That Saturday evening.
Hanna's house.
Hanna is sitting at the kitchen table, her laptop in front of her. She's been sitting there for most of the day, shopping for things online to start making dresses as soon as her orders arrive during the week.
Chocolate approaches her and rests his head on her lap.
Hanna "Hey, baby!" She looks down at him. "Why are you staring at me with those puppy eyes? Are you getting bored, maybe?" She caresses him behind one of his ears. "Zeth doesn't come on weekends, baby"
The dog keeps staring at her.
Hanna checks the time on her phone. It's not that late, and she can see through the window that there is still some sunlight outside.
Hanna "Okay… I'll take you out myself." She takes a deep breath and stands up from her seat. "Wanna go to Caleb's?"
She decides to go there because it's only a few blocks away from her house, so it would be a very short walk. This is the very first time she will be walking Chocolate again after that awful day when she ended up drugged in the woods. Besides, it's been hours without hearing from Caleb, and she already misses him.
Hanna "Okay, let's do this baby." She goes out the front door after putting Chocolate on his leash.
Even though it does make her a bit anxious, she is just happy about the big step she is taking and focuses on staying calm and positive.
A smile appears on her face a few minutes later when she is only two blocks away from Caleb's. She is actually making it to his place. She is so proud of herself. She is ready to leave her fears behind. It's been weeks since her last panic attack.
Hanna "Here we are, Chocolate!"
Chocolate pulls on his leash now that they are only a few feet away. Once they finally reach the front door, she takes the key to Caleb's house from her purse, but she doesn't even get the chance to put the key in the lock because someone opens the door from the inside before she can do it herself.
Toby "Han!" He says surprised.
Caleb "Oh, hey Han!" He says from behind Toby.
Hanna "Hey guys!" She smiles at them. "Were you leaving?" She asks while putting Chocolate off his leash for him to go inside.
The guys go outside and Hanna has the opportunity to pay attention to their outfits now. Toby is wearing his police uniform even though Spencer told her he would be on leave from work for at least another week, and Caleb is wearing an oversized hoodie she has never seen before and it doesn't look like something he would wear at all.
Hanna "What are you wearing?" She runs her hand over Caleb's stomach and feels something strange under his hoodie. "What's this?" She asks while lifting his garment slightly to take a look. She can't believe what she is seeing. "Is that a…?" She gets to see that he is actually wearing a bulletproof vest. "Okay, what are you two up to?" She asks, her expression serious as she stares at them.
Caleb "I'm just helping them out with something, Han. I'll be back for dinner, stay here." He tries to act casual and downplay the situation.
Hanna "No, you're not." She turns her gaze to Toby now. "What the hell are you up to?"
Toby "We need a computer specialist, Hanna. That's all. He is helping us with something."
Hanna "Wearing a freaking bulletproof vest, Toby?" She is getting agitated now. "He is not a damn cop!"
Toby "It's just for safety. He won't be exposed to any risk anyway." he starts walking to his truck.
Hanna looks back at Caleb who is still standing between her and his front door. "You are not going anywhere."
Caleb "Han, it will be fine. Believe me. I'll just help them figure something out, and then it'll all be over."
Hanna "Caleb, you're not leaving with him. If he wants to play the hero, that's fine, but you're not going with him." She is beyond pissed off by now. "I liked it better when you two weren't speaking to each other."
Toby turns back to them. "Come on, Hanna. We are in a hurry!"
Hanna turns to look at him. "You are not taking him with you, Toby! You just got shot the other day because of this. Are you out of your mind?"
Toby "Let's go, Caleb." He ignores Hanna because they need to get going already.
Caleb "I'm sorry, Han. I have to do this." He tells her softly and starts walking toward Toby.
Hanna "I'll talk to Spencer, I'll make sure she knows about this!" She threatens Toby, she is desperate by now and that's the only card she has left to play as she sees Caleb getting in Toby's truck.
Toby "No you won't because you don't want to worry your pregnant friend for nothing."
Hanna knows he is right. "If something happens to Caleb, I swear to you, Toby, I will never speak to you again." She yells at him.
Toby "Nothing bad will happen." He only says and gets in his truck too.
Hanna rushes into Caleb's house and grabs the keys to his car. "Stay here, baby. I'll be right back." She tells Chocolate as she slams the front door shut.
