Epilogue
I: First Day Alone
"I'll miss you, sweet-pea," Will sighed and kissed Lily's forehead as he prepared to head out the door on for his first day of school, the first year of teaching without Emma in the past four, "And you," He reached for his wife's hips, pulling them to his as he moaned lightly into a kiss, "I don't know how I'm supposed to survive a whole year without being able to walk down the hall and kiss you senseless."
She pouted, eyeing the baby in the bouncy seat at their feet, "As much as I'm going to love being here with her all day..." She rested her head on his chest, "I'm probably going to go a little stir-crazy."
Will rubbed small circles on her back, snuggling his cheek into her hair, "You can come visit any time. Interrupt any class, Glee, I don't care."
Emma's arms circled around his waist, "I'll probably be in for lunch sometime this week." He was about to step back, "Oh, please don't go..." She whined, her hips rocking against his a few times, "Do you have just a few minutes?"
He laughed and pulled away before he got too many ideas, "No, sweetheart. I'm already going to be running a little late for the meeting...But," He plopped a sweet kiss onto her cheek, "I promise it'll be worth the wait when I get home."
She blushed and groaned, clearly frustrated, "It better be. I've got nine hours all alone...with no one but Lily for company." The baby grunted from below them, causing a mutual chuckle, "I didn't mean it like that, baby," Emma laughed again, lifting the little girl from her seat and snuggling her as Will gathered his bag and keys, plopping a kiss on Lily's forehead, "We're really going to miss you."
He leaned back for one more kiss from his wife, capturing her sweetly and emitting another brief moan as he opened the garage door and slid into the car. Emma watched sadly from the doorway, relieved that she didn't have to leave her daughter in the care of strangers but missing the interactions she would be sharing with the troubled teenagers from McKinley High and the precious moments at work she could steal away to be intimate in a subtle form with her husband.
Once he had driven out of view, Emma pressed the button to close the garage door and stepped into the kitchen with Lily, a frown growing on her face as the baby, approaching three months, stared deeply into her brown eyes, "Oh, Lily, what are we going to do all day, every day?"
The baby tilted her head, as if to say, 'I don't know!'
"You're not much help, you know..." She sighed. Lily moved her head towards her, "Are you hungry?"
She settled down into the couch, unbuttoning her cardigan and sliding the camisole off her shoulder, allowing Lily eat until she was full.
When she finished, Emma laid her across her arm, patting her back and encouraging her to burp. After three minutes, the baby spewed a small portion of liquid all over Emma's wrist. Gagging and cringing, Emma settled Lily into the baby seat and promptly ventured to the sink where she throughly scrubbed and rinsed to decontaminate her flesh.
"Sorry, sweetheart," She said softly as the baby looked at her almost questioningly, her stubby legs kicking in excitement as Emma bent to lift her back into her arms, sighing as she placed the girl over her shoulder and moved back towards her room, eyeing the clock and noticing that only fifteen minutes had passed since Will left, she was almost discouraged, "Nope, we're not going to spend every day missing daddy, Lily. We are going to do something constructive and positive and full of learning opportunities!"
After several Eric Carl books and a multiple renditions of various songs Emma recalled from her own childhood, Lily grew restless and Emma laid her down for a nap.
Glancing at the time, the red-head found a few surfaces to disinfect and a bathtub that needed a good scrubbing, but after twenty or so minutes, she felt frustration sweeping over her again.
"I need a project," She muttered under her breath, and not thinking of anything off the top of her head that could facilitate into a successful venture for her and Lily, Emma hopped onto the internet, a quiet soundtrack of soft rock playing in the background.
An idea sparked and she felt her nerves tingle in excitement as she searched Lord Google for suggestions, "That's it!" She smiled, printing off a few articles and downloading several videos.
Will called at lunch; while the kids had a half-day, the faculty was required to spend the rest of the day as in-service time for prepping new lessons and collaborating, "Hey sweetheart," He smiled into the phone when Emma picked up before the first ring had even finished.
"Hey!" She said cheerily, "How was your day?"
"Eh, you know. First day. Lost freshman, arrogant seniors who already have checked out for the year."
Emma giggled, "Aw, miss me?"
"Like you wouldn't even believe..." He lowered his voice, "I can't wait to come home."
"Me neither," She giggled again, "Oh! I came up with a really great idea today...well, not really my idea, but I want to do it."
"And what is that?" He asked, silently munching on a cookie that Emma had made fresh for him to take the night before.
"I think we should teach Lily baby sing language! It helps babies learn real language faster and makes them smarter and better prepared..."
Emma continued to babble about the positive effects that the gestures tongue could have on their child. Will certainly didn't need convincing, he just wanted to hear her talk.
"So what do you think?"
She could practically hear him smiling, "I think it's a great idea, Em...Anything that can help her...and it'll make things easier for us to, we'll know what she wants."
"How was your first day without Sue?" Emma asked, changing conversation topics as she made herself a small salad for lunch.
"Boring, actually. No one's mocked me for my hair all day and I swear I still feel my masculinity in tact."
"I hope it still is by the time you get here."
Will laughed whole-heartedly, "No need to worry about that, Em."
By the time he did finally get home, Emma was perched at the edge of the couch wearing one of his favorite nightgowns and nothing else. He approached her with raised brows, "Am I going to be greeted like this every day?"
She didn't respond verbally, instead she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and leaned up for a long, lust-filled kiss. He pulled her close, his fingertips resting on her unclad thighs.
He stepped away with a smirk, "Where's my baby?"
Emma's face cringed for a moment, wanting Will to herself before Lily had him charmed for the night, "She's sleeping."
Will kissed her forehead and poked his head into the nursery, where the little girl lay on her back, arms outstretched and her wispy red hair a mess. He smiled and entered the room, his hands resting on the side of the crib. Emma joined him after a minute, her arms crossed as a feeling of unexplainable jealousy swept over her. Quickly pushing it away, an psudo-understanding smile fell on her face, "You didn't like being away from her all day."
He shook his head, "It was hard," He whispered, drawing his wife close. It was the first day in three months he had been away from his girls for the majority of the day.
"Come on," Emma grew impatient staring at the baby she'd been with all day and tugged his blue sleeve, dragging them to the bedroom.
The moved slowly, wanting to savor their time together after having lost eight hours, "Em..." Will whispered, rolling off her and pulling her close, "Em...I-I really, really don't know how I'm supposed to survive each day without you near me."
She sighed, "Well, I guess just knowing you can come home to this," She cupped his cheek, drawing him for a steamy kiss with their warm bodies colliding once more.
