Sienna was already patched up when her mother burst into the Emergency room. Her panicked rush saw her almost skid into the reception desk, her feet skating across the polished floor before she latched onto the lip of the counter.

"SIENNA! SIENNA DAVIES! WHERE IS SHE? I'M HER MOTHER!"

The clerk on duty looked up at the wild eyed woman who was shouting into his face, having practically pulled herself over the desk in her haste to find her daughter.

"Ma'am, please calm down. If you're looking for patient information you'll need to exit the building and head left to the main building."

"No! You don't understand. She's here. They called and said-"

"Mum?" Sienna popped her head out of a cubical halfway down the corridor protected by the desk.

"Oh my god! Baby girl!" At the sight of her daughter Sienna's mother tore down the hall and had the girl enfolded in her arms before anyone could react. "Sweetheart. Oh my god. Are you okay? What happened? Oh my god, I was so worried."

Her words were punctuated with kisses as she clung to her daughter, eyes closed in relief.

"I take it she's the mother?" The clerk stood behind her now. Teddy came out and started talking with him, defusing the situation while Sienna's mother swayed from side to side, rocking her daughter gently as silent tears landed on Sienna's hair.

"Oh my baby, my baby."

"It's okay Mum." Sienna stroked her mother's arm, "She's gonna be fine."

Sienna felt her mother freeze before easing back. "Sweetheart, I was worried about you. They told me you were hurt. You were taken to the hospital and there was blood and..." Her tears fell heavier. "They said they were doing tests." One hand cupped Sienna's shoulder, the other pushed wisps of her daughter's hair back behind her ear, gently skirting the dressing that covered the sutures on her cheek.

"Oh yes, but not on me. Mrs G didn't look so good. They want to make sure her heart's all good but they think it's shock."

She looked down at her daughter's face. It was pale and her eyes were still red, the skin a little tight where her tears had dried. The serious look on her face was familiar as it was the same look she'd worn most of her life, but there was a maturity, a quiet confidence as Sienna looked back at her mother without the fear and worry her mother had expected.

"Come on Mum. I wanna say g'bye to Mrs G before we go." Sienna turned back to the cubical, wincing slightly as her smile slid back into place, obviously pulling at the wound. This didn't stop the smile as she took her mother's hand and led her into the cubical.

"Mrs G?"

"Oh yeah. I shoulda asked before I called her that, huh?"

"It's quite alright Sienna Dear," Mrs Graham sat propped up on the examination bed, "I'm very fond of you too." She smiled weakly, her eyes dull in her pale face. Sienna went over and patted her hand as they said goodbye, the triage nurse having told them there were too many people and they'd need to leave. The bounce was back in Sienna's step as she and her mother walked out holding hands.

There was some paperwork for Sienna's mother to complete before they could go, so it wasn't until Sienna was putting on her seat-belt that they finally had time to talk. In reply to her mother's questions Sienna repeated her spiel about a spider and a broken jar. They continue talking with Sienna trying to allay her mother's concern, making light of the incident and convincing her that Mrs Graham was not at fault. She could see her mother was still sceptical but seemed to accept that Sienna wasn't going to change her story.

"Well you'll have quite a story for school tomorrow." She let out a sigh.

A loud gasp came from the back seat. "School? Oh no! I left my homework at Mrs G's."

With wide eyes and her hand clamped over her mouth, the picture of horror her daughter presented in the rear-view mirror was so comical Sienna's mother couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped. "It's fine Sweetheart. I've got a spare key. You can grab your things and I'll give the place a once over and make sure it's ready for her when she gets home." Her daughter grinned back at her with an identical smile, the only real difference, besides age, being the subtle flecks that coloured her eyes, shining in merriment like her father's had. They sparkled with joy that had been missing in both their lives for so long. It seemed that it was finally creeping back.

Sienna was so relieved at her mother's solution. She was worried about her homework, of course that was important, but it was more than that. Her mother had given her access to the house, now Sienna only had to figure out how to get the corpse out of the basement and through the house without her mother seeing it. And clean the mess in the basement. AND figure out how to dispose of the creature!

It was turning into a bigger headache than she'd realised it would when she had last gone down those stairs. There were so many things that she hadn't even known to think about, but she was thinking about them now, and fast! They were already turning on to her street.