It had been three months since the day at the hospital and almost every night Emily had awoke in a cold sweat and with panic resonating throughout her body, her mind taking her back to those awful events. She was traumatised from the entire experience and had been seeking help from a therapist as a way to cope. Emily had been seeing Dr. Sullivan less as time passed and she dealt with her issues but the nightmares never seemed to stop no matter what techniques they had tried.

Dr Sullivan had been recommended to Emily via Hanna who had sought her help when struggling with weight issues and an eating disorder as a teenager. Hanna had urged for Emily to talk to the therapist when she struggled with her fathers death and the loss of Noah however until now Emily had been determined to face her problems on her own. With people including her children now depending on her she had taken up Hanna's advice and booked in twice weekly sessions with Dr Sullivan. She was down to just one session a week now unless she had a particularly hard time coming out of the trauma left by a nightmare.

When she had her nightmares Emily wanted nothing more than to get up and escape the confines of the house, feel relief from the outdoors however with the children sleeping in the house and it being a mission to settle them after they were disturbed that wasn't an option. Instead she lay there like usual trying to regulate her breathing once again whilst she stared wide eyed at the ceiling above her. Her eyes becoming unfocused the longer she stared at the same white spot.

What she saw in the nightmare was similar to the actual experience she had gone through at the hospital; one of the twins with a cord around her neck lifeless, Emily was unable to do anything to help and that's what upset her the most. The child was white and limp and she was carried away from her and out of her line of sight. The scene would then instantly morph to Alison lying on the operating table, whispering that she loved the brunette for one last time before the cold monotonous sound of the heart monitor announced that she no longer had a heart beat.

Alison was then wheeled away from Emily down the same long, dark hallway the twin had been taken and yet again there was nothing she could do to help. She had lost two people in the space of minutes and would then collapse to the floor in tears before waking up violently, her breathing irregular and covered in a thin layer of sweat.

Every time she thought back to that day in the hospital a lump would appear in her throat and she would find herself slipping into a panic attack. The only person who had ever been able to get her back to reality was Alison. As Emily carefully sat up in bed, tears silently rolled down her face as the real memories of that day began to filter through her mind.

"I'm sorry, we've had to transfer your daughter to the intensive care unit as she's having trouble breathing by herself right now. I can take you to see her if you would like?" The doctor explained with pure sympathy in his voice, but as much as Emily needed to know how her second daughter was she also needed to know if Alison was ok.

"She's ok?" Emily asked as relief flooded through her. Both her daughters had made it.

"She's a fighter that's for sure. She should be just fine in a few days" the doctor replied confidently.

"Alison? How is she?" Emily croaked out, her voice slightly sore from crying.

"I'm afraid I don't know right now but I will find out what I can once we get to the ICU ok?"

Emily nodded, unable to get any more words out. The worry that filled her was very quickly becoming overwhelming and she was only focused on the doctor ahead of her, if she had been told to make her own way back to where she had been stood she wouldn't have a chance in hell. She had no idea where her feet were taking her, only that she was going to see one of her newborn daughters.

Standing beside the incubator watching her youngest daughter sleep Emily felt completely drained. The doctor had left as soon as he had explained how the little girl was doing and headed out to find what information he could regarding Alison. Emily was stroking one finger along the girls arm, careful not to touch any of the tubes or wires that were attached to different areas of her body.

The youngest Dilaurentis-Fields girl lay there peacefully asleep, unaware of the worry she had caused and although the twins were identical the different personalities already seemed to be showing. The eldest was loud and ready to get what she wanted when she wanted it. The youngest more reserved and quiet, needing a little more help from others so it seemed.

Once the baby was breathing on her own she would be assessed once more and possibly moved into the normal baby unit with her older sister. Emily felt bad that she hadn't checked up on the slightly older girl but knew if anything changed she would be informed immediately. She also knew she needed to contact her mother and explain the situation, but how could she explain something that even she didn't fully understand or have all the facts about.

As Emily stood there with hundreds of questions but no answers going around her head the doctor returned and walked up to her.

"As you are aware there were some complications during the surgery, Miss Dilaurentis suffered major blood loss and had to be revived multiple times. She is in recovery now but it's unlikely she will wake up anytime soon, if she does wake up she will be disorientated and weak. Just be aware of that when you see her. Would you like me to show you to her room?"

