Just Know You're Not Alone

by captainpezberry

Paige McCullers is returning to Rosewood. Who knew that her return would shake everything up and that nothing would be the same after that. (Totally AU, probably.) Rated M for language and the fact they talk about murder and the potential for things getting dirty because who knows right?

1. Friday

A/N: I started writing this after 7x05 when Noel returned at the end of the episode. I am in no way privvy to any inside information about what is going to happen in the show. I have not read spoilers or anything else. All I know is Paige McCullers is coming back so I wanted to write her return my way before it really happened. Anything in the story that pertains to the A.D. storyline and any other characters is simply just made up from my own mind. Please don't take this as a serious look into the future of the show and, if you're reading this after everything has aired, I know that unless I'm suddenly pychic it is completely AU. Now, enjoy!

"Okay people, let's make this quick. Listen up!" Ashley Marin called out, clapping a few times to gain the attention of the room full of employees she stood in front of in the smallest conference room The Radley had to offer. "As you all know, or should by now at least, this weekend is the biggest event we have seen in the history of The Radley since it's conversion into a hotel. Every room is booked solid all weekend long and the majority of them are paying top dollar. So everyone needs to be sharp. Everything needs to be done quickly, efficiently, and with a smile on your face. These are people I know, people who know me and what I have been through, so I would personally like to see a few of them put in their places." She let herself smirk for just a moment at the last of her comment.

A hand went up and when Ashley motioned for the owner to speak, one of the newer girls on staff spoke up "What exactly is going on, again?"

Ashley gave a nod and looked at her, then the rest of the room, before answering "It is a wedding anniversary and family reunion all rolled into one. This family spent a large part of their lives in Rosewood before moving away and they've decided to come back to celebrate and bring the entire clan with them this time. So, everyone, be on your best behavior. Any problems, report directly to me as soon as humanly possible. Got it?"

As the staff nodded in unison, Ashley smiled. She drew in a deep breath then waved her hands for everyone to move out of the room and on their way. As the room slowly emptied, Ashley turned her back to everyone, closed her eyes, and let out a slow breath. She remembered how everyone treated her after things with Hanna's father and herself didn't pan out. This family with their religious background were particularly judgmental toward her. She was both nervous and excited for this weekend. She hoped that even though they had been married for so long they could see that divorce wasn't the end of a woman.

Ashley moved out of the conference room a few moments later and toward the bar where Emily was finishing up her shift. Even when a staff meeting is called, not all staff members can attend because a hotel was always full of guests needing things. So now Ashley had the joy of tracking everyone down and reminding them how important this weekend was individually. Emily, of course, was the most important of them all in her eyes considering the past she held with this particular family.

"Emily?" Ashley said softly, waiting until Emily looked up from what she was doing before giving her a smile. "A word?"

Emily's brow creased in concern as she set the towel she had been using to clean down and moved toward the end of the bar where Ashley stood. She smoothed a hand over her white pressed button up and the suspenders she wore as uniform in a nervous habit before settling it on top of the bar casually "Is everything alright, Ms. Marin?"

"Please" Ashley let out a soft laugh "We've known each other how long? Call me Ashley."

Emily blushed softly and shrugged her shoulders "You are my boss. It's a sign of respect, Ms. Marin."

Ashley held a warm, fond smile for the girl that had been her daughter's best friend for so many years and nodded "Fair enough. So long as you call me Ashley whenever you're not on my clock."

"Deal" Emily gave her a bright smile. She then quickly remembered she had been asked for a word, by her boss, and her smile faded. "You wanted a word?"

"Oh, right" Ashley's smile held but faded just slightly. She glanced around before reaching out to place a hand lightly against Emily's where it was resting on the bar top. "I'm not sure if you've heard what is happening this weekend..."

Emily nodded "Big event. Anniversary and reunion sort of thing, right?"

Ashley gave one nod "Yes, exactly. Are you going to be okay with that?"

Emily gave her a confused perk of an eyebrow and a slightly amused smile "I think I can handle a bunch of people who would rather drink than spend time with their extended family."

Ashley's face fell into a bit of a concerned look and she tilted her head to the side "You haven't heard whose family it is?"

Emily's face fell now too. Her head immediately whirled with a million possibilities. Of the hundreds of people who had come and gone through Rosewood over the years, the myriad of family members that could cause concern from Ashley were nearly endless. Before Emily could ask, though, a familiar voice came from behind her.

"Nice suspenders."

Emily's heart jumped into her throat, punched her tonsils, then body slammed back into her chest. Her eyes went wide and she froze on the spot. Of all the ghost in her past, this was the last one she expected to come back for a haunting. She wasn't sure how long she had stood frozen but eventually she somehow managed to regain control of her body and slowly turn around toward the voice. When her eyes fell upon the face of the metaphorical ghost, she almost couldn't believe it. It was as if the voice had somehow been a prank but the face made it real. She gave her head a shake and her shocked look fell into a smile without her even realizing it "Paige?"

Paige McCullers, in that suave little way about her, lifted the corner of her lip into a smirk and gave a single nod "Surprise?"

Emily let out a laugh, nodding just once as the shock and horror of a split second ago faded and was filled with that thing that only Paige gave her. Relief. Light. Weightlessness. "Surprise is an understatement."

Paige laughed now too. Hearing Emily's laugh was like a breath of fresh air and all nervousness she had been building about this trip back home suddenly faded. "Trust me, I was just as surprised as you are when my folks said we were coming back here this year."

Emily nodded, unable to keep her eyes off of the pleasant blast from the past. She lifted her hand to motion for Paige to hold on just a moment "I was literally about to clock out. Hold on like two minutes and I'll be done here."

Paige gave a nod, unable to wipe the smile from her lips now. "My timing has gotten so much better over the years."

Emily let out a laugh, shaking her head in amusement as she headed toward the computer where she would clock out from her shift. "Have a seat?" She motioned toward the chairs in the lobby of the hotel in front of the bar. "I'll be right back."

"Take your time" Paige said with a shrug as her hands tucked into the pockets of the slacks she wore. She didn't move until Emily disappeared into the back where, presumably, she had all of her belongings that she stored there during her shift. Once Emily was out of sight, Paige let out a happy sigh and moved to take a seat in one of the overly plush chairs. She had been terrified of seeing Emily. She had also known it was an inevitability so she had plucked up the courage to just come say hi and get the awkwardness over with. Surprisingly enough, it had been anything but awkward. So far. They did still have an entire weekend of running into each other to make things awkward.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"Wow, thirty years?" Emily shook her head in disbelief and let out a very soft laugh. "I can't even imagine that."

"I know, right?" Paige grinned at the girl sitting on the plush chair next to her own. They hadn't even made it out of The Radley. Emily had clocked out, grabbed her things, and joined Paige in the chairs in the lobby of the hotel and they had started chatting. "I mean I haven't even been alive for that long. It seems like a lifetime."

