A/N: This story was requested by a few of my friend's at home so I thought I would try it. I hope that if they read this they will enjoy it. So here it goes. Happy reading!
Disclaimer: Only Samantha Jean Hardy belongs to me. Jeff Hardy belongs to himself, as does Matt Hardy and any other superstar or diva mentioned in the following story.
They knew it was coming. They had known for months, but it still didn't ease the pain. Jeff Hardy was dying and there was nothing he or his wife Samantha could do about it. She simply sat their in her chair beside his bed in the dimly lit hospital room. She watched him sleep as her mind drifted back to that horrible day.
Flashback: 11 Months Before
Jeff, Samantha and Matt all sat in the small exam room at the doctor's office. Jeff held his wife's hand firmly as they waited to hear from the doctor. Samantha's eyes were glued on the door. She stared at it in apprehension. The elderly man walked through the door holding the files in his hands. The look on his face was a look of remorse or regret. He looked at the three and could sense that they knew what was going on.
Jeff was the first to speak. "So which one of us is it?" he asked. "Which one of us is going to die?"
Jeff was unafraid of death. He knew it was nothing more than an inevitable part of life. He saw death as a chance for a rebirth in the afterlife, a chance to see his mother again.
The doctor looked at him in shock of his courage; the thought of death had left him practically emotionless. No fear or pain was present in his eyes. "Well as you know," the doctor began, "it has been recently discovered that there is a one in two chance that one of you carries the gene that caused the cancer that killed you mother." "Now I want you both to know that you both carry this gene but only one of you has actually developed the disease." he said.
"Just stop with the medical mumbo jumbo and tell us who it is already." Jeff replied.
Samantha slapped her husband on the leg in reply. "That wasn't necessary Jeffery," she mumbled.
"Well," the doctor began again. "It is not uncommon for the first-born to only be a carrier and the next be affected." "That is the situation that we face here."
"So it's me." Jeff replied.
The doctor nodded a simple reply as he watched the situation around him unfold.
Samantha collapsed into her husband's arms in tears. She lifted her head from his arms to look at the doctors though her tear-filled eyes. "How long?" she asked him.
"Due to the progression of the disease and the time at which it was caught, I would say about anywhere from six months to a year." the doctor told her.
Again, her body fell into his arms as she sobbed. Her words were incomprehensible. She muttered a mix of no's and why's and other inaudible cries.
Jeff held her close as he whispered in her ear. "It's okay sweetheart, we can do this," he told her.
"I don't wanna lose you," she sobbed.
"I know you don't Sammy, but God has a plan for me and he's ready to take me now." Jeff replied. "My mom's ready to see me again." "I'll be up there with her and Jack, they need me."
"I need you too, Jeff." she sniffled. Her sobbed had ceased as she gathered her purse and coat to leave for home.
She was startled out of her dream-like trance by a soft moan coming from the bed beside her. She looked up at her husband as she realized how badly the disease had taken him over. His once sparkling emerald eyes were blank and dull, with not a speck of the determination that once resided there. His once glowing skin was now pale as a ghost, much like the ghost of his former self.
"You need somethin' honey?" she asked him.
"Water," he whispered hoarsely.
'Okay baby, hold on a second," she smiled. She tried her best to hide the pain and despair she felt. She walked over to the bedside stand and grabbed his ice water. She walked slowly back over to him as she slipped one hand behind him to lift him to sitting position. She brought the cup to his lips as he drank slowly. She pulled the cup away as he pushed it back toward her. She placed the cup back on the stand and helped Jeff back into a reclined position. This movement caused a soft moan in reply. "Oh, I'm sorry; did I hurt you sweetie?" she asked him.
"No, it's just hard for me to move now." he answered. "I'm sorry I'm such a burden now days." he said.
"You're not a burden Jeffery," she said. "I love you more than anything in this world you know that." "I just want to make you happy, and I don't care what that takes." She ran her hands through his hair, which for the first time in as long as she could remember was back to its natural blond roots. "I love you Jeffery Nero Hardy," she said. She placed a kiss on his fevered brow.
