Author's Note: Hey guys! (: Just a head's up, I really do not know much about cancer. So if I say something that doesn't really make sense related to it, go ahead and tell me about it. (: Tony is so freaking awesome. Not even kidding. You're seriously the coolest guy I know.

This chapter is probably going to make you guys hate me though. :P

The bed was too soft. Her old mattress was worn out and bumpy, an old hand-me-down from Justin's childhood. Springs were broken and had pushed against her back and legs, but it didn't bother Alex. She was out like a light whenever she hit the pillow anyways. She wasn't so lucky with her new, fluffy bed. She made a big deal out of turning around, kicking and pushing her covers to the foot of the bed, and checked the clock for what had to be the seventeenth time. Four twenty-three. "Damn it." She sat up and ran a hand through her wild hair. She wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. She pouted at the clock, but got up to pull her robe on anyways. She could go for a pickle right now.

-x-

She nearly tripped twice going down the straight staircase. She smiled a little when she saw her dad sitting in the overstuffed leather sofa with a cup of coffee.

"Hey, Daddy." Jerry smiled back at her and reached for the remote to turn the volume down.

"Hey, Princess." Alex sat beside him and laid her head on his shoulder. Jerry gave her a one armed hug and a kiss on her head. For a long moment they didn't say anything.

"Why are you watching an infomercial?" Alex asked with a laugh. Her dad hated regular commercials, let alone an hour of them. Jerry chuckled.

"I wasn't paying much attention to it." Jerry cleared his throat and sighed. "We need to talk, Alex." Alex nodded and pulled away to face him. She should have seen that coming.

"Okay." Her dad set his coffee aside and turned to face her.

"I have pancreatic cancer, Alex." Alex swallowed hard.

"Is that why you've lost weight?" Jerry nodded and Alex pulled the sleeves of her robe past her knuckles to wrap the material around her thumbs. "And why you've stopped eating so many burgers?" He smiled and nodded again. Alex found it a little easier to breathe when he smiled.

"You know why we moved out here, right?" She knew. LA had one of the best cancer treatment centers in the country. That's what the internet told her, anyways. "I'm really sorry that we couldn't stay in New York, Alex." Alex furrowed her brow and frowned at her father.

"What? Why would you be sorry about that?" Her voice was a bit harsher than she meant for it to be and she instantly regretted saying it. It didn't seem to affect him, though.

"Because I know how hard it was to leave Mason and Harper. And I know you don't want to start at a new school, and-"

"Dad. School is school, I'll never like it." Alex joked. "I'd rather come here so you can get better than stay with them. Mason's fine, and I'm still best friends with Harper. I could live on the other side of the world and it wouldn't ruin our friendship." Alex stated confidently. Jerry sighed. He wasn't used to the new Alex.

"I know, but..."

"But nothing, Dad. I'll be fine without them and they'll be fine without me. I wouldn't be fine without you, I was happy to move." It wasn't exactly a lie. It was the bittersweet truth. Harper and Mason weren't going anywhere, but her dad... "Don't be sorry, okay? I'm fine." Alex smiled and pointed to her face. "See? Happy." Jerry smiled weakly and nodded.

"Okay." He sniffed once and Alex really hoped he wouldn't start crying. She'd never seen her father cry. His smile grew and he stood up. "Come on, I wanna show you something." Alex breathed a sigh of relief internally and followed her father past the stairs and into the hallway.

"You want to show me your bedroom?" Jerry scoffed and shook his head.

"No." Alex grinned at his childish tone. "I want to show you your second room." Alex didn't have time to twist her face up in confusion before he flipped the light on in the spare bedroom. Her jaw dropped.

"An art room?" Jerry chuckled at the awe in her voice.

"I know it's probably not how you want it set up, but we had to do it without you. I wanted it to be a surprise." Alex gave her dad a watery smile and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her robe.

"It's perfect, Daddy." She said before giving him a bear hug. It would have been perfect if it had dirt floors and cinder blocks for walls.

-x-

"Alex." Alex pushed away the hands that were shaking her and growled. "Alex, Alex get up." The covers were ripped off her body and she groaned, curled up and buried her face in her pillow. "Alex!" She whipped around with a scream and her face fell. Jerry stood over her bed, blanket in hand. She scrambled to sit up and moved her hair out of her face.

