Ok so I get it, Caleb got shot and we should all feel sorry for Hanna, but did anyone else see the rest of the episode where Emily almost died for the 100th time or the part where her fourth girlfriend was almost killed in front of her or the part where she had to kill someone in self-defense. Anyway, I hated that ending with a white hot passion and all the questions it left unanswered so I threw this together where everyone can feel sorry for Hanna, but then we can focus on Emily, the teenager that gets targeted way too much as a murder victim.
When Emily finally let go of Hanna she was led away by the same officer who needed the rest of her statement, but this time Paige at least got to stand with her. They finished giving their statements and were both led over to a nearby waiting ambulance to be looked over. They were concerned with how many times Emily had hit her head during the struggle and the longer she sat on the gurney the more distant she seemed to be. Paige stood close by, but when she saw the far away look in her girlfriend's eyes she put hand on her shoulder.
"Em, you ok, you look kind of spaced out?" She got no response and instead Emily started shaking slightly. Paige yelled for the paramedic to come back and help her. He grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Emily, assuring Paige that she was going into shock and they needed to get her to the hospital. Paige demanded to ride with her and since she needed to be evaluated just as bad as Emily did the paramedic agreed and shut the doors behind them. Spencer saw the ambulance pull away and quickly grabbed Aria and Hanna and piled them into her car. She hit a few buttons on her phone and waited as the phone rang.
"Fields' residence."
"Mrs. Fields, its Spencer. You need to meet us at the hospital now."
"What, why, what happened? Is Emily alright?"
"Not really, but she's physically ok as far as we can tell, but it is way too complicated to explain over the phone. Please just trust me and meet us at the ER, the ambulance she and Paige are in should be there already."
"Ambulance?"
"She went into shock and she hit her head more than once. Just please meet us there and I will explain what happened."
"I'm on my way." The phone went dead and Spencer handed her phone to Aria. "Call your mom and Mrs. Marin and tell them what to meet us there ok. Tell Ashley that Caleb was hurt, but he should be okay after surgery." Hanna's head shot up, "you really think he'll be ok?"
"I can't say for sure Hanna, but it looked like he got as lucky as you can get when it comes to getting shot." Aria called both sets of their parents and got similar worried responses from both women who promised they were on their way. They pulled into the hospital and saw the ambulance with Emily and Paige had just pulled up, Caleb was already inside and the surgery was just beginning. The girls rushed inside in time to see them unload Emily who appeared to be sedated because she was completely unresponsive and Paige looked even more panicked than before. Paige walked beside the gurney, holding Emily's hand until she was forced to stop because only hospital personal could go beyond the double doors. She leaned her head against the wall and let out a frustrated sigh before breaking down into tears. Spencer grabbed a wheelchair and brought it over to the distraught girl.
"I know I said some awful things to you and did things you should never forgive me for, but let me help you. Please sit down and I'll get someone to check you out." Paige looked up and silently complied and before Spencer could turn to walk away Paige grabbed her wrist, "please don't leave." Spencer's heart sank, Paige really was lost without Emily. She wheeled her over to where the girls had settled into the waiting room chairs. They sat there in absolute silence for about two minutes and that terrifying peacefulness was only interrupted when Ella and Ashley showed up. Hanna's tears started up again when her mother sat down next to her and Aria just let her mother hug her without saying a single word. When they had both calmed their daughter down enough to speak they looked at Spencer and then to Paige who still had dirt and blood caked to her body and clothes.
Ashley bit the bullet, "Paige are you alright? Where is Emily? Is she alright?"
Spencer shook her head, "they just brought her in, she was alright for a while then she went into shock and now I don't know what is going on."
"They had to sedate her in the ambulance, she thought he was trying to stab her again and her BP was through the roof. She would've given herself a heart attack if they didn't knock her out." Paige explained in the most terrified, broken voice anyone had ever heard. Spencer stood up, "I'm going to go get a nurse to take you to get looked at."
"I'm fine."
Spencer knelt down so that Paige was forced to look at her, "no you aren't. You were kidnapped and you and Emily almost watched each other die. You need to get looked at so I'll be right back." Spencer left the group and before she could return Pam Fields came running through the ER waiting room looking frantic. Paige saw her first and with some effort she stood up. Pam saw Paige and the rest of the group and made her way over to them.
"What happened? Where's Emily? Are you alright?" She touched Paige's shoulder and after taking a deep breath Paige explained the simple version of what happened and when she was done Pam and all the other parents looked like they had been slapped. Paige kept going, "I thought someone was going to hurt her and I couldn't let someone hurt her again and I…I don't know what to do. He tried to…he had the knife at my throat and then he…I couldn't help her." Paige was fast losing her resolve and the gravity of what happened that night finally sunk in. She finally accepted the fact that she could have died and if Emily hadn't thought fast she probably would have. Pam chocked back a fresh batch of tears and brushed the tears away from Paige's eyes.
