"No, no, no, no."
Megan took a few shaky breaths and reached out for Sylvester's hand. "We knew," she swallowed, struggling to get the words out, "We knew this was coming."
He brought her fingers to his lips and held them there. There was so much he wanted to say but the words weren't coming out. Thoughts of how he'd thought they'd have more time, of how she'd changed his life, made him feel free like he never had before, of how she meant the world to him, of how he didn't know how he'd go back to life without her, all these thoughts and more were racing through his mind. He tried to think of something to say to comfort her, to show her that he was there for her and how much he cared, because this wasn't about him, but he opened his mouth and all that came out was, "Not yet."
And then the tears that had been welling in her eyes started to fall. He drew his thumb across her cheek gently, wiping them away, ignoring his own that had been streaking his face for some time now.
"I never expected this." Her voice was low, barely above a whisper, but Sylvester had gotten used to tuning out the beeping of the machines and all the other hectic hospital sounds that came through the door. "I didn't see the point… because I knew it'd be cut short."
"Shh. Don't." He could see the effort it was taking her to just get these few words out.
"When I pictured this," she went on, "I figured I'd be alone. It was always… just me and Walter. And I knew… statistically speaking, the chances of me kicking it… during one of his Friday visits… was unlikely."
"Hey," he said softly, stroking her hair, "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. And Walter's on his way. You're not alone."
The corners of Megan's mouth turned up in a small, sad smile as she fought back more tears. "I'm scared," she whispered.
Sylvester took both her hands in his, squeezing them gently before placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "That's okay. I'll just be brave enough for both us."
The End.