Elizabeth had no intention of moving from Charlotte's side. She was sat in the chair next to the bed in the private room in the hospital, Lucy in her arms. She had taken her daughter from Sara as soon as she could and she hadn't let her go once. Charlotte had been in surgery, being operated on with comments of 'brain swelling' and 'internal bleeding' being thrown around. Her hair had been cut in chunks from her head, a large white bandage wrapped around her skull.
The doctor had talked to Laszlo who had asked a number of questions of Doctor Phillips, wanting to know the extent of the damage, whether or not there would be any long-term impact on her. But the doctor had told Laszlo just to stay calm and wait for Charlotte to wake up. She was still unconscious, her chest rising and falling softly. The doctor hoped that they had stopped the bleeding and reduced the swelling in time, but he had told them that it would be a matter of patience and waiting before Charlotte woke up.
And so Elizabeth had settled down next to her, Lucy in her arms and her eyes fixed on Charlotte. Laszlo had looked over his wife, standing at the end of the bed. Her face was still splattered in blood from where she had stabbed Libby, her lip cut and a large purple stain on her cheek from where Libby had pushed her against the table. No doubt there were other bruises she was concealing, but Laszlo knew better than to push her on that matter. She would be thinking only of Charlotte for the time being.
Her grip on Lucy was tight, refusing to let go of her or to give her to anyone else. Laszlo coughed lightly, his eyes flickering over to Charlotte as he looked at her in the bed. She was so peaceful, laid there with her pale skin almost making her look like a porcelain doll. Her hair was in loose curls, well, that which had not been cut from her head. She was in a white hospital gown, the grey quilt tugged up to her chest and her arms by her side.
Laszlo hesitantly went to take the chair next to Elizabeth's, settling down next to her. But she didn't make a move. She remained where she was, a hand running up and down Lucy's back gently. Lowering his gaze and bowing his head, Laszlo knew that they were about to have a difficult conversation, but they had to have it. As long as Libby Hatch was still roaming the streets, Laszlo would not be able to rest.
"Elizabeth," he spoke her name, but she still did not look at him. "Elizabeth…darling…"
He reached his hand out to rest it on her arm, but she stiffened and Laszlo almost felt his breath hitch and his chest ache at the feeling. She shrugged his hand off of her and Laszlo's brows furrowed on the top of his forehead. He retracted his hand back to his lap, lacing his fingers together and anguish taking hold of the features on his face.
"Elizabeth," he tried her name again. "Don't shut me out."
"Ah, here you are."
Laszlo turned his head over his shoulder and looked to the doorway to find Sara and John stood there, Marcus coming up behind them. Sara's hair had fallen in loose wisps down her back and her hat was askew on her head. John's tie was also pulled away from his neck, his top buttons undone and a look of regret on his face.
"We heard that Charlotte is out of surgery. How is she?"
"She is…the bleeding has stopped and the swelling is minimal, but it could be a while before she wakes up," Laszlo was the one to speak, his voice low, almost as though he didn't want to disturb Charlotte as she slept. Laszlo moved to his feet and walked over towards the three of them. His footsteps were light and he had shrugged out of his jacket, adjusting the cufflinks at the end of his shirtsleeves. "But we should talk somewhere else and perhaps some other time."
"But, Laszlo," Sara began, her voice lowering to a whisper. However, despite that, Elizabeth could still hear her in the corner of the room. "Libby is still out there. We need to know-"
"-I know," Laszlo interrupted, his voice a grunt as all three of them looked down to him, their gazes moving to his lips to focus on what he was saying. "But I don't know if you will be able to talk to her right now. She is in shock."
"We have to try," Sara replied. "Let me…please…I know that your first priority is Charlotte and that reliving what happened is the last thing Elizabeth would want to do, but we need to talk about this."
Laszlo knew that Sara was not going to relent. He was well aware of that fact and perhaps she might be able to get something out of Elizabeth. If not, he wanted to see exactly how she reacted around someone else. Would she push Sara away as she did him? He stood to one side, nodding to Sara.
"Be gentle," he warned her as she passed him by and moved further into the hospital room, her eyes flickering to the cross above Charlotte's bed and the sleeping girl's features.
The three men remained stood at the end of the room by the door, looking at the scene unfold in front of them. Sara took Laszlo's seat, angling her body towards Elizabeth and wrapping her hands around the arm of the chair.
