CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Jason never made it to Lookout Point. Toby stopped him and told him he would never make it in time. The girls would be back before Jason got halfway there. Caleb was told the same thing when he wanted to leave. So, Toby, Jason, and Caleb waited outside the police station for an hour. Four police cars showed up; Aria wasn't in any of them. None of the girls were. That didn't seem to worry Toby at all, but it worried Jason and Caleb. The girls showed up in a black SUV with a tall woman with short, dark hair. They were still dressed in their costumes, minus the masks. They all looked slightly terrified. Not one of the three seemed to notice any of the guys standing in the parking lot by Toby's truck.

"Why are we waiting out here?" Jason asked twenty minutes later, "The girls are in there and I have no idea where Aria is. I'm sure they can tell me," Jason said.

"Just be patient. They will be out soon and then tell us what's going on," Toby said.

"I agree with Jason on this," Caleb said, "I want to see Hanna."

"It's not like we can just march in there and demand to see them," Toby said just as another police car pulled in. They hoped Aria would come out of the car, but it was Mona. She was wearing all black with a black hoodie and she was handcuffed. She seemed to be cooperating with the police. The driver of the car pulled around back to where they parked all of the police cars while Mona was led inside.

"Isn't she Hanna's friend?" Jason asked, "I've seen them hanging out at school a lot," he said.

"Yeah," Caleb said, "Hanna said she and Mona have became friends after Alison disappeared," Caleb told him. It slipped his mind that Jason was Alison's brother and he was nonchalantly talking about the girl's disappearance. Jason didn't say anything about it though. Luckily, he didn't say a lot of the things Hanna and Mona told him about Alison. That would have been a lot worse.

Not long after Mona went in Hanna, Spencer, and Emily walked out. Dr. Sullivan was talking to the girls and they all turned their eyes to where Jason, Toby, and Caleb were standing. Spencer walked to Toby and Hanna to Caleb. Emily walked over to Jason and had the hard job of explaining what had happened to Aria after they hung up the phone.

JUNE

(TWO MONTHS LATER)

"Seems this nightmare you're having continues to be the same in every detail," Dr. Sullivan said to Aria during her daily therapy session.

"I wouldn't know, so I'll have to take your word on that one," Aria told her in a bored tone.

Dr. Sullivan held up a flashcard with a shape on it and Aria had to find it's match on the table between them. It was like that children's memory game. She used to like playing it, but she really didn't fell like doing it right then.

"Does it still feel like what happened in your dream is actually a reality?" Dr. Sullivan asked.

The nightmare. The one she had every night and remembered vividly to the point where she thought she was in it and that is was very real was something that Dr. Sullivan knew happened and only just a month ago. Aria had lost most of her short-term memory because of it.

"Yes," Aria said, "Me and Mona were fighting near the edge of a cliff. Mona fell. I thought she was dead. Spencer tried to help me up but grabbed onto my sprained wrist and I let go of her and fell. I thought I was dead for a long time. But then I woke up and I didn't remember what happened. I remembered going with Mona to the motel with Norman Bates and all his stuffed animals and finding out she was 'A'. And I remember being in the car with her. But after that I don't remember anything. It's just a blackout. And then I have that dream and it fits. Like it would have really happened," Aria said, "So, yes, I believe it's real. It has to be," there was a long pause before Aria spoke again, "How long have we been doing this?" she asked.

"Two months," Dr. Sullivan said as she continued to show Aria the flash cards.

"With no change? No improvement, at all?" Aria asked.

"It's not the same as an open wound, Aria," Dr. Sullivan said, "Time doesn't heal everything."

"I remember Hanna and Emily were in my dream too," Aria said, "They were trying to help, but they were too far away."

"That's good. That means your memory is improving," Dr. Sullivan said, "You've never mentioned anything about them being in your dream before.

"It seemed like Hanna was going to run over Mona with her car, but stopped a few feet away," Aria said flipping over another card.

"Good job," Dr. Sullivan said.

"What?" Aria asked.

