A/N: Trigger warning for talk of self harm and suicide. If these are sensitive for you, please proceed with caution.

"How many times did they call?" Emily asked as she and Paige sat together on the couch in Emily's apartment. They were watching a movie on TV but had started discussing the events of the past few days. Paige had told her about being followed home from her apartment and the phone call she had gotten after. She had gotten one a day since, all the same with no one on the other end. Caleb luckily hadn't been working nights recently, which was fine with her because she felt safer with him around. Nothing had happened to suggest her life was in danger, but it was enough to unnerve her.

"It's just been once a day," Paige replied, running her fingers down Emily's leg. "But it's kind of creeping me out."

"I'm sure," Emily replied sympathetically. "I wish I could help."

"I'm hoping it will just stop," Paige continued. "Maybe a student got my number and thinks they're being funny."

"Maybe."

They were silent a moment, watching the TV. Emily looked up at her, running her fingers up her arm.

"Paige?"

"Yeah?"

"What about Alison? Did you tell anyone?"

"I talked to one of the counselors. She's supposed to set up an appointment with her. I don't know if she'll tell the truth, but I needed to try."

"You know what I think?" Emily asked, wrapping her arms tightly around Paige. "I think even though you try to seem like a hard ass you have the biggest heart."

Paige chuckled at that. She guessed Emily was right; she tried to appear tough to her students but she really was more compassionate than she wanted to admit. That was one of the things she loved about Emily, the way she could see who she really was.

"You're a very good analyst," she told her, kissing the top of her head. Emily responded by kissing her softly but passionately.

Their make out session was interrupted by Paige's phone buzzing. She fumbled around for it without her lips leaving Emily's to make sure it wasn't the restricted number. It was Caleb.

"Fuck," she muttered, reading the message.

"What's wrong?"

"He's working a night shift tonight. I'm going to be there by myself."

"Well," Emily started, taking a deep breath. "You can always stay here."

Paige looked at her, surprised. Emily was asking her to stay the night. Would that mean what she hoped? They had waited long enough, and it was getting more and more difficult to not consummate.

"I… I would like that," she replied, her heart racing. Emily smiled, leaning in to kiss her. "What about clothes?"

Emily pulled back, her hands cupping Paige's face. Her eyes were dark with lust.

"I was hoping you wouldn't need any."

Paige's mouth opened slightly. Emily kissed her again and she kissed back eagerly, not even trying to fight her arousal like she normally did. This was finally happening.

"Paige," Emily whispered, sliding her hand between her legs. Paige gasped, her arousal seeping onto her jeans. She reached for the zipper on Emily's sweatshirt, undoing it as they kissed. "Wait."

"What?" Paige asked, panting.

"Bedroom," Emily replied, pulling her up. "Hanna might come back."

They hurried back to Emily's bedroom, shutting the door behind them and climbing into bed. They resumed where they left off, undressing each other slowly as they kissed. Paige had Emily pinned under her, massaging her bare breasts and watching her facial expressions as she did so. She was beautiful, and looked nearly angelic in the moonlight shining through the window. She took a nipple into her mouth, sucking gently as Emily moaned in approval. The sound fed her fire and she continued with renewed purposed, giving her other breast the same attention.

"Oh, Paige," Emily gasped as Paige rubbed at her clit. "That feels so good."

"You like that?" she asked huskily, continuing. Emily moaned loudly.

"I'll take that as a yes," she replied, slipping two fingers inside of her. She started thrusting slowly, her thumb hitting her clit with each thrust. Emily was gasping continuously, her face contorted into a beautiful expression of pleasure. Paige felt her own center throbbing just from Emily's reaction.

"Fuck me," Emily gasped, bucking her hips. "Faster, Paige, faster!"

Paige did as she was told, Emily's wet velvet walls clenching down around her. Everything about her was perfect, just like she knew it would be, and she didn't want it to end. She could do it all night if Emily would let her.

Emily cried out loudly, reaching out for Paige's free hand. She was close, and her noises were growing louder and louder as Paige thrust faster and faster.

"Paige," Emily gasped breathlessly. "I'm gonna….. oh, fuck…. I'm gonna come!"

And she did, crying out in pleasure as she clamped hard around Paige's fingers. Paige helped her ride out her orgasm before pulling out of her, leaning in to kiss her gently. Emily's chest was heaving as she tried to catch her breath, a satisfied smile on her face as Paige looked down at her, grinning a goofy grin.

