"We promise according to our hopes, and perform according to our fears." – Francois duc de la Rochefoucauld

"Mom?"

Charlotte sensed her mother's mind had drifted, even before Detective Matthews' made his swift exit. She followed her line of vision toward an elderly man, who stalked down the corridor of the hospital. He walked with his back to them, but Emily didn't need to visualise his face to be certain. Any self-control she previously harboured, in spite of Charlotte's quiet call, had dissipated and she launched herself in the white-haired man's direction. A hard kick momentarily winded the man in the back and she pinned him against the wall, "It was you, wasn't it?"

Daniel speedily tore his wife away from the complete stranger. "Emily, stop it!"

"He did it, Daniel, he tried to kill our daughter! He murdered your mother, he planted that bomb, and now he tried to murder our daughter," she cried out, as her husband desperately dragged her further and further away from the elderly man, who wore a bewildered expression. "Daniel, he did -" Fresh from the attack, Emily caught a very real glimpse of her victim and froze, in shock. "No, Daniel... it was -"

Her husband pushed her aside, "Stay there." Daniel aided Charlotte, who had started to retrieve the man's wallet and other personal items from the floor, as nearby hospital staff offered him medical assistance. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he softly touched the man's arm, and attempted to explain the situation that had literally bowled him over. "We've been under awful pressure; our daughter has been involved in a hit-and run."

The explanation didn't wash and the husband briskly escaped with his wife. Humiliation engulfed Charlotte, "How dare you? Are you insane?"

Their eldest daughter stormed in another direction, in the hopes of calming down, and Emily shook her head. "Daniel, please listen -"

"Go home, Emily." Daniel instructed his wife.

"Don't do that. Please don't ask me to leave, Daniel," she sobbed, "Not when Sophia needs me."

"Sophia doesn't need you, Emily. She needs surgery." It was Emily's turn to be winded, again, by his blunt correction. "As soon as I hear anything, I'll call you. In the meantime, I think you, Charlotte and I need to put some distance between each other. Sophia will need her family to be whole, when she wakes up, and, if you and Charlotte are forced to stay within a hundred yards of one another for another second, I don't know if there will be a family left over." His hands reeled her in, his voice the softest it had been since the bomb had exploded in their faces, and he kissed her forehead, tenderly. "Go home, please."

"Tell Charlotte I'm sorry."

Emily defeatedly left the hospital, with those four words in her wake, and Daniel retreated in the direction Charlotte had fled. He discovered her tucked away in a corner of the corridor, a cup of coffee between her palms. "Hospital coffee?" He grimaced, but Charlotte shrugged her shoulders; the warmth was all the comfort she needed. Daniel collapsed into the chair opposite her and rested his head in his hands, "I'm sorry about your mom, I understand how angry you are." Charlotte opened her mouth to protest but his eyes pleaded her to hear him. "Ever since you were little, you could never tolerate dishonesty. Of everyone in the world, you would never expect your parents to lie to you and I understand the sense of betrayal you feel because, when I learnt what my parents had done to David Clarke, I could barely look them in the eye. Especially my mother," he admitted. "Even after all she had done, she continued to claim she loved him and I refused to understand how she could betray him." Alarm appeared in Charlotte's eyes and Daniel shook his head, exasperated, "I'm not about to give you a history lesson on the Grayson family because the story's old and tired, but the moral's the same for you and me."

Charlotte pursed her lips, "What would that be, exactly?"

"No matter the facade my mother played out, or the lies she deceived me with, she had always been and always would be my mother. If I could rewind the clock, I would make sure she knew how much I loved her, before she ever stepped foot on that plane." His head dipped, in order to meet Charlotte's lowered eyes, "I'd like to think you would feel the same about your mother, too."

"I don't know if I can," his daughter consciously confessed, "I supported her because I wanted to believe so badly that it didn't change things, that the only difference was her name but Sophia knew better, now so do I. Relationships are about love but they survive because of trust. Mom deceived the people closest to her heart; you, me, Sophia, Jacob, Hannah... how can we possibly explain to them that their mother's someone they used to know?"

"Charlie, I don't have the answers," Daniel sighed, "I can only speak from experience... and regret."

"But your mother didn't purposely deceive you," Charlotte challenged his retrospective. "The only reason she hid the truth was because she felt ashamed."

"You don't think your mother feels ashamed?" Daniel's eyebrow rose, "You know, in your heart of hearts, your mother would never willingly cause you harm. We're a family. No matter how we came to be. She's loved our family from the start, she always has and always will."

Flashback

Upon returning from the city, Daniel discarded his briefcase and immediately aimed for the nursery. In her cot, Sophia wriggled, and wailed in frustration at not being tended to, so much so that the tears streamed down her cheek. "Hey, hey hey... it's okay. Daddy's here."

"She won't stop, Daniel." Emily rocked back and forth in the rocking chair, with tears of her own.

The very second Daniel scooped Sophia into his embrace, her cries softened and he chuckled, "She needed a cuddle from daddy, that's all. You missed me, didn't you, baby?" His voice soothed the infant and he bounced her gently, her cheek rested on his shoulder, "I missed you, too!" Daniel looked toward his wife, "Where's Charlotte?"

"She's in bed, she isn't well. There's a bug at her pre-school." Emily was visibly distracted, as she clutched Sophia's blanket in her hands. "I'm sorry, Daniel, for everything I've put on you." Her emotions exploded and she burst into tears, "Ever since we came home from the hospital, I've been useless. When she cries, I can't stop her and I don't even understand why she cries! I fed her, I checked her diaper, I rocked her... nothing works! All you do is cuddle her and she stops!" Emily became more hysterical than Daniel had ever witnessed her. "Sometimes, I don't think she even likes me."

"Babe, of course she likes you," Daniel disagreed, his eyes sorrowful at her upset. "You're her mom, she loves you!" He returned Sophia to her cot and wrapped his arms around Emily's shoulders, shuffling her away from the nursery. "She needs time to settle, so do you. It's difficult having two children, especially under five's. Charlie needs your attention, so does Sophia, and I'm at work every day."

Emily muttered to herself, "Sometimes, I look her in the eye and it's like... she knows."

Daniel eyed her, humorously, rather than suspiciously. Emily composed herself, anyway. "Baby blues are natural, Em. Why don't you make an appointment -"

"I don't need to speak with a therapist, Daniel," she ranted, at the suggestion her husband had put forward before. "I'm not ill," Emily protested. "I don't need to be taught how to become a mother because I did fine with Charlie and I'll do the same with Sophia! Don't try to pretend I'm incapable!"

"I never said you were," Daniel frowned, defensive.

"Daniel, promise me you won't take them away from me!" Daniel's eyes flared at her irrational plea, "Promise me, no one will ever take our children away. No matter what happens, no matter what anyone ever says... you know I love you, don't you? If I lost anyone of you -"

"You never will," he consoled her, more concerned than ever. "I promise, we'll never be separated."

Flashforward

Daniel reflected on his demand that Emily leave the hospital, for Charlotte's sake; promises are almost always broken.