A/N- Ah, so sorry that the first update was the wrong chapter. I must have clicked on one of the old ones. Thanks to the guest who pointed that out. Here is the correct update!

Glad to see in the reviews that everyone is happy that these two finally admitted their feelings. You can see sparks of "Old Ali" and "Old Emily" but I hope that the changes in them are evident as they have worked on themselves over time. For people that said they could see this happening on screen- I wish, right! Way better than watching Ali get drunk in the middle of the afternoon and sign the divorce papers that Emily sent seemingly out of no where... but that was why I felt the need to fix these two. Anyway, I appreciate the feedback and absolutely love reading it.

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

—

Alison found herself so glad that she had found the courage to tell Emily what she was feeling. It felt like she had overcome a major personal hurdle. It had taken months the first time around to finally tell Emily how she felt, and even then it took a pregnancy and a push from Paige to do so. This time she'd been able to swallow her fear of rejection on her own and it paid off. It felt like they were building something and she promised herself that she wouldn't let anything derail it.

Getting to spend more time with Emily and the twins brought a positivity in her life that had been seriously lacking in the last few years. She usually stayed over at the house on Sunday nights and another night during the week, so her time with the twins had essentially doubled. She got to spend more alone time with Emily too. It felt like they were back in the early stages of dating, where she was constantly thinking about the other woman and wanting to spend as much time with her as she could.

Saying goodnight or goodbye to each other started to feel like the hardest part. Before, when Alison would retreat to the guest room and Emily would walk upstairs to her bedroom it felt like they were doing the correct and expected thing. Despite their feelings, the line had still existed between them and not crossing it felt like the norm. But now that they'd crossed, it was hard to keep some things separate. They texted each other throughout the day. They talked on the phone together for hours into the night. When they were alone in a room together, their hands somehow found each other's. They kissed goodnight when they stayed up together after the girls went to bed. It should have been enough, because they were taking it slow, but they both wanted more. It was getting harder and harder not push the new boundaries that they'd set.

One weeknight, Alison was laying in the guest bed. She wasn't quite tired yet, but she and Emily had said their goodnights about a half hour ago, so she felt like she needed to retire to the guest room. She changed into her pajamas and got gotten under the covers, but spent the time sorting through some emails on her phone that she had missed earlier. She'd had a good night with Emily and the twins and she hadn't wanted to deal with anything work related. Most of the emails were just from students asking her to clarify the instructions for their essay assignment or letting her know that they weren't going to make it to class.

She put the phone down for a second and closed her eyes. About a minute later, she heard a light tap on the door. She opened her eyes again and saw the door creak open as Emily poked her head in.

"Hey," she said, smile forming to her face. Hopefully this was real and she hadn't fallen asleep and started dreaming yet. She didn't think so, but neither of them had visited the other's bedroom before.

"Is it okay if I come in?" Emily asked, keeping her voice low.

"Of course." Alison sat up a little and supported herself on her elbow. "What are you doing here?"

Emily smiled a little bashfully, "I missed you," she confessed. "Can I lay down for a little bit?"

Alison nodded. She moved over a little and lifted the covers up so that the brunette could slide in next to her.

Emily snuggled into the pillow. She was laying on her side facing the blonde. In their history, they had been in bed together so many times, but this felt like new territory tonight. Emily had known when she was upstairs in her bed by herself that she wanted to be in bed with the other girl, but now that she was here, she wasn't sure what to do. It seemed like Alison felt the same way because she didn't make any movements either. They both faced each other, searching the other's eyes for an answer.

After a few moments, Emily worked up the courage and made the move that she'd come downstairs to make. She scooted her body closer and reached her arm around the blonde. She ran her hand up and down her back and leaned in to kiss her. Alison responded to the action immediately, placing her own hand on Emily's hip and moving her lips in sync. Emily lowered her hand down her back and let her fingers dance underneath Alison's pajama shirt. She sighed at the feeling and Emily inched even closer to her as she deepened the kiss.

