I haven't written anything for Pretty Little Liars in a very long time, and I have never written anything outside of Spencer/Toby for it either, so this might be a little rusty!
Basically I got wishful for Spencer and Hanna with babies and so this happened. I hope you like it.
Spencer Hastings didn't believe in fate, or destiny, or the idea that there were some things that had been written in the stars for aeons before she had ever been born, and that she had no chance of ever knowing or changing them. She liked to think she was far too logical to believe in thing like that.
She was, however, a firm believer in the fact that sometimes the universe managed to perfectly align itself to produce some fantastical coincidences that some might put down to fate.
And both her and her best friend being about to become mothers for the first time together? Spencer figured that counted as one of those times.
'Hey.'
Spencer looked up from her copy of 'Mommy and Me' magazine (of which her mom and Melissa had collected about six billion since she had broken the news to them four months ago) and smiled. 'Hey! You okay?'
Hanna shut the Hastings back door behind her and rolled her eyes. 'I am tired, and achy, and hungry, and this morning I dropped my shampoo bottle in the shower and cried for like twenty minutes about it.'
Watching at her five month pregnant friend pout over her baby bump, Spencer couldn't help but smile sympathetically. Hanna wasn't taking to the whole hormonal thing that well.
'Aww, Han.' She tipped her head to one side. 'Want a foot rub?'
'Why do you think I'm even here?'
Spencer grinned and heaved a stack of her magazines off the couch to make room for Hanna.
'Uh, should you really be doing that?' Hanna's forehead creased up in concern as she hurried forwards as fast as her body would let her to help Spencer move the magazines.
Spencer rolled her eyes. 'Hanna, I am just as pregnant as you are, which is to say not too pregnant to not be able to move some stacks of paper.'
'Alright, alright.' Hanna sank down onto the couch beside her. 'I just don't want Toby getting home and finding me making you practice for the next heavy weight boxing championship.'
Spencer snorted. 'Yeah, well, if Toby had his way, I would be in 24/7 bed rest, which as long as I can stand on my own two feet is not going to happen.'
Hanna managed a small smile and Spencer patted her lap. Carefully, Hanna lifted her feet into them one at a time, then hesitated.
'That's not resting on baby, is it?' she asked anxiously, peering over her stomach to her friend's own bump.
Spencer shook her head. 'No, it's fine.' She began to massage Hanna's feet, starting at the heels and moving up to the toes. 'That feel good?'
Hanna tilted her head back and sighed with relief. 'God, Spence, you're so good at this. That feels heavenly.'
Spencer smirked and continued to run her fingers over her friend's swollen feet. Hanna's eyes started to close and Spencer frowned. 'Just don't go to sleep on me, okay?'
'Yeah, there's little chance of that. My little quarterback slash prima ballerina is getting a lot of practice in on Mommy today.'
Hanna opened her eyes again and glanced over at the coffee table, on which Spencer had stacked her magazines, her mother's baby care books and, most recently, a book of baby names with several dozen pink post-it-notes sticking out of. It was this book that Hanna picked up and began leafing through lazily.
'Have you and Toby thought about any more names?' she asked softly.
'Yeah, we've marked a few more in on there,' Spencer replied quietly. 'I suggested calling her after his mom, but he didn't want to do that.'
'And I'm guessing your dad's idea of calling her after your grandma didn't go down all that well either.'
'I am not calling my daughter Hildergard.'
Hanna leant forward, resting one hand on her bump. 'What name do you like, Spence?'
Spencer fell silent for a moment, biting at her bottom lip. 'I like Rose,' she said after a while. 'Rosalind, actually. After Rosalind Franklin.'
Hanna frowned. 'Wait, wasn't she that chick who discovered DNA?'
'Sort of. Her work into crystallography and X-ray diffraction provided geneticists with the proof they needed to make the discovery, yes, but she never got the credit for it that she deserved.' Spencer shrugged. 'I don't know, she's just always been a heroine of mine and I...I thought it might be a nice idea.'
Hanna reached over and squeezed her friend's shoulder. 'I think it's a beautiful idea, Spence. You should talk to Toby about it.'
Spencer nodded. 'Yeah. Yeah, I think I will.' She smiled gratefully. 'Thanks, Han.'
'No problem.'
Hanna frowned, and sniffed the air. 'Hey, do you guys have any tea?'
Spencer twisted in her seat and pointed over to the kitchen. 'Yeah, there ought to be some there...Melissa's been addicted since she got back from London so Mom always has some in now. Do you want me to make you a cup?'
Hanna shook her head. 'No, it's okay, I got it. You just stay put.' She swung her legs off Spencer's lap and back down to the floor before pausing. 'Uh...'
Spencer held out her arm. 'Need a boost?'
Hanna grimaced, gripping her friend's arm and heaving herself to her feet. 'God, even when I was in a wheelchair I was more mobile than this...'
Spencer chuckled as Hanna made her waddling way over to the kitchen to flick on the kettle. 'You want some coffee?' she called.
