A/N "You are killing me with every day updates! Only kidding" - Guest

Ugh... I know, right? :(

I know you're kidding, but I honestly do feel guilty for giving you lovely readers a daily reading assignment. I only post every day because I know myself; if I don't write every day, I'll just keep putting it off, and there's a good chance that I'll end up abandoning the story...

But feel free to take a break! Don't feel obligated to read every day just because I post every day. You can check in with the story once a week, maybe?

Thanks so much for reading. And your reviews are priceless - every one of them.

Emily smiled when she saw Aria's picture lighting up her phone. She shook her hair out of the way as she swiped to accept the call and raised the phone to her ear. "Hey, Aria!"

"Hey, Em! I was hoping you could help me..."

"Sure thing!" Emily said eagerly. She moved to a sitting position on her bed, crossing her legs in front of her. "What's up?"

"Well, you know how I've been looking for gallery space in Philly? So, I heard from this agent about a place in Society Hill..."

"Oh, that's great, Aria!" Emily didn't mean to interrupt, but she was excited for Aria.

"... and she told me that there was a grant that could help me afford it, but to qualify for it, I need to give them a local mailing address..." Aria dragged out the last syllable, in an attempt to give Emily time to pick up on what she was hinting at.

"Oh!" Emily was surprised that Aria had come to her for help. "Well, have you tried Spencer? You know, she's got a lot of connections in the city."

"Right - but those are people who work there. I need somebody with a residential address."

"Oh, right..." Emily knitted her brow. "Hmm..."

"Anyway, Spencer mentioned that Paige..." Again, Aria drew out the syllable, but, again, Emily failed to pick up on what she was asking.

"Yeah, that's a good idea!" Emily paused, but Aria didn't say anything. "Do you need her number?" Emily was a little surprised that Spencer hadn't given it to her.

"I'm just not sure that she'd be willing to go along with the idea because I asked her... I mean, I haven't really even met her."

"Right!" Emily cleared her throat. "Do you think Spencer could ask her? Spencer can be pretty persuasive, you know."

"Well, she might agree to it if Spencer asked her, but I was thinking that you..."

Emily waited, but Aria didn't finish the thought. She chuckled into the phone. "You want me to ask Spencer to ask Paige?"

Aria sighed, realizing that she would have to come out and say what she wanted directly, since Emily wasn't picking up on any of her hints. "Em, Paige might say yes if Spencer asks her. But it you ask her, she won't say no."

"What?" Emily laughed. "Aria, what are you talking about?"

"You and Paige!"

"Me and Paige?" Emily was confused. "What about me and Paige?"

"Aren't you two... "

"What? No! Why would you think... Did Spencer say something to you?"

"Spencer? No... I just assumed. I mean, Paige is over at your house all the time. And you talk about her all the time. And you talk about Wayne as if he's your own child..."

Emily laughed at Aria's misunderstanding. It was weird to her that Aria thought that she and Paige were dating. Paige only hung out with her because of their kids. Paige actually hung out with Spencer a lot more - Paige and Spencer at the gym; Paige and Spencer at the Brew; Paige and Spencer sitting in a tree... Not that Emily was jealous, or anything.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Aria, but Paige and I are just friends," Emily explained. "I mean, I'll mention it to her, if you want, but Spencer's probably your best bet."

"Miss Emily likes you," Wayne announced as Paige tucked him into bed, trying his best to delay, for as long as possible, the moment when she would turn out the lights and tell him to try to fall asleep.

Paige smiled. She was genuinely happy that she and Emily had gotten past their rocky start and become friends. "She does?" Wayne nodded. "What makes you say that?" She wasn't surprised that Wayne had noticed their more cordial relations, but she was curious about why he was bringing it up at bedtime.

"Anna told me at our playdate." Wayne pushed the words out without any emotion. He was simply declaring facts, as if he were giving his teacher the answer to an arithmetic problem.

"You mean, tonight? Just now?" Wayne nodded sleepily. "Aww... Well, I hope you told her that I like Miss Emily, too," Paige said sweetly.

Wayne nodded again. Paige tucked the edge of his blanket back under the mattress, repeating a ritual that they had engaged in ever since Wayne moved from a crib to a bed. He liked his blanket untucked, but Paige couldn't bear to see it dangling at the side of the bed.

She leaned in to kiss him good-night, but he wasn't finished. "Miss Emily thinks you're pretty."

Paige's head snapped back, and she stifled a gasp. She had to remind herself that she was getting a child's eye view of things. Kids don't always get things right.

