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.

28. Time Marches On

A/N: First, I just wanted to apologize for how long it's been taking me to update. My inner critic is really mean to me. Hopefully the word count makes up for it. There's a lot going on in this one! Just when you think I'm going to zig, I zag. I hope you all enjoy the shenanigans and banter.

M-rated content ahead.

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Chapter 27:

Time Marches On

They didn't hear much from Tanner or Furey the next several days. Jerica explained that it was because they were investigating what had transpired in Rosewood with Sara Harvey.

Emily was on edge, not only about the ear, but because she was keeping the secret about Ezra. She wanted to tell Alison, but they never had a moment alone. When they weren't working, Emily was at school or Alison was on set. Or they were hanging out with Aria, Hanna, and Spencer.

She finally had a break one day after her afternoon class was cancelled. She knew that Aria was at the Alliance with Samara and Zoe. Aria wanted to learn more about the non-profit so she could promote it more in her book interviews. She had no idea Toby had kicked her ex-boyfriend's ass. Emily and Spencer wanted to keep it that way.

Hanna was on a call with her boss about the fashion show she'd roped Alison in to. She was hanging out in Spencer's hotel room with Max, who had been all too eager to talk fashion with someone who loved it as much as he did. He had really taken a shine to Hanna.

Spencer was in Jerica's room multi-tasking between her school work, remotely working for her internship, and trying to make sure she had the most up-to-date news from their lawyer.

Emily knew Alison was leaving the set, so she'd told her she would meet her at the condo.

She got home first, which gave her the opportunity to check in with the boys.

She hit the speed dial for Toby.

He picked up, his face enveloping the whole screen.

"Hey, Em." He smiled, but she could see the creased lines in his forehead and the skeptical look in his eyes.

He was worried.

"You caught me at the perfect time. The rest of the crew went to grab a late lunch. And I was just about to take a break."

He jostled the phone, pulling his thick construction gloves off one at a time.

"How are you?" Emily asked.

"Truth?" He pulled the phone back just enough for her to see that he was at a build site.

Stucco and wooden beams were strewn about.

"Yeah." Emily nodded. "Always truth."

"I don't like how any of this is going down." He was walking through a doorway that didn't have a door yet, and seconds later he was outside.

"I don't either." Tanner had been relatively quiet, and it was unnerving.

She'd had Marco Furey reach out to Jerica for questions, but it was clear that Tanner wasn't playing the same game that she'd played back in Rosewood.

It made the girls antsy. Tanner had told them to stay put, but she wasn't hounding them…which was unusual. When the beast slept it meant she was plotting.

"I haven't said anything to Spencer yet, but I haven't seen Ezra since I beat his ass. I talked to Caleb and he's going to see if he can track him through his bank statements." Toby pulled Emily out of her spiraling thoughts.

"Do you think he took off again?" Emily lifted her hand and bit against the tip of her thumbnail.

"That's what we intend to find out."

"I don't know about this. Caleb is breaking the law for us. Again. With Tanner involved, he needs to be really careful. You both do."

"I told him the same thing. What did Tanner say about Charlotte's confession and the phone records?"

"Nothing really. She reviewed them and talked to Jerica. Jerica is a solid wall between us and Tanner. She rarely gets to speak to us directly. She asked a few follow up questions about some of the threats we've been getting. I think the FBI is still trying to figure out if it's actually Charlotte or someone who is pretending to be Charlotte. She's mentioned Charlotte's confession a few times, but they still have no way to track it back to me."

Yet. She left that part out.

"I don't trust her." Toby frowned.

"None of us trust her. But her partner seems to have a way to tame the wild beast." It was remarkable to see.

"I've been meaning to ask about the partner. What's he like?" Toby frowned.

"Marco Furey? Not sure yet. By default, I don't trust anyone with a badge or a shield or whatever shiny little toy they give to everyone in authority." The only person in authority she'd ever trusted was her dad. Everyone else had let her down. "The one time I trusted a cop it was Garrett. And he was a creepy predator working against us."

"You didn't trust me as a cop?" Toby feigned a look of disappointment.

"I love you. But I didn't love the uniform." Emily chuckled.

"To be fair, I was in my most dickish era when I was a cop. I don't think I liked cop-me either. I wasn't really happy doing it." He ran his fingers through his hair with a nervous laugh. "Do you mind if I do a little digging on this Furey guy?"

"I don't know. I don't want anyone to know how much you and Caleb know."

"I worked with Tanner. I know who she is. I know what she's like. If this guy has managed to find an off switch to that woman…I don't know whether that's good or bad."

"Jerica seems to know his game. She thinks he is being sincere. And I trust her."

"That's what Spencer says, too." He nodded. "I'm going crazy not knowing what's happening."

"Right now you aren't missing much. What's going on there?" Emily asked.

"The jail where Sara was being held is scrambling to find out what happened. She'd been extradited back to her home town. It's not in our jurisdiction, but Lorenzo hears things. He said that they are at a loss in trying to figure out what happened. She was getting ready to have a meeting with the FBI."

"That's what Tanner said. I think she was going to give Charlotte up in exchange for a lighter sentence for murdering that kid when she was younger." Emily had assumed that much. "Charlotte knew we had the recording of her confessing to Jessica's murder. She knew we were going to send it in. And she threatened us and told us not to. She knew Sara was arrested and was probably going to talk. That would be a motive for her to kill her."

"The issue is that no one outside the department knew that she was going to give up information on Charlotte. The news had some theories, but none of them mentioned Charlotte. Not to mention that the media content they get in Welby is heavily censored." Toby tapped his fingertips against a wooden frame. "I suppose Charlotte might have been able to figure it out, but that still leaves the question…who got their hands dirty…and how did they do it? The media is speculating it was an inside job since the details were confidential. Lorenzo seems to think that's the case, too."

"A mole in a police precinct? No waaay." Emily rolled her eyes for dramatic effect. "That could never happen."

"Wow. You're really packing on the sarcasm. You must be hanging out with Spencer a lot."

Emily laughed, genuinely this time.

"Spencer and Hanna. It's a constant battle of wits."

"How is everyone doing? Truthfully? Because Spencer lies to me and says everyone is fine. And I let her lie to me, because I love…" He paused, his voice hitching in his throat.

He leaned against a tree and rubbed at the scruff on his chin. He tried to hide the color rushing to his cheeks, but Emily saw through him.

"I know. I've always known." Emily smiled at him.

"Yeah." He chuckled nervously. "It's just all very new and fresh again. I mean, I never stopped loving her. But I'm scared I'll do something to screw it up again. I don't want to jinx it."

"You didn't do anything to screw it up. You two were in different places in your life. Just like me and Ali."

"That's true." He nodded, his eyes distant, in thought. "She feels the same way. That's part of the reason she won't tell me the truth about how intense it is over there. She knows if she tells me the truth I'll get on the first flight I can find."

"What's to stop you from doing that if I tell you the truth?" Emily looked at him in curiosity.

"You scare me more than her." He grinned at her, and Emily couldn't help but laugh. "Besides, who would take care of the wine moms if I left town?"

"My mom would be so mad at me if I pulled you away from your little tea parties with her." Emily had seen pictures of their tea sessions that her mother insisted they take.

She was big on capturing memories on film, especially since Wayne had died. She understood the importance of valuing the moment.

"Complete with tea cups filled with the finest chardonnays." He leaned into it. "She'd fly out there just to drag me back to Rosewood by my ear."

"You joke, but she did the ear thing to me once when I was little. I've never gotten over it. My ear still hurts." Emily reached up to rub the fantasy pain.

"What were you doing that warranted that?" Toby lifted his eyebrows inquisitively.

"I ran away from her when I was eight. Then when she tried to take me back I threw pinecones at her. When she finally caught me she grabbed me by my ear and dragged me to the car. It was the first time I'd ever completely disappeared on her. It scared her to death. She was certain I'd been kidnapped." Emily remembered that terrifying silent car ride home. The only thing worse than her mother's screaming was her silence. "When we got home I told her I missed my dad. That's why I ran. He'd been deployed two weeks before it happened. After I told her that she felt bad about it. She was frustrated that my dad wasn't there. She was dealing with a lot of emotions, too."

"What a gripping story of childhood rebellion." Toby grinned in amusement. "I ran away a few times after my mom died. Then I made a habit out of it. Met way too many people in the wrong places."

"And ironically, after all of that…you're still in Rosewood." Emily pointed out.

"I wouldn't be if I could get my way." He stared at her. "Are you going to tell me how Spencer and the others are doing or am I going to have to fly out there just to prove a point?"

"Everyone is…overwhelmed." Who wouldn't be with a killer on the loose? "Alison buries it in acting. She separates herself from what's going on. Aria is on edge. She's been having trouble sleeping. Spencer is steering the damn ship even though we have a lawyer to do that for us. She drinks so much caffeine I'm convinced that's now her blood type. Hanna has been staying at the condo…"

"Yeah, Spence mentioned she opted for the couch at Hotel De La Fields instead of going for the fancy package. What's that about?" Toby narrowed his eyes, like there was a catch…or something he was missing.

"Control." Even though Hanna hadn't said anything to her, she knew her friend well enough to know she felt safer at the condo. "I have a gun, and we both know how to use it."

"Seriously?" Toby's face flashed in shock. "Does Caleb know that?"

"He does. He knows I taught her how to shoot. He has gone to the range a time or two, but since he had a bullet removed from his gut when we were kids, he hasn't been too keen on guns." She flinched. He'd taken that bullet for her. "But he knows how to properly handle one."

"Your dad's legacy lives on." Toby smiled softly at her. "He's the one who taught you, right?"

"Both of my parents taught me. But he took me to the range my first time." She had been so young, but her father had been adamant that she learn that guns were not toys.

"I guess that makes me feel a little better about not being there. Does Alison know how to shoot, too?" He looked amused at the thought of Alison DiLaurentis wearing high heels and a designer skirt and holding a gun.

