Oh my god you all are so very wonderful. 90 reviews?! Thank you so very much, and shout out to Bagilia for being the final push to get me up there! She's the reason this story is being updated a day early, guys, so you should all thank her by reading her heartwrenching Haleb fic My Heart With You.

As a special treat for being lovely, I'm going to reply to you all:

BlackBaby: It was actually revealed in a previous chapter that Veronica is on the prosecution and is the girls' attorney, but good guess! Thanks for the review :)
JosieCarter: I definitely think that's the main reason everyone is getting mad at her, but it's honestly such a double standard because when all of the other love interests have done something "stupid" to protect their loved ones and have gone behind their backs, no one batted an eyelash. While I think Paige could've handled it better, and it wasn't the best idea for her to corner Emily like that and to try to control her agency, I think that's just a huge part of Paige's character - she falls on her face constantly, but she does so for the people she cares about. Thanks for your review!
D: Oh my gosh your review honestly made me smile for days. Thank you so much! Unfortunately, this story has already been written so I can't take suggestions, but I appreciate them all the same!
missdallywinston: Ugh, Frozen is my FAVORITE movie, it was so good. Especially coming from someone who has two older sisters :) and good guess, but you'll have to see!
OceanSky9: Looks like you don't have to wait anymore!
hufflepuffhaleb: Hey look, I'm replying now! I had some free time, so I took advantage of it. Glad you liked #RunawayRecaps, and I'm even more glad you liked the chapter! I'm kind of apathetic toward Emily, but I do like Paige, so writing for them is such a treat. Junior year is a bitch, but it looks like you're drowning just as much. Good luck on your exams!
nick2951: If there's anything that this trial is NOT going to be, it's a cake walk. Once the trial kick starts, it's all downhill for the Liars, and something tells me you're going to be pretty happy about that :) thanks for the review!
Immisone: I'm glad you share my thoughts (and you caught me, I'm actually a mind reader. Whoops!) because I seriously think Paige has Emily's best interests at heart, which can't really be said for some of the other love interests... not naming names. And you're gonna find out this chapter who the lawyer is, so buckle your seatbelts!
Paily Yay: Well, this story has already been written, so I can't take that suggestion into account, but thanks anyway! And you'll see plenty of adorableness from the kids, don't wory ;)
arubagirl0926: Thanks :)
Stella: Wow, my first reviewer fight! YES! But anyway, she's not ruining anything because I'm not really taking suggestions anyway, but I appreciate how into this story you are :)
Bagilia: MY BABY! I missed you, bubbah! You are so sending me that playlist later. I'm so happy you're liking it so far, but mainly glad that you like the Haleb, because god knows I'd be waking up to a lightsaber at my neck if I wrote those two poorly. Audrey gets even BETTER, just you wait :) thanks for the influx of reviews, you've earned this chapter!

Alright, here we go. Day 1 of the trial, and a major turning point for this story. Are you ready? You sure? Well, okay...

"Why are we waiting out here?" Hanna said impatiently, stomping her stilettoed foot childishly on the tiled floor. "My feet are killing me!"

"I have a feeling you're going to be standing just as much while you're in there," Caleb said evenly, but Hanna wasn't having it. They were currently in the waiting room outside of the courtroom, and Hanna and Caleb were one of the first ones there. Unfortunately, if they had known there was going to be such a long waiting period, they would have left later.

"That's stupid."

"Calm yourself," he said mellowly, placing his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to be strict, but considering he was as whipped as the icing on a cake, Hanna smacked his hand off.

"I just want this thing over with," she said bitterly. "I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I want to go home."

"We just got here!" he claimed, and Hanna just huffed in frustration. Even though she was bad at showing it, she was grateful that Caleb was here with her. There was no way she could do this alone. After she had taken a few deep breaths, she slipped her hand into his, and it somehow made her feel a bit better.

"The judge is just talking to the lawyers," he explained. "They're discussing questions of law, and chances are Mrs. Hastings is going to have a lot to say if she wants to represent you guys well in the trial."

Hanna looked up at him in surprise. "Well, look's like someone's been doing their research!"

Caleb just smiled cheekily as he flicked his long brown hair to the side, revealing his clever brown eyes. "I took an ethics course back at M.I.T."

