First of all, I'd love to say a big thanks to everyone who's been reading this story! And I have to apologize, this turned out to be a bit of another slow chapter. But lots of important revelations within all the characters had to take place somewhere...

OOH! I've been hoping that maybe some of you know how to take movie clips from the DVD and put them into Windows Movie Maker. I've been dying to make a few music videos for Sweeney; I've got some perfect songs in mind... If anyone knows and is willing to pass their knowledge onto me, it would be greatly appreciated. XD

Anyways, onto the fourth chapter. :)

Mrs. Lovett, having assured herself Mr. T's parlor was completely spotless, collapsed into her favorite chair in front of the fireplace. The ecstasy that had carried her through her cleaning frenzy was wearing off, and she could now feel how truly exhausted she was. But she didn't want to let herself fall asleep; terrified to discover the nightmares embedded in her subconcious.

In the attempt to ward off the extremely present fatigue settling in over her eyes, she grabbed the book that was sitting at her side, desperately trying to stay awake. Her eyes scanned over the words, but none of them registered in her overtired and overworked mind.

She snapped it shut, almost laughing at herself. She had nearly been killed three times that evening, and here she was, sitting by the fire and reading a book...

And as she sat there, her eyes flickering from shadow to shadow around the room, she began to feel incredibly claustrophobic; as if someone was watching her. She slowly arose to her feet, not wanting to put herself in any more pain. Standing up was so agonizing, but she just couldn't bring herself to stay still…

Gradually, she made her way outside, hoping the wide expanse of the night sky could shake away this feeling that was eating away at her inside. She leaned against a hard, wooden fencepost, not trusting her legs to do their job alone. But as she glanced up at the fog-veiled stars, she realized that even the sky was too small to contain her tragedy. Feeling completely hopeless, she turned to go back inside and up to her bedroom; she really did need to sleep…

However, her ears detected the sound of footsteps in the alley across from her pie shop.

She cautiously walked to the other side of Fleet Street, praying it was just her lightheadedness playing tricks on her. Her own footsteps made slight pattering noises on the cobblestone, intensifying her already rapid pulse. Her heart plunged down into her stomach.

What if someone had seen the Beadle and the Judge go up to Mr. T's... and never come back down? She and Mr. T could easily get away with everything they had done the past couple weeks with a few quick lies, but if someone had witnessed what happened tonight… It would ruin that fateful chance. She swallowed as she pressed herself up against the brick wall of a building, attempting to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. Perhaps it had only been a stray cat that bloody old Mrs. Mooney had missed…

But the noise threateningly arose again from the alleyway; the shuffling sound of footsteps sluggishly approaching her location. It wasn't a man's footsteps, she realized, they were far too light and petite… She poked her head around the corner, eager to catch a glimpse of whomever was disturbing the haunting silence that night produced. The vision of a short and shadowed outline greeted her eyes, as the realization that it was merely a child who had been generating this unease settled over her mind.

A slight twinge of sorrow pierced through her already aching heart. No child should be forced into the grimy alleyways of London, especially at this hour of the evening… She slowly moved toward the child, not wanting him, or her, to be frightened.

"Are you alrigh', dearie?" Mrs. Lovett asked, her voice sweet and syrupy. The child turned around, revealing a dark shock of hair and his dirty, tear-streaked face. Her hand clasped to her mouth, stifling a gasp of intense relief at the fact that she had found her Toby. He was safe, he was alright... She immediately ran closer to him before crouching down to throw her arms around him. She clutched him close to her, and as she ruffled his hair with her fingers she broke down sobbing.

"Oh, son… I've been so worried abou' you," she managed to pronounce above her shaky, irregular breathing. Until that moment that he was safe in her arms, she hadn't honestly realized how worried she truly was about him...

She kissed the side of his head as she drew him away from her torso, surveying his dirty face. Toby looked away from her, as if determined not to accept whatever was coming out of her mouth. Mrs. Lovett drew up her eyebrows in hurt confusion at the boy's behavior.

"Toby, love… please, look a' me. Please, son…" she whispered, pained that he wasn't even looking at her. That was something Mr. T did to her when she spoke, never her Toby…

He wriggled his shoulders out of her grasp and angrily took several steps away from her, looking into her face, with hurt painted over his brown eyes.