"Oh. Morning, Dad." Jerry fought to keep the smile off his face and threw the blanket over Alex's head.

"Get up, your mom's got a surprise for you."

"Kay." Alex said with a sheepish smile. Jerry walked out, shaking his head and smiling. Alex dragged herself out of bed with a groan and set out to find some clothes.

-x-

"Aren't you guys excited?" Alex scoffed and shook her head. "C'mon, Alex! It's Mackenzie Falls! How are you not excited?"

"It's not like it's Grey's Anatomy, mom." Theresa sighed.

"At least pretend you're excited there. It's your cousin's show. He's the reason we have half of our new furniture. Now please, quit being so negative." Alex only grunted in response. An awkward silence settled inside the car. Alex glanced in the side view mirror and couldn't help but chuckle at the oblivious, head banging Max in the back seat.

They pulled into the back lot of the studio, where a grinning Chad Dylan Cooper was waiting for them. Alex wrapped the ear buds around her iPod and slipped on her oversized sunglasses with a sigh. Theresa frowned.

"Alex, please."

"I know, Mom. I know." Alex plastered on a fake smile and stepped out of the SUV. "Chad!"

"Alexandra!" Alex fought to keep the smile on her face and reminded herself that the last time she and Chad had seen each other, she was seven. Back then ,she wouldn't let anyone call her Alex, Alex was a boy's name.

"It's Alex these days, actually." She smiled and hugged Chad quickly.

"Finally, your name's a mouthful." Alex found her smile not so fake and laughed.

"Tell me about it."

"Chad!"

"Aunt Theresa!" Chad offered his arm to her mom while Alex and Max fell into step behind them. And so, Alex thought, the tour begins.

-x-

Chad slowly backed away from the in depth conversation his aunt and the Mackenzie Falls writer has struck up. He smiled at a very bored looking Alex on the couch behind him and plopped down beside her with a sigh.

"Your mom is the biggest Mackenzie Falls fan I have ever met." Alex laughed.

"Oh, Chad." She clapped a hand over her shoulder. "Chad, Chad, Chad. You don't know the half of it." Alex crossed her legs and shook her head. "She has every single episode on DVD. And on VHS! Just in case the DVD player breaks." Chad stared at Alex like she grew an extra head.

"Wow."

"I know." Alex said with a grin.

"Chad!" Chad jumped at the voice and turned back to his aunt with a smile. "Show me the rest of the studio?"

"Yeah! Yeah, sure!" He stood from the couch and walked to his aunt. "You wanna go see the So Random set?" Alex shot up from the couch.

"So Random? They tape So Random here?" It looked like it took a second for Chad to decipher what Alex said, but he smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. You really didn't know that?" She shook her head and started bouncing on her heels. "Max already went down there."

"What? Where's it at?"

"Room one forty-two." Chad said with a laugh as Alex tore out of the room.

-x-

Her palms were sweaty. Her palms were sweaty. Since when did Alex Russo get nervous enough to get sweaty palms? Since the stars of her favorite comedy show were on the other side of the door in front of her. She took a deep breath and braced herself. At worst, they didn't like her, she took Max and ran. At best... Well, she didn't know til she tried, right? She nodded to herself and turned the knob.

Max was sitting next to Grady Mitchell and Nico Harris, and all three of them had a pair of straws hanging out of their upper lips. Alex grinned at the sight and raised one eyebrow.

"Ooh er preffy." Alex blushed and laughed at Nico's attempt to speak. She didn't expect that. He looked down at the straws in his mouth and ripped them out to put on a charming smile.

"Thanks." She said nervously.

"Quit messing around, guys. Marshall's gonna be here with the new girl soon." Tawni stated from the couch next to Nico. Alex looked at Tawni with a confused look on her face.

"New girl?"

"Oh, are you her?" Tawni asked with a frown.

"No, I'm Max's sister."

"Oh!" Tawni grinned and stood to greet her. "Great! I'm Tawni Hart!" Alex laughed and shook the perfectly manicured hand offered to her.

"Alex Russo." Alex said over the jangling of Tawni's many bracelets.

"Nico's right, you are pretty." Alex blushed again and discreetly wiped her palms on her jeans. "I hope the new girl isn't as pretty as you, I don't need a newbie stealing my thunder." The door behind her swung open before she could reply.

"Okay guys, meet your new co-star, Sonny Munroe." No fucking way.