Disclaimer: I do not own the things. Like Hetalia. Or anything I based this story off of which will be listed below.
Author's Note: I had to read My Sister's Keeper for school recently, and that, coupled with reading The Fault In Our Stars on my own time gave me the idea of PruCan and disease. Then I watched The Bucket List, and, well, basically all of my favorite parts of those three things will be in this story. I hope it comes together as nicely as I think it will! I have up through the fourth chapter written thus far, so hopefully I'll have this entire story done in a short amount of time. This first chapter is more of a prologue than an actual chapter, but it has necessary information to the story, so; without further ado, I give you... this.
Arthur paced back and forth in the oncologist's office, waiting for the doctor to return with their results. His husband sat nervously biting his nails and watching their kids read comic books.
"Hey Maddie, you've read this one, right?! Superman is totally getting his ass kicked!" Alfred exclaimed, his feet swiftly kicking as they dangle from his chair.
"Alfred, what have your father and I told you about that language?" Francis gave him a sharp look.
Looking slightly ashamed, he muttered a quiet, "sorry, Papa." before turning back to his sister.
"Maddie! What's gonna happen?! Tell meee!"
"Alfred," she said, clearly annoyed at having her reading interrupted, "I haven't read that one. And you'll probably find out in like two pages anyway."
Alfred frowned at his little sister, and turned back to his book.
The doctor entered, and did not look Arthur or Francis in the eye as he sat down at his desk.
Arthur's nerves got the better of him, as he began to question the doctor. "Well? Are we going to get some answers or not? What the bloody hell is wrong with my daughter?! Why does she keep needing all these damn blood samples taken? She's fine, isn't she?!"
Francis turned to face Arthur, "Calm yourself for a moment, cher. Come sit with me, I am sure he is going to explain everything." He calmly said as he shot the doctor a pleading look. Arthur went to sit with them, and felt as though he were going to throw up.
Nothing could be wrong with his baby, could it? His beautiful baby girl was fine, wasn't she? She was healthy enough at her hockey game two weeks ago; that bruise from falling on the ice only stayed because she fell so hard, didn't it?
The doctor looked up at them for the first time to say, "Mr. Kirkland, Mr. Bonnefoy, I am afraid to tell you that your daughter has leukemia."
Francis grabbed Arthur's hand as both of their worlds come crashing down. Their daughter? Sweet, baby Maddie? At ten years old? Both men turned to face their children, still absorbed in their comic books, who probably hadn't heard or understood anything that just happened. Arthur noticed tears building in Francis's eyes, and, fighting back his own, gave his hand a not-so reassuring squeeze.
They were silent a few minutes, until Arthur hesitantly asked, "What can we do about it?"
The doctor then proceeded to outline their options. Luckily, they caught Madeline's cancer quickly enough that chemo and a bone marrow transplant would likely send her into remission. The type of leukemia she had; AML, had a very high cure rate. Her chances of survival, at this point at least, he said, were very good.
They learned that a donor could be found through a national registry; however someone related to her would likely yield better results with the transplant. Since the Kirkland-Bonneyfoy children are adopted, the only blood relative of hers was Alfred. It's a long shot, they are told, but in the end it is decided to have him tested to see if he is a match for his sister.
Several hours later, they were back in the same room, with Alfred complaining about how "that dumb old nurse just stuck me for no good reason!" Madeline rolling her eyes at her brother's antics, and their parents both nearly losing their minds with worry.
The doctor once again walked in, this time with a more promising look on his face.
"Gentlemen," he said, "you have incredible luck. Your son Alfred is a match to his sister."
Arthur let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding, and pulled Francis into his arms, resting his head against the taller man's chest. Francis hugged him back, and rested his chin on top of Arthur's head.
"We will get through this, cher," he muttered, quickly pressing a kiss to the top of his husband's head.
Alfred noticed this, and expressed his opinion with a loud,"EW! DAD! PAPA JUST KISSED YOU!", to which his sister replied, "Shut up, Alfred. It's like in movies. If it's true love they can kiss, okay?"
Despite the severity of their situation, Francis couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped him. She's going to make it, he thought happily.
-o-O-o-
They decided to explain everything to their children the next night over dinner.
"Alfred, Madeline, your father and I would like to talk to you." Arthur said, hoping he didn't sound too foreboding.
Alfred groaned, "I already told you, Ivan made me fight him! He said Maddie couldn't play hockey cause she's a girl and-"
"Alfred," Francis interrupted," that is not what we wish to talk to you about; however I do wish to remind you again that fighting with Ivan is not the solution to your problems."
