A/N: So… here we are again. I had a little time on my hands and decided to use it to give you another part. I'm sorry for the Addison/Michael part, and there might come a few a few more of those, but I hope you'll still like what we're doing here other than that. The part is very Lewis-centric, but of course we hope you don't mind! =)

Hope I'll be able to update soon again! =)

Enjoy Chapter 73!

Addison Montgomery POV:

Addison felt like every nerve was alive as she felt Michael's mouth work her over. With her legs over his shoulders Michael sucked her clit as she ran her hands through his hair.

"M-Michael" she whispered as the man held her hips firmly. It had been so long since it was this good and she wanted it to last forever, but there was so much more they could do.

Pulling his head back she forced Michael to look up at her and his eyes were wide and full of the same lust he was giving her. Lifting her head up Michael appeared in front of her and placing a hand behind his neck she brought him down to give a searing kiss.

Grabbing his hips she pulled him close and started to unbuckle the man's belt.

"Addison" Michael whispered "I-"

"Shhh" she said with a smile "let me return the favour"

She managed to undo his belt and un-looping it she threw it to the ground and started working on unbuttoning his pants. She had just undone them when she felt Michael grab her hands and looking up at him she saw him shake his head back and forth.

"I-I can't" he told her.

Addison looked at him confused "What… why?"

He looked away from her briefly before turning his attention back to her and grabbing her face within his hands "I want this to be about you" he told her "I just want to make you feel good"

Covering her right hand with his she gave a small smile "Having you" she said "all of you, is what will make me feel good"

She could still see doubt in her eyes and it confused her "Don't you want this?"

"Of course I do" Michael said instantly "more than anything, but..."

"But what?"

"I don't deserve this"

The statement threw her for a loop "Why?"

Michael turned away from her and walked further into the living room.

"I have a guy's life in my hands" he told Addison "a guy who I tortured for the better part of 6 months and while I'm here with one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen he's laid up in a hospital bed trying to survive one minute to the next"

Hopping down Addison approached Michael and putting a hand on his shoulder she turned him around to face her. "I need you to listen to me, Michael" she said "you can't keep doing this"

"Doing what?"

"This beating yourself up" she told him "you know you've done horrible things, but I've never seen someone work so hard to try and undo his damage"

"It doesn't change anything, though" Michael said "he...he used to jump whenever I was around. I think he thought I was going to hit him" he grabbed Addison's hand "and the truth was I was never quite sure if I would"

She took in a breath "Do you still feel that way?"

"No" Michael told her "I'd give anything to have him wake up so I can try and apologize, but it still doesn't stop the nightmares"

"Nightmares?"

She saw the fear in Michael's eyes and for a moment she was sure he was going to back away. Close himself off and end whatever this thing was between them.

When he started to speak she released the breath she had been holding.

"My ex-wife" he started "I told you she was killed in a car accident, but what I didn't mention was that two weeks later she appeared to me"

"That's not unusual" Addison said " a lot of people experience that kind of thing"

"Not like this" Michael responded "I ran into her and we had dinner" he chuckled "I even told my sister and then the next day I read that she had been dead for two weeks"

Addison had to admit that she could feel her skin start to prickle.

"I thought I was going insane" he told her "she kept appearing to me and I couldn't make it stop"

"Do-does it still happen?"

Michael shook his head "Not for a long time" he told her "until the accident… but it's not her...it's Jackson"

"You see him?"

"Only when I sleep, but it's every time I sleep" Michael said "the first night was in the hospital. I was laying in bed and he just walked in without a scratch on him. He was wearing his white coat and he smiled at me like I was one of his patients. He even asked me if I was okay. Told me that he and Sloan could patch me up and make me as good as new"

"That's only the guilt Michael" Addison said "that's all it is"

"Then when I got home he was here" Michael told her as he looked around "cooking dinner and acting like…like-"

"Like what?"

