Will's POV

I woke up to the sight of a nurse examining me and I blinked my eyes a few times.

"Good morning," the nurse said with a smile I was getting used to. It was one of those well-rehearsed smiles nurses use to make someone like me feel happy about waking up.

"What's so good about it?" I grumbled. It felt like one of the oxygen prongs had slid out of my nose. She must have noticed as the nurse carefully pushed the oxygen prong back up my nose then she wrote the information in the medical chart sitting on the small table near the bed.

"I'll be right back with your breakfast."

"Oh yay. More baby food."

"I see it's going to be one of those days," I heard her whispering as she left the room and she was right. I didn't want to do anything besides going back to sleep.

That was because all you kept thinking about was what Lily told you.

I knew she hadn't been going to private school. I had received the letter from her headmaster informing me she was no longer a student. He told me he was sad to lose her. She was well-behaved. Her teachers liked her. Her grades were excellent. She also was well-liked in her dorm.

Why didn't you confront Tanya about it?

I didn't want to.

So, you left Lily to live her life in misery.

Sighing, I looked at the ceiling when I heard someone entering the room and I glanced at the nurse. I could see the usual glass of juice with a plastic straw in the glass, the bowl of baby food and a small plastic cup with my morning medications inside on the plastic tray in her hands. She placed the plastic tray on the small table near the bed and she picked up the small plastic cup with my morning medications inside.

"Open up," she said with a tone which made me feel like I was a child and I pressed my lips into a thin line. "Please?"

I took my morning medications then I let her feed me, but my mind kept going back to Lily. I wonder if she's still with Louisa or had she run off. How did she really afford a bus ticket and a cab with only Christmas and birthday money. Were things really that bad at home or was Tanya using Lily to get more money out of me or my family.

"Are you done?" the nurse asked and I looked at her.

"Yes," I told her and she picked the plastic tray off the small table after she had written the information in the medical chart. She left the room as I went back to looking at the ceiling and I blinked my eyes a few times.

"You look like you're in a mood," came from the doorway as I moved my eyes and Maeve stood in the doorway. I looked away. I heard her moving to the bed and I looked up at her. "Rough night?"

"I have a lot on my mind," I told her.

"Does it have to do with your daughter?"

"Yes."

"I take it she's from a previous relationship."

"Yes."

"How old is she?"

"She is thirteen."

"Which means you were twenty when she was born?"

"Yes."

"Did you love her mother?"

"No."

"But you do care about your daughter."

"Yes."

"She doesn't live with you or she would have been here ever since your accident."

"No offense, but you sound more like a detective or a solicitor then a doctor," I told her and she smiled.

"Let's just say I am very observant."

"Did you get the test results back?"

"Yes."

"Did you find anything?"

"Yes. You were right. There was nothing wrong with you after you zoned out when your wife, son and daughter were here."

"Told you I was just thinking," I grumbled and she nodded.

"I do have some good news. You're going to be moved to a private room in the Men's Ward."

"When?"

"Some time this afternoon," she said as she looked at the keypad in her hands. "And you're going to be taken off oxygen."

"Finally!" I said with an eyeroll and she laughed.

"But that won't happen unless you cheer up."

"I am cheery."

"You are as cheery as my granddad before his morning coffee."

"I wouldn't mind having some coffee."

"No."

"Spoilsport," I said with a tiny grin.

"There. That's much better."

"Did you call my wife and tell her I'm being moved to a private room?"

"I will shortly."

"You'll have to call my parents as well."

"Yes, Sire," she teased and I smiled.

"You're dismissed," I teased back and I barely use my fingers to shoo her away. She shook her head as she laughed then she left the room. I looked up at the ceiling again and I admit I felt a little better.

A short time after lunch, I was moved down to the Men's Ward and the room was nice. It had three large windows for me to look out of and to allow more light into the room. There was a television bolted to a stand on the wall across from the bed, a wardrobe, some chairs and one of those night couches in case Louisa wanted to spend the night. The night table was next to the bed and there were some paintings on the walls.

"What do you think?" Louisa asked as she carefully moved the pillows under my head then placed Stevie's teddy near my right shoulder.

"It's nice," I told her and her mother placed my toiletries in the small bathroom. "Though I don't know why I need a bathroom."

"I think it's so the doctors or nurses can wash up after they examine you. Or get water for your bed baths," Josie said as she walked out of the bathroom.

"Looks like you have a nice view," Lily said while holding Stevie in her arms.

"It's better than looking at four walls all day." I told her and Lily walked to the bed. She carefully placed Stevie on my stomach as he looked at me and I smiled. "Hey, Buddy."

"Did you eat your lunch?" Josie asked.

"Yes."

