Laszlo had returned to the Institute, knowing that he had a decision to make in his mind. As he wandered through the corridors towards the library, he carried a cup of coffee in his fingers for Sara. He had returned early, Karen already working at his desk and keeping the Institute running. He had bid her a good morning and she had asked him how his evening had been. They had made polite conversation, but Laszlo didn't mention what Elizabeth had said the night before about how she would support him if he wished to go to Vienna for those few months
He had then found Sara still sleeping, his lips turned upwards before he left and returned with a cup of coffee. He opened the door as quietly as possible, but Sara stirred. She must have been on the cusp of waking up anyway.
"Laszlo," Sara said his name, her silk blouse slightly creased as she sat up on the couch, the top two buttons of the light pink material undone. Wisps of her hair had fallen from its bun, dangling down her back. She blinked a couple of times before she leant against the back of the seat. "I didn't realise it was early…I'm sorry for intruding."
"It is no intrusion at all," Laszlo promised her, handing her the saucer and cup of coffee. She took hold of it and picked it up to her lips, sipping on it slowly as Laszlo moved around the room, eyeing the books on the bookshelf for a few moments. "Sleep is rare for all of us these days. If you managed to rest then that is the most important thing."
"Thank you," Sara said. "Did you manage to spend some time at home last night?"
"Indeed I did," Laszlo nodded his head and he went to perch down on the armchair across from her. "Elizabeth was still awake and had prepared dinner. We…it was the first dinner we have had together in quite a while."
"I do not mean to pry, but…" Sara trailed off, Laszlo knowing what she was asking from him. She wanted to know if the two of them were on better terms, well aware that there had been tension.
"Things are better," Laszlo nodded his head. "We talked about things and Elizabeth finally opened up to me. I did what I could to reassure her that the things she was feeling were…well…not accurate. I have no intention of leaving her for anyone else."
"I'm happy that you've managed to work things out," Sara said, the blanket she had draped over herself falling down to sit in her lap. "But I sense that there is something else that you are perhaps keeping from me."
Laszlo's lips arched upwards at hearing that. "You have become much more perceptive since we first met, Sara."
"A good detective has to pick up on things. I may not be as good as you, but I still know when something is troubling you."
"I don't think it is troubling me…more…making me question what it is I should do for the best," Laszlo confessed to her in a low voice. "Professor Stratton has informed me that a new department is being set up in Vienna under Doctor Freud. It will be the first of its kind and prestigious, I don't doubt. She informed me that an invitation has been extended to her…and…subsequently…myself."
"Vienna?" Sara checked, her brows rising on her forehead in shock and Laszlo nodded.
"Vienna," he said once more and laced his fingers together on his lap. "It is an extremely rare opportunity and an honour to have been asked. It would be for six months."
"Are you thinking of taking it?" she asked him.
"I wasn't," Laszlo said to her. "As soon as Karen asked me I initially said that it would be impractical. I cannot leave behind everything that I have built here. I have the Institute, once my license has been returned to me…I have a career. Everything I have is here because I have worked for it. And, most importantly, Elizabeth is settled here. She enjoys work at the Institute. Charlotte has settled in well at school and it would not be possible for her to travel to Vienna…and Lucy is so young. The stress of moving to a new city, away from friends, is not something I want to do to Elizabeth with a newborn baby."
"Those are all valued reasons for not wanting to leave," Sara concurred with Laszlo on that point. "And I can understand your reluctance. However, you said that you weren't thinking of taking it. What was it that changed your mind?"
"Elizabeth," Laszlo confessed to her. "I returned home last night and she told me that she would support me if I did wish to go. She told me that six months was not long and we would manage…she would manage. But how can I ask her to stay here and care for Charlotte and Lucy on her own? Charlotte is still recovering from her illness. Lucy is still growing and I don't want to miss that. Six months is a long time for a baby."
"It is," Sara agreed with him on that. "But I doubt she would change that much. Elizabeth is right. Six months is not all too long and you know we would be here for her…John and I."
"I know," Laszlo said to her. "Speaking of which, I called John this morning to inform him that you were still here."
"What did he say?"
"He complained about how you would go to extreme lengths to avoid confrontation with him…or it might have been conversation…I can't remember."
"Both apply," Sara muttered and took another sip of her drink, lowering the cup to the saucer and then placing it back on the table next to the couch.
"If you wish to talk about it…" Laszlo trailed off, the offer hanging in the air between them.
"I don't," Sara said. "But we were talking about you going to Vienna, so we shouldn't change the subject. The fact that you are thinking of taking this position suggests to me that there is a part of you that wants to go."
"There is," Laszlo confessed to her. "A small part of me…or perhaps not even a small part…believes that there is more beyond the walls of this Institute. When my license was taken from me, I had considered doing something else. I considered if I could do more than this and then the position in Vienna came up. It would offer a new challenge which I feel I have been wanting in my professional life."
