Susan finished wiping the counter of her showroom kitchen with a dry cloth and as she reached the edge, whipped it to dispel the white powder. She placed the cloth into the front pocket of her dusty pinny and tucked a fallen lock of her perfect blonde hair behind an ear.

It had been five minutes since she last looked up at the wall clock, and guessed that the oven must be hot enough by now. Opening it's glass fronted door, she quickly placed the cake tin onto the middle shelf and closed it again, all before too much heat had escaped. She tapped the timer button until 1hr 30 mins showed. The timer ticked second by second downwards.

Susan filled the chrome kettle and waited for it to boil. She couldn't remember the last time she had baked cookies or a cake. Not that she ever had reason enough, it had always been far simpler to just nip down to the shops and buy them. But now that Joseph was there, for however long he would be there, she decided she would treat him the way she thought all young vulnerable child should be treated. With a mothers kindness, love and understanding. She knew she didn't truly understand everything he had experienced at her sister's hands, but she decided it was her responsibility to help fix what could be fixed in the time they had. On arriving home from the Police station, Joseph had sat without a word at the dining table and although she had tried to start a conversation, he had only spoken enough to be polite.

Deep in thought, Susan jumped as the kettle came to a boil and clicked off. The cloud of steam trickled from beneath the kitchens wall units as she poured the scalding liquid into her mug. She stirred in a single sugar and shouted through the open door into the hallway.

"Joseph, come down. I've made cookies!"

No response came. Joseph had been understandably quiet on the ride home from the Police station the previous night and she couldn't blame him. The poor lad had had a terrible time of it lately. Living in a cesspit, God knows who coming and going, to watch as his drug-addicted mother is arrested and dragged away. It would have been enough to damage any child for life. But to have witnessed the burning to death of a stranger, well that was beyond even her worst nightmare. Involuntarily her hand rose to the scarf she always wore. She felt the smooth fabric that hid the scar that ran the full width of her neck and remembered her own personal ordeal.

"Well, maybe not beyond my worst nightmare"

Susan debated whether to go upstairs and ask him to come down. She knew he would just be sat on his bed in the spare room, staring at the chintzy flowered wallpaper whilst hugging a pillow to himself. At bedtime, she had suggested they go out the next day and buy new wallpaper, maybe Spiderman, even new bedding. He could have whatever he wanted. But Joseph had just smiled weakly, thanked her and wept. She held him until he fell asleep and then after tucking him in, she made her way downstairs and cried into a glass of her favorite wine.

In the end, Susan decided to leave him be, telling herself that he just needed time to adjust. He would come down when he was ready. Taking one of the freshly made cookies from the cooling rack, along with her coffee, she walked into the living room. She sat on the leather recliner, her legs curled up underneath her and quickly lost herself as she usually would, in daytime TV.

So much had happened since she received the phone call from Detective Grayson yesterday, Susan's head was spinning. She still didn't know what to think. Was it her responsibility to take Joseph from her sister, should she, did she even want to. It was all well and good promising new wallpaper to a boy who didn't have a bedroom of his own or freshly baked cookies like those a mom should bake for her child, especially when she were scared to answer the really important and obvious question.

"Do I want to be a mother to him?

She shook her head at the question,

"No, of course, I don't, but would I, if it was necessary?"

She answered it without a second thought "Absolutely I will"

The front doorbell chimed, breaking Susan train of thought. With a disgruntled huff, she placed the now empty mug on the glass coffee table and climbed to her feet. She glanced at a picture on the wall of her husband, wearing his firefighter uniform, as she headed for the door. "It won't be him, he's not back for a couple more hours and he has a key"

Susan could see a silhouette of a shortish person. She guessed a man, from the shadows broad shoulders. Opening the door, she was momentarily caught off guard as the man who stood before her, a man she recognized, greeted her.

"Good morning my dear Susan, it's been some time since we last talked. Six years I believe" he said with a smile.

Susan stuttered a little "d d, doctor Harleson, hello. I, er, yes it has been a long time. I don't understand, why are you here?"

Stepping closer to the open door, Harleson simply said "The boy"

Susan's mind whirled. Only minutes earlier she had been thinking back on her nightmare and then all of a sudden her old psychiatrist turned up.

"Oh, Joseph, yes. Neither the Police or the social services woman mentioned they'd be sending anyone so soon?"

Harleson smiled "It just an evaluation, nothing more. Can I come in?"

Susan stepped aside "Yes of course" Leading the way into the kitchen, she asked, "Would you like a drink?"

He shook his head "No, thank you"

He pulled a stool back from the breakfast bar and sat down, without being asked. With a deep inhale, he said "What's that smell. Have you been baking, my dear? It smells wonderful!"

Susan blushed "I thought I'd treat Joseph, he's been through a lot"

Harleson nodded "Yes, yes he has, but so did you. If he's lucky, maybe with mine and your help, he too can come to live with the things he has seen, maybe!"

Although she didn't really want another coffee, Susan made one anyway. She needed something to do to keep herself busy, she always had restless hands when anxious. Having Harleson there out of the blue was unsettling for her. Too many bad memories came flooding back all at once.

