Infatuation (PLL Emison AU)

The Balance of Dark and Light

A/N: I know, I know. It's been taking FOREVER. And I'm sorry about the update speed. With everything that's going on *gestures to the state of the world* it's been...yeah. But I assure you I am working very diligently on giving you something I hope you will be proud of in the end. This story has been an incredible journey and I'm sad it's almost over (2ish more chapters, depending on how I split them, and an epilogue). Thank you for staying with me and supporting me, even when I go a little crazy sometimes.

Note: This chapter has gore, violence, and uncomfortable subject matter. I always try to handle such things delicately. But tread carefully.

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Chapter 43:

The Balance of Dark and Light

It had been entirely too long. Months since she'd been deprived. It was as if she had been slowly starving to death. The hunger was overwhelming.

A soothing calmness washed over the blonde as she held her gloved hands steady above the unconscious man.

When she reached for the scalpel a buzzing energy vibrated through her.

Alison.

The blood was calling to her. Her exhilaration was like a fire blooming in the distance. She could smell it. She could taste it. She was a child on a holiday, magic and excitement in the air. She felt like her body was shaking, but the anticipation was hidden by her calm exterior.

Her hands were steady as she pressed the blade against the delicate exposed flesh. Her nimble fingers sliced through the thin skin. She shuddered a heavy breath that filled the quiet room.

The first drop of blood was glorious. Seeing the bright red substance in her control again was like releasing a pressure that had been building in her lungs forever. Seeing it trickle down his body was blissfully euphoric.

It was more than just the blood itself. It was the respect she had for it. Blood was life. It kept hearts beating. It kept organs thriving. It kept the brain alive.

Every time blood was spilled it painted a different picture.

A slow trickle when there was a superficial injury.

A flush of pressure when a needle entered a vein.

Crimson explosions spattering everywhere when an artery had been struck.

She could feel her veins burning with desire. She could feel her blood flowing in time with the beat of her heart. Heat reverberated through her body on a different level...a molecular level. A vibration...a tune that only she could hear. It was a symphony with an audience of one.

She felt her senses come back to life. Being in her element reignited the part of herself she'd been repressing. It made the world fade away. It was just her...and the blood.

Getting back into the swing of things hadn't been that hard. It was like riding a bike. When she was in the zone, the horrors of her childhood were sucked into a dark abyss. Darren Wilden and all of the other horrible people she'd killed were just little insignificant specks. And Alex Drake disappeared. The bitch was nothing...nowhere.

Because Alison had survived. Alex was dead. And Alison was still alive...her blood pumping...keeping her connected to the world.

Alison continued cutting, pushing the scalpel deeper, her motions pristine and precise.

She told a story when she had a blade in her hand.

Her hands were the artist and the scalpel was her paintbrush. She cut, her instincts guiding her. Her mind was quiet and peaceful, detached as she watched herself work.

It was only when she'd finished her work that the surrounding noise started to come back to her.

Machines steadily beeping. The anesthesiologist sitting at the head of the table measuring the patient's breathing out loud. Anne, beaming from ear to ear. The congratulatory remarks from her team and people echoing how great it was to have her back.

None of that had existed the moment she'd picked up the scalpel. She had been on a different wavelength the entire surgery. Her team had silently worked with her, letting her take in her first time back in the OR.

"You've still got it." Anne smiled proudly as the patient was being wheeled out of the surgical suite and towards recovery.

They followed, stopping in the scrub room to remove their surgical attire.

"Thanks." Alison flexed her fingers. "I was a little worried my bones wouldn't heal correctly. I had concerns that it would screw up my technique."

"I never doubted you for a second." Anne gave her a courteous nod as she pulled her gown off.

Alison stared at the blood covering her gloves. It had been so hot when she'd first felt it. The warmth was gone, and the color was fading from a beautiful bright red to the post-shade of a dirty brown.

The way blood changed colors was amazing. From arterial spatters that were bright red to de-oxygenated blood that was dark red that faded into burgundy over time. It was even present in the way bruises healed. Some were purple and black, blood that had been burst from tiny capillary veins. Bruises went through a variety of colors. Black, purple, blue, green, yellow. A rainbow, an array of just how fascinating blood could be.

She couldn't help but wonder why she'd been so drawn to it from such an early age by it. Even before her parents had preened her and groomed her...before she saw that night...she'd been mesmerized by blood. When she fell down and got scrapes and bruises she didn't cry. She just observed the cuts and abrasions.

Blood was just a part of life.

I was born covered in blood. We all are.

Blood gave life.

Blood also had the power to take life away.

Blood is the single most powerful thing on this entire planet.

It was why she was so transfixed by it. The power. Because Alison herself held an incredible amount of power in her hands.

It was simply nature.

The world would still exist if blood ceased to exist. But it would never be the same. It was a conundrum, because sometimes Alison thought that perhaps the world would be better off without the stain of human nature on it. What if the only thing that existed was energy and oxygen and plants? It would be a beautiful world.

"Doctor DiLaurentis?" It was so good to hear the familiar call of her name from a friend. A voice that kept her grounded in reality. "Are you okay?"

"Never better, Anne." Alison smiled. "Never better."

She pulled her bloody gloves off and disposed of them.

After she got cleaned up she went to check on her patient.

He was a young handsome twenty-year-old. A teacher's aide at a community college who had collapsed in the middle of class with a ruptured colon. He had a medical condition that had led to the rupture.

The waiting room was filled with worried students. She put them at ease, carefully studying their faces to make sure he wasn't some perv on campus. He seemed genuinely respected and loved. Alison appreciated that.

She told those waiting that he was going to be okay. He'd pulled through the surgery without complications. The relief on their faces reminded her that being a surgeon wasn't all about an addiction. She truly liked to save people.

When she was on her way back to the front desk she ran into a familiar face.

Her entire body tensed, though she wasn't sure why.

"Marco." Alison's brows perked up in surprise.

Despite the lengths he had gone to in order to protect her, she was still trying to figure out their new dynamic. They'd seen each other a few times since she'd opened up to him, but she felt awkward that he'd seen her true face.

At the same time she felt less alone. It had helped that he'd opened up to her. She appreciated his candor. He opened up about his time overseas and answered her burning questions because it was important for her to know that he understood...that he accepted her.

Alison also knew that Marco was wickedly intelligent, and she could never tell what he was thinking. He was like a lake when there was no breeze. Placid and still. Yet underneath he had a lot going on lurking in the depths.

Why are you here?

Did he know about her plan?

He couldn't possibly...

She hadn't told anyone. That was the deal. She kept her...ventures secret, though this new hunt would be the first time she'd killed anyone since Alex Drake had come into the picture.

It was someone who really deserved it.

She'd honed in on The Professor, the monster raping children in a neighboring town. She was putting her plan into motion at that very moment, so seeing Marco staggered her.

Why...today of all days...are you standing here in my hospital?

She approached him with caution. He glanced at her like he knew. But he couldn't possibly know.

Can't be a coincidence he's here though.

Marco smiled, which curbed the insanity that Alison was feeling.

"Relax, DiLaurentis. I'm not here for you." He lifted his chin and motioned towards Anne.

He waved and she shot him a grin and waved back.

"More PT?" Alison guessed.

"Yeah...if the P and T stand for Piña Coladas and Tamales. It's Fiesta Friday. I'm taking her out for lunch." He had a crooked smile on his face.

He looked like a dopey dork in love, and it was the funniest thing in the world to the blonde. A hardened assassin and grumpy brash Police Chief...in loooove, acting like a teenage boy without a clue. It was cute.

"Ah, you're going to wine and dine her? Is that your plan?" Alison adjusted her stethoscope.

I'm fidgeting.

I need to stop fidgeting.

Fortunately, Marco's eyes were fixed on Anne and not on her.

"She figured out I was faking how bad my limp was." He half cringed, half laughed. "Called me out on it. Basically told me if I want to see her more then I had to take her out. So I guess we're official."

"So...she basically asked herself out on your behalf." Alison snorted.

"Pretty much. That's how it went. Yeah." He rubbed his head, chuckling.

Anne was a very different woman outside the OR. She'd always been sweet and kind to Alison. But she ruled with an iron fist when it came to the care of her patients. Apparently that was the sort of thing Marco Furey liked. Someone who could match wits with him.

Good for them.

They heard footsteps approaching. Seconds later Anne was standing next to Alison.

"Ah, if it isn't the world's worst patient." Anne had her jacket slung over her arm and her purse hanging from her shoulder.

"Me or her?" Marco gestured between himself and Alison.

"She stays put once she's settled. She's not the one who tried to walk out of this hospital to get back to work seven days after she was shot." Anne poked at Marco.

"I'll never live that down." He rolled his eyes.

"Did you know this joker was lying to me about how bad his injury was just to see me?" She faced Alison.

Alison scrutinized Marco and then smiled.

"You could do worse." Alison shrugged.

"Thanks for the glowing recommendation, Doc." Marco scoffed.

"You off for the day?" Alison asked, glancing at Anne's belongings.

"Yeah, my shift ended two hours ago." Anne tried to balance her purse.

Marco reached out to help her, but she playfully batted his hand away.

"You were done two hours ago?" Alison glanced at the clock. "Then why were you in surgery with me?"

"Like I was going to miss your first surgery after you got back? Do you know how much I missed having you in that OR?" She lowered her voice and let out a little giggle. "We all know you're the best surgeon in this hospital. The nurses fight to get on your rotation."

"You like me more than Spencer." Alison snickered.

Anne laughed and pressed her index finger up against her lips, motioning for her to keep it just between them.

"It's good to have you back, Dr. DiLaurentis."

Once my favorite nurse. Always my favorite nurse.

"You're my favorite, too." Alison whispered back.

Marco glanced at his watch.

"We better get going. Our reservations are in fifteen minutes." He was a man that stuck to a strict routine.

Alison could appreciate routine. She had her own strict routine and she needed to get back to it.

