Ali and Chloe One Shots

Homecoming

Alison DiLaurentis stood in the hall near the den of her family's new house in Yarmouth, Pennsylvania. Her little sister, Chloe DiLaurentis, had just returned to Rosewood a few hours ago. She'd apparently been in the woods during the forest fire and almost died because of it. Alison almost died, too,—her foot got caught under a fallen log, which was on fire as well—but she thought of Chloe during what she thought was going to be her last moments.

Ali could remember everything very vividly. She'd been stalking Spencer as she was home alone and hanging out in the barn at the back of the property. When they fire started, she was trying to get back to Nick.

But then a tree branch fell on top of her foot and caught fire.

She began whimpering. This is it, she thought. I'm going to die.

Ali sensed a presence nearby. The blaze from the flames slightly blocked her vision. But she could still see the bushes. Was there a person, watching her getting burned alive? That's when she saw Aria running up to her. She hated Aria, but she needed someone to rescue her.

"Help! Please!" Ali screamed.

"You're going to be okay," Aria said.

She wished Chloe had been the one to save her and use those words. Seconds later, they'd ran into Spencer's backyard. Ali didn't notice Chloe until after she'd fallen to the ground in a fetal position. But as soon as she laid eyes on Chloe, her heart lifted.

My baby girl, Ali thought.

She couldn't believe she was holding Chloe in her arms again. Then, when Chloe closed her eyes and the ambulance whisked her off the backyard, Ali was heartbroken. Officer Darren Wilden was there to take her back home, but she shook him hard and told him to check on her little sister at the hospital.

Now Ali was watching Chloe sleep on the couch in the den. Their parents had already gone upstairs and Jason left the main house to go back to his studio apartment above the garage. Ali walked over to the couch and knelt down on the floor. Then she stared at Chloe lovingly.

She looks so beautiful, Ali thought. She'd grown up a lot. She was no longer a little girl, but Ali still saw her as one.

Chloe moved slightly, clearly in a deep sleep. Ali leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you, Chloe. Even though you don't love me anymore."

Ali wanted to stroke Chloe's hair, but she didn't want to wake her up. So she got up and gave Chloe one last look before turning down the hall and going upstairs to the second floor of the house.

Tears filled Ali's eyes—real tears from anger and frustration. She walked down the hall to Chloe's room and dropped to her knees in front of the tall, white bookcase full of vinyls. She wanted to put one on, but knew it would make Chloe mad.

Ali burst into tears. She finally had her little sister back, but then she realized what it meant: She was always going to be on the losing end. Ali was starting to think maybe she shouldn't have come home from the Preserve at Addison-Stevens. Maybe she was better off spending the rest of her life in a mental hospital than being in Rosewood.

Chloe was going to make her life a living hell yet again.

Ali tearfully looked through the records until she decided to get up and crawl into Chloe's bed. She smelled the strong scent of strawberries, which clearly overpowered her scent of vanilla.

It was there in that moment that Ali realized that Chloe must have seen her in the woods, willing the fire to climb up that branch and burn Ali to death.

I can't take it anymore, Ali thought. I'm going back to the Preserve tomorrow.

More tears streamed down Ali's face as she buried her head in Chloe's pillow. She didn't even care that she was still wearing her bulky hooded sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers. She just wanted to get one more night of freedom before she went back to the Preserve. And with that, she fell asleep on Chloe's bed.

The next day, Ali told her parents she wanted to be taken back to the Preserve due to having thoughts of suicide, which was true. Chloe made her feel hopeless since she always won against Ali with everything. They were confused, but took her back to the hospital anyway.

Ali remained at the Preserve for the rest of her life. Chloe came to visit her regularly—she was the only person who would—and that's when Ali realized Chloe was starting to love her again.

Ali looked forward to the daily visits. She kept her favorite picture of her and Chloe in the pocket of her jeans everywhere she went. And she talked about Chloe constantly to the therapists, the doctors, and the nurses. The other patients looked at her strangely as she waited excitedly for Chloe to arrive for visiting hours every single day.

Ali didn't have a single friend in the hospital. She often stayed in her room, listening to her own vinyl records on her own record player. She wore the same outfit almost every day: a black hooded sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers. But none of these things mattered. All that mattered was that Chloe loved her. After all, everything Ali did was for her.

Including being A.

The moment Ali realized that Chloe loved her again was when Chloe came to visit and she ran straight into Ali's arms, almost knocking her over and sitting down on her lap. Ali felt a strong sensation of happiness go through her body—something she hadn't felt in a long time.

Ali burst into tears. This time, it was because she was happy.

"I love you, Ali," Chloe said.

"I love you, too, Chloe," Ali said.

She held Chloe in her arms and sang her to sleep with "You Are My Sunshine." It was like she was a little girl again—Ali's little girl. Ali giggled as Chloe nuzzled her head in her neck, and then she kissed Chloe on the forehead and held her little sister in her arms for the rest of the visit, not wanting to let her go.

Chloe had forgiven Ali for everything: being A and attempting to do terrible things, only to be stopped by Chloe.

And Ali had changed back to the little girl she once was. Chloe forbade her from seeing Courtney and the four girls again, just to be safe, and Ali agreed.

Ali and Chloe were friends again. And that was all Ali ever wanted.