They didn't get this far often. Usually, their kisses were confined to sweet goodnight or goodbye kisses. If the girls were occupied, they took the opportunity to slip away and sneak a few pecks in the kitchen or another empty room in the house, but they had been careful. There were a few times that they had let themselves fall into a quick, heated make out session while spending time together after the girls went to bed. Those didn't last long, though, as both women were afraid that they would get too lost in the kiss and one of their daughters would walk downstairs and spy them together. And they'd never spent time in either of their bedrooms together like they were right now.

But now that they were alone and behind closed doors, Alison let herself get totally lost in the kiss. In the three years since they were divorced, she had tried to make herself forget what it felt like to kiss the brunette. She'd pushed out of her mind how tender Emily could be when she ran her fingers along bare skin. She had tried to forget the way that she could feel the brunette's kisses in a rush of warmth that pulsed through her entire body. The way that she was able to push any fear or worry from her mind and just feel the love. There had been nights when she'd allowed the memories of being with Emily flood back to her. It led to a short term happiness, but then was eventually replaced with a long term sadness because they were just memories and not reality.

But this, right now, this was real. And that realization alone made her feel just as good as the actual kiss itself did.

She leaned back with a big uncontrollable grin on her face and tried to catch her breath. Emily's fingers tickled the sensitive skin on her lower back.

"What are you smiling about?" Emily asked, her own lips curling up to match the blonde's expression.

Alison shook her head lightly. She felt dazed. Like the reality that she was experiencing wasn't actually real. Sometimes it felt like she'd stepped into a dream. "I'm really happy."

Emily leaned in again and placed a tender kiss to her lips. "I'm am too." She nuzzled the blonde's neck, placing a light kiss just below her ear. "I love you."

Alison felt the words in her heart and it sent a rush of passion through her. She dipped her head down and found the brunette's lips again, crashing into them and kissing her tightly. She brought her hand up to the back of Emily's head and tangled her hands in the other girls dark hair. She tugged her close until their pajama covered bodies were pressed against each other's. She wanted to pull Emily on top of her and let this go wherever they wanted it to, but her mind went to their daughters. They were supposed to be sleeping upstairs, but they could find their way down to her room if they wanted to. Emily hadn't locked the door behind her. She felt nervous all of the sudden and pulled back slightly.

"Should we...?" She looked around the room a little unsure, "What if the girls wake up?"

Emily took in her nervous expression and smiled back a little sheepishly. "I might have already thought of that..." She rolled over and grabbed her phone. Alison tilted her head to the side, not sure where Emily was going with this. The brunette showed her the screen and she instantly recognized the app on it.

Alison's mouth fell opened in surprise, "Oh my god." She let out a little laugh and looked back at the brunette, "You did not get out our daughters' baby monitors and set them up so that we could make out?" She wondered how many nights Emily had wanted to sneak downstairs after they said their goodnights. Alison had been wanting her to for awhile now.

Emily bit her lip, "Is it bad that I did? I set it up in the hallway, not the bedroom." It was cute that she was worried about making sure that that their five year olds had privacy.

"I'm actually kind of impressed." Alison raised her brows, smiling again as she closed the distance to continue their kisses. The release of her nerves led her to kiss the other girl with more purpose and less inhibition. She moved her body so that she was halfway top of Emily who was gripping her sides and kissing her back just as intensely.

Their tongues slid against one another, finding a rhythm that they'd had for years and years. Whether it was a surprise encounter at the kissing rock, a single passionate night in her high school bedroom, or a long night curled up in bed together at their home, they had always been in sync. It had always made her feel a mix between comfort and excitement. Alison felt her chest fluttering with all kinds of unexplainable feelings as the kiss took her higher and higher.

She ducked her head into Emily's neck and placed a series of kisses along it. She smiled at the sound of the moan that it elicited. It egged Alison on further and she adjusted herself so that she could roll her thigh between Emily's legs. The brunette gasped at the sensation and Alison could feel the warmth from the other girl's center. She continued her path down Emily's neck, but stopped when she felt the other girl's hands fly to her hips, stalling the movement.

