A quick note to I love music: I'm glad that you are enjoying the story and I'm sorry that I haven't updated recently. I've only just finished my exams and I've been working on other projects, so this was temporarily pushed to one side. But I'm back now and I hope to be able to update more frequently from now on.

Anyway I hope that you all enjoy the chapter and please let me know if you spot any grammar or spelling errors, not just in this chapter but in the previous ones too. Credit goes to my co-writer Risty, for helping me out with the beginning of this chapter and the plot twist involving Allee. 

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Chapter 17: More Traumatic Times

The following morning was the day when Kane was finally discharged and Emma went to the hospital to meet him. As she was walking through the main hall she saw Allee come out of one of the examining rooms. She was shocked to see that her closest friend was crying and she wondered what was wrong.

"Allee!" she called, hurrying over. "What's wrong?"

Allee just shook her head and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. Emma persisted. "Come on, you can tell me. I'm your friend, I want to help."

"You can't help," Allee didn't sound angry, just sad. "It's nothing. Nothing." Before Emma could reply, she turned and ran out of the door. Her grandmother, Francine, who Emma had grown close to in recent weeks, came out of the examining room too. She also looked upset and Emma quickly realised that whatever was wrong it was serious.

"Nana," she said, as she'd taken to calling Allee's grandmother. "Why are you here? What's wrong with Allee? It's something serious, isn't it?"

Francine sat down on a chair and patted the seat beside her. Emma sat down and the older woman put an arm around her shoulders.

"Emma, honey," she said gently, sadly. "Has Allee ever mentioned her mother?"

"Yes," the young girl said quietly. "She told me that her mother died of cancer. Ovarian cancer, I think."

"Yes, it was ovarian cancer," Francine paused for a moment and Emma waited patiently until she was ready to start talking again. Although it wasn't really necessary, in her heart she already knew what her friend's grandmother was going to say. "Allee's been feeling a little ill lately so I brought her here for some tests. Today we came to pick up the results. Emma, Allee has ovarian cancer too."

"No…" Although Emma had guessed it, it was still a shock to hear those words. Allee was only her age and her best friend, she couldn't have cancer. "Is she going to be all right?"

"We hope so honey," Francine sniffed and reached into her pocket for a tissue. "The doctor said that they could operate, because the cancer hasn't developed much. But it's risky; they may miss some of it. She's agreed to go under the knife next Friday."

"Allee will be all right," Emma said firmly, without any doubt in her mind. "She's strong and she will be fine."

"That's the spirit, honey," Allee's grandmother patted her shoulder. "It's upsetting for all of us right now, but we have to think positive. For Allee and for ourselves."

"Maybe I should go and find her," the girl suggested. "She might need someone to talk to."

"I think that might be a good idea," Francine nodded. "She will need someone she can talk to, but I'm sure that I don't have to tell you not to push her if she doesn't want to talk straight away. No one can understand that better than you, I am certain."

"No," Emma agreed. "You don't have to tell me, I know what it's like to have everyone asking if you are all right and everything else when all you want to be alone and not talk about it. I'll just let her know that I'm here if she wants to talk. Do you know where she has gone, Nana?"

"I'm afraid I don't, dear," Allee's grandmother sighed and shook her head. "She's probably gone to some place where she can be alone and think, where there isn't likely to be any people."

"The beach and the jetty will be too crowded at this time of day," Emma said thoughtfully. "Unless she has gone further up the beach of course. Maybe she is at the deserted boathouse, I know that she goes there sometimes. I'll try there first. Thank you for telling me, Nana."

"It was the right thing to do," Francine managed a faint smile. "I'm sure of that. You're a good girl, Emma Alexander, and Allee is lucky to have you as a friend."

"I'm lucky to have her as a friend too," the girl said at once, kissing the old woman on the cheek. "And please don't worry. Allee will be fine, I know she will."

Emma met Kane by the drinks machine and quickly explained that Allee was very upset and she needed to go and see her urgently, although she didn't tell him what was wrong with her. She half expected her boyfriend to be upset or angry, but although he seemed a little puzzled as to what was wrong, he assured her that it was fine and they agreed to meet up at the beach later that afternoon. Then Emma set off on her mission, determined to find her friend.

She didn't have to search very hard. As she had expected, Allee was at the deserted boathouse, sitting on the dirty ground with her head in her arms. Emma approached her warily.

"Allee?" she said cautiously, trying hard to keep her voice from trembling. "I'm so sorry."

"You know?" Allee didn't look up and so her voice was muffled, but Emma could still just about make out the words.

"Yes," she sat down beside her friend and idly adjusted her watchstrap. She still wasn't sure if Allee would want to confide in her, especially since they hadn't really seen eye to eye over her relationship with Kane, but she hadn't stopped caring for her friend and so she knew that she had to try. "Your grandmother told me."

