Laszlo stood in the doorway of his room as the doctor looked over Elizabeth. He remained where he was, one arm dangling down his side, his fingers clenching and unclenching multiple times as his other hand sat by his chin in a fist. His gaze remained on the back of the doctor's head as he tried to tell how much mobility Elizabeth had. She was able to lift her arms, but as soon as she tried to stand, she was uneasy on her feet.
The doctor caught her by the waist before Laszlo could rush over to her. He helped her settle back down on the edge of the bed, holding a finger in front of her and asking her gaze to follow it. Laszlo was on edge, wanting to know just what was going on. He was a clever man. He knew that he was. He was a doctor, but he was a doctor of the mind. He was unable to diagnose Elizabeth officially. Of course, he had his own theories, but he didn't wish to disclose them to her.
"Well, you seem to be making a good recovery," Doctor Thomkins spoke and Laszlo stepped further into the room once more as Thomkins helped Elizabeth back into bed. "However, you still have reduced mobility. You're going to need to build your strength back up, but nothing too strenuous for the next couple of weeks."
"What do you define as not too strenuous?" Elizabeth enquired, tugging the quilt back up to her lap and letting it sit there.
"Well," Thomkins said, placing his papers back into the bag that he had brought with him. Dropping them in, he closed it firmly and buttoned the clasp. "I am talking about walks around the park for no more than half-an-hour."
"I can arrange that," Laszlo interjected and Elizabeth knew that he would be hovering around her now. He would hardly let her out of his sight and she knew that it might become overbearing, but he would mean well. Laszlo always meant well when it came to Elizabeth. "Is there anything else we should be looking out for?"
"Well, as with any head injury there can be long-term effects," Thomkins spoke. "Look out for anything that might come out of the ordinary…behavioural changes…tiredness…anything that concerns you."
Laszlo nodded his head.
"But, with any luck, Miss Johnson here might have gotten away with a lucky escape," Thomkins shrugged into his coat and picked his bag up, holding it in his hand. Reaching for his hat, he placed it on the top of his head and tilted it towards her. "Miss Johnson, look after yourself," he urged from her.
"Thank you, Doctor," Elizabeth said.
He gave her another nod before looking to Laszlo. "Doctor Kreizler, I trust she is in good hands in your care?"
"I will see to it," Laszlo said. "Allow me to show you out."
Laszlo gestured for the doctor to follow him out of the room and Elizabeth watched the two of them go. She leant back against the pillows of Laszlo's bed, sinking into them and closing her eyes for a moment, the only noise the faint sound of chatter in the entrance hall and she knew that Laszlo would be pushing for more information from the doctor. But, she wasn't going to push him on that. She stifled a yawn and looked to the clock on the top of the chest of the drawers. It was almost eleven. And yet, she was tired again.
"Yawning already?" Laszlo commented as he came back to the bedroom.
Elizabeth moved her hand from her mouth and arched her lips at him, nodding her head. "I've slept two weeks and I am still tired."
"Well, I suppose you are entitled to feel tired after everything that has happened," Laszlo informed her and he stepped further into the room, padding closer to the bed. He sat down in the chair that he had stationed by her side and leant forwards, clasping his hands together. "How are you feeling otherwise?"
Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders, not sure how she should respond to that question. She didn't know what she was feeling. She was going through a range of emotions, struggling to comprehend what Laszlo had told her.
"Angry…upset…" Elizabeth said to him. "And…thankful…but guilty."
Laszlo's brow furrowed and he shrugged his shoulders. "Why would you feel guilty?"
"Because I lived and Mary didn't," Elizabeth said to him. "I should have gotten to her quicker before she fell. I should have stopped Connor from pushing her…I should have done more."
"Do not think like that," Laszlo encouraged from her and he watched her play with the edge of the quilt in her lap, her fingers toying with it and running over the floral pattern. Her hair fell in her face, acting as a curtain between the two of them that she didn't bother to push back, almost as though she didn't want him to see her. But Laszlo was not going to let her sit and stew. He was not going to listen to her blame herself for what had happened. He couldn't do that.
"Elizabeth," he said to her, trying to gain her attention as he heard her sniff and move a finger to dab at her eye. He stood up and sat down on the bed besides her. "Do not shut me out," he encouraged from her and that did gain her attention. She turned her gaze onto him and Laszlo held his hand out in between them.