He laughed when his little girl began wailing, "Always perfect timing."
Will pulled his white undershirt on, along with his boxers and retrieved the baby, leaving Emma to fall dramatically back to the sheets; she'd hoped for a bit more time alone before being subjected to baby babble for the rest of the evening.
He brought her crying form back to Emma, "Somebody's hungry," He said with a smirk. Glad she hadn't pulled her top back on, Emma fed Lily, "Are you hungry, too?"
She shook her head, "I'll make something when I'm done with her, and don't you even argue, you were at work all day, I'll make dinner."
Will ran his fingers through her hair, as Lily latched on to her mother, "Okay...Everyone at school wants to see her. I think Figgins spent more time asking when we would bring her in then he did discussing budget cuts."
Emma giggled weakly, stroking Lily's cheek as she ate, maybe later that week she'd have to bring her in.
II: First Smile
Two weeks later, Emma couldn't bare another moment alone in the house with the baby; in desperate need of adult conversation. She dressed Lily in little brown leggings with a red, yellow and orange fall-themed dress over top, along with a matching mini-barrette over her cinnamon colored hair and buckled her safely into the Pacifica (Will had taken her old green Volvo; having a feeling she would be needing to go out in the coming days and wanting Lily riding in their most effective and safe vehicle).
She entered the office to sign in and the moment Lily's car seat was placed on the counter so Emma could pick up a pen, students and staff alike had gathered around the little girl to coo and marvel at her adorable nature.
Emma shooed a few students back to sitting once they had a good look at her.
"Oh, there she is," Figgins took a step out of his office and towards the secretaries desk, where Lily was being doted on by several overweight, middle-aged women, "Back already, Emma?" She flushed, not exactly knowing what to say.
"W-would you like to hold her?" She choked, surprised her principal had so much interest in her daughter.
"Of course!" He smiled as one of the secretaries placed the baby in his arms, "Oh, how sweet." Figgins bounced her lightly, cooing in a way that made Emma raise a brow, but laughed nonetheless as her daughter stared at her principal unblinking and unamused.
"Ready to go see your daddy?" Emma took the baby back a few minutes — and yearbook pictures — later and settled her back into the baby seat, finding her way to Will's classroom, where she knew he had a study hall before lunch.
She knocked twice and was greeted by the student closest to the door, who squealed once she saw the two redheads, "Emma?" Will raised a brow from behind his desk, standing and crossing towards her, "What are you doing here?" He smiled, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek — not wanting to have another case of PDA on his hands — and bent down to Lily, kissing her nose.
"Oh, gosh, I just needed to get out for a little while..." Emma set the baby carrier on an empty table near the front, ignoring the looks from the surrounding students, "Want to see daddy?" She asked, lifting Lily up and supporting her to look at her father.
For the first time, the baby's facial expression matched her excitement level as her little lips upturned into her very first smile.
"Will!" She gasped, excited at something her daughter did for what seemed like the first time in two weeks, "Look at her face!"
Lily's cheeks had puffed lightly and her gums were showing as she peered into Will's eyes, "Are you smiling, Lil?" He laughed, taking her into her arms and holding her out far enough to see her happy demeanor while Emma tore her iPhone out of her purse, taking a picture of the moment and immediately sending it to their relatives, who were constantly demanding images of their daughter.
The bell rang and students made their way out of the room, some pausing to express their thoughts on how cute Lily was, most shuffling by agonizingly slow as Emma wanted nothing more then to close the door and throw herself at her husband.
Once the last one left, she leaned against the door with a sigh and contented smile, then stepped forward into Will's chest, nestling there with her eyes closed while he dropped a kiss to her forehead.
"Mm, I miss you," He said softly, wrapping the arm that wasn't supporting Lily's tiny frame around Emma's, "You okay, sweetheart?" She nodded against him, her lack of verbal response mildly concerning Will, "Em?"
"Oh," She sighed, feeling tears creeping into the corners of her eyes, "Will...I-I miss...I miss being here, is all...it was hard to walk past my old office and see someone else at my desk with a student."
"Aw, Em," He kissed her forehead again, rubbing his arm across her back, "Come on, let's sit." They moved to the front table, Will positioning Lily so she was cradled in his arms, still smiling up at him, "Hm, look at her," He kissed her cheek then turned back to his wife, "So what really brought you here?"
Emma sighed, avoiding the surface of the table at all costs as she avoided Will's eyes, focusing on the little girl before her, "I-I don't like being stuck at home all day, Will. I don't like it at all."
Will smiled sadly, reaching to brush a strand of hair from her face, "Sweetheart, we can look at daycare...It's okay, Em..." He brought his hand to cup her chin.
She felt the tears spilling over her cheeks and shook, "But we decided, we decided that the best thing for Lily was to b-be at home."
"Emma, if it's not going to be good for her to be at home with you; if it's making you upset...then I just don't see the reward for Lil."
Unfortunately his words only made her feel worse. Will watch as her face contorted itself, even more upset and lowered Lily into her seat, then took Emma and brought her into his arms, rubbing her back and whispering incoherent statements until she pulled away, face red and blotchy, "I-I'm so sorry. I'm b-being a t-terrible mother!"
"No, no," Will moved to wipe tears from her eyes, "Sweetheart, Emma...you're not. She's only three months old, sweetie, you're still adjusting, it's okay..."
"I-I just feel like I'm not doing her any good...but you should eat your lunch, Will..." She said in attempt to switch the subject.
"Okay, but I want to keep talking about this tonight, okay? I don't want it hanging over us."
Emma nodded and peeled herself away, finding the seat next to Will so he could pull a brown bag out of his desk drawer, "Want to go halvsies on PB&J?" He asked with a smile and a wink.
"No, I'm not hungry..." She eyed Lily, who's legs were flailing in her seat as she began grunting, "But I think someone is," She sighed, unbuttoning the cream cardigan and slinking her straps off her shoulder while Will positioned his daughter in her arms and settled a blanket from the seat over her chest while Lily nursed happily.
"Emma?" Will tiled his head; noticing she didn't have the same glow she did previously when she shared her body with their little girl. "You sure you don't want to eat something? You're not looking so good."
"Oh really?"
"Not like that, honey..."
She pouted, "I know, I know...I just don't have much of an appetite."
Will took a few bites of sandwich, happy to have his wife back in the same building as him, "I love you, Em. And we'll figure this out, okay? No worries."
Emma smiled softly, repeating the encouragement, "No worries."
III: First Breakdown
The couple still wasn't quite sure what they were going to do with their daughter as the weeks grew into another two months, Emma's maternity leave was planned to be extended through the remainder of the first semester; as daycare was still out of the question. She wasn't happy about it.
