This is my first fic, so go easy on me! :)
It takes place somewhere along the lines of mid-season 3, shortly after Emily discovers that Alison may or may not have been pregnant with Wilden's kid when she died. Unlike the show, Toby is out of the picture, and Spencer hasn't lost her marbles. I expect this to probably be ten to fifteen chapters and purely Sparia.
Hope you enjoy it!
"Just stick to the plan, guys, and everything will be fine," Spencer reassures the group before giving Hanna a quick pat on the back, "Go get 'em tiger."
Hanna lets out a heavy sigh before hooking arms with Emily and bursting through the front doors of the Rosewood Police station. When the two enter, they find themselves being stared at by various policemen in the lobby area. Hanna puts on her game face and approaches the front desk, now holding back fake sobs.
"I- I've just been mugged! Please! I need some help! HELP!" She lunges for the policeman behind the desk, grabbing him by his collar.
Emily rolls her eyes and rubs soft circles into Hanna's back, attempting to be reassuring. The policeman, whose name tag reads Officer Lang, gently shushes Hanna and guides her to a row of seats before offering to get her assistance. Hanna nods softly and reaches for Emily's hand. When Officer Lang leaves them, Emily shoots Hanna a glare.
"Jeez, Hanna. Tone it down. Who are you, Hilary Swank? You need to be believable, not excessive," Emily whispers at Hanna, who shrugs.
"What? I'm channeling my inner martyr. Sue me."
Before Emily can retort, Hanna spots Detective Wilden closing in from the break room. She gives Emily's hand a quick squeeze. Now aware of Wilden's presence, Emily knows this is her cue. When Detective Wilden reaches them, Emily stands and grabs Hanna firmly by her right shoulder.
"It's going to be okay, Han. You'll get through this," Emily glances towards Wilden, "I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back, okay?" Hanna nods appreciatively, sniffling her nose, and Emily leaves the two of them to hash it out as the rest of the plan is put into motion.
Meanwhile, Spencer and Aria make their way towards the back of the station. They tiptoe past a row of bushes into a thin, dimly lit alley along the side of the building when Aria starts to worry.
"Are you sure this is going to work, Spence? Breaking into a police station doesn't seem like something a sane person would do..." Aria turns to look behind her, making sure they aren't being followed. Spencer lets out a breath of air.
"It'll be fine as long as we stick to the plan. Emily's going to let us in through the back door any second now..." Spencer stops in place when she hears a strange noise coming from up ahead. She reaches her hand out to Aria behind her and whispers a quiet 'shh, shh'. They listen carefully. Pressing their bodies against the brick wall behind them, both girls feel relief when they realize the source of the noise is Emily. Bursting through a metal door, she stares into the dark alley, unaware of their exact location.
"Spencer? Aria?" Emily quietly calls out.
Upon hearing Emily's voice, they dash towards her whispering 'here, here'. When they make it, they find themselves at one of the police station's emergency exits.
"You guys have got 7 minutes, tops. Hanna is talking to Wilden now," Emily pushes them into the building and shuts the door securely behind them.
As they step into the police station, their eyes adjust to the florescent lighting and Spencer notes that they're not where she had planned for them to be. This particular emergency exit was few halls away from their destination, instead of the one hall that was indicated in her original plan.
"Em, this isn't the right door! What are we doing here?" Spencer hisses.
"There were officers by the other exit! This was the only option," Emily responds defensively, "Listen, just follow this hall. Take a right, and then a left. Duck past the break room and you're there. Hurry!"
Spencer and Aria then watch Emily slow jog away towards the lobby where Hanna is meeting with Wilden. Spencer, rather than taking action, stands with her eyes agape, watching Emily go. Aria, realizing they need to move rather than stand in awe of the scheme that's quickly deteriorating, grabs Spencer firmly by the wrist. Dragging her in the direction Emily had suggested, she speaks back at her.
"Come on, we don't have time for this! We have to keep moving," They take a few steps in Aria's intended direction before Spencer protests.
"What about the plan?" Spencer whines.
"You need to learn to improvise. Come on!"
Spencer shakes the doubt from her face, moves past Aria, and begins leading the way. The lights of this hall are astoundingly bright, while the white walls are lined with cork boards bearing photos of various officers and miscellaneous plaques. They quickly reach their first intersection, and peek out from behind the corner to ensure that the coast is clear.
"Which direction did Emily say to go?" Spencer whispers.
"Uh... Left. No, no, right. I think," Aria answers, unsure.
