WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

by Desktop Dragon

Ana Grey was always sure of who she was and where she came from, until a surprise email is sent to her informing her that she may be the long lost sibling of someone seeking answers. In New York Eva Cross is that person seeking answers as she has just had everything she took as fact turned upside down and she no longer knows who she is. I DO NOT OWN FSOG OR THE CROSSFIRE STORIES.

156. Chapter 156

AUTHORS NOTE: In this chapter Monica's backstory will be discussed. Now in canon the backstory was that originally, she had Eva very young and as a result was disowned by her family. However, in the final book (which was in my opinion a complete car crash from beginning to end) her backstory turned into something completely bizarre and ridiculous. So, therefore for the purposes of this story I am following the original part from the earlier books, and adapting it but also twisting it slightly obviously as Frank is also involved. I figured that the issues between Monica and Eva are very easily dealt with, as its more just a lack of communication and something very easily sorted as the issues all root from a place of love (and in Monica's case guilt). There will also be talk of the time Eva was raped by Nathan so consider this your trigger warning.

CHAPTER 156

(CAROLINE)

I am awaiting the arrival of Eva and her mother with more than a hint of trepidation. I am beginning to believe that I could give up my practice and still make a decent living if I just focussed my attention and all my efforts on the Grey and Cross families. I have never known such disfunction, abuse and heartache. You really couldn't make it up, this has been without doubt my most challenging year from the moment I took on Christian Grey, closely followed by Gideon Cross and then slowly the rest of the clan. While it has been undoubtedly challenging, it has also been very rewarding to see these families slowly rebuild, regroup and heal… and my god there has been a lot to overcome and heal. I am hopeful though that with my help I can get them all to a point where they no longer need my assistance.

My latest challenge is to help Eva, Gideon's beloved wife. I had been expecting this as Gideon's scheduled therapy sessions now always seem to begin with him talking about Eva and now of course Jared and his concerns for them before we dovetail into him, so I've known the background of these problems she has been having for a while. So, Eva's call wasn't unexpected. Plus, Gideon had also called me after the flight to Seattle, he had said to give me a heads up to warn me about the resentment and animosity between Eva and the therapist who it appears has accompanied Mrs Stanton. He had outlined the events on the plane, but I was also aware of them as Jared had also, quite independently called me for a chat. He had been worried that he had been out of line calling Mrs Stanton out on her previous remarks and insisted that he hadn't wanted to cause any trouble. I had talked him through the situation and I had decided from what he had told me that he was protecting Eva. I also believe he had felt he needed to explain why he had taken the decision to call Eva mom. I had assured him that as long as he wasn't confrontational or rude, he was as entitled to voice his opinion as all the adults in the room. When I asked him why he felt he needed to explain himself he told me he saw it as unfair what her mom said to her and he just wanted to set the record straight.

Gideon had talked with pride as to how his son had spoken out and also at how obstinate Monica was, refusing to acknowledge just how upsetting her words had been. I have a feeling this session is going to be a car crash of epic proportions. I haven't had a one to one with Eva, but from everything Gideon has told me about her along with what I witnessed at the Grey family meeting she isn't afraid to speak her mind and to do so quite bluntly at times or defend those who she sees as being oppressed. She doesn't mince her words and so can come across as quite abrasive and even rude at times.

My desk intercom buzzes and I'm made aware that Eva has arrived. I go out to greet her and I smile reassuringly at her. I greet Gideon and Jared warmly, and watch as they offer to wait for Eva. She shakes her head saying Angus is waiting and she didn't want my waiting room filled with people waiting for her. I glance at the tall Scotsman sitting unobtrusively in the corner almost blending in with his surroundings, he always strikes me as somewhat of an enigma. He intrigues me, Gideon and Jared both speak of him with unconcealed fondness and respect. I know that Gideon trusts him implicitly and views him as a paternal influence, a father figure and Jared appears to look upon him now as a grandfather, which is quite remarkable considering the amount of time Jared has known him and the fact that first and foremost this man is an employee.

