Author's Note: This chapter was not originally a part of the story. While thinking about the end, I realized that I had another plot hole that needed fixing. I hope that you will enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 13

Was it possible to drown on dry land without ever being exposed to water or illness?

Henry's lungs burned as he searched Jo's words and the memories of the past two weeks for a way to take her pain away from her. His throat tightened with each breath that he attempted to get. Although he had experienced both types of drowning before, it felt as though the third category was entirely possible.

Blinking to clear his vision, he gulped the scarce air in the room. He wiped his hands over his face and rested them against his lips. The more that he had dwelt on everything, the more that he realized the extent of the wound that he had caused her.

He puffed out his cheeks, blew out the air, and wiped his sweaty hands on his pants. He had never intended to hurt Jo. He had believed that, in hiding the truth, he could protect her from the consequences of his condition.

He pulled his lips together. That fear hadn't existed when they had first met. When…?

Gazing down at Richard Smight, Henry sighed. "There's no time for this."

"Yeah, well, unless you're a psychiatrist, we wait for the warrant."

Henry's head snapped up and his eyes searched Jo's. The only psychiatrist whom he could immediately think of was Dr. Farber. Perhaps he would be willing to do them a favor.

"I think I know of one who might help us."

His heart raced, and his legs tensed. If he weren't sitting on the bed, he would have collapsed again.

He shook his head and blinked. No, it wasn't possible. He couldn't have…

"I like what I've found here in New York. Working with Jo…I'd hate to lose that."

"What exactly are you afraid of?"

"Someone getting hurt…because of me."

The room began to spin. He grasped the bed and willed himself to remain upright. He gulped in several deep breaths.

He had led Jo straight into Adam's trap.

He blinked back the tears rising in his eyes. There was only one way to remedy that.

Once he returned to his senses, he shoved himself off the bed. He rushed to the wall where he kept his suitcase, set it on the bed, and threw his dirty laundry into it.

He stepped over to the desk, and his eyes landed on his and Abigail's picture. One rogue tear spilled over and flowed down his cheek. He ran his finger over his wife's image. He had lost Abigail to Adam. He couldn't afford to lose Jo to him as well.

He carefully folded the photo and inserted it into his pants pocket. He snatched his coat out of the closet, grabbed his passport and his boarding pass, and tucked them into the coat's inner pocket.

He eyed the remaining key card and sighed. He didn't want to bother Jo for the other one. Perhaps he should just leave his where it was. The janitorial staff would eventually find it and return it to the desk.

He rubbed his lower lip with his tongue. Then again, he didn't want to create problems for the receptionist. If the person asked him where the other key was, he could always say that he had lost it in the hallway. No one would ever suspect the truth when Jo would return all three keys to the front desk when she would check out to return to New York.

After pocketing his key, he sped toward the door. Within a few steps, he arrived at Jo's. His feet directed him to stop in front of it. On the other side, he could hear her mutter to herself as she paced.

"Does he really care for me?" Her voice suddenly rose just loud enough for him to hear it over her heating unit.

His heart ached. He did care about her…cared deeply about her. That was why he was doing this.

His free hand acted on its own accord, pulling itself away from him and running itself over her door.

"Goodbye, Jo".

"Goodbye, Abraham."

His voice's echo stirred him back to the present. He blinked back the memory. The last time that he had lingered during a flight, he had set the woman he loved onto a path that had led to her demise. He was not going to make the same mistake twice.

He set out for the elevators. The suitcase weighed down his hand. He tightened his grip on it and quickened his pace. The faster that he left, the better.

"You left without a call, a note…"

He swallowed back his tears as a pair of fellow guests passed him in the hallway. Jo might have many lingering questions concerning his whereabouts for the rest of her life. This type of break, however, was more surgical, cleaner…for the both of them. The sooner that they could start their lives anew, the better.

