Prologue:

For Katie, it was the most beautiful day that New York City could produce. The sky shone with a rare brilliance, illuminating every dark alleyway, spreading its summer cheer wherever it went. As she walked to school, she thought that the city's people were kinder to one another than they usually were. But what made this day truly beautiful was the knowledge that it was the last of school before summer vacation. Katie was excited.

On her short walk to school, Katie pondered all the things she would be able to do over the break. She would get to go swimming, hang out at Central Park with her friends, and take the subway to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But what she was truly excited about was the vacation her mother was planning. Katie's mother, Katie, and her stepfather, Bryan, would all travel to Europe together for a two week adventure that none of them would ever forget. Katie shivered in excitement as all her thoughts traveled through her mind.

"The last day of eight grade," Katie muttered to herself as her school came into view. Today, the middle school would be devoted to signing yearbooks, saying goodbyes to the ones that would be moving, or going to different high schools, and just having fun. All the finals had been completed on the previous days, so there was nothing to do except to just hang out and relax.

At 10:30, Katie had signed exactly ninety-eight years books and counting. She was just about to sign her best friend, Jessica's, yearbook when her math teacher, Mr. Harrison, called her up.

"I just received a note from the office that said you're wanted down there," Mr. Harrison said, handing her the note. It was a piece of standard office stationary with an almost ineligible note scribbled on it. Katie could just barely make out the words that said "Please send Katie down to the office".

"Do you know why I'm going down to the office?" Katie asked with a dry throat. She knew that she wasn't in trouble, but there was still a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I would tell you if I knew," Mr. Harrison said with a shrug. "I don't think you're in trouble, but I can't say for sure."

Katie nodded in agreement, picking up her backpack, and heading for the door. She tried not to speculate as she walked down the seemingly endless hallway to the office, but it was hard. Was the office going to tell her that she would have to repeat the eighth grade because she had been absent a lot on a count of all her recurrent cases of the flu and strepp throat? Were they going to tell her that she would have to repeat Algebra 1 because her math grade hadn't been high enough? She tried to calm herself down as each possibility entered her mind, but it was hard. By the time she had actually reached the office, she was hyperventilating. Bracing herself, Katie turned the handle of the door that lead into the office.

"Bryan?" Katie asked as she spotted her stepfather sitting awkwardly in one of the office chairs. "What are you doing here?"

Bryan looked out of place in the modest school office. He was a large, tall man clad in a suit and tie, and a look of desperation.

"Katie, what took you so long?" Bryan asked, standing up. "I've been waiting here for a least four minutes."

"Wow, nice to see you too, Bryan. And a whole four minutes... wow... that's totally a long time," Katie retorted smartly with a hint of a smile.

"Katie," Bryan sighed, raising his voice only slightly. "We don't have time for your sarcasm today. Your mom's been in an accident."

Katie felt her heart stop. An accident? What could that mean?

"What happened? Is mom all right?" Katie asked with concern.

"She was walking to work this morning," Bryan started. "And when she was crossing the street, a car hit her."

"Is-," Katie started, but Bryan cut her off.

"We have to go now. There's a cab waiting for us outside." Bryan placed a hand on Katie's shoulder, directing her out of the school building. "I'll tell you everything on the way there."

"Where are we going?" Katie sat in the back seat of the taxi, next to Bryan. "Where?"

"To the hospital, of course," Bryan stated.

Katie wasn't sure she liked the word 'hospital', or what it implied. Her mom couldn't be sick enough to go to a hospital. Sure, she'd been hit by a car, but she had only a few scratches, maybe a bruise. At the complete worst, a broken bone. Katie would not believe that her mom suffered any more injuries than that.

Between her fear and speculations, Katie didn't realized that they had arrived at the hospital until Bryan nudged her, signaling for her to get out of the cab.

The huge hulking lawyer that was Bryan and the small, thirteen-year-old girl that was Katie made up a strange couple as they made their way to the nurse's station.

"Hello," Bryan asked a young, pretty nurse in a pleasant tone. "My wife is Jenny Reynolds. Can you please tell me how she's doing?"

The nurse shook her head in a sad, slow way. "I'm sorry," she said. "But she's still in surgery. I'll tell the doctor that you asked, and as soon as she's out of surgery, you'll be informed of her condition."

"Thank you," Bryan turning away, choosing a seat in the waiting room. Katie followed suit, terrified at hearing the word 'surgery'. Her mom definitely wasn't sick enough to need surgery. They must have made a mistake. Standing up, Katie made her way back to the nurse's station.

"Excuse me?" Katie asked the same nurse. "Can you tell me where I can find Jenny Reynolds?"

"I just told your father that she's in surgery. We'll let you know how's she's doing as soon as she gets out," The nurse replied in superior tone.

"He's not my dad," Katie angrily replied. "And it's Jenny Margaret Reynolds." She added the middle name, as is if it would make a difference.

"Yes, I know." The nurse was growing annoyed and was losing her patience. "Really, as soon as any of us know anything, we'll be sure to tell you."

"Reynolds," Katie stated. "R-E-Y-N-O-L-D-S. Jenny. J-E-N-N-Y. Margaret. M-A-R-G-A-R-E-T."

"Yes, I know how to spell her name. It's right on her file, which, I might add is right in front of me. Now, if you will please wait, like everybody else with a loved one in surgery, we'll tell you as soon as we know anything."

Defeated, Katie returned to her seat. With no other option, Katie was forced to wait.

Her wristwatch said that it was only forty-five minutes between the time she walked through the hospital doors and the time when the doctor came out to talk to her and Bryan, but if felt like many hours, or even days.

