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Spencer had been frozen in the same position for what had felt like an eternity. She was sat, her shoulders tensed and her hands clasped together, staring at the white hospital floor. A thin crust of blood lined the edges of her nails. She clenched her hands into fists to hide them, bile rising in her throat. She felt too numb to cry, or scream in frustration. It was as if any release of emotion, any movement in fact would simply cause her to fall apart completely. And she couldn't let that happen.
"No news," Hanna sighed, sitting beside her friend and wrapping her arms tightly around the brunette's shoulders and planted a kiss on top of her head. Toby had been rushed into emergency surgery nearly four hours ago, leaving his girlfriend no time to say goodbye, before he was rushed away. Aria appeared at Spencer's other side, resting a comforting hand on her thigh.
"I bought you this," she said pressing a cardboard drinks cup into Spencer's hand. "It's not coffee, its tea with sugar. For the shock." Slowly, the girl seemed to ease from her state of stasis and reached out for the steaming cup. Sipping it gingerly, she looked around the room for the first time.
"I-is Emily ok?" she stammered, failing to locate the girl.
"She's talking to a cop still," Hanna said quietly. "But they know it was self-defence, us or them."
"They're just trying to figure out what happened," Aria assured her. "I told them we weren't ready to talk to them yet."
"Thanks." Spencer attempted to smile, but failed miserably, instead throwing her face into her hands. "If I hadn't got myself kidnapped Toby wouldn't have been in that house when that gun went off."
"Don't think like that," Hanna snapped. "It's useless, Spence it doesn't help Toby and makes you feel worse."
"I do know how you feel," Aria took Spencer's hand in her tiny one. "Remember New York?" Spencer inhaled deeply, rubbing her eyes.
"I do. I'm sorry."
"Spencer?" Veronica Hastings ran over to her youngest daughter, gathering the girl into her arms. "I'm so sorry." Peter was a mere few steps behind her, his granddaughter clinging to his hand.
"Ady!" Spencer broke from her mother's embrace and opened her arms so her daughter could leap into them. The girl wrapped her arms almost painfully tight around Spencer's neck, climbing onto her lap. She rocked the three year old gently.
"Daddy sick?" she questioned. Spencer nodded tightly.
"Yeah, Daddy's sick."
"He get better?" A lump formed in her throat, she couldn't voice the correct answer. Instead, she held her daughter tighter, brushing her curls from her forehead.
"Darling, what happened?" Veronica asked gently.
"Wren," Hanna answered quickly, seeing her friend was in no state to talk about the last couple of days events. "Alison and… and Melissa."
"Melissa?" Peter said incredulously. Aria could see Spencer getting smaller and smaller, her grip on Adrianne weakening.
"We'll explain," she promised the older couple. "Just later."
"But-"
"Melissa's safe," Hanna promised. "She's being treated for shock. She might need a lawyer later. But right now, Spencer needs you more."
"Who's here for Toby Cavanaugh?" The nurse barked from the other side of the room, thankfully breaking apart the tension from the blonde' outburst. Startled, Spencer wordlessly slid her daughter from her lap into her grandfather's arms and hurried to meet the woman with Hanna and Aria hot on her heels. "You family? All of you?"
"I'm his girlfriend," Spencer replied quickly. "And-"
"And we're his sisters," Hanna finished. "Half-sisters," she added at the nurse's sceptical look.
"Well Mr Cavanaugh survived the surgery," she said. Spencer cried out in relief, her knees almost buckling beneath her. She felt somebody grab her by the waist, Hanna or Aria she had no idea, and she fixed the nurse with thankful eyes. "I'm not going to lie to you, it was touch and go at some points. We lost him twice, but he pulled through. He's strong. I wouldn't go as far to say he's stable, but his doctor's no longer regarding him as critical."
The information swam round meaninglessly in her brain; she voiced the only question she really needed to know. "He's going to be ok?" she cried, her voice surprisingly steady. The nurse smiled a little.
"We don't like to promise anything. But if he continues to show the progress he did in the surgery, he should be out here by the end of the week." Spencer let out a sob, and collapsed into Hanna's tight embrace. All the pain, anguish and worry she'd been holding in for the last four hours flooded from her body in tears of relief. He was going to be okay. Adrianne wasn't going to grow up fatherless, she was condemned to live in a world without him. It was all going to be all right.
"Can Spencer go and see him?" Aria asked hopefully.
"The doctor would like you to," the nurse said. "He's awake, but most likely very delirious. I'll get my colleague to show you to his room." Spencer eagerly followed the younger nurse, with Hanna in tow. The nurse caught hold of Aria's arm, pulling her behind her friends.
"I found something in your brother's jacket," she whispered. "Did he tell you his… plans with his girlfriend?"
"Uh, no," Aria said cautiously. The nurse carefully removed a tiny jewellery box from her scrubs and handed it to the brunette. It was the perfect size for a ring. Aria gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth. "I'll look after it. Thank you."
