Gosh, everyone on soaps has a long lost child and yet it's always my favourite storylines lol.

Chapter 33- Free Counselling for Erica

"No! Nooo!" Erica cradled her head in her lap and cried uncontrollably as she hyperventilated with the sound of thunder in the distance. "No—oh—ohh-ohhh…"

"Erica?" Rae knelt down beside her. "It's all right. They'll fix the elevator and we'll be out soon. I know tight spaces can be very overwhelming, but we'll be fine."

Erica shook her head. "No…"

"Just take a deep breath. We won't be here for long."

"No… the storm. It has to go away."

"Oh, the storm? Thunderstorms frighten you?"

Erica sobbed in response.

"It's all right." Rae rubbed her back. "Try to take slow, deep breaths. Breathe in at a count of three, then hold it for a count of four. Then exhale for a count of five. I'll show you…" Rae demonstrated for her. "Now you try. Breathe in for three seconds…"

Erica started to slow her breathing down, but she kept crying and shivering.

"It's all right," Rae repeated. "You're safe."

"I want my mother…" Erica cried. "But she's gone. She's gone. And now I've lost Myrtle too."

"You haven't lost Myrtle at all. She loves you. And once we're out you can go see her and she'll make you feel better."

"She keeps saying to give Kendall another chance and to be there for her… but I always see him when I look at her."

"Kendall is your daughter, right?"

Erica nodded. "Myrtle says that she's what I need to heal and that she's a gift. But she's just a reminder."

"A reminder of what?"

"Of the rape…" More tears streamed down Erica's cheeks.

"Oh, Erica, I'm sorry. I never knew."

"Sometimes… I see myself in Kendall. But I tried to take her in when she was young, and she hurt us."

"I'm not saying my situation is the same as yours, but I do know what it's like to have a long-lost daughter who has hurt you and other people. But once I looked past all of that I saw a broken girl who only wants to be loved and feel like she matters. I haven't met Kendall, but I think any child regardless of their age just wants their mother's love, especially when they didn't have it for most of their life. That's how I feel about Myrtle. I don't want to steal her from you or to replace you in her heart, I just thought we could share her. And it seems as though we have more in common than I thought."

"Does Skye remind you of her father at all?" Erica asked.

Rae paused in thought. "Not really. She does have a lot of Quartermaine traits in her though, just not much of Alan. She looks more like Myrtle than anyone."

"Kendall doesn't look like him. She looks more like me. It's just some of her behaviour makes me think of him… But most of it reminds me of me."

"And I can't imagine how hard that is," Rae said. "Skye's conception wasn't an act of evil, it was mutual. Perhaps Myrtle is right though, maybe Kendall is what you need to heal. Good can always come out of bad. And this could be the way you let your rapist go, by not allowing him to get in the way of your relationship with Kendall. I know it won't be easy and it probably won't happen overnight. But I think it would be worth it to try."

Erica finally lifted her head and looked at Rae. "Myrtle's right. You are a good shrink."

Rae laughed. "Erica Kane has actually complimented me on something. Pigs must be flying out there."

"I'm sorry for the things I said about Skye."

Rae smiled. "Skye reminds me of you in some ways actually."

Erica rolled her eyes. "I suppose I can try to share Myrtle just a bit… I really don't want to lose her."

"And you won't. She loves you so much."

There was a noise, and the elevator shook, then it started to move again. When the doors opened on the fifth floor, Joe Martin was standing there with Rae's police guard.

Rae encouraged Erica to go right in to see Myrtle while she talked to Joe.

Joe cleared his throat. "Myrtle is doing so much better. I was just heading in to tell her she can go home now. But she should have someone with her for the first couple of night in case there are any issues."

Rae smiled. "Thank you doctor. I imagine she'll go home with Erica, but this is great news. Will there be a follow-up?"

"Yes, she can come back next Monday to ensure she's recovering fine."

After a while, Joe and Rae went to Myrtle's room to tell her the good news while the guard waited outside the room.

Rae kissed Myrtle's cheek. "I'm so glad that you're going to be okay. I'll call you tomorrow to see how your first night at Erica's went."

"Actually…" Erica cut in. "I just talked to Myrtle about it. I'm going to invite Kendall to have my spare bedroom, so she doesn't have to keep staying at the Pine Cone. Myrtle is going to go home with you, Rae."

"If I'm welcome of course," Myrtle said.

Rae smiled. "Welcome? To have my mama and my little girl home with me… It's a dream come true."

FargateFargateFargate

When Myrtle and Rae arrived home in Llanview, John was sitting on the couch watching Columbo. He switched it off when he noticed them walk in.

He stood up and offered the couch to Myrtle.

"Thank you, but I think I'll head up to bed after I see Skye," Myrtle said.

John laughed. "She's been up there for hours working on her room. She didn't even come down when I ordered us some pizza."

"Oh?"

Rae smiled. "She's painting her room herself and refused any help. She said she wanted to prove to you that she could do it… I think what she really wants is to make you proud of her."

Myrtle smirked. "To make an old carnie proud? Skye Chandler?"

John waited downstairs while Myrtle and Rae headed up to Skye's room. She was passed out already on her bed that was still in the middle of the room with newspapers on it, and she hadn't changed out of the leggings and t-shirt now covered with paint. Her hair and face was also covered in pint paint. The walls didn't exactly look professional, in fact, some areas were blotchy, and some paint got on the window ledges, which made Rae wish she took time to cover with masking tape before she left.

"Well," Rae said. "I think it's safe to say that Skye worked really hard."

"She certainly did," Myrtle said.

Rae walked over to the bed and gently shook Skye. "Skye… wake up."

Skye slowly opened her eyes and spoke groggily, "Huh?"

"Come on, you can sleep in my room tonight and I'll take the couch. You can't sleep in here until it dries."

Myrtle made her way over to the window and opened it. "And be sure to keep the window open next time you work on your masterpiece, kiddo."

Skye sat up straighter. "You're out of the hospital?"

"I am."

Skye smiled, then looked at the walls proudly. "See? I did it all by myself."

Myrtle beamed. "You did. And you did a fantastic job."