A/N: Hey, everybody. I am so sorry for the long wait. This chapter took me a while to write, I don't know why. Anyway, to anybody still reading this story, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
~ Chapter Seven ~
~~ Halloween ~~
A few days later, no one was letting their guard down. Maya and Jason had found exactly what Toby had said they'd find at the motel; nothing. Toby and Caleb filled them in on everything that happened to them, leaving out the part about Toby being on the A team. Caleb promised to keep it a secret, for now. A has been quiet, but that could only mean A is planning something. They may be in protective mode, but A isn't going to stop them from living their lives.
Halloween was in one week, and the children were more than excited. Today, they were getting their costumes for trick or treating, and then they were going to the corn maze and the pumpkin patch. Each child had some idea of what they want to be, but with the allure of so many costumes right in front of them, it's bound to take a while. They all walked into the costume shop and instantly scattered in different directions because of the children.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Caleb asked Hanna, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder.
"Yes," Hanna nodded, tearing her gaze from Molly's glowing face at all the princess costumes to look at Caleb. "It will be fun to see what they all choose."
Caleb nodded, giving her a peck on the cheek.
"Besides," Hanna said, taking his hand and pulling him to the baby costumes aisle, practically skipping. "we can look and see what she'll be next year."
"You know she won't even be one yet, right?" Caleb laughed, letting her pull him along.
"Doesn't mean she still can't look cute," Hanna reasoned.
Caleb smiled fondly at her. She's finally happy now, after losing Leslie two years ago. Maybe she doesn't need to know what really happened that night. There was no need to dredge up the past. Or that blonde girl who looked a lot looked like...no, it was impossible. She was dead. This was supposed to be a fun, relaxing day; no A talk.
"Hey, where did you go just then?" Hanna asked, softly.
"Nowhere, I'm right here," Caleb joked, laughing off his distraction, reaching forward to pull her into a hug.
"I know that," Hanna laughed, moving out of his reach. "I just meant that it looked like you were thinking about something."
"Like how beautiful you are," Caleb smiled, capturing his arms around her waist and pulling her to him. Hanna couldn't hide her smile, and leaned in for his kiss. The kiss wasn't that long, and then they turned to the future costumes their daughter would wear.
Hanna heard a high pitched giggle next to her, so she turned and a blonde-haired little girl skipped a couple steps forward. The little girl turned around and flashed her blue eyes on Hanna. She wore a pink jumper with a pony on the front, a long sleeve white shirt underneath, white tights, and pink flats. The air around her seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly luminescence. The little girl smiled greatly at her.
"Hi, mommy," the little girl said, sweetly.
Hanna let out a little gasp. Leslie. She looked over her shoulder at Caleb, but he was caught up in the costumes in a reverent daydream. She turned back to the little girl. Hanna opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.
Leslie held her gaze for a second longer, then looked up at a costume hanging on a rack. She looked back at her mommy and pointed to the purple and pink butterfly costume. "I like that one for Hailey," she replied.
Hanna took a small step forward. "What?" she whispered.
Leslie kept on smiling and walked gracefully over to her. She placed her small, delicate hands on Hanna's belly, her touch as light as a feather. "Hailey," Leslie repeated.
"Hailey," Hanna repeated after her. Hailey, Hailey.
"Hanna?"
Caleb was behind her now, his hand on her shoulder gently shaking her. Hanna turned around and stared up at him. "You okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah, uhh," Hanna answered, glancing over her shoulder once more. Leslie was gone. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Caleb asked again. He put both hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes, checking for any sign of pain or distress. "I thought something was wrong."
"No, everything is good," Hanna told him. She took his hands from her shoulders and held them. "I was just looking around and suddenly I knew what we should call her."
"Really?" Caleb said, surprised. "What, did a little bird whisper to you?"
"Something like that," Hanna smiled a secret smile. "What do you think of, Hailey?"
Caleb smiled. "I think it's perfect," he agreed. "and she'll be as perfect and beautiful as you." Hanna smiled grandly and they hugged intimately.
