Sorry I haven't posted in a few days! This chapter was a bit of a labor of love. It was hard to get started. As a warning, it's a little mushy and a little dramatic. But hey, it's Aria and Ezra, everything's dramatic. As always, read and review! I'm thinking one more short chapter, let me know your thoughts!

Aria walked into the kitchen, wondering what mess Ella was whipping up. Clearly Ella was listening in on Aria and Ezra's conversation so she thought it best to see what her mother's reaction was before sitting down to dinner with the whole family. Well, that and giving her grief for not mentioning that she had invited Ezra.

"So… I'm guessing you heard all of that…." Aria began as she leaned up against one of the cabinets in the kitchen.

"I did," Ella stated simply, surprisingly calm.

"And…" Aria continued, waiting to hear what her mother had to say on the issue of her and Ezra.

"And what, Aria?" Ella questioned, confused as to what her daughter was looking for.

"And don't you have something to say? Concerns? I mean we weren't exactly having a light conversation and there were some things that you probably shouldn't have heard" Aria finished, somewhat exasperated.

"Obviously I wish I hadn't heard some of that conversation… hearing that your daughter is sleeping with her teacher on a whim isn't exactly what a mom wants to hear" Ella began, leaving Aria with her jaw dropped.

"It wasn't a whim!" Aria quickly countered. "Nothing with Ezra has ever been a whim. But I've been lost, Mom. I feel like everything in my life has been turned upside down. And Ezra, being with Ezra, it felt like for a few minutes my world was right side up". Aria looked at Ella with hopeful eyes, she wanted her to understand.

"Why do you think I invited him here tonight, Aria?" Ella spoke, confused at how Aria didn't see right through her plan from the start. "Ever since I got home, I saw you broken and hurt. All I've wanted to do is fix that for you, but I can't. Then, the other night when we were talking I could see how badly you wanted to make things work with Ezra. You may not have said it out loud and you may not have known it yourself, but I could see it. So… I gave you a little push." Ella gave Aria a slight smirk, knowing that she was right and knowing that Ezra was what her daughter needed.

Aria remained quiet at Ella's explanation, not sure what quite to say. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, searching for the right words. After a few moments, she spoke, "Thank you," she said simply, " thank you for seeing that Ezra and I together are right, even when I couldn't. I know it's complicated and hard for you to completely wrap your head around, but I need him. It's as simple as that."

"I might not love your relationship with him, but after his little speech just now, I do have a new respect for him," Ella responded to Aria with a loving smile and a slight shake of her head. No, Ella never did see something like this for her daughter. "Oh, and one more thing…"

"What's that?" Aria responded, a curious look on her face.

"I didn't exactly mention to your father that Ezra was coming…. So we should probably go run some interference…." Ella mentioned as they heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

A look of panic came across Aria's face as she thought of Ezra alone in the living room about to be confronted by her father. I mean they weren't on bad terms currently, but she had a feeling that might change when Byron found Ezra looking comfy on his couch on Thanksgiving.

"Ezra, what are you doing here?" Aria heard Byron ask from the other room.

Aria and Ella quickly made their way to the living room to run interference. When they entered, they immediately saw Byron with a bewildered expression on his face and Ezra looking pale and at a loss for words

"I invited him," she said looking at Byron as if it wasn't a big deal. At this statement, Aria made her way to Ezra's side, wrapping her arms around his waist, hoping to convey in a gesture what she didn't want to spell out for her father.

"I see," Byron responded with a terse look on his face. He wasn't livid, which Aria was surprise by, but he definitely wasn't happy to see his daughter in the arms of her teacher once again. Most of all, he knew that Aria had been hurt by Ezra recently and didn't want to see her hurt again. But, when he looked closer at the couple, he could tell she seemed less tense than she had been for the last couple of weeks. Instead, she seemed almost relaxed, comforted by Ezra's presence.

Everyone stayed silent, looking around the room, not sure how to proceed. That is until they heard the sounds of another person making their way down the stairs loudly.

As Mike reached the bottom of the stairs after barreling down them like a linebacker, he looked around the room, muttered a "Hey, Fitz" and made his way to the kitchen in search of food. Instantly the tension was broken. Mike hadn't even flinch at the presence of Ezra in their living room. It was if he expected nothing less.

