Elizabeth awoke early the next morning after having hardly slept. She could feel Laszlo's fingers running along her spine, going up and down in an almost rhythmic manner. She rolled her head to the side, cheek pressed into the plush pillow and tossing her hair behind her. He was already dressed, sat on the edge of the bed and peering down onto her.

"Did you sleep well?" Laszlo questioned.

"Not entirely," Elizabeth admitted to him and he nodded his head, knowing what she meant. He bowed his own head, his fingers stilling on her spine. She turned her face away from Laszlo, closing her eyes. Laszlo let out a sigh at seeing her do that and he shook his head. He moved his fingers to her hair, brushing it from her cheek and onto the pillow so that he could at least make out her side profile.

"You don't need to hide," he said.

"I didn't want last night to be like that," Elizabeth confessed to him and he nodded. "I…I'm sorry."

"Why on earth are you apologising?"

"Because I've spent the past few weeks trying to convince you that I am ready to be intimate and then last night I couldn't go through with it…everything just felt wrong…"

"It's natural," Laszlo assured her. "You need more time. Your body is still healing and you are sensitive. Do not worry about me, Elizabeth, believe me, you more than ensured that I was well taken care of."

Her cheeks reddened at hearing him say that and he chuckled, bending down and kissing her softly on her temple. She rolled back onto her back, finally looking at him as he continued to let his fingers dance against the skin of her pale neck, humming softly to himself as he completed the motion and she ran her hand up and down his jacket covered forearm.

"Are you going out?" she questioned.

"Sara called me this morning," Laszlo nodded. "Señora Linares has agreed to hypnosis, but Sara wishes to try it first to ensure that she deems it safe enough for the woman. I told her that I have no qualms with such a proposition and so I am going over to 808 before everyone arrives for our meeting."

Elizabeth nodded. "And you have John's bachelor party tonight, don't forget."

"Do you think it wise for me to go to that?" Laszlo asked. "I would hate to leave you alone here for the majority of the day and then into the evening. I can always have someone else take over the responsibility of it. Everything is already organised-"

"-What did we say?" Elizabeth interrupted him. "We need to at least keep up appearances, so yes, you have to go to John's bachelor party."

"If you insist," Laszlo muttered.

"And I do," she concluded. "You should go. I don't want you to be late."

"Of course not," Laszlo chuckled and bent down to kiss her once final time. "I will come back to change before this evening."

"I'll be here," she said and Laszlo gave her one final kiss before moving to his feet. He reached for his coat and shrugged into it, picking his cane up. Leaving the bedroom, he turned back to glance to his wife one final time before he left. Elizabeth flopped back against the bed, closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath, preparing for another day of waiting for this killer to be found.

….

"There is charcoal on the fabric alongside blood," Marcus Isaacson professed, standing in Sara's office at 808 Broadway. They were all stood around the table: Laszlo, John, Sara, Marcus, Lucius and Milly. Peering down at the baby gown on the table, they tried to examine it and look for clues.

"It is quite fine fabric," Laszlo said, his finger running over the bottom of it as he thought about the baby gowns he had bought for Lucy from the department store.

"But it is not purchased as there is no label," Sara added on, her own hand running along the seam. "If you look you can see that it is well stitched, but there are no seams where there should be. It also looks more like it has been made from a woman's gown or skirt."

Laszlo hummed his agreement. "So whoever made this has a steady hand," he said. "Like a surgeon," his mind went instantly to Markoe.

"Or a seamstress," Sara tacked on, not wanting Laszlo to go down that rabbit warren and start accusing Markoe when they were not entirely certain what his involvement was. They had to keep their minds open to all possibilities, but Laszlo's hatred of Markoe sometimes prevented him from being able to do that or act in a certain manner.

"Well, there are many things about Doctor Markoe that warrant an investigation but I doubt this is one of them," John said, folding his arms and crumpling the tweed waistcoat he wore.

"Perhaps it is a woman," Sara declared. "It could be a woman who is wanting a child and preparing for it…or perhaps it is a woman who has lost a child?"

Laszlo let his hand cup his cheek as he peered down onto the fabric once more, looking at the expensive material. "Can it be that simple?" he questioned and spoke in Latin a popular phrase, John's head shaking softly and his brows pinching together.

"Oh, please, Laszlo," he encouraged from him. "No one speaks Latin anymore."

"Entities are not to be multiplied without necessity," Lucius translated perfectly and John gave him a look as Laszlo almost wanted to throw John a smug victorious smirk, but he maintained his composure and moved over to the chalkboard.