"I'm no son o' yours! You been lyin' to me this 'ole time, an'… an' you've been lettin' Mr. T ge' away with murder! No, you... you been 'elpin 'im! You been bakin' people into pies! I's…I's disgusting!" Toby was screaming, trying so hard to show her just how fed up he was. And he was; his first sentence bringing more pain to Mrs. Lovett than she thought possible. It hurt her, to hear him speak this way...

"Mr. T is a bad man, an' I'm not gonna let 'im 'urt you or anybody else ever again!" He paused after he said this, and his lower lip and chin began to quiver as he tried to hold back tears.

"I'm gonna go to the law!" Tears began sliding down his cheek, his voice faltering now. "I s-swear to God in 'eaven… I will," he said before completely breaking down; his attempt to hold strong shattered in an instant. Seeing the boy who Mrs. Lovett had claimed as her own fall apart like that broke her heart. And knowing she was the reason for it killed her.

A pitiful gasp emerged from her own throat to match Toby's as she began to cry right along with him. She again took him into her arms, and they collapsed into one another, both heaving with sorrow.

"You're absolutely righ', love… 'E can be a monster, I know, believe me, I know..." she choked out, her accent much thicker underneath her tears. "Bu' Toby… you 'ave to undehstand… Mr. T's been livin'in 'ell for so long, 'e's been through so much. 'Is mind is so far away from this world, so full 'o' revenge… But… 'e... 'e deserves his vengeance." She wasn't sure anymore if she was saying all this for Toby's sake or for her own. Another sob escaped her throat as she pulled Toby closer to her, clutching the back of his head into her shoulder. She felt as if all her emotions were intensified ten times that evening, hitting her like a sack of bricks every time she thought about practically anything…

"I know 'e's been through some dreadful things, mum, bu'… Why do you 'elp 'im? He hurts you mum, I know where you got those bruises on your neck there…" Toby asked her, his voice timid as his crying began to cease. Mrs. Lovett closed her eyes at his words, knowing she was going to hate herself for answering him honestly. She drew Toby away from her, her hands still firmly grasping his shoulders.

"Because I love him," she whispered, her voice trembling with the trueness of the statement. "I know you can't undehstand why… I can't undehstand it meself anymo'. An' you're righ', love, 'e 'urt me somethin' dreadful tonigh'… Bu' it won't be 'appening anymo'. Especially if I've go' you 'round to protect, me, eh?" She was trying so hard to convince him that everything was alright, she drew up her lips into a quivering smile; mildly comforted by the fact that things really would be different from now on.

"Bu' Toby, son… you've got to promise me something. Can you do that, love?" Mrs. Lovett asked. She needed to make sure he wouldn't go running off to the law, like he said… it would spell out certain death for the lot of them…

Toby nodded, and she could practically feel his innocence radiating from his eyes. "Anythin' fo' you, mum. Bu' for you, I'd be back in the workhouse…" he mumbled, gazing down at the ground, plagued with horrid memories of that place. Mrs. Lovett placed one hand underneath his chin, bringing his gaze back up to meet her own.

"Swear to me tha' you won' tell a soul abou' wot me and Mr. T 'ave been up to." Toby opened his mouth to protest. "If you do, we're both dead!" Mrs. Lovett said, raising her voice to silence the boy; praying to persuade him. Her voice was more stern, more serious as she spoke to him than it ever had been before. This had to work...

But could she defy death's clutches yet again that evening?

After what seemed to be a silent eternity, Toby looked up to meet her demanding eyes. "Alrigh', mum. I'll do it fo' you, an' only you. I swear to you tha'… I won' tell a soul abou' anythin'. An' don' you worry, mum, I'll make sure that nothin', no' even Mr. T will harm you. I swear it." Toby said, with a sense of solemnity that was far beyond his years. Mrs. Lovett voiced her relief with a large sigh.

"Tha's a good lad," she whispered, kissing his dirty forehead. "Why don't we press on home an' get you cleaned up. You look a fright," she said, almost giggling at how filthy the poor boy was. Toby smiled, and Mrs. Lovett took his hand as they walked together back to the pie shop.

Sweeney Todd was pacing back and forth in his astonishingly clean barber shop. The last time he had been up here, everything had been covered in Judge Turpin's blood, including himself...

He paused for a moment, recalling the life slowly draining from the Judge's face. Sweeney closed his eyes and deeply inhaled, reliving the very moment he had been reborn to experience. He slowly lifted his eyelids, the sight of the spotlessly clean room greeting them again.

