Seasons of Love

by Forever without him

When Alison DiLaurentis is thrust into a world of choices between obligation & loyalty she makes an impossible decision. After spending three years without Emily Fields, she sets out to prove to the brunette that she's worth loving. As looming threats from their past emerge and an unexpected tragedy unfolds, they learn to lean on one another. Canon-Divergent. Rating may change.

14. Harvest Moon

A/N: Skating in right before the end of the weekend deadline, but here we go!

Our girls are really going through some stuff. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. A little bit of tension. Overprotective Alison. Sarcastic Emily. And lots of familiar faces. And a man and his cat.

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Chapter 13:

Harvest Moon

Alison gripped the sheets with her free hand, trying to comprehend what she was hearing. She breathed heavily into the phone.

"What do you mean you saw her?" Her fingers twisted into the silk sheets on Emily's childhood bed.

"She was in the graveyard. She was spying on me…"

"You're sure it was her?" Alison asked, licking her lips.

"I mean…I didn't see her face. But she was in her old gear. Red coat. Blonde hair. Black gloves." Emily rubbed her palms against her arms, a shudder rocking her body. "She had a little black pouch…or bag in her hand."

Alison listened intently, her phone pressed against her cheek. There was an echo when Emily spoke. She sounded like she was in a tunnel.

"Are you okay?" Alison interrupted her.

"I think so." She didn't sound certain, which made Alison nervous. "I was chasing her. I almost had her, but I fell into a hole." Emily looked up. Dawn was approaching. "Well, actually…a freshly dug grave. Don't tell my mom."

"A grave? Jesus, Emily. You should have led with that. Are you hurt?" Alison leaped off the bed and scrambled to pull some clothes on over her pajamas.

"No. But um...I can't get out. It's too high." She tried to play it down so Alison wouldn't panic.

"Oh my God. Is she still there?" Alison rushed over to grab her boots.

"I don't know. I don't think so. I don't hear anything."

"But you're trapped." Alison shifted the phone from one ear to the other as she pulled one of her boots on.

"No, I can call someone here to get me out. Someone has to be on call. I'm sure I'm not the first person to have done this." At least, she hoped she wasn't the first person it had happened to.

The adrenaline was starting to wear off and now all she could think about was how humiliating it was.

"You're not thinking clearly." The terror in Alison's voice was unmistakable. "You're trapped." She repeated slowly as she pulled on her other boot.

One of her worst nightmares was Emily being buried alive. She'd seen it in her dreams.

She was terrified that nightmare was going to become a reality.

"That's what Charlotte does. She traps people…"

"Alison, I love you, but you are terrible at keeping people calm. Trust me, I know that. And I'm trying very hard not to think about it."

"Just…stay on the phone with me. I'm coming out there." Alison pulled one of Emily's sweatshirts over her head.

"And then what? We still need someone to help get me out. It looks to be about eight to nine feet deep." Emily tried to calculate whether she could find a foothold somewhere and pull herself out. It didn't look possible.

She pulled her phone away from her ear and pulled up her browser so she could look up the cemetery's information.

She put Alison on speaker.

"We'll call the fire department…" Alison suggested.

"That's a hard no." Emily scoffed. "The last thing I need is for this to land on the morning news for everyone to see." Emily scrolled through the Google search until she found what she was looking for. "I'm going to call the after-hours number."

"We can do that when I get there." Alison's voice was frantic. "Please don't hang up."

"It will take two minutes. I will call you right back." Emily was eerily calm given the situation. "My mom was awake when I left. She was in the kitchen. Just tell her you need to borrow the car to pick me up. Tell her I got winded on my run or something and called you for a ride back."

"You expect me to lie to your mother?" It would have been easy for her to do when she was younger, but now it felt like a horrible sin.

"I did get winded chasing after Charlotte." More specifically, she'd had the wind knocked out of her. "So it's not a lie. Just don't mention I ended up in a grave or she's going to panic."

"She should panic. You are trapped there with a psychopath nearby." Alison grumbled.

"Just get the keys. I'll call you right back."

Before Alison could shout at her in protest, the line went dead. She was going to strangle Emily right after she made sure she was okay.

Emily knew Alison was spiraling. Charlotte had made her question her sanity these past few months. She was punishing Alison for choosing them over her.

Emily's finger hovered above the after-hours number, but the sounds of footsteps approaching stopped her.

She froze.

Alison was right. She was trapped.

She moved back up against the solid wall of dirt as a shadow leaned over, obscuring the light from above.

She clutched her phone in her hand like it was a weapon.

What am I going to do? Throw it at her face? Then I'll be trapped WITHOUT a phone.

She was getting ready to let out an ear-piercing scream when she heard a deep gruff voice calling down to her.

"You okay, kid?" The figure moved slightly, allowing the morning light to illuminate his face.

He was an older man with a scraggly beard. She didn't recognize him.

She didn't move. She was still leery.

"I'm fine."

"The hell you doing down there?"

"Looking for buried treasure." Emily was surprised at the caustic remark that slipped out. It earned a belly-laugh from the man. "I fell in."

"You didn't you see the signs?" He scratched his scruffy chin.

No. I clearly did not. She held her tongue.

She wasn't mad at him. She was mad at the bitch who had been torturing her girlfriend.

"Missed them."

"Probably on your phone. You kids and your technology…" He scoffed. "Hold on. Lemme help ya out."

He laid flat on his belly and extended his long bulky arm down to her.

For a moment, Emily just stared at where his arm was, within her reach.

She couldn't be sure that this wasn't a trap. Charlotte could be standing right behind him…just waiting. He could be the paid help.

"Listen, kid, as much as I love layin' in the dirt I'm not gonna stay here all day. Come on. Let's roll."

"Are you sure? I mean, my girlfriend is on the way…" A subtle nod to let him know that someone was expecting her to be there. "Maybe there is a ladder around. I'd hate for you to strain your back or something…"

He looked insulted, and then amused.

"I bench three hundred. I'm in pretty good shape."

Emily timidly lifted her arms up until he could curl his hands around her wrist. She clasped her other hand on top of his and tried to hoist herself up so he could lift her.

"I got'cha…"

She felt her feet leave the ground and seconds later she was suspended in the air as the man crawled up to his knees and then to his feet, pulling her out of the hole.

Emily crawled up once she was able to grip the edge of the grave.

The man was standing over her, offering his hand again to help her to her feet.

She quickly scanned the surroundings. They were the only people there. But that didn't mean Charlotte wasn't hiding in the shadows.

"Thanks." Emily took his hand and then backed away from him and the grave.

He brushed himself off and then nodded.

"You're welcome." He lifted his ballcap and swiped his sweaty brow with his sleeve. Then he put the cap back on.

"Sorry that I fell through the tape." Emily wiped the dirt off of her hands and tried to shake it from her clothing.

"We can put some back up."

"So you work here?"

"Groundskeeper." He nodded. "Heard someone talking, but couldn't see anyone. Followed the sound of your voice cuz you sounded like you were scared."

How did he know what she sounded like when she was scared?

"I know you." He peered at her curiously.

Emily's gratitude turned into suspicion.

"Uh…I used to live here…" She took a step back and he followed.

If she had to run again at least she knew to look for open graves.

He was studying her face, his big bushy brows angled down.

"I really appreciate you helping me out. My girlfriend will be here any minute to pick me up." She was kicking herself for not leaving the house with mace.

She had just given Alison the speech yesterday about always having protection when you left the house.

"You're Emily." His eyes sparked in recognition.

Just as she was getting ready to bolt, a huge grin washed across his face.

"You're Fields' kid. I'm Bud. I knew your old man. We served a tour together." He lifted his sleeve to reveal an army insignia. He clucked his tongue. "Real sorry to hear about your Pops. He was a great guy."

Emily's tension faded, but it was replaced with grief.

"Thank you." The words felt hollow.

She glanced at the ballcap, realizing that it had an army insignia on it, too. She'd been too paralyzed with fear to notice it before. His affiliation with the army was probably also the reason that he knew she was afraid when she was talking to Alison.

"How's your mama holdin' up?" He asked. "He was crazy about her. Crazy about you, too. Wouldn't stop talking about you when we were over there. Carried a picture of the two of you with him everywhere he went."

"It's going to be our first Thanksgiving without him." She wasn't sure why she was opening up to a complete stranger. She was just grateful he was the one who found her, and not Charlotte.

"The first is always the hardest." Bud nodded, a sincere look on his face.

"Doesn't feel right having it without him."

"I figure that's why you're here?"

"Yeah."

"You're not the only one." He looked out among the headstones.

"What do you mean? Did you see someone else?" Emily suddenly felt unsteady on her feet.

Her shoulder was pounding in pain. She had an old injury that was likely flaring up.

"Some young fella in scrubs. Comes out to visit someone sometimes before his hospital shift, I guess."

"Do you know his name?" She was pretty sure it was Wren, but she didn't get a good look.

"I don't usually associate with people when they come out here. Only when they fall into open graves." He cracked a smile. "This isn't a social club. People don't like being bothered."

