A/N - Thank you guys for continuing to read this! Reading all of your reviews has really kept this story fun for me to post. There were some lengthy reviews from the last chapter. I really appreciate the thoughts that went into them. I haven't had anyone read this story outside of this site, so the feedback is a huge help to show me where the writing is effective and ineffective. Last chapter was heavily told in Emily's POV intentionally (and we'll get more from Ali's side in this chapter actually) but I think the chapter was missing a little bit of Ali's perspective, particularly at the end. Emily was clearly not happy to find out that there was someone else in Alison's life, but she relaxed a little when Alison seemingly brushed it off. Hearing Sam at her apartment definitely brought Emily back to reality. As for Ali and Sam, I've tried to show that while Alison sees it as a casual thing, Sam is very patient and persistent. I don't imagine that she actually asked him to come bring her food on Sunday, but also didn't object when he offered. I know some of you are disappointed in her and that's okay because she isn't without fault there. They both are still making mistakes as they navigate their lives. The final scene of last chapter was necessary though as it will cause Emily to come to some realizations. For the reviewer that wanted clarification on Emily and Casey, you will get your questions answered.

On another note: The reason that this all probably feels so drawn out is because they aren't running back into each others arms (which I know we totally all want them to). I definitely had to make some creative choices in what led up to the divorce, but what we were given from the show is that it all came down to trust. That is a major issue and needed to be addressed first and foremost. They have been working on rebuilding that trust for the past year now that Alison has been back. In finding that, they've certainly grown closer again. But this isn't a high school crush. They're in their late twenties now and have young children that depend on them to be mothers first. We can see that they're both longing for the days when they were together and a family, but at the same time they have been divorced over two years now and have been conditioned with the notion that they have to move on. They're both trying to do that in their own ways. Something to keep in mind as the next few chapters unfold is if they can move on with other people and still keep this relationship that they've rebuilt with one another. Can those two things coexist? If they can, what does that future look like? If they can't, what choice is made?

—

Emily hung up the phone with Alison on Sunday night peeved. And the worst part was that she knew that she shouldn't be. Alison wasn't doing anything wrong by seeing someone else- as a matter of fact, Emily was doing the same thing. It was just that they had such a nice weekend together with the kids, and it felt like Alison was tarnishing it in some way by spending her first night back in Rosemont with someone else.

The range of emotions that she had gone through in the past three days had really taken a toll on her. The initial news that Alison had been in an accident was absolutely terrifying. She was certainly relieved once she saw that Ali was for the most part alright, but it still made Emily feel protective of her. She felt a need to be close to the blonde and watch over her to make sure that nothing happened. She told herself that it was for her daughters' sake, that she wouldn't let anything happen to their other mother.

But it was more than that.

When she'd felt the relief, Emily let open a part of her heart that she had tried to barricade shut in the months since Alison's return. She let her feelings for the other girl out of that locked up place inside of her over the course of the weekend. She found herself wondering if that weekend was what her life could be like- If they could be a family again. For the first time in a long time, she hadn't stopped herself from letting her eyes linger on the other girl and she let herself hold her longer when they hugged.

But hearing that she had someone over at her house just hours after going home snapped something inside of Emily. It caused her to run back to the door of her heart and try to force it back closed.

She called Hanna after her call with Alison.

"What's up?" Hanna answered. It was a little late for Emily to be calling, but she knew that both of Hanna's children, like her own, were probably asleep.

"Not Much. Ali's back in Rosemont," Emily informed her.

"Well that's good. I take it she's feeling better after the accident?" Their friends were all aware of what had happened and had called in periodically throughout the weekend to check up on Emily and Alison.

"Yup. So good that she's already hosting visitors at her apartment," Emily scoffed.

"Well that's… good," Hanna wasn't really sure how to respond to her friend, "Or maybe not good…?"

"Did you know that she was dating someone?" Hanna was quiet on the other end for a second, but eventually answered.

"I knew that she was seeing someone, yeah, but I didn't think it was serious." Although she was closer to Emily than she was any of their other friends, Hanna tried to respect everyone's boundaries when it came to their relationships with one another. She wanted the best for everyone and sometimes was most vocal with Emily because they were so close, but just because she heard things from their other friends didn't mean that she would blab them to Emily… or at least she usually tried not to anyway.

