Aria had officially been back in Rosewood for a month now and she was starting to feel restless. A week ago she'd gotten a note in her copy of To Kill A Mockingbird that indicated this 'A' person knew about Elliot and the fact that she couldn't be in Rosewood with her son without someone finding out was making her crazy."Like mother, like brother. Isn't that right, Aria? – A." the note had read. It was on a Post-It, attached to the photograph Aria kept of herself, Elliot and Mike as a bookmark. Her first thought had been who had her locker combination, and her second thought was 'holy crap'. For the most part, all of A's notes had been related to Ezra, or her father's affair, but this was the first time Elliot had been the subject and the idea that someone had found her out was terrifying. Especially if her parents found out that others knew.

The week before, Ezra had asked her to stay after school to go over a story she'd written, and it had ended in a heavy-make out session after which Aria had received a text reading "Loose lips sink ships. Remember that next time you're kissing his. – A". Between the stress of her family, A, figuring out what she and Ezra were exactly, and trying to reconnect with her old friends again, Aria was driving herself absolutely insane.

But, it was Saturday. That meant she had the entire day to do as she pleased, and since it was Elliot's half-birthday, she wanted nothing more than to spend the day with him outside of Rosewood, just the two of them. After getting herself dressed and throwing her hair into a messy bun, she tip toed down the hall into Elliot's bedroom. She dug through his dresser, pulling out a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"Elliot, wake up, baby." Aria shook him awake gently, picking him up and carrying him into the bathroom. "We're going to the zoo, we have to get ready."

After Elliot had used his potty chair and was dressed, she put the toddler toothpaste on his toothbrush and the two brushed their teeth together, Elliot laughing as he watched himself in the mirror. As soon as they were done rinsing, Aria went back to him bedroom and put together a bag before carrying him downstairs.

"I'm taking Elliot to the zoo!" Aria announced as she led the toddler to the door, car keys in hand. She'd officially gotten her American license the day before, which meant she had her mother's old Jeep, the spare care, all to herself.

"Wait, what?" Byron stepped into the foyer. "By yourself?"

"Yes." Aria said evenly. "If it's not in Rosewood, what does it matter? You want me to lie to everyone in this town, that's one thing, but I'm not going to let Elliot forget who I am or think that I've forgotten him. So I am taking him to Philadelphia Zoo for some mother-son bonding time."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Well, no offense, Dad, but I didn't ask you." Aria said, taking a firmer grip on Elliot's hand. "You don't let him sleep in the same room as me anymore… mom is the one that takes him to and from daycare… You don't even let me put him to sleep at night, isn't all of that confusing enough for him? Since he's been born I've been the absolute best mom I can be and you know it. Can't you just let us have this?"

Byron stared into her pleading eyes for a long moment. How could he not see how much all of this was hurting her? And Elliot was just happier when they got to spend time together, why was this so wrong to Ella and Byron?

"Fine." Byron finally agreed, waving her off. "But be home in time for dinner, please."

"Thank you, Dad." Aria said almost breathlessly. Releasing Elliot's hand for a moment she walked over to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."

"Come on, baby, we're going to the zoo!"

"ooo!" Elliot cooed back, stomping his feet with excitement.

After she had him secured in his car seat and had adjusted her mirrors, Aria pulled out of the driveway and headed towards the freeway. Philadelphia was only a half hour drive from Rosewood, but was a big enough city that nobody there could possibly know who she was. It was the perfect place for her to take Elliot without getting odd looks from her neighbors.

"You excited about going to the zoo, handsome?" Aria asked glancing into her rearview mirror to look at him. Elliot clapped his hands and began to giggle in response. "Yeah, we're going to see all kinds of animals. Elephants, and tigers, and monkeys!"

"Keeee!"

"Yeah, I know! Monkeys!" Aria laughed at her son, happy to see his smile again. Maybe her parents didn't see much change, but she could tell it was affecting him that they weren't able to spend as much time together as they were used to. "I'm sorry it seems like I haven't been around a lot, Elliot. But I want you to know, it's not going to be like this forever. Nana and Papa really want the best for us, and they don't want other people to treat us badly because Mommy had you so young. The world can be a cruel place, and they're just trying to protect us. But I love you so much… you know that, right?"

