CH 94 – YOU

"Goodnight my angel, time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you've been asking me
I think you know what I've been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
Then you should always know
Wherever you may go, no matter where you are

I never will be far away..."

Alison rocks little Betty in her arms, as she softly sings the lullaby which always makes Betty fall asleep with a happy smile...

"I never will be far away... I promise..." The blonde softly kisses the sleepy head of the baby, and, the baby girl feels happy, loved, protected in the arms of her dear mother...

*** Betty's narrative (voice-over) ***

You should always know that life happens in a blink of an eye. And sometimes, the best moments in your life are those you barely remember... or those you don't even plan on having at all...

"C'mon guys! We need to leave now, or, we will get stuck in traffic!" Emily says, when she grabs the car keys and waits for the rest of the family at the front door...

The brunette was excited, thrilled to camp with the family! For the boys, college is around the corner. Time flies, in a blink of an eye, she can't believe the boys are already in their senior year while the twins are starting high school. This might be the last thing they do before the boys go to college, so, Emily wants it to be perfect.

"Kids! Ali! C'mon! Let's go!" Emily looks at her watch, and, she's trying to push her family to get into the car as soon as possible to avoid traffic.

And, while the brunette is waiting for the family at the front door... upstairs. Her wife is walking towards the door which has the big sign 'do not disturb'. But, like the QB she's, Alison gets insides, ignoring the sign...

"What the hell?! I put the sign 'do not disturb'!" Betty angrily snaps, because she doesn't like it when her mother doesn't respect her privacy...

"Is this a hotel? No! So, no signs 'do not disturb' on the doors, your mom is waiting for us. What are you waiting to go downstairs...?" The temperamental blonde teen rolls her eyes. Alison looks at the unfinished suitcase, and, says "You haven't finished packing?"

"I'm not going. I don't want to go. I don't like camping. There will be mosquitoes, no wifi, and, I don't like that..." Betty goes back to the bed, she's starting to read her fashion magazine because she's pretty sure she will get away with her wishes, like always, but, she will not...

God knows that Alison dislike camping as much as Elizabeth. Both blondes are not fan of nature and, being in the woods. But, this trip is important for Emily, so, they are going... even if they don't want to... Alison takes away the magazine and takes as a hostage, Betty's phone...

"Hey! That's mine! Give it back!"

"You want your phone and magazine back. You'll have them both, when I see you downstairs, ready to go..."

"I don't want to go!"

"And, do you think I want to go to the middle of nowhere too?! NO! But, this is not optional, and, it's important for your mother, so, you're coming..."

"No, I'm not! Mom will understand... she will give me a free pass like always..."

Alison takes deep breaths, it's just 7am of the morning, and, she's already losing it because of Betty. This should be kind of a new record...

"Hey! Don't walk away with my phone! This is so unfair!" Alison smirks when she sees how upset looks the teen girl when Alison walks towards the door, taking away from Betty, her magazine, and, her phone...

"You think I'm unfair? Well, so it's life..." Alison stands under the door frame and says "You better be downstairs, ready, in less than 10 minutes or I swear to God, Elizabeth that, I'll leave you without a phone for the rest of the year!"

"I hate you!" Alison tries to not take to the heart Betty's words, but, it really makes her sad to hear such words from her kid...

*** Betty's narrative (voice-over) ***

Most of the time, we don't know the weight of our words. We speak out without really think of the impact of our words. About how much we hurt those who does nothing more than love us unconditionally... yeah, a word can cause more pain than any weapon in this world... YOU taught me that...

"Why you've Betty's phone?" Emily asks to her wife and, the blonde has no idea of what to say, so, she avoids the question when she yells at the kids to get to the front door now...

Like always, the first one who's ready is Wayne. Emily smiles looking at her handsome boy. She sees her father in him and nothing could make her happier...

Wayne whistles to his siblings and the next one to appear is Enzo, who slides down over the handrail of the stairs, landing with style and without getting hurt this time...

"Enzo! How many times we have to tell you not to slide like that! You can get hurt!" The blond boy nods, he hugs his protective mothers. But, he'll keep doing extreme things like sliding over the handrail of the stairs because it's the kind of things he really loves to do...

"Pepe & me! Reporting for duty!" Everyone chuckles when Alice makes her entrance. The blonde raises her hand up to her brow and holds the salute like a little soldier. She and Pepe look like if they were ready to go to the war...

"Alice, honey. We're going to camp. Not to a war..." Emily says as she looks the outfit of the dear blonde. And, the outfit is not the only thing that Alice got wrong because...

"Sweetie, Pepe is not coming..." Alice sadly pouts when Alison points out that the dog can't come. Alice really doesn't want to leave the dog behind. He's her BFF, and, she cannot imagine facing the woods without her loyal friend at her side...

