"Yeah. It won't be much longer. We're just outside Mitchellville."

"How's everybody holding up?"

Emily looked at Pam in the passenger seat and Wayne, who was sprawled out in the back, sleeping. He'd done the bulk of the driving, taking the first leg of the trip, from Rosewood through Chicago. Pam took them through Illinois, with Emily taking the homestretch.

"We're all right," Emily said pleasantly. "A little tired, but we'll be okay. I can't believe you used to drive this whole way all by yourself." Emily was thinking of that one time in particular, when Paige drove all night to get to Rosewood, after the infamous facetime incident.

"Well, just imagine how exciting it'll be, driving back to Rosewood with me," Paige said dryly. She knew that she wasn't good company in the car, and that Emily it would be tough for Emily, who thrived on interaction.

"We'll be fine," Emily assured her. "I can put on some music when I'm driving, and I'll just sleep when it's your turn."

"Sorry," Paige said softly.

"Paige, it's really okay. Are you all packed up?"

Paige took a look around at the boxes in her apartment. "Pretty much. Just a couple of odds and ends here and there."

"What's the truck like?"

"It seems okay. I mean, it seemed to handle pretty well, but I only drove it from the U-Haul lot back to here, you know? I haven't been on the highway with it or anything."

"Well, I'm sure it'll be fine."

When they made it to Des Moines, Emily dropped her parents off at the hotel and headed to Paige's apartment. She was glad that her parents wanted to rest before dinner; that meant that she could give Paige a proper kiss – the kind of kiss that made it clear just how much she'd missed her.

"I really missed you," she cooed, looking up at Paige, wide-eyed.

"I missed you, too." Paige hugged her a little closer. "I can't believe you guys rented a car and drove all the way out here just to help me move."

Emily kissed Paige again, rubbing her back. "I would do anything to get you back to Rosewood. Besides, you're the one who gave up your dream job for me."

"You're my dream, Emily." Paige pulled back so that she could look Emily in the eyes. "And, I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true. I don't want our relationship to be about the sacrifices I supposedly made. I want to be with you. I couldn't care less about the job."

Emily smiled gratefully and patted Paige on the chest. Taking a look around, she said, "Wow! You weren't kidding when you told me that this was a tiny apartment!"

"Yeah," Paige took a look around her mostly bare apartment. " And, believe it actually looks bigger, now, with everything packed up." She shrugged. "I guess my thinking was, I'm only here in the mornings and the evenings, so why spend a lot of money on an apartment? But, yeah. It started to feel rather cramped after a while. The good thing is, I was put aside some money by saving on rent."

"There are some cheap rentals in Rosewood, too," Emily assured her.

Paige nodded. She ushered Emily into the living room, offering her a seat on the Futon, which hadn't been packed away yet. "I can't even imagine my parents helping me move," she remarked. "My Dad would probably just write me a check to pay for movers."

Emily rolled her eyes. Her family had only used professional movers was when the Army was paying for the move. They would never even have considered that luxury when they had to move themselves.

"They're happy to do it," Emily replied. "They're looking forward to seeing you. They just wanted to rest for a bit and have dinner at 8?"

Paige was giving her an uneasy look.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Paige replied unconvincingly.

Emily gasped in fake-shock. "Don't tell me you're afraid to have dinner with my parents!"

"No…" Paige's voice cracked as she said the word.

"Paige!" Emily couldn't believe that Paige was nervous. "It's Pam and Wayne," she said, upbeat. "You know – Pam, your facebook friend." She chuckled. "You've been friends with my Mom longer than you've been friends with me!"

"It's not your mom I'm worried about."

"You're worried about my Dad?" Paige shrugged. "Paige! He's a pussycat!"

"Pussycat to you, maybe. Tiger to me."

"No, he's not," Emily said emphatically.

"What about the dinner test?"

"The dinner test?"

"Yeah – I pick up the wrong fork or put my elbow on the table or violate any other military protocol, and I'm permanently on his shit list!"

"Paige, what are you talking about?"

"You don't have to deny it, Em! Hanna told me all about it."

"Hanna?" Emily burst into laughter, patting Paige on the thigh. "Hanna was messing with you!" Paige gave her a skeptical look. "And, besides, that was high school. I'm sure he's mellowed out since then!"

"Emily, he's Army – they don't mellow out!"

"Oh, would you relax? I'm obviously kidding!" Emily caressed Paige's cheek. "Aww… Paige… You've got to calm down. I'm an adult; do you seriously think that my Dad screens my girlfriends?"

The look in Paige's eyes was saying, "Of course he does."

