Forgive? Possibly. Forget? Never.


This is based on the Season 5 premiere so it may contain a few spoilers if you haven't seen the episode.


After what seemed like an eternity, Ezra finally found the strength to open his eyes. Once he did it took him a few minutes to remember where he was. The bed he was on wasn't his own and it smelled like soap and old people. But he only had to look down before reality hit him. It all had seemed like a dream: following Shana, getting shot, seeing Aria go ballistic as he fell to the ground on top of the roof. For a while he wasn't sure if it had really happened but once he saw the bandages and the IVs, he knew that this wasn't a dream. It was real life.

Once he confirmed that his thoughts went instantly to Aria. He vaguely remembered her being there and for some reason he also remembered Shana being with her. But it was all a blur; his mind was so fatigued and full of pain-killers that he couldn't make out the details. Had he managed to tell Aria about the danger her and her friends were in? Was she safe? Where was Shana? These questions flew through his mind but he couldn't answer them in his drug-induced state. But he needed the answers. He needed to know that Aria was okay.

Ezra tried to sit up but lay back down almost instantly as a wave of dizziness hit him, causing his vision to go black for a minute. It was torturous, knowing that the person he cared most about was somewhere out there, possibly in danger and not being able to do anything about it.

Somewhere in the room he heard a squeak from a chair as someone stood up. Slowly he managed to turn his head, expecting to see a nurse or maybe even his mom. For a split second he allowed himself to hope that it was Aria. But the person he saw was none of those.

"What are you doing here?" Ezra managed to ask, his voice quiet and scratchy which probably meant that he had been sleeping longer than he realized. The feelings of concern for Aria resurfaced with more intensity as he thought about what could have transpired in the hours since he last saw her.

"Mr. Fitz. I was wondering about the paper you assigned us last week. How long did you say the page requirement was?" Noel Kahn asked with his usual smirk.

Ezra gave him his best 'haha really funny' look. "I resigned from Rosewood High a few days ago." Noel opened his mouth to reply, most likely with another smart remark, but Ezra continued before he could say anything else. "How long have you been here?"

Noel finally gave up his act and sat down in the chair that was next to the bed. "I've been here off and on for three days. Your mom arrived two days ago and she has been here as well. Right now she's grabbing something to eat somewhere downtown. She said that she wouldn't eat hospital food if her life depended on it so she's going to some ritzy place downtown. Your brother is sleeping in the lobby. He's been here as long as I have."

Three days. He had been asleep for at least three days. What if Aria and her friends were locked in a basement whilst getting tortured by Shana? What if Ali was dead? What if she was dead?

The cocky high school jock seemed to know exactly what was on his former teacher's mind. "I'm not going to tell anyone, man. Not anymore."

"Where is she?" Ezra was almost scared to hear the answer. If she hadn't made it and Shana had carried through with her plans then he could never forgive himself.

"She's in Rosewood. As with the rest of them, including Ali. I'm stationed here by their orders."

"And she's safe?"

"Safe, yes. Okay, maybe not so much."

Ezra's eyebrows shot up. "What happened?"

Noel bit the inside of his lip. "Sorry, dude. That's not for me to tell. I'm actually going to go call Ali who said for me to keep her posted." He walked out of the door just as Wes was walking in.

"Ezra. You're alive. How are you feeling?" his younger brother asked as he sat in the chair that Noel had previously occupied.

"Groggy. Numb. Wes, what happened? How's Aria?" Ezra was thankful that Wes was here and not his mother who would rant at him about Aria and how she was ruining his life and how she had almost made him die and how she was going to have some serious words with her. Wes knew Aria and he would know imminently more about the situation.

"I talked to her this morning. She called to see how you were doing. We only talked for a little bit but from what I gathered she is really worried and really, really angry. What did you do?"

"That's irrelevant right now. How is she? Like, personally how is she?"

He saw the same reaction that Noel had had come across his brother's face. He shut his mouth and bit his lip indicating that he had been given the same instructions as Noel had. "She told us not to say anything about that. She just wants you focused on getting better."

Ezra let out a long breath. Of course Aria would tell them not to say anything. She would be there in a split second to help him with his struggles but would lock hers away behind an iron gate and not share with him what she was going through. That's how it had always been and it hurt him because he wanted to be there for her. She was so strong yet she broke so easily inside. The problem was that Aria had always had a really good poker face.

"Wes, I'm not concerned about me. What happened while I was out?"

Just then a nurse bustled in with a tray of food. Ezra was once again annoyed at how impeccable some people's timing was. This lady was like Mrs. Welsh who always seemed to know just when the worst time to walk in was. Wes would now have an excuse to not answer and would most likely leave.

"The doctor wanted to speak with you when you woke up. I brought this for you to eat and he will be in shortly." Then, turning to Wes, she said, "I'm going to need you to step out for a while."

Wes agreed instantly, relieved that he wouldn't have to either destroy Aria's trust nor make his brother mad at him.

Ezra glared Wes down as he turned and walked out. Something had obviously happened. Aria was somehow involved, as she normally was. He wanted, no he needed, to be there with her, wherever there was. He needed to know that she was okay. Yet he could do nothing, and it hurt more than the bullet did.


So I guess this is going to have a few other chapters. Please read and tell me what you think