Emily nodded, yet again unable to form any words as so many different emotions rushed through her. Alison was alright, she survived and so did their daughters. Emily couldn't be any more thankful to the surgeons and every one else at the hospital who had managed to save them. She gave her youngest daughter one last stroke on the arm before promising to return when she could and following the doctor once more as he led her through the hospitals winding corridors.

The continuous beeping sound of the heart rate machine was all Emily could hear in her head but here Alison was, all be it very pale and unconscious, but alive none the less with the machine now making a steady rhythmic sound. She looked as peaceful as the younger twin had whilst sleeping and Emily stayed by her side, holding her hand and whispering encouraging statements and declarations of love for almost an hour before deciding she needed to go and fill everyone in and check on her eldest daughter.

As Emily left the room that Alison was situated in she followed the signs to where her oldest daughter was being cared for. With everything that had happened her mind was completely scrambled and after taking the wrong turning a couple of times she finally got to the right area of the hospital.

"Emily?" A familiar voice called out before Emily could enter the room before her.

"Mum?" Emily questioned as she turned around. "How long have you been here?"

"I came as soon as I received Alison's message, but when I got here they wouldn't tell me anything and I couldn't get hold of either of you" Pam replied as she stepped towards Emily and warmly embraced her.

All it took was for her to hear her mother's voice and the walls Emily had built up so she could get through this came completely down. She sobbed into Pam's shoulder as the older woman held her tightly. Pam directed them slowly to the nearby chairs that lined the hallway and helped Emily to sit down before separating from the embrace and holding her hands tightly instead.

"Talk to me Emmy, what happened?" Pam urged softly.

Emily took a deep breath before explaining everything that had happened from Alison's waters breaking early and the journey to the hospital, the birth of the first twin, to the complications with the second twin and all the way to not knowing whether either Alison or the second twin had survived.

What Emily didn't notice is that Hanna, Spencer and Aria had walked round the corner just as Emily had begun to speak and had heard everything she said to Pam. Hanna was carrying a sleeping Noah safely in her arms and they stayed where they were stood silently until Emily had finished explaining.

"Alison is in a room recovering, she's so weak though and it will be a while before she wakes up and the second twin is in the intensive care unit as she can't fully breathe by herself at the moment"

"Oh Emmy, I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this and alone as well" Pam said as tears fell down her face, she pulled Emily into another tight embrace and it was only once she released her daughter did the other girls make their presence known.

Hanna coughed quietly to draw Emilys attention to them and the looks on the girls faces told Emily that they had heard everything. She went to stand up but Hanna shook her head before walking over to her and carefully handing over the sleeping Noah. Emily held him close and ran her hand softly through his hair, it was more of a way to comfort herself rather than the sleeping child. She yawned several times in a row, the exhaustion finally catching up on her, it had been such a long day already.

"Have you decided on names?" Aria asked as she tried to steer the conversation down a slightly positive path.

Emily nodded before answering "I have but I need to discuss it with Alison once she wakes up, sorry"

"Don't be sorry, we understand Emily" Aria replied with a small smile on her face. She couldn't imagine the hell that Emily had just gone through by herself. They had tried to find out whereabouts the girls were but none of the staff would let them know as they weren't related to Alison and she was the one who was being treated.

Emily stood up all of a sudden and handed Noah gently to Spencer who had sat on one of the chairs opposite. She then proceeded to enter the room nearest to them and everyone else just stared at the door that had just closed in confusion. That confusion cleared instantly as Emily walked back out of the room minutes later with the eldest twin wrapped in a pink blanket in her arms.

The girls immediately stood up and gathered around Emily cooing over the newborn in her arms. Her one little ray of light that was going to help her get through this, she needed to be strong to help raise this little girl whilst her mother and sister fought to recover.

That one ray of light was now screaming bloody murder as she cried out for attention and Emily wiped the tears from her own eyes and got up quickly from the bed hoping the crying child wouldn't disturb the sleeping blonde besides her. Of course Alison's maternal instincts kicked in straight away and she was stirring slightly as she began to wake up.

"I've got it, go back to sleep babe" Emily whispered as she rounded the bed and kissed Alison lightly on the forehead before turning around and leaving the room.

Emily was more than happy to help out during the night, more so at the weekend due to not having to wake up early for work. She had been a lot more hands on with everything since the day at the hospital, not wanting to take anything for granted and having gotten used to helping Alison out whilst she was recovering.

