Guardian Angel: An Emison Story

by Packersgirl492

It's been 7 years since they've seen each other and both Emily and Alison work to help and protect people. Neither one of them will be complete without the other. What happens when a case brings them back together? Will they be able to overcome all of the forces working against them and finally get their happy ending? EMISON is Endgame ALWAYS!

4. Chapter 4: Dreams on Fire

Oh my gosh guys so sorry it has taken me forever to update this!

But I seriously hope you enjoy-on the plus side it's a pretty long chapter so...hopefully that makes up for the wait!

Guardian Angel: An Emison Story Chapter Four

Dreams on Fire

The Revolutionary Bean Coffee Shop
Manhattan, New York City
November 11, 2019
7 am

Alison was sharing a couch with her best friend who had been freakishly quiet ever since they'd met up with Reggie last night. The two of them hadn't made it back to their house after he dropped the bomb about a potential serial killer targeting women who looked like Brittany and who the brunette had known at some point in her life. As she usually did when she was stressed Brittany had worked out for hours on end in the CIA's underground training center at headquarters. Ali didn't know where her best friend got the energy-but she knew if Brittany didn't lift weights, box, or shoot hoops last night and into the morning she'd be wallowing in sadness. As it was her best friend was still incredibly shaken. Ali had sat silently in the corner of the training center giving Brittany some space to "exercise" her demons, but close enough to make sure her best friend didn't accidentally injure herself. Finally around 4 in the morning Brittany had made her way back over towards where Ali was sitting on the multi-purpose mat and collapsed next to the blonde. She was physically and emotionally drained and Alison just held the sweaty brunette close as she tried to settle her breathing and calm down. Neither one of them had gotten any sleep-they'd just laid there on the mat for the next two hours before deciding to get up, shower, and go grab coffee.

Rebecca Evans-the most recent victim-was the hardest for Brittany to swallow. Since they'd been in the same sociology class their freshman year at St. John's the two had been very close. Even after Brittany had abruptly left St. John's and joined the CIA-Rebecca had been one of the few people to know about it and why she had done it. Ali knew her best friend was blaming herself for Rebecca's murder when there was absolutely no way for the two of them to have possibly been able to stop it. Brittany hadn't even touched her freshly brewed dark roast coffee-Ali knew this was bad.

"Britt, it's not your fault. You know that, right?" Ali pressed gently, concern seeping through her voice. Very few things pained Alison more than seeing the most selfless human she'd ever met tear herself apart over something she couldn't control. But that was who Brittany was. She was a Guardian through and through and always believed she could have done something to prevent a tragedy or protect someone.

"Rebecca didn't deserve this Ali." Brittany croaked out and Ali could tell she was struggling to keep it together. When she finally lifted her gaze off the coffee table in front of them and met Alison's eyes the blonde could have broken down herself. The anguish that shined through in Brittany's light blue orbs broke Ali's heart. Her best friend was right-Rebecca Evans did not deserve to die at the hands of a serial killer. She was an amazing woman.

"God…what about Carla? She's probably not even functional right now." Brittany's reference to Rebecca's wife left Alison shaken to her core. The loss of any human life was horrific for the family members and friends that had to keep existing without them; but when it occurred unexpectedly and unjustly the pain was that much harder to bear. Both Ali and Brittany knew first-hand how devastating it was to have a loved one murdered. Ali didn't even want to fathom how much Carla was suffering right now-Rebecca had been her entire world. Alison imagines losing Rebecca for Carla would be comparable to her losing Emily (even though she hadn't laid eyes on her mermaid in 7 years). She couldn't imagine the world existing without Emily Fields-in all honestly Alison wouldn't want to stay alive in a world without the raven haired beauty. She imagines Carla is feeling something similar to that right now.

Brittany, Rebecca, and Carla had worked together on a capstone project researching the decline in inner city public education their junior year at St. John's for their public policy class. During the five months they'd conducted their research and interviewed hundreds of children, parents, teachers, administrators, and policy makers Rebecca and Carla had grown impossibly closer. Brittany had picked up on the stolen glances and lingering touches before either one of them admitted to having feelings for the other. Rebecca and Carla both vehemently danced around the issue and refused to talk about what was happening between them (sounds familiar doesn't it?). Finally one day Brittany couldn't take it anymore and demanded the two go on a date and sort their shit out or she'd dispose of all the material they had gathered for their project. Given that all of the group's research had been saved on Brittany's laptop-her threat could have been executed. While at first Carla and Rebecca both wanted to kick the other woman's ass they also relished in the opportunity to be honest with one another. When the two had returned from their "date" holding hands Brittany knew her mission had been accomplished.

"I need to go talk to her." Brittany's declaration had Ali whipping her head towards her best friend. There was a resolve brewing behind Britt's eyes and Ali knew nothing she said could convince her best friend not to launch a full-fledged man hunt for the person who had taken Rebecca and the other women's lives.

"Britt I don't know if that's a good idea. Rebecca's murder is NYPD territory." Ali softly reminded her best friend.

"As if Carla would tell the NYPD anything," Brittany scoffed back at Ali in response. "She grew up in the hood just like me; she doesn't trust the cops for nothing." Alison could understand that sentiment-she might have grown up in a wealthy family but after everything the police had put her through in Rosewood she didn't trust them either.

"Ali, Rebecca and Carla told each other everything. Maybe Rebecca had an incline to someone watching her or maybe Carla noticed something was off. I need to talk to her if we're gonna catch this son of a bitch and I could give a fuck if I step on the NYPD's toes." When Brittany started cussing this early in the morning Ali knew not to object to her best friend. "Plus, Carla trusts me."

After a few uneasy moments of silence Ali finally implored, "Do you want me to go with you?"

"No. I need to talk to Carla alone." Ali was slightly hurt by Britt's insistence to conduct this conversation along. Sensing how harsh her words could have sounded to the blonde Brittany added, "It's nothing against you Ali. It's just…the three of us have a history. Carla also doesn't open up to people she isn't that familiar with."

"No, yeah, I understand." And Alison did understand-she just hated feeling like she couldn't contribute to the investigation. It also floored Ali how connected Brittany remained with everyone from her life before she joined the CIA. Despite the rarity with which the two of them were even in New York City, Brittany always made time for her family and friends. And yeah maybe Ali got slightly jealous that her best friend had so many other close friends in her life. Because if Alison's being honest her post-Charles life consisted of the CIA, Pepe, and Brittany's family; and very little outside of that.

"Ali…" Brittany called out to the blonde while she softly covered her hand with her own.

"Hmm?" Ali glanced up from where she had been spacing out.

"You know you're my best friend too, right?" Alison just had to lightly chuckle because of course Brittany picked up on her moment of insecurity. And here she was dealing with the murder of a close friend and still taking the time to reassure the blonde. "It's just I have a lot of people in my life from before I ever met you who matter to me as well."

"I know you do Britt and I'm so glad." Her best friend's eyes just kept assessing her-making sure she was okay. Ali knew Brittany wasn't leaving their favorite coffee shop until she voiced what was really getting at her, so she explained the best she could, "It's just...seeing how much you still care about them all and make time for them...despite everything we do as Guardians…I can't help but wonder if maybe I could have done the same thing. If maybe I could still have the girls in my life." Then Ali finished in a voice barely above a whisper, "Still have Emily in my life."

"Come here sis" And with that Brittany drew Alison into a hug. Ali couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh. Ali could imagine that Rhonda, the owner of the Revolutionary Bean and former CIA Guardian was probably watching the two with adoration from the front counter. She always made sure the two women were well caffeinated and offered them endless words of advice when it came to their jobs. Rhonda at first was put off by how close of a relationship Ali and Brittany had. She thought it would prevent the two from being successful Guardians, but in actuality their friendship-or rather their sisterhood-is what propelled them to the top of the agency. Psychologists usually argued that partners in all aspects of law enforcement shouldn't be emotionally connected because it would compromise their abilities to execute their jobs. Ali thought that was a load of crap and plus she knows she'd never be able to be partners with anyone else. Let's face it Brittany understood her better than any other human being on earth and accepted her for who she was.

"You know what I think?" Brittany asked after she released Alison from their hug.

"What?" Ali managed to croak out.

"I think that when the time is right God will bring them back into your life." Ali could feel her eyes start to water at Brittany's kind words. She wanted them to be true-she wanted to believe that the five of them could come together again. That somehow despite everything they could all be friends again. "After Charles you needed to heal and find a purpose in life. And as much as you wanted that to occur in Rosewood with Emily and the others it was never going to. Ali…you lost everything-including yourself-and you needed to get out of that place. Now granted you probably could have gone about it in a different way, but…" Ali offered Britt a small smile because yeah she had left Rosewood in typical Alison DiLaurentis fashion-dramatically and without any reverence for anyone else. In her defense though she had been on extremely strong pain medicines and wasn't in an exactly great frame of mind after she woke up from her coma. "The point is you've healed so much and grown into this amazing woman. And I know when it's the right time God will let you show Emily, Hanna, Spencer, and Aria who you really are."

