Newest oneshot, hope you like it! My mother cut out cable cord accidentally while she was gardening, and we've been cut off from the real world since... well... I lost count! But it's great to be back!
I'm down on my knees again tonight
I'm hoping this prayer will turn out right
See there is a boy that needs Your help
I've done all that I can do myself
It started out as a small headache. "Daddy... it hurts. Really bad." Tyler Bolton held his blonde head in his small hands and rocked back and forth on the edge of his bed. Sharpay pulled her son into her lap and squeezed him. There was nothing else they could do. He had gotten all of the children's asprin that he needed. All they could do was wait it out and hope the migraine would pass. "Please make it stop. Please?" Sharpay looked to Troy across the room with worried eyes. It was just a headache...
Right?
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The bright lights of the emergency room made it hard to drift off into sleep. That and the fact that their little boy hurt so much, that their last resort was rushing to the hospital. Tyler slept peacfully in his mother's lap while they waited for their test results. "I'm sure it's nothing, Sharpay." Troy gave Sharpay's hand a reassuring squeeze just as their doctor stepped into the room. Sharpay took in a deep breath, and wouldn't let it out. Not until they knew that everything was going to be okay.
Their doctor had a neutral look on his face as he looked over Tyler's test results once more. "There's no easy way of putting this..." Sharpay squeezed Tyler tighter against her body and he stirred in his sleep. "Tyler's migraine was just the common migraine. But unfortunately, we ran into something else while running his tests." Troy wanted to press a button and pause this moment. The doctor's next sentence held consequences too horrible to think about. "Tyler Bolton is suffering from cancer."
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"Do you feel any better, Tyler?" Sharpay asked as Tyler pulled his bed sheets up to his chin. It was their first night of knowing that everything was not okay. Tyler shook his head and looked to his worried father standing in the doorframe.
How were they going to tell him? Would he understand? Troy let millions of questions shuttle through his head. He watched as Sharpay kneeled at his bedside, stroking his hair.
His mother is tired
I'm sure You can understand
Tyler fell back into sleep, knowing that he just needed a night's rest. He would feel better in the morning. But what he didn't understand was why he could hear his mother sniffling and why she looked so frightened. He had gone to the hospital billions of times for check-ups, so what made this visit so different? "I love you, Mommy." he whispered, his eyes still shut, in hopes of making his mother feel better.
Sharpay bit back a sob, knowing Tyler's intentions were only to make her happy. "I love you too, Tyler." she whispered right at his ear, detecting her quiver in her voice. As his breathing steadied, she took his hand and let tears spring into her eyes.
Each night as he sleeps
She goes in to hold his hand
And she tries not to cry
As the tears fill her eyes
Troy watched it all, knowing that he wouldn't have been as strong as Sharpay. He blinked back tears. This was his son. Nothing bad was supposed to happen to him. And he was so young. He wondered if there was something they could have done early in life to prevent this from happening.
But all he wanted was to get through this.
Can You hear me?
Am I getting through tonight?
Can You see him?
Can You make him feel all right?
The hallway light flooding into Tyler's room exposed Tyler's parents hugging in the doorway. He heard a faint, "What are we going to do Troy?" But nothing was wrong! Tyler felt fine. He turned on his side and faced the window. "What are we going to do?"
Troy didn't know what to think or feel next. His son had cancer. Tyler Bolton, that bright little bundle of energy that always tracked mud into the house and was notorious for his tuna smoothies was being plagued with cancer. He felt that things like this weren't supposed to happen to people like them. In fact, everybody thought that way. That it would never happen to them. But this time, it did.
So the question remained: What were they going to do?
If You can hear me
Let me take his place somehow
See, he's not just anyone
He's my son
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It was two o' clock in the morning and one week since the trip to the emergency room that changed everything. He stood in Tyler's doorway like he did every night around this time and just watched him rest peacefully.
Sometimes late at night I watch him sleep
I dream of the boy he'd like to be
But this time, Troy took a step into Tyler's room. He was drawn to his sleeping son and found himself on his knees, gently running his hand over Tyler's bald head. They had already started chemotherapy and Tyler actually like his cut. Tyler stirred before snapping his eyes open to face his father. "What's wrong?" he finally mustered up enough courage to ask. Tyler had always been told that he shouldn't be afraid to ask anything but the worried air that had been cast over their heads for the week turned things around a bit.
