(BL)Alpha Made-Chapter 297: No crying

"I’m sorry. I don’t know what overcame me." Dr. Cox sobbed while Maria, bless her, rushed to wrap the other woman up in her arms.

"Oh hush. Don’t even worry about such a small detail. Clearly, you’ve been keeping this inside. Damn it, Andy, why do even your colleagues share similar traits to you?" Maria joked, but her tone had lost a bit of its humour. Andrew wasn’t as surprised as he should have been at her outburst.

While Dr. Cox had taken on the added responsibility that had been shoved her way by the other managers without complaint, Andrew knew that wasn’t always a good thing. She already had a plate full, and while he had a feeling that Dr. Liu knew a bit more about what her personal life was like considering that it appeared that had an open line of communication, that couldn’t be true for the rest of the manager team.

Dr. Cox hadn’t even hinted that she had an issue with taking over while Richard was in heat and manifesting. But Andrew had seen over the last few days how that had kind of been her breaking point. She was exhausted, and not just some basic level of exhaustion.

She was bones deep exhausted. The kind that had to have been going on for a long time before now. It was in her, an everyday part of her. Andrew had seen how she had taken medication almost every lunch like clockwork and Andrew would put money on the fact that it was probably some kind of pain medication.

She was a Doctor, she knew she shouldn’t be relying on that kind of stuff to get through her day, but she was also a single parent and from what Andrew had seen, probably had no family to fall back on to rely on for anything. That, or she was like Maria had implied, unable or unwilling to rely on others. Andrew would bet that it was a mixture of both.

Andrew shrugged at Maria’s comment, Hewett in his arms smiling at Andrew warmly as he moved.

"I honestly didn’t get to choose, Maria. Max just told me I was working here, and who was I to argue? It’s his company, he knew best where to put me." Andrew told her and Maria sighed while Dr. Cox tried desperately to collect herself, but was unable to. Dr. Piper got out of her chair, concern on her face, in her movements as she moved around her desk and went to Dr. Cox. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

"Ainsley, I’m sorry I told Andrew about it. I just-I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I promise. I just wanted to talk about it with someone. It was so unfair what was happening to you, and I didn’t think it was a negative thing. Andrew’s not a bad guy, and he wasn’t doing it just for you. I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to make you cry." Dr. Piper apologised and Dr. Cox shook her head.

"It wasn’t just what you said, but just-" She cut off, looking as if she found speaking difficult. She was trying so hard not to sob, to keep even a fraction of her composure. Andrew felt for the woman. She was trying to do everything on her own. Keeping it all together for not just her, but her daughter. Andrew had seen what his Mom had to do to do the same. He had an incredible amount of respect for her, but there was one difference.

His Mom, even if only by a fraction, had relied on the people around her.

Andrew wasn’t going to try to force her to be like his Mom. Not by a longshot, but he did think that she either wasn’t aware of everyone wanting to help her, who were offering her open hands, no strings attached kind of help, or she had been so severely burned by her ex and she hadn’t given herself a chance to heal and instead shut everyone else out.

"Dr. Cox, if you are feeling upset, please blame me instead of Dr. Piper. I truly went out of my way to make sure you didn’t have a negative reaction to the help that I wanted to give you. I knew that I was doing something you didn’t want me to do. I apologise for that. I just..." Andrew sighed. "I won’t lie and say that I didn’t see myself in you and your daughter." Dr. Cox paused, turning to look at Andrew as he gave a slightly bitter smile.

"What?" She sounded shocked, and a little suspicious. Andrew didn’t give her time to let her mind wander.

"My Mom was also a single parent. My father uh, well, he was a true alpha, as I’m sure you can make the assumption." Andrew said, the words feeling bitter and hard in his mouth. They were in the alpha department, they had to have known that. "She had a hard time raising me. It wasn’t because I was a difficult kid, it was just..." Andrew sighed. "She never said it, but it sounded like she had no family to rely on. But, she had friends that she could lean on for support. I only learned later in life that Kim was related to me, but she helped my Mom out as much as my Mom helped her out. I feel like that might be the reason why the Firm is still named after my Mom’s wishes." Andrew told her.

Maria, who had personally known his Mom, smiled softly.

"She was a strong woman, who raised a good, caring son." She said softly and Dr. Cox softened slightly.

"I apologise for seeing you like my Mom. I promise it wasn’t in a belittling sense. Not at all. I was just wanting to offer some support. It’s hard being a single parent. I just wanted to lighten your load slightly." Andrew told her and Dr. Cox stared at him, Maria’s arms still around her and Dr. Piper was reaching out to touch her shoulder in comfort and support.

Another wall crumbled and Dr. Cox put her head in her hands and sobbed. Hewett, bless his soul, took it upon himself to reach out towards the crying woman. Andrew glanced at Maria, unsure what he should do but Maria just nodded and motioned for Andrew to come over with Hewett.

