Each day that passed meant that Aria was growing more and more uncomfortable squeezing into clothes that were too tight. She loved wearing Ezra's clothes, but what once felt sweet and intimate started to lose its luster when it became a necessity. The pants she'd worn just a few days ago at dinner with her parents were now almost impossible to close. Thankfully, the weather had turned and she'd been able to comfortably hide beneath one of Ezra's Hollis crew necks… but she was supposed to meet the girls for dinner next week and she'd need to have something more presentable to wear. Eventually someone was going to start asking questions. It simply wasn't like Aria to not look… at least semi put together.

It was a miracle no one had said anything yet.

Now, as Aria walked through a mall just outside of Philly with Ella close on her heels, she sported said too-tight pants and a very cozy, very spacious sweater. She'd worn a long necklace that knotted in the front in hopes of detracting from the way the knit hung around her midsection. When she'd looked in the mirror before leaving the house, it had been a tossup as to whether or not that trick really achieved that goal.

Ezra swore she looked more beautiful than ever.

Aria told him that was the baby-goggles talking.

Ella and Aria were both exhausted after long day of trying to shop - Ella exhausted from all the stores they'd had to visit, Aria from trying on dress after shirt after pant, all to no avail. She had picky taste, but somewhere around the fourth or fifth store, she'd had to make the decision to let some stylistic choices go if it meant finding something that just fit. Up to this point, they hadn't been very successful in their searching and Aria was feeling more discouraged than ever.

As Aria approached the large glass storefront, she tried to hold on to a tiny shred of hope. Even if she didn't find something perfect she would settle for something. With a begrudging sigh, she reached out and pulled on the large wooden handle.

"This is the last store here that's going to carry maternity clothes, Aria," Ella said, coming up behind her daughter and taking the door from her before making her way inside as well. "If you can't find anything you like, you might just have to order some things online."

"I know," Aria said curtly, making her way into the first rack of clothes, letting her hands graze over a few of the garments. "I don't have the luxury of looking around anymore. I waited too long. I don't want to buy clothes that won't fit me but… I kind of need something to wear now. These pants are being held together with a hairband, and I've officially grown out of my last dress."

"Honey, you're still so tiny. Even if you get a size too big, you'll fit into it eventually."

"It's not really that the clothes haven't fit, they're just so… mom-looking."

"I'm going to try not to take that as an insult. Just because it's not leopard print or studded doesn't mean it's not cute. I'm actually really impressed with the selection… I had this horrid collared dress that had anchors all over it… absolutely no structure; it wasn't fitted anywhere. You know, you could always have Hanna measure you… I'm sure she'd be able to help you find the right size, or tweak a few pieces so that they're more what you're looking for."

"Well, that would require Hanna knowing I'm pregnant," Aria cut back.

Ella's mouth dropped open in confusion. "You mean you still haven't told her? Have you told Spencer? Emily? Anyone? I thought you all were going out to dinner on Friday."

"No…" Aria said, avoiding Ella's gaze. "We're going out next Friday, not this Friday, and… I'll tell them when I'm ready."

Aria stood and waited for the third degree she figured would follow… but Ella didn't say anything. She had already turned to look more closely at a few tops, pulling them out one at a time to closely inspect the print.

Ella could feel Aria's eyes on her. "What?" she questioned.

"Nothing," Aria said. She turned and gave her attention to the clothes as well. Just as their conversation died down for the moment, a sales assistant came over and greeted them.

"Are you ladies finding everything okay today? Is there anything specific you're looking for?"

"We're fine, thank you," Aria said, before Ella had the chance to jump in and ask for help.

"Well let me know if you need a fitting room, or if there's anything I can do."

"Thank you," Aria said.

Ella let the sleeve that had been in her hand fall back against the rack. "You should let her help you. What's going on with you today? You've been in a sour mood since I picked you up."

"It's nothing," Aria said. She turned her back and busied herself at a new rack. "And I know how to shop, I don't need someone telling me what to buy."

"You're not acting like it's nothing, and I know you're not usually that rude to people. What's going on?"

