Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who left reviews on chapter 8. I don't believe there are any specific trigger warnings for this chapter, if you were able to read chapter 8 you should be fine, this one is much milder. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on today's update since it's the first time in 5 months that Emily and Alison really talk to each other. Also if you're waiting for an update on my other story, Gilded Ripples, the new chapter is almost done. I haven't abandoned it.

... ...

Noel cut the power on Alison's order, throwing the house into darkness. She figured it would throw Emily off, disorient her just enough to keep her from bolting and avoid a physical confrontation with Noel. Even with Noel inside giving her updates, Alison wasn't prepared for what she walked into. Knowing Emily was in the kitchen, she went around the house to the side door.

Through the glass, Alison could make out Emily on the floor. She was curled up, knees to chest, rocking back and forth with what looked like Ben's gun lying next to her. Her face was hidden, but she didn't look like the raging psycho Noel described, she looked terrified. Noel was by the front door, as long as he stayed still, it seemed Emily stayed put too.

Alison had the advantage, she was used to moving around in the dark, but getting close to Emily without getting shot was still going to be tricky. She knew the best course of action would be to sneak up on her, but seeing Emily look so fragile made her hesitate. So, she made her presence known, narrating her movements and letting Emily know she was there.

"Stay back!" Emily shouted, jumping up and grabbing the gun at her side. Her hands trembled as she waved it around. "Don't move, or I'll shoot," she yelled, desperation in her voice. Not a good sign, desperate people pulled the trigger.

"Have you ever shot a gun before?" Alison took a cautious step closer. Emily had the gun pointed in her general direction but her head was darting around, unable to nail down Alison's exact location. "I can teach you. Another day, when you're not trying to point it at me," she added, her voice light.

"I said stay back!" Emily yelled again, moving further into the kitchen. "He... he turned the lights off. I can't see," Her voice wavered, less angry and more watery. "I want to go home. No one has to get hurt if you let me go," the anger flared back up.

"Except Ben," Alison baited. If she could provoke Emily into charging her it would be easier to disarm her. "Noel said you stabbed him."

"He attacked me," Emily said, edging closer. It was working. "Or tried to… he tried to… and I stopped him." She brought the crook of her arm up to wipe her face, giving Alison a chance to take a few quick steps forward. Alison stayed quiet to let Emily work out her thoughts, but the silence got misinterpreted. "You don't believe me."

"I do believe you," Alison replied quickly, not wanting another misunderstanding.

Emily shook her head frantically. "No, no. You didn't believe me then, and you don't believe me now. You're just saying that so I'll do what you want." Her breathing was ragged, but the gun stayed pointed at Alison. "It's always about you. Do this, say that, smile more, wear this. You're suffocating me… and I let you… and then I resent you… and I'm mean… and we just keep doing it."

It felt like Alison was eavesdropping on a private conversation. A one sided one, but still, Emily was vulnerable and hurting. Alison started to make sense of things, piecing together what she could see with Noel's side of events. "What did you take, Emily?"

"I don't want another lecture! I'm trying to talk to you," Emily had screamed her voice raw and Alison hated hearing how broken she sounded. She hadn't even realized Emily had the upper hand until the cold barrel of the gun pressed into her chest. "Why do you keep me locked up in here? Do I embarrass you that much?"

With a gun pressing into her skin, Alison's options were limited, but standing there and dying behind Paige's mistakes was not going to be how she went out. "Emily, I think you're confused," Alison did her best to sound nonthreatening. "Noel, the lights, now!" she yelled toward the door.

There was the sound of quick, heavy footsteps and a door opening. Alison stopped breathing, Emily was looking right at her, but not. The darkness was working against her. "I'm not confused, you-" Emily's arm shook, before she could finish, the house lit up. Alison exhaled, silently thanking whatever deity had saved her. In the light she could see Emily properly, her shirt, damp with sweat earlier, was now completely soaked. Strands of hair stuck to her face, and her pupils were blown wide. Emily looked around, taking in her surroundings like it was the first time. "No… this isn't," She rubbed her eyes hard. "Whose blood is that?" Emily's face twisted in fear as she stared at Alison's top. Alison followed her gaze and saw the splotches of Sal's blood on her white shirt. It wasn't a lot but it was enough to freak Emily out.

"Ali," Noel warned, raising his own gun toward Emily. Things were messy.

Alison knew Noel wouldn't budge, but she also knew he wouldn't take the shot without her say so. She focused on Emily, who looked like she was a few seconds away from hyperventilating. "It's not Paige's blood," Alison answered the unasked question.

