a/n: gahh, I am so so sorry it's been so long since the last update. I got carried away in life! Please enjoy this next chapter and give me feedback. Again, i am sorry! Thank you for all who read my stories!

"Honey, someone is here to see you." Mrs. Fields spoke in the softest tone she could muster, afraid to even raise her voice at her daughter. She didn't want to chance potentially upsetting Emily. The poor girl had been through more than enough.

"Who?" Emily croaked, her dark brown eyes fluttering open as she woke from a light nap. She cocked her head at her mom in wonder.

"Uhh, Spencer." Her mom began, taking a moment of silence as Emily straightened her posture.

"Oh. Well, I-"

"And Paige." Mrs. Fields threw out. Emily's entire posture changed. She tensed, which wasn't that great for her injuries. The truth was, she had been avoiding Paige since the attack. She just couldn't get intimate with someone after what had happened, plus someone pretending to be Paige lured her to the location of her assault in the first place. Paige brought back bad memories she wasn't even apart of.

"No." Emily quickly looked away, her gaze growing tired as she folded her hands over eachother. After a few moments-

"Hey, Emily." Emily's head snapped up to Spencer and Paige as they entered her hospital room. Emily felt a flare in her chest. Why would her mom just ignore her wishes? She didn't want to see anybody at the moment. Her medication was beginning to wear off and deep pain started to replace the numbing sensation of her painkillers.

"Hi." Emily forced a weak smile to spread across her face. It's not that she didn't like Paige anymore, she was in love with the girl, but so much had happened so fast. She didn't want to ruin her relationship because she was on edge.

"How are you feeling?" Paige asked, trying to contain her misery from being pushed away so much. Emily shrugged.

"Guess I've been better." She replied.

"Yeah, no kidding…" Paige laughed, but it was airy and fake, full of heartache. Her face grew hard. "I miss you." No reply. Emily kept her eyes fixed on her hands fumbling over eachother in her lap. "Babe." Emily could feel a tear welling up, but she forced herself not to let it go.

"Paige. Please." Emily whispered, offering nothing except a dejected glance to her girlfriend as Spencer watched on, ready to jump in if anything unexpected ensued.

"No, Emily! Please what?" Paige hollered, fury beginning to beckon inside of her. Spencer touched her arm to tell her to lower her voice and her irritability. Paige nodded before continuing. "Emily, I love you so so much. More than I have ever loved anybody in my entire life."

"I know that." Emily acknowledged.

"Let me finish." Paige remarked, tucking a lock of her light brown hair behind her ear and clearing her throat. "I always thought we were honest with each other, open, no matter how much it hurt. Then today I find out that you're taking any visitors as long as they aren't me…" Paige ducked her head as she became choked up on her words. "I feel like those people…that attacked you..." Paige wasn't sure if she should continue, but she did anyway. She needed to start taking risks. "I feel like they beat the feelings for me out of you."

"Oh Paige…" Emily echoed after staying silent for a few moments. "I love you." She sighed. "Nothing can change that...you and I know that...but...I lost a part of myself that night and I don't know if or when I will find it. I guess my point is, what they did to me….I can barely hug my mom without having flashbacks….and I'm sorry….you shouldn't have to deal with that." She finished, letting the tear go.

Instinctively, Paige was at Emily's side, wiping away her tear. Emily didn't pull away. Paige had her locked into a moment of vulnerability and they both just marinated in it for a few minutes. Paige closed her eyes when she noticed how prominent the cut across Emily's cheek was. She was still as beautiful as ever, but the cut was just a reminder of all of the pain involved in the situation.

Then, in a split second of absolute uncertainty, Emily leaned forward, and planted a soft, light kiss on Paige's forehead. It only lingered for a split second before she pulled away and looked deeply into Paige's eyes.

"That's so you know I still love you. Even though it might- it will take me a while to get back to where I was.." Emily whispered. Spencer smiled from across the room. For some reason, even though her suspicions of Paige still remained, she was glad the two were back to a remotely okay state.