Aria forced herself to relax. "Mom, I'm fine. Really. I wasn't meaning to be rude… I'll… ask her for a fitting room I a minute and I'll make sure I'm extra nice."

"Aria, you know you can talk to me. I'm your mom. I want to be here for you. Did something happen with Ezra? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nothing happened with Ezra, Mom, really. We're great - better than great. It has nothing to do with him."

"So then what does it have to do with?" Ella's voice was gentle, motherly. Aria wasn't in the mood for a heart-to-heart, but as she thought about what had been bothering her, and as she listened to Ella's attempt at being there for her, she tried to force the words from her mouth. After all, not being able to talk to anyone was kind of at the heart of the matter.

"It's just..." She turned around, her hands playing with the strap of her purse. Her eyes were downcast, away from Ella's observant gaze, but at the last minute, they darted up making sharp contact. "It's just hard going through this without them. We've been through so much together… but I don't want to burden them with it."

"Honey... you don't have to go through this alone, and they are not going to think this is a burden, why would you think that?" Ella said. "Why haven't you told anyone?"

"I don't know," she said, defensively. "What are they going to say? What are they going to think? Mom, I'm only twenty-three. I just graduated, I've hardly had a full time job for a year, and let's face it, I've done a decently good job of screwing that up… Ezra and I have been through our fair share of curveballs, but this… this pretty much tops it all."

"I don't think this tops dating your teacher," Ella said, her voice low – an attempt at humor that was lost on Aria. "I thought you and Ezra were excited about this," Ella said. She felt a wave of ease wash over her at finally hearing what Aria had been bottling up but with it came a bit of sadness. She didn't want to see her baby unhappy.

"No, no, we are," Aria said, "it's just that… once I tell the girls, it's real. You know? We don't get to live in this happy little bubble anymore. Spencer is going to tell me I should have been more careful… Hanna's going to try and dress me up like I'm a doll," she stared past Ella and let a bitter chortle come out of her chest, "and that is a game I'm really not interested in playing." She subconsciously reached down and began to scratch a little at the waistline of her pants. Ella took notice of the small movement.

"Ezra and I decided to wait until after the first trimester to tell anyone, just to, you know… there have been a lot of things that have happened in the past, with Alison and Charlotte and… we just wanted to make sure everything was progressing as it should be. But... it sort of feels like I've waited too long now. I hadn't given much thought to what came after waiting. I don't want them to be offended I didn't tell them right away." She looked out across the store. "Clearly I wasn't even prepared enough to have bought clothes that would fit. I'm going to be horrible at this."

Ella was silent as she watched Aria struggle through everything she'd been bottling up. She was proud of how strong she was being.

"Honey," Ella said sweetly, reaching out and bringing her daughter into a hug. "You are doing a great job. The girls are going to be so happy for you. They love you, and they want to support you. It's not going to matter that they weren't the first to know."

Aria reciprocated Ella's gesture before pulling back. "You don't think so?"

"No; and either way, you need them."

"Yeah, I know, but I have you," Aria said, wrinkling her nose a little, teasing Ella.

"Well, yes, you do, but there are some things you'll want to discuss with your friends that I… let's just say, I'm not the type of mother who cares to discuss certain topics with her daughter. Especially when they involve her former teacher."

"Mom!" Aria exclaimed, hitting her mom on the arm in jest. "You did not just insinuate what I think you did."

Ella turned and busied herself with the clothes rack again, feigning innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about…" she said.

Aria scoffed. If that's how she wanted to be, two could play that game. She turned and picked up a garment before leaning in to her mother's side and dropping her voice and octave.

"For your information, Ezra keeps me very satisfied," Aria said.

Ella's face turned a thousand different shades of red and Aria raised her eyebrows when Ella turned to face her, challenging.

"That is enough out of you," she said. She held out a shirt and a dress. "Go, try these on before I die of embarrassment."

Aria took the two hangers from her mom, but before she left to find the sales assistant again, she gave Ella a sardonic look. "I mean, honestly… how did you think I got pregnant?"

