Author's Note: The Paily ship certainly took a couple of hits with the past two episodes. tt's so sad that Paige has exited the show. Hopefully it will only be temporarily, although last nights episode certainly didn't give us much of that. I'm going to keep faith in the writers, they've brought us so far just to lead us wrong now.

But, in the meantime, here's a little something sweet to tide us all over. I hope you enjoy. :)

LastHase Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

ren-mccullers Thank you. :) I had a nice holiday, did you?

saii79 I hope that you had a nice holiday? They do have a certain dynamic to them, it's fun to explore. I'm glad it made you smile.

Ponderhouse Thank you. :) I hope your holidays were pleasant.

Roonie: Glad that you enjoyed it. :)

Chapter 6

The team placed first overall after the second day of races. Most of the girls won, either individually or as part of a relay and the ones who didn't managed to place second or third, giving the team enough points to rise in the standings to first place and securing their advancement to the state championship at the end of the month.

Needless to say, the ride back to Rosweood on Sunday night was loud and boisterous. The exhaustion of two days of competition overriden by the excitement and accomplishment of coming in first. Even Emily found herself caught up in it, kneeling on the edge of her seat in the middle of the huddle as they re-hashed every win and near loss.

She was listening to Jane Hadley's story about how the girl in the lane next to hers false started, causing half the line up to also false start and make it halfway through the race before any one of them caught on to their mistake when she realized that she hadn't heard Paige's voice contribute to the story telling, hadn't her heard her laughter or her commentary. She glanced around the group of girls who were leaning against seat backs and standing in the aisle but her eyes didn't fall on Paige. Craning her neck to peer past her team mates she scanned the interior of the bus, catching sight of Paige sitting at the back of the bus, she was leaning against the window, her head tucked down towards her lap. For a moment, Emily thought that she had fallen asleep, though how anyone could through all the racket the rest of the girls were making, she didn't know. But then she raised one hand up and tucked a wayward strand of hair back behind her ear and Emily realized that she was very much awake. Awake and isolating herself from the rest of the girls.

Frowning, she couldn't help but wonder if it was because Emily was part of the group. Now that the meet was over, was Paige reverting back to her old habits, avoiding Emily and putting distance between them? After how close they had gotten over the past few days, she couldn't fathom it. The very thought of it stirred up an unpleasant ache in her chest. She had really thought that they were building the foundations of a real friendship this weekend. And that it would continue once they had returned to Rosewood. She didn't like the thought of them going back to virtual strangers after everything they had shared over the weekend.

Emily slid out of her seat and slipped past a couple of girls standing in the aisle and made her way slowly to the back of the bus.

"What are you doing back here all by...Are you studying?" Emily stopped in front of the seat that Paige was stretched out in and, caught sight of the text book open in her lap and the notebook balanced haphazardly against one leg as she scribbled something down in it.

Paige jerked in place, startled, and her head shot up at the sound of Emily's voice. The notebook slid to the floor with a thump and her pen skittered across the paper, leaving a thick blue line through her notes.

"Sorry," Emily muttered, bending down to pick the textbook up of the floor. She dusted it off and handed it back to Paige, who took it with a faint smile.

"Yeah, I have a huge chem test tomorrow." Paige swung her legs off the seat and propped her knees up against the seat back in front of her. Emily took it as an invitation to sit and slumped down next to her, relieved that Paige wasn't going back to avoiding her and guilty that she had been so quick to assume that's what she was doing.

"But, we're celebrating." Emily gestured to the rest of the girls, still laughing and talking joyfully. "We're going to State."

"Yeah, well I'm not if I don't get at least a B on this test." Paige slumped sideways against the window and turned her head to glance over at Emily, a frown tugging at her lips.

"Why didn't you say something this weekend? We could have been studying instead of watching movies."

"Because I'd rather have been watching movies with you," she said softly, offering Emily a bashful smile.

Emily felt her own lips tug up in an answering grin. It faded quickly however when Paige closed her eyes and let out a sigh. When she opened them again she flipped the text book open and propped it up against her knees.

Emily reached out and snatched it from her hands.

"Emily-"

"No. No studying on the bus. We need our team captain with us when we're celebrating a big win."

Paige reached out and tried to take the book back, but Emily pulled it out of her grasp, holding it behind her back. For a moment, Paige looked like she was going to fight her for it. She stared at Emily with eyes narrowed, head cocked to the side as she seemingly contemplated going for it. And for a moment, Emily hoped that she would. Doing so, reaching for the book that Emily held out of her reach, would have Paige hovering over her, pressed bodlily against her, and that was a position Emily certainly wouldn't mind finding herself in. She quickly shook off the notion.

"You know I'd much rather-"

"Spencer's in your class, right?" Emily interrupted. "I'll text her to send me her notes. An hour with them and you'll be ready for your test."

