Far from Home.

Three months later.

Emily danced around the small space in the restroom as she spritzed on her perfume. To say that she was elated or ecstatic was an understatement. She was seven months pregnant, and beyond ready to pop her little bundle of joy out.

Brian had been at work the day she went for her five month checkup. The friendly doctor had notified her of the sex of the baby she was carrying - And that the baby was completely healthy. Emily texted Brian the good news of health, but she made sure to keep the gender a secret. She wanted him to be entirely surprised and on edge like she was.

She smiled as she sang the simple lyrics of The Script, that was playing from her dandy phone.

"Oh, you got his heart and my heart, and none of the pain. You took your suitcase, I took the blame. Now I'm trying to make sense of what little remains, oh. Cause you left me with no love and honor to my name. I'm still alive, but I'm barely breathin'. Just prayin' to a God that I don't believe in. Cause I got time while she got freedom. Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't break... No it don't break - No, it don't break even, no!"

Brian was watching her from the end of the hallway, a smug smile on his face. His girlfriend's hips moved to the music in almost a perfect sync and, hell, even her baby bump seemed to sway in a motion.

"What am I gonna do when the best part of me was always you? And what am I supposed to say when I'm all choked up and you're okay? I'm falling to pieces, yeah. I'm falling to pieces, y-"

"Hey, babe?" Brian called, trying to tuck away his grin.

Emily hadn't turned to face him, still humming along to the song as she put on her mauve lipstick. "Yes?"

"What's that song called?"

"Breakeven."

"And who sings it?"

"Um, the Script."

"Yeah, let them sing it, Sinatra. They're famous for a reason, you know."

That got Emily's attention. She put down her case of lipstick and turned her body to Brian, an eyebrow raised high on her forehead. "You want five seconds to rethink and rephrase your words, or...?"

Cockily, Brian shook his head. "Nah, they came out perfect."

"Mhm," Emily turned back to the mirror,"Looks like someone wants to sleep on the couch tonight."

"You're sleeping with me."

"We'll see about that, Mr. Haner."

The couple couldn't hold the facade and they laughed together, Brian was now standing in the doorway of the restroom. He watched as she struggled to get a single strand of hair to curl. A laugh almost left his lips.

Almost.

With Emily's pregnancy hormones, him laughing at her was like a death sentence. He pursed his lips tightly together making them turn white.

Emily groaned and grabbed her hairbrush, dragging it through her hair until the curls turned into waves. The rebel piece of hair was now camouflaged in with the other reddish brown strands. "I swear, I'm going to go bald one day." Emily turned to Brian,"You'd still love me if I was bald, right?"

Brian's left hand grabbed her's, his right hand going to her stomach. "You could have seven heads, a Medusa face, ten eyes, three legs, no arms and I'd still love you. I promise, babe."

The smile that graced her face was enough to let Brian know that she believed him beyond anything he could fathom. She hugged him tightly, taking in his scent of cigarettes. An eyebrow raised, she looked up at him. "I smell smoke on you."

"I'm cutting down, don't worry," He kissed her forehead,"I'm down to just five or six cigarettes a day."

"That's still thirty five or forty two cigarettes a week, Brian!"

He sighed quietly. At the beginning of her pregnancy, they'd argue a bunch, and that was because Brian wasn't aware of how controlling her hormones could be - The rollercoaster of emotions they could take Emily on. But now, he'd learned to control his words and just let her win, because she was right a lot of the time.

In a quiet whisper, Brian replied. "I know... I'm sorry. I'm trying, Em, I really am. I still have two months before this one - Girl or boy - comes out into the world. I'll be completely clean by then, maybe having a cigarette once after work, but that's it. It calms my stress, you know that. And with the baby on the way, I want to get us out of this house and into a bigger one. I've been working overtime and that's just stressing me a tinsy bit more."

Emily watched as his eyes hit the floor. She took in the look on his face - He looked guilty and regretful. Her heart twitched when she realized she had done that to him. She cupped his face softly, bringing his eyes to hers. "Brian, no, hush. I'm sorry. I'm just putting way too much on you, and I didn't realize it until now."

She kissed him softly, feeling his hands gently grip her waist.

"I love you." He spoke into her hair as he rubbed her back.

"I love you, too. Now, come on, let's go to that celebratory dinner. I'm sure all of your coworkers and their wives are waiting on us."

"Man, I gotta say," Brian chuckled softly as he helped Emily into the SUV, buckling her seatbelt and closing her door, before he got in on the drivers side,"It was really nice of Ron and Victoria to offer to throw a little baby shower."

