Infatuation

by Forever without him

Doctor Alison DiLaurentis is sharp, a charming seductress. She is also a killer. Behind her eyes there is a darkness. Beneath her smile there are untold secrets. She thought she had everything figured out. But then Detective Emily Fields came into her life. Emily is hunting Rosewood's most notorious serial killer. She never expected to fall in love with her. DARK AU. M

46. Epilogue: Part II

A/N: I know this fandom is dwindling. So it means the world to me that people are still interested in my Emison stories. It's been a ride, you guys.

Also, I feel as though I need to put in a disclaimer that even though this is fiction, it should be noted that this relationship was not healthy. But in a way, this version of Emison fit. Clearly, I don't condone murder. It should stay in the fictional world, and no one should ever date and marry a serial killer. I know that sounds silly, but apparently disclaimers are a thing these days.

Very M-rated material happening here! Beware!

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Epilogue:

PART II

Paris

For the next two weeks they alternated sight-seeing and not leaving the suite at all. Alison didn't have a lot of time to slip off on her own to investigate France's little terror.

Emily didn't exactly make it easy for her to concentrate on killing. Paris had turned the brunette into a complete nymphomaniac. They were basically working their way through the entire Kama Sutra.

Alison didn't mind it, especially the multiple orgasms she was privy to. Emily was very giving in bed. When they made love they were completely in sync with each other mentally, emotionally, and physically. Sometimes it was scary to be that close...to become a part of someone else. Alison felt like she couldn't breathe because of how connected they were when their souls were linked, but Emily breathed for the both of them.

It was such a strange concept to allow someone in to see her vulnerabilities. And the physical manifestations of not being able to catch her breath didn't make sense from a medical standpoint. She knew she was breathing, but she also wasn't breathing. She knew their bodies weren't floating through the stratosphere when they hit their highs, but she could see stars and clouds and the moon and the sun all at once.

The intimacy they shared went above any logical reasoning. It was something that could never be explained in words.

Leaving Emily's side after they'd shared such beautiful and special moments was hard to do, but the only time she had to herself was when Emily had exhausted herself and drifted into a deep sleep.

Late at night, the blonde would crawl out of bed and grab her laptop and go out on to the balcony for privacy.

She had created an interactive map of where the bodies had been found, along with the dates they'd been found. She was looking for commonalities and places where he might have nabbed his victims.

She researched the areas that locals frequented. People who lived there were less likely to visit landmarks and tourist spots and more likely to go to their local cafés and bars.

Alison had made a show of wanting to experience Paris as a local would experience it, and Emily was completely into the immersion. She would have been into anything Alison wanted to do. It was hard to say no in a city filled with romance.

So when Emily woke up that morning and found Alison holding two cups of French roasted coffee and talking about shopping and eating in town she was completely agreeable.

"I'll go where you go." Emily smiled as she sipped the coffee.

The brunette would follow her anywhere, which had worked out great for when Alison wanted to do reconnaissance.

"Including into the shower with me?" Alison raised her brows.

"Especially into the shower with you." Emily took another sip of the hot beverage, blowing on it with peering at Alison, her mouth curved into a smirk, her eyes sultry and full of passion.

"Well, we better finish this coffee quick then." Alison pressed her foot against the side of Emily's foot and rubbed it. She giggled when Emily mirrored her motions. "We're really sitting here playing footsie like two children."

"Yes we are." Emily chuckled.

"We're playing footsie in Paris." She started laughing.

How is it possible to be this happy?

"You're really cute when you giggle." Emily poked her in the ribs to entice more laughter.

"Not as cute as you and your sex hair." Alison tousled Emily's messy hair, which was still tangled from their night of passion.

They leaned in for a chaste kiss, their lips lingering. Emily sipped on her coffee again, trying to finish it so they could get moving.

Once they were done they showered and got dressed.

Then they set out to explore the town.

Alison had discovered a little cobblestone path with several shops. They did some early morning shopping and took in the air of the city.

Emily watched and laughed as Alison danced along the walkway like a lithe ballerina. It wasn't surprising that the blonde was so nimble on her feet. She was precarious in the operating room and she was meticulous when she was engaging in her less than legal hobbies.

Emily held the tips of Alison's fingers as the blonde twisted around like a dancer on a mission, twirling in circles.

How someone could be so deadly and so magical was beyond Emily's scope of reasoning.

"What are you staring at?" Alison asked.

Emily didn't have a logical response beyond, "You. What else?"

Alison giggled, fitting in with all the other googly-eyed people in love.

"C'mere." Alison stretched her arms towards Emily, wiggling her fingers to entice her.

When Emily's fingertips touched hers Alison felt like an electric current was passing between them. When she looked into her eyes she saw the brunette peering at her from a gurney in the ER.

The first time Alison had touched Emily the same jolt had seized her body…her soul, though she hadn't realized her soul was there at the time.

Maybe it wasn't there.

Maybe Emily gave it back to me.

"You make me so happy." Alison pressed her palms against Emily's and slid her fingers in between the brunette's. "Do you know how much I love you?"

"Enough to secure a suite with a view of The Eiffel Tower for three months." Emily stretched their arms out, pressing flat against the blonde until their elbows were touching. She leaned in and kissed the tip of Alison's nose. "I want you to know that I would buy you anything in the entire world if I could."

Alison knew she meant it. She knew Emily would buy her the moon and the stars and the sun and all the clouds in the sky if it were in the realm of possibility. But there was something far greater and far more valuable than all of that combined.

"You accepting me…you being here…that's all I have ever wanted." Alison slipped one hand free from Emily's grasp and put her palm against her wife's chest. "I'm so glad you're here with me."

Emily answered with her million megawatt smile and a delicate kiss that slowly turned into something deeper.

As the blonde lost herself in Emily's embrace she had a sudden chill spike in her veins. It was similar to the way that animals in the wild could sense a predator even when they couldn't see them.

He's here.

After their kiss ended Alison casually searched the morning crowds, a nagging feeling that someone out there was the psychopath she was chasing.

"Let's stop here for coffee." Alison tugged on Emily's hand, her eyes on a very busy café.

"We just had coffee back at the suite." Emily cocked her brow in confusion, but she was already being pulled along for the ride.

"When in France…do as the French do." Alison shrugged her actions off as being adventurous.

"Don't mind if I do." Emily leaned forward and pressed her lips against Alison's, her tongue gently prodding the blonde's mouth before pulling back, leaving Alison wanting more. "Can't say I disagree with the way they kiss."

Alison pecked her nose, focusing all of her attention on Emily. But the moment the brunette turned towards the café, Alison started scanning the area. She played it off like she was just exploring the city.

She found several different prospects for the Junior Ripper. All men. All on their own. One was sipping his coffee and reading a newspaper, which was an odd thing to see because most people used their phones to get news.

Looking for your headlines, perhaps?

Jack was narcissistic.

Another man was checking out every woman that walked past him. It was hard to tell if he was just an every day douchebag who ogled women or if he was staking a kill.

Either way...what a fucking tool.

The third man was someone who was trying too hard to blend in, smiling and waving.

Would Jackie boy be that brazen?

She took out her phone and pretended to fumble with it so she could take a picture of the city. Instead, she hit the record button and panned the street slowly, stopping on the men long enough to get their faces in the frame and then moving on to record the Eiffel Tower in the distance and the cute little shops surrounding them. She smiled and fawned over the sights like she was seeing them for the very first time.

She felt Emily tugging on her hand and she followed her towards the café.

When Alison turned her back, a pair of eyes glowered across the street. The cold empty gaze only lingered on the couple for a very brief moment. The two of them had tourists written all over them. They were all giggly and obsessed with the sights. Not his type.

He knew it was best not to slaughter someone from another country and have it become international news. He wasn't ready for that yet. Instead, he watched the pretty young woman serving morning tea to regular patrons.

He'd learned her name was Lilian, but her friends knew her as Lili. She was working her way through school. She'd gotten started a bit later, which put her in her mid-twenties. She didn't have a boyfriend. And she lived close to the café. He'd followed her back to her apartment one day. He couldn't wait to get his hands on her.

Little did he know that there was a bigger game in town.

The hunter was going to become the hunted, and he was going to learn what it felt like to be the prey.

o ~ O ~ o

After Alison's day of reconnaissance they ended their evening with reservations at the Eiffel Tower. They shared a dinner at a restaurant in the tower with a beautiful view overlooking Paris.

"This view is absolutely incredible." Emily gently put a fork full of food into her mouth. "And God this food is orgasmic."

She winked at Alison.

What kind of aphrodisiacs has she been eating on this trip?

It was probably just the mood in the atmosphere, but they'd been having a lot of fantastic sex. More than they usually had in Rosewood. The change of scenery had done them a ton of good.

Alison leaned forward.

"I can make you see God if you want." The blonde slipped her foot out of her shoe and lifted her leg, pressing her heel between Emily's legs.

Emily jerked and nearly dropped her fork. She glanced at the patrons around them, completely invested in each other. No one would ever know. Her eyes slowly tracked to Alison's gaze. She put the fork down and licked her lips. Alison started to move her foot, pressing against her heated arousal.

"May I tip you off, Madame?" A man dressed in a uniform leaned over the table.

He had a clean white rag draped over his forearm and a bottle of red wine. He peered at Alison's nearly empty wine glass.

Alison dropped her foot and Emily had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Toby would have a field day with this story.

"Oui. Merci." Alison stifled a laugh.

