I want to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter, as well as everyone who added this story to their favourites or alert lists. So, THANK-YOU!!! All those reviews made my day! Here is the next chapter to the story and I really hope you like it. Feedback please!!

Tears of Life

Chapter 2-Recuerda Me

October 2, 2006

17-year-old Emily Cochrane stared out the small window of the Boeing 767. The 3 hour flight from Oklahoma City to Boston, Massachusetts seemed to drag on forever to her eyes, and she had not been able to get any sleep at all, much to the disappointment of her social worker. At least Alexis didn`t have that problem. The 3-year-old had slept for the entire flight. Turning to look at the blond-haired child sitting next to her, Emily heard the whimpered cries that she recognized as a nightmare. She ran her hand through the long, blond hair and watched as the child`s face relaxed.

"Emily?" Samantha Connelly turned towards her young charge, "We should be landing in about half an hour. Do you want to wake her or should I?" She watched as Emily's face turned angry as the young girl turned to her.

"As if I would let you," As far as Samantha knew, she had never done anything to Emily; oh well. She watched as Emily began to gently wake the child sitting between them.

Alexis's bright blue eyes were filled with sleepiness as they slowly fluttered open. Seemingly confused, the child looked from Samantha to Emily, until she stopped in realization.

"We gone?" she asked Emily, who was still running her fingers through Alexis's hair.

"Yeah honey, we're gone. But we're almost to our new home, so we have to get ready to meet our family, okay?" Alexis nodded, fully awake now and eagerly glanced around the cabin of the filled plane. Emily reached down below her seat and grabbed a black backpack filled with a change of clothes for Alexis. Grabbing the wriggling child by the hand, she inched by Samantha and made her way to the bathroom at the back of the plane.

20 minutes later, Alexis was dressed in a green t-shirt and jeans and her long hair had been tied back into two braids, which were hanging over her shoulder as the child looked out the window at the approaching ground. The plane was landing and Emily was as nervous as hell. She was going to see her cousin and the three boys she considered family for the first time in 5 years. The teenager had no idea how the boys were going to react to the new her, as she was definitely not the same little girl she was when she left. Oklahoma had made her who she was today.

When the plane landed, she unbuckled her seatbelt and reached over to do the same to Alexis. This task proved difficult as the child was literally bouncing in her seat with excitement. Emily sighed.

"Lexi, baby," Alexis ceased her bouncing and looked at Emily with wide eyes, "When we get off the plane, you have to hold my hand and not let go, alright?" Alexis nodded, before resuming her earlier activity. Laughing softly to herself, Emily grabbed the backpack, and placed it on her back, before grabbing the child's hand firmly.

Emily was getting more and more nervous by the second, as the trio walked off the plane and into the terminal. She wished Samantha would slow down, but it looked as if the woman wanted to get rid of the two children as soon as possible. So she just walked behind the social worker, keeping her hand wrapped around Alexis's small one. She soon found herself quite occupied by the fact that both hers and Alexis's shoes were the same colour.

"Where are they, where, where, where..." Samantha's muttering was really starting to get on her nerves, "Oh, there they are."

Emily's head jerked up and followed Samantha's gaze to see two familiar people standing near a pillar, looking around as if looking for someone. Samantha hurried towards the two and Emily and Alexis followed behind more slowly.

"Mrs. Danvers, my name is Samantha Connelly and I'm Emily and Alexis's social worker," Emily saw Samantha shaking the hand of a woman who she knew to be her aunt. Evelyn still looked the same she did 5 years ago. Her hair was shorter and Emily could see that she looked a lot older and more stressed than the last time she had seen her, but all in all she could easily recognize her aunt. Caleb on the other hand...

"Emily?!?" speaking of Caleb, here he was standing in front of her. Emily could barely recognize the young man standing there. He had cut his hair, and spiked it and he must be two feet taller than the last time she had seen him. He also had stress written all over his face, as if he was carrying a huge weight on his shoulders, although she shouldn't be saying anything because she too had the same look.

"Oh my god, Emily! It's so good to see you. You have no idea how tough everything's been since you left," Caleb enveloped the shorter girl in a hug. Emily returned the gesture before pulling back and staring at her cousin.

"Caleb, you look so different. Where did all these muscles come from; did you join the football team or something?" Emily was astonished at the size of her cousin and began to wonder if this was what all the boys looked like now.

