A/N So, it's Monday afternoon! Whaaat? I know, it's early for me to already be writing a chapter! And get this, I've already written most of it! But, you'll probably be reading this on Wednesday or Thursday, maybe even today if you get really lucky and I grow impatient ;) I literally am so proud of myself, I think I'm actually going to completely finish this story! And if you read my other stories, you know that's rare. Which brings me to my next question, should I continue Divine Retribution? It has definitely been placed on the back burner behind this story, but I wanted to know if I picked up that one after this story ends, who would read it? I'll let that sink in.
Disclaimer So, last night my family won the lottery, and with my share I bought the entire Pretty Little Liars franchise. I'm so kidding!
Letting go is easier when we have someone to rebuild us one brick at a time
Five Months Later...
Hanna groaned at the sound of her alarm clock rang through her bedroom. Her whole body was cringing from the sweat accumulated from the night's sleep. This made Hanna instantly regret setting up the space heater in her room. The beginning of March was always cold in Rosewood, something the town residents would have to accept. It was Pennsylvania for crying out loud, not Georgia.
Her phone began buzzing from her desk where it was charging, and was just adding to the ungodly amount of noise she was already experiencing.
Picking it up and unplugging the charger, Hanna glanced at the screen. It was Caleb. Again.
"I'm fine, babe." she answered, making sure he could tell how annoyed she was.
"Okay, okay. I'm just making sure. How did you sleep?"
She scratched the top of her head before combing it with her fingers. "Not great. Your baby kept me up all night."
There was a faint chuckle from the other line. "Oh, so whenever it's torturing you, it's suddenly just mine?"
"Yes, you're also torturing me." she stated.
"Han," he sighed audibly. "I told you, as soon as we uncover Reid's will and there's the reading, I'll be able to come home to you."
When Caleb had left those months ago, he was unable to tell Hanna his reasons. Fast forward three months and it was clear for him to inform people other than Claudia and Stephen that his biological father was Reid Alexander Rivers, owner of the Reid International Oil Refinery, a company that drilled oil over seas, mostly affiliated with the government which is why neither Claudia or Caleb had ever known.
The death of Reid or 'Zander' as he was called, brought new light to who would conduct the business. Sure, he'd hired a whole corporation dedicated to his company and a vice president to take over his role, but he also had near billions to his name. This meant that once his will was secured and read, someone he valued was going to turn out a very lucky person.
Caleb doubted he was even in the will, his father had obviously banished him from his life and memory; he didn't even know if Caleb was alive or not. Not that he had cared. But somehow someone had known Zander had a son, and now Caleb and Claudia were stuck in Reno waiting for the will to be formatted. Why it was taking so long, Hanna never knew. A long as Caleb was done by May when the baby was due. Still only two months away.
Hanna sighed into the receiver, smoothing her large t-shirt over her now visible belly. "You need to get here soon. We miss you."
There was a moment of silence before he replied. "I know, I'm coming home as soon as they release me. You know I don't even know why this is so important. I'm pretty sure the man forgot about me the second he walked out that door eighteen years ago, why in the world is it so important that I'm here? I don't give a shit what he does with his money, I don't want it. If he wasn't willing to share anything while he was alive than I don't see the reason behind it now." Hanna could sense the anger in his tone. Caleb didn't deserve to be strung along.
"I wish you could be here for my birthday."
"Babe, if I could find a way to get there in five days you know I'd do anything." there was audible activity in the background and Caleb sighed again. "I have to go, Claudia says the lawyers have called an early meeting."
"Okay, well thanks for waking us up." Hanna smiled into the phone. "I love you."
"I love you, too. And I'll call you after the meeting and if not then, I'll talk to you tonight." and he hung up.
-:-
Soon after ending the call, Hanna grew starving. She walked down stairs to the kitchen where Ashley greeted her with an amused look.
"Rough night? Usually you're up before eleven thirty in the morning."
"Yeah, well I assume you'd know what it's like to have eight extra pounds hanging off of you in everything you do." she answered irritably, taking a strip of bacon and dipping it in her Greek yogurt.
"Have you heard from Caleb?" her mother asked as she washed her lunch dishes.
Nodding her head, Hanna answered "Yeah, just got off the phone with him. Apparently he's got an emergency meeting with the lawyers, or something like that."
"Well that sounds promising. Maybe that means he will be back for your birthday-"
"Don't get your hopes up, mom, he's had these before. Probably just reviewing the estate. Boring things like that."
"Oh, well at least we will be able to celebrate with everyone else. Your dad is coming to visit over the weekend so he will be here for the party."
"Ugh, that's nice but I'm not sure I want to see him. He wasn't exactly thrilled to find out he was going to be a grandfather at age 48..." joked Hanna.
Ashley returned the laugh, catching her breath before speaking again. "He sounded anxious to see you when we spoke this morning. I really think he's learned to accept his age."
"How was dinner with Ella last night?" asked Hanna. Ella and Ashley had been having weekly dinners since really the beginning of the school year. Their daughters found it cute, thinking they mostly talked about their suddenly-active love lives.
"It was fine. Actually, we talked about how since you don't want to have a baby shower, we could just have a little lunch just the four of us. How does that sound?"
"I guess that sounds manageable. I wouldn't mind having a shower, for tradition, but I think it's safe to say we both don't need all that to think about. Too much work." she cringed as she thought of all the dirty dishes and shreds of wrapping paper and tissue strewn across their den.
"Wonderful, I'll tell Ella. How about Saturday after your birthday? At the grille?" Hanna nodded.
"Sounds like a plan." she struggled to get back on her feet. "I need to go get ready. I have to do an online French exam and then Spencer is driving me to the doctor's appointment. You sure you can't make it?"
Ashley frowned. "I have a meeting until four, and the appointment will be over by then. Have you thought about finding out the sex?"
