Hatter tried not to let the surprise show on his face.
Pregnant????
He didn't know what to say to comfort the once strong woman. Since he had no words, he did what he thought was the only thing he could do in this situation-he wrapped his arms around Harley and let her cry into his shoulder.
A thought occurred to him as he comforted her and as soon as he felt her tears subsiding, he pulled back gently.
"Harley...the father...it is..."
Harley nodded sadly. "Floyd....he was so excited." She said choking back another sob. "Ya know, he wasn't a great man; most people thought he wasn't even a good man but nobody could deny he was a good father. He loved his daughter more than anything and he was going to love our child with just as much passion."
Harley put a hand over her stomach. "But now he is dead and J is the one who did it." She looked up at Hatter with a mix of sadness and anger in her eyes. "But ya know what's worse than that? I don't even know how my baby is doing. If he is even still alive. The way J punished me after he got me back; I don't know if any baby could survive that. And this little berry, he's so fragile, weak. I am only 8 weeks along."
Hatter watched her lean back on the pillow, her eyes closed. "I can't see a doctor to check because I can't tell J. I...I...I just don't know what to do next, Hatter." She opened her eyes and looked at Hatter, hopelessness radiating from her face.
Hatter felt his heart break for the second time today. The women in this house; they were going to be the death of him. He knew he was going to die of a broken heart and guilt. A broken heart from seeing their pain and guilt from knowing it was men who were doing this to them. Men like J and Dig just played sick and twisted games with women's hearts.
He sighed and ran his hand through his curly blonde hair. "I will help you, Harley. I don't know how at this point, but I promise you I will."
Harley nodded, appreciating he boy's kind words but it was useless; she couldn't even begin to hope for a good outcome. Most likely both her and the baby would end up dead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lisbeth opened her eyes and was disappointed to see the other side of the bed was cold and J was long gone. She sat up slowly, noticing Jonny standing in the corner, gazing out the window.
"Hi Jonny." She said quietly as he turned around with a small smile.
"Hello my lady; how are you feeling?"
"I am okay, just a little sore." She looked around the room once more. "Where's J?"
"He needed some alone time. He is resting in his room."
Lisbeth's eyes narrowed. "Is he okay?"
Jonny walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it. "He'll be fine; just an episode with the voices."
Lisbeth sat up straighter when she heard this. "He needs me then. I can help him." She started to throw the comforter off when she felt a strong, but gentle hand, gripping her arm.
"I can't let you do that." Jonny said shaking his head.
Lisbeth gave him a surprised look. "What? Why not?"
Jonny sighed, keeping his grip on her arm. "My brother loves you; adores you and to him that means he must give in to your every fancy and whim, even when you are lacking common sense, my lady, and get yourself into danger."
Lisbeth blushed at his words; embarrassed because what he spoke was the truth.
"I care about you too and to me that means keeping you out of harms' way, even if it makes you angry at me." He released his grip and patted her gently on the head.
"I can guess that whatever the voices are telling him right now have to do with you and what happened to you. Letting you see him is not in the best interest of either of you right now."
He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him, letting her rest her head on his chest.
"What that bastard did to you hurt J in the worst way and I know he wants to be gentle with you, not hurt you anymore but when the voices are in charge, what he wants doesn't matter. Do you understand what I am saying, Lisbeth?"
He felt her nod against his chest.
"I don't want anything bad to happen to you either, ok?"
Lisbeth put her head up looking Jonny in the eyes. "Thank you Jonny...thank you for caring about me and about Boss."
Before Lisbeth realized what was happening, Jonny leaned towards her, placing a soft kiss on her lips.
He quickly pulled away and stood up, straightening his suit.
"I will be outside the door if you need anything, my lady." He said before exiting the room, leaving a very confused girl sitting in the middle of the bed.