Leo was staring down at Elizabeth with his arms folded over his chest while she sat on the bench outside ICU in the hospital Leo works and where Sharon is currently admitted. "I am not sorry," She told him – grimly staring back at him. Liam sat beside Elizabeth, looking from Leo to Elizabeth. He might be young, but he knows what it is about. He was there when Elizabeth decided to take the matter into her own hands.

Leo heaved a sigh and glanced at Liam, who sat silently with his head down. He doesn't want to have this conversation with her in front of the child, especially the one that was getting bullied. Leo didn't know Liam was getting bullied at school. The boy never told him. Whenever Leo would ask how things are at school, Liam would always give him a positive response. Only he knew. Leo isn't mad that Elizabeth took a stand for Liam, he just disproves the way she handled it. She could have handled it more maturely rather than calling the kids "rascal, evil rats and useless nutcase who will grow up to live in their parent's basement". She also didn't have to fight the parents that were called by the principal. She could have explained the situation and could have asked them to talk to their children, but instead, she didn't hold back.

The principal of the school reached Leo when he couldn't reach Sharon as he is named as the second emergency contact for Liam. The principal informed him that when one of the parents refused to believe their son could bully Liam, Elizabeth didn't hold back and called the mother "a burden on earth" and a "dumb fuck". When the principal tried to get in the middle, she called him "an irresponsible freak who doesn't pay attention around and just sits in his office and does nothing useful."

Leo is already tired from his shift and deeply concerned about Sharon's health. He doesn't have time to talk to her about it, so he ignored her. He is mad at her. She could have caused more issues for Liam. He expected better from her, but she is too stubborn to realize it. He kneels in front of Liam and gently pushed the hair off his forehead, "Are you tired, Liam?" He asked the boy softly. Liam quickly shook his head. The boy's nose and cheeks were slightly pink and so were his eyes. He must have been crying.

"How is Grandma now? Will she live?" Liam mumbled.

"Grandma will be fine. She is sleeping right now and we can't disturb her. How about you go to the canteen with Elizabeth and get something to eat?" Loe asked Liam softly. Liam looked at Leo and nodded his head. Leo smiled at him and placed a soft kiss on his forehead, before the smile slipped off his lips and he looked at Elizabeth, "Can you take him to the canteen?" He asked her.

Elizabeth realized that Leo was truly mad at her. She slowly nodded her head and opened her mouth to apologize to him and explain to him everything, when Leo got on his feet. "I have to go back on duty. I will see you in an hour, okay?" Leo kept his words to Liam, who glanced at frowning Elizabeth before he looked back at Leo and nodded his head.

Elizabeth watched as Leo walked away. She quickly got on her feet, told Liam to wait for her here for a minute, and rushed after Leo. "Wait, Leo." She quickly rushed in front of him and stopped him from getting into an elevator. "I didn't know you would be so offended, Leo. I am sorry, but you should have seen the way those kids were treating Liam. It broke my heart and you know me – I tend to overact and I guess that's what I did." She spoke softly as she held Leo by his shoulder. There were people and staff around them so, Elizabeth kept her voice low.

Leo heaved a sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at her. He took her hand in his and looked down at them, "Elizabeth, I know you mean well – but it is a bit complicated when it comes to Liam. How about we talk about this when we get home, hmm? Right now, Liam needs us and I don't think it would be appropriate to talk about it in front of him." He softly shrugs.

Elizabeth twisted her mouth and nodded her head, "I understand. So, you are no longer mad at me?" She asked him hopefully.

Leo inwardly chuckled, "No, and I am sorry too. I was being a little too hard on you as well. Thank you for standing up for him," He brought her hands to his mouth and placed a kiss on the back of her hands. "I have been very worried about Sharon and I didn't react the way I should have, but you also need to understand that fighting those kids or their parents and even the principal is not going to help. But, don't worry about them, okay? I will be talking to the principal about this as well. I will not let those kids get away from bullying Liam, I promise." Leo mumbled.

Elizabeth grinned, "That's my boy," She replied and kissed him on the cheek.

Back in New York, Charlie heaved a sigh and sat around the table. She popped a painkiller in her mouth before she gulp it down with water. Her head was hurting. She has been up all night and pretty much spent most of her night in bed weeping. She knows that Marcus didn't sleep well either because of her. She feels bad for disturbing his sleep as well, but she just couldn't control her tears. Charlie never believed she would feel this way, but she is scared to be alone with Kathie. She is scared that one wrong move and Kathie will accept her as the evil of her life and Charlie doesn't want this.

Right now, Kathie was up in her room – playing with Bear who is once again staying with Charlie and Marcus while Silas and Maria are on a trip to Chicago. The two had lied to Marcus and Charlie about some business meeting Silas had there and Maria is just accompanying him, but in reality, they are there for Maria's treatment. Silas didn't have an issue telling everyone, but it was Maria's idea to keep it a secret until their first appointment with Dr. Quinn.

Charlie missed Maria at the moment. She wished her best friend was here – or maybe Franklin was here – but she was all alone. She put her head in her head and fisted her hair in her hand. Marcus had promised to come back early, but Charlie doesn't want anything to affect his work, so she assured him that she was alright, but the truth is – she is not okay.

Charlie closed her eyes and stayed still – the picture of Kathie hating her kept circulating in her mind. Even when she didn't want to, she couldn't help but recall the way Kathie has been around Charlie lately. Just the thought of Kathie being scared of Charlie brought fresh tears to her eyes. She snuffled and squeezed her eyes shut – trying to erase the bad thoughts from her mind.

