Authors Note: Here's ur fluff :) it was very nice to read honestly. Mentions of child abuse, but that's about it. Have fun!

Please be kind to others and the world around you!

Oh, P.S. to the guest who left the lovely comment, your comment will be replied at the bottom.

"You can play?"

Alison paused, her pen stilled against the paper beneath her hand. She looked up and frowned as Addison and another of her posse, Willa, regarded her curiously. Elaine and Hadley gathered their things up behind them.

They–Addison's group, and Elaine, had all asked if they could eat in her classroom during lunch. None of them had told her why, but just asked if they could, so she'd said yes, the only exception to it, had been, she had to be there. She didn't trust Addison to leave her room in one piece. Emily had been with them, too.

Alison's lips twitched into an amused smile, both at the thought of Emily, and the sight of a guitar, that rested against the chalkboard of her classroom.

The guitar wasn't hers, it was Luke's, a good kid with a big heart, and a unique perspective. He wasn't…into sports, but he loved music. Alison could relate. She'd always loved the piano, one of the only interests she'd ever gotten her parents to spend money on. The promise of recitals and a promising future–she just wanted to learn. She was good.

There had been times in the past, she'd play the piano for the girls at sleepovers. It was only ever when they were hammered, and refusing to sleep. She knew calming songs and could make up her own rhythms. They were asleep a minute in. Spencer would often hum along until she was snoring.

None of them remembered. They asked because they dreamed about it, but she'd never said anything.

She'd even coined a lullaby for them, as a collective group, that she usually played when those times arose. She called it, 'Pretty Little Lullaby'. She still had the last improved sheet music for it, somewhere in her boxes, though she knew it by heart. It was a soothing song she hummed to herself, a lot of the time when she was distraught.

"I know how to play an acoustic," she admitted to Addison, who looked surprised, "but I was trained to play the piano."

"She plays really well too," Elaine backed her up, "We have a grand piano in the house. She sings for me and Liv."

Alison smiled as Addison looked even more surprised.

She wasn't cocky, she knew there were people out there who were…better, but it was a passion she'd had. The singing was natural. She'd started singing as a form of coping. Something that was self-soothing, but it had branched into a much larger love for music.

When Elaine had discovered her own taste in music, Alison had encouraged her.

Alison's taste in music largely didn't connect with Elaine, but it didn't bother her. Music was music, and, it was deeply important to Alison to let her daughter find her own footing. She didn't want a carbon copy of herself. She wanted Elaine to be herself.

The funny thing was, Elaine had drifted more towards metal, darker sounds, and the beauty–understanding inside it. Alison could appreciate that.

"So you got her into, that Benjamin group?" Addison asked.

She hadn't intended for it to sound bitchy, but it had. Alison understood and chuckled as Elaine sighed out, "Breaking Benjamin, It's literally on my shirt, Addison."

"No," Alison admitted, "I'm a country girl, myself. Elaine likes, what she likes, though."

"Oh." Addison paused.

Elaine and Hadley slipped towards the door, paused only long enough for Elaine to move over to her mother and kiss her cheek gently. Hadley grinned and waved as she took Elaine's hand and dragged her out of the room. Willa waited with Addison, mostly quiet.

"I've heard you hum," Addison admitted, "you probably have a good voice."

Addison didn't wait for a reply, instead, she all but marched out of the classroom. With Willa hot on her heels with a yelp of surprise.

Alison stared after her surprised.

Emily appeared at her doorway, only a few seconds after, looking down the hall curiously before she turned back to Alison and jabbed a finger down the hallway as she stepped inside the room.

"Did you turn Addison into a decent person?" Emily asked teasingly.

Alison smiled up at her, leaning forward to press her arms against the desk.

The past week had been nice, really nice. Alison had kept her promise. She'd treated Emily like a friend, a real friend, and Emily had been surprised that it was a little familiar. It just lacked the hateful bitchy-ness of a younger Alison. She'd been putting herself all in, truthfully trying to be a better person.

Emily was still cautious, but she saw the woman Alison was now and found she liked this new Alison, more than she had ever liked Alison before. It was almost terrifying because it was so easy to forget the things Alison had done in the past.

Emily had also been trying. It was hard to put aside her differences, sometimes, and her distrust. Alison knew Emily hesitated after she said things because she was waiting for Alison to snap. To regress and turn into a monster again.