'No thanks!' Spencer called back, propping her feet up on the coffee table. 'Our paediatrician said I need to cut down on the caffeine.'
'Ouch.' Hanna raised her eyebrows as she sat back down next to Spencer, a steaming mug of tea cupped in her hands. 'How are you coping?' She cocked her head, eyes wide in teasing concern. 'Do you need like an IV drip or something?'
Spencer rolled her eyes. 'Oh, very funny. I'm doing pretty well, actually.' She nodded towards her friend's mug. 'Didn't think I'd ever see you drink something that didn't have the words 'vanilla' and 'frappuccino' in the title.'
Hanna shrugged, sipping her tea. 'Cravings are freaky,' she complained. 'Last week, the smell of meat made me want to throw up, this week I can't go for more than an hour without needing a damn cup of tea!'
Spencer laughed aloud. 'Yep, being pregnant will do that for you!' She rested her head on the back of the sofa. 'So, how far are you and Caleb with the whole name thing?'
Hanna ran her finger around the rim of her mug thoughtfully. 'I like Danielle,' she said. 'And then Daniel, if it's a boy.'
Spencer considered the name, then nodded. 'Danielle slash Daniel Rivers; I like it. What does Caleb say?'
'He says if I'm happy, he's happy.' Hanna smiled to herself, a secret little smile pressed into the tip of her mug. 'Although, I think he might have drawn the line at 'Hildergard'.'
Spencer gave her a little nudge with the foot of her toe.
'Hey, have you seen Emily or Aria lately?'
'Yeah, Aria came by yesterday.' Hanna shook her head. 'I swear to God, I have never seen so much anxiety in one small person. I think she checked out baby's heartbeat like six times and she wouldn't even let me get off the couch to open the door for Caleb.'
'Hey, she's just looking out for you!' Spencer propped up her chin in her palm. 'She and Em are really taking the godmother thing to a whole new level, huh?'
'I'll say! Has Em tried to convince you to go to that swimming aerobics thing at like 7am at the pool yet?'
Spencer rolled her eyes. 'Honey, I have been to the swimming aerobics thing at 7am at the pool.'
Hanna groaned. 'Oh God, that sounds like torture.'
'Well, actually...' Spencer reconsidered when she saw the look on Hanna's face. 'It was...not untorturous...'
Hanna shook her head. 'I don't understand how you're doing this,' she sighed.
Spencer frowned. 'Doing what?'
'Being so chirpy all the time! I spend most of my time these days either wanting to rip someone's head off or burst into tears. Where can I get some of your blissful pregnancy hormone?'
Spencer reached over to rub Hanna's leg comfortingly. 'Hey, hormones affect everybody a little bit differently. And it's not totally blissed out, I can assure you. Last night, I yelled at Toby because he put brown sauce on my burger instead of ketchup.'
Spencer winced at the memory. She had burst into tears afterwards apologising, and later had fallen asleep in his arms on the sofa so he had had to carry her up to bed, but still. It had hurt her to hurt him like that.
Hanna seemed to notice she was upset and squeezed Spencer's fingers. 'He loves you more than anything, you know that right?' she said quietly.
Spencer ducked her head and nodded. 'Yeah, and Caleb loves you, too,' she replied with a smile. 'And so do Emily and Aria. They all love us, no matter how grumpy or hormonal we might get, and they always will.'
'Yeah,' Hanna whispered, and for the first time since she had walked through her door, Spencer saw her give a real smile. 'Yeah, they do.'
Both girls' heads shot up at the sound of wheels pulling into the Hastings' drive.
'That's Toby home,' Spencer said, visibly perking up.
Hanna gave her a knowing look. 'You recognise the sound of his truck?'
Spencer shrugged. 'My favourite sound in the world...'
'Urgh. You two are so cute, it's nauseating. Where was he anyway?'
'He told me he had a surprise for me.'
Hanna wiggled her eyebrows. 'A surprise, huh?'
'Oh, my God, Hanna. Gross.'
There was a rap at the door, and Toby peeked through the window sheepishly, before pushing it open.
'Hey.'
Spencer's eyes had lit up and she smiled warmly. 'Hey, you.'
Toby grinned at her, before stepping through the door to reveal Caleb right behind him.
Hanna turned to him incredulously. 'How did you know I was here?'
'I didn't.' Caleb stepped forward to press a kiss on her forehead. 'I was just helping Toby move something and came in to say hi to Spencer.' He perched on the armrest of the couch. 'And now I am glad that I did, because if I'd gone home and found you gone...'
'...You'd have freaked,' Toby finished for him, his hands resting on Spencer's shoulders and gently massaging her there. Spencer leant back into him, with a contented sigh. Now he was back, she finally felt like she was home again.
Then, she frowned and sat up again. 'Wait, what were you helping move?' She twisted around to look at her boyfriend, her eyes glinting. 'Is it my surprise?'
