A/N: It's been too long, and I apologize. This was an extremely difficult chapter for me to write, and I will tell you why.

Auggie's father here is a fictional version of my own dad. His illness is the exact one that dad deals with now, and it has been, quite possibly, the most difficult thing our family has had to go through. Auggie's relationship with his dad is somewhat like mine, and writing this down needed me to dig deeper into myself, and at the same time, find Auggie in the whole situation.

That, and well, I graduated a week ago too, so I've been hella busy.

I hope you enjoy. More Walkerson in the next chapter, I promise.

Chapter 6

Auggie had spaced out as Johnny led him across the hospital hallways in silence. There was little to talk about after everything that they had as siblings the evening before. That conversation had left Auggie without a wink of sleep since arriving from his flight the day before, and had left him so many levels of disoriented. He'd probably need another lead out of the hospital later- he'd missed so many of the turns that they had made since stepping on the hospital grounds. He had barely realized when they had stopped and a doorway creaked open to his right. Johnny entered, calling out silently to his mom. In a quick flurry of a seat scratching on the tile floors, Auggie found himself wrapped in his mother's arms. Almost immediately, every stiff end of his body relaxed as he returned his mother's embrace.

"It's been so long," He hadn't noticed that he'd voiced out his thoughts in a whisper, straight to his mother's ear. Amanda Anderson smiled the way even she knew she hadn't since her husband was brought up to the hospital. "Too long," she whispered back before pulling away to admire his son. She couldn't believe his youngest son was before her, yet she hated that it was for the reason that he was around. But she would take it anyway. She beheld the sight in front of her, willing to forget the reason that they stood in that hospital. She exhaled, together with a thought she couldn't suppress.

"You look good,"

Auggie chuckled, quick with a comeback he knew his mother would hate. He wouldn't be him without coughing it out however. "I can't say I can say the same, mom."

"Not funny, August," she smacked his arm lightly and Auggie pulled away, enjoying the light moment with his mother. He knew there was little time for that, but he would make the most out of it. In his arms, Amanda felt frail. It had been 2 and a half weeks since his father had been taken to the hospital, and to his knowledge, his mother had refused to leave his father's bedside. It sounded like Auggie's mother, but all his brothers had begged him to coax her out of the room and find time for herself.

"I'm not kidding, mom. Do me a favor, will ya?"

"Anything."

"Go home. Shower. Have breakfast with Johnny."

"Your father…"

"Is asleep. I can handle him, mom. Take care of yourself. You said you'd do anything. Do this. For me. Please." Auggie held out his hand to his mother and squeezed when she had offered it. "You need to take care of yourself too."

"You'll be fine?"

"I'm a big boy. Just tell me where everything is."

With a sigh, Amanda gave in. She turned as Auggie's hand slid up to the crook of her elbow and led him to the chair she had been sitting in, explaining the layout of the room as best as she could remember doing it. She hadn't done it for a very long while, and Auggie felt his mother's apprehension towards doing so. He took his mother's hand after taking the seat. "Go. Take your time."

A harrowed breath escaped Auggie's lips as the door clicked shut. He folded his cane and stowed it away on the first drawer of his father's bedside table. He ran his right hand up the sheet as gently as he could- he didn't want to wake his father. James had been admitted initially for pneumonia and sleep had come few and far in between since. Auggie's brothers had told him that it had only been the past few days that their father had finally slept through at least 3 hours, and he didn't want to be the one that caused him an hour just because he'd arrived. When his hand met his father's, he stroked the back of his hand as gently as he possibly could. The hand was wrinkled and seemed so frail compared to the last time he held it, and a lump formed in Auggie's throat. Two and a half weeks, and his father had gone through so, so much. Not even his anger could compensate for the anguish he felt for the situation.

The situation. Not his dad. He'd told himself that the night before, when his brothers had finally told him the situation. He'd been rendered silent throughout most of the evening's conversation with his brothers. Only Aaron had been absent for the evening, but it was because he was out for a short medical conference. Auggie had missed Aaron's calm and cool demeanor from last night's emotionally charged conversation. Aaron was always the voice of reason of that family- so much like their mother. And since his was the career that veered towards medicine, he had more answers than any of his other brothers put together. Auggie looked forward to his return that evening, but 'til then, he would have to rely on his other brother's information.

It was information nonetheless. It was information that mattered so very much. Within James Anderson's two week stay in the hospital, he had been diagnosed with stage 3 Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. It was rare, if at all that this lymphoma was ever diagnosed before it reached stage 3, and while the Anderson's had expressed their relief that it hadn't metastasized to any other organ, they knew the chances were grim at best. It was the fact that it was T-Cell lymphoma that had pushed the cancer to stage 3- it was more aggressive than it's common known sister, Hodgkin's and therefore a pain in the ass to treat. Nevertheless, the doctors had given them a chemo regimen to start as soon as the pneumonia was out of his system. The pneumonia was the more imminent danger that had prompted Aaron to ask Tony to call Auggie. Pneumonia at its worst was deadly, and for a moment, it had scared Auggie's brother enough to think that their father was going to pass even before they could get to treating the cancer. The past few days, thankfully seemed to take a turn for the better, and it was the only part of the situation that allowed the Andersons a sigh of relief.