"I can understand that completely," Sara said to him, remembering the conversation that she'd had with John. She remembered it clear as day. They both wanted different things and Sara was focused on her career. She wanted her detective agency to be successful. She longed for it more than anything. And so she resonated with Laszlo wanting a new challenge.
"It is simply a thought," Laszlo said with a shrug, but there was a look of longing in his gaze. "And a dream, perhaps."
"But it does not need to be a dream, Laszlo," Sara said to him. "And you do not want to live with thinking 'what if'. You should follow what you want…do what it is you want to do."
"And Elizabeth?" Laszlo asked from her. "We have just reconciled after arguing…days of her shutting me out and not talking to me…I do not know if I can leave her so soon after that. I worry what would happen."
"You know that I would be there for her."
"I know, but I worry that my mind would never settle while I am gone," Laszlo admitted.
"I appreciate that, but Elizabeth…if she did not think that she would be fine then she would not have suggested you go."
"On the contrary, I think that she would put me above her own feelings," Laszlo retorted. "Just as I do her."
"And your devotion to each other is touching," Sara said to Laszlo with a nod of her head, knowing full well how much he cared for her and she cared for him. The two of them, when together, were very much in synch. Sara had seen that first hand. "But, occasionally, you need to consider your own wants too, particularly if you are able to make them come true."
"Maybe," Laszlo said, not entirely certain what it was that he wanted from his life at that moment in time. Well, he knew what it was. He knew what he wanted more than anything, but it was not possible. He wanted to go to Vienna, but he wanted his wife and children with him. He longed for that, but like many things before, he knew that he couldn't always get what he wanted.
"We should focus on the case, however," Laszlo said to her, looking at the boxes containing items from Libby's hideout where she had kept the babes she had taken. Each box contained specific items from each baby along with an image of them and Laszlo felt his blood chill at thinking that Lucy could have been one of those children.
"You know where I am if you want to talk, however," Sara said to him, knowing that he would not make his mind up at that moment in time. He clearly had to discuss this with Elizabeth further.
"Thank you," he said to Sara.
"You're welcome," she responded. "I should return to the office for a little while and check up on the girls there. What will you be doing?"
"I can meet you back at Broadway, but I need to return home for a little while. Doctor Phillips is coming to see Charlotte and we need to begin considering her recovery…nothing too strenuous…but we need to start somewhere."
"Then I shall see you later on."
"You shall."
…
Laszlo had been at home with Elizabeth and Charlotte when the phone call had come in. He had let Doctor Phillips into the house and he had performed a series of tests on Charlotte in her bedroom. He had concerns about her coordination and had prescribed her a number of physical exercises to regain it, including the simple motion of catching a ball. Elizabeth held the small ball in her hands, tossing it from one hand to the other as the Doctor asked her to read from a book and then write down notes.
He suggested that she keep making notes of important things to keep her memory active, telling her that, despite complaints from many children, school would be the best thing for her. Learning and studying would help her, but she might become frustrated occasionally because she might not be able to remember something or do something, but he informed her that it was natural. He promised her that she would be fine.
And then, just as Doctor Phillips was finishing off, Laszlo heard the phone begin to ring. He moved down the steps and answered the call, hearing Sara shouting down the phone and telling him that Byrnes had gone behind their back with Hearst. They had tracked down Libby's daughter, Clara. They had found her and put her on the front page of newspapers to lure Libby out of hiding.
Laszlo explained the situation to his wife after seeing Doctor Phillips out and Elizabeth insisted her go and find the child, knowing that he was concerned as to what could happen to her if she was used for bait.
"You don't need to lie to me," Charlotte said as Elizabeth went up to check on her once Laszlo had left. She cradled Lucy against her chest, holding onto her tightly as she sat on the edge of Charlotte's bed.
Charlotte held onto the quilt in her fingertips, toying with it loosely.
"What do you mean?" Elizabeth wondered from her.
"If I'm not going to get better then you can tell me," Charlotte said and looked to Elizabeth, meeting her eye. Elizabeth said nothing, not wanting to scare her or cause concern. That was the last thing that she wanted to do. "I'm old enough to know."
"That you are," Elizabeth agreed with her, "but you're going to be fine, Charlotte. We can't pretend that it might be difficult…it might be a long journey and there might be times when it is hard, but you're going to be fine."
"You promise?"
"I promise," Elizabeth said to her with a smile on her face. She stood up and bent slightly, kissing her on the forehead, the motion soft and tender as she kept Charlotte in her arms. "Now, what do you want for lunch? I can make you something…I have some soup leftover from dinner last night?"
