A/N: Thanks so much for reading, reviewing, and alerting this story. I'm glad y'all are liking this and there's definitely more to come as Charlotte and Cooper try to help Zoe and figure out what's wrong. School has been really busy for me lately, so I haven't had too much time to write, but I'll be done in 3 weeks. Keep reading, and enjoy this chapter!

Charlotte and Cooper's Loft
11:15 AM

Zoe had been living with Charlotte and Cooper for a total of four days now, and the only thing that had changed was the number of nightmares she experienced at night—five, that was how many times she woke up last night, a new record.

Charlotte was in the kitchen making eggs and bacon when the little blonde wondered in. She turned around and smiled at Zoe. "Where are your clothes?" The little girl was standing there in only her pink panties. Charlotte turned off the burner for a minute, and walked into the bedroom with Zoe following close behind. "We really need to go shopping, sweet pea, but for now, here." She tossed her a pink dress. It had dried, washed-in stains on it, and a few holes in various places, but it was her only clean dress.

The front door opened and Cooper walked in, holding a paper bag under his arm and a plastic bag in his hand. "Zoe, can you come here, please."

Zoe straightened up and looked at Charlotte.

Charlotte took the little girl's hand and they walked out into the living room. "Coop, what?"

"Good morning to you too."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Sorry, I'm tired. What's in the bags?"

"I got bagels—not very exciting, I know—but this will be." He pulled out a hot pink dress with multicolored, abstract flowers all over it. It came with a matching headband and purse.

Zoe's eyes widened. "For me?"

"I don't think this dress will fit Charlotte, so yeah, for you."

Charlotte looked down at Zoe. "What do you say to Cooper, Zo?"

"Thanks," Zoe mumbled, not looking at him.

"You're welcome, Zo." Cooper smiled and put the outfit back into the plastic bag. He handed it to Charlotte, kissed her on the cheek, and then walked into the kitchen, putting the bagels on the counter.

"You wanna wear this today?" Charlotte asked.

Zoe nodded.

"We'll have to go get you some new outfits later—maybe we'll do that after your appointment with Dr. Patterson, but our little shopping spree will probably have to wait until the weekend." They walked into the bedroom and Charlotte got Zoe dressed. "Twirl for me."

Zoe turned around slowly, showing off her new dress.

"Beautiful. Now, let's go eat some breakfast." Charlotte fought back a yawn and the two of them walked into the kitchen.

Dr. Patterson's Office
2:30 PM

Charlotte was sitting on the blue, suede couch, which was against the back wall in the small playroom slash office. She was reading a magazine, occasionally looking up to watch Zoe play with the dolls she had chosen from the huge mound of toys available to her.

Dr. Patterson was sitting in a chair, watching Zoe play, also. She was observing, taking notes. "What's that doll's name, Zoe?"

"Eliza. She's a princess."

"I can tell. She has a crown and a pretty pink dress." Dr. Patterson paused. "Who's that—the doll that's hidden by those blocks?"

"Uh," she glanced at the doll, "that's Zabrina."

"Why is she hidden like that? Don't you want to play with her?"

Zoe nodded. "But she can't come out."

"Is she in trouble?"

Zoe nodded.

"What did she do?" Dr. Patterson inquired.

Zoe nervously fiddled with the doll in her hands and shifted on her legs.

"You can tell me what she did, Zoe. We're just talking—just you and me."

"She—she—she said a bad word on accident."

"What word did she say?"

Zoe hesitated at first, keeping silent, pulling on the doll's blonde hair. She glanced up at the doctor. "Crap."

"Did the princess block Zabrina in there like that?"

Zoe shook her head. "No. The princess isn't there."

"Where's the princess?"

Zoe shrugged. "Far, far away from here."

"I see." Dr. Patterson paused. "So who hid Zabrina like that?"

Zoe pursed her lips into a line and continued to play with the princess doll. "I have to go potty."

"We can take a break."

Zoe stood up and squirmed a little. "Where is it?"

"I'll show you." Dr. Patterson stood up and opened the door. She pointed down the hallway and smiled. "It's the big red door at the end. It's got a little dancing elf on it." Zoe disappeared out of the room and Dr. Patterson walked over to Charlotte, who had been intently listening to the conversation. "Given what you told me and Zoe's behavior, I'd say that Zabrina is a reflection of herself."