Alfred sighed and nodded his head. Madeline noticed her brother's frustration and to comfort him added, "Well, Al totally kicked his butt either way." Her brother smiled.
"Kids," Arthur said, clearly not wanting to have this conversation, "we wanted to talk about Maddie, mostly."
Maddie turned red, obviously thinking she was in trouble. Her father continued, "Madeline, dear, do you remember how we were at the hospital, getting your blood taken for a while this weekend?" She nodded.
"Well, the doctor has told us something rather...ah... Unusual. You see, the doctor says that you've got something called leukemia." He struggled to both explain this to his child and keep his composure, "what that means is that your blood is sick, and we need to make it all better."
Francis noticed his husband struggling to speak and decided that it was his turn to jump in.
"Do you both understand so far?" He received nods in answer. "Good. Now, here is the hard part, darlings. Madeline needs something called a bone marrow transplant to get better. Do you know what bone marrow is?"
Alfred nodded enthusiastically, "It's the stuff in your bones that gets radioactive and gives you superpowers!"
Maddie's face lit.
"Dad! Papa! Am I gonna get super powers?!"
Her brother was not happy. "No way, you loser! We agreed that I get them first 'cause I'm oldest!"
"Yeah well I got leukemia so I get them first!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Both of you, be quiet!" Arthur cut them off, "neither of you is getting super powers because that is not what bone marrow does! Bone marrow-"
"Yeah-huh it does, Dad! It was in Teen Titans!" Alfred argued.
"Alfred John Kirkland-Bonnefoy. Be quiet right this instant and stop interrupting, this is important!"
"Kay, fine. I was just trying to use science."
"Now, as I was saying, bone marrow is something in your bones that helps you make healthy blood, and Maddie needs it, because right now she can't do it on her own."
Maddie frowned at this.
"Someone will have to give her a little of theirs, and it will have to be someone who has special stuff in their body similar to hers, only healthy. Now this is where you come in, Alfred. Remember how the nurse took some of your blood as well, as a sample?"
"Yeah. I didn't like her. She was dumb."
"Alfred, you need to be a bit more kind to people, non?" Francis responded. Alfred ignored him, so he continued where Arthur left off, "Alfred, you have the right kind of bone marrow for Madeline. You can give a little to your sister to help her feel better, if you choose to. Your father and I don't want to force you into this, but we want you to think about it, at least, and if you don't have an answer now, you can tell us later what you've decided, okay?"
Alfred nodded.
"Do either of you have any questions?" Arthur asked.
Both of his children are silent moment, until Maddie asked, "Dad... Am I gonna die?"
Neither Arthur nor Francis could respond for a moment, thrown off guard. They knew very well that she could, but neither had expected their children to ask this particular question. Finally, Arthur answered, "No, no, I don't believe you will."
They finished the rest of their meal in silence.
-o-O-o-
Alfred lay in his bed, thinking. He had heard the word leukemia before. He knew he had. It was driving him nuts, and he finally climbed out of bed and walked over to his bookshelf. Amongst his comics, adventure stories, and fairy tales, was the dictionary his dad bought him, which he rarely used. He pulled it off the shelf, and flipped through it, before finding the page he needed.
"L... L-E... L-E-A... L-E-I... Aha! L-E-U! Leukemia!" He was very proud of himself for having found this word all on his own, as he usually needed to ask one of his parents for help. He scanned the definition, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. This said that leukemia is cancer in someone's blood... But dad said Maddie wasn't gonna die, didn't he? But cancer kills people...
For the first time, Alfred realized that maybe his father was lying to him. This was a rather difficult thing to wrap his eleven-year-old mind around. What kind of parent lies to their child? Angrily, he slammed the book shut and stormed down the hallway, towards his parents room. He barreled straight in to the room where his parents were sleeping and threw his dictionary straight onto the bed.
Unfortunately for Arthur, it landed directly in his lap, and he was awakened most painfully. Confused and in pain, he looked around to see what could have possibly happened, when he saw two things. The first was Alfred's dictionary on his lap, and the second was a very angry Alfred, arms crossed, glaring at him.
"Alfred dear, it's one in the morning, can't this wait?"
"You lied to me. You and Papa both lied to me. And Maddie."
Arthur's poor sleep addled mind was becoming more and more confused as the minutes drag on. What was going on with his son?
"Alfred what on earth are you talking about?"
