A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry for the brief delay. I went back through and literally re-read this entire thing, so that going into these final-ish chapters, I was accurately representing their voice. With a project that's taken over a year to write, things kind of get lost in the shuffle. I also found typos and stuff that I was unable to correct in the moment, so at some point, I gotta go back and try to find them all over again. Haha Thanks for putting up with all of the 'you's that are meant to be 'your', etc.

Also, for the second time in a row, this is the now officially the longest chapter of this story! Who knew that I'd get back on a 7,000+ word per chapter roll?! :) I really hope you love this chapter as much as I do.

Song Credit: "When I Fall In Love" - Nat King Cole

Emily wandered around the house trying to make herself busy. She shuffled along from table to table attempting to organize, clean, straighten, and correct all that she could to avoid the aftermath. Though Alison got back into the car smiling, the ride home from her meeting with Maya was tense to say the least. Emily drove with one eye on her wife, noticing every second of her pensive posture. Alison held her lips pursed and tapped her right hand against her upper thigh. It was a confusing moment for Emily. Not knowing exactly what her place needed to be when she was the entire cause of it. Her brain went into overdrive thinking about what role she needed to play when she was unsure of what her role even was.

Alison must have felt her insecurity because without another second passing, she reached across the console to hold Emily's hand and gently placed the back of it against her lips. She repeated the action over and over again until reassurance was the only thing that existed between the couple.

"Are you okay?" Emily whispered, afraid of the answer.

"I will be. She infuriates me, so I just need to cool down."

"Sure. Whatever you need."

As Alison held Emily's hand to her lips, Emily used her thumb to trace alongside her wife's jaw. The brunette may not have known exactly her place, but she knew that there was no other place she needed to be. The silence that once was uncomfortable between them was once again becoming commonplace. Emily knew her wife, and she knew that when Alison was ready, she would come to her with anything and everything they needed to work through. If things hadn't gone well, Emily would already know. She needed to be secure in that for her own sanity.

So now that they were home and Alison still was barely speaking, Emily needed to keep her mind occupied so that she didn't break before the blonde was ready. Noticing her anxiety, Alison made sure to reassure her wife whenever she passed. From wrapping her arm around Emily's waist briefly when walking by, or taking a moment of pause to kiss her on the cheek, Alison wanted Emily to know that the tension being held in their home had little to do with Emily herself.

After wandering around aimlessly, Emily finally got settled onto the couch as Alison continued to move around her. She waited for Alison to come to her which happened less than 15 minutes later as Alison brought both of them a glass of water before sitting down.

"Thank you." Alison spoke delicately next to her. "For your patience today, I mean. It meant a lot for you to give me that space for my brain to calm down."

Emily nodded as she curled up to lay in her wife's lap, "Of course. You act like we haven't been a couple for over a quarter of our lives."

"I thought maybe you had forgotten." The sentiment wasn't meant to be harsh, but it hit Emily like the weight of the world.

Emily kissed the side of Alison's thigh as the words hung in the air. "I'm sorry for making you think that I could've ever forgotten."

Alison draped her hands on Emily's hip tracing circles on the skin that peeked just above the waistline of her pants. "It went okay, by the way… our conversation. She agreed to never reach out to us again, and I got it on tape. You should be safe from here on out. We should be safe."

"Okay." Emily squeezed her legs closer into her chest hearing her words, "Was she mad at me?"

"Not particularly, baby. You're okay. She was mad that I was there instead of you, but no, she didn't seem upset that you two broke up."

"But she said things that made you upset?"

Alison didn't need to respond for Emily to know she was correct. Maya forever had the uncanny ability of getting under anyone's skin if she really wanted to.

"I saw your neck… you dug your thumb into your skin. I saw it on the way home. You only do that when you're trying to not yell."

Though Alison began her reply calmly, it was obvious that the more she dwelled on the incident, the more agitated and short she became, "She said that I was just the first thing you could find warmth under. She referred to our marriage as a sham. She called back to the fact that she was fucking you weeks ago. She kept putting her fucking foot on Chance and Liam's plaque. She asked for money in exchange for her silence, Emily. She didn't give one solitary fuck about your wellbeing or safety and made you think she did for nearly a year. So yeah, she said things that made me upset."

"Al –"

"Please don't say anything. I really don't want to be mad at you; we've talked this out."