"She knows the basics, but she hates guns. Had a lot of them pointed in her face when she was on the run…and when she came back to town." Emily squirmed.

She'd never forget the rush of adrenaline she'd felt when Shana was chasing them in New York and pulled a gun on them. She'd never forget how she hadn't even second guessed the fact that she was going to put her body in front of Alison's to shield her.

"Well, I know you have better aim than I did when I was sporting that clown uniform and shiny badge." He shrugged. "I know you'll take care of them. Spencer has the brains and you have the brawns. Not that you don't have the brains, too…"

"I get it. Spencer is definitely number one in the intellect category. I wouldn't try to match wits with her on her worst day. But you're right. I'm her right hand." She could feel the tension in her shoulders. Her neck was stiff. "How did I become second in command?"

"Sorry, Em. I'm just being totally honest. Spencer is out there playing Erin Brockovich with Jerica. And the other girls have no clue how much this has blown up with Ezra and Wren…and potentially Wes, I guess, if what Ezra said about the person driving the car was true. I just wish I'd gotten a better look at the driver. Whoever it was is reckless as hell."

"Which fits the idea that the driver could be involved with Charlotte."

A thought occurred to her. She had seen a car outside Alison's house back in Rosewood after one of Alison's fights with Jason. It was the same car she hadn't seen outside Welby the day she went to talk to Charlotte.

"What did the car look like?" she asked.

"It was black. Tinted windows." It sparked an image in Emily's mind. "I didn't get a make or model. I didn't really get a very good description at all…"

"Wow, you were like the worst at being a cop." Emily chuckled.

He laughed.

"I was too focused on kicking Ezra's ass." He shrugged.

"You are excused." Emily hated that he'd broken the law, but she loved that he'd made Ezra Fitz a punching bag. "What was it like?"

"What? Throwing him around like a ragdoll?" Toby grinned. "It was awesome. But he wouldn't let me enjoy it. He didn't try to fight back and then he just rambled like a lunatic afterwards."

"Well, if he has anything to do with what's happening with Charlotte I could see him losing the will to live." Emily admitted. "She has a knack for pushing people over the edge."

"No shit. You're the only one keeping it together right now," he said, shrugging with a sad look on his face. "Everyone is counting on you."

"Great. No pressure." She paused and looked at her refrigerator. Her eyes landed on a photo of the two of them when they were younger. "Do you ever stop to think about how we're adults now? Sometimes I still feel like I need an adult and then I realize I am an adult. When did we grow up?"

"The second Alison disappeared. You four were impacted so much by that. It's like you grew up overnight." Toby didn't skip a beat. "Matter of fact, you were the one who grew up first. Because of the way you loved her."

"And what about you? You were dealt such a shitty hand. First your mom. Then what Jenna did to you…" For a moment she saw him revert to the same shy kid she'd known asking her to the Homecoming Dance. "And Alison didn't help matters after she blackmailed you."

"I forgave Alison for that a long time ago." He seemed more upset by the mention of his step-sister. He didn't flinch when Alison's name was mentioned. "When you two came home last year I told her that you wouldn't be with her if she hadn't changed."

"I didn't know that." Though it didn't surprise her.

Toby had a very sensitive heart.

As it turns out, so did Alison.

"She beats herself up. Doesn't think she's worthy of you. I told her to stop thinking like that." He had a precarious look on his face. He laughed, "I think I shocked the hell out of her."

"Hey, Cavanaugh!" Someone called from a distance off-screen. "We got you a cannoli! Stop playin' kissy-face with your girlfriend and get your ass over here so we can finish the siding and go home early!"

"Got to run. I'll keep you posted." Toby waved at one of the guys on the construction crew.

"I'll do the same…Kissy-face." She puckered her lips, but she couldn't hold the pose for less than a second before she started laughing.

"Maybe don't tell Spencer that." He blushed.

"Oh, I am definitely telling her that." She grinned. "Bye, Kissy-face."

"Emily, don't you dare…"

She waved and then ended the call.

She laid her phone down and walked into the bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes.

She was slipping her bra off and pulling on an oversized T-shirt that covered her jogging shorts when she heard the front door open.

"Em?"

Emily heard Alison punching in the code for the alarm and then walking across the living room.

"Back here!" Emily called back to her, pulling her hair out of a ponytail and letting it fall over her shoulders.

The moment she saw Alison she felt the unease return. Everything around them seemed to be crashing down. And she felt like she was the only one keeping them from being buried by debris.

"Hey." Emily smiled.

She felt like a fraud. She was lying to Alison without saying a word. She wanted to tell her, but she didn't want the others to find out. Alison was good at keeping secrets, but Emily made a promise to Spencer…which in hindsight seemed kind of irrelevant now.

"Hey, babe." Alison pecked her lips. "How were your classes?"

"They were fine." She hoped she sounded sincere.

She had promised Alison no more secrets. It was killing her.

Tell her! Her stomach was twisted in knots.

"You know this is the first time we've had to ourselves in days." She finally had a moment alone with her, but she couldn't cough up the words.

Ezra knows something.

"Oh, I know." Alison grinned. "I've been daydreaming about this moment since I got your text…"

She playfully pulled her skirt up and showed off her thigh. Her mind was definitely not where Emily's was at.

When Emily didn't react immediately she let her skirt go and searched the brunette's eyes.

"Everything okay?" Alison asked. "You're not acting like yourself."

"Yeah. It's just been a long few days." Emily swallowed a lump in her throat. "How was everything on set?"

Alison's demeanor went from concerned to something else. Her eyes bestowed annoyance and anxiety, neither directed at Emily.

"The leeches have started trying to get to me." She sneered. "Rhonda has been my own personal bodyguard. She's keeping people from rushing up to me to ask me what's going on back home."

So now Rhonda was not only the most competent PA on set running the entire show...she was a bodyguard, too.

"Remind me to thank her the next time I see her." Emily sat down on the edge of the bed and slipped on a pair of socks.

"She asked about you. She knows you're going through this with me." Alison mindlessly tried to straighten her wind-blown hair. "She's the only one I trusted enough to open up to even the slightest bit. She just wanted to know if we were okay and if we needed anything. I told her we're dealing with it."

"Don't let the nosy jerks get to you." Emily imagined a massive crowd of paparazzi assembling. If she had been there she might have lost her cool. "Just remember what Jerica said. Give them her name. She'll sort them out."

"Yeah." Alison nodded in agreement. "Have you heard from the girls?"

"Hanna is at the hotel. She didn't want to be here alone all day, so she went to see Spencer and work on some of her photos. Max is hanging out with her. He looks up to her…"

"I thought I was the one he looked up to. Is he replacing me?" Alison playfully asked, though her pride was a little wounded.

"No, he's definitely still your fanboy. He wanted to see your photoshoot." Emily laughed when she saw the triumphant look on Alison's face. "Spencer, however…is allergic to fashion."

"Couldn't agree with you more."

"She's been Jerica's shadow. She wants to know everything…"

"As expected."

"And Aria is staying away from all of it. She's at the Alliance. Zoe and Samara are looking out for her." They were so fortunate to have such great friends. Their friends had all jumped in to help, no questions asked. "It all works out. No one is alone."

"Except you." Alison looked at her in disapproval.

"I knew you were coming home." Emily shrugged. "Besides, I was talking to Toby…"

The guilt slowly started to creep into her chest again.

"How is he doing?" Alison asked.

"Good." Her voice cracked slightly.

It was enough that Alison noticed.

"Is something wrong?" Alison moved closer.

Emily felt her body aching for the blonde's touch.

She also felt sick to her stomach for not telling her sooner.

Since she couldn't respond verbally, she shook her head. She took a moment to compose herself. Maybe she just needed to take a deep breath and blurt it out.

I promised Spencer.

But she'd only promised to keep it from Aria and Hanna. Not from Alison.

Before she could say another word, Alison slumped down, her shoulders sagging.

"I just wanted one day." Her voice shifted into something that sounded like defeat, and it was only then that Emily remembered how good Alison was at acting. She was hiding something, too. "I wanted one normal day." She looked up at the ceiling, flustered, talking to no one in particular.

"What happened?" Emily gently touched her hand.

It was terrifying that Alison had been able to mask all her emotions. Emily felt awful that she didn't see it sooner.

"I'm guessing Toby didn't find out what I know." Alison forced herself to peer into Emily's eyes.

Emily saw pain and exhaustion in them, and it was staggering. She wanted to make it better. She wanted to take it all away.

"What do you mean?" Emily looked at her in confusion.

"I talked to Jason before I left the set. The cops don't have anything except circumstantial evidence. They're sending Charlotte back to Welby." Her hands were trembling in rage.

For half a second Emily thought the blonde might punch the wall. Instead, she angrily threw her things down and sat beside her.

Emily had considered what she would do if the cops let Charlotte go, so she already knew how to respond.

"What if they had a witness?"

"The person who helped her murder my mom? Yeah, I doubt that's going to happen unless the FBI catches them." She scoffed.

"I'm not talking about whoever is helping Charlotte." Emily shook her head slowly, waiting for Alison to put the pieces together. "I'm talking about the person she looked in the eyes and admitted it to. I'm talking about the person who turned Sara in, who heard everything she said…who saw her at the graveyard…"

"No." Alison growled firmly. "They'll turn on you in a heartbeat, claiming you were withholding evidence."

"We have Jerica now." Emily should have been terrified, but she was willing and ready to risk it all.

"We also have Tanner. She's a monster." Alison reached up and cupped Emily's cheek, forcing an intense stare into her eyes. "Not to mention what Charlotte will do to retaliate if you put the final nail in her coffin. Think about it. There is a reason she hasn't told the cops you were the one who got that confession. She wants you for herself. She thinks she's going to get away with it."

Her nightmares about losing Emily were horrible. She couldn't imagine life without her. She felt empty inside when she thought about the three years they'd lost.

