It's the end of a hectic shift in the E.R. Susan Lewis is just clearing the backlog of patients before she leaves. For the past twenty minutes or so she's been trying to chase up a thirty-year-old female patient who came in with a sprained wrist and has since walked off with over a hundred dollars worth of medical supplies. On her way back downstairs she meets up with Jerry from the admit desk.
"There's a young girl at admit asking for you." He informs her as she heads towards him.
"Jerry I'm off now. Can't you get her to speak to someone else?" The very harassed looking Lewis begs.
"She says her name's Susie and you're her - " Jerry continued following Susan into the lounge.
" - Oh my God - Susie!" Susan gasped rushing to reception.
"Auntie Susan." A cheerful little girl ran towards Susan who automatically lifted her up and held her close. "Mommy said I could come and stay with you." The little girl began to babble.
Susan took the child into the doctor's lounge. "Here Susie, I just have to finish up a minute. Can you be a good girl for me and wait here?" Susie nodded. "Good girl, I won't be long."
Outside Susan turned to Jerry "Where's her Mom?" Susan asked desperately.
"I don't know. The woman who brought her in seemed to think it had all been arranged. The kid was calling her Janey." Jerry told her.
A look of panic spread across Susan's face. She recomposed herself and went back to see Susie. "Umm… Susie, can you tell me who Janey is?"
"Yeah, she's Mommy's friend. They're going away together. Didn't Mommy tell you?" The little girl looked worried.
"Oh no honey, everything's fine. I just have to fix something. I'll be back in a minute." Susie nodded and continued playing with some toys, apparently oblivious to the distress that her Auntie was suffering.
"Jerry!" Called Susan, marching up to the desk. "Jerry, what did Janey look like?"
"Umm… blonde hair, about your height, wearing a skirt and jacket… Why?"
"You didn't notice anything odd about her did you?" Susan continued, ignoring Jerry's question. Jerry shrugged. "Any signs of drug or alcohol abuse?"
"She seemed a bit tired, she was pale… Oh and come to think of it, she did slur a bit when she spoke."
Jerry turned round to speak to someone.
"OH CRAP!" Said Susan loudly. She was out of ideas and Chloe was missing again. Generally annoyed at the world Susan sat down with her head in her hands.
"I thought you finished already." Luka commented from the front desk.
"I did, but something's come up." Susan sighed; just then she felt a tug on her coat.
"Auntie Susan. I need the bathroom." The little girl told her pitifully.
"Who's that?" Luka asked casually as Susan got up, taking Susie's hand.
"Something." Susan muttered under her breath.
"Pardon?" Laughed Luka.
"Oh no, sorry, this is my niece, Susie. She's staying with me…" Susan trailed off. She paused for a moment; staring in Luka's direction but not seeing him, deep in thought.
"Auntie Susan. I really gotta go!" Urged Susie.
"Oh! Right, Sorry." She blushed. Luka watched as she led Susie away.

In the bathrooms Susan began interrogating Susie for some more information regarding her mother's sudden disappearance.
"So Susie. Where did your Mom say she was going?" Susan asked the occupied stall.
"She said she was going away with Janey and her friends." Came the reply.
"Yes but where did she say she was going?" Susan urged.
"Just away with Janey and her friends."
"Did she say how long she was going for?" Susan listened. There was no answer. "Susie?" Just then the flush went and she heard the lock slide across as the door opened. Susie opened the door but didn't leave the stall; instead she kept her eyes glued on her feet. Susan took a couple of steps towards her.
"Susie, are you okay?"
Susie's head snapped up. There was a solemn expression on her young face. "She's done it again, hasn't she?" Susie asked seriously, tears flooding her innocent eyes.
Susan nodded and knelt down in front of Susie. She too found tears flowing down her cheeks as she put her arms around the little girl.

A few minutes later the pair are walking down the corridor - hand in hand. They stop into the doctor's lounge to pick up Susie's things. Casually Susan asked Susie when she had last eaten.
"I had a whole bar of chocolate for breakfast." Susie told her as she gathered her belongings together.
"What about dinner?" Susan asked leading her out of the room.
"No. There wasn't time. The chocolate bar filled me up." Susie told her.
"Are you hungry now?" Susan asked.
"You betcha!" Replied Susie giggling a litter. Susan pulled the little girl closer to her and gave her a little tickle.
Jerry looked up just in time to see Dr. Lewis and her niece leave the hospital.