"That was…. holy shit," she panted. Paige leaned in to kiss her.

"I'm glad you thought so."

Emily smiled, tracing her finger up Paige's arm as she finally began to breathe normally again. She wanted to make Paige come undone like she had just done for her. She wanted to see her squirming, to hear her cry out in ecstasy. The thought was all she needed to get her strength back enough to flip them, straddling Paige as she let out a small sound of surprise.

"Take your shirt off," Emily whispered. She was surprised when Paige didn't comply. "Paige?"

"There's something you need to know first," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. Emily looked at her.

"What is it?" she asked gently.

"Remember how I told you about being tortured in high school? People called me dyke all the time and told me I was a disgusting pervert. They used to make a big deal in the locker room about me looking at them changing. I would go home and cry every day. Every single day. Then I started cutting. I thought it would take away some of the pain. And for a while it did, but then it wasn't enough. I…. I tried to kill myself."

Emily stared at her, open mouthed, a tear sliding down her cheek. How could people have been so cruel to someone so kind, so gentle? It gave her a physical pain in her heart as she looked at the beautiful woman under her, so vulnerable as she waited for Emily's reaction.

"Oh, Paige," she whispered, trying not to let her tears go. Paige swallowed hard.

"I still have scars. I needed you to know before you saw them, in case…. in case….."

Emily pulled her into her arms, holding her tight as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She would give anything to be able to take Paige's pain back, and she certainly didn't want her thinking that she was undesirable.

"You're perfect," Emily whispered. "And I want all of you, so so much. Please, trust me."

Paige slowly removed her shirt. Emily saw right away what she meant and she could tell by Paige's face that she was afraid she would be rejected. She smiled gently, stroking Paige's lips with her finger.

"You're Paige. With or without the scars. And I think I am so lucky to have a girlfriend like you."

"Why?" Paige asked curiously.

"You care so much about others. You're smart and brave and you're better than all of those shits you went to high school with. They can't even compete with you."

Paige chuckled in relief. Emily wasn't going to kick her out. She meant what she said, and that meant the world to her.

"Please," she started gently. "Let me make love to you."

Paige nodded, her arousal quickly returning as Emily positioned herself between her legs. She had never felt so wanted, so valued before and it was the best feeling ever.

"You want me, don't you?" she cooed, slipping her fingers easily through Paige's wet folds. She moaned in response. "I thought so." She briefly dipped a finger inside before immediately pulling it out, much to Paige's dismay.

"Em…"

"You are so beautiful," she whispered, nipping Paige's ear. Paige gulped, her center throbbing painfully. "I have wanted to do this for so long. I don't know how I've managed to control myself."

Paige couldn't agree more. As wonderful as the past few weeks had been, it had been sweet torture not giving in to Emily. And now that it was happening, she couldn't believe they had been able to wait as long as they had.

Her breath caught when Emily began kissing her way down her stomach, stopping as she reached her center. She moaned loudly when Emily's mouth connected with her, licking up and down her wet slit. She clutched the sheets, stars before her eyes as Emily worked her mouth perfectly. She would have to remember to thank Caleb for working a night shift.

"Fuck," she moaned, closing her eyes. The pleasure was too much and she could feel a massive orgasm building inside of her. Emily was by the far the best lover she had ever had and she hadn't even come yet. She was attentive and incredibly skilled, yet so sweet at the same time. Everything any other woman Paige had ever been with wasn't.

She was already close, and when Emily began sucking on her clit she knew she was a goner. Her body tensed and she cried Emily's name as she came, the waves of pleasure washing rapidly over her. She was still shuddering slightly as Emily placed a soft kiss on the swollen bud and moved up to kiss Paige's mouth, allowing her to taste herself. She gently stroked her cheek, smiling down at her as Paige looked at her through hooded eyes, a content smile on her face.

"That was worth the wait, wasn't it?" she asked sleepily. Emily chuckled.

"It was barely three weeks."

"So? It was longer than I thought I was going to last," she replied, pulling Emily down for a kiss. "Thanks for asking me to stay."

"Of course," Emily told her, lying down next to her. "You're always welcome here. If Caleb's working and you don't want to be alone, you know where to find me."

"You're sweet," Paige told her, snuggling up against her. "Hanna's not going to tease you too much tomorrow morning, is she?"