"She won't. Not if we play our cards right." Emily's hand landed softly against Alison's waist.

"Em, don't you get it? She's the one stacking the deck!" Alison was on the verge of bursting into tears, but they weren't tears of despondence. They were tears filled with venom and anger. "She's been playing us this whole time."

"Hey…" Emily responded gently, reaching up to wipe away the wetness pooling underneath her eyes. "We're going to be okay."

"You're the only one keeping it together." Toby wasn't wrong when he'd said that.

She couldn't afford to fall apart. She was afraid of what falling apart would to do her. She still had so much buried. So much trauma. So much grief.

I wish my dad was here…

She was afraid something inside of her would shatter and she'd fall back into a stumbling blubbering mess in her kitchen…blacking out to forget the pain and having urges about the gun. She couldn't go back to that. She couldn't let Charlotte win.

"I know you believe that." Alison leaned in, a sad look on her face. "I want to believe it. But I know my sister. I saw that look in her eyes before I left. It's haunted me every day since."

Emily sighed and wrapped her arms around Alison, holding her in a loving embrace. All the tension dissipated as Alison melted into her body. She pulled back just enough to kiss Alison on top of her head.

"I'm not going to let her haunt you anymore." Emily whispered, her breath a warm gentle breeze against Alison's ear. "It's not a game of who wins and loses. It's about accountability."

Though she'd certainly thought about potential losses. She'd made Spencer promise to take care of Alison if something bad happened.

"I don't want you caught in the crossfire." Alison's fingers tenderly caressed Emily's chin. "She knows how much I love you." Her lips grazed Emily's. "I wouldn't survive without you."

Alison closed her eyes, her mind drawn to the terror she felt in the Poconos. The fire had nearly killed them. There had been a lingering agonizing feeling she'd never see Emily again that night.

"I've never been able to function in a world without you in it." Alison slowly opened her eyes and blinked.

"I'm not going anywhere." Emily clutched her chin, admiring the fact that her stage make-up was still mostly intact.

Alison was transfixed by Emily's eyes. She reached for her.

The blonde felt a sense of comfort in knowing she was there. Many times their emotions had been mixed in their ignited passion in the quest for connection. But this wasn't one of those times. She looked at Emily…sincerely looked at her…and she knew they were on solid foundation.

It was terrifying. To put vulnerabilities out that partners could see and not knowing how it would go. But she trusted Emily. She knew her girl would always lead with her heart.

"Do you trust me?" Emily asked, almost as if she was reading her thoughts.

Alison licked her lips and nodded.

"I trust you. It's everyone else I don't trust." Her lips grazed Emily's again.

When their lips touched Alison felt a spark of fire igniting inside her veins.

"I know the timing is totally fucked up, but all I've been thinking about is you…and the way you make feel." She leaned forward.

"How exactly do I make you feel?" Emily asked curiously.

Alison took her time to consider how to express her emotions.

"Safe. Not the 'I'm scared and I need someone to protect me' safe, because trust me…your girl can kick ass. I do all my own stunts." She winked, eliciting a laugh from Emily. "I'm talking about emotionally. I know that no matter what happens I can just be…me…with you. And that has made me realize how much we have to lose."

"Nothing is going to happen…"

"Don't." Alison interrupted her. "Please don't placate me. I know you're scared, too. I can see it in your eyes. You're just trying to keep it together for everyone else. But you don't have to pretend with me. I see you, Emily."

Their faces were just inches apart. There were no lies when they were that close. Emily let out a shaky breath, the heat coming out warm against Alison's face. Her breath smelled like sweet peppermint.

"To be honest…" Emily reached up and laid her palm against the side of Alison's neck. "I've been too afraid to be afraid. I'm worried if I lose it now…I won't come back from it. Not after my dad." She choked on the mention of her father.

"If you do start to drown…I was taught to swim to the rescue by an excellent mermaid." The corners of Alison's lips quirked up into a smile.

"So you did need to be rescued." Emily flashed a flirtatious grin at her.

"Maybe. Or maybe I just wanted to meet a hot Lifeguard." Alison caressed Emily's cheek, her fingertips like tiny butterflies breezing by.

She peered into Emily's eyes and then leaned forward, her lips meeting the brunette's again.

Emily parted her mouth, letting out a tiny noise of content as Alison's silky tongue prodded forward.

Alison purred into the kiss and moved her hand down towards Emily's stomach.

Emily's fingers slid against the back of her neck to encourage her, her fingertips snaking up into her hair and pulling her closer.

The brunette edged backwards on to the bed just as Alison's hand slipped up her shirt.

Alison followed, her other hand against Emily's waist.

Their bodies melded together, their clothes creating a friction between them as they moved together. She felt Emily gently moving her knee.

Her pelvis grazed Emily's thigh. The only barrier was the thong underneath her skirt. A tiny shudder went through her body, leaving her limbs tingling.

Her thighs were already damp.

"Mmm…you're going to be the death of me, Em." She whispered into their kiss.

The fingers of her left hand slipped into Emily's jogging shorts and she felt Emily's chest rise and fall as her breath quickened.

A few minutes later Emily broke their kiss to suck in a breath of air and arch her back up into Alison. Her neck craned back against her pillow.

Alison kissed the perspiration on her forehead and Emily came to her senses again, moving to capture Alison's lips once more.

They forgot about the looming danger. They were consumed by their intimacy.

Alison grazed Emily's cheek with her fingers and pecked her lips, taking a second to catch her breath. They hadn't even stripped their clothes off yet and she was already completely immersed.

She paused for a moment, her eyes taking in the gorgeous woman she'd been lucky enough to fall in love with.

Emily cocked her head and furrowed her brows.

"What…" Not quite a question, but not a statement either. A look of confusion. "Do I have something in my teeth?" She skimmed her tongue along the top row of her teeth.

Alison couldn't help but laugh.

"You're so adorable." She smiled. "Maybe I just like looking at your face."

"Your face." Emily grasped Alison's cheeks with a demanding look in her eyes. "My face. Now." She tugged her down, pulling Alison back on top of her.

Alison groaned when her pelvis made contact with Emily's.

I could get lost in her forever.

They rolled to their sides.

Alison could tell Emily wanted to take the lead. They often challenged each other for dominance, a game they loved to play. And Alison was feeling particularly frisky. But Emily was feeling just as bold. She pulled Alison's skirt up and slid her hand in between her legs. She squeezed her thigh gently and then flattened her hand out, stroking her skin while slowly moving her fingers up.

Alison's entire body felt as if it was on fire, yet also swirling in a whirlpool of cool ocean water.

She felt a power she'd never felt driving her. And suddenly, in a flurry she was scrambling over Emily.

"Um…okay, this is new." Emily rolled with her.

"Wait, give me a minute…" Alison leaned over the side of the bed.

She slid her hand underneath the box spring until her fingers caught the edge of a bag she'd hidden. She pulled it out, easily shaking the bag off.

When she sat upright on the bed she had something in her hands.

It took Emily a moment to register the straps and the large purple toy entangled in it.

"Whoa." Emily stared at the strap-on. "I didn't know you had that."

"I might have gone shopping with Hanna…" Alison replied sheepishly.

"With Hanna?" Emily burst into laughter. "How exactly did that happen?"

"We found the shop two days ago when we were sneaking around some small vintage stores. We were trying to avoid the public…and my fans. We found this secluded shop that had all kinds of these things. We were walking around trying not to burst into laughter. Then we stopped at the shelf that had this and she made a joke about it being a cat toy…"

"Of course she did." Emily rolled her eyes with a smile.

"She told me I had to buy it. I thought she was joking at first, but she insisted. She even offered to buy it for me." Alison looked somewhere between offended and impressed with their friend's tenacity to be a naughty influence on them.

Hanna Marin was apparently a Sex Goddess.

"Then I started laughing, too. I let her convince me to get it, but I didn't think I'd ever want to use it. I uh…I'm not exactly sure how to use it."

"Well, do you want to wear it or do you want me to wear it?" Emily's candid response was expected, yet somehow still caught the blonde off-guard.

She was being so gentle and so understanding. It made Alison want her even more.

"I want to wear it. But I don't know what to do." Her face was already flush from their encounter, but her cheeks darkened into a heavier shade of red. "I mean…I'm not stupid. I could figure it out. I've used vibrators before…"

"Alison, relax." Emily put her palm against Alison's arm, her fingers slowly moving down towards where Alison was clutching the harness in her hand. "I'll tell you what I want, okay?"

In most respects, Alison knew what she was doing. But Emily was the first woman she'd ever fully given herself to, so she was still learning things in the bedroom.

"It's not too big, is it?" Alison was worried she might hurt her.

"It's fine."

They both sat up. Emily started to loosen the straps. Alison watched the purple toy flopping around.

"I had something similar to this back in Rosewood when I…" She stopped short when Emily looked up at her.

She'd had a purple vibrator that she used when she had fantasies about Emily, but she'd never told a soul about it.

"When you…" Emily encouraged her to continue.

"I used to fantasize about you." She wasn't ashamed of it. Not anymore.

Emily was gorgeous, and Alison was sure she wasn't the only one who had fantasies. Though she would crush anyone for fantasizing about her woman if she found out.

"Why purple?" Emily's question was the last thing Alison expected to hear, but she said it so matter-of-factly that it made her laugh.

"It wasn't about the color. At least not then." Though maybe she'd associated the color with Emily when she bought the strap-on. "The first vibrator I ever got was purple. I didn't like anything that looked realistic to a man. Not after Wilden and Ian."

"I'm glad they're dead." A darkness washed across Emily's face.

Emily thought about Toby hitting Ezra and she felt a hint of his rage. She'd considered killing that little perverted weasel Tyler. She would have had Alison not been there…had she not needed to be there for her.

She had a lot of fight in her, and every now and then she wondered how far she'd go. After killing Lyndon she assumed she'd be sick over the thought of taking another life. But she certainly wasn't sick over how much she wanted to strangle Tyler or shoot Sara.

