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.

23. February Air

A/N: Get ready for some fun. We've got old friends and new. And a familiar face from the past. And of course, twists and turns and drama.

---

Chapter 22:

February Air

All hell broke loose after the recordings were sent to law enforcement. It took time for them to look into it, but when they did there was a monumental explosion in reopening Jessica DiLaurentis's cold case.

Emily and Alison got a few more menacing messages, but nothing with any substance.

Alison had asked Caleb not to share with the media, because she thought that was a step too far. But word spread in the community and the news got wind of it anyway. They didn't have the recording because it was part of an ongoing investigation, but they took the story and ran it anyway.

It had been five weeks and it was gaining more and more traction.

Jason was furious, but not at Alison. He was pissed because the media had been hounding him ever since his mother's cold case had been opened back up.

"They're at the house all the fucking time." He griped at Alison on the phone.

They'd spent months not talking and now he was constantly calling her with updates. Sometimes she wished he'd go back to ignoring her.

She was on her way to set, so she didn't have long to talk.

"I know. They call me and slip into my DMs constantly. It's part of it. I just ignore them." Alison had been working on damage control on her socials because the news had gotten out about her sister killing her mother. She knew she was going to have to put out a statement soon. She'd been working with a publicist and PR team to get it right.

"Yeah, well…they're right in my face. Day and night." Jason uttered.

"Don't you work overseas? Go back there and finish saving the planet or the unhoused or whatever it is that you do there." Alison waved to the Uber driver that had dropped her off.

"That was for a project that's nearly finished. I had always planned to come back home and sell the house…"

"Yeah, thanks again for keeping me completely in the dark about that." She snarked.

"Don't be like that, Ali. I'm trying here, okay?" The irritation in his tone was unmistakable. "And right now it's a mess."

"Maybe you should take your anger out on the person who is responsible for that mess. You know…the person who killed our mother."

"Charlotte's confession is shaky evidence at best. I don't know why she said the things she said, but she's having a hard time coping with the ramifications…"

"You mean the consequences of her actions?" Alison corrected him. "She's learning the art of finding out after she fucked around."

"Real mature." She could practically hear him rolling his eyes. He let out a sigh. "We may never know the truth about what happened to mom."

"It's spelled out on that recording word for word." Alison waved to a few PA's riding around set in a pink golf cart.

"Most likely." He couldn't deny what he'd heard his sister say. "But Charlotte isn't talking now. After the cops questioned her she ended up back on suicide watch."

"And I'm sure you're going to blame me for that." Alison paused outside the door of the building.

She was met with silence on the other end of the phone and then a noise she couldn't quite make out.

"Of course not." He replied softly. "If she really did what she said. If she really…"

He couldn't finish the statement.

"Killed mom." Alison finished for him.

"Right." He cleared his throat. "You may think I'm an idiot, but I'm not delusional enough to believe that there is anything I can do in this situation for Charlotte. The cops are going to find what they find."

There was another pause.

"And?" Alison asked.

"Look, I know you want me to abandon her, but I'm not going to do that. I did what you asked me to. I was going to take Sara off her visitation list…before you had her arrested." He didn't sound angry. He sounded defeated.

"She's still behind bars, right?" Alison didn't like the idea of a free angry Sara Harvey running wild again.

"She is. They pulled the old case out on that kid she drugged. And two of her old friends turned on her. She was apparently even more of a hateful little shit than you were when it came to harassing her friends." He scoffed.

"Gee, thanks. And by the way, my friends are still my friends. They would never hurt me."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You atoned and all that other Christian bullshit." He muttered.

"What in the hell makes you think I'm Christian?" Alison snorted out a laugh. "When have we ever actually been religious?"

"You know what I mean." He waved it off. "Anyway, I know you're trying to be a better person and I'm happy for you. I just wish you could have left the rest of our family out of it. They even dragged dad in for questioning. He was irate. I think if the house was still in his name he'd throw me out on my ass."

"You're selling it, so it's not like it matters." Alison squeezed the phone to keep from screaming.

"Tactful, little sister." She could feel him frowning at her through the phone.

"I'm not sorry that Charlotte is in trouble, but I am sorry you had to deal with dad." She swallowed hard. Their father had never liked Jason. He'd knocked him around sometimes when they were younger. "What happened?"

"We fought."

"Did he hit you?" She asked quietly, looking around to make sure no one was listening.

"Of course he did. He's still a dick. But I gave as good as I got. He offered to go out and get beers afterwards and I told him to fuck off. So he did what he does best. He bailed. He's tired of the drama. And to be honest, so am I." He sighed.

"Things will get easier." Alison tried to manifest the good aspiration into their lives.

"For you, maybe." He had enough sense not to add anything else or rant at her. Instead, he flipped the script. "It's been kind of hectic here, but I wasn't calling to rant…"

"I think you were." Alison couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, I didn't call just to rant. I've got some good news for you. I got that list of doctors for you. I'm just waiting on the e-mail from Welby."

"You did?" She perked up.

"You asked me to."

"I'm just surprised you came through." Alison stopped walking, her hand still on the door handle of the building.

"Come on, give me a little more credit."

"Did you do it because Charlotte's minions tried to burn Emily and I to death or because you know she killed mom?" Alison rolled her eyes.

His alliance had never been hers.

"Don't be a bitch. If anything, I thought you might be understanding since you know how the media is. But I guess that it's only a problem if you're affected." He snapped back.

"Sorry." And she was sincere in her apology. "I just never know whose side you're on."

"Why does there even have to be sides? Why can't I just want to be a good brother to both of you?"

Alison nearly blew her top, but then she remembered she couldn't throw a tantrum on set. She was still very green in the industry and if anyone saw her acting out it would be all over the news. But it absolutely floored her to know that her brother still had loyalty to a woman who had tortured her and her friends and tried to kill them all, including her. And she had succeeded in killing their mother.

"Listen, I know you don't get it. And I know you hate me for not shutting her out for what she's done to us. But you have to understand…she doesn't have anyone else. And neither do I…"

Normally, when he whined it just made Alison mad, but she knew how it felt to be alone in the world.

"You don't have to be alone. You still have family…"

"It'll never be the same." He argued. "The way we grew up was fucked up. Even our childhood was twisted." He took a quiet breath. "I get why you hate her…and why you want me to hate her, but I just can't. When I look back over the time we had as kids...being around the two of you is the only happiness I can find in the past. I have real memories of being with Charlotte. I think you might, too, deep down somewhere…"

Alison felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on its ends.

Tiny tow-headed children squealing with delight on a ride at a carnival.

Alison in her mother's arms.

"Wave hi to Char-Char, Ali."

"HI CHAR-CHAR!"

"HI ALI!"

She could hear carnival music, so she slapped her free hand up to one ear and pressed her phone against her other, trying to make it stop.

After a few seconds it was quiet again.

"You were happy in those memories, too, Ali. I think somewhere deep down you remember our times together. I think you've blocked it out…because you don't want to remember…"

"Jason, I was two…three years old. I was too young…"

"Alison!" One of the producers waved her down.

"Crap." She muttered, looking at the clock. I'm late." She blew an exasperated breath into the phone. "Listen, this Charlotte thing is a huge circus. I know that. Trust me. And we'll talk more, but right now I have to go. I'm on set." She paused. "But thank you. For the list. For listening to me."

"Sure. I'll send you an e-mail when I get the list from Welby. Can you text me your e-mail address?"

"Yeah."

They said their goodbyes and the Alison texted Jason her e-mail address.

She scrolled through her text thread. She had a few new ones.

Good luck on set! from Aria

Another from Hanna,

How are things there now that the cat is out of the bag?

Spencer had texted,

Let me know if you and Em need anything. I have excellent access to some of the highest regarded attorneys in the world.

It was Emily's text she'd been looking for,

Love you. You're going to rock it today.

Alison texted her back,

Love you, too. Everything is going to be okay. Talked to Jason. He got the list of doctors from Welby. I'll let you know when I have it.

Emily's phone vibrated in her hand when she got the text.

She had been on her phone non-stop for days. She was in the middle of walking to class FaceTiming with Spencer.

She ducked into an empty classroom to keep the conversation private.

Emily plopped down on top of a desk.

"So…no bullshit…how have you two been holding up?" Spencer's worried expression glared back at Emily in concern.

Fortunately, the angry messages had strictly been sent to Emily and Alison. No one else was receiving threats. But they were all just as anxious.

"There has been some fanfare. Alison is in the spotlight, so that makes things a little more complicated. A lot of her fans are worried and just want to support her. Some want to know what's going on. She's going to have to put out a statement. She's working on it with her publicist. Alison says her director has been very understanding. And everyone on the crew is really respectful."