Hanna rolled her eyes at this. Sometimes, Caleb amazed her. He was charming and intelligent in the sexiest way possible, yet he had chosen her, someone who had to claw her way out of high school with a below average GPA. She had done perfectly fine at F.I.T. in New York, and was successful enough at Macy's, but if there was anything she wanted, it was to be able to... keep up with him.

Caleb studied her, taking her hand and pulling her in closer to him. "What are you thinking about?"

Not wanting to let Caleb into her thoughts, Hanna wandered her eyes up and down his lanky frame, and was amazed she hadn't started drooling yet. He looked good. "How badly I want to rip that suit off of you."

Caleb's eyes widened as he pressed a finger to her lips, trying hard to suppress a giggle. "Are you insane?" he whispered. "The jury is going to hear you!"

Hanna flung her blonde waves over her left shoulder - which was covered by a navy blazer - as she played with his checkered tie. "I got you this for Christmas," she said thoughtfully. "Don't you think it was time you... owed me?"

Caleb bit his lip, as though he was considering it, but in the end he disappointed her. He took her by the shoulders and turned her around. "I think we're going to have to wait on that."

Hanna soon knew what he was talking about. The door to the waiting room opened, and in walked a mob of people, two of whom she recognized.

Leading the way was Emily and Paige, who were walking over to the leather chairs on the far side of the room. When Emily caught sight of Hanna, she nervously waved, and Hanna tightly smiled and waved back.

But then others started coming in, others that looked familiar, but she couldn't put a pin on. There was a man in his late twenties wearing a sport coat the same color as the tan stubble that ran from his cheeks down to his chin, but when she looked at his piercing blue eyes, Hanna immediately recognized him as Toby Cavanaugh. And that must've meant linked in his arm was Spencer Hastings.

No, Cavanaugh. She was Spencer Cavanaugh now. Hanna had to remember that they all had married, and all went by different names now.

Different last name or not, there was not a doubt in the world that Spencer looked different. But it was a good different. She had pinned back her brunette hair into a low twisted bun, and was sporting a teal cardigan with a black peplum dress that hugged her curves in just the right places.

That's right, curves. Spencer had curves. She had filled out; still slim, of course, but no longer as bony looking as she was in high school, and she was rocking it. She was wearing a pair of beige pumps to elongate her frame, a pair of gold earrings, and a fierce, determined expression in her deep brown eyes.

And directly after Spencer came a shorter girl that Hanna immediately knew had to be Aria. Hanna almost didn't recognize her by how subdued her wardrobe was - she was wearing a purple sleeveless blouse with a black skirt, a tall pair of heels, and a pair of feather earrings that she showed off proudly by pulling the sides of her long raven waves back - but one look into Aria's entrancing hazel eyes and Hanna knew it had to be her. In high school, Aria was very young looking for her age, with her smaller stature and eyes that took up half of her face, but now she looked more mature, more sophisticated. Hanna couldn't put her finger on it, but before she could attempt to analyze it further, a taller man - with his choir boy haircut and razor sharp cheekbones, she knew it was Ezra right away - wrapped his arm protectively around her shoulder as he led her over to where Spencer and Toby were, and the four engaged in conversation while they waited.

Hanna cocked an eyebrow upward in suspicion. "They seem awfully close."

Caleb followed Hanna's gaze, but simply wrinkled his brow in confusion. "They're just talking," he reasoned. "It's perfectly normal for people to want to catch up. Like you should be doing?"

Hanna just puffed her cheeks full of air before letting the air out slowly. What was the point in getting closer to the girls? She knew none of them were happy to be here, just like she wasn't, and any chance of reuniting would be erased once everything subsided with the trial. They'd simply go back to their own lives, breaking promises to keep in touch and breaking hearts that had just been mended not too long ago.

The last thing Hanna wanted was to go through the same thing again.

"Why don't you go up and talk to them?" Caleb said, breaking Hanna out of her thoughts. Hanna looked up at him, pondering this, but then eventually hiked her purse further up her shoulder as she shook her head. "I'm fine."

Caleb's eyebrows practically shot off of his forehead. "Are you sure?" he prompted. "They're... staring right at you."

