Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

It'd been three years since Spencer Hastings left the town of Rosewood, three years since she packed up her bedroom and all the items she'd been given at her baby shower and accepted the offer given to her by a sister law firm of Hastings and Hastings in the little town of Blackbush, PA. She had done good work while she was pregnant and caught the eye of one of their partners, and they extended her an offer she couldn't refuse. Moving from Rosewood was difficult, because it was her home. She'd made herself there, her friendships and family, but this was a key step in growing up. And she could easily go home again, so there was nothing to hold her back physically.

As for the mentally, the emotionally, she couldn't help but think of that brown-eyed boy who she'd loved, who had fathered her child, now and then. She saw him in apple trees near her house, in the fall breeze that both warmed and chilled her, in the same eyes he'd gifted to their baby boy. She missed him and his wife dearly, but life had made its choice, and Spencer hers. There was no going back, only forward, and who knew what the future held for her and Hanna, for her and Caleb. She might see them again and love them again and raise this child with them. She couldn't say for sure, but she could dream, she could hope. She could hold on. Just a little.

As for the town for Blackbush—really a peculiar name for such a lovely, green town—it was perfect. There was a coffee shop that knew her by name and always had her order ready in the mornings. There was a gym where Spencer had made friends and toned her body. There was a single mother's group Mom had convinced her to join, and she dragged Emily with her. And there was a park where she and Benjamin could walk and play and grow, with a pond full of fish, and large trees where they could sit, and she could read to him. It was a beautiful town with interesting cases that crossed over to other cities, which opened up her schedule for travel while Aunt Aria got to babysit her favorite nephew and Aunt Emily got to take him swimming at the local community center. It was lovely and quite necessary experience for Spencer. A good one. The best one. Well, almost the best.

Spencer strolled through the park, listening to her son tell her about the fun he'd had with his caretaker at the daycare center, and she couldn't stop smiling at the sight and sound of him babbling away. He was beautiful, standing beside her, completely perfect in every way.

"Mommy, look!" He raised a chunky little finger up to the sky. "Butterflies."

Spencer raised her eyes to the blue butterflies fluttering overhead and smiled. "Yes, those are butterflies. And they are beautiful."

"Beautiful." He nodded with a wide grin on his lips.

"C'mon, Benjamin. Mommy has to get to work, but Aunt Emily is right over there."

He gasped at the mention of Aunt Emily and searched the park for her until he saw her. "Auntie Em!" He took off like a shot for her.

Emily saw that floppy haired little boy all decked out his little teddy bear overalls after a morning at the daycare center, and she dropped down to scoop him up into her arms. "Ooh, hello, Benji."

"Auntie Em." He squeezed her just as tightly—or as well as he could at his age. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." She set him down and ruffled his locks. "You got taller."

"I did! A whole two inches!" He held his arms up to show just how much that was for her, and she laughed warmly, kissing his cheeks. "What are we gonna do today?"

"Well, how about we go swimming? Then get some ice cream and go home and watch an old movie. How does that sound?"

"Yay! Sounds great!"

"What are you spoiling my son with today, Emily?" Spencer jested as she closed the space and embraced her dear friend. "How was your trip?"

"Long and uncomfortable, but I'm here now." She stepped back out of the hug. "How about you? How are you doing? You look…thinner. Not in the good way, Spence."

"I've had a couple of cases that have taken up my time, but it's fine. Really, it's fine. I've gained weight in muscles." She flexed her arm to show off the efforts of her midnight gym trips. "And he's gotten used to his caretaker."

"Some people call 'em babysitters, Spence." She grinned at her and laughed. "How is Alicia?"

"She's good. She's great with him and my schedule. She never calls in, never complains and make really good bread. You've gotta try some before you go home."

"She's been with you for…two years?" Spencer nodded. "When do I get to meet her?"

"Why would you need to?" She reached over and cupped her son's chin, smiling at him. "When you're here, Ben's with you. So why would I need her services?"

"That's true, but it's been two years. Aren't you friends enough to ask her out for lunch? I'd really like to meet the woman who's babysitting my godson."

"Oh, you're godson?" Spencer snickered. "I thought after last month with the ketchup bottle, he was Aria's godson."

"No," she muttered, "no, he's mine."