It had been a rather horrific week, Lily's demeanor had presented as crabby and irritable from the time she woke all throughout the day. She fussed and cried, and Emma was on her last level of patience and concern; her emotions quickly drifting to annoyed and frustrated, both at her daughter and herself.
Monday had been hell, Will left early for a meeting and Lily slept in — for once — and without the screeching infant, Emma, too, had stayed asleep.
As the howls from the nursery passed through the walls, Emma groaned and turned over, hoping to stroke Will's cheek good morning before tending to her daughter, but her hand only met a blanket folded over the pillows, with a note that read, "Em — faculty meeting this morning. Didn't want to wake you or the beast," Her lips curled into a smirk, they'd discovered all too quickly Lily wasn't one to enjoy being forced from her rest, "Try to have a good day...I'll miss you. I love you."
She sighed, opening her nightstand drawer and setting it into a neat stack of others he'd left her since the school year started, and forced herself down the hall to the pink room, which she'd begun dreading as of late.
The feelings were unexplainable, she loved her daughter and was thrilled to have had a baby with her husband, but something within Emma was screaming that things weren't right.
As Lily's eyes met hers, her cries only became louder. She'd been drifting towards Will lately, whether she was feeding off Emma's emotions of dissatisfaction or not, the older redhead wasn't sure. She lifted the little girl, cringing as she made her way to the changing table, where she gently placed Lily and snapped on a pair of gloves before removing the soiled diaper her daughter wore and replacing it with a fresh one. Once she was changed, Emma removed the gloves and pumped a handful of sanitizer before lifting the calmer girl back into her arms and digging through an off-white wardrobe for something to dress the baby in.
Settling on a pair of white, duck-printed pajamas, as they had no plans to go anywhere, like most days, Emma gently worked Lily's soft limbs into the fabric, not making silly faces or cooing down to the girl as she felt she should be doing — that cooing at their children was some sort of unwritten law. She lowered herself into the pink glider in the corner and tore off the top half of her nightgown, letting her baby eat until she was full.
As she rocked slowly, Emma couldn't help the tears pooling into her eyes — this was nothing like she anticipated once she'd accepted the pregnancy. This was the horror she'd dreaded when they first discovered it.
Lily finished and turned away; Emma put a cloth over her shoulder and burped her gently, still making an attempt to choke back her devastated emotions.
Once she'd cleared her stomach of gasses, Emma pulled Lily back to cradle her again. The baby met her big brown eyes with a pair of her own, expecting something from her mother, but what, Emma had no clue.
"Oh, Lily," She sighed, pulling her close and shutting her eyes, squeezing the tears out to trickle down her cheeks, "What do you need me to do, baby? I just don't know..." She cried softly to herself, rocking back and forth while her daughter remained silent, giving no indication of her desires.
When Will called at lunch, she made no sign that anything was wrong, but he could tell by her short responses and general lack of enthusiasm that something was off, "Em, are you okay?"
She was quiet before answering, "No, Will. I don't think I am."
"Are you feeling cooped up again? Why don't you come watch the kids today? I'm sure they'd be thrilled to see you and they'd probably love your input on their numbers for sectionals next week."
"...It's not that."
"...Well...what is it, sweetheart?"
Emma bit her lip, watching as Lily rolled over on a blanket to reach for a stuffed monkey, her tiny fingers not quite grasping it, "I don't know, Will...I just...I don't know."
She moved from the couch to the floor, helping her daughter take what she wanted, "Oh, Emma..." Will sighed from the other end of the phone, "Sweetheart, I can't help you if you—"
"I know, I know!" She snapped suddenly, "I'm sorry."
"I-It's alright, look, I'll try and make practice short and be home early, okay?"
Emma sighed, rubbing her hand along the row of buttons on Lily's onsie, "Okay..."
"I love you," Will said longingly into the phone, wishing he could wrap his arms around his wife to comfort her.
"Love you, too."
She ended the conversation and watched Lily smile at the first positive interaction they'd had that day. Emma smiled back sadly, "Hi, sweet-pea."
Lily responded with a slur of vowel sounds, bringing her hand that wasn't clutching the monkey to her mouth, "I'm sorry I can't be a better mommy for you..." Emma sighed, continuing to stroke her chest, "I'm so sorry..." The baby pulled her hand out of her mouth, reaching out for Emma with it, who cringed at the saliva dripping from her fingers, "Eh, Lily...that's just gross." Lily babbled, continuing to reach for her mother, who relented, taking one of the burp rags she kept constantly at her side and wiping the slobber off her daughter's hand and face, "You're awful drolly lately, baby," She lifted her into her lap, smiling again as the baby nestled into the space between her breasts, "You ready for a nap, hm?"
"Aya!"
"Ah yeah?" Emma's face lit up for a brief moment, forgetting the feelings of inadequacy and devastation as she put Lily down for a nap, kissing her forehead and drawing the shades of the nursery closed.
But the feelings came back later when Will arrived home and went straight for the nursery, where Emma was sure her daughter's screams could be heard a mile and a half away.
"Oh, god, take her!" Emma's weary expression pained Will as he collected the red-faced baby into his arms and Emma left, traveling to their bathroom and drawing the water for a relaxing shower.
"Hey, baby, sh, shh...It's okay, sweat-pea...It's okay..."
He bounced her, rocked her, shushed her and swung her, sung to her and finally, placed the screaming girl back in her crib and rubbed her stomach until the crying stopped and she breathed deeply a few times, her watery eyes searching his, "That's much better, Lily...I don't know what happened to make you so upset..." Will lifted her once more, moving them to the glider and rocking until she fell asleep.
"Em?" Will poked his head into the bathroom door, finding Emma standing mindlessly in the shower, the water beating on her back. He pulled the curtain back a bit further, forcing her to make eye-contact with him, "Come out, let's talk."
Emma complied, twisting the nozzle and wrapping a fluffy green towel around herself before finding acceptable sweats and changing, clipping her wet hair back and not bothering to do anything with it.
"What on earth happened?" Will finally asked, pulling her to sit next to him on the small love seat they'd purchased for their bedroom.
"She, she just...woke up and freaked out...and I...I couldn't help her..."
"Okay, okay..." Will kissed her temple, "It's alright...Lily is sound asleep now, you're okay...It's all over, alright?" She was clearly shaken as this was the first time Lily could simply not be comforted, "Hey, Em? Honey..." He wrapped his arms around her as he had desired to do earlier in the day and let her cry into his chest, "Oh, sweetheart..."
