I stepped into the diner alone, having instructed Emmett to come after a few minutes.

I took my usual seat, and Debbie came from the back room with a wide smile. "Hey, there, hon! How you doin'?"

"Good. Better than good. You know how I was telling you about Emmett?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Yeah."

"Well, he... He came and found me yesterday. There's another long, complicated story behind it, but he didn't cheat on me."

"What kind of story?"

I bit my lip, trying to figure out how to simplify it. "Well... Did you ever hear about that switched at birth book?"

"Yeah! I keep meanin' to read that. Could you imagine?" She sat across from me.

"I can, actually. My mom wrote it. I was switched. So Emmett is a friend of my sister, and we got together. He actually did cheat once, after I got pregnant. Neither of us knew at the time. But when I found out I was pregnant and told my family, my dad, John, he... He got mad. And it turns out he paid the girl that Emmett slept with before to break us up. But she confessed."

Debbie didn't move, her eyes wide. "Your life is a real live soap opera, isn't it?"

I laughed and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, pretty much. Anyway, I came in before him to warn you, so be nice."

"An' he's deaf, right? Can he read lips?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, then."

The door opened and Emmett came in, looking a bit nervous. He saw me and went to my side, sitting beside me.

"Debbie, this is Emmett. Emmett, this is Debbie."

'Nice to meet you.'

"Nice to meet you, doll. Want anything to drink?"

'Coffee?'

I opened my mouth to interpret, but Debbie stopped me. "Don't have to tell me. That one's easy. Like a little grinding machine. One cup of coffee coming up. Cocoa, hon?"

"Yes, please."

"Be right back." Debbie got up and left.

'I like her.'

"So do I."

He turned to look out the window, studying the few people wandering around. He turned to me after a moment. 'What's with the lady and the birds?'

"That's Carol. I think she mostly does it because she doesn't like people telling her she can't."

'Who tells her she can't?'

"I have no idea."

He grinned, and Debbie came out with two steaming mugs, setting them down. We turned to her. "Know what you want to eat, handsome?"

'Did she just call me 'handsome'?'

I grinned and nodded.

'What do you have?'

"Shoot, I forgot to give you a menu. Just a second, doll." She turned and went to the counter, grabbing the laminated paper that passed as a menu. She brought it back to Emmett, and he quickly decided. She nodded and took it back, going into the back.

'She didn't take your order.'

"I come here a lot. I get the same thing."

'You've been here a week. How do you already have a 'regular'?'

I shrugged slightly, grinning, turning to look out the window again. After a moment, Emmett waved his hand.

'This is a nice little town.'

"I like it here."

'Seems like a good community to raise a baby in.'

"It really is, from what I've seen."

He nodded slightly and dropped the subject, looking lost in thought. He was doing the same thing I was; imagining our life in Alderdeen.

...

Carl had hardly said a word to Emmett over dinner. Even after I had explained everything, it seemed that Carl still didn't trust him. Margie, on the other hand, had loved him. I think he had barely escaped with me before he had become a permanent fixture for her.

Now we lay in bed, while I tried to figure out what was going to happen to my car tomorrow.

'So, Margie is... intense.'

"Isn't she? I love her. I think I found a tow company."

'How far do they go?'

"I have no idea."

I got to work dialing different numbers before I finally found someone who would make the trip. It would be pricey, but it was the only option I had. That, or wait until the baby was born and just leave it here, which didn't sound appealing to me.

With that settled, I lay back in bed. "Today is our last calm day for... a long time."

'I'm sorry.'

"What are you sorry for?"

'John. Everything that he's done... it has to hurt. He's your dad.'

I shook my head. "Not anymore."

'You can say it all you like, but he raised you. It has to hurt. So I'm sorry.'

I fell silent. As usual, Emmett was right. I didn't like to think about it, liking to instead focus on being angry when it came to John. Being angry was easy. A man was trying to get me to give up my baby. That same man had paid a woman to break me and my boyfriend up. A few months ago, that man had practically ordered me to get an abortion. It was easy to be mad at that man.

