DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Halloween series in anyway =(. But I DO own Katarzyna and my other OCs.

Chapter Ten

Recap:

"The minute you were given a pelvic exam and I heard what the one nurse told the doctor, It all became very clear, Katarzyna,"

"Let it go," I whispered.

"Emelyn is your daughter," he said sternly.

"Please-,"

"And Michael Myers is her father,"

/oo/ /oo/ /oo/ /oo/ /oo/ /oo/ /oo/

Dr. Loomis waited for my response, but I didn't say anything. My throat was dry and I was sure if I tried to speak, nothing would come out anyway. Besides, everything was probably written all over my face. The night of my birthday wasn't the only night I spent at the sanitarium with Michael; I had probably gone there two more nights before my aunt caught me.

"I didn't know I was pregnant until after I got to California," I said finally. Dr. Loomis stared at me, "I was feeling sick before I left Haddonfield but put it off as nerves because of the move. But, I only got worse over the next week so my aunt took me to the doctor,"

"I can only imagine her reaction," he said, listening intently.

"She knew immediately who the father was; she was a smart woman. When she told me that Haddonfield had tainted me, she meant Emmy's origins. Because of her parentage, my aunt saw Emmy as evil incarnate basically, and she was always sure to make it known to her. Those damn nicknames were so infuriating, if she wasn't related to me I might've strangled her. Emmy resented auntie, she always called her 'Ana', refused to acknowledge they were blood," I sighed.

"So all these years, you passed her off as your cousin?"

"No," my voice cracked, "Only since I moved back to Haddonfield,"

I took a moment to compose myself and Dr. Loomis waited patiently. He tightened his grip on my hand and lifted it into his other one so he was cradling it in his grip. It felt like a weight was lifting from my shoulders yet a rock was forming in my stomach.

"In California, everyone knew she was my daughter. They didn't know about her father, only that he was a childhood friend. My aunt was nice enough to keep it quiet, only so she wouldn't have to worry about tarnishing her reputation. Obviously I edited my story to fit my lie when I was telling you about what happened before I left. Like when the nurse asked Emmy's relationship to auntie, I said 'great-niece', and when she said "child should see their mother in such a state" was just an add-in. I took out a lot of things," I said.

"Don't get the wrong idea about my aunt; despite her strict and unreasonable beliefs and upbringing techniques, she loved me and I think deep down she loved Emmy," I continued, "She was just a hard pill to swallow most of the time,"

"So, why does Emelyn call you "Kat", then?" Dr. Loomis asked after a few moments of silence.

"Remember in my story when I mentioned our plan? Well, the real plan was how to act when we arrived: that she was my cousin and she wasn't to mention a thing about Michael or me being her mother. It took a while for her to catch on to calling me by my name, but then it stuck," I shrugged.

"Does she know Michael is her father?"

"Of course she does," I said, "She just knows better than to call him 'dad' and frankly, it would be really weird if she did," I smiled for a moment before it was replaced with a frown.

"Those stories I told her about Michael were her favorite; they always used to make her so happy to the point she counted the minutes to bedtime, sometimes she couldn't wait and I had to tell her one earlier. I remember she always wanted to come to Haddonfield and meet him and play the same pranks he and I used to,"

I took a deep breath and pressed my head into the pillow behind me, squeezing my eyes shut. My body felt weak and I wasn't surprised; this was too much excitement for someone who was stabbed, hit by a car, and knocked out for over twelve hours.

"Sometimes I would imagine bringing her here and to the sanitarium to introduce them. Though, I would ease into the whole 'hey, this is your daughter' thing. Some would say it was a twisted fantasy but it was my fantasy. In the end, I was still thinking like that little girl who once lived here. Believing that one day she would get a happy ending with her longtime crush,"

"No one is blaming you Kat," Loomis said, "It was a brave thing you did to come back and face the past you left behind. And the measures you took to protect Emmy just shows what a good mother you are,"

"Thanks for the praise," I muttered, "But sometimes I question how I raised her so much. She is turning more and more into him every passing day,"

"I'm curious if Michael knows," he mused. I scoffed.

"I don't know and I don't think I want to anymore. But, I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow managed to put the pieces together. If not now then soon," Dr. Loomis nodded in agreement and closed his eyes as well.

"Do you think that's why he suddenly attacked me last night? For an entire month, he had so many opportunities and never took them. Next thing I know, the threats just became more hostile; dead animals, taunting notes that got even more extreme, how he just became a ghost in the house except for when I would hear Emmy talking in random rooms at all hours of the night, as if she were having a one sided conversation,"

A hollow noise came from my mouth, "Doesn't make much sense though,"

"That's the thing, Kat: nothing makes sense when it comes to Michael. He is too unpredictable; you never know what is going through his mind,"

Silence fell between us as I turned my attention to the monitor's beeping and Loomis looked out the window in deep thought. I felt my chest constrict with emotion as I swallowed down a lump of tears; everything was at risk of crumbling apart. I needed to see Emmy.

The tension in the air hadn't subsided when the doctor walked into the room with the nurse following suit. The two each gave warm smiles as the doctor looked at my chart.

