A/N: This( I think) is a pretty long one. And I think this chapter will answer some of your questions, shoppinggal87, if you saw episode 14. Sorry this update took forever.
"Wait. So you're telling me that Edie is Emma's adopted sister?" Mike asked incredulously while across from Susan at a local bagel place.
Susan nodded, taking a bite out of her bagel. "I wonder why Emma was so freaked out about calling them though." she said thoughtfully, swirling the thin, red straw around in her coffee cup.
"What do you mean?" he asked, taking a bite out of his own bagel.
"The second Edie picked up her phone, Emma kinda freaked out. She bribed Edie with telling them exactly where she was staying." Susan smiled at the memory of the shock on Edie's face. "Apparently Edie and her parents aren't too close."
Mike smiled, but still looked mildly worried.
Susan noticed this. "What is it?" she questioned, taking another sip of coffee.
"I was going to...ask Emma to come and live with me. You know, adopt her officially. But even if she doesn't have a good relationship with her adopted parents...I don't want them to keep worrying about her and assume that she died or something." Mike confided. "I'm sure they do care about her."
Susan nodded. "Why don't you tell her that?"
"I still don't really know her that well."
"I'm sure she'll be really excited." Susan confidently.
Mike nodded at her gratefully and stood up to leave. "I really appreciate you telling me about Edie and everything."
"No problem." she replied quietly, taking yet another drink of coffee. "I guess I'll see you later?"
"Sure." Mike said with a sad smile, turning to leave.
"I can't see them." Emma said adamantly for the second time. After having an excited, happy reaction to moving in with Mike, she had started to freak out when it came to talking to her adopted parents.
Kendra looked on nervously, but let Mike do the talking. She was going to be his daughter, it really wasn't her place to intervene.
"Emma, if you want to move in with me; we have to get your stuff." Mike explained gently.
"We can! I have a key, we can sneak in-"
"Emma." Mike interrupted. "You legally belong to-'"
"My mother! That's who I legally belong to, okay? They never bothered to adopt me, I don't belong to anyone except Deirdre Taylor's dismembered corpse!" Emma yelled, angry no.
Noah stepped right into the argument. "I could make talking to them worth it."
"Worth what?" Emma snapped, mildly interested.
"Noah." Mike warned.
Noah walked into the other room and came back with a box, which he gestured towards Emma. "Will this suffice?"
Emma took the box from him cautiously and examined it. She turned back to him with a confused glance. "You're buying me off?"
"Let's just call it a consolation prize."
"Its an Ipod." Emma said slowly, examining the box again. "And its green. My favorite color." She smiled at him and began to open the box.
Mike grabbed her arm and she glared at him. "You're not being bought off." he said angrily, trying to take the Ipod from her.
"This is the only way I'll go." Emma replied, refusing to let go of the box.
Mike released the Ipod, still glaring at her.
"See, Mike, its all about priorities." Noah said, sounding slightly smug.
Mike shook his head, defeated.
"Hey, do you have any idea how to download songs on these?" Emma questioned.
Mike shook his head again and Kendra did the same.
"Sorry." Kendra said with a shrug.
Emma admired her new, green Ipod for a moment. "Do you have a computer?"
Kendra nodded. "Its upstairs in the library. Did you want to use it?"
"Yeah, if that's okay."
"Just a few minutes though, I told Susan I'd have you home for dinner." Mike injected.
She glanced over at him and shrugged. "Okay."
Kendra led Emma upstairs and Mike glared over at Noah. "Did you really have to do that?"
"Do what?" Noah asked calmly.
"Give her that for talking to her parents."
"Oh. Well, as you probably know by now, I've been in the same situation with Deirdre. I assumed that since Emma was her daughter, the strategy would have the same results. And it did."
"She's not Deirdre." Mike growled angrily. "No matter how alike they may seem."
"Who are you to make that assumption? You've known her for how long, maybe a week?" Noah replied swiftly, turning to the door.
"She's a good kid." Mike defended quietly.
Noah ignored this statement. "This by no means affects your job. You're still to go on fixing the neighbor's pipes. Keep a close eye on Paul Young while you're at it."
"But..." Mike started.
"If this is going to be an issue, Emma can simply move in here." Noah said cooly.
Mike immediately quieted, glaring at the floor as Noah exited the room.
"You want us to come with you?" Susan questioned over dinner that night.
