A/N - Hey everyone! Glad to see people are continuing to read this. I hope that it is playing out as you've hoped. I'm loving getting this story edited and out to you guys.

To "Go Away Sam" reviewer- Good to hear from you and I'm glad that you decided to keep reading! I'm also relieved that no one jumped on me too hard for breaking up Ezria. I just could never get on board with that relationship. Since this story was my way of tying up the loose ends of PLL how I wanted them, I decided to to go ahead and "fix" that relationship while I was at it. To the reviewer that wanted to see more of Ali's new relationship… there will be more. I honestly cut a lot of "scenes" of other love interests for the simple fact that I didn't think that people coming to read an Emison story would be interested in that development. I'll try to be less critical on myself when editing and that should make for some slightly longer chapters. I also went through the original story and tried to see where we would end up on number of chapters and am happy to report it's probably going to be at least in the mid-20s. There is a lot left to happen in this fic.

We're picking up here after the holidays, hope ya'll enjoy!

—

The holidays were full of joy and memories for all of the girls. Emily took Aria and Katherine under her wing and anytime that Aria wasn't with he own family, she was at the house with Emily and the twins. Alison spent the majority of her time at the house in Rosewood too. She was grateful that Emily had included her in everything leading up to Christmas as well as the actual holiday itself. They had fun playing Santa Clause and waking up in the middle of the night to sneak the girls' gifts under the tree. Lily and Grace were at such a fun age to celebrate holidays with. They were able to understand what was going on and still believed in all of the magic of Christmas. Emily and Alison were both happy that they could still experience the holidays as a family, even if the circumstances were different than years ago.

The new year came with a fresh sense of rebirth. Alison relished in the few weeks of downtime that she had between the end of the holidays and the start of spring semester. Once the girls went back to school, she had less reason to spend extra time in Rosewood and instead spent her time busying herself around her apartment in Rosemont.

She kept seeing Sam and was slowly starting to accept his feelings for her. It brought her some comfort to know that he wasn't some shady character that had sought her out. She had a terrible track record in her past with men, and as crazy as it seemed, she'd seen a few too many times that when someone seemed too good to be true that they that they had some kind of ulterior motive. So far it didn't seem to be the case with him, but she continued to keep her eyes opened. She had a scare one night when they were talking and realized just how paranoid she was.

They were laying on the couch together after the movie that they had been watching ended. Neither made a move to leave the cuddled up position. He was holding her, blue eyes staring intently into hers and spoke with a shy smile.

"I need to admit something," he told her.

Alison had immediately gone into alarm mode, confessions usually did not lead to anything good. She tried to play it cool, but her her confused expression was laced with guard.

"What's that?" She asked.

"I may have known who you were before I walked into your office that first time," he tried to play with her fingers, but she pulled her hand away.

"What does that mean?"

He was confused at her reaction, and left her hand alone. He looked nervous all of the sudden.

"It means… that maybe I had been tipped off that there was a really pretty new professor in the English department," he tried another smile and she felt herself relaxing. "So that means that maybe before I walked into your office that day I stopped in the bathroom and doubled checked myself in front of the mirror. Popped a breath mint. Or three," he laughed.

She felt herself let out the breath that she was holding. She'd have to keep reminding herself that not everyone was out to get her.

While she promised herself that she wouldn't self-sabotage, her guard still was there from time to time. She still wasn't quite ready to be in a serious relationship, but she let herself enjoy the process. She found herself enjoying his company whenever they were together and her feelings grew. She enjoyed feeling appreciated and wanted. He was always very caring, attentive, and understanding. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop, but so far it hadn't.

One weeknight, he came over after work so the the two of them could have dinner. Alison had the sauce on the stove and he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, and started placing light kisses along her neck. It always felt a little foreign to her, to be so close to someone that she wasn't sure that she knew terribly well, but she couldn't deny that it felt good. She'd spun around to return the kiss and before she knew it, he was lifting her up onto the counter, sauce totally forgotten. They spent several minutes kissing as things escalated, but before they could get too far, her phone rang across the room.

She broke away upon hearing it, immediately wondering if it might be Emily. It was still a bit early for bedtime stories, but what if something was wrong?

"I should check that…" She noted right away.

