A/N: Hi everyone! I'm back! So I'm not going to lie, I missed you communicating and sharing with you guys, so I've decided to share this story with you earlier than I originally planned. This story takes place about 15-16 months after 'Coming Home' ended and Jessica is about 20 months old. I am super excited to get this out to you guys. Please, please, please let me know what you guys all think of this first chapter! I'll see you guys at the bottom!

Alison sat blankly at her desk, staring down at the papers in front of her, but seeing only black ink blots on the white background. The only sounds heard in the room are the scratching of pens across paper, with intermittent coughing and clearing of 17-year-old throats. The ticking of the clock brought Alison out of her trance and she looked up at it and sighed. Only one more period, she thought to herself. This period had only a few minutes left, before her last of the day. A little over one hour and she would be out of this place, on her way to pick up Jessica from day care before heading home.

"Five minutes left until the end of the period. When you are done with your essays, sit quietly until the bell rings and turn them into my desk on your way out." No one even looked up at her. I talk, no one listens. Typical, she huffed to herself. She sat back in her chair and wondered where the hell her life went so wrong. Did it all start with Elliott? No, because without him, I never would have had Jessica. She really was the only bright spot in her life at the moment. That little girl with the bright blue eyes and dark, loose curls was the only thing that seemed to keep her going each day. Watching the little girl grow up right before her eyes was amazing. From taking her first steps, to her first haircut and now to her talking, Alison never got tired of the love that spread throughout her body when she thought about her precious baby girl. She was in awe everyday just watching her learn and grow. She was even beginning to learn how to use her infamous "DiLaurentis smirk" to get anything she wanted from her mommy. Jessica brought so much joy to Alison's life that she didn't even remember what life was like before she became a mom. It's like that time in her life never existed. She honestly didn't know what she would have done these past eight months without Jessica with her.

Alison's mouth pulled down in the corners with just the thought of what she's been through the past eight months. If you had asked Alison two years ago where her life would be now, this is never how she thought it would be. Once Emily came back into her life, she thought that she could have a new beginning. She thought that her life was finally starting to turn around and she could be happy again. She had fallen so hard, so quickly for Emily that she never imagined life without her in it. Emily had swooped in when she was at her lowest and had fixed her. She said all the right things and knew just how to handle her to put her heart back together. She never thought that after Elliott she would find someone to love again who actually loved her back. But she did. Emily had shown her that she was loveable and deserved happiness. When Alison had found out that she was pregnant, Emily stuck by her every step of the way, even taking a step back to allow Alison time to think about what she really wanted in her life. And it was in that moment, that deep down, Alison knew it was Emily who she wanted to raise her baby with. Be a family with. Throughout her entire pregnancy, Emily was there for her, showing her how special and beautiful she was, inside and out. There was never once that Alison doubted Emily's love for her. And she still didn't, not even to that very day.

Alison jumped slightly in her chair as the bell rang and students began to shuffle past her, placing their essays down on the desk before heading out the door. Once everyone was gone, she collected the in-class essays on the book they were supposed to have read over winter break and put them under her stack that she had attempted to grade last period, but her thoughts got in the way of her doing so. She sat back in her chair and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to clear her head of all the thoughts running through her head. She pulled out a fresh stack of essay books and placed it down on the desk. A new set of students began to file in and Alison gave them all a tight-lipped smile.

"Grab an essay book on your way by. I hope you all read 'Great Expectations' like you were supposed to. Your essay question of Pip's growth throughout the novel and what I expect in your essay are on the board behind me. When you are finished, sit quietly and wait for the bell to ring for dismissal. You can turn your essays in as you leave." Alison's students got to work as soon as they sat down, plummeting her classroom into silence once again. She glanced over in the corner of her desk and smiled as she looked over at the reminder sitting there.

Alison slowly pulled back the green and red wrapping paper and gasped in shock. She took the book and turned it over in her hands, not believing what she was holding in her possession. "Em…" was all Alison's brain would allow her to speak.

"I know your copy was getting a little worn. And I think that day in the teacher's lounge was a turning point for us, so I thought you could always think of me when you saw it." Emily was suddenly feeling very shy. She watched Alison turn the book over in her hands, gently paging through the aging sheets of paper between the spine. When Emily first got the idea in her head of getting her another copy of Great Expectations, she knew it needed to be something special. She scoured the internet for days, trying to find a first edition copy of the book, and eventually found one in a small bookstore a few towns over in Ravenswood. "Do you like it?"

Alison looked into beautiful brown eyes and her heart melted. She couldn't believe that the woman sitting across from her would do something like this for her. To get her something so special and hard to find. "A first edition? Em, how did you even find this?"

Emily's gift from their first Christmas together was always with her, no matter where she went. To Alison, it was a constant reminder of what she and Emily had shared together. When she had the book with her, she felt like Emily was there too. Alison forced her gaze away from the book, knowing she would zone out for the entire period if she didn't, and forced herself to buckle down and grade at least ten essays during this class, so she would have more time to spend with Jessica later on. She picked up a red pen and the top essay book, folded the first page over and began reading.

