"This is a bad idea," Emily says as she's manhandled into a sitting position on the edge of her bed by Hanna, the blonde kneeling behind her and setting about curling the brunette's hair. "This is such an astronomically bad idea."

It's not the first time she's said those words since this plan had been revealed to her – Alison had worked it out with Mona and Spencer, first, before she'd taken Emily aside and explained it, and Emily had just looked at the blonde with horror in her eyes as she'd shook her head, because this is probably the most dangerous thing that Alison has ever done and Emily is terrified she's going to lose her.

"It'll be fine," Hanna tries to reassure her, but she doesn't sound too convincing, and Emily can feel her hands shaking as they run through her hair. She wants to shake Hanna off and tell her it doesn't matter what she looks like for tonight but she knows that this is the only way Hanna is managing to keep herself calm so she doesn't say a word, just sits and lets the blonde's hands comb through her hair as she tries to tame it and lets her mind wander.

Even though it's been several days since they'd found the name Charles in a dusty Radley file, it still hasn't really sunk in for her, or any of them, that A is probably going to turn out to be Alison's brother. Emily knows that it's hit Alison harder than the others, hates that she hasn't really been able to talk about it with her – she knows that Alison's practically moved out of her house and is living in Spencer's barn with Melissa away in London, knows that her family has been torn apart by this and hates that she can't be there for her, not in the way that she should be.

Tonight might change that, though. Because tonight might be the night they can catch A once and for all, put them away for good, and with A out of the way there's nothing stopping the two of them from being together.

But the thought of what comes between then and now has panic surging through Emily's chest, her hands, folded in her lap, trembling, and she wishes that there were another way to do this, that Alison wouldn't have to put herself in the line of fire to pull this off, but they've talked about it, argued about it, between the five of them for the past four days now and hadn't been able to come up with a viable alternative.

And now the day has come, the day of the winter ball, and it's too late for them to try anything else.

When Hanna's finished with her hair they do their make-up side by side in Emily's mirror and she's glad that Hanna had invited herself over here earlier that day because Emily's not sure what she would have done if she were alone with her thoughts, if she'd allowed the worry to take over her completely.

It feels like it's too soon, when the clock strikes seven and they're slipping into their dresses and heading out of the front door, and Emily feels sick as they drive through the Rosewood streets to where the ball's being held, wondering if (hoping that) this is the night where her life changes for good.

"You ready?" Hanna asks her as she pauses outside the doors, and Emily's too numb to be able to answer, can only nod, and she isn't sure she can force herself to move. Hanna's hand slides into her own and she tugs her forwards, and Emily releases her breath as they step over the threshold and into the winter wonderland within.

Caleb stands with Toby and Ezra on one side of the room, and Hanna veers towards them immediately, releasing Emily's hand to instead reach for Caleb, pulling him into a hug, and Emily moves to beside Toby and tries to remember how to breathe. The boys all know what's happening tonight – they hadn't been happy to learn what their girlfriends had been doing behind their backs, with how much danger they'd put themselves in, but they were in the loop now, and Emily can feel the tension radiating off them and it doesn't do a thing to calm her nerves.

"You okay?" Ezra murmurs into her ear after a few minutes of tense silence, and Emily knows that she should be acting like everything's normal, that she's practically a siren screaming 'this is a trap' with how she can't stop wringing her hands, sure that the frantic beating of her heart must be audible but she doesn't know how to stop it, doesn't know how to calm down and she's never had a panic attack before but she wonders if this is what it feels like, as she finds it hard to breathe.

"I've been better."

"We're not going to let anything happen to you," he promises, a protective edge to his voice that's echoed by Toby's murmur of agreement and Caleb's fierce nod, his hands wrapped tightly around Hanna's waist like he's afraid to let her go. "Any of you."

She wishes that she could believe them, but she can't. They've been close too many times, hurt too many times, and A has always been at least three steps ahead and Emily thinks it will be a miracle if that hasn't changed, if Charles doesn't see tonight coming from a mile away.

She catches sight of Mona out of the corner of her eye, heading towards them with Mike in tow, her hand wrapped in his. "It's done," she murmurs as she brushes past them, quiet enough for Mike not to hear. "So get yourselves ready, cause shit's about to get real."

That doesn't do anything to assuage Emily's rising panic, and she has to remind herself to take deep, calming breaths as the four of them wait, and this is the worst part, the waiting, and Emily wishes that she'd been able to swap places with Spencer and Aria, because at least then she'd be with Alison and she'd know that she was okay.

She doesn't have to wait long for the blonde to make her grand entrance, though. She's the star of the show, the lost DiLaurentis, back with her family at last, and they're counting on Charles not being able to resist the lure of his sister's first very public appearance since she'd returned to Rosewood.

