Author's Note: sorry for the lateness, I am sick. Anyways, enjoy. Please be kind to others and the world around you.

"Here."

Alison looked up, as Emily passed her a small cup. She leaned up, took the cup with a small smile, and sipped it slowly. She wasn't thirsty, but she didn't want to disappoint Emily.

"Thank you."

Emily just nodded and sat down beside her.

Alison watched her for a moment, before she turned back to look at Hadley and Elaine, curled up together in a couple of seats across the waiting room. Hadley was more or less curled against Elaine, her jacket–an old leather one–draped across her, her head in Elaine's lap. Elaine watched her sleep peacefully, and ran her fingers through her hair with one hand, while the other rubbed gently against her neck.

Hadley was the only person, aside from Olivia, Elaine would let do that. It was hard for her to get comfortable enough with people to let them physically touch her, or for her to initiate touch with.

Alison was different, in that–she was Elaine's mother. The first person who had ever actually tried to save her. Alison comforted Elaine, not the other way around usually. Elaine knew she didn't have to be strong for her mother, that she could crumble and Alison would scoop her up into a warm safe embrace. Alison also knew Elaine's limits and boundaries, and never pushed them.

Emily shifted as she watched Alison focus on her daughter. Daughter. Alison has daughters, that's so weird.

It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was a stark difference from the way Alison used to watch people. Watch them to judge them, harshly or not–well. Now, there was just concern in Alison's eyes towards someone. Love. It was something she couldn't get over.

Alison was essentially showing love freely, when as kids, she kept that under lock and key so tightly–she and the girls wanted to scream. Hell, Emily had asked before, "why do we have to keep showing you we love you?". Alison, now, didn't seem to care who was looking at her. She just loved her daughters.

It gave Emily hope, Alison was different. That's all she wanted. Alison to be different, better, the person she'd seen beneath the layers when they were younger. She seemed to be so far.

"Can I ask you something about Elaine," Emily started, cautiously, "without you getting upset?"

Alison turned to her, confused, but nodded.

"Why…was Elaine on the swim team if Ben was the coach?" Alison blinked and Emily wasn't sure if she was upset or not. "I'm not- I don't mean that you're…neglectful, I just- you know what he tried to do to me."

Alison's face morphed into an expression of sadness, guilt. It made Emily feel regret for asking the question at all, but it had bothered her. She had a moment to ask, and she was deeply curious. Did Alison blame her for what Ben tried to do?

That didn't make sense. Alison, though cruel and often unkind, had always been big on believing victims of things like that. Grooming more specifically, but assault in general. Alison had heavily bullied a teacher once, that a girl claimed had touched her until he left his job. He was later charged. The thing was...he wasn't a teacher at their school, he just lived in their town.

"I didn't know he was actually," Alison confessed.

Emily scrunched her face, "You didn't know, he was the swim coach?"

Alison shook her head before shifting to face Emily better. It was…such an odd and horrible situation. She'd almost gotten fired for how loudly she'd blown up at the principal.

"No," Alison admitted with a sigh, dropping her head against the wall, "I didn't know he was the swim coach until Elaine came to me and told me what he was trying to do."

Emily was confused. How was that possible? Weren't the other teachers informed when a new coach was selected?

Alison looked at her and knew.

"He was supposed to be a temp replacement I think," Alison clarified, "until there was a permanent replacement for the old coach. I never knew the name. One of Hackett's friends highly recommended him. No one was ever informed when the temp got here, I was under the assumption the old coach was still here. I didn't know for two weeks. If I had…"

Alison clenched her jaw, turning away for a second. She was still beyond pissed at herself for not going to any of the swim practices. If she had she'd have known. She'd have drowned Ben's ass for it too because he deserved it.

"You couldn't have known," Emily told her softly.

Alison nodded and sighed, before looking at her again.

"When she did tell me, I almost lost my job," Emily looked at her in surprise, "I blew up at Hackett. My only saving grace was I told him what was happening, especially after several girls came to me in confidence. They didn't feel comfortable telling him and having him scrutinize them, so I think he mostly assumed I was just…really emotional and stressed out by all the information."

It wasn't entirely true. She was…mostly angry. So angry she was exhausted, but the moment she was in his office she'd just blown up. She was so lucky the girls that had come forward, to her, and had given her enough evidence to back her up. Not that Hackett would have disbelieved her.

Hackett had always been an empathetic principal. He just…wanted evidence, and sometimes it was frustrating especially when you knew what teachers were doing with their students.

"Girls came to you?" Emily sounded more…upset than hurt.

Alison knew it was because Ben had gotten to any girl at all. That those girls had to come forward at all.