He poured Alison a glass and offered the wine to Emily, but she declined, just like she had the first time he'd asked. Then he went to check on his other tables. Once he was out of their sights they both burst into laughter.

"Toby warned me about this." Emily couldn't help but think of his text warning.

What if they had ended up in Eiffel Tower jail? Was there an Eiffel Tower jail? Their friends would absolutely love to bail them out so they could laugh with them.

"He warned you that I'd try to get you off with my foot?" Alison whispered so the other patrons wouldn't hear.

"He knew we wouldn't be able to keep our hands off of each other in public places."

"Technically...it was my foot." Alison corrected her.

Another string of laughter spilled out of Emily's mouth.

"Could you imagine what our friends would think about this?" Emily put her hand over her mouth to try and be respectful of the very dignified couples and families there.

"Aria would eat it up." Alison could just see her friend winking at them and saying something stupid like a singy-song, "We see London, we see France, we see Emily's underpants" or "Really!? RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY SALAD?!"

"Hanna, too." Emily couldn't wait to tell Hanna because she knew the look on her face would be priceless. "Spencer would be mortified and call us undignified, but then she'd ask how it went."

"Have they decided when they're coming?" Alison asked.

They'd pretty much resigned themselves to the fact that the girls were coming to visit their little Love Paradise. It was the least Alison could do for them. She owed every single one of them a debt. Aria for the time that she'd poisoned her...and because she'd been such a fierce and loyal friend. Spencer for putting up with her surly nature and for saving their lives in the OR. Hanna for bringing so much joy into their lives, not only with her wicked sense of humor, but for introducing Alison to her wonderful sons. Alison loved those little ones.

"Last ten days we're here. Then we can all fly back together." Emily took a small bite off of her fork. "But don't worry. They've promised to let us have our privacy."

"Spencer will. I don't know about Aria and Hanna." Alison chuckled.

"Spencer will keep them in line." Emily smiled. "She keeps Toby in line all the time."

"Yeah, but that's different. They're having sex. Men will do anything for the booty." Alison kept her voice low, because it certainly wasn't an appropriate conversation to be having in a fancy restaurant.

Then again, it wasn't entirely appropriate to commit sexual acts in a fancy restaurant either.

They smiled at one another across the table.

When they were finished eating they went trekking up to the top of the tower to get the full scope of the city.

They made it just before sunset.

Alison gasped when she walked out on to the viewing platform.

Only three things took her breath away: The love of her life. The thrill of a kill. The atmosphere after she saved someone deserving.

But the view stunned her like nothing else in the world. She felt like she was hovering above the city, an astronaut weightless in space. She felt strong and powerful, but at the same time she appreciated just how big the world was and how small a single person was.

At that moment she wasn't thinking of her urge to kill or the fact that a psychopath was somewhere below her in the city. All she could think about was the fragility of life.

She walked to the edge of the viewing platform, drawn to the natural beauty.

Emily quietly followed her, watching her take it in.

As she watched Alison she felt the strangest sensation of de ja vu.

The sunset over the city. The Eiffel Tower. Alison in all her beautiful glory.

She walked up behind the blonde.

"This feels familiar." Emily stared at the setting sun.

Alison peered over her shoulder.

"Paris?"

"No. This moment. I just…I feel like we've been here before." Emily wrapped her arms around Alison's waist and kissed her head, watching the sun dipping into the sky.

"I think we have." Alison leaned back against her, melting into her warmth. "You know, back in the hospital when you told me that you dreamed about Paris…this is what I envisioned. Because I dreamed about it, too."

Emily's memories were foggy during her hospital stay...and for weeks after. She only remembered bits and pieces. It occurred to her that she'd never asked Alison about her visions about Paris.

"What exactly did you see?" She was embarrassed that she'd never asked, but their lives had been a whirlwind after Alex tried to kill them.

Alison slowly turned around, her eyes sparkling in adoration.

"You." Alison stroked her arms. "I saw you. And I saw us. It was the only thing in my entire life that ever made sense. There is very little about my life that truly feels genuine. But when I'm with you…" She trailed off. "I know I've told you all of this before, but that's because you bring something into my life that I don't know how to explain. Jason and Mary did the best they could with someone like me. Jason spent his entire life protecting me. Mary, too. But it's different with you. It's hard for me, because I want to protect you, but I also want you to protect me. Because I feel so safe when I'm with you. I think that's why when we were in the hospital I was fighting so hard to get to you."

"To this day, Spencer still bitches about you sneaking into my room." Emily stroked her cheek.

"No, I don't mean physically. I mean when we were unconscious. I fought so hard to find you. And then I looked up and you were just there. It's like you knew I needed you. Even when you were dying. You knew." Alison's forehead crinkled in thought. "How…how did you know that?"

Emily peered at the fiery sky. Standing there felt exactly the way it had felt in her dream.

"I just do. I'm drawn to you. It's like gravity pulling me towards you, no matter where you are." She tightened her hold around Alison's waist, clasping her fingers together behind her back.

Everything in their lives had led them to this point.

"You told me once that you could just feel me. It's the same for me." Emily swayed with her in the breeze. "I can't explain the logic behind it any more than I can explain why I felt sick the day before my dad died. Or that I always get this feeling when something terrible is about to happen. The day I got shot in the liquor store I kept having the same thought over and over again. Something is wrong."

She paused, caught up in a memory.

"Something happened that day in the hospital. Something we'll never have the answer to. And that's okay. We don't need words for what the two of us have together. Sometimes things are just…divine." Emily rocked to a soft melody wafting through the air.

"This is the perfect moment." Alison whispered. "I always pictured you here, watching the sunset with me…the wind in your hair…" She smiled. "I had no idea it would feel like this."

Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to make sense of the emotions she was feeling. She was trying very hard to understand everything she had shut out when she was a child. Her eyes started to burn, but she couldn't tell if it was the wind biting her face or tears forming.

The wind sent a shiver through her body, but Emily's embrace warmed her up.

"What's on your mind?" Emily whispered as they watched the bustle of the city below.

The people in town certainly didn't act like there was a serial killer among them.

"Life." Alison flipped her hair over her shoulder and glanced at Emily. "How fleeting it is. And how it can be snatched from someone in an instant." She paused. "In the grand scheme of things we are all such a small part of this world."

"You're the biggest and best part of my world." Emily kissed the side of her neck, tickling her.

Alison smiled as blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Being up here is so surreal. Look at everyone down there." Look how they live their lives. "They can't see us. But they're there. They all exist." She clucked her tongue. "Thousands of people below us. Billions of stars in the sky. It's all just so…"

"Infinite?" Emily guessed.

"Encouraging." Alison put her hands on top of Emily's hands. "To know that the world has existed this long." For the first time in her life she felt hope for her future. And she knew it was because of Emily. "To know that it will keep going even long after we're gone. Knowing…" She slowly spun around, "…that no matter what happens we will always find one another. You and I…we'll always be forever."

Emily took Alison's face in her hands and searched for her soul…the spark that flickered to life whenever she looked at her. Hope clawing out of the darkness of Pandora's box.

When Emily held her, Alison always fell in sync with her. She let herself be held…to be loved. Her heart was wild and feral, thrashing in her chest. She loved feeling so alive.

"Forever sounds good to me." Emily brushed back Alison's hair with one hand and cradled her cheek with her other as she gently pressed their lips together.

Her fingers trailed down the curves of Alison's body, stopping at the hem of the short red dress that she had worn for easy access. Alison kept her gaze fixed on Emily's, watching the thrill dance across her face. Her eyes glimmered as she toyed with the idea of moving her fingers up Alison's bare thighs.

They moved towards the shadows where they wouldn't be seen, but they still had a view of the city.

Toby had warned them not to have sex everywhere they went, but the chemistry pulled them together and it was hard to stop when they started.

So on top of the Eiffel Tower, above the thousands of people and below the billions of stars, fingers slipped where they should never slip in public. Quiet moans were drowned out by the wind and the sounds of life below them.

As their bodies fell in sync they moved towards a viewing area that didn't have anyone around.

Alison pushed Emily's back towards the railing so she could watch the view while she got Emily to her peak. Emily was more interested in the view on Alison's face as their bodies moved together.

All Alison could think about was how wonderful it was going to feel when they got back to their suite. But nothing could ever beat sex on top of one of the most beautiful architectural achievements in the world.

It wasn't quite like their dream.

It was better.

o ~ O ~ o

Alison was practically high on life…and expensive wine…when they finally got back to the suite. Emily offered to make her another drink as they walked into the kitchen.

"You want a cocktail?"

I want YOUR tail. Alison thought she'd growled it out loud, but when Emily didn't react she just giggled,

"I think you want me inebriated so you can have your way with me, Detective Fields." Alison slung her arm over Emily's shoulder.

"Guilty." Emily winked.

That wink did all kinds of things to Alison's body. Burning, pulsing, desire.

"Though the fact that you can correctly pronounce the word inebriated tells me that you're not nearly as drunk as you think you are." Emily reached for the liquor cabinet. She made a mean Martini.

"Oh?" Alison took two steps back. "Are you challenging me to a sobriety test, officer?" She put her finger on her nose and started to walk a straight line.

"Z, Y, X, W, V, U, T..." As standard procedure when someone was pulled over for suspected drunk driving, she started reciting the alphabet backwards

"You are so ridiculous." Emily chuckled.

"Ridiculous is not exactly the vibe I'm trying to create here." Alison pushed her bottom lip out in a pout. "Work with me, Sexy."

