Emma shuffled upon her feet as she stood in front of the closed door. She raised her hand at the direction of the doorbell switch, but her hand fell back a moment before she could hit it. Turning around she walked down the porch steps almost giving up the decision she made. Then she stopped suddenly, her breath held.

She knew what decision she made was after a lot of thinking and pondering upon different possibilities. The more she thought the more the consequences of what she had decided to be done - seemed extremely terrible - in a bad way. But there were also possiblities that everything would be alright, that everyone would finally have their peace and especially she would get back her sanity.

She scolded herself that she was just over thinking things.

So swinging around, this time with more determination she headed towards his door and after hesitating for a few short moments of anxiety, she finally pressed the switch and the doorbell inside his house rang making her guts almost drop out. Her determination went foggy again. However, she really didn't have the time to double think anymore.

The door opened revealing a casual looking Brandan, his homey attire made him look--steamy to say exactly. The t-shirt he was wearing hugged all his muscles, those biceps, that broad chest and then those killer abs. Emma silently sucked in a breath. He had definitely grown in the last six years and as she lifted her eyes again to his eyes, she saw surprise, joy and confusion.

He was staring at her, his mouth slightly opened in shock. When he welcomed and showed her in while genuinely looking happy and tensed too, Emma felt the tight strings in her heart thrumming violently. She didn't say anything right then, just silently made her way towards the sofa beside the artificial fireplace in the living room. She had such kind of a fireplace in her house too, there was an electric heater within, it would light up by pressing a button and spread warmth quicker than imagination.

Warmth was what she needed now. Because, suddenly she felt so cold. Her nerves were freezing up.

Brandan sat down across Emma, the little tea table between them working as a symbolic wall. Brandan had a strong urge rising inside him to kick that heck of a tea table away from between them. But that action would surely make him seem like an absolute maniac, so he crossed his ankles and instead stared at the beautiful woman in front of him with curiosity.

There was an awkward silence in the room, Brandan wanted to break the silence but at the same time feared that it would only break the spell - which made her come to his doorstep. Besides he had a hard time believing that what was happening was real and not a dream.

Emma closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, Brandan's unwavering stare upon her was providing her the warmth she needed. Strangely, that was also making the butterflies in her stomach increase their pace of dancing salsa. Nervousness... nothing else... she told herself.

Licking her dry lips she finally thought that it would be better to say whatever she had come to say and leave as soon as possible. That way the dangerous salsa in her stomach and that crazily drumming heart of hers would rest in peace.

"I..." After a long pregnant pause Emma inhaled a deep breath. Brandan leaned a little forward, slowly pushing himself away from the backrest of the sofa. The extra attention from him made her nerves more jittery but she thought to continue however. "I thought... I thought about what you said. Sarah and Sammy need to know the truth. I just need a little time to tell them."

Brandan couldn't believe, he just couldn't believe. Once again he doubted if it was all a dream. He felt like his heart would definitely break out of his chest if it beat any faster. Instantly he had the biggest grin in human history plastered across his face.

A while back he was thinking that he lost everything and now he was given this another precious chance and in no way he was going to mess it up this time. Come hell or high water he would prove to Emma he was a changed man now, that her love had changed him and at the same time he would prove to be one of the best fathers in the world.

"Emma! I cant express how much..." Brandan's voice came out hoarse with emotions.

She lifted her cold eyes up to his emotional ones making him trail off. "Don't ever think I am doing this for you, it's for Sarah and Sammy's sake I can go to any extent."

That didn't cause Brandan's hope to lessen a bit, wouldn't he also do the same - go to any extent for those adorable little ones. "I know."

He repeated calmly, "I know."

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

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

Oliver was sitting on his bed scrolling through his phone lazily. During the whole day he had thought that a grumpy Brandan was a very bad company. But when he returned home he ironically found out that an overly excited Brandan was apparently a worse company. In just a matter of five minutes Oliver was informed by a blabbering Brandan about how Emma had suddenly popped up surprising him and the rest that followed. And then he went on and on about how he was going to woo Emma and the children, what gifts he would buy to Sarah and Sammy, what stories he would tell them. And then he also repented that he was not there to change their diapers in their early ages... and so on.

Oliver had to at last fake a headache and retire to his room earlier than usual.

Making Oliver flinch, a thudding sound followed by a shattering noise of the glass breaking of his window echoed through his room. A pebble rolled on to the floor and halted right beside his bed as his eyes followed the intruding object.

Getting his senses back Oliver threw his phone aside and jumped off his bed.

"Who the mother-fuc***!!" He screamed while running towards the now broken window. He tiptoed over the broken glass-pieces and peeked outside furiously, wanting nothing else but to strangle the neck of that insolent fool who had dared to mess with him.

Whom he saw outside made his fury only to bubble up to a degree of inhumanity. There stood Elli with a smug look - sporting a hideous smirk.

She yelled at him sarcastically. "Sorry. It slipped - upwards."

And then she had the audacity to grin. Trembling in rage Oliver watched her strolling back to their own house swaying her hips like a freaking siren.