~XXXXX~

Alison pulled her car up out front of The Gingerbread House child care center and made her way quickly inside. After being buzzed through the front doors, she was greeted by the receptionist. "Good afternoon Ms. DiLaurentis. How are you?" The young woman behind the desk gave Alison a warm smile. Alison had only known her and another older woman as the friendly receptionists here at the center. Both had extremely warm and inviting smiles. She and Emily had both fallen in love with this day care center when they had first come here when Jessica was a few months old to check it out before school started back up for the year and they needed someplace to watch Jessica daily.

"Em, we don't have to do this today if you don't want to." Alison's voice was soft. Emily had barely said two words to her on the ride over, but Alison knew that Emily was dealing with a lot at the moment. The adoption had just gone through last week, so it had been a week since Pam's collapse. A week that Emily spent running herself ragged taking care of Alison and the house while also spending as much time as possible each day at the hospital by Pam's side. She also knew that she herself wasn't the easiest person to be around right now.

Emily snapped her head around. "No, Alison, I don't want to do this today, but we have to. It's not like my mom can take Jessica during the day or anything. If we are both going to be going back to work, we need to find someplace to take her." Emily turned away from her before mumbling to herself, "you'd rather be in bed anyway."

Luckily, Alison didn't hear her because they would have had a blow-out fight right in the parking lot of their daughter's potential care giver. Both women walked through the door with fake smiles plastered on their faces. Neither one of them wanted to do this, but they had to be responsible.

"Welcome to the Gingerbread House Child Care Center. How may I help you today?" The woman behind the desk looked to be in her mid-twenties with a very welcoming smile.

Alison cleared her throat before speaking, sensing that Emily was too lost in her own thoughts to be much help in this right now. And honestly, Alison couldn't blame her, but still the blonde's mind told her that Emily should be just as invested in this as she had to be. That thought made Alison want to seethe. But she knew she just needed to get through this, then she could go seethe under the blankets of their bed while Emily spent yet another night at the hospital. "Hi, we have an appointment scheduled for a walk-through. Our daughter, Jessica is four and a half months and we're both teachers…" Alison waved her finger between herself and Emily. "So we need to find someplace before the school year starts back up," Alison finished with a smile as Emily stood stiff next to her.

"Ah yes! I see it here. Ms. Fields and Ms. DiLaurentis, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct. I'm Alison DiLaurentis, and this is Emily Fields." This time, Emily gave a polite smile and a slight head nod, but still hadn't spoken one word since entering the building.

"Nice to meet you both, I'll let Mrs. Masters know that you both are here and then she can show you around. Have a seat and make yourself comfortable." The young woman motioned over to the chairs along the large front windows overlooking the parking lot as Alison and Emily made themselves comfortable and waited in silence.

Emily's attitude had thawed a little ways into the tour, seeing all the kids running around playing and looking into the different classrooms. By the time they had made it to the under one year old room, Alison noticed an actual smile on Emily's face while she was looking at the infants being held, sitting on the floor playing or crawling around. They signed the paperwork right then and there, knowing that their search was complete. Jessica had loved every day since.

Alison's smile spread across her face as the door to the younger toddler room opened and Jessica came running out all bundled up in her hat and winter jacket. Alison bent down and scooped the one and a half year old into her arms. "Hi baby girl! Mommy missed you so much!" she exclaimed while she hugged Jessica tightly and pressed kisses into the little girl's chubby cheeks. "Were you a good girl today?"

"She was! She ate all of her lunch today, even her vegetables," her teacher, Ms. Marisa said as she followed behind Jessica. "She even drew you a picture, it's in her backpack."

Alison's eyebrows shot up in exaggerated shock. "You did?!" Jessica smiled proudly and nodded her head 'yes' before nuzzling into the side of Alison's neck. "What do you say baby girl? Want to head home to play?"

Jessica's head shot up and she put her arms over her head. "Pway!" she said excitedly. Alison put Jessica down and they walked out of the center hand in hand before climbing into Alison's car and heading home.

~XXXXX~

Jessica was asleep in the back seat by the time they got home. She usually didn't nap while she was at the day care because there was always too much going on and she was the type of little girl who never wanted to miss out on anything. So she usually always fell asleep on the car ride home, even if it was only about 15 minutes. Alison smiled at how peaceful the little girl looked. She carefully got the toddler out of her car seat and took her inside before setting her down on the couch gently and putting a blanket over her. She moved the ottoman next to her in case Jessica turned in her sleep, which she usually didn't, and then headed into the kitchen to start dinner. This was their normal afterschool routine. When Alison put her down on the couch, she would usually sleep for another half hour to forty-five minutes, so Alison would take the opportunity to prep dinner so she wouldn't feel bad neglecting the tiny brunette later on.