"Umm," Charlie heard a soft and little voice. She gasped and immediately live her head up. She turned around to see Kathie standing on the last stair with her small purple mug in her hand. She was looking at Charlie, "Can I please have water?" She questioned Charlie in a small voice. It was probably the first time Kathie was directly talking to Charlie after almost a week.

Charlie scrape back the chair and quickly got on her feet. She sniffled and nodded her head before she got into the kitchen. Charlie realized that Kathie had her mug in her hand, so she turned around to see Kathie slowly walking into the kitchen. She was bare feet and was only wearing her shirt over her underwear. Usually, Kathie is dressed by now, but since Marcus is at work and she doesn't want Charlie near her, she is walking around in her nightwear, minus the bottoms that Charlie doesn't know where they went.

"Can I please have your mug?" Charlie asked Kathie, who nodded her head and handed Charlie the mug. Charlie smiled at Kathie, who softly returned it. Today, Charlie was seeing some major improvement in Kathie's behavior towards her. Till last night, she didn't even want to come near Charlie – let alone come to her on her own. When Marcus left for work the day before yesterday, Kathie cried for him and begged him to stay, but she didn't do it today. Charlie filled her mug with water and gave it to Kathie, who mumbled a small thank you before drinking from it.

Charlie saw the opportunity and decided to have a conversation with her daughter. Maybe she will be able to get through her today. Kathie was sipping from her mug, while Charlie sat on the floor beside her. Kathie saw that and paused. She looked into Charlie's red eyes before she resumed drinking water. Once she was done, she handed Charlie the mug back and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Kathie, can you and I talk?" Charlie asked just when Kathie was about to walk away.

Kathie hesitantly looked at Charlie before stiffly nodding her head. It almost looked like she was scared. Charlie smiled. It was true progress. Kathie was finally ready to listen to her mother. Charlie licked her lips and sighed, "I wanted you to know something," She started and looked at Kathie, "Baby, I would die before I intentionally hurt you. What you heard from your friend is not true. I am not a bad person. You are my daughter. I would always love you like one." Charlie explained. She couldn't keep tears off her eyes, "Mama loves you and misses you, Kathie. Believe me, sweetheart, I would never hurt you – ever." She wept. Charlie sniffled, "You are not talking to mama and it is hurting me. Please, come back to me." Charlie inaudibly sobbed.

Kathie's lower lip wobbled as she watches Charlie cry. She held her small hand out for Charlie. Charlie quickly snuffled and looked at her small hands in front of her. Kathie was holding her small finger out, "Promise?" Kathie whispered. She missed her mother as well, but she is just a child – who was scared. Charlie quickly nodded her head and linked her pinky finger with Kathie's, "I promise, baby. I promise." She replied – still sobbing.

Kathie slowly took a step closer to Charlie and with her tiny hands she wiped Charlie's tears, "I am sorry, mama, please don't cry." She spoke in her small voice. It was hard for Charlie to not embrace her daughter, who has been distant for a week. Charlie smashed her lips and held back the sob, before pulling her precious girl to her and embracing her in a big mama hug. For the first time in a week, Kathie hugged her back, softly apologizing to her mother.

In one of the hotels in Chicago, Silas sat in front of his laptop while Ezra and Maria slept. It was a long day for Maria since it was the first appointment she had in years for her treatment. It was a progressive meeting with the doctor. Maria will be starting gait training next week back in New York and her progress there will define her future regarding her walking on her own. Dr. Quinn suggested that Maria will have to be consistent, that she wasn't before, and will have to put in some hard work to be able to get on her own feet.

Silas smiled as he watches Erza's finger around Maria's finger, the two often sleep like this. Silas noticed how determined Maria is this time about her therapy. It was because of Ezra. In Silas's eyes, Maria is already a perfect mother, but she believes she can do better if she gets back on her feet. Silas hopes Maria's determination works for her this time.

He sighed and wrote an email to his colleague regarding some project he has been working on. They will go to Elizabeth and Leo tomorrow before they head back to New York where Maria's physical therapy will officially start. Silas was typing the last line of the email when his phone rang. He glanced at the screen to see it was Marcus. He smiled and answered it.

"Hey," He spoke and got on his feet. He glanced at his wife and son before he stepped out on the terrace. Marcus was silent for a few seconds. Silas immediately knew something was not okay. The smile he had on his lips slipped. The peace he was experiencing a minute ago, vanished. He gulped. "Marcus, what happened?" He asked in all seriousness.

"Silas, I – don't know how to say this," Marcus sounds low.

Silas frowned. His hands curled into a fist, "What happened?" He asked his elder brother impatiently.

Marcus heaved a sigh, "I just received some devastating news," Marcus carefully spoke.

"What is it?" Silas asked.

Once again, there was a pause – but this pause was longer than the last one. Silas was about to snap at his brother so speak when Marcus spoke, "It is about Sean," He replied. Silas hasn't heard from Sean in weeks. He felt his heart falling into his stomach. Silas wondered what did that man do now. Worse scenarios started to take place in his mind. Did he hurt someone? His brother? Charlie? Kathie? Ella?

"What about him?" Silas asked – his voice was slightly shaken. He was trying to embrace whatever news Marcus was about to give to him. Silas expected everything except for what Marcus told him next.

"Sean died," Marcus spoke. "He killed himself this morning." He added.