A/N: Hey everyone! So this is the second Paily story I've written (this story has no relation to my previous one) and I really hope that anybody still reading Paily fanfiction enjoys it. The updates might become a little sporadic but I have a few chapters already written so hopefully I'll be able to keep up with a reasonable schedule. This story most likely wont be nearly as long as my last one but I am looking to create a good story and finish it. Anyways I hope you enjoy :) feel free to leave any kind of feedback, good or bad, I always like hearing from you guys!

Emily stood up out of her seat stepping out into the aisle way opening the overhead compartment and pulling her carry-on bag out. Eventually shuffling her way further down the aisle following the other people exiting the plane. Emily felt the nerves starting to creep up on her as she got closer to the front of the plane knowing what she was going to have to face on her trip out here to visit her family.

She had purposefully been avoiding coming home during the summer for the last couple of years, well aware of what it brought on for her. She hated the memories it brought back along with the emotions. As well as who it brought back to her home.

Emily had been so lost in her thoughts that she was startled when someone grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers with hers, "I think we're supposed to be going this way Em." Katie said absentmindedly as she looked around at the signs in the airport.

"Right sorry." She responded taking a deep breath trying to calm herself down as Katie guided her through the airport over to baggage claim.

Emily had known Katie for years now, having met her just a few weeks after she had moved out to California. And while Katie showed interest in a relationship from the start it took Emily a while to warm up to the idea of being with someone else having just gotten out of a relationship at the time of her move.

Katie however was consistent and didn't take no for an answer, so after some time she gave in and went on a date with her. Which led to another soon after. And eventually ended up in her being Emily's girlfriend. They had been together for just over a year now and while Emily did love the girl in her life she was terrified to introduce her to her family for more than one reason.

She wasn't so much worried about Katie meeting her parents, she was a nice girl with a promising future ahead of her and Emily knew her parents would approve instantly. However what Emily was worried about was her ex and her families love for that ex.

Her ex was a part of the family now and always had been so she had cemented good relationships amongst all of her family members. Emily was worried about her girlfriend's reaction to how involved not only she but her entire family was when it came to her ex and was worried that Katie would let jealousy get the best of her and the summer would end in a breakup.

As they stood waiting for their bags to come Emily knew she should probably let Katie in on the piece of information she had purposefully left out. Emily sighed before looking over at her girlfriend whose eyes were focused on the luggage passing them, waiting patiently for theirs to show up, not wanting to miss it, "Hey Katie?" Emily mumbled out.

"Hmm." Katie responded in a hum, her eyes never leaving the bags in front of her.

"I may umm…I may have left out a tiny detail about this trip." Emily confessed hesitantly.

"Yeah, what's that?" Katie asked as she swiftly pulled a couple of bags out of the line of luggage and set them on the floor in front of Emily and herself.

"My ex is going to be here too this summer. That's actually why I didn't think it was the best time for you to meet my parents." Emily said trying to read the expression on her girlfriends face as she finally looked over at her.

"Your ex is going to be spending the summer with your family?" Katie asked raising an eyebrow at Emily questioningly.

Emily simply nodded with a sigh, not adding anything else.

"Is there a reason why anyone would want to do that?" Katie asked clearly not understanding why someone's ex would be invited to spend the summer with the family, or even why Emily's ex would want to spend the summer with them.

"Well she kind of comes back every summer." Emily informed her girlfriend, "Her and her family have been coming down here every summer since we were about 10 and she's been staying with my family permanently since she was 16."

Katie shrugged, "oh so she's like a family friend then."

"Try more like, just family." Emily said as she rolled her eyes, "I'm convinced my parents like her more than me sometimes." She huffed jokingly as she threw one of her bags over her shoulder and grabbed the handle of the other dragging it behind her as her and Katie made their way to the front of the airport where her dad was supposed to be picking them up.

"It's not going to be a problem that I came right, I mean you asked if it was okay that I came with you?" Katie asked as Emily kept her eyes facing forward not looking at Katie as she continued walking, "Emily?" Katie asked suddenly worried.