The doors on the opposite side of the room open to reveal Alison, flanked by Aria and Spencer, and Emily's breath escapes her as a strangled gasp when she lays eyes on the blonde, because she looks beautiful in a floor-length blue dress that clings to her in all the right places, and Emily can't tear her eyes away from Alison as she makes her way down the stairs and to the floor of the room, a smile plastered on her face that brightens when her eyes meet Emily's.

"You look… you look amazing." Emily reaches out for the blonde when she's close enough to touch, her hands framing Alison's hips and she looks so perfect that Emily can barely believe that she's real.

"You don't look too bad yourself." Her eyes run appreciatively across Emily's body, a longing look on her face and if there wasn't so much riding on tonight she'd be tempted to take the blonde's hand and drag her home to bed (there's still a part of her that's tempted by that, because at least then she would be safe).

She's surprised when Alison leans up and kisses her, lips warm as they move against her own for one brief moment, and Emily blinks down at her in shock when she pulls away, her hands still clasped behind Emily's neck.

"What are you doing?"

"Tonight was supposed to be ours," Alison murmurs quietly, her eyes a brilliant blue in the ethereal light of the ballroom. "And if the world's going to go to hell in a couple of hours' time, I want to spend every second before then with you."

Emily leans down to kiss her again, hard and bruising, pouring all of her worry and her anxiety into it, and Alison groans quietly into her mouth when their tongues meet for the first time in what feels like forever.

"Hey, lovebirds," Hanna interrupts them after a few minutes, an amused note to her voice. "You might want to keep it PG-13 or you're gonna get yourselves thrown out of here." They break apart to find a few disapproving looks being thrown their way, which Alison gets rid of with one of her signature glares.

"Sorry," Emily murmurs, but she's not even a little bit sorry, because she hasn't kissed Alison beyond a brief peck since that day in her hallway where they'd torn at each other's clothes and it's been driving her crazy since, her being so close but seeming so far away, and when tonight has ended Emily doesn't ever want to go so long without feeling Alison in her arms again.

"Yeah, yeah," Hanna replies, grinning. "We're going to go dance." She tugs on Caleb's hand and starts to drag him away. "Remember – act normal."

"I don't even know what normal is anymore," Emily murmurs, her voice close to Alison's ear with the way the blonde's wrapped up in her arms.

"You will," Alison promises, lifting her head so that their eyes meet, hers filled with warmth. "When A is gone your life will be so normal it'll be boring."

"As long as you're with me it'll never be boring," Emily replies softly, her eyes sparkling, and she feels some of her nerves ebb away with the weight of Alison's gaze, so open and loving, on her, like she's staring into her soul.

"I'll be with you for as long as you want me."

"Forever," she breathes in reply, because she might only be eighteen years old but she's been in love with this woman for almost as long as she can remember, and the thought of living a life without her in it, of ever loving another person for as long as she lives… it's incomprehensible, and she swears that one day she's going to marry this woman and spend the rest of her life with her.

"Forever it is." There's a bright smile on Alison's face as she seals the promise with a kiss, before she's pulling away and taking Emily's hand. "Come dance with me."

Emily lets Alison tug her towards the dancefloor, her hands finding Alison's hips as the blonde's wind around her neck once again, and they sway easily along to the slow song that's coursing through the room, and Emily can't take her eyes away from the blonde in her arms, from the love she sees staring back at her. She'd never expected to have this, to have any of this, and each and every day with Alison is another day she's thankful to be alive, and she prays for a hundred more dances, a lifetime of kisses, of waking up with Alison in her arms and falling asleep in them every single night.

The future's so close that she can taste it, but she knows there's still a pretty huge obstacle in the way, and her hands tighten at Alison's waist at that thought. She swears she can feels eyes on them and shivers, glancing over Alison's shoulder, but there's no black hoodie moving through the crowd that swells at the edges of the room, and she knows that she's stupid for even looking, that if A is here they'll be hiding in plain sight.

"You okay?" Alison asks, her hand curling around Emily's cheek and directing her gaze back towards the blonde, her fingers warm on Emily's skin.

"I'm worried about you," she murmurs in reply, turning her had to press a kiss to Alison's palm. "About tonight."

"It'll be fine. I'll be fine. You won't be far away."

"But I won't be at your side, either." She can't stand the thought of letting Alison out of her sight, of letting her disappear out of view in the hope that Charles won't be able to resist following her, and the thought makes her heart pound with fear. "I wish I could change your mind."

"It's too late, now," Alison reminds her, her voice soft. "Mona's already drained his accounts, and it's me he's going to be looking for."