"Yeah," she breathed out, "I believed Elaine immediately, so the day after she told me…she wasn't supposed to be there, but she walked into school and told the other girls she knew of, that I was a safe person to come out to. She convinced them that if they told me, gave me whatever evidence they had on him, I would go to Hackett for them, and fight."

She had.

She'd been so willing to fight tooth and nail, even lose her job, for the girls that had come forward. All she could see were innocent girls who didn't deserve what was happening to them. She saw herself, Emily, Elaine–Aria.

Amid his understanding, Hackett had frozen and realized what Alison was truly saying. He'd taken action immediately. Suspension for Ben, and rather quickly, termination.

Neither of them knew, but Hackett had talked to Paige–the Athletics Department Supervisor–and asked for anyone she knew who would be fit for the job. Trustworthy, and would actually lookout for the girls. She'd instantly thought of Emily and reached out.

"That's…a lot for someone to be told. Children being groomed isn't light." Emily was concerned about the toll it was taking or had taken on Alison.

"Elaine knew I could understand that kind of pain," Alison told her without thinking.

Emily blinked in shock and stared at her in horror as she froze in place. Alison dropped her gaze away, turning back to look at her daughter, who was still running her hands through Hadley's hair.

Fuck. I shouldn't have said anything.

"Alison…"

Alison didn't want the pity. She hated pity. She had since she was a child watching her grandfather lowered into the ground. She didn't want that from Emily.

She was strong, she was working through it. She wanted to tell Emily, she wanted to tell her everything she'd ever held back, but– she wasn't certain it was the right time. It was a lot, and she still felt weird.

"Ali," Emily tried again, reaching for her as if she knew her touch would make Alison cave.

"Don't," Alison gently warned her, and Emily pulled away with a deep frown, "not here…okay? It's not-" She didn't have to finish.

Emily nodded with a soft breath and looked at Alison for a moment. She didn't want to be frustrated, and she wasn't–not about this–but there was an inherent frustration she had with Alison because Alison kept so many things to herself. So many, apparent, harmful things. Had she never trusted her or the girls enough to let them in?

Emily knew she had a right to keep this close to her vest, but the longer she thought about it…the more sense it made. She'd guessed, several times, Alison had been struggling with something bigger and deeper than on-the-verge-of-divorce parents, but she'd never opened up about it.

Alison was always so…odd. She seemingly liked older men, but at the same time, Emily saw her shy away or rip herself away from their touch. Like she was being burned, and Emily hadn't noticed it then but now she could see the wild panicked look in her eyes as those same men asked what her problem was.

It hurt to know how obvious it was, but she also knew she couldn't blame herself. They were all kids. If Alison didn't want you to know, you weren't going to know. She was extremely private.

She just hoped Alison wasn't…shutting her out already. It hadn't even been a full day. She did NOT want to take three steps back before they'd had a chance to take a single step backward, because if the Alison she saw today, the same one she'd seen peeking through Alison back then, was the real Alison–she wanted to take that step forward.

She wanted to get to know the real Alison and her daughters.

She understood how important it was to take everything slowly. A lot had happened today and everything felt so vulnerable. She wasn't going to take advantage of that or any of them.

Emily nodded again, to herself, and looked towards Hadley and Elaine. She felt herself smile gently.

Elaine had leaned back in her chair, no longer rubbing her neck, though there was still a clear red mark of where Ben's zipper on his sleeves were, against her neck. Her head tilted to the side, but her eyes were firmly glued on Hadley who shifted to press her face into Elaine's stomach. Elaine cupped the back of her head and brought her other hand up to cup her cheek, gently grazing Hadley's cheek with her thumb.

Alison bit the inside of her cheek as she watched them. She tried to suppress her smile but failed.

Hadley meant a lot to Elaine, and they had talked about it vaguely once before.

"I don't know if you want to talk about it, but I want you to know, when you're ready I'm here."

"Talk about what?"

"Hadley, and what she means to you. You don't have to be embarrassed, we all have our mermaids."

She knew when Elaine was ready she'd come to her, she'd talk about it on her own time. Alison worked hard to make sure there was an open and safe environment for her and Olivia. It didn't matter how awkward the questions or subjects were, as long as they came to her when they were ready.

"Elaine is a really sweet kid," Emily told her, breaking their silence.

Alison beamed at her daughter, before looking at Emily with a smile. She was so proud of Elaine.

As withdrawn as Elaine could be, she truly was a kind person. She hadn't lost that. She cared about others, especially those closest to her and complete strangers in need.

"I know."

Emily smiled suddenly, and Alison was almost transfixed by how soft that smile was.

