Chapter 10

Uncles

Caleb wasn't sure what had woken him up; even though he was used to waking up earlier than most teenage boys due to the fact that he had energetic younger brothers, he was sure that he could sleep until dawn if left undisturbed.

But there he was, slowly waking up as his eyes stayed shut. His body was aware of the unusual surroundings, different smells filling his nostrils as his brain tried to figure out where he was. The vaguely familiar, sweet smell of perfume and almond shampoo filled his nostrils. He tried to stretch out lazily, but something kept him in place. He attempted to lift his left arm, which felt heavy and dead, but something was pinning it to the bed.

It all came back to him at once. Aubrey! He was watching Aubrey last night, and must have fallen asleep with her on top of him.

His eyes searched for her tiny body with his hands – she should have been on his chest still. He than ran his hand over whatever was pinning him down to the bed… it didn't feel like her body. He desperately tried to figure out where her legs and head were located on his chest without having to open his eyes, not wanting to deal with another early morning.

He opened his eyes in shock when her body stirred due to his touch.

He blinked a few times; it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light. All he could see was a mop of messy blonde hair splayed over his chest. The hair wasn't Aubrey's, and the thing pinning him down to the bed was Hanna's arm – it was laying over his chest, holding him close to her. Their legs were tangled together like they'd been after they'd spent their first night together in a tent.

Moving slowly so as not to wake Hanna up, he glanced at the little cot next to his bed, where Aubrey was still fast asleep. He wondered what had caused him to wake up, before laying his head back against his pillow and sighing in relief. Hanna had moved Aubrey to the safety of her cot when she had come back to the hotel. He looked back at Hanna, and brushed some of the blonde strands from her face so that he could look at her features. She was fast asleep, and looked completely relaxed against his chest. He smiled as he took some time to observe her face, wondering how she had ended up there.

Carefully, he let his hand trail over her delicate features. He took in her long lashes and her closed eyelids, which were currently hiding the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. His eyes then moved down to her rosy lips, which were closed softly. He swallowed as he tried not to dwell on the fact that he desperately wanted to kiss her, to experience that closeness once more. Never again had he been able to feel like he did when Hanna kissed him. He closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath before looking at her once more. The hand that was still on her face brushed over her cheeks, which were void of the dimples that used to be there whenever she looked at him. He brushed a stray eyelash from her face, and blew it over to the other side of the room before his hand settled on her shoulder. He couldn't stop staring at her; he was thankful for this moment, because he could be in her company without her having the chance to build up her walls and keep him at bay.

Only now, with their bodies in close proximity, did he realise how much he had missed her. He had missed being able to see her every day, being able to talk to her and just spend time with her. With everything that had happened in the past days, and after finally being able to meet Aubrey, he hadn't had the time to think about how much he'd missed her.

The day that they'd parted ways, she had left him with a large gaping hole in his heart, a hole that only Aubrey had managed to fill. But that was with a whole other kind of love.

Caleb sighed deeply, wishing that they could stay like this forever. He brushed the remainder of her hair from her face, and bent forward to place a soft kiss against her forehead. He stilled for a moment, taking in the smell that was Hanna, before closing his eyes and letting his lips meet her soft skin.

She didn't wake up, and he was secretly glad. This was better, this would be his secret. He relaxed against the mattress and closed his eyes, feeling content as took in the sight of Hanna in his arms, and their daughter sleeping safely in her cot.

He knew that when Hanna opened her eyes, it would be over. She would freak out and apologize for falling asleep on the bed.

XxxxX

Hanna had tried so hard to keep her breathing steady, despite the fact that her heart was racing at a million miles an hour. It was beating so loudly that she was surprised Caleb couldn't feel it pounding against his hand, which was resting softly upon her shoulder. She fought to keep her eyes closed, and pretend that she was still asleep when she felt his piercing gaze moving across her features. His hand brushed over her face so tenderly that goosebumps erupted all over her body, and she struggled to keep herself from biting her lip.

She knew that now would be the perfect time to pretend to wake up. She couldn't keep pretending that her heart and body weren't reacting to his touch for much longer.