They'd been doing a lot of this lately, and Will couldn't help but feel that Emma may have been overreacting to a few scenarios; but not wanting to upset her any further then she already was, he said nothing and pressed a warm kiss to her forehead.
The following day, Emma barely had the motivation to tumble out of bed, and Will was even still home. She lay tangled in the sheets, watching him dress with one eye half-open, "That tie clashes with the shirt." He tossed her a joking look and crawled up the mattress, not caring if he wrinkled the dress pants he sported that day, "Mm, what's with the fanciness?" Emma asked, dragging her hands down his spine and letting them rest in his back pockets.
"Tonight's the Ohio State Show Choir meeting, remember?"
She sighed, "Oh...right...guess you won't be home until late then?"
He kissed her nose, "Sorry, sweetheart..." They both groaned as a soft cry came from the room next to theirs. Emma removed her hands from Will's pockets and was about to stand when he pushed her down gently, kissing her passionately, then took off to the nursery and changed Lily's diaper before bringing her to her mother.
Emma settled her against the pillows on Will's side, propping her so she was sitting up. Will bent to look the baby in the eye, pointing a finger at her jokingly, "Now, you best behave yourself today, missy. No more crying for mommy."
Unfortunately, the five-month-old failed to heed Will's instructions, as less then a half hour after he left, she wailed in distress and Emma once more failed to comfort her.
"Oh, Lily..." She sighed, growing frustrated while bouncing the baby lightly, "Honey, please...please stop crying..." It had been so easy four months ago, simply being near her daughter was enough to stop the tears; now even her hardest attempts proved inadequate for the girl.
Emma spent that entire night in the nursery after Will had come home, insisting she would take care of the hysterical girl as he had work in the morning.
Around three, when she'd nearly reached her breaking point, Will stumbled sleepily in, took Lily out of her arms and placed the sobbing baby in the crib, rubbing her stomach until she soothed and wore herself out with panting cries.
He looked back at Emma, who sat miserably in the glider, feeling like she'd lost a battle. "Em..." He whispered as her face crumpled, "Sweetheart," He pulled her to her feet and lifted her down the hall, her arms wound around his neck and she allowed him to pull the blankets back and place her tired frame against the plush sheets. Will rolled in next to her, stroking the side of her face, "Honey, you're doing your best...don't be upset with yourself."
She rolled to her side, scooting so her back was against his chest, and wound his arm around her front, so he was spooning her, "I'm so tired," She moaned softly, "And I'm sorry that I'm not being very—" She yawned, then twisted her neck to meet his eyes, "Happy...or...fun."
Will pecked her cheek, "You're stressed, Em, it's okay...I'm tired too...and we don't need sex to survive," He placed another kiss on her neck, then guided her face to the pillow, "Sleep, sweetheart."
"Love you," She muttered, falling asleep in his hold.
Wednesday wasn't awful, Lily slept the duration of the night and through the majority of the morning, leaving Emma to catch up on sleep as well.
Emma lifted the baby from her resting place and motioned through their daily routine without so much as a smile, feeling utterly disconnected and robotic as she lay on the couch nursing her daughter.
Will brushed off her unresponsiveness as exhaustion that night when she barely spoke during dinner and when she asked if he could handle bathing Lily by himself, something they typically did together...and when he sang the baby to sleep, he figured she just wanted to turn in early...
But when Thursday brought another night of screaming and howling that had Emma crying right along with her baby as she rocked her and tried her hardest to put her heart into comforting the little girl. Will once again shuffled into the nursery, starting to grow agitated that nothing was working.
"Let me see her," He said a little less gently then he could have, taking his daughter and having her rest her face on one shoulder, then brought Emma to the other, swaying both of them until Emma, at least, stopped crying and Lily's cries grew softer. "There we go..."
Five minutes to midnight and all was quiet; Will placed the baby in the crib and wound Emma's fingers in his own, "Ready for some sleep?"
She brought her free hand to her eyes to wipe the streaks that had accumulated, "I think something's wrong, Will."
"Maybe we should call the pediatrician tomorrow, see if —"
"That's not what I'm saying," Emma shook her head as he sat on the edge, hands now resting briefly in his lap.
"Well," Will pulled her close by her hips, "We've got all weekend, okay? I'll be home by six tomorrow and we'll sort it all out then."
She glanced down, "I-I..."
"Come on, you're tired, Em. Let's sleep."
Emma relented, frustrated now with herself, her daughter and her husband, "Okay."
He kissed her lips, but she didn't respond or deepen it, simply stood idly while he tugged her up under the covers.
Friday, it all came crushing down.
Will was in the shower when Lily's cries started at six-thirty — she usually slept until eight or nine — and Emma pried herself into the nursery, where once the baby saw her, she could have sworn the screams were louder.
"Lily," She whined, lifting her with a grimace as a trail of baby slobber made it's way down her hand, "Oh, yuck..." Emma panicked for a moment before laying the still-crying baby on the changing table and reaching for a rag below it to wipe the droll off.
Once her diaper was fresh, Lily calmed a bit, demanding to be held and cuddled while she emitted soft whining noises and brought her hands to her mouth, closing down on her fingers while her forehead crumpled, "Sweet-Pea, why do you keep doing that?" Emma sighed and removed the tiny fingers from the wet cave, wiping them off and handing the baby a ring to keep her hands distracted, but it ultimately wound up in her mouth as well.
"At least you're not crying..." Emma lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom, where Will stood, curly hair dripping and searching endlessly for clean boxers, "In the top drawer to the left."
Will turned, clad in only his towel and smiled as both girls approached him; Lily's face red and blotchy but there were no tears streaming down either of their faces, so that was enough for him, "Good morning, ladies." Emma didn't reply, not wanting to jinx herself, instead, she moved for a quick kiss to Will's lips and let him ruffle Lily's messy, gingery curls. "What are you doing up, baby?" He kissed her little nose before returning to the dresser drawer.
"I'm hoping it means she'll take a nap this morning," Emma bounced her lightly, "Because if not, it's going to be a long day."
Will cringed as he pulled on an undershirt, tucking it into his jeans, "Why's she leaking?"
Emma glanced back at the baby with a dissatisfied sigh while she wiped the dribble off Lily's chin, "I don't know...she's leaving puddles everywhere and I'm trying not to be anal about it...but it's kind of disgusting."
Lily took that moment to sneeze all over her mother's face. Emma winced, her eyes squinting shut as a combination of mucus and spit coated her. Will rushed in, setting Lily in the swing they kept in their room for times like these, and steering his wife to the bathroom, turning on the hot water and helping her strip of her nightgown and panties, "You okay?" He asked as she let the warm droplets run over her face.