"Well, that's a nice thing for her to say," she said in the condescending voice that parents often use with their children, without realizing that they're being condescending. "And I think that she's very pretty, too."

Wayne sat up in the bed, realizing that his mother wasn't understanding what he was trying to say. "Mommy," he said urgently, "Miss Emily likes you the way that the women in the movies Auntie Miriam watches on TV like the men. The movies that make her cry, 'cause you said she's so happy." Wayne looked confused.

"Yeah?" Paige had no idea what to think or how to respond.

"Yeah," Wayne asserted, eager for his mother to believe him. "That's just weird!"

"Why is it weird?"

"Because!" Wayne shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "You're not a man!"

Paige stroked Wayne's cheek and leaned in, looking concerned. "Sweetheart, you know that it's okay for a woman to like another woman that way, right?"

"It is?" Wayne's little mind was slightly blown.

"Of course!"

"Oh. Okay!"

Just that quickly, Wayne had filed that new piece of information away and moved on.

Paige was surprised that he had never had to confront the concept of same-sex attraction. She thought back to when she was his age, realizing that it would have been mind-blowing news to her, too. But things were so much different back then. Then again, she realized, things weren't all that different. After all, none of the Hallmark movies that Auntie Miriam loved so much had ever featured a same-sex couple.

Paige couldn't help feeling a little relieved that Wayne, apparently, didn't know what his father had been referring to when he called her that name, that night when they fled their house in Philadelphia. They had never talked about the incident since it happened. She knew that they would have to, eventually, but she assumed that the discussion would take place when Wayne was older, and more able to understand. In the meantime, she was just glad that, apparently, Trevor hadn't said anything behind her back to poison her son's mind with homophobic thoughts.

Back at Emily's house, after putting Anna to bed, Emily was taking one last look at the still-unfinished puzzle on the table before she covered it up with the tablecloth again and put the remaining pieces back in the credenza. Paige had offered to help her clean up before she and Wayne left, but Emily waved her off. She could see how tired Wayne was; she knew that Paige needed to get him home and into bed.

Emily smiled as she remembered the expression on Wayne's face as he fought to keep his eyes open, pretending that he wasn't sleepy. She really loved that kid.

Emily sighed as she closed the credenza drawer. She was starting to get frustrated about the puzzle. She and Paige had unquestionably made good progress on it, but there were just so many pieces. At times, it seemed like a waste of time; an impossible task. It was fun, but what was it leading to? What was the point of working on something that they couldn't possibly finish?

Emily realized that she wasn't just describing the puzzle anymore. The puzzle had become a symbol for her relationship with Paige. They had definitely made significant progress in their relationship since the first time that Paige brought Wayne over for a playdate. And yet, there were still so many pieces of the puzzle that Emily had no clue about;- all of those tiny little pieces that had to go in in just the right way, or it wouldn't work. Emily had no doubt that it would be beautiful, once they managed to get all of the pieces together, but, at times, she despaired that she would ever get there. That they would ever get there.

It was too big a puzzle for one person to figure out alone. She needed help.

"I knew it!" Hanna exclaimed triumphantly, slamming her palm on the table and startling some of the people sitting nearby. "I knew from the first time you told me about her that you two were going to get together!"

"Hanna…" Emily said wearily.

"What? Dude, she's exactly your type!"

"My… type." Hanna tilted her head, as if to show how obvious it was. "And what type would that be, Hanna?" Emily asked wearily.

"You know." Hanna was flitting around animatedly in the booth. "The tough girl. The bad girl. The girl with a bit of an edge." She drew that last word out with a dramatic sting, like the announcer at a football game, flashing jazz hands as she said it.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Yeah, 'Whatever.' From that day when you told me about your meeting in the principal's office…"

"Hanna," Emily interrupted, annoyed, "I didn't even like her then."

"Yeah," Hanna said sarcastically. "You hated her. Hated her so much that you just wanted to take her in the bathroom, pull her pants down, and spank her!"

"Hanna!" Emily conceded a laugh, but quickly turned serious again. "Oh, Hanna…" she half-whined. "I just don't know what to do!" She rubbed her temples. "Why is this so hard?"

"I don't know why you don't just tell her how you feel, Em."

"Because… She can barely tolerate me. She thinks I'm a spoiled, ditz. I swear, if it weren't for our kids, she wouldn't have anything to do with me at all."

"I thought you said she likes you!"

"Maybe!" Emily threw her hands up. "I don't know! Maybe it's just wishful thinking…"

"So, why don't you ask Spencer? You know, the only one of your friends whom Paige is actually willing to spend any time with. I thought she and Spencer were besties?"

