We've Got a New Member in the Family: Chapter 3

Note: This chapter takes place before/during/directly after Chapter 2.

Aria's POV (takes place before/during the time when Spencer gives birth to Eve):

Ezra and I were sitting in the navy blue waiting room chairs waiting for any information about Spencer. The heating in this room sucked; I pulled my leather jacket closer to my chest. Bennett had drifted off into a light sleep and was curled in my lap, his Old Navy coat tightly bundled around him. On my right, Ezra was holding Cameron's hand as they flipped through a wooden picture book I had found on a bookshelf here. We had been waiting for a couple hours, and I was getting hungry.

"Cameron? Would you like something from the vending machine? My treat," I asked the little boy sweetly.

He sat deep in thought for a few seconds and then jumped off his chair. "Yes!"

I passed a sleeping Bennett to Ezra and headed hand-in-hand with Cameron to the vending machine.

He peered through the clear glass, his nose pressed against the surface as he decided what he wanted. "Can I have that one, Auntie Aria? Those Jolly Ranchers? They're my favorite."

I smiled at him, agreed, and paid for the candy. "Take one for now. I'll give you another later if you want it."

"Okay!" Carefully, he picked out a blue raspberry flavored one and popped it into his mouth, handing the wrapper to me. "Thanks." Cameron was glowing from happiness and he scurried back to Ezra, excited to finish his new book. Just as I turned around, I saw a rush of blond hair and a familiar face – Hanna.

"Hey Han!" I called towards her. Ushering her over and greeting her with a hug, I said, "Why are you breathing so hard?"

"There was literally no parking, so I had to go to the back and I ran all the way here."

"Wow, you're dedicated." I looked past her. "Is Caleb coming?"

"Yeah, he's on his way. He was out with a couple of colleagues from Microsoft. It's started to sleet out there though and he's caught in traffic, so he won't be here that soon. Stupid weather. Anyways, how is Spencer? Is she still in her hospital room?"

"Yeah, I haven't seen her yet, but I think she'll be out soon. A nurse came out and talked to Ezra and me not long ago; she told us Spence is in labor and everything is good. Care for a Jolly Rancher?"

"Sure, thanks," Hanna grinned, and plucked a cherry one from the bag.

Alison's POV:

Clunk, clunk, clunk! I placed the last few dishes on the drying rack and washed my hands. Finally, I was done with the dishes. After checking on Lily and Grace, I sank into the couch with my nose in a book from my new favorite series. Just minutes later, I heard squeals for attention coming from beside me. The girls were being fussy, so that was my signal for feeding time. Carefully picking up Grace and laying her sister down next to me, I played with her for a few seconds and gave her "mommy's milk", as sweet Emily liked to put it. When I had mentioned this to Hanna a while ago, she had declared it as "boob milk". Even now, it makes me laugh because their personalities are reflected in their choice of language so much.

I wiped grace's mouth, kissed her, and set her down. Right then, my phone rang. "I'll just be a minute, lil' Lily," I assured her as I got up to answer it. "Hello?"

"Thank you, you picked up!" It was Aria. "I've texted you like ten times, why haven't you answered me?"

"I'm sorry," I apologized, now scrolling through my notifications and saw that Aria's name was listed multiple times. "I haven't had a chance to look at my phone all day."

"I've tried to contact Emily too and she hasn't responded either."

"Yeah, she had to go in for a work thing at the police department. Anyways, what did you so urgently need to – OH MY GOD"." I had clicked on one of Aria's messages and it read: "Spence is on her way to the hospital now and I'm right behind her in the car with the boys. Let me know if you can make it. "Crap, oh my gosh. I'm leaving the house in a minute. What's Spencer's status?"

"She's still in the hospital room with Toby, but she's been inside since around 6 PM, so that's about four hours now. Hanna's here too; she came a while ago."

"Okay, I'm calling Em and coming over with the girls. See you soon."

"Bye Ali, see you."

I furiously dialed Emily's number. Come on, pick up! No answer. Oh no, Lily still needs her feeding. When I turned around, both girls were smiling at each other and giggling. I think she forgot. I quickly made two bottles of formula, grabbed some snacks, scooped up the girls, and rushed out the door.

When I arrived, I was surprised to see Emily there already, rocking Bennett on her hip, and chatting with Aria and Hanna. "Emily? How did you manage to get out of work? When did you get here?" I called out.

Emily smiled. "Like, two minutes ago. It's nice to see you too, by the way." I just rolled my eyes and handed Grace to Hanna, who had her arms outstretched. "When I finally turned on my phone and read Aria's messages I flew out the door before anyone could tell me otherwise."

As we were talking, Caleb walked in through the doors and we finally had everyone together, all here for our best friend.

Spencer's POV:

My baby was ripped from my arms in five seconds. I stared with hared from the bed as the nurse, dressed in ugly blue attire, dragged Toby to – . Okay, stop, Spencer, you're being ridiculous. You'll hold Eve again in a matter of minutes, and you'll hold her for the rest of your life, so chill.

Let me rephrase that. The excited nurse gently lifted my baby out of my arms. I watched from the bed as the nurse led Toby to the opposite end of the hospital room, where Eve would be measured, weighed, and have all the regular newborn tests to see if she was healthy and ready to go home soon.

"She's 6 pounds 10 ounces, Spence!" Toby called out from across the room.

A minute later: "Spencer, Eve is 19 inches long!"

And soon after: "Aww, Spence, she's doing so well. Eve's a healthy baby!"

I put my face in my hands and laughed the hardest I had in days. Toby was so sweet to give me updates like this; he was always adorable whenever he was admiring someone or something super cute. When Eve was placed back into my arms, I ran my hands over the features of her face and again, tears spilled out the corners of my eyes. The nurse informed me that she would bring in the other girls: Aria, Spencer, Hanna, Emily, and Alison. Oh, I was so thrilled to see them!

