Take my hand and lead the way
Out of the darkness and into the light of the day
And take me somewhere I'll be safe
Carry my lifeless body away from the pain
'Cause I know what I've been missing
And I know that I should try
But there's hope in this submission
And there's freedom in your eyes
Lizzie breathed in relief when the same policewoman that had helped her mentioned that they had caught George. She wanted to know more about what he had done, and in particular, how William and Fitz had arrived with them.
The latter had hugged her as soon as they had left the motel room, but William had just stayed away from her.
Lizzie did not understand his change of mood. His eyes had been beaming when he found her and he was clearly relieved. But now, he was distant. She remembered when he had explained that he reacted like that when he was angry and she hoped that he would let go of that feeling soon.
The ambulance was ready to take Lizzie to the hospital. As she had mentioned George had used the teaser on her and that she had hit her head with the floor, she needed a check-up. She was afraid she was going to be alone, when William volunteered to go with her. She smiled but he did not see that. She took that as an opportunity to talk with him.
Inside the ambulance, as one of the paramedic was taking her vitals, she said his name. He lifted his head, and she met icy eyes.
"I… ," she stuttered, taken aback by his eyes, "I want to know what happened."
"Not now, Lizzie," he replied.
"But…," she said.
"You'll know eventually, but now, your health is the priority. There is going to be some much that you will have to deal, and you need to be okay."
That part was true. She could only imagine all the consequences of George's actions. But still, she wanted to know how he had found her.
"Thank you," she said.
"For what?," he briskly asked.
"For finding me," she replied.
"Don't thank me," he said and looked away.
She gasped as she was not expecting that answer. She did not understand his reaction, and his coldness hurt. They remained silent for the rest of the ride.
Once they were in the hospital, Lizzie received a very thorough check up. She had an MRI, and everything was normal, and besides the bump on her head and the marks on her wrists, Lizzie did not have other wounds. The doctor suggested some painkillers for her headache, and asked her to come back to the hospital if she felt dizzy or nauseous.
At some point, Brandon and Fitz arrived to the hospital. Lizzie had been waiting for them with William, who, despite having barely spoken to her, had never left her side or had waited outside the examining room.
When the police asked to meet her, Brandon accompanied her, as he was acting as her lawyer. That was when she learnt that George had actually asked William money for her. He had not planned on kidnapping her, but took the opportunity to get more money. But since he did not want to deal with her, he had left her in that motel. Even though, she had made noises, everyone who stayed in that kind of place was used to that and did not find it strange.
Furthermore, she learnt that William, Fitz and Brandon had worked with the police to ensure her release, and that was the reason they had gotten George that quickly.
Lizzie was speechless. She could not believe that they had done all that for her, and yet William refused her gratitude and gave her silence. She was ready to talk with him when the policemen left the room, but before she could do something, a storm of red hair entered and surrounded her.
"Lydia!"
As she had said to Lizzie, Lydia had flown from Miami to San Francisco, after her shooting in that city was done.
When she arrived to the airport and tried to call Lizzie several times and she did not answer, Lydia started to worry. As she knew that Lizzie was staying with Darcy, Lydia called Jane to get Darcy's number from Bing. Lydia tried not to distress her sister and promised to give her news of her sister as soon as possible.
The first number Lydia turned to be Darcy's house and Kate answered. Kate informed Lydia of what had happened to Lizzie, but that she was all right. She gave her the address of the hospital and Lydia did not waste anything to go to her sister.
"Lizzie…" Lydia sobbed as she hugged her sister. Lizzie moaned because her sore arms were being squeezed in the hug.
"Oh my God, I'm sorry," Lydia apologized.
"It's okay, Lydia. It's so good to see you," Lizzie replied and she felt tears on her eyes.
"Are you alright?," she asked, examining her sister.
"Yes, I am little sore and my head hurts only a little, but I'm fine," Lizzie replied.
"Where is that jerk?! I want to kill him with my own hands!"
"Lydia, don't say that, please," Lizzie said, "The police has him now."
"Can you tell me exactly what happened? Kate told me that George kidnapped you, that William and the police found you, and that you were in the hospital."
Lizzie sighed. She did not want to get through the story again, but she knew that her sister had to know. In that moment, William interrupted them, knocking on the door.
"Excuse me, Lizzie, Lydia."
"William," Lizzie said.
"Brandon says that the police doesn't need you any longer today. So we can go now."
"Okay," she replied and rose from the chair.
"Darcy?," Lydia said.
William turned on his heels to face the younger Bennet.
"Yes?"
"Thank you for saving my sister, I'll owe you forever," she said and hugged him.
Lizzie almost laughed at the face of surprise that William made when that happened.
"You don't owe me anything. There is no need to thank me, Lydia," he replied.
"Yes, there is. Thank you," she added, letting him go.
"Are you ready to go?," he asked, and Lizzie nodded.