"I have asked Spencer," Emily practically shouted. Hanna backed away, putting her hands up defensively. Emily, realizing that her frustration was misplaced, took Hanna's hand and gave it a quick squeeze, mouthing a contrite, "Sorry."

"I have asked Spencer," she said again; this time, more calmly. "I've dropped subtle hints, I've dropped obvious hints, I've asked whether Paige is interested in anybody, asked whether she ever talks about me..."

"And what did she say?"

Emily, mimicking Spencer, shrugged her shoulder. "You should ask her yourself," she said mockingly. "You're both adults!" Emily sighed bitterly.

"Do you want me to talk to Spencer?" Emily rolled her eyes. "What? Maybe she'll tell me something that she won't tell you!"

Emily put her head down, staring at the table. Her hands were flat against it, forming a pyramid, with her thumbs together to form the base and her index and middle-fingers touching at the peak. Her words were slow and hesitant. "I'm a little... provoked... with Spencer right now," she said, not looking up.

Hanna shrugged, putting her palms up, as if to ask why.

"Because! She... spends so much time with Paige, as you said. So, she has to know whether Paige likes me or not. So, either she's just not telling me, to be a bitch, or..." Emily raised an eyebrow towards Hanna suggestively. "... or she..." Emily couldn't even bear to say what she was thinking.

Hanna stiffened, pointing an accusing finger at her. "Don't!" she barked. Emily shrugged, helplessly. "You know Spencer's not like that! She would never go behind your back like that."

Emily hung her head, defeated. She knew, of course, that Hanna was right. Spencer would never lie to her about about the fact that she and Paige were just friends. Deep down, she never actually thought that there was anything going on between Spencer and Paige. She had only let her mind go there because she needed some way to rationalize the fact that Paige wasn't interested in her. "Why can't she just like me?" she asked weakly.

"Emily," Hanna pleaded.

"It was so much easier in high school. If I liked someone, she liked me back. I mean, shit - even when I didn't like people, they liked me."

Hanna let out a frustrated groan. She didn't know what to do with Emily when she was in one of those moods. "I can talk to Spencer," she offered again. Emily tightened her lips, rolling her eyes. "Do you want me to talk to Paige?" Hanna asked the question even though she already knew the answer.

"NO!" Emily, waving her index finger in front of her, was practically shouting. "I definitely do NOT want you to talk to Paige!" Emily wanted to make sure that there could be no misunderstanding.

"So, when are you going to see her again?"

"Tuesday," Emily said sadly. "She's dropping Wayne off for a playdate." Emily exhaled deeply, out of frustration. "That's how I actually realized that Paige was my type – when I saw that side of her: How good she is with her kid, how gentle she is with my kid…" Emily had a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes. It was contagious.

"Aww! You guys would be so cute with your little blended family!"

"Hanna…"

"It would be like the lesbian Brady Bunch." Hanna's eyes widened. "The Lady Bunch!"

"Hanna!"

"No!" Hanna gasped, and her excitement kicked up another notch. "The Gaydy Bunch!"

"Hanna Marin!"

But it was too late. Hanna was on a roll. She started to sing. "It's the story… of a gay named Paigey…"

"Oh, God – don't you dare ever call her that in person!"

Emily couldn't stop laughing as Hanna kept improvising lyrics to the theme from the Brady Bunch. Badly. All of a sudden, her laughter stopped, and her eyes went wide. Hanna whipped her head around and followed Emily's gaze to the door, where Paige and Wayne had just entered. Emily immediately put her head down, staring into her lap. It would have been impossible to make it any more obvious to Paige that they had just been talking about her. But Paige didn't know how to respond to that – or to the little bombshell that Wayne had dropped a few days earlier. She rocked back and forth on her heels a time or two, and her grip on Wayne's hand tightened – an involuntary response borne of fear. Her grip wasn't painfully tight, but the change made Wayne look up at her, to see what was the matter.

Most people, having been caught staring the way Hanna was, would have turned their heads away just as quickly as they'd turned them in the first place, but not Hanna Marin. She just smiled unabashedly and wiggled her fingers in a wave. Wayne mirrored the wiggly wave with the hand that Paige wasn't holding. Paige cleared her throat, covering her mouth with her fist as she did. "Ladies," she said, nodding her head as a greeting, her voice a couple of octaves lower than usual. After awkwardly standing there like a statue as she tried to figure out her next move, she turned aside abruptly and headed towards the front counter.