Charlotte nodded, closing the magazine. "The princess is probably Zoe's momma. She died during childbirth. Zoe never knew her."

"That makes sense." Dr. Patterson paused. "You mentioned that she's afraid of Dr. Freedman?"

Charlotte nodded. "I don't think it's just Cooper, I think it's men in general or at least her father, specifically. Every time I mentioned her father, her eyes would glass over with tears and she'd shake."

"That gives me an angle to work with." Dr. Patterson walked back over to the chair that she was sitting in before and scribbled something down on her notepad.

Zoe came into the room, shutting the door behind her, and walked back over to the rug. She picked up the princess doll again and combed through Eliza's hair.

Dr. Patterson turned her head and smiled. "So where's Zabrina's daddy?"

Zoe shuddered and chose to ignore the doctor. She started humming and continued to comb the doll's hair. Zoe dropped Eliza and pulled Zabrina out of the block house. She laid her down on the rug and grabbed a male doll from the bucket. She started pulling at Zabrina's hair and then put the male doll on top of her. A couple minutes later, she put Zabrina into her house of blocks, and went back to playing with Eliza.

Dr. Patterson blinked and looked at Charlotte, who was now on the edge of the couch, watching. "Who's that Zoe? Is that Zabrina's daddy?" Dr. Patterson asked.

Zoe shook her head and threw the male doll into the bucket. She looked at Charlotte, tears in her eyes, her body shaking. "I wanna go." She stood up and ran over to the door. "I wanna go—NOW!" She started screaming and kicking the door and trying to turn the knob, but her hands kept slipping.

Charlotte sprang up and walked over to the little girl. She scooped her up and held her close to her. She rubbed Zoe's back, trying to calm her down. "It's okay, sweet pea. We can go. You're okay." She opened the door and looked at Dr. Patterson. "I'll call you to try and set up some sort of schedule."

Dr. Patterson nodded. "Of course."

"Thank you for your time." Charlotte half smiled and carried Zoe down the hallway.

Charlotte and Cooper's Loft
4:00 PM

Charlotte was sitting on the couch, reading To Kill a Mockingbird to Zoe, even though the little girl was already asleep, curled up into a ball her head in Charlotte's lap. She ran her hand through Zoe's blonde hair as she continued to read softly. She felt her body sink farther and farther into the couch cushions, the words blurred on the page, her eyelids drooped, and her head began to bob. She swallowed and closed the book, folding down the corner of the page to keep her spot. She set the book on the side table and leaned back, closing her eyes.

She almost asleep when her phone beeped and the door to the loft swung open. She jolted awake and rubbed her eyes. She yawned and reached for her phone. She scrolled the message and cursed under her breath. She turned her head and Cooper was staring at her. "What?"

"How'd it go? With Dr. Patterson, I mean—that was today, right?" Cooper asked, walking towards her.

"Yes, that was today. I'll tell you about it later." Her phone beeped again and she sighed. "I don't have time right now. I have to get to the hospital."

"Wait, what? Right now?"

She nodded. "There's some emergency. Details are scarce." She carefully maneuvered herself, slipping out from under Zoe's head. She stood up and threw a blanket over the still sleeping girl. "You're gonna have to watch Zoe."

"Me? But she—."

Charlotte sighed. "I know, Coop." Her phone beeped again. "For Christ's sake, I'm goin'." She disappeared into the bathroom and walked back into the living room a few minutes later. "I really have to go." She paused. "Zoe had a rough afternoon, so she may not be sleeping for a while. I don't know when I'll be back. This may be your opportunity to show Zo that you're not a monster." She smiled, but he just looked at her. "I don't know what else to do, Coop. I can't take her with me. I have no idea what I'm about to walk into once I get to the hospital. Plus, if I'm bein' paged, that means it's big and I won't have time to watch her. Just stay here with her. If she's afraid of you, she'll lay in the corner with Buster the whole time."

Cooper nodded. "Ok. We'll be fine. Go to the hospital."

"I owe you—."

"You don't owe me a damn thing, Char. You've been taking care of Zoe for the past four days. I owe you one." He smiled.

"Okay, I gotta go. Bye. Love you." She opened the door and walked out of the loft.

She was already halfway down the hallway when he said, "Love you too." He looked at Zoe and sighed. This should be fun. He watched Buster jump onto the couch and collapse into a giant ball of fur at Zoe's feet. He smiled and then he disappeared into the kitchen to make himself a late afternoon snack.