It took Emily a few moments to register what Alison had told her. Alison loved her? The Alison DiLaurentis who was the hierarchy when they were in grade school and her first kiss, told Emily that she loved her. She must've said it to make her feel better, after all Emily was crying over the death of two of her close friends.

She hugged Alison tighter, and tried to swallow her tears. They were rolling down her cheeks at a fast rate, happiness was flooding her sadness. She wanted to throw up, it made her nauseous. She wiped the tears from her face with her gloved hand, but couldn't stop crying. Alison hugged her tighter, and rubbed her back with one of her hands.

When all the tears that Emily had pent up began to subside, she wiped her face with her hand one last time before pulling away from Alison's embrace. They stayed wrapped together, but looked at each other.

"Are you okay?" Alison asked, her blue eyes filled with worry.

"Yeah," Emily nodded. "I think I just needed to get all of that out."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Alison said, smiling slightly.

"I just want to go home," Emily sighed, and sniffled slightly.


Alison arrived at her house after the sun had set. There was only one light on from what she could tell in the living room, but noticed her husband's car parked in its spot on the driveway. She parked in her own spot, and got out. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, though it was odd that her husband had only kept one light on. He was notorious for leaving lights on, which was one of Alison's pet peeves.

She unlocked her front door, and immediately turned on the hall light. Yellow light lit up the large house in an instant, and part of her still was expecting to see Pepe come around the corner to greet her. She shrugged the feeling off, and took off her shoes.

"Rollins!" she called into the silent house, the only the audible thing that could be heard was the faint sound of the TV.

He didn't answer her, and she frowned as she took off her coat and hung it up. She figured he was in the living room, maybe he hadn't heard her? She had been pretty loud though. Alison was drained from the trip to Washington DC and back, and emotionally drained from seeing Emily crack and crumble as she was overcome with emotion. Emily was one of the strongest people Alison knew, and to see even her break like that pained Alison.

She meant it when she said she loved her, and was a little taken aback when Emily hadn't even acknowledged it. She didn't blame her too much however, a lot was going on when Alison said it. Maybe saying it then wasn't the best moment…too late now.

Alison walked down the hallway of she and Elliot's home, and entered the living room. The large TV was on, SportsCenter was playing in the dimly lit room. Her husband was sitting on the couch, his back to her and slumped down. Alison walked around the sofa to see a six pack on the coffee table, or what was left of it. The plastic that kept the cans together was on the table, and five empty cans were sitting in a line next to each other. Alison sighed, and finally looked at her husband.

She found the sixth can of beer, which he was holding in his hand. His eyes were closed, and his mouth was agape slightly. He let out a soft snore, and his hand tightened on the can he was holding. He had drunk six cans of beer alone and in one sitting.

Alison placed a hand on his arm, and lightly shook him awake. He jumped slightly, and was startled awake. He glared up at Alison, his eyes only softening slightly when he realized who it was.

"Hey, I'm home," Alison said, sitting down on the couch next to him.

"I can see that," he replied, and drank another sip of his beer.

"Have you had anything for dinner?" Alison asked, seeing no food in sight with the beer.

"No, you know I'm an awful cook," Rollins replied, and placed the sixth can of beer in the line with the others.

Alison sighed, "You could've ordered something," she said, her voice drowned out by a loud burp. "How was the museum with Olivia?"

"It was fine, until we got into a fight on the way home," he sighed, and massaged his forehead. "Do you know if we have anymore Advil?"

"Wait, you guys got in a fight?" Alison asked, disregarding his question.

"Over her mom," he said.

"What happened?" Alison asked, as Elliot stood up from the sofa.

"Look, I really don't want to get into the details right now. I'm tired," he said, and exited the living room.

Alison stared after him for a few moments, and began collecting the empty beer cans. How on earth did he consume this much? She recycled the cans and noticed there was an empty bottle of wine that was half full the previous night, had he drunk that too?

She sighed and climbed the stairs to the bedroom. He was inside, changing into his pajamas when Alison entered.

"Honey, how much did you drink tonight?" Alison asked quietly, watching as he struggled to pull his pants on.

"I'm fine," he said, waving her off. "Can't this just wait until tomorrow?"