"Hello Katarzyna," he said, "I'm Dr. Ashton. It seems you had quite a night yesterday,"

"How long will I be here?" I asked bluntly.

"Well, thankfully there are no broken bones from the impact, just a mild concussion and some pretty nasty bruises and serious scrapes from where you hit the street. The worst of it is centered on your right side where your body took the brunt of the car's force," he explained.

"The laceration on your chest was deeper than we expected. It did need some stitches, but again it was lucky it didn't go any deeper to hit anything major," he continued.

"So I should expect a scar," I muttered.

"Unfortunately, yes" he gave an apologetic smile. He didn't ask me anymore questions about the cut, but by the way he looked at Dr. Loomis and shook his head, something told me he already knew who put it there.

"So how long will I be here?" I asked again.

"Well I want you to stay tonight for some more observation and hopefully you should be home day after tomorrow. However, you will need to take it easy for a while,"

'Home,' I thought bitterly. How could I go back to that place and risk seeing Michael again? I may not be so lucky next time and I could find a knife going through my stomach. How could I take Emmy back there? My mind told me that he wouldn't hurt her, but then again, I once believed he would never hurt me.

What had happened? I had been close to him before with a knife and he didn't use it on me. In the asylum, he had found my dagger at one point but never stabbed or cut me with it; in fact, he seemed more focused on it than on me. I lived in that house for how many weeks with how many encounters with him? Not once did I feel in danger or did he try to hurt me, except for when he pinned me to my bed, taunting me to challenge him.

Loomis spoke to Dr. Ashton more about my condition, but their voices fell to deaf ears. My non-needle induced arm slowly came up and touched the bandages under my gown. I was numb to everything. I hadn't even realized the doctor left until I felt Loomis wrap his hand around mine again, making me jump. I looked at him and saw the concern and sympathy in his eyes.

"I know how badly you want to relive the past Kat," he whispered, "But you can never go back. You need to let go,"

"Kind of hard to do when you have a child from that past,"

"I can only imagine," he said.

"You can't tell anyone," I begged, making Loomis look back at me, "If anyone found out about Emmy-,"

"I understand, Katarzyna," he cut me off, "I won't breathe a word,"

"Thank you," I forced a grateful smile pull at my lips.

"But you must understand she may need to be under observation-,"

"No,"

"Katarzyna-,"

"I'm not going to have Emmy go through any of that! She doesn't deserve it!"

"But when she gets older, it may be inevitable!" he argued, "She has already shown signs of taking after her father! You said so yourself!"

"She is seven! I still have another three years before we find out if she will become a killer," I said. After all, Michael didn't start doing any killings until he was ten.

"Oh, I can always count on that morbid humor of yours," he said dryly.

"Besides, she is an only child so who will she go after?" I continued. I groaned as my head spun and it took a few moments before I got my bearing back.

"She could go after anyone Kat," Loomis pointed out, "Michael killed that boy, Wesley, before he murdered the others,"

"The schoolyard bully who always tormented him," I said, "That doesn't mean Emmy will be anything like that,"

"Didn't she already get into a fight?"

"The kids were making fun of her eyes and pushed her around. I went through the same thing," I said, "Can you just imagine what would happen if they found out whose child she was? A simple shove to the ground will be the last of her worries! Since Michael Myers is untouchable, they will go after the next best thing!"

"They won't find out Kat," he assured me, "As long as you keep to your plan,"

"Well that will all be shot to hell if you send her away," I shot at him.

"At least in Smith's Grove we will know where she is and we can see what happens safely,"

"Didn't you say the same thing about Michael?" I asked. Loomis smirked grimly and raised his eyebrow as if the say Touché.

"She stays with me," I said with finality. A few beats passed

"And what if you come home one day to find your house a crime scene with Emelyn in the center of it all?"

"I will figure it out," I said, "I can always let her run around with her father and watch her become his little clone,"

"Please Kat," Loomis said, his face scrunched as if he were trying not to picture the chaos that would come out of Emmy embracing her bloody heritage.

"Emmy knows her right from wrong,"

"So did Michael," he pointed out. I opened my mouth the argue back but the pain in my head finally got the best of me and I groaned, laying my head further into the pillow. I heard Loomis sigh.

"Forgive me for making you so worked up Kat," he apologized, "I had not taken your injuries into consideration,"

"I want Emmy," I moaned.

"I will get in contact with Laurie; she should have picked Emelyn from school by now," he stood and patted my arm, "Just sleep for now,"

I didn't need to be told twice.

/oo/

I didn't sleep long before I felt something pulling at my bed sheets and a hushed voice whispering scolds to whoever was doing it. I cracked my eyes open and found Emmy attempting to pull herself up beside me as Laurie tried to top her.

"Let her rest Emmy," she whispered before the two realized I was awake.

"Hey," I said, groggily.

"Hey," Laurie gave a small smile, "How are you feeling?"

"Do you need to ask?" I laughed softly and pulled myself into a sitting position with her help. Emmy finally succeeded in climbing up beside me and flopped against my good arm, unintentionally brushing against the knife wound, making me let out a hiss of pain.

"Sorry," she whimpered and re-positioned herself.