"You're lying!" Emily's finger hovered over the trigger as she cried. It gave Alison whiplash, did she love Paige or hate her?

"I'm not. As far as I know, Paige is fine," Alison kept her voice cool and didn't let her personal feelings color the words.

"You killed her!" Emily lowered the gun slightly, her grip loosening when she brought her splinted hand to her chest. Alison seized the moment, grabbing Emily's arm and pulling it upward, surprisingly it was a struggle. Emily used all her strength to hold onto the gun and with Alison trying not to hurt her she avoided Emily's already sprained hand.

"I didn't," Chest to chest Alison could tell something was very wrong, Emily's heart was racing. On it's own Alison would assume it was distress but with drugs involved it scared her.

Emily swung her arm down, hitting Alison with the butt of the gun in the same spot she'd elbowed her a few days prior. The hit took the wind out of Alison and she stumbled backward clutching her side. "You want any chance of seeing Paige alive again, you'll let me help you. But if you have a heart attack here, I promise i'll kill her and i will mess her up so badly you won't recognize her in the afterlife." The words were venomous but Alison didn't care, one way or another Emily had to put the gun down so she could help her. "Noel will drop you if you don't put the gun down soon. Shoot me, don't shoot me, you'll still never see Paige again." Alison continued. Emily looked toward the sliding doors and Alison could tell she was thinking about making a break for it. "You can try to leave but in that state you won't make it far, you'll run, i'll catch you, we'll be right back here."

There was a moment of silence while Emily thought, the brunette was overstimulated and overwhelmed and it wouldn't help Alison to push any further. "It's never felt like this before." Emily sunk to the floor and set the gun at her side. "I'm scared," she whispered, her voice barely audible over her crying.

Alison kicked the gun away which Noel quickly approached and scooped off the floor. Sobs racked Emily's chest and Alison knelt down by her side. "I think Ben gave you a synthetic, they can cause some pretty nasty reactions. Being in the dark and having Noel chase you around the house didn't help," Alison explains. Emily agrees, silently shaking her head. "We'll go to a hospital, and get you checked out."

"No hospitals!" Emily panicked.

"Did you hear what I said about a heart attack? I wasn't kidding," Alison shot back, her tone urgent.

Emily's brows furrowed and she chewed her lip in thought, "They'll call Paige. She's my emergency contact," she blurted out the excuse.

Alison didn't miss a beat, "I don't care."

"They'll call the police," Emily countered, desperation back in her voice.

"You were just hallucinating. I'm not going to gamble with your health."

"No hospitals," Emily pleaded. "Please, I hate hospitals. Anything else…"

Alison paused, clenching her jaw, she couldn't just take Emily someplace she was begging not to go, but she needed to have her looked at. Why was everything so fucking hard? "I have a doctor on call. If I can get him here to check you out, you'll let him?" Alison proposed.

Emily rocked back and forth a bit before finally giving in with a nod. Alison didn't waste any time, she scooped Emily up, wrapping the brunette's legs around her waist. Emily squirmed, "You can't keep fighting me and the drugs, so chill. You're safe, I'm just moving us to the living room." Alison tried to keep things light.

"It's my fault," Emily sniffled.

Instead of trying to assume what Emily meant, Alison thought she'd ask, "What's your fault?" Alison asked before calling out to Noel for some ice packs and water.

"Paige told me to stay away from the club, but I didn't listen. This is my fault," Emily admitted.

Alison settled Emily onto the couch, shooting her a surprised look. "That's not true. Maybe you shouldn't have been there, but none of this is your fault," she reassured her, if Emily wanted to blame someone it was only right she shouldered it. "Unless you're hiding superpowers, there was no way you could have fought off me and three guys at your wedding. You didn't have a choice in this, and this didn't happen because you went out. I told you already, you're here because of me, because I'm selfish," Alison explained, arranging the ice packs around Emily in a way that she hoped would cool her down fast.

Once she was done, Alison sat at the end of Emily's feet on the couch. "The ice packs are going to cool you down. I know it's uncomfortable, but they'll work faster this way. If it gets to be too much, I can move them around or something but I need you to focus on your breathing and stay grounded. Don't panic, don't give in to the paranoia, stay as calm as you can. We need your heart rate to even out."

Emily seemed to relax slightly but she was still tense and scared. "I know you don't trust me, but you're safe. I'm not going to hurt you, and neither is Noel," Alison assured her. She watched Emily try and fail to control her breathing and when she couldn't, she became upset again, working herself up.