Oliver abruptly sprinted out of his room and to the living room where Brandan was sitting on the sofa doing some paper works he brought home from office.

"I am not going to let her get away this time Brandan. I won't tolerate it anymore..."

Brandan looked up from the papers startled by the sudden yelling. "What happened now? Why are you so pissed off at..."

He watched the wall-clock before adding, "...this hour of night?"

Oliver scowled. "That Elli. That crazy girl! She just broke my window! She is breaking down our whole house Brandan... don't just sit and chill over there, call the cops."

Brandan raised an eyebrow in amusement, he didn't have the scope to say anything as Oliver in a maddening speed began to dial in the landphone on a small table near the fireplace... all the while muttering and cursing under his breath.

Watching the situation going out of control, Brandan jumped up from the sofa and snatched away the phone's receiver off of Oliver's hand before slaming it down.

"Chill man..." Brandan said trying to relax him.

Oliver was exasperated, "What chill Brandan! That freaking girl is breaking down our house for gods sake."

"That was just a window Oliver." Brandan said calmly.

Oliver shrieked, "Just a window! Brandan, give me that damn phone, I won't rest in peace until I land her crazy ass in jail."

Brandan now raised his tone authoritatively. "Oliver! Stop this shit man. Emma had just agreed to let me in a little bit and here you are hell bent on ruining that by messing with Elli!"

Oliver's jaw dropped, "I can't believe you'll choose her over me, over your best friend?"

Now it was too much drama for Brandan. "Hey! I am just asking for a little patience from my best buddy."

Brandan patted his shoulder thoughtfully and walked away after that, leaving Oliver to grimace behind.

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

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

Emma ran her hands down her knee length skirt making sure there wasn't any crisp left - not even an invisible one. Today was a very important day for her, a new very precious deal was going to get signed with another company which would most probably prove to be a significant milestone for the company according to Jonathon's prediction. And Emma was quite positive of his prediction.

Emma couldn't help but smile a little at how Jonathon made her agree to ease up and go to coffee with him this evening. He had been charmingly persistent and she couldn't help but give in. Jonathon had been noticing her anxiousness this past week though he hadn't pushed her much to tell him but Emma knew, she had to let him know soon about the storm that all of a sudden entered her life.

As Emma made her way towards the living room to say goodbye to the kids for the day she felt weary, nervous and all over the edge. Not only she had to reveal to her children about Brandan being their father, she also had to give this information to Jonathon too. She worried how really Jonathon would react knowing that the father of her children had returned. And not only that, he was her neighbor as well and now was to have involvement in her children's lives.

She saw the twins sitting on the carpet writing down alphabets in their fancy looking notebooks with intense concentration. Emma was going to get them started with kindergarten school next week, a few weeks of classes and then summer holidays. Sarah and Sammy were excited about starting school and Emma was waiting for the day of their admission after which she had decided to tell them about their father. She wasn't sure what to expect about the way the children would take this news.

Resting a hip against the sofa's armchair she looked down at the siblings with an anxious smile. She hoped they would accept their father build a healthy relation with him. As much as she wanted Brandan to suffer, she knew better to drag her past to her children's lives and their right to bond with their dad. She wouldn't force them to do anything against their will but she wouldn't stop them from loving him. And for that, no matter how difficult it would prove to be she would act civil with Brandan, at least at the presence of the children. The last thing she wanted was to give them the idea of petty, arguing, selfish, violent parents and scar their childhood for life. No, she wouldn't allow that.

Emma bent down beside them and smiled at jenna who sat on a chair nearby, jenna returned the smile genuinely.

"Mommy, look I wrote them all correctly. "Sammy showed her his notebook eagerly. Sarah too scrambled near her with her notebook. "Me too, me too mommy."

Emma took both their notebooks in her lap and ran her fingers in a soft caress over their childlike, ruffled writings. She grinned at them encouragingly. "Yes, both of you did. You guys are very much ready for school I see."

She was rewarded with Sarah and Sammy's brilliant broad smiles of sheer joy and excitement as they both puffed out their chests in pride. While Sarah bobbed her head up and down eagerly making her little pigtails bump with the movements, Sammy beamed. "Yes we are."

And she would also not let that man hurt her children like he hurt her years back. Though she could sense a kind of change in him but she was still not sure. The way he tried to blackmail her in the beginning made her judgement about him even more complicated. She had all the reasons to be cautious about that man.

But one thing was for sure, Brandan might be the father of her children, he might rightfully get involvement in their lives but he would never get the pleasure of playing with her heart again.

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

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

Sometimes we don't know if doing the right thing would make the result of your actions sweet or extremely bitter. There are times in life when speaking the truth can spread happiness but still we can't make ourselves step ahead and do so. It's like getting stuck in zero gravity and landing feet on the level ground seems like a distant memory.

Brandan held the phone a little tighter, desperate to tell his mother that he had found her - his Emma, with two beautiful surprises dazzling along.

"Brandan, why are you so quite, son? I asked you when are you coming back?" Martha repeated her question to Brandan.