"Swim team actually," he answered, before looking down at the girl half-hiding behind Emily, "And who's this lovely lady," Alexis grinned sheepishly, before sticking her thumb in her mouth and grabbing hold of Emily's leg with her other hand. Emily laughed and bent down to pick up the child.

"This is Alexis, Caleb. And Lexi, this is your cousin Caleb. Can you say hi?" Alexis glanced at the boy and whispered a quick hi before burying her face in Emily's shoulder. Caleb was staring from the child to Emily and back again. Emily groaned, she had wanted to wait until everyone was together so she would only have to explain once.

Fortunately, at that moment Evelyn had finished signing the papers and came over to welcome the two. Emily made the hugs and kisses where appropriate and introduced Alexis, about which Evelyn already knew the truth. But Emily was not focused on the present. She was actually trying to figure out what the hell she was going to say to everyone when they arrived back at the mansion. Because, knowing the families, everyone would be waiting to welcome her back to Ipswich.

The drive to Ipswich was only an hour long, but by this point Emily wished it had taken 5. Alexis had fallen back asleep in the car seat Evelyn had bought for her, so Emily just stared out the window, ignoring both Caleb's and Evelyn's attempts at conversation. Eventually the chatter between the mother and son ceased and the car was doused in silence. But Emily didn't mind, she was still debating on what to tell the families. Evelyn had told her that she hadn't told anyone, so it was up to herself to make the decision on who to tell and how much to reveal.

When the car pulled into the driveway, Emily gaped at the size of the house; it was so much bigger than she remembered. However she was not surprised to see the row of cars lining the driveway. Not wanting to wake Alexis, she carefully lifted the slumbering child out of the car and let her sleep. It had been a long day, and by the looks of the cars there were a lot of people inside. Alexis didn't need all that excitement yet. As she began to walk towards the door, she heard Evelyn call her back.

"Why don't I take Alexis up to her room through the kitchen so she doesn't wake up and Caleb can take you to see everyone," Emily nodded, kissed the child on the forehead before handing her over to her aunt, and let Caleb lead her through the front door. She heard the voices before she saw anyone and then it all noise ceased. Emily looked at the people standing in front of her, sipping from drinks and eating from platters sprinkled throughout the room. And then she heard a yell.

"Emily!" It was Tyler, forcing his way through the crowd, before tripping over a couch and falling flat on his face. Emily laughed, for the first time in a long time, and went over to help him.

"Hey there baby boy, miss me?" she was engulfed in a hug and stumbled back when she realized how tall he was, "Wow, Ty. You hit puberty or something. Last time I saw you, you were 5 feet tall." Tyler shrugged and blushed.

"Shut up Em," he muttered before grabbing her in another hug. Finally being released from him, she only found herself being grabbed from behind. She tensed as she whipped around but relaxed when she saw who it was.

"Pogue!" Emily yelled and flung herself at him, grabbing him around the waist, "I missed you." She was surprised to find tears running down her cheeks. Pogue picked her up and spun her around, before setting her gently back down on the ground. He reached up and wiped a few tears of her face.

"I missed you too, but don't cry. Your finally home, be happy," a cough from behind him, caused him to turn around, then face back to Emily, "And this is Kate Tunney, my girlfriend."

"It's so good to finally meet you. Pogue talks about you all the time, it can get kind off annoying," Kate shook Emily's hand, while Emily studied her. She was a mocha colour, with beautiful black hair and brown eyes, and a smile that reached her eyes. Emily liked her already. But someone was missing. Emily glanced around the room. The only people left were the parents of her friends.

"Reid isn't here," she turned to Tyler, who was looking at her sadly, "We told him you were coming, but he decided to stay at the dorm." Emily shrugged, looking to the world as if she really didn't care. But she did.

For the next half an hour she said hello to everyone and answered all the same questions over and over again. "I'm so sorry to hear about your parents. A car crash wasn't it?"Thank you and yes it was. "Are you going to Spencer?" Yes. "Will you be living here or at the dorms?" Here. Just when Emily was about to play the "It's been such a long trip, I'm going to go lay down" card, who walks in but Reid Garwin. He stood at the door and stared at the girl who had grown up without him, before tripping when a small being ran by him.

