All Emily and Alison could do was stare at the letter and then at each other. Mary Drake had known everything from the start.

"I can't believe this-"

Emily's sentence was cut short as her phone rang.

It was Spencer.

She answered but couldn't even get a word in before her friend jumped the gun.

"Did you get a letter from Mary?" Spencer asked.

"Yes." Emily looked at Ali. "I just read it."

"Aria and Hanna got one too." There was rustling on the other side. "Do you know if Ali got one?"

"She's uh... not home," Emily said. "She spent the night at my house."

It was silent for a minute.

"I'm glad she did," Spencer answered. "I'm gonna go see if Mary left one in her mailbox."

"Should we come to the barn?" Emily wondered.

"Em, you need to rest," Spencer said. "We're gonna go to the address and let you know what we find, okay?"

Emily sighed in disappointment. "Alright."

Then the call was ended.

"Was that Spencer?" Alison asked.

"Yeah." Emily looked at her phone. "I think we all got letters from Mary."

"Does she want to meet?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah, but... I don't know if I'll go."

Alison figured Spencer had told Emily to rest, which was a good move. She was still recovering from a bullet wound. That was a valid excuse to stay in bed.

Alison's hand found Emily's. "You should stay here and rest. I'll be back in a few hours and tell you everything, okay?"

Emily allowed herself to stare at Ali. She couldn't help but wonder if last night, if all the things Alison said, had all just been a dream. She had fantasized for so long to hear those words, it would only make sense if it had all been in her head.

"Last night..." Emily started. "Did that... Did it really happen?"

"Em, you didn't take your pain meds till after we talked." Alison smiled. "Last night definitely happened."

Emily bit her lip in an attempt to hide her grin.

"Would you rather me stay?" Alison questioned. "Spencer can just fill us both in when they get back."

"No, you should go," Emily said. "I'll be fine."

After the talk last night, Alison felt as if a giant weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She felt great. Free. Like for so long she had been trapped in a cage and had finally found a way out.

She leaned into Emily and their lips met. She realized this is what it was supposed to feel like. To love someone. And she silently wondered why she had run from it for so long.

When the kiss ended, Ali smiled. "I'll be back."

Emily just nodded as she tried to hide how flustered she was.

Alison left the Fields' house and made her way to Spencer's barn. The knowledge that all the drama and threats were coming to an end made her smile. She had found closure from Charlotte and Archer's death, even though it still pained her to think about. Wren was in jail, and would be for a very long time. Her friends were all okay, and Emily...

She had finally told her the truth, and Emily fortunately never threw away her feelings for Ali.

When she arrived at the barn, her friends were gathered around the island in the kitchen. After spending hours in the hospital yesterday, everyone still managed to look well rested.

"The address is the city bank," Hanna said. "Where my mom used to work."

Ali walked up to them. "Well, when I read Carissimi Fund, that's the first thing I thought of."

"Did Mary really leave us Charlotte's money for finding her killer?" Aria asked.

Spencer grabbed her keys. "Only one way to find out."

The four women piled into Spencer's car and made their way to downtown Rosewood. Now that -A had been revealed and there was this note they were following, Alison couldn't help but think this was a new beginning for them.

"How was Emily last night?" Hanna asked.

Alison looked at her in confusion.

Hanna smiled. "Spencer told us you stayed with her."

Alison tried not to feel so insecure that her friends would probably find out the truth soon, but it was still new to her. Everything she felt with Emily had been brewing for a long time, but accepting and coming to terms with it... well, that felt foreign.

And it was still too early to tell anyone anything.

"Yeah, um, she was fine. She fell asleep a few minutes after I got there," Alison fibbed. "Her pain meds knocked her out. What about Melissa?"

Spencer focused on the road. "She's... hanging in there. The doctors want to keep her there another day to make sure everything is healing alright."

It didn't take long before they were parking outside of the bank and heading inside. They would be closing soon since it was Saturday, so there was no time to waste.