Alison also knew Hanna certainly had an opinion about their reconnection, and Emily wouldn't ever admit to it–but it was affecting her new perception of Alison. Hanna was very much…not a fan, and had reamed Emily. Exclaiming how awful Alison was, how she didn't deserve for anyone to forgive her. How she was probably a terrible mother.

Emily had defended her, and Alison knew Emily truly believed she was a good mother, but she also knew Emily side-eyed her from time to time, when it came to one on one interactions. She was trying so hard to prove herself, and it seemed to be working. She knew, eventually, she would have to talk to Hanna and Spencer, and prove it to them–but for now, she was focused on her daughters and showing Emily who she was.

Emily hadn't looked at her with pity after she'd told Emily the truth. She'd been protective, especially of her daughters, but–she hadn't been treated any differently than being just a friend.

Though Alison, could admit that word, friend, rubbed her the wrong way. She also knew, expressing those feelings was too soon, so she'd done her best to lock them away. Tucking them aside for a better moment, in the far future, when they were ready.

"You forget," Alison chuckled, "I was her. There's no way I can turn someone into a better person. That's your job, Coach Fields."

Emily rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

"Sure, blame the coach," Emily teased, "are we still on, for tonight?"

Alison smiled and nodded, "Yeah. The girls are excited. They like you."

Emily beamed, ever so happily.

Emily had tried her hardest to get the girls to trust her, to like her. She knew if she wanted to be in her life, they were going to be a big part of it. Alison was a mother after all.

Olivia was the easiest. She adored Emily almost instantly, though Emily had to concede Aria was her favorite of all time. Elaine was harder to pin down, but Emily was respectful. She knew Elaine liked her though, but she was cautious. She respected Emily and loved how much happier her mother was around Emily. Elaine also knew the Coach understood her, in a way maybe her mother didn't entirely.

It had been Elaine's idea, for her, Olivia and Emily, and Alison, do something Usually, it was something just Alison would do with her daughters, but they both knew it was Elaine's way of getting to know Emily better.

An at-home movie dinner, and late-night swim, as was a custom for the weekend. Emily was all too excited to give it a go. She loved watching movies, particularly horror movies–though Alison had convinced Emily and Elaine, much to their dismay, Olivia couldn't watch a horror movie and was curious as to what the late-night swim would be like, in the DiLaurentis household.

She had to admit…the house felt so very different, from how it had felt when Alison's parents were around. Alison made it feel like a home, full of love. Her parents had made it feel devoid of emotion. An uncomfortable place.

Emily found herself most days, not wanting to leave.

"I'm glad," she smiled at Alison, "I'm still driving though," she reminded Alison, pointing to the splint still on her right hand.

Alison sighed but her smile remained, "You don't have to-"

"I'm going to," Emily interrupted firmly, "I told you I was going to be your chauffeur, and I keep my promises. Besides, it helps with reconnecting. You can tell a lot about someone by their daily playlists."

Alison chuckled, unable to stop herself, and shook her head.

"I don't really do playlists, Em. I just…put my music on and go."

And it was true. She did.

The only playlists she had, were ones Elaine set up for her. She'd gotten so tired of the random assortment of music and genre–she'd picked up her mother's tablet, opened Spotify, and quizzed her on which songs were better for cleaning and work.

They hadn't made another one since.

"Well," Emily shrugged, tossing her a smile, "now you have a reason to. Don't you?"

Alison rolled her eyes, good-naturedly. Emily smiled back, and silence began to settle until Emily's phone buzzed in her hand. She looked down at it and frowned, deeply.

"Is it Hanna?" Alison asked, carefully.

She hadn't been there, and Emily hadn't said much, but she had caught the tail end of Hanna's rant to Emily about reconnecting with Alison. When Emily turned around and saw Alison standing there, a fallen expression on her face, she'd rushed out a goodbye and hung up. She'd been on Alison's steps, ready to knock when Hanna had called. She'd blurted it out.

They'd sat on her porch and despite how much Emily tried to reassure her Hanna wasn't really upset with her, it was other things going on, and she wasn't as horrible of a mother Hanna assumed she was–she knew Hanna had a right, to an extent, to believe what she did. Not about her parenting skills, but how shitty of a person she was, had been, and likely still was. It didn't matter how much Alison had changed, Hanna wasn't there to see it, so how could she?

It had hurt though. To hear someone assume she was shitty, controlling. She was nothing like her parents and was trying so fucking hard to never become anything like them. Her daughters, her girls, deserved the best damn parent the world had, and she wasn't that, but she aspired to be.

