Lin sighed out, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.  "How long as she been gone?"

"Half an hour," Sofia reported.  "We looked everywhere in the hotel for her."

"Put Lexi on the phone," Lin requested.  He pulled the phone away from his mouth for a moment and told Vanessa what was going on.  She sighed in frustration.

"Hello?" Lexi asked.

"Hi sweetheart," he said.  "What happened with your sister?"

Lexi walked into her room to have some privacy.  "They kept talking about coming to Italy and she started getting upset.  She told them she didn't want to go and then she stormed out."

"Any idea where she went?" He asked her.

"No.  She didn't say anything," Lexi answered.  "She just left."

"Okay," he said, running a hand through his hair.  "I'll try calling her.  Tell your grandparents to call me if they hear anything."

They hung up and Lin immediately called Emma's cell.  It went straight to voice mail.

"I think she turned her phone off," Lin commented to his wife.  "Where do you think she could've gone?"

"Maybe she's on her way back here," Vanessa suggested.

"Yeah, maybe," he said, picking up the car keys from the counter.  "I'm gonna go drive around a bit," he told her.  "Are you okay with the boys?"

"Of course," she told him.

___

Emma walked down the street, hoodie pulled down over her head.  It was starting to rain a little bit.  She was walking without a destination.  She'd already turned off her phone.  She didn't want Lin and Vanessa calling her, asking where she was.  Space was what she needed.

After walking around for a good 45 minutes, she found herself at Alex's apartment.  She wasn't really sure how she got there.  Emma definitely didn't want to go home right now, and Alex was the only other person in the city she knew and trusted.  She pressed the buzzer to his apartment and he answered.

"Hey, it's Emma," she said.  "Can I come in?"

"Sure!" The door unlocked and she walked in, keeping her head down.  She took the elevator up to the 22nd floor.  When she reached his apartment, her hoodie was partially soaked.  She kicked her shoes off and peeled her hoodie off her head.

"What's the matter?" he asked her, realizing she was upset.

"I don't wanna talk about it right now," she told him simply as she pulled her hair out of her ponytail.  Alex went to the kitchen and began to brew some coffee so she could warm up.  Emma took a seat on the couch, bringing her knees up to her chest.

A few minutes later, Alex came over and set two mugs on the coffee table.  Emma picked hers up gratefully, taking a few little sips.

"Do your parents know you're here?"

Emma shook her head.  "Where are your parents?"

"They're out for the evening," Alex said.  He was in some track pants and a t-shirt, obviously ready for a night of chilling out binging Netflix.  Alex picked up the remote, knowing she wasn't ready to talk yet.  He found something funny in his queue and they settled in together.

Emma wasn't really paying attention to the movie, but was grateful to have the distraction.  She just wanted to sit; just wanted to be.  As the credits rolled, she rested her head against Alex's shoulder.  He put his arm around her and gently stroked her head.

"You okay?" He whispered.

"I'll be fine," she said.  "I just couldn't stay there any longer."

"At home?"

"No, my grandparents are visiting from Italy.  We're supposed to be staying with them for the weekend.  They were talking about how great their town was and how we'd love it there.  I just couldn't take it any more.  They just show up and expect us to love them and trust them instantly."

"That's kinda crappy," Alex had to admit.  "Especially since you never see them."

Emma nodded, cuddling in a little closer.  "I'm not going with them, so I don't see the point in pretending.  I feel a little bad that Lexi is stuck with them alone."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Alex said.  "I'm just worried about you."

Emma turned her head, looking up at him.  "I'm glad you were home."

"Me too," he said, and they began kissing gently.

___

Lin drove around the streets of Manhattan, hoping Emma wouldn't have strayed too far.  He'd called Kelsey, but she hadn't heard from her friend either.  Lin asked her to call Emma, but she couldn't get through either.  Lin was getting frustrated that she had disappeared without telling anyone her plans, and that she'd turned off her phone.  She was 16, but she was still all alone in New York City and it was starting to get dark.

After driving around for quite a while, he decided to go to the police station.  He requested to report her missing, but the officers told her that couldn't be done until she'd been missing for 24 hours.  Lin didn't think she was in danger, but he was still worried.  The officer did put in a request for all officers on duty to keep an eye out for Emma.  Lin gave them a description and told them the clothes she'd last been wearing.  He headed home, not sure what else to do.