"Not once did you mention how you were doing in anything you just said." Spencer continued to frown at her. Emily was convinced it was the only expression Spencer Hastings had. Simply frowning. "It's a lot, Em. You just lost your father. And now this? How are you coping?"

"My job and my school work." Emily shrugged.

"That's not coping. That's redirecting and avoidance."

"Are you a psychologist now?" Emily laughed.

"Seriously…how are you?"

"Look, I knew this was going to be hard. I'm working through it. You know, it's just…it'll die down eventually. I'm fine. Most of what happened in Rosewood happened when we were minors, so our records are sealed. That's a bit of a blessing. People know Charlotte is troubled and they know she did some bad things, but our past is sealed. And that's enough for me. Though, you know how journalists can be when sniffing out a story…"

"Leeches." Spencer's nose scrunched and she shook her head. "I can't tell you how many times some political journalist has tried to agitate my mother's staff to get a sound-bite for their little blogs. There are some respectable people in the field, but the ones who don't care about ethics are a huge problem. They spread dangerous misinformation. It's crazy to watch."

"Yeah…" Emily scratched her brow. "Yeah, you deal with that daily. Sometimes I forget."

"Why I picked a high profile career after everything we went through…" She smiled softly. "…I'll never know. I just worry about you because I know how fast it can escalate."

"We'll be okay."

"Have you thought about what might happen if this goes to court?" Spencer asked.

"I've thought far enough in advance to know that I'm leaving you and the other girls out of it. Alison agrees. You've been through too much already, Spence." For a brief moment she saw Spencer's defenses come down.

She'd seen her make that face in the Dollhouse many times.

Spencer swallowed hard.

"We won't be able to ignore subpoenas, you know." She was already back in law mode.

"Why would they even need to talk to you about Jessica DiLaurentis's murder? You had no involvement. Not to mention there is only one person who helped us with that recording. And I'll take that bullet for him this time if I have to."

Caleb had taken a literal bullet for Emily when they were younger. The least she could do was keep him out of their mess now that it was public.

"That's not going to go over well with him." Spencer laughed darkly.

"He'll get over it." Emily would make him get over it.

"I don't know. Men get super macho about this kind of thing. Toby has gone overboard protective-mode lately. He came out here for a week last week just to make sure I was safe." Spencer slipped her lips closed, like she'd let a secret she hadn't meant to out.

Emily couldn't help but smile.

"He came out to DC?"

"Yes." She looked like a child when she answered.

"To see you?" She saw Spencer's cheeks redden.

"Maybe."

"Don't maybe me! Spencer, that's huge." Emily forgot the doom and gloom long enough to be happy.

"Okay, we're maybe-possibly thinking about us again. But nothing is for sure yet." A stupid grin washed across her face.

"Did you have a good time when he was there?" Emily asked.

"We'd been talking a lot before he came out. When he was here we did a lot of reconnecting."

Oh, that's a Spencer Hastings' "I slept with the man I'm still in love with" look if I've ever seen it.

But she didn't say it out loud. Spencer had been mostly respectful about Alison when they got back together...after she was done bitching about it.

"I'm happy for you. I hope it works out." Emily wished she was in the same room, so she could hug her.

"Thanks. Hopefully Charlotte won't ruin this for us."

That explained why Spencer was so neurotic about getting to the bottom of who was helping Charlotte. Toby was directly in harm's way. It added a new element of danger to it when love was involved.

"We're going to figure this out. We're going to get out of this."

"I'm not so sure. I'm expecting this to blow up. You do remember that Jessica's body was found on our property, right?" Spencer asked. "My mom still bitches about how she was ten feet away from her petunias and lilacs. At the very least they'll drag my family in for statements."

"Yeah, but you all had alibis. Your dad wasn't even in the state." Emily hadn't even considered that possibility.

It could blow up in a scandal and screw up Veronica Hastings' career. It wasn't fair.

"Doesn't matter. They're going over everything with a fine-tooth comb. The State Authorities are involved and they've brought in the Feds." Spencer frowned.

"Even when Charlotte is the one in trouble we still suffer." Emily started to grind her teeth. "I'm sorry."

"Don't do that." Spencer scolded her when she saw Emily clenching her jaw. "Maybe we can get more dirt on Charlotte. You mentioned that Jason is getting you the list of doctors who have treated Charlotte at Welby. But have you thought about Radley?"

"What about it?" Emily asked.

"You're getting a list of Charlotte's current doctors. But what about when she was in Radley? Remember when we went looking and found the old files for her? There was nothing past her 16th birthday. Maybe there is more to that file."

It wasn't a bad idea. Caleb could probably easily access the files…if they were digital now.

"Those were paper files, weren't they?" They'd gone searching through the records after they escaped from the Dollhouse to see what they could find on the person who had captured them. "Besides, all we got from the file was the increase in her meds and the visitor's log. Only Jessica and Alison's Great Aunt visited her. And they're both dead."

"Yeah, but it could still be worth a shot to try and see if someone archived them or see if there is more to it than we saw back then." Spencer cleared her throat. She sounded unnerved.

"You okay?" Emily didn't miss the shift in her tone.

"I'm fine. It's just…when we went back there I had this really bad flashback to the Dollhouse. Charlotte…she made me think I'd killed someone." Her voice sounded raw, unlike anything Emily had ever heard.

"You're not capable of that, Spence." Emily assured her.

"How do you know?"

"Because I've actually killed someone." Sometimes when Emily closed her eyes she could still see the look on Lyndon's face after she'd stabbed him.

"Alison thought I tried to kill her." Spencer reminded her.

"She was wrong." Emily stated adamantly.

"I know, but…"

"Don't go there, okay?" Emily knew Spencer wouldn't be able to handle it. And she knew that because she could barely handle it.

When she'd been holding Sara at gunpoint she knew she was capable of pulling the trigger, and that scared her.

"I guess you're right." Spencer replied softly.

"Trying to find the files from Radley is a great idea. Thank you for that." Emily tried to steer the conversation back on topic. "If she had someone helping her back then it would explain a lot."

"Just…tread carefully. Charlotte might be locked up, but she's still wildly intelligent and conniving. I wouldn't put anything past her."

"Ugh, I hate this." Emily grumbled. "How does she still have this much control?"

"She's Charlotte." Spencer replied without skipping a beat.

Emily's calendar started beeping at her, an alert for class.

"Adulthood awaits." Emily shut off her alarm.

"Get back to me as soon as you can. I'm worried." Spencer's face softened.

"To be honest, so am I." Emily stood up. "Take care of yourself."

"Em, I grew up with Melissa. I know how to look out for myself."

"This goes far beyond sibling rivalry." Emily frowned.

"Melissa isn't my concern at all. After everything we've talked about I do think we need to be careful about Wren though. In fact, I tried to reach him a week ago about the healthcare aspect of my mom's campaign, but he still hasn't called me back. Caleb says that nothing unusual has come up in his search about him, but something feels…off about him." Spencer clucked her tongue in thought.

"You've been talking to Caleb?" Emily lifted a curious brow.

"Of course I have. Toby has, too. And we've been talking to Hanna, too." Spencer rolled her eyes. "I know how this goes."

"Watch your back, Spence."

"Always do. It's second nature in politics."

Emily could only imagine the stress that came with being adjacent to a high profile politician. In way, Spencer had been looking over her shoulder her entire life. Even before the A-game started. She never knew when her family was going to be watching…just waiting for her to screw up.

Emily could relate. Before she'd come out she felt the pressure to be the perfect child to Mr. and Mrs. Military. She was taught very young that their image was extremely important to her mother. Anything that would shake up the status quo was frowned upon. It's why Emily had been so afraid of her feelings for girls. It's why she had ended up dating Ben, which had ended in disaster.

Emily couldn't stop her brain from firing on all cylinders.

She tried to keep a low profile in her next two classes. She didn't have the energy to participate.

She thought she was going to make it out of school unscathed, but when she walked out the front door she heard a familiar voice that was like nails on a chalkboard.

"Ms. Fields?"

Emily stopped in her tracks when she heard her.

Her first instinct was to run, but that would just make her look guilty as hell. She felt herself shrinking in on herself, but then she remembered that things were different now. She was different.

Emily slowly turned to face her.

"Emily Fields. You're not an easy person to find in this city."

The familiar face…the voice…everything about the woman made her tense up.

"What…what are you doing here, Detective Tanner?" Emily looked around the empty quad.

What I wouldn't give for Samara and Zoe to pull me away from this woman right now.

Detective Linda Tanner had been brutally hard on them when they were kids. She refused to believe they were innocent. Before the Dollhouse she had some serious accusations against them. And even after they'd been rescued the detective felt like the girls had been hiding something. She seemed to be sympathetic to their plight, but her job was to get to the center of everything and her no-nonsense Manhattan attitude had always unnerved them when they were younger.

