Chapter 10

Taking A Few Risks

Spencer paced the hospital, waiting for hours. The doctors said Hanna would be just fine. They said that she was dehydrated and was suffering from malnutrition. It appears that Hanna's been going back to old tendencies because Caleb would see her eat. But he failed to notice how pale and tired she'd been over the few weeks.

The thought made him sick with guilt because he couldn't tell something was wrong with the love of his life. Spencer and Toby tried to comfort him, but to no avail. He was with Hanna right now in her hospital room and wasn't going to be leaving her side anytime soon.

"Spence," Spencer stopped her pacing and looked up to see Toby walking towards her with coffee in hand."I got you this. I thought you might need it."

"God, you must really love me." She said as she took the coffee from his hands and gave him a kiss to show her appreciation."How's she doing?"

He grabbed her hand to lead her over to some chairs. They sat down and he let out a deep breathe.

"She's better and she told us why she was doing it after Caleb forced it out of her."

"Why'd she do it?"

He gave her a sympathetic look and shook his head."You don't want to know."

"Toby, yes I do. Tell me."

He squeeze her hand tightly before he said."You need to go back there and see her."

"I can't. I'm feel like I'm partially responsible for why she did what she did. I never meant for this to happen."

"Hey, look at me," He demanded in a serious tone and she lifted her head up to look him straight in the eye."this is no ones fault. You can't blame yourself for this just because you and her were having problems at the time. All you need to think about right now is going back their to let you best friend know that you're here for her and that you love her."

She nodded her head slightly because she knew he was right."You're right. You always know the right thing to say."

"I'm just looking out for you, babe." He leaned over to tenderly place a kiss upon her forehead. He moved down to kiss her nose and then pulled back to look into her eyes."Your best friend needs you."

Spencer leaned up against the wall across from Hanna hospital room. She'd been standing there for a few minutes, working up the courage to go in there and see her friend. It's weird to see Hanna in the hospital because she's always so strong, but today someone else has to be strong for her.

Aria and Emily were in there with Hanna right now because Spencer peeked in when the nurse went in to check on Hanna. The only one missing now was Spencer and she knew she needed to be in there for her friends. She gathered all of her courage as she walked over to Hanna's door and opened it.

Flowers and 'Get well soon' ballon were scattered all over the room. Aria and Emily were sitting in chairs on each side of Hanna. They looked happy and so did Hanna even when Spencer came into the room, she was still smiling.

"Hey, Spence." Emily acknowledged her and Aria sent a wave in her direction.

"Hey, guys." She waved back and then turned her attention towards Hanna."Hey, Han."

"Hey." She said simply and this is when things got a little awkward. No one was saying anything and everyone was avoiding eye contact.

Until, Aria had enough and said."Alright, are you two gonna make up now because even though I am team Sparia. I can't help but love team Spanna just a little bit."

The uncomfortable silence in the room was broken by the laughter of Emily and it just continued all throughout the room. Spencer crossed the room to stand closer to Hanna's bed. She gently picked up her hand and held it tightly in her own.

"I'm so sorry, Hanna." Spencer whispered sincerely as she just let a few tears fall from her eyes.

"No, I'm sorry. I never should have gotten upset about something as stupid as getting married in the same month. I was overreacting because the wedding is getting closer and closer and I'm stressed-"

"Shhh, it's okay, Han. Just relax. We're both sorry and we're okay now. That's all the matters." Spencer said to comfort her and it seemed to work because Hanna smiled wider and squeezed her hand as a sign of gratitude.

"How's Amelia doing?" Toby asked Ezra as they were sitting in the waiting room, waiting on Spencer and Aria.

Caleb had been in the waiting room for only a few minutes, but left almost automatically. His friends knew why he left because he'd always had a problem with talking about what he was feeling and he knew his friends were gonna ask. They were okay with him not staying because they understood that a man needed his space everyone once in a while.

"She's doing great, really great. Ella and Bryan have her for the day, so it's been a little quiet around the house." Ezra said simply as he leaned back into his chair to get more comfortable.

"That's good. You'll have to let me and Spence babysit sometime. How is Ella and Byron doing?"

"Ahhh, not good. They're really worried about Mike. He's gotten into a little trouble at his college and they kicked him out for the rest of the semester. He's gonna be staying with Aria and I, taking online classes."

"Jeez, what'd he do to get kicked out?" Toby questioned and Ezra gave him a small shrug on the shoulders.

"He's been getting into fights again and his parents found out that he stopped going to see his counselor for weekly counseling session, so they're getting him a new one."

"Poor Mike. I'm sure he'll get back on his feet again in no time." Toby encouraged.

"Yeah, I hope so because he's a really great kid."

A few moments of silence fell upon them until Ezra putting on his thinking face. He turned to Toby and cocked his head to the side before he whispered to him."Have you noticed something different about Emily?"

The question caught Toby off guard, he wasn't expecting Ezra to ask him anything. He hoped that his body language or facial reactions wasn't giving anything away. He vowed to keep Emily's secret until she decided to tell then. She promised him that she would tell them very soon.

