Thanks for the reviews once again! They really inspire me to write more and more each day! This may the last chapter up for a while because I'll be going back to Sydney (in HK right now) and then going off to China for a year of International Studies...and I don't know if I'll have any internet in between this time. (It may also take a while before the internet is set up in China) Anyways, I think it's a good place to break off anyways, so hope you enjoy it!

Brothers – Chapter 3

Sandy felt Seth's hesitation at the door of Ryan's room, the tiny hand clutching his own just that little bit tighter, the feet dragging. Giving his son's hand a little squeeze, he gave Seth a small pat on the head before opening the door and leading him inside.

"Look who I found!" he announced enthusiastically into the room, an attempt to lighten up the tense atmosphere, to lessen the fear and cautiousness that Sandy could feel gripping his son.

Seth tentatively peeked inside the room, chewing nervously at his lip. He could make out Ryan's figure on the bed, asleep. His brother didn't look too sick...he thought to himself, but glancing up, he saw his Mommy's tear stained face, and knew the truth. Seth shuddered; his Mommy was crying...he didn't like it when his Mommy cried. Last time he had seen her cry, was when Grandma had died. He had stood by not really knowing what to do, but Ryan had been at his side, and Ryan being there had made him brave. Brave enough to go up to his Mommy and hold her hand, and tell her that he was sorry and that he missed Grandma too. Ryan had gone up with him, taking Kirsten's other hand, and both boys had managed to make her smile again. Now seeing his Mommy cry for the second time in his life, Seth felt the need for his brother to be there again.

"We need to be strong for Ryan and Mommy." His Daddy's words whispered in his ear once again. Looking at his Daddy, as if for confirmation, Seth knew what he needed to do. Be strong for Mommy...he was going to be strong for Mommy, because that was what Mommy needed for him to be right now.

"Don't cry Mommy," Seth spoke up, walking away from Sandy's side to take her hand into his own little ones, "Ryan's going to get better." He felt as his Mommy held his hand tighter, before wrapping him into a hug. He could feel his Mommy's body shaking as she sobbed, and fear gripped once again at his little heart. But he stood strong, wrapping his arms around her neck and gently stroking her back...the same way his Daddy did to him after a nightmare.

"Kirsten," Sandy spoke up, seeing his wife breakdown onto Seth. Sandy's instinct was able to tell him how much his son was able to handle, and he knew that Kirsten's tears was bordering on frightening Seth. "Kirsten," he spoke again, detangling her from Seth and wrapping her into his own arms.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cohen, Dr. Williams would like to see you in her office," a nurse announced at the door, unaware of what she was interrupting until she had finished. "Oh, I'm sorry if I interrupted..." she started to apologized, but Sandy waved for her to stop.

"We'll be right there," he answered her. Satisfied, the nurse nodded and walked out.

"Kirsten, we have to go," he said gently to his wife, beckoning her to the door. Kirsten wiped her tears away and sniffed, taking a few deep breaths to keep further tears at bay. When she finally regained her composure, she took a final longing glance at Ryan, before the couple stepped outside the room.

Seeing his parents leave, Seth felt a sense of insecurity surround him. He was afraid to be left alone in this dreary place, whether it was now in Ryan's room, or before in the hospital playroom. His life had always been with Ryan, his big brother had always been at his side no matter what, giving him the confidence he needed to be himself, to feel that the world was at ease. But now, as Ryan slept up on the bed, Seth felt alone for the first time. Yes, his brother was right beside him, and Seth couldn't seem to understand why he felt so scared and sad...but he did. He needed Ryan now, he needed Ryan close. Seeing the chair beside Ryan's bed, which Kirsten previously had been sitting on, Seth quickly clambered up, so he was able to reach to his brother on the bed. Leaning over, Seth gave his brother a small kiss on his cheek, willing for Ryan to wake up.