"Quite literally" Emily nodded, giggling softly. "What I don't understand is why they would come back here? I mean, it's been thirty years why not go crazy and go to Paris or something?"

Paige rolled her eyes as she answered the question, one she had posed to her parents already "They said they built their lives here and wanted to come back to where it all began, so to speak. They met here, they fell in love here, they got married here." She shrugged slightly and waved a hand to the side "Plus a lot of the family is still in this general area so they thought they would make it easy for everyone to get together. I, personally, think they wanted to be the center of attention and this was the easiest way to do so."

Emily let out a soft laugh at that and nodded "Yeah, that kind of sounds exactly like them."

"Right?" Paige laughed softly. "So, you know, why not just have the entire McCullers group come and take over for a while."

"So everyone is staying here?" Emily perked an eyebrow at that, glancing around the lobby. That is when she realized there were tons of people lingering around and that a good portion of those people were probably Paige's relatives. She looked back over at Paige and shrugged "Did your parents sell the house?"

Paige gave a single nod and her smile faded for the first time since seeing Emily behind the bar. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly "Yeah. About two years ago they made the decision that California was now home so they finally sold the house as a way of cutting the final ties to Rosewood, I guess?"

Emily shook her head, her brows creasing together with a bit of sadness behind them "But why? I thought California was, you know, a temporary solution for all of the..." She faded off, glancing around again before shaking her head. She looked back at Paige and shrugged "Rosewood is fairly safe now. Plus, you're an adult now."

"I also don't live in California with them anymore" Paige said with a shrug. When she saw the surprised look on Emily's face, she shrugged "I couldn't stay. It never felt like home to me, even throughout all of college."

Emily gave a soft nod. She recalled when she had run into Paige a couple years ago in California and wondered now what she had been doing there. She didn't get to ask though. She opened her mouth to ask but was cut off.

"Em! There you are!" Spencer rushed over, looking a little wide eyed and panicked. She stared down at her and drew in a deep breath before giving an exasperated shrug "We have been calling you!"

"I'm sorry" Emily turned around in her chair, sitting up straight now and shaking her head. "I lost track of time and-"

"What in the world have you been doing? You got off an hour ago and we need to-" Spencer's eyes lifted from glaring at Emily as she scolded her and landed on Paige. Her words stopped dead on her lips. A very soft smile lifted on the corner of her lip and she tilted her head to the side "Paige?"

Paige bit at her lower lip and she lifted her hand in a weak little wave "Hi, Spencer."

"What are you doing here?"

Paige motioned around the hotel lobby where they sat and shrugged slightly "Call me crazy..." She paused to let her pun soak in, since Radley had once been a sanatorium, but quickly realized it had been out of line and continued on in a quick mumble "I had some family stuff come up."

Spencer gave one nod, one eyebrow seemingly stapled high on her forehead in an arch, and let out a soft huff of a laugh "Well, it's nice to see you." Her eyes dropped from Paige and looked down to Emily now and gave her head a shake "Sorry to interrupt but..." She pointed at her watch and her eyes got wide as she silently tried to remind Emily they had somewhere else to be "Appointment?"

Emily nodded and quickly stood from the chair where she had been sitting. She slid her purse strap over her shoulder and turned to look back at Paige "I'm so sorry, I have to go. But we will catch up this weekend, okay? I mean, I work here so I can't really avoid seeing you even if I tried." She let out a laugh then quickly realized that could have been taken the wrong way and shook her head "Not that I would try."

Paige nodded and let out a soft laugh as she stood from the chair too "Don't worry, even if you did try I wouldn't make it easy to avoid me, alright?" She hit Emily with her signature smirk and shrugged just one shoulder "I'll catch up with you later, Em." Her eyes shifted and she looked at Spencer over Emily's shoulder, giving her another wave "It was good to see you again. Maybe we can all get together sometime this weekend?"

"Sure" Spencer nodded but looked back at Emily and motioned toward the door "The girls are outside. Let's go."

"Bye" Emily offered another wave to Paige before she was tugged by her arm toward the door by Spencer. She nearly tripped over her feet and let out a huff when she finally righted herself to face the door "Spencer, jeez. You nearly pulled my bones out of my skin."

"We're late, Emily." Spencer grumbled softly. "Jenna isn't going to wait for.." She used air quotes around the name "Archer" as she spoke it "forever. We need to catch her now before they have time to hide everything."

"I know" Emily grumbled as they hit the curb where Hanna and Aria were sitting waiting in the car. She was finally released by Spencer and got the chance to smooth herself out and compose herself. As she shifted her purse, she realized she didn't have her phone. She looked up at the girls, Spencer having already gotten into the car, and held up her finger "My phone. I'll be right back."

"Oh my god" Spencer rolled her eyes and folded her arms as she fell back against the seat. She was already annoyed that they were so behind schedule.

Emily turned and jogged back into the hotel only to be greeted right at the door by Paige. Her eyes went wide as she saw the phone in Paige's hand and she smiled very softly at the fact that Paige had been willing to chase her out to make sure she had her phone "Thank you. If I had forgotten it I wouldn't haven heard the last of it from Spencer."

Paige's brows knitted together into a frown and she let out a sigh "Is everything okay, Em?"

"Yeah" Emily lied poorly as she took the phone from Paige's hand.

Paige folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. She wouldn't push Emily. She knew her well enough and had been through enough with her to know that if Emily thought she needed help she would ask. Until then, she would just stand by and watch over her when she could. "I'm here for you if you need me, okay?"

"Always the hero" Emily mumbled softly as she turned to leave. "Bye, Paige."

Paige bit the insides of her cheeks to hold back a frown. She was going to pretend she hadn't heard Emily's snide remark. She just watched Emily jog back down to the car and get in. As the car drove away, Paige shook her head and let out a heavy sigh. She knew the four of them well enough to know that something was up. She was going to make sure they didn't get into more trouble than they obviously already were in. As well as she knew Emily, she had grown to know her friends too and she knew they were up to their old ways. It was funny how going back to your childhood home could throw you back into a time warp of childlike behaviors.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"But why would Jenna pretend that Archer is still alive if she knew otherwise?" Aria asked with a shrug of her shoulders. The four girls had gone to their so called appointment and were now gathered in Lucas' loft to go over everything that had happened.

"It's the same game A and uber A and A.D. and Red Coat and whoever else we've faced over the years likes to play. Let's play dumb until the girls shoot themselves in the foot" Spencer rolled her eyes as she lifted the glass of wine to her lips.

"It doesn't add up" Hanna shook her head with a sigh. "It would be so easy to get whatever she's after if she just turned us in. She obviously has enough evidence against us. Her over confidence in her texts tells us that."