"Elizabeth…" Sara began, trying to gain her attention. "Elizabeth, I know that this is the last thing you want to be doing and thinking about. I know that…but I just need you to tell us what happened. Please? How did she find you?"
That seemed to attract Elizabeth's attention. She turned her head to the side slowly, eyes wide and a blank expression on her face. Sara felt her mouth begin to dry out at the way Elizabeth was looking at her. Had she ever seen her like this before?
"You."
The word was simple and Sara almost didn't believe that she heard it fall from Elizabeth's lips. It hung in the air, silence engulfing all of them. Sara's forehead creased in confusion and she shook her head, hair falling into her face.
"I don't understand," Sara said to her, hand moving to her chest. "I would never have told her where you were, Elizabeth."
"You met her for lunch," Elizabeth continued, her voice on the verge of breaking as she continued rocking Lucy against her body. Her face was still blank, her cheeks red and her eyes wide and wet. She no doubt was exhausted and emotional, Sara understood completely. But she didn't expect what happened next. She never imagined such a reaction.
"I did," Sara confirmed with a nod.
"You took a cab to the hotel afterwards," Elizabeth said. "She heard you."
Sara shook her head. "I never imagined…" she trailed off, hand going to cover her mouth, her own eyes threatening to overspill with tears as she looked at Elizabeth, meeting the woman's gaze and wondering if she blamed her for what had happened? Was it her fault? Had she caused this?
"Sara would never mean any harm, Elizabeth," John suddenly spoke up then, unable to stop himself from leaping to her defence. Elizabeth's eyes moved away from Sara and found John. He almost wanted to leave the room at the look she gave him.
She moved from her seat, her limbs aching and Lucy beginning to worm around in her grip, clearly sensing her mother's anguish. Her daughter made soft noises as Elizabeth continued to look at John.
"She was listening to you too," Elizabeth commented. "After your bachelor party when you brought Laszlo back…you said how you would help him up to the room…back to me…she was there. She was listening."
John's own mouth went slack at that, his head shaking back and forth. He gulped and Elizabeth shook her own head, trying to gather herself. But she couldn't. She was overcome with emotion. She turned her back to the rest of them, looking out of the second floor window through the net curtains. The sun was beginning to rise, peeking out from behind the clouds.
"I didn't know," John said, that being the truth and the only defence he could think of at that moment in time.
Laszlo could see the way Elizabeth was hunched over slightly. She was like a coil waiting to spring. There was something inside of her that was ready to snap and Laszlo doubted any of them wanted to be present when that happened. But it was too late. It was far too late.
"But she did," Elizabeth said and Lucy began to cry as Elizabeth kept her eyes locked on the window. "She knew everything…she…she'd been watching for days…maybe weeks. She tried to persuade my mother to take Lucy for her, but she refused…she refused and so she killed her...said that Goo Goo Knox would have wiped her debts."
Laszlo closed his eyes and bowed his head, his breath coming out in a sharp exhale at hearing her say that. Elizabeth turned her head over her shoulder then, looking at the four of them as they remained rooted in their spots, almost as though they were unable to move. Elizabeth gritted her teeth together and suddenly she felt an overwhelming sense of anger.
Anger at what had happened to Charlotte.
Anger at everyone in the room who had led Libby to them.
But, more than anything, anger at herself. Anger because she had been the one who had invited Libby into their lives. And it was that anger that caused her to lash out, Lucy crying softly in her arms.
"Elizabeth, I know that-"
"-I wanted to leave," Elizabeth interrupted before Laszlo could continue. He remained where he was as she moved towards him, her glare increasing and he knew that this was not good. This was Elizabeth unable to think rationally about what had happened. It was Elizabeth lashing out and blaming those around her. And he knew that if he tried to tell her any of that, it would just make things worse.
And so he stood where he was as she stood across from him and he wanted to do nothing more than to reach out and take her into his arms. He wanted to cradle her to him and whisper in her ear about how things would be fine. He longed for both of them to come together and get through this as one, but he knew that was unlikely to happen.
"I wanted to leave," Elizabeth snapped at him. "I stood there and I told you that we should leave New York…that we should go…get as far away from here as possible…but you wouldn't come with me."
