"Did you hear about the verdict?" Nick asked, handing the towel to Ardeth.
Ardeth nodded his head as he took a seat in the stands, as he watched Daniel teach Jamie about Goal keeping.
"Your father is punished with life time imprisonment and Tristan for five years for hiding the facts and helping your father." Nick spoke, "Rachel is pregnant."
"Tristan's fiance?" Ardeth asked.
"Yes, I feel bad for her."
"And Tristan too, he was influenced by my father." Ardeth sighed.
"But he still had his own mind to think and take desicions, it's Karma." Nick shrugged.
"True." Ardeth said, "I want to meet Tristan."
"Why?" Nick frowned.
"Even though, we don't share a good bond, he is still my brother and I want to speak with him."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Hope you are happy now." Tristan said looking at Ardeth, as they say in the prison's meeting room, "Did you come here to mock me?"
"Tristan, you are my brother." Ardeth said calmly, "Things were never good between us that's an another story, but I can't deny the fact that you are my big brother."
Tristan stayed silent.
"I am sorry for whatever things have happened between us, as much as I can remember we have always been great brothers, and you stood by my side always until things drifted apart because of our birth givers." Ardeth said, "You have been a good brother, and maybe you would have been a good one if things hadn't happened the way they did, maybe if life gives us another chance, we could try and rekindle our bond and start afresh, forgetting everything that has happened. I hope you will give us a chance."
"I am sorry." Tristan said as his eyes got moist, "You were young, when things went wrong, I should have stepped up and supported you, but I failed you. I hope someday life would give me a chance to be the big brother that you deserve." He said holding Ardeth's hand.
Ardeth nodded his head.
"Are you meeting him as well?" Tristan asked.
Ardeth shook his head, "I don't want to see him."
"I understand." Tristan nodded.
"I should leave now." Ardeth said standing up as the police officers walked inside the room to take Tristan back to prison, as the visiting time ended.
"Ardeth." Tristan said, "Please take care of Rachel and our baby, I would forever regret for not being there for them, but please take care of them for me." He cried.
"I will." Ardeth assured.
"Nick, where are you?" Ardeth asked over the phone as he walked outside the prison. "I am outside, and I can't see you or the car."
"Ardeth, Peter suffered a heart attack and he was rushed to the hospital, since he has your and my number in his emergency contact list the hospital people called us, since you were busy I am going to see him." Nick explained the situation about Peter, the College Janitor.
"Oh shit, I have five missed calls from unknow number." Ardeth said checking his phone, "I hope he is fine, I will reach there shortly." He said disconnecting the call.
"Jamie... Where are you?" Ardeth asked.
"In the Garage dude." Jamie answered.
"Could you please send up a ride that could pick me up from the South City prison, I am stranded here without a ride and I am not able to find any cabs." Ardeth asked, "It's urgent, one of my close contacts are rushed to the hospital, and I need to go there."
"Sure, I will send you a ride right away." Jamie said.
"Don't let anything happen to Peter." Ardeth prayed looking at the sky, as he remembered his moments with Peter. He opened his eyes as he heard the car come to a screeching halt near him.
"Dan?" Ardeth said in surprise looking at Daniel.
"Get inside." Daniel said and Ardeth jumped into his car.
"What are you doing here? Did Jamie send you?" Ardeth asked as Daniel sped his car on the city roads.
"Yes, he called and asked me to pick you up from Southcity prison, saying that you have an emergency at hospital, is everything fine? I hope it has nothing to do with Sherlyn." Daniel said in worry.
"No... It's not Sherlyn, it's Peter, our college Janitor, he suffered a heart stroke and is rushed to hospital, he has no one, so it's Nick and I who are his emergency contacts, so we need to be there for him." Ardeth explained.
Daniel nodded.
"How come you reached South City in such a short span of time?" Ardeth asked.
"Tressa and I were returning from the South City Cemetery, after visiting Blaze, our son, and Jamie called." Daniel informed and only then Ardeth realised the presence of Mrs.Scott in the back seat.
