Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Author's Note: This chapter will contain spoilers for Season 1, Episode 16, 'Je Suis Une Amis'. Mild spoilers for Season 3 Episode 11, 'Single Fright Female', regarding Paige and Alison's past.

My apologies for this chapter being a little late, real life doesn't seem to care about my posting schedule. Thank you for all the faves and follows!

Comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated! Enjoy!

888

Paige pushed herself into a sitting position with her good hand, wincing as her body protested the movement. As if to mock her further, the rain increased, the cool, fat droplets rinsing the blood from her leg.

'A's latest message disappeared as her much abused phone went into standby mode. She was tempted to crush her phone against the wet cement and simply be done with it. Only the knowledge that 'A' would surely find a way to communicate -phone or not- kept her from giving in. Considering 'A' had nearly mowed her down for talking to Emily, she didn't think she wanted to know what would happen if she attempted to break up with her texting stalker.

Getting to her feet, Paige wiped scraped hands off on her ruined jeans before collecting her bike. The frame was scraped, her front wheel bent beyond all repair, the rear wheel barely in better shape. All things considered, she was lucky she hadn't cracked her skull open in the fall.

Paige walked down the street, one hand on the handlebars, the other holding tightly to the collar of her shirt in an attempt to stabilize her shoulder. It was twenty minutes past her modified curfew when she limped up the drive, her father standing in the open doorway, arms crossed. His tense body relaxed when he took in her road rashed body, immediately abandoning the porch to help Paige to the garage.

"I'm okay," Paige said as he took control of the bike, one arm circling her waist to support her as she walked. A quick flick of the keys on the security pad to open the garage door and they stepped inside. Paige was thankful to simply be out of the rain, her clothes completely saturated. Her father took a moment to lift her bike onto its wall mount, sinewy strength allowing him to do it one handed.

His concern was evident in his eyes, and Paige leaned into him, feeling the tears start to come as he walked her into the house. The fear, the frustration, it was all too much and her carefully constructed walls started to fracture. Her father wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly to his chest. It was almost foreign to feel this from him, a concern for her rather than the image of her. It had been so long since she could simply cry in her father's arms and not feel ashamed for her weakness.

"Nick?" Her mother stood from the couch, rushing to Paige's side, her book lying forgotten on the coffee table.

"We're okay, just a little spill," Nick assured as Paige worked to quell her tears. She looked worse in the full light of the living room, her hip already bruising, her legs a mish mash of road rash. Nick helped her downstairs to her room, leaving Paige in her mother's care so she could strip down and assess the damage.

When Paige had dried off and gingerly changed into a pair of loose shorts and a tank top, her mother started her inspection. A few rounds of peroxide and an hour with tweezers had most of the debris cleaned from her skin. A couple of butterfly stitches on her forehead kept the thin line of a cut held together and Paige praised her luck again. Another foot toward the curb and she would have been lucky to walk away from the accident at all.

When the worst of the damage was tended to, her mother worked Paige way through some shoulder exercises. The muscles twinged but felt nowhere near as painful as when she had dislocated it. The familiar stretches had been part of the physiotherapy Paige had been given to heal her shoulder after her injury. She would be sore in the morning and anything resembling a competitive swim stroke was likely out of the question.

"I'll go let your father know you're all right and bring you down some tea. Just lie down and get some rest." Her mother kissed her forehead, helping Paige to lie down against the soft pillows on her bed. Paige shifted to get comfortable, she hadn't felt this beat up since one of her teammates had convinced her to try out for rugby.

The heavier steps coming downstairs let Paige know her father was on his way in and she pulled a blanket over her legs to conceal the worst of the damage. He wasn't going to be happy about her messing up a chance to anchor because she had wanted to go out for a bike ride.

A knock on the door preceded his entrance, worry evident in his features. "How ya feeling?" His southern accent -usually tightly reined- came out as he spoke. It was his tell when he was upset.

