A/N: Hello everyone! Oh, how I've missed you all. I'm sorry about the writing hiatus, but it was much-needed. Life is a bitch sometimes, ya know?
Anyway. I want to keep this short so I'll just say this real quick: some of Aria's problem was implicitly hinted at in SESOS when Hanna found her and Jason talking outside. I've had this plot planned for a while. And sorry-not-sorry, I love Jaria. Here's a short refresher from that chapter just in case y'all are blanking:
She had hardly descended the porch steps before she caught them out of the corner of her eye, talking feverishly beneath the hibernating cherry blossom tree in the front yard.
"…of all the things to do when this is going on," Aria was venting sadly, tears trickling down her cheeks. "I don't have time to deal with this right now – and neither would my parents…"
"You have to tell him," Jason murmured, taking her gently by the hands. "It's not something you can keep to yourself. It will make you insane."
Aria shook her head fervently. "No. I can't. I'm not going to rush back into this relationship with more baggage than I had when we split up."
"But he loves you," Jason said softly. "He would want to know…to be there for you…and take care of you."
Hanna had the distinct feeling that Jason's soliloquy was dripping with hidden meaning. He reached out to affectionately tuck a piece of hair behind Aria's ear.
"It's only fair to give him that chance."
Aria exhaled with a loud whoosh, wiping the tears away from her face. She politely stepped away from Jason's hold, as if uncertain of how to otherwise let him down easy. "You're right. I should. I should go talk to him…"
Hanna chose that moment to make her presence known. With a soft clearing of her throat, both Aria and Jason whipped around to face her, looking akin to two deer caught in headlights.
"Aria," she began pathetically, "are you okay?"
Jason took a step back from Aria, as if burned by their proximity. "I'll give you girls a chance to talk…excuse me…" He ducked quickly around Hanna and back into the house, avoiding eye contact the entire way.
Hanna looked questioningly at Aria, awaiting a feasible explanation. Though the weather was slightly warmer today than it had been, the chill on the wind was still enough to make her breath come out in wisps. She wanted desperately to ask about what Aria was hiding from Ezra, but decided against invading her privacy. She would talk to her when she was ready.
Enjoy this chapter and look for another one soon!
CHAPTER 9
Toby was wonderful. He always had been, and he always would be. Spencer could hardly imagine what anybody else's reaction would have been to her need to cut their date short. Annoyance. Disdain. Frustration.
But not Toby.
He cared about the people in his life just as much as she did. And he understood the meaning of true friendship. Of emergencies – of going to someone in need.
And she loved him all-the-more for it. She had certainly needed that reassurance on the drive back from the restaurant. She had been somewhat in a panic for most of the ride, comforted only by Toby's consistent words of wisdom.
"At least she knows she can count on you and Hanna," he had insisted. "You guys will know what to do to help her. No matter what's wrong."
She knew in her heart that he was right. Aria was oftentimes a bank vault of her own secrets. She did not do well asking for help. If she had come all this way – had admitted that she needed them – that was the most important part. Spencer would not allow anyone to cause her pain. Ever. She would make sure of it.
They had hardly pulled in the driveway before Spencer was already bounding out of the truck. Toby followed helplessly behind her, steadying her shaky frame as they hurried up the porch steps. She turned to face him briefly, running her hands across his chest.
"Thank you for tonight. For everything tonight," she whispered.
His azure eyes sparkled in the starlight as he leaned his forehead against hers. "You're a good friend, Spencer Cavanaugh. It only makes me love you more."
She smiled sadly as he brushed his lips against her cold nose. They were warm and comforting.
"C'mon," he urged, pushing the door open and holding it for her. "I know you want to see how she's doing."
The living room was quiet, save for the low volume of the television. Holmes was half asleep in the armchair, stirring only when Spencer flung the door open noisily.
"Where is she?" Spencer demanded breathlessly. Toby was not far behind, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder.
Holmes sat up and pathetically stretched. He looked exhausted. Spencer couldn't necessarily blame him – his persistent anxiety had finally reached a downturn. He could breathe a sigh of relief. And now, in this brief moment of respite before the throes of pregnancy really reared their ugly heads, he was entitled to a bit of mental and physical hibernation.
He pointed lazily toward the staircase. "Hanna's room."
"All right." Spencer was hurriedly kicking off her heels on her way to the stairs, stumbling slightly as she went.
"Tell her I said hi," Toby offered pathetically.
Spencer blew him a kiss from the landing. "I love you!" she called over her shoulder.
