Archive of Our Own ^beta

'Sam Keating's killer, Wesley Gibbins (22), committed suicide in Annalise Keating's house.'

Christopher was once again browsing the internet for information on his father. Hoping to find something positive and nice, but all he could find were the usual twenty-year-old newspaper articles he had already read countless times, labeling Wesley Gibbins as a mentally unstable serial killer.

He was looking at the photo of Wes that accompanied the article. It was like looking into a mirror. Same hairstyle, same eyes, same smile. Only Christopher didn't have a beard.

It was Christopher's 22nd birthday. He was now the same age his dad was when he died.

Christopher was sitting in his apartment in Providence. He moved there four years ago to study psychology at Brown University, following in his mother's footsteps. As far as Christopher was aware, mental health issues ran in the family: not only was his father struggling with his mental health, but his grandmother, Sandrine Castillo, had apparently been admitted to the psych ward multiple times before her death. Christopher was fascinated by it, so he chose psychology as his college major. He wanted to know what might have been going on in his father's head when he killed Sam Keating and Rebecca Sutter and himself, but after four years of studying, he still had no clue based on the little information he had.

His mother didn't like talking about Wes, and the only information Christopher could find was that Wes had a court-mandated psych evaluation, after which he was cleared to testify against someone called Charles Mahoney.

Every time he asked Laurel about Wes, she told him the same story. How he was a good person, how he hid his illness from her, how he never meant to kill Sam, and how he took the fall for his friends, including Laurel. Whenever Christopher asked further questions, she would shut down.

Christopher was dying to learn more about his father, and lately, his gut feeling had been pointing him in a different direction.

He knew that his parents met each other in their first year at Middleton Law School, where they both worked as interns under Annalise Keating. That was another thing newspapers often reported on: how Annalise Keating was on trial for the murder of Wes in November 2015, until that was ruled a suicide. She was on trial for the murder of her husband, Sam Keating, in the spring of 2017. According to the newspapers, the prosecution argued she manipulated his father into killing Sam Keating because Sam had cheated on her, and she forced his mother, father, and two other interns to cover it up.

Laurel didn't like talking about Annalise Keating either. The only thing she told Christopher was that she was a fierce lawyer, a difficult person, and she didn't kill Wes or her husband.

Christopher had stopped asking questions. But when he went back to Mexico last Christmas and looked through some old boxes, he found a photo of the day he was baptized. In the middle of the photo stood Laurel, holding him when he was six months old. On Laurel's left stood Annalise Keating, and on her right a man called Frank Delfino, who later murdered the governor of Pennsylvania moments after Annalise Keating won her trial. When Christopher dug further (a trait he seemed to have inherited from his father, as Laurel often agitatedly pointed out), he found out that Annalise Keating was, in fact, his Godmother.

Christopher had so many questions about his parents and Annalise Keating. He knew his father was an orphan, but how did he grow up? Why did he kill Sam Keating and Rebecca Sutter? Why did he commit suicide? Why did he burn Annalise Keating's house down? What was his relationship with Annalise Keating? Why was Annalise Christopher's Godmother, despite his parents being responsible for Annalise's husband's death?

He couldn't ask Laurel, so he was pondering contacting Annalise Keating. He found online that she was still living in Philadelphia and occasionally gave lectures at Middleton Law School, despite being retired for almost ten years now. But he also didn't want to hurt Laurel's feelings by going behind her back, so he decided to ask her one more time.

"Salud!"

Christopher had dinner with Laurel in Providence, the night of his graduation ceremony. They talked about his final semester, his exams, the girl he just broke up with, and then, finally, his plans for the future.

Christopher swallowed. "Ma," he carefully started, "I want to become a lawyer."

He was gauging Laurel's reaction. He could see the torn look in her eyes. She knew what he was going to say.

"Mijo," she started, but he interrupted her.

"Mamá. I want to go to Middleton Law School. Learn more about papá, and... maybe meet Annalise Keating."

