Ahh thank you so much to my reviewers! You guys are so awesome, I'm so glad you enjoyed the reunion. It was fun to write, that's for sure. Another half day at school led to this charming little chapter. It was written in about 20 minutes, not proofread or edited, so sorry for any mistakes! The final chapter should be up in a few days at most. Enjoy!

Little Devotional

You know I've always been impressed

"You nervous?"

"No."

"Not even a little."

"Nope."

"You sure?"

"Of course."

"Emma!" Paige finally exclaimed. "Admit it, you're shaking in your boots! I can tell, you know."

Emma emerged from the closet with a handful of shirts and dumped them unceremoniously on the bed. "Yeah, but if I ignore the butterflies in my stomach, they'll go away. So which one?"

Paige studied the mass of clothing Emma had assembled and wrinkled her nose. "None of the above. I was afraid of this."

"What? Afraid of what?"

"Emma, these clothes are all very nice for school and baby sitting and picking up trash. But for the reunion date with the love of your life? You're going to have to branch out a bit, hon."

Emma looked panicked. "Branch out? What do you mean? I don't have anything else to wear. And it's a little late to go on a shopping spree since Sean's gonna be here in … oh my God, like, half an hour!"

Being the good friend that she was, Paige stifled her laughter as Emma began to rush haphazardly around the room, trying to brush her teeth, comb her hair, and get dressed at the same time. "Em, I think it'd be easier if you …"

"Oof!" Tripping over Paige's discarded stiletto heels, Emma landed with a soft thud on the floor. "Ow!"

"Good thing you're so calm, cool, and collected, Em," Paige deadpanned before dissolving into giggles. "Do that again, just let me get my camera-phone …"

She picked herself up, blew her bangs out of her eyes, and heaved a sigh. "Paige, what am I gonna do? Sean's gonna be here soon and I'm nowhere close to being ready."

Her tone stopped the rest of Paige's laughter. "You are talking solely about clothes, right? Because if you mean 'not ready' in any other sense, you need to say so right now."

Emma took a moment to collect herself. "Clothes," she said firmly. "Just clothes. I've been waiting for this thing with Sean to get back on track … well, forever, I guess. I want this more than anything else."

"Well, then!" Paige clapped her hands, business-like. "Sit your cute butt down over here, hon, 'cause we have some work to do."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked wearily as Paige led her to her desk chair and instructed her to hold still. "Paige. What kind of work?"

"Hair, makeup, nails, wardrobe." Paige plucked a few items from Emma's vanity and reached into her own purse for an assortment of tubes, pots, and bottles that were sure to be of use. "You're lucky I'm practically a professional."

And with those promising words, she set to work.

-X-

Twenty seven minutes later, Emma sat nervously in the kitchen, primped and prepped to absolute perfection. Her form-fitting jeans hugged close in all the right places, Paige's heels gave her added height, and the black tank top that Paige had literally given to her off her own back was both delicately feminine and dangerously feline. Spike had offered up a black leather jacket that she hadn't worn in years to complete the ensemble.

Her hair curled attractively at its ends, her bangs partially obscuring her wide brown eyes, which Paige had deepened and dramatized with a sweep of mascara and nude shadow. Her cheeks were flushed with both her excitement and whatever product Paige had dusted them with. And her lips shone with gloss that she'd bitten off three times already.

"Emma, you look beautiful," Snake said sincerely, smiling from his place across the table. He'd made at least a small recovery in the past few days, feeling stronger and healthier than he had in weeks. Spike murmured her agreement, stroking her daughter's hair lovingly. She was just happy to have Emma back again, sitting down with them to talk and laugh like she'd used to.

"Thanks, guys," Emma said shyly. "Are you sure you'll be all right tonight, though? You don't need me to watch Jack or run an errand or anything like that?"

"We'll be just fine." Spike shared a tender glance with her husband. "We're just going to take it easy, have dinner together, go to bed early. Pretty standard stuff."

But it wasn't, and everyone knew it. Snake hadn't been able to have dinner at the table in months. Tonight would be a celebration of that, however small.

"Okay." The doorbell rang, cutting off anything else Emma might have said. "That's him. I'll be home by twelve, have a nice night, guys."

"Good luck tonight, honey," Spike called after her.

I don't need luck, Emma thought as she made her way to the door. I've got Sean.

-X-

It took Sean a good minute to shake himself out of his stupor, and another one to form a coherent sentence. "You look beautiful," he finally managed. But beautiful hardly covered it. Emma was radiant, head-to-toe gorgeous, dazzling enough to strike him dumb.

She blushed, pleased with his reaction, and closed the door behind her. "You don't look so bad yourself," she said shyly, fingers brushing the blue button-down shirt that drew attention to his almost identical eyes.

He wanted to close his eyes to better absorb the touch. She really had no idea what just being near her did to him. And now wasn't the time to confess the intensity of his feelings. He didn't want to scare her off now that they were so close to getting it right.