Emily nodded into Alison's leg as she rotated her body so that she was lying face up, "Can you look at me, sweetheart?" Alison wiped the side of her eyes with her thumb before turning her gaze. Her mouth was pursed again, and she clung to her upper gum with her bottom teeth. She looked wounded. "Thank you, Alison. For everything. For still being here. For being willing. For protecting me. For keeping our family safe. I'm so sorry that I reintroduced her into the haven we created. I'm sorr –"

"You don't need to apologize anymore." Alison shook her head, "I'm just so ready to get back to who we were. I don't give a shit about Maya or her antics or what you did or didn't do. It happened, and I need for us to move on. Can you move on?"

Emily bit her bottom lip as she nodded up at her wife whose previous pout had faded into a knowing smirk. She leaned up quickly to meet Alison's lips that were already crashing down on hers. Alison sighed into the kiss as she began pulling away for Emily to follow. Emily worked to rotate her body while maintaining contact so that she was by her wife's side once more. At the first sign of taking a breath, Emily wrapped her closed hand around Alison's side while moving her lips to her wife's neck. Licking and kissing over the scarred etch in her skin from her thumb, Emily reassured that all of Alison's frustration was worth it. Alison's hands trailed down Emily's sides, gripping onto her shirt as Emily toyed with the tender skin left behind on her neck.

"Em…" her wife's name escaped from between her lips, causing Emily to pull away.

"Oh, sorry. Are you okay?"

"No, no. I'm fine." She smirked lightly, blushing from her accidental slip.

Emily grazed her hand down the back of her wife's thigh, pulling it closer to her and allowing Alison to take control as Emily lay flat on her back flush with the couch. She sucked Alison's bottom lip between hers before keeping her palms flat on the back of her thighs to make sure to only go Alison's speed.

"God, you've always known exactly how to turn me on." Alison chuckled, whispering against Emily's cheek. "I've missed this."

Knowing her wife's mental state with her touch, Emily knew that she needed to take her time. Despite everything within her telling her to smother Alison with kisses up and down the body she craved, she knew that she couldn't rush or pretend that this moment could be compared to being with anyone else. She couldn't struggle against Alison's touch because she needed her wife to know that she was surrendering. She was giving in to her anxiety and fear and allowing their past to become their future. She relinquished any and all power she once held.

"And I've missed you."

Alison sighed again into their kiss, snaking her tongue between her wife's lips for the first time since coming home, which sent a broad smile across Emily's face. The relationship being held between their bodies was still fragile. Any sudden move or error could lead to their union breaking before fully beginning again. Emily pulled back to look in Alison's pale blue eyes, seeking confirmation that the dreams she'd been having for over a month were actually coming true.

"I want you hold me." Alison whispered as Emily stared confused at what she meant. Grabbing one of her hands still on Alison's thigh, the blonde moved Emily's hand up her body until her hand was cupping her wife's back. "Hold me, Em."

Emily nodded reaching back for Alison's lips. She allowed her fingers to linger over Alison's shoulder blades as she brought her other arm up to her back, relishing in feeling Alison's body in her grasp once again. Her right hand moved back and forth up Alison's torso and as she hesitantly cupped her hip, she felt Alison lean into her hand, yearning for touch just as much as Emily. She continued kissing her long and slow wanting each moment between them to be savored. As though this moment could be replaced with one of the first times they discovered each other in their early twenties.

Alison's touch remained unsure as her fingers lingered just below the hem of Emily's shirt. The brunette leaned back to place a kiss on her wife's forehand and each cheek as she spoke, "You're okay; I'm not going anywhere. I'm yours. You're safe with me."

It terrified Alison because after the past few months, she finally understood all she stood to lose. Retracing each petrifying moment of the hurt she faced at the hands of the woman beneath her touch made a part of her want to pull away. But if Alison couldn't succumb to Emily's touch, if she couldn't let her mind let go even for the brief moments that would make them closer as a couple, then she would never be okay. Emily had already seen Alison through the scariest and hardest moments of her life. From her parents' divorce to her attempt to come out to her mother to stopping conversations with their father altogether, Emily saw her moments of fear and sadness and anguish and met each of them with care and candor. She had felt safe with Emily since the age of 12. Giving that part of herself away again was the easiest and hardest decision she had ever made.

