Chapter Two: Linnea

She didn't know what her name was, or if she should even have one. But Lana observed, watching the newborn as she sighed, that she went about life as though there was life to live. She would learn.

Lana Winters surveyed her dingy surroundings, just thankful that she'd made her escape so quickly. Everything had happened perfectly and just in time. It gave her a little confidence that she and the baby were met to be safe. After making her final decision to keep the baby, Lana threw on some clothes, quickly packed and wrapped the baby back up before climbing out the window of her first floor room. Unbeknownst to her, Oliver Thredson had just walked in the hospital entrance a few hundred feet away and they'd narrowly missed crossing paths.

Thredson had just been released from a hospital bed of his own, having been in intensive care for several months from the gunshot wound to the head he'd received from Lana just after her release from Briarcliff. His prognosis had been grim, and initially, paramedics had placed a white sheet over his head and a tag on his toe. But Oliver Thredson had overcome that obstacle just as he had with so many others in life, only now he wore a patch over his left eye. The bullet from Lana's gun had damaged the eye so severely that it had to be shielded from airflow and was no longer of use to him. Oliver had decided two things upon regaining his consciousness, several months after it had happened: that he would get back at Lana by taking her life, and that he would still get to have his child, his son. Now Thredson strolled into the maternity ward of the hospital, satisfied with the fact that he was about to take victory, sneaking up suddenly on the unsuspecting Lana who was preparing to give away the child he had every right to raise.

Oliver Thredson approached the nurse's desk proudly, after all, he was about to meet his son, it was one of the happiest days of his life.

"Excuse me." He asked.

"Can I help you?" The nurse inquired, acutely raising an eyebrow at him, noting that he didn't look at all well. She was an older woman and had been working in that hospital's maternity ward many years. She'd seen everything under the sun and understood almost immediately that Oliver Thredson was trouble.

When Oliver looked in the mirror, he saw himself as he'd always looked, but with the hideous eye-patch. This nurse, however, saw a deeply troubled, half-blinded man, with a long scar across his right cheek. Oliver, you see, didn't take note of the scar; it was simply too much for him.

"Yes, I'd like to see Lana Winters."

"Winters, Winters…" The nurse began to thumb through some files and then looked back up carefully when it hit her who Ms. Winters was…wasn't she the one who was giving up the baby, the one who'd been raped? Supposedly by Bloodyface?

"And you are?" She asked.

"I'm the child's father." He indicated without hesitation.

"Um-hum?" She said. "I'm sorry Mr…"

"Thredson."

"Yes Mr. Thredson, I'm sorry but this child has no indicated father. Would you like to wait here while I speak to Ms. Winters?"

"How about you just bring the baby out to me?" He asked. He wanted the baby now, killing Lana could wait, he decided. In fact, he thought, the hunt might be fun.

The nurse gave him a strange look and told him to wait. You know Oliver, despite his desires, he did as he was instructed and sat in a chair, actually believing his son would be brought out to meet his gaze for the first time.

Nurse Patty, on the other hand, had a better idea. She knew Ms. Winters was telling the truth. It had been all over the news and moreover, there was a rumor going around the ward that she was considering keeping her baby. All the nurses were enthusiastic about the idea. They thought she needed the love, and moreover, the girl was one baby who really needed its Mama. She was very sensitive and none of them thought she'd survive foster care or a children's home. That being said, Patty didn't want to disturb Lana with any of this non-sense, and realizing that this Mr. Thredson should probably be in jail, just decided to call police instead of bothering her.

After a while, Oliver began to wonder why all the nurses were avoiding him and why the one he'd spoken to about seeing his son had yet to return. He looked at his watch, beginning to get impatient. It had been twenty minutes after all. He got up from his chair and headed toward the desk once again.

"Hold it right there!" Oliver stopped when he heard a commanding voice.

"Put em put Thredson." Another voice commanded.

"What seems to be the problem, I'm only here to see my son." He pointed out.

"The problem is you escaped police custody two hours ago at another hospital across town." One of the officers explained as they began to tackle and attempt to handcuff Oliver.

Oliver had not realized that he'd been in police custody the whole time he'd been in a hospital bed recovering from his gunshot wound. The police and the D.A. had gone to great lengths to keep this news from getting out. This was going to be the trial of the century and they didn't want any details leaked. Moreover, they all figured they'd let Ms. Winters have her fifteen minutes of fame with that little book she wrote. Perhaps, they thought, she'd make some kind of a noticeable difference at Briarcliff…they knew it was a horrible place but had no say in shutting it down. And maybe they'd let her finish her pregnancy before telling her the truth about Thredson's fate. They wouldn't be ready to disclose that Thredson had lived until about that time anyway, the last thing they wanted was to taint the jury pool you know.

