~I've extended this into a two-shot, thanks for all the reviews guys! Prepare yourselves for a plot twist… I hope you enjoy it!~

Aria was rushed through the hallway on a gurney, the doctors hurriedly steering her towards the emergency operating room. Ezra had been assisted getting out of the ambulance and carried into the lobby, where he just regained consciousness a few minutes ago. Stumbling over to the receptionist, he asked, "Hello, could you tell me how Aria Montgomery is doing?"

"Are you immediate family?"

"No, but I'm her boyfriend… I was there when she was shot…" he said, his voice cracking as tears began to well up in his eyes.

"She's in surgery," the receptionist said softly, "She… it's critical condition…"

Nodding his thanks, Ezra gloomily shuffled back to the chairs, sitting down as he buried his face in his hands, allowing the tears to flow freely. "How did this happen?" he asked himself, "How did I let her get hurt?" About a half hour later, a doctor dressed in a white lab coat approached Ezra, a clipboard grasped in his hand.

"Ezra Fitz?"

"Y-yes, that's me," Ezra stuttered, his voice shaking audibly as he stood to greet the doctor.

"I've been told to inform you that Aria…" he paused for a moment, continuing with a much softer voice, "I'm afraid she isn't going to make it."

The air went out of Ezra then, tears flowing down his face as he collapsed into the chair behind him, trembling as his body was wracked with his heart-wrenching sobs. "What… what happened?" he choked out, his breaths coming in unsteady gasps.

"It's her heart, the bullet hit the middle of her heart… it's impossible to fix the damage that it caused, and with the amount of blood she's already lost, she won't survive in time for an artificial heart," the doctor explained gently, sitting down in the chair beside Ezra.

"Wait, w-what if there was an available heart, immediate, could that save her?"

The doctor gave him a sad look, responding with, "Well it would give her a fighting chance, but unfortunately there isn't an available heart… I'm so sorry…"

"Yes there is," Ezra said determinedly, "Yes there is."

"Sir?"

"My heart," he said softly, "I want to donate my heart to save her."

"Sir, I'm sure she would appreciate the thought, but are you sure you're thinking this through?"

"I'm sure."

"Please come with me, you will need to fill out some paperwork… and then you can say your goodbye's to your family… sir, are you absolutely sure you want to do this? You won't get to say goodbye in person to your family, your friends…" the doctor trailed off, his face filled with worry.

"She means the world to me," Ezra whispered, "and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for her. Without her… without her I'm nothing, my life is pointless… there's nobody else that truly needs me, but there are countless people who need her. She is strong, she will get through this… I need to do this for her."

Ezra followed the doctor into a small room, the sterilizing smell giving him a slight headache. After filling out the paperwork, the doctor escorted Ezra to Aria's waiting room, where she was hooked up to about a dozen machines, her skin deathly pale, her lips coated with a thin layer of blood. The doctor left Ezra to say his goodbye, stating, "I can give you a few minutes, but it is vital that we hurry."

"I love you," Ezra choked out, gently taking her hand into his, his thumb stroking along her knuckles.

Stirring slightly, Aria's eyes opened halfway, her lips turning upwards in a strained smile. "Ez-Ezra," she whispered.

"Shh shh, don't talk, you need to save your strength," Ezra whispered, tears streaming down his cheeks and into the corner of his mouth, the salty taste flowing over his tongue. "You're going to be okay Aria, I promise you that you're going to make it through this." Leaning down, he gently kissed her forehead before resting his nose against hers, his thumb gently stroking her hand.

"I-I love y-you," Aria whispered shakily, tilting her chin up slightly so her lips could brush against his. Gently, he kissed her, the blood coating her lips leaving a metallic taste in his mouth as his tongue slowly traced over them.

"I have to be strong for her," Ezra thought, choking down the sobs that tried to escape. Slowly pulling away, Ezra gave her a weak smile, which she returned, before whispering, "I love you Aria… I don't want you to ever forget that. I have always loved you, and I always will, no matter what happens. You know there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you."