And as if, Emily saw her every thought, she brought her lips to Alison's ear and whispered, "We don't have to do anything, Al. Staying in your arms all night would be the best gift you could ever give me." She kissed below Alison's earlobe sending a shudder down her wife's spine, "But you can also let go one last time. I'm right here. Let go one more time, and I'll never let you down, beautiful. Let go…"

She moved her lips to Alison's neck, humming into her pulse as Alison exhaled. Emily opened her palm on Alison's hip to squeeze her skin gently, knowing that in every moment before now, Emily's open palm led Alison to recoil. But with that one touch, Alison gained her own confidence. She moved Emily's shirt slowly up her torso as her wife's lips continued moving down her neck and jawline.

She breathed out as if letting go of every stressful moment of the past three months, "Okay…" Emily squealed into her neck from excitement, leading Alison to collapse her head against Emily's shoulder in laughter. "Fucking adorable."

Emily traced her thumbs over Alison's ribcage as she turned her face once more to look in Alison's eyes, "You're fucking adorable. Come here." Emily nipped at Alison's chin as she felt her wife slowly losing herself on top of her. She pulled her legs up from the bottom of the couch to support Alison's ass as Alison gained more courage to move further up Emily's shirt. Her thumb had barely grazed just below Emily's bra when both heard keys being turned in their front door.

Alison jumped up suddenly, knocking her chin into her wife's teeth as she twisted and fell on the floor beneath their couch, while Emily sat straight up, attempting to pull down her top before the door swung open.

Pam entered the living room with her head still facing Olivia as she spoke, "Your mommies might still be out for the day. We can – "

"Mom!" Emily gasped, touching her front teeth to ensure they were still intact before dragging her fingers through her hair as Pam jerked backward in surprise.

"Oh!" she yelped, looking up to see her daughter and daughter-in-law quickly trying to appear normal, despite Alison being on the floor clutching her knees with her arms. "Oh… I'm so sorry. I didn't see your car out there Em, and I just – "

Emily stood up, lowering her hand to lift Alison up from the floor before wrapping her arm around her wife's waist. "We've been working on… we cleaned out… organized the garage. My car… it fits… we can get it in the garage now. We thought… thought that you were keeping her… keeping Olivia through dinner." Emily gasped, trying to catch her breath as Alison struggled to stop her laughter from escaping her lips. She tucked her head into Emily's chest as Emily continued attempting to form a cohesive sentence.

"I thought I would be kind and make dinner for you both, but you guys seem to have it together over here. I'm so sorry, girls."

Alison raised her hand from still being tucked into Emily, "Don't worry, Mom! We've got it from here." She laughed out loud into Emily's chest again as Emily wrapped her other arm around Alison to give her a full hug against her, beginning to crack as well.

"I can see that…" Pam replied, setting Olivia down after giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Dinner later next week then?"

"Of course, Mom. We'll have you over on Monday or Tuesday. Thank you for watching Liv."

"Yep! Love you both!" she shuffled out the door, not bothering to lock it behind her.

Emily collapsed onto the couch with Alison still in her arms as the door closed. Their laughter filled the bottom floor as Alison tucked her chin further into her wife's chest.

"So fucking embarrassing." Alison muttered, wrapping her hands around Emily's neck.

Olivia walked around the couch, placing her hand on Alison's ankle, "Okay, mommy?"

Emily quickly transferred her wife to the right side of her body to give her enough room to swing down to pick up their daughter and place her on her left. For the first time since their mother busted into the room, Emily was able to see Alison who was completely red in the face, tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks at the entire situation.

Emily kissed Alison's forehead as she began speaking, "Yeah, Squirt. We are just laughing. Gamma hasn't walked in on your parents since college. We're just being silly. Take your time, sweetheart."

"Mommy silly!" Olivia pointed at Alison who actively was trying to wipe the tears from her cheeks as she wrapped her palm around her daughter's calf.

"Mommy's very silly, Liv. Do you remember what we do to get into a silly mood?" Emily gestured toward Olivia as Alison stopped wiping her face to look at the two of them confused. But at that pause, she noticed Olivia's face turn mischievous before turning to look at her.

"Em? What are you two do –" And before she had finished, Emily had reached over to scoop Olivia from her lap and moving Alison back onto the couch before the both of them pounced on top of Alison and began tickling her. "Oh my God! You're kidding me right, Em?"

