As always, thanks for the reviews, faves and likes! Lots of love - W

After dinner, Sir Malcolm had led Ethan and Victor to the living room, where they sat in silence. Ethan held his cup of tea tightly to warm his cold hands, however gave up once it began to become lukewarm. Eventually the silence of the room grew deafening, and Ethan could take it no longer.

"What's wrong with her, Doctor?" He asked Victor. A hint of worry slipped through his voice, something that Victor caught straight away. He sighed.

"I would need to do a proper examination, Mr Chandler, and while I conducted one immediately after... her illness, I think we all know how willing she will be to receive more prodding and poking." He replied, subconsciously rubbing his hands together. He looked down at his hands in confusion once he noticed why he was doing, trying to figure out why he may be exhibiting a nervous tic.

"Well then, possibly you may be able to conduct an examination from afar, Dr Frankenstein?" Sir Malcolm interjected. Victor's brow furrowed in confusion. "Just make a guess." Ethan explained. Victor nodded.

"Ah. Well, I suppose I could make an educated guess... but it would be based solely off theory and not at all on fact." He explained. Ethan nodded. "That's all we need." He said, looking into his cup of tea. His cup had become empty faster than he expected, and he no longer had something to distract himself with. Victor nodded slowly and hummed in thought.

"Well, my first observation would be that at this point in her recovery, she should be able to walk almost perfectly. She should not be bedridden by this point, particularly as we know she is able to walk. The fact that she refuses to, alludes to a different issue altogether." He explained. Sir Malcolm and Ethan watched Victor with both worried and eager eyes. "Therefore, my second observation is that... I believe she may be affected in her mind, rather than her physical body."

"By the illness?" Sir Malcolm asked. Victor shook his head. "By that maybe, but I'd wager it is mostly due to recent traumatic events and past traumatic events seeming to affect her more than previously."

"So it's mental trauma? Mental trauma can cause her be bedridden?" Sir Malcolm asked. Ethan nodded with a dark look in his eyes.

"I've experienced it myself." He said in a low voice. Victor began packing up his bag to leave.

"Well, that may make you the perfect person to aid her recovery, Ethan." Victor said. Ethan nodded. "I have another engagement now, but I will return tomorrow to check up on her. Try your best, Mr Chandler." Victor said, before leaving. Ethan stood up after Victor left.

"Where are you going?" Sir Malcolm asked.

"To try my best." Ethan replied, before heading upstairs towards Vanessa.

"Ethan." She said in a hoarse voice from her bed. Ethan pulled up a chair to her bed.

"Are you sick?" He asked. Vanessa shook her head. "I have not used my voice in several hours." She explained. Ethan hid his frown, knowing it would only frustrate her.

"Have you been doing much, since I last saw you?" She asked him. "No, just some... no. Nothing really." He replied. Vanessa chuckled.

"You're not very reassuring, Mr Chandler. Are you hiding something from me?" She asked with a smile. "I could never hide a thing from you, Miss Ives." He smiled in return. "And you?" He asked carefully.

"What do you mean?" Vanessa asked. "Well, have you been doing much since last time we met?" Ethan clarified.

"Ah, well... there was a particularly loud bird outside my window yesterday morning, and I do believe the chair you are sitting on is beginning to wear from all its recent usage. I also have noticed that my ceiling needs to be repainted." Vanessa said with a slight smirk. Ethan chuckled. "You know that wasn't what I meant, Vanessa." She nodded. "I do." She said, without a hint of wanting to continue the conversation. To her surprise, Ethan dropped the topic when she cued him to.

"You know, when I finally came back, I could still hear it all like it was still happening in front of me." Ethan spoke after a short silence. Vanessa knew immediately what he meant. "What could you hear?" She asked softly. Ethan's eyes seemed to transport to somewhere else.

"I could hear the gunfire, and the screams. It was the screams I heard the most. They were the worst part. I could always hear this one young girl. I knew it was her every time I heard it and I just wanted to... I don't know. I just couldn't stop hearing it all. It haunted me for a long time." Ethan paused. "Everywhere I turned it followed me. Do you understand what I mean?" Vanessa nodded and placed her hand on his.

"I do, Ethan." She said quietly, her eyes soft and understanding. He nodded and smiled slightly in return. "Do you ever feel that way?" He asked. Vanessa nodded.

"Sometimes... sometimes I can hear Mina talking to me as if we're playing in the gardens again. As if we're still children. She doesn't say very much, she just calls my name. Like we're chasing each other endlessly through the hedge maze." Vanessa chuckled slightly. "It sounds ridiculous out loud." She said, looking away. Ethan gently pulled her face back to face him.

"It doesn't at all. It's progress." He smiled.