Three Months Later

The morning sun barely made it's way through the small windows in Cooper's basement room, but it was enough to jar him from a deep sleep. However, as he came to a severe headache greeted him with such intensity he nearly threw up. He slowly sat up, grabbed his stomach then quickly made his way up the stairs to the bathroom all the while hoping he wouldn't run into one of his parents.

Lately he has been getting headaches in the morning that would eventually fade off throughout the day. Thinking it was a side effect of his old drug use habit he didn't tell his family. After all, things were finally looking up, no way did he want to ruin that with something that could be nothing.

As he opened the door, he saw the coast was clear and quickly bolted to the downstairs bathroom. He locked himself in then leaned against the counter trying to steady himself. What was wrong with him? Other than the headaches he is the healthiest he has ever been. He's been clean for several weeks now and actually started to work out.

He took a few deep breaths, splashed his face with cool water then looked in the mirror. His skin was flush, but thankfully color was coming back. After he took a drink of water he exited the bathroom in time to nearly run into his father.

His father's face turned into worry when he looked into Cooper's eyes. "Cooper, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He patted his father on the shoulder. "How's the knee this morning?"

"Stiff, as usual." His father shifted on his good leg then headed to the kitchen, his crutches clicking as he did so. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry." Cooper quickly raised his hands as his father attempted to walk towards him. "Just, not right now. Maybe later." He went up and gave his father a hug. "I'm going to get ready. Remember, today is a big day."

Cooper went back to his room to get his court clothes, hoping today he will finally be free from the ankle monitor. Once downstairs he grabbed a nice button up shirt, a pair of khakis then went on a hunt for his Doc Martins his father had bought him many years ago. Finally, after several minutes of searching he gave up and went back upstairs to take a shower.

"Dad! Have you seen my dress shoes?" He went into the dining room where he found his father reading the newspaper while eating an English muffin. "They seem to have disappeared and all I have is tennis shoes."

"You're about my size, why don't you wear some of my boots?" He chuckled at Cooper's disgusted reaction. "I actually have a pair that I don't wear anymore that you might like." He wiped his face then leaned back to point at the hall closet. "They're steal toed so they don't look like cowboy boots."

Cooper tilted his head in surprise. "Really?" He quickly went to the closet and saw the boots his father was talking about. "Hey, these aren't bad! Thanks!"

As his son ran up the stairs, Walker took a deep breath then returned to reading the newspaper. Apparently there has been a rash of home invasions in the area, all targeting farms or ranches. Let's just hope his house isn't hit. Right now, in his current condition he couldn't protect his family. He shook the negative thoughts out of his head then sipped at his still rather hot coffee. He winced as the liquid seared his throat, but it helped him wake up a bit more.

After he finished his breakfast, he slowly got up to put his dishes in the sink making sure he didn't put a lot of weight on his bad leg. He still wore the stabilizer and will for another month, so it was still hard for him to get around. After cleaning up he took his pain medication then made his way to the living room.

As he sat down on the sofa a knock came at his front door making him grumble. He was about to get up and answer it when Cooper made his way down the stairs. His son looked through the side window then pulled the door open to reveal Trivette with Marcus behind him. Walker's long time friend gave Cooper a hug then made his way into the living room.

"Hey, Walker!" Trivette sat down while Marcus went with Cooper to his room. "How well do you think Cooper will do today?"

"I think he will do great. He's definitely made a huge improvement in just a few short months." Walker shifted his weight to look at his friend. "He's ready for the GED test and he's been clean since his arrest."

"That's fantastic news. James has told me he's picking up on sign language as well." He shook his head. "He just needed a wake up call, huh?"

Walker nodded. "Yeah, and so did I."

"Glad to see you finally getting back to your old self again." He gave Walker a smile. "Talked to Gage this morning. He's doing rather good."

"Can't believe he's Headquarters Captain now." Walker shook his head in disbelief. "How's Marcus and James…." Both their attention went to the basement door as Marcus and Cooper made their way to the living room. "Hey boys, we got about an hour before we leave. Why don't you study your Spanish lessons, Cooper?"

Cooper gave a quick nod. "Will do. Marcus, want to help me out?"

When they went to the dining room, Trivette shook his head. "He's picking up Spanish along with American sign? Wow, he is changing."

"Yeah, and he's picking up quick." Walker smiled as pride swelled in his heart. "He's even doing Taekwondo and Hapkido." He laughed. "Granted it's a bit difficult with the leg, but I manage." His smile got even bigger. "He just keeps getting better and better."

Trivette grinned. "That's great to hear." He pointed at Walker's knee. "How's the knee?"