"Occam's razor," Marcus also added on and took a sip of his coffee.

"Sometime we look for complicated reasons when something is often straightforward," Laszlo said.

"But why does she kill?" John questioned.

Laszlo began to write down 'grief' on the board, the chalk clawing against the board as he spelled it slowly. Sara continued to speak, her eyes remaining on the fabric in front of her as she tried to piece together this puzzle in front of them.

"She's angry that other people have children while hers has been taken from her," she tried to justify the rationale in her mind. "She tries to replace the lost child, but it cannot possibly feel the same."

Laszlo finished at the board, placing the chalk down and moving back to the table, his hand in front of him and moving in circles. "A cuckoo in the nest," he explained. "She loves it at first, but then looks at it as if it were a changeling child, which it is. Elizabeth informed me that when she was at the hospital, she was scolded by a woman who called her stupid…almost tried to make her feel small…blaming her for her pregnancy."

"Do you think she could be involved?" Sara questioned.

"Elizabeth was not certain," Laszlo said, hand going into his pocket. "She felt as though she was more interested in gaining Doctor Markoe's approval than anything else. Regardless, if this woman is angry with the women, then she would not take it out on the child, not if she is looking to replace her lost child with another."

"And you think that is why she has taken the Linares child?" Marcus was the one to ask, all eyes turning onto him.

"It is a possibility," Laszlo agreed.

"And the Napp child? That was why she killed Martha Napp's baby?"

"It would seem likely," Sara tacked on.

"But…how does Lucy fit into this plan?" Marcus dared to question.

They had been treading on eggshells when it came to Doctor Kreizler's daughter. Lucius peered down onto the table as Milly looked out of the window. John remained with his arms folded as Sara watched Laszlo's face, trying to read his reaction and what emotions he was feeling. Whenever he came to work on the case, he was as professional as always. He was not one who let emotions take over him. He did not speak about how he felt, not truly. He reserved such conversations and matters for one person and she was currently in hiding.

"What do you mean, Detective?" Laszlo asked, his voice trying to remain courteous, but an edge to it that they all picked up on easy enough.

"Well, if she takes these children…then do you think that she had intended to take Lucy before she took the Linares child? Do you think it possible that you scared her away when Charlotte saw a figure outside and thwarted her plan?"

"It would be logical," Laszlo said.

"And then the rock in the window," Marcus continued pushing, wanting to know more and find out what it was that Kreizler was also thinking. "Do you think that was her?"

"I do not know," Laszlo confessed to that. "Again, it is possible, but it is also possible that it was someone trying to scare me away from this case as well. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was just wondering why, if she had the Linares child, she would continue harassing you and Elizabeth? Do you think that there is a chance she still wants Lucy? That she still intends to come after her?"

Silence engulfed the room then. John coughed to clear his throat as Laszlo felt his mouth dry out. No one had asked him straight out if that was what he thought, but he could hardly deny that it was exactly what he thought. He thought that this might be a woman who did not enjoy losing, a woman who got exactly what she wanted. So, when she couldn't get Lucy, she turned to another target. But that didn't mean that she had given up.

"I think I've found a way to get you into the Lying-In Hospital and closer to Doctor Markoe," Bitsy's voice suddenly entered the office and everyone turned to her, silently grateful for the intrusion. "The hospital's a charity so I figured that they've got to have a few parties to drum up some cash from the rich donors, right? So the papers will come too," Bitsy held up the notebook in her fingertips.

"So what did you learn?" Sara questioned.

"Well, the guests-"

"-Not the guests, Bitsy, the hosts," Sara interrupted her.

"Oh," she said and went to flip open her notebook and began reeling off names she had written down. "Havemeyer, Milbank, Hardy, Gildersleeve, Furman, Griswold."

"Wait," John said. "Gildersleeve, I know the family. I am quite good friends with Oggie."

"I believe I've invited him to your bachelor party," Laszlo commented.

"You know, Laszlo, bachelor parties are supposed to happen sometime after the engagement party, not before," John said, his voice slightly flat and Laszlo wondered if this was what he wanted. He also noted some kind of an atmosphere between Sara and John. Had something happened? Had something been said between them?

"I suppose we could ask Oggie for a favour to get an interview at the Lying-In Hospital," Sara said, changing the subject.

"I suppose we could," John echoed from him. "I am meeting him later this morning for fencing."

"Then we should not delay," Sara said.