"How are you going to watch the telly?" Lily asked as she looked at the television.

"See that little box under my right hand?" I asked and she looked at the small, black box under my right hand. "That is the remote control. The nurse told me all I have to do is tap the button with my fingers."

I had practiced using the remote control and I tapped the power button with my right index finger. The television clicked on and my eyes widened from seeing some sort of surgery on the screen.

"Ewwww…," Lily said and I tapped the power button to turn off the television.

"This is the nurse call button," I explained and Louisa looked at the small box under my left hand.

"Did Maeve tell you about the tests from yesterday?" Louisa asked me just as Stevie flopped down onto my chest and stomach. "Oh!"

"It's ok," I said and she carefully adjusted his position on my chest and stomach. It had hurt a little when he flopped down on me, but the pain soon faded. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, but my arms just laid on the mattress and I sighed.

"Would it hurt if I moved your arms?" Lily asked and I looked at her.

"Let's find out," I told her and she carefully slid my right arm to my side then she lightly moved my right arm up. It did hurt, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle and she placed my right hand on Stevie's back. I could hardly feel his back under my hand and it felt nice holding onto him even with Lily holding onto my arm. Then it started to hurt. "Uh…"

"Hold on," Lily said and she carefully moved my arm back to its original position.

"Maeve confirmed I was just thinking when I zoned out," I explained and Louisa smiled then she kissed me.

"I am so glad you're alright," Josie said.

I knew they were not trying to talk about what was going on with Lily. Stevie tried to sit up and Louisa helped him sit up as I looked at Lily.

"I need to know something. How did you afford a bus ticket and a cab on your Christmas money and birthday money?" I asked Lily and a look a fear appeared in her eyes.

"You're going to get really angry if I tell you," Lily finally said.

"I'm getting really angry now."

"Ok," she said with a sigh. "I might have had to take some of the food money, some money out of Francis' wallet and some money from Mum's purse."

"Why would you have to do that?"

"Because Mum never gives me money. I don't even have an allowance."

"You don't!?"

"Nope."

I closed my eyes as I tried to calm down as well as take in what Lily said.

My daughter has to steal in order to have money?

What was Tanya doing with the money my father and I gave her?

I needed answers and I….

"Will?" Louisa asked and I opened one eye to look at her.

"I'm thinking," I said then closed my eye. I opened my eyes a few seconds later then I looked at the ceiling while I tried to figure out what to say.

"Lady and Sir weren't happy when I told them what was going on at home," Lily said and I looked at her.

"When did you do that?" I asked.

"They were at the flat when we came back from the hospital the day you zoned out on us," Louisa explained and I moved my eyes to look at her.

'What did they do after they found out?"

"Your father went into your den for a few hours. Then your mother went in the den."

"After I told her about me going to school with dirty hair or not being able to shower and bringing a toothbrush and toothpaste to school so I could brush my teeth in the loo," Lily said.

"Why couldn't you do that at home?" I asked.

"Someone was always in the bathroom. We only have two big ones and that little one downstairs."

"Then there were the rows," Josie reminded her and Lily nodded.

"Rows?" I asked.

"We would have screaming matches. Neighbors called the police a few times," Lily explained then she paused. "Child Services came to the house. Mum and Francis talked their way out of it by convincing them nothing was wrong."

I closed my eyes again. I had to calm down. I cleared my head as I focused on my breathing and I felt Louisa carding my hair. I opened my eyes a few seconds later and I looked up at her.

"What happened next?" I asked.

"Your parents came out of the den," Louisa said.

"They looked really angry," Josie said.

"I'm not surprised," I grumbled.

"What do you think they did?" Louisa asked.

"Knowing my father? He contacted his solicitor."

"Even that late at night?" she asked and I nodded.

"What would his solicitor tell him to do?" Josie asked.

"He'll tell Father to stop sending Tanya money, have her investigated and, maybe, have her arrested," I told her.

"He can do that?" Lily asked.

"Yes. And he can have Francis arrested as well."

"What about the brats?"

"They'll be taken by Child Services."

"What about Lily?" Louisa asked.

"I'm sure Mother will make sure she stays with us. Or with them. Seeing how I'm…."

Louisa knew what I wasn't saying as she moved her fingers through my hair and I sighed.

"I'm sure you'll be able to take care of Lily," Josie said.

"Unless I'm forced to go back home," Lily said. Lily headed for the doorway and Louisa walked to her. She placed her arms around Lily and I felt a little jealous.

"Have you talked to my parents today?" I asked and Louisa turned to look at me.

"I called their hotel room. Georgina told me your parents left early this morning," Louisa said.

"They must have gone to see Father's solicitor," I said as Stevie yawned and rubbed his eyes with his tiny knuckles. "Looks like someone's ready for a kip."

