"Adella!"

Adella jolted awake as Charlotte shook her.
"Redcoats are outside! Hurry!"

Adella was on her feet and scooping Eli out of his crib in an instant. Her heart raced as the adrenaline washed the sleep from her body.

"Come on, We've got to take the children to the cellar!" Charlotte lowered her voice.

Adella heard the sound of horses outside and she frantically glanced toward the window. She could see the light from torches.

"Why are they here?"Adella demanded.

She followed Charlotte into the hall.

"Nathan said he thinks it is the Dragoons."

Adella froze.

Charlotte turned back. "Hurry!"

"Take the children," Adella held out Eli to Charlotte.

Eli let out a slight cry.

"What? No-"
"I'll hold them off," Adella ordered. "Please."

Adella knew that Charlotte wanted to argue but they were running out of time. She took Eli and hurried off with the other children.

Adella fought the urge to run herself. Instead, she paused on the staircase as she waited for the front doors to open. The voices outside were growing louder and she could hear the slaves outside calling out as they were captured, or worse. She feared for all of their lives, but she knew what she had to do. And if things did not work out the way she imagined they would, she at least hoped that her sacrifice would help the others get away.

She gripped the railing of the stairs until her knuckles turned white.

When the doors burst open, she saw what she expected, but it didn't give her any courage.

William was there. Even in the near dark she knew it was him entering the house first.

He saw her immediately, appeared shocked for a moment, but regained his composure quickly.

He passed the torch he held in his hand to another soldier who followed at his heels.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he called out to her.

As the remaining dragoons dispersed into the house, William slowly walked towards her.

"Where are the others?" he demanded.

"They're not here," she tried to make her voice appear strong.

"So you didn't run scared like them?"

"I'm not scared of you," she lied.

He climbed the first set of stairs slowly and stopped before her.

Part of her could not believe she was standing face to face with him again.

Behind him, she watched the other soldiers begin searching the house.

"William…We have to talk. It's important," her voice sounded shaky.

"Your stupid husband has been destroying everything," he growled. "Where are the children?"

Adella shook her head. She pulled her arms away from the railing. "They're not here. What has gotten into you?"

Without warning, he grabbed her arm, catching her wrist in his vice-like grip. "This is serious!" he roared.

Adella nearly stumbled forward, shocked at his forcefulness.

"Stop! You can't intimidate me!" Adella attempted to jerk her arm away from him but he pulled her closer to him and he reached up to clutch her hair, jerking her neck back.

"Now you're scared," he groveled in her ear.

"Stop William!" she demanded sternly as she fought against him.

A muffled cry interrupted them and Adella froze. Eli.

"It came from in here!" A voice called from downstairs.

Adella pulled away from him and tried to push past him- to get to the baby before they did, but he grabbed both of her wrists to stop her.

"Hold on," he growled.

The shrieks of the children filled the house and William laughed a little.

"We've found them!" a soldier called out.

"Now I'm sure that the ghost will come out of hiding for his wife and children," he whispered to her.

Adella avoided looking into his face as the soldiers brought the children and Charlotte into the room. Margaret was holding Eli. They all looked terrified.

William turned from her and studied the rest of the family. "Bring me your brother, girl," he nodded towards Margaret whose face froze in fear.

A soldier pushed Margaret forward gently and she began up the steps. By now, Eli was crying and fussing, wiggling in her arms.

"We will have to leave someone for the ghost to find," William's eyes dropped to Eli.

"Kill him and you'll be killing your own blood," Adella spat bitterly. She met his eyes and his grip loosened on her wrists.

William cocked his head, "Do not lie to me."

"I am not a liar." She pulled her wrists away.

Confusion covered William's face for a moment, as if he was actually thinking of it for the first time.

Adella felt the all too familiar ache in her throat.

"He's yours," she whispered coldly. She pushed past him and he allowed her to. She took Eli from Margaret, and wrapped him in her arms as she turned back to face him.

William's jaws tightened. He looked down at Eli—truly this time.

The men around them fell silent and watched them curiously.

She watched him study the baby's face.

"How could you do all of this?" Adella felt a tear fall from her eye. She looked down as it spattered on Eli's cheek.

"It….. can't be," William murmured.

"It is. He's yours. Look at him."

William fell silent again.

After a few moments of silence, a soldier spoke up. "Colonel, what shall we do with the other woman and children?"

William did not answer and Adella looked to the ground as she clutched Eli close, trying to comfort him as he let out another series of cries.

"Uh Colonel?"

"Take them inside to one of the bedrooms. We're staying the night here. Put out guards in case Ben Martin shows back up to retrieve his family," he spoke quickly.

"I thought the plan was to get in and out," the soldier began.

"What did I say?" William snapped.

Adella felt a weight life from her shoulders. At least Charlotte and the children wouldn't be harmed.

