The next day was Halloween. Paige had always hated the holiday for reasons she couldn't really explain, but this year she really had an excuse. There was no way of knowing if Alison's killer had anything planned for tonight or not. She would be spending this Halloween locked in her apartment with Emily, not opening the door for anyone. She was tired of living this way.

She had been unusually sweet to her students during lab, careful not to even speak in a sarcastic tone at any point. She could tell some of them were confused, but she didn't care. She was busy keeping an eye on Lucas, who didn't look in her direction all class. She would be willing to bet money that he was hiding something. But she didn't know how to prove it.

"No homework today," she told them cheerfully at the end of lab. "Be safe and have fun tonight. I'll see you all Friday."

She watched as they all left the room, sighing with relief when she was alone. The thought that her stalker and Alison's killer was in this class was almost too much for her to handle.

She locked up the lab and headed to her own, looking around the dimly lit hallway. It was unusually quiet for a Wednesday evening, although she figured most of the students had parties to go to. She went into her lab and closed the door behind her, locking the door.

The quiet atmosphere gave her the opportunity to catch up on some work. She was so wrapped up in what she was doing that she didn't hear the sound of a key slipping into the lock on the other side of the door. It wasn't until she turned around that she saw the door swinging open, creaking noisily as it did. She could only stare in horror, not sure what to think as it opened slowly. But as it opened further she didn't see anyone standing there. At first she stood puzzled, staring at the open door, until she heard footsteps running down the hallway. She ran to the doorway and looked out, just in time to see someone dressed all in black turning the corner. For a split second she thought about chasing them before thinking better of it. Instead she grabbed the key from the lock and shut the door again, her heart pounding. It was the spare key from the biology department lounge, in case she lost hers or something else happened to it. She didn't know how a student had managed to get it out without anyone noticing.

She kicked one of the stools over in frustration, cringing at the loud sound it made as it toppled over. She buried her face in her hands, the calmness she had felt just a few short minutes earlier fading. Half of her was angry at the fact that she hadn't felt safe in over a month, but mostly she was just afraid. Helpless, too. Try as she might, she couldn't come up with someone who would want Alison dead and want to follow her around. It just didn't make sense. Lucas was her top suspect for the lab, but he didn't fit into either of the other crimes. No one did.

She quickly packed up to go home. It was windy and overcast as she walked outside, and she actually felt like she was in a horror movie as she walked to her car. She couldn't decide if she was really being watched or if she was just being paranoid, but she was sure she could feel eyes on her. She glanced around, but she didn't see anyone who looked like they were paying attention to her.

"I'm losing it," she muttered as she got into her car. "Absolutely losing it."

Caleb wasn't there when she got to the apartment, and Emily wasn't due for another hour. She got a beer from the refrigerator and settled on the couch, trying to calm her nerves as she stared at the ticking clock, each tick increasing her anxiety. She didn't feel safe being alone, but there wasn't really anything she could do about it. She wasn't going to call Emily and whine that she needed her to come over early. She did have some pride left, somehow.

The phone rang. She quickly leaned over and answered it, hoping it was Emily saying she was leaving work.

"Hello?"

There was no answer. Paige took a deep breath, her heart immediately starting to race.

"Who is this?"

Still no answer. She slammed the phone down, curling into a ball as she closed her eyes and tried to take deep breaths. This was nothing to panic over. Emily would be here soon and everything would be okay.

She got up and went to the kitchen, deciding to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She wasn't hungry, but her mother always made them for her as a kid, and she considered it comfort food. It wouldn't hurt to try.

She brought her sandwich back to the living room and sat back on the couch, her ears open for any noises coming from anywhere inside. He had broken in before and he could easily do it again, and she was too afraid to go search to see if anyone was there. So she sat cowering on the couch, eyes darting around and ears open for the slightest noise.

It was cold in the living room, no matter how much she curled up. She reluctantly got up to check the thermostat, but as she went down the hallway it only got colder. She peeked into Caleb's room and was disturbed to see that the window was wide open, the cool fall breeze blowing inside. She quickly went into his room and closed it, looking down at the fire escape to see if anyone was there. She told herself that Caleb had probably left it open, but at the same time she wasn't sure she believed it.

