Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. - Mahatma Gandhi
A few weeks later Alex was getting released from the hospital he would be staying with Lexie at her and Mark's place. Christi had teased him for the first few days about being on the opposite end of the stick.
"Hey babe, I gotta go down to Florida for a few days to take care of some family stuff." Christi said lying next to him running her fingers through his hair.
"Do you want me to come with you?" he asks sitting up and groaning.
"No it's fine, I'm going there with my dad you need to stay here and rest. You heard what Teddy said. You need to stay home and in bed for a few days then you have to take it uber easy for the next few weeks staying at home then you can go back to work and you're going to listen to him as I've asked Lexie to watch you like a hawk."
"No fair." He pouts making her laugh.
"Very fair, now take your Vicodin." She said holding the pill out to him and a glass of water.
He sighs and takes his medication.
"Good, now take a nap. I need to check on our flight and everything else." She said getting up and as she does so Alex pinches her butt.
"ALEX!" she giggles.
He smiles at her as she leaves.
She gets back downstairs and looks at her dad.
"How is he?"
"He's fine. I just need to make sure everything is fine tomorrow and I have to call the hospital to check on Seth and maybe talk to him."
"Okay." Mark said.
Christi goes and checks on everything then she goes and calls the hospital where Seth is.
"Hi Mommy!" he cries excitedly.
"Hey buddy, I'm coming down tomorrow with grandpa."
"Your daddy?" he clarifies.
"Yea buddy my daddy."
"Cool! I miss you mommy. Am I coming to live you? I don't like Robert. He hits me a lot."
"Yea you're coming to live with me baby boy. And Robert won't hit you ever again I promise."
"Okay."
"And you're gonna get a daddy buddy. You'll meet him when we get back to Seattle when you leave the hospital." Christi said.
"That is so cool mommy!"
She smiles and she goes out back and sits on one of the chairs back there. XXXXX
Mark watches and he smiles. There was just something different about her when she was interacting with her son.
"She seems happier." Lexie said.
"She does, I think Alex will take the news well when she tells him. She was going to tell him the night of the shooting but she decided to put it off for a while."
Lexie just nods. XXXXX
Early the next morning Christi carefully climbs out of bed to start getting ready since she and Mark had an early flight and Alex grabs her hand and stops her.
"Morning love."
"Morning, go back to sleep, it's really early. I'll call you later." She said running her fingers through his hair then kissing him.
He nods yawning and goes back to sleep. She smiles and gets up and takes a fast shower and blow dries her hair then throws on a pair of skinny jeans and a graphic t-shirt and her black and white Sketchers shape up's.
She heads downstairs and makes a quick bowel of maple and brown sugar oatmeal with some orange juice as Mark comes down.
"Morning dad."
"Morning sweetie. How are you feeling?"
"Terrified. The hospital called me to give me an update on Seth and they said Robert is there and he said that he's staying there all day. I haven't had contact with him since I was 16."
"Sweetie you're going to be fine. You survived his abuse, you fought back and that's what matters. You showed him you were stronger than him by fighting back." Mark said.
She smiles and hugs her father.
Five and half hours later they were in Miami and they head over to their hotel and check in then head over to the hospital.
They get their visitors passes then head back to Seth's room.
They get there and Christi takes a deep breath and walks in and Robert doesn't see her until Seth says something.
"MOMMY!" he cries in excitement at seeing his mother for the first time in nearly a year.
Robert turns around and looks at her.
"Well the little slut comes home."
"I'm just here for my mother and my son then I'm leaving and getting back to school."
"So you have to go to school to learn how to work the street corners?"
"No I need to go to school on how to learn to be a doctor you shmuck. I'm in my third year of med school." She growls.
"Ahh, well I'm sure you'll make a fine doctor, that is if you can make it through residency, also with a father like yours. A Sloan, the whoreish family."
Mark grabs Christi and holds her back from beating the crap out of Robert.
"Not in front of Seth sweetheart. Calm down. Let it go. He's just trying to irritate you and you're feeding his desire to provoke you." Mark said.