"You both said that Maddie wasn't gonna die. And guess what? I looked up that thing you said she has, and guess what? The dictionary says it means cancer. Cancer kills people, dad."
Arthur blinked, and stared at his child. How was he to explain his lie from earlier in the evening? He was silent a moment before answering.
"Alfred... When Spider-Man is trying to save that train full of people in the movie, what does he say to the people?"
"He tells the people that they'll be fine, 'cause he's got 'em. But dad that doesn't-"
"And why does he do that?"
"'Cause he's the hero and he doesn't want 'em gettin' too scared. But what's that got to do with-"
"And does he know for sure that he can save them?"
"Well, no, but he's doing his best cause that's what heroes do. I still don't get what that has to do with anything though."
"You see, that's sort of what we were trying to do. We don't know if Maddie will be okay or not, but we didn't want to scare either of you, because we don't know what will happen. Do you understand now, Alfred?"
"Kinda, I guess. But you still coulda told us that leukemia means cancer or something."
"Yes, I suppose we could've. I'm sorry, son. We should've been more honest with both of you. I suppose we'll tell your sister in the morning."
"Dad no!"
"But you just said-"
"I know what I said! But Maddie doesn't have to know! Don't tell her!"
"Alfred this does have a good deal to do with your sister, don't you believe she has as much right to know as you?"
"I guess so. But still don't tell her 'cause she's too little to understand this stuff."
"She's only a year younger than-"
"Shhh. Dad, go back to sleep," he gently pushed his father back to a sleeping position, "she doesn't have to know 'cause I'm gonna give her my bone stuff and make her better. We'll be like Spider-Man, 'kay?" Alfred tucked his father in awkwardly, trying to appear mature. In reality he was making Arthur fight tears and laughter all at once.
Arthur, who was again slightly confused, replied with a quiet, "okay."
Alfred retrieved his dictionary and proudly marched back to his room, where he finally achieved sleep.
Arthur didn't sleep for the rest of the night, wondering what he could have possibly done to have been blessed with such wonderful children.
-o-O-o-
Months later, they were in the hospital again, their little Madeline hairless from her chemotherapy and waiting for both she and Alfred to go in for surgery.
Maddie didn't want her Daddy and Papa to worry, but she was scared. She asked them to bring her bear, Kuma, to the hospital for her. She told them she couldn't be here without it, but the truth is she was too scared to be there without it. What if a doctor accidentally killed her with all his sharp, pointy surgery stuff? Kuma protected her from monsters under her bed, so she knew he was brave enough to keep her safe in the hospital. But what if Alfred got hurt? She didn't want her brother to get hurt because of her... Maybe he should've taken Kuma, just in case. Anyway, she was the sick one, right? The doctors can't hurt sick people. But they can hurt healthy people by accident. She sat in a hospital bed, while the doctors prepared for her transplant surgery.
"Papa..." She said quietly. Her papa looked up from the pamphlet the doctor gave him.
"Oui, cher?"
"Can... Can you take Kuma to Alfred for me?"
He was slightly puzzled by his daughter's request. "Of course, but I thought you said you need him, didn't you?"
"Oui, Papa, but then I remembered that doctors can't hurt sick people. But they could hurt a healthy person by accident, so Kuma needs to protect Alfie instead of me."
Francis knew that no, his tears weren't going to spill over this time, he had cried too much in the past few weeks, and he was not going to let his daughter see him cry. Ces larmes veulent vraiment venir, n'est-ce pas? He stood, walked over to his little girl and hugged her tightly.
"Madeline, I am so proud of you. Je t'aime. Of course I will take your bear to Alfred."
Maddie hugged her papa back.
"Je t'aime too, Papa. Where's Daddy and Alfie?"
"They are in another room getting ready, Alfred cannot leave, but Daddy can. Would you like me to get Daddy for you?"
Maddie shook her head. "No, cause Alfie needs Daddy to be there with him. But when we go in, tell Daddy I love him, okay?"
Her papa nodded, and wondered how in the world he was ever blessed with such magnificent children.
cheesy ending is cheesy. But yes. Prologue done. More drama/pairings in upcoming chapters. I'm sad to say that this is the most we will see of Alfred for a couple chapters. Additionally, all of my translations come from either Google translate or my language textbook, so feel free to correct them. Most of the translations I use are just pet names or "I love you" though so unless there's something other than that mentioned, I won't be including translations at the end of chapters. thanks for reading and please feel free to review/favorite/follow as you do so please!
-Scotti