A/N: The editing on this one took a bit. It's a pivotal chapter and the inner critic was obsessive about everything in it.


Chapter 30:

Over the Edge

6 AM seemed like such an ungodly hour. Alison grumbled about not being a morning person as they climbed in the car, but the complaining came to a screeching halt after she got some coffee in her system.

The drive upstate was peaceful. They watched as the sun came up over the horizon, a burst of colors blooming in the sky. Alison stared at the orange and golden petals stretching into the deeper shades of pink and purple, painting the world in a beautiful light. The night sky transformed into a canvas of light, snuffing out the dark pre-dawn sky, all the darkness in their lives seemingly disappearing with it.

It was close to noon when they finally got to Buffalo. It didn't take them long to find the PO Box. They stopped long enough to snap a picture for evidence.

Emily knew that in order to get a PO Box the person applying had to fill out a form with their address to prevent fraud. She also knew the address was likely somewhere close to the PO Box. With a little investigative work she managed to find the information in the public records section at the local library. The name had been redacted, but they got a physical address.

As they were walking out of the building in triumph Emily saw Alison smirking at her.

"What?" Emily questioned.

"This Nancy Drew stuff is a sexy look on you."

She'd seen many sides to Emily since they first met, but 'problem-solving' Emily was one of her favorites.

"I knew my years of watching Scooby Doo would pay off one day." Emily flashed a joking smile at her. She grabbed Alison's hand as they crossed the parking lot. Emily looked at the map she'd printed out. "Come on. It's only about a quarter mile from here."

The Buffalo suburbs were a lot different than New York City. The street was lined with houses that were all in a row and looked identical. They got to the address they were looking for. There was a dark grey car parked in the driveway.

"That's it." Alison leaned forward in her seat to get a better look out the window. "That's the car that I saw with Hanna."

"The one that you saw red coat get into?" Emily asked.

"Yeah."

Emily slowed the car to a crawl and peered at it.

"I think it's the same car that ran me off the road." Emily's hands tightened on the steering wheel.

She put a little pressure on the accelerator. They turned a corner to find a small construction site. More houses were being built. Emily parked the car.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Alison reached for her seat belt. "You want to hold or punch?"

Emily reached out and put her arm in front of Alison to stop her from getting out of the car.

"First we have to find out if anyone is there." Emily picked up her phone.

Alison watched her curiously as she looked up the number for a local restaurant. She called them and put in an order for delivery. She paid through a cash app that couldn't be traced back to her and then entered the address.

The blonde's lips twitched. Her attraction to Emily was constantly getting deeper. She had everything handled, and it was the sexiest thing Alison had ever seen.

They found a spot down the street to watch. The delivery came within fifteen minutes. The person pulled up next to the mailbox and then jogged to the door, knocking once. Then twice. Several minutes passed and no one answered. The delivery driver shrugged it off, placing the bag on the doorstep before walking back to the car.

Alison and Emily looked at one another.

"That was genius." Alison smiled.

"Tactical interference. I learned it from my dad." Emily reached into the back seat to grab a bag.

She ruffled through it and pulled out a pair of gloves. She handed them to Alison and then reached for a pair of her own. She slung the bag over her shoulder. They waited a few more minutes before approaching the house. Emily kept her eyes on the neighboring houses to make sure no one was watching.

They looked at the car before approaching the house. The windows were tinted and the doors were locked. Emily snapped a few pictures of it. The license plate had been removed. The person driving it was trying to fly under the radar.

Alison reached for the door handle. It was locked. She leaned closer to the driver's side window, but still couldn't see inside. She put her gloved hands against the windows, lining the sides of her hands up against the glass. She moved her face close enough to it that it fogged up from the heat of her breath. She was trying to get a better look inside. She still couldn't see anything.

Emily gently grabbed her elbow and pulled her away from the car.

"Criminology 101: Try not to look like a criminal. We need to be a little less conspicuous, babe."

She motioned for Alison to follow her to the side of the house. They slipped in between the neighboring houses. They went around to the back of the house. Emily looked around until she found the electric meter box. When she found it she pulled out her phone and attached a cable to it.

"What are you doing?" Alison asked.

"This will short out the electricity long enough to bypass any live alarms."

"You know how to do that?"

"You'd be surprised at what I know how to do." Emily gave her a playful grin.

Once she was finished at the electrical box she walked up to the back door and pulled a few tools out of her pocket.

Alison watched as Emily picked the lock. She wasn't perfect at it. It took her a few tries, but she eventually got the door open.

"Voila." Emily pushed herself to her feet. Alison grabbed her arm and helped her up.

"Who even are you?" Alison questioned.

"Army brat." She reminded her with a wink, dusting her pants off with her gloved hand. "We're very resourceful."

She glanced inside the house. She looked around for a security keypad, but didn't see anything. In fact, she didn't see much of anything at all. When they walked inside they found very few personal effects.

The rooms had the bare essentials. A table in the kitchen. A couch in the living room. A few end tables. It barely looked lived in. There were no photos on the walls. There were no paintings or decorations to personalize the place. It was drab and cold.

Emily motioned for Alison to start searching on one side of the living room. Emily started on the other. There wasn't much to search. There were a few drawers with mundane things like batteries, tools, and tape.

Alison ran her gloved fingertips over a decorative lamp. When she was little she had hidden things in the base of a hollowed out lamp in her living room. Having secrets out in the open always gave her a rush. The bolder the move the less anyone questioned it.

She wrapped her hand around the slim neck of the lamp and lifted it. She observed the bottom, which was solid. She frowned, putting the lamp back down. She felt like something was right under her nose, but there wasn't anything else in the room.

She stared at the carpet, dragging the tip of her shoe over it. She could feel the static electricity building up. When she was a kid one of her favorite things to do was rub her socks against the carpet and chase after her brother to shock him.

Alison walked the length of the carpet, the sounds of her shoes muffled against the soft fabric, unaware that there were answers right underneath her feet. She started rummaging through a basket near the front door. It was the only decoration in the room.

Emily turned the corner and walked into an open office space. There was a desk in the middle of the room. It was neat and tidy. There was a closed laptop in the center of it.

Emily opened the computer and a screen popped up prompting her for a password. She closed the laptop and then searched the drawers in the desk. She found a USB drive tucked away in the back. She rolled it around in her fingers. She pulled her tablet out of her bag and popped the flash drive into it.

A folder popped up. It was filled with video files and photos that dated back almost five years. Emily clicked on the most recent video.

She immediately regretted it. Her stomach started doing flips when she saw Wilden in full view talking to a girl she knew from school. They were in a motel room. The girl was clearly inebriated.

"Em?" Alison's voice softly carried into the room.

Emily closed the video and looked up just as Alison walked into the office.

"There is nothing out there." She had a piece of wax fruit in her hand. "What kind of psychopath sets the tone of a house with grey walls and fake mangoes?" When she looked up from the fruit she saw that all of the color had drained from Emily's cheeks. "Did you find something?"

Emily nodded, but she couldn't find the vocal part of her brain. She was still reeling. The flash drive had hundreds of videos and photos, which meant they were probably all the same as the one she'd just seen.

She glanced at the screen and scrolled down searching for a particular date. When she found it her chest tightened. Bile burned the back of her throat.

There was a video dated the night that she'd almost been hit by the car. The same night Alison had been drugged.

"Ali…" Her voice came out strained. "That night at the bar…are you sure nothing happened?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because I just found Wilden's child porn. And there's a file dated from that night."

"What?" Alison dropped the fake mango and snatched the tablet.

She wasn't thinking. She was acting purely out of instinct. She hit the play button.

"Wait…" Emily tried to take it back, a frantic need to try and protect her.

The video started out in the bar. It was hard to hear anything, but the camera was moving towards the door. The camera panned to Alison. Her eyes were drooping closed. There was a large burly hand around her leading her out the door. Wilden's hand. He had been there that night.

The quality of the video degraded because of how dark it was outside. The camera was shaky as the person filming helped Wilden drag Alison to the curb.

"This where you want her?" Wilden asked, off-camera.

On camera, Alison plopped on the ground, moaning.

"Christ, how much did you give her?" Wilden's hand came into frame, his palm tapping her cheek. She barely reacted. "I could stick my dick down her throat and she probably wouldn't even feel it…"

"No." The voice from behind the camera came out muffled and angry, but otherwise indistinguishable.

"All right, all right. It's your show. Let's just snap the picture and be done."

There was the flash from a camera phone and then Wilden muttered something inaudible. The video ran for several more seconds, showing them walking towards the same grey car that was in the driveway out front. It cut off just as the reflection of the camera caught in the window.

