I Know It Breaks Your Heart

[I went ahead and skipped ahead, I hope that's okay ]

"Okay, now, I want you to be really good for your Daddy while I'm gone, okay?" Emily asked, looking down at Maddy. The toddler nodded rapidly, obviously excited to be spending the day with her father. Emily had come to the sudden realization that if she and Zacky were going to continue their relationship as it had been before, she should probably get back on her birth control. And with school out for the summer and Zacky's promised trip to Disneyland just around the corner, now was her only chance to get to the doctor. "Come and give Mommy a hug," Emily said, crouching down. She opened her arms for Maddy, squeezing the little girl tightly. Out of subconscious habit, Emily pressed her nose to the top of Maddy's head, breathing in the scent of her strawberry shampoo. She'd always loved the way Maddy smelled when she was a baby and she almost missed it but at the same time she knew now was not a good time for another baby.

Pressing a kiss to Maddy's forehead, Emily pushed to her feet, going into the kitchen to find Zacky. "I'm going to head out now," she told him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Shouldn't be too long, this doctor is usually pretty fast. And then I'll have to run by the pharmacy." She leaned up to give him a quick kiss before she grabbed her keys from the counter. The trip to the doctor's office was a short one and soon enough Emily was sitting in the waiting room, waiting for her turn to be called back. Luckily it didn't take too long before a nurse came out to get her, leading her down the hall to the exam room. She took Emily's vitals and things of that nature before stepping out, saying that the doctor would be in shortly.

"Alright, miss Larson, so I see you're in to start your birth control again?" the doctor asked, giving Emily a soft smile. Emily nodded. "And has anything changed since your last appointment? Any changes in your sexual activity?"

"Uh, yes, actually," Emily answered.

"Okay, any unprotected sex?"

This was the question that gave Emily pause because she actually had to think about it. Were she and Zacky safe during their...reunion? She thought hard and with a sinking stomach, she realized that they hadn't been. But that didn't mean anything. People had unprotected sex all the time without anything happening. "Um yeah," she finally said.

"Alright, well just to be safe, I'm going to give you a pregnancy test, okay?" the doctor said. "You can use the bathroom down the hall."

[aaaaaaand I rambled again, I'm sorry ]

{fml i'm sorry I took so long to get back to your message }

"Might want to hurry back before the princess and I get into too much trouble," Zacky teased, his arms slipping around Emily's waist. He kissed her quickly, his arms dropping from her frame to let her go. He was almost reluctant because he was enjoying this; the sense of normalcy, the sense of having a family. It was hard to keep the two things separate especially considering now, Emily knew what sort of things Zacky got into when he left the house on his own.

She knew what Zacky did. She knew that he beat people, he sometimes made them disappear. He employed people that did the same thing; he made sure that drugs came in and out of the city. Protected his areas; ran the local street racing ring. Zacky even dipped his toes into the underground fighting from time to time. It had grown increasingly rare even before he'd ran into Emily again; as Zacky made his way through the city and gained power; it meant less dirty work on his hands. It just meant that on the occasion, if Zacky needed someone to get their shit handed to them, he'd step in to do just that.

Grinning down at Maddy after Emily had left, Zacky scooped her into his arms. "Okay, princess. We're going to go make some popcorn and you can pick a movie on Netflix for us to watch. Doesn't matter what," he paused as he entered the kitchen. Humming under his breathe, Zacky shifted Maddy to hold her in one arm while pulling a bag of buttery popcorn down from the shelf in the cabinet.

"You can have a small glass of coke. If you want," Zacky offered, figuring that a small glass wouldn't be too bad. It wouldn't be so much sugar or caffeine so surely Emily wouldn't be too upset by the time that she returned home. Settling down in the living room with Maddy curled into his side, watching some kid's movie that she had picked out after a bit of deliberation.

[it's alright ]

Hearing the words pregnancy test made Emily's heart jump into her throat. She felt like such an idiot for not realizing that she and Zacky should have been safe that first night. She supposed they could chalk it up to the passion and distraction of being together again after so many years, but that wouldn't matter very much if that test came back with two little pink lines. Speaking honestly, Emily would love to give Zacky the chance to be a parent from the very beginning, something she'd robbed him of with Maddy, but now wasn't a good time. They hadn't even made things technically official, not that Emily needed a title to know that she never wanted to be with anybody but Zacky.

