So sorry for the wait! I have to admit I've been very busy with school (organic chemistry final coming up) and I've had writer's block with this story. Hopefully the ending was worth waiting for. Thank you for all the great feedback and sticking with the story!

"Thank goodness we finally get to leave," Paige grumbled, slamming the trunk shut. She got into the driver's seat, yanking the seatbelt over herself. "I never want to come to this shit hole again."

"Paige, I'm so sorry," Emily replied gently, touching her arm. Paige smiled at her, nodding.

"I know. But you're the one thing that kept me sane. I don't know how I would have made it through this without you."

"I'll tell you how," Emily replied as Paige started the car. "You're brave. And so strong."

"I love you, Emily."

"I love you too, Paige."

They rode in a comfortable silence for a while, grateful to finally be going home. What had started as a relaxing vacation had turned into a nightmare, and they were both eager to get back to normalcy. Emily wasn't sure if Jenna had told them about Shana and Tanner to get attention off of herself or not, but she was thankful. If it hadn't been for her, Paige surely would have been arrested. She cringed at the thought.

"So, what's the first thing you want to do when we get home?" Emily asked. Paige smiled, her eyes focused on the road.

"A shower in our shower. With you."

"That sounds perfect," she agreed. She studied her girlfriend, unable to imagine the relief she must feel at having her name cleared. But the mystery was still unsolved. Of course she knew Paige hadn't killed Shana, but someone did. And they were getting away with it. "Paige?"

"Yeah?"

"Who do you think did it?"

Paige didn't answer right away. She bit her lip, not taking her eyes off of the road ahead of them.

"Honestly? I don't know. Any one of them is equally likely."

"Do you think Jenna told us about Tanner to draw attention away from herself?"

"It's possible. Or she really wanted to help."

"Why would she want to? We've never met her before."

"I don't know," Paige replied with a shrug. "Look, I'm sure they'll figure out who it is. In the mean time, let's just get the hell out of here."

They hadn't gotten very far when the check engine light flickered on. Paige groaned loudly. Just her luck.

"What's wrong?"

"The stupid check engine light is on," she sighed, pulling onto the side of the road. Emily looked around wildly.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking things out."

"Paige! You can't do that here! It's dark and there's no one around!"

"Em, honey, relax. It won't take me long."

"I'm sure it's fine," she continued shrilly. "Let's just go."

"Two seconds," Paige replied, getting out of the car. Emily shook her head. She watched as Paige went around to the front of the car, anxiously looking out for anyone who may be driving by. The area was completely remote; she didn't understand why Paige insisted on back roads. If they needed help, no one could come to their rescue.

She knew she was being ridiculous. Or, at least she hoped.

"Em? Is there a flashlight in the glove box?" Paige called. Emily opened the glove box and shook her head. "Fuck! I thought I put it back."

"Paige, please. I wanna go back."

"Just give me-."

"I'm scared," she added, because she knew Paige wouldn't be able to ignore that. Sure enough, her girlfriend sighed and closed the hood. She got back into the car.

"Okay. We'll go."

As she was sliding the key into the ignition, a car turned onto the street. The high beams were on, temporarily blinding both of them as it passed.

"What the hell?" Paige muttered. "Dumb fuck. What are they doing that for?"

The car stopped at the end of the street. It sat there, as if it weren't in the middle of the road where another car could be coming. Paige and Emily looked at each other, half in confusion and half in fear.

"Paige?"

"Emily," Paige whispered as a man got out of the car. "It's Nate."

"Is he-?"

"Shh," Paige replied, gripping her arm. "Act normal. It will be okay."

Nate rapped on the window. Paige rolled it down, regretting her decision to not step on the gas. But if he was the killer, it wouldn't look good for them to run away from him.

"Hi, Nate," she greeted him, smiling brightly. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you could help me," he replied. Paige's breath caught in her throat when she saw the glint of silver by his side. It was him.

"Sure," she replied cheerfully. The only thing they could do was pretend like they knew nothing and hope it was good enough.

"I'm almost out of gas. Is there any way you could give me a lift?"

"What about your car?" Emily asked. Paige elbowed her.

"Nate, we're actually on our way back to Pennsylvania. We'd love to help but-."

"But what?" he asked, smiling coldly at them. Paige swallowed hard.

"We really want to get home. It's late and-."

"Get out of the car," he replied.

"Why would I-?"

"Your check engine light is on, isn't it?" he asked smugly. "I'd get out if I were you."