"I told you, I'm here to see my son!" Oliver yelled, breaking away from the two officers even though he was handcuffed.

He scurried down the hall, the police at his heals. Oliver glanced at every doorframe to see what name had been written in chalk beside it as he ran by. Finally, when he saw Winters, Lana he dashed inside, expecting to see her there laying in bed, exhausted. When instead, he saw absolutely nothing. The calm summer wind blew into the room through the open window, softly tickling the white curtains. Oliver, the two policemen and the two nurses that had followed all stood in stunned silence it was obvious by the empty bed, and suitcase-less room that Lana had left.

"Where is she?" He asked angrily.

It amazed the police officers that he was most concerned with Lana's whereabouts when he had an excellent opportunity to attempt to escape through the open window. It was in just that moment that they were sold on the idea that he was truly a nut.

"Go and look for the baby!" Nurse Patty quickly instructed of the younger nurse at her side, the one who'd brought the infant back to Lana for feeding in the first place.

"Where's my son!" He yelled as the cops quickly moved in to restrain him once again.

"Mr. Thredson, you…" Nurse Patty began.

"Patty." The younger nurse signaled as she came back in the room. She shook her head no and didn't say another word. Patty smiled at this.

"It would seem that Ms. Winters and her baby left earlier this afternoon." Patty explained, not really knowing what else to say.

"You mean…she kept it?" Oliver questioned calmly.

"Yes." The younger nurse asked, not totally understanding his disappointment, she was thrilled by the news. "What's wrong with that?" She questioned.

Oliver kicked the door hard and screamed in anger, greatly startling the two nurses and causing the police officers to tighten their grip on him.

"Alright come on let's go." One of them said.

"I'm going to get you Lana!" He screamed. "I'm going to get you if it's the last thing I do!"

….

Meanwhile Lana and her baby had just begun a long bus ride. Lana had gone home for all but a half hour to repack, collect things that were very important to her, trade maternity clothes in for regular ones, grab her winter coat, the few baby things some supportive friends had given her in the eventuality that she kept the child, and of course a lot of money, nearly every cent she had. The rest, she'd instructed Lois to pack up and store or send to her when she finally found a place to go. It may seem hasty to a lot of people but she felt it was her only real choice.

It had been hard for her to close the door on the little house. It was the home she'd shared with Wendy after all. But Lana found that some things were more pressing than grief and sad good-byes. She quickly bid adieu to the old place in order to buy her and her daughter a few more minutes jump on road.

Lana had no idea where she and the newborn were headed, all she knew was that she needed to get out of town, something was going on and she wasn't going to be safe at home. She had the feeling she needed to get far away from there, where no one knew her name, where no one could find her.

Lana looked down when the newborn baby cooed her in her arms. In the moment it was like this little thing that she'd so dreaded meeting was all she had left in the world. It was an incredibly strange feeling but she knew she was doing the right thing. And the benefit for her, she realized, was that she didn't have to fight alone anymore. She searched the child's face as it looked up at her. The newborn was barely able to make out its mother's face, but relished her presence anyway. Lana was awed by this; she hadn't counted on it having much feeling for her.

They'd been on this bus two hours, and Lana was impressed that the infant was so quiet. They were coming close to approaching New York City, it was where Lana had originally intended to go once she had the baby, but now that Thredson was alive, it was much too big and too obvious of a place for her to hide in.

"Hi baby." She whispered as the infant yawned. Lana was jealous. She wanted to sleep too.

"Isn't she a little young to be traveling all this way?" The older lady sitting next to Lana inquired. The woman had been knitting the whole trip and had barely looked up from her project, and yet was full of curiosity about Lana and her child. "I've seen you before." She continued.

"Oh, no I-I don't think so." She laughed.

"Oh yes, yes of course I have now where, was it…"

"No, No I-I'm not from around here, I don't think you have." She lied. The woman knew perfectly well she was from the Boston area.

"Oh well…what's your baby's name?" She inquired, thinking this might be an easier conversation topic. In truth it was a harder one.

"H-her name?" Lana asked.

"Yes, she's such a cute little doll what's her name?"

Lana looked down at the baby for a moment. She knew she was going to have to give this child a name at some point, and she'd already been thinking about it, but it was a big decision and she was no where near ready to decide. Lana focused her attention on the newborn's face and thought quickly about all the things she wanted this baby to have, and more importantly, names she wanted to avoid and also ones she'd liked over the years. She had a name she adored from long ago, back when she still thought she'd marry a man and have children. Lana bit her lip and smiled slightly.

"Her name's Linnea." She told the woman.

"Awe isn't that a pretty name?" She complimented. "Linnea."

So, from that day on, Lana's baby was known as Linnea Isabella Winters.