"I just wanna be with you forever." a wide grin appeared on the nineteen year old blonde's face as she snuggled up in her boyfriend's arms. They were currently lounging around in their new apartment they'd saved up for, his arms wrapped around her protectively as she let her eyes close shut. He was happy they were, so he could hide his frown. "I hope so baby." he murmured into her neck as he left light kisses there. "I love you."

Ashley cocked her head upwards to look at him, a giggle escaping her lips as he leaned over and kissed her. Her hand moved down to his and she clasped hers around it, turning her body slightly so she was cuddling into him. "I love you too, Joe." she said, her voice playful, but so serious at the same time. They were mature, sure, but they were still young, and they were already so deeply in love. Joe hadn't experienced anything like it before in his five or so years of dating.

Ashley, on the other hand, hadn't believed in love until she experienced it with the dark-haired boy. Her parents had divorced when she was young - And she let their words of anger get to her. His hand moved up to her stomach, his smile becoming genuine as he rubbed it in small circles, snapping her out of her trance.

"Our baby's gonna look so beautiful." he murmured against her lips, as he moved his free hand to conjoin with hers. "If she looks like you, that is." They hadn't been able to wait - They wanted to know the sex of their child as soon as they were given the chance. The bundle of joy would be here in just a month - Early February. The little girl's room (They couldn't decide on a name just yet; Joe wanted something like Paige, while Ashley on the other hand, was leaning towards Sophie.) was already completed, pink walls and brown accessories to finish.

"No way." Ashley exclaimed, pulling away slightly, giggles erupting through the apartment walls as he pulled her closer. "She'll be the most attractive little girl in the world if she's got even one of your genes." a wink was thrown in his direction, and he rolled his eyes in response. "She'll be coming out in like, a month." she said excitedly. Of course, she was also a little scared, too. If child birth was as hard as television and movies portrayed it to be, she'd be in absolute hell. Although, Ashley had been reading the books, forcing Joe to do the same. He'd always crack jokes about how she'd never return back to her normal, petite size, despite what the books said. She'd slap him playfully in response, and he'd shoot back with 'Guess I gotta hit the gym soon, if pregnant chicks are beating me...'.

"When's your appointment, by the way?" she asked, sitting up slightly and leaning her back up against a pillow that'd been her best friend throughout the third trimester of her pregnancy. Lately, her boyfriend had been feeling really sick. He hated seeing the doctor, but he decided he needed to when he started to cough up blood regularly. Working out had been a harder task, as well; His breaths were shorter and much more... He couldn't explain it. But all he could hope was it wasn't anything serious. Although, he had a feeling he'd receive bad news.

"Tomorrow. But if you need me, I'll leave as soon as possible, or you can call my mom, or..." he worried about her, too, knowing about all the complications that could occur this deep into the pregnancy. She laughed softly and traced a fingernail down his arm lightly, tracing a visible vein. "I'll be fine, Joey." she murmured softly, smiling up at him. "Nothing'll go wrong. And if it does, I'll call Shay or something. You and your mom freak out way too much." she teased, before shifting around uncomfortably to sit up. Joe eventually realized what she was trying to do and helped her, his hand resting on her lower back as she stood up. "It's bed time." Joe's eyes darted to the clock, and he couldn't help but chuckle softly. It was only nine thirty, but lately, he'd been feeling a lot more tired as well.

"I might as well come. I'll probably be gone before you wake up in the morning. Well, afternoon." he teased and stood up, his arms automatically winding around her waist as he pulled her close to him. Their stomachs touched and he laughed, pulling one hand away to lay his hand on the top of her growing belly. "Hiiiii baby." he cooed, a toothy grin on his face. Ashley rolled her eyes, although her smile was still present. "Sophie." she said sternly, Joe's eyes darting up to her. "Paige." he argued, an eyebrow raised. "She's so a Paige. You can tell by the way she moves."

"We'll decide when she comes out. But nowwww, we need to go to bed. Baby's drainin' all of momma's energy." Joe laughed and nodded along with her, slowly following her back to their room. It was funny; His energy had been drained so much the past couple of weeks as well. He kept telling himself it was the stress of Ashley and their baby, always worrying something would go wrong. "Goodnight." he murmured to his girlfriend once they'd gotten cozy in bed. "Goodnight baby." he smiled, as he turned onto his side. "Goodnight Ash. I love you both."