Ali had to remind herself to breathe after Brittany's monologue. She wiped away the few tears that had fallen from her eyes as she asked, "You really believe that?"

"Yeah, I do Ali." Brittany was looking at her with so much affection it literally pained Alison. "But as much as I'd love to sit here and keep being all mushy squash with you, we gotta go catch a serial killer."

Ali couldn't help but chuckle, her tears completely gone by now, "Way to ruin the moment Bronx Baller."

"What? It's the truth." Brittany feigned innocence and Ali just shook her head. "Seriously though, I gotta go talk to Carla and it would be wonderful if you went back to headquarters and combed through the CIA's surveillance footage. Because according to Reggie the cops have only found where the victims' bodies have been dumped and while I'm sure the NYPD has done everything in their power to enact justice-they're not us."

Alison just groaned because she hated combing through surveillance footage in the CIA's database-there was just so damn much of it. And yeah ok she usually could find things pretty quickly but still she didn't want to do it.

"C'mon Ali, if you find us where the killer performs their acts of torture it'll get us one step closer to getting justice for Rebecca and everyone else," Brittany pleaded.

"Fine, since you asked so nicely." And with that the two made their way out of the coffee shop but not before Rhonda insisted that they take two large to go cups filled with her dark roast specialty blend with them.

---

Queens, New York City
November 11, 2019
10 am

Emily was sitting outside Carla Evans' stylish apartment building trying to psyche herself up to face the bereaved wife of their killer's latest victim. It had been a couple days since Rebecca's murder and Emily was hoping that Carla might be more willing to talk to her now. She could tell that Carla didn't trust her the first time they'd interacted, even though Emily was just trying to figure out who had ripped Rebecca from her life. She understood why certain people didn't trust the police, but usually even skeptical citizens eventually came to realize that Emily was one of the good ones. Emily was nervous as hell that their serial killer was going to strike again.

She knew that the Bronx Baller aka Brittany Johnson was connected to this-she just didn't know why. What about the elusive athlete would make someone want to send her such a cryptic message by killing women who looked strikingly similar to her? That was the thing about psychopaths though their reasoning usually only made sense to them. This was one of the many reasons why it was incredibly difficult for quote on quote normal people who worked in law enforcement to understand and find them.

Still not having a clue how she was going to blend Brittany Johnson into her line of questioning for Carla, Emily decided to just try and wing it. She's sure it would be a cluster fuck no matter what, so she might as well just dive right in. Letting out a sigh of pure exhaustion and frustration as she exited her unmarked police squad car Emily made her way towards the front of the apartment building.

Once she'd made it to the front door of Carla's apartment on the fourth floor she stopped herself from knocking when she heard two sets of voices drifting through the thin walls. Emily knew it wasn't polite to eavesdrop, but she was a detective-that meant she had to detect, right? Despite how quietly the two people were speaking Emily could slightly make out what they were saying when she pressed her right ear all the way against the wooden door.

"She's so beautiful in this picture. Do you remember that day?" Emily recognized Carla's voice almost instantaneously.

"Yeah, how could I forget? We'd just turned in our final report for the capstone project and went out to Central Park to enjoy the gorgeous weather. You two were so wrapped up in each other you didn't even notice I took the picture." Emily didn't recognize this voice; she assumed it belonged to one of Carla and Rebecca's friends.

"That was the first time she kissed me in public. I'd never felt more alive than in that moment." There was a pause before Carla shakily continued, "It's just so surreal living in a world without Rebecca in it." Emily heard shuffling as she assumed the person in the apartment with Carla had moved over to comfort the broken woman.

"Carla, I promise I'm going to find out who took her from you." Who was this person? Was it another cop?

Emily could hear a phone vibrating with a text message alert. "What is it?" she heard Carla ask.

"Baby sis found something. This could be it Carla. I gotta run, but stay strong ok? I'm gonna find out who did this." Emily could hear whoever was in there with Carla start shuffling around-she assumed gathering their belongings.

"I know you are Britt. You always do." Britt? Oh my God is Bronx Baller in there talking to Carla right now? Maybe the mysterious athlete had been closer to Rebecca Evans than she'd realized. But if that was Brittany Johnson who the hell was baby sis? Brittany had a younger brother-she didn't have any sisters as far as Emily knew.

Hearing footsteps start to advance towards the door Emily realized she had about three seconds to high tale her ass away from Carla's apartment door before it would surely open. The brunette sprinted to the end of the hallway and hid around the corner. She didn't know yet if she wanted to be discovered by whoever had been in Carla's apartment. If it was the Bronx Baller, Emily hoped she could tail the former basketball phenom without being seen and find out what she had uncovered.

When she heard Carla's apartment door open Emily's heart was beating so quickly she was sure it'd give her away. She tried to settle her erratic breathing but the possibility that she could be coming face to face with the one person who she was convinced linked all their victims had her adrenaline pumping on overdrive. Luckily she'd sprinted towards the end of the hallway opposite of the elevator and stairs. The footsteps though from Carla's apartment were traveling towards Emily not away from her-shit how was she going to explain herself? She's just a detective that likes to creep around corners-smooth Emily real smooth.

A couple strides from when the mystery person in Carla's apartment would have surely discovered her they stopped. Emily could hear them sniffling and trying not to cry. She knew that sound well-she can't even recall how many times she'd prevented herself from breaking down during Charles' reign of torment. It was taking all of Emily's power not to peer around the corner and catch a glimpse of this person.

"C'mon Britt, keep it together. You gotta do this for Rebecca." After hearing the whispered pep talk Emily's curiosity got the best of her and she stealthily glanced around the corner she was hiding behind.

And sure enough there she was-the Bronx Baller-in the flesh. The person that Hanna had deemed Emily was stalking for the last few days was now 10 feet away from her.

Although the last picture Emily had found of Brittany Johnson had been from the 2011 NCAA Tournament not that much had changed about the brunette in 8 years. It was apparent that she was still in pristine physical shape-maybe even better shape than when she'd been slated to turn professional.

Emily could admit that the woman was beautiful-not Alison DiLaurentis beautiful because no woman on the planet compared to her first love-but still the elusive athlete was stunning.

Brittany was leaning against the wall in the hallway looking up at the ceiling with her eyes closed-it almost looked like she was praying. From the digging she'd done Emily knew that everyone in Brittany's family was a devout Catholic so it would make sense.

When Brittany's phone rang Emily nearly had a heart attack and jumped to hide back behind the corner. It took the former basketball great a few seconds to finally answer the call and Emily held her breathe so she wouldn't miss a single word that was said.

"Hey…" Emily's suspicions had been correct Brittany Johnson was indeed on the verge of tears and she was trying desperately not to break down.

"No, yeah, I'll be ok…that was just harder than I thought. Carla's so broken…so lost." God Emily would give anything to know who Brittany was talking to.

"You said you found something." Found what? What could this woman who had no public record of employment or residence since 2011 and whoever she was talking to have found that the police had failed to uncover?

"What do you mean I have to see it to believe it?" Even though Emily didn't usually stake out people she decided right then and there that she was following Brittany Johnson to whatever lead the mysterious caller she was on the phone with had discovered come hell or high water.

"Yes, I'm heading back to headquarters right now…I love you too." With that the phone call was over and Emily could hear Brittany walking towards the opposite end of the hallway. She had no clue what she was about to find, but Emily Fields' gut told her that this was a risk she needed to take.

With the boost in confidence she quietly darted after the brunette…who unbeknownst to Emily would lead her to someone she desperately wanted to, but feared she'd never encounter again.

---

CIA New York City Headquarters
Surveillance Room
November 11, 2019
11:30 am

Alison still couldn't get over what she had uncovered. She had found footage from when all four women had been taken and where they had been taken to. This serial killer was smart-they had blacked out the city's surveillance during all of the abductions, murders, and body dumps. However, the CIA had 24/7 satellite surveillance monitoring the entire globe. Ali could understand people's concerns regarding their lack of privacy and how much the government truly knew about them, but right now she was pretty fucking happy that the United States was as paranoid and untrusting as they were.

Still something didn't sit right with her. It almost appeared like the killer wanted their torture chamber to be found. Any decent hacker would be able to black out the city's surveillance, but to make no attempt to alter the satellite footage…that meant either the killer was lazy or arrogant. Surely they couldn't have known that this case would get bumped up to CIA territory which would garner more resources and advanced technology…or could they?