"I'm okay, just sore."

"What happened?" He asked, handing her a cup of the chamomile tea her mother loved to serve her.

"A car passed too close," Paige said, it was close enough to the truth that she didn't feel bad about the lie. "I slid out. It was stupid." Paige shook her head, it had been dumb. To think that she could stand up to 'A' and get control of her life back without a concrete plan. Going off half cocked had been about as effective as spitting into the wind.

It didn't stop Paige from wanting to wrest control of her life back but she had to stop flailing blindly into the darkness. Like Coach said, she couldn't hammer at every problem until it broke. The 'A' issue needed finesse, patience. Paige was playing a long term game and she had to start thinking with long term goals.

"How's the shoulder?"

"It's okay. Stiff but I think it'll be fine for the morning."

"Well, we'll see. We have to think about the rest of the season, it doesn't make sense to injure yourself more for a single meet. You might be better off if you let it rest. We'll test it out in the morning."

Paige nodded her agreement, surprised that her father had given in so easily.

"Get some rest."

After he left, Paige hunkered down under her covers, forcibly pushing out the image of the car plowing by her at warp speed. 'A' had shown the lengths they were willing to go to protect themselves. Not only were they operating miles ahead of Paige and her piss poor planning, but they were obviously willing to use violence to solve their problems. Paige was no stranger to an enemy without limits and she would deal with it the same way she had the last time.

Game on, bitch.

888

Paige woke when natural light hit her eyes, unconscious mind put off by the strange sensation. It had rarely occurred since moving to the basement, it meant she had slept well past her normal waking time. She pulled herself gingerly out of bed, her bruises letting themselves be known.

It was easier than she expected to climb the stairs, her battered leg painful but steady beneath her. Her place at the table was set, her mother and father's long since cleared away. She could hear her mother shuffling around in the kitchen and headed in to find her about to load the frying pan with bacon.

"Morning," Paige greeted, her voice gravelly and unfamiliar to her own ears.

"Morning, Sweetheart." Her mom left the stove, walking over for a quick hug and kiss to Paige's temple. "How you feeling?"

"I'm okay," Paige answered, eyes wandering over to the kitchen clock. Eight forty five. Wasn't there something she was meant to do this morning?

Oh. Sh...

"I'm late for practice! Coach is going to kill me." Never mind making anchor, missing the practice before a meet was a guaranteed no compete. Paige was halfway out of the kitchen when her mother called out.

"Paige, it's okay."

"Okay?! I'm supposed to have a swim off! Dad..."

"Agrees with me that you need a few days to recover."

"I... what?" Paige had figured last night's concern would disappear with the dawn. That her father would simply tell her to shake it off and suck it up.

"Your father and I discussed it last night and I spoke with Coach Fulton this morning. We all agreed that you need to rest, especially given your history of shoulder injury."

"But..."

"No 'buts'. Go get dressed, I'll drive you to school after breakfast."

Paige wandered back downstairs, still in somewhat of a fog as she got dressed. Hell, if she had known getting run off the road was a get out of jail free card, she might have antagonized 'A' earlier.

Dressing as comfortably as possible, Paige forewent her usual clothes for her warm up suit. It covered the worst of the damage while being loose enough not to aggravate tender skin. She shoved her books into her bag and went back upstairs, near giddy to see a plate of fried eggs and bacon at her place.

"Don't..."

"Tell, Dad. My lips are sealed," Paige promised, wolfing down the large meal in record time. By the time her mother returned with a large glass of orange juice, Paige had cleaned her plate, sopping up the last of the bacon grease and egg yolk with her toast.

It had been a long three months of oatmeal and yogurt.

"Did you actually taste any of that?" Her mother asked as she held out the glass of juice. Paige smiled sheepishly and polished off the juice quickly, wanting to make it to school in time to check the line up. Without her, Coach would be forced to shuffle the line up all the way down.

