Well holy crap guys. Here we are at the end. I feel like I just started writing this, and it's hard to believe that this is truly the last chapter. I want to take a moment to thank every single person who reviewed and enjoyed this story. Your comments have been so kind and inspiring. I'm especially glad that for some of you, this story was able to provide some satisfaction after the show's finale. That was my intention when writing it and it's wonderful to know that I've achieved it.

I don't know when you'll see a new story from me pop up, but I do have a few ideas in mind...head over to my profile and check out the poll if you'd like to vote for which story you'd prefer to see next. And just as a small request to all of my readers, whether you've reviewed every chapter, left me feedback sporadically, or never commented at all, I would absolutely love if you would take a moment to drop me a review and let me know what you think now that it's all over. Your words mean the world to me. This was quite an experience to write and I thank you all for joining me as I told Viola's story!

Chapter 25

One Month Later

Sometimes, if I don't let myself think about it, things feel almost normal again. Almost…but not quite.

Being in Rosewood got to be too hard for all of us. So we escaped to Paris. Just for a little over a week, but it's still nice to get a break. Spencer just got the brace off of her knee, and Aria's mild concussion, which she got from whacking her head off of one of the bunker's cement walls, has fully healed. And we figured that we all deserve some time off from thinking about it all before Ezra's upcoming trial begins.

"Six croissants," a waiter with a heavy accent announces on our last full day in France, setting a platter of steaming pastries down on the center of the table. "Enjoy, mademoiselles."

"Merci beaucoup, monsieur," Mona replies with perfect pronunciation.

I smirk as the waiter hurries to the other side of the café, a small, charming place that we discovered just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower. "Looks like all those years of teaching yourself to be fluent in French have finally paid off."

My sister smiles, adjusting the beret perched on her head, and Hanna laughs on her other side. Across the table, Aria chuckles weakly, and Emily just aimlessly stirs her coffee. I hold back a sigh. I was hoping that once we got out of Rosewood they'd both be able to let go a little, but it's clear that it's not going to be that easy.

I'm not sure why I thought it would be.

"Guys." Spencer rushes over, sliding into the empty chair between Aria and Emily and setting her phone on the table. "That was my dad."

Hanna leans forward eagerly. "What did he say?"

She takes a deep breath. "He and my mom are pressing full charges. They're hitting him with everything they've got."

Mona raises an eyebrow. "What are they hoping for?"

"Life," Spencer answers quietly. Her eyes are shining. "That's a long-shot. But the cops found all of his and Ali's research and equipment in a shack near the bunker. It should be enough to get him thirty years, at least."

My stomach swoops in a way that I haven't experienced in a long time. "Oh my god," I breathe, feeling a smile begin to tug at my lips. Thirty years. If everything goes as planned – and with the Hastings heading up the case, it undoubtedly will – Ezra will be behind bars until I'm in my fifties. Even imagining it makes me a little lightheaded.

But then my eyes go to Aria. She's staring down at the table, her face drained of color. Wincing, I exchange glances with the other girls, all of whom seem to have realized the same thing that I have: This news is a lot more complicated for her than it is for us.

Spencer reaches out, grasping her hand tightly. "I'm sorry, Aria. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

The smaller girl takes in a breath, not lifting her gaze. "No," she says finally, her voice barely above a whisper. "No, it's okay. You guys are right to be happy about this." She pauses, running her finger through a groove in the table. "I wish I could get mad, too, but I just…feel so stupid."

"Aria." Emily leans forward, looking past Spencer at her with a furrowed brow. "You shouldn't feel that way."

"You're not stupid," I agree, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. "You loved him."

"I should have known," she mutters, her face reddening. A tear slips out of the corner of her eye, and my heart lurches in sympathy. "I should have never looked back after I found out about the first book. I can't believe I really thought he'd changed."

She takes in a breath to say more, but before she can go on, Mona cuts her off firmly. "Aria. You can't do that to yourself. Every time to say things like that, you're just protecting him more. You need to place the blame on him, not yourself."