But then she felt him shift, and tried to keep her breathing steady again as she anticipated his next move. She attempted to contain a shuddering breath that threatened to fall from her lips as he moved closer, his long hair tickling her skin, the musk like smell that was Caleb surrounding her as his face hovered close to hers.

A warmth flooded her body as his lips connected with her forehead; every part of her screamed for more, and Hanna battled the instinct to open her eyes, to reach for him and kiss him until nothing in the world existed but them.

The moment was over before she knew it. She felt him pull away to lay back against the bed, his body relaxing underneath her as his hand came to rest on the small of her back. His breathing evened out, and she wondered when her heart would stop pounding.

XxxxX

Caleb knew that he'd been right. Embarrassed didn't come close to describing how Hanna was behaving when she stirred and found herself in very close proximity to his body. She had blushed profusely and stuttered an apology, her eyes never quite meeting his. Caleb wasn't surprised that she was embarrassed, but it did surprise him that she was unwilling to meet his gaze, as if something had happened between them. Only when her tired brain registered that Aubrey was missing from the bed did she finally look at him; panic rose in her chest until Caleb closed the distance between them and calmed her down by turning her body towards the crib, where Aubrey was sleeping despite the fact that both of her parents were awake.

"Did you forget you put her there?" Caleb asked as Hanna let out a breath of relief when she saw Aubrey safely tucked up in her crib.

"I didn't, I think my mom must have moved her," Hanna admitted, knowing that she would have to explain how she had ended up on the bed with Caleb now.

"Your mom?" Caleb asked, just as she had predicted.

"Yes. When we came back, Aubrey was asleep on your chest and she looked so cute. I always watch her sleep before I go to bed, and I didn't think that it would do any harm if I laid down to look at her for a moment," She said in a small voice, avoiding the fact that she had been staring at him as much as she had stared at Aubrey. "I only planned to be there for a minute or so, but I think I must have drifted off," She said apologetically as she finally looked at him, still embarrassed about the fact that she had woken up wrapped in his embrace, his hand trailing over her face.

"I'm sorry for…" She started, but he waved her apology away. She held his gaze, wondering whether he would say anything about what had happened that morning. But he didn't. He must have been convinced that she had actually been asleep, and she promised herself that she would never tell him the truth.

"Hanna it's fine, it's not like we're complete strangers or anything right?" Caleb comforted her – he already missed their closeness.

She smiled back at him and craned her neck to look over his shoulder. He turned to see what she was looking at, and smiled when he saw that Aubrey had woken up. He made his way to Aubrey's crib, and saw that she was trying to get onto her feet. She looked around her room, her brown eyes lighting up with excitement as soon as her father's face came into view.

"Daddy!" She yelled loudly, kicking her plump feet enthusiastically against the mattress as she waited for her father to pick her up, which he did instantly.

"How long did you practice saying 'daddy' with Aubrey for?" Hanna asked amusedly, watching the two interact. Caleb peppered her face with kisses and Aubrey giggled hysterically as she tried to get away from his face, only to reach out to him again when he moved away.

"Not that much," Caleb mumbled, though he didn't dare to look at Hanna as he said it. He would never admit that he spent a good two hours teaching Aubrey to say daddy after Hanna and her mother had left, probably pushing Aubrey to the point of exhaustion.

"I see the whole family is up," Came a voice from the door as Ashley poked her head around it, having heard their voices from her room and therefore knowing that it was safe to enter. With the way that she had walked in on them last night, all cuddled up together in the middle of the bed, she wasn't too sure what she would walk in on this morning. But death glare that Hanna shot her as soon as she uttered the words 'little family' told her everything she needed to know.

"You should get ready for breakfast. Hanna and I can get Aubrey dressed whilst you take a shower," She said as Caleb handed Aubrey over to her, "You can use the shower in this room," She said, gesturing towards the bathroom.

"Actually, I should go and help my mom before you guys come over for lunch later," He replied, gathering his shoes from the foot of the bed and pulling them onto his feet.

"Are you sure Caleb? You're welcome to join us," Ashley pressed.

"Yeah, she's already called a few times," He explained, holding his phone out before making his way to the door, where Ashley was standing with Aubrey. "See you later Han?"

"Yeah, I'll text you when we're on our way, it all depends on what time she wakes up."