I'd do it in a heartbeat. She knew the truth, as much as she wanted to avoid it.

There was no line she wouldn't cross to protect Alison.

"You've always protected me…" Alison smiled and looked into her eyes, as if she was reading Emily's thoughts.

I always will.

"You made me feel so confident and brave." Alison leaned into a tender kiss. "You were my shy thoughtful little warrior. But you were braver than anyone knew. You gave me a sense of pride when it came to my conflicted feelings about my sexuality. Every time I…" She gestured to the purple appendage. "Every time I thought of you it just felt right."

"I used to have fantasies about you too." Emily smiled at her, holding the harness out to her.

"Oh, believe me, I know." Alison winked.

She pecked Emily's lips again and then moved towards the edge of the bed.

"Clothes on or off?" Alison asked with a seductive smirk.

"I want to take them off of you myself." Her eyes were smoldering.

Alison lifted her skirt with one hand, exposing her thong. She shimmied out of it, giving Emily a small preview of what was to come.

She lowered the harness to the floor and stepped into it with ease as she started to pull it up.

"Turn around." Emily sat against the edge of the bed. "I'll help you."

Alison turned moved so that her back was to Emily. She felt the harness slowly starting to get tighter.

"There should be some ties in the front too…just to secure it."

"How exactly do you know so much about these things?" Alison glanced over her shoulder to find an amused smile on Emily's face.

"I'm a lesbian in my last year of college." She replied with a cheeky retort.

Alison looked down at the loose straps in front of her. She started to pull the toy into place, but before she had it fully secure they heard a noise coming from the living room.

They both glanced towards the open bedroom door, which neither of them had bothered to close because they had been alone. And because they weren't expecting any of the girls.

"Emily…" Alison was torn between rushing towards the door or diving to the safety of the bathroom.

She yanked some of the straps loose, hoping that it would fall to the floor so she could kick it under the bed.

She felt Emily trying to help her out of it from behind. It slid down enough to bring her skirt back down and cover her pelvis.

"Hey, is anyone…" They heard Aria's voice halt.

When they looked towards the door Aria was staring back at them. They'd given the girls a key to share and the codes to get in the condo.

"Oh." Aria's eyes were immediately drawn towards the harness dangling halfway down Alison's legs, the toy drooping loose between her knees. "I caught a ride here with Samara and Zoe. I uh…"

Alison wanted to die of embarrassment.

Beside her she heard Emily roaring in laughter. Alison wanted to strangle her, but she also wanted to kiss her.

"You know…" Aria's cheeks turned pink and she managed a nervous laugh. "I can go hang out with Hanna and Max at the hotel. I bet Jerica is ready for a break from Spencer, too."

The smile slowly faded from Emily's face when she remembered what she was keeping from Aria.

"Aria, wait." Emily stood up and flattened the wrinkles out of her shirt. "It's fine."

"Is it? Because I'm pretty fucking mortified right now." Alison buried her face in her hands. A choked laugh came out.

"We're all adults here. We've all had sex." Aria tried to save her the embarrassment.

"I'm just going to…" Alison shuffled towards the bathroom, "…try to find something I lost…"

"You lost something?" Emily asked.

"Yes. My dignity." She disappeared as the harness plopped to the floor.

"Em, I am so sorry." Aria's eyes were wide and apologetic. "I should have texted. I didn't realize you were both here. I thought you were in class. I thought it was just going to be her."

"It's okay. We'll be able to laugh about it in the future." Seeing the genuine guilt on Aria's face made her feel like a horrible person.

"EXTREMELY FAR INTO THE FUTURE!" Alison shouted from the bathroom. There was a pause and then she added, "OR NEVER!"

"I'm going to check on her. But if you hang out for a little bit we can all go to the hotel together. I'm sure Spencer is going to want to update us on everything."

"Are you sure?" Aria curled her arms over her chest. She clearly felt terrible.

When Emily looked at Aria, sometimes she still saw the same vulnerable child she'd once been.

Their childhood had been stolen from them. And Ezra had taken more than that from Aria. All for a stupid book.

That stupid book… Emily suddenly had a revelation. It would have had everything Charlotte needed. And it also might have everything Ezra had dug up at the time…even trivial things that he might not have thought mattered.

Charlotte and Ezra had worked together in the past, but Ezra insisted it was for the book. But he had research on them. He probably had research on everyone in their orbit. Including Wren. Including the mystery around Jessica and her twin sister Mary.

He'd been obsessed with Alison after meeting her. There was no way he didn't have every detail about Mary.

He wouldn't have had a reason to research Teddy since the child was dead…supposedly. Supposedly at Mary's hand. But he had something.

Back then his research hadn't amounted to much. He didn't know that Charlotte was the one torturing them, or at least he said he didn't. And he was genuinely upset after they had been kidnapped and held hostage.

Ezra had spent his entire life investing himself in mysteries. He had thrown out the book he was working on, but what if he was still hiding in the shadows? What if he knew something?

Toby said he'd been traveling. What if he was gathering research? Had he uncovered new secrets? Was that why he was so full of rage about the town being poison? Or was it something more sinister? Had he been involved since the beginning? Had he been in it with Wren and Charlotte? Was that why his brother wanted to kill him?

The wheels in her head weren't just turning. They were spiraling out of control.

Charlotte knew about the book. She knew he was grooming Aria. She could have been holding his crimes over his head.

Or maybe she'd hired him to do the research in the first place and helped him weasel himself into their lives by destroying Aria's.

Or maybe he wasn't helping Charlotte at all.

Maybe he was and he was pissed that their game was ending.

I have to talk to Spencer.

"Would you mind grabbing a glass of wine?" Emily asked.

"Why? Are you going to try to entice me into a ménage à trois?" As soon as Aria said it she cringed. "Sorry, I'm not great with awkward situations."

Emily had to laugh. Aria's response was quick, and she wouldn't deny that.

"The wine is for Alison. After she's had a glass I think she'll feel better." She didn't bother lowering her voice, so she knew Alison could hear her.

"If that's the case I'm going to pour three glasses." Aria didn't question it.

She walked off, leaving Emily to take care of the blonde.

To Emily's surprise, the bathroom door was unlocked.

"I don't care about wine." Alison was pouting, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She turned towards Emily. "I am never leaving this bathroom. This is my home now. I am one with the bath-mat."

She turned around, her face still red, her hair a mess.

"You're going to get an Oscar for your dramatic performances one day." Emily nodded in response.

She saw Alison fight back a smile.

"I'm not exactly thrilled she walked in on that either. But in the grand scheme of things this is easily the least traumatic thing we've been through." Emily reached up to fix her hair.

"Easy for you to say. She didn't see a monster dildo hanging between your legs." Alison grimaced, but there was a hint of a laugh behind it. "I'm going to kill Hanna. This is all her fault."

"I don't know about that. Even if you didn't have it, Aria probably would have walked in on us with my face between your legs." Emily waggled her brows.

Alison's entire body started shaking in laughter. She had been so caught up in the shock of Aria seeing them that she hadn't had a proper chance to laugh about it.

"I think I much prefer that scenario." Her eyes danced in delight.

"Do you want to recreate it so we're even?" Emily was half-joking, but Alison knew she would do anything to make her feel better.

Alison moved in front of her and placed her palms on Emily's cheeks.

"I love you for that. But no." She knew she was going to have to let it go.

If she couldn't laugh at herself...what did that say about her as a person?

She knew it wasn't as terrible as she was making it out to be, but it felt nice to have smaller things to worry about than her sister.

"Sometimes I forget I'm a human and not a Goddess." She shook her head and clucked her tongue.

"That's not true. You're a Goddess in human form." Emily disagreed.

"I am." Alison didn't argue. "But you're right about one thing. I'm being over-the-top. I bought the damn thing with Hanna. Why is it such a bad thing that Aria saw it?"

"There's the winning attitude that I saw in that sassy sexy spitfire on the beach last summer. You didn't give a shit what those boys had to say after that surfer nearly took you out. You're still a Queen."

"True." She pulled Emily's face towards hers and kissed her passionately.

She loved that Emily knew exactly what to say and do to make her feel safe again.

"And just so you know, the next time we use Purple Thunder I'm going to rock your world with it." She winked.

"Purple Thunder?" Emily choked on her laughter.

Alison didn't say anything. She just leaned in for another kiss, this time opting to tug Emily's bottom lip into her mouth.

When she pulled away she had the most seductive look on her face that Emily had ever seen.

"Thor was the God of Thunder. And you said it yourself…I am a Goddess." Alison popped her lips.

"Well Goddess, what say you about the wine?" Emily gestured to the open bathroom door. "It would be a waste if Aria poured us all a glass and we didn't partake…"

"You and Aria enjoy it. A Goddess doesn't need it. We are above it. It doesn't affect immortal beings." Alison tilted her chin up, head held high. A Queen on her Throne.

"Clearly you've never seen Valkyrie's introduction in Thor: Ragnarok." Emily scoffed. "Listen, I love you. Very much. I'm going to start out with that. But Tessa Thompson falling into a pile of trash blackout drunk very much defines my sexuality entirely."

Emily thought about something.

"I guess technically Valkyrie is a Valkyrie. Not a Goddess. But Thor got wasted in one of The Avengers movies." Emily edged out of the bathroom, hoping Alison would follow.

"Why do you know so much about Marvel movies? And why am I just finding out?" Alison walked into the bedroom with her.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." Emily smirked as she leaned down to pick up the toy Alison had kicked to the floor.

"Clearly." Alison was insanely turned on by Emily's dark and broody side.

She knew the brunette had it in her, but when Emily took control Alison felt a burning sensation in between her legs. She could feel every molecule in her body screaming for Emily's touch.

She watched as Emily handled the harness and toy, her seductive nature a juxtaposition to how she gently put it away. Alison's eyes darted down sharply to where Emily's shirt was covering her ass…and her mind went wild.