As she went back into the living room there was a loud knock on the door. She jumped and immediately went to it, relieved to see Emily standing there.

"Em," she sighed, hugging her tight. "You're early."

"Is that bad?"

"Not at all. You just scared me a little."

"Honey, I'm sorry."

"No worries," Paige replied, closing and locking the door behind her. "I was just getting a little anxious being here by myself."

"Poor baby," Emily replied sympathetically. "Halloween's getting to you?"

Paige shrugged, sitting back down. Emily sat next to her, gently kissing the side of her face.

"Maybe that scary movie marathon isn't such a good idea."

"I'm not going to argue with that."

"I'm sure there are plenty of ways we can pass the time," Emily added, grinning. She was relieved to see Paige smile, too.

"I like the way you think."

"I was thinking we could start with a nice, warm bath," she continued, leading Paige down the hall. "With that new pumpkin spice bubble bath I bought you."

"You spoil me, Em," she replied. Emily chuckled.

"You were put on this earth for me to spoil," she replied, kissing her softly. Paige grinned.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," she cooed as she slid Paige's blouse off. She undid her bra, licking her lips at the sight of her bare breasts. She loved Paige's creamy skin in contrast to her darker tone, and Paige had come to discover that Emily definitely had a thing for breasts. She moaned softly as Emily took a nipple into her mouth, licking it gently. "Em? Weren't we going to take a bath?" she asked, and Emily chuckled, straightening up.

"True. You distract me too easily."

"Me?" Paige asked, her brown eyes wide with innocence. "Never."

Emily ran their bath and filled it with the pumpkin spice bubble bath. She and Paige got inside and huddled together in the warm water, sharing kisses and gentle caresses. Emily was right; this had been a much better idea than watching scary movies.

"Have I ever told you how much better I feel with you?" Paige asked. Emily smiled.

"Oh?" she replied, kissing her softly. She ran a hand over one of her breasts, watching as her eyes closed. "I'm happy to be of service. And, if I recall, we left off somewhere about here…."

Paige groaned as Emily slipped two fingers inside of her. She clenched down around her hard, just realizing how desperate with need she was. Then again, she was always like that with Emily. And as Emily's fingers expertly caressed her walls, she was already forgetting about every care she had in the world and just focused on the pleasure Emily was bringing her.

"Holy shit," she gasped as Emily's thumb rubbed against her clit. "That feels so fucking good."

"I can tell," Emily replied, beginning to pump faster. Paige gasped loudly, clutching onto Emily's arm.

"Faster!" she exclaimed, throwing her head back. "Fuck!"

She did exactly as she was told, thrusting faster and faster until she came, crying out in pleasure as Emily worked to bring her down gently. She slumped against her as she regained her breath, panting.

"My God, Emily," she stammered, and Emily laughed.

"Yeah. I'm pretty good."

"Understatement," she replied, looking at her through hazy eyes. "Has anyone ever told you how good you are with your hands?"

"You. Many times."

"Well, let me tell you again," she replied, cupping Emily's center. Emily's breath hitched as Paige's finger circled her clit.

"Paige," she whispered. Paige kissed her softly as she continued to rub her clit, holding her close.

"You mean so much to me, Em," she whispered. "I don't know how I would get through all this without you."

Emily whimpered in response. Paige pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, rubbing faster and faster until Emily came, holding Paige's hand as she came down from her high. Paige took her in her arms, holding her close as they sat together in the tub, the warm water rippling around them.

"Yeah. This is the best Halloween I've ever had," Emily remarked. Paige grinned.

"Same."

"We didn't even need scary movies."

"It's going to be a long time before I want to watch anything that isn't a comedy," Paige agreed. Emily kissed her, a look of sympathy on her face.

"I'm sorry, baby."

"Don't be. You're the last person who needs to apologize."

"I know. I just hate seeing you so afraid."

Paige sighed, leaning against Emily. She felt fingers gently rubbing her back.

"Just relax, Paige."

She sighed, Emily's fingers running through her hair. When she was with Emily, she did in fact believe that there was nothing to worry about.

A/N: Thanks for all the feedback!