"Toby…"

The room was quiet and warm from the candles that danced small colorful lights among the walls of the loft. He had popped the question, a very much unexpected question. Sure, she was twenty, and he was twenty one, but was she ready for this? She could feel her heart beating against her chest, her hands sweaty and shaky. Marriage, marriage. She loved Toby, she knew that. But she felt this heavy weight in her chest, out of fear. Fear that –A could possibly ruin this. Ruin everything like he/she/it/bitch had before. But she knew he would never leave her, he would always protect her. Toby's eyes searched hers, as she closed her eyes, thinking…

Spencer and Toby were lying in the back of the truck. It was night time, only the sound of the steady breeze against the pine trees. She was leaning against Toby, a blanket around them, a set up of pillows in the back of his truck. The area was just a forest, an open range full of tall grass where Toby had parked the car. She enjoyed these small moments with him, just being with him in general. She shivered as the night breeze hit her arms, and she cuddled in closer against Toby, his body her forever warmth against the colder world. He looked down at her, smiling. "Cold?"

Spencer shook her head, no. She reached around his waist, breathing in his familiar leather and cologne scent. Toby pulled her closer, laughing gently as she shivered again.

"I can grab another blanket from inside the truck; I don't want you to freeze out here"—

But Spencer quietly cut him off. "I'm fine, really Tobes. Thanks."

She loved that he was always making sure she was comfortable, but she also hoped he would care for himself too. She wanted him to be happy as well, not just her. But, he was everything to her. If there was a heaven, then Toby was her guardian angel. She saw it in his eyes, in the way he held her, in the way he kissed her. She thought about their future, what it would look like, where it would be, but she knew she didn't care. She loved him. She just wanted to be with him, that's all she would ever need.

"What are you thinking about?" Toby asked, looking down at her, her expression thoughtful. "I'm thinking about us." She answered truthfully. Toby smiled, moving so he could look into her eyes. "What about us?"

Spencer smiled back at him and she sat up straighter so she could look at him while she talked. "About our future, where it'll be, how… I don't know, was just thinking." She shyly ended the thought there, and she looked down at her hands. Toby reached over, and touched her hand with his, then holding it. "I know, for a fact, I'll go wherever you go. And when you're my wife, I'll be the best husband I can for you. I promise you that. I promise you forever, if you want." Spencer smiled, tears surely in her eyes, stars shinning down at her wide and happy eyes. "I love you." Toby whispered, pulling her into him slowly, kissing her gently. "No matter what Spence."

"I love you Toby… Yes. Yes, I do." Spencer said loud and proudly, and Toby smiled, his eyes glowing like never before. He slowly rose, and he pulled Spencer against his warm chest, and she hugged him with her arms around his waist. "I love you Toby." Spencer felt more tears going down her cheeks as she held him against her. She was going to marry him. If she was going to marry anyone, she knew it was always going to be Toby. She loved him, and she was ready to be his wife for as long as she would live. Toby pulled away, and kissed her. She placed her hands on each side of his face, and she laughed gently. Toby looked at her, and he laughed softly back, and he took her left hand, and took the ring, sliding it gently onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly. Spencer took a few moments just to stare at the ring that now lied on her finger. It felt like it was always meant to be there. Toby stood in front of her, and he lightly pulled her in for another hug. "I love you so much Spence." Spencer squeezed him against her lightly, closing her eyes. "I love you too."

Spencer then closed her eyes, just letting the moment sink in. His hands were on the small part of her lower back, and she could tell he was smiling. "Spencer Cavanaugh." He whispered. She laughed. "I like it."

Toby pulled back, and she felt tears in her eyes. She tried to wipe them away. "Is something wrong?" Toby asked his hands on her waist. His eyes furrowed, as if he was trying to read her mind. "No, no. This… this has been the best day of my life." Spencer smiled at him, and Toby smiled a half smile, kissing her forehead, and then looking back at her. "So, what now?"