"Please, moms, please, let him come..." Emily's soft heart is already giving up at the pout of her dear kid. And, she would love to bring the dog with them, but, with all the camping things they're bringing, there's no space in the car for the dog, that's why...

(At the Hastings house)

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Blair says when she hears the knock on the door. And, she happily smiles when she sees her best friend there, when she opens the door...

"Hi Ali!"

"Hi, Blair..."

It has been already a week since the brunette came back to town with her two daughters. Alison is happy to have her friend back, living in the next door. But, she's sad to see that not the entire family came back...

"So, no news about Spencer yet?" Blair shakes her head, she gets a knot in her throat when the name of her wife is pronounced. The Senator Hastings hasn't even called her, yes, Spencer has checked out how the girls are going, but, she hasn't dared to have a real talk with Blair since the doctor left her...

Was Blair expecting Spencer to make a move? Yes, she was but, sadly the dear doctor was starting to think that it will never happen, and, that really makes her sad...

"It's gonna be okay, B..." Alison tries to cheer up her friend, offering her a big hug. And, Blair smiles under the embrace. She's happy to be back in town and get the support of the woman who is and always be her best friend. And, they were hugging when someone loudly barks...

"I'm happy to see you too, Pepe..." Blair chuckles and starts to caress the furry head of the dog...

"Sorry to ask you this, but, we appreciate if you can take care of Pepe for the weekend..."

"It's okay Ali. We have talked about it. And, I'd love the company right now to be honest..." Alison nods, and, now that Blair points out that she wants company, she realizes that the house is very quiet...

"Where are the girls...?"

"With Spencer's mom. Veronica will have them for the weekend. Something about a Hastings' family event. Veronica told me I could go too, but, to be honest, I'm not ready to deal with Spencer's family right now..."

Blair can already imagine all the kind of questions that her dear daughters might be facing right now. Blair feels bad for not being brave enough to face the Hastings. But, Blair is not ready to answer any question because she's not sure where she stands with Spencer right now...

Are they gonna take a break? Are they gonna get the divorce? Who will fill the divorce? Who will stay with the kids? So many questions... so many decisions that Blair has to make and, she wants to take the time to really think about it, in her own pace, without the pressure of others. And, that's why she cannot face Spencer's family neither her own family... not till she's sure of what she wants to do for herself and for the well-being of her kids...

"Well, I might not be here this weekend to talk with you. But, Pepe is a great listener and he gives amazing advices, so, you'll be in good hands..." Blair chuckles and nods. Talking to a dog about her marital problems wasn't the kind of therapy she was expecting to get, but, maybe it's what she needs to clear her head...

"Have a nice trip..." Alison nods, but to be honest, she's not sure, if this gonna be a nice trip at all...

(In the car)

"Are we there yet?"

"Elizabeth, we just left the house 10 minutes ago..." Betty rolls her eyes when Alison points out that just 10 minutes have passed. In Elizabeth's defence, it has been the most tedious 10 mn in her life...

"Why there's like thousands degree in here?! I'm burning up..." Emily immediately puts in motion the air conditioning when Betty whines about the temperature in the car. But while her princess Betty wants a cold breeze, others might want the contrary...

"Mom! I'm freezing, turn off the air conditioning..." Oliver and Alice complain at the unison...

"NO! I'm burning..." Betty loudly says. It might be two against one, but, Betty is not ready to lose this battle. And all the kids start to argue about it...

"God, help us..." Alison mumbles as she softly massages her head while she hears her kids arguing about the air conditioning...

"Ali, C'mon. It's not so bad..." Alison rolls her eyes at Emily's optimism. The blonde loves her kids more than anything but, this is just like their trip to Disneyland all over again...

Back then, the boys were 8 years old and the twins 6. And, the idea of bringing the kids to see Mickey seemed to be a great idea, just like now. But, they couldn't be more wrong...

Like now, each minute, one of the kids didn't stop asking if they were there yet. Screaming, yelling, fighting in the car. Getting sick, getting hipper active for all the sugar they ate at the park... yeah, Disneyland was far to be a magical memory for the two mothers...

Emily & Alison barely survived that family trip without losing their temper. These two women have faced the worst dramas and survived them, but are they ready to survive another family trip with 5 temperamental teenagers?

"Don't push the back of my seat, Enzo!" Betty whines and, angrily gazes at her brother who's in the back seat...

"I didn't push anything! I just moved..."

"Well, then don't move at all..."

"I'll move as much as I want!" Betty wants to snap, but, Emily asks her to play nice. And, Betty puffs her cheeks, because, for Emily, Betty's willing to make the effort to not be a bitch during the rest of the trip, but, that promise doesn't last long because 5 minutes later...