"Everything looks alright so far..." Joe let out a sigh of relief, although it hurt a little bit. His hand flew to his chest as the doctor continued to flip through his charts, making little notes every once in a while. "And you don't smoke? Where do you work?" Joe was confused, but he wouldn't let that stop him from being diagnosed. "Uh, no. I'm rarely around smoke, actually. Nobody smokes around me and my girlfriend anymore cause she's pregnant and-" he caught himself before he started going on about his personal life. "I'm a photographer."

The doctor nodded and set his clipboard down, before taking his glasses off and cleaning them with the bottom of his shirt. "We'll run a couple more tests, and send ya home. It could be a pretty intense cold, could be something more serious. I'm glad you decided to come early though, Joe." he said with a nod, as he glanced around the small room. "Let's continue, then."

"Holy shit," Ashley breathed out as she lay on the couch, holding her hands on her stomach. The baby was kicking so much right now; Something she wasn't exactly used to. She let out a laugh as she received a text - It actually kind of tickled. "Sophie, stop." She said with a smirk on her lips. When Joe wasn't around, she liked to call her Sophie. It was going to be her name anyway - Of course she wanted her to learn it quickly.

She grabbed her iPhone from the coffee table and frowned when she read Joe's text. He'd be spending another hour or so at the hospital. Honestly, at first, she thought Joe's symptoms were just something like asthma; Until he started coughing up blood almost every day. She'd insisted on him making an appointment with a doctor, but was fighting the urge to make him go to the emergency room. She got worried about his health, especially with the baby coming in just a month. If anything were to happen to him...

No, she couldn't think like that. She quickly tapped away at the phone's keyboard, sending him a sweet 'Ok, well, im sure youll be fine. We love you.'. She fought the urge to type "I hope you'll be fine," as that would probably just upset him. "Daddy's sick, baby." she frowned down at her stomach. "He's getting some good doctors to make him feel better for when you're here. He'll be fine." She only wished that she wasn't assuring herself as well as she spoke to the baby.

"They dunno what's wrong." Joe sighed as he closed the door behind him. "Uh, a couple of the tests are gonna take a while to read or something. But, whatever. I'm sure it's nothing." he said with a little shrug before clearing his throat. He leaned down over the couch and kissed Ashley softly, before moving to the kitchen. "Everything was good today? How are you?" he pre-heated the oven in preparation for the chicken he was making tonight.

"Don't always act to casual about your health, Joe. If you're sick, you're sick. You gotta admit it." she let a small sigh escape her lips before awkwardly sitting up and turning to see him cook. "And I was fine. She was kicking like crazy, though. I think she missed you." a smirk appeared on her lips as Joe laughed loudly. He turned the timer on, then put the chicken in the oven quickly to return to his girlfriend. "Oh, is that so?" he asked, cleaning his throat once again before sitting down at her feet. He pulled them up onto his lap and started to rub them in circles, her eyes closing just as they always did when he did this.

"It is." she whispered, her hands moving to her lower abdomen to rest. He just nodded in response, and Ashley turned her head to look at the muted television. "You look tired." she noted as she glanced over at him, noticing his blood-shot eyes and hazy orbs for the first time. "Yeah, well I am." he shrugged, his attitude completely changing from that as of ten minutes ago. "Go take a nap, baby. I'll wake you up when the food's done cooking, alright?"

He looked up at her for a moment, a sort of worry in his eyes, but he finally gave in. Sleep would feel great right about now. "Alright." he nodded and carefully slid her feet off of his lap, to stand up and head to the bedroom. "Just wake me up whenever." he assured her, his eyes already feeling so much heavier than they had minutes ago.

"Joe, are you okay?"

He didn't know why. He didn't know why that, of all things, set him off this time. He didn't know why his face started to turn a shade of red, out of anger, of course, and his fists started to clench. He didn't understand why he started to shake, and he was clueless about why he felt like he needed to hit something. Why did his voice raise in his throat? Why did his eyes widen as if he'd heard shocking news? Why? "No, I'm fucking not!"

The room went quiet for a moment as he angrily stood up from his chair, almost knocking it down in the process. He noticed Ashley on his right, and this time, his first thought wasn't to say sorry or to ask if she was okay. His eyes were set straight on his mother, feeling this twinge of hatred towards her. "I'm not fucking okay." he repeated, not as loudly this time. "I cough up fucking blood five times a week. I can't breathe at night time. Someone might as well be shoving a fucking log down my throat right now." it was true. This ache was brewing up inside of him, this raw feeling, and it only grew as seconds passed.

