I'm pretty sure a few of you will be doing a double take when you see this update. I thought I was completely finished with this story but turns out I'm not. I really had the urge to write in this world again so yeah. Little Fractured Family update!

She'd heard about it at school.

"Your Mom is a bad ass," Dani had told her in class two days ago, "She's like some sort of Rosewood Police hero. Apparently your Mom is like a legend and everyone knows her. Even my Mom and Dad know her."

Well, she'd heard the name anyway, in explicit detail at that. She was pretty sure she had heard her parents talk about that name at some point before too. So, as she sat on her bed, her fingers poised above the MacBook keyboard, she wondered if she was doing the right thing.

Without over thinking it her fingers began to move across the keyboard. JESSICA. She paused as an array of choices on Google appeared, the one she was looking for was the second option down in the list. She clicked on the mouse pad and waited for the page to load. It didn't take long for the page to appear in all it's glory.

Her Mom looked different; younger but older at the same time. Weary even. She didn't look happy. The headline made her eyes widen and she scratched her nail against the body of her laptop as she continued to read the newspaper article. After the first article she clicked backwards and picked another one. It mostly contained the same information.

"What are you doing?" Sauntering into the room with a basket of laundry under her arm and a three-year-old boy on her other hip, Alison cast a curious glance at Ella and raised an eyebrow in surprise as the twelve year old slammed the lid of her MacBook shut with such a force that it rattled.

The young girl frowned and squinted her eyes at the blonde. "Nothing," she offered lazily in response. "I was just researching some homework for class next week."

It was Alison's turn to frown. She looked between her daughter and the now closed laptop, her curiosity piqued but for a completely distinctive reason. "Yeah honey, that may work on some people but I know you're lying to me. I know you better than you know yourself, Ell. Mom's always do."

Ella brought her knees up to her chest before she reached for a pillow and hugged it close to her, her chin resting on it as she looked sincerely across her bedroom at Alison. "I know about Jessica Jackson. My friends at school told me some things about her."

Alison made a face. She placed the laundry basket on Ella's desk before she and Olly sat down on the bed next to the twelve year old. Olly crawled across the short distance and pulled at the pillow with his small hand before he settled against his big sister.

Sometimes it still surprised Alison at how much Ella was like her; blonde haired, blue eyed, extroverted, too talkative and far too opinionated at times. Not to mention clever beyond her years. Emily had always said that Ella had an 'old soul'.

"Okay," Alison said, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Ella shook her head. "I want to talk about it with Mom instead."

Perhaps Alison should have probed more – tried harder to get her daughter to talk to her instead – but knowing it would be no use she simply took Ella in her arms for a long hug. She knew first hand how Ella was feeling so she kissed her daughter's blonde hair and closed her eyes at the lack of any decent answer.

- x -

Emily walked from the courtroom at a quick pace, scanning the second floor hallway for journalists who she didn't really want to speak to. She walked shrewdly through the main part of the court and into a labyrinth of short airless, light less corridors that eventually led to a staircase that she climbed until she reached an old looking door.

Emily pushed the door open and entered without hesitation, immediately hit by the noise of the chatter that couldn't be heard from the other side of the door. The little 'police only' canteen was enshrined in the court's history, that and serving the worst coffee in America was what it was known for during big trials.

It didn't take her long to find Toby and Spencer sitting alone in the tiny warm room, nursing what she knew would probably be cold, weak coffees. They sensed Emily enter and looked straight at her from across the room.

She knew they would be reading her face, looking for answers to their questions before they could ask them. Emily wound and weaved her way through the tightly packed tables and chairs. Even now years later, other police officers moved out of her way without being asked. Old habits generally died hard.

She reached the table and sat down heavily across from them.

"Well?" Spencer asked impatiently.

"Not fit to stand trial."

"Fucking hell!" Toby's response was loud enough to make other officers and detectives in the canteen look up, albeit briefly. Emily looked around the room, a visual warning to everyone not to interfere. "Jesus Christ," Toby continued. "What's the point?"

Emily watched Toby unconsciously rubbing the top of his right shoulder, as if he could feel the bullet inside him all over again.

"Come on, Tobs," Spencer encouraged as she laced their fingers together, "We always knew this was a possibility. Once we'd seen the psych reports it was practically a certainty."

