Home For Fall // Emison and PLL

I Wish You Would

"Private Fields, you're not answering the question. Did you, or did you not, willingly try to take your own life?" One of the VA doctors whom Emily recognized as Dr. Aronson asked.

Emily sat back in her chair across from him, her jaw clenched. They had stripped her of her uniform and weapons. The only thing she was allowed to wear was her hospital gown and arm monitor so they knew where she was if she decided to go outside in the yard. They only let Alison visit her if she was "having a good day." So naturally, she never saw her. She didn't wish for the blonde to ever see her like this.

She had lost count. Was it three weeks? Four? She had no idea.

"Jeez, will you let me out already? I'm fine. It was a rash decision. But I'm good now," Emily objected.

Aronson sighed and pushed a glass of water towards the tan brunette. "It's a permanent solution to a temporary problem. What if Ms. Marin hadn't found you in time?"

Emily groaned and rolled her eyes. "Yes, we've been over this. I would've been dead. Possibly."

"Possibly?" Aronson asked, slightly miffed.

"I could've changed my mind. You never know. I had the love of my life with me, so, who knows?" Emily said.

Aronson scratched the back of his neck and shook his head. "I think we're done here."

"Am I getting let go of?" Emily asked hopefully.

Aronson wouldn't meet her eyes. "Legally I have no reason to keep you here. You show no more signs of sickness besides PTSD. But heed my warning. Every veteran in here thinks they're fine. They think they don't belong here. But then they get out, and they realize just how wrong they really were."

He left the room. Emily was lost in thoughts of his words when she felt the guards take her back to her room. Her roommate, Alex, sat on her bed throwing a rubber ball at the wall and catching it again.

"How was your grill session? Anything cookin?" Alex asked sarcastically.

Emily chuckled. "I'm getting released."

Alex stopped throwing the ball. "No way. How'd you do it?"

Emily shrugged. "Played dumb. They kept me in here for being suicidal. But if I show no signs of being suicidal, they gotta let me go. I suggest you try it."

"Hey, I didn't try to kill myself," Alex pointed out.

Emily sighed. "Why are you even in here?"

"It's funny really. I'm not supposed to be in here. They think I have a weapon addiction. And an addiction to war," Alex said.

"How so?" Emily asked wearily.

"When I was out and about, I never went anywhere without a gun. I thought I saw cells. Thousands of them. Taliban members crawling the streets," Alex muttered.

"Yeah, I know what cells are. You hurt someone?" Emily asked.

Alex shuddered. "I never meant to. They joked about it. As though I were a defect. Just some broken veteran coming back from the war she couldn't handle. He reached into his jacket. I thought he was going for a gun. I shot him."

Emily swallowed. "Did he die?"

Alex's eyes never lifted from the floor. "Immediately."

Emily walked over and patted the other girl on the back. "You're gonna get out of here. You're a soldier. You're stronger than most."

"Em... We're all Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen, in this hospital. We've all faced the terrors of war. And most of us are never gonna leave. I'm closer to getting out than I was. But I still have issues. I still have nightmares. I'm still dangerous," Alex concluded.