"And what if he doesn't show up tonight? What if he's waiting until you're on your own, alone and vulnerable, without anyone around to protect you? There a hundred things that could go wrong tonight and I… I can't… if something happens to you - "

"Nothing's going to." But Emily shakes her head, because she can't promise that, can't promise she'll be safe because none of them know that and Emily's dreams last night had been haunted by a shadowy figure whisking Alison away, never to be seen again, and the thought paralyzes her with terror.

"You don't know that."

"Maybe not, but I'm sure as hell not going down without a fight." Alison's expression turns fierce, and Emily forces herself to remember that Alison had survived for two years alone out on the street, that Alison is a survivor and can take care of herself, but it does little to assuage the emotions swirling in her gut. "This is our chance to end this, Em, once and for all."

"We could've waited it out," Emily replies stubbornly, because she refuses to accept that Alison offering herself up as bait has become their best option.

"No, we couldn't." Alison's expression turns dark, and Emily wonders if she's thinking about how hard these past couple of weeks apart have been. "And regardless – we all agree that Charles is planning something big, with how much cash he's been spending recently. You really want to just wait around and see what that is?"

She sighs, because no, she doesn't, because the amount of money disappearing from his accounts every week is obscene, and they'd all looked at the numbers with apprehension and wondered what the hell he was spending it on, and praying that they'd never find out.

"This is the best way." Emily still disagrees, but she's sick of arguing, sick of talking about this, because if she thinks about it for even just one more second she's sure she's going to throw up. So instead she leans down to press her lips against Alison's, trying to lose herself in the blonde and to forget about everything else but the feel of Alison against her, the smooth silk of her dress beneath her fingertips, the heat of her body as it sways against hers, the way her nails scrape gently against the back of Emily's neck and over her scalp as they run through her hair.

She never wants to stop kissing her, never wants to pull away, because she knows that when they do, Alison will slip away from her and see what danger will follow. So Emily's hands tighten around her, one splayed across her thigh and the other at her hip, and she holds Alison so close that it's a wonder she can breathe.

But all too soon it comes to end, Alison leaning back and trying to catch her breath – Emily's eyes drop to her heaving chest, eyeing the cleavage her dress reveals appreciatively and wishing they were anywhere other than here, and she'd be tempted to drag Alison into the nearest bathroom stall if she wasn't terrified of being followed.

"Wait until this song finishes," Emily pleads, seeing the look in Alison's eyes as they harden, prepared to face all of their fears, and the blonde nods with a small smile.

Slow dancing with Alison is amazing as Emily had always thought it would be, those times where she'd watched the blonde with a guy from across the room at every school dance she'd ever gone to when Alison had been around, and she prays that this won't be the last time that she gets to do this.

She glances over Alison's shoulder to see their friends and their boyfriends surrounding them, and she thinks about how nice it would have been, to share this night together, if they were just normal teenagers, the eight of them all together.

And then the song is finished, and Alison's arms are dropping from around her neck, and Emily is seized with panic that she has to try hard not to show on her face.

"We won't be far behind," she breathes, curling one hand around Alison's cheek and pressing their foreheads together. "Be careful."

"I will," Alison promises, and she presses her lips against Emily's for a brief kiss, filled with an aching desperation that Emily hopes isn't a goodbye, before she's slipping away, darting through the crowd and walking with open arms towards certain danger and Emily can only stand and watch her go.

"She's going to be fine." Spencer's voice appears behind her, and she turns to see the brunette at her shoulder, grim smile on her face. "Ready to do this?" Emily has never felt so simultaneously ready and completely unprepared for something in her entire life – she wants an ending to this horror story that's been her life for so long, but she's terrified about how it's going to end, is still apprehensive about this plan actually working in the first place, half-convinced that they're about to walk straight into a trap.

But Alison had been right, and they couldn't just sit around and wait for A's next move forever. It was about time they stepped up, before it was too late to be able to stop whatever A was planning, and Emily thinks about what it would be like, to go into the new year knowing that the A mystery was behind them, once and for all.

So she nods and takes Spencer's outstretched hand, squeezes it gently as they walk together to the edge of the room, her eyes never leaving Alison's back the entire time. Caleb and Hanna are with Aria on the other side of the room, and Ezra and Toby talk to one another on the steps that Alison had made her entrance on, towering several inches above everyone else, their eyes constantly scanning the crowd.

Emily watches Alison pause at the drinks table, grabbing a glass of champagne and downing it in three gulps before she sets the glass back down. She reaches into her purse and pulls out a photograph that she had shown Emily and the girls a few days ago, the only one she'd managed to find of Charles, as well as a tiny toy she'd found rooting through her attic that belonged to him as a kid. Alison had decided on making things as personal as possible to try and lure him out, and Emily wonders if it's working, if Charles is somewhere nearby watching Alison closely, wonders what he thinks, about his sister finally discovering who he is.

