Peter was on his way to the hospital. He'd immediately booked a flight, packed the essentials and made his way to the airport. He was sitting in the backseat of a taxi, just waiting to get to Lou. He went back to that morning...Georgie's phone call had left Peter rattled. Lou had been hurt. By someone she was seeing? Peter put his head in his hands, and bunched his hair together. He felt the need to protect his wife and daughters, but he couldn't do anything yet.

Almost twenty minutes later, Peter rushed into the room and saw Lou. She was staring out the window, blankly. Her face was bruised and the side of her forehead was bandaged. Seeing her like that broke something in him. Peter hadn't been prepared for this. He couldn't put a name to the way he was feeling, and he didn't know why. She seemed so distant, so lost. He observed the distance between them; a mere few feet. Despite having crossed so many miles to be here in the same room as her, he'd never felt further. He called out her name. "Lou?"

Lou looked over. Peter? A feeling of relief washed over her. A weak smile broke out on her face. "Peter? How did you…?"

"Georgie. It was Georgie. She called me and told me what had happened." Peter paused a moment, then set his bags down and walked forward. He wrapped his arms around Lou, engulfing her smaller frame with his own wider one. "She called and….and told me what'd happened and that I should come over, as soon as possible. So I grabbed the next available flight and here I am."

Lou rested her head on Peter's chest. Scared he'd let go, she grabbed on tighter, shutting her eyes closed.

"Hey...hey, I'm here. I'm not letting go," Peter said as he hugged her tighter. He could feel her shaking and trembling. Maybe it was his imagination, but she seemed weaker than the last time he'd seen her. Peter sighed heavily. "I'm here now, and he can't lay a hand on you."

"Peter, I was so scared…" she cried.

Peter shut his eyes tight. "I know. I know. But you're safe now."

"What if he had...what if something had happened to me…?"

Peter moved back. "Stop. Please don't say-"

A knock on the door interrupted Peter, with Peter still holding Lou's hand.

"Mrs. Morris?" It was the nurse. "Constable Alser is here. He wants to speak with you. Is that okay?"

Lou shifted uncomfortably. "Y-yes. Of course."

"Do I need to leave the room?" Peter asked cautiously.

"No, it's fine that you stay. He'll be along shortly."

"Alright. Thank you." Peter said. He waited for the nurse to step out. He then turned back to Lou. "Lou? Look at me. Who is he? I want to know."

Lou shook her head. "His name is Warren Bennett. He's an awful person. He takes advantage of people's weaknesses. Just look at me. I was at my worst after the separation and he took advantage of that."

Peter moved back. He observed her face. It was tired and broken. His own voice was uneven. "Lou, then why did you-"

"Get with him in the first place? Because, Peter, he seemed like such a nice person in the beginning. He seemed caring and he reminded me of you-I mean...I saw something in him that was familiar….but obviously, I was wrong, and now I've had to pay the price. He makes me feel worthless, like I deserve the pain he's causing me. Like I deserved this."

Peter brought his hands up to Lou's face and held them there. "No," he said sternly. "You deserve to be safe and to be happy."

"Really? Is that why you left me too? Because you thought I'd be happy this way?"

Peter's resolve changed. He tensed up and the creases in his forehead disappeared. He moved away and he quieted a moment. "Lou-"

There was a knock on the door. The officer stepped in. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Morris, how are you feeling?"

"Feeling better, thank you."

"Good to hear. Would you mind if I asked you a couple of questions?"

"Not at all."

"Great. First off, I wanted to ask the name of the man who did this to you. Just procedure."

"His name is Warren Bennett. That was his apartment where the ambulance picked me up from," Lou answered.

Peter looked over at her. A thousand emotions were surging through him. Anger, helplessness, desperation, hatred for the man who had caused all of this, and finally hatred for himself for not being able to do anything.

"Where were you, Mr. Morris, at the time that this happened?"

"I was in Vancouver. I live there; it's where I work."

"Oh?"

"We're separated," Peter explained.

"I see."

Although he'd been living in Vancouver for as long as he could remember. He didn't want to lie in any way. "But I've always lived there….even before our separation. I'd commute back and forth as my job allowed it."

"I see…" he made a quick note on his pad. "So, Lou...Bennett is nowhere to be found. Our team has searched all night. We believe he may have left town. If he hadn't, there would surely be some sign of him still."

Lou nodded. The officer continued.

"We are doing everything in our power to locate him. Our team will not rest until we find him and bring him to justice," the officer promised.

