Emily, Aria and Spencer had been trying to get Hanna to stop crying for an hour. "It's all my fault" she repeated over and over again. "I should have never brought him into this mess." "Hanna, you couldn't have done anything. You fell in love and that was all that mattered," Spencer told Hanna. "He was shot because of me." Hanna cried. "No he wasn't he wanted to help you because he loves you. You couldn't have told him anything that would have stopped him from going with you." Aria told her. Emily, still in shock after everything that had happened with Nate, was sitting next to Hanna, rubbing her back, unable to speak. Caleb had been in surgery for 45 minutes now, getting the bullet removed from his chest. Caleb and Hanna's mothers we're in the food court, getting snacks for the girls.
"Excuse me, are you here for Caleb Rivers?" a man in blue scrubs was standing in front of the four girls. "Yes," Hanna barely could talk after crying for so long. "Caleb has just left the ER, you can visit him now." Hanna shot up from the waiting room bench and ran to Caleb's hospital room. He was sleeping, breathing deeply. Hanna rushed over to his side. She brushed his soft, brown hair from his eyes. She placed her hand against his face and put her lips on his. He was so warm, she climbed into his hospital bed and lied her head next to his. "You know, some girls think scars are sexy" a voice croaked. Hanna looked over at Caleb, who was smiling back at her. "Caleb!" Hanna almost screamed. She threw her arms around him, being careful not to touch his injury, and kissed him. Caleb hugged her tight, and smelled her rose-scented hair. "I love you so much, I'm so sorry for everything." Hanna told Caleb. Caleb looked shocked. "Hanna you saved me and I love you for that. I would never leave you alone. Don't think for a second that any of this is your fault, it's not." Hanna looked in to Caleb's brown eyes and felt something she had never felt with Caleb- desperate. Hanna knew that she couldn't live without Caleb. It almost was sick how much he meant to her, how much she needed him. She almost felt ashamed at how much she relied on him. But for now, she liked these feelings. And she was ready to feel nothing but love for Caleb. Pure love.
After Hanna stepped out of the hospital room, she found Claudia sitting against the waiting room wall, knees to her chest. Hanna walked over and sat down next to her. "I'm a horrible mother." Claudia spit out. Hanna shook her head, "No Mrs. Rivers, don't think like that. Caleb loves you." "I know I'm a bad mom. I wasn't there for him nearly enough. I wasn't there to see him grow up, to live. To fall in love. " Hanna just sat there, unaware of what she should say. "I'm glad he found you," Claudia continued. "He loves you very much. You bring out the best in him." She turned to face Hanna. "Thank you for that." Before Hanna could respond, Claudia stood up and took a few steps forward. But before Hanna could get up, she turned to her again. "By the way, call me Claudia."
The next day, Caleb was permitted from the hospital. Hanna rolled him out to her mom's car on a wheelchair, and helped him in to the back seat. She put the wheelchair away and climbed in next to Caleb. Ashley walked out from the front desk and stepped in to the front seat of the car. Caleb's mom had left just an hour ago, after saying goodbye to Caleb. Aria, Spencer, and Emily had left late last night. Hanna rested her head on Caleb's lap as Ashley started the car. "Who wants ice cream?" Ashley asked. "Mom, we're 17, not 5." "Ice cream always makes everything better!" Ashley replied. Caleb laughed, "ice cream would be great."
Ashley handed Hanna her vanilla dish and Caleb his chocolate cone. Hanna took a huge bite of the soft ice cream . "Slow down there, tiger." Hanna laughed and made a point of eating huge spoonful's of ice cream in front of his face. Caleb grabbed the spoon right as Hanna was about to eat from it, spilling ice cream down the front of her shirt. "Wouldn't want you to get sick," Caleb said with a grin. "Oh yeah?" Hanna asked. As Caleb licked his cone, Hanna shoved it in his face. "It's getting pretty hot, you might want to eat faster before it melts." Caleb chuckled. "You look pretty hungry, and I'm not saving any for later." He kissed her. Hanna laughed, that cute little giggle that Caleb loved. Caleb smiled and and wrapped his arms around Hanna. He loved her more than anything in this world.