Olivia's laugh echoed into Alison's ears as she chose to lay there and embrace the moment. Her daughter's tiny hands ambled just underneath her chin as Alison squirmed, while Emily tickled her wife's sides. Their smiles brought more happiness into Alison's heart than all of the moments since she'd been home combined. Emily collapsed to her left against the back of the couch as Olivia continued trying to tickle her mother.

Emily wrapped her arm around her wife and daughter as she pulled Alison in for one last kiss. As she pulled away, Alison whispered, "Can we finish what we were up to later?"

Emily nodded, "Of course. We only have forever."

Later that evening as the two got ready for bed, Emily continued sorting through the boxes she had brought back to the house after moving out in the middle of December. She adjusted t-shirts and shorts in their dresser drawers as Alison finished up her nighttime face routine. Opening up their top drawer, she was caught off-guard by the two rings lying on the left-hand side.

Seeing both rings in that drawer hurt her heart more than she thought it would knowing that just weeks earlier, Alison thought the bond they were building between each other would never happen again. That at one point in time, they both were ready to give up everything they had for potentially a life that would never measure up.

She stayed staring into the drawer as Alison came up beside her, "What are you thinking about there, cutie?" Alison wrapped her arms around Emily's waist before placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Our rings. They're both in this drawer."

Alison's hands dropped to her side without a word as she got into her side of the bed silently. With every moment of progress the two made, there was always another forgotten obstacle they needed to maneuver. Emily closed the drawer solemnly before walking around the end of the bed to get in on the other side, sliding in to wrap her arm around her wife's waist.

They lay in silence, both staring at the now closed drawer just across from them. Knowing that despite being so close in the moment that there was a time in their lives when they were closer, when just the thought of taking off their wedding rings would've seemed unfathomable.

"I took mine off on our anniversary, after you said we needed to get a divorce." Emily tucked her chin into Alison's neck, placing a forgiving kiss just above her collarbone as Alison whispered into the darkness. "I'll never forget your eyes when you said it. You meant those words as much as you meant 'I do.'"

Emily sucked in air at the blow of her wife's words. She had nothing to say; she had meant it. When she said it that night, Emily meant every word. Despite the wonder of hurt on Alison's face, it was what she had wanted. At the time.

"I came home that night and practically destroyed the house. I was so angry. I knocked over the vase of our flowers and felt myself coming back together as it shattered into hundreds of pieces on the tile floor. I ripped up your Christmas gift and left it along with all the other ashes in the fireplace. I haven't been that angry since the day of my sentencing."

"I know… I'm sorry." Emily tried to kiss down Alison's arm to undo all of the damage she had caused, but Alison shrugged her off.

"And even though you meant it, what hurt more was your voice. Because even though your face was harsh and hollow, your voice gave you away. It cracked and shook as you said the words. Like you knew it was wrong the moment it left your lips. But then you kept going, so I knew that no matter how badly it may have hurt you. You were convinced." Alison laced her fingers into her wife's which lazily lay on her hips before continuing, "When did you take yours off?"

With that one question, Emily knew that her wife was stronger than she could ever attempt to be. She wondered if the roles had been reversed, if somehow Emily was the one who ended up in jail, if any of the events that unfolded while Emily was alone would've happened to Alison. But Alison was used to being alone. She was used to being fragmented. She knew that Alison wouldn't have gotten engaged, or started dating someone, or even asked for a separation. Emily knew that Alison was still by her side because Emily was the first person to be there for her. She was the first person who saw Alison's broken frame and dedicated her time and energy to repairing her. She knew nothing else. And despite, Emily building up Alison's frame only to destroy it again, Alison was still strong enough to lay by her side. She was still brave enough to ask the tough questions before Emily even considered them. It's why Emily had forever been enamored. Her ability to remain strong came as easy to her as breathing. But it was also her biggest weakness. Because in her attempt to remain strong, she rarely allowed someone else inside to witness her fragility.

"You don't have to pretend right now, Al." Emily whispered into the dark, turning Alison onto her back so that she could look directly at her. "You're allowed to be mad at me."

Alison outlined her wife's jaw with her thumb, "But what good would that do?"

"It would reassure me that you're not holding onto to everything and then later may resent me…"

"Resent you? Babe – "

"You can resent me for putting you through all of this. I wasn't honest with you. I was selfish and put you through weeks of pain because I was incapable of letting you go. You're the strongest woman I'll ever know, but you don't have to be strong in front of me."

