Alison woke up the next morning around 6 am. She cursed herself for waking up so early. She'd forgotten the events that occurred these past few days until she opened her eyes and looked at whom the hand belonged to. Her heart ached at the sight of her killer looking so small. She yearned for those vibrant eyes to stare back into hers. She felt a familiar growl in her stomach, but she pushed the thought out of her mind. She knew Emily would want her to take care of herself, but she couldn't focus on anything but Emily.
"Why does our love have to be so hard? We missed our chance once, I won't rest until you wake up and give us our second chance. I know that we're written in the stars, you and me Em," she said while stroking her hair that now felt flat, not like the vibrant locks she'd always sported. At that point Mrs. Fields entered the room looking worse than yesterday.
"Hi Alison, any change?" she asked defeated.
"No, but last night when I was talking to her I felt her squeeze my hand," Alison said giving her hope.
"That's really good, I'm glad she listening," Mrs. Fields said smiling for the first time since she's appeared.
"Me too, Aria said the more you talk the better. When Ezra was in a coma, he could hear everything she said," Alison said.
"Well then I guess we'll have to keep talking. It gives me hope knowing she can hear us," she said with a tear escaping her eye. "Do you want to go get breakfast or a coffee?"
"Yes I'll be right back, do you want anything?" Alison asked but got a nod in response.
"No thank you," she said before focusing her attention of Emily. Alison walked through the hospital lost in her thoughts. Soon she found herself in the cafeteria ordering a coffee and bagel. Her trance was broken by a familiar voice.
"Hey Alison," Michael said smiling from behind her.
"Hi Michael," she replied gently.
"How's your fiancé?" he asked hesitantly.
"She had to be hooked up to a ventilator because she can't breath on her own," Alison replied grimly
"I'm sorry to hear that," he said.
"But when I was talking to her last night she squeezed my hand, is that just a reflex?" Alison wondered.
"Not at all, that's a good sign that she can hear you," he said with a smile.
"Thank you Michael, I should probably be getting back," she said.
"Call me sometime," he said writing his number on a piece of paper and smiling.
"You do realize she's not dead," Alison said shortly, slightly annoyed with him.
"It's just if you want to talk, besides you're not my type, that hunk over there is," he said pointing to a muscular, with tan skin and green eyes, who was sporting a wedding band.
"Sorry, but you do realize he's wearing a wedding band," Alison pointed out sheepishly.
"You do realize I'm wearing the same wedding band," Michael chuckled while revealing his left hand.
"Oh shit you're married!" Alison's cheeks turned red.
"Yeah I know, I'm young and cool right," he said pretending to be cool.
"Very funny, but I'm kind of shocked," she said.
"Why? I don't look gay or not the marrying type?" he asked with a playful tone.
"Both! You just look like a regular frat boy," she replies.
"Yeah I wasn't big on marriage until I met him. I was a total player, very manipulative and mean, but he changed me. He's the sweetest person I've ever met, such a big heart," he smiled at his inner thoughts and Alison drew on the connection. Her and Michael were similar in a lot of ways and so were his husband and Emily with their tan skin, dreamy eyes, and big hearts, and their ability to break down their walls.
"He kind of reminds me of Emily," she said out loud.
"Hmm," he said looking at his husband until he heard a beeping noise. "Sorry got to go, duty calls, but remember if you need anything or an ear, just call me". He walked away leaving Alison smiling that there's hope for her and Emily to get their happy ending. The thought of Emily made her sigh. It should be her up there; she deserved all the pain in the world, not her sweet Emily. Soon she made her way back to the room. When she walked in the room, she saw the last person she expected, Mr. Fields. Dressed in his military uniform as if he'd just gotten off the plane.
"Hello Mr. Fields," she said nervously.
"Hello Alison, it's good to see you," he said with a slight smile.
"It's really good to see you too, I know Emily would want you here," she said and could make out a distinct crying noise and traced it to Mrs. Fields. "Are you alright Mrs. Fields? Did anything change with Emily?" Alison asked nervously.
"No, no change," Mrs. Fields replied and Alison knew not to pressure her. Suddenly she stood from the chair and walked out of the room.
"Alison I need you to promise me something," Mr. Fields spoke up, breaking the silence.
"Anything sir," she said gulping.
"Please watch over my Emmy and my wife while I'm gone," he said and let a tear out.
"Are you going back to Texas," Alison asked shocked.
"No, I'm being deployed to Syria to fight against the ISIS terrorists. I shouldn't be telling you all this, but there's a chance I won't make it home, and I need you to promise to take care of them," he said getting choked up.
"Can't you find a way out of it?" she pleaded.
"I can't, it's last minute and it's my duty," he said.
"Your duty is to your family," she argued.
"I wish I could stay, but the last Lieutenant Colonel was killed in action from the unit before us and I have to go," he said and Alison cried not only for Emily, but she couldn't imagine family dinners without Wayne Fields, the cool, understanding dad. He wrapped her in his arms like a father would until her cries quieted. "Please promise me Alison".
"I promise," she said while the tears cascaded onto his uniform and his hand soothed the back of her head.
"Good," he said leaning seating her in the chair and kneeling down to eye level. "You have to be strong for the both of them, I don't care if you turn into bitch Alison to everyone else. I know how strong you are and I know how much you love Emily. Please do it for the both of them," he said stroking her hair and drying the tears.
"I'll do it, but please promise me you'll try to come back, for all of us," she said.
"I promise," he said kissing the top of her head and standing and turning to his daughter. He pressed two fingers to his lips and traced a cross on Emily's body and said:
"Ama namin, sumasalangit Ka
Sambahin ang ngalan Mo
Mapasaamin ang kaharian Mo
Sundin ang loob Mo
Dito sa lupa, para nang sa langit.
