Yep I know, you all hate me. I know. I don't blame you. I'm sorry.

But, if you can put aside your inevitable hated for me and read this short, not very god chapter...thank you. I'm also sorry for any mistakes...I'm sleep deprived beyond words.

So enough with apologizing. Let's get on with it!

WARNING: severe triggers, and Haleb fans, don't kill me. I have no thoughts in my head that Caleb could ever hurt Hanna on PLL, so don't get peeved. This is merely a fictional story.

I own nothing but the plot. All mistakes are mine.

"How about one of those Finnish Cabins? Those are pretty cozy. We could get a real fireplace and everything." Your best friend suggests.

"Mmm...nice!" You agree, nodding. "Or maybe one of those Caribbean bungalows with a water slide that opens out into the ocean."

"I would be down for that!" She says, popping another peanut butter pretzel into her mouth. "'Good morning, I think I'm going to go for my AM waterslide run.'" She says, her voice bubbly and happy. You smile.

You and Hanna have been driving for almost 8 hours. It's 4:23 in the morning, and your delirium is making you bubbly and goofy. You have been brainstorming about fictitious scenarios in which you don't go back to school you go to a spontaneous new location.

An Igloo in Antarctica.

A first-class cabin on a Carnival Cruise.

A luxurious penthouse in LA.

A remote island of the coast of the Carribean.

The list goes on and on. How you two have not run out of ideas is beyond you. You are tired, despondent, and unbelievably blissful. You are tired because you have been awake for too long, despondent because you had to leave Sarasota, and unbelievably blissful because you're with Hanna. That doesn't surprise you at all. She can always make you smile when in the most despondent of moods.

So now, as you drive along the desolate freeway, you supply ideas.

"A western Ranch?"

"Hmm, maybe. I'm not a very big fan of farm animals..." She says, twisting her mouth in thought. "But, we could get horses! I'm quite a big a big fan of horses."

"Perfect! What will we name them?"

"Buttercup and Charlie." She answers automatically. You nod, agreeing.

"Okay. Sounds good. Buttercup will be milky white and Charlie will be coffee brown." You state.

"Precisely! What are you, a mind reader?" Hanna says, a chuckle in her voice.

"Maybe, especially when it comes to theoretical horses." You smirk, and she giggles. You love her giggle.

You two drive in comfortable silence for a little bit, tainted only by the crinkling of cellophane. Then, her voice suddenly explodes.

"I got it! I got the perfect idea!" She announces loudly, bouncing in her seat like a child. You flinch, and take a breath. You're starting to feel a creeping exhaustion settle around you, and her sudden vocal explosion shocked that exhaustion away. Once your flinching moment is over, you respond to the exuberant blonde.

"Okay, shoot!"

"What about we build one of those elaborate-as-fuck tree houses that require like a rope bridge and 2 ladders to get to? I mean, I'm not the biggest fan of nature, but we could make it uber-glamorous!" She suggests excitedly, and your stomach twists a bit. Somehow, you've developed an inexplicable fear of heights. And you live in central New York.

Your fear is rather inconvenient.

"I don't know..." You twist your mouth, suddenly embarrassed and flushed. She looks at you.

"Hey, don't worry, I'll console your fear of heights until you can practically dangle from Redwoods like a monkey without a second thought." The meaning behind her words make your lips pull into a smile, but the thought of that is still chilling.

"And, if you still were afraid, I would walk you across the rope bridges Jack-and-Rose style. With my body behind yours and your hands in mine. And you could say 'Hanna...I feel like I'm flying!' And I could smile. Okay?" She says, a loving chuckle in her voice. Your rapidly-beating heart swells.

"Sounds good." You say quietly, and even though her scenario is completely fictional, the thought of it still make your heart accelerate and your lips turn up into a smile.

You love her so much.

The bumping of our plane touching down sends excited shivers down my spine. It also sends Brook's arms into the air and a jubilant cry to explode out of her mouth.

