CHAPTER 36

Charlotte's sitting in her office at St. Ambose catching up on paperwork. There's a knock at the door. "Come in."

Sixteen year old Tess walks through the door. "Good morning.'"

"Did the test come out positive?" Charlotte asks.

"No. It was negative." Tess tells Charlotte.

"Thank God." Charlotte looks up at the ceiling.

"I wanted to see if you could give me some of those sample pills you were talking about yesterday."

Charlotte opens up a cabinet in her office. "I'll give you a three month supply but then you have to talk to your momma about getting a prescription or go the parenthood planning center near the hospital."

"Yes ma'am." Tess takes the packets from Charlotte.

"You need to wait until you have your period to start taking 'em." Charlotte starts to explain and then you take one everyday. It's simple just follow the day on the packet after you start so if you start on a Monday…-"

"I got my period today, so can I start taking it today?"

"Yes, you can. So, you ended up only being two days late after all? It was probably the stress from those exams." Charlotte tells her.

"I think it was the stress of thinking I could be pregnant and being afraid of my parent's reaction. Ever since Chase and I slept together I was worried I could be pregnant but when the test came out negative this morning I relaxed and an hour later I got my period."

"Fancy that." Charlotte smiles, "Good for you."

"Thanks." Tess gets up to leave.

"Wait a minute Tess. You still need to use condoms even if you're on the pill. Condoms protect against sexually transmitted diseases."

"But it's my first time and Chase's first time so we don't have any of those." Tess tells Charlotte.

"That's fine but you're both young and most likely will have other partners. When you have sex with someone you're having sex with everyone they had sex with as far as diseases go."

"But I don't plan to sleep with anyone besides Chase."

"One day you may change your mind or maybe Chase will. It's better to be protected. You can never know if the person you're with is going to stay exclusive with you."

"You think Chase is going to cheat on me?" Tess asks with ideas.

"I'm not saying that. I'm going to have this same conversation with Chase when I get home. I'm just saying you need to protect yourself."

"Yes ma'am."

"So, tell me, do you miss Georgia?"

"I miss it a lot."

"Don't you like living in LA?" Charlotte asks.

"The only thing I like about LA is Chase. If it weren't for Chase I would be miserable here."

"There's a lot of fun stuff to do in LA. Did you go to the Santa Monica Pier yet?"

"Chase took me and we had fun."

There's a knock on the door. "Come in." Charlotte answer. Cole walks in.

"I'm gonna get goin' now Dr. King. Thank you for everything." Tess gets up.

"That's what I'm here for. If you have any questions about what we talked about give me a call."

"K" Tess walks out the door with the pills in her purse.

"She kinda reminds me of a young you." Cole tells Charlotte.

"Just because she has a southern accent? Shame on you, you country boy." Charlotte teases.

"Not only because of the accent but she's blonde and petite and she can be spunky. I saw her dishing it out at the party." Cole tells her.

"Should I be worried about you checking out minors because you haven't had sex in months?" Charlotte says teasing.

"I wasn't checking her out. She was sitting at my table at the party. I couldn't help but notice her sharp mouth. She reminded me of a young you."

"Well, thanks then because I really like her. She's my son's girlfriend."

Cole asks. "By the way, how would you know if I haven't had sex in months?"

"You told me you're not speakin' with Jolie and you've been staying at the hotel for almost two months."

"That doesn't mean I haven't slept with another woman."

Charlotte shakes her head. "I know you Cole. You're a true gentleman to put up with Jolie all these years. I'm sure you've been celibate since you left her."

"I happen to know you've been celibate for two months too." Cole teases.

"How would you know that?" Charlotte scews up her face.

"I just saw Cooper. He's having an EKG done down the hall."

"Cooper told you we've been celibate?"

"He didn't have to. I could tell just by looking at him. That guy is in no shape for sex."

"He had major surgery, Cole. It's going to take time to recuperate. He'll get there."

"In the mean time you're starving for it, aren't you?"

"No. I could go for as long as it takes without sex."

Cole smiles. "You're lyin'."