"Wait," Emily breathed in and out a few times trying to get her bearings. "We should- we should slow down."

Alison froze in place and lifted her head from the crook of Emily's neck. She peered into her eyes, trying to figure out if she'd done something wrong. She blinked a few times and tried to catch her own breath.

"What's wrong?" She asked. She hoped that she wasn't taking things too far, but she thought that this was the direction that Emily was trying to take things. She slid herself off of her and sat up a little in an attempt to offer some space.

Emily followed her lead and sat up against the pillows. She wasn't sure what to say. Nothing was wrong. It was the opposite, everything felt so right. It was hard to stop whatever was about to happen, but she just wasn't ready for things to get physical yet. They'd decided to take it slow and for Emily that meant holding off on sex until they figured everything else out first. Last time, when Alison was pregnant, they'd jumped right into sleeping together before talking about their expectations for their relationship. Emily didn't want things to end the same way they had last time. She wanted to make sure that they built a strong enough foundation first.

The silence made Alison feel panicked. The comfort that they'd spent weeks building started to slip from her mind. "Did I do something wrong?"

Emily shook her head and reached out for the other girl. "No, of course you didn't. That's not it."

"What is it then? Are we moving to fast?" She knew that they had agreed to take things slow, but she thought maybe Emily had come to her room tonight because she was ready. Alison couldn't resist the other girl when she was this close.

Emily exhaled and smiled. She used the hand that was holding Alison's and pulled the blonde towards her. They weren't moving too fast, but she didn't want to get carried away. Well no, actually she did want to get carried away, but she was trying to use some restraint. She wanted to build this relationship to last and was willing to deny herself of what she actually wanted in the short term. That being said, her body was very close to throwing caution to the wind and giving in.

Alison wrapped and arm around Emily's middle and cuddled into her, resting her head in the crook of her neck.

"If we went any further I wasn't going to be able to stop," Emily told her.

Alison chuckled at the statement because she felt the same, though she was ready and willing to let them take it wherever it went.

The laughter tickled the little hairs on Emily's neck. She wrapped her other arm around Alison's back and held her close. She pressed a kiss into her blonde hair.

"This is nice too," Alison nuzzled into her neck.

This was what Emily originally had in mind. She really just wanted to be close to Alison and cuddle together. Now that they were kind of casually seeing each other, Emily found herself constantly craving physical contact with the other girl. She hated laying in her bed alone at night. This was nice, though she knew that she couldn't stay here all night. She'd set an alarm and would get herself back upstairs in the middle of the night so that in the morning their daughters would be none the wiser. For now though, she was content with this. She closed her eyes and held on to Alison tight, enjoying the warm feeling that it brought to her heart.

—

As the days rolled on, Emily found that she was doing much better slipping back into the school routine than she had last year. She remembered back then feeling like she was torn between different worlds and navigating them all was a huge challenge for her. Back then, she was trying to set her schedule, manage Alison, keep the twins busy, and find time for a romantic social life on the weekends. This year, even with more things on her plate, like the girls starting soccer and applying to physical therapy programs, she still felt much more in control of her life.

A huge part of that was reconnecting romantically with Alison. It made her life feel complete again. She wasn't straddling two places anymore unsure of how to feel or where to be. It felt like she was always where she wanted to be. Taking it slow was hard, especially during nights like the one that she had snuck downstairs after bedtime, but she really liked the direction that their relationship was headed. She felt like they were doing things the right way.

She was starting to feel more comfortable and confident in her future as every day went by. Today, she had gone off to Hollis to grab some transcripts and the final letter of recommendation that she needed to include in her applications. Luckily, her mother didn't mind keeping the girls a little bit longer. Pam was the piece of the puzzle that kept everything together, and Emily had no problem admitting that she wouldn't be where she was today without all of the other woman's help.

She let herself into the house and noted right away that it was quiet inside. She did a lap around, but it was clear that they weren't inside, so she made her way to the back door. Sure enough, the three of them were out back. The girls were kicking a soccer ball and Pam was energetically chasing them.

