A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Things start to get intense in this chapter. Hope you enjoy!

"Holy shit, Em," Paige gasped, struggling to catch her breath. The two of them were naked on Paige's couch, having just finished a vigorous lovemaking session, leaving both of them too exhausted to move. Emily was resting practically on top of her, just as breathless.

"I know," she chuckled, leaning in for a kiss. "It's a good thing I haven't had an asthma attack in ten years."

"You have asthma?" Paige asked, concerned.

"Technically. I don't have attacks anymore."

"Oh. Good." She sighed as Emily kissed her gently, her hand caressing her bare arm.

"I might have to cancel class tomorrow. I don't think I'll be able to walk."

"I'm good, huh?" Paige bragged. "Yeah. I don't think I'll be able to, either."

Emily sat up and stretched, yawning loudly. Paige gave her a questioning look she got up and began searching for her clothes.

"What are you doing?"

"We better move so Caleb doesn't come back and find us naked on the couch."

"Fair point," she sighed, reluctantly getting up after her. Before she had the chance to reach for her shirt the door flew open and Emily screamed, ducking behind the couch as Paige tried to cover herself. "Caleb!" she shouted as Caleb turned away, covering his eyes.

"I'm not looking!" he told them as they quickly pulled their clothes on.

"What the hell are you doing back?" she snapped.

"They let me go early. I'm sorry," he told them, closing the door. He frowned. "Wait. Were you doing something on our couch?"

"Go away," Paige replied, turning to Emily. Her head was bowed, her arms folded over her stomach. "Em? I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she replied, kissing Paige gently. "We should probably call it a night anyway."

"Okay," Paige sighed. "We're on for dinner and you staying here Friday night?"

"Of course," Emily assured her, kissing her again before heading to the door. "Good night."

"Good night," Paige replied, staring after her in a daze. She didn't even notice Caleb standing next to her.

"You are so whipped."

"You're a dick."

"I'm serious."

"I think I'm in love with her," she replied. Caleb whistled. "No. I know I'm in love with her."

"Tell her, then."

"You think I should?" Paige asked skeptically.

"You know her roommate, Hanna? The hot one?"

"I would call Emily the hot one. But, yes."

"I see her at work sometimes. And trust me when I say, tell her."

With that he left the room, leaving Paige staring after him.

The next day, she did not fail to notice that Alison was not in lab. She hadn't been in lecture the day before either, and she figured that she was taking some personal time after speaking to Spencer the week before. She had heard rumors that Alison had gotten a restraining order against Ian, and Paige was relieved to hear that. She would be okay.

After the students left she debated maybe emailing her, just to check in and make sure everything was okay. She didn't want to overstep her boundaries though, and decided against it. Alison would reach out to her if she wanted to. Instead she just decided to get some more work done.

She was locking up the microbiology lab and ready to start towards her own when her cell phone rang. Cursing under her breath she reached into her lab coat pocket and pulled it out, answering the call.

"Hello?"

"Paige? It's Ezra."

"Ezra. Hi," she replied. He was one of the English composition teachers she had become friendly with. "What's up?"

"You have Alison DiLaurentis in one of your classes, right?"

"Yes. Why?" she asked, her uneasy feeling from the previous week returning. "What's wrong?"

"She hasn't been in class this week. She missed lecture Monday and Wednesday. I haven't even gotten an email from her saying she's been sick or something. I mean, I've heard rumors about what happened with her boyfriend, but…. I'm concerned."

"She hasn't been in my class, either," Paige replied. "Should we get someone to check on her."

"We could. But maybe we should wait another day or two. I don't want to get in her business."

"I know what you mean."

"Okay. I'll let you go. Thanks, Paige."

"Yeah," she replied as he hung up. She put her cell phone back in her pocket, a knot in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong. She could feel it. Every student knew to email a professor if they were going to miss class, especially two days worth. Unless something horrible had happened to them. "You're pathetic, Paige," she muttered to herself. "Absolutely pathetic."

She left the lab and started for her own, hoping staring a microbes under a microscope would make her feel calmer. She met Mona on the way, who was drinking a coffee almost as tall as she was.

"Paigey! What's up?" she asked cheerfully. Paige shrugged.

"Nothing much."

"Hey. What's wrong?" she asked, noticing the look on Paige's face. "Sweetie, you can tell me."

"Come with me to the lab," she replied. "I'll fill you in."

Mona went with her and she explained everything, including Ezra's phone call. She was worried, even though she knew she probably didn't need to be. But the compassionate part of her just couldn't help it.

"Paige, you worry too much," Mona told her. "Your life would be so much easier if you didn't care so much about other people."

"I know," she sighed. "But I can't help it. It's how I am."

"You're a good person," Mona continued. "But, I think what you need is to take the rest of the day off. You're in this lab all the time as it is. Go home, have a drink. Spend time with Emily. Get laid. Do something to calm yourself down. I hate seeing you so stressed all the time."

"I have a lot to do here."

"I know. But we all need some down time, too. Seriously. Go home."

"I am losing it, aren't I?" she sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "You're right."

"Of course I'm right," Mona replied. "Come on. I'll walk you out."