"But what does she want?" Aria asked with a shrug. "None of this makes any sense."

A soft knock came to the loft door just then and all of the girls looked at each other with wide, panic filled eyes before looking at the door. They all stared at it as if looking hard enough would allow it to become see through and reveal who was on the other side. None of them were expecting anyone and if it were Lucas he would just walk in considering it was his loft, after all.

Finally, after what seemed like a day but was only a few seconds, Aria got up off the couch and headed to the door.

"Aria, wait" Spencer sat up quickly.

"What?" Aria said with a shrug. "Who could it possibly be? If it's the cops, not answering will look suspicious."

Spencer nodded at the logic in that. They did still have to act as normal as possible, especially if it were the police. She motioned for Aria to go ahead.

As Aria reached for the door, all of the girls sat up a little more straight on the couches. Their eyes were glued to the door. Emily reached over and grabbed a hold of Hanna's sleeve, her heart racing in her throat. She had really missed the days where a text or a knock on a door didn't send her into a near coronary.

Aria slid the door open and stepped back in surprise. She stared at the visitor on the other side of the door before letting out a relieved laugh "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry to intrude. I just really needed to talk to Emily for a moment if possible?"

"Paige?" Emily let go of Hanna and immediately stood from the couch. Spencer and Hanna both looked at Emily, fighting off smirks, as relief filled their faces as well.

"I'm so sorry" Paige looked immediately apologetic as she stepped into the doorway now. She bit her lower lip and pushed her hands into the pockets of the light leather jacket she wore. "Did I interrupt something..." She looked around the loft at all four of the girls staring at her and frowned "...important?"

"Nope. Just a girls' night in" Hanna said quickly, giving Paige a wide grin. "But you can borrow Em for some girl time."

Emily rolled her eyes and looked back at Hanna. She gave her a silent scolding by scowling at her before turning back to Paige. She walked over to the door and put her hand against Paige's arm. "Let's just step into the hallway?"

Paige nodded quickly and as they moved out of the door and into the hall, she gave a shy wave to the remaining girls in the loft.

Once they were in the hallway, Emily pulled the door closed and she looked at Paige softly, but with a bit of annoyed curiosity behind her eyes "How did you know I was here?"

"I asked Hanna's mom. I'm so sorry" Paige apologized, again. "I honestly didn't want to be a bother but I had something I really needed to ask you." She bit at her lip nervously, glancing back behind Emily to the closed door of the loft before shrugging and letting out a sigh "You know what, forget it. I feel bad I broke up whatever was going on in there."

"It's fine" Emily said softly, her hand reaching out to lay against Paige's arm. She offered her a very genuine, gentle smile and gave her a nod "To be honest I kind of needed a break from what's going on in there."

Paige frowned slightly. Emily looked tired. She didn't look tired in the way that someone looks when they've just had a long day or didn't sleep much the night before. She looked exhausted. She looked like every fiber in her being was being used and abused and hadn't been given any relief. She looked tired in the way she used to look tired whenever A had been up to something in high school. Her hand moved now and she lightly lifted it to take hold of the one that Emily had placed against her arm "Is everything okay, Em?"

"Stop asking me that" Emily grumbled and pulled her hand away from Paige. It wasn't a fierce tug, it didn't even hold much strength, but it slipped away from her either way.

"Why?" Paige shrugged and gave her head a shake. "What are you so afraid to tell me?"

Emily drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She shook her head a few times then dropped her eyes away from Paige to her feet "I don't want to have to lie to you. I don't want to ruin your trip back home to celebrate your parents. I don't want you to worry."

Paige's frowned turned into a soft, caring smile and she lifted her hand to rest it against Emily's shoulder "You know how great I am at worrying, though."

Emily couldn't help but let out a soft breath of a laugh. Her eyes lifted from her feet back to Paige's face. When she saw the soft, caring look on her face, the one she liked to pretend was reserved only for her, she smiled "But you shouldn't have to worry about me anymore."

Paige shrugged and gave her hand a wave to the side as if batting away Emily's concern for her "I like to worry about you. It's my favorite hobby."

"Oh jeez" Emily rolled her eyes and gave Paige's shoulder a light shove "Good to see you're still as cheesy as ever."

Paige let out a laugh and lifted her hands up as if she were surrendering. "You caught me" She said with a grin which she held for just a moment before dropping her hands and her smile. Her brows once more knitted in concern and her voice lowered again "But, really, Em you know you can talk to me."

Emily drew in a deep breath again. She hated everything that was happening. She hated that she had gotten sucked into a whirlwind of insanity within just moments of returning to Rosewood. She hated that the peaceful life she had lived for five years was gone again so quickly. Mostly, she hated that here Paige was, concerned for her within two seconds of them running into one another when she should be happy and focused on her family. Her head shook and her eyes shifted down to her feet again "Paige, I-"

"Look" Paige interrupted, her hands lifting now to lightly grab hold of Emily on each of her shoulders. It wasn't a hard grip, but enough to draw Emily's attention back to her so she would listen and know she meant what she was about to say "You're worried about lying to me? You already have. You're worried my trip will be ruined?" She smiled softly at that and shook her head "My parents weren't the reason I decided to come." She bit her lip nervously at that but continued on "And you're worried I'll worry? Em, something is up with you so I'm already worried. So, please, talk to me."

Emily shuttered. She physically trembled in Paige's hands at the words she spoke with such conviction. She had no idea how, or why, but Paige had always had the ability to swoop in right when she needed her most and put her at ease. It was like a super power she possessed and Emily hadn't realized how much she had missed it, or needed it, until that moment.

Before Emily could say anything, though, the door to the loft was opening and Spencer was standing there. She looked at the girls in the hallway together and offered a forced smile at Paige "I'm sorry but I need to borrow Emily back."

"It's fine" Paige said with a shake of her head as she let her hands drop from Emily's arms. She glanced at Emily and shrugged "I'll just catch you later."

"No, wait" Emily reached out to put a hand on Paige's arm to stop her. She turned to look at Spencer and gave her a glare that told her to back off for a moment before looking back at Paige "You came here for a reason, right?"

"It's nothing" Paige waved it off and took a step back out of Emily's touch. She lifted her hand again to wave at Spencer and this time offered a sincere smile "So sorry to interrupt. I'll see you girls later."

"Paige" Emily stepped away from the door where Spencer still stood and once more put her hand on Paige's arm. She gripped lightly and pulled her a few feet down the hallway so that Spencer was out of ear shot before she frowned slightly "We'll talk later, I promise. They just really need me right now."

"I get it" Paige said with a firm nod. "I know, okay? Something is happening and I'm on the outside just like old times. You girls need to figure out whatever it is and when you decide you need help.." She shrugged and offered a weak smile "..well you know where I'll be."