He backed away and took over on the stove, understanding to back off. Alison crossed the room and lifted her phone to check the ID. It wasn't Emily, but it was another brunette that she might want to answer. Mona.

She readied herself for a second, you never knew what you were getting with Mona. They had stayed close since she left Beacon Heights, but Mona wasn't really the type of friend to just call out of the blue and ask what you were doing. She was very purpose-oriented. Either she was calling because she knew something or wanted you to know something. Alison braced herself.

"Hey," she answered.

"Well hello there," Mona sing-songed in her ear, "long time no talk."

Alison smiled at the greeting. Her friendship with Mona was one of the few positives to come out of the whole Beacon Heights experience. It was nice to hear her voice. They had texted over the holidays, but Mona had stayed in Oregon, opting not to come home. From what Alison knew, her mother had actually gone out to visit her.

"Yeah, Happy New Year. How was Christmas in Beacon Heights?" She asked.

"Très magique," Mona replied.

Magical was not a word on the list of adjectives that Alison would use to describe Beacon Heights. She scrunched her face bemusedly.

"Magical?"

"Absolutely," Mona emphasized.

"Explain," Alison told her. Mona was acting weird and it was making her uneasy. Was she off the rails again?

"Multiple carats worth of magical," Mona hinted.

"Wait... no way?" Was Mona saying what it sounded like she was saying?

"Mhm, he asked on New Years Eve. I know, a little basic, but the ring choice makes up for it," Mona beamed through the phone.

Mona had started dating a new guy about a year ago. Alison thought she had Mona's type nailed down. The brunette always seemed to go for jocks for some reason- Mike, Mason… but her new boyfriend, Quinn, was actually a tech wiz from Portland. He suited her much better than anyone else that she had dated, Alison thought. At least with him, Mona could share her love for games and technology instead of hiding alone and enjoying it by herself.

"I'm so happy for you," Alison smiled. She really was. Mona deserves to be happy and in the times that Alison hung out with them back in Oregon, it was obvious that she was.

"Just wanted to let you know, so that you heard it from me," Mona continued, "I think we want to have the wedding sometime before the end of the year. Keep your schedule opened for my bachelorette party."

"Oh definitely." That would be something worth looking forward to.

"And you'll be in the wedding of course," Mona informed her.

"Me?!" Sure, she and Mona had gotten close, but it was a surprise to hear that the brunette considered them that close.

"Of course. I want all of mes amies by my side. You're one of them, Ali."

Alison smiled at that. They had come a long way. The two chatted for a few more moments before Alison made a move to get off the phone.

"Well congrats again. I have company, so I'm going to let you go."

"Ohh, male or female?" The brunette scandalously asked.

"Bye, Mona," Alison told her flatly.

She walked back into the kitchen where Sam was plating dinner. She swapped her phone for a glass of wine.

"Friend of yours get engaged?" He asked.

"Yeah," she smiled, "long story short we were like mortal enemies in high school, but we've put our differences behind us and become really good friends the last few years."

He nodded, "It's funny how things can turn out. Everyone deserves a second chance, I think."

She swirled her wine in thought. He was right. She liked the idea of second chances.

—

Emily liked the idea of second chances too. She had decided that she wanted something different for the new year. After her talk with Alison in December, she began looking into careers that interested her relevant to her science degree. It was invigorating to have a new path to look forward to. She was often guilty of letting herself get too comfortable and she was looking forward to a new challenge.

That didn't mean that she was checked out of her current job as the RHS swim coach. As the weeks in January rolled on, they were building up to a historic season as multiple members of her team began to qualifying for States. She was excited to see her swimmers do well. Not only did it speak to her talent as a coach, but she also felt like she was living through them in a way. She had worked her tail off growing up to try to get to the upper echelon of the swimming world. It had broken her heart in high school when her career was cut short. She was still proud of the resume that she had built during that time, though, which had included plenty of records.

She still was known for her legacy, and in her continued time in the swim world now there were plenty of people that remembered her. Usually, it was just long standing coaches whose swimmers had tried to rival Emily back in the day. Sometimes it was former competitors. She crossed paths with an old face one meet towards the end of January and it changed the direction of her year.

"Emily Fields?" She heard her name as she was getting her heat sheets together onto her clipboard in preparation for the meet to begin.

