Michael rang Beth's doorbell, feeling impatient. He just wanted to get this over with so Parker could come back home, where he belonged.

Beth opened the door and greeted Michael with a smile, but he was still nervous that she was going to yell at him. Parker had probably told her all about what happened the day before, and knowing Parker he also over exaggerated about it.

"Hey, come on in." Beth said, holding the door open for Michael.

Michael just nodded and stepped into the house, hoping that this wouldn't take long. "Where is he?"

"He's upstairs with Jason, they're watching a movie in our bed." Beth said, turning to face Michael and folding her arms across her chest.

"Well is he all ready to go? Can you go get him?" Michael asked impatiently. He always tried his hardest to have Parker ready when Beth came to pick him up, Michael thought that she might be able to do the same.

"Uh, no." Beth answered slowly. "I was kind of hoping that we could talk first."

Michael let out a big sigh and had to hold back from rolling his eyes at Beth. "Didn't you and Parker talk last night?"

"Yeah, we did, and I told him that he's not allowed to say that he hates you anymore because he really doesn't mean it." Beth explained. "I also told
him that there are some adult conversations that you have that he's just not allowed to get involved in. But that's not really what I wanted to talk about."

"Beth, I was a jerk, I know, but - " Michael began, already having an idea for how this conversation was going to go. He knew that Beth was going to suggest the Parker lived with her full time, it had happened before.

"Do you want to sit down somewhere?" Beth asked, cutting him off.

"N-No, I'm fine here." Michael said nervously. "I'm not a bad dad, Beth, I promise. I was having a really bad day and I took it out Park, I'm sorry."

"Michael stop it, I understand." Beth chuckled, shaking her head. "You were frustrated, I get it, I yell at Parker and say things that I don't mean sometimes."

"Then what do you want to talk about?" Michael questioned, now confused. He knew that Beth was mad at him about something, he could see it in the expression on her face, but Michael just didn't know what.

"Well, I called Calum - "

"You called Calum?" Michael snapped, cutting Beth off.

"I just wanted to make sure that what Parker was saying was true. He's four, Michael, he still gets things mixed up sometimes." Beth said and sighed, already annoyed with Michael. "Plus he was freaking out and I could barely even understand him."

"Okay, fine." Michael said quietly, because he supposed that Beth calling Calum wasn't so wrong. "What did Calum say?"

"He told me about how you've been acting around Parker and Katie both lately."

"Oh my God." Michael muttered under his breath. Of course Calum told Beth all about Michael not paying as much attention to Parker lately. He probably made Michael's behavior seem much worse than it really was.

"Michael, I know that you love and care about Katie. I think it's great that you feel like way about her, but she's not your daughter." Beth said slowly and Michael nodded along with her, feeling kind of embarrassed. Beth was such a mom, Michael felt like he was a little kid getting yelled at. "Parker is your son and you need to give him the same attention that you give to Katie."

"I know." Michael nodded. He did know, he had learned his lesson now. Michael and Melissa sat down the night before and had a very long talk about all of this and now Michael knew that the way he was acting towards Parker was wrong.

It didn't matter that Parker was annoying sometimes and got on Michael's nerves. He was Michael's son, and one of the things about being a parent was that you have to love for and care for your children no matter what they do. Michael couldn't just ignore Parker because he was irritating and Katie was not.

"I'm sorry." Michael continued. "I'm not going to act like this anymore, I've thought about it a lot and I know that what I was doing was wrong. Just give me a second chance, please."

"I will give you a second chance." Beth said, letting out a small laugh. "I'm not trying to take Parker away from you, Michael, I only came and got him last night because I knew how upset he was and I knew that with Parker's stubbornness he would never go back to your apartment with you."

"Alright." Michael nodded, letting out a relieved sigh. He had been so scared that Beth was going to try and fight for custody of Parker and take him away. Michael couldn't and wouldn't let that happen. "So what are we going to do?"

"Well, I think we should talk to Parker about this." Beth suggested, nervously biting her bottom lip. "I don't want to take him away from you but if he wants to come live here with me, at least for a while, then I think we should let him."

"Okay." Michael said, letting out a sigh. He rubbed the back of his neck, because he already had a bad feeling about this. "So we're just going to let him decide where he wants to live?"