Vanessa had since put the boys to bed when her husband arrived home, looking dejected.

"Nothing?" She asked him.

"Nope," he set the keys on the counter.  "I stopped by the police station.  They put out a bulletin to look out for her."

"That's good," she said.  "I was thinking – the only other person she's really close to in the city is Alex.  You don't have his number, do you?"

Lin shook his head.  "I don't even know his last name."

"Damn," Vanessa commented as she stood up from the couch.  She set her wine glass down and wrapped her arms around her husband.  "Let's try not to worry.  She probably just needs some space.  I'm sure she's with Alex and she's safe."

"I can't believe she just took off without telling anyone," Lin shook his head.  "And why the hell did she turn her phone off?"

Vanessa gave her husband a kiss and rubbed his arms.  "Let's come sit and have some wine.  We'll try calling her again in a little bit."

Lin reluctantly agreed, joining his wife on the couch to watch some mindless television.  He kept watching his phone, hoping for a call or a text message, but it stayed silent.

___

Back at Alex's house, the kissing had turned more physical.  Alex had since stripped Emma's shirt off, letting his hands roam over her bare skin.  She began to lay down on the couch, pulling him on top of her.  Alex felt his body reacting, and pulled away for a moment.

"Em," he stopped her.  "Maybe we should slow down."

She responded by pulling his head down to her and kissing him passionately.  "Why?"

"You're upset," he pointed out.  "I don't want to take advantage of you."

"You're not," she told him.  "We've done this before," she pointed out.  "We've done everything but go all the way, and your parents are out for the night."

Alex sighed.  He wanted her; he really did, but he didn't want Emma's emotions clouding her judgement. Emma grinded herself up against him and nipped at his ear, trying to egg him on.  Alex decided to give in.  She wasn't drunk, and she was right – they'd done everything but had sex.  Alex stood up, and took her hand. 

"Come on," he said.  "Let's go to my bedroom."

___

Lin and Vanessa had a pretty sleepless night.  They both woke up constantly, checking their phones and checking Emma's bedroom to see if she tried to sneak in through the window.  All night, her phone went straight to voicemail.  They had nothing to do but wait until Emma was ready to contact them.

Giving up on sleep, they both rose shortly after 7, before the boys were even up.  Vanessa started the coffee maker, knowing they'd need a lot today.  Lin wandered in, still in his pajamas.

"I'm thinking I'll probably go drive around some more," he told his wife.  "Maybe she'll be out and about this morning."

Vanessa agreed as she got out two extra large mugs.  "Hopefully she calls."

It was the hardest thing they had to do; sit and wait for their missing daughter to call.

___

Emma yawned and rolled over in bed, Alex laying next to her.  She smiled as she let her finger trace some shapes on his bare chest.

"Good morning," she said.  Alex smirked and rolled over on his side, then give Emma a quick kiss.

"Hey, beautiful," he said.

"What do you want to do today?"

Alex looked at his watch.  "Well, my parents are coming home by noon, so it's probably best if you head out before then."

Emma nodded in agreement, but wondered what she would do next.  She sighed out, knowing she needed to check her phone and check in with her parents.  Emma powered her phone up, and her phone started buzzing with notifications.  Tons of calls, voice mails, and text messages from Lin and Vanessa.

"Shit," she said, scrolling through the texts.

"What?" Alex asked as he pulled a shirt over his head.

"Lin and Vanessa are going ballistic," she told him.  "I have a thousand messages."

"Can't really blame them," Alex said as he headed to the bathroom.  Emma decided she wasn't ready to deal with talking to them next, so she put the phone back on the bedside table and rolled onto her back, snuggling up in the covers again.

As Alex took a shower, she thought back to the night before.  It was so nice to be able to be with Alex alone.  It sucked that since they were teenagers, they didn't often get the chance.  When she got to college, she'd have more freedom.  Emma let her mind wander, wondering if they'd go to the same college, or if they'd even still be together at that point.

As Alex's shower ended, Emma reluctantly pushed herself out of bed for her turn.  She hated putting on the same clothes from yesterday, but she didn't have a choice.  They had a lazy breakfast, sipping coffee as they hung out and watched TV.  As 11:00 neared, Emma knew she needed to go home.  Reluctantly, she got her shoes on.  Alex decided to walk her home.