"I don't know, Emily."

"I'll even help you."

"How are you going to help me in a class you're not even taking?"

She and her friends did it all the time. They all ended up taking different classes at different times but still generally studied together.

"I can write up flashards, quiz you, whatever."

"I'm sure you have better things to do with your evening than help me study."

Emily shrugged. "Not really."

"Seriously?" Paige arched an eyebrow at her, looking unonvinced. "Your mom seemed pretty excited about the win when you were on the phone with her, she's not planning some kind of celebratory dinner?"

"Sure she is, but she'll be so busy making the dinner that she won't have more than a minute or two to actually celebrate."

Paige bit her lip, considering. Emily knew she had her though, she could see it in her eyes, could tell from the way her gaze kept flicking up to the rest of their tem mates every time laughter rang out or their voices raised.

"Come on, Paige. Come over and let me help you."

She was quiet for a long moment before nodding. "Okay. Thanks, Emily." The grin on her face was wide and beaming and Emily couldn't help but smile back.

"All right then, after you, Captain." She slid from her seat and gestured Paige ahead of her. Paige shook her head, still grinning, as she clambered awkwardly into the aisle and preceded Emily over to where the others were gathered.

As much fun as Emily was having, celebrating with her team mates, she was glad hen the bus finally pulled into the Rosewood High parking lot. Two hours was a long time to be confined, no matter how much you were enjoying yourself.

She shuffled off the bus along with the others and stood for a moment, adjusting to the feel of a surface beneath her feet that wasn't moving. The rest of the girls fanned out across the lot around her, laughing and calling out to each other as they headed for their cars, their voices carrying away in the still late afternoon air.

"You okay there, Fields?" Paige sidled up beside her and bumped her shoulder playfully, sending her stumbling sideways. "Hey. Whoa. You all right?" Paige's hand shot out, gripping her arm and preventing her from falling over.

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm fine." Emily regained her balance but didn't shake Paige's touch off. "Just...I feel like I'm still moving," she said with a laugh. "I'm good now." The two of them fell into step together towards her car. "Do you need to stop home for anything? Are your parents expecting you to make an appearance?" She asked as she dug into her bag for her keys and remotely unlocked the doors.

Paige shook her head. "No. My dad's away on buisness and my mom's at some church thing. Or, some book club thing. Or garden club thing. I don't even know. To be honest, I really wasn't paying attention when she told me. She belongs to so many clubs and committes it's impossible to keep track."

"Says the girl who's on like twenty different sports teams and half a dozen clubs," Emily teased as they tossed their bags into the back seat and climbed into the car.

"Three teams. I'm on three teams. And, one club."

"I don't know how you do it," Emily admitted. "I barely have enough time for school and swimming."

"I like to keep busy," Paige said with a shrug as she settled into the passenger seat.

Emily snuck a glance in the review mirror as she put her key into the ignition, surrepiticiosuly watching as Paige fumbled with the lever that made the seat recline. She bit her lip, trying not to laugh as Paige pitched forward, doubled over almost in half before managing to slide it back far enough that she could stretch her long legs out in front of her. She crossed them at the ankles and leaned back in the seat, getting comfortable. It was an odd thought to have, but Emily couldn't help but think that Paige looked good, sitting in her passenger seat.

"There's busy and then there's...you." Emily caught Pagie's eye in the review mirror as she pulled out of the parking space and offered a teasing grin. "How are you not exhausted? I mean, field hockey isn't exactly a walk in the park. Neither is swimming, or track."

"You know which sports I play?" Paige turned to look at her, one brow raised, lips pursed in what looked like amusement.

Emily's thoughts stalled as she realized she'd been caught out. They weren't friends, there really was no reason for Emily to know which sports Paige participated in. But, she did know. She always seemed to have a peripheral awareness of what the other girl was doing.

She shrugged, feigning nonchalance."How can I not, your face is practically plastered all over the school."

In truth, there were three photos of Paige in trophy cases around the school, one in the main rotunda for field hockey. Which, since Spencer was on the team, it was perfectly reasonable that Emily knew that. One in the left wing, for swimming. It was a team photo that included Emily as well. The two of them were actually standing side by side in it, arms slung over each other's shoulders, grinning widely, the only two freshman on the team that year to place at the state level. The third was in the hallway by the cafeteria, an action shot of Paige at a track meet last year.

Paige snorted, but let it drop. "I've always been what my dad calls hyper-active. Always moving, can't sit still. If I'm in one place for two long I get...twitchy. It's not as bad now as it was when I was a kid. Back then it was..." she let out a laugh, though there wasn't much humour in it. "My parents signed me up for pretty much every physical activity known to man, just to wear me out by the end of the day."