Emily cringed slightly as she looked over at Katie, "It was a last minute thing, and I didn't think you were going to be able to come so I didn't say anything but I'm sure it'll be fine. My mom's one of those 'the more the merrier' kind of people." Emily said waving off the issue as she tried to assure her girlfriend that it was fine.

Katie sighed, "Well this should be interesting."

"I promise it's going to be fine okay." Emily said as she intertwined their hands, although she might not have completely believed it herself she felt like it was best to keep telling not only Katie but herself that everything was going to go smoothly.

Katie looked over at Emily, "Are you sure, I know this is kind of a big deal and I don't want to ambush your parents, it doesn't sound like the best first impression to make."

Emily let out a small giggle, "You're not ambushing anyone okay, everyone's going to love you. It'll be fine." Emily leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to her girlfriend's lips before pulling away and smiling at her, "Ready?"

Katie nodded with a small smile. Emily took a deep breath as she spotted her dad standing towards the doors of the airport, "Everything's going to be fine Emily. Everything is going to go smoothly." She mumbled to herself in attempt to calm her nerves quiet enough that Katie couldn't hear her.

Emily hadn't actually planned for Katie to be tagging along for the summer trip to her parents' home but she had invited her girlfriend for the sake of being nice, knowing that Katie wouldn't be able to come due to a summer internship she had been planning. However at the last minute the internship had been moved making Katie's plans free and she had immediately agreed to come along with Emily.

"Hey dad." Emily said as she let go of Katie's hand and dropped her bags at her feet, walking into her dad's open arms. As Katie stood awkwardly off to the side.

"Oh Emmy I missed you." Wayne said as he tightened his grip on Emily, who let out a small giggle into his chest, "I missed you too dad." She admitted as she pulled away slightly smiling up at him.

She noticed his eyes flicker over her shoulder to the blonde girl standing off to the side awkwardly watching them, "Oh umm dad this is Katie." Emily said as she reached over and grabbed Katie's wrist pulling her closer to them, "My girlfriend."

"Hello Mr. Fields, it's nice to meet you." Katie stated politely as she reached her hand out towards the man standing in front of her.

Wayne looked hesitantly at Emily before smiling and taking the hand shaking it softly, "Welcome Katie, it's nice to meet you as well." He said genuinely which calmed Katie's nerves slightly, "Well should we get going, your mother has already got dinner going."

"Of course she does." Emily laughed as she nodded her head and picked up her bag.

"Oh no here Emmy let me grab those." Wayne insisted, stopping Emily before she could even get the bag over her shoulder. Emily smiled at her dad thanking him as he grabbed the bag and dragged the other behind him as they walked over to the car.

It was about a forty-five minute drive back to the Field's home from the airport which was for the most part filled with a mostly comfortable silence and a little bit of small talk, mostly between Emily and her father. They pulled up to the Field's home rather quickly and her dad stepped out of the driver's seat of the car, "We can come get your bags later. We'll send your brother out to get them." Emily nodded as she walked around the back of the car to meet Katie who was still standing by the side of the car.

Katie grabbed Emily's hand and intertwined their fingers smiling at Emily with a clearly nervous look plastered on her face. Emily shot her back a reassuring smile before she followed behind her dad walking to the front door of the house, pulling her girlfriend along with her.

Wayne opened the front door which never seemed to be locked and entered the house hesitantly, "Pam? Honey we're back." He called out as he stepped aside letting the two girls walk in shutting the front door behind them. "Don't worry she's not here right now." He whispered to Emily as he walked by her, catching the slight fear on her face as her eyes darted around the room when they first walked in.

Emily let out a small sigh of relief, happy that she didn't have to deal with her ex right away. It didn't take long before her mom appeared in the room and pulled Emily into a tight hug, "Oh honey I've been waiting for you." The older woman said as she pulled out of the hug, her hands still resting on Emily's arms as her eyes drifted over to the girl standing next to them, "And who is this?" She asked sweetly as she released Emily.

Emily smiled at her mom, "This is Katie, my girlfriend." She stated as confidently as she could, doing her best not to sound nervous.