As Gideon and Jared say their goodbyes, three people walk in. I watch as Angus goes on full alert while Gideon, Jared and Eva all stiffen significantly. Eva gives one of the men a warm smile but the other she gives a hostile glare. Gideon and Jared greet the trio with a forced politeness before glancing at Eva once more and then saying goodbye to me they quickly leave. I wait, just observing when Eva turns towards me.

"Caroline, this is my mom Monica Stanton, her husband Richard Stanton and that is mom's therapist Dr Petersen" she says doing the introductions. The varying levels of coldness in her voice are quite telling, the most warmth was reserved for her step father, Richard Stanton and it is clear she doesn't like Dr Petersen one little bit. I hold my hand out and smile winningly at the three people in front of me.

"I'm very pleased to meet you all, I trust you had a good flight from New York?" I say to which Eva lets out a rude snort and shakes her head.

"Sorry Caroline" Eva mutters quietly, and I can't help but notice Monica Stanton stiffen and purse her lips as I say those words and then she glares at Eva when she snorts. Interesting, it seems she still thinks she is the injured party here, with regard to the disagreement with Jared despite the fact several people including her own husband have told her she was clearly not. I wonder if there is any underlying cause to this?

"Shall we?" I say as I wave my hand towards my office. Eva nods and immediately makes her way inside, closely followed by Dr Petersen. However, Monica hesitates and looks at her husband almost helplessly. He pats her hand and whispers reassurance to her before coaxing her into the office.

"I'll be waiting right out here Monica, it will be fine, but you really need to listen as well as speak. You need to hear Eva's point of view, as well as voice your own" he says.

I try not to react to that seemingly innocent but very telling remark, also very telling is Monica's response to it. She doesn't agree but instead… is she sulking? Her mouth goes into a pout as she stiffly stalks into the room. I follow her in and watch as she pauses taking in the layout. I smile as I realise Eva has chosen to sit where Gideon and Christian always choose to sit when they are here in my office. Gideon has only been here in person a couple of times the majority of our sessions conducted via video link. Dr Petersen stands as soon as Monica enters and gives her a dazzling smile. She immediately goes and sits beside him. This is also interesting; it appears she is expecting him to be playing a part in this.

I close the door and sit down, "Right then, welcome. Before we start, whatever is said in this room is confidential and goes no further. As a fellow therapist I'm certain you are aware of that Dr Petersen?" I say. Everyone nods, and murmurs their agreement.

"So, Eva has asked for this session to clear the air between herself and you Mrs Stanton. Dr Petersen you are here purely as an observer and moral support for Mrs Stanton" I say clarifying that he is not going to take over my session.

His smile fades at that and Monica stiffens. "He is entitled to voice his opinion" she argues.

Eva snorts again, "Of course he is, because it will be to say you are right and everyone else is wrong" she states bitterly as she glares at Dr Petersen almost challenging him to deny it.

I hold up my hand, "If I could just clarify. When I say you are here purely as an observer, your opinion is valid, if I ask you for it. As a therapist it is your job to help your client and make them think about the issues they are having, to try and find a resolution and closure so I will of course be interested to hear how you have helped Mrs Stanton throughout the course of this session".

This seems to pacify Monica, and she nods. Eva grins at my words and Dr Petersen shuffles in his seat somewhat uncomfortably. Eva raises her hand.

"Erm, am I allowed to raise the issues I had with regard to the single disastrous joint session I had with him and my mother… I think it will be relevant as it links in with the raft of issues I have with my mother and have had over the years?" she says.

Monica sits up straight at that and shakes her head, "We are here to discuss your behaviour when you aired all our dirty linen in public. I am still very upset about that Eva. If it wasn't for Ana's lovely call when she apologised to me… something you failed to do I wouldn't be here now" she huffs.

Eva's eyes widen and she visibly bristles, "How the fuck was I supposed to apologise? You called me, you chewed me out and then you hung up on me and blocked me?! You didn't give me chance to fucking explain. Ana called you because I couldn't and told you we had no choice, we had to react because Frank had gone to the media and we were trapped inside Grey Publishing with a hoard of journalists outside. You agreed with that so why the fuck are you still so bent out of shape about it after we did fucking explain and we did fucking apologise?" she rants.

