Fifty Six

Mila

One Year Later

My breath caught in my throat. My heart started to pound in my chest. I could hear a ringing in my ears and I started to feel dizzy. I grabbed onto the counter and closed my eyes. Slowly I counted to ten, then twenty, thirty, forty, and then fifty. I made it to fifty seven before the feeling passed. When I opened my eyes again I looked in the mirror. A sheen of sweat covered my face. It had never taken that long to pull myself back from a panic attack. I hadn't had them in almost six months.

When we first got back to La Push I would wake up screaming, scared that my dreams was true. I always dreamed that Hal found Lira. He found her then forced her to come get me. Every time Embry would pull me back. Six months since I had a panic attack. I thought everything was fine…but I was wrong. A strong knock on the door snapped me back to reality.

"Mila is everything alright in there?"

"I'm on my way out," I said back. I let out a breath and walked out of the small bathroom. I walked back into the room and climbed back on the exam table. A few seconds later, Dr. Mullins walked back into the room. She smiled as she sat down on the small stool in front of me.

"Are you alright? You were in there longer than I expected."

"Sorry about that. I suffer from panic attacks at times."

"Well there's no need to worry. It's just a yearly checkup." Dr. Mullins sat my chart down and washed her hands. Once she was done, she slipped on a pair of gloves and told me to lie back. The procedure took less than five minutes. "All set," she said slipping her gloves off.

"Now," she said grabbing my chart "What kind of birth control are you thinking about starting?"

"I was thinking the patch would be good. That way I don't have to worry about remembering to take it."

"Sounds good," she stood up "I'll go get you a sample box and your script."

"Thank you," I said with a smile as she walked out. A few minutes later Dr. Mullins walked back into the room. She wasn't carrying a box instead she had a small white bottle.

"Mila I'm afraid I can't start you on the patch right now."

"What?" I asked her. My chest started to tighten and I could feel myself hyperventilating. Dr. Mullins quickly walked over to me. She sat the bottle and paper down and grabbed my hands.

"Mila calm down! I can't give you the patch because you're test was positive."

"Positive?"

"Mila you're pregnant."

The feeling of dread instantly went away. I started to smile as my tears built up. I was pregnant.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure. If you want we can do an ultrasound and see how far you are."

"I would like that."

"Alright. Well follow me across the hall and I'll get you all set up."

I looked down at my watch for the hundredth time. Embry was due to be home any minute now. My foot tapped the carpet, nervously. I heard his car pull up and my heart started to pound. I stood up and made sure my dress was straight before walking over to the door. I pulled it open, a huge smile on my face. It fell when I saw Embry carrying a sleeping EJ up towards the porch. I stepped to the side as they walked in the house.

Embry held up one finger as he went to EJ's room. I followed behind him and watched him put EJ in his bed. EJ was one and half years old now. He looked so much like Embry it was scary sometimes. After making sure he was settled, Embry turned to me. He put his hand on my waist as he led me back down the hall.

"I know it's not my night but Bree called. She said she needed me to watch him she got called into work. Her parents had prior plans. You look great by the way," he said before leaning down to kiss me. I smiled as I looked down at the dress. It was the one he bought me to wear when he took me to Seattle. Embry lead us over to the couch and sat down. When he pulled me into his lap he kissed my neck.

"How was your day?"

"It was good. Do you think Emily and Sam would mind watching EJ? I had plans for us that don't involve us staying home."

"I'm sure they won't mind."

"Ok," I stood up "I'll call and ask them. You go take a shower and get ready."

Embry smiled at me before walking back to our room. While he was in the shower, I called Emily. I barely had the question out before she said yes. Ten minutes later Sam and Emily were walking in. Embry had just got dressed.

"Thank you guys so much. We'll be home first thing in the morning. Call us if you need us."

"Of course now get out of here!" Emily said pushing us out the door. Embry laughed as we walked off the porch. He walked to the passenger door and went to open it for me but I stopped him. "Actually I'm driving tonight so allow me." I said as I pulled his door open. Embry shook his head no.

"I'm not letting you drive."

"Please Embry, do this for me. Just go along with it."

After some hesitation, he climbed into the car. I quickly walked around and slid into the driver seat.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," I said starting the car. I drove us to Port Angeles. I stopped the car and we stepped out. Embry looked around as he walked to the sidewalk. I knew he was confused but I really hoped that he liked this surprise. I grabbed his hand.

"Just follow me," I said to him. We moved down the sidewalk. It was a little after dusk so the streets weren't that crowded. I smiled bigger when I saw the store front and pulled the door open. We stepped inside the room. A young woman looked up from the counter and smiled at me.

"Mila and Embry?" she asked. I smiled at nodded my head yes. She walked around the counter and shook both of our hands. "Welcome to my studio. I'm so glad that I will be able to take your pictures tonight. If you follow me the studio is right this way."

We followed behind her and ended up in a large room. There were cameras, lights, and two wardrobe racks. I turned and looked at Embry. I couldn't tell if he liked my idea. I stepped in front of me.

"I figured we could take some pictures together. We don't have any in the house. If you don't want to we can leave."

"Its fine Mila," he kissed me "This is a nice date."

I smiled as I turned my attention back to the studio. Our photographers name was Amanda. She started directing us in posing. After a few snaps like that she suggested we change into a different outfit. After ten minutes in the new outfits Amanda had us sit down. After every pose she would show us the photo on her camera.

"Alright Embry you can stand up behind Mila as she sits down. Mila can you hold this for me?" she asked me. Amanda passed me a small cardboard. She stepped back and snapped a few pictures before walking back over to us. She tapped a button then held the camera out to me. I smiled as I looked at the picture. I gave her a nod as she held the picture up to Embry. He looked at the camera for a few seconds.

Suddenly he stepped in front of me and looked at the board I was holding. The cardboard was painted white and had black paint on the words. It read "HIM+ME+BABY=3" Embry looked at the sign again then looked at me.

"Mila…what is this-"

"I'm pregnant Embry."

I sat waiting for him to say something else but he didn't say anything. His eyes went up and down. He moved the cardboard from in front of me. His hands went to stomach before he looked back up at me. "I found out earlier today. I actually went in to start birth control in hopes of getting my cycle regulated. The Dr. told me that I'm pregnant." I looked at Embry waiting for him to say something. He didn't say anything. I thought he was going to be happy, shouting from the rooftops or something. Instead he was quiet and not saying anything. I pushed his hands off me and jumped up from the seat.

"Mila…Mila wait a minute," Embry called out as he ran behind me. I was just about to open the door when I felt his hand wrap around my waist. He pulled me back and swung me around. When my feet touched the ground he stepped back in front of me. I pushed his hands off of me.

"Don't touch me Embry. I just told you I'm pregnant and you didn't say anything!" the tears that I was trying to hold back spilled down my face "I thought you would be happy!"

"Mila I am happy. I just needed a minute to process it. I didn't say anything because I knew I wouldn't make any sense. I am so happy Mila. I could only be happier if one thing happened."

"What?" I asked him. Embry smiled as he stepped back and kneeled down in front of me. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. But it wasn't just any ring. It was Ava's ring. Embry grabbed my hand.

"Mila Rose, I love you. I love you more than life itself. You are my life. Without you I have no life. Will you make me the happiest man in the world? Will you allow me to show you how much I love you every day? Will you marry me?"

"Yes," I said through the tears. Embry leaped up and kissed me. He wrapped his arms around me.

"And that's a wrap," Amanda said. Embry kissed me again. I looked at the ring on my finger and back at him. This was real. This was life. We were finally getting to live the life that we wanted…with each other.