So I'm very sorry about not updating in so long. Life catches up with you once in a while. On a happier note, I'm almost finished with the next chapter as well. I hope you enjoy! (Thanks to all of my reviewers also. You mean a lot to me!)

The next morning, the agents came back to go over protocol and assign agents to each of them. They attempted to talk Aria and Ezra out of attending the prom, but that didn't work. "I am not giving up my life because some woman is psycho. I'm going." Aria went upstairs to get her dress and everything to head to Spencer's to get ready.

The agent, Courtney Adams, approached her, "I need to accompany you."

"Fine. Let me say goodbye to Ezra and we can go." Aria pulled Ezra aside and gave him a long hug. "Are you going to be okay with me being out of sight for a few hours?"

He sighed, "I'll live. You better get going. I'll see you there. I love you."

"Love you too." Aria kissed him quickly and directed Agent Adams to the passenger side of her car.

When they arrived at Spencer's house, Aria led Agent Adams to the barn where the girls were already waiting. Hanna glared at her, "Where have you been? We have to do your makeup, hair, and nails, and you are not giving us a lot of time."

"Sorry. I have some stuff going on." Aria shrugged and sat down in the chair where Hanna was pushing her to. "This is Courtney by the way. Do we have a dress that will fit her?"

Spencer nodded, "I'm sure I do. Let me look." She retreated to the back rooms of the barn and appeared a few minutes later with a few selections. "Who are you?"

"I'm Aria's cousin." Courtney repeated the fabricated story they had come up with.

Aria chuckled, "Which is code for, my bodyguard."

"Aria! I can't protect you if you tell everyone that I'm protecting you." Agent Adams snapped.

She rolled her eyes, "They would be just as quick to jump in front of a bullet for me as you would."

"In your dreams," Hanna growled as she nearly burnt her hand on the curling iron she was holding, "I don't want any holes in my new dress."

Everyone laughed as Aria filled the girls in on what was going on with Jackie.

Another hour went by before they were all ready to go. Soon, the ladies were piled in a luxurious limo on their way to one of their last high school events.

The guys met them at the hotel where the prom was being held. As the exited the limo, their dates lined up to lead them inside. Uriah timidly approached Aria, "You look amazing."

"Thanks. You look quite dashing yourself." Aria took his offered arm and walked inside with him while Agent Adams followed. "This is my cousin Courtney. She is visiting from New York."

Uriah greeted the girl and turned his attention back to Aria. Even though Aria had explained she had a boyfriend and she was only going as his friend, Uriah seemed to be a little too interested in her. She was very polite and took pictures with him, then left him by the punch to get her picture with the girls. They were nice enough to block off the area so Ezra could sneak into a picture with Aria. She rejoined Uriah for a few dances before he pulled her aside. "Thank you for coming with me tonight. I'd hate to look back on my Senior prom and think that it sucked that I didn't have a date. I also would hate to look back on tonight and think that I should have done this," he leaned in to kiss Aria and she was so stunned that she didn't stop him.

After a few seconds she pushed him away, "Uriah, I told you, I have a boyfriend. And I really don't appreciate that you took advantage of him not being here."

"I'm sorry. I was kind of hoping you were just trying to blow me off nicely. I didn't know you really had a boyfriend. I wasn't trying to push anything." Uriah sounded sincere with his apology.

She sighed, "It's okay. Just don't do it again." She led him back onto the dance floor to join her friends. She scanned the room and found Ezra standing near the door, looking pale. She wasn't sure if it was that he witnessed the kiss or if it was something else, but she had to find out. She nodded her head toward the lobby and turned to her friends, "I'll be right back. I just have to go to the bathroom." She hurried to meet Ezra in the lobby. He looked even worse up close, "Are you okay?"

"You kissed him," he whispered.

She shook her head, "No, it's not like that."

He nodded, "He kissed you and you didn't stop him."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't want it to happen. I wasn't even expecting it. That's why I didn't stop him. I pulled away as soon as I knew what was happening. I snapped at him and he apologized at once. He thought that I had made up the boyfriend. Well he was hoping anyway. Please don't be mad. I'm sorry." Aria wanted to hold his hand, hug him, and comfort him, but knew that wasn't possible in their current surroundings.

Again, he only nodded, "I need to breathe. I'll talk to you about this at home."

"Okay. I love you." She hurried away from Ezra before anyone got suspicious. She spent the rest of the night in the group and kept a little distance between herself and Uriah.

As the night wound down, Aria was eager to get home. She was tired and hungry, but more importantly wanted to talk to Ezra.

She exited to the lobby to wait for her friends and the limo when she was approached by one of the hotel clerks, "Are you Aria?" After nodding, he handed her a rose with a note and a key card. 'Meet me in room 203. –E'

Aria was excited that Ezra had gotten a room and hurried toward the elevator. The door was just opening when Emily stopped her, "Where are you going?"

