ren-mccullers Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Guest. Thank you. :)

Guest Thank you. I'm glad that you're enjoying it. I'm pretty new to the fandom, so even though I'm all caught up now, I think there's still a part of me that's stuck in first season, it all still feels very new to me. I'm glad I could bring a little bit of that feeling back for you as well. I agree, I miss Paige. And Paily. And I hope that they'll be reunited before the end.

saii79 Yeah, Emily's being a bit hard on her mom. But, not without reason. Although, Pam has her reasons too, some of which will be revealed in this chapter. Hopefully, she'll make a little more sense even if her behaviour is not entirely excused. I'm glad you liked the chapter. And the Paily feels.

EP Thanks. :)

baq94 Welcome. I'm, glad you found the story and that you're enjoying it.

ponderhouse Thank you. I'm glad that you're enjoying all the elements of the story. I feel like, while Paily is important, and definitely endgame, there's so much more to Emily's journey and I'm trying to show all of that here. Yeah, I've noticed the lack of Aria in a lot of the stories. I'm going to try and include all of Emily's friends equally and showcase their roles in her life.

jace24 I'm glad I could make you smile. As for whether or not Paige is flirting, you'll just have to wait and see. Although, it is a Paily story, so...

take-everything-and-more I know that. And you know that. But dear Emily is still working on figure that out. :)

Author's Note: I had hoped to get this chapter up just after Tuesday's episode, I think we all needed the dose of Paily after that, but real life intervened.

I think it works out though, that I'm posting it today. A Valentine's Day gift to all the lovers and singles alike. 3 Sam.

Chapter 10

To Emily's disapointment, she didn't see Paige again for the rest of the day, despite looking for her between each of her classes. Because it was the day after a meet, Coach had given them all the day off, so she wouldn't even get the chance to see her at pratice. That didn't stop her from swinging by the natatorium and the weight room after the last bell anway, on the off chance that the other girl decided to get in a light workout on her own, but no luck. She even went as far as heading out to the athletic fields to see if Paige was running the track. But it wasn't until she was standing on the bottom of the school steps, scanning the ever thinning crowd of students that she realized how ridiculous she was being. Stalking the other girl all over the school just for what, a chance to say hi? Another hug? When they'd already chatted twice today, which was twice more than was customary for them. They'd be seeing each other again tomorrow, at practice, and they had plans in the evening. That should be more than enough for Emily.

But it wasn't. Maybe it was her developing feelings. Maybe it was the fact that they'd spent the better part of the weekend at each other's sides, but she found herself missing the other girl's presence. Which was, ridiculous. She knew that. But, it didn't change the way she felt.

The buzzing of her cell phone in her pocket captured her attention and she pulled it out, her heart speeding up at the thought that it might be Paige calling, before she realized the other girl didn't have her number.

Letting out a soft sigh and shaking her head at herself she unlocked her phone and checked her messages. It was Hannah, a simple text, Where are you? The two of them had plans to go shopping and Emily was now late meeting her. She tapped out a quick apology and informed her friend that she was on her way before heading back down the block towards town, hoping that the ten minute walk to The Brew would clear her head of all things Paige.

Emily's mom was already home by the time she got there. Cooking dinner, if the smells coming from the kitchen were anything go go by. She had to have heard Emily come in. It's not like Emily was going out of her way to be quiet, and the screen door was in need of some grease, because it screeched whenever it swung shut. But, she didn't call out to her. And Emily made no effort to seek her out either. She headed directly upstairs to her room to read until her mom called her down for dinner. When she did call, Emily's first instinct was to tell her mom that she wasn't hungry and spend the evening holed up in her room. But the faint rumbling of her stomach overrode her desire to be petulant and she reluctantly made her way downstairs.

Her mom offered a small smile as she strode into the room, and Emily did her best to return it. They didn't say anything to each other as Pam carried the last of the serviing dshes over to the table and they took seats across from each other. The silence of the room settled heavily around Emily's shoulders.

"Dinner's good, Mom," she said after awhile, just to break the silence with something. She was sure that it was true. The food probably would be delicious, if she had a taste for it.

Pam nodded her thanks without looking up, the oppressive silence falling around them once again. The only sounds in the room the gentle tapping and scraping of utensils against plates.

"How was school?"

"Good. I got my bio-test back today. Got a B. And we started reading Antony and Cleopatra in English class." She struggled to think of something, anything else to add but came up empty.

"Very good. Do you have a lot of homework?"

"Not really. I finished most of it at school. Just some reading for history."

Pam nodded. "That's good. Your dad said he'd try and call tonight."

"Cool."

Emily hated that the conversations between herself and her mother had been reduced to small talk and the barest of pleasantries. She remembered when they used to talk about the things that she'd learned in class, what was going on with her friends and stuff that had happened at her mother's work. Now, her mom could barely stand to be in the same room as her and the words exchanged were forcibly polite, perfunctory.