"Uh-huh." Spencer shook her head. "Alicia is a good worker, and I appreciate her, but she wants to keep our relationship professional. I know only the basics, even though my loving father sent me a complete and thorough background check of her. I haven't read it. She has no criminal record and excellent recommendations—we're talking glowing, Emily—and that's all I need to know. Besides if she'd been so terrible, Dad would have come down and beaten her off with a stick to protect his grandson."

Emily tried not to laugh at the image of Mr. Hastings chasing Alicia around the yard with a stick. He was getting up there in age, and she was a yoga instructor in her off hours, so plenty of endurance and flexibility, so it'd be funny as all hell. "That is true."

Her phone vibrated, signaling her of her meeting, and she huffed softly. "I have to go and get the donuts for the meeting, but call me with dinner plans, okay? I'll try and be available. I'll let you know."

"All right." She crouched down beside Benjamin and said, "Say goodbye to Mommy."

"Mommy, no." He threw himself at her legs and held on. "Don't go, please."

"Aww." Emily's heart broke. "Spence."

"Baby, I have to go." She pried him off and knelt to be at his height, cupping his chubby cheeks in her hands and stroking them with her thumbs. "Hey, we talked about this. You know Mommy has to work to provide for us. I know it stinks, and I'm sorry, but I will be home for dinner then I'm off for a couple days. The three of us will get ice cream and go swimming and have inordinate amounts of fun."

"Spence, he's three. I doubt he knows what inordinate means," Emily commented.

"It means excessive," he retorted rudely, unthinkingly. "I know what it means."

"Ooh, sassy today." She held her hands up. "I'll remember that when I'm buying ice cream later."

He dropped his eyes and frowned. "I'm sorry. I just want Mommy to stay."

"Benjamin, I will be there. Tonight and tomorrow and the next night and the next night. It'll be just the three of us. No Alicia. No broken promises." She squeezed his cheeks. "Okay?"

"You said that last time," he reminded her.

"And I made the mistake of not listening to you, but I am this time. Okay?" She searched his eyes and saw hope there, the very sight breaking her heart. She wanted to see happiness and excitement there, not basic hope in her keeping her word. She needed to do better. She wouldn't raise her son to be exactly like her, with the pressures her parents put on her and the space they left in her heart some days. "I swear."

He nodded, still pouting. "Okay."

She kissed the top of his head and shot a look to Emily, who nodded and assured her they'd have a good time, and she reluctantly walked away. Getting into her car and adjusting the rear view mirror, she started the ignition and headed to the local bakery. She had already placed an order there and simply had to pick it up. She was glad Gina had gotten her site to work, because it was a breeze for Spencer now—to buy coffee, to buy desserts for office meetings, to buy a birthday cake for her son—and there was no long wait, or people to bump into. It was exceptional.

She parked and jogged inside to collect her order, finding a hot coffee waiting beside it that brought an instant grin to her lips, and she looked for Gina to thank her. The bakery was more of a library than a bakery, with bookshelves lining the windows and a lounge area instead of normal seating. It was her favorite place to be. Namely why she had to join a gym, because she and Benjamin would come up here to read and relax on Saturdays when she didn't have to work. She'd gained twenty pounds when it was slow a few months back.

"Spencer Hastings." Gina stood at the top of the second floor with a cake display stand in her hands full of cupcakes, grinning down at her favorite customer. She was an older woman, in her forties, with red hair and a smile that warmed you down to your toes. She was all olive skin and legs, a little plain but her personality made up for that. She was lovely and thoughtful and one of Spencer's closest friends in this town. "Where's little man at?"

"With Emily." She tucked hair behind her ear and approached the stairs. "Thank you—for the coffee."

"No problem." She padded down the stairs and over to the counter to set the cake display stand down. "Want a cupcake? They're fresh and all naturally sweetened."

"Oh, no thanks. I have to get going." She looked over the many bright colors. "They look amazing."

"Taste even better," she tempted. "C'mon, be my test subject."

"How attractive, but I'll have to pass." She heard the bell ding and pointed behind her. "You have customers. I'm going to sweeten the coffee and be on my way. Thank you again."

"Anytime, Spence." She winked at her and greeted her customer. "Welcome to Gina's Bakery! How can I help you today?"