"She says it's not," Emily shook her head. "I met the guy. He was sitting in her hospital room when I got there," she grumbled.

"Ahh," Hanna hadn't heard this part yet, "bet that was awkward."

"Uh yeah," Emily huffed, "He knew exactly who I was and I had no idea who he was."

"That sucks," Hanna commiserated. It was never fun when your ex dated someone else. She remembered how awkward she felt when Caleb dated Spencer briefly.

"I don't know why, but I'm just kind of mad," Emily confessed with a sigh.

"At her? Or him? Or like the situation?" Hanna wondered.

"I don't know. All of it?" Emily started to feel her voice getting strained as she tried to sort through her emotions. "I mean, what is she going to do? Date this guy? Marry him? Have little blonde, blue-eyed babies with him and live happily ever after? And then-"

"Jesus, Emily, you need to calm down," Hanna spoke up to interrupt whatever derailing train Emily was on. She'd seen this plenty of times before. When Emily got started down a negative path it was a quick 'Do Not Pass Go' progression that needed immediate halting.

Emily took a feel breaths to try to calm herself. She covered her face with her hands and groaned, "I know."

"I mean, aren't you doing the same thing? You're dating someone too," Hanna reminded her.

It was true, but for some reason that felt different to Emily. Maybe it was because she was in charge of that relationship and had a say in its progression and the implications it would have on her family. She had been taking it slow with Casey and was really getting to know her. Had Alison done the same thing with this Sam guy? Emily had no idea.

"Where did you tell Casey that you were this weekend?" Hanna pushed further.

"I told her that there was an issue and that I had the girls this weekend so I couldn't see her." She'd definitely left out the part where her ex-wife was staying at her house. She assumed that wouldn't have gone over very well.

"You could've seen her though," Hanna pointed out, "You just chose not to."

Emily knew that Hanna had a point. She could have left for a few hours or ducked away at night to call the girl that she was dating. She hadn't though. She'd been so hyper focused on Alison and had enjoyed their time too much to want to separate herself from it. Now that she was looking back, maybe she should have stepped away instead of getting all wrapped up in Alison and playing house with her again.

"I know I shouldn't be mad at Ali if she's dating someone," Emily sighed, "I told myself that I was just annoyed that she didn't tell me but honesty I don't think that I wouldn't have taken it well even if she had. It's just hard."

"And I'm guessing that you haven't told her that you're dating someone too," Hanna inferred.

"…No."

"Well are you going to?"

"Maybe? I think so. I just want to make sure that Casey is the right one first before I tell Ali," Emily reasoned. Every experience that she'd had with Casey since running into her at the pool had been great so far. Emily hadn't met someone that she'd gotten along with this well since before her marriage. It was probably time to take things to the next level with her and be exclusive, but Emily had been holding back lately. Maybe this was the push she needed.

"Maybe Ali's doing the same thing? Trying to make sure that this guy is the right one," Hanna pointed out.

Emily rolled her eyes and huffed, "I hope he's not."

Hanna laughed, "Why? Because he's a guy? Would you rather she was dating a girl?"

"Goodnight, Hanna," Emily chuckled. She had gotten what she needed from her friend and didn't want to dive into new territory tonight. Plus, she really didn't know how to answer that. She was pretty sure that she wasn't going to like the idea of Alison dating someone no matter who they were.

Hanna grinned on the other end, proud that she'd done her job and hopefully gotten some kind of smile out of her friend, "Get some sleep, Em."

—

Over the next week, Emily thought a lot about how she wanted to handle her relationships moving forward. Alison's accident had been scary for her, but it had also served as a wake up call. She'd met with Doctor Brown once and told her about the situation and that she was worried that she was having feelings for Alison again. The therapist had told her that those feelings were normal after a traumatic event and not to place too much weight on them. It eased Emily's anxiety somewhat and allowed her to forgive herself if she had let her heart slip opened to the blonde again.

Her marriage with Alison was her past and she decided that she needed to focus on her future. She felt bad that she hadn't told Casey about Alison spending the weekend at her house. She arranged a lunch date with her and wound up opening up to Casey about some of what had gone on.

