Laszlo had sought out Doctor Stratton as soon as he entered the parlour. She was at a different table to the previous time, sat on a small one with two chairs next to each other, facing away from the door and towards the wall instead. The parlour was relatively busy with Laszlo bypassing the queue of people at the door and moving up to Karen. He pulled the chair out, handing a passing waiter his coat as Karen looked up to him, already sipping on her drink.

"I hadn't expected to see you so soon after yesterday," Karen said to him and Laszlo sat down besides her, shaking his head and resting his arm on the table, his fingers drumming on the wooden surface. "I had thought that things were tense between yourself and your wife."

"They were," Laszlo said to her. "But things have been sorted now."

"I'm not an idiot, Laszlo," Karen said to him. "I have been in society long enough to know what runs through a wife's mind when she sees her husband with another woman."

"Well…yes," was all that Laszlo could offer her.

"I can talk to her if that would help?" Karen said. "Reassure her that she no reason to worry? That we are simply talking as colleagues and nothing else?"

"Thank you," Laszlo said to the woman. "However, I don't know if that would help. Elizabeth and I spoke about things and she realised that she had no reason to feel threatened. I am devoted to her and only to her."

"And she is a lucky woman," Karen said, taking another sip and then lowering her glass to the table with a soft thud. "Many men in society do not feel that way about their wives. It seems you're quite the anomaly."

"That's a nice word for what I am," Laszlo chuckled back and sipped his drink and then clicked his fingers, holding his hand in mid-air and waving it nonchalantly. "However, I do want to apologise for yesterday. The situation was uncomfortable for all parties involved, I know that."

"Uncomfortable but understandable," Karen assured him. "Anyway, I suspect that you are not here simply to apologise to me. You said that the case had taken an interesting turn."

"Indeed it has," Laszlo confirmed, hunched over the table and closer to Karen, knowing that what he was about to tell her was not exactly conversation that took place in public. Besides, he suspected she would be able to offer him an insight that he felt he was lacking. "Sara confided in me that she saw Libby Hatch with Goo Goo Knox, her known associate. She said that she was him…nursing from her breast."

"Lactophilia?" Karen checked and Laszlo nodded once. "Well, I confess that I had not expected the conversation to go this way, but I suspect you find it odd?"

"Indeed, it is a particularly unexpected fetish considering Libby uses her breasts to deliver death to the children who nurse from them. It is rather ironic."

"How dramatic," Karen said to him with an almost amused tone to her voice, her eyes seeming to light up in the darkened room as she looked to him with a soft expression. "I argue that it might not even be a fetish at all."

She watched as a puzzled expression formed on his face, clearly she was challenging the preconception that he had already formed in his mind. But that was why he had asked to meet her, knowing that there might be a chance that what he thought was not the entire truth at all.

"You would not consider this to be a deviation?" Laszlo queried, tone more clipped. "I'm surprised to hear such an argument."

But still Karen remained light and entertained in her voice. "From a woman?" she challenged him and he looked away for a moment, trying to gather his composure and form a rational argument to counter her point in his mind.

"The recent research suggests that a fetish is a means by which a man reduces a woman to a fraction of herself, experience sexual gratification," Laszlo said, unable to stop his mind from realising how hypocritical that seemed to him when he said it out loud. It was Elizabeth who often was the one to express what it was she wanted when they had engaged in sexual activities. Of course, Laszlo had delved into the reasons behind that, but she had begged him not to. She had begged him not to tell her why it was she liked him to be the one in control and just let him accept it and assure him that it was what she enjoyed as much as he did.

He felt his cheeks turn red at the last memory he had of her beneath him, moaning his name as her hands clung onto his shoulders and he told her not to give into her pleasure until he said she could. That had been many months ago now, Elizabeth not particularly feeling comfortable with intimacy during the latter months of pregnancy.

"The fetish is pleasurable because it partializes a woman and thereby renders her non-threatening," Laszlo concluded his argument and Karen shook her head.

"Has that been your experience?" she questioned him before she even had a chance to think.