"I set up these cards the same way every day. You may not consciously recall it, but as you see the memories are still there," Dr. Sullivan said, "Deep down in your subconscious."

"Oh," was all Aria could think to say.

"You have a very unique case," Dr. Sullivan said, "Most cases of Anterograde Amnesia cannot retain declarative memory for more than a few hours. In your case, you are able to retain your declarative and episodic memories until you go to sleep at night."

"Why not when I take a nap or something?" Aria asked.

"Because when you take a nap it isn't as long as when you sleep through the night. We did a sleep study on you a while ago and determined that the interval between memory loss for you is eight and a half hours, which is a large amount of time compared to most other cases," Dr. Sullivan told her.

"Then how do I have memories that aren't even real?" Aria asked.

"Well, I believe that you have memories that are trying to work their way from your subconscious to your conscious. But on their journey, they're becoming jumbled," Dr. Sullivan said. She so badly wanted to tell Aria the truth. If Aria knew the truth it would be so much easier for her to retain her short-term memory and everything to go back to normal for her.

"All of my friends know what happened to me, right?" Aria asked, "They were told not to tell me, weren't they?"

"Yes, they were told not to tell you," Dr. Sullivan said, "You want to get your memory back and it's healthier if you do it on your own."

"And how can I speed that process up?" Aria asked, "Do I go back to where it happened and repel down to the ledge? Do I talk to Mona about it? Talk to Norman?" she asked, "What can I do?"

"We're doing everything we can here, Aria," Dr. Sullivan said, "But, do what you think you need to do without flat out asking someone to tell you what happened," Dr. Sullivan told her, "Our time is up for the day, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay," Aria said. She stood up from the couch, grabbed her purse and left the room.

Outside in the lobby Spencer was waiting for her.

"Hey. How'd it go in there?" Spencer asked.

"Okay I guess," Aria said, "Is that my answer every day?" she asked Spencer.

"I don't know. I don't pick you up every day," Spencer told her, "But when I do pick you up, yes, that is your answer," she chuckled.

"Well, nobody tells me anything, apparently, so I don't get it," Aria said, "I just want to know things."

"At least you remember all of us or you would really be screwed," Spencer said referring to Aria's friends and family.

"I know it's real. That dream…nightmare," Aria said, "I just wish she would tell me I'm right. Maybe if she told me I was right about something I could put more pieces together and get it back."

"You know, at first I was scared you wouldn't remember any of us," Spencer said, "When Dr. Sullivan said that you couldn't remember anything I thought she meant that you couldn't remember anything at all. But then she explained that you could remember everything up until the accident and I was so relieved. I thought Jason's heart was going to shatter all over the floor. I mean, you two have been inseparable for months and then you would just forget who he was? That would have broken him, I think."

"No, I remembered all of you. I was just confused about everything," Aria told her, "I didn't want to see anyone. That probably looked bad."

"A little bit," Spencer said, "But we forgive you."

"Oh, I'm so glad," Aria said, "Can we stop and get something to eat? I'm going to die if I don't eat something."

"Kids are starving all over the world, Aria. You're just hungry," Spencer said, "But I'll buy you lunch."

"I love you so much," Aria said.

"You love food," Spencer said, "But I love you too."

AN: SEASON 3!

I am going to call this the prelude to season 3. It just kind of explains what is going on with Aria after the fall. I told you I had interesting plans for season 3 and I think this storyline will be interesting for part of season 3. She will get her full memory back in season 3. I just don't know which episode yet.

Just to clarify if it was a little confusing; Aria can remember everything up until they fell. She doesn't remember them falling, but she 'dreams' about it. She doesn't think it's real, but she does at the same time. So, she is still with Jason and she remembers everything that happened with 'A' and all that.

Next chapter will be the first episode of season 3.

I hope you all like this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think!

Also, give me ideas on which episode would be a good one for Aria to get her memory back or good ways for it to happen. I have an idea for that, but I like hearing your ideas. They are fun to read and I do use some of your ideas in my story.