Committed

Ford had just gotten back from Saint Anne's. He had committed Tess. He knew it was the right thing to do even though she would never forgive him for the double-cross and he would likely lose any chance of seeing Ryder.

He had grown to love Tess in his own way, but she was damaged and he couldn't ignore the facts any longer. Jessica needed help. He had suspected that there was another personality, a far more dangerous one lurking in the dark corners of Jessica's mind. There was a time that he could reason with Tess, talk her down when she was spiraling out of control, but now that they had lost custody of Ryder to Natalie he had lost his power of persuasion with her. He knew that he had to have her commuted before she hurt herself, Ryder, or Natalie.

He heard a knock on the door. It was probably Natalie. He was supposed to hand over Ryder today and he didn't know if he had it in him to say goodbye to his son too.

He took a deep breath and opened up the door to find Natalie.

"Is Ryder ready? Where's Jessica, I mean Tess. I thought that she would be here to say goodbye to Ryder." Natalie stated as she walked into the apartment.

"Tess is in ST. Anne's. I had her committed tonight."

Natalie stared at Ford in shock, "You what?"

"You were right Jessica's sick and I was wrong to use that fact as a means of holding onto my son. Tess was out of control, I had to have her committed before she hurt anybody. I want you to know that it was never about Ryder's trust fund, at least not for me. I just got scared of losing Ryder. I didn't think Jessica would let me see him. Can I have a few minutes in private to say goodbye to him?"

"Of course, I'll just take his things out to my car," Natalie said as she picked up the car seat and headed out the door.

"Okay little guy, we have to say our goodbyes. You're going to go home with Natalie and she's going to take good care of you until your mother gets better. I want you to know that I will always love you no matter what and I will never stop trying to be a part of your life." Ford turned around and saw Natalie standing in the doorway.

"Maybe I was wrong about you. You certainly seem to love your son so here's my number. Give me a call and we'll work out a time for you to see your son."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I have a soft spot for father's and sons and I'm not going to keep you away from yours."

"Thanks Natalie, I'll be in touch," Ford said as he handed over Ryder and walked them to the door. He hadn't lost everything; he still had a chance at being a father and was determined to prove to that little boy that he was committed to him for the long haul. He would be a much better father than the one that he had.