Doc Magoos was heaving inside and there was barely standing room - let alone somewhere to sit.
"Maybe we should get something to eat at home." Susan told Susie as they walked in through the door.
The pair were about to leave when a familiar voice called "Susan!" from the other side of the diner. Susan glanced in the direction of the voice - unmistakably Luka's - and saw him waving and indicating there were seats next to him. Susan led Susie through the thronging mass towards Luka and sat down heavily in the seat opposite him, dropping one of Susie's tiny bags on the floor. Susie slipped in neatly and tugged on Susan's sleeve. Then she whispered something into Susan's ear.
"Oh yes, I'm sorry." She started "Luka this is my niece Susie, Susie this is my friend Dr. Kovac." Susie smartly stuck out a hand cross the table and Luka shook it.
"You can call me Luka too." He told her as he gently shook her hand.
"Can I take your order?" The waitress appeared as Susan helped Susie take off her bag and jacket.
"I'll just have some hot chocolate." She looked up at Luka who raised an eyebrow. "It's been a long day." She told him in a worn voice.
"And you?" Asked the waitress indicating Luka who shook his head so she turned to Susie..
"What do you want sweetie?"
"Auntie Susan, can I have anything?" Susie asked anxiously.
"Sure, I don't see why not." Susan replied.
"Then I'll have cheese burger and fries and a strawberry milkshake." She told the waitress happily. Luka smiled at her, seeing her reminded him of his own children.
"Susie, do you have some coloring to do?" Asked Susan, Susie nodded and pulled out pens and paper, then settled down to draw an elaborate, colorful picture.
"Her Mom's gone off again. A woman named Janey brought Susie in about an hour ago. Susie doesn't know where her Mom's gone or when she's coming back." Susan informed Luka in hushed tones.
Luka looked at the little girl who was apparently oblivious to what her Auntie was saying. "I thought you seemed kind of distant earlier on." He told her.
Susan opened her mouth to tell him something but Susie's food arrived so she stopped and helped Susie clear away her drawing things. Once Susie was contentedly chomping on her French Fries Susan continued. "Tomorrow I should phone Joe to see if he knows anything. Then what do I do? Contact Social Services and rat out my own sister. Susie hasn't been to school for a couple of months and…" Susan trailed off. She looked at Luka who was watching her with an unsure expression on his face. "I'm sorry. I'm just thinking out-loud. I have a lot to think about right now."
Luka turned to Susie who was now munching on her cheeseburger. "So how did you get here?" He asked her. "Did your Mommy drive?"
"No, Janey did." Susie told him in a fairly matter-of-fact way.
"And what's Janey's last name?" Luka urged. Susie shrugged. "What does Janey's car look like then?"
"Well it's blue and it doesn't have a roof but when Janey presses this button this roof thing comes over our heads."
Luka looked at Susan who nodded and asked "What was Mommy taking with her to wear?" knowing it was a stab in the dark.
"Mommy wasn't just taking clothes, she was taking everything. She took most of her clothes too." Susie told her.
"Oh my God!" Sighed Susan putting her head in her hands. Susie moved onto her milkshake. Then she looked up.
"Mommy's not coming back is she?" The little girl asked tearfully.
"I don't know, Susie, I really don't know." Was Susan's anxious reply.

Susie snuggled into Susan, obviously looking for some kind of reassurance, awkwardly Susan put an arm round her niece and looked helplessly at Luka.
"I don't have any idea where Chloe's gone. I don't know what she's going to do. I don't know what I'm going to do." She murmured in a voice every bit as helpless as she felt.
Luka pointed at Susie. "You should get her home." He told her. Doc Magoos was rapidly emptying so Susan called for the bill and began to wake up Susie and help her put her jacket on. The bill arrived and Luka paid it for her. Susan was a little startled by this and she looked at Luka questioningly but he shook his head and glanced at the sleepy Susie and Susan gave up challenging him.
"Well we'd better be of." Susan told Luka, indicating her sleeping niece.
"Do you want a lift?" Luka offered. At first Susan began to decline but Luka had a strange pleading look in his eyes, it was as if he was just begging her to let him help. Eventually she resigned herself to the fact that having a lift back wouldn't be an entirely bad thing. She would be saved from the long walk home and from the overcharging cab drivers. Susie was beginning to doze again so Susan scooped up her two meager bags of belongings. She then proceeded to follow Luka with little Susie in tow.
Within minutes Susie was asleep in the back of Luka's car. For the majority of the journey Luka and Susan sat in silence, Luka kept his eyes on the road and Susan started out at the passing scenery, occasionally glancing in the rear-view mirror to spy on Susie who was tucked up under her coat.
"What time are you on tomorrow?" Luka asked breaking the silence.
"Eleven 'O' Clock." Replied Susan turning back to check on Susie who was stirring a little.
"What will you do with Susie?" Luka queried.
"I guess I'll get a babysitter. I'm gonna have to spend half the day on the phone anyway." Susan sighed as they pulled up outside her building. "Thanks Luka. For dinner. For the lift. Well thanks. Come on Susie."
Susie was so sleepy that Susan was forced to carry her up the steps to her building as at each step Susie would trip and stumble. Susan balanced Susie on one hip with her backpack slung over her shoulder and the remaining bag hooked onto her finger.
Luka watched Susan juggle everything she was carrying whilst fumbling with the lock and key. Luka fought the urge to go out to help Susan and instead watched from the car until she was safely inside and then started up the engine and drove off - feeling horribly confused without really knowing why.

Inside her apartment Susan carried Susie into the spare room only to discover that the bed was unmade. Rather than trying to maneuver around the already semi-conscious Susie she quite simply carried Susie into her room. The day had been testy for her too and Susan knew that wrestling with a bedspread wasn't going to make it any better.
Susan sat Susie on the edge of her bed and knelt down beside her to undress her, smiling for possibly the first time that night, Susan could remember doing a similar routine before Chloe came back and messed everything up. Susan began by unbuckling the small blue patent shoes, a little scuffed around the toes, and then unbuttoned Susie's woolen cardigan. Underneath was a little white vest. Finally Susan slipped off Susie's denim skirt and rummaged in the first bag. There was underwear, a pair of old sneakers, a sweatshirt, some pants… but no nightgown or pajamas. Sighing Susan eased herself up and routed around in her drawers until she found an old tee shirt she had shrunk. Gently - so as not to wake the sleeping Susie - Susan slipped it over Susie's head and then tucked the little girl into bed. Susan paused for a moment and watched the child; 'so innocent, so peaceful' she thought watching the steady rise and fall of her niece's chest. As Susan went to the bathroom to get ready for bed she caught a glimpse of the clock; 9:32 pm. It seemed like a lot longer, but just three hours ago she had been blissfully unaware of Susie's plight. As an after thought she reminded herself that she never did chase up those missing medical supplies.