Please enjoy Emma and Jake's continuing saga.
Disclaimer: All characters involved in sexual activity are over the age of 18. Any similarities to real people, deceased or alive, are purely unintentional.
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"You ready, Em?" Jake nervously asked as he quickly lugged the go bags to their Acura SUV.
"As ready as I'll ever...be! Oh shit!" Emma slowly worked her way out to the SUV, first stopping on the porch to breathe through the next contraction. "Damn, this girl really wants to vacate the premises. Mom and Dad, you two are good, right?"
Emma's mother Anne replied, "Yes, dear. You worry about the delivery. Your Dad and I will enjoy our time with Jimmy." She looked at Jake as he came up the porch steps to help his Mom. "Jake, you get her to the hospital safe, you got it?"
Jake nodded to his grandmother. "You know I will, Nana." He helped Emma into the car, then ran around to the driver's side. "Love you, Nana and Pappy. I'll keep you in the loop."
Emma's father Nathan nodded and replied, "We want pictures!"
"Of course!" Jake hopped into the SUV and turned to his mother as he put the vehicle into Drive. "You good?"
Emma flashed him a thumbs up and slight smile in between breaths, then placed her hand on Jake's. "Let's go meet our daughter, honey."
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As with Jimmy's delivery three years earlier, there were no complications during their daughter's delivery. One month after Emma turned 40, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl that they named Stephanie. Jake was 22 at that time.
Emma and Jake were absolutely overjoyed with her arrival. The baby was beautiful and had quite a set of lungs on her. She started crying only a few minutes after delivery and didn't let up for a good amount of time. Her parents didn't mind though. The fear of unknown incestual genetic defects had plagued them throughout the pregnancy. Her lungs waylaid that fear, and they just basked in the beauty of the newborn as she cried in her mother's arms.
Two days later, Emma and Stephanie were brought home by Jake and walked into a Welcome Home party. Emma's parents gathered friends, including some of Jake's teammates and their families, to celebrate the newborn. Jimmy sat with his baby sister during the entire party, just holding her tiny hand.
After a few hours, everyone could tell Emma was exhausted. The party died down until the only people left in the house besides the couple and their two children were Emma's parents. She said goodbye to them as they walked out to their car.
"Mom and Dad, thank you. Thank you for watching Jimmy, and for the party, and..." Emma started to tear up. Her parents hugged her as she cried. Taking a deep breath before lifting her head, "...and for not turning your back on me when you found out about Jake and I."
Nathan held her cheeks and looked deeply into her teary eyes. "Em, we would never do that. You will always be our little girl, and we love you more than anything." Anne nodded along with what her husband was saying as she also started to cry.
Emma watched them get in their car, smiling and waving as they drove off. She turned to Jake, who had let her have her moment with her parents. He lifted his arms up to her without saying a word, embracing her tightly as she leaned into his body. They both looked over at their children, smiling at Jimmy still holding his sister's hand as he slept on the floor. Jake said, "You go up and get ready for bed. I'll take care of them."
"I love you, Jake."
"I love you, Mom." Emma had gotten so used to him calling her Em that she was surprised when he mentioned their true relationship, eliciting a smile from her.
By the time Jake had put Jimmy to bed and laid Stephanie in her bassinet in their bedroom, Emma was sound asleep.
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Three months later, Jake's soccer season had already started. The family had settled into a steady groove of splitting duties as parents of two little ones, Emma's job as a physical therapist, and Jake's travel throughout the country for away games.
One particular Friday evening, after returning from a game in Chicago, Jake drove up to the house with a concerned look. Emma and the kids would always be waiting on the porch for him if it wasn't getting home too late. Seeing as it was only 7:30 when he got home, he thought 'Where are they?' as he got out of his car.
There were no lights on in the house, so Jake's worry skyrocketed. Running up the porch steps and into the house, he yelled out, "Hello?" There was no answer. Nothing seemed to be out of place, but there was no one on the first floor. Taking three steps at a time, he bounded up the stairs and charged into Jimmy's room first. He wasn't there, and Stephanie was not in her room either. As his heart started racing, he called out, "Em, where are you?!" That is when he started hearing very faint music coming from the master bedroom at the back of the house.