"Let her," Emily replied, looking into Paige's giant brown eyes. "Nothing can change how happy I am."

Paige smiled, taking her hand. That was the truth.

"Now," Emily started, rolling on top of her. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready for round two."

The next morning was Saturday, so neither one of them were in any hurry to get out of bed. They were snuggled close together under the blankets, kissing lightly.

"Last night was perfect," Paige told Emily softly, rubbing her hand up and down her arm. Emily smiled at her, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah. I can't tell you how glad I am that I took the job here instead of at Valley Hill."

"You and me both," Paige agreed, kissing her again. She found herself growing aroused once again, and luckily, Emily had a similar idea as she slid her hand between Paige's legs, rubbing at her clit. "Em."

"I don't know about you, but I absolutely love morning sex," Emily told her softly. Paige gulped at the sensation, sliding her own fingers into Emily to match her thrusts.

"Fuck," was all Paige could reply as she buried her face in Emily's shoulder.

When they were finished they dressed and made their way out to the kitchen, where Hanna was drinking coffee at the table. Her face lit up when she saw Paige, followed by a sly smirk.

"Hi, Paige. I guess I know what all that noise was last night."

"Hanna!" Emily exclaimed. Hanna just grinned.

"There's plenty of coffee for you guys in the pot. And make sure you eat a good breakfast. You probably need it."

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Yes, actually. I have to be at work in a half hour. Nice seeing you, Paige."

"You, too," Paige replied, her cheeks still pink as Hanna disappeared from the kitchen. Emily looked at her apologetically.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," she replied, kissing her forehead. "Caleb wouldn't be any better."

"We should set them up," she joked as Emily went to pour them coffee. "Thanks again for letting me stay with you last night."

"Of course. You don't need to thank me, Paige. I certainly enjoyed myself."

"I could tell," Paige replied, smirking. Emily grinned, handing her a cup of coffee.

"Well, we'll have to do it again sometime soon."

"Sounds good to me," Paige agreed as she pulled Emily in for a kiss.

Monday afternoon Paige was in her lab, catching up on some of the work she had meant to do last week. Now that she was dating Emily, she had less free time to spend in the lab, but she certainly didn't mind. Emily had filled in the big hole she had in her heart and more so, so it was worth being slightly behind in her work. Besides, Monday was Emily's fullest day, so she would have plenty of time in her lab.

She was so concentrated on her pipetting that she didn't even hear the door open. Someone cleared their throat and she jumped, whirling around. Alison was standing behind her, her eyes red and swollen.

"Dr. McCullers? Can I talk to you?" she asked softly. Paige nodded, pulling her gloves off.

"Of course."

"What you saw last week. That's my boyfriend and he… I don't know who he is anymore," she replied, sniffing. "I'm scared. He keeps hurting me and I don't think he cares. I… I'm afraid he's going to kill me."

Paige was silent for a moment, not really sure what to say. The poor girl seemed terrified, and what she had seen last week had been very unsettling. If she was actually reaching out for help, then of course Paige had to give it to her.

"Why don't you let me take you to the counselor?" she suggested. "Spencer is a very good person to talk to and she'll know how to help you."

"I don't want him anywhere near me," she replied. "Can she do that?"

"She can," Paige assured her. "She's helped a lot of young women in situations similar to yours."

Alison nodded. Paige felt terrible for her, regardless of all the sniping they had done at each other during class. She guessed everyone had a story, which was why you couldn't judge them, no matter how awful they seemed.

"Will you walk me there?" she asked. Paige nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she replied, leading her out of the lab. She walked her across campus to the health center, where she asked for Spencer at the front desk. She came out of her office immediately, smiling when she saw Paige.

"McCullers!"

"That's Dr. McCullers to you, Hastings," she replied. "I have a student who would like to speak with you."

Spencer nodded, looking at Alison.

"Okay. Thank you for bringing her."

"Good luck," Paige told Alison, offering her a kind smile. "I'm always here if you want to talk."

She watched Spencer lead Alison into her office, leaving the Health Center once the door was closed. She felt relieved as she walked back to Curie Hall, glad that she was able to help and this would be taken care of. Spencer would make sure Ian never came near her again. That was one less thing to worry about.

She didn't realize she was being watched as she walked back to her lab.

A/N 2: There is a character death in the next chapter, just to give you a heads up. Things will get a lot more interesting from here. Thanks for reading and letting me know what you think!