Author's Note: So, I'm probably insane for doing this, with how much I have going on right now, But, I've had this story idea rattling around in my head for weeks now, to the point where it's invading my brain nearly every waking moment. So, here goes guys, another Paily fic.
Let me know what you think, whether or not you'd like me to continue.
Chapter 1
Emily came awake slowly, awareness trickling in. First it was sound, steady beeps, whirring, soft whooshing, the faint murmur of voices. Then it was sensation, a dull ache that seemed to throb through her entire body, pulsing with each beat of her heart, as well as a sharper, more constant pain in her leg. There was the sense of pressure against her shoulder, and a lighter touch against the opposite hand. Following quickly was smell, harsh and chemical, with something softer, sweeter underlying it. Finally, was sight, as she blinked open heavy eyelids, groaning immediately as harsh fluorescents burned from overhead.
The pressure against her arm increased, as someone softly called her name. "Emily? Em? Em, can you hear me?"
Groaning once again she turned her head towards the sound of the voice and pried her eyes open once again. As her vision cleared she found herself face to face with an ashen looking Spencer Hastings. Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out why Spencer would be standing over her, in what was clearly a hospital room, she realized, looking disheveled and worn, as if she hadn't slept in days. The two of them had been classmates for years, but never really friends. Emily's lack of academic ambition and athletic drive meant Spencer had little time or patience for her. She seemed to be barely restraining annoyance whenever they interacted, whether it was an assigned project in class or on the field in PE.
She cast about in her memory, trying to recall if there had been some kind of altercation between the two of them. Had Spencer's on the field aggression resulted in some kind of injury? She'd seen the girl wield a hockey stick, so she knew it wasn't exactly an unfounded conclusion.
Nothing came to mind though. The last thing she remembered was….her breath caught in her throat as she realized that she couldn't really recall anything. She tried to visualize the last thing she'd done, or said, or even thought, but it was like her mind was covered in a thick, dark fog.
She tried to speak, but her throat was dry from disuse and her words came out as an unintelligible gurgle, followed by a hoarse, wracking cough that made her wince as pain radiated down the left side of her body.
"Hey. You're okay." Spencer's voice was softer than she'd ever heard it. She felt the pressure against her hand increase and glanced down, seeing that Spencer was holding her hand, squeezing it reassuringly, her hand stroking across the backs of Emily's knuckles. "Here. Have a bit of water." She raised the cup in her free hand to Emily's lips, letting her take a short sip from the straw before pulling it away. "Not too much," she warned, even though Emily's throat felt like it was parched.
She tried to speak again, her second attempt no more clear than her first.
"Easy." Spencer lightly brushed a few tendrils of hair away from your face. "You're okay. You had an accident. You're in the hospital."
Emily nodded. That much she had figured out for herself.
"Do you….do you remember what happened?"
Emily shook her head, frowning as she tried to remember and continued drawing a blank.
"That's okay. You're okay." Spencer squeezed her hand again, her free hand extending over Emily's head. She followed the movement with her eyes, realizing that the pressure against her shoulder was somebody's head. A shock of blond hair that was the sweet smelling scent that had invaded her nostrils. Something light and fruity, strawberry, maybe.
"Huh? What?" The head shot up so quickly that Emily winced in sympathy at the pain that must have sent shooting down their neck. Whoever it was. "What the hell, Spence?"
Her eyes followed the sound of the voice to roam across the features of the face, seeking out their identity. Again, she found herself feeling confused as Hannah Marin's big blue eyes grew even bigger.
If Spencer's presence here was a mystery, than Hannah's was confounding. At least she and Spencer travelled somewhat in the same circles. Emily didn't think she'd exchanged more than a few words with Hannah since she'd transferred to Rosewood in the third grade.
"You're awake," Hannah's voice was soft, hushed. She raised her gaze once again to Spencer. "She's awake. Did you call a doctor? Did you call-"
"The nurses will have seen the change in her readings. A doctor will be here momentarily, I'm sure," Spencer said. "And, yes, I just texted them." She held up her cell phone, wiggling it as if in evidence.
