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Chapter 4

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It took them all afternoon to finish going through Hanna's things. They unpacked and repacked boxes for different purposes, and Caleb brought countless cartloads out to the truck. During lunchtime, he went out to get food for them. All in all, he spent the entire day helping Hanna out with everything that might have been too heavy for her, as well as tending to her most basic needs by providing her with lots of tea and sandwiches.

By the time that every single box had been checked and labeled, there was only one thing left in the unit, which he wasn't able to move by himself: the table.

Grabbing it at either end, they managed to carry it out into the hallway, where Hanna suddenly stopped. "Wait, I just remembered something. Put it down," She instructed him. Caleb did as he was told, and Hanna separated the two halves of the tabletop before removing the wooden boards meant to extend the tabletop in the middle.

"Oh, riiiight," He casually dragged his words while at the same time smiling at the thoughtfulness of his wife. Hanna put the boards down and leaned them against the wall next to the now empty storage unit. She walked back inside and pulled the cord to turn off the light. Whispering "Bye, New York", She closed the roll-up door, and used the key to lock it up again before tossing it into her purse.

X

The moving truck gathered speed as Caleb finally reached the Interstate 95, which would lead them all the way back home. They still had a hundred miles to drive, but he and Hanna both felt completely drained.

After loading the table into the truck, they had taken a few boxes of clothes to the Goodwill Store and Donation Center on 1st Avenue. Hanna had packed a box with CDs and books, which she had thought that Jordan had accidentally discarded in the aftermath of their break-up, and Fedexed it back to him along with the key to the storage unit from an office on Lexington Avenue. Caleb had gone crazy in the downtown Manhattan traffic, going from one place to another until they had finally traversed the Lincoln Tunnel, and were no longer stuck on a snow-covered island.

Now, it was almost 8pm and Hanna was sitting in the passenger seat of the truck, fighting to keep her eyes open. It didn't help that it was pitch-black outside, especially at this time of day during the winter. For the past half hour, as they had made their way out of Manhattan, Caleb had entertained her by singing karaoke in the car, and it had been funny to watch and listen to him. But was getting harder and harder for her not to yawn in reaction to his singing. Despite that fact, she wanted to show her gratitude for not having to steer a moving truck through New York in this kind of weather by staying awake to keep him company. In Caleb's opinion, she should have been the one singing. He was always telling her that she had a beautiful voice, and had practically been begging her to sing to him. But she was barely able to prevent herself from curling up in the passenger seat, much less move her facial muscles to sound out words that she'd memorized a long time ago in different pitches.

During a short moment of silence between two songs, Hanna cut in asking, "Caleb? What time do we have to return the truck?"

"I have to take it back by tomorrow morning. Why?" Caleb answered as he lowered the volume of the car radio.

"Do we have to unload it today, or can it wait till tomorrow?" Hanna sounded a bit whiny, hoping that he'd confirm the latter.

"If you want me to wake you up at six in the morning so that we can unload it then, then I'd say it can wait. But knowing that you're still not a morning person, I say we get it over with as soon as we get home," He noted with a side glance at her. When he saw that she was yawning incessantly, he backed down. "Ok, if you feel too tired to unload it later, you can go to sleep. I can take care of the boxes alone, but you'll have to help me with the table."

At that, Hanna sighed loudly, flinching slightly. Caleb looked at her with unease. "Honey, you look a little pale today. Are you feeling okay? You seem like you're coming down with something, I don't want you to wear yourself out too much."

She thought about his questions for a moment, and considered telling him about her impending period, but opted against it. He would find out eventually, anyway. "I'm just really, really tired, that's all. It's been a long day."

"I have to admit, you're getting better at it," Caleb said with a chuckle.

"Getting better at what?" She asked, her curiosity keeping her from yawning yet again.

"We got up at six this morning and you weren't cranky at all," He chuckled, "You're preparing for being a mother already, huh?"

Hanna smiled weakly, but admitted to herself that he was right; at the same time, she felt like he was trying to irk her. Hadn't he noticed that she had gotten up with him early almost every day since before their honeymoon, just to spend time with him during breakfast? She loved the way that he looked after getting up early in the morning, his hair all ruffled, and he always smelled so incredibly good after showering. Why would she want to miss out on all of that, in exchange for sleeping in?

