Chapter 3

Mia practically inhaled her first slice of pizza. Emma remembered the almost empty refrigerator at the Gilbert's house…the girl must be hungry, but she didn't reach for another slice.

"There's plenty if you want more," Emma said gently.

Henry was already on his third slice and gave her a strange look. Emma could see the question in his eyes and shook her head ever so slightly in what she hoped was a subtle message. Henry seemed to understand because he watched quietly without comment as Mia finally got a second slice of pizza.

Henry was a good kid. He didn't have a lot of friends though. It didn't help that they had only moved to New York a year ago…it was hard to start a new school knowing no one. But Henry had always spent more time with his head stuck in a book or zoned out in front of a video game than with other kids his age - even in Boston.

Emma was glad her son seemed to be enjoying Mia's company. It turned out they both loved to read and they had spent most of dinner comparing notes on different books they had read. The subject had come up when Henry switched the TV over to a Harry Potter movie marathon on cable before they all sat down at the table.

Mia was less guarded with Henry than she was with Emma. It was only adults she didn't trust then. Emma had let them talk and been a mostly silent observer.

"The third one's on next," Henry said excitedly as the second Harry Potter movie ended. "It's my favorite."

"Prisoner of Azkaban? It's kind of sad…"

"No, it's not! He finds his godfather."

"But he still has to go back to the Dursleys. Hey, have you read The Hunger Games?"

Emma thought the change of subject was probably intentional on Mia's part. It was fine when they were talking about their favorite characters and which house they would be in at Hogwarts, but Harry's status as an orphan living with people who didn't want him may have hit a little too close to home for the girl.

"Hunger Games? Those books are kind of dark…kids killing kids," Emma interjected.

Her son hadn't read the books or seen the movies…though not because he hadn't wanted to. Emma thought they were a little too dark for a twelve year old and had said someone must agree with her since the movies were rated PG-13. Henry hadn't fought her on it because she so rarely said no to things like that. When she did, her son almost always respected it.

"Why do they kill each other?" Henry asked earnestly.

"They don't really have a choice," Mia said.

"There's always a choice," Henry replied.

"Yeah, some choice. They have to kill or be killed. Sometimes you do whatever it takes to survive."

"Sounds dark," Henry murmured his agreement with Emma's assessment. "Have you read The Chronicles of Narnia?"

"No…I didn't like the movies."

"The books are better than the movies. I have the first one. You can borrow it if you want," Henry told her.

"Thanks, but I don't think I can finish it before I leave."

That clearly hadn't occurred to Henry, but he didn't seem too concerned. "That's okay. You can take it and give it back later. It's not like we'll never see each other again…we're friends now, right?"

Mia looked at Emma for help.

Emma kept her face blank and pretended not to understand the silent plea. She was curious how Mia would respond. She knew the girl wouldn't say anything bad to her son, at least not in front of her, but the girl might brush him off.

Emma thought Henry and Mia could both use a friend, but she knew Henry was a very different kid from the kind of kids Mia would have spent time with in the system…hell, the kind of kid Emma had been herself. She knew all-too-well how jealous kids like Mia could be of kids like Henry who had what they desperately wanted…a family - even if Henry's family was just Emma. Well, Emma and a deadbeat dad who didn't even know about Henry – and didn't deserve to know about him. But Emma had tried – and had mostly succeeded – in taking care of her kid the way she wished someone would have taken care of her when she was a kid.

Mia let out a small sigh. "Yeah, we're friends."

Emma tilted her head to study the girl. She wasn't lying. She really did think of Henry as a friend then. Her hesitance must have been just because she didn't think she'd be there long enough to finish the book…and didn't know where she'd end up next.

Henry disappeared into his room and reappeared a few minutes later with his copy of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

"Thanks," Mia said a little helplessly.

Henry grinned crookedly.

Emma stifled a smile as she rose from her seat and picked up their empty plates. "How about ice cream for dessert?"

It was 11:00 pm when the Harry Potter movie marathon ended and the station started showing infomercials. Mia had looked like she'd been struggling to keep her eyes open for the last thirty minutes of the movie.

After one last failed attempt to convince Emma that she should take the couch, the girl gave up and retreated to Emma's bedroom. Henry had already gone to his room after mumbling a good night.