This psychopath was targeting women who had at some point in their lives been connected to Brittany and they all shared similar physical characteristics with her best friend. So that could mean that this killer was obsessed with Brittany and was thriving to be noticed or that they knew that she worked for the CIA. Whatever it was Alison didn't like it. Given how protective Brittany was of everyone in her life-doing whatever was necessary to keep her family, friends, and even complete strangers safe-Alison knew she often neglected herself. Britt's greatest strength was also her greatest weakness-her selflessness. Alison didn't know what this serial killer wanted but she was going to make damn sure that Brittany stayed out of their cross-hairs.

Before she'd started combing through the agency's surveillance footage Alison had called Teresa and Bradley to inform them about this serial killer that seemed to be obsessing over her best friend. The Johnson's were so tight knit that Ali worried this psychopath would target those closest to Brittany. While it might not have been the most professional thing to do and it was definitely against the agency's policy to draw family members into investigations, this was personal for both she and Brittany. Alison wasn't about to let her family become victims because of a dumbass rule. She knew it was only a matter of time before Reggie came to talk to her-or more like yell at her-for drawing them in when they still didn't have all the facts straight. But she didn't care. Alison had been breaking rules all her life, at least now she did so to keep the people she loved safe and the defenseless protected.

Suddenly the door to the surveillance room swings open and a loud groan is emitted as whoever entered flings themselves on the couch in the corner. Alison knows its Brittany without even looking up from the iPad she's currently organizing all of the disturbing information she compiled on. Her best friend's dramatic antics always gave her away.

"Ali…" Brittany's shaky voice etched with pain and remorse had Alison's head snapping up from the iPad and accessing her best friend. Being strong for everyone else in her life Brittany rarely allowed herself to be vulnerable and when she did it was never at work.

Alison was reeling from the lack of sleep she'd had the night before and she was guessing that Brittany was as well-especially given the six hour marathon workout she'd put her body through. It didn't matter how physically in shape the both of them were-their bodies and minds were suffering because of sleep deprivation.

What sent a chill down Alison's spine about Brittany's tone of voice was how completely depleted and destroyed it sounded. She hadn't seen her best friend in a state like this since they'd gotten back from Pakistan.

It had taken Ali less than three seconds to make it over to the couch that Brittany was laying on and kneel down on the ground so she could be eye level with her. During the course of their 6 and a half year friendship the two women had come to know exactly when the other needed comfort. They could both read each other like a book and right now Alison could tell that Brittany was milliseconds away from breaking down. Her eyes had begun to fill with tears and it was only a matter of moments before they'd slip out.

"Serena, Cindy, Helen…Rebecca they're all dead because they knew me." Alison could feel her heart cracking inside her as Brittany blamed herself for these women's deaths.

She knows the feeling all too well. Everything that first Mona and then Charles had done to Spencer, Aria, Hanna…sweet Emily, and those they loved Alison had put on herself. Even though she knew how mentally disturbed and psychotic Charles was she still believed she could have prevented his actions-and she knows Mona's destructive behavior could have been avoided if she'd just been a little (ok a lot of) nicer to the girl. It had taken Alison years to finally come to grips with the fact that she wasn't responsible for every horrible thing that ever happened in Rosewood.

Sensing Brittany's distress Alison had moved onto the couch and brought the taller woman into her embrace-cradling the brunette's head close to her chest. The couch really wasn't meant for two people to lie down on, but Ali could care less. Her best friend needed her and she'd deal with the uncomfortable positioning and sore muscles later.

"No, Brittany. That's not true and you know it. I won't let you blame yourself for this." Ali kept rubbing reassuring circles on her best friend's back and stroking through her soft, wavy hair as Brittany continued to sob into her chest.

Their positions were usually reversed, but Alison didn't mind being the shoulder to cry on for once. After she'd first met Brittany and started to slowly open up about everything that'd happened to her-the death of her parents, the torture she'd endured, and losing the love of her life-the brunette had held her through every breakdown and never once judged her. It made Ali proud that Britt felt secure enough with her to be completely exposed and vulnerable. There was a time in her life when Alison was incapable of offering support-of caring about another human being more than herself. Despite the hell it took to get to this place she's so damn grateful that she changed from the cold hearted bitch she used to be.

Ten minutes later Ali could feel Brittany finally relaxing in her arms. Her sobs had settled down to sniffles and her breathing was returning to a less frantic rate. Alison placed a gentle kiss on top of Brittany's head knowing the brunette wasn't ready yet for a conversation. Ali hoped the gesture conveyed her absolute adoration for her best friend. When Britt let out a heavy sigh and squeezed her a little tighter, Ali knew the message had gotten across.

Alison tries with every ounce of energy she has left not to succumb to the sleep her body is begging her to give into, but ultimately fails. As she slips into sub-consciousness Alison can only hope that Brittany gets some rest as well. The both of them desperately need it, and Ali knows that a nap will give them the strength to investigate what she believes to be this serial killer's execution location.

---

May 20, 2012
Rosewood, Pennsylvania

Alison's brain kept telling her on repeat to turn around and not walk any further. Rationally her brain was just trying to protect her, because it was going to absolutely destroy Ali to see Emily-the love of her life-dancing in the arms of another woman. But her heart just kept leading her closer to the Rosewood High gymnasium where prom was being held. She just needed to see her mermaid one more time, because what she was planning to do would most likely kill her.

Alison's dressed in black leggings and a red fitted UnderArmour sweatshirt-not exactly typical prom attire, but she's going for being invisible. As she creeps her way closer and closer towards the gym she makes sure to stay hidden in the shadows. The irony isn't lost on her that in the high school where she used to reign supreme she is now going for being unnoticeable. Alison DiLaurentis' priorities really have changed.

As she makes it to the entrance of the gym she feels another knife plunge into her chest as she reads the banner proclaiming the prom theme: "Midnight in Paris". Of course it just had to be Paris-how many cities are there in the world and they go with the one that she'd give anything to go to with her mermaid. She walks along the right wall in order to stay hidden behind the bleachers. Peeking through a gap in between the steps of the wooden bleachers her eyes scan the dance floor that is crowded with care free seniors who are having the times of their lives. She's looking for any familiar face.

Alison sees Hanna first and she looks absolutely amazing in her lite blue gown. She's wrapped in Caleb's arms and Alison can't help the smile that slowly starts to form on her face. She's so glad that Hanna has found someone who would go to the ends of the earth for her. After all of the self-esteem issues that Alison had put Hanna through she had feared that the spunky blonde would never be able to find true happiness. While Alison knows that she had hurt Emily the most out of the four girls before she'd disappeared-what she had forced Hanna to endure was unforgivable. Yet here Hanna was independent, head strong, and completely in love with a man who valued her uniqueness and always believed in her. And Alison couldn't be prouder of the young woman who for so long desired to be her, when all she needed to be was herself.

Glancing to Hanna's right she sees Spencer and Aria with their significant others as well. In Toby and Ezra's arms respectively they both look to be completely at ease. For once Spencer doesn't appear to have the weight of the world on her shoulders and Aria is genuinely smiling. And Alison is happy for them. She wants all of them to have everything they've ever wanted in life.

When her eyes finally find Emily Alison's breath catches in her throat. Her mermaid looks like an absolute goddess and Alison believes it should be illegal for any woman to be that beautiful. Emily's purple gown highlights every wonderful curve she has and perfectly contrasts with her tan skin. Alison has to remind herself to breathe properly after she starts to feel light headed from not taking in any oxygen for a good minute.

Her mermaid is standing off to the side of the dance floor gazing out into the distance. And Alison knows it's selfish but she's glad that Emily doesn't appear completely happy. Yet when Paige comes up from behind her and snakes her right arm around Emily's waist her mermaid musters up a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. Paige isn't fazed by it, but Alison can see through Emily's fake happiness even from across the large gym. As the two women make their way back onto the dance floor Alison wants to close her eyes and forever erase the images of Emily being in the arms of anyone who isn't her. She'd already had to swallow seeing Emily at the Christmas Charity Ball in Paige's arms (looking absolutely breathtaking she might add), and in all honesty her heart couldn't take watching history repeat itself.

While she was in prison Charles had sent her constant reminders that Emily wasn't her's-pictures of her mermaid with Paige and then Talia. It had almost been too much for Alison to bear. Not only was she being physically and sexually assaulted almost on a daily basis her psychotic brother had to remind her that the person she loved more than anything had moved on.

Alison can't take her eyes off the brunette (if she's being honest she hasn't been able to since she was 14-why why God did she have to deny Emily so many times in the past? Why couldn't she have just held onto her and never let her go?) Emily is her everything and Alison has sadly come to accept that her mermaid will never know it.