Spencer and Alison walked up to the counter first.

"Hi, how can I help you?" the clerk asked.

"Hi, um, I was left something here by someone named Mary Drake," Spencer explained. "I was just wondering-"

"Wait right here," the clerk interrupted.

The four of them watched her walk into a back office.

"Well, that was rude," Hanna said. "She totally cut you off."

That's when the clerk returned with another woman, who seemed to hold more authority. Alison watched the woman come around the desk and approach them.

"The four of you can join me in my office," the woman claimed.

So they followed.

When the door was closed and everyone was on edge, the woman studied them. "There's supposed to be five of you."

"Emily couldn't make it," Alison said.

"Well, no worries, we'll hold the transfer until she can."

Then the teller leaned back and unlocked a drawer and removed five separate manila folders. All of which were labeled with their names. Alison spotted hers on top.

"Miss DiLaurentis," the woman said as she handed Ali her folder.

"Thank you."

Alison waited until her friends had received their folders before opening it up. Inside there were multiple papers, none of which Alison knew what to do with.

"What is this...?" Aria wondered.

"Contracts," Spencer said. "Sort of."

"Miss Drake came in about a week ago and explained that she had been holding onto a large sum of money – a gift from her daughter – and wanted to make arrangements to split it five ways. To Alison DiLaurentis, Emily Fields, Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin and Aria Montgomery. Now before I can transfer the money, I'll need valid licenses, account numbers, your socials-"

"This sound like more than just a few hundred dollars," Spencer said.

The woman nodded as she folded her hands over her large wooden desk.

"She left you each one-hundred-thousand dollars," the teller explained. "And also The Lost Woods Resort, to Miss DiLaurentis."

The four women were stunned into silence.

"W-What?" Alison mumbled.

She teller smiled. "She told me you five were deserving of it. That you helped her in ways no one else could have."

Alison opened her folder again and read the print. This wasn't a contract. It was an agreement form, and on the last page, the signature of Mary Drake was already there. All Alison had to do was sign her name too.

"We can get the process started now, but it'll take a few days for the account to come through for your use..."

The four women exchanged glances before Alison realized this was real. That Mary, or -A, had forced them to find her daughter's killer because the police were blatantly stupid in this town, and this was their reward.

"I say yes," Aria claimed.

"Let's do it," Hanna agreed.

No one else protested.

Alison and the rest of her friends went through the process of the transfer that only took about an hour in total. She figured since it was so much money, things like this had to be done carefully. Plus, she also had the deed to The Lost Woods to take care of.

Once they were finished, the teller stood from her desk.

"The money should be available in about a week," she said. "Just log onto the website, put in the information I gave you and the rest will come in the mail."

"Thank you so much."

Once they exited the bank, Aria broke the silence.

"Why do I feel like I should be scared this happened?"

"Because," Spencer said. "Every time -A did us a favor, there was a catch."

"Do you think there will be a catch this time?" Hanna asked.

"I don't think so," Alison answered. "We did everything she wanted."

"Guess it's just past trauma."

They all piled into Spencer's vehicle and decided to head home and bask in the newfound freedom. Alison couldn't wait to tell Emily the news.

And they wouldn't have to worry about paying for the future they wanted, because Mary had made sure that was taken care of.

ONE YEAR LATER...

Emily found herself envious of Aria as she stood and watched her friend and her soon-to-be-husband mingle around the reception hall.

The sound of light chatter and ambient music made The Radley glow with ease as the wait staff pranced around with drink trays. Glasses clanked and there was a burst of laughter off in the distance. She immediately recognized it as her girlfriend, Alison.

"This champagne is great," Hanna stated as she took another swig from her skinny glass. "Aria and Ezra have amazing taste."

"Agreed," Emily said as she sipped from her own.

A lot had changed over the past year for The Liars. Although, Emily and her friends hadn't been called that in a long time.

