Wish I could stop starting new stories… but I think you guys are gonna like this one.

This first chapter takes place immediately after we last saw the girls in 7x20. I have no idea how many chapters/oneshots there are going to be, but I guess we shall see.

P.S. Flashbacks are in italics.

P.P.S. Happy birthday Bengy.

Enjoy!

Another Door Opens

'For some reason, this feels like it's the end of something.'

…

It was a strange moment for Hanna, waving Aria off as she left for her Honeymoon; they had finally beaten, outsmarted, outwitted A.D., which obviously, was a good thing, but somehow it had left them all with an eerie sense of emptiness. Dedicating most of their time to the cause had meant that everything else had, to a certain degree, been put on hold over the last few weeks and months – they'd almost forgotten how to live their own day-to-day lives, how to focus on themselves, rather than on the overbearing presence of their seemingly invisible stalker.

It was bizarre, but they would get used to it, just as they had so many times before.

As Hanna hugged her friends, and they all exchanged 'I love you's, and more than a few tears, she came to the conclusion that they weren't just tears of sadness due to the fact that Aria was leaving, not really. They were tears of relief, of happiness, of feeling like they had all regained an element of control in their lives.

Though, as much as Hanna felt like she was gaining control in one aspect of her life, she felt as if she was losing it in another.

She was pregnant.

It was something that she had wanted for so long, something that she and Caleb had been trying for, for months on end. And it had finally happened. She was overjoyed at the news, and ever since the day that they'd found out, she had woken up every single morning with a small smile playing upon her lips as she thought about the fact that she was one day closer to meeting her baby, their baby.

Despite her obvious excitement, her pregnancy thus far had also come with its fair share of nerves. It was a scary thought, that she couldn't really control what was happening to her baby, not really, and that she just had to let nature work its course. It was scary that she couldn't control what she looked like, for in a few months, her figure would be so different to the one that she had become accustomed to. It was scary that, now, she had no control over the fact that she and Caleb were going to be parents, that they were going to raise a human being with their morals and their values, and that they were responsible for the happiness of this tiny little person.

Sometimes, it all got to be a little too much for her to think about.

But she figured that worrying had become a natural part of her personality, that she was probably doing it too much, and that once their son or daughter came along, nothing else in the world would matter but them.

As she saw Caleb walking towards her from the other side of the street, a warm smile playing upon his lips, she knew that she was right. With him by her side, she was positive that they could conquer any challenge that life threw at them. This baby, the baby that they had been wanting, and pining for, and trying for so desperately, was going to bring them nothing but absolute joy.

She was sure of it.

Caleb had crossed the street now, and instinctively held his arm out for her, wrapping it around her waist as she nuzzled into his size; but his hand didn't land on her hip as it usually did, instead finding its way to her stomach. The simple gesture made Hanna feel as if she had been lifted up into the sky, and was floating amongst the white clouds that drifted above them – clearly their baby was as much on his mind, as it was on hers.

Up until that moment, Hanna hadn't even realised that Ezra had walked over with her husband, as had Toby; a lilting conversation had begun within the group, mostly revolving around Aria and Ezra, and their wedding, and their honeymoon. Caleb took the opportunity to look down at Hanna, sending her a small, excited smile, before he pressed his lips to the shell of her ear. "How're you doing?" He murmured, as if he was whispering about some closely guarded secret, "Both of you."

Hanna felt her heart flutter at his words, "Yeah, we're good," She beamed up at him as he slowly rubbed his hand back and forth over her stomach, before quickly withdrawing it as he realised that they were still with their friends.

"It's fine," Hanna laughed at the worried look on his face, "They know, I already told them."

Caleb furrowed his brow, "I thought we were waiting for a while before we told people?" He chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," Hanna shrugged, biting her bottom lip before she moved around to his front, snaking her arms around his waist, "I'm too excited."

"What couldn't you help?" Toby interrupted, having caught the tail end of their conversation.

Hanna looked up at Caleb expectantly as he moved a stray strand of hair from in front of her face, tucking it behind her ear, "Come on," She encouraged, "The girls know, Toby and Ezra are gonna find out soon enough."

"Fine," He rolled his eyes, a smile playing upon his lips as Hanna moved back around to his side, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Are you gonna tell them or shall I?"

"Tell us what?" Ezra raised his eyebrows.

"You do it," Hanna bit her lip, pressing her nose against his collarbone as she tried to hide the huge grin on her face.

Caleb cleared his throat, unable to stop himself from grinning, too. "Ok, well," He began, before exhaling a short breath of disbelief, accompanied by a light laugh, "Hanna's pregnant. We're having a baby."

