A/N - Thanks for the reviews! Hope you keep enjoying the story :) :)
Spencer awoke to the heavenly smell of coffee wafting through the house. She looked over at the clock, it was only 6:15 - there was no reason for Toby to be awake so early. Her parents had not yet returned from their extended vacation, which meant the house rarely breathed before 10. Spencer dragged herself out of bed and down the stairs. It was the beginning of August, which meant only a few more weeks of blissful summer, but the house was cold. Toby always kept the thermostat set at 70 for her, she had become prone to waking up terribly hot.
"Toby?" She called out, sleepily.
"Down here," He replied from the couch, he had been watching the news. Spencer looked up at the television. Her heart momentarily stopped.
"The discovery of his body was made late last night by a construction crew set to re-pave Wallerville road." The newscaster explained, the caption underneath? 'The mystery of missing Ian Thomas has come to an end.' "Last winter, local Rosewood teens claimed they had been attacked by Mr. Thomas, and he had not been seen or heard from since the incident. A note was found with the body, the sheriffs department released a copy of the letter"
"I told you so - A" Flashed across the screen. Spencer gasped.
"Oh my God," Spencer could barely breathe. She sat down next to Toby, her legs giving out from underneath her.
"Spencer, you don't need this right now." Toby looked over at her, concerned, "This means nothing."
"This means 'A' wasn't lying. They knew we would see this," She held her hand to her head, "Have the police called? Have you heard from anyone?"
"No, I haven't - but Spencer, you need to relax, okay? This isn't good for you, or for her," He pulled her towards him, lightly stroking her belly, "Until you hear otherwise, this has nothing to do with you, or your friends."
"We were the last ones to see him alive, do you honestly think the police aren't going to question us?" Spencer asked, looking up at him.
"You already told them what happened. You're seven months pregnant, and under too much stress as it is. I won't let them touch you." He held her to his chest, "The doctor is already worried about an early labor, and if you don't relax I'm going to be worried too."
Spencer sighed.
"What do I do, Toby?" She asked, looking up at him, "How did everything get so fucked up?"
"I don't know.." His voice trailed off, he felt movement from Spencer's belly, "Look, she's telling you it's okay, that you're both going to be just fine" He grinned at her, hoping it would make her smile. Spencer shook her head, rubbing the side of her stomach.
"I don't know how much more of this I can take, it's just been one disaster after another." Spencer laid her head down on Toby's shoulder.
"I know," He said, quietly. His worry was very apparent to her, and it scared her. The only thing she had going for her was that she was telling the truth. He stroked her hair as she fell back into a restless sleep.
The questioning from the police came and went. They couldn't make an arrest, they had no evidence, but the girls knew they were being watched very closely. The story had become national news, and the four of them had began to receive random Facebook friend requests, twitter followers, even mail. Some were supportive, others were hateful. Spencer had even received letters from families wanting to adopt her child to save her from the fiery pits of hell. It made her sick to think that this was the world she was bringing a baby into. The girls could barely leave their homes without receiving hateful stares, rude comments, and irrational questions.
"Spence, you okay?" Hanna asked, touching her friends arm lightly. They had all taken to spending nights together, including Toby, in the Hasting's barn. Spencer was approaching her due date fast, and none of them wanted to take any chances. Spencer sighed and nodded. The pair sat out behind the barn.
"Just uncomfortable. And sick of feeling this way." She felt huge, sleep had stopped coming easily. School had started up again, and being the student that she was she refused to take any time away from the classroom until after the baby was born.
"You know, I've heard that this is the worst part," Hanna popped a grape in her mouth, "Towards the end, that is."
Spencer nodded,
"Yeah, tell me about it." She stretched her legs out, "I can't even see my feet, but I know they're the size of Texas," she groaned.
Hanna chuckled,
"You still look pretty, if it helps," She smiled at Spencer reassuringly, "It'll be over soon"
"Considering I've been having contractions for days, I would hope so," Spencer sighed. Hanna looked at her sharply, "Don't worry. It's normal. They're called braxton-hicks. No worries until they get stronger. I promise."
