Hanna "Oh my god, Caleb!" she yells from the little bathroom of her room at the hospital.
Caleb is waiting for her outside, right next to the bathroom door.
Caleb "You okay?" he asks right away, worried and ready to push the door open if necessary.
Hanna "Yeah, I'm okay, but I'm wearing your underwear! Oh my god, everyone must have seen it! How embarrassing!"
Caleb "Oh, god, Hanna. You scared the hell out of me! It's fine, it's no big deal… Please, just don't yell like that anymore"
Hanna "I'm sorry, babe"
Hanna comes out from the bathroom a couple of minutes later. Caleb takes her hand and places his other one on her waist in order to accompany her back to the bed just like he did before to the bathroom.
Hanna smiles and takes his hand off of her waist. "Really, I'm okay. You don't need to help me"
Caleb "I just wanna make sure you don't fall. You just started to move your legs a while ago, Han"
Hanna "Okay, but just hold my hand" she tells him as she starts to walk to the bed.
And she makes it to there with no problems. Maybe a little slower than normal, but she walks perfectly well.
Hanna "See?" she shoots him a smile as she sits down on the edge of the bed.
Caleb smiles back and standing in front of her, he presses a brief kiss to her forehead. "I'm glad you are so much better"
Hanna wraps her arms around his waist and hugs him, her cheek pressed against his stomach, since he is standing and she is sitting. Caleb starts to rub her back with one hand and he caresses her hair with the other.
Caleb "How are you feeling?"
Hanna "I'm perfectly well. Can you go get the doctor? I wanna go home now"
Caleb pulls back from her embrace and places his hands on her shoulders, making Hanna look up at him. "Are you sure that you are 'perfectly well'?" he asks her, using her same words. "You need to be honest, Han. Don't rush this just to go home faster. It's okay if we have to stay here a little longer. I just want you to be completely well"
Hanna "I'm okay… maybe my head hurts a little, but I'm okay"
Caleb stares at her.
Hanna "Okay, fine. My head hurts like a lot, it's killing me. But I'm okay anyway"
Caleb "Yeah, you had a strong blow to your head. They already checked it out, but we are going to mention it to your doctor again, just to make sure it's normal. Maybe she can give you something for the pain"
Hanna nods.
Caleb sits down on the edge of the bed next to her and wraps his arm around her waist to hug her from the side. Hanna tilts her head to the side right away, resting it on his shoulder.
Caleb "Han… I know it's maybe too soon to ask you this… but I really need to know… What happened to you? What do you remember?"
He finally decides to ask her, despite the doctor asked him to wait before doing so. Hanna seems to be doing well after all, she even has been smiling, and he sees no difference in waiting for the doctor to talk to her. Indeed, he'd rather talk to Hanna alone. He knows that it will be way less awkward for her, and also that she will be more honest to him.
Hanna swallows hard and takes a moment to answer, recalling what happened in her head.
Caleb "I'm sorry, I know it's too soon… but the doctor is gonna ask you anyway, and I just thought you would-"
Hanna "I know, babe" she cuts him off while taking his free hand in hers. "I was just trying to remember it better, but I can't… it happened so fast" she starts to stroke the palm of his hand. "I only know that some man tried to steal Chocolate from me and I tried to stop him… but nothing else. I only remember being trying to stop this man, but that's all"
Caleb "Could you see this man? His face? Or something that could help us recognize him?"
Hanna shakes her head. "It happened too fast"
Caleb "So this was all about Chocolate?" he asks while looking at her.
Hanna looks up at him too. "I guess so"
Caleb "Well, it makes sense now the fact that you were sedated with a sedative for animals… I guess it was meant for Chocolate"
Hanna "A sedative for animals?" she asks him surprised.
Caleb "That's what the doctor told me after your blood test"
Hanna "Who would take so much trouble only to steal a dog? I mean, Chocolate is such a beautiful dog, but still…"
Caleb "Yeah, and then abandon you both in the woods right after… it just doesn't make any sense"
Hanna "In the woods? You found us in the woods?" she asks him astonished.
Caleb "Sorry, I wasn't thinking. I'm talking too much, I shouldn't be talking to you about all this right now. Let's just-"
Hanna cuts him off again. "No, I want to know everything. Please, help me put the pieces together... So I ended up in the woods?"
Caleb nods. "I found you there. The guys and I were looking for you there... I haven't talked too much with Emily, but they were still looking for Chocolate in the woods before she told me that they had found him, so I guess he was there too"
Hanna "Why were you looking for me there? This happened right outside my house, on my street"
Caleb "Really? It happened right there?"