She turned around and saw a face that she hadn't seen in over a decade.

"Casey Little?" She asked, with a shocked tilt of the head. She had gone to swim camps with the other girl in middle school, but because she had gone to a boarding school in New Hampshire, Emily had never swam against her in high school.

"It's been a long time," the girl smiled. She still had the same auburn hair and light eyes that Emily remembered from their preteen years, but Emily couldn't help but note how beautifully she had grown up.

She tried to keep it cool and nodded, "It has been. Are you coaching now too?" It looked like Casey was wearing the other school's colors.

Turns out that she was just helping in her free time, which explained why Emily had yet to cross paths with her in the years that she had been coaching. They caught up for a few minutes before the meet and then went on their separate sides of the pool when it came time for the competition to start.

Emily kept her focus on her swimmers and her team during the events, but in between, her thoughts drifted to the girl across the pool. They were friends on social media, and Emily knew that she dated girls too. She hadn't been on her page in years though, and she couldn't help but wonder if the other girl was single now. She tried not look at her across the pool, but got caught several times as they made eye contact. She was a little embarrassed, so she decided not to go and approach her again after the meet. She realized that she was a little out of practice… it had been nearly three years since she had actually met anyone outside of Hanna's stupid dating sites.

Luckily, the other other girl took the initiative and approached her while she was packing her things and getting ready for her bus ride back to Rosewood with the team.

"I wanted to give you my number," Casey said, "in case you want to catch up sometime."

"Yeah, definitely," Emily smiled.

They exchanged numbers and Emily left the pool feeling excited and hopeful. Dating hadn't been something in the forefront of her mind the last few months. She'd been pretty focussed in the Fall with just keeping her life together and balancing everything as best she could. The holidays then had added an extra layer of complexity to her life. Having Alison around more during Thanksgiving and Christmas felt comfortable, but it had also put the blonde on Emily's mind nearly every night. It felt natural when they were together with their friends and with their daughters. It was a good thing, but also sometimes felt confusing as hell. Now though, with the holidays over and things feeling like they had fallen back into place, her mind started to rest more.

Maybe this was the start that she needed for the new year. She felt ready for a change.

—

A few weeks into February, Alison's perspective on second chances would be tested.

Spring semester had started and she was settling into the swing of things. She knew from experience that adjusting to the beginning of Spring semesters was always a bit easier than the Fall semesters. For one, the students and professors were coming off of only a one month break instead of the three month break that they had between the Spring and Fall semesters. The shorter break allowed for time to relax, but not lose focus. Following the beginning of a new year, everyone was always trying to be the best versions of themselves and put their best foot forward.

So far, there hadn't been any major roadblocks in the semester. Her course load and teaching work were manageable and since it was still early, none of her students were turning in home run essays to her yet. This was one of the things that she liked best about teaching, watching her students progress over the semester. She knew that by April, their papers would be leaps and bounds better.

Now, on a Tuesday night, she was reading through her students' essays that they had turned in the week before. Some were okay, but most of them needed a lot of work. Some of the things that her students turned in were just flat out amusing. She hoped they'd all last the semester.

Her phone rang and she wondered who might be calling at this time. It was eight-thirty at night, and she and Emily had read with the girls and hung up about an hour ago. She figured it could be Sam, maybe Spencer.

But it wasn't any of them. It wasn't even a number that she had saved, just random digits flashing across her screen. She considered letting it go to voicemail since she didn't know who it was. She generally didn't like to do that, though, because she gave her students her cell phone number on the syllabus. They usually contacted her through email or sometimes text, but it could have been an outlier. She didn't want to seem unavailable, so she went ahead and answered it.

"Hello?"

It was quiet on the other end and for a brief moment, she thought maybe it was just a telemarketer or scammer. But then she heard the voice.

"Alison?"

And chills ran down her spine. It felt like everything in her body fell to the pit of her stomach. Her heart began to speed up and she wished that she hadn't answered the phone.

"Are you there?" The person on the other end asked, "Please. Don't hang up."

Alison took a few steadying breaths.

"What do you want, Mary?"

Of course she would hear from her now, when she had finally moved on from her constant worries about Mary Drake following Spencer's revelation over the Summer. Of course the woman would come calling now when she felt comfortable, safe, and happy. Of course.

