A Change of Priorities
By Misha

Disclaimer- I don't any of it, if I did, it would have been a very different ending. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while and I'm not making any money off of this.

A.N- I recently powered my way through Revenge and I fell in love with Daniel and Emily. I realized pretty early on that they weren't going to end up together, but I wanted them to so badly and my mind started thinking of alternate endings for them. This is one of the ones I came up with, a chance pregnancy early on changing everything for them. I had to guess a bit with the timeline, but I think I did ok. This is 100% Demily and takes place in the first season of Revenge. Some things will be the same (and some dialogue is borrowed from the show) but some will change drastically. Writers live for feedback, especially when trying something new, so let me know what you think!

Pairing- Daniel/Emily.

Summary- While Daniel is in jail awaiting his trial for Tyler's murder, Emily gets news that will change everything. Season One AU.

Rating- PG-13

Spoilers- A little bit of everything, but especially season one.

Chapter One

Emily stared at the pregnancy test in her hand.

Positive.

The two pink lines seemed to be mocking her and all her careful plans. It was just the latest in a series of complications. It had seemed so easy a few months ago, but in the last few weeks everything had veered off course.

First there was Tyler's murder and then all the fallout from that. Like the fact that that Daniel was about to face trial for murder and here she was, pregnant with his baby. Another complication.

She wanted to destroy the Grayson family, not help continue their legacy. While she had come to see realize that Daniel was different than his parents, it didn't change anything between them. Their relationship wasn't real, it couldn't be. She'd do her best to make sure she didn't go to jail, but there was no happy ever after for them.

But, somehow, there was going to be a baby.

Emily wasn't sure how it had happened. She had been so careful. She'd been on the pill and she'd always made sure she and Daniel had used protection. Well, most of the time. After the engagement they had gotten careless a couple times. It wasn't like Emily, but reckless passion had been part of the game and she'd been confident in her birth control. Apparently it had been a serious miscalculation on her part.

One of many, it would seem.

For the first time she was starting to think that she had gotten in over her head. She didn't have any idea how to deal with any of the things that were happening. Amanda was missing, Takeda was manipulating the situation to teach her a lesson, and Daniel was in jail… What had seemed so easy six months ago was now turning into a giant mess. And now there was an innocent child involved.

Emily glanced at the letter on the table, the one Daniel had sent her, asking her to believe in him. As much as she tried to keep her emotions out of this situation, it was hard not to be affected by the letter, and not just because of pregnancy hormones, but because Daniel was an innocent victim in all this… The way her father had been. After all, just like her father, Daniel's biggest mistake had been loving the wrong woman, and like her father, it could cost him his freedom and maybe his life.

Just then there was a knock on the door. Emily put the pregnancy test down and stood up and walked to the door. She wasn't surprised to see Nolan standing on the other side, holding a bakery box.

"Croissan'which?" He offered and then sighed. "When was the last time you ate or slept for that matter?"

Emily wasn't sure. It was probably one of the reasons it had taken her so long to realize that she was pregnant, actually. "I don't have time for sleep," she argued. "Daniel's about to stand trial for murder and Victoria's circling Amanda as a patsy."

"Well you've got to give her points for consistency," Nolan joked and then he turned serious, "but if Amanda resurfaces, the second they pick her up and she gets arrested, the whole story will come out and it's going to be over for you."

Emily knew that he was right and she also knew that the stakes had just gotten higher, because it was no longer just her revenge plot on the line. Now her baby's future was at risk.

"Takeda has her," Emily reminded him, "She's secure."

"For now, but if he finds out that you're going against him by trying to clear Daniel's name, well Takeda might just release the kraken." Nolan pointed out.

"I'll deal with it." Emily told him crossly. She wondered fleetingly what Takeda would think of her news, but decided she'd deal with that when the time came. One thing at a time, she reminded herself.

Nolan picked Daniel's letter up off the table. "Wow. Déjà vu." He said with a humorless chuckle. "I wonder what kind of box he'll make you in prison."

"Or what kind of box he'll make his son or daughter?" Emily told him, holding out the pregnancy test.

Nolan just stared at it. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." Emily told him. "History does like to repeat itself."

"This certainly makes things more complicated," Nolan pointed out, "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Emily told him honestly. "Except… I'm keeping the baby. I know that." There wasn't any other option. Not for her. Her family had been ripped away from her once, she wasn't going to let that happen again. "But I don't know what to do about the rest."

"If Daniel's convicted, then you're going to be raising the child of a felon." Nolan pointed out. "And history really will be repeating itself."

"I won't let that happen," Emily told him adamantly. She'd already been determined to clear Daniel's name, but now… Now she had even more incentive to do so. Her father's imprisonment and the notoriety of being David Clarke's daughter had destroyed her childhood.

