Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:45:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: AMANDA PLOGGER <love4fun4life@yahoo.com>
Subject: upside_umop_insideout-13

Okay This story contains sexual acts between two females if this offends
you then don't read it. If you are not 18 or whatever the age maybe where
your from, don't read it. If you just don't like the idea of love between
two ladies, go somewhere else. Don't read it. The characters are not
real. Any similarities are just that.

  I still have many, many chapters to go. Let me know what you think so
far. Good or bad. Thank you so much to everyone who has written me giving
me much needed encouragement to keep writing. I have made many friends and
hope to find even more. It is amazing who you meet on here. *smiles* I love
to write so check back in soon and you are sure to find more.

  As always, enjoy.
  Amanda
  upside_umop_insideout

 Chapter 13

 Death to Thee


 Emily felt as if she was going to be sick again, this time, not because of
the child growing within her. She had caused this. This, all of this, was
here fault. The fight with Bobby, the way everything happened tonight,
Emily stood, she needed to get out. She needed to get away. Sarah watched
her sister through tear filled eyes as she took three steps and stumbled.

 "Are you okay, Em?" Sarah asked quickly sobering up.

 Emily weakly nodded, grabbing onto island for support. As Sarah found
comfort, her head buried into her husbands arms, the tears slowing, she
heard the most sickening sound of her life. The thud of Emily's body
hitting the floor.

 "Collin!" Sarah gasped as she shot out of her chair. Sarah rushed to her
sisters crumpled body, fearing the worse. She did a quick assessment.

 No broken bones, but her breathing was coming in short gasp, her heart was
racing, something just wasn't right. She wasn't responding. Collin looked
at Sarah waiting, not sure what he could do to help. "Go wake Alexis. The
drugs should have worn off." Sarah said while pulling cell phone out of her
pocket, dialing emergency.

"Alexis. Alexis?"

 Alexis eyes slowly opened, her eye lids still very heavy. She hadn't
remembered ever feeling this tired. "Alexis, I hate to wake you dear, but
Sarah just called rescue for Emily. She's passed out down stairs."

It took a second for Collin's words to register into Alexis' brain and when
they finally did her eyes flew open. "What? What happened? Is she going to
be okay? Why did she pass out? What's going on?" Alexis said sitting up,
too quickly, making her head spin. Alexis' hand shot up to her head, trying
to will the spinning to stop.

 "Slow down, you are probably still going to be out of it. And one question
at a time." Collin said taking Alexis by the arm and helping her to her
feet. She wasn't exactly stable on them, still a bit groggy from the shot
Sarah had given her earlier. "I don't know much. We were talking, Sarah
told her what happened at their parents house tonight and Sarah was
crying. Emily got up, looking a lot like you did earlier, and started
across the kitchen. Next thing I knew Sarah was jumping out of my arms and
Emily was on the floor." Collin explained, walking as quickly as he dared
while half holding Alexis up.

 "She must think something is wrong for her to be calling..." Alexis' voice
trailed off as the red and white flashing lights filled the stairwell. "Go
get the door." Alexis said grabbing the railing on the stairs. "I'm fine
just go."

 Collin nodded and bounded down the stairs. Reality hit Alexis as she
watched the paramedics enter the house carrying a backboard. Collin
directing them towards their kitchen.

 Alexis slowly made her way down the stairs, willing her legs to move
faster, yet afraid if the did that her love wouldn't be the only person
going to the hospital that night.

 As Alexis hit the last stair, the Sarah lead the way out of the house
quickly followed by the EMT s. Alexis stood there stunned, not knowing what
was happening, trying to suppress the sobs that threatened to over take
her.

 "It will be alright Lex, really. Come on, we will follow them in the car."
Collin said taking her arm.

 "No, I am riding with her." Alexis said yanking her arm away, walking with
more steadiness than she felt out the front door. As she reached the yard
the paramedics where just getting her loaded onto a stretcher and into the
ambulance.

 "Sarah, what's going on?" Alexis asked getting closer.

 Sarah shook her head. "I don't know. I don't I just..."

 "Tell me what you do know, quick before they leave."

 "Her BP and Heart rate are through the roof, she's having problems
breathing, by the bump on her head, I'd say she hit it on the counter on
the way down."