An awkward silence once again fell over the room, and this time it was Byron who spoke up, "Let's eat."

With that statement, Aria, Ezra, and Ella all let out a breath they didn't realize they were holding. Ella turned to follow Byron into the living room leaving Aria and Ezra to have a moment.

"Shall we?" Ezra motioned to the dining room and took a step in that direction.

"Wait," Aria spoke up, tugging on Ezra's arm holding him back from joining the rest of her family.

"What is …"

Before he could even finish his statement, Aria attached herself to Ezra's lips. Catching Ezra by surprise, Aria pulled Ezra's body to hers by wrapping her arms around his neck. Ezra reacted quickly, leaning into the kiss and simultaneously wrapping his arms around her torso. As quick as the kiss had started, Aria pulled back.

"What was that for?" Ezra questioned.

"Oh nothing," she sang as she pulled Ezra to join her family in the dining room. Ezra just laughed at her, he wasn't about to question what was happening between them.

An hour later, everyone was seated at the table immersed in conversation. It was almost if everything was normal. Byron hadn't made any inappropriate comments toward Ezra and Mike had only made the occasional joke about having a teacher at their table. Ezra and Aria had even grown comfortable acting like a couple in front of Byron and Ella; touching each other, leaning in to make comments to each other and even some light flirting at times. Aria was amazed at how well it was going and for the first time in months, she realized she was getting back to being happy.

Breaking Aria's deep thoughts, Byron cleared his voice, quickly changing the tone of the room. "So Ezra, " he began, "I'm glad to see you've recovered well".

Caught off guard, Ezra could only respond with a slight grimace on his face, " yes, it hasn't been easy, but I'm getting there." He immediately sensed that Aria had shifted in the chair next to him, sitting up straighter, tensing at the conversation her father had started.

"What exactly happened that night Ezra, I mean I can't imagine how terrifying the whole ordeal must have been?" Byron continued, swirling the scotch in his cup after taking a long sip. Clearly he wasn't going to let it go without some sort of answer.

"Dad!" Aria immediately blurted out, tears beginning to form in his eyes. Astounded that her father would ask such a question.

"Aria, it's alright," Ezra comforted Aria, placing his hand atop hers on the table.

"No, Ezra! It's not okay! He has no right to ask you these questions!" Aria continued, clearly getting very upset very quickly.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's just a question," Ezra once again tried to calm Aria. This time, he placed his other hand on her thigh, rubbing it in a comforting manner.

"I was just curious to hear about that night. There wasn't too much detail on the news, but I mean it's amazing that you survived," Byron spoke once again, not acknowledging Aria's clearly distressed state.

At that statement, Aria got up from the table, grabbed her plate and walked into the kitchen. She immediately threw her plate in the sink, shattering it immediately and began to cry. The memories from what really happened that night started filling her head. She was the reason Ezra was there. She was the reason he was almost killed. She almost killed the man she loved.

Back in the living room, Ella had began to rise from her seat to go check on Aria, but as they heard the slam of the plates, Ezra immediately stood up, "let me," he said with a tight smile on his face. He wasn't sure why Aria was getting so upset, but one thing was for sure, she wasn't okay.

As he cautiously walked into the kitchen, he found aria perched by the sink, bracing herself on the countertop and silently trembling. It was clear she was crying so Ezra walked up behind her and carefully wrapping his arms around her waist, molding his body to hers hoping to give her some comfort.

"What's going on Aria?" he whispered softly into her ear. "Talk to me" he begged, his voice becoming thick with emotion.

That was the moment she broke. Her soft tears had quickly turned into heavy sobs that wracked her body and within seconds, her body was too heavy to stand. Within seconds she crumpled in Ezra's arms. Ezra reacted, catching her in his arms are her legs gave out and slowly lowering them to the floor.

Ezra was terrified at her state. She was literally falling to pieces in his arms. "Talk to me," he begged once more, desperation filling his voice as he cradled Aria as tightly as he could.

Moments passed as Aria tried to calm herself enough to speak. She was now clinging desperately to Ezra, holding onto him as if he were her only hold on this world.

"I almost lost you," she whispered breathlessly between sobs.