"Uh, I-I haven't noticed anything about it."

"Come on, Toby. I can't be the only one who's noticed it. She's tired all the time, she barely eats, and she's not herself. The girls may not have noticed yet, but I have."

"I'm sure that Em's fine. Maybe she's just stressed out with school and the swim team." Toby lied and he hated lying to one of his friends, but he was trying to protect his best friend.

"I know stressed and I know when something isn't right. There's a difference, Tobes. I just thought I should let you know because you're her friend and I think she needs you right now." Ezra said and before Toby could comment on his statement, he stood up and walked away without another word.

"You have no idea how much she needs all of us." Toby guilty whispered to himself as he slid down in his seat on defeat.

Toby had to admit that he's been on edge lately. It's been three days since Hanna was released from the hospital and was safely at home resting. The girls and Caleb all agreed that it would be best if she started talking with Dr. Sullivan again and surprisingly she did too.

Thing that had Toby all out of whack was the fact that Emily still hasn't told the girls about her recent health problems. She told him that she wanted to wait a few days until Hanna was feeling better and then she'd get everyone together and they'd talk about it. Well, today was finally that day.

Spencer was in their master bathroom getting ready for an outing with the girls. Toby was sitting anxiously on the bed with Snow curled up in his lap and Tiger sleeping across his long legs. She may have thought he was going to work today, but he was secretly going to meet up with Emily and then they'd go and talk to the girls.

"I should be back in a few hours." Spencer said as she stepped out of the bathroom and walked over to her side of the bed to retrieve her purse.

"Cool." He said simply and she looked up at him with a questioning look.

"Are you okay? You're not sick or anything, right?"

"No, everything's fine, babe."

She still had that questioning expression on her face. He smiled at her to ease her worries. It seemed to work because after a few moments she weakly grinned back at him and looked away.

She grabbed her things and then walked over to Toby's side of the bed and bent down so they were at an eye to eye level."Do you want me to bring you lunch when the girls and I are done?"

"Nah, me and Caleb are getting lunch today. I sorta promised him."

"Okay, I better watch out before Caleb steals my fiancé." She teased as she leaned over to kiss him tenderly before she stood and headed for the door.

"Hey," He gently grabbed we wrist and pulled her back over to the edge of the bed."I love you."

"I love you too." She said back solemnly and kissed the top of his head.

He listened as she left out of the room and left out of the house. He waited for her to start up the car before getting up out of bed.

"Sorry, guys, but I've got to get ready to go." Toby said as he picked Snow and Tiger up in his arms. He stood up and then placed them back on the bed.

He walked into the closet to pick himself out some clothes. After gathering his things, he headed into the bathroom for a quick shower. As he was turning on the water his phone started buzzing on the counter. He looked at the caller I.D. and furrowed his eyebrows at the number.

"Nicole?" He said his secretary's name questioningly. Why would she be calling him when she knew he wasn't coming in today?

"Toby, we have a bit of a problem."

The girls had a very busy day today. Spencer just thought they were gonna have lunch, but then Hanna wanted to go look at stuff for the wedding. Then Aria saw the cutest little baby clothes that she just had to buy. And then it just turned into a whole day of shopping from place to place. The girls were beat, but Emily seemed more tired than the rest of the girls.

"Em, are you okay?" Hanna asked once the girls had finally sat down in the Grill for a late lunch.

"Yeah, it's just been a lot of walking today that's all."

"Oh, swim practice must have you beat." Aria suggested and Emily seemed to frown at that prediction.

Spencer wanted to ask again to make sure she was okay, but before she could someone walked through the door. It was Toby and that was odd because he said that he was going in to work today.

Spencer stood up as he approached the table."Hey, I thought you had to work. Is something wrong?"

"No, Spence. Just sit and we'll explain." He instructed and Spencer was confused by the we part of his sentence.

Still, she down back in her seat next Hanna and watched as Toby pulled up a chair next to Emily. She furrowed her eyebrows at them when they gave each other knowing glances.

"Okay, what's going on you two?" Aria questioned because Spencer wasn't the only one that noticed their odd behavior.

Toby grabbed Emily's hand and held it tightly in his. He nudged her a little a sign to just spit it out.

"I...I have cancer." Emily said in a shaky voice and let out breath of relief after getting that of her shoulders.

The girls were quiet. They were just looking at her and just trying to make sense of this in their heads. This couldn't be happening.

Hanna laughed and everyone looked at her like she was crazy."Em, you can't have cancer. You're supposed to be a bridesmaid at mine and Spencer's weddings, your supposed to be swimming like an all-star up at Stanford, and your supposed to be looking into adopting a baby with Paige. This has to be a joke, it can't be real."

Spencer knew this stage of grief. Denial. Hanna and Emily always had a special bond and Hanna couldn't believe that this could happen to someone she loved. Nobody could believe it because how could something so horrible to someone like Emily.