 "Who is riding?" The paramedic asked "We need to get moving." Sarah nodded
as Alex looked over at her questionably.

 "You go, we'll be right behind you the whole way."

 "Thank you, Sarah." Alexis sighed as she climbed up into the rig. Half of
her was torn with worry for her love, now all hooked up with wires and
tubes running everywhere. The other half of her was silently thankful that
there would be no windows to have to stare out of on the drive. The
medicine that still an through her and that would have definitely made her
sick. She vaguely remembered hearing the young man tell her to sit back.

 He looked younger than both Emily and Alexis and she began to wonder just
how qualified this boy was to work on Emily. The way he worked soon set
Alexis to ease.

 "Ma'am, are you okay?" The boy asked her after rechecking Emily one more
time.

 Alexis turned her lost eyes to him. "Huh? Yeah... just worried."

 "Ma'am, have you taken anything tonight?"

 "Her sister is a doctor. We've had long night. She gave me something to
calm me."

 "What's her name?"

 "Sarah."

 "Her full name?" The boy asked impatiently. Alexis could tell that he
wasn't believing her.

 "I don't know. Tonight is the first night I've met her. She's the one from
back at the house. The one that is following us right now." Alexis said,
rolling her eyes.

 "Do you know what she gave you."

 "Do you know what a pain in the ass you are?"

 The boy flushed, his cheeks going red.  "Ma'am it's my job."

 "I understand that. Listen, talk to her when we get there. I don't
know. She's the doctor not me."

 "We're here now. And believe me I will."

 The young man sprang through the doors, his partner running around the rig
to help pull Emily out of the back. Before she had even made it down, they
were in the doors and Collin and Sarah flanked her on either side, helping
her walk faster than she would have been able to on her own.

 "Tell me she's going to be alright. Sarah. You have to tell me that."

 "I wish I could." She said quietly as they chased after the retrieving
stretcher.  I'm sorry you guys can't go in there." A nurse said, stopping
them before a set of double doors.

 "That's my sister in there." Sarah said angrly.


 "I could give too hoots of a rats ass if that was the idol of your pagen
worship in there, you still not allowed to go in." Alexis was about to
die. She had to know what was going on. She looked at Sarah with pleading
eyes.

 "Damn it, I am a doctor."

 "Fine you may enter, the other two have to go to the waiting room."

 They all three nodded. "Please let us know if anything happens to her,
what the doctor and nurses are saying." Alexis begged, feeling her knees
collapse under her, Collin's arms the only thing keeping her from the
floor.

 "She needs a bed, she's under too much emotional stress I gave her 4 ccs
of lorazepam at 0200." Sarah hurriedly told the nurse before she walked
into the room after Emily.

 Alex numbly let the nurse pull her away- her eyes no longer seeing, her
ears only catching a faint hum of the noise that surrounded her. Alex
curled up in the bed the nurse had brought her to. She had no tears, no
breath to fill her lungs. The only thing Alexis felt was fear. Above all
else was the fear that threatened to over take her. It was her only
connection to the world and she irrationally clung to it. fear of the
unknown. Fear of losing the love of her life. Fear of losing the child they
were to raise together Fear that if she was to let go of the only feeling
that she had she would fade away. All too soon, the world did.

 'Alex?" a voice haunted her dreams. Her dreams had been filled with
familiar faces, Faces Alexis knew she should know. Faces that she just
couldn't place. She knew that voice as well, but just as the faces, she
couldn't recall just how or why it sounded so familiar. It called to her
over and over again. Some times softly, other times more distinct and
clear. There were times that Alexis could have swore she hear the sound of
tears in the beautiful voice. Part of Alex wanted to reach out and comfort
the voice, to let the sweet voice know that there was no need to cry. Yet,
try as she might, she never could.

 "Alex, baby, come back to me..." Emily sat and cried on the edge of
Alexis' bed. Three weeks had passed and Alexis still slept. She had woken a
few times only to slip away again. No matter what Sarah or any of the other
doctors told her, she knew that this was her fault. She knew it through and
through.

 She had been the one brought to the hospital, unconscious. Emily
apparently hadn't been watching her diet as closely as she should have
been. The sodium from the Chinese food an a healthy- or rather unhealthy-
does of soy sauce combined with sever stress had sent her blood pressure
into dangerously high levels. The first night was touch and go and more
than once the doctors thought that she would have a stroke from it.

