Emma pressed her temples closing her eyes for a brief minute before she again went back to check out the documents before her. She was trying pretty hard but it was almost impossible to concentrate on work when she had a cyclone recently shoved into her life out of the blue. A cyclone which arrived at the neighborhood in the disguise of her children's father.

Her secretary, Taylor communicated with her through the intercom reminding her of the appointment she had with one of her clients. Emma huffed slamming down the receiver.

She wanted to get out of the office as soon as possible, rush back home and have her kids wrapped up in her arms and hide them away, far... far away from Brandan.

Hearing a knock at the door she looked up to see Jonathon smiling at her as he leaned against the doorframe. His smile was contagious and Emma couldn't help but smile back. It was this comfort that was provided from Jonathon - the ease of his company that she adored the most.

Jonathon muttered, "My busy woman."

Jonathon's eyes scrutinized the dark circles around her eyes, her skin paler than usual and that smile, he could clearly see it was not the usual cheery one that he loved so much.

Emma tucked a stray hair behind her ear as she noticed him staring at her concerned. She looked down at the file in front of her nervously and then again lifted her eyes up. Jonathon raised up a brow sending her a knowing look.

"So..." Emma's voice was low and nervous.

"So..." Jonathon repeated after her as he walked around the desk and stood right beside her leaning his hip against the wooden desk. The manly scent of his cologne sent her to a dazed state for a short while before she cleared her throat to try gain back her control and not make a fool of herself while her brain was so stupidly comparing his scent with... someone else's.

"Mind to share what's bothering you?" Jonathon inquired observing her.

Now, Emma truly wanted to share the recent havoc barged into her life with Jonathon, but what would she say - that Sarah and Sammy's dad had suddenly decided to show up and not only that he was her neighbor too. Jonathon and she had just started dating a couple weeks ago, would it be right to tell him about this?

A voice inside her head said yes, it was necessary to be honest but she brushed that voice away. She needed some time to wrap her own mind around this first.

Jonathon clicked his fingers before her face with a worried look. "Hey. You alright?"

Nodding her head with a reassuring fake smile Emma hoped that it would be enough to cover up the real inner state of her's. "Uhh... yeah. It's just that... I actually have a small headache, Jon."

Caressing her soft cheek with his fingers Jonathon gazed at her lovingly, it was something he was getting quite fond of to do recently. "You can take the day off if you want to. Go home, take some rest."

Emma smiled assuringly. "It's really just a little headache, Jon, an aspirin would do the trick. Besides, I have an important appointment later."

Jonathon still didn't look convinced, he stared at her for a few seconds more. With a sigh after a while, he eventually gave in. "Alright. Just don't forget to take that aspirin huh... and don't stress yourself too much. You will call me if you need anything or feel more down or anything, won't you?"

Emma couldn't help but to marvel at the way his voice laced with concern and worry for her. She looked at him appreciatively. "Yes boss. I definitely will. Don't worry about me."

He stood up and Emma thought he would leave her office now. But when he didn't, instead leaned forward and unexpectedly cupped her cheeks with his warm hands, she gasped in surprise.

"I hope this adds to that magic of your aspirin..." He said in a low murmur.

And then, his lips met hers. They were rough and soft at the same time and as soon as his lips touched hers, he pulled away. It was just a simple peck but managed to daze her, maybe because it was a surprise to her... Emma thought.

"Hell... I wanted to do this for so long. And I would be looking forward to the next time." He said with a sheepish smile.

Emma touched her lips still in a state of surprise while staring at the retreating back of Jonathon who left whistling away.

---------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------

With a smile Brandan was looking dreamily out of his living room window, downstairs. He could hear Sarah and Sammy's cheerful voices as they ran around in the front yard of their house, Jen their baby sitter he assumed, was sitting near the fence watching over them as they played. Sammy was chasing Sarah as she ran spreading her little arms around as if they were wings and she was trying to fly away.

Brandan wanted nothing else but to go over there and join them, play with his kids... but he couldn't. He just couldn't gather up the courage to go there. What would he tell them?

Hey, I'm your daddy not just any stranger from the streets!

How would those little ones take that piece of information? That would be so... he didn't have the right kind of word. And how would they react, and what if they didn't accept him or worse... they would definitely ask - where was he all theis years?

