Fighting For A Second Chance(Closed for brokendoll80)

"Yeah, that sounds great mom. I know. Yes. Yes I know that mom." Chuckling softly into the receiver of his cell phone, Alex looked around the small park he had grown up in when a young boy. The summer heat was hot as ever, only mid-way through June and the weather made sure to remind him of that each morning. But he had no reason to complain, this was nothing compared to walking through the desert with fifty pounds of gear, clothes, and weapons on you.

Shaking the images of the ever-returning battles from his head, Alex patted his lap for his dog Kiara to come to him while listening to the ever-preaching words of his mother on the phone. "Yeah mom, okay." Another small chuckle left his lips as he shook his head. "I know. Yes, really. I'll make sure to see when I'm able to leave town when I get back home. I miss you and dad, so I'll make sure to stop by." Pausing, he heard the quivering of his mother's voice on the phone, making him realize just how long it's been since he had truly seen his mother. "Don't cry mom." With a soft whimper leaving her lips, he knew she'd be going. "Love you too mom, tell dad the same. I'll call you later."

And with those last words, his phone call came to an end and a heavy sigh left his lips. As his phone locked, a clear reflection of his tanned face and his smokey blue eyes came into view. Blinking at his reflection, he wondered if he ever knew the face looking back at him anymore. So much had changed in the past few years and a part of him only wished that he could get those years back, the golden years if you may.

"Come on girl." He said softly to his Siberian Husky, Kiara as he stood from the bench and unhooked her leash. Watching as she ran away from him, he continued to walk at a steady pace, looking around at the swaying trees and the small park in front of him. He stopped at the water fountain to get a small drink. With the cool water running down his throat, he momentarily lost himself to his thoughts before the sound of Kiara barking in the faint distance brought him out of his haze.

Wiping the fallen liquid from his moist lips and chin, Alex let his eyes scan the park before he noticed Kiara rolling in the grass and licking the hand of a small boy. Breaking into a light jog, Alex quickly made his way over to Kiara and the small boy as he crouched down and ran his hand along the soft fur of his dog before letting his eyes wander to the child in front of him. The boy's head was turned down , watching Kiara as he giggled and ran his small fingers through her fur, excitingly petting her.

"Hey little guy, where's your mommy?" He asked him softly with a smile. When the child looked up at him, Alex felt his heart skip a beat, his stomach clench, his insides heat up. Who was this boy? His eyes were so blue, almost the same color as his own, the smokey greys mixing in with the bright baby blues, his facial features oddly familiar. Especially the button nose.

Running a hand through his own black messy-styled hair, Alex let out the breath he was unaware of holding before he heard a voice calling a name. That voice. He knew that voice a little too well. He could recall that voice with his eyes closed, picture the face of the women it belonged to without taking a moment's pause to think about it.

"Alec!" So Alec was his name.

Alex could feel his chest constricting as it begged for the oxygen surrounding him, begging to have some sort of air fill the void that was appearing in his heart. A tight line took the shape of his full lips as the realization that he had a son filled his body, causing him to finally take in a breath, his lips quivering slightly as he stood up from his crouched position, watching as his son, her son, their son played with his dog.

"When were you planning on letting me in on your little secret?" Alex asked a little bitterly, his body slowly turning to face the girl of his past, his highschool sweetheart, the love of his life, the girl who had left him behind. "Nice to see you again, Lyndsay. Do tell me, how have you been?" He asked with sarcasm hinting at his voice. "Quite a cute kid you've got. Say, does he get his looks from his father?" Again with the sarcasm, one his brows raised as he finally allowed his eyes to meet hers, so many emotions and memories hitting him hard.

Lyndsay nearly stumbled as Alex turned to face her. It had been four long years since she'd seen him last. Four years since they'd fought over his infidelity. Four years since he'd gotten her pregnant and left for the army. Her son would have to pick his father's dog to chase after while she was busy cleaning up the mess he'd made ofhis peanut butter sandwich on her jeans.