"Hello Mrs.Scott." Ardeth greeted. "I am sorry for the inconvenience."
"Hello Ardeth, please don't apologise, I can understand your situation."
"Thank you, Mrs.Scott."
"Please, call me Tressa." Tressa said with a light smile.
"Here we are." Daniel said stopping the car infront of the hospital. "You go inside, Tressa and I will come in after parking the car." He said opening the door for Ardeth.
Ardeth nodded and ran inside the hospital.
"Ardeth." Collins waved his hand.
"Collin, how is Peter?" Ardeth asked in worry.
"Doctor said it's a mild one, and they are treating him." Collin explained. "Everything will be fine." He said patting Ardeth's shoulder, as he slumped into the chair.
"Where is Nick?" Ardeth asked.
"He went to run some errands."
Ardeth nodded.
"Ardeth, is everything fine?" Daniel asked walking towards them, with Tressa closely following him.
"I hope so, we are waiting for the doctor to give us the update." Ardeth said.
Daniel nodded and took a seat beside Ardeth.
"He will be fine." Tressa said looking at Ardeth.
"I hope so too, he suffered a lot in the past few years, he lost his son and family in a tragic accident and since then he is working hard to bring up his grandson, that his Son and Daughter in law left behind. He is one of the nice souls I know." Ardeth rasped.
"Stay strong, he will return fit and strong." Daniel said keeping his hand on Ardeth's shoulder.
"Thank you." Ardeth said.
"Where is Nick?" Daniel asked.
"I am here." Nick said walking inside carrying a sleeping little boy, "I went to pick up Zach from his play school." He said nodding his head at Zach, who was sleeping in the car seat.
"Peter's grandson." Ardeth explained to Daniel and Tressa.
"In all this tension, we forgot little Zachary, his Play school teacher called and asked me to pick him up, and the little man fell asleep half way through." Nick smiled.
"The doctor is here." Collin said pointing at the doctor.
"Let's go and speak with him." Ardeth said running towards the doctor.
Nick looked around for a place to keep the car seat.
"Let me take care of him." Daniel said understanding Nick's plight.
"Thank you, Dan." Nick said handing Zach to Dan, before he rushed to meet the doctor.
Daniel looked at the little boy, who was sleeping peacefully in the car seat. He looked beautiful with his curly blonde hair and long lashes resting on his pale cheeks. He looked like he is around the age of three years.
Daniel raised his head and looked at his wife and saw her looking at him with a sad smile.
She was no longer the happy, carefree woman he knew, she considerably lost her weight and looked pale. He blamed himself for that. He couldn't look into her eyes as the guilt was too much for him to handle.
He averted his gaze and looked down at the boy in his hands.
The car seat must be uncomfortable for him, he saw him move in his sleep with a little frown, and then open his eyes. The aqua blue eyes of the boy made Daniel fall in love with him. He wondered if Blaze would have looked the same, had he been alive.
Zach began to cry looking at the stranger, and Daniel tried to rock him in his hands, clueless about how to handle a crying baby.
"Let me." Tressa said coming to his rescue and Daniel handed Zach to her, and watched her, rock him in her hands, as she animatedly spoke with Zach, as she showed him the fishes in the little aquarium that sat in the corner of the room.
"The Little guy woke up." Nick said walking towards Daniel.
"Yes, and since he didn't find any familiar faces he began to cry, so Tressa was trying to distract him." Daniel said, "How is Peter doing?"
"His condition is stable at the moment." Ardeth said, "The doctor said that they have to run some tests, and keep him under observation for few days. He is out of danger as of now."
"Good to know that." Daniel smiled.
"Thanks for everything, Dan." Ardeth said.
"No problem, Ardeth." Dan nodded.
"It's almost night, you guys should go home and take a rest." Nick said, "Collin and I will stay here with Peter."
"I can stay here." Ardeth said.
"No, Sherlyn needs you." Nick shook his head. "You go home, and take Zach with you."
"Okay." Ardeth agreed.
"Thanks you again for everything, Dan and Tressa." Ardeth said as he got down the car in front of his home. "Come on, Zach. Let's go home." He said looking at Zach, who was sitting with Tressa.