"I shall head there now," John said and grabbed hold his coat and jacket along with his hat. He left the room and Sara watched him go, Laszlo noting the way her eyes remained on his back until he was around the corner and out of sight. Only then did she turn back to the room and look to Bitsy and Milly.

"Could you both perhaps continue investigating into the Hospital? See if you can find any further donors or anything of interest?" Sara asked from them.

They nodded and scurried off from the office, whispering between themselves.

"We should return to the precinct," Lucius said and Laszlo nodded his head.

"This afternoon…later on and before the evening…we should visit Señora Linares," Sara said to Laszlo and he agreed with her on that matter.

"I will be working at the Institute after I have taken care of something this morning," Laszlo said.

"I will meet you at the Institute then," Sara said, not prying into what business he had to take care of. It was none of her business, anyway. "I was also hoping I might be able to visit Elizabeth this afternoon."

"I see no reason why you couldn't. Until this afternoon, Sara."

Sara bid her goodbyes to the rest of the team. Laszlo shrugged into his jacket and his coat, picking his cane up and dangling it by his side. Walking out of 808, the air was quite humid and Laszlo slicked his hair back on the top of his head. He looked around for any sign of Stevie, but before he could climb into his carriage, Marcus's voice stopped him.

"I didn't mean to pry," he said and Laszlo looked to him, stood by the door as the Isaacson twin remained on the sidewalk. "I know that this must be quite challenging for you."

"You are a detective," Laszlo said, hand gripping the head of his cane tightly. "It is well within your right to pry and be inquisitive. Besides, what you said might be true. There might still be a link between my daughter and this case."

"And Elizabeth?" Marcus asked, his fingers twirling the hat he held in his hand. "How is she holding up?"

"As well as can be expected," Laszlo nodded. A part of him still recalled how Marcus Isaacson had asked his wife on a date before their relationship had transpired. In a sense, he wondered if that pit of jealousy he felt in his stomach would ever go away or if it was destined to stay with him whenever he heard Marcus ask after his wife, regardless of how innocent his intentions were. "I do not doubt that she would like to see you," Laszlo added on, reminding himself that his jealousy was misplaced and, if anything, Marcus had been nothing but courteous and friendly.

"I can visit her perhaps tomorrow," Marcus agreed. "It has been a while since we last met."

"I shall tell her that is you plan," Laszlo said, managing a small smile before he climbed into the carriage and prepared for another day's work at the Institute.

…

Libby knew that she had to play her cards right and find out what was happening on the case that they working on. Sara had visited the Lying-In Hospital and Libby had done her best to pretend that she didn't know her, that she hadn't met her before with Elizabeth and struck up a relationship with the two women. And then Sara had asked her for lunch and Libby had agreed. That was why she found herself in a fancy restaurant, quite out of her depth and looking at a plate of oysters. Sara had been kind enough to get rid of them when Libby expressed a dislike, ordering them pot pies instead and a club soda.

"So, you are still working on the Martha Napp case," Libby said, striking up conversation.

"Yes," Sara nodded her head. "But, that it not all. I have a question about the Matron."

"What about her?"

"Elizabeth said that she was there the night that she was taken into the Lying-In Hospital. Well, I assume it was her because she was the one who consistently calling you stupid earlier and apparently she called Elizabeth the same name…telling her how stupid she was and how she was not virtuous."

"That sounds like the Matron," Libby agreed with a nod of her head. She had a chance here to deflect onto the Matron. If she could turn attention onto her then it would be away from her.

"Do you think that she could be involved?" Sara wondered as their club sodas were set down in front of them. "Is there any chance that she knows more than she lets on?"

"It is possible," Libby said. "But no one knows very much."

"I don't doubt that and I know that you told Elizabeth the same thing," Sara said and Libby nodded. "But I had heard that someone came to the hospital to investigate the Napp baby's disappearance so that must mean there is a report somewhere?"

"I guess so," Libby nodded. "I don't think I can look for it, however."

"I don't want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable," Sara said to her.

"Do you think that the pot pies take long because I only have an hour for lunch?" Libby asked, not wanting to get involved in this any further or help Sara with her digging.

Sara pulled out her pocket watch and looked at the time once she had opened it. "You have time," she promised her, showing her the clock and Libby glanced at the watch, but her gaze immediately turned to the man who was in the photograph on the other side.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Libby wondered.

"No," Sara shook her head. "It is my father."

"Is he not around anymore?" Libby wondered, tilting her head slightly.

"No," Sara said.

