Title: Fly
Disclaimer: Everyone and everything you recognise belongs to channel 7 and southern star etc…the song is Fly by Hillary Duff. I own Mackenzie and Jake Hasham and I own Dr Mackay and the other doctors.
Summary: This fic is set after Broken Dreams. Jo's cancer has come back and she has been given three weeks to live. What will she do with those three weeks?
Dedication: To my great uncle Alex, may he rest in peace! Oh and to Blaire…gotta love the pixies! Hehe and to Elicia for making me get off my ass and actually start writing.
"Mum?" Mackenzie Hasham looked at Jo as she lifted a box into the back of Mackenzie's 4x4.
"Yeah honey?" Jo turned to face her 19-year-old daughter.
"Are you and Dad busy on Saturday night?"
"Ah…no actually." Jo told her.
"Well Cam and I were thinking of maybe having a get together at our place. Sort of a house warming party."
"Yeah that sounds great." Jo mumbled and she forced a smile.
"Is something wrong?" Mackenzie asked.
"Huh?"
"Is there something wrong? You seem a little distracted."
"Oh. It's nothing. Just a little tired I guess."
"Well you should go and get some rest." Mackenzie suggested.
"Yeah thanks Mack. I might do that."
"Right well I've got to get going. I've got a lot of unpacking to do before the weekend." Mackenzie walked over to Jo and hugged her. "Bye Mum."
"Bye!" Jo was almost crying.
"Hey, no tears ok. You promised you wouldn't cry. It's not like I'm moving to another state or anything. I'm just moving to Melbourne."
"I know. It's just, I'm going to miss having my baby girl around."
"Hey I wont be that far away Mum. And I'll come back and visit all the time. It's just…I really love Cam, and it's hard having him all the way over in Melbourne because we barely ever get to see each other."
"I know sweetie. Well, you'd better get going. Say hi to Cam for me."
"Yeah I will. See you on Saturday Mum." Mack kissed Jo on the cheek then got into her car. Jo waved as she watched her daughter drive off. She sighed and walked back into the house. She looked at the clock as she walked in. 12:02pm. She had two hours until her appointment at the hospital. Since she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer 20 years ago and they had removed the cancer cells, she had been making regular visits every three months to her physician. So far she had been in remission since her operation but she was always scared that the cancer would come back again.
When Jo arrived at the hospital she had a sick feeling in her stomach. Even though the checkups were regular she still got a nervous feeling every time she went to the hospital.
"Ah Mrs Hasham. Come on in." Dr Mackay smiled and ushered Jo into the small cubicle that was the examination room. "How are we today?"
"I'm not sure. I'm feeling a little ill, but I think that's just because I haven't eaten breakfast." Jo replied.
"Ah well you can always have a big lunch once the examination is over. Now you know the drill, up on the bed." Dr Mackay smiled and Jo got up onto the bed. "So how are the kids?" she asked as she started setting up for the ultrasound.
"Well Jake's doing great. He made captain of the football team. PJ reckons he'll end up playing for the Hawks one day. I'd rather see him play for a different team though."
"That's great." Dr Mackay replied. "What about Mackenzie? How's she doing? Is she still with that Cameron guy?"
"Yeah. She's actually just moved up to Melbourne to live with him."
"Wow. They must be serious then."
"Yeah. So how's it looking doc?" Jo asked and looked up at the screen.
"Umm…I'm not sure." Dr Mackay frowned. "It looks like there's been a change. Have you been feeling any pain recently?"
"Well no. Nothing that I haven't had before. Why is there a problem?"
"I'll just get one of the other doctors to confirm it, but I think that maybe there may be more cancerous cells in your uterus."
"What?" Jo's face went white. "You mean…the cancer has come back?"
"Well we'll have to make some proper examinations to be certain. But it does look that way. I'm sorry Jo."
"But I thought it was all removed." Jo cried.
"Well most of the time the cells that have been detected are removed, but sometimes there are some undetected cells that haven't been removed, and over time they can grow into a tumour."
"So you're saying I have to go through all of that again? That I have to have another operation?"
"Well it all depends on how big the tumour is." Dr Mackay told her. "I'll schedule you in for a CAT scan and then we'll see where we go from there."
Jo gulped back tears.
"And if the cancer is back?"
"We'll talk about that if it happens. Now, I'll leave you to get dressed and then I guess I'll see you next week for the CAT scan."
"Thanks Emily." Jo sat up and Dr Mackay left the room.
Three nights later, when PJ got home from work Jo was sitting on the couch with red eyes. She had just come from the hospital and it was confirmed that the cancer had come back and the only way to get rid of it was to have surgery, followed by Chemotherapy. Jo hadn't told PJ anything about her visit to the hospital because she didn't want to worry him.
"Hey Joey I'm home…what's wrong?" He asked when he saw her.
"It's…it's the cancer…it's come back."
"What?" He looked at her and she burst into tears. "Oh Joey." He pulled her into a hug. "It's all right Joey. We'll get through this like we did last time."
"I can't go through with that again PJ. I don't want to have the surgery."
"But Joey…it's the only way to get rid of it."
"I don't care PJ. I don't think I'll be able to handle it. I've just been through so much and I'm just scared."
"It's ok to be scared Joey. It's ok. I'm here for you."
"I love you Peej."
"I love you to Joey." He let a tear fall from his face. "Which is why I need for you to have the surgery. I don't know if I could live without you Joey."
"That's easy for you to say, you're not the one that's being cut open. I cant do it PJ just cant. It's my time PJ. I'm 53years old, I've had a good life and I've got two beautiful children who have grown into young adults. I don't want to go through the pain of surgery again PJ."
"Well isn't there another way that it can be treated. What about Chemotherapy, or Radiotherapy?" he was desperate to save her.
"I don't want to do it PJ. I've made up my mind. It's my time to die." PJ stood up.
"You can't do this to me, to our children. We need you Jo."
"I need you to PJ. But there's no way I can go through all of that again. I just cant. Please try to understand."
"Were you even going to give me a choice in this? And Mack and Jake? What are you going to tell them, that you want to die?"
"I don't want to die PJ."
"Then have the surgery."
"I cant. I'm not going to!" She told him. "And there is nothing you can do to change my mind."
When PJ heard that comment he gulped back tears, stood and stormed out of the house, leaving Jo on the couch crying her eyes out.
Any moment, everything can change,Feel the wind on your shoulder,
For a minute, all the world can wait,
Let go of your yesterday.
Well that's the first chapter…it was originally going to be one chapter…but I've changed everything so I've decided to make it a series of chapters…but they'll only keep coming if you keep reviewing.
Ciao for now brown cow!
Jess