"Oohhh," Anne lightly hummed in a sing-song way, "Reservations. Aren't we Mr. Fancypants?"

"Punctuality is a specialty of mine." Marco put his arm around Anne's shoulders.

"Is that why you were always twenty minutes early for your PT appointments?" Anne gave him a hard time.

"Of course. Why else come to the hospital?" He gently teased her.

"You two have a good time. Make good choices. No drinking and driving. It would be really awkward if you had to arrest yourself, so try not to break any laws." Alison winked at Marco.

Her comment got Mr. Stoic-face to laugh. He shot her a look back that clearly said,

"You do the same."

Though he knew she wouldn't always abide by the rules. He still tried to gently encourage her down the right path.

It was nice to see the people in her life happy. Marco had been single ever since Alison had known him. He'd appreciated a solitary life. She suspected he was working out a lot of things from his past. The fact that he was slowly moving forward gave her hope for her future.

She watched them walk towards the exit, the sliding glass doors opening for them as if the world was inviting them outside. They were facing each other, talking and laughing.

It made the blonde feel...something. She wasn't sure what. But she knew she was feeling an emotion. She didn't understand it, but it was there. It reminded her of how she felt when she was with Emily.

Happiness wasn't really a strong enough word for it. There was no English word in the dictionary to define the way she felt all squishy and emotional and supportive. It was more of a state of just being. It was otherworldly. Ethereal.

Alison made her way to her office to finish her post-op notes and to make sure her schedule was still clear. She'd found a way to merge her two worlds together. The dark and the light.

When she got to her office she stopped at the door, realizing it was cracked. She was certain she'd shut it. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Darkness encroached the edges of her vision. She was back in the park being ambushed by Alex Drake. She could hear her pulse pounding in her ears.

She's dead.

She can't hurt me.

She's dead.

Alison readied herself as she put her palm on the door. There was a small table right next to the door with office supplies, including scissors. She curled her hands into fists and then opened them back up a few times and then pushed the door open.

She reached for the scissors and held them in the air as she poised herself to charge at her attacker...

Until she saw the attacker was not an attacker, but Spencer and Aria standing at her desk staring at her in surprise.

"Holy shit. Your reflexes are insane." Aria's eyes were wide and curious. "How the hell did Drake the Snake ever get the drop on you?"

"Hey." Alison huffed out a breath, dropping the scissors on the table. "What are you two doing in my office?"

"Happy first day back?" Aria chuckled nervously, holding a cupcake out to her.

"I told you sneaking up on her was a bad idea." Spencer glared at Aria. She faced Alison. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." But the truth was that she was rattled.

She would always be walking on eggshells. That trauma would always be a part of her, so she'd always look for weapons and double check for the quickest route to safety. It was rooted into her.

"Sorry. Please forgive me for being an unsocialized feral hermit." Aria cringed.

"It's okay." Alison's words were meant for Aria, but she was looking at Spencer.

Her esteemed colleague was watching her carefully. Alison gave Spencer a slight nod to let her know she was fine.

"What's this?" Alison walked over to them, glancing at the cupcake.

"Congratulations. You didn't kill anyone on your first day back." Aria gave her a thumbs up.

Yet.

Alison stifled a laugh, because it was a joke that only she was in on.

"Don't say another word, Montgomery. I don't need you jinxing me." She grabbed the cupcake from her friend and pressed her index finger against Aria's lips, shushing her. "I'll sew them shut, so help me God."

"Didn't realize you were so superstitious." Aria laughed in amusement.

"I'm not." Alison shrugged, biting into the sweet treat. "But there are some things you just don't say in a hospital, because as soon as you do all hell will break loose. Like the Q-word."

Aria's face soured, her features scrunched together in confusion.

"The Q word?" She cocked her head. "Quesadilla?"

"No." Spencer laughed. "Quiet. You never say it's quiet. It's like a curse."

"Ooh, you said it." Aria held her hands up and wiggled her fingers, feigning being afraid.

Spencer flicked her wrist at the shorter girl.

"Oh, go back to playing with your dead bodies."

"Can't." Aria leaned against Alison's desk. "You're too efficient at your job, and there haven't been any suspicious murders lately. My freezers are empty." She paused and thought about something. "Well, all of them except one. Jacob Daniels. 102 years young. Lived a great life."

"Oh? Did he tell you that himself? Are the dead talking to you now?" Spencer laughed softly.

"Always." Aria didn't miss a beat. She grinned. "I met his son. He had a lot of stories to tell. Apparently good old Mr. Daniels, his Pops, was in World War 2. He punched a bunch of Nazis."

"Wow. Good job, Pops." What Alison did wasn't so different than Jacob Daniels.

She hurt bad people, too.

Spencer's phone chimed. She reached into her lab coat pocket and pulled it out. She grunted and made a face at the screen.

"Boring surgery?" Alison leaned forward, trying to get a glimpse at the screen.

Normal people are nosy...I think.

Just be normal, Alison.

"Worse. My party planners." Spencer put the phone away without answering. "You know, I love Hanna, but she and Mona are way over the top."

"I thought you were allergic to fun. What kind of party are you planning?" Aria tapped her fingers against the edge of Alison's desk. "And why weren't we invited?"

"Your invitations are in my office. That's what Hanna is nagging me about." Spencer rubbed her temple as if Hanna was standing right in front of her and giving her an actual headache. "Toby and I are having a housewarming party next weekend."

"Wow, you two kids are moving fast." Aria elbowed her. "He knock you up or something?"

"You know I could decimate you with my pinky finger, right Shortstack?" Spencer's words were harsh, but her tone was lighthearted and playful.

Alison was starting to understand Spencer's eccentric personality. She was stiff and strict and adhered to the rules to an annoying end. She was uppity and thought she knew everything. Her sense of humor was dry, but clever. She was as smart as a whip and had the arrogance of a God. But she had one of the biggest hearts Alison had ever seen. She cared. Deeply. Her drive was something Alison admired about her.

"Try me, Slim." Aria winked.

"Sorry Spence, my money is on the little big one." Alison jutted her thumb at Aria and took a bite of her cupcake.

"You're just saying that because she brought you pastries." Spencer pointed to the cupcake in Alison's hand. "She has bought your vote with food."

"She literally chased down a rapist in our parking lot. She was going to kick his ass." Alison ran her finger through the icing on the cupcake and put a finger full of it in her mouth.

"Okay, that's true." Spencer nodded, frowning at her coworkers. "But can she recite the entire Targaryen speech from the end of season one of Game of Thrones?"

"No. Because I'm not a nerd." Aria rolled her eyes.

Alison peered at the clock on her desk. As fun as it was watching the two of them banter...

Free entertainment.

...she was set to a strict schedule. The seconds were ticking by. She would have to watch them bicker like an old married couple some other time.

"Listen, I really appreciate you welcoming me back." Alison reached for the I-Pad on her desk. "But unfortunately I've got a lot to catch up on."

She sighed, laying on the sadness really thick. But it wasn't a stretch to seem disappointed to make them leave. She really did like their company. She just didn't like them around when she was on a mission.

"Just don't overdo it." Spencer narrowed her eyes, giving her a stern look. Her eyes searched Alison's face for pain.

"Don't tell me what to do." Alison smiled, trying her best to sound playful and not bitchy. "You're not my doctor anymore."

Aria let out a boisterous laugh.

Spencer just glared at the two of them.

"We'll let you get back to work." Spencer moved towards the door.

"See you later." Aria waved.

"Thanks again for the cupcake." Alison tossed the wrapper in the garbage.

"Don't forget that you still owe me coffee and doughnuts." Aria spun around and backed towards the door. "You know what I like."

"The coffee will be freshly brewed and the doughnuts will still be warm. Tomorrow morning." Alison nodded.

"You're the best." Aria smiled before disappearing.

I am. I really am.

Who else could pull off being a serial killer, a friend, a doctor, and a wife?

She quickly got to her post-op notes, trying to be mindful of the time. She did a quick follow up, checking on her patient. He was doing remarkably well.

She went back to her office to gather her things.

Just as she was getting ready to leave she heard a light knock at the door and saw it being pushed open.

Why does the universe not want me to get out of here and kill this man today?

"Hey." Emily walked inside.

She was back in her typical work clothes, which Alison found extremely sexy. A simple blouse that hugged her chest and jeans that showed off her hips. Her gun was on her hip and her shield was clipped to her belt.

"You know, it's a lot easier to get in here now that the troll isn't at the front desk anymore." Emily smiled.

"Hey, you." Alison embraced her.

When her body touched Emily's, all of the atoms inside of her felt like they were exploding into bright bursting lights. Every nerve ending inside of her was on fire.

"Slow day at work or did you miss me?" Alison pressed up on the tips of her toes to kiss her.

"Both." Emily moved her palm to the back of Alison's neck, sending shivers down the blonde's spine. When she pulled back, they were both smiling. "I don't know if you've heard, but the notorious serial killer here in town is gone. Case closed." She walked her fingers up the back of Alison's neck.

"Well, if I've put you out of business then we can retire and move to Paris." Alison teased.

"I'm not quitting my dangerous job." Emily chuckled softly. "You and mom are relentless."

"I could support us both..."

"Ali..." Emily's tone slipped into a warning vibrato.

She's so sexy when she does that.

"Had to try." Alison shrugged.

She'd had enough of Emily's near death experiences, but she also understood that the detective did her job because she liked doing it. It was the same reason Alison continued to work even though she had enough money not to. She loved it.

"The body count has dropped quite a bit," Emily said. "We still get a few homicides here and there, but nothing lately. Toby and I are taking a long lunch. I went home and checked on Gus. He seemed antsy, so I took him to play with Duke and then dropped them both off at my mother's. He'll sleep well tonight."

"Here's to hoping that we do, too." Alison chewed on her lip.

The night terrors were still a problem, but they were making progress in therapy. It was frustrating to not be able to control the demented images in their minds.