"Alice! Stop moving the seat!"

"What do you mean, Betty?"

"Don't play dumb, Alice. I see you, I see right through you..."

"I've no idea of what you're talking about..."

Alice was being honest. She hasn't moved a finger since she got into the car, and that's because she doesn't like to move a lot in a car in motion or, she might get car sick...

"What happened about playing nice?" Wayne asks to Elizabeth, who's just looking for a fight for no reason...

"Done... over... I'm getting back to be me..." Everyone rolls their eyes, except Emily, who seems more focused on the road than on what is happening inside her car...

Trying to improve the air between all the kids. Alison turns on the radio... maybe a little of music will calm down the waters...

"Is that retro music?" Emiliy and Alison feel offended by the comment. They know they're grown-up, but, they are not old people... or, at least that's what they like to think about themselves...

"Retro? Since when N'Sync is retro?" The kids frown, they have no idea of who is N'Sync at all...

"Whatever, where are the snacks? I didn't eat breakfast at all..."

"And, who's fault is that? You took hours to get ready, Betty..."

"Well, excuse me, Wayne! But, not everyone is thrilled to come to this trip!"

"What?" Emily asks, she's not sure if she heard well what her little princess said, and, Alison doesn't want to see Emily, getting hurt by the harsh words of their daughter, so, she quickly changes the subject, when she indicates to the kids where she put all the snacks and some sandwiches for the road...

"Yey! I want to eat something!" Enzo says with a big smile while he stretches behind him, trying to catch the bags of food...

"You just ate a huge sandwich before leaving the house?" Oliver points out. He's always surprised to see how much Enzo can eat without getting the extra pounds...

"Yeah, and that was 20 minutes ago... so, I'm starving now!"

"I'm starving too..." Alice says, she always gets hungry when Enzo talks about food. And the blonde happily smiles when, Enzo put on her lap her favorite sandwich of Tuna and eggs...

No one knows their taste of food better than Alison. So, it's not a surprise to find out that Alison made the time to make the favorite lunch for each one of them, including the girl who never appreciate this kind of gestures...

"Is there avocados in this?" Alison nods when Betty grabs her lunch. The blonde mother gives a list of all the ingredients she put in, and Betty smiles when she sees that all she loves is in her lunch box...

"You could say 'thanks mom'..." Betty rolls her eyes when Oliver tries to persuade her to say something nice towards Alison...

"It's okay Ollie. I don't mind..." It was a lie, but, Alison will never admit how badly she wants to hear something nice coming from her child's mouth. She might not get to hear something nice from Betty but the rest of the kids yell a big 'thanks' and 'you're the best!' when they devour the food. Alison smiles a lot. It makes her happy to make them happy...

"Guys, guys! Careful to not take too much liquids, okay? I'll not make any stop for the next 2 hours..." The kids ignore Emily's warning and the brunette just sighs as she drives because once again, her kids doesn't hear a word of what she's saying... now she knows what Pam felt each time that she didn't put attention to Pam's words...

"Sweetie, don't eat too much so fast, remember you get car sick sometimes..." Alison says when she sees Alice through the wing mirror, devouring a sandwich and getting ready to eat another one...

(30 minutes later...)

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet...?" Betty doesn't stop to make the same question over and over, as a broken record...

"Shut up!" Enzo mumbles, and, this time he really kicks the seat of Betty, trying to force the girl to stop annoying them...

"Hey! This time I saw you!" Betty angrily turns around and she starts to get into a fight with Enzo...

"Great... they are fighting now..." Alison mumbles and Emily decides to deal with it, this time...

"Kids, we're gonna be in the car for the next 2 hours, so, knock it off... okay?" Emily speaks but her words don't make any difference. It's till Alison loudly say them to stop that and, Enzo and Betty start stopping fighting...

"They always listen to you..." Alison smugly smiles when Emily points out how strongly she can put order on the family. They keep an eye on Betty and Enzo, but, to be honest, they should really put more attention to the blonde who's sitting just between Oliver and Betty, because Alice doesn't feel well, especially after all the commotion in the car...

"I... I don't feel good... I..." Alice bends forwards and, throws up at the feet of her twin...

"OMG! Oh! Augh! ALICE!" Betty tries to avoid the vomit. And, the rest of the kids try to cover their faces to avoid the bad smell of it...

"In the bag, Alice! In the bag!" Alison says, as she turns around and tries to give Alice a bag to throw up inside...

"We will get through this together..." Emily mumbles to herself as she grips hard on the steering wheel. Trying to remember why, this was a good idea at all... because till now, this was just like Disneyland all over again. And, while this family was getting ready to spend a weekend in the woods, another family was trying to find its way back together...

(At the Hastings house)

"What are you doing here?" It's the first thing that Blair said when she opened the door and saw Spencer, standing there...