"Pain has finally subsided enough to be tolerable." His hands began to rub the brace. "Soon, I'll start physical therapy." He shook his head as he chuckled. "Personally, I'm not really looking forward to it."

"Well, knowing you, you'll be up and moving in no time." Trivette patted Walker's shoulder. "Let's just hope the good news will keep on coming."

Four Hours Later

The wait has been the worse part of the day for Cooper and he turned to his PO, Sergeant Dennison to see him playing a game on his cell phone. On the other side of him, talking to his father was Trivette who had driven them here. He should have been in court two hours ago, what was the hold up? He checked his watch once again then leaned back to stretch his back.

Dennison took a deep breath then flipped his phone closed. "Wonder what the hold up is?"

"I don't know, but I'm getting hungry." Cooper yawned then rested his elbows on his knees. "What do you think may have happened?"

"Not sure." Dennison stood up to stretch. "Man, hope they hurry up."

As if on cue, a door opened and out walked two men in suits and his mother. Cooper quickly got to his feet hoping the news was only good. However, one look at his mother's face told him otherwise.

She went up to Cooper and gave him a hug. "It's time to go in."

Cooper wiped his sweaty hands on his pants then made his way into the small courtroom. Here he was made to stand at a table with his mother and PO as the judge made her way to the stand. She then motioned Cooper to come forward while other people sat down in the courtroom.

"Cooper Walker, I have looked over your report and have talked to Sergeant Dennison throughout the weeks about your behavior." She smiled then leaned forward. "Is it true that you are getting rather proficient in American sign and Spanish?"

"Yes, ma'am." Cooper swallowed hard. "I have great teachers."

She wrote something down then leaned back into her seat. "The report has only told me good things about you. You seemed to have changed your life around for the better. Heard you're even going to get your GED." Her face quickly soured. "Unfortunately, I cannot remove the ankle monitor, not yet anyway." Cooper's shoulders slumped forward. "But all the charges on you have been dropped on the account that you agree to testify against William Jefferson and anybody connected to him."

Cooper quickly nodded. "Yes ma'am. I will."

A man in a suit and tie stepped up to Cooper. "My name is Agent Love. Because of the threat that Mr. Jefferson put on your family, the FBI wants to make sure their key eye witness will be safe. So, I'll be with your family for the next three months. The monitor will help protect you, Cooper."

"Yes sir." He looked up at the judge. "I just need to get some time to take the GED test."

She nodded. "You will be able to go freely, with permission from Agent Love and Sergeant Dennison. They will be able to turn off the monitor." She smiled at him. "I'm very proud of you, Cooper. I wish that all the kids I saw had your heart and determination. Good luck with whatever you do and I hope to never see you again in court."

After the brief hearing, Cooper along with his father, mother, PO and Agent Love went out for a celebratory lunch. Though Cooper didn't feel so happy about the outcome of the hearing. He didn't want an agent living with them and most importantly he didn't want the stupid ankle monitor. However, all charges of his has been officially dropped which meant he now stood a chance at becoming a Texas Ranger.

He quickly ran in front of his father then opened the passenger side door on Jimmy's car. "Take it easy dad."

His father gradually sat down and handed the crutches to Cooper. "Thanks, Cooper."

"No problem." He got into the backseat with Dennison then shook his head. "Just wish I could have gotten the monitor off."

Dennison patted Cooper's shoulder. "It's just three more months. You can do it."

"Yeah, let's just hope it doesn't drive me crazy."

Later that day, Walker found himself in the dining room checking on Cooper's Spanish drills. So far he has only found a few words Cooper had gotten wrong which amazed him. At this rate his son will be mastering Spanish in a few short months. Cooper is definitely intelligent, just wish he pushed himself this hard in high school. He would actually be graduating and not getting his GED.

Cooper came in and sat down next to him. "How did I do?"

Walker nodded his head. "Rather well. You only missed three words." He leaned back and threw his pen on the table. "Where did you learn Spanish?"

"I don't know." Cooper shrugged. "It's just easy. How did you do with Spanish?"

"Well, it came relatively easy for me." Walker laughed with his son, happy to be able to spend this time with him. "So, you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'm doing pretty good. Why you ask?"

Walker took a good look at his son and noticed for the first time Cooper's left eyelid slightly drooped. "You seemed a bit sick this morning."

Cooper chuckled. "Oh, that. The enchilada I ate last night didn't agree with me." He saw Walker roll his eyes and laughed even harder. "I'm telling the truth!"

"Cooper, I can tell in your eyes that you're lying to me." He raised his hands as his son started to argue with him. "It's only because I've had over forty years of experience reading people's intentions in their eyes." He chuckled. "Sometimes it even freaked Jimmy out."

