Hello my loves! Can you believe it? It's FINALLY HERE!

Welcome to the THIRD and FINAL installment of my Spoby AU series. It started with Friend Zone, and then Fast Cars and Freedom came along, and now that Before It All Began, all my Troigan prompts, and some other things are done, it is time for this story to take the spotlight.

Just a reminder, this is an AU story, so I highly recommend you read the two previous stories if you haven't already since characters have different backgrounds than they may have on the show, there's no A, there's no Alison, basically there are very few things in common, etc. Another reminder that sometimes I sneak in some stolen lines from the show, some notable characters, or twist a few canon events into my AU world, and you will see those throughout the story. I do apologize that this story will be much shorter than the last ones, only eight chapters, but I worked incredibly hard to finish this for you guys since there was such a high demand. I did run out of material to shine a better light on certain events I would've liked more time for, but it is what it is, and I hope you guys like it all the same.

This story is most certainly not for me, but for you beautiful and loyal readers. Cannot believe I still have some of you here after the long and exhausting wait, but I treasure each of you and admire your patience and sweetness. I dedicate this one to you, my loves.

There will be a trigger warning on some chapters and I do two major things in this story that I think will bring on an incredible amount of hate. I apologize if I hurt your feels, my loves, or if someone is offended by something I write, but I'm doing what I originally envisioned since it's something I relate to personally. Take it as you will. Don't like, don't read, that's all I can really say.

This story is rated M. This chapter alone has its reasons for that, so please only read ahead if you are of age. (Apologies that this chapter is literally the cheesiest thing I've ever written and for me? That's SAYING SOMETHING.)

Title, like the story before, is derived from the Rascal Flatts song of the same name. If you know it, hopefully you'll see why it fits as the story and series wraps up in the end :)

Endless thanks for all of your support, absolutely unbelievable patience, and many more things I couldn't even begin to list. You are the greatest gifts a writer could ask for and I am forever grateful for you taking the time to read my work. Another note, all my A/Ns will be much much shorter than this from now on, if not non-existent! Thanks! Enjoy!

I do not own Pretty Little Liars.

The Day Before You

(Sequel to Fast Cars and Freedom)

Chapter One

Toby gave up trying to balance all of his eco-friendly bags filled to the brim with groceries and placed them on the floor in front of the door. Once he got the door open, he slid the collection inside with the side of his foot and locked the door behind him.

He headed further into the loft, grocery bags in hand once more, and found a beautiful sight waiting for him in the kitchen.

Spencer Hastings, the love of his life, had her back to him as she scrubbed at a casserole dish in the sink. Despite her aggressive cleaning, she was singing a soft ballad, clearly completely oblivious to his presence since normally she was more reserved about that sort of thing. But her iPod was playing and she was singing along in perfect harmony.

Toby had to shake his head a little, wondering how she was so unaware of her many talents, and snuck up quietly behind her to wrap his arms around her waist.

She gasped at his touch before relaxing back into him, a smile gracing her beautiful face.

It was perfect timing, really, since the solo verse just finished and it was the male's turn.

"All those days chasing down a daydream, all those years living in a blur, all that time never truly seeing, things, the way they were." he sang lovingly. He nudged her temple with his forehead, smiling a little as he sang the next bit. "Now she's here, shining in the starlight, now she's here, suddenly I know, if she's here, it's crystal clear, I'm where I'm meant to go."

Spencer, naturally, blushed at the sincerity laced in every faucet of his voice.

"And at last I see the light…" they sang in unison, both grinning now.

"And it's like the fog has lifted." Toby chimed in on his own.

"And at last I see the light…"

Spencer took the next line alone. "And it's like the sky is new…"

"And it's warm and real and bright, and the world has somehow shifted. All at once, everything is different, now that I see you. Now that I… see… you…"

They finished together, migrating closer to press their lips tenderly against the other's.

And, well, things were never good at staying simple these days.

