Infatuation (PLL Emison AU)

Monsters in the End

A/N: Seven words to describe this chapter, "You're going to want to kill me." It's intense and thought-provoking. But also...some of my favorite scenes are in it.

Certain topics might be triggering for some , so go forth carefully.

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Chapter 42:

Monsters in the End

They thought it was over. They thought they were through the worst of the danger and the heartache, but there was a lingering threat that was bubbling beneath the surface.

It hit them out of nowhere a week after they'd gotten home from the hospital.

They were in the kitchen finishing breakfast. Emily had just scraped what was left of some scrambled eggs into the garbage.

Alison walked up behind her, a concerned frown on her face. She was worried about Emily's appetite. She hadn't been eating much lately.

"Does my cooking offend you in some way?" Alison playfully touched her shoulder. "I know it's no match for your mother's meals, but it's pretty hard to screw up scrambled eggs. And even if I did, we have hot sauce to fix it."

Emily chuckled as she put the dirty plate in the sink. She squirted some dish-washing liquid on it and turned the water on.

"It's not that. Everything you make tastes as delicious as you do." She turned her head and leaned in to give Alison a kiss.

"Ah, well, if I had known you were in the mood for that kind of breakfast..." Alison put her hand against Emily's back and slowly lowered it towards her firm bottom. "I've got the perfect palate cleanser." She purred against Emily's ear.

Emily smiled weakly at her. Alison saw a hint of fatigue behind her eyes.

"Maybe later. I'm kind of tired."

Emily Fields turning down sex?

Alison's heart started racing.

Something is wrong.

"I didn't sleep well last night." Emily ran her hands through the soapy water in the sink, scrubbing her plate with a sponge.

Alison frowned.

"Nightmares? Babe...why didn't you wake me?" They'd both been suffering from night terrors and they'd promised to wake each other if they couldn't sleep.

"No. I've just got a headache from all this stress." Emily moved her neck around, trying to work out the stiff muscles there.

"Is that why you're not eating?" Medical alarm bells started to go off in Alison's mind.

"I don't know. My appetite has just been off. I feel a little nauseous. I think it's my meds..." Before Emily could finish her sentence, Alison was turning her wife to face her.

She reached up and used the tip of her finger to pull the skin beneath Emily's right eye down, then her left.

Her eyes were bloodshot and her pupils were dilated. Alison knew that some of her medications could cause dry eyes and pupil dilation, but she was still concerned.

"Are you in any pain? Any tension in your abdomen? Pain around your eyes? Numbness or weakness? Double vision? Anything like that?" Alison laid her hand with the cast on Emily's waist. She pressed the tips of the fingers on her other hand against Emily's neck, checking her pulse.

"No, but double vision doesn't sound so bad. Seeing two of you would be a dream come true." Emily smiled patiently and wiped her soapy hands on her pajama bottoms.