Hanna "Yeah, I never made it to the park"
Caleb sighs.
Hanna "So? How did you know that I was in the woods?" she asks again.
Caleb "I got worried because you didn't come to my place and I couldn't contact you, so I called Emily. But she hadn't heard anything from you either, and you weren't answering your home phone, so we went to your place. That's when we found out that your car was still there but Chocolate wasn't, and that the last time we both had heard from you was in the afternoon. We assumed that something had happened to you when you took Chocolate to the park. Then we went to the police station, but those assholes there didn't pay attention to us. Anyway, we called Toby and the rest of the guys and we kept looking for you on our own. The guys went drive around your place and the park as Toby and I stayed at my place trying to track your phone down"
Hanna "Oh, but I still had my GPS location off. I forgot to switch it back on"
Caleb "Yeah, it kind of made it all harder… on top of that, the signal of your phone was very weak. I guess it was because it was all broken. Anyway, we managed to track down the cell phone tower from where your phone was receiving that poor signal, it wasn't so exact, but we knew where to look for you at least. That's how we ended up in the woods"
Hanna "So I was there in the woods the whole time? Was I there for hours?" she asks and Caleb can notice a bit of anguish in her voice, not to mention her sad eyes.
Caleb tightens his grip around her waist, pressing her harder against him. "I think we should stop talking about this for now"
Hanna agrees with him, so she only rests her head back on his shoulder and they remain silent for a few seconds.
Hanna "I wanna go home" she tells him after a while.
Caleb "Okay, I'll go get the doctor"
Caleb is about to stand up, but Hanna wraps her arms around his shoulders, stopping him.
Hanna "No. I want you to stay with me. Let's just ask a nurse to go get the doctor"
Caleb "Okay" he presses a soft kiss on her lips.
/
About half an hour later, the doctor finally shows up over Hanna's room.
Dr. Webber "Hi, Hanna" she greets her with a warm smile. "You seem to be much better" she adds, seeing that Hanna is already wearing her own clothes and sitting on the bed.
Caleb is standing next to Hanna. He has tried to make her lie down and get some more rest until the doctor got there, but she has refused to do so and she also has put her clothes from the day before back on, although Caleb also told her to wait a bit longer and that he could ask one of her friends to go get her some clean clothes. But Hanna was very anxious to go back home and she wanted to be ready to leave as soon as the doctor discharged her, and so she is.
Hanna "Yes, I am much better. I'm ready to go home"
Caleb only rolls his eyes. She's so stubborn.
Dr. Webber gives her another smile. "We need to make sure that you are completely well before"
Hanna nods.
The doctor asks Hanna some questions in order to know how she feels physically as she checks out her pupils, her reflexes, and her general condition. Then, she asks her to stand up and walk in a straight line, and just like she did before, Hanna walks perfectly well.
Dr. Webber "Perfect, Hanna" she tells her as Hanna sits back down on the edge of the bed. "Seems like you were right, you are much better. I'll just give you some ibuprofen for your headache, that's all I can do. You can't have anything stronger than that because your body has had enough for today. Anyway, it should be enough to calm the pain, the blow to your head was strong, but you are all right"
Hanna nods again.
Dr. Webber "Can you remember what happened to you, Hanna?"
Hanna "Yes" she says right away. "Someone tried to steal my dog. I was taking him to the park, and some man appeared out of nowhere. I tried to stop him, but that's all I know, I can't remember anything after that"
Dr. Webber "I know this may be a bit awkward, but I have to ask… You told me before that you had used the bathroom, did you feel anything out of normal when you did so? Some pain or any little discomfort?"
Hanna shakes her head no. "Everything was fine"
Dr. Webber "So, what you just told me about your dog is all you can remember? This man that you mentioned… did he try something else with you?"
Hanna shakes her head again. "No, he didn't"
Dr. Webber "You sure?"
Hanna "Yes" she says very sure.
Dr. Webber nods. "I thought so"
Hanna "Then why do you keep insisting on it? The other doctor even blamed my boyfriend for it. That's not what happened, I don't know why you all just jumped to such a conclusion when there was not even a little sign of that"
Dr. Webber "Well, we as doctors have some obligations. Sometimes, we have to call the police on our patients. For example, when it's a victim of gun shot. And we also have a duty to report suspected child or elder abuse, among many other things. Anyway, you got here unconscious after being found in the woods, that by itself, was already very alarming. Then we learned by your blood test that you were sedated and we also found the puncture in you back, so it was obvious that you had been drugged by someone else. You have to understand that all those things made us think that you could be a victim of a sexual assault. I immediately dismissed that suspicion after a quick check-up, but I still had to ask you those questions, to make sure"
Hanna nods, more understanding now.
