"Mommy, why do you keep doing that?"

Paige was miles away, unaware that she had been doing something repeatedly, and not really conscious of the fact that she wasn't alone. "Doing what?"

"You keep picking up your phone, looking at it, and putting it down again."

Paige let out a sigh. "I've been waiting for a call from… someone," she stammered. "Emily," she admitted.

"Doesn't your phone ring when someone calls?"

Paige, initially upset at her son's question, realized that he wasn't taunting her. He just didn't understand her behavior. How lucky for him, she thought, not knowing what it felt like to be waiting for someone to call, and worrying about why she hadn't. He would discover hat feeling soon enough, she thought, sadly.

Paige smiled, taking her son's face in her hands. "Yes, it does," she conceded. "It's just… I've just been waiting for a long time, and I'm not sure why she hasn't called yet."

"Can't you call her?" Paige recognized her son's desire to fix problems. She was pretty sure that he got it from her.

"I did call her," she explained, saying the words for her own benefit as much as for him. It was as if she needed to justify to herself her feelings of confusion and her fear of abandonment.

"Well, why don't you text her?"

"Because…" Once again, Paige's answer was as much about convincing herself as her son. "Because, sometimes, when people don't call you back, it's because they don't want to talk to you. And they don't really like it if you keep trying to contact them."

"Why doesn't she want to talk to you?"

That was the million dollar question.

"I don't know, Champ," Paige said weakly.

"Is she mad at you?"

Paige shrugged. "Maybe."

"Oh." Wayne turned aside, as if he had had enough of the conversation. He turned around again, though, and put his hand on top of his mom's. Paige smiled, despite herself. Her son really was like her.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, Hon?"

"I'm not mad at you."

Whatever possessed Wayne to think that those words would make Paige feel better, they worked. She gathered him into her arms where she sat and held him close. "Thank you, Wayne!"

Paige's mood went from sadness to despair as the afternoon wore on. She had overstepped on the field trip; she knew she had. She had pissed Emily off – or scared her off, at least. Whatever it was, she messed everything up. It was stupid of her to assume that Emily would want her to hold her hand. were it not for the insects, or that would fall asleep on her shoulder for any reason other than that she was totally exhausted. Paige knew that she had read too much into the situation and that she needed to back off. That was the message that Emily was sending by her silence.

But Emily had seemed fine at the time. Maybe, Paige worried, she had waited too long. She should have called Emily right away – that night, to make sure that she'd gotten home safely. She should have called before the spell was broken and Emily realized that Paige was just another parent whom she happened to get along with, not someone with a hand to hold when she was afraid or a shoulder to lean on when she was tired. Or maybe the fact that Paige waited so long to call made Emily think that she wasn't interested. Maybe Emily had moved on. Spencer had it right: There was no shortage of women in Rosewood for Emily to date. Maybe Paige should have made it clearer, when she called, that it wasn't just a friendly call. Maybe she should call her back and try again.

No.

Paige realized that she was being crazy. Emily didn't need a crazy stalker in her life. Paige didn't know what Emily needed – but, apparently, it wasn't Paige.

At around four in the afternoon, Paige received a text from Emily's phone. "In the ER. Anna had a fall. She'll be okay. Emily's a mess."

Emily was exhausted but too worried to fall asleep as she waited for someone to come and tell her something – anything – about what was happening. When she heard the door open and felt Hanna's body pull away from her, she looked up expecting to see a doctor or a nurse, but was shocked to see Paige standing there, looking concerned.

The text didn't say that Emily wanted Paige to come. Paige wasn't even sure who had sent it, until she saw Emily half-reclining there, Hanna's arms. Still, as soon as she read the message, she made arrangements with her aunt to look after Wayne and got dressed.

Emily was stunned. For an instant, she didn't want Paige to see her like that, and she quickly wiped the tears off on her sleeve, worried what they had done to her makeup.

Hanna stood, saying something about finding coffee. Emily was left in the half-reclining position that she'd been in before, leaning on one arm that was planted on the seat where Hanna had been sitting. Paige was frozen in place, wanting to make things better, but not knowing how. Hanna paused and glared at her on her way out to look for coffee. That was all the prodding that Paige needed. She took the seat next to Emily, and Emily immediately collapsed into her arms, collapsing into tears.

It felt good to hold Emily like that. Paige couldn't change the situation, but she felt that she was holding Emily together, keeping her from crumbling.

And it felt good to be held like that by Paige. It felt good to know that Paige was there for her, to care for her and to take care of her.

"Did Hanna tell you what happened?"

Paige shook her head. "Not really." It was true: Hanna hadn't given many details. But, also, Paige realized that Emily probably needed to talk about it.

