Hey there! Help I skipped class this morning to sleep because senioritis lol. I can't do school anymore. I just can't. Two more days, two exams, one paper and then like a week of sitting here before graduation. Let the countdown begin, I guess. What an annoyance. Anyway, you know what isn't an annoyance? You guys and your amazing feedback. Seriously. You're all fabulous and I couldn't ask for anything more. Love y'all.

Today's chapter title comes from "All The Pretty Girls" by Fun. and once again I didn't time it right, because this song goes better with Saturday nights. Meh. Today will have to do. This chapter's more of a filler, but maybe you'll like it anyway? We'll see. Have a good Friday, y'all.

please don't make me face my generation alone

At the end of January, the Cavanaugh family heads back to America, their time in France utterly complete. They had had the absolute time of their lives and fully live by the philosophy that everyone should take a year off of their normal and boring lives to reside in Europe. They'd done more than they'd ever expected to; Spencer had achieved valuable research on ADHD, Grace's vocabulary and IQ had soared and the family had traveled everywhere they'd had a chance to. They even spent Christmas in the Canary Islands, sending their loved ones back home postcards with stories of their lazy days soaking up the sun. When they arrive home, they are jetlagged for a few days, but spend the recuperating time talking all about their extravagant year. Grace speaks French pretty fluently now and of course, rubs this in an envious Vivian's face at every opportunity.

Once they get their lives back together and adjust to living in Rosewood again, Spencer insists upon getting together with the girls because she has missed them terribly. The last Saturday in January, they do exactly that; Emily invites them to her house for the big reunion and not only are the four friends able to reconnect, but their children are, too. Grace seems a bit apprehensive at first, as though she's not quite sure how they're going to take her reappearance, but the second she's through Emily's front door, Brynn takes her hand and the two bound off into the living room where the others are waiting. It's as if they'd never been gone; the moms watch fondly from the kitchen as their four children play and giggle and goof around as if they'd been friends far longer than they actually had.

Spencer notes an absentee member and asks, "Hey Em, where's Ben?"

"He's upstairs," Emily sighs and Hanna smirks.

"Yeah, probably listening to screamo and writing slam poetry," She jokes and Spencer dons a look of confusion.

"What's his deal?"

"Who knows?" Emily frowns. "We've been trying to figure this out for weeks. He's been very moody lately; he's like a brooding teenager already and he's only four and a half!"

"If anything, I would've expected Harper to be the brooding teenager," Hanna comments and Aria scoffs.

"I resent that," She defends. "She's not even four!"

"So there's still time, then, is what you're saying?" Hanna grins and Aria laughs.

"Oh my god, I feel like I've missed everything," Spencer says. "You have to tell me everything that happened last year. Literally, everything."

"You missed everything because you were off riding vespas and eating gelato," Hanna says. "That's nothing to bat an eye at."

"We never rode vespas," Spencer tells her. "And we weren't in Italy. But okay."

"Anyway," Aria cuts off the blonde's retort. "Not much happened while you were gone, honestly. Harper turned three, now she's almost four. Jason got a new job, which is great for him but sucks for us because he's gone literally all the time. And my dad is retiring from Hollis and offered me his job, but I turned it down."

"Why?" Spencer questions. "You always said you'd love that job."

"Well she would if Merv the Perv wasn't still working there," Hanna puts in. "Can you imagine how awkward that would be?"

"Oh, Ezra's there?" Spencer implores in sympathy. "I'm sorry, that's awful. Didn't he get fired? Why would they give him his job back?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Aria says glumly. "So that's me. Em?"

"Everything's been good here too," She says. "The kids have been fighting a lot lately, but I think that's just Ben's new attitude. Brynn's very quiet and keeps to herself but the only person she isn't really like that with is Bennett, so when he blows her off she's not a fan. Paige is really great at dealing with his mood swings, though. I get really fed up after awhile, but she's oddly patient."

"Maybe there's just too much estrogen for him," Spencer says and Emily chuckles. "I'm serious! He's living with three girls; he probably could use a break every now and then."

"He gets his breaks, believe me," Emily replies. "He hangs out with his friends a lot and whenever they're at school, it's like we don't exist. Plus, he's really close with my dad, so… I don't know if that's it."

"Okay," Spencer lets it go. "And work's good?"

"Great," Emily smiles. "Sharks are still undefeated. Going on eight years!"

"Impressive!"

"Well, my biggest drama happened a few months ago," Hanna begins. "I thought I was pregnant, but it was a false alarm. Dodged a bullet, there."

"No more kids for you and Caleb?"

"No way," Hanna shakes her head. "No. We are closed for business. One is hard enough; one was painful enough. And it did things to my body that I still can't undo."

"What are you talking about?" Spencer laughs. "You look exactly the same as you always have!"