Alison lowered the tablet, her jaw clenched. She was so angry that she was shaking. Emily gently pried the tablet away from her. She touched Alison's arm.

"Are you okay?"

"I fucking hate him." She had tears of frustration in her eyes. "I hate him so much."

"I should have just stabbed him that day in the cafeteria." Emily had a dark look of ire on her face.

"He's such a sicko." Alison scowled as she reached for the tablet. "What else is on here?"

"You don't want to know." Emily closed the folder with the images and videos.

"All the proof we've had on him up until now has been flimsy. At least this has hard evidence. If we send it to the cops…"

"It's everything we need to put him away." Emily pulled the flash drive free.

She looked at the laptop. She picked it up and shoved it in her oversized bag. She reached down and grabbed the wax fruit. They walked out of the office and Emily put the mango down with the other fake fruits.

They stayed together for the remainder of their search. Emily knew that Alison needed her, even if she was too stubborn to admit it.

The second story of the house was a lot like the first story. It was drab and had very minimal decorations. Everything was nice and tidy and the beds were made. It didn't look like anyone had been there recently.

The first bedroom had a masculine appearance, including the furniture. They searched through the drawers and found clean laundry, complete with black socks and boxers. The closet had a variety of clothes. Tuxedos, casual wear, jeans, T-shirts, pressed dress shirts, hoodies. One of them was a Rosewood High Sharks hoodie. Emily took several pictures as they searched for clues.

The second bedroom had a bit of a personal touch…a woman's touch. There was a vanity set with a mirror across the room from the bed. Unlike the first room, there wasn't a set of dresser drawers to sort through.

Emily walked over and pulled the closet door open. A flash of bright red fabric nearly smacked her in the face. She stumbled back, looking at the two identical red coats.

Emily snapped a photo. She reached out and touched the arm of the coat, pulling it forward. She searched the inside of the coat, taking a picture of the designer tag.

She moved the coats aside and started flipping through the wardrobe. Something about the clothes looked familiar, but she was so focused on taking pictures that she didn't see the bigger picture.

Alison noticed it immediately. Emily heard the blonde gasp from beside her.

"Oh my God." Alison reached up and ran her fingers over a yellow halter top hanging next to a short black skirt.

"What?" Emily glanced at her.

"These are my clothes." Alison's face was contorted in a mixture of disgust and confusion. "I mean…not mine, but…this looks like an exact replica of my closet."

She moved her hand over to a fancy red sweater and tight jeans combo. There was a fancy belt that tied it all together. She had worn the exact same thing at Christmas.

They went through it, item by item. Alison owned everything in the closet, including the accessories.

"I'm never going to be able to wear my own clothes again." Not without feeling violated and dirty. "Is…does this creepo have people dressing up like me? Is someone trying to make their own 'Alison' doll?" She gagged. "Ugh, God…I can't even…"

Alison clasped her hand over her mouth like she was going to hurl, but when she looked over at Emily she noticed a horrified look on her face. Her eyebrows were raised in concern. Her lower lids were tight and tense. She was staring at something small near the side of the closet.

She reached in and pulled out a miniature hanger with a freshly pressed outdated little red dress fitted for a baby. Emily felt a chill rock her body as she ran her fingers over the fabric.

"What is it?" Alison asked.

"This is mine." Emily pulled the dress off of the hanger. She thought that it was safely tucked away in a box somewhere. She had no idea it was missing. "My mom brought me home from the hospital in this." She stared at the tiny little outfit that she'd pictured bringing her own daughter home in one day.

"Are you…are you sure it's not like…a replica…like the rest of these things?" Alison observed the clothing.

"There was a tear in it underneath the skirt that my grandmother sewed back together." She flipped the dress over and saw the familiar stitching. She cringed. "This person has been in my room…going through my things…" She looked up and eyed the clothes in the closet, "…through our things."

"But why? I don't get it." Alison gently took the dress away from Emily. "Who would steal someone's precious memories? Who would do any of this?" She motioned towards the closet. "This is…it's like a new level of insane. This person isn't just watching us. They are obsessed. This is like some weird shrine. It's what serial killers do. And I feel like the deeper we get the harder it is to escape. It's like no matter what we do they are always one step ahead of us." She spun around, terrified that lights were going to start blinking and that doors were going to slam, blocking their exits. "What if this is a trap? What if they want to lock us in here?"

"Easy." Emily put her hand between Alison's shoulder blades. "Let's not get too crazy."

"But you see this stuff on the news all the time. Abductions, kidnappings, hostage situations." Her eyes darted around frantically, worried that their worst case scenario was about to happen.

"Ali, we're in the middle of the suburbs. We're fine."

"You don't get it, do you?" Alison huffed in frustration. "They have only been collecting my wardrobe." She waited for Emily to say something, but the brunette was quietly waiting on her to continue. "Why don't they have any of your clothes?"

"Maybe because I grow out of them every two weeks at this point?" Emily tried to slice through the heavy tension.

"Em...they aren't planning to keep you around after you have her." Alison peered at the closet. "I think they're after me and the baby."

"Over my dead body."

"Exactly." Alison's bottom lip quivered. "Whoever this is doesn't want you in the picture."

"Hey, that's not going to happen." Emily cupped her neck. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You can't be sure of that." She was afraid that one day Emily wouldn't see an attack coming. She knew she couldn't escape the clutches of death forever. "I don't know what any of this means." Alison tugged on the sleeve of the red coat. "I don't know if someone is running around playing dress up as me or if this is just one of Wilden's sick fetish things or if…if it's something worse. But it means something that this person took your baby clothes and took the time to re-create my wardrobe."

Emily knew Alison was right. She stared at the dress in her hands and then she looked up at the two red coats hanging at the front of the closet. She closed her eyes, trying to picture if Courtney would fit into it. She had an image in her mind of Courtney in the coat, hiding in the shadows with one of the brightest colors she'd ever seen.

Hello world, you can't ignore me.

Hiding in plain sight. Being incognito while demanding attention. It had Courtney written all over it.

She reached out to grab the coat. She wasn't sure if her mind was playing tricks on her, but she thought she could smell a mixture of chlorine and vanilla. It made her feel like vomiting.

"You look like you're about to puke." Alison put her hand on Emily's arm.

"Yeah." Emily stared at the coats. "It's just weird. This whole thing is weird. If this…if it's Courtney…how in the hell did she get mixed up with Wilden?"

"Maybe he got mixed up with her." Alison suggested, frowning at the USB drive in her hand. "He does seem to have a type. He could have done some digging into your past through your records. Who knows?"

"Who's funding the whole thing? Wilden can't be doing this on his own. And Courtney isn't some lucky lottery winner. Her parents are comfortable, but not insanely rich."

Alison tried to piece things together. Wilden was clearly involved. Courtney was probably involved. Wilden did a DNA search at one point and had shared markers with a mystery person...

"Is…" Alison paused, thinking the idea was ludicrous. "You don't think…maybe Courtney and Wilden…could be related…somehow? I mean…didn't his dad disappear? Maybe it's far-fetched, but what if they're half-siblings?"

"I don't see Wilden at all when I look at Courtney or at Isaac." Not only that, but what were the chances of Darren Wilden's father ending up in San Antonio, Texas?

"Okay, well, I've seen both Isaac and Courtney, and you have to admit…they look nothing alike." Alison pointed out.

"Because Isaac looks like his dad's side of the family. He looks just like his grandmother. Courtney takes after her mom's side."

"I'm just saying…is it possible that their mother cheated?"

"I mean…I doubt it. But the only way to know for sure is to get a DNA sample from Courtney."

"Think Isaac would be willing to help?"

"Sure. 'Send me a strand of your sister's hair. I want to run a DNA test on her because I think she might actually be your HALF-sister running around trying to kill me.' That's sure to go over well on top of everything he's still reeling from." Emily laughed caustically.

"Tell him it has something to do with the baby. Like…you need to know the closest compatible relative in case something happens, like if she needs a blood transfusion or something."

"No. I can't do that. That's not fair to use her as an excuse. Not with him. He's already struggling enough with his emotions." Emily had seen what her manipulation and lies had done to him and she'd promised herself…no more.

The room was quiet. Alison could see the discomfort on her face.

"I'm sorry. That was insensitive." Alison bit her lip.

She was still trying to learn the lines and boundaries when it came to Isaac.

"It's okay."

But Alison could see her struggling with her guilt, and it made her feel even worse.

Guilt wasn't the only thing that Emily was having reconciling. Alison had made some good points about Courtney. Was it really crazy to consider that she was involved? Was it crazy to think that maybe Alison was right? Courtney certainly didn't seem to care about her brother. They didn't act like siblings, other than the fact that she tortured the living hell out of him.