"I don't want to do that," Elizabeth said to him, her fingers meeting his and Laszlo took some comfort in the way she clung onto him, almost trying to convey that she did not mean to close herself off from him. "I just…I feel guilty because I keep thinking of how I could have done more."
"You did everything that you could have. You risked your own life to save her, Elizabeth," Laszlo said, keeping his voice low and soft. "The only person to blame for what happened to Mary is Connor. He is the one who killed her. He is the one who almost killed you too. Do not feel guilt…Mary would not want you to feel that…"
Elizabeth closed her eyes at his final comment, bowing her head once more. Laszlo picked up their entwined hands and kissed the back of hers gently, leaving it against his lips for a moment as she gathered herself and turned her stare back to Laszlo.
"He can't get away with this," Elizabeth said to Laszlo. "It's wrong."
"I know," Laszlo promised her. "And I feel the same anger that you feel knowing that he is still free and has managed to slip away because of a lie, but I do not know what else I can do. I fear the corruption in the police department runs deeper than anyone knows…and…Roosevelt…he is on our side. We have to have faith that he will be able to right those wrongs."
"I would kill him myself if I could," Elizabeth said and Laszlo knew that she was simply speaking out of anger and emotion. But he needed her to keep as calm as possible, knowing that it would do no good for her to become worked up.
"Mary knew you, Elizabeth…she would not blame you, nor would she want you to feel guilt…if anything, she would want you to try and get better, which means not becoming worked up."
"How can you ask me to do that?" she wondered from him and he continued to peer down onto her.
"Because I have had two weeks to come to terms with what has happened and Mary's death…it lives on my conscience," Laszlo informed her. "I was the one who could not stop investigating the case that brought Connor and Doyle here. I was the one who did not give it up, despite knowing that it could be dangerous, no matter how many times I told you that I would try and be safe…and it turns out that I kept that promise, but I could not keep you or Mary safe."
Elizabeth shook her head at hearing him speak like that, seeing how he bowed his head this time and he took his turn to sniff and feel remorse course through his veins. He continued to look to his lap and Elizabeth moved their hands away from his face and she took her turn to kiss the back of his hand.
"I am going to tell you what you just told me," Elizabeth said to him. "Mary would not blame you."
"Perhaps not," Laszlo admitted. "She was far too kind."
"She was," Elizabeth agreed with him on that point.
They lapsed into silence for a few moments before Laszlo moved his hand from hers and she wondered if he was leaving, but he wrapped his arm around her shoulders instead. She leant against his side, dropping her cheek to rest by his shoulder and he moved to let his own cheek drop to the top of her head, her hair tickling his skin and he knew that it needed washing from how it felt almost like straw, not the usual softness. Then again, she hadn't bathed properly in weeks, being stuck in the very same bed.
"Can I go and see her?" Elizabeth whispered into the room.
Laszlo hummed from the back of his throat, the noise vibrating down into his chest and she could feel it from where she leant against him. "Yes," Laszlo said to her. "When you are feeling up to it."
"Thank you," Elizabeth said.
"You don't need to thank me," Laszlo responded. "But, I should go and check on Charlotte. I asked Miss Howard to take her for a short walk while the doctor was here, but I expect they should have returned by now."
"What was Sara doing here?" Elizabeth asked from him, a hand running along his chest and her fingers tickling and causing him to shiver slightly. He ran his thumb along her shoulder, his bad hand twitching by his side.
"She came to talk to me and see how you were faring," Laszlo informed her. "I told her about what had happened to me as a child and I apologised. She accepted and we had a…well…an emotional conversation. We were in the middle of it when Charlotte came for me and told me that you had woken up."
"Apologies for interrupting," Elizabeth muttered and Laszlo chuckled, looking down onto her and seeing how her own lips had turned upwards at the corners. She glanced up to him then, her hand moving up his chest to his neck, holding it softly in her grip.
"You could have interrupted the Pope giving Mass himself and it would still have been more important to me," Laszlo said to her and she continued to smile.
"And I thought that you said you weren't a romantic?" she asked him.
"That was just me being truthful," Laszlo replied and he finally bent down to kiss her. His lips pressed softly against hers and he tried to keep the motion light, not wanting her to exert herself. She felt the scratch of his beard, but it didn't bother her in the slightest. In fact, she found it quite familiar. When she moaned against his mouth once he accidentally bit down on her lip, he pulled himself away from her.
"Laszlo," she complained once he moved from her, his forehead resting against hers.