"How come?"

"He had an accident," Sara confessed, her eyes wide and face trying to remain composed, lips parted. "He had an accident with a gun."

"An accident with a gun," Libby echoed and looked over to Sara, their gazes meeting and a look of understanding passing between them in that moment, as if they both were reliving a similar experience. "I know about that sort of thing. My father had an accident too…with him it was a rope over a bridge."

Libby's expression appeared vacant for a moment and it was like her mind was elsewhere. Sara tried to push their discussion to the back of her mind. Now was not the time that she had to dwell on her father and her history. She had a job to do and she intended to do it to the best of her ability.

"I'm sorry, Libby," Sara said.

"It was a long time ago," Libby waved a hand away, coming back to the conversation, her teeth still bared in a smile. "But I don't know if I can help you."

"I'm not putting any pressure on you, but I think whoever killed Martha Napp's child has taken another baby."

"Another?" Libby asked, surprise in her voice.

"Señor and Señora Linares's daughter, Ana, was brought to the Lying-In Hospital after a fall," Sara said to her. "And Elizabeth and Laszlo are also convinced someone was watching their house one night."

"Is that why she has left the city?"

"Yes," Sara said, but her gaze looked away and Libby knew a liar when she saw one. "Yes, Elizabeth has left with the children for a few weeks."

"Where has she gone?" Libby wondered and she saw Sara shift around in her seat.

"The Hamptons," Sara said after a moment and Libby knew that was the place that had been mentioned in the newspaper report. But it had taken Sara too long to recall. It had taken her too long to answer. And her eyes also shifted again. "But she is fine. She is safe and so are Lucy and Charlotte."

"I'm pleased to hear it," Libby nodded her head. "I…she told me about the figure in the darkness, but I don't know who it could have been and I don't want to get anyone into trouble at the hospital, even if I do hate her."

"The matron?"

"Yeah," Libby sighed. "Matron kept that baby away and she always does what she thinks is best, especially if the baby comes from a rich family…and she was there the night Elizabeth was brought in."

"Do you know where she lives?"

"Yes, but I don't want to get into trouble."

"I would never say that you gave it to me," Sara said and Libby chewed down on her bottom lip for a few moments before nodding her head.

"Fine, but you cannot tell anyone it was me," Libby urged from Sara. "Do you have a pen and paper?"

Sara reached into her purse and pulled out her notebook and a pen. She slid it across the table to Libby who took hold of the pen and began to write down the address. She passed it back across to Sara who looked at it and nodded. She placed it into her bag once more.

"I will go there after I have finished other business this afternoon," Sara said with a nod.

The two of them ate their pot pies and Libby walked with Sara out to the sidewalk. She insisted that she would be fine finding her own way back to the hospital as Sara hailed for a cab and it stopped.

"Fifth Avenue Hotel, please," she said to the driver before bidding goodbye to Libby.

Libby watched the cab leave and she wondered why Sara was going to a hotel. What was more important to her than going to see the Matron? What could it possibly be? Libby didn't know. She thought back to Sara's answers earlier about Elizabeth and how she had lied. Libby didn't know, but she did know that she would go by the Fifth Avenue Hotel after her shift at the hospital to see what she could find.

…

Laszlo was changing into his dinner jacket, preparing to go out with John later on that evening. His day had been particularly eventful and he had to confess that he was exhausted. He was looking in the mirror while Elizabeth sat on the end of the bed, dressed in a simple green skirt with a white shirt tucked into it.

"I went to Potter's Field," Laszlo said to her. "I laid Martha Napp's daughter with her."

"I thought that you had wanted me to come with you," Elizabeth said, folding one leg over the other.

"I did," Laszlo agreed with her on that matter. "But it is not practical at this moment in time. You need to be here for the girls. You cannot go out and I cannot risk you…not for even one moment."

"How was it?"

"As morbid as I had thought it would be," Laszlo confessed and Elizabeth nodded, knowing that he had a point on that one. "The entire day has been particularly trying and I confess, the last thing I want to do is go out this evening."

"What else has happened?"

"I met with Paulie and performed some magic tricks for him in a hope to reconnect him with the innocence of his childhood," Laszlo said and Elizabeth nodded.

"How did it go?"

"As well as I had hoped," Laszlo nodded. "He was more awed by it than Charlotte was, anyway."

"That's because she has figured out how you do it, that's why."