The sound of Grace's cries filled the house and it wasn't long before Lily began to whimper slightly from her cot. Alison had picked out their names as her favourites months previously when they had been writing down a list of names, Emily had been unsure but as soon as she saw what Alison went through to bring the twins safely into the world Emilys mind was made up and now she wasn't sure if any other names would have suited them.

"Shh Gracie it's ok" Emily cooed as she picked up the crying three month old and held her in her arms.

Grace was an attention seeker and no matter what time of the day it was she loved to be held in either of her mothers embrace. She was the slightly more independent of the girls happy to entertain herself be it by playing with the toys or sucking on a body part (her foot being her favourite) but when she decided she wanted attention she would let the whole house know about it until she received it.

Emily walked over quietly to one of the rocking chairs that sat in the room and took a seat whilst she held the crying baby to her chest. Grace was already starting to calm down and luckily Lily had already settled in her crib and was fast asleep once more. Lily tended to sleep a lot more than Grace, as soon as she was held, sat in a car seat or even just led on the floor she would start to doze off.

Several hours later Alison awoke to an empty bed and she quickly got out before stretching herself and yawning. After wrapping her cosy pink and fluffy dressing gown around her body she headed straight to the nursery, it had become a regular occurrence for one of them to fall asleep whilst soothing either one or both of the twins during the night. Alison quietly pushed the door open and couldn't help but take her phone out of her dressing gown pocket and snap a photo of the scene before her.

Emily was fast asleep in the rocking chair with Grace held tightly and secure in one arm against her chest. Her other arm was wrapped around a sleeping Noah who must have been disturbed by the crying baby and gone in to the nursery to see what was going on. At their feet lay a curled up Pepe who had eyed Alison as soon as the door had opened but upon sensing no threat had led his head back down and closed his eyes.

Noah had really taken to the role of big brother and was always trying to help out Alison and Emily when they were trying to juggle two babies. He absolutely doted on his twin sisters and was often found playing with his toys outside their cribs in the mornings whilst having full one sided conversations with the girls. Alison's favourite memory of the young boy from the past three months however didn't exactly involve the twins.

"So what are we going to call each other?" Alison asked as she stood beside the oven cooking tea for her, Emily and Noah one evening shortly after she had been released from hospital with a fit bill of health.

Emily had tried to stop Alison from doing too much but the blonde was determined to get into a normal routine and when it came to cooking Emily wasn't exactly the greatest. In fact Alison had made Spencer and Aria promise to drop in meals for Emily and Noah whilst she was recovering in the hospital seeing as they lived next door to them.

However even Hanna and Pam had turned up with different dishes through out the fortnight that Alison spent away from her family.

The twins had stayed at the hospital with Alison and she had the full support of the nurses when it came to taking care of them which Emily was very grateful for, she had no idea how she would have coped had they been allowed to go home with her whilst Alison wasn't.

Emily shrugged at the question whilst she helped Noah colour in one of his books. Upon subconsciously feeling the blondes glare directed towards her she looked up from the book and placed her pencil down so that she could give the blonde her full attention.

"Noah calls you Mummy so it kind of makes sense for the twins to call you that too but what about me?" Alison continued as stirred the contents of one of the pans on the stove.

The twins were both upstairs sleeping peacefully for the moment and the three of them were enjoying the rare silence. It had been an adjustment for all of them when the twins were brought home for the first time but they seemed to finally be settling into a routine.

"How about mother?" Emily asked with a slight snicker, she knew Alison would hate the suggestion.

"No! That makes me sound really old and pretentious. I think mum sounds ok"

Emily nodded in agreement before turning to Noah who was trying to get her attention. He had listened intently to the conversation and although he was only four years old (his birthday being a month after the twins) he understood what the adults were discussing. He waited for Emily to bend down so she was on his level before whispering in her ear. She smiled at what he said before whispering back and the young boy upon hearing her response got down from the chair he was sitting on and made his way over to where Alison stood.

He stood wringing his hands together nervously and shuffling his feet and Alison looked down at him curiously as she waited for him to speak.

"Would it be ok if I call you mum too?" The young boy asked quietly and Alison almost didn't hear what he said.

He continued to stare at the floor and completely missed Alison's reaction to the question. Her face lit up with a huge smile and she looked quickly at Emily who was smiling back at her. It had almost been a year since Noah had moved in with them and there was nothing she wanted more that for the young boy to see her as a parental figure.

"Of course that's ok Noah" Alison said happily as she bent down and embraced Noah in a tight hug, he wrapped his little arms as far around her as he could and reciprocated the embrace.

