The return:

The young woman sat anxiously in the middle of the station on a plastic grey chair, one of her legs were folded over the other, as one of her feet tapped against the ground and her eyes kept darting from the clock on the wall to the office door in the far corner of the room.

The butterflies she had felt in the pit of her stomach had hardly stopped since the short drive over to the station, she had no idea if it was because she got a sudden call telling her to come in as soon as possible, or the fact that she was back in town for the first time in three whole years and could be spotted anytime soon.

Her home had once been in Rosewood before she graduated high school and was basically forced to fly over to the other side of the country to start her new life and begin her dream career, studying at a college in New York, far enough away from the drama and people back home. She had to leave her friends, the home she grew up in, her father, the lifestyle she had adopted and instead become a whole new person just to fit in with what was expected of her at law school.

"Carly Monroe?" a voice called from across the room, startling her out of her daydream and over to where the sound was coming from.

She quickly rose to her feet when she realised an older looking women was calling her from behind the now open office door she had been looking at moments before, with a small smile on her face and she was beckoning the girl over to her. Taking a deep breath, she returned the gesture before making her way over to one of the many offices in the station, the doubts from before being pushed to the back of her mind as she focused on the next stage.

Carly had received an important phone call earlier on in the day from the station just as she had been arranging the last of her furniture in her brand new apartment, informing her that she needed to get down to the station as soon as possible regarding the position she had applied for and had been interviewed for twice already by the Rosewood police department.

She had finally now reached the last part of her recruitment process and when she had last met with the lieutenant she would be working alongside, they had told her that she stood very good chances of getting the job and would be able to start within the next few weeks. As soon as Carly had got the news, she began looking for apartments in the town, it wasn't long before she put down a deposit and had already booked her flights to come home and begin the career she had always wanted.

Growing up, Carly had always had an interest in all things criminology and would always come as a detective to her class mates fancy dress parties in the third grade, whilst other girls her age came as their favourite Disney princess. Her interest had come with her throughout her whole childhood through to her teenage years. Fortunately for her when it came to her senior year and applying for college, she knew exactly what she wanted to study as it had been her plan all along and she knew it definitely had something to do with the fact her mom had been a part of the Rosewood police team for many years before deciding to have kids.

Once Carly had arrived at the office door, the older woman stepped aside allowing Carly to make her way inside and the other woman to leave the room so they could get on with the meeting Carly had been called in for.

As Carly stepped inside the large office, she met the face of Linda Tanner, the lieutenant she had grown to recognise and was now going hopefully going to be her boss. Her office looked neat and tidy despite the number of files she had on her desk. Carly couldn't wait to get herself stuck in with the cases and hopefully solve some crimes to help the suffering victims.

"Miss Monroe, please take a seat." Linda told the younger woman from across the other side of the desk without even bothering looking up at her from the computer she was concentrating on.

Slowly nodding her head, she made her way over to the cushioned chair Linda had instructed she sit upon in which she did, the older woman from before, closed the door behind them leaving them to it, as Carly's nerves grew even more just waiting to find out what she was needed so suddenly for. All she could do was hope it was good news. She couldn't deal with getting rejected and having to tell her father that she hadn't got the job since he had been supporting her this whole time, the disappointment he would feel could only make her feel guilty if it went in the opposite direction than what they had wanted.

"I'm sorry to have to spring such a random phone call onto you since you probably haven't settled back in yet and your father informed me that you had only just landed last night but this couldn't wait till the morning." Linda explained to her making her feel increasingly concerned as to what Lieutenant Tanner was going on about. Did she have this job or not?

"No of course I understand." Carly said dryly her throat was tight from the nerves and she couldn't help but clear her throat after she had spoken causing Linda to turn her attention away from the screen and finally on the younger women opposite.

"I just called you in here to go over a few things, fill out some paper work and then you'll be ready to start your first official shift straight after." Linda shuffled some files around on her desk before leaning over to hand Carly some papers.

"So… wait… I've actually got the job?" Carly asked confused that it had been that easy and she had got herself worked up for nothing.

"I forgot to mention that to you didn't I?" Lieutenant Tanner smirked at her as Carly gradually took the papers from her and skimmed over them, before looking back not even caring that she was now grinning from ear to ear.

"I can't believe it! This is what I've always wanted." Carly laughed in disbelief as Tanner got up from her desk chair and wondered over to grab her bag off one of the units.

"Well you better believe it, Miss Monroe." Tanner told her as Carly looked back down at the papers again ready to sign them so she could make it official. "…since I have put you in for the overnight shift tonight with another detective who is working on the Alison DiLaurentis case."