"I knew that there was always a risk," Allee finally raised her hair and looked at her friend with puffy, tearstained eyes. "It can run in the family and…with my mother and everything, but I never thought that it would happen to me. It doesn't seem real, it feels like I'm in a bad dream."

"You'll be all right, Allee," Emma pulled her into a hug and her friend clung to her, crying a fresh lot of tears into her shoulder. "You're young, you lead a fairly healthy lifestyle, you will be fine. You'll beat this, you have to."

"I hope so," Allee managed a very faint smile. "But I still want you to promise me something."

"Anything."

"If things don't go well," she said softly. "My whole family will be upset, but Gina will take it the hardest. I want you to promise me that you'll be there for her if anything happens to me."

"Of course I will!" Emma promised. "But there is no need to be worried. You'll have the operation and everything will go fine. You have to believe that, there's no sense in worrying about something that'll probably never happen. If you ever need to talk, or you need someone to take your mind off things for a while, you know where I am. I'll be here to support you through this, you know that."

"I know," Allee hugged her again. "Thanks Emma. You're a good friend. And for what it is worth, I'm really sorry that I've given you such a hard time over this business with Kane."

"It's forgotten and you're forgiven," her friend said quickly. "I'm not one to bear grudges over petty arguments, especially not when there are far more important things to worry about. Now come on, I know what you need."

"What?"

"Chocolate ice-cream," Emma suggested. "Might not actually make the problem go away, but it should help you feel better."

"Why not?" Allee agreed, smiling again although it was still faint. "Shall we go to the Diner?"

"It'll probably be rather crowded in there," Emma pointed out. "Let's go back to my house for a bit. Benny's at work, Lucy's out with Kirsty and Jade and mum has gone to the drop-in centre, so it'll be quiet over there. Jess and Sally are there, looking after Jordan, but we can go up to my room and they won't disturb us. Sound good to you?"

"Great," her friend agreed. "What are we waiting for then?" Slowly she rose to her feet and dusted the dry dirt off her black shorts. "Let's go."

For the next couple of hours, the two girls ate ice cream, played with Jordan and talked, although they stayed away from the news they had received that day and discussed normal things. By the time everyone else started to come home, Allee seemed a little happier.

"Thanks Emma," she said, giving her friend a hug. "Just being normal today…it really made me feel a little better. Your support means a lot to me."

"It's no problem, really. I know that you'd do the same for me. And just remember that if you ever want to talk about it, I'll be here. Or if you just need to do what we did today and forget about it for a while, I'm sure that I can help you with that too."

"I'll remember that," Reluctantly Allee let go of Emma and stepped back. "You won't tell anyone about this, will you? I know that people will find out eventually, but I just need some more time."

"Of course I won't say anything!" Emma said at once. "My lips are sealed. I'll see you tomorrow and please try not to worry too much. You're going to be fine, I know it."

When Allee had gone, Emma sat down with her family to feed Jordan and then left him with her mum while she went off to the beach, where she had arranged to meet Kane. She felt exhausted; the day's events had been too much for her to deal with on top of everything else. While comforting her friend she had had to try hard to keep her emotions under control and it had been difficult. Although she had to believe, for her own piece of mind if nothing else, that Allee was going to be all right, part of her knew that there was a chance that she could lose the girl who had become her closest friend in such a short time.

Kane was already waiting for her when she arrived and he smiled as she approached. However, the smile dropped from his face only to be replaced by a look of concern as he noticed how pale and tired she looked.

"What's happened, Emma?" he asked, putting his arms around her and pulling her against him. "Has something happened? Is it Allee?"

"Yes," As he held her, she finally allowed herself to cry for the first time since she had heard the news. And through her tears, she told him everything that had happened. Kane was shocked, he and Allee had never gotten on particularly well but that didn't mean that he wasn't sorry for her.

"I told her that I wouldn't say anything to anyone," Emma said finally, when she had finished crying. "So you won't…"

"I won't say a word," he promised. "I'm just glad that you trusted me enough to tell me. Sometimes it's good to share things with someone." He fell silent for a moment and gently kissed the top of her head. "Which reminds me," he continued after a moment. "Your first counselling session with Flynn is tomorrow, isn't it? Do you still want me to be there?"

"If you don't mind," she told him. "I think it would help, having the man I love there with me. But Flynn did say that it could be hard, for the both of us. I wouldn't want it to destroy our relationship."

"I don't think it would," Kane said after a moment of thoughtful silence. "Hard or not, I think it'll be good for us to go together, to get our feelings about everything out in the open. I don't doubt that it will be difficult, but in the end I believe that it will make our relationship stronger."

"I hope you're right," Emma whispered, just before Kane gently kissed her. "I really do hope that things work out for the both of us…"

Next chapter: Emma's counselling doesn't get off to the best start.