Emily swallowed the lump in her throat when the doctor returned to the room and handed her the pregnancy test, once again directing her to the restroom down the hall. She barely glanced at the instructions before she took the test, having been in a similar situation years before when she'd suspected she was pregnant with Maddy. Back then, she'd been absolutely terrified. She was young and alone and she had no idea how to be a mother. This time was almost as terrifying, if only because she had no idea how Zacky would react. What if he didn't want another baby at all? Taking a deep breath, Emily glanced down at the test, her breath hitching in her throat when she saw the faint but unmistakable second line. She was pregnant. She was actually pregnant.

Emily was only partially listening as the doctor talked to her about her last menstrual cycle, only really holding on to the due date she was given. January 24th. She was already seven weeks pregnant and she hadn't even realized anything was off. As a final confirmation, the doctor gave her a transvaginal ultrasound, the very same kind she'd had years ago with Maddy. Holding the sonogram in her hands, there was no way she could deny any longer that she was actually pregnant. Now she just needed to come up with a way to tell Zacky.

Zacky had carried the drinks out to the living room, giving Maddy the task of carrying the bowl of popcorn. She seemed determined to help him and he thought it was a bit safer for her to carry the bowl of easily cleaned up popcorn than a glass of soda that could easily spill everywhere. He grinned as he sat on the edge of the couch, setting the glasses down on the coffee table in front of them. He reached out, scooping Maddy up to place her on the couch right beside him.

Maddy squirmed around before settling into Zacky's side, already shoving handfuls of popcorn into her mouth while she used Zacky's PS4 controller to scroll through the safe for kids netflix that he'd set up. It was just another profile under his account, his and Emily's had a passcode on it so that Maddy couldn't accidentally stumble her way into watching an inappropriate movie. That was the last thing that Zacky wanted. The little girl knew better than to watch television without permission to begin with but it was better to avoid a potential issue if he could; he had learned that a long time ago. Preventative measures were sometimes the best defenses.

Maddy was half asleep when Emily walked through the door, they were on their second movie and she must have been quite a bit more tired than he realized. Zacky gave a soft smile when he saw Emily, holding his finger up to his lips. "I think she's gonna fall asleep soon," he whispered, not quite wanting to disturb Maddy if she was going to go to sleep so easily.

{I feel like this is short and awful and I'm sorry }

Emily's hands were shaking as she drove home. She couldn't believe she was pregnant. Hell, she couldn't believe she'd missed all of the signs, especially since this was her second child. The nausea, the exhaustion, the moods swings...she'd played off all of it as something else. When she arrived back at the house, Emily sat in the car for a few minutes, trying to collect herself before she went inside. She was sure she looked pretty worked up and she didn't want Zacky to ask her what was wrong because she didn't want to tell him just yet. She didn't know how.

Taking a deep breath, Emily finally climbed out of the car and headed inside. She smiled as she spotted Zacky and Maddy cuddled together on the couch, the toddler half-asleep. "Yeah, poor little thing, she's still on school schedule," Emily said, slipping off her shoes. She went to the couch and gently lifted Maddy into her arms, rubbing her back soothingly when she started to stir a little. "Shh, Mommy is just going to take you upstairs to your bed, okay?" Emily whispered. She looked at Zacky. "I'll be right back." Making her way slowly up the stairs, Emily carried Maddy down the hall to her bedroom. She and Maddy had only recently gotten permanently settled into Zacky's home and so now the toddler had her own room, decorated with a princess theme per her request.

Once she was sure Maddy was going to stay asleep, Emily crept down the hall to the master bedroom. Pulling out the sonogram, she hid inside her box of tampons, a place she knew Zacky would never be snooping. It wasn't necessarily that she wanted to hide the news from Zacky, she just wanted to come up with the perfect way to let him know that they were having a baby. Deciding to forgo changing clothes for now, Emily went back downstairs and sat down next to Zacky on the couch, leaning her head over on his shoulder with a smile. "So what did you two get up to while I was out?" she added. "A little father-daughter movie night?"