"You really do love your daughters, don't you?" Emily asked with a gentle chuckle.

Alison nodded emphatically but winced as she did. Her head still hurt. Emily frowned then, but Alison wasn't going to let an opportunity to gush about either of her daughters go to waste. She was that kind of parent.

"I do, they're my life," Alison told her certainly.

It sounded so true. Emily was happy for her. Happy she found a focal point. Happy had created, or rather, was creating a family.

Emily opened her mouth to ask about her family, genuine curiosity because she wanted to know.

"DiLaurentis. Alison DiLaurentis?" Alison's name was called before Emily could ask.

Alison sighed and stood up slowly. As she did Emily debated on asking if she could go with her, just to make sure she was okay, but she felt weird about it. She felt awkward with Alison considering the last time they'd spoken. Alison's unanswered texts.

Elaine, however, asked for Emily. She sat up a little and stared at her mother concerned.

"Aren't you going to take Coach Fields?" Elaine asked, frowning.

Alison rolled her eyes, "I'll be fine, Siren. It's probably-"

"Mother," Elaine reprimanded her with a scowl.

Alison gave in after a quiet second, not wanting to make the medical staff wait. She rolled her eyes and turned to Emily, reaching down to snag her by the wrist and pull on her gently. Emily followed willingly, and amusedly. The mother-daughter duo really were something else.

She paused as they passed Elaine to frown, lean down and kiss her forehead, whispering, "You're lucky you can boss me around."

As they walked away they heard Elaine call back, "I get it from you!"

Alison rolled her eyes again, but Emily laughed, shuffling closer as they followed a nurse. Alison dropped her hand shortly after.

Emily remained quiet as Alison spoke mostly to the staff attending her, but refused to leave her side. Everyone seemed to quietly pick up on it and left her alone, only speaking to her when Alison made an effort to include her in talk about school.

Emily watched at one point, as a female tech came in and made a pass at Alison. Alison tried to ignore it at first, and Emily swore Alison hadn't picked up on it, but when the woman continued Alison spoke the truth.

"Sorry, I have other interests," she'd said it as kindly as she could.

The woman had looked surprised and offered, "I didn't mean to assume you were gay-"

"I'm not straight," Alison told her with a twinkle in her eye, surprising both the woman and Emily, "I've just been hung up on someone. Wouldn't be fair…and also I think if your supervisor heard of this, it would get you in trouble."

The woman pulled back, surprised, and a little fearful.

Alison frowned and clarified, "I wouldn't tell. You're cute," and she meant it, throwing the woman a small smile, "I just don't want you to get into trouble. Or be the cause of it."

The woman left, a little embarrassed, but grateful and Emily turned quiet. She knew how she felt, and she was embarrassed about it. A little angry the flirtation had happened at all, especially when Alison was injured.

"Em?" Alison called, glancing at her with a frown, "You okay?"

"Yeah." She let out in a strained voice. "She was just…unprofessional, maybe you should-"

"I'm not going to tell anyone," Alison interrupted, "it was harmless, but I meant what I said."

Who are you hung up on? Emily desperately wanted to ask. She knew why she wanted to ask, but pushed the thought and feeling of jealousy aside.

Elaine folded her hands in her lap, kicked her legs back and forth as she sat on the medical bed. She waited, nervously, for the doctor to come back. She knew nothing was wrong physically. Ben hadn't hurt her, other than the redness around her neck. Coach Fields, her mother's mermaid, had come rushing after her.

She felt stupid for breaking down, being caught by him. It made her feel weak.

She wasn't weak. She knew how to fight. She could fight. She normally did, but the way he'd pressed her against the wall, stared at her, the things he said- it reminded her so much of her father, she'd broken down. She was just a child with hands on her, and all she could do was beg him to leave her alone.

Not even a second after Coach Fields had rushed him, he had gripped Elaine's arm, and Hadley came rushing in, shoving him further back before pulling Elaine out of the room. She'd broken down, instantly.

Truthfully, she didn't know what she'd do without Hadley. It seemed to be their recurring theme. Saving each other.

Elaine wasn't certain what she'd do without Hadley. She was so deeply important to Elaine, she felt like a small part of her heart had attached to Elaine. Competitive, kind, academic Hadley St. Germain.

Elaine turned her head and watched Hadley as she typed out a message on Elaine's phone, likely one of their friends. She didn't have to worry about Hadley doing something she wasn't comfortable with. Hadley understood she didn't have the energy to text anyone back right now, that she just wanted to be home. Hadley understood a lot about her.