Spencer slid easily in the curve of his arms so she was facing him better, leaning up to kiss him properly, loving the way his hands pressed gently into her lower back.

One left its station to cup her face, Toby deepening the kiss and making Spencer instantly wobbly-kneed.

Her hands pressed into his chest for balance, her lips moving in synchronization with his, and she let herself sigh into his mouth.

"I'm supposed to be doing dishes, Toby… they won't clean themselves…" she murmured, her eyelids fluttering shut once more as he pressed his lips up behind her ear.

"Mm they can wait. I've missed my fiancé." he teased into her skin.

Spencer grinned and pulled him closer, much preferring the current distraction over the chore waiting for her, however OCD she could be about cleaning.

It was still crazy to her to think back the few months ago when she and Toby got engaged. He proposed to her on her birthday, when the pair of them and their other friends went up to her family's lake house to enjoy a few days of fun in the sun. Naturally, it was extravagant, his question popped during homage to a scene from the movie Tangled that she had fallen in love with. She couldn't say yes fast enough, having known for a long time that she had found her soul mate. Marrying her best friend was exactly the fairy tale ending she had always dreamed of, and soon it would become a reality.

Spencer giggled when his mouth trailed her neck like a rogue hiker. "You're almost as good at this as you are singing."

Toby raised his eyebrows at her with a smirk, pulling back from his attack. "Almost as good? Well I must be able to carry a decent tune… but I think I can up my credentials with you in this department too." he teased, his hands cupping under her thighs to lift her onto the counter and his lips finding hers passionately.

His kisses made her head spin and her legs leapt immediately to knot around his middle, tugging him tightly against her.

His hands climbed her thighs, thumbs slipping down to stroke her inner muscles and causing her breath to hitch. His gentle touch mixed with the friction between them was causing an ache between her legs. And she knew she wasn't alone in wanting to take things further.

"Bedroom." she whispered, their lips moving faster together now.

Toby grinned and cupped her butt to carry her to their shared room. Ever since Spencer had moved in, they had made great use of it.

After a generous round of lovemaking, they lay curled up together, Spencer's fingers lazily making circles on his strong chest.

The look in her eyes made Toby realize her mind was elsewhere, and he nudged her temple gently with his forehead.

"Everything okay?"

She nodded, forcing a smile. "Of course. Just kind of dreading the wedding planning get-together with the girls. I really don't feel like discussing floral arrangements or colour schemes today. And they need a final decision on bridesmaid dresses, so I know I have to… but I wish I could stay right here." she sighed, laying her head down and nuzzling closer to him.

Toby ran his fingers through her hair. "Well, I wouldn't have any complaints about that, but if it has to be done in order for me to marry you sooner…" he murmured, letting his lips brush against the sensitive skin beneath her ear. "Then I guess I should encourage you to go."

Spencer smiled, amazed at how Toby could turn her mood around with the simplest of things, and she sat up to kiss him once on the lips.

She looked down at her ring thoughtfully. "It still all feels like a dream. We're so young!"

"I know. I really thought you'd say no to that fact alone, but I still wanted to ask. I knew I wanted you forever, no matter how long it had been. I didn't think we'd get married right away, but we talked about waiting on the wedding and you seemed pretty determined to do it sooner rather than later."

"Well that was more my parents than me. As much as I've tried to convince them otherwise, they think this is a shotgun wedding. And really, what's the point in waiting? We're going to be together forever regardless. We already know our wedding party too. Speaking of, are you sure you don't want me to add Jenna in the bridesmaids? I'd do it for you."

Toby shook his head. "She can sit front row with the families. I think that's generous. If anything, I need somebody on my side. Without Melissa, we had the perfect matching numbers—Aria, Emily and Hanna on your side, Caleb, Ezra and Jason on my side. But I'm glad you decided to include her, and my dad said he would step in if we couldn't find anyone. It'll be fine, Spencer. Don't stress."

