"Turns out his cold isn't a cold!" Hugh told Charlie. " He got worse, so the nanny called Hanna's mom and they took him to the hospital. Doc says he's got something called RSV."

"I'll be right there," Charlie promised. The couple made signs telling there students their respective classes was cancelled, and were soon at the hospital.

When they came into the room, Keeland was squirming and fussing, while a nurse administered some medicines.

"How is he?" Charlie asked. Hugh, Hanna, and Hanna's parents were all there.

"A little better," Hanna's mother said. "The doctor has him on some medicine, and we'll be able to take him home tomorrow."

"Hey ...?" Charlie approached his grandson with a smile. The baby looked at him. "Don't worry, you'll be out of here soon."

"I sent the Nanny to get his things, while my husband picked up Hanna and Hugh from school."

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Five years later.

Amita looked at Charlie, as he ate the Chinese takeout with chopsticks, wondering when she had stopped loving him. She could not remember the date. The last few years had been hard on their marriage between their disagreements about Suruli and his needs.

Halfheartedly picking at her honey walnut shrimp, she swallowed, and decided to take the leap. "Charlie, I want a divorce."

"Wha-? Why?" Charlie could not believe it.

"We argue, and are leading separate lives. Look at us. The only reason we are having lunch together is because we're working on a project."

"Amita...I know we've been having problems, but we can work them out. Look at our parents! They managed somehow, but it takes work."

"The counseling hasn't gotten us anywhere," Amita told him flatly.

"We just started it," Charlie argued.

"I'm sorry Charlie, I wanted it to work, but we've drifted apart," Amita said sadly. "I'll move out with Suruli in a few weeks."

"Where?"

"I'll find a place. We'll share custody of Suruli. Well, I gotta go. I have an interview with Wired."

"Just like that? You're going to throw away our marriage."

"Charlie, don't make this harder than it already is."

With that, she left. Charlie just sat, having forgotten about his meal.

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Two days later, the two had a heart to heart with a now nine old Suruli.

"Sweetie, there are times, when mothers and fathers can't live together anymore," Amita began. The three sat in the living room of the Craftsman. "They...change and argue too much."

"Oh." the little boy squirmed as he wanted to go back to his erectors. They, along with model airplanes, were his passion.

"What I'm trying to say is that, your father and I are separating. We both still love you very much."

Suruli just looked at her and said, "Okay."

"You'll get to be with Daddy some of the time and with me the rest of the time," she added nervously.

"Okay."

"Did you hear what your mother said?" Charlie asked, puzzled at his son's reaction.

"Yeah. I gotta go shower." The boy got up and left.

"He hasn't absorbed the news," Amita worried.

"Neither have I," Charlie thought sadly, but said, "Once he does, he'll need both of us."

Charlie eventually told Alan, Don, Robin and Hugh about the separation.

"I'm sorry buddy," Don said with sympathy. The two talked at Don and Robin's home.

"Mom and Dad's marriage lasted over three decades, despite the strain I put on it. I wanted to work things out with Amita."

"Look, you tried," Don pointed out. "By agreeing to counseling, reading books, and being understanding towards Suruli."

"It apparently wasn't enough," Charlie lamented.

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Amita eventually found a nice two bedroom apartment in a part of Pasadena known as ' Old Pasadena.'. She had a lucrative ongoing consulting job with a large production company, that produced a science fiction show, thanks to a former student, who had quit Cal Sci to get into 'the biz' and had recommended Amita. She had finished the computer program after doing research involving actual children with Aspergers and autism and now it was very popular. She made sure to buy Suruli the exact same bed he had at the craftsman, and set up his new room the same way. However, it did not prepare him for the first night.

"It smells yucky," he complained as he and Amita their first dinner in the apartment. "I don't like it."

"The apartment was fumigated some weeks ago." Amita shrugged. "The smell will be gone before you know it."

The boy frowned, and picked at his dinner.

"I know that moving isn't easy, but you'll get used to this apartment," Amita promised.

"I wanna go home."

"Sweetie, we talked about this. You're going to stay here, with me four days a week, and at your father's house three days a week," Amita told him gently.

"I don't like this place. I wanna go home!" Suruli demanded. He missed being at the Craftsman with his father and grandfather.

"Honey, look..."

"This isn't home!"

"You've got two homes now," Amita reminded him.

"No I don't."

"Yes you do. Finish your dinner."

"No!" Suruli yelled and threw a glass of water against the wall. "I want to go back home!"

"Suruli! We don' t throw things!" Amita scolded. "Go to your room!"

"It's not my room!"

"Go to the room that you'll be sleeping in tonight." Amita tried to contain her frustration.

"No I won't!" He kept throwing things against the wall all while demanding to be taken 'home'.

"Suruli! Stop!" Amita grabbed his shoulder. "Look at me!"

While trying to calm him, Amita heard the doorbell ring. Reluctantly, she went to answer it.

"Who is it?" she asked, and saw two uniformed police officers through the peep hole.

"Pasadena Police. We'd like to talk with you."

TBC