Emily had wrapped an arm around her and Alison took the opportunity to admit her fears and insecurities about her parenting. Emily had been proud of her because she'd opened up without Emily having to pry as she might have in the past. That, in itself, was simply evidence of the change she had evoked in herself.

Alison didn't correct her, or tell her, 'you were changing me before I lost you'.

Emily shook her head as she sent a quick reply, "No. It's…Spencer, she's, going through some things."

Alison hesitated before she asked, "Does it have anything to do with Toby?"

Emily looked up at her surprised, opening her mouth to reply, but nothing came out at first. It was the only answer Alison really needed.

"He did some work on my house," Alison admitted, "he wasn't very…kind, and I kind of guessed, it was more than he had to do some work for me. He was unprofessional."

He had been too. Alison knew it would have gotten him fired if she'd reported him. She felt she owed him and instead took it. She stayed silent only giving him tight-lipped smiles.

His mood had been nasty the entire week his boss had forced him to be there. He'd been incredibly rude, hinting at things, and he'd made the mistake of saying them around Elaine. Alison was tempted to get a D.N.A. test to make sure they weren't related. Elaine wasn't usually like that, but it was a form of the defense mechanism she'd built, growing up around people who asked about her bruises. It seemed to extend to her family.

"Handy Man," Elaine had snapped, "why don't you keep screwing in light bulbs and screws, and stop talking to my mother, because apparently, you can't screw your own head in."

Both Alison and Toby had stared at Elaine as she glared at him, sipping her drink. Toby was surprised she had children, especially one that old, likely thinking they were cousins or nieces the time he had been there. She couldn't even scold Elaine at first, she was so shocked.

"Well, come on, don't you have a job to do?"

"Elaine DiLaurentis!" Alison had hissed behind her, and Elaine had turned around, looking sheepish.

"But…he was being a-" Elaine had poorly tried to defend.

Alison had glared, "I do not care. That was unacceptable. Thank you for trying to stand up for me, but there is a very clear line between standing up for someone and just being mean. Do you understand me?"

Toby had watched, shocked further by her motherly tendencies. He'd left soon after, and his attitude had dropped, but he wouldn't look at her. Elaine hadn't apologized either, because Alison wasn't going to force Elaine to apologize if she didn't mean it.

Still, she didn't want her daughter turning into herself. So she'd made Elaine, at least, help Toby with the rest of the work that had to be done. Toby didn't seem to mind but Elaine had whined about it. Alison hadn't cared and pointedly stared at her daughter until she realized she couldn't get out of it and had marched over to help him.

They worked in relative silence, but Elaine had a habit of asking questions about what he was doing. He didn't mind and answered honestly. She could tell by the end of the week Elaine actually liked him.

When Elaine had asked, later, why he'd acted like that, she was honest. She wasn't certain, but she was an easy target for him. She'd hurt him. She had also been honest with how she'd hurt him. Elaine seemed disappointed but understood her mother wasn't the same person she had been then.

Elaine had liked working with him so much, she had weekly craftsmanship classes he taught, she attended.

"Really?" Emily seemed surprised.

Alison nodded, "I don't blame him for it though. I just noticed."

"It's personal," Emily told her sadly.

Alison nodded, smiling softly to let Emily know she wasn't upset. Not in the slightest. She couldn't be upset.

She wanted to know because she was worried about Spencer, and even Hanna, but she knew she wasn't owed that. She didn't have to know everything.

Emily's phone went off again, and she glanced down, before sighing and looking back up at Alison.

"I have to go, I have tryouts," Alison's eyebrow raised, and Emily groaned, "Hackett politely, told me to. A few members quit, and there's been an interest since I started coaching-"

"I wonder why there's interest," Alison teased. Emily ducked her head, trying to hide her smile, because she was supposed to still be cautious, "but go. Don't worry about it."

"Meet you at the pool, after practice?"

Alison nodded back.

Emily gave her a grin and slipped out of the doorway. Alison couldn't help but chuckle as she heard Emily scold down the hall, "Stop running before you run into more than just your counselor!"

–

The rest of the school day was normal. Alison had to change seating arrangements in two of her classes, the first had been after she'd noticed a girl, Claire, that was deaf, being surrounded by some of the boys on the football team. She couldn't hear what they said, but they chuckled amongst themselves and shrunk further into their seats.

She'd been busy talking, when she'd heard Addison sharp loud-whisper as she snapped, "leave her the fuck alone!"

One of the boys had turned to her and loudly exclaimed, "Why? You're worse than we are."