"Elizabeth, please," Laszlo tried to reason with her. He tried to plead, wanting her to see sense, but she wasn't. She was too angry. Lucy continued flapping in her arms, her cries growing louder.
"Why wouldn't you come?" she demanded from him. "Why couldn't you just have come with us?"
"You know why," Laszlo retorted and Sara hesitantly stood up from the chair she was sat in, moving back towards the door to stand by John's side. "Elizabeth, you know why I couldn't come. What happened is a tragic accident, but no one is to blame. No one here maliciously put Lucy or Charlotte at risk."
"But she's lying in that bed!" Elizabeth finally snapped, her voice croaky and shaking as she looked at Charlotte and motioned to the bed with her chin. "Charlotte is lying in that bed because she managed to find out what happened…because no one could keep quiet…no one could just keep quiet."
"Elizabeth, I'm sorry," Sara said, guilt beginning to eat herself up inside as she spoke, silent tears falling down her cheeks and staining her face.
But Laszlo shook his head. "This is not your fault, Sara," he said to her, needing to comfort her somehow. He looked back to Elizabeth and his stare harshened slightly as he watched her, not wanting her to alienate their friends. He didn't want her to say something she regretted to them. She could say what she wanted to him. She could launch insults. She could blame him. He could handle it. "This is no one's fault."
"Isn't it?" Elizabeth snarled back. "Because I was the one who brought her to us. I was the one who got closer to her…let her be around Lucy…it was me who did that."
"You didn't know," Marcus finally spoke up, struggling to watch the scenes in front of him.
John rested a hand on Sara's arm, trying to comfort her as he saw her shoulders begin to shake and he brushed his own eyes with the back of his hand, sniffing loudly and watching as Laszlo ran his tongue over his lips. Marcus stood over the doctor's shoulder and his gaze met with Elizabeth's.
"Elizabeth, no one here knew what Libby was or what she would do," Marcus continued and Laszlo wondered if he could get through to her. But he couldn't. No one in that room was going to get through to her.
"But I should have," Elizabeth said. "Because that little girl…she is under my care. She is under my care and she is here because of me."
"That's not true," Laszlo said with a shake of his head. "Elizabeth, please, I know that you are feeling overwhelmed. You are upset. You are angry. You are trying to make sense of what has happened."
"I know exactly what happened," Elizabeth snapped, feeling as though her husband was patronizing her. She shook her head firmly, refusing to back down on this matter. "I was there. I was the one who couldn't protect Charlotte."
"Please," Laszlo urged from his wife, taking a step towards her as the tears freely flowed down her cheeks and Lucy's wails began to increase, almost drowning out Laszlo's voice as he tried to speak over them. "Elizabeth, let us just talk about this calmly and let me take Lucy…try to calm her down."
"No," Elizabeth shook her head, clinging onto Lucy.
"No one is going to take her," Laszlo promised, finally daring to move to her and rest his hand on her arm. She didn't brush him off as he lowered his face towards her, his gaze resting on her eyes as he ran his fingers up and down her forearm. "Elizabeth, no one is going to take her. She's safe. I promise."
Laszlo managed to prise Lucy from Elizabeth's arms, holding her and then turning to Sara. She nodded once and stepped forwards, taking Lucy and holding her to her chest, trying to calm her as Laszlo returned to his wife, his hand going back to her arm and he felt her try to push him from her, but he remained steadfast. He wrapped both of his arms around her as she tried to push against his chest, but he knew that she was trying to blame herself.
"Sh…Elizabeth…please…come now…" Laszlo begged from her as she finally gave in and rested against his body, her hands curled up by his chest as he finally felt her sob against him, giving into her emotions and exhaustion as Laszlo's arms around her tightened, his chin dropping to rest on the top of her head. He ran his right hand up and down her back, trying to soothe her as his own eyes closed, silent tears falling down his cheeks and onto the top of her head. He closed his eyes and kissed the top of her head before he felt her cling onto his waistcoat, burrowing tighter against him.
"Can you give us a moment?" Laszlo asked from the others and they nodded. But Elizabeth shook her head and straightened herself out.
"No," she said and moved from Laszlo's grip.
He wanted to keep hold of her, but she was already moving away from him and towards Sara as Lucy stopped her crying, now just making soft gurgling sounds in her arms.
"I can take her," Elizabeth said and Sara handed Lucy back to her without another word.