He sighed. He could travel to Asia or Africa and start over there. Once he was settled, he would send word to Abe so he could tell Adam precisely where he was if the psychopathic immortal visited the shop. He would also mail his letter of resignation to the OCME and request that Lucas be reassigned to another medical examiner. Preferably, he would like to see Lucas with anyone but Dr. Washington. The surly medical examiner's attitude would drive Lucas to quit his job should they spend a prolonged length to time together.

"You left your job, your friends, your son. You left me! Why? Don't you know that you have a life in New York?!"

One tear rebelled against his will and trickled down his face. He had no choice but to leave everything behind for good this time. If he were to return with her, one of two things would occur. Either he would allow his emotional entanglements to get the better of him, and they would lead Jo to an untimely and painful death. Or, by forcing her to keep his secret, he would persuade her to violate her morals and ethics, and she would be forced to sacrifice everything that she cared about. He would never forgive himself if either of those were to happen.

He wiped the rogue tear and sniffled back the others. If he had his way, no one would suffer because of him. His immortality had always caused issues for whomever knew about it. He was sure that Father Timothy had been severely punished for his role in Henry's escape from Southwark Prison. He had uprooted Abigail and Abe so many times that they never had the opportunity to remain in one place for any longer than a decade. The family bond that he shared with them had become strained the moment that he had resembled Abe's brother, and Abigail had almost broken their bonds of matrimony when she had felt the need to leave him. He had already corrupted Lucas with his example. And Jo? He sensed that sharing his secret would one day bring out the pain of the lies that he had told her, and she would eventually abandon him as well.

The elevator doors drew near. He readjusted his grip on the suitcase's handle. The sooner that he could leave, the better it would be for all of them.

The doors opened, revealing the lobby. Henry strolled out of them and toward the doors leading to the outside. Within another few minutes, he would be on his way to Heathrow.

As he squared his shoulders and headed for the hotel's entrance, each step became more difficult to take. Knowing that it was for the best, he willed himself to continue walking. Yet, his body rebelled and slowed him to a stop.

He took a look at the dreary scene outside and stared out the doors in disbelief. He couldn't bring himself to leave the building.

Tears welled up in his eyes. Henry looked back at the elevators. If he were honest with himself, a part of him didn't want to leave Jo behind. If he were to walk out the doors, he would never forgive himself for abandoning her the same way that he had forsaken others whom he had cared about in his past.

He sighed. He couldn't return to his room. Yet, he couldn't remain in the lobby either. The hotel staff, and especially the receptionist who had mistaken him and Jo for a couple, would become suspicious.

A third option presented itself, energizing him. He wove his way through the area as he pointed himself toward the door leading to the stairs.

Adam's voice began to return, and Henry shoved it aside. If only he could rid his mind of Adam's voice. The other immortal seemed intent to ruin his life, whether he was physically present or not.

Henry resisted the temptation to close his eyes. He should have never let Adam use Abigail's death to convince him into finding the pugio. If he had reported their conversation to Jo, he wouldn't be in this position.

The stairwell door was in sight. He walked over to it and looked around. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice that he was there.

He pushed it open, stepped inside, and eased it close. Perhaps he should have invited Jo to the funeral and allowed his grief to loosen his tongue in a way that he could not permit himself otherwise. Certainly, spending the rest of his life in a white, padded room in Bellevue and knowing that Jo had placed him there because of her unbelief would have been better that the pain that he was feeling now.

The moment that he had first seen Abigail and Abe and the memory of her funeral flashed before him. He sighed. Perhaps he should have ignored Abe's cry. If he had….

"I'm sorry, Dr. Morgan, but I'm not letting go so easily."

Abigail's voice rang out in the empty stairwell. He lowered himself onto the stair. Abigail had refused to let him walk away from her when he had had the opportunity to do so.

"In spite of the perils that she would face, she chose to take her journey…

Tears gathered in his eyes. He reached up and wiped them away before they could spill over. She had chosen a life with him because of her love for him.