When their eyes locked, Alison could see the moment Emily steeled herself. "If I had met anyone else in the club that night, anyone else… If I had just stayed home, I would have never met you. I'd be on my honeymoon right now," It stung, which Alison knew was Emily's hope.

Alison knew a trap when she saw one, and didn't take the bait. Emily was trying to get a rise out of her, she wanted a reason not to trust, not to let her guard down. It wasn't going to happen, "Try to match my breathing, in for four and out for six," Alison suggested calmly.

Seeing that Alison wasn't going to lose her temper, Emily tried the breathing exercises, following Alison's lead. They sat in silence for a while with Noel moving around in the background, taking care of Ben's body. Alison managed to keep up the breathing exercises until Emily was breathing regularly and softer. She only stopped because her ribcage started protesting. She thought she was doing a decent job of hiding the pain but then an ice pack was tossed to her side of the couch.

Emily stared at the splotches on Alison's shirt through heavy eyes.

"Does it bother you?"

"How is it not bothering you?" Emily countered.

Shrugging, Alison began to unbutton her shirt. "I can take it off," she offered.

"No! Keep your clothes on," Emily retorted, unamused.

Alison let out a sigh. "If you insist," she winked. She picked up the ice pack Emily tossed her and placed it over her ribs, allowing the coolness to soothe the area. She held it in place with her elbow while she cracked open the water bottle beside her. "I know you're thirsty, but try not to chug it," she handed the bottle to Emily.

"It wasn't a hallucination… I knew you were…you, but I couldn't see, and everything got… confusing." Emily said after a few sips from the bottle.

Alison nodded, hallucination, dream, memory, whatever it was she just hoped it didn't happen again. "Do you and Paige fight a lot?"

Emily tensed up for a sec, making Alison think she'd hit a nerve. Then she relaxed, leaning back against the couch. "No… yeah… not at first," she started, sounding a bit unsure. "I thought she hated me in the beginning. She was always turning stuff into a competition, beer pong, swimming, study groups... turned out, she was just trying to get my attention." Emily curled up a bit, adjusting one of the ice packs against her side.

Great, an origin story, Alison tried not to gag. Without interrupting she took the ice packs off and laid the couch throw onto Emily before putting the packs back in place. They could still keep her cool without touching her directly, she'd just have to watch her more carefully.

"It took forever, but she finally asked me out. We went to the movie theater near campus. She was awkward, I was shy, it worked. We were connected at the hip for two years before our first arguement. It was Christmas break and… nevermind, that's not what you asked," Emily switched gears suddenly, obviously not wanting to talk about that first argument. "Yeah, we fight a lot," she said plainly, closing her eyes.

"About what?" Alison tried to sound casual.

"Is this an interrogation?"

"No, we're talking."

"Then I can ask questions too?" Emily cracked her eyes open.

"Anything," Alison shrugged trying to seem nonchalant but inside she was giddy. If Emily wanted to ask her questions it meant she wasn't planning on going mute again, which had been a fear in the back of Alison's mind until now. Alison sank further into the couch, preparing herself to be asked about the blood on her shirt.

"Do you really think that one night was worth all this?" Emily asked, "You would have found another way to break that stupid alliance. So why did you take me? Really,"

"That's two questions," Alison stalled, nervousness not something she felt…ever. Taking Emily had been an impulsive decision, a spur of the moment action, but she'd given that answer already. Emily wanted more. "It wasn't just that one night. You've been with me every night since then, every time I close my eyes. We've spent hours... hundreds of hours together since then. We've walked in parks, we've gone on vacations, we play Connect Four on my balcony. We watch your favorite movies on my couch." Sharing the intimate details of her dreams caused Alison's stomach to sink, she ignored it, "But it's blurry, it's not real, and if you married Paige it would never be."

A long silence settled between them. Alison couldn't stand just sitting there, feeling Emily's eyes boring into her, judging her. Why did she say all that? She finally looked up and met Emily's gaze, chocolate brown eyes scrutinized her.

"You're crazy," Emily sighed, breaking the silence. "My head feels really heavy, and i'm… i'm"

"Exhausted?"

Emily nodded yes already drifting away from the looks of it.

"You're crashing. It's ok, go to sleep."

Emily opened her eyes briefly again, "You aren't going to leave again, right?"

Never is the first word at Alison's lips but that sounds intense even for her so she bites her tongue, "No, I'll be right here."

