"Aw look how cute this is!" Hanna gushed, running her fingers along the soft fabric of the baby Reindeer costume she was holding. "Can't you just imagine her in this on Christmas day?!"

"And here I thought the pumpkin costume you put her in on Halloween was bad enough," He chuckled, taking it to the till and paying for it anyway. They were currently in a huge department store, shopping for gifts and decorations as the temperature started dropping and it finally got close to December. Hanna had woken him up that morning, dragging him out of bed so they could get to the shops early and get everything first. When he was young he never had good Christmas', but when he sees how excited she gets over the simplest things every year, it makes him forget about all those bad memories.

"So where to next?," He asked as they exited the shop, walking around the unsurprisingly busy store. Everyone seemed to have the same things in their bags: lights, decorations, presents.

"Hmm..Well, I saw some cute Christmas baby pajama's that I want to get her, so we can search for those. And I want to get her another baby gym. But before all that, let's go find somewhere to have lunch, I'm starved."

"Another baby gym? Why?, the one she as is fine," He said as he struggled to hold all of their shopping bags.

"I want to get her a festive one," She said simply. "Here," She stopped them at the side of the mall, taking Bella in her arms so he could plant the bags in the stroller.

"You need to get her a 'festive' baby gym?" He laughed, pushing the stroller. "You know it's still November right? We should be buying all this stuff like next month or something."

"It's her first Christmas! Everything has to be perfect," She grinned at Bella who was napping in her arms. "I don't care if she doesn't remember all the presents and the decorations, I still want it to be the best first Christmas a baby can have," He grinned back at her. She was so cute sometimes without realizing it. "Speaking of, I know you're probably doing something with Spencer on Christmas, but if anything comes up, my mum said you are more than welcome to join us."

"Yeah, that would be great," He said enthusiastically. "And Spencer's family are going to Washington for Christmas to stay with Melissa, and I've already told her I don't wanna miss Bella's first Christmas, so yes, I'll go," He had secretly been waiting for her to ask for a couple of days, scared that she wouldn't want him staying with her since they broke up.

"Good, because it wouldn't be the perfect day if her daddy isn't there. And we've spent every Christmas together for the past 6 years, so why break tradition? I know we were meant to go to your mum's this year because we alternate, but since we're broken up I thought-"

"No, it's okay, I already told her I wouldn't be there. I was just kinda hoping I could go where you go," He shyly admitted.

"Well you could have told me sooner, I would have invited you already. I just assumed you would be with Spencer or your mum," She said, actually loving how cute he sounded when he had said that. "By the way, you have to help me out with what you want for Christmas."

"So you're not gonna dress up for me like you did a couple years ago?" He smirked, watching as she blushed.

"I don't think so," She scoffed, thinking back to the Christmas they spent together when moved into their New York apartment and they had been tight for money, so she had just bought some cheap lingerie that resembled 'Mrs. Claus', and gave him a lap dance. "Though that's a hard present to beat," She joked.

"Sure is," He sighed, trying to get the thoughts of her in that lingerie out of his head. "Do you wanna eat here?" He said, stopping outside a Pizza place. She smiled and nodded, and together they waited to be taken to their table. "Hey, are you cold? It's freezing in here."

"No, it's a little hot actually."

Caleb just shrugged and sat down in the booth. "So...What do you think I should get Spencer?"

"Um...maybe perfume, shoes, underwear..." She swallowed. "Maybe take her to some museum, she loves those. But don't get her a bag, I got her a bag."

"Noted. I just...I'm not so good at this whole gift-giving thing.." He confessed, gently placing Bella in the wooden highchair, where she was still sleeping.

"What?" She grinned at his embarrassment. "Caleb you've been buying me presents for my Birthday, Christmas, Valentine's day, and our Anniversary for years!. Trust me, you've got 'this whole gift giving thing' down. But since you're my friend and sometimes you can be clueless, I'll help you buy her something."