Hewett reached towards Dr. Cox, his little hands spread wide, his eyes big and sincere.

"Crying?" He asked, his voice soft and concerned. Dr. Cox let out a mixture of a sob and a laugh. She wasn’t able to speak so she just nodded. Hewett patted her face, his touch a little hard and Maria softly murmured,

"Gentle, Hewie." Hewett’s face scrunched up as he concentrated and he nodded at his Mom’s words.

"No crying." Hewett said to Dr. Cox rather seriously and Dr. Cox let out a rough laugh. Maria was trying not to laugh at the whole situation, and Andrew could tell that Dr. Piper was also fighting a smile. Andrew wasn’t handling it any better.

"It’s not that simple baby. Sometimes people cry. That’s okay, right? You cry." Maria told her son, taking him from Andrew’s arms so that he could be near Dr. Cox without strain on Andrew’s back.

Hewett nodded, but didn’t take his eyes off of Dr. Cox. He was so serious, so focused that Dr. Cox wasn’t able to continue crying for long. Her own motherly instincts didn’t want to make the small baby sad, or more stern. Andrew wasn’t quite sure what Hewett was feeling.

"I’m sorry for causing a scene." Dr. Cox said quietly. "I know we have a lot of work to do without Dr. Gates around, but I’m...struggling. The daycare is just so damn far away and I feel like I’m letting you guys down every time I leave early." She let out a sigh. "It’s also not a great fit. Bella hasn’t been having a good time. Getting her to go has been a nightmare. She cries every morning but there are no other places open. I’m just..." She trailed off and Andrew felt his body stiffen.

Yeah. The daycare was a priority. Maxwell’s people shouldn’t be struggling like this. Maxwell would agree when Andrew told him about this. Not as his boss, but as his partner. Maxwell would be horrified when he heard about Dr. Cox’s struggle. He’d probably begin searching for good daycare managers.

"Dr. Cox. Ainsley. I know we don’t know each other well, but..." Maria reached out, giving her other shoulder a squeeze, her eyes warm. "I’m currently taking care of Hewett at my house. It’s just me and a few cleaners who help out around since Zack insisted on a huge estate. I know you might be uncomfortable with this, but I wouldn’t mind taking Bella in as well. As I said, Hewie liked her, probably would love to have a companion. I can do pick ups and drop offs. I have time since I’ve taken a step back from my other boards for the moment. We can discuss payments and other things, but I would be willing to do it for far less than market value because I don’t need it. I just want to make sure Hewie is well taken care of, and isn’t being taken advantage of because he’s a good boy." Maria offered.

She was speaking softly, warmly, but Dr. Cox was stunned. She clearly hadn’t expected something like this, while Andrew wasn’t surprised in the slightest. Maria offering to help out someone she barely knew? That sounded like Maria. If Andrew asked about it, she’d probably say something about how ’Dr. Cox just had the right vibe, you know?’

"I-I couldn’t possibly-"

"You could." Maria cut of Dr. Cox’s complaints, her voice kind, but firm. "You really could. You aren’t taking advantage of me. We could even do a trail run, a tour of my house too. I don’t mind, and I’m sure my husband wouldn’t care either. If it is causing you this much stress, and Bella isn’t in a place that is a good fit for her, I want you to be able to have options for her sake. I know it’s hard to trust others, but I promise, I can give you any information that you need, any confirmation that you want." Maria told her.

Dr. Cox was at a loss. Dr. Piper spoke up.

"Ainsley, please. We know we messed up, but we just care about you. If it doesn’t work out, at least you tried, right? You can just tell the daycare that a family member wants to visit with Bella for a few days before you pull her out, right? You don’t need to cancel everything right away." Dr Piper said and Maria nodded.

"Exactly. This also doesn’t need to happen tomorrow. You can let me know." Maria turned to the desk where Dr. Cox was sitting and with one hand wrote down her name, phone numbers, address, and any other information that she would need. Maria pulled it off of the sticky notepad she had been writing on and stuck it to the edge of one of Dr. Cox’s monitors. "You can text or call whenever you make a decision. Please think about it, Ainsley." Maria told her, her eyes smiling while her face was firm. "Alright, I think I’ve done enough damage. Andy, can you show me out? It’s almost Hewie’s naptime and I want to get him into his car seat before that happens. Otherwise he’s a beast." She joked, turning to Andrew.

Andrew’s lips twitched. Yeah, she was a bit of a whirlwind, but Andrew was happy she was. It was good to see her like this. The time apart had really shown him how she had grown into a strong woman, and he was glad for it. He was sure his Mom would have been happy to see her blossom like this too.

"I can do that." Andrew said with a smile. "I’ll be back shortly, you two." Andrew called towards the other women. Dr. Piper nodded while Dr. Cox sat there, a little shocked. Andrew was sure she was going to have questions when he came back.