1Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, the setting, or the song. All I own is the plot.
"Melissa?" Jackson said.
"Yeah?" she answered her husband.
He said I was in my early forties, with a lot of life before me,
When a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
"Mel, it's back," Jackson said.
"What!" Melissa said, snatching the letter out of his hands.
I spent most of the next days, looking at the X-Rays,
Talkin' 'bout the options, and talking 'bout sweet time.
"No, it can't be back! They said if it came back," Melissa started.
"Mel," Jackson said, holding her in his arms, "I know."
I asked him when it sank in, if this might really be the real end,
How's it hit you when you get that kind of news?
"Shh, Mel, it's alright." Jackson said, smoothing back her hair.
"How long?" Melissa asked, with apparent fear in her voice.
"One year,"
Man what'd you do?
He said
I went sky-divin', I went,
Rocky Mountain climbin',
I went 2.7 seconds, on a bull named FuManChu,
And I loved deeper, and I spoke sweeter,
And I, gave forgiveness I'd been denying.
And he said, someday I hope you get the chance, to live like you were dying.
"Jackson, I don't want you to leave so soon. We just got married three years ago. We finally got back from the island..."
Jackson kissed her nose and said, "I know. I won't ever leave you, you know that."
He said I was finally a husband.
Most the time I wasn't,
And I became a friend,
A friend would like to have.
"Who are you going to tell?" She asked.
"I'll invite everyone. Then tell them." he replied. She started crying again. "Shh, it's alright."
And all the sudden goin' fishin', wasn't such an imposition,
And I went three times that year I lost my dad.
"What about your family? And mine?"
"I'll call them."
She nodded her head.
Well I, finally read the good book,
And I took a good long, hard look,
At what I'd do if I could do it all again.
"Do you want to see everyone today?" Melissa asked.
"Yeah. I'll call the guys, and you can call the girls."
"Okay." Melissa whispered. She kissed him again, much more deeply. He kissed her back lovingly, and they parted.
And then,
I went sky-divin', I went,
Rocky Mountain climbin',
I went 2.7 seconds, on a bull named FuManChu,
And I loved deeper, and I spoke sweeter,
And I, gave forgiveness I'd been denying.
And he said, someday I hope you get the chance, to live like you were dying.
Later that day, everyone arrived wondering what was going on. Taylor clung to Erik's hand, and Daley was comforting Melissa, who was crying again.
"Guys," Jackson started, "It's back."
Like tomorrow was a gift, and you got an eternity,
To think about what'd you do with it.
What would you do with it?
What did you do with it?
What would I do it with?
Everyone was crying because they knew if the cancer came back, that they wouldn't be able to remove the tumor without killing Jackson.
"Guys, I'm sorry." Jackson said, finally letting the tears fall.
Sky-divin', I went,
Rocky Mountain climbin',
I went 2.7 seconds, on a bull named FuManChu,
And I loved deeper, and I spoke sweeter,
And I, watched an eagle as it was flying.
And he said, someday I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dyin',
To live like you were dyin',
To live like you were dyin',
To live like you were dyin',
To live like you were dyin'!
WAH! I got this as an idea this morning during Sunday School. I didn't want to kill him off, but I knew if I didn't post it, it would haunt me! Please don't be mad! It made me cry when I was writing this!