Brandan wondered what Emma had told them about their father? Not the truth, of course. And what if she had told them that their father was not a good man hence he wasn't in their lives at all.

Gulping he looked back at the two spitfires playing in their own little bubble of happiness. A voice sounded from behind him.

"A penny for your thoughts."

Snapping out of his thoughts for the sudden intrusion of Oliver, Brandan had to unwantedly remove his attention from the kids. He smiled sadly at Oliver's direction. "It's just... I was thinking about how everything had changed in the last week."

Oliver stayed silent while Brandan added looking back at the kids again, they seemed so close to him yet too far. "Of course, in a good way. In the best way possible."

Oliver smiled a little. "Yeah, you found your Emma and also a pair of unexpected children. You've a real dramatic life my friend, I must say."

Right at that moment, with a loud squeal Sarah fell on to the ground. Brandan raised his hand restlessly as if to reach for his daughter's rescue... suddenly stiffening his body ready to sprint outside... thinking Sarah might have hurt herself. But then he relaxed seeing her giggling, throwing her feet up in the air while she still laid on the ground and a moment later with an over excited jump Sammy joined her in rolling across the grass and dirt.

"They are..." Brandan tried to find a proper word to explain how he felt about them but couldn't find any. It was too many times he was left wordless after recently he met his family.

His family.

"Why don't you go and join them? It's not like you haven't met them before." Oliver asked him thoughtfully.

That question hit the right string inside Brandan as he sighed helplessly and rested on the sofa a few feet away from the window. Leaning against the window sill, Oliver crossed his arms and looked at his friend with scrutinizing eyes.

"It's not that easy Oliver, then I didn't know that they were my children - that I am their father. But knowing that now and going in front of them... it's..." Brandan again fell in loss of words, Oliver nodded his head slowly understanding what was left unsaid.

"It didn't seem like Emma would let me near them easily. Damn! The amount of hatred she has for me is overwhelming, not that I can blame her." Brandan sighed with frustration.

He rubbed his scrunched up forehead warily. "If only I knew how to earn her forgiveness."

Oliver scratched his jaw thoughtfully. "You can always legally approach them, You could get a joint custody. After all you are their father, you have a right to be in their lives."

That immediately made Brandan's jaw tighten in fury. "Joint custody! Legal approach! Seriously Oliver..."

He punched his fist roughly on the handrest of the sofa as he snapped at his dear friend who he thought had lost his mind somewhere. "Are you out of your mind? I want them to accept me. I want Emma and the children... the three of them to love me back, not force them, break into their world and make them hate me for the rest of their lives."

Oliver put up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, okay, okay man, cool down.I get it."

Brandan looked back at the sight of his kids playing outside oblivious to their dad watching them... from just next door.

--------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------

Emma was walking out after spending a very distracted and busy day at work. Jonathon's that little kiss still lingering on her lips in a awkward way. She tried rummaging through the feelings she had for him. Things were still platonic between them, at least in emotional level. But there was this physical attraction, there was no doubt in that. She was a human being after all. But was it enough?

She still hadn't shared a lot of things about herself - about her past to Jonathon. It's not that she hadn't tried to tell him but she just couldn't, there was something always holding her back. What was that something, she didn't know.

And now, Brandan's sudden return had done no good but complicated things even more in her already complicated life.

Her eyes fell upon the familiar figure leaning outside the main gates just beside the curbs. Brandan! What was he doing here? Of course, to make sure the fire of her own personal hell was burning alright, Emma thought begrudgingly.

She quickened her pace hoping to walk past him unnoticed and reach her car. Right when she thought she had made it, Brandan looked up and was alert at the sight of her. Emma mentally groaned as she almost ran towards her car.

"Emma, wait..."

She heard Brandan's voice yelling her name and his footsteps on tow but she didn't stop. Brandan abruptly caught a hold of her elbow to swing her back to face him.

"What the hell Brandan! What the f*** do you think you're doing!"

Brandan was taken aback by her outburst, there was so much hatred in her eyes. He couldn't help but recall about how he humiliated, insulted, yelled at her, not once not twice but every single day when she was near him.

He deserved it. But still he didn't release his grip from her elbow, though she squirmed furiously to get away from him.

"I just want to talk to you Emma."

Emma gritted her teeth in irritation. "Don't you get it! I don't want to talk to you... I don't want to see your face, why don't you just leave me alone?"