Alison was just finishing up her mise en place when she heard the pitter patter of little feet come into the kitchen. Jessica was dragging her blanket behind her rubbing her eyes. She looked up at Alison before stretching her arms out in front of her. "Uppy," she said in a groggy voice. Alison smiled and picked up the little girl, who wrapped her tiny arms around her neck. She gently rubbed up and down her back while bouncing up and down. This continued for about thirty seconds before Jessica decided she had enough snuggling and tried to wiggle out of her mother's arms. "Cuppy," she said while extended a hand to where her sippy cups were in the cabinet.

"Do you want water or milk, baby?" Alison asked.

"Wawa," Jessica replied after a moment's hesitation, tapping her foot on the floor with her tiny, pudgy finger on the side of her head as if it was one of her toughest decisions of her day.

Alison chuckled at the little brunette's burgeoning personality as she began filling the cup with water before handing it back to Jessica. The little girl turned on her heel and headed back into the living room. Alison remembered back to the day that she was born. She couldn't believe how quickly her little girl had grown up. She never really believed people when they said that it would fly by, but it truly had. Staring down at the blue-eyed, dark haired little girl, Alison wondered just where that little six pound baby went. She still thought back on that day often, how happy she and Emily had been. How much they had fallen in love with Jessica at first sight, and how much deeper they had fallen in love with each other. Alison smiled weakly to herself when she remembered back to Emily's surprise of the adoption papers and the words that she had spoken with them.

"I want nothing more than to make our family official. I promise you that I will be there for you every step of the way. For her first word, her first steps, her first haircut, her first boyfriend or girlfriend, her first heartbreak, her graduation, her wedding. For everything. I promise that I will provide for you and protect you both, forever."

A tear slipped down Alison's cheek as her heart broke yet again thinking back on those words. She had believed in those words that Emily spoke. She had been absolutely convinced that they would always be together. But Emily broke her promise eight months ago. She had missed Jessica's first word and her first steps. Emily had promised that she would always be there for the two of them, but she hadn't been since Jessica's first birthday.

"Mommy?" The tiny voice brought Alison back to reality and she sniffled and quickly wiped the tears from her reddened cheeks. Jessica had come back into the room with a book in her hands. "Wead?" she said as she held the book up, her eyes showing concern that her mommy looked so sad.

Alison plastered on her best smile as she picked Jessica up and headed into the living room. "Sure, baby girl. Let's go read."

~XXXXX~

After reading, Alison cooked dinner for the two of them and then gave Jessica a bath. As was their nightly ritual, Alison allowed Jessica to go pick out a book to read before bedtime. After finishing Jessica's favorite book 'I Love You, Stinky Face', which Alison had memorized for how often she read it, she put Jessica down in her crib. She smiled down at the young girl and gave her a kiss to the forehead. "Goodnight, baby girl," Alison cooed at her softly.

"Ni', Momma," Jessica said as she reached out toward the picture of Emily sitting on the small table next to the crib. Alison sighed as she picked up the picture and handed it to Jessica. Tears welled in Alison's eyes, as they did every night, watching her daughter place a gentle kiss to the picture of her brunette mother before gently squeezing the picture frame into a hug. She blinked them away before taking the picture from her daughter's arms and placing it back on the small table.

"Alight, it's time to lie down and go to sleep now, sweetheart. Mommy and Momma love you very much." Alison covered the girl with a blanket and smiled as Jessica's eyes were already closing. She switched on the nightlight before turning off the overhead light and heading down into the kitchen.

Alison glanced at the clock and saw that it was a little before 8 p.m. She always hated this time of night. The house always felt the coldest and emptiest at this time. She would usually just sit with her thoughts and a glass of wine. Alison knew that she probably shouldn't drink while on her medication, but she always figured that one glass to unwind while she graded papers wouldn't hurt her. And tonight, she had a massive pile of papers, so she poured herself an extra measure of wine before making her way to the couch and making herself comfortable. She dug into her bag and grabbed the essay books, pulled the throw off the back of the couch and grabbed her papers and a red pen and began reading. It was a little before 10 pm before she decided to call it quits. She had made quite a dent in the essays and only had a handful left to grade, which she could do during her free period the next day. She made sure the house was locked up before climbing the stairs and beginning her nightly bedtime routine.

This was her new normal now. Every morning at 6, she would wake up, take her medication, and go for a jog while Spencer came and sat with the baby before getting herself ready and dressing and feeding Jessica. Then, she would drop her off at the child center, go mold the young minds of the next generation and then go pick Jessica back up. They would then make their way home, Alison would cook dinner, they would have some mommy-daughter time, and then Alison would have a glass of wine and grade papers in silence until she was ready for bed. Each night, she would find one of Emily's RHS Sharks tee shirts and throw it on before climbing into bed, snuggling Emily's pillow in tight to her body. If she concentrated really hard, she could still smell the brunette on her pillow. Most nights, tears flowed down her cheeks until she finally drifted off to sleep.

A/N 2: Well, there it is, so please let me know what you think! As I warned at the end of 'Coming Home', this is full of angst, but I promise, everything will all work out, it's just going to be a long, hard, broken road to get there. I do have 9 chapters written so far, and for the time being, I'm only going to update when I have another chapter written, just in case I decide to go in another direction at some point in time. Have a great day everyone! See you soon!