A/N: Thanks for the lovely reviews :) I'm SO happy to see that there are at least some people still reading Paily and I hope I can do our girls justice with this story. I'm really excited for going on this journey with you.

Back when I started reading Paily fanfic, I had already realized that I was gay - but I hadn't said it out loud, so to speak, not to my family. Paige and Emily have been a huge part of my journey, and that's why I want to give them more stories.

Here's the second chapter. Updates won't be usually this soon but I've already mapped out the story and am working on the next chapter as we speak.

I need to get this story out of my system because this is one ship that should never sink. I re-watched some Paily scenes and it just hit me again. They'll always have a place in my heart.

Please, let me know what you think!

-L.

Paige was gasping, fighting for every inhale, forcing out every exhale. Costing her a lot of effort, she managed to wheeze weakly, "Emily..."

"Paige, please hold on. Please," she found herself begging while straining against the duct tape still keeping her confined against the couch. The tape was cutting sharply into her wrists and she was making no progress in freeing herself at all. She was actually hurting herself by struggling, but it's not like she cared. What were those little chafed welts compared to her overpowering need to touch Paige? To make sure she was alright? She had to get to Paige. As of right now, Paige was still alive, and she needed her.

And Emily needed Paige.

The girl who – still tied-up and banged-up - had tackled the man who'd kidnapped her with a knife just to save her.

The girl who had shown her time and again how much she loved her.

Always putting her before herself.

Damn, Paige, she thought. You can't leave me, too. You can't. Losing Maya had been almost impossible to get over but an incomprehensible certainty in her heart told her that she'd never get over losing Paige. Not when she was the only one responsible for-

Suddenly, the sound of the door crashing against the wall made Emily jump.

"Emily! Emily!," she heard someone call out. She recognized the voice immediately. It was Caleb. He was holding a gun in his hand, gripping tightly, and was looking around in bewilderment, taking in the scene before him.

Uselessly, he pointed the gun at Paige, eyes widening as he saw her writhe in pain, then at Nate, only realizing after two heartbeats that there wasn't any movement at all coming from him.

He lowered the gun slowly.

"Holy shit," she heard him whisper.

"Caleb, help..." she whimpered. She couldn't muster up the strength to say more and instead turned her gaze towards her girlfriend who was still laying on the floor and was quite possibly bleeding to death, all alone.

Caleb ran to her side and pulled out what looked like a set of car keys. Angling the point of the key against the duct tape, he made a few little cuts, freeing her wrists, first, and then her legs. She didn't even take the time to thank him, or to say anything else because the second she was free, she jumped up to reach Paige.

After having been immobile for so long, she had pins and needles running up and down her legs and she'd underestimated how much her coordination would be messed up, leaving her unbalanced as she stumbled forward and landed on the floor, barely finding the time to stretch out her arms to catch her fall.

A sharp pang in her knees made her cry out, but she was not going to be deterred by something so mundane as a little bit of knee pain. She crawled forward and soon enough, her fingers were coated with warm and eerily red liquid, almost causing them to slip away under the weight of her own body.

She hesitated for one moment, turning her palms towards her face to take a closer look.

Every crease of her palm was highlighted as the deep valleys stood out against the crimson sheet lining her skin. Paige's blood, she realized belatedly, which was slowly soaking the floor. She felt her eyes prick as her vision blurred but she harshly wiped her tears against the sleeve of her shirt. Now was not the time for this.

"Paige," she gasped when she had crawled far enough to see her girlfriend's pale face up close. She looked almost feverish, beads of sweat cascading off her skin. Paige's eyes were unfocused, jumping around in a wild chase as if searching for something but she had slightly turned her head to look at Emily. Her mouth was moving, but no words were coming out.

Emily felt like her heart jump-start at the sight of her chest rising and falling. She was alive. She was alive and she had heard her and now all that was left was that she had to get through this. There was no way she could leave Emily. No way.

