Hanna and Emily go to Alison for help, and Hanna's birthday party brings some respite from the investigation.
A/N: OK, some romance back.
Hanna was grumpy. She'd been in Rosewood prison before, back when they were all arrested over the whole shovel thing, though not for long because they ended up doing community service, which was still humiliating.
But now just being here was making her angry. How was anyone supposed to live here? Sure, they might have committed crimes, with the emphasis on 'might' given how Rosewood PD works, but even then, how was this supposed to help? A bit of dignity wouldn't cost much, and she had to believe it would turn out better people when they left.
As she picked over the failings of the criminal justice system, they were waiting in the visitors room. It occurred to Hanna that while she had heard running commentary on Alison's life for some time, she hadn't actually seen the girl face to face since they were still fighting. She was having a hard time picturing Alison now, and for some reason was nervous about seeing her.
"Are you alright?" Emily asked.
"Sure," Hanna replied.
"I'm getting used to this place," Emily explained. "For me this is like a date. But I know it can freak people out a little."
"Yeah, well, I guess you can call me freaked," Hanna admitted.
"Thank you for coming," Emily said.
They waited for another half hour, Hanna spending most of the time mentally redecorating the room to make it brighter and cheerier, before Alison finally appeared.
Her face lit up as she was led into the room, decked out in her orange jumpsuit finery.
"Em, Hanna, oh my God, thank you so much for coming," Alison said as she sat down to face them.
Emily leaned forward to hug Alison. They held the hug for a while until one of the guards came over to quietly tell them to separate. Hanna hesitated. Should she hug Ali too, or was that just a girlfriend thing? Like, they used to hug, but then the last time she saw Alison they were more glaring than anything. She gave Alison a slight wave of her hand.
"How are doing?" Hanna asked.
"Sometimes OK, sometimes not so good," Alison responded.
"I'm sorry I haven't..." Hanna began.
"No, no, I understand," Alison assured her.
Alison looked different. She was still gorgeous, of course, but she didn't have that Alison air about her anymore. She slouched a little, shoulders hanging down, where once she had help her head up confidently. She didn't look like she was in control anymore. Because she wasn't. Hanna felt bad for her.
"Ali, we need your advice," Emily said, getting down to business. "We need more evidence against Ezra. We know he..."
Emily couldn't finish the sentence, as tears welled up. It was so long ago, but now it must have been like a fresh wound for her.
"Ezra was responsible for Maya's murder," Hanna said, stepping in for Emily. "We can't prove it in court, but we know he was. We also think Wren might be connected to all of this, somehow."
Alison mouth fell open but it was a while before she could speak. She looked between Hanna and Emily, bound to her seat by prison protocols.
"That's awful," she said, eventually.
"We need something on him, but we don't know how to get it," Hanna explained. "We were wondering if you could help."
Alison's face tightened up a little, and Hanna could see her brain clicking into gear. This was like the Alison of old, even if she no longer had the same swagger.
"Obviously you can't get to him, and most of his minions aren't around anymore," Alison began. "I'd say target the weakest person who might turn on him, but I'm not sure someone like that exists."
She paused for a moment, sorting through the possibilities.
"There's one option, but it's not good," Alison continued. "Melissa."
"Why Melissa?" Hanna asked. "What does she have to do with Ezra?"
"It's not what she has to do with Ezra, it's what she has to do with Cece and Wren," Alison explained. "She was part of the group, she knows what went on. She's the only one I can think of who might still have some secrets left."
"Is Melissa even in Rosewood?" Hanna asked.
"She will be, soon," Emily replied, composing herself for a moment. "Spencer said she's coming back Monday."
"You're going to have to go in hard," Alison warned them. "Spencer won't like it."
"Spencer will have to deal," Emily responded. Damn, she sounded cold.
"And if that doesn't work?" Hanna asked.
"Well, obviously Mona knows more, but I doubt she'll tell you," Alison replied.
"Hey, Mona has been helping us," Hanna responded, having to stop herself from snapping at Ali.
"Hanna, I know you still trust her, and I'm sure she wants this over as much as we all do, but she won't say anything that will put herself at risk," Alison said. "I'm not saying she'd work against you, but do you really think that after all those years of being A, she's still as much in the dark as we are?"
Hanna wanted to respond, wanted to leap to Mona's defence, but she couldn't. Alison was being pragmatic, and Hanna knew she was probably right.
The drive home was quiet. Hanna had offered to drive since Emily was still upset, but it was a bit awkward trying to console someone in a moving vehicle, so she kept the conversation to a minimum.
What Hanna hadn't expected was to feel this sorry for Alison.
When they pulled up at Emily's, Hanna offered to come in, but Emily just wanted some time alone, to process everything.
Hanna had to say it, though.
"You're really going to stick with Alison, aren't you?" Hanna asked.
"I am," Emily replied. "I mean, you probably think..."
"I think it's great," Hanna assured her. "If you love someone, you stand by them. I understand completely."
Emily just smiled and nodded.
The party was going well, but Paige was getting stressed. The problem was, there was nothing to really stress about. The cake was suitably impressive, the speeches were moving, but short, the catering people were taking care of the food, everyone seemed happy, no one was too drunk... Paige had nothing to take care of, and that was stressing her out even more.
"Babe!" Hanna exclaimed, gabbing Paige from behind and making Paige jump. "Stop hosting and have some fun."
