That last chapter got less reviews, but I suppose you guys are still pretty great. :). Lots of greatness, for sure.

I won't bore you, so we'll just get right on with it!

Next chapter has tears, a dark part in Toby's past, and an appearance by an unwelcome individual! Oh and a small realization by Spencer :)

Chapter 7

The wind was howling outside as she drove to her parents' house. The weather directly corresponded to her mood. The raging wind was like the rage inside her very soul. Rage at Toby for making her doing this, and rage at him for being the cause of this pain to begin with. She knew that it wasn't his fault, but that didn't change what she was feeling right now. Rage at her parents for being the kind of parents she dreaded going to see. And just rage at the world in general, for making her their punching bag.

She pulled into her childhood home and briefly considered turning around and driving away. She could just tell her parents that she got sick. And honestly, it wouldn't be a far stretch. She still hadn't gotten past this apparent stomach bug. She had already thrown up twice this morning. But no. She couldn't do that. She couldn't refuse anything he asked her to do. Especially now that he was gone. Especially after the way he had tried to ensure that she would be okay. No, she would do this for him.

Leaving the apartment had been especially difficult this morning. She was making more attempts to come across as a normal person. Part of that effort consisted of not wearing men's clothes. But there was only so much progress that one could make in a day. She wore one of Toby's undershirts underneath her dress. She just couldn't bear to not be touching a part of him.

This entire day was just bringing back memories that she would have rather kept buried away. Before climbing out of the car she closed her eyes and thought about the first time she took Toby to meet her parents.

"You don't have to do this."

"Spencer, calm down." His voice was soothing as his hand latched onto hers. "I want to."

She sigh and carefully led him toward her house. She purposely didn't look at him. She didn't want to see the shock on his face as he took in the size of her house. Her parents had money, that was for sure. But that didn't change who she was. That's why she didn't bring people to meet her family until she was certain that they liked her for who she was. And even then, she carefully avoided their faces until the shock died down.

She had miraculously managed to avoid the inevitable meet and greet between her parents and Toby for the half a year that they had been dating. But now that time had passed. If she kept putting it off he would begin to think that the problem was with him, and that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Spencer," he sighed and pulled her off course and around the side of the house. "Listen, I don't know what you're so worried about, but I'm 100% positive that everything will be fine. They can't be nearly as bad as you're implying."

No, they're worse. She hoped he knew what this meant for her. She had never brought a boy back to meet her parents before. Hell, she barely brought Emily and Hanna around. This was huge for her. But the thought of Toby meeting her parents was enough to make her stomach turn in fear. This wasn't going to end well. "I- I hope so. Just ignore everything they say, okay?"

He nodded. He was still clearly confused, but he was unwilling to argue further. She sighed again and pulled him the rest of the way into the house.

"Spencer?"

She rolled her eyes at the sound of her mother's voice. Who else would it be? No mom, it's an axe murderer come to chop your heads off and steal all of your money. "It's us," she replied softly. Just the mere presence of her parents was enough to bring out her insecure side.

"Hello dear." She gave her a soft smile before turning to Toby. "And you must be my daughter's allusive boyfriend."

"Toby Cavanaugh, m'am." He replied promptly, sticking his hand out for her to shake.

She took his hand in hers and shook it briefly, raking her eyes up and down his body, from head to toe. Had she not been certain that her mother was checking for designer labels that move would have made her increasingly uncomfortable, as she knew that the older woman had a habit of flirting with younger men. "Pleased to meet you," she replied stiffly.

Toby was dressed well, but it was what he could afford. He wasn't of the same economic class as they were, and that didn't bother her in the slightest, but apparently her parents were a different story. She ducked down to catch his eyes and mouth a quick apology. He looked confused, but the reassuring smile that he gave her was as warm as it ever was. He wasn't mad at her.

Dinner started off fairly well. Toby and her father had a relatively successful discussion on carpentry. Spencer couldn't enjoy the dinner because she was too busy keeping vigilant watch over her parents. This was going too well, minus her mother's inappropriate examination of his clothing. She couldn't help but think back at the times that they made Hanna feel badly about herself because her parents were divorced, or the time they vehemently discussed their opposition to war even though they knew fully that Emily's dad was away in Afghanistan. Her parents were not the kind of people who made other people feel comfortable.

"So, Toby tell us about your family."

