Speeeeeeeedy new chapter. So ForTheLoveOfShips asked a really important question about the Haleb Growth universe and does the break-up exist (no more explanation needed, Mar you still messed up.) The answer is kind of yes / no. Basically since 6B aired and we found out what happened, I could kind of envisage the reasoning / break happening but on a much smaller scale. I really think Hanna is Caleb's world and therefore him running off to Europe and shacking up with Spencer is just ROGUE and COMPLETELY OUT OF CHARACTER.

The below has been in my head for a while and is kind of a teaser as to what I think probably would have happened between them if Marlene stuck to the script... still tension... still issues to work with, but they love each other. Seriously.

Enjoy...

Not Just On Christmas

Wanna show you in so many ways

Three hundred and sixty five days

I'll give you all my presents, boy, I'm for you

Not just on Christmas

2013

Hanna Marin was a mess.

There was listening to every sad song on repeat and then there was… her... lying on her sofa surrounded by her friends as she cried uncontrollably. Christmas was supposed to be happy, exciting and full of love. But as Ashley Marin took in her crying daughter from afar, trying to listen in to their conversation to try to figure out exactly why Hanna had been refusing to come out of her room since she arrived home the previous day, she knew her nineteen-year-old daughter was the antithesis of the festive season.

She'd only been told bits and pieces of what had happened, but between the tubs of Ben & Jerry's she'd taken up to Hanna's room, she'd gathered that the second supposed guest she'd expected to walk through the door the previous afternoon was in California, not Rosewood.

She'd tried to encourage Hanna out of her room and downstairs to enjoy a nice welcome home dinner with Ted the previous evening, but Hanna had flat out refused to leave her bed. Ashley wasn't sure she'd been downstairs at all until she'd spotted the fourth stocking that hung above the fire place was no longer there.

Subtle, her daughter was not.

"What's happened?" Ashley craned against the wall as she heard Aria ask a simple question that had been on the tip of her own tongue all day.

"We had an argument," Hanna cried, "I think…" She sniffled, reaching for another tissue, "I think we're over."

"Don't be stupid," Emily smiled, "Caleb worships the ground you walk on."

"And you've had arguments before," Spencer acknowledged, "You guys always figure things out."

"This was different Spence," Hanna began to sob again, clinging onto Aria tightly, "He was so…" She cried.

"So what?" Emily probed gently, reaching out a hand to stroke her hair.

"Angry."

"It's going to be okay," Aria tried to comfort her as best as possible, rocking her gently in her arms.

"Hanna," Spencer said softly, "What did you two argue about?"

"I was so stupid," Hanna cried, her voice struggling to break through her sobs as her lungs fought for air.

"Hey," Aria frowned, "I know this will have been just as much his fault as it is yours."

"No," Hanna defended him, wiping at her eye with the sleeve of her dressing gown, "It was all me."

"What happened?" Emily pushed again, handing her a glass of water to take slow sips from.

"We…" She took a deep breath as the felt the tears threaten to start streaming again. "His Mom…" Was all she got out before she buried herself in Aria's arms once more.

"Is she okay?" Spencer asked with concern.

"She's fine," Hanna mumbled against Aria's sleeve, "He wanted to go and see her," She managed to explain, "And she invited us out to Cali before Christmas for a few days."

"You told me about this at Thanksgiving," Emily nodded, rubbing her knee gently.

"Exactly," Hanna cried, "He was so excited."

"I thought that's where you flew back from yesterday," Aria said, lessening her grip as Hanna sat up again.

"No," She tried to compose herself, "I was supposed to be there, but I couldn't go," She swallowed, "I have this job," She explained, "Helping out a designer."

"And?"

"And she's a real bitch," Hanna sniffled, "But it's an amazing opportunity."

"What does this have to do with Caleb?"

"She wanted me to work until yesterday," Hanna explained, "And it meant not going to Cali with… Caleb," She could finally say his name without bursting into tears. "And when I told him earlier this week, he was so mad."

"Why?" Emily frowned, "He's gone on his own before."

