For my loyal readers who stuck with me on the journey that was Restraints of Renown; I said I wanted to write a sequel and here it is.
This is a short 10-ish chapter insight into the lives of Hanna and Caleb, about two and a half years after we last left them. For any new readers, I'd recommend you read Restraints before diving into this as it sets the scene as to who Hanna and Caleb are in this AU world. I hope this lives up to all expectations.
Enjoy below...
Delicacies of Devotion
One
Hanna Rivers sighed as she felt the American Airlines plane she was on start to descend towards LAX. She was tired beyond belief and the 5-hour flight had done nothing to alleviate how draining her trip to Pennsylvania had been. She was so ready to find her bed and crash; her back had been hurting before they'd gotten on the plane and the seat had done nothing to help – she couldn't wait to just close her eyes and lie on a comfortable mattress. But something told her that wasn't exactly going to happen. And that something was currently latched onto her like no tomorrow.
She couldn't help but sigh as she ran a hand through the blonde hair of the sleeping toddler that was had squished herself into Hanna's side as much as was possible. Four months off her third birthday, Etta Linnea Rivers was the most tiring, testing yet rewarding thing in Hanna's life. She adored pink and princesses, almost as much as she adored her Daddy and she had an endless amount of energy that seemed even more exhausting than usual at the moment.
And that was because she was pregnant.
Seven months, two weeks and six days pregnant. Not that she was counting or anything.
The pregnancy hadn't exactly been a surprise, but when Hanna had fallen pregnant, they hadn't been actively trying for a baby either.
It meant the timing wasn't perfect – after two years away from being in front of the camera, Caleb had just signed up to do two movies back-to-back. The first was a voice-role for an animated film that had wrapped pretty quickly without a crazy impact on his personal life, but the second had proved challenging with the special-effects being more than a little temperamental. It meant Caleb was working long hours and the filming was already being extended. Plus, the paparazzi were everywhere.
It was why they'd decided that Hanna would take Etta out to Rosewood for a couple of weeks to get away from the heat of LA. But it had been hard for everyone, especially their little girl - Etta had missed her Daddy beyond belief and no amount of FaceTime calls seemed to make up for not having him there in person – and as the plane started to get lower and lower, she couldn't wait to see her husband.
Etta stirred, half on top of her as her ears began to be affected by the change in altitude. Hanna couldn't help but cringe as she stroked her back comfortingly – Etta had bawled for half-an-hour during takeoff and Hanna did not want the same thing to happen again for landing. "Hi," She whispered soothingly, rubbing her cherubic cheek as she yawned.
Etta scrunched her nose up and buried herself against Hanna's top, her fingers bunching at the material as she desperately tried to cling onto her sleep. "Mama," She started to whimper.
"Shh," Hanna did her best to comfort her, rubbing her ears with her fingers to try and alleviate any uncomfortable pressure that was building. "It's okay, it's okay."
"Ma'am," An airhostess appeared as she began to do a final walk of the plane prior to landing, "She needs to do her seatbelt up for landing."
"Could I get an infant seatbelt and she can go on my lap?"
Hanna watched as the woman assessed the situation, her eyes flickering over Hanna's pregnant belly. "I'm afraid she's too big," She smiled sympathetically, "She'll have to stay in her seat," She added before carrying on down the aisle.
Hanna rolled her eyes, squeezing her daughter tight as she continued to whimper quietly, "Etta," She hushed her, cradling the back of her head, "It's okay baby, I know it hurts," She murmured, leaning forward as quickly as possible to grab a juice box she had in her bag, "Here," She encouraged her, "Drink," She said, holding the straw to her lips.
Etta drank thirstily, her hand still gripping Hanna's top tightly as they continued their final descent. It seemed to help and Hanna was infinitely grateful when they finally touched down and she could pull her baby girl onto her lap. She held her tightly, kissing her hair as they taxied down the runway until they came to a standstill.
Everyone started rushing around them to get off, but Hanna was content to let the rest of first-class disembark before she stood and moved Etta off the plane. "Mommy," The toddler whined, scrambling to be put down, only content when her two feet touched the ground and she was free to walk on her own two feet.
"Etta," Hanna called, holding her hand out for her to take before she ran too far ahead. "Come here bunny," She smiled at her tiredly, grateful when she paused to let her catch up as quickly as she could. For the first time since they'd found out they were expecting, she felt really pregnant. "We've just got to get our bags and then we're seeing Daddy," She said excitedly, squeezing her hand.
"Daddy here?" Etta asked, looking up at Hanna as she shoved her fingers in her mouth.
"Daddy's here, he's right on the other side of the building," She grinned, reaching for her phone that she'd shoved in her pocket to check Caleb was waiting for them.
