A Cut Above

5.0 - Finale

[Tobias Eaton]

I knew when Graham was born that I wouldn't get that long of a Paternity leave, most of which I spent in the NICU with Tris, keeping an eye on our baby boy. He's a fighter. But boy oh boy does he love his Mama? They are already best friends and he's only a couple weeks old. I can't wait to see who he becomes in the future. But, in my worry with our son, I barely noticed how much Tris needed me. And we got into a pretty bad fight.

"You only care about yourself! I told you that I was scared about Graham. I told you that he was sick and you didn't listen!"
"I knew he was sick, Tris! I was there with you, holding your damn hand when the doctor told us that he got even sicker and would need to be put in the NICU. I was there."
"Sure. You were there. But you didn't even listen, did you? What type of sickness does he have?"

She had me pinned. I didn't know how sick he was. I was too busy with work to learn about his illness. I was too busy to cherish my own son's life. I was a fricking failure of a father. Only a couple weeks old and I had already let him down.

"I don't know."
"Diphtheria. He has a gray mucus-like substance blocking his airway, Tobias! Our baby boy could die and you haven't even spent enough time to learn anything about him!"

I felt awful. I knew nothing about my son. I knew nothing about how much Tris really needed me to just listen to her.

"Look, Tobias. I don't want to fight with you. So, until you can get your head out of your ass and learn a little bit about Graham, I'm going to my Parents' house. If you need anything, I'll be there."

And she walked away. Within the next hour, she had two suitcases packed, a small baby bag in case Graham got to come home, and all of her essentials for sleeping and getting ready to go see Graham. And then, she was gone. She took her car and just left like that. But she forgot two things in the process. Me. And my kiss goodbye, although, I didn't deserve it. But she had never said goodbye without a kiss. We always said goodbye with a kiss, but my lips were cold from the lack of her warmth.

"Hey, Four! Emergency. Crash out at the Art Gallery."

I lift my head. It's Peter.

" Are you talking to me? " I ask.

He nods, cocking an eyebrow.

" Duh! You're the only cop named Four, aren't you? " He asks.

I nod.

" Come on! Max has assigned us to go out and help. " He says.

I nod. I grab my jacket, pulling it on. I walk with him, following him out to his car. I can barely think of my work. All I can think of is Tris walking away.

'What if you walk away again?'
'I'm not gonna walk away again. You're stuck with me.'
...
'Don't go!'
'What?'
'You made me promise I wouldn't leave, now you have to promise me you won't leave either.'

I shake my head, running my fingers through my hair.

" So, how bad of an accident are we talking? Drunk driving? Head on collision? " I ask.

He sighs, looking down at the computer next to him.

" Head on collision with a Semi. Although nothing has been confirmed, one driver is suspected to be seriously injured or possibly even dead. " He says.

I nod. My heart begins to race. The last time I responded to an accident was the night Tris almost died. One of the last times I saw her happy. Now... Nothing's right.