"I'm going to change into some pants and grab my boots and my coat." Emily had assumed she would just be relaxing at home after school, but her mind hadn't stopped turning about the Ezra thing. "Then we can go face Aria."

Emily turned around and saw Alison's eyes ravishing her.

"Aria. Right. I…forgot she was here for a second." Alison blinked back into reality.

Emily shot her a flirty smile that told Alison she knew exactly where her mind had been. It took everything in Alison's power not to pounce on her.

Alison leaned over to pick up her thong so she could slip it back on. Emily watched her with the same intensity that Alison had watched her.

"To be continued…" Emily walked towards the closet.

She pulled her jogging shorts off and stepped into a pair of pants. She opted to keep her shirt on and throw a pullover on top of it. She didn't feel like wearing a bra, especially since she'd be among friends.

Alison waited while she changed and then they walked into the kitchen together.

Aria was wiping the counter down to keep herself busy.

There were three bottles of wine on the table. It was all they had in the condo.

Their mothers put them to shame when it came to wine collections. Spencer's mother had a wine cellar. Ella did, too. And Pam and Ashley were quite the connoisseurs.

All three bottles on their table had been gifted to them by Pam.

Aria glanced at the table and then at her friends.

"Wow. Was seeing me sporting a strap-on so bad that you want to get so drunk that you'll forget it?" Alison had some of her sass back.

Aria laughed.

"I didn't know what you wanted so I just grabbed…everything." She was trying to avoid eye contact with Alison.

"Okay, can we just skip the awkwardness and get to the part where we can laugh about it?" Emily asked. "Hanna would be rapid-firing jokes by now."

That eased some of the tension in the room.

Aria loosened up. Alison felt her confidence rising again.

"No alcohol necessary." Aria cracked a smile. "If anything, I can use this as material for my next book."

"You damn well dedicate it to me." Alison shot back.

They all erupted into laughter.

"So…is this going to be our little secret from Hanna and Spencer…"

"It's no secret that she's sexy." Emily put her arm around Alison. "Spencer will shrug it off after making a joke or two."

"Hanna will have a field day with it. I don't think she ever would have dreamed that convincing me to buy the stupid thing would end up like this." Alison realized what she'd said the second she spoke the words out loud.

"Hanna picked that out for you?" Aria's jaw dropped, a huge smile on her face.

"Would you look at that? I managed to make it worse." Alison had a humorless smile as she faced Emily. She turned towards Aria. "It's a long story."

"The ride to the hotel should give us ample time." Aria replied.

Alison gave in to her fate.

At first she was uncomfortable, but by the time they reached the hotel they were all laughing and having a good time.

"So in hindsight…it's all Hanna's fault." Aria nodded as they walked through the hotel lobby.

"That's exactly what I said!" Alison exclaimed. "See? I told you so." She looked at Emily.

The brunette seemed lost in thought. She'd been listening and laughing along, but she was clearly in her own head. Alison assumed it was the situation with Charlotte. She didn't know it was about Ezra Fitz.

To her credit, Emily snapped back to attention and smiled at her.

"As always, you were right." She pressed the elevator button.

Aria seemed to sense the tension.

"You two know I was just joking about using your sex lives in my next book, right?" She addressed mainly Alison, because the blonde was the one who'd been the most upset by the interruption. "I know how difficult it is for you to be vulnerable. And if I did use it for material it would be fictional and I wouldn't use your names…"

"Then how would I get to play myself in the movie adaptation?" Alison asked as the elevator doors opened.

A couple with a young child stepped out, followed by two older women who looked a lot like future versions of Samara and Zoe.

"I'm sorry I was such a clamjam." Aria chuckled.

That got a laugh out of Emily and Alison, but there was something restrained in Emily's smile.

Alison had moved beyond her concern over the bedroom hijinks. Now she was worried about Emily's odd behavior. The brunette mentioned she'd talked to Toby. Was she holding out on some information? Had something happened back in Rosewood?

Emily stepped aside and placed her arm over the sensor for the door, keeping it open for Aria and Alison. She politely waved them through and then walked in behind them.

"You and Liam competing to find out who is the most chivalrous would be interesting to watch." Aria hit the button for the seventh floor.

"Emily saves lives." Alison grinned at her girlfriend. She was trying to see if Emily let her mask slip again. "What is Liam's super-power?"

"He can edit his own work without letting his inner-critic get one word in." Aria didn't skip a beat.

"Hmm…impressive." Emily nodded.

They took the elevators up to Spencer and Aria's room to where Hanna and Max were hanging out.

Max was at the door to greet them the second Aria opened it with her keycard. He squealed when he saw Alison and Emily. He looped his arm through Alison's and pulled her into the room.

"You looked so good in your photos!" When he smiled Alison felt like a warm beam of sun was shining directly on her.

"Hey." Hanna waved from the couch. She had her laptop open and was sipping a smoothie that was green and mushy. "My boss loved the designs on you!"

"That's great." Alison tried to sneak a peek at Emily as Emily walked in behind Aria.

The two of them were smiling. To any other observer Emily would look relaxed. But Alison could tell that she was overthinking something.

"Em, get over here and look at how stunning your girlfriend is." Max continued to drag Alison towards Hanna.

"I can see her from here." Emily walked towards them, a smile on her face that looked forced to Alison.

What's wrong? Alison wanted to ask.

But the answer to that question was pretty obvious.

Everything was wrong.

Alison sat next to Hanna as Max greeted Aria and Emily.

"Have you been keeping each other out of trouble?" Emily asked.

Max and Hanna shared a devious look.

"Right. Dumb question." Emily answered her own question.

"We took a screenshot of her boss and put a devil filter on it." Max pulled out his phone.

"Well, that's not the worst thing you two could have done." Aria shrugged.

"I made it a meme." Max looked proud of himself as he showed the image to them.

He'd sent it in a group chat to some of his friends.

"That's going to end well." Alison glanced at Hanna with a sarcastic look on her face. "You came all the way out here to get in her good graces and you're just going to blow it up with a meme?"

"She gets dumped on all the time by the media. She won't even know we're the ones who made it." Hanna waved it off.

It was amusing to Emily that Hanna was concerned she might get fired over not holding up her end of the bargain by getting Alison in her boss's designs but that she wasn't worried about the meme. Then again, from what Emily knew about Hanna's boss…she was a career-driven woman who didn't care what people said about her. As long as the work got done she was happy.

"Besides, she's so happy she has the Alison DiLaurentis in her best designs that she doesn't care about anything else." Hanna flashed a smile at Alison. "Thanks again."

"Glad to be of service." Alison nodded.

Max's phone went off and everyone in the room tensed up, all of them forgetting that not everyone in the world jumped when their phone chirped.

"Ah, that would be José. He's waiting for me. We have a hot date." He grinned and waggled his brows.

His infectious kindness and love was something they all admired about him, though in that moment he seemed so much younger. Much less jaded than they were. He had a youthful innocence about him, even though sometimes he carried a sadness that came with being abandoned by his family.

Sometimes it made Alison so angry. His family had just tossed him out and disowned him because he didn't fit their stupid narrative. She knew all too well how that felt, and it upset her that Max had gone through a similar situation.

"I wish I could stay and gossip, girls. But my love awaits." He ran his fingers through his hair and blew a breath into his palm. "Mmm. Minty. How do I look?"

"Dashing, as always." Alison knew it would make his day.

"And the Queen hath doth spoken." Max beamed.

"Thank you for babysitting Hanna." Aria winked.

"Any time."

"Wait, what? I was babysitting him! He's a fetus compared to me." Hanna feigned a frown.

Max waved with a laugh and then he was off...shining his jovial light elsewhere.

"I wish I could bottle up that kid's personality and sell it." Hanna admitted after he'd left the room.

"He's a good kid." Emily agreed, edging on to the couch next to Hanna. "Let's see these amazing photos. I'll never say no to seeing my gorgeous girlfriend being all sexy and sultry."

A second after she said it Aria coughed out a quiet laugh and Alison blushed.

Hanna looked at them like they had each sprouted an extra head.

"What?" Hanna questioned. "What was that look?"

"Is Spencer still with Jerica?" Aria asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah."

"I'll go rescue her." Aria turned towards the door.

"Spencer or Jerica?" Hanna snorted.

"Both of them."

"You want me to come?" Alison asked.

Aria almost laughed again. Emily did laugh.

Traitor.

She wanted to slap herself for the way she'd phrased it.

"With you," she added quickly. "To get Spencer?"

"Sure."

"Great." The room felt hot and stuffy, and she didn't want to bear witness to what Hanna was going to say next.

It's like she knew the other blonde was searching her face for the joke she had missed.

To Hanna's credit, she didn't say anything until Aria and Alison walked out.

"You totally used the strap-on." Hanna looked at Emily in amusement.

"Yeah, about that…kind of." Emily tried to hold back her laughter.

"What do you mean kind-of? How do you kind of use something like that?" Hanna tossed her smoothie back and started to chug it.

"Aria walked in while we were getting ready to play with our shiny new toy."

Hanna choked on her drink so hard that Emily had to slap her on the back to help stop the coughing.

"That is the funniest thing I have ever heard. I am telling that story at your wedding when I'm your maid of honor." Hanna wiped her face. "What did Aria say to you when she saw you with it?"

"I wasn't the one wearing it."

Hanna doubled over this time, her face turning bright red as she dissolved into a hysterical fit of giggles.

"Alison was wearing it? I did not peg her for a top…" She paused and then started laughing harder. "Peg…oh God…" She couldn't catch her breath. "And Aria…" Tears were starting to spill from her eyes. "I can't…this is…" She sat up, gasping for breath. She wiped the tears away, slowly getting control of her laugher. "This is the best day of my life."

"Didn't you just get engaged six days ago?" Emily snorted.

"This tops that." Hanna paused. "Like Ali tops you." She caught her breath and then started to laugh again. "I'm surprised she left the bedroom, let alone came to the hotel."

