Alex held Kaylin's hand tightly as they walked towards the doctor's office. As the doctor had suggested, she was bringing Kaylin in for the tests. Kaylin asked, "Mommy, why are we going to the doctor again?"

"Well, the doctor wants to see you again and find out why you're always tired. They're just going to run some tests….kind of like shots." Alex tried to explain.

Kaylin made a face and whined, "But I don't like shots…"

"I know…neither do I, but it'll only take a few minutes."

As they waited to be called by a nurse, Justin joined them. They had decided that both of them should be with Kaylin during the tests. It wasn't long before the three of them were brought back to a room where an anesthetist met them.

"Hello, everyone."

"Hi!" Kaylin exclaimed.

"You must be little Kaylin."

"Yes, sir."

"Do you know what's going on right now?" the anesthetist asked.

"I think so…I'm getting a shot?"

"Yup…except this shot is a little different. After I finish, you won't be able to feel anything happen to you, okay?"

Kaylin shrugged and nodded. As the anesthetist gave Kaylin the shot, Justin and Alex were right by her side. They both felt Kaylin wince, but knew the test was quick- it was just a small needle. As the nurse checked if the anesthetics had taken effect, Justin asked, "You okay, Kaybear?"

Kaylin nodded, "Yeah….but I can't feel anything."

"Then it worked!" The nurse smiled. She continued, "Alright lets head to a different room for the procedure."

At another room, Dr. Garth greeted them. Knowing that this procedure would be a lot harder on Kaylin since the needles were a lot bigger and it took a long time, Justin and Alex couldn't help but feel nervous. After Dr. Garth explained to Kaylin what would happen, he asked, "Are you ready?"

All three of them replied, "Yes."

Dr. Garth quickly mentioned, "Mr. and Mrs. Russo, I think it's best if only one of you accompany Kaylin. With too many people in the room, it might overwhelm her."

"Oh…." They replied in unison .

Justin encouraged, "Go ahead, Alex…"

"Justin…Are you sure?"

"Yeah…Kaylin should be with you."

Realizing what was happening, Kaylin exclaimed, "No! Daddy!!! Stay with me…."

Justin looked at Alex who looked disappointed once again. Kaylin was the same- she preferred Justin over Alex. He shook his head, "I'm sorry, Kaylin, but mommy needs to be with you this time."

Kaylin disagreed, "No…I want you, daddy!"

Alex quickly stopped her from whining, "Justin, just let her be. Go with her….I don't want her to throw a fit right now."

"Alex….it's not her choice…You can….." Justin began.

"No, Justin. Just go. It's fine." As much as it hurt her to not be with her daughter during a rough time, Alex knew Kaylin would probably feel more relaxed around Justin.

Justin reluctantly took Kaylin into the procedure room and not more than five minutes later, Alex was startled by familiar cries of pain. Alex was sitting down on a bench as her breathing rapidly increased. She didn't know what was happening- all she knew was that Kaylin wasn't taking it well. She stood up from the bench and started pacing as more crying became evident. A couple minutes later, Justin rushed out.

Frantically, he began, "I..I…can't do this….Alex….you've got to….." Justin was becoming paler by the second.

Alex comforted him, "Justin, calm down…what happened?"

He stuttered as he pointed to the door, "Y...you….just go….Kaylin needs you more than me right now."

Alex quickly went inside the room and saw Kaylin crying uncontrollably on the examining table. She rushed to her side and said, "Shhh….Kaylin, it's okay. What happened?"

Dr. Garth replied, "Well, first, I don't think your husband was handling it too well because he turned pale pretty fast. And second, Kaylin had a really hard time with the first procedure. I think she was just frightened- which is perfectly normal. However, you're lucky she didn't freak out too much and I was able to control the needle. We were still able to get the bone and marrow sample, but if Kaylin was more frightened than she is now, then it could have been pretty dangerous for her. We just have one more test to run, but it's so important that she keeps still during this one."

Alex nodded and rubbed Kaylin's back, "Kaylin, it's okay. Nothing's going to hurt you. Just one more…."

Kaylin looked at Alex with tear-stained eyes and murmured, "No….mommy, it hurts."

"I know, baby. But please do this for me." Alex sighed as she held her hand.

Soon, Dr. Garth started the next test and Kaylin started freaking out once again. "Mommy!! It hurts….make it stop!!" She became fidgety.

