Chapter 1

Alison DiLaurentis was straightening her hair in the bedroom she shared with her longtime girlfriend Emily Fields. They had been through hell and back during high school, unable to admit their feelings for each other for a long time. However, when senior prom arrived, they were just supposed to share a friendly dance together, but ended up sharing a not-so-friendly kiss. They didn't know what it meant, but soon dumped their current partners by graduation day. Alison had been dating a police officer named Lorenzo Calderon, and Emily had been in a confusing relationship with the girl from the dollhouse— Sara Harvey. On graduation day, Alison decided that she had played too many games with Emily, and was going to be the one to make the risky move this time. Once their ceremony ended, Alison confessed that she loved her, and their relationship was finally able to take off. Alison began a modeling career in Rosewood after getting offered a job half a year after she finished her four year college plan at Rosewood State College. Emily finished four years at Danby University, and then decided to take a year or two to decide a career while she coached Rosewood High School's swim team.

Five years after graduation day, and they had stuck together the entire time. They were really in it for the long run. It wasn't a puppy love relationship that just happened because they were each other's first loves— this was a serious thing. Maybe even a rest of the life sort of thing. They couldn't know for sure, but it really felt that way. This felt like a forever situation.

"Hey," Emily greeted with a sweet smile on her face, entering the bedroom. She sat down on the bed, where Alison was doing her hair. "Are you almost ready to head out? We don't want to be late for Hanna and Caleb's party."

Alison put the straightener down, smiling back at his girlfriend. She leaned in and pecked Emily's lips briefly. Her nose was pressed against Emily's, and she was trying to fight the urge to giggle at that moment.

"Hmm, I think we want to be a little late," Alison mumbled, allowing her lips to touch Emily's again.

"Nooo, seriously," Emily whined, pulling back and grabbing both of Alison's hands instead. She playfully toyed with the blonde's fingers. "This is Hanna's big day."

"Shouldn't Hanna's big day be her wedding day, not her engagement party?" Alison asked.

"Ali, come on," Emily urged. "We can have our alone time later, once their party is over. Please? I don't want to be late. She's pretty much my best friend. If this is important to her, it's important to me."

"Okay, okay," Alison agreed, turning the straightener off. "I'm ready to go, anyways. I thought I was your best friend, by the way."

"Well, you were, but now you're my girlfriend," Emily laughed.

"Girlfriend..." Alison mumbled. "Wow, that sounds so weird aloud. My girlfriend. Do you want to say it again for me?"

"If it'll get us out the door faster, then sure. You're my girlfriend, Ali," Emily giggled. "Okay, I do admit that it's really weird to say that out loud."

Alison just smiled at her. She got up from the bed.

"Did I tell you that you look beautiful?" Emily complimented, gazing down at Alison's silky, navy blue dress.

"You didn't before, but now you did," Alison said, with a wider smile curling up on her face. She pecked Emily's lips quickly. "You look beautiful, too. But no more of this. You were the one trying to rush us out of the door, so let's rush."

They drove over to the party hall that Hanna had rented. She was growing big in the fashion industry, so she had her connections. Her engagement party was in a giant hall that was provided by one of her contacts. Emily pulled their car up outside of the hall in the parking lot. The stunning couple entered the building together. Hanna immediately turned to look at them with a glowing grin on her face.

"Em! Ali!" Hanna Marin exclaimed, running up to both of them to give them each a quick hug.

"Hey!" Emily exclaimed. "I'm so happy for you. Congratulations! Where's the ring? Where's the husband-to-be?"

"The bromance of Caleb Rivers and Toby Cavanaugh has stolen my new fiancé," Hanna laughed. "God, I love saying the word fiancé. Because I have one! One that I love very much."

Emily chuckled at her, and then asked, "Alright, so where's the ring? Show us!"

Hanna flashed her ring finger, exposing her gorgeous ring.

"I was wondering why it took him so long to propose, but then I figured out that he didn't want to take my money to pay for the ring, since I'm obviously the money bringer of the family. Don't tell him I said that, or he'll get all alpha-male on me," Hanna laughed. "He saved up from whatever low profit computer company he's working at until he could afford this gorgeously expensive ring."

"Wow, it's... amazing," Emily mumbled, admiring the big ring on her finger.

"Yeah, it is. He has a good taste in engagement rings," Alison commented. "You better ask him to pick my engagement ring out!"