The only time she had ever seen Courtney come to Isaac's defense was when a couple of bitches at school had called Isaac and Emily both racial slurs.

It had been about two weeks after Courtney and Nick had had their huge blowout fight at the club. They had made up, very loudly, in Courtney's bedroom while Isaac and Emily had been studying at Isaac's house the next day. Emily had been trying to forget about Courtney cornering her in the club bathroom.

After nearly two weeks of Courtney side-eyeing her and making snippy comments at school things had started to fall back into their normal pattern.

Isaac had always been good at cheering her up, even when he didn't know what was bothering her. They'd been in the cafeteria eating their lunch together one day, Isaac regaling her with a cute anecdote.

Nick had stopped by to talk to Isaac about the game that previous weekend. Courtney had just huddled next to him, trying to appear bored. She'd looked at her fingernails every few seconds.

Emily tried to ignore her. She always tried to ignore her. But Courtney wasn't an easy person to overlook. She commanded attention.

As the boys talked, the blonde had inched closer to Emily, hovering over her. Emily had scooped up a spoonful of her pasta salad and put the noodles in her mouth.

She could feel Courtney breathing down the back of her neck. She nearly choked on the food when she felt Courtney's fingernail drawing a line down the side of her neck near her jugular vein. She was like a lion testing the waters before ripping her throat out.

Emily accidentally inhaled some of the pasta and starting coughing uncontrollably. Isaac turned his attention away from Nick to make sure she was okay, placing his hand on her back and gently patting her as she reached for her water.

Courtney had smiled in satisfaction when she saw Emily's face turning bright red. The sounds of her wheezing gasps seemed to be music to her ears.

"Easy on the intake there, Em." Nick had offered her a napkin to wipe her lips.

"Yeah. We're at school. Not in prison. You don't have to inhale it like a dog." Courtney had made sure Emily was looking at her as she reached for Nick's arm.

He'd automatically responded by wrapping his arm around her. She'd moved in front of him, letting his arms drape over her chest and fall down over her shoulders, his hands grazing her chest. Emily didn't miss that she was rubbing her ass against his crotch. Sometimes the way she behaved reminded Emily of a dog in heat.

Dry humping in the middle of the school cafeteria while I'm choking. Nice. She'd sarcastically thought to herself as she'd wiped her mouth and rolled her eyes.

"You okay?" Isaac had reached out to touch Emily's hand.

"I'm good." Emily had smiled nervously at him.

She couldn't pull away. Not in front of everyone. So instead, she'd flipped her hand over and laced their fingers together.

The smirk on Courtney's face had faded. Emily was certain she was going to blow her top. But the hollow sound of laughter from a couple walking by had interrupted them. The boy was on the wrestling team and he had a real God complex. His girlfriend was one of the most notorious bitches at the school. She wasn't on Courtney's level, but she was close.

The girl saw Emily and Isaac holding hands and she'd scoffed, flipping her curly blonde hair. That's when the two slurs had rolled off of the tiny blonde's tongue. She made sure to say it loud enough for the four of them to hear.

Words normally didn't bother Emily, but some words would always cut to the bone. It wasn't the first time she'd been discriminated against, and she could tell by the look on Isaac's face that it wasn't his first time either.

Courtney had whipped her head around, her eyes flashing in a copious amount of rage.

"What the fuck did you say to them?"

It had surprised Emily that she'd come to their defense. Courtney spent her days belittling them, mocking them, and calling them horrible names.

But never slurs.

Courtney had literally flung herself at the little blonde bimbo, her fingernails tearing into her cheek and her other hand ripping out clumps of her hair while the girl shrieked.

The girl's boyfriend had grabbed Courtney and slung her off of the smaller girl and into a table. Courtney had bounced off of the table and hit the ground with a 'smack' as her palms caught most of her weight.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" Nick had growled.

The boy went to kick Courtney while she was down and that's when Isaac and Nick had jumped into the brawl, both attacking him.

The girl had grabbed a chair and was getting ready to hit Isaac in the back with it, but Emily had smacked her in the face with a lunch tray. The girl stumbled back, nearly tripping over Courtney. She saw Courtney reaching for her ankle and she drew back to kick her in the face, but Emily swept her foot out and threw her leg out to knock her off of her feet with a spinning heel kick.

Emily had made brief eye contact with Courtney. It was the first and only time they had ever been on the same page. The girl landed hard on her side next to Courtney…who took no mercy on her. She'd grabbed her by her hair and started dragging her towards the trash can.

"She's not even Chinese, you ignorant little slut. She's Filipina."

She'd managed to get her into the large canister upside down before several teachers intervened.

They'd all landed in the principal's office. Of course, the boy and the girl had told the principal that "they must have misheard us. We were talking about those little red bugs…you know…chiggers. And zinc helps their bites…"

Emily had angrily ground her jaw. She'd heard them perfectly, and their sentence structure was perfectly clear. And the words they claimed to say didn't fit right with, "Aw, look at the little chigger dating the zinc…"

Courtney had looked right through the principal that day. She'd had her sights set on the couple from the cafeteria. Emily had overheard her talking to Nick afterwards.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Nick's concern oozed off of him. He'd always been a tough guy, but when it came to his girl he was very much a soft teddy bear. "Looked like a pretty harsh fall."

"I'm fine, Macho Man." Her tone was condescending. "I'm not some delicate little flower. My parents told us that if anyone EVER called him that we should beat the shit out of them."

Emily believed it. Their parents were very strict and old fashioned in a lot of ways, but there were some things worth bending the rules for.

"Next time just let me handle it."

"Fuck that. I'm going nuclear the next time I see them."

He'd bitched at her not to get involved. He didn't want a retaliation and he didn't want her getting hurt.

"Just let it go, Court. They're not worth it. They're two brainless little racist shits…"

"And they can fuck right off." Courtney had huffed. "Talking to people like that…those wordsthey deserve so much worse than a slap on the wrist."

All Emily had been able to think was, "The irony…"

"You need to stop going around and pushing people's buttons and getting into fights…"

"Don't be such a pussy!"

"Courtney, would you just listen to me…"

"No! I don't care. No one fucks with my brother like that. Or his girlfriend."

The fact that she was even a thought in Courtney's mind surprised her. She wasn't sure if Courtney was saying it for Nick's benefit or some other reason.

A school bell had signaled that they needed to get back to class, so Emily had disappeared into the crowd.

She'd seen the couple who had demeaned her and Isaac walking through the hallway like nothing had even happened. It enraged her.

It wasn't just Emily's anger that was being directed at them. Courtney shadowed them, threatening them. The boy and girl had waved it off.

A few days later the boy had been working on the siding on his house when the scaffolding had detached and sent him flying three stories. He'd broken his collar bone, his arm, and his ankle.

The girl had gotten mysteriously ill two days after his fall. She'd nearly died. The doctors said it was because her iron and potassium levels were dangerously high, which they'd traced back to her diet. But Emily had always wondered…

She'd seen what Courtney was capable of, but the girl didn't have the resources or time to be running a full torture scheme from San Antonio. It was tearing her apart trying to figure it out.

She had been taught from an early age that more often than not the most logical explanation was the right one, but there was nothing logical about any of what was happening. Her brain was hearing hoofbeats and thinking zebras instead of horses.

"What are you thinking?" Alison asked, putting her hand against Emily's arm.

"Have you ever heard of Occam's Razor?" Emily stared at the coats.

"Uh…yeah. Yeah, I think I remember that from the SATs. The simplest explanation is often the right one."

"Exactly." Emily nodded. "I've been twisting things around and trying to make things fit…and they just don't. Maybe we need to keep it simple."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure, but we'll figure it out." Emily reached for the coat, careful not to let her skin come into contact with it and leave traces of her DNA on it. "Whatever it is…we'll start with Wilden. He's clearly a part of this." She saw Alison flinch at the mention of his name. Emily reached up and touched her cheek. "He's going to pay for everything he did. For real this time." Her eyes met Alison's with a fierce intensity.

Alison put her hand on top of Emily's, holding the brunette's palm in place as she leaned into her touch with an appreciative smile.

"And what about the person working with him? Courtney or not, it's obvious he's not doing it alone." Alison looked at the coat in Emily's hands.

"All we can hope for is getting some kind of DNA or fingerprints off of this or the electronics."

Emily started to roll the coat up. Alison gasped and gawked at the way the designer overcoat was being handled, so she snatched it from Emily and folded it in a more proper way.