"I have to work late tomorrow, so you'll be on your own for dinner. Would you like me to make you something tonight, or just leave you some money for takeout?"

Emily bit her lip, debating her answer. Her mom being out tomorrow night aligned perfectly with her plans. She wouldn't even have to know that Emily wasn't home while she at work. But, she'd always hated lying to her parents. Telling the truth was a trait that was very much ingrained, instilled in her by years of of listening to her paretns, especially her father, talk about the importance of being honorable, of being reliable. Even when she knew that her parents wouldn't like what she was going to say, she felt compelled to answer them honestly.

"Actually, Paige and I were going to grab some dinner and study at her place."

"Take out? Does that mean that her parents won't be home?"

Emily cursed herself for her not only her inability to lie, but apparently her inability to withold information as well. Reluctantly, she nodded.

Pam pursed her lips, and Emily knew what that meant, she was about to say no.

"C'mon, Mom. It's just studying. We're just friends."

"Just friends the way you and Hannah are just friends. Or, just friends the way you and Maya were just frieinds. Until I walked into your room and saw that photo of you two, kissing."

Emily rocked back in her chair, caught out by the mention of her ex. She was at the point now where hearing Maya's name didn't send her into a spiral. If they ran into each other at school, in town, they could talk and be pleasant. Not exactly friends, but friendly. But still the mention of her ex-girlriend, her first reciprocated love, it was a low blow. She'd been so confused by her feelings back then, afraid of what they meant and the impact they would have. Her behaviour back then had not been some of her finest moments, but she'd acted out of fear and it wasn't entirely fair of her mother to bring that into this.

"I'm sorry. That was unkind," Her mother seemd to realize that as well and offered Emily an apologetic smile. "It's just, you...dating girls...it's a bit of a game changer for your father and I. If you weren't..."

"Gay," Emily supplied, when her mother seemed unable to, her heart feeling heavy at the way her mother's jaw tightened and her shoulders tensed at the word.

"Yes. If you weren't, and you were asking me if you could go over to a boy's house, when his parents weren't home, my answer would be, unequivically, no."

Emily tried to ignore the fact that her mother still couldn't bring herself to utter the word and take in what she was actually saying.

"Maybe the rules that would normally apply need to be re-adjusted, but Honey, you have to give your father and I a chance to figure that part out."

Emily sighed. She was tired of giving her parents time to figure things out, to adjust, to adapt. She just wanted them to go back to treating her like she was a normal person, their daughter who they loved and had raised to be a kind, decent, respectful person.

"So, I'm going to ask you, and I want you to answer, me, honestly. Is there something going on between you and Paige?"

Emily shook her head. "No. Mom. She's just a friend." It wasn't a lie. Not exactly. "Can I ask you something though?"

Her mom hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Why are you so convinced that there is something going on?"

"The way that she was acting at dinner last night. I've never seen just a friend work so hard to impress before."

Emily stared at her mother, frowning faintly as she tried to take in her words. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I have no doubt that your friend is a lovely, charming individual but there was something about her that was just...full on. It felt very much like she was trying to win my approval."

That was just ridiculous. Wasn't it? Emily had been trying to convince herself for days now that she had been reading too much into Paige's behaviour, that her own attraction and feelings were coloring her interpretation of things. And yet, here her mom was, telling her that she thought Paige's actions indicated there might be something deeper going on there.

She shook her head. "It's not like that" she said, dispelling the idea both for herself and for her mother. "With the way Paige reacted when I came out, there is no way that could be true."

"What does that mean?" Pam asked, her voice dropping slightly with her words as she leveled her daughter with a searching look. It was oddly reminiscent of Spencer's reaction at lunch earlier that day.

Emily squirmed in place as she struggled not to look away from her mother's gaze. She really hadn't wanted to get into it. This wasn't exactly something she wanted her parents knowing about. Especially not when she was trying to get permission to spend tomorrow afternoon at Paige's house.

"It's nothing, really."

"Emily."

She sighed. "Before I came out, Paige and I were...friendly. We spent a lot of time training together and after..." It was hard, remembering. The hurt and confusion at being cut off by someone she'd thought would have her back. Not just Paige, but the whole team. All of the girls had withdrawn. But with Paige, it had been the worst. She shrugged. "And after, we didn't. She stopped talking to me. Unless it was to say snide things about my times, my form

She remembered one particularly pointed comment, about how Emily's performance in the breast stroke had been showing a marked improvement.

"It's not a big deal, Mom," she said, trying to keep her voice light and airy. " It was just how things were back then. None of the girls really took the news very well."

