Sawyer wondered if all therapist waiting rooms smelt funny.

He had lost count the number of times he had been here but the weird aroma that filled the room remained. He couldn't put a finger on what it was but he knew he had never smelt it before and after his treatment would probably never smell it again.

Stanford was running late, which was unusual as usually Sawyer was the one who wasn't on time. He had arrived punctually today so the person before him must have really had some problems. He looked at his watch. 5:15. 5 minutes more and he was leaving.

Sawyer wasn't sleeping again. He first suffered from insomnia during his conning days…must have been his subconscious guilt. But now, the cause was something completely different. He didn't go a moment without thinking of Ella. She would be about 15 or 16 now and it caused him so much pain to know she had never known her real father.

The therapy had brought with it loss of sleep and brought back suppressed emotions. To be fair, it had helped him get over his alcoholism. Ever since his meeting with Ella 8 years ago, he slowly sank into a deep depression. He moved from job to job, spending his nights drinking, drinking and…well…drinking. It was only when his fellow colleague at the bookstore (his 8th job in 3 years), Claire, recommended him to Stanford. He had helped her through a difficult time when her long-term boyfriend left her with a baby to look after and a broken heart to mend. He seemed to do the trick with her, as she seemed to always be cheerful. Sawyer decided to give it a shot. Here he was, 10 months later.

5:20. Time to leave. Sawyer slipped on his jacket and stretched his legs when Stanford's office door opened. Sawyer hadn't previously known who took the slot before him and if he did maybe he'd have stopped coming here a long time age. There he stood, face-to-face, with a teary faced Ella.

Sawyer mentally noted that she looked tragically beautiful. Ruined mascara ran down her cheeks from her red puffed-up eyes. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, which was obviously done in a rush. She was a shadow of her former, happier self that he remembered. And before he could speak to her again, she was gone, but a 10 second glimpse would forever be burned in her father's memory.

"Mr. Ford!" Dr. Stanford remarked in what Sawyer could only describe in shock. "I thought our appointment was cancelled."

"No, that's next week." Sawyer was going to the funeral of his Uncle Geoff. The deceased had developed a brain tumor (of which Sawyer was not notified) and had died after a long battle (obviously not long enough to spread the word). He had organized for his appointment to be moved but 'Stupid Stanford' had obviously marked it as today.

"I've just got to get something from my car. Make yourself at home in my office so we can rearrange a date later this week to make up." Stanford rushed off outside and sawyer entered the office, again pondering why the smell didn't linger in this room. The he saw it. In a rush Stanford had obviously left Ella's file on his desk. Sawyer couldn't resist.

The first thing he noticed was her last name. It had originally said 'Ella Shepherd' but the Shepherd was now crossed out and replaced with 'Austen'. Sawyer scanned down for an address and noted it down on a separate piece of paper and slipped it in his pocket. He passed this house every day on the way to work. He hadn't even known his daughter was living in this state even, let alone the same town only a few blocks away. He considered looking for the reason her being here but decided against it. The girl needed her privacy.

Sawyer heard footsteps and hastily put the file back where he had found it and sat down on the leather chair, thinking it would be Stanford coming back. Instead, he heard a female voice, Ella's voice.

"Oh, erm, sorry to disturb you but I think I left my bag here."

Sawyer saw it straight away and turned round, giving it to Ella. She rummaged around inside and after about 20 seconds she closed it satisfied. "Making sure I didn't take anything?" Sawyer asked.

Ella laughed. "Actually, yeah! I'm sorry, it's just… erm…I have trust issues, even with someone I've only just met."

"Have a nice day."

"Yeah, you too." She strolled out hastily. Sawyer mentally kicked himself for not saying anything. He didn't fell like therapy any more.