"I don't want him to feel miserable at your apartment, and even though it might be kind of complicated I think he should be able to move in with Jason and I if he wants to." Beth said softly, trying not to upset Michael.

"Okay." Michael said, nodding again. He wasn't going to try and fight it this time, this was a decision that they were leaving up to Parker and all Michael could do was hope that his son would choose him.

He was upset about the possibility of Parker maybe moving out and living with Beth, but if it was what seemed like best for him than Michael was going to stop Parker from leaving. He was clearly unhappy with Michael anyway.

"Is there a good school up here that you can enroll him into?" Michael asked and wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands, just realizing that he'd started to cry a little. He didn't want Parker to leave him, he couldn't let it happen.

"We can figure that all out after we talk to Parker, Michael, we're not even sure if he wants to live here yet." Beth said and reassuringly rubbed Michael's back, trying to calm him down.

"I know he's going to choose you. He hates me, he'll definitely choose you." Michael mumbled, shaking his head. "You'll remember to give him his medicine every night, right? His chest always hurts without it."

"Michael, stop it." Beth sighed, letting out a small chuckle. She grabbed Michael's hand and led him up the stairs, taking him to where Parker was.

"He hates me, Beth, I can't go in there." Michael groaned, stopping when they reached the doorway to Beth's room. He was scared to go in and talk to Parker, Michael was so sure that Parker was going to hate him forever.

"He doesn't really hate you, Michael, you need to calm down." Beth said softly. "He didn't mean what he said to you last night. Parker just has a temper, you know that."

"I know, but he's never said anything like that to me before. He's never said that he doesn't want to see me again." Michael stared down at his feet, the knot in his stomach growing as he thought more about Parker making the choice between living with Beth and living with Michael.

"He doesn't mean it." Beth shook her head again. She opened the bedroom door, pulling Michael in behind her.

They entered the room to find Parker and Jason laying on the bed, both of them staring at the TV mounted on the wall in front of them. Parker looked very interested in whatever movie was on an didn't even notice the door opening. Jason did notice, and he gave Michael a small wave.

"Parker? Sweetie?" Beth called, trying to get his attention. Parker slowly looked away from the TV and turned towards Beth, the expression on his face completely changing when he noticed Michael standing there next to her.

"Yes?" Parker asked politely, which was surprising to Michael. Parker had always been pretty polite when he was growing up, but lately he'd started to stray away from using the good manners that Beth had worked so hard on teaching him.

"Daddy's here and he wants to talk to you. Can you pause the movie and come over here, please?" Beth asked.

Parker nodded quickly and grabbed the remote, pausing the movie. He hopped off of the bed, grabbing his little blanket and taking it with him.

"We can finish the movie later, buddy." Jason said to Parker as he walked towards Michael and Beth, dragging his blanket behind him.

"Okay." Parker nodded, giving Jason a big smile. "I'll be right back."

Michael did his best to ignore the feeling of jealously that he got as he watched Parker and Jason interact. Michael hated to admit it, but he had hoped that Jason would be mean to Parker, just so his son would like Michael more. Michael hated knowing that Beth's new boyfriend treated Parker better than he did.

"We're going to go into your room and talk for a minute, is that alright Park?" Beth asked, reaching down and grabbing Parker's hand. He nodded again and walked with Beth down the hall, Michael following behind them.

He noticed the way that Beth spoke to Parker. When Michael wanted Parker to do something he snapped at him or yelled, he hardly ever talked to Parker like Beth did. She was so much more calm than Michael was, and that's why Parker listened to her so easily.

It wasn't always like that. Not too long ago, Michael was very understanding and he let Parker do what he wanted. He didn't get mad or frustrated and he didn't have to worry about Parker saying that he hated him whenever they got into a small argument.

"Sit down, both of you." Beth ordered when they entered the room. Parker followed Beth's commands and got on his bed, sitting criss-cross applesauce. Michael walked over slowly and sat on the edge of the bed, still feeling an awkward tension between him and Parker. Beth stood in front of both of them, her hands on her hips.

"Now, Parker, I know that we talked about this last night but I want you to tell Daddy that you're sorry for what you said." Beth spoke sternly but in a way that got her point across, and was enough to get Parker to listen to her.