… …

Emily woke up a bunch of times during the night, each time looking terrified when she realized she wasn't home. Once she remembered where she was and how she ended up there, fear set in. It was an exhausting cycle for everyone involved, and most of the time Alison ended up getting yelled at. Sometimes it was for things she actually did, but other times, it was for things Paige had done. Alison diligently checked Emily's pulse and called Wren, a doctor friend who had lost his license. She kept him on call for herself or the guys when needed.

Sal's body would be found soon, Hardy still needed to be dealt with, and Ben's body had to be disposed of properly, far away from the house. Alison wouldn't leave Emily's side until she was healthy, so Noel and Eric had to handle everything else. It didn't matter who did what, as long as it got done. After getting assurances that they'd take care of it all, Alison put her phone on silent and eventually dozed off, succumbing to exhaustion.

"Ow," Alison groaned, her head still foggy. "Ow," she groaned louder when it happened again. When she was poked in the ribs a third time, she grabbed Emily's hand. "Cut it out, that hurts."

"I'm hungry," Emily complained.

"Noel!" Alison yelled, momentarily forgetting he was out. "Fuck."

Emily's brows furrowed in disapproval, "You can't cook?"

"Can you cook?" Alison shot back, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm a hostage. Hostages don't cook."

"You're not a hostage," Alison rolled her eyes.

"So I can leave then?" Emily stood too quickly and almost toppled over completely.

Alison was up in seconds, catching her with ease. She held Emily while the brunette came back to herself and regained her balance. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Pancakes," Emily mumbled into her hair.

"I can handle pancakes" Alison replied feigning confidence. She carried Emily to a barstool in the kitchen.

The kitchen was quiet as Alison moved around, trying to remember how Noel made pancakes. She gathered the ingredients, almost sure they had everything, and did her best to replicate what she'd seen him do before. Occasionally, she heard Emily groan and would glance back to check on her. The brunette's head was either resting against the countertop or cradled in her hands. She looked terrible. Wren would be there in a few hours, but until then, Alison was at a loss for what to do other than keep Emily hydrated and comfortable.

Emily's hallucinations, or whatever they were weighed heavily on Alison. She hadn't thought she could hate Paige more than she already did, but seeing Emily in this state opened a whole new well of anger. Despite everything, Emily was loyal to Paige. Alison couldn't wrap her head around it. The next time she saw the troll it would be hard not to shoot her where she stood.

"It's burning."

"Shit," Alison muttered, snapping out of her thoughts and into action. She quickly dropped the burnt pancake into the trash and poured more batter into the pan, focusing on getting it right this time.

The next pancake came out oddly shaped but browned on both sides. She kept at it until she had three decent looking contenders. Sliding the plate in front of Emily, Alison watched as the brunette eyed them suspiciously. Emily used her good hand to load her fork and bring a bite to her mouth.

"They're edible," Emily hummed. "Pass the syrup."

Alison handed over the syrup, watching as Emily poured a generous amount over the pancakes. She couldn't help but smile a little, feeling a strange mix of triumph in the midst of chaos. It was such a small thing compared to the last few hours but it felt significant. She wasn't forcing Emily to eat, Emily wasn't staring at her with disdain, it was progress. She sat at the barstool next to Emily, propping her chin on her hand as she watched her eat.

"Who wins?" Emily asked and Alison raised an eyebrow, confused. "When you play Connect Four with the dream me in your head, who wins?"

It did sound crazy when she put it that way, "It's 50/50," Alison lied, looking down at the counter and shaking her head. "Actually, no. You win… all the time. It's really annoying."

She was ready for Emily to shut her down, reject her, get mad, but none of that happened. Instead, Emily took another bite of her pancakes. Alison studied Emily's face, the tension in her features seemed to have eased a bit. The room felt lighter, or maybe it was all just her being hopeful. It was quiet but not Emily's weponized silence, it felt like a truce.

… …

After breakfast, Emily had fallen back asleep, giving Alison some time to make a few calls. She wanted to find out exactly what Ben had given Emily and where he'd gotten it from. With Ben no longer around to answer questions, she had her work cut out for her.

Noel and Eric had returned and she had to face facts that if she hadn't sent Eric back to the city there was a good chance last night's events would have never happened. Noel was in the shower washing off the morning, while Eric was holed up in the study. Around 10, Wren showed up. Unfortunately, that meant Alison had to wake Emily.

"Emily, this is Wren. He's a doctor," Alison said softly as she rubbed Emily's shoulder.

