My apologies for the delay in updates. I hope you all will forgive me. Thank you for all of the reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars.

Here is chapter eighteen.

It felt like every other day Jake was being introduced to someone new. Only it was different this time. Aria hadn't even met Ezra's mother yet. But she was sure of one thing, tonight's dinner was going to be one awkward occasion.

School dragged on that day. Each one of Aria's classes seemed to take longer and longer to end. Even she grew tired of her lecture. She could only imagine how the students felt. Other thoughts consumed her mind. Thoughts that weren't of English or of the current novel the class was studying, rather they were thoughts of Ezra's mom. She wasn't even the one who was actually meeting the lady and yet she was nervous. Her uneasy feeling ended up getting the better of her and by fifth period she forced herself to give up on lecturing and assign a series of worksheets instead.

When 3:30 finally arrived and the final school bell sounded through the halls Aria gathered her belongings as quickly as possible and rushed out of the classroom. Though she was in a hurry to pick up Jake and head home, she wasn't all that surprised when Ezra stopped her in the hallway.

"Where are you running off to?" Ezra asked; his brow creased in confusion. "No papers to grade or students needing extra help today?"

Aria shook her head. "Nope. I guess it's because I didn't assign any homework. But yeah I have a few stacks of paper to grade but I can do that anywhere. I don't have to be sitting at my desk."

"True. So where are you off to?"

"Just going to get Jake and head home, I've got to get him ready for this dinner tonight."

"Oh right." Ezra quickly replied.

"Does he need to be dressed up to meet your mom?"

Ezra sighed. "Well she made reservations at some restaurant. She didn't tell me which one. So it's up to you."

Aria nodded. "I better get going. I'll see you at six." She gave Ezra a soft smile before continuing down the hall and through the large black doors.

PLLPLLPLLPLL

Several hours passed and it was now nearing 5:40. Papers had been graded, snacks had been eaten, and baths had been taken. Aria sat atop Jake's bed with the boy in her lap attempting to convince him to put on the button down shirt she had picked out from his closet. He wasn't having any of it.

"Jake, c'mon please put the shirt on. "

Jake responded with a groan and folded his arms over his chest. He raised his head up to his mother and looked her straight in the eye. "This one." He spoke revealing the shirt he had picked out just moments ago. It was a black shirt with a large picture of Sponge Bob Square Pants across it.

"Jake, that shirt has a big picture of a sponge on it. You can't go meet your grandma wearing that." Aria scoffed. "Besides it doesn't match your khaki pants."

"No."

"Yes. Now be still and put your arms through the holes. Your dad will be here any minute."

Jake slid out of her arms and raced to his drawer. He quickly pulled out another shirt and showed it to his mother. "Then this one."

Aria let out a loud sigh. The shirt he had picked out was one showing a large picture of Spider Man. "Gee. What is it with you and cartoon characters today?"

Jake simply shrugged.

"Come here, this blue one will look nice. I promise. "

Jake paused for a moment and looked up at his mother. "Kay." He replied, motioning for Aria to help him with the shirt.

Fifteen more minutes passed before Jake was ready to go. Most of the time had been spent convincing Jake that now wasn't the time to be wearing his favorite muddy sneakers. He had reluctantly agreed and now was sitting on the living room floor with the contents of a bucket of Legos scattered in front of him. He quickly turned around when he heard the sound of the apartment door opening close by, but he soon returned his attention to the blocks when he noticed it was only Spencer.

Spencer shut the door behind her and set her bag on the table. "You're looking pretty cute there Jake. You got big plans?"

Jake looked up and shot Spencer a confused look. It was at that moment that Aria appeared through the doorway of her bedroom. "He's going with Ezra. His mom's in town and wants to meet Jake."

"Hmm. That must be why he didn't look too thrilled when it was only me that walked through the door. Are you skipping out on our dinner to go as well?"

Aria shook her head. "Thankfully not. It's just Jake going this time."

It was then that the sound of knocking filled the room and Aria rushed to the door to open it. She gave a small smile when she noticed Ezra standing on the other side.

"Hey. Is Jake ready? I hate to rush but my mom's already at the restaurant." Aria responded with a nod and after getting Jake's attention away from his toys and echoing a series of goodbyes, she watched as the two of them left with Jake secured in Ezra's arms.

PLLPLLPLLPLL

A little while later Ezra led Jake through the doors of the restaurant his mother had picked out. It was a decent looking Mexican café that he couldn't recall the name of despite the fact that he saw the sign no more than two minutes ago, He quickly spotted his mother sitting in a booth by the window with her body turned away from him. He hesitantly walked over to her with slight apprehension. He had good reason, of course. Ezra hadn't seen his mother in nearly a year and this time he was bringing along his son.

When Ezra finally arrived at the table he noticed his mother was engrossed in the restaurant's menu and hadn't bothered to look up yet. Ezra took this moment to slip Jake off of his hip and let him crawl into the booth's seat. He quickly took a seat next to him.

"Hey mom."

Mrs. Fitz was snapped out of her thoughts and immediately moved the menu from her line of vision when she heard her son's voice.

