The first time Cooper wonders if bringing Mason was a bad idea is when Charlotte finally gets in touch with her mother's doctor. Charlotte, Cooper, and Mason had been sitting at the terminal waiting for their flight when Charlotte managed to contact the doctor in Alabama. Charlotte had gotten up and walked just out of earshot to have the conversation. Cooper watches Charlotte intently, wishing that he knew how to lip-read. Instead Cooper has to rely on how well he can read his wife's face; it's a skill that Cooper likes to believe he's cultivated in the five years he's spent with Charlotte.

Cooper watches as Charlotte's chin trembles slightly and her eyes become glassy. He thinks he can make out her saying thank you. It would make sense at least, because a moment later, Charlotte's demeanor completely changes, and Cooper guesses that she's speaking to her brother. Charlotte is talking animatedly and raising her voice to a point where Cooper can hear her but still not make out her words. Cooper watches Charlotte calm herself; she takes a deep breath and nods slightly. A minute later, she ends the conversation and immediately walks away from where Cooper and Mason are sitting.

Cooper knows that Charlotte left because she's on the verge of tears are doesn't want Mason to see her right now. At least he hopes that's why. Cooper likes to think that Charlotte has no qualms anymore about sharing her feelings with him, but periodically doubts nag at him.

Cooper debates for a moment whether it's ok to leave a nine year old unsupervised in the airport, but ultimately decides that Mason will be safe. "Mase, can you stay here for a few minutes?"

"Are you going to talk to Momma?" Mason asks, and Cooper can see the anxiety and concern in his son's eyes.

"Yeah. Will you be ok?"

"Mmmhmm."

Cooper finds Charlotte at an empty terminal nearby. She's looking out the window, so Cooper can't see her face as he approaches. Cooper is next to Charlotte before she notices him, and when she looks at him, Cooper knows before Charlotte says a word. "She's going to die," Charlotte tells him. Cooper can definitely read Charlotte's body language well enough to know that she wants to be held.

Cooper wraps his arms around Charlotte and she buries her face in his chest. "I'm so sorry, Char." Charlotte doesn't say anything, and Cooper just holds her tightly for a few moments. Charlotte's breathing is still even, so Cooper knows that she isn't crying. He wonders if it just hasn't sunk in yet or if she's trying to stay composed.

"Maybe you should stay with Mason," Charlotte suggests reluctantly. She really doesn't want to face her momma dying alone, but this feels like too much for Mason to handle.

"I'm coming with you, Charlotte." Cooper tells his wife incredulously. The suggestion that Cooper should let Charlotte go to Alabama alone is absurd.

This sets Charlotte off. The reminder that she isn't alone, that Cooper would never leave her to deal with this alone, finally brings her to tears. It's not that she didn't know that Cooper will always be there for her; it's just that this reminder of Cooper's love for her is the final overwhelming emotion that makes Charlotte come apart.

Charlotte is crying softly against Cooper's chest. Despite the comfort of her husband's tight embrace, Charlotte's mind is racing. The prospect of dealing with everything she needs to deal with right now is overwhelming. Landry is about to let their dying mother sign herself out of the hospital. Duke, despite having recently turned 30, is apparently just as unable to deal with their mother's death as their father's. He had refused to see Augusta at the hospital and was instead sitting at his mother's house trying to make a dent in her copious supply of bourbon. Right now, Charlotte needs to deal with her most immediate concern: Mason.

"How can we take Mason with us?" Charlotte asks, looking up at her husband. "I shouldn't have agreed to him coming. I'm sorry Coop."

"Shhh," Cooper soothes, rubbing Charlotte's back, before they pull apart and sit down together. "Mason's going to know your mom is dying whether he's in Monroeville or here. He doesn't have to go to the hospital at all. Someone at your mom's house can watch him right?"

"My momma wants to go home."

"What?" Cooper can't imagine someone with the complications of liver and renal failure deciding to leave the hospital.

"Landry's arranging a nurse," Charlotte tells her husband, scrubbing her face with her hands. She looks back up at Cooper, who puts his hand on her neck. "I used to be better at this," she mutters.

"At what?"

"Keeping it all together. Taking care of everything."

"You don't have to keep it together. And whatever you need me to do I can do. You just tell me." Charlotte gives Cooper a thankful smile.

"Do you think Mason will be alright if he comes with us?" Charlotte asks her husband. She's on the fence about what to do with Mason. She knows he will be upset if they try to leave him in LA, and at least if he's with them, Charlotte can talk to him about everything and comfort him when he's hurting.

"I think this is going to affect him either way."

"I know. I guess you're right. What if we stay at a hotel when we get in, keep Mase away from the fray? And I'm sure Bernie will be able to watch him when we need," Charlotte says, offering up her mother's housekeeper's babysitting services.

"I think that's the best plan we've got," Cooper tells her. The situation will never be good, and this feels like the best they can do.

Cooper and Charlotte hear the announcement for their flight, so they head back to the boarding area where Mason is eagerly waiting for them. "Are you ok, Momma?"

"Yeah, sweetie," Charlotte tells Mason, as he stands up and gathers his bags. She wraps an arm around Mason, giving him a little squeeze as they line up at the gate.

"Can I sit by the window?" Mason asks when they get to their seats.

"Sure," Charlotte tells him. "You can take the aisle, Coop."

"You sure?"

"You need about a foot more leg room than I do, so I'm sure," Charlotte tells her husband. And it's true, Cooper gets the aisle because he's taller, but Charlotte certainly doesn't mind sitting next to her two favorite people.

Mason spends the first five minutes watching the bright lights that are Los Angeles become smaller and smaller, until they disappear from view. Not long after that, he's asleep. It's only 8:30, but they'd had a tiring day even before Landry had called. Charlotte is thankful for Mason's ability to sleep just about anywhere and through just about anything. They have a four and a half hour flight to Atlanta, an hour layover, an hour-long flight to Montgomery, and a two-hour drive to Monroeville. By the time they arrive, it will be morning.

Charlotte covers Mason with a blanket. She wonders if it will ever stop taking her breath away just how much she loves him. Charlotte lifts up the armrest between herself and Cooper, and leans her body against his. Cooper wraps his arm around Charlotte. Usually the prospect of four and a half hours of forced stillness would make Charlotte crazy, but right now she needs the time to collect herself before she faces her family. She closes her eyes and tries to make the most of the calm before the storm.