 Emily wasn't sure how much of that Alexis knew. She didn't know if Alexis
knew she was alright. If only there was some way to reach her.  The doctors
were at a loss as to why Alexis wouldn't wake up. They had ran test after
test on her body, her body that now seemed so small and frail to Emily. She
refused to leave her bed side, hoping for the best, yet fearing for the
worst.

 "Emily, it is doing you no good sitting here. Baby, you need to go home,
rest. Your kids need you." Sarah said, rubbing her hand over her sister's
back.

 "I would be no good to them like this and we both know it." Emily said,
her voice filled with anger.

 "I know." Her sister sighed, resigning her self to a seat next to the
window. "I hate not knowing.  If I knew I could fix her."  Emily looked
over at her sister for the first time in days, her face seemly stained
permanently with tears.

 "Why won't she wake up? There has to be a reason."

 "Her body is shut down. Her brain waves are fine, her organs are all doing
there job. Other than this she is in perfect health. She's just been
through a lot. She needs time to rest and to heal."

 "That's what they keep telling me but it's been three weeks. I hate that I
wasn't here for the first two. I hate that she woke when I wasn't here."

 "It was so brief I don't think it would have mattered." Sarah said, her
voice drained. It finally sank in with Emily just how much her sister had
given up these last few weeks. Not just her family, but her life. Emily
couldn't count the number of nights that Sarah sat in this room with her or
for her. Tears streamed down her face again as she stared at her sister,
her life line.

 "What, sweetie? What's the matter?" Sarah asked, sitting up.

 "You."

 "Me?" Sarah asked shocked.

 "You. You have given up everything for me lately. I have no way I can
thank you." Emily cried as Sarah took her hand.

 "Baby, I've told you. The thing with dad will pass. I don't know how
long..."

 "No not just that." Emily stopped her. "Though that is part of it. You've
giving up so much to support me. You've sat here with me. You've canceled
appointments to be here for me. You and Collin have taken my kids in while
I sit here and wait. It's too much."

 "No. It will never be too much. We are family. That is what we do. And I
fully expect you to return..." Sarah stopped mid sentence as she noticed a
movement over Emily's shoulder.  Emily shot her head around like an owl.

 "Don't cry. Don't cry you." Alexis muttered in her sleep.  Emily looked at
Sarah and back at Alexis.

 "Talk to her."

 "Baby, I am here. It's Emily."

 "Emily?" Alexis' face scrunched up in concentration. She should know that
name.

 "Keep talking. Tell here about your life together. About your baby." Sarah
whispered, now standing next to Emily.  Emily nodded. "Don't you remember
love? We have two beautiful kids waiting at home for you. They miss you
terribly. I am pregnant with the baby you always wanted but could never
have. We met in college."

 "Emily." The voice and the name and the faces all began to click, falling
into place. Alexis struggled to open her eyes. "Baby?" She asked weakly.

 "Yes, baby. The baby is fine. I am fine. Come back to me my love." Sarah
muttered something about another doctor and quickly walked out of the room.

 "You... your okay?" Alexis said, still confused. Her eyes hurt. Her body
hurt. She struggled to open her eyes and as soon as she did regretted it
instantly. "Too bright." She muttered.

 Emily jumped from the bed. "Don't go." Alexis could hear movement in the
room.

 "I'm not going any where without you. I'm just making it a little darker
in here is all." Emily said, out of breath from literally running around
the room.

 "Try again." She said, taking Alexis' hand into her own.

 Alexis slowly opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the
semi-darkness. Her eyes settled on Emily's.

 "Are you an angel?" She asked, her throat rough and scratchy.

 Emily laughed. "No, I am just me. Just Emily."

 "Drink." Alexis said, struggling under the weight of her own body to sit
up.

 Emily looked towards the door, wishing her sister would return so she
would know what to do. She was sure she had already informed the nurses
that Alexis was awake. The entire hospital staff seemed to know of Alexis
and of Emily as well. She had heard the faint talk of the nurses passing
through the hospital on some nights while she toyed to sleep. They had all
been so kind to her.

 "Let me see if it's okay." She told Alexis staring into her beautiful
eyes.

