A/N: Sorry for the delay, I've been really busy. Sorry if this chapter is short, another one is written and should be on the way soon. Plus it looked longer on paper. By the way, chapters one and two were in the first update, this is chapter 3.

Disclaimer: If DH was mine, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfic about it. All belongs to ABC except half the plot and Emma.

Regaining her composure, Susan smiled slowly at Mike. "Are you excited?"

Mike nodded, conflict evident in his eyes. "Look, Susan, I can't give you a truthful answer until you know the whole story...but overall, yes, I am excited."

Susan bit her lip, tears starting to well up in her eyes at his answer. She turned away from him and wiped her eyes. "Would it be so bad just to listen to what he has to say?" a nagging voice in one side of her head suggested.

"I can't be in a relationship with a man who lies to me." the other side answered automatically.

"But you love him." the other voice continued.

"I loved Karl, too, and look how that ended up." the other side snapped.

"Mike isn't Karl." the voice said forcefully.

The real Mike tapped Susan on the shoulder gently. "Susan?" he inquired softly.

"Hi." she mumbled, snapping out of her internal argument. "Do you still have the letter?"

"What?" Mike said, not sure that he heard correctly.

"The letter that you wrote me. The one I gave back. Do you still have it?"

"Of course." Mike answered, trying to ignore the hope starting to fill him.

Susan turned back to him. "Bring it by tomorrow."

"I'll be here around ten or so to pick up Emma for breakfast. Should I bring the letter then?"

Susan shrugged and headed for the stairs. "Goodnight, Mike."

"Sleep well, beautiful." he murmured, leaving the house and heading back to his own.

"Emma! Wake up, Mike will be here soon!" Susan shouted from downstairs where she was nervously pouring a cup of coffee.

"Coming!" Emma shouted back, holding a skirt in front of her legs. "Nah, too slutty." she muttered, throwing it onto the bed with the other rejected clothes.

"Emma!" Susan shouted again in desperation.

Emma sighed and decided to ignore her, giving her full concentration to the pile of rejected clothes on the bed. After she had picked out a dark blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans, Emma heard a bell ring from downstairs. Worry entering her normally calm enough face, she grabbed a pair of tennis shoes and ran down the stairs, running a hand through her dirty blonde hair nervously.

"Mrs. Mayer, do I look okay?" Emma asked.

Susan turned around and surveyed Emma. "You look fine." she replied with a smile. "What about me?"

"You're fine too." Emma said, grinning to herself. "You and Julie should come to breakfast with us, it'll be fun!"

"Julie? But she's at..." Susan started. A horn blew from outside and Julie's head appeared at the door. Karl glanced at Susan and gave her an uncertain wave, which she returned while letting Julie in the door. "Emma!" Julie exclaimed, hugging her best friend tightly. "Did you talk to Mike?"

"We're going to breakfast in a few minutes."

Julie squealed and hugged Emma again as the doorbell rang. Susan paled. Julie turned to her mom to hug her, but noticed how pale she was. "Are you okay?" she inquired.

Susan nodded. "I'm fine." she lied.

Julie looked skeptical but decided not to push the issue and instead went over to open the door for Mike. The second he entered, he headed over to Susan and gave her a soft, passionate kiss on the lips. Julie and Emma looked on, both a mixture between shocked and confused. When he pulled away, Mike murmured "Something else for you to think about." and handed Susan the letter. Julie glanced at her mom in confusion. Were she and Mike back together? Susan looked just as shocked as the two teenagers at Mike's greeting but took the letter nonetheless. The room filled with an awkward silence. "Um, I guess we should go." Mike suggested. Emma nodded, glancing at Susan once before following Mike out the door. "Mom, what's going on? I thought you gave Mike's letter back to him." Julie said, glancing suspiciously at her mother.

"I asked for it back." Susan replied quietly.

"Why would you do that if you don't trust him?"

"Because I'm insane." Susan mumbled.

Julie looked at her sympathetically. "I'm gonna go try to get some of my homework done before Emma gets back."

Susan smiled weakly. "See you in a minute."

Over the next day, while Julie went to school, Emma watched movies in Julie's room, and Susan stared at Mike's letter, aimlessly debating whether to open it or not; Mike was trying to find the courage to mention Emma's sudden appearance to Noah.

"Have you got anything else on Deirdre's case?" Noah asked immediately

"Nothing besides the fact that Paul Young bought one of the same kinds of toy chests her body was discovered in." Mike replied, growing nervous. This was the perfect interlude to the speech he had prepared, but he just couldn't find the will to tell Noah that his daughter had a child he was told nothing about.

"Noah,..." Mike started, trailing off.

Mike was saved from saying anything else by the entrance of Noah's other daughter, Kendra.

"What's going on down here?" she questioned, looking from Mike to Noah.

"I was just about to tell..." Mike continued, not able to find the right words.

"Tell me what, Mike?" Noah asked with raised eyebrows.

Mike took a breath and decided just to say it. "I have a child."

Kendra stared at him. "You got Susan pregnant?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"No, not with her." he said, glaring over at Kendra.

Noah was the first one to catch on. "Deirdre."

Mike nodded. "She showed up at a house across the street from me. I only spoke to her for maybe fifteen minutes, but she looked about fourteen."

"So how-how do you know she was Deirdre's? I mean, she could be mistaken." Kendra pointed out.

"She's been living on Pine Avenue, her mother disappeared at a bar, she knows what happened with Antony, and she and Deirdre would have quite a stunning resemblance if they weren't related."

Noah still looked unconvinced. "Can I meet this girl, then?"

"When?"

"How about tomorrow? Bring her here around one." Kendra suggested, making sure it sounded more like an order than an option.

Mike nodded. "I'll talk to her about it."

A/N2- So I'll have Ch4 up as soon as I can...but for now...review to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! (LOL!)