There it was. That was the invasive, inappropriate question that she was waiting for. "Toby, you don't-"

He shook his head with a soft smile, effectively cutting her words off. "No it's alright. I'm not ashamed of them. My mom died a few years ago, and my dad just recently remarried."

"How did your mom die?" Her mother's question was much more nosy than it was sympathetic.

Spencer shot her mother a warning glance before turning her eyes back on Toby just in time to see a spasm of pain work its way through his face. "She- um she was sick for a long time."

That was absolutely as far as she was going to let that discussion go. She sighed and turned to her father, knowing that this was going to lead to an uncomfortable discussion. But at least it would get the focus off of Toby. "Dad, I didn't make captain."

He immediately turned to look at her, disappointment flashing in his eyes. "Oh Spencer. Why not? Your sister-"

She groaned, not regretting this, but annoyed that he always had to make it about Melissa. "I'm not Melissa dad. I'm not as good at field hockey as she was. The person who got it deserved it more than I did."

"You just aren't working hard enough. Maybe you should practice more." He looked at her thoughtfully. "We could hit the club later."

"No, dad. Field hockey isn't my priority anymore." She sighed. Why couldn't he see that she wasn't Melissa?

"Okay," he let it go reluctantly. "How are your grades? Still a 4.0, I assume?"

"No," she snapped, sick of this annoying need for perfection. "I have an A- in Chemistry."

"Spencer!" Her mother gasped like an A- minus was actually something to be ashamed of.

"I think that's pretty good," Toby interjected. Because she knew him so well she could here the anger in his voice. "I have a C in Chemistry."

"Yes but-"

Spencer cut off her father before he could say anything offensive. "Careful, dad."

Toby gave her a look before continuing. "Your daughter is the smartest person I've ever met, and I would have failed French without your help. But if you keep holding her to impossible standards she's never going to be good enough in your eyes. Everyone has a subject they aren't very good at. But honestly, I still don't think that Spencer's found hers'. An A- is nothing to be ashamed of."

Spencer was shocked for a second. No one had ever stood up for her like that before. But before she could thank him her dad stood up so quickly that he nearly knocked over his chair. "Are you trying to tell me how to raise my daughter, boy?"

She could see all the warning signs. This wasn't going to end well. She stood up and grabbed Toby's hands, pulling him up to a standing position. "Time to go," she muttered.

He allowed her to pull him up, but he wasn't looking at her. He kept his eyes on her dad. "No, sir. But I think it's a shame that you can't see how wonderful your daughter really is."

"Who do you think you are, boy?" He took a few steps forward, and in the history of overreactions this might have been the greatest. Toby was right, but she certainly wasn't going to instigate him further right now.

"Don't listen to him," she murmured, putting both hands on his chest. "Just ignore him."

"Spencer, don't get in the middle of this." Her dad put his hand on her shoulders, much more roughly than he usually would, and tried to pull her off.

If it weren't for Toby's hands on her waist he might have succeeded. But instead she spun around, planting herself more firmly in the middle. "I am in the middle of this, dad! I already am. He didn't do anything wrong, and I'm not going to let you bully him into thinking that he did."

She blindly reached back and interlocked her fingers with Toby's. She led him out of her house, not taking her eyes off her father until they were out of the dinning room. She could hear her parents calling for her, but she knew they wouldn't follow her. They didn't care enough.

As soon as they were out of the house she pulled them to a stop. She just looked at Toby. In that moment she was absolutely certain that she loved him. "Are you okay?" She whispered nervously, running a fretful hand down the length of his chest.

"I love you," he replied, his voice soft and low. "I love you so much." He dropped a careful kiss to her lips as though to prove what he was saying to her.

She pulled out of the kiss and rested her forehead against his. They were so ridiculous. How had they possibly come to that conclusion at the same moment? "I wanted to say that first," she whined playfully, going in for another kiss.

Somehow one of her worst days simultaneously morphed into one of her best. If was the first time of many that they had allowed their love for each other to be declared verbally.

She sighed and climbed out of the car. This was what Toby wanted. She had to continuously remind herself of that fact, or else she would run away scared. She didn't want to see her parents. She didn't exactly appreciate the way that they treated her, but the way that they treated Toby was unforgivable. He didn't deserve their hatred. Toby deserved nothing but the best.

Before she could even wrap her hand around the door knob it flew open and she found herself wrapped in the embrace of her mother. For most people this was a place of comfort. But for Spencer she only wished that the woman would let her go. No comfort was better than false comfort.