"If its not too much trouble. Ipod or no Ipod, I'm gonna need emotional support." Emma replied, grimacing as she swallowed a bite of watery macaroni and cheese.
"Will Mike mind?" Julie asked, winking at Emma.
Emma grinned back. "Don't think so. I mean, Noah and Kendra are coming."
Susan looked down at her plate, giving it a confused look.
"What?" Emma inquired, taking another bite and washing it down with milk.
"I was just wondering why your grandfather and Mike still seem so close. He is his ex-girlfriend's father." Susan pointed out.
"That's because Mike's helping him find out about what happened to my mom." Emma said obviously.
"Huh?" Susan asked, looking even more confused than before.
"You didn't know that?" Emma said with raised eyebrows. Susan shook her head with a bitter, remorseful smile. "The last place she was seen alive was the Saddle Ranch bar, that's why they think someone on Wisteria Lane killed her."
"Wow." Susan said softly, pursing her lips at her own food. "Does he know anything else yet?"
"I don't know. I can ask. Why?"
"Just curious."
Emma grinned over at Julie again, a grin that quickly disappeared as she took another bite of macaroni.
That next morning, a very strange group of people approached Pine Avenue. If anyone had happened to be watching out the window at the time of their arrival, it would have looked a lot like a funeral procession heading over to the house that was their destination. Emma's hand clutched her Ipod, beginning to think that it wasn't enough incentive to do what she was about to do. Susan glanced worriedly from Emma, to Julie, to Mike, and then back to Emma. Tension was all over the group, and it wasn't helping the mood needed to talk with Emma's adoptive parents. It probably didn't help that half the group didn't know each other. Mike's hand reached for Emma's and squeezed it reassuringly. She managed a small, nervous smile as she rang the doorbell. Mike looked just as nervous as Emma, the man who lived here was also the man who shot him while he was looking for any record of Deirdre living there. A woman opened up the door and was shocked to see Emma and dive other virtually unfamiliar people crowding her porch. "Emma! You're okay! Where have you been?" she asked, crossing her arms unconsciously.
Emma didn't answer, only shrugging.
The woman noticed Mike behind her and her eyes widened in recognition. "How about you all come inside, I'd love to talk for a little while." she said, staring mostly at Mike.
Emma led the way into the living room and sank onto the leather chair in the room gratefully, raising her eyebrows at her adoptive mother plaintively as she sat down across from her. Julie lounged on the floor next to Kendra, while Susan and Mike sat pretty close together on the couch and Noah sat down in a chair; surveying the woman across from Emma with an unreadable look on his face.
"So, Emma!" the woman said in a falsely cheery voice. "Where've you been?"
Emma shrugged again, glowering at the floor. Noah, anticipating the situation, headed over and whispered something in her ear. Emma smirked and turned back to the woman. Mike rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "I was staying with her." Emma said, pointing to Julie and still smirking.
The woman glanced at Julie, then from her to Kendra; confusion obvious in her expression.
"Not me." Kendra volunteered. "I'm just her aunt."
"I'm Susan Mayer. Nice to meet you." Susan injected, brushing not-so-accidentally against Mike as she leaned over to shake the woman's hand. "Emma is friends with my daughter, Julie."
Mike tensed as Susan leaned over and he got a clear view of more than he should've seen at that particular moment.
Emma snorted as she noticed the silent, non-obvious something going on between Susan and Mike, causing her adoptive mother to move her gaze from Susan to her.
"I'm moving out." Emma announced.
"To live with who?" the woman replied scathingly. "Your friend Julie?"
"No. With Mike." Emma snapped, glaring at the woman angrily.
Mike stuck a hand out for her to shake. She didn't take it. "Emma is our daughter, we raised her." the woman defended.
"This isn't a discussion."Emma said in an uncharacteristically low, angry voice. "Are the boxes in the truck, Mike?"
"Yeah, go ahead and get 'em." he said heavily.
As soon as Emma neared the door, the same man who had shot Mike grabbed her arm and twisted it back behind her head, making her wince in pain. Mike and Noah immediately leapt up and headed menacingly toward the man. Mike's hand instinctively reached for his gun, but Noah touched his arm lightly and shook his head. Emma whimpered as the man twisted her arm farther back. The woman got up to try to stop him, but Noah held her back.