"Did I hear right? You two finally came up with a name for the baby?" Emily questioned, as she, Maya, and Molly moved around them.
"Yes," Hanna answered, as they pulled apart but they each kept one arm around each other. She looked at Caleb before continuing, and he nodded for her to go on. "We've decided to name her Hailey."
"Aww, Han, that's cute," Emily gushed, and pulled her into a congratulatory hug. The two friends exchanged murmured words of love and thanks. Maya and Caleb caught each other's gazes over Hanna's and Emily's heads. Knowing how happy and safe those two felt, meant that they were doing the right thing by keeping this new A a secret.
"Mommy, mommy! C'mon!" Molly exclaimed, jumping up and down and pulling on Emily's and Maya's arms. "I wanna find a casume for me and Kenzie!"
Hanna looked confused. "But I thought Mackenzie wasn't allowed to leave...the hospital?" She lowered her voice on the last word.
"She's not," Emily explained, patting Molly's hand so that she would stop pulling. "But the doctors and nurses in the children's ward allow the children to dress up and put on a costume parade through the hospital. They get some candy, do some activities, but it mostly brightens their spirits, gives them something to do instead of being stuck in their rooms."
Hanna and Caleb nodded appropriately. "Well, you go pick out the most beautiful costumes for you and your sister," Hanna told Molly.
Molly grinned that adorable little girl smile, and pulled her mommies down the aisle. The three of them reached the costumes in her size, and Molly stared at all of them in wonder.
"Do you know what you want?" Emily asked her daughter, smoothing down her her ringlets.
"Kenzie wants to be a witch," Molly said.
"Well, great," Maya laughed. "Now we just have to choose between ten witch costumes."
"Mommy! Don't be silly!" Molly giggled.
"We'll let Molly choose which one she likes for Kenzie. They have pretty similar tastes," Emily said, pecking Maya on the cheek. She walked over to Molly and knelt down behind her, putting her hands on Molly's little arms. "Which one do you like for your sister?"
Automatically, Molly let a big gasp. She half-ran, half-skipped over to a costume. "Kenzie is gonna LOVE tis one!" Molly exclaimed. The costume she was looking at was very cute. It had a crushed velour black bodice, sheer sleeves with cobweb detail, and a short black skirt with a 'tattered' hem and a silver spiderweb overlay. It also came with a sewn-on silver belt buckle, and a matching silver band on the tall fabric witch hat.
Emily smiled at Molly's enthusiasm. "Ok, ok, let's see," she replied. She flipped through the costumes on that rack. She got to the end and turned to Molly apologetically. "I'm sorry, sweetie. They don't have Kenzie's size."
"Ohhhh, I liked that one," Molly pouted.
"How about this one?" Maya asked, holding up a different costume in Kenzie's size. This one was possibly even cuter than the first one. It featured a princess bodice dress with gold embellishments and trim in shades of brown and orange with a layered tulle skirt dusted with stars, and a matching hat.
"Oooooo," Molly marveled, walking over to the new costume. She held out the brown and orange skirt, studying it. Then, she smiled, "I wanna get tis one for Kenzie. She gonna LOVE it!"
Emily and Maya smiled at each other at their daughter's easy manipulation into a new costume. Molly can be persuaded into anything; Mackenzie is the stubborn one. Molly reached for the hanger, but Maya held the costume out of reach. "You have to look for your costume first, then you can hold it. Did you see one you liked?" Maya told her.
Molly dropped her arm and moved back to the rest of the costumes hanging in the aisle. "Ummmm," she said, indecisively.
"Do you want to be a princess?" Emily asked, looking at all the Disney princess costumes.
"Nah," Molly answered, moving on.
"Do you want to be a witch like your sister, or a vampire?" Maya asked her this time.
"Nah," Molly declined again. She scanned down on side of the aisle one more time, and then she gasped. "That one, that one, that one!" Molly pointed excitedly. She ran over to her chosen costume.