Alison was hoping that shedding a rapist's blood would make a difference.

"Yeah, sorry about last night." Emily's soft brown eyes drifted away from Alison's gaze, shame and embarrassment written all over her face.

Alison had been roused from her sleep in the night when she heard Emily screaming. She'd rolled over to comfort her, but Emily's side of the bed had been cold.

Alison had found her thrashing in the closet. Emily had walked there in her sleep and was tangled up in a bunch of clothes. She had scratches all over her hands and arms from the hangers.

In her nightmare she was back in the basement of The Radley with Alex. Alison was on the floor bleeding out. And Emily was fighting for both of their lives. It was her worst reoccurring nightmare. Worse than the car wreck with Liam. Worse than seeing Marco get shot. Worse than the car hitting her. Worse than the liquor store.

Alison hadn't been able to get to her at first. Watching her suffer had been horrible and heart-wrenching. She wanted to cry and scream and rage because she couldn't help her. She hadn't been able to wake her, so she had to let her scream and cry for several minutes before she was able to wrap her arms around her and pull her out of the closet.

They'd fallen to the floor and Emily woke up mid-scream, confused and disoriented.

"I didn't mean to scare you." Emily looked at the fading red marks on her hands, rubbing at them as she avoided eye contact.

"You can't control them any more than I can." Alison gently placed her palm on her wife's cheek, turning her head so they were facing again.

Alison had been startled, but more than anything she had been pissed off. It motivated her in her hunt. She couldn't take away Emily's pain. But she could prevent others from facing a similar fate.

Emily noticed the distant look in her eyes. She recognized it for what it was. Alison's mask didn't slip often, not even with her. But she couldn't hide her darkness anymore. She studied Alison's face for a moment and then pushed a wisp of her hair behind her ear.

"You doing okay? How has your first day back been going?" She brushed her fingers through Alison's hair.

"Piece of cake." Alison curled her fingers. Every now and then they were still sore, but she was fully healed. "It's even better now that you're here." She pulled the brunette close.

Don't you worry, Professor. I'm still coming for you.

"Yeah. I thought we could order lunch. Maybe chat in the break room for nostalgia's sake." Emily snaked her arms behind Alison's waist, pulling her closer.

"Our first date." Alison smiled.

"Yep. Just you and me and turkey and cheddar pinwheels."

"Pickle chips. Fruit and veggies. And almonds." Alison smiled. "I remember. I wined and dined you with a lunch that school children eat."

"It was all of my favorite foods. Did you know I was coming into the hospital that day to get my stitches out?" Emily lifted her right eyebrow accusingly.

"I had a little crush on you." Alison tapped her nose. "And you talked about food a lot when you were hospitalized."

"So, what do you say? Lunch?" Emily grabbed her hand.

Alison glanced at her watch. She'd told Chief Hastings she wanted to pace herself on her day back, so she had a lengthy period of time before her next surgery. She was going to use that time to track The Professor. She was so close. She could feel it in her veins.

She'd learned his patterns and she had a feeling she knew where he was going to strike next.

The only problem was that it was half an hour away in a neighboring town, which left her very little time to spend with her wife.

"I'm kind of swamped." She saw the disappointment in Emily's eyes. Those damn puppy dog eyes, "But what about a quick bite at the food trucks?"

"That sounds lovely." Emily smiled.

Alison smiled back, because she was married to someone who said things like lovely.

"We'll do something special another time." Alison shot her a seductive wink. "I'll reserve the on-call room."

"Am I going to have to start penciling in my own wife?" She leaned forward and pressed her lips against Alison's neck.

The motion went straight to Alison's core. Her insides started pulsing.

Ohhhh fuck.

It was so hard to resist her. She wanted to fuck her right there...push her on to the desk and just...

No, focus...

"You know I'd drop everything on my schedule for you if I could." Except this kill. She needed it. "Come on." Alison tugged on her hand.

The quicker they got something to eat, the faster she could get to The Professor.

The weather was mild. It was a little chilly, but not cold enough that they needed coats. Winter had passed and they were seeing warmer days.

Alison lifted her head and appreciated the warmth.

A metaphor for our lives.

They'd made it through the bitter cold and they were finding their way into the sunshine again, leaving the shadows of their past behind them.

They walked to one of Emily's favorite spots, a lively little Mexican food cart.

Holy Guacamole, Let's Taco Bout it was buzzing with activity. It was one of the most popular food trucks on the strip.

Alison wasn't really hungry, but she ordered to appease Emily. The only appetite she had was for blood.

Once their order was ready they walked over to a large fountain. The sun had come out from behind the clouds. The water sparkled, diamonds dancing off the surface as the flowing water from the fountain fell into the pool below it.

"So, did you hear that Spencer and Toby are finally moving in together?" Alison took a dainty bite of her burrito. She'd have to be sure to brush her teeth and suck on a few mints before going after The Professor.

"Mmmhmm." Emily nodded with her mouth full. She swallowed and took a sip of her drink. "Toby told me today. He said he was supposed to give me an invitation, but he lost it. That apparently did not go over well with Hanna."

"Yeah." Alison laughed. "Spencer grumbled about Hanna being a hard ass."

"I wonder what we should get them as a housewarming present."

Why? It's not like they need more stuff. They have her things AND his things. They have lots of things.

She took a moment to think it over.

Because it's customary. It's what NORMAL people do. She realized.

"How about a new Scrabble board?" There was a twinkle in her blue eyes.

She remembered the two of them bonding over the game the night that Emily had been drugged.

Emily laughed at the suggestion.

"That's actually not a bad idea. Toby told me they play every weekend."

"Our friends are total dorks." It came out lovingly, which was somewhat of a surprise to the blonde.

She was still adjusting to being in touch with her emotions. A part of her was still detached. A cold darkness still clung to her, but she was starting to genuinely care in her own twisted way.

"They are." Emily took another bite of her burrito. "But they're our dorks."

Alison smiled and reached up to wipe a speck of food away from the edge of Emily's lip.

"That they are."

There was a momentary silence as the two of them ate. Then Emily wiped her mouth with a napkin and faced her wife.

"So, tell me...how does it feel to be back in action?" Emily asked.

Alison was caught off-guard at first, because she wasn't sure if Emily was referring to her first day back in the OR or the fact that she was going to hunt a man down and kill him after their lovely lunch.

"I feel like me again." It answered both questions. She picked up her drink and sucked the straw in her mouth. "What about you? How have you been adjusting to being back at the station?"

Emily had been cleared for work before Alison because the injuries to Alison's hands had taken longer to heal.

"I'm finally getting back into a routine." Emily took the last bite of her burrito and then washed it down with what was left of her drink. "I do miss our quality time together at home. I miss taking Gus to the park and walking the trail with you."

"We'll find a new routine that works for us." Alison put her hand on top of Emily's. Her knuckles were rough from boxing, but her hands were soft and warm and gentle.

Emily smiled at her, flipping her hand over and tickling Alison's palm. She said so much without saying anything at all.

You're beautiful.

I'm so glad I have you.

I love you.

Emily made it nearly impossible for Alison to leave. She hated being away from her. The brunette's presence made her feel like she belonged, like she had a place in this world. A purpose other than killing and cutting.

But her urges were screaming at her, tearing her apart.

You need to kill this man.

You HAVE to kill this man.

Today.

NOW.

Her teeth were chattering. Her veins were full of fiery molten lava. Her spine was crawling. Her skin itched.

As the thunderstorm raged inside, Emily carefully studied her expression. She cocked her head, her brows pinched in concern. She'd had a feeling when she showed up in Alison's office that something was off with her, and she had connected the dots.

Alison glanced at her, realizing for the first time that Emily had been watching her.

"I really should..." Alison glanced at her watch, "I need to get going." She pushed herself to her feet.

"What about dessert?" Emily asked.

Alison leaned in with a seductive smile on her face.

"I'm saving my appetite for tonight." She brushed her lips against Emily's jaw.

You're the dessert, dear.

"Oh?" Emily lifted her brows, wagging them flirtatiously.

"Been thinking about it all day." Alison reached into her pocket and pulled out some gum. "I wanted nothing more than to ravish you on my desk the second you showed up."

She offered Emily a piece of gum. Emily popped it in her mouth.

"Alison Dilaurentis-Fields...fornicating on hospital property?" Emily feigned a gasp, clutching her chest playfully. "What would Veronica Hastings think?"

"Fornicate? Seriously, Emily?" Alison snorted. "Who says fornicate?"

"I'm a classy lady." Emily held her head up like a proper socialite.

"Mmm...shy in the streets, sexy in the sheets." Alison winked.

They both started laughing, thinking about all the places in that hospital they'd had sex. Toby hadn't been wrong when he told Emily that there weren't many places in town where they hadn't boinked.

Emily walked Alison back to the hospital. She noticed Alison's eyes flicker towards the parking deck.

"You know I love you, right?" Alison asked.

"Of course I do." Emily answered like it was the silliest question she'd ever heard.

"If it was a choice between you and work, I'd choose you every time." She peered at the hospital. "But...I have to do my job. Or people die."

Or I lose control.

"I understand." She took the blonde's hand.

Alison was a very complex person. Both of her jobs saved lives. Her legal one and her illegal one.

"I'm trying. Really hard. For you. For us," Alison said quietly.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me." Emily had learned a long time ago that she couldn't control the surgeon. And she didn't want to.

Alison smiled gently at her. She believed Emily's words, but she could also see something curious in her eyes. An emotion she didn't quite recognize.

"I should get back before Chief Hastings sends out a search party. They don't like it when I disappear on them." Alison cleared her throat, staring at the hospital doors.

She gave Emily a goodbye peck and then moved towards the building.

As she was turning around she felt Emily's soft palm against her arm, pulling her back to face her. Her heart skipped a beat. There was something different about her touch. Something that made Alison afraid to look into her eyes. She didn't want to be the cause of Emily's pain.

"Alison..." Emily's voice was soft and quiet.