He was still as beautiful as ever. Perhaps more so because she looked at a little version of him every day. Her emerald green eyes went cold at his tone. "Yes, as a matter of fact he does. Maybe if his father hadn't cheated and run off to the army, where he didn't answer call ,texts, or letters, he would have known that he had a son."

Impatiently, she pushed a hand through her waist length chestnut curls and knelt down beside her son. "Alec, what did mommy tell you about chasing the doggies, hmmm?"

The little boy slipped his first two fingers into his mouth and hung his head as he answered his mother. "No leaving to pet the doggies."

"That's right. You scared mommy! Now, pet the doggy bye and tell the nice man thank you for letting you play with her. " he expression dared Alex to argue with her about this in front of Alec as she picked him up.

Alex's cold demeanor quickly faltered, his face growing soft as he shook his head, his eyes growing distant as he thought back to the simple days. The days that they would spend together beneath the trees, swimming in the creek with their best friends, sneaking out at night to be together.

He remembered when he had hardly made it back through her window one morning before her mom walked in on the two in her bed. Sure they had arguments, but over the stupidest things. He never believed the things the older couples told them, that he'd miss the stupid little fights if he ever lost them, but it was undeniably true. He missed fighting with her over what dress she should wear to go out on a date, or what movie they should watch, or what color the sun was. He missed her.

"Lyndsay don't do this right now." He practically begged her as he noticed her emerald green orbs turning hard on him, her eyes filling with daggers, threatening him to object to her words. "Please, just hear me out." He pleaded with her before his words were pushed away to the scene in front of him, his heart aching as he watched the girl of his dreams bending down to talk to their son, the actions of Alec causing his anger to completely fade away to oblivion, his fingers twitching as he wanted nothing more than to do as Lyndsay was doing now, to hold his son.

"You're going to just leave?" He asked, his voice hardly above a whisper as he let his eyes take in her appearance. She had changed over the years, they both had, but not in a bad way. She as still as beautiful as the day he had met her, eight years ago. God, that was so long ago! The chestnut curls hanging to her waist, much longer than they had been during her teen years. He could see the slight change of her body, due to giving birth, but it only made her more beautiful in his eyes.

Licking his lips slightly, Alex blinked to push the thoughts away from his before looking into her eyes once more, his heart hammering in his chest loud enough to where he was sure she could hear it, but she made no indication of any sort.

"I'm sorry." He told her sincerely, his words meaning so much more than he thought she could ever understand. "I completely understand if you hate me, I would hate me." He admitted softly. "But it's not like I could respond back then any how, they took all of my personal belongings and the war was just so bad, they only allowed us to receive letters every few months and even then, my commanders didn't like us sending out letters in fear our location would be spotted."

With a sigh, Alex let his head hang low for a moment before eh opened his eyes and looked into her deep green eyes, the same eyes that had caused him to fall in love with her so many years ago.

"I don't expect you to forgive me, or even like me, none the less talk to me. But please, don't keep my son from me any longer. You know that he deserves a father and if I had even the slightest thought that he even existed, I would have been there with you, every single step of the way." He paused, his eyes scanning her face. "So please, I beg of you, let me be part of his life. I can't regain the past three years, but I can be there for the years to come, if you'll let me."

Lyndsay layed her cheek against her son's dark curls and tried not to let the sound of Alex's words get to her. He'd always been able to talk her into or out of anything. His voice was a much needed balm on the still gaping wounds he'd left on her heart years before.

Deep inside, under the slab of bitterness she harbored for the man next to her, she still loved him and knew that he never would have left her to raise Alec alone if he'd gotten any of her letters or texts. Even if she meant nothing to him, Alex wasn't the type of man to let his child grow up without him. She could at least give him the chance to get to know their son.

"You remember where mom lives, right?" She said on a soft sigh. "Why don't you come over for dinner and get to know your son?"