Zacky was flirting with the idea of being tired enough to head upstairs to go to bed himself. He wasn't exactly tired but he felt like if he laid down with Emily cuddled up to his side and closed his eyes, he'd inevitably fall asleep. Looking up when Emily appeared, he offered her a lazy sort of smile as he held his arm out for her. "Hey you," he greeted her softly, leaning over to press a kiss to the side of her head. He loved her and God, Zacky couldn't remember a time that he'd ever been so in love with a woman before. As lucky as he was. He still remembered the sting of the pain when Emily had walked out on him, remembered the tail spine that it had launched him into.

He would never dare tell Emily just how bad things had gotten, he'd never dream of telling her how close to death he had come to on multiple occasions. Zacky nodded, squeezing Emily's shoulders as he began to lazily play with her hair. "Yeah. I gave her a bit of soda..." he trailed off, almost seeming sheepish as he looked over at her. He half expected her to be upset because soda was all sugar and caffeine and no nutrients.

"How was the docotor's?" Zacky asked, a slight frown forming on his features as he looked her over. He could tell something was off with her but he figured that it was probably just something to do with nerves from the doctor's visit. No one truly liked going to the doctor, Emily was no different than anyone else in that regard. "Do you want a drink? Maybe head up to bed and watch an adult movie?" Zacky teased, nipping at the skin of Emily's neck.

Emily wasted absolutely no time at all in leaning against Zacky's side, his arm around her helping to soothe the whirling thoughts in her head just a little. His embrace had always been comforting to her and it was comforting to Maddy now as well, just like she knew it would be comforting to their new baby, too. New baby. Emily was still in absolute shock that she was pregnant. She couldn't believe she and Zacky had been so careless but on there was nothing they could do about it now. Emily could only hope that Zacky would take the news well when she finally told him. "You gave her soda," Emily repeated, this sentence more of a confirmation than a question. She normally didn't like to give Maddy much soda because it tended to make her hyper but she was asleep now so Emily supposed she couldn't exactly complain.

"The doctor was fine," Emily answered, finding it a bit difficult to conjure up the words. "Not exactly fantastic but having a pap smear done never is very pleasant." She hoped that by mentioning that, it might help steer the conversation away from her doctor's appointment. She got the sense that Zacky could tell something was off and she was worried that if they carried on talking about it, she would blurt out the news before she had a chance to properly figure out how to tell him. As Zacky continued to speak, Emily couldn't help but smirk slightly, sucking in a breath through her teeth when she felt Zacky nipping at her neck. "Zachary James, please tell me you didn't just suggest that we watch porn," Emily said, not able to help herself as she laughed softly. That was the first thing that came to mind when Zacky suggested an adult movie and honestly, whatever he meant, the idea seemed oddly appealing.

Emily swung her legs over Zacky's lap, moving to straddle him as she kissed him. "So...why don't, uh, why don't we just watch that adult movie down here?" she suggested. "I think we'd have less chance of disturbing Maddy down here." Getting interrupted while they were having sex wasn't something Emily and Zacky had had to worry about when they'd been together before. They lived alone, so they could fuck in any room of their tiny, cramped apartment without any worries. But now, with a toddler around, they had to be a little bit more careful about where they chose to have sex. But Maddy was asleep upstairs and Emily was confident that they would hear her if she tried to come downstairs for whatever reason. "So," Emily started. She pressed a few light kisses along Zacky's jawline, stopping just below his ear. "You want to pick a movie for us?"

[I feel like this is so awful, I'm sorry ]

{idk i feel like two adults watching porn is going to be awful no matter how you write it but i also feel like this is god awful sooo}

"Well, no," Zacky said, unable to stop the laugh that sounded from his lips. He gave a shake of his head, holding up his hands as if to feign his innocence. His lips twitched upward but he did his best to keep a neutral face, tilting his head to the side. His eyes scanned over Emily's frame, his hands settling on her hips. He gave a light squeeze, rolling his hips against hers. Zacky groaned, tilting his head to the side to give Emily better access to his neck. His mind drifted to Maddy for just a moment and he wondered what they would do if she woke for whatever reason.