No sooner than the words had left her mouth, the door to her hospital room swung open so quickly, and with such force, that it bounced off the opposite wall and came careening back towards the two girls that came rushing through it.
"Whoa there." Spencer hurried across the small space to catch its edge, just as the shorter of the two put an arm out, blocking it from colliding with them. "Easy. Don't need two more concussions today.'
Emily watched the exchange with interest, and curiosity, as well as no small measure of confusion. The two girls looked familiar, though she couldn't place either one. She was pretty sure that she went to school with both of them, she had a vague impression of seeing them around in the hallways, in classrooms.
"Oh, thank God." Emily watched in growing consternation as the girl with the wide, doe eyes, looked increasingly like she was going to cry. "We were so worried about you, Em." She rushed to Emily's bedside and nearly flung herself across Emily's body, stopping herself at the last minute, when Spencer laid a cautioning hand on her arm and murmured "Aria," softly, halting her progress.
"Sorry," Aria whispered, reaching out to squeeze her hand instead.. "I'm just…we're all just so glad that you're awake. That you're okay."
Emily smiled weakly, somehow, she had a feeling that was debatable.
All eyes, including her own, turned to the girl who remained hovering in the doorway, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Her eyes were big and bright, shining with moisture, with emotion. One side of her mouth was quirked upwards, as if she were a beat away from a grin, but her brows were furrowed and her jaw was clenched.
"Paige?" Hannah called softly, moving away from Emily's side to approach the other girl.
As soon as Hannah was within reach, she wrapped an arm around Paige's shoulder, and the other girl seemed to sag into her.
"It's all right," Hannah whispered, hugging her tightly. "She's all right."
Emily bit her lip and turned away from the exchange, feeling like she was encroaching on a private moment. She caught the eyes of the other two, who were watching her carefully. She offered up a weak smile, and got beaming ones in return.
She heard shuffling, and turned her head towards the sound to find Hannah and Paige moving slowly towards her. Tears were running freely down Paige's cheeks, she made no move to check them as she approached.
"Oh, Em," she breathed as she reached Emily's bedside, the tears falling harder now as she cupped Emily's face, her thumb stroking her cheek softly.
Her breath hitched in her throat at the touch, her stomach fluttering uncomfortably in her chest at the way Paige's eyes drifted closed, a sigh passing her lips.
She glanced over at the other girls, to find their eyes averted, her gaze returning to Paige's in time to find her lids fluttering back open. "Emily."
Emily's breath caught in her throat once again as Paige leaned down and brushed her lips against her forehead. She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat, then resisted the urge to jerk away as Paige's lips ghosted against her cheek. Her body stiffened in surprise as Paige's lips pressed lightly against her own, a chaste but lingering kiss. It was soft, almost reverent, and tasted of the salt on Paige's skin, tangy and sharp from the recent…current, bout of tears. She let out a soft gasp, the sound muffled by Paige's mouth as she deepened the kiss slightly, just the hint of her tongue pressing against Emily's lower lip before she pulled away, burying her face in the side of Emily's neck, hot tears soaking her skin.
She lay there stunned, staring up at the ceiling.
She opened her mouth to convey her confusion, when a new voice, a man's voice, filled the room.
"I see our patient is awake."
Emily turned to him, blinking in incomprehension.
"I'm Dr. Marshall. I know you're probably feeling a bit out of sorts," he said softly, moving to her side, the opposite one Paige was sitting at. "It's perfectly normal, nothing at all to be concerned about. But, I'd still like to do a brief exam. Make sure that everything is up to snuff. That all right?"
Emily nodded, feeling more like she was being informed than asked.
"All right. Let's get started then. Do you know who you are?"
She nodded.
"I'm going to need you to say it for me."
"Emily Michelle Fields."
"Very good."
"What year were you born?"
"1990."
"Do you know where you are?"