When she gets back outside, Toby has already pulled out and they are leaving. She gets in Caleb's car and decides to follow them, being careful not to be seen by them.
A few blocks away, Hanna watches as they park Toby's pickup truck, get out, and get in the back of some van with a couple of other officers. Then that van starts driving away, and she follows it as well. They go to another upscale neighborhood where they park again. Everything seems quiet. Hanna parks Caleb's car only half a block away.
Half an hour passes by, and nothing happens.
It has gotten dark outside already.
/
Meanwhile.
Caleb is in the van, sitting on a seat with his laptop on his lap. "Still nothing…" He tells the officers. "Are you sure they already connected the device?"
Toby is wearing headphones to listen to the conversation their undercover cop and their informant are having inside the house with some members of the gang. "Yes, they already said the code."
Caleb "Well, maybe we aren't close enough for it to work. I need to get closer"
Toby stares at him, doubting if it would be a good idea for Caleb to do so.
Caleb "I'll just go hide somewhere closer." He insists.
Toby "Okay, just be careful. Take this." He hands Caleb a two-way radio to communicate. Then he turns to another young officer. "Harris, go with him."
/
Hanna is still watching the van carefully when she sees two people getting out of it. She observes as they go around one of the houses and crouch down between some bushes on the side of that house. Only their silhouettes are visible in the dark until Caleb opens his laptop, and the screen light illuminates his face. Hanna starts the car engine right away preparing for any situation. She watches as Caleb types on his computer like crazy, and she can only curse at Toby in her head.
/
Toby "So?" He asks Caleb through the radio.
Caleb "We are in." He answers as the other officer holds the radio for him to speak. "Just finishing transferring the last files."
Toby "You're a genius!" He barely finishes answering when they start hearing shots. "What happened?" He asks Caleb right away. "You okay?"
Caleb "Yeah! It's from inside the house!"
/
Hanna hears the shooting from the car too and freaks out. Her heart starts pounding like crazy in her chest but she doesn't have time to panic. She pulls out and drives the short distance to the house.
Hanna "Caleb get in here!" She yells after pulling down the window. "Come on, hurry up!"
Caleb rushes to his car, carrying his laptop. "What the heck are you doing here, Hanna?"
The officer that was with him runs past them. "Leave now!" He instructs Caleb before getting back in the van.
Caleb opens the rear door of his car and gets inside. Hanna speeds up immediately as soon as he shuts the door.
Hanna "You okay?"
Caleb "Yes, I'm okay. What were you doing there? It was dangerous!"
Hanna "Oh, so it was dangerous for me to be there but not for you." She is clearly pissed off. "Don't talk to me."
Caleb "Han…"
Hanna "Seriously, I don't want to hear you."
They don't talk for the rest of the drive. Hanna parks the car at her house and gets out of it, leaving the key in the ignition and the engine running.
Caleb gets out of the car as well and follows her to the front door. "Can we talk?"
Hanna "Leave, Caleb!" she turns back to him. "Take your car and leave!" she can't help starting to cry hard even though she doesn't want to cry in front of him because she is just too angry and doesn't want to look vulnerable.
Caleb "I'm not going anywhere."
Hanna "I don't wanna be with you right now!" She yells at him. "Leave!" She can feel her body starting to shake as her anxiety grows now that the adrenaline is wearing off.
Caleb "Hanna, please!" He yells back.
Hanna sits down on one of the steps at the front door of her house because she can't stay standing.
Ashley opens the front door. "What's all this yelling?" She looks at Caleb since Hanna is sitting with her back to her.
Hanna looks up at Caleb. "I can't breathe…" She only mumbles. She feels like she could die right there. She curls up a little, embracing her own legs.
Caleb crouches down in front of her right away. He knows what's going on. "Hey, baby." He says softly this time. "You are just having a panic attack. It will pass." He takes one of her hands.
Ashley "What's going on?" She asks worried as she approaches Hanna too.
Caleb "Just a minute, Ashley." He says and focuses back on Hanna. "You can get through this, baby."
Hanna only stares at him as her tears keep running down on her cheeks.
Caleb "Wanna take a deep breath with me?" He puts her hair behind her ear. "Come on."
Hanna finally takes a deep breath along with him, and by concentrating on her breathing, she starts to slowly feel better.
Caleb "That's much better." He pulls her into his arms.
Hanna wraps her arms around his neck and rests her head on his shoulder as she tries to calm down.