Hadley rolled her eyes as she received a reply, and Elaine found herself smiling softly. Hadley's lips ticked upwards into a gentle smile, and she was entranced by that smile. She always was. When Hadley smiled, she felt compelled to just watch her. Like she was painting that smile inside of her brain. It always left her feeling…something. An unnamable thing she didn't have a word for. Breathless.

Suddenly, Hadley looked up at her, as if she felt Elaine watching her, and tilted her head with a smile of her own.

"What?" Hadley asked.

Elaine pressed her lips together to try and smother her smile before dropping her eyes to her hands in her lap and shook her head.

"Nothing."

Hadley wasn't convinced and Elaine knew it.

"No, come on, El. We tell each other everything," Hadley reminded her with a chuckle.

Elaine chewed on her bottom lip for a second, before she looked back up at Hadley. She tried to smother her smile again but it didn't work. Her smile broke out across her face, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at herself.

"You're just…" Elaine breathed out, and shrugged at Hadley, "...really pretty, is all."

Hadley blinked in surprise at Elaine, her mouth opening and closing.

Elaine internally groaned at herself. She'd made it awkward, but she'd been honest. Sort of. Elaine wasn't just pretty, she was beautiful, but- was that something you told your best friend? Was that weird? Elaine didn't know.

Hadley was beautiful, though, to her.

The first time she'd seen Hadley, had been when Hadley had moved to Rosewood. She'd been moving into a house with an older woman, and a woman about her mother's age, maybe a little older, and the sun was setting. Elaine had watched as the sun hit her profile in this magnetizing, painting-like way, that she'd paused and watched Hadley for a second.

When they met at school for the first time, she'd been frozen to the spot, entranced by how beautiful she was. Her heart skipped a few beats. Then, she'd noticed the teacher berating her. Deciding to do something about it, because her mother had taught her to stand up for others, care for others, she'd placed herself between Hadley and Mr. Thomas.

"Sorry…" Elaine whispered, feeling her cheeks heat up.

"What? No- El-" Hadley let out a breath, "that's not- do you mean that?"

Elaine looked at her again, scrunching her face. Before she could think about it, she answered honestly.

"Yes, why wouldn't I? You're gorgeous, Hadley. You have to know that."

Hadley's face flushed, and she looked away for a second. That was so un-Hadley-like, Elaine wanted to ask if she was okay. Hadley chewed the inside of her cheek and cleared her throat, Elaine frowned and opened her mouth.

"Thanks," Hadley told her almost shyly, "you know…you are too, right?"

"I'm not-"

"Yes you are," Hadley gave her a firm look, "you're gorgeous. There's a reason boys keep trying to flirt with you. There's a reason I keep fighting them off."

Elaine smiled, "Thanks. That's what best friends do, right?"

Hadley looked disappointed for a second, and it wasn't something that Elaine was used to. Then, Hadley smiled softly and nodded. She didn't say anything. That was also so odd, Elaine wanted to ask, maybe apologize.

Before she could, the door opened. Elaine's head shot around, expecting a doctor or staff, but instead blinked in surprise as Coach Fields peaked her head in, and sighed in relief.

"Elaine, can I come in?" Elaine nodded.

Emily smiled at her, thankfully, and took a step into the room. Elaine wanted to ask about her mother, but instead for the moment, watched as Emily held her phone in her hands and looked towards Hadley who looked at her confused. Emily held her phone out towards her and sighed.

"Your aunt will not stop bothering me," there was a hint of familiarity and playfulness in her voice, "she won't believe you're okay until you talk to her. You really shouldn't have sent her a message with just, 'at the hospital be back later' with no explanation."

Hadley sighed and hung her head for a second, cursing herself.

"I'm such an idiot-"

"Shut up," Elaine interrupted her with a frown, "no you're not."

Hadley rolled her eyes but smiled as she took the phone. She stood up and looked at Elaine before motioning towards the door. Elaine nodded. Hadley paused and looked to Emily who smiled.

"Go, I'll stay with Elaine."

"Thank you." Hadley breathed, before holding the phone up to her ear and leaving the room. "Hey- I know, no-"

Emily couldn't help but chuckle as she left. She sounded a lot like Maya, sometimes. She'd known Hadley since she and Maya had been together. She could remember how annoyed Maya's brother would get playfully annoyed about how often Hadley would prefer her aunt and her aunt's girlfriend over him and his wife.

Emily turned back to Elaine who was looking at the door. She found herself smiling about how obvious the two of them were.

"How are you doing?" Emily asked her, crossing her arms.

Elaine blinked, looking up at her, and gave her a small but genuine smile.

"I'm okay," she offered, "I just…want to get out of here."

"Not a fan of hospitals?" Elaine shook her head. "Alis- your mother is usually the same way."