Spencer lets out a breath and guides them to the right. They follow this hall for a short time, passing several offices, before pausing outside of a janitorial closet. Hearing voices coming from up ahead, Spencer gulps and jiggles the door knob on her right, extremely thankful when she discovers the room unlocked. They silently file in, waiting a moment or two for the voices to pass, before stepping into the hall once more. They continue to creep forward until they reach their final intersection. The break room now in sight, the girls survey the situation. With giant windows, they both worry about the challenge of running by without being seen. Inside several officers are drinking coffee, chatting, and watching Friends reruns.
"How are we supposed to just 'duck past' that room?" Aria huffs, "There's no way they won't see us," Spencer runs her hands through her hair in response, contemplating. They definitely didn't have time for another unexpected obstacle like this.
"We just have to crawl beneath those windows, staying as close to the wall as we possibly can. And we have to be quick about it," Spencer crouches downwards, and in seconds is on her hands and knees. Aria groans internally, thinking of her short dress and heels, yet follows suit. They begin to crawl. After ten feet or so, a loud voice protrudes from the room.
"I'm gonna get some corn nuts from the vending machine. You guys want somethin'?" A man's voice asks, and his colleagues respond with a myriad of 'nah's, 'nope's. They can hear the sound of his boots on the linoleum, drawing nearer from inside. Thinking quickly, Spencer somersaults past the door to the break room and waves at Aria to do the same. Aria follows her lead, rolling quickly past the thick door. Before she can think twice, Spencer drags her into the closest office, abruptly slamming the door behind them. They're now sprawled out across the floor attempting to catch their breath, Spencer wincing at the loud sound the door made. Hoping no one becomes suspicious of the noise, they each take a look around the dark room. It's relatively small with nothing but a medium-sized desk and a filing cabinet in the right corner. A small window shares a wall with the door they just entered.
"Oh my god, Aria, I think we made it! This is it," She stands slowly, "This is Wilden's office!"
Spencer hurries across the room to Wilden's filing cabinet and begins to rifle through its contents without delay. She starts with the top drawer, thumbing through a series of brown folders. Aria rises, smoothing out her dress and combing through her newly tangled hair. After a moment of repair, she makes her way towards the window and peeks between the blinds. Upon seeing no one, she turns briefly to look at Spencer.
"How much time do we have left?" Aria's voice is thick with worry. Spencer glances at her watch.
"Uhh... three minutes. Damn," She pushes the top drawer of the filing cabinet closed and makes her way on to the second, "I can't seem to find it."
"I think that autopsy happened pretty recently. Maybe the paperwork is still on his desk," Aria suggests, before turning back to the window.
Spencer thinks on this shortly and decides to trust Aria's instinct. She shuts the second drawer and makes her way to Wilden's metal desk, waisting no time in rummaging through the messy paperwork it holds. Noticing spilt coffee and crumbs on several different documents, she murmurs to herself.
"Jeez, could Wilden be any more of a slob?" She reaches across his desk, hand finally on the file they came in for, "Aha! This is it!"
Aria focuses in on a figure she can see approaching through the glass and quickly identifies him as the detective. She freezes in place, completely panicked from head to toe.
"Spence... Wilden's coming this way. Right now." She releases the blinds and spins in place, looking squarely at Spencer. The tall girl checks her watch once more and an internal alarm goes off when she notes that he's early. Hanna was meant to distract him for at least another minute and a half. She quickly finds herself at Aria's side, peeking out the blinds to confirm the sighting. Wilden is located fifteen feet or so away, reading something on his phone. Both girls know that his cell phone won't distract him for much longer.
"Shit! We're supposed to have more time," Spencer steps away from the window and stares at her watch in disbelief, "I'm going to kill Hanna. There's no way we can get out of here without him seeing us now!"
Aria, moving backward, bumps unexpectedly into Wilden's desk. There was definitely nowhere for the both of them to hide in this compact office. She then reaches for Spencer, placing her hands on her friend's shoulders, in an attempt to ground her.
"Okay. Relax and think, Spence. How do we get out of this?" Aria pleads with Spencer's intellect to come up with a solution.
Thinking carefully for a short moment, Spencer gnaws on her lip. Suddenly, a strange look forms on her face when a new strategy enters her head. It would have to do - because there simply wasn't time for anything else.
"Okay… Um, I think I have an idea. Aria, you have to trust me. Just follow my lead," She peers down at her nervously. Aria nods in agreement.
