Three Months Later...
My eyes fluttered open to a warm August morning as I woke up from a dream. Ezra sat next to me on our bed and softly ran his fingers through my messy hair. I smiled innocently, lulling him into a false sense of security before mercilessly attacking his lips, making him fall back down onto the bed as I laughed. He chuckled a bit and picked me up, rolling me on top of him. We were now a heap of laughter and immaturity as we behaved like the young couple we were.
He laid me beside him, facing his handsome face as I continued to giggle. He wrapped his arm around me and kissed me on the forehead.
"You were smiling when you woke up." He said softly, stroking my cheek with his hand as he spoke.
"I was dreaming." I replied, smiling.
"About?" He asked, coyly. I rolled my eyes at him jokingly, which just made him laugh.
"I was laying in the hospital with Sera in my arms. We were so happy. Then, I woke up." I explained, rubbing my belly lovingly. I was absolutely humongous, and I had a month to go!
"What did she look like?" He asked, looking at me inquisitively.
"Well, she definitely had your nose." I replied. He chuckled and smiled at me.
"Have I ever told you how gorgeous you are?" He asked rhetorically. I blushed and he pulled me closer to him.
"Yes," I began as I moved my finger in a circular motion on his bare chest,"but I wouldn't mind hearing it again."
"You're so beautiful." He whispered, kissing my head lightly.
"Thanks, babe." I said as I looked back down.
"It's the truth, Aria." He said, scooping me up in his arms and he held me there like he did on our wedding day. I smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips. He looked down at me and pulled me in closer to him. "I love you."
"I love you, too." I replied as he plopped me back down on the bed. He crawled next to me and laid down.
"Hey. I thought you couldn't be doing that anymore since the...incident." I added, grazing my hand gently over the scar just above his right hip.
"I can handle it." He answered. "If I got the all-clear to ride a bike, I think I should be able to carry my wife like I did on our wedding day."
"Well, technically, you shouldn't. Your wife just happens to be way bigger than she was on our wedding day. But, you can, and you did. And I think it's really hot that you're willing to be in pain to make me happy. Stupid, but still hot."
He laughed before abruptly changing the subject. Every time I brought up "That Night" or the scar, he changed the subject. I understand the impulse and obligation, though. Although it was his "greatest hit" (and I quote him there), it's not our fondest memory as a couple. Bad connotations.
"So," He began, fixing a loose strand of hair behind my ear,"when's your mom coming over?"
"Tomorrow." I replied, smiling.
"How's she been?" He asked.
"Well, Mike said that she was 'rapidly deteriorating' before I told her the news. He says that she's still trying to get over her divorce, but she's been doing much better; and she apparently takes that picture of Sera around with her wherever she goes." I replied. Honestly, I was happy to hear that she was doing better. But, I still wanted to see her more often.
"I'm glad she's getting better. Aria, your family has been more of a family to me than my own mother and brother." He said, putting his arm around my shoulders.
"Ezra, my mom loves you. She's grown to see you as my husband and not, well, whatever Byron thought of you as before he..."
"Aria, he can't hurt you anymore." He replied. My father's death had been an incredibly touchy subject since it happened, and he knew that. And I loved him for not pushing too hard.
"I just feel like it's my fault." I whispered just under my breath to keep the tears from falling. They didn't, surprisingly enough, but I couldn't shake the feeling of guilt I had.
"Babe, he committed suicide. There's nothing either of us could've done to see that coming. We were all in the hospital when it happened. Just try to remember him as the father who loved you and your family; and not who he became. Okay?"
"Okay." I echoed. He ran his hand down my face and I smiled. "Thank you."
"For what?" He asked.
"For saving our lives that night. And for being the best husband ever."
"You know I'd do anything for you, right? I'd do anything for my girls."
"I know." I replied, smiling. "I love you so much. And, so does my mother."
"I love you, too. And, although that does make me over-the-moon happy, it doesn't matter as much as our love for each other." He said, kissing me.
"Agreed." I replied. Ezra then picked me up and carried me into the living room. He plopped me gently on the couch and sat down next to me. He held my hand and I laid my head on his chest. He smiled and looked down at me.
"You know what?" He said, putting his hand on my stomach gently. "I think we should spend the entire day on this couch. Just the two of us."
"I think I agree." I responded, kissing him. Then, his phone rang. He promptly shut it off and returned to kissing me.
I must have fallen asleep on the couch and Ezra probably carried me into our room, because when I woke up in the middle of the night, I was in bed. I woke up in a cold sweat, like I usually do when I wake up from a bad dream.