"You didn't happen to see who he's visiting, did you?" Emily pried.

She knew she was being paranoid, but maybe if she knew who Wren was visiting it would put her mind at ease.

"Not my job to keep tabs on that." He glanced at the hole in the ground. "You were lucky I was around."

"Did you see anyone else besides the guy in scrubs?"

"Not yet." He faced her. So he hadn't seen Charlotte. "But I will. Holidays are usually busy times. People come out and visit just like you. But usually not until a little later."

"There aren't any cameras around by chance, are there?" Emily squeezed her right hand into a tense little ball.

"Why? Was someone hassling you or something? That how you end up in there?" He looked at the grave.

Yes.

"No. I just thought I saw someone I knew in high school." Emily tried to shrug it off.

"No cameras. We respect that people want to have private moments with their loved ones." He cleared his throat.

At least someone respects that.

She couldn't help but think about what Charlotte had overheard when she was talking to her father.

There was a quiet stillness in the air as she and Bud stared at the empty graveyard.

A shrill ring cut through the silence, and Emily snapped back into reality.

She saw Alison's contact photo flashing at her and she quickly answered.

"It's been longer than two minutes." Alison said in agitation before Emily could even say hello. "If you're dead I'm going to kill you."

"I'm okay." Emily said. "A groundskeeper found me and helped me out."

"A stranger…that you don't know…that just so happens to be there?" It sounded suspicious as hell.

"His name is Bud. He knew my dad." She smiled politely at the bulky man.

"That's convenient. It's not like Charlotte didn't know all about your father…" Alison argued. "Next thing you know he's going to pull out a rag doused in chloroform."

"Are you on your way?" Emily ignored her hostility.

"Yes. But I want you to stay on the phone with me."

Alison drove Pam Fields' car like it was a sporty speedster through the streets of Rosewood until she came flying into the parking lot of the cemetery.

By the time Alison was out of the car and walking towards the graveyard, Emily was standing at the entrance thanking Bud for helping her out.

She saw Alison approaching and waved goodbye to the old man.

The first thing Emily noticed was how disheveled the blonde looked. Her hair was untamed. She had no make-up on. And underneath the borrowed hoodie and sweatpants Emily could see the sleeves of her silky pajamas. It was the Alison DiLaurentis that the world never saw. The raw messy version reserved only for Emily.

The second thing Emily noticed was her speed of approach. She was full on running towards her.

When Alison reached her she leaped into her arms like she hadn't seen her in years. The immense terror she'd felt turned into relief. She squeezed so tight that Emily let out a little grunt.

"Easy on the shoulder. It took the brunt of the hit."

Alison immediately backed off and started searching her for other injuries. Her fingertips delicately traced her arms down to her hands. She observed both her hands, which were dirty, but seemed okay otherwise. She analyzed her face and clothes, looking for blood.

"It's just the shoulder. I'm okay." Emily gripped her fingers. "I'll take some anti-inflammatories when I get home."

"Same shoulder you hurt back in high school?" Alison asked, glaring at the graveyard like the injury was its fault.

"Yeah." Emily rotated it.

"You're sure you're okay? Do you think we need to go get it X-Rayed?"

"No. I just want to go home." Emily shook her head. "Being out here knowing she was here is giving me the creeps."

"You really saw her?" Alison's voice came out a whisper, like someone might be spying on them.

"Yeah. It's been a weird morning. I think I saw Wren visiting someone, too."

Alison's eyes widened in surprise.

"Who?"

"Didn't see who, but he was gone before Charlotte showed up." She grimaced.

Alison noticed Emily's pain and her cheeks flushed in anger.

"That can't be a coincidence can it?" Her eyes darted around the graveyard, searching for others.

The only person there besides them was the old man walking away from them.

"She's not here. She's smarter than that." Emily knew exactly who Alison was looking for.

"You saw her." Alison shook her head in disbelief. "How is she out?"

"Mona used to sneak out all the time." Emily bit her lip.

"Yeah, but Welby is different. Their security is tighter than Alcatraz." Alison shook her head. "This doesn't make any sense." She paused and then slowly looked up at her girlfriend. "We have to talk to Caleb."

"Why?" Emily was hesitant to pull their friends deeper into danger, and she was surprised Alison was suggesting it because Alison had been vehemently against it, too.

"I want access to her records. And I need to get on that visitor's list somehow. I'm not going to let her get away with this." Her icy blue eyes were cold and steely. "Messing with me is one thing. But coming after you? I'm going to kill her."

"Technically I chased her." Emily corrected her.

"I'm still going to kill her."

"Can the murder wait until after dinner? My mom has worked really hard on this." Emily lifted her arm and motioned towards her mother's car.

"You just crawled out of a grave." Alison shuddered at the thought of her own burial. Thinking about Emily in that situation made it worse. "How can you be so calm?"

There was a beat of silence and then Emily shrugged.

"Compartmentalization? Adrenaline. Shock. A number of things."

Her answer added to Alison's rage. The fact that Emily was so used to things that should terrify her was horrifying.

"We're going to figure this out." Emily's voice was irrationally calm. "But until we do…try not to go all Kill Bill on me."

"No promises."

On the drive home Alison had an intense gaze as she peered out the windshield. Emily was certain she was plotting murder.

Emily reached over and softly took her hand.

The tension in Alison's face eased. She faced Emily with a sweet smile.

They managed to stay composed when they walked into the house.

Alison stood in front of Emily so Pam wouldn't see the dirt on her clothes.

"Did you have a good run?" Her mother poked her head out of the kitchen long enough to say good morning.

Emily almost choked on her answer,

I was stalked and fell into an open grave.

"Yeah, I'm dirt tired now." She laughed at the inside joke that Alison didn't seem to find as amusing as she did.

The blonde scowled at her. She was still touchy about the fact that Emily could have been buried alive.

"I'm going to shower the sweat off." Emily made a beeline for the stairs. "Then I'll come help you in the kitchen."

"Okay." Her mom's response was chipper and cheerful.

It made Emily wonder what emotions were running through her mind. She was going to tell her mother about her trip to see her father after dinner…leaving out the part where she was stalked and fell into an open grave. Maybe they could start their healing process together. Maybe Pam would stop burying herself in cooking and maybe Emily would be able to motivate herself academically again.

Alison followed her up the steps, convinced that if she watched her every second of the day that nothing bad would happen to her.

When they reached Emily's room Alison shut the door behind them.

"So what are we going to do?" She paced in front of the door, filling the room with a nervous energy.

"I'm doing exactly what I said a few seconds ago. I'm going to take a shower, regroup, and force myself to put on a smile for my mother." Emily shook off her jacket. A few specks of dirt hit the floor with it.

"We can't just pretend this morning never happened." Alison stopped pacing long enough to shoot her an impatient frown.

Emily grabbed a bottle of pills and poured two into her palm. She downed them with a glass of water on her nightstand.

"We're not pretending it didn't happen." Emily pulled her hair free from her ponytail. "But we can't exactly do anything about it right now. I'm not going to leave my mom alone on our first holiday without my father just to chase someone in the wind. We're not in high school anymore, Ali."

The words were sharper than she'd intended. The wounded look on Alison's face was unmistakable.

She sighed and took a step forward, gathering the blonde in her arms.

"Sorry. That didn't come out right." She knew that Alison didn't like to think about the darker times in high school. "I'm as angry and as frustrated as you are. She was eaves-dropping on my private moments with my dad. I think that bothers me more than the fact that I fell into that hole…"

"Grave." Alison reminded her.

Emily smiled at the correction.

"The truth is I'm not doing so well in the grief department. I'm…kind of falling apart."

Alison knew it was hard for Emily to admit it, so she clung to her.

"I'll hold you together." She hugged her, whispering in her ear.

She felt her pain, but she also felt anger bubbling beneath the surface, because Charlotte had violated her. Again.

"I just…I need this day to go okay. For my mom." Emily pulled back.

When Alison stopped long enough to actually breathe and look into Emily's eyes she could see something that she had missed.

Nothing hurt the brunette more than the hole her father's death had left in her heart. And that's all she was thinking about.

Alison could relate. She still wasn't over her mom's death. And it had been four years. Emily was just beginning to process her dad's absence. Of course it was all she was thinking about.

"I understand."

Emily answered her with a kiss and a smile. She broke away from Alison and walked towards her bathroom.

She took a hot shower, working the kinks out of her shoulder. It felt bruised to the bone, but the anti-inflammatories were working.

Once Emily finished showering they got dressed, put on their best smiles, and walked downstairs to help Emily's mother in the kitchen.

Toby was there helping when they walked in.

"When did you get here?" Emily asked.

"Ten minutes ago." He had a pot-holder in his hand. He was closing the oven. "Turkey is on track, Pam."

"Great!" She replied enthusiastically.

"Everything okay?" His gaze fluttered from Emily to Alison, who had a stiff look on her face.

"Yeah." Emily lied.

Now they had to fool Toby and Pam. And unlike her mother, Toby wasn't entirely distracted by food.

Everything was going fine until about five minutes before everyone was supposed to arrive.