To be honest, Spencer is not sure what to say, mostly because she's here today because Alison got the shit out of her when she called this morning...

'I swear to God, Spencer! If you don't come to Rosewood and fix this fucking mess that you created with your family. I don't care if you're a Senator in Washington! I'll go to the Senate and kick your ass!' It's what Alison said over the phone. And, Spencer gulps hard because she's 100% sure that Alison would literally kick her ass in front of all the Senate... the Queen Bee is capable to do that and so much more...

"Spencer...?"

But independently of Alison's threat, Spencer knows that sooner or later she has to face Blair and talk. Alison just pushed her to do it now...

"Spence, if you're not going to say anything, then..." Blair was closing the door when Spencer steps into the house without asking at all. "Hey! Get out!" Pouts, the dear doctor...

"This is my childhood house, you know...?" Blair rolls her eyes, she closes the door and make tea for the two of them. "Why did you come here, anyway? This is my home town and..."

"YOU are not the only who lived here!" Spencer stops talking when Blair angrily points out that this town is hers town as much as Spencer's. And yeah, Blair had plenty of options where she could go, but, being in Rosewood, it felt right, it feels right because after all, here, she's not alone or, at least she doesn't feel alone anymore...

"Do you still love me...?"

"Of course I do, Blair... I..."

"I feel alone all the time, Spence. Even when you were there, you weren't present in our lives... and, I don't want that... I can't take that anymore. I deserve better, we deserve better..." Both of them are there, but, they have never felt more alone in their lives. And, Spencer is not stranger to the loneliness but, that doesn't mean she likes it...

"You should be in the event of your family, Spencer. What are you doing here?"

"You're my family..." Blair sadly mocks when she hears Spencer's words. And, it breaks Spencer's heart to hear the ironic laugh of her wife. Because yeah, they are separated for now, but, Blair is still her wife, HERS! And, Spencer is not going to leave till she gets back what is hers...

*** Spencer's narrative (voice-over) ***

YOU think you know better, You think you know everything... and yet... YOU find yourself useless in the important moments of your life. Life is not always all about YOU, and, what you need... and, I'm not the only one to find out, that...

(In the Woods)

"Do you need any help?" Alison asks, but, Emily tells her that she & the boys have it under control. The brunette even whispers that she can't wait to be alone with her in the tent. The dear mermaid has a kinky to do it in open spaces, and, Alison blushes a lot, loving the idea but...

"OMG! MOM! We can hear you, you know?!" The boys cover their ears, they know how sexual active are their parents, but, they don't need to have a closer look to their sexual life. The tissue of the tents is very tiny, they will hear and see most of it and that's the main reason why they beg them 'no funny business' on the trip...

"Fine, we will behave..." Alison says and Emily sadly pouts. The blonde chuckles, she would love to make Emily's fantasies real, but, the kids are not wrong. They can get very vocal at night so... no funny business tonight...

With the boys' help, the brunette was setting up the tents while the girls were helping Alison to collect some wooden for the bonfire. Each tent was for two and they were 7 people. So, there will be one who had to sleep alone. And, it wasn't a shock for Elizabeth to realize that she was the one left alone...

Even her twin preferred to stay with Enzo before even consider asking Betty if she wanted to share a tent with her. It wasn't anything new to see that even between her siblings, Betty wasn't a pleasing person to deal with, but, finding herself alone in a tent, in the woods, it really sucks. Especially because Betty has recently watched enough horror movies to imagine the worst...

Betty is scared, she doesn't want to spend the night alone. But, she's too arrogant to recognize she needs someone at her side. And, someone empathizes with that feeling. Someone who was arrogant enough to push everyone away... someone who never liked to be alone, but, she never recognized it...

"Elizabeth, you're staying with your mom..."

"What? Why?" Emily and Betty say at the unison, because they don't get why Alison is deciding this. Alison just says that she can't get her hands off Emily, so to avoid any 'funny business' the best is not to sleep together. It was a lie, Alison could behave, even if Emily would try to get something, the blonde would make it through the night without traumatizing her kids. But, Betty didn't want to sleep alone in the woods, she was scared even if she would never admit it, so...

"Don't argue with me, just sleep with your mom tonight..." Betty nods and she sleeps without issues, feeling safe under the protection of the dear mermaid...

*** Betty's narrative (voice over) ***

You... always doing things for someone like me. Someone who doesn't even dare to say 'thank you'. Someone who's too selfish to appreciate YOU. Someone who's very rude with YOU. And even then... YOU are always there... YOU are always there... even when I don't expect YOU to be there for me...

"I need to pee..." Betty mumbles and, she gets out of Emily's arms. And, out of the tent. The girl is looking for a spot to pee. The blonde is ready to put her pants down and finally pee when she sees a...

