A/N: Part two of the finale (see previous chapter for part one). I thought I should spoil you with two chapters back to back since I made you wait so long. Expect a few final twists along this journey.
Chapter 13:
The Truth Shall Set You Free
Nights were the hardest part for Ava. Sometimes she would lay awake and think about all the good times she'd had with Nolan. Sometimes she had nightmares about seeing him impaled on that fence. She couldn't get the image out of her head. That was not how she wanted to remember him.
Dylan, Caitlin, and Ava had been hiding out, mostly together. They had been through hell together. Like the girls from Rosewood, they were now inseparable. They'd started out as mutual acquaintances gravitating in Nolan's orbit, but after his death they'd formed the depths of a bond that could never be broken.
Ava woke before sunrise the morning that Alison and Emily were set to leave town. She didn't know they were leaving yet. No one knew. They'd kept it quiet. The last thing Alison and Emily wanted was more attention. Best to slip out quietly.
Ava was good at doing the same. Sometimes at night when her friends were sleeping she would quietly leave their room and go up to the last place Nolan had been alive. She'd stare over the edge for hours before returning to her friends. Sometimes she went to the docks and peered at the lake water in the darkness.
The young girl was still so distraught over losing Nolan that she hadn't really been paying attention to others around her. The world continued to go on. That was the hardest part...watching everyone else live their lives while she was stuck in a world that had been thrown off of its axis. The pain of her grief was overwhelming.
That morning she had slipped out of Caitlin's dorm room, where they had all been staying. They'd been excused from their classes for the week with no repercussions. Claire made it perfectly clear to their teachers that the work they missed was of no importance. The professors had been instructed to award them A's for any assignments they had missed. It was her way of trying to make things up to them, as well as giving them time to deal with the trauma they'd been through.
Before leaving Ava turned around and looked at her friends. They were sleeping peacefully. She was grateful for them. She quietly gripped the doorknob, careful not to wake them. She glanced over her shoulder one last time before disappearing through the door.
It would be an hour before they realized she was missing.
Caitlin woke up and found Ava's side of the bed empty. She looked down and saw Dylan on the floor on his little cot, snoring.
"Dylan." She whispered.
He snored louder, so she threw a pillow at his head to wake him up.
He sat up and ran a hand through his messy bedhead and yawned.
"What?" He mumbled.
"You snore." Caitlin narrowed her eyes at him.
"Sorry." He sat up.
"Have you seen Ava?" Caitlin sat up against the edge of the bed.
"Dude." Dylan picked up the pillow she'd thrown at his head and threw it back at her. "I just woke up."
Ava had been taking everything extremely hard. Caitlin was worried about her. She voiced that concern.
"I'm worried about her." Caitlin rubbed her eyes, catching a glimpse of herself in her mirror. Her tired eyes were sunken in and her hair was a mess.
"You're always worried about her." Dylan countered, getting to his feet, stretching his back. He plopped down on the side of Caitlin's bed.
"She's been really quiet. She's not drinking…"
"And that's a bad thing?" Dylan asked in confusion.
"Ava goes on benders when she's depressed. It scares me that it's beyond depression. You don't think she'd do anything crazy, do you?"
Dylan put his arm around Caitlin.
"Get dressed. I think I know where she might be."
Turns out, Ava had not been as stealthy as she thought. Oftentimes Dylan followed her, keeping a distance to let her have her space. But he was there just in case she needed someone.
Twenty minutes later they were riding out to the docks. There was a single shadow of a person in the distance.
Ava was sitting against the edge of the dock, her feet dangling over the water. She was completely oblivious to the world around her. She stared out at the water. It was so still in the morning. She used to come out here with Nolan and they'd talk about running away together.
"You and me, forever, Ava."
She tossed a stone into the water, watching the ripples form, watching the tiny current. It was amazing that one little stone could move the entire lake. How could something so small be so powerful?
"Hey." She heard a soft voice from behind her.
She turned around and saw Dylan and Caitlin walking towards her.
"Hey." Ava replied sadly with a shrug.
"What'cha doin?" Dylan plopped down next to her. Caitlin lowered herself down on Ava's other side.
"Wallowing in self-pity." Ava threw another rock.
"Cool." Dylan stared at the ripples in the water. "Can we wallow, too?"
"Sure." Ava twisted her hand and flicked her wrist, flinging the rock towards the lake. It skipped across the top of the surface almost a dozen times.
Nolan had taught her how to do that.
"It's all in the wrist," he'd told her.
Caitlin observed her friend's face. There was a sense of serenity there, but there was also a great sadness. Ava had lost a part of herself when Nolan died. Caitlin couldn't relate. She didn't love Nolan. She didn't even like him. Their relationship was all for appearance's sake. But Ava had loved him.
"Nolan teach you that?" Caitlin reached for a rock.
Ava nodded.
"You know, skipping rocks is just a matter of physics. You just have to know the right calculations and it'll be soaring high and dry." She flicked the flat rock towards the lake.
Her rock plunked into the water without a single skip. Ava and Dylan turned to her, their faces twisted in amusement.
"Don't either one of you say one word." Caitlin threatened. "Not one word."
All three of them laughed.
They saw a figure at the edge of the woods watching them.
Taylor.
Ava wasn't the only one who was familiar with the docks, nor the only one who had been taught by Nolan how to skip rocks. He'd taught Taylor, too. Her baby brother had always been a very bright child. She remembered the day he eagerly tugged at her hand, excited to show her how to pick the perfect rock. She missed him.
She was still in hiding. At least, for three more days.
She waved to them.
They all raised their hands and waved back.
"Wonder how she feels about rejoining the land of the living." Dylan lowered his hand.
"It has to be weird for her." Caitlin watched as the blonde slowly backed into the shadows. She couldn't risk being seen yet. "I wonder what it was like for her."
"Couldn't have been easy for her after Nolan died. They only had each other. She was all alone." Dylan frowned.
Ava stayed quiet. She skipped another rock. She still believed that the wrong Hotchkiss had come back from the dead, but she wouldn't say that to Taylor's face. She believed Taylor had the same thought, which was somewhat pitiful. It made Ava feel sorry for her. Nolan wouldn't wish for his sister's death just so he could live.
"I miss him." Ava sighed, laying her head against Dylan's shoulder.
"Me too." Dylan wrapped his arm around the small brunette. "But we're going to be okay, Aves."