Emily looked at her, amused.

"I didn't realize I was into someone so anal retentive. Are you going to vacuum the stairs and dust the hallways next, Mrs. Fields?"

Alison nearly dropped the coat.

"What did you call me?"

Emily took a minute to realize what it sounded like. She threw her hands up and took a step back, her cheeks bright red in embarrassment.

"Oh, no…that's not…I didn't mean it like that!"

"Well, my ego just took a beating." Alison laughed softly.

"I just meant that it's very Pam Fields of you to worry about the little details." Emily grasped her hands. "Trust me, we'll have a future. When you're ready to be asked and I'm ready to ask…" Emily trailed off.

Alison smiled bashfully, still gently rolling the coat up the proper way. She slipped it into Emily's bag.

Emily held on to her baby dress as she closed the closet door. She wanted to make sure they left everything exactly as they'd found it, though it was kind of pointless considering they were stealing the laptop, the USB drive, and the clothes. They knew the belongings would be missed. Their only hope is that by then they'd have hard evidence to get a few psychos put behind bars.

They searched the rest of the house and didn't find anything else that jumped out as suspicious, except a variety of different magazines near the front door. Tech Weekly, Today's Fashion, Auto-Mechanic's Classic Cars, Cosmo, Men's Health, and Parenting. It was a really weird blend, like someone had visited the doctor's office and had stolen a bunch of random reading materials. There was no label on them, so no way to track them. Alison picked the parenting one up and flipped through it.

"I feel like this is all one big puzzle and we're supposed to put it together without the actual pieces." She sighed as she tossed the magazine down. "I just wish I knew what we were looking for."

"Well, we've got something to start with." Emily motioned to her bag.

"How long do you think we have before someone is hot on our trail?" Alison asked.

"If I had to guess, not long." Emily looked around the living room. "We should get out of here before we get caught."

There was only one thing left to do before they took off. Emily opened the front door and grabbed the food that had been left. Then they slipped back out the way they had come in and made a beeline for the car.

Had they been in the house ten minutes longer they would have crossed paths with the person coming through the front door. But they had already pulled out of the neighborhood and were on their way back to the city by the time the house came to life.

A shadow cast by the sunlight stood motionless by the door. Something felt different. A pair of suspicious eyes landed on the empty desk. Heavy pointed footsteps against the floor filled the house with noise.

The large carpet on the hardwood was rolled aside, revealing a hidden hatch that led to the basement. Alison had been standing above it twenty minutes earlier. They had missed it in their search.

The staircase led to a room filled with security equipment.

Three computer monitors flickered to life as furious fingers tapped against the keyboard. Within seconds the security footage filled the screens.

The doorbell cam had been activated almost an hour ago. It was odd considering the driver had placed a bag of food on the stoop, but there wasn't any food there now.

Then Alison and Emily had walked into view, triggering a hidden camera by the side of the house. It wasn't easy to see them at first. They'd worn hats and sunglasses, but Alison's walk and Emily's shape were easy to distinguish.

They'd clearly called for the food delivery to see if anyone was home.

Smart.

It was annoying how smart it was.

The girls proceeded to break in and root through the house, stealing several things. The flash drive wasn't that big of a deal. If anyone was going down for it, it was Wilden. But the computer was a different story. If the girls were able to crack the code and get into the laptop it would expose everything.

Wilden's frantic texts about them being up to something didn't seem so over-the-top anymore. He'd been panicking about Emily and Alison being in the city, but it made sense that they were visiting a city where Alison had been accepted to college. There hadn't been any noise about the two of them knowing anything about Buffalo.

Wilden had promised to keep an eye on them. He clearly hadn't been doing his job. There was an angry scream of frustration as a pair of fists came down heavy on the desk, rattling the equipment.

Two minutes later, Wilden's phone rang nearly four hundred miles away. He picked up after two rings, but before he could answer an angry voice was shouting at him.

"You fucking incompetent idiot! You said you were watching them!"

"What are you talking about? I am." Wilden glanced at the hotel. He had a pretzel wrapped in paper in one hand and his phone in the other. "They haven't left the hotel all day. Clearly can't get enough of each other…" His hormones radiated through the phone.

"They were here! They've got proof…" There was a loud crash on the other end of the phone, "…of everything!"

"They what?" Wilden dropped the remains of his pretzel and leaped to his feet. "Ohh…those little bitches." He stared at the hotel. "I'm going to kill them."

"No." The voice cut like a knife. "You don't touch them under any circumstances."

Wilden hadn't earned the right to kill them. And that wasn't the plan. Not yet.

"Then what's the plan?"

"The plan is for you to go home. You've already fucked this up enough."

"Watch what you say to me. You'd be nothing without me…"

"Don't cross me." The voice was cold, cruel. "I swear to God…"

"Okay. I'm sorry. But you can't do this alone. You're going to need help."

"Not from you."

Before Wilden could argue, the phone call was cut off. He looked at the screen and frowned.

"The fucking nerve…" Being hung up on pissed him off.

Alison and Emily were really starting to get on his nerves. He had half a mind to march into the hotel and sneak into their room. He could hide in the closet and attack them. They'd never know what hit them. All of this could be over.

He quietly stewed in his rage, cooking up a plan. He was tired of following orders. If they had the flashdrive his life was over. He couldn't let them leave the city with it. He couldn't let them leave, period.

He slipped into his car and opened the glove box. He'd had to surrender all of his firearms after he'd been arrested, but there were other ways. His fingers grazed the knife's handle. He pulled it out with a devious smirk on his face.

o ~ O ~ o

There was an electric sort of tension in the air during the drive back to the city. Emily knew it was a little premature to be giddy about their progress, but there was a certain excitement she couldn't contain. It was like the feeling she got when she was flying down an empty road on her bike.

The rush of adrenaline was also bringing her nerves to the surface. She thought about the ramifications of what they'd done. They had crossed a major line, and she couldn't help but worry about the repercussions.

She looked over at the blonde in the passenger's seat. She was peering out the front windshield thoughtfully. She had the flash drive in her hand. She hadn't let go of it since they left the house. She would defend it with her life if it meant taking Wilden down. She rubbed her fingertips against it and looked down at it.

"We've got this, Ali." Emily took one hand off the steering wheel and put her warm palm over the top of Alison's fidgeting fingers.

Alison looked over at her with a smile on her face. Emily made her feel so safe. She'd never quite understood people who said things like, "I feel like we've been together forever" but after being with Emily she knew how it felt. She couldn't remember her life before Emily. She just wanted to look towards the future with her. And now that could be a reality for them. If they stopped the person tormenting her there would be nothing stopping them from getting their happily ever after.

"I know." She knew that they were unstoppable together. She knew that Emily could accomplish anything. "We're so close to ending this. I can feel it." Alison let out an excited breath, but there was a nervous undertone in her words. She reached over and touched Emily's arm. "You were incredible back there. Felt like Rizzoli and Isles."

"Were they a couple?" Emily glanced at her in confusion.

"They should have been." Alison frowned down at her feet, mumbling something about fanfiction. Emily chuckled. "So…what's next?"

"Put as much distance between that house and us as possible. I don't doubt whoever this is will come swinging back at us wildly. We need to be one step ahead of them. I know we planned on staying in the city one more night, but I think we need to get out of here. I say we grab our stuff from the hotel and go from there."

"Mexico or Canada?" Alison questioned.

"Canada is closer."

"Mmm." Alison nodded. "But Mexico has beaches."

"You in a bikini? I'm sold." Emily reached over and gently grabbed Alison's hand. She squeezed it. Alison squeezed back with a smile.

They laid their options out on the table on the drive back to the hotel. Turning the evidence over to the police could be tricky considering they had broken into a house and stolen property that didn't belong to them. Their best bet was to get the files from the USB transferred to a brand new drive.

They were going to need help to crack into the laptop to see what was on it. Emily hated to bring Caleb back into it, but she wasn't a hacker. Having him talk her through it was an option. Once they knew what they were dealing with they could take the files from the computer and turn them into the police with some of the screenshots Emily had taken of the messages.

Trying to nail the accomplice was going to be a lot harder. If the computer didn't have any evidence of who Wilden was working with they were going to have to rely on DNA from the coat. Emily wasn't sure how to go about extracting DNA from fabric, or if there even was any DNA on it.

By the time they got back to the hotel the sun had set. The night life was starting to come alive. There was a party happening on the floor above them. A bunch of rowdy college kids were celebrating someone's birthday.

They packed up their things. Initially, they weren't sure if they were going to need to stay the whole weekend for the investigation. Now that they had evidence Emily wanted to get back to Rosewood so they could expedite their plan.