"I know that, Emily. This conversation sucks. The fact that we have to have this conversation sucks, but I'm not trying to be strong. I'm trying to understand. Tell me. When did you take yours off?" Alison opened up her arms to allow Emily to lay on her chest.

Emily sighed against Alison as she began, "April 18th. Minutes before I walked out of the house to meet Maya for coffee for the first time."

"Okay. So it wasn't when we separated?"

"No… I couldn't do it. You already felt so far away from me that I couldn't take off the last thing of you that I had." Emily felt herself breaking down. "But I also didn't want to still be wearing it on a date with someone else… it was the hardest thing I had to do. I lost a part of myself that day. I lost sight of everything that ring meant to us. All of the reasons you chose it for me."

"You know that I'm not that ring, right? That I'm right here. That my fingers are running through your hair. That your hand is resting in between my tits, right?" Emily propped herself up, looking at her wife perplexed. "The ring represents our relationship and our vows, but it isn't either of those things. The ring I bought for you isn't me. You only lost a part of yourself because you put more stock into that ring than you needed to. Lay back down… listen to me for a minute."

"The day that I walked into Pike County, I thought the same thing, you know? The guard made me take off all of my jewelry and piercings. My fucking bellybutton ring closed up while I was in there…" she trailed off, lifting up her shirt for Emily to see. "And I felt the same thing when I had to take off my wedding ring. I felt like I was losing a part of us, but then I saw you the next week. And I remember staring at you through that glass wall for the first time. You told me about your morning sickness starting to subside and that you were so grateful because you missed feeling my fingers holding your hair back and dreamed of having me blow air on the back of your neck when you felt clammy. You put your hand up to the glass, and I felt the electricity running between us. Our relationship isn't that ring, babe. It's the moments between us that will never be able to be replaced. It's the ease I feel lying by your side. So yeah, me taking off my ring when I got home was incredibly hard. But it wasn't because that ring represented us in any way. It's because I realized that I had lost you long before our anniversary…"

"When did you know? That you had lost me?"

"The moment I walked through the door in December, Em." Emily kissed Alison's neck through the pain of hearing her talking about her first night home. She felt Alison smile underneath her though, "You let Jason beat you to the door to hug me. You stood there and waited patiently to see me when you've literally shoved him to the ground before to kiss me first."

Emily chuckled, recalling all of the times Jason came to visit after college. Even if Alison had just been at the grocery store when Jason arrived from California, Emily would shove him out of the way when her wife got home to make sure she had first dibs.

"I called you beautiful, and you just said 'Hey'. You didn't even say my name… I knew right then. You were no longer mine. I never would've thought that you had moved on, but I knew then that our time apart had strained our relationship. That I lost you to time."

"I tried to play it off in front of your brother. I didn't want to get him involved in a conversation meant for us alone."

"I love that I know you so well, babe. It's okay. I just knew right then that all the ideas I had dreamt up of what my first night back home with you would be like slipped through my fingers."

Alison turned on her side back toward her wife as she wiped a strand of Emily's hair from her eyes and began just looking at her wife intently. "Do you think we'll ever wear them again?" Emily asked, breaking the silence.

"We're not married, Emily." Emily closed her eyes, allowing her wife's words to sweep over her body, "You gave me my ring the day we got married, babe. You wrote me beautiful and amazing words, and then less than 4 years later, you broke those vows. That ring no long represents what you told me that day. Will we wear rings again? Sure, maybe. But the moment I walked through that front door and felt that you were distant, my ring didn't mean a thing."

"Ouch…" Emily winced trying to find her words, "I understand though. I'm sure seeing that ring is as painful as me remembering taking mine off."

"I know that we're in this weird limbo right now, but I have all the faith in the world that we can get back to relationship I imagined coming home to in December. We're going to be okay, Emmy."

Less than ten minutes later, Emily felt Alison's chest rising and falling beneath her, a clear indication that she had fallen asleep with Emily wrapped in her arms. But as Emily lay there with her eyes wide open, she realized that the only way for them to be completely okay was to go back to who they were when they first started dating. Back when Emily would've moved mountains to ensure that Alison felt secure beneath her touch.