Fitz and Brandon were waiting outside, and Lydia also hugged them effusively and thanked them for their help.
William did not ask where they wanted to go, and drove them to his house. Kate was of course waiting for them, and also hugged Lizzie, very happy and relieved to know that she was fine and that George could not hurt anyone anymore.
Before she went to her room, Lizzie thanked Brandon and Fitz again. Fitz hugged very softly, and Brandon told her that they would have to meet soon to deal with the hearings and other legal stuff. That made her head hurt again.
"William, as always, I can't thank you enough for everything," Lizzie said, turning to him, and squeezing his arm.
"I already told you, Lizzie, I…" he said, "Just go get some rest."
His voice was as cold as before, and Lizzie's head hurt even more.
After a very long shower, Lizzie finally talked with Lydia about what happened after she received George's email. She was not surprised when her sister took a pillow to punch and muffle her curses.
Lydia was beyond angry when she heard everything that George had done to her sister; and marveled by what William had done to find her.
"What he did was huge," Lydia said, "He definitely is a very good friend."
"I know, but I don't understand why he does not want our gratitude."
"Maybe he's one of those people that do like to get credit for the good things they've done."
"Yes, maybe," Lizzie said. Something had changed in him and did not know what.
"You have to call Jane," Lydia said, "I texted her while you were in the shower, but she wants to talk to you."
"Yes, I'll do that," Lizzie said.
"I'm getting hungry," Lydia added.
"Find Kate, she would be more than happy to feed you," Lizzie replied.
"You should eat too," her said.
"I'm not very hungry at the moment," Lizzie answered. Lydia sighed and left her sister to talk with their other sister.
As Lizzie had said, Kate was very happy to assist Lydia and they talked for a while. She just saw William again when he stepped quickly into the kitchen. And he did not look very well.
When Lydia returned to the bedroom with a tray of food for her sister, she found her asleep. She looked peaceful, and so she left her rest.
The next day, Lizzie decided that William had done enough for her and returned to her apartment, with Lydia. She said good-bye to him and Kate and left. She had to fix other things first before she could focus on the status of their relationship.
She and Lydia cleaned her apartment, and packed everything that had belonged to George. They looked for any more videos or compromising photographs but did not find anything else.
The following weeks, Lizzie had to juggle work and between hearings and meetings with Brandon and Samantha Wright, a colleague of his.
The evidence against George was overwhelming. The police had found copies of the videos in his car, and with the emails he had sent to both Lizzie and William and the recorded conversation, there was no chance that he would be found innocent. Not to make things worst for him, George had pledged guilty, hoping to get a better deal.
She had seen William at work (he had not seemed surprised) and hearings. Even though, she appreciated his presence, she had refrained from saying thanks again to him. He was still distant.
At the end of the last hearing, Samantha told Lizzie that the next hearing would take a while, so Lizzie asked her if she could travel to see her parents. When Samantha nodded, William immediately said that she could take as much time as she needed.
Lizzie accepted the offer and flew to Arizona with Lydia. She needed her family.
Lizzie's parents were surprised to receive Lizzie and Lydia on the same day.
Fran started to ask questions about George, but Lydia distracted her and Lizzie went to one of the guest rooms. Her dad, however, had noticed the distress in her face and went to her.
"Lizzie, can I come in?," he asked outside the room.
Lizzie let him in, and he sat on the bed, next to her.
"Liz, I can sense something is wrong. You know you can tell me anything, right?"
"Yes, Dad, I know. Just give a minute," she replied. She breathed deeply a couple of times and got ready to tell his father all that George had done.
As she had suspected, Thomas got really angry to hear that story. She also explained William's involvement and assured his father that George could not hurt anyone ever again.
"How long are you going to stay with us?"
"William told me to take as much time as I wanted, but I have to go back when the judge requires me to."
"He sounds like a true gentleman. I should thank him but what he did for you," her father said.
"He is, Dad…," Lizzie sighed.
Her father hugged her tightly and they stayed together in the room for a while.
"Are you going to tell your mom?," he finally said.
"Yes, but not all. You know how she gets with her nerves…," Lizzie chuckled.
"Yes, I agree. She just needs to know that you are single again." He knew that his wife was going to pine over the broken engagement, but he did not want to know how she would react to her daughter being kidnapped.
"Lizzie, I love you. And I will always be there for you. If you need me, let me know and I go to you," Thomas added before they joined the rest of the family.
"Thank you, Dad. I love you too," her daughter replied and kissed him on the cheek.
Before dinner, Lizzie and her father talked with Fran and gave her a very brief story about her breakup with George. She could not hide her disappointment, but refrained from saying anything else. Lizzie was surprised but grateful at the same time.
Jane arrived shortly after them, and Charlotte, finally back from her trip abroad, made a quick visit. Being with her family and friends helped her heal and find the strength she would need in the future, but realized that she missed someone.
Help - Hurts
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