November 4th.
3 days after Emily's appointment, her due date , came and went, and with a huge storm that is happening, Emily was lying in bed listening to the sound of the rain hitting the window seal.
School had been cancelled for the rest of the week due to the storm. Emily thought Natalia would have more fun with her grandmother rather than staying with Emily at home. Marissa having to go but promising to be back later, Emily was home alone. It was rare occasion that she was left but it felt nice. With everything going on, she needed some time to herself.
Time to feel sad, mad, and all of the other emotions that she had felt. Three days ago, she had an appointment with her doctor and everything went well. It was an important appointment because it was probably the last one before giving birth. She even got to see the baby in 4D in which they haven't been able to do yet. It was a great appointment except he didn't come. He wasn't on a case and he wasn't anywhere he needed to be.
It was the day after Halloween and it felt like any other day. Aaron had gotten caught up in work and then Beth had come to bring him lunch. Excited to see her and eat lunch with his girlfriend, he didn't realize that noon had come and went. Clearing off his desk at the end of the day, he realized that his calendar was left open.
November 1st, Appointment with Emily, read on his calendar. His heart dropped when he realized that he had missed it. He tried calling Emily to apologize but Emily never answered. He knew she must of been angry. Placing his calendar in his brief case, he headed out and was going to go to Emily's. He needed to see her and apologize.
As soon as he got into the elevator, his phone dinged. opening the message, he signed. Another case. He exited the elevator and headed back into his office.
Today, Emily knew that the team was done with the case. She had heard from Garcia that it was a quick one and that she glad they made it before the storm had hit.
Emily knew he would come to her. She didn't want him too, she didn't even want to speak to him but she knew that she would eventually have to.
The rain came down hard, pounding against the windows. The wind howled, a fierce, angry gust that rattled the panes of glass and made the apartment feel as though it could tip over. The day was thick with the dark, oppressive clouds that hung low. Thunder rumbled through the sky. Lightning flashed intermittently.
The doorbell rang, and her heart skipped a beat. She didn't have to guess who was on the other side of the door. She knew that It was Aaron.
Being upstairs, there wasn't anything she would do. She wasn't going to yell either.
After another bell ring, Emily heard the sound of the door opening. She regretted giving him a key to her apartment.
Her pulse quickened as she heard the footsteps coming closer to her. Her body tensed, she sat up in bed . She hadn't wanted to face him.
"Emily." she looked up at him standing in the doorway, clearly wet from the rain. She didn't say a word to him. She crossed her arms and gave him another look.
"Emily, I'm sorry. I messed up. I should have been there with you. I just... I lost track of time."
"You lost track of time?" Emily said this with a small laugh. She was angry. "Is that really your excuse? That appointment was important. It probably was the last appointment before the baby comes, and you forgot. And you think that just because you say you're sorry, it makes everything okay?"
"Yeah I lost track of time."
"And what is it exactly what you were doing when you lost track of time? You know what, I know exactly where you were, who you were with. And I've had enough of it."
"What are you talking about?"
"Beth. I'm talking about Beth."
"Please don't bring Beth into this."
"You missed this last appointment because of her. "
"You know what? I'm not all to blame here. This is your fault too."
"My fault! How is this my fault.?" she raised her voice.
"You never reminded me about it! You could've called, you could've texted me. But you didn't. You just let me forget!"
"I shouldn't have to remind you Aaron. You were here the day before on Halloween and you confirmed with me. How was I supposed to know that you were going to forget in less than 24 hours. Do you have any idea of what that feels like?"
"So I missed an appointment. So what! When have I ever missed an appointment besides being on a case? Never. I have never missed one. I don't appreciate being the one to blame here Emily. I've done nothing but be here for you. I try to help you in any way that I can. I tried to be with you and look how that ended up."
"Do not bring that up again. I can't have this conversation again. It's driving me crazy. "
"Emily.."
"No. Don't Emily me.' she took a deep breath "I'm tired of this Aaron. I'm tired of arguing. I'm tired of being tired. I don't have it in me to argue anymore."