"Well, you ready to go make everyone else jealous?" he suggested, struggling to keep the mood light as he held his hand out for her to take.

She took it without hesitation, eyes dancing with laughter. "Can't wait," she responded, and allowed herself to be led to the car. "Where are we headed?"

"Well, first on the agenda is to get you a decent meal," he said. "You're skin and bones, Em."

"I wasn't … eating so much after the … the shooting," she explained, casting her eyes downward. "It was hard to hold food down."

"But it's been months," he protested.

Emma shrugged. She hadn't even noticed the lack of nutrition until her pants began to sag on her waist and her shirts hang too loosely from her skeletal form. "I guess I just got used to feeling empty.'

The quiet admission threatened to break his heart. It also made him angry at his own selfishness. She'd been devastated after Rick's death, and he'd left her alone when she needed him most. And for what? The only answer Wasaga had provided him with was that he needed to be back at Degrassi.

"I should've been there for you," he said gruffly, keeping his eyes trained on the road. "I should never have gone to Wasaga."

"What? Sean, no. You needed to do that, you needed that time."

"Yeah, but you needed me."

Emma shook her head empathetically. "There wasn't anything you could've done for me over the summer, Sean. I was determined to wreck myself. I thought it'd be easier on everyone if I could just … fade away. And besides, it's not like you were in the best shape, either."

Hadn't he told himself the very same thing, time and time again? Sean knew when he was beaten. "You're probably right," he sighed. "So how 'bout now? Do you need me now?"

Silence filled the car, choking him like water seeping into his lungs. He risked a glance in her direction, trying to gauge her reaction.

"I don't … need you, need you," Emma said carefully. "Like I'll fall apart if you go away. Actually, I would, I think. But I don't want to need you that badly. I want to be okay with being by myself, too, if it comes to that. I used to be independent. Remember those days?"

"You still are," he assured. "Believe me, Em, no matter what happens between us, you're a survivor. I moved away and look, you're still here, going strong."

She appreciated that he didn't mention how badly she'd been doing on her own. "Well, still." Working up a smile, she put the issue to rest, "Let's just leave it at I love you, okay?"

He smiled, too, lifting their joined hands to kiss her knuckles. This was the Emma he knew, ready to stand on her own and defend herself. He was immeasurably happy to have her back. "Good enough for me."

-X-

"You look good enough to eat!" Spike declared, kissing Archie's bald head with a resounding smack.

"I feel good enough to eat," he corrected, gesturing to the veritable feast she'd laid before them. "And to think, I thought I'd never be able to enjoy your roasted chicken again."

"You're sure you're up to this?" she asked for perhaps the millionth time, worry lines etched into her forehead. "If you're getting tired, you can go back upstairs and I can bring you a tray."

"Trust me, Christine, I feel fine. It's great to be downstairs again. And just think … Jack's out for the night, Em's gone …" he trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Out with Sean," his wife clarified. "You think that's a good idea, the two of them starting back up?"

"She was happier today than she has been in a long time. That has to count for something."

"I just don't want her to get hurt again," Spike sighed. "I want her to be okay."

"I think she's getting there. I think we're all getting there," Archie said positively, and drew her into his lap for another kiss.

-X-

Emma drew away from Sean's lips reluctantly, keeping her arms looped loosely around his neck so that they were nose to nose. "We should probably …"

"Stop," he agreed, his fingers entangled in her hair. "It's getting –"

"Late," she supplied, stroking her nails up and down his back. After dinner, they'd agreed to come back to his apartment and watch a stupid made-for-tv horror movie Emma had seen advertisements for all month. They'd settled in on the couch, thighs touching and hands brushing, and by the time the first of several gruesome murders occurred onscreen, a serial killer could've burst in on them and they wouldn't have noticed. "I have –"

"Curfew," he finished. "I know."

"Five more minutes," she suggested breathlessly, and fell back into his arms.

Sean could barely contain his emotions, he was so elated to have Emma not only back in his life, but in his arms like this. Just last week, she'd been spitting and clawing at him on the sidewalk, too angry to see straight and too drunk to stand up. And now here she was, eyes shining, smile blinding, content to stay in his arms as long as she could.

"I'm happy," Emma realized just as he was thinking that. She met his gaze in amazement. "I'm really, truly happy right now. I haven't felt this good in … a long time."

"I was just thinkin' the same thing," he agreed, tightening his grip on her waist.

"You're probably the best thing that's ever happened to me, you know that, right?"

He kissed her again, gently. "I love you, Em."

Her cell phone rang out shrilly, shattering the moment. Her brow furrowed. "Am I late yet?"

"No …" He let go of her so she could reach her purse, checking his watch as they separated. "You've got a good fifteen minutes."

She pressed 'End' on the phone and tossed it carelessly into her bag. "Then let's make the most of them, shall we?"

"That's the best idea you've had all night," he proclaimed, and welcomed her into his arms.