John almost couldn't understand Laszlo sometimes. They had left the two detectives in the small lab at the back of the Institute and Laszlo had suggested that they head out for an early dinner considering the brothers were going to be a while conducting the post-mortem. But John had agreed to go out with Laszlo, though he was uncertain if he had the stomach to eat anything. The alienist had told him to meet him out front while he went and found Elizabeth. John had smirked at that, but Laszlo was already walking away to find the woman.

She was stood by the window on the second floor of the building, peering down over the playground beneath her. She had her arms folded over her waist and was leant against the wall. Laszlo could see that she had been messing with her hair, strands of it not falling neatly where her parting usually was. He moved towards her, his footsteps light and his eyes focused on her back.

"Elizabeth," he spoke her name in a soft voice.

She turned her head over her shoulder and smiled to him.

"You looked lost in thought," Laszlo informed her, standing next to her, the soft laughs and screams of children entering his ears from where they played outside. "Is there something that troubles you?"

"No," she said to him, shaking her head. "I was just watching…look," she said and she motioned down to the ground with her chin. Laszlo stood next to her, his gaze moving over the children and he wondered what he was supposed to be looking at. And then he saw her. His eyes widened and Elizabeth beamed over to him, almost looking like she could burst with pride. Laszlo's eyebrows arched on his forehead and he rocked back on his heels.

"Charlotte," he said to her.

The little girl was stood away from the other children, loitering at the side where they played. She had her hands by her side and was simply looking around. Elizabeth nodded her head and moved a hand to Laszlo's arm, gripping onto it in excitement.

"It is the first time she has been outside and even around the other children while playing," Elizabeth informed Laszlo and he nodded his head. He knew that quite well. He looked down to where Elizabeth's hand sat on his arm, feeling the heat of her touch underneath his coat. He didn't shrug her away. He let her keep her grip on him as her eyes went back outside and he lifted his line of vision to look at her face, taking in the look on her features.

"How did you get her outside?" Laszlo enquired from her.

"I didn't really do anything," Elizabeth shrugged, still holding his arm. "I suggested that we should go for a walk and she actually came with me. She stood outside for a while and I told her that I had to go. I asked her if she would be fine and she just stayed there."

"I confess that I am impressed," Laszlo said to her. "Perhaps Charlotte might be able to come out of her shell after all."

"I hope so," Elizabeth said to him and noticed that he was wearing his coat. "Are you going for dinner?"

"We are going for dinner," he corrected her. "I invited John. I hope you do not mind."

Elizabeth shook her head and Laszlo wondered if he saw a glimmer of disappointment etch on her face. If he did, she hid it very quickly and gave his arm one final squeeze. "Let me just go and fetch my coat," she said to him and he nodded, watching her head back into the dormitory where she had dropped the woollen material. She picked it up and Laszlo watched her shrug into it, noticing how it engulfed her figure. He had to admit that she perhaps did not look dressed up enough for a dinner at Delmonico's, but he never cared.

"Where are we going?" Elizabeth asked, moving back towards him and adjusting the skirt around her waist.

"The usual place," Laszlo informed her. "However, I confess we might need to do something with your hair."

"Oh?" she asked, turning to the side and catching her reflection in a mirror. She rolled her eyes at the sight of her hair and stepped closer to it, moving wisps around so that her parting was clear and her hair was patted down and looked presentable. She grabbed it in one hand and tugged it over her shoulder, letting it hang down the front of her coat before she reached for her hat that she had tossed off on the windowsill.

"Does that look better?" she asked from him.

"It looks in place," Laszlo simply said to her and she wondered what that meant. He wanted to tell her that he preferred her hair when it was messy. He preferred it when she was running her hands through it and tossing it back. She usually did it when she was laughing or concentrating. She did it in moments where she was relaxed. And Laszlo enjoyed being around her in those moments.

"We should go," she said and Laszlo nodded. She fell into step next to him, heading down the staircase as he toyed with his hat in his hands, his cane hovering off the ground. They moved out onto the street and Elizabeth placed her hat on top of her head and saw John stood waiting for them.

"John, it's good to see you again," Elizabeth declared and moved towards him, pecking him on the cheek.

"And you too," John said. "I assume you do not mind me joining you for dinner?"

"Of course not," Elizabeth said and looked to Laszlo. "The more the merrier."

He wondered if she truly meant that. But she was, no doubt, being courteous as she always was. They stood by the street, Laszlo holding his hat in his hand as he waited for Cyrus and Stevie to bring the carriage round. John noted them in the distance and he motioned down the street where people were walking around. Laszlo offered his arm to Elizabeth and she took hold of it. It was almost like second nature whenever they went out. John walked on the other side of her, talking as they went.

