Sweeney Todd entered the room of his wife after the doctor had taken his leave. The barber still held his newborn daughter as he knelt down towards Lucy. He then deposited the child in her arms, admiring the smile she bestowed upon her young.

Lucy's face was wet with perspiration and pale with exhaustion. She barely had the strength to sit straight, yet the sight of her husband seemed to grant her a spurt of vigor, for she sat upward and managed to hold her daughter close to her breast.

"She holds such comparison to you, dear," Lucy sighed in awe as she gazed at the baby's still face. She had fallen asleep in her father's arms and now lay sprawled against her mother's chest, peaceful as ever. "What shall we name her?"

Todd admired the small face of his daughter before turning to his wife. "I do not know," he admitted with a shake of his head. "Do you have anyone in particular that you wish to name her after?"

Lucy cast the baby a single glance as she replied, "I am not sure."

As he observed the loving exchange between the mother and her child, he said, "I will leave you two alone for a while. Perhaps by the time I return, you will have a name in mind." Sweeney crossed over to the door of the room. "I am afraid my mind is not working to the best of its capability as of now." He then stepped out of the room and gently closed the door, leaning his head against its wooden frame.

"Is mother alright?"

The male nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sudden sound of his daughter's voice. He bolted from his slanted position and muttered, "She is fine. Would you like to see her?"

The girl eagerly nodded her head and pushed the wood of the door open, shutting it behind her for an intimate moment between her sister and mother. Sweeney stood outside in the hall, his mind suddenly wondering where Mrs. Lovett had gone.

He descended down the stairs and after a few glances in entryways, he found her sitting at one of her shop's tables, her head in her hands. Her light skin seemed to shine in the moonlight that was cast into the room through the glass windows. If she heard him enter the shop, she made no effort to look up at him, or even acknowledge his arrival. She kept her head bent, a sorrowful position for a woman that Todd had considered to be a woman of such pride and potency.

"I want to thank you, Mrs. Lovett…for all that you have done for us," he said in a steady tone to her still figure.

Only then did she straighten and send him a distressed glance, barely hidden by a watery smile. "It was a pleasure, love," she answered in a broken voice laden with misery.

"Then," he said as he walked over to her, "why do you appear so upset?"

It appeared that she had been slightly grateful that he had noticed her negative attitude. "All I ever wanted was a kid of me own, I suppose. I am happy you two have got another, but…" her voice faltered.

Mr. Todd chose to keep silent.

"I have never seen you so affectionate, Mr. T.," she added to him, though it seemed as if she were saying the words to herself, almost as if she were in shock. "It was a whole different you, I'll have to admit."

Once more, he said nothing. There were so many words in the world, yet none could describe the emotions and thoughts of Sweeney Todd at that exact moment. He wore a blank expression.

Mrs. Lovett took the time to study the man before her. She had never seen him so…tame!

Seizing the opportunity his passive attitude had given her, the baker stood and placed herself in from of his slim figure. No thoughts of right or wrong took place inside of her mind. Her conscience was absolutely gagged. The only thing she wanted was to give into her wants…her desires.

She loved him!

With a swift sweep of her arms, she placed her lips upon his and kissed him. Only she did not pull away.

Suddenly, she felt him strain away from her lips. In a moment of panic, she grasped the back of his shoulders and held him to her, in an attempt to keep him from breaking the embrace. She then thrust herself into a deeper kiss.

He would not have it.

All restraint that the man had felt had vanished. In one single movement, he took her by the wrists and shoved her away from him. As he did so, she stumbled backwards and her body slapped the hard surface of her shop's wall. Her legs gave out and she sank to her knees after the impact.

The shock of the blow had left her dazed and confused. She looked at him questioningly before reality came to her with enough force to leave her gasping for air. She had tried to kiss him! What had she done?

Her words came out in gasps as she tried in vain to make an apology for her vile actions. To her dismay, he would not hear a word that escaped her lips.

"Have you lost your blinking mind?" he hissed with a menacing step towards her. Grasping her by her arm, he lifted her to her feet and brought her over to a chair in which he gave her a forceful shove. She landed on the seat with a sharp intake of breath. He leaned over her slumped figure with a furious gaze.