"Well, that wasn't so bad." Spencer sighed in relief, turning to the door when Mrs. Fields entered the room again. Her eyes combed over Paige and Emily's embraced, hands folded on one another and she smiled. Things had gotten to a point where Emily's happiness affected Pam more than her sexuality and she was just glad to see Emily physically touching someone.

"Are you feeling better, sweetie?" Mrs. Fields cooed in her mother voice.

"Yeah, Mom. Thank you." The injured swimmer croaked.

"Listen, I don't want to ruin the fun, but the police want-"

"Mom, I don't want to talk to the police anymore. It hurts enough dealing with the physical pain." Spencer instantly felt guilt creeping up the darkest passages of her. She felt angry now, at the people who hurt Emily and at herself for not receiving this feeling when everything first happened. Why hadn't she had her father hunt down these people yet? Spencer was going to tear them apart!

"No...they need you to identify two the the people who...they are at the police station."


"Well, when are you going, Em?" Aria's soft voice inquired. She had come to the hospital the minute the bell released her from her last class. Hanna had gone home for some reason and Spencer and Paige had been there all day.

"Six." Emily replied, obviously uncomfortable.

"Well, we can go with you, right?" Aria hoped, but the looks Spencer and Paige gave her told her otherwise. "What, seriously?"

"They think my friends might distract me from identifying the real people who hurt me." Paige flinched everytime Emily said 'hurt me'. It felt like she was trying to take away some of the heinousness out of what those people did to her and it made Paige angry. Emily didn't get a paper cut or have a bad break up. Those people did more than simply hurt her. Paige stood from the bed and began pacing, catching Emily's attention. Paige only paced when nervous or when planning something.

"But seeing the people who did that to you might make it worse." Aria chimed.

"Aria's right. You could go into shock. You were in a really traumatic situation." Spencer's knowledge began to shine through again. Before she started talking books, Spencer almost seemed like a normal teenager, minus the sweaters that she wore that aged her by ten years.

"No more traumatic than when Ben did to me in that locker room." Emily shot back.

"No, Em, it's not the same thing. He slammed you into a locker, he didn't beat you up. Plus, he apologized a few days ago, remember?" Spencer felt herself getting riled up and she had to turn away to calm herself down.

"That doesn't change what he did. Why do you always try to make things sound worse than they are?" Emily softly whispered and Aria could see the girl breaking. Her eyes were pleading.

"We aren't. But you are in a hospital bed with stitches and a cast because of these people. You were outnumbered and two of those people were star athletes. When Hanna found you...I've never seen her like that. Not even when her Gran died." Aria spoke in her calmest voice, not trying to set Emily off.

"Wait, Ben was here?" Paige stopped pacing and turned to face Emily.

"Shit." Spencer whispered. Secret blown. Paige wasn't supposed to find out that part.

"You let a boy who tried to rape you visit you?" Paige tried to control her anger, but by the way Aria jumped off the bed and turned to face her, Paige could tell the force of her words was more than she had intended.

"Paige, I didn't ask him to come he just showed up." Emily knew she couldn't get worked up. The doctor specifically told her not to take visitors for that reason.

"No. It's okay Emily. I just...I need to think." Paige quickly left, leaving Emily teary-eyed and beating herself up. Spencer quickly jumped to change topics.

"Where's Hanna?" Spencer wondered. Aria shrugged.

"I'll text her." She said, feeling awkward.

"Why don't you go to her house and check on her." Emily suggested. "I need time to think anyways."

"You sure? Are you mad?"

"No, Spence. It's okay. Just go." Emily smiled and her two friends left.

Ring.

Emily tensed as she slowly picked her phone up and stared at the message on the screen.

Aria's little brother attacked you. He's the one you'll identify unless you want a car to come Hanna's way again. xoxo -A