Disclaimer: I own nothing, All mistakes are my own.
AN: Thank you to all who have read, reviewed, followed and favorited. A huge huge thank you to nick2951 who wrote the amazingly sweet Mona/Mike scene. Hope you enjoy.
The first thing she became aware of was how dry her mouth was. Her eyelids felt so heavy, that when she opened them up all she could see was blurry outlines. There was soft pressure on her right hand, and she could hear murmuring nearby. After a short struggle she managed to keep her eyes open, and the room came into focus. She turned her head slightly and realized that the murmuring was coming from her mother speaking to a nurse.
"M-Mom." She croaked, causing the conversation to come to a halt as they turned to face her.
"Mona!" Her mother cried, "Oh thank God."
The nurse left to get the doctor, the commotion drawing the attention of the officer stationed at the door, who immediately called his superiors.
"W-what happened?"
Her mother paused to give her a sip of water, for which she was very grateful for, wondering for just a moment if she should tell her or wait. Deciding that Detective Tanner was probably on the way already, she decided to tell her. "You were attacked honey."
As if her words were a trigger Mona began remembering parts of that day. The pain of the knife slashing away at her body, how hard it was to breathe after she hurtled down the stairs.
Her doctor entered the room breaking her away from memories.
"Miss Vanderwaal, it's great to see you awake. I'm just going to do some tests."
The doctor checked her vitals and asked her a few questions, all the while having the nurse write down her responses. When he was satisfied he left her to rest, crossing paths as he left, with Tanner who walked in with a grave look on her face.
"Miss Vanderwaal. Welcome back." Tanner moved closer to the bed, motioning for the officer she brought with to come closer as well. "If this could wait I would, however if we are to catch the person who did this to you we need any information you could give us. Let's start with what you remember from that day."
"Of course." Mona adjusted the bed so she could sit up a little more. "My mom had just left, I was to be joining her later in the day. I phoned Aria Montgomery about the school project we had been working on, as well as Caleb Rivers to ask them to come to my house with the rest of the girls. The next thing I remember was someone coming into my room. I remember feeling terrified. Feeling the blade in my side, my chest." Mona shuddered, and the tears in Mrs. Vanderwaal's eyes escaped, leaving wet trails down her cheeks. "I remember being thrown down the stairs, calling for help, pleading for my life."
"Could you tell us anything to help identify your attacker?" The grim expression on Tanner's face had deepened.
Mona shook her head trying to remember. "Blonde hair. Definitely female."
"Could you think of anyone who would want to hurt you?"
"Only one, Alison DiLaurentis."
"Thank you." Tanner began making her way out if the room, when a thought came to her. "Miss Vanderwaal, what would Paige McCullers be doing at your house?"
Mrs. Vanderwaal bristled, ready to defend the girl who had stopped the attack on her daughter. Mona, sensing her mother's anger placed a calming hand on hers.
"I asked Caleb to call her while I called Aria."
"I see." Tanner nodded, "I wish you a speedy recovery." she left and Mike barreled inside, his eyes wide as he stared at his conscious girlfriend.
"I need to talk to the detective real quick." Mrs. Vanderwaal stood, looking between the two with a small smile.
Mona smiled at her boyfriend as her mother left the room and she struggled to raise her body up to more of a sitting position. However the pain was still too much for her body and she fell back into her previous position. Mike moved to help her, the worried look on his face was all too evident; especially the tears in his eyes that were tears of joy.
"Hi," she said weakly and softly; her throat was still hoarse and dry from the previous conversation with Tanner as well as being asleep for a month.
"You have no clue how worried I was," Mike said as he sat down next to her and clasped her hand in his. From the sound of his voice, Mona believed him.
"I'm sorry I worried you," she said and guilt started to flood her on worrying so many of her loved ones.
"I'm just happy that you are alive," Mike said as he squeezed his girlfriend's hand.
"So am I," she replied as she tried to squeeze back but found it too had to do. Despite all the drugs she was on, her body still hurt from the trauma it had endured.