Emily's eyes wandered up to her girlfriend when she heard that. Was that a subtle way of saying she wanted to get engaged? The thought couldn't leave Emily's head. When Hanna and Emily's eyes kept lingering on Alison, she immediately knew what thought was going through both of their heads.

"I didn't mean it like that, guys," Alison told them. "I meant that WHEN I do get engaged, I would want Caleb's help in the ring picking. That's all I meant by it! I didn't mean I want to get engaged now. Not that I don't, because I mean... you know what I mean! I don't want to, I mean, I do—"

"Oh, would you just shut up already?" Hanna asked, giggling. "You're embarrassing yourself with all the 'I means' an 'I meants'."

"Should we talk about this?" Emily whispered.

"No!" Alison cried. "There's nothing to talk about. Hanna, I'm going to go get myself a drink. I'll need a minute."

"Hanna, honey!" Caleb called. "Come over here. Spencer wants to see your engagement ring, AKA the fabulous ring I picked out, that you love very much."

"He's calling," Hanna happily told her. "Do you want to come with me? I'm sure Spencer will be happy to see you."

"No, but you go ahead. I'll talk to her later. I think I'm going to wait for Ali to come back," Emily informed her, patting Hanna's shoulder. "Congratulations, again. I couldn't be happier for you."

"Yeah, you sound very happy," Hanna sarcastically said, but then giggled. "Okay, but don't spend all your time waiting on Ali. I'm going to go see Caleb."

Emily nodded her head while Hanna walked away from her. She turned around and saw Alison slowly pouring her drink. She was really embarrassed about that engagement blurt, wasn't she? Alison has never been the best at expressing her true feelings. When she told somebody how she felt, she usually was lying. It was all make believe, so she didn't think anything of it. When it came to Emily, everything was genuine, so it was embarrassing to see her reaction to her REAL feelings.

Emily realized that Alison needed a moment to recompose herself after what she said, so she decided to give her that moment that she needed. She turned around, trying to drift her attention from her girlfriend. To her surprise, two familiar faces that she hadn't seen in over five years stood there in the most unexpected way, with one new face. Lorenzo Calderon and Sara Harvey. TOGETHER, as a couple. It was the most shocking sight Emily had seen in a while. She quickly made her way up to the two of them.

"Lorenzo... Sara," she acknowledged. "Wow. Is this your—"

"Our baby? Yeah," Lorenzo answered, grinning as he pecked the top of his baby's head. "This is Kalin Calderon, our little one year old son. Isn't he adorable? I think he is. He's our precious little sweetheart, and we love him very much."

Sara's face lit up when little Kalin started laughing. He was so adorable, it was true. Combining Lorenzo and Sara's good looks, their baby was truly an exotic, handsome blend. Emily could already tell he was going to be an attractive young man when he got older. He was already an attractive little baby.

"You and Sara have a baby. I'm still adjusting to that. But he's adorable, and I'm so happy for you," Emily said, stroking her hand against baby Kalin's cheek. "What was his name? Kalin?"

"Yeah," Lorenzo answered, grinning.

"That's a wonderful name. Kalin," Emily repeated. "I can't believe you guys are together."

"Well, after we both experienced break ups, we bonded a bit. I ran into him about three years ago when he was working on a case in Rosewood, and we started spending a lot of time together. Turns out, he might just be the love of my life," Sara explained, turning to him. She leaned in and pecked his lips for a generous few seconds.

Emily was a bit confused about how Sara jumped back to dating men after she dated a girl, but she decided not to press on it.

"So, you two found love with each other?" Emily asked. "I'm still amazed. I didn't even know you would be at this party."

"Oh, well we were taking Kalin out for a walk in the park, and then we ran into your friend Hanna," Sara explained. "She told us she was throwing an engagement party, and said as old friends of you and Alison DiLaurentis, we could drop by the party. We couldn't say no."

"Hmm, she didn't inform me that you were attending... or that you were dating each other," Emily mumbled.

"We're not dating," Lorenzo informed her. "We're married. We have been married for about two and a half years! Three years of marriage is coming, baby. We went to Las Vegas one day, got married. About a year later, we both knew we wanted to start a family. We tried for a baby, and here he is.

Sara laughed again, and allowed Lorenzo to wrap his arms around her petite body. Emily was shocked. They really did look like they were in love, and they had it all. They had a marriage, they had a family, and they had been dating for less time than Emily had been dating Alison!

"We would love to stay and chat with you, but we want to go give Hanna and Caleb our congratulations," Lorenzo announced, and grabbed Sara's hand.

