AN- This oneshot is a follow-up to chapter 732, where Freddie gets so upset with Tyler's bad grades that he threatens to pull him out of sports. In the original chapter, Freddie comes to his senses and doesn't do this, but this oneshot has an alternative ending to that scenario. Enjoy!

….

Forgive

"Freddie, what was that down there?" Sam demanded as she stormed after Freddie into the bedroom. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that one of us needs to take an interest in Tyler's grades, that's what!" Freddie said hotly. "He's failing, Sam!"

"And you really think taking him out of sports is going to help that?" Sam retorted. "Sports are his life!"

"That's the problem; school needs to be his life!" Freddie said, his voice rising. "And yeah, I do think taking him out of sports is going to help him! Maybe without him spending who knows how many hours a week out on the football field or in the gym, he'll actually crack open a book!"

"Freddie…you-he's not into books, okay?" Sam said. "He's not an academic like you were."

"So you have no problem if he flunks out of high school?" Freddie snapped.

"Of course I do!" Sam said. "And so does he! We can help him get his grades up; he said he's going to talk to his teachers about extra-credit assignments and-and maybe we can get him a tutor or something. But sports are his passion! He wants to go pro eventually and-"

"Sam, what are the odds of that happening?" Freddie scoffed.

"He's good!" Sam said. "He's an amazing athlete! He's so good I'm sure he'll have no problem getting a full-ride scholarship to college next year!"

"To get one of those scholarships you need to actually be passing your classes!" Freddie pointed out. "Which he's not!"

"He'll work harder and bring his grades up!"

"Sam…you know Tyler," Freddie said. "He's not going to do that unless we force him. And we do that by giving him nothing else to do but bring up his grades."

"Freddie…" Sam said softly. "You realize that if you go through with this…Tyler's never going to forgive you."

"Sam, I'm doing this because I care about Tyler," Freddie said firmly. "I want him to have a future for himself, and that's not going to happen if he can't even pass the eleventh grade! He'll realize that soon."

"I'm not sure about that," Sam said. "I-I really think you need to reconsider. This can ruin your relationship with your son; doesn't that bother you?"

"I told you, I'm doing this because I care about him," Freddie said. "I'm not changing my mind."

He kicked off his shoes and headed towards the bed.

"So that's it then?" Sam said. "You're taking him out of sports. Just like that."

"It's what's best for him," Freddie said, sliding under the covers. "Trust me."

The next afternoon, Freddie walked into the house, hanging up his jacket before heading into the kitchen, where Sam was sliding dinner into the oven.

"Tyler's football coach called me three times at work today," Freddie sighed, sitting down at the table. "He was begging me to reconsider taking Tyler off the team. And I can't tell you how many emails I have in my inbox from his basketball coach."

Sam said nothing as she continued to move around the kitchen.

"I'm still getting the silent treatment, huh?" Freddie sighed. "Fine. You know what? Be mad at me all you want; I did what's best for our son. Speaking of which, where is Tyler? Without practice he should be home now."

"He had to stay after to retake one of his science tests," Sam said shortly, not looking at Freddie. "He talked to his teacher this morning and she agreed to give him a second chance. See? He can take initiative on his own."

"Sam, he did that to get us off his case," Freddie said, rolling his eyes.

"Wow, it's great to hear how much faith you have in your son," Sam scoffed.

"I have faith in him," Freddie said. "I have faith that without the distraction of sports, he'll turn into a model student."

Sam rolled her eyes but said nothing.

"You know, it'd be nice to have you back me on this," Freddie said. "Instead of-"

Just then the front door slammed open and a second later Tyler stormed into the kitchen.

"I'm off the basketball and football team?" he yelled.

"Tyler, I told you, you're done with sports," Freddie said firmly.

"I didn't think you would actually take me off my teams!" Tyler roared. "I-How could you do this?"

"You've shown us that you're clearly not responsible enough to handle being on a sports team and managing your grades," Freddie said. "And your grades are more important, so that's where your priority needs to be."

"Sports are important!" Tyler yelled. "To me! I had a shot at making it to the all-American team in football this year! And I'm captain of the basketball team! Coach thought I was going to finally lead us to states!"

"Well now maybe you have a shot at passing your classes!" Freddie said.

"I told you! I was going to work on my grades!" Tyler said, his face bright red. "But you can't take me out of sports! I-I'll get a private tutor, I'll go to summer school, I'll do anything!"

"Tyler, the decision is final," Freddie said. "You're done with sports."

Tyler simply stared at his father for a moment. Freddie had never seen any of his children look at him that way.