She knew, of course that Elliot couldn't really understand a lot of what she was saying, but she needed to know that he knew she loved him. Even if he didn't have the words to answer back yet, she had to make sure she told him why everything in his world was changing the way it was. And she understood her parents' motives (or at least her mother's), she really did, it just didn't seem fair that it should hurt as much as it did.

Eventually came upon the exit she knew would take them straight to the zoo parking lot and merged off of the freeway. After finding a parking spot, she got out of the car and walked around to the back to unload Elliot's stroller. Once she had it opened and locked into place, Aria reached into the back seat and unbuckled Elliot, strapping him into his stroller before locking up the car and turning the alarm on.

"We're here, baby boy!"

*PLL*

The two had just strolled through the reptile house and were heading towards the aviary when Aria spotted Ezra coming the zoo's front entrance. The fates really seemed to have it in for her lately. She spun Elliot's stroller in the opposite direction and began to walk away, hoping that she hadn't been spotted.

"Aria!" Dammit, Aria thought to herself as she stopped to compose herself. When she was sure she had herself together, she turned around and smiled brightly.

"Hey, Mr. Fitz!"

"We're not at school, you know." Ezra grinned as he approached her. "You can call me by my first name."

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Aria fumbled over her words, flustered that she'd come to Philly to escape the residents of Rosewood, and the one resident she wanted to see and couldn't had to be the one she ran into today.

"Well…" Ezra drew out, peering around Aria to glance at the stroller she was pushing. "My brother's daughter wanted me to join them at the zoo this weekend and by the time they called to tell me plans had changed, I was already in the parking lot so I figured why not."

"Oh." Aria said flatly. She didn't even know he had a brother, much less a niece. "Well, I really need to get going. Lots to see today!"

"Is this your… brother?" Ezra nodded in Elliot's direction, a questioning look in his eyes.

Aria could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she struggled to find the words. She wasn't in Rosewood; here she didn't have to be Elliot's much older sister. And with Ezra… she just wanted to share every part of her with him. He hadn't made it a huge secret what his feelings for her were, but would those feelings remain if he knew? There was only one way to find out, she decided. She bent over and unbuckled Elliot, lifting him out of the stroller and onto her hip.

"This is Elliot." She paused, hoping he would catch on and she wouldn't have to say it out loud. When his eyes grew wide and he remained perfectly still, she continued cautiously. "My son."

"Y-your son?" Ezra stuttered, clearly unsure how to handle this news. "You have a baby? But you're only-"

"Sixteen? Yeah, I know." Aria replied. She watched as the color drained from Ezra's face but if they were really going to try to make this work, and she didn't know if he intended for them to, he at least needed to know the truth. "After my friend Ali disappeared my friends and I grew apart and one night at a party I was just… missing her, and this guy… he had all the right words to make it go away and well, nine and a half months later I had Elliot."

"Is this some kind of joke, Aria?" Ezra quipped, chuckling as he did so. "Is this some kind of test?"

"Joke? No." Aria kissed Elliot on his forehead and held him to her chest. "Test? I don't know. I just know that I can't get you out of my head and I know you feel this… whatever it is between us, too, but we can't do anything about it if I keep this from you. Do I wish I had waited a few years? Absolutely, but I would never joke about something like this."

"Aria, I'm sor-"

"You don't have to be sorry, Ezra." Aria cut him off. "I know how this must look to you. And it's ok if you don't want anything to do with me now, but I just couldn't keep this from you. No one else knows, but I always want to be honest with you."

"Like you were honest with me at the bar that first day?" The corners of Ezra's mouth lifted into a slight smile and Aria suddenly felt like she could breathe again.

"Definitely not like that." She laughed. "I just want you to know me."

"I do know you." Ezra protested.

"No, you know the 'at school' me. You know the 'girl at the bar' me This?" Aria said, nodding her head towards Elliot. "This is me. And I want you to know this me. If you want to know this me, that is. And if you don't then this thing going on between us needs to stop now."