Alison made the mistake of looking at her phone as she put down a plate of appetizers. She nearly dropped the priceless ceramic plate, but managed to recover.

Emily saw her stumble and they glanced at each other. All the color had drained from Alison's face.

Emily nodded subtly towards the living room. Alison picked up her phone and followed.

"Let's check to make sure there is enough space in the living room for everyone." Emily announced for her mother's and Toby's benefit.

"That's a great idea." Pam didn't even take her eyes off of the stove. "Toby, would you mind handing me the thermometer so I can double check the turkey?"

Alison walked off, Emily trailing behind her.

When they got out of earshot Emily put her hand on Alison's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" She glanced at Alison's phone.

Alison reached her shaky hand out and handed Emily the phone.

Emily read the text from the unknown number.

Happy Thanksgiving, little sister. Be thankful for today…because you might not get a tomorrow.

"Jesus. She really is a psychotic piece of work." Emily huffed out a breath. "Don't play into it. She's goading you."

"No shit." Alison's anger was directed at her phone and not at Emily. She looked up at Emily, a mixture of ferocity and vulnerability on her face. The old Alison and the new one, clashing. "She tried to kill you today…"

"It wasn't that dramatic. I fell into a hole when I was chasing her." Emily had rationalized that she'd been through much worse. The scariest part of being in that grave wasn't being trapped. It was the flashes of the Dollhouse that had sucked the air out of her lungs. "If she wanted me dead she would have stuck around. I don't think she was planning on me chasing after her."

"She knew," Alison said quietly, watching to make sure that Toby wasn't coming to check on them. "She knew you would come after her."

"There's no way we could know that…" Emily stopped talking when she saw the look on Alison's face. A shockwave of numbness jolted through her. "She said something to you when you were visiting her."

Alison nodded.

It had been about a week before Charlotte's trial. Charlotte didn't like to talk about Alison's friends unless she was feigning guilt for what she'd done to them. But she'd been particularly chatty that day. Probably because she was trying to butter Alison up for the trial…trying to manipulate her feelings for Emily to get all the girls back to Rosewood so she could get out.

"Having your friends talk to the Board isn't a big deal. They're stronger than you give them credit for. Especially Emily." Charlotte had known Emily was the way to her sister's heart, and Alison had fallen right into the trap. "Everyone always thought Spencer was the toughest, but the truth is…Emily came after me. Several times. She never hesitated. That girl of yours has a lot of her father in her."

The statement had nearly knocked the wind out of Alison, for a lot of reasons.

But the "that girl of yours" put the final nail in the coffin, sealing her heart off to the beauty of the world entirely.

"She actually said that to you?" Emily stared at her in shock.

"I think she was trying to make sure I would get you all back here." Alison plopped down on the couch, exhausted from having to pretend everything was okay.

Jason was MIA. Alison had almost been hit by a car. Emily had been stalked and ended up in an open grave. The threats were getting more intense.

And now they had to smile and socialize with everyone they loved and act totally normal.

Emily was lowering herself next to Alison on the couch, but the doorbell interrupted her.

She sighed and was back on her feet seconds later.

When Emily opened the door she couldn't help but smile at the person staring back at her.

Aria was standing next to Liam. Her mother was behind them holding a bottle of red wine.

"Latkes!" Aria held out a dish, grinning happily. "Liam and I made them. They're vegan and Kosher."

Liam took the dish from Aria so she could properly greet her friend.

The second her hands were free she embraced Emily in a hug. She squeezed a little too tight and Emily's shoulder jolted in pain, but she managed to hide the discomfort.

Aria pulled away from Emily and hugged Alison.

"Ella! Aria!" Emily's mother exclaimed in excitement, walking up behind them as they crossed the threshold to the Fields house. Pam didn't miss a beat. She glanced at the wine in Ella's hand. "Oh, I see you've brought the good stuff."

Emily turned towards Liam.

"Emily, nice to finally meet in person." He extended his hand, balancing the dish with the latkes in his other hand.

Emily had met Liam on video chats, but never in person. He was shorter than he looked, but that didn't matter much given Aria's tiny stature.

He was a proper gentleman. Someone Aria deserved.

"Liam." She smiled, taking his hand. "I hear you got my girlfriend home safely yesterday."

"Ah, yeah, playing Grand Theft Auto taught me a few things." He paused and then blushed. "A-a-about driving. Not about the other stuff." He faced Alison. "Nice to see you again, Alison."

"You too. Sorry I tried to ruin your perfectly good rental car."

He chuckled.

"Hi, Liam." Pam smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Pam."

"Thanks so much for having us tonight."

Pam looked at Ella in approval of her daughter's choice. She liked Liam. She liked his manners.

Toby walked in with a platter of finger foods. He sat the tray down and walked up to where everyone had congregated.

"Aria." He smiled.

She reached out and hugged him.

"Toby, this is Liam." She nodded towards Liam. "Liam, Toby."

"Hey man, nice to meet you." Toby was the only person who wasn't big on video chatting.

He knew Aria was dating someone, but he didn't know Liam.

"You too." Liam nodded.

"Ooh, are those latkes?" He looked at the dish in Liam's hand.

"Kosher and vegan friendly."

"My dad made a mean latke," Toby said. "Why don't I show you into the kitchen?"

"I'm going to grab a couple of wine glasses. Would you all like some?" Pam asked.

"Please." Alison eagerly accepted.

She'd had a hell of a day. She definitely needed alcohol to get through dinner.

To Alison's surprise, Emily shook her head.

"No, thanks."

It was the first time she had declined the offer of alcohol since her dad's death.

Something had changed out at his grave-site.

"I'll have a glass." Aria glanced at her mother. "It's unfiltered, right?"

"Please." Ella rolled her eyes with a laugh. "I know you well, my child. It's vegan." Then she faced Pam. "I'd love a glass. There's reason to celebrate." She looked at Aria's hand.

For the first time, Alison and Emily noticed the ring on her left ring finger.

"We're engaged." Aria reached over and grabbed Liam's arm, giving it a little squeeze.

The room erupted with a bunch of congratulations. Alison fawned over her ring, giving Aria a little wink to let her know she hadn't spilled the secret.

Emily wrapped her arms around Aria again and grinned widely. She loved seeing the happiness radiating off of her.

"That's so wonderful!" Pam clasped her hands together.

Emily saw an underlying sadness behind her mother's smile. Her parents had met around the same age. Pam clearly looked back on it fondly, but it was not without pain.

"I'll pour you a glass as well, Liam. We'll toast to it when everyone is here."

"I appreciated the offer, but no thank you." Liam declined. "Water is fine. I'm driving tonight so Aria and her mother can have a little fun."

Aria grinned proudly at her boyfriend.

"Come on. I'll show you where we can put the latkes." Toby waved for Liam to follow him, his baby blue eyes slowly drifted to Emily and then to Alison.

Emily glanced at Alison. The intensity in her wide-eyed gaze was subtle, but more noticeable than normal.

"So…Alison…tell me everything." Aria linked her arm through Alison's and tugged her towards the couch. "How is it going?"

She wanted to know all about Alison's adventures in California.

By the time Toby and Liam returned Aria and Alison were sitting on the couch discussing books and movies and social media and everything in between.

Another knock at the door tore Emily away from them before she could get comfortable. Before she could reach it, it cracked open.

Hanna peeked her head in just as Emily put her hand on the door to pull it open.

Her friend squealed in excitement and lunged forward to hug her. This time, Emily was ready for the embrace, so it didn't hurt her shoulder quite as much.

Caleb laughed from behind them. He was standing with Hanna's mother Ashley and Ashley's boyfriend Ted.

"Hanna banana!" Aria shrieked, leaping to her feet.

She flung herself at the hug and the three of them stayed embraced for a few seconds.

Ashley had a vegetable platter in her hands. It had been Caleb's idea to bring something that Aria could eat, though Pam had prepared a few other things when she found out Aria was a vegetarian. She was very involved when it came to cooking for her guests.

"Ashley!" Pam walked into the living room with a full wine glass in her hand. "Ella brought the good stuff."

"Oh, thank God." Ashley raced toward her.

"Is Spencer going to make it?" Hanna pulled back and looked at Emily.

"She texted that her flight was delayed, but she's coming. Her dad is visiting her sister, but they're both flying in later tonight. Her mom has a previous engagement. Some kind of scandal is happening."

"There's always a scandal in politics." Hanna rolled her eyes.

"Hi, Caleb." Emily embraced him.

"Hey."

Toby was next to him, dabbing him hello as soon as Emily let go of him. Alison had joined them and was giving Hanna a proper hug.

"You look fabulous, Han. I love the dress." Alison admired her friend's dark red dress.

"Thanks. You too." Hanna smiled, though there was a bit of wariness in her expression. "How's…everything?"

She was trying to tiptoe around the fact that Charlotte was up to her old tricks again.

"Good." Alison had never found it hard to lie in her past, but now it was nearly impossible.

"Uh huh." Hanna looked at her like she didn't believe her.

Caleb looked skeptical, too.