With a sharp tap of his pen on the breakfast counter, making Susan jump, Harleson said "I was quite surprised to hear from my contact at the Police station the boy's mother's name, I looked into it and low and behold it was, Janet Eastwood. I haven't spoken with your sister, ooh, I'd say seven years, just before she went into the asylum for a short while"

Susan felt annoyance and a hint of anger begin to surface at the casual way he seemed to be recalling the past. It sounded as if he was happily reminiscing old summer holidays. Unable to help herself, she cut him off sharply "It was you who committed her, Doctor. Against hers and my will"

Again, to her annoyance, he smiled "Yes I did that, for her own good. She had attempted suicide on too many occasions. She needed more help than you could provide. Remember my dear, you had only just survived an attempt on your life by your farther. An attempt that neither your mother nor boyfriend survived. If your father hadn't committed suicide, I don't believe you would have survived either"

With a sigh of suppressed sorrow, Susan asked "Yes, I know. But enough of that, you're here because of Joseph, not me. Shall I call him down?"

Harleson nodded "Yes my dear, I'm not here for you, not as yet. But if you ever need to talk, I could be. Where is the boy, my dear?"

"He's in the spare room, well, I should start calling it, his bedroom, I suppose. Give me a moment and I'll go get him"

Harleson stood, waving a hand dismissively "Oh, don't bother. Let's go up. He probably feels much safer up there anyway"

Still stirring her unwanted coffee, Susan tapped the spoon dry on the rim and placed both cup and spoon into the sink.

"OK, this way, Doc," she said, not realizing she had fallen back into using Harlesons nickname. Leading the way, Susan headed up the stairs.

As he followed, Harleson said with a smile "It was a pleasant surprise when I realized the lineage of the boy. I guess with your past, it will be far more suitable for you to help the poor boy than fostering him out. He is a lucky young chap"

With a cringe, Susan remembered that even back when she was Doc's patient, she found him creepy, but she had only been eighteen and still in shock from her nightmare. She had known no better back then. Now though, she thought his cheerfulness was inappropriate and a lot insensitive, bordering on damned right rude. If it wasn't for her concern for Joseph, she would have asked Harleson to leave. She would definitely be asking for a replacement psychiatrist for her nephew, that was for sure.

Ignoring her instinct to turn and give the man a piece of her mind, Susan swallowed hard and forced herself to avoid engaging in his poor attempts at small talk. Instead, she concentrated on getting Joseph to talk. She knocked on the bedroom door and softly called "Joseph, love, are you alright. I have someone here who wants to talk to you. He's a Doctor. He's here to help. Can we come in?"

A mumble could be heard through the door, a mumble, that to her sounded like "Suppose so"

Taking that as a "Yes" Susan twisted the door handle, slowly opened it and peeked in.

"Joseph, this is Doctor Harleson" she swung the door open further to introduce the Doctor "he wants to have a quick chat with you, about what you saw yesterday, that all. Is that OK?"

Joseph, sat on the bed, his back against the wall and his arms around his knees.

"Yeah, OK, if I........"

Joseph's voice trailed off to a silent pause before unpausing to become a loud drawn out scream as he pointed at the man who entered his room.

"Him, him, smoke, him in the smoke, burning" Joseph stumbled over his words. Unable to run passed and flee from the room, he slid from the bed onto the floor and backed himself into the corner. His pillow his only protection.

Susan froze in shock, she didn't know what to do, Joseph had become almost hysterical.

"Joseph. Joseph please, what's the matter"

Joseph pointed a shaking finger at Harleson "Monster, monster, monster"

Susan, upset herself, especially since the Doc's appearance, turned to ask him what to do and found him grinning ear to ear. Her stomach turned cold at the sight.

Harleson chuckled "I wasn't sure he had seen me, there was rather a lot of smoke, you know. Anyway, I must apologize, dear"

Within a blink of an eye, Harleson swung a makeshift cosh. The billiard ball filled sock hurtled around and caught Susan a glancing blow to the temple. Her mind exploded with a shockingly bright light as she collapsed at the foot of Joseph's bed.

In stunned agonizing pain, she could hear, as if from a distance, her nephew screaming. Unable to raise herself up, she groaned as Harleson gloated over her.

"Oh, poor Susan, always feeling let down by those who you trusted, hmm. Yes, I remember your boyfriend confessing he had been cheating on you with your own sister. Your mother likewise, unfaithful to your father. And worst of all your father, your murderous father. And now me, your psychiatrist, who, as it turns out is the one who convinced your father that his only choice was to kill you all in the first place"

Susan moaned loudly as she lay bleeding in front of her petrified nephew. Harleson closed the bedroom door, kneeled down beside Susan and placed his hands around her neck.

"Your father never told you that he was seeing me with depression, did he. It was a real pleasure to mold him, to twist his mind until it broke fully. It's a shame he let me down though. All he had to do was go home and kill you all. Oh well, enough about that. I have a schedule to keep"

Harleson climbed to his feet, smoothed his hair back and smiled at the almost comatose boy "Now, what do we do about you, Joseph, I wonder, hmm?"