She had noted the way that a blush had formed on his cheeks as he spoke, almost as though his mind had gone to a different place. She suspected he was remembering something intimate and, so long as their conversation was around this topic, she felt as though she should ask him. He said nothing, his lips only turning upwards in disbelief and a loud breath leaving his nose.

"Sorry?" he asked, wondering if he had misheard her.

"I hate to become too familiar or to go beyond the relationship of what we are as colleagues, but I do not think that you can possibly argue such a thing. You are married to your wife because you love her, yes?"

"Of course," he didn't miss a beat.

"And it would be naïve to think that the two of you have not engaged in sexual activities," she said. "You have a child and are only human. So, no doubt, you are also attracted to her, yes?"

Laszlo bit down on the inside of his cheek, feeling the force of his teeth tighten enough to almost draw blood. He could only nod curtly once.

"So, if we take your theory, then your gaze is attracted to certain parts of a body…your wife's body…the obvious ones being the buttocks and a bosom, for a man," Karen continued. "However, when you look at those parts on her, do you think about her? Do you forget about the woman to whom the parts belong?"

Laszlo chuckled nervously, shaking his head. Of course he didn't. As if to prove her point, Karen reached down, picking up her dress and Laszlo's gaze dipped down, seeing her bare ankle as she leaned in closer to him.

"Have you forgotten all of me when you see my ankle?" she questioned from him, noting how his gaze didn't linger but only stayed there for a few seconds.

Laszlo shook his head. "I do not categorize myself among the sufferers of this pathology," he said to her, defending himself and he took another sip of his drink.

"Perhaps this type of attraction is not the pathology at all, and perhaps a woman enjoys her part in such a ritual," Karen said and he remained silent. He had not thought about it like that. He had hardly thought about it at all. And so Karen continued talking, trying to win him over to her side of the argument. She wasn't one to give in easily. "With adult males, a woman's breasts are life-affirming. She doesn't use them in this context. She just puts them in a position to respond to pleasure. Why should she not have pleasure herself?"

Laszlo nodded thoughtfully for a few moments before Karen leaned closer and whispered to him, knowing that their conversation might have been too loud and attracted too much attention.

"Breasts are erogenous zones, as I'm sure you're aware," she said to him.

He chuckled nervously, nodding his head at her and confessing to himself that he was feeling slightly uncomfortable as he rubbed his thumb along two of his fingers in the air by his cheek.

"I am indeed," Laszlo said to her.

"And then you should know that the woman can derive pleasure as much as the man can," Karen sat back once more and she shrugged her shoulders. "Sexual activities are so often frowned upon, but each one of us has our own pleasure…different pleasures…but the fact remains that we do seek pleasure."

"But not publicly," Laszlo rebutted.

"That is an interesting element to the case, I do agree," she said to him.

"But what do you-"

"-Doctor Kreizler," a voice interrupted and Laszlo turned his head to the side, peering at the waiter who was stood by their table, peering down at the pair of them. Laszlo arched his brow as the man bent at the waist and spoke in a low voice. "Your wife is here, sir."

"My wife?" he questioned.

"Yes, sir."

Laszlo turned his head over his shoulder and there she was. She was stood by the door, looking straight at him and he wondered how long she had been there for. He began to stand up, wondering what could possibly be wrong. "Can you fetch my coat, Albert?" Laszlo asked from the young waiter who nodded.

"I apologise, but I don't know why Elizabeth is here…it must be important."

"Of course," Karen said, picking her glass up. "And you're sure you don't want me to talk to her?"

"No, it is fine, thank you," Laszlo said with a shake of his head. "I shall speak to you again soon, yes?"

"I would like that," Karen said and Laszlo offered her one final smile before he left the table and moved down to his wife, taking his coat on the way. Elizabeth looked almost impassive, like she was lost in her own mind. As he approached, he looked at her with a concerned expression, his brows rising on his forehead before he asked what she was doing there. And then she told him. She told him the news he had been dying to hear.

Charlotte was awake.