"She is?" Elaine asked though she had gathered as much.

There had been times where they'd pass a hospital and Alison would turn away, or pointedly not look at the building. Squirm. Elaine didn't like hospitals either, but she was okay as long as she didn't have to be in them.

Alison hadn't exactly explained it, but Elaine could guess. She could guess the truth.

"Yeah," Emily smiled at her, "she never really liked them. When we took her to the E.R. she tried to fight me on it, and only relented when Spencer and I promised to be there with her the entire time."

Elaine furrowed her brows. Spencer, why does that name sound familiar?

"She, um," Elaine struggled to find words to express her mother, "kind of did something similar when I first met her. She only stayed and got checked out because I'd begged her to."

Emily seemed intrigued by that.

It was true though. The night she'd saved Elaine and Olivia from Darren, he'd hurt her too. Pretty badly. She was lucky he was drunk, or it might have been worse. Alison had hovered until a social worker came by.

Even that young, Elaine knew she needed to be checked out. Alison was so antsy to leave but unwilling to leave the two young kids alone, that she'd stayed but refused to be looked at. It would only force her to stay longer. That was until a smaller, scared, and concerned Elaine had looked at her big bright blue eyes and begged her to get checked out.

"Please…Miss Alison? You were hurt too. Daddy hurt you, I don't want you to be hurt."

Alison had caved with tears in her eyes. It was a good thing too. She had bruised ribs. A broken wrist. A concussion. She was sore for weeks after.

"Doesn't surprise me," Emily offered.

Elaine could see it though. The question behind her eyes, because everyone always wanted to know. So she gave the answer she always gave. Never enough uncomfortable details, but it was the truth.

"She," Elaine let out a slow breath, "fought my biological dad. To save me and Olive. She incapacitated a full-grown man, but not before he got some good licks in. She won the fight by sheer will, but was a total baby when it came to letting a doctor check her out."

"Wow," Emily blinked in shock. More shock than anyone else had expressed before.

Elaine frowned at that. The Alison she knew was her mother. Her mother who fought, and she knew her mother hadn't always been this way, but–hadn't anyone seen her mother beneath the facade of control? The one who threw herself at a man twice her age, three times her age, willing herself to win for the sake of someone else's safety?

"He was abusive," Elaine clarified, uncomfortably, "she has a high pain tolerance like me, but I could tell as a kid. She was hurting. She didn't have anyone back then to look out for her, but she looked out for me so I tried to do the same for her," Emily looked slightly guilty, "She couldn't, and still cannot resist the puppy eyes." That got Emily to laugh.

Alison would often groan when she did the same expression to get her way, "Ugh. Stop it. I'm not supposed to always give in. You can't do that to get your way all the time."

"But it works, does it not?"

Emily could sense Elaine was uncomfortable and done talking about her father, but things she'd said had struck a chord with her.

Why had Alison been in the position to fight a man in the first place? 'She has a high pain tolerance like' but what did that mean? Did Alison have a similar past? That didn't make sense really. She and Alison had been around each other, for nearly their entire childhood. She couldn't remember any signs of that.

Then she thought back to what Alison had said.

'She knew I could understand that kind of pain.' Her heart seized in her chest. Had Alison been groomed before? Under her nose, everyone's nose? Was that part of why she had been so hot and cold during high school?

She let out a gentle sigh.

"What's mom's damage?" Elaine asked suddenly, with a frown, "I mean…besides being Alison DiLaurentis."

Emily let out a surprised laugh and shook her head.

"Small concussion," Emily sighed, and Elaine's face scrunched, "and possibly a hairline fracture in one of her knuckles. The concussion is from him," she was careful not to say his name, "he…was rough. What about you?"

Elaine sighed, slumping, "Just…this red mark," she rubbed her neck, it was fading already, "everything else is superficial. I'm fine, but waiting on the doctor to come back with my x-rays."

"X-Ray?" Emily looked concerned.

"It's nothing," she shrugged, "they wanted to after Hadley mentioned he hit my chest first. It's fine though."

Ben had hit Elaine? She hadn't seen that, but she'd also missed the first part of the confrontation. After she'd rushed him, she'd also solely focused on him. She hadn't even thought to ask.

However, she did believe Elaine when she said it was nothing. She didn't look like she was lying to try to get out of the hospital quicker. Unlike Alison, who squirmed, and constantly asked if someone would be by to speak with her sooner rather than later.

"I have a question actually," Emily tilted her head, as Elaine spoke up, "um, mom mentioned she knew…him, before. Did- did you know him too?"

Emily thought about how to tell the truth. There was no way she could lie about it. Not to Elaine who deserved the truth, and to know she wasn't alone.