Hanna relaxed a little bit.
"How does it feel?" She asked, curiously, "I mean, to have a life inside of you. I can't wait to have kids. Pregnancy just seems like such a magical thing."
"It's pretty amazing, I'm not going to lie to you, if I could change it I would have waited until - well, for a long while. But now that I've been through it I feel - I don't know… stronger?" Spencer said, thoughtfully, "It's just this feeling of love for this person you've never met - I can't even explain it." She looked down at her belly, "I just hope that she knows that, always."
Hanna smiled at her,
"She will, Spence. None of us will ever let her forget how much you love her. How much we ALL love her. She has a lot of people in this world pulling for her." Hanna reached over and put her hand on Spencer's stomach, "You're a lucky kid," she said, "Are we calling her Sierra, for sure?"
Spencer nodded,
"Sierra it is," She sighed, "Toby loves the name, and I think it's very pretty. Very not Pennsylvania…" She shrugged.
"I agree. Just glad you didn't choose some hipster name like… Moonblanket.. or whatever they're naming kids these days." Hanna laughed,
"Oh please, Han, you know me better than that," Spencer rolled her eyes.
"Hey, you never know," Hanna laughed, she stood up and gave Spencer a quick hug. "If you need anything let me know, I'm going to go shower real quick."
"I'll be fine, Toby should be here any minute," She smiled at her, "Hey, thanks for being a good friend. You have all really made this so much easier than it would have been. I don't even know how to thank you guys."
Hanna smiled at her and shook her head,
"Don't mention it."
Spencer jerked awake from a nightmare. Her palms were sweaty, she felt a pang deep inside her stomach. She couldn't quite put her finger on what the dream had consisted of, but she knew it had been terrifying. She felt the pain from within again. Her mind began to race… could it be time?
"Toby?" She whispered, he groaned in his sleep. Spencer sat up, she walked to the side of the loft and peered over. Emily, Aria, and Hanna were sleeping peacefully on the lounger. She walked back over to the bed and shook Toby a little harder.
"Spencer?" His eyes opened, he sat up quickly, "What's going on, are you okay?"
"I.. think I'm in labor," She said quietly, hugging her arms to her chest.
"What? Are you serious? Now?" He jumped out of the bed, pulling a shirt over his head. Spencer winced, and steadied herself on the edge of the bed.
"No, Toby, next Tuesday," She managed, "Yes, now!"
He grabbed her waist and pulled her up against him.
"Hey, just breathe, okay? I'll grab the suitcase, we've got to get you to the hospital," He wasn't sure if he was telling her to breathe, or he needed the reminder himself. She nodded against his chest.
Spencer woke the sleeping girls. They shuffled into Spencer's SUV, Toby in the drivers seat.
"Drive fast, please," She took a deep breath. The pain was bad, very bad. She'd never experienced anything quite like it. They arrived at the hospital within fifteen minutes. The next few hours were a blur of doctors, IVs, and a lot of pain. Aria, Emily, and Hanna waited anxiously outside of the delivery room for what felt like forever.
"This is crazy, when my aunt had a baby they wheeled her in and twenty minutes later I had a baby cousin!" Aria threw her hands up in the air and looked at her watch, "It's been almost two hours! And where's Toby? He hasn't told us anything!"
"Calm down, we're all stressing too much. I'm sure everything is just fine. She's seventeen. It's a bit different from when your aunt had a baby." Hanna sighed, she too was a little nervous.
"I'm sure Toby would have told us if something was wrong," Emily bounced her knee. They sat in silence for another half an hour, all the while exchanging nervous glances and reassuring grins.
Toby emerged from the room. The girls looked up at him expectantly. His face was tear stained, his hair a mess, but a huge smile was plastered on his face.
"She's perfect," Was all he could say.