She sighed exasperatedly. "You forget you're talking to a Hastings, Toby. It's in our very DNA. Something you might want to remember if you ever want to reproduce with me. Our kids are going to be little neurotic saw-wielders with big blue eyes and hair that frizzes out in the summer humidity."

He couldn't help himself from laughing. "Spencer… your hair does not frizz out that badly."

She rolled her eyes. "You're such a boy. Of course it does—I just have to take drastic measures to make sure it doesn't get its own zip code."

Spencer pulled herself to the edge of the bed, stretching to get the kinks out of her shoulders. Slipping out of the covers, she crossed the room to their dresser and began pulling out different articles of clothing to appraise.

Toby was a boy, or at least a man, so the sight of his naked fiancée strutting around the room in all her perfect glory had him unable to control his actions. He followed her, letting his hands roam down her body as he pressed himself tightly behind her and began kissing her neck.

"You could reschedule… or postpone… Or we could just get married at City Hall and sign our names and spend all of the hours you would be planning this wedding in this very room tangled up under our sheets if you wanted…" he whispered into her skin as she involuntarily succumbed to his touch.

"We need to make a list of unfair things to do to each other. Number one is going to be pressing your naked body against my naked body when I'm trying to get dressed to go out because it is very counterproductive. "

Toby chuckled, tugging on her earlobe with his teeth and causing her to groan and lose strength in her knees.

"Toby… you already distracted me from doing the dishes… is this really necessary?"

"Just because we're engaged doesn't mean we're not allowed to still be horny teenagers. It's our last year to be able to use that excuse! Also I think it's a rule that soon-to-be newlyweds can't keep their hands to themselves."

Spencer rolled her eyes, finally managing to regretfully step out of his hold and pull on some clothes, settling on a skirt and top combo. The skirt was tomato red and high-waisted, letting her tuck the powder blue sleeveless that had a knot near the neckline into the thick black elastic band around her ribcage.

Toby watched her head into the bathroom to style her hair, fiddling with it until it was pinned in a curly loose side-ponytail.

As always, she looked beautiful, and Toby counted his blessings again for whatever force of nature brought her into his life.

Redressing, Toby figured he might as well clear up the dishes that were still waiting to get taken care of while Spencer finished getting ready.

"Yes, I'm leaving now. See you in ten." Spencer said to whichever friend she was conversing with on the phone, hanging up and leaning up to press a kiss to her fiancée's cheek. "Have a good night. I'll be back as soon as I can, but you know us… we get sidetracked. Four teenage girls should really not be planning a wedding, but thankfully my mother and sister are going to do the most of the heavy lifting. We just get to do the 'fun' stuff."

Toby smiled as he continued to put away the glasses. "Have a good time with your girls. Call me if you need to be picked up."

"You think I'm going to get drunk? That was one time!" she exclaimed defensively, remembering in the summer when she and the girls 'went out to dinner' and ended up trying out new cocktails and getting more than tipsy. Spencer had called Toby and was giggling so much he couldn't even figure out what she was saying, but that was all he needed to hear to know what had happened.

"I meant…" Toby pacified, smiling amusedly at the memory regardless. "In case the weather changes or it gets late and you don't feel comfortable walking home alone. I can even just come meet you. I don't like the idea of you walking around these streets alone at night."

"Down these mean streets a girl must go who is not herself mean." Spencer quoted, smiling adorably in gratitude at her protective but not controlling future husband, and kissed him softly on the mouth. "I'll keep you posted. Likely one of the girls will drop me off so don't wait up. What are your plans for tonight?"

He shrugged as he closed up the dishwasher. "I'll figure something out. Might call one of the guys to come over."

"Well, take comfort in the fact that you'll probably be having more fun than me." Spencer teased. "Once we get a few more details figured out, you and I will have to sit down and work through a few more of our own decisions."

Toby, although he had been surprised by the amount of work that went into weddings, nodded. He looked forward to anything that helped them get closer to the day they would be formally tied as one.