Alison had learned to listen when Emily addressed her with her heart.

I won't lie if she asks me.

But Emily didn't ask. Instead she held her wife close.

"You don't have to hide it from me." Emily kissed her, her face lingering in front of her wife's. "I can see it in your eyes."

Alison didn't say anything. She'd learned that the less she burdened Emily with, the better.

"I'll see you when I get home tonight." Alison squeezed her hand.

"Mmm." Emily nodded, her eyes tight, her face serious.

Alison didn't have to say anything else. Emily had known it was only going to be a matter of time before she went after The Professor.

It was technically out of their jurisdiction, but it was still worrisome. Emily always worried when Alison went off on her own, and that fear had only grown after Alex Drake kidnapped her.

"Be careful." The brunette gripped her cheeks, cupping her face lovingly.

It blew Alison's mind that Emily could look into her eyes, knowing everything she had done...and still love her. Alison had likened it to infatuation once, as being blindly in love. But the more she fell for Emily the more she realized that it was true love. Because Emily wasn't blind to who she was. She accepted her. She looked straight into her soul and accepted every part of her, good and bad.

"I love you." Emily kissed the top of her head. "Just come home to me. Safely."

Alison nodded, answering with a kiss.

o ~ O ~ o

She pulled the car close enough so that the school was in sight, but not so close that she would stand out. She adjusted the black wig on her head. It was frizzy and pulled back in a ponytail. She peered at her reflection in the rearview mirror, admiring the brown contacts in her eyes. She had on a pair of glasses and was dressed in a pantsuit. She looked like she could work at the school, which was her goal. She'd even changed her license plate to match the county. She didn't look a bit out of place.

The bell would be ringing soon. Jovial middle-schoolers would be running out the door in glee, ready to be free from the confines of education. They'd go out and explore the world. They'd play. They'd revel in their innocence, not knowing that a very dangerous threat was lurking...just waiting to rip that innocence away.

The Professor was being downplayed by the police in the media because they didn't want to create a panic. They went over common sense safety protocols and told parents to remain vigilant.

But parents had been talking. Many people knew how bad it really was, and they were doing everything to keep their kids safe, including hovering and waiting for them outside of school.

Alison knew that The Professor would use that to his advantage. He was aroused by their fear. And he liked a challenge. He had been bold enough to commit all his crimes in broad daylight. All the children had been snatched from common areas. Playgrounds. Schools. Grocery stores.

She'd already created a profile of him in her mind.

He would look for some place secluded where the cameras couldn't catch him. He'd blend in, like he was just another father waiting for his child. Hell, he could actually be a father.

Alison thought briefly of Chloe Roland and little Grace, Tim Roland's children. They were better off with their horrible father dead. One day he might have turned the tables and hurt his own daughters. Alison had made sure he couldn't do that.

And she was going to do the same to The Professor.

She looked at her surroundings.

The Professor would stay close. He would wait until one of the little girls was isolated and then he would strike. But he'd be smart enough to have a plan so no one would see them together. He stalked the children to learn their habits. He knew who would go off alone.

There were woods that had trails where kids cut through as shortcuts to go home, but those children would be in groups and would mostly be boys, so he would have no interest.

She'd scoped the town out several days ago. She had driven down the road, looking for anywhere that could be considered remote enough for him to carry out his attack.

She'd found a dirt road several miles from the school. She'd parked her car and went out on foot to see where it went.

At the end of the road she'd found a small building. It was adjacent to an old playground that looked like it needed a lot of repairs. The building was a bathroom. There was a solid wooden door that locked from the inside and from the outside.

He would have a key.

A janitor maybe?

Or maybe someone who was just good with locks.

A locksmith?

It could explain how he gained access to schools and their adjacent properties. He never left them in the same place he raped them. After he tortured them and knocked them out he'd sneak them somewhere else.

His methodology was all described the same by his victims. He would rip their clothes off...

"Daddy, no!"

The sound of her pretty little dress being ripped...

Alison had stopped walking and leaned against a tree, her palm irritated by the rough bark.

I'm suffocating.

Flashes of Wilden. Of the boathouse.

There was no rhyme or reason for what triggered her flashbacks. Sensory detail incapacitated her sometimes. A light reflecting off of a kitchen knife. A glint in Emily's eyes. The cries of her former self.

She'd curled her fingers inward, lightly scratching the surface of her palms.

Focus.

She'd opened her eyes and stared at her surroundings, getting back into the mind of The Professor.

After he had them alone and overpowered them he ripped their clothes off. He would torture them and then push them against the wall or the floor...

"Relax, baby..."

Wilden smirked at her from a memory.

"No." She'd uttered defiantly, pushing off of the tree. "No."

I don't have to think about that anymore.

You don't get to hold that power over me.

I have the power.

She'd taken a moment to catch her breath before moving forward.

Concentrate.

She'd searched the area for cameras, including wildlife cameras, but didn't find anything. And there certainly wouldn't be anyone in the bathroom. There weren't any signs of life around.

This is where he'll do it. This is where he will try to change a child's life into a nightmare.

Not her on her watch.

She'd checked the door to see if it was locked.

It was.

The cement structure was solid. The building looked like it could survive a tornado. Very minimal sound would pass through the walls. Screams for help wouldn't be heard this far out in the woods.

She'd reached into her bag and pulled out a tiny kit with her lock-picking tools.

She was inside the bathroom in thirty seconds. She'd closed the door behind her, playing with the manual lock.

The bathroom was small. It had two tiny stalls and one handicapped stall. There wasn't much room for a fight. She wouldn't have many places to hide.

But this was the place. She could feel it.

She'd have to figure out what to do with the child without being seen. And then she'd have to contend with him.

She'd gone further in her exploration, trying to come up with a way to move him to a more secure location to kill him. She'd have to be ready to move him after she knocked him unconscious.

She'd moved bodies before without leaving a trace by relying on physics to help her exert most of the weight on something else. She was careful about drag marks. She always covered her tracks. It was going to be trickier during the day, but she would manage.

She'd found a paved road leading to the park. It had been neglected, so it was full of potholes. It wasn't very far from the park bathroom. She'd be able to haul his ass to the car.

Eight miles down the road she'd found an old abandoned farm with several empty grain bins. One had a side access door.

It's perfect.

Once she had the plan mapped out in her head she was ready to put it in motion.

She'd come back to town prepared.

His pattern would have him striking again sometime in the next few hours. She could feel it because she could feel his urges the way she felt hers.

It was a strange connection that she shared with the psychopaths that she killed. Sensing them had always bothered her, but it made sense. Being a prowess was a demon she wrestled with. It gave her insight into the people that she hunted.

Alison eyed the school for a while before she made her trek down to the abandoned playground.

She parked out of sight.

She slowly opened her car door and reached over into the front seat. She fumbled around, pulling out a hiking backpack that could hold gear, food, water, and everything else an average hiker would need.

Instead it held the tools she would need to destroy The Professor and conceal her identity. She tucked her wig underneath a hat and pulled on a pair of leather gloves. She wasn't concerned with anyone seeing her.

She made her way to the playground, sticking to the cement to avoid leaving footprints. A broken chain from the rotting swingset swayed in the distance.

There was an eerie sense in the air. She lifted her head towards the sky and took a deep breath.

He's coming. He'll be here.

And she'd be waiting.

She scouted the area around the building, making sure there were no other eyes watching. Everyone was down the street...too preoccupied with getting their children home safely. But there were always a few kids who defied their parents...or had neglectful parents...or had working parents. Some kids didn't have the luxury of mom and dad being around all the time.

She knew that.

Because he knew that.

He would wait until a little girl was alone and grab her and drag her through the woods and into this bathroom.

She didn't have to pick the lock this time. The door was open.

He has a key.

He wants it open so he can grab his victim and force her inside.

She settled into the large handicapped stall. Her bag was hanging by a hook on the wall. She very carefully removed the ball cap, making sure she left no trace evidence behind. She wasn't worried about her hair, because the wig was holding it tight beneath a cap she had on. She pulled the fake glasses off and put them in her bag. She put the wig up into a tight bun and pulled out a ski mask and put it on to hide her face. She couldn't take the risk of something going wrong and the child identifying her.

She gripped a syringe in her hand and waited.

After nearly half an hour she started to doubt herself. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he was going to take her to the grain bin. Maybe the door was open because he'd already been here. Maybe he was moving her to a second location.

Maybe I'm too late.

She worked herself into a state of panic at the thought of an innocent baby being scarred for life because she'd fucked up.

But the second she started to doubt herself she heard a thump against the bathroom door, then the crack of it opening.

A deep voice crooned.

"What's your name, little one?"

The little girl's muffled cries were barely audible through the bag, but Alison heard a response that made her blood run cold.

"Alison."

Motherfucker. She curled her lips up in anger.

"Smile for the camera, Alison."

Alison shook it off. She was there for a purpose.

This child needs me.

After Jason died I had no one to protect me.

But I can protect her.

"Well, Alison, I don't want you to be afraid. You can call me The Professor. We're going to go over a lesson today. And if you're a good little student then everything will be just fine."

The little girl clearly didn't believe him, because as soon as he pulled her inside the bathroom she tried to fight him off. But the bag on her head disoriented her. Alison heard her muffled panicked cries and it sent her careening back into her past...her father in her bedroom.

His hand...

"You need to raise your hand if you have questions. Use your words." The Professor swatted at her hands and told her to be a good little girl again and she wouldn't get hurt.

But his actions spoke louder than his words. He pushed the child against the handicapped stall, making her cry out.

Focus, Alison.

Alison readied herself to attack. Everything happened in the span of seconds.

She could see a small trembling body through the crack in the door. She put her feet against the floor and moved to push forward. She knew there would be a risk of the little girl being between the two of them, but pushing her out of the way would be easy enough.

Just as she was making her move he ripped the girl's panties off and yanked his pants down. His hand moved towards her pelvis.