"Elliot, you and I both know that you are drinking way too much. You just drank a six pack by yourself, and you drank the wine too?" Alison said, as Elliot sat on the bed. "And don't say it wasn't you because I opened that bottle last night."

"Can you shut the fuck up?!" Rollins asked. "This was one time! I'm kind of upset about earlier, I got in a fight with my daughter and she probably doesn't even want to see me again!"

"Do not tell me to shut the fuck up," Alison said, her voice seething. "You need to wake up and realize that you have a serious problem. This is why Gordon doesn't want to spend time with you outside of the office anymore."

"It's because his wife just had another kid!" Rollins argued. "And my drinking has nothing to do with my relationships with my friends."

"The only people you hang out with nowadays are the guys who drink as much as you do!" Alison said.

"Shut up! Shut up! Honestly, no one gives a shit except you," Elliot said, pointing a finger tauntingly at Alison.

"Elliot, I care about you very much. I can't let you just drink away everything," Alison said. "Now what happened with Olivia?"

"Well, maybe if I had more of a support from you I would be ok. You barely have talked to me since like November! You shut me out, you don't even love me anymore!" Elliot said, standing up to face Alison. "Can we talk about what happened tomorrow?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I love you! You're my husband," Alison argued.

"You do, I know you love me," Elliot said, his voice quieting. "But you don't love me like you used to, at least not anymore."

Alison didn't argue, she wish she could. As much as Elliot was wrong sometimes, he was right about things too. Of course she loved him, they had been in each other's lives for a few years now and had grown together in those years...but it was true.

She loved him, but she wasn't in love with him. Not anymore.


Emily was typing away an email to confirm that the bachelorette party reservations that would be taking place in a few days in New York City. She had planned a pretty eventful overnight for the four of them, and hoped Hanna would enjoy the getaway trip. Hanna knew of the event, but had no idea what was going to happen. She didn't even know that they were going to New York! Emily smiled as she typed the email, she couldn't wait to see the excitement on her best friend's face.

Both Aria and Spencer also chipped in with some of the expenses, even though Emily insisted that they don't. Aria spoke up as they both were writing checks that it was because they wanted the luxury suite at the hotel and not just the average hotel room.

She had just finished typing the email and hit send, when her phone rang from where it rested on the couch next to her. It was early in the morning, and no one usually called her at nine AM. It was a number she didn't recognize, and almost ignored the call entirely. Right as it was about to go to voicemail, she decided to pick up.

"Hello?" Emily answered, her voice still raspy from not speaking yet that morning.

"Hi! I'm calling for Sergeant Emily Fields," a woman said cheerfully on the other end.

Oh shit, Emily thought. Was the army calling her to check up on her progress and talk about having her go back? She totally had forgotten about the fact that she was going to have to go back, and leave Alison. It wasn't an issue before, but now she was very emotionally attached to Alison. What if she left and came back to Alison wanting nothing to do with her? And being pregnant with his child?

"H-Hi, yes. This is she," Emily stuttered, getting caught off guard by her thoughts.

"Excellent! My name is Georgia O'Donnelly of the No Dog Gets Left Behind organization, I was just wondering if you had a few moments of your time," Georgia said, and Emily almost sighed in relief.

"I think I've heard of that organization…" Emily said, opening a tab on her computer to search it.

"We're dedicated to reuniting dogs of war with their beloved soldiers," Georgia said, before Emily could finish typing in their name. "One of your squad members mentioned that you were close with one of the strays in Afghanistan."

"You guys have Peanut?" Emily asked, pushing her laptop to the side and sitting up. A large smile spread across her face as she remembered her beloved stray dog back in Afghanistan.

"Well, yes and no. He's currently still back in Afghanistan and still residing near the camp you were in. The other soldiers have been feeding him in your absence, and we want to send him to the United States to join your family," Georgia said. "That is, if you would like for him to."

"Oh my God, that would be awesome!" Emily laughed. "I've missed him so much."

"I'm sure he misses you too! Of course, this process will take a few weeks, so the earliest he will be able to rejoin you is in mid April. We'll email you all of the details including his flight information when the time comes," Georgia said.

"That's amazing! I'm so excited to see him again!" Emily smiled, as she opened a new email from the organization.

