I started drafting this before any info about season 5 really came out, but by now it's sort of an AU about how Caleb could have come back to Rosewood. It's been in draft-mode for a while, but I finalised it in a mad rush to get it done before season 5 actually starts and before my exams start so please excuse any mistake. Also, I had draft-y ideas for a couple more chapters of this to round it out but that'll require a lot more time and a lot less writer's block so sit tight.
Hope you all enjoy it :)


He held his breath the entire time he was in the elevator, gripping the strap of his backpack tightly. He stared at his shoes; counting how many times his laces crossed in some vain hope it would calm him down.

The elevator dinged before doors slid open and he lifted his head automatically. He walked out looking for a sign that would point him in the right direction. Room 511. He'd memorised it from the text message on his phone. The text message that came out of nowhere in the middle of the night, telling him that Hanna was in hospital. And he'd be lying if he said he hadn't left Ravenswood before the sun came up.

Once he found the right corridor he walked slowly, watching his feet take each step, because it was the only thing he could do to stop himself from running. Man, did he want to run. He needed to see her, to see that she was alright. So that he could breathe normally again.

Finally he reached the right room, and peered through the glass panel by the door. She's in the bed, but her head is turned away from him. It looked like she was alone; the girls were probably at school by now. She didn't even stir when he opened the door stepped inside and as he moved around the bed he realised she was asleep. He felt a wave of relief rush over him for a second. She was okay, she was alive. And at least for now he could see that without having to see her star back at him asking him why he's even here.

But then he saw the scratches and bruises on her face and the cast on her arm. And the anxious frown settled onto her face even while she was sleeping. The relief quickly turned into a heavy knot at the pit of his stomach. He wanted nothing more than to touch her, but he didn't want to risk waking her up. He settled for staring at her, trying to tell himself that this wasn't his fault; that this didn't happen because he left.

"Caleb." A voice said and his head shot up. It was Ashley, holding a cup of coffee from the machine, looking worried and tired. Obviously, she'd been here all night.

"Hey," he nodded at her, wishing he could hide from her gaze. He always thought about how he let Hanna down, it wasn't until now that he realised Ashley had been counting on him as well. "How is she?"

Ashley pressed her lips together tightly, glancing down at Hanna before looking at him and forcing a tight smile. "She's going to be fine, just time needs to heal. The doctors wanted to keep her for a couple days to make sure her head is okay. She's on a lot of painkillers though. You could bring a marching band in here and she wouldn't wake up." Her smile relaxed a bit, "To be honest, that's what she's normally like when she's sleeping."

"Yeah, I remember," he smiled for a moment, allowing himself the fond memory. "Do you know what happened to her?"

Ashley hesitated for a moment, Caleb wasn't whether she didn't want to tell him or she didn't know what to say. She moved a couple steps towards Hanna, and pulled at the blanket covering her gently. "Apparently she fell down a steep bank in the woods."

"Fell?"

Ashley shook her head a little as though she was as disbelieving as he was. "The girls seem certain that someone pushed her, but the police couldn't find anything. They said they'd go back in the daylight. From the looks of it she just slipped on some wet leaves."

Caleb dropped his gaze to Hanna again. He remembered her putting up that tent the first night they were together, remembered her taking charge of the firewood and making sure they didn't get lost. For all her heels and manicures, Hanna knew her way around the woods. There was no way she slipped. He had no proof though, because he wasn't there. He hadn't been there to protect her. The knot in his stomach grew and he swallowed before he could say anything else.

"Why did you send me that message?" he asked suddenly, looking up at Ashley and catching her mid-sip. Her eyes widened for a second, but she just offered him a smile. And this one didn't seem that forced.

"Whatever happened between you and Hanna, I still don't know the details... But if she knew you were hurt she would jump through hoops to go see you. I just had a feeling you would feel the same way."

Caleb nodded, "Thank you." There were more words, more explanations he wanted to say, but they all got stuck in his throat.

"Are you going to stay in Rosewood?" Ashley asked, before taking another long sip of coffee.

He shrugged, "I think so. I don't know if she'd even want me to stay."

"That's not true, Caleb and you know it. After she went to visit you in Ravenswood, she seemed... less angry. And less sad... Like she understood why you had to leave even if she couldn't tell anyone."

"It was easier to show her than to explain it," he said.

Ashley looked like she wanted to ask him about it, but thankfully she didn't say anything else. Instead they just stand in silence while Hanna lay between them, the most important person in both their lives.

Caleb exhaled loudly, "I should probably go – I've got some stuff to get sorted now that I'm back in town. Could you let me know how she's doing?" he asked.

"Of course," Ashley said, finally moving to sit down in the chair next to Hanna's bed.

