Agnes 16

Author's Note: Sorry, I've been working on a lot of Season 8 Finale things and have neglected some of my WIPs. Only so much time to write…

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OOOOOOOOO

Don handed Agnes some soup and sat on the end of the sofa feeling incredibly guilty as they watched cartoons in German. Agnes was drowsy from the meds and didn't seem to care.

Don pulled out his phone and texted.

Need to talk. Your damn mouth guard.

Don sat and watched the show with Agnes while she ate some of her soup. When he saw her eyes getting heavy, he took the mug from her hand and brought it back to the kitchen. By the time he returned she was sound asleep. He was picking her up and carrying her to her bedroom when he felt the phone buzz in his back pocket. He had to put Agnes down and cover her carefully before he could answer and, at that point, his ass had stopped vibrating.

Don closed her door over and pulled out his phone as he walked down the hall.

I called but you didn't answer. Is everything okay? Call me as soon as you can. Your damn sharp toenails.

Don huffed at her comment and placed a video call as he was going down the stairs to the living room.

"Everything okay?" Liz asked as he connected.

"That's what I wanted to talk with you about," Don said.

"What?" Liz asked, worried.

"Agnes broke her arm," Don said.

"What?!" Liz exclaimed.

"She's fine," Don added. "She's got a cast and is hopped up on pain meds for kids."

"How did it happen?" Liz asked.

"She was riding her bike and there's a bit of a ditch on either side of the driveway, it wasn't a far fall but she fell in the perfect way to break her arm," Don said. "I got her to the hospital, she was x-rayed, they checked for head or other injuries, she's fine except for the break."

"Jesus," Liz sighed.

"I'm sorry Liz," Don said. "I was right there watching her, and then she was over the edge."

"It's fine, things like this happen to kids…did she cry?"

"Oh yeah," Don nodded. "Bianca drove us so I could hold her in the back seat and reassure her she'd be okay. But, she was a trooper. The cast is green."

Liz nodded on the video call. "And she's not crying now?"

"No, that stopped once it was set and then cast," Don said. "And once they put her on kids pain meds."

"Okay," Liz nodded. "Can I talk with her?"

"She's gone to bed," Don said, noting that it was only 7pm. "She was wiped."

Liz nodded, sad she couldn't see her baby.

"But Liz, there's something else," Don said softly.

"What?" Liz asked.

"They're worried about her bone density and running some tests," Don said. "Her arm shouldn't have broken with such a small fall."

Liz looked at him confused.

"They are checking for other health issues that could be a contributing factor," Don said.

"Like?"

"Osteosarcoma," Don said softly as he met her eyes. "They are just ruling it out."

"Is that cancer?" Liz choked.

"They are ruling things out," Don reminded her.

Liz started to cry.

"Liz, she's scheduled for a CT scan tomorrow and they took blood today to check for tumor markers," Don said. "We should know more in a few days. They said possibly an MRI will be needed."

"Jesus Christ," Liz said. "Cancer?"

"Babe, they are ruling it out, she could just have weak bones and need to eat a lot of calcium-rich foods, they don't know until they do the tests but it's unusual for a child her age and in good health to break something so easily," Don clarified.

Don watched Liz sob on the other side of the call and wished he could hold her in that moment.

"It's likely not," Don said, trying to reassure. "But I wanted you to know that they said to me. I don't want you in the dark."

Liz nodded and wiped at her eyes.

"Does she…?"

"She knows she has a broken arm," Don said. "She doesn't need to know about the rest, I think, until she needs to know."

Liz nodded and wiped at her eyes.

"Liz, I don't think it is," Don said softly as he looked at her. "I really don't. I think they are just taking precautions."

Liz nodded vigorously.

"I do think she'd going to have to start eating a lot more dairy and maybe some kind of supplement," Don said.

"Have you looked it up?" Liz asked him, clearly distracted.

"Yeah," Don said. "If it is that, which I don't…

"Don, please," Liz begged him.

"Possible biopsy, surgery, chemo, radiation…" Don said sadly. "But…"

"Did you…" Liz cried for a moment and tried to ask. "The rate of…"

"74% if caught early," Don said as he wiped his eyes. "But I don't think we need to worry about…"

"I'm coming to Iceland," Liz said as she sobbed. "I can't…Agnes is…"

"Wait until we get some more results," Don said. "We will know more tomorrow and in the next couple of days. It's not worth the risk if it's just eat more yogurt."

"Don, she's my child…" Liz said, her voice quivering.

"And right now she has a broken arm, like a lot of kids her age," Don said. "Let the doctors investigate and then make a decision once we have more information."

Liz swallowed hard.

"Can I…can I just see her? Please?" Liz asked, her face red from crying.

"Of course," Don said as he walked toward the stairs and mounted them. "Liz, you know I will get every test, ask every question…"

"I know," Liz nodded. "I don't doubt you…I just want to hold her."

Don nodded, he knew this conversation was going to kill her.

He crept into Agnes' room and turned the camera so it was facing her sleeping then leaned over and turned on a small light in the corner so Liz could see her better. Agnes was so out of it, he knew she wouldn't wake.

He turned down the volume when he heard Liz start to sob again and his stomach turned into knots as he listened to the woman he loved feel helpless and overwhelmed. Don allowed some more tears to fall when he was off camera.

"Can you pat her hair?" Liz asked him.

Don leaned over and ran his hand gently down the side of Agnes' head over and over again, eliciting a small sleepy smile from her.

"She smiled," Don said amazed.

"She always does when I do that with her hair," Liz said softly, her voice strained.

"I didn't know," Don said, honestly.

Don leaned over and kissed Agnes on the forehead and then pulled back and walked with Liz on video from the room.

"Thank you," Liz said, her voice quivering again.

"Babe, I don't think it's that," Don said again. "But they had to tell me the possibilities and that's one of them. And I would never keep that from you. But I think coming here is premature. Can you give it a couple of days until we know more and then decide?"

Liz nodded. "It's killing me, but I will, you're right."

Don gave her a small smile.

"No matter what, we'll figure this out," Don said clearly.

"God, I love you," Liz said as fresh tears ran down her face. "I don't know what I would do without you."

Don gave her a soft smile.

"Well, you wouldn't be sneaking on a night mouth guard after I fell asleep," Don said, hoping to turn her mood a little.

Liz chuckled and nodded.

"I was embarrassed," Liz said. "And it's not incredibly romantic."

"Less romantic when I wake you with a big kiss while you are wearing it," Don smiled at her and winced. "That was a surprise."

"It's just plastic," Liz said as she wiped at her eyes.

"Yeah, and so romantic when you take it out of your mouth covered in drool," Don said as he winked at her.

Liz chuckled. "Thank you."

"For reminding you how gross you are?" Don asked her.

"For helping me calm down," Liz said.

Don smiled at her. "Liz, I'm trying not to be a wreck about something until I need to be. I know you're her mom and you're away, but try to wait until we hear more to worry. I know that's easy to say but…"

"No, you are right," Liz nodded. "I need to be an optimist."

"But I get it," Don said softly. "I do, Liz."

She nodded and they sat looking at each other for half a minute in silence before she puckered up and blew him a kiss before she disconnected the call.

Don sighed and closed his eyes. He knew she was about to google everything she could on the subject and there was no one or anything to stop her. He had looked some things up while they waited and it looked like it wasn't a deadly cancer, if that's what it was. But cancer was shitty, no matter the treatment, the outcomes…anything. He really hoped that wasn't what it was, for all of their sakes. He needed Agnes to be okay.

To be continued…