In a lot of ways, everything good and kind about her had been destroyed along with her father's good name. She didn't want that kind of life for her child.

She wasn't sure how she really felt about Daniel. It was hard to separate, even in her own thoughts, what was truth and what was lie, but her feelings for her child were much clearer. This child was her family and she would do anything to protect it.

For a moment Emily wondered how Victoria had felt during David's trial, when she'd been pregnant with Charlotte. Like with Daniel and Emily, it had been Victoria's actions that had led to David's arrest. However the big difference was that Emily wasn't going to turn her back on Daniel the way Victoria had with David. No, she was going to do whatever she had too to make sure that he went free.

"I guess we're going to have to do our best to make sure Danny boy doesn't rot in jail," Nolan assured her, obviously guessing the direction of her thoughts. "After all, I can't let my honorary niece or nephew grow up without a father."

That afternoon Emily went to see her doctor and have a blood test done. She needed official confirmation of her pregnancy before she could decide how to proceed.

The next day she got a call from the doctor's office, confirming that the blood test had been positive and giving her the time for her ultrasound appointment, later that same afternoon. During her appointment with the doctor, it had been suggested as Emily wasn't 100% positive on her dates.

Given Daniel's incarceration and the events of the last few weeks, Emily knew that she had to be at least 7 weeks pregnant, if not more. After all, almost a month had passed since the engagement party and Daniel's arrest, so had to have gotten pregnant shortly before that point.

Thinking back, Emily realized that she'd skipped at least one period, but with the stress of Tyler's murder and Daniel's arrest, not to mention trying to keep her revenge plot from exploding around her, she hadn't paid much attention. Plus, as Nolan had pointed out, she hadn't really been eating or sleeping since Daniel's arrest. So it made sense that she might have missed any signs.

"That's your baby," the ultrasound tech pointed out a few hours later, "you seem to be just over 8 weeks along, Miss Thorne."

Emily stared at the image. Her baby. For the first time since she was nine years old, she had a family of her own. The thought suddenly occurred to her that the Graysons had been responsible for destroying her first family and now for creating this new one. It was not a comforting thought.

"Can I have a picture?" Emily asked the tech. "I want to take it to show my fiancé."

She had arranged to go to Riker's Island to see Daniel that afternoon and she thought taking him the ultrasound picture was the best way to share the news.

"Of course." The tech assured her. Her demeanor was sympathetic as she handed Emily the print out. After all, everyone had heard about Daniel's arrest. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Emily said, tucking it into her purse and then she headed towards her car and prepared to go to see Daniel.

"God I miss you." Daniel told her as soon as she was brought into see him.

"I miss you too." Emily assured him, pressing her hand against the glass, resting against the image of his. He was so close and yet so far away. "Are you okay? You look tired."

"Yeah, I'm okay." Daniel said and then made a face. "It's just like camp, only instead of people telling guest stories around a fire, they just kind of scream all night from their cells."

Emily winced. "I'll get you some earplugs."

"Don't bother." Daniel told her. "Someone might think I'm getting special treatment. I don't want to draw any more attention to myself. I'm already getting enough."

Emily knew exactly how he felt. She remembered what it was like to be in juvie and having to deal with the notoriety of being David Clarke's daughter. Of course, she couldn't share that part with Daniel, but she could give him a few tips.

"There are ways to stay safe," she counselled him, "Keep your head up; don't look down, but don't stare either. And don't gamble. You don't want to own anyone anything."

"You can take the girl out of juvie," Daniel joked.

Emily smiled. "Thank you for your letter," she said softly, "but you don't have to worry. I'm always going to be here by your side and so is your family."

As much she hated to even think anything nice about Victoria or Conrad, she couldn't fault their devotion to their son. Especially Victoria. Emily had a feeling that the other woman would do anything to make sure Daniel went free.

Daniel smiled ruefully. "Well at least one good thing has come out of this," he joked, "my fiancé and mother have finally found common ground."

Emily laughed despite herself. "More than you know." She told him, reaching into her purse. "But when I said your family, I wasn't talking about just or parents and Charlotte. I meant our baby too." She held the ultrasound image up for Daniel to see.

He blinked. "You're pregnant?"

"About 8 weeks along," Emily confirmed. "The baby is due at the end of April. I only found out yesterday. I've been so preoccupied that I didn't even realize I was late. I've barely been sleeping and only eating when Nolan forces me to."

Daniel seemed stunned by her news.

"If… If I get convicted, then I want you to promise me that you'll take the baby and go somewhere safe." Daniel told her quietly. "I don't want the baby growing up with a father who's in prison."

"That's not going to happen." Emily said sternly, putting the picture away. "You're going to beat these charges, I know it. We're going to make it through this and you and I will raise our baby together. I promise you that."