Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long, but I've been busy! I hope this chapter is worth the wait :). Next chapter will be up around 130 reviews, okay? It shouldn't take so long again.

The second memory in this chapter is a continuation of the first memory in chapter 10. You can go reread if you want, but it doesn't matter too much. Just wanted to let you know haha.

And I have to take a second to shout out my sista from another mistaaaa's new account, TheSweetHello. My stupid (read that in the most affectionate way possible) best friend finally decided to stop trolling your stories and leaving guest reviews and make her own account. And she just posted her first spoby story (Sanity's Requiem) and it's AMAZING. I almost don't want to share with you, because she's a better writer than me and will steal you all away haha! But whatever. Go leave the bitch (affectionate) a review.

Chapter 13

TPOV

He was back at his apartment, but he didn't want to go inside. He sat on a bench in front of the main entrance and hid his face in his hands. He was feeling slightly sorry for himself, and he was already regretting what he had said to Spencer. Who was he kidding? That girl owned his heart, and he couldn't live without seeing her in some capacity, without knowing that she was alright.

But if he was honest with himself he was feeling the most sorry for Spencer. In the past six years she had exponentially grown as a person. She wasn't the scared little girl who couldn't stand up to her parents. She wasn't the girl that stayed with Alex out of obligation. But she couldn't remember the steps that she had taken to better herself. She couldn't remember how utterly brave she was. She didn't remember that she was better off without them, and that just broke his heart.

He traced gentle, abstract designs along the inside of her forearm. Swirls and stars and hearts. Nothing of importance, he just needed to touch her. He needed to remind himself that she was still there. Sometimes he couldn't fathom how lucky he was that he had her, but he would work every day to become worthy of her love. He would never forget that she chose him, despite the fact that she could have any guy on the face of the planet.

"Spence? Are you feeling any better?"

She moaned and shook her head, burrowing it deeper into his chest. He was struck by just how hot it was. "No. I'm starting to wonder if I should maybe go to the emergency room."

He couldn't help but mentally agree, but he knew that if he told her that she should go she would immediately deny it. She was stubborn to a fault and had to make this decision on her own. "Whatever you decide to do I'm here for you, okay?"

"It's just a fever though," she mumbled. "They'll probably laugh at me and send me to CVS to get some cough medicine."

"You already have cough medicine, sweetheart," he said softly, referencing the nasty red goop that Hanna had fetched before fleeing to his and Caleb's apartment. "It doesn't seem like it's helping much."

A loud, hacking cough forced it's way through her whole body and out her exhausted mouth. He tightened his grip on her lest she do something stupid like pull away. "Come on, Spence. Let me take you to the doctor. You could be seriously sick." He ran his hand up and down her spine, hoping to provide some sense of comfort.

She sighed and sank more deeply into him once her coughs subsided. "Okay," she rasped out. "But I think I can drive myself. You don't have to come if you don't want to."

He snorted. Stubborn to a fault. He lifted her slightly off of him and wrapped the thick comforter around her shoulders, wanting to make sure that she was warm enough. "Can you walk or do you want me to carry you?"

"Not on my death bed, Cavanaugh," she mumbled as she pulled herself out of his arms and shakily stood to her feet. "But come along if you must," she attempted to tease, but it kind of fell flat at the pained look on her face.

He pulled himself up and wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. "You know how much I love you, right?"

"About half as much as I love you," she murmured, leaning more heavily into him.

He gratefully took on her weight. He'd much rather carry her than watch her struggle to walk, but he knew she'd never let him. "Do you want to call your parents?"

"I did right before you got here," her voice took on a sad quality that he didn't like. "My mom told me to make sure I didn't let it effect my grades and hung up."

He didn't understand her parents. He didn't understand how the two people that were supposed to love her the most didn't see the beautiful, loyal, intelligent, incredible daughter that they had created. He didn't understand how they could treat her with so much indifference and disdain. "I'm sorry, Spence."

"Don't apologize for something you didn't do," she said softly. "You're the only one who makes it better. As long as I have you I can get through anything Toby, even if I won't admit it at the time. Just never leave me, okay?"

"You're stuck with me, baby. Forever." He dropped a soft kiss to the top of her head as he approached the truck. He was sure that he loved Spencer Hastings more than any other human being on the planet. He was sure of it, and now it was time to take her to the hospital, because seeing her sick was killing him.

It looked like he was breaking all of his promises lately. He told her he'd never leave her. He told her that they'd be together until death parted them. And he meant it. He still meant it. Spencer just came at him in a moment of weakness. Nothing gave him the right to talk to her like that, to blow up at her. But he had to let her know that he didn't mean it. That he couldn't live without a part of her in his life.

He didn't know when he stood up, but apparently through part of his thought process he had began walking in the direction of the restaurant. He could only hope that Spencer was still there, because he couldn't imagine being welcomed into the Hastings' house or he would have gone there earlier, rather than having sent Hanna.

"Toby!"