It was curious, but Alison didn't particularly care about it at the time. They were right. Addison had teased Claire, picked on her, bullied her, Alison had given her detention over it, but she was thankful. Addison glanced at her, and Alison had been so sure she'd meant to grab her attention.

Alison had stared at the group of boys until they'd looked back at her.

"See something you like?" One of them had joked, rousing a round of laughs.

"Grow up, she's a dyke, you idiot," Addison had snapped.

"And my mother," Elaine had scowled at them.

The boys had shied away from Elaine and Addison's glares, and she was…proud. Addison and Elaine had shared knowing nods, and Alison had spoken up.

"I'm happy to write anyone up who thinks it's okay to talk to a teacher like that," She'd warned, and the boys had further sunk into their seats, "now. Here's what I'm going to do, I want the boys-" she'd gestured to the ones around Claire, who Addison stared at, "-to stand up. You're all permanently stuck in the front row."

They'd grumbled, but everyone had laughed at them. Elaine had grinned at her, giving her a thumbs-up, and Addison had continued to stare at Claire, with concern on her face until the bell rang.

Alison planned to make the boys work harder. She didn't necessarily make things easier for the sports kids, but she was particularly understanding when it came to pressure and didn't mind giving extensions on things. Now, that would be limited. If they had the time to bother another student, they had time to do their work.

In the other class, there was just a group of louder girls that had to be separated.

By the time she was ready to meet Emily, she was tired. She walked the distance to the nearby elementary school and picked up her youngest daughter.

Olivia chatted, happily, with her about her day, though she'd been slightly disappointed when Aria hadn't been with her mother. A reminder of the nights' potential events was all Olivia needed to forget about her sadness over her favorite person because Emily was her second favorite.

When they entered the pool area, Alison was surprised to find silent, shy Claire from earlier, sitting on the benches watching as Emily pulled her group of girls together to talk a final time. She was watching the group nervously, shaking her leg with anxiety. Alison wanted to walk over and reassure her, or at least, ask what was wrong–but she didn't get the chance.

The group broke apart, and Addison turned to look over. She gave Claire a small smile, wave, that Claire returned before Claire stood up and left rather quickly. Alison stared, trying to understand why Claire was there at all–but her thoughts were shoved aside.

"Sissy! Haddy!"

Olivia focused on Elaine and Hadley, and shot forward, speeding over the slippery tile. Alison didn't have a chance to stop her, she gasped out, "Olivia!"

It was too late.

Olivia began to slip, fall, however, Emily turned and scooped her up with a single jacket-covered arm. Olivia clung to her arm tightly, and blinked, unafraid, but taking in her surroundings. She grinned up at Emily.

"You saved me!" Emily laughed, "You're a superhero!" Olivia turned to her approaching mother who had a hand pressed over her chest, "Mommy! Em- Emily, is a superhero!"

"Jesus, Olive!" Hadley exclaimed, pulling her attention away, "You're lucky she is a superhero!" Hadley winked at Emily who rolled her eyes.

"Liv," Elaine sighed, leaning forward to kiss her sister's cheek, "Please-"

"Olivia Jill DiLaurentis," Alison frowned, "what were you thinking?"

"Nope…she's got it covered, come on Haddy," Elaine breathed out, pulling Hadley towards the locker rooms and showers. Neither of them wanted to face her mother's wrath, though, Alison wasn't even…bad. Just incredibly concerned.

Emily shifted uncomfortably, Olivia still tucked into her side with a single arm. Olivia frowned, threatening to cry, and Emily saw Alison almost forget to remind her daughter of the importance of safety.

She quietly passed Olivia to Alison who took her gently and held her close. Emily hadn't seen Alison this worried before, but it was logical. Olivia was still a baby in Alison's eyes and could have gotten hurt. She was lucky Emily was there.

Emily had moved on pure instinct. She wasn't going to let a child, especially Olivia, get hurt if she could prevent it. She could. She did. Everything was fine.

"Olivia," Alison sighed, kissing her cheek, "you can't do that, okay? You have to be really careful and not run around pools. You could have gotten hurt, I know you just wanted your sister."

"I'm sorry mommy," Olivia's voice wobbled.

"It's alright, baby," Alison tried to soothe her, pressed another kiss to her cheek, and let out a slow breath.

Olivia wasn't convinced until Emily placed a hand on her back and smiled down at the girl, offering a soft,

"I'll always catch you, okay?"

