Spencer winced as she sat down on her bed. To say that Charles had been angry as hell after Hanna escaped was an understatement. Each of the girls had scars on their bodies as proof of what he felt. Aria's face and neck, Spencer's back, Emily's arms and Mona's legs were all covered with them. He had made sure to keep them updated about Hanna's accident in NY and her following demise.
Truth be told, the girls had fallen apart when they heard the news about Hanna's death. It was then that they had stopped fighting Charles and submitted to his will. The girls lost track of the time they had spent locked inside the doll house. Charles had allowed them to go outside it from time to time to see the sunlight.
Spencer suspected it was his way of telling them how much time had really passed. By allowing time outside on their own during their birthdays or as a group during special occasions such as Christmas and Easter. He had been a master at twisting the knife inside their hearts by reminding them how much time passed since they had last seen any of their loved ones.
...
Hanna looked at Caleb, unsure how to explain what she remembered about her pregnancy. Caleb, on the other hand, looked as if he would soon turn blue from holding his breath. Mac just shook his head at them, clearly entertained by Hanna's sudden quietness.
"So you are capable of being quiet? I'm amazed. Usually you are so outspoken and I remember quite clearly your workers fear your tongue lashing at them."
-"Dad! That's a little embarrassing, but I suppose it's also the truth." Hanna relaxed while Caleb grinned at her.
-"I'm glad that you haven't lost that trait. It was one of the things I always loved about you. You were not scared to tell people what you thought. You were quite straight forward about things like that."
-"Abby got that gene from me. Unfortunately, she has the talent of getting into trouble due to her sharp mouth. She is a good judge of character and doesn't trust new people around her easily. Maybe children are more perceptive of the way adults feel and behave than we give them credit for. Or maybe that's just something Abby does naturally. I am quite sure, however, that it's not something she inherited from me."
-"Were you in a lot of pain when you gave birth to her? What about mood swings or cravings? How did it happen?" Caleb crossed his arms, leaning on the counter watching Hanna with attention.
-"I didn't have mood swings or strange cravings. I did eat a lot of pizza and ice cream though while I was pregnant. I was with Jessie, with Detective Angell, and Lindsay, another member of the CSI team, when my water broke. They took me to the hospital and I was lucky to experience a fairly short labor. By the time the rest of the CSI team showed up at the hospital with Mac 2 hours later I had already given birth."
-"We had no idea you were pregnant when you went missing. I had no idea about any of this. I'm sorry about the way things happened. I'm sorry I missed all of that and that I wasn't there to support you through it all." Caleb's voice was filled with sadness and guilt at missing out all of those experiences related to their child.
-"I've never felt more terrified than when I was giving birth to Abby but I've also never been more determined to protect someone as I was when I first held her in my arms. She was all I had and I would gladly go to hell if it meant protecting her."
-"You're not alone anymore, Hanna. No matter what happens I'll be there for you both." Caleb held her hand and stared at it.
-"Dad, I think you should go get some rest. As far as I remember you got off a 12 hour shift before driving here." Hanna eventually remembered to turn her head and look at Mac.
-"You should try and get some rest as well. We're probably going to need it." Mac walked up the stairs while Hanna waited for him to reach the guest bedroom. "I have an idea on how to stop A, but I need to know something, Caleb. Alison, you don't like her much, do you?" Hanna turned her head to face Caleb while he headed over to her and rubbed her shoulder quietly.
-"I don't like her and I don't trust her, Hanna, and neither should you. Everything that has happened relates to either her family or Radley Sanitarium. And I don't want to see you get dragged into this mess again. Which is exactly what's gonna happen if you let Alison walk back into your life."
-"I know that, Caleb. Which is why I need your help as well. I need her on my side if only to throw off A from my tracks. And she's the only who has ever been able to keep up with A's game before."
-"Fine. I don't like it, but I'll play along. But make no mistakes I'm not going to let you get in danger because of her again. You are not putting yourself or our child at risk for her. Are we clear?"