"I don't mean any harm. I just want to talk to you."

"I thought you were in Austria," It was already late evening in Rosemont, meaning it would be hours later in Europe. No way had the woman been honest with Spencer about where she was. "Isn't it a little late to be calling?" She bit, her voice seething with accusal.

"Edinburgh now," Mary replied calmly, "and yes, it's about one-thirty in the morning."

"Why are you calling?"

She heard the other woman take a breath on the other end. "I want to make amends," she explained, "for the pain I've caused to you."

"Which part?" Alison seethed out. Ever since Mary's appearance into her and her friends' lives there had been some much trouble. So much pain.

"I've spent the last two years without anyone. I want the people out there that I do have to know that I care. I have very few people left." Mary sounded serious and genuine. But still-

"And who's fault is that?"Alison raised her voice, the emotional toll from hearing the other woman's voice coming out. Mary didn't respond, and Alison couldn't help but fill the silence, "You killed your own sister. My mother."

She remembered the night she found out that it was her Aunt Mary that killed her mother. That it was Mary's fault that after two years in hiding, she wouldn't have the chance to reunite with her mother. That it was because of Mary that she would never be able to ask her mother any of the hundreds of questions that she had. That night had been horrible. She had gone home with Emily, pregnant, emotionally exhausted, and devastated from the revelation. She'd thought about it so many times in the years since. That because of Mary, she would never have a future that included her mother. Jessica would never meet her granddaughters. She realized that her eyes were watering at the thought.

"I did," Mary confirmed, though it really wasn't necessary. "Your mother was planning to kill me. It was her or me."

"You didn't have to kill her. You could have just left town," she shook her head and wiped at the moisture under her eyes with the back of her palm.

"I wanted to see my daughter. So many years had gone by. I just had to know her," Mary explained with a soft tone.

Alison knew the story. She knew that her mother had lied about Charlotte to Mary. That she had told her that her child was dead. At the time Spencer was the only living child that Mary knew was alive. She sniffled quietly, but didn't reply.

"You're a mother too," Mary tried, "What would you do if someone had taken your children from you when they were born. Wouldn't you need to see them? Wouldn't you want to know what they were like?"

Alison thought about it. In the years since becoming a mother, her priorities had shifted. She knew what it meant to care about someone more than yourself. She hadn't always understood that, but she did now.

Still though, "I'm not going to let you manipulate me," she told Mary. Her tone was cold. She'd be fooled by people too many times before and she wasn't going to allow herself to be played.

Mary stayed calm, "That's not what I'm doing. I wanted you to understand why I did what I did."

"Just because I understand what you did doesn't mean I'm okay with it."

"I don't expect you to forgive me, Alison, but I want you to know that I am here for you."

Alison scoffed, "Like you were here for me when you teamed up with Archer to get me committed and steal my money?"

"I put an end to that when I realized how far he'd gone. I was so devastated about Charlotte and he had me convinced that you were the one that killed her," Mary told her.

"Well I didn't kill her," Alison emphasized, "I loved Charlotte. I did nothing but try to fight for her when she was in Welby."

"I know that. I didn't before… But I do now, and I can't thank you enough for the love that you gave to her."

Alison scoffed again, "And where did that get me? She hadn't really changed. It was all a lie. She was going to come back and start it all over again. Just like Alex did," she pressed her lips together and took a breath before finishing, "And just like I know that you're planning to."

"I'm not, Alison. I wanted to reach out to you and let you know that I mean you no harm."

"You might have Spencer fooled, but not me," Alison told her matter-of-factly.

"I'm not out to fool anyone," Mary pushed, "I know that you have reservations and I understand them. I know what Alex did to you when she went to Oregon".

"Of course you know. And how do I know that you weren't a part of it too- that she was just the only one that got caught?"

"I was horrified when I learned of Alex's actions. When we escaped from Paris we agreed that it was our second chance... but I didn't know that she had other ideas."

"After what she and Archer pulled with me? After what she put my friends through? After she tried to kill Spencer?" Alison asked incredulously, "You thought that she was just going to move on?"

"We said that we were going to. You have to believe me. We said that we were going to run and stay far away. We were going to be a family together- finally. But then one day she was gone," Mary told her sadly.

