A/N: A look into the life of Emma before we get back to Sean.

Chapter 2

Emma ran through the house packing the things that would be needed for the day into the bag she carried in her hand. She was supposed to have been over at her friend, Manny's, ten minutes ago and needed to be at work in fifteen. The alarm clocked hadn't gone off in time and she was now running late. Luckily it was summer and she didn't have to worry about Ryan getting to school.

"Ryan come on baby, we need to get going!" she called up the stairs while fighting with the zipper on the bag that was now stuffed.

"Comin' Momma!" she heard her little five year old son Ryan Jacob yell as he came running down the stairs. She looked over to see her little brown haired, blue eyed angel standing in the doorway with his shirt on inside out and two different shoes on his feet.

Normally she would take him back upstairs to get him dressed the right way but she was in a hurry. This time she just shook her head as she shouldered the backpack and ushered him out to her car.

She arrived over at the Santos-Hogart house in record time. Typically it was only her friend's husband that was able to turn the twenty minute trip between houses into ten. She quickly helped Ryan out of his car seat and he ran up the two steps into the arms of the man standing in the door way.

She closed the door after getting Ryan's bag to see Jay grinning at her. "Well, well, well Nelson I didn't know you had it in you." he said sitting the boy down to run into the house.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I should be back to get him later this afternoon. All of his toys are in his bag along with snacks and juice. Manny has my work number and the number for my mom and..."

Jay hushed her. "Get to work Greenpiece. I got the munchkin." he said taking the bag from her and going into the house before she could say another word.

She shook her head at her friends husband before getting back in the car to make the drive over to the local paper. When she was younger she had tried her hand at writing pieces for the Grapevine but it wasn't something she had wanted to do professionally. At least until Ellie Nash had called her up six years ago asking her if she would like to contribute to a new section in The Core, the campus newspaper at Toronto University.

She had been appointed editor that year and wanted to start a column that could possibly help make those reading aware of what they could do to help save some of the earth's natural resources and couldn't think of anyone better to start it up.

She had stayed at the Core throughout college and two years ago Ellie had pitched her idea to her boss at the Toronto Sun helping Emma get an internship that led to a full time position after Ryan started kindergarten this past fall.

She pulled into the parking lot five minutes after she was supposed to be there and hurried to grab her back and get up to the second story of the office where her office was located.

When she got upstairs she quickly booted up the computer on her desk and tried to get her desk organized. As she found the piece of paper with the number for the contact she needed to get a hold of for her article she heard a knock on the door. She looked up to see Ellie standing in the doorway.

"Ry give you trouble this morning?" she asked taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of Emma's desk.

Emma shook her head. "Alarm clock didn't go off on time. Ry was good this morning though." she smiled when she spoke of her boy.

"So.." Ellie started hesitant to bring up the subject. "Have they released anything else yet?"

She turned her eyes back to her computer and signed onto her internet account. "Yea they finally released them from the hospital a couple weeks ago and are permitting some of them to come home."

Ellie looked down at her shoes. "Was he one of them?" she asked quietly.

"They didn't release any names. Hopefully later today though." she told her knowing that they both missed the person in question deeply, both for different reasons.

"Alright. Well I'll let you get back to work. See you later Em." Ellie said leaving her alone in the small office.

Emma took a look at the two pictures she had on her desk, one of her and her high school sweetheart, the other of Ryan before trying to focus on the article that was due by the end of the day.

TBC....