"Abe and Lucas had told me that you hadn't showed up for breakfast or work."

His gaze shifted to his bouncing feet, his memories of the past few days floating past him. Jo had followed him to London because of her worry for him as well. Knowing her, she would follow him to wherever he would settle next if he ran.

His eyes stared ahead at the wall. His memories grew until those ones from the past nine months flowed past him as slowly as the East River did near Catherine Slip. He puffed out his cheeks and blew out the air. He couldn't leave Jo behind. She meant too much to him, and he couldn't imagine his life without her.

He closed his eyes. She was right. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he had a life in New York. One in which Abe waited for his return home from work. One in which Jo had come to mean the world to him. One in which his assisting the NYPD was placing criminals behind bars. And friends. He hadn't had them since…

He thought back to the moment that he had seen Hanson and his friends leaving the precinct for McSorley's. Henry closed his eyes as it overlapped the rising memories of his time with his fellow members of the Diogenes Club. While they had gone to the karaoke bar recently, it had almost felt like he was back in 1812, enjoying a round of drinks and their time together.

"You're not the same man…"

Nora's voice echoed so loudly that he swore that everyone could hear it. As her comment repeated itself, it stole the air out of his lungs and threw it down the stairwell.

He sucked in whatever air he could to replace what had been in him. His chest tightened with each breath. He could not think about that. Not now. Not ever again, if he had his way.

A little voice whispered that Jo didn't know that part of the story yet and that he should tell her. He shook his head. He could never tell her about that time. He had barely survived telling Abigail and Abe the absolute minimum. And he had frightened Jo by fainting while fighting to keep the memories of Nora's betrayal from drowning out Jo's words. He could not do that to her. Especially not with the memories of Sean and of his and Adam's confrontation still fresh in her mind.

"You're lying again."

He wasn't lying. He would be conveniently leaving out something to protect himself and her.

"As your friend, I am giving you the chance to explain yourself. Just tell me the truth."

"Tell us everything. No more secrets."

He swallowed. He no longer could keep all of his past a secret from her. He had almost destroyed their friendship and had nearly gotten himself killed when he had done that before. He could not let that happen ever again.

He gulped in some desperately needed air. Still, Jo needed the full truth...even if he could find himself hopelessly and irretrievably lost in that moment. If he were to wander that deep into those memories, Jo could always call Abe, and they possibly could find a way to bring him back to the present.

His eyes darted around the room. Maybe she wouldn't have to make a call. When Molly had handcuffed him to her apparatus, he had almost drowned in that moment. Jo's voice had been the only thing to wrap itself around him and pull him back to the safety of the present.

He looked up the stairwell. Perhaps it was time to return to his room. Perhaps he could find some way to tell her the truth about Nora without becoming trapped in the past.

The door closed behind Henry. He walked toward the closet and returned his suitcase and coat to their places. He fished out the contents of his coat pocket and set them back on the desk. He drew in a breath as he studied the layout. Maybe he should have never tried to run. It seemed like every time he had, it had always led to trouble.

He looked back at the sofa where Jo had spent the night. He pulled his lips together. She needed her bedding later tonight. If she returned here while she was still angry with him…

Wanting her to feel as comfortable as possible, he headed over to the sofa and folded her covers. He tucked everything under his already tired arm. He swallowed. Hopefully, he wouldn't drop anything while he headed for her room.

He slipped out of his door and stepped to Jo's again. He set the bedding on the floor just under the lock and rapped on the door. Fearing another confrontation with her, he leaped back to his room before she opened her door and saw him.

The second he closed his door and pressed his ear against it, he heard hers swing open and then close. He gathered his courage and peeked out the door. He let out a sigh of relief once he saw that the bedding was gone.

He closed his door again and leaned back on it. He hoped that Jo had seen his gesture as a conciliatory one. Perhaps, one day, she could forgive him for what he had put her through. And maybe, just maybe, one day, he could find the courage to open up to her…forever.