Every time she was gearing up for a kill the energy in her body reached a boiling point. She felt like she was going to explode. And the only thing that could match that energy was making love to her wife.

She felt like ripping Emily's clothes off and making her scream her name. But something she'd learned about herself was that love-making balanced her mentally and emotionally. It silenced all the different voices in her head. It put her in the zone, whether it was before or after a kill.

She still had a bit of research to do, but she knew she was closing in on the little prick. And once she got him out of the way she could enjoy the rest of her vacation with her wife.

"You're in your head again…" Emily tapped her temple, trying to draw Alison out of her thoughts.

She had put the cocktail materials down when Alison started to mentally pull away.

"Because I am planning my next move to woo you." Alison purred with a seductive smile on her face.

She turned around and took a few steps towards the counter. She reached for her phone and tapped an app and soft French music started pulsing through the speakers in the room.

When she looked over her shoulder she saw Emily's eyes roaming up and down her body.

"Doctor DiLaurentis…are you trying to seduce me?" Emily playfully covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers and feigned a look of innocence.

"Every second of every day." Alison spun around, the hem of her dress puffing out.

She lost her balance, but recovered gracefully. She fell back against the bed and let out a string of giggles as she moved her arms up and down against the duvet, like she was trying to make a snow angel. She ruffled the comforter.

"Have your way with me." Alison closed her eyes and sighed with a smile on her face.

"What happened to wooing me? Where is that romantic passion? The flirting? The foreplay?" Emily teased.

"Sex. Now." Alison instructed, pointing to her body.

"Eventually." Emily smiled, leaning over her.

The music was a symphony in Alison's head. She reached for Emily's hands to help her stand.

"May I have this dance?" Emily asked when she got Alison to her feet.

"If you insist." Alison closed her eyes as Emily wrapped her in her arms.

They glided across the suite. Alison breathed in the familiar scent of Emily's body wash.

The brunette held her tightly, and through the thin material of her dress Alison could feel the warmth of Emily's hand on her back.

Alison moved her hand from Emily's shoulder down to her neck, pulling her close. Emily tilted her head so that their cheeks were touching, sending a tingling sensation shooting through Alison's body.

"Are you wooed yet?" Alison whispered.

Emily smiled and answered with a kiss. She could taste the chardonnay on Alison's lips. For a brief second she felt the urge to break into the alcohol herself. But she forgot about it the second Alison's hand landed on her chest.

"Don't try to distract me. Answer the question." Alison palmed Emily's breast.

"I am always wooed by you." Emily went in for another kiss.

The slow melodic music droned out and changed to a more fiery number.

Alison's eyes dazzled in delight. She pushed Emily down against the mattress, leaving her in a sitting position and then she did a salsa across the room.

Thank you for the dance lessons, Hanna.

Alison made a whole show of the song, gyrating and pumping her pelvis just out of Emily's reach, knowing it would drive the brunette crazy.

Emily bit her lip, groaning, yearning for her touch, but she waited to see what Alison had in store.

Alison danced towards her. She popped her hips and did a few spins before she backed towards the brunette. She landed in Emily's lap and rubbed against her, proceeding to give her a lap dance that tested every ounce of the brunette's self-control.

She stood up and spun around a few more times and then bent down at an angle, letting Emily unzip her dress. It slipped down her shoulders and landed in a pile on the floor. She turned to meet Emily, pushing herself between the gap in her legs.

The first place Emily's eyes wandered to was the scar on her abdomen where Alex had ripped her skin off. The skin graft made it barely noticeable, but Emily knew it was there. She wanted to kiss it away.

She put her hands on Alison's hips and pulled her closer, pressing her lips against the scar.

She pecked kisses down to her bellybutton and smiled at the bare spot between her legs. She'd foregone the underwear all day just because she knew that they would slip into their bedroom habits more than once while they were out.

Emily lifted her head and kissed her way up to her bra, expertly unclasping it as she suckled her bare skin.

Alison tossed her head back and moaned. Then she took a dive towards her wife and they rolled around on the bed. She had Emily undressed in less than a minute.

Hands explored warm sweaty bodies. Sultry sighs filled the room. It was the taste of sweet wine and the scent of desire.

Their hands intertwined. Their faces contorted. They spun out of control in the best way.

Alison got lost in the magic. They were covered in sweat as their fingers worked vigorously. Their mouths, too. No inch of skin was left untouched. Alison felt the heat from Emily's cheeks on her thighs as she spread her legs, her tongue working magic. Emily's motions sent her to entirely different universe. She was gone, surrounded by all the wonders in the world...floating in ecstasy.

After their third time, they slowed down enough to take a short breather, but soon enough they were twisted in the sheets again, not a care in the world.

They pushed each other to the brink all night long, both of them fighting the exhaustion of their busy day.

When they were too tired to move anymore they simply laid together, Emily's arms wrapped around Alison in a bear hug, holding her close.

They were playing the game of 'you fall asleep first' waiting for the other to doze off.

They both lost the game by falling asleep at the same time.

Neither of them were plagued with nightmares. Neither of them were restless.

They were in their safe place.

Alison woke up feeling the burn from their wild tantric night, but she was also extremely well-rested.

She yawned and rolled over to cuddle with Emily, but found her side of the bed empty. She sat up and stretched, noticing that the door to the balcony was ajar.

She crawled out of bed and grabbed her robe, slipping it on as she walked towards the balcony. She saw Emily standing by the railing, looking at the view.

"Hey." Alison pulled the silk robe closed and walked out on to the balcony.

"Morning." Emily smiled, but something was off about her smile. "I made coffee." She held a mug up. "Wasn't sure when you would be up, so I left it on for you in the kitchen."

"Awww. Thanks, babe." She walked up behind her and rubbed her shoulders. "How did you sleep?"

This time the brunette's smile was genuine, her eyes earnest as always.

"Really good." She casually leaned against the railing, which worried Alison because she was so close to the edge. "You know, I haven't had one nightmare since we got here."

Alison thought about it.

"Neither have I." She put her hand on Emily's lower back. "How are you feeling? Is your back bothering you or anything?"

They had gotten quite wild during the night.

"I took something for it when I woke up." Emily shook her head.

"You could have woken me up, too. You know I love morning sex."

Emily chuckled softly, but she wasn't acting like herself.

Is she in more pain than she's letting on?

What is bothering her?

Something isn't right.

"Is everything okay?" Alison tried to think back to everything they had done last night.

All she remembered was flashes of hands and mouths and multiple orgasms.

She hadn't crossed any lines with her sexually, had she? Sometimes she could get rough without meaning to, but Emily always said their safe word if that happened. Paris wasn't uttered once in bed.

"I'm fine." But Alison heard the tiny inflection in her tone that was a tell-tale sign that she was lying. "Why don't you grab some coffee and I'll whip something up for breakfast?" Emily suggested, moving towards the door.

Maybe Alison was reading too much into Emily's actions.

No. No, I know my wife…

She kept going over different scenarios in her head, not once thinking that it was the obvious answer.

It didn't come to her until she walked into the kitchen.

As she was walking over to the coffee pot, Emily's laptop caught her eye. It was open on the kitchen counter.

Alison could tell it was a news site. And the headline was as clear as could be.

RIPPER STILL ON THE LOOSE, POLICE STILL HAVE NO LEADS TO GO ON

Alison stared at the article about the Jack the Ripper impersonator. She could feel Emily's eyes on her and she flashed back to the moment when Marco told her that Emily would eventually find out why they were in France. Then she thought about the time when Emily had caught her in the act with Aria's old abuser.

It wasn't a good feeling when Emily was hurt by her actions.

She knows.

Alison spun around, her eyes meeting Emily's, desperately searching…hoping not to find any disapproval.

She started to grind her teeth. She had this whole speech planned out about how she was going to tell Emily, but her mind blanked as she stared into her wife's eyes.

"So…what exactly is your plan here?" Emily asked.

"My…plan? My plan for what?" Alison wasn't sure why her initial reaction was to lie, because she knew Emily wouldn't buy it.

"Come on, Ali." Emily looked at her softly. "Give me some credit. Maybe I have a blind spot when it comes to you. I missed a lot of warning signs early on. But I'm still a detective. And I still have a gut instinct that is rarely wrong. This is part of the reason you wanted to come to Paris." She waved at the laptop.

Alison didn't know how to respond. What could she say that wouldn't hurt the brunette?

"It's not the main part of why I wanted to come." She glanced at the computer and then back at Emily. "I have been so happy with you here, and I know you feel the same. This has been the break that we desperately needed. I feel safe here."

"Safe? You're planning on going after a psychopath and you feel safe?" Emily cocked an eyebrow at her.

"What's the big deal? I do it at home." Alison stumbled over what to say.

"It's different. We are in international territory…"

"You have to trust me. I know what I'm doing."

"I do trust you. It's the authority here that I don't trust." It was ironic in a way, a detective not trusting the police.

"I've got it under control. I've done my research. I know his type. And I can save innocent lives. I'm not going to turn down that chance." Alison replied calmly.

"I knew you were acting weird. I knew something was wrong." Emily put her coffee down on the table.

She walked across the open floor plan to the bed, pacing the length of it twice before facing Alison again.

"Are you mad?" Alison walked towards her.

Emily sat down on the edge of the fluffy duvet that was balled up and askew from their wild night.

Alison waited for Emily's cues. The brunette gestured for her to come sit next to her.