"Are you okay?" Laurie asked and I froze. I couldn't let on about the wound.

"Yeah, just a particularly sore spot," I said, brushing off the pain. I pretended to rub the area when really I was pushing my gown up to make sure the bandages were concealed by the fabric.

"How long will you be in here?" Emmy asked and I saw her lower lip jut out, her way or saying she missed me. I lifted my arm and wrapped it around her, pulling her closer, tucking her head under my chin.

"The doctor said I could leave day after tomorrow," I said, kissing the top of her head before turning to Laurie, "I don't suppose I can trouble to deal with her until then?" I smiled.

"It's not a problem," she nodded. Emmy curled herself further into me, pushing my gown down slightly, revealing the bandages.

"What happened?!" She nearly shrieked and pointed to it. Of course, this would happen; what else should I expect from a seven year old who is very vocal about everything?

Laurie stood and walked closer to observe the bandaging as well. I felt myself warm up at the sudden attention and that she wasn't dumb, she would be quick to figure out what had really happened.

"Kat?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the hidden injury.

"I got cut," I shrugged, and tried to downplay it, "It's nothing really. Must have been from the accident,"

But it didn't work. I could see the wheels turning in her head as realization came over her face. She knew that kind of injury couldn't be caused by a car. She swallowed thickly and shook her head.

"Excuse me; I have to talk to Dr. Loomis," she said, "He is in the cafeteria getting some lunch," with that, she left and hurried out of the room, leaving Emmy and I alone with an important topic at hand.

"Okay, Emmy listen to me," I began only to have her cut me off.

"Did Michael do that?" she asked, seeming to catch on as well.

"Don't worry about that right now Em-,"

"It was an accident, right?!" her voice was becoming more panicked by the second.

"Emelyn Michelle, focus!" I said firmly and she immediately snapped her mouth shut.

"There's been a change in the plan," I said, "Loomis found out,"

"How?" she asked.

"He is very good at his job," I said grudgingly, "Point is, around him and at home you don't have to call me 'Kat' anymore," I continued.

"What about Laurie?" she asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said, "For now, this stays between you, me and Dr. Loomis,"

"But what if other people find out?" she asked, "You said it would be bad if anyone found out!"

"Emmy, Loomis only found out because he got some information from my accident and he knew where to look," I said, "Haddonfield won't be doing background checks on me anytime soon. All they know is that I moved away and then came back,"

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes," I nodded, "Do you understand Em?"

"Yes Ka-mommy," she corrected herself and gave a nod of her own. I felt warmth spread through my chest as she called me 'mommy' again; I had missed it. Yet, at the same time it felt weird hearing the phrase coming from her again, almost foreign.

There was silence between us as I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the beeping monitor and Emmy humming to herself.

"Mommy?" she asked, "I have another question,"

"What is it?"

"Do you think Michael knows?"

"I don't know," I said, wishing we didn't have to bring him up at all.

"Do you think I can call him 'daddy'?" her voice sounded hopeful while I tried to imagine such a scenario. More importantly, could I even let her out of my sight now? I couldn't trust Michael anymore and I was stupid to think I could in the first place, there was no way I could let Emmy be alone with him. I couldn't risk anything anymore with him.

The biggest obstacle was getting that through Emmy's head. She was her father's child when it came to her stubbornness. She was also good at sneaking around and moving through shadows. And, she had already proven she could handle sharp objects which was scary enough.

I would need to really keep my eyes on her to ensure her safety and also anyone else's.

"Well?" I realized I hadn't answered her question.

"It's not really my place to say," I shrugged, "But I would advise against it,"

She opened her mouth again when Dr. Loomis entered the room.

"Where is Laurie?" I asked.

"She is coming, she had to make a detour at the ladies' room," he said, sitting down at his chair. He looked over at Emmy who gave a big smile which he returned.

"Good to see you again, Emelyn,"

"Hi," she said, "Can I ask you a question?"

"If course you can,"

"You know Michael just as much as mommy does right?" she asked. Loomis looked confused a moment before recovering. He was also used to hearing her call me by my name.

"Well she probably knows him a little better than I, but yes,"

"Then I'm going to ask you the same question,"

"Oh no," I muttered, throwing my head back. She was determined, I'd give her that. Like I said: stubborn just like him.

"And what question would that be?"

"Do you think I can call Michael 'daddy'?" Loomis was silent a moment before a small smile appeared on his face.

"Well, I think that is a decision for you and your mother," he said before adding, "But if you do decide to call him that, I would love to be there to see it,"

I scoffed that sounded like a hollow laugh at the thought; I would love to be there to see that moment too. Silence fell over the room as Laurie walked in, looking calmer than before, but still pretty spooked. But, who could blame her?

"Everything good?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine for now,"

I nodded before leaning my head back once again. I agreed with Laurie; we were all okay for now.

But what would happen once Emmy and I returned to the house?

Review! Okay! So what did you think?! Sweet little moment between Emmy and Kat as she began to call her "Mommy" again. Next chapter, Kat is released from the hospital and must return home. Will Michael be there or will he still be MIA?

Until next time, read and review!