Caleb smiled and looked at Aubrey, who awarded him with a wide smile. "Bye Bree," He whispered, pecking her chubby cheeks. He waved at them before disappearing through the door.

Ashley watched him go before her eyes fell back on her daughter, who was busying herself by smoothing out the bed sheets. Hanna could feel her mother staring at her, and knew exactly what she was about to ask. "Nothing happened! So don't even go there," She said without looking up.

"Hanna, I wasn't going to. Just a friendly reminder that even though the three of you looked very sweet together last night," She started, making Hanna's cheeks turn red, "Rules about boys in the house, your bedroom or hotel room in this case, still apply."

"Nothing is going to happen," Hanna mumbled, looking at her mom, who shook her head in response. She had an annoying smirk on her face, as if she didn't believe a word that her daughter had just said.

XxxxxX

"Back where it all began huh?" Ashley asked Hanna as they pulled up to the impressive mansion that was the Dawson's residence.

"I'm sure this time it won't be as dramatic as the first time we were here," Hanna said, driving up to the gate and waiting for Caleb to open it up so that she could park on their driveway, as instructed.

"There's your proof that it won't be," Ashley said, nodding towards the door, where Claudia was sprinting out towards their car. James and Clay were hot on her heels, their faces beaming with excitement.

"I can't believe that she didn't demand to see Aubrey earlier to be honest," Ashley mumbled as she watched her.

"Oh, she has," Hanna chuckled, "But Caleb wanted to get to know Aubrey himself before his mother met her properly."

Hanna caught Claudia's eye as she parked up; the older woman was waving excitedly to her as she walked towards the back of the car, where Aubrey's car seat was buckled in. She glanced into the car to catch a glimpse of her little granddaughter, who was sleeping peacefully.

"I told you that she falls asleep as soon as the car starts," Came Caleb's voice from behind her, walking up to the driver's side of the car before opening the door for Hanna. He then went to the back of the car to unbuckle Aubrey's car seat, and watched as his mother strode over to Hanna before embracing her in a tight hug. He couldn't help but smile – he knew both of them were nervous to see each other again.

"I'm so glad that you're here Hanna," Claudia whispered into her ear, "I cannot thank you enough for this," She added before finally letting her go and moving over to Ashley, who had joined them.

"Ashley," Claudia greeted her before opening her arms in order to hug her, "It's great to see you again."

"Great to see you too Claudia, thank you for having us."

"The pleasure is all mine," Claudia grinned broadly as she watched her eldest son carrying his daughter into the house, James and Clay watching in awe.

Aubrey finally opened her eyes fifteen minutes into the visit, and Claudia was right there to meet her when it happened – this was the first time that she had looked into her eyes with the knowledge that she was her granddaughter.

Claudia remembered the first time that she'd laid her eyes on Aubrey when she met Ashley at the beach. She had known back then that there was something special about the baby with the blonde hair and deep brown eyes. Even then, the tiny blonde had caught her attention, and now she knew why.

This beautiful little girl was her granddaughter, without a doubt.

"I still have to get used to being a grandmother," She said in a quiet voice as she watched Aubrey take in her surroundings with wide eyes, before she saw the familiar faces of her grandmother Ash, her mommy, and her daddy. She grinned at them happily, showing her two teeth as she reached towards them. Caleb leaned forward to lift her from the car seat and sat Aubrey on his lap so that she could look around properly, and get used to all the new faces that were surrounding her.

"I'm still getting used to being a grandmother too Claudia, I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the being called that," Ashley chuckled as she watched Caleb handling Aubrey as if he was born for it.

Claudia gasped and looked at Hanna and Caleb in surprise when Caleb approached her with Aubrey in his arms, holding his daughter out for her to hold. Both nodded at her, and she quickly put down her drink down on the table so that she could hold Aubrey for the first time. She took her into her arms, enjoying the warmth and sweet baby smell that Aubrey brought with her. Claudia couldn't help but hug her granddaughter close to her, closing her eyes and rubbing her back softly as she swayed them a back and forth a few times, savouring the memory.

Finally, she loosened her grip a little and perched Aubrey on her lap. She ran her hand through the few blonde strands on top of her head as she blinked a few times. "She's so perfect," She whispered, "I don't know about Hanna, but she looks a lot like Caleb when he was a baby."