Denise gulped, folding her hands on top of the table. "Settle down, sweetie." she said softly, her smooth, caring voice almost calming his down into a new person. He closed his eyes and attempted to take a deep breath - A familiar pain stinging his throat. "I-I'm sorry." he whispered, and was sure he heard his voice crack. His gaze shifted to a wide-eyed Ashley, who'd rarely seen this Joe. He hadn't even had anything to drink. Not a sip of wine, nothing. So why was he like this?

A familiar ring tone was heard throughout the now-silent dining room, and Joe picked his phone out of his pocket, ready to disconnect the call. His mouth fell slightly agape as he realized who was calling him, and he started to back out of the room. "It's the doctor... I gotta take this." he said slowly, before turning around and heading to the outdoor patio.

"Hello?" he said, his voice hoarse as he spoke into the receiver. "Joe, hello." the doctor sounded more professional on the phone. He didn't understand why. "Uh, I have some unfortunate news."

Don't tell me when I'm going to die, was Joe's first thought. If it was going to happen, he didn't want to know when. It would be better for everyone. But the words weren't as he expected. As soon as he understood what he'd just heard, he didn't quite believe it. Certain words popped out at him. Early, possibility, live, catch, appointments. He didn't know if he was dreaming. He didn't know if the doctor was lying, trying to make it easier. He didn't know.

"Thank you, doctor." he murmured into the phone, almost feeling expressionless now. He had to walk into a room full of his closest family, and his girlfriend whom he loved more than anything, and pretend it was all okay. Or, or he could just tell them now.

He didn't realize he was in the dining room when he finally made it. He'd felt like a robot on the way there, and he just snapped out of his trance now. "I, uh..." he mumbled when he stood awkwardly in the doorway. "I'm diagnosed." No smiles were seen. No one was sure if it was a good thing or not. Nobody wanted to prompt him to go on, either. He barely thought to continue himself.

He looked at people, but he didn't really see them. How would they take it? He couldn't look anyone in the eye right now. He didn't want their pity. "I have lung cancer."

His voice was barely above a whisper, but everyone heard it. He thought he heard a couple gasps; Maybe they were the ones made up in his head. He hung his head low so he could avoid everyone's stares. He didn't want their damn pity. They would be the ones suffering this. If he died, he'd be put out of the misery that was sure to come. They'd have to learn to live without them. His parents, his brothers, Ashley, his baby...

His eyes widened and he glanced over at Ashley. Tears were falling from her eyes and she was shaking her head as if it were impossible. She held her stomach as if she were holding the baby. As if the baby knew.

"They uh, caught it early-ish. I guess it's not life threatening right now. I'm gonna do chemo and stuff. They might be able to get rid of it." he decided to shift his gaze to his mother now. He couldn't imagine her face if he were to die. He felt a twinge of relief as he realized he'd never have to see it. It'd be impossible for him.

The rest of the dinner was ruined. Nobody could really taste anything. Well, Joe couldn't. He didn't talk. Others rarely did. Although, they did pray before eating again. They felt like they needed to. He and Ashley had held hands through the rest of the meal. He would squeeze her hand tightly, reassuringly every once in a while. They both needed it. "I'm still here." were the only words he'd bothered to mutter to her, just loud enough for her to hear. On the way out, everybody was sure to give Joe a hug, a tight, I love you, I'm here for you family hug. Joe and Ashley were silent on the way home.

That night in bed, Joe couldn't sleep. Neither could Ash, but she tried to. Joe just stared up at the ceiling, hands folded on his stomach. He wanted to know why the hell God did this to him. He wanted to know why he was punishing him for being a good person, for trying to do good only all the time. He wanted to know if he'd live to meet his baby. He needed to. It was his only wish right now.

"Joe?" a weak voice was heard. He glanced over at her and gave her a reassuring smile. They both needed it. He could tell she was crying, even in the darkness, but he didn't know what to do this time. He didn't want to lie to her. He didn't want to tell her everything would be okay, because he didn't know if that was fact or not. Slowly, he turned onto his side and placed his hand on her cheek, his hand already wet from the fresh tears she'd been crying. He leaned over and kissed her, softly, passionately, intensely all at the same time. "I love you Ashley." he said, his voice strong for once. Lately, it'd been so hoarse. He now knew that it was because of the cancer.

