The week went by quickly.

Hanna went to college and then to work every day until Saturday. She and Caleb decided not to do some kind of things in the studio again after Monday, to be careful. They managed to wait until work was over, at least.

She hadn't managed to convince her mom to let her sleep at one of her friends' —the most trivial excuse to spend the night at Caleb's, obviously— on Sunday night, because the next day she had college, but she had managed to convince her mom for a Saturday night, instead. She had told Caleb, who had said that they would spend the whole Saturday together instead of a Sunday. He had no problem with that little change of plans.

However, Hanna needed one of her friends to cover for her for that Saturday, otherwise her mom would find out the truth soon, since she had already made a mess the previous Saturday night, when she hadn't come back home until the next morning, right because she was with Caleb at his place. She knew that her mom needed to be sure that time. She also knew that Spencer was the most suspicious about her and Caleb, so she decided to ask Aria. She was gonna tell her she was going to spend the night with a guy, she was probably gonna mention Holden again, so that when Spencer was gonna know, maybe she could believe she was with him and not with Caleb... Maybe.

She hated that she had to lie to her friends, but for now she wanted to protect her relationship with Caleb. It was clearly difficult to understand, also without knowing that he was no longer together with his wife, so Hanna had just decided that lying about him was the best thing to do at the moment.

Aria had told her there was no problem about the cover up, seeming to believe she had to see Holden. So, on Saturday morning, Hanna exited her house smiling widely, knowing she was gonna spend the whole day with Caleb, with her mom quiet and sure that she was going to spend the day with her friends.

As soon as Hanna got out of her car, in which she had an overnight bag, in front of Caleb's house, Charlie ran to her and gave her his usual welcome, then Caleb appeared behind the front door, smirking. Hanna walked to him smiling as well, and when she was close enough, he pulled her closer and kissed her eagerly.

"Good morning to you too." she giggled when they pulled away.

Caleb smiled and placed a strand of her hair behind her left ear.

"Good morning. C'mon, come inside, I made breakfast." he said then, nodding toward his kitchen.

She followed him inside until they got in the kitchen, where the table was filled of a lot of things to eat: biscuits, pancakes, eggs, bacon, milk, coffee, orange juice... Just everything. He told her to have a seat and they had breakfast together. The food was absolutely good, Caleb was even a great cook. After breakfast, he went to get dressed as Hanna waited for him in the garden, playing with Charlie. When he was done, he got to her and they got into his car, taking Charlie with them.

"Where are we going?" Hanna asked curiously.

Caleb smiled and put on his Ray-Ban sunglasses before pulling out of his driveway.

"I'm going to take you where I usually go on Saturdays with Charlie. I'm sure you will like it." he told her.

"Okay."

Caleb drove until they were a few miles out of town. They parked in a green area, a large countryside.

"We're here." he told her, opening his door.

Hanna raised her eyebrows and then waited for him to get out of the car to open her door as well, like he always did when they went somewhere together with his car. Then, closed both of their doors, Caleb opened the trunk and Charlie jumped out of there, immediately starting to run through the grass.

"We're gonna have to walk a little, but I promise you won't be disappointed." he added, flashing her a smile.

Hanna smiled, she trusted him. Caleb put the leash to Charlie, then he wrapped his free arm around her shoulders and started walking with her after placing a kiss on her temple. As they went on, Hanna started seeing how that place looked beautiful. There were a lot of flowers, a lot of trees, and the air was totally pure, clearly different from the air of town. It was sunny, and it was also hot, but there was a little of wind so that it was really a perfect day to spend outside. Caleb also stopped walking at some point, bending down just to pick a beautiful flower from the ground. He placed it between Hanna's right ear and her hair, as she smiled lovingly at him. Then, they restarted walking in the middle of that wonderful place.

"You take Charlie here every weekend?" she asked as they kept walking.

"Yeah, at least when it's not raining." he replied, his arm still hooked around her shoulders.

"He's a lucky dog to have you." she smiled.

"I'm lucky to have him too. You know, he's my only friend. I've always wanted a dog, but Melissa absolutely didn't. She just didn't like animals, at all. Actually, she hated them. So I couldn't have him when we got married and moved to my current place. But when she left... Well, I took him because I wanted a dog, clearly, and also because I didn't want to be alone. And he's seriously been keeping me company for all these months. He's so much more than a dog to me, he's my bestfriend."

Hanna smiled at him and squeezed the hand he had over her shoulder.

"You have such a big heart." she commented.

Caleb smiled and kissed her forehead.

"C'mon, we're almost there." he added then.

A few steps later, they arrived to a cliff from where you could see the lake. The view was simply amazing.

"Wow." Hanna commented, admiring the view.

"You like?"

