Here y'all go! I know quite a few of you have been asking about the next update and here it is. I'm sorry it's taken so long but Graduate School is keeping me busy. There's going to be one more chapter to THIS story, but stay tuned after that for another story which will be the continuation of this one. :) I want to thank EVERYONE for their support and their kind words and reviews. Sadly some of them I couldn't read because they weren't in English but I still appreciate it greatly! It makes my heart warm to know you guys love this, so please continue. Each review gives me new ideas and new directions in which to take this amazing romance. So please enjoy!

There was a dark blue hue that hung over the table at which Emily sat gazing across at the most beautiful person in the world. Emily and Alison were on their first real date as a couple and Emily had managed to find and get reservations at a very upscale seafood restaurant that had a place where the customers could look into an underwater aquarium with all sorts of fish and coral and seaweed in it. The lights were kept low to keep the ambiance of dining underwater. Patrons could even scuba-dive in some parts of the restaurant if they had a trained partner to go with.

That wasn't why Emily had brought Alison here. The first reason Emily had selected this place was because it was forty five minutes from Rosewood, and twenty minutes from Philadelphia, so there was little chance of running into anyone they knew. It meant they could be a real couple and not have to worry about anything. Sure the threat of -A catching them and sending word back to Pam, or anyone else, but that was something they were willing to risk for one night of being a real couple. It was liberating, and since Emily had one more day in Rosewood, she wanted to make that night special for them both regardless of whatever -A wanted to throw at them.

The second reason Emily had chosen this particular restaurant was because she knew that it would hold special meaning given Emily's attachment to water and Alison's nickname of "Mermaid" for her. All of this would make the night one they were sure to remember for a long time. That was what Emily wanted, she wanted one night to be able to look back on and say it was the beginning of their real relationship. Sure they had technically become a couple the night that Alison declared her love for Emily and the pair went to Alison's house in Philadelphia, but that wasn't the real start to a relationship, the first date was, and this was their first date.

Alison blushed slightly and smiled looking away into the water as a fish swam by, "You're staring." It wasn't an annoyed tone, but rather one of embarrassment, as though she'd done something wrong or her make-up looked weird. She knew that wasn't the case since she'd spent an hour getting ready for this, longer than she'd ever spent getting ready for a first date. But this one was special, this one would be the beginning of what she hoped would be the last relationship of her life.

Emily smiled softly, "I can't help it. It's hard to not stare when you're sitting across from an Angel." She knew how cheesy that sounded and how much of a line it sounded like but it was true. Emily had always thought that Alison was an angel, her angel. Sent to Earth for her and only her, it just took them a while to figure that out.

Alison blushed and tried not to laugh, "That's sweet, and really cheesy." She smiled reaching out and taking Emily's hand in hers, softly rubbing Emily's dark skin with her thumb. She looked pale as a ghost compared to her tanned girlfriend, but she didn't mind. To her Emily was the most perfectly divine creature on earth. While Emily would find a million flaws about herself, Alison would find a million things she loved about her. She took a moment to gaze back at the woman who had dedicated the majority of her life to her, and they hadn't even been in a relationship. The truth was, that for a lot of the time that Emily was dedicated to her, Alison had treated her very badly and there wasn't a moment that went by that she didn't regret that, and feel ashamed of how she'd treated the one person who had always been there for her. Her soul mate. Finally Alison spoke softly, "When... when you thought I was dead, did you really think I was your guardian angel?" her words came out tentatively, but finally they came, and Alison's blue eyes showed the anticipation with which she waited for Emily's answer. Pam had filled her in on a lot of what Emily had gone through while Alison was gone, but she wanted to hear it from Emily. She wanted to hear Emily's version of it.

Emily paused a moment, the feeling of Alison's thumb moving across her skin making her feel warm, like a blanket being wrapped around her. Finally she nodded slowly as her smile faded, remembering the worst time of her life when she thought she'd lost Alison forever, "Yes." She said softly, "And after the barn I thought it even more, until I woke up and the girls were around me. You were gone, but the taste of your lip gloss and the feeling of your lips and the smell of your perfume was still there. I could smell it in my hair. I didn't want to wash my hair for days after because I didn't want to wash the smell of you from it." She knew that sounded pathetic, "But smelling and feeling all that; that's when I knew you were alive." Her brown eyes locked with Alison's blue hues as they held each other's gaze for several moments, "It gave me hope again." She paused, "I'm sorry I didn't go with you. I was so stupid."

Alison shook her head, "You were still in a fog from the car exhaust. It's ok. I understood." She shook her head as tears started to come to her eyes, "I... You don't know how hard it was to stay away." Her voice started to break and the tears started to roll down her cheeks, "And if I knew what my leaving did to you I would have found some way to tell you I was alive sooner." She brought Emily's hand up and kissed it, "I'm sorry Em..."
"Hey..." Emily said softly, "It's ok, it's over now. What matters now is you are here, and we are together. Finally after all this we are together." She smiled bringing Alison's hand over and kissing it.