"Don't leave me." she cried, her hand flying to his to squeeze it tightly. Their fingers intertwined and she heard Joe sigh. He didn't know what to say; She could've told you that. Ashley genuinely thought he believed he would die. You still have hope. We still have hope. she wanted to say to him. He needed to know that he couldn't give up. He needed to fight this. For him. For her. And... For their baby. He needed to meet her, he needed to hold her, and he needed to watch her grow up. That's just how it went.

"I'll try not to." he whispered back, as he leaned his forehead against hers. He moved their hands from her cheek down to her stomach, rubbing it in small circles. "I wanna meet her so bad Ash." he said with a frown, although he was sure she couldn't see it. "You will." she said, her voice strong. She'd find a way to get the baby to come out early if she had to; She needed him to live, to see her, to...

"Let's go to bed. We'll talk in the morning, okay? He said I can go in tomorrow." He obviously meant the doctor. Ashley's eyes widened a bit; She needed to come with him. She needed to understand this more. She was only nineteen for crying out loud. Nineteen, and Joe and this baby were already her whole world. "We'll get through this." she murmured, kissing him once more. "I love you."

"I love you more."

And then he fell asleep; Something he'd already deemed as impossible.

"Nice to meet you." Ashley said softly, before pulling away from the older man and sitting on a stool in the corner. The doctor turned to her, a confused expression on his face. "Uh, wouldn't you feel more comfortable in the other chair?" he asked, motioning towards a cushioned chair with arm rests. Still not ideal, but it'd be better than what she sat on now. Truth was, she didn't even notice. Her eyes were focused on the doctor, Joe, and the irrelevant posters around the room. She nodded and thanked him quietly before switching seats, glancing over at Joe who now sat on the patient's bed.

"There's a series of treatments we can try. If you don't want to do one, that's completely your choice. Some people have survived without it. Some people... Some people have died with it. But again, we caught yours pretty early. It's still in your lungs. That's Stage one. If it were to be at Stage three, we'd be in some more trouble. But you're still okay." he said with a nod, before looking over at Ashley. "We're going to try our best to keep him alive." he reassured her.

"Alright. You can try chemo, radiation therapy, or surgery, for now, since it hasn't spread." he pointed to a picture that must've been Joe's lungs. He spotted a strange lump on the right lung, deciding that must be it. It didn't look that big. It didn't look that deadly, either. "Is that.. Is that considered big?"

The doctor shook his head. "But it's not tiny. You've probably had it for about... I'm not sure, perhaps a couple weeks? Three at the most, if it's fast. If it's slow, probably four. How long have you had symptoms?"

"About three weeks." Joe said. He'd remembered the first day, when it felt like there was a ton of bricks on his chest as he tried to get up. It felt like absolute hell then. How would he feel in a matter of a month? He snapped out of his trance to watch the doctor nod, and lean against his counter. "It's probably slow. A very good thing. But uh, we should go on about the risks for each treatment."

He went on to describe each in detail. Joe learned that majority of cancer came back in surgery. People liked to do radiation and chemo together. Most people said no to surgery. Although, Joe knew there were great doctors in this city. His uncle was a surgeon himself, always bragging about the excellent employees. He hoped they could save him now. He hoped they wouldn't give up on him if he got any worse. He couldn't get any worse. He just couldn't.

The appointment ended about an hour later. The doctor had said he'd give Joe time to think about it, but Joe had already decided on surgery. If it didn't work, chemo and radiation would be his next treatment. To him, there was no time left. They had to work quickly and thoroughly if he wanted to live. he desperately needed to live.

He and Ashley exited the hospital hand in hand. She tried not to cry. She didn't want to upset him any more than he already was. Currently, he showed no emotion. "The doctor said they might be able to fit in a surgery by next week. That's a good thing." Joe turned to send Ashley a sad smile in response. It was better than nothing, right? He just wanted to sleep now. Sleep until everything was finished. Over with. Until the cancer was gone.

"You can fight this." Ashley said softly, as she took Joe's hand into hers.

"Maybe I fucking can't!" he yelled back, pulling his hand away from hers and gripping the wheel tightly. He didn't look at her. Half the reason being he didn't want to see what her response was. Half because he was driving. He'd say sorry later, sure. But right now, in this moment, he didn't want to say what he didn't mean. It'd only bring out the worst in them both.

A week had gone by. His surgery would be in just three days. He didn't know what to think of it. He didn't know if he wanted to die now or not. If it came back, he'd undergo chemo and radiation. Maybe by then he'd want to die already.