"I told you, I'm not going to until Caleb comes home. We both decided we'd wait until it's born."
After her mom had left for the meetings, Hanna took her time showering before logging online to the homeschool program that she had enrolled in when she was about three months along. She and her mom enjoyed it because it had allowed her to finish school in December. She was withholding graduation for June when she would be able to walk with her actual class. This decision allowed her to take an extra two classes; French and Psychology. Her guidance counselor said they'd bulk up her applications for when she decided to go to college.
Unfortunately, since the baby was going to be born towards the end of May, she wouldn't have very much time to prepare for college in the fall, so she was waiting for Caleb to decide on where he was going to attend, and she would follow him as enroll somewhere near by. So far he'd been accepted to Penn State and Columbia. Hanna secretly hoped he would choose Columbia so she could pursue fashion at Parsons, but that was just what she'd dreamt up the day she found out about his acceptance.
In the last few months, things had change a whole lot. The first week after Caleb had left, he was unable to answer his phone due to privacy oaths the lawyers had made him take. If his father wasn't a multi-millionaire, he knew he wouldn't have to go through all of this. Even the news was following the case- or what they knew about it at least.
-:-
"Got a ninety-eight on my French exam, holla!" Hanna exclaimed as she climbed into Spencer's passenger seat.
"Wow, well done, Einstenette! Better yet, when the hell did I give you the o.k to transform into me?" praised Spencer as she shifted her car into drive and pulled out of the Marin's driveway. She then turned to face the blonde. "How's Caleb, has the case progressed any further?"
Hanna shook her head, adjusting the air vents so they were all turned towards her. "So far nothing's been planned for a reading, no date's been set. He did have a big meeting about who-knows-what with Claudia and the lawyers this morning, but who knows how important it really turned out." she propped her legs up onto the slick beige dashboard. "Your mom still cursing the day she took off work to take Melissa to the spa?"
"Yes!" Spencer laughed. "She's still moping about how Phil Donahue was assigned to the case and not her. I have to admit, seeing her so defeat is very fulfilling."
Funny enough, Veronica's firm was on the list to assist the estate case of R. Alexander Rivers' Will Uncovering and Reading of such. Unfortunately for Veronica, she'd taken two days off to take a whiny Melissa to the spa in the Hamptons to make up for Santa Barbara, when she both knew they should've been working. Long story short, one of the younger partners was chosen for the job and Mrs. Hastings will never be able to get over that, or forgive Melissa for being so demanding.
"I'm actually worried for you," said the blonde. "You seem to be enjoying this one little thing way too much, I'm just saying."
"Yeah, whatever. You would to."
Soon enough they'd pulled into the parking deck and were making their way through the maternity ward for the check-up.
"So have you changed your mind about the gender?" Spencer asked when they were in the waiting room. Spencer was thumbing through her Ralph Lauren catalogue and Hanna was browsing the selection of PARENTS Magazine.
She wrinkled her nose. "Not really. My mother's been hounding me ever since I hit that mark, but she needs to understand that Caleb and I decided together that we'd find out together, in the delivery room. It's more exciting that way." The blonde beamed at her friend, who sent her a knowing smile back.
Once her name was called and they were situated in the room, Dr. Halston, or 'Chelsea' as she willed Hanna to call her, immediately began a spiel on the next few weeks leading into the end of Hanna's third trimester. All of which she said, Spencer copied diligently onto a note in her phone, which Hanna would use to review the bulk of it with her mother at home, and with Caleb later that night, or whenever he got time to call.
-:-
BUZZ...BUZZ...
… BUZZ...BUZZ...BUZZ...
Hanna's phone blared from it's spot on the kitchen counter a few hours later. The blonde looked up from the recipe she had ripped out of one of the magazines in the OB/GYN's office. Upon looking at the screen, she smiled. Caleb's picture popped up. She pressed her thumb on the answer button.
"Hey! You're early."
"I am?" pause. "Oh, yeah I kind of am."
"How did everything go today, with the meeting?"
"God, it was boring. Ever had a seven hour meeting with one break, in which you have no idea what they're saying? Even Legally Blonde couldn't help me identify anything."
Hanna giggled. "Caleb, you just described all of grade school to me. But I'm sorry you had to sit through another boring meeting."
"Well, it wasn't a total loss..." he hinted.
She perked up, pressing the phone steadier against her ear. "Why, what happened? Oh, my God. Did they recover his Will?"
"They did!" he breathed excitedly through the line. "They've scheduled a reading for tomorrow morning, bright and early. Baby, I'll be home for your birthday!"
"Caleb! That's so exciting, I'm so relieved for you!" Hanna ran her hands over her swollen middle, smiling down at it. "When do you leave?"
"The day after tomorrow, I've got an eight o'clock flight. As in morning. I can't wait to see you. I can't wait to hold you, and to feel our baby..." he drifted off, leading her to believe he was growing speechless.
"I'm so ready to see you too, you have no idea." she choked out. "I can't wait to kiss you again. I love you."
There was a content sigh on the other line. "Yeah, I love you, too."
So how was it?
I know, I know the jump in time was quite an adjustment, but I just couldn't bring myself to write anything early, because I felt that I wasn't even writing enough about her pregnancy, because there wasn't yet a lot to write about.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter nonetheless, and I hope y'all go on and review!
Here are the names again, leave your choices for both boy and girl in your review, if you haven't already.
GIRLS: Chloe, Sadie, or Leah.
BOYS: Hudson, Cooper, or Ben.
***NEW CONTEST! ***
Okay, if you can tell me the source of the title "We Fall Together" is from, you (or the alias of your choice) will be featured in the next installment. You up for it, you know what song I'm speaking of? Leave your answers in your review!
Have a good week!
