Chapter 1

Alison was sitting on the sofa, waiting for the love of her life to get home. He was running late. She had to tell him something important, but was scared to do so. Around 9pm she finally received a text:

Babe, I'll be home in 15, could you maybe put a pizza in the oven? Love you!

Alison was glad he'd be home soon, she texted him back that they should look for a house in Rosewood, closer to his job, so he wouldn't have to travel so long every day. When he finally got home, Alison asked him what took him so long, as he was later than usual. 'I ran into Emily' Noel answered. While Noel ate his pizza, Alison contemplated telling him what had been bothering her for a week now. She decided not to, she wasn't brave enough tonight. When they were lying in bed, Noel obviously wanted to talk, but Ali was having none of it. 'Babe… your friends are worried'. 'They always are', she shot back at him, 'everything is fine'. Noel doubted this, he was worried about his girlfriend's eating habits. Alison was getting thinner by the day, and he had hardly seen her eat the last couple of weeks. 'But Ali, you're not really eating… you're getting so thin'. Alison turned away from him, 'I had to lose some weight, but I'm fine now'. 'Are you sure?' Noel asked worried. 'Yeah' she turned around to kiss him, 'goodnight, I love you'. Noel was taken aback by the sudden coldness of his girlfriend, but didn't want to give up. He had to talk to her. 'Ali…' he said, while softly rubbing her back. 'Noel, please, not tonight', Alison pushed his hand away. 'Uhm, okay. Goodnight Ali'. Both Noel and Alison felt bad, and it took a while before they finally fell asleep.

Around 6 AM, Alison found herself unable to sleep. She decided to go downstairs to make herself some tea. When she was at the top of the stairs she suddenly felt dizzy and fainted. Noel woke up from the noise of Alison falling down the stairs, and found his girlfriend unconscious. 'Ali, honey wake up' he said to her. After several seconds, which seemed to drag on for minutes, Alison woke up. 'Noel' she whispered, 'I'm sorry'. 'Are you okay?' Noel asked, clearly in shock. 'I think I might have broken my wrist' Alison replied, wincing at the pain the fall had caused her. Noel decided to bring Alison to the hospital in Rosewood, as he had to go to work and all their loved ones lived there. Alison protested against this, but it was short-lived. The hour drive to Rosewood was marked by an awkward silence. 'I'll call your dad' Noel said, when they approached the hospital. 'No, please, it'll be fine. Just drop me off, I'll get my wrist checked and I'll be on my way'. 'But Ali, I don't want you to be alone, I'll call my boss and tell him I can't come in today' Noel said. He was worried sick about his girlfriend. 'You don't have to do that, I'll call one of the girls and then you can pick me up at the end of the day, ok?' Alison proposed. 'Okay, but first I'll come with you, I have some time before I have to be at work'.

After a bit of waiting, Alison got called in by a doctor. 'So, miss DiLaurentis, can you tell me what happened?' Doctor Jones asked. 'I think I broke my wrist' she told him. 'How did that happen?' 'Well' she hesitated for a moment, 'I fell down the stairs'. Dr. Jones looked from her to Noel. 'How did that happen?' he asked, clearly thinking Noel must have pushed her. 'Ehm, well, I think I fainted', Alison answered softly. 'Has that happened before?' the doctor asked. 'Yeah…', Alison whispered while looking down. Noel looked alarmed, he didn't know Alison had fainted before the accident this morning. 'Hmm, well let's take a look at you' the doctor said. While the doctor took Alison's vitals and called in a nurse to draw some blood, Noel couldn't help but blurt out that his girlfriend hadn't been eating a lot lately. Alison looked furious. 'Is that true young lady?' Dr. Jones asked, 'Have you had problems with eating before?'. 'No, I've been eating just fine' Alison answered through gritted teeth. 'Well, I think your wrist might indeed be broken. You'll have to go get some x-rays made. When you're done you can come back and I'll have your blood work ready. You have a very low blood pressure and heart rate. Your temperature is on the low side as well, and I think you might be dehydrated. We might have to admit you', the doctor said in a serious voice. Alison looked at Noel for support, but he avoided her glance. She bit back tears and the urge to run away. The doctor gave her a compassionate smile. Alison tried to compose herself, and shook the doctor's hand with her unhurt wrist. 'Thank you, doctor, I guess I'll see you later then' she said with a tearful smile.