"Not really!" She squeaked.
Will curled his fingers around the shower curtain and sighed, "I'm sorry, sweetheart...I've got to get ready, alright? We're going to get to the bottom of this though, tonight, I promise."
Emma didn't look at him as she nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat.
Lily was content for almost two full hours, either being fed — Emma had a hard time remembering not to be mad at the baby, it wasn't her fault that she didn't know how to cover her mouth when she sneezed yet — or gnawing mindlessly at the ring she'd been given earlier.
Around nine o'clock was when the chaos began; starting with Lily grunting and kicking, mixed with whining sounds while her mother hovered over her, trying in vain to keep her entertained, "Oh, please don't start," Emma begged, "Baby, please d-don't start..." A whimper began it all, Lily sucked in a deep breath and released a loud wail that brought Emma to tears as well, "Lily, stop!" She cried, "P-please stop..."
Two hours and seventeen minutes of nonstop crying and screeching had finally broken Emma.
She'd exhausted her personal comfort techniques and the ones that usually only worked for her husband. She used the list her sister had written of things to try and scoured the internet for something, anything to make her daughter stop howling.
By now, she was just as hysterical as the little girl she'd created. Gathering herself enough to speak somewhat coherently, Emma stepped out of the living room after placing her screaming child in a swing, and collapsed on one of the kitchen stools, calling Will.
He had told her to call at any time, but he wasn't sure if she'd ever actually interrupt a class. Eyeing the clock, he noted it was about seven minutes until lunch, she could have waited if it wasn't an emergency, "Everything alright?" He asked quietly as to not draw to much attention to the fact that he was hypocritically on the phone during study hall.
"No, Will! Everything is not alright!" He heard a sob from the other end of the phone and the background was filled with noise from his daughter.
"Em, what's—?"
"Sh-she's b-been crying for two hours! Nothings— hiccup! — working!"
"Okay, okay, relax, relax, sweetheart. You know the more upset you get the more upset she gets."
"Will! I've been trying, I-I can't do this anymore, I can't, I can't do it!"
He breathed deeply, trying to remain calm while knowing thirty sets of eyes were on him, "Did you try one of the neighbors, see if maybe they can take her so you can settle down and try again later? You know they wouldn't mind—"
"I already tried and nobody's home except the creepy old man down the street and I don't want her with him!" She babbled between shaky breaths, "Will, I need you to come home! Please!"
"Honey," He sat forward, turning his desk chair around, "I can't just leave; I've got a class right now and Figgins wasn't happy when I ran home last week, remember?"
"Oh, god..." Emma sighed heavily, trying not to fall over as a wave of tiredness crept up on her, "I really need you, Will."
"I know, sweetheart, I'm sorry..." Of course his parents had left for Florida the week before, otherwise he'd have demanded they babysit, "Honey, I don't know what I can do for you, Em..."
"C-can you at least sk-skip Glee and come home...right after school?"
"Sectionals is next week; we were supposed to have our big rehearsal—"
Emma snapped from distressed to angry in a matter of seconds, enraged that he would pick the kids over her when she so clearly needed him, "Fine." Was all she said before hanging up the phone.
"No, Em, I didn't— Ugh," The line was dead and the bell rang as he attempted to call back, only to have Emma's cellphone go to voicemail. He rubbed a hand over his eyes and waited, calling back twice more before she'd finally shut the device off.
Meanwhile, Emma was at a loss. As she lowered her head to the countertop of the kitchen island for several minutes as she composed herself; finally sighing contently when silence met her ears. Wait—
"Lily?" She crossed her way to the living room where the little girl sat in her swing, face redder then ever and eyes filled with fresh tears that were threatening to spill. "Baby, are you all done now?" Emma lifted her just as her lip trembled, "Oh, no, no Lil..." She brought the tiny warm face to her chest, trying to keep the second round of hysterics at bay, "Sweetheart, no...you're fine, I promise...you're fine!"
They started as whimpers and gradually turned louder until the room echoed with Lily's cries, leaving Emma to sit numbly on the couch, stoically holding the screaming girl at a complete loss for what to do.
In her catatonic-like state, the older redhead hadn't noticed the sounds that proceeded a hysteria-induced fountain of vomit from her baby until it had throughly covered her chest, arms and splattered onto the couch.
Her eyebrows shot up her forehead and her mouth formed an 'O' as Lily settled dramatically, the wailing stopping, only a sniffling, pant-like cry remained.
"Oh...oh goodness...oh, oh god..." Emma placed the baby on the couch and removed her shirt while gagging and cringing, trying her hardest not to let the spit-up wind up any further then it already had.
Lily grunted and twisted her frame back to Emma, not wanting to be left unattended on the cushions. The mother started to breathe deeply, debating on what to do with herself. Finally, she lifted Lily, holding her at arm's length and composing herself long enough to place the baby safely in her crib, where her brown-eyed look of distress almost had her pause; but the stench and slimy feeling on her arms had her moving quickly to the bathroom, where she stepped in the shower, letting the water pour from the faucet onto her face, mixing with warm tears.
"Emma?" Will called as he entered the house almost two hours later, having persuaded the new guidance counselor to babysit his relatively well-behaved Spanish III kids, then to accompany the Glee kids as a faculty advisor in a quick run-through of their songs for sectionals, changing the dress rehearsal to the following week, "Emma!" He shouted, hearing quiet and muffled cries from the nursery that were undoubtably his daughters. "E-Lily..." He scanned the room, where currently only his daughter lay in the crib, her hand in her mouth, coated in drool, her demeanor picking up slightly as he entered the room, she reached out for him through her tears. He lifted her and swiftly turned to his bedroom, where he expected to find his wife in bed in crying, but instead found a neatly made bed and a bathroom door that had been shut.
"Emma!" He demanded, wriggling the locked knob, "Emma, open the door!"
When she refused, Will kissed the top of Lily's head, as she wasn't in immediate danger or apparent pain, he placed her gently in her swing, winding it a few times in hopes the automatic rocking would ease her, then reached for the spare bathroom key on the top of the molding, forcing the door open and pausing in the doorway as he found his wife sitting on the floor against the mahogany cabinets, her face empty and knees drawn to her chest as she stared blankly at the speckled tile of the shower wall.
"E-Em?" He crouched next to her, turning her face to his direction, "Sweetheart?"
She seemed to look right through him, as Will's panic levels rose alongside the volume of their daughter's shrieking cries, becoming progressively louder into screams until Emma responded with a scream of her own, "Make her stop!" She sobbed, snapping out of her catatonic-like state and clutching the front of his brown vest, "Make her stop!"