He, Sara, and Kalin walked off to talk to Hanna and Caleb, leaving Emily there. Emily made her way to the food and drink table, where Alison was still lingering.

"Are you done 'getting your drink'?" Emily teased, poking her playfully.

"I'm a slow drink getter," Alison responded in a playful tone.

"Anyway, you'll never believe what I just found out," Emily said. "Lorenzo and Sara are here, and they're married with a son. I'm not even kidding! They started dating, they got married, and they had a kid. His name is Kalin, and he's adorable."

Alison's look was more than just baffled.

"Lorenzo and Sara?" Alison scoffed. "Is this a joke? That Miley Cyrus looking bitch married to a decent guy when she was apparently a lesbian?"

Emily raised her eyebrows, "I sense the old Ali coming back in."

"Bitch Ali slips from time to time," Alison laughed, grabbing both of her girlfriend's hands. "Ew, it's just weird imagining Sara Harvey and Lorenzo Calderon married, with a son. I've got to check it out later, and maybe see what their kid looks like."

Emily asked, "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"No, not really. And to be honest, I don't feel like much even happened," Alison responded, sighing.

"Ali," Emily urged, raising her eyebrows. "Relationships are about talking things through, trusting each other, being there for each other... We've been all in for over five years now. Why can't we talk about our relationship without feeling uncomfortable?"

"Em, trust me, I am all in. It's just, I'm still not there yet. I don't know if I can ever be that girl who just talks about how she feels. Not even with you," Alison explained. "It does make me uncomfortable, I can't help it. Can we please just drop it? Please?"

Emily nodded her head to Alison's begging.

"Fine, if that's what you want," Emily said, and then allowed herself to smile. "Let's try and have a good time tonight."

Alison smiled back, and the two of them walked back towards all their friends attending the engagement party.

"Aria! Hey!" Emily exclaimed, giving her friend a hug. "Ezra, it's great to see you, too."

Aria smiled, and then turned to glance at Ezra quickly.

"How have you guys been?" Emily asked.

"Great, better than great," Aria responded. "Actually, Ezra and I have some news we want to share with you. We wanted to wait until we could get everyone together, but I'm just too damn excited! I'll have to tell Spencer, Hanna, Caleb, and Toby later tonight. At least I'll get to deliver the news twice."

"For someone so little, you sure can talk a lot..." Alison mumbled under her breath.

Of course, Aria heard, and her eyebrows rose, but she decided to ignore Alison's casual bitchiness. Aria's perky smile returned, and she took Ezra's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Ezra and I are pregnant!" Aria exclaimed, clutching on to Ezra's body.

"I highly doubt Ezra is pregnant," Alison joked.

"Ali," Emily said in a scolding tone, and then nudged her.

"Sorry. I mean, congratulations, guys. Really," Alison told them. "I'm so happy for you."

"You guys are having a kid!" Emily exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Are you sure you're ready for this sort of... big step? I mean, you're only 25, Aria."

"Are you kidding? We couldn't have been happier when we found out," Aria told her. "We weren't trying for one or anything, but I'm so happy it happened. It's meant to be. Starting a family has always been one thing I've wanted. I'm old enough to become a mother, and Ezra over here isn't getting any younger."

"It's true, we're both extremely excited. I'll forget about your rude comment which called me old, because you're having our baby," Ezra laughed, and kissed the top of Aria's head.

"Are you guys skipping the marriage part and going straight to the baby or something?" Emily asked.

"Oh my goodness. How could I forget?" Aria laughed. "The baby was just such big news that I forgot to mention... we're engaged!"

"You're engaged!?" Emily cried. "Wow. Your life is really moving forward, isn't it?"

"We're both ready to take these big steps, commit, and start a family. We've loved each other for so long, and nothing is ever going to change that. This is the life we want," Aria explained.

"I proposed to her the day we found out she's pregnant," Ezra told them. "When I found out she was having our baby, I just knew there was no better day to pop the question. It was a bit of a rush, but I bought a ring, set up a dinner, and I proposed to her. She said yes."

"No duh," Alison muttered.

"Ali," Emily scolded again.

"Sorry. Once again, I mean, congratulations. I hope you have a fun marriage," Alison said.

"A fun marriage?" Ezra chuckled. "That sure is sweet."

"Have you guys thought about children and marriage and all that?" Aria asked.

"No, I mean... children is a bit of a stretch," Emily began, but couldn't really think of an excuse to why not.