"You or Stevie?" Louisa said with a grin.

"I think both."

"Then we best be going," Josie said as she walked to the bed and lifted Stevie off my stomach. I watched them head for Louisa and Lily and Louisa took Stevie in her arms. Josie walked back to the bed when she moved the blankets up to my shoulders then she leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Close your eyes and get some sleep."

"Ok," I said and she arched an eyebrow. "Ok, Mum."

She smiled then walked back to Louisa and they left the room. I looked at the ceiling for a while then closed my eyes and I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up some time later to find Father sitting in the chair next to the bed. He looked tired, but also a little angry. He had his head slightly bent downward and his hands were in his lap. I glanced around with my eyes to see if Mother or Georgina were there, but he was the only one in the room besides me.

"Father," I said with a slight croak in my voice and he lifted his head. He stood and walked to the bed. He couldn't look me in the eye. He just looked at my body. I watched his face and his eyes and he sighed.

"This is all my fault," he said, softly.

"How is it your fault? You weren't the one who hit me with a motorcycle."

"I was talking about Tanya. Why did you even get involved with her?"

"Well… To be honest? It was for the sex. You do know I only had three girlfriends before her. The first two were what Mother would call puppy love. Nothing really special. She's right. The girlfriend I had before Tanya? Katie? She broke up with me because I didn't want to get serious."

"We were wondering if you would ever settle down."

"I always thought I would end up one of those eternal bachelors. Most of the men at the agency were. I didn't mind going from one affair to another. Then… Then I met this adorable, slightly stoned, slightly drunk woman at the center of the hedge maze at the castle. She was unlike any women I've ever known. She snuck into my heart and mind and set up house."

"I can understand that. Louisa is special."

"Do you have any idea how hard it was not to say her name while having sex? I accidentally did that a few times."

"I have done that. Your mother never thought it was funny."

I knew my father has had affairs during their marriage. It was the other reason why I decided not to get married.

"Going back to Tanya. I thought I had done the right thing by letting her raise Lily while I stayed in the background. I saw Lily once a month. Took her on holidays. Bought her birthday presents and Christmas presents. Sent her to a good school. I did go to her pageants she was in at school. How could I have been so wrong?"

"Tanya has all of us fooled."

"And Lily is paying the price," I said then half-closed my eyes. "No wonder I'm being punished."

"What are you talking about?"

"This."

"Are you talking about your being paralyzed from the upper chest down?"

"Yes. This is my punishment for being not being a nice person."

"No. Do not think for one second thing this is all on you."

"Then explain why it happened? Why have I been torn away from the life I loved to live like this?"

"William…"

"I can't do anything! I just lay here while you and Mother deal with Tanya! She is my responsibility!"

"William. Please…"

"I'm beginning to think it would have been better if I had died."

"That will be enough."

We became quiet as I watched him pace and he kept shaking his head from time to time. He finally stopped pacing as he placed his hands on the edge of the bed and we locked eyes.

"I may have messed up my family life, but I will not allow that…that…that bitch to ruin yours. It is true that you cannot move from the upper chest down, but that doesn't give her the right to take advantage of it. You still have money. You still have somewhere to live. And you have people to help you."

"Are…? Are you being serious?"

"Yes."

"Do you consider Lily your granddaughter?"

He didn't answer.

"And you're doing this for her benefit as well for mine?"

He stayed silent.

I tried to figure out what to say next then I remembered Lily stealing money to buy a bus ticket and hire a cab.

"Does…? Does Lily still have a savings account? That was one of the main clauses in the contract Tanya signed shortly after Lily was born," I said and I noticed the cold look in Father's eyes.

"That was the first thing I checked. It appears she does, but it doesn't have a lot of money in it. I then checked and it appears Tanya and her husband have opened saving accounts for their other children. My accounts did a quick check and the money in those accounts equal the money which should be in Lily's account."

I closed my eyes. I had to calm down. I tried to control my breathing and I opened my eyes a few seconds later. I noticed Father was gone, but he returned with a nurse. The nurse examined me as I looked at the ceiling then she wrote the information in the medical chart.

"Please don't upset him any further," she said to Father then she left the room. He walked to the bed and I glanced at him.

"As I told you earlier. This is all my fault. I should have let Tanya place Lily up for adoption," he said with a deep sigh.

"How do we know she wouldn't have gotten adopted by a family who was worse than Tanya?" I asked. He stayed silent for a few seconds then he shook his head.

"I need you to understand one thing. Your mother and I will do everything in our power to make her pay," he said then he turned and he headed for the doorway. I saw Lily standing near the doorway and he looked at her. "How did you get here?"

