The night was chilly and breezy, a classic fall night in Rosewood. The trees were changing color and beginning to lose their leaves. Aria and Ezra drove through the outskirts of the town, returning from having an intimate dinner in the next town over. While they had decided to tell her parents, they hadn't had the opportunity quite yet.

"Thank you for tonight," Aria said quietly as she stared mindlessly out the passenger side window at the changing landscape.

"You're welcome. I thought we could use a night out of the apartment. I've missed you, missed us, I guess I'm just glad we're getting back to being us" spoke Ezra thoughtfully while reaching over to take Aria's hand.

She smiled warmly back at him, "I know exactly what you mean".

"So, as much as I don't want to ruin the wonderful night we had, I was wondering something…" Ezra dragged off the last few words searching for a way to bring up the elephant in the room.

"Yeah?" Aria said offhandedly, still lost in the scenery that filled the natural frame the window created.

"When exactly do you think we should tell your parents? I mean we agreed to tell them, but since then we haven't really made any plans. I just want us to be able to really move forward… together and without any hesitation" Ezra stammered while stealing glances at Aria trying to gauge her reaction.

Suddenly, all Ezra saw was lights as a car t-boned into them on the passenger side, Aria's side. The shock of the impact jolted Aria and Ezra in their seats as if they were rag dolls. Their car skidded across the road before finally coming to a stop in the middle of the intersection.

In a haze, Ezra's eyes slowly opened to the scene around him. He could only make out the other car fleeing the scene in a blur. Worry overcame him as he turned to check on Aria.

"Aria?" Ezra questioned as he saw her body crippled against the smashed door where the other car had hit. The sight of blood dripping down her face from a deep gash on her forehead immediately frightened Ezra. His voice filled with panic as he tried desperately to wake her up "Aria? Aria! Please wake up! Please! Say something! Anything!" Ezra only heard the one thing he feared the most at the moment: silence. It was clear to him that Aria was hurt, really hurt, and that her chances of surviving the crash were decreasing by the second.

As a crowd began to form, surrounding the crash, Ezra's mind raced with a series of thoughts. What just happened? Who did this? Was Aria hurt? What would he do if he lost Aria? That wasn't a possibility; he couldn't lose the one girl he loved. Sirens filled his ears, bringing only a millisecond of relief to Ezra's pounding heart. Paramedics flocked to the car, but all Ezra could do was plead with them to save Aria, "Help her! I'm fine! Get to her, she needs help!"

Ezra's POV

The paramedics rushed to pull Aria's body from the car and carefully into the ambulance. As I rushed in, I instantly grabbed Aria's hand and prayed that she would be ok. The paramedics were badgering me for answers and asking if I was alright, but all I could manage to do was say her name over and over again, pleading with her to wake up.

When we arrived at the hospital, the doctors immediately separated Aria and I so they could work on her. Again, I was faced with questions. My mind was racing and my head was spinning. What actually happened? Where did that car come from? How did I not see it? I fought back new tears that began to develop as the image of Aria's still body pierced my thoughts.

Heels frantically clicking down the hallway tore me from my thoughts and I looked up only to be bombarded by Ella. "Ezra? What happened? What were you doing with her? Is she okay? What's going on? Ezra? Ezra? Answer me!"

"I…I … I'm so sorry. I didn't see it, one second it wasn't there and the next it was. It came too fast, I couldn't do anything, and I couldn't protect her. I'm so sorry" Ezra ranted trying to make Ella understand, showing her his utter misery with his pleading voice.

"Why were you with her? She said she was staying with Spencer, I just don't understand," Ella responded, searching for answers in Ezra's eyes.

"I… well, we were on our way back from dinner. Look, I think we should sit down, you may not like what I have to say" Ezra said as he lead them to the small, empty waiting room next to them. As he carefully dropped into a chair, he mulled over the best way to say what he knew was necessary at this point. He continued, "Ella, I… Aria and I… we've been spending time with each other". It was clear that she didn't understand, so Ezra just bit the bullet and nervously said, "We've been dating for sometime now."

"What? What do you mean seeing each other! Please tell me this is not what I think it is, please tell me you aren't in a relationship with my daughter!" The words left Ella's mouth faster than Ezra could even comprehend, but it was clear the she was livid.

" I know this looks bad" Ezra responded, "but Aria and I really care for each other, we tried to separate, but we couldn't. We just couldn't keep away from each other".

Ella stood and paced around the room, " I can't deal with this right now. I have to go find Aria's doctors and check on her. I just, no this is not happening right now, I have to go check on my daughter."

"I'll come with you" Ezra stated cautiously yet with a deeply concerned expression on his face.

"No, you've done enough Ezra. I think you should leave before Byron gets here," Ella said forcefully while searching for the nearest nurse.

"I'm not leaving Aria. I love her and I will not leave her here alone. As much as you may not approve of our relationship the fact is we love each other and Aria and I want to be with each other. I know she wanted to be the one to explain it, but this is the situation we're faced with. So, I'm coming with you. I need to be there for the woman I love," Ezra stated passionately while staring straight into Ella's eyes. He needed to make her feel his love for Aria, to make her understand that beyond what this relationship looked like, it was truly right.

Ella blew out the breath of air she was holding, shook her said and simply said, "Alright."

This was the moment that Ezra knew everything could be okay for Aria and Ezra eventually, if Aria could just make it through this accident.