Dinner went by in a flash for Emily and JJ, and some of it was because there were so many people and they loved them all, but it was also because JJ was getting nervous about telling Sandy about what had been happening in her life in the recent months. She knew that her mother wouldn't judge her because she loved her unconditionally, but it was going to be hard to look at her mother's face when she would have to recount the more traumatic parts.

Before long, dinner and dessert were over, and people were spreading out to do different things again, meaning that it was finally time.


Eventually, the three of them settled in Sandy's room on the second floor, away from all of the noise. They sat together on the big bed, because it was big enough to hold all three of them, and it was JJ who spoke first.

"Mom, where should I start?"

"At the beginning," she told her offspring before turning to her girlfriend. "And Emily?"

"Yes?"

"Feel free to contribute where you see fit."

"I will."

They both turned to JJ, who let out a shaky breath and began. "About four months ago, I met a guy at a gym called Baylor McMath. I was at the gym because I was working out anger from having dumped my boyfriend an hour beforehand. What happened before I got to the gym is unimportant, though. Baylor saw me and walked over from where he'd been lifting weights and offered to hold my punching bag."

"Still kickboxing." Sandy gave an approving nod. "Go on."

"We hit it off, and by the end of the day, we realized that we got on well, but the bad stuff didn't start until after we became a couple."

"What kind of bad things?"

Even though JJ had been anticipating this, but she still began hyperventilating as the memories came back in a flood. Emily reacted by giving her a back rub in between her shoulder blades.

"It's okay, my love." Emily soothed. "Just take your time."

JJ did take her time, but when she spoke again, she already sounded broken. "Baylor was a bit older than me and worked at a business firm, but when things went bad, he'd get really angry and take it out on me, especially when he was drunk. He'd hit me, but when we were intimate, he'd get really, really rough with me."

Sandy read between the lines and felt her heart break for JJ. She longed to reach out and comfort her, she saw that she was holding steadfast to Emily's hand with her good one. Emily was her anchor.

"Jenny, I am so sorry that those things happened to you."

"And I'm sorry I never said anything to anyone." JJ sighed. "I was ashamed and too preoccupied with trying to make it through the day while still doing my job… I don't even know if the twins were made when things were consensual, but I decided to not do the math on it."

"That's reasonable. When did Emily come into the picture?"

Emily felt a lump in her throat as she remembered back to receiving JJ's phone call about her assault and how scared she'd been.

Seeing Emily waver, JJ gave her hand a gentle squeeze before answering her mother. "A few months before I met Baylor. We became friends right away, but we didn't really become as close as we are now until after this one case in Oregon…"

"What happened in Oregon?"

And so JJ explained about her pregnancy, and how sweet baby Zooey had been one of the deciding factors in her not having an abortion. She also explained about coming home to find Baylor at her apartment, and how he'd wanted to give her money to help her get rid of the pregnancy.

"He was very close to leaving my place without touching me after I dumped him, but I let something slip and he heard me."

Sandy wrinkled her nose. "And what did he do after that?"

"Baylor had tunnel vision when he got bad, so even though he knew that I was pregnant by that point, he threw me against my bookshelf, and some of the heavier things fell on my arm."

"And that's how it broke?"

"Uh-huh, and then Emily showed up…"

When her words faltered, Emily held her close in reassurance but took over telling the story.

"JJ called me and her timing was remarkable because we'd been back in Virginia for less than two hours. I was on my way back from a doctor's appointment, and," she pointed to her petite middle. "I had a feeling that I was pregnant when we were in Alabama, but I had an ultrasound appointment scheduled for when we came back and I was too busy in Alabama to go to a doctor there. JJ was the first person I spoke to after I left the clinic, and I was going to tell her about the baby, but she was so scared that I made her talk to me and stay on the line until I got to her place."

"What happened when you got to Jenny's place? Did you take her to the hospital?"

"I had to call 911 for an ambulance because she practically blacked out on me, but yes." Emily confirmed. "We found out about both babies at the hospital, and Penelope even came for a visit."

Sandy had had the opportunity to get to now Penelope and was quite charmed by her, so she smiled. "That woman just 'shows up,' doesn't she?"