Attached was a few photos of the dog she was taking care of in Afghanistan. He clearly had been a stray, and was skin and bones when Emily first saw him. He was a mix of many dog breeds and Emily couldn't distinguish what kind of dog he was. He had tan fur, with a dark colored snout and dark fur around his eyes. His paws were white, and they looked kind of like gloves. To Emily, he looked a bit like a German Sheppard, with a lot of other dogs mixed in.

She was hanging around the camp like all of the strays did, since the soldiers would feed them food scraps from their meals. A skinny dog had approached her boldly, yet cowered down as she ate some of her peanut butter.

Emily never had a dog, so she didn't know what it was like to take care of one. She felt bad for the dog, especially because of visible ribs she saw through the skin. She began feeding him peanut butter, the rest of the peanut butter in the small container she had.

This peanut butter feeding turned into a daily thing, and the dog returned everyday for some peanut butter. Emily gladly gave up her peanut butter, and was happy to see that his ribs were becoming a lot less visible. His ears would perk up whenever Emily said the word "peanut" when referring to her peanut butter, and soon Emily decided that his name might as well be just that.

So Peanut joined Emily's life, and was one of the good things that came from the war. After the end of every long day, Peanut would be waiting for her in their spot so that Emily would feed him some of whatever she had. Peanut liked his stomach to be rubbed, and slept near Emily's cot.

Having him back in her life would be a blessing, since even though he was part of the war, he was one of the best things for her.


"Can you guys please tell me where we're going?" Hanna asked, from the seat next to Emily.

They were in the car and travelling to New York City with four small suitcases and one unknowing bride-to-be. Spencer was driving them all, with Aria in the passenger seat giving her directions in a way that Hanna would be unable to know their destination. They had just hit the New Jersey border, and were about two hours from the city.

"You said you wanted it to be a surprise, so it'll be a surprise until you figure it out on your own," Emily smiled. "Or until we get there."

Hanna groaned and slumped down in the back seat, looking out the window as Aria changed the radio station. Emily pulled out her phone, and saw one new message from Alison that she hadn't viewed.

Ali: Hope you enjoy the trip! I'm sure Hanna will love what you planned for her! I'll see you tomorrow, I should be getting in at around 11am. But that's give or take traffic.

Although they were going down to New York City for Hanna's bachelorette party, Emily would be staying back an extra day. Alison's book conference was the next day, and Emily wanted to stay and support Alison. Plus, if it meant she got a day with Alison exploring New York City alone, she was all for it.

Emily: Sounds good, keep me posted :)

Ali: I want pictures from tonight of you!

Emily: Will do ;)

Hanna started figuring out where they were going once she started looking at the road signs that they passed. It was fairly obvious too, once they passed the "Welcome to New York" sign. Hanna perked up in her seat, and grabbed onto Aria's headrest which was in front of her. She turned to Emily, a happy grin spread on her face.

"No way!" Hanna said, reaching out to squeeze Emily's arm. "New York City?!"

"Yeah, I know how much you love to go," Emily said, as she and Spencer exchanged knowing glances in the rearview window of her car.

"Emily has an amazing night planned for us," Aria said, looking at her phone to tell Spencer to get off at the next exit.

"You are the best, Emily," Hanna said. "Did Caleb know about this too?"

"Maybe," Emily said, teasingly.


They arrived at their hotel first, and had a few hours to change from casual clothing to something more dressy. Due to the money from both Aria and Spencer, Emily was able to rent one of the nicest suites in the hotel for a night...and even that was pricey. But, she wanted what was best for Hanna and hoped Hanna would do the same when it came to be time for her own wedding, if she ever had one.

The man behind the front desk was wearing an all black suit with a gold name tag pinned to his chest. He looked up from his computer as they four girls approached, all carrying their small suitcases.

"Uh, checking in under Emily Fields," Emily said, as he greeted them politely.

He typed quickly on the computer, and pulled four matte black room keys from under the desk.

"Floor 43, the Presidential Suite," he smiled, as he handed over the four room keys to Emily.

Emily took them from his hand, "Thanks," she nodded, before turning around to the other girls.

"This hotel is amazing!" Hanna whispered, as they began walking towards the elevator.

The hotel certainly was amazing, with the tall front entrance and the carmel colored marble flooring. There was a piano in the corner, which was playing soft music all on its own. In the center of the hotel was a waterfall, also made out of the same marble as the floors. As Emily looked around, she realized that she really did do well in planning Hanna's bachelorette party.