He looked up from the ground and was able to briefly take in Hanna's vehicle before something small launched itself into his arms. He reflexively tightened his arms around them before he looked down and realized that it was Spencer. "Spence?"

"Oh Toby," she murmured, burying her face in his neck. "Toby, I'm so sorry."

"What are you talking about?" He was genuinely confused. What did she have to apologize for? He was the one that needed to apologize.

"For everything. For leaving, for kissing Alex, for making you think that I don't feel anything for you; because that's not true at all. I've been making all the wrong choices right now, and I'm so sorry." She pulled away to look at him, and he was horrified to see tears in her eyes.

"No, Spencer this is my fault. I've been handling everything wrong, and I'm sorry. It just hurt so much, but it wasn't your fault. And I-"

"Listen to me," she said softly, a tenderness that he hadn't heard since the accident saturating her voice. "You are the only person in my life that has cared for me unquestioningly, supported me through everything, and made sure that I knew that this wasn't my fault. And God, Toby I just- I don't know how to thank you enough for that."

"I'm glad you feel that way," he matched his tone to hers. Because he suddenly had an idea. If it didn't work he didn't know what would. "because I never want to hurt you. I always want you to know that I'll be there for you. But I think I need to do things differently now. I think that instead of telling you stories I need to just show you how we were together. So Spence? Will you go on a date with me?"

Her worried face broke out into a grin. "Right now?" She laughed.

"No time like the present," he smiled and took her hand. He walked the two of them over to Hanna's car. "Thanks for bringing her back to me, but I've got it from here."

Hanna laughed and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. She paused to whispered in his ear. "Be careful with her, Toby. Something's going on with her. You'll see what I mean." She pulled away and did a U-turn in the middle of the street before he could ask her what she was talking about.

"So where are we going?" Spencer asked.

He shook his head and diverted his attention from Hanna's slowly shrinking car to the shivering girl on his arm. He shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped it securely around her shoulders. "Back home," he smiled. "We had a very specific idea of what we liked to do when we spent time together."

She looked curious, but to her credit she didn't ask any questions. They walked together in a comfortable silence. He had always been a quiet guy and a bit of a loner because he felt uncomfortable trying to make conversation with people. But with Spencer it was just so different. He never felt awkward around her, whether they were conversing or just enjoying each other's company.

"The stars are bright tonight," she murmured as they approached the apartment. "You usually can't see them so well in the city."

"You were always a bit of a nerd, Spence," he laughed, teasing her the way he used to. He wasn't going to treat her like she was made of glass anymore. That did nothing other than make her feel needy and weak. He would treat her like he always had.

She laughed and hip checked him. He grabbed the door frame like she had actually pushed him, and he was rewarded with a loud peel of laughter. His smile only grew at the sound. Her laughter had always been the most beautiful sound in his world. They walked up to the apartment together. Once he had the door unlocked and opened he turned to Spencer and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. "Why don't you call and order us some Chinese. The number is 8 on your cell phone's speed dial. I'll go grab the Scrabble board and something to drink, alright?"

"Scrabble?" She grinned. "No one will ever play Scrabble with me."

"It's kind of our thing," he explained, fighting to keep the smile off of his face. One of his favorite memories in the world was her disgruntled reaction when he beat her for the first time. Maybe he could recreate that this evening.

He sat up straight as he heard the key card slide into the slot. She had been gone for awhile, and considering everything else that had occurred this evening he was worried about her. But when he saw the bright smile on her face some of that worry dissipated. She really seemed alright. "Hey! Where'd you end up going?"

"Walmart," she wrinkled her nose disdainfully. One of the side effects of a privileged childhood was an immense dislike for all things Walmart. "It was all that was open. But it doesn't matter because I got the supplies that we need." She chuckled and began to pull things out of the bags one by one. "Coffee, duh. Some energy drinks in case we want a new flavor to our caffeine fix. Some magazines. There's a really great article on page 17 of Carpentry Today. You should probably check it out. Snacks. And, of course, Scrabble."

"Spence," he said softly. He had to try one more time. "You can go back to your house if you want. It's your family, and it's Christmas. I can just stay here."

She shook her head and crawled across the bed to brush a light kiss across his lips. "I love you. They'll always be my family, but I love you. I won't ever let anyone talk to you like that, family or not. You don't deserve to be treated that way by anyone, and I'll always defend you. I promise you that. We'll have our own little Christmas here and then go back to Hanna and Caleb tomorrow."

"I don't want to be the reason you're fighting with your family, Spencer," he murmured, looking down that the sheets. He was touched beyond belief that she'd stand up for him like that, but he knew what it was like to not have a family. He didn't ever want Spencer to feel like that.

"You're not," she assured him. "They are. I'm done keeping my mouth shut and letting them treat people however they want. They will not talk to you like that, and they won't tell me how to live my life. Not anymore. Now can we please play so Scrabble? I'm in the mood to kick your ass," she laughed.

He shook his head with a smile. They had never played Scrabble together before, and the girl was in for a bit of a rude awakening. Scrabble was his game. But it would be more fun to see her reaction after he won.