"Did you have a good weekend?" Casey asked. She had traveled in the middle of the work day to meet Emily in Rosewood and they sat outside at a cafe. The weather was warm enough to finally be outside and the sun shined bright on them, illuminating the other girls green eyes.

"It was a little dramatic…" Emily nodded.

Casey laughed, "Were your twins acting up?"

"Well I didn't really tell you the whole story," Emily twisted her lips a little. Casey's eyebrows constricted slightly and she tilted her head, curious to hear more. "Alison was actually in a car accident on Thursday, and that was was why the girls stayed in Rosewood for the weekend." Emily had given Casey enough of the backstory of her relationship history for the other girl to know that Alison was her ex-wife and she had a long history with her.

The other girl raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Oh my god. Is she okay?"

"Mhm," Emily nodded, "It wasn't terribly serious. Concussion… that kind of thing. I went to the hospital that night and she was good to go after some observation."

"That was sweet of you," Casey smiled.

"…I also took her home and she stayed with the girls and I over the weekend," Emily confessed.

Casey's bright smile faltered, "Oh." It was replaced with another smile, this one close mouthed and much tighter, "I see."

"I just thought it was the right thing to do," Emily shrugged, "she lives alone and I felt like someone should make sure that she was really okay. Plus that way she got to spend some time with the girls."

Casey nodded, but didn't respond. Emily instantly felt bad. It was obvious to her that the other girl was let down by the information. "I'm sorry I wasn't up front about that," She apologized. She really did like this girl and didn't want to do anything to ruin it. Managing her relationship with Alison and trying to date someone else was new to her. There would probably be some bumps along the way and she hoped that this one didn't bust the wheels off the wagon.

"It's okay," Casey shrugged, "I know that you two have a lot of history and we're still getting to know each other. I guess I just wish that you had told me."

Emily nodded and reached for her hand across the table, "I should have, I'm sorry. Are you upset with me?"

"Not really," she squeezed Emily's hand and smirked, "As long as you weren't like making out with her or anything."

Emily let out a surprised breathy laugh, "No." Thought admittedly there had been times when she'd thought 'what if' but she'd shut them down quickly. "You're the only person I've been making out with." She grinned.

Casey wiggled her eyebrows, "Good."

They'd enjoyed the rest of their lunch and Emily was thankful that Casey didn't seem too upset or really press her for information. That was something that she appreciated about the other girl. It didn't seem like she was into drama. She had been easygoing with their relationship since the day that they reconnected and Emily liked that. She'd had quite a few dramatic episodes with some of the girls that she'd dated back in the Fall who didn't seem to understand that she was just interested in something casual and that she wanted to take it slow. Now that she was with someone who seemed to understand that, Emily found herself actually wanting more.

She wondered about Alison and the guy from the hospital. She wanted to believe Ali that it wasn't really serious, but given the events of the past week, she found herself doubting that. The more she thought about it, she convinced herself that Alison probably just didn't want to rock the boat and take the step of getting serious with someone. So did that mean that Emily needed to be the one to take the step? They'd said from the get-go that they would let the other person know if they were dating someone and it was serious. Emily thought that she might be ready to take that next step with Casey. At least she felt this way with her more than anyone else she'd met.

She decided that she would take the step and ask Casey to be exclusive, to be her girlfriend. Maybe if she moved her own relationship along, Alison would be able to do the same. It wasn't that she wanted to see the blonde dating someone else- especially the guy from the hospital- but it was inevitable, wasn't it? Committing to dating other people was hard, but just like other steps in their post-divorce relationship, Emily believed that this must be a necessary step too.

That Friday, after dropping the girls off at Alison's house, she drove to Casey's apartment. She actually lived closer to Rosemont than Emily, so it'd been surprisingly convenient to see her on Friday evenings. They ordered in dinner and spent the evening alternating between tv shows and conversations. Eventually, it led to them wrapped around each other, kissing on the couch.

Casey pulled back after a while, with hooded eyes and a grin. "I really like you, Emily," she told the brunette.