"You were so messed up when they brought you in that I was scared that you wouldn't make it," Mike admitted and terror of that day still resonated in his mind. There had been so much blood and the wires that were hooked into her body still brought shivers to his body.
"Do I look bad? There are no mirrors in here and I can't go to the bathroom to look at myself," Mona stated and was curious about her state. It felt like it had been forever since she last showered and felt sticky.
She was presently in a checkered hospital gown and wrapped up with white blankets covering her. She was hooked up to an IV machine which was routinely pumping fluids and drugs into her system. Her hair was looking a little stringy and the smell of the hospital emanated from her skin. While the scars on her face were barely visible, it was the ones underneath the gown that would take time to heal.
"You look beautiful," Mike simply said as he smiled at her and Mona blushed, her vitals rising with a loud beeping. If they were to rise even more, a flood of doctors and nurses might rush into the room; disturbing the enduring scene between the couple.
"How did you get here? I heard the roads were all closed because of the weather and we are miles away from your house," Mona inquired as the snow continued to fall outside.
"I biked here after your mother called; mom and dad are angry with me after calling them to let them know that I made it because I never asked for their permission," he admitted and Mona snorted though it hurt to laugh.
It definitely looked like Mike had come straight here since he was beat red and slightly huffing from all the bike riding. His clothes looked wet and sweat was on his face; making her hope that he had worn a jacket since there was a risk of him getting sick. He wasn't shivering though, and she was glad that the room was so warm because of the cold outside. He was rather handsomely dressed with a pair of blue slacks and matching shirt; Mona concluding that he had been in the middle of dinner when he got the call.
She was right since he had received the call as the family had just sat down to eat. It had just been the three of them since Aria was with her friends and Ezra; which had annoyed Bryan a tad though Ella had seemed fine with it. After getting the news, he had rushed upstairs, threw on some better shoes and a jacket, and grabbed the bike to get to the hospital since driving there was out of the question. Biking through the snow had been tough, but he had persevered and made it with no problems.
"You shouldn't have done that; I don't want you hurt because of me," Mona chided though she was happy that he had come; feeling the warmth in her heart.
"I care about you Mona, and I want to be here; besides, Aria is spending the night with Ezra so it's not like being with my girlfriend in the hospital is worse," he countered and she found his protectiveness of her sister endearing.
"Well thank you for being here; I just feel so sore and tired," Mona stated and Mike nodded as he understood.
"I brought you something," Mike said and he pulled a little wrapped box out of his pocket and handed it to her. Though it was hard to grasp it with the tubes coming out of her various appendages, she still managed to hold it in her hand. It was wrapped in purple wrapping with a red bow wrapped around it.
She unwrapped the present, which was a little difficult to do and had to have Mike help unwrap it. It was a box which held a gold chain with a heart-shaped pendant. Tears were brought to Mona's eyes at the sight of the piece of jewelry and she looked up at her boyfriend with happiness. Mike just smiled back at her as he watched as Mona handled the gift; he had planned to give that to her for a while as an early present.
"Merry Christmas," Mike said as he leaned forward to give Mona a kiss on the cheek. She was crying now with a heart full of joy; she hadn't realized that it was Christmas morning.
"I didn't get you anything though," Mona said with guilt in her voice. Mike just shook his head though and smiled.
"You waking up is my Christmas Present; welcome back," he said and Mona just beamed as tears continued to fall from her face. She truly felt like a Christmas miracle.
They stared at Hanna, and she repeated her sentence. "Mona's awake. Mrs. V just called, Tanner's been there already."
Spencer was the first one to kick into high gear. "Do you think the roads are too bad to drive on?" She asked Toby who had been keeping an eye on the news while everyone had been busy in the kitchen.
Toby nodded, "It's pretty bad out there. Black ice."
The girls and Ezra moved closer to Toby, hoping to find a solution that would help them get to the hospital and hopefully closer to finding out who A was from Mona. Caleb and Paige, after a shared look kept their distance, staying in the kitchen.