Brandan had a dreamy tone when with an obvious hint of a smile in his voice he spoke, "I don't know mom but I am coming home not alone this time. That is all I can say."

Martha was totally confused, "What! What are you talking about? Not alone? Brandan, will you please stop with this puzzle and tell me clearly what exactly is going on!"

For a moment Brandan fought with the two different currents of his conscience which were busy battling inside his brain over whether to tell Martha about Emma--about the grandchildren she and Robert didn't know they had or let them stay in darkness until...

With a sigh he locked away the urge to tell them, what Emma wanted was the most important thing right now. He didn't know if Emma would give her consent to let her presence known to the world she left behind.

"Just let dad know that I won't come back until I make everything alright here, just tell him that." Brandan said.

"But Brandan wha..."

With urgency Brandan quickly ended the conversation, "Bye mom. Love you."

He hung up and exhaled a deep breath dragging his hand down his face. Standing up he lifted up his briefcase, he had an empire to take care of too and he couldn't ignore the faces looking upto him. There were so many jobs, so many peoples hard earnings, their employments, their lives depending on him.

True, he had drowned himself in to work a long time ago mainly to supress - to forget the burn of despair in his chest as much as he could.

But now he had a purpose to come back home from work, now he had a purpose in his life, a hope. Those voids in his; in his Emma's and their children's lives -- waiting to be filled and he was determined to fill them with love and happiness. The road might be difficult, full of bumps and crazy-ass obstacles but promising and joyous at the end. And he would do anything to reach that end.

Brandan stood by his car scrunching his eyes as he watched the flat tires, all four of them were in the same condition.

"What the hell!"

Oliver was coming out of the house as well, ready to go to work. He paused beside Brandan and curiously followed his irritated gaze, his own eyes popped out in exasperation.

Brandan could sense someone's handwork behind this errand, a conspiracy probably.

Oliver threw his hands skywards dramatically, a scowl forming on his face. "I know who did this, that bloody..."

Brandan placed his hand on the roof of his car and leaned sideways with his brows furrowed as he looked at his friend.

Noticing his questioning gaze Oliver snapped "Who else Brandan! It's definitely that narrow minded - stupid - son no... daughter of a bitch--Elli. And here I thought she was a leech but the latest news is - she's a bloody chupacabra, won't leave you until all your blood is sucked out and you are left blue and zombiefied."

Oliver ended with a series of curses that Brandan had to almost cover his ears and close his eyes.

None of the men were aware of a little boy peeping out of the window, eyes glinting with mischief and a crooked smile gracing his innocent face that seemed so much similar to Brandan's.

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

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

Emma lifted her head up by the touch of Jonathon's hand upon hers, she saw him looking at her worriedly.

"Emma, I tried not to force you to say anything you don't want to share with me but I have told you before and I am telling you again that you can share with me your problems. What's bothering you so much? Please tell me. Is it me? Have I done anything wrong?"

"No. No - it's not you Jonathon, how could you even think that?"

"Than please tell me who is?" Jonathon insisted.

Under his touch Emma felt uncomfortable like it's not right, she felt - awkward. But on the other hand she felt good that he cared for her so much. They were seeing each other for quite a while now but why the hell she couldn't permit herself to see him more than a friend!

"If I say that everything is fine, then it will be a terrible lie Jon - because it's not. And there's something I need to tell you..."

Jonathon was looking at her expectantly as Emma paused for a second. This was the right moment to tell him about Brandan. Sighing she opened her mouth - when her phone beeped.

Right at that moment the waitress approached them with the bill making Jonathon move his hand off of hers and get busy.

Emma opened the text message to see it was from Brandan.

*Can you meet me this evening? Please. I really need to talk to you.*

Having an intake of a large amount of air in her lungs. Emma typed back after pondering over whether to meet him or not. Maybe he wanted to discuss something about the kids. But then again they already discussed what needed to be discussed, right? Was he again trying to play his silly games with her? She wondered.

*It's important.*

He messaged again. It was like he was reading her mind.

After a moment of hesitation, she gave in. Curiosity won.

*Alright.*

Almost immediately Brandan's reply came with the address of the restaurant and reservation time.

Emma put back the phone in her purse. It's time to call truce and remind Brandan of her rules and the boundaries. Why not use this rendezvous to her advantage.

As she looked back at Jonathon to see him staring at her, she reminded herself all over again, the safety of her heart remained with the man sitting in front of her not the one who would be awaiting her tonight - not the one who had been hell adamant to test the density and strength of the walls she had created around herself and stir the six years of old dust laying upon them.

When Jonathon placed his hand gently upon her lower back escorting her outside the cafe to the bustling evening of the city, Emma wondered was she attracted to Jonathon?

Jonathon's short kiss on her lips made her smile as she watched him slid into his car and leave. Yes there was attraction, in the friends kind of way but certainly not as a lover. Things were so platonic between them, at least from her side.

Igniting her own car and setting off to the direction of The diner Brandan had send her the name of, Emma brushed away a stray strand of hair from upon her forehead while holding the steering wheel with the other hand.