"You cannot exert yourself, my dear Elizabeth," Laszlo warned her. "And you still need to rest."
"Spoil sport," she complained and he chuckled once again at hearing her. "Anyway, I imagine Sara was also here to pick your brains on the case too? Has there been any news on that? Has there been anything at all?"
"I…I have not been involved," Laszlo said to her, shaking his head back and forth and moving to rest back against the pillows behind him, sinking into them for a moment and finding comfort after weeks sat in that chair. He would only occasionally lie besides Elizabeth when he was alone with her, but it never felt right.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I excused myself from the case," Laszlo said.
Elizabeth frowned, moving so that her chin was resting on top of his chest and she could continue to gaze up at him, her hand sitting next to her cheek.
"Why would you do that?"
"Is it not obvious?" Laszlo wondered. "I did it because this case killed Mary. This case could have killed you. I couldn't continue with it…I had to stop."
Elizabeth sighed and shook her head. "Laszlo, I understand how you feel and I understand why you would think that way, but they need you. John and Sara need you. They need your help."
"But how can I?"
"Because this is not you," Elizabeth said. "As much as I wanted you to be careful on this case and I was worried for you, I knew that you were stubborn enough to see it through to the end. I knew that you would do that."
"And now?"
"Now, I think that there is a part of you that still wants to help," she said. "And I think you have worked too hard to stop now, especially after what you discovered in Massachusetts. I know that you're scared," she promised him, running her hand up along his neck. "And I know that whatever I say will not stop you from being scared or for blaming yourself because I know you…I know you're as stubborn as I am," she commented and his lips picked up at hearing her say that. "But if you're not working on this case because you blame yourself then I hate to tell you this, but I'm not going to accept that as a reason."
She picked her chin up from his chest and rested on her back as Laszlo dropped his chin down to look at her. Her hands laced together on her stomach and she looked to the ceiling as he wondered what she was doing. He moved to sit up a bit more, his arm adjusting around her shoulders.
"You're not going to accept it as a reason?" he responded, echoing her words back to him and she moved her hand up, holding onto his that sat on her shoulder.
"No," she said, "because it isn't you. You don't hide. Look at everything that you've built up and that you've done. You've worked to prove doubters wrong. You follow through on your convictions and that Institute and all the children you helped show that. You don't run away. You don't hide…look at the way you took me to Delmonico's and made it clear that we were officially an item," she reminded him and he couldn't help but smile at the memory of that. "You do not quit and that is why I love you…and Mary would say the exact same thing if she was here."
He nodded once. "You're very good at that."
"At what?"
"Saying the right thing."
"I don't know about that," she scoffed. "I'm only telling you what I think and what I know about you. After spending a year living with you, I think that I've gotten to know you pretty well."
"You do," he agreed with her on that point.
She arched an expectant brow in his direction. "So?" she questioned him. "Will you go back to the case?"
"Are you certain you wouldn't mind?"
"Well," she drawled, trying to lighten the tone for a moment, "I would prefer for you to stay here forever and act as my nurse, but that is just selfish of me."
"I would make a terrible nurse," he assured her and bent down to kiss her forehead once more.
"Your bedside manner is undesirable," she agreed with him on that point and managed to stretch her neck to kiss him. He squeezed her shoulder and kept his lips soft and gentle against hers, refusing to let her deepen the kiss. He was the one to pull back from her and she pouted once more.
"Spoil sport," she muttered again.
"Until you are well rested, you're going to take things steady," he said to her. "Now, stay here and rest. I will be back later."
"Be careful," she urged from him as he untangled himself from her side and moved to his feet, his muscles protesting as he stretched upwards. He stretched his legs, standing on his toes for a moment before turning back to Elizabeth. He pulled the quilt back up to her lap as she sank back into the pillows and he saw her hair fan out underneath her and she stifled another yawn. His smile returned to his face and he lowered his lips to hers for one final time.
"Get some rest," he encouraged from her. "I will be back before you know it."
"You better be," she demanded from him.
"So bossy," he mumbled.
"Only because I love you," she said, rolling onto her side, tugging the quilt further up her body and tucking her hand underneath the pillow. Laszlo dropped his arms by his side and rocked back and forth on his heels, nodding firmly.
"I love you too," he said to her.
She gave him that heart warming smile that she seemed to reserve especially just for him. It often made his chest ache and his stomach flip at the sight of it. He backed out of the room and headed down the staircase once he had closed the door. Heading into the parlour, he saw that Charlotte was sat with Sara on the couch, the two of them looking over a book and Sara pointing down and reading sentences from it out to her. She stopped as soon as Laszlo entered the room and peered up to him.