"Ezra got us a room. I'm going upstairs. Will you let the others know that I'll call them tomorrow?" Aria stepped onto the elevator.

Emily looked skeptical, "Are you sure?"

She only could nod before the door closed and she was on her way to apologize to her husband.

A rational person would think to get a hold of the person who supposedly left the note, but Aria was only thinking of talking to Ezra and apologizing again. As soon as she entered the room she could sense something was off. She was about to turn and leave the room when everything went black.

As she began to come to, Aria wanted to yell, but she couldn't. She wasn't sure if there was something preventing her for doing so or if she just couldn't get her brain to connect with her mouth. She knew she made a mistake. She knew she had to figure out a way to get back to Ezra. She tried to move but realized she was tied to a chair.

"Finally waking up I see. I didn't think I hit you that hard," the woman laughed. Aria instantly knew it was Jackie.

She shook her head, trying to come to her senses, "What do you want with me?"

"I want to make you pay for taking Ezra away from me." Jackie flashed a large knife in front of Aria's face.

Aria had to think quickly, "Ezra and I aren't together anymore."

Jackie scoffed, "I'm supposed to believe that?"

"It's true. We were really only married so I could stay here in town when my family moved. I'm not in love with him. When you wouldn't leave us alone, I decided it wasn't worth it to try to keep the secret anymore. I was here with someone else tonight." Aria explained, silently thanking Uriah for being her date.

The crazy woman shook her head, "You're lying."

"Check my phone," Aria motioned toward the bed wear she could see her phone was lying.

Jackie looked unconvinced, but began to scan through the pictures anyway. In front of her, she saw all the pictures from the prom, including a few of Aria and Uriah together. Thankfully, she still didn't have any pictures of Ezra on her phone in case she lost it. "I see. Well I guess this changes things. Now I'm going to have to feel bad about killing you."

"Why are you doing this?" Aria had hoped Jackie would let her go.

"I can't let you go. I've held you hostage. I've threatened you. I'm not going to jail for you." Jackie approached Aria with the knife.

Aria closed her eyes tightly, "Not my face. Don't do that to my parents."

"As you wish," Jackie raised the knife to stab Aria, when then door flew open.

Three agents burst in, "Drop the knife, put your hands in the air!"

Jackie wasn't going to go quietly. She began to draw her gun when the agents fired on her. Aria tipped her chair over and landed on the ground to avoid the gunfire. A second later, Jackie landed on top of her. Dead. Her blood had begun to run onto Aria's face, making her look like she'd been injured.

The agents pulled the body off of her and cut her lose. She climbed to her feet despite their protests. "I wasn't shot. I'm fine. How did you know where to find me?"

"We'll brief you at the station. We need to clear the area." An agent took Aria by the arm and led her from the room, down the stairs, and out the back door. He didn't want to create any panic over Aria's appearance. He ushered her into a police car and they whisked her away from the crime scene.

As terrified as she had been, Aria couldn't help but breathe a sigh a relief. Jackie really was gone this time and she wasn't going to have to worry about her any longer. When they got to the police station, they led her into and interrogation room to keep her from talking to anyone. She was sitting by herself for at least twenty minutes before anyone came in. A large male police officer entered, looking rather intimidating. He completely blocked his companion from view. As soon as Veronica Hastings stepped into view Aria hurried into her embrace, finally falling apart. She sobbed for what seemed like an eternity before Mrs. Hastings calmed her down enough to speak with her. "Are you okay?"

"As okay as I can be. I was so scared. What's going on?" Aria wondered since no one had told her anything.

Veronica pulled out a notebook and a pen, "Well Jackie is certainly dead. You look awful. Are you sure you aren't hurt?"

"I'm fine. They haven't let me go to the bathroom or even have a drink since I got here." Aria didn't even realize she was thirsty until then, but now she felt parched.

"The dectectives need to collect evidence from you. I'm going to make sure they are hurrying along and I'll find you a drink. What I need you to do is write in your own words everything that happened right after Prom. Don't sign it until I return." Mrs. Hastings advised and was escorted back out of the room by the officer.

Aria composed herself a little more before scribbling the details of her ordeal on paper. She had just finished when Veronica returned with a bottle of Coke and a sandwich. "I didn't know what you liked but Spencer helped."

"Spence is here?" Aria was relieved that she had a friend there.

She nodded, "All the girls are. Where else would they be?" She picked up Aria's statement and reead it over, "Good. Nothing incriminating here. You can sign it now."

"Incriminating?" Aria quickly signed the paper, "I didn't do anything."

Mrs. Hastings nodded, "I know that. They know that. This is just in case anything ever comes up you have your statement right here."

"When am I going to be able to get out of here?" Aria wondered, "Does my husband know anything?"

She nodded, "Yes. He is home, waiting for a call. He knows that you are safe. The police still have to come in and question you before you can leave. Shouldn't be too much longer."