Bigyan Mo kami ngayon ng aming kakanin sa araw araw.
At patawarin Mo kami sa aming mga sala,
Para nang pagpapatawad namin
Sa mga nagkakasala sa amin.
At huwag Mo kaming ipahintulot sa tukso,
At iadya Mo kami sa lahat ng masama.
Sapagkat Iyo ang kaharian, at kapangyarihan,
At ang kadakilaan, magpakailanman. Amen."
"Emily please come back to us, I know it's hard, but you have to fight. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. Imagine you're swimming to us, keep swimming Emmy! You knew how to swim before you could walk, so I know you'll come back to us," he said and kissed her hand and left the room to look for Mrs. Fields. Alison sat in a trance watching the same rise and fall of Emily's chest. She took out the book Great Expectation and began to read to Emily, even when nurses came in to check on her vitals. The similar pattern between her and Mrs. Fields became a routine. Three weeks had passed and Emily was still in the same condition. Many started to lose faith, but Alison ignored them. She looked pale and thin, from the lack of eating and sleeping. Her body wouldn't allow it until she knew Emily could do the same. The girls tried to get her to leave her beside, but she refused. She began to close herself off to the world again as if she were on the run. She talked to Emily for hours and read books that they loved. Mrs. Fields soon returned to working full time and Alison made watching over Emily a full time duty. She continued the online courses and was maintaining straight A's. When she wasn't at the hospital, she was at the Field's home in Emily's room sleeping trying to feel as close as possible. One night she discovered something. She was lying on the bed, but her mind refused to let her sleep. She got up and went over to Emily's desk and opened a drawer. It revealed her laptop and she knew she shouldn't go in it, but her curiosity got the best of her. She went through the files which were pretty normal ones belonging to school. She went to the Internet and started to type the first letter D, when a link popped up recognizing it as a favorite. She clicked on it and the title was Mermaid's Diary, which contained multiple video clips and blogs. She clicked on the most recent one and almost cried when she heard the familiar voice of Emily.
"So it's been a while since I last updated. Crazy things have been going on. Guess what! The love of my life has risen from the dead," she said laughing loudly and Alison missed that laugh so much. "No joke guys. I really have no idea how to feel about it, and my emotions are all over the place. Part of me is so happy that she's here and hoping that I have another chance, but another part of me doesn't want to get burned. Every time I see her, my heart jumps like it's about to pop out of my chest or something. I thought my feelings would've faded after she died, but I guess that's what I get for underestimating the power of love. I only wished she returned those feelings, you know what I'm talking about…unrequited love. I used to picture our future together only to be crushed the next day by her hooking up with another guy or talking about it. But anyways off of my love life, hmmm, well I really don't have much else going on in my life. I can't swim anymore since the accident, which completely sucks, and sometimes I get depressed. I mean I could practically swim before I could walk or talk and I can't imagine myself without it, but you guys are probably going to say that you're young, you have time to move on, but it feels like the same with everything in my life, it's just being taken away and I have no choice in the matter. Sometimes I feel so out of control that the only thing keeping me sane is the thought that one day it'll all be over and I'll be buried six feet under. Morbid right? Yeah I know, I really can't help it. I'm going through this new thing where I don't actually pretend that I'm happy. Things in my life just haven't been the best these past couple of years and sometimes I wonder what I did in my past life to deserve this. Why does my dad have to be deployed so much? I mean come on he's in the National Guard, can't the enlisted members take some slack? Why do I give my heart so completely knowing that won't get the same in return? Sometimes I wish I didn't have the ability to love, because it's all some big joke. It's just society's way of controlling people or at least that's what "liberal people" say. I don't know what the hell I'm talking about half the time. I just wish this never-ending pain would go away. My dad would always say swim Emmy, in every situation because if I didn't know anything else, I knew how to swim. I could feel my arms moving in the swimming motion, but I'm on dry land and I don't know how the hell to run," she finishes while wiping a stray tear and turning off the camera. Alison stares at the black screen and cries at all the pain Emily has been hiding for so long. That night she'd watched five more videos and cried herself to sleep wishing that they could trade places. She walked into the hospital the next day and took her familiar position in the chair. It had become sort of a routine to read to Emily. The doctor walked in making rounds.
"Hi Ms.?" He asked
"Ms. DiLaurentis," she finished. "Do you have any news?"
"Yes actually, I saw some spiking in her brain activity," he said.
"Is that good," she asked.
"Yes, just keep talking to her," he said.
"When is she able to come off the ventilator?"
"Whenever she's ready. Her body experience major trauma when she was overdosed with the anesthesia, it takes time. I know you don't want to hear that, but if she were to wake up too soon, it could have a negative impact," he said.
"Will she be the same?" she asked with a look of fear on her face.
"We will only be able to tell when she wakes up," he says. "She could possibly have brain damage, loss of motor skills, speech problems, etc., but we won't know until she's awake, nor will we know how serious it is, if it's temporary or permanent. It's just a waiting game," he says with a look of pity and leaves Alison to her dark thoughts. She was starting to lose hope, but she knew Emily never gave up on her and she wouldn't give up on her.
"Please baby, you have to come back to me. I can't do this without you. I need you so much, so does your mom, and your parents, and the girls, and most importantly your little girl," Alison cried and felt another squeeze. "Em? Please squeeze it again, please for Amelia," she begged and looked up at her and felt another light squeeze and for the first time in weeks she smiled with tears of joy. She knew Emily was swimming to the surface; she was fighting for her family, for their future.