Zacky lifted his head, nudging Emily's chin up with his own. He began to nip at her neck, pausing by her ear. "Don't need'a movie. I just want to watch you," he murmured, his teeth grazing her ear. He wasn't so sure how this worked - Emily didn't seem to be concerned so he decided to throw his worries away. His hands eased beneath her shirt, he was quick to unclip her bra. Zacky didn't think this warranted a slow, gentle fuck - rather a fast, rough one for their pleasure only.

Dropping his head forward, Zacky pushed her the material of her shirt up. "Fuck," he breathed, leaning forward. Running the tip of his tongue around her nipple, he gave a more enthusiastic roll of his hips. "Fuck. I missed you," he murmured, peppering kisses from one side of her chest to the other. His free hand dropped between their bodies, working the button free on Emily's shorts.

[this is probably true and this is awful too so ]

Emily let her eyes drift closed as Zacky started to nip at her neck, a smirk playing across her face when he whispered in her ear. "You want to watch me?" she asked. "Well I guess I'll have to put on a show, then, won't I?" She shivered slightly as she felt Zacky's hands slip underneath her shirt, helping him remove her bra. She almost wished they could take a little more time but since they were out in the open with Maddy sleeping upstairs, they couldn't really waste much time. That and Emily got the idea that Zacky wasn't exactly in a love-making mood. She wasn't really, either. This was one of those time where she just wanted Zacky, hard and rough and visceral.

Emily moaned out when she felt Zacky's tongue on her nipple, rolling her hips hard to meet his. "I missed you, too, baby," she breathed out. She pulled her shirt over her head to give him better access to her chest, loving the feeling of his lips on the sensitive skin. She remembered a time when they were younger when her chest was almost constantly littered with marks from Zacky because they could hardly stand to keep their hands off of one another. And it didn't seem like that had changed even with years apart because Emily just couldn't seem to get enough of Zacky. Feeling his hand on her shorts, Emily let him undo the button before she got to her feet, biting her lip and meeting his gaze as she slowly and teasingly slid them down her thighs.

Crawling back into Zacky's lap, Emily let her hands settle on the front of his jeans. She kissed him hard as she undid the button and zipper, pushing the denim out of the way enough to pull him free from his boxers. She gave him a few quick strokes with her hand before she started rolling her hips into his, moaning softly as his cock rubbed against her. "I want you inside of me, baby," she breathed against his lips. "Fuck me, please."

Zacky swore under his breathe when Emily stood to remove her shorts. There was something in that little smirk that she gave him that sent his blood racing. He swallowed, his gaze darkening as he tilted his head to the side. "Fuck, Em," he breathed, adjusting in his seat. Running his tongue over his bottom lip, Zacky gave a nod of approval as Emily climbed back into his lap. He would do just about anything to be able to live in this moment forever. Zacky was content, he could ignore the work that he was so invested in for just a little while. He had the girl that he was in love with and had been in love with since he was a teenage kid. And his baby girl was upstairs. What more could he have asked for?

Letting out a strangled moan as Emily's fingers wrapped around his cock, Zacky dropped his head against the back of the couch. He rolled his hips forward, reaching between their bodies to guide his cock into Emily. "So fuckin' good, baby," he breathed, beginning to fuck Emily. The first few thrusts were lazy, enough for him to just enjoy the feeling before they grew hard, almost violent as Zacky gripped Emily's hips. He brought her hips to meet his with each thrust, teeth nipping at Emily's neck. Zacky was careful not to bite down too hard, not wanting Emily to have to explain away marks on her neck.

"Fuck. You feel so good," Zacky growled, his grip tightening on her hips. There would be bruises for just the two of them to take some sort of enjoyment in. "So fuckin' tight," he muttered against her skin. He leaned back just enough, his eyes locking with Emily's. "Touch yourself," he all be demanded, giving her a tiny nod of his head.