Hanna followed her and Wayne with her eyes until they made it to the line for service. Sitting up straight in the booth, she deepened her voice and mimicked Paige. "Ladies…" Once she said it, she started cracking up. Emily smacked her forearm over and over, telling her to stop, but it was futile. Hanna had completely lost it. Between smacks, Emily sneaked peeks at the line where Paige and Wayne were waiting, with their backs to Emily and Hanna's booth. Paige had to have heard Hanna laughing; there was no way she couldn't have. But she never turned around. She just kept staring stoically at the menu board, holding Wayne on her hip, so that he could see it, too.

Hanna eventually sank back against her seat with one last, extended sigh of a laugh. "Oh, God," she announced, fanning herself with her hand. "She is so fucking gay-balls for you!"

Emily lowered her head but couldn't stop smiling at the realization that Hanna was probably right: Paige most likely was totally gay-balls for her.

As the line of people in front of Paige and Wayne started to dwindle down, Emily, realizing that it was going to be their turn to order soon, and that, once they ordered, they would turn around to look for a place to sit, started working on her exit strategy. She picked her phone up from the table, glancing at it quickly and announcing, "Well, I need to get going."

Hanna rolled her eyes at Emily's sudden need to get going, but she went along with it and started loading up her handbag. Emily tidied up the booth a little, and they stood to leave.

"Aren't you going to say good-bye?"

"Hanna, Paige doesn't want…"

"Bye, Paige!" Hanna interrupted, shouting from the doorway. Emily quickly pushed her outside. She realized that rushing out the door like that after Hanna called attention to them was only making her look even more like some pathetic high school girl with a pathetic crush, but she was reacting from the survival, fight-or-flight part of her brain, not the rational part. She just had to get out of there – and she had to get Hanna out of there.

* * * DELETED SCENE * * *

A/N - Hey there... So, I've gotten a few requests to write about what Emily said to Spencer about Paige, and I honestly tried to, but I couldn't get a handle on it. It came out bitter and contentious... I'm not really sure why it did or how to fix it.

I'm so sorry that I couldn't deliver on this prompt, guys! :( But, here's the deleted scene, just to prove to you that I actually tried... It would have taken the place of that last Hannily scene, above...

"So, how's your caseload going? Working on anything interesting?"

"It's... going," Spencer said pensively. "Philly real estate is really hot, right now. Everyone's so starved for development space that anything's fair game. I wouldn't be surprised if they knocked down Independence Mall and put up an office tower, or converted the Art Museum into condominiums!"

Emily laughed dryly and took another sip of her coffee. "So, speaking of Philadelphia," she said, trying to sound casual, "Any movement on Paige's case?"

Spencer nodded. "Yeah. We're making a little headway."

"What's the hold up, anyway?"

Spencer gave Emily one of her condescending Spencer Hastings smiles. "Em, you know that I can't go into details about that."

"Yeah," Emily backed down a little too eagerly. She was trying to hide her nerves, but she had the feeling that Spencer could see right through her. "Yeah, I know. I was just making conversation." Spencer nodded. "I mean... I just know that she's really frustrated about how long everything's taking."

"Well," Spencer said wearily, "the wheels of justice turn very slowly. It's not like what you see on Law and Order."

"Hmm." Emily let a little pause develop in the conversation, but she didn't let it go on long enough to allow Spencer time to change the subject. "Has she talked to you about her husband?"

"Come on, Emily!"

"Come on what?"

"You know that, if Paige and I had discussed her marriage, I wouldn't be able to say anything."

"Who's asking you to say anything?" Emily sounded offended - on purpose. Anything to get Spencer on the defensive and, possibly, give Emily an advantage. "She's told me what happened with her husband, Spencer. You're not her only friend in Rosewood, you know!"

"I know that you guys are friends," Spencer said calmly, using her experience with heated negotiations to try to lower the tension level between them. "And I know what you want me to say. But I'm not going to go there, Emily. You guys are both adults - you're perfectly capable of talking for yourselves."

Emily scoffed bitterly. "Well, can you at least tell me whether she ever mentions me?" Spencer rolled her eyes. "I'm asking you as my friend, not as Paige's lawyer."

"Okay, well, first of all, I'm not her lawyer..."

"Does she talk about other women?"

Spencer reached across the table and picked up Emily's phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Why don't I just get Paige on the phone?" she asked, without a hint of sarcasm. "You can ask her anything you want."

Emily snatched her phone back from Spencer, unable to keep from smiling. "Sorry," she said sincerely. "I really didn't invite you out just to talk about Paige." Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe 90% was to talk about Paige, but... we can talk about other stuff, too."

Spencer smiled. "That sounds good."

Emily sighed resignedly and changed the subject. "Does Wayne ever talk about me?"