When Paige starts to lean in closer to Emily Alison can feel her eyes start to water. She tries desperately not to cry-what was she expecting that the two would go to prom together and not kiss? Her stomach clenches in pain and she can pretty much guarantee that her heart has just broken. This is why her brain kept telling her to turn around all those minutes ago-to spare her from witnessing the inevitable.

Alison sprints out the closest outdoor exit and sinks against the brick wall of the school. She finally lets her tears cascade down her cheeks. Somehow she manages to keep her sobs relatively quiet. She knows she should be happy for Emily-Paige had after all come all the way from California to escort her to prom-but it absolutely kills Alison that Emily could find happiness with someone who isn't her-because she knows that she'll never be able to be happy with anyone who isn't Emily Fields.

Alison tries to settle her breathing because she needs to pull herself together. She's meeting Charles in a little less than 4 hours and she has to be in all her DiLaurentis glory if she has any chance to pull her plan off. She had given Charles an ultimatum that he couldn't refuse-her death for the girls' freedom. She suspects that Charles will torture her first, but it'll be worth it if her friends can forever be free of his torment. Pushing herself off the brick wall and wiping the last of her tears Alison starts to walk towards the woods.

The sound of someone softly crying stops her in her tracks. She knows those quiet sniffles-she had been the cause of them way too many damn times. Emily.

Alison stealthily walks back to the brick wall she'd been leaning on and creeps along it until she's nearly at the adjoining wall that makes up the back of the school. There on the other side is her mermaid softly crying into her hands and all Alison wants to do is run to her and hold her. That's the thing when it comes to Emily-Alison loses all sense of reason and acts on her impulses. She's about to make her way over towards the brunette when the back door of the school swings open and Hanna appears. Ali quickly hides herself and waits with baited breath for this impending conversation.

"Em…" Hanna's voice is laced with concern and for what feels like the millionth time Alison is so grateful that the four of them have each other. The one good thing to come out of Charles' torment was the unbreakable bond between her four best friends.

"Just hold me, Han." God her mermaid sounded so broken-what could possibly be wrong? Alison hears Hanna shuffle closer to the brunette and engulf her in a hug.

"I was going to do that anyway." Despite the circumstances Emily let out a breathy laugh through her tears at Hanna's characteristically blunt response. Alison could hear Emily start to calm down-whatever Hanna was doing seemed to be working.

"You never wanted to come to prom with Paige did you?" Hanna asks with a tone that conveys she already knows the answer.

"No." Emily manages to croak out.

"That's why you ran from the gym when she tried to kiss you?" What!? Emily and Paige didn't kiss? Maybe she should have waited before she bolted outside…

After a moment Emily reluctantly responds, "Yes."

"Emily, go to her." Hanna commands. No for the love of God please don't go back to Paige. Hanna why are you telling her to do this? Sure Alison can admit that Paige is a good person who treated Emily like the queen she is, but that doesn't mean her mermaid didn't deserve better…

"Back to Paige? Hanna I just…"

"No, you idiot. To Alison, we both know she's the person you're meant to be with." Hanna's proclamation has Alison holding her breath anxiously waiting for Emily's response. And since when did Hanna begin to support her being with Emily? She thought the feisty blonde despised her.

"Han…"

"Em, if you give me the 'it's complicated' bullshit I'm going to scream."

"Well it is."

"AGH! Emily of course it is-you don't live in the world we do and have shit be simple! But that's not the point."

"What is the point?" Emily softly inquires completely contrasting Hanna's tone.

"The point is you're in love with Alison and she's in love with you! God, why are the both of you so stubborn? Jesus do you know how frustrating it is to watch the two of you longingly stare at each other and do nothing!" Alison feels her heart stop-could Emily really be in love with her? And dear God was she really that obvious about her feelings towards the brunette-she thought she was being subtle.

"How can you be so sure she feels the same way?" Emily asks in a such a quiet voice that if anyone else besides Alison who was hopelessly in love with the girl had been eavesdropping they would have missed it. And Alison hates that her past actions have made Emily doubt her feelings for her so much.

"Emily…anyone with eyes can see how much she loves you. And I know you two have a history, like a really complicated history, but she's your soulmate Em. As your best friend I can't let you play it safe with Paige, not when you have a chance to be with the love of your life." Alison feels the tears spring up and she wants to give Hanna the biggest fucking hug right now.

"I love Ali so much, Hanna." And yeah Alison just felt her heart flutter-like she might faint because it fluttered so hard. Emily Fields loves her. Like actually loves her. Knowing that, she was determined now more than ever to end this shit with Charles. Oh she'd still meet him later and act like their deal was still in place-but she'd be damned if she wasn't making it out alive so she could tell her mermaid exactly how much she loved her as well.

"C'mon!"

"Hanna, where are we going?" Alison can hear their heels clank against the cement of the sidewalk as she can imagine Hanna pulling Emily towards the direction of the back door.

"To Ali's house, duh!" Oh shit, they're going to my house…like now? I walked here. Why Alison why did you walk here? Oh yeah to calm yourself down before you saw Emily dancing in Paige's arms.

"Han, I don't have my car. Paige drove us." Emily is softly chuckling and Alison's heart swells at the sound-she's pretty sure Emily's laugh is her absolute favorite sound in the world.

"We'll take Caleb's car, no big deal." As the two made their way back into the gym Alison sprinted towards the woods. She had to make it back to her house before Emily and Hanna did. How would she even begin to explain why she arrived there after them-she went out for a late night jog? Yeah she'd picked up the habit lately but still it'd be hard to explain.

After being on the run-literally-in New York City for over two years Alison had developed incredible endurance. She had never pushed herself to run this fast before and by the time she makes it through her back door and into the kitchen she's positive her heart is going to explode out of her chest. She has to clutch onto the counter top to keep herself from collapsing to the ground. Pepe trots his way over to her and begins to worriedly whimper as he nudges her leg. The poor dog has probably never seen her look like such a hot mess before. Even when she'd been arrested in the Hasting's backyard she had managed to look semi-presentable. She ever so slightly bends down to scratch Pepe behind his ears which he greatly appreciates, before she stumbles to the refrigerator and pulls out a bottle of water-downing it in about three gulps.

From all appearances it looks like she had been successful in her quest to beat Hanna and Emily to her house. And as bad as it sounds she really hopes the two got held up at prom so she can quick shower and change into something not drenched in sweat, because for the love of all that is holy if Emily Fields is coming to declare her love to her, she is not going to smell. Getting a rush of adrenaline Alison moves towards the stairs and begins the ascent to her bedroom with Pepe at her heels.

Before she's about to enter her bedroom and grab a clean change of clothes her dad's voice worriedly rings out from his office, "Alison is that you?" Damn, she thought he was asleep.

"Yeah, dad." Please please don't try and have a conversation with me. But of course her father makes his way into the hallway with concern etched on his face. And Alison gets it-he just wants to protect her, but what he fails to understand is that she's the one who will ultimately have to protect him, Jason, her best friends, and the love of her life because she's the only one who can rattle Charles enough.

"Where'd you go sweetheart? I was really worried." It still surprises Alison when Kenneth shows her how much he truly cares-before she'd disappeared he'd worked such long hours that she barely saw him. While she honestly came back to Rosewood to repair her relationship with a certain brunette, this new found one she has with her father is really nice as well. And it still amazes Alison how strongly Kenneth had stood by her through her months in prison and during the trial. He never once gave up on her-even when everyone else in her life had...including Emily.

"I just went for a run. Sorry I didn't tell you dad." She made sure to keep the bite out of her tone-her father looked exhausted and the last thing she wanted was to fight with him. And ok her response wasn't the complete truth but how was she going to explain that she had actually gone to prom to catch what might be the last glimpse she'd ever have of her friends before she met up with her psychotic half-brother that she had just found out about.

"You've been doing that a lot lately-going for runs." Kenneth noted and Alison couldn't help but notice how distressed her father looked. She hated that he was suffering this much, and she knew it was only going to get worse for him-especially given what she was going to do in a few hours.

"Yeah...it helps with the stress." And that wasn't a lie; running had become a much needed reprieve for Alison after prison and during the escalation of Charles' torment. Plus it allowed her to spend time with Pepe which was always a good thing.

An uncomfortable silence settled between father and daughter before Kenneth announced, "Well, I'll be in my office if you need anything."

Before he had turned completely around Alison called out to him, "Dad wait." And before Kenneth could inquire what was wrong Alison was hugging him. She knew she was sweaty from her run (or rather sprint), but Kenneth didn't seem to mind as he wrapped his arms around her and placed a gentle kiss on top of her head.

After a few content moments Alison softly proclaimed, "Thank you."

"For what sweetheart?"

"For everything. For standing by me and never giving up on me." Alison confessed.