Charlotte smiles back. "Shame on you for comin' in my office in those Wrangler jeans and cowboy boots, tryin' to seduce me." Charlotte teases.

Cole smiles and raises his eyebrows, "I was doing no such thing. It's Saturday. This is my Saturday attire."

"Uh..huh.." Charlotte teases.

"Really…This is my Saturday attire but I'm pleased that you think I was tryin' to seduce you."

"So, why are you in my office then on a Staurday?"

"I came to visit Dylan in the pediatric unit. Dylan told me the Play Station 3 is broken. I wanted to see how I can go about donating two new Play Station 3's to the pediatric unit. These kids with cancer really need something to help them pass the time while they're getting their chemo."

"Well isn't that generous of you? You can either write me a check or buy them yourself and drop them off in my office."

"I figured as much. I'll just write you a check."

Charlotte watches Cole as he leans over her desk and writes out the check in his Wranglers and cowboy boots. "This should cover it." Cole hands her the check and leaves. Charlotte finishes up her work and goes to pick Cooper up from his standard cardiac tests.

Cooper's sitting in the waiting room waiting for her. "How'd your tests go?" Charlotte asks.

"Perfect score." Cooper answers.

"How long have you been waiting here?"

"About fifteen minutes."

"Why didn't you just walk down to my office?"

"Uh… I didn't want to bother you. I figured you had to get your work done."

"I'm done now. How about if I get you out into the sunshine today and we go to the park?"

A nurse walks over to them and asks Cooper, "Are you feeling better, Dr. Freedman? Do you need me to get you a wheelchair?"

"No. I'm okay." Cooper waves the nurse away.

The nurse continues, "That was a pretty big spill you took down the hall. It's about fifty feet to the exit from here. Do you think you could make it?"

"What happened?" Charlotte asks the nurse.

"Dr. Freedman was trying to walk to your office and he fell flat on his face. We helped him over here to the waiting area so he could sit down."

"Cooper. You have to tell me these things."

"I'm fine, my leg just gave out."

"Maybe we could get you a walker or a cane. That would help you walk until you're leg is better."

"I'm not ninety, Charlotte. Ninety year olds use walkers and canes."

"You had major surgery. You need help, Cooper. If a cane will help you walk the hell with what everyone else thinks."

"The kids will think I'm weak. I'm their dad. I want them to know I'm strong and that I can take care of them, that I can protect them."

"What will they think if you fall on your face in front of them and break your nose?"

Charlotte calls the nurse back over. "Can you please bring me a cane from the physical therapy department?"

About ten minutes later the nurse comes back with the cane. "Dr. Freedman is over six feet tall. This should be a good size for him."

"Thank you." Charlotte tells the nurse. "It's either use this or a wheelchair, Cooper."

"Fine," Cooper grumps and Charlotte helps him up. They walk down the corridor with Cooper leaning on the cane.

"See, isn't that much better? You don't have to worry about falling. If your leg starts to give out you can just lean on the cane for support."

"Okay, you were right." Cooper says as he walks with the cane. "But I'm going to practice walking and get rid of this thing soon."

"I know you will." Charlotte rubs his back.

Cole walks past them on his way out. "Have a good day," he says as he briskly strides by them. Charlotte can't help but watch him in his Wranglers and cowboy boots.

Charlotte drives with Cooper to the park to meet Andie and Drew there. "What's with the cane, daddy?" Andie asks as they approach her.

"It's temporary until I get the strength back in my leg." Cooper asserts

"When will it come back? Your surgery was almost two months ago." Andie checks out the cane.

Charlotte answers. These things take a while to heal, Andie. They cut deep into your father's leg and took out some blood vessels. It could take up to six months to get back to normal."

"It's not going to take me that long." Cooper insists. "Sam says I'm strong enough to start physical therapy Monday. Soon I'll be running past all of you."

"Good, daddy." Andie laughs.

Drew runs over. "What's that daddy?"

"It's a cane, Squirt."

"Like the old people use?"

"Yes, like the old people use but I'm not old, I just have a bad leg." Cooper sighs.

Drew sits on the bench next to Cooper. "Why is your leg bad, daddy?"