"Like I was Mark" he said "I think he even called me that once". Addison could see him look towards the kitchen "It was like I had stepped into a part of his life that I had no right to"

Finally turning back to Addison the woman could see that he was crying "If he dies tomorrow" he said "I'm going to be stuck with those nightmares for the rest of my life and it's what I deserve. I don't deserve to have all this; I don't deserve to have you if I took it all away from Jackson"

Grabbing Michael she pulled him in for a tight hug. "You are going to do amazing tomorrow" she whispered in his ear "You will save Jackson and get the chance to apologize properly, I know it" she spoke with conviction and feeling Michael wrap his arms around her he put his forehead on her shoulder and pulled her close.

"We don't have to do anything you're not ready for tonight" she said to Michael "but I'd like fall asleep in your arms if that's okay"

Pulling back Michael smiled down at her "I'd like that".

Returning his smile she felt Michael grab her hand and lead her to the bedroom. It was a large room with a king-sized bed and big screen television. Something she imagined most doctors had. Kicking off his shoes he crawled onto the soft mattress and following his lead she did the same.

With her head on his chest she could hear his rapid heartbeat slow down and after a few moments she looked up to see the man had already succumbed to sleep.

She may not be able to stop the nightmares, but at least she would be here to help him deal with them and that was a start.

Eli Lloyd POV:

Eli was finishing up his charts when he heard her name being called.

"Welcome back Dr. Bailey"

Looking up Eli couldn't even tell who said it, but he did see Bailey approaching him and he couldn't help the nerves that developed. To her credit Bailey looked just as nervous, though. It did help.

"Hey Eli" she smiled.

"Hello, Dr. Bailey"

"It's Dr. Bailey now" she chuckled awkwardly.

"Oh, sorry" he said as he looked down "I guess it should be Dr. Warren now. I heard you two eloped"

He knew he sounded petty, but he really couldn't help it.

"With everything going on here and Dr. Webber's wife passing away we thought it best to make it as minimal as possible" she told him.

Eli did feel bad, because with the hospital so close to losing so many people many didn't have time to give Bailey's wedding a second thought.

"How are you doing Eli?" she asked and it was a question he didn't want her to ask, but when an intern ran up to her and distracted her it was the opening he needed to duck away and out of her sight.

Being around her still wasn't the easiest thing in the world. It was not as if he wanted to get back with her. He was very happy that she had found the man of her dreams and had the chance to marry him, but it didn't make the lonely nights any less lonely.

He needed some air. A little to time to clear his head before he went back to work and finding himself at the entrance to the roof Eli took it as a sign.

Walking out he found the cool breeze of the Seattle night air whip across his skin and he closed his eyes and try to enjoy the moment.

So much was going on in his life that having a moment of silence felt nice. Walking closer to the edge in order to look over and enjoy the city lights he had just passed the large heating duct when he saw somebody standing on the edge of the roof.

Not just anybody, but Lewis Avery.

Eli's heart seized in his chest "L-Lewis?" he choked out and the man turned around to stare at him startled. Eyes wide and fearful the man looked about to lose his balance and Eli was a millisecond away from rushing over before Lewis regained his balance and held his hand up.

"Don't" he told Eli "don't come near me"

"What are you doing?"

"I came here to think" Lewis told him and his voice chilled Eli. It was so devoid of emotion. As if he was a robot saying a pre-programmed script.

"You decide to think while standing on the edge of a rooftop" and looking at Eli Lewis shrugged his shoulders "I like the view" he told him "it's peaceful"

"Lewis" Eli said "why don't you come down. I'd like to talk to you a minute"

"I'm tired of talking" Lewis said "I've done enough of it to last a lifetime"

The way Lewis was talking terrified Eli. He had heard someone talk just like that before and had it not be Eli picking up on that too his brother would be dead right now.

"You're not thinking of doing anything drastic, are you, Lewis?"

Lewis looked down at his feet and watched as the front end hung over the edge "Not drastic, no"

"Then please come down and talk to me"

"I can't stop seeing his face" Lewis said.

"Who's face?"

"Jackson's" Lewis told him "it's everywhere. I keep forgetting that he's in a coma" he laughed, but the laughter was tinged with enough sadness to tug at Eli's heart.

"I've spent most of Jackson's life telling him he was a cancer" Lewis said "he infected people's lives and that nobody was better for knowing him"

The words cut Eli.