Paige felt guilty for that, knowing Coach Fulton organized each relay team to work as a set piece. By taking herself out of the equation, she had probably left the woman scrambling.

Her mother got Paige out the door and to Rosewood just as the second bell began to sound, signaling them in for first period.

"I'll come pick you up after the meet."

"It's okay, Mom. I'll walk."

"Are you sure?" It was a good three mile walk back to the house.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I can't swim, I need to get some fitness in, somehow. My leg feels okay."

"All right, call me if you change your mind."

"Thanks, Mom." Paige kissed her mother on the cheek and slid out of the car, bypassing the main entrance for the side door that would shortcut to Coach Fulton's office in the natatorium. Coach was behind her desk, scribbling on a notepad and Paige knocked quietly on her door.

"Paige." She was greeted with a genuine smile, Coach standing up to meet her. "How are you feeling?"

"Little banged up." Paige pointed to the butterfly stitches across her forehead. "Still have a bit of a headache but my shoulder should be good to go for next Friday's meet."

"I'll be glad to have you back but make sure you're ready. I don't want you to rush it. Your body is at a very important stage of development, if you injure something seriously now, it could have long term effects."

"Thanks for looking out for me, Coach."

"That's why I'm here."

"I'm sorry if I messed up the line up." Paige did truly feel bad about that. She took her responsibilities seriously and -even if it was beyond her control- she still felt guilty for leaving Coach Fulton in the lurch.

"You let me worry about that."

"Can... can I see the changes?"

"Sure." Coach motioned her over, taking one of the two guest seats and motioning Paige to sit down. She handed the clipboard over and Paige scanned the relay setups. Emily -of course- was placed at anchor. The starter slot, which would have been Paige's, had been filled by Vicky. Chloe and a freshman were sandwiched between the two. Paige checked over the rest of the roster, all of them solid line ups. Coach knew her team well and which teammates worked best with one another.

"You see something," Coach said, watching Paige as she searched the list for what seemed out of place.

"I remember this team from last year. They stack their third and fourth slot pretty heavily. They had a junior last year that was blowing the doors off everyone. Chloe doesn't have a great record in the third slot and she may end up giving them a lead that Emily won't be able to make up."

Coach seemed to consider this. "I remember their anchor. What do you suggest?"

"I'd switch Chloe to start. She can take on most of their openers, they really only have their one superstar. If Vicky goes third, she can keep pace enough to give Emily a chance."

"Not bad, McCullers." Coach Fulton smiled at her. "All right, what next?"

888

Paige finished off her last class, jogging lightly to the locker room to rid herself of her gear. She slipped into her bathing suit and put her track suit back on top. If things really started to slide, she would pester Coach Fulton to let her try a leg.

Feet clad in simple flip flops, Paige walked out to the pool, the crowd roaring as the first leg of the relay started. Paige found herself a seat a few rows down from Hannah and Hastings, doing her level best not to glare up at the girl out of simple habit. Her team was milling about the starting block, Emily in her long jacket with earbuds in.

She looked nervous, Paige couldn't blame her. No matter how many times Paige anchored, it never changed the weight of the responsibility. Winning was a team effort but Paige often felt responsibility was hers alone. For once, Paige could watch her teammates perform without the added pressure of knowing it would all come to rest on her shoulders.

The freshman in the second slot touched edge and Vicky dove in, keeping time with two of her competitors. The Philly competitor outpaced her easily, taking lead of the entire pack. Paige had been right. If Vicky was falling behind, Chloe would have been smoked right out of the gate. Paige pursed her lips, knowing that the Philly anchor was a solid performer but not as good as Emily. Vicky just needed to keep close enough for Emily to overtake her in the last leg.

Emily pulled out her earbuds, tucking them into her pocket before handing her jacket off to a teammate. Emily set herself on the block, goggles down, game face on.

Philly's third swimmer touched edge, Emily's direct competition launching herself into the pool. Vicky wasn't too far behind, hand touching edge as Emily threw herself forward, body slicing crisply through the water.

