Previously:

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?

"Of course we would." Ezra replied as he clutched my hand. Dr. Murphy smiled and handed me Ezra's and my daughter.

"She weighs 6.2 pounds, which is normal considering the length of your pregnancy. She's also 17 inches long. I'll give you three some privacy. And congratulations, by the way."

And with that, he left the room to give us some privacy as we got to know the little miracle swaddled in blankets on my chest.

As I looked down at her, I felt a series of emotions I had never experienced before. I was happy, excited, nervous and overall, just there. I felt like I was in the moment for the first time in what felt like forever. Sera was crying still, but she had quieted down since she was handed to me.

She was absolutely perfect. She was beautiful, even at a mere five minutes old. Although she didn't have much hair on her head, I could tell that she had the same dark brown hair that both Ezra and I had. Her eyes were closed, so I couldn't see the color they were just yet. But when she opened them, even just for a moment, I could see that she had the biggest most beautiful hazel eyes you had ever seen.

I looked up at Ezra, and he was crying. So was I. I held his hand and brought it over to our daughter's much smaller one. He let it rest there, and before long, Sera had wrapped her tiny hand around his pointer finger. He knelt down beside the hospital bed and we both just looked at our little bundle of joy. As I looked Ezra, I began to notice something. And when I looked back down at Sera's small face, I smiled.

"Mike was right." I said, putting my hand on his and Sera's. "She does have your nose."

This made him chuckle a bit and he kissed me before looking back down at her.

"Yeah. But, she has your eyes." He replied, wiping away tears with his free hand. "Your big, beautiful eyes."

I smiled shyly and he sat next to me on the hospital bed. It was a new feeling: having the two most important people in my life so close to me all at once. And I loved it.

"Do you want to hold her?" I asked, sitting up on the bed. His eyes grew wide and I smiled.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'd like to." He replied as his red, puffy eyes squinted like they usually did when he smiled. I handed Sera to Ezra gently and he cradled her. It was definitely the sweetest thing I had ever seen.

He leaned in and kissed her on her head as she slept.

"Isn't she beautiful?" I asked in disbelief. Ezra nodded and sniffed back tears, but he didn't remove his eyes from our daughter. He was completely enraptured at the living proof of his and my love in his arms, just like he was when I first handed him my sonogram picture about five months ago.

Ezra held Sera for five minutes, taking in every single detail of her face and all her features and barely taking her eyes off of her. She had ceased crying completely; and that's when I finally understood the seriousness of a strong father-daughter bond. She was already a daddy's girl. But, I didn't mind. He'd be taking the night shifts.

After another minute or so, he handed Sera back to me and I held her close.

"Hey, can you go see if Dr. Murphy needs to do any further tests?" I asked quietly to Ezra, who still looked completely awestricken at the fact that he and I were parents. I was, too.

"Of course. I'll be right back." He responded as he got up and walked out the door. Then, it was just Sera and I. She had fallen asleep, and I held her closer to my chin. She was so perfect.

"I love you, Sera." I whispered as I closed my eyes and cried tears of ecstasy once again.

Ezra's Point of View:

I walked through the halls until I found Aria's doctor. As I approached him, he turned around and saw me. He smiled and walked over to me.

"Ezra, is everything alright? Does Aria need anything?" He asked, quietly.

"No, no. She and Sera are resting. Aria wanted me to ask you if there's any further testing required, because I think she wants to see her other family." I said. He exhaled and smiled.

"They should be good to go. We may need her to stay until tomorrow, though. And you can go get any family from the waiting room. I'm sure they're eager to see the three of you." He replied. I grinned and he walked down the opposite hallway. I made my way back to the room where Aria and Sera were resting.

I told Aria that she and Sera were okay on tests, and that I could grab her mom for her from the waiting room. She smiled and nodded and I made my way to the room in which all of Aria's and my family and friends waited.

As soon as I ran into the waiting room, Aria's mom stood up. She was obviously incredibly nervous, as she was frantically flipping through a magazine and biting her fingernails before I came in. And who could blame her? Her only daughter was giving birth to her granddaughter. Mike was asleep in a chair next to her, and Ella was the only one awake in the room besides myself. Pam Fields and Ashley Marin were there as well; probably only to support Ella or take their own daughters home afterwards. They had fallen asleep, though. Ella grabbed Mike's arm and shook him awake as I walked towards them.

"Ezra, is Aria okay? What about Sera? Did everything go okay?" Ella asked as she approached me. Mike stared at me groggily, and I smiled and nodded my head.

"Everything went perfectly. She weighs 6 pounds and two ounces, and she's 17 inches long. They're both doing great. Aria actually sent me to get you. She wants to see you both." I said as I led them to the room where my wife and daughter were resting.

Aria's Point of View:

I heard the doorknob beginning to turn and I held Sera closer to me. I was still in a place in my life where I was terrified every time a door opened or a floorboard creaked. I laughed at myself as I heard footsteps in the hall approaching the door, knowing exactly who was coming to see us.

As soon as the door opened, my mom walked over to my hospital bed and knelt down beside me, and Mike stood at the door and stared in disbelief. My mom had tears in her eyes and she put her shaky hand over her mouth. I hugged her with my free arm and adjusted Sera's blankets so my mom could see her.

"Look, Sera. It's your grandma. And your uncle." I whispered happily. Ezra stood next to the other side of my bed and he bent over to kiss me. My mother was crying now; and honestly, I was on the verge of tears as well. Mike grinned and stepped closer to us.

