Emily woke early the next day, she knew from experience that Alison was a late sleeper, so she wanted to avoid her if possible. She could not even begin to wrap her head around the whirlwind of emotions she was feeling, not to mention the stress she was under from the ever mounting body count. Hopefully Pepe would feel energized after his walk and cheer Alison up a bit.

With the sun just beginning to peak it's head over the treetops, she walked up the long driveway to the Di Laurentis house, passing the now wilted roses which Mrs. D had loved so much. She took a right on the porch and lifted a small blue flower pot which revealed a small key. This was where Alison kept her spare key, she was notorious for losing track of her keys. After calling on Emily to climb through her bedroom window on more than one occasion, the brunette eventually convinced her to hide a key nearby.

Smiling to herself, Emily let herself into the house, silently shutting the door behind her. She was trying not to wake anybody, but with a jolt she realised that she had not seen Mr. Dilaurentis's car in the driveway. Did that mean he was just a ridiculously early riser, or that he didn't come home last night?

Making her way towards the living room, she was stopped in her tracks as her eyes fell upon a darkened figure which seemed to be sprawled on the couch. Squinting in the dim light, she reached over and turned on the bedside lamp.

Turning once more her eyes widened in surprise.

"Alison?" she whispered.

The figure immediately bolted upright, eyes flying wildly around the room. It was then that Emily noticed the poker clutched in her right hand.

"Who's there?" demanded Alison, her voice hoarser than usual.

Emily stepped forward into the light.

"It's just me, I'm here to walk Pepe, remember?"

Alison brushed hair away from her face and finally focused on the girl in front of her.

"Emily?"

She had the delicate, frightened look of a startled deer.

"Yeah it's me." she confirmed, moving closer "are you okay?" she added, raising an eyebrow at the poker in her lap.

Alison followed her gaze and casually let go of the offending object. Sitting up, she cracked her back with a groan.

"What time is it?" she asked, avoiding Emily's searching look.

"It's half seven"

Alison shot her an incredulous look.

"What? You know I get up early" Emily said defensively.

The other girl simply rolled her eyes.

"Seriously Alison, what are you doing down here, usually you don't get up until noon on a Saturday" she said trying to get the conversation back on track.

"You would remember that" sighed Alison, she pulled a leg up and tucked it underneath her "things are a bit different now Em"

"What do you mean?" replied Emily, taking a seat beside her.

"I havn't been sleeping all that well" said Alison, finally turning to meet Emily gaze.

It was only getting this close, that she noticed the dark purple rings beneath her eyes. She realised that Alison had been covering them with make up this whole time.

Emily opened her mouth uncertainly, but before she could talk Alison cut her off.

"Pepe's in the kitchen, he's really looking forward to his walk, thanks Em" she smiled in a way that Emily knew she wanted her to drop the subject.

Emily decided to let it go for now. She went into the kitchen and greeted the dog with a smile, she loved dogs. Pepe immediately jumped on her, his tongue lolling around in his mouth and his tail wagging happily behind him.

She fixed the lead on him and walked him to the front door. Looking back she could see Alison watching them, but the dim light in the room hid her expression.

"I'll be back soon" said Emily, closing the door behind her.

All through her walk, Emily tried to figure out what was going on with the other girl. Had she slept on the couch, or not slept as the case may be? Did she think that somebody was going to attack her and she needed a weapon to defend herself? And if she really was that scared, why hadn't she come to any of the girls for help?

She had taken Pepe off the leash and allowed him to wander a few paces in front of her. He sniffed excitedly at the flowers, bursting into a run every couple of streets. She was just thinking about how everyone was going to react to Alison's return to school on Monday when Pepe took off running.

"WAIT! Pepe get back here!" she called after him half-heartedly. Sighing inwardly she took off after him.

She eventually cornered him ten minutes later in Spencer's backyard, where he began enthusiastically digging up her azaleas. She managed to get his leash back on and drag him away, giving him a stern look and pointing her finger angrily.

"He seems to have a fondness for digging in this particular garden" came a dry voice from behind her.

She turned to find Spencer watching her with a slight smirk on her face. She held up a mug questioningly.

"Coffee?"

Emily shook her head, still out of breath from chasing the dog.

"No, thanks. I have to get him home" she inclined her head towards the dog who had surreptitiously attempting to inch back to the flowerbed.

Spencer nodded and took a sip of her coffee.

Emily was about to leave when a thought struck her.

"Hey Spence, have you seen Alison's dad around?"

The other girl tilted her head in thought.

"Not since Mrs. D's funeral." she replied, taking another sip of her coffee "why?"

Emily smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh it's nothing, I was just wondering"

Spencer raises an eyebrow in disbelief.

