Radley Sanitarium - Wednesday Evening

[new_it_girl]

Hanna made a rare trip home on a weeknight, hours after class. She only went home on a Wednesday night if someone needed her. In this case, it was a friend in need.


Spencer to be specific. She'd been admitted to Radley over the weekend, and finally, she and her other friends could visit her.

Entering this place just brought back all the memories of trying to get through to Mona. She didn't know at the time that Mona was manipulating her into feeling sorry for her. It was all an act to get on Hanna's good side. That wasn't Spencer, though. She didn't belong in here. Hanna was sure of it.

"You knew we coming, right?" Emily asked, her tone sweet. "I spoke with your mom."

"We wanted to be here the first day," Aria added.

"She said you're gonna be home tomorrow," Emily continued.

Spencer looked at them pointedly. "She still believes that? She thinks I'll be able to sleep through the night if I just take a nice bubble bath and lay in my own bed?"

"I think what she wants is..." Emily began.

"I know what she wants," Spencer interrupted, "but they don't make a loofah that scrapes out the inside of your head."

Hanna was creeped out, so she decided to move on to the topic at hand. "The park rangers found a body."

It was information Emily had relayed to her. 'A' apparently made Spencer think it was Toby's.

"Hanna!" Aria and Emily exclaimed, horrified by Hanna's bluntness.

"What?" Hanna replied. "The sooner she knows, the sooner she checks out of this place."

Hanna hadn't meant to be so harsh, but it was this place. She didn't want Spencer in here any longer than she had to.

"What Hanna is trying to say is we have good news," Emily said, giving Hanna a quick, almost unnoticed glare. "They found a body in the woods. The police believe it was a camper.

Only in a town in Rosewood would such a thing be considered good news. Perhaps not for the poor camper's family.

"It was Toby." Spencer wasn't having any of this.

"No, Spence, it wasn't," Aria said gently. "This person, he'd been missing for awhile. He was nowhere near where you thought you saw him."

"I know what I saw," Spencer said adamantly. "It was Toby."

No one had any idea how to respond to this. Aria tried changing the subject. "So, um, I was thinking tomorrow night when you get home, we could all..."

Not happening. "I need to stay here. I need more time."

"Time for what?" Hanna demanded. She was going for the tough love approach. Walking on eggshells around her wasn't getting them anywhere. "Shuffling around in Mona's old slippers isn't gonna get her any better!"

"Hanna, chill," Aria interjected.

"You know what?" Hanna continued. "I wouldn't dine here if I were you. I had to sneak around in that kitchen, and I saw a roach big enough to wear an apron."

Aria glared. "Moving on."

"You are not crazy," Hanna told Spencer. "This place is!"

"I'm too tired to have this fight right now," Spencer said calmly. "Not now, guys."

She stood up to pace, turning toward them after a few seconds. "I feel safe here. Those bars don't just keep you from getting out. They keep other people from getting in."

That's when Hanna regretted her approach. Spencer wanted to stay here because she was scared. She finally reached her breaking point with the whole 'A' situation.

There really wasn't much more to say. Spencer didn't want to listen to them. After a bit more awkwardness, it was time for the girls to leave.

Hanna just wanted what was best for everyone. This, in her opinion, was not what was best for Spencer. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe Spencer was more mentally unstable than she thought. Perhaps Hanna was the one in denial.

[all dialogue from 2x23 "I'm Your Puppet"; again, mental health discussion could possibly be triggery; putting the warning out just in case.]