Spencer prepared her coffee and collected the pink box of goodies and strolled out towards her car, driving to her office and juggling everything to make it inside. She caught a lucky break at the front door and elevator door, pressing the fifth floor—the meeting floor—button and flicking hair out of her face. She was patient and definitely early, so she had no worries.

Stepping off the elevator, she moved for the conference room without thinking, her legs used to walking inside and sitting down in her black and white leather chair. She knew who would be there, and she greeted them with a winning smile and a few hellos. She noticed a few seats were empty and mainly her boss and its assistant were there. They were an overwhelming tag team, though it was odd for them to lead the meeting on her case. She didn't like the feeling sinking into her stomach.

"Hello, Spencer," Gabe greeted her. "Ooh, I know those donuts anywhere."

"They're from Gina's," she nodded. "Your favorite."

"You know me too well." He chuckled and helped himself to one. "Mmm. So good."

"What did you want to see me for today?" She moved hair out of her face and rested her hands in front of her. "I thought we were discussing the Trinidad case, but Walter and Myers would be here. They've only trusted me to research—"

"Hmm, right. Always with work on the mind." He set the half eat donut down on a napkin and wet his lips. "I love that about you, but that's also the problem here, Spence."

She gulped. "How do you mean, sir?"

"I've noticed since we snagged you from Hastings and Hastings… You've never taken a day off outside of your given days off, and even then, you mostly come in anyway."

"Yes, I wanted to show my appreciation for the offer I was given," she explained. "This position supplied me with a home, as well as ensured hours and income that blew my expectations and requests out of the water. It means a lot to me to be here."

"We know, and we're grateful to have you, Ms. Hastings." He rubbed his hands together and looked over at his assistant. "You have a son, correct? Little…Brian?"

"Benjamin," she politely corrected.

"Ah, right, that's the name. Benjamin!" He lightly tapped the side of his head and chuckled. "Now, I've seen his picture on your desk a million times. He's a cute kid. Looks just like you."

"Thank you, sir, but what does he have to do with this meeting?" She shifted her weight nervously back and forth, her heart pounding cold in her chest, and she worried she might have a panic attack if he didn't get to the bottom of this.

"We're a family company here at Blackbush and Hart, and we feel…you need to take some time off, relax and spend quality time with your son."

"Excuse me?"

"We're asking—Well, we're not asking. We're placing you on a mandatory vacation for just one week. We've transferred your files to other agents on your floor, and while you'll still receive credit for you work, we want you to dismiss them from your mind. We want you to just…take a break." He nodded his head at his own wording. "It's a paid vacation, as you've earned it, and it's…pivotal to your career here that you take this leave with a smile."

"I don't understand. I'm doing well here, excelling at my tasks, and you're forcing me to take a seat?" She crossed her arms. "Why? What's the real reason?"

He sighed softly. "You are overworked, and I made the request for a week's vacation for you. It's approved, and I want you to take it."

"You—made a request for my vacation time?" she snapped. "For all you are aware, I've been accumulating it—which I have, for a trip with my son. It's my vacation time to use or leave, and above all else, Gabriel, I'm an adult. I can decide when enough is enough. You don't speak for me."

"I apologize, but it's just one week."

She scoffed. "Well, it may be my last." She departed from the conference room and aimed straight for her car. She was infuriated. She felt like a child being punished for trying to do too much and doing that too much well. She felt she had simply stepped on someone's toes with her good work, and they didn't know how to reward her, so they were punishing her by allowing other to take her work up in her place.

And who were they to say she wasn't spending adequate time with her son. She was a good mother. It was her number one concern. She wasn't going to stand by and let some random corporate boss, who had never even met Benjamin, tell her she wasn't a good mother. Or that she wasn't spending her time with him when she was off. Or that she simply put her job above him. She wasn't going to take that, because it wasn't true. She put him and their future above all else, and she wasn't going to allow some asshole into her head and tell her those good intentions weren't sufficient.

She wished she had never stepped foot into the room with his damned donuts.

Emily and Benjamin were running around upstairs, playing alien and cowgirl, trotting around loudly and making whooshing and pew-pew noises as they went. Laughter filled the air as they played, Emily trying to capture the rowdy alien boy, who simply wanted to see Earth and its people for the first time, to collect the bounty on his head placed by the locals who didn't understand what they were seeing. An advanced playtime, but what else was expected from Spencer's kid?

