"Owes you?," Shayne said with disgust, "Dinah doesn't owe you anything."
"Ahh, Dinah," Edmund said, wagging his finger at her, "Keeping secrets from the hubby already, tsk..tsk..tsk"
"Shut up, Edmund," Dinah said, her eyes brimming with angry tears.
"What are you two talking about?," Shayne asked, catching the shared glares between Dinah and Edmund.
"Tell me Dinah," Edmund continued, "Would it be poor form to call this baby Hope if it's a girl? I mean after all, you never did actually manage to give birth to her, did you?"
Shayne looked over at Dinah. Tears streamed down her face. She was clearly very upset over something, though Shayne didn't have a clue what Edmund was talking about.
Edmund began to taunt her, "Do you ever even think about her? Do you? Do you ever wonder what she would have been like? Do you, Dinah?"
Shayne slammed his hands against the glass, "You shut up," he screamed, "What in the hell is the matter with you? Who is Hope? What are you talking about?," Shayne screamed as his eyes shone with rage.
Dinah gathered her emotions enough to speak, "Hope was the name we gave the baby that I lost," she said softly.
Shayne turned, "we?," he said.
Dinah nodded, "Edmund and I." Dinah took a deep breath, "I was having Edmund's baby."
Shayne stood perfectly still for a moment, unable to believe what he had just heard. Slowly, he walked over to the bed where Dinah sat.
Sitting beside her, he looked her in the eye, "Edmund's baby?," he repeated, barely able to even say the words.
Dinah felt her eyes filling with tears, but she willed herself to continue, "Cassie and Edmund wanted a child very badly and I…I thought…I mean….I tried to give them one. I loved her, but she didn't make it. I tried," she said, tears streaming down her face.
Edmund's voice rang out cold and cruel, "You didn't try hard enough," he spat, "You took her from me too, and now I'm gonna take something from you," Edmund sneered, "if there's anything to take, right?"
Dinah looked up at him, "what?," she said softly.
Edmund glared at her, "Well, let's face it, Dinah," Edmund replied coldly, "motherhood doesn't really seem to be in the cards for you now does it? First it was the baby that was Hart's." Edmund made air quotes to indicate the scandal that accompanied that situation, "then there was the pregnancy in Europe, right," Edmund continued. The more he spoke, the harder Dinah sobbed.
"Shut up, Edmund," Shayne said, trying to keep his composure, all the while keeping his arm around Dinah, offering her any comfort he could, "Don't listen to him. He's sick," Shayne whispered to her. "Then there was our baby," Edmund continued, "And now this one, I mean, Dinah, you lose babies like most people lose their car keys," Edmund laughed, taunting her.
With this, Shayne stood, "That's enough," he said, putting his hand on the glass, "I mean it. You leave her alone," he said, his own voice full of venom and anger. "Let me ask you something, Edmund?," Shayne spat, "Do you think Lara would be proud of you now?"
Edmund stood still for a moment. "My daughter is dead," he said in a monotone voice, "how dare you speak of her,"
Shayne interrupted him. "I know your daughter is dead and you're doing a bang up job honoring her memory, aren't you?"
Edmund grew more silent. "Look at her, Edmund," Shayne said, pointing over to Dinah. She was curled up on the bed, sobbing. "Look what you've done," he yelled at him, "I hope Lara can see this. I hope she can see what great things her father is doing," Shayne said.
Without a word, Edmund turned and left the building.
Shayne walked over to the bed, lightly stroking Dinah's back, "It's ok," he whispered.
"No it's not," she said, through her tears, "Edmund is right. I'm not meant to be a mother."
Shayne turned her face, so that she was forced to look at him. "Stop it. I mean it. Don't you let him do this to you. The man is sick and twisted. He'd say anything to hurt you, to hurt us. Don't let him get to you," he said softly.
Dinah wiped her eyes, looking up at Shayne, "About earlier, the whole baby thing," she started. Tears began to stream down her cheeks.
Shayne stopped her, "You don't have to talk about it," he said. "I wasn't trying to keep it from you," she cried, "it' s just-it was a really difficult time in my life," she said with a shaky sob.
Shayne brought his hand to her face, wiping away the tears, "I'm sorry you ever had to go through that, but it's over now," he said, stroking her hair.
Shayne looked up to see Edmund standing at the glass window. "More water," he said, "and here's a hotplate and some tea bags…chamomile. It should help calm her down," Edmund said somberly.
