Casey and Colin returned to Minnesota and were swamped with flowers and cards expressing remorse in the wake of their son. The amount of gifts clogged the living room alone and this was not even by the morning of the funeral yet. People passed and people went, sharing and imparting random pieces of wisdom and promises that they would keep the child in their prayers. But no matter what was brought and no matter what was said, Casey was still without her son.

The flight back to Minnesota was long and stressful, but unlike on the way over, they were not alone. Doug accompanied them and brought with them what he assured were Charlie's Capeside friends. The teenagers felt just awful because on some level, they knew what was happening. They just hadn't had the nerve to call John on it.

Once home, the children were not all over their parents like usual, and even if they were Casey headed straight upstairs and collapsed on the bed in Charlie's room feeling dejected, but certainly not beyond crying. She sobbed and sobbed and cradled the first possession of his from the floor. A baseball cap. She thanked small mercies that she refused to tidy his room after he left, the mess was familiar. It felt more like him and therefore was more comforting than the words of loved ones, no matter how eloquently they expressed themselves.

Her son was not simple, but he was not sophisticated. He never pretended. She supposed this is why her visitors annoyed her, but then it also annoyed that there was so many visitors. It proved her child was popular. A child so caring and so thoughtful that did not deserve to be taken from them. He didn't deserve the wrath of John, no matter how much tears were shed.

Casey lay with Charlie on his bed as he clutched at her dress and cried heavily into her shoulder. She carressed his back and pulled him into her, whispering a soothing tune but it didn't calm him. He was five years old and spent the first four hours of the morning watching and waiting for his father to come from the window. John had rang a week prior to say that he was coming into town for a few days and that he would be able to take him to a hockey game. On the morning of the game, with Charlie working himself into a frenzy, he phoned again. Stuck in traffic. Delayed flight. The wife's sick. Work's tight at the minute. The excuses were all the same. He wasn't coming. He was probably pissed up the wall drunk.

"Honey, how about you and me go do something today? Just you and me?" Casey whispered, tickling the back of his neck.

"It's always you and me," Charlie argued, "Some days you and me's just boring Mommy."

Casey sighed, and though logically she knew the child meant no harm, it was hard to accept that he could become so attached to someone who just didn't have time to be in his life, who was living a whole other life half way across the country; and she, the ever regular parent, was labelled 'boring' for this simple science.

"Charlie," She sighed heavily, but trying to remain patient, "Your dad... look! We'll go down the park today, we're probably too late for your game, but we'll go down the park. We'll stay as long as you like. And if you're good enough for me how about some icecream?"

Charlie shifted from her to look her in the eye, "What flavour?" He frowned seriously. Casey chuckled, pulled him into another hug and rubbed at his back.

"Whatever you want Baby, whatever you want."

Casey blinked around the room, remembering the not-so-happy time, but knowing easily that it was certainly a great deal more desirable than the absolute torture she was been dragged through now. Almost every ghost in her closet was at the hands of John Witter. He ended her life twice.

He destroyed her attempt at breaking out of the confines that her lesser class in society had been chaining her in with. She planned to rise up, climbing each rung, through education. She left college after the first year when she had a torrid affair with him and fell pregnant. John was quick to lay down the law: she must have an abortion, he will cover the proceedure financially, and his family cannot ever know of the 'mishap.' It effectively ended the relationship to say the least, but following her decision to actually keep the child, John was always drawn to the fringes of Charlie's life. Either he was probably mildly curious about how things turned out, got a sick pleasure of letting him down or felt a pang of guilt stir somewhere inside.

He destroyed her life good and final the second time. He gave her a son and he took her son away again. Charlie's life was snuffed out after all. John was granted his abortion. The only difference? Charlie spared him to reach into his pocket.