"Aves?" It got a laugh out of her. "Since when do you call me Aves?"
"I've always called you Aves."
"Liar." Ava poked him as she pulled away, a smile on my face. "Never once in our lives have you called me that."
Caitlin's phone buzzed and she reached for it.
"It's Mrs. DiLau – " Caitlin stopped, then corrected herself, "Alison."
They had been through enough together that they'd dropped the formalities, but Caitlin still had a hard time letting go of the societal norms. It was always Mrs. and Mr. when it was a person who had authority or anyone older.
"She wants us to swing by her place." Caitlin glanced at her friends.
Ava slowly pulled herself to her feet.
"I'm done wallowing," she said as she turned and walked away.
Caitlin followed, typing her response as she walked along the dock.
We're on our way.
Fifteen minutes later they were sitting in Alison's living room on her couch. Emily was sitting against the arm of the couch. She couldn't stop staring at the message They're Watching written in brazen bright red letters on the wall. How had Alison lived here?
Alison was standing next to Emily, clasping her hand as she spoke to them. Mona was on Alison's other side in a chair.
It took a few minutes for everyone to process what Alison was telling them.
Mona studied Alison's face carefully. In her perfect Mona Vanderwaal fashion, she piped in,
"I want it noted on the record that I had nothing to do with driving you out of town this time." She put down the glass of water she had been holding in her hand, setting it against a coaster. "Though, if you need a ride to the airport and that ride is me, I guess technically I am driving you out of town."
"This time I actually want to go." Alison laughed. "I'm going to finish my schooling there."
"What on earth could have possibly made you change your mind about the lovely little murder-happy town of Beacon Heights?" Mona delivered the wry rhetorical question to perfection in only a way that she could do.
Alison laughed again.
"If it was about the murders that would be one thing." She had faced up to murderers in her life more than once. She took a thoughtful pause. "But it's about more than that." She looked at her wife. "I thought I came out here to find myself. To reinvent myself into someone better. To find where I belong." She mirrored what she'd told Spencer in the police station. "I was lying to myself. The reality is that I was running from my past. I don't want to do that anymore. The truth is, I've always known where I belong." She reached for Emily's hand. Emily took it. "With my family."
There was a beat of silence and then a sigh.
"Typical Alison," Mona said with a sad smile on her face. "We were finally starting to get along and now you're moving away from the neighborhood."
Alison reached over with her other hand and gripped Mona's fingers.
"Coming out here wasn't all bad." She smiled at the small brunette. "You can come visit Rosewood any time."
"Ugh, I hate that town." Mona shuddered, but then an intriguing idea came to her, "But I really would love to see the girls."
"Uh…you know they all moved away, right?" Emily questioned. "We're the only crazy ones who stayed."
"Your girls." Mona clarified with a laugh.
Emily's mind wandered to the day that Mona had saved Grace from being kidnapped by Alex. They hadn't known at the time that Alex had stolen Spencer's identity and was posing as her. Emily only put the pieces together after the fact.
That day "Spencer" had talked about taking Grace for a walk. A walk that Emily now understood she had no intention of coming back from. Mona had intervened. Emily had been surprised to find her outside comforting Grace. That was the last time Mona had seen the twins. They had grown so much since then.
"It seems like the right move for you." Caitlin shifted on the couch.
Always and forever diplomatic.
She did her best to appear happy for them, but her true feelings were bestowed by the way her shoulders were slumped.
"Your family is there." Caitlin looked at Emily.
The young eager student lowered her eyes sadly. She was going to miss Alison.
"Hey now, that's not the face of a young woman who, between you and me, has a very good chance of landing that internship with Senator Hastings." Alison had spoken with Spencer at length about Caitlin's chances.
Spencer had pretty much confirmed she wanted Caitlin for the job.
"Are you serious?" Caitlin's head snapped up, her eyes bright and full of excitement.
"Apparently you made an impression on my dear cousin Hastings while she was here." Alison smiled. "Don't tell her I told you."
"Well, I've got that to look forward to, I guess." Caitlin's eyes flickered in excitement.
Alison's eyes drifted to Dylan. The young promising musician had his head down.
"Dylan, you'll keep working on the prose and self-reflections we talked about in class?" Alison asked.
"Yeah." Dylan looked up at her, his soft brown eyes so much like Emily's. "Are you sure you have to go? Class was just starting to become tolerable."
"I have my family to think about." Alison was resolute in her decision.
"Not going to lie." Dylan huffed out a sigh. "This kinda sucks. You were the most interesting teacher I've ever had in my life. I was looking forward to seeing what happened next." He felt Caitlin elbow him. "But I am also very happy for you and wish you all the success in the world." He looked at Caitlin. "Satisfied?"
Caitlin nodded.
All eyes landed on Ava. The young girl was unusually quiet. Normally she had an opinion about everything.
Instead of addressing Alison, Ava looked at Emily.
"If she hadn't come back…" She glanced at Alison, "…not from Beacon Heights…but if she hadn't ever come back after you lost her, do think you would have been able to get over the pain of that loss?" She tucked her long black hair behind her right ear.
Emily took a moment to consider her response. She faced the eager eyes staring back her, begging her to tell her that the pain got better.
"Alison wasn't the only girlfriend I lost." She took a thoughtful breath. Ava's lips twisted up in intrigue. "After Ali disappeared I found myself involved with this wonderful young girl. I loved her. Dearly." Emily swallowed a knot in her throat. "She was murdered."
Ava's eyes widened.
She was hooked.
Emily understood. Emily related. The older brunette knew what it was like, what she was going through. The love of her life was gone. She would never see Nolan again. And Emily knew exactly how that felt.
"I was in a lot of pain for a very long time." Emily didn't sugarcoat it. She saw Caitlin shoot her a dirty look for not sugarcoating it. Ava was sensitive. But Emily knew that already. She also knew that Ava loved with all of her heart, just like she did. She wished someone would have told her the truth when she was a teenager instead of treating her like she was made of fragile glass. "The pain never goes away completely. But you learn to live with it. You learn that it's just another part of you. And someday there will be laughter again. There will be love again. It doesn't feel like it at first, but I promise you…one day you're going to feel a passion in your heart you never thought you'd feel again."
She glanced at the blonde. Sometimes it felt like Alison was the only reason her heart was beating.