Alison smiled as Olivia beamed at her, before reaching for her. Alison laughed as Emily was forced to take her before she fell out of Alison's hands. Olivia wrapped her arms around Emily's neck and hugged her tightly, thanking her another thirteen times before the girls were filtering out of the locker rooms.

"Are you dating anyone?" Hadley asked teasingly as she and Elaine made their way over.

Alison froze, suddenly not wanting to hear the answer, but Emily didn't get a chance to answer.

"Because it looks like, they might have competition for your affection," Hadley gestured to Olivia with a grin.

"They'd lose, Olivia always wins," Elaine laughed.

Emily rolled her eyes and turned to Alison, "Are you ready to go? We can leave these two here, to walk home."

Elaine and Hadley scrambled towards the pool door as Alison replied, "Sure, if they're not there by the time we get in the car."

They both laughed at the ridiculous sight of the girls trying to fight their way out of the door.

Emily carried Olivia all the way to the car, but sat her in her seat and took a step back as Elaine turned around to do it for her. Emily only stopped Elaine, as she became frustrated with the janky car seatbelt.

Emily pulled it out, tugged on it twice, and then clicked it shut in the proper place around the car seat. Alison watched with a smile as Emily explained it was just old, her mothers, and took a little bit of tough love. Elaine rolled her eyes and mocked her jokingly until Alison stared at her. Emily grinned at Elaine knowingly and closed the door as she slid into the front seat.

Alison shook her head again and watched as Emily buckled herself with a large grin.

–

Alison laughed, mostly to herself, as Olivia threw herself at her sister who nearly lost balance of her empty bowl and huffed in surprise.

"Swim time!" Olivia hollered, grabbing the front of her sister's shirt, and tried to shake her, "Come on! Let's go!"

Elaine sighed, rolling her eyes as she grabbed both of her sister's hands inside her own palm, and pulled her shirt free. Olivia continued to grin up at her and shook herself again, buzzing with excitement. She cried out in excitement.

"Alright! Alright!" Elaine's voice rose above her sisters, "Come on, Liv! Calm down for a second, I can't do anything when you're shaking me like a freakin' tumbler."

Olivia paused, scrunching her face, "What's a tum-bl-er?"

Elaine sighed out, before she turned to her mother who was watching, next to Emily, with amusement. Alison smiled softly.

"Can I take her to get ready, before I get brain damage?" On cue, Olivia rocked forward, thunking her forehead against her sisters. Elaine winced, but Olivia pressed her forehead to her sisters and grinned.

"I think you better," Alison laughed, nudging her head towards the staircase, "Go on. We'll get ready and meet you by the pool, okay, baby girl?"

Elaine nodded, and stood, wrapping her arms around her sister. Once they were up the stairs and out of sight, Alison leaned forward, placing her and Emily's bowls on the coffee table despite the reluctance to let her. There was no way she was going to let a guest clean dishes, though she knew Emily would try.

"I don't understand how Olivia is so…hyper, and Elaine is pretty relaxed," Emily chuckled as Alison leaned back in her spot, clearly too comfortable to move yet, "they're- related aren't they?"

Alison hadn't realized it, but she hadn't talked about her daughters, but she supposed the girls had the same eyes, the same noses. They shared enough similarities. Alison didn't look like either of them, save for having blonde hair and blue eyes.

Elaine wasn't white, not like her sister or herself was. It was hard to convince people she was Elaine's mother sometimes, but people believed all too easily that she was Olivia's biological mother. Though, she didn't even know who that was. She'd never really cared after a social worker had informed her Olivia's mother didn't want her. Had left a note for Alison to read, that made her blood boil.

"Yeah," Alison smiled, rolling her head to the side to talk to Emily, "you've never seen Elaine on a swim meet day, though, or…when she gets to go see a horror movie. You know- I don't really know where the obsession with horror movies comes from."

Emily shrugged, "I like them too," she reminded Alison, "I can't explain it. It seems like Olivia is more hype about the swimming though."

Alison laughed at that.

Regular swimming, yes. When it came to the technical side of the sport, she didn't really care. She got bored pretty easily if she wasn't participating and got antsy.

Alison hadn't missed a swim meet yet, but she'd learned over the years, raising both of the girls, to bring plenty to distract Olivia. Games, a tablet–anything to hold her interest long enough until her sister was up, then she'd focus on screaming out her support. It was actually cute.