Turning in her seat, she looked at him for a minute. "So," She decided to change the topic, "Honey?"

"Yes?" Caleb instantly glanced at her, surprised that she'd called him that.

She grinned at him. "No, I meant why did you start calling me 'Honey'?"

"Oh," He said, feeling a little embarrassed, "I think you're sweet." Even to him, the words sounded lame.

Her grin widened. "Sweet? Me? Really?" She asked, with just a hint of sarcasm.

"You don't like it?" He half-expected her to roll her eyes.

Instead, her expression softened, and she shyly admitted, "I kind of like the way it sounds when you say it."

"I could call you something else," He suggested.

"Like what? Sweetheart? Darling?" She wrinkled her nose, "I can't see myself answering to any of those."

"How about 'Princess'?"

Hanna frowned at him. She resented that nickname.

"Or how about 'my Main Squeeze? 'Hottie'? 'Sugar'? 'Muffin'?" He joked.

She rewarded him with a laugh, "I don't think so." She moved a little closer to him and laid her hand on his, which was holding on to the steering wheel.

"Ok, I'm out. I'm just gonna stick with 'Honey'," Caleb let out a laughing sigh, and let the word roll off of his tongue again, "Honey."

"Hmmm," She giggled, mulling over the sound of it as it rang in her ears, "Now say the 'Main Squeeze' one."

"No."

"No?" She turned her head to look at him, "Why not?"

"I think you're mocking me," He shrugged, simply.

Her eyes crinkled at the corners as her smile grew wider, "Maybe I am, just a little." She tried to look serious but her eyes were still sparkling.

Caleb got the message and played along with her game, "Maybe I'll call you 'Angel'".

"Me? An angel?" She laughed at the sheer thought of her non-angelic traits.

"Um, excuse me, have you seen yourself lately?" Caleb argued. Hanna knew what he was getting at, and ended up curling a strand of her blonde hair around her finger. But when she said nothing in response, an awkward silence fell between them.

Caleb cleared his throat. "Do you have any new names for me?" He asked playfully, in a desperate attempt to keep the conversation going; he was starting to feel tired, too.

Hanna looked out of the passenger window, trying to come up with some funny names to call him. But her brain felt too muddled by emotions that she couldn't really pinpoint. Part of her felt completely overwhelmed by the fact that she would not be taking her pill tomorrow morning, or for many days to come, for that matter. And then there was another part of her, the one that kept doubting whether this was the best moment to start a family, now that her fashion business had been put on hold.

She turned around to face him again. "Sweetie?" She suggested, vaguely.

Now it was his turn to try out that death stare that Hanna had perfected over the course of the past seven years. Due to the fact that he was driving, his stare only lasted for a second or two, and then his focus returned to the traffic ahead of them. It had started to snow again, and Caleb had to reduce his speed. He cringed at the thought that, now, it would take them even longer to get home.

Hanna, unaware of his annoyance due to the weather, laughed out loud at his facial expression. "Hm, it's not that bad," She judged, "But maybe I'll just wait until we have a baby, and then I can call you 'hot Daddy'."

"Only if I'm allowed to call you 'sexy Momma'," Caleb shot back, acknowledging the fact that she was clearly making fun of him.

"Just you wait until I've gained twenty pounds, then we'll see if you still find me sexy," Hanna yawned, and looked out the side window. She didn't want to come across as a self-conscious woman fishing for compliments, but deep inside, she knew that Caleb would give her exactly that.

"Will you still have boobs?" He asked, and for a split second, he glanced sideways at her upper body.

"Um, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have even more boob when I'm pregnant," She said as she was staring down at her woolen sweater in order to peek at her cleavage.

"And will you be the one carrying our child?"

"Of course, I will. What kind of a stupid question is that?" She lifted her gaze back to him, but he pretended to focus solely on the traffic in front of them. "Caleb?"

"Then you're gonna be one hell of a sexy momma," He assured her, taking his eyes off of the road as he searched for her hand in the darkness of the driver's cabin. Having found it in her lap, he laced their fingers together, and brought their joined hands up to his mouth. He planted a firm kiss on the back of her hand before he lowered them again, and let them rest in her lap for a while. "Meet the Rivers… 'hot Daddy' and 'sexy Momma'," He laughed at his own joke, but when it only roused a weak smile on Hanna's face, his own grin faded away; instead, he opened his mouth in order to ask the unspoken question that was lingering in the air, his voice thick with emotion. "Do you think we're gonna be good parents, one day?"