Alison accepted her invitation, feeling relieved when their arms brushed up next to each other and Emily leaned against her.

"How long?" Emily asked.

How long have you been planning? She was asking.

"A couple of months before our trip." Alison knew she had to come clean. That was part of their deal.

Emily sighed.

"I'm not mad." Emily replied, something calculated in her tone. "But I wish you would have said something. I told you that you could be honest with me…"

"I didn't want you to get hurt." Alison tentatively reached out and touched her hand.

Emily didn't pull away, so she squeezed her fingers.

"If you let me know these things in advance I can protect you." Emily turned towards her.

"I know that, but I can't be the reason you get hurt. Not again. It nearly killed me last time." Alison frowned, a pensive look in her eyes.

"I can protect the both of us," Emily assured her, adding with a mutter, "Though I'd feel a lot better if I had my service weapon."

"Em, this isn't like a book club where just anyone can join." Her words felt harsh, but they didn't seem to faze Emily.

"I think you underestimate how much I love you." Emily surprised her by reaching out and brushing Alison's messy bedhead behind her ear. "I think you underestimate what I would do for you. And I don't think you'll ever grasp what it was like…" She swallowed a knot in her throat, "…how I found you in that basement. The things I saw she'd done to you." She touched Alison's stomach, one of the many places she had scars. "I don't know what it would do to me if…" She closed her eyes and when she opened them back up they were brimming with tears, "…if I lost another woman that I love. I can't go through that. Not again."

Alison's heart reacted by thrumming against her rib cage as she absorbed what Emily was telling her. Not only would she die for her. She'd kill for her. But Alison didn't want that for Emily.

Her urges felt like a curse sometimes. She was making the world a better place, but it chipped away at her soul every time she killed someone, no matter how deserving the person was of death. The last shred of her humanity is why she'd decided to go into medicine. She needed to stop the bleeding more than she wanted to start it.

"This guy is a real fucking lunatic." Emily stared at the laptop from across the room. "Normally I stay out of your…space." She struggled to come up with the right way to phrase it. "But I don't like the idea of you doing this alone, especially here."

"Baby, I've always done this alone. I have one untouchable power over the men that I kill…"

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Emily cut in, side-eyeing her, though she had a smile on her face.

"My charm and charisma." She grinned.

"Alison…" In Emily's warning tone she heard Marco warning her, too,

"Don't get cocky…"

"I also have the element of surprise. Most people don't see me as a threat. I'm a dainty prissy princess. They don't look twice at me, and they certainly don't worry about me."

Emily lowered her head and plucked at a hangnail on her right hand.

"It's not right." She mumbled.

"I knew this would upset you." Alison frowned. "There is a reason I don't tell you when I'm doing these things…"

"I'm not upset with you." Emily looked up at her. "I'm upset that I'm just standing by. I can't do it anymore."

"What does that mean?" The blonde's heart was racing for an entirely different reason now.

Uncertainty.

Fear.

Please don't leave me.

"It means…" Emily paused, licking her lips. "It means I'll help you find him."

"You…want to help me find the guy I'm going to kill?" Saying it out loud didn't make it sound any less absurd.

Except for Alex, Emily had been completely hands-off when it came to her kills, and Alison liked it that way. It kept her out of danger and it gave Alison the space she was most comfortable working in.

"I don't know what else to do. I can't stand thinking about you taking this on by yourself." Emily pulled Alison close. "I want you to let me shoulder some of the weight."

Alison melted into her.

"I love you so much." Alison tilted her head up to look into the soft brown eyes staring back at her. "But I don't think this is the life for you."

"I literally do this for a living. I track bad guys. I am a homicide detective, Alison." Emily laughed.

"This is…from this angle it's different. You're a great detective, but there are just some things that only people like me can understand…to relate…to profile and put myself in their shoes." She shivered at the thought of being in Jack's head. He defiled women. "Your job is to fit people in boxes, but people like this man can't fit into any box. I know this because I don't fit into the boxes either. I hunt people like me, because I am them. I can feel them."

"I know. And I understand that. What I'm trying to tell you is that I can help. And I want to. It's my job to find killers." Emily kissed the top of her head. "But I'm done deciding what happens to them after they're found."

She had received her shield as a detective and she had taken an oath. She had lived by society's rules when it came to the justice system. But she had seen too many horrible things done by people that could not be rehabilitated. If she could find the bad guys, that was good enough. Alison could take over from there.

Alison was struggling. She hated the idea of Emily going down a dark path because of her. She hated the idea that she might taint her bright light. But it would be nice to have a partner, someone to help research the people she was going after.

No.

She can't.

She didn't want Emily to get her pure hands dirty. She loved that purity.

"I don't know about this." It came out breathless.

"Well, I do." Emily pecked her temple. "I know exactly why we're here. I know why we were drawn to each other. I know who we are."

How is she so sure of herself?

How can she have that much faith in our relationship?

How can she have that much faith in ME?

It was astonishing to Alison.

"Does Marco know?" Emily interrupted her train of thought.

"He does." Alison glanced at her.

Emily didn't seem timid anymore. She seemed determined.

"Good. Now I can kill him for not telling me."

"You know how he is." Alison tried to brush it off.

"Yes, and I also know how you are." Emily peered at her. "This is all part of a much bigger conversation. So let's have some breakfast and talk like civilized adults who aren't plotting a murder. Sound good to you?"

Alison couldn't argue with her, so she blindly agreed without saying a word.

Just to be a cheeky smart-ass, Emily made them French toast while calling it regular toast the entire breakfast. She was back to her bubbly self now that the truth had been aired out.

Alison opened up about why they were there and Emily told her how she could help.

Alison was willing to listen, but she drew several lines.

"If I find him first…we do it my way." The blonde took the last bite of her French toast.

"Okay, Frank Sinatra." Emily rolled her eyes with a laugh.

"I thought Willie Nelson sang My Way." Alison took a sip of orange juice.

"Sinatra did it first. I hope your tracking skills are better than your musical trivia knowledge." Emily tipped her coffee cup forward and took a sip.

"Funny." Alison blew her a kiss.

"What if I find him first?" Emily asked, eyes peering at Alison from over her coffee mug.

"You won't." Alison winked.

By the end of breakfast they had gone over a set of ground rules that they both agreed on.

Alison was adamant about the fact that Emily was not going to be involved in anything physical and that she would stay at the suite the night she slipped out to do the deed.

The only thing going through her mind was Marco telling her not to put Emily in any danger. She'd already slipped into tricky territory because Emily was with her, which in itself was dangerous. But she would not let another psychopath get near her wife.

She fought Emily tooth and nail and they eventually both agreed that since Alison had been mostly successful over the years that Emily would take a passive role. Research. Help her prove the killer was the guilty party. Detecting things. It was a strange arrangement, but Alison thought perhaps it might work out.

o ~ O ~ o

Alison had never been in competition with anyone quite like Emily. The brunette shifted into detective mode much in the same manner that Alison slipped into her alter-ego.

Part of her wanted to work with Emily and the other part of her didn't want her anywhere near the killer. Emily was serious about her research, and she was good at it. Damn good. Alison started to worry that Emily might identify their killer first.

Fortunately, in the end, the blonde's skills surpassed her wife's.

It's not that Emily wasn't capable. It was that Alison had years of experience that connected her to horrible people in an intimate way. And she had a jump-start on Jack.

Two weeks into their search she'd spotted her prime suspect in the same place she'd seem him two weeks prior...outside the café they were frequenting. He was always reading his newspaper, blending in.

His eyes occasionally darted to a dark-haired waitress.

They had spent nearly a month in France, and Alison had been taking in her surroundings like an animal in the wild. She knew the streets better than GPS.

Jack Junior had a set schedule. He had camouflage. And he had eyes for the waitress serving at the café...who was young, brunette, and single. The waitress checked every box.

Brunette.

Blue Eyes

Small boobs.

Single.

In her twenties.

One day Alison had ordered two croissants from her and struck up a conversation about the best places to visit. She really played up the tourist aspect. The waitress, who had a golden-plate nametag with black calligraphy that spelled her name, Lili, had been very modest and polite and answered Alison's questions.

That's the day Alison had been certain about the man across the street. Lili had looked up at one point and saw him. She didn't say anything, but she didn't indicate that she knew him, which meant he was watching her.

Once Alison was certain, she told Emily her suspicions. Emily had noticed him, too, and he'd been on her suspect list, but she was whittling down that list and Alison had beat her to it.

Emily helped Alison search through facial recognition databases, because the wily blonde had been recording him and taking snapshots of him ever since she'd spotted him for the first time. She could play the stealth game as well as he could.

He was handsome, but not someone who stood out. He looked like a typical Frenchman. He was clean-shaven and had a classic business-casual style. He appeared to be in his early forties and he was average height and weight. Like most serial killers, he looked normal…at least from afar.

But he was far from normal.

Alison could feel his urges and desires to hurt women. Emily could feel his callousness in her gut…and by looking into his eyes. His eyes told her a story about how cold and calculated the man was.

Emily couldn't find any records on him, because he wasn't in Interpol. She didn't like the look on his face though. It made her skin prickle. She knew she was looking into the eyes of a killer.

They tried to pull socials on him, but he was non-existent online. That was a pretty big red flag.

No social footprint meant one of three things:

Someone who preferred a private life…introverts and people who had anxiety about sharing their inner-most thoughts with the world.

People who wanted to be self-sufficient and off-the-grid in a sort of old-fashioned rebellious way. Or the Amish.