"Why is it a stretch?" Aria asked. "You can find great surrogates with background checks. They'll be your sperm donor, if that's what you're worried about."

"No, it's not the sperm donor. It's just, I don't know if we both want that. I don't know," Emily said. "Maybe the thought of another man's baby just isn't satisfying."

"Then get somebody you love and trust. Sometimes the people you know are willing to be your donor," Aria reminded.

"Congratulations, you two. I know you'll have a beautiful marriage, and a wonderful baby," Emily told them, smiling. "I should probably catch up with Spencer. We haven't seen her yet."

Emily dragged Alison over to Spencer Hastings, who was currently in a lip lock with her longtime boyfriend Toby Cavanaugh. In high school, they weren't the PDA type, but once they took on an adult relationship, they didn't give two craps about who saw them.

Alison coughed loudly to get their attention. Spencer just laughed into Toby's mouth and pulled back. She put her arm around him, and they both turned to face Alison and Emily.

"Hey, guys," Spencer greeted warmly. "What's new?"

"That was a fascinating sight to see," Alison sarcastically said.

"Spencer, Toby. We have something to tell you!" Aria exclaimed, grabbing her brunette friend's arm.

"You can take Spencer. I need to talk to Emily for just a moment. I'll catch up with you soon, Aria," Toby told her with a smile, patting the tiny girl's shoulder.

Aria excitedly yanked Spencer away from her boyfriend, ready to take her to Ezra to share her big news.

"You need to talk to me?" Emily asked curiously.

"Yeah, but I didn't want Spencer to be here," Toby replied. "It's sort of, um, private at the moment."

"That doesn't sound too good..." Alison mumbled.

"Toby," Emily urged. "You didn't do anything bad, right? Because I'm not about to help you get out of some cheating scandal. Spencer is still one of my best friends."

Toby furrowed his eyebrows and laughed.

"Why would I ever hurt her like that?" he said, chuckling again. "Em, I think it's silly how I've been dating her for this long, and you still don't trust me. You know I would never hurt her. Actually, this is quite the opposite of a bad thing."

"Oh!" Emily perked up. "How long are you going to keep me waiting?"

"I've been thinking really hard about," he began, and then took a moment to recompose himself. Emily could have sworn he was almost tearing up. "I've been thinking really hard about my future, and I've known this forever, but Spencer is pretty much my life. I don't have a future without her. She's the girl I look at and think about spending the rest of my life with. And about a month ago, she was dancing to this weird, cheesy song, and she looked like a complete fool. But when I was standing there, I thought, 'I want to marry that fool,'. But it hit me… what's stopping me from marrying her? Nothing! Nothing is the answer."

"Toby, are you going to…?" Emily asked, raising her eyebrows.

He took a deep breath and nodded his head before answering, "Yes. I've spent too much time waiting around now. I'm going to propose to her. I've already called her parents, and it's crazy how much their opinion of me has changed. They gave me their blessings without any fight at all. When she and I first started dating, they were pushing me out of the house. Now they want me to marry their daughter."

Alison stood their in shock, and Emily just pulled Toby in for a long hug. She couldn't have dreamed of a better man to be Spencer Hastings's husband. Nobody got her like he did. Nobody put up with her uptight ways, her smart ass personality, and loved every part of her the way Toby did. And being one of Toby's closest friends, Emily already knew he was a good guy. He was more than a good guy. He was everything Spencer Hastings deserved in a man, and even more than that.

"Toby!" Emily cried, clinging on to his body so tightly that she almost felt like never letting go.

Of course Emily loved Aria, and she was so happy that Aria was marrying the man she loved, and also having a baby with him, but she was clearly more excited for Toby's proposal. Maybe she just knew them better. She and Aria were best friends, of course, but Emily was best friends with both Toby AND Spencer. She had never really gotten to know Ezra well, but maybe that was because he was her old high school English teacher, and she didn't exactly know if that was the best friendship for her.

"Ali," Emily urged, pulling back from Toby. "Aren't you going to say something?"

"Yeah. Who knew you would get a girl like Spencer Hastings in the end?" Alison laughed.

"You know, I've tried my hardest to forgive you for all the crap you put me through, especially because you're Emily's girlfriend now, but I don't know how much longer I'm going to last if you keep poking out these comments," Toby told her.

