CHAPTER ONE

Charlotte walks in the door of her loft carrying dinner for the two of them. She walks over to Cooper and gives him a peck on the cheek, "it's fried chicken tonight." She opens the bag and pulls out a box.

"Sounds good." Cooper answers while looking at the screen of his laptop.

"Watcha doin'?" Charlotte tries to sneak a peek.

"Nothing!" Cooper tries to hide the screen from her with his hand.

"Come on Coop!" Charlotte teases, "let me see." Charlotte pulls the lap top towards herself and looks at the screen. "Why in the world are you looking up adoption laws?"

Cooper looks up with a weak smile.

"If you're planning on adopting a rugrat, you need to check with your wife first." She jokes.

Cooper shakes his head. "No, it's not about us. It's about me. I'm thinking of looking for my biological mother."

"Why didn't you tell me Coop?" Charlotte perches herself on the edge of his desk.

"I didn't want you to talk me out of it."

Charlotte wrinkles her forehead, "why would I do a thing like that?"

"I don't know." Cooper tells her, "remember when I said my parents were great?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I meant it, they were in certain ways but in other ways maybe they weren't so great."

"What do ya mean Coop?"

"Well, they gave me everything I needed. They encouraged me to always do my best and I did. I excelled at everything, school, sports. They gave me the drive to succeed. They put me through med school. I mean they were great." Cooper looks at her with sulky eyes.

Charlotte cups Cooper's chin in her hand. "And now you want to tell me how they weren't great?"

Cooper looks up at Charlotte perched on the edge of his desk. "They made me feel second best, like I was a replacement for Andy. Maybe that's why I really tried so hard to succeed, so they wouldn't think of me as a failure; that they would know I could be just as good as Andy, better even."

"You're you Cooper. You always were." Charlotte assures him.

"I know but then the way they treated you right before our wedding."

"It's okay Cooper. It all worked out. I'm fine." Charlotte assures him.

"No, you shouldn't have to be fine with it. I can't help but think what if it was Andy? If Andy met you first and wanted to marry you, would they feel the same way?" Cooper looks down at his desk.

"They would. It's just the way they are."

"I disappointed them. I bet they think Andy would never disappoint them."

"I'm sorry Coop."

Cooper looks up and takes Charlotte's hands in his. "You have nothing to be sorry for. It's them. They're the ones. It just got me thinking maybe they're not as great as I wanted them to be."

"Cooper they're your parents and they love you."

"I know but I just got to thinking how would my biological parents be. I mean what would they be like? Would they be the same way or…"

Charlotte cuts him off. "There's only one way to find out." She looks at the computer screen.

"But how am I going to find them? I can't ask my parents for any information. I don't want them to know."

"All you need is your date of birth and the hospital you were born at. You know that stuff."

"But I don't have access to that hospital's records." Cooper complains.

Charlotte gets up and picks up her phone.

"Who are you calling?" Cooper asks.

"Duke." Charlotte smiles, and tells Cooper, "I'm callin' in a favor. If you got a brother in the FBI, might as well make him useful."

Cooper raises his eyebrows and smiles.

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