"Now!" Ella said with a smile and a laugh.

When Aria came out of the fitting room, she was wearing a very flattering red dress. The neckline cut down to show off her new-found cleavage and the silhouette of the dress cut in a way that accentuated the small bump that had been fairly well hidden up until this point. Ella was sitting patiently on a bench just outside the door, ready to see how everything fit. When Aria had gone to ask for a room, Ella cut in and informed the sales woman a little of what they were looking for. After a few minutes, the three of them had been able to pull together a good selection, and Aria was finally starting to feel like she might be able to embrace this aspect of being pregnant.

"What do you think?" she said, walking over to the full length mirror, turning this way and that so that she could see if from every angle.

"It looks beautiful," Ella said. "Do you like it?"

Aria ran a hand over the protrusion at her waistline. "I'm like, really pregnant," she said.

Ella laughed. She made eye contact with Aria through the mirror and they held each other's gaze, Aria's hands framing where her child was growing.

"Just wait until you hit the seven month mark. That's where things start to catch up with you. You'll look bigger every day."

"Thanks, Mom," Aria said sarcastically.

"Oh, stop, it's a good thing. You're beautiful," Ella said. "Motherhood suits you. Really."

Aria bit her lip and looked down. She was holding back a smile.

"What?" Ella asked.

"Ezra told me that about a month after we found out."

Aria bit her lip and moved her hands, letting them trail over the back of the dress before turning a few more times and heading back toward the changing stall. She reached for the door and leaned on it for a moment, tapping her toe behind her as she looked on at Ella. She smiled as the memory rushed back to the forefront of her mind and she could feel her skin tinge with self consciousness. "I was supposed to be working on edits for the book, but instead I was reading A Little Princess… by myself… at two in the morning. Outloud."

"He loves you," Ella said.

"I know." Aria was nodding, her eyes closed, and a smile on her face.

"He's going to be a really great dad," Ella said.

"I know," she said, this time shaking her head. A few tears started to well up in her eyes; she couldn't stop the smile from forming on her lips. She let out a breathy laugh. "I am so happy."

"I'm glad," Ella said. "You deserve to be happy." They let a moment pass between them before Ella cleared her throat and made a shewing gesture with her hand. "All right, you, try something else on for me."

Aria pushed off the door and leaned down, planting a kiss on Ella's cheek. "I love you, Momma," she said.

"I love you too, sweetie," Ella said. Aria closed the door behind her, and as she did, she just barely missed Ella brushing a tear from her cheek.

Not a half hour later, Aria was feeling more confident and about ten times more relieved than she had been before they'd left that morning. She had a bag in either hand and was already wearing a new pair of leggings. The extra space they allowed made an enormous difference. She was now convinced half of her bad mood could be chalked up to a side effect of uncomfortable clothing. If she'd realized how much better she'd feel wearing an actual pair of maternity pants rather than just Ezra's old sweats, she might have made the shopping trip earlier on.

Aria and Ella were passing through the food court on their way to the car when it hit her. "Oh, mom," she said, stopping in the middle of the walkway.

"What?" Ella said, concern in her voice.

"Do you smell that?"

"No…" Ella was looking skeptically at her daughter. "Are you hungry? We ate an hour ago."

Aria pursed her lips and cocked her head. Clearly, they would be going nowhere until she figured out what the smell was.

"Fair enough," Ella said, resigning herself to another half hour of being at the mall. "I guess it's been a while since I was pregnant."

"Yeah, I can't leave until I know what that is. I think it's…" she turned, scanning the names of each restaurant as she did so. "Pea King?" she said, with question.

"Orange chicken," Ella said. "Figures. I couldn't get enough when I was pregnant with you."

"Oh my god, that's it," Aria said, already on her way over to the counter. "Ezra is going to die. This is funny."

"I wonder how common this is..." Ella started, making small talk as she followed behind Aria. "For women to crave the same things their mom's did when they were pregnant. God, I loved fried green tomatoes when I was pregnant with Mike." She was looking wistfully over the menu now.