Kenneth drew her in even closer as he replied, "You're my daughter. I could never give up on you."

About another minute into their hug Alison breathed out, "I love you, dad. No matter what." No family secrets-no matter how disturbing-could change the fact that Kenneth was an incredible father to her. She needed him to know that.

"I love you too, Alison." Every time her dad told her that it warmed her heart. Given the incredibly volatile relationship she'd had with her mother, it was so refreshing to feel the unconditional love of a parent. Alison felt so content in Kenneth's arms that she momentarily forgot why she had sprinted home-Emily…coming to your house to hopefully confess her love for you…and you're currently drenched in sweat. Shit!

Alison gently pulled out of her dad's arms explaining with a lite chuckle, "I'm gonna take a shower. I probably look and smell horrible."

Without hesitation Kenneth honestly replied, "Impossible. You could never be anything but beautiful, sweetheart." And yeah Alison has to hold back tears for what feels like the millionth time in the last hour.

30 minutes later

Okay, what the hell? She thought Emily and Hanna were rushing to her house? She took the fastest shower of her life-prison had taught her one useful thing-and hurriedly dried her hair and put on a little make-up. Alison was in such a rush she didn't even have time to debate with herself about what to wear. She knew she couldn't wear a dress, because hello she didn't "actually" go to prom and who would be wearing a dress while they were staying "in" on a Saturday night? So she'd gone with tight jeans that showed off her ass-cause yeah running as much as she had been was giving her some really nice toned muscles-and a nice top that showed just enough cleavage. Emily was definitely a boob woman Alison had come to realize and the good Lord above had blessed her with an incredible rack so she might as well accentuate that part of her body.

Now she sat worriedly on her bed stroking through Pepe's soft fur. Maybe she had overheard Emily and Hanna's conversation wrong? Her brain could have subconsciously made her believe that her mermaid was coming to her-and God wouldn't that be a cruel trick. Maybe Emily had decided after all that it was better to spend time with Paige? Alison groaned at the thought. No, that could not be the case.

Alison also couldn't forget that in a little over two hours she was making a deal with the devil-a deal that was supposed to result in her death. Before she took on that fucking endeavor she just wanted one honest conversation with Emily-one chance to open her heart and bear her soul to the person who meant absolutely everything to her. And God if Emily confirmed what Alison thought she heard outside of the school-that she was in love with her-it would give her more than enough strength to endure this battle with Charles. It would give her something to hold onto-something to live for.

Fuck this. Alison was tired of waiting-tired of being worried that Emily wouldn't return her feelings. She needed to get this off her chest before it was too late.

Just as she built up enough gumption to move off her bed and find her mermaid, there was a knock on the front door. Oh my God this is it. Breathe Ali breathe. Alison almost hyperventilated and forgot she should have been moving to the front door. Pepe bound out of her room towards the front door-in complete attack mode softly growling-God she really wished she could bring him with her when she met up with Charles later…

Snapping out of her daze Alison looked herself over in the mirror-thank God she was naturally beautiful-and took a deep breathe before heading down the stairs. When she reached the bottom of the steps she bent down to try and settle Pepe because the last thing she wanted was for her guard dog to pounce on the love of her life. Scratching behind his ears and gazing into Pepe's eyes Alison swears she was able to communicate that he didn't need to worry. Satisfied with whatever message Alison relayed to him, Pepe slowly backed away from the front door giving the blonde enough space to open it.

When she opened the door Alison's heart stopped beating. There was Emily looking more beautiful than Alison had ever seen her-and that was saying a lot given how breathtaking her mermaid always appeared. Alison knew she probably looked ridiculous with her mouth agape, but she had no clue how to even formulate a sentence right now. All of the prepared declarations of love that she'd been running through in her head for the last hour evaporated when she laid eyes on her mermaid. Her brain literally had turned to mush.

Emily took a tentative step towards her and gently grabbed her hand pulling her out onto the front porch. Alison softly closed the front door behind her, but not before Pepe trotted out onto the porch and laid down in the corner. Alison couldn't help the content sigh that escaped her lips or the smile that spread across her face at Emily's hand holding gesture. This woman was just too perfect. Emily gave her a smile in return and shakily breathed out, "Hi."

Hearing Emily's sweet voice snapped her back to reality and caused her brain to start functioning again.

"Hi. Em you look…so beautiful." Alison softly replied not wanting to ruin the tranquility of the moment. If Alison wasn't so enthralled by Emily she might have noticed how bright the stars were shining and how perfectly the moonlight illuminated the both of them.

A tint of red rose to Emily's cheeks before she locked eyes with Alison and proclaimed, "So do you."

Alison couldn't help but lightly chuckle, "I'm wearing jeans."

"Doesn't matter. You always take my breath away." Alison swears her heart just melted. How did Emily always know what to say to take away all her insecurities?

Alison slowly raises her free hand to Emily's cheek and lightly stokes her thumb along that flawless skin. She waits a few moments before she shakes her head-in disbelief that Emily Fields is even real-and replies with a voice laced in complete adoration, "Sweet Emily."

When Emily leans into her touch Alison's insides do a happy dance-she's really glad that she still has some effect on the brunette because Lord knows what Emily does to her…

After a few more moments of the two lovingly gazing into each other's eyes Emily clears her throat and says, "I actually came here to ask you a question."

"What would that be?" Alison tries to keep the shake out of her voice because really Emily could ask her anything-and that's terrifying.

When Emily gently backs away from her and drops her hand Alison feels her eyes start to water. No please, don't let this end so soon. The brunette turns her attention to her phone and Alison wants to cry. If this is her last moment with Emily it can't go like this. It can't go from really sweet to Emily paying more attention to her damn phone than the blonde whose heart is literally hanging in the ballads.

The brunette sets her phone on the porch railing and Alison hears music. And it's a song she not only recognizes but loves. She used to think of it as her and Emily's song when she first heard it in Slumdog Millionaire back in 2008. As the beautiful melody and soothing cords start to play of A.R. Rahman and Suzzanne's "Dreams on Fire" Alison can't help but be transported back to a much simpler time. A time before –A, when she and Emily would spend hours together just basking in each other's existence without any complications.

Emily turns back to the blonde with a small smile and outstretches her hand before asking, "Alison DiLaurentis, may I have this dance?"

Alison blinks back her tears before she honestly replies, "I thought you'd never ask."

Placing her hand in Emily's the brunette draws her in so close Alison swears they become one person. The brunette's hands find her hips and she's so glad she isn't wearing a dress because Emily's fingers snake across her barely exposed skin in a delicious sensation. Alison's arms wrap around Emily's neck and it amazes her how perfectly they fit together. She lets Emily lead her as they slowly move to the melody of the song.

The two are so engrossed in their moment that they don't notice three pairs of eyes watching them from Spencer's living room window. They don't see that Aria-being the hopeless romantic she is-has to wipe tears from her eyes or that Hanna is gleefully snapping pictures of the moment and even Spencer-with her rational ass-is even smiling at the pair. It had become clear to the other three girls over the course of the last few months how in love Emily and Alison were with each other. Seeing the two in such an embrace just confirmed what they all knew-that the blonde and brunette were indeed soulmates.

"You are that spark of dawn / You are where I belong / You are the ache I feel in every song / Dreams on fire higher and higher"

Looking into Emily's chocolate brown orbs as the lyrics fill the space around them Alison realizes that this is always where she's belonged-in Emily's arms. She was so foolish for so long. God she'd give anything to go back in time and make up for all her past mistakes with this angel who was holding her so tenderly right now.

As the song passes its crescendo and moves into its final measure Alison knows it's now or never. She needs to tell Emily how she feels but she doesn't know how to even speak right now because her emotions are all over the place. But she has to try. Emily deserves that-hell she deserves that.

Mustering up some courage Alison takes a deep breath before she shakily states, "Emily, I need to tell you something. Something I should have told you a long time ago."

The song has long ended but Emily continues to sway them back and forth and Alison finds it oddly comforting.

Gazing into Emily's eyes that are filled with nothing but support and adoration Alison declares, "I love you."

She wants to go into further detail about how sorry she is for all the pain she's ever caused the brunette and how she can't go a single minute without longing for her, but she isn't given the chance to do so as Emily slowly leans in and captures her lips in a sweet kiss. And God had Alison missed the feeling of Emily's lips on her own.

Emily wraps her arms even more securely around Alison's waist as the blonde tangles her fingers in the brunette's luscious locks. She can't help but smile into the kiss because finally telling Emily the truth about how she feels has left her feeling more elated than she ever has before. It's a high she never wants to come down from.

