Pretty Little Liars: 16 & Pregnant (Sequel)

Doting Daddy Duties

Later That Day
Aria's Pov

I hear the front door open, knowing it's Ezra. The first thing that pops into my mind is the text I got from V earlier, but I try to suppress it, at least for a little while. As Ezra walks into the kitchen, I set down the wooden spoon I'm using to stir the spaghetti sauce.

"Hey," He says, hugging me from behind and kissing my cheek "How was your day?"

"Good." I reply, keeping my eyes fixated on the simmering spaghetti sauce.

"Everything okay?" Ezra asks "Where are the girls?"

"Playing upstairs in Piper's room." I answer.

"Okay," He continues "And everything's okay with you?" I almost nod, not wanting to start anything. But when I realize that I'm not just going to be able to forget about what's bothering me, I decide to tell him.

"No, everything's not okay Ezra." I sigh, turning around to face him "I got a text from V."

"Oh," Ezra raises his eyebrows "What'd it say?" I study him for a moment, wondering if he's playing dumb or not.

"Well, it—uh—it hinted toward something." I start "That you're keeping a secret from me. So, are you?"

"Aria I'm not keeping a secret from you, V's just trying to drive a wedge between us." He replies quickly.

I look down at the floor "Okay."

"Hey," Ezra takes my hands in his "You know V, you know he'll do anything to put us through any kind of distress. We can't let him come between us."

Pulling my hands from his, I reach up and hug him tightly "You're right."

Ezra's Pov

As Aria hugs me, I can't help but feel guiltier than I have in a long, long time. I just lied to her face, I could've told her the truth but I didn't. I just panicked and denied that I had a secret I was keeping from her. Telling Aria that V was just trying to drive a wedge between us was a coverup, but now I just made it come true. Because of this, because of what V's making me do and how I lied about it, there's now something that's come between Aria and I. I could've fixed the problem before it got too big, told her the truth instead of piling another lie on top. V placed the wedge, and I just drove it in.

"I'm gonna go say hi to the girls, then I'll come down and help with dinner." I tell Aria.

"It's nearly done, there's not much else to do." She chuckles "Bring Stella and Piper downstairs with you after, it'll be ready by then."

"Okay." I reply "I love you."

"I love you too." Aria says, noticing the uneasy look on my face as I think about how much I messed up "Everything okay? You kinda look like you're gonna pass out."

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." I force a smile "For a second I thought I left all the papers at work that I have to mark tonight. I definitely don't want to drive all the way back there, especially now that dinner's almost ready."

"Oh," She replies "Yeah that would suck."

I take that as my queue to leave, before I dig myself into an even deeper hole. I come to Piper's room, where her and Stella play on the floor with toys strewn out all around them. Just the sight of my two little girls helps me relax a little, as it often does. Though I've done some bad things, I've also done some good, Piper and Stella being at the very top of that list.

"Daddy!" Stella exclaims as she notices me standing in the doorway. I scoop her up along with Piper, both of them jumping over toys as they run to me.

"How was your day?" I ask after kissing both of their cheeks.

"Good," Piper replies "Me and Stella are playing doctor!"

"Ah, that explains why you were too busy to meet me at the door today, huh?" I grin "You had too many patients to treat?"

"No we just didn't hear your car!" She giggles "Sorry, we'll meet you at the door tomorrow."

"No need, because tomorrow's Saturday." I tell her "Which means that I get to spend all day with you and Stella!" I squeeze them both a little tighter and spin around, causing Piper and Stella to giggle loudly.

"So, what do you two want to do tomorrow?" I ask "I was thinking we could have a daddy-daughter day, if Mommy doesn't already have plans for us all."

"Can we go to the park?" Stella asks.

"But we always go to the park," I joke dramatically "Let's do something different, you know, something the three of us can all do together."

"Swimming?" Piper suggests.

"No, we always do that." I reply "Well not always, but enough that it's not new or different. We should do something like...like those horse-drawn carriages! We might have to drive to Philly, but that's okay, would you both enjoy that?"

"We can go in a real carriage with a real horse?!" Piper gasps "Like in Beauty and the Beast?"

"Like in every princess movie you've ever seen!" I exclaim "Because you two," I pause to look at my beautiful daughters' grinning faces "Deserve nothing less."

"Yayyy!" Piper squeals excitedly, Stella following suit "Can we wear dresses?"

"Of course, maybe we'll go for lunch too." I say "So it's settled then, the three of us are spending the day together tomorrow."

"What will Mommy do?" Piper asks.

"Well, I think this is a wonderful time for Mommy to have some quiet alone time, she doesn't get much of that." I respond "Or she could go see her friends, you know, kid-free."

"Kid-free?" Piper scrunches up her nose.

"I know, sounds horrible doesn't it?" I grin "As life would be without my Piper and Stella."