The little girl shrieked.

Before he could get any further, Alison pushed her weight against the door. It swung open and the little girl fell to her knees.

The man looked at her, startled as she jammed a needle into his neck. A fun little concoction that would knock him out and send his heart into a frenzy.

He fell to the ground and his body spasmed.

The little girl screamed in terror as she tried to rip the bag off of her head. It was a thick fabric bag and he'd tied it around her neck with the attached ropes.

Alison guided the child to the exit and untied the bag.

She wanted to hug her and comfort her and tell her she was going to be okay, but she couldn't risk being seen.

She lowered her voice to a barely distinguishable whisper, deepening her tone and disguising it.

"You're safe, baby. Run home as fast as you can. Tell them about the man, but you can't tell them I helped you fight him off. I'm your angel. Your angel helped you save yourself."

A vengeful angel...

She planted the seed that Little Alison had saved herself.

Alison wasn't worried about the little girl telling people someone else was there. The kid's mind was racing, and trauma survivors often couldn't recall details right away, and even if they did most adults wrote it off as fantasy. An angel coming to save them. An angel that the child created in their own mind.

Little Alison pulled furiously at the bag until it was off.

Alison locked the door before the girl could turn around. She knew she had to work fast. The kid would certainly be running to get help and would send the authorities her way.

She could hear the little girl crying as she ran away. It would take her at least fifteen minutes to get back to the school. She had time as long as she stuck to the plan.

Alison looked down at The Professor. He certainly dressed the part. He looked like a cocky college professor that could double as an action hero. He was in his thirties and sporting a shiny bald head that gave him just a bit of edge. His face was chiseled, but somehow...it looked like any other face in a crowd. He was clean shaven. No facial hair. No hair between his legs either.

Less chance of leaving DNA behind.

It enraged her.

She dragged his lifeless body into the handicapped stall. A condom fell out of his pocket.

Of course, no evidence.

She kicked it across the floor.

She glanced at his pants around his ankles. He was already hard. He would have destroyed Little Alison. Her temper flared when she thought about what he was going to do to that child...what he'd done to other children.

She could let the heart-stopping drug kill him. Or...

Make it look natural...or make them disappear.

Marco's request was simple enough. But she wasn't going to make it look natural for him.

He deserved a much worse fate.

She grabbed her bag from the stall and pulled out another syringe.

She jabbed him with epinephrine and then hit him with a paralytic.

His eyes popped open and he gasped.

He looked around, confused and angry. Through the ski mask he could see her icy cold eyes staring at him. They weren't her typical shade of blue, but brown. She'd show him her true face once she was preparing to kill him.

He glared at her in hatred.

Sorry I ruined your disgusting fucking felony you cueball-headed bastard.

"I'm sorry. Am interrupting?" Alison taunted him.

"Who the fuck are you?" He gasped, unable to catch his breath, unable to move because of the paralytic.

Alison leaned close.

"The last person you'll ever see." She hissed. "I'm all the little girls you raped...all grown up."

"What did you do to me?" He growled.

"I am making sure that you know exactly what all of your victims felt like before you destroyed them. Children, you goddamn pervert." She grabbed his cheek with her gloved hand and dug her fingers into the sides of his jaw. He yelped in pain. "See...that's the neat thing about this drug. You're paralyzed, but you can feel everything."

"You know what this looks like?" He spit back at her. "You attacking me and tying me up? Holding me hostage...like some kind of lunatic? My pants are around my ankles for fuck's sake. Maybe you were trying to assault me. That's a thing, you know." His lips were barely moving, but she could feel the rage of his words. "That's what this looks like."

"No. It looks like you were about to rape a child and I stopped you." She jabbed her gloved hand in his face. "And if your pants being around your ankles bothers you so much, we can fix that..."

She slapped some duct tape over his mouth and glanced at the gross thing between his legs... standing at attention.

Nasty.

She grabbed the sensitive flesh beneath it and dug her nails in, twisting his testicles around until he was screaming against the tape, snot bubbling out of his nose.

"As much as I'm enjoying this..." She continued twisting. "We can't stay here. Can't be here when the cops show up. So we're going for a little ride."

She yanked his jeans up with her free hand, keeping the bulk of his sensitive flesh between her hands and the zipper as she jerked the zipper up over his skin, leaving a huge bulge of flesh in between the metal teeth. Blood started seeping out.

He was screaming so much that he was starting to hyperventilate. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

Good. Now you know what it feels like to not be able to fight back.

"Normally I would have just cut it off." Alison reached into her bag and flashed a knife at him. She saw the fear in his eyes. "But I'm trying something new."

She put the knife away and started to clean up the mess around them. All he could do was lay on the floor helplessly.

Before transporting him to her car she made a stealth round to make sure no one was around. She had already covered the trunk in plastic wrap. She cleaned the bathroom and then locked him up in the trunk.

She made the ride as bumpy as possible so he'd be battered and bruised by the time she got him to the other location.

She showed him no mercy when she finally got him to the grain bin. She backed the car up to the door and then popped the trunk.

His eyes were fixed in terror.

He knew he was going to die.

You finally met your match, fucker.

"You just wait here." She winked as she grabbed a few supplies. Surgical drapes. A gown. Her cap.

She made a makeshift sterile area on the floor of the bin, meticulously covering areas that could catch his blood when she killed him.

It didn't take long. She had it down to an art.

She changed out of her disguise and then rolled him out of the trunk and kicked him inside. She slammed her foot into his ribs as she threw him against the ground.

He huffed, unable to catch his breath.

She smiled at the sight of his nuts, purple and bleeding through the zipper.

"Be right back." She winked at him.

She quickly moved her car out of view and then rushed back to finish the job. She knew she was on a time crunch.

She grabbed a knife from her bag and watched as his eyes tracked her every movement. She covered the bag in plastic and moved it away from the spatter-zone. She could see that he was trying to register the change in her appearance.

"You're not the only chameleon in this world." Alison moved towards him, smirking at him. "You did a good job of blending in. But you see..." She leaned towards his ear. "I'm better than you." She lowered her voice to a growl. "In every way."

She could see him twitching, trying to fight back, but he was a helpless little lamb. And she was going to eat his ass up.

"I'm glad I get to formally introduce myself. I like for my kills to look me in the eyes before they die." She tapped the knife against his cheek, relishing in watching him flinch.

Don't cut him.

Don't brand him.

She wanted to, but she knew she had to learn how to navigate killing in a new way.

"I'll let you in on a little secret, asshole. I'm the real Scarlet Letter Killer." She pulled back with a sadistic smirk just in time to see the horror wash across his face. "Normally I savor this part. Make it last for a very long time."

She pushed the knife against his throat. His Adam's apple bobbed as he looked at her. He was seeing her for the first time, not that the disguise had made her less dangerous. But he recognized the thirst in her eyes now. And he definitely recognized her name.

"Normally, we'd have a little chat about why you're in this position." The tip of the blade pierced his skin and he whimpered. "But I think you know what you're doing here."

She lifted his shirt up, not surprised to find that he had taut abs.

A crappy narcissist who likes to take control by overpowering others.

She could hear Marco in her head telling her not to do what she'd done in her past. The kill had to be different.

"You know, one of the most painful ways to die..." She casually lifted the knife, swinging it above him, "...is a penetrating abdominal trauma. You're quite familiar with penetrating trauma. Do you even know what it does to the little girls you hurt? Do you know how you destroy their little bodies? Their souls? You rip them in fucking half and then you play with their heads. So this...seems fitting."

Without warning she buried the knife in his stomach up to the hilt. His body jerked in response. He sucked back against the tape, nearly sucking it into his mouth. He cursed and screamed out a pained cry.

Alison didn't care. She was too mesmerized by the blood pooling out of him. She watched it flow down his sides and on to the drapes she'd put against the floor.

"Let me explain what's happening to you." She twisted the knife in his gut, before pulling it out and stabbing him again. He shrieked into the tape. "The contents of your stomach, including stomach acid and whatever ungodly protein concoctions you eat are pouring into your body...poisoning it from the inside. Your body is going into shock and a fever is rapidly approaching."

She watched as he struggled with every breath that he took. Beads of sweat were already forming on his skin.

"You will go into sepsis and start hallucinating horrible things. The pain could be akin to what happens when a small child is raped or a child is forced to give birth to their rapist's baby. The pain is immeasurable."

He screamed stop into the tape, but she ignored his pleas as she pulled the knife out of him again.

"Demons will rip at your flesh." She peered at the blood on the knife. "You will see hellfire. You will feel the flames melting your skin from your body. And eventually...you'll pass out and die..."

She could see he was on the verge of losing consciousness.

"But you don't get that peace." She snarled at him. "Your last moments will be this. Terrible. Agony and pain. Exactly what you caused the children you hurt. Your insides are melting, your organs slowly failing."

He vomited into his mouth, drowning in it as it slid back down his throat. Some of it seeped out through the sides of the tape.

"I'd love to make you wait this out for another few hours. But I've got to get back to work." She shrugged.

She drew the knife back and jammed it into his heart. His body jerked and then relaxed, his head rolling to the side.

Alison fell back as relief poured over her. She leaned back, pressing her palms against the surgical drapes and threw her head back, sucking in a breath. The smell of the blood was heavenly bliss.

It was ecstasy.

The relief she felt made her body quiver and her veins pulse. She had been holding back for so long. The trauma of Alex's torture and Emily's near death experiences had been mounting inside of her.

Nothing had helped that rage.

Until now.

She started to laugh, staring at the high ceiling of the grain bin.

But then she was reminded of the little girl she'd saved. Little Alison.

It was strange how it had come full circle. She knew the girl would have trauma from today, but she'd stopped a maniac and had saved her from being brutalized. She'd saved countless little girls from The Professor's sick and demented wrath.

She stared at his body, covered in blood and bodily fluids. She could smell a putrid odor and she knew he'd emptied his bowls.