She held her again, Lucy's cheek pressed to Elizabeth's shoulder as she returned to the chair by Charlotte's bed and went silent again. Laszlo watched the back of her as John clasped a hand on his friend's shoulder. He whispered in a low tone into Laszlo's ear.
"She needs time," he said.
He had seen the hurt on Laszlo's face when she had blamed him. He had seen the pain when she had escaped from his arms. John knew that Laszlo just wanted to be there for her. He just wanted her to lean on him. But John knew that was not going to happen. He was acutely aware of that fact.
Laszlo could only nod to John at that point.
"Are you alright?" John asked and Laszlo shrugged.
"Not really," Laszlo responded and he placed a hand on top of John's, patting it once. "Not until she wakes up."
Laszlo moved John's hand from his shoulder and he stalked forwards once more, moving to the chair that he had earlier vacated. He sat down as Marcus, Sara and John left the room, knowing that they should give the family space. It almost felt as though they were intruding. Laszlo looked to Elizabeth once more, his eyes moving over her face and he wondered just what it was she was thinking.
…
No matter what Laszlo said or did, he couldn't get Elizabeth to leave the hospital. He had brought her clean clothes and she had wiped the blood from her skin. She had changed in the corner behind a screen, a crib in the room after Laszlo had asked for one to be brought there so that Lucy could at least get some rest. He had left when he had been forced to, needing to go to the Institute to deal with some business and return home for clean clothes.
But Elizabeth didn't go anywhere and she hardly said anything to him. Instead, she had locked herself in that room away with Charlotte and Lucy. Doctors and nurses came and went, checking on Charlotte and ensuring that she was looked after as well as possible.
"You should try and get some rest, Elizabeth," Laszlo said to his wife on the fourth day. She remained still. He sighed. "You have hardly touched the food I brought you…you need to sleep…eat…bathe…and Lucy needs to go home. A hospital is no place for her."
"She's staying with me."
"And I understand why you want to keep her with you, but at least allow me to take you both home."
"No, I'm not leaving her alone," Elizabeth said, rocking Lucy in her arms gently.
Laszlo let out a deep sigh and he leaned forwards in his chair, hands clasped together in between his legs as he spoke to her and kept his voice low, but a harsher tone to it, needing her to see some sense at least.
"She cannot stay here," Laszlo said to Elizabeth. "And I understand why you don't want to leave Charlotte alone, but I can stay with her…have Stevie take you home…or Stevie can stay here with her."
"I have to stay," Elizabeth said and he knew that she was not going to give in. There was no chance that she was moving and leaving their daughter alone, Laszlo knew that much. He nodded his head once, coming to terms with that before he clasped his hands on his thighs.
"What about if I take Lucy home for a while?" Laszlo asked and she turned her gaze onto him. "I am her father, Elizabeth. I will keep her safe…bather her…change her…just so that she has some semblance of normality in her life."
Her mouth dried out and Elizabeth parted her lips, wanting to speak and say something, but she found that she couldn't find the words. Laszlo moved a hand to her arm, taking hold of it and squeezing it.
"I know that you're scared for her," Laszlo whispered and he saw her eyes tear up, her gaze turning away from him once more and back onto Charlotte. He kept his thumb running up and down her arm, feeling the soft material of the green shirt she wore. "I'm scared too, Elizabeth. We love her. We love her so very much and we want her to wake up…but we have to think about Lucy too."
There was silence in the room then, the only noise the sound of them breathing and Lucy's little gasps and hiccups. Laszlo didn't push Elizabeth. He left his hand on her arm and after a few moments she nodded her head. Laszlo stood up and he moved his hand to her cheek, hovering over her and kissing her forehead.
"I will bring her back very soon," Laszlo promised her in a soft voice and he prised their daughter from her arms, holding onto her and humming to her as he managed to hold her by his chest. "And you are certain you will not come home?"
"No," Elizabeth said simply and she tucked her hair behind her ear.
"As you wish," Laszlo simply said to her and he moved to his feet.
He carried Lucy out to the door, turning his head over his shoulder to look back to his wife as she pulled her legs up to her chest, hooking her arms around her knees and resting her cheek on her kneecap. Laszlo let out a deep sigh at the sight of her and he shook his head, knowing full well that it would take quite some time for his wife to come out of the shell she had gone into, especially if Charlotte didn't wake up anytime soon.
