"I'm fine, dad." Emily said to Wayne Fields. It had been a year and a half since since Emily walked away from Alison. When Emily didn't have a client she was working with, or one staying at the house, she usually kept to herself. Her parents and the girls would try to visit her as often as possible. This was one of the cases that her father was at her house, they were working on her mustang, something had broken on it a few days ago.
"I know you are. You say you are every time I ask you. But I know that you are lieing. Ever since you came out to your mother and me, you have had a girlfriend." Wayne said.
"Maybe it is time for me to be alone for a little while." Emily responded.
"Not for this long." Wayne yelled. "I am just worried about you, Em." He said, calmer.
"I know, dad. But I really loved Ali. I thought we were going to be together for the rest of our lives." Emily admitted. She could always talk to her father so easy about these things.
"She undermined you. That is not love. You deserve to be with someone that treats you like you are their whole world, that would do anything to make you happy." Wayne said as he cupped Emily's face so she would look at him.
"I know, I just need some time." Emily said.
"How long? I am afraid to leave you." Wayne said.
"Until I feel like my world isn't falling apart around me." Emily said as a tear ran down her cheek. "I need to go get the guest rooms ready. I have a client staying with me for a few weeks, coming home with me tomorrow. She is training for the Olympic swim team, apparently passed out in the pool." Emily busied herself to try to stop the tears. The truth was, was that she did feel alone. Ever since she left Alison she felt like she couldn't trust anyone to not hurt her. Meaningless one night stands was all she had had for a year and a half.
"And the girls will be up with you next week?" Wayne asked.
"Yes dad. But I really need to get ready for this client. And mom is expecting you home in a few hours." Emily and her father said their goodbyes and she watched from the front porch as her father drove away. Emily turned and walked into her house, completely alone. For the first three months that she had left Alison, her phone rang non stop. At first it was the girl trying to win her back. Then it was her parents and the girls. Now the phone hardly rang, except when someone was planning on stopping by or when work called. She knew that things had to change.
Emily was brought out of her thoughts by Spencer touching her hand. She looked from Spencer to the window, seeing that they were at the hospital.
"What exactly did they say on the phone, Spence?" Emily asked softly.
"That they couldn't get her heart rate to slow down. Their worried that it is going to cause another heart attack." Spencer said.
"Let's get in there then." Emily said. The two made their way into the hospital and took the elevator to Paige's floor. Spencer stopped at the nurses desk to get some information while Emily walked to the girls room, standing in front of the window to look at the girl. Through the window she could see that Paige had wires attached to her chest, running to machines that were beeping wildly beside her. "So what are they going to do?" Emily asked Spencer.
"Nothing." Emily turned at the deep voice. "Well not nothing. Were going to continue with her medication, but it is what you are going to do. Her heart rate went up the moment you left her room. We are hoping you can get it to go back down, at least until she wakes up. She hasn't been awake since it went up. So get in there." The doctor pointed to the door to her room. Emily walked into the girls room and went to her bed, grabbing her hand and sitting on the bed beside the girl.
"I haven't been in a relationship for a year and a half. Which is probably less time than you, with all your training. But my reason isn't because I am busy. I actually have more free time than I should. I don't trust easily. Alison ruined how I look at people. I used to trust everyone right off the bat, but now. Now I am guarded. I usually don't let people in right away. But with you... it was easy and felt natural. So that is why I need you to wake up and walk out of this hospital." Emily leaned down and kissed Paige on the lips. Paige's heart monitor beeped loud once and showed that the girls heart rate was slowly going down to a normal pace. Emily leaned in again and kissed her lips, forehead and each eyelid until she felt the girls lids flutter open against her lips. She pulled back and looked into the eyes she had started falling for. "Hi."
"Kiss me again." Was all Paige said before Emily leaned in and brushed her lips against hers. "Hi." She said once Emily pulled back. They were both broken from their starring when the door behind them was thrown open. Standing in the door between the two women was a furious looking Nick McCuller's. "Dad?"
"Get out." The man said, looking towards Emily. "Get out of this room!" Emily moved to stand up but Paige grabbed her hand, stilling her movements.
"She stays." Paige said.
"She leaves, now. And she will not be continuing her 'work' with you." Nick turned and looked at Emily. "Looks like I will have to be calling the board and having a chat with your director. Patient relationships are forbidden."
"Mr. McCullers, with all due respect, I am a private practice. They can't really do anything to me anyway." Emily said back to the man.
"No, but a little bad publicity will ruin you. Using my daughter to.." Nick was saying.
"Using 'your' daughter. That is rich." Emily yelled back.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Nick question, stepping closer to Emily.
"You know damn well what it means. You are the reason she is here!" Emily yelled back.
"Guys." Paige said to deaf ears as she started to get out of the bed, reaching for Emily.
"Me?" Nick yelled back to Emily.
"Em." Paige said, grabbing the attention of the girl. Emily turned to see that Paige had a hand on her heart and was slowly heading to the floor. "Dad, leave." Paige said as Emily wrapped her arms around the girl and set them back on the bed.
"Paige I don't think now is the time for you to grow a back bone. She used you. Is using you." Nick said.
"You used me dad! You drugged me, and abused my strengths in the pool. Look at me! I am here because of you. I'm not kicking Emily out, but I do want you to leave. And I don't want you coming back." Paige said, her breathing labored.
"You are going to regret this." Nick said. Before he left he turned and looked back at Emily. "This isn't over."
"You come after me, and this gets out as well." Emily said standing up and walking to the man. "Your daughter is the best thing to happen to me in over a year. I am not going to let her homophobic father push her away from me, or destroy my life, or hers. I'm not going anywhere." Paige's heart monitors started blaring loudly causing the nurses and a doctor to come running in. Spencer, who was standing at the door listening pulled both Nick and Emily in the hallway and out of the way so the doctors could work on Paige.
"Neither of you are to go back into that room." Spencer said as she turned and went into Paige's room.
