Cross My Heart and Hope to Die-Spanna
I killed Charlotte. I killed Charlotte. I killed Charlotte.
The words echoed through Spencer's head on repeat. It wasn't possible, was it? She and Hanna had been together that night. She would have noticed if the blonde had been gone long enough to kill someone. Except... except she had been drunk. And she hadn't noticed Aria leave. Hanna had been the one to notice that, and what if she'd noticed because she'd left too? No, it wasn't possible. Spencer knew Hanna, and she knew her girlfriend wasn't capable of killing someone. Except… except she knew how much the Dollhouse haunted Hanna.
The room was blurring around her, and she felt like she was under water. She barely processed that Hanna had turned to Caleb and said something. In fact, she was in a daze as Hanna explained her entire plan. She didn't realize Hanna was done talking until she snapped her fingers, breaking her out of her mental fog.
"Are you going to say anything?" she asked once she'd gotten Spencer's attention. The brunette opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to work out what she wanted to say. She realized that she hadn’t comprehended a single thing her girlfriend had said.
"Explain it to me again," she said finally. Hanna huffed impatiently, but did as her girlfriend asked. As soon as she finished, Spencer started talking.
"No. No way. You are not going to do this," Spencer said, shaking her head in disbelief and horror. She was still reeling from her girlfriend's 'confession' and now this absolute insanity. Hanna pursed her lips.
"I have to, Spence! We need this to end!" she argued. Personally, she thought her plan was excellent. And though they had broken up years before, she had complete faith in Caleb’s ability and desire to keep her safe.
"Yeah, but not by using you as bait!" Spencer shot back.
“This person is dangerous! They stole Emily’s eggs, they tried to set Aria on fire, and they somehow sent Ali flying down a flight of stairs! If we don’t do something, one of us will be next!” Hanna yelled.
“And you have just described the exact reason why this is a terrible idea! If this person is willing to do that much damage just to find out who killed Charlotte, imagine what they’d do to the person they believed was the killer!” Spencer yelled back. Caleb watched the two women argue, wondering if he should leave. Before he could slip out, Spencer seemed to remember he was there.
"You! How could you agree to help her with this? You can't seriously tell me you think this is a good idea!" Spencer yelled angrily. He shrugged. Spencer had risen a good point about how dangerous this person was, but what choice did he have? Hanna had made up her mind.
"I think it's a better idea to help her than it is to let her do it alone, which is what she would do if I didn't agree," he said. Spencer glared at him with a ferocity that would send most people running for the hills.
"He's right, Spence. You can't talk me out of this," Hanna said stubbornly. Unexpected tears began to leak from Spencer's eyes and she sat down on the couch, her head in her hands. Hanna sat down next to her and began rubbing her back. She understood why her girlfriend was upset. If the situations were reversed, she’d probably be upset too. But that didn’t change the fact that they needed to end this.
"Everything's going to be okay, Spence. This will work, and we'll find out who this bitch is once and for all," she said. Spencer looked at her with teary eyes.
"I don't want you to get hurt," she whispered. Hanna smiled softly and wiped away Spencer’s tears with her thumb.
"I’m not going to get hurt, babe. This bitch will be caught in an electric fence long before they can get to me. And even if they managed to get to the room, it will be completely sealed up. I'll be perfectly safe the entire time, okay?" she said, reassuring both herself and her girlfriend.
“Well, if that’s true, why don’t I stay in the room with you?” Spencer asked. Hanna shook her head vehemently.
“No. Absolutely not,” Hanna said. Spencer raised an eyebrow.
“Why not? If it’s perfectly safe, why can’t I be there with you?” she asked. Hanna sighed and squeezed Spencer’s hand.
“Babe, if this person is watching and they see you go in there with me, they’ll know it’s a set up. We need to be careful if we want this to work,” she said. Spencer sighed. Hanna had a good point, she had to admit. If they were going to do this, they couldn’t do it halfway.
“And you’re absolutely sure she’ll be safe?” Spencer asked Caleb. He nodded.
“Everything will be okay, Spence,” Hanna said.
"You promise?" Spencer asked. Hanna nodded confidently.
"Cross my heart and hope to die," she said. Spencer frowned, not wanting to put Hanna and death in the same thought.
"Don't say that," she said. Hanna's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.
"It's a just saying, Spence," she said. Spencer would have rolled her eyes if she hadn't been so upset.
"I know it's a saying but I don't like it. I never have. Especially the next part about the needle and the eye," she said. Hanna winced.
“Yeah, I kinda forgot about that part of it,” she admitted. She squeezed Spencer's hand.
"Everything will be fine," she promised, before pressing a gentle kiss to her girlfriend’s forehead. Spencer let out a heavy sigh, but realized she had no choice but to trust her girlfriend. Caleb would make sure Hanna was completely untouchable, and then this would all be over. No one else was going to be hurt by this monster.
If only she had known how wrong she had been, she never would have let the blonde out of her sight.