There was no animosity in her voice. Just the hint of sadness. She missed him. Missed his arms around her, the easy way they had been with each other, even the passion they could build fighting over something as small as where to eat dinner. But he'd destroyed all that when he'd slept with her best friend then lied to her about it.

she hadn't found out about Alec until a month after he'd gone to boot camp. She'd been lucky enough to manage a scholarship and had gone away to college. Everyone knew who Alec's father was, including Alex's parents. It was actually surprising to her that he didn't know. She'd done her best for herself and their son, though. She hadn't had time to date between school, her job waitressing, and school. No one really wanted to date a single mom with a rough and tumble 3 year little boy in tow anyway. But she'd graduated with honors and a degree in creative writing.

"We just moved back to town and i haven't had time to find a job or place, so we're staying there. Dinner's still at the same time." The moment was suddenly awkward as she stood there looking at him.

"Sank you misser." Alec said finally doing as Lyndsay had asked him, while he squirmed to get out of his mother's arms, ready to chase after the next furry thing that passed by. He seemed to always know when to fill the silence. Chuckling softly, she set the boy down and watched him run back towards where they'd been picnicking.

"He knows about you, you know. You look a little different from our prom picture, but he knows who you are. Everyone knows you're his father. Kind of hard to miss. I'm surprised your mom didn't tell you about him." She said the words without ever taking her eyes off her child. "Don't be late for dinner, huh? He deserves a father who loves him enough to be there."

At the first sign of Lyndsay's hard emerald eyes softening up gave him just enough hope to cling onto, his heart beating a thousand beats per minute, his breath coming out slightly labored as when she finally answered, a wide grin stretched out across his face, his head nodding quickly like a little boy on Christmas. He knew exactly where her mom lived, he had been there plenty in their teen years with her.

"I would absolutely love that, thank you so much." He told her softly, not trusting his voice at a normal level, afraid that it would crack, giving away the surge of emotion traveling his body from how grateful he was to this privilege.

When she announced that they had just moved back, Alex was slightly surprised. He hadn't known that they had left town to begin with, unless she had actually done what she had always insisted on and had gone away for college. They had always talked about how she deserved much more than this little one-horse town could offer her, maybe she did just that for herself. If she got what she wanted from somewhere else, then why was she back here?

Alex was pulled out of his thoughts suddenly as his son spoke up, his words coming out as any toddler would talk, adorable and completely wrong. A small chuckle left Alex's mouth as he nodded his head and watched as Alec ran off toward what he could only guess as their previous spot in the park. Sitting Kiara down on the ground, Alex unclipped her leash and set her off toward the boy. "Go get him girl." He called to her softly, watching as she playfully chased after the small boy, a smile appearing on his face.

Hearing her next set of words threw him completely off guard. He began to question how his son knew about him but when she mentioned their prom picture, a soft smile appeared on his lips, only to be replaced by a frown when she continued on with her sentence. His parents knew? His own mother didn't tell him that he had a son? Alex's eyebrows furrowed as his lips formed into a tight line, his eyes looking down at the ground as he tried to composure how that was even right for her to do to him.

"My mom knows, and she didn't even tell me?" He asked, more to himself than her, his voice hardly above a whisper. "God how stupid could I be? Everybody knew but me, when I should have been the first person to find out."

Upon hearing her last words, almost a request to him, he felt his heart throb in his chest. Turning toward her, Alex tenderly took her hand in his and let his eyes fixate upon her own eyes, his free hand tucking a fallen strand of hair out of her eyes and behind her ear.

"Listen to me." He told her softly. "You may not want anything to do with me, you probably hate my existence. You might even think I ruined your life, but I wouldn't trade those four years with you for anything in the world. You're the reason I made it through the war, because I had motivation. God if I knew I had a son, I'd probably be a high-ranked commander." He joked lightly.

"But if you truly do hate me, then I guess none of that matters." He said softly, the small sadness leaking in his voice as he looked at her sincerely. "But don't worry, I'll be there tonight, on time. If I can ever help it, I won't be late a single day for any given event in my son's life for the rest of my life." He told her honestly, his eyes pleading with her, but he knew that he wasn't going to win her back this easily.

"What? Did the army make you completely stupid, Alex?" She couldn't believe what she knew he was thinking of his mother right now, "let me guess. You haven't been home yet, have you? Your mother would never tell you something like this over the phone, You idiot. She knew it would hit you hard. And you were the first person i told. Isent you letter after letter and god knows i tried to call. you never answered."