"Thanks," He smiled with a slight roll of his eyes. "And by the way, my mum invited us to come to California for a couple days after Christmas, or maybe for New Years, she really misses you and Bella, that's all she talks about."

"That sounds great, but..will Spencer mind me going there?" She bit her lip.

"Probably...Why?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Well...shouldn't you be bringing her instead?"

"Actually..she and my mom didn't get along well when they met after Bella was born."

"They didn't?!" Hanna said, wide-eyed. "But Claudia is like the nicest, and what's not to like about Spencer?"

"I dunno, guess they just didn't hit it off," He shrugged. He didn't want to tell her the real reason that they didn't like each other is because Claudia had just talked about how great Hanna was the whole time, which made Spencer immediately not like her. "But she'll be okay with it."

"Okay then, I'll go," She smiled. They both suddenly heard a loud coo and turned their heads to Bella, who was now awake. "Hey boo," She said, running her hand on her soft cheek.

"Did you pack a bottle?" He asked, checking that it was her feeding time. She dug around in her bag and passed one to him, knowing that he loved feeding her whenever it wasn't straight from the source. "I can't imagine how many presents both of our mums are gonna get her,"

"I know, the girls too. I told them not to but they keep saying that we're the first in our group to have a baby and they need to take advantage of that."

"So they're not having kids anytime soon?"

"Well, I know Aria and Ezra aren't planning to for quite a while because of Ezra's book being so successful and going on book tours and stuff, and Emily is swamped with trying to pay back student loans and she should probably get a girlfriend before she has a baby. And Spencer...?"

"Trust me, one is enough," He chucked with a roll of his eyes, looking back down at the baby in his arms, tilting the bottle slightly so she could get the last of it.

"But you've always wanted to have lots go kids. I know I do," She smiled, ruffling the bits of Bella's hair. "I want a big family, you know, so the kids can go to their brother or sister for things, and that means more babysitters too when they get older."

He clenched his jaw at the thought of Hanna having kids with another man, and Bella having a stepfather, but knew that she probably felt the same about Spencer. "I mean, I love how things turned out, but we kinda did everything in the wrong order," She continued. "So now if I have more children then there will be such a big age gap between them and Bella. I'll have to meet someone, we'll have to date for a couple years, get engaged for a couple years and then have a child, and who knows when that might be, and Bella will probably be starting college by then, not to mention how hard it is to find someone when you already have a baby-"

"Han!" He stopped her, laughing. "She'll be eighteen when she goes off to college, it won't take you that long to find someone."

"Speaking of...-well not really 'speaking of', but kinda in the same sort of topic-"

"Han, just tell me," He smiled warmly, sensing her nervousness.

"Okay, well...you know that phone call I had from Jordan last week?" She said, and he nodded. "Well I don't know if you remember but he was talking about a date...and I finally agreed because he kept on asking..." She said carefully, knowing that he hated Jordan for being one of the main reasons that they broke up. "So do you mind watching her for a night?"

He tried to conceal the anger and the hurt when she'd said it. He really hated that guy. "Sure, when is it?"

"Tonight..." She cringed, knowing that she'd left it to the last minute. "Sorry, I would have given you more warning but I was trying to put it off so I forgot about it completely until he sent a text this morning asking where I wanted to eat."

"Are you sure he isn't gonna make you bring him dinner," Caleb scoffed.

"Caleb," She groaned, rolling her eyes. "He's not like that anymore."

"He made you run errands for him in the middle of the night, on your birthday, on my birthday, New years eve-"

"Caleb, that was because I was his intern," She cut him off. "Yes, I admit, he made me do some pretty stupid things, but he actually respects me now that I work in a higher place."

"But he goes out with a different girl each night, and probably treats them like hookers."

"Exactly, like you said he goes out with a different girl each night, so this will just be one date. Besides, what do you care?"

"Sorry if I don't want you going out with a dick," He put his hands up. "It seems to me that he only wants you for one thing, have you seen the way he looks at you?, have you noticed that he's never looking at your eyes?"