She took the rest of the stairs two at a time, ignoring the seizing feeling in her calves. A low thrum of voices, only barely audible, was coming from Hanna's room. She couldn't help but fear the absolute worst as she grabbed the doorknob and pushed.
"Aria, what's - " She paused mid-sentence, her words lost somewhere in her throat. Aria was cuddled into Hanna's side against the head of the bed, eyes red and puffy, as Hanna toyed mindlessly with the smaller girl's hair. Another girl lay on her belly at the foot of the bed, looking up eagerly as the door swung open.
"Emily," Spencer breathed. "You too?"
The three girls were quiet for a moment. This split second of pregnant silence only worried Spencer more, resulting in her taking what could only be explained as a bounding leap onto the middle part of the bed.
"What happened? Are you okay? Who do I need to stab?"
Aria chuckled darkly through her tears, reaching out to pull Spencer into the embrace that she and Hanna shared. Spencer soaked in the scent of Aria's shampoo, a smell she had grown to miss terribly. When she let go, she leaned back against Emily to gather her composure.
"I'm fine," Aria insisted immediately. She sat up and wiped her eyes as if to prove it. "It's just…you know…your everyday, run-of-the-mill girl problems."
"Don't tell me you flew all the way out here because of PMS," Spencer joked. "What's going on?"
Aria exhaled heavily before looking to Hanna for guidance. Hanna squeezed her hand softly.
"Ezra and I broke up," she declared at last. Spencer expected to be more surprised to hear it than she actually was. Somehow, deep down, she had seen it coming.
"Why?"
"Because all men are bastards," Hanna interjected with a roll of her eyes. Emily laughed quietly, causing Spencer's frame to shake gently against her. The other three looked to her curiously, at which she blushed.
"Sorry," she muttered. "I'm just thinking about how grateful I am that I like women."
Spencer grinned. Though Emily's sense of humor was often misplaced, she appreciated the way in which she was able to ease the tension.
"It's…a lot of stuff," Aria continued blankly. "His son…my parents…my brother."
Spencer arched an eyebrow. "And all of those things relate to each other, how?"
Aria chewed on her lower lip, as if trying to decide how to best sum up a long story.
"All right. I haven't told you this. In fact, for a long time, the only person who knew was Jason…" Spencer had to fight to conceal the curiosity in her face, hoping it would go by unnoticed. If Aria saw it, she did not mention it. "But last year, Mike tried to kill himself."
"What?" Spencer cried, her voice traveling up several octaves. Emily jumped slightly behind her in surprise.
"He overdosed on some sleeping pills. Jason was the one who found him," Aria continued. "He had been working on the DiLaurentis house for some extra money, and didn't show up to work that day. No one else was home, so when Jason came by to check on him…"
There was a bit of silence as Spencer digested this. Aria took a deep breath before going on.
"Anyway. My parents had a really hard time with it. They couldn't agree on how to handle it, and things just started getting progressively worse. There was so much tension that Mike actually stayed with Jason for a while to get away from their drama."
"And how does Ezra fit into this?" Spencer pressed. She was imagining the worst and could feel her anger bubbling beneath the surface already.
"Well, Jason and I were seeing each other for a while…but then Ezra and I started talking about getting back together. I never told him what happened…but there was distance. He knew it. I knew it. He talked about wanting to get engaged, but I think the only reason he was even considering it was because he thought it would fix what was broken. My parents never supported us getting back together, and made it a habit of bringing up Jason in front of him. Which, of course, pissed him off. And then with him finding out about his son, it just all went more downhill from there."
"And Jason?" Spencer asked quietly. She knew that he was a sensitive topic between her and Aria ever since discovering that they were half-brother and sister.
"Supportive. As always," Aria muttered disdainfully, wiping at the corners of her eyes once more. "Which only makes my life that much more complicated."
Spencer inhaled sharply, taking all of the information in. By the expression on Hanna's face, she could tell that she was the last to hear the story.
"I just needed to get away for a while," Aria concluded, leaning her head back into the crook of Hanna's neck. "My parents are insane, and having both Ezra and Jason within driving distance has bad news written all over it."
"How's Mike?" Spencer murmured.
"He's fine, oddly enough," Aria replied. "He joined a support group and seems to be working through it pretty well. It's everyone else around him that can't move on."
Spencer felt a wave of relief on Aria's behalf.
"What about classes?" she asked before she could stop herself.