"Hanna, be nice to her. She did you a favor." Emily pointed towards the laptop.

"She'll be fine." Hanna rolled her eyes. "But if it evens the playing field…I've got you beat. One time Caleb and I were getting really heated in bed and the cat decided he was feeling frisky, too."

"Uh..." Emily had no idea how to respond.

"We're like halfway into it, all sweaty and loud…" Hanna started to laugh, the memory playing through her mind.

If it hadn't been so visual, Emily would have enjoyed the normalcy of the moment.

"It's okay. We don't need to even the playing field…" But Emily's words fell on deaf ears.

"But then we smelled something on fire. We looked over and Cheese was staring at us. He'd knocked over a candle and it was flickering towards him and the curtain. He looked like a demon from hell." She reminisced. "Caleb leaps up, completely naked…worried about the cat…meanwhile I'm staring at the curtains wondering how much it's going to cost to replace them. They're vintage."

Of course she was worried about the curtains…

"Then I heard Caleb screaming. I expected him to be on fire, but instead I saw that Cheese had decided it was play time." She giggled. "Cheese thought that what was hanging in his face was a toy. I lost it. I laughed so hard I thought Caleb was going to set us both on fire."

"I…did not need to know any of that." Emily shook her head. "How am I ever going to look Caleb in the eyes again?"

"It's just sex." Hanna shrugged. She paused and thought about something. "You think Spencer and Toby are doing it again?"

"That's…not our business." Emily clammed up.

Kissy-face. She had to stop herself from smiling.

"Yeah, they're doing it again…"

"Moving on…" Emily cleared her throat. "Have you talked to Caleb today? Any updates?"

"He was working earlier and we didn't get a chance to talk. But I know he's doing his best. What about Toby? Have you talked to him?"

"This morning, but I don't really have anything to share…"

Except that Ezra may be the key to this whole thing.

"Anything from the wicked witch of the west and her not so much flying-monkey partner?" Hanna didn't think to ask Emily twice about her conversation with Toby.

"No. Tanner and Furey have been radio silent. But Alison did talk to Jason." Emily chewed at the corner of her lip. "The authorities are releasing Charlotte back to Welby."

"Surprise, surprise." Hanna frowned.

"We can still make this stick to her. We just have to figure out who is helping her."

"I admire your optimism. But even if she is caught dead to rights she'll get away with it. She always does." Hanna mumbled irritably.

"Not this time." Emily shook her head. She sighed. "I don't want to think about this right now. Show me pictures of my hot girlfriend."

Hanna gladly obliged.

They were deep in the photo gallery when Aria and Alison came back with Spencer in tow ten minutes later.

Spencer didn't look pleased that she'd been pulled away from Jerica.

Emily made brief eye contact with her, exchanging a we need to talk look before any of the other girls could see it.

"What did Jerica say? Anything new?" Hanna looked away from her laptop.

"She talked to Furey this morning. Tanner is in Rosewood following up on Sara's murder. Furey is covering the threats here. He said his team has gone through all the CCTV footage and didn't find anything suspicious about the delivery or the shop where the package was wrapped. They found out the name of the charity that sent the shop the payment. It's a small independent charity. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Jerica says the FBI doesn't seem to think we're suspects of any criminal activity anymore. Technically, we could all go home. But…"

"But why leave the beach?" Hanna finished her sentence for her, smiling.

"I was going to say that I don't like the idea of Tanner poking her nose around in Rosewood. Apparently she put in a request to speak directly to Charlotte." Spencer flinched when she said the blonde's name.

"She hasn't been cooperating with the local authority. I don't think we have to worry about her talking to the FBI." Alison countered.

She looked at Emily in concern, considering what they'd discussed earlier about how Charlotte wanted them all to herself, which was why the older girl hadn't outed Emily.

"She might not talk about her devious deeds," Spencer replied, "but there is nothing to stop her from telling Tanner that Emily paid her a little visit…"

"So?" Hanna interrupted Spencer. "It's not like recording someone and sending a conversation to the cops is that big of a deal. It's not like a felony or anything."

"Actually…it is." Emily had done her research.

"Oh." Hanna cringed. "Shit."

"I threatened her, too." Emily admitted. "But that's not on you guys. None of you knew about it until afterwards."

"Which makes us accessories after the fact." Spencer didn't seem upset, just concerned. "Especially since Sara was potentially going to expose Charlotte for murder. They'll know we knew about the connection between Charlotte and Sara."

"Why does that even matter?" Aria asked. "They wouldn't have even known to reopen Jessica's murder if that confession hadn't been sent to them."

"It matters because of our history." Alison sank down on the couch next to Emily. "And because Tanner hates us."

"About that…" Emily drifted off. "The day of your fashion show I ran into Tanner at the food cart."

"Why are we just now hearing about this?" Alison's eyes widened.

"Because it didn't seem relevant. She apologized for being hard on us and it seemed sincere. And she hasn't been on our case since." Emily gritted her teeth knowing that she was keeping something far more sinister to herself.

"If she finds out what we're hiding she'll change her tune really fast." Hanna frowned.

"She was stalking you and you didn't think to mention it?" Alison's nostrils flared.

Emily couldn't tell if Alison was annoyed at her or at Tanner.

Spencer and Emily shared another glance.

Their lies were eating at them.

Melissa.

Wren.

Ezra.

Wes.

"We didn't think it was a big deal." Spencer tried to mediate.

"You knew about this, too?" Alison turned her anger towards Spencer.

"Tanner was just there buying food." Emily took the heat off of Spencer and redirected it towards herself.

"A mile from where we live. Sure. That's not suspicious at all." Alison uttered caustically.

She peered at Emily, wondering if that's what the brunette had been keeping from her.

"Alison, let it go." There was something edgy about Emily's tone. "It didn't amount to anything. We have bigger worries…"

"Keeping you from doing something stupidly heroic is a bigger worry." Alison crossed her arms over her chest.

Hanna and Aria looked at each other.

"This seems like a private moment…" Aria knew the importance of privacy, especially after what happened at the condo.

"No, it's fine." Emily insisted.

She shot a pleading look at Alison,

Later.

"Emily, she came up to you. And only you. She hasn't approached anyone else. Why? Why would she do that? What if she knows about the recording?" Alison's tone softened, her anger melting away. "I'm worried."

"This is getting blown way out of proportion. Curb the melodrama." Spencer cut into the argument. "Emily is right. We have bigger problems right now. Until we know who killed Sara we are all at risk."

"You said Tanner was in Rosewood. And she wants to talk to Charlotte." Alison turned her focus towards Spencer again.

"Yes."

"I don't think you understand." Alison swallowed a lump in her throat. "If Charlotte put a hit out on Sara that would tie everything up with a neat little bow. Her cycle of lies would unravel. She knows that. That's why she played the authorities the way she did." As much as Alison hated her sister, she knew exactly how the older girl's mind worked. "And she's smart enough to have not gotten caught by now. Tanner won't get anything out of her. We're completely on our own here."

"Sara really screwed everything up by going and getting herself murdered." Hanna complained, reaching for a bottle of water on the end table.

The comment would have been jarring for anyone else, but not for her friends. They barely even batted an eye at her.

"Charlotte screwed up the second she brought Sara into it. We never would have found out about Wren otherwise." Emily thought back to the video confession she'd gotten on her mom's security camera.

Something about it was nagging at her. The blue-eyed officer had seemed familiar to her, but she didn't know him.

"It's a wonder the cops haven't made that connection yet." Hanna rolled her eyes.

"We still don't know if Sara was telling the truth about Wren. She could have been lying to cover for whoever is working for Charlotte." Spencer pointed out. "Everything is speculation."

"Did Jerica mention anything about whether or not the FBI knows that someone was with Charlotte the night she killed Jessica?" Emily asked, taking Alison's hand without a second thought.

Emily knew talking about her mom was hurting Alison.

"Surely if they are looking at her case again they'll be able to see they missed it. They have Charlotte's confession. They have to know it doesn't add up that Jessica was found on the property line buried when her cause of death was the drop in her blood pressure. They know she was moved. They have to know Charlotte couldn't do that alone." Aria picked at an uneven nail cuticle.

"I think they highly suspect that Sara was the helper." Spencer frowned.

"Are we the only ones who do actual police work?" Aria scoffed.

"Apparently so." Spencer walked over to a tray that had a full pitcher of water and several glasses on it. She poured herself a glass and then looked at Hanna. "Any word from Caleb?"

"He got stuck with a really big project at work, but he says he's working on it." Hanna leaned back and put her feet up.

She looked fairly comfortable for someone who was swept up in an FBI investigation.

"Any news about who could have killed Sara?" Alison asked.

"I have a theory." Spencer walked over to her friends. She took a sip of water and sat down. "Occam's Razor."

"The person who killed her named his razor blade?" Hanna looked up from her laptop in confusion. "Or…wait…was his name Occam? How do you know that?"

"In Philosophy it's believed that humans are conditioned to look for several different answers to a question. When someone hears hoofbeats a person might consider that it's zebras instead of horses. But more often than not, it's the simplest answer. Hence…when you hear hoofbeats...think horses. Not zebras." Spencer explained.

"And that's supposed to mean something?" Hanna asked.

"She's saying that it was clearly an inside job." Aria smiled at Spencer.

She appreciated her friend's philosophical mind.

Emily agreed. That's exactly what she and Toby thought.

"If someone is bankrolling this it could have been anyone with access to her." The list seemed dauntingly long to Alison.

"They'd still have to have a connection to Charlotte somehow." Spencer pointed out.

"Are you sure about that? People would do a lot for money. And wire transfers and off-shore bank accounts are pretty common." Emily countered.

"You sound like Caleb." Hanna snorted out a laugh and elbowed her friend.

"Or a politician." Spencer smiled.

"One thing I can't figure out is why Sara's ear landed on your doorstep on Valentine's Day." Spencer tapped her index finger against the glass. She peered at Alison. "Can you think of any correlation?"