When they made it up to the room, there was a moment where all of them held their breath in anticipation for what the Presidential Suite looked like.

"Oh shit," Aria said, once Emily pushed open the door.

From their first impression, they were already blown away. There was a full kitchen on the left, and a flat screen with two couches on the right. Down a hallway was one king sized bedroom, and there was another king sized bed in another bedroom. It was a lot to take in, even the bathroom was luxurious.

"Alright ladies, who's rooming with who?" Spencer asked, as they entered the spacious living room.

"It doesn't matter to me," Aria said, looking around as she closed the handle of her suitcase. "Just as long as I'm not on a couch."

"Well, it looks like we'll be able to split two and two," Emily said, both beds were fairly large.

"How about, Emily and I are together, and you and Spencer can take the other room?" Hanna suggested, pointing to adjacent rooms. She then turned to Emily, "What time are the dinner reservations?"

"Uh, seven," Emily said, tearing her attention away from a very interesting painting of a sunset that was hanging in the hall they were standing in.

"Great, so that gives us about two hours to pregame and get ourselves looking bomb as fuck," Hanna said, clapping her hands together. "Sorry Em, I'm sure there's like Sangria flavored soda at a corner store around here. I've had it once, it tastes pretty legit."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be the designated cock blocker and decision maker of this evening," Emily said. "There's no way I'm letting any Manhattan asshole try to make a move."

"You can pretend to be our girlfriend if that happens!" Aria said, perking up.

"Yes, a polygamous female relationship," Spencer said. "I'm praying that my dress didn't wrinkle on the way here."

"There must be an iron around here somewhere, aren't they supposed to by law?" Hanna asked.


It was about 6:30 and close to the their departure of the hotel room and to their dinner reservation. They all had gotten ready in the course of an hour, and somehow made it work even though they only had one bathroom. Emily only felt slightly left out when she couldn't have any of the champagne they had opened, but knowing what Alison would say if she was drinking overpowered that feeling of being left out. With the medication she was on, accompanied by the fact she had a heart attack a mere two weeks ago...Emily didn't want to push her luck anymore than she had been already.

Emily was the last one to be finished getting ready. The last strand of hair was wrapped around the curling iron she borrowed from Spencer. It wasn't very often she got this dressed up, but Hanna's wedding was up and coming, meaning that she would be even more dressed up in about a month. Her black dress matched her black leg brace, which was a bit unsightly, but it would have to do. Hanna had already told her twice that Emily would find it more noticeable than anyone else. Emily sighed and took her word for it, and hoped the makeup and hair made up for the fact it looked like she had a bionic leg.

Before exiting the bathroom, Emily snapped a mirror pic and sent it to Alison, who was packing for her own trip to New York City where she would meet Emily the next day.

Alison: You are a literal goddess. Gorgeous.

Emily smiled at Alison's text, before putting her phone away in her clutch, she had been keeping them waiting long enough.

The four girls, looking their best, exited the Presidential Suite and made their way to the streets of Manhattan. The restaurant was only a few blocks away, thankfully. Although it was late March, the night air was still cold and each of them was wrapped up in a jacket. That didn't prevent their bare legs to be hit with the cold air, so they walked rather quickly to the restaurant. Thankfully, Hanna had gone to college close by NYC and was the only reason that they didn't almost get lost.

Their night at the restaurant was uneventful yet full of laughter. They reminisced in the memories of them together back when they were small and full of innocence. Hanna snorted into her wine when Spencer mentioned how Caleb had been hooked on Hanna since preschool. Hanna and Caleb really were meant to be, but how could small children tell that? Truth be told, Hanna and Caleb didn't date at all in high school. Hanna was dating Travis for most of high school, and it wasn't until Caleb and Hanna reconnected during the summer of their sophomore year of college that everything clicked into place.

Their reconnection all happened while Emily was off in Afghanistan, and it was to her surprise when Hanna's usual letter was five extra pages long. She was happy that they were together, Caleb in high school had always been a nice guy who clearly had his eyes out for Hanna. She was glad they finally got together.

It wasn't until they were splitting a piece of cheesecake that Spencer brought up the time at senior prom where someone threw their panties at the DJ.