"Completely ruined the fun," Laszlo said and he left his bowtie dangling around his neck, his wife moving over to him. She took hold of it and began to tie it for him, standing in front of him as he peered down to her. "And then I performed hypnosis on Señora Linares. I thought that we were reaching a breakthrough, but I don't know if that is the case because she couldn't remember who she saw. She only said that she saw a woman watching her when she took her daughter to the park."

"A woman?" Elizabeth checked.

"That was all she could tell us," Laszlo replied and Elizabeth finished with his bowtie, patting his chest once and leaving her hand there. "And apparently Sara met with Libby and she mentioned the matron…the woman who called you stupid repeatedly…she said that she is quite a hateful woman."

"Is Sara investigating her?"

"I do not doubt that she will be," Laszlo nodded his head.

"Well, it sounds as though the investigation is moving on."

"It would move further if Señora Linares remembered exactly what she had seen that day, but she cannot. We cannot force her to remember either, no matter how much we wish for her to."

"Perhaps it will come back to her," Elizabeth said. "But if Sara has started investigating the Lying-In Hospital then there is at least a chance that you might be coming closer to the end of this."

"Perhaps so," Laszlo agreed with her and he began to button up his waistcoat. "Regardless, how has your day been?"

"Well, I played a number of games with Charlotte that I lost," Elizabeth said. "She has quite the ruthless streak when it comes to playing games and I have no doubt that she could perhaps match you."

Elizabeth remembered how Laszlo had taught her to play chess and had been anything but easy on her, even though she was a beginner. She had yet to win a game against him.

"I might not be as mean to her as I was to you," Laszlo responded. "Although, I do believe that you owe me a game of chess at some stage, my dear. It has been quite a long time."

"So you can humiliate me?" she wondered and he chuckled as she went to pull his dinner jacket out of the wardrobe. He watched her move, noting the way her hair swayed as she shook her head and closed the doors once more, moving back to him. "I would prefer not to do that again."

"I have no intention of humiliating you, only trying to help you get better," Laszlo said and she helped him shrug into his jacket. She smoothed it out over his shoulders and stood behind him, her arms then wrapping around his waist, her cheek pressed to his back. He picked up one of her hands, his fingers moving against her. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Elizabeth promised him. "Just enjoying this moment."

"And I wish that I could prolong it further," he said, pulling her hand up so that he could kiss her knuckles. "But I do have to go very soon."

"I know," Elizabeth said, standing on her toes and kissing his neck once. She pulled back and let go of him as he checked his reflection in the mirror one final time. "Do you have time to say goodnight to Lucy and Charlotte? I don't doubt they'll be in bed by the time you get home."

"I hope that they are," Laszlo said with a nod of his head. "But of course, I confess that I have missed spending time with them. Charlotte is growing and becoming quite a confident child…even Lucy is changing in recent weeks…her hair…her eyes…I do not want to miss everything."

"You won't," Elizabeth promised him. "But I am trying to persuade her to say 'mama' before 'papa'."

Laszlo chuckled at hearing her say that and he shook his head back and forth. "Are you using dirty tactics?" he questioned.

"Just doing what I can to have some edge over you considering looking at Lucy is like looking at a smaller version of you. I honestly would question if she is even my daughter if I didn't remember giving birth to her so vividly."

Laszlo's lips remained arched and his chuckle continued to go on at hearing her. "She does seem to take after me," Laszlo nodded at her. "But she has your determination because she would not stop crying the other night until she had that stuffed bear in front of her."

"Stubborn," Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. "But she gets that from both of us."

"Indeed, she does," Laszlo agreed on that front. "I shall go and see both of them before leaving."

Elizabeth nodded and kissed him briefly, a hand holding onto his stubble covered chin. Laszlo took hold of her waist and she felt him press a hand to the small of her back as he bowed his head further, deepening the kiss with his lips against hers. He only pulled back reluctantly when Elizabeth pressed against his chest and ducked away from him.

"You've got to go," she reminded him.

"Hmm," he grunted out and she escaped his grip, slipping from him.

He left for the sitting room and found the children out there, Charlotte holding Lucy and reading to her from a book on the floor next to her. Laszlo's lips arched as he saw that she was reading her Moby Dick. Laszlo went to sit on the couch behind her, his leg by her side as she stopped reading when he asked if, perhaps, the baby might not be quite able to understand what she was reading. Charlotte replied, telling him that Lucy wouldn't understand any of the books that he had bought specifically for her. Laszlo agreed with that point.