Carly's head immediately shot up from the paper work, her eyes widened slightly and she felt her chest tighten at the name that had left Tanner's lips, a name she had not heard in a very long time. "Did you just say Alison DiLaurentis?"

"Yes I did Miss Monroe, does that happen to be a problem for you?" Tanner questioned her with raised eyebrows causing Carly to shake her head frantically.

"N-n-no I just didn't think I would be assigned to such a big case already." Carly quickly said trying to cover up her slip up as she stood up from her chair and wondered over to the door with the lieutenant.

"I have faith in you that you will deliver, otherwise I would have never invested my time in you." Linda replied back as she pulled up the door before she led the way into the main foyer and over to another office.

The nerves she had felt from earlier had returned back knowing she was going to be working on a case that brought a lot of her past back up and she couldn't help but feel like she was going to have to be extra careful when it came to getting herself involved with all of this again. She never thought returning to Rosewood would possibly make her step right back into where left of and she knew she would have to work extra hard to remain focused.

Lieutenant Tanner made her way inside another office which was very similar to her own but with less filing cabinets and a smaller space. Instead of there being one average sized desk, there was a large long table in the centre of the room with a laptop and some paper folders on the end closest to the door suggesting that whoever was working in here at the moment was actually somewhere else currently. On the end of the table was another laptop with a pile of paperwork and two folders beside it, which Carly understood that this was now her position of work and these resources were for her.

"The other detective seems to have popped out at the moment but they shouldn't be long." Tanner informed her as Carly made her way over to her desk. "Make yourself comfortable Miss Monroe; I have left a note of everything that needs to be done by the morning."

Carly gave her a small smile and nodded her head as she began to slip off her coat and placed her bag on the top of the desk. "Aren't you staying?"

"Unfortunately it's the end of my shift and the only time I can go get a few hours' sleep but I will be back here first thing tomorrow to see how you've got on." Tanner told her before leaving Carly to begin the large amount of tasks she had to do before her shift finished the next morning.

It had been over an hour and a half since Carly had been told she was starting her new job that evening and had already gotten herself stuck in with the tasks she had been set. She had crossed pretty much everything off on the list that ranged from making some phone calls to printing off and filing paper work away. She had even just got back from a coffee run for and the detective she would be working with since they were both on the night shift but also because she thought if she wanted to get on well with them, she might as well do a kind gesture.

She laid the coffee cups down onto the centre of the table before slipping her arms back out of her coat and she hung it round the back of her chair. Carefully she leant over to pick up her cup and took a small slip out of the liquid since it was still boiling hot. Laying the cup back down on the surface, she picked up a piece of paper and wondered over to the photocopier in the far corner of the room.

Carly began to hum to herself as she used her fingers to press the buttons on the machine ready to copy the important document she had been left to do as one of her tasks. She liked keeping busy especially when working late and always had been known for being a quick and hard worker.

She had even been too focused and in a world of her own that she hadn't even noticed someone else's presence now in the room with her. The detective came to a halt just inches away from his desk chair, when he had spotted the young women on the other side of the room and could hear her humming quietly to herself.

His eyebrows rose up in amusement at the fact she was so unaware that he was also in the room with her. Also he couldn't help but trail his eyes over the back of her body; he could make out the curves around her hips and the peachiness of her bum in the cigarette pants she was wearing, her legs looked longer despite her average height with the black court heels on her feet and he couldn't help but smirk to himself at the attractiveness of his new co-worker.

Slipping off his jacket, he draped it over the back of his chair like Carly had done moments before with hers and purposely chucked his keys down onto the wooden table wanting to grab her attention, his eyes never leaving her as he did so just waiting for her to turn around and get caught in the act.

As soon as the keys hit the table, Carly felt her body freeze and the sound what had been coming from throat before stopped instantly. She felt her heart rate increase and her cheeks began to flush at the realisation that she had completely not heard someone enter the room and had now probably made a fool out of herself.

Biting down on her bottom lip, Carly gradually span her body round to come face to face with the detective she would be working alongside. He turned his head to the side slightly once their eyes met, his eyebrows still raised and her cheeks continued to flush at the male stood across the room staring at her.

He was the typical tall, dark haired, dark brown eye kind of guy; he was dressed in a suit and smart shoes, a silver coloured watch strapped to his wrist, with his police badge attached to his belt on his pants. He was rather attractive to say the least and Carly couldn't help but feel she had made the wrong first impression already, which needed to be fixed fast.

"Um Hi." she said quietly taking the papers off the machine and wondering over to the table, the detectives eyes never leaving her, making her feel even more uneasy. "I grabbed you some coffee, thought you might need it since you're working late."