…

"I promised her cake."

Laszlo looked to Elizabeth as they sat in the carriage on the way back to their house. He peered down onto her, wondering why she seemed so downbeat. He would have thought that she would be elated, unable to stop smiling. He didn't push her, knowing that there would be a reason why she was behaving how she was.

"Cake?"

"Yes," Elizabeth nodded. "I told her that there would be cake when she woke up."

"We can stop at the bakery on the way home," Laszlo said to her and she nodded.

Laszlo used his cane to hit the roof of the carriage before calling up to Stevie with the new directions. Laszlo went with Elizabeth as she picked out a number of different slices of cake from the fancy bakery that Charlotte always looked in on the way home. Laszlo paid as Elizabeth carried the paper bag back to the carriage and they finally got home.

"How is she?" Elizabeth asked once they were inside, pulling her coat from her shoulders and hanging it up. Marcus was moving with Lucy in his grip towards the door, Lucius behind his shoulder.

"I went to look up on her ten or so minutes ago and she was still sleeping," Marcus said.

"I'll go and check again," Elizabeth said and she moved up the stairs and towards the bedroom, Laszlo watching her go up the stairs. He finished removing his coat and left his cane down by the side. Laszlo looked to her retreating figure, his nose pinched and his mind racing.

"Thank you, detectives," Laszlo said to them. "I can take Lucy."

"Oh, I don't mind if you want to go up," Marcus said to him and Laszlo thanked him one final time before he took the steps up towards Charlotte's bedroom. The door was open and Elizabeth was still in there and so she must have been awake.

"Did you find Laszlo?" Charlotte wondered.

"I did," Elizabeth said and Laszlo made his appearance at the door, looking at Charlotte as Elizabeth fluffed up the pillows behind her, helping her to sit up. Laszlo moved into the room and his smile was wide on his face at the sight of her as she smiled at him. Elizabeth finished fussing over her, tugging the quilt up to cover her lap once more.

"Well," Laszlo sighed loudly, moving further into the room. "You've had quite the sleep, my dear."

Charlotte chuckled at hearing him say that and he also laughed as he moved towards her and bent down to embrace her, feeling her bony arms move around his neck as Elizabeth sat in the chair by the bedside. He pulled back after a few seconds, kissing the top of her head and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Laszlo asked from her.

"Still tired," she said. "But hungry."

"Well, I think we might be able to solve that latter problem," Laszlo said to her and Elizabeth reached for the bag that she had set down on the bedside table. She opened it up and handed it to Charlotte.

"I didn't know what flavour to get and so there is plain sponge…chocolate…even strawberry flavoured sponge," she said and Charlotte's eyes widened as she looked into the bag and tore it open, letting it sit on her lap. She tore off a piece of the chocolate cake, not concerned with crumbs or anything else. She put the piece to her mouth and chewed down on it, eating it and sighing in contentment.

"Good?" Laszlo asked from her.

"Is this from the bakery near Delmonico's?" she wondered.

"The exact one that you always look in," Laszlo said, knowing how it was her favourite place for a treat. "And we'll go there again…sit in…have cocoa and eat as much cake as you want."

"I would like that."

"I bet," Elizabeth teased her, lips turning upwards at the corner as she heard her.

"Can I see Lucy?" Charlotte asked.

"Of course," Elizabeth said. "Let me go and bring her up."

Laszlo watched his wife leave the room, a hand on Charlotte's shoulder as she passed her by. Laszlo turned back to Charlotte and looked over her, still smiling at her sat up and eating cake. He didn't think that he would have seen this so soon, but he felt relief. He felt nothing but joy and relief.

"Did you catch the bad woman?" Charlotte wondered. "The woman who came for Lucy?"

Laszlo shook his head and took hold of her hand, squeezing it tightly in his grip. "Not yet," he said, "but we are still looking for her and you will be safe here back at home…both you and Lucy will be safe here. We don't think it will be long before we find her."

"Do you promise?" Charlotte asked from him.