But they didn't push her.

Emily had told Caleb and Hanna to back off for their own safety, but she was certain that Caleb was still tracking the calls and texts Alison was getting. He'd probably seen the one that she had gotten minutes before the guests started arriving.

"Hey, Aria's got some news." Alison tried to shift the subject in a different direction.

Liam walked up behind her, introducing himself to the others. They'd all met virtually, but it was different to be standing right next to each other.

Liam wrapped his arm around Aria's waist. Aria held up her hand and wiggled her fingers.

"We're getting married."

Hanna squealed something unintelligible out before rambling about finding her the perfect dress. The boys just smiled politely at each other, not as into the specifics.

Hanna ogled the ring.

"Hey, how come you haven't gotten me a ring yet?" Hanna playfully popped Caleb on his shoulder.

"You said you didn't want to get married yet." Caleb guffawed.

"You should still ask me."

"Wha – why would you say you don't want to do something and then expect me to telepathically sense you want the opposite?" He laughed.

"You know me by now." The response was so simply Hanna that it made the entire room roar in laughter. "You're supposed to surprise me."

"I'll plan a whole parade." He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.

"I expect nothing less."

"And we can train Cheese to walk down the aisle with the ring on a little collar." He smiled.

"A cat is going to be our ring-bearer?"

"He'd look cute in a little tuxedo."

"I'm insulted you didn't ask me." Toby nudged him with his fist.

"Why does everyone expect me to ask them things?" Caleb ran his fingers through his hair, a chuckle falling from his lips.

"It's okay. I know you were going to ask me to be best man instead." Toby grinned. He was really enjoying himself.

"The cat will get that position before you." Caleb playfully slugged Toby.

"Want to watch some football?" Toby questioned.

Ted looked up from his phone.

"I've been keeping track of the score." He held the phone up to them.

"Didn't take you for the sports type, Pastor." Toby smiled wryly.

"Well, I am a man of God first." Ted paused and then grinned, "I pray before every game." He added with a wink.

They broke away from the women and headed towards the TV.

"Men have such odd bonding rituals." Hanna watched them go.

"Hanna, wine?" Her mother walked into the room with two glasses.

Pam and Ella weren't far behind, each of them holding several glasses.

"Yes, please!" Hanna scurried over to her mom.

"We have our own bonding rituals." Alison followed Hanna.

"Ours make more sense." Aria followed.

Emily and Alison managed to get through the first round of drinks. Everyone was so busy catching up with each other that they didn't even have a minute to think about the text Alison had gotten.

Spencer made it right before dinner. For someone who'd had a rough flight she was impeccably put together.

Toby was waiting at the door for her. Emily hadn't missed how he had been watching for her arrival.

The smile on his face was pure joy when he saw her.

"Spence." He opened his arms, waiting for her to fall into them.

It didn't take her long to curl into his embrace.

"Hey, Toby."

"We're just getting ready to eat. You're right on time." Emily walked over to greet Spencer. "Sorry you had such a rough plane ride."

"I've had worse." She pulled away from Toby and reached out for Emily. "How have you been doing?"

Emily didn't miss the soft look of sympathy in her eyes. She had been getting the look ever since people started showing up for dinner.

Images of her father's headstone intruded upon her thoughts. It was a vivid picture that she'd been pushing away since the morning. And with one simple look from Spencer, it all came crashing back to her: the elephant in the room.

"It's weird without him."

Being alone with Spencer and Toby pulled the truth out of her. She almost opened her mouth to tell them that she'd visited him that morning, but she wanted to talk to her mom about it first.

She hadn't talked to anyone else besides Alison about how she was really doing, but Spencer had always managed to get Emily to open up to her.

When they were teenagers they'd butted heads a lot. They had a push and pull in their friendship, and sometimes their personalities clashed.

Spencer was wildly overprotective of Emily, more-so than she was of their other friends. So much so that she'd pushed past boundaries that Emily had set.

Spencer wasn't trying to be malicious. She just knew how soft-hearted the brunette was, and she'd only sought to protect her.

Back then Emily hadn't always expressed her displeasure in the best of ways. She wore her heart on her sleeve. Sometimes the empathy and kindness and love she had for others could blind her without her realization. She had a hairline trigger when anyone treated her like she was made of glass, and because of Spencer's overly-eager personality they fought more than the others.

Their fights were intense, but it all came from a place of love.

The advantage of their fights was that when they made up, it was sincere and it brought them closer. They learned to understand each other. They pushed each other to be better. There was no bullshit between them. Spencer wasn't afraid to speak her mind. And Emily wasn't afraid to be vulnerable with her.

Even though they didn't talk as much as they used to, they were still close. The kind of friends who could walk into a room after not seeing each other for over a month and pick up like no time had gone by.

Emily couldn't hide her pain from Spencer any more than she could hide it from Alison and her mother. And she'd never hidden it from Toby. So as she looked between the two of them she made no effort to hold back the tears. She didn't cry, but her eyes watered enough for them to see it. Her eyes shimmered as if she was looking into rippled water.

Spencer reached for her hand, delicately gripping it with a quiet understanding. Toby gently rubbed her back.

"I'm glad you're here." Emily managed a weak smile.

It meant a lot to her that even though Spencer wasn't going to be able to stay in Rosewood very long that she was spending time with them.

Spencer Hastings was a very busy woman, but she would drop everything in a heartbeat for her friends.

"Spencer!" Aria exclaimed, appearing in the foyer.

"Little Big One." Spencer grinned at Aria.

Spencer and Emily exchanged a look and then Spencer went to go say hello to everyone.

Moments later Spencer was sweeping Aria into her arms and congratulating her on her engagement.

When it was time to sit down for dinner they gathered around a large folding table that Toby had brought over so they'd have enough room for everything.

Everyone was talking and laughing and passing dishes around.

The room was full of the buzzing chatter of everyone Emily and Alison loved.

Alison reached for the brunette's hand under the table and Emily took it, glancing at her with a timid smile. Her eyes drifted to the empty space where her father should have been.

Pam saw her looking. She cleared her throat to get everyone's attention and raised her wine glass.

"Before we eat, I'd like to say a little something." Ever the dazzling hostess, she had the attention of everyone in the room. "You have all been…" Pam looked around at everyone, her eyes landing on her daughter's. Emily gave her an encouraging smile, "…essential to Emily and I this past month." Tears gleamed in her eyes. "I knew the risk I was taking being the wife of a service member."

Sad quiet smiles filled the room as she continued,

"When Emily was little and we moved from place to place I was always worried about her having to start over again."

Alison squeezed Emily's hand and Emily squeezed hers back.

"But Wayne always told me that we would find our community…that we would find our family. I didn't particularly believe that until we landed here in Rosewood." She managed to smile at all the familiar faces. "Since the second we got to town you all welcomed and embraced us. I am so happy that we've been able to get to know each other over the years. It's nice to belong to a community as wonderful as this one."

The girls all shot glances at each other. Rosewood was anything but wonderful. They had been tortured for years. But Pam did have a point that people in tight-knit circles stuck together. Ashley Marin had offered Emily a place to live when Pam was torn between Rosewood and Texas. Pam came full circle and sat with Ashley when she was in the hospital when their girls were missing and Ashley had stopped eating and drinking.

They were friends that would last a lifetime.

"Thank you for coming tonight. And thank you for consistently proving to me that my husband was right…whether I wanted him to be or not." She teased, which earned a little bit of laughter. "I'm so glad to have you all here."

Glasses clinked together and everyone sipped their drinks.

"It's going to be really hard to follow that, mom. You stole my thunder." Emily was still clutching her glass, ready to toast again.

She put on a smile for everyone watching. Alison could see beneath the depths of her smile. She could tell Emily was hiding inside of herself.

"My mom pretty much said everything I was going to say. But I have a little to add. First, I want to thank my mom for this incredible spread. She worked day and night." She tipped her glass towards her mother, who mirrored her actions with a look of proud affection on her face. "If dad was here he'd make a quip about how she camped in the kitchen all week."

Soft chuckles filled the air.

"I know we all feel his loss." She reached for her mother's hand. "But I feel his presence, too. The holidays won't be the same without him." She paused and glanced at the food on the table. "For one, he was the only one in this family who knew how to properly carve a turkey." She looked at her mother and laughed. "Sorry, mom. It's true." Another round of quiet laughter. "He gave us so many memorable dinners. He would toss a dinner roll to get my mom's attention or smear a chunk of butter on my nose to make me laugh."

Emily glanced at a dish of butter, briefly considering swiping some and buttering her mother's nose.

"Don't you even think about it." Pam interrupted her with a laugh.

"His spirit keeps him alive on the holidays." Emily reached for a butter knife.

Before she could get to it, her mother grabbed it. To Emily's surprise she turned the idea around on her by cutting a small piece from the end and flicking it at Emily's face. It landed on her cheek.

Emily chuckled.

"Close enough." She reached up and wiped it away with a napkin. Everyone at the table was howling with laughter. It wasn't every day that Pam Fields instigated a food fight. "This is to my dad." Emily raised her glass. "For continuing to make our lives memorable."

