READ THE IMPORTANT MESSAGE AT THE END!

'I can explain.'

Spencer was sitting on her living room sofa, hands twisting nervously in her lap. Toby was sat by her side nervously, avoiding eye contact with anyone in the room, which resulted in him becoming increasingly interested in a glass mug, placed on the coffee table. Spencer's mother was looming over them angrily, her glare trained on Spencer, who took a deep breath. To her surprise, when she had arrived home, her father had also been at her house, considerably more sober (or pretending to be) than he had been during her previous run-in with him at the DiLaurentis house-hold. He was sitting opposite her, drinking coffee and studying Toby carefully. Melissa was hovering by the bottom of the stairs, looking unusually concerned for her younger sister.

'I think you'd better had.' Veronica hissed, her lips set in a straight line. 'Don't you understand how important school is, Spencer?'

'Yes, I do, but I lost track of time!' Spencer argued.

'Don't talk back to Spencer, this is your future career that we're talking about here.' Peter said sharply. 'Don't you want to get a good job and earn good money?'

'Yes, but…'

'But nothing! That's what school is for! That's what working is for! Do you think I got where I am now bunking of school?' Her mother interrupted.

'Mom, I wasn't bunking off!'

'Then explain what you were doing!'

'Like I said, I lost track of time. The girls and I left the barn at six to get ready for school and I went to see Toby. I forgot about the time, I'm sorry.' Spencer lied, and Toby turned to look at her in shock as well, assuming she had been going to tell her mother the truth. Veronica snorted at her reply and

'I see. That cover story doesn't seem too familiar to Toby here, does it?' Veronica pointed out, picking up on Toby's confusion. 'It also doesn't explain where you were at quarter to five this morning, when I checked on you and all of you had disappeared. It also doesn't explain why Mrs DiLaurentis came round half an hour ago and asked if you were ok because you were crying in the street with your friends at five o'clock in the morning. I want the truth, Spencer.'

Spencer took another deep breath as she realised her rushed plan had failed, and put her head in her hands.

'Mom, just let her-'

'Melissa, stay out of this. This has nothing to do with you.'

Veronica interrupted her oldest daughter as Melissa tried to help Spencer. She glared at her mother and came to the sofa to sit by Spencer, placing an arm round her shoulders supportively.

'What is going on here?' Peter barked, a little astonished at the fact that his two daughters were getting along.

'Melissa, do you know something?' Veronica asked.

Melissa stayed quiet, not quite meeting her mother's eye. Veronica rolled her eyes at the secretiveness of both her daughters, getting even more exaggerated as Peter swore under his breath in frustrating.

'Spencer, if you don't tell me what's happening…' Veronica trailed off as Spencer looked up to reveal tears were trickling down her cheeks.

'I'm sorry.' She whispered, as Melissa's grip tightened around her shoulders and Toby grabbed one of her hands. Veronica and Peter looked extremely scared by this point, both sitting on the sofa opposite with worried anticipation written all over their faces. Spencer treed to keep the sobs trapped inside as she quickly thought over how she was going to explain without mentioning A, Jason or her Dad and Mrs D at all.

'When we were in the barn, I… I heard noises coming from the street. It sounded like… a car so I thought Dad was home. We went round to the front but there was no-one there. That's why we were outside, and that's why you couldn't find us.' Spencer started, wondering how she was going to tell the next part.

'It doesn't explain why you were crying.' Peter said, looking rather shifty at the thought that Spencer and her friends had been close when he had been stumbling around in Jason's garden.

'Well, umm, this is the part… this is the part you're not going to like.' Spencer managed to say, before failing to hold back a sob.

'Spencer, you're scaring me, just say it!' Veronica cried at her daughter.

'Mom, I'm pregnant.' Spencer sobbed. 'I'm sorry that I told the girls and Toby before you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.

There was a split second of silence before her parents blinked twice and all hell broke loose. Peter stood up the same time as Spencer, who had been making her way toward her mother and stopped her in her tracks. He stared into her face for a moment before slapping her around the face suddenly.

'Peter!' Veronica cried, grabbing his arm to prevent him from hurting her any more. Melissa rushed to Spencer's aid, pulling her over to sit back down on the cushions, all whilst staring at her Dad in horror, as Toby leaped up from his seat and stood in front of Peter angrily, protecting Spencer from him getting any closer. Spencer's sobs became more profound as the room silenced again and she buried her head in Melissa's shoulder.

'What is wrong with you?' Veronica yelled at Peter, her gazed fixed on him in horror. He stayed in the exact same position, his breathing hitched and his eyes still burning into Spencer's tear-stricken face. She was holding her cheek with a shaking hand.

'Sit back down!' Veronica ordered Peter, but he stomped into the kitchen area instead, leaning on the counter with his head in his hands. Veronica crossed the room to the fridge and pulled out some ice. She picked up a tea towel and cover the ice with it slowly, as if she was in a dream. She handed it to Spencer and sat down beside her carefully, peering into her face. Toby was still stood with his gaze fixed on Peter, seething with anger.

'Please tell me it's not true.' Veronica pleaded, her eyes filling up with tears as she looked at her daughter. 'Please tell me this is a mistake.'