Dr. Webber "Anyway, although this was just a robbery that went wrong, I still think that you should go to the police yourself. You should do something about it"
Caleb "Yes, we will" he says and takes Hanna's hand.
Dr. Webber smiles at them. "Well, so we are repeating the blood test now that you are better and if everything is okay, you can go home later"
Hanna "Later? How long?" she asks a bit depressed, since she thought she would be able to go home right away.
Dr. Webber "Around an hour, maybe a bit more, but not so long. I know you want to go home already, don't worry, I'll send a nurse to take the sample right now and I'll be attentive to the results so I can come back here as soon as they are ready"
Hanna "Thank you" she forces a smile, trying to be kind despite her disappointment.
Dr. Webber "Meanwhile, there are some friends of yours waiting outside. I'm sure they'll make your wait much easier" she smiles back at Hanna and then leaves the room.
Caleb stands in front of Hanna now. "I'll go get the guys, okay?" he leans in and placing his palms on her shoulders, he pecks her lips.
Hanna "No" she says and rests her hands on his forearms. "Don't leave. Text them to come in"
Caleb nods and smooches her lips once more.
/
Some minutes later, after the nurse takes a new sample of Hanna's blood and leaves, Toby, Spencer and Aria get in Hanna's room.
Aria "Han! I'm so glad you are alright! We were so scared!" she says and goes hug Hanna.
Spencer "Han! I still can't believe this!" she joins the embrace. "Thank god you are okay"
They pull away after a few seconds and Toby approaches her now.
Hanna "Hey… you look way worse than me" she teases her friend with a slight smile on her face as he pulls her into a hug too.
Toby "Yeah, let's just say that I didn't get any sleep thanks to you… but I'm happy that you are fine anyway" he jokes back and squeezes her against him before pulling away.
Aria "So, what happened to you, Han?"
Spencer "Do you remember anything?"
Hanna "Someone tried to steal Chocolate from me right in front of my house… but I can't remember anything else"
Toby "All this just to steal a dog? There must be something else behind it… Dog theft is not common, I don't recall any report of a dog theft at the station. Are you sure it was that, Han?"
Hanna "Yes, I'm pretty sure. This man was pulling Chocolate away from me… he also put a bag on Chocolate's head. He wanted to take him away"
Spencer "Aren't there security cameras on her street? Maybe you could do something to check them out at the station" she asks her boyfriend.
Toby shakes his head no. "But you should go to the station and make a report, Han. The police won't do anything if you don't report what happened to you first"
Caleb "Yeah, sure they will do something… just like they looked for her last night" he rolls his eyes.
Toby "I'm sure they will do something to clarify this"
Caleb "Please! They did nothing for a missing person, I'm pretty sure they won't trouble themselves just to investigate a failed stealing of a dog that is perfectly well"
Toby looks at Caleb now. "They'll pay attention to her now. You already reported her missing, now you two should go over there and tell them what happened. They must open an investigation, she ended up unconscious in the woods and then spent hours at the hospital, it was more than just a failed theft"
Hanna "Can we just stop talking about this? I'm kind of done" she says a bit annoyed already.
Caleb "Yeah, sorry"
Toby "Sorry, Han… but really, think about it… it's important"
Hanna "I won't report anything else to the police. I'll just go there and say that I'm all right, that I got lost in the woods myself. I'll tell them that my phone broke when I was walking my dog or something. I don't want them to open any investigation about anything. I don't want any more questions and I don't want anyone else to know about what happened to me. I just want all this to end as soon as possible"
Toby "Come on, Han… you can't just-"
Hanna cuts him off. "I made my decision"
There's an awkward silence until Aria finally speaks.
Aria "How are you feeling?" she changes the subject in an attempt to cut with the awkwardness.
Hanna "I'm good. I just want to get the hell out of here"
Hanna has gotten a bit cranky and the guys notice it.
Caleb "I know, babe… just a little longer" he places his palm on her knee and gives her a squeeze there.
Spencer "Have you talked to your mom, Han?"
Hanna shakes her head. "She must be busy in London. I'll text her later"
Aria "Are you telling her about what happened?"