Emily gave her a kiss. "He's super chill. He's going to love you. And, besides, my Mom loves you, so, if he's not on his best behavior..." Emily swiped her finger in front of her neck, doing the "she'll slit his throat" gesture.

"Hello, Paige!" Pam said enthusiastically, with her arms spread out wide.

Paige closed in and hugged her, with an upbeat, "Hi, Pam!" It was only slightly less enthusiastic than Pam's, but only because Pam's enthusiasm was hard to beat.

"Hi, I'm Wayne," Wayne said, holding out his hand. Paige approached him with her arms spread for a hug, then backed away to gave a handshake as Wayne spread out his arms. Emily rolled her eyes at her mother, who burst out laughing. Both of their partners were so awkward when it came to physical contact and interpersonal relationships.

There was a little bit of smalltalk before their table was ready. Things picked up a bit once they sat down.

"So, Paige, did you get everything boxed up and ready to go?"

"Yes, Sir! Everything but the bed, and that goes in the morning."

Wayne gave Paige a serious look. "Now, Paige, I'm going to make a deal with you. You don't call me, 'Sir,' and I won't call you, 'Miss McCullers.' Okay?"

Paige dipped her head, turning it into a nod at the other end. She was conflicted between the way that she'd been brought up to make a good impression and what Wayne was telling her. Emily squeezed her hand under the table and smiled at her, trying to get her to relax.

Paige and Emily were too young at the time to have remembered when the Emily's family visited Paige's, but the way that Emily was squeezing Paige's hand was not unlike the way that Pam squeezed Wayne's, so many years earlier. Pam and Wayne remembered it well, of course. Pam remembered how nervous and how inferior to the McCullerses she felt, and Wayne remembered how their hosts seemed to go out of their way to humiliate them and make them seem small. Their memories of that night shaped the way that they treated others in similar situations; never wanting anyone to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. Pam hadn't always gotten it right. She was less than hospitable, the night when Maya came over for dinner. There were extenuating circumstances, to be sure; Pam was caught off-guard and unprepared for Maya. She didn't know that Emily was dating at all when she received those pictures of her daughter kissing another girl. It had taken a long time to repair her relationship with her daughter after Maya. Pam had learned a lot from the experience. They both had.

After dinner, after Paige and Emily dropped Emily's parents off at the hotel. As they drove back to Paige's apartment, Emily couldn't keep her hands to herself. She was on such a high, after having shared dinner with the three people in the world who meant the most to her, and seeing them all get along.

"Well, you're in a good mood," Paige remarked.

"I'm just so glad that you get along with my parents," Emily said, her face lit up with a smile.

"With Pam and Wayne?" Paige said their names sarcastically. Emily gave her a swat, but she was still smiling.

"Yeah. It means a lot to me that you like my parents. And that they like you." She kissed Paige's cheek.

Paige smiled over at her before turning her attention back to the road. "It's funny," she remarked. "You get along with them like friends, you know? It's not like parents and a daughter."

"Well, they are my friends," Emily said, slightly confused at the disconnect. "Why can't it be both?"

Paige looked over at her with a closed-mouth laugh. "It was never that way with my parents!"

"Aww, Paige!" Emily pouted, stroking Paige's cheek. "That's so sad!" She gave Paige a dozen kisses on her shoulder. Paige shrugged her off.

"All right, all right! I don't need your pity kisses!" She was smiling as she said it, though. She obviously didn't mind them.

Emily took Paige's right hand from the steering wheel and sandwiched it between hers. "Just how sturdy is that futon, by the way?" she asked in a suggestive tone.

Paige, shocked, almost drifted into the other lane. She looked over at Emily, her face a mix of elation and disbelief. "What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing," Emily said coyly. "I'm just happy! Can't I be happy?"

"Of course, you can be happy. And I'm not complaining. It's just a little out of the blue, that's all."

"What?" Emily protested. "My girlfriend and my parents get along, and we're moving you back to Rosewood tomorrow. I just want to celebrate!"

Paige chuckled. "We'll see how you feel when that alarm goes off at 5:00 in the morning," she muttered under her breath.

Emily shoved her in the shoulder. "We'll see how you feel, Miss Cums-twice-and-then-passes-out-cold!"

Paige's jaw dropped. She slammed her hands against the steering wheel. "One time!" she protested, leering at Emily. "And I was drunk!"

"Uh huh," Emily said, nodding her head with a smile of superiority. "Whatever you say, Babe!"

She didn't mind teasing Paige. It would only make Paige work harder; give her a bit of an edge. And that was good news for both of them.