Monica purses her lips and shakes her head. It is clear she has no response to that and I quickly move to calm things down. I can see immediately what the issue here is… guilt, Monica feels tremendous guilt and she tries to deflect that on to Eva for the way she behaves and the actions she takes.

"Alright if we could just take a breath here… Eva, I am aware of this situation as… and I do have their permission to say this, it is one which both Gideon and Christian have outlined with me in their own sessions. So, I know the specifics of what happened that day. So, to save time if I could just outline how I understand it?" I say and Eva nods.

"Right, good. You and Gideon had travelled to Seattle to meet Frank Lambert who had, under a pseudonym sent a fictional book where the premise of that story was him outlining how he had faked his own death. You and Ana had confronted him and things had deteriorated. He had stormed out with a number of threats… and Ana's… stepfather Mr Steele had actually punched the man at one point as well, is that a fair summary of what happened?" I ask and Eva sadly nods.

"Right, so at this point I think it is only fair to make you aware of the fact that Gideon has also told me how you discovered that this man was your biological father" I say. With that Monica takes a sharp breath in.

"He had no right" she gasps.

I turn to look at her, holding my hand up to Eva who is about to fire back at her. "Mrs Stanton, Mr Cross has every right to discuss anything he wishes in his sessions with me. He has given me carte blanche to reveal the contents of previous sessions I have had with him, should I feel them to be relevant which I will add he was well within his rights to refuse to do. This is relevant as this is the main reason why we are here today. Eva is Gideon's wife. He supports her just as she supports him. He was there when Eva discovered the truth about her parentage and so it, naturally affected him. It was discussed in context with the entire situation of Eva discovering who her sister was and also how he came about to seek me out for help for himself. It was during a general discussion as I recall as we first got to know each other. Nothing was said maliciously and I am just making you all aware that I am aware of the circumstances surrounding that period of time". Monica pouts and shakes her head.

I turn towards Eva, "So… with how you found out in mind… how did you feel when you first discovered the truth about who your biological father was? Walk me through that time so I can hear it from your point of view" I say and I am hoping that Monica sits and listens and doesn't just behave like a sulky child.

Eva looks at me and gripping her hands together tightly she takes a deep breath. "I was pissed… I was beyond pissed… and devastated… I was feeling so out of control, I…" she pauses and takes a deep breath. "I'd received the call that my dad had been shot and Gideon pulled out all the stops. He dropped everything and flew us to California so I could see my dad. I was worried about my dad, scared he was going to die before I got there… I was overthinking everything. I was also worried I'd disrupted Gideon's schedule, and I was leaving my co-workers in the lurch, it was all going round and round in my head, but on the other hand I just needed to get to my dad and I had to do it immediately. Gideon was my rock, he got us there as quickly as humanly possible. He grounded me and tried to take away all that anxiety and he took control. Which was what I needed, he talked to the captain at dad's precinct. He organised everything. I was so grateful to him and I started to relax a bit… but I was still scared, I was so afraid my dad was going to die" she stops and a single tear drops from her eyes. I push a box of tissues towards her and she takes one and rubs her eyes.

"Thank you" she whispers.

"Eva don't rub your eyes" Monica says gently and Eva huffs slightly but also smiles, clearly amused at these words.

"Mom is terrified I'm going to get wrinkles by rubbing my eyes" Eva explains and she rolls her eyes.

"Anyway, where was I… oh yes. I was scared dad was going to die. Gideon took me to the hospital; he had organised for us to meet with dad's doctor. He told us dad was stable and was a very lucky man he said there had been a few worrying moments as dad had a rare blood type," she pauses and looks up at Monica who to her credit is listening to every word.

"I made a flippant comment that dad had to be different and couldn't have a run of the mill blood type like mine. I mentioned my blood type and he… the doctor reacted to that and said that can't be right… or something like that. He realised what he had done and shut up. I pushed him to ask him what he meant and… reluctantly he explained why someone with dad's blood type couldn't possibly father someone with mine… his words, what he said made my entire world fall apart. That is how I found out, at first I was in denial and had no idea what to think and then I just fell apart. Gideon again stepped in, he held me… he grounded me and he said simply call your mother, and that's what I did… and then I was pissed - do you remember that call mom because I do?" she stops and shakes her head bitterly.