"This was going to be the first time… the first proper time that we went together and stayed with his family," She said, looking down at the floor as sadness crept into her expression. "He wanted to show me what it was like at Christmas, he wanted me to properly get to know his Mom before we came back here and spent Christmas together."

"And you didn't go?" Aria asked, her voice full of apprehension.

"I didn't go," Hanna blinked her eyes shut as another tear escaped. "He said I didn't care about him anymore," She began to cry again, "That I didn't care about his family… And that… And that my job was the most important thing."

"Han," Spencer moved forward from her perch on the coffee table to wrap her in her arms.

"It's not true," The blonde sobbed, "I love him," She spluttered, "More than anything else."

"We know that."

"But…" She cried, "He doesn't think that."

"Did he say that?" Spencer asked.

"No," Hanna mumbled, "But he left when I was at work," She buried her head in Spencer's hair, "And he won't answer my texts or my calls," She said, "I know that's what he's thinking."

"If this happened a few days ago, why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I was so caught up in work and the next collection that I didn't even have a chance to think," She cried, "And then when I stopped and got on the train," She whimpered, "That's when I realized how bad it was."

"It could be worse."

"Aria," Hanna snapped, "How could this be worse?" She wailed, "He's dumped me."

"He hasn't dumped you," Spencer tried to talk some sense into her friend, "Look," She said, "He's clearly just upset right now, but he'll come round," She encouraged, "Maybe you just need to spend this Christmas apart to get yourselves back on track before you see each other."

"I don't need to get myself back on track," Hanna spat, "I'm on track," She wiped at her eye again, "I'm on his track for God's sake."

"We know you are," Emily did her best to comfort her.

"I need to see him," Hanna stood suddenly, "I need to fly out there."

"Hanna," The girls all looked around as Ashley Marin finally made her presence known and stepped into the room, "You're not flying to California on Christmas Eve."

"You can't stop me."

"What about our Christmas?" Ashley tried, "I know you're upset, but rushing off to California isn't going to solve anything."

"Yes it is," Hanna cried, "I can tell him how sorry I am, how much I love him."

"You can do that via your cellphone."

"You've been listening to this entire conversation," Hanna held a hand to her forehead, "You know he's ignoring me."

"When was the last time you tried him?" Emily asked, shooting Ashley an understanding smile.

"Two hours ago," The blonde turned and began furiously searching for her phone, "It went straight to voicemail," She sniffled, "He's screening my calls."

"He's not screening your calls," Spencer rolled her eyes; at first she'd felt sympathetic with Hanna – she was clearly cut up about the situation, but now she was starting to act like she was the lead actress in a TV series.

"You try him," Hanna insisted, pausing her search as Spencer put her phone on loudspeaker.

"It's not connecting," The brunette muttered before the familiar sound of Caleb's voice filtered through the phone.

Hey, it's Caleb. Leave me a message or if it's really important, call Hanna.

"Oh god," Hanna began to cry again, "He's not with me," She muttered into her hands.

"It's going to be okay," Aria tried again, "I know it hurts, but it will get better."

"You don't understand…" Ashley was just about to make a move towards her daughter when a shadow crossing the floorboards caught her eye. Biting her tongue, she made a move towards the front door to see who exactly was trying to make an unexpected appearance on Christmas Eve.

"Caleb," Ashley gasped quietly as she pulled open the door to reveal an all-too-familiar figure, looking equally as antsy as her daughter.

"Hey, Ashley," He swallowed nervously, running a hand through his hair as he tried to glance over her shoulder subtly.

"I think you should come in," She suggested, opening up the door a little wider. "Leave that by the door," She said, her voice low as she nodded towards his hold all.

"I'm sorry—" He began, but she shook her head and cut him off.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Her voice tapered off as they headed towards the living room, the sounds of Hanna's crying permeating through the air again.

"I need to go," Ashley rolled her eyes – clearly the topic of conversation hadn't moved on in the last few minutes. "I need to tell him how much I love him."

"Hanna," Spencer said firmly, "He knows how much you love him."

"No, he doesn't," The blonde whimpered, "He thinks I hate him."