She was playing with the laptop, trying to figure out ways to bypass the security lock screen. She sat at the desk in the hotel room tinkering with the device while finishing up her dinner. They were recharging before they hit the road again.

Alison was lying on the bed, her stomach pressed against the mattress as she leaned against her elbows, her head near the foot of the bed. She kicked her feet behind her, her toes nearly hitting the wall. She had a magazine in front of her, but she kept looking up from it to watch Emily work.

She liked the faces Emily made when she was deep in concentration. Her brow dipped down, forming little creases near the top of her nose. Her eyes were focused and intense. Her lips were thin and curved down, leaving little indents near the edge of her mouth. It was a lot like the face she made when they were sharing intimate moments in bed.

Alison knew they needed to focus, but when she looked at the little dips in her facial muscles she felt like kissing her. Emily could feel Alison's eyes on her, which made it harder to concentrate. She sighed and closed the laptop, knowing she wasn't getting anywhere. She knew they needed a professional. She didn't want to break it before they had a chance for Caleb to take a stab at it.

She walked over towards the bed. Alison tried to play coy, pretending like she hadn't been staring at her the whole time.

Emily plopped down next to her against the edge of the mattress. Alison reached over and rubbed her thigh. Emily turned her head and smiled at her. Alison moved to sit up, curling her legs up underneath her.

Emily gave her a playful look and then engulfed her in a hug. They both fell back against the mattress laughing. The excitement and the adrenaline of the day had given them a newfound sense of purpose. They wanted to celebrate their victory.

Alison pressed a kiss against her lips and snuggled closer to the brunette. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling her aroma. She could smell her cocoa butter body oil and her moisturizing shampoo. Beyond that, she could smell her hard work and determination. She felt Emily threading her fingers through her hair.

"You know, all the felonies and danger aside…this has been an incredible trip." Alison smiled. It had been nice to get away from Rosewood and spend time with her girl, just the two of them. "It's made me realize that we could have something normal after this."

"Normal?" Emily chuckled. "What's that?"

"Anything we want it to be." Alison hummed happily as she kissed Emily's knuckles.

She took a moment to take a snapshot of the moment for her memories. A girl as wonderful and as beautiful as Emily Fields…looking at her with so much love in her eyes. It was like a dream.

"Does that anything include NYU?" Emily asked curiously.

Alison's smile faded. She was conflicted about her future. She wanted to have it all. She wanted NYU. But she wanted Emily and the baby just as much, if not more.

"I told you…I'm still thinking about what I want to do." Alison turned, slightly pulling back.

Emily held her in place. She didn't want Alison to push her away. The blonde was an expert at avoiding the hard conversations.

"I'm not trying to push you," Emily said, touching her cheek. "I want you to do what you want. And I want you to know that I'll support you no matter what."

Alison reveled in the feel of Emily's fingers against her face. Her touch…her goddamn touch put her in such a quiet state of oblivion. She was so docile and comforting.

Alison put her palm against Emily's stomach and smiled sweetly at her.

"The same goes for you."

Emily moved forward to capture her lips and Alison sighed happily into their embrace. Alison's fingertips moved against the curve of Emily's jaw. She pushed aside a strand of her hair. The purple was starting to fade a little bit. She was due for a touch-up.

"I wish I could freeze this moment." Alison smiled against Emily's lips. "Every time we have a moment of happiness I just want to bottle it up and keep it forever."

"I'm always happy when I'm with you."

The way she said it so casually and in such a nonchalant manner made Alison want her more.

"Me too," Alison said. "I didn't know it was possible. I guess I just spent so much of my life in this weird miserable state that I have this irrational fear of happiness not lasting. Because any time I've ever been happy…like really happy…something came along to destroy it." Her nose crinkled up. "It made me kind of a terrible person."

"I think that's just human nature." Emily put her hand against Alison's side. "We try to control how the disappointments happen. I can't tell you how many times I've flown off the handle about little things…all because I don't like how things are going. Or I like how they're going and I don't want anything to come along and ruin it, so I ruin it on my terms."

She took a thoughtful breath as she thought about all the times she had acted out, like snapping at her parents over coming to New York. She felt bad about it. Her mother had called twice when they were driving back from Buffalo. Emily still hadn't called her back.

"It sucks that there are things out there trying to steal joy from others." Alison grumbled with a cute little frown on her face.

Emily kissed her forehead, and an old quote came to mind as she tried to sum up all the feelings that they were wrestling with.

"Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape." Emily cupped Alison's cheek.

Alison's lips curled into a smile.

"Quoting Charles Dickens at me in bed. You really know the way to my heart…" And her loins.

Their lips met in another embrace. Emily slid her hand up the back of Alison's shirt as she gently tried to shift her on to her back. As they were rolling Alison felt Emily grunt in discomfort.

Alison pulled her lips away from Emily's.

"Everything okay?"

"Just a cramp." Emily reached around to her lower back and rubbed her knuckles against a twisted muscle. She sat up. "I think I just overdid it today. Plus all that time in the car…"

"Here…roll over." Alison moved back to give Emily room so she could lie on her side.

Once Emily's back was facing her she started kneading the muscles along her spine. It didn't take her long to get to the tense spot. She saw Emily jump when she pressed against it. After a few minutes the rubbing started to soothe the area. Emily slowly relaxed.

"Thanks." She sat up against the edge of the bed. She rolled her shoulder. "I think I need to walk a bit before we take off."

"I'm going to make sure we've packed everything. Don't want to leave any evidence behind." She sat up behind Emily and wrapped her arms around her neck, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. "Orange is the New Black is a great show, but I don't want to live it in real life."

Emily laughed, bending her neck to give her a kiss.

"I'll just be five minutes."

She slipped her shoes on and walked out of the room. She walked down the hallway, past the ice machine. She paused when she reached the stairwell. Steps were a bitch, but she knew that it would help loosen her muscles for the drive back home. She didn't want her joints getting stiff.

As she walked through the doorway a familiar face peered around the corner. Wilden had an NYU hoodie pulled up over his head. The frat party was a perfect cover after he'd failed to get access to Emily and Alison's room. He had to improvise.

He wasn't supposed to be there, but he didn't feel like doing what he was told anymore. Alison and Emily had taken everything from him. His livelihood. His reputation. His job. His good name. They had ruined him.

The game had started out simple enough. It was just about teaching them a lesson a first, but it had grown into much more than that.

The plan was already in motion. Smoke was starting to billow out from underneath a closet door. The fire wasn't big. And it was contained in a small garbage can. He just needed a distraction. He waited a few minutes until more smoke was drifting out into the hallway. Then he walked to the other end of the hallway and disappeared into a room with a key he'd stolen from the front desk.

He'd just slithered into the room three doors down as Alison walked out of her room with the ice bucket. Everything was packed and ready to go. She just had one last thing she needed to do. She rounded the corner towards the ice machine. She smelled something funny, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She assumed it was the college kids above them smoking weed.

She lined the ice bucket and stuck it under the machine, pressing the button. It whirred to life loudly as chunks of ice dropped into it. She was going to make little ice packs for Emily for the drive, hoping it might help with her hot flashes and sore muscles.

She pulled the bucket free just as the alarms started blaring. The noise was so loud that she almost dropped the bucket. When she realized it was the fire alarm it hit her that the smoke was not from the party.

"Emily…" Her first and only thought was making sure she was safe.

She wasn't sure which way Emily had gone. She dropped the ice bucket and ran down the hallway, hoping to run into her at the other end. The closer she got to the other end the heavier the smoke was. She called out her name, but didn't hear anything in response except for several doors opening to see what the alarms were all about. She turned around and ran back the other way.

The alarms in the stairwell were so loud that they nearly caused Emily to lose her footing. She slammed her palms over her ears and looked up and saw red and white lights flashing.

An emergency announcement echoed in the open space. Seconds later footsteps were stampeding from everywhere.

She knew the elevators wouldn't be working, so she quickly turned around and started back up towards the eighth story.

She made it to the seventh before she hit the crowds of people rushing down from the party.

"Yo, you're going the wrong way!" A young college freshman grabbed her and tried to turn her around.

She yanked her arm away from him and started up the stairs again. She had to shove through them. Several more of them tried to get her to turn around, but she was only focused on getting back to Alison.

The hallway was just as crowded. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a familiar blonde blob of hair mixed in with the other hotel guests. They ran into each other's arms. Emily pulled her out of the path of the stampeding herd.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked, out of breath.

"Fine. You?"

"Yeah. It's getting crazy though. Where's the fire?"

