That evening, Sal and Michael were in downtown Baltimore. Maya had found the location of the last known address of Beth Ferguson. When Michael had protested that he was looking for Beth Afton, Maya pointed out to him that Ferguson was her maiden name before she married William. Sal parked his patrol car, seeing the scared look in Michael's eyes. It was almost child like, as if a son was about to confess to his Mom for breaking the window after playing baseball right outside of the house.

"Hey..." Sal mumbled, placing his hand on Michael's shoulder. "Everything will be okay."

"Thanks Sal...I owe you so much...for everything." Michael stated, smiling at the cop.

That delivered a punch right to Sal's stomach. But before he was able to protest, Michael had already gotten out of the vehicle. Sal could only watch as a nervous father watching their kid go to a place unfamiliar to them for the first time. It was unnerving to him, almost scary. He hadn't felt that way since... Before he could pursue that thought, Michael gave a light nervous tap on the front door. Sal watched as the door opened a crack, revealing an elderly lady there.

She had white hair pulled back into a neat bun, brown eyes covered by wired glasses, wearing a white long sleeved sweater, a blue undershirt, dark blue jeans, and black sneakers. She looked at Michael and Michael knew in an instant that this was not his Mom.

"Can I help you good sir?" The old lady asked.

"I'm looking for Beth Ferguson." Michael answered, trying his best to hide his thick British accent.

"Beth? What do you want with her?" The old lady questioned, sounding scared.

"I just want to talk to her..." Michael stated - but it was of no use.

The old lady was already shooing him away. Suddenly she stopped, leaving the door opened a crack. There, behind her, was a young man about Michael's age. He had short dirty brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a dark blue uniform with a gold badge on it with the words "Security" above the badge and brown shoes.

"Grandma, be nice. I'm sure this man means no harm." The man scolded a tad.

Sal walked up to the commotion and greeted, "Hey, there you are Nate Benedict. Headed to work tonight?"

Nate nodded as he stated, "Yes I am Officer Schmidt. What brings you and your friend here?"

Sal bluffed, "Nate, this is my nephew, Mike Schmidt. He's in town for a few days and I was hoping he could meet Ms. Ferguson."

Nate replied, "I thought so from the way Mike was acting."

Michael asked, playing along, "Right so is she here?"

Nate shook his head, "Nah, she hasn't really been here in her apartment the last couple of days. She kept saying she felt like her daughter was really pissed off."

Mike started to say, "Her daughter?! Her daughter is..."

Sal quickly interrupted, "Oh thank you anyways Nate."

Nate helped his grandma to the couch before closing the door. Sal walked back to the police cruiser with Michael right behind. He knew that the Afton name was frowned upon in the city (and Sal had just saved his ass) but he couldn't help feel worry. Sal got into the driver's side while Michael got into the passengers.

"You just saved my ass..." Michael admitted, his accent strong again.

"What did Nate mean by that? Lilly is dead, right?" Sal asked him.

"Scooped by Baby if my memory is correct." Michael explained.

This caused Sal to pale a bit. He looked up and saw Nate leaving the apartments, going into the parking lot. Nate got into a gray Sedan, turning the engine over and driving away. Sal started his car up and started to follow behind, at a slow pace. Michael couldn't help but wonder why.

...

"Mr. Afton? It's a girl!" A nurse declared as she walked into the waiting room.

William couldn't believe his ears. Nor could his best friend and business partner, Henry Cecal. Henry was the same age as William, having one daughter (Charlie) and one son (Sammy). Henry had short dark brown hair, dark green eyes, wearing a casual blue sweatervest, a long sleeved white undershirt, a black tie, black pants, and black shoes.

"I can't believe it..." William breathed. "A girl..."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Henry asked, patting his best friend's back. "Go see your new daughter!"

William was so stunned that his brain didn't even register walking to the room. Beth smiled at her husband, the pink blanket giving warmth and love to their small daughter. She was a bit premature, born two months ahead of schedule. But she was a fighter and now here she was, right before William's eyes. For a brief moment of time, his blood lust was quenched. Sure, he felt that way when Michael was born too. But nothing like this.

"What should we name her?" Beth asked, gaining his attention.

"I like Elizabeth. But for short, we shall call her Lilly." William declared.

"Lilly it is." Beth agreed, holding their baby girl close.

'And I swear, if anyone hurts her or Michael...they will answer to me.' William thought. His thoughts were broken as Beth gave William the baby to hold. Much like he did with Michael, he had supported Lilly's head and kept himself steady. Beth smiled tiredly as Lilly didn't even fuss in her father's arms.

"Look at her, she's going to be Daddy's little girl!" Beth proclaimed.

"What if she hates me?" William asked suddenly.

"Oh would you keep worrying! You asked that when Michael was born!" Beth pointed out, thinking nothing of it.

All she saw was her husband, the love of her life, her soul mate, holding their baby in his arms for the first time. She was totally unaware of the horrors that would befall Lilly...or the rest of her future family... All she saw was happiness on that beautiful spring day.

...

"I'm sorry I made you so upset, my daughter... If only I had known what fate had in store for you... Your brothers... Me... We are all going to fall here and it is my fault... I shouldn't have left your brothers... I should've... Oh dear God...what is that thing?!"

...

Wishmaker1028: Nothing else to say except... Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!