"Soup sounds good. Can I come downstairs?"
"Just give me a minute to take Lucy downstairs and I will come back up and help you," Elizabeth said to her.
"Alright," she said.
Elizabeth went down the staircase, moving into the parlour and laying Lucy down in her crib before she heard the rattling of the doorknob from the main entrance. Her brow furrowed as she wondered if Laszlo had forgotten his key or was having trouble with the lock. She moved her hand to the drapes by the door and peered her head around the corner, looking to the glass front door, her brows furrowing together. Whoever was stood there, their silhouette was not that of her husband's. Elizabeth took tentative steps towards the door, wondering if it was Marcus. He also had a key considering he was there whenever Laszlo asked him to come and keep an eye on his family. But the outline was not male. It was female.
It was a woman with red hair.
Elizabeth's breath hitched as she continued pulling furiously at the door handle, but it wasn't opening and Elizabeth thanked Laszlo silently for changing the locks and ensuring they were the most secure ones possible.
She rushed back to pick Lucy up into her arms as the woman disappeared from the front door, retreating. Elizabeth wondered if she was leaving, but she wasn't going to take any chances. Rushing up the staircase, she came to Charlotte's bedroom and looked at her sat up in bed, clearly on edge.
"Something's wrong, isn't it?" she asked after hearing Elizabeth's harsh footsteps up to the staircase and the rattling of the front door.
"We need to go," Elizabeth said to her. "Do you think you can stand?"
"I can manage," Charlotte said and Elizabeth managed to hold Lucy in one arm, the baby only gurgling but thankfully not crying. As Charlotte climbed from the bed, Elizabeth took hold of her hand, needing to be quick and not waste any time. She pulled her to the hall again before she heard it.
It was a loud smashing sound and it most definitely came from inside of the house. She froze at the top of the staircase, looking at the sideboard by the front door. The keys to the house were there. She just had to get down, unlock the front door and get out. That was all that she had to do.
"We need to be quick," Elizabeth whispered to Charlotte.
She nodded in response to her and they moved down the steps, Elizabeth's palm sweating inside of Charlotte's as she begged for her not to lose her footing. Taking the steps as quickly as possible, Elizabeth let go of Charlotte's hand to reach for the keys as she heard footsteps from inside of the house getting closer. Her hand shook as she tried to push the key into the front door, but she didn't get a chance to do anything further as a voice sounded from behind them.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Elizabeth slowly turned her head around her shoulder, seeing Libby stood in the doorway to the parlour, a gun in her hand, raised directly at the woman in front of her.
"Libby," Elizabeth gasped her name.
"Where have they taken her?" she demanded from Elizabeth. "He was there…that doctor of yours…he was with my daughter…"
"I don't know," Elizabeth said, shaking her head firmly and reaching for Charlotte's shoulder, pushing the little girl behind her. She bounced Lucy up and down in her arms, trying to keep her calm as she angled her daughter to the side, putting her out of Libby's aim. "Libby, I don't know where they have taken your daughter, I swear to you."
Libby nodded her head, thoughtfully eyeing the woman in front of her. "I believe you," she said. "But you're going to find out where she is."
"I don't-"
"-Call Miss Howard's office and ask them," she interrupted her before she could make excuses as to why she wouldn't do that for her. "And if they do not know then call your husband at his Institute. I don't want excuses. I don't want anything but my daughter!"
Elizabeth recoiled at her harsh tone, but she nodded her head. She would do whatever Libby wanted her to do. She would do that to keep Charlotte and Lucy safe. She was running on adrenaline as she reached for the phone. She kept her gaze on Charlotte for a moment, nodding down to her and silently assuring her that they were going to be fine.
"I'll call the Institute," she said to her. "I'll do it now."
"Good," Libby said firmly to her.
Elizabeth managed to hold Lucy and pick the phone up, bending her knees to crouch and begin to dial. But she had no chance to let the call connect as another voice had entered the room. She dropped the phone to the floor, not bothering with it before turning to look at Libby.
"Drop it."
Marcus was stood behind Libby, his own gun raised in front of him and aimed directly at Libby.
Libby's lips arched at that and Elizabeth wondered if she was going to, simply, go through with her plan. Did she not value her own life? Did she not care?
"I don't think so," Libby retorted. "And I don't think that you would risk me shooting them."
"I wouldn't want to test that theory," Marcus said and Libby turned to look to him as Elizabeth looked down to Charlotte and handed her Lucy, forcing her to stand next to the sideboard and out of Libby's aim.
"Then shoot," Libby challenged him, but Marcus's jaw, so strong and firm, trembled. And Libby knew that he wasn't going to do anything. He didn't have it in him. And so she turned her gun onto him, but before she could do anything, she hadn't seen Elizabeth pick up the umbrella from the coat rack.
