A/N: Thanks to those who took the time to review. Here's the next chapter. I'll be honest in advance and tell you it's a bit of a filler, but I need Cooper and Charlotte alone at the hospital so they can really talk in the next chapter and needed this chapter to get that done. Hope you like it anyway.

5:12 pm – Cooper's apartment

When Cooper opened the door to his apartment he was welcomed by something that smelled delicious. Not used to walk in to the smell of food, he quickly hung up his coat and made his way to the kitchen to find out where the smell was coming from.

"Hello." Cooper said, as he found Mrs. King stirring some pots on his stove.

"Good afternoon." Mrs. King greeted him. "I hope you don't mind that I went through the cabinets to found the appliances I needed.

"Of course not." Cooper replied. "I told you to open everything up to find out what's inside. "May I ask what you're making?"

"Beef stew." Mrs. King told him. "Do you want to taste?"

"May I?" He asked and she took a tea spoon out of the drawer and put it inside the pot before slowly moving the spoon to his mouth.

"Careful it's hot." She warned him which made him blow lightly before taking the spoon in his mouth.

"That's delicious." Cooper told her.

"It should be ready in 10 minutes. Would you mind setting the table?"

"Of course not." Cooper replied as he opened another drawer to take out the table cloth. They worked in silence for a few minutes and while Mrs. King finished dinner, Cooper decided to freshen up a bit after he set the table.

When he came out of the bathroom a few minutes later dinner was ready on the table.

"Do you mind drinking water with your dinner?" Mrs. King asked when Cooper came into view. "I would have bought a bottle of wine, but AA tells me I'm not allowed inside a liquor store."

"Water is fine." Cooper replied. "You've already gone through so much trouble making me this dinner. I can't even remember when someone made me dinner like this."

"Yeah, Charlotte isn't one to cook." Mrs. King said which made Cooper smile.

"Not at all. But that's alright." He took a bite of his dinner. "I think the last time I tasted something this delicious is when my mom cooked for me. That must have been years ago."

"Are your parents still alive?" Mrs. King asked and Cooper nodded.

"But they travel a lot and I'm busy with work so we hardly ever see each other. I think I should call them one day soon."

"You should." Mrs. King said, as she took another bite. "To tell you the truth it's been a while since I cooked dinner like this. It's not much fun to spend hours in the kitchen when you're just cooking for yourself. I tried to invite my boys over for dinner together with their families a few times, but they end up asking me over each time. Both their wives are wonderful cooks so I don't mind."

"But it would be nice to make dinner for them sometimes." Cooper knowingly replied.

"Yeah." Mrs. King replied, sadly.

"Then tell them that." Cooper said. "They probably think they're doing you a favor by inviting you to their homes. Just tell them you'd like to make them dinner once in a while. So that you feel…"

"Needed again." Mrs. King added, knowing where Cooper was aiming at. "You're right. Once I'm home I will tell them that."

Cooper smiled. Then he finally asked the question he'd been wanting to ask ever since he came home. "How's Charlotte?"

"A bit tired, but she was doing okay. We had a good talk this afternoon. Then your friend… Violet was her name?" Cooper nodded. "Violet showed up and I decided to give them some time to talk and went grocery shopping."

"Violet was at the hospital?" Cooper asked. "No wonder she wasn't at the office."

"You went to work?"

"Yeah. I didn't know what else to do and I had to clear my mind. Do you think Charlotte would want me to come back tonight?" Before Mrs. King could answer that question Cooper's cell phone rang. "I'm sorry." He said, as he took it out of his pocket and stood up before answer. "Hello."

"Cooper it's me, Violet."

"Hey." Cooper said as he walked to his bedroom so he could talk in private. "I heard you visited Charlotte this afternoon."

"That's why I'm calling." Violet replied.

"How is she?" Cooper asked, almost cutting off his friend.

"She's doing okay. We had a nice conversation. I'm starting to understand her more and more."

Cooper smiled. "I never thought you two could be friends."

"Me neither." Violet replied honestly. "But she's a good person Coop."

"I know." He sighed. "She was just so mad earlier this afternoon. I really wonder if she'll ever forgive me."

"I honestly think she will. She's willing to hear you out anyway. She asked me if I wanted to call you and ask you if you were willing to come back to the hospital tonight. She would have called herself, but she was so tired. I think she fell asleep the minute I left her room."

A big smile appeared on Cooper's face. "She'll have me back? That's great. I never thought she would."

"But Cooper, you're going to have to be honest to her. You have to tell her about your feelings. For real this time. I think that's the only way you can fix things. You both have to be honest to each other."

"I know. I realize that now. I will tell her what I've told you, and more."

"Good." Violet said.

"Can you do me one favor though?" Cooper asked. "I was at the office earlier this afternoon and I'm afraid they might show up at the hospital tonight. I told Sam they can visit if they want to, but when I'm talking to Charlotte, I can't have them around."

"Too many visitors are too tiring for her anyways." Violet said. "I'll call Addison after we hang up. She'll tell the others I'm sure. Besides, I highly doubt if Naomi wants to come anyway."

"Did I miss something while I was gone?" Cooper asked.

"Maya's pregnant." Violet said.

"Oh… ouch. 15 years right?"

Violet nodded but when she realized he wouldn't be able to see that she said. "Yeah. Only 15 years old. Naomi wants her to have an abortion but Maya doesn't want it."

"I thought Naomi was against abortion." Cooper said then raised his shoulders. "Do you think there's something we should do, for them I mean? Sam didn't mention this when I talked to him earlier."

"I guess it's not something that's easy to talk about. They'll just need time to heal, to adjust."

"You're probably right." Cooper said. "Thanks for calling me Violet. And thanks for visiting Charlotte. That means a lot."

"I wouldn't have it any other way Coop." Violet replied. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Now I can't be at the hospital full time I decided to see some patients in the morning. So I'll see you at the office."

"Alright. Then I'll talk to you there." Violet said, and with that they ended the call.

Cooper slid his phone back in his pocket and walked back to the kitchen. "I'm sorry about that." He told Mrs. King.

"No problem." Mrs. King replied. "Was that your friend Violet?"

"Yeah. She told me Charlotte wants me to come back tonight."

"I'm glad." Mrs. King replied. "I really think the two of you should work things out."

"Me too." Cooper replied. "Violet will make sure there won't be any other visitors besides us at the hospital tonight. That way we can talk in private."

"I won't mind staying here tonight." Mrs. King replied. "Then the two of you can really talk."

"No." Cooper shook his head. "That's not what I meant. You should go see her. You're her mother."

"I know. But I was able to talk to her by myself for almost an hour this afternoon. You take this time to talk to her. To explain things. The two of you need that."

"You don't have to stay away on my behalf. We can take 30 minutes each if you like?"

"Maybe tomorrow. I'm kind of tired anyway so I wouldn't mind staying here. Read a book or watch some TV."

He knew it was a lie, but it was a big effort on her behalf so he decided to take the offer. "I would like that. Thank you."

"Good. You'll tell her how you feel about her, right?" She asked him. "And don't be mad at her that she didn't tell you about James and the baby."

"I'm not mad about that anymore." He said. "I will also tell her that."

"Good. Now put on a clean shirt and make your way towards that hospital so I can clean up this mess. " She told him with a pointed look on her face.

"Yes ma'am." He said with a big smile. And he couldn't help but really feel like things would be okay.

T.B.C