"Something on your mind?"
Daniel looks up at Dr. Peterson. "Yeah I've got a lot on my mind."
"Let's talk about it," Dr. Peterson suggests.
"I've got a son."
"You've never mentioned that before."
"Because I just found out."
"How old is he?"
"Five or six weeks."
"How do you feel about that?"
"Confused."
"Why is that?"
"He's Wilhelmina's son."
"He's her son, or he's your son?"
"She's his mother, and I guess I'm his father."
"What's his name?"
"Chance."
"How do you feel about this?"
"I always swore that I'd be more present in my child's life than my father was..."
"But?"
"I don't know if I can. I can't face her. I don't want to have to deal with her."
"It is no longer about the two of you. While it's important that you work through your issues with her, what is most important is that you are there for your child."
"What if he's better of without me?"
"No child is better off without a father."
"I'm not ready to deal with her."
"Does he need you?"
"He's still in the N.I.C.U."
"He needs you."
"He's too young to know whether I'm there or not."
"But his mom will know."
"She hates me, so it doesn't matter."
"I have three kids. The youngest was premature, it was very stressful, to be honest I wouldn't have been able to handle it on my own. Some people can, but very few. She needs you, whether she wants to admit it or not."
"Needs me to do what?"
"Just to be there."
"How?"
"Just listen to her, just support her. Do you know what I consider to define a couple's relationship?"
"No."
"The deciding factor is this; during times of hardship and upheaval couples turn away from each other; they try to handle things on their own, or they turn toward each other; they confide in one another, and act as a pillar of strength for the other person. A lot of times the couples who turn away from each other don't make it."
"We're not a couple though."
"Daniel tell me, in an ideal world how would your relationship with Wilhelmina have gone?"
"I don't know."
"Yes you do. I want to hear how it would go."
"She wouldn't have left. She wouldn't have been afraid. She would have believed me. She would have trusted me. She would have loved me."
"And then what?"
"We would live happily ever after."
"And in this fairy tale what is happily ever after?"
"We would be together."
"Married?"
"Maybe, it doesn't really matter. We'd just be together."
"For how long?"
"Forever."
"That's it?"
"Maybe we'd have kid, I don't know."
"You do want kids?"
"I've got one, so does it really matter?"
"But did you want kids?"
"Yeah."
"So you wanted a family?"
"Yes."
"With her?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe that's why you're so angry with her. It's not because she left; it's because she took your dream with her when she did. Daniel you could still have that, but you're going to have to work at it. Things don't just happen. Happiness doesn't just happen, it takes work, and determination."
"I know."
"But you know that all of the problems in the relationship cannot be blamed on the other party. Did she have reasons not to trust you, not to believe you, to be weary about loving you?"
"I did some stupid things in my past."
"People will always judge you by your past action, and until your past actions are different, their opinions of you will remain the same."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's say you always leave the toilet seat up. Other people are right to assume that you are always going to leave the toilet seat up. One day you don't leave the toilet seat up, so then they will assume differently than they did before."
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't know how I'm going to handle seeing her."
"Don't worry about it."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Go see your son."
"You're telling me to leave?"
"I'm not saying that you're fixed, but you have made a lot of progress. I think that you can leave here, as long as you continue therapy. Shutting down, and holding things inside doesn't make anything better, for anyone. You've got to talk about things, with someone."
"Ok," he nods.
She tosses and turns, she tries to sleep, but it refuses to come. She lays in her bed with her eyes wide open. She sits in the dark, and just listens. She doesn't hear the sounds that she should. She doesn't hear a baby snoring, or crying, or gurgling. Instead she hears nothing. Her heart beats, but she feels hollow.
She rolls over, and flips on the lamp. She pulls her phone to her ear, and dials a familiar number.
"Hello?"
"Kate, this is..."
"Wilhelmina he's fine," she cuts her off.
"Are you sure?"
"Hold on," Kate walks over to Chance's isolet, "Can you hear him?"
"No."
"Hold on a second," she puts her phone on speaker, "You're on speaker now."
"I still can't hear him."
Kate watches as the little boy's eyes flutter open, "No, but he can hear you. He's fine, now go to sleep."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"He's there, and I'm here."
"Tell him goodnight, and go to sleep. He'll be with you in your dreams."
She thinks about the idea for a moment and then softly says, "Goodnight Chance."
"He's out."
"He's really ok?"
"He's fine, go to sleep."
Wilhelmina hangs up the phone, and places it on her bedside stand. She turns of the lamp, and rolls onto her side. She closes her eyes, and finally falls asleep.