Emily moved her hand up to the other girls cheek, "I really like you too," she confessed, moving in for another kiss. She pulled back again and took a breath. She was feeling happy and content. Right now felt like the right time to bring it up so she went for it. "There's something that I wanted to ask you."

Casey eyed her curiously, "What's that?"

"I- I wanted to know if you wanted to maybe take the next step we me... make things like exclusive," her voice was quiet and she bit her lip in anticipation. She'd been thinking about this all week and was sure that this was the right thing to do, that she was ready to finally try to move on.

The statement earned a big grin from the other girl, "Oh yeah?"

Emily nodded, "What... what do you think?" She felt nervous all of the sudden, this was such a major step for her and the gravity of the situation started to weigh down. She hoped that she hadn't rushed things.

"So I would be your girlfriend?" Casey asked, grinning even harder.

"That's what I was thinking, yeah?" Emily gave a wry smile, "I know that my life is a little more crazy than most people's but I was hoping… maybe you'd want to be on the ride with me?"

"I'd like that," the other girl nodded.

And despite the fears and reservations inside of Emily, her hope and excitement took over. She gave Casey a big grin. This was a big step, and she was relieved that the the other girl was willing to take it with her. She felt validated and wanted, and it had been so long since she'd felt this way.

Of course, the lingering issue of Alison remained in the back of her mind. She knew that she would have to tell the blonde that she had a girlfriend. Now that it was official, Emily was confronted with the reality of the situation and she had no idea how Ali would take the news. She hoped that she wasn't pushing her away by making this choice.

—

Back in Rosemont, Alison wasn't have quite as good of a week.

It had all started Sunday night after she'd gotten off of the phone with Emily. They had story time with the girls and after they fell asleep, Emily had abruptly ended the call. It had felt strange because they'd had such a good weekend together. Waking up in the hospital to find Emily there had provided her with a sense of comfort and security. Throughout the weekend, Emily had doted on her and taken care of her. It wasn't like Alison didn't have other people who would help her- she was sure that any of her friends or Sam would have done the same thing, but it felt different coming from the brunette. It reminded her of their early days together when she was pregnant with the twins and she and Emily were in a new relationship bliss. She couldn't help feel those same feelings that she'd had years ago several times over the weekend. It was a bit unnerving to have Emily jump off of the phone so quickly.

"Story time over?" Sam had asked as he walked over to the couch where she was sitting and staring at the blank screen on her phone.

"Yeah, I think she heard you in the background," Alison told him as she put her phone down. Sam handed her a plate with the takeout food that he brought and she moved it around a little, deciding if she felt like eating it. Her appetite had come and gone over the weekend and right now it was starting to return to the 'gone' category.

Sam huffed a humorless laugh out, "I'm sure that went over well… I don't think she likes me very much."

Alison continued to move the food around. She wondered why he'd think that. Emily hadn't said that to her. "She said that she felt bad about what she said to you in the hospital. She wanted to apologize actually," Alison defended. She really didn't like talking about Emily to Sam any more than she liked talking about Sam to Emily. She'd been keeping these two parts of her life completely separate for months and had planned to keep it that way had it not been for the accident. She didn't see the need to tell Emily about someone that she was casually seeing, especially when she couldn't figure out exactly how far her feelings for Sam went.

"Like I said, I know that she was just worried. It was kind of harsh but…" He shook his head with a shrug.

"Well what did she say to you," Alison knew that she should probably have just let it be and move on but she asked anyway.

"She was just being all erratic asking how I could have let it happen. Accusing me of drinking and driving. I could see where it was going and I wasn't going to fight with someone like that," he told her.

Alison pushed her brows together, feeling even more defensive, "Someone like what?" She asked.

"I don't know. All protective… possessive."

"She's not possessive."

"Uh, you didn't see the glare she gave me after she made it clear that she was taking you home, not me," he scoffed, "Pretty sure it's because I'm a guy but whatever."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean"

"I don't know, just forget it." He dropped it in an attempt to move on. It was too late, though, he had pissed Alison off.

After that, she had turned the television on and pushed her food around long enough for him to finish his and then told him it was late and she was going to bed. Normally he'd stay the night, but he'd gotten the hint and left.

