"Ezra, I'm not kidding. I want to turn him in and ruin his life like he ruined mine!"

"Aria, I understand. I do. I know you're not kidding."

"Can we go now?"

"Uh. Who is going to watch Amelia? Wouldn't it look weird if a teacher walks in the precinct with his student and her daughter?"

"I can just say you were the first person I told. I'm sure they would believe that."

Aria changed from her sweats to jeans and a loose white tee, grabbed Amelia from her crib and told Ezra she would be waiting for him in the car, all before he was able to process everything that had happened. Aria wanted this to be done as soon as possible. She knew it would take a while for them to collect evidence and charge him, but the sooner she told someone, the sooner it would be done.

Ezra barely had enough time to buckle before Aria was speeding out of the apartment's parking lot. "Aria, you're one hundred percent sure that you want to do this. I mean, this is really really what you want to do."

"I really want you to stop asking me if I am sure that this is what I want to do. Yes! It is really want to do. Now stop asking, please!"

The rest of the drive was completely silent except for the occasional grunts when an awful song was played on the radio. When they got to the police department, Aria almost didn't waste any time stopping the car and grabbing Amelia and heading for the building.

"Hi. I would like to talk to a detective or a police or something."

"Sorry, we don't do the whole 'I think my boyfriend is cheating on me' thing. You can just stalk him on Facebook." The lady named Florence said behind the comfort of her desk.

"This isn't about my boyfriend cheating on me. This is about a rape. Okay? Now let me speak to somebody now before I scream." Aria said in a calm voice even though her face was anything but.

"The wait will be about ten minutes, you can sit right there while you wait." Florence was getting sassy.

"Thank you." Aria said as she adjusted Amelia and walked to the chairs.

"What'd she say?" Ezra said as he sat down across from the girl erupting with nerves.

"It'd be about 10 minutes."

The ten minutes went by slowly; Ezra watched the muted news on the TV, while Aria anxiously picked at her nails. After what seemed forever, somebody named Detective Wilden came on told Aria to come with him. Aria motioned for Ezra to come with, but Wilden said that wasn't necessary.

"So. Do you want to tell me why you are here?" Wilden asked as Aria and Amelia were situated.

"I wanted to report a rape."

"A rape? All right. Who raped you? Your boyfriend after you had a little too much to drink?"

"This isn't a joke. My step-dad raped me. He is the reason I have Amelia. Tom is Amelia's dad, do a test. It will say he is the father."

Wilden stood from his chair and sat on the corner of his desk, "Rape is a serious accusation and it shouldn't be taken lightly. Are you sure what you are saying is true?"

"WHY WOULDN'T I TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT SOMETHING SO SERIOUS? YES, HE RAPED ME. HE RAPED ME MORE TWO DOZEN TIMES. WHY DON'T YOU BELIEVE ME?"

"Please calm down."

"CALM DOWN?" Aria yelled as she stood up, "I CAN'T CALM DOWN. THIS MAN HAS TAKEN EVERYTHING FROM ME! HE LOST MY FRIENDS FOR ME! HE MADE ME A TEEN MOM! LOOK, HE EVEN MADE ME TO THE POINT WHERE I AM YELLING IN A DETECTIVE'S OFFICE! HE RAPED ME! HE RAPED ME OKAY!"

"Ma'am, please calm down. I understand what you are saying. I can't do any more than writing up the paperwork and waiting for the police to take action. All right?" Aria nodded as the man pulled stacks of paperwork, "Okay you said the assailant is your stepdad Thomas?"

"Thomas Smith."

"All right, when did the date of the attack happen?"

"Which one?" Wilden's eyes widened, "The first time happened maybe a year and a half ago. I was lying on my bed reading when he came into my room and started touching me. The last time he touched me was a week ago. It was three days before I moved out."

"You moved out? With whom did you move in with?" Aria sat in the uncomfortable chair with Amelia at her feet; she debated whether or not she should say Ezra. "Miss. Montgomery?"

"Just a family friend, that's all."

The Detective eyed her, "Oh, alright. Well I am going to put this into the database and then I will put a warrant out for his arrest. When he is arrested, we will call you in again and have you recount all of this again for the other detectives. Then we will set the trial. He will either sit in jail until then, or he will be put on house arrest. I want you to understand, this doesn't happen overnight. It takes time and patience. You will get death threats and be called names. I won't lie to you. Some of that will come from our own officers. Do you understand?" Aria nodded her right away, tears were in her eyes. She was determined to stay strong and not let the Detective see her vulnerable, "Alright, I am going to need you to sign right here, and wait until I am down with the paperwork and then you can go. Do you want me to schedule an appointment with the Paternity specialist that is connected through the department? Because Thomas will want one done to try to prove his innocence. And it would probably be better to do one without him aware that you are going through the process."

"If it is better to do one without him being aware, how am I supposed to get his DNA?" Aria said as her voice cracked.

"Well, hopefully we will have him in custody soon. If he comes in soon, we will have to take his DNA anyway. So we could just send it to the specialist. If that's what you want?" Aria nodded, "Alright. Thank you for coming in and telling us what happened. I promise this will be over with soon. Until then, we'll just have to wait. Allow me to walk you out."

"Thank you."

Wilden opened the door for Aria and waited while she picked up Amelia and the blue diaper bag. They turned the corner and Wilden put his hand on the small of the girl's back.

"Please don't do that." Aria said stepping away from him.

"Sorry."

Ezra was sitting in a chair in the waiting room staring at his hands.

"Mr. Fitz." Aria said casually to make sure Wilden detect there was something wrong or weird going on between them.

"Mr. Fitz? Is this your teacher?" Aria nodded, "Do you need to talk about something?"