"She has Hanna's dimples and hair, but when it comes to looks, I have to agree with the fact that she looks a lot like her father," Ashley agreed, "Her personality however…" She trailed off, smiling deviously. The smile earned a scowl from her daughter. "She can be quite feisty like her mother," Ashley added as both grandmothers laughed and watched as Aubrey stared at James and Clay, who had come closer to her and were pulling faces at her to try and make her laugh.

"Do you like your niece boys?" Claudia asked them as they succeeded in making her shriek with laughter.

"What's a niece?" Clay asked.

"Aubrey is your niece because she is Caleb's daughter. Remember what I told you yesterday? I told you both that you were going to meet Caleb's baby today," Claudia explained calmly, pointing to the baby on her lap.

James and Clay both nodded at their mother and looked thoughtfully from her to Aubrey before their blue eyes landed on Caleb. James still looked a bit uncertain, but then he started to giggle.

"You can't have a baby Caleb, you need to get married first," James laughed before looking at his mother, "Right mommy?"

Claudia glanced at Ashley and Hanna apologetically before thinking fast, "Well most mommy's and daddy's get married before they have babies, but you don't need to be married first to be able to have a baby."

"But you said that when I get older I need to get married first before I can have a baby," James whined loudly.

"I did, and we'll talk about that again when you're older okay?" She said in an authoritative manner, silently warning him that question time was over. However, Claudia knew that more questions were coming as she caught him staring open mouthed at Aubrey.

"Are you Aubrey's mommy?" James asked innocently, staring at Ashley, who nearly choked on her drink. She coughed a few times before she managed to find her voice.

"No honey, I'm not Aubrey's mommy," Ashley said kindly, trying not to meet Caleb's gaze. "Hanna is Aubrey's mommy," She informed him, pointing at Hanna.

James giggled even louder as he let the new information sink in. He kept looking between Hanna and Caleb, and Caleb started to feel nervous about what his brother was going to say next. He rapidly tried to think of anything that might distract James, but he was too late.

"Mommy said that you have to give each other a grown up kiss and a special hug in bed to make a baby," James informed Hanna proudly, whose cheeks turned red at his words. Caleb groaned in frustration and shot his mother a pointed look.

"James, why don't you come sit here so you can hold Aubrey?" Claudia asked James loudly, pointing to Aubrey, who was still on her lap. She was hoping that this would stop his incessant questions, even though she was silently enjoying the sweet torture that he was unleashing on his brother.

"Yeah!" He said excitedly, before jumping up to squeeze himself between his mother and Caleb. Claudia showed him how to hold Aubrey properly before she gently placed her on his lap. He squeezed his arms around Aubrey, looking very proud of himself as he held her.

"Look at you holding her all by yourself. You are such a good uncle already," Claudia gushed as she quickly snapped a photo of the pair, marveling at the small age difference between her children and grandchild.

"Can she stay here with us forever?" James asked, "She smells nice," He added, sniffing her hair.

"No, she has to go back with her mommy," Claudia interjected.

"Why?"

"Because she lives with her mommy James," Caleb answered with a slight edge to his voice, which didn't go unnoticed by Hanna.

She was starting to get distracted by the way that Aubrey was fidgeting in James's arms. James looked helplessly at Caleb for help, but Hanna had already reached them. She knelt down in front of James and took Aubrey gently from his arms.

"What's wrong with her?" Caleb asked Hanna quietly.

"She's hungry and I'm still weaning her," Hanna said as she took Aubrey from James's arms; he was watching her actions intently as she started to fumble with the straps of her dress.

"Oh, do you need us to go?" Caleb whispered, but Ashley and his mother had already moved. Claudia ushered Clay out of the room and turned around to wait for James. "Come on James," Claudia called out to her son, but he wasn't moving.

"What is Hanna doing?" He asked Caleb innocently, staring at Hanna open-mouthed.

"Hanna needs to feed Aubrey, so you'll have to leave," Caleb replied shortly.

"Why? Doesn't Aubrey need to eat at the dinner table?"

Caleb groaned softly at his brother's inquisitiveness. "Because Aubrey is hungry and Hanna gives her food with her boobies, so Hanna needs some privacy."