They spent a few more minutes discussing how babies learned and developed, Laszlo telling her how they picked up on small things and were particularly astute. Laszlo had to confess that he enjoyed conversing with Charlotte. She had gone from being a timid little thing to being quite the inquisitive child. He held onto Lucy for a few moments before he went, cradling her in his arms and bouncing her gently. Elizabeth remained stood in the doorway, smiling at the sight of him with their daughter as he spoke to her, kissing her on the top of her head as she peered up to him and reached out for his beard, seemingly fascinated by tugging on it whenever she had the chance.

He caught his wife's eye after a moment, seeing her simply staring at him and he smiled back to her, knowing that they were both enjoying this fleeting moment of normalcy.

…

"I confess that romance is not something that comes naturally to me," Laszlo said and John had to do his best not to laugh at what he was hearing from his friend. Sara stifled her own laugh behind her hand as Laszlo continued staring out of the window and talking. "But whenever I see Elizabeth, I feel the exact same thing I felt when I first realised I loved her…the way the stomach flips…my chest aches…and I wish that I could understand how to make it stop, but I cannot. The chemicals in my brain do not let me, clearly. I had thought that feelings would change after the first throes of love had passed, but I confess, they haven't. If anything, they have only grown deeper."

"And that shocks you?" John asked from Laszlo. "You think that you should not feel the same as you did all those months ago?"

"I thought that it stopped," Laszlo confessed, leaning back against the carriage seat, his eyes looking to the ceiling of it and he swore that the carriage was spinning, his vision slightly blurring. "I see couples who have been together years and it is almost as though they resent each other, perhaps because they have spent too much time with each other? Perhaps because they know every intimate detail and it starts to grind on them?"

"And nothing Elizabeth does grinds on you?" John continued to push.

"John," Sara warned him in a low voice, but he was enjoying himself far too much.

He threw her a sly smirk, but Laszlo was already talking again.

"She does not have annoying habits, but only distracting ones that I doubt she would be pleased to hear I shared with you, despite the fact that I am quite clearly intoxicated and unable to control what I am currently saying. I have lost all sense of proper conversation."

"I can tell," John said.

"When did you first develop feelings for her, Laszlo?" Sara asked, unable to help herself. She could feel the tension between herself and John. Her arm was brushing against his and she wondered if he felt it too. Did he feel the atmosphere? She felt as though electric shocks ran through her anytime the carriage jolted and his weight increased against hers. And she wanted to know when it had started. When did she start to feel this way? Was there a specific time? Should there have been?

"I cannot recall the exact moment," Laszlo said. "But I remember meeting her under that tree every week for an hour…just to talk to her…and I remember it being the only thing I looked forward to. It was the only thing I wanted, was her to be there and waiting for me…as for loving her…it was not love at first sight. That is a ridiculous concept, but I remember seeing her at the opera one evening, her husband there and his arm entwined with hers. I spent that entire night just staring at their box, looking at her and knowing that…" Laszlo trailed off for a moment and he looked back out of the window again. "Knowing that I wanted her by my side instead of his…and I didn't know if that was love. But, now I see it was."

Sara's lips upturned at hearing him say that. He sounded so earnest and so honest. He rarely sounded like that. Laszlo was so guarded around his feelings. And then, she realised what it was she felt for the man next to her. It was not too dissimilar to what Laszlo had said. And John knew too. He knew that what he felt for Violet was deep. It was close to love. He did not doubt that he could love her and he wanted to love her. But he knew that he would never love her like he loved the female detective in the carriage with them.

"She is a lucky woman," Sara said.

Laszlo chuckled and waved a hand dramatically. "On the contrary, I am the lucky one. I do not understand what she sees in me…other than qualities that she lacks…"

"Yes, that must be it," John teased him and Laszlo chuckled as the carriage drew to a halt.

"We're at the hotel, Doctor," Stevie called down.

Laszlo had booked Stevie his own room at the hotel, not wanting him to go back home and be all alone. He wanted him to be safe too.

"Stevie, please take Sara and John home," Laszlo said and he reached for the handle of the carriage not once, not twice, but three times until he managed to push it down and the door opened. John burst out laughing and shook his head.

"We should make sure he gets up to the room safely," John said.

"I'll wait here for you, Mr Moore," Stevie said.

Laszlo stumbled from the carriage, one foot in front of the other as he looked to the sky. "Look how bright the moon is," he commented. "Not a cloud in sight, nor a star in the sky."

"Come on," John said, wrapping an arm around his friend. "Let's get you up to Elizabeth."