But when she looked up, he was still staring as if he didn't know what to do or say.

Adella swallowed back the pain in her throat. "Can we talk now?"

He opened his mouth and then let it close.

"Come with me," Adella whispered. She reached out her hand to him and she was surprised when he took it.

Adella led him back up the stairs to the room that had been hers and Eli's the last few months.

Once inside, she turned to him.

"Are Charlotte and the children really safe?"

He nodded.

"No one will touch them?"

He shook his head.

Adella gently closed the door behind them.

As she turned back to face him, William removed his helmet and threw it onto the couch. "Damnnitt Adella!"

Adella flinched. She held Eli closer to her chest.

"You still don't believe me?" she questioned. "Think of the timing. How long have you been gone?"

William shook his head angrily.

"Look at him. How can you deny it?"

"Why would Ben Martin marry you and raise a child that is not his own?" He demanded angrily.

"Because… he's a good man. He needed my help and I needed his. I did not know I was…"she paused.

"If this is so, Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"I did not know until we were traveling back here…You recall my father's dying wish? He passed. I was all alone and Ben was coming to meet me. Besides, you did not tell me that you were leaving. I found out from Borden the night you were attacked and injured. You did not bother to tell me. I was hurt," she forced the words out.

"Why didn't you try to contact me?"

"I didn't know how you would react," she answered him, still rooted in place at the door. "And I was so far away."

He scoffed.

"Now I am glad that I did not. Because if I had…" she trailed off.

"I could have provided enough… for the both of you. You could have stayed in New York."

"I knew that you didn't love me enough to marry me."

"How can you say that? So you're in a loveless marriage now? Did it make things better? I did love you. I had a ring," he raised his voice as he approached her.

"Wha- You pranced around talking to all of the girls—" She raised her voice back.
"Before I met you!" He roared. "After I met you, you were the only thing on my mind," he roared as he pointed at her. "You let your father rule your life and your choices."

"I did not—"

"Yes you did. I knew from the moment I met you that your father influenced you so. Now I see why he was completely against me."

"Because you were a soldier…you were going to be traveling a lot—"
"No. I see it now. Your father was a rebel and you were too," he spat.

Adella shook her head even though she knew his words were partly true.

"Those hours —the night that we truly spent together. You were living your life then. Your father wasn't controlling you. But then you ran right back to him and you left me. I'm not the bad man here!"

"You are the bad man here. You were leaving without telling me-"

"That was terrible timing. I was going to tell you that evening we planned to meet at the rock. I…I had a ring."

Adella's mouth dropped open slightly.

"I was not able to speak to you before we left. I was not allowed to leave the hospital and then…" he trailed off.

"You had a ring?" Adella whispered.

"I was going to give it to you that night. So you wouldn't leave."

"What if I had stayed in New York? I would be all alone anyway," Adella whispered. "And married to a murderer."

"In my dream way of thinking, I thought maybe you would wait for me," he murmured. "But you are still married to a murderer. It's just not me. Have you thought about all the men your husband has killed?"

Adella could feel her temper and confidence flaring. "I am not the bad person here! What's happened to you? You're The Butcher. You…killed Thomas…a child."

"And I strike fear into hearts of all of the rebels don't I?" he asked snidely.

"You killed Thomas. And you were ready to kill this helpless baby—your baby. Look at him as you try to justify everything that you've done."

William turned from her and began pacing. "I wrote to you, wondering why you never answered my letters. I had to leave New York. It tore me apart to leave without saying goodbye, so I wrote to you as quickly as I could. When I returned to New York, As I feared, you were gone."

"I never received the letters."

"And I see why now," he snapped.

"You're not the same man that you were," she answered coldly.

"You're not the same either."

"You're not the same man that begged me not to leave while you were feverish in the hospital…"She whimpered.

Adella could feel her arms getting tired from Eli's wiggling.

"What?" he demanded.

"I told Borden not to tell you that I came to the hospital. But you beckoned for me and then begged me not to leave. You're not the same gentle man that let me paint his portrait…or that gentle man that I spent time with…"

"You let another man..a rebel, raise my child," he growled.

"Perhaps I was wrong," she whimpered. "But knowing that you were leaving scared me. Then I felt completely alone. My father was dying." She trailed off. "I didn't want to have the chance to lose you on terms that weren't my own. I did not know if you would ever return," a quiet sob shook her throat. "And I didn't know I was pregnant until after you left."

"Perhaps you were wrong?" he demanded coldly. "I would have taken care of my own."

"How did Elizabeth know you were leaving?" Adella demanded suddenly. Finally asking the question that she had wondered about for so long.

William paused. "She probably heard it from her father. Otherwise I have no idea."

Adella chewed at her bottom lip. Perhaps it was a plausible answer.

"As I said, after I met you, I did not carry on with any other women."