Will looked from one of his girls and back to the other several times, at a loss for who needed him more. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling his blood-pressure soaring and palms becoming clammy with his nerves tingling.
He needed Lily in a more stable environment in order to bring Emma back down, to calm and discuss the issues at hand without the distraction of the screaming baby, who didn't seem sick or in desperate need of anything but attention.
The neighbors weren't home, his parents were out of town and he trusted few to no other people in the town with the well-being of his daughter...Except perhaps one.
Will hadn't talked to his ex-wife but twice since their last interaction over the summer; he didn't know if she'd be at work or even around, but at this point, Terri was his best shot at rescuing his wife and daughter.
He kissed Emma's shaking frame and promised he'd return, and begged her to stay where she was. With his own fingers shaking, Will whipped out his cellphone and moved to the hall, which was moderately quieter, thankful when his former partner picked up after the second ring, "Will? Shouldn't you be teaching?"
"I-I need...Terri...Emma...The - Baby..." Articulate thoughts escaped him, "I need you."
Terri huffed, "Is that all you ever call for? Because you need me?" She sighed, "What is it?"
"I-I need...I need..."
Realizing something was seriously wrong, Terri's voice altered, "Will? Calm down; I'll help you if I can...what is it?"
"Something's wrong...With Emma...and...I need Lily out of here...for a little bit...and...my parents...Florida...neighbors aren't...and..."
"I'll take her," Terri interjected, unsure why she felt compelled to be a babysitting service for her ex-husband, but offering nonetheless, "I can be there in about ten minutes."
True to her word, the blonde arrived shortly, letting herself in, accompanied by a blonde-haired toddler, who she instructed to sit quietly on the edge of the couch which wasn't speckled in baby vomit, and following the sounds of hysteria to Will's bedroom, where she found a screeching Lily in the baby seat. Will had moved back to the bathroom with Emma in his arms, her hands over her ears in attempt to block out the noise as she rocked back and fourth.
"Oh my," The blonde caught Will's eye as he placed a kiss on Emma's forehead and moved to attempt to explain the disastrous situation better. Terri lifted Lily from the swing, placing the baby's tearful face in the crook of her neck and bouncing in a comforting pattern that already seemed to have her relaxed just from the contact of an individual who wasn't plagued with stress or worry, "What the hell is going on?"
"I-I don't know...it's been a bad week and I think it just kind of...exploded. Lily's been a mess and we don't know what's wrong with her...all she does is cry and cry and it's not been easy to comfort her...and...I don't know, Emma's just...a mess..." He didn't know how to describe his wife's feelings as she hadn't been able to express them properly. "I don't know — I just don't know." He ran a hand over his exhausted features, then made eye-contact with Terri, who suddenly grimaced then turned down to Lily, who's mouth was leaking once more, "Hang on," Will pulled a rag out of the small drawer-system next to the swing, handing it to his ex-wife to clean off Lily's chin, "She's been doing an awful lot of that, too...Maybe she's sick..."
Terri moved an index finger over the baby's lips, parting them and running it along her gums, then nodded and took Will's finger, running them over until he felt a pokey bump, "She's teething; that's why all hell has broken loose."
"Oh...god," Will sighed, feeling like an idiot, "How...ugh, we should have known..."
Terri put a hand on his upper arm, "They don't exactly come with instructions...I'm sure we've still got some stuff leftover from when the kids were teething that will settle her down." She took a few steps towards the bathroom, where Emma was crumpled back against the cabinets, observing the exchange — her face was a red and blotchy disaster, tears stained her cheeks and her eyes had swollen so she could barely see.
"Wait, no, Terr—" Will didn't want Terri to attempt to comfort his current wife, afraid she would only say things to make it worse.
"Let her come in," A horse voice reverberated off the tile of the bathroom as Emma pulled herself together enough to understand that Terri would be taking Lily out of the house. The blonde entered, crouching to the redhead's level, "I-I'm sorry...just; please, please take care of her?" Even in her state, Emma still loved her daughter, no matter how disconnected she felt; this would be her first time away from either she or Will.
"Of course," Terri smiled sadly, stroking the baby's back.
Emma nodded and leaned back as Will ushered his ex-wife to the living room, where Lily's car seat was waiting for her and a small bag of diapers and and a bottle was draped over the handle. He took his daughter, kissing her cheek and muttering an apologetic declaration of love, then buckled her in. Terri sighed, "I think you may need to get Emma to a hospital; whatever's happening, Will, she needs help. As much as you love her, it may not be enough right now...It looks like she needs to see a doctor." He ran a hand through his hair again as Terri collected the seat and bag, "Call me when you figure something out?"
He nodded and thanked Terri quietly as she took the baby away, calling the well-behaved girl behind her and leaving the house silent with the exception of a few sniffs from down the hall.
Will charged in, gathered Emma in his arms and moved them to the bed, holding her as she continued to make panting attempts to calm herself. Now that his baby was safe, Will could finally let out some of his own emotions that didn't involve a high-alert.
When a few of his tears landed on Emma's face, she glanced up through her own watery gaze, "W-Will?" She croaked, "Oh..."
They clutched one another tightly, neither knowing what to say or do that could make their situation any better.
"Emma?" She struggled to catch a deep enough breath to respond; he rubbed her back and whispered, "Breathe, sweetheart..."
As her air intake became shallower, Will sat them up, attempting to make eye-contact with his wife, "Emma?"
"Pa-" She gulped, clutching one hand on his upper arm and the other over her chest, "-Nic...att..." Emma couldn't force out her statement, but as her skin grew clammy and drained of color, the hand on his upper arm shook and her eyes began to roll back, Will realized what was happening and made their way to the car.
A near fainting spell, he could handle. But she'd warned him long ago, if it was something more severe, like the impending panic attack, he'd need to force her to medical care.
"Relax, relax, Em," He wrestled into his tennis shoes, not bothering to tie them, then assisted her into the car, thankful their new home had them five minutes from the nearest hospital; which, while coincidental, was something he'd noticed shortly after they signed the papers and had been thankful for.
Emma didn't remember the drive to the hospital when she woke up later that evening, tied to monitors and surrounded by sterile white linens. Her whole head was sore from the intense hysteria she'd endured over the past few days and hours, she could barely see; but she could see Will was not in the room.
After noticing this, her breathing increased again, one of the monitor's whose steady beat had lulled her in the first few moments of stirring shot in a sporadic motion, earning the door to be flown open moments later by several nurses, who were giving Emma directions she couldn't comprehend as she searched the portion of hall visible for her husband.