"Yeah, not really why I thought it was funny," Aria said, not really listening to what her mom was saying. She gave her order to the man at the counter before turning back to Ella. "Ezra and I used to get Chinese takeout every Saturday my junior year. I know I said I was vegan, but I always stole some of his orange chicken when he wasn't looking."

Ella looked down her nose. "Excuse me?" she said.

"Yeah, he definitely knew I was stealing it," she said. She stopped for a moment, looking at Ella's face with boredom. "Oh, stop, you knew it was happening."

"After the fact," Ella said, displeased. "You could have gotten in so much trouble. Do you realize that?"

They moved down the line, and Aria paid at the register, eagerly exchanging a few bills for a styrofoam box of heaven.

"God, this smells good," she said, ignoring Ella's comments.

"Exactly how often were you over at his apartment?"

Aria mimicked the look Ella had given her, narrowing her eyes, fully knowing that Ella did not really want to know the answer to that question.

"Enough that you should be thankful this," she pointed toward her belly, "is happening now and not while I was underage. Do you really want to talk about this?"

"See, this is why you need to tell your friends."

"That's what I thought," Aria said. She took a seat at a booth and Ella joined her.

The pair sat and shared the orange chicken - Ella was impressed that Aria wasn't scarfing the whole thing down by herself, but Aria swore up and down that she wasn't to that point yet. Ella could see in her eyes that she was practicing restraint though. In all honesty, she was proud of her for making the attempt, even if she knew it wouldn't last long. Ella gave it another two weeks before sharing was nothing more than a grand idea only referenced as an afterthought.

Just as Aria finished up the last bite, making sure to roll the last piece of sticky orange chicken in the remnants of white rice before popping into her mouth, a familiar face passed in front of their booth, just a few feet away. Aria's eyes went wide.

"Don't turn around, whatever you do," she said, ducking her head in an effort to stay out of sight. "I cannot believe this. We went all the way to Philly and then some, just so this wouldn't happen!"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Ella questioned, leaning forward a little, ducking her head as well, though for what reason, she had no idea.

"It's Emily," Aria said, "and I don't want her to find me like this."

Ella sat back up. "Oh, for heaven's sake, Aria."

"What? You really want her to find out I'm pregnant because I have orange sauce all over my face and I'm sporting a new pair of maternity pants?"

"It's going to happen at some point. I'll be surprised, if they haven't already put everything together on their own. Honey, you look pregnant. They have to know."

"You're giving them too much credit. They have too many other things going on to really pay attention to anything else." Aria was now quickly gathering the box and her napkins while Emily's back was to them. She was standing in line at a pizza place, chatting to someone else who looked… vaguely familiar as well. She was tall, blonde, had a very earthy style about her..."Oh, shit," Aria said. "This is just perfect. She's with Sabrina."

Aria leaned back in the booth, the garbage in front of her forgotten.

"Who's Sabrina?" Ella asked.

"You know who Sabrina is. She works for Ezra… manages The Brew?"

Ella turned her neck, trying to catch a glimpse without getting caught. Aria reached out and grabbed Ella's wrist, forcing her attention back on her daughter. "Mom, don't, really. I don't want either of them to see us."

"Aria, really." Ella was growing tired of her antics. "If you're really that concerned about it, we better get out of here while they're backs are to us. There's a trash can over there. I'll get your bags and meet you at the door."

Aria bit her lip and nodded. She was being immature about it, she knew that, but at the moment, she couldn't have cared less. She was not about to announce that she and Ezra were having a baby to Emily and Sabrina, at the same time, at a food court close to three hours from home.

When she got to the glass doors, Ella was checking her watch, her arms loaded with shopping bags. Aria reached out and took a few, lightening her load. "I'm sorry," she said, as she pushed open the door for her mom. "This shouldn't have been an issue. They should already know. I don't know why I'm afraid to tell them."

Ella passed through the door. "Don't stress about it. Just make sure that you make a point to tell them before this gets out of hand." She reached out and put an arm around her daughter, pulling her in close to her side, and she placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "You're doing great. Just hang in there and remember to enjoy this time."