When Emily strokes her bottom lip with her tongue begging for access Alison can't suppress the moan that comes out from the bottom of her throat, because Jesus, Emily was a phenomenal kisser. She of course lets Emily's tongue invade her mouth and Alison swears she's going to pass out from all of the raging emotions that are flowing through her veins right now. She's never felt more alive than in this moment…

Alison never wants this kiss to end but eventually it has to when breathing becomes an issue. As she and Emily both heavily pant, reveling in each other's warm presence, the brunette rests her forehead against Ali's. A wide smile spreads across Alison's face as her eyes remain closed in utter contentment.

She doesn't want to open her eyes because she's afraid this has all been a dream. However, when Emily moves her hands from around Alison's waist and cups the blonde's face lightly brushing her thumbs across her cheeks, Ali's eyes slowly flutter open. She's met with Emily's chocolate brown orbs searing into her soul.

Never taking her eyes off Alison, Emily keeps the pair in their close proximity as she declares, "I love you too."

This time Alison initiates the kiss, because Emily Fields had just given her a reason to keep fighting-to somehow against all odds defeat Charles. Alison would do whatever she could to make it back into the arms of her mermaid-the love of her life.

---

CIA New York City Headquarters
Surveillance Room
November 11, 2019
4:00 pm

Alison can't help the small smile that spreads across her face as she begins to stir on the incredibly uncomfortable couch in the surveillance room-it always amazed her how much money the CIA was willing to spend on technological advances, but couldn't bear to splurge a little bit and have some half way decent furniture. She's startled when she finally does open her eyes and become aware of her surroundings that Brittany is no longer on the couch with her. Glancing around the room she spots her best friend over in front of the huge monitor screen combing through the disturbing footage that Alison had found this morning.

Brittany is standing in front of the screen with her arms crossed firmly against her chest and her brows furrowed in concentration. If Alison could hardly stomach to see the four women being man handled and completely disregarded she knew it was killing Brittany. These were women her best friend had all considered friends at some point in her life. Serena, Cindy, and Helen had all been from when she was growing up, but Rebecca…Rebecca still fell in the category of close confidant and trusted ally. Ali knew once they caught this serial killer-because they would catch this serial killer-Brittany might not be able to refrain from kicking their ass all the way to Staten Island.

Never one to be unaware of her surroundings Brittany turned around after a few seconds and met Ali's gaze who was still lying down on the couch. Alison noted that Britt appeared more rested; she hoped her best friend had gotten some sleep as well, and Brittany noticed that Ali appeared rejuvenated-yup she'd definitely dreamed about Emily. The brunette couldn't help but smirk at the notion-Ali's mermaid always brought her back to full capacity.

"Why are you giving me that look?" Alison asked after she noticed Brittany smirking at her-her best friend never smirked, so Ali was a little bit confused to say the least.

"Because,…you always get that dopey smile on your face whenever you dream about Emily. It's borderline hilarious…and adorable." Brittany smiled and quickly retorted.

Alison could feel her cheeks begin to blush and for a split second a part of her hated how well Brittany knew her-she truly could never hide anything from the former All-American. But that thought quickly disappeared when she noticed Brittany was smiling for the first time since they'd found out about this serial killer from Reggie. Ali could get teased about her mermaid dreams if it brought Brittany out of her funk.

She decided to play along, "What?! I can't help it. Emily always makes me feel all fuzzy inside. Besides my dreams are the only place I get to see her anymore…" Alison had intended to keep the mood lite but the truth behind her last statement had left her feeling utterly depressed-on top of the fact that she and Brittany were now hunting a serial killer.

Without missing a beat Brittany replied, "Well in that case I hope it was magical."

Moving into an upright position on the couch Alison softly breathed out, "It always is." Wanting to desperately change the subject before she got too lost in her thoughts about Emily, Alison inquired, "How long have you been up?"

Always knowing when to stop pushing the blonde Brittany gave her a knowing look before answering, "Fifteen minutes."

Sensing how hard this was on her best friend Alison gently pressed, "Did you see all of the footage I found?"

Brittany looked down at her Nike clad feet before she quietly said, "Yeah…every last second." Ali knew her best friend was trying not to cry. With tears brimming at the surface threatening to cascade down her cheeks any second Britt lifted her head and held Alison's gaze again, "They never stood a chance Ali."

Alison was in front of Brittany in a heartbeat and gently brought the taller woman into an embrace. Brittany clutched onto Ali as the blonde proclaimed, "We're gonna find out who did this Britt. And I know that it won't bring Serena, Cindy, Helen, or Rebecca back; but it will get them justice…and that's all we can do, sweetie."

Brittany nodded in response into her shoulder and Alison knew that her best friend didn't actually believe her, but it was a start. Ali knew that Brittany needed to pull herself together before they executed any sort of plan to bring this psychopath down.

Lifting her head off Ali's shoulder Brittany wiped away her remaining tears and inhaled an exaggerated breath before she turned back to the touch screen monitor and paused the surveillance footage when it showed the serial killer pulling into an abandoned plant's loading dock and lifting one of the women's unconscious bodies out of the back of the black SUV they were driving.

"We need to go to this plant. I know that's where the bastard's torturing and killing them." The ferocity that shown through Brittany's light blue eyes as she looked at the paused footage let Ali know that her best friend was fine-heartbroken indeed, but also so damned determined to bring this killer to justice. When Brittany got in this mode there was no stopping her.

"Okay, let's go then."

Before the two could gather what they needed to go investigate the abandoned plant Reggie's voice rang out from the door of the surveillance room, "Not so fast you two."

"Reggie, we seriously don't have time for a lecture right now." Brittany did nothing to mask the irritation that underlined her tone.

"Well too bad." Their boss of course had to sass right back at Brittany who really wasn't in the mood to hear any of it as she fiercely glared right back at him. "Jesus Baller get rid of the death glare, I'm just trying to make sure that you two are okay."

Brittany darkly chuckled before she sarcastically replied, "We're fucking perfect Reggie."

This was so uncharacteristic of her best friend. Ali knew Brittany was reeling but cussing at their boss like that was going to land both of them in some seriously deep shit. She moved closer to the brunette and placed her hand tentatively on Britt's flexed right forearm. Seeming to understand the conveyed message Brittany took a deep breath and Ali could feel her muscles begin to relax.

One of Reggie's greatest character attributes was that he knew when to take the snark out of his tone and deescalate a situation. Slowly Reggie made his way further into the room, standing just a foot away from the two, before he spoke in a soothing tone looking Brittany directly in the eyes, "No, you're not."

It was such a simple and utterly honest statement. When Brittany averted her gaze from their boss Alison rubbed circles on the taller woman's back.

"I know this for a fact because the both of you haven't consumed anything but coffee during the last 18 hours. So before either of you go anywhere you're drinking these protein shakes." Reggie softly smiled and held up two chocolate protein shakes from The Revolutionary Bean and God how had Ali not realized how starving she was until now? "Your mother insisted that I force you to consume something of substance." Reggie waited a beat before he added, "Seriously, she kept calling and pestering me until I caved and went to Rhonda."

Alison and Brittany shared a look because of course Teresa would nag Reggie to make sure her daughters weren't deprived of food for too long. Alison can also imagine that the nurse is silently terrified for Brittany's safety given what Alison had informed her and Bradley of this morning. Teresa pestering Reggie about Brittany and Ali's well-being allowed her to feel somewhat useful when there wasn't much else she could do to keep her baby girl safe.

Both women smiled back at their boss before grabbing their chocolate protein shakes. It was almost comical how quickly they literally devoured the shakes. Luckily Reggie didn't tease them about it. He was just relieved that his two favorite Guardians weren't going to pass out as a result of their complete disregard for their bodily needs.

Reggie moved towards the area in front of the large screens in the surveillance room and picked up the iPad that Alison had originally compiled all of the footage files pertaining to the case on. His brown eyes dashed across the screen as he took in the horrifying images that were being relayed.

Having a huge heart it was clear Reggie was incredibly disturbed by what he had just seen as he brought his gaze back up to meet the two women's and asked, "So, what do we think?"

Ali and Brittany shared a look before the blonde began, "Well, from the footage we have I think it's safe to say that our killer murders their victims at the abandoned ammunition plant in The Bronx right off the river. It would make sense…that whole area is practically deserted because of the suspected radiation and potential hazardous materials that the city thinks contaminated the ground around it."

Ali was about to continue with the theories that were running through her head when Brittany added, "Yeah, my uncle Eddie had to move 10 years ago when they finally tested the ground surrounding the plant and determined it was no longer safe to live there. His house was like five blocks away but the radiation levels were so off the charts the city deemed the entire neighborhood a death trap."

Reggie nodded and then grimly stated, "Then it's the perfect place for a psychopath to execute their torment…nobody around to hear the screams."

