Hey guys, it's kinda latish. I feel like that's my moto lately. Sorry. I'll try to kick it back up in the next few weeks.

This chapter is in 3rd person again because I liked the way it sounded.
Thanks for all of the positive words on the last chapter, it really means a lot to me! And thanks for all of the reviews, those keep me motivated to get these chapters out to ya!

Kendall sighed as she watched John lead the kids upstairs for bed. Keith, for once in the past month, was safely in her arms. John had barely let her do anything for them, with them. She hadn't been allowed to take them to school for who knows how long, and with him sending Keith to his parents all day, she felt like she'd abandoned them. In all reality, John was taking them away from her. He was making sure they stayed at a distance from each other, putting a wall between their relationships.

"My mom called me today."

John's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up at him. These discussions they'd had today, real ones where he would start talking first, were nearly nonexistent before. That is, unless he had something to complain to her about, yell at her for. Kendall, not having told him her news, rolled her eyes. "Do you want a cookie for it? Did she make your lunch today too?"

She couldn't quite help her smart remark. Conversation wasn't something she wanted to accomplish at the moment, especially not with John. However, if Carol had called him, she might have told him that Kendall had stopped by. Thereby telling John her news from the doctor, and possibly who she'd showed up with. The latter shouldn't have bothered him, he'd pretty much told her to skip the appointment because he didn't want to take her.

"As a matter of fact, she did," John sneered. "I let her watch my son and she makes me lunch. Because my wife is too fucking-"

"What John?" Kendall asked, turning away from him. "You think I enjoy being sick all the time? You think I like not being able to clean my own house or take care of my kids? You think I like that I've lost so much weight I look like a stick figure? Newsflash, I don't. I hate this. I hate cancer and I hate having it and I hate how it's affected me."

"Kendall-"

"But guess what, John. I went to the doctor today, it was a really important appointment and any truly caring husband would have made sure they were there with their wife when they found out if the cancer had gone away or not. At one point, I would have been sure you'd have been there. But now I can see that you were just playing an act, now I see that you only care about your needs. And I don't even know if it matters to me anymore."

Keith started whining, and Kendall glared at John when he moved to take him from her. Surprisingly, he stepped back, his hands in the air defensively. She just wanted some time with her kids; a little time to be sure she remembered their faces and what they smelled like when they first got out of the bathtub. It was finally dawning on her that she had been given more time.

"My mom said that you were with Ted and Eve this afternoon," John finally spoke, changing the subject.

"Eve was one of the first people I could think of," Kendall admitted. "Thankfully she didn't have to work today. And her husband came with her. He just so happens to be my older brother."

He rolled his shoulders. "Does anything I tell you matter anymore?"

Kendall shrugged, sighing when she looked at him and saw that he looked genuinely angry. "What parts are you thinking don't matter to me? Because as far as I can tell, you make things up to get me on your good side and then whenever you get the slightest bit angry, your hands do the talking."

"I told you to stay away from your family and I told you that no one is allowed to know that you have cancer," John told her through gritted teeth.

"They don't know I have cancer. And if I have to stay away from my family does that include staying away from you?"

"I swear to fucking Hades that if you don't stop using your mouth on me, I'm going to lose it. You are not allowed to have any contact with any DiBiase. That, now, includes Eve, since you've discovered she married Ted. And you're not even supposed to see Eve, anyway," John said, trying to keep his anger in check.

"It was one of the most important appointments, John. It's not like I could have just skipped. And who else would I have called? Thanks to you, I have no friends and no family. I am ultimately alone, you've banned me from every single person I've made friends with and you've banned me from the only family member I have who isn't psychotic," Kendall responded.

John took a deep breath, reminding himself that she was still holding his son, before speaking again. "This is the second time you've mentioned how important your appointment was. What was it about?"

"If you truly cared, you would have been there."

"Damn it!" he shouted. "Tell me what the fucking appointment was about before I call the hospital and make them tell me."

"Last week when I was in they ran some tests. The results came back today," Kendall told him, looking down at the sleeping child in her arms.

"What did they find out?"

"Does it really matter?" John shot her a look, so they both ignored her question. "The radiation has shrunk the tumors away."

John looked a little surprised by her announcement. "So you're not going to die soon?"

"Um," Kendall's breath caught in her throat at his bluntness and she nearly choked. "No, I'm not going to die this soon."

XXX

"We should celebrate!" Carol announced the next day when she was over to help Kendall out around the house.

"Yeah, celebrate me not being sick anymore when no one knew I was sick at all," Kendall rolled her eyes. "And anyway, I'm not really in the mood for a party yet. I'm still so tired."

"Well, you're going to be tired, sweetie. It's not like you're going to recover overnight," Carol smiled. "And speaking of that, did you tell John your good news?"

"Yeah but it was pointless. I mean, why tell him when he doesn't care?" Kendall sighed. "It doesn't matter to him that I'm going to get healthy again. He's probably pissed that I'm not dying in the next week."

"Oh, don't think like that. John needs you around-"

"He needs me to do his laundry and clean his house and take care of his kids. I've told you this before, Carol. As long as those things get done, it doesn't matter who is doing it," Kendall said.

"That can't be true," Carol tsked, though she knew her son well. It most likely was true.

XXX

John walked quietly through the door of his house, hearing his mother disagree with his wife; he decided to eavesdrop on their conversation. He wanted to know the kinds of things she told Carol. So he snuck to the patio door where he could just barely see the too sitting in the shade.

"Sometimes I wish you were a fly on the wall, that way you would know all the things that go on," Kendall admitted.

"What kinds of things, Ken," Carol pushed.

"Depending on the day, and if I've made him mad or not, it could be a fairly easy day with no arguing and no snapping, but those days are lonely. He takes the kids away, takes himself away. I stay in this big house all alone during the day, and I'm not allowed to do anything, go anywhere, see anyone. Then the days that I do make him mad, make me wonder why I'm even here at all. He implies with the things he says that he doesn't want me around. I try not to ask for anything, I try to keep to myself, I try to hide so that I'm not in his way. Most of the time it works, he barely notices me. But when he does, his words hurt."

"I'm sure he doesn't mean it. I know he's under a lot of stress right now-"

John heard Kendall sigh, shaky as it was. "You're his mother; you're supposed to stand behind him."

"That's not what I'm doing," Carol replied, shaking her head quickly.

"Sometimes, I think it would be a lot better if I had died instead of Sam. Then Al would have parents who love each other, Noelle, Nova, and Keith wouldn't have to deal with John and me fighting all the time. John could find someone he truly loves, someone he can love without pretending. Everything would be so much easier."

"That's not true." John came in view, shocking both women. "Not everything would be easier if you died."