"You know I'm not buying that right?"

Emily sighed, looking at her shoes before meeting the other girls gaze.

"Alison was acting kind of ..strange this morning" she admits.

"Strange like how?" inquired Spencer, leaning against the doorframe.

"As in, slept on the downstairs sofa with a weapon in her hand kind of strange" explained Emily, "I don't think her Dad came home last night"

Spencer grimaced in understanding.

"She's probably a little paranoid Em, I mean wouldn't you be? Someone has been torturing her for two years, it's got to make even Queen Ali a little scared"

Emily nodded, lost in thought.

Spencer watched her carefully, finally stepping forward and putting a hand on the other girls shoulder.

"Look I'm sure she's fine Em. If she needed help, she would have come to us right?"

Emily shrugged noncommittally.

"I guess"

"Besides" added Spencer, her gaze now on the freshly upturned earth which had been Mr's D's final resting place, "We have much bigger things to worry about"

Emily let herself into Alison's house twenty minutes later, equal parts relieved and anxious when she realised that the couch was now empty.

She turned the dog loose and he bounded towards the kitchen, to get some water undoubtedly.

Alison was sitting at the table with her chin resting on her hand, gazing out the window. She looked in when Emily entered.

"Hi" said Emily warily, noticing that the other girl now had her makeup on.

"Hi" replied Alison, waving her towards the vacant seat beside her.

Emily sat and folded her arms nervously.

"Nice walk?"

She nodded, staring at the wall in front of her.

Alison hesitated, trying to gauge what Emily was feeling, before she could try again the other girl cut in.

"Where is your Dad?"

Alison tried to smile, but Emily could tell that she was faking.

"What do you mean?" she avoided the other girls gaze.

Emily simply stared at her. Alison sighed and her smile faltered.

"He left the night of my moms funeral" she finally said.

Emily closed her eyes in disbelief. Alison had been alone all this time and instead of helping her, she had been too absorbed in her own "feelings" what was she ten years old. Her friend was in pain and she had been too blind to see it.

"He's been gone this whole time and you never said anything?"

Alison smiled somewhat bitterly.

"Some people grieve differently Em. I don't blame him for needing to take off for a bit" she shrugged sadly.

"Besides" she added her gaze falling to her lap "he thinks that I'm staying with one of you"

Emily shot her a quizzical glance.

"Why would her think that? And why are you not staying with one of us? It's not safe to be here alone Ali"

Alison rolled her eyes irritably.

"It's not like I have many options here Em."

"Of course you do! Hanna, Spencer, Ar-"

"Think about it" interjected Alison impatiently.

"Hanna's drinking all the time, how useful would she be if "A" decided to attack me there? She'd probably mistake him for the pizza guy and invite him in for a beer" she finished with a growl.

Emily thought about it for a second.

"I guess, but what about Spencer?"

"You mean besides the fact that my Mother's body was found hidden under her rose bushes?"

Emily acquiesced with a tilt of her head.

"Aria?"

"If she really is seeing Ezra again, I can't see her wanting to be roommates with the girl who almost destroyed their relationship and is the reason he is a amateur private detective."

Emily hesitated, her eyes on the floor.

Eventually she looked up and saw that Alison was already watching her, anticipating what her next question would be"

"As much as I would like to stay at yours Em, things between us are a little ..fragile at the moment" she said softly, dipping her head to meet the other girls gaze "I don't want to mess this up again" she indicated the space between them.

Emily felt her cheeks burn. There were so many questions she wanted to ask. Instead she said;

"Alison you need to sleep"

The other girl leaned back in her chair, studying her.

"I'm used to not sleeping much" she said lightly.

Emily felt her breath catch, this was the first time Alison had brought up her time on the run.

"Was it really that bad?" she asked cautiously, she didn't want the other girl to clam up again.

Alison blinked hard, staring at a spot just behind Emily, her eyes distant. When she spoke her voice was almost a whisper.

"You have no idea. Trust me, sleep was the least of your worries when you're a young girl travelling by herself"

Emily shuddered at the tone in her voice.

She wanted to know more, but Alison got up and turned away, seemingly trying to regain her composure.

Emily decided to drop it, for the moment at least.

"Look Alison, I know you've been through a lot worse and you don't want things to get ..complicated between us, but you can't stay here alone. I'm going to ask my Mom if you can stay with us"

Alison turned to face her, about to speak.

"We don't have to share a bed. You can stay in the guest room" said Emily quickly.

Alison smiled gratefully at her.

Emily got up to leave, giving the other girl a shy smile.

She paused at the doorway.

"You know" she began locking eyes with the other girl.

"I don't want to mess this up either"

She was gone before Alison could reply.