A/N: Sorry I haven't uploaded my one-shot chapters in a long time (OTP Challenge), I've been working on THIS much longer, much more difficult fanfic. Basically if you haven't seen 3x12, I would not suggest reading this until you do so, because it's a great episode for Hannily shippers. Okay, I hope you guys like it, and I promise to try and upload on a more frequent basis. P.s. I don't own anything PLL related.
While going through a traumatic event, one might not begin to experience or fully comprehend the intensity of their emotions. It might be something to do with the adrenaline coursing in order for the body to adapt to such an unusual situation, or perhaps it's because of a high amount of endorphins being released. Either way, for Emily, the comedown didn't occur until she could hear police sirens wailing in the distance. Up until that point, her mind had been solely focused on surviving. The aftermath scared her, because no longer was she solely fighting for her life, instead she found herself a murky mixture of feelings. For a while, they burst through her temples in sharp flashes. Guilt for shooting Nate, or Landon or whomever. Worry for Caleb, whose abdomen was spurting copious amounts of blood with every breath he took. Regret for ever dating Paige, because somehow it would always end up this way, battered and broken. At some point, Emily's feelings swirled together in an agonizing combination of negativity.
She pressed her entire body mass against Caleb's bleeding wound, wincing as he bellowed in pain. To be frank, Emily couldn't remember how long she'd been in that position, nor did it seem to be the most pressing matter at hand. Her peripheral vision caught a silhouette of Landon's eerily still body which was surrounded by a puddle of sticky red. If the intensity of her emotions had diminished, even for a second, they had now returned in waves stronger than she could fight off. Emily let out a howl as she felt a pair of hands pulling her off of Caleb. An animalistic instinct took over her senses, and she found herself banging her fists against the firm chest which was now embracing her while letting out ear splitting screams. A deep subconscious part of her knew it was the paramedics, and they were just trying to do their jobs, but she could not, for the life of her, stop her fighting.
Somehow the man had managed to drag her down the spiraling stairwell and into the back of an ambulance. She was restrained as a different man wearing a dark green vest examined her for any external or internal injuries. When she was deemed physically fit, he wrapped a shock blanket around her neck and handed her water before roughly leading her towards the police officers. Emily shot one last look at the new man, who seemed to be completely in his element as he pulled Caleb's stretcher into the ambulance and injected an IV into his arm. The police officer questioning her snapped her fingers impatiently, and Emily slowly turned around. She couldn't hear very well, because the only sound she could remember was that of a bullet whizzing from its chamber. This combined with the initial overwhelming amount of feelings caused her to completely ignore all of the inquiries. Emily quickly scanned the crowd, paranoia crawling up along her neck. Was she safe, even now?
The first few people she noticed were just spectators, average citizens looking for a new story to tell, a new rumor to whisper. Normally, she would have been enraged because of these people, however she pushed their petty need for excitement aside and stored it for a different time. Instead, she continued her search, stopping when she saw the three girls huddled together. Aria and Spencer locked eyes with her first, pleading with her to comfort Hanna. They appeared to be doing all they could, including rubbing her back soothingly and whispering reassuring statements, however she appeared every bit as shaken up. Almost as if Hanna had felt Emily's eyes on her, she looked up, unable to keep the cries from rocking her body. There was an indescribable amount of need shared between their gaze. Although the police officer was clearly attempting to regain Emily's attention, she was already gone.
Without hesitation, she tore away from everything bad that had happened to her that night. To her discomfort, she found herself limping, a phantom pain from an imaginary bullet. She tried to walk faster to reach those blue eyes were ones she couldn't deny. Before she could process what was happening, she found herself embracing Hanna, desperately wrapping her arms around every inch of the blonde. Hands were roaming through one another's hair, around each other's waists, fumbling to find security to latch onto. Emily nuzzled her head into Hanna's neck, only to have the motion mimicked. The girls hearts pounded, and breathing was labored, however neither had ever felt so utterly loved. Despite all of the terrible things they'd been through, this moment was unlike any other. As if the two were radiating everything happening inside of their heads, there was an understanding so thorough, a bond so deep it was undeniable. For several moments, they remained connected, sharing the most intimate emotional aspects either one had to offer. The flying thoughts in Emily's head had slowly evaporated, and Hanna's panic attack came to a close, an affect only shared by the pair. After what seemed to be an eternity, Emily found her voice and whispered in a hoarse voice.
"Please don't leave me right now. I can't go through this without you. Please."
"I'm not going anywhere, cross my heart."
Emily slowly unwrapped her arms from Hanna, and replaced the affection by placing a quick kiss on her forehead. Looking just past her, she saw Aria and Spencer and each gave her a curt nod. Hanna timidly slunk under the 'Do not cross' line, which had been smashed between her and Emily during their hug. For a split second, she smiled to herself, thinking of the jokes she could've made had the situation not been so somber and terrifying. The paler girl slowly laced her fingers around her friend's, the weight of the night seeming to crush her once again. Once more, they shared another pointed look. Mahogany eyes collided with cerulean, each bearing an amount of trepidation. Before heading back into the pits of hell, Hanna spoke.
"Alright. Let's do this Em."
Hand in hand, they wrapped up the first evening of an extremely long journey.