Chapter 16

Author's Note: Finally, the chapter you all have been waiting for! Amy finally finds out about the baby! Also, this is the second to last chapter of this story. It took me a while to write these final two chapters, I came across MANY writer's blocks, but fortunately I was able to get through them and finally finish this fic! Enjoy the following chapter! I would love to hear you guys' thoughts, as this story is coming to an end.

The next morning, Ephram was up and out of bed earlier than usual despite the fact that it was the weekend and Andy was home to take care of the baby. The rest of the night, after having put the baby back to bed and returning to his own, Ephram tossed and turned, eager for the day to come. He had decided to finally tell Amy. Despite his fear of not knowing how she would react, he realized it wasn't fair keeping her in the dark and all but ignoring her, not when she had been by his side and him hers for so many other hard times in their lives. He was thankful when he heard the baby begin to fuss earlier that morning, having now an excuse to get out of bed and get things going. He crept into his father's bedroom, the same has he had done the night before, and lifted him out of the crib and snuck back out before his dad awoke. Having settled on sort of a routine that week, Ephram climbed downstairs and went about what he had done all week, as if his father wasn't even there.

By the time Andy did wake up and make his way downstairs and into the kitchen, Ephram already had the baby in his seat and was at the table feeding him. Andy blinked, unsure if what he was seeing in front of him was a dream or the real thing.

"Morning," Ephram said, nodding his head in his father's direction before dipping the spoon into the container in his other hand. He watched the baby, waiting till he was ready for another bite.

"Your up early," he observed, standing in the doorway; his hair suffering from a severe case of bed head. "I thought for sure you'd take advantage of my being home and catch up on some sleep," Andy said, walking further into the kitchen.

Ephram shrugged. "I have some stuff to do today."

"Well hi there fella. I didn't even hear you this morning," Andy said, looking down at the baby and smiling. "Looks like you've gotten the hang of things," he said to Ephram.

"Yeah, well, I kind of had to after your disappearing act earlier this week," he reminded him. "Who do you think took care of him all day while you were gone?"

Andy laughed. "Good point." He walked over to the counter where the coffee pot sat. He could smell the strong scent of it all the way upstairs, tempting him down to taste some. Reaching up into the cupboard, Andy grabbed a coffee mug and poured himself a cup. "So, what's on your agenda for today?"

Spooning the last of the food into the baby's mouth, Ephram replied, "I'm going to Amy's."

"You plan on telling her about the baby?"

Ephram spun around quickly to drop the empty container and spoon in the sink before returning his attention back towards the baby. "Yep."

"Good for you, son," Andy said, feeling proud of Ephram.

"Yeah, well, we'll see when she tells me to get lost," Ephram said, wiping the food off of the baby's face and hands with a damp towel. Oh yeah, he had put together a routine fast, especially when it came to meal time.

"For what it's worth, I highly doubt Amy'll tell you to get lost," Andy said. "I imagine she'll be surprised and perhaps even a bit upset, but I don't think she'll say that. You did nothing wrong."

"That doesn't help much, but thanks," Ephram said. Wiping his hands on his pants, he looked up at the clock hanging up on the wall. He still had some time to kill before he headed over. He cursed the time moving so slow, he just wanted to hurry up and get it out of the way, out in the open and stop lying to her about it.

***

Amy turned on the cold water and rinsed the plate off she had already washed before setting it down to dry. Reaching into the soapy water, Amy grabbed the next dish to be washed. Earlier that morning, she had offered to do the dishes for her parents, needing something to do other than sit around and wonder what Ephram had told her brother. She had decided to take her brothers advice and wait for Ephram to come to her, as much as it killed her to sit back and wait. At least washing the dishes kept her hands busy and allowed her to focus on something other than her uncertain future. Her father had sensed something was up when she offered to wash them while they went out, but thanks to her mother's womanly intuition, Rose had ushered her father out the door before he could pry anymore, leaving Amy with some quiet time to herself.

I really should be doing some packing, she said to herself. However, with things so uncertain, she wasn't sure if their plans to go to move to New York City were still happening or not. She sighed, the thought making her sad once more. It wasn't like she could get away from the subject for very long; she had folded up boxes laying against her wall that reminded her each time she saw them that things weren't normal, that her life was basically on pause until Ephram told her what was going on. The past week or so, she had exhausted herself with different possibilities as to what was going on with her boyfriend. Finally, she had decided that she would drive herself crazy if she allowed herself to think up the many different possibilities and forced herself not to think of any, although occasionally she broke her own rule and found her thoughts drifting into the 'What if's'.