"No one seems to know. It's coming from down there." She pointed. "There's smoke, but no flames."

"Where there is smoke there are most definitely flames." Emily gripped her hand tightly.

"We have to get back to the room. We can't let anything happen to that laptop." Alison glanced at the party-goers whizzing past them.

Fighting against the crowd wasn't easy. People kept bumping into them. Alison turned around and sneered at a middle-aged man who had knocked Emily into the wall.

"Watch where you're fucking going." She shoved him back.

The guy kept going. Emily grabbed Alison's hand again so they wouldn't lose one another in the crowd.

"Come on."

They didn't see Wilden slipping out of the room. He'd been waiting for them to come by. The crowd was so frantic that no one seemed to notice or care that he had on sunglasses and was wearing a handkerchief around his face. People probably thought he'd just done it to avoid smoke inhalation.

He managed to seamlessly migrate in with the others. He saw his opportunity as they were going by a small corner. He shoved Alison and Emily towards a nook near their room, a little area that led nowhere.

They tumbled forward. Emily had enough presence of mind to move Alison in front of her, putting herself between their attacker and the blonde. Emily shielded Alison protectively. Alison spun around just in time to see the glint of the knife's blade.

"Emily!" Alison shrieked, grabbing her, twisting her away from the weapon so hard that the brunette flew into the wall.

The sudden movement threw Wilden off balance. The blade slipped, piercing Alison's side instead of Emily's back.

Alison felt the tip of the blade sink into her skin, cutting like butter. She let out a loud scream. A piercing pain sent a shockwave up her spine. The knife felt hot against her body, but the blood bubbling on her skin was hotter. She could feel a sticky substance pooling against her ripped shirt.

She had braced herself for it, so she managed to backpeddle and twist away before the knife could cause any further damage. She felt a rush of adrenaline.

Emily lunged forward and tried to grab the weapon. He wildly thrust the knife at the brunette, but Emily side-stepped it and threw a punch into his jaw. He dropped the weapon and staggered back, but not before shoving Emily against the wall and disappearing into the crowd.

Emily's head hit the sheetrock with a loud 'thud'. She saw stars, but managed to keep her eyes open. She used the wall for support. Her back slid down against it until her ass hit the floor.

Alison's eyes darted towards Wilden and then back to Emily.

"Em, are you okay?" Alison fell to her knees in front of Emily, cupping her cheek with one hand and automatically reaching out to touch her stomach with her other.

"Fine. I just…"

"He's heading towards the roof." She pulled Emily to her feet. "We can't let him get away."

Her adrenaline took over as she bolted after him, unable to hear Emily's calls for her to stop. She didn't see the wave of people blocking Emily from following her. Emily watched her disappear as she frantically tried to get through the blockade in the hallway.

Wilden raced towards the roof. He'd studied the hotel enough to know that there was a fire escape that led to an adjoining roof. He was fast, but Alison was hot on his heels.

She was so laser-focused on him that she didn't see a familiar red coat in the midst of the crowd. The person watched them weave through the swarm of panicked party-goers.

The door to the roof burst open as Wilden stumbled forward. Alison was right behind him. She took a flying leap and landed on his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck while letting out an angry feral scream.

"How dare you…" She dug her fingernails into his scalp, ripping at what little hair he had. "How fucking dare you try to hurt them? You could have killed them!"

She clawed at his face, knocking his sunglasses to the ground and ripping the bandana away from his mouth.

He spun around and threw her off of him. She fell hard against the cement, but thanks to all the self-defense classes Emily made her take she knew exactly how to land…and how to bounce back. She rolled through a pile of plastic red cups and empty beer bottles from the party.

She was on her feet seconds later, face to face with him. She hadn't seen him since the day that Hanna had gotten the recording of him with the twins.

An animalistic rage took over. Her scream echoed off of the building, but the sound was buried by the noise of the blaring alarms and the fire engines and bustling people below.

They clashed, Alison throwing wild unabashed punches at him. One for Emily. One for the baby. One for herself. One for Mona. One for every girl in the cafeteria that day. She hit him so much that she started to lose count. Her knuckles felt bruised and broken, but she didn't stop.

He raised his hand to backhand her, but she stumbled backwards and he nearly fell forward on to his face.

They stared at one another, both of them panting. His face was covered in blood. Alison felt like something had been unleashed, and she was not going to cage her rage until he was properly punished.

"I should have finished you off that night at the bar." Wilden snarled at her through his bloody teeth.

"You really should have." Alison taunted.

She wasn't walking away from him tonight without one of two things happening: his arrest, or him leaving in a body bag. She was fine with either.

"You're never going to get near me or Emily or any girl ever again. You're going away for the rest of your life." Alison snapped, breathing heavy. "I hope you know what they do to people like you in prison. It's over, Wilden."

"You're right." He replied calmly, looking at something behind her, a sly grin on his face.

Alison only realized what was going through his mind after he started barreling towards her. It was too late to do anything but brace herself for it.

He pushed her towards the edge of the building, bending her backwards. She nearly teetered over. She caught a glimpse of how high they were, the vertigo making it challenging for her to get her bearings. She saw the ground below spinning in the city lights.

She managed to fight him off and get upright again.

They moved towards one another again, but a piercing blow cracked through the air. Alison saw blood splatter on to the pavement as a bullet ripped through Wilden's arm.

"Son of a bitch!" He yelped. "You fucking missed!"

Wilden found just enough strength to grab Alison and knock her towards the edge of the building again. She helplessly grasped at the wall as she fell forward. Out of the corner of her eye Alison saw a flash of red fabric blowing in the breeze.

Emily burst through the door. She ran towards the scuffle just in time to see the person in the hoodie knock Alison over the ledge and take off running. She didn't see the person in the red coat slinking towards the exit.

Emily's heart dropped in her chest when she saw Alison disappear over the ledge, a crushing pain nearly incapacitating her. She felt like falling to her knees and screaming. She raced towards the barrier…hoping with all of her heart…

"ALI!"

The period of silence was a blow more powerful than anything she'd ever experienced. She lunged towards the edge.

She felt a flood of relief when she heard Alison shouting.

"Emily! Emily, help me!"

When she looked over the barrier she saw Alison gripping a protruding arch that circled the entire building. Her fingertips were slipping. Emily reached down, grasping her wrists.

Alison felt a burning sensation in her side from the stab wound and she groaned. Her shoulders felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets. She felt her hands sliding away from Emily's.

"I'm slipping!" Alison cried. One of her hands slipped from Emily's grasp and Alison's entire body flailed wildly in the air. She let out a panicked cry. "Don't drop me. Please don't drop me!"

"I've got you." Emily assured her. "Just hold on. I've got you."

The blood on Alison's knuckles and the sweat on Emily's palms was making it extremely difficult for them to hold on to one another. Alison was hyperventilating. She could feel her fingers sliding through Emily's fingers.

"I don't want to die. Please…" She whimpered.

"I won't let you die." There was a determination in her voice, but Alison could hear the terror in her tone.

Alison looked up, her eyes filled with tears. She saw the helpless look on Emily's face. She'd never seen her girl look helpless before. It terrified her. Emily was nearly halfway over the barrier. She was teetering on the ledge.

Alison knew that if she fell Emily wasn't going to let go. She would go down with her. She would always put everyone else before herself. She knew that Emily was far too selfless to make the difficult choice.

Alison had spent her entire life being self-centered and led by her ego. It was because of Emily and her child that she finally understood what it meant to be willing to sacrifice herself for love.

"You can't…" Alison choked, her voice quivering. "Em…you're going to get pulled down with me."

"No. No, I've got you…"

"You don't. You're going to fall." Alison sobbed. "I can't let you and the baby die, too…"

"Ali, stop it…" Emily snapped harshly, her desperation making her panic.

She had a terrifying flashback to one of her swimming training sessions. One of the first things she had been taught was that when someone was drowning if they were pulling you under then you had to let them go to save yourself. She'd always wondered if she'd be able to do it if she was faced with the situation.

Emily certainly didn't want to choose between Alison and her daughter. In fact, she'd made it pretty clear that if that choice were to come to a head she'd have to pick her baby. But now that she was actively losing the love of her life she couldn't see anything but the future she was losing. She looked into Alison's wide blue eyes and she saw the depth of her soul.

Alison was slipping away, and she was taking Emily's heart...her every fiber of her being with her. Her loss would mean the collapse of Emily's world. She could already feel it falling to pieces around her. It was a devastating realization to know that if she survived when Alison didn't, she wouldn't want to live. Because if Alison fell, she would fall with her. If Alison was died, she would die with her. If she was buried, she would take Emily's heart to the grave, and Emily would never be the same again.