…
Laszlo had finished changing Lucy and bathing her. It was particularly difficult with just his one arm, but he managed it, forcing his left arm to move more than usual. He had placed her in her pram and found himself at 808 Broadway after he had finished work at the Institute, Lucy sleeping next to him. He had pulled his glasses off of his face after a few moments, finding himself unable to concentrate on his work, regardless of what happened. Instead, he went to seek some comfort at 808, wondering if Sara would even be in her office.
Luckily, she was. He pushed the pram down the corridor and found Bitsy at her desk. Laszlo asked her how she was faring after her undercover stint at the Lying-In Hospital. Libby had attacked her while she had been there and Laszlo and the Isaacson twins, Sara and John had found her unconscious.
It was that night when she had told them that Libby was the one they were looking for. Laszlo had tried to call his wife at the hotel suite, needing to alarm her. But it had been too late. Libby had already made her play by that stage.
"Laszlo," Sara gasped his name, standing in the door of her office, holding onto the edge of the frame. "What brings you here?"
"I confess, I am in need of a change of scenery and perhaps a friendly face," Laszlo declared and Sara nodded her head, hands going into the pockets of the dark checked skirt she wore.
"Come in," she urged from him.
He pushed the pram forwards with his good hand, Lucy's arms stretching above her head as she rolled slightly, having just woke up from her sleep. She had been sleeping ever since he had began pushing her, enjoying the sleep that she had.
"Has there been any news on Charlotte?" Sara wondered, closing the door to her office.
Laszlo shook his head. "Not as of yet," he said to her. "She is still unconscious, but she is stable. I only hope that it takes time…but not too much time."
"As do I," Sara said. "Can I get you a drink?"
"I'll have whatever you're having," Laszlo said and Sara poured him a glass of bourbon. He took a seat in a chair opposite her desk, leaving Lucy next to him as Sara moved back, heels clicking on the floor. She handed Laszlo the glass and placed her own on the desk.
"Can I hold her?"
"Of course," Laszlo said and Sara picked Lucy up, cradling her in her arms and moving to her own, leather chair behind the desk. She sank down into the seat and kept Lucy in her arms, not bothering with the glass of bourbon she had poured. "Has there been any news on the case?"
"Yes, but I did not wish to bother you," Sara informed him.
"On the contrary, the distraction might be welcome," Laszlo said.
Sara nodded and let out a shaky breath, her eyes meeting his and her cheeks tinged red as she seemed to remember what had happened that day, becoming slightly flustered. "We think that Libby murdered the matron from the Lying-In Hospital. We went to her apartment and we found her sat up at a table…dead. She had bruises on her neck and had been stabbed there several times."
Laszlo nodded his head. "She wanted to kill her then. She sought her out after that night. Her motivation is different than when she killed the baby."
"I would be inclined to agree," Sara said. "She had taken a bath too. She must have been there for a good day or so, I would say."
"Trying on another life," Laszlo said with a nod of his head.
"Why would she do that?"
"I suspect it is similar to why she creates gowns for babies from expensive fabric. She has aspirations of wealth…or being above her station, perhaps. No doubt the matron was well paid and able to provide that for a night."
"Maybe," Sara said. "But the eyelids…they were like the Napp baby's. There was no charcoal powder there."
"Which means she is already ingesting it," Laszlo said to Sara.
"I know," she promised him. "We are running out of time."
Laszlo grunted once, agreeing with her on that point.
Sara rocked Lucy in her arms as the baby toyed with the buttons on her shirt. Sara's lips lifted upwards at the sight of the little girl making the movement and Sara cooed down to her. Laszlo's own lips arched for a moment and he sat back, taking a sip of the alcohol as it burned his throat on the way down.
"Elizabeth said that Libby killed her mother," Sara suddenly brought that point up into conversation. Laszlo nodded his head, drumming his fingertips against the rim of the glass. He took a few moments before letting out a sigh and taking another gulp of the alcohol.
"She did," Laszlo confirmed. "And I assume you picked up on the comment about Libby knowing Goo Goo Knox."
"I did," Sara confessed. "And I have been down to the saloon for the past few nights to visit Cyrus and see if he has been in, but so far there has been nothing there. I will try again tonight. But if we can find him then we might find Libby."