She shrugged, trying to play it off. She was past it now. Her skin was thicker for it. And, she didn't believe that was the real Paige. She felt like she'd gotten a glimpse into who this girl really was this weekend and she was willing to overlook the things that had happened in the past if that version of Paige was the one who kept showing up.

Her mom drew back in her chair, blinking owlishly at her, an unreadable expression on her face. "Oh, Emily."

She felt a surge of anger roll over her at the sympathy and sadness in her mother's tone. As if her own reaction hadn't caused Emily just as much, if not more pain. But she bit her tongue as her mother reached out and squeezed her hand and accepted the comfort for what it was. Desite it being offered belatedly, it still felt nice to receive it. To know that her mother still cared enough to be on her side when she was hurting.

After a moment, her mother retracted her hand and Emily turned her attention back to her dinner. But, she could still feel her mother's eyes on her as she picked at her own food.

"What?" She asked when she couldn't take the scrutiny any longer.

Her mother flinched at her tone, and Emily offered up an apologetic smile.

"Do you remember when you were in first grade and you came home crying every day for a week because Bobby Sandover was being mean to you?"

Emily frowned at the abrupt subject change, but nodded nonetheless. "Yeah." She remembered that the boy in her class had been relentless, teasing her, pulling her hair and tripping her on the playground and throwing eraser bits at her and kicking the back of her chair in class. She laughed lightly. "And, then for Valentine's day he gave me a ninja-turtle card that said I Lick You on the back." Her parents had thought the minor spelling mistake was hilarious. Emily hadn't really gotten it until years later, though she'd never found it nearly as amusing. It was a fond memory, but she failed to see what it had to do with anything.

"You know, how Bobby Sandover treated me when I was six has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I don't like guys now, right?" she asked when it dawned on her where her mother was going with this.

Her mom rolled her eyes and chuckled lightly. "I'm aware of that, sweetie. I was thinking more about the parallels in behaviour. Bobby was mean to you because that's how six year old boys who don't know what to do with their feelings show affection-"

"And you think that Paige freezing me out was the sixteen year old equivalent?" Emily wanted to dismiss the notion out of hand, but there was this niggling feeling in the back of her mind that wouldn't let her. It would certainly explain a lot. She remembered how hard she'd fought against her own feelings. How she'd lashed out at Maya when things got a little too real for her liking.

She knew that Paige's parents were a lot like her own, both of them heavily involved in the church and holding a lot of the same ideaologies. It would actually make a lot of sense that Paige, forced to confront her own sexuality when Emily came out, would lash out at her. But at the same time, it seemed like too much of what she wanted to actually be true. Just because she had feelings for Paige and wanted the othe girl to be able to return then didn't mean that was actually the case.

"I can't know that for sure. But, based on what you said and witnessing her behaviour last night, I'd say it's possible."

Emily honestly didn't know what to do with that information. "And, if that's actually the case, would you be okay with that?"

Her mom took a moment before answering, appearing to actually give the question it's due. Emily waited on baited breath, both eager and dreading.

"It's still not something I fully understand, you...liking girls. And I'm not sure that I'm ready to see you...with someone. And part of that, yes, is the fact that it's another girl you'd be with. But, the larger part of that is that you're my child. No matter how old you get, you'll always be my little girl. And I don't think any parent is ever ready for their kids to actually grow up."

It wasn't what Emily wanted to hear. Anything other than unconditional acceptance and support was painful. But, it was more than she had anticipated. And it was definitely progress from where they'd been a month ago, when her mother was telling her that the thought of Emily being gay made her sick to her stomach.

"Let's make a deal," Pam said. "If you promise to be forthcoming with me in the development of any romantic developments, with Paige or otherwise, I'll promise to work at being okay with them."

Emily took a moment to consider her mother's words. It sounded fair. And, honestly, more than had expected to get. "Okay."

Her mom nodded. "Okay."

"So...does this mean I can go to Paige's house tomorrow?" She gave her best hopeful smile.

Chucklling lightly, her mom nodded. "Yes. You can go."

They finished their dinner in silence, but it wasn't as awkward and uncomfortable as the one they had started it with. When the last bites were devoured her mom stood and began gathering the dishes. Emily stood to help, only to be waved off.

"I've got this," she said, gently taking the plate from her hand. It wasn't the usual brush off, it was soft, kind. "Go finish your homework before your dad calls, so you won't have to worry about it later."

"Are you sure? I don't have much. I can still help here and get it done before-"

"I'm sure."

Impulsively, Emily wrapped her arms around her mother, squeezing her into a tight hug as she pressed a kiss to her cheek. Her mom wrapped her free arm around Emily's waist, the one holding the plates hanging awkwarly at her side.

"Thanks, Mom." And she meant for more than just being released from her evening chores.

"G'wan." Her mom gave her butt a light smack before turning and making her way into the kitchen. Emily bounded up the stairs to the sounds of the radio switching on and her mother singing along softly.