Caleb "Let's get you inside." He whispers to her after a while, and they stand up.
Ashley "Are you okay, sweetie?"
Hanna only nods and they get inside.
Hanna goes to sit on the couch and Ashley sits down next to her. She's got many questions to ask her daughter, but at that moment she simply hugs her from the side and starts to rub her arm gently.
Caleb "I'll be right back, Han. I'll just go turn my car off."
Hanna looks at him. "Leave, Caleb." She only says and rests her head on Ashley's shoulder.
Caleb stares at her confused.
Hanna "I just want to be with my mom right now."
Ashley "Go, Caleb. I'll stay with her."
Caleb can feel his heart breaking in his chest, but he doesn't want to make Hanna any more upset. "Okay, Han… I'll leave you alone." he approaches her and places a tender kiss on her temple. "I love you."
Hanna doesn't even look at him. Another tear rolls down on her face.
Caleb "Let me know if you need anything." he tells Ashley.
Ashley gives him a nod and Caleb finally walks away.
Ashley "What did just happen, Hanna?"
Hanna "Caleb almost got shot for helping Toby and I freaked out. That's all."
Ashley "How?"
Hanna "He was helping the police."
Ashley "What happened to you out there? It wasn't the first time you panicked like that, was it?" she assumes that since Caleb seemed to know about it.
Hanna "Please, mom. Stop with the questions." She stands up. "I just wanna go to bed."
She feels both physically and mentally exhausted.
Ashley "Okay, let's go." she stands up as well. "I'll stay with you until you fall asleep."
/
Caleb gets to his house and Chocolate goes greet him as soon as he crosses the front door.
Caleb "Hey, buddy." He rests his back against the wall, letting his body slide down until he sits on the floor and places his laptop aside. "I screwed up big time…" He wraps an arm around the dog and begins to caress its fur with his hand.
He takes his phone with his free hand and sees a bunch of texts from Toby, so he decides to give him a call.
Toby "Hey! Are you and Hanna okay?"
Caleb "Yeah, I just left her at her place. She was pretty upset though. She kicked me out."
Toby "I'm sorry I got you into so much trouble, man."
Caleb sighs. "What about you? Is everyone all right?"
Toby "Yes, we're all right."
Caleb "What went wrong?"
Toby "Nothing, they never realized we were out there. For what our undercover guy told us, there was some kind of fight in there and this guy, the gang leader, just lost his temper and shot one of them right there."
Caleb "That's insane… Good thing I was able to copy most of the information. I'll transfer it all to a hard drive and you can come pick it up in an hour."
Toby "Thanks, Caleb. Officer Harris will be picking it up. Really, thank you, buddy."
Caleb "It's fine… I was happy to help. Rosewood is my home now too, so I don't want these thugs here either. I just hope Hanna forgives me soon."
Toby "She must be just as angry at me as she is at you… I'll apologize to her later."
Caleb "Yeah, good luck with that."
Toby "Well, I have to go. See you tomorrow. And thanks again."
Caleb "See you." he only says and ends the call.
He decides to text Hanna: Han, baby. I'm sorry I made you so upset. It was never my intention. I just hope you let me see you tomorrow. I love you so much!
Caleb stands up and goes work on his laptop to get the hard drive ready for the police as soon as possible.
/
Sunday morning.
Hanna wakes up with a terrible headache. She throws her robe on and goes downstairs to the kitchen.
Hanna "Morning, mom." She greets Ashley who is pouring herself a mug of coffee.
Ashley "Morning, Han. How are you feeling?"
Hanna "I'm okay, my head is killing me though."
Ashley goes through a drawer and then hands Hanna a pill. "Here."
Hanna "Thanks, mom." She gets a bottle of water from the fridge and takes the pill.
Ashley "So when did you start having panic attacks?" She goes straight to the point.
Hanna "It only happened a couple of times, mom. It's nothing."
Ashley "It wasn't nothing, Hanna. I saw you myself last night you were so upset."
Hanna "I was doing just fine until last night. I'll be fine. Really, don't worry."
Ashley "Of course I'll worry, I'm your mother."
Hanna "I'm an adult, mom. You don't need to take care of everything in my life."
Ashley "Okay, just let me know if you need help with it. It's okay to reach out to someone if you need help. We could find a good therapist."
Hanna "Mom, you are starting to really piss me off. I'm fine." she leaves the kitchen.