Before another thought could interrupt her lack of judgement, Spencer throws herself at Aria. Their lips collide in a messy way, and Spencer presses her body solidly against Aria, who leans heavily on Wilden's desk for support. The taller girl runs her hands through Aria's hair aggressively, and tugs at her lip with her teeth. Aria is taken aback by this for a short moment before remembering Spencer's words. This time, she kisses back, running her tongue along her friend's lip, being much more tender than her taller counterpart. Because of this, the kiss slows slightly. Aria grabs at her hips, and her hands find themselves on the small of Spencer's back, just barely under her blouse. Spencer then reaches beneath Aria, lifting her at her thighs and pushing her further onto the desk, making a mess as papers and office supplies fall to the ground. Practically on top of Aria now, Spencer allows her lips to trail down her jawline to their final resting place in the crook of Aria's neck. It's an intense few seconds before the door to Wilden's office shoots open. He stands in the doorway, jaw to the floor in astonishment.
"What's going on in here?!" He abruptly reaches for the light switch. Florescent beams now cover the room, and Spencer removes her lips from Aria's skin. A giant blush covers her face, and she quickly propels herself away from her smaller counterpart. Careful not to meet Aria's gaze, she turns to the detective.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry. This is so embarrassing. We were just looking for some privacy..." Spencer shakes her head in disbelief, "I honestly didn't realize this was your office."
With an apologetic look across her face, she bends over to pick up the scattered contents of Wilden's desk. Aria, moving awkwardly, slides down from her perched position and attempts to compose her disheveled outfit. Her hair and lipstick are entirely beyond repair.
"And you just happened to miss the giant 'Detective Wilden' sign on your way in?" His voice full of skepticism, and his eyebrow raised. He crosses his arms and leans against the doorframe.
"We were a little… busy. It was an honest mistake," Spencer speaks slightly too forcefully. She finally gathers all the fallen items and places them gingerly on his desk. Aria finally mentally catches up, deciding to assist Spencer in legitimizing their claim.
"We came here to comfort Hanna… She just got mugged, for God's sake. How could we be so selfish?" Aria looks towards her partner in crime, "We should probably go check on her."
She reaches for Spencer's hand, and begins to make her way towards Wilden. Before Spencer can accept the outstretched palm, he stops them once more, clearly not buying into the lie.
"Hang on a second. Since when are you two together, anyway? And why didn't I see you in the lobby with Hanna?" He couldn't rip the confusion from his face.
"It's... kind of a new thing for us," Spencer pauses sorely, "And we came through the front a moment ago. You must have just missed us."
This time, perhaps due to shock, Detective Wilden steps aside to let them pass. They continue to make their way towards the lobby, fingers laced together, feeling Wilden's eyes on them with each step. When they finally round the corner and Aria knows they're out of sight, she rips her hand from Spencer's and smacks her on the shoulder with it.
"What the hell, Spence? That was seriously the best you could come up with?" Aria stares. Spencer smiles wickedly in response, knowing her plan had been a success.
"That, my friend, was me improvising. And it worked," Spencer reaches deep inside her bra before pulling out a folded piece of paper. Aria instantly knows what it is, and Spencer shoves it back into its hiding place. They continue hurriedly into the lobby, where they spot Hanna with heavy tears rolling down her cheeks. Emily at her side, Officer Lang tries to comfort Hanna with a box of tissues. As they move closer, they can hear Hanna shriek.
"I WAS ASSAULTED!" Officer Lang tries to quiet her before she continues, "DOES THAT MEAN NOTHING TO YOU PEOPLE?"
Spencer can practically see Emily roll her eyes from across the room. The two inch closer, trying to hold back their laughter as they watch Hanna in action. When Emily spots Spencer and Aria from across the room she lets out a stern cough. Hanna doesn't catch on to this because she's too busy delivering her next line.
"MY INNOCENCE IS GONE! MY INNO-" Hanna stops howling when Aria and Spencer reach her. Her face fills with relief. She turns to Officer Lang, this time with an average tone of voice.
"You know, what, actually? I've decided not to pursue an investigation," She reaches for her bag, stands, and makes her way toward the exit. Aria and Spencer shoot incredulous looks at Emily before following Hanna to the front door.
When the four of them exit, Officer Lang watches them go with a look of extreme confusion. Once they're finally outside again, they take off running and don't stop until they reach Emily's car a few blocks away. Emily rapidly hits the unlock button and the four of them slide into their seats, completely out of breath.