"It is a possibility," Laszlo agreed with her. "Another point that you have to consider is that these babies are frozen in time. As soon as the baby changes and begins to grow then she will grow sceptical. She will not see it as her own child…the one she lost."
"A mother would notice these things, would she not?" Sara asked from Laszlo and he arched a brow in her direction. "A change in weight…facial features…it is easily recognisable."
"I would say that a mother would notice, for certain, but anyone who takes care of a child would also see. Take Lucy, for example, have you noted the way her hair has grown and turned to a darker shade? She has grown too, you can feel the weight, yes?"
"I know," Sara said. And she could see all those changes. She didn't need to be a mother to know that. "And you think that the Linares baby might have overstayed her welcome?"
Laszlo nodded curtly. "I think that is why her actions have become even more unpredictable," he said to Sara. "I think it is why she has lashed out…why she found Elizabeth when she did…because Lucy…well…" Laszlo trailed off and Sara gulped once, nodding her head and holding her goddaughter tighter to her chest.
"But she didn't take her," Sara said and Laszlo nodded, finishing his drink and setting it down on the desk. "She got nowhere near her, Laszlo."
"I know," Laszlo said with a nod, well aware that his wife had done everything in her power to protect their daughter. "But if the Linares baby is no longer Libby's favourite, then the question remains…will she move on and find another baby or will she try and come back for ours?"
Sara's blood ran cold at hearing him say that, but she knew that he had point. She knew that it would make sense. She just didn't want to think of that. There was silence between the two of them then, Laszlo peering up to the ceiling for a few moments and doing his best not to think of that outcome. He didn't want to think of Libby coming back for Lucy. He glanced back to his daughter as she remained content with Sara.
"I can have one of the girls watch the house for you?" Sara said, offering her help.
"I worry that it would do no good," Laszlo replied. "She knows that we are in the city and she knows that Charlotte is injured. Besides, Elizabeth is unlikely to leave the hospital without Charlotte…she reluctantly let me take Lucy with me today. She doesn't want to leave her alone."
"I can appreciate that," Sara said. "She has gone through a lot. I don't doubt that she is scared…anxious…terrified, even."
"All of those things, I suspect," Laszlo said, shifting in his seat and resting his hands onto his thighs. "Not that I would know for certain because she doesn't talk to me. She hardly says anything. Instead, she just sits and stares…shutting me out…the most emotion I have seen from her came from the other day when we were all there."
"Elizabeth is…you have the ability to rationalise everything, Laszlo," Sara said to him. "You are able to rationalise and put things into context, but you said it yourself, you fell in love with her because she is the opposite. Is that not why we fall in love?"
"Supposedly."
"Then you can understand why she is this way," Sara said. "She is emotional. She wears her heart on her sleeve. She…think about the amount of loss she has suffered, Laszlo. She lost her child before. She almost thought that she had lost you at one stage when she was still married to her husband. And Mary…she was there when Mary was attacked…Lucy was almost taken from her. And now there is this…I cannot even begin to imagine what is going on in her mind."
"I want to know," Laszlo said to Sara, his voice low and deep. "I so very much want to know what she is thinking, but the female mind is complex to me…it always has been."
"Laszlo, it is not the female mind," Sara said. "Elizabeth is not just any female. She is your wife."
"Indeed, she is," Laszlo concurred. "But she has shut herself off from me. I've tried everything I can to get her to talk, but nothing seems to be working."
"I think, it is as you say, she is closed off until Charlotte wakes. You remember what you were like when Elizabeth was injured?"
"All too well," Laszlo grumbled, not wanting to remember that time in his life anymore. He remembered how he never left her bedside. He didn't move from her side unless he had to. He had sought solace in Charlotte, just as she had sought solace in him. "But I'm her husband…she should be able to confide in me."
"Give her time," Sara encouraged from him. "I am certain she does not want to act this way, but she doesn't know what else she can do. She is going to react in a certain way and perhaps say things that she doesn't mean."
"Perhaps," was all that Laszlo could say in response to Sara. "Perhaps."
…
Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers running along Charlotte's hair that was flowing onto the pillow. Her movements was soft and slow, her fingers combing the gentle, blonde tresses as she spoke in a low voice to her, peering down at her.
