A/N- Sorry about the underlining. I'm not sure how that happened. It wasn't underlined when I wrote this chapter a few weeks ago. I'll give you a bonus and post two chapters today instead of rewriting this one to fix the underlining.


CHAPTER 53


Cooper and Charlotte arrive at the hospital and go straight to Tyler's room. "What happened?" Charlotte asks the dark haired nurse.

The nurse looks shaken. She rubs her head as she talks to Charlotte. "I went to check Tyler during my rounds and he wasn't anywhere to be found. I had security search the hospital and when they couldn't find him I called the police."

"Does his father know?" Charlotte asks.

"Yes. He was downstairs helping out in the pharmacy because they were short staffed tonight. I thought maybe Tyler went to visit him there so I called down but he wasn't there." The nurse rubs her head.

"Where is his father now?" Charlotte tries to stay calm.

"He's down the hall, talking to the police."

"Okay. Thank you." Charlotte pats the nurse on the back before she stalks down the hall with Cooper looking for Cole. They see him leaning against the wall talking to the police officer.

"Please just find my son, he's only four years old." Cole tries to contain his emotion.

"We will sir. We've got every available unit looking for him now." The officer leaves.

Charlotte hugs Cole. "I'm so sorry."

"How could this happen?" Cole asks Charlotte.

Charlotte lets go of him. "I don't know. Nothing like this has ever happened at my hospital before but I promise you we'll find him."

"Why Tyler of all the kids here?" He asks. "Tyler's a quiet boy. He's shy." Cole pleads. "He's probably so scared right now with whoever has him."

Cooper pats Cole on the back. "We'll find him."

Cole looks at Cooper. "I blame you and your pal Dr. Harris for this."

"Why?" Cooper shrugs and looks surprised.

"You called that social worker on me. She was askin' around questions to everyone to see if I was a good dad. Some nut probably thought I was abusin' my son and took him away thinking they were helping him." Cole runs his finger through his head. "But they're not!" Cole punches the wall. "I didn't abuse my son."

"You need to calm down, man." Cooper tells him.

"How dare you?" Cole wants to punch Cooper. "How dare you say that to me? Say that to me when your son is missing!"

Charlotte tells Cooper firmly. "Cooper, I think you should go."

Cooper nods his head and waits down the hall.

Charlotte rubs gentle circles into Coles back. She tells Cole firmly. "I won't rest until we find Tyler. I'm telling you that both as chief of staff of this hospital and as a mother. We will not rest until Tyler is back home safe with you."

Cole shakes his head and lets a tear escape.

Charlotte's still rubbing circles in his back. "Is there someone I can call for you? Some family?"

He nods his head. "My father, my sister." He hands her his phone. "They're the first two numbers on the automatic dial. Can you tell them for me? I can't do it. It's too hard to say the words that he's-." He can't finish his sentence and admit out loud his son is a missing child.

"I'll take care of it." Charlotte walks down the hall with his phone. She sees Cooper on his phone making a call.

Cooper's trying to call Jolie. He remembers how upset she was at Andie's party because Tyler was being discharged home with his father the next day. He has a feeling Jolie had a hand in Tyler's disappearance. He calls and gets her voicemail. "Joe, it's Cooper. I need to know if you know where Tyler Mason is." Cooper hangs up and waits for Charlotte to finish her calls.

After Charlotte hangs up she tells him. "I had to call his family. Cole couldn't do it."

Cooper nods and asks. "Are they coming?"

"They'll be here some time tomorrow. They're coming from Texas." She answers and then asks. "Who were you calling?"

"Jolie."

"Why?" Charlotte puts her hands on her hips.

"To see if she had anything to do with this?" Cooper looks down when he speaks.

"Do you think Jolie could've taken Tyler?" Charlotte's surprised.

"She was worried about Tyler being discharged home with Cole tomorrow. She really believes Cole's hurting Tyler." Cooper explains.

"She's a piece of work!" Charlotte shoots.

Cooper looks around. "Lower your voice. I don't know if she has him. She isn't picking up the phone."

"Maybe we should pay her a visit!" Charlotte tells Cooper. "Let me return Cole his phone and let's go see Jolie."

As Charlotte walks off to find Cole, Cooper's phone rings. He looks at the name: Jolie Harris.

Cooper answers it. "Did you get my message?"

"Yes." Jolie answers.

"Well, do you know where he is?" Cooper asks.

"Promise me on Andie's life that you won't tell anyone, if I tell you." Jolie answers.

"I'm not swearing anything on my daughters life!" Cooper snarls. "Where is he?"

"Promise me you won't tell anyone and I'll tell you."

Cooper takes a deep breath and sighs. "I promise."

"We're on our way to my family's summer house in the mountains. It's about a two our drive from LA." Jolie tells him. "You can't tell anyone!"

Cooper asks. "Why are you telling me?"

Jolie's frazzled. "Because I don't know what to do. I took him because I don't want to send him home to be abused but I don't know what to do with him now."

"Turn around and return him, Joe." Cooper advices.

"That won't solve anything. His father will get him back to abuse and I'll go to jail. I can't do that Cooper. Tell me what else I can do? Anything but that."

Cooper pulls a pen and a receipt to write on out of his pocket. "Give me the address of the house you're headed to."

"Are you going to call the cops?" Jolie asks.

"No." Cooper tells her.

"Promise?"

"I promise." Cooper assures her.

Jolie gives him the address and Cooper writes it down. Charlotte stalks back over to him and notices him writing. He hangs up.

"Who were you talking to?" Charlotte asks.

"You don't want to know." He answers.

"It was Jolie, wasn't it?" Charlotte's hands are on her hips.

"I can't tell you, Chief." Cooper stuffs the receipt with the address in his pocket.

"What's on that paper?" Charlotte asks firmly.

"If I told you I'd be making you an accomplice." He answers walking away.

"You know where Tyler is, don't you?" She says to him as he's walking away. He doesn't answer. She chases after him. "Cooper you can't do this. You realize she's making you an accomplice?"

Cooper continues walking ."Exactly why I can't tell you. Let me do this Charlotte."

"You could go to jail for this, Cooper. You've got a family. You willin' to risk that for Jolie?"

"I have to do this for Tyler." He tells her as he walks out the hospital doors."

"You go to jail Cooper and I will not take these children to visit you there." She follows him into the parking lot.

He reaches his car. "Let me do this, Charlotte."

"You're really gonna do this? You're willin' to risk your career and your family to help her?"

"Stay out of it, Charlotte!" Cooper says before he drives away.

Charlotte stomps back into the hospital to find Cole.

Review


Next Chapter will follow immediately after this one.