"But the truth is it was me" Lewis said "I was the one that made people's lives worst by being in it. My dad, mother, Jackson" he leaned over just slightly and Eli had to hold himself back from reaching for him. "Then when they weren't enough I moved onto Michael, Tyler, and Alex" he told Eli "I've hurt so many people"

"Have you ever seen any of the way those people look at you?" Eli asked

"What?"

"Any of those people you've just mentioned? Have you seen any of them really look at you?" he asked "because I have"

Lewis looked at Eli not understanding what he was trying to say.

"They love you" Eli told him "I've seen it in Michael's eyes, in Tyler, and Alex's too. You messed up, we all have, but those people who you are so sure whose lives you destroyed would and have gone to bat for you. How horrible can you be if all those men still love you so much?"

"Not Jackson, though" Lewis said "all he wanted was a brother who could love him the same way he loved him. Instead, what he got was me. An older brother who blamed him for everything that went wrong in his life and made it a point to punish him for it"

"That's not true"

"Yes it is" Lewis nodded "I could have stopped years ago, but it was just so easy to blame him. To ignore the fact that I was a grown man who made bad decisions. He paid the price for being born with me as a brother. He's not the one who deserves to die, I am"

"DON'T YOU TALK LIKE THAT" Eli yelled and the emotion behind it scared even him.

"Why not? It's true" Lewis said "Jackson can make it through that surgery tomorrow with the piece of mind that he will never have to worry about me again"

"And you think that's what he wants?" Eli asked "to have you jump off the roof of this hospital? Do you think he's going to be able to get better and move on with his life? You think he won't picture it every single time he walks through those doors?"

"I-"

"That's if you actually die from the jump" Eli said "from this height there is a pretty good chance you'll just be a paraplegic and who do you think will take it upon themselves to take care of you?"

"That's not-"

"I can tell you now that I know Jackson and after not being able to save his father he's going to spend the rest of his life taking care of you. Feeding you, bathing you, changing you. His life will be devoted to caring for the brother who thought he was making some noble sacrifice by leaping off a rooftop" Eli moved a little closer "You want to truly be selfish then you jump and chain Jackson to your bedside for the next 30 years"

"Then what do I do, Eli?" he asked "I can't live with this pain. I don't...I don't know how"

"You come down and you sit with me and talk. Then tomorrow you watch Jackson's surgery and you make it an absolute goal to be there for him. No matter how much anger and hurtful words come your way being the brother that he has always wanted becomes the most important thing"

He saw Lewis sag his shoulders and Eli prayed that he was able to get through to him. Looking at him Eli saw Lewis nod his head, but before the man could start to come down he watched Lewis' foot slip from under him and the terror in Lewis' eyes jolts Eli.

As Lewis started to fall Eli jumped, grabbed him around the waist and then the two are falling back onto the cold concrete of the roof.

Eli wasn't even aware of how tight he was holding Lewis until he heard the man struggle to breathe. "S-Sorry" Eli apologized as he let the man go and once Lewis turned to him he saw the tears in the man's eyes and suddenly he was hugging Eli.

"I'm so sorry" Lewis repeated over and over.

"It's okay" Eli told him "it's going to be okay" and deep in his heart Eli truly believed it would.

Lewis Avery POV:

Lewis hadn't planned on jumping off the hospital roof when he came up here. Hell, he hadn't even thought about what he was going to do. There just had been all those thoughts in his head. Dark thoughts. Thoughts about all the people he loved.

The people that would be so much better off without him.

He didn't want to put them through any more pain than he already had.

He didn't expect anyone to show up, though.

He didn't expect Eli to show up.

He didn't expect Eli to even care what he was doing up here, but obviously he did.

And now he was sitting on the ground of the hospital floor with him crying his eyes out, because he couldn't calm himself down, feeling Eli's chin on his head and his hands stroking up and down his back.

He didn't want to cause any more pain than he already had, but obviously he had done the opposite.

Now Eli would worry about him, too.

Lewis was pretty sure Eli wouldn't let him leave until he was sure Lewis was not trying anything stupid.

And Lewis wasn't even sure if he wouldn't if Eli would leave now.

But he didn't.

Instead he just sat there with him, holding him tight, rubbing his back.