When neither Brittany nor Alison said anything in response, Reggie changed the direction of the conversation, "Brittany did you get anything from your talk with Carla?"

The brunette cleared her throat and replied, "She just said that Rebecca mentioned she felt like she was being followed. Said every time she looked behind her she'd see someone dressed all in black, but they'd disappear a split second later."

"In the surveillance footage we have the killer's dressed in all black as well." Alison added because God she just wanted to figure this thing out and she knew that Reggie was worried for them but she and Brittany seriously needed to scope out the ammunition plant.

"Well, it's pretty clear the two of you need to scope out the abandoned plant." Alison was surprised that Brittany was able to suppress the "duh" that the blonde assumed would fall from her lips following Reggie's statement.

"But listen to me, you two need to be careful. You have no idea what you're going to encounter there." Reggie urged and Alison found it endearing how much their boss truly cared.

"Reggie you act like we haven't done this before." Brittany sighed out and Alison couldn't agree more. Jesus if the two of them could withstand the most volatile war torn areas of the world and come out not only unscathed (at least physically) but having protected entire nations; they could fucking handle this potential place of torture.

"I know you two can handle yourselves…obviously. But Brittany this psychopath is killing people from your past and your present-either their obsessed with you and want you dead or they're trying to get your attention."

"Well they got my attention Reggie and I'm not going to let them hurt anyone else I love. Ali and I appreciate your concern but we have to do this and whatever we encounter at the plant we'll be able to handle because 1) we kick mega ass and 2) we're the most valued pair of Guardians in the entire CIA." Brittany had a look in her eyes that conveyed she was not going to be deterred.

Ali looked between Reggie and her best friend before adding, "Plus everything we see Reggie-you'll see. So if it turns out to be a dangerous situation you can send help." Alison was hoping the reminder about the specialized contacts she and Brittany wore during missions that transmitted every image back to headquarters would appease her boss.

"You're just worried that our mom will kick your ass if anything happens to us." Despite the seriousness of the situation Ali couldn't help but let out a breathy chuckle at Brittany's reasoning for Reggie's almost overbearing concern. But she also knew that Teresa transformed into a ferocious momma bear when anyone threatened Brittany, Bradley, or her.

Reggie puffed out his own laugh before he instantly snarked back, "Your mother would kick my ass if anything happened to you two."

Brittany took a deep breath as if signaling the serious tone the conversation picked up again, "Yeah I know. But she'd also be very disappointed in the both of us if we didn't do everything in our power to find out who killed Serena, Cindy, Helen, and Rebecca." The brunette paused and waited until Reggie's brown eyes met her's, before she declared the truth, "And right now you're standing in the way of that boss man."

Reggie waited a minute before he groaned and exasperated, "Dammit Baller." Crossing his arms over his chest he eyed both of them up before he finally gave in, "Fine. Go. Go to your abandoned ammunition plant." Then looking directly at Alison he stressed, "But if anything is off you both pull out, understand?"

"Yes, we understand." Alison and Brittany simultaneously agreed to Reggie's wishes. But Ali knew-and she knew Reggie did as well-that no matter what they encountered she and Brittany were uncovering something of substance from this recon mission.

Of course, Alison DiLaurentis didn't know just how life changing what (or rather who) she and the taller Guardian found in the abandoned plant would be.

---

Outside the CIA New York City Headquarters
Downtown Manhattan, New York City
November 11, 2019
2:00pm

Emily Fields had been incredibly proud of the fact that she had managed to follow the Bronx Baller without being noticed until the elusive athlete had pulled her what appeared to be a 2019 blue Chevy Camaro into an underground parking in Downtown Manhattan. The parking garage was badge access only and it was below a Federal Building of some kind. Emily wasn't sure if this meant that the rumors Brittany Johnson had left basketball to work for the United States Government were true or not. Was she apart of some federal agency like the FBI? Or maybe some secret group that ordinary citizens would never know about…okay that had been Hanna's theory when Emily complained about not being able to find anything recent on the athlete. Whatever it was Emily was confused and frustrated.

Now over two and a half hours later when Brittany's car still hadn't emerged from the underground garage Emily was annoyed…to say the least.

The detective had naively assumed that Brittany would be meeting up with whoever she had been on the phone with and head to wherever the mysterious caller had uncovered something.

Emily sighed because this was so uncharacteristic of her. As a detective she never passively waited for someone else to lead her to the clues that would solve the crime-she always uncovered them herself. This case was throwing her way off her game and needless to say it was really pissing her off.

But Emily had been right about the Bronx Baller somehow being connected to the victims…and maybe even the serial killer. She didn't believe that Brittany had played any part in any of the women's death-when she'd seen her outside Carla's apartment in the hallway she'd gotten a protective rather than psychotic vibe from the brunette. Yet Emily couldn't help but wonder why Brittany's life had to be such a mystery? Why after she diverted her plans to turn professional she had to literally drop off the face of the earth?

These were the thoughts that were swirling around in her head as she waited desperately for something to happen.

When her phone rang she had to clutch her chest because Jesus she had not been expecting that.

"God, get a grip, Em." Glancing down at the lite up iPhone she saw Brian's name flash across her screen. She knew she had seriously been pushing it by continuing to pursue this lead on the Bronx Baller, but she hoped Brian wasn't too upset with her. Although, if he was tracking the GPS in her car he was probably wondering why she had been parked along this street in Downtown Manhattan for almost three hours…

Taking a calm breathe she answered her phone, "Hey, Brian. What's up?" Please please don't ask me what I've been up to. I'm so brain dead I can't even come up with a plausible lie right now…

"Hey, Emily. Jimmy from Forensics just made a very interesting discovery that could possibly connect our victims." Brian's soothing voice that was laced with excitement echoed through her phone.

"What is it?" Emily was seriously hoping that Jimmy had found something with some tangible backing because right now she was grasping for anything that would support her theory…whatever that was exactly.

"Well, all of the victims' clothing had traces of gun powder, radiation, and numerous other chemical toxins." Reggie stated.

"So they were all killed in the same location?" Emily implored.

"I think that's safe to say." Emily wanted to scoff out loud because prematurely assuming things had landed her in a world of trouble before…she had to shake the gnawing feeling that threatened to consume her when she thought back to how quickly she had turned on Ali-playing right into Charles' hands.

"And there's only one area in the city where this specific combination of traces could have occurred." Okay Brian seriously needed to just tell her where she needed to go because the anticipation was going to send her into cardiac arrest.

"Brian, seriously don't do this to me. Where are they being killed?" Emily all but pleaded.

Her boss softly laughed and it was actually refreshing to hear him not be stressed to the max because of this case.

After a good 30 seconds Brian finally caved, "The abandoned ammunition plant in The Bronx off the Harlem River."

"Rebecca's body was found near there wasn't it?" The detective whose mind was running a million miles a minute asked, desperate to put all the pieces together.

"Yeah that area's been deserted for almost a decade-a perfect place to torture someone." Emily cringed at the statement. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner."

"Brian, we're all exhausted-don't beat yourself up about it." She tried to reassure her boss, because whether he realized it or not his constantly calm demeanor was keeping everyone at Special Crimes from imploding as a result of this case.

"Emily, we wouldn't be good at our jobs if we didn't beat ourselves up over our shortcomings." She knew he was right-in life you only ever improved by failing or as Hanna put it 'getting knocked on your ass'.

"That's true Brian, but you should never forget what Malcolm X declared: "Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time."

"You know Brother Malcolm?" Brian inquired obviously not expecting the detective who grew up in a small town to be versed in the radical human rights activists' teachings.

Emily softly chuckled before she explained, "My dad was a huge fan of his honest views on the world and the societal problems that existed within it. He would always tell me that quote whenever I didn't win a swim meet or didn't do as well as I wanted on a test." She really was lucky to have such a man as her father. It was then that she realized how much she missed her parents-how much she missed a lot of people who used to be a part of her everyday life…a certain blonde in particular.

God why did her brain always bring her back to Alison no matter what she was doing...or thinking...or saying?

"Hmm…wise man." Brian mused.

"He is…Hey do you want me to go check out the abandoned plant?" Please say yes, please say yes-I need to follow some type of lead that may actually lead to something.

Brian huffed out before he answered, "Usually I'd say no and tell you to wait for your fellow detectives…but." C'mon Brian c'mon just let me go check it out, "But in this case everyone else is swamped…" Her boss trailed off.

"Brian I'd let you know if I thought anything was off…" There was a slight plea to her tone, but Emily didn't care if she sounded desperate-a serial killer was targeting women in the city she was supposed to protect-yeah she was a little desperate.

"Okay, you can go." Emily managed to suppress the squeal that threatened to emerge from her throat by some miracle, "But be careful Emily. And don't poke around there too long, just get a feel for the place and we'll send the entire team in tomorrow morning. And check in when you're done." Brian urged and then added, "I can't have anything happen to my best detective."