"You have to admit, that DJ was hot," Aria said, over their fit of laughter.

"I don't think he was hot enough to have panties thrown at," Emily said, remembering prom in a different way.

"How would you know Emily? You were flat out drunk for the majority of it," Hanna spoke up.

"Okay, I was only drunk because I had gotten in a fight with my prom date at the start of the dance," Emily spoke up in her defense. "For teens, alcohol fixed everything."

"Who was your prom date even?" Spencer asked.

"Paige McCullers," Emily said, rolling her eyes and scoffing at the name as she took a sip of her drink.

"That name brings a bad taste to my mouth," Spencer said. "What were you even fighting about anyway?"

Emily sighed, "Over the fact I couldn't stop 'eye-fucking' Alison DiLaurentis after seeing her in her dress."

Hanna snorted in laughter, "Oh my God, I so remember that."

"She was wearing a really pretty lilac dress," Aria pointed out. "Were you eye-fucking her though?"

"I mean, I was looking! I didn't think it was that bad!" Emily said defensively, though she knew that her eye-fucking had gotten worse the drunker she got.

Emily stumbled out of the venue that their prom was out. Things were a bit fuzzy, and her heels were not making it easy for her. The dance floor was hot, and Emily could feel herself starting to sweat a lot more than she had been planning on sweating that night.

She looked around the hall of the building, which was decorated with things that fit with their under the sea prom theme. It was a bit cooler in the hall than it was in the dance room, yet not enough for Emily.

Using the wall as support, she began making her way down the hall and towards the door that would lead to the outside. She probably just needed a few minutes to cool off, before going back in to party some more with her friends.

"Woah, need a little help?" a voice asked, causing Emily to look to her left.

In order to get outside, you had to pass the bathrooms, and Alison DiLaurentis was standing just outside of the ladies' bathroom. She looked stunning, with a small smirk on her face and her hands on the hips of her light blue dress. Emily's mouth opened to answer, but no words came out as she looked Ali up and down.

"Um, I was just about to go outside," Emily said, her drunk state of mind was making things a bit fuzzy, but she definitely would remember how attractive Alison looked in her dress.

"Mind if I join you?" Alison asked, stepping forward and offering Emily an arm.

Emily wrapped her arm around hers gratefully, not trusting her feet with her balance. Alison helped guide her towards the exit door, and out into the cool June night. The sound of cicadas filled their ears, and the only light that aided in where they were going was from the street lights above.

"God, my heels are killing me," Alison said, letting go of Emily's arm. She bent down slightly and began taking off her heels. "You might want to take off yours too, hot stuff. I can smell the alcohol from here, you don't want to take a tumble and sprain your ankle."

"You're right," Emily said, taking off her own heels. "I've never been a pro at walking in these things."

"Who needs them?" Alison asked rhetorically, and put them down by the door. "Want to take a walk with me and get all the booze out of your system?"

"Don't you have a date you should be getting back to?" Emily asked, enjoying this side of Alison that she always got to see when it was just the two of them. Alison was a bitch, but she was never to Emily. Even when they were in a group, Alison would never speak as harshly as she did to others. It made Emily feel special.

Alison shook her head, "No, he's too busy with his friends to notice me," Alison said. She had gone with Noel, who wore an all black tux with a light blue tie to match Alison's dress.

"How could anyone not notice you?" Emily asked, the alcohol in her system making her a bit bolder.

"You certainly have a way with words tonight," Alison smiled, as they walked under the streetlight. Emily could see a pink tinge on her cheek. "You should get drunk more often."

"I'm only drunk because my date is a total asshat," Emily sighed.

"Paige right? Are you guys still dating?" Alison asked.

"No, I told her that she was too jealous and that if she didn't trust me I didn't want to be with her," Emily said, shaking her head.

"Well, I think it's good that you broke up," Alison said, rather straightforwardly.

"Really?" Emily asked.

"Like you said, she's an asshat. I couldn't help but hear your argument over how much you were staring at me in this dress," Alison teased, as they stopped in the darkness between two of the streetlights. Emily could barely make out Alison's face in the dark.

"I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have been looking as much as I should've," Emily said, beginning to defend herself. "It's really disrespectful of-"

"You're apologizing? Em, don't apologize," Alison said, facing Emily. "You made me feel the most desired than I have felt in a long time."

