Steve and Kate stood frozen in time as they stared at each other.
"Mummy," asked Josh. "What does fuck mean?".
Hearing her son swear broke Kate out of her trance. "Err we don't use that word. It's naughty," she scolded him gently.
"'teve used it," Josh retorted. "Does that mean he's naughty?".
"Yes. He's very naughty for teaching you that word," Kate said and Steve felt guilty at his mistake. "What has happened to you?" Kate asked Josh as she suddenly realised her son was injured.
"Tipped over," Josh admitted.
"Wonderful," Kate muttered. Josh was always getting in to scrapes. His little limbs always had scratches and bruises on them. Today was no different.
"I think he bit his lip," Steve piped up.
"Open up," Kate commanded her son as she examined Josh's lip and made sure for herself that he hadn't damaged anything else including his teeth. "You've cut your knee as well," she pointed out as she noticed her son's scuffed knee through a hole that had appeared in his Spider-Man suit.
"Sorry," Josh replied.
"We better get you cleaned up," Kate said.
"Can 'teve come?" Josh asked, keen for his new friend to stick around.
"I suppose so," Kate said as she walked off in to the room she had come out of. Steve followed in his chair with Josh still in his lap. He noticed the sign on her door. Kate Rankin. Psychologist.
Kate was searching a big bag for something as Steve and Josh entered, before she pulled out a first aid kit. "Lucky I came prepared huh?" she asked Josh. She opened a bottle of antiseptic and poured some on some cotton wool before wiping her son's cut knee whilst he was still perched on Steve's lap.
"Ow Mummy!" Josh protested. "That hurts!" he informed her.
"I need to clean it, Josh," she replied. "Stop it going dirty and your leg falling off,".
"Be brave, mate," Steve told the little boy. "Like Spidey,".
"'K," Josh replied before trying to show Steve how brave he could be.
"Dinosaurs or Spidey?" Kate asked as she held up two plasters in front of Josh to choose from.
"Dinosaurs," Josh said, before changing his mind. "No Spidey," he said.
"Sure?" Kate asked.
"Yep," Josh replied confidently. Kate quickly applied the dressing before he changed his mind again.
"I'll go and get you an ice pop," Kate said as she disappeared to the gym freezer that usually held ice packs. She'd brought a few treats for her son to keep him happy whilst she worked and had stored them in the same place for the day. "Here," she said as she gave her son the ice treat. "That should help with the swelling on your lip as well,".
"Thank you Mummy," Josh replied before reaching for the treat and putting it in his mouth.
"Do you think you can watch some cartoons on the iPad without running off this time whilst I have a chat with Steve?" Kate asked Josh.
"I didn't run off," Josh retorted. "I wanted to play with the doggy,".
Kate realised her son had caught sight of Bruno the therapy dog that paid occasional visits to the rehab centre.
"Bruno has gone home now so can you sit and watch cartoons for me?".
"Yes Mummy," Josh replied.
"Good man," Kate replied as she picked Josh off Steve's lap and headed to the blanket in the corner of the gym that she had set aside for Josh.
Steve watched as Kate put the headphones on Josh's ears and pressed play on the iPad screen before giving him a kiss to the top of her head and returning to her room. Josh was already avidly watching, sucking on his treat as he did so.
"He's a great kid," Steve said. "You and his dad must be very proud of him,".
"Yeah," Kate replied uneasily and Steve got the impression he'd said the wrong thing.
"I don't want to sound rude, but what the hell are you doing here?" she asked.
"I'm a patient here. I'm your 3:30 appointment,".
"I hope you weren't injured whilst investigating anything related to my case," Kate said, half joking.
"Yes and no," Steve replied to which Kate looked uneasy.
"Am I still in danger?" she asked, now worried about the safety of her son.
"No," Steve replied. "Have you remembered anything about your assault?". Kate shook her head.
"Still a complete blank, thank god," Kate admitted.
It wasn't Nige. It was Dot,".
"Dot?!" Repeated Kate. "I thought he was alright. How come you know it was him?".
"It's quite a long story," Steve said, "but to cut it short Dot was an OCG member who thought you were an undercover cop working for AC-12 and had to be dealt with. He's now dead,".
"And Nige?".
"Retired from the force with his full pension," Steve explained.
"You've been busy," Kate admitted.
"So have you by the looks of it," Steve said. "A son and a new career. When we sent you in to Witness Protection we sort of expected you to stay away from police officers," he continued. "Yet here you are helping them,".
"It seemed like a good change of direction what with all I had been through and then I had to think about Josh as well,".
"Doesn't his dad help?" Steve asked.
"He's not-," Steve started to hear Kate say before he caught sight of something behind her that she should probably be aware of.
"Err, Kate," he said, pointing behind her.
Kate turned to see Josh climbing on some gym apparatus. "Back in a sec," she muttered before heading over to her son. "Josh!" she shouted. "What are you doing?".
"I climbing like Spider-Man," he informed his mum.
"Can you maybe not do that now after your earlier fall?" she pleaded with her son as she plucked him off the equipment and in to the safety of her arms. Josh wrapped his arms around his mother's neck. "What am I gonna do with you?" she asked out loud
Steve lay in bed unable to sleep that night. Thoughts of Josh and Kate kept his brain wired and unable to shut down. There was something about Josh that he just couldn't let go of.
Deciding on a way to possibly answer the big question he had for Kate he picked up his phone and called his mum.
"Hello Darling," she said as she answered his call. "How's it going?".
"Haven't really started yet," Steve replied. "Just met my therapists,".
"They seem nice?".
"Yeah,".
"Mum?"
"Yes Dear?".
"Have you got a picture of me when I was about three years old?".
"Is this for therapy?" his mother asked a little perplexed at the strange request.
"Sort of," Steve replied. "It doesn't have to be immediate,".
"I'll see if I can find one,".
"Thanks Mum," Steve said as he hung up.
The thought had suddenly occurred to him that he might be Josh's father. The timing fit. Kate had been gone for four years and Josh would be four on his next birthday. Then there were his features which had seemed familiar.
The vibration of his phone alerted him to an incoming message and Steve saw it was from his mother. Opening the phone he knew he was right. Josh looked exactly like he had done at three years of age.