Emily sat up a little, looping her arm around Paige's to maintain the connection. She explained that Anna, excited, had dashed down the stairs with Princess in tow and had, somehow, gotten her feet tangled and tumbled over the last few steps. The morning had been a whirlwind of pain medication, x-rays, and consultations, before they finally decided that she would need minor surgery on he ankle.

"I'm a horrible mother," Emily screeched, retreating to Paige's chest again.

"No, no, no," Paige repeated. "You know that's not true!"

"Why didn't they let me go back there with her?" Emily spat angrily. "She must be terrified back there, by herself!"

Paige knew that seeing her mother freaking out like that was probably the last thing that Anna needed. And she got the impression that the whole experience was like an adventure for Anna. Her experience with pediatrics doctors was that they were pretty good at keeping children from realizing the seriousness of what was going on with them. But she knew that Emily wasn't ready to hear any of that. Instead, she just reassured her that Anna was a pretty tough kid. "And you're going to be the first person she sees when she wakes up," Paige reminded her. "That's the important thing."

Emily wasn't totally convinced, but she needed to believe what Paige was telling her. And there was nothing she could do. She didn't know why she was being such a baby in front of Paige. She knew that Paige would never react like that. "I'm sorry," she said softly. She tried to push herself away from Paige's arms, but Paige pulled her back in. She pushed away a little more forcefully, because she needed to look into Paige's eyes for what she was about to say. "Will you come with me? When they let me see her?"

"Of course I will," Paige assured her. She wasn't sure that she would be allowed back, but, whatever it took, she would make sure that she was by Emily's side.

Emily nodded her head in thanks as she sank back in against Paige's chest. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "I'm being a big baby."

"Hey, no," Paige said, but it was little consolation. "You should've seen me when Wayne broke his wrist!"

"He broke his wrist?"

Emily could feel Paige nod in reply. "I was a wreck," Paige told her. "I took it a lot more seriously than he did!"

"And he's okay?" Emily cut to the chase. Knowing that Wayne had survived would give her confidence for what Anna was facing.

"Oh, yeah," Paige said confidently. "Kids are very resilient. Actually, the doctor said it was good to get it out of the way when he was young, because the body regenerates a lot better at an early age."

Emily scoffed. "I don't know about 'good.'"

"Yeah, not the word I would've chosen," Paige agreed.

"What's taking so long?"

Paige rubbed Emily's back and assured her that it wouldn't be much longer. Hanna walked in with a coffee in each hand and, seeing the two of them like that, made a quick excuse to leave. Emily, feeling bad that Hanna had rushed off before she could say thank you, stood quickly. "Um, I'm just going to go say a quick good-by."

"Oh, no, of course!" Paige squeezed her hand.

Emily caught up with Hanna in the corridor and thanked her for being her rock when she needed it. And for calling Paige. They hugged, and Hanna told her to call if there was anything she needed.

As she headed back into the waiting room, Emily pulled out her phone to check the time. She saw a few texts – nothing important. Hanna had taken care of keeping everyone, including Emily's parents, informed. She noticed a message from Paige just as she got back to the seat where Paige was sitting.

"Paige, I'm so sorry! You called me? I haven't been on my phone all day."

"No, don't be ridiculous!" Paige assured her. "You've had a lot more important things to worry about."

They were sitting next to each other at this point. Emily didn't reclaim her position in Paige's arms. She was feeling calmer, and she didn't want to take advantage. Still, they felt connected; in the way that friends don't have to be touching physically to be in touch emotionally.

"What were you calling about?"

"Oh, nothing. Just calling to say hi." Paige realized that Emily would probably listen to the message at some point, so she came clean. "And…" She cleared her throat and took a breath. "I think I said something about going to the zoo, or something…" Paige suddenly felt foolish for having taken Emily's comment from that day at the zoo seriously, and for bringing it up when Emily had so much else going on. "And, I know it's going to be a while before Anna's up and about."

"Are you kidding? Kids are resilient, remember?" Emily elbowed Paige in the ribs. "She'll be leaving us all in the dust!" Paige laughed politely, and they fell into silence. "I really would like to go, sometime, though," Emily said softly.

"It'd be fun," Paige agreed.

Emily linked arms with Paige and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Paige felt the warmth of Emily's lips long after Emily had settled back into position in her chair.

The kiss, although unexpected, didn't come as a shock to Paige. It seemed fitting. They were friends. That's how Emily thanked her friends.

After a while, the doors opened, and one of the residents who had been the first to look at Anna came through the door. There was no need to ask how the operation had gone. The smile on his face told it all. The operation was a success, and it turned out that the break wasn't as bad as it could have been, based on what they'd seen in the x-rays.

"When can I see her?"

"They're bringing her around now. I can take you back." The resident turned, slightly, towards the door.