She leaned forward and touched the blood on his skin, tracing an A through it. She admired it for a moment and then smeared it away. She knew she couldn't leave her calling card behind. But seeing it on his body had been just as satisfying.

Alison peered at the surrounding scene. She took a moment to take in the new process. There was always a learning curve when it came to killing in a new way.

She peeled off her bloody gloves and reached for another pair. She yanked the plastic off of her bag and pulled her burner phone out and hit the number that had been programmed into it, hoping that someone would pick up.

"Hello?" The voice was gruff and gravely.

A smoker.

Alison grinned.

"It's Scarlet," she answered. "Marco Furey told me to call you if I ever needed your help."

Marco hadn't given any of her real information to his army buddies. They worked on a need-to-know basis.

"How exactly does this work?" Alison asked.

"You give us a location. We fix it." He didn't offer much else, though she hadn't expected him to.

Make sure he's never found.

Alison rambled off directions. When she got off of the phone she started cleaning up.

Twenty-five minutes after she put in the call she heard a vehicle approaching. She swallowed a knot in her throat, hoping it wasn't local authorities on a search for the man who had attacked Little Alison.

She peered outside and saw two men climb out of a panel sided van. One had a cigarette in his mouth. He was wearing ratty jeans and a wife beater. The other was in jeans and a black T-shirt. He was hauling a bag over his shoulder.

They were definitely Marco's friends.

She waited for them to reach the grain bin.

"Scarlet?" The man with the cigarette flicked some ash against the ground and stubbed the butt out on the side of the grain bin.

"In here."

Alison had no idea how they'd gotten there so quickly, and she didn't ask. For all she knew there was a secret society that went around cleaning up messes like this. For every NAT club there was another club taking down the NAT club.

They walked in, unfazed by the body on the ground and the surrounding blood.

One man was short and stout, his hair cropped close to his head. He was bulky and covered in tattoos. The other man, the smoker, was taller and leaner. He had a scar from his temple to his jaw that jaggedly went towards his chin near the end.

"Damn," the short one whistled as he put the bag down. "You really fucked him up." He glanced at Alison, a sideways smirk on his face, impressed with her work. "Nice job with set up. Don't see any stray blood spatter. But of course, we'll be sure to check."

The taller one observed the bloody corpse. He sniffed.

"This the one that fucks little kids?" He kicked The Professor's body with the edge of his boot.

"One of many more, I'm sure." Alison frowned.

She dreaded to think how many more were out there like him.

The man reared back and hocked up a loogie...and spit on the body.

"Aren't you worried about DNA?" Alison cocked her head curiously.

"Nah." The other man's face broke out in a smile. "Where we're taking him there won't be nothin' left of him to find. We'll make it look like he skipped town."

"You can go ahead and take off." The man with the scar on his face said. "No sense in you sticking around. This is our job. CCTV cams are off. Most cameras around the school are off."

"How did you manage that?" Alison wished she had that kind of power.

"We have our ways."

"EMP." The other guy shrugged.

"You got free range for a while." Scarface kneeled next to the body. "Make sure you don't have any trace of him on your stuff or in your car."

"Always do." Alison gave him a little salute as she grabbed her bag.

"You double check the other scene for trace evidence?" Scarface asked.

"I did."

"We'll look, too. And if anything is found we've got a mole at the station who will bury it."

Holy shit. There really is a secret society in this assassin business.

"Thanks."

She left them to do their work and went back to doing her own work back in Rosewood.

o ~ O ~ o

She performed two more surgeries when she got back to the hospital. She was back in the game and she was crushing it. She felt like she was on top of the world.

After her shift Chief Hastings approached her and warmly welcomed her back. Everyone was happy to have her back in the mix at the hospital. Alison found some validation in the fact that she'd been missed. It reaffirmed how amazing she was at her job. And at just how well she'd been blending in.

She felt rejuvenated and energized. She felt like herself again.

By the time she got home she was flying high.

Gus met her when she walked through the door. He sprang into the air in excitement and then sat down and waited to be pet like a good boy.

"Hey, Buddy." She smiled, scratching his head.

He wagged his tail. He wasn't looking at her any differently than he had been that morning. He didn't care that she'd killed a bad man. She walked into the kitchen, searching for Emily.

"Em?" She called, opening the jar of dog treats on the counter.

Gus sat patiently next to her and waited for his cookie.

"Up here!" Emily called back from upstairs.

Alison gave the dog his treat and then walked towards the stairs. Gus followed her, whining with the cookie in his mouth.

He always whined a little bit when he got a treat. He liked to find the perfect place to eat it.

She parted ways with Gus as he made a beeline for the couch. She wasn't worried about crumbs. He'd lick the cushions clean.

Emily was in their bedroom sitting on their bed in a sports bra and exercise shorts. She was pulling boxing tape from her knuckles, unraveling it. She was drenched in sweat, which made her body glow.

Alison's eyes were immediately drawn to the scar between her ribs that ran down the length of Emily's entire abdomen. Spencer had done a great job trying to minimize the scarring, but the pinkish white incision was hard to miss. Over the months it was slowly fading, but it would always be there taunting Alison...

A flash of Alex sadistically tormenting them caused her to momentarily pause in her stride.

"Hey." Emily looked up at her, rubbing her knuckles.

Alison glanced at the wide healed gash on Emily's left side where the knife had gone in. Unlike Spencer's work, Alex's work had left a bigger mark. Alison curled her fingers into her palms and tried to control her breathing. The last place her eyes landed was a small pucker of light tan skin that had healed where the bullet had ripped through her body, exiting it. She could still hear the gunshot and she could still see the shock on Emily's face as the blood blossomed on her white shirt.

"Everything okay?" Emily peered at her in concern.

"You were boxing." Alison slipped out of her shoes.

She inched forward, uncertain as to whether or not Emily would be upset with her.

"Yeah." Emily kicked her shoes off next to Alison's. "I needed to clear my head."

"Did it help?" She tried to read the expression on Emily's face, but she was having a hard time concentrating, because the brunette looked so fucking delicious.

"Kind of." It sounded like a lie. Emily reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, wiping away sweat. "I don't know."

Alison sighed.

"Em, I don't want to hurt you." She sat next to her. "Is this...you're sure this is going to work for you? Because you don't seem like you're okay."

Emily smiled at her...the same smile that had won Alison's heart when they first met.

"I wasn't throwing punches because I was upset. I just needed to spend my time doing something other than worrying about how things could go wrong for you." She touched Alison's knee. "You worry when I'm doing my job. This is the same thing."

"Oh."

"I know you know what you're doing." Hell, she'd been doing it since she was fourteen years old. Emily's eyes met Alison's. "But I don't want another Alex Drake situation."

Alison shuddered at the thought of it.

"Neither do I."

Every time she closed her eyes she was back in that fucking basement. Her blood was everywhere. Alex was taunting her. Emily was dying next to her as she sat there helplessly.

There was a beat of silence. Emily shifted on the bed.

"The station got a call today." Emily tossed her boxing gear into a basket. "The Villanova PD had a report of a little girl fighting off The Professor. He apparently fled. They wanted us to be on the look-out in case he came through here."

Alison pressed her lips together, flicking her tongue against the back of her teeth.

"I highly doubt you all need to worry about him."

Emily didn't answer at first. She'd known Alison was going to kill him today. But she still had to process. If anyone deserved to die it was him. She knew that.

"Does killing help keep your pain at bay?" Emily looked at her thoughtfully.

Alison took a minute to digest what her wife was asking. For years she had killed people for vengeance. Not for herself, but for the other victims and would-be victims out there. It had been cathartic, but she'd never reflected upon whether it kept her pain away. On some level, she knew it did, but she'd never stopped to think about it. A lot of what she did was to balance the world in the only way she knew how, but it was definitely a coping mechanism.

"It does." Alison swallowed a knot in her throat. "I wish I could say I feel something and tell you that I'm sorry. I hate myself a little bit for not being able to stop. But then today happened. I saved someone. A child. I saved her from a monster. And so I won't say that I'm sorry."

"You don't have to." Emily took her hand, observing her fingers, still mystified that they were the fingers of a killer. She'd felt those hands on her body, in her, so many times. They were loving and sweet and soft. "How do you feel now?"

"Like I can breathe again." Alison put her free hand on their joined fingers and smiled at her.

"That's all I need to know." Emily tilted her head and pressed her lips against Alison's.

Emily's finger lightly traced Alison's jaw, swirling patterns against it. The A on her face was barely noticeable, but Emily could still feel the hairline grooves Alex's scalpel had left behind.

The way she was so careful and loving with the old injury was a testament to Emily's heart. A heart that Alison had kept beating since that very first surgery.

Alison had no idea how to deal with the budding feelings she'd felt that day. Everything had felt complex and overwhelming. It was if her world had exploded into a plethora of colors and lights, but it was all too bright and she didn't understand. She didn't understand how she could suddenly care.

She hadn't looked down at her surgery table that day and seen Emily as a broken thing that needed to be fixed. She'd felt attached...affectionate. She remembered thinking,

She's real.

She's a person.

She had been terrified that day. Terrified to lose a total stranger. She had hated seeing Emily's blood on her hands. It had been wrong. Everything about her being hurt was wrong.

She'd nearly lost her that day.

It had changed everything.

The future and the past had merged. Her past had molded her into who she was, but she was still evolving.

She realized all of that when she was strung up in The Radley. She'd never denied that she was a killer and a monster, but she refused to put herself in the same category as Alex Drake. She had been able to see the difference between them. It was the weirdest fucking epiphany she'd ever had.

Hearing Emily's voice in her head pressing for her to survive wasn't her going insane. It was Emily keeping her sane.

"What's going on up there?" Emily pressed the tip of her index finger against Alison's temple.

Alison reached up and gripped her finger, bringing it down to her lips to push a kiss against her knuckle.

