disclaimer: I don't own Pretty Little Liars that belongs to Sara Shepard, I. Marlene King, and Freeform. I do have "own" the other characters that were created in this story.

warnings/tags/notes: this is an alternative history story set after "Tick-Tok, Bitches". There will be characters that haven't been heard or mentioned in the canon or noncanon setting. This will contain Spencer and Caleb in some aspect – flashbacks, mentions, etc.

without A trace

Chapter Two

Gabrielle sighed with relief when she heard Lillie say them magic words, "You have more than five dollars and fifty cents in your account, Elle."

Her best friend stood next to her as she finished the call on the local payphone. She was surprised that it hadn't been uprooted but Veronica Hastings made sure the small quiet town stayed the same. Marlene impatiently tapped her fingers against the booth which wasn't healthy but given this place it was, "What did Lil say?"

Lillie was the local bank teller and the girls' roommate. Gabrielle smiled as she placed the phone back correctly and placed one dollar in quarters next to it – it was a tradition, leave some quarters for someone who didn't have any. Marlene grew anxious as she watched and was about to use those quarters when she heard Elle reply, "It's in there! They actually came through – ten thousand dollars, Mar."

Marlene smiled when she heard her nickname and Elle only used that when good was spread and this was good news, "See, I told you taking that job wouldn't be bad!"

Gabrielle smiled but couldn't shake the feeling something was off. It was simple and easy and if did correctly, the payoff would be worth it – it was. She at the urgency of Mar replied to a job description that was placed in The Rosewood Observer; she worked with Mar's namesake and grandmother at the local diner.

"I know but I can't help but think that something's off," Gabrielle replied as she glanced around and dropped her voice, "I did pick up a totally stranger in Ravenswood for two weeks."

Marlene nodded her head and listened, "She wasn't a totally stranger and besides you got to see your Aunt Ivory."

Gabrielle did smile but she didn't stay too long after picking up the woman given what time it was usually around. Elle glanced towards to her left and saw Veronica's eldest daughter and the DiLaurentis boy walking towards them. Well, the ATM was next to payphone but still given what Gabrielle did with Spencer.

"Hello Pretty Eyes," Mar said as she saw Jason approach and gave a smile to Melissa. Jason gave a nod while Melissa ignored them and took out her black Amex card.

"Hello," Jason spoke as he waited for Melissa to finish withdrawing her funds. Melissa rolled her eyes as she waited for the money to completely withdraw. It was eight at night and she didn't know why two young girls were using a payphone at this hour but she didn't care. There was enough light all over the damn town these days – one of her mother's needs for a safer town. It wasn't what lurked out but within.

The sound of money was heard completing then Jason bid them goodnight before leaving with Mel. Mar turned to Elle with a smile and she so knew that was going in her journal, "You did bring your card, right?"

"Yes, I always come prepared," Gabrielle said as they moved two steps together and reached the ATM. They just needed enough to cover this week's expenses.

Jason walked next to Melissa when he heard her sigh and began to braced himself. It was getting close to comfort if he could atomically tell her sighs apart but they were siblings.

"We need to go back to the ATM," Melissa declared as they rounded the corner of the street they were on. Jason ran a hand through his hair and wanted to question but knew it wasn't always a correct answer with her, "Sure."

Melissa smiled when she heard Jason comply for once and sharply turned on her heels and began to walk in the direction they came from, "I forgot the receipt."

Jason nodded along not really caring and racking his brain of how got "paired" with her. Veronica thought it would be a good idea if the Hastings, DiLaurentis, and the others "paired" together until the person were caught. Alison wasn't much of a help given her state but he'd seen Emily there almost day – Elliot was off at a conference or something.

They stopped a few feet away from Marlene and the Gabby girl and waited for them to finish. It didn't help that Marlene was known to be a loud talker and the words 'Ravenswood' and 'Ivory' came up at least three times. Melissa interested in the girls perked up when she heard that and made a mental note to contact PI Poe tomorrow. The girls quickly left and didn't notice the two behind them.

"Well, I'm certainly glad you decided to come back," Jason replied as he waited for Melissa to walk forward but she didn't. Instead, she stood in that spot as her mind raced but first, she needed something to eat – receipt be damned, "Apple Rose Grille? Great."

Aria wished she hadn't found out about Spencer's pregnancy until now. It was silent and after Caleb's reveal, it wasn't good. Mona sipped on her drink and quietly placed it back down, "Well, this ups the stakes to get her back now."

Emily nodded while glancing at Toby – he wasn't keen on the two ditching him earlier. Ezra braced himself for words and fits to come out but it didn't happen and a good five minutes had to have passed. Hanna stayed silent as she moved the assuming lead Ezra came upon – it was weak but it was something – around.

"How many weeks is she?" Mona questioned as she grew tired of this silence game. A woman's life and another life were in the balance and given what they did to Hanna, anything was possible.

"Around four," Aria spoke up as Caleb hadn't said anything after the reveal. She didn't know nor did she want to but it had to be around October when conceived.

Mona glanced between Aria and Caleb and really wanted to question their intelligence right now but they did manage to lose Toby, "Okay. The risk for miscarriage is up to eight weeks than the chance decreases."