She gets back to her room and grabs her phone. She had put it to charge last night and hadn't checked it since then. She reads the text from Caleb but decides not to text him back. She gets back in bed to wait for her headache to go away. She is about to fall asleep again when her phone buzzes.
It's a text from Emily: Hey, Han! Aria and Ezra are coming back from their trip tomorrow morning so we are getting all together at my place at night. Let Caleb know too.
Hanna texts her back: Okay, Em. See you tomorrow!
She decides to get up again and take a shower to finally start her day.
/
Afternoon.
The doorbell rings and Ashley goes answer the door. It's Caleb and Chocolate.
Ashley "Caleb!"
Caleb "Hi, Ashley." He greets her as Chocolate makes his way into the house.
Ashley "Come in. Hanna is down in the basement."
Caleb "Thanks." He says and steps inside. "I'm sorry about all the yelling last night. It wasn't my intention to make Hanna so angry, much less to cause her a panic attack."
Ashley "You don't have to apologize to me, Caleb. Hanna told me you were just collaborating with the police. You should work things out with her, don't worry about me."
Caleb nods and heads for the kitchen to go to the basement.
Caleb "Hey!" she greets Hanna who is sitting at an old desk working on her sketchbook.
Hanna "Hey." she looks up at him.
Caleb "How are you feeling?"
Hanna "I'm okay." She only says and focuses back on her sketchbook.
Caleb "Can we talk now? I hate being like this with you."
Hanna "No."
Caleb "Why not?"
Hanna "Because I just don't feel like talking to you."
Caleb "So you are still angry at me."
Hanna "I'm not angry anymore. I just don't feel like being with you right now."
Caleb "And when will you feel like talking or being with me?"
Hanna shrugs, she doesn't even bother to look at him.
Caleb "Han, please…"
Hanna "I just need some space right now, okay?" She finally looks up at him now. "I'll talk to you eventually. It's not like we are breaking up or something like that only because of what happened yesterday. I just need some more time."
Caleb "Okay." he simply says.
He takes a look around. That basement isn't exactly the best place for Hanna to work on her dresses. The lighting is pretty bad, she is sitting on an old chair that doesn't look very comfortable, and there's a book under one of the legs of the table where her sewing machine is placed to make it even.
Caleb "What we did last night worked, Han. We got the information the police needed."
Hanna "I don't want to know about it."
Caleb "Okay… I just wanted to let you know that what we did wasn't in vain."
Hanna "Okay, you just did. Now you can leave."
Caleb sighs.
Hanna "Really, Caleb. I just don't want to end up saying things to you that I might regret later."
Caleb "Fine." He only says and turns to leave.
Hanna "Oh, wait!"
Caleb turns back to her.
Hanna "We are getting together at Emily's and Alison's place tomorrow night because Aria and Ezra are coming back from their trip. Em asked me to let you know."
Caleb "Are you okay with me going there?"
Hanna "Yeah, they are your friends too."
Caleb "I just don't want to make you uncomfortable."
Hanna "You won't."
Caleb "Okay… see you, Han."
Hanna "See you."
Caleb finally leaves.
Hanna closes her sketchbook and puts it away. She wasn't feeling very inspired anyway. She was just avoiding Caleb.
/
Next day. Monday.
Caleb is sitting at his desk in his office.
It's noon, and he knows Hanna won't show up at the Radley to have lunch with him. He can't stand the situation they're in anymore. He doesn't feel guilty about what he did because it was for a good cause. He only feels guilty about causing Hanna to have another panic attack; he just wishes he had been more careful with the whole situation. He wants and needs to make things right already, but there's nothing he can do since Hanna won't talk to him.
He takes his phone and gives Toby a call.
Toby "Caleb!"
Caleb "Hey, Toby!"
Toby "I'm with Spencer." He warns him so he knows he won't talk about anything related to what they did the other night.
Caleb "Perfect, I need your help with something, and hers too."
Toby "Sure. I owe you big time, just tell me what you need."
Caleb "I want to make some improvements in Hanna's basement. Would you give me a hand with it? I'll need to work on the electrical wiring, do some painting, get some new furniture... and I want to get it done in just one day."
Toby "Sure thing. I'll help you."
Caleb "Great, would you please ask Spencer if she could keep Hanna entertained tomorrow?"
Toby "Wait a minute, I'll ask her."