"You're both alive and that's all that matters. You did nothing wrong Paige." Paige couldn't hold it together anymore and completely fell apart. Pam wrapped her arms around the hysterical teenager and both of them cried until Spencer returned with a nurse ready to take Paige back to see a doctor. Pam helped her back into the wheelchair and the nurse disappeared with her behind the same double doors where Emily and Caleb were being treated. Pam sat down next to Spencer and was completely silent for a few minutes until a doctor came out and called Emily's name. Pam shot up and the doctor walked over to them and after introducing himself to Pam, he sat down with her and explained what they were doing with Emily.
"Physically she's doing remarkably well considering what she endured. She does have a concussion from when her assailant hit her against a hard service repeatedly, but the scan show no bleeding and only slightly swelling. She has only superficial cuts from the knife so she didn't need stitches. The sedative will wear off and then we can have her talk to our staff psychiatrist because I suspect the worst of her injuries are emotional and psychological ones. We'd like to keep her here so the concussion can be monitored, but in general I'd say your daughter is both very lucky and a fighter."
"When can I see her?"
"They are getting her set up in a room now; I'll have someone come get you when she has a room assigned. In the mean time here are her belongings and her clothes. We had to get in a gown for the scans but her clothes are in the bag." He handed Pam the plastic bag and Pam appeared to stop breathing for a moment. "Is that blood?"
The doctor sighed and nodded, "most of it isn't her's. Like I said she's a fighter, she wasn't going down without a fight and she won this one. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my other patients." The doctor disappeared and Pam sat down with the bloody clothes and threw them on the floor in frustration. She soon realized that the girls were watching her, "sorry girls, I'm just so sick of this happening to Emily." She tried to pull herself together and turned to Hanna, "how is Caleb?"
"No word yet, but we think he'll be alright." They all waited about an hour before a doctor came out to tell them that Caleb was going to be fine and that with some time and rest he would heal completely. Hanna breathed a sigh of relief and everyone smiled for the first time all night. A doctor came out to tell Pam and the other girls that Emily was settled in her room. Pam excused herself to try to get a hold of her husband before she went to Emily's room. The girls and their mother's found their way to the room the doctor had given them and they paused outside the door. The hospital had several rooms that had windows in them that allowed them to observe a patient without walking into the room. With her head injures they wanted to have Emily in one of those rooms. From the window that looked into Emily's room they could all see Paige sitting on a chair next to a sleeping Emily. Paige was in a hospital gown as well and had an IV standing next to her. Emily started moving around and the girls could see her crying from the window. Paige got up from her seat and moved so that she was pressed against Emily in the small hospital bed. She was mindful of her IV, but ultimately she didn't care because the closeness calmed Emily down. The girls watched and they felt even worse for thinking that Paige would ever hurt Emily again. Emily rested her head against Paige's shoulder and seemed to fall back asleep. They had to wake her up every hour, but she could sleep a while longer before they had to officially wake her up again. The girls all quietly went into the room and sat down at the foot of the bed, carefully not to disturb Emily.
Ella and Ashley stayed outside waiting for Pam to return from her phone call. Ashley crossed her arms and shook her head, "I don't know how she does it. I mean this is what the 8th time Emily has almost been killed somehow and this is the third girlfriend that has been attacked. Guess we should be thankfully that Paige didn't end up the same way Ali and Maya did. But I mean seriously how much can one teenager take?"
Ella looked confused, "wait, what you mean Maya and Ali? Emily dated Ali?"
Ashley smiled slightly, "you learn a lot of things when a teenager lives in your house. She opened up while she was staying with us. They didn't date per say, but they had an intense relationship, they kissed a few times. My point is that most of the girls that Emily has had feelings for have been killed and tonight one more was almost added to that list and I can guarantee you she would not have survived another funeral for anyone else she loved like that."
"She has had more than her share of tragedy. Not really fair when you think about how sweet she is, what the hell did she ever do to anybody to deserve this?" Ella shook her head because she really couldn't wrap her head around it. "You think she'll be ok after this, I mean not many 17 year olds have to kill someone in self defense?"
Ashley paused and looked at the girls in the hospital room, "It is going to be a hard road, but look at what she has in there." Ashley pointed at the girls and at Paige, "she has her best friends and clearly a partner that loves her enough to risk her life to protect her. I'm cautiously optimistic, but if anyone can do it it's Emily." Pam came down the hall and met the other women outside her daughter's room. "Did you get a hold of Wayne?"
