Emma, Toby, and Sean had just heard a loud sound resonate through the halls. Their curiosity got the better of them as they went to investigate. There was Rick, covered in paint and feathers, his face tear streaked. Rick saw the trio, walked toward them as he accused Emma of toying with him. Sean tried to talk him down but to no avail. Rick closed his eyes, aimed the gun at her and began to pull the trigger at Emma, Emma felt tears form in her eyes. Sean leaped into action and attempted to wrestle the gun away from him. Toby yelled at them to stop but it was no use. The two struggled until the group heard a second horrible bang.

Emma screamed and recoiled, terrified she looked down at herself and over at Sean nervously but Emma saw and felt no wound on either of them but a weak whimper beside her made her tense up. Filled with dread, she knew who made that sound, she looked in agony over at Toby. The bullet had hit him point blank in the heart before exiting the other side, his blood was haemorrhaging out of him. Toby tried to speak or do something but his blood loss caused him to slump to the ground. Emma tried to grab him but his blood made him slip out of her hands. Emma looked in horror at her hands.

Sean looked over at Toby, distracted and horrified at the sight. This allowed Rick to aim his gun and fire at Sean. The bullet shot Sean right in the neck, Sean gurgled and grabbed his neck in agony. Sean tried to move to protect Emma, knowing he was the last defense but his injury was too bad, with a stagger and a final gurgle, Sean fell to the ground, his blood pooling on the ground. It was becoming difficult for Emma to breathe as she looked at her friends. "How could you do that? He was your friend!" She said, gesturing at Toby, terrified for herself and the others. He slowly approached her, one hand holding the gun the other reaching for her stomach. "If I could do this, why are you so surprised?" He said coldly. Emma's chest tightened as everything became a blur and she found herself waking up in her bed with a whimper.

It was the first day of summer vacation which meant Emma was less than a month away from meeting her children. She looked over at the clock, almost 6:30. She continued to lay there, she knew she wouldn't be getting back to sleep but she was still too tired to get out of bed.

Around 9 in the morning, her phone began ringing, she sighed annoyed before seeing it was Sean calling via video call from Wasaga. "Hey." She said, her voice filled with fatigue.

"Good morning. Did I wake you?" He asked, concerned, this fatigue seemed worse than usual.

"No, I have been awake for a while with just no energy to get out of bed." Emma said, tired .

"How are you feeling? Physically I mean" Sean asked.

"Heavy and exhausted. These two make even simple tasks tiring. And sleep is getting harder to get." Emma stated wearily.

The conversation continued for a while, he asked about the twins while she asked how his family was before talking about the possibility of visiting them again once the babies are born. When it was time to end the call he told her to call and update him if anything changes.

As she ended the call, she felt a bittersweet mix of emotions. Emma missed him but wanted him to be able to see the family he had recently reconnected with. As she laid there her phone lit up again, she sighed and picked it up, not looking at it and feeling slightly agitated and unrested.

Hello." She said still exhausted. She hoped it wasn't a telemarketer.

"Hey, a bunch of us from school are heading to the beach for the first day of break in a few hours. You feel like coming?" Paige asked. Emma sighed at the idea.

The idea of going to the beach where everyone else would be in their swimsuits, showing off their bodies while she was stuck at her current size wasn't appealing. "I don't know, I just feel like being around people right now would be embarrassing." Emma said , sad at the thought.

"Come on, it'll be fun. You deserve one last big thing or fun day before the babies come." Paige said, comfortingly.

Paige wasn't wrong, Emma thought to herself. "Okay, you win." She conceded. "I'll see you later."

Emma hung up, finally forcing herself out of bed to get ready for the beach.

Later that day Paige picked her up and helped load her bag for the day before heading off. The silence in the car was noticeable.

"Everything okay hun? You're quiet." Paige asked, concerned at the fatigue Emma was showing.

"I guess I should tell you… I had another bad dream last night." Emma said, listfully.

"I'm sorry, just remember it's a process and it sounds like they're getting less frequent at least." She said, trying to be supportive.

"I know it's just hard some days, I'm already not getting great sleep." Emma stated.

As Paige drove she thought back to her own experiences with the nightmares, trying to think of something she missed that could help her friend.

As they arrived, they made their way to the pavilion with the picnic tables to meet up with the rest of the group. Seeing the other girls in their beach clothes showing off their thin, toned bodies made Emma begin to feel self conscious but she tried to push the thought from her head. Most of the group headed out to the water but Emma sat at the table, the only ones still around were Jimmy and Ashley at the end of one table and Ellie sitting close by.

Emma felt like she should try and get along with her, she was Paige's girlfriend and Paige was her friend.

"Not heading down then?" Emma asked, trying to start a conversation.

"No, as a redhead, the sun is not exactly my best friend, you?" Ellie asked flatly.

"No, I feel out of place out there with all of them and their perfect bodies." She said bitterly. "

Stop, you look great." Ellie said, showing her her camera with a picture she had just taken of Emma. Emma was shocked she actually liked the picture.

"I love it, how did you do that?" Emma said impressed, whenever she tried taking a selfie, she hated how it looked but Ellie managed to take a photo that actually made her feel beautiful.

"Just something I got into while I was still hanging around with Craig. It was an old hobby of his" Ellie said.

"How would you feel about taking a few more?" Emma asked, some life and joy returning to her.

"Anything in mind? Like a theme or something?" Ellie asked, interested

"Spontaneous maternity shoot maybe?" Emma said, wondering at the options.

"Let's do it." Ellie said.

They found a spot to take the pictures. Something about the pictures made Emma feel more secure in her body. Emma lifted her shirt just above the bump to show off her belly, something that before she felt insecure about. She only wished Sean or Paige had been there so they could be included.

Paige was one of the first of the group to return. Paige was relieved to find her friend and her girlfriend getting along as she watched Emma pose while Ellie took her pictures. "So what's it like?" Ellie asked curiously.

"It's hard to explain. Imagine being sore, tired, achy, sick, huge, and terrified all at once, but at the same time you're excited." Emma tried to explain.

"Can I touch it?" Ellie asked.

Emma motioned for her hand as she guided it. As the sun began to set, everyone was packing up and loading the cars. Emma watched as Paige hugged and kissed Ellie before Ellie headed out with Marco and the others. After ten minutes of driving Emma had fallen asleep, finally seeming at peace.

Paige thought back to earlier when she mentioned she was still having her nightmares. She knew there was one thing she could do to help her get the closure she needed.

Authors note: So as I was updating this chapter realized it's been a year since I started this and wanted to thank everyone still tagging along.