"I promise that we will do what we can…that you will be safe here," Laszlo said to her and she nodded, seemingly relieved with his response. He gave her hand a final squeeze before Elizabeth came back into the room, Lucy making soft noises in her arms. She carried her over to the bed and Charlotte pushed the bag from her lap.

"Are you alright with her?" Elizabeth checked, lowering Lucy into Charlotte's waiting arms as the girl nodded her affirmation. Charlotte took hold of Lucy, smiling down at her as her younger sister reached out and played with the ends of her hair.

"It's me, Lucy," Charlotte whispered to her and the baby gurgled loudly, a noise almost like a laugh escaping her. "You remember me, don't you?"

"Of course she does," Laszlo said as his daughter wrapped her fingers around one of Charlotte's, clearly reacquainting herself with her.

The four of them sat there for quite some time, Lucius and Marcus coming upstairs and bidding goodbyes, saying that they should get home before it got too late. Laszlo thanked them once again as Elizabeth did the same. Stevie came up to see Charlotte, checking that she was fine before saying how he would let Cyrus know she was awake. It was when the clock struck around seven and Elizabeth began to think about dinner.

"I should cook something," Elizabeth said. "Charlotte, what do you want to eat?"

"Can I just have toast and eggs?" she questioned.

"Of course," Elizabeth said. "I'll be back shortly. Are you alright with Lucy?"

"Yes."

"Right then," Elizabeth said and moved to her feet. Laszlo watched her leave and he gave her a few moments before he stood up, telling Charlotte that he would be back soon. He followed his wife down to the kitchen, finding her there and seeking out the eggs and bread. Pulling the cupboards open, she frowned at the sight of them. They were considerably depleted.

"When was the last time we had a food delivery?" she asked.

"I stopped them when we left here," Laszlo said as she busied herself with simply making the eggs, cracking them in a bowl and beating them with a whisk. "And since we returned it seemed a waste as no one was eating anything and so I just bought food as and when required."

"I should plan what to cook so we know what to get."

"You don't need to do that," Laszlo said to her.

"Hmm," was all she said in response as he watched her move around the kitchen, also pouring a glass of lemonade for Charlotte. Laszlo sighed and cocked his head to the side, watching as Elizabeth hummed to herself lowly and he contemplated what he was about to say to her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her.

"Why would anything be wrong?" she wondered from him, still not meeting his eyes as she placed the frying pan on the stove and began to warm it up, seeking the bread to start toasting it.

"When you came to me…there seemed to be something wrong…and the journey back home was…well…rather atmospheric."

"I was thinking about getting back to Charlotte," Elizabeth simply said with a shrug of her shoulders and she finished beating the eggs and placed them into the pan, reaching for a spoon and stirring them as the bread toasted beside them.

"And that is all?"

"What else could there be?"

"Well, I wondered if you perhaps might be annoyed because I was meeting as a colleague with Professor Stratton," Laszlo confessed and she shrugged her shoulders.

"A colleague?" Elizabeth questioned from him. "Because from where I was stood it looked more than two colleagues meeting. Then again, I've never had an actual job so I don't know if it is customary to meet in such dark, atmospheric rooms."

"Elizabeth-"

"-And I didn't know that colleagues showed other colleagues their ankles or whispered in their ears," Elizabeth concluded and slammed the spoon down, finishing stirring and tossing it off to the side, anger clearly had gotten hold of her. "But what do I know?"

"It is not what you think."

"Not what I think?" she repeated and looked over at his face, seeing him shaking his head and the pain in his face. The worst part was that she knew he was telling the truth. She knew it when men lied to her. Jacob had done it so many times at the start of their marriage. "And what should I think, Laszlo? I was sat here, waiting for you to come home. I didn't even know where you were. Why didn't you just call me from Sara's office? Tell me that you would be meeting her on business? You clearly called her to meet, but couldn't offer me one courteous phone call to let me know?"

"An oversight, I agree," Laszlo said to her. He could see that much.