Since that day they had all seemed even closer as a family, things seemed to flow together as they spent time all together. This day was no different and once Alison had gently woken Emily and Noah up and they headed downstairs, a twin in each of the women's arms they set about having a lazy family day.

It wouldn't be a typical DiLaurentis-Fields family day without a slight interruption in the form of Hanna, Spencer and Aria popping round to see them all. Hanna was currently playing with Noah and his train set, the two of them having their own conversations as they built the tracks to loop around one half of the living room.

Spencer was holding Lily who was fast asleep in her arms, she was sat on the sofa between Aria and Alison holding slight debates as the news played on the tv in front of them. Emily was happy to avoid the mini arguments that were being discussed in low tones as she sat on the floor keeping a very awake Grace entertained.

The eldest twin squealed in delight as Emily tickled her sides and Alison looked away from Spencer for a few long seconds to take in the sight of Emily and Grace, a smile quickly forming on her face.

Both the twins had Emilys tanned skin, it had gotten slightly darker since birth with the more time they spent outside in the sun. Striking blue eyes shon as they watched the world around them and it would only be a matter of time before they found out which of Emilys and Alison's personalities each twin shared, be it the same ones or different. The twins were a perfect blend of the two of them and as Hanna put it "they were cute as hell".

Aria had set up a family photoshoot for them a couple of weeks ago and it went surprisingly well. Being able to hold it in their own home was a definite bonus as it kept the twins relaxed in their familiar surroundings. Their favourite photo now adorned the shelf in the middle of the feature wall in the living room, the twins sat with wide grins on their faces either side of a laughing Noah with Emily and Alison sat behind the three children, their arms wrapped around each other's waists. It was amazing how much a simple photo could capture the heart and soul of their family.

Several more photos were in frames around the house, one of the five adults led on a picnic blanket in the park with the twins and Noah between them that Pam had taken one sunny afternoon. One of Pam sat in an armchair and her three grandchildren in her arms and on her lap. Several of the twins and Noah together, a few including Pepe who still wouldn't go very far from Noah's side.

"What's the plan for tomorrow then?" Hanna asked as she looked up from the train set and focused back on the rest of the group.

"I'm not sure, Ali?" Emily replied distractedly, most of her attention still on Grace who continued to giggle at everything Emily did.

"Well it's not often we have an entirely child free day so I say we make the most of it" Alison replied cheerfully.

Pam had agreed to look after all three children at once to give the girls a much needed break, she had wrangled in Hanna and Spencer's mothers, Ashley and Veronica, as back up who both had the day off and Aria's mother, Ella, would be there to lend a hand as soon as she was done grading papers as she was the English teacher at Rosewood high. Taking care of the twins and Noah always seemed like it required an army and no one quite knew how Emily and Alison managed so well on their own.

"Why don't we go to the mall? I haven't been shopping for myself in ages" Alison suggested to the group.

Emily tried to suppress a groan but knew she had been unsuccessful when she caught sight of Alison rolling her eyes at her. Emily quickly looked away, knowing this was a battle she was never going to win so there was no point even trying. Seconds later she knew she was right.

"Yes!" Chorused Aria and Hanna excitedly.

"There is a new line out that I have been dying to get my hands on!" Hanna elaborated loudly.

She was soon cursed by all four of the other women in the room as her voice caused Lily to stir in Spencer's arms and she let out a loud wail. Hearing the sound of her sisters distress, Grace's face turned from a smile to her bottom lip beginning to tremble and Emily recognised what was about to happen instantly. She picked Grace up from the floor and held her close as she tried to stop the inevitable but was obviously unsuccessful as Grace joined her sister in crying at the top of her lungs.

Hanna was shot daggers by everyone and whilst Emily passed Grace to Alison and Aria and Spencer tried their best to soothe Lily she looked to where a watch would be on her wrist had she had one on.

"Oh would you look at the time, I've gotta go" she said loudly above the twins crying before scurrying to her feet and basically running out of the house, narrowly avoiding being hit by the assortment of toys Emily had got her hands on and launched in her direction.

A/N

I actually left this longer than I wanted to, I couldn't manage to fill out the last 500 words for ages but hoorah I finally knuckled down and got it done.

I hope you're not too mad at how I left the last chapter. Don't panic, Emison is always endgame!

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Until next time (which might be a while as I'm slightly stuck for ideas)