Reaching down by his feet, Edmund shoved two pillows into the window, "I thought she might need these," he said, referring to the pillows. He turned away from Shayne quickly.
"Edmund," Shayne said, causing Edmund to turn around and face him, "You can still honor Lara, you know. You can still do the right thing here," he said.
Edmund thrust a cell phone through the window, "Here. It's programmed to only dial my number. You can't call anyone else, but if you need something, you can call me and I'll come," Edmund said sharply, walking out the door again.
Shayne handed Dinah the steaming cup of tea, "Careful," he said.
Dinah smiled at him, as she took the cup, "Even in here, you've managed to find a way to take care of me haven't you?," she said, reaching up to touch his face.
"I'll always take care of you," Shayne whispered, kissing her cheek gently. "Wonder what's gotten into him," he said, pointing towards the door.
"I think you got to him," Dinah said, softly. She sipped her tea and continued, "Edmund is a lot of things-evil and ruthless being at the top of the list most of the time, but there is another side to him," she said, leaning back against the pillows.
Shayne sighed and nodded, "I've seen that side," Shayne agreed, "Sometimes when he talks about Lara, he actually seems to be a human being with a heart."
Dinah nodded, "I know, when I was pregnant and I lost the baby, Edmund was devastated. He cried for that baby. He loved her. I know he's a horrible person, but deep inside, under all that anger, there's something there."
Shayne wrapped his arms around his wife and held her close to him, "I think that's what's so scary about him," he said, "You never know which Edmund you're gonna get."
Edmund entered the room several hours later. Dinah slept as Shayne sat at the table, thinking.
"You ready to make the call?," Edmund asked.
"What call?," Shayne said, genuinely confused.
"Henry," Edmund said, sighing, "I need to know where to pick him up."
Shayne stared at Edmund for a moment, trying to gauge if he was actually serious. Determining that he was, Shayne started slowly, trying not to anger him, "You're never getting Henry," Shayne replied matter of factly. "Henry is happy with Mallet and Marina. They are the only family he's ever known," Shayne replied.
Edmund glared at Shayne, "It's a shame really," he said.
"What's a shame, Edmund?," Shayne asked. "That I'll be the only family your baby ever knows," Edmund replied.
Shayne took a step closer to the glass, "Could you really do that, Edmund. Could you really take a child from their mother? Could you take that baby away from Dinah, knowing everything that she's been through? Are you really that heartless?," he asked.
Edmund shook his head, "You Lewises really lack imagination," he sighed, "Dinah and I have been through some really good times together. Sure there have been some rough patches, but all in all, we understand each other. I think she'll make a wonderful mother, and children need their mothers." Edmund paused for a moment, "And I will be a fantastic father," he said, smiling as the realization set into Shayne's eyes.
"You're crazy if you think she's actually going to go for that," Shayne said, staring at Edmund.
"I don't think so," Edmund said, "You see, that's the beauty of it. This baby means more than anything in the world to Dinah. You said so yourself. She'll do anything to keep this child, Anything," he said, smiling at Shayne, "including raising him or her with me."
Shayne felt his stomach turn. The thought of his wife and child with Edmund made him want to vomit.
"Don't you worry, Shayne," Edmund said, smiling at him, "I'll take the best care of them and I'll be a much better father than you would have been. After all, your son is in another country with two strangers right about now.
Shayne looked at Edmund, still unable to completely process what he was hearing, "You're actually serious," he said, amazed.
"Completely," Edmund said, with a sick grin, "Oh, and don't worry, Uncle Shayne, we'll send you pictures."
"So what? You're just going to whisk her away?," Shayne said, trying to understand how Edmund's mind actually worked, "Do you actually think she's going to go along with that. You think she's just going to leave me?," he asked, his anger now bubbling to the surface.
"Nor right away, of course," Edmund said calmly, "but after a while, she'll come around."
Shayne couldn't help but laugh. The thought of it was just so absurd, "Oh, she'll come around," he said, trying not to wake Dinah and further upset her,.
"Don't get so upset, Shayne," Edmund smiled, happy to see the effect all of this was having on him, "I'm not going to kick you out right away."
Shayne just glared at him, "How considerate of you," Shayne snarled at him.