The young couple walked the 10 or so blocks back to Emma's apartment, and they stopped in front of the main entrance.

"Want me to come up with you?" Alex offered as they held hands.

"No," Emma said.  "I don't want them to blame you for anything."

Alex nodded and leaned in for a kiss.  Emma put in the building code and then reluctantly took the elevator up to her apartment.  At least she would be home, and not with her grandparents.

Emma sighed as she reached the door, trying to prepare herself.  She knew Lin and Vanessa wouldn't be happy with her.  She put the key in the door and opened it.

Lin and Vanessa both stood up from the couch, relieved to see Emma.  They both rushed over to her and enveloped her in a hug.  Vanessa took her head in her hands, looking into her face.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" She asked, stroking her cheek with her thumb.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Emma said quietly.

Immediately, her relief turned into anger and her hands went to her hips.  "Where have you been and why did you turn off your phone?"

Emma set her purse down and kicked off her shoes.  "I was safe, don't worry.  I didn't spend the night on the street."

"Where did you spend it?" Lin asked, his arms crossed.

"That's private," she said, heading to the refrigerator to get a drink.

"No, it's not," Lin told her.  "Were you with Alex?"

Emma sighed and poured herself some orange juice.  "So what if I was?"

"Were his parents there?" Vanessa asked.

"Yes," she lied.

"Regardless," Lin cut in.  "It was really irresponsible of you to not let anyone know where you were."

"I needed some space and I knew you guys would be all over me," she reasoned.

"We're your parents.  We want to know where our daughter is," Lin told her.

"You're not my parents!" she raised her voice, getting frustrated.  "Remember?  There are two creepy old people who want to take me away? How could we forget?"

Lin took some deep breaths to calm himself, and Vanessa rubbed his arm to calm him down.  "Emma, you owe your grandparents a phone call and an apology," she told her.

"I don't want to talk to them!" she said, slamming her empty cup down.  "I'm done with them."

"You put us all through hell, Emma," Lin told her.  "Do you know how badly they feel that you ran away from them?"

"Good!" she quipped.  "They should feel bad," as she stormed off towards her bedroom.  Lin was about to go after her, but Vanessa grabbed his upper arm.

"Give her some space," Vanessa told him.

"She's had enough space," Lin retorted, but hung back.

"We'll talk again in a little while when we've all calmed down," she reasoned.

___

Alexis was enjoying a lot of quality time with her grandparents.  It was early afternoon and they were now at her second softball game of the day.  They'd had a morning game at 10 a.m., and again at 2:30.  Despite not knowing the game or the rules, they cheered at the appropriate times and genuinely enjoyed watching their granddaughter doing what she loved.  Afterwards, they took her out for ice cream.

During the game, Lin had called Sofia to let them know Emma was back safe.  He didn't go into any details, but that was all that mattered.  The Romanos were relieved.  They were pretty sure there was no chance of Emma wanting to move to Italy with them, but they still had hope with Alexis.

As they cooled off with ice cream, Sofia again brought up the subject of Italy.

"So, have you thought anymore about Italy?" She asked her granddaughter.

Lexi shrugged.  "I don't know," she said.  "It would be hard to learn a new language and leave everyone I know.  What about visiting during the summers?"

Sofia and Lorenzo looked at each other.  "That's a possibility," she said.  "But we'd still like you to consider moving there permanently."

Lexi licked her ice cream a few times.  "What about Emma?  I don't think she wants to come."

"That's her choice," Sofia said.  "We won't force her."

"But...I don't want to be separated.  She's my sister."

"This is true," Sofia admitted.  "There is much to think about."

Lexi wasn't sure how this puzzle would be solved.  She didn't think she could ever leave her sister.  Emma was the only blood relative she had left.  She couldn't do this on her own.  Lexi knew in her gut this arrangement just wasn't going to work out.

___

A while later, Vanessa knocked on Emma's bedroom door.  Lin was still pretty upset, so they thought it was best if Vanessa went in on her own.  She had calming music quietly playing as she wrote in her notebook.

"Can we talk?" Vanessa asked, sitting on the bed.

Emma shrugged, "Sure," she sighed and crossed her arms, obviously still defensive.