"See…Alison came back, but my first girlfriend never did. I still carry that. But now I remember the good times instead of the bad. I remember the smiles we shared and not the pain."
Alison took Emily's hand. She knew it was tough for her to talk about her first girlfriend, Maya. Alison had actually been there when Maya's body was found. Creeping in the shadows. She'd seen the ambulances at Emily's house and panicked. She was supposed to be in hiding, but she didn't care. She had to know that Emily was okay.
But she wasn't okay. Physically she was fine. Unharmed. But mentally…
She'd seen Emily completely crumble. She'd seen what it had done to her. It had made her wonder if it had been the same when her "body" was found. Just picturing her in that kind of pain made Alison feel an immeasurable amount of guilt.
Emily had suffered a lot of loss. If anyone knew how to talk Ava through it, it was her.
"Then I understand." Ava looked at Alison. "Why you have to go back." She faced Emily again. "Thank you." Ava reached up and touched Emily's hand. "For being honest with me. Most people just lie." She looked up at Alison again. "As for you, my dear teacher…" She smiled. "Thank you for…whatever the hell this semester was." She didn't know how to sum it up.
Alison laughed.
"Ava…" Mona cleared her throat. She reached into her pocket. "I don't know if now is the best time…" She looked at Alison and Emily. They nodded. "I was able to save something for you. From the fire." Mona curled her hands around a flashdrive in her hand. She held it out to the younger girl.
"What's this?" Ava asked.
"Nolan left it for you." Mona had managed to remotely save a video of Nolan's final words to Ava. "It's a video."
His love for her on video.
Ava's heart cinched in her chest. After he'd cheated on her she had gotten raging mad drunk and deleted all of her photos and videos of them together.
"Do you have a laptop?" Ava jumped to her feet, eager to watch it.
"The TV has a USB port, but Ava…you might want to watch it after you've had time to process…"
Before Alison could finish her sentence Ava was shoving the thumb drive into the side of the TV and turning it on.
Nolan's face popped up on screen. It was so close, so real…she almost reached out and touched it.
Emily tensed up. She knew exactly what Ava felt like. The first time she'd discovered videos of Maya it was like a part of her came back to life. It stirred a lot of emotions in her. She felt Alison's hand against her back, slowly stroking it.
Ava stared into his eyes. He was looking directly at the camera. He was looking directly at her.
He rubbed his left eyebrow and sighed. Ava saw him fidgeting. He usually did that when he was apprehensive about something.
"Hey, Ava…"
Tears flooded her eyes.
His voice. And the first words he'd said. Her name.
"You just left about fifteen minutes ago. Mine is the last face you probably want to see right now…"
She would kill to see it again.
"…and I don't blame you. Seeing the pain in your eyes when you caught me with Kendra…"
Kendra was some slut she'd walked in on him fucking.
"I knew it was going to hurt you, but I didn't realize it would break you." He paused and looked off-screen. "Or that you would break my crystal vase."
Ava laughed. She never claimed to have a good temper. She'd throw hands at the drop of a hat.
On screen, he rubbed his eyes, like he was tired…or like he'd been crying.
Had he been crying? Over her? Over losing her?
"You're not going to understand this, but I needed to get it out there. I didn't want to hurt you. The thing is…I had to. I found some things out about my family…about Taylor. About my mom. Things have been getting really dangerous. I don't know who to trust. And I'm worried that if we're still together…you're going to get hurt."
So what Caitlin and Dylan had been telling her was true. He had done everything he'd done to protect her.
"I thought if you were angry with me you would keep your distance. I'm just trying to protect you."
Ava spoke back to him, even though she knew he wasn't going to answer.
"Nolan, you stupid bastard…" She uttered to herself. But she said it with a soft undertone filled with love and appreciation. "Stupid protective bastard…"
"But it's hard. It's hard because I love you too fucking much."
Ava closed her eyes, tears leaking out. When she opened them back up her vision was blurry.
"I don't know. Maybe it was the wrong move. Maybe I'm an idiot."
"You are definitely an idiot." Ava laughed through her tears, completely oblivious to the fact that everyone was watching her.
"This video isn't going to make a damn bit of difference, because I did hurt you. And I'm sorry. But keeping you safe is more important to me than having your love in my life."
"Story of our lives." Emily leaned over and whispered to Alison.
Nolan looked off-screen for a few seconds, like he was trying to gather his thoughts. Ava knew that look. He was plotting. Planning.
"I'm telling you this because I think something huge is about to go down. And I want a record of it. And you and Dylan and Caitlin…you're the only people I trust."
She turned around, for the first time remembering that her friends were there with her. Dylan walked up next to her and took her hand, linking his fingers into hers. Caitlin put her palm on her shoulder.
"Taylor is alive. I've been working with her and trying to lay out a trap for someone who hurt my mother…years ago. But I think I screwed up. And now everyone I know is in jeopardy because of it. Beacon Guard will offer some semblance of protection, but it's not perfect. You and Cait and Dylan need to be careful. And that new teacher…the one from Rosewood…"
Alison looked at Emily as if to say, "That would be me."
"At first I thought she was one of them."
Alison hadn't understood what Nolan had meant when she first watched the video. But she understood now. He was concerned that because her last name was DiLaurentis that she was cut from the same cloth as her father. He was worried that she was just like her father. Her body shuddered at the thought of it.
"But I think I might have been wrong about that. I don't think she is who she used to be. And if I'm right, we put her in a lot of danger bringing her here. She's the key to all of this. If something happens to me…" He seemed almost certain that something would happen to him. "You need to trust her. Trust who she is. Trust her friends."
Mona and Emily shared a look.
"Trust her to help you. Because she might be the only person who can get you out of this."
He lowered his head into his hands and groaned. He rubbed his face and then looked at the camera again.
"I don't know. I don't know what I'm saying. I polished off a bunch of bourbon after you left. I hope this makes sense." There were tears glistening in his eyes. "I'm so sorry about all of this."
A deep shuddering breath.
"I love you, Ava."
He reached forward and the camera cut off.
His last words to her. And they'd been "I love you."
It was soothing, but at the same time it shredded her heart to pieces.
Ava slowly turned around. Her eyes locked on Mona's.
"Thank you." The normally temperamental young woman surged forward and embraced her in a hug.
Mona gently pat her on the back as she looked at Alison in disbelief. Ava let go of Mona, wiping tears from her face.