As they were waiting for her wrist to be placed in a plaster cast, Noel was awfully quiet. In fact, he hadn't said anything since they left the doctor's office to get Alison's x-rays taken. 'Noel, don't you have to go to work?' Alison asked. 'No, I called in sick when they were taking your x-rays' he replied curtly. 'Why?' Alison asked with an air that reminded Noel of the Alison he knew 5 years ago, when they were 16 and both very different people. 'Because I'm worried about you. There's something you're not telling me. I know when you're keeping a secret, babe. And the doctor seemed rather worried as well' he explained. 'It's probably nothing' Alison said trying to sound confident.

When they had finally placed her wrist in a cast, they found themselves back at the office of Doctor Jones. Noel decided to get some coffee, and still wasn't back when the doctor came in with Alison's blood work. Before the doctor could say anything, Alison started talking. 'Could you please not tell him, he doesn't know yet, and I'm not sure whether I want to keep it or not' she told him, sounding like she was on the verge of a breakdown. 'So you know?' the doctor asked perplexed. 'I've known for a week now' Alison said, looking guilty. 'Your situation is delicate, miss DiLaurentis. I think I want to keep you here to make sure everything is all right, both with you and the baby'. 'Is that really necessary?' she asked him pleading. 'Yes, I'm afraid so' the doctor was clearly set on Alison staying in the hospital. 'Okay' Alison bit her lip. At that moment Noel walked in. He saw Alison had tears in her eyes. 'What's wrong honey?' he asked her worried. 'It's nothing, it's just, I didn't expect I had to stay here' she said with a tear rolling down her cheek. 'So she has to stay? Was there something wrong with her blood?' Noel asked the doctor while he put his hand upon Ali's. Alison gave the doctor a warning look; she didn't want Noel to know just yet. 'Her blood work didn't show anything really alarming, but taking into account that she has fainted before, combined with her low blood pressure, heart rate and temperature and the smack she must have made falling down the stairs is enough reason to keep her here for observation for at least this night' the doctor said sternly. Noel saw Alison was crying and squeezed her hand, 'okay, thank you doctor'. 'I'll leave you alone now, a nurse will come to help you to your room'.

When the doctor had left them alone, Alison broke down. Noel tried to comfort her. He hadn't seen his girlfriend like this since the night they discovered the truth behind A. 'It'll be fine baby, you'll be fine' he said to her, while holding her tightly. When she finally calmed down a bit, he asked her whether there was anything he could do for her. 'Could you get some stuff from home?' she asked him. 'Of course, what do you need?'. 'Just something comfortable to wear, my make-up stuff and maybe something to read'. 'I'll go and get it as soon as you're settled' he told her. After the nurse had come to take Alison to her room and Noel had left to get her the things she needed, someone came in to make an echography. 'Do you know how far along you are?' the nurse asked her. 'I'm not sure, but it can't be long' Alison answered. 'Let's see', the nurse proceeded cheerfully with the procedure. She was seemingly oblivious to the fact that Alison was trying to bite back her tears the entire time. 'It seems like you have been pregnant for a while already, I think 12 weeks at least, but the baby is lagging behind in growth. The doctor wrote down that you have some trouble eating, you will really have to start eating better. At the moment it seems like you're not getting enough food in your system to support yourself, let alone the baby' the nurse said worried. A tear rolled down Alison's cheek. The nurse obviously felt sorry for her and tried to comfort her. 'It will be fine, we will get a dietician put together a schedule for you and you'll be out of here in no time' the nurse said. Alison nodded, she felt like a weakling.

She hated it when she felt weak. This was exactly why she had stopped eating in the first place. She wanted to have control of her body and her life. Since the whole A thing had unraveled she decided that she would not control herself and everyone around her the way she used to; by being a bitch. She had tried several things, but found that controlling her eating habits worked best. She had a much better relationship with her friends and family and she was happy about the way she looked, although lately she felt like she had to lose more and more weight in order to feel good about what she saw in the mirror. She was not sure she could give that up for a baby she was not sure she wanted to have. And how would she tell Noel? Although his personality had turned 180 degrees from when they were 16, she was sometimes still scared that he would break out in a rage. When she first started dating Noel everyone thought she had gone mad. Her friends still didn't really trust him, but he had changed so much. After all they've been through together, Ali was sure he was the one. He was her rock. However, this did not take away the little insecurities she knew she would always have. The whole A situation had left her scarred, and she wasn't sure she could ever again trust anyone completely. But she trusted Noel the most, and Emily, of course. She dreaded telling Emily that she was pregnant. Emily had never been the same after that night in New York. She became obsessed with swimming. When she didn't get the scholarship she wanted and needed, she fell off the wagon. She started drinking a lot and failed her degree. Now she was working in the Brew. It seemed like she was doing all right at the moment, but Alison was always worried.