A/N: Perhaps this story seems silly, but I wanted to share it anyway. It came from a particularly vivid and emotional dream I had, so I wanted to develop it into more of a proper story. I know it begins a bit strangely, but it should get better. I do hope you enjoy.

A Second Chance

"Please. Leave."

The pause between her quavering words, spoken through gritted teeth, had held almost as much weight as the cutting syllables themselves. Charles instinctively took a step toward her, but the warning that flashed in her glassy eyes, as she wrapped her arms protectively around her swollen stomach and recoiled from him, stopped him in his tracks. He knew he had lost her the moment she turned away from him, her body trembling from the sobs that she could no longer conceal.

"Are you all right, Mr. Carson?" a young housemaid called Helen asked him timidly.

Charles hadn't realized how tense he had become at the recollection of the memory until he saw the concern etched upon Helen's face.

"Yes, thank you," he replied in what he hoped sounded like a calm tone. "Just a bit weary from the trip."

"All your things have been taken to your room. You should get some rest." She looked at him for a few more moments with wide, fearful eyes, as if uncertain of whether she should go on. "Mrs. Hughes... Mrs. Hughes is in her sitting room."

Helen said nothing more as she hastened from the room, leaving Charles alone with a heavy weight on his chest. Part of him wanted to run to her, yet another part, lurking in the back shadows of his conscious as he now made his way to her sitting room, was hesitant and reluctant to face her after he had all but single-handedly destroyed everything that they had shared. He wouldn't blame her for a moment if she hated him with every fibre of her being. It had begun as just another silly argument between the two of them, but somewhere it had gone all wrong. Perhaps he should have held her despite her protests, and perhaps he should have stood his ground and reminded her that he loved her...

Charles took a deep, ragged breath that did not seem to fill his lungs as he knocked lightly on her door. He raised his fist again to knock, certain that she hadn't heard him, just as the door swung open.

The air seemed to be suddenly drawn out of his lungs as Elsie's eyes met his for a brief moment before she allowed her gaze to sink to the floor. It seemed strange somehow to see her thin figure once more, since the last time he had seen her, just under a year ago, she had been glowingly heavy with child.

"Come in," she said quietly, her voice not as steady as she had intended.

Charles followed her silently into the room where she gestured for him to sit down before she stepped into another room. He clenched his sweaty hands into tight fists to stop the trembling and wished there were something he could do to silence the loud pounding of his heart. The seconds felt like hours as he waited for the familiar sound of her footsteps to return.

Elsie emerged with a tiny young lad held tightly in her arms. Charles felt a stab at his heart and a stinging at the back of his eyes as she approached him. She didn't speak as she placed the boy carefully into Charles' arms; she couldn't have spoken if she had wanted to. Tears flooded her eyes and blurred the image of her son, their son, in his father's arms for the first time. She bit down on her lower lip to keep from releasing an audible cry.

Charles' throat constricted as he looked down upon their son. He recognized so much of Elsie in the boy, yet he saw himself as well.

"He's perfect," Charles whispered, lifting his eyes to Elsie's.

She nodded as fresh, warm tears trailed down her cheeks.

"Would you like to take care of him while I finish my work?" she asked in a controlled whisper.

Charles swallowed hard as the baby grasped his finger tightly in his tiny fist.

"Please."

Elsie smoothed the child's cheek with her finger and placed a soft kiss upon his forehead. Charles felt a flutter in his chest at the nearness of her. How he yearned to pull her into his arms once more...

"I'll be back as soon as I can," she told him as she moved, rather reluctantly, to the door. "The maids will come by to see if you need anything."

"I will take good care of him," Charles replied quietly.

Elsie gave him a small yet warm smile in return.

"I know you will."

To be continued

A/N: Yes, the child has a name. lol