He took a step back from the bed before he stopped, "I actually brought something -" he started , swinging his backpack around to pull out the small stuffed bear he'd bought. In one paw it held a small 'Get Well' balloon and in the other a small card. He bought it at the hospital gift shop, after staring at the flowers for the better part of ten minutes.

"I'll make sure she gets it." Ashley nodded, smiling as she sees it.

"Thanks, again. Really." he said, and turned to sit the bear on the table next to the bed. Hanna hasn't moved the entire time he's been there, but she's snuffled in her sleep a few times which he could remember her doing.. He reached his hand out, hoping to touch her but at the last minute he moved until his fingers landed on her cast. No one had signed it yet, probably because the plaster was still drying but he could imagine her being quick to cover it with doodles and messages. He let himself imagine for a moment what he would have written on it. He could imagine her being awake and complaining about the hospital food and her hair being flat and stubboring claiming that she wasn't in pain and wanting to watch all the daytime cooking shows.

He knew he had to get out of there while he was still able to make himself leave.

The brightness hit her first, she could feel that. And she could feel... well fuzzy. She tried her eyes, hoping the picture would be clearer. Almost immediately he eyes focussed on familiar red hair, only a couple of feet away. "M - Mom?" Her voice is a little husky.

Her mother lifted her head straight away, "Hey sweetie. How are you feeling?"

She pouted, or at least tried to, she wasn't sure her body was actually doing what she wanted it too. "Like crap. And sort of numb."

Her mom chuckled a little, and picked up a cup of water off the bedside table, "That's hospital strength painkillers for you. Here, have some."

Hanna began to lift her right arm before she remembered it was all plastered up and sighed. Her mom held the cup and straw in front of her and Hanna leaned forward to take a sip on the water.

"The doctors say you should probably be able to go home in the next couple of days. They just want to do a couple more tests," her mom said while she drank. She took her time, sucking through the straw slowly, closing her eyes momentarily against the harsh light. Or maybe against the look of the hospital room. Because for some reason she suddenly remembered the last time she had been in one of these, and it wasn't for her.

She felt a tiny bit clearer already, and eventually nodded to her mom that she was done. Her eyes followed the cup of water back to the bedside table until she saw a small stuffed bear sitting there. She didn't remember it being there when she was awake for a bit around breakfast knows the sunflowers in the corner were from her father and the pink roses were from Travis and the card next to them was from the girls with the promise of cookies when she got out of the hospital. But the bear was new and mysterious. And right now, new and mysterious was never a good thing.

"Who is that from?" she asked, eyeing it suspiciously. She couldn't stretch enough to reach it herself. Her mom didn't say anything, which was weird, just handed it to her.

There was a little balloon on a stick attached to one of the paws, but it just said "Get Well". On the other paw there was a small card with a smiley face on the front. Hanna managed to open it with her thumb.

"Get better soon. And be safe please. love - C" It wasn't the initial she was expecting to read and she inhaled sharply when she saw the note written in his usual scrawl. 'Please' was underlined twice and the 'love' was scribbled out hastily.

"Mom, do you know who this is from?" she asked quietly, her heart feeling quite heavy. She wasn't sure whether it was the medication or whether she was trying hard to keep her hopes down. What hopes? She wasn't even sure what this meant. How did he even know she was in the hospital?

Her mom nodded, "He came to see you, this morning. You were asleep."

"And then he left," Hanna continued for her.

"I have a feeling he's going to be staying in Rosewood for a while," her mom said and only then did Hanna realise how tightly she was squeezing the bear.


He forgot Emily worked at The Brew until he stepped up to the counter and she turned around to serve the next customer. Which was him.

"Caleb?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"Heeey," he offered her a tight smile. Ashley was one thing, but she wasn't sure Hanna's friends were going to be so forgiving. Not after the way he left last time.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, staring him down like maybe she'd be able to scare him off. Honestly, it was kind of working.

"I am... I am coming back to Rosewood," he said finally, "I think I needed to come back."

Emily stare softened, and she looked down at her hands gripping at her apron, "A lot of things have changed since you left, Caleb," she said quietly. He could tell by the way she said it that he wouldn't have to wait long to figure out what she actually meant.

"I can only imagine," he replied, before looking at her pointedly, "I'm not trying to push myself back into anything."

Emily nodded slowly, as if she accepted that he didn't mean any harm. Or rather, any more harm. Behind him some business man coughed loudly and that pulled both of them back to their current surroundings.

"Uh, I'll get a large coffee please, to go," he smiled at her. His next task was to find somewhere to live since he'd given up his last apartment.

"Coming right up," she smiled back and he felt the warmth reach him and loosen the knot in his stomach a little. If Hanna's friends are okay with him being back, maybe she would be too.