Taken aback, Hanna gave his hand a little squeeze. "The best," She whispered, before moving closer to him in order to lay her head on his shoulder.

They drove like that for another thirty miles, during which time Hanna fell asleep on him. Caleb was in desperate need of some coffee, and sighed happily when he spotted a rest stop about half-way between New York and Philadelphia. He parked the car, and the sudden standstill caused Hanna to wake up from her slumber. "Are we there yet?" She mumbled.

"No," Caleb answered, laughing a little, "Still got about fifty miles to go."

"Do you want me to take over?" She offered.

"It's alright, you can go back to sleep. I'm gonna go inside and get me some coffee. Do you want anything? Tea?" He offered.

"Ugh, I've had enough tea for one day. I'm gonna go inside and use their bathrooms," She told him, "But I'm hungry again. Could you bring me some fruit, maybe a banana or some strawberries?" She asked, trying to stifle a yawn.

"A banana for Hanna," He rhymed, "Hey, I just thought of a funny new nickname for you."

"Don't say it. Don't even think about it," Hanna instantly shot down his idea before he even had a chance to say it out loud. Within a few seconds, she had left him standing perplexed and alone, for the third time that day.

X

It wasn't unreasonably late when Caleb finally maneuvered the truck into a parking space close to their apartment building.

Hanna had been fast asleep for the second half of their trip; Caleb had settled for drinking his coffee in infinitesimal sips to make it last for longer, not wanting to wake Hanna up for another coffee stop. Eventually, his beverage had turned cold.

After the door on the driver's side had slammed shut, he moved around the truck, and opened the passenger door. He climbed up in order to wake Hanna, "Babe, we're home. Come on, let's go upstairs."

"But we need to unpack first," Came her sleepy voice from somewhere in the curled up heap of hair, clothes, and limbs on the passenger seat.

"We need to get you tucked in," Caleb said, soothingly.

"But my boxes-" Hanna murmured feebly, and let out a yawn.

"Your boxes can wait," He cut in, leaning forward to lift her up in his arms.

"But our table-" She mumbled as she clung to his neck, her body still stiff from her unusual sleeping position in the truck.

"Our table is wrapped in a nice, warm, and cuddly blanket. I think it will be fine out here in the truck for one night." He looked at her, hoping she'd see the exhaustion on his face in the dim haze of the street light in front of their home. He put her down on her own feet after barely managing to get her out of the car. Breathing laboredly, he said, "Baby, can you do the walking yourself? I don't think I can carry anything ever again."

Hanna stood on the sidewalk with her back to the building, and watched him lock the car through half closed eyes. Her coat hung loosely around her shoulders; the falling snow was starting to seep through it. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself. As soon as Caleb was done, he took her hand, and led her inside the building.

X

Having walked up the stairs, Hanna pushed her coat off of her shoulders, and let it fall to the ground, not minding where it came to land. There was no way that she could have possibly bent down to pick it up in that moment. Even walking had become a painstaking task; so much so that she just dropped down onto the first piece of furniture in her line of sight, which happened to be the couch.

"God, why am I so tired? It's only 8:45pm," Hanna murmured as she sunk deeper into the couch cushions, and propped her feet up on the coffee table.

"Well, that's what you get for drinking herbal tea all day long. What was that all about?" Caleb scoffed as he finally entered the apartment behind her, after having picked up the mail on his way up. He put the letters down on their kitchen island without so much as looking at them, and poured himself a glass of water before chugging it down and refilling it again.

"It felt like a tea kinda day, thanks to this cold fucking weather. Plus, I was hoping that it would help with my cramps," Hanna shrugged as she laid her hands on her stomach.

"Do you want me to get you anything? A Tylenol?" He came to stand behind the sofa and put his hands on her shoulders, massaging them lightly.

Hanna tilted her head all the way back until her eyes met his gaze. "I meant cramps in a department further down," She pursed her lips, and he instantly brought his head down to connect his lips with hers in an upside-down kiss, accepting the silent 'thank you for offering' from her. "Do you want me to draw you a hot bath? Or I could make a hot water bottle up for you?" He continued to make suggestions.

"Do we even have a hot water bottle?" Hanna eyed him incredulously with her head still tilted back.