"Will!" She cried as one of the nurses gently pushed her back to the pillows, "Will!"
One of the women attending to her asked the other, "Her husband —?"
"He's in the patient and family education wing," She replied, stroking Emma's shoulder gently, "We'll have him called down, alright? Hang tight."
"I-I need...I need him," She said, gasping and sputtering while avoiding the concerned looks of the women around her, "I need him."
He arrived several minutes later, walking slower then Emma would have liked until he caught sight of her desperate facial expression and sprinted to her side, settling himself on the white sheet that covered her frail frame and wrapping his arms around her, shushing her gently as she shook and panted with an inability to produce any more tears then she already had.
"It's okay, sweetheart...it's okay..."
"Wh-what happened?"
The nurses left to give the couple privacy while Will positioned his wife back against the pillows, "Sweetheart, this was nothing we could prevent, alright? So don't blame yourself, promise?" She nodded, taking his hands and staring deep into his hazel eyes, "Emma...you've got postpartum depression."
She blinked several times, "Wh...what? Will, no, no...oh, no..."
"I-It's okay, sweetheart. Now that we know what it is...all these things you've been feeling...we can treat it, okay? You're going to get better...and we're going to be able to raise our baby with so much more confidence."
"I don't hate her!" Emma choked a sob, "I love Lily."
"Oh, Emma...no, postpartum depression doesn't mean that you hate your baby; no...honey, it just means that you feel disconnected and overwhelmed, and sweetheart, you have."
"Oh, god...I'm a terrible mom, see, Will, this is just like I said it would be...last year...when we," She blinked and looked away from him, "When we found out...this is just like I thought it would be...that I'd fail her and—"
"Stop, stop, Emma, sweetheart, no. Just listen, this isn't your fault. I've been down in the education room for most of the day...they've explained it to me and they'll explain it to you, too. This isn't your fault at all; and we're going to make you better. If anything, it's my fault for not noticing how serious it had become...I thought you were just...adjusting and...bored of being home all the time. I didn't bother seeing if there could have been anything else. I'm so sorry; and I'm so sorry for not coming home right away today. You needed me and I was being selfish—"
Emma wrapped her arms around Will and pulled him to her chest, "You're here now," She whispered, winding her fingers through his curls as she absorbed the new information about her latest mental disorder, "Why didn't this happen sooner?"
"They think that it was always there...but there was a trigger for it...We were together every day, almost every hour all summer. Then I went back to work and suddenly you were alone all day, every day...remember, the first day how excited you were when I came home? That was kind of...the first sign, I guess, that you weren't feeling right...and then that day you brought her in at lunch; saying you weren't sure you wanted to be a full time mom? These were all warnings, and then this week, it just finally collapsed."
She sighed deeply, "I...how am I going to feel better?"
Will kissed her lips, "Now that we know what's wrong...there's a few different things we can try. We can try therapy, medication, there's lots of ways to cope with this. And I'm going to take next week off to spend with you and Lily, hopefully get us all back on the same page."
"B-but next week is—"
"Sectionals right...but just like the first time," He paused, officially recognizing the decision he was making to himself, "I'm going to find another faculty advisor...who might be more then just for sectionals."
"Wh-what are you saying?" Emma asked, shifting to make eye-contact with Will.
"I'm saying...that I'm going to give up Glee. For you, for Lily."
"Oh, god, Will, no! You love Glee...it-it's your passion! I don't want you sacr-!"
"No, no, Emma," Will hovered over her with one hand cupping each of her cheeks as he placed a kiss first to her forehead then her lips, "You are my passion. And I'm never going to let something I want to do get in the way of my life," She felt herself misting over, this time in a sweeping feeling of happiness, "And the only life worth living is one you're really passionate about. So I'm going to resign, for now, at least...as director of Glee Club. So I can live my life for my wife," He grasped their hands, kissing her softly, "And my daughter."
Emma's eyes sparkled with tears as she was at a loss for words, unable to comprehend the sacrifice her husband was making for her, but overjoyed that he was, "W-Will, I-I don't...I don't even...know...what to say?"
He kissed her again, "Don't say anything, sweetheart. You mean so much to me, and I don't want to risk anything happening to you or Lily. I'm going to be there for you as often as I can now, and I'm not going to let anything get in the way of that."
She smiled widely, pulling him into several long and heartfelt kisses, then allowing him to relax against her.
They lay for almost an hour in comfortable silence, Will on his side with his head on Emma's chest and one arm around her, while she had one hand mindlessly twirling his curly hair and the other laced in his. Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket and they both jumped, then chuckled lightly as he pulled it out.
After a brief and rather cryptic sounding conversation from Will's end, he announced, "Terri's going to bring Lily in; she's out of bottles and is afraid she's going to be hungry soon."
"Oh, I only had one in the fridge...didn't I?"
"It's okay," He kissed under Emma's chin, "Weren't exactly planning on this."
The blonde arrived shortly after, poking her head in first, "I've got three more kids with me...sorry; Mark had a late appointment—"
"It's fine," Will shook his head as the door opened fully, revealing Terri with a baby carrier in the crook of one elbow and a string of three little blonde children attached to her other hand, "Come on in, guys," Will stood, pulling two seats out from near the window and directing the kids over, "Have a seat."
The taller and clearly older girl sat down, smiling shyly and encouraged her little sister to do the same, pulling the two-year-old to share the same seat as her while Terri detangled the boy from her hand and guided him to sit while Will carefully moved the baby carrier with his sleeping daughter to the floor near the head of the bed.
He sat back down next to Emma, and witnessed the interaction between his former wife and her son with special needs, in awe that the woman who previously wouldn't have engaged in any sort of activity with a boy like Austin was now nurturing and caring for one, "Austin," She crouched to his level, moving a piece of hair out of her face, "I need your eyes." He didn't turn to her at first, so she repeated, "I need your eyes, Austin." He looked up, "Sit," She made a motion which at first he wasn't sure why, until the next command, "No touch," that she was doing basic sign language, "Understand? Sit, no touch."
He did the actions back and Terri smiled, "Good boy."
"Good boy," He repeated, rocking back and forth in his seat happily, "Good boy, good boy, good boy."
Terri stood and gently patted his shoulder, then gave the same directions to the girls, "Stay put, I won't be too long."
The girls nodded and the elder sister pulled two toy ponies out of her coat pocket and one car for her brother, "Austin, here!" He wasn't looking, so she huffed, dramatically walking to the chair next to her and wheeling it along the wooden arm until it caught his interest and he took it in one hand, flapping the other in excitement.