"I love you too Samantha Jean Hardy." he said. Samantha bent down allowing her husband to place a gentle kiss on her powder pink lips.
Samantha returned to her chair as Jeff drifted back off into a deep medicated sleep. Her mind once again drifted back to the horrors that the disease had brought her and her family.
Flashback: Three Weeks Before
Jeff stood in the ring, he was making a special appearance on ECW to tag up with his brother, Matt. Their match was an elimination tag team match against The Miz and John Morrison.
The match was fine in the beginning, although Jeff had told his brother earlier that night that he was feeling a little weaker than normal.
"Don't worry bro, I'll stay in the ring as long as I can; you won't have to do much." Matt told him.
"Okay, I think I can do that." Jeff replied.
It didn't end that way. Twenty minutes into the thirty-seven minute match, Matt was eliminated, leaving Jeff alone to face Miz and Morrison on his own. Jeff's weakened body wasn't able to handle the stress of the handicap match. The end of the match came and Jeff prepared for a perfect Swanton. He climbed to the top of the ropes and was just about to jump when his legs gave out below him. The shock of his weakened extremities sent him plummeting on to the canvas below. Referee Charles Robinson called for the bell, and Samantha rushed to her husband's side before the call was made.
Jeff was carried out of the arena on a stretcher.
The stress Jeff's body was under after that match caused him to have to give up the one thing he loved the most, his career. Samantha remembered the argument they had gotten into when she told him that Vince wanted to release him due to his condition. The thought of it still brought tears to her eyes.
Flashback: 3 Days Before
Samantha entered the small hospital room with tears forming in her eyes. Her eyes darted across the room, staring at the plain white walls. She tried to find something to look at other than her dying husband. She didn't want to tell him what Vince had said, she didn't want to break his heart.
"Jeff, honey we need to talk," she stammered.
"What's he doing with me, am I getting some new angle until I'm stronger, is he gonna say I'm suspended; what?" he asked.
"Um…honey, he…he thinks you're just getting too weak to wrestle…anymore, he's releasing you." she said. As soon as she finished speaking the tears began to flow. "He told me that because I have medical power of attorney over you, I had to sign a paper to allow the release and I…"
"You signed it didn't you?" he said. "You let them release me didn't you?"
"I'm sorry," she cried. "I had to do it."
"Why, why'd you do it?" he asked her. Tears began to form in his emerald eyes.
"I couldn't see you get hurt like that anymore, I couldn't watch you get weaker every time you stepped in that ring; I couldn't do it," she said.
"So what, you'd rather see me die miserable in this hospital room than in the ring doing what I love, is that it?" he replied enraged.
"I don't want you to die at all, Jeff, can't you see that!" she screamed. "I'm trying as hard as I can to keep you here with me, but you won't fight it, you won't try." "What, you don't care if you leave me behind, I don't matter to you anymore, is that what it is!"
"No, it's not like that, it's just" he was cut off.
"Just what, Jeffery?" she asked him. Her eyes left a cold stare on his form.
"I know I'm gonna die Sam, so what's the point?" he said. "What's the point when I know how it will end?"
"So you're giving up is that it?" she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "You're just gonna give up on me."
"I'm not giving up Samantha, I'm facing the facts." he replied. "I'm gonna die and there's nothing you or I can do about it."
Samantha stormed away from the room with tears in her eyes.
She sat there again as the tears fell like rain. She still hated the fact that she hadn't fought to keep "But no I had to be selfish didn't I?" she said quietly to hershim in the business. She knew that was what he wanted.
"You weren't selfish." Jeff's hoarse voice replied. He took her slowly by the hand as he used all the strength he had to comfort her. "You were looking out for me, I understand that now." "I was in shock at first," he said. "I wanted to go out with a bang, not like this; no one will remember me like this," there was a tear falling slowly down his cheek.
"Don't cry babe." Samantha said sweetly. "People will remember you Jeff, the fans love you."
"I know but I just don't want to be forgotten, you know." he told her.
Just then the doctor stepped into the room.
"Mrs. Hardy, we need to talk."
A/N: This was supposed to be a one shot deal but I decided to make it longer. Read, review, and vote on profile poll. Please?