"So, Laszlo informs me that you spend quite a bit of time at the Institute?" John asked from her, making small talk and conversation. Elizabeth nodded, peering up to him, her hat almost toppling from her head considering she hadn't secured it as well as she could have.

"I like coming down here," Elizabeth said. "I like spending time with the children and Laszlo is kind enough to let me."

"You are a natural with children," Laszlo simply said and looked over her head to John. "There is this one girl who only responds to Elizabeth. I have sessions with her, but she never even looks remotely interested in me. Elizabeth, on the other hand, has been able to read to her and she even goes on walks with her."

"It is nothing," Elizabeth shrugged off.

"You should not belittle yourself," Laszlo urged from her. "It is quite remarkable how you have helped that little girl."

"Well, she reminds me of my sister, you see," Elizabeth said, looking back to John. "Did you ever meet Sally?"

"I believe I met her a couple of times," John said with a nod. "Did she not travel to England and marry some rich man from a noble family?"

"She married someone wealthy," Elizabeth confirmed for him. "I have not seen her in many years and we do not write very often. I suppose we have gone down different paths, especially since everything that happened."

Laszlo stood in front of the carriage then, his arm squeezing Elizabeth's hand and he looked down to her once more. She glanced back at him, giving him a reassuring smile. Whenever she even mentioned what had happened, he would do this. He would look at her as if she were about to break. He would silently ensure that she was fine, looking over her features and drinking them in. And she would let him. In a sense, she enjoyed it. She enjoyed the fact that he cared for her so much.

"Cyrus," Laszlo greeted the man as he held the door open. He held his hand in the air out to Elizabeth. "After you, Elizabeth."

"Thank you," she inclined her head and tossed her hat onto the seat. Taking hold of his hand, she was about to climb into the carriage before she felt Laszlo's grip increase. She halted with her foot on the step up and wondered what was wrong before she felt him tug her hand, pulling her back. "What is it?" she questioned from him.

He kept her hand inside of his before bending down, resting his cane in the carriage and then reaching for a piece of crumpled up paper. Elizabeth's brows furrowed as he picked it up.

"Cyrus, were you away from the carriage at any point?" Laszlo asked from the man who was still holding the door open. He shook his head.

"No, sir," he said firmly and Laszlo left his hat by his cane, moving back to the sidewalk. He kept Elizabeth's hand in his, dragging her with him and his eyes darted around, his head whirling around and looking up and down the street.

"Laszlo, what is it?" Elizabeth tried to ask from him again. He was still holding the piece of crumpled paper in his other hand. He continued staring as John did the same, standing behind the couple and looking around.

"Do you see something?" John asked from Laszlo, also feeling on edge from the way his friend was behaving. Elizabeth felt her heart beat against her chest, hearing the pumping of blood in her ears. Laszlo's gloved hand was squeezing hers firmly and she knew that something was wrong. There was something not quite right and whatever that piece of paper was, it had spooked Laszlo and Elizabeth knew he was not a man who spooked easily.

"There," Laszlo said, pointing down the street, a carriage moving where he was pointing. Looking to Elizabeth, he spoke firmly. "Stay here."

Before she could even question what he was doing, he was running off down the street. John chased after him and Elizabeth followed, not listening or obeying his requests. She followed him, keeping his familiar figure in her sight as she kept up with John. She hiked her skirts up her knees, knowing that it looked indecent, but she didn't care. John moved to the side after a hundred yards or so, trying to avoid an incoming horse and carriage, jumping out the way and falling to the floor.

"John, come here," Elizabeth said, offering him her hand.

He took it, allowing her to help him from the floor as he panted for breath.

"Are you hurt?"

"No," John said to her, "but I must insist you stay here."

"Not without him," Elizabeth said and she had already started running in the direction Laszlo had gone once more. She noticed a door wide open in a building and she suspected that was where he had to have gone. John was close on her heels, moving into the building as she heard footsteps from up high. She ran up the steps and John had to admit that she was fast. No doubt, she was running on adrenaline.

"Laszlo!" she shouted his name.

Coming to the top of the steps, she looked around before noticing an open door down a corridor. They were in the roof of the building and she heard birds cooing and a door opening. Running down the boardwalk along the roof, her footsteps were harsh on the wood as she finally saw Laszlo at the end of the building, looking around and clearly perplexed.

"Laszlo," she panted his name as John followed, hat tumbling off of his head.

"I told you to stay outside," Laszlo said, his voice stern and she shot him a glare.

"Not likely," she retorted as John came up behind her and gathered his breath. John's eyes lifted up and he looked to either side of the boardwalk.

"Where did he go?" John questioned.

Laszlo didn't verbally respond. He only lifted his gaze up to the ceiling and John and Elizabeth copied his movements. Elizabeth gasped at the sight of the hole in the roof. How could someone have climbed up there? Laszlo remained where he was, seemingly frozen to the spot before John reached out to him and took hold of the newspaper he had been carrying with him. John peeled open the paper and Elizabeth looked down onto it, eyes widening and throat clenching.

"Is that…" she trailed off, not knowing if she could say the words. Someone had left that in their carriage. Someone knew that they were looking into this case.

"The Santorelli boy," Laszlo spoke, looking to John. "Did you see his mouth?"

"No," John whispered and Elizabeth's head began to feel light.

"The killer was watching us," Laszlo declared. "He was watching our every movement."

"And you think he climbed out of this roof?" John asked from Laszlo and they looked to the gap once more. Laszlo nodded his head.

"I see no other explanation," he said. "Come, we need to leave here."

Elizabeth could agree with that. John led the way back down the boardwalk and Elizabeth followed him, feeling slightly uneasy on her feet. Laszlo moved behind her, a hand hovering behind her back as he kept looking around, knowing that he had to stay alert. They walked back down the steps to the street and Laszlo held his arm out to Elizabeth once more. She grabbed hold of him and this time he could feel her hold on him tighten. She clung onto him and she looked around, looking at the sights of people passing them by, carriages moving down the streets.

"John, we will take you home," Laszlo said to him, any notion of dinner or food leaving them all. They were not hungry. On the contrary, they would prefer simply to return home. John nodded at him, not in the mood to argue. He was still holding the newspaper in his hands.

The ride back to John's home was quiet. No one spoke. Laszlo was sat next to Elizabeth, his arm brushing against hers and his gaze set on his lap, only occasionally did his eyes flicker over to her. But she continued to look out of the window. John did the same, having deposited the newspaper on the seat next to him, not wanting to look at it. He chewed down on his bottom lip, his mind thinking of the child who had been murdered.

John bid the two of them a good night before Laszlo insisted on returning to the Institute before they went home. Elizabeth followed him in a daze, climbing from the carriage and heading back into his boardroom and towards the lab. Elizabeth stayed in the boardroom as Laszlo went to talk to the man who was examining the bones of the Zweig children. Elizabeth wandered around the space before the door opened, a young tall man entering the room with sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked to her and smiled, Elizabeth managing to return the motion out of politeness.

"Good afternoon, Miss," he said to her.

"Good afternoon," she responded and he looked over her. She seemed familiar.

"Sorry, I should introduce myself," he snapped himself out of simply staring at her. He moved forwards and offered her his hand. "My name is Marcus. Marcus Isaacson."

"You are working on the Santorelli case with Laszlo, are you not?"

"Indeed, I am," he responded to her. "And you…do you work here?"

"Not quite," she replied. "I'm a friend of Laszlo's. Elizabeth Martins," she said to him, still struggling not to flinch at the sound of her married name. She saw the usual reaction in Marcus's face that she had seen on countless other individuals whenever she introduced herself.

"A pleasure, Miss Martins," he said to her, inclining his head and letting go of shaking her hand. He moved his hands into his pockets and leant back, Elizabeth leaning against the table, the backs of her thighs hitting it. "So what brings you down here today?"

"I believe that Laszlo would be best placed to tell you that," she responded to him.

"Nah, let him bore my brother," Marcus waved a nonchalant hand. "You seem much more amenable."

"Amenable?" she asked from him and he continued to smirk in her direction.

"Well, what man would prefer to discuss matters with a boring detective over discussing them with a lovely young woman," he asked her and Elizabeth bit down on the inside of her cheek after a moment. She could already tell the type of man that Marcus was. He was young and confident. He wasn't afraid to go after what he wanted.

"A man who values their career?" she suggested.

He shrugged. "My career is doing just fine," he promised her. "So, go on, tell me what has happened."

"We found a tongue," Elizabeth declared to him. "In the carriage there was a tongue and Laszlo seems to think that it might be from the Santorelli boy. He has brought it here and no doubt will be asking you to go and check on the body."

"Shit," Marcus whispered and Elizabeth looked to him as he dropped his hands to his hips and then glanced back to her. "Apologies, I shouldn't curse in front of a lady."

"I have heard worse," she assured him, remembering all of the horrible things that Jacob had said when she had been with him. She remembered them clear as day.

