Chapter 15

Blizzard

Scarsdale, Rachel and Ross' House

Today was the first day of 2025. The whole family, including Aaron, Ashley-who spent the holiday with The Gellers, and Hailee were having dinner prepared by Rachel and Ross. Ben and Hailee had flown to New York yesterday morning to spend the New Year in New York, the city where Ben grew up in. The second part of their honeymoon, as Ben would call it.

"So, how was the honeymoon?" Rachel asked with a grin.

Ben and Hailee just got back from their honeymoon in Hawaii a couple days ago. Hailee and Ben's skin was perfectly tan, which caused Emma and Rachel to feel jealous.

Ben and Hailee smiled at each other as Ben rubbed his wife's hand gently with his thumb. The whole family's attention was at the newlywed couple. Aaron also took a glance at Emma who clearly couldn't hide her enviousness properly. He silently chuckled at that. Maybe someday it was their turn. Fingers Crossed.

"It was wonderful." Hailee said with a smile as Ben squeezed her hand.

"It was. Until our last day when Hailee suddenly got sick." Ben said and then he shared a knowing look with Hailee, still smiling the whole time. Emma and Rachel looked at each other and gasped. Meanwhile Ross, Emmery, Aaron, and Ella were left clueless at the hint Ben was putting.

"Oh no. Are you feeling okay now? Maybe you should visit a doctor. Wait a minute. I have this doctor's number who live just a few blocks away from here. Or maybe-" Ross was rambling with a hint of worry on his face. Rachel lightly squeezed his hand and shook her head while smiling at him. This left Ross even more puzzled than ever. "What?" He asked.

"Oh honey.. Maybe what they were trying to say is, you're going to be a grandpa." She then paused and turned her face around to Ben and Hailee, "Am I right?"

Ben and Hailee nodded and smiled at their parents.

"Wh-what?" Ross paused. "You're pregnant?" He asked Hailee and she nodded. Ross then faced Rachel, "I'm going to be a grandpa?" He asked again, because everything just felt surreal for him. I mean they just came back from their honeymoon the other day.

Rachel smiled and nodded. Her eyes got misty all of sudden. It hit her. She was going to be a grandma. Sure, Ben wasn't her biological son, but never once she didn't treat him like her own and neither does Ben. Rachel and Ben had a strong bond ever since Rachel and Ross got married twenty years ago.

"Yes, you are." She paused. "And I'm going to be a grandma!" She squealed in joy.

"And I'm going to be an aunt!" Emma joined her mom.

"Me too!" Ella chipped in.

"Aww.. Congratulations you guys!" Ashley said then she kissed her boyfriend's cheeks. "And you're going to be an uncle."

"I know, right! Congratulations bro." Emmery said.

Emma smiled at her boyfriend who was clearly overwhelmed by the joy, "I can't believe this. I'm going to be an aunt." She whispered.

Aaron smiled as he put away strands of her hair and tucked it behind her ears, "You're going to be the coolest aunt ever." He whispered back.

Emma chuckled and nodded, "I know." She sighed happily as she looked at her family one by one. By this time next year there will be an addition to this family. And she couldn't be happier just to think about that, imagining herself playing with her niece or nephew. It warmed her heart. She was truly happy for her brother and her sister-in-law. They would make a perfect parent, she thought. She then landed her gaze into the person sitting next to her, her boyfriend. Her life was perfect lately with him, sometimes she had to pinch herself just to make sure it wasn't a dream. She silently prayed for only good things would come to them in the future so that one day they would be the one who broke the good news to her parents.

Aaron on the other hand was also thinking the same thing. It would be a lie if he wasn't thinking about their relationship and where it will lead them to. To a happy marriage, he hoped. It would be an honor for him to ask Emma to marry him, not now though. They were only dating for a few weeks, that would scare her off and he knew that. He smiled back at her and landed a kiss on her hair. Something he regretted later after he caught Ross staring at him intensely and hostilely.

He immediately cleared his throat and sat up straight as he avoided his girlfriend's dad gaze.

