Lucas pushes the master bedroom door open and walks over to the bed. He climbs up onto the mattress and crawls over to the pillows. He tugs on Cooper's shirt sleeve. "Cooper." He pauses. "Coooper." He sighs. "Cooooooper!" He pushes at his shoulder.

Cooper jerks, finally responding.

"Knock, knock. Are you there?" Lucas giggles.

Cooper slowly rolls onto his back and turns his head, looking at the four year-old. His eyes are dull and unfocused, but at least they're open.

Lucas brushes his hand against Cooper's cheek and cringes. "Ow. You're all scratchy." He pauses. "Charlotte says you're sad."

Cooper shifts a little.

"I don't think she likes it when you're sad."

Cooper nods.

"She says you really, really miss my mommy."

"I do," Cooper whispers, finally speaking, his voice cracking slightly.

Lucas leans back against the pillows. He looks up at the ceiling and smiles. "Mason says I can talk to my mommy and daddy all the time. They're really, really high up, but they can hear me."

Cooper smiles.

"He says you and Charlotte are gonna take good care of me forever and ever too."

Cooper nods. He hasn't been doing much of that lately, but Charlotte definitely has.

"He talks to his mommy at bedtime. He looks up and says stuff. He teached me." Lucas tilts his head and looks up at the ceiling again. "I love you mommy and daddy. I miss you a lot." He presses his palm to his lips and blows a kiss up into the air. He looks at Cooper. "Your turn."

Cooper swallows and feels tears push at the back of his eyes.

Lucas nudges him. "My mommy can hear you. All you gotta do is talk."

"Vi," he sighs, and purses his lips.

"What do you wanna say?"

"I miss her. I really miss her."

Lucas nods and turns back to the ceiling. "Mommy, Cooper says he really misses you."

Cooper rubs his eyes and pulls on the covers.

Lucas rolls onto his side, facing Cooper. "Are you ever gonna get up?"

Cooper just stares at the little boy, unsure how to answer his question. He knows he needs to get up, he knows he needs to start living his life again, he knows he needs to start being a husband, a father, a doctor again, but he just feels lost without Violet. He's been thinking about the fight he had with Charlotte the other night. He'd always go to Violet for advice. He'd call her or go over to her house or grab a cup of coffee with her and she'd always tell him he needed to see where Charlotte was coming from and apologize. As he lied in bed alone that night, he finally started to grasp the fact that Violet's not here to run to. She's not here to tell him what to do. He's beginning to realize just how much he depends—depended on her.

Lucas shifts and tugs on Cooper's shirt sleeve. "I'm sad sometimes too."

Cooper blinks back tears and messes up Lucas' reddish-brown hair.

"I'll try really hard not to be sad if you try."

Cooper sighs. It's not that simple, but if Lucas can be as calm as he is after losing both his parents in less than a year, than surely he can try and be ok, he can try and move forward. "Is Charlotte sad?"

"A little. She looks really, really, really tired."

Cooper nods. "Can you remind me to thank her? Do you think you can do that?"

Lucas nods. "I can."

Cooper smiles and lets out a breath.

Lucas gives Cooper a kiss on the cheek. "Cooper?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you take the bear off your face now? I don't like it. It's all scratchy. It hurts."

"I'll do that right now." Cooper pauses. "Did Charlotte say anything about dinner?"

Lucas nods. "Hamburgers."

Cooper rests his hand on his stomach and smiles. He gets out of bed and walks over to the bathroom. He looks back at Lucas and says, "Thanks, buddy."

Lucas shrugs. "I didn't do anything."

"You did a lot." Cooper smiles and disappears into the bathroom, shutting the door. He looks up at the ceiling and twists his hands in front of him. He hesitates, but finally finds the words and finds the courage to speak. "I told you we'd take good care of him for you, Vi. I haven't, but Charlotte has and Mason's helping him get through this. He's in good hands." He sighs. "I love you and I know you're always here if I need to talk. Thanks for everything. I miss you, but I'll be ok." He finishes with a sigh and undresses. He slips into the shower and spends the next twenty or so minutes thinking about how on Earth he's going to make these last few weeks up to Charlotte.

Hope you liked this somewhat happy chapter :)

Thanks for the reviews...keep them coming.