Everyone nodded their head and Mona felt like a school teacher teaching sex education, "Hanna what did you think of Ezra's findings?"

Hanna looked up from the paper she was reading, "It's not a lot. We got an 'Elle' but it's something."

"You didn't mention you had a name," Caleb spoke as he listened to Hanna talk. He and Aria arrived ten minutes prior with their sudden finding and questioned if they had any leads – no one said anything.

"Well, someone spilled a secret as soon as they entered," Mona said as she got close to throwing her cold tea on him or slapping him; she wasn't very keen on the essence of the best boyfriend right now. Caleb was about to reply when Aria cut them off, "Well, we're sorry we wanted to share that with you before A did."

Emily looked at Aria after she said that, "So, you're saying you two wouldn't have revealed it otherwise?"

Aria spoke too soon without thinking and was about to reply when the sound of phones alerting them was heard.

Alison's gaze stayed fixated on the ceiling as she heard someone enter. She heard from Emily that something was happening but couldn't get the gist of time due to her time restraint. She felt a warm hand brush against hers and a familiar face come into view.

"Spencer," Alison quietly questioned as she followed the brunette's movements. Spencer softly laughed as she took the vacant seat next to Ali's bed. It hurt her to see her friend in this state but it was best.

"Yes, Alison?" Spencer softly questioned as she leaned back and rested her eyes. Alison watched Spencer's movements and was glad she decided to rest her eyes – she'd been visiting after hours for weeks now.

"I just wanted to thank you," Alison said as she shifted her gaze towards the ceiling once more and waited for her to reply. It felt like minutes had passed by before she spoke again, "You can do this. You're Alison DiLaurentis."

Alison fawned as she heard those words and looked towards the brunette once to question but was met with emptiness, "Where did you go?"

"Where did who go, Alison," Nurse Amanda questioned as she entered the young woman's room. Alison didn't reply as she knew it would do more harm if it was revealed Spence visited her and talked about things. Amanda sighed as she made her way towards the blonde with a needle ready – she was already behind schedule due to a break in, "Sleep now, Mrs. Rollins."

The needle entered the skin flawlessly and exited the same way as Alison's gaze was fixated on the chair before her.

"Poor girl," Amanda muttered as turned around and disposed of the needle safely before leaving. She didn't notice that Alison's gaze wasn't fixated on the chair but on the widow and who stood behind it. Alison smiled as she felt herself getting sleepy when she saw her friend's finger touch her lips in an 'shh' manner. She smiled back before Alison's eyes grew wide in terror as she watched someone come up behind Spencer and place their hand over her mouth. Alison tried to reach out but couldn't and she had an idea it was due to Elliot's recommend dose of medicine. She was powerless as she watched her friend struggle against the enemy.

Gabrielle stared at the flyer Lillie held in front of her, "You dropped her off?"

She knew what Marlene was implying but didn't dare speak it – dead or alive. Lillie watched Elle's reaction as she tried to figure out why she went stoic when she showed her. It was under wraps about the young lobbyist's disappearance until a police officer came in and started to hand the flyers out.

"Yes, I dropped her off and that was it," Gabrielle said back and knew nothing good was to come out of this – driving a young woman to somewhere somewhat isolated without any questions. It seemed easy but she should have known the complex of the situation given the woman was Spencer Hastings.

Lillie placed the flyer on the table and calmly walked over towards their shared house phone and began to dial. Marlene watched as Lillie did that and her eyes grew big, "What are you doing?!"

Lillie waved her off as she heard the other person answer, "Apple Rose Grille, Crystal speaking."

"Crystal, I need to place a to-go order in," Lillie said as Marlene looked at Gabrielle with a complex look on her face. Gabrielle listened to what Lillie ordered and was silently happy she got her order right but that didn't excuse what she was dealing with. Lillie listened to Crystal repeat everything and gave the price and was about to reply when Marlene grabbed the phone from her.

"Hello, can I speak to Melissa Hastings please?" Marlene nicely asked as she glared at Lillie. It was a known fact that Melissa frequents the Apple Rose Grille on Thursdays, "Please hold."

Gabrielle slowly began to panic as the ad's employer policy flashed in her mind – under no circumstance must you tell any one of the identity of whom who you ride with – and quickly made her towards the other girls.

"Hello," Marlene heard Melissa say before someone grabbed the phone and quickly ended the call. Lillie watched as Gabrielle slammed the phone on the receiver, "I signed something that said I couldn't under any circumstance disclose the person's identity."

"You disclosed it with us a mere ten minutes ago," Marlene spat as she tried to reach for the phone once more but was blocked by Lillie.

"I know and that was a mistake but this person made me sign a ten-page document," Gabrielle said as she watched Mar glare at Lillie.

"You didn't read any of it, did you?" Lillie question as she stared back at Marlene.

"I did but it was just the first page and they made a comment about knowing if I did fully or something. I didn't take it seriously given the last crazy person was locked up had died," Gabrielle said as she crossed her arms over her chest. This was bad…very bad.

It was too quiet for her liking but she'd deal. She lazily watched the road before her with Patsy Cline playing lowly was heard. Her companion glanced at her once and while to check on her given her surprising state. In due time all would be revealed and she'd understand… she had to.