And people who were trying to stay out of the spotlight for nefarious reasons…people who wanted to fly under the radar.

He seemed to fit the last category based on the research.

They knew they needed to be certain about his identity. They also needed to know if he had people in his life who would miss him. The last thing they needed was a missing person's report and a city-wide search for him.

After extensive research and calling in a favor from Marco, they'd determined the man's true identity.

Ironically, his name was Jack. His last name was Adams. He was from Poland. He had been born Jakub Adams. He had been in orphanages since he was a child. There was no trail of him after he turned 18. Much like the Archer Dunhill fiasco, there had been a lot of name swapping going on. It was a common theme in killers.

Alison made a plan to follow Lili since he had been stalking her. If he tried anything…and Alison was convinced that he would…she would intercept him.

Alison knew by the pattern of his kills that he took his time, but he didn't like to wait too long before striking again. It was a game he liked to play. He'd make a spectacle with a gruesome rape and murder, and then he would watch the police run around chasing their tails.

Then he would slip back into the shadows, making the authorities think the killer had moved on or died.

He would bide his time, but his urges made it nearly impossible for him to hold out for too long. He needed that power and control back in his hands.

That's how Alison knew he was going to strike soon.

She followed Lili for three nights, careful to elude cameras and law enforcement.

On the fourth night, Alison noticed someone else slinking in the shadows behind Lili. To the waitress's credit, she was careful about her surroundings. She clutched her keys as she headed towards her apartment. She looked over her shoulder fairly often, which made tracking her a little more challenging than normal. But Alison knew if Lili saw her she wouldn't feel threatened to see another woman around. She also had years of stealth underneath her belt, so she knew how to stay out of sight.

A streetlamp flickered overhead, casting eerie dancing demons into the dark.

A shadow in between Lili's building and the adjacent building is what gave the Knockoff Ripper away. He wouldn't try to go in the front. It was too risky. There were security cameras in place. But there were other ways of sneaking in.

Getting out with him undetected was going to be the hard part. Transportation wasn't an option since she'd come on foot. But she'd planned for everything. The building next to Lili's building was vacant. She had a knapsack slung over her shoulders with everything she'd need. She was primed and ready.

It seemed like fate. Like she was supposed to be there. She was supposed to end his reign of terror. Everything had aligned perfectly.

She loved being in her element. The energy she felt before a kill transcended her into a new state of being.

The anticipation.

The excitement.

The terror.

The fear.

And then…the unsettling calm, replaced by glorious satisfaction.

She knew Jack was there, and part of her wondered if he knew she was there, too. Or was he too preoccupied with Lili?

He's a man.

He's thinking with his dick.

But he was more than that. He was a monster, which meant he was thinking about how much he would get off on hearing Lili's screams.

He made a move towards the rear of the building.

Alison had researched the area, so she knew what she was getting in to.

She had to stop Jack from getting to Lili. She had learned when she killed The Professor that trying to wrangle an innocent victim and a psychopath was extremely difficult.

She knew she had to make her move before he got into the building, so she skirted around the other side and waited for him to try and sneak in through the laundry area.

She pulled a syringe out of her bag, uncapping the needle. She wasn't sure if he was just staking the place out or if he intended to act, but she was going to be ready for him regardless.

He was so quiet that she almost didn't hear him coming. He was as cautious as she was. His skills matched hers. Skills that would be admirable in him if he wasn't a horrifying predator.

There was no telling how long he'd truly been killing. He had come out recently to taunt the police, but he could have been murdering women long before he went public.

The alleyway was silent except for the pounding of her pulse in her ears. All the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She had to concentrate to control her breathing.

He appeared in her line of sight.

She could see him, but he couldn't see her. His face was illuminated by the light coming from inside the laundry area. He moved so close to the door that his breath fogged up the glass.

Alison had to wait for the perfect opportunity. If he saw her reflection there would be a fight.

She watched as he surveyed the area, making sure it was empty so he could slip inside.

Not today, Jackie boy. Not today.

He reached for the door, gloved hands hovering over the handle for a moment. He turned Alison's way, and she quickly pulled back into the shadows, hoping that he hadn't spotted her.

She gripped the syringe and reached up with her empty hand. She placed her palm on her chest. Her heart was doing a wild dance number.

Breathe.

In and out.

I'm in control.

She lowered her hand and listened as the door was cracked open. That's how she knew when to strike. Without the reflection he wouldn't see her rushing up behind him.

She moved swiftly, like a nimble feline navigating through a complex maze.

The next few seconds were a flash. She was behind him. He started to turn around, but she jammed the needle in his neck and pushed the plunger down on the syringe. She saw his face in the glass, his eyes wide in surprise. His hand fell away from the door and he stumbled backwards.

Alison caught him, shooting her arms underneath his armpits. His eyes rolled back into his head and his body tensed and jerked, reacting to the overdose of cardio meds in his system.

Alison glanced at the vacant building. She heard a garbled noise and she assumed that it had come from Jack, but then she spun around and came face to face with someone else.

Her heart caught in her chest.

Someone had seen her attack him.

Fuck.

"He's…" Before she could finish her thought the shadow stepped into the dimly lit area.

Soft brown eyes met Alison's.

"Emily?" Emily being there was worse than a stranger finding her. She wanted her as far away from this man as possible. "What are you doing here? You promised me you'd stay at the suite."

"I lied." Emily walked towards her. Part of their deal was for Emily to know where Lili lived and where Alison was going to take Jackie Boy after she captured him just in case something went wrong. "I told you I am going to protect you. Whether you want me to or not."

Alison saw the gloves on her hands and realized why she was there. The brunette grabbed Jack's feet and lifted him up off the ground. She peered at the apartment building.

"We should hurry before he comes out of it." Emily nodded towards the vacant lot. "Or before someone comes here to do a midnight load of laundry."

"You can't be here…"

Alison had always known Emily was stubborn, but she had always been a woman of her word. Seeing the brunette go rogue was oddly arousing.

"I don't think you're in any position to argue with me right now." Emily glanced at Jack.

Alison glared at her and grumbled under her breath. She begrudgingly accepted Emily's help to get Jack into the vacant building where she'd already set up an area to kill him. There was a large plastic tarp covering most of the room.

They lifted him on to a bunch of wooden planks with cinderblocks holding them up. Alison quickly worked to tie him up. She was still pissed about Emily breaking their arrangement. She was also so turned on that it was conflicting with her anger. She wasn't sure whether to yell at Emily or fuck her.

No time to think about that... Alison focused on Jack.

Emily stared at the kill room. She knew what Alison had been doing in the shadows, but seeing it in action was entirely different.

She blinked and her vision turned into a tunnel, a flash of the basement of The Radley. She saw Alison chained to the wall, so vulnerable and helpless.

Emily felt unsteady on her feet. She closed her eyes and pressed her gloved palm against the wall for support. Her stomach roiled, and she had to fight back a gag.

Then she thought about how terrible it would be to puke and leave her DNA behind at a crime scene...no matter how much it was scrubbed down afterwards.

She felt a tentative hand against her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

When she turned around she saw the concern on Alison's face.

"I'm fine." Emily nodded. She looked over to make sure Jack was tied down securely. He'd stopped seizing. Alison had her tools spread out. "I was back in The Radley for a minute."

Alison looked at her sympathetically. She reached up to stroke her face.

"That's exactly why you should be back at the suite right now. I can separate myself from that when I'm doing this. This is not something you're going to be able to process. You're not like me, Em."

"I just don't want anything to happen to you." Emily sighed.

Alison turned around and gestured to Jack, who was still unconscious.

"He's not going anywhere. Trust me. I've got this. But you've got to go. You can't be here. I can't…" She hesitated, "I can't do this in front of you."

Emily looked down at the floor, which was coated in disposable trash bags. Alison watched a dozen different emotions rush across her face. She understood Emily's desire to help, but what Emily didn't seem to understand was that she didn't want help. She didn't want Emily to get her hands dirty. She wouldn't do that to her. She would not ruin the love of her life. She would not turn her into a killer.

"I don't want you alone in this anymore." Emily slowly met her gaze.

She looked miserable, and for a few fleeting seconds Alison considered letting her stay.

"I'm not alone." Alison smiled sweetly at her. "You're there when I get home." She leaned forward and pecked Emily's lips. "So be there when I get home. I can take it from here. I promise."

The conflicting expressions washing across Emily's face made cracks spider through Alison's rib cage. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was to hurt her.

Emily was fighting an internal battle. Alison could feel the frustration radiating off of her. It was in her wife's nature to protect her. Leaving was the total opposite of what Emily stood for. Alison knew she felt helpless and irritated and useless. Because Emily didn't just walk away from dangerous situations. She ran into the fire.

But this was the one thing Emily couldn't save her from, and it would destroy her if she stayed.

"Em, please. Go." Alison's eyes darted to the man on the wooden planks. "I don't want you to see me like this."

"I know who you are, Ali." Emily clutched her hand. "I'm not afraid of you or what you do."

"You might not be, but I am." Alison admitted, squeezing Emily's hand back. "I don't want this...thing inside of me anywhere close to you. You have to understand that."

She shuddered, thinking about the night she'd nearly pushed Emily too far in bed. Alison loved her, but she never knew when the impulse would take over. When she was in the zone sometimes she lost sight of reality.

"Okay." Emily slowly nodded. "I'll go. But I'm not going back to the suite. You know that bench out in front of the apartments? It's out of the view of the cameras. I'm right there if you need me."