As the week's passed, Emily and Alison began falling back into their rhythm. Slowly but surely, they were relearning each other's steps and as they began trusting each other again, their relationship slowly blossomed around that. Though it took some finesse, one Tuesday at the end of March, Emily was able to get Alison out of the house long enough to get Olivia over to her mother's before putting her full plan into action. She had Spencer call Alison for coffee that afternoon and as Spencer drove up to the house that night to take Alison home, the blonde could sense her nervousness as they pulled into the driveway.

"You want to come in and see Livvy and Em? I'm sure they both miss you."

"No. I mean, nope! I think I'll hold off. Gotta get home to Wren, you know?"

Alison laughed, "You know that you're a terrible liar. Why do even try anymore?"

"Oh, whatever. I had a great day with you. Just remember that and forgive me for being a nervous wreck anytime I have to stretch the truth. Have a great night!"

"What are you hiding?" Alison asked, getting out of the car and shutting the door behind her. Spencer waved wildly as she waited for her friend to walk up to the front door. The moment she put the key in the door though, the door opened.

Alison gasped as the smell of the interior hit her. Her favorite scent of cinnamon and gingerbread welcomed her into their living room to a near replica of the scene she walked into almost four months earlier. To her left was a tree, wrapped in lights and ornaments, while presents filled out the skirt. The fireplace was lit as the dimming lights in the living room completed the mood. She took another step in and moved her hands to her mouth as she saw her and Emily's photos back on their bookshelves. The house felt exactly like she had left it the day had to turn herself in.

And standing behind the door, leaning against the frame was her wife. Her long brown hair had a been straightened to cascade down her shoulders, and she wore a green dress which was Alison's favorite color on her.

"Emily Fields… what the fuck did you do? Is this what I think it is?"

She took a step forward to wrap Alison's right hand in hers, "Do you mind giving me a chance to redo your first night home?"

Alison placed her other hand on her wife's chest, "You've gotta be fucking kidding me."

"Do you hate it?" Emily's eyes panicked, "You were saying a few weeks ago that you wanted to get back to who we were before this moment, so I thought – "

"Get out of your head, beautiful. I'm just incredibly overwhelmed."

"I understand." Emily whispered, leaning closer to Alison to wrap her hands around her waist, "But I need you out of your head, babe. I'm trying to kiss the woman in front of me that I haven't been able to hold in almost two years." Emily's thumb traced Alison's bottom lip as she brought her in for a kiss, "I missed you. I'm so happy you're home. I can't wait to make up for every single day we were apart." Alison shivered underneath her touch as Emily whispered into her ear. She shoved the lump in her throat as far down as she could before Emily drew her in for another kiss. "You like the idea of that, don't you?" Emily placed a small kiss on Alison's forehead before pulling away, "How about we get you out of these clothes and into something a little more comfortable? Let me take care of you tonight."

Emily leaned down to pick Alison up bridal style as she carried her into their bedroom before setting her down in front of their dresser, "I have a bath drawn if you'd like to soak and relax from your day, or you can skip the bath, and we can move right into dinner."

"I'm starving. So, dinner, please." Alison looked up, amazed at the woman in front of her eyes.

"Perfect. I'll go let out the water. I set out your favorite pajamas on the bed." Emily left a lingering kiss on Alison's cheek as she walked to the bathroom.

Alison quickly began getting undressed as she heard the water being let out of the tub, "How long did this take you, Em?" she called over her shoulder, throwing a giant shirt over her head.

Coming out in record time, Emily walked out of the restroom a moment later, changed into pajamas herself while Alison stood on her side of the bed with just her shirt on. "I couldn't tell you. I was so excited to finally have you home that I just worked all day until Spencer texted me." Emily sauntered toward her wife who was reaching for her pajama bottoms. "Wait, just one second."

Alison turned back looking up at Emily, "What's that?"

"In the glow of the bathroom light… you're stunning." Emily wrapped her arm around Alison's waist bringing her in for another kiss. Alison quickly allowed their tongues to dance between their embrace as Emily sunk her hands lower down her wife's body until one of her hands gently grabbed her currently bare ass. "Is this okay?" she asked against Alison's lips. Without reply, Alison covered Emily's hand with her own, squeezing it gently as her version of permission. After a few more moments, Emily stepped back, "So sorry. I have to stop myself, otherwise we'll never get to dinner…" She smirked, tossing Alison's pants into her chest as she started walking back toward the living room.