"Did it work?"

"Probably not as well as they'd hoped. I'd still come home and run around the house like a little terror. But, it helped me at school. I stopped getting into so much trouble in class and was able to actually sit down and do my school work." She shrugged.

Emily couldn't help but smile as she picture it, a young Paige, so full of exuberance and energy, causing trouble and kicking up a fuss. She thought it adorable. She didn't say that, however. She merely nodded.

"Is that how you got into swimming?" Emily asked.

Paige nodded. "Yeah. My mom signed me up for afternoon classes at the Y. You?"

"My dad was a swimmer, in high school and college. And I've always been a Daddy's girl," she added with a wry smile.

She'd grown up listening to stories of his high school and college competitions and looking through old photo albums of pictures and ribbons. One of her earliest memories is of her dad holding her as he waded into the water. According to family legend, she was fearless and launched herself from his arms intot the water and splashed around happily for hours, crying any time anyone tried to lift her out. She wasn't sure how much of that was actually true, however but of course as soon as she learned how to swim, she wanted to follow in his footsteps.

"It must be tough, with him being gone so much then."

Emily nodded. "Yeah. I think it might actually worse now than it was when I was a kid. Back then, I didn't really understand what was going on. I knew he was in the army and away a lot, that he couldn't always be around for holidays and birthdays and stuff. But now, I know what he's doing over there. And I hear all the news stories and see all the footage on tv. And I know what could happen to him..."

She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat and blinked rapidly against the tears burning against her lids. She shook her head lightly and forced out a laugh.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get all-"

"Hey, no." Paige reached across the center console to touch Emily's shoulder gently, it was more than a pat, not quite a squeeze. "Don't apologize. If it's hard for you to talk about, that's okay. We don't have to. But if you want to, that's okay too."

How had she never noticed how sweet Paige was before?

Emily shot Paige a watery smile. "Thank you."

Paige ducked her head in a nod. "No problem."

The distance from Rosewood High to her house wasn't very far and it was then that Emily found herself coming up to the turn onto her street. She knew that the subject would be dropped and forgotten as soon as they set food inside the house and the fact was suprisingly dissapointing. She didn't very often talk about her dad. Doing so made her feel proud but also melancholy and she usually preferred not to dwell on, to steer the conversations away from the topic but she had actually been enjoying letting Paige in on this litte piece of herself.

Paige was an attentive, sympathetic listener. And if she was being honest, she could admit that she was enjoying Paige's attempts at comforting her. The hand on her shoulder was now rubbing small, soothing circles. And those eyes, so deep and dark and intense, she could get lost in those eyes.

She idylly wondered if Paige would notice if she circled the block a couple of times but dismissed the notion immediately and set her turn signal. A moment later they were pulling to a stop in front of Emily's house. She turned her key in the ignition, shutting the car off and in the sudden silence the engine clicking as it cooled off was audible.

Did it make her a bad person that she was glad to have Paige there as a buffer between herself and her mother? Things had been better between them lately, but the tension that had been between them since she came out still lingered, just under the surface.

Forcing the thoughts aside she opened her car door and slid out of her seat. Paige followed suit and had pulled open the back passenger door and grabbed both of their bags before Emily had even made it fully to her feet. She slung them over her shoulder and then shifted in place, glancing up towards the house and then back to Emily as she made her way around the front of the car. She fell into step beside Emily as they made their way up the walk, and then fell back as they mounted the porch steps until she was following her inside, few steps behind.

"Emily, is that you?"

"No, Mom. It's you're other daughter." She offered an eye roll and a light smirk to Paige, who grinned and shook her head, then ducked it, hiding her face as Pam Fields strode into the room, wiping her hands on a dish cloth. She paused in the entryway when she caught site of Paige, her stride faltering for just a moment before she closed the final distance and wrapping Emily in an embrace.

"Congratulations, Em. I'm so proud of you," she said, holding Emily tightly, albeit stiffly against her.

"Thanks, Mom."

"How are you feeling? You must be exhausted from all your races today."

"I'm fine. My shoulder's a little stiff." She rotated it experimentally, feeling a slight pull but nothing alarming. " I'm probably going to have to ice it before bed tonight, but I feel good."

"What? Emily, why didn't you say something? I have hot/cold packs in my bag. You could've iced it the whole ride back." Pagie's interjection into the conversation pulled both Fields women's eyes to her and she twitched under the sudden attention.

"Mom, this is Paige. She's on the swim team with me"

"It's nice to meet you, Paige," Pam said, stepping away from her daughter to shake Paige's hand. Her tone was nothing but warm, welcoming, but the look she shot her Emily was one of confusion, and maybe a little suspicion.

"Paige has a big chem test tomorrow, I'm going to help her study."