It wasn't easy to see the man that I grew up calling 'dad'. It wasn't easy to have to practically cut the word out of my vocabulary. The only person who came close to fitting the description at this point was Angelo, and though he wasn't being a complete jerk about it, he still wasn't thrilled. No, I didn't like to focus on what would hurt. I was going to be a mother in seven weeks, and I didn't really think I had that luxury. I had a father figure who hated my child, and I wouldn't let that stand. I had to protect my baby.

I sighed slightly and pushed the thoughts from my mind, getting back up to change into my pajamas. After pulling on some shorts, I decided to forego the shirt, just leaving it at my most comfortable bra. Emmet and I had crossed that final limit the night before, after all. And I was pregnant with his baby. It wasn't like he hadn't seen it all before.

I returned to bed and lay back, closing my eyes. Even still, I could see Emmett's smile. After a moment, I felt the gentle press of his lips against my belly, and the baby moved. He was moving more and more lately, presumably getting turned the right way for birth. Now that I was only seven weeks away, my nerves were running wild. On one hand, I was extremely excited. My baby would be born, and I wouldn't be pregnant anymore. On the other hand, labor was a daunting thought, as was being an active mother for... the rest of my life. There were going to be illnesses, parent-teacher conferences, graduations... All of which I had experienced before, but now I would be on the other side. I would be the mother sitting in the front row of kindergarten graduation, crying. I would be the mother arguing with teachers to defend my son. I would be the mother staying up nights to comfort him. I would be the mother who knew just what kind of applesauce he liked, and exactly what vegetables I would have to hide from him.

I opened my eyes and looked to Emmett. I could feel my brows furrow as I tried to wrap my mind around the enormity of what was happening. I'm not sure I had ever quite thought of it in those terms before.

"I'm going to be a mom."

Emmett would teach him how to ride a bike. He would be there when our son scraped his knees. He would teach him about motorcycles, and I'm sure when Luke got old enough, Emmett would build a bike with him. A bike that Luke would ride, and love, because it would always remind him of his father. Emmett would be that father so proud of his son, that he would most likely have Luke's picture in his wallet to show off.

"You're going to be a dad."

I could see our future so clearly, yet at the same time it felt so uncertain. Where would we live? How would we finish school? What would happen? I didn't know. I did know that we would be a family. I knew that we would love our baby with all our hearts. I knew that we would make our own traditions, have our own family jokes. We would have our own personal squirrel, something that no one else would understand.

I knew that we would be happy.

I don't know why, but I had a feeling that after this most recent Simone hiccup, nothing would come between us again.

I don't know what showed in my face. I'm not sure if Emmett had any idea what I was talking about. Of course we were going to be parents, we had known that for months. But he was Emmett, and he had to know that something about tonight felt different for me. He leaned up and kissed me. When he pulled away, he only said, 'We are.'

...

The next day, I dropped off my key with Carl. "We're heading out today."

"Well, you remember to come back and visit."

"I will."

I turned and went outside, where Emmett was waiting.

'Ready?'

"No. We're not leaving now. We need to see Debbie. And we might as well eat while we're there."

He grinned and nodded, and I got the feeling that he was more humoring me, than agreeing. Either way, we made our way to the diner and I took my usual seat, Emmett sitting across from me.

It wasn't long until Debbie came out and smiled widely. "Hey, there!"

"Hi! I wanted to come by before we left."

"Oh, no, you're leaving already?" She came and sat beside me.

"Yeah. I have an appointment in a few days. It's time to go back to reality."

"Well, don't forget us."

"I won't."

She smiled and gave me a side hug. It was awkward, but considering I was 33 weeks pregnant, and she was trailing by only a few weeks, it was the most we could do.

Though she kept stopping to talk, it wasn't long until we had eaten and it was time for us to go.

When we made our way back to the hotel, my car was already gone, and I got into the passenger's seat of Emmett's car. I was starting to wish we had towed his car instead. Without the roof, my car was much easier to get into.

A few minutes later, we were on the road and going back home.