"I thought so," Edmund said, "You see, Dinah does seem to be stubbornly attached to you at the moment and we wouldn't want to upset her. After all, we do have to think of the baby, don't we Shayne?," Shayne sat silent as he watched Edmund's face change into a huge grin.
"Right," Shayne said, walking closer to the glass so that he would wake Dinah with his voice. He could feel himself getting angrier with each passing moment, and the last thing she needed was to hear Edmund's delusional plan. "The fact that you can actually say that with a straight face proves you really are crazy," Shayne said.
"That's not a very nice thing to say to the man that's going to be raising your child," Edmund chided.
"You make me sick," Shayne spat at him. "You're actually going to take this baby to make up for not being with Henry. This baby is some kind of consolation prize to you? Do you even hear yourself, Edmund? Do you see how sick that sounds!?"
Edmund glared at Shayne, his eyes cold and empty. "I will be the father to this baby that I didn't get to be with Hope or with Lara," Edmund stated in a tone that sickened Shayne, "Nothing will stop me from that. I've lost the other children, but I won't lose this one."
Shayne heard movement behind him and turned to see Dinah sitting up on the edge of the bed. The look on her face told him she'd heard too much. He walked over to her, trying to decide where to start,
"Shayne," she said softly, "what is he talking about?"
Dinah was standing before Shayne made it over to the bed. He reached for her hands in an attempt to calm her. "Please tell me that I didn't just hear what I think I heard," Dinah said, her voice strained, her hands shaking.
Shayne held her hands in his, and stroked her fingertips, "Just calm down," he said quietly, "Everything is going to be fine. You know I'll never let that happen," he said, making eye contact with her.
Edmund spoke calmly, "I don't recall my giving you a choice in the matter," he said, smiling at Dinah, who was staring at him over Shayne's shoulder.
"If you think I'm going to raise this baby with you, you're crazier than even I gave you credit for," she hissed at him.
"Oh, Dinah," Edmund said, wagging his finger at her, "Is that any way to talk to the father of your child," he said, still smiling broadly.
Shayne could feel the tension building in Dinah. He turned to face Edmund, "Can you shut up?," he spat at him, "You're upsetting her. I thought you claimed to care," he said, glaring at Edmund.
"I do care," Edmund crooned, "I just want us all to be on the same page here. You see Dinah, I figure you will actually be a phenomenal mother. You understand some very important principles in life. You know what it's like to be knocked down by life and how you have to keep getting back up time after time, and more importantly, you know when it's time to knock down the people that are getting in your way."
Dinah just stared at him, "Shayne is this baby's father," she said, tears stinging her eyes, "I thought you actually had a soul Edmund. Granted, you are ruthless and you're twisted and you've hurt a hell of a lot of people, but I really believed that underneath all that, there was a person who had some sort of decency, but this….this," she said, putting her hand to her head, and swaying a bit.
Shayne was by her side in an instant. "Hey, Hey, sit down," he said, gently leading her back to the bed, "Just relax."
Edmund watched as Shayne soothed Dinah. "Enjoy that while you can," Edmund said, taunting Shayne, "Soon that will be my job."
Shayne sat beside Dinah quietly holding her hand, "Don't you worry," he whispered, "you know there's no way I'd ever let anyone take you or that baby away from me."
Dinah looked over at him. "You don't know him like I do, Shayne." She could barely manage the words through her tears, "When there is something that he wants, he'll stop at nothing. There's no telling what he might do."
Edmund stood at the glass listening, "That's right, Shayne, there's just no telling," Edmund said with his signature grin.
Shayne stood, walking the length of the room til there was only the glass separating the two of them, "You'll have to kill me first," he said, his eyes full of the rage he was trying to control.
Edmund just smiled, calmly rubbing his hands together, "That could be arranged," he said softly, reaching into his jacket and pulling out the gun, "though I'd hoped we wouldn't have to make things so messy. You wouldn't want to upset the little mother," Edmund said, as he polished the gun's handle with his jacket.
Dinah walked up beside Shayne, "Edmund, please, stop it," she said softly, "This baby won't replace Lara. It won't replace Henry," she said, her voice shaky.
Edmund just shook his head. "You just don't get it do you?," Edmund sighed, looking at Dinah and then over at Shayne, "it's not about replacing them. It's about making Shayne here feel the same kind of loss that I felt. It's about justice," Edmund said as he turned away from them. "I'll be back later," he called, "You two enjoy your time together."