Hanna shot her head back over, and sure enough, Aria had her eyes glued to Hanna, and a few feet away Spencer was staring her down. Even Emily was looking up from Paige to meet Hanna gaze. Hanna hid her face, feeling herself blushing. It looked like she was caught.

"Go talk to them," Caleb encouraged, bringing his tan hand up to Hanna's back and pushing her forward, much to Hanna's dismay.

"Caleb, stop - "

"Just try it!" he interrupted. "At least one of them. It shouldn't even be that hard, they used to be your friends!"

"Caleb, I really don't want - "

"For me?"

Hanna bit down on her lip, but when she stared up into his caring brown eyes, she knew the gig was up. Finally, Hanna nodded her head and proceeded forward to the other girls. She could feel Caleb's watching eyes on her, but she held her head high as she walked up to Spencer, who was by herself now that Aria had gone to say hi to Emily and Paige, first.

"Hi," she said meekly, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

Spencer looked up from the bag she was currently rummaging through, and when she caught sight of Hanna, she gasped. Hanna furrowed her brow, wondering what was wrong, but before she could ask, Spencer quickly plunged back into her bag, pulled out a bottle of what looked like aspirin, unscrewed the cap, and popped a pill in her mouth.

Clearly it was going to take more than ten years for her anxiety to diminish.

"Hi," Spencer said, offering up a relieved smile, like she was happy to see Hanna. "How are you?"

"Under the circumstances?" Hanna joked darkly. "I'm doing alright."

Spencer's smile faded as she set her bag down on her chair. "I guess this is where I apologize for having this as the location for our ten year reunion."

"It's not just your fault," Hanna said evenly. "It's mine, too."

There was an awkward silence between the girls, one that stretched on for longer than Hanna would have liked. Maybe they should have started with a hug. It had been ten years, after all.

Before either girl could say anything more, a man in a police uniform walked out of the courtroom. "We're ready for your girls," he said gruffly, holding the door open. Hanna looked uneasily at Spencer, who offered her a reassuring smile and hand squeeze, before taking Toby's hand and entering through the doors. Hanna stared after her with so many words unsaid, so many thoughts unvoiced.

But then again, why was she complaining? The point of this trip wasn't to get all buddy buddy with her old high school clique. It was to take down the girl who had threatened to take her life away on multiple occasions. And while Hanna wasn't the smartest bulb in the bunch, she was easily able to figure out that self preservation won out every time.

Hanna turned around, and Caleb came up beside her, arm now around her shoulder. "Ready to go?"

Hanna nodded determinedly as she started toward the hall, still intertwined in her husband's arms. Let's do this.

The courtroom was huge. Everything in front of Hanna was made of wood, and there were more rows of pews than she could count on her fingers. Hanna tugged on Caleb's arm as she followed the others over to the table for the plaintiff. When Hanna looked over at the table for where the defendant was supposed to stand, she couldn't help but notice that it was empty.

Before she could ask, Mrs. Hastings came up to her and the other girls. "Hi, girls," she said, offering up a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry we couldn't meet beforehand, but I promise I'll represent you well."

In Hanna's peripheral vision, she caught sight of Emily smiling her polite smile, Aria offering her thanks, and Spencer just curtly nodding her head. Hanna suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. It was just like old times.

"Where's Mona?" Hanna asked, trying not to barf at the way her name sounded on her tongue.

Mrs. Hasting's face fell, for whatever reason, as she looked over. When she turned back, she looked more worn, more sorrowful. "She and her lawyer are still discussing some things, but they'll be in any moment. Take your seats."

With that, Mrs. Hastings walked away. Hanna turned to Caleb, confused, but he just shrugged his shoulders as he slid into the pew behind where she was sitting. Hanna sighed, fiddling with the buttons on her blazer, before promptly taking her seat next to Aria.

Aria turned shyly to her, and even though Hanna was staring straight ahead, she could almost feel Aria's eyes on her. Finally, Hanna turned to her. "You could say hello," she offered up.