Adella bounced Eli in her arms, trying to calm him.

She heard William take a deep breath and exhale.

"What did you say is his name?" his voice sounded calmer.

"Eli….Elijah," Adella looked back to him as she answered.

"After your father," William finished for her.

"Stop. His middle name is Will."

William stared back at her as if he was caught off guard. Something about his expression tugged at her heartstrings a little.

"I just can't believe…" he trailed off as he ran his hand across the top of his head.

"Would you like to hold him?" She turned the baby around in her arms.

William shook his head.

"He won't bite," she took a few steps closer to him.

He looked unsure, but he slowly removed his black gloves and tossed them to the couch with his helmet.

He gingerly, but unsuredly reached for him. Eli went willingly, curiously searching William's face. He was a happy baby. He did not usually fear strangers.

William held Eli at arm's length as if he was searching the baby for any likeness.

Adella almost wanted to cry. How long had she wondered what it would feel like to see William holding their baby? Of course everything was far more complicated now than what she ever could have imagined.

She watched Eli reach his tiny hand out and touch William's nose.

"He's…"

Adella raised her eyes back to William's face as he began to speak.

"He's handsome."

"He gets it from his father," Adella spoke the words before she even considered the consequences.

William's eyes met hers and then he looked back to the baby.

Eli let out a little cry and Adella recognized it instantly.

"He's hungry."

William raised his eyebrows.

Adella moved forward and reached for him.

Slowly, William turned the baby back to her and her and he reached out his little hands.

Adella took him and moved to the bed, holding him with one arm. She unbuttoned the top few buttons on her night gown and lowered it so that Eli could nurse.

She felt suddenly self conscious, but tried to pretend as if he was not there.

"I can't believe that this is my son," William sounded different. His voice sounded full of emotion.

"To this day, you are the only one I've been with," she said softly. "Ben and I…he does not love me like that."

She raised her eyes to meet his and William squinted his eyes at her.

"What? Have you two slept in the same bed?"

"Yes, but.."
"But nothing," he interrupted. "I do not believe you then."

"I do not care," She murmured. "Ben and I have never been intimate." She gently rubbed Eli's head, playing with his dark hair to distract herself from him.

William forced a laugh. "Well then he's a damn idiot. He could have had you all to himself."

Adella looked back at him curiously.

She watched his eyes drop to her chest and linger there.

She hurriedly reached up and covered herself awkwardly.

Silence fell around them, except for Eli's occasional grunts as he fed.

"I never stopped thinking about you. I looked for you everywhere I went," Adella heard the couch creak as he sat down.

Adella did not look up at him. She sensed the truth in his voice, but she was torn. The way he had been acting was inexcusable. Her wrists were still sore from when he grabbed her on the staircase. She feared there would be bruises. But also, he had killed Thomas, right in front of all of the children and Ben.

When she thought of it, it made her blood boil.

"When I saw you on the porch that day, I nearly lost my breath," he continued. "But then I felt betrayed. I thought that you had gone and started a family with another man. I wish I would have known before I left that…," his voice cracked. "I wouldn't have left you all alone."

Adella could feel tears forming in her eyes. Was he really showing true emotion?

"All this time…And I didn't know that you were raising my child."

A few tears slipped from her eyes. She knew that he would never understand how hard it had been for her.

"It was as if the world was against us," she whimpered softly.

She looked up as William rested his head in his hands.

"But, Ben has done nothing except love your son," Adella said quickly. "He treated him like his own and I know that will probably make you mad, but…He…He accepted him as his own…and he protected us."

"Your precious protector Ben has made a promise to kill me before the war is over."

Adella exhaled tiredly. "You killed his son, William. You're out of control. You're so angry."

"I do have regrets," he muttered.

Adella repositioned Eli as he finished and lifted him up to re-button the top of her thin gown.

"You are both tearing me apart," she whispered as her voice gave way to emotion. "I never imagined I would be caught in the middle of you two."

"I never imagined that I would see you again," he sounded nearly as emotional as her.

"Do not blame me for all that you did. And all that you were planning to do here tonight," she snapped.

Adella laid Eli down and watched him to see if he was going to be still.

Eli stretched and yawned.

"I was so angry when I saw you," he continued as his voice cracked.

Adella watched him for a moment. She got up and moved closer to him. This was the William she knew. Even though he had committed terrible acts, her heart ached for him just as much as it ached for herself.

He looked up at her from his hands and she sniffled aloud.

"You do not know how long I wanted you to know about your son," She placed her hand on his shoulder.

After a few seconds, he reached up and took it in his own. He tugged gently, pulling her closer to him.

Reluctantly, she sat down on his knee.

He immediately wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her into a hug. Adella felt her body stiffen at first to his touch. He laid his face against her neck and her body began to relax, remembering how long she had longed for his touch. She hugged him back.