"What is this?" Kira cringed, looking down at the plate Sam had just slid in front of her.

"Organic chicken breasts with a spinach salad and fresh vegetables," Sam replied, sliding a plate in front of Leah as well before sitting down at the table with the twins.

Whenever Leah was put on dialysis or in the middle of a new treatment, she was always put on a very strict diet.

Nothing deep-fried, no sugar, as little fat as possible…

Sam had decided that as much as she loved her food, she couldn't stand to bite into a piece of ham knowing Leah couldn't enjoy the same pleasure, so whenever Leah was put on this diet, so was the rest of the family.

"Can't I just skip to desert?" Kira asked.

"No desert tonight," Sam said.

"What?"

"Mom, you don't have to do this," Leah mumbled, still weak from her first dialysis session. "I don't care if you guys eat normal food."

"Hey, some healthy food won't hurt us," Sam said, trying not to gag as she chewed a cold piece of broccoli.

"Speak for yourself," Kira mumbled, jabbing her plain chicken breast with her fork.

"Just eat it, please," Sam sighed. "And have you finished everything for school yet? You go back tomorrow. And if you even think about getting suspended again-"

"Relax, I won't," Kira said.

"Good," Sam said. "Anyway, tomorrow, Kira, you're responsible for waking yourself up to catch the school bus. I got stuck going into work at six in the morning."

"Since when do you go into work that early?" Leah asked.

"It's the only way I could get the next two days off," Sam explained. "We have to be at the hospital to start the new treatment."

"Well, there's no way I'm eating this," Kira said, pushing her plate away and getting to her feet. "I'm gonna go watch T.V."

Sam didn't stop her; she didn't feel like arguing with her right now.

"Alright, well after you finish eating, you should probably go back to bed and rest," Sam said, chewing on the dry chicken.

"How long do I have to do dialysis this time?" Leah asked.

Sam bit the corner of her mouth. "Um, it depends on how well this new treatment goes," she replied.

Leah didn't respond.

"Hey," Sam said, giving her a small smile. "Don't worry about it, okay? Everything will be fine."

….

About an hour later, while Leah was in the shower, Sam walked into the twins' room, where Kira was laying on her bed, watching T.V.

"Hey," Sam said, sitting down at the foot of her bed. "What's up?"

"I'm hungry," Kira mumbled.

"Maybe because you didn't eat anything for dinner?" Sam suggested, rolling her eyes.

"I don't like Leah's stupid health food," Kira said.

"I know," Sam said. "I'm not exactly the biggest fan of it either. But we're doing it for your sister, remember."

"Yeah, I know," Kira sighed.

Sam looked at her daughter. Sometimes she felt guilty that she sometimes had to give all her attention to Leah. She hoped Kira understood…

"You know what," Sam said softly, putting her arm around the child. "How about you and I do something this weekend? Just you and me."

Kira looked up. "Really? I thought Leah had some doctors appointment or something."

"Nope, hopefully this weekend will be doctor free," Sam smiled. "But how about we go see a movie or something? I'll have Mrs. Fisher come over and take care of Leah."

"Okay," Kira said, smiling. "Can we go see something rated R?"

"Um…we'll see," Sam said.

"Cool," Kira grinned.

"Alright, well I'm going to go see if Leah's done with her shower so I can give her the new medicine," Sam said, getting up. She made to head out the door.

"Mom?" Kira said.

"Yeah?"

"Is this new medicine really going to work for Leah?"

Sam closed her eyes. "I don't know," she said honestly. "I-I hope so."

"What if it doesn't?" Kira asked quietly.

Sam went back over to the bed. "If it doesn't," Sam said, her voice shaking a bit. "Then we hope that a donor comes through for her."

Kira nodded. "Are you sure I'm not a match to her?"

Sam gave a small nod. "You know they already tested you, sweetie."

"But…we're twins," Kira said. "Don't we have to be a match?"

"You're fraternal twins," Sam explained. "It only works that way with identical twins. Like your Aunt Melanie and me."

"Oh," Kira whispered. She looked down, and Sam could see that her eyes were wet.

"Don't worry about it," Sam said, just as she had told Leah earlier. "Maybe…Maybe this medicine will work this time. You never know."

"Maybe," Kira mumbled.

Sam kissed the top of her head. "Go get some rest, okay?"

…..

That evening, after both of the twins had fallen asleep, Sam retreated back to her bedroom. She laid down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling.

When is this ever going to get easier? Sam thought to herself, feeling her eyes sting with tears.

She didn't bother to stop them; alone in her bed was the only place she would allow herself to fall apart.

She may have told Leah and Kira not to worry about anything, that maybe this time the medication would work for Leah and she wouldn't have to find some miraculous donor to save her, but that didn't mean she could convince herself.

As much as she hated it, from the second she found out about Leah's condition eight years ago, Sam had always been haunted with one thought: what would it be like to lose your child?

She didn't know if she could handle it. She didn't know what she would do if she had to go through that pain.

And that's why she kept fighting. She didn't care how slim of a chance any new treatment or medication was, if it was going to give her daughter hope, she was going to take it.

Sam closed her eyes and pulled her blanket close to her and cried herself to sleep.