[this is terrible, k ]

Emily had honestly anticipated having to beg Zacky a little bit more to get what she wanted, so she was pleasantly surprised when he almost immediately started to fuck her. She groaned out softly as she took in the sensation of having him fully inside of her, enjoying the lazy pace as Zacky started to fuck her. But as much as she enjoyed the slow pace, she was glad when Zacky's pace started to increase, both in speed and roughness. It had been too long since she'd had Zacky really just fuck her and she missed it. "Fuck Zack, just like that," Emily breathed, tangling her fingers into his hair. "Just...fuck...just like that."

Feeling Zacky's fingers gripping her hips, Emily knew she would have bruises there later. But she could cover those easily so as far as she was concerned, Zacky could leave as many marks on her there as he wanted. It was certain that her thighs would have bruises as well, given the rough way Zacky was fucking her. "You feel good, too, baby," Emily whispered to him, letting her lips brush against the shell of his ear. "Keep fucking me just like this. I don't want to be able to walk straight." Emily smirked, knowing she might end up regretting what she'd just said. She knew Zacky had no problem being rough with her. But right now she wasn't exactly thinking straight. She just wanted Zacky to make her see stars.

Hearing Zacky's demand of her, Emily couldn't hide the shiver that ran down her spine. There was just something about the dominant side of Zacky that just made her crazy, in the best way possible. Slipping a hand between their bodies, Emily slowly started to rub her fingers over her clit, biting down on her bottom lip. With her other hand, she reached up to squeeze her breast, locking eyes with Zacky as she tweaked her nipple between her fingers. "Is this what you wanted to see, Zacky?" Emily asked, smirking. "Wanted to see me touch myself while you fuck me?"

{well is good even fun anymyore like, this is downright awful... so i'm sorry}

"That's it. Good girl," Zacky grunted the praise, rolling his hips. It was delicious, to slow his frantic thrusts for just a moment to give a slow, teasing thrust. It was the sort of desperation that it caused in Emily that made Zacky enjoy it so much more, the little noises of desperation enough to fuel Zacky's own desperation to fuck the beauty that was splayed out in front of him. His eyes roamed over her body as she touched herself, drinking in the sights in front of him.

Zacky grabbed Emily's wrists, pinning her in place as his thrusts started to grow sloppy. He could feel her body quivering beneath him. With a few thrusts of his hips, Zacky couldn't help but groan as he dropped his forehead against Emily's shoulder. Burying himself inside of her, Zacky's lips parted as he gave a few weak thrusts, releasing inside of Emily.

"Cum for me, sweetheart," Zacky murmured, his hand slipping away from her wrist. His hand teased across her skin, coming to a rest between their bodies. Zacky's finger started rubbing tight, frantic circles on Emily's clit. He'd finished first but he was intent on helping Emily along, her reactions enough to remind him why he'd been so infatuated with her, even all of those years ago.

[well this isn't exactly fantastic either, so...]

Outwardly, Emily was such a quiet and almost conservative person that the things she did with Zacky would surprise pretty much everyone she knew. But Zacky commanded a level of trust from her that no one else could ever hope to touch and the way he gave demands to her when they were together like this made it hard to say no. And why would she want to when he praised her the way he did? The sudden, slow roll of Zacky's hips had Emily whining and she knew he was doing it on purpose. She hated that he always felt the need to tease her but at the same time she knew it would be worth it. She couldn't remember a time when Zacky had ever left her unsatisfied.

Suddenly Emily found herself on her back on the couch, her wrists pinned as Zacky's thrusts grew sloppy. She knew him well enough to know what this meant and it was only a couple of minutes before she felt the familiar sensation of Zacky releasing inside of her. And God did she love the look on his face in the split second before he gave into his pleasure; the way his lips parted and his eyes rolled back just slightly into his head. But even with Zacky having finished, Emily knew they weren't entirely done. Unlike most of the men her friends or co-workers often complained about, Zacky wasn't the type to only care about his own pleasure. He always made sure that Emily finished too and that was her favorite part, when she had one hundred percent of his attention and his hands or mouth all over her body.

