Chapter 2

Jason felt his knees start to buckle. Leukemia? His best friend, the person he needed most in the world, had a life-threatening disease? This was definitely not what he expected.

"Leukemia? Are you sure?" Carly asked.

"Yes. It looks like it is still in its early stages, so we're confident that we can treat it."

"Will I need a bone marrow transplant?"

"We're not sure. We're going to draw a sample of your bone marrow to test it, and we'll do more blood tests and then we'll let you know more about your treatment."

Carly nodded, still too shocked to really comprehend what was going on.

"I'm going to do the bone marrow test, and then I'm going to turn you over to Dr. Foster. She's our best oncologist. I'll going to go get everything to do the test, and I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Jase," she said, her lips starting to quiver.

"It's okay. I'm here," he said, trying to comfort her.

"How did this happen? I was expecting to have side effects from the virus, but I get cancer? I'm going to have to go through chemotherapy, and lose my hair, and… what if I don't—"

"Calm down," he said, not wanting her to finish that sentence. "We don't know anything yet. And even if you have to go through chemotherapy, you'll get through it. We'll beat this."

"We?"

"Yeah. You know I'm not gonna let you fight this by yourself."

She smiled. "I love you… so much."

The doctor walked in with some medical supplies, and a huge needle. "You're going to stick that thing in me?"

"Yes, but I'm going to give you something to numb you first. Can you turn on your side?"

Jason helped her turn, and she grabbed his hand. "Don't let go," she said.

"Never."

He felt her hand grip his tighter when the needle went in. "You're doing great," he said. "I'm so proud of you."

"All done," he said. "Some people will be here soon to transfer you to the oncology department, and Dr. Foster will be with you as soon as she can."

After he left, Jason asked Carly if it would be okay if he went to visit Spinelli.

"They just wanted to keep him overnight for observation. I'll only be a minute," he said.

"It's fine," she said. "Tell Spinelli I said hi, and that I'm glad he's okay. But Jase?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell him that I have leukemia. I just want some time to deal with it and find out more details before people know."

"Sure."

As soon as he walked out the door, he had to fight back tears. She didn't want anyone to know she was sick, so he had to act like nothing was wrong. God, why was this happening? The oncologist had to give them good news; the cancer couldn't be advanced. It just couldn't be.

"Hey Spinelli," he said

"Stone Cold! What merits such a fabulous visit to the Jackal?"

"I just wanted to see how you were."

"I'm vastly improved since our last encounter. Is the Valkeryie well?"

"What?"

"You went to see the Valkeryie at her home this evening?"

"Oh, yeah. She's fine," he lied. But she wasn't fine, and it was killing him.

After talking with Spinelli for a while, he went to find Carly on the oncology department. When he got there, Dr. Foster was explaining thing to her.

Carly saw him walk in the door. "How's Spinelli?" she asked.

"He's good," he said. "Hi, I'm Jason Morgan," he told Dr. Foster.

"Dr. Foster," she said.

"Carly, it looks like your cancer is in stage 2."

"What does that mean? Is that good?" she asked.

"Ideally, we'd like the cancer to be in stage 1, but patients with stage 2 have a good chance of beating the cancer. We'd like to start you on chemo right away. I actually have an opening two days from now."

"Two days? That's so soon."

"The sooner you start the better the chance of the chemo working," she said.

"Okay."

"I'm going to release you. Go home and rest. Here's my card in case you need anything. Mr. Morgan, can I speak to you out in the hall?"

He nodded and followed the doctor out into the hallway.

"She's going to need support from everyone around her. I'm not sure she realizes the fight she's up against."

"But you said this is treatable," Jason said.

"Most patients do beat stage 2 leukemia, but the chemotherapy is a difficult process. As her husband, you need –"

"I'm not her husband."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed."

"Carly is my best friend, and I will support her in every way possible."

"Good."

When Jason went back into Carly's room, she was dressed and ready to go.

"I just want to go home," she said.

"Okay, let's go," he said.

Carly was silent all the way home. Jason didn't say anything; he knew that she needed time to process this. He wanted to comfort her, and he would, but it wasn't the time.

Carly went upstairs as soon as she got home. She just wanted to sit in Michael's room and cry. She loved Jason, but she wanted to be alone. How could she have cancer? Hadn't she been through enough? She walked into Michael's room, sat on his bed, and held his pillow for dear life. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine the smell of his shampoo on it, and for a second, she could pretend everything was right in the world.

In just a few minutes, she had gone from a few stray tears to full on sobbing. Michael's pillow was soaked with her tears. She had changed her mind; she needed Jason.

"Jason!" she screamed.

He heard his name, and he ran upstairs, but he found her room empty. "I'm in here," she said.

The image of Carly sobbing into Michael's pillow broke his heart on ten different levels.

"Why are you in here?" he asked, pulling her into his arms.

"I just wanted to sit in here and pretend for one moment that my son was still here, and I was healthy. This pillow used to smell like him, but it doesn't anymore."

"I don't think you should be in here right now," he said, taking the pillow out of her hands and pulling her off the bed. He walked her to her own room, and sat down with her on the bed.

"Are you sure you don't want me to call someone? Your mom? Lulu? Jax?" As much as Jason didn't Jax there, he would do anything for Carly.

She shook her head. "I'll tell everyone tomorrow, but right now I just want you."

He wrapped his arms around her as she buried her head into his shoulder. He ran his hands through her hair to comfort her as she cried.

"Shh," he said. "You're gonna be okay," he just repeated over and over.

She eventually cried herself to sleep, and Jason laid her down on the bed. He tucked her in, and moved over to the chair next to her bed.

He stayed awake for a few hours watching her sleep. He finally fell asleep, but before he did, he prayed that she would be strong enough to survive this, and that he would be strong enough to help her pull through.