"You're a fucking ass," She rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly.

"Okay, look, I'm sorry," He sighed, placing Bella back in her highchair. "I know it's none of my business, but I just don't want you to go out with someone who doesn't treat you well or makes you uncomfortable."

She bit her lip as she tried not to smile at his words. "You're sweet," She said in a much calmer tone.

"Han, you know how I feel about that word," He rolled his eyes. She shook her head and let out a slight chuckle, secretly loving how caring he was of her. "But promise me that if he gets out of line or does something you don't like, that you'll tell me so I can beat some sense into him."

"I promise," She laughed. "Anyway, what are you having, I'm starved."

"Ugh...I'm not that hungry, I probably won't get anything."

"You're still not hungry? You haven't had anything all day, you're usually my partner in crime when it comes to eating a lot of food," She pouted.

He grinned at her, loving that she had stopped the 'post-baby-diet' that consisted of her only eating a couple salad leaves. "I don't know, I don't feel too well."

"Are you coming down with something?, you said you were hot earlier, now you're shivering and you're almost always hungry and you haven't eaten all day," She said, placing her hand on his forehead. "You're head is really warm, maybe we should go home."

"No, I don't wanna ruin our day."

"You're not ruining the day, besides, we've been here for hours. Plus, your face looks all red."

"Okay, I'll get your pizza to go," He smiled.


Hanna was right. By the time they got home, Caleb had felt even worse and definatly had a fever, immediately collapsing on the couch. "Here, drink this. And take this," She passed him some hot water with lemon and pill. She then got a thick blanket for him and a cold flannel to go on his forehead. "Just relax, okay? You should probably take tomorrow off, I'll call your boss."

She was about to walk passed him when he grabbed her hand, pulling her to him. "Thanks for this."

"That's okay," She smiled, running her hand on his cheek and grabbing his phone, letting his boss know that he was sick. When she sat down next to him again, she heard a sneeze come from Bella, who was snuggled with Caleb, and then a little cough come from her tiny mouth. "Aw, am I dealing with two sick babies?" She stole her from Caleb's arms.

"You think she got it from me?"

"No, she's was coughing a little last night, so I rang Doctor Shelling and she said it was nothing, but it will irritate her so she might be crying a little more, and she said just to try and keep her asleep as long as we can," She said, rocking her in her arms. "So how you feeling, you hungry yet?" She turned back to him.

"Not really," He mumbled, positioning the blanket so he was completely wrapped up.

"Maybe get some sleep," She said, resting her hand on his forehead again. "You're still really hot."

"I feel cold though," He said, and she couldn't help but think how cute he looked with his red nose.

"Go to sleep, you can go in my bed if you want, I'll stay out of your way."

"No, stay. Let's watch TV or something, it's been a while since you have relaxed."

She thought for a moment, before nodding. "Okay, I'll just put her down for her nap."

An hour later, Hanna and Caleb were cuddled up on the couch, asleep, her head rested in the crook of his neck and his hand wrapped round her waist. It wasn't until the tiniest cries came through from the baby monitor that they both woke up. "What's that?" Hanna mumbled, her eyes still closed, completely unaware of her surroundings.

"Our baby is crying," He mumbled back, half asleep. A few seconds later, Hanna's senses kicked in and she sat from on the couch, stumbling over to the nursery and getting Bella in her arms, taking her back to the couch.

"Baby, why are you always crying after naps?" Hanna cooed, gently rocking her as she began to calm. "Is it because you think we've left you, because we would never do that," She said, pressing kisses all over her face. She cuddled back into Caleb's side where he was now sitting up, watching them with admiration. "How you feeling?"

"A little better."

She pressed a hand on his forehead. "Your heads not as hot as it was yesterday. Maybe you just need lots of sleep, that nap seems to have helped. I'll call Jordan and reschedule."

"No, don't. If you don't go tonight then you'll have to just do it the next weekend. Just go, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? You feel okay now, but you might get worse," She worried.

