x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x-BOOK TWO CHAPTER EIGHT- MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL- x x x x x x x x x x x x xx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Charlotte comes home the next day in an extraordinarily good mood despite the news Cooper gave her the evening before about his indiscretion with Allison.

She finds Cooper still in bed even though it's twelve noon on a Saturday. "Where are the kids?" Charlotte's voice is very casual.

His head's resting on the pillow. He moves his eyes to look at her. "Violet came this morning and took them. I can't manage them by myself yet and it's Allison's day off. You were no where to be found. I've been calling you all night." Cooper notices she's wearing the same clothes she left in after their fight last night.

"I turned my phone off." She shrugs her shoulders.

"Where were you? I was worried. I called the hospitals to see if you'd been in an accident."

"I was driving around and I got tired." She shrugs her shoulders at him again. "I went to a friends' house." She shrugs her shoulders at him again.

"I know you didn't go to Violet and Pete's house." He studies her unusually calm face considering the situation. "You went to his house; didn't you? You went to Todd's house?" He lifts his head off the pillow to get a better look at her face. He knows Charlotte doesn't have many friends to go to..

"I needed a friend after what you sprung on me yesterday." She sits at the far corner of the bed from him.

"Did you sleep with him?" Cooper can't help but blurt out. Cooper sits up in bed and studies her face. She doesn't answer. Cooper asks again. "Did you sleep with him?"

"It wouldn't make a difference if I did since you slept with Allison. You can't be mad at me for doing the same thing you did." She shrugs her shoulders again and it's annoying him, her casual nonchalant manner.

"I slept with Allison on accident!" His voice is getting louder.

"Oh please." Charlotte rolls her eyes at him. "I was upset and had a few drinks so I slept with Todd. That's my excuse." She shrugs her shoulders another time at him and now he's really irritated.

"He took advantage of you?" He punches his fist into the bed. "You were upset and drunk and he slept with you?" Cooper's red faced and angry. "He's gonna pay."

"Calm down. I was upset and he made me feel better. He didn't take advantage of me. It was something I needed to do to make me feel better about forgivin' you, short of branding my name into your penis."

"By cheating on me?" He looks at her with his fierce blue eyes.

"It needed to do it for me. I do feel better. I forgive you Coop. I'm not mad anymore." She shrugs her shoulders at him again.

"It's not right Charlotte. It's like an eye for an eye." He huffs and slams his hand down again. "Can't you see that?"

Charlotte remains calm. "I didn't do it to hurt you or get even with you. I did it for me. So I could make peace with it. Would you rather I didn't sleep with him and I stayed mad at you? Maybe didn't speak with you for a few months?"

Cooper rubs his face rapidly and repeatedly with both his hands. "What's happening to us Cricket?" He asks anguished.

"Cricket?" Charlotte answers in a low voice. "You still wana call me cricket?" She looks at him.

Cooper has his hands over his face still. "Yes, but what's happening to us?

Charlotte can tell by his voice that Cooper is teary and trying to hide it from her by covering his face with his hands. "Life." She answers.

Cooper keeps his face covered. "It's not supposed to be like this." He wipes his eyes now. "We have two children. I don't want this kind of life for them. They deserve better."

"Shoulda' thought about them before you accidently slept with their babysitter." Charlotte raises an eyebrow.

Cooper agrees," I know. I was wrong. I screwed up but don't want to fight in front of them. We've been arguing in front of them too much lately." He tells her his voice low.

"All parents fight Coop. Mine did, I'm sure your parents fought sometimes too." She watches him wipe his eyes.

"Maybe." He answers "But I know they didn't cheat on each other and I don't want that for our kids."

"What are you sayin' Coop?" Charlotte takes a deep breath. "Are you sayin' you want to split up so we don't fight in front of the kids cuz I went into this relationship whole hog for ...the good ...and the bad...for better ...or worse ...and I'm not going to let Allison screw it up for us... Damn homewrecker!" Charlotte throws her purse across the room.

Cooper interrupts. "No, that's not what I'm saying. I don't know what we should do right now." His eyes are still teary and Charlotte can see them clearly now. "I wish I never met Allison."

"This is my fault. I'm the bad one." She says.

Cooper takes a deep breath and tells her. "No, you're not the bad one. I cheated first. I'm the bad one." Cooper argues.

Charlotte puts her hand on his knee. "I forgive you. Heck, Coop I don't even think I blame you for it."

He looks at her. "What do you mean?"

"Hell, you haven't had a woody since the accident, I don't blame you for gettin' excited when she tried to seduce you." She tells him seriously. "But is still hurts just the same."

"I should have said stopped it before it got too far." He confesses.

"Yes, you should have, but if you've got this hussey pulling her clothes off seducin' ya after ya been celibate for months, I can see it happen." She squeezes his knee.

He watches her. He doesn't say anything because that might be true about the first time with Allsion but not about the second. He decides not to bring that up, it will only make matters worse right now.

