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~4 Years Later~

Four years has passed since that dreadful afternoon in the restaurant. Destiny was still living in Chicago. Josh was in Iraq. He would come home from time to time. Things were still violent with him. Thankfully, he never did anything in front of Andrew. Andrew was now 4 years old. He had strawberry blonde hair, his daddy's nose and lips, and a fondness for trucker hats. Destiny never heard from Patrick. She would ask Kevin about him. Patrick was in Los Angeles recording with the other guys. She would hear the songs on the radio or see the boys on a cover of a magazine. Unknown to Josh, she had a box of magazines, Cd's, newspaper clippings. They were for Andrew.
"Andrew, can you pick up your toys before we go to the store." "Yes, mommy." He went to pick up his toys. There was a knock on the door. Destiny went to answer it. "Yes, can I help you?" It was a man in an Army uniform. All of a sudden it clicked into Destiny's brain. Josh. "I'm sorry to have to bring you this news. Josh Michaels died yesterday. He was caught in the line of fire. I'm sorry." He gave her a piece of paper. "Oh, what do I need to do?" "Someone will be in contact with you." "Thank you."

Destiny closed the door and went to the living room. "Mommy, I'm ready." "We'll go in a little bit. Can you go to your room for a little bit?" "Okay." Destiny called Josh's mom and dad. "Susan, I'm have some bad news. Josh was killed yesterday." She heard the phone drop and Susan cry out. Josh's dad came on. "Destiny, what information have you gotten?" "An Army official came here and he gave me information on where to get Josh. He also said that someone will call me." "Alright. I need to take care of Susan. Will you be alright?" "Yeah, I'll call my friend Tina." "I'll be in touch."

Destiny called Tina and told her what happened. She was coming over right away. Then she called Kevin. "This is Kevin Stump." "Kevin, I'm sorry to call you at work." "Hey, it's no problem. What's up?" "Josh was killed in Iraq." "Oh my god. Destiny, are you alright?" "I don't know. I'm in shock right now. Can you tell your mom for me?" "Of course. Call and tell me when the funeral is. I want to support you." "I will. Thank you." She hung up the phone.

"Mommy, are we going now?" "Come here, Andrew." He walked over and got on her lap. "I have something to tell you. You might not understand." "I'm smart." "I know you are. Just like your daddy." "I miss daddy." "I know you do honey. Daddy isn't coming home. He went to go live with the angels." "I want to see him. I want him to live with us." "I know you do. He does too. You are his special guy. You can always talk to him, but the angels needed him. He's doing special things with them and he'll always watch over you." "You sure." "I'm sure." Destiny started to cry. "Are you sad mommy?" "Yes, I'm going to miss your daddy too." "I'm here for you." "I know and I love you." Just then there was a knock. Tina let herself in.
"Auntie Tina, Uncie Pete." Andrew ran to Tina and Pete. They hugged him. "Hey buddy. How are you doing?" Pete asked. "Okay. Daddy's with the angels." "I know. Your mommy told me. I want to talk to your mommy alone. Do you think you and Pete could play in your room." "Yeah, come on Pete." He grabbed Pete's hand and led him to his room.

"Why did you bring Pete?" "Because I needed someone to keep a eye on Andrew. I want to talk to you. How are you doing?" "Alright." "Are you really?" "Josh and I were never really in love, but I am going to miss him. Things weren't right between us in the end, but he went through a lot with the war." "What do you mean things weren't right between you and him?" "He beat me." "Destiny, why didn't you tell me?" "I know he didn't mean it. I'm sorry. I don't know what to do now." "First I think you need to get help for the abuse. Talk to someone and I think you need to continue with college. You are almost done with your degree. You have done great." "I'm almost done with school and I actually have a job offer." "Really? Awesome. Where?" "Kevin's law firm." "Anyway, are you sure you are alright?" "No, I'm not. Oh Tina, why did he have to die. He was only 22. I'm all alone now. I mean, he wasn't here but I knew I wouldn't be alone." Destiny started crying. "Come here, hun." Tina and Destiny cried for awhile.
"Come on. Let's get you to bed." Tina and Destiny walked to her bedroom and Destiny laid down and Tina covered her up. "Pete and I will stay as long as you need us. "Thank you." Tina walked out and went to Andrew's room. "How is she?" "I have no idea. She's resting now. I told her we would stay. You leave in a few days to go back to LA, right?" "Yeah, it's no problem. She needs us. I'm going to call Patrick. He'll want to know." "Okay, but tell him to stay away. She doesn't need him to show up. It will just confuse her." "Okay."