"Forget her, she's just in a bad mood today," Emily said. "Please, call me as soon as this happens. I love you, Toby Cavanaugh. You are going to make the best fiancé slash future husband for Spencer, and I know there's no way in hell that she's going to say no to your proposal. She loves you more than anyone in this world, and it's scary how much she loves you."

Alison's face fell. She felt bad now. This was Spencer and Toby's moment, and she was being a real ass.

"Toby, I'm sorry," Alison said, sighing. "That was stupid of me to say. I'm really happy for you two. If Spencer says no, then she's stupid, because you are like, the best guy out there. Back when I first met her, the most important thing to her was winning everything, and being the best, but now the most important part of her life is you. She puts you on the highest pedestal of them all. Don't let her down."

"I don't plan on it," Toby laughed. "Thank you, Ali. We've come around a lot since high school. And of course, you, Emily. Thank you for your constant support of me. I should have asked earlier, but I was too excited— how are you two doing?"

"We're good," Emily quickly responded.

"Thinking about taking any big steps?" Toby asked curiously.

"Nope, not yet," Emily responded, glancing over at Alison, anxious to see her reaction. "We're just.. us. Everyone else seems to be taking these giant steps. Hanna and Caleb, obviously. You and Spencer. Aria and Ezra…maybe you should go see for yourself what that's about. It's big news."

"Right. Spencer's over there, anyways," Toby said with a smile. "Hey, and just remember, there's no rush to take these steps in your relationship."

Toby walked off to find Spencer, Aria, and Ezra, leaving Alison and Emily standing there.

"Ali," Emily said, swallowing hard. "Isn't it weird that everybody else is moving forward with their lives, and we're just stuck in this limbo? How long are we going to be here?"

"Oh, what? Being with me isn't enough for you?" Alison asked.

"No, stop," Emily told her, rolling her eyes playfully. She took both of Alison's hands in hers, squeezing them gently. "Let's stop this playing around," she quietly said. "I love you, more than anything. Ali, I've always loved you." A tear rolled down Emily's cheek. "I loved you even when you made me feel bad about who I am. I loved you even when your death turned my life into a wreck. And I plan on loving you for as long as I'm here."

"Are you trying to have some cheesy moment with me?" Alison asked, smirking playfully.

"Ali, look at me," Emily urged, her hands trailing up to the blonde's cheeks, pulling her head so she was facing her. "I want everything with you. I want to call you my wife, and I want to cradle our baby to sleep—"

"Oh, Em…" Alison muttered. "I was afraid you'd say this."

"Ali, I want a baby," Emily confessed. "Are you with me, or against me? That's all I need to know."

"I'm with you," Alison told her, coming closer to her lips. "I'm always with you. I'm not like you,

I'm not good at being in a relationship. All this time, and it still feels new to me."

"Do you want this?" Emily asked.

"To have a little Emily running around the house? Yes, of course," Alison laughed. "I didn't know how, or what to say."

"I don't want to adopt," Emily told her. "I really don't. I want this to be our baby."

"Well, then it will be," Alison said, pushing a strand of Emily's dark hair behind her ear. "We probably have to go through several interviews until we find a quality sperm donor—"

"No, I don't want just any person to be the sperm donor of the baby," Emily confessed. "Ali, I want Toby Cavanaugh to be our donor."

Alison swallowed hard.

"Em…" she muttered.

"That's what I want, okay?" Emily said. "He's the best guy I know. I couldn't think of a better guy than Toby to be the donor! Plus, if we ever need a hand in taking care of the baby, it'll be his, too, so he's always here."

"You know I love and respect Toby a lot now, and I'm sure he would make a great father and donor, but don't you think he has a life to worry about, too?" Alison asked. "I'm trying to be reasonable. He's trying to start a life and family with Spencer. Why would he want to be our donor?"

"We could at least ask," Emily reminded. "Maybe he'll say no, maybe he'll say yes. I want him to be the donor, but who knows what will happen? I'm still going to ask. But whatever happens, you're still my world, Ali. I'm going to love you throughout everything."

Alison groaned with a smile on her face.

"How do you always know the right thing to say?" Alison asked.

"You make it so easy," Emily responded, and then pulled Alison close. "I love you, though. I love you a lot." Alison closed the distance between them. Their lips stayed that way for a while— pressed together. The blonde ran her hands through Emily's dark hair while she practically sucked on Emily's bottom lip during the kiss. Emily took charge and let her hands roam down to Alison's ass. "I can't wait to see baby Emily," Alison whispered into the kiss, causing both of them to giggle, but it didn't stop them from continuing their PDA.