"Based on the tests we have conducted, the results are clear. I'm sorry to inform you, but you have stage 4 breast cancer."

Her whole world stopped when she heard that. There she was, a divorced thirty-nine year old woman with two kids, with breast cancer. She had never expected it to happen to her. She could see the doctor give her a sympathetic look, before explaining a few things to her. She couldn't hear her, though. She could see the doctor's mouth moving, but at that point, all she could think about was how unfair the world was being to her.

She felt someone giving her a supportive squeeze on her shoulder, and she looked up, seeing her brother looking down at her with a supportive smile he always gives her. It gave her comfort, but she couldn't hide her disappointment. She knew she shouldn't be, but she was newly divorced, after all. Everytime somebody gave her support, she would just be there, wishing that a certain somebody was the one giving her the support she needed. The person she thought would be there for her forever.

Somewhere along the lines the doctor must have noticed how she wasn't listening, because she stopped talking and just gave her a pitying look.

"I know it's a lot to take in. How about we reschedule this for tomorrow. I advice you to tell the people close to you, just so they could prepare themselves."

She just nodded, before standing on her two wobbly legs. Her brother immediately gave her his arm to hold on to for support. They walked out of the doctor's office together, their entire plans for that morning completely forgotten, as Blade led his sister back to his car.

As soon as they were in, the tears began to fall, no matter how much Buttercup tried to surpress it. Her brother just hugged her, letting her cry her eyes out, trying to comfort her as best as he could as she sobbed her heart out.

"Why me?"

It was just two words, but her brother's heart broke as she whispered it on his shoulder. His sister, of all the people, why did it have to be his sister? He combed his fingers through his hair, as his other hand continued to hold on to her shoulder tightly, as if afraid she would suddenly disappear.

"What am I going to tell the kids?"

Brian and Brianna. Oh, god, how could he forget them? How could he tell them that their mother could be close to dying? How could he even look at them without breaking down?

"Shhh. It's going to be okay."

They both know that was a lie, but for now, they just wanted to be in their safe bubble, free from her cancer, away from her failed marriage, away from her ex-husband. She just wanted to be happy. She wanted to finally be free of all her pent up emotions, arguing within her, fighting with her heart, squeezing her oxygen right out of her. She just wanted peace. What did she do to deserve all this?

Blade held her until her sobs quiet down, until the shaking of her shoulders would stop, until her tears stopped flowing. They then just sat there in silence. Blade drove her home, while she had to battle her emotions away from her thoughts.

What should she do? Tell her kids?Tell her other brothers? Her friends? Her ex-husband? How should she even tell them?

When they reached her house, Blade quickly got out and opened the door for her. He then made sure to hold her hand as they entered her house. Buttercup felt numb at that point. As soon as they entered her house, the first thing in her mind was death. This time, it didn't make her close to tears. No more worries about what could happen to you. No more disappointments. No more pain. She just wanted to get away from it all, but the moment her eyes landed on her kid's pictures, she didn't think she could go and leave them behind.

She was a mother. Her babies' needs come first, no matter what. She knew what it was like to live without a mother, and she didn't want that to happen to her own kids.

Blade sat her down, before going to her kitchen to make tea. When he came back to the living room, he saw Buttercup holding a photo of Brian and Brianna. He smiled a little at that. He gently placed the cup of tea on the table in order to not surprise her.

They just sat there, the silence peaceful. Comforting. Much more comforting than the fact that loomed over Buttercup's head. The picture of the twins was the only thing that kept her grounded. She smiled a sad, broken smile. She didm't know how long she would get to live. She didn't even know if she wanted to live. Her babies, oh, her babies were already teenagers. Time flew too fast, she barely noticed that small fact. Her babies were living with their father, a man she hadn't seen for three months. He would take care of them. He already has a girlfriend that could be their future mother. He didn't need her anymore. Her brothers already have families of their own. She already reached her dreams by becoming the owner of multiple gyms in the city. The people who knew her would mourn, but in the end, they'll let learn to move on. Her ex-husband did. They'd learn to let go.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

That's the question. The question she didn't know the answer to. Or maybe she did, but she couldn't tell her brother. She didn't think he'd understand. On the other hand, she and the rest of them had been with her for years. Maybe he would understand. Maybe. Just not yet.