She was in the middle of her third Martha Stewart episode on the food network, when a knock pulls her out of her triple layer lemon cake daydream. Turning her head, she found Caleb at the doorway of her hospital room.

"Hi," He smiled. His gaze was locked onto her, but it was warm, and comfortable. Like he'd never left.

She forced that particular thought out of her mind and smiled back at him, "Caleb, hi."

He held up a paper takeout bag for her to see, before he stepped into the room slowly, "I brought dim sum and walnut shrimp. Thought you might be a bit sick of hospital food."

As he spoke she lifted her unhurt arm to smooth down her hair, and almost missed what he was saying completely. "I am! Thank you. You didn't really didn't have to."

The awkwardness between them was almost suffocating, but then he gave her a look, the look and for a split second she definitely couldn't breathe. She swallowed, forced a smile that she knew he could see through and pointed to the chair next to her bed. He put the takeout bag on the tiny portable table and rolled it next to her so it was within reach before sitting down.

"How long are you in Rosewood for?" She asked, suddenly needing the answer before she could say anything else.

He looked at his feet for a minute before looking back at her. His face looked worried, nervous before he spoke. "I don't think I'll be leaving anytime soon."

She bit her lip, "You're done with Ravenswood?" She willed herself not to be excited, not to get her hopes up. For her own sake, she told herself. But listening to herself was never her thing.

He nodded.

"What about Miranda?" she asked, remembering that there was more to the story than just Caleb.

He paused, obviously trying to choose the right words. She watched him, thinking for a moment he'd just try to make something up. It was a passing thought, and she knew straight away he would tell her the truth. However much of it he could.

"She's gone too. I think we're both done with Ravenswood for good," he said finally. It was vague and they both knew it. She wanted to press him for more details, but decided that right now she really didn't care. All that mattered is that he was sitting in front of her.

"Well, I'm glad you're safe. I know thing got kind of dangerous there and – what?!" She asked as she caught him gazing at her with an amused smirk on his face.

"What?" he pretended he didn't know what she was talking about but she could tell he knew.

"You're giving me that look again," she said staring at him pointedly, raising her good hand and pointing to his face.

His smirk widened into a grin for a second before he tried to hold it back. "Hanna, you're talking about danger when you're the one in the hospital."

"At least my enemies are human, okay," she snapped at him, before sighing, "Besides, Caleb, you weren't even here. It's not your problem."

The smile disappeared off his face straight away and she could feel the mood in the whole room drop. "Maybe that is the problem."

She shook her head, "No, it's not your job to protect me. We're not together anymore."

That definitely made the temperature drop. They both dropped their heads for a while, she could only stare at her hands and bite her lip. She didn't realise how heavy those words were until they left her mouth. They weren't together anymore, and that was the first time they'd admitted it to each other. It felt like the most unnatural thing in the world.

"Hanna," he let her name slip over his tongue slowly, looking up from the ground, "That's never going to stop me from wanting to keep you safe." His eyes had turned dark, almost desperate. She had only seen them a few times before and those were the saddest moments of her life.

"Look," she started, desperate herself to change topics before she said something she couldn't take back. "I'll be fine and then things can go back to normal."

"What is normal like these days?" he asked, genuinely curious.

Hanna thought back to everything that had happened over the last couple of months, all of the things she hadn't told him. All of the reality that was outside this hospital room, outside of this moment with her and Caleb.

"It's complicated-" she started, before catching what she had just said. He looked surprised as well and they both shared a knowing smile before she started again, "It's a really long story. I promise I'll try and explain when I get out of this room."

It wasn't until after she'd said it that she realised it came with the promise that they'd see each other again. He had definitely noticed as well.

"Okay," he nodded.

He glanced at the wall clock across the room and nodded to himself. "I should go, your mom said she'd be coming back soon and you should eat this before it gets cold." He pushed the table so that it fit over her lap.

She opened her mouth to ask how he knew when her mom was getting back, but then she paused to wonder how he even knew she was in the hospital in the first place. The pieces fit together in her mind and she smiled. Her mom always knew how to put her back together.

"Caleb?" she said. He'd already gotten up and turned to move towards door.

"Yeah?" he turned around, gazing down at her.

"Knowing you're back in Rosewood, that make me feel a lot safer."

She looked up at her him and their eyes locked. He was giving her that look, the one she couldn't even describe, but could only feel. And it felt good. It felt right. He smiled and leaned down to press his lips against her forehead gently. She closed her eyes against his touch and by the time she opened them again he was gone.

But the warmth of his lips, the comfort of his gaze, the feeling in her gut. She could tell it was real this time.