Thana left the room in tears. Ella’s family was with her when she stopped breathing. The nurses took Daniel. They placed a purple butterfly sticker on his crib.

Thana gave the family their time to grieve, but then she had to talk to them. “About Daniel…”

“He’ll stay with me.” Maggie stated. The rest of the family agreed. “He’s my nephew.”

Thana held out the form Ella had signed. He’s my brother. She wanted to say.

Maggie read the form, then read it again, her face twisting with rage. “You? You can’t take care of him. We’re his family!”

So am I! She wanted to scream. She held back her tears. “Ella Barrow signed these papers of her own free will.”

“I don’t care! You aren’t taking him!”

Thana’s professional face was cracking. She needed to get out of the room. “I’ll contact a lawyer if you’d like.”

“You do that!” Maggie spit at her. “Until then, stay out!”

The door was slammed in her face as the first tears fell. She crumpled on the floor, sobbing.

“That was harsh.” A doctor leaned down beside her. “Why are social workers always made out to be the bad guys?”

Thana tried to smile, but she couldn’t. “Because we take kids away.”

The doctor patted her shoulder. “So do doctors. And we’re thanked for it.”

“You save lives.” She retorted.

“So do you.” He countered. “Abusive parents? Neglectful caretakers?”

“Monster attacks.” She added.

“Exactly.” He laughed, then stopped. “Wait, what?”

Thana cracked a smile. “Nevermind.” She rubbed her eyes and stood up. “I need to find a lawyer.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and a business card fluttered to the ground. “Oops.”

The doctor picked it up. “Thana Tossa.” He read aloud. He looked up at her quizzically. “Any relation to Becca Tossa?”

“My mother.” Thana glanced around uncomfortably. “She died shortly after I was born. How do you know her?”

The doctor stood and led her to a nurse’s station, where he produced a small box with the initials ‘B.T.’ stenciled in faded paint. “I’m guessing Rachel Tossa is your aunt?” Thana nodded and he handed her the box. “She left this here a few years ago. Said that if her niece ever showed up, we should give it to her.”

Hesitantly, Thana opened the lid. She’d been expecting some kind of poison to be released, but instead her found a bunch of old photos. She recognised her aunt in a few and guessed the woman beside her was her mother. There were so many pictures, showing Becca growing up, graduating high school, even pictures of her pregnancy. At the bottom of the pile was a photo of Becca and a dark-haired man. His skin was pale and he wasn’t smiling, but his eyes told Thana that he was happy.

“My father.” Thana said, instinctively knowing who the man was. Thanatos. She flipped the picture around and saw an inscription.

‘In death, we shall meet.’

New tears pricked at her eyes and she held the box closer. “Thank you.” She breathed.

The doctor smiled and opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by the PA system. “Dr. Walls to pediatrics. Dr. Walls to pediatrics.”

“That’s my cue.” He chuckled. “Never a dull moment in a hospital.”

“I’ll let you get back to work.” Thana waved at the card still in his hand. “Give me a call if you need a social worker.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And if I don’t?”

She blushed. “Call anyway.”