Emily nodded. Her heart hurt a little. The way Paige spoke so honestly broke her slightly. She hadn't known that Paige had felt so excluded in the past. She had avoided telling her about A in high school for so long because she didn't want her in danger. Then when Paige had finally been told she had been so terrified it had nearly broken the bravest person Emily had ever met. But things were different now and, to be quite honest, she was glad Paige was standing there calling them all out. "Like I said, we will talk later, okay?"

"Fine" Paige said with a single, emotionless nod.

"But" Emily said softly, letting her hand slide away from Paige "You came here to ask me something?"

"It's stupid, forget it." Paige waved her off again. "Look, go do your thing. When you want to talk, you have my number."

Emily frowned at Paige's demeanor. She looked like a beaten puppy. She had no idea how Emily brushing her off to take care of this stupid A.D. drama would have affected her. But she needed to get back in the loft because something important had obviously developed. So she stepped back from Paige and nodded "I'll call."

"Okay" Paige gave her a tight lipped smile then turned to head down the hallway.

"I promise" Emily called after her but Paige didn't turn around. She just lifted her hand up giving a half hearted wave over her shoulder before she disappeared around the corner at the end of the hall. Emily let out a heavy sigh and turned around back toward the loft. When she saw Spencer still standing there, her brows furrowed in anger and she shook her head "Was that really necessary?"

"What?" Spencer motioned down the hall to where Paige had disappeared. "What is she even doing here, Em? Don't you think it's kind of suspicious that she shows up the same day that so called A.D.-"

"Don't you dare" Emily cut her off in a growl as she stormed passed Spencer back into the loft. "Don't you even think it. How many times have you pointed the finger in that direction? How many times have you been wrong? I thought you two were friends?"

"We are!" Spencer shut the door to the loft then followed Emily back to the couches. "But how many of our friends have turned out to be anything but?"

"Not Paige" Emily said ferociously. "Never Paige. You have accused her and been cold to her and snooped in her stuff and at the end of the day she has saved us all in some way." She turned to look at the other girls who were watching them bicker intently. She turned back to Spencer and motioned at her with her hand "She's physically saved you personally, Spencer. How can you even think that about her? You think her parents planned this whole fake anniversary and family reunion as a cover for their daughter to come back to a place they fled because they were terrified for her safety just so she could finally play out the evil scheme she put in motion nearly a decade ago?"

Spencer dropped her head in visible shame. Aria and Hanna shook their heads as Spencer let out a sigh and put a hand to her forehead. She looked back up at Emily and dropped her hand with a slap to her thigh "I'm sorry, Em. Old habits die hard and I'm so paranoid right now I'm not even sure I trust myself."

"Well get your shit together" Emily growled before plopping down on the couch next to Hanna. She grabbed for the wine she had been drinking and quickly downed the rest of it. She drew in a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it out in a heavy sigh. Her eyes lifted back to Spencer and she shrugged just once "Now, what was so important that you needed me back in here immediately?

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

As Paige rounded the corner of the path that led to the dock, she drew in a deep breath. She had no idea why she was here. She should follow Emily's advise and just enjoy her weekend with her family but she couldn't. Her family was fine. Her parents were happily married and her uncles and aunts were as obnoxious as ever. Besides, she wasn't in Rosewood for her family. She had decided to make the trip once she had heard Emily was in town. So, here she was, on the dock near the lake approaching the sitting form of Emily Fields.

As footsteps sounded behind her, Emily turned from where she sat on the end of the dock dangling her feet near the water. She gave a relieved smile when she saw Paige. She had honestly doubted whether or not Paige would show up considering the way she had sulked away from the loft earlier that day. She didn't say anything. She just scooted over to make room for Paige to join her once she stood above her.

Paige dropped to sit next to Emily without hesitation. She stared at her feet above the water for only a split second before lifting her eyes to the girl beside her. Somehow, in the soft glow of the moon reflecting off the lake and onto Emily's face, Paige suddenly felt like she was back in high school. Her heart did a flip and she couldn't stand to look at Emily any longer in fear that she might do something stupid so she dipped her head to hide the little smile that had risen on her lips.

"I'm glad you came" Emily whispered to break the silence that had filled the space around the lake. Even the bugs seemed to have been holding their breaths during Paige's approach because not a sound had registered to Emily's ear until she had spoken.

"Always the hero, right?" Paige mumbled slightly playfully as her eyes lifted to look at Emily again.

"I'm sorry" Emily spoke still in a whisper. There was no real need to speak any louder. "I'm just so-"

"It's fine" Paige cut her off gently. "You have a lot going on and when you have a lot going on you like to push people away and the only way you know how to do that is to be a little bit mean to those people you push." Paige smiled and reached out to put a hand on Emily's leg "I've gotten really good at realizing when you're being cruel and when you're protecting me."

Emily blushed softly at that. It amazed her how well Paige still understood her. It made her stomach do a flip. Somehow Paige was sitting here and simultaneously unnerving her and calming her without even trying. "I'm still sorry."

Paige nodded just once. Her hand on Emily's leg gave a squeeze before she pulled it back and brought it to rest on her own lap. Her eyes left Emily and she looked out over the lake. A soft smile came over her lips as a memory filled her mind "Remember the birthday party I tried to throw for you here? What a disaster."

Emily laughed at that softly "It was nice. The disaster was you setting me up with a swim coach who had no idea I was injured and getting my hopes up that I'd swim again."

"Yeah" Paige let out a soft laugh at that "My heart was in the right place but that really was a stupid idea looking back on it." She shrugged and looked over at Emily with a smile "Hindsight, they say."

"It was sweet" Emily reached out and put a hand on Paige's shoulder. "You were always so sweet."

Paige blushed now and shook her head as she looked away from Emily again. It physically pained her to look at Emily's smile sometimes, especially when it came to the two of them reminiscing about their past together. "So" She decided to change the subject as quickly as possible "As you know my parents are doing a vow renewal thing for their anniversary."

"I did" Emily said with a nod. "It's literally the only thing people talk about at work."

Paige let out a laugh and glanced at Emily "Sorry about that." She let her eyes linger on Emily a moment before it became too much again and she looked back over the lake "Anyway, their little reception party thing afterwards is in the park next to the church where they got married and are doing the renewal and I was wondering if, you know, you'd like to come and help distract me from my family."

Emily bit back the smile that wanted to take over her features. Paige had definitely gotten more bold and less subtle over the years when it came to asking for time with Emily but the way she had put it was still very sweet and innocent. She licked at her lips and let out a soft sigh "I can't."

Paige, honestly, hadn't expected that. She frowned and turned to look back at Emily now. She chewed her lip nervously for a moment, fighting off the look of pure disappointment on her face and offering a fake brave nod of her head "Okay, that's cool then."