"SNAKE! SNAKE!" The blonde jumps and screams scared, she scared the animal too. And like any scared animal, the snake gets into a defensive mode. Betty waits for the worst but before the snake could even consider to bite the girl, a mama bear appears between the bushes and with a stick, she bats the snake with all her might...

Alison hit a perfect home run, which threw the snake as far as possible from them. Once the danger was gone, Alison checked on the scared girl...

"Are you okay, Betty?" Alison asks as she offers a hand so the girl could stand up. And, Betty should feel grateful that Alison heard her screams and run to her rescue, but, all she can feel right now it's embarrassement because she peed her pants...

"Betty...?" Alison frowns when the girl stands up on her own, pushing away Alison's hand in the process...

"This is your fault! I told you I didn't want to come!" The blonde teen runs back to the tents and Alison just deeply exhales...

They come back to the camp with the rest of the family. No one of them speaks a word of what just happened that morning. But, the rest of the family can sense that something happened...

"It's everything okay between you and Betty, Ali?" The blonde doesn't reply, she just narrows her eyes on Emily with her classic QB look. And, the mermaid gulps hard. This is one of the reasons why the brunette wanted to do this trip. To improve the communication between Alison and Elizabeth. And, according to Emily, there's no better way to improve your communication skills than with...

"A Natural Scavenger Hunt!" Alison and Elizabeth roll their eyes at the unison when Emily happily announces the activity of the day. The brunette made a list of all the things to look for...

"So cool!" Alice says thrilled with the idea. She loves it already...

"So. I'll make the teams so we can head off and hunt..." Emily announces and, everyone seems a little shocked when she decides to pair Alison with Elizabeth...

"Mommy! I want to be on your team, with you..." Of course the dear Betty would try to use her adorable pout to get into the same team than Emily. Alison rolls her eyes, she's 100% sure that Emily will accept Elizabeth's demands like always, but...

"Sorry princess. This time, you've to do this with your mom..."

"WHAT?!" Both blondes seem shocked to see that Emily has no intention to dissolve the teams. And, that's is how two temperamental blondes stay stuck together for the Scavenger Hunt...

Wayne-Enzo-Alice team up. Emily has Oliver in her team and, two upset blonde are set up to work together...

"Is this really a good idea, mum? I mean, are you not afraid that they kill each other in the woods?" Emily chuckles under the comment of Oliver. She hugs her son by the shoulders and tells him that it will be okay... or, at least that's what she really hopes...

*** Betty's narrative (voice-over) ***

In high school, we learn so many things. We always get a great knowledge from our education. But between all the great lessons I got during my school years... there are no more important lessons than the ones YOU taught me... even when I wasn't receptive to learn from YOU...

"This is tedious!" Alison nods "This is a very bad idea!" Alison nods again because she couldn't agree more. Being left alone in the woods with Elizabeth, it wasn't something that Alison was expecting from Emily.

Alison doesn't have the patience, neither the temper to deal with a nerve-racking person like Betty. But, here they are, and, the only way to end their torment, it's to end this damn Scavenger Hunt as soon as possible...

"Walk faster Elizabeth..." The teen blonde rolls her eyes, she hates to be told what to do... just like...

"Alison DiLaurentis. Well, you are really the last person I was expecting to see in a place like this..."

Alison frowns, she's not sure if she recognizes the voice. But, when the owner of the voice approaches, the blonde stiffs, because really. The last thing she needed, it was to meet with someone from her past... with someone like...

"Detective Tanner. What are you doing here? Looking for a murderer?"

"I don't know. Have you murdered anyone new...?"

Alison narrows her eyes angrily when she hears the accusation. And, Elizabeth just stares at the interaction between her mother and the old woman...

"Is she your kid...?" Alison doesn't say a word. And, Tanner doesn't need a real answer. The resemblance, even in the way they stand, it was unique... the same. Maybe that's why the old detective feels the need to warn the teenager to not be like her mother, if she knows what is the best for her...

Alison gulps hard, it was a low move from Tanner to say such things to her child. It triggers the worst insecurities in Alison. She knows she's not a good role model, but, she doesn't need to hear other people say it. And, Alison is just waiting for her own kid to deliver the final blow when actually, all what Elizabeth has to say is...

"You bitch old lady has no idea of what you're saying. Being like my mother would be the best thing that could ever happen to me..."

Both, Alison as well Tanner, are speechless when they hear Elizabeth, defending the honor of Alison in her own way. Tanner angrily puffs and turns around, to walk back to her car and leave as soon as possible from there. Somehow, her walk to the lake to fish, it doesn't feel a good idea after all...

Tanner disappears from their sight. And, Alison has no idea of what to say besides...