"Is she well?"
"She is tired," Laszlo responded. "I have told her to sleep for a little while. Charlotte, perhaps you might like to go to her? I imagine you must be tired too and no doubt she will want you to be with her?"
Charlotte nodded and looked to Sara. She smiled at the young woman who managed to quirk her lips back, the small blonde girl reminding her slightly of herself. She was alone. She was completely alone in this world and Sara knew how that felt.
"It was a pleasure spending time with you, Charlotte," Sara said. "Perhaps we can continue reading next time I'm here?"
Charlotte smiled and nodded her head again at the woman before slipping from the seat. Walking by Laszlo, the alienist squeezed her shoulder as she passed him by before his stare met Sara's.
"I will help you on the case."
Standing up, Sara smoothed out the skirts she wore. "Then let's get to work."
…
Sitting up in bed, Elizabeth had spent more hours sleeping. Charlotte had come to her and she had urged for her to climb into bed alongside her, the little girl nestling against her side and falling to sleep against Elizabeth. Waking up, Elizabeth didn't know if she felt reinvigorated or even more tired. The light had begun to drop behind the horizon and she knew that evening was upon them. She looked to the side and found that Charlotte was missing.
She wondered where the girl had gotten to before she pushed herself from the bed. Standing on her feet, she was slightly uneasy as she gritted her teeth and felt her legs shake beneath her. She took a few steps forwards, holding onto the bed as she went. She only managed a few steps before the door creaked open and she looked up to see Marcus Isaacson stood there.
"What are you doing?" he wondered from her.
"I could ask you the same thing," Elizabeth responded.
"Well, I came to see how you were doing, but Cyrus told me that you were sleeping," Marcus said to her and she saw that he was holding a bouquet of flowers in his fingertips. Moving into the room, he set them down on top of the dresser, knocking some of Laszlo's papers out of the way to leave them there. "And Doctor Kreizler was at one of the crime scenes. He told me that you had woken up so I thought that I would come and see for myself."
"And where is Laszlo?"
"Still out working," Marcus informed her and moved towards her. "And you should be in bed resting."
"I've been in bed for hours," Elizabeth complained to him. "Can you not simply humour me and-"
"-And risk getting on the bad side of Doctor Kreizler? I think not," Marcus said to her and he moved his hand to the small of her back before urging her back towards the bed. He took hold of her hand, letting her put more of her weight against him as he turned her around and helped her back to the bed. She flopped back onto it, pulling her legs up and tugging the quilt back around her. "Besides, he has warned me not to stay too long and tire you out."
"He's being protective," Elizabeth said, feeling slightly dizzy after standing up quickly and then sitting back down. "But I didn't expect to see you here."
"I wanted to come and see you," Marcus said and he moved back to the bouquet of flowers he had abandoned on the dresser. He picked them up and went back to the bed, handing them to her. "And I bought you flowers."
"That is very sweet of you," Elizabeth said and she took them from him, admiring them for a moment and looking at the petals, inhaling the smell for a moment. Placing them down into her lap, she noticed that Marcus was looking around and she moved the bouquet, hitting him around the arm with them.
"What was that for?" he wondered.
"You're snooping," she said to him and he shrugged, sitting down on the edge of the chair that was still by her bed.
"It's just weird being in Doctor Kreizler's bedroom," he said to her. "Hard not to be nosy."
"Well, try," Elizabeth urged from him. "Anyway, how are you, Marcus? What have you been doing? Still working the case?"
"I am," Marcus nodded at her. "We think that Beecham is using the sewers to get around the city without being spotted considering he isn't using rooftops."
"The sewers?"
"Yes," Marcus nodded. "And there seems to be a theory that he is attracted to heights and water. If he is also killing on Holy Days then the next one is in six day's time…and the boy he has kidnapped from the brothel…well…he is the one who we are concerned with finding now."
"He took another boy?"
Marcus nodded. "A boy John met called Joseph," he confirmed to her. "We think that he has him."
"And do you have any theories of how to find him?"
"Well, we have until the twenty-forth when the Feast of John the Baptist takes place," Marcus said. "John and Sara are working on a plan and no doubt your dear Doctor Kreizler is also forming a plan as well now that he is back working on this case."
"He no doubt is," Elizabeth confirmed.