In addition to that, returning to work had been tougher than she'd expected. She showed up Monday morning ready to teach, but after just one lecture, her headaches returned and she had to deploy her TAs to do most of the work for the next couple of days. She used the time to try and get caught up with her own schoolwork since the semester was coming to a close and finals were looming over her.

Normally, she would talk to Sam a few times during the week, but there was nothing in her that really wanted to reach out. Plus, she was still annoyed with him from their last interaction. She didn't know what he was insinuating, but she didn't like it. She also didn't like that it had to do with Emily. After the weekend they had, she refused to have anything but positive thoughts about the brunette. She had come to the hospital in the middle of the night and she appreciated everything that she did over the weekend. When Alison thought back to some of their interactions in the house, she couldn't help but smile. It had really almost felt like old times, when they were together and a family.

She found herself missing the brunette throughout the week. Emily kept most of their conversations short, though, and on Friday when she dropped the girls off she had left pretty quickly. Alison felt herself craving to talk to the brunette. She wanted to spend more time with her like they had over the weekend. She knew that it wasn't healthy to feel that way. She was supposed to be moving on, and not revisiting the past, but she didn't care. She wanted to be in Emily's presence right now more than ever.

On Saturday, after the girls were asleep and she and Emily were making light conversation on the phone, she got her wish.

"So…" Emily drew out, "I was wondering if you wanted to bring the girls back around dinnertime tomorrow? We could all eat dinner together and hang out before they go to bed."

Alison smiled into the phone, "Yeah, I could do that."

Emily continued, "And after we put them to bed, maybe you could stay for a little bit so that we could talk?"

This peaked Alison's curiosity. She wondered what Emily would want to talk about. Was the brunette feeling the same way that she was after their weekend together?

"That sounds great," she told her. She tried to keep her voice even, but there was an excitement building up inside of her.

"Okay. So I'll see you then?" Emily asked.

"See you then," she replied before hanging up the phone. She was already looking forward to the next day.

She didn't want to look past her Sunday with the girls, but she couldn't help wonder what the next night would have in store as she laid in bed. She hadn't felt the same happy and content feeling that she felt at the house in Rosewood all week and was hoping that it would be recaptured. She wasn't sure what Emily wanted to talked about, but given that the invitation felt positive, she assumed it wasn't anything bad.

Sunday went by quickly. Alison went all out and made the girls a big breakfast with chocolate chip pancakes, and the girls excitement from it lingered on through the afternoon. She was thankful for the nice weather that the Springtime brought because it meant that she could take them to the park and get out of the confines of her small apartment. After a long winter inside, they were all happy to finally get out. She was in a good mood all day, and before they knew it, it was time to head to Rosewood to take the twins home.

She walked the girls up to the door, and despite normally knocking and having Emily let them in, she decided to open it for herself. The girls went rushing in while she walked behind them, taking in the smell of the dinner that Emily was cooking. When they were together, it was usually Alison that cooked, but whatever Emily had on the stove surprisingly smelled good.

Emily turned the corner from the kitchen, looking a little bit surprised at their entrance, "Oh, hey."

Alison noted that she seemed a little bit rigid and second thought her decision not to knock, "I'm sorry for just barging in, they were getting ready to run over the door," she apologized with a fib.

"Oh, no it's okay," Emily gave her a small brief smile and bent down to welcome the twins with hugs. Alison found herself wanting a hug too, but she stayed in place. She didn't want to push it.

"So did you guys have a nice weekend?" Emily asked the twins as she returned to the kitchen with the girls trailing behind her like a shadow and Alison trailing behind.

"This smells good, Em, what are you making?" She asked, hoping to enter the conversation.

She gave whatever was in the saucepan a stir, "I'm trying my hand at Alfredo sauce."

Alison walked over and peaked at it. She gave her a sweet smile, "Looks good, I approve."

Emily gave another quick smile back with a nod, but didn't say anything else. Alison couldn't put her finger on it, but the energy in the room felt tense. She wondered what was going on. They were okay, right?

"I can set the table if you want?" She offered.

"Sure," Emily turned to the cabinet and pulled out some dishes. Her hands were a little bit unsteady as she passed them over to the blonde.