"I'm sorry, Daddy." Parker said quietly, still trying to avoid eye contact with Michael.

"Do you really mean that?" Beth asked. Michael remained silent. He didn't know what to say, he'd never been in a position like this before, where he was forced to fix his relationship with his own son, and Michael didn't know what to do.

"Yes, I do." Parker nodded. Michael could see his eyes beginning to fill with tears. "I don't really hate you, Daddy. I was upset. I'm sorry."

Michael knew that Beth had probably told Parker to say exactly that when apologizing, but Michael also knew that Parker mean it. He was a stubborn kid, he wouldn't have actually said it if he wasn't sincere.

"It's alright, bud." Michael said quietly. It wasn't really alright, Michael was aware of that, but at this point he was ready to forgive Parker and forget that this ever happened. He wanted things to go back to normal and he wanted Parker to come home again.

"I missed you a lot." Parker sniffed, finally looking up at Michael.

"I miss you too." Michael said, having to bite down on his lip to stop himself from crying. Michael was usually an emotional person, and in the last day or so he'd become very emotional.

Parker looked at Beth, who just nodded slowly, as if she was giving him permission to say more.

"Daddy, I don't like when you're mean to me." Parker said. He looked at Beth again. "I also don't like when you love Kitty more than you love me."

"Park, I don't love Katie more than I love you." Michael said, his heart aching at what Parker had just said.

Michael must have made it really obvious that he was paying more attention to Katie than Parker recently, otherwise Parker probably wouldn't have noticed. He was so smart for his age.

"Well sometimes you act like it." Parker said stubbornly, folding his arms across his chest. "That's what Uncle Calum said."

"Oh, did you talk to him on the phone?" Michael questioned and Parker nodded again. "Parker, I'm really sorry. I don't mean to treat Katie better than I treat you, I really don't. I love you and I love her, too."

"Do you love me more?" Parker asked, smiling up at Michael.

"Yes, of course I do." Michael nodded. He loved Katie a lot and cared for her like she was his own daughter, but Parker still held a very special place in his heart and no one could ever replace him.

"Okay." Parker said. He turned to Beth again, waiting for further instruction. She just nodded, obviously telling Parker to continue. "I forgive you, I guess."

"Parker!" Beth scolded him, shaking her head.

"I forgive you." Parker corrected himself, wrapping his blanket around his body so he was like a little burrito.

"Thank you, Parker, I'm glad you do." Michael said, letting out a sigh of relief. He was happy that this part was over, that Parker had forgiven Michael for how shitty he had been acting lately.

"Uh huh." Parker nodded, smiling again. He looked towards Beth, this time waiting for her to say something. "Can I go watch my movie now?"

"Park, there's actually something else we want to talk to you about." Beth said, walking over to the bed and sitting down on it next to Michael.

"Oh." Parker said quietly, making sure to keep himself wrapped up in his blanket burrito. "Okay."

"Well, I know that you told me last night that you never want to see Daddy again, but that was because you were really mad, right? You didn't mean it?" Beth asked slowly, making sure that Parker understood everything she was saying.

Michael stayed silent, afraid that he might mess things up if he tried to speak. It was almost like he didn't trust himself to just have a real conversation with Parker anymore, he was scared that he'd end up yelling.

"Well..." Parker trailed off, looking down at his lap.

"Do you want to go back home with Daddy, Parker? Or do you want to stay here with me a little longer?" Beth asked.

Michael felt that it was really important that they were letting Parker choose what happened in this situation, instead of taking over and deciding for him. This way Parker got what he wanted, and even if he decided that he wanted to move in with Beth, Michael was going to be okay because it meant that Parker would be happy.

"I can stay here?" Parker asked excitedly. "For more than just a few days? Forever?"

Michael's heart sank as he saw the expression on Parker's face go from confused to excited at the mention of him being able to stay with Beth for longer than just a weekend.

"Maybe not forever, sweetie, but for a while." Beth said softly. She reached over and grabbed Michael's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Oh... With all of my toys?" Parker asked.

"Yeah, all of your toys will still be here." Beth nodded. "It'll be just like when you come stay with me for the weekend, but longer."

"Wow." Parker said, his eyes widening. He smiled at Michael, who was still trying to stop himself from crying. "That sounds really fun."