 "If what is okay?" A young doctor asked as he and her sister entered the
room.

 "She was asking for a drink."

 "Let me look you over real quick and then i think you can have what ever
you like." He said, standing over Alexis. She smiled weakly at him.

 "Don't go." Alexis said once more, grabbing Emily's hand as she rose from
her bed.

 "Just giving Doctor Fetter some room to work. I'll be right over here with
Sarah if you need us." Emily pointed to the far wall where her sister
stood.

 Alexis smiled just realizing that Emily's sister was in the room. "Hi
Sarah." She said, her voice sounding hoarse.

 "Hi sweetie."

 "You took care of her for me?" Alexis asked while the doctor began his
head-to-toe exam.

 "I tried. She was stubborn and refused to leave your side."

 "How long?" Alexis asked, cocking her head to the side.

 "Alexis, you have been in a sort of coma for three weeks and two days
now. Do you remember anything before you went to sleep?" Dr. Fetter asked
standing back up to his full height.

 "I remember Mark, her husband..."

 "Ex-husband now." Emily corrected. she smiled and told Alex she'd explain
soon.

 "Oh well, her ex-husband. He got the kids while i was in class on
Friday. He made a comment, I don't remember what. I wanted to hurt him for
it." Alexis sat and thought for a minute. "Bobby. Bobby hurt my Em. I hate
him for it. We took Emily home cause she was sleeping."

 "Is that all you remember?" He asked again.

 "I don't know... there is more but I don't know. I had so many dreams I
don't know what really happened after that or what was a dream or
nightmare." Alexis shook her head. Emily was scared. That wasn't good.

 "That's fine. That's actually normal. We will set you up with a therapist
to get that all straightened out. Other than that, you are in perfect
health. I think we can get these IVs out of you now and get you some real
food. We will keep you over night for observation and I am thinking, if
these two ladies back here can keep an eye on you, then you should be able
to get out of her by tomorrow at the latest. We will run a few more test
just to make sure but I don't see that there should be a problem." The
doctor said warmly.

 "So she's alright?" Emily asked, still not convinced.

 "As far as I can tell yes." He said, his face showing the relief he felt
at that statement.

 Emily smiled, her tears falling again. This time out of joy. The doctor
backed away as Alexis held her arms out.

 "I dreamed of you." Alexis said as Emily buried her face into Alex's
chest, sobbing.

 "Yeah?" Emily's voice asked, muffled.

 "Yes. I couldn't remember in my dreams who you were. I hated that I
couldn't remember. But you were there. And your voice. I heard you. I
didn't know it was your voice. I heard you crying so many times.  I wanted
to tell you it'd be okay but I couldn't." Alexis pulled Emily's chin away
from her now soaked gown. "But now, I can. It will be okay. Understand?"

 Emily nodded as Alexis brought her mouth closer to Emily's. "I love you."

 "I love you too baby." Alexis sighed as she pressed her dry lips to
Emily's.

 "Sarah?" Alexis called, looking over Emily's shoulder at a woman she had
come to respect greatly in just one night. Well, it had been many after
that, but for Alex it was one night.

 "What can I do for you Alexis?" Sarah asked, steeping forward from the
shadows.

 "Take her home. Make her get some sleep. I am sure the kids miss her."

 "I am not going..." Emily started to protest but was stopped by Alexis'
fingers being placed so lightly against her lips.

 "You will. You heard the doctor. i am going to be in and out having test
ran. I promise. I won't close my eyes again until I see you." She said
staring directly into Emily's green eyes.

 "You know I can't tell you know when you look at me like that."

 "I know. So admit defeat and go home for a while. Sarah can bring you back
later, but only for a bit. You are not sleeping in that chair again."
Alexis said forcefully. "Bring our kids to see me too. I miss them."

 "I..." Emily began, but shut her mouth again, realizing the words that had
just came out of Alexis' mouth. 'Our kids'

 "Let's go Em, she's right and you know it. Plus those kids are dying to
see her too. they've missed you both."

 Emily nodded, her eyes never leaving Alexis'. Alexis smiled a knowing
smile and kissed Emily, before weakly pushing her from the bed.

 "I love you." Emily called out as Sarah practically dragged her from the
room.

 "I love you too dear."