No, he couldn't think like that. His baby was due in, what, two and a half weeks by now? He glanced over at Ashley, who was curled up in a ball in the oversized chair next to the fire. He needed to fight this for the both of them. Both of his girls. "I love you." he murmured, causing the blonde to open her eyes in confusion. He hadn't said that out of the blue lately. He used to do it all the time.

"I love you too." she said with a weak smile. Truthfully, she wished she could just stop worrying about him all the time. She wanted to know that he'd survive, and this was just merely a bump in the road for their long future together. She wanted to know that he'd be the one holding her hand on her deathbed, both of them elderly and ready to slip away. She didn't want to be the one crying as the cancer took over his body. It couldn't happen.

"C'mere." he motioned her over to lay with him. This had been rare the last little while, as lately, he just wanted to be left alone. But something told him he needed to spend as much time with Ashley as possible. He didn't know what. He didn't know why, really. He just knew that it was a good idea.

She slowly got up from her previous seat and made her way over to him, a little waddle in her step. It wasn't long before they were cuddled up, both facing the fire as his arms wrapped around her tightly. "I love you." he murmured into her neck. "So fucking much, Ashley. I love you with everything. And... And if I make it... I'm gonna marry you."

A wide grin appeared on the blonde's face, although she let a few tears fall unknowingly as she faced him. Her eyes had a certain sparkle in them, a similar sparkle he had before he became sick. "I guess... I guess it's kind of a proposal. But when I come out of surgery, and they tell me it's gonna be gone for good, I'll buy you a ring and-"

He was cut of by his girlfriend's lips on his own. His eyes slowly fell shut as he tightened his grip on her, his forehead soon leaning against hers. "Of course, Joe." she murmured against his lips before pulling away. "I love you too."

And right now, that's all he needed to hear.

"Joe!"

He heard a faint voice, although he couldn't open his eyes to see where it came from. "Joe..." the voice said again, this time, cracking a bit. He heard crying, and he couldn't tell if it was out of happiness or sadness. "I love you..." It was Ashley. It was Ashley, and he just needed to open his eyes to see her. He wasn't dead. He couldn't be. He just...

"Ash?"

Oh thank God.

"Joe!" she cried out again, her hand reaching forward to grip his tightly. "Joe, the doctor.. He said that they got it out. It might come back. But it might not, either, and we just gotta hope and pray and..." more tears started to fall. "You're okay, Joe. They said that if it does come back, it'll be in about a year or so. You'll get to meet our baby."

Joe's eyes widened and a grin appeared on his face. This was the best news he'd received in... In forever. He tried to hold her hand tighter, but he didn't have the strength. "Be careful." she warned, and slowly eased her grip on him. "You'll regain your strength in a couple weeks. You should be back to normal when she's here. It's gonna be okay."

It was like his world became a little brighter. He honestly thought he'd die. He thought they'd fuck something up, or they wouldn't be able to get it out, and later on the chemo wouldn't work and... And now that was another problem for another day. He was sure he'd be able to live happily. For a while, anyway.

"You're gonna stay in the hospital for another two days, just in case. Just go to sleep, baby. You'll be okay." she said with a nod, and leaned down to kiss his hand. "Go to sleep."

"Joe," Ashley's eyes widened and her hands flew to her stomach. "Joe, get in here!"

He quickly emerged from the kitchen to see Ashley standing awkwardly in the living room, a puddle of water under her. His eyes widened as he realized what was happening. He'd be a father soon. "Okay, uh, we don't need to go to the hospital until contractions get to like, four minutes apart or something, right? Right?" This was the most active he'd been all week, even though he did the exercise the doctors had recommended him.

Ashley laughed nervously and nodded, slowly finding a comfortable position to sit down on the couch. "Uh, grab the bag, so we have it on the way out. And get your ass over here. I'm scared as hell." she bit her lip as Joe hurried into the bedroom to grab the "baby bag", filled with everything they'd need and more at the hospital. He even brought a DS, because he knew his friend Greg would be there, complaining about how long child birth took. Suck on that, Greg. He quickly moved back to Ashley on the couch, who was smiling softly. "It doesn't even hurt." she laughed, then her mood suddenly changed. "Well, I mean, this one does..." she murmured as she tried to count the seconds in her head. "No, screw it, let's leave now."

Joe nodded and helped her off of the chair, holding her hand tightly as he picked up the bag from the ground. "This is really happening." he grinned as he helped her into the car he'd received for his twentieth birthday. He quickly got in himself and glanced over at her, offering his hand to her. "I love you." he said softly, before driving off towards the hospital.