"Pew pew!" Emily pointed her finger gun at him. "Stop right there!"

"Aah! You got me!" He clutched his heart. "My heart… Ugh, my heart…. No! Tell my people…I…. I…blarg." He collapsed onto the ground, groaning and moaning and grunting before he coughed a couple times and stilled, his tongue falling to the left of his mouth.

"Yes, now I can collect my bounty and be on my way." She pronounced the words with a thick, country accent and hauled him up and over her shoulder, carrying him back down the hall to the guest bedroom where she was staying and tossed him like a sack of potatoes onto the bed. "Where's my money, sheriff?"

Benjamin rolled off the bed and was about to reply when he heard keys landing in the glass dish Mommy and him had made. "Mommy's home!"

"So early?" Emily snapped out of that thought when Benjamin raced for the stairs. "Buddy, slow down." She caught him at the top and unlocked the baby gate, picking him up and carrying him downstairs quickly as he was impatient to see his mom. "Spence, hey."

"Hey." She tossed her purse onto the table and bent down to unfasten her heels. "You two look like you had fun. Alien and cowgirl?"

"Yep." Emily set the wriggling boy down. "I caught 'im good and fair."

She laughed and embraced her little boy tightly. "Did she get you?"

"Good 'n fair," he repeated the same way his Aunt Em had said it.

She chuckled again and kissed his hair. "Well, I'll beat her up. I'll beat up everyone who hurts you."

"No, Mommy, no. She won fair and square." He tugged on her blouse. "You can't beat her up."

"Tsk, all right, fine, your word is law then." She kissed his nose. "Let's make dinner. What sounds good?"

"Mac and cheese with chocolate milk!" he chittered. "Please, please, please!"

"How does that sound to you, Em?" Spencer glanced up at her. "Yay or nay?"

"I'm game. I'll boil the water." She removed her cowgirl vest and marched into the kitchen to begin preparing water.

Spencer and Benjamin joined her, Spencer climbed onto a stool while her son went to play in the living room while dinner was being made, and Emily pulled her hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of the food. She decided to make some chicken nuggets as a protein to the meal, Spencer assured her Benjamin would approve, and Benjamin ran around the living room at top speed.

"Slow down, baby." She turned to be part-way facing the kitchen and part-way facing the living room. It was all baby proofed, and he couldn't hurt himself, but it was still manners, and he needed to calm down. She hoped Emily didn't give him any sugar. "Benjamin."

"Okay." He threw his arms up and down and walked in a circle.

"I wonder if he knows he's going to get nowhere that way," Emily whispered.

"Shh, it's his imagination," Spencer hushed. "Let it grow."

"Aww, look at you being a mom." Emily teased, "How adorable."

"I am a mom, and I think I rock at it. Thank you very much." She crossed her legs and rested her chin on her knuckles. "Hmm. I miss Aria. We should plan an away trip, just the four of us."

"We always say we'll plan a trip and never do," Emily reminded her. "But yes. I know a cabin north of Rosewood with a lake. We'll catch some rays, swim in the water and cook out every day. Just us."

"That sounds like heaven. Could I have it now?"

"Sadly, no, but you can have chocolate milk in a wine glass." She presented the jug of chocolate milk like it was a bottle of wine. "Be all fancy with your milk."

She busted out laughing at her. "Oh, God, Em, stop." It was deep-bellied laughter, rocking her to her core and dusting out all the old spaces. She needed to laugh like this, but no one had been able to bring it out of her. Benjamin could always make her laugh, but she needed an adult laughter moment, and she'd gotten it. It'd taken the muck off this yucky day. Fuck, it felt so good to struggle to breathe due to laughter.

"Maybe you should lay off the chocolate milk for now." Emily placed the jug back in the fridge and began to stir the boiling noodle water. "You okay, Spence?"

"I'm perfect." She watched her little boy spin in circles and giggle. "Hmm…how's Hanna doing?"

"Spence," Emily warned.

"What?" She turned her eyes back to her best friend and rubbed her knee. "I'm curious. She was my best friend for most of my life. I…wonder now and then."

"If we can't tell her about you, we can't tell you about her. It's the deal we made with both of you, all right? Don't make me be the one to break it." She pointed down towards the cabinets. "Colander?"

