FREDDIE'S POV:
"Robbie" I proclaimed as I made my way into the hallway "you've got five seconds to get down here"
"Fred, leave it" Ziggy begged
"No I will not" I replied, watching as Robbie made his way out of his room
"What's all the shouting about?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow at us
"You hurting my girlfriend" I informed him "remember that?"
"Ziggy" he sighed
"You need to talk about what happened" he admitted "why did you do it?"
"She wouldn't get out of my way" he replied
"And that was it? She wouldn't get out of your way so you resorted to violence? She could've been knocked unconscious, anything. If Ziggy hadn't of walked in when he did she could've been lying on the floor with any sort of injury. Do you care at all?" I questioned
"Of course I do" he stated
"Then when Lindsey gets home, you apologise to her" I informed him
Nodding his head, signalling yes, he swallowed a lump in his throat and I made my way down the stairs, walking back into the kitchen…
LINDSEY'S POV:
"Linds, can I talk to you a minute please?" Robbie inquired as I put the shopping away
"Course" I replied, turning to face him "in private or…?"
"No, this is something Freddie needs to hear too" he admitted "I'm sorry for what happened earlier. It shouldn't have and I hope you're okay"
"Hang on, how did you find out?" I asked Freddie, raising an eyebrow at him
"Ziggy told me" he replied "would you have if he hadn't?"
"No, because it's not important" I admitted "thank you for apologising though, Robbie, I appreciate it"
"You're welcome" he stated "I'll see you both in the morning"
"Night" I replied, watching as he disappeared from the room, making my way over to Freddie "so, what happened? And I want the truth…"
Breakfast the next morning was a tense affair to say the least. I continually noticed that Freddie kept momentarily glaring at Robbie before going back to eating his breakfast…
"What is going on?" Joe asked suddenly
"What do you mean?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him
"You keep looking at Fred who keeps glaring at Robbie" he replied "so tell me, what's going on?"
"It's nothing" Freddie informed him, going back to eating his cereal
"Linds?" he questioned
I swallowed a lump in my throat and took a sip of my tea… "Robbie and I had a bit of a set to last night"
"What does that even mean?" he inquired
"He pushed me and I hit my head" I admitted "but it's done and in the past now. Look, there's more important things to worry about today, like your Mum coming home, we need to get things sorted for her so she's comfortable"
"I'm off to work" Joe informed us, standing up and leaving the room, not another word being said
"And I'm gonna go to college. Come on, Jase" Robbie replied, he and Jason disappearing from the room too
Smiling weakly at Freddie, I entwined his hand with mine… "Just me and you"
Reciprocating my smile, he leant across and kissed me softly… "I should probably go too"
I nodded my head in agreement… "Remember you're picking your Mum up from the hospital"
He nodded his head, signalling yes as he stood up. Kissing my lips softly once again, he made his way out of the house. Continuing to sit at the table for a few minutes more, I finished my tea and began to clear away the breakfast things, putting them in the dishwasher and setting it going. Checking the list I'd made myself the night previous, I grabbed my handbag from the side and left the house, needing to do the shopping…
That afternoon my list was complete. I'd cleaned the house from top to bottom, made sure Sandy's room had everything she needed, done the shopping and done the washing and ironing…
"Linds, we're back" Freddie's voice informed me as the front door opened a little while later
Switching the TV off, I made my way into the hallway, smiling warmly at Sandy as she stood in the porch, waiting for Freddie to bring in her suitcase…
"Hi, Sand" I greeted her, hugging her carefully
"Hi, love" she mirrored "the house looks great, thank you"
"You're welcome" I replied "here, let me take that off you. Do you want a cuppa?"
"I'm gasping for one. Yes please" she proclaimed
"I'll go put the kettle on" I informed her
"Let's get you settled in the living room, yeah, Mum?" Freddie suggested
Sandy nodded her head in agreement, both she and Freddie making their way into the living room. Whilst I waited for the kettle to boil, I opened Sandy's suitcase, beginning to put another load of her dirty washing on. Setting the machine going, I organised our cups of teas, making my way into the living room, sitting down next to Freddie on the sofa…
"Thanks, love" Sandy sighed contentedly as she took a sip of her tea, placing her cup on the table next to the chair she was sitting on "so tell me, what have I missed?"
LINDSEY'S POV:
Joe, Ziggy, Robbie and Jason made their way into the house later that afternoon, greeting Sandy with hugs as they made their way into the living room…
"It's really good to have you home, Mum" Robbie admitted
She smiled warmly at her youngest… "It's good to be home"
"So what did the doctor say then, Mum?" Joe questioned, raising an eyebrow at her
"I start radiotherapy next week" she informed him "and that's a 6-week course, and then they'll run some tests after that and if the cancer hasn't gone then it's onto a 6-week course of chemotherapy"
"Mum" Robbie began, biting down on his bottom lip nervously "will you, will you lose your hair?"
She swallowed and nodded her head, signalling yes…
Later on that evening, Freddie and I were in our room after dinner watching a film… "Can you talk to me please?"
"We're meant to be watching this?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow at me as I sat up and moved to face him
"That can wait" I informed him, pressing pause on the remote "talk to me about what you're feeling"
"I'm scared about seeing how the treatment will affect Mum" he admitted "it's gonna make her really poorly, isn't it?"
I nodded my head, signalling yes… "We just need to ensure she gets plenty of rest and keeps her fluids because she won't want to eat"
Nodding his head in understanding… "And I'm absolutely terrified about what's gonna happen if the chemo doesn't work. And then what if the radiotherapy doesn't either?"
"They caught the tumour early, Freddie. There's a really good chance she'll get through this and come out the other side fighting" I replied
"But there's a small chance she might not" he sighed "and that terrifies me, Linds"
"Maybe you should chat to Robbie instead of me?" I suggested, raising an eyebrow at him
"What do you mean?" he inquired
"You're both feeling the same way. Even though Robbie hasn't said it, it's obvious he's terrified about this whole situation. His question about your Mum losing her hair just proved it. I think it'd be a good idea if you talked to him about it. You're his big brother and he'll open up to you"
"Or he'll just push me out of the way like he did with you" he replied
"Freddie" I sighed "please. I think it'll help you both"
"Okay. For you" he informed me, leaning forward, capturing his lips in mine