Chapter 1 – Breathe Again

Hey guys thank you for sticking to the story. Don't worry I have a lot in store for this storyline and these characters. Please stick with me, it is going to be a bumpy road ahead.

Aria ran into the hospital and head for the reception area in the ER. "Ah excuse me I'm looking for Hanna Marin-Rivers, she was in an accident…." She yelled to the lady at the desk but was interrupted when Ashley saw her.

"Aria" Ashley shouted the moment she saw the brunette enter the ER.

"Oh Ashley, thank God. What happened? Have you spoken with the doctors yet? Where is she?" Aria spouted off questions to the older woman just as Ezra came over to them.

"The police say some guy lost control of his car because of the water on the road. Apparently he hit into a car which lost control and slammed into Hanna's side of the car pushing it into the way of another car coming in the opposite direction. That car collided into the driver's side and flipped it over. Emily was in her car seat around the back and Spencer just went to check on her. They say she might not need surgery but she does have bleeding in her brain and a concussion along with a few cuts and bruises." She paused to wipe her tears. "Hanna has some internal bleeding a broken arm and leg, a cracked spine and a brain haemorrhage. Caleb's leg was pinned under the steering wheel and they said they may have to amputate, he also has swelling in his brain and a collapsed lung."

"Oh my God. They are going to be ok though right? They have to be" Aria asks.

A few minutes later Spencer returned. "Emily is doing ok. They dressed her wounds and they are monitoring her brain bleed. She has a lot of great doctors and nurses around her, I'm sure she's going to be fine."

"What about Hanna and Caleb? Did you find out anything more about them?" Aria asks

"Yea they are both still in surgery. Caleb's heart stopped for a few minutes while they were fixing his brain and they had to shock him. They got his heart started again, they had to take off a large portion of his skull to allow for his brain to swell without being compromised. When I was leaving they were preparing to start working on his lungs. But for now he's stable."

"This is a lot" Ashley comments

"I know." Spencer replies and embraced her in a hug.

"How is Hanna doing?" Aria asks again impatiently

"Well her surgeries are going to take a lot longer because she had a lot more damage. Her spine was stabilized before surgery and they are still working on her internal injuries. They were trying to save her spleen when I was leaving but I think they may have to remove it. Her vital signs haven't been stabilized but I'm sure once they get the bleeding under control she'll be fine."

"Thanks Spence. I don't know what we would have done had you not been here." Aria replied from her spot in Ezra's arms.

"It's no problem. They are going to be fine." Spencer assured them all. "Where are the twins by the way?"

"My mom is with them, I should call and check on them. I didn't want to tell them before I had any concrete information, plus Callie hasn't been feeling well all day so I didn't want to take her out in the rain." Aria replied before excusing herself to go and call her mom. She updated her mom before coming back to the waiting room.

They had been waiting for hours now when a doctor finally came to update them on the Hanna and Caleb's condition. "Is there a family here for Hanna and Caleb Rivers?"

"Yes right here" Ashley and Aria answered and got up from their seats to go to the doctor.

"No please remain in your seats. I'll come to you." The doctor stopped them in their tracks and they made their way back to their seats and he sat across from them. "Hi I'm Dr Stevens. Caleb's surgeries went well, he's stable, however, he's in a medically induced coma to try and stop the swelling in his brain. His leg has been stabilized however as soon as he can take the surgery, we are going to have to amputate because the damage was too severe. We have it stable for now, and he's on antibiotics to prevent any further spreading of the infection he has."

"When can we see him?" Ashley asks

"Well he's in recovery now, so you won't be able to for at least a few hours." Dr Stevens replied.

"Ok what about Hanna?" Aria asks

"Well her stats plummeted and we were unable to get her stabilized and so we concluded her body was too traumatized to continue working on her, so we have wrapped her stomach and moved her to the ICU to allow her body some time to rest before we can continue her surgeries. Her injuries were more severe and so she has quite a few more surgeries to go followed by a very long recovery period if or when she survives the surgeries." Dr Stevens informed them. "You won't be able to see her any time soon, her condition is too severe. We will keep you informed periodically though"

"Thank you Dr Stevens" Spencer replied after noticing everyone was still trying to process all the information they have been given.

"No problem Dr Hastings." Dr Stevens replied before taking off in the same direction he came. "I'm going to go and check to see if you can see Emily. I'll be right back" They all nodded at Spencer as she headed for the paediatric ward.

She returned a few minutes later and escorted them to the PICU. "They will only allow us in there one at a time but I'm still in my scrubs so I get to come in with you guys." Emily was laying on her back in a crib strapped up to several monitors.

Spencer brought Ashley in first and she took up her chart and scanned it over. "Don't worry about all the machines she's hooked up to, they are only for monitoring purposes. She's breathing on her own and she doesn't need feeding assistance. According to her chart her brain bleed is still grade 1, which means it's a minor bleed which will probably resolve on its own. As you can see she's alert and moving all her limbs and looking around. That tells us that no part of her brain was severely damaged. She's good."

Spencer then took Aria in to see the baby giving her the same assurances she'd just given Ashley.

"Ok guys listen you should go home and get some rest. I'm on call and I'll be here so I'll call you as soon as anything changes. I promise." Spencer told them.

"Ok but Spencer please call as soon as there is anything new." Aria warned

"I will" Spencer promised once again.

They then said goodbye to each other before Ezra guided Aria to the parked car.

When they arrived home it was late but only Jax was in bed. "Mom why are the girls still up?"

"They didn't want to go to bed. I think they suspected something was wrong, I decided to just let them stay up. And Callie's fever broke." Ella informed her

"Thanks mom. But don't go, please spend the night so if we have to leave early you don't have to drive over here again." Aria told her

"Ok no problem sweetie. How are Hanna, Caleb and Emily?"

"Hanna is critical, Caleb is stable but in a medically induced coma and Emily is ok. They are just keeping her to monitor her." Aria told her

"Well at least there is some good news in all this" Ella replied and both Aria and Ezra nodded. She then went and told the girls goodnight before leaving for one of the guest bedrooms.

Aria then slowly made her way to the living room where the girls were watching TV. She turned it off and sat in the sofa across from them and called their attention. "Hey girls"

"Hi mom….Hi Aunty Aria" They all answered

"Aunty Aria isn't my mommy coming for us?" Callie asked causing Aria to start to cry.

Ezra held her and whispered soothingly in her ear before turning his attention to the girls. "Well Callie, Rylie. Your mom, dad and sister were in an accident today and they are in the hospital right now so you guys will be staying here with us."

I know, I know, how could I leave it here? But next chapter will be all about the kids' reaction. This would have been too long if I kept it in. As usual please leave a review guys.

Cavine