She felt like she'd gotten a piece of her heart back.
She wrapped her arms around Alison.
"Thank you both." She pulled back and looked at the blonde. "For everything."
Caitlin and Dylan were staring like they'd just seen the seventh wonder of the world. Ava was not a hugger.
Dylan gave the older adults an appreciative nod. Caitlin smiled.
"We're really going to miss you." Caitlin sighed.
Alison had made an impact. She'd made an impact on their lives that would stick with them forever. This was why she wanted to go in to teaching. She wanted to make a difference.
"If Booker ever gives you any trouble just send her to Mona." Alison gave Mona a sly wink. "She knows how to take care of her. We had our own Booker once." Fucking Linda Tanner and her smug fucking face. Alison added with a smile, "And take care of each other."
"We will." Caitlin put her arm around Ava and pulled her in for a side hug.
"I see a lot of therapy in our future," Dylan said flippantly.
"Will you keep in touch?" It surprised Alison when Ava asked the question.
"I'm just a phone call away." Alison nodded. "Mona knows how to reach me."
Ava walked over to the TV and unplugged the thumb drive. She looked around the house. Alison was probably doing the smart thing. Getting out before it was too late.
She knew that the town was about to become a circus. As soon as Taylor came back into the limelight Beacon Heights would become the town that never slept.
"Be careful with that video." Alison warned, her eyes landing on the small flashdrive in Ava's hand. "It has incriminating things about the Hotchkiss family on it."
"I would never do anything to hurt Nolan's family." Ava assured her. "Besides..." She rolled the thumb drive over in her hand. "Seeing it once was enough." It had offered her closure. "I'll remember every word of it."
She reached her hand out and gave the flashdrive back to Mona.
"I can edit it down for you if you'd like. Cut the bits about what they were doing behind the scenes." Mona offered.
Ava shook her head.
"He loved me. That's all I needed to know." She felt Dylan's arm around her and before she knew it she was in his arms, wrapping her arms back around him, hugging him tightly.
"I'll keep it in a safe place in case you change your mind." Mona slipped the thumb drive into her pocket.
"You all are in good hands with Mona." Alison assured them.
"What time does your flight leave?" Caitlin asked.
"Not for a few hours. Emily and I made some breakfast if you're up for it." The blonde glanced towards the kitchen.
"I thought I smelled bacon." Dylan made a mad dash towards the kitchen.
They gathered into the kitchen to have one last meal together. When they were done eating the kids said their goodbyes, leaving Mona, Alison, and Emily to finish packing.
After most of Alison's belongings were in boxes ready to be shipped, Emily plopped down on the couch. Alison put a small box down on the table behind the sofa. She stood behind Emily, playing with her hair.
She had missed stroking it, running her fingers through it, gripping it when Emily was between her legs. She missed the feel of it against her body when they were in bed together.
Mona grabbed her duffel bag from the floor and put it in the chair. She unzipped it and started digging through it. Before Alison and Emily could ask her what she was doing Mona faced them.
"I have some news…" She pulled out a yellow file folder, "about the body they found in the car."
Her eyes met Alison's. She had a strange solemn expression on her face.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Alison shifted on her feet.
Her first thought was that someone had implicated Emily in the murder and they were going to have to face a trial there. Rampant thoughts of moving to Canada rushed through her mind. They weren't that far from the border. They could have Emily's mother bring the girls.
So much for no more running. She thought to herself.
Then she remembered Spencer. Spencer would make sure nothing bad happened to her wife.
Mona walked over to her. Before any more wild thoughts could cross her mind the short brunette said the last thing Alison expected to hear,
"The body had DNA matching your father's." She opened the folder and held out a piece of paper to Alison.
Alison's face blanched. That didn't make any sense.
If Mona told her that she had a connection to another set of twins she was going to scream.
"How is that possible?" Alison put her hand on the back of the couch and clamped down as she looked at the evidence.
Emily twisted around and put her hand on top of Alison's.
"Your father's older brother. Your uncle. He was estranged from the family. No wife. No kids. No one who would miss him." Mona pulled something else out of the folder.
"My uncle?" Alison cocked her head. She hadn't seen her dad's brother since she was four years old. She barely remembered the man.
"He was living a solitary life near an Amish community. Not on the community, but right outside of it." Mona passed her a picture.
He bore a striking resemblance to her father, but he was more rugged. He had a scraggly beard and a sun-kissed face, weathered by hard work. Farming, probably. That was a foreign concept to her.
Farming.
"Why was he in Rosewood?" Alison put the photo down on the coffee table.
"Your father called him. I'm not sure what was discussed, but I think your uncle found out your father's intentions. And he wanted to talk him out of it. I think perhaps over the years your uncle tried to talk your father out of a lot of things…" Mona could only imagine why the man had cut his family out of his life.
"Why was he in our car?" Emily picked the photo up and looked at it.
"He didn't drive to town. He hitchhiked."
What a strange eclectic man, Emily peered at the image.
"The police had to go back and revisit the case when they realized Ken was here. They put out a statement to the public with his photo asking anyone with any information to come forward. They have a witness. The man who gave your uncle the ride saw the similarities between the hitchhiker and the man on the news. He spoke to the police. He gave the impression that your uncle was going to stop his brother from doing something stupid. And that changed everything. Barry is actually the one who broke this wide open." Mona shuffled through some of the police report.
God bless Barry Maple. Alison couldn't help but smile.
"I'm assuming Barry isn't the one who broke protocol to give you these files?" Emily lifted her brow inquisitively.
"I did that all on my own." Mona flashed her a smile.
She'd hacked into confidential government files.
Of course she did. Emily had learned never to underestimate Mona Vanderwaal.
"Your uncle apparently tried to warn Emily, but she was already gone by that time. Ken was gone, too. He probably didn't have money for a rental. And he couldn't waste time hitchhiking again. So, he played Grand Theft Auto with your car. I'm assuming he searched the house for your keys."
"He was trying to catch his brother." Emily murmured.
"But my dad got to him first." Alison realized. "He got to him first. He killed his own brother." She rubbed her temple. Her fingertips hit the fleshy healing bump on her head. She'd gotten her stitches out yesterday. "He must have switched their medical and dental records. But how?"
"It's easier to do than you think." Mona had done it once…when she sent Alison out of town and left Bethany Young's body to rot in the ground.