Emily felt warm hands reach out to take hold of hers, as she thought of what to say to Alison.

"Alison, you're one of the most beautiful girls I've ever met," Emily admitted, thanks to the liquid courage. "It's funny to think how in a few months, we're going to be parting ways."

"Right, joining the army," Alison said. "You know, you seem more the type to head west."

"I want to help people," Emily said, preparing to recite the same mini speech to Alison that she had recited to everyone. "After seeing everything on the news, and what kind of terror that's been going on…"

"So you want to be a combat medic? Thrust into the war zone?" Alison asked quietly, tracing patterns on Emily's arm.

"Y-Yeah," Emily said. "That's what I want."

Alison sighed, "Well, I guess I can't stop you from going. Just, don't do anything stupid. I know you're out there being a hero by healing people, but don't let that get to your head. I don't want to go to your funeral in a few years."

"I won't. I'll come back each year in one piece, ok?" Emily promised, as the grip Alison had on her arm tightened.

"It's been a hell of a journey knowing you Emily," Alison said, and Emily could hint the sadness in her voice.

"Hey, I'm not dying," Emily cooed, reaching out to rub Alison's back soothingly.

"I know you're not, but I don't know when I'll see you again or if I'll see you again. Things happen out there, and fate has a way of being a bitch," Alison said.

"Don't say that. I promise I-" Emily began.

"No," Alison said, cutting her off. "Don't promise that, you can't promise it. You don't know if you'll die or not."

Emily sighed, not knowing what else to say. She continued to rub Alison's back soothingly.

"Just...if this is the last time that we see each other properly, might as well give you something to remember me by," Alison said, letting out a breathy laugh.

Alison stepped forward, and placed a soft kiss on Emily's lips. Emily quickly reciprocated, unlike back when they were young and she knew nothing about kissing. This time, she was experienced and prepared. The hand that was on Alison's back quickly slide around her waist, and held Alison close to here.

Their kisses grew more heated, and both were letting out small gasps as they took a second to breath before diving right back in. The alcohol in Emily's system was still evident, and it became known that it was still present when she pulled Alison flush against her with a good amount of force. Her hands found their way from Alison's waist to her butt, and she squeezed roughly.

Alison let out a moan into Emily's mouth, egging her on. Emily detached their lips, and daringly began kissing her neck. Alison tangled her hands into Emily's straightened hair, and Emily couldn't care less that she had taken an hour to get it pin straight. Alison could do whatever she wanted with her hair.

Emily sucked harshly as Alison continued to say words of encouragement. Words that were turning Emily on way more than she ever had before. Maybe it was because of the alcohol, and maybe it really was because Alison really was one of the most gorgeous girls that Emily had ever met.

"Fuck," Alison whispered. "Did you bring a car here?"

"Nope, limo," Emily said, between the kisses she planted behind Alison's ear.

"Is it still here?" Alison asked.

"I don't think so," Emily said, sucking hard on Alison's pulse point and biting down.

"Shit, guess I'm just going to have to fuck you on the ground," Alison said, grabbing Emily harshly.

"Emily!" someone yelled out into the night, the voice coming back from the party venue.

"Dammit," Emily hissed, recognizing Aria's voice. "They're looking for me. We should go back."

"Damn, and now I'm going to be turned on for the rest of the night," Alison sighed. "Look at you Miss Fields, I didn't know you had that in you. You're always so shy."

"Bet you fantasized about finding out," Emily shot back teasingly.

"Touche," Alison said. "Here, you go back first. I'll follow in a few minutes to it's not too obvious."

"Are you sure?" Emily asked.

"Yes, it'll give me a few minutes to calm my hormones down," Alison laughed.

"There's something to remember me by, by the way," Emily winked, glancing at the purpling spot on Alison's neck. "May we meet again Miss DiLaurentis."


"Did you have the least enjoyable prom out of all of us because of that Paige thing?" Hanna asked.

"Oh yeah, totally," Emily lied. "Well, if we're all done here, Hanna's always been high key obsessed with going to a drag show. I thought we might as well check that off of our bucket list while we're here. Is everyone ready to head on to the best night of their lives?"


It's already almost been a year! And yet, Affair is still going... ;)

Thank you all for the support, and be sure to leave a comment!