"No. I just drove her here. She was nervous about coming. She told me what happened and I figured I should take action and bring her here before something worse happened. Why? Is there a problem?"

"No. Not at all. Well I hope you have a good rest of the day. And we will contact you with information and when we schedule your appointment for the test."

Aria and Ezra smiled and walked out of the precinct. They got into Ezra's silver car. It smelled like diapers. Not used ones, but ones that just came out of the bag and are still fresh. There were two cups from Burger King in it, even though neither one of them had gone to Burger King in almost a month. The stoplight across from the Police Department turned ever three minutes. There were four children walking across the street to the school to play on the jungle gym. They were all girls and they all wore matching pink skirts that ruffled at the ends. There were ninety-five threads in her shirt on the arm. These were all things Aria observed during the silent drive back to Ezra's apartment. It's not that Aria didn't want to tell Ezra what was happening and what would happen, she did. She just couldn't find the courage to tell him. She was afraid that he would judge her. Now, she knows that was a stupid thought, because Ezra took her in and never judged her for one second while she lived with him. But the thought that he would judge her took over all of her thoughts. It wasn't just Ezra that she was afraid of judgment from, it was the entire town. Maybe the entire country, not like the story would reach California. She was just paranoid. Paranoid that nothing would go the way she wants it. Paranoid that her life would be over, more over than it already is.

Paranoid that Ezra wouldn't like her.

Aria had feelings growing for Ezra. Feelings that would fly around her stomach whenever he would look at her and have his boyish smile on his face. Feelings that she thought would not be reciprocated. She didn't know why she had feelings for Ezra. She didn't know how she got feelings for Ezra. Just one day, she looked at him and thought, 'I'm in love with you, why aren't you in love with me?'

Little did Aria know, Ezra felt the same way. He had felt the same way for a while. A while meaning the week and a half they had been living together. Or maybe, Ezra's feelings were already there. Maybe he discovered these feelings when Aria had moved in though. He felt like he would throw up when Aria would look at him and her eyes would sparkle and her smile was wide. Her smiling. That was something the rest of the world saw rarely, but Ezra, he saw it almost every day. And he was lucky. He knew he was. He especially loved when she would get out of the shower, not in the sexual way, he has never seen Aria naked. But he loved when she was caked in make-up and her hair was lifeless. He loved her natural beauty.

Ezra had gotten lost in his thoughts about Aria when he noticed he had been sitting at the stoplight in front of his apartment building. The guy behind him honked and honked. Eventually the guy in the red sports car went around them. Aria looked out her window and saw Thomas sitting in the passenger seat. Next to Hanna. When Hanna saw Aria looking at her, she stepped on the gas and turned the corner.

"Wasn't that Hanna Marin?" Ezra asked even though he knew it was. "What is she doing with Thomas?"

"Yes. You need to follow them. I want to know what they are doing." Aria said trying to turn the steering wheel.

"Aria, you need to rest. You don't need to keep up on your stepdad and your ex-best friend's plans. They aren't your business."

"Oh come on Ezra! You are curious what they are doing too! I just want to know why they are together and if he is cheating on my mom. My mom deserves to know if she is being cheated on."

"Aria, I don't disagree. I just think…"

"What do you think Ezra? Do you think Karma will take effect and bring Thomas down to where he belongs? Because in my experiences, that never happens. Ever! I just don't want my mom to get hurt like I did. She deserves the truth."

"Fine, but once we get home, you are going to rest. You deserve to rest." Ezra turned on his turn signal and got into the turn lane, when a patrol car came flying down the opposite street in the direction Hanna and Thomas went.

"Well that is a plot twist." Ezra said as he pressed down the gas.

"I swear to God, if they arrest Thomas and I don't see it happen, I am going to be really pissed." Ezra was surprised at Aria cussing. He didn't know why, he just wasn't accustomed to it.

Farther down the road, the red sports car that Hanna was driving was seen and there was a cop behind her. She wasn't pulling over. Pretty soon, there were three more police cars that had arrived to back up the original one.

"Aria, I don't think we should chase them. This could get pretty bad."

"Yeah… I suppose you're right. We can go home."

Ezra turned into the parking lot of a gas station. "I am just going to run in real quick. Do you want anything?" Aria shook her head.

While Ezra was in the gas station, Aria sat in the car trying to entertain Amelia but also herself. When coming down the road she saw Thomas walking with a limp. "Shit… shit… shit…" Aria said while ducking down so Thomas wouldn't see her. It was too late. Thomas was already walking toward the silver car, but so was Ezra.

"You know what Sweater Vest, this is between me and my stepdaughter. Not you!" Thomas yelled as he ran toward the car. "Aria let me in! We can run away and live together. You, me, and Amelia."

Aria got into the driver's seat and pushed down the lock button what seemed like five hundred times. Thomas was on the driver's side and Ezra was on the passenger side.

"Don't talk to her Thomas. SHE DOESN'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU! YOU RUINED HER LIFE! WHY WOULD SHE WANT TO RUN AWAY WITH YOU?"

"Did she tell you Sweater Vest?" Thomas said as he started walking toward Ezra. Ezra glanced down at Aria and nodded his head. Right when Thomas was in front of Ezra, Ezra punched him in the nose. "Motherfucker!" Thomas said as Aria unlocked the door and Ezra jumped in.

Aria sped out of the parking lot and turned right. She passed Hanna's red car and saw Hanna in the back seat of the original police car.

"We need to get out of this town. Now." Aria said, "I know I am asking a lot of you."

"Aria, it's not a problem. I promise you. I will go wherever you want me to go as long as you're safe. You got that?"

"Ezra, can I tell you something?"

"Anything."