"No." Zach shook his head and wrapped his arms around Tressa's neck, hiding his face.
"Zach, Tressa has to go home." Ardeth said smiling at Tressa, as Zach hugged her tight. "Sherry got ice cream and chocolates for you, and a lot of toys too, you want to come inside and see them?"
"No..." Zach cried.
Tressa rocked Zach in her arms and looked at Dan.
"Seems like Zach got attached to Tressa since he is not very familiar with anyone else." Ardeth said as he tried to coax Zach.
"Ardeth..." Dan spoke, "Seems like he is not in a mood to listen, and without his grandfather around we can't take a risk to make him upset because if he throws a tantrum it would get difficult to handle him."
"I don't know what to do." Ardeth sighed.
Dan looked at Tressa and saw her whispering soothing words to Zach, as she rocked him in her arms.
"If you don't mind, Zach can stay with us tonight." Dan said looking at Tressa, and she nodded. "It's night and his guardian isn't available, and if he get inconsolable, it would be difficult to handle him, and Sherlyn shouldn't get pressurized in this condition."
"I don't want him to face another set of strangers he had enough for the day." Ardeth sighed, "You can baby sit him today, if you guys are ok with it. I can take care of everything else since my name is mentioned as his legal guardian after his grandfather."
"Do you want me to hold him?" Dan asked Tressa, as he saw her struggling to remove her shoes.
Tressa nodded, and Dan took Zach into his arms, trying not to disturb his sleep.
"I will go and prepare dinner, he didn't get to eat a proper meal the whole day." Tressa informed and walked inside the home.
Dan layed Zach on the Couch and adjusted the pillows to make sure he is comfortable.
"Hey buddy." Dan smiled at Zach, who woke up due to the shift in the places.
Zach fluttered his eyes as he sat up on the coach and looked around.
"You are staying with me and Tressa tonight, since Ardeth and Nick have to take care of your Grandpa, ok?" Dan asked Zach.
Zach nodded his head.
"Paw patrol." Zach said pointing at the Television in the living room.
Tressa walked into the living room and saw Zach and Dan watching Paw Patrol, there eyes glued to the TV screen.
"Dinner is ready." Tressa announced as she walked into the living room.
"We will have it after completing this episode." Dan said waving his hand without taking his eyes off the screen.
"Zach has to eat his meal first, later you can complete watching the episode." Tressa said, "Come on, Zach." She said forwarding hand for Zach to hold.
"Pause it." Zach instructed Dan.
"Sure sir." Dan bowed making Zach giggle, and walk towards the dining area with Tressa.
"I hope he doesn't wake up in the night." Tressa hoped as she tucked the blanket around Zach, as he slept on the guestroom bed.
"With the way he was jumping and running all around the house, I am sure he won't wake up." Dan answered, "He must be tired."
"I don't know where he got so much energy to run all around the home, and still be active while I can't feel my legs running behind him." Tressa complained as she ran he fingers through Zach's hair.
"You are getting old." Dan remarked with a smile.
"Not older than you, I still have my energy it's just he has more energy." Tressa rolled her eyes. "Remember the time you lost to me in the soccer?"
"Oh, that's because I decided to let you win, other wise you could never beat me." Dan shook his head.
"You are such a sour looser." Tressa stuck her tongue at Dan.
"Come on, that's the only time I lost to you, because I was distracted." Dan rolled his eyes.
"Finally, you agree that you lost to me." Tressa fist bumped into the air making Zach toss in his sleep.
"Shh... Freeze." Dan said as he watched Zach frown in his sleep.
They let out a sigh as they watched Zach go back to sleep, and they giggled looking at eachother, how a small movement of Zach scared them.
"I am sorry, I didn't mean to be loud." Tressa apologised as they walked out of the guest room.
"It's okay, we are new to it, only if we had experience dealing with kids, for now it will take time." Dan said as he closed the door and froze in his movements. "I am sorry." He apologized without looking at Tressa, and began to walk towards his room.