"I know that I said things I should never have said," Elizabeth whispered to her. "I said things that were cruel and mean and I have to apologise to John…Sara…and Laszlo, especially Laszlo. I don't blame any of them for this. It was not their fault. None of this was their fault, Charlotte…and Laszlo…he's trying and I know that he's trying, but I can hardly look at him because…because this is my fault."
She sniffed at saying those words and her fingers stilled in Charlotte's hair. "I was the one who got close to Libby. I was the one who brought her into our lives and look what happened…look what happens to everyone who gets close to me, Charlotte. Everyone ends up hurt."
"I couldn't look after James," she continued after a breath. "James was my unborn child and I couldn't keep him safe from Jacob. And then there's Jacob…I despised him…hated him…but I killed him. And we can try and pretend otherwise, but I was the one who pushed him down the stairs. I was the one who killed him and Laszlo covered that for me. He covered that up for me…lied for me…but I almost lost him. I thought that Jacob was going to kill him."
She folded one leg over the other, running a hand down the side of her face and tossing her hair over one shoulder so that it was out of the way.
"And Mary. You remember Mary, don't you?" Elizabeth asked from her. "I couldn't save her from Connor. I couldn't stop him from killing her. She died and I lived. How is that fair? How is it fair that she was taken and I was spared because we…we both had secrets. We both had done things in our past that we had been pushed to do, but she died and I got to live."
Elizabeth sniffed and moved to rest both hands in her lap, pushing at the material of her skirts and letting them burrow there.
"And my mother," Elizabeth looked to the ceiling. "There is my mother…the woman who would have taken my daughter from me. She is the woman who tormented me, but if I hadn't have sent her away then Libby wouldn't have gotten to her. If I hadn't have met Libby then she would be here…well, not here, but she would be alive. And her last act was to say no. It was to think of her granddaughter and protect her from Libby. Had she actually changed? I don't know. I doubt it, but I'll never know now."
She tossed her head back and looked to the ceiling, seeing the dim light burning above her.
"And then there's you," Elizabeth said and looked to the girl in the bed. "I thought that you would be safe with us. I thought that nothing like this would ever have happened and I…I'm now beginning to wonder if you would have been better off at the Institute than with me. You wouldn't be here now, Charlotte," she wiped tears from the corner of her eyes. "You wouldn't be here and…you might have ended up with a family who would have loved you…taken care of you…better than I could have done, at least."
Elizabeth moved her hand to Charlotte's cheek and bent down to kiss her forehead. She sat back up and let her tears dry on her cheeks, moving to stand up and begin pacing the room, hands on her hips. She had said everything that she had to say, but what did any of it matter? None of it mattered if Charlotte didn't wake up.
She must have been pacing for at least ten minutes before Laszlo reappeared in the doorway, pushing the pram in front of him. Elizabeth glanced over to him and he saw that she had been crying again. Her skin was stained with dried tears and her hair had been mussed up, no doubt from her fingers running through it constantly.
"Why have you been so long?" she asked and moved over to the pram, peering down into it and looking to Lucy. She was sleeping soundly.
"I took care of Lucy and went to the Institute to deal with business…and I called into 808 Broadway to see Sara…to see if there has been any word on Libby."
"And has there been?" Elizabeth asked, straightening up and tugging on the shirt tucked into her skirt. She looked to Laszlo and he nodded.
"She killed the matron," Laszlo said to her. "We also think that she has a relationship with Goo Goo Knox and so Sara is trying to find more out from him this evening. But…if Libby is still out there then she is potentially dangerous and I fear that she might still try and…well…"
"Take Lucy," Elizabeth finished for him and he nodded once, wetting his lips and scratching his beard.
"Indeed," he agreed with her.
There was silence between the two of them. Laszlo took in the way Elizabeth looked down to the pram and then back to him.
"Laszlo, I need-"
"-And I've been thinking."
They both spoke at the same time. Elizabeth shook her head, an arm going around her waist and her other hand rolling in the air. "You go first," she said to him.
"No, you can go first."
"It's fine," Elizabeth said to him, not entirely certain if she had the right words that she wanted to speak to him just yet. She wanted to apologise. She wanted to tell him everything that she had been feeling. She wanted to tell him how she was sorry for involving Libby in their lives. How she was sorry for lashing out at him. How she didn't want to shut him out, but her guilt was eating her up and she didn't know how to tell him because she knew how he would tell her not to blame herself, but things were not that simple.