"But, you're not even taking chemisty."

Paige laughed lightly under her breath. "That's what I said."

"But Spencer is. She sent me her notes. I'm going to show her the Hastings method."

Pam pursed her lips and Emily feared that she might object.

"It's all right, isn't it? If I help her study until dinner is ready?" She smiled sweetly and after a moment the set of her mom's shoulders relaxed and she nodded.

"Of course, honey," she said. "It'll be another hour or so."

"Plenty of time. Thanks, Mom." She pressed a kiss to her mother's cheek and then nodded towards the stairs. "C'mon Paige."

"Emily, where are you...why don't you and your friend study downstairs? There's much more room to spread out in the living room."

She glanced back and caught her mom's eyes darting back and forth between her and Paige. Anger and embarrasment warred within her.

"Mom."

"Emily."

"She's just a friend," she hissed, hopefully low enough that Paige wouldn't hear. The two of them were finally get along, and so well, the last thing she needed was for Paige to freak out at the idea of someone thinking that they were together.

Pam's look was stern and Emily let out a sigh, knowing this was one battle she wasn't going to win against her mother.

"Yeah, we should probably study in the living room," she said, easing around Paige towards the room they'd been relegated to and hoping that the other girl wouldn't ask any questions about the hushed exchange mother and daughter had shared.

Paige, for her part, seemed agreable. She shrugged absently and trailed along behind Emily.

"It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Fields," she said quietly as she stepped past her mother, earning her a faint smile and a nod before her mom dissapeared once again into the kitchen.

Emily threw herself down onto the couch and bit back a sigh of frustration. If Paige picked up on her mood, she didn't say anything. She stepped over Emily's sprawled out legs and sank down onto the couch beside her, a respectable but not obvious amount of space between them. That was a good sign, at least, Emily figured, that she hadn't caught onto the exchange.

"I like your place," she said, glancing around as she pulled her bag up onto her lap and zipped it open. "It's cozy. Homey."

Emily glanced around as well, trying to see it from an outsiders's perspective. "Yeah. I guess so."

The place was small, but it suited her family just fine. With only the two of them around most of the time, they didn't need a lot of extra space. Both mother and daughter had admitted that they sometimes felt like they were rattling around the place sometimes. But what it lacked in size, it made up for in comforts, comfy cushions and inviting reading chairs, throw blankets and warm colors. Her mom had done most of the decorating and it showed, her natural warmth shining through.

"So, I guess we should get started then?" Emily said, reaching for her bag, which rested at Paige's feet, and pulling out her laptop.

Paige nodded. "I guess so."

It only took Emily a few minutes to print out the notes that Spencer had emailed her, and from there they got down to studying quickly and easily. Forty-five minutes later, Emily was quizzing Paige on the material and, as promised, the other girl was acing it.

"Wow," Paige said, letting out an audible breath as she slumped back against the couch. "I can't believe that actually worked." She turned her head to face Emily. "I have never managed to review that amount of information in such a short amount of time. And, retain it. You're amazing. Thank you."

Emily's first instinct was to tell Paige not to thank her, to thank Spencer. It was her notes and study methods they'd employed, after all. But, she was enjoying the soft smile that the other girl was bestowing on her too much to say anything that would make it dissapear.

Instead, she nodded. "No problem. Anytime."

A long, quiet moment passed between them, the two of them just sitting there, staring across the couch cushions at each other. Then, without warning, Paige broke eye contact and pushed herself to her feet.

"I should probably get going," she said, turning to face Emily. "Thank you, really, for all your help studying" She shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and rocked up onto her toes before falling back onto her heels. ". And...and for a great weekend. It was...a lot of fun rooming with you and..."

"Yeah." Emily nodded and reluctantly pushed herself to her feet as well. They'd just been studying, but she'd been enjoying the other girl's company and she wasn't really ready to have her leave. "Do you want to stay for dinner?"

Paige froze in place, her eyes widening in surprise. "I uh...I wouldn't want to impose on your dinner with your mom."

Emily shrugged. "It's really not an impostion. My mom loves to feed people. And, it's just dinner, nothing really special."

"I don't know Emily." Paige bit her lip, worrying it lightly between her teeth.

"She's a great cook. And, c'mon, wouldn't you rather have dinner here then go home to an empty house and eat something that comes from a box, that you heat up in the microwave," she dropped her voice low on the last word, pushing it past her lips like it was a bad word.

"Hey, for all you know, I'm a master chef. I might be going home to make myself a full on feast."

Emily just laughed, and after a moment, Paige laughed with her.

"Fine. If it's all right with your Mom, I'd love to stay for dinner."

"Of course it's all right. I'll go let her know to set an extra plate," Emily said, with more confidence than she actually felt.