"Dan." Tressa called stopping him by his hand, "I think it's high time we should talk." She said and pulled him towards the living room before he could speak.
Tressa watched Dan sit in the couch, fiddling with his sleeve as he tapped his feet, something he does when he is nervous.
"Calm down." Tressa said as he held his hand in hers. "Everything's fine."
"Nothing is fine." Dan said pulling his hand away from hers. "You stop acting like everything is fine." He said running his hand through his hair.
"We were good, so in love what happened to us, Dan?" Tressa asked with moist eyes.
"You have the answer in your question, We were good." Dan said, "And I fucked it up, I ruined us, I snatched your motherhood, I killed our baby. I am a bloody murderer, you should stay away from me, you should leave me, before I ruin you more than I did."
"What are you talking Dan?" Tressa cried, "You didn't kill Blaze, it just happened and we can't blame anyone."
"It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been so stupid and left you all alone when you needed my support." Dan said standing up, "I did this to you." He said pointing at Tressa. "You no longer smile like you do, you are no longer the person who you used to be, all this is because of me, all this is because of my stupidity, I wish instead of Blaze it was..."
"Shut up." Tressa shouted making Dan freeze in his movements.
"Yes, it was you who is responsible for my current state." Tressa cried tears rolling down her cheeks, "I no longer smile because of you, because the day I lost my baby, I lost my husband too, the husband who vowed to keep my side in sadness and happiness."
Dan silently watched Tressa, as he held himself responsible for the happenings.
"You vowed to be on my side in sadness, but when I lost the baby, you were never there to comfort me. I never blamed you for losing Blaze, because it's my mistake too that I wasn't cautious. We both lost the baby, Dan and we both needed comfort, but you were running away everytime. Just like you I hold myself guilty for losing your baby, I knew you were eagerly waiting for the baby, and I feel bad for losing the baby, I blame myself for not being careful."
"Tres..." Dan whispered as he realised in his own agony and guilt, he forgot that she lost her child too and she needed his support as much as he did.
"I was sad for losing the baby, but what hurt me the most is I lost my husband. My husband no longer looks at me the way he did, he no longer talks or smiles at me, I spent many nights awake crying that may be you are blaming me for losing Blaze."
"Tres, I never did nor would I ever blame you for Blaze." Dan shook his head.
"So do I, Dan." Tressa cried. "I never blamed you for Blaze, It wasn't your mistake. I can't get my son back but I want my husband back, I can no longer go forward like this, this silence between us is suffocating me, Dan." She said as tears poured out of her eyes.
"I am sorry, Tres." Dan cried as he engulfed her in his arms, rubbing her back as she hiccuped.
"I want us to be happy again, I can't live without you." Tressa cried. "I love you."
"I love you, Tressa." Dan cried, "I love you so much, that I can live a life with your accusation but I can't live a second without you, sometimes I wondered if you are thinking about leaving me, and that thought scares me to the core, thanks for never leaving me because if you did, then I wouldn't have been able to live."
"I would never leave you." Tressa said hugging Dan tight. "Please stop blaming yourself for Blaze, it was meant to happen that way, we can't blame anyone. You are not responsible for what happened to Blaze."
"I wish I had never left you alone." Dan cried, "Today when I saw you with Zach, I felt guilty that I deprived you of all those moments and motherhood."
"No, Dan." Tressa shook her head, "I let you go to that tournament, I had my part in it, I knew that if I had asked you to not go one more time, you would have stayed back, but I let you go because I thought I could take care of myself and the baby. But I never thought things would happen the way that they had happened and neither did you. Let's move on from the past, Dan. Let's start afresh, and be happy again. I want my husband back, the one whom I loved and fell in love with." Tressa said kissing Dan on his lips.
"I love you, my wife." Dan said as he kissed her back. "And thanks for never leaving me."
"You are stuck with me for this life." Tressa smiled into the kiss as he pulled his hair and bit his lip lightly.
"You are still that tigeress." Dan smiled as he lifted Tressa by wrapping his arms around her and walked towards their room.
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