"I don't know."

Blade knew she would say that. He wouldn't know what to do if he was in her position, too. He can see it, though. A resolve in her eyes. The thing with their family, words never really held any deep meaning in them. Actions were all they ever sought out for. Words can be twisted and changed, it can be a lie, and it can be the truth. Actions never lie, though. It tells the truth no matter what. He just wished his sister didn't need to learn it the hard way.

"Whatever you decide to do, I'll support you through and through."

She just smiled at that. A small smile, but so full of gratitude. That was all she ever wanted. A person that could be there for her, no matter what. It was all she ever needed, a bond that would never break.

"I don't want them to know."

He figured as much. His sister always tried to act tough, pretending her problems don't faze her, ignoring the screams of her emotions. What she didn't know was that he could read her like a book. He knew she used to keep her heart in her hand as tightly as she could, only to be touched by those she trusted the most. Now it was battered and bruised, and laid out for all to see.

"Then I promise not to tell, until you're ready."

He placed an arm on her shoulder, and she leaned close to him, as they both allowed themselves to allow the calm feeling around them. The calm before the storm.

o O o

Butch pulled away from the kiss as he took a few deep breathes to compose himself. The girl he was kissing looked thoroughly annoyed, as she tried to capture his lips once again. He allowed it, letting him feel around her body as they continued to have fun without any worries of his wife, his ex-wife entering the office.

"Butch." Her moans filled the air as he kissed her neck, grinding her as she began to untie his neck tie. It used to have made him happy to know that she couldn't wait for him to take her in the office. It used to made him feel pleasure as he watched her come undone. So why the fuck didn't he feel the rush he used to feel? Why the fucking hell did it felt so wrong?

The knocking of the door gave him a reason to push her away. They quickly fixed themselves, before Butch told them to enter.

His two kids appeared, their faces grim when they saw the woman standing next to him. It was no secret they knew what they were doing earlier, just like it wasn't a secret how much they despised him and her.

"Brian, Brianna. What can I do for you?" He winced as soon as he said that. These days, he acted less of a father and more like a principal, or a business man. They didn't seem to mind that fact. In fact, they were the first ones that started acting less like his own children and more like employees.

"Well, you could always give our mother full custody, sir. That way, we won't have to come here every weekend to cockblock you." Brian said, his tone as cold as the eyes in his father's cup of wine.

"You shouldn't talk to your father like that, Brian, that's disrespectful." The woman said, using a voice normally used by a disappointed parent scolding her child. That just made them stiffen, and they both glared at her with as much hate as they could muster.

"You're not our mother. You don't have the right to tell us what to do." Brianna's cold voice, filled with so much anger, made Butch flinch a bit. She used to be the brightest, warmest person he ever known. Now she acted like ice, cold and rigged.

"I'm not your mother yet, honey. You'd better start getting used to me being here, though. We are going to be a family soon, after all." The woman smiled at Butch, who just looked at his kids, his lights of the world, now as cold and as unwelcoming as a blizard.

"Even if you get married to Butch, you still wouldn't be our mother. After all, he doesn't have the right to be our father anymore." Brian spat, before turning around, his sister following. He then turned around, looking at the man he onced called father. The man he once thought was his hero. The man who was now nothing to him and his sibling. "We will be in our rooms, treat us like we aren't here. That should be easy for you, after all, you treated our mother the same."

He then slammed the door shut, leaving Butch alone with the woman. She used to make everytging easier for him, but now, she made everything harder.

"Why don't you just give her full custody. After all, as soon as we get married, we'll have kids of our own." She then wrapped her hands around his neck, kissing him on the cheek. He didn't answer her, he just stared at the doorway, where his children used to be.

Did he really made a mistake?