The four girls broke out in smiles all over again, even though they had been informed of the news previously. Toby and Ezra looked back and forth between Hanna and Caleb, and each other, and their significant others, trying to gage whether they were being serious, or not. By the looks on everybody else's faces, they soon realised that they were, and stepped forward to pull them into hugs of congratulations.

"I'm so happy for you guys," Toby smiled genuinely, "How far along are you?"

"Only about three weeks," Hanna bit her bottom lip.

"Which is why we weren't going to tell anybody yet," Caleb shook his head, though he didn't look at all mad. Really, he had known that Hanna wouldn't be able to keep it a secret for long.

Aria stepped forward, taking Hanna's hand in hers, "It doesn't matter, anyway," She shrugged, "Because everything is going to be absolutely fine, and your baby is going to be perfect. And beautiful… with good fashion sense. And they'll probably be a hacker of some sort."

Hanna and Caleb both laughed, imagining a tiny little baby typing away on Caleb's laptop. "I don't care what he, or she is," Caleb spoke, "As long as they're healthy and happy."

"Me too," Hanna nodded, "Though I do kinda want them to have your eyes," She added, her gaze lifting to meet his.

Caleb shook his head and was about to speak, before Spencer interrupted him. "So, how did you guys find out?" She asked, "And when?"

"Um, a couple of days ago," Hanna smiled widely at the memory, "And we found out together. We just had a feeling that something was different, so Caleb went and bought the tests, and I took them, and they were all positive," She shrugged.

"No," Caleb laughed lightly, shaking his head, "That is not how we found out."

"Yes, it is," Hanna argued, raising an eyebrow at him, "We took the tests together, and they were all positive, and then we cried," She shrugged, turning back to her friends, "With happiness, obviously."

"I think you forgot to leave out a very vivid part of that morning," He smirked, before clearing his throat, "It was a little less romantic than in your version of the story."

Aria let out a small laugh, "What happened? Did you pee on your hand instead of the stick or something?"

"Ew, no," Hanna grimaced, "I mean yeah, that did happen a little bit, but that's not it…" She trailed off, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink at the memory.

"Let's just say that there was a cheesy puff incident," Caleb interrupted in an attempt to alleviate Hanna's embarrassment; he turned to face her, and she shot him a half-hearted death stare.

"What the hell is a cheesy puff incident?" Alison laughed, looking up at Emily for direction. All that she received in return was a shrug of her fiancé's shoulders.

Hanna exhaled heavily, "You don't even wanna know."

...

"Are you sure you don't want me to get you something else? Not even a muffin?"

"No," Hanna shook her head, rolling her eyes at her husband's pushiness, "I've eaten cheesy puffs for the last like, twenty years and survived, I think I'll be okay."

"But for breakfast?" He raised an eyebrow, before his gaze shifted to the bag of bright orange snacks in her hand.

"I like them," She shrugged, "They go well with my morning coffee." She picked up her pale pink coffee mug and took a long sip, before shoving another four cheesy puffs into her mouth. "I don't see what's so weird about it."

Caleb let out a short laugh and shook his head; even after knowing her for more than eight years, he still didn't understand her strange eating habits. At least this one wasn't quite as strange as the cold French fries. "Ok," He gave in, holding his hands up, "Have the cheesy puffs. I'm gonna go and get me some bacon."

"Ca-" Hanna brought her hand up to her mouth and spluttered as something caught in her throat, interrupting her sentence.

Caleb stepped forward immediately, worried that something was wrong. "Han, what is it?" He asked gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. Hanna simply shook her head, keeping her hand placed firmly over her mouth. "Is it stuck in your throat?" He asked again, becoming increasingly worried.

This time, Hanna simply stood and ran over to their bathroom, shutting the door behind her before Caleb heard the distinct sound of someone throwing up. Now even more alarmed, he strode towards the door, not even bothering to knock before he walked in, and over to Hanna, who was hunched over the toilet.

"It's okay," He soothed gently, pulling her hair back from her face as she threw up again. He noted the bright orange colour of her vomit and grimaced. If there was ever a reason not to eat cheesy puffs for breakfast, then that was certainly it.

"Ok, I'm done," She exhaled after a minute or so, pulling away from the toilet and leaning back against Caleb, who was now sitting on the bathroom floor behind her. He rubbed her arm up and down with his hand and she closed her eyes, attempting to breathe normally despite her rapidly beating heart. "I swear, I have no idea what that was. That was the first time that cheesy puffs have ever made me do that."

"Maybe it was just too early to eat them?" He suggested as he reached over to the side of their bath for a wash cloth, passing it to Hanna so that she could wipe her mouth with it.

"Nu uh," She shook her head as she finished cleaning her face, "I've had them for breakfast a tonne of times before, when I've been late for something and you haven't noticed me sneaking them into my bag. And remember, I had them that morning that we decided to start trying for a baby."

