A/N: Final chapter! I hope you've enjoyed reading. Thanks for all the reviews! Any final comments are much appreciated!

Hank arrived back from New York, completely exhausted by the trip. "Henry!"

Evan accosted him the moment he walked in the front door. "I'm so glad you're back! I cannot live through another week with Divya by myself. Do you know what she told me the other day? She said that-"

"Evan," Hank held up a hand, "I have just had one of the most stressful weeks of my life. Could you possibly give me just one moment to actually get inside and relax?"

Evan opened his mouth.

"That wasn't actually a question," Hank informed him as he moved past his brother and into the guest house.

"So, what's the deal? You still have your license right?" Evan asked as Hank set his bag on the couch and went to the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Yes Evan, I still have my license. Although I'm not sure how I feel owing Boris yet again," Hank mused.

"If it keeps us here longer, I'm all for it," Evan said. "I never want to go back to the city again."

"I have to admit, I'm definitely starting to see the perks of living in the Hamptons," Hank said. "New York seemed so crowded and noisy."

"Exactly!" Evan said enthusiastically, "Henrietta, I do believe you are finally beginning to see reason. Now, hold onto your stethoscope. You, me, party in West Hampton tonight."

"Evan, I am not going with you to a party," Hank said. "Remember what happened last time?"

"Yeah, you saved a girl's life, we ended up with an amazing house, no rent, and new jobs. Bam!" Evan cried. "You're welcome."

"Ev, all I want to do tonight is get something to eat and go to bed. You and West Hampton will just have to party without me," Hank said.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Evan called. "Henry, I really think you should reconsider."

Tucker Bryant appeared in the doorway. "Hey Tucker," Hank said, pleased to escape his brother's clutches.

"Hey guys," Tucker's voice sounded hoarse.

He stepped closer and Hank immediately grew concerned. Tucker's eyes were red and puffy and he looked pale. "What's wrong?"

"I, um, can I talk to you for a minute?" Tucker asked uncomfortably.

"Yeah, yeah, Evan could you…?"

"I'll just, uh, go for a walk," Evan said with unexpected tact.

This did not prevent him from looking curiously over his shoulder as he went to the door. "We'll finish this conversation later, Lawson," he threatened as he pulled the it closed.

"If this is a bad time…" Tucker began.

"Your timing could not have been better," Hank reassured him. "What's going on, Goose? Are you okay? Are you sick?"

He reached to put a hand on the boy's forehead. Tucker waved him off.

"No, I'm not sick. I um, I dropped my dad off the other day, you know," he looked like he was barely holding himself together. "And, at first I was okay. Because I felt like I was doing the right thing, you know? But then, I started thinking and I just haven't been able to stop."

Tucker took a shaky breath. "Thinking about what?" Hank encouraged.

"I'm just so…messed up inside right now," Tucker said. "And I was driving around, and I thought that maybe, you could help me. Because I just, I don't know anymore, Hank."

He swallowed hard. "I hate him. I just hate him right now. And I don't want to but I-"

A sob escaped Tucker's throat and he broke down into tears. Hank's heart squeezed in pain at the sight of the boy so completely destroyed. He pulled Tucker into a hug and let him sob into his chest. He let the boy cry, knowing it had been a long time coming and was a much needed emotional release.

It was several long minutes before Tucker's sobs began to subside. He finally pulled away from Hank, sniffing and wiping his eyes in embarrassment. Hank reached over and grabbed a tissue, handing it to his young friend. "Thanks," Tucker said. "Sorry."

"Here, sit down," Hank said. "You don't need to be sorry. I'm here for you, Goose. Tell me what's on your mind."

"I just," Tucker searched for the right words, "I don't understand. How could he think I wouldn't notice he was using on the safari? How could he do that to me?

"You know he's broken almost every promise he's ever made to me? He's missed my birthday every year since I was nine. And I've spent the last six Christmases at my grandparents. And then there's always some spectacular present to make up for it. But they can't. They can't ever make up for it."

"No, they can't," Hank agreed.

Tucker looked at him miserably. "I can't stand feeling like this. I hate him so much right now, and it makes me feel sick. I don't want to be this mad at him, but I can't help it. Why can't he just be like everyone else's father? It's just not fair."

"No, it's not fair," Hank said quietly. "It's never fair. You don't deserve this."

"And the worst part is, it's all my fault," Tucker told him.

Hank's face instantly pulled into a frown. "No it isn't, Tucker," he said firmly.

"Yes it is!" Tucker cried. "I know it is! If I hadn't been born with hemophilia, my dad wouldn't have gotten so upset that he needed to take pills and drink. He would have stayed home with me instead of traveling all the time. We would have been a family. A real family. Everything that's happened is my fault."

"Tucker, look at me," Hank said forcefully. "Look at me!"

Tucker finally lifted his head and met the doctor's eyes.