Alison followed behind her wife, taking in the décor as she stepped back into the living room. "It really feels like one of our typical Christmas' in here." Alison turned into the kitchen as Emily was plating their appetizer. "How the fuck did you get a tree?"

Emily smirked, placing another kiss on Alison's lips, "It's fake. But Target was having a blowout sale on their Christmas stock. I couldn't pass up the deal."

Looking down at their plates, Alison placed Emily's hand in her palm, "You made my favorite meal from Sorrento's…"

"Come sit down, baby." Emily replied, tapping Alison's hip with her own as she walked past. As soon as Alison sat, Emily continued speaking, "You're incorrect. I didn't make any of this. I went and got it from Sorrento's. First up, I have our favorite burrata…"

"Extra pesto and tomatoes?"

"Of course." Emily leaned down to kiss Alison again, before walking back to the kitchen. "Extra pesto and tomatoes. I also convinced them to pour a glass of our favorite Cabernet to-go. It's a 6 ounce pour." She walked back to her wife's side, crouching to be eye level with Alison as she continued to talk, "Would you like ½ of it? I promise that there's no other alcohol in the house. I just thought we might want to make a toast."

"We're staying in tonight?"

"Yes ma'am. Liv doesn't come back home until tomorrow, and I have enough planned to keep us busy here all night."

Alison leaned forward, "Mmmm. I like the sound of that." Their lips met briefly as Emily stood back up.

"So that's a yes?"

"You're such a fucking tease. But sure, Emmy. I'd like that."

"Great." She replied, reaching into the fridge. "I put them in right before you got home so that they would be lightly chilled, exactly how you like it." Sitting down next to her wife, she raised her glass for their toast. "I'd like to propose a toast to you. Ali…" she paused, looking straight into her wife's eyes as she tried to find the words she had spent all day preparing, "After everything we've been through since we got married over four years ago, this is the first new vow I'm making. One that I intend to keep for the rest of my life. I am promising you that tonight is only the beginning. I am here to match actions with the words I've been saying to you the past month. I want to spend forever with you, Alison. I know that we have 14 more days to decide what we want to do. But I hope that with tonight, I make that decision easy for us. Here's to tonight. Here's to tomorrow. Here's to forever."

Alison had fallen entranced with Emily's speech, resting her head in the palm of her hand as she stared absentmindedly forward. She loved the woman in front of her, even if she was still unwilling to admit it to her heart.

"To forever." She replied as their glasses clinked together, allowing a small sip of red wine to pass through her lips. As Emily placed her glass down, Alison leaned forward, turning Emily face toward hers to capture her wife in a kiss.

"What was that for?"

"It was just a thank you… Thank you."

"Of course, baby." Emily smiled as she began separating the burrata and baguette between their plates, "I also made sure to get the breaded chicken on your piccata and extra whipped cream on the side of the tiramisu."

"It wasn't so long ago that when I placed our order you asked me if I had to practice it all day." She couldn't help but poke fun at Emily.

Her wife smirked in return, "You were right that night, Al. Our favorite order at Sorrento's is ours. I was a jerk for thinking even for a moment that it wasn't engrained in every facet of our relationship."

They continued to eat, sneaking glances at each other between bites. As Emily stood up to plate their main courses, Alison started a new conversation, "I noticed that you're wearing the wedding ring I proposed to you with, Emmy."

She nodded as she sat down, "On my right hand, but yes. We are in this weird limbo right now, but it's like you said a few weeks ago… I broke my vows. And though you didn't say it then, we both know that you never broke yours. I am dedicated to earning your trust back, but I'm wearing this ring again because I want you to know where I stand. I am proudly yours. If it's too much, I can take it off."

"No, it's fine." Alison replied, taking another bite. "I was just wondering."

"You don't like it…" Emily stuttered, moving her left hand to take it off her right. "… I thought that it would be cute, you know? Like that – "

Alison turned in her chair, "Emily, pause." She covered Emily's right hand to stop her from pulling it off. "You're okay. Why your right hand though?"

"You said we weren't married, Al. I'm not going to go against what you said."

"Breathe for a minute, sweetie." Alison leaned forward, placing a kiss on both of Emily's cheeks, "You're so worried right now about appeasing me and making sure that tonight is perfect that you're forgetting what I even said during my vows. Close your eyes for me. Go back. Tell me something I said that day, Em."

