Anne and Emily walked out of the elevator just as Ed and Theo were leading the dancers to it. It had taken longer than anticipated to get rid of their guests, and both of the twins were slightly embarrassed to have the four girls meet.

The dancers scowled at the girls that were obviously coming to replace them, causing Anne to roll her eyes haughtily while Emily just continued to look down at her feet.

Once the random girls were in the elevator, Anne turned to the boys with her hands on her hips, "Nice." She said sarcastically, "Real classy. I'm sure your parents would love to know that you were keeping such quality company while they were away."

"What, are you jealous, Archibald?" Theo asked with a smirk.

But Ed didn't respond to Anne's insult. He was too busy looking at Emily with an almost tender gaze. She had finally raised her eyes and was staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights.

Theo cleared his throat, looking between the two of them, "Well, this is awkward."

Anne glared at him, "Shut up, Bass. And get your coat. We're going out."

He frowned in confusion, "We are? Why?"

"I haven't let you touch me, or even spoken to you in over a month and here I am offering to spend the evening with you. Are you really going to sit here and question it?"

Theo's eyes widened, but he didn't respond. Instead he stepped into the nearby closet and grabbed his jacket. "Let's go," he said when he reemerged, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the elevator.

Anne giggled at his enthusiasm, but stopped before they could leave. She turned around and pulled Emily into a quick hug, "If you need me, just call. I'll be here as fast as I can."

"I thought you were going to be with him," Emily said pointedly, with just a hint of a grin on her lips.

Anne waved her hand dismissively, "Oh, that won't be happening for a while; a couple of hours probably. Don't worry; you'll have plenty of time to call before then."

"Oh, we'll see about that." Theo said smarmily from the elevator, "Come on, Archibald, let's get out of here."

Anne squeezed Emily's hands one last time, "Good luck, Em."

"Thanks, A," she said before returning her gaze to Ed, who had not been able to look away from her the entire time. She was so beautiful; so perfect. He could not believe she was here, with him again.

They were so wrapped up in each other that neither Ed nor Emily heard Theo and Anne get on the elevator and leave the penthouse. After a moment, Ed took a tentative step forward and his mouth twitched in an almost-smile, "Hey," he said simply.

"Hi," she replied weakly, finally breaking eye contact and looking at the floor.

"I didn't know you were in town." He said with a hint of joy in his voice, "When I came down to visit, you made it seem like your parents were never going to let you come back up here."

"They didn't. They don't know I'm here. I told them I was spending the night at a friend's house."

"The same friend that you went to the dance with?" He asked with a devious smirk as he slowly approached her.

She smiled and shrugged, "Of course. How many friends do you think I have in DC?"

He let out a low chuckle, "My, my, my, what a naughty girl you have become," he said as he moved nearer, "Lying to your parents, sneaking out behind their backs, seeking out sexual pleasure with a Bass-,"

He reached forward to pull her against his body but she stopped him, placing her hands on his chest and pushing him back, "Ed, stop. That's not why I came here."

He frowned in confusion, "It's not?"

"No. I need to talk to you."

Ed sighed and rolled his eyes in a teasing manner, "Don't worry, Vanderbilt, we have all night. We can talk after."

He tried once again to kiss her, but Emily moved away once more, taking a few steps backward to put some space between them, "Stop, Bass, I'm serious."

Ed groaned in frustration and wiped a hand over his face, "Fine," he spat a bit more harshly than he meant to, "What is it that you want to talk about so very badly that it can't wait?"

Her jaw clenched in anger as she glared at him, "I'm pregnant," She said bluntly. She tilted her head and gave him a patronizing look, "Are you sure you still want to just hop into bed with me?"

He merely blinked at her, unable to comprehend what she had just told him. "You're pregnant?"

"That's what I just said."

"Are-, are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," She said defensively, "And yes, I'm sure it is yours. I'm not some fucking whore."

Tears had sprung to her eyes almost instantly at his seemingly innocent question. It had been a long, stressful day for her and her hormones had finally gotten the best of her.

She had been worried about telling him since she had found out a few days ago. She didn't know how she would tell him or how he would react. She had no clue what she wanted to do about the situation, but she wasn't sure if telling Ed would do any good in helping her decide.

But, of course, that was his next question. "What do you want to do?"

Emily took a deep, shaky breath, "I don't know," she said, looking anywhere but at him, "When I told my parents-"

"You told them?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes!" She said, meeting his eyes again, "I had to. If I didn't, then my doctor would have. The Vanderbilt billions comes before doctor-patient confidentiality." She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, "Anyway, when I told them, at first my mom said I had to get married. But when I told her that you were the father she decided that would not be acceptable and that I would just have to get rid of it."

"Well is that what you want to do?" Ed prodded gently.

"I don't know!" Emily said in exasperation, "Is that what you want to do?"

Ed shook his head, "I want what you want. Whatever you decided to do, I will support you. If you want to get rid of it, I'll make the appointment and pay for it and even go with you if you want. Or if you want to keep it I'll be there for you through it all. I'll even move to fucking Washington if you wanted me to." He shrugged his shoulders, "Or if you wanted to give it up-,"

"No." Emily said crisply, "That isn't an option for me." Noticing Ed's questioning look she continued, "This child is the result of years of good breeding and is inherently a member of the most elite of elite. There is no way I am letting her be raised by some conservative Christians on a farm in Iowa."

Ed snorted, "Good point."

Emily groaned and buried her face in her hands, "This is all so confusing. There are so many things I need to think about and I just don't know what to do! I mean, my parents basically said-"

"Stop," Ed said, gripping her shoulders lightly, "Just stop. This isn't your parents' decision to make. Now I already told you I would agree with whatever you choose to do, so you need to think about what you want; if you think that we can have this baby and still go to college and do what we want, or if you think you will be able to go through with the procedure to get rid of it."

"I don't think I can," Emily said softly, looking down and placing her hands over her stomach protectively, "I can't imagine just-, just killing my child."

"Neither can I," Ed said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head, "So it's settled then."

Emily reeled back and stared at him with wide eyes, "But-, but I can't. I mean, what about school and-, and my parents and-"

"Shh," He soothed, pulling her against him once again, "We don't have to figure everything out right now. My parents will be home in the morning. We can tell them and then I'm sure they will help us with a lot of these decisions. Okay?"

He felt her nod against his chest and he began rubbing her back, "Come on, let's go upstairs. You can sleep in my bed tonight."

She moved her head to glare at him, "I am not having sex with you, Edward Bass."

Ed chuckled, "That's not what I meant, Vanderbilt. I'll sleep in Theo's bed, or in the guest room if you would prefer, but you look exhausted. I'm sure you have had a long day and I just thought you might like to get some rest."

Emily stifled a yawn. She was tired, and she remembered from the last time she had spent the night here that Ed's bed was very comfortable. "Okay," she agreed hesitantly, "Thanks, Bass."

"Anything for the mother of my child," he said with a smirk, causing her to push him away and storm up the stairs away from him.

…

A/N: Okay, this was supposed to be the end of the last chapter, so the part that connects to the previous flashback will actually be in the NEXT chapter. Hahaha. They just keep getting so long. Ugh. So get prepared for C&B's reaction!

Also, I know the timeline might be kind of close, but I like to think Ed came down to visit her around December 15-17 and now it is like January 20ish. That might be too soon, but whatevs, it needs to be like this in order for things to work.