"Hey," she called to grab their attention.

Her Mom kicked the ball in Lily's direction and walked over. She went to loop an arm around to hug her, but Emily stepped away.

"Uh, you're a little sweaty, Mom."

"Just getting my exercise in," Pam smiled.

"I need whatever drug or caffeine that gives you your energy," Emily shook her head.

"You just need to keep moving!" Pam wiped some of the perspiration from her brow. "Did you get all of the paperwork that you needed?"

Emily smiled. She felt relieved when she finally picked up the last of what she needed today. Deciding to go back to school had been nearly a year long process for her and it felt like she was getting close to the finish line. She nodded to her mother.

"Remind me where all of the applications are going again?" Pam asked.

"I'm hoping for Temple, but I applied to Drexel and Widener too," she told her Mom, naming several schools close by.

Pam's brows constricted, "What happened to Villanova?"

"Decided it wasn't the school for me," Emily shook her head.

"Nothing to do with Casey?" Pam narrowed her eyes.

After everything that had come to light on the Fourth of July and the subsequent breakup, she didn't want to be reminded of her ex-girlfriend in any way. There were plenty of good schools in the area that had the program that she was looking for. Her mother knew that they were broken up, but she hadn't really gone into specifics with her.

Emily shrugged her shoulders. They went inside together so that Pam could cool down a little. Emily noticed that the girls' art projects of their family drawings from a few weeks ago had had been sent home with them. She walked over and picked up Grace's drawing and smiled. It had been a nice night when she and Alison worked on these with the girls.

"I loved those drawings," Pam smiled from across the room.

"I know me too. Ali came over that night and we all worked on these together."

Pam eyed her daughter across the room, noting the smile. Emily had been very easygoing and carefree lately. It was a change from how stressed she'd seen her in previous years. "I couldn't help but notice Alison's car at the house lately when I've driven by some evenings."

Emily blinked. Was her mother on to her? She and Alison had been very quiet with what they had been doing. They'd talked a lot with each other, but hadn't brought anyone else into the mix. She wasn't quite ready to tell their friends or her family. It was still new. Still though, she felt like she couldn't lie to her mother. After everything that Pam had given her over the years, she knew that her mother deserved honesty. She tried to keep it light and simple.

"Ali usually brings the girls back early and we all do Sunday dinners together… she comes sometimes during the week too. It's really good for the girls," she nodded, "and it just makes sense for her to stay." That was all the truth, though the specifics were a little bit more complicated than that.

Pam nodded, and studied her for a moment. "And you two aren't… sleeping together, are you?"

"Mom, seriously?" Emily asked with wide eyes. She really didn't like to talk about this kind of thing with her mother and hearing that phrase come from Pam's mouth just sounded weird. She shook her head, "No, we're not."

Technically, that wasn't a lie. Alison stayed in the guest room, and they hadn't actually slept together… yet.

"Hmm," Pam mused. She didn't push it though and Emily was thankful for that. "I'm sure that the girls are enjoying that arrangement."

"They are," Emily confirmed. She glanced down at the drawings again. The girls loved having Alison around more, and it was easier for both women to have the other around for general parenting. Since Alison had been back, she felt like she had a partner again in raising the girls, but in the last month or so, that had taken on a whole new meaning. She could tell that it was a positive development for all four of them.

"That's good," Pam smiled.

Emily left that day feeling guilty for some reason. She hated the idea that she hadn't been totally up front with her mother, but she also wasn't ready to tell her the whole truth. It was important for her to talk to Alison first and make sure they they stayed on the same page about this kind of thing. She was trying really hard to make sure that they communicated equally.

The next day, the twins had soccer practice after school and Alison came to stay with them for the night. She got there about an hour before Emily came home with the twins and went to get dinner started. She liked feeling helpful and knew that Emily appreciated being able to eat a nice meal when they all got home versus picking up something quick after practice. It was nice to feel like a part of a team again. She liked being able to see Emily and the girls and be a part of their week. Last year, her weeks had felt so split between working weekdays and being a mom on the weekends. Now, she just felt like a working mom and it brought an unexpected comfort.