"We're here!" She screams, kicking her legs. I had to gently remind her a couple of times to not irritate the people in front of her, and until she got excited again, she obliged me.

"I know! I'm so excited!" Hanna cries, joining in Brook's celebration. I smile widely at their little airplane festivity.

During the flight, Hanna's heartbeat had slowed down enough for me to stop worrying after about 10 minutes.

Hanna and I had told Brook a story about our college days, which riddled me with countless emotions.

Joy when remembering those blissful years.

Embarrassment when I remembered our very...touchy-feely moments.

Crushing sadness when I remembered the things that happened after college.

But, I still kept a wide smile on my face. I didn't want Hanna or Brook to see my sadness...because while I knew I couldn't do anything to damper Brook's mood, I knew Hanna would feel at fault if she saw my frown.

So, after that, Brook decided to elaborately tell Hanna about our most recent trip to New York. Exaggeratingly talking with her hands, Brook recounted our excursions to the Statue of Liberty, the M&M's store, and Coney Island.

She had also recurringly asked what we were going to do during this trip. I had externally responded with a mysterious shrug, but internally responded with a fearful "I'm not sure..."

That thought has been residing in my mind since I bought our tickets-Hanna is with us. There are a lot of activities we can't engage in. We can't go to a waterpark or go swimming, because if Hanna can't even wear short pants or shirts, it's out of the question for her to wear any kind of bathing suit. And I definitely don't blame her.

I don't know how much public activities we can take part in, either. Her social anxiety levels are still shot through the roof, and in somewhere like New York, I'm still authentically terrified about how she'll do. I've made a terse mental list of absolute priorities that have to happen before we leave.

Go to The Statue Of Liberty

Go to the M&M's store.

Feed the ducks in Central Park.

Spend a day in Brooklyn.

Those are the things that have to happen. I don't know how Hanna will feel about feeding the ducks...that was our thing from college. But, every time I've taken Brook to New York, we've done it. (In fact, the first time it happened when I took her, Spencer had to hold her while I cried. I cried a lot that trip.)

I know I have to find some way to try and mitigate Hanna's biting social anxiety. I just don't know how.

So, I decide not to worry about it for now. I do that an awful lot, I've noticed. When I don't know what to do, I decide to not worry about it. Sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's not. I hope this time it'll be good. Or at least not come around and bite me in the ass.

Instead, I decide to rejoice with my daughter. "I. Am. So. Happy." I say, pausing between my words for emphasis.

"Me too!" Brook concurs with me, her smile wide and bright.

"Me three!" Hanna adds, making my lips pull into a smile again. For a minute, we just smile at each other, Brook's joy filling us like balloons. Then, the pilot's voice startles us out of our blissful silence.

"Welcome to Queens, New York, folks! We are pulling into JFK International Airport right now...current time is 8:03 am. It is 61 degrees at the moment, sunny and clear. Flight time was...36 minutes. Hope you all enjoyed this marvelous excursion, thank you so much for choosing American Airlines." He announces, and a small shiver of excitement bubbles down my spine again.

But, the way Hanna is tensed in her seat doesn't escape my notice. "Hey, how was that? Was it hard?" I ask over the excited murmurs of other passengers. She looks at me with a surprised look in her eyes, as if she is just seeing me.

"I...it wasn't that hard, actually. Thank you...for being so helpful. It...it means a lot." She says, smiling bashfully and looking down.

"Of course. I'll always be here, Han." I tell her, inwardly smiling at the way her dimples are so prominent when she grins.

"I know." Her eyes meet mine, and I swear to God, if we weren't in a very public area and next to a very loud 8 year old, I wouldn't have stopped our lips from connecting. I don't know what that meant last night. I'm not sure if I want to...but maybe I do.

I really think I forgot the extreme fondness I have for New York.

I gaze through my windshield as we turn onto the street that will bring us to our hotel. Hanna's hand rests on mine. Brook is silent, which is rare. She's taking it in.