Mia was still wearing her black bomber jacket and jeans even though Emma and Henry were both in pajamas. Either the girl didn't want to borrow so much as a t-shirt from Emma or she was hiding a bruise or two under the long sleeves of the jacket. Knowing Trey was arrested for hitting his wife, Emma thought it was probably the latter.

Mia had sat stiffly in the furthest corner of the couch, looking like she was trying to take up as little space as possible...even while Henry was sprawled out with his feet propped up on the coffee table. The girl was clearly still uncomfortable.

Emma listened carefully for any strange sounds…like a window opening, but she only heard the toilet flushing and then water running for a few minutes. There was a small gap between when the water stopped running and when the light was turned off.

Emma poured herself a glass of wine. She needed one - or two - after the day she'd had. Between finding a kid living alone in her newest case's abandoned house - a kid she now felt at least somewhat responsible for - and her new stalker's disturbing knowledge, it had been a really long day.

Emma contemplated the stack of paperwork she'd gotten in the Gilberts' house. Most of it probably wasn't related to Mia. Oh, there should be something on the girl buried amongst the junk mail, bills, receipts, and other paperwork…foster parents usually had copies of medical records and transcripts. The Gilberts wouldn't have anything identifying Mia's birth parents though…birth certificates were generally kept by Social Services. Emma knew that from when she got a hold of her own…

Her own birth certificate had been a dead end. She was left abandoned on the side of the road. No one seemed to know who had abandoned her so her original birth certificate was blank where the names of the mother and father should have been.

Emma sighed tiredly. She didn't know why she thought she could find Mia's birth parents when she couldn't even find her own parents. It was the only thing she could think of to help the girl though so she was damn well going to try.

The girl's medical records would be a good starting point. Unfortunately, they weren't anywhere in the stack of paperwork. Her school records were however. That was better than nothing.

Emma built out a timeline based on Mia's transcripts. Although there was almost no chance the girl had been in the same placement from birth to age five, a kindergarten transcript from an elementary school in South Boston was the earliest record Emma had of the girl's existence.

Emma made a list of all of the hospitals in the area surrounding the elementary school and hoped Mia was born at one of them. She would find out when she called pretending to be Mia's social worker, whose business card had conveniently been in the jumbled mess of paperwork. She just needed the girl's birthdate first.

Mia was a light sleeper. She woke up when she heard the sounds of early morning activity…rustling around, water running, the clinking of a coffee mug. She glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was just after 8:00 am.

She shed the oversized t-shirt she'd borrowed from Emma – or more accurately from Emma's dresser - and pulled the t-shirt and jeans she'd been wearing the day before on. She made a quick detour to the master bathroom. As she was washing her hands, she inspected the ugly bruise around her right wrist. Anyone with eyes could see that it was clearly from fingerprints. She shrugged her black bomber jacket back on and made a mental note not to take it off. It was a hand-me-down from an older foster sister and it was a little big on her. The sleeves completely covered her wrists.

Mia debated whether to stay in Emma's room where she was out of the way or go out and help with breakfast. She decided on the latter.

Emma was sitting on the couch with a bunch of paperwork spread out in front of her on the coffee table and her laptop open in her lap. The woman looked up at her. "Morning."

"Morning," Mia mumbled in response as she edged closer to the woman. The name of her junior high school and the school insignia on one of the many pieces of paper on the coffee table caught her eye. "Hey, that's my report card! What are you doing with it?"

Emma's eyebrows shot up. Mia couldn't tell whether it was out of surprise or disapproval. "It was with some paperwork that was at the Gilberts' house."

Mia glared. "Well, it's none of your business."

Mia didn't know why the idea of Emma seeing her grades bothered her so much. She was used to people thinking she was dumb, but for some reason she didn't want Emma to think that. But why did she even care what Emma thought of her?

"Look, kid-"

"I'm not a kid," Mia cut her off. She didn't feel like a kid…she had never really felt like a kid. She didn't like being compared with someone like Henry whose biggest problem was getting to the next level in his videogame.

Emma just stared at her. "You're twelve…"

"Almost thirteen," Mia said defensively.

"Okay, almost thirteen," Emma acknowledged. "I'm trying to find your parents. Remember that?"

Mia stared at her blankly. "And how does knowing I suck at math help you do that?"

