Disclaimers: I do not own PLL or the characters, including Lily and Grace. I do own Jonathan Dilaurentis-Fields and all other children.
Spoilers: None
Rating: T to be safe.

Notes: Thank you to everyone that has reviewed on this story! I really appreciate it. When I first started, I didn't know if I was going to be able to do – I wasn't sure of what to write or how to get Alison to not be on the plane. But it turned out easier than I thought, and here we are! So thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed so far. :)

Notes: I am not sure how long after 9/11 it was before airports opened back up, but I am going to go with two weeks for the sake of this story.

Trigger Warning: This chapter has an actual dialogue of the plane's hijacking. Please be cautious and it will be marked.

Enjoy! :)

September 18th, 2001
Boston, Massachusetts

*2 weeks later*

It is not until two full weeks later that the airports open back up. On September 12, the day after what is now being called 9/11, Emily had wanted to jump in her car and drive straight to Boston to get Alison.

It took Spencer, Toby, Aria, and Alison herself to talk Emily out of that. They may be well off, but they certainly do not have enough money to make the roundtrip of what would probably be 3+ days, especially when you add in stops for gas, food, and other things.

Finally, Emily relented. She has spoken to Alison each day in the weeks that followed the terrorists attacks. She made sure that Josiah and his husband were taking care of Ali and she let Ali speak to the kids over the phone.

Alison called her parents, her grandparents, her aunts and uncles, Jason, Emily's parents, everyone one by one, and let them know that she was ok.

Now here it is, 2 weeks later. 14 days have passed since everyone's lives were been turned upside down.

People are still over at the crash site of what was once the Twin Towers. They have moved from a Search and Rescue, to a Search and Recovery.

They are unearthing nothing as of right now. No bodies can be found among the wreckage. Those that do find a body, well, it is nothing more than a hand or leg that once belonged to someone.

There are so many Missing Persons posters listing names of loved one, firefighters, paramedics, and other people who were in the Towers when the planes hit. People who were killed, lost in the wreckage, or simply seemed to have vanished.

Today is the first day that the airports are opening back up and Josiah and David immediately buy Alison a ticket on the first flight back to Los Angeles.

Alison thanks them profusely for their hospitality and putting up with her during the nights, when she had dreams about being on the planes, about dying, about having to call Emily and tell her, her plane had been hijacked.

"Alison," David says to her in his soothing voice. "Please, it was our pleasure. You needed a place to stay and we had more than enough room. It was no bother all, Hun."

"You've done more than open up your home to me," Alison explains. "You comforted me, you let me come into your home and disrupt your life, you made sure I had clothes to wear, food to eat, you've spent so much money, I don't think I could ever fully thank you for that."

Josiah and David drive Alison to the airport after dropping Rachel off at school. They follow her as far as they can before giving her a hug and a 'good luck' as they watch her head towards the gate to her plane.

Alison, once again, gets in line. She hands the person her ticket, walks down the tunnel, and gets to the plane and all the way to her seat.

It is only when she is buckled in, that what she is doing catches up with her.

The air suddenly feels too thick. She can't breathe. Alison tries to take calming breaths as she leans back in and turns the little air vent towards her face.

But then, her dream comes back full force.

***"This is a hijacking!" One man, with a bandana on, yells. People start freaking out, crying and shouting.

"Everybody shut up, stay seated, and no one will get hurt!" The man continues.

It isn't long before Alison is alerted to the pilot and co-pilot being shot and the cockpit being taken over.

People begin crying and looking around. Some are shot, as they try to be heroes, try to take these guys down only to get a bullet or stab wound instead.

Alison's heart drops as she begins to fully understand what is happening.

Everyone is herded to the back of the plane. They group up back there. The people speak to each other. They call loved ones, 911, and there's talk about a group of them overpowering these hijackers and getting the plane back in their control.

Alison hears as one man is speaking to his wife. He tells them the Pentagon has been hit. He tells them there are other planes that have been or are being hijacked.

The person next to Alison looks to her. She gently tells the blonde that she needs to do it. Alison needs to call whoever it is she needs to speak with, and she needs to let her loved ones know what is going on.***

And just like that, Alison is back in the present. Her heart is racing and her palms feel sweaty.

She can't do this. What was she thinking? Is she crazy? Someone once told her that flying is the safest form of transportation, but they obviously did not know of possible hijackings that could take place on said planes.

She needs to get home to her family, to her wife and children, but there has to be a better way. A safer way to do this.

The air blowing in her face is more of nuisance than a help. She can't breathe. The last time she felt like this, this nervous, this panicky, was when she was 10 years old and about to play her very first soccer game.

The elephant that sat on her chest, the one that made her panic and breath funny and cry and worry and just all around made her not want to play, well, it's back. With a vengeance.

Alison stands from her seat. She goes to door and demands to be let out. It isn't until she starts making a fuss, making a scene that has the pilot coming to find out what the noise is about, that she is let off the plane.

She grabs her backpack and jacket and runs off the plane. Alison glances at her phone.

It's only been 10 minutes since she boarded the plane. 10 minutes that felt like hours to the blonde.

She guesses she will just have to find another way home.

Maybe she should have let Emily take the trip down here to pick her up.

She sighs as she dials the Berrys' phone number. David picks up and doesn't say a word except for, "Don't worry, sweetheart. We stayed just in case. We are out front. Just come on out, unless you need one of us to come and get you?"

Alison says she does not and that she will be right out.

She really will not be able to thank Josiah and David enough for all they have done.

*3 days later*

It's three days later that Alison is looking out of the windows of the Berrys' living room. It's after lunchtime, about 1:30 in the afternoon.

Since the plane trip was a no-go, Alison had called Emily up and told her she could come and get her, if she still wanted to.

Of course, Emily said yes right away.

She made plans for Jon and the twins, took time off her work, and got everything ready. The plan is for Emily and Toby to make the trip from Los Angeles to Boston. They are going to stop at the halfway point at a hotel and freshen up before continuing on.

They are to arrive today, at any minute.

This is officially the longest that Alison has ever been away from Emily and she is ready for it to be over with.

To be home with her wife and children.

To be able to kiss them and hug them goodnight and read Jon another story, feed Lily and Grace another bottle, and talk to her family and friends in person, instead of over the phone.

Finally, they get there.

Finally, Alison is throwing open the door and running into the drive.

Finally, she is wrapped in her wife's arms and she is kissing her, touching, listening to her voice, and feeling her.

Finally, Alison feels as if she can breathe again.

She turns to where Josiah and David are waiting on the porch.

She and Emily and even Toby give them a hug, thank them profusely for what they have done and then they are off.

It's nearly 48 hours later, in the dead of night, when they pull up at the house.

Nearly a month has passed since Alison was last home, a little over 3 weeks, to be specific. She can't believe it has been that long.

That long since she was giving Emily long goodbye kisses in bed. That long since running out the door, driving to the airport, and flying to Boston.

Almost that long since everything happened on that fateful, sunny, Tuesday morning.

That long since she was home.

And right now, she couldn't be happier.

Wow! I think I wrote this in probably an hour or less. The next chapter will be #7. I think this will end up being an even 10 chapters.

Next Up: October 1st, 2001 – Alison's first day home since everything that has happened.

Please review! :)