"Took some doing, but yes, he's beside himself upset and he is trying to come home to see her, but I told him that for now everything is under control. I just hope I didn't lie to my husband." Pam looked through the window and gritted her teeth, "if he wasn't already dead I would have killed the bastard myself." Pam could see Emily get upset again, she assumed because of a bad dream, but before she reached for the door handle Paige wrapped her arms around Emily and kissed her forehead and reached for her IPod. She hit play and softly started singing a song just loud enough for Emily and the others to hear. They could hear some of it in the hallway and Pam just listened.
This is my love song to you You're always hoping that we make it I'll never stop trying And with this love song to you I'll never stop trying Still get my heart racing (you) I'll never stop trying Still get my heart racing (you) Still get my heart racing (you)
Let every woman know I'm yours
So you can fall asleep each night, babe
And know I'm dreaming of you more
You always want to keep my gaze
Well you're the only one I see
And that's the one thing that won't change
I'll never stop watching as you leave
I'll never stop losing my breath
Every time I see you looking back at me
I'll never stop holding your hand
I'll never stop opening your door
I'll never stop choosing you babe
I'll never get used to you
It's not a momentary phase
You are my life, I don't deserve you
But you love me just the same
And as the mirror says we're older
I will not look the other way
You are my life, my love, my only
And that's the one thing that won't change
I'll never stop watching as you leave
I'll never stop losing my breath
Every time I see you looking back at me
I'll never stop holding your hand
I'll never stop opening your door
I'll never stop choosing you babe
I'll never get used to you
Still get my heart racing (for you)
Still get my heart racing (you)
Still get my heart racing (for you)
I'll never stop watching as you leave
I'll never stop losing my breath
Every time I see you looking back at me
I'll never stop holding your hand
I'll never stop opening your door
I'll never stop choosing you babe
I'll never get used to you
Still get my heart racing (for you)
Still get my heart racing (you)
Still get my heart racing (for you)
Still get my heart racing (for you)
Still get my heart racing (you)
Still get my heart racing (for you)
Pam was stunned; she knew that Paige loved Emily, that was clear, but she was looking at a relationship as meaningful as her marriage and it surprised her. Without any really explanation she launched into a story and Ella and Ashley listened intently.
"When Wayne and I first got married we always dreamed of having kids. He always said that he wanted a boy, but I knew that he would have given anything to have a girl. They told us that we probably couldn't have kids and we were just destroyed. Wayne threw himself into work, but I knew how hurt he was. Then about three years after we stopped trying Wayne was on a short deployment, he was gone for about three months and was getting ready to come home. I had been feeling awful for weeks and thought it was the stress of him being gone. He finally convinced me to go see our doctor and I was expecting her to tell me that I had the flu or to relax. Instead she came back into the room and asked me if I had ever taken birth control. I said I didn't need it, that I was told I couldn't have children. She smiled at me and said that I should call whatever doctor told me that and tell him that he owed me college tuition for the child he told me I could never have. She handed me my test results and explained that I was about 12 weeks pregnant and that as far as she could tell everything was fine."
"When Wayne got home I picked him up at the base hanger with all the other families. When he finally found me he spun me around and kissed me and I told him I had a present for him and I handed him a small bag. He opened it and it was a onesie that said, if you think I'm cute you should see my daddy. I thought his face would crack he was smiling so big and he asked me if I was sure and when I said yes he dropped to his knees and kissed my stomach and started talking to Emily. She was daddy's little girl before she was even born. As she grew up he always talked about how one day some boy would sweep in and steal her away from him. He spent so much time worried about being replaced as the one and only man in her life that it never occurred to me to worry about a woman doing the same thing to me. And now here we are and another woman is holding my child, trying to make her feel safe and loved and I am surprisingly ok with it."
"She isn't replacing you Pam, she's just growing up."
"I know and I have the sinking suspicion that Paige is the last girlfriend Emily will ever have." Pam smiled to herself and Ella was confused.
"You don't think she'll have any other girlfriends?"
"Nope."
"How can you be so sure?" Ashley jumped in.
"Because this kind of thing can break a couple or show them how strong their love is. From where I'm standing they look more in love than ever before, so no I don't think Emmy will have another girlfriend because I'm pretty sure I'm looking at her cuddling with the woman I'm going to call my daughter-in-law one day. And there is only one thing I hate about that."
"What's that?" Ella asked hesitantly. Pam pushed the door open slightly and smiled back at the women, "it means that I will have to share grandchildren with Nick McCullers."
There you go folks, my interpretation of how that episode needed to be ended because I felt all the feeling last night and that ending did nothing to make me feel better. Anyway, now we wait for Halloween.