"Right side cabinet."

She bent down and opened a forested cabinet door, finding the silver colander inside. "Ah."

Spencer leaned over the counter towards her. "How about Toby? Are we allowed to talk about him? How is he doing?"

"Ha ha." She stood up with the colander. "He's doing well. He's opened his own side business, Cavanaugh Carpentry. He's still a full-time cop, but he does his work on the side, obviously. Um, he's happily engaged to Yvonne and is dying to come out and see his favorite little man."

"Benjamin misses him, too. Uncle Toby." She grinned at the name. "When's the wedding?"

"This fall."

"Oh, so soon. I have to… I dunno, send flowers?" Her nose wrinkled. "What do you send your ex as a wedding gift?"

"I haven't crossed that bridge, so I can't say." She drained the noodles and began adding in the packet of cheese, the measurements of milk and butter and stirred it up. "I'm surprised you don't have some organic, super food here."

"I would, but the boy only likes Kraft. I've tried gourmet mac and cheese recipes, but he rejects them. The kid is super picky on about mac and cheese—and his chicken nuggets." She smacked a hand lightly down on the counter with wide eyes. "I've had to order fast food nuggets before going out to a nice dinner with him, because he's so picky, Em."

She snorted a laugh at the look on her face. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. I don't know where this kid got his taste buds, but they didn't come from me."

Emily paused on that comment and began, "You know, Caleb's—"

"Don't." She cut her off instantly at the mention of his name. "Not in my house, not in my city, not in front of my son—just don't."

She sighed. "You'll have to face him eventually. What if he wants to meet Ben? It's his son, too."

"Yeah, and he made his choice when he stood me up at dinner and then made no attempt to contact me when I was pregnant. I lived in Rosewood for thirteen months, and I never ran into him. I never heard from him. He wanted nothing to do with Ben then, so now if he does want a relationship then he'll have to earn it. Him, not you."

She wet her lips. "Okay. You're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, just don't mention his name here." Her eyes found her son's face as he played with his toy trucks. "Toby is more of a father to him than Caleb."

"Well, I agree with you there, and I have finished the macaroni and cheese, so let's bust out the chocolate milk and check on the nuggets."

She forced a smile. "Sounds good."

"Of course, it does." She called to Benjamin, who looked up from running over a firetruck with a monster truck, and she held up his favorite sippy cup. "Here you are, handsome."

"Thank you." He ran over and accepted the cup, chugging it.

"Slow down. That's all you get," Emily reminded him, and he stopped drinking it entirely. "C'mon, Mommy will make the plates, and we'll go sit down."

"Thanks, Mommy."

"Ach, Em." Spencer dropped her feet to the floor.

"What? I cooked. I did my part. It's your turn."

"No, that's fine. You have to have him wash up for dinner, please."

"Oops, Auntie Emily forgot." She guided him towards the downstairs bathroom. "C'mon, sweetie."

Spencer prepared three plates and two glasses of chocolate milk, setting the table and catching her reflection in the mirror. She often thought about Caleb but never lingered there. It broke her heart to think too long about him. She loved him as a friend and lover, and he hurt her in both ways, deeply, and she wasn't sure she could forgive him. It would be her choice, of course, seeing him and forgiving him, but she wasn't there yet. She needed time. He let her down, and it wasn't only her—it was their son. How could he do that to his own flesh and blood?

"We're back and ready to devour an entire plate, right?" Emily carried him into the room. "Ben?"

He said nothing with wide eyes and a shoulder shrug.

"At this point in my day, I'd take half a plate." Spencer motioned for them to follow into the dining room. "You won't believe my day."

"Oh, that's right; you came home early. Why is that? Not that we mind, though, right?" Emily set him down in his chair, and he grinned happily at the sight of the food and his mommy. "Or don't speak at all. It's cool."

"Dinosaurs!" he roared and plucked a nugget off his plate. "Roar!"

"Or just don't speak to me." Emily sat down and laughed. "Roar!"

He bit the head off the dinosaur. "Numnum."

Spencer played with her food and rehashed the events of her work "meeting", Emily didn't seem to get the issue, and Spencer was too drained to go into detail with it. She played with her food and wondered if it would be so bad to take some time off and simply enjoy time with her son.