Hanna "Of course not. I don't want to worry her. Besides, I don't want anyone else to learn about this"
Aria nods at her.
The guys keep talking about everything and nothing, although Hanna doesn't participate much in the conversation. Then, after about an hour, Hanna's doctor gets back over there, and so they leave the room. Caleb remains standing next to Hanna.
Dr. Webber "Good news, Hanna" she smiles at her. "You can go home now. Everything is okay"
Hanna's face lights up when she smiles at the good news. Caleb smiles as well and places his hand on Hanna's shoulder.
Dr. Webber "You can keep taking ibuprofen if your headache comes back, just make sure to leave 6 hours between doses, okay?"
Hanna "Okay"
Dr. Webber "And you need to rest. No work, no workout, sleep as much as you need and stay calm"
Hanna nods.
Caleb "I'll make sure she does so"
Dr. Webber smiles at Caleb and then looks back at Hanna. "Well, you can leave when you are ready. You are gonna have to stop by at the front desk and do some paperwork before leaving"
After saying goodbye to Hanna's doctor and after doing the paperwork to leave the hospital, Hanna and Caleb meet the guys outside. Once there, Hanna thanks her friends for being there for her. Toby and Spencer leave and Aria gives them a ride to Caleb's place.
/
Caleb "Okay, I'll go grab my things and then we are going to your place, fine?" he tells Hanna after they step into the house. "Go sit down on the couch. I'll be right back" he kisses her cheek.
Hanna nods.
Caleb heads toward the stairs.
Hanna "Can we go pick Chocolate up at Emily's before going to my place?"
Caleb "Sure"
Hanna goes to the living room and sits down on the couch as she was told. But she only stays there for a few minutes because she's thirsty and so she goes to the kitchen for a glass of water.
She pours herself some water and drinks it. When she puts the empty glass down, she notices a baking dish full of food on the countertop next to the oven. She gets closer. It looks delicious, she doesn't know what it is, but the top of it is covered by grilled cheese. That's when she realizes. It must be the food that Caleb cooked for the date that they were supposed to have the previous night. A huge sadness invades her right away and her eyes get watery. She can't help feeling sad at thinking of Caleb cooking for her, and then waiting for her with dinner ready, wondering why she didn't get there yet when she even promised him she would be there early to help him cook. Soon, she is weeping unable to stop. Her tears soaking her cheeks. The happiness of going back home has been replaced for a strong feeling of anguish.
Soon after, Hanna feels Caleb's arms enclosing her waist and pulling her against him from behind her back. She didn't even hear him coming.
Caleb "Hey" he tells her softly. "What's wrong?" he leans forward and gives her a tender kiss on the neck.
But Hanna doesn't answer, so he unwraps his arms from her waist and takes his hands to her shoulders to make her turn around.
Caleb "Why are you crying?"
Hanna "That's the food you cooked for last night, isn't it?" she asks as her tears keep emerging from her eyes.
Caleb smiles at her. "Does it look that bad?" he jokes while pulling her toward his chest in a hug. "Don't worry, you won't have to try it. It's already spoiled anyway. I never put it in the fridge"
Hanna "I'm sorry" she answers, ignoring his joke, still feeling sad.
Caleb "For what, Han?"
Hanna "You took the trouble to cook all that for me and I never came over"
Caleb "It's okay" he says very calm. He knows that she is not just crying over some stupid food, he thinks that she must be upset for all that happened to her and maybe the food is just an excuse to cry it all out. "I can cook for you again another day… and you can actually help me cook next time" he jokes and smiles again.
Hanna looks up at him and Caleb places a kiss on her cheek, right on one of her tears.
Caleb "Hey, everything is okay" he gets serious now. "Let me clean this up and then we can leave" he takes his hands to her face and wipes her tears away with his thumbs.
Hanna nods.
Caleb "How about picking Chocolate up tomorrow?"
Hanna stares at him.
Caleb "You know he is in very good hands with Em… and we can order some pizza and eat in bed, cuddling together… we need to get a good night's sleep"
Hanna "Fine" she agrees, since his offer sounds very tempting.
Caleb gives her another smile and after sharing a brief soft kiss, he pulls away from her to clean up his kitchen, since he didn't have the time to do so during the chaotic previous night.
/
Later, at Hanna's.
She gets back in her bedroom after having taken a shower. Caleb is there, sitting on the edge of her bed.