"It's gonna be okay, Lewis…" Lewis heard him whisper, pressing his head tighter against his chest.

"You have no idea how relieved I am that I found you."

His voice sounded suspiciously broken, and even though it took him a while to realize it, he let go of him enough to look up at him once he did.

"What… what happened?" he asked, his voice sounding pretty strange. Like it was someone else speaking and not him.

"What do you mean?" Eli asked, looking down at him.

There was still so much pain in his eyes that it really hit Lewis directly into the heart that he was the one causing this pain. Obviously.

"I mean what happened?" Lewis repeated gently.

"You're not this upset just because you found me up here… you barely know me… and being the monster I am, you shouldn't even care."

"Stop it!" Eli almost shouted.

"I already told you that you're not a monster, so please… please just stop talking like you're not worth living."

He was almost begging and it made Lewis feel a lot worse than he already did anyways.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" he apologized, looking down for a moment and noticing the wet spot on Eli's shirt.

"I'm sorry I… you know…" he pointed to Eli's shirt, trying to wipe away the tracks of his tears, but still wasn't really ready to stop crying and he could feel it.

"Don't worry, it's just a shirt," Eli replied, giving him a smile. A real one. A genuine one. "And after all, it's just water…"

Nodding, Lewis let out a sigh.

"Now will you tell me your story or not?"

"Only if you tell me afterwards what happened that you landed out here… I mean, I can imagine this situation isn't easy for you… but it's not easy for all of us and going out here, standing on the edge of a hospital rooftop… something happened, didn't it?" Eli's words were gentle, but Lewis could totally tell that the other guy really needed to know what led him out of here.

So Lewis nodded again.

"Okay… I'm gonna tell you everything… but only if you promise me not to blame anyone… because I think I deserve whatever treatment I get."

"I'll decide that after you told me what happened." Eli said.

"Fair enough." Lewis leaned against Eli's shoulder again and closed his eyes, feeling himself really starting to calm down.

He wasn't sure he would have jumped if Eli hadn't appeared, but maybe he had, and so he was kind of glad Eli was here, still holding him tight as if he just couldn't let go of him completely until he was sure Lewis was really okay and wouldn't try something like that again.

The two of them sat there in silence for a couple of seconds – maybe minutes – until Eli finally started speaking.

"My brother…" he said and Lewis looked up at him when Eli looked down, so their eyes met.

"What happened?" Lewis asked, grabbing Eli's free hand that was not placed on his shoulder and holding it.

"He tried to kill himself once, because he couldn't deal with his life anymore… and when I saw you standing up there for a moment I… I saw him," Eli admitted.

"It was like I was ten years younger again and even though my brother didn't try to jump from a rooftop, it felt like I went back in time… only this time I wouldn't be able to do anything."

"But you did save your brother," Lewis stated, causing Eli to nod.

"I did… because I was the only one to pick up on the way he avoided talking to anyone and I was worried sick. Don't you think Tyler and the others are worried about you, too?"

Shaking his head, Lewis let out a sigh.

"I… I don't know anymore… and I don't even know if I would want them to worry… I just think…"

He stopped himself from finishing the sentence, but of course Eli wouldn't let him get away with it.

"Think what?"

Another sigh of Lewis followed.

"I just think they all would be better off without me… then they wouldn't need to worry about me and concentrate all their energy on Jackson… and I…" Biting his lower lip, Lewis looked down at his shoes.

"I think they could be so much happier without me… they would be better off without me… Tyler could finally be happy…"

"You really think that?" Eli demanded to know, raising an eyebrow.

"You really think Tyler could ever be happy again if you killed yourself?"

"I would be gone… he would be free…" Lewis said, causing Eli to chuckle.

"Man, you're a lot crazier than I thought you are."

"That's not funny… I mean it," Lewis commented, feeling slightly offended.

Eli grabbed both of his upper arms and made him look at him.

"Tyler loves you, you idiot. Do you think that's gonna change just because you're not together? Do you think it would change if you were dead?"

Shaking his head for a moment, Eli focused back on him.