For the first time since he had come into the room, he averted his eyes down to the coffee cup on the centre of the table and reached over to take it. "Thank you" he nodded at her taking a sip out of it before looking at her "You must be Carly Monroe."

"Yes. Tanner signed me to work with you on some cases." Carly told him picking up her own coffee and taking a sip as he nodded his head at her understandingly.

"Of course, Miss Monroe." he replied laying the cup down and opening a case file before scattering the contents across the desk. Alison's face on a newspaper article sat in front of them causing Carly's stomach to twist. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm detective Holbrook."

"You too." Carly answered, flashing him a light smile instantly forgetting how she had been embarrassing herself before and the picture on the desk, as he returned the gesture with a cheeky grin.

His eyes were still roaming over the front of her body, this time taking in the low neck white blouse she was wearing which shew off the smallest amount of cleavage, the features of her face, the way her light brown golden hair framed her face in small flowing waves, as she began to get back to work her of organising files, not even realising he had been checking her out. He could get used to seeing her in his office every day and working alongside him. It had been a long time since there had been someone remotely attractive in his presence.

"So Carly, you're aware of the cases you've been assigned to work on I understand. This does mean that if I ever need you to accompany me on investigations or find out some research for me, that you'll be able to do it" Holbrook stated as he took a seat at his desk and logged onto his laptop.

"Of course" she replied simply tucking her hair behind her ear as she piled some folders on top of each other and rubbed her lips together as she concentrated.

"Good." He paused as he watched her suddenly becoming fascinated with her mannerism. "I was told that you studied in New York, so why choose Rosewood as your place of work?"

"I… um… I actually grew up here." Carly told him looking over, as he frowned not expecting her to be from around here. "It was always going to be the place I came back to, I had always wanted to work for the Rosewood police team since I was a child."

"Tanner did say you were passionate." Holbrook said causing Carly to chuckle slightly knowing that in her interviews she had spoken a lot about how much this meant to her. "She also said you were twenty one, which means you haven't been in Rosewood for at least three years."

"Uh yeah." Carly mumbled scratching the back of her neck feeling slightly awkward that she was being asked so many questions already. She understood she had to get to know her co-workers but didn't expect to be basically integrated on her first day.

"You must have been around that summer then." he guessed typing away at his computer causing Carly to stop what she was doing and look at him properly.

"What summer?" she asked confused.

"The summer Alison DiLaurentis went missing." Holbrook answered.

Hearing his words caused her face to drop slightly, her throat tightened like it had earlier when she had found out she would be working on the case and she had to swallow away the lump that had formed in her throat. She couldn't believe already that she was being reminded so much of that summer in just over a couple of hours.

"I was in town yes."

"What were you doing that day?" he continued to quiz making Carly frown and drop the files she had in her hand down on the table before turning to face him fully.

She couldn't believe she was getting questioned like this already and somehow she felt like he was being suspicious of her, like she was a suspect in the case and that somehow he knew what happened to her that summer.

"I don't think that's really relevant, do you Detective Holbrook?" Carly flipped it back on him, wanting him to get off her case before she crumbled and the barrier she had been putting up for the past three years came tumbling down around her. "If you don't mind, I need to use the rest room."

Without giving him a chance to answer her, she marched past him as quickly as she could as her breathing got heavier. There was no way in hell she was letting her past become a part of her present or future again. She would never let it.

Holbrook spun around in his chair after seeing Carly storm out of the office the way she did, a suspicious expression formed on his face at the girls odd behaviour. He had never meant to make her feel uncomfortable. All he wanted to do was get to know her a little bit better. He never planned on scaring the girl off. But he couldn't help but wonder why she reacted so badly to his questions concerning that summer?

As Carly pushed open the ladies toilets, she rushed into one of the cubicles and slammed the door shut behind her. She was thankful that no one else was in the room with her because she couldn't have more people question her. She felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest and her hands began to sake slightly as she stood her back against one of the walls in the cubicle. She couldn't believe how badly she was freaking out after her conversation with Holbrook.

Why did she ever think it was a good idea to come back here and pretend everything was going to be different?

She knew this meant she had to work extra harder to keep her cover up, or else she would be jetting herself off to the other side of the country again without having her dad to give her the extra push this time.

Author note: Thank you so much for reading if you got this far! This is my brand new story and I have already wrote nearly ten parts to this. Although my writing has been put on hold for the next two weeks since I am so busy with finishing college but after then I plan to continue my writing.

Therefore I would love if you could leave me a review with your thoughts on the first part of this story so I can get an idea if anyone would be interest in the next parts. I really appreciate all feedback.

Thank you again for reading. I really hope you enjoyed. I can't wait to share more of this story with you guys.

xx