"Ezra, it's so good to see you. It's been far too long. "

"Yeah I know. I'm sorry about that. I've been meaning to make a trip to New York but life has kind of gotten in the way.'" Ezra replied as he took a menu from the center of the table and placed a sheet of white paper and a few crayons in front of Jake.

"I guess it has. Hasn't it?" Mrs. Fitz paused and finally let her eyes fall on Jake. "So who is this handsome little guy?"

Ezra followed her gaze and took a moment to stare at Jake. He quickly turned his attention back to his mother and smiled. "Mom this is Jake, my son."

A large smile soon appeared on Mrs. Fitz's face as she continued to take in the small boy's appearance.

"Jake" Ezra interrupted and continued when the boy looked up in response. "This is your grandma."

Jake quickly dropped the red crayon that he held in his grasp and looked quizzically over at the elder lady, not bothering to say a word.

"Hi Jake. It's so nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Well actually that's a lie, I haven't. But that's beside the point. I'm still thrilled to be seeing you."

Jake stopped looking at her as she continued to speak and scooted closer to his father and attempting to hide his face.

"Well, Ezra it seems you have a shy one. He sure is a handsome fellow though. He looks just like you did at that age."

Ezra nodded. "Thanks. I'm sure he will open up to you before the night is over. He's probably tired of meeting new people. "

"Oh really?"

"Yeah,. Between me, Aria's parents, and a few others around town this whole thing may be getting old to him."

"Speaking of Aria…" Mrs. Fitz finally spoke.

"Here we go." Ezra shifted uncomfortably.

"I had expected to meet her tonight. Care to explain to me why I didn't?"

"Well" Ezra began. "This was kind of a spur of the moment thing and she had something to do tonight. "

"Oh I see. I do intend to meet the mother of my grandson eventually."

Ezra nodded. "You will."

"I look forward to the day."

Ezra sighed. He wasn't exactly sure how much he looked forward to that day. He wasn't sure how that meeting would go. Would it be similar to the meeting with Gretchen or would his mother quickly take to Aria? She seemed just fine around Jake, but there was only so much one could bring up around a three and a half year old.

The waiter finally came and took their order and brought their food out in due time. The dinner seemed to be going well. Ezra and his mother talked small talk while Jake eventually scooted away from his father and picked at the chicken fingers on his large plate. He still hadn't quite opened up to the elder woman that sat opposite him at the table but it didn't seem to bother her too much.

"So Ezra" Mrs. Fitz finally spoke half way through the meal. "Gretchen did inform me about Jake, but she seemed to leave out any information about your relationship with his mother. How long have you two been seeing each other?"

Ezra dropped his fork and locked eyes with his mother. "Before I answer that, what all did Gretchen tell you?"

"She just said that you had a son that was kept secret from you for quite a few years."

"Oh did she?" Ezra scoffed. "Did she happen to tell you why that was?"

"Nope she failed to mention that part. I had my own ideas but I won't dare share them." She replied simply.

"Well to make a long story short Gretchen thought she was doing me a favor by erasing the message Aria left on my machine informing me about Jake. And that's why I-"

Before Ezra was able to finish his statement, he was interrupted by the sound of his mother's voice. She wore a very shocked look on her face. "She did what?" Mrs. Fitz paused. "And I'm sorry Ezra but who leaves such important information on an answering machine?"

Ezra breathed. "Aria will be the first to admit that that was a mistake but she was scared. I mean she had just gone off to college-"

"College?" Mrs. Fitz gasped. "Excuse me. Ezra Fitz, are you telling me that you dated one of your students?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Shit." Ezra groaned and shifted in his seat. "I can't believe I managed to let it slip my mind that we hadn't had this conversation yet."

"Shit indeed. What In the world were you thinking?"

Ezra sighed. "I was thinking that I loved her. But please mom, can we have this conversation another time. This dinner was about you meeting your grandson."

"Yes. Of course it was. But Ezra I can't deny that I am disappointed in you."

Ezra nodded awkwardly. And for the moment it appeared as though his mother had moved on from the previous discussion. Although he knew it hadn't completely escaped her mind.

He couldn't believe what he had done. With one slip of the tongue Ezra had managed to unveil his biggest secret. He had been so good at keeping it in the past but that didn't matter now. It was out. His mother knew and he could only imagine the thoughts that were currently running through her head.

The sound of Jake's soft laughter brought Ezra back to reality. He smiled when he noticed that his mother had finally gotten Jake to socialize. It wasn't until he glanced over in his son's direction that he realized that his mother hadn't been the source of Jake's excitement.

Someone in the restaurant had gotten Jake's attention and it wasn't Mrs. Fitz. Jake was staring past his grandmother to the entrance way of the café. Ezra followed his son's gaze and it took him mere seconds to see what had caught Jake's attention. Spencer, Hanna, Emily, and Aria were standing together waiting to be seated.

And if that wasn't enough Jake took this moment to finally speak. "Mommy!" He yelled loudly across the restaurant while pointing his small fingers in her direction.

Ezra could only groan as he pictured what was bound to take place in just a matter of moments.

Here is chapter eighteen. I hope you enjoy it. Reviews would be greatly appreciated but please NO FLAMES! I'm aware that my writing is flawed so if you're going to point it out please be kind. Though I never seem to catch all of the errors, I do at least try to. Thank you all again. You guys are amazing!