Before Cooper has a chance to explain he's interrupted by Charlotte. "Is that Noah and Marley on that bench kissing?" She points to the other side of the playground.

"Yes it is." Andie answers. "I drove them here but they wanted to go off on their own."

"Oh come on!" Charlotte says out loud, but is really talking to herself. "As if I didn't have enough to worry about with Chase and Tess this week."

"Did they tell you Tess is pregnant?" Andie asks.

"What?" Cooper exclaims, sitting on the bench.

"Relax, she's not pregnant. It was just a scare."

Andie boasts. "I warned them about it when I caught them rolling around in Chase's bed last week."

"What's been going on in my house?" Cooper looks at Charlotte. "And why am I the only one that doesn't know about it?"

Drew pipes in. "You're not the only one daddy. I don't know about it either."

"You're five, you don't need to know about it." Cooper tells Drew.

"I better go talk to Noah." Charlotte rushes off to the other side of the playground.

"Charlotte! You didn't answer my question." Cooper gets up and follows as fast as he can with his cane.

"Wow, look at daddy move with that cane!" Andie tells Drew.

Drew laughs. "He's speedy daddy!"

"As speedy as he can be." Andie laughs with Drew.

"Can you take me to the swings, Andie?" Drew points to the area across the park where the swings are located.

"Fine, I'll race you there. Last one is a rotten Drew!" Andie teases before she and Drew take off running for the swings. Once they get there Drew grabs a swing. Andie pushes Drew high into the air on the swing before she sits down on the swing next to it. She pushes off the ground to get started up but then she feels a hand on her back. "Need a push, Miss?"

She turns around to see Nicky pushing her on the swing. "What are you doing here? Are you following me?"

"No. My mother finally went out and bought us a dog. It's a nice Saturday so I took Suzie here to walk the puppy." Nicky explains.

His sister Suzie walks over with the puppy. Drew jumps off his swing to pet the pup. "What's his name?" Drew asks.

"Belle." Nicky tells him.

Suzie chimes in. "I wanted to call her Ginger because of her red fur but Nicky insisted on Belle."

"Call her Ginger!" Andie demands.

"Why?" Suzie asks while Nicky looks on.

"I'm Belle."

"Not anymore." Nicky tells her. "Unless you want to be"

"Why did you name her Belle, Nicky?" Andie holds her hands on her hips.

Nicky answers." She's a golden retriever; she had red hair like you. She's adorable like you and I love her."

"Nuh..Uh...We're calling her Ginger now." Suzie tells her brother. " I'm getting out of here. I don't want to hear anymore mushy love talk."

"Me either. I'm going with Suzie and Ginger." Drew runs after them.

Nicky sits on the swing next to Andie. "I miss you, Belle. I'm heartsick. My mom even bought me a dog to try and cheer me up."

"And you named it after me." Andie grumps.

"Because, I miss you."

"We can't go back to the way we were, Nicky."

"It's been a month, Belle. I gave you enough time to reconsider. I love you and I know you still love me. You're still wearing the charm bracelet I gave you. We either make up today or I'm gone."

"What do you mean you're gone?"

"I mean that's it. If you really don't want me around I have to move on." Nicky looks Andie in her blue eyes. " I don't want to but I can't live like this."

"I miss you too. " Andie tells Nicky. "I want to be with you, Nicky, but we can't, we're cousins."

"We're only cousins by DNA and you know that. You love me but you're so afraid of what other people think. I'm not afraid of what anyone thinks of us Belle. It's supposed to be about us. If they loved us they would want us to be happy. They just need time to process it, like we did. So, what is it gonna be, Belle?"

"I don't know. I need more time to think" Andie runs back to the playground by Drew and Suzie. Nicky sits on the swing and shakes his head.

Charlotte surprises Noah and Marley who are kissing on the bench. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Noah nearly jumps off the bench. "Momma, what are you doing here?"

"What the hell were you doing?" Charlotte demands.

"Kissing." Noah answers.

Cole walks over in his wranglers and boots. "What's going on?"

"What are you doing here?" Charlotte asks Cole.