Emily shivered as Zacky's hand teased over her skin, her hips already jerking up in anticipation of his touch. "Oh fuck yes," Emily groaned out when she finally felt Zacky's fingers on her clit. As his movements became more frantic so did her noises and it wasn't long before she reached her own climax, burying her face into Zacky's shoulder so she wouldn't accidentally wake up Maddy. Taking a few seconds to catch her breath, Emily pulled back to look at Zacky with a smile. "I love you," she whispered. She couldn't believe she'd been stupid enough to walk away from him all those years ago. He was the only person she'd ever wanted and he always would be. He was such an amazing father to Maddy and she knew he would be just as amazing with this new baby.

{I'm skipping to save us any more pain... hope that's okay }

Emily was pressed against his side the next morning and Zacky was flirting with being conscious but the warmth of her body lulled him back to sleep. Until his phone started going off. He grumbled as he reached over, pressing the 'end' button before he even looked at who was even calling. His eyes snapped open as a scowl settled on his features when his phone started going off almost immediately. Zacky shifted, twisting to the side as he picked up his phone.

He let out a sigh as he eyed the caller ID, knowing that whatever was waking him up was likely a dire situation. Zacky pressed the 'end' button again, his thumb flying over the keyboard on his phone before he dropped it on the nightstand. He turned back toward Emily, sighing heavily as he pushed a bit of her hair out of the way. It was nearly eight in the morning so he was surprised that Maddie hadn't woken them up yet. He wondered how long they'd be able to stay in bed if he hadn't been called.

Clearing his throat, Zacky leaned forward to press a kiss to Emily's lips. He pulled away with a light frown. "I have to go take care of something," He murmured, praying like hell that Emily wasn't going to ask what it was because that was a conversation that he couldn't even guess at what would be said. "How about when I get home, I take you two out for a nice meal? Hm?" He prompted, hoping to shift her focus away from the fact that he was having to leave.

That night, Emily fell asleep pressed against Zacky, almost clinging onto him. She wasn't sure if it was the surge of hormones in her body or the sex but she just wanted to be close to Zacky and this was the perfect way to achieve that. She was so comfortable that she even managed to continue sleeping through his phone ringing, only really starting to wake up when Zacky shifted in the bed to answer the phone. She was still half asleep even as he kissed her but she still managed to frown when she heard him say he needed to leave. There was a part of her that wanted to ask him what was so important that he needed to leave at eight in the morning but deep down, she already knew. And she knew asking why would open up a conversation she wasn't ready for so early in the morning.

"Are you sure you have to go?" Emily asked softly. She pressed herself even closer to Zacky, looking up to him with a pout. She snaked her arms around his waist, attaching herself to him even tighter in an effort to keep him next to her, even as he continued to speak about leaving. "Just don't stay out too long, okay?" Emily whispered. She leaned forward to kiss Zacky the way he had done to her before finally letting him out of her grasp. "Me and Maddy will be waiting for you." Emily laid in bed, listening as Zacky slipped out of the house, only starting to stir when she felt a terribly familiar turning in her stomach. Her morning sickness with Maddy had been awful and she'd been hoping she might be able to avoid as much misery this time around. She laid completely still, hoping this might stave things off a little but she quickly realized this was a fruitless endeavor. Emily pushed herself out of bed and hurried into the master bathroom, dropping to her knees in front of the toilet to empty out what little was in her stomach.

She was too busy sputtering on bile to hear the tiny footsteps padding up the hallway. Emily only turned away from the toilet when she heard the slight creak of the door as it was pushed open. "Mommy?" Maddy called out. "Where are you?"

"Mommy's in the bathroom, stay in there," Emily shouted back. She took a deep breath, using a bit of tissue paper to wipe her mouth before she forced herself to her feet. "You want to lay in bed with Mommy for a little while? Your Daddy went out for a little while but when he gets back were going to go get something to eat."

Zacky had been reluctant to leave for his work - that had been what tore him and Emily apart all those years ago. But he couldn't simply walk away, no matter how badly he wanted to. It would never be as simple as passing on his empire to someone else. He had men that he was close to but he didn't think any of them were capable of taking on the position that he held; he wasn't about to see his legacy just destroyed. There was no way in hell that he would. Besides, if he didn't tie up any loose ends, Zacky would never know if they would be safe. And he'd be damned if he let harm come to Emily or to Maddy.