"Ry..." he uttered softly, but stopped himself, logic somehow telling him that he shouldn't wake up his brother right now. Feeling a real sense of dread and vulnerability over washing himself, Seth's tears began to trail down his small cheeks, dripping off his face and down to soak the edge of Ryan's pillow.

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"Ryan has acute myeloid leukemia," reported Dr. Williams after seating Kirsten and Sandy down into her office. She could only guess how much the family before her was in pain right now, but she as a doctor, felt that her duty was to provide them with what they needed to know. "It is a cancer in his bone marrow cells," she continued, handing them the folder she had already prepared on her desk. "All the information you need to know on Ryan's condition has been provided inside the folder, and if you have any questions you're very welcomed to come back to me."

Sandy and Kirsten nodded, taking the folder from the Doctor.

"Now, I know the words leukemia and cancer probably sound very scary, and I'm not going to sugar coat this, it is potentially life threatening, but there is treatment available, and once a child has been in remission, there is a high percentage chance that they will be able to live a normal life all the way into old age."

Sandy and Kirsten nodded again, trying to absorb all they were hearing, yet seeming to hear nothing at the same time.

"Now since we've covered the basics, I've called you in here actually to discuss Ryan's treatment. You may or may not already know about chemotherapy..."

Kirsten gasped audibly, interrupting the doctor, before succumbing to a sob. Realizing where she was, she quickly controlled herself.

"Sorry...it's just that...my Mother...she...died of cancer," she muttered to the Doctor whilst Sandy comfortingly massaged her shoulder.

"I understand," the Doctor responded sympathetically, "Chemotherapy is quite...unpleasant, and it's going to be hard for Ryan, and hard for you as parents as well, but it is the only option we have so far, and has had successes, especially in small children."

"Isn't there..a transplant or something for leukemia?" asked Sandy, finding the term "only option" so deadening.

Dr. Williams nodded.

"A bone marrow or stem cell transplant is a possible option, but we need to find the right match. Even with the right donor, we still need to run Ryan through chemotherapy first to kill off the cancer cells. In the meantime, it would be a good idea to start asking family members to test for positive matches. I believe his blood type is..." The Doctor opened up Ryan's file, "AB negative...that is a rather rare blood type..."

Pause.

"Look, there are chances, however rare. If no family matches, we can sign him up onto the donor's bank, and that's only considering if he doesn't get better with chemo. Ryan's otherwise a healthy kid, I'm confident your son will get through this," concluded the Dr. Williams.

Kirsten and Sandy hugged, before nodding their thanks at the Doctor.

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Ryan awoke to the sounds of muffled cries coming from the side of his bed. Blinking groggily whilst his eyes adjusted to the light, he found himself staring into Seth's tear stained cheeks, and wasted no moments in sitting up despite his body's protests.

"Seth? Why crying?" he asked, to which Seth sniffed and quickly used the back of his sleeves to wipe his eyes. "Where are we?" Ryan asked him again when noticing despite the fact that Seth was dressed in his pajamas, they weren't in their own room back in the big mansion.

"Hospital..." Seth managed to sniff out, using his sleeve to swipe away another loose tear.

"Why are you crying? Sethy?" asked Ryan again, this time using Seth's pet name. Ryan had always seen Kirsten and Sandy refer to Seth in that affectionate way when soothing him, and he himself had learnt to use it too when comforting his brother.

Seth shook his head...how was he meant to explain the funny feeling inside that had pained him so much and caused him his tears?

"I...I...Mommy and Daddy went away, and you...you were sleeping...and then there was just me..." he stammered, "And I was scared..." he finished in a whisper, wiping yet another tear that had escaped. Ryan wasted no time in reaching over to hug his brother.

"Don't be scared Seth, I'm here now."

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Yep, Ryan is the strong one even though he is sick...hee. One of my friends who read it first made a comment that Kirsten seemed to cry too much...but I dunno, I just always imagined her to be pretty broken if one of her children was sick...

Anyways, please review!! (and long reviews are very appreciated!)