"It's wonderful, Caleb..."

"Let's descend, c'mon." he smiled.

They took a small path down the cliff and they finally reached the small shore near the lake. Once they got there, Caleb took the leash off Charlie and the dog happily ran all over the shore, occasionally jumping into the water too. Hanna laughed seeing how Charlie looked happy. Caleb then, came back to her, and sat on one of the rocks which were there. He gestured for her to sit in between her legs, and she did, leaning her back against his chest. He folded his hands over her stomach and rested his chin on her shoulder, as he watched Charlie enjoy the water. They stayed like that for a while, in a comfortable silence, then Caleb started drawing a long trail of small soft kisses all over the side of Hanna's neck, making her close her eyes and throw her head back. At some point, she turned her head to him and crashed her lips on his, kissing him. Caleb kept her head in place cupping her cheek, and he slid his tongue into her mouth. They kissed for a couple of minutes before Hanna pulled away and smiled softly at him. He moved a few strands of her hair off her face and returned the smile.

"Can I ask you something?" she whispered.

"Anything."

"Have you really been all alone for all of these months?"

He took a deep breath before replying.

"Yeah. What, you don't believe me?"

Hanna shook her head quickly.

"No, no... I believe you. It's just that... It's strange. I mean, you're like the perfect man... Why didn't any woman want you?" she continued.

Caleb chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

"The perfect man, huh?" he asked.

Hanna laughed slightly but waited for him to continue, and he did, becoming serious.

"Look, Hanna... It's true that after Melissa I had no one, besides you. It's not like I didn't have any chance, because I did, plenty times, but I don't like to take a woman home with me just to comfort myself, alleviate the pain or have a night of fun. It's not my thing, seriously. If I'm with a woman, it's not because I want to play. It's not because I want to satisfy my sexual needs. It's not because it can comfort myself. Hanna, if I'm with a woman, it's because I want to be with her. That's why I haven't been with anyone for all this time, and that's why I'm here with you right now."

Hanna blushed and smiled widely at his words. God, that man was such a sweetheart. The perfect man, indeed. A man who had clearly suffered a lot, because someone whom he had loved had broken his heart. Maybe that's why he could give all of that love to the other people now. She was experiencing that, she could clearly feel it.

She didn't reply but placed another soft kiss on his lips and then leaned back into his embrace, as he tightened his grasp around her waist.

"Caleb?" she whispered after a few minutes.

"Yes?"

"I want to be with you too."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"Good to know." he replied then.

After spending a few relaxing hours at the lake, Caleb and Hanna came back to his car with Charlie and returned to his place. Charlie stayed outiside and the pair got into the house. Caleb cooked a fabulous lunch, all Italian food, of course accompanying everything with a classy red wine. They ate taking their time, he loaded the dishwasher and then they climbed on his couch to watch a movie. He gently kept his arm around her shoulders for the whole time, and they both ended up asleep halfway through the movie, Hanna resting her head on his shoulder and her legs half-sprawled on his lap while his head lied on top of hers and his free hand was placed firmly on one of her thighs.

She woke up first. She didn't know how long they had been sleeping, but the TV screen was completely black and the DVD player had gone in standby. She looked up at him with narrowed eyes, finding him asleep. She smiled at his cuteness and placed a small kiss on his cheek, which made him wake up too.

"Hey, sorry... I didn't mean to wake you up..." she whispered as he opened his eyes.

He yawned and then smiled down at her.

"It's okay... How long have I slept?" he asked then.

"I don't know. I just woke up too, actually."

Caleb stretched himself as Hanna pulled her legs off him, then he leaned toward the coffee table to look at his mobile, to check the time.

"It's half past five. Wow, we took such a nap." he laughed slightly.

Hanna widened her eyes at his reply.

"Shit." she commented.

"Don't worry, this means that we're not gonna be too tired for tonight..." he smirked teasingly.

Hanna smirked back as he leaned back on the couch and kissed her.

"Would you like some wine?" he asked then.

"Sure." she replied.

Caleb got up and went to the kitchen, coming back with a bottle of wine and two glasses. He filled both of them and handed her one, and she accepted it.

"So... What do you want to do now?" he asked.

Hanna drank a little, then pursed her lips before replying.

"I don't know. It's okay as long as I'm with you."

Caleb smiled and took a long sip from his glass.

"I was thinking about taking you out for dinner, how does it sound to you?" he asked then.

"You mean in a restaurant or something?" she widened her eyes.

"Yeah. A classy place."

"But... I thought it was better not to show up together in public..."

"That's true, but if we go out of town I guess it won't be a problem, right?"

"Oh... Yeah, right."

"I don't want us to hide for tonight... Tonight is ours."