III
Spencer hovered cautiously by the door, peering inside at her boyfriend lying peacefully on the bed. His face, although pale and tired, was unmistakably him and irrevocably beautiful. The tubes that covered his arms and stretched across his chest frightened her slightly, but she forced herself to look beyond that and at the man she loved. He shifted slightly, his eyes flickering open, and she took that as her cue to enter the room. Crossing to his bed and kneeling beside it, she touched his arm gently.
"Tobes?" His head twisted to look at her.
"Spencer." His voice came out as a dull rasp. She laughed in relief, her hand moving to his forehead to scrape his hair up from his face.
"Toby you're ok. I'm so glad you're ok." She leant across the bed and kissed his lips tenderly. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault Toby. If I hadn't believed Ali's bullshit we'd still be at home and you wouldn't be in this hospital and-"
"Spence, stop," he interrupted hoarsely. "I'm fine." Her eyes skimmed down his body to his heavily bandaged side where to the bullet had gone. She swallowed, tears prickling on the end of her eyelashes and she stood up to examine him properly.
"I thought I was going to lose you," she whispered. He reached out clumsily, touching her hip and stroking up and down her side.
"Better luck next time," he teased lightly.
"Don't joke," she replied quickly, resting her hand on top of his. "Just… just not yet." She bent down again, kissing him deeply. He felt a tear drop from her face onto his, and his hand moved to the back of her head.
"Love you Spence."
"I love you, Toby."
"Knock knock!" Hanna appeared at the door, with Adrianne sat on her hip. "There's somebody here to see you Daddy." Toby craned, trying to sit up in bed and panting with the effort.
"Hi Ady!"
"Daddy?" The girl hung back, cautiously, obviously intimidated by the bleeping machines. Spencer crossed over to her friend, taking her daughter into her arms and walking her over to the side of the bed.
"Daddy's fine," she said. Toby smiled, taking his daughters hand a planting a kiss in her tiny palm before bunching her fingers into a fist. She giggled a little, smacking a kiss on her other hand and wiping it on his face.
"Why he plugged in?"
"This one is to listen to my heart go bu-boom," Toby said. "This one is so the doctor can give me my medicine without my having to go 'aaahhh' all the time." He mouthed opening his mouth and Ady chuckled quietly. "And this one… is to give Daddy some extra blood because some got out when he got hurt." Adrianne looked around keenly.
"Wow!" she exclaimed. Hanna smiled from the doorway.
"She could be a doctor when she grows up, Spence."
"You can come all the way in, Han," Toby told her from his prone position. She gratefully entered the room and leant over Toby kissing him on the cheek.
"I'm glad you're okay," she told him. "And that was so cool when you jumped in front of Spencer."
"No it wasn't," Spencer muttered darkly. Adrianne struggled out of her mother's arms and climbed onto the hospital bed, lying alongside her Dad and gently tracing his bandages with her forefinger.
"Look who's joining us?" Aria appeared in the doorway, her arms around Emily. The girl looked visibly shaken, dark circles cut beneath her eyes, but her face was clean of blood. The two girls entered the room, and Spencer wrapped the swimmer into a hug. Aria crossed over to see Toby, and began talking quietly to him.
"Are you ok Em?" she whispered, and felt her friend nod against her.
"I will be." Spencer could feel her heart breaking at the tone of despondency of her friend's voice.
"Look, you didn't have a choice." She took Emily by the shoulders, leaning back to look at her intently. "Honestly Em. If you hadn't… stopped Wren then Toby could be dead. And so could I. So could all of us."
"That's what the police say," she nodded. "They want to talk to us all soon. And they've seen the footage." Spencer pushed thoughts of her sister to the back of her mind, focusing instead on the girl standing helplessly before her.
"None of that matters right now," she said firmly. "As long as we're all ok. And we are. You saved us all."
"Thanks, Spence. I love you."
"Love you too," she sighed, hugging her tightly again.
"You haven't eaten in hours," Hanna announced. "You stay here with Toby, we'll go and get some sandwiches ok?"
"Can you tell my parents we're ok," Spencer said, sitting beside Toby's bed again. "And say Melissa probably needs them more now." Toby rested his hand on her shoulders, and she leaned slightly into him.
"We will." The three girls filed out the room, leaving Spencer, Adrianne and Toby alone in the room.
"Spence? I have something to tell you." Spencer turned, and Toby took her hands in both of his. "I wish I could get down on one knee for this, babe." He picked up a ring box, flipping it open to reveal a simple, yet beautifully elegant engagement ring. She stared at it, then at him, then back at the ring. He bought her hand to his mouth. "Spencer Hastings, I love you more than life itself. I want to be with you forever. Will you marry me?"
A sob escaped Spencer's throat, tears swam in her eyes. A mere half hour ago she wasn't sure if she'd ever see her boyfriend again. Now he was promising her the rest of his life. His life that would stretch indefinitely beyond this day.
"I love you too, Toby. I-"
"Say yes Mommy!" Adrianne yelped, stretching up to grab hold of her parents linked arms. Spencer laughed, stretching out her left hand to Toby.
"Yes, Toby. Yes."