"My wife," Laszlo said, swaying in John's grip as Sara followed behind, carrying Laszlo's cane that he had left behind.

"Yes, your wife," John agreed.

They took the elevator up to the sixth floor, Laszlo attracting some stares and attention as he continued talking about drink and intoxication. Sara and John kept exchanging glances, struggling not to laugh at the sight and sound of their drunk friend. Sara moved down the corridor first, knocking on the door to the suite as Laszlo staggered along with John, telling him that he deserved love and devotion. The door opened and Elizabeth's brows knitted together at the sight of Sara.

"Sara…what are you doing here?"

"We have a delivery," Sara said and Elizabeth looked down the corridor as Laszlo finally came to the door.

"My dear, Elizabeth," Laszlo said upon the sight of her. "My sweet, loving, beautiful wife."

"Are you intoxicated?" Elizabeth asked as he moved from John's grip and practically fell against his wife. His hands went to her upper arms and she noted sweat forming on his brow, his hair slicked back but slightly messier than usual.

"I am merely inebriated," Laszlo replied.

"I think that is the same thing," Elizabeth said. "Come in and sit down before you wake everyone up."

Elizabeth pulled Laszlo into the room and Sara followed, letting his cane sit against the wall as John closed the door and looked around the suite. Elizabeth managed to help Laszlo to the couch and he collapsed down against it, tilting his head back. She looked over to John and Sara.

"How much has he had to drink?" Elizabeth wondered.

"Too many glasses of champagne and schnapps," John said.

"He was quite intoxicated when these two insisted that I come with them to Cyrus's saloon," Sara spoke, arms folding over her chest. "And then he continued drinking when we were there."

"He made it through a speech without slurring his words, so that's a bonus," John said, folding his arms over his chest and rocking back and forth on his heels.

"And I even did it without the prepared speech I had," Laszlo said.

"Where was that?"

"I left it in the previous establishment because I forgot to pick it up," Laszlo said and he ran a hand over his forehead as his wife remained stood in front of him. "I think I was trying to get away from the exotic dancer and I left it on the table."

John laughed at that and nodded. He had spent a few enjoyable moments watching Laszlo trying to ignore the exotic dancer behind him, clearly uncomfortable with being so close to her.

"You had exotic dancers?" Elizabeth asked from John.

"Only the one," he responded, defending himself. "But rest assured that Laszlo looked so out of place next to her. I don't think he enjoyed any moment of the show."

"I have eyes only for one woman," Laszlo said and he moved his hand out to grab hold of Elizabeth's tugging her closer to him. She remained stood as he looked up to her and his face softened, his eyes wide. "And you look absolutely radiant this evening, my darling…like the sun in the sky…your eyes are like the sea…I wish I had learned poems…"

"That was poetic enough," Elizabeth said and she gave his hand a squeeze, trying to contain her laugh as John and Sara did the same. John coughed to cover his chuckles and he nodded his head, trying to let his lips flatten on his face.

"We should get going," John said.

"We should," Sara agreed with that.

"Is Stevie taking you back home?" Elizabeth asked as Laszlo somehow managed to move to his feet, his hand going to her cheek and brushing along it as she took hold of his wrist and prised it from her, John and Sara still laughing silently.

"Indeed, he is," Sara confirmed. "And no doubt we will see you very soon."

"You're welcome anytime," Elizabeth said.

"You're so beautiful," Laszlo mumbled and he moved to kiss the side of her head.

"Calm down, Romeo," Elizabeth muttered back to him and she took his arms, pulling them down and stepping out of his grip as she moved to the door for John and Sara. "I don't know if I should thank you for bringing him home or not," she joked with them.

"Well, I should apologise because I knew that he was not able to hold his alcohol," John said. "Our Harvard days told me as much."

"Then I shall lay all the blame on you," Elizabeth joked with him and he continued to smile before he bent down and kissed her on the cheek. She embraced Sara and bid both of them goodnight, locking the door once they had gone. She turned back to find Laszlo stood by the drink's cart and she shook her head.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded from him.

"Getting a drink," Laszlo said.

"I think you've had enough tonight," she replied and quickly inserted herself between Laszlo and the drink cart. "And you're going to wake up with quite the headache tomorrow morning."

"I'm fine," Laszlo promised her.

"You can't stand still," she deadpanned with him. "Come on, let's get you to bed…just try not to wake Lucy up because she's been sleeping very well."

"I'm not tired," Laszlo responded.

"Fine, then just sit down on the couch," she said. "Before you fall down."