"How far along are you?" Rachel asked which caused Ross' attention back to the newlywed. Aaron sighed in relief as he no longer felt a burden from Ross' intense staring.

"Five weeks." Hailee replied and ended with a smile. Ben was holding his wife's hand the whole time and smiled proudly at the fact that he was about to become a father.

"That means you were already pregnant on your wedding day." Emma said matter-of-factly.

Hailee and Ben nodded shyly.

Thank God, they were married now. Ross silently thought.

"Is it a girl or a boy?" Ella asked curiously. She was happy at the thought that soon she wouldn't be the baby of the family. Maybe her parents would treat her like a grown up. Maybe she could finally get a brand new iphone, not the used one like she currently had. Rachel and Ross hadn't ready to give their youngest a new phone with the bigger responsibility yet, much to Ella's annoyance. The girl could only hope.

"Uhm, not yet in a few months."Hailee replied as she absently rubbed her now flat stomach.

"Did you guys go to the doctor yet? Because I knew a great OBGYN in town." Rachel explained.

"Yes, actually. We got our first sonogram right before we flew to New York. Hun, can you grab it in my purse?" Hailee asked Ben.

Ben nodded and left the room. A few minutes later he came back with a picture and handed it to Ross and Rachel.

"Wow. I'm going to be a grandma." Rachel said tearfully.

Ross kissed Rachel's hair then smiled, "And I'm going to be a grandpa. I cannot believe this."

Ben and Hailee were beaming proudly.

"Can I see it please?" Ella, who sat across the table asked.

Rachel nodded and passed it to Ella.

Ella's face was off. Ross noticed that.

"I bet you couldn't see where the baby is, aren't you?" Ross asked.

Ella nodded and showed the picture to them, "Where am I supposed to look at?"

Ross chuckled and shook his head, "Like mother like daughter."

Rachel shot him a look and playfully slapped his chest, "You couldn't let that go, didn't you?" He smirked and nodded. "It was my first pregnancy. Cut me some slack."

"Wait. You couldn't find where I was, mom?" Emma raised her eyebrows.

"For your information, you were as tiny as a bean. It was very common for a first time mother who couldn't locate their baby in their first sonogram." Rachel tried to reason.

Emma then took the picture away from Ella and pointed to a small spot, "It's the baby, right?" She asked Hailee and she nodded.

Rachel blushed, clearly defeated, but no, she couldn't just give in. "Like I said, it is common in some cases." She cleared her throat. "Anyway.. I'm very happy for you two! Congratulations! I cannot believe my son is going to be a father." Rachel changed the subject, and Emma grinned.

"Our son." Ross corrected and Rachel smiled.

"Yeah. I think Hailee would learn a lot from you. I mean you did raise all of us and you're clearly doing a great job at it." Ben said to Rachel.

Rachel smiled, "Thank you. Really. But, raising a kid is a teamwork between the father and the mother. It's called co-parenting."

Ross smiled at his wife, "Yeah, that was right. Changing dirty diapers, bathing the baby, feeding them, playing with them, discipline them, it needs to be done by both parents. Remember that, okay?" Ben nodded.

"Wow. Okay, dad. I'll remember that." Ben replied.

"I couldn't wait for my niece/nephew to be born! Oh, I hope it's a girl! So I can dress her with pretty clothes. And we can go shopping!" Emma said excitedly which earned a giggle from Hailee, meanwhile Ben shook his head.

"Don't turn my future kid into a shopaholic please." Ben chuckled which earned him a stare from Hailee, Emma, and Rachel.

"Take that back." Ella whispered in Ben's ear.

"Really?"Emmery raised his eyebrows. "Like it is even possible?"

"Shopping does run in this family." Ross added.

"I don't like shopping." Ella asked casually.

"Nuh-uh. You don't shop for clothes. But you do like shopping for your science stuff or whatever is that." Emma said.

"You spent two hundreds dollars on your ebay, honey. That's called shopping." Rachel said.

"She did?" Ross asked in disbelief.

"It was for my school project daddy." Ella tried to reason.

"Yeah, 150 dollars for school projects and another 50 for what is that you like. Some k-pop boy band CDs?" Rachel asked.