AA have got someone to grab the bags and Dev will pick them up. Text me when you're through, can't wait to see you xxx
"Daddy is too good to us sometimes," She said in relief, hitching her bag up on her shoulder as she waddled through the airport. "I didn't even have to tell him my back's been hurting all day and he's got Aunty Dev to sort out all our bags."
"Daddy give me kisses," Etta giggled, skipping along beside her as Hanna one-handedly gave Caleb an update on her phone.
"He does," She agreed distractedly, "He loves to give you kisses," She said, gripping Etta's hand slightly harder as she felt her try to run off, "No, no," She murmured, pulling her back, "Not right now."
"Mommy, look!"
"What am I looking at?" Hanna asked her as they made their way through customs, placing a hand on her belly as she felt the baby move a bit.
"Look," Etta pointed in front of them, "Pwetty lights."
"Shit," Hanna muttered to herself as she figured out exactly what her daughter was so entranced with. "Baby, come here," She tried, stopping them both to try and scoop her up.
"No," Etta shook her head violently, doing her best to wrangle herself free.
"Those lights aren't friendly, they're mean bunny," She explained as best as she could. She attempted to pick her up again but the two-year-old squirmed, her faces scrunching up as a temper-tantrum brewed. "Okay, okay," Hanna sighed, closing her eyes in defeat as she felt her back spasm – she didn't have the energy to fight her daughter right now, "You need to hold my hand tight," She said firmly, standing back up straight as she heard her phone ping.
Where are you? Are you ok? Paps are here
Bunny's on the edge she replied, trying not to react as she walked through into the main arrivals hall with Etta and flashing cameras were shoved in her face.
"Hanna!"
"Is it a boy?"
"Have you decided on a name?"
"Where's Caleb?"
"Hanna, over here!"
Hanna looked down as Etta lurched forward and she tried not to laugh as she watched her little girl ham it up for the cameras, pulling faces and sticking her tongue out. "What are you doing crazy girl?" She smiled, trying to ignore the people who were starting to stare as they kept walking towards the exit. She hated how Etta was starting to get used to people taking pictures of her, but she pushed it to the back of her mind as they finally made their way outside; now she just had to find her husband.
"Han!" She heard a familiar yell before Etta had shrugged her hand off and was sprinting towards the only important guy in her life.
"Etta," Hanna called worriedly, anxiety running through her body as the flashes seemed to get more intense, blinding her vision and paralyzing her in place.
"Han," Suddenly Caleb was appearing with Etta wrapped up in his arms, "I got her," He said, ignoring the paps and everything they were yelling as he pulled his wife into his arms for the first time in 2 weeks.
"I missed you," Hanna felt her emotions run as she buried her face against his neck, the tears starting to fall as everything overwhelmed her. The stress, the relief, the pain, the love she felt Caleb giving out; it all felt too much.
"It's okay," He murmured in her ear, holding her as close as he could with Etta in his arms. "The car's just down here, okay?"
Hanna nodded silently, sniffling against his neck as he started to walk them down towards where he'd pulled the car up. "I hate them," She said, her face still pushed against his neck as they made their way down the sidewalk.
"Me too," He reassured her, pressing a kiss against her hair before he opened up the front passenger door for her, making sure she was okay getting into the seat before he moved to the back to sort out his daughter.
"Daddy," Etta clung to him, shrieking with happiness as he kissed the side of her face.
"I missed you so much," He whispered, peeling her off him to strap into her seat as the paparazzi continued to swarm them.
"No," She reached for him, "Daddy!"
"Shh, shhh," He hushed her as he stroked her hair, checking her seatbelt before he shut the door and made his way round to the driver's side. He wanted to get them out of there as quickly as possible.
"Etta," Hanna turned her body as best as she could as the toddler began to cry with self-pity in her back seat, "Daddy's right here," She rolled her eyes at her amateur dramatics, turning back around in her seat and holding her hand to her head as she felt her forehead pulse.
"Hey," Caleb glanced across at her, reaching his hand across, "Are you okay?" He asked, interlacing their fingers.
"I'm just tired," She smiled slightly, rubbing her bump as the baby kicked. "I hated being away from you."
Caleb smiled at her, grateful when they pulled up to a red light and stopped long enough for him to lean across and give her a meaningful kiss, "I know it was my idea," He started, his hand moving to her bump, "But I am never letting you go for two weeks again."
"I wouldn't agree to it next time," Hanna agreed, her hand rubbing up and down his arm as he drove them down the familiar route from LAX to their home. "I love you."
"I know I love you more," He turned his head and grinned at her.
"Daddeeee," Etta called from the back, interrupting them.
"Tali," He looked in the mirror at her, "Did you go on an airplane with Mommy?"