"Momma!" Alexis cried as she ran into her mother's arms. Emily picked up the child and gently soothed her, completely ignoring the stunned crowd standing in shock behind her. Only Evelyn Danvers was not shocked by this display, as she had already known the truth. Caleb was the first to come out of his astonishment.

"Alexis isn't your sister, is she?" Emily looked up at him, and then back down at the beautiful child laying her head on her shoulder, thumb stuck in her mouth.

"No. Lexi is my daughter," A loud bang caused Emily's head to jerk towards the door. Reid had punched his fist into the wall. He just stood there, head down and fist on the wall where it had struck. Then he just turned his head and looked at her, just stared, taking in her features as well as the child on her hip. Reid scowled, then abruptly turned and left the house.

Emily stared after him, not noticing a tear fall down her face.

"Momma, why are you crying?" Alexis's hand came up and wiped off the tear from her mother's face. Emily looked down at Alexis and smiled, tugging on one of her braids.

"I'm fine, baby," by this time, Evelyn had managed to shoo off the families, leaving only the remaining sons behind. Giving Emily a nod, she too left the room, giving Emily the space she needed to confront her cousin and friends.

"Emily, would you care to explain what's going on here?" Pogue sat on one of the couches, running a hand through his long hair. Emily sighed, and put Alexis back down on the ground, who walked off to the kitchen in search of food.

"That was Alexis Grace Cochrane, my daughter. She's three years old and was a mistake. But she was the best mistake I ever made. She is my everything, and I'm alive because of her," Emily looked at the boys as she spoke, looking each one of them in the eye, "I am not ashamed because I'm a mother at 17. In fact I think it's the best thing that has ever happened to me." Tyler was the first one to speak.

"So, who's the father?" he had asked the question all 3 boys wanted to ask, but Caleb and Pogue still glared at him. However, at this question, Emily looked at the ground, "Is it that Johnson kid you were dating?" None of the boys noticed as Emily flinched slightly at the name but she shook her head.

"I'd rather not talk about it. So what's wrong with Reid?" Emily quickly changed the subject, allowing her blonde hair to fall in front of her face.

"He missed you a lot when you left. I'm pretty sure he took it the hardest out of the four of us. When you left, he changed. He became angry and a rebel. He uses every day for the littlest things, which sets Caleb off, and then they fight and Reid becomes even more of a rebel," Emily listened with astonishment. What happened to the sweet boy who would do anything for his brothers and his friends, "Emily...I think he loved you. And when you revealed that Alexis is your daughter he flipped out and probably thinks you abandoned him or something."

"But why would he think that?"

"Remember; it must have been around Christmas the year you left and you called and told Reid that you loved him too. I don't think he ever forgot that. Do you know that he has never dated at all?" Pogue was looking straight at Emily, and watched as her face seemed to become more and more sad with each word Tyler uttered. Finally, Emily looked up and her eyes seemed to be full of unshed tears.

"I have to put Lexi to bed, and I'm going to go to bed too. I'll see you guys tomorrow," and with that, Emily left the room and stole her daughter away from Evelyn. She helped Alexis change into pyjamas, and placed her in bed. Evelyn and Caleb had decorated Alexis's room to be pink and blue, Alexis's favourite colours.

"Momma, sing my song," Alexis asked tiredly, smothering a yawn with her words. Emily pulled the covers up around both of them, and held the child close as she began to sing,

"So long ago, so far away, each night I pray,

Volvero los dias passoados

I promise you that come what may

These days will stay in my memory.

God only knows what tomorrow brings,

You're in my heart so my spirit sings

And I'll be strong just as long as you remember me,

Recuerda me, remember me."

Alexis was asleep, and Emily found she didn't want to move from this position. Holding her daughter close to her, knowing that she would protect her with her life. Brushing a lock of hair from Alexis's forehead and kissed her daughter settled down to sleep.

"Oh baby, what am I going to do?"

Unbeknownst to the small family, a figure was watching and listening from outside the window. Reid placed his hand against the window pane, and glared at Emily. He was angry, angrier than he had ever been, but he couldn't hurt Emily, as much as he wanted to make her feel as bad as he did. He felt betrayed. Around Spencer, he was known for sleeping around, but in reality, those were all rumours. He was still a virgin and had always waited for the day Emily would come back to him. And here she was, and he finds out that she betrayed him and got shacked up.

"What am I going to do?"