Alex was startled and winced at her cries, "It's okay, sweetie….just a little bit longer."

Kaylin started moving abruptly and Dr. Garth sternly said, "Mrs. Russo…..please."

In order to keep Kaylin still, Alex held on to her tightly in a hug. As Kaylin continued to cry into Alex's shoulder, Dr. Garth was able to successfully remove a bone sample. He said, "All done…"

Kaylin's crying decreased and Alex smiled, "You did it!"

Dr. Garth agreed, "Yup….here's a lollipop to make you feel better." He handed her a small treat and bandaged her abdomen up.

Kaylin walked out the room with Alex and was quickly greeted by Justin, "Hi sweetie, are you alright?"

Kaylin stayed silent as Alex spoke, "She did fine….."

Dr. Garth mentioned, "The results should be back by next week so I'll give both of you a call and you can come in."

Alex and Justin just nodded, "Thanks."

_____

Days passed and after finally receiving the awaited call, Justin and Alex were to meet at the doctor's office. Justin and Alex sat down in two chairs, anxious to find out what was going on.

Dr. Garth greeted, "Hello again."

"Hi."

"Are you ready to hear the news?"

Justin and Alex both nodded, yet they were still afraid.

Dr. Garth took a deep breath and said, "The results say that your daughter has tested positive for leukemia."

Alex stayed completely silent while Justin's heart sank. He suddenly realized that he had sub-consciously placed his hand over Alex's. At the same time he realized that, he felt Alex looking down as well and they caught a quick glimpse of each other before Alex removed her hand from his.

Seeing their expressions, Dr. Garth interjected, "Luckily, it has been caught early and there's no sign of metastasizing."

Justin was the first to speak, "Will she be…alright?"

"Only if she receives the right treatment."

"Which is?"

Dr. Garth explained, "You have two options. First, your daughter can go through treatment called chemotherapy and radiation. They will slowly kill away the cancerous cells. This is the most common choice and although it takes a long period of time and has a couple side effects, it is often very effective."

"Or?"

"Or…she has a type of surgery. This surgery is quite risky, but the kids who have made it through are often cancer-free."

Justin asked, "How risky is it?"

"There's a 63% chance of living. So a bit over half." Dr. Garth said before continuing, "Would you like some time to think about it?"

Justin nodded, "Yeah, that'd be great."

"Alright….I'll be back in ten minutes."

"Wait, we have to decide today?" Justin questioned.

"Yes…..I know how hard it must be to take in all this information today, but the sooner we have a treatment better, then the sooner it'll take effect." Dr. Garth said.

"Oh...alright..."

After the doctor left, Justin turned to the side and asked calmly, "Alex…what do you want to do?" He watched her shrug and continued, "Come on, Alex. I don't want to decide alone….I was thinking though, the surgery sounds too risky."

Alex finally murmured, "I'm not willing to take that 63% chance of Kaylin living."

"Neither am I……so chemo is alright?" Justin asked.

"The side effects…." Alex breathed.

"I know…but they aren't as risky as the surgery. It's just one risk we're going to have to handle." Justin said bluntly.

Alex still felt reluctant to agree on anything. She wasn't the type of person to "take risks". It had always been hard for her to show her true feelings- and when she finally admitted to Justin that she loved him, he left her….that wasn't making any of this better either. However, she finally gave in and muttered, "Fine."

____

After that day in the doctor's office, visiting the hospital became part of the regular routine due to Kaylin's illness. They had begun chemo and a bit of radiation. It had been roughly two weeks since Kaylin had been going in and the side effects were already playing their role. Kaylin was a lot weaker- sleeping a lot and losing her breath every so often. She also lost her appetite and everyone around her had to be careful not to give her anything contagious since her immunity system was low. Also, what made it worse, was that Kaylin couldn't quite grasp the idea that she couldn't do things she could before.

Justin just finished tucking Kaylin in bed and bumped into Trevore in the hallway. "Oh, hey buddy."

"Daddy?"

"Yes."

Trevore looked at him with a confused look, "Why sissy tired?"

"Well, it's been a long day."

Shaking his head, Trevore said, "No…sissy always tired."

Justin sighed, "I know."

"She no play wiv me no more…but me want to play." Trevore explained.

Justin knelt down to Trevore's height and tried to explain, "Well, your sister is very sick, Trevore."

"She get better?"

"I don't know."

Trevore disagreed, "But me always get better so sissy get better too, right?"

