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Learn to Love Life

   CQ could barely remember her youngest son. Okay. That's a lie. She remembered him. She remembered his emotional condition. She remembered the amazing smarts he had for his age. She remembered his attraction to neon colors. She remembered the way he and her middle child never really got along.

    She remembered dozens of little things about him but she never got to know him. She never got to grow with him. She never got to see what he would become.

   She never got to because he was only four. He was only four years old when he disappeared. It was just a shopping trip. It was a good day. Her oldest had a relatively good appointment, her middle child made a friend (finally, she was getting worried), her youngest managed to find something he liked!

   She took her eyes off Fresh for one minute. . . One minute, and he was gone. She scouted the entire mall. She looked outside. She looked in the stores and in the bathrooms and in the food courts but. . . he was gone.

   She mourned. Her sons mourned, for Error had not grown to "hate" Fresh yet. She went from being a single mom of three to a single mom of two in an instant.

   CQ loved her boys. Geno and Error were the lights of her life. She loved when Error had Ink over to play. She loved when Geno made friends with Sugar at the hospital and then the small boy next door (they had a lot in common after all). She loved how her babysitter and her middle (youngest?) sons friend became family. She loved her people but she never loved her life. She could never love the way she lived without her baby. . .

   She did not expect to be woken up at 8 in the morning by a loud banging. She was pissed. Her son, her 13 year old son, was sleeping! He had just had a tough bout of sickness and he needed rest. She was angry because her youngest (middle?) was finally sleeping again without nightmares. She was pissed because she finally slept in. And then this.

   She yanked open the door fully prepared to give whoever it was a piece of her mind when she froze. The cops. She didn't expect a cop. Great.

   "Ma'am are you Crayon Queen?" The office asked with a harsh tone. He looked cold. His uniform was thinner than it appeared snd did nothing to protect from the icy wind.

   CQ gripped the door frame. Oh God. What happened? What could have caused the cops to visit her at this hour on a Saturday? "That would be me."

   The officer nodded and sighed. "Ma'am there was a recent issue we need to discuss. May we come in?"

   CQ didn't see anyone else. They must still be in the car. "Yes. Of course Officer."

   The officer nodded and motioned to the car. The door opened and a man, definitely not an officer, stepped out. He was holding a small boy, trembling like a leaf.

   CQ only caught a glimpse before she turned to go inside. "Please close the door after you." Her soul raced. What is going on?

   The officer came in first followed by the other man holding the boy. "My name is Officer Ace. This is Dr. Lucas Jean."

   Her gaze was naturally drawn to the boy. She hadn't seen his face yet. "A pleasure. My boys are sleeping can we keep this quiet? Please?"

   The officer nodded a little. "Ma'am I understand your youngest son went missing five years ago."

   CQ's soul skipped again. No. Impossible. "That is correct." She felt sick suddenly.

   "We recently discovered a man named Andrew Wilson. He was in possession of illegal drugs. When we searched his home we found this young boy. Dr. Jean is the only one he will respond to. We ran DNA tests and concluded that–"

   CQ slapped her hand over her mouth in a harsh gasp. Tears pricked her eyes and trickled down. Her boy. That's her baby. Hes alive. "H-Hes. .  "

   The officer paused and sighed. "Yes ma'am. I'm afraid he is different from what you might remember. I can fill you in on–"

   The boy shifted. He was awake. "D-doc..?" His voice was so small and shaky.

   CQ almost fainted on the spot.

   Dr. Jean looked down. The conversation stalled. "Yes?"

   "Where are we..?" He lifted his head to look around. He gripped tighter onto the doc when he noticed Officer Ace. Oh. There are othe people.

   The room went deathly silent as Fresh turned his head again to see the couch across from where the doc was sitting. He paused staring at the woman there. His shaking stops for only a moment. Shes new. She'd never been there before. Wait. Wait he knows her! He knows he knows. He knows that she's. . .

   The 9 year old inhales sharply and tears up. He does remember her. Its far off and distorted by time but. . . he remembers the hair and the kind face. He knows who this is.

   "Mama..?"

   CQ nearly breaks down crying right there. She wants fo hold her boy. She NEEDS to.

   Luckily Fresh feels the same. He lets go of Dr. Jean and reaches for his mother. He lets out a sharp hiccup when he coms in contact with his mother.

   CQ pulls him close and rocks him like a baby again. Oh her boy. Oh her baby. Her Fresh. "Fresh. Oh my baby boy." She kisses the top of his skull and holds him close. She is ugly crying.

   "Mama!!" Fresh squeals burying his face in her shirt. He couldn't believe it. He was smart, yes but he knew it was a million to one chance he ever saw her again. And even slimmer that he recognized her. Leave it to him to break the odds. He needed and deserved this break. . .

   He was different than CQ remembered. Bigger of course, and leas colorful. More emotional and receptive. Clingier. Almost a different person. But she'd know her baby anywhere. This is her baby. Her Fresh. He's HERE. He's ALIVE.

   CQ learned to love life again. . .

This is double to Triple the normal oneshot length. I had fun!