Hanna smiled and hugged him. She raised her head to look at him while Caleb's arms wrapped around her body crushing hers. Caleb lowered his head, their lips meeting in a kiss that made the time around them stop as Hanna's hands crossed behind his neck, bringing him closer to her. Eventually, Caleb released her and taking her hand he escorted her back to her room. He left her after placing another kiss on her lips and headed to his guestroom.
Hanna got little sleep that night. Every time she closed her eyes there would be flashes of a dark hallway appearing in front of her eyes. She had been dreaming about that place before. It had haunted her for years.
Sighing, she got out of her bed and lit the scented candles in the room. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember any details about that place where she was held prisoner years before. She eventually managed to doze off, falling in a restless sleep.
-"This is A's dollhouse and we're his dolls." Spencer's voice came as a distant memory.
Hanna shifted in her bed, waking up suddenly. She felt her heart beating against her ribs, a cold sweat covering her body. Brushing her hair from her eyes, she noticed that the sun was starting to rise. Turning her head to look at her former dresser she was struck with another distant memory.
"Hey, it's me, Hanna... I keep replaying the past few weeks over and over again in my head, trying to pin point the exact moment that I lost you, wondering if I could've done something differently. But... I just wanted to let you know that it was the best year of my life."
Sighing, she got out of bed and headed down the stairs. Walking inside the kitchen, she noticed everyone else was already up and waiting for her. Ashley smiled from the coffeemaker while Caleb narrowed his eyes at her. He quickly realized that she probably remembered something else.
-"So Hanna, how does it feel to be here? Did you get a good night's sleep?" Ted smiled at her, taking a sip from his coffee.
-"It feels weird, actually. I didn't get much sleep." Her answer didn't surprise anyone. "And you all look as if you got as much sleep as I did."
-"It will pass now that you're finally back home. Though it's probably going to be a long while before I'll be able to adjust to the idea that you're finally back." Ashley closed her eyes, trying to stop herself from crying. Caleb had spent countless hours trying to comfort her.
Seeing Hanna walk in the police station the day before had really made Ashley understand what Alison's family felt like when they found out that she was alive.
-"I'm going to head over to the police station and try to help Jessie figure out what happened years ago and who's behind your kidnapping. We're gonna find that person and your friends, Em." Mac finished his coffee and, then excusing himself, left after placing a kiss on Hanna's forehead.
After he left Ashley cleared her throat, looking at Hanna. "What are you planning on doing today, Hanna?"
-"I think I'm going to check up on Abby and then I'll take a tour of Rosewood and see if I get any memories back." Hanna wondered when lying to her mom had become second nature to her. "Actually, I was wondering if you had the time, Caleb, could you come with me?"
-"Sure. I would love to. It's probably best for you not to go out all by yourself. Not as long as A is still out there." Caleb answered before taking his plate and washing it. Hanna ate some fruit and drank a cup of coffee before heading back up the stairs to get dressed. Caleb waited for her patiently at the bottom of the stairs. He was surprised to see her return in less than 15 minutes.
-"What? It's not like I was going to take forever getting ready. I had to make due with limited options. Shall we? Mom, we're going out now." They then left the house while Ashley watched them leave from the kitchen's entrance.
Hello lovelies,
How are you guys doing? I want to apologize for the delay in updating. I had a busy week doing some overtime hours because I had the stomach flue on Tuesday. I couldn't get out of bed for half a day, much less do anything else. I loved every single one of your reviews. You guys really kept me on my toes with them. We're finally almost one with the hiatus. Now I'm just as curious as the lot of you about the way the girls escape the dollhouse.
I will say this as a foreshadowing. I may end up using the canon way of getting away from the doll house as a means of rescuing the girls. But the way Hanna escaped is dark and twisted an you're gonna kill me for it. It will so shake up Haleb and what you think you know so far of some of the characters. I'm saying this now so that you may adjust to the idea. Now I hope you guys liked this chapter and remember to review and let me know what you think will happen next.
Nico.