Emma sighed. "You don't suck at math. And even if you did, it's not knowing you suck at math…it's knowing where you've lived and when."

"Why bother? I've never lived with my parents."

"I was trying to figure out where you went to kindergarten. I'm going to check nearby hospitals to see if you were born in any of them."

Mia's anger deflated. "Oh…"

"Actually, I was looking for your medical records. Any idea where the Gilberts would have kept them?"

Mia thought about it for a second. "Did you check the hall closet?"

"No. Should I have?"

Mia shrugged. "There are some boxes and bins and stuff in there."

Emma nodded. "I'll go back and look."

"I'll go with you."

"No, it's too dangerous. What if Trey is there?"

"You mean my foster father that I've lived with for a year? Now he's too dangerous?"

"He hurt Dawn, and I'm guessing he hurt you, too."

Mia stiffened. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Emma gave her a knowing look. "Really? Then take off your jacket."

Mia looked away from the intensity of Emma's gaze. "What? No. He won't even be there…he hasn't been back since he got his stuff…"

Emma stared at her in shock. "Were you there when he went back for his stuff?"

"I live there," Mia reminded her.

"Did he hurt you?" Emma asked urgently.

"No," Mia said flatly. He hadn't hurt her…not really…just warned her to keep her mouth shut.

Emma studied her carefully and then leaned forward. "Tell me this…on your report card, your teacher said something about how much school you've missed. Have you been skipping school? Or were you hurt?"

"I was skipping," Mia said quickly…maybe a little too quickly.

Emma didn't look like she believed her.

"Why do you care?" Mia asked in an exasperated tone before the woman could resume her line of questioning.

Emma smiled sadly. "Because I'm actually a decent person…and because whatever you're going through, I've been through it, too, and I can help you if you'll let me."

Mia shook her head. "You've been in foster homes, but not all foster homes are the same…some are worse."

Emma stilled. "And the Gilberts…it was worse?"

"I…didn't say that," Mia said carefully.

Emma gave her a look. "You kind of did…"

"Good morning, Mom. Good morning, Mia."

They both turned to look at Henry. He had clearly just woken up. He was still in pajamas and his hair was messy. Mia was so grateful for the distraction she could have hugged him…and she was not a hugger.

"We'll finish this conversation later," Emma said in a low voice.

Mia paled. Emma wasn't going to let this go…was she?

"What do you guys want for breakfast? Eggs or pancakes?" Emma asked as she gathered her paperwork, including Mia's transcripts, up.

"Eggs," Henry decided after a second.

"Mia?" Emma questioned.

"I'm not hungry," Mia said, feeling a little sick.

"That wasn't one of the choices. Eggs or pancakes?"

"Eggs is fine," Mia said tightly.

Mia picked at the scrambled eggs on her plate. The girl hadn't even had two bites.

"Henry's never gotten food poisoning from my cooking." Emma tried to keep her tone light. "Isn't that right, kid?"

"Not from breakfast…"

Emma stared at her son. "Seriously?"

Henry just grinned cheekily. "So Mia, what do you want to do today?"

Mia looked up from her plate for the first time since they sat down. "I don't know. What do you do around here?"

"Mom, can we go to Central Park?"

Emma hesitated…her creepy stalker said he'd be in Central Park. "Actually, it's gonna be cold today. How about we go to the arcade instead?"

"Which arcade? Dave and Busters?" Henry tried to negotiate.

Emma smiled. "You just want to make sure no one beat your high score on Space Invaders."

"Have you ever been to Dave and Busters?" Henry asked Mia.

Mia shook her head.

"We have to go," Henry pleaded with just a little bit of a whine in his voice.

"Okay," Emma gave in reluctantly. It would be harder to keep an eye on two kids at Dave and Busters than it would have been at the small arcade a few blocks away, but it was really only Mia that was a flight risk…

Henry finished his breakfast in record time and put his empty plate in the sink. "I'm going to take a shower and get ready!"

Mia jumped up from her chair. "Me too!"

Emma stared at the girl's retreating back. Mia did not want to finish their conversation, but that just made Emma more determined to get answers. She had a really bad feeling…and her gut instincts were usually right.

Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. This was a quick chapter. I just wanted to show a little more of the dynamic between the three of them before any revelations. The next one is longer and will start at Dave and Busters. I have something that I hope will be more interesting than just arcade games planned.