"I not only have been reunited with my family, but I am a newborn's father once more, and you find that this is your opportunity to pursue your vulgar desires? Have you completely forgotten your husband, Albert? Don't you think he is rolling in his grave right now?" He leaned in even closer. "I do not love you! I have told you time and time again, I have not nor will I ever love you!"

She bit her lip to stifle a cry of anguish from the harsh intensity of his words. "I am sorry," she whispered.

"No you are not! You will do it again, and I am sure of it! Telling you to stay away just does not seem to take any affect!" he bellowed. He backed away as words built up in his throat, screaming for release. He could no longer hold it in. "I HATE YOU!!"

Mrs. Lovett felt her soul wither up and die within her body. Eleanor stared at him, allowing the words he had shouted at her to play back in her mind, over and over again until she began to cease in her breathing. She felt as if her chest had been cut open and now this cruel man was ripping out her heart and allowing it to bleed in his hand. The words circled her in a hopeless circle of despair, entangling her in their spiteful web. She had been hopelessly in love with him and now, he had killed her. The hateful words had condemned her. Now, life had no meaning.

She lifted herself out of her seat, an odd sort of calm numbing the pain the barber had bestowed upon her. The woman held herself upright with a broken confidence, a shattered pride.

"I hate you too," she breathed in a pained voice. Never had she dreamed she would say these words to the man she had cherished for so many years.

Eleanor backed away so that she held the knob of her shop's door in her hand. The door creaked open, an ominous goodbye.

"I hate you too," she repeated as she closed the door behind her without even a backward glance. The figure of the woman soon faded as the barber stared through the glass. He had not the slightest idea where she was going, and it would have been an utter lie to say that he did not care.

He did not sleep that night. All joy of having a child had been drained, all accusations of the woman had ceased. Concern was his only partner, and it was hell when he had to face it.

The morning came and she still had not returned.

Toby and Johanna stumbled down the stairs, laughing with joy, a small comfort to the barber. But their happy faces soon faded to unease when they become conscious of the fact that their loving Mrs. Lovett was not present. Johanna told her mother of the woman's disappearance, leaving Lucy staring out of her bedroom window in trepidation.

Sweeney Todd closed both shops, angering many of the customers who had been looking forward to a sweet pie and a good shave. Their complaints were but a buzz in the back of Todd's brain. Mrs. Lovett was still missing.

She will come back; he assured himself as he looked out of his shop room and stared intently at the strollers, hoping that one of them would be Eleanor Lovett. None of them were.

The hours of the day were wasted on helpless denials and pointless pacing. Sweeney Todd studied every passing figure in the street below and swore under his breath when none of them were the missing baker.

He had to find her. She should have come back by now.

Sweeney grasped the razor in its holster as he entered the bedroom in which Lucy lay. Johanna had placed her new baby sister in her old crib and moved the baby's bed near the mother. Lucy now lay, rocking the bed with her arm and humming a faint tune which ceased the moment her husband strode up to her bed and said, "I must look for her."

Lucy gave him a complex frown. "Nellie?"

"Yes. She has not come back and…London is quite dangerous…" he explained in a dark tone as he tightened his grip on the razor's hold and clenched his fist.

"She will be back. Stay with me…our baby. I do not want you to leave us."

He gave a curt shake of his head. "I am sorry, Lucy. I cannot…"

"Please," Lucy began to implore. "She will come back! You do not know what is out there!" She threw her arm towards the window as if she were to display the world for him to see. "Do not make your new baby daughter fatherless!"

"I know very well what is out there! I have seen the world and I know of its cruelties." he bellowed as he ran towards the door. "And I am a part of it."

Lucy's eyes watered with fresh tears. "No you are not."

He opened the door and spared her a pitying glance. "I am not a killer. But I have killed. Nothing can change that." He added, "It was all for love then, and it shall be for love now. I swear I will be back for you, Lucy. I swear it."

He bolted out of the door and rushed down the stairs, skipping many in his attempt to make it outside.

Johanna stood in front of her father before he could make it to the front door.

"No," she said in a commanding tone. "I will not let you. You will get hurt. If anyone has got Mrs. Lovett…it is probably Thorne. It is all a trap!"

He knew this all too well. Everyone did.

"I will be back," he promised as he grasped his daughter's face and placed a kiss on each side of her cheeks. "I promise you."

He managed to slip past her and out into the sick, dark, and twisted world of London. The sun had begun to set and the criminals had begun their prowl.

And so had Sweeney Todd.