It's been awhile since I've visited this vast and beautiful city, and in that gap, I've forgotten some of the details. Little, stupid details. The way the sun or the moon sparkle against the endless supply of reflective windows. The way people carry themselves. The way you are never more than 50 feet from a New York-Style pizza place.

But, while the city is endlessly marvelous, Hanna and Brook are adding so much beauty. Hanna is adding so much sparkle and adventure. Brook is adding so much light and happiness.

And, the memories that live in this city are still wrapped around my conscious. Some of those memories have dissipated from my lucid brain in the last few years. But, as soon as I stepped out of the airport and into the New York air, Hanna and I's forgotten college memories came flooding back without delay. And my eyes welled with emotion without delay.

But before that memory flood had occurred, no sooner than debunking from the plane, Hanna's trembling hand molded itself back onto my arm.

I verbally reassured her of her safety all the way to baggage claim. Hanna kept tensing whenever someone came near her. Also, I know she hasn't forgotten the impending conversation we are going to have once we get to the hotel. And her dread has to be overpowering.

But, Brook's ample grin never departed from her face. The bouncing in her step was indisputably blissful. And, when we had left the plane and stepped away from the crowd of departing passengers, Brook had thrown her arms around Hanna's chest.

"Mommy, you did it! You made the whole plane ride! I'm only 8, but I'm prouder than the parents of a Harvard graduate!" Brook had cried joyously, and Hanna had dropped to her knees and embraced her like she'd never done before. Brook was quick to reciprocate the hug just as fiercely.

Hanna had told me that she really wants to build her strength back up, so she can carry Brook and give her Piggyback Rides. And I could see it in her eyes at that moment, she overbearingly wished she could just tote Brook on her hip until we got to the car.

After they had detached from each other, Hanna's grip latched onto my forearm again. "I can't believe I really did it." Hanna had murmured, more to herself than to me.

"I can." I said, and I'm sure she heard me.

Once we had collected our bags, I could feel Hanna's nerves accelerating quickly. She kept trembling when I had to let go of her to pull our bags from the conveyor belt. As soon as she could grab onto me again, she did. I could her feel her grip tightening on my forearm every few feet walking to the Enterprise Desk, and her breathing becoming rapid.

Once we had rented our car without much injury, we needed to get out of the airport. Hanna was deteriorating fast, and I wasn't sure how much more she could handle.

So, after much heavy breathing and shaky fingers from her, and excited chatter and flouncing from Brook, we had gotten to our temporary car and loaded our suitcases into the spacious trunk. Once we were all in our seats, I finally spoke. "Hey guys..." Brook and Hanna's gaze fell onto me. "We're in New York."

And, with those quiet words, I started the unfamiliar car and left the garage. The car ride was spent by silently gaping out the windows like oblivious tourists. Hanna and Brook's smiles were radiant. I don't know what was going through Hanna's troubled mind, but, it seemed joyful in that moment. She seemed happily content.

Brook seemed enthusiastically anxious. I don't know what I seemed like to everyone else, but I felt like an unexplainable mix of overwhelming fear, sheer happiness, and anxious nerves.

But, I set aside my high-running nerves to make the rest of the drive. Hanna had murmured about the gorgeousness of the city a few times, and I had readily agreed.

So now, I slowly turn the rented car into the valet lane under the hotel's front awning. All of our nervous excitement bounces around the car like a super ball.

"Are you ready, Hanna?" I ask the apprehensive blonde beside me. She pauses, then nods.

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Brook, are you ready?" I gaze at my daughter in her rented booster seat.

"Absolutely!"

"Okay guys." I put the car into park. "Let's go wrestle New York to it's knees."

Yay! The New York trip is finally on! Are you happy? Excited? Let me know in a review :)

And also, I'm sorry this chapter is so crappy. It's all leading up to something huge that will shock you guys. Here's a hint: it may or may not have something to do with a brand new character. But that's not for a few chapters ;)

So, thank you lovelies for your support and love. It really means a lot. Review or PM me with any questions or comments! So, until next time, follow, favorite, and REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I'll see you guys soon :)