Paige nearly rocked herself out of her seat as she watched Emily cut the leads of the furthest swimmers to nothing. Her flip turn -a picture of perfection even from across the pool- had her ahead of everyone but the Philly anchor who was to her immediate right. The girl in the red suit had a powerful stroke, long body eating up the length of the pool at a breakneck speed.

Emily was faster.

Paige could see the frustration on the Philly swimmer who was giving her all, only to be passed at the midpoint. Emily pulled ahead by a hand, an arm and finally a full body length, touching the pool edge a good half second before her competitor.

The crowd nearly deafened Paige with their roar and she stood with them smiling widely at the stellar performance. Emily had deserved that win.

Emily pulled herself out of the pool, accepting the back slaps of her teammates with a shy smile. She looked across the pool, eyes finding Paige for a split second. Paige gave her a smile and a nod, she couldn't have done any better.

Paige sat on the bleachers as the crowd slowly filtered out, watching her teammates head for the locker room. Coach Fulton found her in the thinning crowd, giving Paige a thumbs up which she returned.

When everyone had finally cleared out, Paige stepped down from the bleachers, padding over to the edge of the pool. She rolled up her pant legs, sitting down to let her feet dangle in the cool water.

Paige looked over crystalline water taking it all in: the hum of the air vents overhead, the scent of chlorine, the tick of the giant clock across the pool. This place had once felt like home. Now, as familiar as it was, it had started to lose that feeling of safety. As much comfort as she once enjoyed from being here, it simply felt like a another chore. One more responsibility to add to the list.

And she didn't have to do it anymore. She could quit now, 'A' had given her that opportunity. She could play up her shoulder injury just long enough to sink her season. The team was in good hands. Emily was a better leader than Paige could hope to be. She wouldn't be leaving Coach Fulton or the Sharks in the lurch.

Paige could simply remove herself from the 'A' equation. Put so much distance between her and Emily that she would be of no use. It would hurt, no doubt. Giving up on swimming. Giving up on Emily. She'd had feelings for the girl since before being able to classify what those feelings were.

Footsteps to her left prompted Paige to look over and she caught sight of Emily, still in her long jacket, walking over to her.

"You okay? You didn't return any of my calls."

Paige didn't know how to explain her actions.

"I'm fine. It's nothing." Paige paused, that wasn't the truth. Maybe she couldn't tell Emily everything but the girl deserved better than a blatant lie. "I didn't know what to say. I was riding home on my bike and I wiped out."

"What were you thinking about?"

"How easy it would be if I wiped out," Paige admitted. What if she had simply thrown in the towel, let 'A' win? No more secrets, no more lies. No more anything. Simple. 'A' wasn't the first enemy who had driven her to such thoughts. As with anyone else who had challenged her, Paige's need to win, to beat whoever targeted her, hadn't let her give in. And it wouldn't now. Even if she quit the Sharks, she wouldn't quit searching for 'A'. Bitch was going down.

"I'm kinda done with swimming." Paige looked up at Emily who nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, I used to feel that way too."

"Obviously you got over it." Paige searched the other girl for answers, for any way to get back what she had lost in the continual dog fight to be the best. "How did you get over it?"

"I started swimming for myself. I quit trying to be better than everyone on the team."

Paige let out a breath, her shoulders relaxing. It all sounded so simple when Emily said it like that. She pushed herself to her feet, shoving her hands into her pockets as she walked by. "Sounds fun."

"When's the last time you swam for fun?"

Paige turned, eyes finding Emily's. She couldn't remember the last time she had been in the pool when it hadn't been about technique or timing or trouncing her teammates. Emily tugged her warm up jacket from her shoulders and pulled out her cap and goggles before tossing the coat to the bleachers.

"Let's go."

"...What?"

"You're suited up under there, aren't you?"