"Hello Mrs. Fields it's nice to meet you." She said politely once again to Emily's mother as she outstretched her hand towards the older woman who graciously accepted.

"It's nice to meet you Katie, please call me Pam." She replied with a sincere smile.

"Sorry I didn't tell you I was bringing her, it was kind of a last minute thing." Emily explained to her mom, thankful that both of her parents seemed to be taking the news better than she had expected.

Pam instantly waved her hand in the air as if to say to forget about it, "Oh stop, it's no trouble at all Emily, the more the merrier."

Emily quickly shot her girlfriend an 'I told you so' look which caused Katie to giggle before she turned her eyes back to Pam, "I really appreciate you letting me join your family for the next few weeks."

"Like I said, it's no trouble at all dear. Make yourself at home." Pam said with a smile.

"Where's Derek?" Emily asked noticing that he had never come over to greet them.

"He ran out to get some wood, he should get back soon." Pam stated as she moved back into the kitchen where she was still working on dinner. Emily and Katie followed behind her, both sitting at the table as Pam continued on with the meal.

"Really? Dad usually has wood stocked up in the backyard all summer." Emily stated.

Pam simply nodded as she faced the girls, "Yeah well your brother and Paige decided to have their own little bonfire last night that wasn't so little. Nearly burnt the house down those two." She laughed as she shook her head, "They should be back any minute now, they've been gone for a while. You know those two though, you send them out for wood and they get caught up in who knows what." Pam informed her.

Emily nodded, thinking that maybe it was best that everyone wasn't here to bombard Katie as soon as they had arrived. Just as Emily turned to Katie to talk there was a loud noise coming from the front of the house as someone barged through the front door. Emily's stomach turned at the clear sound of her ex's laughter mixed in with her brother's.

The two came running into the room panting, clearly up to something other than getting wood. Emily's brother Derek instantly jumped up on the counter next to Pam and tried to pick something out of one of the pan before Pam swatted his hands away. Paige simply laughed at the rejection grabbing two waters out of the fridge, tossing one to Derek before she leaned against the counter, both clearly oblivious to Emily and Katie's presence.

"Did you two even bring back wood?" Pam asked as she eyed the two people who had just come in, curious as to why they were so out of breath.

"Yeah it's on the porch. We raced back though because this one didn't think I could beat her." Derek said.

"Which he didn't, but that's okay little buddy." Paige said, teasing the younger boy who rolled his eyes before he stopped and a smile came across his face causing Paige to finally look behind her to see what Derek was looking at.

"Hey big sis!" Derek called out excitedly finally noticing Emily sitting over at the table. He jumped down off the counter and quickly made his way over to her pulling her up out of her chair and into a hug.

"Derek we can save the hugging for when you're not soaked in sweat." Emily grumbled with a smile as she tried to pull out of her brother's hold, "Please." She pleaded and he finally let her go, smiling down at her.

"Sorry this one can never just take it easy on me." He said gesturing to Paige with his head.

For the first time Emily shifted her gaze to Paige whose eyes weren't on hers but instead on the girl still sitting at the table, "Yeah well that doesn't surprise me." Emily said softly to her brother not letting her gaze drift away from Paige whose smile was long gone by now.

She knew this was a terrible idea.

It was the first time she had seen Paige in a couple of years and it surprised her how fast everything came rushing back to her. She couldn't help but let her eyes drift down the body she once knew so well, taking in the girl's appearance which looked better than she even remembered.

Emily quickly shook her head not wanting to let those thoughts creep into her head, clearing her throat before things could get anymore awkward. Emily looked over at Katie, "Umm this is my girlfriend Katie." She announced as the other girl stood up and reached her hand out to Derek who smiled politely and shook her hand.

"Hey Katie, nice to meet you, I'm Derek the handsome brother, you've probably heard a ton about me." He said with a charming smile before pulling his hand away and quickly sneaking a glance at Paige.

"Oh and um this is Paige." Emily mumbled out, the name tasting weird on her lips from not speaking it in so long. She gestured to the girl leaning against the counter, keeping her eyes glued to the floor not able to look up at Paige this time.