"You know...when I was in that basement...when Alex was torturing me I could feel you." It sounded crazy now that she'd said it out loud. "It probably sounds crazy, but I sensed you. Your fear. Your anger. Your frustration. I could feel all of it. It's the most connected I've ever been to reality in my life."

She licked her lips, struggling to find the words she wanted to say. She wasn't sure there was a way to explain how she felt.

"I can always feel you." Alison slowly lifted Emily's hand and pushed her palm between her breasts, holding it against her heart. She watched as a teary smile came to Emily's face. "It's like you are a part of me. The best part of me."

She reached up and cupped Emily's cheek, her eyes never straying from her wife's.

"I know I'm not perfect, but I want you to know that my love for you is."

She fidgeted, trying to articulate what was in her heart. She couldn't explain a feeling she didn't understand, but she tried.

I'm not..." She hesitated, uncertain of herself. "I'm not good at this sentimental stuff or expressing my feelings or anything like that. You bring it out of me. I never knew I was capable of this. I never knew I'd find someone who was willing to see me...to really see me and to open up this whole world I never knew existed."

Emily saw the beauty in the world. She wasn't afraid of anything. She was beautiful and strong and cocky without being arrogant. She appreciated everything she had, from the warmth of the sun to the color of the grass.

"This world can be so harsh." Alison had learned that at an early age. "It's hard to see the beauty in it. But somehow...you do. And I love that about you. You see the flowers before they bloom and you admire their strength and bravery to open up in this dark society." Alison peered into Emily's patient eyes. "You...you see the beauty in me, and I open up to that beauty because of you. You're my sunshine. I didn't realize I was living in the dark until you brought your light into my life. You give me the courage to blossom...to feel these things."

She slowly lifted her chin, feeling exposed and vulnerable, but not in a bad way. She always felt safe with Emily.

Emily brushed Alison's cheek with her fingers.

"That beauty was always there, Alison." Her palm stilled on Alison's jaw, cupping her face. "I just held up a mirror so you could see it. You always knew how to love. It was always in you. You just needed to be loved in return."

Alison let out a sound between a whimper and a laugh.

Leave it to this woman to say everything I need to hear.

She wasn't surprised in the least.

She's fucking perfect.

She could feel tears of joy burning her eyes. She pulled Emily towards her.

"I need you, Em. Not like a crutch or an anchor that keeps me here. I need you like I need to breathe. You...you keep me alive."

Alive in a context she'd never felt before. Alive as in her heart was more than just an organ beating in the machine of her body. Alive as in she was connected...she could feel...she could love.

Emily smiled at her as she moved closer to the blonde. Her voice was soft and gentle and everything that Alison adored about her.

"You've have always had me, Ali." Her eyes flicked to Alison's mouth. "From the moment I was wheeled into that hospital." She cradled her chin, a touch so intimate that it put Alison in a trance.

Their lips met softly, but in a haste turned into something more urgent. A need. A desire.

Alison took control. She gently pushed Emily down against the mattress.

Emily grasped her small hips as they maneuvered their way on to the bed.

The brunette's actions spoke volumes. The fact that Alison had killed a man mere hours ago didn't matter to her. The only thing that mattered to the detective was holding her, loving her.

Loving a killer. Loving a woman who had never sought love before. Someone who had determined that love was impossible...yet not unobtainable...thanks to a flirtatious cop, a lover who accepted her unconditionally.

Come home to me. Safely.

The clutches that Alison's dark urges held over her were gone when she was lost in Emily's touch. She didn't feel the hatred and the anger and the bloodlust when Emily was holding her.

As Alison peeled Emily's exercise shorts and sports bra off she realized that her desires felt different than before. She felt different. She wanted something more.

It was the first time they would be making love since she'd started killing again. She found that her needs were new and exciting. They weren't driven by anger. She wanted Emily to feed the intimate part of her soul.

She wanted to be brought back into the light.

She wanted to be held and to hold Emily.

And Emily understood that...without being asked...without being prompted. She knew what Alison needed.

Alison didn't just want sex.

She didn't just want to fuck.

She wanted to be loved...and to love in return.

And that's something she knew how to do.

Much like her hands followed their own accord in the operating room or when she was killing horrible people, they moved in a way that didn't need to be told.

Her fingers explored the curves on the sides of Emily's nude body.

Emily moved to pull Alison's scrub top and undershirt off over her head. Alison shook her head and wisps of her hair fell against Emily's face, some of it tickling her shoulders.

The blonde dipped down and kissed the scar near the detective's chest that had been left behind the day that she'd saved her life.

She felt Emily fiddling with her scrub bottoms and she snaked her hand down between them to help.

Emily's lips vibrated against hers, partly giggling and partly moaning. Alison kicked her pants and underwear off, leaving only her bra remaining.

Emily reached up and popped the clasp, freeing her breasts. She slid the straps down her arms and tossed it on to the growing pile of clothes on the floor.

Alison relished having their bodies flush together, hot and sweaty and yearning.

Emily cocked her head and trailed her index finger along a thin healing line where a whip had struck the blonde's porcelain skin.

She closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. The absolute horror of finding Alison the way she had would never leave her mind, but Alex didn't get to take Alison's body away from her.

Emily looked up and smiled sweetly at Alison, lifting her head until her lips touched the fading mark. She soothed the area where the whip had hit her with a kiss. She moved to peck the blemish on her shoulder, lingering there as Alison slid her finger from the edge of the line between Emily's breasts down her abdomen and to the edge of her stomach.

The blonde's heart leaped in her chest as she pictured Emily in the Operating Room cut open, losing all of her blood, her heart not pumping.

"Hey." A warm soft touch on Alison's cheek brought her back from the brink. "Look at me. Focus on me."

Alison felt her panic subsiding and the tension fading. She smiled, cupping Emily's cheek.

Emily turned her head and moved Alison's hand towards her lips, where she kissed the blemish that Alex had left her with when she stabbed her with the scalpel.

Our scars don't define us, her actions screamed. We're alive. We're together. And we're alive.

Emily kissed each one of her knuckles and then leaned up to meet Alison's embrace again.

Alison was waiting, her lips moist and plump. She slipped her tongue into Emily's mouth, always eager to explore. She knew every inch of Emily's body. She knew every taste. It invigorated her.

Their pelvises slipped together and Alison's insides churned. A pool of heat and wetness grew between her thighs.

"Mmm." She pulled away from their kiss and laid her forehead against Emily's.

Their heaving breathing was in perfect synchronization as Alison wiggled her hips, slowly sitting up and putting pressure on Emily's center.

Emily rolled her head to the side and dug her fingernails into the sheets, shivering. She took several deep breaths before regaining control of her motor functions. As Alison rocked on top of her Emily reached up and cupped her breasts, circling them, tracing some of the tiny cuts that would fade with time.

Given what Alison had gone through in that basement she had healed remarkably well.

Emily let her fingers linger south, where she stopped at the area where the scalpel had gone into her stomach. She brushed a loving thumb over it.

If I could make it go away, I would.

Alison didn't have to hear Emily say it to know she was thinking it.

The blonde tried to concentrate as they moved their bodies together, but she was starting to get lost in the light.

Emily touched the area of the skin graft on Alison's abdomen. Except for a few thin pinkish-white lines, you could barely tell that she'd had several strips of skin ripped away.

Fucking Alex... Emily tried to push the thought away.

This moment was theirs. Not hers.

They'd been making a lot of progress in not allowing Alex's mind games dictate how they lived...how they loved.

Alison stilled on top of her, her stomach taut. Her head was back, eyes closed. Emily watched as her chest heaved. She took the opportunity to pull Alison's nipple into her mouth, gently rolling her tongue around it. She slid her hand between where their pelvises were connected.

Alison groaned when she felt Emily's fingers at her entrance.

In the darkness behind her closed eyes she saw a flash of light. Then she felt Alex's weight on top of her, a sadistic smile on her face...threatening to fuck her with a knife.

Emily picked up on her cues immediately. They'd changed the way they made love to account for flashbacks and panic attacks. Emily never pushed her unless she knew Alison was okay.

"Breathe, Alison," she whispered. "Open your eyes and breathe."

Alison opened her eyes, tears brimming around the edges. She smiled down at Emily, who had pulled her out of the darkness.

My sunshine.

Her shaky hands grasped Emily's cheeks and their lips met once more, this time with a heated fervor.

"You okay?" Emily whispered against her kiss, her fingers completely still between Alison's wet thighs.

Alison nodded.

"I just needed to see you." She whispered, pulling back and stroking Emily's hair. "I'm fine. Don't stop."

God, don't you dare stop...

Emily started dragging her fingers between Alison's swollen lips until they were completely coated.

Alison gave her a fierce kiss and started moving against her fingers, encouraging Emily to continue.

She was rewarded seconds later when she felt Emily's fingers exploring inside of her...searching for that one spot...

...which she hit immediately.

Alison clenched her eyes shut, but forced them back open in fear of what she might find in the darkness. She gripped the sheets, clenching them for support as she moved against her wife's motions.

Emily watched the ecstasy on her face. Alison was beautiful when she was chasing her high. Her mouth slowly opened and closed, filling the room with moans and gasps of pleasure. Her eyes darkened, her pupils enlarged around her crystal blue irises. Her chest arched forward, her breasts bouncing as her breath heaved. A blissful smile tugged at the edge of her lips.

She rocked on top of Emily and slowly moved her palms to Emily's breasts.

She lost control and her eyes cinched closed again, but she was able to regain her focus. She gripped Emily's cheeks and kept her eyes fixed on the swirling pools of sienna peering back at her, keeping her in the moment.

It made her think of the very first time she'd been brave enough to look into Emily's eyes. She had always been so afraid Emily would see her for who she truly was, but she was beginning to understand that she didn't even know who she truly was. Her only certainty was that she knew she loved her wife.

The day she had first let down her walls she'd been in the throes of passion and Emily had asked for her to let her in...to let the barriers between them fall. She didn't insist upon it. Only suggested it.