"Is that what you want, Park? Do you want to stay here?" Beth asked and Michael held his breath, already knowing what Parker was going to say.

"Well would Daddy stay here with me?" Parker questioned, cocking his head to the side.

"That's not really how it works, Pac-Man." Michael finally spoke up, shaking his head. "Mommy and I don't live together anymore, you can either come back to the apartment with me or stay here with her for a while longer."

"Oh." Parker pouted.

"It's up to you, Parker." Michael said, letting Parker know that this was ultimately his choice. If he wanted to stay with Beth for a little while longer than that was okay. "You can stay here with Mommy if you want."

"You really can't stay here with me?" Parker asked, seeming confused about the whole thing.

"No, I can't." Michael said, shaking his head. "I'm going to go back to the apartment so I can stay close to my job and Melissa and Katie. I really want you to come back home with me, but if you want to stay with Mommy that's okay."

"Oh." Parker said quietly. He readjusted his blanket burrito again and looked between Beth and Michael, like he was trying to decide.

The three of them sat there in silence for a few minutes, waiting for Parker to decide what he wanted to do. Michael was so nervous, his stomach was doing flips and he could feel his palms getting sweaty. Beth didn't seem nearly as nervous, because she knew that she was going to be alright either way. If Michael lost Parker he didn't know what he would do.

"I'm sleepy." Parker sighed, laying down on the bed.

"But it's only 10:30, you just go up - " Michael said, confused. It was stupid of him to have thought that Parker would just give a straight answer. Parker was four, he wasn't going to be able to make that choice.

"Stop it, I'm sleepy." Parker laughed softly, covering his face with his blanket.

"Parker." Michael said sternly, because now he was just annoyed. He wanted to get home to Melissa and Katie and he wanted Parker to come with him. Michael understood that he acted like a jerk and Parker was probably still upset, but he didn't need to act like this.

"Park, Daddy and I are going to be right back." Beth said quickly and pulled Michael off of the bed, leading him out of the bedroom.

"He doesn't want to live with me anymore." Michael pouted, following Beth down the hallway. "You got what you wanted, Beth, he gets to stay with you all the time now."

"Stop it, he never said that." Beth scoffed, shaking her head.

"He hates me, you heard him last night." Michael sniffed, trying to stop himself from crying. He didn't care that he was being a baby, Michael just wanted his son back. He wanted things to be okay again. "It's fine, if he's happy here then that's fine."

"Michael, I think you should just try to talk to him - "

"He doesn't get it, Beth, he doesn't get anything I say to him!" Michael said, trying to keep his voice down because of both Jason and Parker.

"Because you don't talk to him like he's a four year told, you just talk to him like he's one of your friends." Beth sighed. She looked up at Michael, who was blinking back tears. "You really need to pull yourself together."

"Parker's only four and he already hates me." Michael cried, hiding his face with his hands. Beth sighed again and pulled Michael into what was probably a guest room, but Michael didn't bother asking, and shut the door behind them. "I can't lose him, I really can't."

"You're not going to lose him, Michael, come on." Beth said, rubbing his back. Michael walked over to the bed and took a seat on it. "This is just one argument and you're both very stubborn, but things will be alright in the end."

"So what are we gonna do?" Michael sniffed again. "Is he just going to stay here with you then?"

"I don't really know." Beth shrugged slowly, "He never really gave us a straight answer, did he?"

"I don't think we should have left this choice up to him." Michael said stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest. Just a few minutes ago he had been all for the idea of letting Parker make this decision on his own, but that was back when Michael thought that Parker would choose him.

"But I think that it really is something that should be left up to him." Beth countered, shaking her head. "I think that it's important that Parker's happy with where he's living."

"I just...I need him." Michael mumbled, wiping his eyes again. "I can't just live on my own, I've lived with him for his whole life and I can't just let him leave me."

"You won't be on your own, Michael." Beth sighed. "You'll have Melissa and Katie and all of you friends. You have a lot, your world doesn't just revolve around Parker anymore."

Michael stood up from the bed, getting frustrated with Beth once again. He turned towards her and glared, trying to form a coherent sentence in his brain.

"He's my son and you may be fine with only seeing him twice a month but I'm not. I need Parker to live with me." Michael said and then stomped out of the room, going down the hallway again and into Parker's bedroom.