Ezra was shocked. They had never really talked about that night in detail and it was clear Aria had been suffering ever since in silence. Yet, she had never uttered a word to him about how it was effecting her, eating her up inside. Still trying to wrap his mind around what she must be feeling, Ezra just responded by desperately running his hands over her body and placing kisses on the top of Aria's head to calm her.

With a deep breath, Aria spoke once more, "It's all my fault".

"No, no, no," Ezra responded immediately. "It is not your fault, you should never say that again." He then moved to grasp Aria's face gently in his hands and locked eyes with her. "I want you to understand something," he spoke softly and quietly just enough for her to hear, "that night was not your fault. I was protecting you. It was my choice to be on that rooftop."

"You got shot for me," Aria responded, having gained a degree of control over her breathing in between sobs. "I watched you get shot and I held you in my arms…. I thought you were going to die, Ezra. I thought you were going to leave me all alone," she finished, her tears once again falling harder, her body violently shaking.

"I'm so sorry," Ezra said, silent tears now running down his face. "But I'm okay," he said. "I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm here," he repeated over and over again, hoping it would break it's way through the sobbing and sink into Aria's head.

For a few more minutes, they both sat there crying. Slowly, Aria was calming down as Ezra held her, rocking her back and forth in his arms, whispering reassurances in Aria's ear. Ezra noted that not one member of Aria's family had dared enter the kitchen. They must be so worried, he thought.

Not a moment later, Ella slowly made her way into the kitchen, visibly shaken at the scene in front of her. Aria, now calmed, still had silent tears running down her face and was still holding onto Ezra desperately. Ezra cradled Aria in his arms and was rubbing soothing circles on her back, his eyes rimmed with red.

"Are you two alright?" she asked lightly, not wanting to upset either of the two in front of her more.

"I'm not sure," Ezra said bluntly. "But we will be."

Ella shook her head in acknowledgement, a tight smile appearing on her face. She knew that Aria was hurting, but she didn't realized how deeply until today.

"Why don't I take you upstairs?" Ezra asked Aria softly now that she had settled down some. "You need some rest. I should let you rest."

"No!" Aria said immediately, "don't leave me, please don't leave me!" The desperation in her voice was clear, she was terrified at the thought of Ezra leaving in that moment.

"Okay, Okay, shhh," Ezra said quickly. He then looked up at Ella, not sure how to handle the situation.

Moments passed and Aria seemed to settle down once again. "Why don't you and Aria go to your place?" Ella suggested to Ezra. "Aria needs rest and I don't think she is going to get much if she's alone."

Shocked at the suggestion, Ezra responded, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's what she needs and right now that is all I care about," Ella answered with conviction.

Aria nodded her head in approval, so Ezra began to pull them up off the floor awkwardly. Once they were standing, he put his arm around her and they walked back into the dinning room.

"Is everything okay?" Byron question, clearly disturbed by Aria's disheveled state. Mike was nowhere in sight, Byron must have sent him up to his room when Aria left the table.

Ezra wasn't quite sure how to answer so he looked to Ella as a sign she should answer. "Aria is going to stay with Ezra tonight," she said with a look that relayed to Byron that he shouldn't question her on this matter.

Aria and Ezra made their way to the door, Ezra slipping his coat on then moving to help Aria with hers. It was clear she was exhausted. She just stood there while Ezra carefully put her coat on carefully. It was as if she was a porcelain doll and he was afraid she would shatter at any moment.

Quickly Ezra said his goodbyes to Byron and Ella, thanking them for the dinner. As he turned towards the door, Ella motioned for him to come over to her for a moment out of Aria's earshot.

"She's been having nightmares," Ella said tearfully. "I didn't really know what they were about and she wouldn't talk to me about them, so I let it go. I shouldn't have, look what's happened to her."

Ezra was slightly surprised, but he shouldn't have been. The nightmares were just one more thing Aria hadn't talked to him about.

"I'll take care of her," he said simply. "I promise." With those words, Ezra turned to make his way back to Aria who was standing silently by the door

Ezra grabbed Aria's hand and looked into her eyes. "Let's go home," he said softly. With that, he led them outside in the brisk air to return to their sanctuary that was 3B.

Read and review! xoxo