Emily knew there was a slight chance that she'd be called in after Jessica's case was reopened, but she wasn't prepared to see her face to face.

She was suddenly flashing back to Spencer's offer of a lawyer. The last thing she needed to do was piss off Linda Tanner.

"It's Special Agent Tanner now." She rubbed a proud finger over her shield. "But semantics don't matter. That's not why I'm here."

Emily was frozen in place. She wanted to run, but she fought against that urge. She opted for silence instead.

"I assume you're aware of what's going on with Alison's sister in Rosewood." Tanner looked at her nails as if she was bored and had nowhere else to be.

"I've heard." Emily nodded.

"You and Alison are dating again, correct?"

"What does that have to do anything?" Emily furrowed her brows.

"It was simply an observation. I'm not accusing you of anything." Tanner kept a cool façade.

Despite the cool February air, Emily could feel sweat wetting her body.

"Did your jurisdiction expand?" Emily remained diplomatic and calculated.

"My sister Dana Booker works in Oregon small time."

"There are two of you?" Emily sneered.

"I wouldn't say that. My sister has always been sharper than I am. She's insanely talented. Her beat is a small town. Beacon Heights. You heard of it?"

Emily shook her head.

"I suppose you wouldn't. You're living your California dream, perfect girlfriend and all." Tanner shrugged. "How is Alison doing, by the way?"

"Why are you here?" Emily asked bluntly, avoiding the question.

So far, she'd mostly asked Tanner as many questions as Tanner had asked her.

"Honestly? I had plans to visit my sister, but there is something going down at a university there and she's working on the case. She suggested we reconnect in Malibu. I thought it might be a good opportunity to speak with you while I was here. Things are brewing in your old town."

"Which is exactly why I left." Emily shrugged. "Three years ago. Almost four."

"Emily, I'm not the enemy here. You don't have to keep your guard up…"

"We told you what was going on back then. We told the truth. And you didn't believe us. You sent us to jail. You allowed Charlotte to get to us. To capture and torture us. Your arrogance led to what happened to us. Why in the hell would I trust you now?" She didn't hold back.

To her credit, Tanner didn't look angry.

"I'm not asking you to trust me. I'm not here to interrogate you…or Alison. All I want is the truth. Who sent us that recording?"

"Like it matters? I've seen the news. I've read the reports. Your focus should be on Charlotte DiLaurentis." Emily stood a bit taller.

"Oh, and indeed it is. But if I've learned anything it's that you girls often know more than you're letting on…"

"Em!" Samara called through the doorway. She loped down the steps towards them.

Thank Fucking God.

Samara read the distressed look on her face and immediately stepped up to help.

"Do you have those Bio notes? Zoe and I need a study-buddy."

They didn't even take the same Bio classes. Emily had to fight back a smile.

Thank God for the Telepathic Rainbow Friendship Alliance.

"Yeah, I've got you covered." Emily eagerly waved her over.

Samara smiled at the cop, playing the innocent friend.

"I need to steal her for homework." Samara grabbed Emily's arm.

"Sure." Tanner didn't fight it. "No problem." She reached into her coat and pulled out a business card. "Please keep in touch, Emily."

Emily didn't respond.

She shoved the card into her pocket.

After Tanner walked away Emily breathed a sigh of relief.

Samara didn't miss her discomfort.

"Who exactly was that bitch?"

"Someone I never thought I'd deal with again." Emily muttered. "Thanks for the assist."

"No problem. You looked like you needed help."

"I owe you one." Emily smiled at her friend.

"Nah. You just keep doing what you do, especially at the Alliance." Samara waved it off. "I'm actually heading there. You want to come?"

"I'll swing by later. I'm going to run by the set and see if I can't catch up with Alison. I need to give her a heads up about our past coming back to harass us." Emily looked in the direction where Linda Tanner had walked off, a chilling shiver tingling down her spine.

"Damn, she really unnerved you, didn't she?" Samara could see the tension on her face.

"That's the cop that refused to listen to us when we lived in Rosewood. We ended up in an underground bunker because of her." Emily curled her lip up. "I'm not laying the blame entirely on her. Obviously, the person who hurt us is at fault, but she certainly didn't help. I don't know if I'll ever forgive her. And I sure as hell don't trust her."

"Well, if you hate her, then I hate her, too. If I see her anywhere near the Alliance I'll tell her to beat it." Samara nodded in solidarity.

"Thanks." Emily smiled. She saw her Uber pulling up. "That's my ride. I'll see you later." She secured her bag over her shoulder and waved at her friend.

Samara waved back and walked towards their van in the parking lot. Emily climbed in her Uber and pulled out her phone.

I'm swinging by set. Is that okay?

She didn't want to scare Alison or distract her from work. She just wanted to lay her eyes on her and make sure she was okay.

The Production Assistants and Alison's manager knew who she was, so they would usually let her quietly sit around when Alison was rehearsing or filming. She was always very respectful and had already signed an NDA. She suspected the Director had a soft spot for her since her father had died. Alison also admitted she performed marginally better when Emily was there.

She hadn't received a response by the time she reached the set, but she hopped out of the car and Venmo'd the Uber anyway.

Fortunately, she recognized one of the PA's as she was walking towards the entrance.

"Rhonda, hey!" Emily waved with a smile on her face.

Rhonda was a beautiful young dark skinned woman who ran circles around all the other PA's. She knew what she was doing and she was fantastic at her job. She also really liked Emily, because Emily had helped her little sister at the LGBTQ Alliance.

"Emily. How are you?" Rhonda smiled and waved her over.

"Finished with school a little early. Thought I'd swing by."

"Alison is in hair and make-up right now." Rhonda reached into one of the many pockets on her vest and pulled out a visitor's badge. Emily knew she always had them on her. "You might be able to catch her before she goes to set. You remember the way?"

"I do. Thanks." Emily took the badge. "How have you been?"

"Busy. Keeping everyone in line." Rhonda shot her a wink. "How are things at the Alliance?"

"Good." Emily smiled.

Rhonda's walkie-talkie went off and someone was calling for her.

"Gotta run." Rhonda grabbed the walkie from her belt buckle.

"Hey, Rhonda!" Someone else called from behind her.

"They do not pay you enough." Emily laughed.

"Yeah, no shit." Rhonda smiled.

Emily let her get back to work and slipped the visitor's badge around her neck. Security was there to meet her inside, which was reassuring to her. It meant Alison was safe. They checked her bag, finding only her laptop and some notes from class and waved her through.

Emily found Alison exactly where Rhonda said she would be.

She'd just finished her hair and make-up. She was on her way to wardrobe. She opened the door and nearly bowled the brunette over.

"Em!" Her eyes lit up excitement. "Hey, what's up? What are you doing here?" She would have pulled her in for a kiss, but she knew it would piss off her make-up artist, who would have to fix everything. Instead, she opted for air-kisses.

Our old frenemy is tracking us down and waving her FBI badge around for intimidation. Emily bit her tongue.

"Got out of school early and I wanted to see you in action." Emily admired her perfectly done make-up. Her hair looked so soft and inviting. "You look amazing."

"Don't I always?" Alison winked.

There was a pause in the conversation, a lull as Emily tried to decide whether or not she wanted to bring up the obvious. Their entire lives had been built on secrets and hidden emotions and she sure as hell wasn't going to go back to that.

"How are you doing? With…you know?" Emily trailed off.

Alison's face soured for a brief moment and for a second Emily regretted asking. But then she sighed and smiled.

"I talked to my brother. I think he has it a lot rougher than we do since he's Charlotte's guardian and lives in Rosewood. But he's hanging in there." Alison glanced in the mirror and popped her lips together. "He'll be fine. You know how he is."

"I do. When he's stressed he spirals…" Emily knew that from experience, because she spiraled when she was stressed, too.

"He's not drinking." Alison put her mind at ease. "I check in. And he says he talks to his sponsor when he needs to."

"Good. I'm glad. Has he sent over the list of doctors from Welby?" Emily asked.

"I haven't been able to check my e-mail."

"Spencer says it might be a good idea to track Charlotte's records and doctors from Radley, too." Emily suggested.

"That would be a good idea, but I'm sure she destroyed them." The blonde sneered.

"Not all of them. After we got out of the Dollhouse we did find those paper records when they were shutting Radley down. We didn't get a chance to really do more than glance at them. And there might be more." Emily wondered if they had been trashed or if they had been saved digitally somewhere.

"Maybe." But Alison didn't sound hopeful.

Back when Charlotte was in Radley everything had been paper records. Alison was sure Charlotte had torched them at some point. Or she'd had someone else torch them.

"Even if we don't find her records there might still be a list of doctors somewhere if they digitized the files."

"Didn't that place get sold to become a hotel property?" Alison paused to think about it. "Which is kind of fucked up when you think about it."