"Are we talking privately?" Aria asked, glancing toward the two-way mirror.

"Yes," Veronica replied hesitantly, as though she wasn't sure of the answer. She smiled and added, "And anyway, anything we discuss is private so even if someone were listening in, they would get in a lot of trouble for repeating anything they heard."

Aria sighed, "What if they ask about my husband? Would that get anyone into trouble?"

"I don't think so. Let's just see what happens. If you feel uncomfortable with any question they ask, just look to me and I'll direct you." Mrs. Hastings advised.

The door opened and two officeres walked in, "Ok Mrs. Fitz, do you have any questions? If not, you are free to go."

"How did you find me?" Aria needed to how she was still alive.

"Your friend, Emily Fields, states that you were given a room key to supposedly meet your husband after the prom. She saw him outside and when he said he had no idea about a room, she called us. Not a minute later, the agent that you were supposed to let protect you called in that you were missing," the officer explained. "Anything else?" Aria shook her head. "Okay, then you are free to go," the officer smiled and released Aria without any questioning, saying they just needed to wrap up the crime scene but there was nothing more they needed from her.

Aria hurried from the room before anything else could happen and she was met by a group hug with all her friends. "I have to get home to Ezra."

"He's outside. He has been here for about 20 minutes. He stepped out to call your mom. The cops had called her." Hanna pointed toward the side door of the precinct.

Aria rushed outside and into her husband's arms. After a few moments, Aria picked up his cell phone that was now laying on the ground, "Hi Mom. I'm fine. Really. I will talk to you tomorrow. I really need to get home and lay down. Yes, I promise. Love you too."

"I can't believe this is all happening. You look terrible!" Ezra cried, hugging his wife again.

She rolled her eyes, "Like you are all that sexy."

"No, I mean you are covered in blood." Ezra chuckled at her sarcastic jab.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Let's get home." Aria took Ezra's hand and they walked around the building to his car.

He didn't let her get in though. He pulled her closer to him, "Are you sure you are okay?"

"Well I'm going to make an appointment with Dr. Sullivan this week and see how it goes. I am fine right now. Just grateful to be alive. And knowing that Jackie is really dead this time, will help I think, but I've had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder before so I may have it again after this. Just stay with me and help me through it and I'll be fine." Aria leaned up and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

They heard a gasp behind them, "Boyfriend?"

"Uriah, what are you doing here?" Aria wondered, too shocked to defend her actions.

He glared, "I heard something happened and that you were here. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Fitz is your boyfriend? Is that even legal?"

"I'm 18 years old and he's not my teacher this year. The principal already knows. And he's not my boyfriend. He's my husband." Aria explained calmly, not thinking of the ramifications her actions could have.

He glanced toward the building, "Do the police know? I'm sure they'd love to hear about a teacher-student relationship."

"They do know. And anyway why do you want to cause problems for us. I thought we were friends." Aria sounded hurt.

He scoffed, "You were stringing me along. You told me you had a boyfriend. I thought maybe I could show you how great I could be and you'd dump him for me. I didn't realize I was competing with an old man."

"Who are you calling old?" Ezra chuckled, "Listen, Uriah, you are a nice guy. And you are going to find a great girl. But you have no one to blame for your feeling but yourself. You knew Aria was involved with someone, maybe not that she was married, but still off the market. You kissed her anyway, in front of me, which you didn't know was a bad thing at the time, but if I had been the 18 year old guy you thought she was dating, and I had witnessed you kissing my girlfriend, you'd have a broken nose right now. So thank your lucky stars that I am more mature, or as you say, 'old.' Now we are going home. I'm sure once you've had a chance to think things over, you won't be as upset about all of this."

Uriah opened his mouth a few times to respond, but finally only could come up with a mumbled 'whatever' before turning to leave.

"I hope he doesn't cause any problems for us." Aria sighed as she climbed into the car.

Ezra shrugged, "Well there's only two weeks before graduation. If I have to resign, I will. After nearly losing you, my job is so unimportant in the grand scheme of things."

When the couple got to their house, they undressed out of their formal clothes, "I am so tired but I know I need to shower."

"Come with me. I'll help you." Ezra took her hand and led her to the bathroom. He started the shower while Aria finally got a look in the mirror.

She shrieked, "Oh my god! I look like something from a horror movie. No wonder you said I look terrible." She began crying as the scene replayed in her mind.

"Don't worry. You will be okay." He took her in his arms and held her tightly, "I'm here and your friends are here and your parents are a phone call away. No one is going to let anything happen to you again." He helped her undress the rest of the way and got into the shower with her. He washed her hair and body, the whole while she seemed in a daze. He helped her dry off and attempted to braid her hair. He then carried her to the bedroom and helped her with her pajamas. After getting her into the bed, he turned off the lights and snuggled down next to her, thanking God that he still had her.