She chewed on her lip for a moment before smiling broadly. "Glyceraldehyde. And with the triple word score I believe that's 74 points for me."

He bit down a laugh as he organized the word he had been waiting for. "Goofball. Thanks for the G, I was waiting for it. With the bingo bonus that's 104 points." He grinned as she sighed in annoyance and wrote down his points. She was such a sore loser, and he was finding it impossible not to find it completely and utterly adorable.

"104 points," she huffed. "Good for you."

"Spencer," he laughed, not able to keep it in anymore. Pissing her off was kind of fun. "There aren't anymore letters, so I'm pretty sure that means I won, right?"

She shook the bag, making sure, before she grudgingly nodded. "Yeah. Good job, Cavanaugh."

His soft smoke broke out into a wide grin. "It was fun kicking your ass."

She looked disgruntled for another second before smiling and pushing the board aside. "You know what else would be fun?"

"I think you're about to show me..." he trailed off as her lips attacked his own.

He sat the board up on the coffee table. Every time he saw Spencer looking away he poked through the bag until he found the letters of his choosing. If he was going to recreate a memory for her he only had one shot to do it. "Pick your letters, Spence." He passed her the bag as soon as he was done cheating and she was off the phone.

She nodded and pulled out her allotment of letters. "Chinese will be here in 45 minutes or so. I didn't know what you liked, so I ordered a little bit of everything."

He didn't even like Chinese, so that worked. He only ordered it because he knew it was her favorite. But even Spencer with her memories didn't know that. "I'm sure you got something that I'll like. You want to go first?"

She nodded, thoughtfully glancing over her letters, arranging them into probable words. He smiled at her focused gaze and got up to pop Titanic, her favorite movie, into the DVD player. He had seen it more times than he could count with her, but tonight wasn't about finding his own enjoyment, although it was hard to imagine not enjoying the time he spent with Spencer. Instead he wanted to remind her of the things that defined the person that she became without having to verbally tell her.

"Titanic, huh?" She laughed as she looked up from the word that she had laid out on the board. "I wouldn't have thought that you enjoyed a good, tragic romance."

I don't sweetheart. It's all for you. But he couldn't say that to her. Instead he smiled and glanced at her word. No G, damn it. "Young, pre-chubby Leo is hard to resist," he muttered something he heard Hanna say once. He had no idea what it meant, but apparently it was funny, judging by the laughter that poured from Spencer's lips.

"Heard that," she laughed. "Now play your word so I can get back to kicking your ass."

Usually he was the one doing the ass kicking, but if she didn't play the letter he needed he was going to lose miserably. He laid out a short word that didn't screw up the letters that he was saving and pulled a few more out of the bag.

They went on like that for a few rounds, Spencer putting out long, high scoring words, and Toby putting out short words and silently praying for a G. They only took a short break to grab some drinks and silverware for the Chinese, deciding to just eat it straight from the cartons.

He was starting to give up hope when it finally happened in the most ironic was possible. Spencer played off the C that he had just put down. "Glyceraldehyde, and I think that's 74 points."

He had to work to control his emotions, this time not because he wanted to laugh, but because he was worried about crying. He organized his letters and sat them out, smiling slightly as he even ran across a triple word score like the last time.

"Goofball?" Spencer asked him in a soft, almost weak sounding, voice.

He looked up at her in concern, just in time to see her sway slightly. He reached across the coffee table to grab her arm and steady her. "Are you alright, Spence?"

"I just thought- um- yeah I think so," she muttered, still not looking at him. She hadn't taken her wide, brown eyes off of the letters. "How many points?"

"104," he said softly, watching her vigilantly. Something was going on. "Are you sure that you're alright?"

"Yeah," she said as she wrote out his points. "Hey, I was planning on going back to my house tomorrow to get my stuff so I can come back here, but my parents are having a party. I think I should probably attend to soften the blow before I leave them again. Will you come with me? Hanna and Caleb can come too if they want to."

"Of course," he replied without hesitation.

"Good, because Alex will be there, and I don't know, I just-"

"Say no more. If he tries anything I'll take care of it, okay?" After she had explained to him what really happened he was actually quite proud of himself for staying, for not going and kicking his ass right now. No one would touch her against her will. He was absolutely certain that his background with Jenna gave him more intense feelings on the subject, but regardless, it would happen again.

She just looked at him for a second, something unfathomable in her eyes, before leaning across the table and kissing him. He was shocked, but responded almost immediately. It felt good. It felt as familiar as anything ever had, like their lips were made only for that purpose.

But before it got too intense she broke away with a soft gasp. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I don't know what-"

"Shhh," he murmured, brushing her hair back and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You never have to apologize for something like that. If you didn't want to then I owe you an apology. But never doubt that I always want you, baby."

Her eyes widened and she nodded frantically, looking down at the game board to hide the blush on her cheeks. No matter what his mind was telling him, he couldn't help but see this as progress.