"I love you." Alison let out a trembling breath. "It's okay. It's going to be okay." She nodded her head as a tear slipped down her cheek. "As long as you two are safe…"

The girl was willing to die for her and her child, but Emily couldn't fathom losing her. She couldn't fathom losing either one of them. Alison and her baby were her family.

"No." Emily growled, her knees hitting the cement barrier so hard that the pain resonated throughout her entire body. "I'm not going to lose you. Not after we fought so hard to get here."

Her heart was overriding her instincts and they both knew it. Alison had to make the decision for both of them. She tried to pull away, but Emily only held on tighter.

"You have to let me go." Alison's voice cracked in a way that ripped into Emily's heart. "Think about her, Em. Think about your daughter. She needs you."

Emily stubbornly refused to let her go, even as she was slipping over the ledge. She let out a guttural scream and tightened her grip on Alison's wrist. She used her knees as the point of force as she leaned even further over the edge to grab Alison's other hand. Her muscles tightened as she somehow found the strength of ten women. She braced the tips of her feet against the cement barrier and slowly started lifting Alison up.

Alison gasped in surprise. Once Emily had stabilized her arms she was able to use her feet to walk up the side of the building with Emily's help.

It felt like an eternity, but after a few minutes she managed to get Alison up over the edge, catching her in her arms as they both collapsed on to the rooftop. Alison was trembling. Emily could feel her body vibrating against her, her sobs jolting Emily's body. Emily's emotions flooded her senses. She tightly wrapped her arms around Alison and let out a heaving breath as tears flooded her face. Neither of them could move.

"Are you okay?" Emily cupped her cheek, pushing her hair aside.

Alison gasped, looking at Emily in fright, the realization washing over her that she had her full body weight on top of her.

"Oh my God…the baby. I didn't hurt her, did I?" She quickly scrambled to her feet.

"No." Emily gripped the ledge and pulled herself up next to the blonde, her knees still aching. "She's okay. We're okay."

All of them. All three of them.

Emily's hands were shaking. Her throat felt hot from all the tears. She looked at Alison in relief. There was a cut on her forehead. There were speckles of blood all over her shirt. She was pretty banged up. But she was alive. Alive was all that counted.

"What happened?" Emily carefully traced her fingers over the cut.

"Red coat…she was here. She tried to shoot me." Alison looked at the empty spot where just moments ago another person had been standing. "She accidentally hit Wilden…" Her voice sounded raw and broken. "He got away. I tried…I tried to stop him…"

"Don't worry about that." Emily reached towards Alison's side. "We should get you to a hospital…"

She lifted Alison's shirt where a pool of blood had soaked through. There was a gash, but fortunately it was only skin deep. Alison looked down at it.

"It doesn't look like it needs stitches." Alison touched it. She flinched when she felt the torn skin.

"I'm going to kill him. Forget jail. I'm going to rip him to pieces myself." Emily huffed angrily as her fingers explored the gash tenderly.

"Don't work yourself up." Alison looked at her stomach. "It's bad for the baby." She pulled her shirt down, almost defiantly.

Emily grasped her cheeks, half relieved, half infuriated.

"You could have been killed." She cupped her face, letting out a shaky breath. "What were you thinking?"

"He would have killed you both. I couldn't let that happen." The flash of the knife had been one of the most terrifying things she'd ever seen. "We…" Alison looked around the rooftop in shock. Where had red coat gone? "We should get out of here. We can't afford to cause a scene."

She grabbed Emily's hand and pulled her towards the door. They made their way down the stairs. The smoke on their floor was so thick that they could barely see. They could hear the firefighters shouting at one another. They had no choice but to leave their belongings in the room and join the masses outside the hotel.

It took the fire department half an hour to find the metal bin covered in black ash. It had been reduced to a pile of scraps, but the fire had not spread. They came out shaking their heads and muttering, "stupid kids."

Once the building had been cleared Emily and Alison went back inside to retrieve their things. The hotel room had been completely tossed. At first, they assumed it had been the firefighters.

But then Emily noticed that the laptop was gone.

"No…" she uttered.

There was something else on the desk in its place. She slowly walked over, a lump in her throat. A pile of red shreds were all that remained of something that once used to be a little red dress. Tears pooled in her eyes. Her dress had been torn to pieces.

On top of the dress there was a picture of Alison with a huge red X marked over her face. There was a note written in red ink.

Keep digging and it will be their graves that you've unearthed. I'll bury them in a New York minute.

Emily felt a surge of rage. She felt like flipping the desk. She reached out and picked up the tattered remains of her very first outfit. It felt like a piece of her past was slipping away from her, and taking a piece of her heart with it.

Alison sat down against the edge of the bed, staring at her. She was still in a state of shock.

"I'm sorry." Alison mumbled.

"What?" Emily spun around. She raced to Alison's side. "No…this…it's not your fault…don't apologize…"

"They destroyed your dress." Alison's lip was quivering. She couldn't imagine what something like that meant to Emily. She was angry, but she was also tired. "I'm so sorry. I should have come back for our stuff as soon as I heard the alarm." But she'd gone looking for Emily instead. "Now everything we had was gone. We really needed that laptop."

"Alison, I don't care about the stupid laptop. I care about you." She sat down next to her. "We'll find another way."

They'd had everything they needed in their clutches and it had slipped through their fingers. They had lost almost everything, but it was better than losing each other.

Alison let out a grunt of frustration.

"We were so close." She slapped her palms against the mattress. "He ruined everything." She reached up and brushed at the blood on her shirt and whined. "This is my favorite shirt."

"Well, I can't do anything about the shirt." Emily reached for her bag. She dug around, pulling out a first aid kit, which she always traveled with…complements of her dad. "But let's take care of you, okay?"

Alison nodded, lifting her shirt. Emily observed the injury, unable to process how much worse it could have been.

"Jumping in front of that knife was really stupid." She croaked, looking at the cut, letting her fingers linger against it. Had it been two inches to the right and several inches deeper she could have died. "And chasing him down all by yourself…God, Ali, you almost got yourself killed."

She reached up and cupped her cheeks, taking a shaky breath to try and calm her nerves. Her heart had felt like it was being ripped to pieces as she'd felt Alison's hands slipping away from hers on the roof. Nothing in her life had ever scared her to her core. Not until tonight.

She put her forehead against Alison's and closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes back up they were wet with tears.

"You are so incredibly stupid." She pecked her lips. "And so brave." She kissed her again. "Don't ever do that to me again."

"I'd do it again every time." Alison replied softly, though the stubborn intention of her tone was very clear.

"Of course you would." Emily laughed.

She took a moment to hold her face, to appreciate her. Then she went to work on her injury.

She delicately cleaned the cut. Emily's fingers felt good against her skin. Alison cringed when she felt her put a cool gel on the wound. Emily put a piece of gauze over the injury and taped it in place. She pressed a kiss against it and then put the supplies away.

"I can't believe he got the laptop and the coat…" Alison grumbled.

"I'm just glad he didn't get you."

"Or the flash drive." Alison reached into her pocket, pulling out the USB drive.

Emily grabbed the drive. They didn't have the laptop anymore, but at the very least they had enough to get Wilden arrested.

"You are amazing." Emily shook her head in disbelief. "I could kiss you!"

"So…do it." Alison challenged with a smile.

Emily happily obliged. She kissed her a little harder, held her a little tighter. She knew what she could have lost if she lost the blonde.

After they got cleaned up they grabbed their things, eager to get back home. Emily wrapped her arm around Alison's waist and pulled her close as they were walking through the lobby. They were almost at the front door when Alison halted to a complete stop.

"Holy shit." Alison stared at a television hanging over the bar.

Emily craned her neck up and saw what had captured Alison's attention. They saw Wilden's face plastered on the screen with a major headline.

EX-TEACHER ARRESTED ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES

A perky reporter of Iranian descent appeared on the screen outside of the New York City Police Department. She spoke into the microphone with a very serious look on her face, the captions capturing every word of her speech.

"Our sources confirm that Darren Wilden has charges against him in Pennsylvania. Those charges are pending, and he was under court order not to leave the state. The incriminating photos were found in his car after an anonymous tipster called in a report after seeing him at a local hospital. He was receiving treatment for a gunshot wound. Authorities are still trying to work out the details of what happened, but sources have indicated that they have mounting evidence against him for more than one crime. Once he's been treated he will be released into NYPD custody. The NYPD is working with the local law enforcement in Pennsylvania to discuss his charges there. The police issued a statement explaining that he may be extradited…"

Alison turned away from the TV and reached into her pocket, her fingertips grazing the hard drive.