"I dated him before," Elaine stared at her in disbelief, "before I realized I was gay. He was…very pushy, and one day he tried to take it too far with me. You weren't his first victim, but you shouldn't have been one at all."

Elaine seemed stunned into silence, but she could hear the guilt and regret in Emily's voice. Like she blamed herself.

If there was one thing she'd learned from her mother and Emily today, no one could blame themselves. It was no one's fault but Ben's. He was a loose cannon, a dangerous man, that hopefully, now wouldn't escape justice.

"Don't blame yourself," Elaine told her, but knew it wasn't that easy, "and…that's alright. Mom said she dated some 'real dick pricks' before she realized she wasn't straight either."

"Your mom is…gay?"

She'd heard Alison say it earlier, but it was still surprising. She was learning a lot about Alison, and everything was surprising her.

"Um, yes?" Elaine's face scrunched, "have you ever seen her look at a woman? Did you know her when tried to pretend to be straight? If she's straight, I don't exist. I think I exist because I'm talking to you, but if this is just a scenario you're hallucinating because you're insane, pick a better delusion. This sucks."

Emily gave a hearty laugh. Elaine was different. A wild ride.

Her humor reminded her a lot of Hanna and Alison. Deadpan, borderline insanity, but somehow still intelligent. There was a signature snark though, Emily knew she'd adapted from Alison. It was one of her favorite things about Alison when it was put to good use. Elaine grinned back at her with pride in her eyes.

They quietly talked for a few minutes before Hadley came back in. Emily found Elaine was bright and intelligent, and warming up to her considerably fast. She knew a lot of that had to do with Hadley and Alison showing explicit trust with her being in Emily's presence.

Though, Emily kept her distance physically. Elaine also seemed careful about how she spoke about her past, and how it connected to Alison. Emily didn't dig. She was respectful. She knew, however, the simple information of 'Alison has kids and she's a good mom' was going to be something Hanna wouldn't be able to let go of any time soon. She wondered how Spencer would react.

Hadley came in after a few minutes, passing Emily her phone back and smiling at Elaine.

"My aunt said I could stay with you for the night, as long as you want me to, and Ms. D. is okay with it." There was a hint of something Emily picked up on, something that caused her to smile.

"Of course, it is," Elaine snorted, "mom is probably ecstatic, she'd adopt you if she could."

"I'll just have to marry into the family then," Hadley teased, but it surprised both Emily and Elaine. Elaine blushed brightly, and Hadley grinned proudly.

You two are so obvious. Emily thought to herself.

"She told you to stay with Elaine, didn't she?" Emily asked, with a chuckle.

Hadley rolled her eyes, "I didn't even get to ask. She just said, 'Hadley, if you don't stay with her, to make sure she's okay, I am going to be very disappointed in you.' You can't disappoint Aunt Maya."

Emily smiled, but shook her head, "I'm going to get Alison freed, and we'll come back to see if you're free to break out, okay?" She directed towards Elaine, mostly.

Elaine smiled and nodded, "Thank you Coach Fields."

"It's Emily," Emily smiled, "or Em. We're friends now."

"We are?"

Emily laughed, "Yeah. We went through this whole thing together. Ask your mom, it's how I bond with people."

–

Emily wasn't surprised when Alison and Elaine, both fell asleep during the ride back. Elaine was slumped against Hadley in the backseat of her car, and Alison had her head tucked against her arm that was folded against the window. They both slept soundly, with a few murmurs that escaped Alison. Elaine more or less just moved and curled into Hadley further who didn't seem to mind.

The quietness gave Emily enough time to think. It was so…weird.

Before they'd left the hospital, she'd stepped out to pull her car around as Alison tried to manage two teenage girls talking at high speeds, Paige had called her. Knowing very well Alison wouldn't answer, or would likely be very crabby. Emily hadn't minded.

She was still surprised by how much Paige cared. She'd asked about it too. Paige hadn't dodged the question, either, she was honest.

"I can't stand Alison 'head bitch' DiLaurentis, but Ali isn't as bad. We fight, but she's loyal. We're…not even friends sometimes, but I care. I don't have to love her to care. She wasn't what I thought she was. She told me a lot of things, and I think I understand her better. That doesn't make how she treated anyone, okay, but I'm not going to torture her for that when she's doing it herself. She probably thinks she deserves the pain she's in now."

She was seeing a side of Alison, through the eyes of everyone else, she had thought she'd imagined. It had been years.

She still saw the good but had convinced herself she'd imagined it because she was irrevocably in love with Alison. Now, it seemed as though that Alison had been underneath all of the layers. She hadn't imagined it. She did feel sad she hadn't gotten to see that Alison emerge, or help coax her out, but–it seemed as though her daughters had. She was a mother.