"In the sky!" She exclaimed, pointing out of the window.
"That's right, we were in the sky," Hanna agreed, "Can you tell Daddy what the airplane was like?"
"Big!"
"What did the nice lady give you?" She prompted her.
Etta gasped excitedly, "Colornin! Daddy I draw," She said, banging her hands excitedly.
"Drew baby," Hanna corrected her, "You drew."
"What did you draw a picture of?" Caleb asked as he shot Hanna a wry grin.
"A bloon," Etta said excitedly, "It was pink and for a pwincess."
"A bloon?" Caleb whispered to Hanna, confused. She was master translator when it came to their daughter.
"A balloon," Hanna shook her head at him, a smile on her face. "We went to a party at the church with my Mom and there were balloons everywhere."
"I wish I'd been there."
Hanna reached out to rub his shoulder comfortingly. She'd wanted him there just as much. "We're home now."
Caleb couldn't help but grin as he stood on his driveway watching Devon drive towards him. Etta had clung to him ever since he'd pulled her out of her car seat and he had zero complaints. He'd never been away from her for that long before and he'd underestimated how much it had killed him, not being able to read her a bedtime story, not being able to play 'shop' with her, not being able to be her Dad.
"Auny Dev," The blonde toddler squealed, her little hand grasping Caleb's t-shirt excitedly.
"Hi my precious Tali," Devon walked straight over to them, pulling Etta into her arms and squeezing her tight. "Oh, I missed you so much."
"Did you miss Aunty Dev too?" Caleb asked his little girl who only nodded, burying her head against Devon's shoulder before she settled there. "Did you get all the bags?" He asked his assistant, moving to the back of the car to open the trunk.
"Of course," Devon smiled, "I still think Hanna travels light for a stylist."
Caleb snorted, "She was going to Rosewood," He said, pulling out the suitcases, "There's no one to style there."
"Daddy," Etta called, reaching her hands out for him.
"My time is up," Devon pouted, letting Caleb steal her back from her arms.
"She knows who's number one," He insisted, pressing kisses against the side of Etta's face as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Is Han inside?" The brunette asked as she began to wheel the cases towards the front door.
"Yeah," Caleb tried to hide his small grimace; it wasn't very often that he didn't want Devon coming in his house but now was one of them. He could tell Hanna was drained and emotional and he didn't want to have to force her to talk to someone when she probably just wanted to sleep, "But, uh, she's pretty wiped Dev."
"Is she okay?" Devon asked, concern permeating her voice.
"Yeah," Caleb sighed, "It's just been a long day. The paps were crazy at LAX."
Devon sighed too, "Security told me there was a big celeb landing that afternoon - they just got lucky with Hanna."
"Pwetty lights Daddy," Etta called, "Dey were pwetty."
Caleb shot Devon a knowing look, "This is why I took time off." He said pointedly, "I don't want her thinking flashes from paparazzi cameras are pretty lights."
"Pwetty!"
"No," Caleb shook his head gently, "They're not pretty baby."
"Caleb, it was just unlucky," Devon said, "Just try and forget about it," She encouraged him, "You haven't seen your wife for 2 weeks and you're out her moaning at me."
Caleb rolled his eyes but couldn't fight the grin that spread across his face, "You're so annoying."
"Etta, am I annoying?"
"No," Etta shook her head, "Auny Dev come play."
"She can't," Caleb brushed a comforting hand through her hair as she threw him the best puppy dog eyes she could. "Mommy's really tired and Aunty Dev can't play right now, okay?"
"Okay," Etta nodded solemnly, resting her head on Caleb's shoulder.
"The suitcases are just in the hall."
"Thanks Dev," Caleb said, waiting for her to get in the car and reverse out the driveway before he turned and headed inside. He left the luggage where it was and headed straight for the room he knew he'd find his wife in. Sure enough, she'd settled herself right down on their big corner sofa in the family room. They'd move into their current house whilst Hanna had been pregnant with Etta and they'd chosen to buy it because of the view - again. Hanna had a vision for everything, and when she'd seen the room on the front of the house, she'd immediately told him they were knocking walls down and installing folding doors that made it feel like inside and outside were the same thing. He hadn't argued with her and it had unsurprisingly become the room they seemed to spend all their time in.
Etta wriggled for the first time to go down, and he watched as she ran over to her toy kitchen in the corner and immediately started pulling fake food out of the cupboards. "She's missed her toys," Hanna said softly as Caleb made his way over to her.
"So have I," He murmured, encouraging her to sit up so that he could slot in behind her, pulling her close against his chest as they lounged contently. "You okay?" He whispered, his hand running under her top to rest on her bump as the other stroked her shoulder.
