Time Is All We Need

Chapter 24

Things had only gone down hill, and it rolled down quickly. It happened like the stages of an avalanche. All it took was one little flake of snow to start a dangerous rumble down the mountain.

Emily was weak; extremely weak. She had to be put back on a ventilator, because her lungs weren't filling to a high enough capacity. She was given a whiteboard to write on to interact with others, but her hands and arms were so weak. Her once scribbly, yet still somehow bubbly writing, was now looking like a four year olds. The feeding tube was back. Her eyes had lost light. Her skin had lost its glow. Her mind was out of it so often. Toby, Spencer, Alison, Alison's parents...they'd all come and visit, and Emily would write 'who are you?'

It was truly heartbreaking. Pam took work off to stay longer. The DiLaurentis' has been kind enough to allow the Fields duo to stay in one of their many guest rooms. Had her parents not offered, Alison would've insisted that Emily's parents stayed with her.

Ali had only been sitting with Emily for only about twenty minutes, while the brunette got a little rest. Her own parents had visited, as well as Pam and Wayne obviously, but they had left just before dinner time. Emily stirred and eventually flickered her eyes open. She could feel Alison's warmth hitting every ounce of her soul. The source came from their connected hands, but the warmth that was Alison, shot through her like a drug.

She reached for the marker and whiteboard sitting on her lap, breaking their hand contact. It took her a while to write the desired words, but she still had that determined look she always had when she was painting. She had stopped painting, the task becoming too difficult due to her shakiness. The last painting she completed was the one Alison dearly loved, to which, Emily was going to surprise her with it as a present. Alison waited patiently, watching as Emily scribbled on the white board.

'You don't have to sit here Ali. It's pretty boring.'

"Are you crazy?" Alison forced herself to smile. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Alison pulled Emily's hand toward her mouth so she could place a kiss on top of it. Two lone tears threatened to fall once again. She couldn't voice to Emily what she was really thinking. She didn't think she could even say the words out loud.

She was going to spend every possible second she could with Emily. Because she was terrified that each moment with Emily were going to be her last. It would be their last moment together. She'd never get to hear her voice again. She'd never hear her laugh again. She'd witnessed her last smile. They would never experience those awkward moments and giggle about them later. She wouldn't have Emily's warm arms to comfort her. Her safety blanket ripped away from her, without warning.

Alison was so lost within herself, she didn't notice Emily writing again.

'Tell me a funny story'

Emily could see the hurt in Alison's eyes, so she did the best she could to change her mood. She would give anything to be able to wrap her arms around the blonde while they sat on the couch. One of Alison's favorite movies would be playing in the background such as, The Longest Ride. Alison's head would lie right above her heart. Everything would be normal, everything would be fantastic actually.

"Ah." Alison said, clearing her throat after she had come up with an idea. "So I know you wanted a fish at some point, but you know that I had a fish before I met you. I named this chubby little guy King. Yeah, he was the King of food."

The name of the fish got Emily's lips to turn upwards by the smallest fraction. If she hadn't known Emily so well, she wouldn't have known that she even tried to smile. But Emily's eyes had their own smile as well, which was a dead giveaway. And if it weren't for that, she would've known due to the brunette's squeeze of her hand.