It was nearly noon by the time that Zacky returned home. He was stiff as he walked through the door, doing his best to act as if nothing was wrong. It was so rare that he ever got into a situation where he fought any more but one of his higher members had decided to open his mouth. Had decided to try and challenge Zacky and there had been nothing that Zacky could do but take on the fight. If he let the discord grow, then his life was going to get far more difficult.

Zacky swallowed when he realized the girls were in the living room. He was going to have to pass by to get upstairs and clean himself up. He bit back a noise as he started for the stairs, focused on getting to the stairs.

"Daddy!" Maddy started for him and he cursed silently. His face was a bit beat up and it would surely bruise but Maddy was young and she wouldn't know the difference between the truth and a lie.

The little girl stopped short of Zacky, a frown on her face as Zacky knelt in front of her. "Dad, what happened? Does it hurt?"

Zacky couldn't help but let out a soft laugh as he nodded. "Daddy just fell at work. But I'm okay. Just have to take it easy for a bit, okay?" He said, reaching out to ruffle her hair. The movement was enough to jar his ribs but he didn't let that on. He straightened back up, reluctantly looking toward Emily.

"Why don't you and Maddy decide where we're going for lunch while I freshen up, hm?" Zacky suggested, knowing his appearance was going to be an unpleasant discussion but it couldn't happen in front of Maddy. He gave her a weak smile before he started his wayy up the stairs.

In response to Emily's question, Maddy shook her head. "I wanna watch cartoons in the living room," she said, grinning at her mother.

Emily sighed. Her bit of sickness had taken a lot of energy out of her and she would much rather lie in bed than sit on the couch. But she supposed this was her first taste of being a mother of two rather than one. Her energy would need to stretch much further. "Alright, sweetheart, we'll go downstairs and watch cartoons," Emily agreed. She paused to put on her bra before she left the toddler downstairs, grabbing the remote before she settled on the couch. Maddy scrambled up next to her mother as Emily turned on the television, tuning it to Maddy's favorite cartoon. As more time passed, Emily found herself distracted, checking the time. What was taking Zacky so long? He should be home by now?

As if summoned by her thoughts, Emily heard the front door open and then close again. She perked up a bit and so did Maddy, the toddler obviously coming to the same realization that Emily had. It was more than obvious that Zacky had been attempting to sneak past them, but he was no match for Maddy. She took off to greet her father, Emily's eyes following the toddler as she ran to Zacky. Looking at his face, Emily knew exactly what he'd been out doing and it sparked a feeling of confliction in her that she hadn't felt in a long time. In coming back to Zacky, Emily had essentially accepted what he did for a living. But it didn't make it any easier to deal with, especially when it was in plain sight for Maddy to witness. She was too young to understand the nuances of why Zacky did what he did and Emily didn't like that she was getting even this small glance into Zacky's career.

"Go on upstairs to your bedroom, baby, Mommy needs to talk to Daddy," Emily said, walking up to the two of them. She touched the top of Maddy's head, smiling softly. "Go on." Emily watched as the toddler scurried upstairs, waiting until she heard the sound of her bedroom door closing before she turned to Zacky. "Care to explain what's going on?" Emily asked. "You look like you've been in a fight. What the fuck is going on, Zack?"

Zacky cursed silently to himself when Emily told Maddy to go upstairs. He wasn't stupid, he knew exactly what conversation was about to take place. And he wanted no part in it. This was what had driven them apart to begin with, he had no idea how the hell he would cope with losing Emily a second time. Because it wasn't going to be just losing Emily but it would be losing Maddy, too. The chance they had at a family was in a precarious position at the moment. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat as he watched his little girl run up the stairs. How he wished he was going with her.

Exhaling as the bedroom door shut, Zacky turned toward Emily reluctantly. His face hardened as she spoke, giving a shrug of his shoulders. "Seems like you already figured out what happened, Emily," he bit back, gritting his teeth. God, he knew he was being a dick but did she honestly think that he could just leave it all behind? No, it didn't work that way.