Hitting her over the head with it, Marcus took that moment to reach for Libby's wrist, hauling her arm upwards. A shot went off, the bullet hitting the ceiling above as Marcus fought with her, refusing to back down as Elizabeth tried to wrestle the gun from her grip. She prised it from her fingers as it went off again, shooting the bookshelf on the wall.
Finally, Elizabeth got it from Libby's fingers at the same time she kneed Marcus in the groin. He doubled over, his grip relenting on her as she dove forwards, taking his gun from him as he came to the ground. Elizabeth stood in front of him as Libby ran from the parlour and through to the dining room. Aiming at her back, Elizabeth didn't get a chance to fire at her as she was rounding the corner and fleeing the house.
"Don't you dare go after her," Marcus warned her as she tried to calm her breathing and looked to Charlotte and Lucy in the corner, checking that they were safe there.
They were. Charlotte had gone as white as sheet, Lucy now crying in her arms as she tried to calm her and tell her that everything would be fine, bouncing her gently. Collapsing to her knees next to Marcus, she dropped the gun to the floor and reached for him, helping him to sit up as she looked over him, making certain he wasn't wounded.
"Are you alright?" she asked from him.
"Just hoping that I'll be able to still have children one day," he mumbled. "But fine. Did she hurt you or the girls?"
"She didn't get a chance to," Elizabeth assured him. "She was looking for her daughter. She wants to know where she's gone."
"I'll call Sara and tell her that she was here, but you should call Laszlo first. We're not staying here."
Elizabeth nodded. She could agree with him on that. "How did she get in? The back door was locked."
"She broke your kitchen window. Threw a plant pot through it…well…that's how I got in anyway so I assume I just followed her."
Elizabeth nodded. It would be safe to assume he was right on that point. She stood up and offered Marcus her hand. She helped him to his feet and he winced, hand going to adjust his trousers and Elizabeth went back to Charlotte and Lucy, fretting over them and Marcus watched the sight before looking around, wondering just where Libby had gotten to and what her next plan of action was.
…
Sitting in Laszlo's office, Elizabeth looked to Charlotte who was sleeping on the couch underneath the window. Karen was sat in the armchair across from Elizabeth, Lucy in her pram after Elizabeth had fed her and changed her. Night had begun to fall over the city, the lamps in the office burning low after Marcus had insisted on bringing them there, knowing it would be the safest place.
Charlotte was laid underneath Marcus's coat, the young detective having put it around her on the journey over to the Institute. He had held Lucy while Elizabeth helped Charlotte change and, despite her own jacket, she was still shivering. Marcus has picked up on the motion and covered her with the coat before insisting he should leave them alone and check that the Institute was secure.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Karen asked from Elizabeth, both of them nursing a glass of bourbon.
"I'm fine," Elizabeth promised her. "It wasn't us who she wanted. She was just using us to get her daughter…but…it wasn't me who I was scared for."
"Of course," Karen agreed with her on that point, folding one leg over the other. "And Laszlo should be here soon enough. He said that he intends to bring her daughter here for the night to keep her safe."
"Good," Elizabeth said with a nod.
She had failed to get hold of Laszlo at home, but when she had reached the Institute after phoning ahead to check with Karen that they could come, she had said that she would give him the news if she heard from him. And so she did. He had been beside himself with worry, demanding to know if his family were safe. And all Karen could do was offer him reassurances that they were fine. She had no other reassurances to give him.
"The other day…I didn't mean to bring up Vienna like that," Karen suddenly said as Elizabeth tucked her hair behind her ear and folded one leg over the other, the patterned green skirt she wore falling down her legs. Her white, floral patterned blouse was tucked into it and she had managed to push the sleeves up to her elbows.
"It was no issue," she promised Karen. "Besides, I told Laszlo that he should go."
"Oh?" Karen asked.
Elizabeth chuckled despite everything and nodded her head. "Everyone seems shocked when I tell them that," she commented. "But of course he should go. It's an amazing opportunity and I don't want him to miss out. He would be back here in six months and I can cope for that time…I can cope because he will be doing something he loves."
"That's…particularly selfless of you to encourage him to go," Karen said.
"He's given me everything I could ever want," Elizabeth said to Karen. "He's encouraged me…cared for me…and not once has he abandoned me despite my problems. I want to do the same for him. I want him to go and not regret passing up such an opportunity."
"And what has he said?"
"He was adamant that he wasn't intending on going and that he would stay here, but I can sense there is a part of him that wants to go. I told him that, whatever he decides, I'll support him."
"I suspect it will be down to him and what he feels is the right thing to do," Karen said. "But if he did come to Vienna then rest assured I would keep an eye on him for you."
