Sometimes I think too much. I was thinking about "The Empty Child" and started wondering why the child kept asking, "Are you my mummy?" when he'd been told all his life that Nancy was his sister. The nanogenes were designed to repair and program soldiers. Therefore the question could not be due to the nanogenes. So, this is the explanation for the question.

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Are You My Mummy?

Jamie was a clever boy. At least that's what his sister Nancy always told him. He was really good with math and he always had clever little thoughts running through his head. And he absolutely adored his big sister.

But there was one thing that had been bothering him for a while now. All the other children had mummies and daddies, or at least had stories about their mums and dads if their mums and dads had died because of the war. Some children hadn't even known their parents but still had stories passed on from whoever was now taking care of them, whether it was a sister, brother, uncle, or aunt. Jamie had none of that. Nancy never talked about their parents. Mentioning dad brought a dark expression to her face and mentioning mum brought a sad look, as if there were something she wanted to tell Jamie but was unsure on whether it was a good idea to do so.

And that got Jamie thinking his clever little thoughts. He'd seen the way other sisters behaved to their brothers. While they were kind and loving, Nancy always seemed to outshine them with her care for him. And when he watched mummies with their children, he was instantly reminded of his big sister Nancy. Which made Jamie wonder… was Nancy really his mummy, not his sister? It certainly would explain the looks she got when he mentioned their parents. If Nancy were his mummy, she would be angry with daddy for leaving them, just as had happened to other mummies Jamie knew of.

It was a dark night, the sky lighted only by the fires from bombs exploding after falling from the German planes that flew over London. Nancy instructed Jamie to stay where he was while she went to find food for them. She always went during air raids. It was the best way to steal food without being caught by the bobbies.

Once again, Jamie got thinking about his sister. He decided that he absolutely had to have a definitive answer to the questions that had been running through his mind. So, in direct violation of Nancy's instructions, he grabbed his gas mask and, putting it on, stepped out of their hiding place and went in search for her to demand an answer.

The question was in his head when he saw a bomb that wasn't a bomb come down to the earth and land near the Albion Hospital. It was in his head when another bomb came down a few feet away from him, sending him flying through the air and landing painfully in a crater another bomb had caused. It was in his head when he saw Nancy running towards his fallen form, screaming in terror.

Jamie was a clever boy. He knew that he was hurt very badly. He hurt all over. His head hurt; his shoulder hurt; his hand hurt. He died in his sister's arms, a sister who was forced to leave his body behind when a soldier pulled her away. But as Jamie closed his eyes, only one thought ran over and over through his head.

I want my mummy! I want my mummy! Nancy…are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy?