"Ana? What do you want for dinner sweetheart?" Nerissa called into the living room.

"I dunno," the three-year-old replied still staring at her show.

"Do you want to have cheeseburgers?"

"Can we go out to eat?" Ana asked.

"We don't have time sweetie," Nerissa told her, "Your grampa will be here in an hour and a half."

Hearing her grandpa's name mentioned Ana perked up, "Grampa's comin'?"

"Yes, he's coming to get you for a sleepover at his house since I leave first thing tomorrow morning. Then he'll be staying here with you while I'm gone."

"Oh, you leaving tomorrow?" the little girl asked sullenly.

"Yes, little bird," Nerissa said, "I'm leaving tomorrow but just like I told you this morning I will be coming back, I promise."

"Okay," Ana said still a little glum, "Hamburgers are okay."

"Okay baby," Nerissa replied, "I'll go get them started."


"Ana," Nerissa said getting her daughter's attention, "Grampa's on his way here. You need to go get your bag and bunny so that you're ready to go when he gets here."

"Okay Mommy," Ana replied getting up from her spot on the floor where she was coloring, "I made this for you Mommy."

"It's beautiful my little bird!" Nerissa gushed as she examined the picture her daughter had handed her, "I will keep it forever."

"Will you take it with you when you go?" Ana asked, "So you won't forget about me."

"Of course Ana," Nerissa told her, "but I will take it because you made it with love because there is not a chance in this whole wide world that I would ever forget you."

"I love you, Mommy," Ana said as she walked out of the room.

As she watched her daughter go Nerissa felt her heart tighten a little feeling as though she was failing her daughter but she reminded herself that she was taking this job so that Ana could have the perfect childhood. Her thoughts couldn't haunt her for long though because she heard her dad let himself into the house.

"Riss?" Horatio called into the house.

"I'm in here Dad!" she called from the back office.

"Ana ready to go?" Horatio asked as he walked into the room.

"Yeah, she's getting Bunny and her bookbag as we speak," Nerissa replied.

"Riss, what's wrong?" Horatio asked sensing his daughter's silent distress.

"Nothing," she replied shortly.

"You're lying," Horatio pointed out.

"No, I'm not," she told her father looking him in the eye, daring him to contradict her again.

"Nerissa," he started.

"Ana! Grampa's here!" Nerissa yelled cutting her father off.

"Comin!" came the excited reply from down the hall and soon the three-year-old was standing in the doorway to the office, "Hi Grampa!"
"Hey kiddo," Horatio replied putting on a smile for his grand-daughter, "You ready to go?"

"Yup," she replied.

"Alright, let's go then," he said gesturing for her to exit the room but before exiting Ana turned and ran over to her mother.

"Please come home, Mommy," Ana begged as she gripped her mother in a tight hug, "I'll miss you."

"I promise my little bird," Nerissa said tearfully as she embraced her daughter in a hug, "I'll come home and I'll never, ever leave again."

"Okay," Ana said crying, "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you too my little bird," Nerissa replied holding back tears, "Now go with Grampa. I'll be back before you know it."

"Bye Mommy," Ana replied before leaving.

"Bye Ana," Nerissa whispered as she heard the front door close and then she sunk into the office chair and began to sob.

After Ana and her father left Nerissa spent the rest of the night finishing up packing and cleaning up the house, again. Sleep didn't come easily for her that night as she spent a majority of it tossing and turning in her sleep that was plagued by a nightmare that she had often.

Nightmare

"Come on, Ava," the voice taunted, "Come back to me, my child."

"Who's there?" Nerissa called.

"Come home, Ava," the voice said, "Come home, my dear Ava."

"I'm NOT Ava!" Nerissa yelled into the gloom, "Not anymore, she is dead! Dead! Do you hear me!?"

"You will always be Ava, my child," the voice whispered, "You will always be my eighth child."

"Xavier," Nerissa gasped at the realization of who the voice belonged to, "You're dead! You can't hurt me anymore."

"No, but I can hurt everyone you love," he threatened.

"No, you can't!" Nerissa yelled.

"Watch me," he said as the gloom started to dissipate and what Nerissa saw chilled her to the bone.

"Ana!" she screamed.

"Mommy? Mommy where are you?" Ana asked trying to see through her blindfold.

"I'm right here my little bird!" Nerissa called to her daughter, "I'm coming!"

But Nerissa soon found that she could not move at all because some unseen force was holding her where she was.

"Mommy!" Ana screamed in terror as she felt unfamiliar hands wrap around her.

"ANA!" Nerissa yelled as she watched Xavier grab her daughter, "Get your hands off of her you bastard!"

"How does it feel, Ava?" he asked "How does it feel to have your life ripped away?" and as he finished speaking Ana disappeared from his grasp.

"ANA!" Nerissa screamed, "Where is she you son of a bitch! What did you do to my daughter?" she yelled as she fell to her knees sobbing.

"I did to her what you did to my life," he said walking towards her, "I extinguished her.

Nerissa woke with a start and immediately jumped up from her bed and ran to Anastasia's room, seeing it empty she panicked for a moment before remembering that Ana was with her dad. Since she could not shake the feeling that something could be wrong she sat down on the floor of Ana's room and dialed her dad.

"H'lo," answered a voice sleepily.

"Dad?" Nerissa asked.

"Riss what's wrong," Horatio asked suddenly very awake.

"Is Ana okay?" she asked.

"Yeah why?" he asked.

"Are you sure?" Nerissa asked him.

"She was fine when I put her to bed a few hours ago," he replied.

"Can you go check on her," Nerissa pleaded, "Please."

"Of course Riss," Horatio complied walking to the living room where his granddaughter was fast asleep on the couch, "She's fine Rissa. Sound asleep."

Breathing a sigh of relief she said, "Okay thanks, Dad. Bye."

"Wait. Nerissa, what's wrong?" Horatio asked

"Nothing Dad," she replied, "I just needed to be sure she was okay. Good night."

Then all Horatio heard was the dial tone.