Caleb starts typing on his laptop as he waits, looking for some desks on the internet.
Toby "She says she has to work, but she will make something up to keep Hanna with her at her place."
Caleb "Okay, just tell her not to worry. I'll figure something out. She can help me with something else. Ask her if she could pick out some office furniture online, I honestly suck at it. Hanna took care of furnishing my house."
Toby "Wait, I'll get her on the phone."
Spencer "Hey, Caleb!"
Caleb "Hey, Spence! Would you please take care of picking out some furniture? She will need a desk, a comfortable office chair, a table to place her sewing machine, and anything else you think she might need."
Spencer "Sure, no problem. I'll be happy to do it."
Caleb "Thanks, Spence. I'll send you my credit card details right away."
Spencer "Where do you want it to be delivered? Your place?"
Caleb "I actually hadn't thought of it, but I don't think they will deliver the furniture by tomorrow."
Spencer "Wait a minute… Toby says he can pick it up himself with his truck."
Caleb "That would be great."
Spencer "Okay, let's do this then!" she says excited. "You are like the best boyfriend ever!"
Caleb doesn't answer to that. He knows Spencer wouldn't think like that if she knew about the other night.
Spencer "Well, I'll start shopping right now. I'll let you know anything."
Caleb "Thank you very much, Spence."
Spencer "No problem. See you tonight at the girls'."
Caleb "See you."
He ends the call and stands up from his seat. He goes straight to Ashley's office and knocks on the door.
Ashley "Come in." she yells from inside.
Caleb "Hi, Ashley!"
Ashley "Caleb!"
Caleb "I just wanted to let you know that I'm taking the day off tomorrow..." Caleb is his own boss at the Radley, so it's not like he needs her permission to take a day off, but he just wanted to let her know. "And I also wanted to ask you a favor." He adds.
Ashley "Sure. What can I help you with?"
Caleb "I want to make your basement more comfortable for Hanna to work in there. And I was just wondering if I could borrow a key to your house, I want it to be a surprise. Toby and Spencer are giving me a hand with it, and I would like to do it tomorrow."
Ashley "Sure." She shoots him a smile. "I'll let you in tomorrow morning and I'll leave you my keys."
Caleb smiles back. "Thank you, Ashley!"
Ashley "What about Hanna?"
Caleb "I'll see if any of the girls can keep her entertained for the day."
Ashley "I'll do it myself. I'll take her out with me. I can take the day off too. I would like to spend some more time with her anyway… I mean, she has been having panic attacks and I didn't even know about it."
Caleb "It's something very recent, Ashley. It started less than a couple of months ago. And it happened only a few times. So it's not like you missed something for not spending enough time with her." he goes sit on a chair across her desk.
Ashley "Does it have something to do with Jordan? Did he cause this to her?"
Caleb "I'm not the one to tell you about it. I don't feel okay talking to you about this without her being here."
Ashley nods. She knows Caleb is right.
Caleb "Anyway, she was actually doing so much better until the other night… I screwed up, I should have been more careful with the whole situation."
Ashley "Don't blame yourself, Caleb. It's something that has been happening to her before, anything could have triggered it."
Caleb stands up from his seats and walks to the door. "Well, I'll come to your house early in the morning, is that okay?"
Ashley "Sure. Don't ring the doorbell. Just text me and I'll sneak you in."
Caleb nods. "Thanks."
/
That night.
Hanna parks her car at Emily's and Alison's. Just as always she is the last one to arrive, she sees that everyone's vehicles are parked outside. She pays especial attention to one car in particular, Caleb's.
She walks to the front door feeling a bit anxious, a bit happy, a mix of feelings, basically. She loves the fact that they are hanging out all together again after weeks, but at the same time, she doesn't know how she will feel when she sees Caleb. Unlike the day before, she does want to see him now, but things are just so weird between them, and she is still pissed off.
She finally rings the doorbell.
Emily "Han! We were waiting for you." She moves to the side to let her in.
Hanna "Hey Em!" She smiles at her and goes inside.
Emily "You didn't bring Chocolate with you."
Hanna "No, I left him at home with my mom and Ted."
Emily "Here, we are just hanging out in the living room. We already ordered Chinese."
Hanna "Hi everyone!" She greets them all and approaches Aria. "Hey you!" She smiles at her as Aria stands up from her chair to give her a hug.
Aria "I missed you so much, Han."
Hanna "I missed you too."