Spencer laughed, and then she pulled away, and then sat on the couch. "What now." She whispered. She looked to her right, looking outside of the window. Light snowflakes danced down around the wind, she could tell the air was cold. But off in the distance she could see sunlight. Maybe everything was going to be okay. Maybe she could live happily now. No Alison, no –A. But she had to be honest with herself. Alison was still somewhere out there, and so was –A. Until her and her friends could find real proof that Ali was –A, their nightmare would certainly not be over. And that was what scared Spencer the most. That even when she was with Toby, even if she was with her friends, she feared –A was still out there, plotting, scheming, and laughing a hideous laugh.

Spencer looked away from the window, back down to her ring on her hand. Spencer sighed. Toby sat next to her, touching her knee. "Spence, is everything alright? If you're not sure about marriage, I don't want you to feel"—

"No, Toby, I do want to marry you, I know I do. I love you. I'm just worried…" Spencer couldn't look at Toby in the eye. She didn't want to discuss –A on Christmas. Especially since Toby proposed just five minutes ago, she didn't want to bring this up. But Toby was already worried. "Worried about what?"

Spencer sighed, before swallowing quietly, and pulling her knees to her chest, looking at Toby. "A."

At that one letter, Toby froze, and then silently sighed, reaching behind Spencer, and pulling her gently into his side. "I won't ever leave your side Spence. I won't ever let –A hurt you. I promise." Spencer nodded her head, but argued back, "I know Toby, I know. But it's not me I'm worried about. It's you. What if –A or Alison, or whoever this bitch is, tries to hurt you?" Toby looked at her, saddened eyes, and he looked down, his arms tightening around her as Spencer continued to talk, "I don't think I could ever live with myself if something ever happened to you…" Toby snapped his eyes back up to her, and he stroked her back with his fingertips lightly. "Spencer, don't you ever say that. It's not ever your fault, okay; I don't you to ever apologize for something –A does." Spencer felt her tears welling up in her eyes, and she looked at Toby. "I just don't see how this is going to work."

Toby looked at her, confused at first, but then he pulled himself closer to her. "What do you mean?"

She placed her head against his shoulder, and cried slightly. "Everything. How am I going to live a normal life if –A is still out there? I just… I don't know how I'm going to be able to live normally."

Toby shook his head, and he looked seriously into her eyes.

"Spencer Jill Hastings, you're the strongest person I've ever met, maybe even the strongest soul in this world. I swear to you, I will protect with every ounce of my soul, and I promise I will do everything I can to help you, to catch this bastard, to make you happy. I know I'm not the smartest guy, nor the richest, but I will not give up on fighting for our future, or for you."

Spencer closed her eyes, still crying slightly, his arms soothing her waist and her back. "I believe you Toby. But there's one thing that is true, it's that nothing will be normal until –A is stopped." Toby stiffened, but then she felt him nod. "I know. And that's why I'm not going to stop looking. But Spence, all you can do now is try to live normally. Even though –A is out there, we can try to be happy, hell, we will be happy. My beautiful wife." Spencer smiled at that response, and pulled away from him, looking at him. "Thank you Toby. And I look forward to that." Toby smiled, but then his eyes grew concerned again. "Are you feeling better? Seriously Spence, I know you've been through more than normal people go through in a lifetime." Spencer touched Toby's hand, and he grew quiet, waiting for her reply. "I'm okay. I mean, yeah, I'm worried, but I'm happy. I'm engaged to the best boyfriend in the world, I'm just going to focus on that." Spencer dried her tears away with her palms, and she got off the couch, Toby following. "Seriously, all these gifts are too much, especially with this ring, like holy crap Toby, this ring is pulling me to the floor!"

Toby laughed, but shook his head as he headed for the kitchen. "No returns, no refunds Spence. That's all yours." Spencer rolled her eyes sarcastically at her boyfriend, wait, no, fiancé. "Okay then fiancé!" She called back. She caught Toby smile at that remark, and he was starting to heat up some water. Spencer went to the table, and sat in a seat where she could face the kitchen. Toby walked over to the table, and sat in a seat near Spencer. "So, when are you going to tell your friends?" Toby asked. Spencer breathed out. "Wow, they're going to freak out, haha, ummm. We could gather all of them tomorrow night, cause they're probably all celebrating Christmas today." She thought of her parents at that moment. "Wait, Toby, do my parents know?"

