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CHAPTER THREE

"What the hell have you been doing this last month?"Rebecca demanded as she stormed into the house.

Thayer looked at her, bewildered. "What you told me to."

"What I told you to? What I told you to do was make sure that Emma and Sutton accepted me as their mother, that Ted realised I was his family, not Kristin. And what do I find? That Emma might be pregnant and guess who's holding her hand, acting like her mother? Kristin."

Thayer had tuned out most of Rebecca's rant, instead focusing on the one phrase. "Emma might be pregnant?"

Rebecca looked at him scornfully. "Oh, you wish that it was yours, do you? That you'd managed to get her pregnant before she realised you weren't worth a second fumble? Well, you could always try and get your perky little plaything pregnant instead, it's not like you seem that bothered which one you go after. You've slept with all three Mercer girls and the mother of two of them. Why don't you go after Kristin and complete the set? That would be more useful than anything you've done so far."

Thayer could feel his anger rising. "You agreed to this. I help you get Ted and the girls back, you help me get Emma back."

"Right, because what I've always wanted for my daughter is for her to end up with a pathetic little psycho like you. You manage to make a no-hoper like Ethan seem like a catch and that's saying something. If you're useful to me, then you might stand a chance. But at the moment, I think I'm going to be better off managing things my own way."

Emma was sat on her bed, cuddling up to Kristin. "You know the really sad thing?"she asked. "I actually dreamed about being pregnant with Ethan's child. About us being a family together. Doing all the things I never got to do with my parents. Pretty dumb, huh?"

"It might still happen,"Kristin said gently.

Emma shook her head. "Not now. Not after what he said."

"You might change your mind after a bit. He might as well. It's an overwhelming thing, having a child, being a parent." Kristin released Emma so she could look the girl in the eye. "Did Sutton ever tell you about the way I was when she was born?"

"No."

"I was lost. I wanted to be a good mother so badly but I was scared of letting her down, of getting it wrong. So I panicked, thought of sending her back, giving up. All of us get scared sometimes, don't think badly of Ethan because being a parent scares him. I think that the two of you, together, would do a very good job." She gently brushed a hair away from Emma's face and smiled at her.

Ted appeared in the doorway and gently knocked on the door. "Hey, Laurel said for me to come through. Am I interrupting?"

"No, it's all right,"Kristin reassured him.

Ted looked at Emma. "Are you..?"

"I don't know, I haven't taken the test yet."

Ted sat down next to her. "Well, don't you think you should? I mean, at least then we'll know what we're dealing with."

Emma glanced at Kristin, who nodded in agreement. "Okay,"she acknowledged. "I'll do it now." She headed towards the bathroom.

Ted and Kristin were left alone. "Laurel thought that Emma needed a parent,"Ted explained.

"I heard,"Kristin responded.

"It looked to me like…she already had one."

The comment seemed to break down the barriers. Kristin stopped trying to act formal and sighed. "I try so hard to remember that she's not really mine but…it's difficult. It feels as though she is. Do you ever think what would have happened if we'd brought them both up, her and Sutton, together?"

Ted shrugged. "Alec thought we wouldn't have coped. That's why he kept her a secret."

"I think you cope if you have to. If they'd both been relying on us, we'd have found that strength for them somehow." She sighed. "I hope we would have done, anyway."

Sutton and Laurel were sitting on the sofa in the living area, waiting nervously. "Do you think they're all right in there?"Laurel asked. "Mum and Dad together can be a bit of an explosive combination."

"Well, it's a better move than me sending Ethan to talk to her,"Sutton sighed. "I really thought he'd help her but instead…"

"He might come round,"Laurel suggested helpfully.

Sutton sniffed. "He'd better."

It was at that moment that Emma, Ted and Kristin emerged from the bedroom, Emma walking between and slightly behind the two adults. Sutton and Laurel quickly scrambled to their feet. "Well?"Laurel asked.

Emma was silent. "The test was negative,"Kristin answered for her.

Sutton looked closely at Emma. "Well…that's good, right?"

"Yeah, it's good,"Emma confirmed. "It means I don't have to end up as a single mother after my boyfriend abandoned me. I…I think I'm going to lay down for a bit." She turned and headed back to her room, leaving her family looking after her helplessly.

Emma stayed in her room for the next several hours. Even Kristin's invitation to join her and Sutton for dinner was turned down, with Emma accepting a couple of pieces of fruit to keep her strength up. It became dark outside and everyone else retired to bed but Emma remained lying on the bed, still dressed and with the light on. Which was when she heard the knock. Not from her bedroom door but from the glass door leading outside.

Emma swung herself off the bed. She opened the door and looked hard at Ethan. "Can I come in?"he asked.

Emma sighed and stood aside, allowing him in. "What do you want, Ethan?"

"To say I'm sorry. I get that this isn't just your responsibility, it's mine too. I'm going to be there for you, I want to be."

"I'm not pregnant, Ethan. The test was negative."

Ethan paused. "Well, I won't pretend I'm not relieved. But that doesn't make any difference. I'm here for you, whenever you need me." He sensed that Emma wasn't convinced. "Emma, please. After everything we've been through to get here, don't throw it away just because I was an idiot."

Emma could see he was sincere but his walking away from her was still fresh in her mind. "Ethan, I don't know."

"I'm going to be there, Emma, all the time, from now on. You and me. That's the way it's meant to be, isn't it?" He stared hard at her for a moment. "I'll prove it to you." He reached into his back pocket and removed a small jewellery box, going down on one knee in front of her.

Emma looked at him in shock. He wasn't really… "Ethan, what are you doing?"

Ethan took a deep breath and opened the box to reveal the engagement ring. "Emma Mercer, will you marry me?"

End of Episode Nine