Elizabeth had to confess that the offer would have filled with dread the other day. She would have found another meaning behind Karen's words. And, while the idea of Laszlo with Karen in another city didn't entirely make her comfortable, she knew that she had to remember that this was Laszlo. It was Laszlo and he was hers. And then there was Karen. Karen wasn't malicious, Elizabeth knew that. She also knew that the woman had been nothing but pleasant to her when they had met. And so she trusted her. She had to trust her otherwise the voice in her mind would be back.
"Thank you," Elizabeth said to her.
"Elizabeth, thank God."
The door to the office open quickly and Laszlo's voice entered the room. Elizabeth moved to her feet, seeing Laszlo rushing towards her. She moved around the chair and barely took any steps before Laszlo's arms were wrapped around her, a hand cupping the back of her head as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her face against his shoulder.
"We're fine," she whispered against him before pulling back and he looked her in the eye, his hand moving from her hair to his cheek, holding it softly. "Marcus got to us before she could do anything…and it wasn't us who she wanted."
"Indeed," Laszlo said, knowing that to be the case.
It was then when he turned his head over his shoulder and saw Stevie stood there with Clara, Libby's daughter, in front of him. Laszlo's eyes flickered to his sleeping daughter in her pram and over to Charlotte as well, seeing her laid under a large coat, head on two cushions and sleeping soundly too.
"And they're fine as well," she promised her husband, seeing his gaze dart between the children. "We're all fine."
Laszlo only nodded once, his hand moving to hold onto hers, squeezing it firmly before looking to Clara.
"Clara, this is Doctor Karen Stratton, who I told you about," Laszlo said to the little girl as Karen stood up from her chair, placing her glass down on the table next to her before moving towards the little girl.
"Hello, Clara," Karen said. "Would you like to come with me? We can see about getting you something to eat and I can show you around?"
The little girl didn't say anything, but Karen was placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her back out the room, throwing a knowing look to Laszlo as she passed by and encouraged Stevie to come with her too. The three of them left the office, Stevie shutting the door behind him before Laszlo turned back to his wife and let out the breath he had been holding in, longing to be alone with his wife for a few moments to find out how she was faring.
"Are you sure you're fine?" Laszlo asked from Elizabeth and she nodded her head, promising him that she was. She went to sit down on the small chaise longue, Laszlo sitting next to her and resting a hand on her knee as she folded one leg over the other, angling them towards him as she moved one hand to sit on top of his, the other going to rest on his forearm.
"Surprisingly, yes," Elizabeth said with a nod. "I know that might sound odd, but I was…I knew that it wasn't us who she wanted, not at that moment in time. She only wants her own daughter."
"But she still threatened you."
"And I know that she might have shot me had I not given her the information-"
"-Please do not put that image into my mind, darling," Laszlo encouraged from his wife, his hand squeezing her kneecap as he bowed his head and shook it. "I only want this woman to be found. I want her to be found and I want this nightmare to be over."
"We all do," Elizabeth could agree with him on that fact. "And I don't doubt that you'll find her."
"Nor do I, but I worry what more damage she can do before that time," Laszlo confessed. He shook his head slowly and bowed his head before he felt Elizabeth press a kiss to the side of his temple, letting her lips linger there for a few moments longer than usual. Laszlo turned his head to the side, her lips leaving his skin before he captured them against his own for a few moments, closing his eyes and letting himself enjoy the feeling of her mouth moving against his.
"You'll get her," Elizabeth said. And she was confident of that. Libby was becoming unhinged and she would do everything in her power to find her daughter. And Elizabeth knew what it was like to want your own child. She remembered how she would have done everything to find Lucy had she been taken. She would have turned the world upside down to get her back. And Libby was going to do the same. The only problem was that she would become reckless.
"I know," Laszlo agreed and he kissed her once more. "In the meantime, I think I would feel safer if you were to stay in a hotel again, just until I have the window fixed at home."
"If that's what you wish."
"No arguments?" Laszlo asked, half-expecting her to protest. But she didn't. She didn't have it in her to protest.
"No arguments," she confirmed for him. "Besides, it would put your mind at ease, wouldn't it?"
"It would," he confirmed.
"Then that is a good enough reason," she promised him and kissed him once more. "But perhaps we can simply stay here for this evening? Charlotte is sleeping peacefully and Lucy is content. I only just managed to get her to sleep before you got back."
"If you so wish," Laszlo agreed with her. "In the meantime, have you managed to eat anything?"
"I haven't been entirely hungry," she said to him and Laszlo nodded.
"Understandable," he told her. "But we should try and eat something to keep our strength up. Let me go down to the kitchen and I'll try and see if I can find anything leftover from dinner this evening."
