Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of this work of fiction, and no profit, monetary or otherwise, is being made through the writing of this fan fiction for, "The Big Valley".
A/N: This nugget of thought came to me awhile back, and it hasn't grown from a double-drabble.
Tom fancied himself a man who was always in control. He prided himself on that, and his family. Of course, he hadn't counted on falling in love with Leah, and having a brief, thankfully uncomplicated, affair with her. The woman hadn't ever sought after money, or blackmailed him. She never contacted, or demanded anything from him, and he'd gone back to Victoria, and his family, with no one the wiser.
Had he known the truth – that he'd fathered a son – he'd have done something for Leah and her boy. He'd have taken the child in – Victoria would have been angry with him, but she'd have loved the boy, even just to spite him if that's what it took.
Looking down from heaven, Tom could see that Victoria loved Heath as though she'd given birth to him herself, and he approved of it. He just wished that he could have met Heath himself, and that he could have apologized to the boy, and his mother.
But, death didn't allow for those types of regrets; didn't allow for him to fix past mistakes. It was a callous, unforgiving ending, and one that Tom more than deserved, having left his family, and his secrets behind.