Bloody, insufferable woman. He kicked the chair sitting in the center of the room at the mere thought of Mrs. Lovett. Had she really thought he was just going to leave all the blood there, as if it were decoration more suited to his tastes? She was so… so... he didn't even know what to think of her anymore.

He sat down in the chair, ignoring the dull throbbing sensation in his foot. He tipped his head back, his mind swimming with all that had happened because of Mrs. Lovett's lie. He had been reunited with his Lucy in death; in that moment he had swiftly sliced his razor through her neck. But… had Mrs. Lovett truly lied to him?

Lucy had obviously taken a poison that pushed her over that delicate line into insanity. The Lucy that Benjamin Barker had so dearly loved had, indeed, been dead for fifteen years. And… and even if she hadn't taken that poison, remained as beautiful, virtuous and loving as he remembered; even if she hadn't abandoned Johanna… His hands clenched into fists at the thought that she had left their child to the terrible fate of fifteen years with the Judge.

What would Lucy think of Sweeney Todd? She had been such a lady, always proper, and... he knew she would have seen Sweeney for the monster he was. She would never love somebody like that. He had become the kind of person she would have despised; avoided in the streets…

No. Mrs. Lovett hadn't lied, he had know that before...

Both Lucy and Benjamin Barker had been dead for years. And now, with the Judge dead and gone, they could both finally rest in peace. And Sweeney Todd could finally stop dwelling on someone else's past.

Despite his efforts to restrain his wandering mind, his thoughts drifted back to Mrs. Lovett. Nellie Lovett, though he felt her name really didn't suit her at all… He didn't understand how one tiny woman could be so damn infuriating! Always chattering away when she was with him, trying to cross the gaping void his silences offered her. She was constantly bringing him trays of food, constantly telling him to get some sleep… It drove him mad, her driving concern for his well-being.

And why the hell did she care for him so much? He knew he was nothing but rude towards her, he was downright violent with her sometimes… Not only did it show her who held the upper hand between them, it made him feel... powerful to feel her thin, porcelain neck trembling underneath his glistening razor. Yet she still toiled away, night into day and day into night in that bakehouse, grinding up his victims to be served to her customers. She still washed all his shirts, washed away all the blood… But why did she do it?

He arose to his feet, walking over to stare into the dark, unforgiving nighttime streets of London. Suddenly, he noticed shadows flickering on the brick wall across the street. He remained at the window, transfixed. If anyone had seen what had happened that night, he was done for… But two figures emerged from the shadowy alley, and he immediately recognized them to be Mrs. Lovett and Toby, useless boy… But his dark, sinister eyes followed her figure, drinking in her features even from a distance.

He spun swiftly around, switching his back towards the window. The realization that his sole purpose in life had been accomplished slapped him across the face. And now what did he have to live for? It wasn't like he could leave this place, he had nowhere else to run to… Yes, he would have to remain here... with Mrs. Lovett. He could still run his barber shop, and he supposed he could feel his razor slice effortlessly through a deserving throat every now and then, but…

His mind flashed to earlier that evening, when he had removed her corset to reveal the womanly curves that lay beneath. Her fair, snowy skin had temporarily blinded him, and the thought sent his mind quickly back into the moments he was living now. It had been far too long since he had caressed the soft, smooth skin of a woman; too long since he had had an outlet for his pent up lust… Fifteen years, in fact...

And he was astonished it hadn't occurred to him earlier. Here was a woman, hopelessly devoted to him and obviously willing… How couldn't she be, running around in those ridiculously revealing dresses all the time… While it wasn't a purpose to live, he knew, this could keep him occupied for now. Maybe this could help him stop constantly toiling away about his past...

His pale lips formed a half smile as he threw open the door to his shop and descended the stairs to reach her pie shop. No, Mrs. Nellie Lovett had nowhere to run this time…

So, a lot of this was just the inner-ramblings of Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney, but again, keep in mind just how much has happened to these two in the last three hours or so... I'd want to just slow down and think too. :P

Also, as you can tell from where I left off, there's obviously going to be more "action-y" stuff straight ahead.
What I did with Sweeney scares me slightly in this chapter; I can't decide if it's OOC or not... Reviews always help me to figure that kind of thing out!

And I'm sure if you do, there's another free pie in it for ya... :)