But Brandan was determined. "I can't do that. Just listen to me this once Emma."

That made her furious. "Listen to you? About what?"

She added with a mocking laugh, "Wasn't it you who didn't want to hear a word of mine, who made it pretty clear that I was a disgusting who**. Wasn't it you who asked me that favor..."

Yanking her elbow away from his grip she spat her next words, "What was that? - To never show my face to you?"

She waved her hand in front of herself with a heated glare, "I did free you, Brandan, from the sight of me... from me and my annoying presence, what more do you want?"

Brandan's face fell as the echos of his own words from that morning came crushing back.

And he felt so ashamed that he wanted to curl into a ball, if he could change those every single time he had hurt her, if he could take back all those ruthless words he said to her - he would. If he could take all this shame in to his grave - he would. But that wasn't possible, pounding head over the "what ifs" wasn't the solution unfortunately.

Brandan voice was slightly trembling as he spoke. "Emma. I am sorry about all that, I know saying a sorry is never going to be enough but..."

Emma glared at him. "You are right, Brandan. Saying a simple sorry is never going to be enough. And what kind of drama is this now? His highness is apologizing to ME!"

Brandan raked a hand through his hair making them tousled. "Emma, look at me. I've changed now. Believe me, please. Your leaving us, that changed everything back there."

Emma laughed.

Brandan could see the dry humor in her eyes and also the hurt, the deep pain hidden behind the laughter.

"Changed? You! Just get this one thing straight - I don't care if you are really changed or not or what happened back there after I left. I don't want you anywhere near me, and I absolutely don't want you anywhere near my children."

Brandan was in a loss of words. The wounds were still so fresh in her heart, he could clearly see that and his heart ached. The blindfold of hurt was too tight around her sight that he knew she wouldn't see the truth of what he wanted to say, of how he was not the old Brandan she knew.

And he had no one to blame but himself. Swallowing down the painful gulp in his throat he pleaded again, "They are my children too, Emma. They have a right to know who their father is, it's not fair - to them, to..."

He wanted to say "...to me", but those words didn't come out of his mouth. Six years back he had done nothing fair to Emma, how could he expect her to be fair to him?

He could see her fumbling with the keys of her car, her hand trembling as she tried to put it in the keyhole.

Emma knew, he was right in a way. She had every right to be unfair to Brandan. But Sarah and Sammy, they were absolutely innocent in this, how could she deprive of them their right of knowing their father? Wouldn't it be deceiving her own children? What if when they grow up, know about their father from elsewhere and question her? Where would that put her as a mother?

Emma shivered sensing Brandan right behind her, the hair on the back of her neck stood in goosebumps, making her thoughts tangle.

Brandan felt the warmth of her body sip into his. It was too damn difficult to just talk when she was so close to him.

"Emmaa..."

His warm breath lingered upon the exposed skin of her neck, gasping Emma jumped away from his hypnotizing aura targeted solely to drown her in it's depth. The keys in her hand fell on to the ground making a jingling noise in the empty parking space.

As if getting irritated to the reactions of her own body to his closeness, Emma yelled at him with growing frustration. "Why don't you get it, Brandan. I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to listen anything damn it!"

Brandan was frustrated beyond limits as well as amused. Who was this? Where was the old Emma? He had the image of the shy, reserved girl from six years ago. But here stood in front of him this strong, confident, working woman... the beautiful mother of his children. All this years he had felt love for her but now he felt pride and respect added to that feeling.

Looking into her eyes, he knew six years had not only changed him but also her as well. He had to trade carefully if he wanted her and their kids into his life. And he understood one thing for sure, he was never going to get that in the straight way. This new Emma would do anything and everything to keep him out of her life, the walls of defense she had built around herself weren't going to be easy to break down.

So he buried his emotions deep inside and thought like the successful businessman he was. If it was like this - he would have to do it like this.

With determination and a blank face, he stated in a firm voice,

"It's either you listen to me Emma or... you listen from my lawyer."

_________________________________

_____________________________________________

So, how was it? Which Brandan you liked the most? The pleading, sweet, guilty Brandan or the ruthless Brandan?

And don't forget to tell me if you've enjoyed Emma and Jonathon's that little kiss. Haa haa...

Please, remember to vote, comment, follow me and share this story with your friends if you're enjoying reading it.

Lots of love,

Lara.