When all the gifts and cards were finally opened, Aria was released from sitting at the front of the room. She politely stood, thanked everyone for their kindness, gave them a polite and heartfelt smile, and made a beeline for the bathroom, grabbing her mom's wrist as she passed, pulling her along behind her.

"What the hell?" she said once the door was closed behind them.

"What?" Ella said, her face contorting into a look of surprise. "I thought it would be nice to invite her – that's her grandchild too, you know," she said, pointing at Aria's midsection.

Aria subconsciously threw a protective hand over her belly. "I know that," she said, "but you could have given me a heads up," she said. "When did you invite her? Did you know she was coming?"

"I sent her the invite with everyone else's, and no, I didn't. She never replied…I just assumed that I had overstepped my boundaries…that it never arrived…or that she couldn't make it."

"Mom," Aria said, bracing herself at the sink. "You don't understand. I mean, on top of the fact that she doesn't like me –"

"Honey, how could anyone dislike you?"

Aria didn't even respond, she just tilted her head and looked down her nose.

"Yes, well, if you treat them like this, then I could understand." Ella folded her arms in front of her and moved her weight so that it was balanced on one hip. "I'm sorry that you didn't want her to be invited – I just didn't think it was fair to leave her out of it." She gently threw her hands up, an act that always made Aria feel guilty.

Ella spun toward the door to leave and Aria reached out for her elbow, stopping her.

"Mom," she said quietly. Ella turned around and looked at Aria with saddened eyes. "Never mind," she said. "Thanks for including her."

Ella smiled, then lifted a hand to Aria's face and ran her fingers down her daughter's cheek.

"I still can't believe my baby is having a baby of her own," she said quietly.

"I know," Aria said, her eyes starting to water over. "Me either."

Ella gave her a peck on the forehead and let herself out of the restroom, but Aria stayed behind. She locked the door as soon as it clicked shut and turned on the fan so that she wouldn't be overheard, then pulled out her phone and began to punch Ezra's number, wiping the tears that had built up with the back of her other hand. It only rang a few times before he picked up.

"Hello?" he said over the receiver.

"Ezra," she said in a rush, "please tell me you talked to your mom when you said you would." She let out a deep breath, hoping he wouldn't be able to hear the tears through the phone.

His voices was muffled and Aria could almost imagine him putting one hand up to his ear so that he could hear her better too. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice too loud.

Aria lowered her voice even more but tried to speak more slowly and more clearly. "I mean the baby…please tell me you talked to her – that she knew I was pregnant before today – because she's standing in my mother's living room at my baby shower and I think I might go into premature labor."

Dead air filled the space between them, filtering through their cell phones like heavy water.

"Fuck," he said. "For fucks sake, of course she's there…"

Aria groaned inwardly and eased her back up so that it was pressed against the wall. She needed the extra support.

"I'll take that as a no," she said. "Great."

"Aria…I am so sorry; I don't even know how she found out about it."

"I'll tell you how she found out," Aria said. "My mom invited her – and she had every right to. Why would she feel like she needed to ask if your mom knew I was having your baby? Why wouldn't we tell your mom? We never tell my parents about our interactions with her, or lack thereof…" She rolled her eyes and tried to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry I can't be there, babe," Ezra said. He sounded ashamed and Aria knew that this was going to eat at him until he got home. Dianne made him anxious enough on a regular basis. Under these circumstances, he was liable to have an aneurysm.

"It's fine, Ezra," she said quietly.

She took the phone away from her ear, letting it dangle in front of her as she propped one arm against her other elbow. Raising it back to her cheek and staring at her reflection in the mirror, she gathered all her energy and said, "It's not your fault. Either one of us could have called her at any point. I know it was originally my idea, but I wasn't really interested in being the one to tell her either." She paused for a minute, catching her reflection in the mirror. "But, she's here, and I think I've only grown since you left for Boston…so no time like the present, right? It's fine; I'll handle it. No worries."

She let him apologize a few more times before ending the call and closing her eyes. A moment later, there was a knock on the door.

Aria composed herself as much as she could before flipping the fan off and opening the door. She was relieved to see Hanna's face on the other side.

"What are you doing in there?" she asked. "I saw your mom walk out a few minutes ago and I expected you to be right behind her." She stepped in closer to Aria as they walked across the hall and stood quietly by the stair banister. Looking out across the room, Hanna leaned in and whispered, "Guessing you didn't invite the Wicked Witch from the North?"

