"Hey, champ," I said, sighing as Hero walked in on crutches.

He shot me a smile, shrugging. "I'm good."

"How'd you manage that shit?" I asked, kicking the bottom of his crutch.

"Bro, I literally fell off the bleachers. That's it."

We began walking down the hallway, and of course everyone was beyond curious as to why Hero King was on crutches. Had he managed to injure himself in another fight? Had he willingly jumped off of another roof for a dare? The world would never know.

"Hey," Josie greeted, wrapping her arms around his neck, "how are you?"

"Fine," he said, "couldn't talk Mom into a day of letting me stay home. How rude?"

"So rude," she said, smiling up at him.

"Hey, have you guys seen Eros?" She asked, as we began walking.

"Trouble in paradise?" Hero asked, stopping in his tracks.

She turned around, rolling her eyes. "Very funny."

"No," I said, "I haven't seen him. Nor Cordelia. And I don't even care to see her."

"That is trouble in paradise," Josie said, looking over at me.

"Trouble in hell."

Hero chuckled and patted Henry's chest. "Bro, I told you about letting a girl tie you down. It just doesn't work, man."

"It does for some people, Hero," Josie said, looking up at him as we continued to walk through the halls.

Hero stopped, shaking his head. "I forgot that walking on crutches was this physically demanding."

"Have you eaten?" Josie asked.

He looked down at her, hesitantly nodding. "Y-yeah."

I narrowed my eyes, knowing he was lying.

"Whoa, whoa, twelve o'clock. Satan's mistress."

Josie lifted an eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest, her eyes obviously focused on someone. I looked towards whomever held her attention, and noticed that it was Cordelia.

Cordelia's eyes met mine and she noticeably sighed, pushing through the rest of the people standing between us. Hero wrapped his arm around Josie's neck and grinned, his eyes locked on Cordelia.

"This should be good," he whispered.

"You didn't call me back," Cordelia adamantly stated, looking up at me.

"And neither did you, the night of the gala."

"Very mature of you, Henry," she said, "can we go somewhere private? Please? For just a few minutes."

"I don't know, I'm afraid just a few minutes with me is just too much for you."

Hero snickered, looking away from us.

"You are being so immature, Henry," she said, in apparent disbelief.

"You deserve to be immature," Hero said, patting my shoulder with a broad smile.

I chuckled and looked back down at Cordelia. "I've got to get to class."

"You're being an ass," she said, "and you're a bad influence."

"And you're a shitty girlfriend," Hero clapped back.

"I'm not your girlfriend, you don't have the grounds to say that."

"You don't have to be my girlfriend," he said, "you treat Henry like shit. And you stress him the fuck out."

Josie bit down on her lip and looked away from the three of us. "Hey, we've got class in a few minutes. We should probably get going."

"Are we ever going to talk?" Cordelia asked.

I shrugged, walking away from her.

"You, Henry King, are the motherfucking man."

~*~

"Hey, two," I said, smiling at the hostess.

"Right this way," she said, leading me to my table. I sat down and smiled, thanking her before she walked off.

I opened my menu, looking through it only to decide on the same thing I always got. I looked up, knowing that Alexis was in the building, even though I couldn't see her.

She walked over to our table, sitting in front of me. "Hi."

"Hey," I greeted, pouring us both glasses of water.

"This is random," she blatantly said, nodding.

"I know," I chuckled, taking a sip of my water. She smiled and grabbed her glass, taking a small sip.

"Did something happen with the kids, or something?" She asked.

"Um, kind of," I said, my eyes meeting hers.

She tilted her head over. "W-well, what happened?"

"The other night, at the gala, Henry and Cordelia really got into it. And he's being really childish about it, even if it is her fault."

She looked lost, so I continued on.

"I'm afraid the way I've handled you and I separating has made him think that it's okay to handle... things that way," I said, nodding.

She nodded slowly, catching on to what I was saying.

"I don't want to be that example for my son," I said, "I want him to be a better man than me."

She bit down on her lip. "Fred, you're a wonderful man. You always have been."

"I can say, I've handled this terribly," I said, "I mean, for the most part, you're all I've known in terms of love. I've loved you since I could love, you know?"

She smiled a soft smile, nodding. "I know. I feel the same way."

"So yes, I am hurt," I said, "and that won't change, I don't think, but I really do want to be civil."

"Well, I really appreciate that," she said.

"I'm doing it for the kids, and also because you deserve something better than what I've been giving you."

She smiled, reaching across the table for my hand. I placed my hand on top of hers, realizing the spark I felt when we touched would never go away.

She looked down at our hands. "Thank you, Fred. I've also had my flaws in handling everything, and I apologize for that."

I smiled a soft smile. "You know, twenty years ago, getting an apology out of you would've been a lost cause."