"You're a good friend," Paige told her. "Even if you are a little crazy."

Mona grinned at her, following her out of the lab. They exited the building through the back since it was closer to the parking lot, but as soon as they were outside they were met with a horrible stench that seemed like it was coming from the dumpster. It was vile, the most disgusting thing Paige had ever smelled before, and it was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Mona was covering her mouth as Paige turned to her, her own eyes watering.

"What the fuck is that?" she choked out. Mona shook her head, telling her she didn't know, as she went to the dumpster to investigate. Before Paige knew what was happening Mona was screaming bloody murder, stumbling backwards. In a blur Paige rushed up to her, only for her to point with a shaking finger at the dumpster. She couldn't even form one word so Paige walked forward herself, peering inside. The sight she was met with made everything spin, all thoughts vanishing from her mind as she stared at the bloodied body of Alison DiLaurentis.

She turned her head, dazed, vaguely aware of Mona screaming for help. Her stomach churned and she could feel bile rising in her throat as she stumbled backwards, bending down and vomiting almost all over Mona's feet. She sank to the ground as countless people, students and professors, came running towards them. She wasn't even sure her brain was functioning as other screams filled the air, Mona clutching onto her as she sobbed loudly. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be real.

"I'd like your essays for 'Don Quixote' done by Monday," Emily told her class, picking up the stack of new books. "With the last twenty minutes we're going to start talking about 'The Canterbury Tales.' I'm sure you've heard home long and boring it is, but I happen to find it-."

"Professor!" one of the girls in the back shouted, jumping out of her seat. Emily looked at her in surprise.

"Yes, Sydney?"

"They found someone dead by the science wing! Dr. McCullers and Dr. Vanderwaal found-."

"Class is dismissed," Emily told them hurriedly, practically running out of the room. She rushed all the way to the science building, fighting through the crowd of people and sea of police to find Paige. She could see a sheet covered figure while police began setting up crime scene tape, barking at everyone to stay back. Finally she spotted Paige sitting with Mona off to the side, visibly trembling. "Paige!"

Paige looked up at the sound of Emily's voice, immediately bursting into tears when she saw her running towards her.

"Em," she sobbed, reaching out her arms. Emily pulled her in close, holding her shaking body as she tried to soothe her. She was crying too without even realizing it, not even able to imagine what Paige must be feeling. Noel, Mona's boyfriend, showed up too, making the same attempts to comfort his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry," Emily whispered, rubbing her back. "I'm so sorry."

Paige could only cry, too hysterical to form words. Having Emily there did make her feel better, and she held onto her as if she were drowning. She didn't think she could walk and she was so in shock she didn't even know if she would be able to form full sentences. But Emily wasn't going anywhere and she held her tight, stroking her hair and whispering soothing things in her ear.

"Try to take a deep breath, Paige," she soothed. "You're going to hyperventilate."

Paige sniffed hard in response, trying a shaky breath. She buried her face back in Emily's shirt, more tears coming to her eyes.

"Paige?"

Emily looked up to see a young police officer standing in front of them, his blue eyes full of concern.

"Toby," she gasped through her tears. "I…I…."

"Can this wait?" Emily asked, trying her best to calm her down.

"Yeah," Toby replied, shifting uncomfortably. "We'll need to talk to both of them once they calm down."

"Paige, breathe," Emily whispered to her, feeling as if her heart was breaking. She couldn't bear seeing her so upset.

"Maybe she should talk to Spencer," he suggested. "Not today, but it might help."

"I'm sorry, who's Spencer again?" she asked, her mind frazzled. She had met a lot of new people over the past month, and at the moment most of them were running together.

"My girlfriend. She's a counselor here."

"Thanks," she replied quietly, turning her attention back to Paige. She seemed as if she was finally running out of tears, her breathing ragged but more steady than before. "Can I take her home? Please?"

"Well….." Toby thought for a minute, looking around. "Okay. But she'll have to come to the station soon."

"Thank you," Emily replied gratefully, helping Paige stand on shaky legs. "We're going home, honey."

She led Paige to the car and helped her inside, driving them both to Paige's apartment as Paige sniffled and cried quietly beside her. She needed to do something to calm her, she just didn't know what. She was hoping they had sleeping pills or something, because she didn't think Paige would ever relax otherwise.

No one else was home when they got there. Emily led Paige upstairs, getting her settled on the couch before going to search their medicine cabinets. She didn't find anything of use except an old bottle of Prozac in Paige's name. But looking at the date she was disappointed to see it was three years old.

She went back out to the living room and sat down next to Paige, taking her in her arms and holding her tight. Paige whimpered, clutching onto her.

"It's okay," she whispered, kissing her hair. "It's going to be okay."

"It's not," she rasped, sniffing hard. "She's dead. I tried to help her and she's dead."

"You know you can't blame yourself."

"He did it. I know he did."

"Who?"

"Ian Thomas. Her boyfriend. She came to me last week, Emily. She told me he was hurting her and she was scared he was going to kill her. I took her to Spencer and they got her a restraining order. But he…. he did it anyway."