I glance at Monica who swallows hard and simply nods. She isn't arguing or defending herself, which makes me realise that I was right and her behaviour is all down to her guilt, which then had the effect of making Eva even more pissed and it has snowballed from there. This is really simple and easily solved just as long as I can get them honestly communicating with each other, with that in mind I clear my throat, "So it is fair to say, that all came as a complete shock. How did it make you feel after you had spoken to your mom?" I ask.

Eva snorts, "Betrayed, she had lied to me my entire life. She had lied to my dad. I realised immediately why she had always refused to marry him… it was ok for her to lie and let him think he was my dad but she didn't want to go the whole hog and marry him despite the fact he asked her… several times. Plus, the fact he wasn't rich enough for her, he worked in a garage as a car mechanic. But when he found out about me, he gave up that job – a job he loved and joined the police force because it had better pay and better prospects… plus a good pension. He did all that because he believed he was my dad and he hoped it would be enough for mom, but it wasn't because he just wasn't rich enough for her. So yeah… I felt betrayed I felt resentful and, in that moment… I hated my mom. Dad on the other hand. I made a vow right there and then that it made no difference, he was my dad he always had been and always would be. It was horrible when we told him… I didn't want to but Gideon told me he had the right to know… when Gideon said that I realised that if I didn't I would be as bad as mom I'd be continuing the lie. Gideon was with me and we told him and I saw how those few words completely destroyed him… but I was determined that wasn't going to happen so I told him… I told him straight it makes no fucking difference dad, do you hear me… that's what I said. Normally he'd call me out for using bad language but that day he just held me in his arms and said ok". She stops and there is a deathly silence.

I look at Eva and smile, "Do you hate your mom now?" I ask and Monica gasps at my question.

Eva looks up and shakes her head, "No of course I don't. I hated her for about a minute at the most".

I nod, "So, going back to that day with Frank, when it became apparent what he had done and how you were trapped inside Grey Publishing what happened?" I ask.

Eva sighs, "Ana and I decided we needed to go public, we had to move quickly our theory being we confirm. We tell the truth so effectively there is no story. We ran it past Christian and Gideon because of who they are and then we went for it" she says with a shrug.

"Did you run it past anyone else?" I ask as I know from what Gideon told me she had called her father to warn him.

Eva frowns as she thinks, "I don't really remember… Oh yes I do, Christian called Ray – Ana's dad to warn him, because he had called one of his army buddies to tell them that Frank wasn't dead after all" she says.

"Anyone else?" I push and Eva's eyes widen and she looks at Monica defiantly.

"Yeah, I called my dad and gave him a heads up" she says.

"But you didn't call your mother?" I confirm and Eva shakes her head.

"No because I couldn't deal with one of her meltdowns, I just couldn't… plus I didn't have the time to deal with it. Had I called her she would've been on the phone for hours… arguing with me and trying to persuade me not to do it. I figured better off this way and tell her afterwards when it's a done deal, easier to ask for forgiveness rather than permission as it were. But it went viral quicker than we anticipated and she heard it in the media before I got chance to call her" she says.

"How could you Eva?" Monica splutters, "How do you think that made me feel when I heard it?" she says accusingly.

I see the anger build and Eva glares at her, "Oh I don't know mom… Hurt, angry and betrayed maybe?" she says questioningly and with more than a hint of sarcasm.

Monica nods but before she can open her mouth Eva fires back at her.

"Good, so now you know how I felt when I discovered the truth about dad". She pauses, "I wanted you to feel as bad as I did, I wanted you to hurt the way I was hurting" Eva admits.

"That is very cruel Eva" Monica says stiffly.

Eva snorts again, "Oh as cruel as lying to two people about the fact they were father and daughter?" she argues.

"It was embarrassing as well" Monica huffs and Eva laughs.