She heard the door open and Lily and Grace came running in dressed in their little soccer outfits.

"Girls! Did you not hear me say to take the cleats off at the door?" Emily walked in behind them. It was too late, though, the girls had already made their way into the kitchen to say hello to Alison, tracking grass and dirt all the way behind them.

Alison stifled a laugh as she hugged the girls. It made her feel better to know that she wasn't the only mother that they didn't always listen to. "Why don't you girls take your shoes off and leave them by the back door and go wash yourselves up for dinner?"

Both girls complied with the second request and ran upstairs in their socks. Emily made her way into the kitchen, stopping every other step to pick grass off the floor. She grabbed one last clump and looked at Alison, blinking with an annoyed expression.

"Aw, I'm sorry they didn't listen." She took a few steps towards the brunette and gave her a hug. It had only been a couple of days, but she missed her.

Emily felt herself soften at the contact. She kissed her temple and moved towards the trashcan to dump the grass in.

"You were the one who picked soccer," Alison shrugged.

"I don't regret it. Wait until you see how calm they are tonight. Their coach had them running around for almost an hour."

"Hmm," Alison thought, "Sounds like they'll be sleeping peacefully." She smirked and gave Emily a wink.

The brunette couldn't help but smile at the idea. If would be nice to spend some alone time together tonight. She'd been looking forward to it. She had some things that she wanted to talk to Alison about first, though, and she hoped that it wouldn't ruin the mood.

Alison noticed that Emily was a little bit more quiet than usual. She wasn't being standoffish or anything. It was just that lately she was used to of their interactions being full of little grins and silly teasing. She could tell that the other girl had something on her mind, but didn't want to push her.

After they put the girls to bed that night, they found themselves back in the living room together. They sat on couch and Alison eyed the brunette. She tucked her legs underneath her and reached for the remote. "Wanna watch a movie?" She suggested.

Emily turned towards her and tucked her lips in. She shook her head.

Alison felt her brows pinch together. "You okay?"

Emily shook herself out of her thoughts. "Yeah, no I'm good."

"You've been quiet tonight." Alison reached forward and touched Emily's leg lightly above the knee.

When the brunette didn't respond right away she went to withdraw her hand, but Emily stopped her. She place her own hand on top, rubbing her thumb across Alison's wrist.

"I've had some stuff on my mind. I'm sorry." Emily tried for a soft smile, "I know these nights are supposed to be fun when you come here."

"Sure, but that's not how real like works. I think we should know that by now," Alison chuckled. A little silence hung between them. She flipped her hand over and squeezed the brunette's. "Will you tell me what you've been thinking about?" She asked softly.

The fact that Emily's mind was somewhere else had been pretty evident. Alison hoped that the brunette would be willing to open up to her. She knew that Emily liked honesty, but she also knew that sometimes the brunette got caught up in her own head. When she had negative thoughts, she tended to stew on them, afraid of bringing down those around her. Alison wanted to make sure that they could have these honest discussions, even if it didn't always feel natural to either of them.

Emily didn't answer right away. She just continued looking down at their joined hands. It made Alison nervous. She tried to push the insecurities away, but she still couldn't help but ask, "Is it something that I did?"

That caught Emily's attention. "No, of course not! You've been amazing." She smiled at the blonde before shaking her head a little at herself, "It's more like something that I did."

Alison eyed her curiously, unsure how to take that.

Emily realized that her words had come out a little more seriously than she'd meant for them to. She didn't want Alison's mind to go to the worst case scenario so she just came out with it. "My Mom asked me if you and I were sleeping together..."

Alison pulled her hand away in shock. She looked at the other girl with wide eyes, "She what?!"

"Yeah..." Emily confirmed. It had felt so strange to hear her mother ask the question. Pam had never openly asked Emily about her sex life. As a matter of fact, Emily brought it up a few times in the past just to get her mother to end a conversation.

