I was searching through my documents and I found this depressing little story...What a great way to end the night! Anyway, this is inspired by Reba McEntire's, What Do You Say. The music video is pretty rad. :) I mean, it's sad, but I like it. :) I have actually known someone with cancer...However, they were a survivor. So, I have to dedicate this story to the most awesomest great aunt a teen could have; My Aunt Pam! I seriously can't imagine losing her just yet. Actually, when I was little, and this was when she was in the hospital, she said, "Now Shelby...Promise me this. When you get into your teenage years...Do not become a snot-nosed brat and respect your parents."
I actually vowed to keep that promise. And I remember telling her one night, "Aunt Pam...If all goes to worst...Will you tell me what Heaven is like?"
Haha! I was a naive child. But that memory is still plastered to my mind. So this is for Aunt Pam. :)
Enjoy! (And I probably will reply to reviews as PM's if they are on one-shots like this.)
What Do You Say
They didn't know she had it. It just came one day and she fell apart. Her husband was nervous for the future, but mostly for his wife. He was also worried about their two kids; one now a teenage girl and a young son. She didn't want to tell her kids the dreadful news. She just wanted them to live their lives to its extent and not worry about her closing life. She decided to be a better person, which her husband had already stated that she was.
Mal Fallon of the San Francisco Police Department, was upset about his wife's news. She had obtained cancer. A few weeks before, she wasn't feeling well. Mal had noticed she had lost quite a lot of weight and she was always tired. She had even stopped going to work so she could rest at home. It wasn't until the fever arrived that he made her go to the doctor.
"Natara, you need to go," Mal argued.
"Mal, I'm perfectly fine! Stop worrying so much," she replied and grabbed the TV remote.
Mal frowned and took the remote away from her. "Hey, give that back!"
"Natara..."
"Mal, I am not going to the doctor's office. I simply have no reason to go."
Mal sighed and sat next to Natara on the couch. "Natara, I'm just concerned. You've been really sick for the last few days."
"Yeah, and you're being rude. Now stop..."
"Natara! Listen to me; I think something's wrong."
When Mal said that, Natara stopped trying to retrieve the remote. She gave her husband a questioning look. "What do you mean by that?" she asked quietly, as if she already knew the answer.
"It's just this gut-feeling, Nat," Mal said and shook his head. "I've been wrong before, though. Please prove me wrong, Nat."
Natara took maybe a minute to consider this. She finally nodded. "Fine, I'll make an appointment tomorrow."
"Yeah...about that...I already made an appointment," Mal said, standing up quickly and taking a step back.
"Malachi Charles Fallon," Natara said, narrowing her glare.
"I was worried! You can't blame me."
So, Natara went to the doctor's the following morning and they released the bad news of cancer. Since Mal was at work, she didn't have someone to comfort her. In fact, she could barely walk straight. The news had hit her so hard, she couldn't focus. After much consideration, she called Mal, tears streaming down her cheeks as she sat outside of the doctor's office.
"Mal...please come and get me," she sobbed.
"Whoa, Nat, are you alright?" Mal asked. She could hear Amy and Kai conversing in the background.
"Hey, is Natara alright?" she heard Amy say.
"Hold on, Amy," Mal said and she heard him drift away from the two technicians. "Nat, what's wrong?"
"You were right, Ok! There is something wrong with me! I need you right now."
Mal was silent. When he spoke, his voice was quivering. "I'll be there in a few minutes Nat. I love you."
"I love you so much," she whispered and closed her phone.
Mal arrived at the scene around five minutes later. He didn't ask until after he gave his wife a tight, reassuring hug.
"I wanted so much to prove you wrong, Mal," she cried into his shoulder. "It's too late! I'm going to die!"
"Don't talk like that, Natara," Mal whispered, still holding her close. "Now, tell me exactly what's wrong."
"Cancer," she sobbed and covered her face. "I've got cancer."
Mal's heart fell. He couldn't believe it. No, he wouldn't! His wife wasn't dying...was she? "Natara, you're one of the strongest girls I know! This is just another obstacle in our lives. Remember Kira..."
When they had received news about Natara's pregnancy, they were more than excited. However, one night, they almost lost the baby, Kira, and Natara herself. She was really sick and the doctors didn't know for certain if either of them would make it out with their lives. That was the first time Mal prayed in years, begging for both of his 'angels' to live. They did, and Kira was healthier than most.
"Mal, it's nothing like that," she whispered. "I was just sick then. Now...I am not sure whether I will live or die."
Months passed and things changed drastically around the Fallon home. Mal and Natara were not sure how to tell their kids the truth, so they hid it. It was until little Jax found his parents hugging each other and crying. Natara had lost all of her beautiful hair and had worn a wig around everyone. When Jax saw his balding mother, he gasped loudly, catching the attention of both his grieving parents.
"Jax," Mal said quickly, "Mommy and I need a moment..."
"Mom! What happened to your hair?" Jax interrupted, horrified.
"Jax..." Mal added warningly, but Natara shook her head.
"Mal, we need to tell them. I don't have much longer anyway..."
That night, the Fallon family sat, huddled together, hugging and crying. Somehow, they all knew Natara wasn't going to make it.
A month later, Mal visited his wife in the hospital. Jax and Kira followed closely behind him. She looked horrible, though Mal wouldn't admit it. He took a seat next to her and she opened her eyes ever-so-slightly.
"Mal," she whispered, "remember the day we met for the first time..."
Mal smiled sadly. "How can I forget? I practically fell in love."
"I know," Natara replied. "Remember when Oscar dumped me...you called just to make sure things were OK? You had no clue what happened."
"It was a gut-feeling, Nat," Mal responded and gripped her hand.
"Remember our wedding night," Natara added and Mal cracked a real smile.
"Of course I do. I was one of the happiest men alive."
"And I was the happiest woman. I miss those days, Mal. I want to go back..."
"You don't know how much I agree with you, Natara."
He didn't turn away when he felt his eyes water. He loved her...he was willing to cry with her once more.
"Don't be upset..." she whispered. "I've lived a good life..."
"But I can't live mine without you..."
Natara smiled and she whispered the lyrics to a song she had always played in the car on the way to work. It was a little thing about her that Mal adored.
"What do you say in a moment like this? When you can't find the words to tell it like it is."
Mal closed his eyes and brought her hand up to his lips. After a small kiss, he continued the song.
"Just close your eyes and let your heart lead the way."
She smiled weakly and closed her eyes. Mal worried that she had passed on, but she whispered four final words.
"What do you say?"
Silence. Jax hugged his sister tightly and they both cried heavily. Mal was in shock, but stood his ground. As a few doctors entered the room to shut off the life support, he shook his head and whispered a reply.
"I would say so much more, Nat. I love you."