Reluctantly, they did as they were told. Paige could feel Emily trembling next to her and she reached out to take her hand, silently promising it would be okay.

"So, it's you," Paige started. Emily stared at her. "What?"

"Yeah. It's me," he replied, showing them the knife.

"Why are you doing this?' Emily whimpered, her composure already fading. "We didn't know it was you! We could have just left, and you-."

"I'm not doing this because I thought you knew," he interrupted. "I'm doing this because you're the reason she left me."

"Me?" Paige squeaked. "What did I do? She cheated on me with you!"

"She always loved you. More than me. I was exciting at first, but all she wanted was you. When you broke up with her, we stayed together for weeks after. She wanted no one but you."

"What about Jenna? Tanner? Why just me?"

"They were substitutes. They meant nothing to her, just like me. But you. You were everything she wanted. And I hate you for taking her away from me."

"You took her away," Paige snapped, unsure of where her bravery (or stupidity) was coming from. "You killed her."

"Because of you!" he shouted. Emily whimpered.

"You don't have to do this, Nate," Paige told him as he took a step closer. "Just let us leave. They won't be able to prove it was you."

"I can't. I have to kill you, Paige. And I'm going to kill her, too."

As he lunged at Emily Paige grabbed him, throwing him to the ground. He yelped in pain as his head hit the pavement, but he wasn't down long before he was wrestling with her. The knife flew from his hands, landing right in front of Emily.

"Emily! The knife!" she exclaimed, struggling to keep him down. Emily picked it up, shaking so badly she almost dropped it.

"What do I do?"

His fist connected with her face, knocking her off him. She cried out in pain, falling onto the asphalt as he reached for her. She kicked him, hard, but it didn't stop him.

"Emily!"

"Get off her!" Emily shouted, tears pouring down her face. "GET OFF!"

What happened next was a blur. Nate reached for Paige's throat, and before Emily could even register what was happening, she was plunging the knife into his back. His eyes widened and his mouth opened in surprise. Paige wiggled out from under him as blood began to spill from his mouth. He collapsed, making one last attempt to grab Paige as he went down. Emily dropped the knife, shaking, covering her mouth with her hands. She was watching someone die. Because of her.

"Paige," she whispered. Paige pulled her into her arms, trembling just as badly as she was. Nate had gone completely still.

"Em."

"I killed him," she whispered.

"You had to," she replied, seeing how pale her girlfriend looked. "Emily, he would have killed me. And you, too. You had to."

"I killed him," she repeated.

Paige held her, unsure of what else to say. She knew that Emily had done what she had to, but at the same time she had watched another human being die because of her. And she didn't know what she could say to make it better.

"It's over," she offered. "I promise."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They were finally able to return to Pennsylvania. Emily had a rough time at first, waking up screaming nearly every night for the first few weeks. Paige convinced her to talk to Spencer, who referred her to Dr. Kingston for medication. As the time passed she became more of her old self again, something Paige was very grateful for. She had been very worried that Emily wouldn't recover, but both Spencer and Dr. Kingston assured her that she would. It would just take time, love, and patience.

That was exactly what she gave her. She loved Emily more than she had ever thought it was possible to love someone, and she wanted nothing more than for her to not be so tortured anymore. After all, Nate hadn't really given her a choice. Deep down she thought Emily knew that, and eventually she would be okay.

Two months later, around the start of the new school year, Emily was much better. She was happy again, and she was eager to go out on dates and with their friends. The night before the start of the new semester, Paige took her to their favorite Italian restaurant. She had something very important to ask, something she had been wanting to ask for a while but the timing just hadn't seemed right. But now, with Emily happy and cheerful again, it was.

"I love this place so much," Emily sighed, leaning against her girlfriend. "It's our place."

"It is," Paige agreed. "I thought it was the perfect place to celebrate the start of a new school year."

"Yes."

"And hopefully something else," she continued, getting up. Emily looked at her as she pulled a velvet box out of her pocket and got down on one knee. Her eyes widened. "Emily Fields, I love you so, so much. I could go on for hours about the reasons why. I want to make you happy every day forever, if you will let me. Will you be my wife?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed right away, and the entire restaurant erupted into cheers. She dropped to her knees and pulled Paige into her arms, sobbing. "Yes….. I love you so much, Paige. So much."

Paige was crying too as she slid the ring onto Emily's finger. The love of her life had agreed to marry her.

"I love you too, Emily," she whispered, holding her close. "I always will."