"Yeah. Definitely. Who would want to stay there knowing the truth of what was done to people there?" Emily shuddered.

"Weirdos and Ghost Hunters." Alison sighed. "That place should have been destroyed. It's so disrespectful to the people who were tortured there in the name of science." She rolled her eyes.

"True. It's basically asking for trouble…like building a city over an ancient Indian Burial ground or flooding Historic Black towns to make man-made lakes. It's asking for some wild curse to be placed upon it." Emily ran her fingers through her hair.

Her dad was a history buff and he'd told her stories about people disrespecting and disturbing the dead.

That was one thing she hadn't considered about her father's grave being vandalized. Maybe Sara and Charlotte were being haunted now. She hoped so. She hoped her father was marching around with his service weapons in the dark scaring everyone who ever hurt his baby girl.

Emily had loved learning history from him.

Her dad had pulled out books and talked about towns that were haunted because they were built over sacred Indian burial grounds and lakes that were made when racial relations created hostile white men in power who flooded and killed people in Black towns. Now people swam in those very lakes over their watery graves. But eerie things happened, including a lot of death.

Emily knew very well which lakes she would always avoid as a swimmer. If her father taught her anything, it was respect.

"Hey…" Alison touched Emily's cheek. "What's going through your mind? You just kind of disappeared on me."

Emily smiled and gently shook herself out of it. She was dealing with so much stress she wasn't sure how she was going to handle all of it.

"Just thinking about my dad." Emily reached out to cradle Alison's cheek, but pulled back because of her make-up. Instead she opted to grip her waist. "He's the one who taught me about curses and all that."

"Did he ever happen to say if there were any fixes for having a sister that curses you?" Alison asked hopefully.

Emily chuckled.

"Unfortunately not. We're just going to have to stick to getting Charlotte's records and old fashion detective work." Emily shrugged her bag off of her shoulder. "What time do you have to be on set?"

"Five minutes ago. And I still need to go to wardrobe." Alison glanced at the clock on the wall. "Why don't you come with? We're not shooting anything secretive today. I'm sure it would be fine if you were there."

"Sure." Emily nodded. She pulled her laptop out. "Will they have a problem if I do some research for my Physiology paper?"

"No. Just make sure the sound is off. Someone's cell went off the other day and ruined a take." She bit her lip and then scrunched her nose up with a guilty look on her face. "It was me. I am someone. It was my phone. My alerts on social media were going kind of crazy."

"You're lucky you're the star."

"Not the star." Alison disagreed. "Just one of the title character's daughters. I'm only billed as a guest."

"That's still a really big jump from a waitress in a movie with a few lines." Emily was really proud of her growth in the industry.

She'd gone from a small part to a guest star on a streaming show.

"I'm cautiously optimistic. There are only 8 episodes so far and we don't know if it will get picked up for a second season." Alison checked her make-up in the mirror.

"Can I ask you something?" Emily peered at her in the mirror.

"You can ask me anything." Alison smiled at their reflection.

"Has it been weird…playing someone else's daughter?"

Alison stared at herself for a few seconds in thought. Then she turned around and faced Emily.

"Not really. Sometimes I like to pretend that Andrea really is my mom. She's really nice, on and off screen. It would have been nice to have a mother like her. And she has two young kids who love her to death. She brings them to set sometimes. They're really cute." Her eyes twinkled in delight.

She really loved the innocence of childhood, because she'd never had a real childhood.

"Good." Emily nodded in satisfaction. "I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay with the content."

"I am. When that camera turns on I'm not Alison DiLaurentis anymore. I'm not the broken child my parents left behind. I'm Anneliese Remington, a sassy nineteen-year-old fashion connoisseur and a socialite's daughter rebelling against college and following her dream of becoming the next Vera Wang."

"So…you're playing yourself?" Emily teased. Alison shoved her with a laugh. "You know I'm just kidding."

"I suppose there are similarities." Alison winked. "Come on, if I am really late they'll send a terrified little intern in here to hurry me along. I've got to grab the shirt that goes with this skirt and get to set."

Emily grabbed her things and followed Alison out of the make-up room and into the wardrobe area. It opened up to a much larger space with a ton of different clothing labeled with character's names.

Alison grabbed her top and quickly changed out of her tank top, careful not to smudge her make-up. Then they rushed off to set.

Emily stopped in the open area where the crafty table was set up. She was tempted to grab something to eat. She hadn't had anything all day.

Instead she sat down at a small table and pulled her school supplies out. Nobody bothered her while they were filming. A few PA's recognized her and waved, but otherwise they were focused on the cast and the blocking of the scene. The director gave perfectly specific orders.

Emily lost herself in her work when she heard a call for everyone to be quiet on set. She didn't really watch most of the filming. She had too much school work to catch up on. And on top of that she had Charlotte to worry about…and now Linda Tanner, too.

She barely even registered when Rhonda walked over to where she was sitting.

"I think you're the only one here not trying to figure out where the plot is going." She smiled and sat down next to Emily. She grabbed two cold wraps from the table next to them, handing one to Emily.

"To be fair, I haven't even seen much of what they've shot." Emily shrugged.

She watched as they blocked another scene and the director gave notes to the actors. Alison nodded intensely as she took in whatever she was being told. She took it very seriously.

"If you want to know a secret, neither have I." Rhonda laughed, reaching for two waters and giving one to Emily. "Been too busy keeping everyone on top of their job."

"Thanks." Emily reached for the cold wrap and the water. "I haven't really had anything to eat today."

"I know." Rhonda pulled the foil off of the wrap and peeled it back. "Alison said when you get really focused sometimes you forget to do basic things…like eat and drink. She said she saw you look at the food when you first got here, but you didn't touch it."

It amazed Emily how perceptive the blonde was, even when she thought she wasn't looking. It was remarkable that Alison hadn't figured out that Emily was hiding something when she first got there.

"Sometimes I think that school sucks up all of my brain and shuts it down entirely to everything else but the work." Emily glanced at her research.

"What are you working on?"

"Physiology."

"Ohhh…no thanks." Rhonda took a bite of her cold wrap and chewed. She swallowed and took a sip of water. "I'd rather be up for 36 hours straight babysitting petulant adult actors who act like children than deal with science and math. It's not that I'm not good at it. I am. I just hate it."

I used to care about it more. Emily thought to herself.

She unwrapped her food and took a few bites. Immediately, she could feel her stomach thanking her.

"This is my last semester. Then I'm thinking of going for my Master's." Emily sipped on her water.

"What about a PhD? You want to be a doctor?" Rhonda questioned.

"I don't know." Emily still wasn't sure what she was doing. She'd gotten into the field because she wanted to help with medical research, but she really liked helping people in the field, too. "I'm still figuring that out. I don't know if I want to do research or if I want to do something like Physical Rehabilitation."

"Well, Alison is shooting her way to stardom. So whatever you do, you two will make quite the power couple."

Emily paused and stared at her.

She'd almost forgotten that Alison had posted a picture of them cuddling on Instagram. It didn't say much about their relationship status, but it was obvious they were together.

People had been really supportive, which was a relief to both of them. Emily stopped to consider the fact that maybe it's how Tanner knew she was with Alison, though she could have just as easily discovered that by watching them from afar.

"Word travels fast on social media." Emily laughed.

"Oh, girl, I knew before that post. The way Alison looks at you like you're her world? And when she's not here she's at the Alliance with you." Rhonda winked. "I had you two clocked the second I saw you together."

"That obvious, huh?" Emily blushed.

"I'm just that observant." Rhonda took another bite of her cold wrap.

Emily did the same.

"You doing anything for Valentine's Day?" Rhonda dabbed a napkin against her mouth.

Emily blinked blankly, for a moment not registering the words. Their lives had been such a whirlwind lately that she barely even realized how much time had gone by.

It was February already.

"We usually stay fairly low-key." Emily took another bite of food to keep from saying something she might regret.

Shit. Fuck. Shit. How could I forget Valentine's Day? I'm sure Alison has something planned. What is wrong with me?

"That's honestly refreshing." Rhonda smiled. "It's all bullshit anyway. Just candy and flower companies making it corporate. Besides, it gets so old when people in the limelight are constantly shoving their relationships down our throats. If I have to do one more Bachelor or Bachelorette show I'm going to lose it. I've only worked on two productions of it and that was enough. No one knows how to keep their private lives private anymore."

"I definitely don't have that problem." Emily chuckled nervously.

It was never her prerogative to be someone who focused on anything other than her passion in life.

Alison turned and saw the two of them eating together and gave them a little wave. Emily waved back before Alison turned back to the cast of characters.

A few minutes later Rhonda was telling Emily good luck on her homework and was getting back to set. They got everything rolling again. Emily watched them film while she finished the cold wrap and then went back to her homework.

