Chapter Four: Burying the past, embracing the future

"Hello, may I speak with Miss Thorne?" I'm confused with the call, and even more when the woman refers to me as a single person, "is Mrs. Mathis now" I answer softly, "Oh, I'm sorry Mrs. Mathis" "I don't mean to be rude but, why are you calling me?" this is scaring me, so I don't really care too much for my manners "right… my name is Miranda and I'm calling on behalf of Victoria Grayson" definitely wasn't expecting that "uh?" "She wants to see you".

I thank God Aiden isn't here, I rather do this alone and under my own terms. It's still unbelievable but there she is, waiting for me with that annoying smile that makes me want to hit her immediately, but sadly I can't. I'm surprised when the guard guides me into a private room, apparently being Victoria Grayson still has some benefits. "Hello Emily" my blood boils "Hello Victoria, enjoying your new lifestyle? I must say orange is definitely your color" the smile on my face, I'm sure she's about to go crazy. Her laughter reaches my ears, she's still playing her part "it's…different from what I'm used to" short answers, she just wants to make the game longer…I on the other hand "Ok, cut the crap Victoria, why am I here?" "Straight to the point, like always" I raise my eyebrows and look at my watch, she sighs "I read Mason's books" "so?" "Why did you leave a copy in the box?" I laugh, "Oh Victoria, that was so long ago…I wanted you to know what was next" "what? Weren't you satisfied with all you did to my family?" "I wanted you to suffer, to pay for all the pain you caused, to David Clarke, to Amanda, to Jack, to Charlotte and even to Daniel; and you know what? I think a life sentence isn't enough because you're not even sorry!" I'm shaking with anger; finally all the things I wanted to say are coming out. "It's all Conrad fault, I have nothing to do with what happened to David" "Really Victoria? Not even in prison are you going to admit it? All the evidence is out there… at least Conrad had the decency to tell me he was sorry for everything that happened with David and Amanda, he apologized to Charlotte AND Jack… but most importantly, he apologized to me for what his son did" I touch my abdomen, if it wasn't for him… the Ice Queen looks away, "is that all?" she doesn't answer "we're finally happy and I sincerely hope you have a very long and miserable life" "you too Emily Thorne" "It's Mathis now" her mouth opens, "does he know you are unable to give him a proper family?" that hurts me more than I want to, but I don't let her know it…I won't give her the satisfaction "that's none of your business, goodbye Victoria and please, think of me when you're burning in hell" I don't give her a chance to answer and I leave the room as quickly as I can, there was nothing else to say. I feel a hundred pounds lighter; it's time to move on.

At home, Annie and Aiden are waiting for me "Hi, where were you?" he asks, "Downtown, I had a problem with one of my credit cards" I decide my final encounter with Victoria will stay secret, I won't ruin his day; he kisses me "did they fix it?" "yes, it was easier than I thought" I leave my things on the kitchen counter, "Aiden and I were thinking…" Annie begins "yes?" "Well, I'm past my due date so I could literally go into labor like right now and I want you to be with me during the whole thing so, can I stay with you? Only until Amelia comes" I am touched, "what does your mom think?" she shrugs "she actually agrees with me, says you guys deserve to be there too… when the time comes she'll meet me at the hospital" I smile, "then it's settled, we're happy to have you here" Aiden and I hug Annie, and peace returns to my mind. "We should invite the guys for dinner, I think Margaux could use your advice" Annie's eyes light up and Aiden can't refuse. I start calling all immediately.

We laugh watching Annie and Margaux trying to hug each other, "I give up" the later says defeated, she's eight and a half month and ready to be over with the experience. "Pregnancy is wonderful, but this is unbearable….I can't even look my own feet, I want it to be over right now" Annie complains, "I hear you girl, same here!" Margaux quickly agrees with her, I smile at them "It'll be worth it". Like always, we enjoy a nice dinner… it's the guys turn to wash the dishes, Nolan whines the whole night about it "Let's go, with 2 of them pregnant we will never win" Jack drags him to the kitchen but Annie stops them "Eh guys, no one is washing anything tonight…my water just broke" we are all too surprised to react, until Margaux complains "Ugh, this is so unfair!".

Before we notice, we're all in the hospital… and Annie doesn't let us leave her side, Aiden is the nervous one this time and I have to admit I am too but I decide to be the strong one, for Annie and Amelia. When the time comes, we hold one of her hands together while her mom holds the other "Annie I know you're tired but it's time to push ok?" Annie nods furiously "you can do it Annie, we're here for you" I give her strength. She screams and admire her even more, "your baby girl is almost here, one last push" even if it's not possible I feel in the same position she's right now, I'm about to become a mom, suddenly Amelia's cries fill the room and we're all crying too, Annie looks at me "Congratulations mommy" I kiss her forehead, "Daddy do you want to do the honors?" the doctor asks and Annie encourages Aiden, he cuts the umbilical cord smiling. Annie's mom kisses her forehead once again and leaves the room to give us some privacy, and I can't stop the tears "Emily, Aiden…come here" we sit beside her, "I just wanted to say that you'll always be in my heart, I'll never forget you guys and know Amelia is the luckiest baby in the world because she'll grow up by your side" "Don't say goodbye yet, you have to hold her first" I say and she shakes her head "you're her mom, you deserve that first moment with her" I carefully hug her, and Aiden gives her our present: a white gold necklace with a star, engraved with an 'A'. she smiles "It's beautiful" "you are already a star Annie, don't ever forget that" Aiden says and kisses her cheek, the nurse comes back with Amelia in her arms and Annie's mom is right behind her "this are the final papers… thank you for everything" we sign, and the nurse asks Annie if she wants to hold her for a while but she politely declines. We say our tearful goodbyes and wish her good luck before another nurse guides us into a private room "there you go" she gives me my daughter, "welcome home Amelia" Aiden says softly, already in love with her gray eyes.

As quietly as they can, Jack, Margaux, Nolan and Charlotte enter the room… "She's beautiful Ems" Nolan says first, "she has her mother's eyes" Charlotte says and I nod "yeah, they're beautiful" Jack and Margaux look at her, and from the look on their faces I believe they're picturing the birth of their own daughter. Jack kisses my head and shakes Aiden's hand, "congratulations guys, I'm so happy for you" he says sincerely, and Margaux smile "I wish I had my camera with me, you look perfect" Aiden and I smile, we do look perfect. Margaux tells Jack it's time to go, so Aiden and I decide to make our announcement before going home too… "Nolan, Charlotte we want you two to be Amelia's godparents" Charlotte hugs Aiden immediately and Nolan smiles at me "I would be honored" he says and Charlotte seems unable to talk but her tears of joy tell me she feels the same way. Margaux and Jack congratulate the brand new godparents and say their goodbyes promising they'll have lunch in our house during the week.

It feels like it's been days, but only hours after her birth I enjoy watching my daughter, my little Amelia, sleeping peacefully in my bed and I'm sure my heart is about to burst. Aiden kisses me deeply, "I love you Emily" "I love you too Aiden". A couple of days later I receive a new edition of Voulez, and it brings tears to my eyes… my family is on the front page 'Welcome to the family!' Apparently Margaux did have her picture of the perfect moment. I'll make sure Victoria and Daniel get a copy of the magazine, just to show them that after all, they only made me stronger.

~A&E~

First I want to thank all of you who took the time to write a review, your kind words inspire me even more!. This chapter is a little shorter than the others because it has a lot of strong emotions, but I'm not over yet :)

I hope to have the next chapter up tomorrow night…

Kisses, Cami