"Someone decided to open their mouth and try to..." Zacky trailed off, his face scrunching at the memory. "Run it. It's dealt with now," he said, looking away from Emily suddenly. As if when he confessed, it didn't mean something as horrible if he wasn't looking at Emily. "Won't be a problem in the future," he said, giving a shrug of his shoulders. This was the ugly side of his work but it was necessary, no matter how much he did or didn't want it to be. "Fighting over this isn't going to change the fact that it happened."

"Now," Zacky said, giving a firm nod of his head as he turned back toward Emily. "I'm going to go get cleaned up and then we can all go out for lunch. Forget about this morning, hm?" He suggested, raising an eyebrow.

Not surprisingly, Zacky bit back at Emily with as much vitriol as she'd spit at him. She and Zacky had always been relatively well-matched when it came to their tempers. But really, Emily wasn't angry that Zacky had gone out to work, as he called it. She would have been incredibly stupid to think he would drop things cold turkey just because she and Maddy were back in his life. She was mostly angry that he'd let Maddy witness any part of it. She was too young to understand Zacky's line of work and Emily wanted to keep her safe from that part of his world for as long as possible. "Just try not to bring it around Maddy," Emily said. "She's too young, she doesn't need to know about any of this."

Emily fixed Zacky with a frown when he changed the subject. She knew he didn't want to discuss this but he wasn't getting away from this subject as easily as he was likely hoping he would. "This conversation isn't over, Zack," Emily said sternly. "We're going to finish talking later, when Maddy's in bed." Without another word, Emily turned around and headed upstairs, going to Maddy's bedroom. The toddler was inside, waiting patiently like she'd been told. "Mommy's sorry she took so long," Emily said, slipping inside and shutting the door. "Let's get dressed so we can go to lunch, okay? Your Daddy is ready to go." Emily quickly dressed Maddy, pulling her hair into a high ponytail before she sent the toddler back downstairs before she went to get dressed herself.

She was honestly a bit worried about their little lunch outing, not only because of the tension between her and Zacky, but also because if this pregnancy was anything like the one with Maddy, her food aversions would start early. And as irritated with Zacky as she was right now, she wanted this announcement to be special, not something he found out because she got sick at lunch. "Alright, we're just waiting on your Dadd and then we'll be ready to go," Emily said, taking a seat on the couch next to Maddy. "Do you know where you want to go for lunch?"

Maddy seemed to think for a moment. "I want chicken strips!"

"Well I'm sure we can find a place that has chicken strips," Emily replied, smiling at Maddy.

Zacky shook his head, his face scrunched a bit when Emily said the conversation wasn't over. He nearly wanted to laugh at her because he was still partly in that mindset. The mindset of a man in charge of a deadly organization. One that was never told what to do or ever told 'no'. The conversation was over because there had been nothing for him to say. He had not meant for Maddy to see the bruises on his face, Emily should have had a better hold on the young girl. If she had... then Maddy wouldn't have seen anything that she shouldn't have. What had Emily thought he was out doing? Surely she wasn't naive enough not to be able to put together some of the pieces. It wasn't uncommon for Zacky to come home with a few bumps and bruises; it was just a hazard of his line of work.

Once Zacky was alone in his ensuite, he was quick to climb into the shower. The warmth of the water was enough to ease the tension in his shoulders. He let out a sigh as he rolled his neck, trying to further relax. He knew that the discussion he would inevitably have with Emily wasn't going to be a pleasant one. It would likely take place that night after Maddy had gone to bed and that soured his mood the longer he thought about it. He simply didn't want to deal with it because he knew damn well that Emily would bring it back up - Emily didn't know how to quit. Just like he didn't know how to quit.

Sighing, Zacky reluctantly climbed out of the shower. He pulled on a tshirt and a pair of jeans, careful to check himself in the mirror. There was no blood left by the time he finished cleaning up, a bruise on his cheek and a broken bottom lip was the only sign of what he'd gone through earlier in the day.

Zacky started downstairs, biting down on the inside of his lip. He hoped that Emily was in a better mood than he had left her in. Zacky forced a smile to his face as he spotted the pair. "Hi you two," he spoke quietly, leaning down to scoop Maddy into his arms. Zacky was act as normal as he could for the little girl's sake. "So, where are we going? I'm going to starve," he said, ruffling Maddy's hair as he led the way out of the house.