"And what about if someone had seen the two of you?" Elizabeth continued pushing him, the eggs forgotten and the toast burning. But Elizabeth would remake them. For now, she was focused on Laszlo. "Because I know how it feels to be gossiped about and humiliated, Laszlo…people whispering about me behind my back…and I didn't care when it was about Jacob having affairs. Why would I? I was glad that he found other women who could entertain him."

"You know that I don't care what people say, Elizabeth, as long as you know the truth. And I had thought that you didn't care."

"I didn't care that people gossiped about us…called us unorthodox…called me your whore," she said to him with a firm shake of her head. "But that is different to those other types of rumours. They are about is being together...you and me...not you and another woman. And you know how cruel high society can be."

"I did not think of the optics," Laszlo confessed to her.

"He's lying to you. He's trying to placate you. And you're dumb enough to fall for it. You're dumb enough to believe what he tells you because you're so in love with him…so in love with a man who has just been inches away from another woman whispering in his ear."

Elizabeth turned back to the pan, picking it up and scraping out the eggs and bread, leaving them in the bin before she started again. Laszlo watched the back of her as she moved around and he shook his head.

"Do you trust me?" he asked her, the question hanging in the air between them, carrying more weight than either of them had anticipated.

Laszlo waited for her to answer, watching as her hair blew in the soft breeze from the open back door.

"Yes," Elizabeth said to him. "It's me who I can't trust."

"What does that mean?" Laszlo asked at the same time the doorbell rang. Elizabeth sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. She looked to Laszlo and he could see the tears in her eyes. "Elizabeth, talk to me-"

"-I should get the door," she interrupted him, moving towards the door quickly and away from him. He reached for her waist, stopping her from going any further.

"We need to talk about this," Laszlo said firmly.

"There is someone at the door."

"Stop running away from me," Laszlo pleaded with her, but she was pushing his arm down and moving away.

"Can you watch Charlotte's food? I'll go see who it is."

Laszlo huffed, but she was already rushing away from him. Shaking his head back and forth, he went to the eggs and realised that it would do no one any good for a second meal to be burnt. He heard voices when Elizabeth got the door, recognising them as a man and a woman's. He suspected that it would be John and Sara.

Elizabeth left Laszlo in the kitchen, greeting John and Sara. Both of them embraced her tightly, seemingly not angry after her previous outburst the last time she had seen the two of them.

"How is she?" Sara wondered. "We wanted to give you time with her before we came."

"She is awake and with Lucy," Elizabeth said.

"Oh, thank God," John said, bending down to peck Elizabeth on the cheek. "I can only imagine the relief that you are feeling."

"Relief…joy…it's been quite the day," Elizabeth said to them. "And I owe you both an apology for what I said in the hospital. I never meant it, not truly. I said it without any consideration for your own feelings…and I know that you would never do anything…well…to hurt us. I know that and I am so sorry for the way I behaved. I know that you might not forgive me-"

"-Nonsense," Sara interrupted with a shake of her head. "There were many emotions in the room that day…you were upset…angry…and we all say things that we regret in the heat of the moment."

"Indeed we do," John agreed with that, looking down to Sara for a moment as Elizabeth suspected there was something going on there from the way he looked at her. But she didn't push him on it. She never did. It was not her place to do so.

"Then I'm sorry and I hope that we can move on?"

"Already water under the bridge," John promised her with a soft smile.

"Can we see them?" Sara questioned. "Charlotte and our goddaughter."

"Of course, head on up. I'll be there in a moment. I was just cooking her eggs. I left Laszlo to finish them off."

Elizabeth watched them move up the stairs in silence as she returned to the kitchen. Laszlo was on his way out, eggs sitting on toast in his hand, cutlery balanced at the side of the plate.

"I'll take this up," she said to him.

"We're going to talk about this, Elizabeth," he said to her. "I'm not letting you do this again…close yourself off…shut yourself away from me."

"As you say," was all she said to him and she took the plate before scurrying away from him once again.