She did, however, find it amusing that Hadley and a few other kids at the school really liked Alison as a teacher. Hadley sort of knew the kind of person Alison was as a teenager. When she and Maya were together, and Maya babysat her niece, Emily would tell her stories of Alison. How mean she could be because she was scared. Maya would never interject, though she had her own opinion, and had likely expressed it since then.

Hadley was a lot like Maya in that regard. She didn't let someone else's opinion muddle her own. She didn't have an opinion until she met you, and would treat you how you treated her. Hilariously, though, like Spencer, she did appreciate facts.

She pulled into Alison's driveway and took a minute to look up at the DiLaurentis home. She pulled her mouth into a tight line. Alison, at some point, stopped liking the home–but she lived here now? She hoped it felt like an actual home now.

She glanced up at the house and felt the memories rushing back. She could remember, one of the last times they'd been friends–Alison had asked her to come over and had crawled out of her bedroom window, down the tree next to her window, just so they could take a walk because she was feeling suffocated.

"El," Hadley whispered, and Emily turned to watch Hadley try to rouse Elaine out of her sleep, "we're here, we're home. You have to get up, so we can get you back insi-"

"Ugh, I don't want to be awake," Elaine grumbled, trying to curl herself into Hadley further, "shut up and let me sleep."

Emily stifled a laugh. She is so Alison's daughter.

Hadley sighed and tried to move. As she did, Emily turned to Alison who was still asleep against the window. She murmured again but didn't wake. So Emily leaned towards her and grabbed her hand. She knew, from experience, the quickest way to wake Alison up was to terrify her or just talk to her and squeeze her hand.

"Ali," she started, "we're at your house."

"Let me sleep," Alison grumbled.

Hadley snorted, and Emily couldn't stop herself from smiling.

She squeezed Alison's hand gently until Alison squeezed back and tried again, "come on Ali, you have to get up. You're not going to sleep in my mother's car, neither is your daughter."

Alison squeezed her hand again and opened her eyes with a tired sigh. She blinked a few times, squinting as if her head was still hurting or she was dazed–and Emily frowned. She definitely wasn't going to leave Alison, until she knew she was okay.

After a minute Alison looked at her, surprised.

"Em?" She blinked, "You're here."

Emily was taken aback, "I drove you here, Ali. You and Elaine." She gestured behind her.

"Oh," Alison slumped against her seat, "right. The hospital…I'll, um, get them inside so you can leave-"

"Alison," Emily frowned at her, "you have a concussion, I'm going to keep an eye on you, tonight. Okay?"

"Okay." She breathed, unwilling to fight. Instead, she unbuckled herself and turned around to Elaine who was hiding her face in Hadley's neck. She pressed a palm against her thigh and shook her gently, "Siren, come on, we're home. It's time to go to bed."

Elaine grumbled, but after a moment detached herself from Hadley who smiled at Alison who smiled back, and the girls got out slowly. Hadley snatched Elaine's bag, her own, and Alison's, before following Elaine who tiredly grumbled her way to the front door and unlocked it with her own set of keys.

Alison watched them, blinking herself awake enough to walk without falling. Emily watched her closely, in case she needed to help Alison inside.

After a moment Alison opened her door and got out, moving to the front of the car, and waiting until Emily got out before they made their way inside. As they did, Emily was surprised to find Hadley and Elaine pulling out the large coach, into a bed. Alison looked at it but didn't say anything, so Emily thought it was okay.

Alison moved towards the open kitchen, only pausing on her way to grab her bag from a small table near the stairs to the second floor, and dropped it onto the kitchen island. Emily noted the layout was mostly the same, but the counters and island were completely new. She also realized clean dishes were sitting beside the sink, in a rack.

Alison opened her purse and pulled out her phone, blinking as she tried to scroll through it.

"Are you calling Aria?" Emily asked. Alison looked up at her, "I already did, so you wouldn't have to. Olivia was fine, I'm going to pick her up after school for you to bring her back home…if you're okay with that?"

Alison tilted her head and set her phone down. She placed her palms on the counter and looked at Emily for a second.

"I can pick her up-"

"Nope," Emily cut her off, "you had a concussion, you really shouldn't do anything for a while. You're also off work, for a couple of days, by order from Hackett. Two weeks if you want it, Paige told me when she called."

Alison sighed, rolling her eyes, but didn't comment about it. Emily expected her to stubbornly fight her on it, or want to call Hackett and give him her opinion, but she seemed so tired, she didn't really care.