She guided him back to the couch and he took a seat on it, flopping back and reaching for his bowtie, loosening it and unbuttoning his top button of his shirt. Elizabeth shook her head at the sight of him and reached for the glass of lemonade that she had been drinking on the small table by the armchair in the corner.

"Drink this," she said, knowing that he needed something non-alcoholic.

He took it from her and sipped on it as she wondered just what she should do with him. She knew what Jacob had been like when he had been drunk, but she had never seen Laszlo drunk before. It turned out that he was quite a romantic drunk, almost humorous and particularly amorous.

"You know that I love you," Laszlo said, finishing her drink with a few large gulps. "And I wish that I could give you more…give you romantic words…romantic gestures…when I am not filled with alcohol."

"I don't want that, Laszlo," she said to him with a shake of her head as she placed the empty glass down on the table once more. "Although, I do confess that I find this quite entertaining."

"Roses," Laszlo said with a firm nod. "I am going to buy you roses every day…write you sonnets…letters…"

"You know, I am not going to hold you to any of this because you'll regret it in the morning…and you might not even remember it."

"I will."

"We'll see," Elizabeth responded, not convinced in the slightest. Before he could say anything else, Lucy began crying in the bedroom down the hallway. "You stay here, I'll be back in a minute."

"I would wait forever for you," Laszlo responded, arms stretched out in front of him.

"Alright," Elizabeth nodded to him and she made her way down the hallway to the bedroom.

"It's alright, darling, it's alright," Elizabeth said and she picked Lucy up, holding her against his chest. "I'm here now…what was it? A bad nightmare?"

Lucy continued crying.

"We all have them," Elizabeth continued talking. "I have them too. Your father has them sometimes…but he is currently out there and he is drunk, would you believe that? Your father, the great Doctor Laszlo Kreizler is currently intoxicated."

Lucy gurgled.

"I know," Elizabeth said at the noise of that. "I couldn't believe it either, but I'm not going to lie to you, it's quite funny. But never tell him that. He doesn't entirely like it when people laugh at him, but he would probably make an exception for us."

Lucy quietened down and Elizabeth's lips tugged upwards at that. She reached down and kissed the top of her head as she finished crying. Elizabeth spent a few more minutes with her, making sure she was settled before she laid her back down in her crib and moved back to the sitting room.

"Right, Laszlo, I think it's time…" she trailed off as she finally saw him. He was laid down on the couch, eyes firmly closed and his mouth parted, soft snores leaving his body. Elizabeth dropped her hands to her hips as she watched him with a wide, entertained smile. She moved over the armchair and took hold of the blanket over the back of it. Unfolding it, she draped it over his body and kissed his forehead. She left the lamp on and sat back in the armchair with the book she had been reading, but her gaze remained focused on Laszlo, the entertained look not once leaving her face.

…

Standing outside of the hotel that night, she had seen Doctor Kreizler leave. The rumour had been that he was living in the hotel because renovation works were taking place in his home, but nothing was happening there. The house was dark and empty. And so Libby had stayed by the hotel. There was something amiss. He was dressed in a smart, dinner jacket and bowtie. He must be going to a fancy occasion, she thought as he climbed into a carriage.

How could he go to an event while his wife was supposedly away? She knew about their marriage. She knew how Elizabeth Kreizler never wanted to be away from her husband. She was so needy. She always complained about him working long hours and not being with her. And he doted on her when he was with her. Was there any option or chance that he would have stayed behind without her?

And so Libby would wait. She would find out. She moved over to a small, café across the street that was open late, ordering a club soda. She sat and drank it, staring out the window until he returned at just before midnight. She left the café and hid around the corner in the shadows, knowing that she couldn't be spotted. She looked on, eyes narrowing to focus in the darkness. He was stumbling out of the carriage.

He was swaying on his feet, unable to stand up straight. Another man climbed out of the carriage behind him and then Sara was there too. She was holding a cane in her hands and a smile was on her face. The other man reached for the doctor and wrapped an arm around him.

"Come on," he said, voice a chuckle. "Let's get you up to Elizabeth."

"My wife," the doctor said, a wistful tone to his voice.

"Yes, your wife," the man concurred with him and led him into the hotel.

Peering up at the hotel, Libby's lips upturned. She was in there.

"Hold on, Lucy," she whispered. "Just hold on."

…

A/N: Things are going to reach a climax sometime soon! Hope you enjoyed this chapter with some lighter moments for the time being. As always, would love to know what you think!