"Hi Sophie, baby." Joe grinned as he held the little girl in his arms, caressing her cheek as she closed her eyes tightly. He looked up at a sleepy Ashley who was motioning for him to pass her to him. "You were right, okay. But I think her middle name should be Paige."

Ashley held her and shrugged slightly, thinking about it for a moment. "Sophie Paige Jonas-Benson. Sophie Paige Jonas-Benson." she repeated it over and over again, Joe finally sitting down and stopping her. "It'd just be Jonas, though. If you're gonna marry me like you said.." he said with a small smirk on his lips. Here he was, sitting with his two most important girls in the world. He leaned down and kissed Ashley's forehead. "I love you."

"So much that you'll go get me a snack?" he giggle escaped the blonde's lips, and and looked back down at the baby who was sleeping soundly. "I'm starved." Joe nodded and immediately rose to his feet, holding up a finger to indicate he'd be back in just a minute.

He wandered down the hall, deciding he'd be better off getting her something from the cafeteria. There was coffee there anyway - Something he desperately needed, after being up for over twenty four hours. Little Sophie just didn't want to come out, and as promised, Greg cracked jokes about the newborn to their families. He couldn't wait until they all got to go home and sleep. Mmm, sleep...

"Sorry." he murmured as he bumped into someone on the way to the elevator, shaking the thought out of his head. "Oh... Doctor Reid..." The familiar older man smiled softly at Joe, and requested him to press the 5th floor button.

"How're things, Joe? Are you here for Ashley?" Joe nodded excitedly, thanking him once he said congratulations. They reached a floor, although nobody seemed to be waiting for it. Joe quickly closed the doors once more. "Please, come see me if anything happens again. It's pretty common if it spreads once more." he'd said once they reached fifth. Joe frowned and nodded; He wished it could be gone forever, from everyone, and especially leave those with families alone.

He reached the coffee shop before he realized it, and shook himself of his thoughts. "Uh yeah, large double double please?"

"Joe, I'm never gonna be my normal size." a pout formed on the blonde's lips as she turned around, to see her boyfriend holding their baby girl in his arms. He looked up and laughed softly, shaking his head. "Ash, you look great already, and it's only been a week. I'm sure you'll be better than ever in another couple weeks, alright?" he shot her a wink before looking back down at Sophie.

The baby's hair was starting to turn brown, and Joe was sure it'd be blonde in a month or so, just like Ashley's. He held her as if she were a porcelain doll, the most delicate thing in the world. Her eyes - She had her father's deep brown eyes, a soft sparkle in them, just as Joe had, before the cancer. Every once in a while, Ashley swore she saw it back in his eyes. But as quickly as it appeared, it left. But she just hoped it'd reoccur more in the future.

"Think you can handle feeding her?" she giggled as she walked back into the living room, handing him a bottle of formula. Joe rolled his eyes playfully, but nodded as he took it from her. "But wait, what if it's like, choking her?" Ashley laughed and sat down beside him, moving his arms slowly until she was in a good position to be fed. "Go for it, daddy." she said with a grin. "I love you."

Three months later. It was funny, the baby was definitely turning into a daddy's girl. Joe felt like one of the worst parents in the world. But didn't everyone when they were a couple young parents, with a three month old baby crying as they drove to their parents? He hoped so.

"I was thinking Cuba." Joe said with a smile on his lips as he glanced over at his girlfriend. "Cuba'd be a nice place to go." Ashley giggled and shook her head, while looking out the window. She just loved the rain. Maybe it was because of the smell, maybe because it just seemed to refresh everything. She didn't know. Did you really need a reason to love something?

"Joe, we just can't afford it right now, alright? We have the baby, and it's not like we sit on a pile of cash. Maybe one day in the future. Our honeymoon or something." she added with a wide grin, turning her head to show it off to him. They still hadn't discussed marriage, since that day he'd made his little "proposal". He shrugged at her comment as he pulled into his parent's driveway.

"The happy family's here." Joe called out, throwing a wink in Ashley's direction as they wandered into the Jonas home. High heels were heard, and Joe immediately knew it was his mother. "Hi grandma." he said with a grin as he pulled her into a hug, leaning his head on top of hers slightly. "Haven't seen you in a while."

Denise rolled her eyes playfully; She'd just been over the day before to babysit for the couple while they went and ran some errands together. They'd learned that spending alone time was essential in healthy relationships, even when doing something small. Joe could have a very bad temper at times, and it'd been shining through every once in a while at three am when the baby wouldn't go back to sleep. Simple things like that set him off, and Ashley was the one who had to cool him down. It became routine.