"Look," she began.  "Obviously it's not going to work out with your grandparents.  But don't you think there was a better way you could have handled this?"

"You weren't there, Vanessa," Emma said.  "They had folders with color photos and they were trying to tell us how wonderful our lives would be in Italy.  It was creepy."

"But to run off and not let anyone where you were..."

"I'm 16, Vanessa," she reminded her.  "I'm not a child.  I can take care of myself."

"You are still a child, Emma," she reminded her.  "And you live in New York City, which can be dangerous if you're a teenager on her own.  Lin and I were worried sick."

Emma sighed, knowing she wasn't going to win this argument.  "Fine.  I'm sorry," she said disingenuously. 

"That's very convincing," Vanessa sighed.

"I don't know what you two want me to say," she said.  "They put me in a situation I didn't want to be in in the first place and then they went overboard.  You would have reacted the same way if you were me."

Vanessa sighed and stood up, not seeing the point in continuing.  "I would have called," she said simply.  "Dinner will be ready in an hour."

Emma let herself fall backwards on her bed.  She felt badly that she'd worried the Mirandas but it seemed like no one cared what she wanted.  Since she was a kid, she had to do what the adults wanted.  She had to jump through their hoops and she was tired of it.

Lin left a little while later to pick Lexi up from the Romanos' hotel.  She was definitely glad to see him, but talked excitedly on the way back about their time together.

"How'd your softball games go?" Lin asked.

"They went well," she said.  "We won both games."

"Nice," he commented.  "Listen, Em's still pretty upset about what happened, so tread lightly," he warned her.

"She was a tad overdramatic," Lexi commented.

"Who, Emma?" Lin joked.  They were starting to get used to her passionate, stubborn ways.  Really, he wasn't surprised that things had unfolded the way they had.

Lin and Alexis arrived home just as Vanessa was finishing dinner.  Lin wrangled Sebastian into his seat for dinner and asked Lexi to go get her sister.  They all sat down together, and everyone could sense the tension.  Emma was unapologetic for the way she'd acted, and her parents were frustrated.  The meal was eaten mostly silently, though Lexi was eager to talk.

As dinner wrapped up, Lin told Emma to do the dishes.  The teenager sighed but didn't argue.  She knew she'd be on thin ice for the next few days.  Emma did the dishes without complaining then disappeared into her bedroom to do homework.

When Emma had finished off her homework, she ventured out into the kitchen to get a glass of a water and a quick snack.  Lin was working on his computer at the kitchen table.  He felt quite a bit calmer now, so he thought it might be a good time to chat.

"Come sit, Em," he asked her, closing his laptop.

Emma sighed and brought her snack and water to the table, waiting for him to begin.

"This situation sucks," he admitted.  "I know it does.  But can you be a little more...civil?"

"Why?"

"Because they're family," Lin said.

"Not really," she crunched up a cracker.

"You need to put your ego aside and find the time to call them in the next couple days," Lin told her.  "You owe them that.  Politely explain that you're grateful they're offering their home to you, but you'd like to stay with us."

"I'm tired of adults thinking I owe them something," Emma admitted.  "I've known this is how I felt from the beginning, but I've had to play along.  I'm tired of it."

"I know it sucks," Lin reminded her.  "But your parents raised you better than to just blow them off.  And Vanessa and I expect more of you."

Emma hated him for bringing up her parents. That was a low blow, and he knew it was the way to get to her.  "I can't believe you just played the dead parent card."

"It's a good one," he admitted, sitting back in satisfaction.

She smirked, in spite of herself.

"So, do I have your word that you'll call them?" Lin asked.

Emma looked away, her arms crossed.  "I'll think about it."

Lin guessed that was about as good as he could get right now.  "Alright, get an early night sleep tonight.  It's been a crazy weekend."

For once, she agreed.  Emma went straight to the bathroom to brush her teeth and crawl into bed at 9 p.m.

___

The next morning, Lin got a phone call from his lawyer.  He'd heard about the mess with Emma, and thought it would probably work in their favor.  If Emma openly expressed how much she was against the move in court, the court would definitely listen.

"The Romanos' interview is set for Wednesday afternoon, and they'd like to talk with the girls that evening.  Would it work with your plans to have them come over around 5:00?"

"Yeah, that should work," Lin said.  "I'll prep the kids.  Will it be the same questions?"