"I don't think he would ever forgive himself if you jumped down that rooftop and he wasn't able to save you. He would always ask himself if he should have paid more attention… if he could have stopped you. He will feel guilty for all of his life, because he was probably the last person you talked to before it happened… you really think he would just be able to go on with his life after something like that?"

"How do you know…" Lewis started, but was cut off by Eli immediately.

"How do I know you talked to Tyler? I saw you coming out of Jackson's room, and I know that Jackson's mom was in there, too. And that Tyler was even before you two showed up." Eli explained. "I pay a lot of attention to the people I care about…"

"My mother…" Lewis blurted out.

Tilting his head in confusion, Eli looked at him.

"What about her?"

Taking a deep breath, Lewis let go of Eli completely to get to his feet and move towards the railing again, feeling Eli's touch on his shoulder only a few seconds later.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna climb up there again," Lewis promised when he turned around and faced Eli.

"I just needed to get up and move a little…"

He could tell that Eli didn't completely believe him and that he was still damn worried about him and it meant to world to Lewis, even though he wouldn't tell Eli. Not yet at least.

"You said it yourself… my mother is in there with Jackson right now… Tyler probably has long fled the scene, and if I were him, I would, too."

Biting his lower lip, Lewis looked down to the ground once again.

"First I was in there with Tyler… and it felt good to have him there… to know he worries just as much about Jackson as I do… I know we're not together anymore and maybe will never be together again, but…"

"But you still love him," Eli finished his sentence, causing Lewis to nod.

"Of course I do. I always will… I tried to move on, but you see where that got me… the minute he walked back into my life I was all over him again… it was like a force of nature and no matter how hard I tried to resist him, and I really did, it didn't work and I landed back in his arms and it made everything so much worse… I hurt everyone by doing it… mostly Alex and Tyler… No surprise they both turned their backs on me…"

"But they are still both there, aren't they?" Eli asked, and it made Lewis think about Alex being there for him when he was trapped in this nightmare.

He did so many bad things to all of them and still they were there. Both of them.

Tyler had been there for him in the shower and Alex had been there for him afterwards.

He didn't deserve any of this.

"I don't think they should, though… if it wasn't for me they could be happy…"

"Do you even listen to yourself?" Eli asked, shaking his head.

"God, Lewis… they love you… and you're important to many people… killing yourself is egoistic and it will leave all the people who love you devastated and broken. You really want to do even more damage than you've already done?"

Eli asked, and the words cut like a knife, and the moment he had said them, Lewis could tell that Eli rather wanted to take them back.

"I'm… I'm sorry… that came out the wrong way."

"No," Lewis disagreed. "No, it didn't… and it's exactly what my mother said… I almost killed her son… her son is fighting for his life because of me…"

"You're her son, too" Eli interrupted.

Shrugging his shoulders, Lewis looked him in the eye.

"She obviously doesn't feel that way about me right now… All she seems to care about is Jackson… and who could blame her?"

"If you kill yourself right now, she will probably never forgive herself… and she will blame herself for the rest of her life, because she will know she has made a mistake…" Eli said.

"And do you really want her to lose both of her sons the same time? You're probably all she has left… and even though I'm sure Jackson is gonna make it, you never know for sure until it's over… and… and just in case he… he doesn't, she's gonna need you…"

It was obvious how hard it was for Eli to even think about Jackson dying, let alone saying it, and it made everything so much more real.

Lewis couldn't help the tears forming in his eyes again when he looked away, covering his face with his hands.

"He can't die… He doesn't deserve it, I do!"

"No one deserves to die!" Eli's voice was full of emotion and when Lewis looked at him again, he could see that his eyes were shining, like he was about to cry, too.

"Please, Lewis… stop talking like the minute I turn my back on you you're doing something stupid… you gotta promise me that you're gonna fight the urge to do whatever this little voice in your head is telling you to do, because believe me when I say it's gonna make things so much worse."

He moved towards Lewis again, grabbing his face and making him look him in the eye.

"And if I need to stay up with you here the whole night talking to make you understand, I will."

Once again he pulled him into a hug which Lewis mirrored by wrapping his arms around Eli's waist and burying his face in his shirt.

"I'm sorry… I promise you, I'm gonna be okay… it's gonna be okay…" Lewis said weakly, taking a few deep breathes to not let his feelings overwhelm him again.