"Go on. Before another one of the girl calls in a panic, wondering where the bride-to-be is." he told her, pushing her gently towards the door, knowing her stalling was reluctance to dive back into discussions over itinerary and centerpieces.

With a sigh and one last kiss goodbye, Spencer headed to join her best friends.

The four girls met at their usual place for dinner, a tad nostalgic for the Apple Rose Grille from back home where they all always had their orders memorized. Still, the place they went was not too busy and they were free to eat and discuss leisurely, which was perfect for the kind of meeting they were undergoing.

"Okay, Spence, stay focused." Aria told her encouragingly after their food orders had come and they had discussed the guest list and reception music, which Emily was responsible for, and she pulled out her domain—the design of the reception hall/floral arrangements.

Spencer counted to three in her head, normally all for planning but this stuff was so frivolous to her. She just wanted to marry Toby. Who cared if she chose carnations over tulips? There were so many decisions to be made and it was starting to wear her down; her to-do list was endless, which didn't make planning as satisfying as it felt under normal circumstances.

"All right, lay it on me." she grunted.

"Do you want greenery in your bouquet? Because there was this really beautiful one that mixes it up nicely. It's pretty typical of a bride bouquet. But if you wanted something more simple, we could just get two different coloured roses and intermingle them."

"I like the greenery, as long as it's not too overwhelming, but I want much less in the bridesmaid bouquets. Mine is supposed to be the dramatic one, right?" Spencer said authoritatively, examining the samples her maid of honour provided.

It had been hard for Spencer to choose, but Emily and Hanna didn't seem upset—Aria and Spencer had always been closest out of the four, and she also happened to be a big help thanks to her participation in her mom's wedding to her new boyfriend over the summer.

"I want the two shades of purple—one dark and one light. And then of course the white, so I'd say more in dark than light to balance it all out."

Aria nodded and jotted down her decisions.

"Okay, my turn." Hanna piped up, pulling out her busting-at-the-seam folder.

The three girls' eyes widened the first time she had presented it, but now they understood that Hanna was just overly enthusiastic to be responsible for the fashion side of things.

"Spencer, I think you're going to love these. They fit your vision perfectly." she said enthusiastically, sliding across the photos of the bridesmaid dresses. They were just above knee length, dark purple dresses with an elegant black sash around the middle that tied in a bow behind or to the side depending on your style. "I figured me, Emily and Melissa could have them behind, and with Aria being your maid of honour, she could be different to stand out and have it to the side."

Spencer couldn't help herself from smiling. "They're perfect, Hanna. You will all look gorgeous in those."

"Speaking of purple and black, I finally found the right fitting tablecloths for your reception tables. I sent an email to Melissa about it, but we have the royal purple tablecloths and then the black run down the middle. I think it's going to look amazingly elegant. I just need her to get back to me on how many we need."

Melissa and Spencer's mom were responsible for the heavy lifting of the wedding—booking the venue, creating the guest list, catering, planning the rehearsal dinner, booking the wedding music (a string quartet) and photographer, and generally handling all the things most of them would forget about.

"Oh, I'm supposed to remind you to go shopping for your shoes and figure out the itinerary." Hanna added, checking her list.

"And Spence, the cake samples will be ready to pick up tomorrow morning at 10." Emily added, the cake being under her responsibilities.

"Right. Toby's off tomorrow so we're spending the whole day doing wedding prep. I'll make sure both get done. We've got to find our wedding bands too or else we're going to get married with the plastic ones from those claw machines." Spencer said, adding the two tasks to her calendar.

"Have you booked your hair and make-up specialist yet?" Aria asked.

"Melissa did. Honestly, you guys and my family are saving my ass. I would never be able to keep all of this straight on my own. Dessert is most definitely on me."

"YES! I'm getting the brownie." Hanna said giddily. Seeing the others' expressions, she corrected her throat. "I mean, we are more than happy to help."