"Look i'm sorry for yelling. I shouldn't have yelled at you. But Emily. I don't understand this. You didn't want to be a Us. Why are you acting as if you are jealous of Beth?"
"You missing the appointment, just proves a point to me. "
"Emily we need to find solidarity. We can't keep doing this. You are days away from giving birth and I don't want the baby being born with things the way that they are."
"I agree.."
"What point did that prove to you?"
In a small spoken voice, Emily finally spoke."I know things haven't been perfect. But you have to understand... the missed appointment, it sealed it for me. It just confirmed all my fears. You don't even know how much I needed you there for that. I mean I got to see our baby in 4D. I loved it and the worst part about is that I knew you would love it too. I needed you to show up for me, for this baby. But you weren't there, Aaron. You were somewhere else. With her. And it made me think... what if that's how it's always going to be? What if you're going to pick her over our baby?"
"I'm not going too pick.."
"I don't know if I can trust that, Aaron."
"Emily, I swear to you, I'm not going anywhere. I know I messed up. I'm not proud of it, but I'm here now. I'm trying."
Tears began streaming down her face. After taking a deep breath, she looked up at him, her eyes red.
"Aaron. I don't want our baby to come second to Beth. I already have one child that does not have her father and I will not watch this one being disappointed. So you need to make a choice Aaron. I'm not asking you to break it off with Beth, you deserve to be happy. If she makes you happy then so be it. But I am asking you is to prioritize. I will not let my child feel the way that I felt when my father and mother chose their jobs over me. I will not let him or her be second to anything. "
"I'm sorry that I let you think that. I will not let our child be second to anything. My children have and always will come first in anything. I will do my best to prove that to you. I will be here when the baby is born, i will promise you that."
Emily nodded. "You're gonna have to regain my trust again. This baby is coming any day now and you have to promise that you will be there. I will let you know when that time comes. "
"I will. I wouldn't want to miss it."
"This time it's going to be different. "
"how so?" he asked grabbing her hand
"Last time I went through this, I was alone. I was scared and alone. I was promised so many things and when Levi died, all of those promises went out the window. I brought my baby into the world alone and I so do not want to do that again."
"You're not going to do that again. I promise you that."
She smiled at him. Her red puffy eyes met his.
"Is Marissa going to be here soon or do you want me to stay with you?"
"She should be back soon. She was dropping Natalia off at my mother's house."
"okay. Well call me if you need anything. I will be here. "
"Thank You."
After Aaron left, Emily got up and went into the restroom to try and hide the fact that she had been crying. When she got to the bathroom, she looked into the mirror and saw her red and puffy eyes. She splashed some water on her face. Grabbing a towel, she dried her face and when she looked down at her phone, she saw a missed call from Marissa. Seeing that she left a voicemail, she put the phone to her ear.
"Hey, Em... I'm so sorry, I'm stuck in the storm. The roads are a mess, and I can't make it back tonight... but I'll come first thing in the morning. Just—just stay safe, okay?"
Emily put the phone down and looked back at herself in the mirror.
"Just great, what else could possibly go wrong?" she said to herself. As she was getting ready to walk out of the bathroom, the lights in her house suddenly went out. She opened the door and all she saw was complete darkness.
"You've got to be kidding me." Emily grabbed her phone and turned on the flashlight. She was just going to ride out the storm in bed and wait until morning. She was already past her due date, what was one more day.
As she came closer to her bed, a sharp pain shot through her stomach, causing her to lean on her bed. As the contraction ended, she stood straight up when another pain shocked through her body. Leaning over again, she clutched her blanket so hard she knuckles were turning white.
When that contraction finally ended, she picked up her phone and as she was about to dial a number, her phone shut off. Realizing her phone was dead, she threw her phone on the bed.
Now starting to panic, she knew labor was starting. She was unable to make calls, or drive her car anywhere. She was alone.
And if matters couldn't have gotten worse, as Emily was trying to figure out a plan, she felt a gush of warm liquid between her legs.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." she said to herself.
She was alone and now in active labor in her home during a storm.
It was going to be a long night. She was still unsure of everything.
Someone would be with her by the morning though... right?