"And you?" Marcus asked her. "How are you faring? You don't need to lie to me and tell me that you're fine either."
Elizabeth shrugged and toyed with the petals of one of the flowers in the bouquet she rested on her lap. She flicked at it gently and spoke. "I suppose…I'm just going through a range of emotions," she admitted to him. "I'm scared for Laszlo, even though I know what he is doing is the right thing. I'm angry with Connor and Doyle for being able to get away with what they have done and then I just feel sorrow and guilt when I think of Mary…guilt that I couldn't save her."
"You mustn't blame yourself," Marcus urged from her, lacing his hands together and leaning forwards. "Connor and Doyle are the ones who caused Mary's death and I am doing everything I can to bring them to justice…but punching the bastard felt good."
Elizabeth's brows knitted together. "You punched him?"
Marcus shrugged, trying to act like it was not a big issue. "He was saying how you invited Connor into the house and into the Doctor's bedroom…Mary was the one who took offence and attacked. That was how she died."
"That is what they claimed happened?" Elizabeth checked.
"We all know it is bullshit," he promised her. "I just lost my temper when he said it and lashed out. Doyle, at least, will be walking around with a black eye for the foreseeable future."
"Thank you," Elizabeth said.
"Least I could do," Marcus said and he leant back in the chair.
Elizabeth noticed how his gaze began moving around the room once again and she reached out to hit his knee and his eyes snapped back to her. Holding his hands up in defence, he shook his head. "Sorry," he said to her. "Can't help it. This place is just so intriguing…I would have thought that his room would have been dreary and dull…filled with books and papers."
"Well, it is filled with papers," Elizabeth commented. "But don't let him hear you talk like that. He's a private person."
"I know that," Marcus scoffed. "But I think you can cut me some slack. After all, it was me who brought the two of you together."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at that and he smirked.
"You really are going to take credit for that?"
"Credit or shame, it remains to be seen," he joked and she moved her hand out once more to hit him and he laughed at her making the motion before looking down to his lap, his smile turning sad and Elizabeth saw that his face had fallen.
"What is wrong?" she questioned from him.
"Nothing," he said, picking his head up once more and looking to her, plastering that carefree smirk back onto his face. Elizabeth tucked her hair behind her ear and tilted her head to the side.
"You don't need to lie to me," she said. "I can tell that there is something wrong."
He sighed and shrugged. "There's this girl," he admitted. "I've been seeing her for quite some time, but not…well…you know…seriously."
"I understand," Elizabeth said.
"Well, I guess it was serious for a while. I did take her to meet my mother, but that went down like a lead balloon. I…she has a baby, you see," Marcus said and Elizabeth's eyes widened. "The father abandoned her when he found out she was pregnant."
"That's horrible."
"I agree," Marcus said and toyed with his hat in his hands, playing with the rim of it. "But I've begun to feel deeper things for her. I can't explain it, but I know that I can't be with her. I can't…and I stopped our affair."
"Do you love her?" Elizabeth wondered from him.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I honestly don't know."
"You should talk to her," Elizabeth said, but he shook his head.
"I've been avoiding her…you know, crossing the street when I see her…leaving places if she appears," he said and Elizabeth's mouth dropped open at hearing him say that. She shook her head and folded her arms over her stomach.
"Marcus," she groaned his name, "how do you think that makes her feel? There was clearly intimate feelings between the two of you and then you behave like that?"
Marcus almost looked ashamed, turning his head to the side and looking to the doorway before shrugging his shoulders over to her. "I don't know. I'd imagine not good," he said and Elizabeth scoffed, giving him a look that basically said 'really'?
"I'll go and see her soon," he settled on saying. "I suppose we can talk about it."
"I think that would be the best decision," Elizabeth said to him. "But the fact that she has a child…don't let that deter you from hiding from your feelings. I know it might seem daunting, but if you do love her then tell her that. Tell her that you love her and be with her."
"Never had you down for a hopeless romantic," Marcus said.
She scoffed and reached for the glass of water that Charlotte had left on the bedside table. Picking it up, she took a sip and held the glass in her hands, running her fingertip over the rim of it.
"I'm not," Elizabeth said to him. "I just know that loving someone…well…it makes all the trials you face worth it."
"Good advice," he commented and Elizabeth almost wanted to tell him how that was the second time in that day someone had told her that she had given good advice, but she kept her lips pursed. Marcus was about to say something when there were sudden footsteps in the doorway.