The filming took several hours, but Emily didn't mind. It didn't really matter where she did her school work. She felt comfortable being closer to Alison, knowing she was safe. Especially after her run in with Linda Tanner.

She tried not to get distracted by the fact that she had planned nothing for Valentine's Day. And it wasn't just any Valentine's Day. It was the first Valentine's Day that she and Alison would be spending as a couple.

When the director called cut for Alison and wrapped her for the day they made their way back to where the clothes were.

Alison was chatty the whole way. Emily let her dominate the conversation. She was trying to figure out how to tell Alison about Tanner. She wasn't sure what Tanner's motive was for following up on the recording. She didn't trust her intentions.

She knew Alison wasn't going to take the news well. Tanner is the one who made sure she was hauled off to jail, where the blonde had been tortured behind bars before her name was cleared.

They were the only ones in the wardrobe area. Usually it was bustling with people, but they'd all dispersed somewhere on set. Alison was the only one wrapped for the day and she had a very simple wardrobe. The skirt was actually hers. They liked her in it so much they paired it with a cute fashionable top from their collection.

"You've been really quiet." Alison touched Emily's lips curiously. "Focused on school?"

She seemed happy with the possibility that Emily might be interested in her academics again.

"Mostly." Emily nodded. But that wasn't the reason for her silence.

Alison smiled and reached for her tank top. Emily looked around to make sure they were alone. She didn't see or hear anyone.

"Um, so I've been wanting to talk to you about something." Emily gently approached the topic.

"Oh, shit…did you get another threatening text?" Alison's eyes radiated deep concern.

"No. Nothing like that." Emily watched as Alison let out a visible sigh of relief. "I ran into someone today…"

"Oh?" Alison pulled her character's shirt off, exposing her bra. She pulled her tank top on. "A good someone?"

"No. Not exactly." Emily clenched her jaw. "It was Linda Tanner."

Alison stopped in her tracks and spun around.

"What? Where?" Her eyes were wide with fear, but she had a hint of anger in them.

Emily could hear what she was thinking.

How dare she accost my girl? After what that woman did to us she should have been fired and arrested.

"She saw me outside of school when I was leaving today. I think she was waiting on me. She says she's in town because she's meeting up with her sister…who is also a cop, but in a smaller town in Oregon…"

"Jesus…there are more Linda Tanners out there?" Alison frowned.

"Apparently." Emily nodded and lowered her voice. "She also got a promotion. She's with the FBI now. And she was following up on the recording the cops got of Charlotte's confession."

"And you're just now telling me this?" Alison scowled at her for keeping it to herself.

"I didn't want to distract you while you were working. It's not like I was never going to say anything." Emily assured her.

"That's kind of something I needed to know." Alison huffed. "What if she'd showed up here?"

"I don't think Rhonda would let her in without a really good reason." Emily imagined she'd tell the older woman to either come back with a warrant or get lost.

"She has a badge…"

"A Shield." Emily frowned. Tanner had been so smug about correcting her. "And she didn't pull it on me. She doesn't have any reason to. She's clearly just fishing."

"What did she say?" Alison asked.

"I didn't give her a chance to say much of anything. Answered her questions with questions…"

"Where did you learn how to do that?" Alison seemed impressed.

"Spencer. Where else?" Emily laughed. "Anyway, she mentioned she was in town and following up on the recording. I snapped at her."

"She probably deserved it."

"I told her we left Rosewood in our rearview. Before she could ramp up her questions, Samara came in for the save. She saw me and after we walked away she said I looked really uncomfortable."

"I will be buying Samara a Sangria the next time we go out." Alison nodded in satisfaction.

"I don't think Tanner knows anything. She probably assumes we had something to do with it since it's clear we were in Rosewood for the holidays. And Sara ended up in prison because of us, too. It's not like we can hide that."

Though they'd tried to be low-key during the holidays in Rosewood, Charlotte and her merry band of terrorists had other plans in mind.

"Did she mention that?" Alison bit her lip.

"No, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before she realizes that the footage of Sara confessing is from my mother's security camera."

"Have you told the others yet?" Alison grabbed her overcoat.

Her new fashion trend was dressing in layers.

"I wanted to talk to you first. It's why I came straight here. I thought we could grab a late lunch before my shift at the LGBTQ Alliance."

"Or we could grab lunch and go there." Alison suggested.

"You're not tired? You've been up since four this morning." Emily was impressed with her stamina.

"Being in front of the camera invigorates me. I could run a marathon right now." Alison twirled around, energy exuding off of her. "So…what are you in the mood for? My treat." She pulled her phone out of her coat pocket. "We'll do door dash to the Alliance so there's less of a chance that we'll run into the demon in heels carrying a badge."

"I'm not really hungry. I had a cold wrap…"

"Yeah, three hours ago." Alison scoffed and rolled her eyes. "That's not a real meal. So…what do you want?"

"Dealer's choice. Whatever you're in the mood for." Emily couldn't help but smile. Sometimes Alison could be so motherly.

"What I really want to do is chew Linda Tanner up and spit her out." Alison started grinding her teeth. "But since that's not an option I'll settle for Greek. I'm craving Mediterranean."

"Works for me." Emily shrugged.

"Maybe I should order some pizza for everyone else." Alison browsed through her phone.

"That's a good idea. I'll pitch in to cover the tab. People there love their food. Max could eat an entire pizza in one sitting. He's coming in after his shift on the beach."

"I didn't know the beach had opened back up to the public."

"Yeah. But it's usually not very busy. Just people walking along the shoreline. Max loves the cooler air. He's always so chipper when he comes to the Alliance after a shift there. And I bet he would love it if he was greeted with pizza today." Emily smiled.

"Do you know what he likes?" Alison peeled her eyes away from her phone and looked at the brunette.

Emily chuckled.

"The whole world knows what he likes." Emily tapped her index finger against the side of Alison's phone. "Check his Snapchat or Insta."

"Ah, using stalking powers for good. I love it." Alison nodded in approval.

They called an Uber and rode out to the Alliance. Alison was glued to her phone for the most part. After she ordered the food she scanned her social media content to make sure that there wasn't anything Linda Tanner could even remotely try to use against them.

When she was satisfied she pulled up her most recent TikTok, scouring the comments to make sure things weren't getting out of hand. A lot of her fans had caught wind of the drama back in Rosewood. Some said nothing. Some were supportive. And some had other opinions. But for the most part they were all on her side.

She had gotten a few hate comments, too.

She wasn't sure if it was Charlotte and Wren or just regular trolls. She deleted the three negative comments.

How could you abandon your own sister?

Someone had replied,

Someone didn't read the whole story. The woman TORTURED people! Including Alison!

The other two judgmental comments were generic.

Bitch.

And,

You act so wholesome and pure, but we all know you're hiding major secrets.

Someone had replied to that one, too.

Go touch a grass, keyboard warrior. Would do you some good to get out of your mom's basement.

"How bad is it?" Emily leaned over her shoulder and looked at Alison's screen.

"Not bad enough for me to limit or turn my comments off." She acted like she wasn't concerned, but Emily could see that she was shaken.

The Uber pulled to a stop outside the Alliance.

The sudden loss of movement jerked Alison back into reality. She was safe back on set, but now the idea of Tanner lurking in the shadows was at the forefront of her mind.

She looked around, expecting Tanner to leap out from behind a corner, but other than a few bigoted protestors who were clearly sent from some religious cult...there wasn't much going on.

They had the driver pull around the side and then walked to the employee entrance.

They made their way through the building, finding Samara holding a clipboard with some paperwork outside of a room a few minutes later.

"What have we got?" Emily asked.

"Junior in high school. She's being bullied because she likes girls." Samara frowned.

Samara had been dealing with kids struggling in life since she was in her LGBTQ club in high school.

Alison's eyes darted down towards the floor, insurmountable guilt washing over her. She'd been that bully to Emily.

Emily tried not to go back to her past…back to when she was teased for liking girls. It wasn't the first time she'd dealt with a kid who was going through what she went through.

"I thought kids here were more tolerant and open-minded. We're in California after all." Alison lifted her brows in surprise.

"Yeah, that rule doesn't really apply to Catholic school kids."

"That explains it." Emily shuddered.

Her mother had used her religion as a weapon until she learned better.

"I'd like to try my hand at this one." Alison put her palm gently against Emily's arm. "If that's okay with you."

"Sure."

"I'll go with you." Samara offered.

"I'd like that." Alison smiled.

Emily watched them walk off. Alison was trying so hard to right all her past wrongs.

It wasn't very busy, so Emily walked into the conference room and used the phone to call and follow up with some of the kids she'd worked with to make sure they were okay.

Twenty minutes into her calls, Max came rushing in with a huge smile on his face.

He had a paper plate with two slices of pizza on it.

"You ordered my favorite!" He exclaimed in excitement.