"Aria, Ezra, she's absolutely beautiful." She said in between sniffles.

"Yeah. Congratulations, Aria. And Ezra." He laughed happily.

"Thanks," Ezra replied.

"Do you want to hold her?" I asked, lifting Sera up slightly. My mom lifted her head and smiled widely. She nodded and I carefully lifted my daughter into her grandmother's arms. She rocked her for a moment before completely breaking down in tears. She handed Sera back to me gently before standing up.

"Mom, what's the matter?" I asked as I noticed the tears running down her cheeks. She looked at me instantaneously and shook her head subtly.

"Nothing's wrong. It's just-" She began, stopping to wipe tears from her face,"I'm so proud of you, Aria. And I am so happy that I can be part of such a wonderful family with such a wonderful little girl."

"Mom-" I said before hugging her. I handed Sera to Ezra and he sat down and held her as I embraced my mother. She let go of me after a moment and wiped her eyes.

"Hey, Mike? Do you want to hold her?" Ezra asked my brother. He stared at him with wide eyes, and nodded. He didn't think we were going to ask.

"Of course I would! Can I?" He answered. Ezra chuckled, motioned Mike to a chair beside him and handed Sera over to him.

"You guys are already pros at this." My mom grinned.

"The parenting books helped." I replied. Ezra, who was still showing Mike how to hold a newborn baby, perked his head up and looked at me.

"Speaking of books," He began,"should we tell her?"

"Tell me what?" My mom asked.

"We've started writing a book...together."

Shocked, she stared at us with wide eyes and mouth agape. "A book? Like, a novel multi-chapter book?"

"We have two publishing companies on our asses, but they loved the first ten chapters." I laughed.

"Wow. That's...incredible. Congratulations." She smiled.

After a moment, she spoke again.

"Would you like me to get the girls for you?" She asked. She made sure to be quiet, because Sera was still asleep. I guess it's just a maternal instinct. I nodded and and my mom left the room, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

Ezra and I waited for not even a minute before seeing Hanna, Spencer and Emily speedily walking down the hallway. They paused before opening the door (in our hospital room, there was a window beside the door) and when they finally stepped into the room, their expressions changed from looks of anxiety to wide, open smiles. Hanna walked over to my bed first and she knelt down beside me and her illegitimate niece.

"Han, Spence, Em, meet Sera." I said in an ecstatic whisper as Ezra handed Sera to me so they could all see her. Spencer loved children; so she was the first to let out an excited squeal.

"Oh my God, the little Fitz." Spencer squealed.

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Fitz." Emily teased as she squeezed my free hand. I smiled and Ezra thanked her. She smiled shyly and stepped back to be beside Hanna and Spencer.

"Aria, my mom bought this for Sera." Hanna said as she handed me a small wrapped gift. I hugged her and told her to tell her mother that I said thank you. She helped me open it, as one of my two hands was cradling my baby's head. Then, she handed me the gift: a tiny, pink crochet hat. I smiled and thanked her again. I handed it to Ezra and he gently put it on Sera's head.

Then, Emily's phone buzzed and she looked own to see a text from her mother, asking her if everything was alright and what was going on. She excused herself and Hanna followed. Hanna's mother was still at the hospital and was determined to stay there and be like a second mother to me in this "rough time" in my life. As much as I appreciated her staying, I would've completely understood if she decided to leave.

After they left, my phone beeped. I looked at it, and almost broke down in tears at the text message on the screen.

"Congratulations, bitch. Where's my coming back party?

Kisses,

-A"

I quickly showed Ezra the text and he held me tightly in his arms. He told me that he would protect me and Sera; no matter what happens. This wasn't what suddenly relieved me, though. That text happened while Ezra's phone was in his bag...all the way across the room. So, he couldn't be this new "A". I sighed in relief into his shoulder as he hugged me. Not that I thought he was. I just had to consider all options. Then, his phone rang. He let go of me and picked it up.

"Hello?" He asked. He was slightly annoyed by the fact that someone was calling him at this time.

"Wes told me about the girl. I'll be at the hospital in ten." I heard a woman's voice say.

Ezra hung up the phone and set it down slowly. I put my hand on his cheek and gently moved my thumb across his stubble-covered face.

"Ezra, who was that?" I asked quietly. He looked at me, his face still pale, and put his hand on mine.

"My mother. She's coming here to meet us." He said as he tried to contain his anger.

Then, in that moment, was one of the first times I had ever seen Ezra that afraid and angry at the same time. I had heard many "great" things about Mrs. Fitz-Scary, Ezra and Wesley's mom-zilla, but I had never met her.

This was going to be interesting.

Author's Note: I hope you liked this chapter! Oh my goodness, if you could see the ugly-cry moment I had whilst writing this, you'd die laughing. It was pretty intense.

And...the bitch is back! New "A," new gAme! Will Sera play a role in A's twisted circuit of wiles, or will "A" play nice? Will Ezra's mother show up and crash the party in the maternity ward, or will Dianne be a changed woman? Find out soon:)

If you enjoyed this chapter, I'd love to hear from you! Also, I don't mean to be a bother, but I'd really appreciate it if you checked out my semi-new fanfiction (with it's newly-added chapter) called "Echoes From the Past."

(Thirty-three more days until April 18!)

XOXO,

Dee R. L. (ezriaandliars)