Spencer sat in an armchair facing the window. She looked outside at the garden, but her mind was elsewhere. Ever since she and Toby had ended up living in the same house, Spencer had found it increasingly difficult to maintain her walls around him.

She still hurt after loosing her baby. She was also aware that Toby's decision had saved her life. How she had wished he had saved their baby. A cold, rational part of her understood his reasons for saving her, but another dark part of her needed a way to lash out. She had wanted the baby so badly and not being able to have it had shaken her to the core.

She had spent her teenage years believing she was a failure to her family's standards. Not being able to have the baby had increased that feeling of failure so she had taken her pain out on Toby. She had destroyed the best thing that had ever happened to her as a means of punishing herself.

What good was she to Toby? What good was her relationship with him if she couldn't have his baby? Spencer was so caught up in her thoughts and letting her pain fill her mind that she hadn't heard the soft knocking on the door.

Toby entered the room and once he saw her sitting in the armchair he walked to stand near Spencer's crouched form. He noticed tears were running down her cheeks, ruining the makeup she had worn at the ball hours before. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he felt her jump slightly in her seat before she turned her eyes to look at him.

-"I'm so sorry, Toby. I'm sorry about everything. It was all my fault." Spencer let her eyes look at the floor. She didn't feel capable of looking back at Toby's blue eyes. She was shocked to feel him lower himself on his knees in front of her and hug her. As his arms wrapped around her waist Spencer hid her face in the crook of his neck and let her tears fall once more.

Toby kept her in his arms, realizing she was finally letting out all of her pain. When they had broken up years ago Spencer had pushed him away, lashed out at him, and rejected him every time he tried to be there for her. Eventually she had packed her stuff and left him because she felt their relationship had become too painful.

He had let her leave knowing that eventually they would find a way to sort through their pain, but right then Spencer needed space. She needed to clear her head and find her ground again. And as much as it pained Toby he couldn't give her that.

-"Spencer, baby. Stop blaming yourself. It was an accident. We both need to move forward. I'm not going to let you dwell on the past and what could have happened differently any longer. You have always been the strongest person I know and over the past few days I've seen you come back to life. I'm not letting you torture yourself about this anymore."

Toby lifted her head from his shoulder and kissed her. Spencer sighed into their kiss, feeling him stand up and lifting her body as well. Toby carried her to the bed, both of them shedding clothes everywhere on their path.

Caleb lifted his head from his pillow, watching Hanna's sleeping form next to him. He pressed his lips together as he remembered his reaction to seeing her in his room earlier that night. He had initially believed she wanted to continue the conversation they started inside his office earlier that night.

But he soon realized that the reason why she had come to his room was to let go of her bottled up feelings. Hanna had gotten out of his bed and started pacing and fidgeting, unable to say a word at the moment. Caleb then understood that she wasn't there to finish their earlier conversation. He was aware she hadn't been sleeping well ever since the bombing incident. The news about her father's death would end up taking away her ability to sleep for weeks if she didn't start getting stuff out of her mind.

-"Hanna, why are you here?" Caleb gently took her by the hand and made her sit on his bed. He noticed her flinch slightly as he took a step and sat down beside her. Hanna watched him in silence for a few moments before she finally opened her mouth.

-"I can't sleep. I haven't slept well in days. Every time I fall asleep I end up having nightmares. That's assuming I manage to fall asleep. Usually I end up tossing and turning in my bed for hours before my eyes close."

-"That's a normal reaction. You have been through a lot. Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to talk to somebody about this. One of your friends, maybe?" Caleb tried to probe her mind as he spoke. Hanna shook her head quickly before answering.

-"I can't talk to them. Spencer has a lot on her plate dealing with Toby and their fallout right now and while I'm grateful for everything Aria did for me I can't talk to her either. She is dealing with enough drama as well. I could try talking to a shrink, but is that wise? Akimi could get to me through her/him. So a shrink is not an option either."

-"You are correct so just talk to me. I am a good listener and I've had my fair share of drama so I can handle a few of your demons as well." Hanna looked at him with an emotionless smile on her face.

She did talk to him, however. She told him everything that was going through her head. She told him of her concerns about her friends and what she feared. She told him about her nightmares. She spoke until she felt tired and her throat was sore.

