A/N: Annnnnd *drumroll please* here's another chapter, short but plenty drama filled, with a nice cliffhanger for extra measure! Enjoy )
Every man dies. Not every man really lives. ~Braveheart
"Declan stop hitting your sister!" Emily said looking in the rearview mirror in annoyance.
"She's throwing her toys at me!" Declan said indignantly.
"I don't care, she's young, she doesn't know better! And you do so knock it off, you hear me?" Emily said turning the Rover onto Grandstaff Boulevard. It was 10:30 am and she was on an emergency toilet paper run, along with some other items on her grocery list. Ian was still sleeping and he'd had a long night at the bar last night, something to do with a jackass who didn't mind his manners with several ladies and took it upon himself to fight Ian when Ian told him to get lost.
So here she was alone with three kids on her way to Wal-Mart and to top it off they were out of coffee so before she even attempted to wrangle three kids in the grocery store she had to make a starbuck's stop.
On the bright side she had found a perfect wedding dress the other day, floor length, white, with an empire waist, flowy and breezy. Perfect for an outdoor summer wedding, somewhat casual and the bodice was decorated with gorgeous little Swarovski crystals. So she could check that off of her list, now the only real key missing pieces were the guests. She and Ian hadn't met a whole lot of people here, and it wasn't like she could invite a whole lot of people from home either. They had agreed to somehow invite her mother and Garcia and Kevin if possible. But, other than that the guest list was pretty small. Which, she supposed was okay, considering the ceremony was going to be in their backyard. She grimaced as she pulled into the drive-thru at Starbuck's as she remembered the conversation with Ian about THAT topic. He, being the traditionalist he was, wanted it at a church, she being a little uncomfortable with the whole concept of this wedding, had adamantly refused. She wanted quiet, low-key, and comfortable.
They hadn't spoken for a day and half and Ian had slept on the couch, before his back finally gave out along with his resolve and he'd agreed to a backyard wedding.
Finally she made it to the store, and after 2 hours of corralling Declan and trying to keep the twins from crawling out of the little cars attached to the cart, she made it back to the SUV. She and Ian had finally made the decision to buy a set of prepaid cell phones and of course, hers began ringing off the hook as she was quickly trying to load the bags into the trunk.
"Hello?" She asked aggravatedly, shoving plastic bags full groceries on top of the cases of coke and beer.
"Em, where are you?" Ian's tired, rough voice came over the line.
"Didn't you read my note?" She asked, rolling her eyes up at the sky as she paused putting the last bag in the car.
"What note?"
"Turn over." She said condescendingly, shutting the trunk and climbing into the car where a fully fledged cereal battle was being waged between Lauren and Landen. Not even 3 years old and the little hellions were already practicing food fights.
"Ohh, you went to the store, eh?" He asked.
"Yes, Ian, Wal-mart." She said starting the car, reaching back and grabbing the bags of apple jacks from the twins, phone pinched between her shoulder.
"By yourself? What's all that ruckus in the background?" He asked with a slight air of concern in his voice.
"Oh that? That would be your children waging WMD in my backseat with cheerios and apple jacks. This car looks like Chernobyl in here. It's gonna take forever to clean!" She said. "Hey, Lauren, NO!" She said pointing a stern finger at the toddler who was now attempting to grab onto Declan's hair and start tugging. "You see this? Mommy's on the phone with your father and trust me you don't want me to tell him about your behavior today, Miss Priss!" Emily said angrily. "Ughh, Ian I gotta go, I'll be home soon." She said.
"'Kay, love you," He said.
"Yeah, love you too…" She said hanging up abruptly in aggravation.
10 minutes later she was on the road home, crying toddlers and a pouting 13 year old. She'd yelled at Declan for punching Landen when Landen had screamed in his ear after Lauren had started throwing a tantrum when Emily had forcibly removed her hand from Declan's hair.
This day wasn't even half over and she was longing for a stiff drink and a spa getaway.
The light she'd been sitting at for the last five minutes finally turned green and she gave the Rover a little gas and before she could slam on the brakes or accelerate, there was a loud crash and she felt a massive impact and watched as the street went into a dizzying 360. The Rover rolled and landed upside down and her last conscious thought was if her children were still alive, because all she heard was a shrieking ringing in her ear and her vision was hazy. She tried moving to get her kids to safety but, to no avail. She was pinned, black metal crushing her to her seat. She felt blood dripping onto her face, and then her world went black…