"I want to continue working on the case," Laszlo informed his wife. "If Libby is still out there then I want to ensure that I can do what I can to stop her…because we know for certain that she had intended to take Lucy from us and I cannot bear that thought."
Elizabeth nodded. She should have expected this. It was Laszlo, after all.
"I don't want her to come back here," Elizabeth whispered, fear clear in her voice.
"And that is why I want to continue working on this," Laszlo said. "To keep you all safe."
"I've never been able to change your mind before, so I doubt I would be able to start now," Elizabeth said to him. "Just promise me that you'll be careful."
Laszlo nodded his head, almost wanting to let relief course through him at that final comment.
"I promise," he said to her. "And, of course, I will be with you, Lucy and Charlotte whenever I need to be…and the doctor has said that it would be possible to move Charlotte back home. We can take her home and she can be in her own bed. I wouldn't want you alone there, however, and so Marcus Isaacson has agreed to stay with you when I am not there."
Her nose wrinkled. "You've already asked him and thought about this?"
"I wanted to put a plan in place before I came to you."
"And so you intended to return to the case…before even speaking to me," Elizabeth said and she nodded her head once. She knew that she was being unreasonable in making that comment, but a part of her couldn't stop herself.
"I am going back to the case to protect our family," Laszlo said to her. "You know that."
"I know," Elizabeth muttered and she went to sit back down on the chair.
Laszlo watched her and he cleared his throat. "I…I do have to go this evening. Libby's behaviour has become increasingly irrational and I wish to speak with a colleague about this as I am concerned I do not understand her mind…not as well as I should, anyway."
"A colleague?"
"Professor Karen Stratton," he said.
"I see," Elizabeth responded, her gaze on Charlotte once more. Karen Stratton. He was going to speak with her. "Okay, that's fine. When can we take Charlotte home?"
"Tomorrow morning."
"Then I will stay here tonight," Elizabeth said to him. "Will you be back tonight or will you return home?"
"I will be back," Laszlo said without skipping a beat. He had spent every night at the hospital by her side so far. He wasn't going to stop now. He moved closer to the bed and the vacant chair that he had claimed as his own. He sat down on it and reached out his hand to her knee, letting it sit there.
"What did you want to say to me?" Laszlo urged from her.
"Hmm?" she asked, clearly lost in thought once more.
"Before, you wanted to say something," Laszlo reminded her.
"Oh," Elizabeth said, but she couldn't say the words she wanted to say. She didn't have it in her at that moment in time. She shook her head and kept her eyes on Charlotte. "I was about to say that I need you to bring me Charlotte's book. I was hoping to read to her, but if we are taking her home tomorrow then it doesn't matter."
Laszlo eyed her suspiciously, his gaze flickering over her face. He pinched his brows together. "Was that it?" he asked, feeling that there was something else. There had to be.
"That was it," Elizabeth confirmed to him.
He didn't push her on the matter, keeping silent and nodding his head once. "As you wish," he said and he moved to his feet, his coat falling behind him as he checked the pocket watch for the time. He placed it back into his waistcoat and moved to Charlotte, kissing her softly on the forehead.
"I need to go," Laszlo said. "I don't want to be late."
"Of course not."
"Do you need anything?"
"I'm fine," Elizabeth said to him and he nodded once more, bending down and kissing her on the forehead. She didn't reach for him like she usually did. She just sat there, completely motionless.
Laszlo brushed her hair behind her ear and moved his finger down to her chin, tilting her gaze up to his and she looked him in the eye and he saw her look over his face too.
"I love you," he said to her, voice gruff and low. "Don't shut me out."
Elizabeth swore she felt her chest ache at hearing him say that. She simply nodded, telling him that she understood. But she couldn't find the words. She couldn't find the right words, anyway. She picked herself up from the chair and kissed his cheek, pressing her hand to his wrist and squeezing it.
"You should go. I don't want you to be late," she urged from him and he sighed, but nodded.
He suspected that was a start. It was the most contact he had had with her in days. He dropped one final kiss the top of her head before leaving the room and heading off to his meeting with Professor Karen Stratton.
...
A/N: Almost want to apologise for a lot of anguish in this chapter, but the next few chapters are going to be quite tense as we draw to a close with season 2 and, probably, the end of this story. As always - do let me know your thoughts as we reach the ending!