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Through the Fire
"Sometimes the wrong choices bring us to the right places."

Brain overflowing with information on brain injuries and amnesia, Emily couldn't decide if she was glad she did the research or if it just made her that much more afraid for her best friend. There are so many different types of amnesia, so many different things that could change within Elizabeth due to the damages that her brain had sustained. So many parts of her can be affected. All the things that people take for granted could be taken from her and that scares Emily.

The once talkative Elizabeth could become even more talkative or she could lose that piece of her altogether. She can turn into one those short sentence people who barely voice anything. She's met someone like that, a person that barely speaks no matter what you say to them, and she can't imagine Elizabeth ever being so closed off like that. She's widely known for her nervous rambling and excited babbling. To think that she'll never hear her ramble on and on about something or another makes Emily disheartened even further.

That's not even touching on the behavioral and personal aspects of the possible changes that she'll endure. Depending on the areas that have been affected during the hit and run, Elizabeth could come out of the coma an entirely different person, not a single trace of the girl she used to be. There's just so many possible ways that this tragedy can transform her best friend, so many ways for this to turn out, and she wasn't sure if she was truly prepared for that.

Making her way out of her bedroom, Emily decides to make her way to the hospital, needing to see Elizabeth now more than ever. With all the new information floating around in her head, she just needs to be by her side and remember just why she was filling her head with things that could keep her up at night. She needs to remember all the good she had with Elizabeth and the chances of that continuing or being recreated once she awakens.

"Hey." Emily breathes as she accepts her brother's embrace in greeting. "How is she?"

"She's stable. Her vitals are still weaker than I'd like, but its getting stronger by the hour." Jason informs as he pulls away to look at her. "I informed her grandparents of the transfer and they'll be back in the morning to be with her. I've already put you down on the overnight visitors list, so, you can stay the night if that's what you want."

"It is." Emily shakes her head, smiling softly. "Thank you."

"Thank me by keeping an eye on her tonight." Jason counters. "If there are any changes, call me. I'm gonna be staying in the on-call room tonight so I won't be too far."

"Jason..."

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to stop by and see Courtney?"

"Not tonight." he replies before kissing her forehead. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

Taking a deep breath, she grants her brother a soft smile before making her way into the room, allowing the door to softly close behind her. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that Elizabeth was merely sleeping, the peaceful expression upon her face lending some calmness to Emily as she takes a seat by the bed. Pulling a magazine from her purse, Emily settles into her seat for the night, grateful to be able to be by her side.

:::through the fire:::

Pouring his wife a cup of tea, Steve gently sets it in front of her before taking a seat beside her on their couch, saddened by the expression on her face. He had done his best to stop her from looking at Elizabeth's CT scans, but his wife just wouldn't let it go until she saw them for herself. Refusing to let her see it alone, he had gone with her to review the scans, getting Jason's medical input as they looked them over.

The amount of damage that Elizabeth had sustained, it was no longer a question of whether there would be complications when she woke from her coma, but a question of how severe and lasting the complications would be. From the moment they left the hospital, his wife has been in a sort of numb state, unable to truly process what they have seen.

"We should call Jeff and Carolyn." Audrey finally speaks. "Steven and Sarah, too. We should tell them what's happening."

"We called all of them when she was taken to the hospital." Steve reminded her. "If they were going to show up, they would have by now."

"I don't know if we can do this alone." Audrey voices as tears fill her eyes. "I don't know if I can handle this."

"Having the support would be ideal, but we both know they are no good for her." Steve sighs as he wraps his arms around his wife. "We'll get through this."

"How?" she dares to question. "How do we start from scratch?"

"I don't know." he admits. "But we have to try. We're all she has."

"I wish I had your optimism." she sighs, nestling into her husband. "Regardless of how much I wish it to be, I know this isn't going to be as easy as just starting over."

Not knowing what else he could say to help make this better for his wife, Steve just holds her as she cries her pain out, trying his best to be the rock that she needs. He knows as well as she does that this won't be easy. None of this will be easy. As much as this hurts him, he can't think of his own pain, he can't wallow in the heartache he feels at what his granddaughter has suffered through. His focus has to be on being their for Elizabeth and giving her whatever support she needs. Regardless of the way it'll make him or anyone else feel.

