Spencer And Toby: A TeAm Troubles

Self Defense

The next weekend, after a tough week of school and an appointment at the doctor's office that only let us know that the placenta had not moved as it should have but that there was still hope that it would move and not be a major problem, Toby was sitting on the couch, one of his elbows on his knees with his chin resting in his hand.

"Toby, what would you like to do today-" I began to ask before catching sight of his disdainful appearance. "What's wrong?" I asked, coming over to sit beside him and rubbing his back with one of my hands in a comforting gesture.

He looked up at me and bit his lip, taking a minute to think his words through carefully before answering. "I know that it wasn't anyone bad in our apartment that day that you thought someone broke in, but what if it had been? What if you weren't able to protect yourself?"

"Toby, it's fine, I almost took off Hanna's head with an umbrella before I realized it was her," I said, a small smirk coloring my features as I hoped that my words would lighten his mood.

"But what if it hadn't been Hanna? It was easy for her to get in here, which means it would be easy for someone else more dangerous, more thoughtful in their actions, to get to you or us," he explained the extent of his worries and I nodded. Hearing his fears, I realized that deep down the same things scared me, I just didn't know he was that worried about me being able to take care of myself.

"I promise I will be more careful," I said, and he shook his head.

"This isn't something you can promise, it's more than that," and then he stood up, pulling me by the hands up with him. Standing a few feet from me, he grabbed a pillow from the couch and said two words I never thought he would say to me. "Hit me."

I looked down at the pillow in concern. It was one of those cheap pillows that is more for decoration than actual cushioning. It was about three inches thick, and I was worried if I punched with two much force I'd hurt him. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I'll be fine, Spencer, just hit me."

I hesitated a second, bringing my fists up in front of my face before bringing my right fist to the pillow in a quick punch, trying not to be too forceful.

Toby got a tighter grip on the pillow and nodded. "That was okay, but try hitting the pillow harder this time. Trust me, Spence, I'll be fine."

With less hesitation this time, I brought my right fist in for a punch, then my left, alternating between them as I tried to show Toby that I could fend for myself. Eventually, he caught on that I wasn't the type of girlfriend who needed someone to constantly be defending her. Instead, I was the type of girlfriend who could kick someone's ass if need be.

But Toby wasn't ready to give up on teaching me self defense yet today.

"Now, the hardest part of your body is your elbow, so if I were to do something like this," Toby said, gently bringing me down on the couch and lying on top of me, "You could use your elbow to break my nose."

"But I don't want to break your nose," I said, smiling at how protective he was being.

"I'm being hypothetical," he said, still lying on top of me. "I just don't want you to end up with no way out of a serious situation because you don't know any simple moves," he said, pulling me back up to my feet in one swift movement.

So, an hour and about six "simple moves" later I was ready for a nice nap and dinner. It was around 5, and I was ready to eat the whole kitchen.

"Toby, I'm tired, can we just sleep?" I asked, plopping down on the couch, and he laughed, following suit, and pulling me into his arms so I could rest my head on his shoulder. "Thank you for teaching me ways to fight back," I said while attempting to stifle a yawn.

"No problem, I just never want you to feel that you can't protect yourself," he said, kissing my forehead before leaning his head on the top of mine.

Although I wished I could have been able to spend the day doing more relaxing things, it was nice to spend time with Toby when he wanted to make me even safer. I loved him, and even when he didn't say it, I knew he loved me too through the things he did to help me.

A/N: Sorry, this chapter is really short, I'll try to make the next one longer!!