Caleb "You are gonna have to get a new phone, babe… it doesn't work" he tells her while holding up the pink smartphone with the cracked screen. "And I think it also ran out of battery, it hasn't beeped for a while now… use my phone to text your mom" he says and puts it down on the bedside table.
Hanna only nods as she starts to brush her hair. She is wearing a bathrobe. Caleb can tell by the reddish of her eyes that she has been crying in the shower.
Caleb "Come here" he tells her while moving backwards to sit more over the center of the bed and he spreads his legs, making some room for her to sit between them.
Hanna goes sit there right away.
Caleb "Let me" he tells her while grabbing the hairbrush from her hand. Then he starts to brush her hair softly, being careful not to pull her wet hair.
Hanna remains serious.
Caleb "It will get better, Han… I know you are too sad right now, but give it some time… it will get better with time"
Hanna nods as a single tear rolls down on her cheek.
Caleb puts the hairbrush away. "I just wish I could do something to make the pain go away faster" he wraps his arms around her shoulders, hugging her from behind her back.
Hanna "You are already doing so" she turns her head to the side to look at him. "And very well"
Caleb doesn't say a word, he only gets his face closer to hers and starts a very romantic kiss.
Then, Caleb goes take a shower too and later, just like he promised her before, they eat pizza in bed while watching TV. For moments, he gets to make Hanna forget everything that happened to her, and he even gets a few smiles and laughs from her.
/
Hanna gets out of the bathroom after having brushed her teeth and is about to get back in her bedroom when she suddenly remembers something. She needs to take her birth control pill. Indeed, she needs to take two of them since the previous night she skipped one, for obvious reasons. She heads to the staircase but stops before the steps at seeing the darkness downstairs, since all the lights are off on the ground floor of the house.
Caleb "Are you finished with the bathroom?" he asks her from the door of her bedroom, holding his toothbrush in his hand.
Hanna "uh huh"
Caleb "Is everything okay?" he asks her, seeing that she is standing at the staircase but doesn't go down.
Hanna "Uhh… could you do me a favor?"
Caleb "Sure"
Hanna "I need to take my birth control pill… they are in my purse, on the kitchen island, I think… can you go bring them to me?"
Caleb "Yeah" he says and heads toward the staircase. He places a kiss on her forehead on his way there. "Go to bed" he tells her before going downstairs.
Hanna goes back to her bedroom and gets in bed. Soon after, Caleb comes back with her pills.
Caleb "Here" he hands her the pills along with a glass of water.
Hanna "Thanks" she tells him and takes two pills at once.
Caleb leaves for the bathroom. When he comes back, he gets in the bed next to Hanna. She is lying on her side, so he lies on his back and pulls her toward him. Hanna rests her head on his chest right away, sticking her cheek to the bare skin of his chest and wraps her arm around his waist. Caleb wraps one arm around her as well, and with his free hand, he starts to caress her hair and her cheek.
After a while of cuddling together in silence, Hanna lifts her head up from his chest to meet her lips with his. Caleb kisses her back very delicately, making the kiss feel like a soft caress to their lips. But soon after, Hanna makes the kiss deeper and because of the way she uses her tongue, Caleb can tell that it's not just a goodnight kiss.
Caleb pulls back from her lips and resting his head back on the pillow, he smiles at her. "You need to go to sleep"
Hanna "No, I need you"
Caleb smiles again and takes his hand to her face. "I'm not having sex with you tonight, you just got out of the hospital"
Hanna "So what?"
Caleb "Your doctor said no workout, and having sex is pretty much alike that"
Hanna "No, it's not… rough sex may be, but that's not what I want right now… I want it gently"
Caleb "Please, don't talk like that" he bites his bottom lip and then lets out a deep breath. Hanna talking about sex is such a big turn-on to him.
Hanna "Like what?" she asks amused.
Caleb "Nothing, it doesn't matter" Wrapping his arms around her again, he pulls her down back to his chest. "Let's go to sleep, you need to rest right now… I promise I'll do whatever you want tomorrow" he says and yawns.
Hanna "Okay" she says softly and places a tender kiss on his neck before resting her head back on his chest. She gives up so easily because Caleb's yawn reminded her that he slept almost nothing the night before; he spent half of the night looking for her and the other half sitting on a chair next to her bed. He surely deserves to have a good night's sleep. "Good night baby, sleep well" she tells him sweetly.
Caleb "Good night, Han. You too" he turns off the bedside lamp and then he holds her tighter, pressing her harder against him, which is very comforting to Hanna.