Ella nodded shyly. Busted.She thought. "BTS." She replied shortly. "Uhm, I'm sorry mom. I'll change the money."

"You better be." Ross warned her and Ella nodded.

Ben cleared his throat. "Anyway..Hailee and I will try to update you guys about the pregnancy. Don't worry." He then wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulder and they smiled at each other.

The Green-Gellers spent their night talking and catching up at their life. The kids decided to play games together at the living room, meanwhile Rachel and Ross went to their own bedroom. They played pictionary and monopoly for the entire night. It was something Emma really enjoyed, spending quality times with her siblings and their respective boyfriend, girlfriend, and even wife. She was also happy at the fact that Ross actually agreed to let Aaron spend the night at the couch, much to Emma's displeasure. But, again, it was either couch or nothing at all, so she gladly took it. Even though maybe she could sneak him in later since Ella would be the one who shared a room with Ashley.

...

Vermont

That same weekend, Emma and Aaron joined Erica and Lucas to their trip in Vermont just like they promised. They left on Friday night and stayed until Sunday noon. Their short weekend getaway proved to be a great idea for both of the couple, though they eventually spent most of their time with their respective partners, much to their delight. Emma and Aaron went on a ski trip on their first morning after they had their breakfast in the local cafe. After that they went skiing until afternoon together with Erica and her boyfriend. Then they made their way to dinner together, the four of them. It was like a double date, which the girls, Emma and Erica enjoyed. They parted their way after the dinner. Erica and Lucas went to visit a lake that Lucas used to visit, meanwhile Aaron and Emma decided to head back to the cabin and spent the rest of their day in front of the fireplace.

"Here you go.." Aaron smiled and handed her a cup of hot chocolate with a couple of marshmallows on it.

Emma smiled back and gave him a kiss on his cheeks as he propped himself next to her, "Thanks." She then took a sip at her drink.

"Mmmm.. This is nice." She murmured as Aaron placed his hand around her waist and pulled her closer now that they were sitting at the rug, covered with fluffy blanket, in front of the fireplace.

He made a circle with his thumbs on her bare skin between her sweater and pants. Both of them could stay like this forever. It was comforting.

"Hey.. What do you think we should do tomorrow?" He asked, breaking the silent.

"Uhm.. I don't know. I don't think we have much time until we have to head home anyway. What do you think?"

"Well, in that case, what about visiting the lake first thing in the morning? And maybe get breakfast after?"

She turned her head around to face him and smiled, "Sound like a plan for me."

"Great." He smiled and kissed the top of her hair as she leaned back into his chest.

They were interrupted with a sound of a phone ringing from inside Emma's coat.

"Don't you think you should get that?" Aaron asked after Emma didn't bother to move.

Emma groaned, "Fine! This better be important because this clearly ruins the mood!"

Aaron chuckled, "I don't want to be annoying, but it could be important you know."

Emma then gulped as she recalled the time when she and Aaron went to a concert the day her grandpa got admitted into the hospital. She stopped her track in front of the coat, somewhat afraid of the bad news she might receive after her phone keeps ringing constantly for more than five minutes now. She sighed as she pleaded for God's mercy not to give her any bad news regarding her family. Her family clearly didn't need any bad news after the death of his grandpa, that sometimes still made them sad whenever they gathered together, like the time when Ben got married or during Christmas.

"It's going to be okay." He assured her.

She smiled faintly to him and nodded.

She then took a deep breath before she grabbed her phone out of the pocket. She saw the caller's ID and sighed in relief. Well, most of it. It was Molly who was calling her. What would she want? Did she know about them? About Aaron? This must be it, right. They barely text each other these days, let alone a phone call that seemed urgent.

"It's Molly." She said with a tiny voice.

Aaron quickly stood up and went beside her, "What did she want?"

Emma shrugged, "I don't know. I guess we will find out."

Aaron nodded and she pushed the green button.

"Hey, Molly. I'm sorry I was in the middle of something. What's up?"

"Are you in New York?"