"Now we are getting to the crux of it, you were just pissed because your dirty little secret was no longer a secret. Scared what all those catty bitches in your social circle would do with this news. Scared of how it fucking looked… but here's the thing mom, had I known and had I been aware of the facts none of what happened would've happened because had I known the truth finding Ana and Frank would have probably already happened and possibly before Ana and I were married to billionaires which was the reason why Frank broke cover in the first place. So, Frank could've stayed dead or he would've just wandered off and ignored us like he did with El when he met him and it would never have been made public like it has been" she says.

Monica shakes her head, and I watch Dr Petersen he is frowning as though he is confused about something.

"Do you wish to share something here Dr Petersen, perhaps how you helped Monica cope with how it all came out?" I ask.

He shakes his head and stays silent and Eva snorts, "He's not saying anything because mom probably didn't tell him the whole story, she never does… she only tells the bits which make her out to be innocent never the full extent of what she has done" she says coldly.

"That's not fair Eva" Monica says.

"Not fair, not fair oh come on mom I can think of far more instances in our relationship where fairness never entered your head" she says. "But as we are currently discussing dad, here is an instance of fairness or the lack of it, why didn't you marry him? Why did you just keep him dangling there? Was it because you felt guilty because you knew he wasn't my dad or was it just because he wasn't rich enough?" she asks.

I turn towards Eva, "You keep saying that, that is three times now I think that you have mentioned your father wasn't rich enough can you enlighten me on what that means?" I ask.

Eva nods, "Mom is a career trophy wife, she has spent her life finding, marrying and then divorcing rich men… and getting nice big fat settlements in short, she worships the almighty dollar. When I first met Gideon she was overjoyed, but she seemed to think his bank balance was more important than his love. She said as much a few times, and when I married him…" she pauses and grins, "She nearly had a conniption when we eloped. According to her I was apparently, totally irresponsible for signing his pre-nup without seeking advice and when I told her the terms could've been understood by a five-year-old she replied with there are always better terms".

"I came from a wealthy family, I was used to a certain lifestyle" Monica huffs.

"And what happened?" I ask.

"I allowed Victor to think he was Eva's father. I moved in with Victor and he promised to take care of me and Eva… he was wonderful, but my guilt because I'd let him believe Eva was his was huge. Then as time went on, I wasn't happy, the lifestyle wasn't what I was used to… and along with the gnawing guilt inside me… I just couldn't live like that" she stops and shakes her head.

"So, you left dad and ran off with a rich man" Eva says bitterly.

Monica bursts into tears, "Yes, and I have regretted that decision ever since after what happened to you Eva" she says.

"Eva?" I ask.

Eva swallows hard, "George Barker… George Barker was the rich man she ran off with, a widower. He had a son, a few years older than me… his name was Nathan and he raped me" she says.

"Eva, do you need to take a moment?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"No, I was ten years old the first time Nathan raped me, and I lost count he did it so often. He threatened me that he would kill me if I told anyone. He killed my cat and left her on my bed when he thought I was going to tell my mom. It all came out when I was fourteen. Nathan made me pregnant and I suffered a miscarriage, that was when the abuse was discovered and I told them what was happening".

Monica is sobbing now, and Eva looks at her carefully with love and compassion. "Mom was brilliant, she divorced a man who she was happy with and she got me out of there. She really was amazing, I can't fault her how she took care of me and supported me" Eva says.

Monica looks up and smiles at Eva weakly through her tears.

I listen and wait for Eva to continue, "I was a mess and I was out of control… mom couldn't cope with me, as I struggled to come to terms with everything that had happened. She wanted to control my life, know where I was and what I was doing at every minute of the day, I felt suffocated and I rebelled against that control she was trying to exert over me. She threatened me that she would call dad because he was a cop so I called her bluff and she did. I went to live with dad in San Diego and he saved me. I was behaving in a way which wasn't healthy and he got me the help I needed" Eva says.

"Did your father know what had happened to you?" I ask.

Eva shakes her head, "I made mom promise not to tell him, she was so mired in guilt she agreed to anything I wanted at that point. I didn't want dad to know though, I didn't want Nathan infecting my relationship with him. I went to live with him and he got me help. He found out soon after I started seeing Gideon when Nathan was released from prison and came to look for me, I had started seeing Gideon and the media had exposed me making it easy for Nathan to find me. Dad was visiting me in New York when Nathan got… killed. The police came to interview me because of my past and Nathan's record of what he had done to me… it was supposed to be sealed, because he was a juvenile when he was convicted but obviously when he died they could access it… and dad being a cop could also access it, which he did and he was devastated".