"The hospital."
"Philadelphia Pres. Yes. Do you remember what happened?"
Emily thought back, once again trying to access her memories, and once again drawing a blank. She shook her head, frowning. "No."
"It's all right. Rather common, actually. No need to be alarmed."
"Do you know what year it is?"
"2004." Paige's hand gripped her bicep, but she remained silent.
"Hmm." The doctor cast a glance over his shoulder to the girls, then turned back to Emily. "What month?"
"September."
"What is the last thing you remember?"
Emily's brain was still feeling fuzzy, like it was swathed in cotton batten, but a few images were swirling around, emerging from the depths.
"Uh, breakfast, with my Mom?" she didn't know if it was a recent memory, but she had this impression of eating pancakes and…and chatting with her mom about the possibility of joining the swim team. Tryouts were on Friday, and she enjoyed swimming at the rec center. Had even won a couple of races on the competition days they hosted over the summer.
"Okay."
"Can you follow the light for me? Very good. Squeeze my hands? Thank you." He picked up her chart and made a few notes, then hooked it back over the edge of her bed with a soft sigh.
He shot another glance over his shoulder at the girls and nodded his head in the direction of the door. Spencer opened her mouth, as if to protest, but Aria and Hannah took her by the arms and guided her out.
Paige remained by her side, gripping her arm tightly.
"Ms. Fields, you were in a rather serious car accident six days ago. You suffered a broken ankle and foot, severe bruising of your torso, and a substantial blow to your head. You've been through three surgeries, one to repair the damage to the bones in your ankle and foot, and one to stem internal bleeding in your abdomen, and one to re-inflate your lung, which collapsed. We've kept you in a medically induced coma since you've arrived in hospital to monitor the swelling of your brain."
Emily winced, that didn't sound very good.
"Physically, you are on the mend. However, it would appear that the injury to your brain is more serious than we had hoped."
Emily frowned at his words, not understanding, and not liking the sounds of what he was saying.
"It would appear that you have something called retrograde amnesia."
Dr. Marshall's explanation of the condition, and its causes were lost to the buzzing in her ears. Her already addled brain unable to process the things he was telling her. She was thankful when, after a few minutes, he stepped from the room, and gently guided Paige out of the room with him. She could see him conferring with her out in the hallway, their heads bent together in hushed conversation, though she couldn't make out their words.
She couldn't figure out why Paige, Spencer, Hannah and…Aria…were here with her. Where were her parent? Her dad was on leave until the end of the month, he should be here. Her mother should be here, hovering over her, fussing and badgering the doctors.
She closed her eyes, trying to block out the fuzzy feeling in her head. Only to open them a moment or two later when she heard footsteps shuffling into the room. She looked up to find Paige standing at the foot of her bed, shifting uncomfortably as she rubbed the back of her neck.
"What's wrong?" Emily asked, trying to sit up, and wincing when the motion sent pain shooting up to her skull, and out to her extremities. "Is it my parents? Were they in the accident with me? Is that why they're not here?"
"Whoa, easy, Em." Paige rushed to her side and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, easing her back down onto the bed.
The nickname that slid so easily from the lips of a relative stranger was jarring.
"Your parents are fine. They weren't in the accident with you." Paige sighed heavily and dropped into the chair beside the bed, her hand sliding down Emily's arm to her hand, lacing their fingers together.
Emily stared down at their joined hands, frowning slightly, then back up at Paige's face, her frown only growing at the consternation she saw there. Slowly, Paige withdrew her hand from Emily's, clutching at the bed rail instead.
The words, which she supposed were meant to be reassuring, only served to alarm Emily further. Her heart beat loudly in her ears and her breath hitched in her throat.
"You're parents aren't here with you right now because they're in Texas. They're working to get a flight out, but weather's bad, rainstorms there and snowstorms here."
Emily's frown deepened further as she tried to figure out why here parents would have been in Texas.