"I love that you're inner mum is coming out, but I'll be fine," He chuckled.

"Okay, thank you. I better go get ready."


Two hours later, Hanna walked out of her bedroom in a tight, black dress that highlighted all her perfect curves. Caleb's eyes went wide and he bit his lip to stop his jaw from dropping when he saw her. She was stood in front of where he was sat, her long, smooth legs right in front of him. She leaned over to pick up Bella from his arms, giving him a peek at her perfect cleavage as she did so. "Bye my angel," She cooed at the smiling baby. "Be good for daddy."

"Are you sure you'll be okay tonight?" She turned back to Caleb. "I can call Spence to take care of you?"

"Han, I'm fine, honestly. When will that idiot be here anyway?"

"Caleb, could you please refrain from insulting him like that" She scolded. "He doesn't know what floor I'm on so I said I would just meet him in the lobby."

"A guy who doesn't come to the door? Real classy," He rolled his eyes sarcastically. He really wasn't hiding his jealousy.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I suggested it. Thought you might kill him if he came up here" She said, handing Bella back to him. "I can't wait to have my first drink in what feels llike forever."

"Doctor. Shelling said you could drink now?"

"I can't drink properly yet, but she said I could have a few glasses here and there, which I plan on doing," She smiled. "Drink lot's of water and call me if you feel worse."

"Be careful," He half-shouted as she walked into the elevator. When the doors shut and it moved down, he started feeling a little put out. He felt stupid for being so jealous, he had a girlfriend for heavens sake. He cradled Bella in his arms and walked over to the balcony, watching as Hanna walked over to the expensive car Jordan was leaning on outside. Glaring, he watched as Jordan pulled her in for a quick hug, then leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.


"So how's everything at home? You adjusting to being a mom yet?" Jordan asked once their empty plates had been taken away. They were sat at one of the most expensive and fancy looking restaurant Hanna had ever been to. So far it had been a good evening, light conversations, lots of laughs, and subtle glances over the candlelight. Hanna was having a better time that she thought she would, and found herself actually having fun.

"It's all still very new, but she's the loveliest little baby ever so I can't complain," She smiled, thinking about her little newborn. "How's life at the office? Still slow?"

"Things have been picking up lately, probably because you started working from home," He said in his charming accent. "Is Bella's dad still in the picture? Carter...?"

"It's Caleb, and no, we're not together, but he's still at my apartment all the time to help out."

"So you're single...?" He said not so subtly.

"Yeah," She laughed. "I'm not really looking for anything right now though. It would be hard considering the circumstances."

"I understand. But I'm willing to wait," He said bluntly, causing Hanna to raise her eyebrows. "I like you Hanna," He said in a low voice, reaching across the table to softly caress her hand.

"I like you too, Jordan. But-"

"Don't worry, I get it, it's hard for you to be in a relationship at the moment. But I want to get to know you better, and maybe you'll change your mind about me if we keep seeing each other. It doesn't have to be much, maybe just a date here and there, but if you give me a chance then you might surprise yourself."

The thought for a moment, debating her options. Although he was no Caleb, he was charming and a real gentlemen, and she felt honored that someone like him would even go for someone like her. If seeing someone new would help her get over Caleb, then she was all for it. "Yeah.." She bit her lip, smiling. "Okay, I'd like that."

"Great," He smiled. "I'm really glad you decided to work from home until your maternity leave is up. It's a big help."

"That's okay, I love my job," She said, sipping on her wine. It was her second glass already, but it was great being able to drink again.

"I'll get the bill, do you want to go somewhere for a drink? There's a lovely bar next door."

"Yeah, that would be great," She smiled.


Caleb heard the loud roar of an engine and instinctively knew who it was. Looking out from the balcony, he saw Jordan open the door for Hanna, helping her out of the car. He felt a pang of jealousy as Jordan slipped his hand round her waist, leading her to the reception. Caleb hoped that he wouldn't come up, he couldn't stand to see them together.