She shook her head even though Molly couldn't see her, "Nope, I'm spending my weekend with my friends."

If only she knew who am I spending my weekend with, she would probably never call. She thought.

"Oh." A hint of disappointment showed in Molly's voice which made Emma frown.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Emma asked, concerned after a few seconds had passed and Molly hadn't said anything after.

Emma could hear a faint sob on the other side of the line. Uh-Oh.

Did she know? Did she know? Her mind was jumbling like crazy and her heart started to beat faster.

"Molly? What is it? Are you okay?" She bit her lips, anticipating her answer.

"I'm so not okay."

Emma could feel a pang in her heart because deep down she might know the cause of her bestfriend's pain. Or that's what she thought.

"Ems, I really need a friend right now. I'm back in New York until Tuesday. Can we meet?" Molly asked hopefully.

Emma nodded, "Sure. Do you want me to come right now?"

"No, it's okay. You can enjoy your weekend first. This can wait, I guess."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then. I'll be back on Sunday night. Meet you then?"

"Okay, I'll come to your apartment."

"Okay then. Take care. Bye."

"Bye."

With that she hung up her phone and sighed. She then faced Aaron who was curious about the whole conversation.

"Is everything okay?" Aaron asked.

Emma took his hand and they sat back down on the rug. She then shook her head, "I don't know. She won't tell. But I guess we'll find out on Sunday."

"O-okay." Aaron replied timidly and then he looked blankly at the fire.

"Gosh. I feel so bad for her. This is so messed up." Emma sighed.

Aaron turned his attention back to his girlfriend and wrapped her body around him and pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry." He whispered into her ears.

She pulled back so that she could see his face clearly and then she smiled faintly, "I know." She sighed. "And I'm sorry too."

He gently stroked her hair, "I love you." He murmured.

She quickly smiled from ear-to-ear as she heard those three words coming out from his mouth, "I love you too." She murmured as they gaze into each other's eyes lovingly.

He then leaned in and kissed her, softly, yet passionately. The innocent kiss turned into a dangerous one as their hands started to explore each other's body freely.

He then broke the kiss, stood up and offered his hand, much to Emma's annoyance.

"Bedroom?" He smiled and she quickly returned.

He helped her stand up and they once again locked in a passionate kiss and somehow they managed to go upstairs into their bedroom. They began to undress each other and then they spent their entire night in slow yet passionate love makings. She rested her head into his chest as they both stared at the ceiling, trying to catch their breath after numerous love makings that night. He wrapped one of his hands securely into her shoulder and another one rested on her flat stomach.

"Ems?"

"Yeah?"

"Everything is going to be okay."

She smiled, "It has to be. I mean." She paused. "I don't want to lose you."

He frowned and then he stood up a little so he could see her face. Her eyes were teary and he hated that. He hated that she was sad. And more importantly he hated that he was the one who made her sad.

"Hey, look at me." He said and she did so. She turned her body and faced him.

He gently brushed her hair and smiled, "I'm not going to leave you. Don't worry."

A smile started to form in her lips, "Promise?"

He nodded and landed a kiss on her forehead, "Promise."

She closed her eyes and sighed as she leaned back into his chest, feeling content. At least for now.

Everything is going to be okay. We're going to be okay. She tried to convince herself before she drifted into her slumber.

...

New York

Emma finally arrived at her apartment that afternoon around six pm. Molly was supposed to come around seven. She sighed, relieved. The journey back home hadn't been easy. A few roads were closed due to heavy snowfall and they had to make some u-turns and finally they arrived at home after a long road back. The weather in New York wasn't great either. Back in the car, they each received a warning about an upcoming snow blizzard that according to it will arrive around midnight. Aaron had insisted on staying with her, but then they figured it wasn't the best option for him to stay when Molly was about to visit. They made a quick stop to a grocery store, to stock up some food and Aaron reluctantly dropped her off in her apartment right after.