"Mr. Reynolds?" The doctor asked, looking around the waiting room. Both Katie and Bryan got up to face the doctor.

"Please, sit down," the doctor said. "I have some bad news."

"Is Jenny... is she all right?" Bryan asked with a choked sob.

"I'm afraid not. She had massive internal bleeding in the abdomen, and a hemorrhage in her brain. I'm sorry. We couldn't save her." The doctor looked with sad eyes at Katie, knowing that he had just killed a young girl's mother.

"So, she's... dead?" Bryan cried at the doctor.

"Yes," the doctor said, standing up and walking away.

Katie was numb. She couldn't believe the doctor's news. Her mother wasn't dead. She was asleep, or away on a vacation. She would be back. Katie knew, just knew.

"I guess I should send you back home," Bryan said through a sob, turning to Katie.

"Shouldn't I go back to school?" Katie asked, amazed that Bryan hadn't suggested it himself.

"No, I really think you should go home this time," Bryan said, shaking his head. "Come on, we'll get you a cab back home."

Once again, Katie was seated in a cab, but this time she was alone. Bryan had to get back to work for he had an important new client he had to meet with, which meant Katie was going to be by herself for the remainder of the afternoon.

Before she knew it, Katie was back in her apartment, sitting on the couch with the TV on. It was a nice apartment for New York City, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, just large enough for a family of three. I guess it's two now Katie thought to herself as she fought back a bitter tear. She hadn't cried at the hospital, but she could only hold it in for so long. Throwing her head back, Katie let out a howl of anguish, letting the tears flow freely down her face.

'

The next few days passed in a blur for Katie. Mostly it was neighbors coming by with food parcels, telling her how sorry they were for her loss. Katie would always thank them, throwing the food in the refrigerator for Bryan to eat later. Katie had given up on eating; every time she saw food, her stomach got queasy, and sometimes she would throw up.

The day of the funeral brought dread upon Katie. She didn't want to see her mother's dead body, to let the terrible essence of the truth sink into her flesh. As she dressed in the horrible new, black dress that her Aunt Caroline had bought for her, Katie began to cry. She didn't want this to be her. She wanted to be anyone else but herself at that moment.

"Katie?" Katie heard a soft voice call through her bedroom door. It was Aunt Caroline. "It's time to go now. Are you all right?"

Katie heard the door open, a figure standing beside her. Hastily, the young girl wiped her eyes on her sleeves.

"Oh, Katie, it's okay to cry," Caroline said, pulling Katie into a hug.

"I wasn't crying," Katie retorted in a flat voice, pulling away from her Aunt. "It's time to go, Aunt Caroline."

Caroline felt tears welling in her eyes as she followed Katie out of the door, and to the car that was waiting for them outside the apartment building.

After the funeral, all the guests came back to the apartment for refreshments. While all the adults stood around in a circle telling stories about the late Jenny Reynolds, Katie stayed in her room, refusing to come out. The funeral was worse than she thought it would be. Her mother's dead body was beautifully decorated, and she looked so... peaceful. She had never looked that way when she was alive. She always had some worried or nervous look on her face. Sinking down into her bed, Katie realized that her mother really was dead, after all. No more mom.

As the afternoon progressed, more and more people started drifting away. By 5:00 PM, only a few people remained: Katie's Grandmother, Aunt Caroline, and Uncle Rob. Katie pretended not to listen as Bryan called a discussion in the living room.

"Thanks for coming, guys," Bryan started out saying. "I don't think Katie or I could get through this without you."

"Of course," Aunt Caroline said, her voice filled with sympathy. "We wouldn't desert you in a time like this."

"Anyway," Bryan said. "As you know, I'm a very busy man."

"Yes, we all know that," said Grandma.

"Then you all know that I might have a little bit of... trouble raising Katie."

"We'll be there for you," Uncle Rob said speaking up for the first time. "She can visit me on weekends, sometimes, and I'm sure mom and Caroline would be glad to do the same thing."

"Sure we would," said Grandma, smiling. "But it would be hard, with Frank in his... condition..."

Katie winced as she heard her grandma admit this. Usually no one talked about grandpa's colon cancer.

"Well, actually..." Bryan drifted off. "Well, I... I can no longer take care of Katie."

"What?" The whole room chorused in unison.

"What do you mean?" Caroline demanded. "You can't just desert her like this. The girl just lost her mother."

"I'm no longer her stepfather. I don't have to take care of her," Bryan replied in defiance.

"Seven years!" Bellowed Rob. "For seven years you've been that girl's only father, and now you're just...abandoning her?"

"Katie needs somewhere to live." Bryan continued as if he hadn't even heard Rob. "If none of you can take her, then I'm going to—."

"Going to what?" Grandma cut him off. "Give her to her real father?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"Good luck," snorted Rob. "Jenny hasn't talked to that fool in nearly fourteen years. I doubt he even knows if Katie exists."

"Social services, then. They'll find him."

"You're really going to do this," Whispered Caroline. "Jenny always thought so much of you, always said you were a good father, but this would put her to shame. You disgrace my sister."

'Thank you for coming," Bryan snarled, standing up. "Let me show you the door."

From her bedroom, Katie heard everything that was said. In her chest, her heart beat with perpetual fear. She lost her mother. Now, she was losing her home.

Thank you, everybody for reading. I know this doesn't seem very House oriented, but it's coming. You can probably even guess where the story is going. Reviews are appreciated as well as predictions for the upcoming chapters.

Again, thank you for reading,

Blame It On the Government