"No, no, no" Emily let out a soft laugh and reached out to grab Paige's arm, afraid the girl would flee out of embarrassment. When Paige didn't move, Emily offered a sad but slightly amused smile "I can't because I'm working. The Radley is catering the party and guess who has to be the one to get everyone drunk?"

"Oh" Paige let out a breath that held relief that she hadn't been completely shot down. "Oh!" She exclaimed a bit more loudly now that it all set in "I can't believe I didn't even think of that. Of course you'd be working. This is a huge weekend for you. A lot of tips and what not."

Emily nodded as her hand slid off of Paige's arm "But trust me, had I known it was your family I would have totally asked for it off."

"Why?" Paige let out a soft laugh.

"Because" Emily gave her a coy, knowing smile and a playful shrug of her shoulders. "I had a feeling I would be invited eventually."

Paige blushed so hard and so fast there was no avoiding it. Her head dipped again so she didn't have to watch Emily's triumphant little smirk fill her face. She hated how predictable she had become to Emily. Even after all the years apart Emily had faith Paige would have wanted to hang out with her at her family event. Damn, she needed to change up her game.

"It's sweet" Emily whispered, trying to sooth her, sliding closer to Paige now as if she could read the thoughts going on in her head. "Like I said, you have always been so sweet."

Paige rolled her eyes at that and finally looked back up at Emily. When she realized how close the girl had moved to her, she felt her heart jump into her throat. She licked at her lips and let out a breath as she spoke "Do you like when I'm sweet?"

Emily licked her lips as well, her eyes flickering from looking at Paige's eyes to her lips and back again. She gave a slight nod and before she could think about it she was leaning in toward Paige, her eyes now only focused on her lips.

Paige's heart jumped again as Emily moved closer. Another lick was given to her lips and as if it were a habit she leaned in as well, slowly closing the small gap that remained between them.

Just before their lips could touch, Emily's phone chimed loudly with a text. Both girls nearly jumped out of their skin at the unexpected noise. Emily put a hand to her chest, feeling her heart pounding against her ribs. She was sure half of it was because of the start she had just been given but the other half was caused by Paige. She bit at her lip shyly as she reached for her phone "I'm sorry" she whispered.

Paige just let out a soft laugh and shook her head as she motioned for Emily to go ahead. She licked at her lips and turned her eyes out over the lake. She let her lids drop for a moment and drew in a few breaths to calm herself. She couldn't believe how close they had been. She would have never expected that to have happened, if she was being honest.

When Emily read the text that had appeared, her brows creased together. She let out a sigh and looked back at Paige "I-"

"Have to go" Paige finished and nodded. She quickly got to her feet and offered a hand down to help Emily up as well. When Emily was at full height, Paige gave her hand a squeeze and frowned slightly "Are you okay?"

Emily shook her head. She licked at her lips and looked down at her phone "I don't even know where to begin."

Paige's heart twisted. Emily had that look on her face. That same look she got every single time A had been torturing her in high school. She straightened up and looked at the phone in Emily's hand "It's happening again, isn't it?"

"Kind of?" Emily shrugged, still at a loss for real words. "It's such a mess, Paige. I don't even know how it all began."

"Just take a breath" Paige said gently. She once more gave Emily's hand a squeeze and offered her a calming smile "Start from the first text."

"I can't" Emily motioned over her shoulder "I have to go."

"Fill me in on the ride over" Paige said with a firm nod. She refused to let go of Emily's hand now.

"Paige, I-"

"No" Paige shook her head firmly. She gave her hand a tug and started to lead Emily off of the dock. "I'm here now, okay? I might not be directly involved but I'm in it now. You can't avoid this any longer. I want to help. I probably need to help. So let me."

Emily chewed her lip as they reached the car. She paused and thought it over for a moment. When she looked back at Paige and the stern, unwavering look of strength and bravery on her face, she gave a nod. "Okay" She said softly. She unlocked the door then motioned for Paige to head to the passenger side "Okay, but I'm warning you..." She drew in a breath and let it out slowly "...it's a mess."

"I like messes" Paige said with a smirk before opening the passenger door and getting into the car. She bit at her lip as she pulled her seat belt on and clicked it into place. She glanced at Emily getting in on her side and once she was settled, reached across to take her hand. She gave it a soft squeeze and nodded before looking forward out of the front of the car "I'm all ears, Em."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"What is she doing here?" Spencer hissed out a whisper as soon as Emily and Paige rounded the corner to the stakeout spot they had set up outside The Lost Woods Resort.

Emily rolled her eyes and glanced at Paige. She shook her head and looked at Hanna "What do we know?"

"Emily" Spencer grabbed a hold of her friend and gave her a tug until her eyes were drawn to her. She glanced at Paige in a silent repeat of her question and shrugged.

"She's here to help" Emily hissed, ripping her arm out of Spencer's grasp. "I told her everything, Spence. We need all the help we can get right now, okay?"

Spencer let out a frustrated grunt and glanced at Paige. She eyed her carefully for a moment before letting out a sigh "Fine. You're used to the insanity that follows the group of us, I guess. But not a word to anyone, alright?"

Paige lifted a hand in the air as if she were taking an oath and nodded "Scout's honor."

"You were never a scout" Spencer mumbled then lifted the binoculars to her face as she looked back toward the lodge.

Paige rolled her eyes and glanced at the other girls, giving them a soft smile "Tough crowd."

"It's good to see you" Hanna said with a soft grin. "My mom told me you're family was coming."

Paige nodded and opened her mouth to say something but Spencer cut them off. She let out a hiss to let them know to be quiet and quickly pointed to where she was looking. All of the girls leaned in that direction and though Spencer was the only one with binoculars, there was no missing the huge truck that had just pulled up to the cabin.

"Who is that?" Aria whispered softly.

"I can't tell" Spencer said with a shake of her head. "Mary is just standing there, leaning into the window."

"Anyone hear anything?" Hanna asked, turning her head so her ear was closer as if that would help from the distance they were at.

"Anyone know how to read lips?" Emily chimed in, looking around the group.

"Shut up" Spencer hissed again. "I can't see their lips. I can't even see who is driving. It's too dark."

The group fell silent and just watched. Mary and the mysterious truck driver chatted for a few more seconds before Mary ran back into the cabin. She rummaged around for a minute, Spencer being sure to remember exactly where she was rummaging, before returning outside to the truck. That's when an envelope was handed to the driver.

"Did you guys see that?" Spencer asked softly.

All of the girls nodded. The truck now restarted and the reverse lights were turned on.

"Come on" Paige grabbed Emily's hand and started to lead her away.

"Wait, where are you going?" Aria asked in a panic.

"We have to follow them" Paige shrugged as if that should have been obvious. "We don't know who that is, right? It could be anyone. If we know who Mary is talking to and what she was talking about we can get one step ahead of Jenna. I mean, assuming they are working together somehow, which we are?"