"Baby, you did everything you could," she soothed, not even realizing the pet name until it had already slipped out. But Paige didn't seem to mind.

"It doesn't matter. She's dead. I failed."

"You didn't fail to keep her safe. It wasn't your responsibility."

"I feel so awful," she replied, covering her face. "All we did was fight. She was so….. cruel to me. And I got tired of putting up with it."

"You have nothing to feel guilty about. Please believe me."

"But, don't you see? That's what I do. I always feel guilty about everything," she replied, starting to cry again.

"Paige….. you're going to dehydrate yourself."

"I need to tell the police everything about Ian. They need to know it was him."

"Oh, Paige…." She trailed off, unsure of what to say. Paige was beyond comfort right now, and the best she could do was sit there and hold her. "Do you have any tea?"

"I think so," she replied, giving Emily a strange look. "Why?"

"I'm making you some," she answered, standing up.

While she was in the kitchen, Caleb came home. He took one look at Paige sitting on the couch and frowned, sitting down next to her.

"Paige? Is it Emily?"

She shook her head as Emily came out to the living room. He looked confused, looking back and forth between them.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked.

"Come with me," Emily replied, leading him out of the room so Paige couldn't hear them. "Paige and Mona found a student dead. It was someone having troubles with a boyfriend and Paige tried to help her but now she's dead and she's pretty inconsolable right now."

"Holy shit," Caleb whispered. "Wow."

"Yeah. I was looking for something to give her, but all I found was expired Prozac. She doesn't take that anymore?"

"No. She hasn't taken it in years."

"I'm making her tea right now. I don't know how much good it will do, but I'm trying."

"You're helping just by being here," Caleb assured her. Emily gave him a sad smile.

"I want to be there for her."

She spent the night there, spending most of it sitting up with Paige. She got maybe a total of forty-five minutes of sleep, talking to Paige about mindless things for most of the night. Paige dozed twice, waking up both times screaming in terror. Caleb was in and out of the room all night too, unable to sleep much knowing what had happened to his roommate.

They were all exhausted the next morning as Emily and Paige got ready to leave for the police station. She didn't think Paige was ready to talk about it, but she understood that the police were faced with a homicide they needed to solve. So they drove silently to the station, Paige staring out the window the entire time. She was silent as they sat in the waiting room, picking at her nails as Emily rubbed her back.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" she asked. Paige looked at her and nodded, her eyes red and swollen.

"Please."

She followed Paige in when Toby called them in, both of them sitting down in front of his desk. Toby cleared his throat awkwardly, looking at Paige.

"So, Paige, I just want to ask you some questions about Alison DiLaurentis. I understand she was your student."

"Yes," she whispered. "Microbiology."

"What days does that class meet?"

"Tuesday and Friday are lecture. Wednesday is lab."

"Did you interact with the victim outside of class?" he asked. Paige swallowed the bile rising in her throat at hearing Alison referred to as "the victim."

"Only twice. When I caught her boyfriend holding her against a wall and when she came to me for help."

"Hold up. What's this boyfriend's name?" Toby asked excitedly, scribbling notes.

"Ian Thomas. He ran away and she yelled at me to stay out of her business."

"And the next time?"

"She came to me and asked for help. She said he kept hurting her and she was afraid he was going to kill her."

"She said that?" Toby asked. "For real?"

"Yes. I took her to Spencer. You should talk to her."

"I'm going to. She's coming in at noon."

"She should be able to tell you enough that will show that scum bag killed her."

"Hold it. While he's certainly a suspect, that doesn't mean he killed her."

"Then who did?" she snapped. "One week he's throwing her up against a wall and making her fear for her life. The next she's dead. Who do you think did it?"

"It doesn't look good for him," he agreed. "But we need actual evidence before we arrest him."

"Well, see what you think when you talk to Spencer."

"Paige," Emily started gently, touching her arm. "It's okay."

"We will, Paige. Don't worry."

She didn't answer. Toby closed his notebook.

"Is there anything else that would help us?"

"I don't think so. I don't think she liked me very much. That's why it was so unnerving when she came to me for help."

"She didn't like you?"

"She insulted me a lot. Called me a dyke and stuff."

"Oh," Toby replied, looking surprised.

"She never listened, either. But, maybe… maybe it was just because she was scared."

"How about you, Miss…?"

"Emily."

"Emily. Did you ever speak to her?"

"No. She's not my student."

"Well…. we're looking for someone stronger than her. Most likely male. The damage done to her body was-."

"I think I'm gonna throw up," Paige announced, her face ghostly pale. Toby jumped up from his desk, almost falling over his chair to slide the garbage can in front of her. She vomited, Emily holding her hair back as she coughed and gagged.

"It's okay," she soothed, rubbing her back. "Can I take her home?"

"Yeah," he replied, making a face. "Take her to see Spencer tomorrow. She needs it."

Emily nodded, holding onto Paige as she stood up.

"I will."

"Thank you, ladies. Stay safe."

A/N 2: If I finish the next chapter by tonight, I can post that too. So you may get two today since I'm trying to get as much done before I go back to school. Thanks for reading!