Everyone in the room toasted and took another drink for Wayne Fields.

For the next two hours they ate and talked and laughed and shared memories.

Alison didn't look at her phone once.

Emily suspected the reason was two-tiered. Alison didn't want their friends to think she was so self-centered that she couldn't go for a few hours without her phone. And she didn't want to see anymore messages from the unknown number.

It wasn't until all the girls were a few drinks in that Aria practically kidnapped Alison and begged her to talk shop with her.

"Alison, you have to show us the glamor happening behind the scenes of your new stardom!" Aria poured Alison another drink.

Alison was buzzed enough to grab her phone without flinching. She double-checked to make sure there were no nasty thoughts awaiting her there. She had a ton of alerts on a TikTok she'd done on one of her favorite recipes. It was an old video of her with her going through the steps on how to prepare the meal. She had a lot of comments and likes on her Instagram, too. But no more mean messages.

"I've got a few things I'm not allowed to share on socials. But I know I can trust you all." Alison grinned eagerly.

She liked that her friends were interested in her life now. Not because they were forced to. But because they wanted to know her.

"I have some designs I told The Devil Wears Prada I'd show you." Hanna referred to her boss.

"Your boss and mine should get together for Bitch-a-polooza." Aria linked her arm in Hanna's and leaned into her.

"How's the collab going?" Hanna asked. "Think there might be room for a trio? If I can broker a deal maybe it'll sky-rocket me out of this internship into an office with a great view of the city."

"We can talk." Alison nodded. "I'll be more than happy to look at dresses."

Emily's mother was chatting with her friends, discussing their favorite wines. Their mothers were semi-experts in that subject. They knew the best regions to get it from and how to identify the acidic notes in them. They even knew the best foods to go with each different brand.

Ted and Caleb were sitting out back talking about the football game. It was a funny sight, because Caleb had never really been into sports in high school.

Toby and Spencer were getting quite close on the sofa. It seemed really intimate. Both of them had mentioned in passing that they were talking a lot more lately.

With everyone else preoccupied Emily took a moment to take a breather.

She popped out on to the front porch in the fresh crisp air. It was supposed to drop below freezing, but she was wearing a thick wool sweater over her outfit. She'd borrowed it from her mom. She could smell her perfume.

Emily sat down on a cushioned bench her father had seen at a festival and just had to have. It was very comfortable.

She was alone with her thoughts for a while.

Alison had seen her stepping out. Emily had given the blonde a nod to let her know she needed the space. No one else seemed to realize she'd disappeared.

Out of everyone, it was Spencer who sought her out.

She heard the front door squeaking before she saw it open.

Her tall lanky shadow appeared and then she stepped into the porch light.

Spencer didn't say anything as she walked over and sat down next to her.

They glanced at each other. Emily hadn't seen her in person since January, when her mother had a press junket out in California where she was meeting with local politicians.

"You want to talk about it or do you just want to sit here and stare at the stars?" Spencer looked up into the dark black night where tiny bursts of lights twinkled in the vast universe of space.

Emily squinted at the sky, her eyes finding the familiar patterns her father had showed her when she was a little girl. The Big Dipper. The Little Dipper. Orion's Belt.

"He liked astronomy." Emily broke the silence. "He had this huge telescope that he liked showing off. I think it looked so huge because I was so small when I first saw it. He showed me the moon the first time I looked through it. He told me to think about him when I looked at the stars, because when he was away he was looking at those same stars."

Emily had marveled about the fact that Alison had watched the same stars in their three years apart.

"You never told us that." Spencer watched Emily with curious eyes.

"I didn't remember it until after he died." She admitted. "I took a lot for granted…"

"You didn't." Spencer cut her off. "When we're kids we don't think about those memories in the making." She paused. "I wish I had more of them. But my parents were always gone…"

"You deserved better." Emily glanced at Spencer.

Spencer had been through so much in her life. She'd been expected to be the perfect child. Making mistakes had always terrified her because of it.

"So did you." Spencer replied softly. "I'm sorry I haven't been more in touch."

Emily laughed.

"We're adults. And we live on opposite coasts. Talking once a week is being in touch."

"I meant…more present." Spencer admitted. "Politics is a lot harder and more time consuming than I thought it was going to be. It's far from being class president in high school."

"Stop beating yourself up." Emily frowned at her. "You don't have to be perfect. Not here."

Spencer nodded

"Hell of a toast tonight." Spencer smiled warmly.

"I wasn't expecting my mother to go rogue." Emily laughed.

Spencer's gaze drifted towards the large window leading into the living room.

"Is she good to you?" Spencer had a precarious look on her face.

"Who? My mom?"

"Alison." Spencer was watching Alison, Aria, and Hanna share a laugh.

"I wouldn't be standing right now if it wasn't for her. She's been my rock, Spence." She clutched her hands together and smiled. "I'm in love with her."

"Does she feel the same?" It was a genuine question, not a dig at the blonde.

Emily chuckled.

"You never did like us together." She wasn't angry or upset. She was simply stating the truth.

"That's not what this is." Spencer shook her head. "Not at all. I see how much work she has put into changing the direction of her life. I'm…impressed actually. I know I've been critical of her over the years…"

"A lot of people have."

"She needs someone to take care of her. She always has." Spencer's eyes were trained on the girls through the window.

"She's more resourceful than you think." Back in high school Emily would have flown off the handle at Spencer for criticizing Alison, but she knew that Spencer's concern came from a place of love now.

"Be that as it may…" Spencer reached for her hand. "I just want to know that you're okay. You're dealing with so much. And I know you're strong. You always have been. But I need to be certain that you can shoulder her baggage, too."

"We're there for each other. It's not one-sided. She keeps me centered when I feel like I'm spinning out. She's not the same girl she was in Rosewood three years ago."

"I know. I just worry about you." Spencer squeezed her hand.

"Why me?" Emily quietly questioned.

"What do you mean?" Spencer seemed legitimately confused.

"You have been trying to shelter me and protect me since the day we met in third grade. When we were younger you tried to take my battles into your hands. Even in high school when we were older you were always trying to protect me. You talked to the coach after Paige started harassing me. I told you not to because I was going to take care of it. But you did it anyway. And you still do. Why?"

Emily wasn't angry or accusatory. She had simply spent years wondering why Spencer thought she needed more protection than the others.

"I don't know." Spencer shrugged. "I'm a control freak. That's part of it."

"I don't think that has anything to do with it."

"You're right," she replied softly. "I didn't want to see you get hurt. You were so sweet and so kind. I didn't want the world around you to destroy that. I should have given you more credit. Me, Aria, and Hanna…we were all fractured souls by then. My parents loved Melissa more than they loved me. Hanna's dad had ripped her heart out. And Aria was struggling with the fact that her father's secret affair could tear their family apart. I know you were dealing with a lot, too. But you managed not to be bitter about everything. I wanted to protect you for as long as I could."

Emily had always assumed that it was something to that effect.

"So, am I bitter enough for you to stop yet?" Emily leaned against her, bumping her shoulder.

She felt a tiny twinge of pain from the muscle strain from her incident in the graveyard, but she managed not to let it show.

"Never." Spencer laughed. "Throughout everything you still managed not to let it bring you down."

"I wouldn't go that far." Emily tugged on her sleeve, pulling it down over her knuckles to keep the chilly air from drying them out. "I've changed. I'm just a better liar."

Spencer's eyes softened, a gaze that told Emily how sad she was and how much she understood.

"I owe you a long over-due apology." Spencer leaned back. She reached up to rub the back of her neck.

"For what?"

"I know I undermined you a lot in high school. When Alison got back to town after she'd been on the run you were the only one who saw what was really happening. And I…we…dismissed what you were saying because of your feelings for her. But you were right. Mona and Charlotte and the whole A-team set her up. If we had just listened to you…"

"I turned on her, too." Emily still regretted it.

"Only because we planted the seed in your head that she was back to her old ways. We should have listened to you, Em. Your concerns were valid. If we'd just listened maybe we wouldn't have ended up in the Dollhouse."

Emily flinched. The mention of it made her skin crawl.

"You almost died in there." Spencer stated matter-of-factly.

"We all did."

"No." Spencer shook her head. "We were tortured. Sometimes physically, but it was mostly psychological."

"It was mostly psychological for me, too." Emily kept her tone even.

"No it wasn't." Spencer looked at her sadly. "I heard you coughing. I knew you had a lung infection and probably pneumonia. You looked like shit. Your face was so pale." She looked pained recalling the memory. "You were wheezing so loud that I thought you were going to die."

"She tried to drown me." Emily admitted.

"I thought so." Spencer's eyes were hard, dark. "She played on our worst fears. And she was harder on you because she was jealous of how much Alison loved you."

"Maybe." Emily sighed, chewing on her lip. "I wasn't the only one she punished for that. I know what happened to you in the showers. I saw what she did to you."

The hot steam.

Spencer's screams.

Emily would never forget the look on Spencer's face that day.

"You were there?" Spencer raised her eyebrows.

