Disclaimers: I do not own PLL or its characters.
Spoilers: None as of yet.
Rating: T to be safe.
Note: Courtney's has been gone for 3 years. The girls are turning 12, and are now in the sixth grade.
8 months later – July 16th, 2001
*Dilaurentis Residence*
It has been exactly three years since the Dilaurentises lost their youngest daughter, Courtney.
A lot has happened during that time.
The kids, all of them, including Mike, have lost their baby teeth. They no longer play with dolls or use their art easels. They watch TV shows made for tweens and teenagers.
They go to the mall, or the park, or the movies, most of the time, alone, with each other.
They call their parents, 'daddy' and 'mama', with the occasional 'dad' and 'mom' (much to the grownups' displeasure).
And most importantly, they are no longer in Elementary school, instead being in Middle school, excluding Mike. He is in the fourth grade.
Today is a hard day for everyone.
Today marks the 3-year anniversary since Wayne Fields brought his daughter, Emily, and her twin best friends, Alison and Courtney, to the park.
Today marks 3 years since a little girl walked up to Court and Ali, and said she needed help. Courtney followed, and that was the last anyone has seen of the little girl.
They are holding a Candlelight Vigil at the park. The families are going to gather there, plus the other residents of Rosewood. Courtney's teachers from kindergarten, first, and second grade. Her classmates.
Everyone who knew 8-year-old Courtney Faith Dilaurentis. Everyone who loved her, met her, anyone who misses her.
*4 days later – July 20th, 2001*
"I HATE you!"
This is yelled by 11-year-old Alison.
"Alison Lauren Dilaurentis, get your ass back here right this instance!"
And that?
Well, that is her father.
"NO! I HATE you! I don't want to live here anymore!"
Now, you may be wondering… how did it go from them attending a Candlelight Vigil, to Alison and Kenneth yelling at each other?
Let me show you…
First, let's rewind a little bit…
You see, four days was the Candlelight Vigil.
Four days ago was three years since Jessica and Kenneth went to work, leaving their three children in the very capable hands of their Nanny.
Four days ago marked three years, – 1,096 days, – since Wayne Fields took his daughter, and Alison and Courtney to the park.
The agony, the yearning for their baby girl… It was too much for Jess and Ken.
They walk by that bedroom every single goddamn day. Courtney's bedroom is princess-themed, frozen in time, in-between that of an 8-year-old child and 9-year-old "big girl".
Courtney was going to decorate the room differently right after her birthday.
She was going to get rid of her Barbie Dreamhouse, and in its place, a desk was going to be moved into her room, so she no longer had to do her homework at the dining room table.
Courtney was going to take some of her stuffed animals, and donate them.
Courtney was going to do this, and she was going to that, and make this change, and that change, and…
Only, 3 years ago, all of that was yanked from their grasp when their little girl was kidnapped from the park.
So today?
Today is 3 years and 4 days.
Today is an even 2,000 days since her walking off with that child, and disappearing into thin air.
Four days, Jess had a breakdown.
She cried and she sobbed and she hurt and she begged and she pleaded, and…
She made a choice.
No more, she said.
No more princess-themed room. No more Barbie Dreamhouse. No more stuffed animals and blankets and toys and books. No more leaving that bedroom a time capsule, a frozen picture-perfect representation of Courtney, and all that she was.
3 days ago, they started cleaning the room out.
3 days ago, her aunts and uncles helped pack away Courtney's toys, books, clothes, bedding, pictures from the walls…
It took them an entire 3 days. Some even stayed overnight, taking shifts throughout the night to pack the things up because Jessica made it so damn clear that she wanted that stuff gone.
Then, today, which marks an even 2,000 days since the lives of four families closest to Courtney were turned upside down, there was an announcement that was made.
"Your dad and I are having a baby."
Hearing that, hearing those words…
It pissed 11-year-old Alison off to no end.
Which is how we get to this point, this moment in time right here…
"I HATE you!"
Alison yells it as she barrels out of the front door. When Kenneth shouts after her to come back, she just repeats that sentiment, and she runs through the bushes that separate her house from Spencer's house.
She goes straight to the Barn, flings the door open, slams it shut, and then…
She just yells.
As loud, as long, as hard as she can.
She picks up the closest thing she can find – thankfully, it is only a pillow from the couch – and she flings it as hard as she can straight into the kitchen. It slides across the countertop, hitting the paper towel roll and a bowl of popcorn, sending them careening onto the floor.
"I fucking HATE them!"
She shouts it at the top of her voice, and then…
Alison falls to the floor. She lands on her knees and she covers her face and she mourns her sister. Her best friend. She just…
Cries.
The door opens, but she does not hear it.
Veronica comes in, loaded down with groceries for the kitchen in here because this week is a sleepover week, and she usually does not see the four preteens during this time, so she brings in groceries for them to have something to eat and drink.
However, she freezes at the sight of Alison.
And she panics, and she drops the bags, and she is collapsing next to her, asking,
"Ali? Sweetheart, what's wrong?"
She does not expect the young girl to immediately turn to her, and therefore, she is not expecting the absolutely heartbreaking expression engraved Ali's dark blue eyes.
It is funny how, even though Veronica knows about Ken and Jess being pregnant, that it is not the first thing to come to mind.
No, the first thing to come to mind is something has happened.
"Sweetheart," She adjusts on the floor, so Ali is basically in her lap. "What's happened? Did someone hurt you?"
Alison sniffles, in that sad way that 12-year-olds are still able to accomplish.
Then, she speaks.
And the words, and their meaning, hit Veronica like a slap to the face.
"Only if you count my heart as being hurt."
It becomes immensely clear right away.
Oh, god, she thinks. They told them.
"Oh, honey…"
Really, what else is there to say? She can understand how, so soon after what happened a few days ago, the news we're having a baby would not be welcomed by Alison or Jason.
Veronica just… sits there.
And she holds Alison. And she tries gives her the comfort that she is unsure the little girl will ever be able fully get.
So, I am unsure how realistic this was. I know parents and families grieve in different ways, and sometimes, babies are born in the years following an older child's disappearance and/or death. So in this, Courtney's bedroom was cleared out, as well as Jess and Ken announcing their pregnancy.
Next up: Jess & Ken reveal the gender of the baby to Jason and Ali.