I may or may not have stayed up last night to write this, but it just kinda happened. I'm not sure if this is actually legally or medically sound, I just thought it made for a good plot device. Sorry if I'm wrong, please don't kill me! Enjoy it instead.

"Mister Collins," Jo said as she walked into the room. Maybe it was something in her voice or maybe it was the look in her eyes, but before she could go any further Zach looked at her and sighed.

"You found out about Robby being placed in foster care right?"

She bit her lip and nodded and he sighed again.

"At least give me a chance to tell you what happened."

He motioned her over to the chair opposite the bed. Alex stood in the doorway as Jo sat down with Mer opting to stand behind her. Zach looked at his son.

"Robby's mother and I got pregnant when we were 18, too young to really be able to take care of a kid but we made a go of it. I dropped out of college and started working for a roofing company while Tori tried to stay in school and juggle a baby. She tried to be happy but she didn't want to be a mother, not yet anyway, and so finally she decided she had had enough and left us when Robby was 3."

He shook his head sadly. "She actually sent the divorce papers through the mail."

Meredith shot a glance at Alex, she knew that one brought up some painful memories for him. But his face betrayed nothing so she turned back to Zach.

"After a few months I saw her name pop up in the society column of the paper, saying she had basically flashed her rack at a multimillionaire enough times for him to propose. It was really hard after she left but it eventually got better. For a while things seemed like it might be ok for Robby and me, but then it all went to shit. When Robby was 6 I lost my job, tried like hell to get a new one but no one was biting and I got desperate, really desperate. Then when a buddy of mine offered me a desk job at his insurance office I thought I was too good to be true. Turns out it was, the entire operation was one big scam that went belly up. I think the judge took pity on me because while the rest of the people involved were getting sentences of 8-10, I got off with a maximum of 3 years. I didn't have any family other than an uncle, but he was in no position to take care of anyone other than himself. The day the social worker came to pick him up was the worst day of my life."

"Why didn't Robby's mother take him?" Jo asked.

"Robby's mother never wanted him, not when she got pregnant and not when she left us but not even I thought she would be so cold hearted as to turn her son over to foster care. The only way I could think of to contact her was through the oily little divorce attorney she had used, I think his name was Sylverman or something like that. I called him and explained the situation to him and how I needed to talk to Tori. Do you know what that bastard had the nerve to say to me?"

Zach's eyes clouded over and he checked to make sure his son was still sleeping. "He said that he was surprised it took me this long to fuck up, as if he was gloating over the fact that I was going to prison."

He dropped his shoulders and put his head in his hands for a few moments before he continued. "He called back a few days later telling me that he had spoken to Tori and that he was sorry but she was not able to take the kid at this time. I knew it was a load of bull, the more likely story was that she hadn't told her Richie Rich husband that she had a son and didn't want him to find out. But in any case, the result was the same. She wasn't gonna come save him."

Jo saw his eyes soften as he stared at his sons sleeping face.

"Every night I was away I would call him and I would read him 'The Cat in the Hat' or 'The Trouble I Had in Getting to Solla Sollew' or some other Dr Seuss. They were always his favorites. I read them so many times I could recite them from memory. I was out in 18 months, and from that point on I've tried to give him the world." He finished as he looked back up at the doctors. "I know it must look bad, a single father with a rap sheet. But I swear to god I am not my file, there is nothing I wouldn't do for my son."

For a long time the room was still without a single human sound. Finally Meredith spoke. "A nurse will be checking in on you two periodically through the night. Dr Karev and I will be around tomorrow morning to check on his stitches. He should be awake by then. We'll leave you two alone for now." She walked out of the room with Jo and Alex following close on her heals.

"Not a word of the foster care situation to anyone else," Meredith said as soon as the three of them were out of ear shot. "I don't want any other invasions of this family's privacy."

Alex and Jo nodded. "Damn this sucks," he said. "The fact that he lost his son means the option of doing pro bono work on the kid is out without having to answer a crap ton of questions from the DFS regarding the welfare of the child."

Jo sighed. "And his health insurance wouldn't cover a trip to the dentist, never mind a surgery like this. I guess health insurance companies don't take kindly to single dads with a criminal record."

"Isn't there something you can do Mer?"

"I can try and see if we can't use some of the donation money to cover the costs but it's not up to me alone." Meredith remarked. "I'm gonna have to take it up with the rest of the board and it's going to have to be unanimous."

The three of them fell silent. It would be no small task to convince the entire board. They could probably get Robins on board and Chief Hunt had a not so secret weak spot for children, but it was still gonna be a tough sell for the rest of them. The silence was broken by the sound of a pager. "Mine" Meredith said and promptly scurried off to her patient. "I'm gonna go check on the Sommers kid, I'll see you later." Alex gave Jo a peck on the cheek and went on about his business, leaving Jo on her own. As she turned to leave she saw a well dressed woman looking into Robby's room. "Excuse me miss, can I help you?" Jo asked. She wondered just how long the woman had been standing there and, more importantly, if she had herd any of Mr Collins story. "No dear, it's quite alright," The woman said. As Jo got closer she could tell that the jewelry was certainly real
and each piece was probably worth more than the car she had slept in during high school.

"Well I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave, visiting hours are over Ms,"

"Daniels, Mrs Emily Daniels. But in another life I was Mrs Tori Emily Collins." The smartly dressed woman said sadly.

Jo's eyes went wide and she gasped. "You're Robby's mother!"

Bum bum bum buuuuuummmmmm! You know the drill, review and I'll love you forever