"Let her go." Mike snapped.
The man released Emma and she immediately ran out the door and towards the car. Susan stood up to follow her but this time Julie shook her head. "I'll handle it." she said reassuringly, heading out the door. Susan sighed and sat back down. After a few minutes, Mike followed Julie's path out the door.
"He probably didn't remember who I was." Emma was explaining when he found the two girls sitting on the back of his truck. When she saw Mike, she immediately quieted.
"You okay?" he asked gently.
Emma shrugged.
"Let me see your arm." he ordered.
"No." she replied fearfully, backing into the truck.
"Emma..." Mike sighed. He reached out to try to touch her shoulder, but she pulled away.
"Leave me alone." she managed.
Mike ignored her and firmly gripped her shoulder as he pulled up the sleeve of her left arm. A bruise was starting to bloom from her lower arm to her elbow. Mike touched it lightly and she winced. "You shouldn't pack with this, or its gonna get worse."
"I'm fine." Emma said softly, pulling her sleeve back down. Mike looked unconvinced, but nodded.
"I'll help." Julie volunteered, lifting two boxes out of the truck. Susan exited the house.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Emma nodded. "I'm good." She gestured to the boxes. "Wanna help us pack?"
"It'll be the highlight of my day." she said sarcastically, taking some boxes out of the truck.
Emma rolled her eyes and led the way into her room. The walls were painted a light purple color, and posters occupied most of the room. She immedieatly started removing her posters from the wall and rolling them up. Julie and Mike followed her lead while Susan tackled the sheets on Emma's bed; putting them carefully into a box. Emma's adoptive mother watched tearfully from the doorway as they packed. "I don't think I caught your name." Mike said.
"Anita." the woman said softly. "Anita Parker."
Mike nodded and turned back to Emma, who was at her closet alternating between stuffing clothes into a duffel bag and putting them into a box. "What's the bag for?" he asked.
"Well, I need some clothes to live on while I get unpacked." Emma said obviously.
Noah appeared in the doorway. "Mike." he said. Mike lept up and follwed him out the door toward a more private spot. Susan followed him out the door with her eyes. "I'm gonna...get some water." she lied, hurrying after Mike. Julie raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. Emma grabbed and envelpe and hastily scrawled "Susan" on the outside. Susan reentered the room, closely followed by Mike. Spying the envelope, Mike picked it up and stared up at Emma in confusion. Emma cleared her throat. "My Dearest, Darling, Susan." she started in a purposely overdramatic voice. "Please, please forgive me for my terrible act. When I killed that man, I was-" She was cut off by Mike lunging for the letter, causing her to quickly throw the piece of paper to Julie. She caught it deftly in her hand, and continued where Emma had left off. "-possessed by demonic spirits. The spirits told me to kill the man that was-"
She threw the letter back to Emma as Susan reached for the paper. "Sleeping with my ex-girlfriend's sister."Emma continued quickly.
"Hey!" Kendra exclaimed angrily from the doorway. Julie sent her an apologetic glance, but Kendra shrugged as if to say "No problem."
"That's enough." Mike warned, reaching for the letter.
"What's going on?" Noah demanded, walking into the room.
"We were just narrating Mr. Delfino's very deep, emotional, and romantic letter to my mom. Wanna hear it?" Julie baited, winking over at Emma.
"Sure." Noah replied warily.
Emma and Julie glanced once at each other before beginning to sing. "Veggie Tales, Veggie Tales, Veggie Tales-" in obnoxiously high-pitched voices.
"Oh, come on." Mike muttered after two minutes of nonstop singing. "Stop it!"
Emma shut up; and continued to pack up her room.
When all the boxes were carefully loaded into Mike's truck, Emma said goodbye to Anita and left with Mike, going back to Wisteria Lane along with Susan and Julie.
"Thanks so much for having me." she told Susan gratefully.
"It was our pleasure." Susan assured her kindly. "Come back, you know, whenever."
"Thanks." she said quietly as Susan and Julie headed back to their own house. She turned toward the door of her new home. "I guess this is home." she murmured.
Mike kissed her once on the top of her head. "Welcome home, Emma."
I am SO sorry it took me this long to update this...I feel horrible. Hopefully you guys are still somewhat interested in the story, I had lost it there for a while. I'll try to make updates more regular, and I hope you enjoyed the long overdue chapter!