This story is different from my first story, Carolina Crush.

Still follows Emily and Paige, of course, because why wouldn't it? This is Paily for the generations.

Meet Emily Adams and Paige Stephens (Rosewood 1919) and later their great-great-great granddaughters, Emily Fields and Paige McCullers (Rosewood Present Day) who end up with an interesting geneology project. I have no idea why this story came to mind but I'm digging it. Posting first three chapters.

Chapter 1

Rosewood, PA~ 1919 (set one year after the end of WW1)

Emily Adams spent most of her school-aged years at a boarding school in Philadelphia. It was only an hour's train ride from there to her home in Rosewood. Her mother, Angela Adams, was a graduate from Chatsworth Preparatory as was her grandmother and so on through the generations. There was never any doubt that Emily would become the next Chatsworth alum.

That is until the "Great War." Emily didn't see what was so "great" about it. Her father and many other husbands, brothers, sons, and any other able-bodied man fought in a war, in a country, not of their own for years. Some made it back to be with their families. Many did not. The men who did make it back showed signs of distress, emotionally and physically. Such was the case for her father.

General Richard Adams was a well-respected man in the military and in Rosewood as a civilian. He did not relish the thought of war but he also would not back down when called upon. General Adams was not physically injured in the line of duty. No, his scars were below the surface. He was a great leader and was known as a strategic intellectual in battle. Still, he lost men, and over the years that took a toll on him. He wrote to the families of every soldier he lost in battle and tried to offer them a comfort he did not feel.

The only time General seemed to come out of the shadows of sadness was when Emily was home. And so the decision was easy for her; Emily wanted to be home with her father. She missed him terribly and knowing that her presence chased his clouds away meant that she needed to be with him. Emily was the pride and joy of her father. They were incredibly close. Richard's years in Europe were especially hard for Emily; she feared for him constantly.

Convincing Angela to agree to withdraw her only daughter from Chatsworth took all of Emily's debate skills. She joked to her father later, "Well, maybe I did learn SOMETHING while I was at Chatsworth." She would miss her friends Helen, Elizabeth, and Marie back in Philadelphia but she missed her father even more.

Emily was a well-liked girl. She was involved in school clubs, had a good social life, had a wonderful group of friends. If you didn't like Emily Adams something was wrong with you. She was funny, intelligent, strikingly beautiful, caring, witty...the list could go on. That said, she didn't feel like she had a lot in common with the other girls in her school. While they talked about boys from Penn Preparatory she seemed to zone out and become disinterested in the conversation. She rarely had much to add but did chime in when asked about a particular boy one of the other girls brought up. Her friend Thomas acted interested in beginning a courtship but she tried to hold him off. When she moved back to Rosewood it was easy to tell him that it couldn't work.

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It was two days before Emily would begin school at the local high school in Rosewood. She had one more year of school left then she could begin her own life. After seeing so many men come back from the war with terrible injuries and ailments, Emily decided she wanted to be a nurse. She had a full year to determine how she would break the news to her mother. Emily was expected to begin a courtship soon after school with a well-to-do man. Then she would marry and raise a family. That's what women of her social status did and it had been that way in her family for generations. But did it HAVE to be that way?

Emily was deep in thought considering this as she bumped into someone accidentally. "Oh, pardon me. I am sorry to have acted so carelessly," she said as she looked over to the person she bumped into. The girl was about her height, maybe a half inch shorter. She had auburn hair that was trimmed into a new type of stylish bob. It looked good on the girl. Emily desired a similar style but her mother forbade it.

"No bother," the girl said, giving Emily a look. "Do you need assistance with something? You appear a bit lost." Emily was in Stephens General Store purchasing supplies for school.

Emily could feel a slight blush coloring her cheeks. "No, thank you. Again, I am sorry to have so rudely bumped into you. It has been quite some time since I've been in here. I was trying to get my bearings."

"I didn't think you were from around here; otherwise I would recognize you," the girl explained.

"Oh, you misunderstand," Emily began. "I am from Rosewood though I've been away for a rather long time. I was attending Chatsworth and recently withdrew to come home and spend more time with my father, General Adams."

"Emily?," the auburn-haired girl questioned. "Are you Emily Adams? I apologize that I did not recognize you. I'm Paige…Paige Stephens."

"Oh goodness, Captain Stephens' daughter?," Emily responded a bit flustered. "Then your family owns this store. I feel such a fool now."

"Please, don't," Paige reassured her. "It has been a long time since we were children running around causing mischief together. Think nothing of it. How is your father doing these days?," Paige asked with concern in her voice.

"I suppose…you know, he has good and bad days. But he has been making wonderful improvements since I moved back home," Emily said. "I came home so I could be here with him. I think it will be some time before he fully recovers emotionally from the trauma of things that cannot be unseen. How is your father?" Emily asked, remembering to think of Paige's father.

"He is doing well, thank you," Paige said with a small smile. "All that remains now is a slight limp." Paige was eager to change the subject. "I meant what I said when I offered to help if you needed anything here."

"I do need a few items for school," Emily admitted. "I begin classes at Rosewood High in two days."

"A fellow Shark then. I am certain you will take the school by storm. Perhaps we will be in some classes together," Paige said in earnest.

"It would be nice to see a friendly face in the hallways," Emily said looking into Paige's eyes with a smile. "I am rather apprehensive about entering the public school system. Not to mention I have always gone to an all-girls school; this will be an adjustment."

"Certainly, I am sure going to an all-girls school would have its advantages, but I assure you, you will do just fine at Rosewood High," Paige said with a look in her eyes that Emily couldn't quite figure out. She was intrigued nonetheless.

"Well then, I will see you around, I hope?," Emily asked with an eagerness she couldn't cover.

"Yes, I will see you around, Emily. Until then," Paige said as she walked back through the store.