I choke a little on the tea that I'm sipping. That may be the nicest thing I've ever heard my sister say…and she was actually right on the money. Spencer's eyes have grown wide. Aria blinks, looking caught off-guard herself, then offers a wobbly smile. "Thanks. You're probably right."

Hanna pops the last of her croissant into her mouth and stands abruptly. "Okay, I've decided. You need closure. We're doing what we talked about."

I know what the plan is – the six of us discussed this for over a week leading up to the trip – and nod, getting to my feet as well. I've been expecting this since the day we arrived and have been waiting for one of them to bring it up. But Aria remains seated, her face paling. "Han, I don't…I don't know if I'm ready for this."

Hanna sighs and walks around to the other side of the table, placing her hands on Aria's shoulders. "Come on, yes you are. You need to do this. We both do."

"We'll be with you," Emily promises. "Just like always."

I nod enthusiastically, and after a long moment Aria lets out a long breath and stands. "I'm not saying I'll go through with it," she warns, just as Hanna's about to let out a cheer. "But I'll try, okay?"

"There's a pond just a block from the Eiffel Tower," Mona says, examining a map on her phone. "It's right around the corner."

"Let's go now, before you lose the nerve," I add, and we head out the door.

Five minutes later, the six of us stand in a line on a narrow footbridge that stretches over a small, glimmering pond. The Eiffel Tower peeks out from above the trees just a short distance away. I close my eyes and take in a deep breath, relishing in the fresh, warm air. It's hard to believe that just a month ago, I was inhaling smoke, instead.

Hanna steps forward, toward the bridge's railing. Her mouth is set in a thin, determined line. "Ready?" she asks, glancing over her shoulder and raising an eyebrow at Aria.

The dark-haired girl looks around at all of us, fiddling nervously with her hands. Spencer touches her arm. "Aria, it's okay if you need to – "

"No." Aria pulls away sharply. The hesitation on her face begins to fade. "I need to do this."

Hanna grins, pulling a Ziploc bag from her purse. She extracts two small objects. "Then I believe this belongs to you," she says lightly, and drops an engagement ring into Aria's palm, keeping the wedding band from Caleb in her own hand.

"I'm proud of you guys," I announce as Aria walks slowly over to join Hanna, several feet away from the rest of us.

Hanna shrugs, examining her old wedding ring carefully. "We thought about just locking them in a safe or something. But we figured this was more final."

"No going back," Aria murmurs, her eyes bright and hard. She turns to face Hanna. "On three?"

We all scream the numbers aloud, and when we reach "three," Hanna and Aria reel their arms back and chuck their rings straight into the water. As soon as I hear the tiny "clink," I rush to the railing and peer down. The two rings bob innocently on the surface for only a few moments before sinking to the bottom of the pond, disappearing from sight.

Aria and Hanna exchange smiles, and the rest of us whoop with joy. I wind my arm through Hanna's and give her a short squeeze, and Spencer engulfs Aria in a hug. "Congratulations, ladies," Mona says with a smile. "The rest of your lives can officially begin."

"Not until Caleb actually signs the divorce papers," Hanna reminds her as we begin walking toward the tower. I fall into step beside her. She glances back. "You have it easier than me. Imagine if there was a bunch of stuffy paperwork binding you to Fitz."

I wince, wondering if that was the most sensitive thing to say, but Aria doesn't even appear to be listening. She's bent over her phone, texting, with the faintest hint of a smile on her face.

Spencer's eyebrows shoot up as soon as she notices. "Anyone interesting?"

"What?" Aria jumps a little, raising her eyes from the phone. "Oh. No. It's no one."

Emily glances over her shoulder. Her eyebrows immediately furrow. "Jason?"

Whoa. I exchange a surprised glance with my sister. This trip is getting juicy. "Yeah," she replies, her voice overly casual. "He's back in town to deal with…" She cuts her eyes guiltily to Emily. "Everything with Ali."

"Oh?" I laugh, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "So you guys are talking again?"

Spencer gives her a playfully stern look. "Remember, he's my brother."

