Present Day

"Ethan, come on!" Alex called up the stairs, "You're going to be late for school if you don't hurry up!"

"Mommmmm," Ethan whined, appearing at the top of the stairs, arms crossed firmly over his chest. "I don't wanna go to school!"

Alex heaved an annoyed sigh. "No one ever wants to go to school, just like I don't want to go to work, but we don't have a choice. I'm afraid you have to suck it up and go." She offered a faint smile to soften the blow.

Ethan stomped his little foot. "I wish Daddy was here!"

"Well, he's not!" Alex snapped without thinking. "Daddy left and he's never coming back!" The second the words had left her lips, she instantly regretted them. She had told herself that she wasn't going to make James the villain after he'd left, for the sake of their son, but apparently that was easier said than done... "Ethan, I'm so sorry," she choked out, feeling close to tears herself up on catching sight of the way his bottom lip wobbled.

For a moment or two, Ethan stood rooted to the spot, fighting back tears...but they ultimately came spilling over and rather than cry in front of his mother, he ran to his room and slammed the door shut behind him.

With a little growl, Alex ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Dammit, James," she muttered, "You've been gone almost three years and you still manage to fuck everything up..." Shaking her head, she climbed the stairs.

When she knocked on Ethan's door, she was met with a resounding, "Go away!"

"Ethan, I'm sorry," she said again. "That was very unkind of me to say. I know you love your father and I shouldn't have taken my frustration out on you like that."

Still he said nothing.

She opened the door a crack and peered inside to find him lying face down on the bed, head buried in his pillow, his little body wracked with sobs. Heart clenching, she crossed the room to kneel beside the bed, resting a hand on his back. "Ethan, I may not know everything, but I know your father loved you very much."

"Then why?" he asked, voice muffled by the pillow. "Why did he leave me?"

"I don't know, honey," she said, though it was a lie. "You deserved better than that, though. You deserve a father who doesn't run away when things get tough."

Ethan turned his head so he could meet her eyes then. In a small, meek voice, he said, "Everyone goes away."

Alex felt as if her heart might break. (She felt that a lot lately...) "Honey, what happened to Emma wasn't your fault. It was nobody's fault. And I know that if she'd had any say in the matter, she'd still be here with us today."

Ethan sniffled, appearing unconvinced.

Reaching up to dry his tears, Alex offered him a soft smile that she hoped looked more comforting than it felt. "I love you so so much, Little Otter. And I'm sorry I snapped at you." She smoothed his messy hair away from his face. "How does this sound? I'll call the school and tell them you're going to be late. I still need to go to work, but I'll drop you off with Aunty Em and you can have a treat at her cafe, then she'll take you to school. Okay?"

Reluctantly, he nodded...likely because Emily was a soft touch and 'a treat' usually meant two or three.

Ethan flung himself in Emily's arms and hugged her as tightly as he possibly could with his little arms. Emily anticipated that she'd get an earful about his fight with his mom (which she'd gotten the bullet points of when she'd talked to Alex on the phone), but instead the only thing he said was, "Mom said I could have a treat..."

With a little laugh, Emily said, "Did she now?"

He grinned – showing off his missing tooth – and nodded.

"I suppose we could make that happen," she said with a mischievous little wink. "Carrot cake, right?"

"Ewwww," he exclaimed, sticking his tongue out.

She chuckled. "I know, I know. You want a chocolate cupcake...or two." She shook her head fondly and absently wondered how Ethan had so easily managed to have her wrapped around his little finger. (Not that she was complaining, of course...)

She ducked into the kitchen to grab him a cupcake and, while she was plating it, she could hear the bell above the door tinkling. She glanced down at her watch and called out, "Oh, umm...we're actually not open yet, but..." When she once again emerged from the kitchen, she very nearly ran into a woman who looked like she'd just wandered off the set of Legally Blonde 3.

"Hi!" the woman greeted brightly.

Emily waited for something more, but nothing followed. "Oooo-kay?" she said, "Like I said, the cafe is closed until..."

The woman nodded eagerly. "I know, but I came a really long way – I had to take a car, then a speed boat, then a rocket ship, then..." She trailed off, shaking her head upon seeing the look Emily was giving her. "It's not important. I'm just really thirsty and I was hoping I could have some water?"

Emily sighed, nodded, ducking behind the coffee bar to fill a cup with water. She passed the cup to the woman and watched with surprise and alarm as the woman proceeded to pour water all over her face when she went to drink.

Ethan was instantly reduced to peals of laughter.

Emily, doing her best to avoid laughing as well, gently chided, "Ethan, that's not polite."

The woman cleared her throat, accepted the towel Emily passed her, and explained, "I'm not used to that having liquid in it..."

Frowning at the odd statement, Emily asked, "What did you say your name was again?"

"I'm Barbie," she chirped brightly, "But all my friends call me JJ."