"Then what happened?" I ask gently.

Eva shrugs, "It all went away, it appears Nathan got in with some bad people and they murdered him the police found something belonging to Nathan on the body of some gang member who had been killed… I'm not totally sure of the details" she pauses and shakes her head. "Dad was devastated about it and he spent some time at my Krav Maga class to try and work off some of that anger and pent up emotion".

"Krav Maga, that is impressive" I say and I hear Monica huff.

"It's not ladylike I was shocked when I found out where she was going" she says.

Eva looks up, "Yes mom and tell Caroline exactly how you found out" she says.

Monica huffs again, "I was worried about Eva, she was back in New York so she was my responsibility once more and I needed to know she was safe" she argues.

"Mom, I was a grown woman by this point. I had a career, and I'd met Gideon and I was living with Cary. You knew exactly where I was, what I was doing and the things I didn't want you to know about was my prerogative. You invaded my privacy mom you fucking stalked me" Eva snaps.

"Stalked?" I ask.

Eva nods, "Richard enabled her crazy behaviour, she used his resources. She gave me gifts with tracking devices in. Richard gave me a phone and that had a tracker in it".

"I remembered how out of control you were before" Monica argues.

"And I got over it, I worked through it and I was fine. You knew I was, I came to New York to build my career, I was trying to move on with my life and put the past behind me. All you did with your crazy over bearing behaviour was piss me off… you know Caroline the phone I got and the compact I didn't care about they didn't mean anything… but the watch. Mom gave me a Rolex as a graduation present when I graduated university. That had a tracker in it. I had dreams of making it an heirloom passing it down to my daughter should I have one, one day but not anymore it was tainted and ruined by her crazy over bearing actions".

I turn towards Monica, "You do realise that stalking is illegal?" I ask.

Monica huffs, "Of course I do, but Eva is my daughter I have the right…" I hold up my hand.

"Monica, Eva is a grown woman. Had she been a minor I would have said absolutely, no question about it as Eva was your responsibility. However, as a grown woman she is entitled to the same levels of privacy that you are… you are angry and hurt by the fact Eva revealed your darkest secret to the world so can you empathise how Eva feels about being tracked?" I ask.

Monica thinks and then shakes her head, "It's hardly the same thing" she huffs.

"I totally agree, it isn't. Let me put this another way. Eva had her control taken away from her at an early age. Her right to say no, her body was used by someone and all control was taken away from her… would you agree?" I ask and Monica nods.

"So, she naturally rebelled she naturally tried to regain that control… control you were reluctant to give her which was understandable under the circumstances and considering she was a minor she admits she tried to regain that control through methods which were not healthy to the point where she was out of control and she went to live with her father. He got her the help she needed and she healed. She returns to New York and back into your orbit, and suddenly she discovers that you are tracking her again. Monitoring her every move, taking her back to that time in her life where she was struggling and out of control, can you see how suffocating that could seem? How she could feel her control was being taken away from her once more?" I stop and wait.

Eva nods, "She phoned me about a million fucking times a day as well, and if I didn't answer her she blew up Cary's phone, it got totally ridiculous" she says.

"I… never thought of it in that way… I didn't think I was doing anything wrong… I mean I just wanted her to be safe" Monica says.

I feel we are close to a breakthrough here, she has finally admitted she could be wrong about something. "So why is that Monica, why were you so concerned about Eva's safety?" I ask.

Tears start to fall down Monica's cheeks, "Because I had already failed her… I had selfishly left Victor for a better life with George because… yes he was richer. That selfishness caused my daughter to be violated repeatedly, she had her innocence stripped from her and she was made pregnant by that monster and… she suffered… she suffered… I watched as she spiralled out of control and I knew, I knew it was all my fault. I needed her to know how sorry I was, I wanted to be there for her and I needed to know she was safe, I knew Nathan was out of prison and I didn't want him to find her, I wanted to keep her safe from him and in the process I failed her again. I made her resent me, and pull away from me… oh god Eva I'm sorry" Monica dissolves into floods of tears and Eva is on her feet and she rushes to her mother and crouching in front of her she holds her in her arms.