"Paige, I'm here, okay? Please hold on. Please," she begged her girlfriend as she cooped her up and pulled her head into her lap gently, manoeuvring herself into a sitting position to hold the brunette. She could hear how difficult it was for Paige to breathe, the raw rattling whenever she inhaled, how much effort it must be to keep breathing. She looked up searchingly.

Caleb was kneeling next to Nate's lifeless body, a cellphone against his ear. He was calling for help, she noticed with relief. She felt some tension in her shoulders drop away as she took in her friend's face, tense jaw, strong. Stronger than she felt, and she could only hope that it would be enough to tide them over. Internally begging him to take charge of the situation, she kept her eyes on him, only to realize that she couldn't keep staring at Caleb forever. She had to try and be strong, too, and do something to help Paige get through this until help arrived. Quickly, she tore her eyes away from him to survey Paige's injuries. The sight of the blood made her stomach churn. There was just so much blood...

She reached out to the cut on Paige's side and as gently but firmly as she could, pressed against it. She knew that they had to apply pressure, but she was deadly afraid of doing more damage and harming Paige. Of being the cause of bringing her more hurt. She heard Paige's sharp intake of air, saw her squirm in her lap as if Emily's hand had been on fire but the other girl didn't complain.

Perhaps Emily's flaming touch was one of the few things keeping her anchored to consciousness.

With her other hand, Emily started caressing her cheek. "Paige, there's help on the way, okay? Promise me you're fighting as hard as you can, please. Promise me you won't leave my side," she started to say, and to her dismay, her voice broke mid-way through. So much for trying to be strong.

A small smile broke out on the brunette's face. Perhaps, like Emily herself, she remembered the moment on the window seat which seemed an eternity ago when it had been only yesterday that they'd been safely cocooned away in the comfort of Emily's room.

"I-," she started, but she just couldn't find enough air to push in, and then out of her chest. There wasn't enough air to help the words take flight. Instead, they got stuck in her throat, causing her to gasp and cough.

"It's okay, Paige. It's okay, I know. I know," she sobbed. Paige's eyelids started fluttering and Emily felt panic seize her. She wasn't sure that she'd ever get her back if she let her go now. Not knowing what to do or how to express the desperation she was feeling, she leaned down and pressed her lips against her girlfriend's. It was only a gentle touch, merely grazing, but when she felt Paige faintly reciprocating, hope flooded her heart.

With a start, she realized that they'd never actually exchanged the words. Those three little words that meant so much. She hadn't wanted to rush into anything, and Paige had seemed more than content to wait, too – and not only on this front. But a dark thought formed in her mind and she couldn't shake it: what if Paige died, not having heard these three little words? What if she died, here, in her arms, not knowing? Not knowing that she had Emily's heart already?

She pulled back carefully, her eyes searching for Paige's. They were glassy, unfocused and half-closed lids were covering those beautiful shades of brown she'd come to love. Emily realized that it was now or never, if she didn't want to carry this regret around for the rest of their lives. Her life, she didn't dare think.

She couldn't allow herself to entertain the idea of losing Paige, but she also knew that things weren't looking good at all. She pressed another soft kiss against Paige's lips. This time, there was hardly any reaction. She'd never find the words to express the barrage of feelings beating down on her in that moment; the avalanche of anguish that was dangerously close to burying her for good, keeping her encased in a frozen state of sorrow for all eternity. It hurt too much to think about what life might be without Paige. She started weeping desperately.

Her chest felt like it would cave in any second from the pain and heartbreak. There was a pressure against her ears, making her feel like she was submerged underwater, drowning in a sea of her own tears as she was gasping for air. She knew she was hyperventilating and breathing way too fast but she couldn't stop herself.

Swallowing her tears, Emily cleared her throat, before leaning in to whisper into Paige's ear. "I love you, Paige. I'm so in love with you."

Paige's eyes fluttered open and she stared unblinkingly at Emily. The overwhelming intensity of her stare made Emily want to look away, but she forced herself not to miss a single second of this precious moment. The raven-haired girl gave her a teary smile, nodding slowly, reassuringly. Almost unrecognizable but still definitely there, a small smile started playing on Paige's lips. Emily pulled her in tighter against herself as she needed a moment to recollect herself.