"God," Aria groans, shoving her phone back in her pocket. "You guys, stop. It's not like that. Seriously." She laughs a little, shaking her head. "I don't…I don't think I'll be ready for anything like that for a long time. Not after…everything. We're just making plans to go get coffee."

Emily squeezes her shoulder. "I think it's great. You don't want to rush anything until you know you're really past Ezra." She speaks the words with such conviction and knowledge that I raise my head, alarmed.

"Em? Would you know something about this?"

Emily's face flushes. She brushes a strand of hair behind her ear awkwardly. "Paige called me a few days before we left. She heard about what happened on the news. She just wanted to make sure I was okay."

Hanna lets out a little squeal. "I always liked her."

Emily rolls her eyes dubiously, and I can't help but laugh, so glad that even if they're not still fully healed from the emotional wounds Ali and Ezra inflicted on them, they at least have some people besides us in their lives to help them along the way. "I don't know if anything will happen. But if it does, we'll take things slow. Just like Toby and Spencer."

I smile, patting Spencer's arm. "I'm glad you guys are trying to make it work again. You're good for each other."

"We're just friends for now," she replies, speaking to me but shooting Hanna, who's grinning at her, a look. "He's still going through a lot. And I want to focus on getting through law school. But maybe eventually…" She trails off, smiling down at the sidewalk. Hanna lets out another joyful yelp.

"This is all very nice," Mona says suddenly, waving her hand. "But if you all haven't noticed, we've been standing in front of the Eiffel Tower for the past five minutes."

I startle, glancing to our right. Sure enough, the tall, impressive structure stands just yards away, towering over us. "Okay, okay," Aria relents, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. "Tired of hearing about all of our personal lives?"

"I keep telling you to text Mike!" Hanna yells over her shoulder, grabbing Spencer's arm and tugging her toward the entrance.

I loop my arm around my sister's shoulders and return her grin. Her eyes are shining, and I'm sure that mine must be, too. Finally. Finally, the acceptance, the trust, the normalcy with these girls that we've been without for so long.

Twenty minutes later, all of us in various stages of catching our breath, we arrive at the second level of the tower. "Wow," I breathe, resting my elbows on the ledge and gazing out at the sky. "As long as you don't look down, it's pretty incredible."

"We're going all the way to the top, right?" Spencer asks immediately, and the rest of us groan.

"Not without my lungs collapsing," Hanna protests. "If we go any higher than this we're definitely taking the elevator."

"I'm with Spencer," Mona chimes in. "If we've made it this far, we might as well go all the way."

"I'm in," Aria agrees. "All this exercise is actually pretty good therapy. And besides, I need to get a picture of the view from up there." She raises the camera – a new, modern one, not that old-fashioned clunker that Ezra gave her years ago – that's hanging around her neck.

"Let's stay on this deck for a while," I suggest, leaning against the railing. "I want to get a good look."

But it's only been a few minutes before Spencer speaks again, her gaze distant as she stares out at the clouds. "I wonder if Mary's ever stood right where we are. France was listed a few times on her passport."

Mona shoots her a sideways glance. "Have you talked to her?"

"A few times a week or so. She still thinks she needs to convince me that she really didn't want to hurt us."

I snort without meaning to. "I think she proved that when she called the cops on her accomplices."

"Yeah," Aria agrees, running her hands along the ledge that separates us from the long drop to the ground. "If anything we should be thanking her."

"I know," Spencer replies, clearly exasperated. "But I think it'll take a while for her to realize that. She decided to keep staying at the Lost Woods, though, so I think there's hope."

I smile at her. Maybe Spencer will never see Mary as her mother – and maybe she shouldn't – but it would be nice if they could establish some sort of relationship. After all, this isn't the first time that Mary's put her neck on the line for Spencer and the others. Although I had my reservations about her at first, it's seeming more and more like she's not so bad.

"Em," Hanna says suddenly after another minute, nudging her. "What's wrong? You haven't said a word since we got up here."