Paige raised an eyebrow, warmed by the idea that Emily already knew her so well. She stripped down, tossing her warmups near Emily's and held on to her cap and goggles.

Emily cannonballed into the pool with a yell, the splash catching Paige in the chest. Paige grinned at the unprofessional entry, holding tight to her goggles as she launched herself off the deck with a back flip. She surfaced with a smile, slicking her hair back to contain it under the cap. Paige swam beside her teammate as they performed lazy laps, Emily stopping every half or so to perform an underwater handstand or a midwater flip.

Paige mimicked her teammate, smiling at the girl under water as she held herself upside down, toes breaking the surface. Emily playfully challenged her for the better part of a dozen laps before picking up the pace, the friendly goading clear. Paige kept after her, keeping their strokes in tandem as they crossed the length of the pool.

This was what Paige remembered.

Those first few years, before it had been all about the competition. When it had been about pushing her friends to do better, testing her body to see what it was capable of. It wasn't about college scholarships or scouts or slots. It was just Paige and the water.

She sensed Emily stop at the edge of the pool but for the first time in forever, Paige didn't want to get out. This time it wasn't about the frantic pace she had set for herself, trying to sandwich everything in.

It was about the tingle of the cool water as it rushed over her body, the burn of her muscles, the warmth of the sun rays as it pierced the upper windows. As she completed her final lap, surfacing to find Emily smiling at her -tan skin aglow in warm light- that Paige realized this was peace. This was home.

"I don't think I've ever seen you have so much fun," Emily said as they bobbed at the edge of the pool.

"I haven't, not for a long time." Paige remembered small moments like this during freshman year, when she had first met Emily. They had been friendly teammates then, Paige gravitating toward Emily without knowing why. Her unconscious mind had known then what her brain wouldn't allow her to acknowledge for some time.

Paige hauled herself out, legs dangling in the water. Emily mirrored her, a respectable distance between them. "Thank you."

Emily nodded, suddenly quiet as they looked over the pool. Paige fumbled for something to say. Nothing in her repertoire of 'on call' conversation starters covered swimming with her longtime crush. Alone.

"I should go..." Emily started to push herself up and Paige shot out a hand, holding her wrist. She didn't missed the way Emily flinched and Paige cursed herself for having put that fear in her teammate.

"I'm sorry." Paige stared at her teammate, "for everything." Emily deserved better than a muttered, fearful apology in the middle of the night. "I know that doesn't make up for it and I can't really explain why I did what I did. I can only promise that it won't happen again."

Paige wouldn't let 'A' use her sexuality against her to hurt Emily. Whatever happened.

She had already done too much to hurt the other girl. Emily was officially her line in the sand.

Emily nodded silently, whether in agreement or acceptance, Paige wasn't sure. Emily pushed herself up and walked over to collect her gear. Paige let her feet kick, knowing that any response other than a well deserved shot to the mouth should be considered a win. She was lucky Emily was even talking to her.

"Do you want a ride home?" Emily asked, breaking Paige from thoughts that were quickly spiraling into darkness. Paige turned to look at Emily, amazed at the forgiveness she saw in dark eyes.

"No, I'm good, thanks. I'm going to walk."

"Isn't it like, three miles to your house?"

Paige shrugged, hauling her body up with only a small wince. Her leg was feeling better now that she had loosened it with some swimming.

"Get a grip, McCullers. If my parents found out I left an injured teammate stranded, I'd be lucky to drive again. C'mon."

Paige grabbed her gear, following her teammate to the changeroom. They toweled dry quickly, Paige making a point to turn away so her wandering eyes would have no choice but to behave themselves.

"Does it hurt?"

"Sorry?" Paige turned, mind blanking for a moment as her eyes registered Emily, clad only in her bra and bikini briefs. It wasn't anything she hadn't seen any number of times -they had been on the same team for years- but somehow with the friendly interaction, it suddenly felt different. Almost intimate. Paige shook it off. No matter Emily's capacity for forgiveness, it was probably best not to ogle her in the locker room.