Pete went to the living room and called Patrick. "Hey Patrick. I have some bad news. Josh was killed in Iraq." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, Tina and I are at Destiny's." "How is she?" "She is doing okay. I don't think she knows what to feel." "I'm coming back to Chicago." "No, stay there. She doesn't need to get more confused." "What the fuck. I need to be with her." "She just lost her husband. She doesn't need her ex boyfriend to show up. Now stay there." "Fine. Tell her I'm sorry. Have you told her yet?" "No, and now wouldn't be a good idea." "Your right. Just tell her I'm sorry." "I will. See you soon."

~Three Days Later~

The funeral was a big event. A lot of people from school and the Army showed up. They had lunch at Josh's parent's house. Destiny felt like a fraud. People thought she really loved him, but she didn't. "Mommy, when can I get out of this suit?" "When we get home. Don't fuss. This is important." "Destiny." She turned around. "Patricia, Kevin. You didn't have to come." "We are here for you. How are you doing?" Patricia asked. "Alright I guess. Andrew keeps me busy so that's good." "I haven't seen him in awhile. Is this him?" "Yeah. I've been meaning to come over. I'll try more." Patricia kneeled down. "Hi, my name is Patricia. I used to take care of your mommy when she was your age." "Really. Are you Kevin's mommy?" "Yes, you know Kevin?" "Yep, he comes to the house a lot." "Why didn't you tell me you see Destiny?" "I don't know. We just hang out and stuff. She is going to be my secretary in a few months when she finishes school." "You must be excited." Patricia said. "A little. This kind of puts a damper on things." "Of course. Well, we just wanted to tell you to come and visit anytime. We are here for you." "Thank you." Destiny hugged Patricia and Kevin. They left and pretty soon everyone was gone.

"You can leave now, Destiny." She looked up from where she was sitting. "Okay, Susan. I guess you won't be seeing us anymore. I'm sorry about everything." "There is no reason for us to see each other. You got what you wanted. Now leave." "Susan, stop this." Ted said. "No, she used our son and now he is gone." "We'll leave. Andrew doesn't need to hear this." "Yes, leave. Take your bastard child and leave." Destiny whip herself around. "Don't you ever call my son that. You can hurl your insults at me but never my son. Your son wanted to be a family. Now I understand why. He had to live with a bitch like you. No wonder he went in the army. It was to please you. You killed your son. Not just his body but his spirit. When he came back he wasn't the same person and I had to suffer for it. Think on that when you go to bed at night, Susan. You killed your son. Here, I don't want this. All it is, is a reminder of what Josh turned into." She handed the flag to Susan and left with Andrew.

They got to the car and Destiny put Andrew in the car seat. "Destiny, wait." It was Ted. She shut the car door. "I'm sorry, Ted." "No, don't be. What did you mean about that you had to suffer?" "I don't want to talk bad about Josh." "I want to know. Did he hurt you?" "Yes, he beat me. He wasn't always like that. It was the war." "I'm so sorry. I know many people think we are the perfect family, but we are far from it. Count your blessings that you are away from us. Take care of yourself and that little boy. I know you made Josh happy." Ted hugged her and Destiny and Andrew went home.

"Andrew, you can take your suit off. Get into your pajama's. Mommy is going to do the same." They each went to their bedrooms and changed. Destiny went to find Andrew in his bedroom. He was sitting down on the floor with a picture in his hands. "Honey, what do you have there?" "A picture of you, daddy, and me. I want daddy to come home." "Oh sweetie." Destiny went to him and took him into her arms. "I know it's going to be hard. We both have to be strong. That's what daddy would have wanted." Both Destiny and Andrew were crying. Destiny carried Andrew to her room and they fell asleep on her bed.