"Right" Spencer said with a nod. "Yeah, good. Hurry, go!"

Paige nodded and pulled at Emily again. The two of them quickly trampled through the brush and sticks until they reached Emily's car. They climbed in and started it up, leaving the headlights off as they turned it around and headed down the road that exited the Lost Woods. It wasn't long before they caught up to the truck. "Stay behind them enough that they can't see you. Metal is shiny and it can catch the moon or any other light we might pass. We will tail them by their tail lights."

Emily glanced at Paige and gave her a curious look before letting out a laugh "When did you get so good at this?"

Paige shrugged, her eyes not leaving the soft red glow of the tail lights of the truck in front of them "I studied a lot in college."

Emily let out a huff of a laugh "Oh yeah? Did you take 'how to be a spy 101'?"

Paige rolled her eyes but smiled "I did a lot of light reading on the side, okay? Give me a break."

"No, hey, more power to you" Emily said with a smile on her lips. Paige never ceased to amaze her. "So you managed to not only get a scholarship to one of the best schools in the country, but you managed to actually finish, get a degree, and read up on how to follow someone without detection just in case it came up again?" She gave her a teasing nudge with her hand and shook her head in amusement "All you need is a gold medal and you've got it all, don't you?"

"Not everything" Paige whispered, her eyes moving from the road for the first time since entering the car to look at Emily. She gave her an intense stare, biting her lip slightly. When Emily turned to look at her, she quickly looked away. She didn't want her to see it in her eyes but she had always felt the biggest part of her that was missing was Emily.

Emily caught the intense look from Paige right before she had looked away. It made her heart twist in her chest. She honestly couldn't believe that Paige still felt so strongly after all the time that had passed. She smiled slightly and let out a sigh. She didn't deserve this girl in her life as a friend or anything else.

"Em, watch out!" Paige screeched suddenly.

It was too late. Emily had been so distracted by Paige and the intense feelings surging through her that she hadn't been paying attention to the road or the truck. She slammed on her brakes but it did little to help. The next thing she knew the car was wedged under the rear bumper of the truck in front of them. Luckily, with the truck sitting higher than the car, the bumper just kind of skidded up the hood instead of smashing it in completely. That was the only good news in the situation though. They had totally just smashed into the person they were supposed to silently be stalking.

Paige looked over at Emily wide eyed. She reached over and put a hand on her face "Are you alright?"

"Yeah" Emily breathed out and glanced over at Paige "Are you?"

"Fine" Paige said softly. Both of them had been wearing a seat belt and the way they were tucked under the truck hadn't set off the airbags so there was no real danger to them. Except maybe the driver of the truck.

"What the Hell?" The driver's voice broke through the windows as he rounded the back of the truck to see what had happened.

Paige quickly got out of the car and held up her hands in a gesture of peace to try and calm the driver "Look, man, it was an acci-" She paused and tilted her head to the side, staring at the driver in surprise "Noel?"

Noel Kahn stood there looking completely panicked. He looked up at Paige and his eyes got wide. That is when he looked into the car to see Emily in the driver's seat. He shook his head and let out a frustrated grunt "Of course."

"Wait" Emily got out of the car now and looked at Noel with confusion "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"I could ask the same of you" Noel said with an exasperated huff. "But I've learned that with you girls it's better not to ask because you're just going to lie anyway." He ran a hand back through his hair and shook his head "Where are the rest of them? Somewhere behind you, I assume?"

"No" Paige said quickly. "It's just Emily and myself. My aunt owns a cabin up here, remember? I'm in town for the weekend and I thought maybe we could have some alone time. Like you implied, where one of them goes the rest of the group follows so I thought, hey, if I take her into the middle of nowhere maybe we would actually get the chance to be truly alone."

Noel looked at Paige then at Emily and shook his head. He walked around to the front of the truck and grabbed something before returning to where his truck was stuck over Emily's car. "Here" He handed her a business card to a body shop in town "They will fix it for you. Tell them I sent you."

"Wait" Emily said again, stopping Noel's retreat back into the truck. "Why would you help us?"

"Look" He looked around with a few quickly glances before looking back at the girls "I'm not supposed to be out here, okay? If anyone knows I'm here people will start asking questions and there are just some answers I'm not ready to give yet. So..." He motioned to the card and nodded "Tell them I sent you and I trust that they will be the only people you tell about seeing me."

Emily gave a nod. Paige, on the other hand, shook her head "What are you up to?" She eyed him suspiciously.

Noel perked an eyebrow and looked at Paige with a fierce glare "I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, McCullers. I bought your story about your aunt's cabin, even though I know she sold it years ago. So why not just do as I say and no one gets hurt."

Paige's heart did a flip. How could she have known that Noel knew about her aunt's cabin. She gave a quick nod and offered him a weak smile "Deal. We never saw you."

Noel looked between the two girls with a few nods then offered a cheerful smile "Cool. Now, have a nice night ladies." His grin fell and he glared at the both of them before turning and getting into the truck. He slowly put the truck into drive and pulled forward until he popped off of the hood of the car. He paused once he was free and stuck his head out of the window. He gave one more glare back at the girls before pressing on the gas and speeding away, throwing rocks and dirt from the road behind him with the wheels of the truck.

Emily flinched as one of the rocks hit her. She coughed at the dust cloud that had been kicked up and waved a hand in front of her face until the dust cleared. When it did, she looked down at the business card she held in her hand then back up to Paige. Her head gave a shake and she shrugged, looking completely confused at what had just happened "That was so weird. How did he know you were lying?"

Paige just shook her head. Her eyes were trained on the road that Noel had disappeared down. She was quiet as she stared for a few long moments before finally looking back at Emily "Did you happen to see what the side of that truck said?"

"No" Emily said with a huff "I was too busy thinking how my mother is going to kill me for wrecking her car while at the same time being totally creeped out by Noel."

"Dunhill Laundry Services" Paige said softly, her eyes focused now on Emily. "Didn't you say that was Archer's last name?"

Emily nodded just once as she glanced down the road where the truck had vanished "I didn't know he owned a laundry business."

"I doubt he does" Paige said with a nod. "I can almost guarantee it's a cover business."

"For what?" Emily asked with a shrug. "And why is Noel involved?"

"That's what we're going to find out" Paige said with a nod. She grabbed the business card out of Emily's hand then motioned to the car "Come on, let's get back to town. The sooner we can dig into this the less time they have to start covering their tracks."

Emily nodded and moved toward the car. Luckily the car was still running. The hood was scraped from headlight to windshield and there were a few dents along it but other than that it had avoided real damage. She took a deep breath as she restarted the engine and flipped on the headlights. She took it slowly at first, making sure the steering and everything was going to be okay as they made their way out of the woods and toward the town. There were so many questions bubbling over in her mind but one was sticking out the most: When in the world did Paige grow nerves of steel?