"Thanks, Mom," Aria said.

In the car on the way home, Aria found herself staring at the ring on her finger. She was lost in thought, drowning by all the things that had yet to be said… yet to be settled… yet to be planned. She played with the band on the underside of her hand, the solidness of it there, firmly placed against her skin giving her a great deal of comfort.

"You're being awfully quiet," Ella said from the driver's seat. "What are you thinking about?"

Aria looked over, her head leaned back against the headrest, her eyes heavy with drowsiness. "Everything," Aria said simply.

"Do you want a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know," Aria said, looking back out the window. "I just want them to be healthy."

"Good answer. Is Ezra hoping for one over the other?"

Aria let out a laugh. "He won't admit it outloud, but I think he wants a girl."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Just the way he talks… the clothes he's drawn to in a story, the way he talks to my belly when he thinks I'm not awake. I can just tell."

"You know, when you were a baby, your dad would hardly put you down. I couldn't get him to let you go."

"Really?"

"Yes. He was so afraid of anything happening to you. He felt overwhelmingly responsible for your well being."

"That's sweet," Aria said.

"It was, until I couldn't get him to do anything else. It was suffocating."

At the mention of Byron, the conversation dipped a bit, both of the women settling into a quiet rhythm.

"Do you think he was being genuine the other night?" Aria asked.

"I do," Ella said. "He's been much better lately. I think it meant a lot that you didn't want to disappoint him… and I think he can see that now." Aria didn't say anything, so Ella made idle conversation to fill the silence. "So, when is your next appointment? Will you get to find out the sex soon?"

"We were actually given the option last time we went, and we decided against it. We want to be surprised. We go again next week though. Getting stuck with all those needles is torture. I'm kind of dreading it."

"Ha! Just wait until you have to actually give birth. Do you think you'll get an epidural?"

"Oh… I don't know. I haven't given it that much thought yet, to be honest. I think I'd like to have a natural birth if possible."

"Well I'm sure you can handle if you put your mind to it."

"We'll see," Aria said. "I thought I had a pretty high pain tolerance, but my body has begs to differ. My back has done nothing but try to kill me for the past month."

Ella was now turning down the main drag in Rosewood, stopping in the alley that held the entrance to the loft above The Brew.

"You just wait until you're actually carrying around some weight. You're still so tiny."

"I'm not that tiny," Aria said defensively, a hand flying to her abdomen.

"Yes, you are," Ella challenged with a laugh. She reached out and tugged at Aria's sweater in the front a little so that it wasn't hanging to sight against Aria's midsection. She let out a chuckle. "There, keep it like that and I can't even tell you're carrying."

Aria fake pouted, jutting her lower lip.

"But I want to look pregnant," she said.

"Yes," Ella countered, "but people need to know you're pregnant before you go throwing it in their face."

Aria stuck out her tongue and opened the passenger side door. "Whatever," she said. "Thanks for driving today. Let me know if you need help with anything at the gallery. I've got the last round of edits to finish up this week, but then the manuscript will be with the publishers and I should have some down time."

"That sounds good. Do you need help carrying anything up?"

"I should be fine. Ezra's up there, and these aren't that heavy. I'm not completely incapable of taking care of myself." She winked. "Thanks, again mom. I love you."

"I love you too. Tell Ezra I said hi - and tell him to take good care of my baby."

"I will," she said. She picked up the last pile of bags and closed the door behind her.

Ella waited, car parked beside the building until Aria was in and Ezra leaned out the door to wave goodbye. She gave a gentle wave back and as she pulled away, she felt like her heart was in her throat.

Her baby was growing up, and she was having a baby all of her own.

A/N: Oh, guys. I feel like this chapter was super cheesy Lol I mean... I mentioned that it was largely fluff, right? That there was no real plot to this? Because... there's no real plot to this :D Hope you're all cool with that.

As always, review and let me know what your thoughts are :) Looking forward to hearing from you.

ALSO - THAT PROPOSAL, AMMIRIGHT? 3