Turning his head over his shoulder, Marcus looked around the chair to see Laszlo stood there, dressed in his green suit with his hat on top of his head still. He removed the hat and looked to the young detective, his face scrunching up at the man being in his own private room.
"Doctor Kreizler," Marcus said and moved to his feet.
"Please, I did not mean to intrude," Laszlo said and Elizabeth smiled over to him and he placed his hat down on the sideboard.
"No, I should go," Marcus said, putting his own hat on the top of his head. "I have something I need to do," he added on and looked to Elizabeth, inclining his head.
"It was nice to see you, Marcus," Elizabeth said.
"You too, Elizabeth," he responded and bent down, pecking her on the cheek before standing up straight and leaving the room, giving Laszlo a courteous nod as he passed him by.
Only when Laszlo heard his footsteps move down the staircase did he move over to the bed and pointed down at the flowers that she was once again toying with in her lap. "He bought you flowers?" he questioned.
"He did," Elizabeth said and Laszlo wrinkled his nose. Elizabeth looked at him with an entertained expression. "Are you jealous that he bought me flowers?" she questioned from him.
He shook his head. "I can buy you bigger bouquets," he commented.
Elizabeth laughed as he took the flowers and left them in the empty vase on the bedside table, knowing that he had to fill it with water, but he would do that when he went downstairs.
"I don't want bigger bouquets," she said to him, shaking her head at him. "Besides, I was only teasing you. You have no reason to be jealous of Marcus, but I do find it quite adorable that you still get jealous."
"I never said that I was jealous," Laszlo reminded her.
"You have this look on your face," she replied. "I wondered what it was all those weeks ago, but now it makes sense. Like I said, I find it adorable."
"I have been called many things, but never adorable," Laszlo said and he went to sit on the bed. Elizabeth moved up to allow him room to resume his place next to her that he had been in earlier on in the day.
"Don't worry, I won't ruin your broody demeanour to the public," she said to him and he chuckled at hearing her before she pulled her hair over her shoulder and felt it. She winced at the feeling of it and Laszlo picked up on it.
"I can draw you a bath if you so wish?" he asked from her.
"I would like that," she said and Laszlo nodded, moving to stand once again.
His feet began to ache from all of the walking that he had done that day. Moving to the bathroom, he began to run the water, putting the plug into the bottom of the tub. He shrugged out of his suit jacket and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, tugging his top button undone and loosening the tie he wore. He looked in the mirror above the sink for a moment and examined his reflection, running a hand down his chin and realising that his beard was in need of a trim. He would do that at some stage and ask Elizabeth for her help.
Moving back to the tub, he turned the water off once it was relatively full and went back to the bedroom. He helped Elizabeth from the bed, his arm wrapping around her waist to keep her steady on her feet. Moving into the bathroom, he kicked the door shut with the heel of his shoe and cleared his throat.
"Do you want me to leave you?" he asked from her.
"You just shut the door," she pointed out to him. "It seems that you have no intention of leaving."
"It was presumptuous of me," he said to her.
"Well, either way, you don't have to leave," she said to him. "You've already seen me with no clothes on."
"Do not encourage my mind to wander when you need rest," he demanded from her, voice low and deep as Elizabeth chewed on the inside of her cheek at hearing him say that. "Well, let me help you."
"As you will," Elizabeth said.
He tugged at her nightgown, helping to peel it from her body. He saw the purple bruises staining her pale skin from the impact of the fall. He helped her climb into the tub and she settled back in it, the ends of her hair dipping into it as she sighed at the feeling of the warm water. Laszlo knelt down on the floor by the tub, resting his arm along the top of it and letting his chin sit on the top of his hand. Elizabeth moved a hand from the water and rested it on his wrist, dampening his skin.
"What is it?" she questioned from him.
"Beecham," Laszlo admitted to her. "We have our theory as to where he will be in six days time and I only hope that this time we are right."
"Marcus said that he had been using the sewers to travel around," Elizabeth said.
"Indeed," Laszlo confirmed. "And he is attracted to heights and water. There are only so many places where he would commit the murder if that is the case."
"Have you narrowed those down?"
"We are working on that, but I have left Sara and John to think," Laszlo said, even though he already had his own suspicions. But he was keeping them to himself for the time being. He would only tell John when it was necessary. "Regardless, there is something else that we should discuss."
"And what is that?"