Toby smiled. "Your dad was quiet reluctant to give in, but he came around." Toby smiled slightly, then looked at her. "Was he hard on you? Ugh, I knew it, I should talk to him"—

"No Spence, it's fine. He just wants to protect you."—

"Protect me? He's done a great job at that!" Spencer snapped back, a little too harshly. She saw Toby look down, his eyes unreadable. "I'm sorry, it's just… You're the one good thing in my life, I wish he could see that as well as I can." Toby looked back at her, holding one of her hands. "But he said yes, didn't he? I know he must like me, at least, a little bit."

The thought of her dad and Toby brought back the last memory she had of them two in the same room…

The awkward silence was unbearable. It was always like this around them; especially when Mr. Hastings sat across from Spencer and Toby at the dinner table. Toby was never a huge fan of her dad, Spencer could tell. But Mrs. Hastings was more close to Toby, with when Spencer was on drugs, when Toby would help her with the yard, small things like that. But her dad on the other hand was… a bit colder. Not in a sense, mean, but just harder to get a connection with. So, as it was snowing outside, this is what you called a Hastings dinner. Spencer had finished college, and her parents wanted to have a dinner with them, well, Melissa was invited, but she hadn't heard from Melissa ever since she fled from Rosewood after Spencer found out Melissa was the one who buried Bethany Young, thinking Spencer had been the one to kill her. But, things were so complicated between them now, Spencer was sort of glad Melissa hadn't had showed up for the dinner.

Toby sat next to Spencer, while her parents sat across from them. Spencer suddenly felt her hands go numb, and she felt like she couldn't really talk at all. She hadn't seen her parents in awhile, but she was sort of glad to see they were doing fine. In a sense, they were fine. Toby saw her uncomfortable look on her face, and he cleared his throat. "Well, I think this dinner looks great!" Toby exclaimed, smiling at her parents. Mrs. Hastings smiled in return, her eyes glowing. "Thank you, Toby. It was all my secret recipes here tonight. And with Spencer's help, right Spence?" Spencer snapped her head up at her name, and she nodded at her mom. "Yeah, it was nice spending time with you, uh, both of you." She stuttered, looking at her dad. Her dad looked at Spencer, as if he was trying to read her, before asking, "So, how has school been going?"

Of course he asked about school, Spencer thought. That's all he seemed to really care about: What her grades were, how her tests were going, and if Toby was earning a lot of money. Blah, blah, blah. "It's going well, I think I'm really starting to get into design." Her dad cocked his head, his eyes narrowing. "Design? I never thought design was really, hmmm, beneficial."

Spencer rolled her eyes. What a homecoming this was. Toby saw Spencer look down, as if she were disappointed in herself. Toby lightly touched her knee, giving her a meaningful look, before speaking up for her. "I think whatever Spencer chooses to do in the future will be amazing, just like her. I've seen what she has done with my loft, it's pretty impressive, I must say." Spencer smiled at him for him speaking up for her, and she heard her dad swallow loudly, before narrowing his eyes at Toby. "Is that so? I don't think Spencer has ever brought up living with you at your loft."

Mrs. Hastings smiled as if she was going to laugh and Spencer could see why. Her dads face was turning red, and Spencer thought it was actually kind of hilarious. "I'd love to see what you've done with the place, Spencer." Mrs. Hastings yipped, taking a sip of red wine from her glass. Mr. Hastings turned to her, angry. "Veronica, are you not upset, even just a little, that our daughter is… is living- with Toby?!" Spencer hated when her dad talked about her like she wasn't in the room. It pissed her off.

Spencer finally spoke up after she felt she had enough of her father ignoring her presence completely. "Dad, you do know I'm sitting right here?!" Spencer snapped. Her Dad looked at her like she had just threatened him. "Spencer you think you are going to live with Toby without our permission, well, then you are wrong." Toby interrupted as Mr. Hastings talked. "She's in college! After all the things that have happened to her, the least I can do is offering her someplace to stay." Mr. Hastings looked from Toby, to Spencer, then back at Toby.