"Emily…" She was ready to argue, but Emily stopped her.

"I am not leaving here without knowing you're safe." She pulled Alison in for a kiss so dizzying that Alison forgot where they were. "Be safe. I love you."

She turned to walk away, but Alison grabbed her arm and pulled her in for a hug, pressing their lips together again.

"I love you, too."

Letting her go was hard, because part of Alison wanted Emily there with her, but the good part…the decent part wanted to protect her. The same way that Emily was determined to protect her.

She watched Emily disappear out of the side of the building. Then she sauntered over to Jack and started pulling his clothing off. She wanted him to feel helpless and vulnerable, just like the women he'd brutalized. Once she had him undressed she folded his clothes neatly in a pile off to the side of the room.

She reached for another syringe. She jammed the needle into the vein in his left arm and pushed the plunger forward.

Within seconds he was gasping for air. His eyes darted around. His face crumpled in confusion, followed by a surge of red heat that filled his cheeks when he realized he was restrained.

He struggled against his binds, turning to Alison and growling out a string of French sentences.

Of course he's fluent. He would need to seem like a local to fit in here.

He was extremely menacing, his eyes darkening in anger.

Finally he blurted out three words she understood.

"Who are you?" His accent was thick and heavy, but there was no mistaking what he was saying.

They always want to start with the fucking introductions.

"What have you done to me?"

The cognitive dissonance never disappoints.

The fact that they were demanding to know what she was doing to them when they had done horrific things to innocent victims would be laughable if people hadn't been hurt in their wake.

He growled at her, but she didn't respond. She relished in the moment of silence where she left her kills squirming before answering.

"I sue! I sue you!" He continued to struggle against his restraints. "S'il vous plaît."

He was at the stage where he was begging now.

Alison knew what he was saying.

"Please."

Alison continued to stare at him, letting his fear and frustration build.

This is how the women you raped felt.

You got off on their terrified screams as you assaulted and murdered them.

Fucking scum.

The language he was speaking shifted from French to Polish.

Alison was pretty certain he was cussing her out, which amused her.

He tried to spit on her, but missed.

She simply smiled at him and lifted her burner phone, where she had an app that translated languages. She'd already gotten what she wanted to say queued up just in case they didn't understand one another.

She cocked her head and a sadistic smile washed across her face. Moments like these turned her into a version of herself she couldn't control. It was as if a dark force took over. And she was just along for the ride.

"Je sais qui vous êtes, Jack." Her grin widened.

I know who you are, Jack.

"Je sais ce que vous avez fait."

I know what you have done.

"Les femmes que vous avez violées et tuées." She tutted at him, clucking her tongue.

The women you raped and killed.

"Je suis ici pour y mettre un terme."

I'm here to put an end to it.

The whites of his eyes flashed as the realization washed over him.

She put the phone down and picked up a knife, trailing it down his naked torso.

The cool steel against his skin sent him into an absolute frenzy. He tugged at his wrists so much that they started to bleed.

"No! NO!" One more English word that he knew.

Alison shoved a rag into his mouth to quiet him down.

She peered down at his naked junk. She wanted so badly to follow her previous method on how she handled rapists. She wondered how much it would matter if she just cut it off. Marco's friends disposed of the body, so it's not like anyone would ever know.

Who WOULDN'T want to hack off a rapist's dick?

She glanced at his face, a yearning for her old self. She missed slicing The Scarlet Letter into deserving criminals' cheeks. But she knew that was a slippery slope.

Jack had been defiling women and cutting their bodies up, leaving them exposed and sexualized. He cut off breasts. He mauled their sexual parts. He was the worst kind of killer.

His victims were not allowed to die with dignity. So neither should he.

She toyed with him at first. Poking him with the knife, dragging the blade across his skin just enough to draw a little bit of blood. She started digging it in deeper when she got to his pelvis.

His body tensed and his dick twitched…like it could run away from what was coming.

Run, little dick…run.

The first cut was shallow. She heard him cry and she looked up, satisfied by the pain that was written all over his face…the same pain that he caused his victims.

She made several horizontal cuts on the most tender flesh of his body as he writhed and cried and cussed and begged beneath his gag.

They always beg and plead when it comes to their stupid fucking wangs.

It was something she'd come to expect.

Blood trickled down, coating his thighs. He tried to buck up into the air, but he was stuck. He knew what fate awaited him.

Not so tough now, are you, Junior?

She listened to the otherworldly noises coming from beneath the rag in his mouth as she worked on the amputation.

Muffled screams echoed in his mind and he wondered who was yelling. It took him a moment to realize it was him.

He tried to scream at her…call her a crazy cunt…a psycho bitch, but the words got stuck in his throat. And he felt like he was choking on them.

He thrashed wildly, tears streaming down his face.

It didn't take her long to finish. When she had it completely detached she held the severed organ out to him, blood dripping down from it and on to his face.

She could see the fire in her eyes in her reflection from his tears.

When he realized what she'd done to him he screamed against the gag. He sucked in a breath, nearly choking on the rag.

Choke, bitch. I'd love to watch you die slowly.

She knew she needed to finish him off, but she loved watching the agony on his face.

You'll never hurt anyone again.

She put the amputated penis aside and lifted the knife, looking for the perfect place to drive it into him.

She raised the blade and slammed it down at an angle, knowing she was hitting his intestines, kidney, and liver.

His screams didn't deter her. She twisted the knife and then pulled it out. Then she drove it into his left side.

The complete feeling of glory.

The blade sinking into the skin…into the muscle…into the bone. It was delicious.

She leaned over his face with a twisted grin on her face. Her voice came out a whisper,

"Here are three little English words even you'll know, asshole. Scarlet Letter Killer." She watched as his eyes bulged, much like The Professor's had when she told him who she was.

Perhaps that's how she could keep that little part of herself alive. Instead of her signature, she could let the people she was killing know who they were dealing with. She was infamous after all.

He cried into the gag, but Alison was too focused on the blood running out of his body to care. Beautiful rivulets of crimson...they called to her.

She watched as he slowly bled out.

It was only in his final moments that she removed the gag. She lowered her face towards his again, a wicked expression in her eyes.

"Au voir, Jack."

She watched him take a breath. Then she sank the knife into his heart, killing him. He hadn't suffered nearly enough for his sins, but she was working on limited time. She knew sometimes she had to compromise.

He exhaled and his cold lifeless eyes glazed over. His body went limp.

She blinked, staring at the corpse in front of her, reveling in the warmth of his blood all around her. She felt a certain sort of emptiness knowing that her work would never been seen by anyone other than her and Marco's friends. She missed putting their sins on display and exposing them. She was still getting used to her new routine.

She calmly picked up her phone and hit the only contact in it.

She told the person on the other end where she was and then hung up and texted Emily.

I have some friends coming this way. Don't freak out. They're here to help.

Marco's friends? Emily guessed.

Yes.

Is it…over?

Yes. You can go back to the suite. Don't wait on me. I'll see you when I get there.

Alison didn't get a response, and for a few minutes she was worried that Emily was on her way back to view the damage. But then her phone buzzed.

I'll see you soon.

Alison put her phone down and walked around the body. The notorious Jack Junior had been no match for Alison fucking DiLaurentis-Fields.

She reached for the flesh she'd cut away from his body. The flappy skin didn't feel real. She shook it above his face, letting blood dribble down on his body. Then she opened his mouth and shoved it inside.

"I hope you choke on your dick in hell, fucker." She muttered.

She sat back and looked at the scene she'd created. She knew back-up was on the way, but this was her favorite part. The calm and quiet that came after the release. It made her nostalgic for her previous kills. It always felt great to serve her own form of justice.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone trying to enter the building. She walked over to the door.

"Closed for renovation." She thought it best to be careful.

Better safe than sorry.

"You Scarlet?" The man had a thick French accent.

She opened the door. The man outside was bulky and had the muscles of a pro-wrestler. It was hard to make out the rest of his features in the dark.

"The one and only." She smiled at him and waved him inside.

"I am expecting two others to be here soon." He gave her a courteous look.

They walked towards the bloody crime scene. The first thing he noticed was what was in Jack's mouth.

"Mon Dieu." The man leaned over the body. "You really did quite ze number on him."

"You know who he is?" Alison asked.

"I do not get paid to ask questions." Though she could tell his curiosity was piqued.

"It's Jack Junior. The one who was raping and killing women around Paris and taunting the cops about it."

His eyebrows did a little dance on his forehead. It reminded her a little bit of Toby.

"Ze City of Paris owes you a debt in that case." He pulled on a pair of thick gloves. "You go. I will take care of this trash." He turned his nose up at the body, disgusted by the man.

"Merci." She thanked him.

He smiled when he heard her answer with her American accent.

"You American girls…you are very tricky." He chuckled.

"Never underestimate us." Alison gave him a polite nod.

Alison saw him loosen up, which loosened her up.

A few seconds later two other men walked in. They didn't even flinch when they saw the body. Alison watched as they went to work. Their whole operation was so well organized. She wondered how long they had been doing clean up jobs. How far back did it go?

"Can I ask you guys a question?" Alison cocked her head.

"'Fraid not. Not how this works." One of the second men who had walked in answered. He spoke clear and fluent English. And he had an American flag patched to his flak jacket.

Guess the UN, EU, and all the armies in the world are on the same page when it comes to killing rapists, murderers, and pedophiles.

