Chapter 3- Newfound Reality
Hey all! Thanks for reading! Please tell anyone you know that likes Ezria fanfic to read mine! I'd love for more people to read this story! Anway, this chapter was fun to write, but the next chapter I write is going to be the wedding reflection. Soon enough, once i've gone forward with old stories i think to be important with current events in the present, there will be no more reflections and more plot twists and such willl come about! I want you all to really understand where Ezria has come in this story before things really start moving. They will start to move gradually, however. Anyway, with that (long) AN, here is it... Chapter three! Please read and review and it will make me wanna update faster!
"Your turn," Aria grumbled against Ezra's chest as Leah's wails began to get louder.
"No," Ezra whined.
"I got up last time," Aria sighed. Ezra climbed out of bed, still half-asleep, and wandered over to Leah's crib. Lifting her up, he patted her on the back, whispering and soothing. Leah's cries prevailed.
"Leah, Leah, Leah," Ezra said, bouncing her slightly. Leah whimpered, just before screaming again.
"Is her diaper wet Z?" A frustrated Aria asked from across the room.
"I'm not sure!" Ezra snapped back.
"Well check then!" Aria flopped back down onto her pillow, groaning. Ezra checked Leah's diaper, and it wasn't wet, so he headed over to the kitchen, Leah's head on his shoulder. Ezra walking her in circles around the island, Leah seemed to calm herself a bit. Screams turned into whimpers and whimpers finally turned into snores. Ezra carefully placed her back in her crib and headed back to the bed he shared with Aria. Checking his alarm clock, the red numbers glowed 3:30, and Ezra just sighed. Aria was back asleep, and in her sleep she turned back to him and put her forehead to his chest. Ezra soon fell back asleep, and the apartment was finally silent.
The next morning, Ezra woke up to the smell of coffee and the sound of Aria's baby voice. Sitting up, he stretched and yawned, squinting in the sunlight coming through the bay window. Aria faced away from him, sitting on the couch, Leah on her shoulder. Ezra smiled at Leah's grin, and waved at her. She grinned even wider and Ezra grinned.
"What's so funny boo?" Aria cooed, not realizing Ezra was awake. Ezra quietly got up, and walked to the back of the couch. He put his hands on the couch and kissed the top of Aria's head, then Leah's. Aria jumped.
"Jesus, Ezra, you scared me," Aria laughed.
"Sorry. What time did she get up? I didn't even hear her," Ezra asked, playing with Aria's hair.
"Around six, its seven thirty now." Ezra nodded, heading to the kitchen to pour him a cup of coffee. Humming to himself, he poured his coffee into an old Hollis mug, adding cream and sugar.
He turned and watched Aria coo to her, wait, correction, their baby, their joy, their whole life. Wrapping her arms around Leah, Aria stood up carefully, heading to the kitchen to meet Ezra. Putting his cup of coffee down, she walked into his chest, Leah's head resting on her shoulder.
"Sorry about last night," Aria whispered. Ezra wrapped his arms around his two favourite girls, and smiled.
"It's alright. I figured she wouldn't be as perfect as she seemed," Ezra said, kissing Leah's head, who began to protest as she was between Aria and Ezra. Aria stepped away from Ezra, switching Leah around so she was cradling her, before handing her off to Ezra.
"HA!" Aria sarcastically laughed, as she walked back across the apartment to grab the breast feeding supplies. "Can you bring her here?" She asked after she was settled down. Ezra nodded, bringing Leah back to the small couch where Aria had set up. Ezra sat down beside Aria, and handed her back Leah, and reached for the newspaper on the coffee table. After a few minutes of silence other than Leah's suckling, Aria readjusted herself.
"How is it that we got here exactly?" Aria asked, shaking her brown curls. Ezra was rather taken aback by the question.
"How do you mean?" Ezra asked, looking at her over his new glasses. Aria burst out laughing, scaring Leah a little bit. Comforting her, Aria turned back to Ezra.
"You look like and old man Ezra. I've got an old man for a husband. Look at you! You're sitting here, reading the newspaper with glasses on. With a nice cup of coffee," Aria scoffed lightly.
"I take deep offense to that!" Ezra laughed. "And look at you, a mother at twenty-four. Just a baby who had a baby," Ezra was not going to let her get away easy through their careless banter.
"Ah!" Aria gasped, moving Leah to her shoulder to burp her. "I meant, how did you become this, my husband, a father, from a fresh-out of college English teacher who was in a relationship with his student? We're married. We survived telling my parents, telling yours, even a crazy stalker that wanted me dead. We had a wedding, now we have a child. I can't believe that I am sitting on your- our couch, some six years later, burping our newborn daughter," Aria cradled Leah, slipping over to sit closer to Ezra.
"Me either. Sometimes it's surreal for me, too. I never thought I'd find, let alone marry a girl like you. Hell, when I was in college I convinced myself Jackie was who I wanted to be with. For the rest of my life, and now, well that would have sucked," Ezra laughed at himself. Aria swatted him.
"I mean, I never expected to have a life like this. Sure, I knew I wanted to be a teacher, and yeah, I knew one day, I'd like to be a dad, but finding you really set things in perspective for me. Falling in love with you only reconfirmed what I knew I really wanted out of life. So what if your brother punched me in the face years ago? Now he's one of my really close friends. Your dad, however unaccepting of our relationship he was years ago, well that changed when he fell back in love with your mother, didn't it? And my parents, well they loved you, and my brother loved you too. Unlike their feelings for Jackie, they knew you were just what I had always needed. Someone exactly like me. They say opposites attract. In our case, I knew that was never true. No, we are not exactly alike, but I know we are closer than many people could ever hope for. I love you Aria, and I love our family," Ezra looked into Aria's eyes, and Aria knew the banter was over.
Aria got up from her seat on the couch abruptly, and went to place Leah in her smaller play-pen type crib. Walking with determination, Ezra's eyes on her, she strode back to Ezra's spot on the couch. Taking his newspaper and coffee, and setting them on the small table, she sat down on Ezra's lap, sliding his glasses onto his head. Taking his face in her small hands, she kissed him passionately, as hard as she could. Gripping her waist, Ezra fell into the embrace, and kissed her back deeply. She tasted like coffee, and smelled like baby-powder and her green apple shampoo. It was an odd-combo, sure, but for Ezra it was home. Flipping her over, he leaned her down onto the couch and continued kissing her.
Suddenly, cries rang through the apartment. Aria laughed, kissing his lips. "Have. I," Aria said, kissing his lips after each word to make them more important. "Ever. Told. You. That. I. Love. You?" Ezra laughed, kissing her nose.
"Many times," Ezra said, feeling anxious that Leah's cries were being ignored for the time being.
"I love you," Aria said, pushing against Ezra's chest, sitting up.
"And I love you," Ezra said, getting up to tend to Leah's wails.