"Alison ordered it." Emily pushed the rolly chair out from underneath the large table and stood up.

Max looked like he wanted to hug her, but she was not always comfortable with affection and he respected her boundaries.

"She's a queen." He grinned. "Your food is here, too."

"Great. Alison is in with someone right now, but she and Samara should be finished soon."

"It's so cool that she helps out here."

"You help out here, too." Emily chuckled.

"Yeah, but I'm not a celebrity." He gushed.

Max had loved Alison's content even before Emily and Alison had started dating. He'd been so awkward about asking Emily to introduce him to her. It was cute.

"I'd beg to differ, Freddie Mercury Jr. No one belts out a Bohemian Rhapsody cover better than you do." She walked towards the door, the smell of the melted cheese and tomato sauce wafting through the air.

"My finest performance." Max trailed along behind her, shoving the pizza into his mouth and taking a bite.

"Is José here, too?" Emily asked as they walked down the hallway.

"He's at work." Max shook his head.

The hallways were unusually empty. Emily was used to people coming and going.

She wasn't used to the silence. She didn't like it. It reminded her too much of the Dollhouse when the silence was often pierced by an alarm so loud it hurt their ears and flashing red lights that burned their eyes.

Fortunately, it wasn't completely quiet. Max was talking her ear off as they walked towards the front.

Zoe was sitting at the front desk area alone.

"Where is everyone?" Emily looked around.

"They're congregating in the break room. I was abandoned for the pizza." Zoe laughed.

"We can watch the front if you want to grab a slice. Alison ordered veggie options, too." Emily sat in the chair next to her.

"Oh, really?" She smiled and stood up, offering Max her chair. "I think I will. Thanks."

Zoe waved as she walked off towards the break room. The smell of pizza was much stronger in the lobby. It smelled hot and fresh and Emily almost opted to get a slice, but then she remembered the Greek food.

As if he could read her mind, Max reached underneath the desk and pulled out two bags.

"I saved your food when it came in. Didn't want it getting mixed up with the pizza." Max handed her the bags. "I told Zoe to guard it with her life."

Emily took the bags from him with a laugh.

"I could see her with war paint on her face daring anyone to come at her."

"She'd win against a hungry 300 pound man, easily." Max put his plate down and grabbed his phone.

Emily put the bags with their food on top of the desk. She could feel the warmth radiating off of it.

Max played around making a TikTok out of his enjoyment of pizza. She watched him as she curiously started digging the food out of the bag.

After he posted his video he put his phone down against the desk and started attacking the pizza with the fervor of a toddler discovering ice cream for the first time.

Emily laughed at his antics.

An alert popped up on the screen. Emily assumed that it was someone commenting on his TikTok.

Instead she saw a news alert that made her blood run cold.

FOUR AMERICAN SOLDIERS KILLED IN IED EXPLOSION

Max glanced down at the screen, not looking to see that Emily's face had turned ashen.

He mumbled under his breath and swiped the alert away.

But it wasn't fast enough to erase the violent images flashing through Emily's mind of her father's death.

She'd had nightmares about it. Her dad, dying, covered in blood…thinking of her and her mother.

It suddenly looked very real to her.

"I thought I muted these news alerts. It's like…can't I get away from the real world once in a while? You know what I mean, Em?"

When he peered up he saw the fear in Emily's eyes.

Emily dropped the recyclable container holding her Papoutsakia on the desk and the top popped open, her stuffed eggplant spilling over the side.

"Oh, shit." It only took Max seconds to piece it together. "Your dad…"

Before he could finish, Emily was stumbling out of her chair. All of the pain she'd felt the day she got the call from her mom flooded her senses. Then everything else she was going through piled on top of it. Charlotte. Jessica's death. The threats. Linda Tanner.

It was squeezing the life out of her.

Her chest started to feel tight, shooting pains radiating from her heart. She was certain if a heart could physically crack in half hers would be in shambles.

Her lungs seized…just like they had when Paige pushed her under the water in high school. Just like they had when she was running out of oxygen in the barn full of carbon monoxide. Just like they had when she was drowning in the Dollhouse. Just like they had when she ran into Linda Tanner earlier. And just like they had the day her dad died.

She couldn't breathe.

Spots formed in her eyes and the room started spinning.

She was running through the front doors without even realizing that she was moving seconds later.

She thought the cool fresh air might help, but instead…everything was too loud and too bright.

She couldn't get her bearings.

"I'm going to die. I'm dying." She sputtered out a cough, the pain in her chest getting heavier.

She heard rapid footsteps approaching and she spun around, fight or flight mode completely activated.

She couldn't even relax when she saw that it was just Max.

Her head was pounding and her veins felt like they were on fire.

"Em? You okay?" Max timidly stepped towards her.

"Panic attack." She choked out. She pressed her palm against her chest, her heart beating wildly against it.

She felt like she was going to pass out.

"What can I do? Should I get Alison?" He looked between the door and where Emily stood.

"No." The last thing Emily needed to do was give the blonde another reason to worry. "Just…talk to me. About…about anything."

"Okay." For once, he struggled with what to say. So he just started to blather on. "You remember when you got me the job as a Lifeguard with you? I think about it a lot. I almost flubbed it up my first day. You were so supportive and patient, but I was eager and overzealous. I thought I saw someone who needed help and I didn't check my surroundings before running towards the water. I stepped on that huge seashell and fell flat on to my face smack dab in the water. Sucked so much of it in that I was floundering when the tide rolled out…with me in tow. I almost got caught in a riptide, but then I saw you coming in after my clumsy ass. You had to save me that day."

"I remember." Emily took a breath, trying to control her respiration.

"Anyone else probably would have laughed at me, but you just helped me back to my feet and took me to medical to get my foot looked at."

"Two puncture wounds." Emily nodded.

He'd been so embarrassed that he hadn't noticed the blood on his foot, but she did.

"That seashell was sharp as hell. I learned my lesson that day. I got better because you were so patient with me. And look at me now. A total Baywatch babe." He winked.

Emily found the air in her lungs to laugh.

Her chest pains were subsiding.

"Thank you, Max."

"Hey, I owed you. You saved me first." He shrugged.

There was a quiet pause as he let Emily get her bearings.

"I…I'm sorry about…" He glanced back towards the building. He'd been in such a rush to catch her he'd left his phone. And he never left his phone. "…what happened back there. I didn't know that was going to pop up."

"It's not your fault." Emily bent down, letting the air soothe her lungs. She placed her hands against her knees and blew out a breath.

She slowly stood up and looked at the innocent boy in front of her. And she had a fleeting thought,

How could his parents not love him? What is wrong with them?

"I should probably call to check in on my mom." She quietly said to herself.

"Like…right now?"

Emily shook herself out of her daze.

"Just reminding myself." She replied. "I'm going to call her after we eat. We should go back in…"

Before Alison discovers I'm missing and has a panic attack of her own.

"Are you sure you're okay?" The normally confident stride in Max's gait had turned into him shifting uncomfortably on his feet.

"Yeah."

"Okay." He walked by her side as they made their way back inside.

Emily glanced back, appreciative that no one had been out protesting at the time. They probably would have eaten her alive.

When they got back to the front desk Max helped her clean her spilled lunch up. She managed to salvage her meal. It was a little messy, but still edible.

Max scarfed down what was left of his pizza and then wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Are you going to tell Alison?" he asked curiously.

"She knows I have panic attacks, but I don't tell her every time I have one. Besides…she has a lot on her plate right now…"

Charlotte.

Jason.

Her mother.

The cops.

All things that Max knew very little about.

"Well, if you ever need to talk to someone I'm an expert at listening. Had a good teacher named Emily Fields. You ever heard of her?"

Emily laughed.

"I'll be fine." She gave him a warm smile. "Now you might want to get to the break room before all the pizza is gone. I know you could go for more."

"Will you be okay alone?"

Emily noticed Alison and Samara walking down the hallway. They were engaged in a serious conversation, but they were smiling.

"I won't be alone." She waved when Alison looked her way.

"Ah, well, I know an exit cue when I get one. You two lovebirds play nice." He grabbed his plate and walked towards Alison and Samara. "Samara…PIZZA!" He held up his empty plate. "Let's go fight people for it. I'll protect you while you go in and grab it."

Samara didn't have to be asked twice.

Alison broke away from the other blonde and walked over to Emily.

"How did it go?" Emily asked.

"Really well." Alison took the empty seat beside her. "What trouble have you been keeping Max out of?"

"I distracted him with food. He was very well-behaved." Emily pushed Alison's food towards her.

"Oh, delicious." She opened the container with her Vegetarian Moussaka. When Emily opened the container with her meal Alison frowned in confusion. "Did someone beat your eggplant up or was it just a really shitty delivery person?"