"I heart you, Ali. Cus you are my friend."

Charlotte's innocence.

Jason's anger.

Alison's confusion.

Alison looked at Emily, vulnerability in her eyes. She had shared her past with the brunette, but had been guarded about it with the others.

Emily squeezed her hand. Her determination gave Alison the push she needed.

"I think…" Alison chose her words carefully, because she didn't entirely trust her memory, "My mom took me and Jason to see her once on Valentine's Day when we were kids. I don't remember much, but I do know that Charlotte loved Valentine's Day when we hung out after she left Radley. She loved talking about her endless lovers."

Alison grimaced.

It was hanging out with Charlotte that got her noticed by men like Darren Wilden.

"This might sound weird, but are there like…conjugal visits for people in mental hospitals? Like they have for prison?" Hanna asked curiously.

"No. They have a different set of rules for people suffering from mental health problems. Why?" Alison tried to figure out Hanna's approach.

"Because you just said she enjoyed a parade of people who were into her. She's manipulated people before. Didn't she date your brother?"

Alison had to fight back a gag.

"She said they never did anything, which is why Jason was so angry all the time. But that's still messed up. She apologized to him when we went to visit her once. She was basically on an apology tour. She was trying so hard to get out."

Alison hadn't been able to see the manipulation at the time, but she could see it now.

"Valentine's Day was weird for Jason, so he didn't ever go with me to celebrate it with her in Welby." Alison blinked, a snippet of her memory from her last Valentine's Day with Charlotte flashing in her mind.

It had been three and a half months before she bolted from Rosewood.

She tried to remember every detail.

Welby had a nice little set up. Several patients had been lounging about, dancing to music while the nurses watched to make sure no one was doing anything untoward.

Alison walked in and heard Bruno Mars blasting from the speakers.

She looked around at the decorations. Some were store-bought. Others had been made from arts and crafts.

Charlotte was walking around and working the room, flirting with everyone. Boys. Girls. Staff. Patients. She was like the Belle of the ball.

Her entire demeanor changed when she saw Alison walking in wearing a simple red dress.

Alison's hair was pulled back with a heart-shaped scrunchie. She had flowers and a homemade sheetcake to share.

"Ali!" Charlotte raced over to her as if she was the only person there. "You came!"

"I wouldn't miss it." Alison smiled. She faltered and cleared her throat when she saw Charlotte look past her, like she was expecting someone else. "Uh…Jason is…he's…"

"It's okay." Charlotte waved it off. "I know. I don't blame him."

Charlotte took the cake from her and placed it on a table with several other dishes.

She turned around and sized her little sister up.

"The flowers are beautiful."

"I know they're you're favorite. I thought you could liven up your room with them. And they smell incredible, too." Alison handed her the arrangement.

She felt bad that such vibrant flowers were in a cheap unbreakable vase, but Welby was strict about what was allowed in patient rooms. The cheap plastic vase was probably going to have to be replaced by a Styrofoam cup.

"They're lovely." Charlotte inhaled, taking in the scent. "I guess we've graduated from paper cards and store-bought cupcakes, haven't we?"

"You got cupcakes?" Alison looked around, taking a seat at a table.

Charlotte's smile faded as she sat down across from her.

"You don't…" She looked hurt. "Don't you remember?"

"Was it in Cape May? I was pretty wasted in Cape May. I don't remember most of it."

Except Wilden's drunken antics. She hadn't told him no, but she was a child and should not have had to tell him no.

She liked everything but the sexual stuff. She liked that he bought her beer. She liked hanging with the older crowd, but only when she was drunk. When she was sober it felt wrong. So she spent most of her time drinking and trying to have a good time.

Her good time had ended abruptly because she'd missed her period. She thought she was pregnant…with his baby. That's not any kind of trip she WANTED to remember.

When she looked at Charlotte she saw a pleading look in her eyes, as if she was begging her to know what she was talking about.

"No. It wasn't Cape May." Charlotte shook her head. "It was when you were younger."

"Mom didn't like it when I had sweets. She would have killed me for eating cupcakes." Alison shrugged.

"Not when you were little." Charlotte sounded like a child again, and it cracked something in Alison's chest.

There was a brief moment…a split second where Alison saw an image in her mind.

"I heart you, Ali."

In the confines of her memory something was tapping on a door, trying to remind her of laughter and presents and cupcakes.

But then it was gone. And she wouldn't remember it until a year later after a dead woman's ear landed on her doorstep.

"I'm sorry." Alison shrank into her seat. "I don't remember a lot of my childhood. Trauma and all that."

She refrained from mentioning the head trauma she'd suffered after Charlotte bashed her in the head and her mother buried her.

"I guess." Charlotte had a distant look in her eyes.

"Anyway, what was it you were saying about cupcakes on Valentine's Day?" Alison asked.

"Nothing. It's not important. So, tell me about what's going on with you. Are you dating anyone?"

Alison felt a knot in her throat. She hadn't been able to let herself love again since Emily.

"Just a few dates here and there. I met a guy who worked here a while ago, but it didn't work out." Alison shrugged it off.

"Girl…let me tell you, there is something about a man in uniform." Charlotte winked. "Who was he? Do I know him?"

"He's not here anymore. He was doing an internship for a nursing program. He was specializing in mental health."

"Yeah, we get lots of those guys. They're always young and hungry…if you know what I mean." She lifted her brows.

"I didn't think medical personnel could do that with patients. Isn't that illegal?" Alison looked a little closer at the staff members observing the party.

"Relax, I'm just having some fun. I don't get to chase down men in Cape May anymore. So I just flirt a bit. It'll keep me fed until I get out. Has there been anyone else for you?"

"Nothing serious."

"Please don't tell me you're still hung up on Americano…"

Alison flinched when Charlotte called Emily by her nickname.

"Hon, it's been…what…three years since she left you? I mean, I like the girl, but you need to move on."

"I don't want to talk about this." Alison grit her teeth. "I don't want to talk about her...about any of them."

Not with her.

"Well, see…the thing about that…" Charlotte pursed her lips, her red lipstick popping next to her milky smooth skin. "I have been writing apology letters for them. You know I have a board review coming up in a few months. I was hoping…"

"Can we please just eat some cake and be normal for once?" Alison cut her off. "I'm not here for that. Not today."

"Oh." Charlotte nodded. "Okay. My mistake. I just thought you might care."

"Charlotte, don't be like that." Alison sighed. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"You're right." She changed her tune, smiling innocently. "I'm sorry."

The music in the room changed into a peppy upbeat number, 'Dance with me pretty boy tonight. Dance with me and we'll be alright…'

"Oh, I love this song!" Charlotte leaped to her feet. "Come on. Let's show off our moves."

Alison followed her lead, laughing as she twirled with Charlotte, listening to the lyrics, 'There's a whole floor before us. Just you and me. So follow my lead and we'll one, two, three…'

They were having so much fun that Alison completely forgot where they were.

Three dances and two slices of cake later they were sitting at the table laughing. Alison leaned back and her hand landed against her side.

"I almost forgot." She reached into a small pocket hidden in the side of her dress. "I got you something."

Charlotte seemed touched by her kindness.

"Oh, you didn't have to…"

"I know, but I saw them and I thought of you." She handed Charlotte a little felt box.

Charlotte cracked it open to find a pair of blue sapphire clip-on earrings. They weren't allowed to have any other kind of earrings because of the danger it might pose.

"These are beautiful. They match my eyes." Charlotte immediately put them on. "How do they look?"

"Perfect."

"You're the best sister." Charlotte grinned. "I can't wait to show them off."

"You already are!" Alison laughed. "I feel like I just crowned you Prom Queen of Valentine's Day."

"Well, a Queen needs her King. I'm sure he'll love them."

"He?" Alison asked, taking another look at the staff.

"Wow. You really have forgotten about Cape May. I couldn't stop talking about him." Charlotte pushed her shoulder playfully. "You never listen to me. Do you have cupcake frosting in your ears or something?" She tickled Alison's earlobe.

"I already told you I don't remember Cape May. Who is he?"

"Someone incredible. Someone brilliant. I know he'll wait for me."

"Charlotte…Cape May was…it was a long time ago." It had been nearly seven years.

But Charlotte didn't seem deterred.

"You are such a pessimist. One thing you'll learn about me, Alison…" Charlotte winked at her and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "…is that I always get my man."

The music faded.

The laughter ended.

Welby disappeared.

Alison was sitting in a hotel room while the girls spoke over her.

She felt like a steel ball had been dropped into her stomach...and that she was going to vomit it up.

"Alison, what's wrong?" It was Emily who noticed how quiet she'd gotten.

The chatter in the room dissipated.

"I think Charlotte had a boyfriend." Alison peered at Emily in concentration, trying to hold on to the memory.

"Didn't she have a lot of boyfriends?" Hanna asked.

"Yeah, but she apparently met this guy before Welby. She said something about Cape May. But I don't remember anything about Cape May." Alison curled her fingers into fists in frustration.

"Then how did you remember she had a boyfriend?" Spencer was staring at her, hanging on her every word.

"I visited her last Valentine's Day. I never thought twice about the visits. But she said something to me. And I just realized it sounded extremely familiar. She told me I never listened."

"A lot of people tell me I never listen." Hanna didn't see the correlation.

"The ear, Hanna." Emily caught on immediately.

"Exactly. Can you hear me now? That's what the text said. The one about Sara's ear." Alison shivered. How had she not made that connection before now? "I gave her earrings. Sapphire clip-ons. And that's when she told me."

"Who else was in Cape May besides Charlotte and Wilden?" Aria asked.

"Melissa." Spencer squeaked out. "Melissa is the one who took the picture that Emily and Hanna saw at the police station."

Her face blanched.

She stood up and started pacing.

The normally composed Spencer Hastings lost her resolve. She had been raised to push down her emotions, but she stood before her friends without her armor, without pretense...completely raw.