When her eyelids started to close and she looked like she might fall asleep Caleb made her lie in his bed next to him and placed a pillow under her head. He then grabbed a duvet and covered both their bodies. He waited for her to fall asleep, feeling her body snuggle into his in search of body heat.

No more words had been said between the pair as Caleb too had fallen asleep. He woke up later that night and looked at her sleeping form. Once he felt her shift and he heard her talk in her sleep he knew she was having a nightmare once again.

Caleb caressed the top of her head, whispering soft, comforting things to Hanna. He watched her as her sleep once again turned peaceful. He then wrapped his arms around her petite body and placed a small kiss on the top of her head. He allowed himself to once again fall asleep.

Olivia stared at Jason's sleeping form. She had woken up to hearing soft groaning and moans coming from the other side of the wall and figured Spencer and Toby had reconciled. Gently lowering herself from the bed, she put on a pair of slippers and headed to the kitchen for a glass of water.

Opening the freezer, Olivia studied its contents and removed a carton of ice cream as well. She grabbed a spoon from one of the drawers and slowly started eating the ice cream. Her mind continued to play over and over the events that had taken place ever since Jason and her had set foot at the charity ball.

None of them had been prepared to see Akimi walk inside the room as Allison's date, but Allison and Ezra working for him? That was such a twisted concept. Olivia feared that Jason would be the one to pay a high price for it and he was clearly not the only one to be caught as collateral damage. Jason's parents were bound to end up hurting as well. .

Once she finished eating the ice cream, Olivia left the kitchen and headed up the stairs. She stopped to take a glimpse at the security cameras down the hallway and felt herself freeze from the open window. Frowning, she made her way to the monitors and looked at them. A nasty feeling crept up inside her being and she quickly went back to her bedroom.

-"Jason. Wake up. We have company inside the house." Jason quickly rose from the bed and put on a pair of trousers and a shirt while Olivia did the same. Neither of them bothered with putting on shoes. Olivia headed to Noel and Aria's room, silently waking them up, while Jason entered Caleb's room.

Jason's presence in the room alerted Caleb from his sleep. Seeing the grim look on his friend's face Caleb woke up Hanna. He stopped her from talking, explaining she needed to get dressed fast. Hanna nodded her head and went to her room quickly. She grabbed the first pair of jeans and blouse that she could find and put on a pair of sneakers and returned to Caleb's room.

Olivia pushed Noel and Aria inside it while Caleb went to get Spencer and Toby. Once everyone was in the same room, Caleb opened one of his drawers. He removed several weapons from inside it and handed them to Toby and Jason. Olivia then removed a book from one of his shelves and pushed a small button, revealing a hidden door. Olivia opened the door and led Spencer, Hanna, Noel and Aria inside the secret room.

Caleb, Toby, and Jason finished gearing up. Toby and Jason made their way to the door while Caleb turned to his stepsister.

-"We're going to do a light sweep of the property. You know the signals. Close the door and don't open it until it's safe." Olivia nodded her head, closing the door behind her. They all heard a soft, whirring sound as the door became hidden a second time.

Once the door closed lights went on, revealing a room that had several couches and a mini bar and mini fridge. There was also a laptop and a wireless phone. "I suggest you make yourself comfortable. This will be a long night. The boys are checking the entire premises and I'm going to help them coordinate their moves around."

-"Olivia, what's going on? Is it Akimi?" Spencer felt Hanna grip her hand tightly as Aria and Noel sat down on the couch in front of them.

-"Hopefully it's Ezra. Right now we're not ready to cut off Medusa's head, so we're going to try and take down one of its snakes. We took a great risk moving you all here tonight but hopefully this mess will end soon. Now please be quiet and allow me to focus on helping my colleagues."

Silence fell inside the room as its occupants did everything they could to remain calm while watching Olivia type furiously on her laptop.

Hello everyone,

I'm going to do a short round of thank you for all the reviews and following and favorites you guys have given this story and I'm also letting you know that there's only one more chapter coming for this fic. Hopefully it will be up in a matter of a week or two.

Merry Early Christmas,

Nico