"Thank you, Angie," Terri said as the little girl moved back to play ponies with her sister, the mother turning back to the couple with a sad smile and perched herself on one side of the bed, "Doing any better?" She asked genuinely.
Emma sighed, "Better knowing that it can be fixed...but...still pretty...rotten...kind of...like...a bad mom. I feel like I was...neglecting her..." She let her feelings spill, trying not to cry again, "There wasn't anything I could do to comfort her...so I just let her cry...and when...when she...um...threw up on me, I...just put her down...and took care of my-myself...I just can't help but feel like I've failed," The last word came out in a sob that made both Will and Terri sigh empathetically.
"Em..." Her husband set a hand on her arm, "Sweetheart, you haven't failed."
Terri agreed, speaking straight-forward, "You're not perfect; you can't be, and no mother is. All you can do is your best."
"And now that we know how to fix the problem," Will took her fingers and rubbed them gently, "You'll be able to do your best."
Emma breathed deeply, relaxing until a stirring grumble from the floor caused all three adults to look down as Lily grunted and kicked her feet in need of attention.
Will smiled and unbuckled her from the seat and gathered her into his hold, smiling as she snuggled into his chest like her mother so often did, grasping his T-Shirt and pulling herself closer to her father's neck.
"Hi, baby girl," Will kissed her and smiled down at her, a smile she returned for the first time in a week, "You look awfully happy."
"Oh, since what set her off was the fact that she's teething," Terri reached into her purse, handing a container of Q-tip-like swabs to Emma, "These are going to make you all less miserable," She popped it open, removing one, it's middle pink, "You snap them in half," She eyed the clock on the wall, noting that Lily would be due for another one within the hour, and slid a finger inside the baby's mouth, along with the cotton swab, "And try to only get it on her gums, it'll numb her up and she'll be about a thousand times happier."
Emma nodded, "Thank you, Terri."
"Just try not to get it on yourself, you won't feel anything either." Austin stood from his seat and took Terri's hand, pulling it towards the door, "I think somebody wants to get going..." She smiled, "Put your coats on, girls," She directed, standing and helping her son into his.
"Terri, I can't thank you enough for taking her today, you didn't have to do that and I appreciate it so much," Emma said sincerely, making eye-contact with the blonde who pulled her own jacket on, fastening the buttons.
"You're welcome. I'm not Nanny 911, but I'm here if you really need me; I know you don't trust just anyone with your kid, so I'm glad you felt like you could trust me." Terri rested a hand on Emma's leg above the covers and smiled with understanding, "You'll be okay."
She turned to her kids, "Ready?" The youngest sprang from her seat and raised her arms, "No, Kris, you're a big girl, perfectly capable of walking all on your own."
"Mommy!"
"Kristen," Terri shot her a look, the little girl backed down and pouted, crossing her fuzzy, brown coated arms over her chest, "No," She smiled back at the couple on the bed before taking Austin's hand, "Bye, Will...Emma."
They made their good-byes and Will laughed once Terri left the room, "That's the Terri I know. Always in control."
Emma smiled and watched as Lily stirred from Will's arms, grunting and twisting until he turned her to look at her mother. The baby's lips curled into a smile as she reached out, opening and closing her tiny hands towards Emma, who sighed.
Will tilted his head, "Don't want to hold her?"
"I-I don't know. I-I'm afraid."
"...Of what?"
"That..." Emma took a shaky breath before meeting Will's gaze with a fearful one of her own, "That I'm still going to feel...disconnected."
He pressed his lips together for a minute before feeling an idea that could help his wife and daughter bond once more. He twisted Lily to unbutton her sleeper, leaving Emma to raise an eyebrow, about to ask what he was doing when he stood, Lily clad only in her diaper on his hip and moved the front of Emma's gown down her arms, leaving her chest exposed; which she nearly questioned until she realized what he was doing: recreating her first bonding experience with her daughter.
Will smiled down at Emma and kissed the top of Lily's head, then gently lowered her to his wife's exposed skin. The older redhead put her hands on the baby's back as she nestled her face into her mother's skin and Emma tilted her chin up to capture Will's lips in a warm kiss before he sat back down next to her, covering the pair with a blanket and watching with joy as the spark in Emma's eyes returned while she rubbed her daughter's back.
"How does that feel?" Will asked after a few minutes of silence, pressing a kiss to his wife's forehead.
"It feels right." He bent to kiss her again, smiling into it as she joined him, "Thank you."
"For what, Em?"
Emma moved one hand from under the blanket to intertwine their fingers, "Everything...everything you've given up for me, for Lily...Will...I can't...I can't even describe just how much it means...that you love us so much; you're giving up your favorite thing in the world. It means so much," A few stray tears slipped from her eyes, only this time they didn't fall in distress or frustration, "I love you..."
Will nodded, "I'd give up anything for you...because I love you....so much. You mean so much more to me then singing and dancing...you are my song, Emma...And Lily," He brushed his fingers over the base of her neck, "Is going to keep us singing."
Emma nodded, pressing up for yet another kiss, "I can't say that I wasn't frustrated with her, but...I never stopped loving her."
"I know, sweetheart, I know."
"And I won't ever stop loving her," Emma rubbed a finger down Lily's spine, "Even when it gets hard...when...it's frustrating and I feel like I've failed...I'll never stop loving her, and I'll never stop loving you either."
"Mhm, good," Will captured her mouth for one final time before moving the blanket up and kicking his shoes off, "There is no challenge in this world that could prevent me from loving you, Emma. It's not always going to be easy...and sometimes it'll take a little more then kangaroo care to fix, but we're all in this for the long haul, Emma. Nothing will ever change that."
She nodded and smiled down at her daughter, who had fallen asleep peacefully against her chest; then allowed Will to roll to his side, wrapping an arm around them both and kissing each of their cheeks, "I love you," He whispered in each of their ears then turned out the light.
That's more of an ending...And I've found a way to make a sequel.
Beautiful Lie is coming within the next month! More information on this can be found by swinging by my profile page. Here is a very brief (and very lame) summary...
Lily's little quirks are starting to become more worrisome as she grows; Will and Emma try to remain in denial about it, but once she's in school, it is the job of her educators to see to it that she's receiving the proper resources she needs to grow and learn. Emma blames herself for this and things begin spiraling.
Again; I can't stress enough how thankful I am to each and every reader and reviewer who has taken the time to read this fic from start to finish — you all mean so much to me, thanks for sticking it out; I hope you're going to follow this family to their next adventure!