Emily, who's been leaning against the railing and gazing down at the people far below us for the past ten minutes, blinks. She doesn't lift her head, but I catch sight of a tear slip down her cheek.

"Nothing," she murmurs, not meeting any of our eyes. "It's stupid."

"I'm sure it's not," I assure her, getting the feeling that I know what she's going to say. "Come on, you can tell us."

Emily takes in a shaky breath and finally pulls herself away from the railing. She smiles ruefully and shakes her head. Her eyes have taken on a faraway look, and she runs her hand lightly along the side of the structure. "It's just…whenever I thought about coming here for the first time…I always imagined that it would be with Ali."

The girls' faces fall. Even though I could never help but judge Emily's almost obsessive love for Alison, I still feel a pang in my chest at the heartbreak in her tone. She closes her eyes just as a few more tears roll down her face.

"Em," Hanna sighs, wrapping an arm around her tightly. "It's okay. We didn't even think about how hard this must be for you."

"All the memories I have with her," Emily whispers, her shoulders shaking with repressed sobs. Around us, a few people turn to look. I shoot them the nastiest glare I can muster. "Fantasizing about running off to Paris, planning the nursery and talking about raising our baby together…none of it was real. It was all just a game to her." A single choked cry escapes from her mouth.

"Oh my god, Em," Spencer gasps, rushing to her other side and hugging her fiercely. "You don't know that. I like to think that, deep down, she cared about you. About all of us."

"She was A, Spencer," Emily argues, but makes no effort to pull away. "She tried to kill all of us." She takes a deep, wavering breath. "She was never really our friend."

Spencer, Hanna, and Aria all exchange glances, looking crushed. "Maybe not," Spencer relents at last, wiping a tear out of her own eye. "But we are your friends. And we'll get you through this."

"We'll all get through this," Aria agrees, stepping over to them and taking Emily's hand. "Together." The four of them huddle close to each other, forming a small circle.

I hang back, looking to Mona with a sheepish smile. I'm relieved to see her smiling back. Even after what we went through, we're still not completely on the inside of the group. But maybe that's okay. These four girls have been through more ups and downs together than anyone else I can imagine. It only makes sense that they would have a bond that's not exactly easy to break into.

At least not now. Maybe after a while, once A.D. and bunkers and threatening texts are just distant memories, my sister and myself will find ourselves fully immersed in their group. I have a feeling it'll happen even without us noticing.

After a moment, Emily sniffles and looks up, squeezing Aria's hand gratefully. Then she peers over the shorter girl's shoulder at the two of us and smiles. "I have an idea. Let's take a picture. All of us. I want to remember this day forever."

"I like that idea," Aria agrees, beginning to tug at the camera around her neck, but Hanna stops her with a sigh.

"Aria, if you try and hold that thing out, you'll drop it over the edge. Let me do it." I laugh as she pulls out her phone.

The six of us gather around her, crowding close together to fit into the shot. As Hanna angles the phone expertly, I reach over and squeeze my sister's hand, smiling broadly. Finally, it doesn't matter that she's spent time in a mental institution, that she was the original A, or that I once donned the black hoodie myself for a few months.

Finally, our lives can move forward, away from A. After Hanna snaps the picture, I take a look at it, peering over her shoulder at our happy faces, Emily's face still wet with tears, but her smile wide.

I don't want to lose these girls. We're all staying in Rosewood for now, mostly because none of us can bear trying to heal without the others by our side. But I have a feeling that this arrangement is going to be temporary. I can see the way Spencer's eyes sparkle whenever she talks about government or Washington. And judging by how Mona's spent the entire week gazing around at all of Paris' sights, marveling over just about everything, I wouldn't be surprised if her next trip here is more on the permanent side. Hanna still seems wistful every time she hears mention of New York.

And as for me, I can't say that there aren't a few job listings for social workers in Philadelphia in my search history.

For now, though, this is all that I need. I look around at my sister and our friends, watching them debate taking the stairs or the elevator to the top level, and realize that even though one chapter of our lives has come to an end, our story is just beginning.