Hanna looked at him from the border of her glass and smiled softly. She didn't like to hide either, but they knew it was better to at the moment.

"Sounds good." she added.

Caleb returned the smile.

"But let's not go to a place too classy, okay? I don't have the right clothes now." she punctualized.

He laughed and placed his empty glass on the coffee table.

"You're gorgeous like this, trust me." he commented, taking a quick look to her cute short navy blue dress.

"Oh, stop being such a gentleman..." Hanna muttered, blushing.

"What, you don't like it? Plus, I'm just saying the truth." he smirked, raising his eyebrows.

She giggled and placed her empty glass on the coffee table too before coming closer to him, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders again.

"I like it, by the way. I like you." she whispered as she made herself comfortable on his chest.

He chuckled and kissed her forehead, stroking her hair. Then, Hanna noticed what looked like a photo album in the bookshelf and made a little smile.

"Is that a photo album?" she asked, nodding toward it.

Caleb looked up to where she was pointing at.

"Yeah." he replied.

Hanna lifted her head and raised her eyebrows at him.

"Can we...?" she teased, excited about the idea of seeing Caleb as a kid.

He bit his lip, looking away. Hanna was a little confused.

"Oh, wait... Is that your wedding photo album? she asked then.

Caleb sighed before replying.

"No, it's not. It's just a... A normal photo album."

Hanna suddenly remembered that his parents had died and cursed herself. Maybe he didn't want to look at their pictures.

"Oh, okay... It's fine, we don't need to look at it." she said then.

Caleb scratched his head and smiled down at her.

"No, you know what? Go get it, we're gonna take a look." he said then.

"Caleb—" she tried to reply to assure him it was fine, but he stopped her.

"Hanna. Take it."

Hanna gave him a small smile and got up from the couch, walking to the bookshelf as he turned the TV off. She returned to him with the album under her arm and sat down next to him.

"Don't be so scared... I was sexy even when I was little." he joked to lighten up the mood.

Hanna smiled and then bit her lip, looking down at the closed album.

"You don't need to do this just because I asked you." she murmured them, looking back at him.

He stroked her cheek and smiled at her.

"I know. But it's okay." he whispered then.

"Okay." she echoed, before opening the album.

The first page was full of pictures of baby Caleb. Hanna couldn't help but smile at how cute he was.

"These pictures are like thirty-two years old, you know that, right?" he asked, chuckling while looking at his old pictures.

"I know. And you were totally adorable...and blonde?" she asked then, furrowing an eyebrow as she kept looking through the pages.

"Definitely. I was blonde just like you. I don't know what happened next." he shrugged.

Then, finally, a woman appeared with baby Caleb between her arms, and Hanna looked up at him without saying anything.

"That's her. That's my mom, Claudia." he told her, smiling sadly.

"She was very beautiful." Hanna commented sincerely.

"Yeah, I know. And this...is my dad, Jamie." he replied, pointing to another picture where there was a man too.

Hanna widened her eyes seeing him.

"He looks exactly like you." she whispered then.

"You think?" Caleb smiled.

"Absolutely."

They kept looking at the pictures until Hanna stopped where there was one where Caleb was in front of his eighth birthday cake and his parents were kissing each one of his cheeks. He had a huge smile on his face and all the three looked totally happy. He sighed deeply at the sight of that picture and Hanna looked up at him.

"They left me exactly eight years later. The day of my sixteenth birthday. I still can't realize I lived half of my life without them." he murmured.

Hanna closed the photo album and placed it on the coffee table before turning back to him.

"Do you wanna talk about it? Look, I don't wanna press you or anything, and if you don't want to talk I totally understand, but... If you think it could make you feel even just a little better, well... I'm here." she told him, looking straight into his eyes.

Caleb held both of her hands in his and stayed a few seconds silent before speaking.

"I wanted to make my birthday party in a pub, that year. All of my friends were doing that, and I wanted to do that too. Both my mom and dad agreed, even if it took a little to convince them. They were scared I was going to get drunk or something. Anyway, I chose a pub which wasn't in town, though, so I needed to get there by car, but I didn't have the driver license yet. So, my dad had to drive me there and...pick me up as well. You know, my mom didn't like to stay home alone, she never wanted to, so... She came with us, so both my parents drove me to the pub. I had this huge party and everything, and I enjoyed myself a lot, and then... Then they came to pick me up. I... I couldn't stop talking while we were on our way home. I told them how much fun I had had, how cool my friends had been, and... My father got distraught by all my stupid rants. I don't really remember what happened. But... Apparently, he didn't see another car, he was talking to me, and he didn't turn the fucking wheel in time, and..."