Clearly things weren't going his way because a second later, Jordan and Hanna appeared from the elevator doors. He heard Hanna's giggles as they entered the apartment, and he hated seeing the big smile on her face that Jordan had created. "Caleb!" Hanna laughed when she saw him. Caleb knew by the way she was laughing, talking and stumbling, that she was drunk.

"Hey Han," He laughed back, walking over to them with Bella in his arms. "Hi Jordan," He smiled, reaching out a hand for him to shake.

"Caleb," He smiled back. Caleb hated the guy, but as far as Jordan knew, Caleb thought nothing of him. "Anyway, I best get going. Do you mind if we have a moment alone?" He gestured to himself and Hanna.

"Sure, nice to see you again," Caleb said, rolling his eyes slightly, and walked round the corner to Bella's nursery, getting ready to set her back down for bed after she had cried for food and fallen asleep on him a minute ago. He left the door open though, making sure he could still hear what they were saying.

"So Hanna.." Jordan's think Australian accent said. "I had a really great time tonight."

"So did I, thank you so much for dinner," She smiled, swaying slightly as her head was all over the place.

"I can't wait to go out with you again," He smiled, resting his hands on her hips. Caleb clenched his jaw, trying not to go out there and tell him to keep his hands to himself.

"Yeah, today was good," Hanna replied, subtly hinting at him to leave. She was surprised though, when he pulled her closer and connected their lips. She froze under him, not moving an inch as he moved his lips over hers. He pulled away a second later, only to be met with our shock written on her dainty features. "Oh," She said simply.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you, I've just wanted to do that for a while now," He said, close to her lips. It took all Caleb had in him not to go over there and beat the crap out of him. Jordan then leant down again, reconnecting their lips. Hanna actually responded this time, placing her hands on either side of his face and moving her lips slowly over his.

She pulled away a second later, slightly breathless and dazed. "Thanks again for tonight," She mumbled.

"Bye, Hanna," He said, then walking towards the elevator. When he was gone, Caleb came back into the open plan living room and kitchen, watching as she smiled and bit her lip.

"Hey, how was it?" He asked, although he had a pretty good idea.

"Not as bad as I thought it would be to be honest," She slurred slightly. She then moved towards the large fridge, picking out a beer and taking the cap off.

"Han, I think you've had enough," He laughed, taking the beer from her hands.

"But Caleb," She pouted up to him. "Today is the first time in months I've been able to have a drink!"

"You'll kill me tomorrow for letting you drink more when you have a huge hangover," He said, pouring her a glass of water. "You've drunk enough babe," He wrapped his arm around her waist, leading them to the bedroom. He helped her unzip her dress and get into one of his shirts, then watching as she disappeared into the bathroom, brushing her teeth and drunkly swiping her makeup off.

He wrapped his arms around her when she got into bed, holding her a little closer and tighter than usual, feeling protective and jealous from the events of the evening. "How was Bella?" Hanna yawned, burying her head in his chest.

"She was fine, her bath really tired her out, but she woke up crying for food just before you came home," He said, reaching past her to switch the lamp off.

There was a few moments of silence, and Caleb thought she had gone to sleep for a moment, until her soft voice mumbled against his chest. "Caleb?"

"Yeah?" He replied, weaving a hand through her hair.

"Jordan kissed me," She said simply.

"I know, I saw," He said, narrowing his eyes at the thought.

She moved her head away from his chest and looked up at him with her expressive blue eyes. "I didn't want him to," She slurred slightly. "But it happened, and it wasn't that bad. I haven't kissed anyone apart from you for years. I didn't want him to kiss me, because that would mean the last kiss I've had wouldn't be with you," She mumbled. "The last time we kissed was probably before you went to work one morning, or even just a goodnight kiss. But if I would have known that was our last kiss, I would have made it a lot better."

He knew it was just the alcohol in her talking, but he felt the need to respond. "It doesn't have to be our last kiss."