"Thank you, officer. We really appreciate having your team on our side," Peter said.

"Of course. It's our job."

Peter nodded graciously.

"Just one more thing," the officer continued. "Bennett seems to be a very private man. He generally keeps to himself, so we can't really place a finger on where he may be right now. But Mrs. Morris-Lou, if you could think of anything he might've said, someone he might've met, or anything really, please give us a call. It could really aid us in our investigation."

Lou nodded her head. "Of course."

When the officer had left, Lou and Peter were left in silence once more. "Lou?"

Lou looked up to the sound of his voice.

"It was never my intention to hurt you in suggesting the separation. We were just constantly fighting and going at it….did you really think things were going well with us?"

"They weren't, Peter. They weren't. But when have things ever been easy for us? We always fought to make it work. We would always be okay in the end. I wanted to fight for us. I did, but you...you had someone else waiting for you. That's why it was so easy for you to let go of your promises, and our marriage."

Peter said nothing. Lou went on.

"You have no idea how much it hurts when the person you love the most in this world just doesn't love you the same anymore. It makes you feel worthless, like nothing's right in this world. When Georgie ran away...and we came across Sylvia…" Lou laughed dejectedly. "That was my wake up call, Peter. I realized right then that I had no place in your heart, and that you were over me."

"Lou, please."

"No, it's true. And it made me think...had you ever loved me? If it was so easy for you to move on while we were still a family unit, then had there ever been any love for me in your heart?"

"Lou, please stop. Don't say those words, please. Of course I love you! I swear. Sylvia was a mistake!"

"Was I a mistake too?"

Peter moved back. "How could you say that?"

"Well? Was I?"

"Don't, Lou. That's not fair."

Peter just looked at her, and then away. He stood up suddenly and turned back to look at her. "You weren't."

At that, Lou looked up.

Peter continued. "You weren't a mistake, and I still love you. Just because we're not together anymore, that doesn't mean I'll stop. Hell, if you move on with someone else someday-with a man who is good to you and treats you right-even then, I won't stop loving you. I'll love you until the day I die, and even after that." His blue eyes were full of tears, the pain evident in them. "I love you, Lou Fleming," he said, his voice heavy and barely a whisper.

Lou was about to say something when Peter suddenly left the room.

He walked as fast as he could as far away as he could. He exited the hall and found an empty bathroom. He quickly turned on the tap of the sink and splashed his face with water. He saw his eyes were red, his face tired and wet. He looked upon himself with a renewed sense of hatred. This is all your fault. This is your doing, do you hear me? He half-heartedly punched his hand to the wall a few times. "Your fault…" he whispered dejectedly. His tears made their way down his face, his soundless sobs making a racket in his own mind.

There was a lump in his throat and suddenly he found himself out of breath. He breathed in and breathed out. He looked back into the mirror. He found himself staring back at a failure of a man, one who had managed to let his family slip through his fingers. If only he'd tried, just once. If he'd sat her down, and talked about a solution to all their problems, then none of this would've happened.

He leaned forward on the sink. Suddenly he breathed in sharply. He rubbed his face dry and got ready to exit the bathroom.

He made his way back to the room and knocked lightly. He cleared his throat. "Lou, I came to Hudson to see if you were okay. Not to start fighting with you...again." He walked over. "Are you in pain?"

Lou was surprised at the question. "No...no."

"Where did he hurt you?"

Lou looked down. "There's gashes on my abdomen. They performed surgery last night and they've stitched them up."

Peter looked at her, wide eyed. "What? He stabbed you?"

"Peter...I don't know what happened. I was unconscious through most of it. The parts I was awake for were just…I don't really remember too much."

"How much blood did you lose?"

"I don't know, a lot."

"Lou, I'm sorry about all of this."

"Don't. This is all my fault. If I hadn't gone last night, everything would be okay. And Georgie-she's been crazed ever since it happened. She's been so worried and upset, and it's all my fault."

"Hey, none of that, okay? Georgie is fine. Our daughter is strong. And you'll be okay too. I'm here now, and we will get through this together."

"Thanks Peter. Um...could you bring Georgie in to see me today? I sent her away this morning when she came with Ty, and I realize now that was wrong. I need to see her, make sure she's alright. She should be back from school by now; it's already 4:30…" Lou said, looking at the clock. "Please?"

"Yes, I will go pick her up. You stay right here until I get back." He smiled gently at her before picking up his bags and exiting the room.