Emily laughed. "Yes, she does, and because of a chat she and I had with JJ, any further thoughts of an abortion were taken off the table altogether. "

"Now I have to find Penelope and give her a hug."

Sandy leaned back on her hands.

"I'm tracking everything so far and I absolutely love the love that you two have got for each other, and as a mother, it makes me happier than I think you two will ever know. I just have one question."

"Spill," JJ said, breaking her silence.

"You two keep talking like Baylor is dead. Is he?"

"Yes. Aaron shot him."

Sandy sat back up. "Excuse me?"

JJ and Emily proceeded to tag team in explaining everything about New York, and by the time they were done, Sandy didn't know what to say, but she was incredibly proud of JJ for surviving all of the horrors and had nothing but love for Emily for sticking with her and rehabilitating her.

"Jenny," she addressed her daughter. "Is this when you went home with Emily for Christmas and Skyped me?"

"Yeah, and I don't know where I would have been without her or her parents because I had some major emotional roadblocks. Emily is helping me conquer a few more, but her mom helped me conquer one about being left behind after someone dies and her dad helped me with a roadblock about coming to terms with grief and trauma. Parts of my heart still hurt a little, but not as bad as it did."

JJ stretched out on the bed, laying her head on her mother's lap. She had done this all the time when she was little, and just like she had done back then, Sandy began stroking JJ's hair.

As Emily began thinking of an excuse to leave, they heard a tiny voice call out from the other side of the door.

"Auntie Emmy?"

"Who is it?" Emily called back, genuinely not knowing.

"Hattie Bell! Will you come look at my book with me?"

"Yes, but just a second!"

"Okay!" the three-year-old called back.

Emily turned back to JJ and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll find you later, okay?"

"Alright." JJ smiled. "I love you, Emilia."

"Right back at you, Jennifer."

Giving one last farewell to her present company, she went out to the hallway and closed the door behind her, soon spotting little Hattie Bell Foxworth dressed in her pajamas and carrying a book under one arm.

"Hi, Auntie Emmy." she said around a yawn.

"Hey, sweet pea. Are you sleepy?"

Hattie Bell nodded and held a hand out to her. "Mhm, but I want you."

Emily was very touched by this and took her hand. "I would love to hang out with you. Do you have a quiet space?"

Hattie Bell actually had her own room and was proud to show it all off, especially her comfy bed. Emily surprised herself by being able to fit on it, baby bump and all. The storybook was full of different fairy tales, and having heard all of them before, Hattie Bell decided to let Emily pick a story at random.

Emily read to Hattie Bell until she fell asleep.


Speaking of sleeping, Emily remembered what Sandy had said about coming to find her after JJ fell asleep. She did just that and found her in her bedroom again.

"Hi, Emily." Sandy lit up when she saw her. "Jenny is asleep, I take it?"

Emily nodded as she closed the door behind her. "She fell asleep awhile ago, but then your parents cornered me and started asking me questions about my intentions towards JJ."

"Sounds like them."

Sandy plucked a small black velveteen box off her bedside table and closed the small distance between her and Emily, handing it to her when she was within reach.

"Open this."

Emily did, and she was greeted by the sight of a beautiful but simple diamond engagement ring. The karat quality of the diamond itself was neither too extravagant nor exceedingly simple, and Emily found herself particularly admiring that the silver band was infused with smaller diamonds.

Emily closed the box and gave Sandy a quick hug. "This ring is really beautiful, Sandy."

"I'm glad you think so." The blond beamed. "That is the ring that Jenny's father proposed to me with, and it belonged to my husband's mother before that. He would have loved you so much, Emily, and he would have already beat me to the punch with what I'm about to say."

"And what's that?"

"You officially have my blessing to marry Jenny."

Emily blew out a breath of relief. "Thank you."

One hundred percent herself now, Sandy was the one to give out a hug this time.

"Emily," she said when they pulled apart. "Do you have time for a story?"

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Of course, but what is it about?"

Sandy sat on her bed, and already interested, Emily followed suit.

"It's about how Dashiell proposed to me, back during our nomad phase. Would you like to hear?"

Emily made herself comfortable. "Absolutely."

"It goes like this…"