Ezra stood quietly for a while, looking back and for between Aria and Elliot contemplatively. Eventually, he reached over and placed a hand on Elliot's back.

"Do you want to hold him?" Aria asked hopefully. Ezra's eyes widened and she could tell he was startled by the question, but he still reached out and accepted Elliot as Aria handed him over. "Say hi to Ezra, Elliot."

"Is the father… involved?" Ezra asked as he bounced Elliot on his hip, smiling as the toddler giggled.

"He doesn't even know." Aria had made sure of that. Once they were in Iceland and Aria had already given birth, her parents finally gave up asking about it. "He doesn't need to know."

"So you've been doing this alone this whole time?"

"Not alone." Aria clarified. "I mean, obviously I have my parents. They're the ones posing as Elliot's mom and dad now that we're back in Rosewood. They've been a huge help. But other than that… yeah, it's just me and E."

"He's beautiful, looks just like you." Ezra stated, and Aria grinned. Seeing Ezra with her son really was like a dream come true. Ezra laughed and played with Elliot comfortably enough that it took Aria by surprise when he handed the toddler back to her. "He's clearly a very happy child."

"Yeah." Aria couldn't take her eyes off of Ezra, watching him as he watched her. "Yeah, he is."

Then, the awkwardness returned. He'd just met her son, and seemed to be alright with the fact that she was a teenage mother, and yet he was standing there watching her in an almost scrutinizing manner, trying to make sense of the situation that had just been laid out in front of him.

"So…"Aria finally said awkwardly as she put Elliot back into his stroller. "Would you like to walk over to the aviary with us?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Ezra replied, glancing around the zoo to see if they had an audience of any kind. Aria glanced around, too, and though no one was watching she got the hint.

"Ezra-"

"Aria, I don't think we need to give people something to talk about just yet." Ezra gritted his teeth. Despite the bitterness in his voice, Aria could see the conflict in his eyes.

"There's nothing for them to talk about here!" Aria realized that her voice had raised an octave or two and she waited until she knew she could speak without shouting. Lowering her voice to just above a whisper, she continued. "Look, I know this is a lot to take in; I know that. But I know there's something between us, something I never imagined could even exist. I also know that this is more of a risk for you than it is for me, and I've only raised the stakes. But I'm not ready to give up hope for us if there's still a chance that you want me. If you need time to figure everything out, that's fine. I never expected dating with a toddler to be easy, but can we just be here, please? Can we just enjoy the fact that nobody here knows this is wrong and let it feel right? And if you find this isn't for you, that you can't handle dating a sixteen year old who has a kid, then we can go back to Rosewood and you'll just be Mr. Fitz and I'll just be another girl in class that thinks you're amazing. And that'll be that."

She was almost begging, she knew. And if this were any other guy, she'd be embarrassed of herself. But this was Ezra. This was something she knew she would regret missing out on if she didn't take the chance now.

"You could never be just another girl." Ezra said evenly, and Aria couldn't tell which side of the fence he was leaning towards by the statement. He locked eyes with her and his gaze was burning into her soul. She could see that he probably wasn't even sure what his decision would ultimately be and that scared her. "I might need some time because you're right; this is a lot to take in. But even if we try and fail miserably at… this," he gestured between the two of them. "You will never be 'just a girl' to me, Aria."

"So where does that leave us?" Aria asked, already drained from their conversation. One minute he was saying he didn't think it was a good idea and the next he said something like that. It was like trying to keep up with a tennis match between Spencer and Melissa.

"I think, for the time being." Ezra began, taking a slight step towards her and smiling as he slipped his hand into hers. "It leaves us heading for the aviary to get a look at those birds."

The smile that broke out across Aria's face was so wide it hurt her ear lobes. She could handle that, for the time being.

*PLL*

They were sitting in the zoo's outdoor eatery, sharing a plate of chili cheese fries – regular fries and apple slices for Elliot – before either of them spoke again about the new information that had been introduced to the relationship.

"So, there is a father out there somewhere." It wasn't a question, and the way Ezra had said it Aria knew that he hadn't asked whatever it was he was fishing an answer about yet.

"There is." She agreed.

"Can I ask you something?" Ezra seemed almost embarrassed; his cheeks were flushed and he wasn't looking her in the eye.