It felt so good to feel Eli's strong arms around his body, to feel him hold him.

He barely knew the guy and they weren't close or anything like that, but right now he felt closer to him than ever. Closer than he had felt to anybody since Jackson's accident, including Tyler. Because he felt like Eli understood him in a way neither of them did. Neither of them could. Not that he blamed them for it, because after all that happened, they all had to fight their own demons.

"Thank you…" Lewis finally managed to say when he pulled back a bit, feeling his cheek touching Eli's.

"I don't know why you're doing this for me… but… thank you…"

"Just promise me that you won't try something like that ever again… and if you ever feel the urge to do something stupid, talk to me… talk to anyone…" Eli said, and it felt good that he hadn't completely pulled out of the embrace yet. That they were still standing very close to each other.

The heat of Eli's body kind of made Lewis feel alive again.

When he came out there he had felt like a robot. Like he was moving without being able to control it, but it was like he was re-gaining control.

"I promise," Lewis said, giving him an honest smile.

"If you promise to not tell anyone about this…"

"You really think that's such a good idea?" Eli asked earnestly.

Lewis nodded immediately. "At least not before Jackson's surgery… They don't need to have anything else to worry about right now…"

"Okay!" Eli finally replied, causing Lewis to let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding.

"Thank you," Lewis said, looking over the railing and up to the ceiling. The stars were shining bright tonight and he just hoped 24 hours from now the worst would be over. Jackson would be okay and his surgery would be a success. It would be a long one, but he would be there, that was definitely sure.

For a moment he wished, Tyler could be up here with him, so he could tell him once again how much he loved him and that this wouldn't change, but maybe after Jackson was better. Maybe they would have time to talk again at some point. He just wanted another chance, even though it was damn egoistic to think about him right now, but getting through all of this with him would be so much easier, Lewis was sure about that.

Tyler Browning POV:

Tyler had been involved with the Avery family for the better part of a decade. He knew how complicated their dynamic was and he had learned to cope.

Some moments still managed to surprise him, though. Seeing Catherine Avery tear down her eldest son in such a public way for the second time in a few days managed to jolt him.

Half of Tyler wanted to run after Lewis, grab him up in his arms, and tell him that everything that woman said was a lie. The other half was filled with a rage he was uncomfortable with admitting lived inside of him.

Catherine turned and faced him with a sneer "I want to be alone with my son" she told Tyler "leave"

The woman was nothing short of a powerhouse and Tyler knew that. You didn't become one of the most respected surgeons in the country without being forthright and strong. Ever since the first day that Tyler met her, after Lewis had introduced him at the Avery's summer house in the Hamptons he knew Catherine Avery was not one to mess with.

She was blunt and opinionated and although she never quite loved the idea of he and Lewis Tyler did respect her for being honest about it. By the time of the wedding the two had even managed to create a mutual respect for one another. Of course his getting involved with Jackson shot that all to hell.

"You have some nerve!" Tyler said and each word held back a river of emotion.

"Excuse me?" she sounded offended and surprised by his continued presence "what did you say?"

"You have some nerve talking to Lewis that way"

She rolled her eyes and it only upped Tyler's anger "Your opinions on how I talk to my children are not wanted or warranted Mr. Browning"

"It's very warranted" Tyler said "you haven't been here. You don't know what they've been through"

Catherine looked at him and narrowed her eyes "I haven't been here because Lewis made it a point not to let me know"

"And Jackson?" Tyler asked "surely a son would want his mother to know when his life is going to shit"

Catherine crossed her arms, but remained silent.

"Why are you even here?" he asked the woman "you certainly didn't care last time Jackson nearly destroyed himself". She turned away from him in momentary embarrassment.

"He needed you then, Mrs. Avery, but you turned your back on him, supported Lewis 100% and cut Jackson off completely for two years" Tyler had to control his anger "I guess now it's Lewis' turn, right?"

