Disclaimer: I don't own anything
A/N: I loosely based this off of Calista Flockhart's cancer storyline on Brothers and Sisters
"I am really sorry; Ms. Grant but you have lymphoma. It's low grade so it is very treatable as long as we act fast." Dr. Gilbert says while explaining Cat's diagnosis. Kara is close to crying while Cat sits there with a very stoic look on her face.
"So, will she be okay? Kara asks with her voice breaking. She couldn't believe that Cat, the love of her life, has cancer. "I mean where do we go from here?" She asks as she glances at Cat, who she realizes has not said one word since they stepped into the exam room. Cat isn't exactly the most talkative person in the world, unlike herself, but she has never been this quiet.
"We will look over the treatment options, which we will do when you guys come in for your next visit. We normally like to give our patients a couple of days to really digest this information." He says as he takes his own glance at Cat.
Cancer is the word that keeps repeating over in her head. It sounds like someone was yelling it in her ear with a megaphone. Cancer, cancer, cancer, Yes, she had heard that the doctor said it was very treatable, but she still had cancer. All she could think about in that moment is how was she going to tell Carter. Her sweet little boy, Carter. He wasn't exactly little anymore as his 13th birthday had just recently passed, but no matter what, he was always going to be her baby. She truly had no idea how he would handle the news that there was a possibility, no matter how small, he could lose his mother. The only constant person that had been in his life since he had been born. His father made an effort the first couple of years but as Carter got older, he had stopped. He was upset that his son wasn't "normal" which the word he used was. He was upset that his son wasn't like him and wasn't a fan of sports and other things that most boys liked. Her mother never really cared about her but Cat figured that she would have at least made some kind of effort to even be a decent grandmother. It was wishful thinking on her part. Her mother never exactly kept it a secret that Cat was nothing but an unwelcome surprise. Her mother had never made time for her so she had no idea why she the thought that she would even try to get to know her only grandchild. It is true that Carter now has Kara in his life and absolutely adores her. He interacts with her the same way that he does with her. Since she came into their lives, he tells jokes and he actually hugs someone other than Cat, which she is so grateful for. Kara brought Carter out of his shell even more than his mother did. She is just so happy that someone else gets to experience just how truly amazing her son is. But at the end of the day, Cat is the one person that he knows will always be here. But at the moment, she is not so sure. When she sees a hand wave in front of her face she finally snaps out of her trance. She looks up and sees Dr. Gilbert and Kara looking at her concerned.
"So, cancer. If that will be all, we can go now. I have better things to do then to hear about this death sentence." She says with a cold and very sarcastic tone. Hopping down from the exam table, she grabs her purse and looks over at her girlfriend who has unshed tears in her eyes. "Are you ready?" She asks as she busies herself looking for her keys because she knows that if she sees Kara begin to cry, she will too. And she refuses to cry. "Two days, right?"
"Right." The doctor answers. He can't believe that there was absolutely no reaction. He has never seen anything like this in the 15 years that he has been a doctor. Yes, everyone in National City knew that Car Grant wasn't known for being nice but he never would have thought that she wouldn't have any questions or anything.
"Let's go Kara." She says over her shoulder while already halfway out of the door.
"We'll see you next time." Kara says wither her voice breaking once more. Dr. Gilbert gives her a sympathetic look as she walks out. When she steps into the hallway, she sees Cat standing at the reception desk,
"Friday at 3:00." She says handing the appointment card to Kara. "Make sure to clear my schedule that day so there's no conflict with anything."
"Of course." Kara said can't believing that Cat was even thinking about going to work the next two days.
When they finally reach the car, Kara reaches for the keys.
"What?" Cat asks while moving her arm out of Kara's reach. "I drove here and I am driving back."
Kara, at this point in their relationship, knows that it won't do any good to argue with Cat.
"Okay." She says quietly while sliding into the car on the passenger side and putting on her seatbelt, still thinking about the new that they just received, and slightly jumps when Cat slams her car door shut harder than necessary when she gets into the driver's seat. It is not a very long drive from the doctor's office to their house that Kara had moved into with Cat and Carter a moth previous to now. As they walk into their house and shut the door, they hear Carter coming down the steps to greet them, who he has not seen since he left for school this morning.
"Hey Mom," Carter says wrapping his arms around his mother's waist, slightly out of breath from running down the stairs. Cat wraps her arms around her son, just simply enjoying the hug. She cannot believe how tall he is getting. It's at that moment, when she lets her emotions hit her. She might not be here to see her baby go to prom or graduate high school and all of the other things that he will experience as he gets older. Carter immediately senses that something is wrong when he hears his mother sniffle and feels her arms tighten around him.
"Is everything okay?" He asks into her shoulder.
"Actually, I need to talk to you. Are you busy?"
"Never too busy for you." Cat chuckles as she hears Carter repeats the words that she has been telling him for years. This is very true. She always made sure that she made time for him. Nothing was more important than her son. Something she wished she had known when Adam was born, but she knew that she couldn't do anything about that now. Whenever Carter wanted to do something like going to visit a museum or if he just simply wanted to spend the day with her. Everything else could wait even if it meant that she would be up all night catching up on her work.
"Kara, can you give us a minute, please?" She asks looking at her girlfriend with pleading eyes hoping that she won't be upset.
"Yeah, I'll go and make lunch or something." Kara isn't offended at all when Cat asks to speak with Carter by herself. She knows that this is just one of those things that she needs to do alone.
"Let's sit down, honey."
Carter situates himself on the other end of the couch where Cat has sat down so that he can face his mother. Cat takes a deep breath before she starts speaking.
"So, I got some pretty bad news at the doctors today. Um, I have lymphoma which is a type of cancer. But, the good thing about this is that they caught it early so it is treatable. I will go back in two days to discuss my treatment options with the doctor." Cat always makes sure that she tells Carter everything that she remembers from the appointment. She always vowed to never lie to Carter because at the end of the day, she was the person he trusted the most. She looks at him as she is trying not to cry but doesn't succeed when she sees a tear roll down his cheek. It is always hard for her to see her son cry but she always taught him not to bottle up his emotions like she unfortunately does. It's not healthy and sometimes she finds herself taking out her pent up emotions out on an innocent bystander at work. While she's thinking, she feels Carter launch his body at her and presses his face into her chest and feels his tears begin to soak through her shirt. It is in that moment when she allows herself to let out a choked sob while holding her son tightly.
"Are you going to be okay? You can't die, Mom. You can't leave me." He says crying. Carter is a very smart boy and he knows, just as Cat does, no matter how treatable her cancer is, it can still take her life.
"I will do everything in my power to make sure that I don't leave you. I love you so much." She says tearfully and presses a kiss to his curls. She looks up and sees Kara standing in the doorway crying as well. Cat gives her a weak smile and continues to just simply hold her son, thinking about what the near future has in store for herself and her family.
A/N: This is my first story. Should I continue? Please review and I am open to listening if anyone has any suggestions on the story.