Emma placed her suitcase in her room, not even bothering to unpack yet. No, she didn't have the energy to do it now. She was feeling nauseous with a headache since this morning, probably from something she ate back in Vermont. She decided to take a nice hot bath. She propped herself in the bath, feeling relaxed than ever. The vanilla scent of the candles filled the room as jazz music played in the background. She could feel her entire muscles finally relaxed as she closed her eyes, enjoying the peaceful moment before Molly arrived with only God knows what kind of bombs she would drop. She put the thoughts aside. She needed to enjoy this or else she would go insane by her ridiculous scenarios playing in her head since yesterday night.

"God.Ineed this." She said to no one.

A generous minutes later she hopped off from her bathtub and put on a robe to cover her body. She then headed to the kitchen and made herself a simple dinner, some frozen chicken and rice she had bought earlier. She quickly finished her meal, cleaned up, got dressed in comfy pajamas, and then she plopped herself on the couch with a remote on her hand, trying to find something to watch on Netflix. She decided to play some random series she couldn't care less as her mind drifted elsewhere. She took a peek at the clock on her phone.

"She should be here any minute." She murmured.

She sighed in frustration. She was thirty minutes late and every second passed she got more agitated than ever. She ended up checking her family's group chats that had been ringing uncontrollably for a few minutes now. She smiled as she saw how worried her parents were after they heard the news about the blizzard. Her dad was telling her not to go outside until the storm went by, her mom asking if she had enough food, her little sister couldn't care less as she asked about where their dog's toys were instead, despite they were living in the same house. Emma rolled her eyes. Her sister could be ignorant sometimes. Just then she heard a doorbell ringing.

She walked into the front door. Took a deep breath before she turned the knob open, anticipating the worst scenarios.

She then opened the door and gasped. This wasn't in her wildest scenario ever. This is worse. She gulped. She silently pleaded to God that she was wrong. It couldn't be.

"M-molly.W-what. Wait.W-who?" She stammered as she faced her best friend.

Molly smiled despite everything, "That's a great way to greet your best friend you haven't seen in months."

Emma shook her head, "Oh, Gosh. I'm sorry. How rude am I?" She chuckled nervously. "Come on in."

"Sit on the couch and make yourself comfortable." Emma added.

Molly smiled thankfully and nodded, "Thanks."

"Uhm, tea?"

"Sure."

"Chamomile or lychee?"

"Chamomile would be good. Thanks, Ems."

"So, what brings you here?" Emma asked as she handed Molly her tea and then sat up in a grey pouf in front of Molly.

"Thanks." Molly smiled. "Uhm, I guess by the look on your face earlier and an obvious bump on my stomach, you knew."

Emma gulped, her legs started to shake frantically. Her hunch was right, well at least about the pregnancy thing. The other one still remains a mystery for now. The father. Emma silently hoped it wasn't him. Though in her deepest mind she knew it was unlikely. But, for now she could only hope.

" . Wow. Congratulations, I think?" Emma managed to say.

Molly smiled weakly, "I don't know about that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to terminate my pregnancy. I love them already, but-."

Wait, did she just say them? As in twins?Emma thoughts.

"Wait. You're having twins?"

Molly nodded and smiled proudly, "I am. I guess it ran in their father's family." She then rubbed her small bumps gently.

By that time Emma already knew who the father of her bestfriend's twins was. It was him, no doubt of that. He had twin brothers for crying out loud! But a small hope in her heart made her still want to confirm it.

"Uhm, do you mind if I'm asking, who's the father?"

Molly chuckled as if it's an obvious question, "You can be silly sometimes, Ems. Of course it was his."

Emma swallowed a lump in her throat, "Y-you mean, Aaron?"

Molly tilted her head, puzzled by Emma's weird look, "Uhm, yeah?" She said in a duh tone. "Isn't it obvious? I mean I'm not a slut who is sleeping around with some random guys." She chuckled.

"I'm sorry. It's not what I meant." Emma quickly apologized.

Molly shook her head, "It's okay." She then paused as her smile started to disappear from her face. She then looked up and Emma could swear she saw her eyes were teary. "How could this be so messed up? I mean it would be great news if it happened a few months earlier. Ems. I don't know if I could do this alone. I mean I don't even know how to raise a baby, let alone two of them. God! I'm so screwed! My parents didn't even know! They're going to kill me for having babies outside of wedlock. You know how uptight they are right?" Emma nodded mind-absently. "What do I do? Aaron, he didn't. He didn't even love me now. He left me for some random woman. Did you know that?"