He slowly made his way out of the room, tears streaming down his face once he was away from her view. The doctor, who had been waiting a respectable distance from the door, led him to a surgery operating room, where he told Ezra he needed to make any final phone calls now. Ezra fumbled on his phone, dialing his mother, but it went to voicemail. "Mom, I… I just wanted to tell you that I love you," he choked out, hanging up so she wouldn't hear the sobs that wracked his body. After repeating the actions for his father and brother, both of which went to voicemail, he called Hardy.

"Ezra, hey man, what's up?" Hardy asked cheerily.

"H-Hardy, I just wanted to say goodbye…" Ezra said breathily, trying his best to cover up his sobs.

"G-goodbye?" Hardy questioned, his voice immediately turning serious.

"Tell Aria that I love her Hardy, you have to do that for me."

"Okay?" Hardy agreed confusedly.

"Goodbye," Ezra whispered.

"I'll see you later man," Hardy stated before Ezra ended the call, his fingers trembling.

"I'm ready," Ezra said softly, the doctor asking him for the last time if he was certain of this, before calling in the operators. Ezra was placed on an operating table before the doctors gave him a strong sedative.

"Count backwards from ten please," one of the operators asked.

"Ten, nine," Ezra counted, his voice growing heavier with each number. "Eight… seven… six…" his eyelids closed as the sedative took hold, his body going limp. Next, the doctors opened up his chest, very cautiously removing his heart. Once the heart was removed and secured, two doctors rushed it to Aria's operating room, where they carefully exchanged his heart for her damaged one. Back in Ezra's operating room, the doctors solemnly unhooked Ezra from the machines, placing him in a body bag before they wheeled him away.

~❈❈※ ※❈❈~

Many hours later, Aria's hospital room was crowded with people, Ella, Byron, and Mike standing to one side of her as Spencer, Hanna, Emily, and Alison stood on the other, all waiting for her to open her eyes. Several minutes later, Aria's eyelashes began to flutter, her lids sliding up to reveal her beautiful hazel orbs.

"Aria!" Spencer exclaimed, tears streaming down her face as she grasped her hand tightly, "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

Smiling slightly, Aria looked around at everyone crowded around her. Suddenly realizing that someone was missing, she worriedly asked, "Where is Ezra?"

Everyone exchanged uneasy looks, their eyes showing the pain that her question had caused.

"What happened?" Aria exclaimed, beginning to panic. "Did… did he get shot too?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Aria," Ella began softly, "When you were in surgery, the doctors discovered that the bullet had hit your heart… and it was unable to be fixed. They… they said you weren't going to make it," she paused, her voice catching as tears streamed down her face. "The only way for you to survive was with a heart transplant, so Ezra… he…"

"No," Aria whispered, her voice raw. "Please tell me he didn't do what I think he did."

"I'm so sorry Aria," Ella whispered, grasping Aria's other hand tightly.

"No, no…" Aria sobbed, closing her eyes as she sunk back into the bed, her body shaking.

"Aria-" Alison started, but was cut off as Aria asked, "Will you please just leave me alone for a few minutes, I- I need to be alone."

"Are you sure?" Emily asked softly.

Nodding, Aria whispered, "I'm sure."

"We'll be right outside," Hanna said, before the seven of them made their way into the hallway, closing Aria's door behind them.

"Ezra…" Aria sobbed, "I love you. I have always loved you, I will always love you. No matter what happens." Taking a few deep breaths, Aria whispered barely audibly, her voice smothered in sobs, "You said you'd grow old with me…"

Please don't kill me! I know it's really sad… sorry… But I really hope you guys enjoyed this short story! I would really appreciate it if you would let me know what you thought! Oh and I'm not sure if you could actually do this (give someone your heart) in this manner, I am not a doctor, so please don't criticize me on the medical aspects.