This dream, however, was slightly different than the other A-related, paranoia and PTSD-induced nightmares I frequently suffer from (three different shrinks and some anti-anxiety meds and I still can't forget what she did to me...us). I was being targeted by "A" (per usual), but this time...felt different. Like, I could actually feel the pain that "A" inflicted on me. Not emotional pain, either. This pain actually felt physical. I felt like I couldn't breathe and I probably woke myself up with my fears.
When I actually opened my eyes, I sat up immediately and began breathing heavily. For a second, I actually thought I was going into labor; but, then I remembered that I wasn't even nine months pregnant yet. But, when I felt a damp spot on the sheets of our bed between my legs, I panicked.
I guess my heavy breathing woke Ezra up as well, because he sat up and wrapped his arm around my waist and began to try and calm me down.
"Hey, hey, hey. Aria, are you okay?" He asked, rubbing my back gently. "Did you have another nightmare?"
"It was-it was her. It was 'A'. She was back and coming to hurt me and you and Sera and-"
"Aria, baby, A's gone. Mona has been locked up in Radley for almost six months, and the police will see to it that she'll stay there. You're safe, I'm safe, and Sera is, too."
"I know, Ez. I just don't want to still have these when the baby's born and-" I said; but, I had to stop talking. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my abdomen and it was unlike anything I had ever felt before. I winced slightly and I could tell that Ezra was beginning to grow worried.
"Aria, talk to me. Is it-" He began, but stopped talking halfway through his sentence. I knew what he meant, and I shook my head and looked at him.
"No, it can't be. It's too early-" I replied before before being cut off by another sudden pain. I was still trying to catch my breath after the last sharp pain I felt. Ezra and I waited for a mere ten minutes for something to happen before I suddenly felt the exact same thing happen again.
"On second thought, maybe this could be the real thing." I said softly. Ezra looked at me with fear in his eyes as he realized what this meant. "Babe, I think she's coming."
"Okay, let's go to the hospital." He said, holding my hand.
"Not like this I'm not." I replied, jumping out of bed. I looked down at my attire and scoffed.
"There is no way I'm going to a crowded hospital in this. I'm gonna change." I added hastily.
"Aria-"
"Nope. Just give me a sec'."
"Baby, we should probably go, though."
"I'm soaked! said that I won't actually begin giving birth until my contractions are farther apart. Thus, you're wasting my precious pre-baby time, and thus, I'm gonna change." I countered. And with that, I sauntered into the closet to change.
About ten minutes later I emerged from the bathroom in fresh clothes (no baby yet-I was right), and Ezra wrapped his arm around my waist as we walked out the front door. I sat in the passenger seat and Ezra began driving to Rosewood. I was still registered at Rosewood hospital because the staff there made me feel more comfortable than those at the hospital in Brookhaven.
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive faster?" He asked just as we hit the ten minute mark of our drive.
"Again: I read online that once the contractions start, I won't actually be delivering the baby for another couple hours. And they're five minutes apart, so that's a good sign. I'm fine. You're paranoid." I replied, holding his hand.
"I am not being paranoid. I'm just really excited to be a dad. And I really don't like seeing you in pain."
"Yeah, and I get that. But I have time, and plenty of it."
Just then, I winced in pain once again and I got another concerned look from Ezra as he squeezed my hand tighter. I looked at him with the same look of fear on my own face.
"Four minutes..." I added quickly. "Okay, fine. You win. I guess we should start calling people."
"I'll call your mom." He said, reaching for his phone. I waited for him to dial the number and, because the phone was on speaker, I listened carefully for my mother's voice.
"Hello?" I heard her say over the phone. She still sounded half asleep, as it was twelve o'clock at night.
Just then, I suddenly felt another contraction and I winced in pain again. I clutched my shirt tightly and exhaled loudly and deeply. These things were starting to hurt worse and worse, and they lasted almost a minute each. Ezra tried to help keep the pain and fear I was feeling to a minimum by rubbing my back while waiting for her to speak again.
"Babe, we only have twenty minutes to go." He whispered to me. I nodded my head and kept exhaling deeply. My mom obviously heard everything, and I could hear it in her voice: she was beginning to freak out.
"Ezra, is that you?" She asked, her voice wavering with a growing sense of anxiety. "What's going on? Why are you calling so late? Is everything alright?"
"Hey, Ella. Um...Aria's going into labor and we need you and Mike to meet us at the hospital in about twenty minutes or so." He said.
"WHAT?! Is she with you?" She gasped.
"Yeah. We're on our way to the hospital." He replied.
I then leaned into his shoulder and spoke into the phone. "Hey, Mom. Everything's fine. We're great. My water kinda broke, but please don't freak out."