:::through the fire:::

Hands flush against the tiled wall in front of him, Jason shuts his eyes as the water trails its way down his shoulders and over his back, needing the warm water to relax him enough to get some sleep. Though she is recovering, Elizabeth still has a long way to go before she'll be able to leave the hospital, let alone be taken out of the coma. Until Elizabeth's in the clear, he's not sure if he can be in the same room as Courtney, truly afraid of what he'll say once they're face to face.

Shutting off the water, Jason towels off before making his way into the locker room to get dressed, his body finally relaxed from the past two days of nonstop stress. As he's getting dressed, his mind wanders off with thoughts of his sister, how easily she's been able to adapt to everything he's told her so far. When he had informed them that it was a miracle if she didn't wake up with severe memory loss, his sister processed the information and then went out to research all there is to know about amnesia and brain damage. If he was in his sister's place, he doubts he could be so accepting.

"Robin?" Jason voices in confusion when he walks into the on-call room and finds her relaxing in one of the beds. "I didn't know you were on the roster for tonight."

"I'm not." Robin admits. "Its a long story. One that I don't particularly want to get into at the moment."

"Okay." Jason replies. "You'd tell me if you needed help, though, right?"

"Of course." she smiles softly. "So...can I ask what brings you to the hospital hotel room?"

"Patient in critical condition." Jason admits as he takes the bed next to hers. "Can't be too far."

"Ah, 0f course, the Webber case, right?" she ponders the complications of that particular case. "Steve Hardy sent me the file for a second opinion. I was sad that I couldn't give him the hope he needed."

"Me, too."

"Anyway, you should get some sleep." Robin voices with a soft smile. "I'm sure you could really use a good night's sleep."

"Feels like I haven't slept in weeks."

"I bet." she replies. "Get some rest. I'll get you up if they need you."

"You're not going to sleep?"

"Not any time soon." she admits. "You have enough to worry about, Jason. I'm okay."

Meeting her eyes for a moment longer, Jason decides to trust her word and gets comfortable in bed, desperately in need of some shut eye. Wrapping the blanket around him snugly, he allows the fatigue to pull him under into a deep slumber, sleeping away the stresses of the last few days. Hopefully once he has some sleep under his belt, he'll be able to approach Elizabeth's condition with a different perspective.

:::through the fire:::

Emily wasn't sure if she should be surprised or worried by his presence in Elizabeth's hospital room. The last she had heard from her best friend, the two didn't end on good terms, which begged the question of why he was there. Visiting hours have long since ended, not that any Spencer actually cared about rules and regulations of any institution.

"How is she?" he questions as he stands by her bed. "I just got back into town and Nikolas filled me in on what he knew."

"She's stable for now." she informs. "Its still too soon to say if she's in the clear."

"How did this happen?" he questions before turning his gaze to her. "Do the police have any new leads?"

"No. None."

"Go figure." he scoffs. "The police in this town aren't worth their weight in gold."

"Lucky, what are you doing here?" Emily questions after a long moment. "The last I heard, you two didn't end on good terms..."

"We were making our way back to each other." he says firmly before letting out a sigh. "We were going to have lunch tomorrow to talk about..."

"Talk about what?"

"Guess it doesn't matter now." he says plainly. "This might be asking too much, but would you mind keeping me updated on her condition?"

"Sure." she shakes her head. "Of course."

"Thanks." he says before walking over and placing a soft kiss upon her forehead. "Keep fighting, Liz."

Watching him walk out of the room, Emily waits long enough for the door to close behind him before she turns her focus back to her best friend. How could she not know that she was heading to a reconciliation with Lucky? They talked almost every day, sometimes all day, and through the night. How could she not mention a reconciliation with the man that practically broke her heart to pieces when they broke up? With a deep sigh, Emily shakes her head, knowing it was a pointless inquisition now. Settling back into the chair, she puts her focus on her magazine, hoping that it can numb her mind long enough to get some sleep. Praying for a better day with the morning light.