Alison knew the feeling. To think you're building something with someone and then one day realize that they weren't who you thought they were. She'd been torn up over Archer's deceitfulness, but the idea that Charlotte had been playing her too had felt almost inconceivable.

"I tried to look for her. I spent almost a year scouring her name online," Mary continued, "and then finally I read about her arrest. I read about what she did to you and those other students. I was devastated."

"Yeah, I'm sure you were," Alison dismissed.

"I was," Mary argued. "If anything had happened to you or Spencer I wouldn't forgive myself."

"Well something did happen to me," Alison argued. She shook her head. She didn't want to relive this. She wanted this conversation to be over.

"Alex is where she needs to be," Mary said decidedly, "I wish it wasn't this way, but this is what she deserves."

"She deserves worse," Alison argued, "She deserves to be put through the things that she put my friends through.. what she put me through."

"Maybe," Mary agreed, "But I've learned the hard way that revenge is never sweet. It's bitter and tasteless. It will rot you."

And for the first time, Alison let herself actually hear what her Aunt was saying. She heard sincerity. She heard regret.

"I don't have any family anymore, but I want you and Spencer to know that I am here for you if you ever need me. If Alex ever tries to hurt you again. If you ever need anything. I'm here," Mary stressed the last words.

It wasn't that Alison didn't believe her. She could hear that Mary meant what she was saying. But still, this was probably the last person that she would call in an emergency. She wasn't sure that she could give the other woman trust. There were dozens of other people that she would turn to if she needed something. She knew one thing that she could give the woman was acceptance. So she did.

"Okay," Alison told her, "thank you."

She knew that Mary must feel alone in the world and while she wasn't ready to forgive her for her actions, she knew what it felt like to be alone on the run without any family.

"You're the woman that your mother wasn't. You're the woman that she would have wanted you to be. I'm proud of you and Spencer, and the relationship that you two have. Don't let anything come between it. There is nothing like the love of family."

"Okay." Alison wasn't sure what else to say. She didn't have much family left.. but she had Jason, and she had her friends. She had Emily and she had her daughters. It was true, there was nothing quite like that love.

"Take care of yourself and your family," Mary told her before hanging up the phone.

It was abrupt, and Alison quick flipped her phone back to confirm the call had ended because she was a little bit in shock. It had been like talking to a ghost. Maybe this was why Spencer had confronted her that day the way she had. It made sense if she felt half as freaked out as Alison did right now.

The thing was, like Spencer, she felt herself believing Mary Drake. She didn't seem like a threat, but her heart was still pounding and her hands were still shaking nonetheless.

She paced for a minute before scrolling through her contacts. She scrolled to Sam's name, wanting to call him and ask him to come over. She knew that he would. She also knew that she might have to come up with an explanation for why she was so freaked out, and she really didn't have the energy to do that. She scrolled a bit farther and landed on Spencer's name and thought for a minute. She was just about to hit 'call' when her finger began scrolling back up her contacts.

She landed on Emily's name and hit call before she could think twice.

Emily answered on the first ring.

"Hey," Alison greeted, trying to keep her voice even.

"What's up? Did you forget something earlier?" Emily asked.

She thought quickly, "No, I was… just reading the Rosewood High newsletter," she lied. "I didn't realize that so many of your swimmers were going to States this year. I felt bad for not asking about it." She'd actually read the newsletter last week, but it worked.

"Well that was nice of you," Emily commented, seemingly not picking up on the lie, "and yeah they did."

"Tell me about it?" Alison asked.

Emily laughed, "Since when do you care about swimming so much?"

"Just trying to keep up to date. So what's the prognosis?"

Emily spent the next ten minutes describing each swimmer and their progress. The truth was that Alison didn't care about the swimmers. She just wanted to hear Emily's voice. It was soothing to her, and she knew it would calm her down.

She wanted to blurt our what had just happened. How it had freaked her out, but at the same time somehow comforted her. She couldn't make her mouth move, though.

So she just listened. She closed her eyes listening to backstroke times and freestyle relay line ups. She wouldn't tell Emily tonight, but she decided that she would tell her soon. It was time to open up.

—

A/N - Thanks for reading! I'm enjoying seeing you all speculate about the direction of the story in the comments. Hope you keep reading and letting me know your thoughts. Stay safe and sane out there!