"Well than she could've stayed here, at her home!" Spencer cut in, tired of the fighting. "Like I was welcome here. Dad, this is my decision, not yours!" Her Dad stopped for a few seconds, looking at Spencer, at her stomach, then at her face, then back at Toby. Mrs. Hastings stayed quiet, and she looked like she was about to cry, keeping on an unreadable face.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?!" Her Dad boasted out. Toby and Spencer both yelled out at once, "What?!" Spencer looked at her dad, angrily. "I am NOT pregnant Dad!" Spencer hissed through bared teeth, and Toby seemed to be sick. "Really? Why else would you be moving in with your boyfriend at that age? How long have you been pregnant, tell me!"

Spencer stood up, throwing her napkin down. "Unbelievable. You're unbelievable, Dad, you know that?!" Spencer had tears in her eyes, as she walked furiously out of the dining room, while Toby quickly followed her. Spencer slammed the yard door open from around the kitchen and she ran out. She already could feel tears running down her cheeks. She could feel Toby's gentle presence behind her, and she curled her arms tightly close to her chest, feeling like sobbing. She felt his warm hand grip around her elbow, and he gently turned her around, leaning over to wipe the tears off her face. It was nighttime, the small glimpse of the pale white moon above. Crickets hummed around them, and there was also the faint sound of Spencer's small cry. "All I want is for them to be happy for me. That's all."

Toby coiled his arms around Spencer's waist, pulling her head into his chest gently. "It's not your fault Spence. They love you Spencer, I know it may not feel like it to you, but they do. They do." Spencer doubted it. She sniffled quietly against Toby's chest. "God, I can't believe my Dad would say something like that. That I was 'pregnant'? What kind of assumption is that?"

Toby sighed. "Spencer, he was just mad at himself. He doesn't understand us. He's just trying to apply his knowledge to reasoning for you living with me, but he can't see how much I love you, or how much you love me. Just give it time Spencer, he'll come around." Spencer laughed sarcastically. "I hope so."

They stayed there for a few minutes. "Can we go?" Spencer asked. Toby sighed. "You sure you don't want to at least try to talk to them?" She could tell he didn't like ending things like this. But Spencer couldn't face them again now. "No, I can't. I just can't now."

"Okay." Was all Toby said, but it was enough. He understood. Sometimes, it seemed like he was the only one who understood her better than she did. Or anyone else. Just one of the many reasons why she loved him. "It wouldn't be that terrible, would it?" Toby whispered. Spencer looked up for a second at his face, pulling away slightly. "What do you mean?"

He seemed shy. "I mean, being pregnant… I mean, then we'd get our little newborn with a six-pack." Spencer was standing there with a hanging mouth. "Toby! There's no way I am getting pregnant, at least not now, not until we're married"—

"I'll take that into consideration." Toby joked, smiling joyfully at her. Spencer shook her head. "Never mind, god, no baby talk until I'm twenty five, okay?" Spencer exclaimed, her hands uncomfortably around her stomach, as if she was going to be sick. Toby looked curiously at her.

"Twenty-five, huh?" Spencer nodded. "Well, things may change later, but yeah, definitely not until I much MUCH older." Toby hesitated, "Having a kid's a great thing." Spencer looked more concerned at him.

Why was he talking about this NOW? Was he trying to hint he wanted to have baby with her? Oh, God, she was definitely not up to that. No way. "Toby, I know it is. Just… I'm not ready to be a mom. Not now." Toby laughed, kissing her forehead. "I know Spence, I'm just messing with you. No Mommy tasks till twenty-five, okay, now let's go!" Spencer rolled her eyes, and she laughed as Toby held her hand, leading her back to his truck. She knew he could always make her feel better. She kept thinking about a little Toby running around, she knew it'd be a scary thing, but she'd have Toby when it was happening. But she knew that wasn't going to happen for another solid six years. At least, that's what she thought then.

"You're right." Spencer replied gently. "I mean, how can he not like you?" Spencer smiled, kissing his cheek. Toby smiled gleefully at her, standing up. "You hungry, Spence?" She stretched her arms and legs, then replied with a yawn, "Yesss"

She stretched out her back a little bit, she could hear Toby beginning to turn on a burner, then she smelt the aroma of bacon filling the room. She smiled down at the ring on her finger. She was engaged. She was going to get married. She was Toby's fiancé.