"There is nothing that you could do that would make you deserving of the way your father has treated you. You are not responsible for the decisions that he makes. No matter what he says. You are not responsible for anyone's choices but your own."

"Then why do I feel like I am?" Tucker asked desperately.

"Because you love him," Hank said quietly.

Tucker sat quietly, still not looking convinced. Hank sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Tucker, you know I have issues with my Dad, right?"

Tucker nodded. "I want to tell you the whole story."

Hank took a deep breath. "My dad is a gambler, and a swindler, and has never worked an honest day in his life. When I was fifteen my mom," Hank paused as his throat tightened, "my mom got cancer. By the time they found it…there wasn't much they could do. Two days after her diagnosis my dad went out to the grocery store and never came back. Evan was twelve and he cried every night for a month. I watched my mom try to be strong for us. But every day she just got weaker and sicker and then she was gone. And I thought that I had let everybody down. If I had been a better son, a better brother, then my dad would have stayed and my mom would have lived.

"But the truth is, I couldn't save my mom. And there's nothing in the world that would have kept my dad from leaving. It's taken me a long time to realize that. There are still days that I feel horrible about it. But you know what? It doesn't change anything. And the only thing I can do is keep going. And make sure that the choices I make are better than the ones that my father did."

Tucker sat for a moment letting this new information sink in. "Are you ever afraid that you'll…be just like him?"

Hank knew they had found the core of what was bothering Tucker. "Sometimes," he said honestly. "But the day my father left I promised myself that I would never be like him. I would make better choices. I would live my life helping people, not hurting them. I can't say that I've been perfect, but I have done my best to live honestly and work my hardest. And personally, I think that makes all the difference. Goose, it's not our DNA that determines who we're going to be. It's our choices that make us who we are. And you've already made some really great choices."

Hank smiled and put a hand on Tucker's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Goose."

Tucker let out a breath. "Thanks, Hank," he paused, looking slightly ashamed. "I'm really sorry about everything I said. I never got a chance to talk to you with the whole dad almost dying thing. I should have trusted you. I just really wanted to believe that this time would be different. That he was actually going to come through for once. It was stupid."

"Not stupid," Hank shook his head. "He's your dad, Tucker. Of course you wanted to believe the best of him."

"I don't know if I can forgive him for this one."

"Goose, I don't know where my dad is," Hank said. "I can't do anything about that relationship. But there's still time for you and your dad. And from talking with him, I know he wants to fix things with you. He just, doesn't know how. I'm not going to tell you what to do. But I'll tell you from personal experience, staying bitter does not make your life any happier."

Tucker sat for a moment and then let out a laugh, finally breaking the tension. "Is there anything you don't know about?" he asked with a glimpse of a smile.

Hank pretended to think. "Now that you mention it, no I don't think there is," he joked. "Are you hungry? I'm thinking pizza. Pizza always makes me feel better."

"Sounds good to me," Tucker replied. "The way you guys take care of me though I'm going to have to start paying room and board."

"That can be arranged," Evan said making a perfectly timed entrance. "Are we eating tonight or what?"

"Yes, Evan we are eating pizza," Hank said, going for the phone.

"Henry! There had better be some normal pizza for the normal people here!" Evan called running after him. "None of that extra veggie pizza substitute that you eat! Give me the phone."

"No!" Hank said indignantly, holding it above his head.

"Did you really just forget that I'm taller than you?" Evan asked incredulously.

He grabbed at the phone and the brothers began to grapple. "Vegetables are good for you!" Hank grunted.

"Vegetables are for salad. They are unnatural on pizza!" Evan gasped, wrenching the phone from his brother's grasp. "Haha! Better luck next time, Henrietta!"

"From grown up to four year old in under sixty seconds," Tucker teased, coming to sit on a bar stool.

Hank shrugged good-naturedly. "You have to communicate with people on their level."

He ducked as Evan, now ordering on the phone, threw a pillow at his head. "Yes that's extra cheese and pepperoni," he emphasized, grinning wickedly.

Hank sighed. "Ah family. Can't live with them…"

"Can't live without 'em," Evan said, as he hung up the phone. "You know you love me, Henry. Pizza will be ready in twenty minutes."

"Perfect!" Hank said. "What do you want to drink, Goose?"

"Milk's great," Tucker said as Evan went off to call Paige. "Hank, what you said before about trying to do better than your dad did? You do, you know. Not just for me; for everybody here in the Hamptons. Without you saving our lives…who knows where we'd be."

Hank smiled. "Thanks, Tucker. You know, I never really thought about it, but I guess I owe the Hamptons a thank you. I was at rock bottom when I came here. In a way, I owe all of you for saving my life. Or at the very least, my career in medicine."

"I guess we're all even then," Tucker said with a grin.

Hank nodded. "Yeah, I guess we are."