A/N: So this fic is based more on the books, but I'll probably include TV characters too (spoilers for the books up to #11) but where Courtney is actually alive after Real Ali thinks she killed her. It is set after the fire where Real Ali may or may not have died. Before the whole Jamaica thing. Feel free to ask if anything is confusing! One shot at this stage but I'd like to make it a multi-chapter if I have the time!

Where do we start now that you're back from the dead?

Emily looked at her watch, distractedly.

"Do you have to go?" her date asked, noticing.

Emily bit her lip; she didn't like being rude but she wasn't exactly having the best time, "Uh, I kinda do. I'm sorry, it's just I told my mum I'd help her with something."

Her date nodded, probably knowing it was an excuse, "Sure, I understand," she stood up and gave Emily an awkward hug, "We'll talk soon?"

"Yeah, soon," Emily mustered up a polite smile.

A few minutes later, Emily walked home slowly. She'd been on a few dates lately, on her friends' recommendations, but she just couldn't get her head into it. She was tired of trying to create chemistry that just didn't exist. She knew her friends just wanted her to be happy but right now, happy meant sleeping without the shadow of A aka Real Ali hanging over her head.

"Psst."

Emily stopped. She squinted her eyes as she looked around in the dark.

"Emily?"

Her blood ran cold. She knew that voice. She took steps backward still squinting through the dark. She gasped when the blonde girl appeared from behind a tree. Emily looked around desperately, the street was quiet.

"Ali…"

The blonde stepped closer, her hands raised in a show of peace, "No," she shook her head, "It's me, Courtney."

Emily shook her head, "Don't lie to anymore. I am so over your lies – "

"Emily, I swear. I'm not lying. I'm Courtney," the girl insisted, looking upset.

"Courtney's dead," Emily sniped back, "I'm not falling for your crap – "

"But I'm not," the girl claimed, "Ali thought she killed me but she was wrong. I've been here the whole time. I wanted to stop her, I swear but I knew you guys wouldn't believe me and I knew if she knew I was alive, she'd kill me."

Emily blinked, still suspicious, "How did you survive? She buried you… they found your body."

"They found bones and my clothes… my jewelry. I needed Ali to think I was dead. She's evil, Em, I was scared…"

The blonde's eyes misted over and Emily almost believed her.

"Prove it," she said quietly, "Prove your Courtney."

The petite blonde took a slow step forward, "I- I don't know how… she knew everything," her brow furrowed as she tried to think, "Just give me a second… what about the time you kissed me in the treehouse?"

"It was in your journal," Emily shot back, "Plus, I told the girls… plenty of people could know about that."

"Okay, okay," the girl thought, "I don't know if this will work, because I don't know everything that happened between you and Ali…" she stepped closer to Emily and pulled her into a nearby alleyway. She pulled her top up to expose a scar running all the way from the side of her left breast and down her ribcage, "When I was pretending to be Ali, I told you that Courtney did this. That was a lie. I did it to myself before I was ever put in the Preserve. You walked in when I was covering it up, remember? At that pool party? I told you not to tell anyone about it. I thought it showed weakness."

Emily's eyes traced over the scar as she bit her lip. She swallowed down a tight throat.

"Em?" the girl asked gently, "Please, you have to believe me – "

"Why now?" Emily asked, trying to wrap her head around what was happening.

The girl hesitated, "Because now she's gone. I was a coward," she looked at the ground, "I knew if she knew I was alive she'd kill me…and the truth is I really missed you. All of you but," she looked at Emily, "especially you."

Emily looked back into the blue eyes of the blonde, stepping forward cautiously. Flecks of green spotted the girls eyes.

"Courtney," Emily breathed, "It's really you."

"I knew if anyone was going to believe me, it would be you," Courtney smiled.

Emily ran a stressed hand through her hair, "You still have a lot to answer for."

Courtney hung her head, "I know. I do. You're right. I pretended to be Ali, you know all that but I really wanted to be your friend. I really did care about you. I know I could be a bitch but…" she shook her head, "Anyway, I'm not the one who tried to blackmail you or expose your secrets or kill you. Surely, I get some points for that?" she attempted a smile.

"I missed you too," Emily said quietly, "The real you. Or the… I don't know. The fake Ali. I just… I thought you were her and then I thought she was you and…"

Courtney took Emily's hand in her own, "I know," she said softly, "This has been hard on everyone but for you…" she shook her head, "I can't even imagine how confusing this is."

"She kissed me," Emily barely whispered, "And I thought…" she sighed in frustration at herself, "I thought… and then she took us to that house and the fire and she never cared at all…"

"But I did," Courtney said earnestly, "I did," she repeated softly.

Emily looked at their entwined hands, "I loved you," she choked out, "And no matter what I try, I can't get over it. Everybody tells me to but I just can't. I shouldn't have missed you or kept pining for you but I did."

"Em, I should have come back sooner. I should have helped you. I was just… so scared. She's my sister and she tried to kill me. You are all so much braver than I could ever be," she whispered, a tear running down her cheek.

Emily wiped the tear away, "You weren't well… you need help."

"I've been taking my pills," Courtney whispered, "I've been in Philly, seeing a doctor up there under a fake name… I'm feeling much better."

Emily bit her lip, "I don't know…what to believe is real with you and what's not. I wish you had just told me who you were."

"And that I'd had Ali shipped off to my room at a mental institution?" Courtney sighed, "I was pretending to be Ali… I knew what she was like, or I thought I did… but the most fake thing I did was with you, Emily. You kissed me and I rejected you. I told you I liked boys. I teased you about it. That was the hardest thing because I really, really liked the way you made me feel."

Emily was squeezing Courtney's hand tightly, without even being aware she was doing it.

Courtney's other hand wiped the tears from Emily's cheeks, "I'm sorry," she blinked her own tears away, "I'm truly, truly sorry," she kissed her friends' cheek, "I don't know much about love… but everything I do know is from your eyes. It was so different to the way everybody else in Rosewood looked at me as Ali…" she stopped, "Did you and Ali…real Ali… you said she kissed you…"

Emily sniffed and shrugged, "It was…heated. But if you're asking if we had a relationship, we didn't. And if you're asking if we had sex, we didn't. I loved her because I thought she was you but she was so… heartless. She built me up just to tear me down. She said she purposefully made me think that we had a happy ending… Right before she tried to kill me."

Courtney nodded, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Emily shrugged.

"I created her," Courtney whispered, "By having her sent to that place…"

Emily frowned, "We all have choices… just because something awful happens to us doesn't mean we have to react. There's always redemption and the Real Ali… she didn't have any redeeming features I ever saw."

"What about me?" Courtney asked quietly, "Do you think I can have redemption?"

Emily swallowed past the lump in her throat. She lurched forward and kissed Courtney's lips. Courtney's hand rest behind Emily's ear, pulling her closer.

"I think so," Emily murmured as they rest their foreheads against one another, only jolting apart when Emily's phone beeped. She pulled it out and for the second time, that night her blood ran cold. Silently, she handed it to Courtney.

So happy endings do happen after all. How sweet. Enjoy it while you can. – A.