Kingdom Come Undone

Go With Grace - Part 2

Alison, Jason and Aria joined us soon after at the table with Alison openly wrapping her arms around the back of my shoulders before pulling me in for a kiss to apologize.

"I love you..." she whispered, sitting down to my right as Aria and Jason sat across from us.

"Emily, I wanted to say sorry." Jason opened, holding onto Aria's hand next to him, "That was uncalled for after just meeting you."

"You're a protective older brother. I understand. Like I said, that was the last I wanted to speak about it. But thanks, I accept your apology."

"He is a protective older brother, but I'm also a grown-ass adult." Alison asserted, staring Jason down to reiterate her point.

"Ali, Jake is at the table, darling." Mrs. DiLaurentis interjected from the opposite end where Carter, Jacob, and the rest of the family were seated.

"Talk to your son about manners if you want to correct anyone, Mom."

"Emily!" Aria interrupted, "Alison has mentioned what you do a few times but I'd love to hear about what you're working on directly from you."

"I'm getting better at explaining it, but I still fumble over the words." Alison replied.

"Yeah, of course." I cleared my voice as the rest of the table was also staring at me, "I was brought on Johns Hopkins 4 months ago but had been in talks with them since the start of this year to help co-lead with another long-term doctor on their current large Pathology and Mutation longitudinal study. Specifically, we are looking at the genetic makeup of cured tumor cells through the collection of blood and tissue samples from patients currently in remission. This is to hopefully find links between cancerous mutations and the types of treatments used to cure them so that we can make a direct impact on patients currently undergoing treatment."

As I paused, I saw Alison's eyes glowing back at me. It appeared as though I could discuss what I did for the rest of our lives, and she would never get bored. It was like through my passion, she discovered hers as well. She stared at me like a teenager speaking to their crush for the first time, and I loved every second of it.

"That's incredibly impressive, Emily." Reverend Schoen remarked from the middle of the table, "Is that then how you and Alison met, I assume?"

Carter and Alison made eyes across the table as he smiled and shrugged at his father's openness. She reached behind her for my hand starting her reply, "Sort of. We met at the gala earlier this month but didn't know she was a doctor in cancer research right away. She works in a completely different area than where all of our time goes in the hospital."

"I'd think we're lucky to have someone like her on our side now. Has she looked over any of Jake's old scans or even the ones he got this past summer at his check-up?" He followed up.

"No, Reverend Schoen, I haven't. I told both Carter and Alison though that I could, but I also trust the professionals I work with tremendously. Alison mentioned a few nights ago on the phone that I could join in for Jacob's end of the year follow-up in December if we cleared it with Carter and Jacob first."

"Oh, that's great." Mrs. Schoen replied, "I'm sure you get this a ton, but – my girlfriend who's a general practitioner – oh, you know, what I mean, not like you two, but my friend who – well, anyways, I call her all the time if I feel even the inkling of a cough. Do you get that a lot?"

Alison nervously smiled next to me, watching her painfully work her way through that statement as I tried not to laugh in reply, "Good question! I don't get that as much because I'm so specialized now. But in Med School, I definitely did. Now my knowledge in those areas is far more limited. If your friend is ever unable to help you though, feel free to send me a text or something. Maybe I can figure it out."