Aria sits back in her chair, and Hanna just sits down on the armrest of her chair since all the seats are taken already. In a normal situation, she would have gone to sit on Caleb's lap, even if there were still some free seats. But not today. She catches Caleb staring at her, and he gives her a little smile when their eyes meet. But she simply looks away.
Ezra continues with the anecdote he was telling them before Hanna arrived. Then Aria starts telling them more about their trip as well.
Shortly after, the doorbell rings, so Emily stands up to go answer the door.
Emily "Han, would you give me a hand?"
Hanna "Sure." She stands up as well and follows her to the front door.
Emily "Are you okay? You are too quiet."
Hanna "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired… I've been working hard on my designs." she lies.
Emily "I'm so happy for you, Han! Let me know if I can help you with anything."
Hanna "Thanks." She smiles at her warmly.
They come back a couple of minutes later carrying the food and place the bags on the coffee table so everyone can grab their own Chinese food box.
Caleb "Here, Han." He tells her after she gets her box, offering his seat to her.
Hanna "It's fine." She only tells him and sits back down on the armrest of Aria's chair.
Caleb sits back in his seat.
They have dinner as Aria and Ezra tell them more about their adventures together. Everyone takes part in the conversation too, but Hanna and Caleb are especially quiet. And, of course, Spencer, Emily, and Alison notice it.
Once they finish dinner, Alison stands up to pick up the empty boxes from the coffee table, and Spencer stands up as well to help her clear the table.
Alison "Let's take it all to the kitchen." She tells Spencer.
Spencer "Han, could you take that empty bottle?" She asks Hanna since her hands are full and it's also the perfect excuse to get her alone it the kitchen.
Hanna "Sure." She grabs the empty bottle of wine and follows them to the kitchen, unaware of Spencer's actual intention.
Spencer "Are you and Caleb okay?" She goes straight to the point.
Alison "I was just about to ask her the same question." She tells Spencer.
Hanna "Yes, everything is right."
The girls stare at her.
Hanna "Seriously!"
Spencer "Please, Han, you are always all over each other, but today you won't even look at him."
Hanna "Okay, fine. We had a fight. That's all."
Alison "You are okay, then?"
Hanna would really like to talk to them, but she is afraid she could cause more problems between Toby and Spencer if she tells her about what he and Caleb did the other night. Even though she is still very angry at Toby, she still wants him and Spencer to get back together. She doesn't want to make them take a big step back in their fragile relationship. That's why she decides to stay silent and keep it a secret.
Hanna "Yes, I'm fine." She says and goes back to the living room.
But when she gets there, Caleb is no longer in his seat.
Hanna "Where's Caleb?"
Emily "He just left. He said he was tired."
Hanna goes to the front door and gets outside. She sees Caleb walking toward his car.
Hanna "Hey!"
Caleb turns around to look at her.
Hanna "Why are you leaving so early?"
Caleb "You obviously don't want me here, so I'm just giving you some space."
Hanna "It's not like that, Caleb. Come back inside."
Caleb "It's fine, Han. Really."
Hanna "No, it's not. I do want you here, okay? Things are just weird between us, that's all."
Caleb "I hate being like this."
Hanna sighs. "I want you to stay, okay? Would you just come back inside with me?"
Caleb doubts for a moment but he ends up going back inside with Hanna. He liked that she asked him to stay.
They go back to the living room and each of them sits back in the same places they were before. By now, everyone has noticed that something is going on between them, but no one says a word about it, and they just keep talking as if nothing had happened. They've all been there before, they are all couples, after all, and they've gone through fights and misunderstandings. They have had to deal with the fact that they share friends and have had to be in the same get-together despite their relationship issues.
Aria "More wine, Han?"
Hanna "Yes, please." She shoots her a slight smile.
An hour later, Hanna stands up and goes to use the bathroom. On her way back to her seat, she passes by Caleb, and he takes the opportunity to envelop her in his arms. Everyone else has already stood up from their seats, and they are helping clean up before leaving. Caleb is still sitting in a chair, and he makes her turn so she stands facing him.
Caleb "Please, Han. I can't take this anymore." He hugs her, resting his head against her stomach, his cheek pressed to her body.
Hanna can't help but run her hands through his hair, gently caressing him.
Caleb "I miss you."
Hanna "I miss you too." she finally starts to get loose.