Katie smiled taking a step towards the girl and stuck her hand out which Paige shook confidently, "Hey nice to meet you. I'm the handsome stray that the Fields ever so kindly take in every year and you've probably heard absolutely nothing about me." Paige said teasingly as Derek laughed.

"You know what they say, if you feed a stray once they never leave." Derek added with a shrug and a smirk on his face which earned him a smack in the chest from Paige.

"Alright you two stop it." Pam warned in a teasing tone, "Derek why don't you go grab your sisters and Katie's bags from the car before you shower and put them up in her room."

Derek nodded and quickly made his way from the kitchen, "Alright well I'm going to hit the shower before dinner." Paige announced to no one in particular as she quickly left the room and headed upstairs, not wanting to be stuck down stairs with Emily and her apparently new girlfriend that she hadn't known existed until moments ago.

Emily sat down at the table with a sigh, "Well I think that went pretty good." Katie said as she placed her hand over Emily's, "I'm guessing that's the ex."

Emily nodded her head with a small sigh, "Yeah, this isn't too weird for you right, I mean I know it's not the ideal situation."

"It's fine Em I promise. She seemed to be fine with me being here as did everyone else, so I think it'll be alright." Katie said with a smile which Emily returned with a nod.

But Emily knew that it hadn't really gone that well. She knew it hadn't as soon as she saw Derek's hesitance when Emily announced who Katie was. And by the worried glance her mother had shot towards Paige while Derek was introducing himself to Katie, although she had tried to be discrete about it. The way Paige's face paled as soon as her eyes landed on Katie, no introduction needed.

It wasn't fine.

"I'm going to go help Derek with our stuff okay? Why don't you stay here and you and my mom can get to know each other." Emily suggested with a smile as she stood up. Emily let out a small giggle at the panicked look on Katie's face, "You'll be fine." She said as she placed a quick kiss on her cheek and turned to head out to the car.

When she got to the car Derek had already pulled all of the bags out and was leaning against the car clearly waiting for Emily.

"Are you crazy?" He asked seriously before Emily even reached him at the car.

"What are you talking about?" She grumbled casually as she grabbed her bag and flung it over her shoulder.

Derek let out a dry laugh of disbelief, "Oh man this is going to be some sort of train wreck isn't it."

Emily gestured for her little brother to grab some of the bags and help her as she started walking back to the front door, "It's going to be fine Derek would you relax." Emily said annoyed.

"Yep keep telling yourself that Em." Derek said as he followed his sister into the house and up the stairs, Emily opened her bedroom door and tossed the bags down by the foot of the bed, Derek doing the same.

Emily glanced around her room and walked over to the bedside table lifting a framed picture up off of it, not bothering to look at it as she walked over to her dresser pulling the top drawer open and shoving it face down into the back of the drawer.

It was a picture of her and Paige and she needed to get it out of sight considering Katie would be staying in here with her. Emily walked around the room grabbing things that had any connection to Paige and shoved them into drawers wherever they would fit. When she was finished she smiled softly, "There, perfect."

Derek rolled his eyes at his sisters attempt to rid her room of her ex as he watched leaning against the doorframe of her bedroom, "Perfect. So what are you going to do with Paige? You can shove pictures into drawers but the real life Paige is right down the hall." He stated gesturing in the direction of Paige's room.

"Shut up Derek okay." Emily exclaimed becoming annoyed with her younger sibling, "What do you want me to do?! We broke up and I moved on. Just because you guys keep her around like she's a part of our family doesn't mean I'm going to stop living my life. This is my family and I'm not here to make her feel comfortable so let it go." Emily snapped.

Derek looked at her in disbelief as he shook his head pushing his body off the doorframe, "She is a part of the family and she's always going to be. You of all people should understand that." He said before he turned and walked down the hallway towards his own room clearly upset.

Emily sighed as she glanced around the room once more. She knew this was a terrible idea. She'd been home for less than an hour and she already was about as miserable as she imagines she could possibly get. Seeing Paige again was already bringing back up things that she had fought to push away for years and she didn't like it. She let out a frustrated groan knowing one thing for sure. It was going to be a long few weeks.