"You promised to love me and our family no matter the obstacle."

"You're right. I did."

"You promised to keep loving me without hesitation and that you would never let me go."

"Keep going." Alison whispered, scooting closer to her wife.

"You… you said that –" Emily paused trying to get it together.

"I said that loving you is the easiest thing I've ever done." Emily nodded. "Do you know why I said that?"

"No…" Emily closed her eyes, feeling tears building up in the corners, anxiety filling her veins.

"Because of moments like this. You spend your entire day building a night just for me, just for us. You are insanely thoughtful and put your wedding ring back on in almost a year wanting me to know that you are with me every step of the way. You don't just believe in love, Emily. You live in love. You take risks without knowing if they're worth it simply because you want me to know without any doubt that you love me. Can I see the ring, please?" Emily nodded as she gave into the tears in her eyes. "The only thing wrong with this gesture, Em… is that I purchased this for you with the intention that it would only be worn on your left hand. With all the promises I made to you the night I proposed to be able to travel through your veins directly to your heart." Alison leaned forward, centimeters away from Emily's lips, "Do you mind if I move it back?"

"Not at all." Emily smiled, barely giving her a peck.

Alison slid the ring up Emily's left hand before kissing the top of the ring gently, "There we go."

"And the ring I gave you?" Emily asked, hesitantly. And though Alison looked her directly in her eyes, she shook her head no.

"I love this. I love tonight and everything you put into it. But you know I can't take that ring back with your vows from our wedding day attached to it."

"Okay… I understand." Emily looked down, smiling at the silver band on her finger. A princess cut diamond adorned with scattered emeralds and diamonds around its edge. With 'Three years down. Forever to go.' etched delicately in the inner band. "Dance with me?" Emily moved her eyes back up to her wife's who sat patiently grinning as Emily processed their conversation.

She stood up, extending her hand as Alison laughed, "Dancing was a part of the plan tonight?"

Emily nodded as she pressed her wife against her chest before walking them into the living room, "What? Are you self-conscious about dancing with me in your pj's?"

"Not at all. You just don't like dancing…"

"Au contraire." Emily laughed, letting go of Alison's waist to walk toward a turntable and starting the vinyl inside. "I don't like dancing in front of other people. I love dancing with you."

Emily walked back to wrap her forearm around Alison's waist while pulling her wife's right hand up to her chest before starting to sway back and forth as Nat King Cole's voice began projecting through their living room, singing the song quoted in Alison's vows.

When I fall in love, it will be forever.

Alison fell against Emily's chest, pressing a kiss on her collarbone, "Where did you even find this?"

"Remember the guy who bought our bed? Cameron? I traded the bed for the turntable and part of his collection."

"Emmy, that was a month ago…"

"And? I knew I wanted to surprise you with it at some point." She kissed Alison's forehead as they both faded back into the song.

When I give my heart it will be completely,

Or I'll never give my heart.

And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too,

Is when I fall in love with you.

Emily took a step back to turn Alison in her arms before spinning her gently back into their starting position.

And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too,

Is when I fall in love with you.

Pulling her wife's face up next to her own, Emily wrapped her arms as tightly around Alison as she could before whispering gently, "I hope this makes up for December… Welcome home, Ali."

A/N: Welp! This chapter was by far one of my favorite things to write so far. I hope you all enjoyed.

I wanted you all to know that in my mind's eye, this story only has about 3 chapters left. I'm not sure if that's how it will play out at all, but for right now, I think I can tell the remaining parts of this story in 3 chapters.

But I also wanted to let you all know that I'm already crafting my next story, of course, another Emison. My question for you all though is, should I continue to follow this version of them, or create a new story for these two to live in? Some parts of the story would follow them (i.e. Olivia, Alison's lack of relationships with her parents, etc.) but the big parts that have made NWDD what it is would be left behind (i.e. Maya, the engagement, etc.) as this story is meant to tie up all of those bows. So let me know what you want to see: this version of Emison, or a newly crafted one? If it was this version of Emison, the story wouldn't be a sequel, btw. It would just be a companion piece.

Hope you all are well! I appreciate you all and all of the commentary you provide for this story. We're nearly to 25,000 views which is insane to me. You all are the best! Also, much thanks to all of the new Favorites and Follows. It makes my day to see someone new in the crew :)

Read. Review. Favorite. Pass Along.

- secretpen28