"And you saw that? That's not a sight for a delicate woman like yourself."

"I would not say I am particularly delicate."

"Elizabeth."

Turning her head to the side, she looked to see Laszlo stood there. His expression was one that she hadn't seen before. His jaw was firmly set and his eyes narrowed. His cheeks were slightly puffed out and she swore he almost looked angry with her.

"We should return home," Laszlo said to her, adjusting the gloves on his fingertips. "Marcus, your brother can inform you of the development."

"Yes, Doctor Kreizler," Marcus said and inclined his head towards Elizabeth. "It was a pleasure, Miss Morris. Don't be a stranger."

He moved to the lab and Laszlo stormed forwards, heading to the door. He didn't even bother to offer her his arm as he usually did. She followed him out, wondering what was wrong with him. She kept a few paces behind until they moved down the steps of the main door of the Institute, the carriage waiting for them with Cyrus and Stevie stood by it. Laszlo remained mute, holding his hand out and helping Elizabeth into the box. She sat down on the seat and Laszlo took the seat across from her. He balled a hand into a fist, placing it beneath his chin and looking out of the window. Elizabeth looked up at him, her gaze hesitant and her teeth manically chewing on the inside of her cheek.

The carriage began to move and Elizabeth waited for him to speak. It took him a few minutes before he turned to face her.

"Why did you ignore me?" he demanded from her, tone stern and Elizabeth almost felt as though she was being scolded.

"Excuse me?" she questioned him.

"I told you to stay by the carriage, but you ignored me. You followed me."

"And you are angry because of that?" she checked with him.

"I am angry because you ran straight into danger, Elizabeth," he hissed out to her and he saw her begin to bite down on her tongue, clearly struggling to understand what was wrong. "I am angry because I told you to stay away and you deliberately disobeyed me."

"Disobeyed?" she repeated the word back to him, her voice growing with irritation. "I did not realise that I was yours to command around or that I had to obey you."

"I did not mean that," Laszlo said, shaking his head firmly and removing his hat, letting it fall next to him with his cane. "I…not in that way…Elizabeth, I did not mean that to come out how it sounded."

She could only glare at him. She knew that he didn't mean it like that. Deep down, she knew that. But that didn't mean that she wasn't angry with what he had just said. The two continued to glare at each other, neither one willing to back down and admit they were wrong.

"I do not want you near this case," Laszlo declared to her. "I think that it might be best if you stay away from the Institute too."

Her eyes widened. "Whatever for?"

"Because I do not want you near my work while we look into this case," Laszlo said and he heard her sigh, turning to look out the window. And then he spoke the words that he knew he shouldn't. He should have just kept quiet. He should have held his tongue. "Besides, it seems that your presence could be a distraction if you insist on flirting with members of my team."

Her head snapped back in his direction. Her face was a mixture of anger and hurt at what he had just said to her. The carriage came to a halt and Elizabeth didn't wait for Cyrus to open the door. Instead, she was already moving, pushing the door open and storming from the carriage. Her hat fell from her head and Laszlo followed her, holding his own hat and his cane in his hands. He picked up her hat for her and followed her into the house. She had tugged her coat off and hung it up and was already rushing up the stairs. She got halfway up before she turned back around, her face red and her hands gripping the bannister until her knuckles turned white.

"How dare you?" she demanded from him.

Laszlo remained stood at the bottom of the staircase. He shrugged over to her. "My eyes did not deceive me."

"I was hardly flirting with him," she scoffed.

"Then what were you doing?"

"Making conversation." She growled back lowly. "He asked me who I was and what I was doing there. I simply told him."

"You did nothing to dissuade him from flirting."

"You are being unreasonable," Elizabeth responded.

"Am I? Or are you incapable of acting professionally?"

"What is your problem?" she snapped at him.

"My problem is that we found a boy's tongue in our carriage and then the next minute you cannot help but bat your eyelashes at some man who shows you interest."

She had no response to him then. She didn't know if she could even form the right words. She moved down the steps and grabbed hold of her coat once more. Laszlo watched her shrug into it, tugging her hair from her collar.

"What are you doing?" Laszlo asked from her.

"I am going for a walk," she said to him. "But I do not see why it is any concern of yours."

He had no option to say anything else. She stormed back out of the house, the door slamming shut behind her as Laszlo remained stood where he was. He looked down onto her hat that he still held and he felt frustration grow inside of him. He threw it to the side and slapped his hand against the bannister, bowing his head and knowing that he had to try and set things right.

…

A/N: Not sure if anyone is reading or interested, but would be great to know what you think!