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Paige ran a towel over her hair swiftly as she pulled the door to the bathroom open after her shower. When she saw Emily sitting on the bed in her hotel room, she gave her a soft smile "What did Spencer say?"

Emily turned her eyes from where she had been watching the t.v. on the wall and gave Paige a soft smile "She was impressed, confused, and a little more paranoid. Mostly impressed, though."

"Impressed?" Paige let out a laugh and tossed the towel back into the bathroom before moving over to sit opposite Emily on the bed. She shifted the big white robe around her a little more tightly, just in case it wasn't tied properly, and glanced at Emily "Impressed about what?"

"You" Emily laughed lightly. "I told her how you totally called Noel out and had mind enough to pay attention to the details on the truck given how creepy he had been. She said your sleuthing skills are top notch."

"Did you tell her that 'how to be a spy 101' now has summer classes that she can join?" Paige teased before getting back up off the bed and heading to the closet in the hotel room. She opened it and started to rummage through the suitcase on the floor inside. She didn't bother to unpack and hang her clothes because she was only going to be there for the weekend.

Emily watched her for a moment, smiling without realizing it. Paige had gotten so much more calm and collected about all of this crazy stuff over the years and she wondered how that had really come about. When did she stop being afraid and start standing up for herself against an invisible threat like this. "She is having Mona look into the laundry business to see if she can find anything shady."

Paige nodded as she pulled out a pair of sweat pants and a Stanford tshirt. She moved over to the bed and handed them to Emily "Here."

"What are these for?" Emily eyed the clothes carefully.

"Look, you can't go back to the loft" Paige said with a shrug as she set the clothes down then turned back to her suitcase to get some more for herself to sleep in. "The way I see it, this A.D. already knows about the loft so you're not safe there. Plus who is to say it's not already under surveillance?" She pulled out another tshirt and a pair of shorts for herself now. "Your mom's house is too obvious because, well, she is your mother. I am sure they have eyes there, too."

Emily nodded. She hadn't even thought about that. Her eyes fell to stare at the tshirt that Paige had set on the bed and she started to think about her mom. She hoped she was safe from all of this craziness.

"The way I figure is you're safest here. Security cameras, every room is booked so if there is any excessive noise there will be witnesses..." Paige trailed off then turned her back to Emily. She slid her shorts on under the robe first before sliding the shoulders of the robe down, exposing her back to Emily, while she slid her arms out of the sleeves to slip the tshirt on over her head.

Emily barely registered what Paige had just said. She hadn't meant to but she couldn't help but stare as Paige changed. She had always had a nice figure, chiseled shoulders and back due to swimming, but she had somehow toned up more. It was probably the college, and now professional, coaching she had received over the past few years. She licked at her lips without even realizing it.

"Besides you know I think the safest place for you is next to me" Paige finished up as she now slid the robe off of herself and tossed it onto the chair near the window. She turned around and saw that Emily was still staring at her. She blushed softly and looked down over herself. She wore shorts that went to nearly her knees and a tshirt so she wasn't sure exactly what Emily was looking at "You alright, Em?"

"Sorry" Emily breathed out before looking away and fighting off a blush. She slid off the bed and headed for the bathroom. "I'm just going to..." She pointed at the bathroom and the clothes she had grabbed off the bed and nodded. She swallowed hard then moved into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her quickly. Once there was a safe distance between Paige and herself, she closed her eyes and drew in a few shaky breaths. In the moment that Paige's back had been bared toward her, she had forgotten everything that was going on. Nothing had existed. No vehicular homicide, no fake identities, no A.D. The only thought in her head, the only thing that had existed in that moment, was a feeling she had thought had been buried long ago. The burning desire for all things Paige McCullers.

Paige stood just outside the door of the bathroom, worry on her face. She didn't want to exactly spy on her but she had looked a little distracted on her way into the bathroom so she wanted to make sure she was alright. When there was no movement for a few moments, Paige licked at her lips and knocked softly "Do you need a toothbrush? I have a spare."

"No" Emily squeaked out. Her eyes shot open and she looked at the door. She licked her lips, cleared her throat, and tried again "No. Thank you. I'm almost done." She swallowed again then looked at the clothes in her hands. She had no idea how she was going to survive the night. They were supposed to sleep, get up and meet the girls early, then go their separate ways to prepare for the McCullers' vow ceremony party. She had to pull herself together.

Paige nodded at Emily's response and moved to sit on the bed. She grabbed the brush she had set there earlier in the day and started to move it through her still damp hair. Her mind was racing a million miles a minute in a trillion different directions. This weekend was more of an emotional roller coaster than she thought it ever would be and it was only Friday night.

Emily took her time to change, wash her face, and use the toothpaste that was in the bathroom to swish with so she would at least have decent breath. Once she was done and ready for bed she looked at herself in the mirror and drew in a deep, slow breath to compose herself. Her eyes dropped and she read the letting on the tshirt that Paige had borrowed to her. She smiled and traced the white letters against the cardinal red color with her fingers. She wasn't sure if Paige knew how completely proud she was that she had gotten that scholarship to Sanford. She just wished she could have been there to support her.

Shaking off the thought, Emily finally pulled the bathroom door open and stepped back into the hotel room. She gave Paige a smile and moved to tuck her neatly folded clothes on top of the dresser type thing they had in there. "Did my phone go off?"

"Not yet" Paige shook her head as she finished brushing her hair. She settled with her back against the wall and her legs pulled up onto the bed completely. She looked at Emily with a smile and patted the space next to her "I don't bite."

"That's a lie" Emily said without realizing it. Once she realized what she had said she let out a laugh and shrugged before moving to sit on the side of the bed. "Is this totally weird or is it just me?"

"No, this is totally weird and that comment made it weirder" Paige said honestly, letting out a laugh as she did so. But she shrugged too and watched Emily adjust so she was finally leaning her back against the wall behind the bed with her legs stretched out along the mattress as well. "But, we've always been good at overcoming the weird, right?"

Emily gave a nod at that. They really had been pretty good at overcoming a lot of things that would never be considered normal. She turned her head to the right to look at Paige beside her and smiled "Remember when we ran into each other in Cali a couple years back?"

Paige gave one nod "So we're avoiding the weird by talking about the past now?" She gave Emily a teasing smirk then nodded again "But, yes, I do. Why?"

Emily shrugged and laid her head back against the wall to look at the ceiling "Well you said earlier today that you had never felt at home in California. So what were you doing there?"

"I was training" Paige said with a nod. "I had just finished college and hadn't moved away yet. I had just gotten settled with a new coach and that is when I ran into you."