"I fought until I bled. I tried to get to you. I was terrified for you." Her fingers grazed Spencer's arm.

"Charlotte is a monster." She stated angrily.

You have no idea.

The idea of dragging her friends back into the A mess made Emily feel sick to her stomach.

"You were in that shower because of me. I refused to choose someone when she wanted us to shock each other." Emily had a sense of control after she'd refused Charlotte's orders.

But that all changed the second she saw Spencer being punished because of it. Charlotte knew that Emily could withstand the physical pain. It was in her DNA. She was a soldier's daughter. Charlotte knew the way to hurt Emily was to hurt her friends.

"It wasn't because of you. It's because she's a sadistic bitch." Spencer shuddered.

"Even so, I'm sorry I never mentioned it. I was too ashamed. I thought it was my fault…"

"Don't you dare." Spencer shot her a fierce look. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"Neither do you."

A quiet understanding came from their interaction.

Spencer looked inside again, her eyes on Alison.

"You didn't mention that Alison was protecting us when she lobbied against Charlotte's release."

"Guess everyone knows about that now, huh?"

"Surprised you didn't tell us."

"She didn't want me to."

"Still keeping secrets." A slight smile. "But this time for the right reasons."

Spencer's eyes were on the girls in the house, but her thoughts were a million miles away. She was pinching her sleeve, a habit Emily used to see when they were younger.

She was anxious.

"Do you really think she's locked up for good?" Spencer faced her.

Emily tried not to let her expression give her away. The last thing she wanted to do was send her friends into a panic over the girl who had been at the graveyard.

She was going to handle it. She was going to fix it. Charlotte would never hurt her friends again.

"Alison says there is a good chance she'll try again, but without our testimony…without Alison's testimony…" Which was the key to keeping her out of society, "…it won't happen."

"You don't think Alison will change her mind, do you?"

The fact that Spencer had even asked bristled Emily, but then she remembered the horrifying things that Charlotte had done and she understood Spencer's fear.

"She won't." Emily replied.

Spencer didn't argue. She trusted Emily's word.

"She's more fragile than she lets on." Spencer tapped on her pants, flicking away a piece of lint...because heaven forbid she be even a little bit messy. "One thing Alison and I have in common is how easily we break."

Emily put her hand on top of Spencer's, stilling her fidgeting.

"Something you don't seem to realize is that you aren't broken. You never were." Emily took a thoughtful breath. "We went through hell. My nightmares are…intense." There was no other word for it.

"Yeah. Same here. On the nights that I can sleep anyway." Spencer sighed, a puff of white air forming in the cold air.

"You didn't break." Emily made sure Spencer was looking at her as she spoke. "We were kids. And we went through something horrible." Emily swallowed hard, "We all had our moments. That doesn't mean we were weak or broken. It just means we're human."

"I ended up in a mental institution…" Spencer trailed off.

"That doesn't make you less than, Spencer. Every person on this planet hits a wall once in a while. We all have our limits. You were taking on so much…"

"I know." There was a pause and then a smile, "Alison is really lucky to have you. If anyone knows how to love her, it's you."

"I'm the lucky one." Emily glanced at Alison.

She was the brightest star in her world.

Alison sensed her gaze. She turned and peered out the window, smiling at her.

"Just so you know, the girls and I are taking bets on how long it'll be before you two get married." The hard outer-shell that Spencer always wore came down when she smiled at Emily. "Hanna thinks it'll be next fall, but I've got next June."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"I've got to get going. My dad's flight will be getting in soon. I told him I'd pick him and Melissa up at the airport. Toby offered to drive. I'm exhausted."

In the dim light Emily saw a spark in her eyes when she mentioned Toby.

"How are you two doing?" Emily asked. "He says you've been talking a lot."

Spencer's cheeks flushed, and Emily knew it wasn't from the cold.

"We're thinking about trying again. Long distance isn't easy and we're both incredibly busy. But we're a little bit older now. And I'm closer than I was back then."

"I'm happy for you." Emily took her hand again. "For both of you. Honestly, I don't know that any of us were stable in our relationships back then. Even Hanna and Caleb had their problems." Emily shrugged. "They're in a much better place now."

"Those two were made for each other. He doesn't let her get away with her bullshit. And he was the first boy who ever made her comfortable enough to be vulnerable. Their fights were always about who loved the other more. It's funny. I always thought they would be the first one of us married. I did not see Aria's engagement coming. They've only known each other for like two years." Spencer liked Liam, but Emily could tell she was worried Aria might be rushing in to it.

"She's always been a romantic." Emily wasn't surprised by the engagement at all.

Aria had always been an idealist at heart. She loved romance. It was unfortunate that an older man had taken advantage of that. It would have soured most women on love, but Aria used it. She channeled it into art. And that art led her to Liam.

"That's true." Spencer agreed. "Before we started hanging out I always saw her reading these pretentious books and looking at everything with rose-colored glasses."

"I'm sorry. Did you just say Aria was pretentious?" Emily laughed. "Spencer Hastings…who did her fourth grade book report on Anna Karenina?"

Spencer wrinkled her nose and a tight grin tugged at the edges of her lips.

"Yeah…I was kind of hoping you'd forgotten about that."

"How could I? I thought Mrs. Jones was going to have a heart attack." Emily threw her head back in laughter.

"You know…sometimes I forget that our lives were intertwined long before Alison. I know we weren't like best friends or anything in elementary school, but I liked you well enough. I'll never forget the panic on your face when you couldn't find your pencil on test day and you were so scared you weren't going to have the right thing to fill in the bubbles on the test."

"You gave me one of yours." Emily remembered the way Spencer had reached out and just dropped a pencil into her hand and then turned back around like it was nothing.

"I had like two dozen of them in my backpack." Spencer smiled. "A Hastings must always be prepared." She rolled her eyes. "I was ten. And I already had that complex drilled into my head."

"Saved my ass that day." Emily pat Spencer's hand. "Was that why you always looked at me like a baby deer who needed to be saved?"

"Maybe." Spencer shrugged. "I guess sometimes our subconscious is paying more attention than we are. I just remember seeing you struggling and wanting to help…which was actually a foreign concept in my family. Had it been Melissa she probably would have said something like 'you should have come prepared' and ignored you just to teach you a lesson."

"But you two are okay now, right?" Emily asked.

Melissa had gone through some major life changes as well. Emily wondered if her break-up with Wren had made him want to come back to Rosewood without her.

"I mean…we tolerate each other, I guess. We talk on the major holidays. Give each other life updates."

"Out of curiosity…did Melissa ever tell you why she and Wren broke up? Or when they split?" Emily tried to ease it into the conversation.

She didn't want to rouse suspicions.

Spencer cocked her head at Emily and studied her features, probably trying to figure out why Emily was asking.

"Have you met my sister?" Spencer's tension eased, but it didn't completely fade. "She probably ran him off." She paused and looked at Emily again. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know." Emily tried to play it off. "Just strange seeing him back in Rosewood. Who in their right mind would come back here?" She laughed it off, but perhaps Wren wasn't in his right mind. Maybe that's why he was back. "I was driving by the graveyard earlier…thinking about visiting my father." She hesitated to tell the full truth, especially the part where she fell into an open grave. "I saw Wren there. But he doesn't have family here, does he?"

"No." Spencer shook her head. "But he did mention to me a few months ago when we were having our conversation about healthcare and politics that sometimes he goes to visit patients he's lost out of respect. He gets too attached. But you're right about moving back here, although Toby still lives here after everything…"

"Toby lives in the woods like a hermit." Emily laughed. "He only comes to town for jobs and to look in on my mom."

"To be honest, he's the only one of us who figured it out. Off-the-grid. Hiding out and living his best life. The rest of us chose careers that have put us in the public light, whether we want to be or not. Except for you, I guess. How's Pepperdine treating you?"

I wouldn't know. I haven't been paying attention since my dad died.

She wasn't sure she was going to be able to lie to Spencer about school.

Fortunately, they were interrupted.

The front door opened and Toby popped his head out.

"You ready?" He asked.

"Yeah. We'll catch up later, okay, Em?" Spencer smiled at Emily and then faced him.

Emily could sense that Spencer was eager to have some time alone with Toby.

"Sure." Emily nodded. "I'll call you."

"The girls will kill you if you don't say goodbye first." Toby motioned towards the house.

"I wouldn't dream of Irish-exiting this party." Spencer put her palms on her kneecaps. "Just give me a few seconds."

Toby nodded and closed the door.

"I really hope we can make it work this time." Spencer admitted.

"Hey, if Alison and I can waver the battlefield of love, so can you two." Emily put a comforting hand on Spencer's arm.

"It was really good to see you." Spencer took a moment to appreciate being there with her friend.

"I've missed you. I'm really glad you came, Spence."

"I've missed you, too." Spencer timidly opened her arms for a hug.

Emily obliged.

They spent a few more minutes together before Spencer went in to hug the others goodbye. Emily followed her in, shadowing her as she said her goodbyes.

Spencer and Toby were the first to depart.