"He lost his fucking mind." The blonde ground her jaw down, gritting her teeth. "I bet he was planning to run. He has enough money to go anywhere he wants. I bet that bastard was going to kill us and skip town." She knew her father well enough to know exactly what kind of man he was. "His death would have given him an out if we died. No one would be looking for him. No one would ever suspect it was him because the police believed he was dead."
Alison walked around and sat down on the arm of the couch next to Emily.
"My father killed his brother…" She tried to process it.
"That's what the police think." Mona put the file down and looked at Emily. "I suspect you'll be getting a call letting you off the hook soon, Em."
"Yeah…" Emily didn't sound very enthusiastic. She was worried about Alison. She put her hand on the blonde's arm. "Ali, are you okay?"
Another family member dead and gone. It had to be some kind of record. The girl had been through so much. Another half-sister. A dead father. A dead uncle.
It made Emily furious at fate…at the universe. If there was a physical embodiment of the universe she would kick the living shit out of it for hurting her wife, repeatedly. Alison had more than hit her pain and death threshold.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She meant it. She didn't remember much about him. "He was a stranger to me."
Alison's brow crinkled as she thought about something. She faced Mona.
"You said that's 'what the police think'." Alison knew there was more to it.
"Yeah."
The way Mona had said it…the tone of her voice…it triggered something in Alison.
"But it's not what you think happened." Alison phrased it as a statement rather than a question, because she knew what Mona was inferring.
Mona took a moment to consider her answer. She glanced at the file, the police's "official" story.
"I think someone was desperate enough to kill your dad." Mona said slowly, as if she was thinking out loud. "I think Ken and your uncle were only a hundred or so miles apart." She traced an invisible map in her head into the air. "I think perhaps Ken's car was missed, but someone knew what your car looked like." She looked at Emily. "Someone who went to your house. Someone who convinced you to help." She faced Alison next. "Your father and your uncle looked very alike. And it was dark."
"You think Taylor did it." Emily realized.
"What I think isn't relevant." Mona shrugged. "What I know is that Kenneth DiLaurentis is dead. And dead men tell no tales. So if the police want to peg him for his brother's murder and close the case he can't say otherwise." She sighed. "Taylor has been through a lot. Finding out the truth about how she came into this world. Her brother's death…" Mona lingered, like she wanted to say more.
Alison tilted her head. Mona had the same look on her face at the police station.
What are you hiding, Mona?
But she knew if she asked Mona wouldn't tell her. Some of Mona's secrets belonged to her alone, and Alison was fine with that. They all had their secrets.
"What I think…" Mona continued carefully, "is that what happens isn't up to me."
She handed Alison the file.
Alison looked at the file, then at the picture of her uncle. Without a word she stood up and walked to the paper shredder in her office adjoining the living room. She silently shredded the contents of the entire folder.
"Thank you for finding this." Alison walked over to where Mona was standing.
"Finding what?" Mona pretended she had no idea what Alison was talking about.
"Right." Alison smiled softly.
Mona pressed the tips of her fingers together and tapped them. There was something off about her, but Alison couldn't pinpoint it.
"You okay?" Alison had learned her tells. She knew when the brunette had a lot on her mind.
"Yeah." Mona smiled. "Yeah. I'm fine. But I need to go. I have something I need to take care of." She grabbed her bag.
"Hey, Mona…" Alison put her hand on Mona's arm. "What you did for Ava…that thumb drive. That was a nice thing to do."
"Well, I'm a nice person once you really get to know me." Mona slung her bag over her shoulder. "As long as you're on my good side, of course."
"Of course." Alison laughed. She glanced at the clock. "Our flight leaves at noon."
"I'll be there to say au revoir." Mona touched Alison's hand.
The craziest thing about everything they'd been through was that they'd formed such a deep connection.
Mona walked out, closing the door behind her.
Alison fell back over the arm of the couch dramatically, leaving Emily to catch her in her lap. Emily held the blonde in her arms. Alison's feet stretched out over the arm of the couch.
"This has been…" Alison sighed. "I thought I'd left the crazy behind in Rosewood. I guess it's just attracted to me."
"This wasn't your fault." Emily ran her fingers through Alison's hair.
Alison closed her eyes and smiled, humming happily. Her touch was divine.
"Have you talked to Taylor?" Emily leaned back, readjusting with their combined weight on the couch.
"About what?" Alison opened her eyes and peered at her wife.
"You do share the same DNA…" Emily played with the blonde's fingers.
"So does most of Rosewood." Alison scoffed. She sighed. "I don't think Taylor wants a daily reminder that she's a product of rape. I would only cause more harm than good."
Alison closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears. Tears for Taylor, but also for Claire. For herself. For her girls. She felt Emily's arms tightening around her body.
"I'm sure she sees it every day in the mirror. Knowing something like that…you can't unlearn it." She looked Emily square in the eyes. "Grace and Lily can never know about any of it."
Emily nodded in agreement.
Alison understood why Claire fought so hard to protect that secret. So did Emily. They never wanted their children to find out the truth, that Emily and Alison had been violated medically and that Alison had been impregnated against her will. She never wanted them to know they were a product of rape.
"If Taylor wants to reach out, I'll let her. But I have a feeling she won't. She has too much going on. I'm not her family. I'm a stranger that shares her DNA." Like her uncle was to her. "Nolan was her family. Her mother is her family."
"You uh…you don't think she's going to…" Emily didn't have to say what she was thinking. Alison knew.
"Go postal and try to kill us like Charlotte and Alex?" Alison guessed.
The truth was, Alison was relieved that Taylor hadn't reached out about wanting to connect with her. She seemed to want nothing to do with her. Alison was okay with that. She was burned out on illegitimate family members. She'd been burned one too many times. The last thing she needed was her girls in danger.
"I'm sure she'll be fine." She leaned up and kissed the brunette.
Emily squeezed Alison.
"God it feels good to have you in my arms again." Emily leaned forward for another kiss.
Alison smiled against the kiss. She had missed her kisses.
"I've missed this," she said quietly against her lips. "How do you feel being out of the skeevy motel and back in real living quarters?"
Emily looked around, her eyes landing on the paint on the walls.
"I don't know. I think I prefer the skeevy motel." Emily frowned. "This place is creepy, Ali."
Alison couldn't disagree, but the house didn't bother her.