She barely felt their hands as they led her to the table. She barely tasted the food that they had carefully prepared. She barely acknowledged their intrusive line of questioning. She was here. She was going through the motions. But her mind was elsewhere. But for the first time in two weeks, it wasn't on Toby. It was just blank. She was numb.

"Spencer?"

She glanced up with tired eyes, ready to brush off their questioning. But the concerned look they exchanged renewed her curiosity. Was there something else going on here?

"Spencer, we have something we need to tell you, and we aren't sure how you're going to react." Her father reached into his back pocket and pulled out a letter. "We got a letter yesterday..."

She still didn't understand. Not until she spotted that all too familiar handwriting scrawled on the envelope. Toby.

He passed her the letter, "We were going to call you, but you called us first, and..."

He was still talking, but she wasn't listening any longer. This letter wasn't intended for her, but it was still him. It was still his words. She slid the paper out of the envelope and unfolded it eagerly.

Mr. and Mrs. Hastings,

I know you have to be confused, and I apologize for that. I know you don't like me, but I sincerely hope you can understand how difficult my passing will be on your daughter. I love her. Even now, I love her more than anything in the world. And I have to do whatever I can to make this easier on her. And this is something I can do.

I know that your relationship with your daughter has never been the best, and that relationship has only gotten worse since I've been in the picture. I'm not altogether positive what your issue with me is, but please know that I am deeply sorry for whatever role that I played in it. I never meant to offend you or cause you anger in any way. I love your daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Hastings. I've never felt anything but gratitude toward you for bringing her into the world.

She saved me in more ways than one. I can honestly say that I wouldn't have lived as long as I did without her. I don't want to go into details here, but I have some demons in my past. Things that seemed insurmountable at the time, but that I managed to overcome with your daughter's help. She was the best part of my life, but I was only a part of hers.

I hope that she'll be okay, but I am pretty sure that she's going to need help. Help her move on. Be there for her. Be the parents that she's always needed. Please. I am truly begging you. I can't bear the thought of leaving her, but I think that if she has you she might be okay. Please mend the gap between you.

Sincerely,

Toby Cavanaugh

Spencer just stared down at the letter, in an absolute loss for words. Why? How? How was he doing this? Her chest ached, and once again the tears began to spill over. This was supposed to make things better? Because it wasn't. It was so much worse. He was gone. He was gone, and he was never coming back. Reminders of how much he loved her were just making it worse. It would be easier if he hated her.

She grabbed a glass and threw it at the wall. The shards that shattered and fell to the ground was satisfying. She grabbed a plate and smashed it against a chair. She slid to the ground with tears running down her face. She couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't do anything. She was done. If that was the last thing she read, the last thing that she did, she was fine with that. She was done.

"Spencer?"

She shook her head and slid to the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees. Her stomach clenched in pain, and she was worried that she was going to vomit again. But she wasn't moving. If it happened then it happened.

"Oh Spencer."

A soft hand found its way to her shoulder, and she flinched away from the contact. Why couldn't everyone just leave her alone?

"Spencer, please."

Her mother's arms wrapped around her body and hauled her upward, cradling her head to her chest. This was the contact that she always wanted from her mom. She always wanted someone that would wipe her tears away and hold her when she was in pain, but not right now. Right now she just wished that everyone would leave her be. She wished that everyone would just leave her to drown in her despair.

Her mother's hand trailed down her hair, smoothing it down. "I'm sorry, Spencer. I'm so, so sorry. Toby was such a wonderful person. He was so wonderful. He was an amazing husband to you, and he deserved better than what he got."

"W-why- why couldn't you have told him that w-when he was still alive?" She whispered, punctuating it with a quiet sniff. Why couldn't they have told him how incredible he was when he was there to appreciate it? Why couldn't they have taken away one of the reasons that made him feel worthless? She was right. Toby did deserve better than that.

"I don't know, Spencer. I'm sorry. God, if I could go back and change it I would. I would do anything to tell him that. You know what they say about hindsight being 20/20. I never realized how incredible he was until it was too late. I wanted the superficial things for you. I wanted you to have the money and the reputation. But what I didn't realize was how happy you were. How loved you were. How good he was to you. There will never be anyone good enough for your little girl, but Toby? He was about as close as it got."

She turned her face into her mother's chest, trying to hide her tears. "Then why did he leave me?" Her voice was muffled, but she could tell from the sharp intake of breath that she heard her.

Her hands tightened around Spencer. "I don't know, sweetheart. I don't know."