"No, the delivery went fine. Tip generously. This is all me. The container slipped out of my hands. I made a mess." Emily smiled sheepishly.

"What distracted you? School or Tanner?" She sneered at the woman's name.

My dead father and a panic attack.

"A little bit of everything. But I'm okay now."

"That's all that matters." Alison leaned over and pecked her cheek.

They ate their lunch and then went to work.

It wasn't until hours later when they had collapsed on their couch in the condo that Alison saw the alert about an e-mail from her brother.

It was a good end to a long day.

He had come through with the list of doctors.

They huddled together in the living room as Alison pulled up the list.

There were dozens of names over the course of the three years Charlotte had been in Welby. They decided that they were going to start with Welby and then look into Radley to see if there was any potential crossover.

They scrolled through the list searching for names they recognized.

Only one stood out.

"Jess Springer. I actually remember her." Alison curled her nose up at the name. "Bitchy young 20-something who was condescending and hypocritical as hell. She was a skinny rail of a thing with a big honking nose I felt like punching. I really hated her. And that says a lot because I don't really remember any of Charlotte's doctors. She has some Insta-page, but she blocked me for calling her out for not being professional about her patients. I swear she was more immature as an adult than I was at 15."

"Wow, don't hold back." Emily chuckled.

"It wasn't just the way that she treated Charlotte. She just had no respect for anyone who had a different opinion. Righteous passive-aggressive bitch. Other than that, none of these names really register." She shrugged.

"You think she'd hate you enough to team up with Charlotte?"

"I mean…I did have her fired from Charlotte's team. But I doubt she'd stop self-aggrandizing long enough to form any kind of plan. She was shallow and vain."

They slowly went through the list looking for something else that might give them a clue.

A few minutes later Alison stopped scrolling and peered at the screen.

"What? What is it?" Emily asked.

"Theodore Kim." Alison cocked her head as she read the name aloud. "Why does that name ring a bell?"

"Did you ever watch The Chipmunks when you were younger?" Emily asked, peering at the name, a smile tugging at her lips despite the seriousness of the situation. "Does he have brothers named Alvin and Simon?"

"Jason always hogged the TV." She bristled when she said her brother's name. "So we had to watch what he wanted. He was such a selfish asshole." Not much had changed since then. Alison turned the list sideways, like seeing it from a new view might give her the answers. "I don't think I know anyone named Theodore. Well, I mean…except Theodore Roosevelt. But I highly doubt a dead president is helping my sister from beyond the grave."

Emily thought about it for a second.

"Maybe he goes by something else. Theo? Teddy?" The brunette suggested.

Alison saw a tiny beacon of light flickering in her mind.

"Teddy…" She said the name slowly. It rang the slightest bell. "Where have I heard that name before?"

Emily was quiet, letting her process.

After a minute, Alison's eyes brightened.

"Oh my God!" Her jaw went slack. She faced Emily. "Okay, so take this with a grain of salt, because I didn't exactly hear it from a reliable source, but Charlotte told me the story about how her mom ended up in Radley long before Charlotte went there. Apparently, my mother was babysitting, but called her twin sister…Mary…because she said she wanted to go out with her boyfriend instead. Mary apparently went there because she owed my mom a favor. My mom told her the baby was sleeping and that she didn't want to bother him. Mary decided to leave the kid alone. When the parents got home they found out their son was dead in his crib. His name was Teddy."

"How long ago was this?" Emily's interest was piqued.

"They were Juniors or Seniors in college. They were visiting home for the weekend. They were in their early twenties. So twenty five to thirty years ago. My aunt tried to blame my mom, but no one really knows the truth. It died with them. But my grandparents sided with my mother, and Mary got sent to a mental institution. She apparently slept with someone there at some point and that's how she ended up pregnant with Charlotte. She died during childbirth. That's why my mother took Charlotte in."

"How sure are we that she's actually dead?" Emily lifted a hesitant brow.

"I mean…I've seen the death certificate. But this could all still tie back to her somehow. What are the chances that a name as rare as Teddy would circle into this?" Alison no longer believed in coincidences.

"But who would use his name? Did he have any siblings?" Emily asked. "Or older friends who remember him?"

"I don't know."

"What about his parents?"

"I don't know about them either. Allegedly it was too much for them and they moved out of town." Alison grumbled in frustration.

"What about Mary's friends? Or someone who treated her in Radley? Or Charlotte's dad? Maybe he knew the truth? It could be someone out for revenge for what your mom did."

"I'm not sure. I don't know much about Mary. And Charlotte never knew her. Her biological father is not listed on the birth certificate. Radley signed her over to my mom the second she was born."

Emily hesitated, but then she said what they were both thinking.

"We should call Caleb. He could work wonders with this."

"Maybe even Spencer or…Mona." Alison cringed when she mentioned the small brunette's name.

"No. Not with Tanner sniffing around like a Bloodhound. Mona is too sensitive and has a tendency to spiral. There is no way in hell I'm sending her back down that rabbit hole. And we're not pulling Spencer into this." Emily shook her head. "I thought we agreed on that."

They'd just had the discussion about leaving the girls out of it. Emily was surprised Alison had suggested it.

"She could have pull with people who could help." Alison chewed her lip.

"So far we've been doing fine. Caleb can stay under the radar. But Spencer is in the public eye. I'm not doing that to her. Not after everything she's been through." Emily put her foot down.

Alison knew she was right, but she was desperate.

"Yeah…I get that." Alison agreed.

Emily placed her palms gently against Alison's arms.

"Hey, we're going to figure this out, okay? I promise." She leaned in and kissed her girlfriend's forehead.

Alison couldn't help but smile.

The smile slowly faded.

"You don't think…" She trailed off and then shook her head like it was a ridiculous thought. "Teddy isn't the only abbreviated version of Theodore. What about Pastor Ted? What if Teddy was a Ted Junior? Ted does have ties to Rosewood…"

"I'm sure we can look into it just to cover all of our bases, but I don't think so. If he was Teddy's father I don't think he'd help Charlotte given that she's Mary's child. Why help someone he doesn't even know, especially if that person's mom is suspected of killing his child?" Emily had trouble picturing Ashley's benevolent fiancé as a sociopath. "Besides, I saw him help ducklings cross the road once, and his favorite place to visit is the homeless shelter to help out however he can. The man talks to butterflies and relocates ladybugs. My mom said Ashley told her that he cried watching some movie about dogs. It's hard to see him as someone who would do this. And he's showed my mother and Ashley pictures of his life growing up. He's been in the clergy since he graduated high school."

"Ugh, starving off sex for an imaginary sky-fairy. I can't even imagine." Alison shuddered.

"Didn't you go to church?" Emily teased. "Be careful or that sky-fairy might smite you."

"I have my own devil in my life smiting me already." Alison glanced at her phone. "Besides, I didn't really believe in it. Being forced to go to church when I was younger made it harder for me to come out."

"Yeah, I can relate. We're sinners." Emily shrugged with a grin.

"There was a brief time I wanted to believe in it. After I got back and my mother died. I just wanted to find a way to be connected to her. But it didn't help." Alison sighed. "I was just kind of walking around aimlessly. On the outside it might have looked like I standing tall and wasn't afraid of anything. But on the inside I was dying."

Emily hugged her.

"I just want this to stop. I want Charlotte to stop. I want justice for my mom."

"We'll fix this. We're going to fix it." Emily promised. "I'll see if Caleb will double check for us on everything, including Ted…just to be safe. I have a feeling that whoever is doing this is isn't much older than Charlotte, though. Hell, maybe it's someone she dated."

Alison made a face.

"She dated my brother…" She replied squeamishly. "They never did anything, but still…that's gross to even think about. She's our sister."

"No one in that damn town knows how to keep their pants on." Emily mumbled.

"Are you going to ask Caleb about Radley? We could see if Theodore is on that list, too."

"Definitely."

Alison paused, staring down into her lap.

"He's safe, right? No one knows he's involved?"

"The man is an IT genius. No one has caught on because he's been doing this since he was a kid. Plus, Hanna is ferocious about protecting him…and Cheese." Emily added before Alison could ask.

She grabbed her phone off of the end table and pulled up Caleb's number.

She glanced at the clock. It was a little after five in New York. She knew that Caleb worked odd hours, but sometimes he worked at home so he could be with Cheese so the cat wasn't alone.

She was hoping to catch him, but after a few rings the call went to voicemail.

"Hey, Mr. Robot. Alison and I have something we need to talk to you about. We got some new information. Just give me a call when you get a chance."

She hung up and put her phone down.

Alison looked annoyed that he hadn't picked up, but Emily knew it was only because she was anxious and tired.

Emily picked up the remote and turned on the TV, searching for something for them to stream to take their mind off of everything.

"Oh, go back." Alison perked up. "I want to see that period drama. I've heard it compared to Dickens quite a bit. I think we'll both like it."

