A/N: Wow. Chapter 20. I can't believe it! I want to thank each and every one of you for reading, and commenting, and being so lovely. It really means a lot to me. There are big things coming for this story, and I hope you stick with me to see what happens! I apologize for the space in time between the last update and this one. I've been busy out of my mind, with no time to write. I've been taking my laptop everywhere and writing as often as I can. Please bear with me for a month or two until things slow down and I can get back to updating twice a week!

Chapter 20

Emily was the first of the four girls to wake up the next morning. She opened her eyes and welcomed the new morning, slowly turning over to face Hanna, who still slept soundly next to her. She smiled at the thought of everything being so peaceful; it had been a really long time since things were, well, normal for them. It was comforting.

She slowly slid out from under the blankets, and upon standing, peeked over at Aria, and Spencer who was cuddled up to Aria's back. She let an almost silent "Aww!" at the sight of them. She tiptoed out the door of the bedroom, and down the stairs. Halfway, she saw movement at the back door through the corner of her eye. She took a second glance, to find Toby about to open the door. She sighed with relief. A was a constant threat to the girls, and they were always ready to protect themselves if it was needed.

Toby let himself in, bidding a good morning to Emily as she walked over to the kitchen counter, ready to make coffee.

"Are the rest of them still sleeping?" Toby asked.

"Yup, as far as I know they were all sound asleep when I came down. And Spencer was cuddled up to Aria; it was one of the cutest things I've seen in a long time." Emily responded.

Toby grinned. "Do you think I can go up and take a peek?"

"Sure, I don't think that would be a problem. Just don't wake them up."

"I'm not going to wake them up. I'm not that stupid; I know I'd get severely punished. You girls like your sleep."

Emily just shook her head and laughed as Toby tiptoed up the staircase. He turned the corner down the hallway, and slowly swung open the bedroom door just enough so he could peek in. Hanna was stirring, so Toby decided he had to be quick. If she caught him looking in, he would definitely be in trouble. He glanced at the bed and found Aria and Spencer, just as Spencer said they were. It was definitely an adorable sight. As Hanna started to turn over, cueing Toby into the fact that she was about to wake up, Toby gently pulled the door closed and retreated to the sitting area downstairs.

Within minutes, both Hanna and Aria walked down the stairs.

"Morning!" Toby greeted them, trying not to act suspicious. He hoped he hadn't woken Hanna up.

"Morning!" Hanna said back. She was in a good mood, which was a good sign.

Emily cut in. "Did we wake you guys? I was just making coffee when Toby got here. I hope we weren't too loud." She said.

Aria spoke. "Oh, no, you didn't wake us. Hanna woke up and woke me up with her."

"Oh okay." Emily said. "And Spence is still sleeping, right?"

"Yeah." Hanna said. "I think we totally wore her out! And Em, when she wakes up and smells this coffee you made, you're the one who has to keep her away from it. Because she's going to come down here and want that coffee more than anything, and that's your fault for making it."

Emily realized what she had done and put her head in her hands. "What have I done? She's going to kill me!"

"Poor girl can't have her morning coffee, it's a shame." Toby said.

Aria made a face at Toby. "Hey, mister, you're the reason she can't have it!"

Emily added. "Yeah, speaking of, why don't you go up there so you can talk her out of it when she wakes up?"

Toby reluctantly made his way back up the stairs. He got to Spencer's room and opened the door, finding her rolled up into a ball on her bed, still sleeping. He walked over and covered her with blankets completely, and then took the blanket that Hanna and Emily had used from the floor and put that on her too. He wanted to ensure that she wasn't the slightest bit cold. Cold meant alone, and unloved, and she was surely not that. He then took off his shoes and climbed into the bed next to her, turning to watch her beautiful face as she slept.

When Toby's eyes opened, there was an arm draped over his back. He must have fallen asleep. He turned his head to find Spencer, still sleeping, but cuddled up to him this time; something he was happy about. She looked as if she was ready to wake; her head turning, and arms beginning to stretch out. Toby whispered to her. Good morning, he said softly into her ear as her body turned over. Her face scrunched before she slowly opened her eyes.

"When you said you'd be here when I woke up you weren't kidding." She said slowly, still half asleep. She again closed her eyes.

"Nope!" He said in reply.

Her eyes opened again as she lifted herself up and planted a good-morning kiss square on Toby's lips. Soon, she moved over and laid on his chest as they continued. As they broke apart, she said, "That was really nice to wake up to."

"I can make that happen every morning, you know." Toby said, in temptation.

Spencer smiled and winked as she got up and took Toby's hand, leading him off of the bed and out the

door.

As they descended the steps, the girls sitting on the couch looked up at the pair in interest.

"You guys were up there together for like, an hour and a half…" Aria said.

"Yeah, what were you guys up to?" Hanna added, implying that they had been doing something more

than sleeping.

Spencer gave her friends a look. "We were sleeping, thank you very much. We just woke up."

"Excuse us!" Emily shot back.

Spencer shook her head, and letting go of Toby's hand, walked towards the counter where the coffee

machine was. Except it wasn't.

"Hey! Where's my coffee machine?" Spencer asked.

Aria looked straight at Toby. "Weren't you supposed to go over this with her?"

"I might have forgot…" Toby said.

"I want my coffee now!" Spencer demanded.

Emily took over. "Spence. You can't have any. You know that. This is the best way to keep you away

from it. We love you, and that's why we took it away. You want to have a healthy baby, don't you?"

"Oh, don't guilt me into giving up coffee." Spencer said.

"We're not trying to guilt you into anything. We're just telling you what's best." Hanna said.

"Fine." Spencer said grumpily as she fell onto the couch and into Emily's arms. She looked at the clock,

and the time was 10:53. "Woah! I didn't know what you guys did to me last night, but I must have been

tired; I mean, I never sleep past 8!" She said with concern.

"You were tired, you needed sleep, so we let you sleep! It's perfectly normal, Spencer." Emily said.

"Fine." Spencer said.

Suddenly, Melissa walked in, sipping a cup of coffee. "Morning, everyone!" She said cheerfully as she

closed the door behind her.

A chorus of good mornings answered her back as she took herself to the counter, reaching up to a

cabinet from which she grabbed a package of cookies, first taking one for herself, and then offering to

the others.

By the time they had finished their breakfast and their chatter, it was already past noon- at which point Melissa instructed her little sister to go upstairs and get dressed. Toby, Hanna, Aria, and Emily left the Hastings house, but first made sure that Spencer would fill them in on her appointment. By the time Spencer was ready, her sister informed her that it was time to go, so they grabbed their bags, got in the car and headed off to Philadelphia.

A/N: Decent? I hope so. I know this chapter wasn't knock-your-socks-off amazing, but I'm doing my best to make the next chapters really good! Please leave a review or PM me with suggestions/critiscism! Thank you all!- Amanda