"Charlotte," Laszlo said, moving his fingertips into the water, drawing patterns in it and watching it ripple underneath his movements. "While you were sleeping, I told Charlotte that she would be able to stay here…at the time, I confess, that my pessimism took over me. I began to think the worst and my mind went to a dark place."
"I understand," Elizabeth promised him, her finger running along his forearm.
"And I began thinking about Charlotte…about how much you care for that girl and while you were sleeping I realised that you would be so very disappointed with me if I dared to let her go her own way. And I never want to disappoint you," he confessed. "And while you were sleeping, it was almost as though she was the closest link I had to you because of how you care about her. I let her get close to me and in turn, I started to care about her…seeing how she looked at you…how she adored you…and I took comfort in her being there. I took comfort in someone being here who clearly loves you as much as I do."
Elizabeth could feel her cheeks begin to redden from the heat of the bath and also Laszlo's words to her. He stilled his hand in the water for a moment before looking back to her.
"And I know that you have no intention of abandoning her and I accept that," Laszlo said. "At first, I was concerned that you would have to be separated from her, but then when I saw her…how she looked at you in that bed…I realised that you two cannot be separated, not truly."
"What are you saying?" Elizabeth enquired from him, her brows rising on her forehead.
Laszlo let out a breath he had been holding in and nodded. This was the right thing to do. He had thought about it for a long time. "I am saying that Charlotte can stay here indefinitely," he said and her eyes widened. He saw the look on her face and he could only describe it as joy. "And I know that if you choose to ask her to stay here then there will be paperwork to fill in…and…well…you would technically have to adopt her, Elizabeth."
"Adopt her?"
"She has been abandoned. She is practically an orphan," Laszlo said.
"And you would be happy with me doing that?" Elizabeth asked from him. "If Charlotte is happy with that?"
"I…well…I confess that I have gone back and forth on this issue…the notion of you adopting a child…it is a strange feeling," Laszlo said to her. "I do not pretend to know what shall happen between us. I do not know what the future holds. Do you have any idea what you want?"
"What do you want the future to hold?" Elizabeth wondered, but he shook his head.
"No," he said to her. "What was it you said to me before? You cannot avoid answering a question by asking another question."
"Using my own words against me?"
"The benefits of having a good memory," he told her. "So, humour me, tell me what you want in the future. Have you thought about it?"
"Of course, I have thought about it," Elizabeth replied. "I thought about it before we even officially began courting, Laszlo…but since we have been together…I…this is it for me," she said, her eyes staying on his and he saw them widen, the look of longing on her face. It was almost as though she was looking at him and pleading for him to say that was what he wanted as well. "I do not want to be with anyone else but you."
Laszlo nodded, his eyes moving over her face. He took in every detail about her and he let out another deep breath, pressing his lips together tightly. Elizabeth squeezed his wrist with her fingers.
"Are you going to respond or leave me to guess?" she questioned from him.
"I want the same," he said to her, nodding his head firmly. "I only want you, Elizabeth. I will never want anyone else and I want to build a life with you and I realise that Charlotte comes as part of your life."
Her lips quirked once more and Laszlo lifted his damp hand from the water. He ran it along her bare shoulder to her neck, his fingers tickling her skin before he pressed his fingertips to her cheek.
"And you are fine with that?"
"She is a sweet girl," Laszlo said.
"That didn't answer the question," Elizabeth said.
"The answer is that I am fine with it," Laszlo promised. "However, in the future…if things do progress between us…then I wonder if it would only be logical for us to perhaps consider if I should also adopt her."
Elizabeth's eyes widened and Laszlo chuckled, seeing the look of shock on her face.
"Is it so shocking that I would say that?"
"No," Elizabeth replied, quickly shaking her head and closing her mouth. "I just did not think you would want that."
"I confess, I do not know if I am ready for such a big step and I do not know if Charlotte would be comfortable with such an idea. We have only just begun to bond and her connection to you is much stronger than it is to me, but in the future, that might change. She might see me differently. Of course, this all depends on if she wants to be adopted by you."
"I know," Elizabeth said and she sat up straight in the tub and Laszlo reached for the jug on the edge of it. He dipped it into the water and poured it over the top of her scalp, watching it cascade down her hair and droplets fall back into the water.
"And children," Laszlo said to her, "is it something you have considered?"
Elizabeth shot him a sly smirk. "You haven't even asked me to marry you, Laszlo," she said to him and he chuckled, pouring more water over her scalp again.
"I have not," he said to her. "But, that also did not answer the question."