"I know," Toby agreed with a heavy sigh, still rubbing his shoulder with his free hand. "I was fooling myself that common sense might win around here."

"It is possible that he really is mad," Spencer suggested as she reached across to stop her husband from rubbing away a patch on his shirt.

Emily nodded. "He is completely mad, trust me and my experience on that."

"Yeah, but he's also capable of going on trial. He knew what he was doing when he did what he did. There were no voices in his head or other bullshit like that."

"He's not getting away with it," Emily assured them. "While we're sitting here he's already on his merry way to the secure wing at Radley. Once you go in there you never come out."

"The women aside, he killed an officer and nearly killed me too, he will be a God in there," Toby mumbled furiously.

"Don't be so sure, Toby," Emily said as she smiled at him sympathetically.

"After all these years as partners we are still in the shit, Em."

"I know, I don't want another partner though, you know that." Emily's phone began to vibrate in her jacket pocket.

She answered it without hesitation when she seen Alison's name pop up on the screen.

"It's me," Alison said.

Emily resisted the urge to smile in the setting that she was currently sitting in. "You know I guessed that right?"

"I thought you might being a detective and all. How did it go then?"

"Not great," Emily admitted as she glanced across the table at Spencer and Toby who were engaged in their own quiet conversation.

"Well, I'm preparing you for when you get home and burdening you with some more bad news. Your daughter has been doing some research on your infamous psychopath."

Emily internally cringed. "Which one? ... I mean which daughter by the way not psychopath."

"Ell, of course. Her friends told her about it all at school and well we know how curious she is at the best of times, plus she's twelve she's not silly. Katie is out playing football in the yard next door with her friends, she's oblivious don't worry."

"Okay that's something I guess, I'll be home soon."

"Good, we love you," Alison replied happily.

"I love you all too."

Emily placed her phone back in her pocket before she picked up her briefcase that now looked more like an over sized child's satchel. The top of it had been drawn on by her and Ali's three-year-old son, Oliver, just the night previous. Emily was pretty sure that he had attempted to draw Superman, his current favourite Superhero.

"I have to go. My twelve year old daughter has been researching Jessica Jackson. Why the hell would kids talk about that stuff at school?"

Toby and Spencer grimaced simultaneously.

"Well," Toby began, "We all knew this day would come, good luck with that one. My day seems a little better now compared to what you're about to face. What a conversation to have. I still hate Jessica Jackson, I hope you know that."

Spencer narrowed her eyes at Toby before she turned back in Emily's direction. "It will be fine, trust me. She will understand once you explain things to her, Em. Granted it's not ideal but most things never are."

It had been over three years since anyone had directly tried to harm Emily on a case far less kill her. This was in itself an impressive hiatus in her life span, but it hadn't been long enough. Get over it. She said that to herself every time the thought crept up on her.

Because, truthfully, she was living such a wonderfully, happy, ordinary life now. She got up, got dressed, ate breakfast with her family, went to work and came home again safely. This was the routine of millions and the American dream of millions more.

"I best go," she said as she gave Toby a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder before she weaved her way back through the crowd of the canteen.

- x -

With expert precision, Emily planted a stolen kiss on Alison's neck when she announced her arrival home. The noise that fell from the blonde's lips vibrated loudly in their currently quiet kitchen, mirroring the smile that pulled at Emily's lips.

Emily took a step backwards and tilted her head. "Why are our daughters so inquisitive? How could anyone tell Ella about Jessica at school? Wait where is our son?"

The blonde smiled, took a step forward, and wrapped her arms back around Emily's waist to pull the brunette closer to her own body. "One question at a time, Em. One, because they are ours and people are morons, morons who tell their children things who then tell our children things at school. And two, he's fast asleep. He had a tiring morning watching cartoons with me."

Emily's eye roll disappeared behind a curtain of dark curls as she let Alison press their lips together in a soft kiss. Gently, her hands travelled up the blonde's arms and shoulders before they settled around Alison's neck.

"Is Mom home yet?"

The voice made them part and both of them turned to look at their intruder. Ella was standing in the kitchen doorway with her nose scrunched up at the scene in front of her like it was the most disgusting thing she had ever seen in her life.

"I'm here," Emily replied with a smile for her daughter. She turned to Alison and kissed the blonde on the nose. "I need to go and speak to our daughter." Alison pinched her hip reassuringly before Emily followed Ella out of the kitchen and up the stairs towards her bedroom.