They walked cautiously, and I was so grateful that Aria had gathered them all, plus Ezra and Caleb, here for Toby and me. They all ran up to me and gave me a giant bear hug, careful about Eve in my arms. "She's a little girl. This is Eve," I announced. For a minute, there were no words said. But their smiles grew impossibly wider, all speaking a thousand words while staying silent.

Cameron and Bennett crept in front of the girls and Toby helped them onto the bed. "Hey guys!" I said with as much energetic cheer as I could muster. "This is Eve, your new baby sister!"

"I love her!" said Cameron, gleaming with pride at the little baby.

"Can I touch her Mommy?" Bennett asked. After nodding, he touched her hand and she latched onto his finger. Bennett giggled. "She's cuter than I thought."

Slowly, Eve made her rounds among everyone, each person whispering to her a few secret words of wisdom. Emily was crying the moment Eve was passed to her. "She's so beautiful, Spence. It feels like yesterday when we were doing this with Lily and Grace."

"She looks just like you, Spencer," Aria said, her eyes glossy and silver with tears of joy. "I can already tell. She'll be bright and intelligent and spirited…and so much more."

I still can't get over how amazing these people are. They'll have my back forever.

Aria's POV:

I was incredibly exhausted and sleepy by the time we got home from Spencer's house, and the moment Ezra parked the car in the driveway I was ready to crash on the couch. Setting my phone on the coffee table, I hauled myself up the stairs and changed into the comfiest, most unladylike pajamas I owned. They were pink and fluffy, adorned with little bunnies posed in all sorts of ways, wearing colored scarves and hats. Perfect. Who the hell cares about looking cute tonight?

I tied my hair in a messy ponytail, brushed my teeth, scrubbed off the day's makeup, and made my way downstairs.

I had laid down for a few seconds when my phone started to ring. A bright, chirpy sound invaded the silence and my peace. "Dammit! Shut up!" I yelled hopelessly to the device.

"Aria? You okay down there?" Ezra wanted to ensure.

"Yes, sorry Ezra. I'm fine," I responded tiredly.

My phone did shut off and I relaxed, burying my head into a pillow. Two seconds later, it rang again, seemingly louder than the first time. "Okay, fine," I muttered. It was my mom, wanting to Skype at 1:30 AM. Yay. Is it too late or too early? Whatever, she shouldn't be calling at this time. Regardless, I put on my winning smile and answered the call.

"Hey Mom. Why are calling me now? Go to sleep," I suggested.

"You are such a mom," Ella joked. "I just wanted to see how you and Ezra were doing after Spencer had her baby. Tell me, is it a girl or a boy?"

My face broke out into a funky, genuine smile as I remembered the first moments I had held Eve, wondering how I could love someone, who I'd only known for a few minutes, so much. "It's a little girl. Baby Eve is officially in the family."

"Oh, that's so wonderful! I'll call Veronica and give her my congratulations in the morning. Tell Spencer and Toby I'm incredibly happy for them, if you can. They must be over the moon."

"I will, thanks Mom."

"By the way, you were the one who sent me a text at 12:55 AM…let me pull it up. Here it is, it reads, 'I'm almost home. Spence had her baby! XOXO'"

"Yes, but that did not include the message, 'call me now'," I giggled. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? I'm going to go to bed after this – Ezra's already there."

We exchanged our goodbyes and I closed my laptop after minimizing the Skype tab. Hearing soft footsteps behind me, I whipped around and saw it was only Ezra. "You ready to head on up now, love?" he asked gently.

"Gladly," I said.

For a minute, we stood in each other's embrace for a minute, and I kissed Ezra's cheek lightly. Breaking away to look into his deep blue eyes, I said, "I'm constantly thinking about Spencer and Eve, and I say to myself that I can do it, that I can keep our secret. But it's killing me not to tell anyone."

"I know, baby, I'm truly sorry. But we won't have to keep this to ourselves for much longer."

"Okay, if you say so," I said absentmindedly, and snuggled into his warmth.

"What secret are you talking about Aria?" a voice, my mom's, from the computer beside me inquired.

I nearly jumped a mile because the voice was so unexpected. "Mom?" I said timidly, refusing to believe what she had heard, refusing to believe that she had listened to every word of that conversation with Ezra. And then I understood, the impact like a slap on my face. Shit. I was so dumb and tired that I hadn't ended the call with my mom; I'd only minimized the screen. If only I had pressed that small red button, this wouldn't have happened. Why am I so fucking stupid? I opened the lid of my laptop and was greeted with my mom's inquisitive face, leaning so close towards the camera that I could see every pore and every hair. So close, as if inching towards the screen would allow her to read my mind. That's not possible, right? No, get that thought out of your head, Aria.

"I really can't do this right now, Mom. Tomorrow, maybe?" I suggested quickly, everything coming out as a long string of words.

"No, Aria, you've kept enough secrets for two lifetimes. I'm not letting this one go."

"Mom, you don't know what you're asking of me."

"You think I care?" Ella's voice softened. "Please, Aria. Whatever it is, I'll be there with you every step of the way."

I was silent on the other end. How could I say something? Ezra and I had promised each other.

"Aria, I'm not going away anytime soon."

I glanced up at my husband and he gave a small nod, saying it was okay, that I could tell my somewhat nosy, extremely protective, but amazing mother.

Taking a deep breath, I started. "Mom…"

Sorry to end on a cliffhanger! But I promise, Aria's secret will be revealed in the next chapter. Anyway, review and share your thoughts! Thanks.