From Here On Out

33

The last week had consisted of Emmy doing several laps around their apartment to ensure that not a single feather was out of place. And on Daveed's end, he'd spent the week leading to this fateful day covering Emmy's steps and calling in between classes to make sure she wasn't over stressed and underfed. To her, this visit had to be perfect. She was so determined to prove that she wasn't the disappointment she believed her parents believed her to be.

"Babe what time is it?" she called out from their bedroom.

"3:30," he answered promptly. Their flight was set to land around 4:45 so they had just a few more hours to race around. "And the place looks great, Em."

"You know my parents," she called once more, "They're gonna tour the place." She nervously folded the last few pieces of laundry. She knew she didn't really have to be nervous but it was her nerves that didn't know that. It was so easy for Daveed to not worry, his parents had been supportive from Day 1 but hers... all they saw was their baby girl got knocked up by a boy she just started dating.

She looked up to meet his eyes in the doorframe. Daveed walked towards the opposite side of the bed and started pulling clothes out of the bin to fold. "You're doing good Emmy. And they're gonna see that too," he comforted, "You're already a good mom, no bad mom would wash this many baby clothes before they even have a baby," he said as he held up a lime green onesie.

"They have store germs!" she giggled, reaching for the onesie, "Plus, now they all smell like lavender."

Daveed shook his head with a grin on his face as he worked through more of the laundry. Their conversations in between tasks proved to speed time because just before they knew it, knocks were heard from the door.

Emmy had texted them the address earlier that day and she only assumed they'd Ubered since neither her or Daveed had a car. She opened the door to reveal the two of them, who smiled but let their eyes instantly drop to the 15 week old belly catching their attention.

"Oh wow," her dad said as his eyebrows raised.

"Hello to you too, Dad, Mom," she forced her teeth into a smile.

"Hey hon," her mom pulled her into a hug, "How have you been?"

"I'm ok," she said truthfully. This awkward greeting was thankfully saved when Daveed tiptoed behind her. He flashed a big smile to both the adults and added, "Hey, Mr and Mrs. Lampman, it's been a minute!"

"It sure has," Mr. Raver Lampman echoed, "it.. sure has," he said, once more, this time under his breath.

The four of them slowly moved inside the apartment. Emmy could see her parents looking around and she was trying her hardest to read their faces. She moved to the kitchen to get them some water before they could say anything.

"This is really nice you guys," Emmy's mom stated as Emmy passed her a glass.

Her dad walked a couple steps over the living room, taking more of it in before accepting the water. His mouth turned upwards only slightly and he nodded his head, "It certainly is a nice place. And in the city... you must've found a steal."

"We got it to work out," Emmy responded. Daveed had planted himself, leaning against the kitchen island and she joined him. Being right next to him made this a little easier.

Not one for subtleties, Emmy's dad asked, "How are y'all paying for something like this?"

A glare was instantly shot by her mom and Emmy tangled her fingers with her boyfriend's, "Well, I got a job. Daveed's parents are helping out a lot, and Daveed spends everyday looking for a job."

Her fathers eyebrows raised, "You don't need to be leani-" he started defiantly.

"Stop it Greg," Sharon Lampman said, giving him one more look.

"I'm not," Emmy stated bluntly before changing her tone back to normal, "Do y'all want to see the other rooms?"

She showed them their shared bedroom as well as the nursery that was as done as it could be in a week. They had the crib up and the clothes in the closet but it wasn't really ready for their baby to inhabit. "We still have to baby proof and all that," Daveed jumped in defense.

"Nice crib. Very efficient to have the changing table right there," Emmy's dad stated, giving a compliment that through everyone in the room off guard.

She could see her mom closely examining the room, running her hands against the cloth blankets Emmy had draped on the crib. Sharon picked up a tiny teddy bear from the nightstand and gave it a squeeze. Even without words, Emmy could tell she was at least starting to be excited about having a grandchild.

Once the tour was finished, they all headed back to the living room. Her parents took seats on one side of the L shaped couch while Daveed and Emmy sat on the other. After a short bit of silence, Emmy's mom began to speak, "I'm very impressed Emmy. You have become a young woman right before my eyes," she smiled proudly.

Emmy mouthed a thank you and a smile towards her mother while Daveed gave her arm a squeeze. He knew how important it was for her to hear that and he was so happy for her.

"You have done good for yourself Em," her father jumped in, "I- I didn't really know what to expect today but I'm proud of you. You too Daveed. And I expect that you will continue to do right by my daughter, young man," he said, giving Daveed a stern look.

"Yes sir, no doubt about that, I can assure you," Daveed responded quickly.

A whirlwind of emotion was attacking Emmy after her parents words. Already heightened thanks to pregnancy hormones, she was nearly brought to tears hearing "I'm proud of you." It was more than she could have asked for today and she couldn't help but leap up from the couch and wrap the two of them in a hug.

"Oh Emmy," her mom exclaimed as they hugged.

A few tears dropped from Emmy's eyes and through those tears she cried, "I love you guys." Everything was coming to a front and this really solidified how much she had missed her parents support.

"We love you too Emmy," her father spoke words echoed by her mother.

She pulled away with a tear stained face and stood back up. Daveed came up behind her and wrapped his one arm around her and used the remaining hand to dry her face. "I'm going to go get dinner started. Emmy you wanna come?" he asked to which she nodded.

"Stay put Mr. and Mrs. Lampman, I know you're probably tired from traveling. The remotes on the coffee table, make yourself at home." Daveed said before grabbing Emmy's hand and walking the both of them to the kitchen.

Daveed and Emmy worked in tandem to make dinner, perfectly working off each other, and perfectly in sync. What they didn't know is that the two parents were watching from across the room. Emmy's mom and dad took notice of how well the couple worked together on something as simple as dinner and knew in this moment, that they would be amazing partners and parents to their child.