"I guess it felt a little like home, because I always had you and the girls with me." She looked at a picture of the girls, the last thing left to pack. "Plus…Mona being here was oddly comforting."
"You think she's up to something? She seemed a little weird when she left." Emily hadn't missed her odd behavior.
"I assure you that she is most definitely up to something." Alison nodded. "But I don't care. Because we…" She reached up and touched Emily's chin. "…have this house to ourselves. And creepy or not…an empty house…you and me…."
Alison didn't have to say another word. Emily flipped her around into her lap so they were facing. Alison's knees dug into the couch cushions as their bodies fell flush together. Their lips met in a kiss, soft at first, but slowly gaining momentum.
Emily put her palms against Alison's thighs and started hiking her skirt up.
"Mmm." She moaned into Emily's mouth.
Alison didn't care that Beacon Guard was watching. All she cared about was feeling Emily's body against hers, feeling her fingers against her again.
A little red light flashed above them, but neither of them noticed it.
Outside the house Mona saw an alert pop up on her phone as she was getting into her car. She still had the alerts activated in the house for when the camera detected someone moving in the house. She pulled the video feed up and saw Alison and Emily on the couch. They weren't out of their clothes yet, but judging by the way their make-out session was going they would be soon. Mona tapped into the cameras in the house and she shut them down remotely with a program she'd written herself. Then she looked at the house.
"You're welcome." She chuckled. "Go nuts you little lovebirds." Or rather…nut-less.
As Alison and Emily got lost in the depths of their passion Mona got lost in the depths of her mind.
Ever since Booker had mentioned the timeline of Ken's journey Mona hadn't been able to stop thinking about it.
She'd put together a working theory, done some digging, and figured it out.
Fifteen minutes later she stood perfectly still, unflappable, on Claire Hotchkiss's porch.
Claire opened the door in a long flowing nightgown, mimosa in hand.
"Miss Vanderwaal." She didn't seem surprised in the least to see her. "I've been expecting you."
"Of course you have." Mona smiled as she walked through the door. "Is Taylor home?"
"She's still at the safehouse." Claire walked into the living room. "A lot is going on, as you know."
Mona followed her.
"Have a seat." Claire motioned to the couch.
"You know why I'm here." Mona realized as she sat down on the sofa.
"Well, I know it's not to tender your resignation." She took a sip of her drink. "At least I hope not. I don't fancy losing another one of my faculty members."
"You understand why she has to leave." Mona jumped to Alison's defense.
"Of course. I am curious though as to why you want to stay." She looked at the young brunette in intrigue.
"Claire," Mona pulled out her phone. "Let's skip the banter. You know what I want to talk about."
Claire took a seat on the loveseat next to Mona, angling herself towards her.
"I'm listening." She curled her feet up underneath her.
"I've always thought that there were more pieces to the puzzle. Something I was missing." Mona pulled up a video file on her phone. "Alison's father claimed he had nothing to do with Nolan's death."
Alison had told her how he'd looked stunned when she accused him.
"I didn't touch that boy. But I'm glad he's dead."
"I happen to know something that the police don't." Mona slowly traced her finger against the edge of her phone.
"Oh? And what's that?" Claire didn't seem intimidated.
"At the time of Nolan's death Ken DiLaurentis was in Rosewood…watching Emily and the twins."
She looked at Claire for a reaction, but Claire remained poised and unruffled.
Mona looked at her screen. Security footage.
"He was clever, I'll give him that. They didn't know he was there, of course. He stayed fairly well hidden. Used cash. Used an alias. He even stayed at a run-down shack of a motel the next town over instead of the 5-stars he's used to. He was very detailed with his disguise, but…" She flipped the phone around and played the video for Claire.
Ken was slinking through the motel parking lot. The timestamp showed the date Nolan was killed. The video was taken ten minutes before someone shoved Nolan off of a roof over 3000 miles away.
That got a reaction out of Claire. She flinched, tears springing to her eyes. Pain. Grief. Anger.
Mona knew that showing her his face was cruel, but it was the only way to break through her walls.
Mona turned her phone around and watched the video again.
"This wasn't easy to find. And I'm betting you had something to do with that. But I ran it through your personal facial recognition software. This is Ken DiLaurentis. In Rosewood. The night Nolan died. He couldn't have killed your son."
"No…" Claire looked out the window. She didn't deny it. "But he would have killed him given the chance."
"Claire…" Mona's voice was quiet. She knew what it was like to kill someone. What had gone wrong? How had Nolan ended up impaled on that fence post? "Tell me what happened."
"What would you do to protect the people you love?" Claire questioned.
"What did you do?" Mona's voice came out as a hushed whisper.
"It's not what I did." Claire chose her words carefully.
"The jewelry that was found in Dylan's and Caitlin's rooms…Nolan's jewelry. The person who killed him didn't take it as a token of the kill. It was taken with care by someone who loved him. It was polished and cared for. It wasn't taken from the scene. It was taken when his body was identified." She glanced her. "By you. You got rid of any evidence that he was wearing it at the scene."
She knew all the right people in all the right places. Powerful people.
"You know the ins and outs of this campus. You have total control over the cameras. That's why you were able to get into the dormitories and into Caitlin's and Dylan's rooms and leave the evidence there. The only thing I can't figure out is why? Why would you want to frame two innocent kids? And why not Ava? Why not frame her, too?" Mona's eyes bore through Claire's.
Claire was still unbothered.
"Nolan truly loved that girl. It felt like a betrayal." Claire sipped her mimosa coolly.
"I don't understand how you could put those kids through that." Mona shook her head.
"You wouldn't. Only a mother could understand." She hadn't meant for it to be cold, but it had struck a chord.
The statement stung Mona. She wanted kids, but had decided not to have any of her own because she didn't trust that she'd always be mentally stable. It didn't take much to send her spiraling.
"You were protecting Taylor." A realization.
Claire put her glass down, but she didn't say anything.
"When Nolan's things went missing…you didn't report it. You didn't report it because that would have implicated your daughter. Her DNA was on one of those pieces of jewelry, wasn't it?" The puzzle was finally coming together for her.
"You are extremely intelligent Miss Vanderwaal."
"Claire, Taylor killed your son, didn't she?"
Claire traced her finger around the rim of the glass before picking it back up. She stared at the liquid in it for a long time before she answered.