"I'm sorry too mom, I was so angry when I found out about dad, and I wanted to punish you I wanted you to hurt as badly as I was hurting and that was wrong of me" she says.

Monica looks up and shakes her head, "No, I deserved it I deserved everything because I caused that to happen, you are right if I had told you the truth from the start… things could've been different".

Monica's eyes widen, "I think that is why I made such a fuss about Jared calling you mom. It struck a nerve I didn't realise I had. Because I had mislead you all your life and here you were being mom to a boy who… Oh what must he think of me? I was awful to him. He didn't deserve it he is correct it was none of my business and here I was interfering once more in your life… I am so so, sorry Eva".

I sit back in my seat and inwardly smile, this is what we call a breakthrough. I glance at Dr Petersen and I can't help but notice just how quiet he is.

"Dr Petersen, I am surprised you haven't helped Monica come to these realisations before now, have you been seeing her long?" I ask mildly.

"Well, I erm… that is" he blusters.

Eva looks up, "He just kept mom going round in circles and because she is quite stubborn he seemed to get into the habit of just telling her what she wanted to hear rather than actually helping her" she says.

"I feel that is a little unfair" Dr Petersen begins.

Eva stands up, "Bullshit! That joint session I had with you and mom when I found out about the trackers and I wanted her to stop calling me incessantly… you remember that session don't you? You took her side and told her what she wanted to hear, you let her talk over me and you completely disregarded my very reasonable view that I was entitled to my privacy".

"Eva honey, it wasn't all his fault… I didn't always tell him everything" Monica says, she looks up at me. "I… after what happened to Eva it left me with a number of issues and I… I didn't cope very well. I started seeing Dr Petersen but my guilt… I wasn't totally forthcoming and then that just continued and I was selective in what I told him and I…" she stops and shakes her head.

Eva crouches once more, "But mom, he is supposed to be a trained therapist, it is his job to make you think about stuff like Caroline has done here today, and come on let's face it… it didn't take her long to do did it? How long have you been seeing him? I think… I think he's been taking you for a ride mom. He knows who you are married to, I mean Richard Stanton is rich and he saw you as his meal ticket… I talked about it with Ana and she said it sounded like how Christian was with his therapist… before he started seeing Caroline. She said he was seeing that guy for years and getting nowhere, but the progress was visible and dramatic as soon as he started seeing Caroline and Ana says he is a different man now".

Monica thinks and slowly nods, "He made me feel good about myself" she whispers.

I smile kindly at her, "But the truth isn't always pretty" I say simply.

"I am a good therapist" Dr Petersen huffs.

Eva stands up, "You probably were to begin with but you saw mom wanted to feel good about herself to alleviate the guilt she was drowning in, and instead of helping her work through that guilt and get rid of that guilt you just blew smoke up her ass and made her believe she was never wrong".

"I don't have to sit here and listen to this" Dr Petersen huffs.

"Ok, well the door is right there so bye and don't let it hit you on the way out" Eva says coldly.

Monica thinks for a moment, "Dr Petersen I don't think I want us to continue our treatment any longer" she says politely.

At that Dr Petersen huffs angrily and leaves the room.

"Bye!" Eva calls sardonically.

"Eva" Monica hisses.

Eva grins at her, "Oh come on lighten up mom, you have had the mother of all breakthroughs today and you have offloaded that quack. When we get back to New York Gideon and I will help you find a new therapist" I say.

"Actually… would it be an imposition… I mean? I know there are logistics but… I actually feel today helped a great deal and I would… if you…" she stops.

I smile at her. "I am Gideon's therapist and I also speak to Jared. We have had some very productive sessions via videolink so I don't see why the same can't happen for you. I am assuming you have internet access at home?" I ask.

Monica nods, "I do".

I shrug, "Then I don't see any problem".

"Thank you very much" Monica replies gratefully, "For everything" she adds.