…

It was gone nine by the time Sara and John left and Elizabeth put Lucy to sleep in their bedroom, Charlotte also dozing off once more. Elizabeth had finished tidying away the half-eaten cake and the empty plate from Charlotte's eggs. Moving to the parlour, she found Laszlo already there, sat on the couch and waiting for her, bent over at the waist with his hands clasped together in between his legs.

"I asked if Professor Stratton could meet me because Sara confessed that she had seen something unusual following the case concerning Libby."

Laszlo was getting straight into the discussion and Elizabeth shook her head.

"It's fine."

"But it clearly isn't because you felt aggrieved enough to raise it," Laszlo pushed her and she knew that she wasn't going to get away from the conversation. She went to sit down on the piano bench by the window, folding one leg over the other. She remained silent, letting Laszlo be the one to continue the conversation.

"Sara confessed that she had seen Libby breastfeeding Goo Goo Knox," Laszlo said and Elizabeth's eyes widened. She clearly hadn't expected that to come out of his mouth. He nodded once, understanding her sudden surprise at that comment. "I did not understand what she could gain from such an act. I considered it a fetish and Professor Stratton informed me that it was something else…that a woman could derive pleasure from such an act."

Elizabeth remained mute and silent.

"I believed that a fetish was something that usually placed the woman in a position of inferiority, but she told me the opposite, noting how breasts could be used to give a woman pleasure instead of demeaning her. How she could be the one in control. She…showing me her ankle, she questioned if I had forgotten the rest of her, noting how fixating on one part of a woman does not render her anonymous."

Elizabeth was still silent and Laszlo wondered if she had accepted his comments. Did she believe what he had told her or did she still think there was something malicious in his intention? He hoped that she knew him better than that.

He waited for her to speak, noting the way her fingers were toying together, wrapping together. She took a breath and then spoke, her mouth dry and her lips feeling chapped, wetting them with her tongue for a moment.

"When Jacob found out about us being together…well…meeting…he was angry. You know that. You know how he put me in hospital that time," she said and Laszlo doubted he would ever be able to forget the image of her laid in that hospital bed. He sincerely doubted it. "But what he told me were things that I thought were ridiculous at the time because I never thought that you would love me anyway, but when you…when you were with Sara Howard, do you remember? Right at the beginning of our relationship?"

"I was never with Sara, Elizabeth." Laszlo said to her.

"I know, but I was scared because of how accomplished she was and she just seemed so much better than me…in everything," Elizabeth said to him. "And it reminded me of what Jacob used to tell me. He used to tell me that you would become bored of me…you would need someone to match your intellect…to hold their own against you in a debate…and that could never be me."

"You belittle yourself."

"Laszlo, please," she deadpanned with him. "I might not be stupid, but I am hardly as intelligent as you and I know that. I accepted that and I was fine with it. And then when I found out that Sara held no affection for you, nor did you for her…well…it put me at ease a lot more and I realised I had been foolish. I swore never to feel like that again because I trust you, Laszlo. I trust you and I know you. I know that you love me."

"Then what is it?" Laszlo asked her.

"It's me," she simply said to him, not bothering to lie to him or try to hide things from him. "It's me, Laszlo. It's all in my head…my insecurities…and then when I see you with Professor Stratton…see the way you are around her…they come rising to the surface because I know that she is everything I'm not. She is so beautiful and clever. She's published so many pieces of work. She's in your field. She's elegant…wears fine gowns…has a reputation that isn't tarnished like mine is. She's the exact type of woman that you should be with."

"But I don't love her, Elizabeth," Laszlo said with a shake of his head. "She might be all of those things, but the fact is that she is not you and has none of your qualities…the things that I love about you."

Elizabeth scoffed. "And what even is that? A jealous, paranoid, wife?"

"You are beautiful," Laszlo said to her, moving to his feet and closing the gap between them. He knelt down in front of her, taking hold of her by the hands, his grip tight as he sat in between her legs. "You have this one curl down the back of your head…and no matter what you do, it never sits in pattern with the other curls," Laszlo said, reaching his hand up to find it in his grip, twirling it around his finger to prove his point. "I would lay awake at night some nights and just curl it around my finger as I looked at you, wondering how you could love me."