'I'm so sorry.' Spencer whispered back as her mother pulled her close. She lay her head on her mother's chest, clinging onto her desperately, wishing she was just a little girl again, only crying because she accidently spilled orange juice on the carpet. Veronica was wishing similar things as she stroked Spencer's hair, both of them crying quietly.

'Mom, I don't know what to do!' Spencer sobbed, her breathing losing control until she was hyperventilating. 'I can't breathe!'

'Ok, its ok, just in and out, in and out!' her mother reassured her, miming the action along with her. 'Clear your mind, don't think about it for a minute.'

'Maybe we should take her to the hospital…' Melissa suggested worriedly. 'Too check everything is ok?'

'No! Mom, you can't, the doctors will know and they'll tell everyone! No one can know!' Spencer cried, shaking her head viciously.

'Calm down, Spencer! Ok, sit back and take deep breaths.' Veronica ordered. 'Peter, I think you should phone an ambulance.'

Peter looked up at his wife as Spencer began to protest wildly again. Melissa shushed her quietly as Peter began to laugh. Toby's jaw tightened as he took another threatening step towards him.

'Phone an ambulance? And have the whole street know what she's done?' he replied. 'I don't think so!'

'Peter, we can discuss the consequences later. Right now we need to ensure Spencer's welfare!' Veronica argued, standing up.

'Mom, I'm fine, it's just a panic attack!' Spencer pleaded. 'I just need to calm myself!'

'Spencer, you don't know what you could be doing to the baby.' Veronica told her. 'I won't have another one of my daughters lose a child!'

'She's fine, she's putting it on for sympathy!' Peter yelled, making his children jump. 'She's manipulating you into feeling sorry for her when you should be slapping her too! What is she, the town slag?'

'Don't speak to her like that!' Toby snapped, just as angrily. 'Leave her alone, it was a mistake!'

'And you, I'll make sure you'll never get a decent job again in your life! How dare you talk to me like that in my own house! Especially after what you've done!' Peter snarled, pushing Toby in the chest.

'Peter, stop!' Veronica cried, as Melissa pulled Spencer toward her, covering her face so she couldn't see. 'This isn't going to help!'

'If you touch me or Spencer again, I'll call the police.' Toby threatened, still not backing down as the image of Spencer's pained face flashed through his mind again.

'And tell them what? Who's going to believe you? You're the village freak!' Peter retorted. 'Get out of my house! Go on, get out!'

Toby took one long look at Veronica, who said nothing. He realised that it would probably be better if he left the Hastings household right now. Spencer didn't object to him leaving either, and he was clearly making things worse.

'We'll call you, Toby.' Melissa told him calmly from over Spencer's head.

'Like hell we will…' Peter mumbled darkly, earning a glare from Veronica as Toby disappeared out of the front door. Peter turned to Spencer. 'You're lucky I'm not throwing you out after him.'

'Dad, you're not helping at all!' Melissa snapped. 'Would you calm down?'

'I get no respect around here anymore! You're my daughter, you should do what I say!' Peter yelled. 'Not argue with me in my own house! Melissa, you're old enough to have your own family, your own house, but no! You continue to eat our food and use up our water bills, electricity bills! You could even hold down a husband for, what, two days? Or a baby!'

'My baby died!' Melissa cried, tears beginning to stream down her face to match Spencer's. 'My husband died! How could you even say that to me?'

'Peter I think you should leave.' Veronica said quietly. 'Melissa's right, this isn't what any of us needs right now.'

'You think I should leave? Me?' Peter cried, shaking his head in disbelieve. 'I'm not going anywhere.'

'Either you leave, or you start acting rationally.' Veronica stated firmly, even though she was shaking.

'I am not leave my own house! I'm the only one who is acting rationally!' Peter thundered. 'We should be slapping her around the face!'

'You already have, Peter! She's our daughter! No matter what she's done, we have to get on with it!' Veronica shouted, just as loud. 'I want you to leave, right now! Come back when you've realised that this behaviour isn't helping!'

'In that case I don't think you'll be seeing me anytime soon!' Peter retorted.

'Shut the door on your way out.'

'Don't treat me like a damn child, Veronica!' Peter glared at all three of the girls as they watched him edge towards the door, all of them with tear-stricken faces. He was just about to slam the door when he turned back around to face them all.

'You'll be sorry.'

Uh oh! Sorry this chapter is short, but it is action-packed! What do you guys think will happen next? Was Peter right to react the way he did? Will Toby do anything about it? What will happen to Melissa, Spencer and Veronica now?

! THE NEXT CHAPTER IS GOING TO HAVE A TIME JUMP OF 6 MONTHS !

I wanted to get on with writing about Spencer and Toby's little family and how they cope, so the next chapter will start a few months before the baby is born. There will be a few paragraphs at the beginning to fill everyone in on what has happened in the last six months, but I didn't want to spend too much time on the boring stuff... anyway I just wanted to let you know or warn you I suppose! Review with ideas and I really need to start thinking of baby names so comment with suggestions! - A (jk its just me... tricked you)