Paige turned to face Hanna, who gave her a quick kiss, then dragged her over to the dance floor. Paige always felt awkward dancing, but Hanna clearly didn't care.
One of the many things Paige enjoyed about Hanna was that she could get so exuberant without being drunk. She did get drunk sometimes, too, but either way she just had fun, and she was having fun now.
A few other people were out there dancing, too. There were a lot of familiar faces from school, not all of whom Paige knew personally, but Brian and Caitlin were there, Bridget had Mrs Marin out on the dance floor, and now Aria and Spencer were coming over to join them.
"I convinced her," Aria said, but Spencer didn't look too unenthusiastic.
"How's Em?" Hanna asked.
"She's OK," Spencer assured them. "She's just taking it easy."
Paige could see her in the corner, talking with Caleb and Chelsea. That seemed to be working for her. Paige decided she should go over and talk to her later, but she knew it had to be later. Hanna wanted her to stop looking after everyone and have some fun, so that's what Paige would do.
Hanna was so excited to see Mona. She'd invited her, but didn't really expect her to come. Things were still a bit weird between Mona and, well, pretty much everyone, but here she was.
"Hey!" Hanna called, rushing over to hug her friend. "I'm so happy, this is great, we have to get you a drink."
"I can't stay, I came because I have to tell you something," Mona responded. "It's about..."
"OK, number one, I'm not going to remember this in the morning," Hanna interrupted. "And number two, you should stay. Everyone's here, you'll have a great time."
"Listen, you know I'm not..." Mona protested.
"You're not going anywhere else, of course not," Hanna said. "Come on Mona, just let yourself have a good time for once, we can talk about everything else tomorrow."
Mona looked up at Hanna, and suddenly everything felt like things used to be, before, well, before.
"Are you sure?" Mona asked. "I don't want to cause any problems."
"Of course I'm sure," Hanna replied. "Now let's go, because we have some partying to do."
Hanna tapped Paige on the shoulder as Paige was clearing away used glasses.
"Come up stairs," she whispered. "I've got something to show you."
"I've just got to..." Paige began.
"Come on," Hanna insisted.
With that, Paige took Hanna's hand and followed her up the stairs, away from the crowd, if not the noise.
When they arrived in Hanna's room, Hanna invited Paige to sit down, which she did. Standing in front of Paige, Hanna then casually announced, "I wanted to thank you for all of this."
With that, Hanna pulled aside the straps on her dress, and it fell to the floor. She was completely naked underneath. Paige was mesmerised at her girlfriend's beauty, and Hanna gave her a playful grin. All Paige could do was look up and down Hanna's stunning body, her face, her shoulders, her arms, her breasts, her stomach, her... oh God, Paige was staring, but she couldn't help it.
Hanna stepped towards Paige, looming over her now.
"Wait, it's your, I mean, your birthday, shouldn't I..." Paige said, fumbling for words.
Hanna shook her head, and started playing with Paige's hair.
"We should probably shut the door," Paige suggested.
"I like this song," Hanna replied.
"What if someone comes up," Paige said, nervous now at being caught.
"They'll get a show," Hanna said, chuckling a little.
With that, Hanna positioned herself so she was straddling Paige, with her hands on Paige's shoulders, and started circling her hips just above Paige's lap.
"Put your hands behind the chair," Hanna whispered in Paige's ear. "No touching."
Paige complied, but it was hard. Hanna was teasing her now, leaning in until her breasts were almost touching Paige's face, and wrapping her legs around Paige, rubbing herself on Paige's thighs.
Paige's skirt was pulling up as Hanna did this, and Hanna slipped her hand between Paige's legs, slowly running her finger up and down the outside of Paige's panties.
Paige could still hear the music and conversation from downstairs. She could her the individual voices, her friends, Hanna's friends, Hanna's mother even. Occasionally her heart would jump as she thought she could hear someone about to come upstairs. But as she became more and more turned on, all of this just made the situation hotter.
Hanna moved her hand inside Paige's underwear now, and started stroking Paige, working her, arousing her even more. Paige let out a gasp, but Hanna clamped her other hand over Paige's mouth. "We don't want everyone hearing you, do we," she said, mischievously.
Then, as she held Paige in silence, she slipped her fingers inside Paige. Paige wanted to scream in pleasure, but all that came out was a muffled cry.
"Quiet, quiet," Hanna whispered. "Remember, all those people are down there, and they don't know we're up here fucking."
Hanna was working Paige even harder now, pushing her closer and closer to climax. Then, as Paige was right on the brink, Hanna leaned into her ear and whispered, "Thank you."
Paige's entire body shuddered as she came. For a moment all she could hear was Hanna's breath in her ear as the waves of pleasure flowed through her body. She was bucking against Hanna, but Hanna was holding her firmly in place. Paige's heart was racing as joy took over her.
Paige saw Hanna looking at her, obviously pleased with herself, but also gazing in adoration at Paige. Somehow, Paige's feelings for this girl became clear in that moment. She'd known she cared for Hanna for a while now, but this was different.
As Paige started to calm down, Hanna let go of her, and gently kissed her. And as she did, Paige couldn't help but breathlessly whisper "I love you."
Hanna's smile somehow managed to shine even brighter, and she unhesitatingly responded "I love you, too."