Elizabeth was quiet as Laszlo continued talking.

"You might not understand the work I do, but I don't care. You don't need to force yourself to read my works to try because none of that matters to me," Laszlo said. "But do not doubt you are intelligent. You read up on Charlotte's case and did everything you could to help her and look where she is now. She is talking. You were the one who did that, not me. You were the one who forced yourself to understand her condition."

Laszlo finished toying with her curl, his hand running along the side of her neck.

"You are kind…everything inside of you…you should be bitter, Elizabeth," he said, fingers curling around her neck softly. "You should be bitter for what has happened to you and cursing the world. I would understand that. But you weren't. When you were at the Institute you were kind. You looked out for those children. You made certain they all laughed when you read to them. You helped them when they couldn't make sense of lessons. I would spend far too long neglecting paperwork just to watch you with them."

He dropped his fingers down to her shoulders, running along the collar of her blue dress.

"And you are stunning," Laszlo promised her. "But we do not fall in love with people because of superficial looks. Granted, they are what make us attracted to them, but we fall in love because we see qualities that we are attracted to. I fell in love with you because of all of those qualities and believe me when I tell you that I have no intention of abandoning you."

"I don't know how to make it stop," Elizabeth said to him, shaking her head back and forth. "I don't know how to stop feeling this way."

"I know it feels that way," Laszlo assured her. "And I know that you are looking constantly for ways to push us apart, but I will not let that happen. I will not let us ever be pushed away from each other because what we have is better than I could have ever imagined. What we have is worth fighting for, isn't it? Fighting those feelings you have?"

She nodded at him and he looked her in the eye as she spoke, her hand going to sit on top of his on her shoulder.

"I love you," she said. "I love you so much."

Laszlo's lips arched at hearing her say that. He nodded his head and he swore he was about to cry, but he maintained his composure.

"I love you too," he promised her.

And she moved, bowing her head until her lips were brushing his. Laszlo ran his hand back to her cheek, deepening the kiss as she took hold of his neck, her hands holding onto him as his mouth moved over hers firmly, pouring out all of the emotion he had been keeping in. Standing up, he felt Elizabeth move with him, her lips not once leaving his. He moved his arm around her waist, pushing her body against his firmly, lips moving hungrily against hers. She groaned under the movement as he moved her backwards, not sure where he was going until he felt her hit the wall by the bookshelf, trapping her there.

"I'm sorry," she gasped out as he pulled away for breath, his lips going to her neck as her hands moved to his hair. "I'm so sorry, Laszlo."

"You have nothing to apologise for," Laszlo said, his voice gruff as he spoke to her and she closed her eyes, trying not to cry again as he picked his face up, kissing her cheek and resting his forehead against hers. "We will be fine, Elizabeth, because we have each other."

She nodded, longing to believe that. She wanted to believe it. She moved a hand along his cheek, stroking her thumb along his jawline and he felt his swollen lips part as her thumb moved along them. It was almost as though she was retracing his features, familiarising herself with him once again.

"What Jacob said was wrong. He was wrong about everything…but especially about you…because you are strong. You are stronger than he ever was. And you're not going to let him win. You're going to prove him wrong…we're going to prove him wrong…because I intend to grow old with you, Elizabeth, have it so that we're sat on a porch in rocking chairs," he said and that gained a laugh from her. "But how I feel for you will not change. I know it and I swear it. I'm yours. No one else's. Only yours."

He hadn't meant to make her cry, but she did. She burst into tears as soon as he had said the words and she smiled, nodding her head at him. She wanted that. She longed for that.

"And I'm yours," she responded before she kissed him once again, knowing full well that this was where they both belonged.

…

A/N: So some of the angst has been resolved! Things aren't all smooth sailing though - still some big moments/decisions coming up to be made. Not sure how many chapters are left in the story - but I might do a couple more after season 2 plotline ends. Do let me know what you think!