Now, how do you tell a six year old that he would soon start dying from cancer? Troy bit his lip and pulled Tyler into his lap. He noticed that people had been doing that a lot lately. "Some things just aren't right, Tyler."
"You mean with me?" his blue eyes widened and turned a shade of navy. "You mean my body? Is that why you keep sending me to the doctor? 'Cause I feel fine." Troy stayed silent, blinking back tears again. He knew Tyler felt fine. Just for now, he thought, but quickly shook the thought from his head. "Tell me, Daddy... what is it?"
But speaking the words would definitely make them true. Maybe if Troy whispered it... "It's called cancer, Tyler." Troy's lips were pressed to his son's ear. "Cancer."
"Cancer?" Tyler repeated it, the words foreign to his lips. Troy nodded and squeezed his son, but Tyler couldn't find anything wrong, once again. He felt fine. "Is it bad?" Deadly, Troy thought. But his words couldn't be so blunt for such a little boy. Troy nodded again.
"Maybe." he answered. "But don't worry, Tyler, we're going to get through this."
I try to be strong and see him through
But God who he needs right now is You
Let him grow old
Tyler thought back to his mother constantly casting worried gazes in his direction, his dad always, always pacing the room. 'Maybe' became an understatement. "Dad...it's bad, isn't it?" he glanced sideways and upward when he felt a sudden drop of water hit his bald head. This was the first time he had ever seen his father cry. His mother, dozens of times. But his dad? Cancer. This still didn't make sense to him, but the less he knew, the more panicked and worried for himself he became. "Is it okay to be... scared?" he asked timidly.
Live life without this fear
What would I be
Living without him here
"You need rest, Tyler." Troy cleared his throat, wiped his eyes, and let Tyler slip off of his lap and back into bed. He went back to the doorframe as his son quietly went back to sleep. Troy let worries take him over once again. What if this became severe? And what if he didn't make it...
Troy's breath caught in his throat as that thought came crashing down on him like the boxes of toys stacked in Tyler's closet. He didn't want to think about this. At least not now. A new fear was growing in his son, and he didn't need to contirbute to it.
He's so tired and he's scared
Let him know that You're there
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How could Troy fall asleep so easily? Sharpay's head rested against his chest as her thoughts wandered back to Tyler back in the emergency room. The mental images of Tyler going limp in her arms played out in her head like a horror movie. She had been escorted out of the room once their doctor had arrived, and the tension was killing her. What was wrong this time?
Can You hear me?
Am I getting through tonight?
And before she knew it, she was sobbing hysterically. All she wanted was her son back, but she knew this was only the beggining. Troy stirred beneath her and she sat up, looking to a wide-eyed Troy. Before he could even ask, she answered. "I just want to take his place."she sniffled, letting another swell of tears take her over. Troy pulled Sharpay back to him and squeezed her, letting her know that he had the exact same feeling.
"Bolton?" a frazzled nurse emerged from the swinging doors, gripping her clipboard so tightly, that her knuckles turned a deadly white. "He wants you. All he says is that he wants you." but they were there before she could finish.
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"Don't leave me. Do you hear me?" Sharpay brought Tyler's small hand to her cheek as his blonde lashes fluttered. "Tyler!" she wailed.
Can You see him?
Can You make him feel all right?
"Dad, when this is all over..." Tyler started and gripped his father's hand. "We can go home, right?" his face was pale and his lips were purple, almost as if the life was being drained from him. It made Troy just as weak seeing his son like this.
If You can hear me
Let me take his place somehow
"I can't wait to go home." Tyler continued rambling and his voice became softer and softer. "And sleep in my own bed..." his eyes shut and his breathing became slower than usual. Troy squeezed Tyler's hand.
"Keep talking to me, Tyler." he begged. "Tell me more... please..." his voice quivered. Sharpay had completely lost it at this point. She didn't want to lose him.
See, he's not just anyone...
"We can go home, right?" he repeated, barely above a whisper. Sharpay clamped her hand over her mouth as she violently shook from tears. She vigorously shook her head. "I really want to go home..."
Can You hear me?
Can You see him?
"Tyler..." she stroked his head, not wanting to let him go. Troy, completely numb to his surroundings gripped Tyler's hand tighter.
Please don't leave him...
And Tyler gripped right back as his silent goodbye.
He's my son.
(the soft tune of twinkle, twinkle little star completes the song)
I don't know if I'm medically accurate with this fic, but still, you gotta admit... that was pretty sad, wasn't it?