Spencer tossed her bunched up straw wrapper at her teasingly with a laugh.

"So, let's leave it there on the wedding stuff. What's new with you guys? How's the new job, Em?"

Emily, for some reason, blushed a little. "It's… surprisingly good. Working for Jenna is a lot easier than you might think."

"If you ever need someone to slap her, make sure you call me." Hanna said assuredly.

"Wait, what?" Aria jumped in.

"Do you not remember at the club that time when she was being a bitch to Toby and I—"

"Not you, Hanna!" Aria interrupted impatiently while Spencer laughed. "Em! When did you start working for the dragon lady?"

"She's not that bad. She started managing a coffee shop close by my school so I started working there. We're… kind of… friends." she admitted, scratching behind her ear as she stirred her drink uneasily.

"Jenna has changed, at least in my experience with her. She's trying to move on from her past, who she used to be. I think it's great that you guys are getting along. She needs someone as lovely as you to model herself after." Spencer said supportively to her embarrassed friend.

Of course, the compliment only made her bashfully duck her head more.

"Yeah, I came home to the two of them in our living room the other day. I don't think Jenna was too happy to see me, she looked like she saw a ghost, but no claws came out, so maybe she has changed." Hanna said casually as she started playing with her napkin, attempting to turn it into a swan.

Unable to help herself, Spencer leaned over to help her.

Earlier in the year, after Maya and Emily broke up, Emily needed a new place to live. The timing was perfect, since Toby asked Spencer to move in with him, leaving a spot open in Hanna and Spencer's shared apartment. Emily was more than happy to move in with her best friend, and Spencer didn't feel any regrets as soon as she crossed the threshold and walked straight into her soon-to-be fiancé's arms.

Jenna and Toby still saw each other on occasion, and during one of her visits to the Brew downstairs from their loft, where Toby and Ezra worked, she mentioned she had started managing a coffee shop downtown. She had said once before that she wanted to own one in the future, add her own personal recipes to the menu, and it was a great starting point for her to get to that level.

Emily called Spencer a couple weeks later, telling her she had ran into Jenna at the coffee place near her school and was hired as a barista. Before she could ask, Spencer reassured her that the hard feelings between Jenna, Toby and Spencer were on their way out the door. Having her best friend work for Toby's stepsister? It was just another way to keep them moving forward instead of dwelling on the horrific past. There was still tension, but they were working on loosening it, and Spencer knew that Emily was strong enough to hold her own if it came down to it.

The fact that Jenna and Emily had progressed to friends that hung out outside of work, well, that was new, but Spencer was glad that Emily was so open-minded and willing to forgive people. It was one of her most beautiful qualities, and she hoped that Jenna was well aware of how lucky she was to have her in her life in any sense.

"How's Ezra?" Emily asked Aria, seemingly eager to change the subject.

"Busy. He was meeting a friend tonight and he wouldn't tell me much about it. He can be so cryptic for NO reason. Anyways, apparently they're visiting from New York and are 'hopefully only here for a few days' whatever that means." she said, rolling her eyes.

Thankfully, their desserts came and all bad feelings ran for cover.

"What's new with you and Caleb?" Aria asked the blonde who was enthusiastically tearing into her treat.

"Not much. He's been working a lot, training some new girl at the bar, so I haven't seen him much." Hanna said unenthusiastically. "With Em working, our boys busy, and you and Toby constantly intertwined, me and Aria have been getting a lot of hangout time."

Spencer scoffed. "We're not constantly intertwined."

"Do you guys even go to the bathroom separately?" Hanna retorted, clearly not believing her.

"Yes!" Spencer said indignantly. She wasn't sure she could ever be one of those couples that were comfortable doing that. Toby probably wouldn't care, but she liked to 'preserve the magic' at least a little. And bathroom usage was private time, thank you very much.