"He does not think you hate him," Aria's tone held equal frustration, "You need to just give him a couple of hours to call you back."

"I love him so much," Hanna's voice suddenly became tiny as her body hunched forward on the sofa, "And it's not just because it's Christmas and he's supposed to be here," She started to justify quietly.

"I know that," Caleb's croaky voice broke through the quiet, making four heads whip straight back around to the entranceway to the living room.

"Caleb," Hanna's voice wasn't more than a whisper, before the poignancy of what he'd done hit her and her eyes welled all over again, "Caleb," She whimpered his name again, "You're here."

"I'm here," He nodded, taking a step towards her.

"She was about to fly to California," Aria shot him a small smile.

"Not like that," He murmured, taking in the booty shorts that exposed all her legs and the t-shirt he recognised as his own.

"We weren't sure," Spencer muttered, glancing sideways.

"I would have put sweats on," Hanna said quietly, rubbing her eye before tucking a piece of hair behind her ear – she must have looked absolutely horrific.

"Thanks for stopping her," He smiled at the three girls, biting his lip as he stared at his girlfriend who was looking more than a little awkward. "Are you going to come here?" He asked, opening up his arms for her to charge into, burying her face against his neck as she started to cry again.

"Sweats in public," Emily shot him a grin as the three girls prepared to leave, "She really loves you."

"I know," He pressed a kiss against Hanna's hair as she clung onto him.

"I'm sorry," She cried, "I'm so sorry."

"I know you are," He whispered, lacing his hands through her hair as Emily, Spencer and Aria excused themselves. "I'm sorry too."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Hanna whimpered, "I'm the one who's ruined our Christmas."

"You haven't ruined it," He reassured her, taking a step back so that he could look into her eyes, "And I do," He cupped her cheeks, "I shouldn't have forced you to choose between me and my Mom and your job."

"There is no choice," Her voice broke again as he dropped his forehead to rest on hers, "It's always you. Always."

"Every single day," He murmured, tenderly stroking his thumbs over her cheekbones. "And that's why I was mad."

She pulled back and nodded understandingly – she got it. She was mad at herself. "I love you," She replied quietly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He smiled, kissing her softly, "I love you too."

"I'll quit my job," She sniffled, "I don't care about it."

"I care about it," He reassured her, pulling her close against him again, "We still need to talk about it," He murmured, "But I haven't seen you in a week," He said, running a hand through her hair, "It can wait for a few days."

"I'm so glad you're here," She was on the verge of crying again.

"Hanna," Ashley interrupted them, a certain item in her hand, "I found this outside," She held up a red stocking with Caleb's name scrawled across the top.

"We had one argument and you threw out my stocking?" Caleb asked in disbelief as Hanna raced away from him to grab the item from her Mom.

"It was a bad argument," She justified, holding the material close to her chest, "But it's over now," She said, feeling both Caleb's and her Mom's eyes on her as she placed the stocking back up where it belonged. "You're here," She whispered to herself.

"Good," Ashley smiled as Hanna headed straight back into Caleb's arms, clinging onto his waist as they gazed into each other's eyes, "Because I spent a lot of money getting in ingredients so that you could make pizza for all of us this evening." She knew whatever she was saying was falling on deaf ears and instead of prying, averted her eyes and headed into the kitchen leaving the two of them by themselves.

"It'll never happen again," Hanna whispered as they stood in the middle of the living room, the lights of the tree dancing around them as calm finally settled, "I'll show you every day."

"I know you will," He reassured her, sensing her fluctuating emotions, "It's going to be okay." She nodded, finally allowing herself to agree with his words.

"I'll never stop loving you," She wiped at her eye with her finger, trying to compose herself as she conveyed everything she felt towards him.

"Just on Christmas?" He asked, a small smile etching across his face as he glanced over at the stocking that had been rehung.

She followed his gaze and sniffled, feeling stupid all over again before she buried herself in his arms. It was the only place she felt safe and content. "Never just on Christmas." She meant it.

Thank you for all your reviews so far, they really do mean a lot. I hope you liked this one xox