She wants to say something crass, but decides to keep her cool as she responds, "Ger there's no way to measure how much more or less someone is hurting, so let's not do that because this isn't a competition."

He can tell he's upsetting her, but that wasn't his intention, so he attempts to clarify his response. However, she stops him as she puts her hand up, while talking and says, "Please let me finish."

He yields to her as she continues, " the truth is when it comes to talking about Ayla's, it feels like the only grief you're interested in is your own. And it sucks because you lost your wife, but I lost my very best friend, and your son lost his mother too. Which by the way ties directly into the fact that your son didn't express any interest in politics until after he lost his mother. Did it ever occur to you that he was just trying to bond with the only parent he had left, since politics always took you out of the house and lessened the time you spent with him and his mother when she was alive?"

He understands her response and has to admit she's making valid points, but wants her to know he thought the political interest would help make things better between them, even if he did deep down know that his son really wasn't interested in the field on his own.

She can see her words are settling on him, but he answers her as he responds, "Look, I knew he wasn't gungho about following the family footsteps in the world of politics, and I knew he was just doing whatever to be close to me. But, it didn't bother me because I did the same thing with dad. So I thought it was the normal thing to do. That's why I was so excited for us to spend time together as a great bonding opportunity. It's actually the only thing we have in common. So when I realized recently he was flaking on me, it pissed me off because he fooled me into believing bonding with me was what he wanted, but it wasn't. It was about getting back at me somehow and making me look foolish for his own purposes."

She understands his feelings and replies, "While it's understandable that you'd be upset and disappointed at him not entering the race, and pulling out at the last minute. Let's be clear on one detail you seem to keep glossing over, it was apparent that Fitz's interest in pursuing politics waned significantly when he found out the truth around Ayla's car accident. Do you remember the fight you two had after he found out?"

It hits him like a ton of bricks as he says, "Yeah. I do." She replies, "Much like what happened the other day right, you two were at each other's throats and a lot of angry words were exchanged." He takes a breath as he responds, "I forgot about that till now. Damn."

She responds, "I know you did. But I'm sure your son hasn't. And if you think about it, since that day he's been more than indifferent about following in your footsteps in politics or really anything else. Because in his eyes you're responsible for taking his mom away and to boot, you won't even allow him to share his grief with you about her, when you both loved her more than anything. Can you see how that could affect how he is behaving toward you?"

He has to agree with her, she's making lots of sense. But he then asks, "Why couldn't he just tell me this? Why pull my chain the way he did?" She replies, "You mean because you two have always had such good communication between each other?"

He catches her sarcasm as he replies, "Okay, point taken. I guess me and my boy are a lot like me and our old man, huh?" She nods as she responds, "Yes. A lot alike indeed. Have you ever told him stories about you and dad?"

He admittedly says, "Not about our relationship. It didn't seem necessary." She softly responds, "Well that's your call, but one thing I want you to understand is that while politics is what you and dad bonded over. That's not necessarily the only thing you and your son have in common. It's just what you're comfortable with being the bond between you. Because anything else would require you actually getting to know him. If you just talk to him Ger you'll see you two have more in common than politics or yor horrid tempers and mood changing eyes."

Her words hit home once again and she can see him processing her message. She decides to add, "At the end of the day I just want us to be at peace Ger, there's so much more going on in the world that is set to make our lives difficult. We don't need to be at each other's throats within the family."

He agrees with her as he replies, "I got it sis. You're right. And I'm sorry for not seeing it sooner. I do need to find a way to make amends with him. I just have to figure out how to do it."

She nods in agreement as she replies, "Well, I have faith that you will figure that part out. You just have to put some thought and sincere effort into it." He responds, "Good deal." But then he says, "You know you really helped me today, thank you." She smiles as she replies, "You're welcome. What exactly did I help you with though?"

He grins as he responds, "You helped me see that sometimes I get lost in my own world, and I forget that others have the same struggle too. I guess it's just easier to focus on my own stuff than to incorporate the issues of others." She nods as she replies, "That's understandable brother. You're not alone. Once you figure out the misstep it's imperative to do something about it. Ergo it may be a good idea to seek therapy, because it certainly can't hurt. You've got to get through the feelings of guilt you have about Ayla."

He nods as he responds, "I get it. I need to take some type of action; I just don't know that therapy is something I can think about right now." She knew the therapy suggestion was a stretch, but she appreciates he at least hearing her out, so she replies, "Thanks for at least listening to me. I appreciate you."

He smiles as he replies, "You're welcome. And thanks lil sis for setting me straight as always. Ayla was spot on putting you in charge of keeping this family together in her absence."

She nods as she replies. "It's my pleasure brother dear. Like I said we all miss her because she played a different role in all of our lives. So we all are experiencing a great loss in different ways, and if nothing else we should be able to express how we feel or what we feel about it to each other without there being a knock down drag out fight about it. Her life is worth more than that and she wouldn't want her two leading men in her life to be acting this way."

He agreeably says "Well said sis. Well said indeed."