Welcome back to the story! Again I will say, if you don't enjoy Paily, don't bother reading this one. I own none of it, other than Cooper and Raina..and Avery, I guess. Read on...
-:- some things are worth the wait -:-
"Who throws a party for a baby?" Aria griped for the fourth time that morning.
Hanna checked her grocery list and struck a line of ink through the last item as she turned the cart towards check out. She rolled her eyes at her friend's remark. "Apparently Spencer and Toby do. Avery is officially two months old. But, Ari, I'm pretty sure the party is for Raina..."
The raven-haired woman drummed her maroon fingernails on the self-check out counter and sighed. "When does Em and Paige's plane touch down?"
"Um, I think it should be any minute now. They said they'd text us when they were off."
"It's exciting, isn't it? Our best friend, finally happy with someone she loves, and adopting a baby!"
Hanna nodded, occupied by the touch-screen cashier. "She's really come a long way." She glanced over at her friend, who seemed to be acting dejected since they had met up for coffee earlier. "What's up with you? You barely touched your blueberry scone this morning. Is something going on with Ezra?"
Aria sighed. "Yes, well yes and no."
Hanna gave her an encouraging glance. "So?"
"Well, Malcolm is coming over tomorrow to spend the weekend with us."
"That's exciting! His first weekend in the new house?"
"Yep," she nodded. "I'm nervous, because Maggie, well you know how she feels about me."
"Aria, step moms can be cool. Just because ours aren't, doesn't mean you don't have to be." Hanna told her as she pushed the cart through the parking lot.
"I know. And I am, Mack and I have a great relationship. But sometimes I feel like Maggie is feeding him these lies, trying to make me sound bad, you know?"
Hanna clicked the car lock. "Aria, trust me. I know it seems like that, but try stepping into her shoes. Maggie was Mack's only mom for at least the first ten years of his life. Imagine if your kid had another mom. Wouldn't you be constantly worried that they'd have a better relationship together?"
"Yes, but I don't see why she should feel so threatened. I've been nothing but welcoming to her, but she's never gotten comfortable with me." Aria said, climbing into the front seat.
"Then obviously she's not going to come around, which sucks because you're an amazing person who anyone would be lucky to have around."
Aria smiled back confidently and blushed. She could always count on Hanna for a pep talk. Hanna was one of the only friends she could talk to about things like divorce and step-parents.
After graduation, Byron got a promotion and the woman who took his place, Lydia, was just a bit younger than Aria's mother. She and Byron hit it off immediately, and got married the summer after Aria's sophmore year at NYU.
They had only met so many times, what with her and Ezra moving to New York. Lydia wasn't as horrid as Meredith, but she never let herself warm up to the idea of having step children. She wasn't used to having them, or having anything extra to think about other than Byron or herself.
"I'm really glad you're so understanding, Han. If I tried talking to anyone else about this, they'd all tell me to suck it up." She added.
Hanna turned her head away from the road when they reached a red light. "You haven't mentioned this to Ezra, have you?"
She shook her head in reply. "No, I don't want to freak him out or anything. He would probably confront Maggie and I just don't want any trouble. It's not like there's an evident problem."
"If it's bothering you, you should tell him. He won't confront her if you ask him not to. Just let him know what's going on. He's your husband. He will understand."
"Momma, when is Raina gonna be here?"
Hanna stepped down from the stool where she had been pinning up the "Welcome Home" sign in the foyer of Emily and Paige's townhouse. She looked at her watch. "Um, Aunt Aria should be getting them back from the airport any minute. Do you want to make the baby a card?"
"Yes! I want to make her the BEST card ever, because I really want her to like me!"
"Aw, Coop. You know she will regardless of the card, though I'm sure she'd love one." She replied, ruffling his hair.
They walked over to Paige's desk in the office and Hanna stole some paper from the printer and fetched the ziploc of coloring utensils that Emily kept for him and Taylor in the cupboard.