Aria looked taken aback, but then she smiled warmly. "It's good to see you again, Han," she finally said, her green tinted eyes glistening with hope as she patted Hanna's knee. For perhaps the fifth time in the past few days, Hanna was rendered speechless. She used to look into those hazel eyes all the time when she and Aria would hole in her bedroom with popcorn and Teen Vogue, cursing the day boys ever existed to break their hearts. It was the same as when she used to have to grab Spencer's same feeble wrists, the same way she had earlier when she had held her hand, when she had to pry whatever caffeinated beverage she was drinking out of her hand in high school. And she used to stroke those same dark locks, the same that had whipped into her face at the airport yesterday, when she was comforting Emily over whatever heartbreak she had endured.

God, she really did miss her friends.

After several minutes, the jury box had filled, and a man in a long, black robe had come up to the front pedestal (Caleb later explained to Hanna that this was called the 'bench'). It looked like the trial was about to start, but the defendant party still hadn't arrived.

The judge sat down at the bench, before looking over at the defendant table in confusion. But before he could voice further concern...

"What are you doing?" a voice was heard saying outside. "Get in there, now!"

There were several whispers, followed by a murmur of conversation from the jury, before the doors burst open, and Hanna gasped at the sight.

The man in a police uniform was standing at the door, glaring at a petite, dark haired girl in a blood red dress and a black cardigan.

Mona Vanderwaal.

Of all of the familiar, yet different, faces Hanna had seen since she had gotten to Rosewood, Mona looked the most different. Her face, once tan and round, had become pale and sunken, her cheeks so gaunt they could surpass as knives. Her hair had thinned, and had lost it's shine, and her arms and legs had gotten so scrawny Hanna felt herself wincing with each step she took, afraid they would snap in half.

A twenty-seven year old should never have to look as weathered as Mona did.

Yet when Mona took her seat, folding her hands in front of her, and looked up, Hanna could see that her spirit had all but waned. For one, even in her worn state, she still looked amazing, and had proven that she still had a keen eye for fashion. And for another, her eyes, while sunken from tiredness and malnutrition, were clouded with a type of ferocity Hanna vividly remembered seeing when she was sitting across from her on a bed at Radley. When she was staring at her with tears of betrayal in her eyes, wondering what she had done to make Mona hate her so much.

Now the tables had turned. Now, Hanna hated Mona even more than Mona ever hated her. Any love she once had for her old best friend, she had tucked away into the deepest pits of her heart, hoping to keep hidden forever. And here Mona was, getting the punishment she finally deserved, while Hanna sat back and laughed at her.

She knew she was being malicious, but maybe she was entitled to it. Maybe things really did change for the better.

Mona turned to the girls, giving them all a sinister smile that made the hairs on Hanna's arms stand straight up. Instinctively, she reached for Aria's hand, encasing it in her own. She could feel Aria jump slightly in shock, but eventually she squeezed back.

But wait... where was the lawyer?

Shortly after Mona had entered, another set of footsteps echoed throughout the back of the room, and all of the girls turned around. Hanna felt her heart stop.

As the person sauntered up to the front of the room, there was a loud clang, and when Hanna looked over, Spencer had lunged toward the person. Hanna and the others jumped into action, pulling her back, but Spencer was ruthless. She thrashed back and forth, letting out mangled shouts that Hanna couldn't understand, but the figure just kept walking until they took their seat. Finally, after Spencer had impulsively punched both Toby and Ezra in the face on accident as they tried to calm her down, Mrs. Hastings came over to settle the matter. Using a combination of adrenaline and motherly strength, Mrs. Hastings pried Spencer away, promptly sitting her down on the pew. Spencer's eyes widened, presumably in pain, but Mrs. Hastings gestured for her not to utter a single syllable.

Spencer bitterly fixed her hair as she looked up front, and immediately Hanna sat back down and followed her lead. The judge stared down at the girls, slightly appalled, but then proceeded. He turned to Mona and her lawyer. "Before we start, perhaps our public defender wants to introduce herself to the jury?"

The corners of the person's lips rose into a business-like smile, one that lowered the temperature in the courtroom 20 degrees. "Melissa Hastings, your Honor."

Yup.

Congrats to everyone who guessed correctly! If you want to see what happens next, and want to know WHY Melissa would do such a thing, then review your pretty little faces off! :)