She flinched as his hand came up to brush a strand on hair from her face. It was to much like old times. In thatmoment she knew that despite everything her heart was still his... and she had to guard it from him fiercely. He'd nearly crushed her once already. "I don't hate you, Alex. I was heart broken and terrified when i realized we'd made a child together, but i wouldn't trade him for all the world. I grew up.

"You deserve a chance to be in his life. He deserves to have you in his life, but that's as far as it goes Alex. I'm not part of the package as anything more than a friend. Do this for Alec, not me." With that she pulled out of his grasp on her hand and walked away toward where Alec and kiara were rolling in the grass near their picnic blanket.

She managed to not fall apart until she had gotten Alec home, where he promptly told his nana about the man with a doggie in the park. Lyndsay just shook her head as her mother's knowing gaze met her tear filled eyes. She'd been as strong as she could up to this point. She couldn't do anything more than excuse herself to her room where she cried herself into a fitful nap filled with memories of her past.

Alex's brow furrowed at her words as he tried to make sense of her question before she continued, making him falter once more at her actions and words. When she guessed about him not having been home, he slightly nodded his head, only to listen to the rest of her words, slightly flinching as each word took it's toll. He could fight with her, could try to explain with her until he was blue in the face. But he knew that now was not the time, and she wasn't hearing any of it.

When he noticed her visibly flinch toward his hand coming to her hair, he felt his stomach tighten up. Is this really where they were now? Afraid to touch each other, regretting the past, hoping for the future? I guess that's why they called it miserable at best. With a sigh, he let his hand drop from her face as her next words continued to hit him even harder than before. This girl was everything he had ever wanted and once he had her, he had just left her alone, had completely ruined everything that they once shared. A completely stupid thing to do. He should have stuck around, convinced her that he was telling the truth. He should have fought for her. If he had, then he would have known his son from the day of his birth. He'd have the girl of his dreams. He'd be living the dream life.

Unsure of whether to speak to her, to interrupt her, or to be silent and listen, he opted for the latter. The only thing he could do, was be grateful for this chance to be a part of his son's life. With a tender smile, he nodded his head, watching as she pulled back from his grasp, a sad look in her eyes as she turned her head to look at their son and his puppy rolling around in the grass next to her things.

"Before you go, I want you to know that I never stopped loving you. I know that this means nothing to you since you only want to be friends, but I thought you deserved to know that. I never gave up on us, even if it did seem like it. But thank you for allowing me this, I won't let you down. I promise."

After watching Lyndsay take their son and walk away from him, that he never wanted to see that sight again. It was too painful. This is not the way he imagined his life. He had always dreamed of having kids with her one day, but not like this. His life was so fucked up, and this was the first he was hearing of it, how fucked up. With a sigh, he fastened Kiara's leash before turning and walking the opposite way, a void in his heart as he realized how much he really had missed in his son's life for the past three years.

The rest of the day pretty much dragged. Time was clearly not moving fast enough. Every time he would glance at the clock or his phone, only a few minutes will have passed. With a sigh, he decided that he may as well get ready to go over for dinner and then get out of the house to pass time more quickly. After pulling on a fitted pair of light blue jeans, a white undershirt, and a blue button down shirt, Alex tied the laces to his black converse and ran his fingers through his hair before looking himself over in the mirror, grabbing his phone and keys, and walking out the door.

He spent half an hour going to the store and then he was parking in front of the house he used to spend every day in. A million memories hit him all at once and he had to take a deep breath to regain his composure. How did things get so screwed up in this little of time? He knew that four years wasn't that long, but it definitely wasn't a short period of time either. A lot has changed since he last stepped foot inside of this house, what would her mom say to him?

Checking the time on his phone, he realized it was half past six, and dinner was usually served at seven. Slipping his phone into his pocket, he grabbed the dozen roses from the passenger seat before locking up his neon green mustang and approaching the door. Letting out a deep breath, he hid the roses behind his back before raising his free hand and letting it fall against the wooden oak of the door, knocking the same knock he did four years ago.