A/N- Sorry for the delay! I'm officially out of school(Last of May) and am done with regular dance for another week. I hope everyone's had a good week and I barley made it on time today (June 6th), well, according to my time zone. Thank you all who read this story. I have decided to write past fifteen chapter (I ended up throwing out my time line for this since I strayed very far from the original :)). I will open a poll on my profile whether to write a sequel for My Light, or you can leave it in the review section down below. I will end the poll whenever this story ends, so you all can see how it ends and make your decision then or now if your confident in your decision :).
Italics are surprisingly Emily's thoughts this time.
Disclaimer- Same as always. I don't own the show or the characters from the show. This does come from my imagination. I don't profit from this.
Third POV:
Emily waits anxiously for Nolan and Arrayah to return. She watches the minutes crawl across the clock, and when thirty minutes is up, she begins to get antsy. What if one of Dwayne's goonies hadn't been caught and had taken Arrayah and Nolan hostage? What if they were in a car accident? What if… She chastens herself over worrying; traffic could easily be the reason for them being late. She inhales and exhales, and takes one final glance at the clock. She focuses her attention on the painting of lotus in a pond straight ahead. She counts every petal in the painting twice before she hears footsteps approaching her room and the grumbling of the guards outside her room.
"Emily, I promise, you are gonna love this!" Nolan cheers as he closes the door. Emily's mouth begins to water as she smells the familiar scent of one of her favorite foods.
"You didn't?" She asks, really happy when Nolan puts the plastic bag in her lap. She opens the plastic bag open and inhales deeply.
"Ems, you know I did." He hands her the spork he stashed in his pocket. She takes the Styrofoam container out and opens it. "I remember how much you loved it; Mr. and Mrs. Petros haven't changed a bit." He refers to the elderly couple that owned a Greek restaurant the duo had frequently visited. Emily looks into the container and is met with her favorite dish, Chicken Souvlaki Pita Sandwich. She uses the spork to cut it up and motions Arrayah to come closer.
"Will you try this, Arrayah?" Emily asks.
"But, it's yours Mommy." Arrayah argues.
"There's plenty to share, Raya. Just one little bite?" Emily holds out her spork, and Arrayah tentatively takes it. She takes a small bite and chews carefully and hands the spork back.
"Do you like it?" Emily asks.
"Yah, but," She leans closer to Emily to make sure Nolan doesn't hear, "Uncle Nolan gave me ice-cream, and I'm not really hungry."
"Ray, that was supposed to be our secret." Nolan attempts to scold, but Emily can see the smirk forming, and Nolan knows he couldn't really scold Arrayah.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not supposed to lie, especially to Mommy. You said so!" Arrayah defends herself, unaware that she has Nolan wrapped around her little finger. Emily continues eating and watches two of her favorite people bicker. After two-thirds of the sandwich is gone, Emily realizes Nolan was right, good food was the trick to eating more. She thinks that if she can continue eating, she will be discharged, and she could finally go home.
Hours after their second arrival, their least favorite part of the day comes. "Nolan, you'll both have to leave; Emily needs her rest. See you both tomorrow." A night-shift nurse announces into the room. Nolan picks up a drowsy Arrayah and sets her on the bed. She kisses Emily's cheek and throws her arms around her neck. Emily recalls the first time Arrayah visited her, and the piercing screams she had projected when Nolan tried pulling her off her Mommy's body. Nolan had to leave the room so Emily could explain that Arrayah had to go with Nolan so she could get some sleep and she could come back tomorrow. Arrayah left, unwillingly and grouchy, and it broke Emily's heart to see the betrayal in Arrayah's eyes as Nolan carried her out.
Emily gives one final squeeze and Arrayah is lifted from the bed. Nolan allows Arrayah to lay her head on his shoulder and he gives one final wave to Emily. Even with their relationship returning to how it almost was, they both still acted like awkward teenagers. He turns around and leaves Emily and the hospital. The night nurse enters her room to check her levels, administers her medicine, and asks if she needs anything. Emily politely declines, and the nurse leaves. Emily manages to sleep better; there are still nightmares and nurses coming in to check the machines and her well-being throughout the nigh, but it was comparatively better.
In the morning, her doctor shows up and assess her recovery. She signs off on Emily to start minor rehab, meaning she could finally get out of bed. She orders the catheter to be removed, and then Emily be rolled down to the rehab center. The nurses execute their orders with care and one loans Emily a pair of scrubs. They fit awkwardly, too short and too loose, but she doesn't complain. She is wheeled down to the rehab facility. Once she is down there, the Physical Therapist, a lean man in his early fifties with salt-and-pepper hair and brown eyes gives an over view of what was going to happen. He briefly went over her medical history with her, and got to work. The assistant, a woman in her thirties with brown eyes and mousy hair in a bun, helps Emily out of her chair and gives her a crutch. She goes to the other side of Emily and makes her walk a few feet. The feeling of actually moving her legs and supporting her weight is a strange feeling; she feels like a newborn foal first learning to stand. She finally makes it to her destination and is allowed to sit for a few minutes. She puts her face in her hands, how could she allow herself to get so weak? She is out of breath and exhausted from ten feet of just walking.
"Emily, are you ready to continue, or would you like to stop and go back to your room?" The assistant asks.
"Nancy, I think we should move to another set. Give Emily a break from moving too much." The Physical Therapist, William Richards, informs, grabbing a ball of the counter.
"No, I would like to try again." Emily grits through her teeth.
"Emily, you do not have to prove yourself. You can take a break and try again later." Doctor Richards explains.
"No, I would like to try again." Emily repeats a little nicer.
"Emily, pushing yourself too hard can make it worse and set you back weeks. You need to learn where your limits are." The kind doctor explains.
"I know my limits." Emily says, allowing Amanda, who has long been pushed down for a long time, to come out, "I would just like to try again, one more time."
"Alright, Nancy, would you mind helping her out again?"
Emily comes back from Physical Therapy exhausted and just wants to sleep, but when she arrives at her room, Nolan and Arrayah are waiting in the chairs. Once Emily is situated in bed, Arrayah is the first to her side.
"Mommy, I thought you left, or Dwayne got you." She says pitifully, "Nolan told me you had to go to a special doctor, but I was still scared."
"I wouldn't leave you, Raya, I love you too much." Emily yawns and stretches her arm out to hug her daughter.
"Didn't you sleep good, Mommy?" Arrayah questions, looking up in to her mother.
"I slept fine," Emily lies, "the special doctor, which was a physical therapist, just wore Mommy out."
"What did the phys… physio… therrypist…" Arrayah stumbles and blows a frustrated breath out, "the thingy-megiggy do?"
"The phys-i-cal ther-a-pist" Emily sounds out for her daughter, "helped Mommy walk and do things she used to before she met your Daddy."
"Mommy, Dwayne isn't my Daddy." Arrayah shakes her head, "He's too mean to be a Daddy, and wasn't nice to you."
Emily felt a pang of fear in the beginning of Arrayah talking, but calms down and is sincerely touched by what she said.
"He doesn't have to be if you don't want him to." Emily tells her and reaches over to try and pick her up. Nolan assists Emily and she pulls Nolan in for their hug too.
A/N- I hope you liked it, and don't forget to vote! Also, did anyone catch the attempt of symbolism/ foreshadowing in the beginning? I hope everyone has a good week!