Alison shrugged after she was shut down. They were allowed to have their secrets, too. It was only fair. Plus she could always talk to Marco about it later. It wasn't important in that moment. What was important was getting back to her suite. What was important was her wife.

She walked away without looking back. Her number one priority would always be Emily, and she knew that the detective was going through the motions back at the suite.

She felt like running all the way back to her and leaping into her arms. But she kept a steady pace for the people who were still out strolling and enjoying the quiet evening atmosphere.

They were bold to be out this time of night when a killer had been on the loose. Or stupid.

Both. Alison decided.

She passed by them, knowing that they'd never know how close to death they had been with Jack in their city. Lili wouldn't wake up in the morning knowing that it was thanks to an avenging psychopathic angel that she was safe.

She was almost back to the suite when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a window. She stopped and peered at herself. She turned her head to the side and reached up and touched the thin scar on her cheek. With enough foundation and make-up no one could see it. But when she wasn't wearing anything to cover it she could see it if she looked hard enough.

She wasn't perfect and beautiful anymore. She was marked. She was flawed. And perhaps that wasn't a bad thing.

Her parents had used her for her beauty. Perhaps if she hadn't been such a beautiful child they never would have looked twice at her. Maybe they wouldn't have tried to traffick her. Or perhaps they were just terrible people.

And what was beauty anyway? Beauty meant different things to different people.

She reached for her reflection.

Fuck you, mom.

Fuck you, dad.

I'm not your beautiful perfect docile child.

I'm not your doll anymore.

I'm no one's doll.

Her scars had taught her things she never would have learned otherwise. It wasn't simply about the mental aspect of how her beauty had warped her childhood. Her scars were about character. And growth. She had withstood the storm and she was still standing strong.

She watched as her doppelganger smiled back at her from the window. She lowered her hand and turned away from the window, hurrying back to her home away from home.

o ~ O ~ o

As she walked towards the suite she tried to envision what exactly she would be walking in to. She expected Emily to be looking at her in a different light, but when she walked inside she was met by relief.

Emily was sitting in the kitchen hunched over, foot tapping against the ground as she mindlessly stared at her phone waiting for updates. She looked up when she heard the door open.

Her worried eyes landed on Alison and she breathed a sigh of relief. She looked like she might cry, which caused Alison's heart to seize.

Don't cry, my Love.

She had spent most of her life committing acts that could land her in the electric chair. But she'd never had to consider how her actions might affect other people in her life.

Alison took a moment to think about the fact that she wasn't alone anymore. She had a wife. She had friends. She had her chosen family. She had Toby and Duke. She had Gus, who relied on them for everything in his life. She had Pam. She had Marco. She had Aria, Spencer, and Hanna. And she had Hanna's boys…who looked up to her like she was some kind of hero.

Those little boys would never be able to understand that her heroics weren't just about saving people. There was more to it. There was a complicated layer of logistics, not to mention all the laws that she was continuously breaking. She wanted better for Hanna's kids. She wanted better for all of the children in the world. God forbid if she ever had a child that followed in her footsteps. She wouldn't want that for anyone, because it was a tough burden to bear.

It opened up her mind to so many possibilities. And so many things that could go wrong.

She had to think about her loved ones when she was planning illegal activities. She had to be careful. Their well-being mattered to her, especially Emily's.

"Hey." Emily sat up in the chair.

She seemed unsteady. It was almost like she was drunk, but Alison knew she hadn't consumed any alcohol. It was strange to see the woman she knew as a pillar of strength stumbling like a baby deer in the headlights.

Emily had never been involved in Alison's extracurricular activities. She'd never once been at the scene of the crime knowing that Alison was murdering someone. The closest she'd come was when Emily caught her at the scene during the sting operation. What the brunette had seen tonight was understandably a lot to take in.

Alison wanted to chastise her. She wanted to ask her why she didn't stay away like they'd agreed upon, but she understood Emily's motivations and it was hard to judge her.

"Em…what happened tonight…" Alison walked over to greet her as Emily pushed her chair out and stood up, "That can't ever happen again. It's too dangerous. I appreciate what you did to help…"

The brunette had utilized her resources and she had been able to dig up history on Jack. Alison thought that's where her involvement would end, but she had underestimated her wife.

"I want to keep doing it." Emily cut her off. "I felt better being there with you, knowing that if you needed me I was there."

"You can't get too close to this." Alison wasn't sure why the idea of it terrified her so much, but she felt the fear twisting in her stomach.

Then she remembered.

Jason helped me.

Jason protected me.

And Jason had died because of his heroism.

She wouldn't let that happen to Emily.

"I know why it scares you." Emily cupped her cheek. "I see you falling back into your childhood. It's written all over your face."

"Jason died trying to do the right thing for me..." Alison's bottom lip quivered. "You almost died trying to do the right thing for me."

"And if Jason was here he would say he did do the right thing for you. I know I did. And I'd do it again. I know you're worried that I'll get hurt again. But what I'm offering...what if there is a way for me to help you do this?" She gripped Alison's hand. "I know you've been doing this alone for a long time, but at the very least I can help you speed up the process...narrow down the suspects so less innocent victims get hurt?"

Alison opened her mouth and then closed it again, unsure of what to say. Her head and her heart were torn.

"I have resources and contacts. I know you don't want me around when you nab them, but what if I can help you up until that point?" Emily asked. "It'll be just like what we did tonight, but I won't push you about staying there with you. I just want to be nearby. I want to make sure you're safe, and I want to be able to get you out if anything goes wrong."

Alison closed her eyes and swallowed a knot in her throat. That's all she wanted for Emily, too. To make sure she was safe.

"What about your job?" Alison's eyes flickered to their intertwined hands.

Emily had slipped her fingers in with hers so seamlessly that she hadn't even realized she'd done it.

"You work full time and manage to find the time. I think I can figure out how to prioritize my time at work. I can work at work." Emily shrugged. "I have access to databases other than Rosewood PD. If you think you have a hit just come to me."

It sounded enticing. Emily certainly knew how to sell herself.

"What would Marco say?" Alison chewed on the soft flesh of her cheek.

"That's if he finds out."

"He'll find out." If there was one thing Alison had learned about Marco Furey, it was that he always knew everything that was going on around him.

"True. He'll probably lose his shit at first. But he'll deal with it. He's as wrapped up in this as we are."

There was a lingering pause in the air. Alison cocked her head in confusion, her eyes looking into Emily's for any shred of doubt. All she was met with was determination and her own brand of stubbornness that Alison had come to love. She was so fucking hard to say no to. Impossible, really.

"Are you sure about this?" She rubbed her right eyebrow and looked around the room anxiously, like at any moment the police were going to come crashing in.

It took her a moment to realize there was already a detective inside with her. Emily had been on her side all along.

"I've never been more certain of anything in my life. You're my life, Alison." She lifted both of her hands and put her palms against the side of Alison's neck. She could see the conflict in her crystal blue eyes. "At least think about it."

She pecked her lips and then lowered her hands.

Alison took a shaky breath. Emily's touch always ignited a fire in her belly. She thought about what Emily was offering. She knew how hard it was for her to stand by and do nothing.

"If we do this you have to respect my boundaries. Research and Lookout duties only." The idea of Emily helping her made her feel slightly uncomfortable, but she knew it was full of possibility.

Emily had changed her in so many ways. Perhaps this was just another instance of them evolving together. She had been terrified to let Emily in, and it had turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to her. She was scared of loving her, but it filled her with so much gratitude that she could barely contain it. She had stepped out of her comfort zone with her many times, and there was not one time that Emily had let her down.

Maybe this was just Emily pushing her out of her comfort zone again. Maybe she'd been too shrouded by darkness to see what she had right in front of her. Maybe her darkness was reaching for a light. She would be an idiot not to take it.

"Why don't you want me there when you kill them?" Emily asked curiously. She wanted to know what changed for Alison when she was around. "Are you scared that it will change the way I feel about you? Because it won't. Nothing could ever change this love I have for you."

Alison flinched. She was was absolutely terrified that if Emily saw her when the anger took over she would run the other way. She knew that if Emily saw her killing people...if she actually saw who she became when she had a blade in her hand...everything would change. Emily would still love her. She was sure of that. But she also knew that the brunette would never look at her in the same light again. Mostly because Alison hadn't seen herself in the same light since she was seven years old, covered in blood and bleeding from a gash on her thigh where she'd cut herself.

"I love you. And I'm here." Emily brushed her fingers through Alison's hair. "I wanted to be there for you tonight. I didn't want to leave. I thought about staying…"

"I'm glad you didn't." Alison cut her off. "That's not what I want for you…for us." She nuzzled against the brunette's neck. "For this to work there has to be a balance." Alison gripped Emily's hips. "We can't both get lost in that darkness. I need you to hold me steady. I need you to hold me up when I can't stand on my own."

"Always." Emily's response came without hesitation.

Alison wrapped her arms around Emily and cooed against her chest.

"I never understood this feeling until I fell in love…" She leaned towards Emily's ear. "And I never understood that you loved me back."

"What?" Emily cocked her head.

"I thought it was just infatuation." She'd said it to her once when she thought she was dying. "But it's not. Because you look at me. You see me. And you still love me. You're not blind to my faults. You know what I am. And you accept me. You see my soul. I never understood the difference between infatuation and real feelings. But I know now that the difference is love."

Emily looked at her and saw her clearly. She saw her. And she accepted her. She loved her.

Emily, the love and the light.

Alison, the darkness.

They couldn't survive without each other.