Ashley handed Denise the car seat, and she slowly took Sophie out. "Waking up just in time." the blonde said with a smile as she held her close. She kissed the top of the baby's head and followed the two into the dining room, where everyone was waiting. It wasn't rare; Joe and Ashley were always late, for almost everything. Not doctors appointments, though. Not anymore. Sometimes, doctors simply didn't have the time to wait, and if they had to reschedule an appointment for a month later, maybe it'd be too late...

Ashley shook the thought from her head as she let Denise take the baby from her; Everyone wanted to see the little angel. She took a seat beside Joe and started filling up her plate, watching as Joe cautioned his youngest brother to be careful with his three-month-old. Already, she could see Joe being an over-protective father. "Joe, honey, relax. Frankie's a responsible ten year old." she said, shooting the younger boy a wink. He grinned and slowly took Sophie from his brother, looking into the baby's eyes. "She's so... little!" he exclaimed, as Joe watched, his eyebrows furrowing together. Probably pointing out everything Frankie did wrong.

"Uh, yeah, here Frank, I'll just... She should get some more sleep." he said, standing up form his seat and slowly taking his daughter from her uncle. He walked back to where the car seat was, and slowly laid her back in. "Good girl." he smiled and kissed her forehead, before swatting a couple of the hanging shapes for her to look at. He went back to his seat and smiled at Ash, before raising an eyebrow. "Did I do it right this time?"

His girlfriend turned around to see the baby properly seated, giving Joe a tight nod. "Good boy." she giggled and turned back to her food, taking a bite of the steamed veggies. She saw him smile in the corner of her eye, before feeling his lips on her cheek. "I love you." he murmured softly and took her hand into his, turning to his own meal.

After dinner, the two decided to stick around and chat with his family in the living room, the baby being surprisingly quiet as Joe soothingly rocked her back and forth as he sat beside Ashley. "Can I see her again? Look, I'm sitting down." Frankie chimed in, Joe laughing softly. "Here ya go buddy. I needed someone to hold her anyway."

The family looked confused at his choice of words; Was there an actual reason, or was it only because she was just getting heavy in his arms? That couldn't be it. Joe was a pretty strong guy, and Sophie was a small baby. He turned and smiled at Ashley, sensing everyone's confusion. "I uh..." he muttered, slowly walking back to the couch. "I don't know how to do this."

"Do what, babe?" Ashley asked, tilting her head to the side as Joe shifted around uncomfortably in his stance. He only continued to smile as he shoved his hands in his pockets. And before she knew it, he was getting down on one knee.

"Ashley..." he said slowly, as he pulled a blue velvet box from the inside of his coat. Gasps were heard, eyes widened, and Ashley, hell, she didn't know what to do. Her hand clasped over her mouth as Joe's grin only widened, slowly, tauntingly opening the tiny box. "Will you marry me, Ash?"

She didn't look at the ring. She couldn't, not yet. His words were already so overwhelming. She couldn't speak, she couldn't mouth anything. So instead, she nodded repeatedly, as she felt the tears well up in her eyes. She forced her hands to her sides and she mustered out a tiny "Yes,". Joe's eyes widened and he rose to his feet, laughing softly at the fact that she was still nodding along to his words. "Yes, yes, yes, please, yes."

Joe threw his arms around his girl- fiancee, and glanced over at his parents. His father was smiling proudly; Just as he hoped he would. His mother, well, he couldn't really read her. He decided she was still in shock, and she'd be smiling along with the rest as the night came to an end.

"I love you too mom." Joe smiled as his mother pecked him on the cheek, her pride for her boys shining through. His father had already said goodbye, and he rarely said it twice. He was used to it. Sometimes, it made things better. His brothers had already left, and Frankie was going to bed; It was a school night. Ashley hugged Denise for what seemed like the millionth time that night, slowly handing Sophie to Joe. "Thank you, Mrs. Jona-"

"Call me mom, sweetie." she said with a wide grin on her face as she pulled away from her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. Ashley nodded and turned around, to follow Joe out the door. "We'll call you soon, mom." she said with a giggle as they left the home.

"Did that really just happen?" the blonde let out a sigh as Joe started to pull out of the driveway, the smile still on her soft pink lips. He stuck his tongue out at his daughter who sat in the back, before facing the road and taking Ashley's hand. "It did, future Mrs. Jonas." he said with a soft laugh, giving her hand a tight squeeze.