Emily had seen the pain of her childhood. She hadn't been searching for a monster. She hadn't been looking for Alison's darkness. She was looking for her light.

She remembered the way Emily had looked into her soul that day as she'd asked,

"What is it that you're so afraid of?"

Alison had been terrified that Emily would see that she was a monster.

She hadn't known what else to say other than a breathless,

"I'm sorry."

Emily's confusion had been written all across her face.

"For what?"

Alison's heart had been thrumming against her ribcage. She'd never experienced anything like that moment...the one moment where she let someone in.

"I don't...I don't know how to do this."

Emily, kind and patient, had kept their fixed gaze as their souls intertwined,

"Do what?"

Alison had wanted to tell her the truth, but she didn't know how to explain that she'd never actually had feelings for someone before.

How to love.

She had nearly cried as she apologized, but Emily never faltered. She had seemed to sense what Alison needed. She gave Alison the time she needed to come to terms with what she was feeling.

The blonde had been so afraid that Emily would stop. She'd begged for her to keep going.

She had never begged anyone for anything, but she'd never wanted the pleasure to end. She had been overjoyed and overwhelmed.

She had never felt anything like it.

All she knew was that when Emily looked at her she didn't feel empty. It wasn't simply about a physical connection. There had been a lot more to it.

The missing part of me.

Emily had brought her to life that day.

An unanswered prayer.

Alison moved on top of her wife, lost in time, lost in the past.

Emily could see that she was drifting away, so she softly caressed Alison's cheek with her free hand, trying to keep her in the moment.

"Hey, don't disappear on me. Where are you right now?" Emily panted.

"Here. I'm right..." Alison could barely breathe, "...here."

With you.

Always with you.

She made sure to keep her eyes on Emily's. The brunette's eyes grounded her. Her heart opened up to her...and she let her in.

Emily smiled when she was finally past the walls Alison had mounted to protect herself. It wasn't always easy for the blonde to open up, but she found a way when it was Emily.

A powerful explosion of heat surged through Alison as she succumbed to her orgasm. Her jaw dropped and her pleasured moans filled the air. She rode it out, never taking her eyes off of Emily's.

Everything else in the world disappeared when they connected.

Intimacy.

It was more powerful than anything. More powerful than anger. More powerful than hate.

She tightly clenched Emily's fingers as her stomach started to spasm, holding her in place. The pulsing sensation came to a halt as she came, her wetness spilling out on to Emily's hands and against the brunette's pelvis.

Alison's body shook as she leaned down against Emily for support. Emily's fingers slipped when she moved and an aftershock wracked her. She cried out Emily's name and clutched her arm.

It was just the release she needed after the day she'd had. Everything in life had to balance. The power of her hatred and the power of her love.

The rage was gone.

All she could feel was ecstasy.

She laid her cheek against Emily's chest, feeling the throb of her heart beating against her face. She took a moment to compose herself. Emily gently rubbed circles against her back. It was a motion that Alison had always found comforting.

Emily kissed her forehead and then moved down to her lips. Their tongues circled and explored as Alison came down from her high.

Alison curled her fingers against the sides of Emily's neck, her ring finger brushing against a raised blemish from where she'd been nicked by Alex's gunfire in the police parking lot.

She pushed her anger away and weaved her hands into Emily's lengthy locks, gently tugging them until Emily pulled back from their kiss to breathe. Alison moved Emily's head back enough to give her access to her neck. She suckled and kissed her way up and down her jaw line.

The brunette palmed Alison's breasts. Alison gasped against her skin. Her nipples and breasts were still sensitive from the orgasm, and Emily knew it.

Emily pecked soft kisses against Alison's clavicle and down to her chest. She continued to press a trail of kisses down her entire body, all the way down to her ankles.

As she was making her way back up she paused at the gash Alison had given herself when she was seven.

Out of all of her scars, Alison hated that one the most, and Emily knew it. The second her brother died she had been a traumatized little kid with no one in the world there to protect her. That's when she'd first started to spin out of control.

Emily didn't shy away from Alison's past. She didn't judge her or pity her. She accepted her. So when Emily kissed the scar, Alison couldn't help but smile.

She loves every imperfection.

Emily slowly turned her head and dragged her tongue over the wetness on Alison's thighs, which elicited a gasp from her wife. The blonde's core started throbbing as Emily moved her way back up Alison's body.

Their lips tenderly met again.

Alison mimicked Emily's loving motions, kissing the tip of the lengthy scar that started between her ribs and went all the way down her abdomen. She kissed her way down, stopping when she reached the end of it.

She was close enough to smell the desire between Emily's thighs. She could smell her own wetness mixed with Emily's. She peered up at the brunette with a sly smirk on her face, ready to repay the favor.

She nudged Emily's knees open and pushed her nose between her legs. Her tongue waggled against Emily's core. Emily's hips sprung up off the bed. She clutched the sheets as she watched Alison work her tongue between her legs.

Alison opened her mouth and sealed her lips over Emily's core, tasting both herself and Emily. Emily let out a shuddering breath and her body started to tremble. Alison moved up to roll her mouth over the sensitive nub that was begging for attention. She soon had Emily bucking against her, begging for release.

Alison smiled up at her and watched her eyes as she slipped her tongue inside of her. She nudged her nose against Emily's clit and watched as the brunette's head flew back in ecstasy. Emily reached up and tangled her fingers into her hair, echoing oh's and ah's filling the air.

"Emily." Alison pulled away and commanded for her attention. "Eyes down here, honey."

Emily regained her focus on Alison again. Alison held her thighs with her fingertips as she went back to pleasuring the brunette. She rolled her tongue around inside of her and moved her nose against her tight bud.

When Emily came they were still looking at one another. Alison absolutely loved the way she looked when she was mid-orgasm. Her eyes widened and shined with a bright passion, like Alison had just showed her one of the greatest wonders in the world.

Alison lapped up every bit of her, which sent little aftershocks through Emily's body. Alison circled a finger around her wife's engorged lips and Emily whimpered, completely at the mercy of her touch.

Alison could feel a wild wanton desire bubbling up in her stomach. She wanted to feel what Emily felt and she wanted to make Emily feel what she felt. She wanted their bodies together, one soul.

Emily was still recovering from her multiple orgasms when Alison came up and met her with a heated kiss.

"That was..." Emily's chest heaved as Alison wiped sweat away from her brow.

"I know." Alison smiled as she slowly crawled on top of her again.

Emily flirtatiously lifted her brows and smirked at her.

"Again?"

"Always. You know I can never get enough of the insatiable Emily Fields."

Alison could lock herself in a room with Emily and make love to her for the rest of her life. She didn't need anything else.

She melded her body against Emily's and captured her lips with another kiss. Emily wrapped her arms around Alison's body. They moved together, hot and sweaty, hearts pumping, breath ragged.

Hands clutched flesh. Lips roamed everywhere. Sweat-soaked bodies writhed. Heated breaths echoed in the room.

Their cores met and an explosion of fireworks blinded them. Moments later both of them were moving their fingers between their bodies, needing to feel each other.

They pushed into each other at the same time and there was a collective sigh, then an overwhelming bolt of pleasure. Alison pinned Emily's free hand next to her head on the pillow. Emily curled her fingers, intertwining them as they moved in each other, kissing and swallowing each other's cries of pleasure.

This. Alison thought to herself as she peered into Emily's eyes. This is what love is.

True vulnerability.

She clutched Emily's hand as she felt her impending release.

"I love you," her lips shuddered against Emily's. "I love you so much. So much..."

"Me too." Emily could barely get her words out. "I love you, too."

"Are you..." I am about to fucking blow.

"Yeah." Emily answered, her body clenching around Alison's fingers. "Ooh..."

Alison squeezed Emily's hand and Emily squeezed back as the world around them faded into a vision of joy...a different dimension. Their eyes locked and they connected, and it was the two of them as one. Their bodies and souls were one.

Colors were brighter. Darkness didn't exist. It was beautiful green grass. It was the perfect day with no clouds in the sky. It was Paris. It was sunrises and sunsets and walks along the French Riviera. It was Emily in the Eiffel Tower, wind in her hair, gorgeous and shimmering. It was Alison at peace, a blissful smile on her face, no pain, no trauma. It was the two of them existing in a world of their own making.

When they came together it wasn't loud or powerful. It was quiet and perfect and beautiful. They cried tears of joy and held one another.

When it was over they laid with one another in the calmness that came afterwards, bodies covered in sweat, hearts filled with love.

Alison lazily laid her palm flat against Emily's stomach. Their eyes met once more. Alison ached to be closer. It wasn't just the sex that she loved. It was what came after. The serene nature of love.

She curled as close as she could get to Emily. It was like walking into a raging fire, but it didn't burn. It was the best feeling in the world.

Alison gripped Emily's cheeks and pecked her lips. They smiled at one another.

Alison couldn't stop looking into Emily's eyes.

Everything makes sense when I look into her eyes.

I carry you with me everywhere, Emily.

I always will.

Because when she had Emily, there was no pain. No regret. No fear. No doubt. There was nothing more transcendent than her wife's love. It was every cosmic power in the universe rolled into one.

Emily had come to her when she was drowning. She didn't even know she was being pulled beneath the surface as a storm raged in the sea. She'd been alone in the cold waters when a brave and beautiful mermaid had pulled her to safety.

My mermaid.

My sunshine.

My heart.

My soul.

My everything.

Mine.

She wrapped her arms around Emily tightly and buried her cheek into the brunette's slick sweaty skin. She felt the gentle pull of Emily snaking her hands through her hair, tenderly brushing it.

Alison smiled.

I'm never letting her go.

When she closed her eyes she wasn't afraid of the dark. She had her light with her to keep her safe.

*****

A/N: Marco/Anne, Sparia sparring, and Emison lovin'. Oh and some dead guy who totally deserved it. What captivated you the most?

Do we think this will bring our girls closer...or is there more to the story?

So close to the end. I'm emotional.