Elizabeth let him go after one final kiss, watching him retreat through the door before she leant back, her head resting over the back of the seat and eyes set on the ceiling above her. She tossed her hair over the back of the seat too, letting her hand run through her curls as she wondered just what it was they were going to find when they did catch Libby.
…
Laszlo moved around the kitchen, knowing that he wouldn't find anything too exciting, no matter how hard he tried. He opened up cupboards in the large space, knowing that the chef he employed at the Institute would be unhappy with his meddling. He found some bread and searched for jam, at the very least knowing how Elizabeth had a sweet spot for the simple delicacy.
"How are you faring, Laszlo?"
He turned his head over his shoulder, looking to Karen as she moved into the space, arms folded over her chest.
"As well as can be," Laszlo confessed. "Although the news of my family being held at gunpoint has, I confess, shaken me."
"I can appreciate that," Karen said to him with a nod of her head. "But your wife is particularly calm."
Laszlo chuckled darkly and nodded. He had to admit that he was worried about finding Elizabeth in a state, but he had been mistaken. She was shaken and worried, of course, but she was relatively calm. It was almost as though she didn't think that Libby had posed her a real threat, which Laszlo found to be particularly interesting. Was it something that she felt as a mother herself? Did she almost understand Libby's position? Laszlo didn't know, but he didn't question it.
"I confess that I was surprised by how calm she was too," Laszlo responded earnestly.
"She's quite the woman," Karen said.
"That she is," Laszlo agreed with her on that front, reaching into the back of a cupboard and finding a bottle of red wine, knowing that the chef hid it for obvious reasons. He took hold of it and pulled it out.
"She told me how she has encouraged you to go to Vienna," Karen confessed, tilting her head to the side and looking over him, wondering what was going on in his mind. What was it that he was thinking?
"I confess, Karen, that I cannot consider going there right now," Laszlo said. "Not after the news of this evening. The idea of leaving her…letting her go…I cannot entertain that notion right now."
"I understand that," Karen promised him. "And I understand that you will not be able to think about it until Libby Hatch is off these streets."
"Even then, I do not know if I can truly think of it," Laszlo confessed and he finally found the pot of jam. Pulling it out, he managed to tuck the bottle of wine under his arm and hold onto the bead wrapped in a towel and the jam. He picked up a knife and looked to Karen with a sad smile. "I should go back to Elizabeth. I promised her that I would bring food back."
"You still have time to think, Laszlo," Karen said to him as he stood before her. "There is no need to make a decision just yet."
Laszlo nodded, agreeing with her on that point. He knew that he had time. He was well aware of that fact. But he just didn't know if his mind would truly change with time. He gave her a final, fleeting smile before leaving the kitchen and moving along the dimly lit corridors back to the office. Elizabeth was sat at his desk in his chair, the phone to hear ear as she spoke. Laszlo placed the food down on the chair she had been sat on earlier and listened into the conversation.
"Yes…of course…Sara…I will tell him…he's here now," she said, looking over to her husband. "I'll let him know right away."
She hung up the call and looked to Laszlo as he moved towards her.
"Libby went to Sara's office this evening," Elizabeth confessed to him. "There was a tousle of some kind and John turned up. He was injured, but nothing serious. Libby's been arrested and taken to the station...Mulberry Street, I think. Sara said she would meet you there."
"I'll find Stevie and go," Laszlo said, knowing that there was no time to waste.
If they had Libby then that meant that they would have to find out where the Vanderbilt baby was. But would she tell them? Laszlo was unsure of the answer to that question, but he knew that they were going to find out. He bid his goodbye to Elizabeth, kissing Charlotte on her forehead and Lucy too. He left, bumping into Marcus and Lucius on his way out.
"Ah, detectives," he said to them. "Elizabeth is still with Lucy and Charlotte in my office. Clara is no doubt in a room by now sleeping. Professor Stratton is also still around."
"We've checked all the windows and doors," Marcus said. "Everything is locked and secured."
"Excellent," Laszlo said. "I have just received word that Libby has been taken into custody and I am going there now, but considering the events of the day and with Clara being here…and Elizabeth with Charlotte and Lucy…well, would you stay?"
"Of course," Marcus answered without missing a beat.
"Thank you," Laszlo said, gratitude clear in his voice. "I will be back as soon as I can."
"We'll keep an eye on things here, Doctor Kreizler," Lucius promised the man.
Laszlo nodded and took off down the corridor after bidding them a final farewell, preparing for the events of the night to be over as soon as possible. They had one final hurdle to overcome: finding the Vanderbilt child as soon as possible.
…
"Humour me."
Elizabeth had found herself with Marcus in the boardroom of the Institute later that night, holding a bottle of wine that was open. She took another swig from the bottle as Marcus walked around the space, remember how this was the place where it had all began. It was in this boardroom where they had worked their first case. Marcus moved towards her, his jacket removed from his shoulders, wearing his grey waistcoat over a white shirt with a red tie against it. He took a drink of the wine from the bottle and Elizabeth watched him wipe his mouth with the back of his hand.