"Your ribs and your hip. It looks pretty bad."

"Uh no, I mean, not really."

Emily raised an eyebrow, evidently unconvinced. Uncomfortable with the idea of Emily seeing so much of her, privy to the imperfections that made her feel gawky and undesirable, Paige tugged on her pants.

"When I was fourteen, my cousin and I were at this park in Philly," Paige started. "There was a pond and this man made waterfall." The memory was still crisp in her mind, replayed so many times over the years that every piece was vivid. Emily listened, her questioning glance indicative that she failed to see where Paige was going.

"We climbed to the top of the waterfall, it wasn't big, maybe ten feet. Tyler said he wanted to jump and he dared me to go with him."

Emily's eyes widened.

"Yeah, I know." Paige let out a laugh at the stupidity of it all. "He said he had done it before. And he dared me," Paige reiterated, as though it should explain everything. "Tyler counted to three, made a whole big deal out of it. I jumped, he didn't."

"Oh, god." Emily seemed on the verge of either horror or hysterics, depending on how the story turned out.

"Yeah. I guess he didn't think I had the guts for it but..."

"You can't lose," Emily deadpanned, smirk firmly in place.

"See, you get that!" Paige exclaimed. "For some reason, he didn't. Anyway, I dislocated my shoulder, broke a couple of ribs. I was lucky considering how shallow that stupid pond was. Point of it is, after that..." Paige motioned to her latest bruises. "There isn't much that compares."

Paige tugged on her tank top.

"Ouch. What happened to your cousin?"

"Grounding and probably the worst chewing out I'd ever heard. He was my servant for the rest of the summer." Paige laughed at the memory, the summer she had spent with her rough housing cousin had been on of the best. "You know what the worst part was? It was the official end of my superhero dreams."

"What?" Emily's eyes twinkled, evidently amused.

"I figured if I had any superpowers they would have kicked in to save me. Sadly, the world will forever be denied SuperPaige."

Emily laughed, shifting her bag onto her shoulders. "I don't know, McCullers. You might be part fish."

"Yes, I'm secretly Aquagirl," Paige rebutted, holding the door open for her teammate. The walk to the car was pleasant, small talk filling the space between the natatorium and Emily's Toyota. Paige's brain did its best to make an ass of her, her usual inability to be anything resembling suave kicking in.

Despite the occasional blip of awkwardness, being with Emily -not having to hold up every wall- was as relaxing as it was tense. The girl had a quiet charm about her that set Paige at ease, so long as she put the idea that it was Emily freaking Fields out of her mind. It was a completely odd sensation that Paige couldn't help but enjoy.

Emily's car beeped as the girl unlocked it and they quickly slid into their seats. It was quick work to drive to Paige's house, her parents cars both in the driveway. Paige pushed open the door, bummed that their time together was over. She held no illusions, Emily had been being kind to her but it didn't change their situation. Whatever camaraderie they were sharing was liable to be a one time shot.

"Thanks for the ride, Emily."

"No problem."

"I'll see you at practice on Monday." Paige stepped out of the car, shouldering her backpack as she closed the door.

"Paige?"

Paige leaned over to look through the open window. "Yeah?"

"If you start thinking again... about wiping out or whatever... call me."

"...Thanks. I... I will." Paige started to walk away, turning back for a moment when she realized she had neglected the most important part of their conversation. "Good job out there today, Fields."

Emily gave her a lopsided smile. "Just keeping you on your toes McCullers."

Paige waved at her teammate, smiling to herself as she bounded up the porch stairs. She felt...light. There had been no criticisms, no pressure, no competition. No 'A'. Hell, Paige had even caught a lucky break that let her spend time with the girl who made her feel as though there was hope for her in the world.

It had been so long that Paige had nearly forgotten what it felt like.

Today had been a good day.

tbc...

*R & R :)