Olivia had been with Alison since she was a baby. Alison had been through changing diapers, needing a bottle–the new baby panic in public. She'd had to resort to getting a babysitter for meets, so she could never miss a meet. Now, she could take Olivia, and it was almost joyous. Entertaining a four-year-old in the middle of a public event could be hard, but she knew her daughters well enough.

"Trust me, Elaine can be, she's just…very serious about it," Emily nodded, and Alison's smile grew, "She actually reminds me a lot of you, at this age."

"Really?"

"Mhm," Alison nodded, "super serious about swimming. She also likes to practice a lot, she feels…very at home in the water, fluid, like you."

Emily smiled back and tilted her head, "So she's a mermaid too?"

"No one can be a mermaid but you," Alison told her, and Emily blinked in surprise, "besides, she's my siren. If you pay attention to her, when she's just…floating, she hums and sings a lot. She's got a good voice, too."

The first time Alison had caught her swimming late at night, she'd heard the soft singing at first. She thought someone had broken in to use the pool. Instead, she'd found Elaine, on her back, singing to herself.

"It helps clear my head, to be in the water." Elaine had admitted.

Emily smiled at that. She pushed herself off of the coach, rather than reply to her. Alison looked up at her curiously, before Emily turned to her and waited.

"Well, come on, Mother," Emily teased her, "if we don't get a move on, your youngest may just launch herself at us."

Alison rolled her eyes and forced herself to stand up. Emily continued to smile at her.

"You're right," Alison conceded, "I'm going to get changed, if you need a place to change, you can use the first bathroom you find, just…make sure you lock it. Olivia does not care, she will open any unlocked door."

"Wow…that is so incredibly Hanna," Emily laughed as Alison moved towards the stairs.

Alison grinned at her before disappearing down the hall.

–

Alison glanced down from the edge of the pool, staring down. She sipped her glass of tea slowly and shifted the tablet underneath her arm. She hardly went anywhere on the property without it.

She'd had a set of lights installed in the pool, they glittered in the dusk sunset, brilliantly. The lights set up around the area of the deck and pool were newer, RGB, bulbs, set to a warm yellow. Olivia's favorite color.

Alison tilted her head and noted one of the bulbs towards the bottom of the pool was going out. She needed to have someone come out and replace it because she didn't trust herself to do it properly. They were…expensive, and while she could master the craft of almost anything if she tried–she didn't want to risk spending more than necessary.

She hadn't needed to use her trust yet, and she really didn't want to.

Olivia laughed loudly, and Alison looked up. There she found Elaine swimming around the length of the pool with Olivia on her back, floaties pressed into her bare skin. Alison smiled as she shook her head.

Emily floated in the middle of the pool, a black two-piece, that made Alison stare at her, laughed as Elaine took a careful dive under the water when her sister asked her to. They resurfaced and Olivia took a second before she laughed in excitement at the feeling of it. Alison smiled to herself, both of her girls loved the water. She wasn't a swimmer, or as fond as Emily was, but she was glad they had something.

Alison's eyes snapped to a long brighter scar, that was cut into Elaine's left shoulder blade. She was grateful Emily hadn't asked about it, though she had looked concerned. She could have explained it, she had been there.

She'd watched Elaine, brave little nine-year-old, almost ten, Elaine, rush in to try and help her. Wilden had a knife in his hand, and was so rage-filled, he'd grabbed Elaine, pinning her to the ground, and cut into her. Alison had pushed herself off of the ground and flew at him for the second time.

Her brave little Elaine.

Still, Alison was surprised by how comfortable Elaine was knowing Emily probably had stared at the scars.

Alison could relate. She had her…fair share. She had several scars on her arms, her back was littered with them, despite the tattoo on her back and shoulder, and there were a few on her thighs. Her front, abdomen, had a couple, but they were generally smaller. Her chest was the worst. On her collarbone. She didn't wear revealing clothes anymore.

The scar cut across the right side of her collarbone, in a diagonal line, towards her breast. It stopped a few inches from her breast. It could be incredibly sensitive.

Alison shifted at the memory and sighed, adjusting the see-through lacey, baggy, short sleeve, yellow shirt she'd thrown on. It covered the majority of her scars or at least hid them a little. She wasn't ashamed, she just hated being stared at. It was bad enough Paige and Aria had seen the one on her chest by accident.

Aria had accidentally walked in on her changing at the school, in a stall after a student had accidentally spilled a drink over her shirt. Aria gasped and stared. Paige had worriedly shuffled closer and stared as well.