Then, something clicked in Caleb's mind.

"I don't know, maybe I ate them too fast, or too many. Do you think either of those could have made me sick?" She babbled on, looking up to Caleb for guidance.

He let out a short laugh, brushing aside all of Hanna's theories. "Han, people get cravings when they're pregnant," He started – Hanna furrowed her brow, thoroughly confused.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, people also get aversions, aversions to different foods. Sometimes, foods they love…" He trailed off, waiting for Hanna to catch on.

"You think I could be…" Her face lit up as she realised what he was suggesting; she tried to hide the upturns at the corners of her lips in fear that she was getting her hopes up too soon, but it was to no avail.

"Pregnant, yeah," He chuckled lightly, reaching up to move a stray strand of hair away from her slightly flushed face. "When was the last time you had a period?"

"I'm like, five days late," She calculated, furrowing her brow, "I guess I've just stopped paying such close attention because we've been trying for so long," She mused, before meeting Caleb's excited gaze, "You really think it's possible?"

"Totally," He nodded, "But we shouldn't get our hopes up until you've taken a test. Want me to run to the store and get one?"

"It's fine, I'll go if you want, I just-"

"No," He shook his head, interrupting her, "Don't worry, it's fine. You just stay here and get yourself cleaned up, have some water, and put some comfortable clothes on. I'll be back in ten." He pressed a soft kiss to the back of her head before standing, and offering her a hand up.

She accepted gratefully, and pushed her hands through her slightly dishevelled hair in an attempt to move it away from her now sweaty forehead. "Ew," She scrunched her face up at the realisation of what she'd just done, "I really should've washed my hands before I did that."

Caleb let out a light laugh, "Go and have a shower, or a bath, whatever," He suggested, "Just relax, and I'll bring the test home to you… along with some real breakfast."

He was out of the door before Hanna had the chance to argue back.

She shook her head amusedly, the gesture directed at a number of things; Caleb, for being so insistent, herself, for having cheesy puffs for breakfast in the first place, and most of all, their current situation.

Taking a pregnancy test was the last thing she expected to be doing that morning.

After a few minutes of trying to calm herself down, she stepped into the bath that she had prepared for herself, and allowed her mind to wander; what if they really were going to have a baby? Were they ready for it? Then again, the thought of the pregnancy tests coming out negative made Hanna feel inexplicably upset. They'd wanted for this to happen for a while now; for her to get pregnant, for them to have their first child together. Even though she'd tried hard not to, she'd gotten her hopes up, and didn't know if she could stand for them to be let down, yet again.

Caleb really hadn't been kidding when he said he'd be fast – she'd barely gotten the chance to get used to the slightly-too-hot bath water before she'd heard him coming in through the front door. Her heart inadvertently began to beat a little faster, and she noticed that her hands were shaking under the surface of the bubbles that had gathered around her flat stomach. She wondered whether it would be staying flat over the next nine months.

She could barely even muster a nod when Caleb strode into the bathroom, and walked up beside her, putting his hand on her shoulder before he asked her whether she wanted to take a test then and there.

"Are you sure?" He checked, sensing that she wasn't completely present.

She rubbed her palm over her forehead once, twice, attempting to eliminate the doubt in her mind. "Yeah," She nodded, her voice a little raspy, "Yeah, let's do it. Could you grab me a towel?"

"Sure," He agreed, already having pulled a large pink one from the pile of freshly-washed towels on top of their medicine cabinet. He held it open as she stepped out of the bath – shivering a little – and proceeded to wrap her up in it before pulling her into his arms. "I bought four tests, but we don't have to take them yet, if you're not ready," He mumbled against the top of her head, "The baby will still be there next week."

"Caleb," She scolded him, "Don't say that, don't say 'the baby'. We don't even know if there is one, yet. I'm trying not to get my hopes up," She finished with a sigh, burying her face a little deeper into the crook of his neck – it had always fit so perfectly there.

"Sorry," He murmured, "I just have a feeling, you know?"

"I know," She agreed, "Me too." She pulled away from him, before reaching for the carrier bag that he'd placed down on the floor, next to the bath. "Come on, let's do this. I don't think I can wait any longer."

Caleb nodded in agreement, and watched as she pulled out one of the four tests that he'd bought. She turned the box over in her hands a few times before undoing it, and then studying the instructions for a good five minutes. "Han?" He eventually interrupted her, "You just pee on the stick."

"I know," She rolled her eyes, "I'm trying to buy time."

Caleb let out a short laugh, before stepping forward, and placing his hands on her upper arms. "Han, look at me," He murmured, before her uncertain gaze met his, "Whatever the tests say, it doesn't matter. We'll keep trying. It'll happen, eventually. I promise."