She sat on the table, the lights burning low in the room and the space almost eerie in the dead of the night.
"What do you want me to humour you on?" Elizabeth asked from Marcus.
"If you weren't so hopelessly in love with Doctor Kreizler, would you have said yes to me? That day I asked you for dinner?"
"Really?" Elizabeth asked, taking another drink of the wine and placing the bottle down in the middle of them as Marcus let the back of his thighs hit the table, leaning back against it and folding his arms. Elizabeth held onto the edge of the table and turned to look at him as he shrugged.
"I told you to humour me."
"Fine," Elizabeth said, nodding her head. "If I'm humouring you…then…yes."
"Are you being serious?" he continued to push. "Or are you actually just humouring me?"
Elizabeth laughed at that, but she shook her head at hearing him. "I'm not," she said. "If Laszlo wasn't in the picture then why would I not have said yes? You're funny…pretty charming…and you know you're handsome."
"You think I'm handsome?" he teased her and she nudged him in his side and he chuckled.
"I'm not blind," she said to him.
"I don't know," he teased. "You picked some medium height, dark haired, bearded, brooding doctor over this," he motioned to himself and she rolled her eyes, the smile remaining on her face. She felt almost as though a weight had been lifted to some extent. If the police had Libby then this had to be it. They had caught her. There was nowhere else for her to run to.
"You're right," she joked back with him, tone sarcastic. "How could I have been so blind and naïve?"
"I won't let you dwell on it," he promised, hand going to her arm and they both laughed again before Marcus felt his face fall slightly, a sad smile replacing his carefree one. Elizabeth picked up on it and she moved a hand to his.
"What's brought this on?" she wondered from him and he shrugged his shoulders.
"I guess I just wonder…is this a life I want? The life that you have?" he questioned. "I see how happy you are married to Laszlo and with children, but I don't know if that would make me happy. I don't know if any of that would make me feel fulfilled…and then I see Lucius with Bitsy and I know that he's smitten with her."
"She's a lovely girl," Elizabeth said.
"That she is," Marcus agreed on that point. "And mama would have approved of her much more than some of the girl's I was with. If I had ever brought you home I think she'd have had a fit considering you're not an innocent, nice Jewish girl."
Elizabeth could only imagine. She said nothing and wondered what it was that Marcus was scared of. But then she pieced it together.
"You know, before I married Jacob, I was really close to Sally, my sister," Elizabeth confessed to him. "And before I married Jacob…well…she was only a little girl back then really, but she told me that she was worried. She was worried that I wouldn't be with her as much anymore or want to be with her. I told her that was ridiculous, and it was. I spent as much time as I could with her. She was everything to me."
"But she left, didn't she?"
"I blamed my parents for that," Elizabeth said. "She found some wealthy Englishman who loved her and she left…she left because for so many years my mother had been convinced she was some kind of sexual deviant because at night she found her in bed…well…you know," Elizabeth trailed off and Marcus's eyes widened at hearing her say that. "Anyway, mother wanted her committed…she wanted Laszlo to take her in at one stage because she was convinced she needed to see a doctor. It was ridiculous, of course, and Laszlo told her as much."
Marcus nodded his head. "Is there a reason why you're telling me this?"
"Because, despite the fact that you're single and your brother is taken with Bitsy…he's still your brother. He's your twin," she said to him with a scoff and a shake of her head. "He loves you and you have a much closer relationship than you know. He isn't going to abandon you or leave you alone."
Marcus nodded his head, looking down to the ground for a few moments before he felt Elizabeth move closer to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and he sighed.
"I'm being ridiculous," he said to her and she ran a hand up and down his upper arm. "I know that I'm being ridiculous."
"You're being anything but ridiculous," she promised him. "Have you told him how you feel?"
He scoffed. "He'd think I'm being dramatic. Besides, I'm always the calm and collected one."
"Really? I always had you down as being impulsive," Elizabeth retorted.
"You wound me."
"Oh, I doubt I could do that," she said and pecked him on the cheek before he leant his head onto her shoulder for a moment, enjoying the comfort that she offered him at that moment in time. He found it nice, he could not deny that. He hadn't truly had comfort in many years from a female, just as a friend, wanting nothing more from him.
"Go and talk to him," she said. "It can do no harm, I'm sure."
"Perhaps you're right."
"Often am," she said and reached for the bottle, handing it to him and he took another drink. As he gulped down the red wine, Elizabeth froze at a sudden noise from outside the boardroom.
Marcus heard it too, reaching for the gun inside of his holster.
"It could be Lucius," she said to him.