"Yeah, well," Hanna sighs. "We're still done. McKenzie's a handful. I love her to death, but she is so high maintenance."

Emily smirks. "I can't imagine where she gets that from."

Hanna snatches a carrot from the veggie tray before them and chucks it in Emily's direction. "No comments from the walnut gallery."

"It's peanut gallery, Han," Aria smirks. "Close enough, I guess."

There's a peal of raucous laughter that draws all the girls' attention to the living room. All four of their daughters are giggling, hands clasped over their mouths or clutching their bellies, in on some joke that their mothers will never understand. Emily grins and says, "God I hope they stay like this forever. Not little, just… Happy. And innocent."

"And alive," Hanna adds and the other three shoot her a scandalized look. "What? Come on, we were all thinking it. I mean, after everything that happened with Ali."

"Yeah, I hope they never meet an Ali," Aria says and only after does she realize how insensitive it is. "I'm sorry, Em, I just mean-"

"No, I know what you mean. And I agree with you," Emily shakes her head. "Just because I loved her doesn't mean I didn't realize how terrible she was. To me, to all of us… If Brynn ever made a friend like that…"

"What if our girls ever… became Ali?" Spencer fears. "I mean, how do you deal with that? That's part of the reason why she was so terrible; her parents had absolutely no idea what to do with her."

"Come on, our girls are better than that," Hanna disagrees.

Spencer says, "They're preschoolers. How could you possibly know that already?"

"Because," Hanna responds as though it were obvious. "I just know. I mean, just look at them."

The four girls are currently constructing one of those brightly colored plastic marble runs Brynn absolutely covets. There are about a hundred little pieces involved and it's as much of a struggle and maze as any difficult puzzle. McKenzie's lost interest and instead of helping the others build, she's batting the handful of silvery marbles back and forth on the floor. Harper, being the smallest, has her tiny hands around the two bases to hold it steady for the others. Grace is using the box as a form of directions and is instructing Brynn which pieces to put where. Brynn has to stand on her tiptoes to reach the very top but when she does, the entire maze comes together. The girls stand back and watch as McKenzie drops a marble in the top; it goes through the funnel, underneath the pinwheel, zigzags through some orange tubing and lands perfectly in one of Harper's bases. The girls cheer, high five and hug before tearing it apart and building a completely new one.

"Look at them," Hanna repeats. "They're like a little team."

"They're just like us, right?" Aria says. "I mean, McKenzie only gave Brynn pieces that color-coordinated with one another. Everything had to match perfectly. Plus she was, of course, ready with a dramatic finish."

"Guilty," Hanna chuckles. "Well how about Grace, being the little one in charge? The one looking at the box and telling the others what to do next?"

"She may have inherited that small quality from me," Spencer admits. "And Brynn, though? She was patient and never gave up even if it seemed like her plan wasn't going to go accordingly."

"I'll take it," Emily smiles. "But how about Harper? With her encouraging words, her support, her being the tiniest one?"

"Yeah, just like me," Aria laughs. "God, it's like looking into a mirror twenty years in the past."

"I hope they don't make the same mistakes we did," Emily says. "I don't think I can be as patient as my parents were."

"They won't," Hanna assures again. "I mean, they'll make mistakes, sure, but nothing like we did. Nothing will ever be that insane, right?"

"Well, I don't know about that," Spencer puts in. "For every quality of mine Grace got, she got one of Toby's too. She's got his heart especially; we all know how far Toby is willing to go for those he loves and I'll bet anything Grace will be the same way. I'm worried it might get her into trouble."

"Tell me about," Aria agrees. "Harper's only three and she's already got Jason's elusiveness. It drives me insane."

"Yeah, I guess you have a point," Hanna frowns. "McKenzie definitely got Caleb's sharp tongue and can talk her way out of anything. There's no way that's going to be a good thing, right?"

"Well, I don't know what the twins are going to be like," Emily says. "We met the birth parents twice, so… Guess we're in for a surprise."

"You might be lucky there," Spencer teases and Hanna agrees.

"Yeah, you realize all of your shitty qualities when you see them in your kid," Hanna tells her. "They'll do something or say something and you'll be like, 'Where in the world would they have gotten that from?'"

"And then you'll realize," Spencer adds. "It's something you've done or said at some point. And that moment really sucks."

"Yeah it does," Aria agrees. "But then there are other times where they'll say or do something so great and so amazing that you're just… in shock."

"That's true too," Hanna nods. "And it feels pretty great."

"It's always nice to know that you're raising a good person," Spencer says. "When they say something that confirms that…"

"… There's no greater feeling," Emily finishes. "I know."

The four girls watch their children play a little longer, delight in the funny things coming out of their mouths, and know that even though parenting is easily the hardest thing they've ever done, ever single minute of it, good and bad, is absolutely worth it.