And right then, they both felt like nothing could go wrong. How fucking naive.

"No, Ash, fuck, I'm tired, okay?" Joe groaned as he covered his eyes up, trying to block out the light that the sun provided. Ashley rolled her eyes and picked up a sixteen-month-old Sophie as she waddled across the bedroom floor, making her way over to their bed. "You don't have to take this out on me, you know." she said angrily as she started to walk out of the bedroom, not bothering to close the curtains. "Have any idea when the doctor's gonna call about your tests?"

Joe shook his head and slowly got up out of bed, following his fiancee and daughter out into the living room. "Could be today. Could be two weeks. I don't fucking know." Ashley had a bad feeling about this. It'd been a little over a year since the cancer was taken out, and she couldn't even imagine what would happen if it came back.

"Dah-dee." her thoughts were interrupted by a smaller voice, and she looked down at the baby in her arms, who was reaching for her father. Ashley looked up at him; He didn't exactly look like he'd want to hold a kid, but maybe it'd cheer him up a little. She slowly handed her over to Joe, his movements quick and jerky. He turned into a completely different person as Sophie's tiny little arms wrapped around him, though. He was gentle. He just seemed so... So soft, so caring compared to what he was just ten seconds earlier. He looked up and frowned at Ashley before walking over to the couch to play with his daughter.

"I don't know why you're so pissy at me. I didn't do anything." she said, her voice dark as she picked up a couple toys from the ground. Joe rolled his eyes and gave Sophie a quick kiss on her nose. He took one of her hands and sat her down beside him, playing with her absent-mindedly. "I'm sorry." he muttered, his eyes following her around the room. "But I just... I'm just sick. I'll be over it in a couple days. I'm sorry baby. I love you."

Ashley raised her head to look at him, seeing genuine sadness and pleading in his eyes. She hated to see him like this. Sometimes, she wished she could give up her own life for him. Just to make him feel one hundred percent better. "I love you too." she said, letting a smile reach her lips. She was about to go sit down next to the two, when the landline started to ring. She turned around and quickly picked it up, not failing to sneak a quick peek at herself in the mirror - Messy bun and no makeup, her favorite look.

"Hello?" she said into the phone, slowly walking into the kitchen. "Oh, yeah, one minute." she nodded and walked back towards Joe, handing him the phone. "Let's give daddy some privacy." she whispered to Sophie, before picking her up and leading her back to her room.

"Doctor..." he murmured, his eyebrows scrunching together as he rest his elbows on his knees, listening intently. He couldn't miss a single word he said. Sickness now could be ten times worse; His immune system was still damaged. "I-I don't..." he sighed and shook his head, his eyes closing slowly. "Yeah. Okay. Bye." his voice was almost robotic now. He hung up the phone quickly; He didn't even want to hear anymore, not right now.

He finally found the motivation to drag his feet to Sophie's room, a two second trip now taking three minutes. "Ash..." he muttered, as he leaned up against the doorframe, closing his eyes. "Ashley, it's..." She slowly stood up and faced him, picking Sophie up in the process. "Yeah, Joe?"

"It's back."

And that's when his world crashed down. That's when he knew living would no longer be the same. Seeing that look on her face, as she tightly held their daughter, her ring shining in the sunlight that seeped through the window. That's when he realized, he may as well be dead. "I'm going to try to fight it. For you. For her." his words surprised him. Maybe he was actually speaking from the heart, not the brain. Maybe it was the opposite.

Ashley took slow steps towards him, and as soon as she was close enough, his arms wrapped around the two. His girls. His world. "I love you." he swallowed a lump that'd been forming in his throat since he'd heard the news. "I love you both. I'll fight it. I'll win. We'll win."

Yeah, he was definitely talking from the heart. Because in his head, he knew there was a large chance he wouldn't win. But hey. It's worth a shot.

Okay so. First things first. I know the medical part of the story wasn't really accurate. It also seems rushed, which I didn't want to happen. I apologize. The fandom; Joe Jonas and Ashley Benson. Expect more of them, as I think I ship them harder than I do Joley. Maybe because it could possibly happen irl? I dunno. There's about 3% of a possibility that I'll make a second chapter, sequal, etc. I just feel this is how it was to end. This doesn't mean I'll be continuing my previous stories, either. I'm sorry, I've just lost them. And some italics were lost, and they meant a lot in the writing, so I apologize once more. Any questions, feel free to ask. I hope you enjoyed reading.

- Courtney.