"Taylor always was brilliant. She has a gift." She faced Mona. "You know what it's like to have that gift. To know so much more than the world will ever know. But…my daughter is also no stranger to psychological issues."
Claire pulled her feet out from under her. She sat up, perfectly straight. She put her hands in her lap.
"I imagine finding out the truth around the circumstances of her existence pushed her into a dark place." She took a breath and then let out a heavy sigh. "I didn't see it."
She feels like she failed her daughter.
"I should have seen it." Claire was looking straight ahead, staring at nothing. She blinked and then turned towards Mona. "They were working together to get Alison's father here. They knew that Taylor's death would get his attention, and that bringing Alison here would be the thing to lure him here. He couldn't risk Alison finding out his dirty little secret. So…they faked her death. We…" She paused. "We faked it. But the grief was real, you see. Because I felt guilty that she was gone and I felt…relieved to not have to think about how she was conceived."
Mona recognized the look in the older woman's eyes. She saw it in Alison's eyes sometimes when the blonde talked about her children. She loved them, but it was impossible not to think about how they came into existence.
"What happened with Nolan and Taylor? What happened that night?" Mona leaned towards Claire. She put her hand on top of Claire's.
The woman didn't realize how badly she was trembling.
"Nolan wanted to tell Alison. He trusted her. It sent Taylor into a strange tailspin. She didn't want Alison involved. She was certain that Ken was already in town. She swore she saw him, but I'm afraid it was just her mind playing tricks on her. She started seeing his face everywhere. And the night Nolan was supposed to meet Alison…"
Claire bit her lip.
"She panicked. She dissociated. She thought Nolan was turning on her. She was terrified of Ken. When she went up on that roof she saw Ken DiLaurentis."
Mona understood. She could sympathize. She'd done the exact same thing back in Rosewood. When the dissociation happened it was hard to know the good from the bad. It was hard to trust anyone's judgment. The highs and lows were the worst thing in the world.
"After it happened she didn't even remember it. She still doesn't. That part of her is shut down. She doesn't remember being on the roof. She doesn't remember pushing him. She thinks she was somewhere else entirely. She's convinced Ken did it. And I'm inclined to let her believe that for the rest of her life."
Mona sympathized. After she killed Charlotte she had blocked it out.
"I had to figure out how to protect her from the truth. I needed a diversion."
"You panicked," Mona said. "That's how the kids got roped into this."
"I loved my son very much." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "And I love my daughter." She choked out a sob. "It was an accident." Her voice cracked, her tone wavering as more tears filled her eyes. "I know it was." Claire picked up a picture of Taylor and Nolan standing side by side. "She loved her little brother. She adored him."
She put the picture down and grabbed her drink again.
"She wanted to tell Alison the truth about what we were doing when Emily got involved. But she got a threat that scared her." Claire reached for a phone. "She couldn't say anything."
She handed Mona the phone.
"She was buried once before. Tell her the truth and I'll do it again."
Ken did find out.
"Claire…" Mona lowered the phone with a sigh. "What happened with Ken's brother?"
Claire didn't seem surprised that Mona knew the truth about that, too.
"I got a call from her that night. She was panicked. She was covered in soot and she was in the middle of nowhere. I had someone go and pick her up and then we met in a secluded place. She was so frantic." Claire bit her lips to starve off the tears. "I told her she should have stayed hidden."
"I…I tried. I really did. But then things…" Taylor had looked like a child again. "I screwed up. I REALLY screwed up. I need your help."
"Mommy's here now," she'd caressed her cheek.
"She couldn't remember what happened. There was a locket at the scene. As a personal favor to me, Dana Booker was able to get it back…discreetly." Claire reached up and wiped the tears away from her face.
Jesus, how deep does this cover-up run? Mona thought to herself.
"Ken didn't switch the dental records. You did."
"I did what I had to do to protect my child." There was no remorse in her tone whatsoever.
There was a long silence.
"Alison shredded the files." Mona pulled her hand away from Claire's.
"I know." Claire took a sip of her mimosa. "I saw." Another sip. "I also saw that you hacked into her cameras and shut them off."
"Trust me, you should just leave them off." Knowing Emily and Alison and knowing how long they'd been apart Mona was sure that they were screwing in every single room in that house.
"I did. Matter of fact, I'm going to start dismantling it altogether. Beacon Guard has served its purpose. Taylor and I are safe now. I believe I'll be rethinking using the system at the university." She put her glass down again. "So, where does this leave us, Miss Vanderwaal?"
"Mona." Mona shook off the formalities. "Just Mona."
Claire nodded.
Mona pursed her lips in thought, considering what she wanted to do very carefully.
"We promised we'd protect Taylor's secrets. Granted, that's before we knew any of this. But…" Mona rubbed her chin. "Having done some horrible things myself, I can sympathize with your daughter. And I don't believe we should be defined by actions that are out of our control."
"You know, you're somewhat of an inspiration to her." Claire crossed her legs and straightened her gown. "She knows all about your past. She sees the similarities. She sees you out in the world. She sees that you're successful. She wants that for herself."
Mona felt a swell of pride. After all the bad things she'd done, she was finally doing something good. She was helping someone. Though she'd been helping people all along, this was different. This was something she could relate to. Someone she could save. Only someone like her knew how to help someone like Taylor.
"I understand she has been suffering. Is she getting help?" Mona knew that medication and therapeutic intervention was crucial.
"She sees three different psychiatrists. She's on medication. She shows signs of getting better. Every day." Claire assured her. "And for my part, I'll be more diligent in keeping an eye on her."
"I can help with that," Mona said. "Perhaps I can even help in other areas. I've been in Taylor's head before. That used to be my head. I can show her that she can have a normal life going froward. I'm hoping that now that Ken is out of the picture things will be easier for her. She won't be so afraid. She won't feel the need to separate herself from the world."
"Is that why you're staying?" A curious inflection in Claire's voice. "For my daughter?"
"For both of us." Mona admitted. Mona picked up a photo of Taylor. At the bottom in fancy calligraphy she saw her name spelled out. Taylor Courtney Hotchkiss. "I'd like to get to know her better."
'I think she'd like that." Claire's face softened for the first time since Mona had walked in. She studied Mona's face. "She'll like you." She smiled. She reached a motherly hand out to her and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. She pulled back. "I think she'll like you a lot."
"You can trust me with your secrets. You can trust me with your daughter." She assured her.