She laughed, nodding as she pulled her hand away from mine. "You're not wrong. I'm afraid Josie has taken that trait of mine."

I chuckled, taking a sip of my water as I looked down at my menu.

"Can we make a deal?"

She looked up at me, her hand on the back of her neck. "Of course."

"I do get to meet this woman that you've become," I said, "at some point."

She smiled, a twinkle in her eyes. "Of course, Fred."

I sat upright, gearing myself up for the uncomfortable question I was about to ask.

"So, do you want an actual... divorce?" I asked, chewing on my lip.

She tilted her head over, shaking her head. "No. Not at the moment."

"Do you foresee wanting one?"

"I-I can't answer that," she softly said, making me nod.

"Okay," I said, "I'll take that."

"Are you looking to explore your options, in terms of dating?" She grinned, looking up at me from under her eyelashes.

"No," I said, "that's not why I was asking, at all."

"I was teasing," she said.

"Are you, you know, looking to explore yours?" I uncomfortably asked.

She slowly looked up at me, closing her menu. "I didn't ask for time away from you to spend it with another man. I asked for time away from you so I could spend some time with myself."

I nodded, my eyes locked on her.

"And plus," she said, "I'm not sure that any man could hold a candle to Fred King."

~*~

"Hero," I yelled, "stop bullshitting around on your crutches before you fracture your other ankle."

"I'm fine, Dad."

He walked down the hallway, nodding at me. "Hey, would you kill me if I buzzed my hair?"

"Yes," Lena butted in.

He chuckled, walking over to us. I trailed my eyes down his limber body, and he'd gotten noticeably smaller, just within a few days.

I grabbed a protein bar off of the counter and threw it at him, nodding down at it. "Eat it."

He examined the packaging carefully before throwing it back to me. "No, thanks. I'm not really hungry."

I threw it back at him. "You're going to eat it."

"I'm really not," he said, his eyes wide.

Lena gently wrapped her arms around mine, looking up at me. "Can we talk?"

Hero placed the bar on the counter and walked into the living room, making me look down at Lena.

"I know something's up, but we can't, like, push him like that. It won't do any good."

"Well, I don't know what else to do," I said, "he's barely eating, Lena. I know you can see how small he's gotten."

"I went through the same thing at his age," she said, nodding up at me.

I knitted my brows together.

"And until he can assess the problem himself, and figure out that something is wrong, there's nothing anyone else can do for him."

I bit down on my lip, raking my hands through my hair. "W-what about Josie? They're really close, I-"

"Jo," she softly said, placing a comforting hand on my chest, "it's not going to work."

"I can't watch my son go through that," I softly said, looking down at her.

"I know, it's hard," she said, embracing me in a warm hug.

"I can't even imagine what he's feeling," I whispered, resting my face in the crook of her neck.

"H-hey."

I pulled away from Lena and smiled at Francesca. "Hey, princess."

She bit down on her lip. "Hey, can Josie stay the night tonight?"

"Sure," I said, smiling.

"Thanks," she said. She walked away from us and Lena sighed, resting her head against my chest.

"What's wrong?" I asked, rubbing her back.

"I really want to have sex," she blatantly said.

I chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "And you don't want to do that with three kids in the h-"

"You guys are fucking gross."

"Language," Lena said, watching Hero jump his way into the kitchen.

"And where are your crutches?" She asked.

"Living room," he said, hopping over to the fridge.

"The balance of this kid," I said, grinning over at him. He shot me a smile and grabbed a bottle of water, hopping back into the living room.

"I feel like I'm not doing anything to help," I whispered, looking down at her.

"Like I said, as much as I wish it could, nothing you could do right now could help. Until he seriously understands that he has a problem, he won't accept help."

The door flew open and I looked towards it, earning a smile from Josie. "Hi."

"How fast did you drive to get here?" I asked, watching as she dropped her overnight bag.

"Well, I kinda knew you'd say yes," she said, brushing her hair away from her face, "so yeah. I was on my way before Fran even asked."

"Ah, you are your mother's daughter."

She smiled, lifting an eyebrow as Hero came hopping into the kitchen, yet again.

"You have crutches for a reason, clutz."

"Ha," he said, "why are you here?"

"Don't act so excited to see me," she muttered.

The pair walked into the living room together, making me smile.

"I'm really happy we didn't move to New York," I said, looking down at Lena.

She smiled, rubbing my abdomen. "Yeah, me too."

"Look at them," I said, "they're all inseparable."

She pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. "We made a beautiful family, you know?"

"You want an addition?" I teased, trailing my hands down her back.

"Ha, that's hilarious."

I chuckled and pressed a kiss to her head, looking at Fran, Josie, and Hero all together.

"Yeah, we created something really perfect," I said, smiling as I rested my chin on top of her head.

~*~

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