"Guessed right," Aria said. She fidgeted with the elastic of her outfit, tugging for a little extra room in places where room wasn't really available. Dianne's ears must have been burning, because at that exact moment, Dianne looked up from where she was mingling with Aria's grandma and made the most awkward brand of eye contact with the two girls. "Please don't leave me," Aria whispered.

Hanna reached out and lightly grabbed Aria's waist. "Unfortunately this one is all you. I'll go find Emily and come up with an excuse to drag you off in a minute. Just…stay nice."

"Han –" Aria started, just as the blonde was turning around and Dianne was within earshot. She let out a muffled grumble then did her best to smile through her tight lips. "Hi, Dianne," Aria said.

"Hello, Aria. I didn't expect to me like this." She gave her a once over. "I have to say, motherhood suites you already."

"Thank you."

Aria was stuck and she didn't know what to do. She could play it cool… pretend like she'd tried to call or left a message or sent a letter and it had simply never been received…or she could embrace the terribly awkward and uncomfortable situation she was in and addressing the elephant in the room so that they could all go on with their day.

After a few seconds of seriously considering playing it off like she wasn't in the wrong, she remembered that she was trying to start as fresh as possible. Not only should she be the bigger person, but she should do her best to not lie unless absolutely necessary. Though it would have been easy to convince her that this was one of those necessary moments, the pregnancy hormones must have been clouding her judgment. Before she could even think to take it back, she was apologizing and groveling.

It was a moment she wasn't especially proud of.

"We meant to tell you so many times, but it never…felt right," she said. Dianne's face was cold, like an ice sculpture. It reminded Aria horribly of the time she'd been offered payment if she broke things off with Ezra. Funny enough, both instances involved the same woman, and that woman was his mother. "You are allowed to be upset with me as much as you want, but please. Don't hold this over Ezra."

Mrs. Fitzgerald was silent and the room around her seemed to have grown silent as well – even though it was still filled with people talking happily and taking bets on what gender the baby would be. (In her efforts to avoid eye contact, Aria noted that Spencer was taking advantage of the fact that she had, well, and unfair advantage. She had quite a pretty penny pinned on the guess that Ari and Ezra would be having a girl. Aria would have to challenge her friend's conscience later.)

"Aria," Dianne said, pressing her lips together slightly after the name rolled off her tongue. She seemed to press them there against each other longer than necessary – perhaps ensuring her lipstick was in good shape, perhaps thinking carefully before she spoke. "I want to be very clear. I do not approve of your relationship with my son. I don't know that I ever will. You encourage a certain…habit of his, and I'm afraid it's one that has done him no favors."

Aria could feel her face growing hot. Her eyes were narrowing and her fists were beginning to clench.

"However," Dianne continued. "I see no reason in punishing a child for the lot they've been dealt. When I received your mother's invitation, I was confused, and quiet honestly, very disappointed. I didn't realize you had rekindled your friendship with Ezra after all this time, much less your romantic involvement with him. That being said, I have taken the time to wrap my head around the idea and I'd like to strike a deal."

"Listen," Aria said, cutting her off. Her hand subconsciously moved to cover her unborn daughter again. "If you think you're about to offer some monetary "fix" you're wrong. I will not let you make me, or Ezra, or this child feel like any part of this situation is wrong, except for your involvement. Which, by the way, is only possible if I allow it. You don't have any rights here, and if you at all wish to see your grandchild grow up, I advise you choose your next words carefully." She tried to quell the beast that was rising within her. She had not intended to go into this conversation with an edged tongue, but sometimes hold habits die hard…and sometimes what happens happens.

Thankfully, Dianne seemed to sense that she'd started off on the wrong foot and she reached out a hand, waving it in the space between their bodies.

"No," she said. "You've misunderstood, and I take responsibility for that." She retracted her hand and let it sit on her chest below her collarbone. "I would very much appreciate if you'd keep me updated on how you're doing – all three of you. Please tell Ezra that, if he's ever interested, I would like to have the chance to start fresh. Circumstances…" she glanced at Aria's waistline again, and for a split second, it seemed like she wanted to reach out and touch Aria's belly. "Let's just say, I'm seeing things in a different light. Some things have been put into perspective. I, at the very least, don't think it's right for a child to not know their grandparents."

"I agree," Aria said – and she meant it.

AN: This was the last scene I wanted to write before I moved forward a bit. We'll most likely see a jump in time, and hopefully some things will progress ;) I don't want this story to last past the series finale. Hopefully you're not bored with it yet. Let me know if there's something you feel like you HAVE to see before it ends and I'll try to work it in. I've got a vague outline in my head, but I'm open to suggestion.

Read and Review, please!

Kisses