Molly chose a kitty costume. It had a poly-knit long sleeve black hooded top with attached ears, soft black pants with an attached tail, and pink fur trim all over. It also came with a cute cat collar.
"Oh, Molly, that's so adorable," Emily agreed, as Maya pulled out the costume in Molly's size. Molly took her costume and Mackenzie's, and hugged them close to her chest, swaying back and forth happily.
"Girls, girls, girls!" Tyler barged past Molly, nearly toppling her over. "I can't find da boys casumes!"
"Hey, watch where you going!" Molly shouted at him. Tyler ignored her.
Toby was right behind him. "Ty, you can't shove past someone like that," he called to his son. "Are you okay, Molly?"
"Yeah, I fine," Molly answered, sweetly. "Like me and Kenzie's casumes?" She held the two costumes out to him. "I the kitty."
"They're beautiful," Toby told her, brushing his finger against her nose playfully. Molly giggled.
"Daddy, c'mon!" Tyler yelled, before turning the corner. Toby excused himself and went after Tyler before he went too far. Just as Toby was leaving the aisle, Spencer was just entering it.
Emily smiled. "Hurry up, Spence, they're getting away from you," she joked, knowing that her friend couldn't go much faster due to being six months pregnant.
"Believe or not, this is me hurrying," Spencer joked, laughing at herself. They touched each other's arms as Spencer walked by and into the next aisle.
Tyler was staring at the accessories section. "Ty, you have to pick out a costume first, and then you can get something to go with it," Toby was telling him.
"Daddy's right, Ty," Spencer agreed, coming to stand beside Toby.
"Okay!" Tyler said, turning toward the costumes. He walked up and down the aisle two times, his finger tapping against his chin. Then, he stopped and pointed to a costume. "That one."
It was a pirate costume. The burgundy coat had a patterned trim, white cuffs, and a gold braid detail. Attached to the coat was a white shirt with a jabot and a black sash with a decorative gold buckle. The costume also came with black pants, knee-high boot covers, and tricorn hat with a skull and crossbones graphic.
"Are you sure that's the one you want?" Spencer asked him. "You've already changed your mind from a dinosaur, to a construction worker, to a superhero."
"Yes!" Tyler insisted. Spencer took the costume off the rack. "And..." He ran back over to the accessories. "...this!" Tyler held up a fancy, plastic pirate sword.
"I knew he'd go for the sword," Spencer murmured to Toby, shaking her head.
Toby laughed softly. "Okay, Ty, but what can't you do with it?" he asked him.
"Hit anyone," Tyler answered, automatically. Then, he jumped up and down, "Yay, I can get it!" The three year old started brandishing his sword through the air, in a series of random movements.
"Well, that was easy," Spencer said, smiling, turning to Toby.
Toby slid his hands around her waist, smiling. "Soon, there will be two of them. We'll see how easy it is then," he replied. He leaned down closer to her.
"Can't wait," Spencer murmured, leaning closer to him as well. Just before their lips met, a plastic sword came between them. Laughing, they looked down at their son.
"No kissy-kissy on my ship," Tyler declared, as seriously as a three year old could muster. "You will hafta walk da plank."
"Well, then, I guess we're walking the plank," Spencer told him playfully. Placing her hands on Toby's shoulders, she kissed him on the lips intimately.
"Blegh!" Tyler groaned. Then, he went back to playing with his sword, until he accidentally hit Liam on the shoulder.
But the other boy wasn't mad. "Hey, not yet!" he exclaimed, "I don't have my costume yet!"
"Sowwy," Tyler said, shrugging his shoulders, not really getting it.
"Ok, Liam, I found one," Aria called to him, pulling a costume his size off the rack. Unlike the two little ones, Liam had known right away what he wanted to be. Iron Man. The costume he picked out was a gold and red jumpsuit with printed armor plates and a glow in the dark arc reactor plate on the chest. It also came with a molded plastic face mask.
"Yeessss!" Liam cheered. He ran over to his mother. "Can I wear the mask now?"
"I don't think you can," Aria told him, studying the costume. "I think it's attached to the hanger."
