Chapter 8:

Zzzz...Zzzz...Zzzz

Aria awoke to the sound of a phone vibrating. She shifted in bed, careful not to wake Ezra up as she picked up the phone. It was Ezra's.

"Hello?"

"Hi, um, is this Ezra's phone?" A woman's voice asked.

"Yeah...Maggie?" Aria asked.

"Aria?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry for making you lie to Ezra about Malcolm!" Maggie said into the phone. "I really feel bad about that, especially after everything that happened." she said, and Aria could tell from her voice that Maggie really did feel bad.

"It's okay. Ezra and I managed to sort things out and we're okay now. Besides, it can't have been easy for you either." she said. Although Aria didn't like that Maggie made her lie, she couldn't be mad at the woman. Maggie had been through so much already.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. And I just wanted to say, I'm sorry about what happened to your friend." Maggie said gently.

Aria stiffened. "Thank you." she said in a tone that showed she really didn't want to talk about Spencer.

"Um, sorry. Anyway, I just called to tell Ezra that I talked to Malcolm and we're ready for him to meet Ezra. So could you just let Ezra know and tell him to call me before coming?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, sure. I'll let him know." Aria replied, relieved that Maggie changed the subject.

"You're welcome to join us if you want." Maggie offered.

"Thanks. I'll talk to Ezra." Aria replied.

Once Aria hung up the phone, she placed it back on the night table and lay back down. She felt Ezra's arms tighten around her waist as she snuggled against his chest.

"Who was that?" he asked sleepily.

"Maggie. She talked to Malcolm and she said you can meet him." Aria replied, turning her body around so she was facing him.

Ezra took this in for a moment. "Will you come with me? I don't think I can handle this alone."

"Of course. I'll be right by your side." Aria promised, smiling up at him. Ezra pulled her closer to him.

"This is one of the many reasons why I love you." Ezra said, kissing her forehead.

Aria giggled as she put her head on her hand. "Hmm, and what are some of the many other reasons?" she asked, smiling.

"Well*..." Ezra said, sitting up so he could pick Aria up and put her on his lap. "You're adorable." he said, kissing her. "You're beautiful." He kissed her again. "And you are the most caring person I know." he teased and Aria playfully slapped his arm.

"Don't forget nice, hilarious, and naturally amazing." Aria joked.

"Hmm, let's not forget modest." Ezra said, rolling his eyes and Aria gently slapped his arm.

"Do I detect sarcasm, Mr. Fitz?" Aria asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Possibly." Ezra replied. "Oh and I forgot one more thing."

"What's that?" Aria asked.

"You have the most adorable laugh in the world." Ezra said, tickling Aria, who laughed uncontrollably.

Ezra! Stop!" Aria shouted between giggled, trying to grab his hands and stop him.

"What's that? You want me to tickle you harder? Okay!" Ezra teased, tickling her harder and harder as she continued to laugh.

"Ezra!...My...Stomach! Stop!" Aria shrieked, finally getting a hold of Ezra's hands. She held them with her own, as Ezra moved them to cup her face in his hands and place and gently kiss on her lips.

"I would do anything to hear that laugh and see that smile." Ezra said, before placing his lips back on his love's.

*PLL*

"Are you okay?" Aria asked, placing her hand on Ezra's. They were sitting in his car, outside Maggie's house.

Ezra nodded slightly then shook his head. "I don't know." he said.

"Hey, look at me." Aria said and Ezra looked up at her. "Everything will be okay. You're going to meet your son today and he's going to love you, just like I do. Everything's going to be fine." she assured him.

Ezra took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm his nerves. He felt Aria squeeze his hand before his eyes opened and, with a grateful smile to Aria, he got out of the car. They went up the front walk and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal a nervous Maggie.

"Hi."

"Hi." Aria replied and Ezra nodded.

"Are you ready?" Maggie asked.

Ezra looked at Aria, who gave him a reassuring smile, before nodding. "Yeah, I guess."

Maggie led them into the living room where Malcolm was playing with his toy cars. "Sweetie, someone's here to see you."

Malcolm looked up, staring at Aria and Ezra. "Hello." he said, standing up and walking over to them.

Ezra bent down to Malcolm's height. "Hey buddy." he said, holding out his hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you."

Malcolm shook his hand and turned to his mother, then back to Ezra. "Are you my dad?" he asked.

Ezra paused for a moment before nodding slowly. "Yeah...I am."

Malcolm stared at Ezra for a few moments before he wrapped his tiny arms around his father's torso. Ezra looked surprised but recovered quickly, hugging him back. Aria and Maggie watched the father-son exchange with tears in their eyes.

When Ezra and Malcolm broke apart, Malcolm asked if he wanted to play with his train set, to which Ezra agreed, smiling widely. Malcolm even asked Aria if she wanted to play with them and the three of them started playing. Aria was the conductor, Malcolm and Ezra moving the train around the tracks, laughing and playing.

They played trains, watched a movie, and even went to the park for a bit. The whole time Malcolm refused to leave Ezra's side for even a moment, insisting that he sit in Ezra's lap during the movie, that Ezra push him on the swings at the park, that Ezra give him his lunch. Ezra happily agreed to everything, happy that his son loved him so much already. When it was finally time for Aria and Ezra to leave, Ezra's disappointment was visible on his face as he said goodbye to his son.

"Dad?" Malcolm called as they were leaving.

"Yeah buddy?"

"Do you love me?" Malcolm asked, staring at Ezra with his innocent blue eyes.

"Of course I do." Ezra replied, ruffling Malcolm's hair.

"Then why didn't you come before?" Malcolm asked.

Everyone was silent for a moment. They had all secretly wished he wouldn't ask that question for nobody was prepared to answer it. Ezra looked to Maggie for help, but she just shrugged helplessly.

"Um...the thing is...I couldn't come sooner because..." Ezra struggled to come up with an answer. "because...I was scared that you wouldn't like me." he finished. It wasn't the full truth, but it wasn't exactly a lie. Ezra had put off calling Maggie for a few days after he found out because he was afraid that, if he really did have a son, he wouldn't like him. It was because of Aria that he'd managed to work up the courage to finally call.

"Don't worry daddy, I'll never hate you." Malcolm said, hugging his father, who hugged him back, tears in his eyes.

"Good. Now I can stop being scared." Ezra said, smiling as he hugged his son back. "And I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Promise?" Malcolm said, holding up his pinky.

"Promise." Ezra replied, twisting his pinky around Malcolm's in a pinky promise.

Okay, I know I haven't been updating as frequently as usual but I have a lot of school stuff to take care of at the moment, so I'll try to update soon but I don't know when. Also, if you have ANY IDEAS for the next chapter, I would love to hear them because I have such bad writer's block right now, it took two days just to come up with this chapter. So PLEASE help me out!