After a successful first year as Rosewood's swim coach and winning the State Championship, Emily had earned another year as their coach and a raise. She had decided against college for multiple reasons, one of which was because of Alison.

Ali was still teaching tenth-grade English and dreaming of starting a family one day. And after discussing the subject of children in length, Emily decided that if – when – they had children, she wanted to be there for them. She found that her dream of raising children outweighed her dream of being a sports profession.

Besides, the more time she could be around Alison, the better, and a full-time job just seemed to pull her away from that.

Emily was just afraid that Alison was holding back because of the past tragedy she had to face with her last pregnancy.

~ FB ~

Emily let herself into Alison's house that was now becoming her own and set her bag down on the counter. Swim practice had gone well, and she found herself craving Alison's touch after the long day.

"Ali?" Emily called.

"Up here," Alison called from upstairs. The tone of her voice worried Emily.

Was there something wrong?

Emily quickly made her way upstairs and found Alison in bed with a look of pain on her face. She took a seat next to her girlfriend and brushed a strand of blonde hair from her face.

"You okay?" Emily asked. "Are you feeling bad?"

"Just cramping really bad," Alison claimed. "I don't know if that's normal."

Emily could feel the concern show on her face. It didn't sound normal. Especially for a pregnant woman.

Alison moved to get up and stopped as she sat straight. This didn't seem normal. The pain had only grown over the past few hours and had yet to subside. Ali feared the worst as she made it to the bathroom.

And when she did, the sight of blood made her skin grow cold.

"Emily?!" she panicked.

Emily raced to the bathroom. "What? What's wrong?"

"I need to call my doctor." Alison's face contorted with pain as she stood. "Now."

~RT~

The miscarriage had effected Alison more than Emily had predicted. She hadn't been aware of Alison's longing for a family until her girlfriend had lost the baby. Now, an entire year later, Alison and Emily were at a stand-still.

Alison's blonde head appeared through the sea of people at the rehearsal dinner. Emily watched from afar, seeing Ali whisper in conversation with her mother. She shouldn't be bothered that this had basically gone on since they had gotten here, but it did.

And then Emily's mom slipped something into Alison's purse.

What the hell was that?

Spencer approached Emily and Hanna then, interrupting the moment.

"Where's Caleb?" Spencer asked.

"Somewhere with Toby, looking for something stronger." Hanna waved her champagne glass, the diamond on her left hand glowing. "If you know what I mean."

A lot had also changed for Hanna, who was now Mrs. Hanna Rivers. Courtesy of Caleb's last name.

Emily couldn't bring herself to pay attention to the conversation Spencer and Hanna were having because she was too busy watching her mom and Alison. She needed to know what she had given her girlfriend.

Emily didn't want to think they were plotting something without her input, but that's what it seemed like. And she had caught Alison on the phone with her mom more than once, talking in whispers as if the conversation was a secret.

And Emily didn't like secrets. Not anymore.

Alison, on the other hand, had noticed Emily's glare from across the room and headed over to where she stood.

Alison nudged Emily. "I feel like I haven't seen you all night."

"Well, you've been glued to my mom's side since we got here," Emily said.

Alison tried to hide the nerves on her face. She knew Emily didn't like secrets, and she hadn't kept anything from her since they started dating, but she wanted this to be a surprise. She had to play it cool.

"Are you jealous?" Ali teased as she moved closer to her girlfriend.

Emily knew what Alison was doing but she couldn't help but find the flirting... sexy. After all, it had taken a little bit of time for Alison to warm up to being more affectionate, at least publicly. And now that Emily had Alison comfortable, she wanted to take advantage.

"Maybe," Emily countered. But she wasn't done. "So what were-?"

"Guys," Aria interrupted. "We're gonna start."

Alison sighed in relief before Emily could back her into a corner. Thank God for Aria's impeccable timing.