"Hey, let's lay off the bride-to-be. She can't help being madly in love with her buff beau." Aria defended, squeezing Spencer's hand. "She still makes time for us, like right now for example."

Spencer nodded defiantly.

Emily snickered.

Hanna continued eating her brownie, a touch of a grin on her lips. It was so easy to rile Spencer up she had to say she missed living with her sometimes.

"So what's Toby doing tonight?" Emily asked conversationally.

Spencer shrugged. "Well now that I know Caleb and Ezra are so busy, I guess I'll find out when I get home."

"No, no, no, NO!" Toby groaned, clicking buttons on his controller furiously as his virtual car smashed into the median and exploded.

"You're really not going to win this race, man." the dirty-blonde next to him laughed, drifting with ease around the curves like racing video games were as simple as pouring water in a glass.

"Can it, DiLaurentis."

After finding out his two guy best friends were wrapped up in other things, Toby had decided to call another friend of his, Jason. He had technically been Toby's boss to start out, since they worked together on renovations at his new place, but the two had got along since day one. Now that his house was fixed up, besides the odd job, they'd get together to hangout as buddies—video game nights, working out, paintball, whatever guy stuff they felt like doing. It was great to have another friend, since Toby didn't tend to get close to a lot of people.

Shortly after their friendship took off, they had run into a small snag—finding out that Jason was in fact Spencer's illegitimate older half-brother from her dad's affair that she had no idea existed.

Luckily, they managed to get past it, and he and Spencer now had a great bond from their previous stranger status. They had spent a lot more time together over the last few months and now it seemed strange to think Jason hadn't been in her life for much longer.

Speak of the devil, a key in the lock alerted the pair that Spencer had returned. Toby glanced at the mess of pizza boxes and beer on the coffee table, and then shrugged. Spencer wasn't really the type to nag, unless it stayed there too long and he never let it.

Knowing it was stupid, Toby tried harder than ever to get further up the line of cars so that he didn't look like he had been failing as bad as he had been.

"Hey, Spence." he called out as he heard her putting away her coat and shoes several feet behind him.

"Hey." she greeted, coming over and collapsing next to him, her arms winding around his waist so she wouldn't disturb his playing. "Hey bro."

"Hey sis." Jason replied easily, the joking nicknames they now used on each other coming as simply as if they had been saying them for the years they should have been.

Ironically, the pair had met by chance—Jason had sold Spencer the truck she bought for Toby's Christmas present, and he had mentioned he needed help with renovations which was right up Toby's alley. If Toby hadn't taken the job and they hadn't gotten to talking, he might have never figured out the connection, or Spencer may have taken much longer to come around to the idea of gaining a brother in her life.

Spencer was incredibly grateful now that fate had brought them together when it did. She and Jason were pretty close now, and she found him really easy to talk to. All awkwardness from the old days was long gone.

"How was wedding planning?" Toby asked as he narrowly avoided traffic onscreen.

She groaned and buried her face in his neck, causing him to laugh. "Remind me to buy each of our friends huge thank you gifts at the end of this. Like a BMW. I would be such a goner without them and I'm supposed to be the organized one of the group. There is still so much we have to do."

"It'll get done, don't worry. We've got tons of time."

"Yes, but so many things take months… dress fittings and ordering and bookings and god knows what else. I've got to update my checklist on my laptop. But remember that tomorrow it's you and me, buddy." she said, pulling back finally.

She caught sight of the screen and smirked.

"Wow, Toby, you should be in NASCAR."

Jason laughed, since Toby was near the end of the line and had just careened into another obstacle, and Toby chose to glower at him instead of his wife-to-be.

"He's working on it. What do you guys have to get done tomorrow?" Jason asked as they reset the level.

"Just a few odds and ends. Cake testing, wedding ring browsing, and of course updating Toby on all the loveliness we talked about today. We've got to figure out the itinerary, like what speeches will go where and how we'll break them up. Typically, the maid of honour and best man both make toasts, but the father of the bride and mother of the groom sometimes do too."

