A/N - Sorry for all of these revisions. Here are the last of them - the scenes from chapter 7 ("No More Lonely Nights"), revised to account for the addition of Alison's visit (surrounded by other paragraphs for context). I updated chapter 7 on November 10th, so, if you read it after that date, there's no need to read this chapter. :)


"As you can see," she said with a faux-serious look, "I had big plans for tonight."

Paige played along. "Sorry, I guess I should've called before I came."

Emily stopped in her tracks. When Paige, who was a few steps in front of her, picked up on it, she stopped and turned around to see what was up.

"Yeah," Emily asked, a bit harshly (considering how happy she was to see Paige), "why did you come by tonight?"

As happy as she was, Emily was stunned. After Alison's little stunt, Emily had resigned herself to the fact that she would never see Paige again. It had always come down to Alison; the one thing that their love had never seemed to be able to conquer. Alison knew that, too, of course. And Emily knew how wounded Alison felt by the fact that she left Rosewood, choosing Paige. More than that, she was certain that Alison had been following the developments in Iowa closely, choosing just the right moment to pounce, to put a final nail in the coffin of their relationship.

And yet, Paige was there, in her apartment. With pizza and flowers.

Paige took a deep breath. "I came by because I didn't want to waste any more time. I came by because..."

Emily put two fingers on Paige's lips to silence her. She moved closer, letting her left hand, which was holding the bouquet, fall to her side. Her other hand went behind Paige's neck, and she kissed her long and hard. It had been so long since they shared a real kiss. Much too long.

Emily didn't want it to end. Obviously. But it wasn't just how good it felt to be kissing Paige again. Deep inside, her fear was still there; the fear that, as soon as the kiss ended, the spell would be broken, and Paige would run away again.

Paige, who was still holding onto the pizza box throughout the kiss, worried that her arm would cramp from the awkward angle. Still, she stayed where she was, her arm firmly around Emily's waist. She would stay there for as long as it took.

When Emily stepped back from the kiss, she gave Paige a questioning look.

Are you okay? Was that okay? Are we going to be okay?

She took the box from Paige's hand and set it on the coffee table, so that she had an excuse to look towards the table and not at Paige as she asked the question that had her heart pounding.

"You're not going to run away from me again, are you?"

Paige took Emily's shoulders and turned her around, clutching her close to her heart. "No way," she whispered. "Never."

Emily nodded against Paige's chest and lifted her head, nuzzling her cheek against Paige's. "I won't run away, either," she assured her.

Paige took a seat on the couch and extended her arm. Emily nestled in, with her head on Paige's shoulder and her arm across Paige's waist.

Paige could feel Emily trembling, so she kissed the top of her head to let her know that she was there. The trembling got stronger, and Paige realized that Emily was sobbing silently. She stroked her cheek. "Hey... Em," she whispered.

Emily looked up, forcing a smile. "It's okay, Paige," she assured her. "I'm okay." Paige handed her a tissue, which she used to dab at her eyes. "Paige, I... I know that we need to talk, but..."

"It's okay, Em," Paige whispered in her ear.

Emily shook her head, sitting up. "No, we really need to," she forced out, "but, can we just... just be together for a little while longer before we..."

It still seemed like a dream. And Emily was still worried that talking things through about Alison would turn her night into a nightmare. It wasn't too selfish to ask for just one more night together, before whatever lay ahead of them the next day.


... Skipping ahead to the next day and their talk...

"I don't want to change you," Emily said, lowering her head so that she could look Paige in the eye. "I want us both to grow, together. Like two strands of a vine that meet and intertwine, and, from that point, keep growing together, two parts of one whole. And, once they come together that way, there's no way to separate them without destroying them both."

Paige looked up with a smirk. "Kind of like 'Till death do us part?'" Paige rubbed her shoulder against Emily's. "Are you saying that you want to marry me, Emily Fields?" she teased.

Emily shrugged her shoulders, but she didn't deny it. She hadn't come to Iowa for a fling. She was in it for the long haul.

Paige cupped Emily's face in her hand and gave her a kiss. "Well, since we're being honest, I have to say, I like the sound of that."Emily's face beamed as she drank in that statement for a moment. But the moment didn't last. There was still more to talk about. She leaned away from Paige, back to her side of the couch, drawing in on herself subconsciously. She was frightened and a little ashamed about the Alison situation, but she knew that they couldn't avoid it. "Paige," she said haltingly, "there's one more thing."

Paige picked up on the change in Emily's body language. There could be no doubt about what she was about to say. Paige's body stiffened and her face darkened. "No, Emily…"

Emily could sense that she was losing Paige – losing her to her self-loathing and fear. She turned to her and took her hand. "Paige, please let me explain," she pleaded.

Paige shook her head. "There's nothing to explain. It wasn't your fault. I know how she is." She was facing away from Emily and she refused to turn her head.

Emily scooted closer to Paige and touched her cheek. Paige conceded, turning her head to face forward, but still couldn't look at Emily. Emily put both of her hands around Paige's. Paige didn't pull away.

"I didn't know that she was coming," Emily said softly, squeezing Paige's hand. "And I knew why she wanted to go to Hank's. Of course I knew. I would've called you to warn you, but, Paige, you weren't speaking to me. And I thought that, if I texted you or left a message, you would've taken it the wrong way and thought I was taunting you."

Paige turned quickly and glared at Emily. Emily shrugged her shoulders helplessly. Things weren't going well, but she knew that it was better, in the long run, to get them out into the open, rather than letting them fester. She locked eyes with Paige sincerely. She wanted Paige to know that she was on her side.

Paige's shoulders dropped. Her ration overcame her jealousy and fear. "Yeah," she admitted softly. "I probably wouldn't have reacted well."

"She didn't stay with me," Emily made a point of saying. She looked away. "She was planning to, but I made it clear she wasn't welcome. I mean, she'll always be my friend…" Emily took a quick glance at Paige. Paige nodded slightly. Emily touched her cheek. "… but not if she tries to come between me and you."

Paige stood, pulling Emily with her and wrapping her in her arms for a long hug. Emily rubbed up from Paige's chest to her shoulders.

"You know," Emily said sheepishly, "I went back to Hank's the next night to try to explain things, but you were..." She looked briefly into Paige's eyes. "... otherwise occupied."

"Oh," Paige said, setting a little distance between herself and Emily. "How much did you see?"

The question made Emily nervous, but they were putting everything on the table, so she pressed onward. "I saw that she was getting flirty. And I saw that it was working."

"Yeah." Paige cleared her throat. "Well, you know how sometimes alcohol can lead you into a big mistake?"

"I know," Emily said sincerely. "And, it's fine, Paige, honestly. I mean, we weren't together..."

Paige shook her head. "Well, that night, alcohol kept me from a big mistake. I lost it, and Madisyn sent me home in an Uber before anything could happen. And, thank God for that. I wasn't interested in Tammi. It would have been the biggest mistake of my life. Well, one of the biggest, anyway."

Emily smiled, nodding contentedly; happy both for her sake and for Paige's that nothing had happened with Tammi.

"That was the night I realized that I didn't want to be without you," Paige admitted.

Emily's face brightened. "Really?"

Paige nodded. "Yeah. I'll tell you about it sometime."

"Okay," Emily said softly, biting a smile. There was still more to talk about, but they'd gotten off to a good start. They didn't have to cover it all in one shot. "So, what are you doing today?"

Paige laughed lightly, a little embarrassed. "I... I think I need to go work out."