Laurel was quiet for a while, staring at her dinner. So Christopher continued. He told her that he found the photo and wanted to know the truth about Wes. What kind of person he was, what his relationship with Annalise was, why he wanted to become a lawyer, why he killed Sam, Rebecca, and himself, and what mental health issues he had.

"I'm an adult. I can handle the truth." He had said.

After a while, she finally said, "Okay. I'll think about it."

A few hours after dinner, Laurel was sitting alone in her hotel room. She knew this day would come. Christopher had been asking more and more questions about Wes over the years. She was afraid he would go to Philadelphia on his own to dig for answers, just like Wes would've done. She knew she had to tell him the truth soon, and now that he's made up his mind about becoming a lawyer, it was time.

But it wasn't just Laurel's story to tell.

Christopher wanted to know more about Wes, and if anyone knew Wes well, it was Annalise. Laurel had never fully understood the bond between Wes and Annalise, but she knew they were very close, and Annalise loved Wes as if he were her own son.

Laurel hadn't spoken or seen Annalise since she won her trial, more than twenty years ago. The moment that Laurel saw Frank's bloody body on the courthouse steps, she rushed with Christopher to the airport and flew to Mexico. She saw later on the news that Frank had died, and so did Bonnie, who had tried to stop Frank. Sometimes, Laurel felt guilty for taking Christopher away from Annalise too, but she needed a clean start for Christopher's own safety. So she moved to Mexico and raised him far away from Laurel's past and family drama.

Laurel had left that part of her life behind her, but ten years ago, she started looking into what the remaining Keating Five were up to. Connor spent five years in jail, got back with Oliver, and was now apparently working for a corporate law firm. Oliver started a successful IT company. Michaela had changed her last name from Pratt to Vick and moved to New York, where she became a judge. As for Annalise, she was still living in Philadelphia, teaching at Middleton Law School, and taking on pro bono cases.

Laurel let out a sigh. A part of her was grateful to Annalise for trying to protect Wes and saving Christopher's life (something she hasn't told Christopher, yet). At the same time, she hasn't forgotten how manipulative Annalise could be. Did she really want Christopher bonding with Annalise? She had seen how possessive Annalise could be over Wes. But that was twenty years ago, and one reason why Annalise and Wes gravitated toward each other was that Annalise lost her son and Wes his mother. So it made sense.

Christopher didn't have the hard and lonely upbringing Wes had, Laurel made sure of that. But she also struggled with keeping the truth about Wes a secret from him.

After going back and forth for another thirty minutes, Laurel finally dialed the phone number of Annalise's law firm.

"Hello, this is Annalise Keating. What can I help you with?"

Laurel wasn't expecting Annalise to pick up the phone herself.

"Hello?" Annalise's voice sounded older than Laurel was used to, but Annalise's impatience shone through.

Laurel took a deep breath and said, "Hi, Annalise. It's Laurel."

Silence.

Laurel, unsure, kept talking. "Laurel Castillo? I was your intern in my 1L year, and, well, you know what happened."

Laurel remembered all too well what happened. How Wes killed Sam to protect Rebecca, how Laurel helped cover it up, how her ex Dominick blew up Annalise's house after killing Wes on her father's orders, how an Simon Drake got shot because Laurel wanted to steal data on her father's corruption, how Annalise saved Christopher's life, and how Laurel decided on the spot to testify for Annalise instead of against, by claiming Wes was mentally ill.

She could hear Annalise breathing on the other side of the phone. Of course, she remembered too.

After hesitating for a bit, Laurel continued. "Sorry for calling so suddenly... Christopher graduated from Brown today, eh... Psychology major... and he told me he wanted to go to law school. Middleton Law. He found his baptism records and knows you're his Godmother. He also keeps asking me questions about Wes, and he, uh.., he really wants to meet you..."

Still no word from Annalise, but Laurel could swear she heard something fall over the moment she said Wes's name.

"Christopher only knows that Wes was protecting us, but maybe... maybe we could tell him the truth together?"

Still no response. Just as Laurel opened her mouth to give Annalise her contact details, Annalise finally broke the silence.