"How did that even come up?" Alison scrunched her face. She hadn't seen the other woman in a few months. They'd been cordial the last year and she'd felt Pam open back up to her from time to time. She still felt like she was on eggshells with the other woman, though. And for good reason.

Emily shrugged. "You know my Mom is a total hawk. She said that she noticed your car here and I told her that you stay over sometimes and help with the girls."

Alison breathes out a laugh. Pam was a hawk. She always had been. "So... was she mad? When you told her?"

Emily furrowed her brows. "Well I told her we weren't. So no, she wasn't mad."

"You didn't tell her we were seeing each other?"

"No," Emily shook her head, "We're still figuring things out. I definitely don't want her getting involved."

"Right..." It wasn't like Alison wanted Pam getting involved either, but it felt kind of weird.

"I mean technically it was the truth. We haven't slept together."

"You're not, like ashamed of me or anything are you?" Alison asked. She understood waiting a little bit to tell people, but she hoped that Emily wasn't worried about what other people would think.

"No, of course I'm not," Emily shook her head. "We just haven't talked about this kind of thing yet... if and when we are going to tell people."

"You say 'if' like you wouldn't want to say anything ever."

"I think we should wait longer before we do. It's the same thing with sleeping together... I want to make sure we're in a good place first."

"I feel like we're in a good place now," Alison sought out Emily's dark eyes. Things between them had been wonderful and drama free for over a month now.

"We are," Emily conformed, "but I think we still have some growing to do."

Alison looked away, feeling somewhat frustrated. She'd really been trying lately to make sure that she did everything right. Deep down, she knew that Emily was right and that they needed more time, but she wanted the confirmation that this was real. She wanted to know that woman across from her was serious about her.

"I want us to be able to do that growing without anyone else influencing it," Emily continued. She reached for the other girl's hand back. "This is about us."

"And what is this exactly?"

Emily ducked her head and searched for the other woman's eyes. "A relationship." She smiled, "Us being together again."

That earned a dimpled grin from the blonde. "That's what I want."

"I mean, I know its a little weird to say, but I consider you my girlfriend," Emily told her. They had't used actual terms to define what they were, but to Emily they were definitely exclusive. She wouldn't even be willing to get involved with Alison at all if she wasn't serious about making this work.

"Your girlfriend..." She wasn't sure why, but the term gave her butterflies. She'd been married to this woman before. But she couldn't help as her smiled widened seemingly on its own.

Emily laughed, "I think that sounds a lot better than ex-wife." She hated thinking of Alison that way. In fact, when she had thought of the other woman last year, the title of 'friend' fit their relationship much better.

The blonde's expression turned serious. "I don't want to be your ex-anything. Ever again."

Emily leaned in and touched her lips to Alison's delicately. She didn't want that either.

Alison leaned back a little, but kept their faces close. "So since you're my girlfriend… Does that mean you'll be my date to Mona's wedding?" She asked, before amending, "Secret date, I guess."

Mona's wedding was a few weeks away. Emily had thought it was a little odd that she was invited, but Mona had invited the whole group of them. She'd RSVP'd a few months back knowing that Ali, Hanna, and Spencer would all be there. Back then, she would have never thought that going with Alison would be an option. She smiled at the idea of it.

"So you're saying that I'll get to take one of the bridesmaid's back to my room that night?" She wiggled her brows.

Alison smirked, "One specific bridesmaid."

"Which one?" Emily joked, "Remind me who all is in the wedding again."

Alison jabbed her side, "Hey!"

Emily laughed and leaned in closer again. She pressed another kiss against the blonde's mouth and mumbled, "Can't wait." against her lips.

—

A/N - Hope you enjoyed the little bit of fluff in this one! They are making progress and working towards something slowly. Glad some reviewers have recognized the need for this given that they have children to think about and put first.

Just as a general heads up- I've got a busy weekend coming up and the next chapter is fairly long. I'll probably take an extra day or two to edit it and keep it as one long chapter versus splitting it up and rushing the update.

As always, thanks for reading and I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts! Take care of yourselves out there!