Reunited

Emma was released from the hospital the following morning. Her oxygen levels and respiratory rate were holding strong and the doctor's had no reason to keep her anymore. So far everything had gone really well. No one was too angry with her, but then again she had saved Sutton's life. Despite all of the lies she told there was a hero aspect that people couldn't let go of. She'd convinced Laurel to give Sutton another chance. She'd managed to find a way into Ted and Kristin's home. Everything was going well except for the fact that she hadn't seen Sutton since her admittance.

She was dressed in a pair of Sutton's sweats and sweatshirt. After they left the hospital her and Kristin were going to head up to the cabin to see what they might be able to salvage from the flames. Most of her stuff had been in the bedroom Sutton and her had escaped from. She hoped that it would still be okay since the flames hadn't even been set in that part of the house, but she had no idea what she was going to find. She kept telling herself that she had nothing of value with her. She kept telling herself not to be surprised if nothing had survived, but she still had hope that it did. She still had hope that she had something to her name.

A nurse came in with a wheelchair and Emma swung herself out of the bed and hopped the few steps over to it. As she sat down she couldn't help but stare at the bulky blue cast that covered the lower half of her right leg. It was the worst injury she'd sustained in the whole ordeal and it would take 6 to 8 weeks to fully heal. The nurse began to push her out of the room toward the waiting room, but Emma stopped her.

"Actually could you take me to Sutton Mercer's room?"

The nurse didn't speak, she just turned the wheelchair in the opposite direction and headed toward the room. She stopped her just outside and allowed Emma to push herself into the room. She saw Sutton sitting in her hospital bed, looking bored. She would be stuck here another day to make sure her head really was okay. Emma knocked on the door and Sutton immediately brightened when she saw Emma.

"Hey," Sutton greeted, "You about to head out?"

"Yep," Emma responded, "Kristin and I are going to head out to the cabin and see if anything is salvageable, but I wanted to see you before I left. How are you?"

"Bored," Sutton admitted, "I don't know how I'm going to stay here another minute let alone another day."

"They're just being cautious," Emma assured, "I had to push you out a window, because you were too out of it to jump yourself."

"I know," Sutton responded, "that's how I got this lovely thing."

She held up her arm to reveal a pink cast going up to her elbow, "Sorry," Emma responded, "but a broken arm is a lot better than being dead."

"You didn't exactly get of scot-free either," Sutton replied.

"I did pretty well considering."

"Emma I just want to thank you for pulling me out of the cabin. I really would be dead if it hadn't been for you, but I do have one question for you. Why'd you run? Why did you try and keep your identity a secret?"

"Sutton, at the time of the fire you weren't entirely sure you wanted to reveal the secret. I wasn't going to force you to face all of those questions right after nearly dying."

"You did that for me?"

"You're my sister, Sutton. I told you I would give you another chance, but I had to let you make the decision to follow through. I couldn't force you to do something you secretly didn't want to do."

"So it was a test."

"No Sutton. If I had forced you to face everything when you weren't ready to face it we would be right back where we started. I would always question whether you wanted me here or if it had been forced on you. I had to give you the chance to show me that this is what you wanted."

"It is," Sutton responded, "I can't lose the one person who understood exactly what I was feeling. I want to make this work. I don't want to lose you."

"Sutton you'll never lose me. No matter what happens I will always do my best to be there for you as long as you always try to be there for me."

"You have my word, Emma. I will always do my best to be there when you need me."

The two sisters smiled at each other. If Emma wasn't stuck in a wheelchair, she would've probably hugged Sutton. Both of them had made so much progress in the past two days with so many people and yet this was the first time they'd spoken since before the fire. It didn't matter anymore, though. She knew that Sutton was okay. She knew that things had a chance of working out. As she stared at Sutton she realized that this is what she'd been waiting for all along. This was what she'd wanted from all of this. She'd wanted to be accepted for who she was, not where she came from. She wanted to have a family that wasn't obligated to take care of her, but that wanted her to be a part of it. This was what she'd wanted all of her life and for the first time it was finally hers.