"Okay," she said with a trembling voice. "I want to meet him."

A week has passed since Laurel called Annalise. They had called one more time to decide on what to tell Christopher, but after arguing back and forth, they decided to tell him the full truth. About Wes's past, Sam's murder, Wes's death, and how he took the fall for all of them. Christopher was Wes's legacy, and they wanted him to know everything.

Laurel and Christopher were sitting on a plane to Philadelphia. Tonight, they would check into a hotel, and tomorrow they would meet Annalise. Laurel was nervous, and she could tell Christopher was, too. She had decided to wait to tell him the full truth until they were in Annalise's apartment, but she did tell him that Annalise loved Wes like a mother, and was heartbroken after his death.

"What if she doesn't like me?" Laurel looked to her left. Christopher was looking at her with those large puppy eyes of his, a bit afraid. He looked more and more like Wes with every passing day.

"Don't worry, she will."

Maybe she should've told Annalise that Christopher looked like the spitting image of Wes.

Christopher took a deep breath as Laurel rang the intercom. They were standing in front of Annalise's penthouse, the same penthouse she moved in after her old house burned down more than twenty years ago.

"Annalise, it's Laurel and Christopher." Laurel calmly said.

"Come in," a raspy voice said. Christopher followed Laurel into the elevator, his heart beating faster with every floor they passed.

He was nervous to finally meet the woman whose name he kept stumbling across in newspaper reports and trial transcripts. But he was also excited to finally meet his Godmother and to learn the truth about Wes, and the crimes he supposedly committed.

When Laurel knocked on Annalise's door, Annalise opened it almost immediately. Her two large, brown eyes met Christopher's.

"Oh," was all Annalise could utter as she stood there, frozen. She had to cling to the door, her eyes never leaving Christopher's. He could see tears forming in her eyes.

Christopher, nervous, took a step forward and put out his hand in an attempt to shake hers.

"Eh, hi... I'm Chris--"

Before Christopher could finish his sentence, Annalise placed her hands on his cheeks. As if she had just seen a ghost and couldn't believe he was real.

"Oh," Annalise said again, as she gave him a warm, teary smile and stroked his cheeks. Christopher's heart started racing. He had no idea how to react. His arms hung limp against his body. He felt Laurel's hand on his shoulder.

Annalise seemed to notice Laurel's hand, too. She suddenly let him go and stepped back. "I-I'm sorry." Annalise quickly wiped her tears away. "You look just like your father," she said, the surprise ringing through her voice.

Christopher looked at his mom, who also seemed emotional, and was smiling at Annalise. "Yes, he really does, doesn't he?"

He could tell that Annalise was trying to hold the tears back. After a pause, she asked him, "Can I give you a hug?"

Christopher wasn't particularly fond of strangers giving him hugs out of the blue, but Annalise Keating didn't feel like a stranger at all. He could tell how much she loved his father. Did she cup his cheeks just like she did with his? Did she hug him, too?

The words "okay" had barely left his lips as Annalise embraced him. Christopher stood there, awkwardly patting Annalise on her back. After a minute, Laurel broke the silence, asking Annalise for a drink. Annalise let Christopher go, wiped her tears away, and let them into her home.

That night, Laurel and Annalise told Christopher the full story. Everything they knew about Wes. How he was an orphan, how he loved his girlfriend Rebecca and desperately tried to help her, how Sam was an accident, how Annalise convinced him to get rid of Sam's body (Christopher noticed the surprised look on Laurel's face when Annalise told him that), how Annalise took care of Wes, how Wes took care of Annalise, how Wes left Annalise a voicemail to tell her he was going to turn himself in when he realized the D.A. suspected Annalise, how he was murdered by Laurel's father shortly after, and how Annalise had convinced the D.A. that Wes was behind everything to protect herself and his mother. 

After years of browsing the internet and reading newspapers stating his father was a mentally ill serial killer, he finally learned the truth. Something positive and nice.

His papá had done everything he could to protect the people he loved. Wes Gibbins was a hero.