"I suppose I have," Elizabeth said. "But ever since I miscarried, I admit that I am worried…worried that I would go through that pain again…that I might not be able to carry a baby…"
"I understand," Laszlo said.
"And you?" she wondered and he let the jug rest on the floor as she took her hair over a shoulder and wrung it out, leaning back in the tub. The water was turning cold, but she had no intention of complaining. The conversation they were engaged in was far too important to break away from.
"Me?"
"Have you ever thought about children?"
"It is odd," Laszlo said to her, feeling his knees begin to go numb from kneeling on the floor. He moved to his feet and reached for the small chair in the corner. Dragging it to the side of the bath, he sat down on it and folded one leg over the other, his other hand running along the rolled top of the tub, fingers dancing along the metal. "I work with children and I analyse their minds, but I never thought about having my own children…becoming a father…it was never something that appealed to me. I was too caught up in my own work."
"I see," Elizabeth said.
"But since I have been with you, that has changed," Laszlo confessed.
"Oh?" she questioned, unable to think of anything else to say.
"I do not confess that I am ready for children or that I even want children at this moment in time-"
"-Nor do I," Elizabeth interrupted, feeling that she had to let him know that quickly. He nodded back to her and continued with his train of thought.
"But, in the future, it is something that I might want…but only with you…though, I confess, I do not know the first thing about how to be a father. I cannot say that my father is the role model I would emulate."
"Nor is my mother," Elizabeth concurred with him. "But our parents and their behaviour do not define who we become, do they? Besides, we would do things completely opposite to what they did, wouldn't we?"
"I would like to think so," Laszlo agreed with her.
"Then we can discuss this later on," Elizabeth said. "There is no need for us to rush into anything. I think we can just enjoy each other's company for the time being, can't we?"
"I would like that," Laszlo agreed with her and he moved his hand back into the water before he pulled it back out and looked to her with an arched brow. "This water is freezing, Elizabeth."
"I didn't want to say anything," she said. "We were talking."
"Well, I don't want you to catch a chill," Laszlo said and he moved to his feet and went to the towel rack. Picking up a white towel, he walked over to her and helped her to stand up, getting his shirt wet in the process, but failing to care. Once she was stood up, he wrapped the towel around her body, covering her up and letting her hair dangle down her back in wet clumps.
"Thank you," she said to him.
"It is just a towel, Elizabeth," he said.
"No…for everything you just said," she replied. "Charlotte…it means a lot to me."
"I know," Laszlo said, "but I know that it is the right thing to do and I want to do it too."
He helped her out of the bath, his arm secure around her waist as she stood on the tiled floor. She moved her hands up to his shoulders and he didn't complain at how she was getting him even wetter. He didn't care in the slightest. She stood on her toes and kissed him once again, Laszlo keeping his arm around her waist, his fingertips playing with the ends of her hair as she tried to move more her lips hungrily over his, but he was already pulling back from her.
"You don't need to handle me so delicately, Laszlo," she complained and he shook his head.
"Yes, I do," he replied. "Until you are fully recovered, you are not to exert yourself too much."
"You ruin all of my fun."
"Only because I love you," he responded. "Now, come along, back to bed where you can rest."
He helped her back to bed after dressing in a fresh nightgown. He watched her pull her hair over a shoulder and comb her fingers through it before he went and brought dinner up for them, Charlotte joining them. Laszlo knew it was not entirely proper. He sat in the armchair as Charlotte folded her legs and sat on the end of the bed, Elizabeth resting against the pillows. They ate the vegetables and coq au vin together, Elizabeth talking and making Charlotte smile and laugh with her comments as Laszlo occasionally interjected.
Once they had finished eating, he insisted Charlotte get some rest. She went to bed and he cleared the dishes, leaving them in the kitchen and bidding a good night to Stevie and Cyrus. Heading back to the bedroom, he found that Elizabeth was already asleep. Laszlo began to undress and get ready for bed himself, opening his drawer and reaching for a clean shirt, looking at the box tucked away in the corner.
He pulled it out and opened it, looking down onto it and seeing the green emerald against the gold band. It was the ring he had bought months ago as soon as he had seen it and thought of Elizabeth. He didn't know if he would ever use it, but he saw it and couldn't help but think about how it complemented her eyes and hair. He closed the lid on the ring and placed it back. One day. One day he would finally propose to her.
...
A/N: Quite a long chapter - would love to know your thoughts as always! Thanks for reading!