"Anything." Aria reached her hand out, placing it over his and giving him a reassuring smile when he raised his gaze to meet hers.

"Why doesn't he know about Elliot? He didn't… I mean, you weren't…"

"No." Aria supplied. Clearly he didn't want to say the word 'rape' out loud, and she was thankful for that. Many times since she'd found out she was pregnant, she considered making such a claim, but it always came back to the fact that she just couldn't do that to him. So, instead she just insisted that he was out of the picture, that it had been a cousin of one of her schoolmates in town for a visit. It took some time, but eventually her parents accepted the fact that Aria didn't want them to know who the father was. "No, I wasn't raped. It was consensual. He was older, though. Old enough to be charged with rape regardless of what I say happened. So I just never told anyone who he was. It's better for everyone that way."

"Do you think he would see it that way if he knew?"

"I don't know." Aria said honestly, shaking her head. She really had no clue what would happen if Elliot's father ever knew the truth. "I try not to think about it, though, he's long gone now."

"So what?" Ezra leaned back in his seat, handing Elliot an apple slice that was just out of the baby's reach. "He didn't see you around town one day and think 'Oh crap, she's pregnant' and think it was possible that he was the father?"

"No." Aria laughed at the scenario Ezra had painted for her. "He didn't have the chance. I was only about 9 weeks along when my dad shipped us off to Iceland and he'd taken off a few days before that."

"So you were in Iceland from then until Labor Day?" Ezra seemed much more relaxed now than he had when he'd initially begun to ask about Elliot's father. "So nobody in Rosewood knows? Nobody at all?"

Aria shook her head, no.

"Not even your friends?" Aria shook her head again. "Wow. How do you keep something like this a secret?" Ezra continued to feed Elliot apple slices, almost as if it were a habit. Aria could feel her heart swelling at the sight of Elliot with a father-figure. Not that she thought of Ezra as a father-figure for him… yet.

"My parents pretend that he's their son." Aria pushed back the curls hanging on Elliot's forehead affectionately, despite being hurt to admit that her parents were ashamed of her.

"And your ok with that?"

"Lying to the whole town is the better alternative to having people know how much they screwed up." She shrugged. It was what she'd been telling herself for weeks already, and she was just starting to feel convinced of it's truth.

"They?" Ezra laughed. He truly seemed amused by this. "They screwed up because you had a baby?"

"Well, yeah." Aria furrowed her brows, confused. There wasn't really anything funny about it. "You don't think it reflects on the parents when a child screws up?"

"You didn't screw up. You made a mistake." Ezra told her, the smile replaced with a serious, but soft, look. "Everybody does that at one point or another. Its how you've dealt with the mistake and come back from it that reflects on your parents."

"You really believe that?"

"Yes." Ezra said firmly, sitting up and resting his elbows on the table as he leaned forward. "Elliot is smart, he is healthy and he is happy. And clearly he adores you. I would say you're doing a good job with him, and I've only seen you with him for about three hours. That is a reflection on your parents and how they brought you up. So why they want you to lie about him is beyond me."

Aria beamed at him. Maybe he'd never disappointed her parents like she had, and couldn't understand, but she couldn't be happier in that moment. Maybe moving back to Rosewood had been a good thing after all.

*PLL*

After lunch they had gotten ice cream and gone to the butterfly house before making their way back to the front of the zoo and into the souvenir shop. While Aria let Elliot choose one toy, Ezra wandered about the shop, picking up various knickknacks as he did so. When Aria felt that she and Elliot were out of earshot, she kneeled beside the stroller and talked to him in a hushed voice.

"Do you like Ezra?" When Elliot seemed to only like the stuffed monkey he was holding, Aria continued speaking, more to herself than anything. "I like Ezra. A lot. And I think he's starting to really like us. I just hope I'm making the right choice this time. What do you think?"

Elliot squeezed the monkey and it began to call out monkey sounds, causing the toddler to jump at first, but then erupt into a fit of laughter. Three more times he squeezed the monkey before Aria gently pried it from his hands and took it to the register to buy it. As she paid, she noticed that Ezra was no longer in the shop and she found herself looking around frantically for him. Finally, she spotted him standing outside, waiting. She thanked the cashier and pushed Elliot outside to meet him.