She nodded and closed her eyes for a moment, inhaling his familiar scent. "My back hurts from the flight," She said quietly.
"You want me to give you a massage?" He asked, his lips pressed against her cheekbone.
"Later," She reached for his hand on her belly and interlaced them, "I want to lay here whilst it's quiet."
"Baby's stopped moving, huh?" He murmured, waiting, hoping for the movement beneath his hand he'd instantly loved the first moment he'd felt it.
Hanna nodded, trying to hide her frown as she felt her back twinge again and her stomach tighten slightly. "They're sleeping," She said tiredly, fighting to keep her eyes open, "Maybe the flight knocked them out too."
"Daddy!" Etta yelled, jolting both Hanna and Caleb.
"What?" He asked, smiling as she held up a wooden toy pan, "Are you making us dinner?" He said as she ran over, nodding up at him with a grin on her face.
"Mommy, I make a egg," She said, scrambling up onto the sofa.
"You made an egg for dinner?" Hanna smiled gently, helping her little girl as she climbed on top of her. She was precocious and full of energy most of the time, but she also loved her cuddles with whoever wanted to show her love. And most recently, she seemed to have found a second home on top of Hanna's bump. "Are you comfy?" She whispered in Etta's ear as she settled right on top of her, her body curving around her belly as she rested her head on her Mommy's shoulder and snuggled into her.
"Etta, do you want a brother or a sister?" Caleb asked quietly, running a hand through her blonde crazy curls as a pair of brown almond-shaped eyes looked up at him.
"A brova!" She exclaimed, grabbing onto a piece of Hanna's hair.
"Why do you want a brother?" He said, burying his nose against Hanna's hair as he simply enjoyed being with his girls again.
"Do you like spending time with Ozzy?" Hanna encouraged her, not missing the smile that crossed Etta's face as she brought up Jason and Aria's three-year-old son.
"Yeah," Etta nodded sweetly, "Ozzy is fun."
"He is fun," Hanna murmured, kissing her forehead as she settled back down on her shoulder. They were quiet for a moment, taking each other in until Etta squirmed to get back down to go and play again. Hanna was somewhat grateful; she no longer had to mar the state of her back.
"I know you want it to be a surprise," Caleb started as they both watched their daughter create some imaginary scenario in her head, "But it would help with things like names if we knew whether it's a boy or a girl."
Hanna sighed and turned on her side slightly, blinking her eyes shut as she felt the pain in her spine again, "Caleb…" She started, her voice trailing off as his hand rubbed her back soothingly.
"I can't help it," He smiled, his lips pressing against the side of her face.
"Caleb…"
"Seriously," He said, "Thinking about you and Tali and baby names are the only thing that kept me going through the past two weeks. I cannot wait to wrap filming and be here with you and our baby."
"Caleb," She gasped, gripping his shoulder tightly as she tried to sit up.
"What?" He sat up with her, brushing her hair behind her ear as she buried herself against his neck, her fingers curling into his skin as she breathed through an intense bout of pain. "Hanna, what's wrong?"
"My back," She blinked heavily and wiped at her eyes as she felt the tears well again. "It hurts."
"You want to go to the hospital?" He asked tenderly as his hands ran over her upper back, doing everything he could to soothe her. "You're only seven-and-a half-months, Han."
"No," She whimpered and shook her head.
"That's okay," He whispered, holding her tight. He trusted her judgement implicitly. "We don't have to go," He said, "It's probably just the flight messing with your body."
She sniffled and nodded, pushing herself to stand up, "I need the toilet," She explained, her voice still full of emotion as she wiped at her nose with the back of her hand.
"Okay," He agreed, standing up too and cupping her cheeks, "When you come back, I'm giving you that massage, no buts."
She nodded up at him silently before heading out of the room and down the hallway, leaving Caleb stood there more than a little concerned. It wasn't often Hanna got herself into a state like the one she was in.
"Daddy," Etta called, breaking his thoughts again.
"What?" He growled playfully, striding over and scooping her up to blow a raspberry against her neck. "Are you happy that you're back home?"
"L-A!" She cheered, throwing her hands up in the air.
"That's right, LA is our home," He agreed, kissing her cheek repeatedly, "And I am so glad that you and Mommy are here. I missed you so much."
"Caleb," Hanna had reappeared in the doorway, her hand on her bump as the other cradled her back.
"That was quick," He smiled, "Feel better?" He asked, placing Etta on the floor and heading straight for her.
"No," She cried, burying herself against his chest, "I don't."
"Han," He started, his eyes full of concern as he took her in, "What's wrong? You can tell me," He tried, "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"
She pulled back and looked up into his brown orbs that were identical to her daughters, "No," She shook her head and whimpered, "I need to go to the hospital."
Review? xoxo