"I came to pick Marley up. It's my Saturday to have her and Cole Jr." Cole explains.

"Oh." Charlotte says.

"What's going on?" Cole asks again.

"It seems your daughter and my son were kissin'." Charlotte tells him.

"Kissin' isn't a crime." Cole tells Charlotte.

"He's fourteen and she's thirteen." Charlotte points out.

"As long as they were just kissing, I'm okay with that."

"Kissing leads to more." Charlotte warns Cole.

"They're good kids. I trust them." Cole tells Charlotte.

"We were only practicing kissing." Marley tells Cole and Charlotte. "We're boyfriend and girlfriend so we're supposed to kiss."

"We were trying to figure out the right way." Noah adds. "So we don't look like freaks kissing at school."

Cole starts chuckling while Charlotte rolls her eyes. "Ha! Ha! They were practicing how to kiss." Cole chuckles. "Do we have the nerdiest kids or what?"

"Hey! He just called us nerds!" Noah protests.

"He said that because you're trying too hard to be cool. Practicing kissing is just silly and for your information you were doing it all wrong." Charlotte tells them.

"How were they doing it?" Cole asks.

"They looked like two fish with tongues. They were all puckered up but didn't know what to do with their tongues." Charlotte tries not to laugh.

Cole chortles out loud at the thought.

"Stop laughing at us dad and show teach us the right way." Marley challenges. "You're our parents. Who better to learn from than the two of you?"

Cole and Charlotte look at each other as if they're actually considering it for a minute before they both burst out laughing.

"I can't believe that we're more mature than our parents." Marley tells Noah.

Noah raises his eyebrows. "I haven't seen my momma laugh like that in a long time. It's kinda nice to hear her laugh."

"Yeah it is kinda nice." Marley agrees. "My dad doesn't laugh that much anymore either."

Cooper's almost made it across the playground when a small child runs into his leg, knocking him over. "Someone help my daddy!" Drew screams.

Nicky is the first one to get to Cooper. Andie runs over next. Nicky helps Cooper up. Cooper's humiliated. "I'm okay." He tells them, leaning on his cane.

"Here, lean on me." Nicky helps Cooper walk back to the bench. Andie stands on the other of Cooper helping to hold him up. Charlotte and Cole run over.

"It's okay, we got him, momma." Andie tells Charlotte.

"What the hell happened now?" Charlotte shouts out.

Drew points. "That boy was running and he knocked daddy and his cane over."

Nicky helps Cooper sit on the bench. Charlotte and Cole check Cooper's pulse and look him over for injuries. "His arm is all scraped up. I think his wrist is fractured." Cole shows Charlotte.

"I'm so sorry, Cooper." Charlotte says "I need to get you back to the hospital to have that wrist x-rayed."

"I'll drive." Nicky says. "You can sit in the backseat with your husband, Dr. King."

"Thank you," Charlotte nods.

"I want to come with you and daddy." Andie says.

"What about Drew?" Charlotte asks.

Cole offers. "I'll drive Drew and Noah home."

"Can you give my sister and the puppy a ride home too?" Nicky asks. "We live right next door to the Freedman's."

"No Problem. Good thing I took the Escalade today."

"Do you mind staying until we get home?" Charlotte asks Cole. "Drew needs adult supervision, he's a little hyper. I don't want to leave Noah and Marley in charge of him."

"I got it all under control." Cole tells Charlotte.

"Thank you. I owe you big time." Charlotte climbs into the backseat of Nicky's car next to Cooper. She scoots up close to him. "I'm so sorry you got hurt, Coop. I guess you weren't ready for an outing yet."

Cooper doesn't answer. He stares straight ahead. His wrist is broken and it's killing him but more than that he's humiliated. He's not sure if he's the equivalent of a ninety year old man or a three year old child, either way it's humiliating. He can't blame Charlotte for checking out Cole, like he saw her doing in the hospital hallway, heck, he can't blame her if she wants to cheat on him. Cooper sulks and looks at the floor while Charlotte holds his good hand.

Charlotte holds his hand and kisses his cheek. "Always and forever" She whispers in his ear and she manages to get a tiny smile out of him.