Caleb looks up at her. "Come with me to my place, please."
Hanna doubts. She is not so sure about it.
Caleb "Let's just spend some time together… let's work things out."
Hanna "Okay." she finally agrees. She wants to make things right again too.
Caleb smiles. "I'll just go use the bathroom and then we can leave." He releases her from his grip and stands up.
Toby takes the opportunity to approach Hanna now, since Spencer is in the kitchen. But Hanna cuts him off before he can even say a word.
Hanna "It's too soon, Toby. I'm still pretty pissed off at you."
Toby "Just listen to me, okay?"
Hanna "I don't wanna do this right now."
Toby "Okay, I just wanted to tell you that I'm very sorry."
Hanna "Sorry for what? For being so insensitive to me? For putting my boyfriend in danger? Or for putting me in an awkward position where I can't even talk about it with my friends not to get you into trouble with Spencer again?"
Toby "For all of it."
Spencer approaches them, and even though she couldn't hear what they were just talking about, she can tell by their body language that they are having some kind of disagreement.
Spencer "What's wrong?"
Hanna doesn't answer her question because she is not going to lie to her. One thing is not telling her about what happened, and another thing would be to make something up to cover for Toby, which she won't do.
Toby "Nothing, Spence. Let's get going."
Spencer can see from Hanna's expression that she is upset about something, but she decides to leave with Toby and make him tell her what's going on.
Spencer "I'll see you tomorrow, Han."
The girls have made plans to get together for dinner the following night since it's been a while since they had a girls' night.
Hanna nods at her and the couple leaves. She says goodbye to the rest of her friends and decides to wait for Caleb outside. That brief talk with Toby just put her in a bad mood, but she doesn't want it to affect her time with Caleb. She's been feeling down for the last two days, and she knows being with Caleb is the only thing that could make her feel better.
She is standing by her car when he shows up out there.
Caleb "Thought you had left without me." He says while walking to her.
Hanna "No, I think we have been apart long enough."
Caleb smiles at her. He couldn't agree more.
Hanna "Okay, I'll meet you at your place." she opens the door of her car.
Caleb "You okay?"
Hanna "Yeah, why?"
Caleb "I don't know. You seem a bit down."
Hanna "Well, I feel a bit down." She says while getting in her car. "I'll see you there." She says again and closes her door.
/
Caleb makes a quick stop at a gas station, so by the time he gets to his place, Hanna is already there. She is standing at his front door, waiting for him.
Caleb "Why didn't you just let yourself in?" He asks while walking to her.
Hanna doesn't say anything. He notices that she is getting cold from waiting outside.
Caleb "Come in." He tells her after opening the front door.
Hanna goes inside and waits for him aside as he locks the door. In a normal situation, she would already be making herself comfortable on his couch or something like that, but there's still some awkwardness between them.
Caleb goes to the living room, and Hanna follows him there. She sits down on the couch now.
Caleb "I'll be right back." He says before going upstairs.
He shows up back there only a few seconds later and hands Hanna one of his hoodies.
Hanna "Thanks." She gives him a little smile and puts it on.
Caleb "Want something to drink?"
Hanna "No… come here." She says and taps on the couch next to her.
Caleb sits down next to her and decides to break the awkwardness by sliding his hand underneath the hoodie he just gave her. He starts to gently rub her back through the fabric of her top. "I'm glad you are here."
Hanna responds to his touch. She turns to him and lifts her legs to rest them on his lap and wraps one of her arms around his shoulders. "I missed you." She places a tender kiss on his cheek.
Caleb "You've no idea how miserable I've felt these past two days." He takes his free hand to her face.
But it's Hanna who takes the initiative and finally joins their mouths in a kiss. It's just the very gentle kiss they both needed to put an end to the awkwardness between them for good.
Caleb pulls away from her lips. "Wanna talk? I just need to know everything is okay between us. I need us to go back to normal." He rests his hand on one of her legs.
Hanna "You already apologized." She fixes his hair gently. "I forgive you."
Caleb "Just like that?"
Hanna "Yeah… what else could we talk about? I mean, I get why you did what you did. I just didn't like that you put yourself in danger for something it wasn't your responsibility. You are not a cop and Toby should have known better than putting you in that situation."
Caleb "And why do you think I did it?" he asks intrigued because he knows Hanna doesn't know the full reasons because she didn't give him the chance to explain.
Hanna "To help a friend."