"Don't freak out? Hon, how are you not freaking out?! You're having a baby, for God's sake! You have the right to freak out!" She anxiously replied.
"Yeah, well, one of us is going to have to stay calm. And Ezra's stressing out enough for the both of us." I chuckled hastily.
"Why're you talking so fast?" She asked.
"Well, I'm trying to distract myself from my contracting uterus. And I'm bracing myself for another contraction." I answered.
"Okay. Hon, stay calm. Ezra, Mike and I will be there as soon as we possibly can."
"See you soon." He nodded to himself.
She then told him that she'd meet us there and then she hung up because she had to get Mike in the car.
I grabbed my phone and began dialing Hanna's number. When she picked up, she sounded groggy. She had obviously been asleep prior to my urgent call.
"Aria? What's wrong?" She asked, sleepily.
"Hey, Han. I'm really sorry for calling you so late. But, I'm actually going into labor." I whispered into the phone.
"What?! Now?!"
"Uh, yeah. Like, right now."
"Okay. I'll be at the hospital as soon as possible." She replied. I could hear the springs in her bed creak as she jolted out of bed.
"Can you grab Spencer and Emily? And Ali? I doubt Mr. D will let her out of the house, but I'd like her to be there, too." I pleaded.
"I'll try. What if Mrs. Fields or Mrs. Hastings stops me from getting Spence or Em?" She replied, sheepishly.
"Tell them EVERYTHING. I'm not going to hide this anymore, especially now that I'm HAVING the baby. Han, I'll talk to you at the hospital." I said, hanging up. I wasn't trying to be rude; I was just trying to brace myself for another contraction.
"Everything?" Ezra asked, putting his hand on mine. I looked up at him and smiled.
"Yes, everything. I'm so tired of running from my fears and hiding everything from the parents of my best friends." I replied, squeezing his hand.
Hanna's Point of View:
I ran downstairs with my jacket still in hand and I was about to fling the door open and run, but I felt a hand on my shoulder. I quickly turned around and saw my mom, looking very concerned.
"Mom, I have to go." I said as I put on my jacket. She shook her head and grabbed my arm, thus preventing me from leaving.
"Hanna, it's twelve o'clock at night! You're not going anywhere." She replied, wiping the sleep from her eyes. I rolled my eyes, as I had known that this was going to happen. I looked down at my phone and saw the time. Three minutes had passed since Aria's phone call and I had to move quicker if I wanted to help everyone to be there before she had the baby. And honestly, I wish I had chosen shorter heels.
"I have to go. Aria and Ezra are on their way to the hospital." I said. I then grabbed the door handle and opened it.
"Why are they going to the hospital? And who told you it was okay to call your former teacher by his first name?"
"Uh, I think Ezra did. But I seriously need to go. Mom, Aria's going into labor; like, now."
When I said this, my mother practically forgot everything she had just argued about and grabbed my hand. Soon, we were in the car and on our way to the Fields residence.
When we got there, I was the only one who approached the door. I knocked, not knowing who would answer it. When the door eventually creaked open, a disheveled Mrs. Fields stood in the doorway.
"Hanna? What are you doing here?" She asked, leaning towards me in confusion.
"Hi, Mrs. Fields. I'm really sorry for disturbing you so late, but I actually need to grab Emily. It's important."
"Hanna, I'm sorry, but it's too late. I'm sure it can wait until morning." She said, rubbing her eyes.
"It actually can't. Unless you can stall Mother Nature." I replied a little too sarcastically.
"Stall whom? What's going on? Where's your mother?" She asked, obviously confused.
Then, I saw Emily, Spencer and Alison sauntering downstairs groggily. Apparently, Spencer had forgotten to let me know that her mom was on a cruise and that she was staying with Em for awhile, and Ali had decided to tag along as well. Either way, I smiled as they saw who was at the door, and Emily ran towards her mother.
"Hanna, what's wrong?" She asked, forgetting her exhaustion.
"Em, thank God. Aria and Ezra are heading to the hospital and we need to be there. Like, now." I explained hastily. Alison gasped softly and stared at me.
"Wait...now? But, that's...pretty early, isn't it?" She asked worriedly. I nodded in reply.
"A month early. Ali, she's gonna be okay. They both are." I smiled back at her. She exhaled and held Emily's hand, who clutched it tightly. Okay: they were adorable.
They then grabbed their coats and shoes and waited for Mrs. Fields to let them pass.
"Mom, please. We literally have no time to waste." Emily pleaded. Her mother softly shook her head.
"Emily, you know the rules." She answered. Spencer's phone buzzed loudly and we stared at her as she read the text.