Emma was stunned, unsure what to react or what to say. Of course she knew. Molly didn't need to let her know because she was that random woman, the one who 'stole' his boyfriend as she might say. Instead of feeling angry about the whole circumstances, she felt sadness and remorse toward the sight of her bestfriend who was sitting in front of her, crying herself out. She was the same girl she used to spend her teenage years with. The one who would comfort her during her breakups, the one who would wake up in the middle of the night to listen to her, or the one who would hug her and tell her everything will be okay. How could everything be so messed up? It's not only that she betrayed her best friend, she might have taken a father away from their children. That thought alone sickened her. Being born outside the wedlock herself, according to her parent's story, she knew how hard it is to raise a kid out of wedlock, let alone out of a relationship. She vowed to never let herself be a part of it.

She felt a pang in her heart as she heard her sobbed. She sat next to Molly and pulled her into a hug while she stroked her back gently.

She then closed her eyes as tears streamed down her face and then she whispered to her ear, "I'm so sorry."

"I-it's okay. It's not like it was your fault. It was mine for leaving him in the first place. If only I didn't take that damn job."

Emma sighed. If only she knew the truth. If only she knew what she was sorry for. She thought. She then took a deep breath and made up her mind, or at least tried to do the right thing for the three of them.

Emma pulled back and wiped her tears away, "Hey.. Have you talked to him?"

"Noo.. I don't even know how he would react. What if." She sighed. "What if he didn't want to do anything about the baby? What if he didn't want to be a part of us?"

Emma could tell how scared Molly was judging from the look on her eyes. It saddened her even more.

"Aaron is a great guy. I don't believe he would leave you alone just like that. That I know for sure."

"Really?"

Emma nodded, "Really."

Molly smiled and thanked her, "God. I hope he wants to take the responsibility and marry me. I mean it's my parents, they-."

Emma's mind went blank after. How silly she was not to think about that possibility? Of course Molly would ask him to marry her. Molly's parents would kill Aaron if he didn't. Emma knew how Molly's family works. They held tight of their family's image, nothing could bring them down, not even their daughter. Once they almost sent Molly into an all-girls boarding school just because they caught Molly smoking cigarettes.

"Anyway.. Thank you so much for talking to me. I'm feeling a little better now. And I'm going to talk to him tomorrow."

Molly's voice brought her back from her musing, "Huh?"

"I better get going before the storm hit the city." Molly smiled as she stood up from the couch.

Emma followed her and led her into the door, "Where are you staying?"

"In a hotel one block away."

"You want me to walk you there?"

Molly chuckled, "I'm only sixteen weeks along. I think I can walk myself there just fine." Emma smiled. "But, thank you for today. You just gave me a new batch of hope."

Emma smiled, "No problem. Good luck."

"Yeah, I'm gonna need a lot of that." She chuckled but Emma remained silent. "Bye. See you around, I guess."

"Bye, take care." Emma said and Molly left.

Emma closed the door behind her, leaned toward it, and sighed as she massaged her temples. She curled herself into a roll in her bed and cried, ignoring Aaron who tried to call her for half an hour now. Tears stream down from her face as she recalled her previous conversation with Molly.

What if Aaron married her instead of me? She cried harder at that thought. If only she could turn back the time and accepted Aaron's prom request that spring. Everything wouldn't be this complicated. They were probably engaged by now and started planning on her wedding, instead of stuck in this devious love triangle. The damage has been done and now they had to face the consequences.

Just then there was a blackout followed by strong winds she managed to hear through her window.

"Great. What a great way to end my miserable love life." She mumbled to herself.

She then pulled her comforter over and cried herself to sleep, not even bothering to turn on the emergency lamp or candles. A blizzard struck in the city of New York and into Emma's life. She had to deal with the consequences after. She could only hope it would end well and avoided any more casualties. Fingers Crossed.