 Sure enough, Alexis came home and within a few weeks was back to
herself. With Sarah's help she had worked through all the blocks her brain
had set up to protect itself. Little by little.

 "Baby, I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you.' Emily said
curled up on the couch with Alex a little over a month later.

 "You would have survived." Alexis said intertwining her fingers with
Emily's as Emily laid between her legs.

 Emily looked over her shoulder. "You really think that?"

 "I think you are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. I mean
look at all you have endured and you are still standing."

 "Barely baby. Just barely. If you weren't here I would have cracked under
the pressure a long time ago."

 "If I wasn't here you wouldn't have these problems." Alexis muttered to
herself, but it was still loud enough Emily caught what she said.

 Emily spun around.  "Baby, I love you but even without you I would still
have a lot of problems to face and sooner or later I would have had o face
up to my sexuality. So, I love you, but don't flatter your self. This was
my choice.  Understood?"

 Alexis pulled Emily into a hug. "Fine sweetie. Whatever you say."

 Emily tried to pull back to face Alex again but Alexis' arms stayed tight
around her. "This is NOT your fault. Quit blaming your self." Emily
protested, her words muffled into Alex's shoulder.

 "Okay, I will try. That is the most I can promise you."

 "I guess that will do. Are you going to come to the appointment with me
tomorrow?" Emily asked, finally able to sit up. Alexis' arms still circled
her, not letting her get to far away.

 "What time is it again?" Alexis asked with a smile.

 "Ten thirty. Why, you have other plans?"

 "Actually, I do." Alexis' shit eating grin told Emily that there was
something up.

 "And what exactly are your plans?"

 "Well..." Alexis teased.

 "Tell me you."

 "I have a lunch date with Collen and a client of his."

 "Really? What about?" Emily asked, struggling to sit up, sitting crossed
legged in between Alexis' legs.

 "Well... I have been working on a business plan as part of my therapy. It
started out as an exercise but has progressed a lot since then."

 "And?"

 "Well, Sarah really liked all the work I had done on it. I guess she
showed it to Collen and unbeknown to me, he's been shopping it around."

 "Why didn't you tell me? Is this what has been keeping you up late at
night?" Emily asked excitedly.

 "Yes, and I didn't tell you because I didn't know until a few days ago and
even then I didn't want either one of us to get our hopes up. This is

 just an preliminary meeting."  Alexis said, still smiling.

 "Okay, you are telling me not to get my hopes up but by the smile on your
face is telling me that you are doing just the opposite."

 "Yeah, yeah. It's just this guy sounds like he's ready to forward with
this."

 "So what it is? What kind of business is it? What is your business plan?
Come on tell me. I'm dying to know."

 "It's actually something that I would like your help with... if you are
willing to help. Was kind of hoping we could find someone to watch the kids
and you could come with me."

 Emily laughed and smacked Alexis in the arm. "Will you at least tell me
what you are talking about?"

 "Hold on let me go get it." Alexis said crawling from underneath Emily,
sprinting across the living room to where her bag hung. Emily laughed as
she watched her girl pull a nicely bound folder out of her bag and
gracefully dance back to the couch. Her energy was contagious.

 "So here it is." She said, sitting next to Emily, flipping open the
folder. Emily was surprised by all the bar graphs and technical data that
sat before her. Alexis definitely had but some work into it.

 "This is basically just a lot of number crunching but the good stuff is
back here." She said as she flipped to the back. "Remember Mike from our 3D
class? He's going in for drafting, to be an architect or something. He was
more than happy to do the sketch for me as long as I agreed that if this
goes through that he can draw up the plans for me."

 Emily sat there, her jaw hanging open.  There on one of the last pages sat
a beautiful water color mock up of a quaint building. To one side sat what
looked to be a small country store, in the middle an inn or bed and
breakfast with a restaurant to the right. The sign that hung above the
center structure read "Emily's Place"


"Well, are you going to say something?"

Authors Note:
 Okay, so per my "editor" I am here to post this question to you, seeing as
we keep arguing. If this story were to be published A: Would you read it?
and B: Would you buy it? I, in all my modesty, say it's not worth spending
money on. She disagrees. So we are putting it to a vote. Please write and
let me know what you think.

  Until next time,
 Amanda