"Okay." Emily happily scrolled back and hit the play button.

She moved closer to the blonde and put her arm around her shoulder, giving Alison a nice little nook to lean her head against.

They were nearly twenty-five minutes into the show when Alison's phone started to ring. The noise startled her. She swallowed back a quiet "eep!" but when she saw the number she relaxed.

"I've got to take it." She gave Emily an apologetic look. "It's my publicist. We've been talking about how best to approach this whole Charlotte thing blowing up. We've been working on a statement that protects my image and helps me maintain my innocence."

"You don't have to maintain anything. You are innocent." Emily paused the show.

"When you're being scrutinized in the public court of opinion that's full of online blowhards just waiting for a juicy story…you have to maintain it while also being sympathetic." Alison stood up. "I promise it won't always be like this."

"Even if it was, I'm not going anywhere." Emily smiled at her.

Alison gave her a quick peck on the cheek and walked into their bedroom to take the call. Emily took the opportunity to grab some snacks from the kitchen. They'd had a late lunch and not really much of a dinner. Neither one of them were terribly hungry. But Emily knew she needed to maintain some kind of regimen for her jogs and for when she worked on the beach.

She was nosing around in the refrigerator when her phone buzzed from the kitchen table.

She closed the fridge door and looked at the caller ID, relieved to see Caleb's contact image: a picture of him with Hanna and their cat…who had weaseled his way into the photo.

"Hey, Caleb." Emily answered.

"Hey. So I…"

"Hold on just a second…" Emily maneuvered the phone around to her other ear and balanced a cup of Greek yogurt in her other hand.

She walked into the living room. She could hear Alison talking behind the closed door, but couldn't hear what was being said.

"Crap. I was hoping Alison would be done with her call." Emily put the yogurt down. "Jason sent us the list of doctors from Welby. Spencer suggested we try to get her files from Radley. And now I'm thinking we definitely need those files to compare what we found in the list we got from Welby. Alison recognized one of the names. Someone named Theodore Kim."

"Theodore Kim," Caleb said aloud.

Emily could hear him typing on his laptop.

"Yeah. We started wondering if maybe Theodore went by a nickname, and when I mentioned Teddy she had this memory come back to her." Emily slowly went into detail about what Alison had told her.

She told him about Mary and Jessica babysitting and both blaming the other when the little boy, Teddy, was found dead in his crib. She told him about how the family had moved away and that Mary had been put into Radley where a few years later she slept with someone and ended up pregnant with Charlotte and then died during childbirth.

She told him her suspicions that maybe Teddy…or Theodore…somehow tied back to Charlotte and about how maybe there had been siblings or older friends who wanted Alison's mother to pay for what had been done to Teddy. Or that maybe someone in Mary's life wanted revenge. She said it was probable that Charlotte and Teddy's ally had somehow crossed paths with Charlotte and found out the truth about Jessica and Mary.

She explained Alison's concerns about Pastor Ted and went over everything she and Alison had discussed.

"I hate to even ask, but…can you look into this whole Theodore Kim-Teddy theory? And I think Alison would feel more at ease if you double checked that Pastor Ted doesn't have any ties to Teddy."

"I did a background check on him years ago when he started dating Ashley. I wanted to make sure Ashley and Hanna were safe around him. Ted is actually his middle name. And it's not short for Teddy or Theodore…it's actually Ted. His first name is James, but he's gone by Ted since he was a kid. He grew up in Scranton, was a standout student, played for the football team, and was in several after school clubs. Right after high school he went into the clergy. Never married. No kids. His mother lived until she was 89. His dad is still alive and lives off a golf course in a retirement community. No brothers or sisters."

"Great, then we're ahead of the game. I didn't think it could be him either, but we needed to be sure." Emily sat down on the sofa.

She could still hear Alison's voice softly muffled by the door.

"We think whoever this Theodore is will lead us to who is still helping Charlotte. He clearly has access to her as a doctor…if he really is one. If he was involved back at Radley then we have even more evidence to go on. This person could have been helping Charlotte from the very beginning." Emily glanced at the paused TV screen.

There was a pause, and then Caleb responded,

"Well that explains what I was calling you about."

"Wait. You weren't returning my message?" Emily asked.

"I saw you'd called, but didn't have time to listen to the message. You said you want Hanna involved in this as little as possible. And I only had a twenty minute window while she's showering. We're down to five."

"So, if you weren't returning my message…but you don't want Hanna to overhear…what is it exactly that you're calling about? Did you find something?" Emily leaned forward, hope rising in her veins.

"I did," he said. "I was combing through the records on Jessica DiLaurentis's murder."

"Caleb…" Emily wavered in uncertainty. She didn't want him breaking the law.

"I have security clearance. Plus Toby has friends in the Department he trusts."

Spencer is going to hate this.

"I told him to stay out of it." Emily mumbled.

Toby was in closest proximity to Charlotte. Emily didn't like him putting himself in danger. The person responsible for stalking them was physically out there in Rosewood roaming free. Not to mention Tanner.

"I didn't even ask. We were just talking about how he's been getting closer to Spencer again and he's really worried about something happening to her. I think we all know they still love each other. It's only a matter of time before they're married." Caleb laughed softly.

"Yeah, Spence talks about him a lot, too." Emily smiled. "She says Toby came to see her in DC a week ago. He's been checking in on her."

"Which is exactly why he mentioned that he had the case file for Jessica's murder. He asked me to look through it."

"You and Toby need to be really careful." Emily realized she hadn't even mentioned her run-in with Linda Tanner. "Tanner has been called in on the case. And she's a Fed now."

"Jesus. After everything she did to screw up back in Rosewood they gave her a promotion?" Caleb grumbled angrily. "What a bunch of bullshit."

He had no love for Linda Tanner. They'd tried to tell her the girls were in trouble, but Tanner refused to hear them out.

"I don't know how she got where she is, but she's a lot more dangerous now. She caught me at school today."

"Great, she's stalking you all again?"

Emily could hear the rage in his tone. It had his signature inflection of over-protection.

"Trying to, I think." Emily said. "So just please be careful."

"Don't worry. Toby and I won't get in trouble. Toby still had his badge back then and he had access to the file. He was looking over what he had and he offered it up to me to see if I saw what he saw."

"Which is what?"

"The cops missed something."

"Not surprising. They're inept." Emily rolled her eyes.

"I immediately saw what Toby was talking about when I saw the records. Jessica didn't die in the yard. She didn't just drop dead in a convenient space to be buried. She probably died at home. Her body was moved before rigor and lividity set in. Most likely immediately after she took her last breath. Someone was watching her…"

"Charlotte. You heard her admit it."

"Right. But moving dead weight is not a one person job. Whoever dug the grave made sure no footprints were found, but the thing about where she was buried…had it just been Charlotte she would have had to drag her or cart her out there. And it's not exactly right next to the house. She couldn't have done it on her own. There were no drag marks. That specifically points to Jessica being carried. As strong as Charlotte might be there is no way she could lift that much weight alone."

"Wait…what are you saying?" Emily slowly processed what he was telling her.

"I think you're right about Charlotte having help from the very beginning. It couldn't have been Noel or his brothers because they weren't in town when Jessica died. And as sketchy as Jason has been, I know he was in rehab. Besides, I don't know that he would have covered for Charlotte if she killed his mother back then. So Charlotte had to have someone else helping her. Someone who could lift Jessica and carry her down to the Hastings property."

There was a lingering pause in the conversation.

Emily swallowed a lump in her throat. She couldn't talk. She could barely breathe. Sara wouldn't have been able to help either. She was a skinny little rail with no upper arm strength. She was pretty sure what Caleb was suggesting, and it's not like it was a surprise, but for some reason she couldn't say it.

Thankfully, she didn't have to, because Caleb said it for her.

"Em…Charlotte wasn't alone when Jessica was murdered. Someone else was there that night."

---

A/N: Well, that was a lot. Leaves much for us to think about. How are we feeling about Jason these days? Does he deserve sympathy or nah? And what about those flashbacks Alison is having? Real or not real?

As always, we have the Liars supporting each other. Gotta love Spence already talking about the law aspect.

And speaking of law…Linda. Fucking. Tanner. What is she up to? (Perfectionists watchers will catch my little easter egg about her sister).

As always, Samara and the Alliance always coming in for the save.

I love writing little glimpses into Alison's and Emily's individual lives. Writing Alison in her element on camera and Emily with her friends/coworkers (panic attacks aside) makes me happy.

And the plot thickens. Hmm, Theodore…Theodore…who art thou? Ist thou brother to Alvin and Simon?

Also, the reviewer mentioning Spoby…I grinned when I got that review, because yes…you will get a lil more of them growing together.

We end with another bombshell. Who was helping Charlotte the night of the murder?