As soon as she said it, she felt a pang. Toby had lost his mother a few years ago, so clearly that one wouldn't be happening. Toby's face remained passive, but she knew underneath his heart had probably hurt at the reminder.

"Um, and, uh, we've got to figure out the planning for the day itself. Order for the wedding party, when we want to do photos, that sort of thing. My sister is getting impatient about booking the photographer, and our last conversation she snapped at me and told me I'd have to hire Lucas Gottesman from high school who used to shoot our yearbook pictures if I didn't make a decision soon."

"How are your families about you two getting married?"

"Well, little did I know, Toby asked my father's permission like an old-fashioned gentleman." Spencer said amusedly.

When he had admitted it to her a couple days after their engagement, before they called their families to tell them the good news, Spencer had been shocked. The last conversation Toby and her father exchanged had not been friendly. Toby had jumped in to defend her at Thanksgiving to her family's obtuse expectations, and her father had been none too pleased. It ended up turning into a heated argument where Toby was kicked out of the house, but Spencer followed without hesitation, only stopping to throw in a few choice words of her own.

At Christmas, Melissa reassured her that, after coming clean over why she and Spencer were at such odds and to explain a few of the harsher comments she had made, their parents had changed their tune about Toby. Not that they'd ever admit to her that they were wrong.

Spencer figured they had gotten over the Thanksgiving debacle, but would keep an eye on Toby from then on. It had blown her away to learn that Toby had sat down with her father, and later her mother, to ask for permission to propose to their youngest daughter at nineteen years old. She had never imagined her parents saying yes to something like that.

"I think they think it's a shotgun wedding." Spencer told Jason honestly.

"I'll be honest, it crossed my mind when you told me, but I also know love when I see it." He suddenly smirked. "You better keep on that though, if dress fittings have to be done so far in advance."

Spencer rolled her eyes. "I think we'll manage."

"What about your family?" Jason asked, directing the question to Toby now.

He shrugged. "They hadn't met her before. My grandparents had, but my dad and step-mom, with Jenna's help, came around to the idea rather easily. They're trying to be on my better side, and I really don't think they care what I do with my life as long as I'm happy, so they just went with it. After they met her, they definitely were more enthusiastic about the idea. My step-mom loves her."

Spencer brushed faux-dust off her shoulder and Jason laughed.

"I just have that effect on parents I guess." she explained amusedly. "Anyways, I should update that list before I forget what we talked about tonight. Goodnight you two. Behave." she told them, leaning down to kiss Toby's cheek lightly before leaving for her room.

As her laptop booted up, Spencer went to change in the bathroom.

Naturally, the toilet paper roll finished and she bent down to get a new one out of the cupboard below the sink.

She pulled out the white cotton roll, but stopped for a moment, noticing what was behind it.

Spencer stayed crouched down on the floor, calculating, her eyes locked onto the unopened box of tampons in the corner.

She had bought those two weeks ago. Two weeks ago due to the fact that in a few days time she would require them and she had used up her last box the previous month.

Or wait, was it two months ago?

Doing certain human things, like lather, rinse, repeat and closing the refrigerator door may be an autopilot thing more than a conscious decision, but Spencer was fairly certain that going through all the motions of being on her period was not. Although she was fortunate that she was very regular and not too heavy without the need for birth control, she knew that she still suffered from the female paranoia of leaking during her period. She was always very diligent of changing her tampons in a timely fashion, wearing the chosen underwear, and all of those sorts of things.

But she hadn't done that last week. Because she hadn't needed to.

She was late.

Spencer was never late. It was like even her menstrual cycle was following the Hastings way, being organized and on point without fail. Spencer wasn't late to appointments, to coffee dates, and she certainly wasn't late when it came to shedding her uterine lining due to lack of an implanted fertilized egg.

Which could only mean one thing… she was pregnant.