Spencer looked over towards the other side of Emily where Aria was sitting. She was crying with her head in her hands. This stage of grief was acceptance.

"We'll help take care of you, Em." Aria whispered as she grabbed Emily's other hand.

"No, we won't!" Hanna snapped as she stood up from the table with tears in her eyes."We don't need to take care of her because she's fine. She's not sick she's too strong to be sick."

"Hanna-" Spencer tried to talk to her, but she stormed out of the Grill with tears in her eyes. That stage was a mix of Anger, Denial, and Acceptance.

"I'll go try and talk to her." Aria said as she stood up from the table and followed after Hanna.

"Spencer, you haven't said anything. I'd like to know what's going on your head." Emily said

What was going on in her head? That had to be a trick question because a lot was going on in her head. How'd Toby know? How long had he know for? Why didn't Emily tell them as soon as she found out? Why is everyone keeping secrets?

Spencer stood up from the table and went around to Emily's side of the table. She bent down to pull her friend into a tight hug and let the tears pour out. She pulled back to look into Emily's eyes.

"I'm gonna be here for you, Em. We all are because we love you. You're gonna get through this." Spencer said and wiped away the fallen tears on Emily's cheeks.

"Thanks, Spence."

Spencer stood back up and looked over at Toby. He knew she was upset with him for keeping something like this from her. She didn't have to say it, but he saw it in her eyes. The was nothing he could do now the secret was out and there was no going back.

Toby dreaded going home. He knew that she was upset with him when he saw the look in her eyes at the Grill. He was thankful that Hanna and Aria came back before she had the chance to rip into him.

Hanna and Aria were taking the news better after taking a little walk. Hanna wouldn't leave Emily's side the whole lunch and Toby knew exactly why. She didn't want her friend to just disappear. Hanna, Aria, and Spencer were not gonna give up on their best friend.

Toby stayed for only a little bit of the lunch and then met up with Ezra, Holden, and Caleb for a few games of pools. They even ran into Jason at the pool hall and be joined them. Jason told them he was gonna be Mike's new counselor. Toby may not have liked Jason's sister, but he knew that Jason was a really good guy at heart.

Toby pulled his truck into his driveway and turned it off. He stepped out of the vehicle and cautiously walked up the porch steps. He walked through the door and was immediately jumped on by Tiger and Snow.

"Sorry, guys, I can't okay right now." He patted both of their heads and went in search for his fiancée.

The house smelled oddly of bleach and he knew why. When Spencer was upset she'd clean or be doing something productive. Sure enough when he passed by the laundry room she was in there putting in a load. He stepped inside the room, but kept his distance to give her a little space.

"Spencer, I'm sorr-" He was going to apologize, but she turned around and flung herself into his arms.

He was shocked at first, but he held her close. Her arms were wrapped around his waist with her head snuggled into the crook of his head. He heard her whimper and slightly sniffle and he knew she was crying.

"Shhh, it's okay. Everything's gonna be okay." He kissed the top of her head and continued to hold her.

"I love you." She whispered against him and squeezed him tight.

He held her all night long that night. He lit a fire in the fireplace in the living room. They laid on the floor with blankets and pillows just holding each other. That was all they needed.

Toby woke up the next morning feeling a little stiff. It's been a while since he's ever had to sleep on a hard floor. He looked around, but Spencer wasn't lying next to him anywhere. He sat up quickly and was instantly hit with the smell of bacon.

He groggily stood up and walked towards the kitchen. When he got to the archway, he saw her standing over by the stove with her back to him. She was making breakfast like it was just another day, but he knew she was just doing to stop herself from worrying about Emily. That's when an idea popped into his head. An idea that would give them a little room to breath.

"Let's go on a vacation." He said out of the blue and that caused Spencer to stop her current actions and turn around to face him.

"What? Toby, please, I don't feel like joking around today."

"No, I'm serious." He entered the kitchen and walked over to her. He grabbed her hands in his and brought them to his lips to place a gentle kiss on them."A break is just what we need. A break from all our issues, a break from all the drama, a break from our necessary problems. All we need is was just a little mini vacation."

"Toby, I can't. I have school, our wedding to plan, helping with Hanna's wedding, Aria just had Amelia, and Emily is really sick." Spencer said, but Toby knew that she was just making up excuses. She always put others before herself, but not this time.

"We don't have to go today. I have to take a business trip for three days next week and then when I get back me and you are going on a week long vacation."

"Business trip? You've never had to take one before why now?" She questioned and he just shook his head.

"It's not important." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his chest."Just think about it. You, me, and a beautiful beach."

"A beach? Where exactly are you trying to take me, Mr. Cavanaugh?"

"It's a surprise, but I can tell you that it's on a beautiful island. All you have to do is say yes to paradise."

Is it the best time to take a break? Would her friends and family really need her that much? She could always take her school work with her, right? She looked into his eyes and they were so hopeful and happy. She couldn't turn him down and she never really could even if she wanted too.

"How could I say no to that? You and me in paradise...it's a date."