After ninety days Jimmy was released from the hospital. Breena and him were still trying to work things out, but they continued to live separately. Breena had moved out of the house and into Ed's condo. While Jimmy was staying with Ducky. They were trading off custody every other week. They tried to take at least one afternoon a week to do stuff as a family. They were going to counseling but things were still up in the air.
"I don't know. I want to work things out but there is so much there. So much that is not going to go away. No matter how much therapy we go to or how much we talk." Breena said.
"Not every marriage can be saved. You two moved pretty fast and you have been through a great deal. With Eddie's illness and death and the miscarriage." Ed commented.
"I want to stay with him. For Tori's sake." Breena replied.
"Staying together for the kid does more harm than good." Ed insisted.
"I just want her to have a family." Breena sniffed.
"She will have a family. Just not the same type of family that you and Jimmy grew up with." Ed assured.
Jimmy was having the same doubts. He wanted to work things out but did not imagine that it would work out. Breena and him had so many issues. On top of the issues they had battled during Eddie's illness and death. They had the standard issues that every couple went through, but everything was pushed aside. For four years they never dealt with any of their problems or even fought. They just focused on Eddie's care. When he was gone the buffer was gone and everything just snowballed. They had the big blow up and countless fights since. They were trying but things were not looking good at all.
"I think that I want a divorce." Jimmy announced.
"I was afraid that this was coming" Ducky admitted.
"The thing is I don't want to hurt her." Jimmy replied.
"You will hurt her a lot more if you stay unhappy." Ducky reminded.
"What about Tori? She already lost her brother, do we really need to put her through a divorce?" Jimmy asked.
"As a child whose parents stayed together for far too many years. Truth be told I think they should have gone their separate ways before my birth. I know things now that I was too innocent to believe as a boy and in retrospect. I honestly doubt that an infant born three months premature would survive long at the small country hospital where I was born. Unlikely today and certainly way back when I was born. I suspect my parents did as they did back then and quickly married quickly and declared that I had come early." Ducky rambled.
"What exactly were you getting at?" Jimmy questioned.
"Marriage does not always have to work out. Sometimes it is better for the children if the parents are separated." Ducky explained.
"How do I know what is right?" Jimmy asked.
"You will know when the time comes." Ducky replied.
It was hard for Breena to know that her marriage was ending. She wanted to save the union for the sake of their daughter but Ed was right. It was better for Tori if they split up amicably and kept her first. Than if they kept the marriage together and put themselves first. Jimmy and her had a session the next day and that would be when she broke the news. She knew that it would hurt. It was going to destroy her but the damage had been done.
"He'll understand." Ed assured.
"What if he doesn't? What if he tries to kill himself again?" Breena questioned.
"He has care now. Ducky is with him and he is going to therapy every day." Ed assured.
"Still I don't want to set him back." Breena sighed.
Jimmy felt sick as he scoured the phone book for divorce lawyers. He prayed that the split was amicable but even if it were. It was best to lawyer up. He knew that sole custody was unlikely for him after his suicide attempt. Sole custody was not what he wanted but even fifty/fifty or joint may be hard to obtain. He just prayed that he would be able to see his baby girl and be a part of her life.
"I hope that she lets me see her." Jimmy sighed.
"She will. Breena is far more reasonable now than she was after Eddie died. She has worked on her issues as well." Ducky explained.
"What if she is still mad?" Jimmy questioned.
"Then we will cross that bridge when we come to it." Ducky assured.
Breena watched her precious baby girl sleep. Tori had no idea what was happening with her parents. She had no idea that she was about to be a child of divorce, the product of a broken home. It seemed that more parents were divorced or separated now days, but Breena still wished that she could have done more. She wished that she could have spared Victoria from being another statistic, another stereotype, another cliche.
Jimmy held the picture of his baby girl close. He ached knowing how much he had failed her. He hated that she was going to lose her stability. He knew plenty of children of divorce who went on to live successful lives. He still wanted to beat the odds. He wanted to spare his daughter but instead he had failed her. That was not the truth but that was how he felt. He felt terrible for just giving up on his marriage. It felt as if he had never tried. Even though in reality he had tried desperately to work things out. Not every marriage could be saved. His and Breena's was just another statistic on another site that would break parents facing cancer and the loss of their child. His heart was beyond broken.
A/N: Not what you wanted to read but not every relationship can be saved. New chapter will be up soon. Thanks for reading and please review.