"Let's keep going... I don't want to lose..." Betty smirks, she also doesn't like to lose in anything. And, during their search for all the items of the list. Betty learns a lot from Alison. Like the fact that Alison knows how to recognize what wild berries are okay to eat and which are not. Alison knows how to not get lost in the forest, she knows how to make a fire with nothing else than her hands... so many tips about surviving... Betty is surprised...

"I thought you didn't like camping..."

"I don't..."

"Then, how is that you know so much about being in the woods?" Alison stops walking, and, Betty who was walking behind, she stops too. The blonde mother stays in silence for a brief moment. Debating with herself about what she's going to say, till she turns around, and, looking at her child in the eyes, the blonde admits...

"I lived here..."

"Where?"

"Here... in the woods..." Elizabeth gulps hard. From all the possible answers, she wasn't ready to hear the truth... the painful truth of Alison's life when she was a runaway...

"During a period of time. I had no money and no place to live. So, I found a way to survive in the woods... alone..." It's painful to recall those days, maybe that's why Alison prefers to never talk about that part of her life...

"No place to live...? What about your home? Your parents?"

"I left home when I was around your age. When the woman who raised me as her daughter, buried me alive..."

"She WHAT?!"

Elizabeth is shocked to hear this for the first time. And, if it would have been Alison's choice. She would have never really said a word about her past. But, she's speaking her truth now... why? Well...

*** Flasback ***

(In NY)

"Look at you, Alison. Always looking so beautifully young..."

"Thank you Ms. Cohen. I'm happy to see that time is treating you well too..." The old woman chuckles, and hugs the blonde. It looks like it was yesterday when her husband brought Alison to their lives, taking custody of the orphan.

Back then, Alison never wanted a legal guardian. She fought against the idea of it, she even refused to live with them. Yeah, more than once, she tried her best on pushing them away, but even then, no matter how much she tried to push them away at first, she's happy to see that she didn't make them leave her side. The Cohens have always kept an eye on her... that's why Alison is sad to be here now... to say good-bye...

"He's awake. If you want to see him now..."

"You will try quimo, again?" The blonde knows that the fight against cancer is not easy, especially for old people, but, Mr. Cohen won the fight the first time, he might be able to gain again, that's what Alison wants to believe, but, the doctors don't think the same...

"He's too weake, my dear. And, he doesn't want to spend his last days in a hospital. Let's respect his wishes, and, just go, to see him. Okay?" Alison nods, she takes a deep breath and walks towards the bedroom of who has been like a father for her...

"Alison!" Mr. Cohen happily smiles when he notices the blonde who's getting into the room. The blonde forces a smile, trying to hide her sadness of looking at him, there... in bed... waiting for Death...

"How are you feeling...?" Alison asks when she sits beside his bed, tenderly holding his hand...

"I feel better now you're here..." Alison smiles and, the old man smiles too, recalling the first time he made her smile like that...

'I refuse to live with YOU!' she said. 'Leave me alone!' She said. And, no matter how much she pushed him away... Mr. Cohen never left her alone... He made a promise to Kenneth to keep an eye on Alison. And, he kept his promise till the end...

Looking back at those days, Alison was never the sweet teenager. She was rude, sassy, bitchy, something that Mr. Cohen found it very cute, and, funny...

More than once, Alison slammed the door in front of his face, and even then. Each time that Alison knocked his door, he always answered it, with a smile... and, it's with a big smile that he's leaving now...

"I don't want you to leave my side..." Alison sobs, tears already falling from her beautiful blue eyes, because she's not ready to lose another parent. Alison smiles with tears in her eyes, recalling all they have lived. All the memories, all the lessons... all the love...

"You have always be there, like Jason. You're family to me... you're like a father to me and I... I... I'm not ready to let you go..." The blonde says with a wrenching voice. Remembering the big moments in her life, she remembers that Mr. Cohen was there when she got her degree, when she started to lead the company, when she proposed and married the love of her life. When her kids born, and, so many more moments... she's not ready to not see him there when, the next milestones in her life arrive...

"I'll always be there, keeping an eye on you..." He squeezes her hand, and, says with a big smile "You're stuck with me, for life..." Alison chuckles, he really kept his promise. And, Alison is grateful for that...

"Now, tell me, how is your beautiful family doing?" Alison starts talking about the family, she shows some photos of the kids that are now teenagers. And, Mr. Cohen smiles, it feels like if it was yesterday when he saw the boys and, the twins for the first time...

"They grow up so fast..."

"Tell me about it. It seems it was yesterday when I was changing their diapers..." Alison smiles, looking at her kids, she feels lucky with the family she got, still not fully convinced she deserved them, not after all the bad things she did in her past. All the lies, the twisted games... no matter how much she tries, she cannot get over her mistakes, maybe that's why she's so strict with Betty because...