"Wow," Hanna mused, glancing at her watch. "It took her a full ten minutes to bring up school! I thought for sure she'd ask sooner!"
"Which means you owe me ten bucks," Emily declared.
Spencer executed what she hoped was an effective glare in Emily's direction, feeling slightly self-conscious when Emily only laughed in reply.
"Not to worry, Spence. We haven't ruined our futures," she joked.
"I'm taking some time off," Aria explained confidently, clearly having thought through the issue carefully. "God knows I need to put my head back together."
"And I'm transferring out here," Emily added. "I think we both needed to get out of state for a while."
"We've already been talking to an apartment complex in the area," Aria said. "We're going to go out there tomorrow to run our applications."
The wealth of information was enough to send Spencer into a tailspin.
"That's – that's great!" she said at last.
"Yeah. I want you both as close to me as possible while this bun is in the oven," Hanna agreed. "I need all the support I can get."
"Aww," Aria gushed, patting Hanna lightly on the belly. "Don't you worry. Auntie Aria won't be leaving you any time soon."
The girls laughed at Aria's baby talk voice, quietly enjoying the fact that they were all in the same room once again. Regardless of the circumstances that brought them there.
Spencer felt oddly refreshed. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed them, and felt somehow more complete with them at her side. She knew that Hanna was grateful as well to have additional companionship during her pregnancy – big life events like that just didn't feel right without loved ones around to share.
"All right, I hate to be the party pooper, but I need to get some rest," Aria quipped. "It's been a long day and I'm exhausted."
"Same here," Emily agreed. "I feel like I haven't slept in days."
"That's fine," Hanna said, standing up and fluffing the pillows near Aria's head. "You guys can stay in my room tonight. I'll sleep with Derek."
"Thank God," Spencer muttered. Hanna shot her a look comprised of confusion and indignance. "I mean – he'll be happy to have you back. Trust me."
And it was the truth. Spencer had been the primary shoulder for Holmes to cry on during Hanna's stint of mixed feelings, and she knew better than anyone how much he had missed her.
Hanna rolled her eyes good-naturedly, pulling Spencer off the bed so as to let Emily and Aria get situated. "You guys get some sleep. Just let me know if you need anything."
Aria was already yawning gratuitously as Emily made her way under the covers. "Sounding like a mom already," she giggled.
Hanna beamed. Spencer knew that despite the simplicity of the comment, it meant the world to Hanna.
"See you in the morning," Hanna chirped as she shut the light off.
"…And then told me there's no way she's missing out on this, and insisted on coming up here," Holmes concluded, collapsing once more into his arm chair. "I'd hate to have her go to a hotel, but I wanted to make sure it was okay with you and Spencer that she stay here."
"Of course she can. She's your sister," Toby agreed, taking a long sip of his bottle of water. "I'm sure Spencer won't mind either."
"Good," Holmes breathed. "That's such a relief. I mean, I wish she wouldn't uproot herself in the first place, but…"
"…But you're her brother and she loves you," Toby reasoned. "She wants to be here for you during times like this."
"I suppose," Holmes said pensively. "If it were up to my dad, he'd be on the next flight up here, too."
Toby chuckled. He remembered the vivacious nature of Jared Holmes, and had no doubt in his mind that he was absolutely brimming with pride at the thought of his first grandchild.
Holmes's phone started to ring from somewhere in the depths of his pocket. He groaned loudly. "If this is Shayla calling me again…" he muttered irritably, putting it to his ear without even looking at the screen. "Hello?"
Toby smiled quietly to himself. Holmes may have complained about his family, but he was well aware that he cherished them more than words could express.
"I – yes, this is Specialist Holmes."
Toby sat up quickly.
"I – well – " Holmes stuttered, the color in his face draining. Toby studied him worriedly, moving to the closer end of the couch.
"I – yes – I understand, sir."
There was a distinct glistening in his eyes now. Toby could practically feel his heart plummeting into the pit of his stomach.
"Yes…Okay…You have a good night too, sir."
Holmes pulled the phone away from his ear slowly, studying it as if it was about to explode in his hands without warning. He was purposefully avoiding Toby's eyes.
"Who was that?" Toby demanded.
"Sergeant Decker," Holmes breathed. Decker was the team leader for his and Toby's platoon.
"What did he say?"
Holmes took a deep, shuddering breath, appearing as though he would burst into tears at any moment. "He said that 1522 is in need of military police specialists." He squared his jaw and finally met Toby's gaze. "They're sending me to Afghanistan."