"But what if it doesn't?" Came her small voice, "What if we can't have babies, Caleb. What if there's something wrong with me?"

"Shhh, there's nothing wrong with you," He soothed, bringing his hand up to her face so that his thumb could stroke across her cheek, "And even if there was, we'd deal with it. But we don't need to worry about that right now, because in about five minutes, there's a possibility that you could be calling your mom and telling her that we're having a baby."

"Nu uh," Hanna shook her head, "I'm not telling my mom today. I want today to be just for us. If it happens," She finished with a smile, beginning to feel a little more positive about their situation.

"That's fine with me," He smiled back, "You want me to leave while you take the tests?"

"No," She immediately tugged at his arm as he turned to leave the room, "Stay," She swallowed, "I'm nervous. Just, turn the other way if you don't wanna see me getting pee all over my hands."

He nodded, and let out a small laugh before he turned to face the door. "Just let me know when you're done."

"Ok…" She trailed off, attempting to remove all four of the sticks from their boxes, "I need to do this fast, or I'm gonna run out of pee and I'm not gonna be able to take all of them."

"I think you're thinking about this a little too much," Caleb raised his eyebrows.

"I'm not," She huffed, "I can't just start and stop peeing four times, I'm gonna have to pass them under my legs like some sort of production chain."

Caleb was glad that she couldn't see the utterly amused look on his face.

"Ok, I have them all laid out. All I need to do is pee on them," She declared, taking a seat on the toilet, "Is it weird if you listen to me peeing?"

"Han, I don't care," He chuckled, beginning to get the tiniest bit impatient.

"I'm just gonna do it," She swallowed, before she did just that, and one by one, took all four of the pregnancy tests, placing each one down on a few sheets of toilet paper once she'd finished with them. "Ok, I'm done, you can turn around now," She mumbled to Caleb as she walked over to the sink, washing her hands thoroughly, "They'll all be ready to look at after five minutes."

Caleb nodded, and immediately pulled her into his arms after she'd finished drying her hands. "You nervous?" He asked, despite the fact that he could practically feel her heart beating out of her chest.

"Mhm," She nodded, nuzzling her nose into the crook of his neck, "Can you look at them when the time's up? I don't think I can do it."

He could hear the sadness in her voice, and could tell that she still didn't have any faith in the idea of them getting pregnant, despite the fact that she'd gotten her hopes up. "You sure you don't want to look first?" He asked, a little surprised that she didn't want to be the first to know.

"No, I'm scared," She replied simply.

After that, they stood in silence, arms wrapped around one another, for an undefined amount of time. They were both absolutely sure that they'd passed the five-minute mark a while back, but there was something so final about looking at those tests, that neither of them could bring themselves to break their embrace.

It was Caleb who eventually interrupted the silence, leaning down to brush his nose against the shell of Hanna's ear, before asking her if she was ready. He received a gentle nod in reply, and so unwrapped his arms from around her, before placing his index finger under her chin, and tilting her head up until her gaze met his. "I love you," He stated simply, telling her everything that she needed to know.

Whatever the results of the tests were, it was going to be okay.

"I love you too," She exhaled, her voice uneven due to her uncontrollable nerves.

She felt her heart rate begin to increase exponentially as Caleb turned, and took a few steps forward, until he was right in front of the tests. She was sure she was going to start hyperventilating when he picked one up, before doing the same to the next, and the next, and the next. And when he turned around with a huge grin plastered across his face, and tears welling in his eyes, she was almost positive that she was about to pass out.

But, luckily, he was by her side in a split second, his arms wrapping around her waist as he lifted her into the air, the sound of his emotion-filled, tear-filled laughter resonating in her ears. "You're pregnant," He chuckled in disbelief, as he brought her back down to the floor, his arms still wrapped firmly around her waist, "They're all positive, we're having a baby, Han."

Hanna, who had burst into tears at the sound of the statement, 'you're pregnant', could do nothing but mirror his words. "I'm pregnant," She beamed as tears streamed down her face, and Caleb reached up to try and wipe a few away. It was to no avail, as a fresh batch had already made it halfway down her cheeks by the time that the last ones had disappeared. "They're really all positive?"

"Yeah," Caleb nodded, before he swallowed nervously, and reached down to pick up the tests that he had dropped on the floor in order to embrace Hanna, "See."

Hanna took each of the tests from him one by one, studying them carefully, just to ensure that he was right. A wave of relief washed over her as soon as she realised that he was, in fact, completely and utterly correct. They really were having a baby. This was it.

This was their new beginning.

Aaaaaand, that's the first chapter! Hope you guys all enjoyed it – any suggestions in relation to stuff you'd like to see before or after the baby is born are very welcome. Let me know in a review if you'd like a preview, and as always, every single review is very much appreciated x