"She's just like me..."

"Whom?"

"Elizabeth..." Alison sighs, thinking about her child. "She's spoiled, arrogant, despicable..." And, the blonde doesn't blame the kid, she blames herself for it. Believing she's not a good parent, believing she messed up her kid, but, the truth is that...

"Alison. There's no perfect parent, or, perfect child..."

"I don't want her to be perfect. I just don't want her to be like me!"

"What is wrong with being like you? You're a role model to follow..."

"What?! You are under too much morphine if you even believe such thing!" Alison mocks because she doesn't think that anyone would want to follow her steps, just if she could see that she's so much better person than what she thinks...

Her family and friends wouldn't be the people they're now without her. Even the kids are following her steps and have something from her, in their own way...

Oliver got Alison's music skills. The blonde lured him to the sweet music of the piano, and now, Oliver is getting ready to get into one of the most prestigious schools of arts. He will definitely become a great pianist, and, that's because of her...

Enzo is planning to fulfil the dream that Alison never could, becoming a chef. And, that's also because of her. Growing up, watching his mom, always cooking for them, always looking for recipes to make them happy. It boosted Enzo's wishes to do the same, and, try to be a chef, someone who can make someone happy with just a meal, just like Alison does with them...

Alice got Alison's taste in books. She loves to read while Wayne is more into the sports, like her mother, the mermaid. But, he also has something from Alison. He is a natural leader. He might not be a QB, but, he knows how to make people follow him, worship him, with just one look... just like, Betty who is...

"She's a natural leader. But, she doesn't use it wisely. She thinks she's untouchable, she thinks she can always get away with whatever she does, and, I... I..." Alison sadly sighs when she admits her worse fears when she says "I'm afraid she will get herself hurt if she keeps acting like me... like the Queen Bee of high school..."

Like any parent, Alison doesn't want to see her kids in danger, or, suffering at all. She doesn't want them to know what pain is, but, she's afraid that she'll not be able to always keep them safe. Especially Betty...

That girl is always one step ahead, it gets into Alison's nerves how smart-ass her kid is, especially to get into troubles without getting caught. But, no matter how smart Betty is, sooner or later, karma always gets you, and, Alison is afraid she will not be able to protect her child from what Karma might have prepared for her...

"I don't want her to overcome the same horrors I lived..." Alison admits, the last thing she wants, it's a new -A, coming after her kids...

"Have you ever talked with her, about your past?" Alison shakes her head. Neither she or Emily have felt the need to talk about that part of their past with the kids, especially her. Alison has never been good at opening up, and, she finds really hard to talk about all her bad choices when she was a teenager. She wants to leave that part of herself in the past, but, some things don't fit in a box you can store away...

"What should I do with Betty? You dealt with me back then, when I was in my worst moments. I was a difficult girl back then and, I wonder what did you do, or what do you said so I could become a good person. How did you arrange to do that?" The blonde wonders, she really wants any parenting advice of the old man. Any magic answer, but, the only she gets, it's...

"No one is perfect. I'm not perfect either. I didn't make you the person you're now, you did that... and, you might believe you're not a good mother. But you're wrong. You don't give yourself the enough credit for all the things you've accomplished..."

Alison smiles, she's happy to realize that Mr. Cohen holds her in high regard...

"We don't need to be the perfect parents, Alison. We just need to be nice people who try... and, who will always try the best for their kids..."

"And, you never stopped trying..." Alison says with a big smile. A smile that vanishes when she sees how the old man close his eyes with a big smile and fall into an eternal sleep... he dies in peace, happy because he got to see her one last time...

"Good night, my guardian angel. Never stop trying to keep an eye on me, okay..." Alison mumbles, with tears in her eyes when she leans forwards and softly kisses the front-head of the man who was like a father to her... and the person who always gave her the best advices...

*** End of the flashback ***

Tears start to show in Alison's eyes. After all, the sorrow of losing Mr. Cohen is still very fresh in Alison's heart. Maybe that's why, despite her own fears, Alison decides to follow the last advice of Mr. Cohen and, share with Betty everything about her past...

"I didn't grow up with the perfect mother. I didn't get the chance to know my real mother till a few weeks before she died..." Elizabeth gulps hard, her eyes get bigger of shock with all the things that Alison is revealing.

Alison looks around and smiles when she spot a particular rock she knows too well...

"A.D + E.F... I put this here years ago... when I was too afraid to recognize how much I loved your mother..." Alison sits over the kissing rock and, pats the rock when she says "Sit here, with me. There's something I want to tell you..."