Amy had been so caught up in her thoughts that when the sound of the doorbell echoed through the house a few moments later, she actually jumped and dropped the mug her father had used that morning for coffee back into the soapy water. She looked down, sighing with relief that at least she had dropped it back into the water and not into the empty sink to the side or worse, on the floor. Grabbing the towel beside her, Amy wiped her hands dry before heading towards the front door.

"Ephram!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with relief when she opened the door and found Ephram standing on the other side of it. Before Ephram could say a word, Amy was stepping towards him and rapping her arms around him. "Thank god you're here. I've been so worried about you!" she said a few moments later, after breaking away from his warm familiar embrace.

Ephram forced a smile and shifted his gaze to the floor, then back up at her. "I'm sorry I haven't come here soon, I've just been…" he trailed off, not wanting to get too ahead of himself. Amy looked at him expectantly, waiting to hear what had kept him distant and away from her the past week and a half. "Ah, why don't we sit down?"

Amy frowned. "It's something bad, isn't it?" she asked as Ephram put his hand on the small of her back and ushered her into the living room. He remained silent, unsure of how to begin as he took a seat beside her on the couch.

"Your breaking up with me, aren't you?" Amy said, before Ephram could begin. "That's why you've been avoiding me and why your having a hard time telling me."

"Wha? No Amy, that's not… I-I'm not breaking up with you. That's… not even close to what it is," he assured her.

"Then what is it, Ephram?" Amy asked. "What could be so important that you felt you couldn't come to me with it. I mean, we've always been able to talk to each other about stuff. Or so I thought…"

"It's not that I couldn't tell you about it. I just needed some time to figure things out." He reached for her hand. "The past week has been so crazy… and scary. There wasn't a day where I didn't want to see you or talk to you."

Amy forced a smile as she bit back tears. "So what is it, Ephram? What happened?"

Ephram looked away from her face, his gaze traveling miles away before returning back to Amy. "Last week, I found a baby on my doorstep. We-we brought him in and found a note."

"Oh god."

"It gets…worse," Ephram warned. Not wanting to draw it out any longer, he decided to get to the point. "The baby is Madison's. She was the one who left him on our doorstep. She couldn't take care of him anymore or something-"

"Wait, when was Madison pregnant? And why would she leave her baby on your doorstep, I mean-" She stopped mid sentence. "Oh god," she whispered, her chest feeling heavier by the moment as her brain put the pieces together. "It's yours. The baby…"

"H-h-he might not be though, Amy," he assured her quickly. "I-I-in that letter Madison left with him, she said the baby could be either mine or her ex-boyfriends. She left him with me because she knew he'd be safe with us and she knew my dad could do a D.N.A test to find out," he explained quickly, seeing her face fill with sadness. "We're still waiting for the test to come back. If he isn't mine, we'll have to find Jay and let him know. If he doesn't want him, she has adoption papers signed already. Everything's taken care of, we just need to wait for the results."

Ephram watched as a single tear broke away and slowly rolled down her face. He could tell the news was breaking her heart and there was nothing he could do to fix it; the situation was what it was. There was nothing anyone could do about it. She reached up and wiped the tear away before finally speaking. "And what if the baby is yours?"

"I haven't figured out that far ahead yet," he admitted, looking down at his lap. "Right now I'm kind of just taking it one day at a time."

"Ephram…"

"And I am so sorry, Amy, that I didn't tell you about any of this until now. I wanted to. God I wanted to. I didn't want to hurt you with this and…. And I was worried you'd leave me." He paused. "I still sort of am, actually."

"I love you, Ephram," Amy said with certainty. "Nothing can change that. I've known it since the first time we met." She force a smile and Ephram returned one of the same, both thinking about the years past. "But this… I just need some time to catch up. I just… I can't…" She closed her eyes, feeling her throat constrict and burn from trying to hold back the tears.

Ephram felt his own eyes begin to could with tears. "I understand," he said simply. "I'm so sorry, Amy. For everything. I never meant to hurt you…"

"I know you didn't," she said. "And this isn't goodbye, I just need some time," she assured him.

Ephram nodded. He remained seated beside her for another moment before standing up. He bent down and kissed her on the top of her head, feeling as if someone was reaching inside his chest and ripping out his heart.

"I'll let myself out," he said silently, before heading towards the front of the house. It took all the power in him to make his feet move forward, away from Amy and out the front door.

~*~

Amy waited until she heard the soft click of the front door closing before allowing the tears to finally come. Sitting on the couch still, Amy sat in the silence for a moment before a strangled sob escaped from her lips. Burying her face in hands, Amy allowed herself to cry.