Instead, Alison pushed herself away from the Island, and towards the living room.

"Girls, do you want anything to drink?" She called.

The girls were pulling out sheets and pillows from the hallway closet to use but paused long enough to consider and reply.

"Hot Choc, mom!" Elaine told her.

"Oooh- that does sound good!" Hadley exclaimed.

Alison snorted and began moving around her kitchen. As she did she paused long enough to ask Emily, "Anything for you?"

"Just water for me and you," she replied, gently. Trying to suggest Alison shouldn't have caffeine yet.

Alison smiled gently and nodded. She was quiet, lost in thought and concentration, trying to gather ingredients and make drinks. Emily leaned against the island counter and watched her. Neither minded the silence.

When Alison was done with the girls' drinks, she called them in and slid them mugs of steaming hot chocolate with a generous amount of whip cream on top, and cookie straws. Elaine grinned at her and kissed her cheek before surprising Emily and pulling her to the living room. Hadley joined in, tugging on her other arm.

"Uh-"

"You're new, so I'll forgive you," that was so Alison. Hadley snorted, as she made herself comfortable on the mattress, "on nights like this we sleep on the couch and watch stuff. Except for mom, really, she has her love seat-"

Elaine motioned to a loveseat with a footrest near the end of it, and Alison took a seat on it. Smiling as Elaine explained their tradition to Emily who looked confused.

"-and you're new, so we're initiating you. You aren't leaving tonight are you?" Emily shook her head. "Good. You get to sleep with us."

"Are you always this bossy?" Emily asked teasingly.

"Hey," Alison chuckled, "she's my daughter. So no, she's usually worse."

Hadley laughed, as she slid into the middle of the couch, as Elaine glared at her mother. It was large enough to fit four grown people if they really wanted it to. Emily rolled her eyes and debated on telling Elaine no because she wasn't used to this.

But, Elaine looked at her, and then something miraculous happened. Elaine pouted, and she laid the puppy dog eyes on thick. Emily pulled back, staring at her. How the fuck was someone able to do that so quickly and strongly? That had to be a fucking super power.

Alison laughed from her spot on the loveseat, "I am so glad it's not just Aria and me who gives in that quickly."

Emily sighed and stripped her jacket off. Elaine beamed at her and moved around the couch to take her designated spot on the other side of Hadley. Emily sat on the edge and tossed her jacket over the back of the couch, she took her shoes off and was acutely aware of how amused Alison was.

"Don't worry, Aria had to go through this too."

Emily rolled her eyes and huffed, "I'm waking you up every four hours to make sure you're okay," she told Alison pointedly.

Alison continued to smile but didn't say anything as she situated herself on the love seat, laying down comfortably.

Emily situated herself next to Hadley on the couch, her back pressed against the back of the couch. Hadley and Elaine surfaced through, on the large t.v. hanging on the wall, trying to find a movie or show to watch.

Eventually, they settled on Xena, and Emily had to keep herself from snorting at the choice. Neither had apparently seen it, but Alison referenced it. So they decided that would be the white noise of the night.

Emily didn't really listen to the show, as much as she kept an eye on Alison and glanced at Elaine who shuffled as close as she could to Hadley. Hadley shifted on her side, so her head was on Elaine's chest, and they fell asleep like that after a while. The episodes still playing in the background.

Alison had an arm thrown over her face, and was breathing steadily. Emily knew she wasn't awake because she'd rock one of her feet back and forth. It was a nervous habit she'd always had when she didn't want to sleep. Emily didn't quite understand it but knew Alison had nightmares. Emily had never been around her when the really bad ones hit, but Alison had explained it to her before.

"Ali?" She called, careful not to wake the two next to her up. Alison moved her arm and looked at her curiously, "Can we talk?"

Alison let out a slow breath, and decided- "Tomorrow?"

"I'd prefer to talk about it now." Emily didn't like letting things linger.

"Tomorrow," Alison let out a slow breath, "we will tomorrow. When you drop Olivia off, we will, I promise. I'm just- not coherent enough right now. You deserve answers, explanations, and I can't give that to you-"

"Okay." Emily sighed, nodding.

Alison gave her a tight smile. She knew Emily was disappointed, but she couldn't help it. She was being honest.

She knew Emily wanted to talk about everything. She was owed an apology for how Alison had treated her, but if they got into it now–Alison wasn't certain she'd be able to answer half of the questions she had.

It was going to be emotionally exhausting, and she didn't have the energy.

"Ali?" Emily called again."

"Hm?"

"You did a good job, on your daughters. You're a good mother."

Alison smiled at her, beaming with pride, and muttered a quiet, "Thank you." It meant a lot to her.