"Did you get something for your niece?"

"Oh, no. Not this time." Ezra said. "I just got her a doll house last week and I try not to spoil her. Plus, if she finds out I was here without her all Hell will break loose."

"I see." Aria stood awkwardly, not sure what to do now. Did she hug him, or kiss him? Did he want her to kiss him? She just knew that she had to get back home soon if she didn't want her father to be angry.

"I did, however, get something for you." Ezra reached into the small bag he was holding in his hand and pulled out a piece of jewelry. When he held it in front of Aria, her jaw dropped in awe. It had long delicate chain of moth gold and silver tones, and hanging from the chain were a pair of butterfly wings. "You really seemed to enjoy the butterfly house. I thought you might like it. The wings are real, but the butterfly died of natural causes first."

"I love it." Aria said quickly. She gently took the necklace into her hands and ran her thumb over the glass-covered wings. "It's beautiful. Thank you."

"I just wanted you to know," Ezra took a step closer to her, placing a hand on either of her hips. "That I think there's hope for us as well. I'm not saying we jump into things, I think we should take it slow. But I don't want to wake up one day and wonder 'what if'. So, if you're willing to just give this some time, I think I can handle whatever's going on between us."

"Ezra," Aria placed a hand on his cheek and smiled softly. "Are you sure? Because I can't have people coming in and out of my son's life. You don't have to make a decision right this second, and I don't want you to play daddy when you're around, but you need to realize that I'm a mom. That's my main priority. So are you sure this is what you want?"

"Honestly?" Ezra had removed his hands from her hips and taken a step back, taking a long hard look at Elliot before returning his attention to Aria. "Today was great. Today was amazing. But right now, I'm really not sure at all. But I figure what the hell? Why not take the chance. Being with you is as big a risk as any, and you're a good mother. So why not?"

"No." Aria's face fell. "No, not 'what the hell'. This isn't just me I have to think about, I have to think about him, too. And he needs stability, which means I need stability. Please, take your time thinking about it because it's a huge deal, but figuring out whether or not you want to be in our lives is not exactly a 'what the hell' kind of decision."

"Aria."

"Ezra." Aria shot back firmly. "I'm not mad. I'm just saying that if you're not sure you want this, then you need to think about it more. I don't want you to get involved with us if there's a chance you might regret this one day. So, think about it."

Aria turned and pushed Elliot away before Ezra could say anything else. She didn't mean to put so much pressure on him, but she refused to be a regret simple as that. Ezra needed to know that he was making the right choice in being with her. She knew she was psyching herself out more than anything, but the fact that he didn't seem to care that she had a child honestly frightened her. It was one thing when he still wanted her despite being her teacher, but him wanting to be with her knowing about Elliot? It was too good to be true.

The drive home was silent, save for Elliot's babbling and laughter at the sounds his new monkey made as he squeezed. Aria was glad that she'd had this time with him, and was ecstatic to hear her son laugh so heartily, it was a sound she had missed over the past couple of weeks.

They pulled up in front of the house just as the sun was beginning to set, her parents sitting on the porch swing waiting. Aria unbuckled Elliot and set him to down so that he could take the steps himself when her phone began to buzz. Pulling it out of her pocket, she saw a missed call from Ezra and cleared it. When her cache was clear of that, the message she'd just received popped up.

"Looks like someone is a single mommy once again. Careful what you wish for, sometimes thinking too much is a bad thing. – A."

I got a lot of requests for Ezra to meet Elliot. I had initially planned it to happen about 3 chapters from now, but almost everyone thought he should have found out by now. I know there wasn't much interaction with the other liars, but next chapter will feature them heavily. Now that Aria's secret is out, it will be much harder to hide it from her friends. Thanks so much for the reviews that I have gotten so far! It really keeps me wanting to write more. And the more I get, the quicker the next chapter will be up. This story will follow through to the end of season 1, then possibly I will write a sequel when the show goes on hiatus. Read and Review people! Have a fun and safe weekend, everyone : )