"But me? I knew exactly what I was doin when I seduced Todd."

"You seduced Todd?" Cooper's taken back.

"Pulled my bath towel off right in front of him. Then I went for his pants off." She tells him straight out.

"Cricket!" Cooper corrects himself. "I mean Char. You did that to get even with me?"

"I already told you NO. I did it to make myself feel better not to get even with you. It didn't help that we both downed several martinis first." She decides not to tell Cooper that she slept with Todd again the next morning after the martini's already wore off.

"I'm sure the martini's didn't help the situation." Cooper holds Charlotte's chin up and looks in her hazel eyes. "I'm sorry about Allison, it'll never happen again. I'll call her and tell her not to come back to work. We'll find someone else to watch the kids."

"Good." Charlotte nods her head in agreement.

"What about Todd? You work with him. You see him everyday."

"Todd and I are just friends. He did me a favor to help me out."

"Huh! Some favor. I'm sure he loved doing you that favor." Cooper rolls his eyes and makes a "pffssshhh." noise

"He's the reason it's easier to forgive you. He's the reason I'm able to sit here and talk to you right now."

"When you slept with Archer I didn't run out and sleep with anyone in order to forgive you." He reminds.

"We weren't married then; no rugrats running around." She reaches over and rests her hand on his knee. " I love you Coop and I want to forgive you. This was the only way I could make it right for me. I needed to feel wanted and attractive."

"I want you Char! You're the most beautiful woman I know! I'm sorry if I made you feel you weren't." He scoots closer to her on the bed and she scoots closer to him. "Sleeping with Allison had nothing to do with how I feel about you. I love you."

"It's just that she was able to get you excited , she was able to give you an erection and I couldn't up until the other night. I know she's much younger than me and she's pretty and..."

Cooper interrupts "Charlotte stop. I want you more than any woman in this world. You're still my hot cricket, you always will be." He kisses her forehead. She buries her head in his neck and cries. "Don't cry Char. Please don't cry. We're going to be alright." He kisses the top of her head and holds her tight " Maybe we needed this"

She looks up at him. "We needed what? To cheat on each other?" She squints her red eyes and waits for an answer.

"Maybe it was good that we both were with other people, so we could see how much better it is with each other. I mean with Allison it was just sex. It felt good but not as good as with you because I love you."

"Same for me." She squeezes his hand.

Cooper smiles. "We've learned a lesson here. We need to stay together." He hugs her tight. "I love you."

"I want to spend the rest of my whole damn life with you." She hugs him back.

"Good I'm ready to move foward with our lives I'll call Sam and tell him I'm ready to come back to work." Cooper decides.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Charlotte asks.

"I'll make sure I'm ready. I need to go back to work."

"Or do you just wanna go back to work so Todd has to leave?" Charlotte questions.

"Honestly it's a little of both but I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna call Sam and tell him I'm coming back so he could give Todd his walking papers."

I just hope you'r not bitin' off more than you can chew going back too soon. You still need the walker."

"I'm making progress Char. I'm going to practice with a cane so I don't need the walker. It won't be so bad if I used a cane."

"Alright." Charlotte shakes her head thinking Cooper's rushing it just so she doesn't have to work with Todd anymore. "Let's get you up and dressed and pick up our lil' honey bunnies from Violet's house." She reaches her arms out to help him up.

"No. I want to do it on my own." He gets up and steadies himself. Charlotte stands next to him just in case. He musters up some courage and takes two steps forward without his walker.

"Coop. You just took two steps." Charlotte's excited for him. He manages to take two more steps before getting wobbly. He grabs for her but he's bigger and heavier and they both topple over. He lands on top of her on the floor.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"I'm okay." She mumbles out from underneath him and they both burst out laughing. They laugh hysterically together for a few minutes the kind of contageous laughter in which you just can't stop. They finally get a grip on their laughter and she pats him on the back. "Coop you took four steps on your own. You're getting better. "

"How about after I get dressed we take a walk outside?" I'll bring my cane to help me keep steady instead of the walker."

"Great idea" She's happy this idea came from the man who wouldn't leave the house except for his therapy appointments and one lunch date with her.

"We're making progress Coop. We're getting closer to our fairytale." She pulls his arms up to help him lift off the ground. "You'll be walking normal again soon."

He tells her. "Everything happens for a reason."

"It sure does, come on let's go for that walk." She stands gets his cane. "You're making impressive progress," she tells him as she hands him the cane.

"No we're making progress. We're in this together woman right up until the end." He takes the cane and tries it out.

"We're in this whole hog; together until the end."

Cooper walks leaning on the cane with one hand and holding onto Charlotte's hand with the other. Charlotte stays very close to him for support him if he needs it. Progress she thinks they're making progress. They walk out side into the sunshine together. "It's a beautiful day." She tells him.

He squeezes her hand. "It's a beautiful life." They walk off together.

TBC...

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Thanks to my awesome beta JustForFun for all her help and input in this chapter!