She still…hadn't told either of them, everything, like she had Emily–but enough that they could have easily guessed.

She never brought up the scar on the back of her head. You could only really feel it, and no one had ever been close enough for that, since she'd gotten it. Maya might know it existed, Mrs. Grunwald too, but that was the extent of it.

"Mom! Are you coming in or what?" Elaine called from her end of the pool.

Alison rolled her eyes, but a smile formed. Olivia was doggy paddling her way to Emily who grinned at her, opened arms, and cheered her on.

"Give me a second, El," she chuckled, "patience is a virtue."

Alison gently dropped the tablet, in its waterproof case, on the closest table, next to her drink as Elaine began slowly swimming her way. When she turned back around, she saw Emily's eyes travel from her legs up to her face. An odd look on her face. Alison worried it was the few visible scars, especially the one on her inner thigh.

"Do you have your waterproof glove on your cast?" Elaine impatiently asked as she rested her elbows against the side of the pool, in front of her mother who glanced down at her.

"It's a splint," Alison corrected, raising her arm, there was indeed a near-bag-like structure over her hand, though she knew she would have to keep her hand mostly above water, "but yes."

"Cool!" Elaine paused before she grinned, "Sorry, I love you."

"What-"

Before Alison could react, Elaine pushed herself up, shooting out of the water for a split second. She grabbed the front of her mother's shirt and yanked her down, into the pool. Emily jumped back, Olivia secure in her arms, as Alison let out a helpless yell and fell.

The water was incredibly cold, for someone who only ever swam with her daughter. It suddenly surrounded her. They were at the deepest end of the pool too.

Alison pulled herself to the surface of the water, sputtering out a surprised breath, as she tried to get her bearings and looked around. Elaine was already at the other end of the pool, she laughed as she took Olivia into her arms for safety, and she saw Emily tried not to laugh at the state of her.

Alison glared at both of them, frowning as she tried to reach for the back of her shirt. It was wet and only felt heavy, it didn't do much now. She struggled though, and threw Elaine another glare as she asked,

"Do you need help, mom?"

"No," Alison grumbled, frowned, though there was no real heat behind her glares, "no I do not-"

She struggled further, only able to pull it slightly over her head before it became just a mess to try and rip off. She groaned and gave up.

"Here, Ali," Emily laughed, as she swam over as Alison turned around to hide in shame, "let me help you."

"No, you were laughing," Alison whined.

"I'm sorry," no she wasn't, "let me help."

Alison let out a sigh but let Emily.

Emily grabbed the bottom of her shirt, scrunching it up in her hands as she lifted it towards Alison's head. Alison sighed in relief as it came over the top of her head, and she was able to pull it off completely and throw it beside the pool.

"Thanks, Em." No reply. She dropped her eyebrows and started to turn around, "Em?"

Then she felt fingertips. Gentle fingertips that pressed against the length of the tattoo she had, one she'd forgotten about for a moment.

Oh. Fuck.

She froze, afraid that if she moved Emily would rip herself away and be…weirded out.

It was weird. She didn't really want to explain it to Emily, though…it was probably superfucking obvious. She just–what if Emily thought she'd gotten it for the…wrong reasons? God.

It felt weird.

The tattoo was a watercolor tattoo of a mermaid. It was over the left side of her back, the tail started from a couple of inches below her pants line, and the tattoo ended over her shoulder, clearly visible if her shoulders were visible in shirts. The mermaid itself was swimming, with blue ripples around her, her face turned to her side profile beneath the water. Her tail was dipped into the air, giving the illusion she was currently swimming. She was peaceful, but the waves around her gave the impression she was swimming fast. The parts of her that were meant to be underwater, including her brunette hair, had a blue tint to them.

Her skin was a tan olive color. Her tail also had the green, red, orange pattern of a Picturesque Dragonet, a fish native to the Philippines. It was a gorgeous fish. It was a fish Emily's family had had before. There was no doubt who the mermaid was supposed to be. It took up the majority of the left side of her back.

Alison, however, inhaled sharply as Emily paused at the four-inch-long nasty scar that was hidden in the pattern of the mermaid's tail. She couldn't remember what had done it, she just remembered…her mother hitting her with something hot. She'd had to be taken to the E.R. after her mother had panicked about what she'd done, it being…too much.

Her father had wanted to leave it alone. Alison had been so dissociated, she didn't know what was happening until her father was shaking her in the hospital parking lot, screaming at her to get her shit together. She'd missed school for a few days.