"Fine then," Tyler said, his voice cold. "If I'm done with sports, I'm done with you, too."

"Tyler-" Sam started, but Tyler had already turned and stomped up the stairs.

Sam glared at Freddie before hurrying up after him.

….

And Freddie stayed true to his word; for the remainder of Tyler's high school career Tyler didn't play any sport ever again.

But Tyler had also stayed true to his word as well; he had truly cut Freddie out of his life. For the next year-and-a-half, Tyler would hardly allow himself to be in the same room as Freddie. He barely spoke a word to him; barely looked at him.

That definitely hurt Freddie…but every time Tyler would get up and walk out of a room the second he entered or ignored him completely when they passed on the stairs, he kept telling himself that this was all for Tyler's own good. After all, Tyler was now successfully graduating high school and had gotten accepted into Washington State University, where he would major in business.

"We got another pamphlet in the mail for Washington State," Freddie said the day before Tyler's graduation.

"I'll put it in Tyler's room," Sam said. "It's probably got all the information for his program."

"Ah," Freddie said. "Well, I'm sure he's excited to be starting that soon, right?"

Sam shrugged. "Washington State wasn't his first choice school. He wanted to go somewhere down south, remember? Where all the strong football programs are?"

"Well…once he starts his business classes, he'll forget all about that," Freddie said quickly. "I mean Washington State has great professors in that area and-"

"He says he already hates his major," Sam said. "He said he picked it because that's what all his friends did."

"Oh…well maybe he can learn to like it," Freddie said.

"Maybe," Sam said simply.

"Sam…come on, what do you want from me?" Freddie sighed. "It's been hard enough having Tyler not talking to me. Why do you have to be like this too?"

"Hey, this is hard on me too!" Sam snapped. "You think I like having to eat dinner in complete silence because of all this? You think I like having to watch you two grow further and further apart like this? You think I like the fact that I had to beg Tyler for over three hours yesterday to get you a ticket to his graduation?"

Freddie blinked. "He-He didn't want me there?"

Sam looked down. "I-That slipped out."

"He really didn't want to me to see his graduation?" Freddie said, his voice cracking.

"Well…Freddie, I-He's still hurt at what you did," Sam said gently, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Sports were his passion and-and you just yanked them away because you felt they weren't important."

"But…I needed to do that," Freddie said. "Sports aren't as important as school. And you know what? I'm still glad I did it, because now he's going off to college and he'll earn a degree that can actually help him out in the real world."

Sam shook her head. "And you're still going to be fine with him ignoring you like this?"

"If this is what it has to be like then…fine," Freddie said. "Then that's how it'll be."

….

"So you really like this girl, huh?" Sam smiled one evening a few years later as she lay on her and Freddie's bed. "Well Ty, that's great. When can we meet her?"

Tyler said something on the other line, and her face fell.

"Sweetie…I can't just go up there without your dad," Sam said softly. "It-It would hurt him if I got to meet the first girl you've been in love with and-and he didn't."

Tyler said something else and Sam let out a long sigh.

"I know, but-but he still does care about you, Tyler. I know you two aren't in the best place right now, but-but maybe you could-"

Tyler said something again, and Sam gave another sigh.

"Okay. Okay. But-But I still want to meet this girl, okay sweetie? Maybe you can bring her by here one weekend. I-Well, yes, he-he'd be here, but-okay you-you don't even have to stay the whole weekend. You can just stay for the afternoon or something. Please honey? For me? Yes…thank you. Okay, I'll let you go now. Love you."

"Who was that?" Freddie asked, walking into the room as Sam hung up.

"Tyler," Sam answered.

"Ah," Freddie said. "Well…how is he?"

"He's good," Sam said. "You know that girl I told you he's been seeing? Sarah?"

"Yeah," Freddie nodded.

"Well he says he thinks he loves her," Sam said, a small smile forming on her face.

"I-Wow," Freddie said, sinking onto the bed next to Sam. "Love, huh? That's…wow."

Of course this wasn't how Freddie imagined this moment…he had always thought Tyler would come to him when he fell in love, and he would give Tyler a fatherly speech…but seeing as Tyler had barely spoken to him in almost five years, he really couldn't expect that, could he?"

"I convinced him to bring her down here for a weekend so we can meet her," Sam said gently.

"So you can meet her," Freddie corrected. "He doesn't care if I meet her. I'm sure he won't say a word to me while he's here…"

Sam opened her mouth to say something, but Freddie knew she had nothing.