About that time their server arrived and Alison wiped her eyes and took a deep breath as she opened the drink menu and Emily did the same as the server introduced herself as Jan.

"I'll have a vodka Martini please." Alison said looking up at Jan.

"And for you miss?" Jan asked Emily.

"I'll just have a Bud Light." She said with a smile looking back across the table at Alison.

Alison took a moment before speaking again. She was trying to gain her composure after their last topic of conversation. Finally she smiled, "So tell me about the Army. I don't know much as I've never been exposed to it."

Emily smiled, as her heart glowed since Alison actually seemed interested in the life Emily had gotten herself into. Emily explained about what had happened during college with her father's death and how she'd almost dropped out of college but had managed to hold on and joined the ROTC program knowing that she needed money and her depression following his death had made her fail a semester and cost her the scholarship she'd been awarded. So she'd taken an ROTC scholarship and enlisted for a four-year hitch in the Army as an officer upon graduation. "It's a really good life." She said, "Structure, and discipline and financial security." She laughed a little, "As long as there are bad guys out there, I'll always have a job."

"Are you going to make it a career?" Alison asked as Jan brought their drinks back.

Emily shrugged, "Not sure yet. I haven't actually gotten out into the Army so I'm not sure where I'm going or what I'm doing. I'm supposed to be stationed at Fort Monmouth after graduation from MOS school." Emily explained, "So I won't be all that far."

"And what am I supposed to do? Stay in Rosewood or tag along and be the dotting Army Wife?" Alison asked with a laugh.

Emily laughed, "Wife?" She smiled and then let it go, not wanting to make a big thing of it, "You know, they have schools on Army bases. You could keep teaching, or you could stay here. You'll have to stay here until... until fucking Rollins is out of the picture."

Alison sighed, "I know but hopefully you'll be done with your school by the time that goes through and we can be a real couple. I know we don't have to hide it because 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is gone." The relief on both of their faces was obvious as they kept talking about it, about what their future might actually look like.

"So how much longer do I get you for?" Alison asked as their salads arrived that they'd ordered in the interim.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked, "I told you the other night, I want you forever."

"I know that Mermaid." Alison said with a bright smile, "I mean when are you leaving?"

Emily nodded, "A couple days." She said sighing, "My train leaves from Penn Station at nine on Wednesday." It was Monday night.

Alison nodded and didn't even try to hide the heart-broken look that came over her features, "That's not long."

"I know." Emily replied with a sigh, "Especially when you have to work tomorrow."

Alison nodded, "I know. " She made a face, "Do you have any plans?"

"Maybe catch up with Hanna." Emily said, "Aria's in Boston and Spencer's still in DC, so it's either that or hand out with Mom."

"Don't make any plans tomorrow." Alison said, "I want to send you off properly." She smiled softly, and squeezed her hand, "We'll go to my house in Philly again. You'll already be there for the train and you won't have to get up as early."

Emily thought for a minute and nodded, "You sure that Rollins won't be there?"

Alison scoffed, "And what if he is? My strong Army girlfriend will have to protect me." She smiled brightly as she finished her salad.

The rest of the night went much the same. Light, warm, loving conversation between them both that just reinforced the fact that they were both unquestionably in love with each other. Neither wanted the night to end, but they knew it would have to. They knew that eventually they would have to drive the forty-five minutes back to Rosewood and go back to pretending they weren't in love. Alison knew that Pam knew about their secret relationship but she wasn't saying anything and for that Alison was grateful. She didn't know if Emily was quite as aware of her mother's knowledge but to Alison it didn't really matter.

Emily drove them back to Rosewood, neither of them really wanting to do it but somehow they found their way back to the Fields' house. It was well past eleven by the time they pulled into the driveway and all the lights were out in the house, telling Emily that her mother was probably asleep. She'd texted her mother earlier to tell her that they would be late, that they had caught a movie, but the truth was, Emily and Alison had just walked around and then spent twenty minutes making-out by the beach.

Emily got out of the car and pocketed her keys before walking up to the porch, hand-in-hand with Alison. Emily paused and looked at the blonde for a moment, "I need to do this one more time before we have to pretend not to be in a relationship." Emily wrapped her arms around Alison and brought her in close, kissing her deeply. She breathed in Alison's very essence as they stood on Emily's porch and held each other. Alison's arms went around Emily's waist as they held each other tight and enjoyed their last kiss of the night, their last kiss as a public couple before they went back to faking it.

Slowly the kiss broke and Alison smiled at Emily, gazing deep into her brown eyes, "Goodnight my love."

"Goodnight my Angel." She said kissing her quickly before opening the door and the two walked in. The perfect ending to the perfect first date.