Em and Paige lived in a nice development that was closer to Philly, where Paige worked as a pediatric physical therapist. It was a quaint town home with two bedrooms, but with Emily's decorating, it looked like something out of a magazine.
About half an hour after Hanna had made sure to clean up around the house so it would be one less thing for the new moms to worry about, most of their friends had gathered in the living room waiting.
"Do you think they'll be too jet-lagged to visit with us?" Spencer asked as she burped Avery over her shoulder.
Ezra shook his head and set down his beer. "Aria texted me earlier. She said that they were all in great spirits. And that Raina is an angel."
"I'm sure she is," Hanna added. "She's lucky to have some of the most kind-hearted parents in the world." She spotted Spencer's sad look. "Next to you and Toby, of course."
"You're a great mom too, Han." Ezra said. "You and Caleb were meant to have children."
"Stop, I'm blushing." She replied. "Anyone can be a good parent, as long as they have a heart full of love, one thats in the right place."
"Which is exactly where yours is," Caleb finished.
A minute later, the front door opened and Aria waltzed in carrying some of the luggage. She set the bags down in the foyer and cleared her throat. "Friends and loved ones, I would like to present, for the first time, all the way from Beijing, China...Raina Pamela Fields-McCullers!"
Emily and Paige entered afterwards, Emily had Raina in her carrier and Paige had the rest of the luggage. Both were beaming wildly, excited to showcase their newest edition.
"Aria, we said no formal introduction." Paige said as a blush formed.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't not. This is a big deal." She retorted innocently.
Emily walked into the living room and set down the carrier. "Everyone, come meet our daughter."
Pam burst through the crowd of friends and family from the kitchen and pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "Em, I am so proud of you! She is absolutely gorgeous."
"Thanks, mom." She replied, hugging back.
Pam pulled away and went to hug Paige as well. "You are both so wonderful, thank you for making me so proud."
Ella, who sat on the couch beside Ezra and Zack, gave her daughter a knowing look to which Aria rolled her eyes and retreated to the kitchen.
"Em, she's beautiful." Spencer gushed as she took her turn holding and getting to know her godchild.
"Yeah, you guys did good." Toby added, squeezing Emily's hand.
"Thank you, guys. You're the best. And Paige and I are so grateful to have such supportive friends, like all of you." Emily replied, pulling Paige in by her waist and kissing her cheek.
When Raina had finally made her way to Hanna and Caleb, she as growing fatigued and her eyes fluttered. "Oh my God. She is the most amazing human being I've ever met. She's so graceful, even while she sleeps."
Caleb ran his hand over the infant's jet black tufts. "She really is. I remember when this was you, Cooper."
Cooper furrowed his brow. "I was a girl baby?"
Hanna chuckled and shook her head. "No, but you were this small. You were a good baby, really precious."
Aria interrupted their conversation when she asked the couple, "So was she nervous to leave the orphanage?"
"No," Paige answered. "Actually, she was completely fine with leaving."
"What was it like when you first met her?" Spencer asked.
Emily set down her glass of water and smiled. "It was amazing. We and all the other parents met in a room, and got to know each other. We were there for about forty five minutes while the social workers explained how it'd all go. Paige and I actually met another lesbian couple, Sydney and Farrah. They were adopting a little girl too, her name was Danielle and she was actually Raina's cousin."
"Really?" Spencer asked again.
Paige nodded. "Yep. They live in Chicago. We made plans to meet up some time when the girls were a little older."
"Anyway," Emily continued. "When we finally met her, we walked into the room and there she was, with a nurse. She was fussy because of all the excitement, it was all a little overwhelming. But then we got to her, and they handed her to me...a she smiled. And I knew that she was meant to be ours."
Hanna was choked up at the story, but willed herself to speak. "I am so happy for you two. You deserve this more than anyone. Congratulations."
Emily smiled and too Raina into her arms, rocking her. "Some things are worth waiting for."
Little Raina is here! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review, and in your review that I know you'll give me...please include your ideas for future chapters. Just so I can have some ideas.
Have a good day!