps Emily's hand and points to the mantel. She follows his point and sees a little whale sitting next to a plant. Emily smiles at him, knowing they caught this moment on tape.
When Arrayah calms down, Emily and Nolan tell her that they are together, like "boyfriend and girlfriend" as Arrayah said. She had a similar reaction as the first, but no tears, just giggles and fast talking on how happy she was. Before Arrayah starts reading the book, Emily tells her they are going to meet some friends. They climb into their car and manage to make it to Jack's bar in about an hour. Nolan tells Emily that he called ahead to make sure they were awake and at the bar. They pull around to the back and get out. The bar hasn't changed much in Emily's eyes. They go around to the front with the cold wind hitting their cheeks. Nolan leads the way to the front door while Emily preps Arrayah for the people she's about to meet. He opens the door for them and goes in after Emily. They stand inside the warm bar in a cluster.
"Jack, I'm here! There're some other people too!" He calls out. They hear the stomping of feet hitting the old stairs and Arrayah shrinks back into her parents' legs.
"Nolan, it better be good!" Jack calls back, with a joking tone. When he finally looks up, he stops in his tracks.
"Emily?" He can barely believe his eyes. They all assumed Emily was gone a few years ago.
"In the flesh and mostly one piece." She lightly jokes.
"Who's that?" He gestures toward the little girl pushing herself away from the approaching man. Nolan puts his hands lightly on her back to keep her from retreating, "He's a friend, Arrayah, he won't hurt you."
"Arrayah?" Jack repeats the name.
"Yes, Arrayah, my," Emily looks up at Nolan, "our daughter."
Jack accepts the truth, but feels a little anger crawl into his blood, "Is that why you left? You couldn't face it? Do you know how worried we were?!" He begins, but Nolan stops him.
"Arrayah is not the reason Emily was gone, Jack. She was actually gone for a different reason." Nolan stresses the word and hopes that he gets the point that it can't be discussed with a child in the room.
"Oh." Jack says, "It's nice to meet you, Arrayah." Arrayah nods at him, but doesn't look at him. She's still skittish with new people and he sounded angry at first. "I guess you want to see Carl. Charlotte and Dec will be here soon with Andy." Jack calls up the staircase, "Carl! Amanda! Someone's here to see you!" They hear little footsteps across the ceiling and see a little boy with a mop of curly light brown hair rush down the stairs.
"Hi Uncle Nolan, thank you for the Christmas gift!" Carl stands by his father.
"You're welcome Carl." They hear a smaller set of steps come down the stairs and a gasp.
"Emily?" She covers her mouth with her hands. She was one who took Emily's disappearance the hardest, after Nolan. Emily had basically been her sister and it felt exactly like losing a sister when she was kidnapped.
"It's me, Amanda." Emily shrugs, trying to hide her excitement. Amanda walks up to her and hugs her, being mindful of her crutches.
"What happened to you?" Amanda asks looking down at her leg.
"That can be explained later." Emily puts a hand on her shoulder, and feels a hand on her pant leg. She looks down and meets Arrayah's curious gaze.
"I think I should introduce both you and Carl to mine and Nolan's daughter, Arrayah." Amanda gives her a questioning look, but lets it go. She turns around and signals Carl to stand by her. When he meets his mother and leans into her side, she introduces him. "Arrayah, this is my son, Carl." She puts her arm around her son, who towers over Arrayah, and she feels even smaller and shyer.
"Hi Arrayah!" He greets by taking her hand and shaking it, not feeling shy or bashful; he's doesn't have a shy bone in his body. Arrayah looks up at her parents for approval. Emily nods and Nolan pushes her lightly forward. "Hi Carl." She says quietly, pulling back her hand.
"You're quiet! You can be loud! Daddy and Mommy don't care! I'm loud all the time." He tells her very loudly and Arrayah just wants to go back home. "I know you can talk! You just told me hi! Or is that the only thing you can say? Are you from a different country?" Arrayah looks at her parents with pleading eyes.
"Hey, bud, I think you should back off and give her some space." Jack walks up behind him and throws him over his shoulder, playing airplane around the bar.
"I am so sorry about that. He's not shy and we are still working on boundaries with him." Amanda apologizes.
"I think you're okay, right Arrayah?" Nolan looks down at his daughter, his heart still doing flips when he thinks of the word.
"He's too loud." She mumbles and Amanda laughs while Emily blushes at her daughter's surprising bluntness.
"He is a loud one." Amanda laughs, "He gets it from me, doesn't he Emily?"
"He doesn't get it from Jack that's for sure." Emily laughs with her. They hear the bar door open and Emily and Nolan turn around to see who it is. Declan and Charlotte, no longer teenagers, stand inside the tavern with a little boy, with thick dark hair, asleep on Declan's shoulder.
"Emily?" Charlotte does a similar -cliché- motion of covering her mouth to mask her surprise.
A/N- How do you think Charlotte will react to Emily's reappearance? The room I described was the guest room Nolan stayed in season two. For any confusion, I've kept their names the same as the show, with Faux-Amanda being the real Emily and the Faux-Emily being the real Amanda. Anyways, I hope you all have a good week and don't forget to vote!