"It's Aria. They're already at the hospital. Mrs. Montgomery is freaking out and she's in a lot of pain-we have to go." She explained.
"Why wouldn't Ezra be texting you instead of Aria? Given her current condition." Alison asked.
"If she can't talk through the pain, Aria will most definitely text through it instead." She smiled.
"Who's Ezra?" Mrs. Fields asked.
"EZRA FITZ! Aria's HUSBAND. Mom, we gotta go!" Emily yelled before grabbing Spencer's hand and stepping past her mother into the doorway. Alison followed shortly after.
"As in your old English teacher? Aria MARRIED her English teacher?!"
"Yes, she did. She's also eight months pregnant and going into labor. We NEED to GO." Emily argued. Then, my own mother got out of the car and walked up to the front door.
"Pam, I promise that this is actually important. Ella just called me as well. And she sounded really anxious." She said calmly.
"Well, you would be too if you had a grandchild on the way." I answered. My mother gave me a look and I mouthed an apology.
"Ashley, can you PLEASE shed some light on this situation? Aria Montgomery-" Mrs. Fields began before Em cut her off.
"Fitz." She corrected. Em's mom was just getting more and more annoyed, and my best friend was having a baby as we spoke.
"Aria FITZ is now married and having a baby?"
"YES." All five of us replied before motioning Mrs. Fields to the car.
Aria's Point of View:
Soon, we were in a hospital room waiting for Dr. Murphy. I was now in almost constant pain (and almost constantly yelling at poor Ezra), and it wasn't getting any better. Ezra was just as nervous as I was (maybe even more so, now that I think about it), and was biting his fingernails.
"Can you not, like, stress out so much?! Your stress is making ME stress, and I do not need stress on top of everything else going on right now!" I yelped irritatedly through the pain of yet another contraction.
"Sorry." He mumbled as he took his pinky finger out of his mouth.
"No, I'm sorry. I'm just a hormonal mess right now and-where the hell is Doctor Murphy?! God, this is BRUTAL! What the hell was I thinking?"
"Do you want me to go get him?" He asked quietly.
I shook my head and glared at him. "You did this to me. You're staying right here."
"Babe-"
Just then, he (Doctor Murphy) came running into the room and began some tests. Then, he looked at his clipboard and the test results and looked at a nurse and told her to get some sort of medication.
"PLEASE tell me what you just told her to get is an epidural." I asked through tears. Ezra squeezed my hand softly and rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb.
"Aria, you are almost seven centimeters dilated and from what I can see, the baby is in the right place." He said quietly.
"English, please. What does that mean, exactly?" I breathed harshly.
"In short, it means that we're going to begin preparations for the second stage of your labor." He replied, grabbing a file from a nurse and flipping through it manically.
"Oh." I muttered. "Ezra?"
"Yeah, babe? What's wrong?" He replied.
"Please stay here with me." I said. "And I'm sorry if I'm a total bitch right now."
"Always." He responded, squeezing my hand lightly once again and smiling. "And it's okay. I love you."
I was in labor for almost eight hours after that. It was absolutely brutal; but I forgot about the pain every time I thought about what it'd be like when I could actually hold my daughter. And Ezra was having to continually calm me down and stop me from cussing out the doctor.
Then, just as I caught my breath again, I heard something. I was so exhausted from a long night of being in labor, so I honestly thought I was just hearing things. But then, I knew I had been right. I heard a baby, no, our baby, crying. I knew it was over now, and that the seven and a half months I had been through was all worth it. Although I had known all along, it made it even clearer when I heard my newborn daughter cry.
"Mr. and Mrs. Fitz," Dr. Murphy began as the nurse handed him a crying bundle of blankets,"would you like to meet your daughter?"
Author's Note: Hi! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I have literally been waiting to write this chapter ever since I began mapping (I'm such a nerd), and I think I got it right. Hopefully, you feel the same. I'd love to hear your feedback, so shoot me a PM or review:)
So, yeah. I'm pretty damn pleased with myself for killing Byron off (little ol' egoistic me). He was seriously starting to get on my nerves. And, as you can probably tell, his death had a surprisingly positive effect on Ezria.
Also, I just published (like literally JUST published) a new story :) It's called "Echoes from the Past: An Ezria Fanfiction," and it's the brainchild of a my cliche mind and the creative, original concepts of the internet. I've been workshopping it for awhile, and I hope you'll give it read (or maybe even a review).
What do you think will happen next? Now that Aria had Sera, will bliss return to the Fitz-Montgomery family? Or, will their new addition have the opposite effect?
Thanks so much for reading!
- Dee (ezriaandliars)