His son's shoulders slumped forward as he nodded his head. "I've been getting headaches lately, but they're usually in the morning."

"How severe?"

"Severe enough to make me wonder what's wrong with me." Cooper's eyes showed confusion. "I'm the healthiest I have ever been, dad. I think it's just a side effect of my old drug use days."

Walker's heart ached at the pain in his son's voice. "If you have one tomorrow morning, don't be afraid to tell either your mom or I. If something is wrong we want to know." He rested his hand on Cooper's knee. "Anything else?"

Cooper shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes my vision is off. But I've been needing new contacts for awhile."

"Hmmm…." Walker slowly got up and went to get the phone. "I'm setting you an appointment with Doctor Jenson. Maybe he can tell us what's going on. You may not want to, but this could be serious."

"Doctor Jenson? But I haven't seen him since I was fourteen! I'm not a kid anymore."

"You're still a juvenile until July." Walker dialed the doctor's phone number, quickly set an appointment for next week then hung up the phone. "Next Tuesday at nine in the morning." Cooper let out a low groan making Walker laugh. "Well, if you want to become a Texas Ranger, you'll have to get use to early mornings."

Cooper shook as though disgusted at something. "Thanks for the reminder, dad."

Walker laughed at his son. "Any time." He glanced in the living room to see Cory Love sitting on the couch watching television. "Why don't you cook dinner tonight?"

"Sure thing, anything you want?"

"Surprise me." He winked at his son then made his way into the living room. "Love, how's it going? And you can tell me the truth." He said with a chuckle.

Love, a twenty-eight year old single FBI agent shook his head. "Doing all right. Need to get use to the slower pace." He shook his head. "But it sure is peaceful."

"Yeah, trust me it never use to be." Walker slowly sat down on the sofa with a heavy sigh. "Sorry you have to be here, but I'm grateful." He looked down at his knee. "Right now I can't really help my family." He turned his head as Alex came through the front door. "Hey, Alex. Cooper decided to cook dinner for us tonight."

She beamed at Walker. "Oh, did he now?" She kicked off her heels, placed her suitcase by the door then made her way into the living room. "Hello, Agent Love."

Love waved then cleared his throat. "I'm going to get some fresh air."

When the agent was out of the house, Walker glanced towards the kitchen to make sure his son couldn't overhear him. "Alex, I'm worried about Cooper."

Alex's smile quickly went away. "What's the matter?"

"He's going to see Doctor Jenson next week." Walker shook his head. "He told me today that he's been having severe headaches every morning and I noticed his left eye lid is slightly drooping." He took hold of his wife's hand to give it a reassuring squeeze. "It might be nothing, but I want him to get checked out just in case."

She took a deep breath then glanced at the kitchen. "You think it has something to do with his old drug use?"

"Not sure." He shook his head as he leaned in closer to Alex. "I'm going to start watching him to see if there is any limb…." A large clatter from the kitchen startled both of them. "Cooper, is everything okay!"

"Yeah, just dropped a spoon." Cooper let out a string of curses. "Dad, do we have fresh garlic?" He walked into the living room, his shirt drenched in water. "I couldn't find any."

Alex got up and took hold of Cooper's left hand. "Dad told me about the headaches."

"Dad!" Cooper cut Walker a scowl. "If I had known you would tell mom…."

"He loves you, that's why he told me." Alex then took hold of Cooper's right hand. "Squeeze both my hands." Cooper rolled his eyes at her. "Please."

Walker slowly got up by using his crutches. "Cooper, just do what your mother says."

"Fine." He did as he was told to do. "Why did you ask me to do that, mom?"

Alex let go of his hands then gave Cooper a hug. "When did you start having the slight weakness on your left side, Cooper?"

Cooper shook his head as he chewed on his lower lip. "A week ago while working on a kata." He cleared his throat as he headed back to the kitchen. "I just remembered where I saw the garlic last. Hope you all don't mind spaghetti tonight."

Walker shifted his weight as his mind raced about what could be wrong with his son. Somebody had to say it and unfortunately he knew it was going to be him.

"Alex, it seems like a neurological disorder." He whispered, his voice showing Alex the emotions racing in his heart. "I'll call Doctor Jenson back and let him know we need tests done." He removed his right arm from the cuff to give Alex a reassuring hug. "Don't worry, it might be nothing."

Alex took a deep, shaky breath. "And what if it is…."

"We'll have to show him that no matter what happens we will be there for him." He rubbed her back then kissed her on the cheek. "Remember, he's our kid. If anything is wrong, he'll pull through. We just got be strong for him."