"Oh," James said, staring at Hanna's chest momentarily before he looked at Caleb, "Are you staying because you are hungry too?"

"James!" Caleb yelled in annoyance before picking up his brother and unceremoniously placing him in the kitchen, trying to ignore his mother's sniggers.

"I'll see you in a moment okay?" Caleb asked Hanna, poking his head around the door before he closed it.

"Stay!" She said a little too enthusiastically, before noticing the look of doubt on his face, "I could use the company, besides, there's nothing to see here anyway," She nodded towards Aubrey, who was already nursing.

"Sure, okay," He said with a smile, before closing the door firmly behind him as he sat back down across from Hanna, glad to see that there was indeed nothing on show.

"I'm really sorry about my brother Hanna," He started, trying to look at Aubrey's face without making it look like he was staring at Hanna's chest. But in the end he settled for looking intently at Hanna's face, "I really thought that my mom had told them everything before you came over."

"Caleb it's fine, don't worry about it. It was pretty funny."

"Glad you enjoyed yourself," He muttered, trying to fight a smile.

"Well look at it this way, you can get your payback when they're teenagers and they start dating."

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

"It will be your turn to tease them, being their big brother. You'll be able to tell their dates all kinds of embarrassing stories about your brothers when they were younger."

A faint tight lipped smile appeared on Caleb's face before he looked down at his feet, "I won't be around for any of that," Caleb finally admitted in a quiet voice.

"Won't be around for what?" Hanna asked, glancing at Aubrey, who seemed to have had enough. She made use of the loss of eye contact between them, quickly moving Aubrey to her lap and pushing her dress back into place. As soon as she was done, Hanna tried to catch his eye, but he only looked at her when she handed him Aubrey to burp.

He patted and rubbed Aubrey's back for a bit, just like he'd seen Hanna doing it. He knew that she was watching him, waiting for him to answer. They were yet again dipping their toes into a territory that they were yet to talk about, and he was scared about raising the subject.

"Why won't you be around Caleb?" She asked again, wondering what he was talking about.

"I won't be living here watching my brothers become teenagers," He replied – it annoyed him that Hanna wasn't catching on. This was all making it clear to him that their minds were not in the same place when it came to Aubrey, or her future.

"But why…" Hanna asked, genuinely confused.

"Because I'll be wherever Aubrey will be!" He said in a raised voice, before hugging Aubrey close against his chest; he had felt her stiffen in his arms when he'd raised his voice. He really needed to control his anger better, for the sake of his baby.

Hanna was still staring at him, stunned. "What do you…?"

"I'll be wherever Aubrey will be. Did you think I would just live happily in California forever, knowing that my daughter is living on the other side of the country?"

"No I didn't…. I didn't really think about it. We're still in high school so…"

"So what Hanna, I thought you knew how much she means to me? I've already talked to my mom about going back to Rosewood after the summer holidays, but she wants me to finish high school here first because it's so prestigious and all that," He said, rolling his eyes, "But as soon as I do, I'm going to move," He said determinedly, holding Aubrey in front of his face so that he could look at her, "I'll move to the other side of the world if that's where you'll be," He whispered to her, giving her a loving smile.

Aubrey scrunched up her little face at his words and Caleb worried if anything was wrong with her. Before he could do anything, she let out a loud burp in his face and Caleb scrunched up his face in disgust, dropping Aubrey back onto his lap.

"Holy shit Hanna. Is that why you're trying to get her off of breast milk? That's nasty."

Hanna couldn't talk, she couldn't even think straight. She was doubled over laughing as Caleb coughed loudly, trying to wave away the smell that was lingering around him as Aubrey stared at him.

"Wow, well thank you for that compliment Caleb. And no, that's not just from the breast milk. It's to do with something called the pharynx. It lets babies feed and breathe at the same time, but it also has something to do with burping, I guess," She giggled,

"Trust me, the formula burps are just as nasty," She tried to explain without laughing when Caleb didn't drop his look of disgust.

"Why did you… you know, choose to... euhm," Caleb started awkwardly, already kicking himself for raising the subject, considering how uncomfortable it made.

"Why did I decide to breastfeed Aubrey?" Hanna asked, filling in the blanks for him, trying not to laugh at his awkwardness.

