*Much as I appreciate as many readers as possible, please do not read on if you do not wish to read a story with a childhood cancer theme. I do not wish to upset anyone so please do not read on if you think you will be badly affected by the plot. Thank you.*

Hey guys! Thanks go to the five people who reviewed my first chapter! I hope it was okay and not too sad! I am going to be evil and not reveal the little girl's name, mainly because I haven't decided on one yet :-) and I want to keep you in suspense for the next chapter. Will Ronnie have named her after Danielle? What do you think? Do you think that is a good idea? :-)

And I know the question that a lot of you are probably thinking 'Who's the daddy?' Ah that would be telling! Ha ha! Is it Jack....or maybe Max.....or maybe it's a complete stranger. Who knows? You'll just have to wait and find out! Enjoy this chapter! Please review and I will update quickly! xxx

"Hello, Forest Lane Primary School, Claire speaking, how can I help?" asked a kindly woman from the other end of Ronnie Mitchell's mobile phone.

"Yes, hello, I'm phoning in to let you know that my daughter will not be attending school today due to illness," Ronnie Mitchell answered calmly, speaking as if her daughter only had a simple common cold as opposed to a possibly terminal cancer.

"Okay then, I'll just need to take your daughter's name and details for the school register," replied the woman in a surprisingly cheery, positive voice for a Monday morning. It made Ronnie sigh as she realised that she couldn't remember the last time she had sounded that happy towards anyone but her daughter, whom she knew she had to remain positive for.

Ronnie glanced into her bedroom where her daughter was still sleeping quietly, as she reeled off her name and address and so many other things that she wasn't concentrating on and wasn't aware she was saying. It made a smile emerge slowly from her face as she watched her four year old's chest rise up and down repetitively and slowly as she slept. She looked so peaceful and beautiful. Ronnie realised just how brave her little girl was. She hardly ever complained and if she did feel unhappy, like she had last night, then it was only for a short time before she was smiling again and telling Ronnie how much she loved her.

"And I just have to ask, when do you think your daughter will be returning to school?" asked the secretary, shuffling papers as she spoke.

"Em, I'm not sure, probably around....," Ronnie stopped dead in her tracks as she caught sight of something from her bedroom. "Oh my god....em...I have to go, I'm really sorry," gushed Ronnie hurriedly, pressing cancel on the mobile, dropping it on the ground and dashing furiously into the bedroom.

"Oh sweetie, it's alright, come here," breathed Ronnie, picking her daughter up and lying her flat on her back on the bedroom floor. The little girl was shaking violently, her legs locking into a completely straight position and her little, blues eyes furiously rolling back into her head.

Another symptom of the brain tumour.... seizures.....

"Come on sweeheart, that's it," whispered Ronnie, shakily, stroking her daughter's head, desperately trying to calm her until the seizure stopped. It was heart-wrenching to watch this happening to her little girl. She always got so upset after she came out of a fit. She never knew when it was going to happen. It felt so strange that Ronnie had only a few minutes ago, been watching the little girl sleep peacefully for the first time in many nights and now she was trying to hold the girl's head up to stop her choking on her tongue as she shook violently and ferociously for the next few minutes.

"That's it baby, well done, it's all over now," whispered Ronnie, kissing her daughter on the forehead, and desperately trying to hold back the tears as the little girl slowly stopped shaking and her eyes gently began to re-open.

"You are my big, brave girl, you know that?" smiled Ronnie, down towards the little girl, using all her strength and might to hold back the tears that she knew were about to escape from her eyes at any moment.

Ronnie sighed painfully as she realised the extent of this particular seizure. All of them were bad ones but Ronnie could tell that this one had been particularly awful as the little girl could barely tell where she was or if her mum was even there. Her eyes continued to circle round the room as if she was desperately trying to establish her surroundings without much success, the fear ignited powerfully in her eyes.

"Oh darling, don't worry, Mummy's here, Mummy's going to look after you forever and ever," sighed Ronnie trying to let her know that her mummy was going to be by her side as long as she needed her.

And then a small smile emerged from her daughter's face, beaming back up at her mum, a sense of relief flooding over her face.

"Come on darling, let's get you back into bed," whispered Ronnie, cradling her daughter in her arms, carefully placing her back into the double bed and securing her gently underneath the covers. A small sigh emerged from the girl and within moments, her little eyes had given in to her exhaustion and she was soon fast asleep, escaping to a world where there was no such thing as cancer.

Ronnie smiled at the sight of her daughter slowly falling into dream land. Sleep was the best thing she could get. The only thing that would allow her to forget for just a moment. Ronnie leaned forward and gently planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead. She stroked her soft, rosy cheek and stood up to admire her.

Ronnie had considered leaving her daughter to sleep peacefully on her own to get some proper rest but after what had just happened, she couldn't. This little girl needed someone to watch over her and there was no one else who could do it but her mum. Ronnie climbed up on to the bed beside the little girl and laid her head down on the pillow. She felt extremely tired as well and knew that she should also try to sleep. She gently grasped her daughter's soft, warm hand to remind her that she was still there and slowly closed her eyes, watching the same image of her daughter until the darkness surrounded her eyes and she too slipped into a peaceful dream world, where no one would ever be able to hurt them both....

They were both safe together, bounded in a sanctuary of love. Protected.

But for how long......?

Hey guys! Thanks for reading! I think the ending was kind of rushed because I have to go out but I really hope you liked it and felt the emotion! Please review and I will update quickly!