Yet, even though the confrontation had been put on hold, Emily felt as if Alison was hiding something big, and that didn't settle well in her stomach. It made her distance herself the rest of the night because she was a worrier. And Alison knew that. So why was she being so secretive?

It wasn't until Alison and Emily were back home, settled in and readying for bed, when Ali decided to address Em's weird attitude.

She watched Emily strut through the house, avoiding eye contact even though Alison was dying for her attention.

"Okay, what's up?" Alison asked. "You've barely said two words to me all night."

Emily rummaged through her purse. "That's. Not. True."

Alison rolled her eyes at Emily's sarcasm.

"Well, either you're entering a vegetative state..." Her eyes met Emily's. "... Or you're pissed at me."

Emily tilted her head. "I saw you and my mom at the party. What were you guys whispering about?"

Alison played dumb. "Whispering? I don't know?"

Emily crossed her arms. "She put something in your purse. What was it?"

Jesus, was Emily really going to ruin this for her? She was going to hate herself if Alison gave in.

Alison also folded her arms. "I don't know?" She released a humorless chuckle. "Breath mints? I mean your mom's pretty passive-aggressive and there were onions on those sliders-"

"My mom avoided me all night," Emily interrupted. "What is going on?"

"Nothing."

"Ali." Emily's worrying had grown even more. "We're not going to sleep until you tell me what's in that purse."

Alison let out an exasperated sigh. Emily was really going there, wasn't she? Alison didn't want it to be like this, but she couldn't deny Emily was getting to her.

"Remind me to never throw you a surprise party," Alison stated as she grabbed her purse.

Her trembling hand grabbed the little red box Pam had given to her only hours prior. Her heart was beginning to pound hard against her chest. She had dreamed about this moment for a long time. She had even rehearsed what she would say, she just hadn't pictured it quite like this.

Alison gave the box one last look before opening it up to reveal the diamond ring that had been passed down to her. She handed it to Emily.

Emily on the other hand was stunned and confused.

"This is my grandmother's ring," she said, as if trying to make sense of it aloud.

"I had this whole romantic proposal planned, and it didn't include a pug sweatshirt..." She smiled as she inspected her night wear. "But I guess I'll just wing it."

"You wanna propose to me?" Emily whispered, almost breathlessly as she stared at Alison.

Alison beamed as she took the box back from Emily. "Well, I'm still trying to, so..." She removed the ring from the safety of the box. "When I was at my most lonely and unhappy and angry place, you loved me. And when I was an ugly human being, you saw a beautiful soul."

Alison was trying her best to keep her voice steady while Emily attempted to wrap her head around what was happening. Everything seemed to grow even more vivid. As if they weren't standing in Alison's dimly lit den late at night, but rather early morning when the sun was peeking through the curtains. The room grew bright as Alison stepped closer.

"You make the world a better place because you see the good in it," Alison continued. "And you make me a better woman... because you searched for one."

The two women fell silent, as if they both needed a short moment to process what was happening.

Alison's smiling lips trembled. "Do you promise, to do that every day for the rest of our lives?"

Emily didn't even hesitate.

"Yes."

The word hurt coming out, but not because Emily didn't want to say it, but because her throat was tight with emotion. If you would've told her younger self, the one that had pined after Ali since the day they had met, and claimed in ten years she would become Alison DiLaurentis' fiancée, well, she would've never believed it.

But now, as she stared at Alison in that pink, pug sweatshirt with her hair just a little messy, she couldn't help but think Alison had never been more beautiful.

Alison gently took Emily's hand in hers and slid the ring onto its designated finger. Both were now shaking with emotion, but neither cared enough to pay attention to it.

"I love you," Alison whispered through the dark.

"I love you too," Emily forced through tears.

They moved in for each other, sealing the moment with a kiss that suddenly felt brand new. Emily's tears dampened Alison's cheeks but neither one of them could stop smiling.

These were happy tears. And those were the only kind of tears Alison ever wanted to bring Emily's eyes, for the rest of their lives.