Toby rolled his eyes and bent down to give her a light kiss on the mouth. 'Possibly.'
'Can I see it?'
Caleb and Toby grinned at each other and went back outside. Curiously, Spencer slid along the couch until she was sitting next to Hanna, who gave her a quizzical look. Spencer shrugged, just as the boys came back into the room, carrying something large and wooden between them.
Spencer gasped as they set it down on the floor; it was the most beautiful cot she had ever seen. The bars were intricately crafted and made out of the smoothest pine and there was a carving of stars on the headboard.
'Oh, my God, Toby...'
She tried to get up, and Hanna smirked, offering her an arm in the exact same way Spencer had done for her. With a grateful smile, Spencer got to her feet and padded over to trace her hands along the cot; it felt glossy under her fingertips and there was a pretty floral mattress cover on it. When she glanced up to look at Toby, she could feel tears brimming in her eyes.
'Thank you,' she whispered.
He smiled, his own eyes shining. 'You really like it?'
'Like it?' Spencer laughed, stepping around his gift to fling her arms around his neck and kiss him, hard. Toby's arms came up to support her back and steady her when she swayed on her feet, but he kissed her back, his forehead tipping forward to rest against hers. When they broke away, Spencer kissed the top of his nose. 'I love it,' she assured him.
Toby grinned, cupping her face in his hands. 'I'm so glad.'
Caleb had helped Hanna up, and she was admiring the cot too, rubbing the wood with her palms. 'It really is beautiful, Toby.'
Toby released Spencer's face and smiled at Hanna, a little embarrassed. 'Thanks, Han.' He glanced at Caleb. 'We...uh, actually have a surprise for you, as well.'
Hanna frowned. 'For me?'
Toby held out an arm to her and Hanna took it, raising her eyebrows at Spencer as she passed. Spencer shrugged, to let her know she had no idea what this surprise could be and Toby led her friend outside to his truck.
Caleb offered his own arm to her and Spencer smiled, tucking her hand into his elbow.
'I don't suppose you played a part in Hanna's surprise, did you?' she teased.
Caleb shrugged bashfully. 'I may have contributed a little...Oh, and that mattress?' He nodded towards the cot, standing in pride of place in the living room. 'I bought that. My gift for the baby.'
Spencer smiled, reaching up on her tiptoes to give him a careful kiss on the cheek. 'Thank you too, then.'
He grinned at her, and motioned outside with his free arm. 'Shall we?'
'We shall.'
Outside, Toby was just lifting Hanna into the back of his truck. She gave a delighted squeal and as she and Caleb drew closer, Spencer laughed aloud at what she saw.
In the back of her boyfriend's truck was a practically identical cot to the one she had left in her living room. The only differences were that the craftsmanship was slightly less professional and the bars were slightly wonky. As she and Caleb stopped at the back of the truck, Spencer also noticed that the star pattern on the headboard was slightly different.
Hanna had turned to her boyfriend, her face illuminated with delight. 'Did you make this?'
Caleb rubbed the back of his neck ruefully. 'I think Toby did the most part of it,' he admitted. 'But, uh, all the crappy bits...I certainly helped with.'
Hanna was shaking her head in disbelief, her hair bouncing over her shoulders. 'You better get up here right now and kiss me,' she said, her mouth widening into a huge smile. 'Because I am not getting back down there easily.'
Caleb chuckled and hopped up into the back of Toby's truck to put his hands on Hanna's middle and pull her up to kiss him. Spencer smiled happily at her two friends as Toby jumped down from the truck and pressed a single kiss to her temple.
'Exactly how long have you two been planning this?' she asked him.
Toby had the decency to look sheepish. 'We've been working on them for a couple of months now,' he admitted. 'I had the idea and I thought Caleb might like to help out, make something for...' He gestured towards their friends, who were standing on either side of the cot chatting excitedly about something or other. 'For them.'
Spencer rested her head against his chest. 'It was a wonderful idea, Tobes.'
'The stars were Caleb's idea though. Did you know that even though the babies are due only two weeks apart, they'll have different zodiac signs?'
Spencer frowned. 'I hadn't thought about that.'
'Yeah, their baby will be a Leo, and ours,' he patted her bump gently. 'Will be a Virgo. That's what the carvings are; the star constellations for their zodiac signs.'
Spencer thought about this for a moment, then chuckled softly to herself. Toby gave her a careful poke in the side.
'What? What's so funny?'
'Nothing!' She squirmed away from him, but his arms came around her to hold her close to him, the top of her head resting underneath his chin. 'I'm just thinking.'
She could feel his smile press into her hair. 'What are you thinking, Spencer?'
Standing there with her loving boyfriend, the best thing to ever happen to her, watching their two friends examine a gift for their first child and with her own baby girl's heartbeat beating gently against her skin, Spencer Hastings could almost be persuaded to believe in destiny.
'I'm thinking,' she said quietly. 'That our babies have been, quite literally, written in the stars.'