Wren nodded with a friendly smile, but Emily immediately became more guarded, her eyes narrowing as she sized him up.

"I think Emily was given a synthetic last night. She was aggressive, sweating, hallucinating…" Alison started to explain.

"I was not hallucinating!" Emily snapped, her voice defensive.

"I thought she was going to have a heart attack," Alison continued.

"Powder or pills?" Wren directed the question to Emily.

"Powder."

Wren reached out to touch Emily, and she flinched away. "Don't touch me," she swatted his hand.

"I have to examine you," Wren responded, casting a concerned glance at Alison.

Alison stepped closer, "Last night was a lot, let's keep the touching to a minimum. But Emily, you agreed to let my doctor examine you if I didn't take you to the hospital. He'll make it quick, and I'll be right here."

It's not quick. Wren pulls tools out of his bag, he makes Emily do breathing exercises, he takes blood, pokes, prods, and squeezes. He asks a thousand questions, Emily reluctantly answers some, downright refuses to answer others. Every few minutes Emily gets overwhelmed and they have to stop which slows things down and makes her even more agitated. Eventually, they get through it.

"I can't say with 100% certainty but I think Alison is right, you were given a synthetic. Your reaction has mostly passed, you should only still be feeling the last remnants of it. Confusion, overheating, dizziness, a heaviness in your limbs, but that's not my major concern." Wren crossed his arms, "From what the two of you have said, Emily you were showing signs of withdrawal when you took the synthetic. It's what caused your episode, your body was expecting one thing and when it got another it overreacted. When it's fully out of your system your withdrawal will come back, and it'll be worse." Wren explained and Emily curls in on herself slightly, "Are you experiencing cravings?" Wren asked and Alison saw a flash of shame cross Emily's face before she shut down. "Ok, well if you aren't, you will be soon. Be careful, withdrawal can be as deadly as the drugs."

Wren's attention shifted to Alison, his gaze lingering, "Your turn."

"I'm fine," Alison dismissed with a wave.

But Wren wasn't convinced. "Your breathing is labored, and you're favoring one side," he pointed out, "Squeeze my hand as hard as you can."

Alison obliged, using her right hand to grip Wren's.

"You're hurt," Wren observed, his eyes scanning her form. "Ribs?"

Alison nodded, as she unbuttoned her shirt. With it open, Wren's gaze fell on the ugly purplish bruise on her side. He turned back to Emily. "Is this your doing?"

"Fuck you," Emily fired back.

The two exchanged nasty looks and Wren shook his head, turning his eyes back to Alison's body. With a gloved hand he inspected the area, "Jesus, Alison, how are you not doubled over right now?" he looked up at her. "You know I was surprised when you called, I thought it might be personal."

"Not happening, Wren." Alison shut him down with a smile. He was always flirting.

"Not now or not ever?" Wren smirked.

"Is nausea one of my side effects?" Emily grumbled.

Wren huffed but didn't let Emily goad him, "Alison, I'm going to need to remove your bra. I need to see how high this bruising goes up."

Alison shook her head tiredly and Wren helped her remove the shirt, the bra was trickier.

"What's happening here?" Eric's voice is loud, unhappy, he's never liked Wren.

"He's feeling up your boss," Emily contributed from the sidelines.

"I'm trying to examine Alison's ribs, she may have a fracture but I'm not sure. Her bra is in the way." Wren pulled his hands back.

"You don't have scissors in that bag of yours," Eric stared him down.

Wren turned to his kit, shifting things around until retrieving a pair of large scissors. "Maybe we should move this someplace else?" Wren suggested but before Alison ccould answer Eric did it for her.

"No. Do it here and do it quietly, dipshit," Eric crossed his arms over his chest.

"Dipshit," Emily parroted the insult like it was her first time hearing it. "Dip.. shit" She said it again, mesmerized. Maybe it really was her first time hearing it.

"Who's a dipshit?" Noel rounded the steps, joining everyone in the living room. "Oh," he groaned once he spotted Wren.

Alison shot a pointed look at everyone. She wasn't about to risk getting maimed by scissors because they wanted to trade insults. After a few snips, Wren was able to move the bra out of his way and checked Alison's ribs. Three bruised ribs, nothing broken, thankfully, but she'd need to take it easy. Eric saw Wren off once he was done, leaving Noel to hit the kitchen and start lunch.

Emily grabbed Alison's fallen shirt, "You never told me whose blood this was."

"It's from the Junkyard King,"