Everything had caused Auggie to toss and turn the night before, and while things were hugely unresolved between him and his dad, he was and would always be a Daddy's boy. He would push aside their issues this time around- that is if James Anderson was willing to do the same. Auggie hoped he would. There was only so much to the situation that he could deal with.

Auggie, in his exhaustion had nodded off at some point. He woke slightly disoriented, to a hand stroking his mop of hair.

"Never thought I'd ever see you again." His baritone, though warm and thick like honey, was marred with exhaustion, he couldn't help the grimace that escaped his face. He was thankful to not have been facing his dad.

"Hey,"Auggie sat up and held his hand out to his dad. James took it and squeezed. "How're you feeling?"

"Short of breath." It wasn't anything Auggie couldn't tell. He could tell how labored his father's breathing was.

"Anything I can help you with for that?"

"Switch up the oxygen valve and hand me the nasal cannula."

Auggie sighed. That much his mother had forgotten to instruct him about. "A little guidance?" While he had always been comfortable with the rest of the family when it came to asking for help, it wasn't always the same with his father. He'd forget most of the time, and well, he wasn't the most detailed of the bunch. He'd make do though.

"A few feet on the wall above my headboard. Smack at the middle, Auggie" Auggie reached over and found the cannula hanging on a valve. He ran his hands over the valve and swore in annoyance- there was no way he could switch the valve and know what level the oxygen was at. He hit the call button right beside the valve and asked for some nurse's assistance. With apprehension, he turned to his father again.

"Sorry. Can you hang on?" Auggie asked his father as he took the seat again. He did his best to compose himself, but he hated to have started the visit with his father on this note. The nurse came in promptly and she bustled around as both Anderson men stewed in silence. It was James that broke the silence when the nurse left to return to their station.

"Why're you here, Auggie?" he asked. Auggie's head shot up. Was his father really asking him this question. He rolled his eyes.

"Because you're here." Auggie's answer was short and clipped. He didn't want to start things this way, but somewhere along the way, things had gone awry.

"That didn't seem to bother you for 10 years. Maybe even more." This made Auggie's blood boil, but he couldn't- wouldn't- allow things to blow up in his face. Not yet at least. He opted to grit his teeth and keep silent. He closed his eyes, opened them only when he heard his father sigh. It wasn't often that James did that.

"You broke your mother's heart."

Auggie's own broke, if only because he knew his father spoke the truth. He felt it the way that his mother hugged him earlier. Auggie bowed his head, as if to acknowledge the veracity of his father's statement.

"Not now, dad. Please."

Silence. It was something that terrified Auggie most now. He knew that with such a pregnant void, everything to him was unknown. But this time, he felt some solace in it too. What was left to talk about in such insouciance? Everything that needed to be talked about had been of too much depth for that moment, and even Auggie knew they were things he wasn't ready to talk about.

"You know." It was a statement, not an inquiry. "You wouldn't be here if you didn't."

"What's there to keep?" There were many answers to that question that Auggie didn't want to hear. Thankfully, nor did his dad.

"Not this. Not the fact that I'll be going soon."

"Don't talk that way, dad." Auggie snapped. Denial. He was so familiar with these stages of grief. He'd undergone them before. He wanted to say he could go on without going through it now. He caught himself at the onset, but he didn't know if there was any way to keep the ball rolling the other direction. "You've got to fight." He whispered.

"Have Anderson men ever retreated from a war?" James laughed. "I'm not going without one, Auggie. But we have to think of the possibility."

"Why? You're here, that's what matters, right?"

"Now you're concerned."

"Damn it, Dad. Not now. Please." Auggie's hand pounded the hospital bed much harder than he intended. James own took the fist into his own hand. The floodgates opened then. Auggie had prided himself from keeping many things under control, but this time, he was reminded of the things that he couldn't. The emotions proved too much for him to handle. The grief, the exhaustion, the confusion… it was all too much. He sobbed into his father's hand, but James Anderson heaved his son forward into a hug. While he too knew that there were things that remained to be resolved, he would take a big step towards the direction he wanted his one to take. He would take him back into his arms.

"I missed you," Auggie whispered as he held his father tight.

"I missed you too, son." He whispered back as he cradled his youngest son as he cried. His Auggie, always so composed and headstrong rarely ever had breakdowns like this. He'd witnessed them all. This, however, he would remember most. His son's grief was for him, despite all the wrong he had done him in the past. James hoped that this moment would allow himself to heal and accept the new reality life had dealt upon him.