"I hope so." Justin sighed before changing the subject, "Why don't you finish watching your movie and then you can go to bed."

"Otay….." Trevore said quietly as he wandered off.

Justin watched as Trevore walked away and couldn't help but think about their little conversation. He went into his bedroom and sat on the bed, burying his head in his hands- finally realizing how stressed he felt.

Without noticing, Juliet appeared and asked, "What's wrong, sweetie?"

Justin kept his head down and murmured, "Everything."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't handle this anymore."

"Handle what"

"Well...Kaylin….and Trevore…." Justin began, but was soon cut off by Juliet.

"Justin, you need to stop worrying."

"How can I, Juliet? Huh? My daughter has cancer!" Justin exploded.

Juliet was a bit surprised by his reaction, but retorted anyways, "She's doing just fine!"

Justin smirked sarcastically and laughed to himself, "Not really….I don't think of cancer as just fine."

"I didn't mean it like that." Juliet said dryly.

Justin's strong emotions subsided and he murmured, "Sorry…..it's just that Kaylin is getting weaker and it kills me to see her like this. No child should ever go through this kind of pain."

"I think you just need to accept that she will get better. Alright?" Juliet said as she hugged him tightly.

Justin gladly accepted the hug, but knew that Juliet had absolutely no idea how he felt. She didn't know how much Kaylin meant to him…only Alex knew that. Kaylin was their daughter.

____

The next day, Justin quickly dropped off Kaylin and Trevore to their old home so they could be with Alex. As Alex cared for Kaylin, she too, felt a lot of stress.

Harper came to visit one day and greeted, "Hi, Alex." Seeing how exhausted she looked, she just gave her a hug and asked, "How are you holding up?"

Alex smiled, "Just taking one day at a time."

Trevore noticed Harper's arrival and exclaimed, "Auntie Harper!"

"Hi Trev! How are you?" Harper asked.

"Me good." Trevore briefly said before running off to play.

"He's so cute…and reminds me of…"

"Justin." Alex finished her sentence.

Harper sighed, "Exactly." She continued, "So how's Kaylin?"

"I feel like she's getting worse….but the doctor says that this is normal while going through chemo. She's just so tired and it's like the life in her got sucked out."

"May I see her?"

Alex nodded and they headed upstairs, but found her sleeping. Harper suggested, "Oh, maybe I'll see her later when she's awake. I don't want to disturb her."

As Alex agreed, Trevore quickly persuaded Harper into playing with him. As Trevore led her into the play room, Alex heard Kaylin's voice.

"Mommy?"

Alex walked to her bedside and smiled, "Hi, sweetie. You need anything?"

Kaylin shook her head and began, "No…but why…why you…" Kaylin stopped.

"Go on sweetie, it's okay." Alex soothed her.

"Why…aren't you with d…dad…daddy. Don't you…." Kaylin caught her breath and finished, "Don't you love him?"

Alex avoided her direct question and indirectly answered, "Well this is how it's going to be from now on."

"But I wish we were a family again…me miss…" Kaylin coughed and weakly mumbled, "Me miss playing with daddy and you….together."

"I know, honey….just get some rest." Alex said before leaving, having nothing else to say.

With Trevore occupied with a TV show, Harper came to talk with Alex. "You okay?"

"I can't do this." Alex said.

"Yes you can, Alex."

"Kaylin's not improving and Justin…."Alex sighed as a few tears escaped her eyes.

"It's going to be okay…" Harper tried comforting her.

"It's putting so much stress on everyone and Kaylin is beyond confused…she asked me if I still love him." Alex mentioned.

Harper looked at her, waiting for an answer, "Well, do you?"

"I…I…yes. I do. I miss seeing him everyday…and watching him fooling around with the kids. I know he cares so much about them and since we've separated- I've lost that sense of family."

"Well, you are divorced." Harper pointed out.

"Not really…" Alex's thought trailed off.

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't signed those papers yet."

Realizing that Alex mean the divorce papers, Harper just muttered, "Oh…"

"I'm just not ready to." Alex defended herself.

Harper nodded, "I understand…but you better do that soon."

"I know…when the time is right, I'll sign them." Alex decided.

The whole situation between Alex and Justin was already tough, now Kaylin was just making it worse. It seemed that everyone was emotionally weaker.

Just got back from vacation and gotta go back to school….*sigh* Hopefully you still enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one really soon!