Emily nodded, her head turning to look at Paige again "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"You were a mess, Em" Paige breathed out softly, all amusement her tone had held was gone now. "You were a literal mess. I don't think you were sober the entire time we hung out. You avoided any and all real talk about anything pertaining to life and how you had been." She shrugged and looked over at Emily with a frown "Your dad had just died. How was I supposed to tell you I was training for the Olympics?"

Emily frowned. Her eyes closed for a moment and she took in a deep breath. She let it out slowly and reached out to take Paige's hand "You knew about that?"

"Of course I knew, Em" Paige whispered, her eyes falling to where Emily gripped at her hand. "Spencer told me. Hanna told me. They all told me, Em. I called your mom, you know?"

Emily was surprised to hear this. She opened her eyes and looked at Paige in shock and wonderment "You did?"

Paige nodded just once. "I wasn't sure why I felt the need to but I did. I was worried she would think it was odd, you know, considering we hadn't been together or even really talked in years. But she was grateful, so grateful. Your mom is incredible, Em. My heart really ached for her."

"Paige" Emily's words trembled a bit and her head shook in disbelief "Why?"

"Why what?" Paige looked worried now, wondering if she had upset Emily.

"Why are you so good to me? To my mother?" Emily bit her lip and drew in a deep breath to help calm the urge to cry that was rising in her throat.

"You've been a huge part of who I am for so long, Emily. Even when we weren't together you were still there for me in so many ways." Paige shrugged and gave Emily's hand a soft squeeze. "When we were together it was like nothing bad could ever happen in the world. Even when there was bad happening it didn't seem that bad because I always had you. Your mom is a part of that feeling too." She shrugged again and drew in a slow breath "Through it all, the ups and downs, you've kind of always been my best friend, Em."

Emily shook her head. Her eyes dropped to look at where their hands were tangled. She gave a tight squeeze and lifted Paige's fingers to hold them between both of her hands now. She licked at her lips and gave a soft kiss to the fingertips that peeked out between her hands "You are one of the purest and sweetest and most genuine people in this world and I don't deserve to have you as a friend."

"Don't say that, Emily" Paige almost whimpered the words to her. She turned now on the bed so she was facing Emily. She lifted her other hand and held it on the outside of where Emily's hands held her own. She bit at her lip and stared at the girl in front of her "You've never done anything to warrant deserving anything but the best in life, Em."

"I'm not a good person" Emily whispered. "Not like you are."

"I'm not that good either" Paige said with a shake of her head. "I did try to drown you once, remember?" She was teasing but also kind of serious.

Emily let out a soft laugh and rolled her eyes as a tear streaked down her cheek "You were a fetus of a person and didn't know how else to deal."

Paige tried to smile but it turned into a frown when she saw the tear. She reached up with the hand not between Emily's and wiped it away "What I'm trying to say is we all do bad things or make bad choices. That doesn't make us bad people. As long as we learn from what we've done that is all anyone can really expect from us."

"But I haven't learned, have I?" Emily now let go of Paige's hand and motioned around the room where they sat. "Look where I'm at, Paige. Back in my childhood! I am repeating history and making bigger mistakes and even worse choices." She let out a distraught huff and shook her head "I mean I'm actively trying to cover up-"

Paige lifted a hand to Emily's lips to cut her off. She looked around the room for a moment before looking back at her with a shake of her head. She slowly pulled her hand off of Emily's mouth and leaned in close to her. Her lips brushed at her ear as she whispered "As safe as you might be with the cameras here, there is no saying whether this room is bugged so let's keep the murder talk to a minimum, okay?"

Emily bit her lip and nodded as Paige pulled back from her. She had been so emotional, so on the verge of breaking down from everything she had been going through over the past couple years, that she hadn't been thinking straight. Luckily, like always, Paige was there to save the day. She gave a weak smile up at her "Thanks."

Paige nodded and lifted her hand to smooth her fingers through Emily's hair. She gave her a smile and whispered "Always the hero, remember?"

Emily let out an exasperated breath of a laugh and pushed Paige away from her "You're not going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Not on your life, Em" Paige gave her a wink before moving now off the bed. She reached for the phone that was on the bedside table and lifted it to her ear. She waited for a moment and when the other end was answered she smiled "Hi, yes, I'd like to order two pints of the cookie dough ice cream and one of those huge lava brownie cake things?" She waited for the other person to finish speaking and she nodded "Yeah. Put it on room 215. McCullers." She let out a laugh and smiled "Nick McCullers, yes. You probably have everyone calling in and putting things under McCullers, don't you?"

Emily perked an eyebrow at Paige on the phone. A smile came to her lips as she listened. Paige had blossomed into such an incredible woman. She was strong and brave and polite and never did she lose her sense of self. She was to be admired.

"Thank you so much" Paige dropped the phone back on it's holder once the call was over and turned to look at Emily. She grabbed the remote and tossed it at her softly "I'm gonna hit the ladies room. You pick a movie on pay per view while I do so."

"Paige you don't have to do this" Emily said with a shake of her head. "I'm so tired I could probably pass out and sleep through a stampede of elephants."

"But you won't" Paige said with a smile. "Besides, it's all on my dad so take advantage of it." She gave her a grin then headed into the bathroom.

Emily shook her head and looked back at the t.v. now as she pointed the remote at it. She hated that Paige knew she wouldn't get much sleep that night because of everything going on. She also really liked it. She had missed it if she was being honest.

After a few moments, Paige returned from the bathroom and moved back over to the bed. She glanced up to the screen where Emily stared concentrating and smiled softly. She watched the way her brows furrowed as she scrolled through the choices and couldn't help but get lost in the little crease of her forehead. She thought it was absolutely adorable. Always had. But she would never admit it.

When Emily felt Paige staring at her, she blushed and looked over at her with a laugh "Can I help you?"

Paige just shook her head and laid back now against the wall behind the bed again "Nope. Just thinking about how good you look in Stanford colors."

Emily bit her lip and looked back at the screen. She fought a smile off as she decided on a movie and finally selected it. Once it started playing she set the remote on the table on her side of the bed then settled next to Paige against the wall. She looked over at Paige and her smiled grew slightly "If this shirt goes missing, it wasn't me."

Paige smirked but kept her eyes on the screen as the opening credits rolled "I'll pretend not to notice."

Emily let out a soft laugh and looked at the screen now too. She hated how her heart fluttered at the thought of Paige having basically given her a Stanford shirt to wear. Sure it was a few years too late but it was the thought that counted.

Paige glanced out of the side of her eye to look at Emily. When she saw the smile on her face her heart flipped. It was like they had been transported back in time to what it should have been like in college. Late night movies and ice cream in her dorm. Emily sleeping over in her Stanford shirts. No worries in the world. Sure, there were worries, big worries, but in that moment it didn't seem like it and that was all that mattered to Paige for now.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.