Alison tried not to read much into it, but Emily was definitely a little bit off today. She was about to ask the brunette if everything was alright, but the girls called her into the living room, beckoning her to play a game with them.

When Alison left the room, Emily let out a sigh of relief. When she made the decision to take the next step with Casey, she promised herself that she would tell Alison right away. She believed that it was the right thing to do, especially given how she felt after the way she'd found out about Sam. She told Alison Saturday night that she wanted talk and once she had she knew there was no going back.

Except there was. She knew that if it came down to the moment and she chickened out that she could just talk to her about something else and save the relationship talk for another time. She'd been anxious all day, trying to determine the right way to get it out to the other girl. It didn't help that Alison had walked in all bubbly and seemingly in a good mood. Emily had a feeling that when she broke the news she was going to be raining on Alison's parade and she was starting to feel bad.

She made it to dinner, and tried to act somewhat normal. Luckily, the twins were feeling talkative tonight and they took turns giving Emily a play-by-play of their weekend as they twirled their pasta noodles. Emily asked them questions when there was a lull in the conversation, and Alison added some details in between Lily and Grace's chaotic recounts, but other than that Emily and Alison didn't really communicate directly.

By the end of dinner, Alison could tell that something was definitely up, she just wasn't sure what. She'd come tonight hoping to feel the way that she had the weekend prior, but the vibe was totally different. Last weekend, Emily had given her so much attention. The two of them had laughed together and bonded with their daughters. Tonight, it was like Alison was just there, watching the three of them have dinner.

After they ate, Alison stood up to grab the dishes off the table, but Emily stopped her. "I've got it. Why don't you hang out with the girls while I clean up?"

"I can help you," Alison tilted her head, "It's only fair since you did the cooking." When they were married, they had a pretty good rhythm of sharing household chores. If Alison cooked, Emily cleaned up, and vice versa.

"It's no problem, I don't mind," Emily objected and picked up another plate and headed to the kitchen with them. Alison wanted to follow her and ask what was going on, but she decided to let it be and went to go find Lily and Grace.

The truth was that Emily just wanted something to do. They had another hour or so until it was time for the girls to go to bed, and she was driving herself a little bit crazy with the anticipation. She was nervous and knew that it was getting pretty obvious. The more that she could busy herself was less time that she was acting strange around Alison.

Eventually they got the girls changed and ready for bed. They were about halfway through the second story when both twins drifted off and Alison and Emily snuck out of the room. They lingered in the hallway for a few minutes to make sure that both girls would stay asleep before the started walking downstairs.

"Pretty soon, they'll be able to read to us before bed," Emily spoke up in an attempt to make conversation.

"Yeah, I've been working with them here and there trying to get them to read some things to me. They're starting to recognize a lot of words," Alison smiled.

"They say it's a good thing. To have your kids already able to read some before they start kindergarten," Emily noted, a little bit absentmindedly as they moved to sit on the couch in the living room.

"You okay, Em? You've seemed a little distracted tonight." She sat down and looked at the brunette with her lips tightly pushed together, trying to make eye contact.

Emily ran a hand through her hair and let out a long breath, "You're right, I've had a lot on my mind."

"Well what did you want to talk about?"

Emily hesitated for a moment. She'd played out the conversation in her head maybe sixty times just today. Each time, she said something differently or Alison reacted differently. There was no rule book or how-to guide out there, and she struggled to find the balance between honest and realistic while still cushioning it. She wasn't doing this to hurt the other girl and really hoped that it didn't have a negative effect on their relationship. She was just trying to move on and build a future for herself, and she hoped that Alison would understand.

"I, um…" Emily swallowed and finally met Alison's gaze. She stared into her blue eyes and almost melted. She really didn't want to have this conversation anymore, but she forced herself to try. "I've been thinking a lot this week. Last weekend was pretty crazy and it made me… evaluate some things."

Alison blinked. Evaluate? Like was she evaluating their relationship or her own life or, "What kind of things?" She asked.

Emily looked back down at her lap and fiddled with her hands slightly. When she looked back up, she struggled to make eye contact again, "I think I was being a little bit hypocritical when I grilled you about seeing that guy."