"No, it's not," Liam disagreed. He proceeded to show his mother that the mask was only looped on the hanger. He took it off and slid onto his head.
"Alrighty then," Aria grinned, shrugging her shoulders and glanced at Jason.
Jason chuckled, "He knows what he's doing." They casually slipped their arms around each other.
With costumes in hand and paid for, they were all off on to the next trip of the day.
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The fairgrounds for the corn maze and the pumpkin patch was only a little bit crowded. Aria and Jason were the last ones to arrive, with a pouting Liam trailing behind. He had his arms crossed with a sour expression on his face, and he stomped his foot every couple of steps.
"What's wrong with him?" Spencer asked Aria. Tyler squirmed down from Toby's arms to go over to Liam and try to cheer him up. Liam only huffed, emphasizing his crossed arms.
Aria glanced down at him and sighed, looking back at Spencer. "He got upset when he found out that we weren't going to the haunted hayride," she explained. Everybody looked at him in sympathy.
"It's not fair!" Liam exclaimed.
"Liam," Aria had enough. She took his arm and pulled him off to the side, away from everybody else. She knelt down in front of him. "Look, I know that you were looking forward to going to the haunted hayride and I'm sorry about that. We can't go with Tyler and Molly; they're a little too young for it. But I know you, and I know that you wouldn't be acting like this. You would be excited either way. What's really going on?" She adjusted his hat so that she could see his face.
"How come dad couldn't come?" Liam whined.
"You mean Ezra?" Aria clarified. She glanced back at Jason, who was ready to help her if she needed it, then back to her son. "Well, he's busy right now. He has some things to do," she told him.
"I wanna see him. It's been forever since the last time," Liam said, with only a little bit of a whine this time.
"Well, if you're on your best behavior and you help the little ones," Aria reasoned with him. "Then, maybe when we get home, we'll call him and set something up. How about that? Sound good?"
Liam nodded, much more happily. He reached forward and hugged her. "Love you, mommy," Liam whispered.
"Love you, kiddo," Aria hugged him back.
After a quick potty break, they were all ready for the maze. The wait wasn't that long; they were only in line for a couple of minutes. They were allowed admittance into the maze, the kids running ahead to lead the way.
"Ok, now this way," Liam directed, leading everybody around another turn to the right.
"Yeah, now tis way," Tyler said, repeating everything Liam was saying. After a couple more minutes of this, Molly came back to Emily in almost near tears.
"Molly, what's wrong?" Emily asked her. She picked her up after Molly had held her arms up.
"The boys won't let me help," Molly cried, pouting. Emily rubbed her back comfortingly.
Hanna leaned toward the little girl. "You'll learn soon that boys don't like to take directions from anyone else," she joked, trying to cheer her up.
"Oh," Molly said, as if that answered everything. "Boys are weird." She scrunched up her face.
"Yeah," Hanna agreed, mimicking Molly's face.
Molly giggled. "I can't wait til there's 1...2...3 girls. Then they be sowwy."
Hanna smiled at the little girl. "You'll help take care of Hailey, right?" she asked her.
Molly nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, me and Kenzie will. We teach her everything we know." All the girls laughed. Then, Molly turned to Spencer. "Auntie Spency, is da baby a girl?"
"We don't know yet," Spencer told her.
"I hope it's a girl," Molly mused.
"Me, too," Spencer whispered, covertly.
Suddenly, they realized that they had stopped walking. Then, the two boys came running back the way they came.
"Deadend! Deadend!" Liam shouted, laughing as well.
"Deadend! Deadend!" Tyler repeated, his voice bubbling over with laughter.
Everybody was quick to move out of their way. Molly looked after them longingly. Maya saw the look. She pushed a curl behind her ear. "Is mommy going to carry you the whole time or do you want to show those boys you're just like them, if not better?" Maya suggested, winking at her.
"Tat one!" Molly exclaimed, wiggling down. Then, she darted off after the boys.
About ten minutes later, they were deep in the center of the maze.
"I think we're lost," Hanna murmured.
