Set Me Free

'Not if he had anything to do with it.'

"When you really love someone, you see all their mess and their brokenness and you love them anyway. In fact, seeing all of that sort of makes you love them more."

Daniel's POV

Daniel was going to fix this.

Some part of him felt responsible for the downward spiral Elizabeth had found herself in. If he had stayed, if he had stuck around to get her through this, maybe things would have been different.

He wasn't okay by anyone's standards. He still woke up sometimes screaming, still felt like an outsider in this world. However, Elizabeth had taken it harder than he had, somehow Elizabeth had hit rock bottom before he did.

He wasn't naïve to believe that this was easily fixable, that him simply being here would heal what is broken within her. He knew that it was going to be hard work, that he would have to fight to have the woman he fell in love with return to him. He didn't care how long it would take, he was here for the long haul.

He just hoped that Elizabeth would fight as hard as he did.

He hugged Elizabeth closer to him, loving the feeling of having her in his arms once again. She fit against his chest almost perfectly, some part of him let him believe it was because they belonged together. He had always felt that Elizabeth was the person he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with, until now he would never have imagined it as a possibility. Standing here now however, her pressed up against his chest, he could allow himself to believe that this could be it. That she could be his forever.

"Do you still want to leave?" he asks her, praying that she says no. He liked having her here with him.

She shakes her head against his chest, pulling him closer to her if that was even possible. Daniel wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, caught in each other embrace. However, the sound of Daniel's stomach broke the moment.

Elizabeth laughs as she hears it rumble, pulling away slightly to look into his eyes.

"Hungry?" she asks him, a slight smirk gracing her lips.

He shrugs sheepishly, not being able to hide it since his stomach gave him away.

"Let's go feed you then."

Elizabeth and Daniel make their way down the street, hand in hand. Daniel can't help but notice the amount of people that look at them curiously, especially lingering on their intertwined fingers.

He looks to Elizabeth to see if she has noticed, but her eyes are casted down, attempting to avoid the stares. He expected people to notice he guessed, but not enough to full out stare at them.

"Why are people looking at us Elizabeth?" he finally asks her as another group of people break out in animated whispers once they see them.

She shrugs at him, trying to feign cluelessness. She obviously knew what was going on.

They finally make it to a little café and both step in. Once again, as soon as they walk through the door, the whole café falls silent as they stare. Elizabeth looks like she is about to cry as she notices everyone's reaction. He stares at them all back, silently telling them to mind their own business. They listen.

They sit themselves near the back in the corner, away from everyone's questioning stares. It's now that Daniel feels okay to question it.

"Elizabeth, what is going on. Why is everyone looking at us like this?"

She casts her eyes down to the table as I ask this, almost like she is ashamed.

"This is a small town Daniel and in small towns people talk. I kind of have a reputation around here as being somewhat of a menace to their society.  They don't really like people around here that don't follow the norm, and as a former kidnap victim and borderline alcoholic, I definitely do not fit into their norm."