- x-

They sat across from each other. Ella with her long legs crossed and Emily perched on the edge of her bed, her hand on her daughter's knee as if to give some assurance that everything was okay. That she could ask anything she needed to. That she wasn't in any trouble for finding out.

"Is it true what Dani said to me at school a few days ago? That that woman cut you up and then you died but then she started your heart again?" Ella made a face as she said it. She didn't look worried but confused, as if her brain couldn't really process what her mouth had just said.

Emily swallowed hard. Why did people have to have such big mouths?

"It was a little more complicated than that, Ell." So complicated that Emily didn't really know how to explain it to an intelligent twelve year old who was still technically a child in her eyes.

Without saying a thing, Ella grabbed her Mom's hand and gripped it tight while big blue eyes locked onto Emily's own. "But she hurt you bad didn't she? I read some of the stuff online. I can't..."

Silence. An awkward, uncomfortable silence. Emily bit her cheek as a pang of guilt hit her chest and then expanded outwards. This wasn't how it should be. She should be the one telling her daughter what she needed to know, not her friend at school.

"Yes, she hurt me bad," Emily admitted as she looked into bright blue eyes that were swimming in questions and thoughts. "But don't believe everything you read online about it, most of it is trash. Read your Mom's stuff if you really want to know about it."

"And that's how you met Mom?" Ella asked in full concentration. "I know you both said you met on a case but I didn't know that it was like this."

Emily smiled gently. "Yeah, that's how I met your Mom. But look at it this way, if Jessica hadn't happened there is a good chance me and your Mom wouldn't have happened and that would mean you wouldn't have happened and how on earth would the world cope without you?"

It earned Emily a small grin from her daughter. There we go, Emily thought to herself.

"But why did it have to happen to you?"

"I don't know sweetie, I wish I could tell you. I was different."

Ella pondered the answer for a few seconds before she said, "My friends at school think you're cool because of it. They said that you're a bad ass."

"I am a bad ass though?" Emily replied before she arched an eyebrow. "But don't let your Mom hear you saying that word for another two years at least."

Ella grinned again, fully this time. "I was just repeating it, it's different… I don't want to know anymore though, I don't want to think about it. My brain is going crispy around the edges just thinking about it."

Emily nodded and smiled. "I think that's sensible –"

Before Emily could say anymore, Ella's arms wrapped around her for a tight hug and she stroked her daughter's long blonde hair as the twelve year old deflated in her arms.

"I love you, Mom."

- x -

Emily smiled when she heard the telltale creak on the stairs, followed by the soft padding of her daughter's feet as she crept downstairs. It was a ritual Katie had started with Emily a couple of months ago.

Whenever long hours, a particularly hard day or just plain insomnia kept Emily up after the rest of the house finally went silent, Katie would sneak downstairs to steal time alone with her. In Emily's mind, that was just about as close to winning a parenting Oscar that you could get.

She appeared at the bottom of the stairs, bundled up in tattered old Patriots jersey Emily had given to her three years ago, and gave Emily a rosy cheeked, two-dimpled smile.

"Hi, Mama." She slouched onto the couch next to Emily before she maneuvered herself into Emily's arms and pecked her softly on the cheek.

"Hi, baby. I didn't think I'd see you again. You were pretty tired earlier, I heard you snoring all the way down here."

She giggled before she snuggled further into Emily's chest.

"I want to be a cop." Katie had never been one to waste time with transitional conversation, but her bluntness, even at ten years old, still took Emily by some surprise at times.

Emily squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed them before she looked down at Katie and shook her head vehemently. "No you don't. There's lots of reports to read and write and you don't even like doing your homework. We had to bribe you last week."

Katie shrugged, seemingly unimpressed with Emily's answer. "Yeah but I hate math. I want to chase down the perps like you."

Where the hell has she heard that word? Emily thought to herself. There was too much information loose in the world today, just laid out there on the TV or in magazines for any kid to see, long before they had the good sense to be put off by the real horror of it.

"Nope. I'm not allowing it, your Mom will agree with me."

Katie looked up and gasped in exaggerated horror. "But Grandma said I can be whatever I want to be, even a space woman but I want to be a cop like you, Mama." Katie crossed her arms and wiggled loose of her position on Emily.