Caleb "Yes, you are right. But there's more to it that you don't know. It was a drug gang, you know? They've been trying to settle in Rosewood, and Toby just wanted to keep this town safe and quiet for his family. And honestly, I wanted the same as him. Rosewood is my home now."
Hanna "You got yourself involved with a drug gang, Caleb?" She asks concerned.
Caleb "It's all over now. Toby told me they made the arrests today. It will probably be on the news by tomorrow. The police took care of them before it turned into a big security problem for the town. I thought they were useless after what happened the night you went missing, but turns out Toby was right. They were up to something bigger. And I was happy to help... I mean, we will start our own family here someday, so it just felt like the right thing to do. I wouldn't like to live in a town taken over by criminals."
Hanna "What did you just say?" she smiles.
Caleb "About what?"
Hanna "About starting a family someday?"
Caleb smiles back at her. "Yeah, what's with it?"
Hanna "Nothing, I just didn't know you wanted kids. We never talked about it. That's all."
Caleb "Yeah… I guess I want kids someday… I mean, I had never considered it before, but I would have them with you." He plants tender kisses on her neck and lingers there, enjoying her sweet scent.
Hanna can't stop smiling. "Well, I would love to have kids with you too, as long as you promise me you won't play the hero anymore. I can't stand the possibility of losing you. I don't want you to put yourself in danger anymore. It scared the shit out of me when I heard that shooting from your car."
Caleb lifts his head from her neck to look at her. "I'm sorry I put you through it, Han… I wouldn't have done it if I knew I would cause you to have another panic attack."
Hanna "It wasn't your fault, babe. We both know very well who caused my panic attacks." She sighs. "I was doing so well, though... the other day when I caught you and Toby leaving, I had walked all the way from my place with Chocolate. I walked him again by myself."
Caleb "You did?"
Hanna "Yeah… I was just so happy about it."
Caleb "That's great, Han."
Hanna "Well, I don't know if I'll be able to do it again any time soon."
Caleb "I'm sorry."
Hanna "Stop apologizing already." she pecks his lips.
Caleb "I can't help feeling guilty… I might not be responsible for your panic attacks in the first place, but I am responsible for this setback."
Hanna "Well, you have a lot to do with my progress too." She takes his face in her hands. "I'll get through this again."
Caleb "Of course you will."
They share another tender kiss.
Hanna "Anyway, don't you ever do something like that again. I'd rather move to Switzerland than see you put yourself at risk again. Your life is not the price I'm willing to pay to live in a quiet place."
Caleb chuckles. "Why Switzerland though?"
Hanna "I don't know, I've heard it's really quiet there, and nothing ever happens. I guess I could make chocolate for a living instead of dresses."
Caleb laughs. "I love you."
Hanna "I love you too."
And they start kissing again, but this time it's a passionate kiss, the perfect way to exchange some affection, some love, after two long days of being distant, and neither of them pulls away to say anything else for a good while. Until…
Hanna "I would kiss you all night long, baby. But…" She says and goes back to kissing his lips before continuing speaking.
Caleb "But nothing." He says against her mouth.
Hanna "I have to leave." She pecks his lips once more and pulls away. "My mom booked us a spa day for tomorrow, and I have to get up really early. It's in Philly. She wants us to spend the whole day together. I think she feels sorry for me, you know? Because of the panic attacks and all."
Caleb remembers that it was him who asked Ashley to keep Hanna busy for the day, so he won't even try to interfere with it. That's why he doesn't insist that she stays the night with him. "You probably have the best mother on earth, you know?"
Hanna "Yes, I know. That's probably why I got a bad dad. You can't have everything I guess." Very much against her will, she stands up from the couch. "Would you walk me to my car?"
Caleb "Of course." He stands up as well.
Hanna "I'm having dinner with the girls tomorrow night." She tells him as they leave the house.
Caleb "Oh… So when will I get to see you again?" he asks, sounding a bit disappointed.
Hanna "I'll come over tomorrow night after seeing the girls." She turns to him. "If that's okay with you."
Caleb "I'll be waiting for you." He says, taking her hand, and they walk to Hanna's car.
Hanna "See you tomorrow."
She grabs his face and gives Caleb a kiss that makes he wish she would stay, a kiss that leaves him longing for more. But he knows he has to let her go to avoid interfering with his plans for the following day.
Caleb "Goodnight, baby."