She can't imagine how Alison must feel, wondering if she's going to come face to face with her brother tonight. Alison swears that A's identity doesn't change a thing for her, but Emily thinks that it must, at least on some level, can't imagine how Alison must be feeling about the whole thing, how painful it must have been to read his name in that file, to come to terms with her own flesh and blood being the one out to get her.

There's a look of steely determination on Alison's face when she turns around, though, rather than one of apprehension and fear, and Emily knows that in her mind she's running through every single thing that A has done to each of the girls. She wonders if she's remembering the day in that warehouse where Emily had been convinced that she was going to be sawed in half, or of the feeling of a scarf being pulled tight around her own throat, attacked in her own home. Or of how much it hard hurt to walk away from Emily again, of how torturous it has been for them both to stay away.

Alison's eyes find Emily's, and the smile that crosses her face is radiant, and Emily's breath catches as she prepares herself for what's about to happen, and when she nods back Alison's smile drops and she turns and walks away, into the ice maze that her Dad had thought would be a good idea to include, and out of everyone's sight.

Emily knows that Toby and Spencer have already been in there, have checked that no-one else was there before Alison stepped inside, knows that there's nowhere within where a person could be hiding.

Which means that if Charles is going to use the busy party as an excuse to see his sister, then he has to follow her inside, and the seven people tensely watching the entrance will see him make his move.

It's not easy, for Emily to pretend that her attention is elsewhere, when all she really wants to do is stare at the entrance to the maze until her eyes burn, but they're at least trying to be subtle, even though it's probably perfectly obvious to Charles that this is some sort of trap. Mona and Spencer had been hopeful, though, that he'd be so enraged by them finding and removing his source of funding that he'd come out of hiding anyway, and Emily's just hoping that they're right, because if he doesn't appear them Alison is in even more danger, because there's no way they can keep an eye on her every minute of every day.

It isn't long before they see a flash of movement – a person shaded from view in a white throw, their face obscured by the large hood moves stealthily towards the entrance of the maze and glances in before hurrying inside, and Emily's hand grips Spencer's wrist, hard, when she sees them.

"I think we just got our first glimpse of Charles," Spencer murmurs, and Emily's barely breathing as they move as one towards the entrance of the maze, Hanna and Aria meeting them there, the boys only a step behind the four of them.

"Ready?" Spencer asks and Emily glances at the other girls faces and knows that they never will be, but somewhere in this maze Alison will soon be alone with their tormentor, and it's that thought that propels her forward, her feet moving quickly as she struggles not to run, Spencer on her left and Hanna and Aria on her right, and Emily doesn't know how she's supposed to feel as they rush towards the middle of the maze to where Alison is waiting.

It's tantalising, to know that they're so close to an end, but she knows that she can't be too hopeful until that hood is pushed down and until A is in police custody (they're here, too, waiting in the wings, and Emily has no idea how Alison managed to tell them the whole story without Charles finding out (or without her getting herself arrested for lying about the kidnapping), but that's a question for another day), so she bites it down and tries not to let her worry overtake her, instead.

They find Alison stood with her back against a wall and the hooded figure standing a few feet in-front of her – she's still holding the photograph in one hand and the toy in the other, and they shake as she stares at the person before her, and Emily knows she's trying to prepare herself for who she's about to see.

The figure turns when they hear the girls behind them, as they spread out and block the exit with the boys behind them, and Emily hears the click of a gun and widens her eyes when she turns her head to see Toby holding one steady, the muzzle trained at the figure's head.

"Wasn't taking any chances," he mutters when he sees the girls' looks of bewilderment, and even though Emily hates guns, has horrific flashbacks whenever she hears gunfire on the TV or in movies after what had happened to her in that lighthouse, she's glad that he has it, that his hands don't even tremble as he holds it aloft. "Take off the hood."

Emily's mind flashes back to the last time they'd had A at gunpoint, on a windy rooftop in New York City with all four girls at her side, when they all foolishly allowed themselves to believe that it would finally be over.

But this time there's no place to run to, no place to hide, and she watches as the person before them realises that, their gloved hands clenching into fists at their side as Toby repeats his demand, his tone suggesting that he's not going to ask for a third time. She watches with baited breath as those same hands curl around the hood and tug it down, and when Emily sees the face reflected back at her in the mirrors her breath escapes her as a gasp of recognition, echoed by the other girls around her, and Spencer is the first one of them to find their voice.

"Game over, Charles."