"Looks like someone beat us to it." It was satisfying, but at the same time she hated that they hadn't been the ones to turn him in.

"Yeah, but who?" Emily questioned. And why? She faced Alison, her lips pursed in thought. "You said that someone else was on that roof with you…that red coat was trying to shoot you. Are you sure that bullet wasn't meant for him?"

"Why would red coat turn on him? They've been working together."

Emily struggled to think of a logical reason.

"Maybe he became a liability."

"Whatever happened…at least he's out of the way. He can't be a little errand boy if he's in prison."

They knew it was far from over, but it was a step in the right direction.

They walked towards the door. Emily felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw her mom's name on the caller ID. She had five missed calls from her, but in the chaos of the evening she hadn't had a chance to call her back.

"I think my mom is going to have a coronary if we don't get home soon." Emily grabbed Alison's hand.

As they were loading everything into the car Emily sent a quick text.

I'm on my way home.

Her mother responded immediately,

Call me. Now.

Emily huffed out a sigh. Her mother was really pissed. Emily hit her number on the speed dial. When her mother answered she sounded frazzled.

"Emily…"

"Hey, we're getting ready to get into the car. We're coming home…"

"Emily…" Her voice was shaky. Emily felt a chill shoot up her spine. "It's your father…"

Her eyes widened. She almost lost her grip on her phone. She swayed unevenly on her feet, her vision becoming fuzzy. She thought she was going to pass out, but after a few seconds her vision returned to normal.

"Emily?" Alison saw the look on her face.

She moved around to the other side of the car. She put her hand on Emily's arm, but Emily barely felt it.

"Em, are you there?" Her mother's voice sounded so small…and so far away.

"I…yeah." Emily stuttered. "Is dad okay?"

"He collapsed at work. They think…they think it's his heart."

"Is he okay?" Emily asked again, the words sounding like a cycle of repetition she couldn't get out of.

The phone line was silent. Emily swore she could hear her mother's heart wildly beating. Or it was her own pulse in her head. She couldn't tell.

"We're at Rosewood General. You should come here. I'm still waiting on the doctor."

Emily stared at her reflection in the car window in shock. She couldn't see anything in her line of sight. She couldn't hear her mother speaking anymore. She couldn't feel Alison squeezing her hand. The only thing she could feel was the hurt and pain she'd seen on her father's face as she stormed out of the house twenty-four hours ago. The last thing she'd said to him had been hate-filled words.

What if they had been the last words she would ever say to him?

Memories of her father flooded her mind. She thought about every time he had made her smile. Every time he made her laugh. Every time he held her in his arms as she cried. She thought about the longing she'd had in her heart when he was overseas, and about how seeing him on a screen or talking to him on the phone hadn't had the same impact of actually being with him.

What if she never got to see him again? At all?

She had been a daddy's girl since birth. She loved her dad more than anything, even when he pissed her off. She couldn't imagine life without him.

She'd lost count of how many meaningful talks they'd had about her life. He'd been just as genuine about her first day of kindergarten as he'd been about the advice he had for her pregnancy. All he wanted for her was her happiness.

He had always been there for her, even before she was born. Her mother had told her that he'd constantly talked to her baby bump. She could only imagine the conversations he must have had with her then. Had he told her he loved her and that he wanted her to grow up strong and independent and beautiful?

She had seen so many memories of him beaming from ear-to-ear, holding his little baby girl. He'd bragged about her to his friends non-stop. He had taught her everything she knew. She'd seen videos of herself learning to walk while gripping his fingers for support as he waddled along behind her. She remembered how he complied when she shouted to go higher on the swings. He'd taught her how to dance, how to fight, and how to love.

The hours they'd spent together restoring her bike seemed so much more meaningful to her now. How could she have taken him for granted? Why didn't she tell him that she loved him more?

God, he can't die. Please, don't let him die.

She thought about everything he would miss. She thought about how her daughter would never know him. He would never cradle her and sing to her and tell her silly jokes. He would never brag to his buddies, "My grandbaby is the prettiest baby in the world."

He would never get to coo over her outfits or insist on babysitting or beg for more photos of his little baby girl with her baby girl. He wouldn't get to fall in line behind her child when she started walking. He'd never hear her utter "Poppa". He'd miss her first day of kindergarten. He wouldn't get to see her grow up or fall in love.

He wouldn't be there when Emily needed him. He'd miss walking her down the aisle. He'd miss seeing their family bloom. How was she supposed to raise her child without her dad? He was her safety net.

Please…I need you, dad. I need you. I'm sorry.

She blinked and looked over at Alison, surprised to see her phone in the blonde's hand. At some point Alison had taken it from her. She was trying to talk to her mother.

"No…no, she looks like she's okay." She glanced at Emily. "You're okay, aren't you, Em?"

"Yeah." She huffed out.

But she felt her stomach curdling, a tension gripping her so tightly that she reflexively gagged. Her stomach started pulsing as the wave of nausea struck her hard. She grabbed the edge of the car with one hand and her stomach with her other hand and doubled over, throwing up all over the pavement. It sent a heatwave rolling through her body.

"Oh!" Alison whimpered in alarm. "H-hold on, Mrs. Fields." She lowered the phone and quieted her voice. "Em..."

"I'm okay." Emily stood up, her eyes watering.

"We'll be there as soon as we can." Alison spoke into the phone.

Emily blinked again and the phone was in her hand and she was listening to her mother's monotonous voice telling her to drive carefully.

She nodded, unable to speak, unable to form any coherent thoughts. After everything they'd been through and now this?

It didn't make sense. The weekend had started out so well. How had it spun out of control like this?

They were jumping from one fucked up situation to another. Emily was tired of it. She was exhausted. She wanted a break. She needed a break. The stress of it was becoming too much. They had been through hell and back. Alison had nearly died two hours ago.

Her family was suffering. And it didn't make any sense.

"I love you, baby." It was her mother's voice that snapped her out of it.

"I love you, too, mom."

After she hung up she fumbled around for the keys. Before she could climb in the driver's seat Alison gently put her hand on top of hers.

"You're not driving right now." Alison took the keys from her.

Emily nodded mindlessly. She saw Alison reach up, but it didn't register that her delicate hand was swiping away the sweat on her cheek.

"Are you sure you're okay, sweetie? You're sweating like crazy." Alison frowned in concern, her hand still against Emily's cheek.

"I think...I think I might be in shock." She didn't recognize the sound of her own voice.

She didn't even know what real shock felt like. Was this shock? Why hadn't she felt it after what had happened in the hotel? Why was her body shutting down on her now?

She felt her legs giving out beneath her, but she managed to use the car to support her weight as she slowly slid down to the ground, her back against the driver's side door. She felt the nausea returning, so she buried her face in her hands.

Alison opened the back door and reached into a cooler, grabbing a bottle of water.

"Here. Drink." She leaned down, offering the cool water to Emily.

Emily sipped on the beverage at first, but the instant it hit her tongue her entire body started craving more. It washed away the sour taste in her mouth. She slowly chugged it, letting the refreshing taste clear her senses.

She felt like a robot. She didn't remember Alison helping her up. She didn't remember walking over to the passenger's side of the car. She didn't remember buckling her seat belt. She didn't remember Alison talking to her on the drive back to Rosewood.

It was like she blinked and they were out of New York and at Rosewood General Hospital.

Everything suddenly hit her, a weight crushing her chest. She stared at the doors of the hospital. It was like a monster waiting to devour her. She looked down and saw Alison's hand in hers. She tried to open her mouth to tell her 'thank you', but she couldn't find the words.

Alison simply nodded in understanding.

They roamed the halls until they found the waiting area. There were a few people strewn about. Emily spotted her mother sitting in a corner, staring into space. Emily let her hand fall away from Alison's as she walked forward. Her legs felt like jelly. Her lungs felt like they were going to explode.

Her mom looked up at her, her eyes puffy and red from crying. She still had streaks where the tears had been running down her cheeks. She didn't have the energy to stand up.

Emily sat down next to her. Pam turned towards her, tears in her eyes. Emily didn't say a word. She just put her hand on top of her mother's hand.

And she did something she rarely did.

She prayed.


A/N: Oh, Papa Fields…

Out of the frying pan and into the inferno. From their detective work to the scary showdown, there were some tense moments here. But I must admit that soft post-trauma Emison has a special place in my heart when I'm writing (as if you couldn't tell). Protective Ali and Determined Emily are a fun combo.

Got some more intense things coming up. My advice to you is to take several deep breaths before you pull out the pitchforks.