I do not own standoff.
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It was nearly nine o'clock by the time Emily and Lia got back to Emily's apartment. Both women had not said a word since the results of the tests; Emily was in denial and Lia was afraid Emily would explode. Once back at the apartment, Lia shut off the engine, leaving both of them in silence.
"You gonna be okay?" Lia asked hesitantly.
Emily just nodded; Words had left her, leaving her silent. Lia took her hand and grasped it firmly, before leaning over the console and giving her a hug.
"It's going to be okay, and if it's not, we're going to make it okay," Lia's muffled voice came from her shoulder. "Everything's going to turn out fine, just wait."
Emily just nodded her head once more and got out of the car. Before shutting the door, she turned to Lia. "Thanks," Emily murmured.
"Anytime. If you need me, call. I'll be over here in a New York minute," Lia said. Emily smiled half heartedly, and closed the car door. She made her way to the elevator, hitting the up arrow. The elevator came, and Emily stepped inside, leaning against the wall for support.
The elevator dinged, and she stepped out. As she headed towards her door, she saw that Lia was still there. Apparently, she wanted to make sure Emily got into her apartment without any trouble. Emily smiled weakly at her friend's thoughtfulness as she fetched for her keys in her purse. Only when Emily was inside did Lia pull away. Emily sighed, bolted the door behind her, and threw her shoes and purse aside.
She slid down the door and wrapped her arms around her knees. Too much had happened this week; Three failed hostage situations, Cheryl restricting Matt from allowing him to see her, a serial killer trying to do Matt in, she found out she was…
No, she thought. No there must be a mistake. No way in hell I would allow this to happen. Emily Lehman is not that stupid, she would never, in a million years allow herself to get…knocked up, as her father would put it.
Only married women got pregnant, or at least women whose partners would stay by their side. That was one thing that scared half to death; if Matt found out she was pregnant, he would more than likely leave her, wouldn't he? He hated change, he said so himself. Apart from marriage, wasn't a baby the biggest thing in any relationship?
Tears escaped her eyes, despite her resistance, and streamed down her face. God, how could she let this happen?
"Emily, what happened?" a concerned voice filled her ears. She felt arms reach out and pull her up. Only when a hand wiped away the tears did she realize it was Matt.
"M.M Matt," she stuttered, tears forgotten. "What are you doing here? It's nearly nine thirty. You shouldn't be out this late. Where's Frank?"
"To answer your question, he's out cold on my couch; he may be my body guard, but he is not my babysitter. Plus, I've been calling you for the past two hours. I get kinda worried after getting the answer machine for the fifth time," he explained.
"But you know what Cheryl said; no going out after dark, especially-"
"Cheryl is not my mother. I'm a big boy Em, I can take care of myself," Matt cut her off. "Now why are you crying?" Emily said nothing. Matt rolled his eyes. "I'm not leaving without an answer," he said firmly, and Emily knew his words were true.
"Oh, umm. Just upset about all this," she said, avoiding his eyes.
"About what?" Damn him. Why did he have to be so nosy?
"Oh Work, and my classes, and the fact that your life is in danger." Emily prayed he would believe her. Of course he didn't believe her.
Matt chuckled. "You know, you can lie to stop someone from killing themselves, but you can't lie to save your own ass." He led her to the couch and sat her down, setting himself across from her. "First of all, work is always going to be a pain in the butt; nothing can change that. Second, I've known you long enough to know that you love to teach, and your classes are pretty much the thing that gets you up in the morning. Third, don't worry about me. How many times do I have to say that? Now we are not leaving her until you tell me what's wrong." He said, leaning back into her couch. "We have all night," he said simply.
It was too much. Emily felt something break inside of her. Next thing she knew, she was shouting.
"What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG?! You want to know what's pissing me off? How about the fact that everyone is worried about you, and I mean EVERYONE, and here you are. Walking around town, practically a target for this crazy bastard who would do anything to carve you up like a pumpkin. AND YOU DON'T CARE!!" she screamed at him. Matt simply blinked.
Emily stood up and started pacing. "God, how can you be so stupid Matt? Can't you see that Cheryl, Frank, Me, hell even Duff, are scared out of our minds because we don't want you to die? How do you think we would feel? Cry for a few days then magically get over it? I don't think so. Life isn't a fairy tale, Matt. Happily ever after doesn't exist. At least not in my life. And I am not raising this baby all by myself. So you," she strode over to Matt, who had also stood up. "Had better," she jabbed him in the chest, "learn," another jab, "to take fucking," jab, "care of yourself!"
When Emily was done, she simply crossed her arms and stood in front of him, tears flowing proudly down her face. Matt looked at her, just taking in the sight in front of him. He reached out and cupped her cheek, then pulled roughly into a hug. Emily sobbed even more, burying her face in her shoulder. Matt ran his fingers through her hair and rubbed her back.
"Don't die," Emily cried. "Just don't die."
"I won't," Matt said soothingly. "I won't."
The two stood there for a good ten minutes before Emily's crying ceased. "Sorry for overreacting," she apologized. "It was stupid…" her voice trailed off.
"No it wasn't," Matt said firmly. He sighed heavily. "How long have you known about, you know…?"
"Just found out tonight," Emily grinned sheepishly, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "I didn't want to tell you this way, but… you're going to be a daddy," she chuckled.
Matt let the words wash over him. Part of him stopped functioning, completely shocked. Yet the other part of him wanted to strangle him. He got Emily pregnant, how could he do that to her?
"Matt?" Emily asked hesitantly.
"What? Oh, yeah. Daddy. I'm going to be…be…a…a…daddy," he finished. Emily nodded.
Matt laughed, running his fingers through his hair. "It's been one hell of a week, you know that? First on a hit list, next a baby." He shook his head.
"You're okay with this, aren't you?" Emily asked. "I mean, this is just as overwhelming for me as it is for you and-"
She was cut of by a gagging noise, and then dashed from the room, a hand clasped over her mouth. Matt quickly followed, and found her head first into the toilet, emptying it off all its contents. Matt grimaced and pulled her hair back. Once she was done, she flushed the toilet and gargled with some mouthwash. "If I ever find the bastard who came up with the name 'morning sickness' I'll kill him," she joked tiredly.
"You need rest," ordered Matt. He picked her up and carried her to her bedroom, placing her on her bed. He removed her socks, pants, shirt before pulling the covers around her. He left momentarily and came back with a bucket and placed it on her side of the bed. He then removed his own jeans and shirt and got into bed with her, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing her hair.
"You don't have to stay…" Emily's voice wandered off, but Matt just flicked the lamp off, leaving them in darkness.
"Try and get some sleep Emily," he whispered. Emily sighed. "Love you," she murmured in her sleep.
Matt pulled her closer. "Me too, babe."
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Okay, not as long as I expected. But hey, I'm trying to survive on ten hours of sleep for this entire week. I'm about ready to keel over.
Fluff and angst, to make up for the lack of the two in previous chapters! Well, more of fluff, but fluff is always better with angst, in my opinion. It kinda makes a story bitter sweet. Not too sugary, but not too sour. Plus, we need some M/E fluff real bad.
Many thanks to those who reviewed. Oh, and Bite Beccy, thanks for the encouragement.
Now I'm going to go to bed and practically die…