January 12th 2020

Everything was a little blurry when Mona opened her eyes.

"You're awake!" Relief flooded Hanna's features as she reached out to squeeze her friend's hand. "God, Mona, never scare us like that again! He goddamn slit your throat! Why on earth would you sneak off like that?"

Sneak off?

As the memories suddenly returned, Mona reached up a hand to clasp her throat. Shit. Grasping the sheets of the bed, she turned to Hanna.

The distressed brunette opened her mouth, but when she tried to make out the words she need to say, there was no sound.

"You won't be able to speak for a while," Hanna gently told her. Noticing the panicked look on her Mona's face, she reached into her purse and pulled out a notepad and pen.

The other woman quickly grabbed it and began scribbling barely legible words onto the paper before handing it back to Hanna.

The blonde's face fell as she read.

"Em?" she called out into the hallway, her voice sounding hoarse, as if she were trying to choke back a sob.

The newlywed appeared in the doorway, sending her friend a worried glance. "Yeah?"

"Ezra wasn't planning some petty stunt to ruin your wedding," Hanna gasped. "He had an entire terrorist attack in mind."

"What?" Emily's eyes widen. "What do you mean?"

The fashion designer held up the notepad. "He had a freaking bomb." She was almost yelling now, anger and shock evident in her voice. "He was going to blow us all up! Our families, your wife and your daughters, my husband and my baby, Ezra knew us for years and he was going to blow us to pieces!"

"Oh my God," Emily managed to say. "Is that why Mona left the wedding?" Mona nodded. "Wait, does that mean there is still a bomb in the church?"

When no-one replied, , the athletic woman pulled out her phone. "I'm calling the police."

January 18th 2020

As soon as Alison entered her home, Emily jumped up from where she was sitting on the couch. "Is she awake?"

The hope in her voice almost broke the former Queen Bee's heart.

"No change," she muttered.

Biting her lip, Emily sat back down. "Oh."

"It can't go on like this," Alison continued, a bitter tone lacing her voice. "She won't eat, she barely showers. She just can't take care of herself anymore! Heck, we haven't even seen her awake since she left the hospital. It's been a goddamn week!"

"We can try finding another therapist," her wife suggested. "Another doctor? Someone who ca-"

"It won't work," Ali interrupted. "We've already tried everything to wake her up."

"Well, what are we going to do?"

"She could stay with us?" The blonde tried as she sat down next to her wife, knowing all too well that was not going to happen.

The front door opened, but neither woman paid attention to Hanna, who was entering.

"Ali," Em gently placed her hand on her thigh. "We both work. We have twins, and the apartment is crowded enough when mom comes over to babysit them. And besides, we don't have a guest room or anywhere for her to sleep."

"Where else would she stay? Toby's busy, Jason's MIA, Aria is some kind of shell of her former self, no way I'm leaving my cousin with Mona, and-"

"She can stay with me," Hanna butted in.

"-and Hanna has an infant," Alison finished.

"Which is why we have another room," the designer pointed out. "We can move the baby's crib into my bedroom and set up the old sofa-bed Caleb and bought for his mom for Spencer."

Emily and Alison exchanged glances. Finally, Emily said, "Okay. Let's do this."

January 24th 2020

Alison's purse fell to the floor with a thud, causing Spencer to jump. Awake Spencer.

"Oh my gosh," the blonde gasped as she rushed into Hanna's loft and embraced her cousin in a hug. "Spence!"

The brunette stiffly put an arm around Ali, shuddering slightly at the contact.

"Spence," Ali tried again. "Spence look at me. You're awake." A pause. "No-one has seen you since… since…"

Before she had the chance to respond, Spencer asked, "Is she dead?"

The teacher blinked in confusion.

"Mona," the other woman whimpered, desperation filling her voice. "Is Mona dead?"

Ali's eyes widened, causing Spencer to shift away.

"Don't tell me," she sleepily whispered. "The answer will kill me."

"Alive," the blonde quickly told her. "Mona is perfectly alive."

At first, it seemed like the former lobbyist was frozen. But soon tears began flowing, coming with a smile.

After a few moments of silent tears, Spencer finally mumbled a few incomprehensible apologies, something along the lines of being an inconvenience, a complication.

"Of course you're not a burden," Alison immediately told her. "Hanna was more than ready to let you sleep in the baby's room!" She reached out to squeeze her friend's hand. "I'm just happy you are awake. I miss you, Spence."

Yet another awkward moment of silence passed, until the brunette asked about Aria.

Emily, who just appeared in the doorway, let out a sad, choked laugh. "She just lost her husband." Pausing for a second, the coach looked Spencer in the eye. "And her best friend."

Alison knew that Emily hadn't meant that as an accusation, but she still didn't speak to her wife the whole drive home.

February 4th 2020

"Hey," Mona greeted Hanna as her friend opened the door, but immediately reached to her bandaged throat afterwards.

"Hey," the blonde replied, so that Mona noticed the sympathy in her voice. She absolutely hated it.

Mona had been lucky; Ezra hadn't cut her vocal chords. That didn't mean it didn't hurt to speak though.

Wordlessly, the two women made their way to Spencer's room.

Spencer's hair was sprawled out on the pillow, only halfway visible since the tall brunette usually hid half of her head with her blanket.

Carefully, Mona picked it up and pulled it down a little, gazing at the unmoving form of her… her… her friend? Crush? Lover? Whichever one it was, the smaller girl missed her… missed her so incredibly much.

"When we were trying to trap Ez- him, it was like Spencer was my other half," she confessed, ignoring the concerned look the blonde threw her.

"So why didn't you include your other half on your little mission to face Ezra?" Hanna accused, causing Mona to flinch.

"I- I wanted her to love me."

The designer blinked in confusion. "What?"

"If… if I could have defused the bomb, and stopped Ezra by myself, Spencer… she would see me as a hero. She'd accept me the wa-"

A violent cough interrupted the petite brunette. Hanna placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Mona," she whispered gently. "Spencer didn't like to admit it, but she does admire you. I could tell whenever she spoke about you, whenever she saw you. She respects you and-"

"I put her there," Mona suddenly blurted. "I was reckless and I put her where she is now. She has been awake lately! She doesn't deserve this. Any of it."

March 1st 2020

Mona was racing up the stairs into Hanna's apartment. Ignoring Alison's glares as she pushed past the other woman through the door, the lobbyist made her way straight to the spare room, barely bothering to say hello.

It was perhaps time, the petite brunette thought, to face her guilt of putting the other woman. Perhaps time, to stop trying to be the hero, and start being a human.

Carefully, she climbed onto the bed and lay next to Spencer, gazing at the unmoving form, going over everything that she'd say to her if she'd ever get the chance.

Everything was a little blurry when Spencer opened her eyes.

After living in the dark for so long, it took her a moment to adjust to being able to see again. And once she did so, the thoughts came rushing back.

Murder, she told herself, almost angrily.

Her head hurt. Honestly, she hated waking up with a burning passion. Partially because of the stiffness of her body, but mostly because of the ache that came with the returning thoughts.

Only after a few minutes of adjusting to awakeness did she notice the head of hair on the pillow next to hers, the sleeping body right beside her.

Without hesitation, the brunette wrapped her arms around the sleeping beauty.

For the first time since she saw Mona bleeding out on the floor, Spencer held the other woman safe in her arms.

For the first time since she saw Mona bleeding out on the floor, she fully believed she would be able to stay awake.

A/N: ok so that's it! I guess it was a little rushed… but I am really happy to be finished with this, so… oh well. See you soon! :)