"Hanna, we're not lost," Spencer replied. "And don't say that too loud, you're going to scare the kids."
"Well, all I can see is corn, and I swear we keep passing that same sign," Hanna insisted. "Plus,...I have to pee."
Spencer sighed, "...Yeah, I sort of have to, too." They shared a look, and then laughed.
Up ahead, Jason, Toby, and Caleb were making sure the kids didn't get too far ahead. Liam was still leading, but Tyler and Molly were growing bored. They kept picking at the corn stalks and throwing it at each other. Luckily, they were starting to see light through the stalks, so they had to be almost out of the maze.
Just then, Toby's cell phone buzzed with a new text message. The others didn't notice. He angled himself away from the others, pulled out his phone, and read the message, with dread in his stomach.
How fast can a three year old disappear?
-A
Toby glanced up quickly. There was Liam and Molly...where's Tyler? Toby tried not to panic. "Spence, is Tyler back there with you?" he called back to her.
"No, I thought he was with you," Spencer called back, worry evident in her voice. In the next second, she was right beside him. She started to call to her son, hoping that he had only wandered too far ahead.
"Tyler! Tyler!"
Everybody started to look for the little boy, going down a couple different passages. Toby ran ahead, calling out to Tyler. He was nearing the exit to the maze. "Tyler!"
"Daddy!"
That was Tyler, and it came from outside the maze. "Spencer, I found him!" he called back to her. Then, he turned left out of the maze. Tyler was standing right next to the cornstalks.
"Daddy!" The little boy ran toward him, and Toby gathered him up in his arms.
"Ty, you're not supposed to wander off like that," Toby scolded him, gently. "Mommy and I were so scared."
"I didn't. I got lost," Tyler explained. "But a nice lady found me and took me out."
"What nice lady?" Toby asked him, suspiciously.
"She was wearing a red coat and yellow hair," Tyler replied, innocently. "She told me to wait right here for you."
At that point, the rest of the group had caught up to them. Spencer hugged Tyler close to her, kissing his hair. Toby pulled Caleb, Maya, and Jason aside, and told them about the message and what Tyler had said. They all knew who had taken Tyler and why.
It was A, just because she can.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The four of them were on guard the rest of the day. After the maze, they had lunch and another potty break. Then, it was on to the hayride to the pumpkin patch. The hay was almost the best part of the day for the children. They had a lot of fun picking up the hay and throwing it at each other, until they were covered in it.
The real competition started in the pumpkin patch. They raced around trying to find biggest or best looking pumpkins. Molly picked out two pumpkins for her and Mackenzie. Her two pumpkins weren't that big, but they were exactly the same. She called them twins, like her and Kenzie. Molly also picked out a pumpkin for baby Hailey; she said that the girls have to stick together. Liam got a huge pumpkin that he accidentally broke the stem half off, so he was having difficulty carrying it now. He also wanted to get one for his dad, Ezra, too. Caught between pumpkins, Tyler decided to get one for himself and the other for his baby brother or sister.
The ride back was a quiet one this time. The kids were starting to fade. Molly was curled up on a hay bale between Emily and Maya, fast asleep. Tyler was on Spencer's lap, slowly falling asleep. Liam was quiet beside Aria, but he was wide awake.
"I hope he likes the pumpkin," Liam whispered, excitedly. "Do you think we can carve it together?"
"I'm sure he would like that," Aria grinned at him, giving him an one armed hug. She couldn't get the image of Ezra and Liam carving the pumpkin together out of her head. It was a nice image.
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Ravenswood
In a small studio apartment, a figure clad in all black moved around the space. The person sat down at a desk with a bunch of high tech computer and security equipment. He picked up a phone, and dialed a phone number. Using a voice changer, he spoke to someone on the other end.
"Hello, this is Rosewood Memorial Hospital. How may I direct your call?" a woman chirped, happily.
"I would like an update on a patient there. The name is...Mackenzie Fields."
A/N: Well, how was it? I hope you all liked it; please review and tell me your thoughts.
