AUTHOR'S NOTE – Hello people. This is an early update but you will still get the regular weekend one. I am so thankful for all the reviews I got for the last one and I get that some of you were confused or disappointed. But like I specified earlier, I do not like Emily or Alison with anyone else. So just trust me, if possible.

For those who didn't get it, yes we jumped two years. But you will have to read on to get the answers to the rest of your questions. There are more secrets and lies in this story than you realize, but nothing that will effect Emison. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Love you all for your support

I HAD TO MAKE SURE IT ACCOUNTED FOR SOMETHING

Spencer looked at her watch. It was half past ten at night. She had spent the whole day on the phone with French Detective Pascale Moreau. The French wanted to be absolutely sure that Ian Thomas did in fact have criminal connections of the kind implied, before they moved a muscle to locate his whereabouts. Arresting him was still a very remote prospect.

She had been getting the requested paperwork in order herself. She didn't want to risk any further delays owing to a small clerical error. This matter was far from over and she knew it. Once Ian was aware of the arrest of his friends he could disappear and truth be told the world was a very big place, if one really wanted to hide.

The phone in her pocket began ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket and smiled when the words "My Love" flashed across the background of a very wet Toby and her, grinning in the spray from the Niagara Falls.

"Have you left yet?" were the first words that came through after she accepted the call.

"No, but I was planning on doing so soon," she responded. Her voice sounded every bit as tired as she was. "I think I'm hungry enough to eat the first person I see."

"That would probably be me." The words came through the phone just as Toby walked into her office. Spencer stood up and almost crashed into his arms. "You brought food," she stated ecstatically.

"And I thought my fiancé would be pleased to see 'me'," Toby pouted but couldn't help the goofy grin that escaped immediately after; his ocean blue eyes sparkling as he looked at the woman he loved.

"I am," she assured him. "Its just that almost my entire body has shut down and all that still works is my tummy that's groaning and growling in anguish." As she spoke she took the paper bags from Toby's hands, placed them on her desk and turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I am pleased to see you. Let me show you just how much," she almost whispered as she rose to meet his lips for a long deep kiss. When the kiss was finally broken she rested her head on his chest and sighed.

"I'm so tired but I can't stop," she mumbled into his chest. Then lifting her head she continued, "I won't!" her eyes ablaze with a fire that had kept her going all this time.

"You did get the bad guys Spence. Its done," Toby responded with a proud edge in his voice. "You don't have to push yourself like this anymore. The team can take it from here. They know you were right now. The FBI won't have any more qualms about pursuing this to the end. You can afford to let go a little. You deserve it after the past year."

Toby was right. The FBI now had proof that the N. A. T. Club was in fact not something Spencer had cooked up growing up in the same town. They would follow through to get Ian arrested. But Spencer was not one to walk away from a task she had initiated. More importantly, in this particular scenario she couldn't. She had lost something she held very dear. She had to make it all account for something.

"You know I can't, Toby. I have paid too high a price," she said with a voice laden with the weight of great loss. Then continued more casually, "Can we eat now? I wasn't kidding when I said I could eat the first person I saw, you know?" She dragged him to her desk and immediately attacked the bags she had left on it earlier. Chinese takeout had never smelled this good before!

"So how was your day?" she asked her mouth stuffed with mushroom wantons. She didn't really care to finish before another made its way into her mouth. Toby looked at her stuffed mouth with amusement and replied, "Same old. I was swarmed with paperwork all day for the Wright case. Its almost like the department designed it so we really wouldn't enjoy closing a case. The paperwork takes away every last drop of happiness you felt when you finally nailed the guy."

He grimaced and Spencer chuckled knowing exactly what he meant. "At least that wife killer is now behind bars. I must say though, he is one smart guy. He almost got away with it," she said as she reached out for more of the noodles.

"You seem impressed," Toby teased.

"Well, I am!" She grinned sheepishly as she went on, "The criminal mind fascinates me. Its not like I am in love with the guy but you have to admit it is intriguing. Think about it. Wright was twisted enough to buy a house adjacent to a marsh, a year in advance, with the sole purpose of disposing his wife's body! You can't tell me that you don't wonder what kind of a person does that or what his normal thoughts are. Does he think of the baseball game on tonight or does he day-dream of chopping up a human body into easily disposable pieces?"

"I can't believe you just said that in the middle of dinner!" he said, frowning at his fiancé. "That's just not dinner-table conversation."

Spencer chuckled as she replied, "Technically, this isn't a dinner table. Its my desk at work. Look around. Its piled high with files about cases that are just as grotesque, if not worse. This is what we do Toby, both you and me."

Spencer had a point but Toby still wasn't as desensitized to human brutality as Spencer was. Toby knew this about her and loved her all the same. She was as intelligent as he was resilient and persistent. All of these were great assets in their line of work and rarely, if ever, had they failed at getting the job done.

After dinner Toby left, promising to pick up frozen yoghurt for later, while Spencer promised to be home in about an hour. She browsed through the file she had prepared for the French police and tidied up around the office.

At precisely 11:30 pm her spare phone rang in her desk drawer. She pulled out the phone and answered, "I was not sure you would call." Her voice was low even though she knew she was the only one who had stayed back late.

"I wasn't sure I would either," came Alison's voice from the other end.

"I'm glad you did. I am sorry about earlier. I was in the middle of a meeting with my superiors about getting assistance from the French police."

"Its okay. I can imagine you have a million things to do. I wasn't sure I would have the courage to call again. But I think a part of me is done hiding, no matter how fine things are for me right now."

"I'm happy."

"That's good, you deserve it."

"No, that's not what I meant," Spencer almost chuckled. "I mean I am happy that things are looking up for you."

Alison smiled. "Yes, I'm happy that things are looking up too. I have a lot to be thankful for. But I sometimes wonder about things I left behind."

"Emily," Spencer said after a moment's hesitation. It wasn't a question.

Alison froze. She hadn't heard that name in over two years. She had dreamt of her, prayed for her and wondered about her but had never let her name escape her lips. Hearing Spencer say it felt almost like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders… off of her heart.

"What about Emily?" she responded after a few seconds.

"Nothing," Spencer replied, fearing Alison would close the door she had just opened to her after so long. "Do you think you would want to return to Philadelphia someday?"

"I haven't thought that far into the future yet. I just wanted to thank you for what you did. I heard the news. Thank you Spencer. You said you would make sure they would pay and you fulfilled your promise."

"You really don't need to thank me for anything Alison. I didn't do this for you alone. Its my job and I did this for every young girl who had been victimized by them, including you. Besides, I owed this to you and… I had to make sure it accounted for something."

"Well, then thank you for helping me that day two years back. I don't think I thanked you then, did I? I knew everything you said was right but I couldn't help hating you a little."

"I understand it, now more than ever. Honestly, I didn't then. If I did, I would have tried to find a different solution maybe."

"Known what," Alison inquired.

"Known that sometimes its not how long you ha…" Spencer was cut off by the sound of a baby cry in the background.

"I've got to go. Maybe we can talk again sometime."

"Or we could meet if I visited California. Pasadena right?"

"Yeah sure. I've really got to go. Bye, Spencer."

The phone went dead and Spencer walked over to her window. It had begun to snow lightly and she stood staring at the soft white tufts that floated down noiselessly. Her regular phone beeped and displayed a message from Toby inquiring if she had left. She sighed, picked up her coat from behind her chair and walked out pulling the door behind her.

This one isn't long but I didn't want to mix the Spencer centric section with the rest. Leave me a review and tell me what you think. Ciao