"I want my friend to come with me," Emily stuttered.

The resident turned around. "I'm afraid it's family only, at this point."

Emily took Paige's hand. "She's family." Paige kept a poker face.

"Absolutely," the resident replied. "If you'll follow me this way, please."

As Paige had promised, Emily's face was the first thing that Anna saw when she opened her eyes. She was in good spirits, but still weak from the ordeal. Emily kissed her forehead and urged her to try to sleep. Paige, looking on, saw how strong Emily could be when she needed to be. She realized that she had underestimated Emily earlier, when she thought that Emily's fear would have been contagious, had she gone back with Anna for the procedure. Emily was solid as a rock.

All of a sudden, a gust of energy filled the room as Hanna turned up, arm in arm with a doctor. It was family only, but Emily wasn't surprised that Hanna had managed to talk her way back. She gave the doctor a quick hug and sent him on his way, taking her place next to Emily at Anna's bedside.

"Auntie Hanna," Anna rasped, her voice still weak from the anesthesia.

"Hi, Princess," Hanna whispered. It was the first time Paige had seen her so subdued.

"Wayne said you got him a banana split!"

Hanna shook her head in surprise. "Wayne needs to learn to keep his mouth shut," she said under her breath. Paige smiled and shrugged it off. Anna was curious.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing," Hanna whispered. "Listen, I meant what I said, okay? I'm going to get you a banana split as soon as you get out of here, so you'd better save up an appetite!"

"Okay."

"And how big is that banana split going to be?"

"As big as my head."

"Twice as big!" Hanna promised. "And why are we getting banana splits?"

"Because we're the Banana Twins!"

"Who are we?"

"The Banana Twins." Anna, her voice still weak, pumped up the volume as best as she could.

"Who are the Banana Twins?" Hanna's voice was high-pitched, and her face looked confused, as if she were hearing this for the first time.

"We are." Anna touched her palms to her chest. "Anna Banana, and" - she extended her palms towards Hanna, who high-fived them - "Hanna Banana!"

"You know it!" Hanna leaned over the bed to give Anna a kiss and a hug. "I'm going to let you get some rest," she told her, gently stroking her hair. I don't want you falling asleep into your ice cream!" Anna couldn't help laughing at that mental image.

Hanna gave Emily a quick hug and asked how she was doing. "You get some rest, too," she said into her ear before she moved to hug Paige. "Thanks for taking care of them," she whispered. Paige nodded.

"You know, I was wondering whether you named Anna after her."

Emily nodded. "And Aria."

"Aria?" Paige looked confused.

"Yeah. Her name starts and ends with A, like Aria's, and it's 'Hanna' without out the H."

"Ohhhh! - Right!" Paige tilted her head back in understanding. A moment later, she asked, "Wait - nothing for Spencer?"

Emily chuckled. "Who do you think came up with the name 'Anna?'"

Emily took Paige to the other side of the curtain. There wasn't a patient in the other bed, so they had a moment of privacy. She hugged Paige warmly, kissing her on the cheek as the hug ended. "Thank you for coming," she said softly. "And for helping me calm down. Really," she said, fighting tears, "I don't know how I would've gotten through this without you."

Paige smiled shyly. "It almost sounds as if you're kicking me out."

Emily looked down, her hands idly playing with the zipper on Paige's hoodie. "I know you need to get back and take care of your family," she said sadly.

"No, no, no." Paige's voice was soft but firm. "My aunt's got it covered. And, besides, we're family, remember?"

Emily looked up at Paige with a grateful smile. She knew that she should have said that it was okay; that she would be okay, but she didn't want Paige to leave. And, worse, she knew Paige and her insecurities. She didn't want her to think that she was pushing her away.

Emily held onto Anna's hand and rubbed her forehead until she was asleep. The surgeon came through and gave Emily some more information and instructions before leaving them alone.

"Have you eaten anything?"

Emily shook her head. "Not really. I just nibbled on a few things from the machines, to try to calm my nerves. It didn't work, by the way," Emily said with a weak smile. She pointed at the uneaten tray of hospital food next to Anna's bed. "That rice pudding is looking pretty good to me, right now."

"Why don't I go find us up something?"

Emily opened her mouth and took a breath. She was planning to tell Paige that she didn't need to bother, but she swallowed those words instead. "Thank you," she said, admitting, "I'm really starving."

While Paige went out to find food, Emily pushed the armchair from the other half of the room, next to the empty bed on the other side of the curtain, over onto Anna's half of the room. It wouldn't be comfortable, but they would each have a soft place to stretch out. Emily breathed deeply and looked up at the ceiling tiles for a second or two, counting her blessings. Things could have been a lot worse. And, she knew, things were getting better.