Beth followed closely behind Michael with a disappointed look on her face, clearly not approving of the way he was acting at the moment.

"Parker." Michael said as he entered the room, not in the mood for anymore bullshit from anyone.

"What?" Parker snapped, not bothering to look up from under his blanket.

"Don't talk to me like that." Michael said harshly. He was in a bad mood now and knew that this wasn't the best way to handle the situation, but Michael was doing this as a last resort.

"Sorry." Parker said slowly, sitting up. "I'm just sleepy."

"I know, you always are." Michael scoffed, rolling his eyes. He knew that Parker saying that he was sleepy was just an excuse to get out of doing things. "I'm leaving now, Park, do you want to come with me or not?"

"You're leaving?" Parker questioned.

"Yes, Parker, I'm leaving." Michael said, letting out an annoyed sigh. "I'm going back home and you can either come with me like you're supposed to or you can stay here with Mommy for a few more days."

"Oh..." Parker trailed off, finally getting it, and crawled off of the bed, hopping down. He kept his blanket wrapped around himself and walked over to Michael. "Okay."

"Okay?" Michael asked in clarification, a little annoyed because he had asked Parker almost the same thing a few minutes before. "You want to come home with me?"

"Uh huh." Parker nodded.

"Oh my God." Michael muttered under his breath, not sure why Parker had to pull shit like this. It was like he was mad at Michael one second and then perfectly fine the next, and frankly it was getting annoying.

"Park, honey, why don't you go get yourself ready?" Beth suggested, giving Parker a little shove out of the room. He nodded and skipped down the hallway.

"Does he always have to do shit like this? It's so annoying!" Michael groaned. "A few minutes ago I was crying at the though of losing him and then he decides to just go with me without a problem!"

"He's four, Michael." Beth said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"It's irritating." Michael frowned, folding his arms across his chest. "I wish that Parker didn't have to be so stubborn, then maybe he could have decided to just come with me right away instead of keeping us both waiting."

Beth stayed silent and just stared up at Michael, that look of disappointment still on her face.

"What?" Michael asked.

"Calum was right, there's something different about you." Beth let out a big sigh. "I think that if something like this happens again Parker should just come move in with me. Next time we won't have a conversation with him like this to try and get him to change his mind."

"So this is like my last chance?" Michael scoffed, not fully getting it. "Is that really what this is coming down to?"

"I don't know what else to do, Michael." Beth shrugged, bringing her voice down to a whisper. "There's clearly something going on at your apartment that's making Parker upset and I don't want him there if he's unhappy."

"That's bullshit." Michael snapped, not agreeing with Beth at all. "He's my son, I've raised him for the last two years, and you shouldn't have a say in how I choose to parent him."

Michael was amazed at how quickly things had seemed to change in such a short amount of time. Michael and Beth had been on the same side just a few minutes before, but her comment about something "clearly going on" in the apartment just set Michael off, and now he was more pissed off than anything.

Michael was tired and frustrated and hated the fact that he was being accused of doing something wrong with Parker. He was Michael's son, and Michael was going to parent him the way that he wanted.

"Michael - " Beth opened her mouth to speak again but was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. Parker entered the room seconds later, dragging his blanket behind him.

"I'm ready." He said, smiling up at Beth and Michael.

Michael was really glad that Parker had decided to come back home. Everything that he'd said earlier was true, Michael really did need Parker to live with him, otherwise things just wouldn't seem right. After constantly being with Parker for the last four years Michael didn't know what he would do without him.

"Okay, bud." Michael nodded to Parker and then turned back towards Beth. "We'll see you next weekend."

"Michael - " Beth tried to stop Michael from leaving so they could continue their conversation, but at that point Michael had already picked up Parker and was taking him out of the house.

Michael left the house and walked out to his car. He buckled up Parker in the carseat, pretending to listen to whatever story he was telling. Michael sat down in the drivers seat and let out a big sigh, not understanding why things had to be like this.

"Daddy? Daddy, did you hear me?" Parker asked anxiously, trying to get Michael's attention.

"Yeah." Michael nodded, even though he was lying.

-

idk what this is like I had a plan for this whole story and this wasn't part of it??

I hope this makes sense??