Three years later, Freddie found himself sitting in his home office, staring at his computer screen, trying to get some work done. As he typed, his gaze fell to the framed photo next to the laptop, and he let out a soft sigh as he picked it up. It was a Father's Day gift from years ago; a picture of his and Sam's four children was housed within it. A sad smile formed as he looked down at the image of eight-year old Tyler. Back then, he had idolized Freddie. All he had wanted to do was hang out with his dad every minute of the day.

Now though…Now though that was quite different.

"Tyler, please!" he heard a muffled cry from the next room say. "Please…you have to reconsider."

Freddie stood up and walked out to the hall, where he could see Sam standing in the doorway of their bedroom, her phone pressed against her ear. She had tears streaming down her face.

"Honey, I-This is your wedding," she whispered. "Your wedding. You-You have to invite him. Please. He's your dad. This is the most important day of your life and-and-it would absolutely devastate him if you just didn't invite him! Please Tyler…don't you want him there just a little bit?"

Freddie felt tears forming in his own eyes. He hadn't even known Tyler was engaged…

"I-Just please reconsider," Sam said again, her voice breaking. "Please…I-I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

"Tyler's getting married?" Freddie blurted once Sam hung up.

Sam spun around, startled.

"I-Yes," she said.

"I-Since when-"

"He proposed to Sarah two weeks ago," Sam said softly, tears still falling from her own eyes. "I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but-but I've been trying to get him to change his mind first. About-About not-"

"He doesn't want me there," Freddie said, shaking his head sadly. "My son doesn't want me at his wedding."

"I-He might come around," Sam said.

"No…" Freddie said, slumping down against the wall. "He won't."

And with that he began to sob, harder than he ever had before.

"My son hates me," he said, his shoulders shaking. "Absolutely hates me. And-And you know what? I-I can't even blame him."

"Freddie…" Sam said, sitting down next to him.

"You were right," Freddie said. "All those years ago. You said it would destroy my relationship with Tyler if I pulled him out sports, the one thing he was actually passionate about, and you were right! I-God, no wonder he doesn't want me at his wedding. I made him go to a school that he hated, pursue a degree that he hated, which could only land him a job that he hated. Of course he wouldn't want me to be around on one of the best days of his life."

He continued to sob.

"I messed everything up, Sam," he cried. "I was an idiot. I forced Tyler down a path that he despised and now-now its come back to bite me."

"Oh Freddie," Sam said, shaking his shoulder gently as he cried. "Freddie…Freddie…Freddie…"

"Freddie!"

"Huh, what?" Freddie sputtered, jolting up. He looked around. He was in bed, sun was streaming in through the open window, and his wife was sitting up next to him, giving him a strange look.

"You okay there?" she frowned. "You were tossing and turning like crazy all night. Did you have a nightmare or something?"

"Nightmare?" Freddie repeated slowly. "It was-Oh my-It was nightmare!"

"What?"

"I-I haven't pulled Tyler out of sports yet, have I?" Freddie gasped. "Have I?"

"Well, no, you said you would wait until this morning to do it," Sam said. "But I still think you should reconsider and-"

But Freddie didn't give her a chance to finish as he jumped out of bed and hurried down to Tyler's bedroom. The teen wasn't in his room though, so Freddie raced downstairs to the kitchen. Tyler was sitting at the table with his math book propped up against a jug of orange juice, flipping through the pages as he ate his cereal.

"Tyler," Freddie said, trying to catch his breath. "Tyler, I-I'm sorry."

"Dad?" Tyler frowned. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Freddie said quickly. "I-I'm sorry, okay? About last night…I-I didn't mean to make it sound like I don't think sports are important. They're important to you, and-and I see how passionate you are about them and-and it'd be wrong for me to just force you out of them. I-I see how dedicated you are to sports…they're your life."

Tyler stared at Freddie, totally stunned. "Wow dad…thanks. So I-I can stay on the football and basketball team?"

"Yes," Freddie nodded. "I'm not going to pull you out. But-But Tyler you do have to improve your grades. I know you want to play professionally one day, but-but school still is important."

"I know," Tyler said. "I'm going to try real hard, dad. A couple of guys on the basketball team have a tutor; maybe I'll see if I can get one too. And I'll pay attention more in class, I'll talk to my teachers…I'll get my grades up, I promise."

"I know you will," Freddie smiled. He stepped over and wrapped his arms around his son, pulling him into an embrace.

"I love you, Tyler. I need you to remember that, okay?" Freddie whispered.

"I love you too, dad," Tyler said.