Looking up, she noticed that Caleb had come to her aid and was currently pressing his shirt against Paige's thigh with his knee, while his hands were pressing down on Paige's stomach wound. When their eyes met, it was like looking into a mirror: fear, sadness, panic. Caleb knew as well as she did that it didn't look good for the brunette swimmer.

She felt Paige's body slowly going limp against hers. She saw that her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly parted. She looked oddly peaceful, and that scared Emily more than anything she'd experienced until that moment, all the shocking encounters with A included.

Anxious like she'd never been before in her life, she leaned down again, her lips ghosting over Paige's. She waited for a second, praying to every god she knew, and to those she didn't.

Please, let her be alive. Please, be alive.

She hadn't even realized that she was holding her breath until she felt a warm gush of air against her lips; suddenly she felt like she'd just broken through the water's surface and she could breathe again.

Pulling back, she adjusted her grip and pressed a kiss against Paige's hair. "I love you. I need you to survive this, Paige. I beg you, please do this for me. Please fight because I can't-," she started to say but interrupted herself when she realized that she was hearing sirens.

Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, spilling a few tears, she felt hope blossom in her chest. Only a few more minutes. She pulled Paige's body imperceptibly closer, needing to bridge whatever distance there could possibly be between them. She buried her nose in the flow of chocolatey waves of Paige's hair, immersing herself into her girlfriend's scent. A heavy cloud of copper was dangerously close to completely overshadowing the usual mix of something that was uniquely Paige. She felt sick to her stomach.

A few moments, maybe a few seconds, perhaps a few minutes later – Emily couldn't say, because for her it had been an eternity – the lights of the ambulance and police cars pulling up outside were bathing the scene in an eerie dance of blue and red.

A couple of heartbeats passed when suddenly, a woman that looked to be in her mid-thirties was gently touching Emily's shoulder. "Excuse me, I'll need you to step away a bit, please, so that I can help your friend here, okay?" she said in a calm voice.

Emily looked at her as if she had suddenly grown a second head. Stepping away? From Paige? She couldn't. She had to-

The paramedic squeezed her shoulder tightly, "we need to help your friend as quickly as we can. Please."

Hoarsely, she said: "Girlfriend."

The woman just frowned, completely lost.

Emily just shook her head, trying and failing to keep her emotions in check. "Paige. She's my girlfriend. She saved my life. Please, you must save hers. I told her I love her today. Please," she choked out while stepping away, gently laying Paige's head on the ground.

For a moment, there was a sympathetic look on the paramedic's face, then she turned around and got to work without a further word. Her colleague had taken over from Caleb and was putting a pressure bandage on the brunette's leg while another EMT had rushed in to attend to her, pulling an oxygen mask over her face.

She just stood there, watching them work on the girl she loved, feeling lost.

A man approached her carefully. "Are you hurt, Miss?" he asked gently. She hesitated but then shook her head. "I don't know. I don't think so."

His gentle look turned sheepish, "I'm sorry Miss, but the police would like to ask you a few questions. Think you're up to it?"

Emily ignored him and kept staring straight ahead. It was difficult, keeping her thoughts in order. The changing lights were beginning to make her dizzy, and she had only one thing on her mind: Paige.

Her gaze lingered on Paige's still form which was now being hastily rolled away on a gurney and rushed into the ambulance. She followed them out of the cabin and took a step towards the ambulance but she was stopped by a police officer that cut off her escape.

"Miss, we need to ask you a few questions. I'm sorry but we need to find out what happened here tonight."

Unable to help herself, she kept staring at the retreating back of the ambulance, the piercing sound of the siren decreasing the more distance the vehicle put between her and Paige.

"Emily!" she heard someone call after her. She turned her head towards the source of the noise, incredulous. Sure enough, there were three girls huddled together making their way towards her, only to be stopped by an officer rolling out the police cordon.