"I don't think Grandma and Grandpa would like you to become a cop. Where did you learn the word perp anyway?"

Katie gave her the eye roll, the classic child reprimand when parents were being obviously silly or dense. "Mama, it was all over the TV where the cop chased the bad guys. Plus I've seen you and Uncle Toby on the TV before too and you said that word."

"This is why ten year olds shouldn't watch TV these days," Emily replied as she brought Katie back into her chest. "Come on, we're going to bed."

"But, Mama –"

"You're not being a cop," Emily repeated as she lifted both of them up off the couch, she turned and crouched a little to let Katie jump up onto her back. "Bed time and case closed. No more cops in our family."

Katie huffed in her ear but Emily could tell that the ten year old was smiling when she said, "Fine, I want to be a Quarterback with the Pats then."

Kids, Emily thought.

- x -

Natural light flooded down the staircase and into the living room, its brightness temporarily blinding Emily as she blinked to adjust to its harshness. Her nose welcomed the smell of fresh coffee and her eyes welcomed the sight of Alison and Oliver in the kitchen as she reached the doorway.

"Good morning," Alison beamed as she kissed Emily before turning her back on the brunette and retrieving Emily's coffee mug from the cupboard. "You came to bed late last night."

"I know, Katie ambushed me downstairs again. I'll make it up to you tonight."

Alison smirked as she poured the hot black liquid into the mug. "I'm going to hold you to that."

"I hope you do," Emily replied before she turned her attention to the three year old who was wandering about the kitchen in nothing but a t-shirt. "What did I tell you about walking around naked buddy?"

Focused on his orange juice, Oliver shrugged at her and then began to grin as he hooked his finger under the fabric of his Superman pajama top. "I have a t-shirt on."

Emily raised her eyebrows gamely as she sat on an island stool. "Yeah, but where are your bottoms? You had pajama bottoms on last night too at bed time."

"Too hot," Oliver said, beaming Emily a mega watt smile of tiny teeth.

"Leave him alone," Alison said playfully as she rested her head on Emily's shoulder. "You walk around in the morning half naked in a vest top and tiny shorts."

Emily rolled her eyes, grabbed the cereal box and poured some into her bowl, before reaching for the fresh milk cartoon. Her hopes of a quiet morning had disappeared by the time the milk had hit the bottom of the bowl - both Katie and Ella entered the kitchen at the same time.

Alison hadn't noticed it before but her family had become really dysfunctional when it came to their bedtime clothing. There were no matching pajamas in view. Katie still had on her football jersey and shorts, Ella had a t-shirt and reindeer sweatpants on despite it being March, Oliver had no bottoms on and her and Emily wore the same kind of thing.

"Why are you still wearing that stupid Pats shirt? They suck," Ella remarked as she took her place next to Alison at the kitchen island.

Katie pouted her lips and narrowed her eyebrows in her sister's direction. "They don't suck, the Eagles suck and you suck too."

"Uh," Alison held up her hand as Emily held in her laugh and brought Olly up onto her knee. "We all know that the Pats and Eagles both suck, but the Packers don't suck."

The kitchen, which two minutes ago, had been a friendly welcoming environment had turned into a football fueled frenzy. Each of them bickering amongst themselves while Oliver pretended to be Superman on Emily's knee.

"Get over it," Alison said as she rose from her stool with her coffee. "All of your teams suck."

"Fine but the Eagles suck more, Mom," Katie interrupted as she lifted another spoonful of cereal into her mouth. After her cereal she turned to Emily and motioned for the brunette to lean closer before she said, "The Eagles suck more than math though."

Laughing, Ella lifted her bowl and followed Alison into the living room before yelling her disagreement back at Katie.

"A Packers," Oliver squealed as his feet hit the floor and he propelled forward towards Alison and Ella.

"I'm pretending he didn't just say that," Emily called through to the living room as Alison winked at her, Ella laughed at her and Katie shook her head in disappointment that another sibling had once again chosen the wrong team to support.

I'm unsure if I will be updating this story again this chapter was really just a spur of the moment thing! But if there's enough interest then perhaps. Also, if you're interested in reading my writing outside fanfiction please check out my new blog! accordingtkirst ( d o t ) wordpress ( d o t ) com - thank you!