Emily couldn't help but smile before she chimed, "No, we can't have that now, can we?…I'll let you know if I find anything."

With that Emily Fields headed back to The Bronx to uncover more than she could have ever anticipated.

---

Abandoned Ammunition Plant
The Bronx, New York City
November 11, 2019
3:30 pm

Emily didn't know how to process what her eyes were taking in right now. When she'd gotten to the abandoned ammunition plant 30 minutes ago, she knew she could potentially be walking into a pretty gruesome scene. But this was absolutely grotesque and horrifying.

From the sheer amounts of blood that were smeared on the walls and what looked to be human hair and segments of flesh that had collected on the ground-it was safe to say she had found where this serial killer was murdering their victims.

Almost as if on auto pilot she snapped numerous pictures of the scene using the camera on her iPhone. She contemplated collecting evidence, but she had nowhere near the amount of forensics equipment needed for the excursion.

God she thought Charles was a sick son of a bitch, but whoever this monster was appeared to be even more psychotic.

What was so jarring to Emily was that this scene of carnage was the first thing you walked in on when you entered the main building of the abandoned plant.

It was as if this serial killer was begging for someone to hear their victims' screams-begging to get caught…Whatever the case it churned Emily's stomach and gnawed at her soul.

She can't even begin to imagine what Cindy, Serena, Helen, and Rebecca had to endure before this psycho killed them.

The rational side of her brain was screaming at her to call Brian and tell him to get everyone from Special Crimes over here immediately, but the inquisitive-wanting to put all the pieces together before anyone else-side urged her to keep inspecting this 'torture chamber'. Although torture chamber didn't even begin to describe this place….not even close Emily concluded.

Glancing around the space once more she noticed what appeared to be a back hallway. Pulling her 9mm out of its holster on her hip she quietly made her way across the open space and towards the back end. She didn't really know what to expect to find when she rounded the corner-for all she knew the serial killer could just be sitting in a rocking chair twiddling their thumbs.

The hallway was dark and probably should have creeped her out, but after everything she'd endured with Charles-there was very little that scared her now.

Walking out of the hallway Emily was immersed in a smaller open space. It was just as dusty and grimy as the large room she'd come from…wonderful Emily mused. As she took in her surroundings Emily felt a chill roll down her spine when she noticed a bulletin board on the back wall of the space. It was cluttered with photos, maps, lines, and arrows-obviously the creation of an obsessed psychopath.

It reminded her so much of Ezra's set up in his apartment in Ravenswood when he'd been acting shady as hell that Emily had to shake her head to bring her mind back to the present.

Slowly making her way over towards the organized chaos Emily felt sick to her stomach when she was finally close enough to absorb all of the information that the board detailed.

Her suspicions had been correct. The bulletin board contained photos of all of the victims and had their abductions mapped out. Emily wanted to throw up but she knew she needed to be strong.

Placing her gun back in its holster she snapped a quick picture of the bulletin board. She knew that when forensics got here they'd take several more, but you never knew what could happen in the span of a few hours so Emily wanted to capture anything she could just to be safe. Plus while she isn't getting sleep tonight she'd like something to analyze.

Putting her phone in her back pocket something caught her attention as her gaze fell down to the ground for a split second. It was a simple white letter envelope. Embracing her inner Spencer Hastings, Emily put on a pair of latex surgical gloves that she always carried with her (yeah she realized how much of a nerd that made her, but whatever) in order to preserve any possible evidence.

Bending down she picked the envelope up and noticed there was no writing on it-whatsoever. She flipped it over and opened it up which was relatively easy given that it appeared the envelope had never been sealed…

Inside the envelope there were two items. Emily took out what she assumed was a hand written letter and began to read,

Dearest Comrade,

Your work so far has been exceptional. I couldn't have done it better myself.

However, you need to make more of an impact. It's time to stop targeting her friends past and present and go for those she loves the most.

I shouldn't have to tell you who they are. But just in case-here's an image to refresh your memory.

Yours Truly,

P.C.D.

What Emily gathered from the letter was that their serial killer wasn't working alone and that they had intended to get the Bronx Baller's attention. At least that's who Emily assumed the "she" was being referenced. But who the hell was P.C.D? Obviously another psychopath, but why weren't they the ones torturing and killing people then? And who was P.C.D. implying that their serial killer target next from Brittany's life?

Her family duh, Emily. Oh my God this psycho was going to go after the Johnson family. Emily could feel her heart rate increase and her latex clad fingers start to tingle in anticipation. This was bad-this was really bad.

Digging in the envelope once more Emily pulled out a 4x6 photograph. The back of it was facing upwards and Emily could make out the scrawled writing:

Teresa with the whole fam
Christmas 2018

Flipping the image over Emily could have never imagined what it was going to contain-who was going to be in it…

She took in a deep shocked breath and the detective honestly believes her entire body shut down as she attempted to process what her eyes were seeing.

In the photograph Teresa Johnson was standing in front of a beautiful Christmas tree. On her right was her son Bradley-Emily assumed-with his left arm draped across his mother's shoulders as he towered over the slender woman. His right arm was snaked around an African American woman's waist who was holding a toddler in her arms. Gazing at the little boy's smiling face Emily thought she recognized him but couldn't remember where she had seen him. On Teresa's left was the elusive athlete that Emily had been obsessing over for the last few days. Brittany's right arm was wrapped gently around her mother's waist and her left arm was draped over someone's shoulders who Emily hadn't seen in years, but would recognize anywhere…Alison.

Alison was leaning into the athlete's embrace and returned the hug with her own right arm snaking around Brittany's back. The blonde looked absolutely radiant and Emily could feel her eyes begin to water as she traced over Alison's face in the picture with her latex covered right pointer finger. Those crystal blue spheres were staring through Emily's soul and the brunette wouldn't be surprised if her feet never moved from her current spot in this creepy ammunition plant.

"Ali…" she somehow managed to breathe out.

Emily didn't know what to make of this photograph, but she couldn't help but smile because according to the inscription on the back it was taken in 2018-just last year. That meant that her first love was alive and still as effortlessly beautiful as always. And beyond that Alison looked incredibly happy…actually everyone in the photograph was wearing warm genuine smiles. It was evident to anyone that the six people standing in front of that Christmas tree had a deep unconditional love for one another.

Whoever had taken the picture had described the scene as being Teresa Johnson with her whole family. How in the world did Alison fit into that? Emily needed to find out and more importantly she needed to find her. She gently put the note and photograph back into the white envelope and placed the envelope in a clear evidence bag. She knew it was wrong-to be keeping this evidence from the investigation, but if Alison was somehow connected to this she wanted-no needed-to protect the love of her life. And given how Alison had disappeared from Rosewood following everything with Charles, the last thing the blonde needed was to fall on the NYPD's radar.

Emily tucked the clear evidence bag into the pocket inside her leather jacket. She turned on her heels and headed back towards the hallway that she had emerged from. She needed to get out of here and call Brian-obviously she wasn't going to tell him everything-but they needed Forensics to collect the rest of the evidence before their serial killer decided to reemerge and do something rash.

But what the usually observant detective failed to realize was that their serial killer had emerged in the large open space of the abandoned ammunition plant a mere minute before she decided to walk back through it. Emily had been so enamored seeing Alison in that photograph that she hadn't heard their footsteps or the front door of the plant open and close.

By the time the brunette realized who she was walking in on as she appeared from the back hallway it was too late. As she went to grab her 9mm out of its holster the psychopath had already strode over towards her and bashed her head in with a metal crowbar.

Emily dropped to the ground slowly slipping into unconsciousness with a trickle of blood seeping from the gaping wound on her forehead.

All Emily could picture as she felt her eyes slowly begin to close and this psychopath would more than likely harm her, was Alison's angelic face. She tried desperately to stay awake, but she knew it was a losing battle. As her mind finally gave in to the impending darkness, Emily hoped with every fiber of her being that Alison could be her guardian angel just one more time…

Ali! Brittany! Y'all need to hall ass to that ammunition plant!...In case y'all haven't figured it out our ladies come face to face again NEXT chapter! It'll probably take me a while to write because I leave today for a convention that lasts through Sunday for work (but maybe I can sneakily work on this fic when I should really be taking notes at the numerous meetings I'll be at).

If only writing Emison could pay the bills (lol it could for Marlene but she don't do it either haha). Guys I really want those rumors about prom to be true-that actually inspired the flashback. I really wanted to establish why Em and Ali have continued to pine over each other these past 7 years-because they're in LOVE and they openly declared it to one another...

Anyways let me know what you guys think and I hope to be back sooner rather than later!