Hanna, Spencer and Aria were stood there, looking like they'd seen a ghost. She looked behind her and saw that the medical examiner was already wheeling away a black body-bag. Nate.

A part of her felt the need to throw up at the thought, but that was soon replaced by the overwhelming sensation of sheer relief covering her like a warm blanket: she was just glad that it wasn't her girlfriend in that bag.

Suddenly, she started shivering like a leaf in the wind. Pulling her arms around her, she realized for the first time that her friends didn't know anything that had happened.

"Oh my god, Emily. Are you alright?" Hanna called out again. The blonde girl turned to the police officer standing in her way and drew him into a discussion she couldn't hear from where she stood.

"Miss?" the police officer addressed her again, a slight edge to his voice. She shook her head to clear it as best as she could.

"I'm sorry. I was just a bit distracted. What do you need to know?"

Recounting her experiences had been hard and thankfully, Caleb helped out after she couldn't go on, explaining his version of events. With a promise to return to the station to give a full statement, she was free to go.

Caleb put an consoling arm around her and it was only then that she realized that she was still trembling as he slowly guided her towards where the trio that were her best friends was still waiting.

"Em!" came Aria's voice, a bit shrill. She was staring at her with wide eyes. Hanna hesitated before hugging her, and that's when she finally chanced a look down at herself and realized that she looked like as mess. Worse, she looked like she'd been, quite literally, in a bloodbath. That's because she had been, she thought bitterly.

It was Spencer who found the words to ask: "Em, what happened to you? That's not your blood, is it?"

Suddenly, a wave of anger came over her and she couldn't stop herself from snapping, even if she'd wanted to, invading Spencer's personal space. "No, it's not. It's Paige's," she spat, challenging Spencer to respond.

She saw all three looking at each other uncomfortably. "Paige's? Emily..." she tried, but the raven-haired girl had had enough.

"What, Spencer? Are you finally satisfied? Paige is obviously not A but now she's in an ambulance on the way to the hospital and I don't even know if she's still alive because she jumped in to save me and got stab-," a gulp before continuing, "Stabbed by Nate." She'd started out strong, hot anger coursing through her veins, but her voice got smaller and smaller, breaking towards the end of her recount.

When she felt Spencer's arms around her, soon joined by Aria's and Hanna's, she broke down for good. Without her friends there, she'd have fallen to the ground when her legs gave out on her.

It was Caleb's steady voice that informed the other girls of what he'd already heard Emily tell the police. "When I came into the room, Paige was lying in her own blood, Emily was tied-up and Nate was already dead. I released Emily and called 911 and we both tried our best to keep Paige from bleeding out," he finished his report in a sombre tone.

Hanna's usually loud self was subdued as she whispered, "and he really tried to...?". Spencer looked as if she wanted to slap her for asking such a question and Aria flinched.

Emily looked up tiredly and nodded. "He was going to-," she gulped and interrupted herself. It was harder to talk about it now as she realized what kind of situation she'd been in. But she felt like she owed it to Paige to tell the truth, so she swallowed and tried again. "He was about to rape me when she jumped in between us and fought him off."

She rubbed her temples, trying to sort her head and fight off the impending headache. "I really need to go. I need to see her. I need to know if she's still-" she stammered, fighting the fear rising up in her.

"I'll drive you to the hospital," Spencer offered and Emily was too exhausted to argue and just nodded.

Without any debate, all of them climbed into Spencer's car who drove them to the hospital as quickly as she could. She was going way above the speed limit, apparently not caring for one second.

Taking her eyes off the road for one moment, Spencer glanced over at Emily and grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry, Em. I really am." She added, "Paige will make it, she's one of the strongest people I know. She doesn't take any shit from anyone." She gave her a wry smile before saying, "I would know."

Emily squeezed her hand tightly. "She is. And I need her to be okay. I'm in love with her, Spence."

Spencer pressed down on the accelerator a bit harder at that.