"I'll be right back. I need a minute." Spencer moved across the room at lightning speed until she reached the door.

Everyone looked at one another.

Spencer was clearly not okay.

"She's having a panic attack. One of us should…"

"I'll go." Emily interrupted Aria.

Before anyone could say anything else Emily was gone, too.

Aria stared at the door as it closed.

Alison could see the look of concern in her eyes.

"Hey," Alison reached out to her. "She'll be okay. Emily will know what to say. She always knows what to say."

"If she can get close enough to her to say it." Hanna added nervously. "One time Spencer had a panic attack and when I tried to hug her she threw her mother's jewelry at me."

There was a beat of silence and then,

"Did you keep it?" Aria couldn't help herself.

"No." It made Hanna laugh. "But I think I'd rather walk in on this one…" She jutted her thumb at Alison, "…swinging a giant purple toy around than walk in on Spencer mid-panic."

Alison felt heat flood her face.

She looked at Hanna like she wanted to kill her.

"You were the one who told me to buy it!" She half exclaimed, half laughed.

"Just be glad I'm not showcasing that to my boss." Hanna antagonized her.

"What do you think her thoughts would be about your blood being all over her designs?" Alison tried to sound menacing, but she'd gone too soft over the years.

"I bet blood coupled with you in that harness would go viral." Aria smiled.

"I hate you both." Alison pouted.

She had half mind to chase after Emily and Spencer and never look Hanna and Aria in the eyes again.

She wondered if Emily had caught up to her yet. She wondered what they were talking about.

She had been right in her assessment that Emily would know how to reach Spencer.

Emily had found her out on a small balcony seven stories high that showcased an impressive pool below.

Despite the fact that it was chilly, several people were swimming. Spencer was clutching the iron bars in front of a cement barrier, built to be a safety measure.

"Hey." Emily walked up behind Spencer. "I know how you must be feeling. I get it. Family is…it's complicated."

"Easy for you to say." Spencer was staring down at the people in the pool. "It's not anyone in your family in the hot-seat."

"We don't even know if this guy Charlotte liked was in Cape May. She just mentioned him to Alison when they were on vacation together. It's no reason to panic." Emily gently put her hand on Spencer's arm.

When Spencer turned around Emily didn't see fear on her friend's face. She saw rage.

"Oh, I'm past panicking." She spoke like her veins were full of ice. "I'm calling my sister. She's going to tell me everything she remembers about that damn trip."

She was breathing so hard that she looked like she might explode.

"Won't that just risk tipping people off?"

"I don't care anymore. My family has done some really messed up things. It's why I am the way that I am…"

"The way that you are?" Emily steeled herself as she stared Spencer. In that moment she had never hated Spencer's family more for making her feel so small. "You are without question one of the smartest people I have ever met. You're determined and ballsy and sometimes...loud and opinionated. But it's that fierce attitude...the one where you refuse to let go of things...that makes you a force of nature who makes the impossible possible without batting an eye." Her tone softened considerably. "You are one of my very best friends. That is who you are. I wouldn't ever want you to be any different."

Spencer sighed, her anger briefly dissipating. She lowered her head and let out a breath, her hair hanging in her face.

"You have too much faith in people."

"Not really. Just in you."

Spencer blinked and then looked her in the eye.

She looked helpless...defeated. If Melissa was involved it was going to destroy her.

Emily pulled her in for a hug.

"Spence, you were there for me so much. I know we fought all the time, but it's only because I love you. You know that, right?"

"I know." There was a shaky tenderness to her voice.

Emily heard Toby's words in her head again.

"They're counting on you."

"Toby called me right before you all got to the hotel. I know Ezra was telling the truth about being in Europe." Spencer pulled back. "I'm guessing that's what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yeah. I was going to tell you. I talked to him this morning. We're still waiting on the information about the driver of the car." Emily knew they were close to answers, but she also knew that the longer they were in limbo the harder it was going to get. "It's kind of crazy that it was easier for Caleb to break into a Federal Airline database than it is a dumpy little rental car place."

"I'd be surprised if the dumpy little rental place actually kept decent records." Spencer rolled her eyes.

"I was thinking about Ezra's research earlier." Emily glanced down, where seven stories below innocent people were living their best lives.

"What about it?"

"He could have a bombshell and not even know it," Emily said. "There are a lot of different ways this could go. We know that Charlotte and Ezra worked together in the past. He has research about everything, and I would venture a guess that he probably has research about Wren and Mary and Jessica. He sleuthed around in the shadows. And now…he's been traveling. He could be gathering research. Maybe he discovered something. Maybe that's why he flipped out on Toby."

"It sounds like something broke him. Not that I'm not glad…" Spencer trailed off.

"Right." Emily nodded. "Charlotte breaks everyone eventually. What we need to know is what broke him. Was he involved at the beginning? Was he tasked with seeking out Aria? Or did something happen along the way? While he was working on the book maybe he figured something out. But by then he was involved with Aria. Could Charlotte have been blackmailing him?"

"About what? We know everything." Spencer was slowly taking the information in.

Talking about Ezra was the distraction that the young intern needed.

"But the cops don't. If he knows something about Charlotte or anyone she associates with and he's not saying anything it might be because she would blow up his life. Because she knows all his secrets...including the ones that would get him locked up behind bars." Emily pointed out.

"Mutually assured destruction." Spencer mulled it over. She huffed out an annoyed grunt. "This is so not good. Why is everyone so shady?" She buried her face in her hands. "What do we do?"

"Why are you asking me? I thought you had a plan."

She could hear Toby's voice in her head telling her to keep it together.

"I did. Keep Aria and Hanna out of it. Simple plan." She shrugged.

"What about Ali? I'm not going to be able to hide it from her much longer."

"Maybe we should let Toby tell her…from across the country." Spencer was only half-joking.

"That's your plan? She's going to flip out."

"So…maybe we don't tell her."

"I have to tell her! It's driving me crazy. We don't keep secrets from each other anymore." She paused and frowned. "At least not for long."

"Just calm down. We can figure this out."

"There is nothing to figure out. You and Toby are two peas in a pod. You both know everything about everything. Meanwhile I'm walking around with this bomb in my body. And all Alison needs to do to detonate it is touch me in the right place." Emily grumbled.

Spencer cocked her head and lifted a single brow.

"That's not what I meant. Get your mind out of the gutter." Though, her mind was very much on her sexcapade with Alison earlier.

"All we need to do is play this the right way." Spencer assured her. "Jerica says we're in the clear for now."

"It's the for now part that scares me. Where are Wren and Ezra in this equation? Neither of them are on the FBI's radar." Emily took a deep breath. "Look, I know you wanted to keep this between us, but I can't keep it from Alison anymore. Especially knowing that Ezra was so obsessed with her that he stalked us for years just to write a book about her. If he's involved in any way…she could be in danger and she deserves to know that."

"You and your savior complex." Spencer shook her head. She'd seen Emily risk her life countless times for many different people. "You pretty much asked me to let you die for her if it comes to it."

"And that's still the case. But as much as I want to, I can't be there watching her every move 24 hours a day. She needs to know what we're up against."

"What will it change? She's already on high alert. You two had a body part sent to you. I'd say she knows to look over her shoulder." Spencer replied flippantly. "Besides, are you sure we can trust her not to say anything to the others?"

Emily felt like Spencer had just slapped her.

"Frankly, I'm offended you'd even ask me that." Emily scowled at her friend.

Spencer's features softened when she realized what she'd insinuated.

"Sorry, that came out wrong. I know she's not the same girl she was in Rosewood. I'm just trying to protect Aria."

"Look who else has a savior complex." Emily smirked at her.

Spencer smiled back.

Their banter was how they operated. To people on the outside it seemed like they were fighting, but in reality they were speaking on a wavelength that no one else understood.

They heard a splash and laughter from below. Both of them peered over the balcony at the pool.

"I envy people who aren't us sometimes." Spencer leaned forward, resting her palms on the barrier. "To be able to walk this Earth not constantly looking over your shoulder. To be able to spend time with your friends without having to worry something terrible might happen to them."

The look on her face was agonizing for Emily to see. Spencer put up a tough front, but she was very fragile.

"Spencer…" Emily uttered quietly. "It won't always be this way. It can't be this way."

Spencer took a moment to gather her thoughts. Then she faced Emily.

"It's more than that," she said. "I had given up on the prospect of normalcy for me, but over the years I've watched all of you grow and thrive." She chose her words carefully. "I know none of us are normal. I know we all carry our burdens. We likely always will, but there is something to be said for happiness. Aside from all the drama, we all have the same shot of living our lives with joy. I just wanted to make sure that didn't change, especially not for Aria."

"I get why you're protecting her. I agree with you. But when we talked about this I didn't agree to keep it from Alison. At least not forever. I have to tell her."

"Tell me what?"

They had been so immersed in their conversation that they hadn't heard her footsteps approaching.

Emily spun around, her eyes meeting Alison's. There was a curiosity in them, but also a hint of wariness.

Spencer turned and waved to Alison. She looked at Emily, nodding to concede their argument of whether or not to tell Alison.

"I'm going to go call my sister." Spencer held up her phone. "I'll let you two talk."

She smiled at Alison and then brushed past her, leaving Emily alone on the balcony with the blonde.

---

A/N: Take a moment to thank Hanna Marin for Purple Thunder. Might be hard to focus on anything other than that bedroom scene and the jokes that followed, but we still have the PLL Scooby Gang trying to solve the mystery here, too. As much fun as the jokes were to write (including Hanna going in to full detail about her own bedroom shenanigans), I appreciated the genuine sweet moments shared as well.

Alison's (and Charlotte's) past is coming to light. And Ezra might know something. Does Tanner have some kind of angle? Shall we place wagers on whether or not Charlotte will pull the cranky-witch FBI agent into the game? Or is it going to be tied up with a little bow now that Charlotte is back in Welby?