He lowered his head and put his hands on his face, breathing out deeply. He was clearly crying, silently, but he was. Hanna bit hard her lower lip and cupped his face, without forcing him to look up. She just stroked his cheeks and placed her forehead against the top of his head, trying to comfort him as she could.

"If I hadn't made the party in a pub out of town, if I hadn't talked so much while we were in the car, if I had already taken the driver license...that would have never happened." he murmured, returning to look at her, this time with puffy eyes.

Hanna then, hugged him the tightest she could, as he returned the hug.

"It wasn't your fault, Caleb. These things happen, and it's nobody's fault..." she whispered, stroking the back of his head.

"I was in that fucking car too, why didn't I die? Why did they die and I didn't? Why?" he mumbled.

Hanna didn't know what else to say. They just stayed like that for a little while before Caleb pulled away, still with puffy eyes. She had never seen him cry, clearly, and that really touched her.

"I'm sorry." he murmured, feeling ashamed.

"Don't be, Caleb. Only strong men have the guts to cry. And you have all the right too." she replied, wiping his last tear away.

He furrowed an eyebrow noticing a tear on her cheek too, then he reached out and wiped it away as well.

"I didn't mean to make you cry too, though." he whispered.

"It's fine, don't worry. I'm just really emotional." she shrugged, smiling slightly.

Caleb sighed and took her hands again.

"You know... My parents had always wanted me to become a dentist. I wanted it too, but my problem was that I didn't like to study, at all. But after what happened, I decided that I wanted to make them proud of me. I worked really hard to get where I am now. And my parents have been my strength." he continued.

Hanna smiled at him.

"They would totally be proud of you. You know what, I'm sure they are proud of you. You're such a great man, with a big heart and a big soul. Every parent would like to have a son like you." she told him.

He just smiled at her, then she asked him something.

"Did you get totally uninjured from the crash?"

Caleb pursed his lips before letting go of her hands to lift the hem of his shirt.

"I don't know if you already noticed it, but I have this scar, right here." he said, pointing to his side, near his waist.

Hanna looked there and finally noticed it.

"I think I missed it." she mumbled, a little awkwardly thinking at the several times she had had the chance to see that scar.

"A metal sheet of our car got stuck into my side and almost pierced me. My parents died on impact because they were sitting in the front, but I was lucky. I was rescued and immediately taken to the hospital. The doctors told me it had been a miracle that the metal sheet hadn't hurt any of my vital organs. I stayed in hospital for a little while, but my side wasn't what actually hurt me. It was everything else. The real pain was not physical, clearly." he explained her.

"Where did you go after that? Who did you stay with?"

"Uncle Dan, my dad's stepbrother. He basically didn't know me, but he was the closest parent I had. He still is, I guess. But as soon as I graduated, I went to college and I never saw him again. He just did what he had to, give me an house for the period I've been under his conservation. That was all I needed and asked for. I just wanted to become a dentist, that was my goal. I didn't need a new dad or a new mom or anything like that. So, when high school was over, I knew I wanted to do everything on my own. And I guess I did. It was hard, but I made it." he shrugged.

"The more I get to know you, the more you impress me by the extraordinary person you are." she said seriously.

He smiled at her.

"So... Try not to piss your mom off, alright? She loves you and she's right to get this worried for you. This world sucks and you're lucky to have her." he added.

Hanna laughed slightly and nodded.

"Anyway, I'm sorry I asked you all of these questions, but... I really appreciated that you opened up to me about something like this. I know it wasn't easy for you." she added, becoming serious again.

"It's all part of my life, Hanna. And I want you to be part of my life too." he replied, locking eyes with her.

She smiled, then she slowly leaned in and kissed him.

"That'd be an honor." she whispered after that.

A/N: Hey guys! So I'm back with a long, Caleb-centric, deep chapter :) I think this is one of my faves, and I hope everyone of you who wanted Caleb to open up with Hanna is now happy ;) Did you like their day together? Honestly, it was hard to write, especially the part where he talks about his parents' death —anyway I confess you that I totally love exploring Caleb's feelings and thoughts—, but I hope it came out good. Obviously, you guys will have to tell me this :) As usual, thank you to everyone who reviewed. It's always a pleasure to hear from you, and I'm really happy you keep enjoying this story, also because it's being really hard for me to write, but on the other hand, I'm enjoying it too :) So, that's all for now. Next chapter will start from where we left here, I didn't forget their dinner, don't worry :P I'd really like to know what you guys think, as usual, but I particularly care about this one, so let me know, alright? ;) I'll be waiting :) Also, my other story will be updated between today and tomorrow. I'm going to try to update both of my current ffs together, so that no one of you will be disappointed if they prefer one over the other :) Again, thanks for reading and for your amazing support! You're the best :) Have a good day everyone :) Love! xx -Atramea.