He nodded at her. He felt stupid about the fact that he didn't want to say the word breastfeed. He tried so hard not to use the word, because he knew that if he did, he would stare at her chest. The last thing that he wanted Hanna to think was that he was some insensitive perv, who enjoyed watching his baby being fed just so that he could stare at Hanna. But he was still a teenage guy, and as he had seen at the beach, Hanna looked amazing. She had always looked amazing, and having a baby had left her with curves in all the right places, as far as he was concerned. He couldn't stop himself from staring whenever it felt safe to do so.

He looked up to see Hanna's lips moving, no doubt answering his question, but he was too late to catch her words. He noticed a slight flush on her cheeks when she stopped talking and looking down at her knees. Now he felt like a complete asshole for missing her words after he'd asked her the question, especially as it was due to the fact that images of her body were occupying his brain.

"Sorry Hanna, Aubrey was distracting me," He rasped, "Why did you breastfeed her?"

Hanna looked at him for a long time, wondering whether or not she really wanted to tell him again. Having to admit to him why she ended up breastfeeding Aubrey had been embarrassing enough, especially doing it here in his house, in this majestic room that Claudia referred to as the 'TV room'. Hanna wondered whether Claudia knew that the room was as large as an average apartment.

"Han?" Caleb pressed, dread filling him. He had recognised the pained expression on Hanna's face, and he understood that he had asked about something which bothered her.

"Couldn't you just pretend that you heard me the first time?" She asked annoyed as she contemplated not telling him again, but then she looked into his trustworthy brown orbs. "I had to breastfeed because I didn't have any money for formula, okay?" She snapped, blinking away some tears as the memories of those days came back to her – she had been determined never to think about them again. She stood up and bent over Caleb to grab Aubrey from his arms. Hanna perched her on her hips as Caleb stared at her open mouthed, completely dumbfounded, traces of sadness and guilt evident in his eyes.

"Now can we go into the garden?" She said in a clipped tone, "I didn't want to talk about that anyway," She said before disappearing from the room, leaving a stunned and heartbroken Caleb behind.

XxxxX

Meanwhile

"Trust a five-year-old to liven up the party huh?" Claudia joked to Ashley. She walked up to where Ashley was sitting on the deck overlooking the garden, and the play area in the back where James and Clay were running around, blowing off some steam. She placed two glasses on the garden table and poured each of them a considerable amount of wine. "Excuse me for assuming that you want wine," Claudia chuckled as she kept pouring it.

"You assumed correctly," Ashley smiled as she gratefully took the wine from Claudia, who sat down next to her, looking at her boys.

"So now that we have a moment alone, I need to thank you Ashley," Claudia started, "I need to thank you for everything that you have done and sacrificed. Not only have you raised an amazing and beautiful daughter, I can tell that you are a devoted grandmother to Aubrey. They are both so lucky to have you."

"Thank you Claudia, but I did what most mothers in my situation would do."

Claudia tried not to dwell too much on her own past. She knew that most women would not kick their pregnant daughters to the curb, leaving them with nothing but the clothes on their back to fend for themselves. Leaving them to try and raise a baby, going from home to home. She tried to stop her trail of thought before she dwelled too much on the day she had to make the heartbreaking decision to leave Caleb behind. She breathed in deeply and took a sip of her wine.

"Claudia, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to be insensitive," Ashley apologised, having seen Claudia's reaction.

"It's fine Ashley, I'm just very grateful. Not just for this moment and for being able to meet you, Aubrey, and Hanna. But also for you opening your home and heart to Caleb. He told me that he stayed with you for a while."

"He told you that? Ashley wondered, "Did he also tell you about how I kicked him out of the house when I caught him and Hanna stuck in a lip lock when they thought I wasn't home?"

"No!" Claudia laughed, "Caleb only started talking about his time in Rosewood a few days ago, after we found out about Aubrey. He told me about meeting Hanna, and about how she was the first person who didn't dismiss him as soon as she laid her eyes on him. She let him stay in the basement, right? Well, until you found out," She laughed, "Nevertheless, he managed to leave out the heavy lip locking," She chuckled.

"To be very honest Claudia, I might have been a bit too rash with my decision. I never really gave Caleb a fair chance. I didn't even know him or anything about him when I told him to get out," Ashley admitted.