Emily's hand drifted from that scar to many of the others on her back. Her back was littered with old scars, deep ones, ones that were almost gone, and others she was certain would stay there for forever. It was her parent's favorite place to hit her because it was the easiest to conceal the damage they'd done. She knew every scar, every pattern, and how she'd gotten them, but most had been done by the belt.

The four on her arms, two on each, had been done by the second belt with the studs in junior year. They were mostly on her upper arms, but one, on her left arm, ran from her elbow to a few centimeters from her wrist. She didn't wear short sleeves often, because of it.

"Ali…this is…" Awful.

Alison sighed and turned around in the water. She prepared herself. Her bikini top showed off most of the chest scar. She glanced behind Emily, to note Elaine watching them but keeping her sister busy. To provide them this moment, but still worried about her mother.

Emily's eyes slipped to her chest, to the scar, and she…wanted so badly, to make a joke but she couldn't. Not when the memory behind it was one of her darkest, and she just…wasn't ready to talk about it, to open up about that night.

Without thinking, Emily reached up, her thumb rubbing against where it started on her collarbone. Alison exhaled shakily, and…it had been so long since anyone had ever touched her with this kind of care. She- fuck.

Her eyes dropped to Emily's lips, and she wanted to lean forward to kiss her. She wanted so badly to whisper things she knew she shouldn't, because it was too soon. Instead, she forced her eyes upward, to Emily's face, and grabbed the hand on her collarbone. She squeezed Emily's hand as Emily looked back up at her face.

"I'm fine," she told her truthfully, "It's old."

Emily opened her mouth, then closed it. Whatever she wanted to say…she hesitated.

"I won't let anything hurt you or Elaine ever again," Emily told her instead, and the fire in her eyes…Alison believed her, it made her gasp, "ever. You're safe with me, I swear. All three of you."

Alison was so overcome with emotion, she swallowed and leaned forward. Emily stilled, and Alison forced herself to press a gentle kiss to her cheek. She pulled back and smiled, as Emily looked…uncertain.

"I-" say it, "-adore you, Em."

Alison swam around her, drifting towards her daughters, trying her hardest to not get her splint wet in its bag.

"Come on, Coach! We can play chicken!" Elaine called, and Emily whipped around.

"No! No we are not!" Alison looked between the two of them, "Olivia is too young-"

Elaine grinned then, looking at Emily, and then her mother, "then we can…team up on mom, you know she never plays fair."

Emily grinned finally, and Alison's eyes widened as she tried to swim backward, towards the steps to the pool.

"No! We will not pick on-" It didn't matter.

Emily picked her up, in her arms, and tossed her gently, further into the pool. Before she could react, Elaine had thrown herself at her mother, who wrapped her arms around her daughter. Elaine laughed as Emily dropped Olivia onto Alison's back.

Emily grinned at the three of them.

Alison glared, "Emily Catherine Fields," Elaine snorted, "you are next!"

Emily laughed, swimming away, as Elaine took it as a challenge and swam after her. Olivia clung to her mother's back as Alison rushed for her, giggling the entire time.

NOTE:

To the guest- I have read essentially every bit of Infatuation and everything by Forever Without Him. TOTALLY recommend the author, phenomenal writing. It definitely helped inspire me to go as dark as I felt was needed, but the idea for this fic started around the time I got into PLL. Which was months before I read it.

The history with Alison was actually somewhat inspired by my own experiences (childhood abuse survivor, went through the foster care system as well.) but I think you're referring to Wilden mostly? I won't spoil anything, because you will be getting SOME answers in a couple of chapters. You will also learn more of what happened that night she confronted Wilden, and the night Maya and Grunwald found Alison. Just know, the similarities weren't done consciously. I do, however, take that as a compliment! If it was meant as one!

The main inspiration for this was, when I first got into PLL I noticed similarities between myself and Alison which made me wonder...and spitballed into this idea. I also liked the idea of Mom!Alison, and how that wasn't explored in the show. So I did what I wanted and it kept getting deeper and deeper until I had no choice but to write it.

ALSO I do read other fics, some of my favorites have to be Tapestry of Scars by Forever Without Him, and The Worst Game To Play by brwrites. There's more, but this is getting long, so.

I do have a question for readers, how do you all feel about Elaine as a character? And Hadley?

Also yes, I am doing what I want with Addison Derringer because I like making characters more dimensional :)

And thank you to everyone who reviews! They keep me going and fueled, I also love reading what you guys think honestly. It makes writing fic, fun again.