"Pretty much," the lawyer said.

When the girls got home from school that evening, Lin decided to rip off the band-aid quickly, so to say.

"The adoption people are coming Wednesday at 5," he told them.  "They're going to talk to you about the Romanos."

Both girls took the news okay; they'd known it was coming.  It was just another hassle they needed to deal with.

"It should be the same questions you got with us," he continued.  "Well, not that you know everything about what living with them would be like."

"Don't the adoption people have to, like, visit the home and stuff?" Emma asked.

Lin nodded.  "I think they're taking care of that in Italy and reporting back to the U.S."

Emma was ready to get it over with and move on from this part of her life.  It was an annoying hiccup in her life; one that wasn't needed.

___

On Wednesday night, Emma and Alexis made sure they were presentable and hung around in the living room, ready for the interview to get under way.  This time, they'd be interviewed separately.  At 5:00 sharp, the doorbell rang and Lin answered the door.  He welcomed them inside and introduced them to Lexi and Emma.  Lin made himself scarce as the workers divided themselves up.  It was two women this time.

At the kitchen table, Emma tried to cut through the red tape.

"Listen," she began before the worker could even ask a question.  "Can we just make this easy?  I don't want to go to Italy.  I have zero interest in living with the Romanos."

The woman nodded and scribbled something in her notebook.  "Duly noted," she said, "But there's still a list of questions we'll need to go through."

"Why?" The teenager challenged.

"Because that's the way it works," she said evasively.  "What do you know about the Romano's lifestyle?"

"That they live far, far away in Italy and drink lots of wine and eat lots of pasta," she deadpanned, not in the mood for the questions.  "And they want to take me away from everything I know."

"Fair enough," she said.  "Have they talked to you about how school works over there?"

"Not really," she admitted.  "I assume I'd go to some regular school, which wouldn't be nearly as good as the one I'm at here.  I'm at a performing arts school where I get to work on ballet.  I'm guessing that's not really an option over there."

"How would you feel if your younger sister expressed interest in living in Italy?  Would you go for her sake?"

Emma huffed out.  "I've had enough of having to do what adults think I need to do.  I'm staying here.  Lexi can do what she wants, but I don't think she's interested either.  She hates Italian food."

The worker raced through her list of questions, skipping over a few that didn't apply.  The interview still lasted a good half hour, and Emma was relieved it was over.  She headed straight to her room to decompress.  A few minutes later, she heard Francisco wailing from the room down the hall.  When it didn't stop after a reasonable amount of time, she decided to go check on him.

The boy was now able to sit up on his own in his crib.  He looked pitiful, sitting there with his hands clutching the bars.  Emma smiled as she walked over and picked him up.  His crying lessened as she bounced him around a little bit.  Emma knew the routine – she took him to the changing table and got him a fresh diaper, then went to the kitchen to get him a bottle.

After heating up the milk, she took him over to the recliner, getting comfy.  She held the bottle in place as the baby drank hungrily.  As he ate,  Vanessa walked in, dressed in a skirt and nice blouse as usual.

"Thank you, Emma," she commented.  "Are the adoption people still here?"

"Yeah, I think they're both with Alexis downstairs," she said.  "My interview didn't take very long."

Vanessa rolled her eyes, not surprised.  "Have you called the Romanos yet?"

"No," Emma said.

Vanessa decided not to push it anymore for the moment.  "Where's my husband?"

"I think he's playing with Sebastian in his room."

Vanessa poked her head in and told her husband it was safe to come out upstairs.  He and Sebastian came out a few moments later so they could all spend time together in the living room.  Francisco finished off his bottle, and Emma cuddled him to her chest, patting his back.  It was amazing at how much of a pro she was already.  Emma was so good at jumping in and helping with Sebastian and Francisco.

A few minutes later, Alexis and the two adoption agency workers came up the stairs.  Lexi looked relieved and happily joined Sebastian playing on the floor.  Lin and Vanessa walked the workers to the front door, shaking their hands and thanking them for their time.

They were enjoying some family time when there was a knock at the front door.  Vanessa opened the door to reveal Sofia and Lorenzo.

"Sofia...Lorenzo...hi," she said in confusion.

"Sorry to disturb," Sofia said.  "We are hoping we can talk to Emma."