Julia stepped on the scale and for once in her life, she did not care what the number was. She looked up as the young executioner wrote down her weight, then her height. His hand was shaking and he looked up to her with tears in his eyes.

"I'll take good care of you. You know that don't you? " He paused for a second before continuing. "I have not had a botched hanging in months. I'm much better at it now. Pain will be…" Catchole choked up. He could not finish his sentence. Somehow this time, the words held no comfort.

Even now in the middle of this nightmare Julia could not help but smile at the young man. He had had a crush on her for years, dating back to her morgue days. This was very difficult for him.

"I know Gideon. I know you'll do a good job." She replied gently. He smiled back sadly at her and looked at her hair.

"I'm so sorry about your hair Doctor. I told them it could wait until tomorrow, but they refuse to listen to me. Julia took her hand up to her hair back and encountered the unfamiliar feel of her bare neck.

"Thank you. Thank you for trying." She answered. Having her hair cut, that had almost undone her…..

Clip, clip, clip. Each cut of the scissors had been like a drop of water on fresh snow leaving big holes in the armour she had managed to build around herself. She had been trying so hard over the last few days to hold herself together, for William, for her father, for Ruby, for everybody; but with the haircut, she had nearly lost it. She had only realized she had been crying when her tears had fallen on her hands tightly clasped together on her lap.

Catchpole walked her back to her cell. William was due for a visit in a few minutes. She had to get herself together before he arrived. She heard the sound of the outer doors opening and closing. It was him. She was not sure who had exerted enough influence to allow visitors in her cell, but she was glad they did. The moment he walked into her cell, she threw herself in his arms. They held each other silently for the longest time. Finally William looked up and tenderly touched her cropped hair.

"Oh Julia. Your hair. Your beautiful hair." He hesitated before continuing: "It'll grow back."

"Yes." She answered sadly. "It'll grow back."

William stayed with her for a few more minutes explaining what avenue he was now pursuing in trying to establish her innocence. At each of his statement, she agreed and encouraged him in his search. Just a few more minutes she said to herself. Just hold it together for a few more minutes. They then heard a noise behind them and looked up. It was Julia's father. William turned back to Julia.

"I must go. There is so much I need to do." He took her in his arms again. Julia was using every tool Dr. Freud had taught her to stop herself from falling apart in front of William. Just a few more seconds, that was all she needed. Julia watched William leave. She counted the seconds in her head while she heard him walk away. She closed her eyes for a moment, took in a long breath, rebuilt her armour and turned to her father.

He slowly came in her cell and sat down beside her and said: "Oh Julia, You are so much like your mother. She did the same thing to me you know."

Not understanding, Julia looked up to him: "The same thing? Father, what do you mean?"

"When she was dying of that horrible disease." Her father answered. "I would bring in every specialist I could think of, hoping the next doctor would save her. I pretended I could save her and she let me pretend. She was so strong for everybody. "

He stopped for a second: "You don't have to be strong with me Jules."

As he talked, the minuscule crack in Julia's shell grew, but it was her old childhood name that was her undoing: "Oh Daddy…."

He responded in kind: "Oh my Jules. Come here."

And like he used to do when she was a little girl, he held her in his arms and consoled her as she cried.