~Two Months Later~

Destiny finished school and was working at Kevin's law firm as his secretary. Tina and Patricia would watch Andrew. She didn't hear from Patrick and she didn't call him. She was still hurting from losing Josh, but knew he was in a better place.

"Andrew, can you get your dirty clothes. I want to do your laundry for your mom." Tina said. She was watching Josh while Destiny was working. There was a knock on the door and she went to get it. "Patrick, what are you doing here?" "Why do I always get that when I come here." "I'm sorry. Come in. Destiny isn't here. I was starting supper. Why don't you go to the living room. I'll be there in a few minutes." "Alright." Patrick went to the living room and sat down on the couch. Andrew was pulling his laundry basket. "Do you need any help?" Patrick asked. Andrew turned around. "Who are you?" "I'm your mommy's friend. I knew her when she was little."

Patrick got up and got the laundry basket and put it by the wall. "You sure have grown since I last seen you. How old are you now?" "Four. What's your name?" "Patrick. And you are Andrew." Andrew giggled. "Mommy's not here. She's at work with Kevin." "Kevin?" "Yeah, he comes around a lot. I think mommy might like him. She cries at night. I do too. My daddy went to the angels." "Yes, I know." "Andrew, why don't you go play in your room, so I can talk to Patrick." Tina came in the living room. "Okay, auntie Tina."
"Does he mean my brother?" "Yes, she's his secretary." "Are they dating or anything?" "No, Andrew misses his dad and wants his mom to be happy. I think he sees Kevin as a man that can be there for her. He's around a lot. That's probably why. Anyway, why do you care. Last I heard you told Destiny that you don't love her." "Have you told her?" "No, I will though. I actually was thinking about telling her tonight. So I think you should leave. It's going to be hard to explain why you were here." "I wanted to see her." "And she doesn't need to see you. You hurt her. She did what Josh told her to do. She has told me that everyday she hears your voice telling her that you don't love her. You know what that does to her." "I was upset. I didn't know what to say." "I think you should leave." "I guess. Can I say goodbye to Andrew?" "Yes."

Patrick walked to Andrew's room. "Hey, I wanted to tell you that I'm going. It was nice meeting you. I hope to see you again soon, buddy." Andrew got up and wrapped his arms around Patrick's legs. "I like you, Patrick. Can I see your hat?" "My hat?" "Yeah, I like hats. See." Andrew showed him his open closet. Inside was about fifty hats. "I think you have more than me. Sure. Here you go." He put it on Andrew's head. "It looks good on you. Do you want it?" Andrew looked up at Patrick. "Are you sure?" "Of course. Just take care of it. It's my favorite." "Oh, I will. What does it say?" "Vinyl Nerd." Andrew laughed. "Patrick, you need to leave. She's going to be coming home soon." Tina said. "Okay. See you later, buddy." Patrick left the apartment and ten minutes later Destiny came home. Tina was in the kitchen and Andrew was in his bedroom.

"I swear that man is going to kill me." "What did Kevin do now?" Tina asked. "He gave me a lot of paperwork to finish by tomorrow morning. Anything interesting today?" "No, not really." Andrew came running into the kitchen wearing Patrick's hat. "Doesn't mommy get a kiss?" "Sorry mommy. How was your day?" "Good. Say, where did you get that hat?" "From Patrick." "Patrick. What do you mean from Patrick?" "Andrew, go to your room so I can talk to you mom." Tina said. Andrew looked down. He knew he upset his mommy.

"He doesn't mean Patrick Stump. Does he?" "Patrick stopped by. He wanted to see you. I told him you don't need to go through everything again." "Thank you. I really don't think I could see him again." "Destiny, I need to tell you something. Pete and I wanted to tell you when you found out about Josh, but thought it was the right time." They went to the living room. "Tina, don't look like the world is ending. I'm sure it's not that bad." "You are going to be hurt." "Well, what is it?"