14

"You want ta go down there?" Toby was not particularly fond of Mr. T's plan. The hole in the floor had looked ominous enough without having seen its smooth bricks sides. And after peeking down, he was more unsure of crawling in it.

"Yes." Sweeney had pulled a shirt out of the trunk in his shop (why hadn't Mrs. Lovett used that for the door?) and was pulling it on. If she used this bloody thing instead, she still might be here. Angry at his own thoughts, Sweeney yanked another shirt out and slammed the trunk closed. Toby flinched at the sound. "I'll be.. going down first."

The tone in the barber's voice could have almost been reassuring.

"Do you need anything else?" Johanna asked, picking up Mrs. Lovett's old dress hesitantly. How the woman could stand it was beyond her.

"I'll be fine luv." Her voice came from the other side of the screen.

And how she seemed almost calm about it all, it made the girl shiver. It was almost like how the judge seemed so uncaring, even while watching his mayhem unfold through a window. Though Mrs. Lovett, she had had the sense to ask for her name, did not appear quite as at ease, she did not seem too fazed by it. And all that blood! It was as if being in the judge's house was more appalling to her than walking corpses.

The blonde fidgeted nervously in the silence, thinking on how Mrs. Lovett's situation seemed to be her fault. Swallowing down her fear, she asked a question that had been bothering her for some time. "Where you with your family when… they took you away?"

There was a soft splash from the tub, and then a sigh. "I suppose ya could say tha'. Barricaded in a shop with my boy." For Toby was good enough as. "Adopter 'im recently." In all ways except legally. "'E an' my…" Friend? Tenant? Neighbor? Love..? "Tenant were wif me."

"I…I'm sorry."

"Don't be luv." Mrs. Lovett could hear the tears in the girl's voice. "Mr. T will keep my boy safe." Hopefully..

"No, really.." Johanna bit her lip. "I wasn't.. asking, for a baker. I was.. I was asking them to bring me a mother. And I.. I never really thought I would be taking one away from a family. Or getting people hurt.. I just.. I just thought they would never find one."

Mrs. Lovett dropped the soap she held into the tub, shocked at Johanna's confession. And what it meant to have a horde of unstoppable people fetching whatever you desired.

Toby didn't know if he was happy or sad when Mr. Todd handed him the shirt full of gin. The barber was gong to tie the bundle to him, so that when he crawled down he could carrying them with use of his hands. When Toby had asked why Mr. Todd wasn't taking them, he told him he would need both hands, besides, if Toby fell he could catch him.

The boy didn't like the thought of having to rely on the barber, but he had little choice. Besides, after Mr. Todd crawled down to the bake house, he could always stay up in the shop and refuse to come down. Though being alone didn't exactly appeal to him.

"Is it loose?"

Toby jumped at the sound of Mr. Todd's voice. "N-no sir."

The barber nodded his head, tugging at the straps that held the gin one last time. He walked over to where the trapdoor resided, frowning at it as he thought about his descent. "Open it."

Shakily, the boy pressed down on the pedal with his foot.

A/N Chapter is up later than I wanted it to be.. but.. it's up. A more specific description of the 'mother' Johanna wanted will come up. Though, I admit, I nearly changed what she asked for 'cause I'm not too familiar with her character and I'm not quite sure what she would want when the opportunity presented itself.