Christi snorts and calms down.
"If I were you Robert I would leave this hospital right now and not return oh and by the way I will be calling the police and reporting you for child abuse against my grandson." Mark growls.
"Go ahead and do it, there's no proof. He's all beat up from the accident anyway and I never broke a bone." Robert smirked.
"Children don't lie," Mark hissed and led Christi out of the room.
"Daddy I swear one of these day's I'm gonna kill that mother fucker. He ruined my life. I hate him. He took my childhood and…" she trails off in tears. Robert was Seth's father and Robert told her that if she told anyone that he was Seth's father he would kill her and Seth.
"Christi, what did he do?" Mark asks worriedly.
"He," she says, beginning to sob, "He's Seth's dad,"
"He raped you?" Mark growls. She nodded and whimpered.
"He said if I told anyone, he would,"
"He would what, Christi?" he asks, "Tell me,"
"He would kill Seth and I."
"That mother fucking," Mark didn't finish, "I'm gonna kill him for hurting my baby girl!"
"You can't," Christi sighs.
"Well if he ever comes into the hospital, he best not expect treatment from me!"
"That's unlikely, but thanks," Christi says, still crying. Mark held her tight while she cried. They sit in an on-call room now. There was no one inside, so they were safe.
"He should be behind bars." Mark says.
"I know, but he'll kill me and Seth!" Christi protests.
"If you and Seth are in Seattle while Robert's in Florida, getting arrested, he can't do anything. You'll have Seth in your custody once he gets better anyway, so you two will be safe."
"Okay," Christi says finally, "Once we go back to Seattle with Seth, let's do it."
"It's gonna be fine, in fact, Christi, it'll be better than fine. Everything will be great once you have Seth, and Alex will be like a dad to him."
"Thanks, dad," Christi smiles.
"You're welcome baby girl." He said pushing her hair behind her ears holding her close.
Christi pulls out her cell and sees five missed calls and voicemails from Alex and ten texts from him.
She listens to them all and reads them all.
"Let me guess he's being over worried?" Mark asks smirking.
"Overly. He said that if I don't call him by tonight he's coming out her despite being watched like a hawk and against Teddy's orders." She laughs.
Mark smiles and was glad she had found someone who really took care of her unlike the piece of shit she was with before he got custody of her. He just wanted the best for her and Seth and they were going to get that with Alex.
They head back to Seth's room and he was sound asleep.
"He looks like you. He's your mini you but in male form." Mark said.
"You think? In my opinion he looks more like the MF."
"Well I highly have to disagree with you. He's a handsome little guy, like his gorgeous mom was at his age and he'll go grow up to be a heart breaker like his mom." Make said getting a smile out of Christi.
She smiles and hugs him tightly.
They sit in his room with him for a while then when visiting hours are through they head back to the hotel and Christi lies down and calls Alex.
"Hey Alex."
"Hey how are you?"
"I'm hanging in there. They're almost done with the investigation so we should be heading home soon."
"That's good, what are they…." He trials off.
"She wanted to be cremated and her ashes spread at sea so my grandfather is going to do that." She said.
"Okay. How are you holding up?"
"I'm okay." She said.
"That's good. Look Lexie is giving the stank eye. I better get to bed."
"Okay." She laughs as they hang up. XXXXX
Christi and Mark are heading into the hospital and head into Seth's room and find him being stubborn about eating breakfast.
"NO!" he whines.
His nurse was trying to get him to eat his fruit that came with his breakfast.
"Seth Alexander Sloan, eat your fruit." Christi said as they walked in.
Seth just pouted and stuffed a whole bunch of grapes into his mouth so that he looked like a chipmunk and Christi laughs.
"Don't wise Seth Alexander." She said as he chewed the grapes and swallowed. XXXX
Around lunch Mark went and brought them lunch including Seth from Burger King.
As they were eating a knocking came on the door and they looked up and Christi saw Alex standing there and she paled a bit.
"Alex." She said pale.
"Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased. Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken. But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever." – Unknown