While Caleb was talking in general, that they might have another one someday, Hanna's mind was somewhere else. She rolled on top of him, placing her hands on either side of his head and bringing their faces close together. "Your right, it doesn't," She murmured softly. She then brought their lips together for a mouth watering kiss, causing them both to still. Caleb felt butterfly's erupt in his stomach as the feeling. He'd forgotten how soft her lips were, and how experienced her tongue was. She was definitely a better kisser than Spencer.

Their tongues finally met, after almost a year, exploring the mouths they had missed so much. Caleb sat up slightly, cupping her thong-clad ass and bringing their crotches closer together, then moving one hand up her shirt to cup her breast. Hanna broke the kiss to moan, and Caleb took a second to look at her; eyes closed, mouth slightly parted as soft whimpers poured out, her breasts peeking out of the shirt. He knew he couldn't stop then.

But then his common sense kicked in. What am I doing?, He thought. She's drunk and I have a girlfriend. He then pulled away, gently lifting her off his lap. "What is it?" She said, slightly breathless.

"Han, we can't do this," It killed him to say.

"But...why?" She whispered, tears gathered in her eyes, "Don't you want me?" Her emotional-drunk side kicked in.

"No, it's not that-"

"It is! You don't want me because I'm not as smart or as pretty as Spencer," She pulled away from him, tears falling down her pretty face.

"Hanna!" He called, but she had already locked herself in the bathroom. He could hear her softly crying and hated himself for getting her like this. "Han, please open the door" He said more calmly this time. When she didn't do anything, he walked over to the kitchen to quickly grab a screwdriver from the drawer, then trying to pry open the lock from the outside. He had done this a few times when he lived there, when they would get into fights, if she was taking ages to do her makeup, or even once when he had surprised her in the shower after work one day.

When he had unlocked it, he saw her curled in a ball on the floor in tears. "I forgot you can do that," She mumbled.

He sat down next to her, sighing deeply. "Han, why would you compare yourself to Spencer like that?"

"Because you're with her and not me," She admitted, sniffing and hiding her face from him. "That must be why because there isn't anything keeping us from being together anymore apart from her. And don't get me wrong I know she's great and everything, but I just...I thought you would want to be a family," Her voice cracked.

He couldn't believe she was admitting these things just because she's drunk. Had she really felt like that? "I thought...I thought you said you wanted to wait to get back together."

"I just meant like a couple weeks so we could resolve our issues after the breakup, but then you asked me if it was okay to date my best friend!"

"I wanted to be with you! I want to be with you, but you said you didn't care if Spencer and I got together so I just assumed you had moved on."

"Move on? I love you, Caleb!" She said, exasperated that he wasn't getting it. "All I want is to be with you, but instead I have to see you with her. And it hurts, Caleb. It really hurts" She whispered through the tears.

Caleb felt his heart break at her words. "I never wanted to...I never meant to..." He cut himself off with a sigh, not knowing how to fix it. "Come here," He whispered, knowing she needed to be hed. She curled onto his lap, burying her head into his chest as more tears came out.

"The only way I can get over you is if I'm with someone else," She cried softly into him. "That's why I went out with Jordan."

"Im gonna make things right, baby."

She pulled away to look at him, then quickly getting off his lap and rushing to the toilet behind her. There, she emptied the contents of her stomach, and Caleb was quick to get her hair out of her face and rub her back soothingly. The drinks that she had clearly caught up with her.

When she was done, he got a wet cloth, wiping her tear-stained skin and her mouth. She brushed her teeth again, then stumbling back to bed. Caleb grabbed a bucket and put it on her side of the bed and made sure she drank some water. "You feeling okay?" He asked, crawling into bed next to her.

"Not really," She mumbled against his chest as he combed his fingers through her hair.

"Go to sleep, baby."

"Night Caleb, love you," She said simply.

He felt his heart squeeze as the words came out of her mouth so naturally. "Love you too."

Sorry I've been so innactive! There's an update of Sneaking Around coming soon x Leave a review if you like and let me know if you want a preview xx