"Louisa brought me. She's in the waiting room," Lily said and he nodded. He walked by her as she walked in the room and she headed for the bed. She slid my left hand into her hands and I looked up at her.

"You heard what we were talking about?" I asked and she nodded.

"Sorry," she said with a sigh.

"I keep telling you this isn't on you. It's on me."

"No. It's on her. She's the one doing this."

"Do you want to know something? I remember every birthday and Christmas present I sent you."

"You do?"

"Let me tell you this. The last time I went into a toy store, I was a kid. But I wanted to find something special for your first birthday. The salesgirl must had noticed how lost I was and she helped me pick out this toy cat. It had pink plush fur and this goofy smile."

"You're describing Missy Pinkie Pants. She belongs to one of the brats."

"What about the other plush animals I sent you for your second, third, fourth and fifth birthdays?"

"Do you remember what they were?"

"Yes. There was a blue elephant, a brown monkey with a curly tail, a white dog with floppy, black ears and a gray dolphin."

"Nutty, Nanas, Floppy and Squirt."

"They belonged to your siblings?"

"Yeah."

"What about the bicycles I sent for your sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth birthdays?" I asked, but I figured out the answer.

"Was one of them a purple bike with white tassels?"

"Yes."

"The brats got them."

"They were girls' bicycles."

"Mum told the brats she only could afford girls' bikes."

"Tell me you got the blue silk pajamas with white lilies on them that I bought back from Japan for your eleventh birthday."

"Did it come with blue silk slippers?" she asked and I barely nodded my head. "Yeah. I did. But one of the brats got angry at me and they used scissors to cut it into pieces and they tried to flush the slippers down the loo. Mum didn't even give a shit when I told her."

I looked at the ceiling then closed my eyes and tried to calm down. When I opened my eyes, she was looking at our hands and I lightly moved my fingers to make her look at me.

"Sorry," she said with a sigh.

"Did you get the gold chain with snowflake charms on it for your twelfth birthday?" I asked.

"Uh…. That's Mum's necklace."

"No. It's yours."

I noticed she didn't want to talk about the necklace and I slightly moved my fingers.

"What about your last birthday? Tell me you got the music box. It was made of a dark wood with a mirror on the lid. Etched on the mirror, in German, was 'Daddy will always love you, My Little Pixie'. When you open the lid, these little pixies would dance around in circles after you wound up the music player. The key was at the back and there were flowers etched in the wood."

"I think that's in the cabinet where Mum keeps the good dishes. Francis told us it belonged to one of his grandmothers and we were never supposed to touch it," she said then she paused. I noticed she had the same look I had when I was thinking and anger appeared in her eyes. "Shit. Now that I think about it? It wasn't in there until after my birthday."

"Will you do me a favor?" I asked after a few seconds and she nodded her head. "I want you to go tell Sir what you told me and have Louisa come in here."

"Ok," she said then she kissed my cheek before leaving the room. I closed my eyes as I tried to calm down, but the anger was growing stronger by the second.

"Will?" made me open my eyes and Louisa quickly walked to the bed. "Are you ok?"

"No. I feel like screaming," I told her and she started carding the top of my hair.

"What's going on?"

"Let me ask you this. Do you remember what I bought Lily for her eleventh birthday?"

"Yes. You had gone to Japan on business. You bought her a pair of blue silk pajamas with white lilies on them and silk slippers. You also bought a bigger pair of pajamas for me."

"Turns out one of her siblings got angry and they cut the pajamas into pieces and they tried to flush the slippers down the loo," I said then I told her about Tanya giving Lily's step-siblings the other presents I sent her.

"What about the gold chain with those diamond chip snowflake charms?"

"Tanya took that for herself."

"She what?!"

"She took it. I have a feeling she either lost it or sold it. And Francis told Lily the music box I brought back from Germany belonged to one of his grandmothers and she wasn't supposed to touch it."

"Do you think she even gave Lily's step-siblings the Christmas presents you sent her?"

"Yes, Clark. I believe she did."

Her eyebrows were doing a little dance on her forehead as she thought about what I told her and she snorted a breath of air.

"That… That…. That….," she said then she growled. She started pacing the room, looked at me a few times, looked away then she shook her head. "No."

"No what?" I asked and she placed her hands on her hips.

"You are not blaming yourself for this."

"How can I not blame myself!? If I had done what Father wanted…"

"You would have ended up in a loveless marriage. She would have bled you dry, financially. You would have been miserable."

"Then what should I do? Just lie here and do nothing?"

"Yes. That's is exactly what you're going to do," she said as she walked back to the bed, pushed the button to raise the head of the bed until I was sitting up comfortably then she sat next to me. She carded my hair while I looked at the wall and I sighed.