"Do you think she said anything to Tanner?" Caleb asked, keeping his eyes on the group.
"No, I don't think Mona would throw us under the bus even if she had some plan up her sleeve." Paige murmured back. "We need to get to the hospital. The sooner we have any information Mona has, the sooner we can figure this mess out."
Caleb nodded in agreement. "Toby said something about them clearing the roads. It looks like we're stuck here until the morning."
They followed the discussion in the other room and eventually even Spencer gave up agreeing that they would have to wait until the morning. The atmosphere had changed dramatically and gone was the Christmas cheer. Replaced instead with thoughtful silence as everyone reflected on what they knew, trying to figure out a puzzle with many pieces missing.
Paige chewed on her lip, her fork making distracted circles in her food. Something about the attack had been bugging her since she woke up. Like she was missing some crucial piece of evidence. Tanner has questioned her as well before she left the hospital and she had answered as best as she could down to trying to get the upper hand on Mona's attacker. But that's when she had assumed that A had gotten the upper hand and smashed her head in, because the next thing she could remember was waking up in the hospital room. She glanced up from her plate when Emily nudged her hand.
"You okay?"
Paige nodded, forcing a small, yet convincing smile. "I'm okay." She laced their fingers together pressing a kiss to the back of Emily's hand.
After dinner and clean up, they set up a place to sleep, after Toby had been helped up, Spencer, Aria and Ezra headed up as well. Leaving the rest in the living room, which had been converted into sleeping space.
When they woke the next morning, they were glad to see that the snow had stopped. After breakfast they piled into two cars, Aria needed to get home and Caleb, Hanna, Emily and Paige were heading to the hospital. Spencer, although she wanted to go with, opted to stay with Toby. The drive to the hospital was quiet and slow. A lot of the roads had been cleared, but they still ended up taking a longer route since a few were still closed. When they finally pulled into the hospital parking lot it hit them. They may just be about to find out who A was.
Each couple walked hand in hand through the hospital halls, both liars hoping that this would be the day they find their freedom. They were brought to a halt near Mona's door, outside stood Mike as well as three uniformed police officers.
"Mike? What's going on?" Hanna asked, separating from Caleb to stand closer.
"Mona had some kind of attack last night, she remembered more of the attack." He walked closer to her as he spoke. "Turns out after she came out of Radley she was afraid of someone, and set up a few cameras around her house. Tanner is reviewing the tapes at the station, and these guys," he jerked a finger over his shoulder at the police officers, "Aren't allowing anyone in."
The group moved closer to Mike. "Any word on what was on the videos?" Caleb asked, wondering of the laptop Mona had left in his possession was linked to the cameras.
"None. All I know is she told Tanner about the cameras and Tanner rushed off, soon after the uniforms showed up and wouldn't let me back into the room."
From the look of concentration on Caleb's face, Paige could tell that something was up.
After thanking Mike and saying goodbye to him they walked away, stopping once they were out of sight.
"I have a plan." Caleb dropped his voice, and after explaining it Paige found herself walking back to Mona's room alone, a huge bouquet of flowers in her hand. Mrs. Vanderwaal ushered her into the room, and she placed the flowers on the table near Mona's bed.
"Hi Mona. It's great to see you awake." Paige felt awkward with Mrs. Vanderwaal staring at her expectantly.
"Mom?" Mona called after noticing the discomfort and urgency in Paig's expression, "Could you give us a few minutes please?"
"Of course, I'll be just outside."
After Mona's mother left, Paige took her seat close to the bed.
"I'm guessing Mike told you about the videos Tanner has?"
Paige nodded, "He did."
"Does Caleb still have my laptop?" Mona waited for confirmation before continuing. "Great, Alison's about to get what's coming to her. This is what you need to do."
AN: Thanks again for reading, I'm hoping to have the next chapter up sooner than usual. Fingers crossed. Let me know what you think.