"With what I've come to know about Lucas, I wouldn't put it past him," He said, before placing another peck on her lips, and moving over to the kitchen in order to pour the remaining water from his glass into the sink. "Ugh, I need something stronger to get rid of the stale taste of that cold coffee I drank in the car."

"Ew, please do," She cringed, "Even I was able to taste it, and it's making me nauseous."

"Do you want me to open a bottle of wine for us?" Caleb's voice sounded as he walked all the way across the room, to where the wine bottles were neatly stacked on a wooden rack.

"That sounds great. And then you could give me that surprise that you were talking about earlier." She tried to put on an excited expression while attempting to stifle another yawn at the same time.

Sitting down next to her, he handed Hanna the bottle that he had picked out from their assortment of wines. "Ok, how's this? You open this while I go look for that hot water bottle. And then I'll tell you all about the surprise," Caleb kissed her forehead before he got up and moved around the couch.

On his way to the bathroom, Caleb threw his coat on top of her jacket – which had already left a wet stain on the floor – and kicked his boots off. "You don't need to get up, I'll get the glasses on my way back," He called over his shoulder as he walked through their bedroom, and reached the door to their adjoining bathroom.

He didn't have to search for long. He had seen the hot water bottle a while ago in a bathroom cabinet, which was home to an array of bath bombs and luffas. To this day, he still hadn't been able to pinpoint whose bathroom accessories he had uncovered back then; Hanna had never been much of a hot bath person, as far as he could remember.

As soon as he had grabbed the requested item from its hidden storage, he walked into their bedroom and retrieved a pile of papers from his sock drawer. Smiling inwardly, he rifled through the papers and strode back into the living room, where he found the wine bottle on the table with the cork only half-unscrewed; he also found Hanna, fast asleep in her beloved tangled-fetus position, in the exact same spot on the couch.

Sighing, he picked up a cuddly blanket from one of the chairs, and draped it over her body. Then, he sat down next to her, and grabbed his phone in order to type out some texts that he had been meaning to send.

X

In the middle of the night, Hanna slowly awoke from her slumber, only to wonder why she had been sleeping all alone on the couch in their living room. Judging by the darkened room, and the now cold water bottle sitting in her lap, she concluded that she must have been asleep for quite a while. And then it dawned on her that she had thwarted their plan to share a nice glass of wine together. Moreover, she had allowed herself to doze off before he'd even had the chance to tell her about his surprise.

Muttering a bunch of choice words to herself as a result of her disappointment, she shoved the blanket to the side and got up.

She crossed the dark living room, and peeked through their open bedroom door. Caleb was laying on her side of the bed, spread out flat on his stomach, with his face partially buried underneath her pillow. Hanna chuckled at the sight of him, grinning even wider when she realized that he hadn't even lasted long enough to take off all of his clothes. His upper body and his feet were naked, but his legs were still clad in a pair of black denim slacks, which she loved seeing on him; they perfectly showed off his sexy butt.

Hanna longed to crawl under the covers and cuddle up to him, and maybe, tear off those pants and have her way with him. All of her tiredness seemed to have vanished; she felt refreshed, bursting with energy. She almost felt ready to walk down to the truck and hoist some boxes upstairs. But, in her mind, that was going a little too far, so she settled for joining Caleb in bed.

She made quick work of getting ready in the bathroom, brushing her teeth and putting on the delicate nightgown that Caleb had once given her. Oddly, it wasn't a good fit anymore, she thought as she tugged at its tight form.

While she was looking herself over in the mirror one final time, her gaze fell to the circular package of pills that she was supposed to start taking again less than a week from now. She took it into her hands, and let her thumb graze across the surface of the small plastic bulges. A tell-tale smile crept upon her features as she tossed the packet into the trashcan beneath the sink.

Hanna Rivers was now officially off of birth control.

to be continued…

Sorry, this took a little longer than expected. But up until this point, I hadn't been sure about where I was headed with this multi-chap. Now, I'm back on track. To everyone still reading Haleb fanfiction and taking the time out of their lives to write a review, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Reviews are pure motivation to keep going with the story!

So far, Haleb have been pretty decent. I promise that in the next chapter, there's going to be a little more... *ahem*... action. ;-)

Thank you to hannnarivers for proofing!

XO, Zip