Emily nodded in agreement as Brian began to drive. "It was even nicer of them to offer to pay for it all. I mean, really, I haven't talked to Victoria in the last two months."

"Babe, I'm sure she understands it's because you're pregnant, and you just want to rest and be at home. And if she didn't understand, then I doubt she would've agreed to come to the dinner tonight." Brian squeezed Emily's hand.

As Brian crossed the intersection, he glanced over at Emily who smiled softly in his direction. The corners of his mouth turned up just a fraction before headlights behind Emily's head shined brightly. He gasped and tried to steer the vehicle out of the way. His foot floored the gas pedal before hitting the brake, but it was a little too late.

The vehicle collided with Brian's SUV on Emily's side, making the SUV spin. Brian could hear Emily's screams. He didn't dare let go of the wheel, trying his hardest to pull to a stop.

Several moments later, they came to a stand still. Brian was panting heavily as Emily cried out. He looked over at her, seeing her just a little bloodied with a few scratches. Surprisingly, his late maneuver had worked - He managed to save her life.

But the wild movements of the vehicle must've done something to the baby. Brian was almost positive. He started to drive to the hospital in his now wrecked Tahoe.

"Em," He grabbed her hand, holding it tightly,"I'm gonna get you to the hospital, baby, don't you worry. Everything's going to be fine."

As he expected, Emily didn't give him a coherent reply. He squeezed her hand and picked up speed as he zig zagged between cars on the feeder road - Which was very illegal to do. But at the moment, he didn't care if he ended up in jail, as long as Emily and his child got the medical care and attention they needed.

Within twenty minutes, Brian was already carrying Emily inside of the hospital's emergency wing, shouting at the top of his lungs. He raised his voice when he was told to sit down and wait his turn,"My girlfriend is seven months pregnant and we just got into a fucking car accident, do you really expect me to sit here and wait? My child could be fucking dying for all you care, and you're just gonna let that fucking happen?!"

Thanks to his foul mouth, some medical workers came to whisk her away, but Emily wouldn't loosen her hold on Brian's collar. Instead of arguing with Emily, they allowed Brian to take her to the designated room.

"How far along is she?" A doctor asked.

"Seven months." Brian replied.

"And she was in a car wreck?"

"The car hit the passengers side. I managed to swerve it as best as I could so it wouldn't hit her fully, but she still caught some impact."

"There isn't enough time to check and see if everything's alright!" A nurse shouted.

The doctor looked back. "Do you propose we have an emergency c-section?"

"Unless you want the baby to die, it's the best thing to do!"

Brian's heart dropped. Emergency c-sections weren't ever a good thing. Some babies didn't even survive the hour. The doctor pushed Brian out into the waiting room, where he spent the following hours pacing around, holding back the tears that threatened to spill upon the thought of losing his child.



God knows how many hours later, Brian was escorted into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, also known as the NICU. The doctor had been given specific instructions by Emily to not say a word to him, and it was killing Brian.

She got into a carwreck and yet, was still intent on keeping things secret.

The doctor opened the door to Emily's room and the first thing Brian saw was a giant... Plastic prism. He pointed to it,"Doc, what's that?"

"An incubator. It's a controlled type of environment - We can modify everything to help a premature baby grow and function in the most healthy way possible."

Brian simply nodded, before his gaze traveled to his girlfriend who was on the hospital bed, messing with the bandages on her head, trying to get them out of her eye. He was by her side in less than a second, taking her hand in his. "How do you feel, babe?"

"I'm really, really, really tired," She looked up at him, her eyelids heavy,"They drugged me up really good, Brian." Her voice was thick and she tripped over her words a little.

"I can tell," He laughed quietly,"Is the baby okay?"

She nodded softly,"Little Lucy Allison Haner is doing just fine."

Brian's eyes grew wide. "We had a babygirl?" His voice cracked. For some reason, he had been set on having a baby boy. But the fact that he was blessed with a girl... That just made him feel all so warmer on the inside.

"Yes, my love, a beautiful baby girl with your cheekbones and your little nose."

Emily squeezed his hand softly before bringing it up to her mouth, kissing his knuckles softly. She closed her eyes, sleep taking over.

"Sleep well, Em. You deserve it." Brian smiled softly as the tears that he'd been holding back for so long finally spilled over. He was happy. He felt complete. The hole in his heart that he'd been feeling for so long had finally been filled. The emptiness - The missing link in his life had finally fixed itself.

Brian Haner Jr felt like a new man.

He finally felt whole.