"I'm sure I would have been the same if I had a teenage daughter."

"Yeah…" Ashley whispered before taking a considerable gulp of her wine, "Well kicking him out caused Hanna to run after him. They camped out for the night because she didn't want him to sleep on a bench somewhere, and low and behold, nine months later Aubrey was born," She added.

Claudia gasped audibly and covered her mouth in shock.

"I often wonder what would have happened if I didn't… If I'd never kicked Caleb out that night. Maybe nothing would have happened," She took in a shuddering breath, "I hate thinking about what it would be like if we didn't have Aubrey in our lives, but sometimes I do wonder about what could have been.

Claudia scooted closer to her and gave her a kind smile. "Ashley, don't beat yourself up over this. I'm sure they would have made the same decisions, even if you'd tried to stop them. They're teenagers after all," She added, reaching over the table for the wine before topping up their glasses. She looked behind them towards the door which remained closed, meaning that Hanna and Caleb were still in the TV room.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked, dropping her voice before leaning closer to Ashley, who chuckled at her mysterious behavior.

"Ask away."

"Did Hanna ever tell you why they broke up?"

"No. I'm still waiting for that story but she refuses to talk about it," Ashley sighed, "All I remember is that Caleb had moved into our house one day, and the next day all of his stuff was gone. I tried to mend things between them, but whatever I tried didn't work. Later that night I heard Hanna crying in her bathroom, blasting some Elliott Smith, which unfortunately I had to listen to for another three weeks," She said scornfully, the memory of the depressing songs still vivid in her mind, "The crying finally subsided, only to suddenly start again a few days later, but this time it was worse than it had been before."

"Do you think that's when she found out that she was pregnant?"

Claudia watched as Ashley nodded, looking solemn. "I think so."

"When did she tell you?"

"As soon as she found out. Well, as soon as Hanna and her friends found out. Trust a teenager to share everything with her friends first. Though, I'm happy they were there for her during that time. They've been really supportive throughout all of this." Ashley managed a smile as she took another sip of her wine. Thinking back to those days made her feel sad, the anguish and desperation that she had to witness her daughter going through as she struggled with her pregnancy and all the repercussions that came with it had been just as hard on her as it had on her daughter. There was nothing that she could have done to help her as Hanna struggled to come to terms with her situation, and Ashley had never felt so helpless in her life.

"She must have been devastated."

"She was at first, but she made up her mind quite quickly when it came to the baby. She told me the baby was made out of love, and that's how she would raise him or her."

"I'm really glad to hear that. Not about Hanna having to struggle, but that they were in love, however brief the love may have been. I never understood why Caleb didn't want to talk about the time he spent in Rosewood. I knew that, whatever the reason was, he was keeping it close to his heart. One day James snuck in his room to watch 'Transformers', and found a photo of him with a girl with 'yellow hair', as James called it. And Caleb got so mad at him for looking at it. I tried to ask him about the girl in the photo, but I never anything of him aside from 'drop it mom'," Claudia added in a low voice, mimicking Caleb.

"I remember taking that photo," Ashley smiled, "Hanna was determined that they should have their photo taken. They were so in love and happy back then. It had been a long time since I'd seen Hanna that happy," She added, reminiscing, "They were so in love."

Claudia smiled at the idea. For the most part, she had only seen the solemn, guarded Caleb. But ever since Hanna and Aubrey had come into his life, she had noticed a significant change in him. He was evidently happier when he was around Hanna and Aubrey.

"Do you think they still are?" Claudia asked softly, glancing at Ashley.

"I think they are," Ashley nodded as Claudia agreed with her vigorously, "The other day I was out to dinner with Hanna, and she told me that a big chunk of her hea..."

"Ahem," Came Caleb's deep, loud voice from behind them; both Claudia and Ashley jumped in their seats.

They turned around, looking at Hanna and Caleb, who were hovering awkwardly in the doorframe. Claudia didn't need to ask how much they'd heard when she noticed the way in which both Hanna and Caleb were avoiding each other's gazes.

XxxxX

Things are going to get a lot more interesting in the next chapter, so hang tight. If you want a preview let me know.

I would really appreciate a review.