"Let's get one thing straight Mr. Browning" Catherine barked "I never blamed Jackson for destroying Lewis' wedding. That was solely your doing, but I couldn't support him anymore either. I watched my son flush away one opportunity after another and I knew the only way to truly help him was to let him hit rock bottom"

"You sure did that, didn't you?" Tyler asked "except when it came to actually pick up the pieces you were nowhere to be found"

"But you certainly were" Catherine shot back "took advantage of a kid who was lost and scared, who didn't know any better and you used him for your own pleasures"

Tyler could feel the blood pumping through his veins "I love your sons, both of them, and I wasn't about to stand by and watch either suffer"

"Are you even aware of what you've done to them?" Catherine asked "the reason they hate one another so much is because of you. Had you never come into their lives my family wouldn't be here. In this nightmare"

It felt like a slap in the face to Tyler. It wasn't as if he hadn't had the thought before but he also knew Lewis and Jackson's bad history went back much further than Tyler Browning.

Shaking his head Tyler sat down beside Jackson and grabbed the man's hand. "He told me so many times how he just wanted you to look at him the same way you looked at Lewis...just once"

"I've loved both my sons the same" she was angry, but at the statement Tyler laughed and looked up at her.

"You know that's not true" Tyler said "you and their father chose the kid you wanted, then created a line in the sand". Tyler remembered the late night talks with Lewis where the man told him how he could never feel close to his dad no matter how hard he tried.

"Lewis didn't wake up one day and decide to hate Jackson" Tyler told her "you've made them choose sides and now that you see the fall out all of a sudden you want to pretend like you were always a good mother"

"I am a good mother"

"Spending a couple years being over-bearing to the child you sent away at 13 doesn't make up for the years you denied him" Tyler stood up "Lewis may have done terrible things to Jackson, but if you saw what he's done to try and fix his mistakes you would feel ashamed of the way you treated him"

"Lewis put Jackson in that bed"

"You put Jackson there, you and their father and to try to shift the blame to your child is disgusting"

She had slapped him. Hard and the sting made Tyler hiss in pain and just as he put a hand to his cheek he saw Dr. Webber rush in and grab Catherine.

"You don't get to talk to me like that" Catherine said with tears in her eyes "you don't have the right"

"Catherine" Richard whispered "why don't you come out and get some air"

"No need" Tyler said after the stinging dissipated "I have somebody I need to see" and with that he walked past the two and out of the room.

It was never supposed to get that bad. No matter how much Tyler and Catherine disliked one another Tyler should have remembered that she was still Lewis' and Jackson's mother and she wasn't going through an easy time either.

More importantly though in telling Catherine about Lewis Tyler realized the mistake he had made. He needed to fix it and he had to fix it now.

He was making his way towards Lewis' office when to his surprise he saw Lewis with his arm around Eli's waist while Eli had an arm around the man's shoulder. The two were talking amongst themselves as they walked in his direction.

Tyler was surprised by the jealousy that roared within him. He knew it was stupid and uncalled for, but it still didn't stop it.

Walking up to the two men he put a smile on his face "Hey" and both seemed surprised to see him standing there.

"Tyler?" Lewis looked at him confused "something wrong?"

"Can I talk to you?" he asked Lewis "alone"

Eli looked between the two men before turning his attention back to Lewis "I should really check up on Jackson anyway" Eli said "you good?" he asked Lewis and the man smiled and nodded his head.

Tyler knew something had happened between the two, but it was not his place to ask.

Once Eli walked off Tyler grabbed Lewis' hand and led him into the man's office and once inside he closed the door.

Once Tyler let go he took a few steps forward.

"What's wrong?" Lewis asked "it's not-"

But before he could finish Tyler had him pinned against the wall and is kissed him. The kiss was brutal and desperate. He could feel Lewis freeze up in surprise. It lasted only a minute before he felt Lewis push him away.

"What are you doing?"

It was a perfectly valid question after the way Tyler had treated him. "I'm sorry" he told Lewis "I'm sorry I let my ego and anger make me let you go". He pulled Lewis against his body "Tomorrow is one of the most important days of our lives and I want you by my side. I need you by my side"

Lewis shook his head "I don't need your pity" he told Tyler "you've made your opinion on us very clear"

"And I was wrong" Tyler begged "Please Lewis...I won't fuck us up ever again, I promise. Just give me one more chance to prove it to you"