Ted and Ashley weren't far behind. Ted offered to give Ella a ride home since she'd been drinking. It worked out because Liam could use Ella's car to drive Aria back to the house.

They had offered to help with the clean-up, but Pam wouldn't allow her guests to work in her house.

After they left Pam slipped into the kitchen to start putting things away.

Emily and Alison followed.

"Go have fun with your friends." Pam tried to shoo them away.

She'd seen Emily light up around her friends, and it softened some of the grief they were both feeling.

"They're not going anywhere." Emily picked up a dish and turned on the water. "Alison, I'll wash, you dry?"

Alison grinned at her. It reminded her of their bubble fights in the condo.

Her entire life, Alison never had to lift a finger. It turned out that she liked helping, and she especially liked helping Emily.

"Sounds good. That way my manicure stays intact." She winked at the brunette.

Emily had to turn and bite her lip to keep from laughing at their little inside joke about Alison's soft dainty hands and how much Emily loved them in bed.

Pam sighed at Emily's defiance. She walked over and started putting leftovers away. She'd insisted on everyone taking some food with them, but there was still a ton of it left. She was going to donate some of it to a food bank and freeze the rest.

After they finished up in the kitchen they rejoined their friends.

Aria and Hanna had settled on the living room couch drinking wine and catching up.

Hanna was talking about helping Aria pick her dress. She'd basically hired herself as the petite brunette's stylist.

Liam was sitting on the opposite end of the couch engaged in conversation with Caleb, who was sitting on the loveseat cattycorner to the sofa.

"So, is there anything left of the wedding to plan?" Emily plopped into her dad's chair before she realized what she was doing.

It transported her back to her childhood when her dad had held her in his arms. The chair still smelled like him.

Pam stopped in her tracks for a moment, like she was recalling a memory herself. Then she smiled at her daughter and took a seat on the loveseat next to Caleb.

Emily looked up to see Alison studying her carefully, trying to read the emotions on her face. Emily held her hand out and grasped the blonde's wrist, pulling her down into her lap.

"She's picked out everything but the flowers." Aria pressed her lips into a sarcastic grimace.

"Not true. We decided on a dual tone red and white mixture." Hanna tipped back her wine glass to finish what was left. "To match the dress."

Emily could tell from Hanna's exaggerated hand gestures that she was wildly drunk, and she was having the best time of her life.

"I don't know why you're bothering to tell me this. You're not going to remember anything tomorrow morning." Aria laughed. "Besides, this is a long way off."

"Do not underestimate my ability to retain things in all my drunken glory, Aria Montgomery…soon to be Aria Green." Hanna grinned widely.

"Actually, she's keeping Montgomery." Liam piped in.

"We'll have to see what Alabama says about that." Hanna cracked up at her own joke. "Montgomery, Alabama?" She prodded the others when they didn't laugh as hard as she did. "Oh, come on! That was funny!"

"Hanna, I think you've had enough." Emily chuckled.

"I'll say when I've had enough. I don't get to go out drinking anymore. I'm always at work. And even when I'm working the fashion shows I'm too busy to drink." She puffed her bottom lip out. "Being an adult is hard."

"But…it comes with some perks." Aria lifted her wine glass and delicately took a sip.

"You and all the moms out there made it look so effortless." Hanna faced Pam.

Pam let out a hefty laugh.

"It is definitely not effortless. But you kids have your whole lives ahead of you." Pam nursed her wine. "It's okay to take it a day at a time."

"Thank you for tonight." Liam smiled politely at the older woman.

"Yeah, you've been the perfect host." Aria piggy-backed on her future husband's comment.

"I've enjoyed having you all." Pam put her wine glass down on a coaster. "So, Aria…let's talk venues. Have you and your mother started looking into that yet?"

Aria couldn't help but laugh. Now she had two wedding planners. If she had it her way she would just elope somewhere with no fanfare, but her mother really wanted a fancy wedding.

They sat around in the living room for almost an hour talking just like they used to. The energy in the room was a mixture of fun and anxious.

Alison had been jittery ever since she'd received that text. She'd been hiding it well all night, but it was getting harder for her to contain. It helped that Emily was squeezing her tight.

Caleb glanced at his phone, reading a text.

Alison tensed up when she saw his eyes dart to the screen, but she relaxed when he smiled.

"I'm going to call the pet-sitter. She's got a question."

"Aww…" Hanna slurred drunkenly. "Tell my little Cheesy-Doodle that I love him."

Emily laughed. She knew Hanna loved that damn cat, no matter how much she bitched about him. In truth, the cat probably reminded her of Caleb, and how he'd once been a stray all on his own when he was younger.

"This really old lady down the hall is taking care of him." Hanna smiled as she watched Caleb walk out of the room.

"Hey, why don't we grab another bottle of wine?" Alison suddenly scrambled to her feet and gripped Emily's hands.

Her eyes were trying to convey a message that Emily didn't get at first. But then she realized that Alison was looking back and forth between her and where Caleb had just walked off to. He had been going towards the back porch.

It didn't take Emily long to put it together. Alison wanted to talk to Caleb alone.

The text had triggered her. She'd already mentioned asking Caleb for help. Emily wasn't sure she wanted to do that, but Alison had her on her feet an instant later.

She was surprisingly strong for her size.

"Can you see if there are any more latkes? Aria says they're great for soaking up alcohol." Hanna called after them, oblivious to the shift in Alison's behavior.

When they walked through the kitchen Emily pulled aside another bottle of wine and opened the container with the leftover latkes so she could grab them when they came through again.

Alison peered out back, watching Caleb talk on the phone for about a minute.

When he hung up he glanced up at the sky. He had camped out a lot as a kid…against his will. He had been without a home for a while.

Alison let him appreciate the stars for about all of three minutes.

"We need to talk to him before he comes back in. I don't want the others to hear." She faced Emily.

"I know you're freaked…"

Before Emily could finish Alison was pulling on the door and stepping outside.

One thing that hadn't changed about Alison was that when she made up her mind there was no changing it.

"Oh, hey." Caleb turned around when he heard the door open.

Emily followed, closing it behind her.

He saw the look on Alison's face.

"I'm guessing you're not here to check on my cat," he said flatly. "How bad is it?"

"I think I saw Charlotte this morning at the graveyard." Emily came right out with it. There was no way to soften the blow.

Little lines crinkled in his brow as he processed it. He didn't look worried though. He looked confused.

"That's not possible. She's been on a psych hold since last week."

"How do you know that?" Alison balked.

"I keep track." He could see the irritation swelling in both of them. "Don't look at me like that. I have Hanna and the others to think about, too. I want to know everything she does, right down to her bathroom schedule."

"Caleb, it's a dangerous line to cross…"

"I cover my tracks." He cut Emily off. "I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize any of you."

"Does Hanna know?" Emily frowned, her arms crossed like she was scolding him.

"Hell no." He laughed caustically. "She'd go nuclear on me."

"All the more reason that this is a bad idea." Alison mimicked Emily's stance.

He didn't budge. He wouldn't give an inch.

Emily slowly uncrossed her arms.

"You're sure she's been on a psych hold?" Emily asked.

"I have access to her records. She has had a guard on her at all times." He nodded.

"She must have faked it…" Alison murmured.

"Her records are legitimate." Caleb argued.

"Not the records." She dismissed him with a flick of her wrist. "She must have someone pretending to be her…doing her bidding." She started to pace. She looked up at Caleb. "I have to talk to her."

"Your name is blacklisted. Even I couldn't get past whatever firewall they're using…not without alerting them to it, but I saw enough to know they have you down as someone who is never allowed to talk to her again."

Probably because Charlotte had thrown a fit and regressed after Alison gave up on her.

"If I try to change anything in her notes about you it's going to set off a bunch of alarm bells. It could even tip Charlotte off that I'm involved, and I'm not willing to put Hanna through that."

"Of course not." Alison was in complete agreement. "I don't want you to do anything that would give yourself away."

She was pacing again.

"Damn it." She murmured. "I need another drink to process this."

She turned on her heels and padded back towards the door.

Emily started to follow her to make sure she was okay, but Caleb grabbed her arm. He watched as Alison disappeared into the kitchen. When he knew she couldn't hear them he looked at Emily.

"There's more, but I didn't want to lay it all on her while she's clearly spinning out. You seem to be doing…marginally better than she is." He could tell by the way she was carrying herself that she wasn't entirely okay, but she wasn't completely on edge.

"I fell into an open grave chasing after whoever was in that graveyard this morning." She wasn't sure why she blurted it out, but it felt good to tell someone besides Alison.

"Jesus Christ." He lifted his brows.

"I've had far worse happen." Emily didn't blink when she looked into his eyes.

He nodded in understanding.

"It's been a lot to try and process. I think I saw Wren there, too." Emily continued.

"That's weird. He doesn't have friends and family buried here…not that I'm aware of." Caleb shook his head.

"I'd say it was a coincidence, but we're in Rosewood…and there are no coincidences here. Spencer said that he visits patients he's lost sometimes, which I guess is legitimate." Emily wracked her brain about why he'd be in the graveyard. "I don't know. I think I'm getting paranoid."