They had left him sleeping in the office with Charlotte and Lucy, Marcus saying that he wasn't tired and Elizabeth unable to sleep anyway. The two of them had snuck off, grabbing the bottle of wine that Laszlo had left behind and making their way to the boardroom, bumping into Karen on the way who told them that she was going to go back home, content that Clara had settled in as well as she possibly could.
"Just stay here," Marcus encouraged her.
"Not likely," she said and climbed down from the table, Marcus sighing and knowing that she was strong willed. Besides, if someone was in the Institute then she was going to go back to Charlotte and Lucy as soon as she possibly could.
"Stay behind me," he demanded from her and she nodded at that.
He kept an arm stretched out so that she couldn't get by him as they left the boardroom, heading back in the direction of the office. They moved steadily, Marcus keeping his gun raised in case they came across anyone. Once they were by the office, they heard voices and Marcus knew something was amiss.
"Lucius," he hissed his brother's name as he opened the door and saw him on the couch there. "Wake up."
His brother's eyes shot open instantly and Marcus gave him a stern nod.
"Clara," Elizabeth said the child's name.
"I'll go get her," Marcus promised her and dashed off as Lucius put his shoes on and reached for his gun that he had left on the floor next to him. Elizabeth looked to Lucy and Charlotte, knowing that they would be safe in the office. They had to be.
"Stay here," Lucius urged from Elizabeth and she nodded.
She watched him move off and she stood by the door to the office, leaving it ajar so that she could peer out into the corridor, not wanting to ignore what was going on out there. She squinted into the darkness, hearing Lucy and Charlotte's light breaths behind her and she was amazed they hadn't woken yet.
She controlled her breathing as best as she could, wondering where Lucius and Marcus had gotten to. And then she heard it. She couldn't deny what it was and she couldn't stop herself from almost shrieking, covering her mouth to stop the noise from echoing through the room. With shaky legs, she stepped out of the office and cautiously moved in the direction of where the gunshot had come from. Her hands trembled against her side as she came to the corridor near the girl's dormitories that were just across the hallway by the main staircase. And then she saw him.
"My God," Elizabeth gasped and moved over to him, collapsing onto the floor and seeing him laid on his back, his glasses discarded from his face. She reached for him and shook him, looking for a gunshot wound and bleeding. But as her hands ran over his body, she couldn't find anything. There was no bleeding. There was nothing.
"Lucius," she spoke his name. "Lucius, wake up."
She shook him continuously, hand holding onto his shoulder. His eyes fluttered open and Elizabeth sighed in relief. He was alive. He was awake. And then her brows knitted together. She had heard the gunshot. She had heard it loud and clear. And then she heard a gasp of breath.
"Elizabeth."
She turned to look down the hall and she saw Marcus, slouched against the table. His head was lolling forwards and his arms were limp by his sides. She stood up as Lucius sat up, reaching for his glasses. Moving to him, she picked her skirts up by her hands, hauling them above her ankles and running towards him. Kneeling before him, she began fretting, her hands going to his cheeks and picking his head up.
"Look at me," she demanded him.
"Marcus…Marcus…" Lucius gasped his brother's name, finally collapsing next to him.
"Hey!" Elizabeth snapped at him and his eyes shot open and she nodded her head, seeing the wound on his stomach. She looked to Lucius as he began crying, the tears forming in his eyes and his bottom lip quivering. "Don't you dare close your eyes on me, do you understand?"
"Impossible when you're so beautiful," he joked with her and she wondered if he was delusional, but she didn't comment.
"Alright," she said to him in a humouring tone and looked to Lucius. "I need you to take your jacket off and put pressure on the wound," she urged from him.
Lucius nodded, managing to peel his jacket off as Elizabeth helped Marcus get comfortable and force the jacket over his wound.
"Stay here with him and I'll call for help," she said. "It's going to be fine. We'll get him to a hospital."
Nodding his head, Lucius focused on nothing but his brother as Elizabeth ran back to the office, finding the phone and seeing Charlotte stood by the door. She took hold of her shoulder, urging her back into the room.
"It's alright, sweetheart, you're fine," she promised her.
"What's going on?"
"I just need to call an ambulance for Marcus…there's been an accident. Can you look after Lucy for me?"
Charlotte nodded her head as Elizabeth came to the phone, blood covering her fingers and then coating the phone as she realised it had stained Marcus's coat that was still on Charlotte's shoulders. She dialled as quickly as she could, only hoping that she wasn't too late and that Marcus would make it.
...
A/N: So there are going to be 43 chapters to this story - they are now all planned out. However, there might also be an epilogue because I feel that people would quite like to read a happy/satisfying ending to the story which I can do. Hoping you won't be disappointed. In the meantime - let me know what you think!