Elizabeth sits beside Alison. And, the blonde starts to talk the history of her life. Alison talks about Jessica. About her years as a QB in high school. About how much pain she caused and how she paid all her mistakes... -A, AD... so many horrors... so many losts...

It's already dark when Alison finishes saying everything. Elizabeth has no idea of what to say, Alison never talked about the past before. And, that is because she didn't want to bring back the painful moments of the past. But, she's doing it now because she doesn't want her child to commit the same mistakes she did back then...

"So... you were just like me...?"

"You're meaner and smartest of what I was back then when I had your age..." Betty smirks, and, Alison rolls her eyes, because this girl shouldn't take that as a compliment at all!

"We're not perfect, Elizabeth... you've the right to make mistakes. I just hope you don't make the same mistakes that I did back then..."

"Why? You look fine now. Everything worked up, for you. You've mum, you are happy, and..."

"And, I didn't know better! No one taught me to do better!" Alison says with tears in her eyes and Elizabeth gulps hard, because Alison's voice is full of pain...

"I was mean and awful to others because I thought that the world was like that... awful and mean... I had to find out on my own how to live in this world, at my expenses. And, It wasn't easy..." Elizabeth gulps hard, after hearing all the things that Alison lived, she really doesn't know if she would have been able to survive such things too...

"I had to suffer a lot to become the person I'm now, Elizabeth. But you... you don't need to suffer to be a good person. You don't need to look for love, because you're so loved..."

"By mum..."

"And, by me, too..."

"Really?" Elizabeth asks, because sometimes she really doubts that Alison loves her. And, Alison looks shocked by the question.

'Does she really think I don't love her?' Alison wonders. She knows that she's always acting like the bad cop, always scolding the girl, but, she loves her... Yes, she doesn't say it every day, and, maybe that's a mistake, but, she loves her spoiled child, no matter what... and, she needs the other girl to know that...

"I love you, Elizabeth. I might not say it enough, but, I love you... that will never change..." Betty shyly smiles and, looks down at her feet when she mumbles a 'Ditto'. Alison chuckles because it seems that Betty also got her inability to express her feelings... but a 'ditto' is better than nothing... it's a good start...

"There's no perfect parent, Elizabeth. I'm not perfect either. I don't say neither do the right things all the time, and, I've a real bad temper..."

"Tell me about it..." Elizabeth says, and, she closes her eyes, waiting to be scolded by her sassy comment, but then, she opens her eyes again when she hears nothing... Alison doesn't scold her...

"Yeah, I'm not easy..." Alison chuckles, she turns her head just enough so their eyes could meet, and, when she looks at her kid in the eyes, she says "But, I'll never stop trying to do better... and, be a better mom for you..."

Elizabeth smiles, she knows she doesn't make it easy for the blonde neither. She's always pushing Alison's buttons. Trying to get into her nerves. But, Betty knows too that no matter how much she makes her mad, Alison will always be there for her...

"Life is full of unknowns, but, there's a constant you'll always have in your life: your mum and me..." Betty looks at her in the eyes, and, she recalls all the times that Alison is always there to pick her up when she fall, how Alison always answer at the first ring, how Alison is always been there to save her ass...

Yeah, Alison is always with the arms wide open, for her kids and, maybe that's why Betty feels the need to hug her now...

"Elizabeth...?" Alison wonders why her child is hugging her right now. And, Betty says nothing at all, she just hugs her, because they need this.. She needs this...

*** Betty's narrative (voice-over) ***

You are always changing. Always evolving. And, you become your own person, thanks to those who always keep an eye on you...

(Back at the camping)

"They really killed each other out there. Isn't it?" Oliver mumbles, and, Emily is under the point to look for them, when Alison finally appears, carrying a sleepy Betty...

Emily tries to take it from here. But, Alison tells her that she have this. The blonde puts the sleepy blonde into the tent. She tucked her into the sleeping bag and was ready to leave her alone, but, then Alison is not able to leave her side, when she sees Betty struggling under her sleep. The teen blonde was having a nightmare, maybe caused by all the horrors that Alison shared with her that day...

So, Alison lies down beside her dear daughter. She softly holds the sleeping kid between her arms and, starts to sing the lullaby that has always put a smile on Betty...

"Goodnight my angel, time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you've been asking me
I think you know what I've been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
Then you should always know
Wherever you may go, no matter where you are

I never will be far away..."

"You promise...?" Betty mumbles under her sleep while she snuggles in Alison's arms...

"I promise..." Alison says, and, it was a promise she never wanted to break...

*** Betty's narrative (voice-over) ***

YOU predicted to always be there for me. To always be there to save me... to get me up if I fall... to be the constant in my life... YOU and only YOU were the only one who I always took for granted... till I couldn't anymore... till I finally understood that there's no other love stronger, fearest than the one of your mom...

Next - CH 95 MOM