"I know." Claire leaned back against the loveseat. "That's why I brought you here."
Claire Hotchkiss was a genius of sorts. Mona could see that now. She'd been playing a long game. And she won. It was admirable.
After Mona got the truth out of Claire she let her be. The woman had a lot on her mind. She also had a circus frenzy about to descend upon her family with Taylor's return.
Mona went back to her place to file a few things away. She sat on the new information she'd learned, trying to decide whether or not to tell Alison and Emily about Taylor killing her brother.
After some serious thought, she decided against it. They'd been through enough. They didn't need another burden to bear, especially not after the bombshell she'd hit them with about Alison's uncle.
When she picked them up to take them to the airport they had that special afterglow about them. They threw their luggage in the trunk.
Mona smirked as they got in the car.
"Enjoy your morning?" She waggled her brows at Alison when the blonde climbed in the front seat. "I turned the cameras off."
"Thanks." Alison grinned as she reached for her seat belt.
"Shit, I forgot about Beacon Guard." Emily laughed sheepishly as she climbed in the back.
"Yeah, groping your wife kind of makes you forget about everything, doesn't it?" Mona teased them.
"Just drive, laugh factory." Alison poked her in the side.
When they got to the airport Mona helped them with their luggage. The security checkpoint was as far as she could go.
"It's strange how things change." Mona touched Alison's arm. "Years ago I was chasing you out of town. Now, I don't want you to leave."
"I'm going to miss you, too." Alison sighed.
After everything they'd been through together they felt a new kinship for each other.
"Take care of yourself, Mona." Emily leaned in for a hug. "Watch after the kids."
"I will." Mona hugged her back.
"Take care of yourself." Alison reminded her.
"Yes, mom." Mona scoffed. "So…" She sized the blonde up, "Shall we slap goodbye?"
Slapping was their thing.
Alison laughed,
"Get over here." She pulled her in for a hug.
"You'll call me when you land?" Mona questioned.
It was odd…caring about each other after hurting one another for so long.
"Of course."
They said their goodbyes. Alison looked over her shoulder one last time before they rounded the corner towards security. Mona gave her a sad little wave goodbye.
Once they got through security they found their gate. Emily's phone started buzzing in her pocket. She grabbed it and held her finger up to let Alison know she'd be a minute. She walked into a less crowded area of the airport.
The call only lasted two minutes. When Emily returned she had an amused look on her face.
"Apparently, I'm not a murderer." Emily put her phone in her back pocket and grabbed the handle of her suitcase.
"What an excellent thing to say in the middle of a public airport." Alison shot her a sarcastic look. "How is Tanner taking it? I love it when she's wrong." Alison reveled in it.
"When it comes to us, when has she ever been right?" Emily snorted.
They hauled their carry-ons to the seats next to the boarding area. The airport was bustling, alive with activity. A man hurried by them. A toddler begged her mother for overpriced food. A family of four was watching something on an IPad.
Alison put her luggage down and sat down and stared at the family.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Emily plopped down next to her, blowing some hair out of her face.
"About what?" Alison turned to face her. "About the fact that Taylor killed my uncle?" She kept her voice low. "We weren't that close. Besides, murder kind of runs in the family. She'll fit right in."
"Well, if you won't let me comfort you, at least let me hold you." Emily wrapped her arm around Alison's shoulder. Alison laid her head against Emily's shoulder.
"You smell so good." Alison closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of her wife that she'd missed so dearly.
Their morning together had been so blissful. She could still see curtains of Emily's hair falling around her face as her fingers took her to new heights.
"An odd thing to say in public, but okay." Emily tickled her side. She kissed the top of Alison's head, thankful that they were both still alive. "Ali, promise me you're not going to internalize this."
"I've already put in a call to Dr. Sullivan." Anne Sullivan. Her therapist. She'd been going to her on and off for years. "You'll need to go too. You nearly died."
"I'll go." Emily didn't put up a fight.
After a few minutes a booming voice came over the loudspeaker.
"NOW BOARDING FLIGHT 213 FROM PORTLAND, OREGON TO ALBANY, NEW YORK!"
"Did you tell your mom that we're coming?" Alison asked. They'd decided to fly directly to their babies instead of going home first.
"Yes, but I told her not to tell the girls. I want to surprise them." Emily lifted Alison's hand up and kissed her knuckles.
Despite being tired, Alison felt alive with energy. In just a few short hours she would have her daughters in her arms again.
They settled into their seats on the plane and twenty minutes later they were taking off. The wheels were up and they were in the air. Alison watched as the town beneath them grew smaller in the distance.
The last time she'd been on a plane she'd cried. Because she was leaving Rosewood. She felt nothing but joy now that she had Emily next to her. She was going home. She was going back to her babies.
She felt the brunette's hand gently gripping hers.
"You're sure this is what you want?" Emily asked.
"I'm sure." She slowly faced her wife.
"You think the kids will be okay?" Emily glanced out the window, spotting the university as it faded into the distance.
"If I've learned anything about them it's that they're resilient." Alison knew that as long as they had each other, they would be okay.
They would take care of each other.
She knew that with time, they would heal. She knew that because she was healing.
Leaving Beacon Heights had been an easy choice, but at the same time it was hard for her to go. It was a push and pull. A need to be needed. Beacon Heights was a calling. She wanted to make a difference. She'd gone there to make a difference, to others, to herself. And she had done that. It was time for her to go home.
She knew she would always be needed there, but what she wanted was her family. She was leaving a piece of herself in Oregon, but that didn't matter because Emily and her girls made her whole.
A part of her would always be in Beacon Heights.
But her heart…
Her heart would always be with her family. It didn't matter how many shattered and fractured pieces of herself she'd left behind in other places. Because her heart was still beating for her wife and her children. Her heart, the center of her universe, was her family.
A/N: And there you have it. The truth, the full truth, and nothing but the truth. When I wrote this story I wanted a blend of the show and the book world. I took some inspiration for some of the plots from the books, hence the twists. I like to do homages to original content. All the little inconsistencies, the puzzle pieces that Mona was looking for were all leading up to this.
As always, I'm a sucker for a happy ending for Emison.
Stayed tuned for the epilogue. It should be out by the end of the week. I hope you've enjoyed this (LONG) journey as much as I have. Thank you for reading. If you feel so inclined, tell me your feelings in the reviews.