"You think he might be involved? If he was already there maybe he was the one you chased."

"No, it was definitely someone with blonde hair and a woman's figure." Emily shook her head. "I was pretty sure it was Charlotte. Wouldn't hurt to have eyes on Wren, but our main concern is Redcoat."

"I don't really exactly know what I could dig up on him that we don't already know. International records are tricky. But I'll put it on my to-do list."

"Thanks. At this rate we should be paying you."

"Hanna would chew me out. You remember how vicious she was back in high school about me overcharging you to get you a jailbroken phone to call Maya at Tru North?" He laughed.

Emily snorted. Hanna didn't even know Caleb back then, but she had no problem giving him a piece of her mind.

"Besides, I don't charge for family." He shrugged.

"I still think you should at least be getting hazard pay for fighting this battle with us." Emily couldn't stand the thought of something happening to Caleb because of them.

"I'll be fine."

"Famous last words." Emily frowned. "So what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

The smile on Caleb's face hardened and he pursed his lips in thought, like he was debating on what he wanted to say.

"Alison's name was blacklisted…"

"Yeah, you mentioned that."

"Only Alison." He gave her a pointed look. "I can't actually see the visitor's list, but I have work-arounds to add to it. I was curious after I realized I couldn't add Alison, so I checked other statuses. You and the others haven't been blacklisted. In fact, her doctors want to speak to you all. My guess is that she hopes one of you might eventually want to speak on her behalf."

"That's never going to happen." Emily clenched her fists at her sides. Something suddenly occurred to her. "Wait…are you saying you could get me in contact with her?"

"Yes. The only problem is that because of the psych hold she won't be allowed any contact with anyone for a while. And when she is allowed contact Jason has to clear it first."

"Well, he's not answering Alison's calls. And I've tried him a couple of times, too." Emily frowned bitterly.

"I think I can handle that for you."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded.

"I can access part of her file without setting off alarms. I saw a notation that she does better after she has a visitor. She's apparently downright pleasant after she gets a visit from who I would assume to be Jason."

Because no one else cared about her.

"There is a way to get you in. There is a work-around in the system. It might take some time, because I don't have the right equipment with me here. It would take me a week at most. But I could manage it."

"Do it." They'd be back in Rosewood for the Winter Holidays, and if all went according to plan Emily could go then.

"You're not going to talk to Alison about it first?" He raised a curious brow.

"Hell no." She repeated Caleb's exact words back to him with a laugh. "She can be pissed at me after I get Charlotte to back off."

"I won't tell her if you don't tell Hanna." Caleb offered.

"Deal." Emily nodded. "Thanks, Caleb. I should…" She motioned towards the door.

She had a hot-headed woman waiting on her.

"Yeah. I'll be inside in a few minutes. I want a few more minutes under the stars."

"I get that." Emily glanced up at the Big Dipper.

"I'm the Big Dipper. You're the Little Dipper." Her dad had said as he tapped her on her nose once when she was younger.

She had giggled.

"Hey, Em?" He called as she turned to walk away.

"Yeah?"

"At least you know he loved you." He had a sad smile on his face. "If my abandonment issues have taught me anything, it's that not knowing is worse."

Emily smiled back at him.

Caleb had only met Emily's father once when he was home. It had been a brief encounter, but even then he had been able to see the adoration he had in his eyes for his family.

"If it's any consolation…I don't think there is anyone else in the world who loves you as much as Hanna does." Emily had seen their love blossom over the years into something she admired.

"I feel the same about her." He smiled.

"Good. Because if you break her heart I'll break every bone in your body." She tried to mean-mug him, but they both ended up laughing.

He looked impressed.

"Noted."

Emily waved as she walked back inside.

She found Alison back in the living room with a fresh glass of wine. Hanna was nibbling on a latke.

Emily could see the frustration teeming out of Alison's eyes, but she hid it from the others. Or they were too buzzed to see it.

Alison spent the rest of the night silently sulking or faking a smile when she talked to her friends.

By the time everyone left it was after midnight.

After they were gone Alison excused herself to go take a shower. She still looked positively irate, but she was a master at disguising it from Pam, who didn't need to add more to her plate.

Emily had a feeling the shower was about washing away her anger.

"Thank you for the lovely dinner. And thank you so much for opening your home to me." Alison dipped her head politely at Pam.

"Stop." Pam waved her off. "As far as I'm concerned, you're family."

The sentiment was enough to take some steam out of Alison's frustration. How could a woman open her home and consider her family when she'd stayed in Rosewood for the woman who had kidnapped and tortured her daughter?

"I know you haven't had an easy road, Alison." Pam took her hand. Her touch was so much like Emily's. "But I want you to know that you have a home here."

Alison was touched. Tears burned her eyes.

"Thank you so much."

She had to scurry away before she started to cry. Pam's words had put things in perspective for her. What she could have had. What she had now. What she would kill to protect. She wouldn't let Charlotte hurt them.

Pam stood up in front of the loveseat and walked towards her daughter.

"I'm so happy you're here." Pam moved next to Emily, taking the spot Alison had been occupying moments before. "I'm glad you're both here."

Emily nodded solemnly. She was worried about leaving her mom and going back to California. She had half a mind to ask her to move out to Malibu so they could be closer, but she knew her mother wasn't ready to leave Rosewood.

Her father was still in Rosewood.

"I visited dad today." Emily cleared her throat, slowly facing her mom. "The headstone is nice. You were right."

"He loved you so much, Emmy." Her watery eyes met Emily's. She reached up to brush her fingers through Emily's hair. "You have his eyes." She lowered her hand. "And his heart."

"I'm worried about you, mom." When she said it she sounded like a child. "I don't want you here alone."

"I'm not alone. I've got a support system." Pam leaned back. "I'm not saying that I'm okay. I'm not going to lie to you. He wouldn't like that. But we're going to be okay. We'll find our way." Her mother slipped her hand on top of Emily's.

Emily laid her head on her mom's shoulder, allowing herself to be the child she once was for a brief moment. She stayed close until she heard the water upstairs cut off.

"I'm going to check on her." Emily yawned. "It's not been a picnic for her being back here. Her family haunts her."

In more ways than one.

"Trust me, I know." Pam nodded. "She deserved a better childhood." She looked sad, a poignant expression in her eyes. "You all did. I'm glad at the very least that you all have seemed to find a sense of happiness."

"I'm in love with her." Emily whispered.

"I've always known that, sweetheart." Pam touched her cheek. "And from the way I've seen her look at you I can see that she's fully ready to love you back."

Emily kissed her mother on the cheek and told her goodnight. Then she went up to her old bedroom where Alison was waiting for her.

The anger had dissipated. And the fear was setting in. The blonde was lying in the bed facing away from Emily.

"Are you done waging war with the entire world?" Emily unbuttoned her dress shirt and tossed her bra in the hamper.

She reached for an over-sized T-shirt and pulled it on over her head just as Alison was rolling towards her.

"No." She pouted. She watched as Emily peeled her pants off, leaving her in the thigh-length shirt. "Maybe. I don't know."

Emily climbed into bed with her, lifting the covers and sliding next to her. Alison sat up to meet her.

"You could have died this morning, you know." She frowned.

It wasn't just the text that had bothered her. It was the fact that someone had sought out the woman she loved and put her in a position that could have ended horribly.

"I didn't."

"I don't care. She crossed the line. I don't care that she's drooling in a pillow somewhere. She's still Charlotte. And she was always savvy. She's created a new game. And I'm not okay with you being a pawn."

"I was always a pawn." Emily scoffed.

The statement didn't make the blonde feel any better. She clenched her jaw and started grinding her teeth.

Emily squirmed against the mattress, trying to get comfortable. She sat up to reach for her water and anti-inflammatories.

Alison sidled up behind her just as she was rotating her shoulder. Emily rubbed her neck, her back still to Alison.

"How bad is it?" When she pulled Emily's shirt aside she saw the bruises forming. It made her both sick to her stomach and irrationally angry. Even if it hadn't been Charlotte in the graveyard, she was clearly pulling someone else's strings.

Alison leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against the bruise on her shoulder. She saw goosebumps prickle up on Emily's skin.

She carefully placed her hand against the brunette's neck and started massaging her tense muscles. Emily let out a satisfied mumble. Alison's fingers were delicate and she was very careful around the bruising.

Emily let Alison loosen her muscles before she fell into bed next to her. She rolled over to face the blonde.

She didn't say anything. She just reached out and offered Alison her open arms.

Alison nuzzled against her.

"What are we going to do, Em?" She sighed into her chest.

Emily didn't falter. She didn't flinch. She already knew the answer. She wasn't willing to share it with Alison yet, but she had the answer.

I'm going to fix it.

---

A/N: Emison needed some much needed fun with their friends to pull them out of their nightmares. So, what are we thinking? What's up with Redcoat? How cute was the happy reunion with all the Liars? Is Alison going to kill Charlotte or will Emily get to her first? Also: Spemily reigns superior!