"Fuck. Em." Paige breathed a sigh and ran a hand through her hair. "There's no easy way to say this," she mumbled, more to herself than to Emily. "The accident, your memory loss….it's not 2004 for anymore. It's 2015. You've graduated high school. And university. Your dad retired a few years ago, after serving the last of his time with the army running training at a base in Texas. Your mom moved out there to be with him when you were in your junior year at university."
Emily stared at her, not comprehending. She was hearing the words that Paige was saying, but they weren't making sense. She'd lost memories of the last ten years of her life? She was graduated, and out on her own? She shook her head, no, this couldn't all be true. She continued to shake her head, feeling a panic rise within her.
"Emily. Em." Paige's hands were on her shoulders, her cheeks, trying to calm her, but Emily's heart was racing and her thoughts were a whir. "Emily, look at me. Look at me."
The stern words cut through her panic, and her gaze flicked to Paige's. They locked eyes, and Paige nodded faintly.
"That's it. Easy, Em. Breath. With me, come on."
Paige took deep, exaggerated breaths, and Emily followed suit. Gradually her racing heart slowed and her thoughts began to clear.
"Sorry," she apologized with a weak smile, feeling embarrassed by her reactions.
"No, don't apologize. It's a lot to take in." Paige offered a weak smile as well.
"What else don't I remember?"
Paige exhaled slowly. "Are you sure you're up for more?" she asked. "Maybe we should take a break?"
It was a tempting offer, but Emily knew that the not knowing would slowly eat away at her. She had so many questions, she didn't even know where to start.
"No. I'm okay."
Paige frowned, but nodded. "Okay. So…."
"So, you said I finished school? What did I take? What do I do?"
"You have a Master's degree in kinesiology from Penn State. You're an occupational therapist. Or at least, that's what you're working towards."
Emily rolled that around in her head, contemplating. It sounded…right, she decided after a moment.
"Okay. Do I like my job?"
"You love your job. You're an assistant in a small clinic in Philly, but your boss has given you a great deal of hands on experience and you're learning a lot."
"That sounds great." Emily nodded again. That was good.
Paige offered a soft smile. "Yeah."
"You seem to know a lot about it. About me," she added. "Are we close?" she asked, feeling bad that the two of them must have become such good friends and she didn't even remember it.
Paige's smile faltered. "Yeah. You could say that."
"Yeah? How did we meet?"
"Swim team."
"So, I did join."
Paige frowned faintly, clearly not following but nodded. "Yeah. You blew everyone away at the tryouts. Even me. Especially me," she added with a soft chuckle and a wistful expression that Emily didn't quite understand.
"So, I was good?"
"You were amazing," Paige said, that wistful expression returning. "You still are amazing. You swam for Penn State. Full ride scholarship. And you help Coach Fulton run camps over the summers and school breaks."
That sounded like a lot of fun. She wished that she could remember it.
"Am I seeing anybody?" she asked. It was a weird feeling, inquiring about her own life, her own relationships, discombobulating to say the least
Paige bit her lip and nodded. Emily frowned at the lack of a verbal response. And at the way Paige seemed to suddenly find her lap so interesting, her eyes trained firmly on her denim clad legs rather than meeting Emily's.
"Is it serious?"
Again, Paige nodded, her eyes still not meeting Emily's.
"I'm not married or something, am I?" She joked, instinctively glancing down at her left hand, looking for traces of a ring.
"No," Paige said flatly. Y"ou're not married."
"What the matter?" she asked. "Do you not like him?"
"It's not that." Paige's voice was low, so low Emily almost didn't hear it.
"Then, what is it?" she asked, trying to figure out where the other girl's sudden discomfort had come from.
"It's me."
"What?"
"The person you're seeing. It's me."
Author's Note 2
The events on this story are in no way based on any actual medical research. I'm going more for dramatic effect than factual accounts, so I apologize to anyone with more medical knowledge than myself for any and all glaring errors. I hope that it doesn't take too much for you to suspend your disbelief and just go with the story.