She was toxic, but Emily understood that she didn't need a cure. Because Emily loved her.

Alison sometimes thought that she didn't deserve Emily's love, but she didn't care. She wanted to belong in the world like everyone else. She wanted to be loved like everyone else.

"I love you. I can never say that enough. I want to say it to you every second of every day. I love you." Alison's breath was hot against Emily's cheek.

She felt Emily's fingertips trailing against her neck.

"I love you, too, Alison." The blonde never got tired of hearing it. "I love you…past, present, and future. I loved you when we met. And I love you now. And I'll keep loving you. Because you're not just my world or my universe. You are every star, every planet, every galaxy. No matter what happens I will always love you."

Something that Emily had come to terms with was that it didn't matter how much someone hated themselves or how much they were being dragged down by the undertow, sooner or later there was a path forward. And she'd found hers.

She knew that Alison was still struggling to grasp how to let go of her pain and her self-hatred. The blonde still saw herself as a monster, but Emily was there to guide her, and even if it took years of baby steps she was going find a way to help Alison move forward. She didn't care what their future looked like, as long as they were together.

Emily knew that Alison had done things in her life that society would crucify her for, and she knew that Alison would continue to follow her nature. But she was confident that they would evolve together.

She had learned about moving forward from her father. The day he had flown in to see her get her shield they'd had dinner before he had to go back. They had been talking about how people developed and improved their lives. They'd talked about her promotion and about how sometimes there was a mixture of excitement and fear about changes in life. He had pulled out a book he'd been reading on the plane and turned to a page that had an underlined quote that had always stuck with her.

"Change happens whether you want it to or not. Progress is a matter of choice and effort."

Time kept going. The world kept moving. It changed people, whether they asked for it or not. Alison and Emily had been changed when their worlds collided. But those changes weren't all bad. They woke up every morning choosing each other. They chose to take life by the reins.

Most people let life carry them forward. Millions of people accepted their fate. But Emily and Alison swam against the tide. It didn't matter how high the water swelled around them. It didn't matter how hard or futile it might be. They swam anyway.

Emily thought of her father again. When she was at her lowest point in life...when she was considering eating her gun after Maya died, her father had come to her in a vision and he'd told her to keep fighting.

"You find that lighthouse…and you swim like hell, baby."

So she swam. She swam until she found Alison.

Their paths had taken far too long to cross, but it was for a reason. They had always been just a few miles away from each other, yet they weren't brought together until much later in life.

Perhaps they had run into each other when they were younger, but never realized it.

Perhaps had they lived closer and gone to the same school and shared the same interests they would have grown up together.

Marco had always been a thin link between them, but he'd never even considered introducing the two of them. They were from entirely different worlds.

In the future, he would confide in them and confess that he felt guilty he hadn't intervened earlier.

"What if I could have done something more? Something to prevent all the tragedy?"

Their lives could have been entirely different if he'd simply done one thing: introduced them when they were children.

Emily and Alison would have been good for each other. Maybe Cape May with Wilden never would have happened. Maybe Alison would have developed and evolved differently. Maybe Emily would have been subjected to less turmoil. Maybe Maya would still be alive.

The answer he would get in return would be both girls smiling at him, telling him it wasn't meant to happen that way.

They would have been different people. They wouldn't have the love and the family they had now.

It was like the butterfly effect. A butterfly flaps its wings somewhere across the world and it would change something millions of miles away.

If they'd met sooner Alison might have gone into a different field of work. Then she never would have befriended Aria and Spencer.

Their relationship could have made waves in high school and maybe Hanna wouldn't be as close as she was to them now.

Alison wouldn't have any of them in her life…including those little boys she loved more than anything.

Marco couldn't have predicted their futures when they were children. He couldn't have known any of it.

It had taken them entirely too long to meet. But that meeting had made them into who they were. That meeting had shaped their love, their lives, and the lives around them.

"That alone makes everything worth it." Alison would tell him.

They hadn't met by luck or chance or force. Not even by fate, because fate was often a preset notion with larger things at play controlling the outcome.

But destiny…destiny was how they'd ended up on their journey. Destiny was chosen. Everything that had happened had led up to their meeting. And that first meeting was one of the worst ways to be introduced to someone.

But they had taken control. They had chosen how they wanted their lives to go.

Emily had decided immediately that she felt a connection to the pretty young doctor. She had trusted her to save her life. And Alison had felt a cosmic shift in every nerve ending in her body when she'd looked into Emily's eyes. Her heart had become more than just an organ that functioned for her to live. It had come alive with something she wouldn't understand until much later.

When two forces collided, often there was destruction left behind, but when their souls collided they didn't cause a cataclysmic explosion. It had created a new elemental plane of existence.

Later that night as the two of them laid in bed together, wrapped up in each other, warm bodies pressed together...they were the only two people in the world.

They looked out at the Parisian skyline and Emily thought about how hard they had fought to be together. Everything in the world seemed to be against them. Logistically, they didn't make sense together. But they couldn't exist apart.

When she kissed Alison…when she held her and touched her and made love to her she knew they were meant to be.

She wasn't blind to the evils in the world. She'd seen many truths over the years. And one thing she'd learned to accept was that there was the capacity for violence in everyone. She had felt it in her own soul. She had experienced that anger…where the world seemed red and the rage building inside was capable of anything. But there was a world of difference between being flawed and being pure unadulterated evil, like the people that Alison killed.

When she had joined the force everyone worried that she'd be driven by rage and revenge and that being part of the task force hunting her girlfriend's murderer would cloud her judgment.

In learning the truth about what happened to Maya and about what Alison had done to Maya's murderer…her world shifted. She felt herself driven by her desire to accept Alison as she was and not to destroy the darkness, because there was no malice in her heart for innocent people.

Emily was willing to give away a portion of her own soul to keep her wife safe. Protecting the people you loved sometimes meant sacrificing bits of your own humanity, and she was okay with that sacrifice.

Alison shifted in her arms, tugging against the sheets as she rolled towards her.

The blonde was in a state between twilight and asleep. Emily had pretty much put her in a sex coma.

Emily kissed her forehead and Alison's lip twitched. Her droopy eyelids opened and she smiled at her wife.

Sometimes when Alison woke up she felt like she was dreaming. She often clutched Emily as if to prove to herself that she was real…that she loved her.

There was trepidation in her gaze as she shook herself out of her slumber.

Emily could sense her vulnerability, so she cupped her cheeks and kissed her and told her the very same thing that Alison had said to her in the hospital when they first met.

"I've got you, Alison." I've got you and I'm never letting go.

There was a twinkle in Alison's eye as she replied just as Emily had that day,

"You bet your perky little ass you do."

They pushed their foreheads together and laughed.

Alison stroked her face.

"Your eyes were so bright when you came into the ER. So soulful and full of passion. I thought you couldn't be real. But when we got into that OR you were very real to me." Alison pressed a kiss against Emily's shoulder.

"I thought I was dreaming when I woke up and you were begging me for a date." Emily rubbed her palms against the top of Alison's messy after-sex hair.

"I was not begging!" Alison laughed and playfully smacked Emily's shoulder. "Besides, you were the one exacerbating things. You said yes right there on the spot."

"Good for me." They both laughed. "That day is such a blur for me, but I remember every minute with you. One minute I was bleeding on a liquor store floor and the next I was peering into the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen. I was so groggy, but I remember how struck I was by your eyes. It was like looking at the bluest fire I had ever seen. What I saw in you started with those burning embers." She traced her thumb underneath Alison's right eye. "It was like fire in water." Elements that usually destroyed each other, but not when it came to Alison. They worked together with Alison. "The passion and the love I saw in them was like nothing on this Earth."

God damn, still a hell of a sweet talker. Alison felt her face getting hot.

"I just remember feeling warm even though I was shivering. And I wanted to stay with you forever." Emily pulled Alison closer, their sweaty chests meshing together, flesh on flesh.

"I remember." Alison smiled, a fondness in her eyes. "You told me that. You also made the mistake of calling me an angel." She chuckled.

"You are. You're my angel." Emily kissed the side of Alison's neck, trailing her lips, watching as goosebumps erupted on Alison's skin.

"That is the sappiest bullshit I have ever heard." Alison snorted into Emily's collar bone.

"You know you love it."

"I do. I really do." Alison sighed with a smile. "I'm the luckiest woman in the world. Because I have you."

"Second luckiest." Emily corrected her. "I'm the luckiest."

Emily knew that experiencing love was knowing the absolute truth about someone. And when the truth was accepted and that acceptance was reciprocated it transformed into something entirely different.

When two people knew the worst about each other and still wanted to be together with all of their hearts and souls…that was love.

Love was security and power and comfort all in one package. A rich romance full of passion that created something invulnerable…impenetrable.

And forever.

---

A/N: This has been one hell of a ride. Thank you for going on it with me.

Ending this story full circle was always my intention. I always planned to throw in the element of love and protection and to have Emily become a part of Alison's world…and for Alison to reject letting Emily see her kill someone because of how much she loves her. Both protective Queens until the end.

Also full circle was Alison somewhat going back to her roots when she killed Jack. Let's face it though, we all know Junior had it coming...

Alison got the bad guy, got the girl, and they got their happily ever after. Who would have thought a serial killer fiction would have a happy ending?

I know a lot of my stories have the common theme about these two being "forever." I've had a couple similar endings about them being forever. It's intentional...because they *are* forever.

Again, thank you all for the support. Much love.

You know what to do in the comments.