Alison tilted her head, a little bit confused. Was Emily apologizing? That wasn't really necessary. She also didn't really want to talk about Sam right now. She waved her off, "It's fine, don't worry about it. I wasn't upset."

Emily nodded and tightened her expression a little bit, "I guess I was upset for some reason… and I don't think that was fair of me."

"I know you were just worried in the hospital. I don't think what you said was out of line."

"No, I don't mean at the hospital. I mean when I asked you about it later," she shook her head, "I don't know for some reason I just though that you would have told me if you were seeing someone."

"I'm sorry… It's not a serious thing." She thought they had gone over this already, "I assume that you don't tell me every time that you go on a date." She pointed out.

"Right," Emily nodded, "That's why I started to feel like I wasn't being fair."

"It's fine, Em," she repeated with a smiled. She didn't think that they needed to rehash this. She hadn't even really thought about that conversation in a week.

Emily nodded but stayed quiet. This was her opening, but before she could speak up, Alison spoke again.

"Have you really been feeling bad about this all week?" She thought it was sweet that Emily had cared enough to sit her down and apologize, though she really didn't think it was necessary.

"Um, it's been on my mind, yeah," she gulped, unable to get any more out.

"Well, we can move on from it," Alison tried to lighten the mood and gave her another encouraging smile. Emily didn't smile back and she felt her brows constrict, "…unless you're still upset about it?"

"No, that's not it, I just wanted to be more honest with you," Emily started.

"Well I appreciate that." She relaxed her face again at the words.

"Because I'm dating someone too."

And with that Alison's smile disappeared and her face visibly fell, "Wait- what?"

"I realized that it was really unfair of me to grill you on that if I was seeing someone too."

Alison blinked. This wasn't where she had thought the conversation was heading. At all. And she knew that she had no right to be upset, but she felt her chest tighten as the hurt and anger started to bubble up. She had no inclination that Emily was dating anyone- especially not from their interactions last weekend. Was this how Emily had felt at the hospital?

"O-okay. Why did you want to tell me now?" Alison managed to ask. She didn't want to say much, because she didn't trust herself to speak right now. She wasn't sure what would come out if she did.

Emily took a breath, "Um because… it's getting kind of serious I guess. I actually asked her to be my girlfriend this weekend." Her own words sounded so strange as she heard them come out. It sounded foreign to her, as if she wasn't even the ones saying them. She decided that she hated this- talking about other relationships with Alison. It just felt wrong for some reason even though she'd felt like it was the right thing to do.

Alison didn't respond. She took several quiet breaths as her eyes darted around the room. She wanted to be anywhere but here right now.

"We-we said that we would let each other know, right? If we were dating someone and it was serious? I just thought I should tell you… so that you knew." Emily stammered nervously.

"Yeah," Alison nodded, not making eye contact, "thanks." She stood up and took a few steps, not really sure where she was heading. She just knew that she wanted to get the hell out of there.

Emily followed her lead and stood up as well. She moved towards the blonde, wanting to reach out for her, but stopping herself, "Are you- Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine," Alison turned back towards Emily and noted her purse sitting on a chair across the room, "I'm going to head home now."

Emily started to panic. This was exactly what she didn't want to happen. Alison was shutting down and she knew that this wouldn't be good for the future. "Wait, could we talk more?"

The blonde grabbed her purse and looked back to Emily, "Well what else is there to say?" She shook her head.

"I…" Emily knew that this was not the note that she wanted to leave it at, but she really wasn't sure what else there was to say.

"It's late," Alison raised a brow, making it clear that it wasn't the time to argue with her. She waked towards the door. "Thanks for having me tonight."

She didn't say anything else, she just opened the door and left.

Emily sat back down on the couch and covered her face with her hands and groaned, "Shit."

There was a part of her that wanted to take it all back. That wanted to go back to a week ago, sitting in the living room watching movies with Alison and their daughters, laughing as they all batted popcorn around the room. But she knew that back was the wrong direction. She was supposed to be moving forward. She had to keep moving forward, and this was what it was going to take. She just hoped that Alison would come around.

—

A/N - Anyone else want to hit these two on the head? Thanks for reading! I'm nervous to hear your thoughts, remember to hit the two that can't open up about their feelings, not me!