"Hey! Jack!" Robbie said, running over to Jack. Jack was outside the apartment block, staring out towards the sea.
"How could she do it? Why would she do it?" Jack asked slowly, his arms folded across his chest.
"I don't know Jack, but don't get yourself too worked up about it; she hasn't actually admitted to anything." Robbie reminded him; Jack turned his head sharply to face his caring friend.
"She hasn't denied it either." He spat out. Robbie tilted his head to one side.
"True." He agreed. "But still, she wants to talk to you." finished Robbie. Jack shook his head in disbelief.
"Yes of course! And I'll just go running up there and do as she says!" Jack said sarcastically.
"What do you want?" Jack asked; walking in sulkily with his arms crossed. Robbie followed, looking proud of himself for making Jack see sense. Martha was sat up on the bed; she'd stopped crying now, and was forcing a smile. She indicated for Robbie and Jack to sit with herself and Tasha. Robbie smiled as he jumped on, sending bounces through the bed. Tasha giggled as her body was forced up and down. All eyes were now on Jack, who had stepped back to lean on the wall.
"Please Jack." She said quietly, tapping the space next to her on the bed. She looked so disappointed that Jack hadn't sat down; she could see that he didn't want to be in the same room as her, let alone sat on the same bed. Her upset face made Jack feel miserable, so he gave in, and slowly took a seat next to her on the bed. However, as soon as he was sitting he shuffled to the edge, as far away from her as he could get without falling off. But Martha didn't mind, she could understand, after all, he thought she had cheated, she could hardly blame him.
"Right, Jack, I didn't cheat on you." She said, looking at him. "I would NEVER do that, I love you too much." She smiled. Jack looked up, he tried to fight the smile that was creeping onto his face, and with a sharp adjustment, and a stubborn nature, began to raise his voice again.
"So it's mine then? And you didn't tell me?" He said loudly. Martha shook her head, making Jack, Robbie and Tasha completely confused. Martha looked down at her hands.
"I'm not pregnant." She declared, her eyes started to fill up. "And I never will be." Tasha, Robbie and Jack were even more confused, but were saddened by Martha's clearly upset face.
"What… what do you mean?" Jack asked quietly, fearing the answer. It wasn't going to be good, it wasn't going to be happy, it was going to be extremely upsetting, he could see that. Every second Martha hesitated made the answer 'No, I did cheat on you' more appealing; he was getting scared.
"I… I…" She began, but broke into a flood of tears. Robbie, Tasha and Jack would have normally swept her up in their arms, however they couldn't move, as they were rigid with fear.
"Martha, what is it?" Tasha asked tearfully. She hated to see her friend like this. Martha was shaking and crying, and nervously fiddling with her fingers. After looking at each of them, Martha returned her gaze to the bed, and then raised her hand. Robbie, Tasha and Jack watched on eagerly as Martha slowly elevated her hand. She rested it on her head, and then pulled slowly downwards, releasing a small cry. Her hair came unattached with her hand. Jack, Tasha and Robbie sat in shock as they gawked at her shaven head before them. Martha continued to stare at the quilt folds on the bed in front of her. "Ovarian Cancer." She stated. Tears were running down her cheeks. Silence filled the room, among the tears, sadness and shock felt by the three friends.
"Martha…" Jack let out, reaching out and hugging her. He moved to be right beside her, to hug her tight. He could feel wet tears on his neck, slowly rolling down underneath his shirt. He held her tight; an affectionate embrace was all he could do to help. If Martha needed anything for him, he'd do it. He had saved Martha on that eventful, frightening day with Corey. He had then battled with her to help her get over him, to help her be unafraid. He had refused to give up; he had persisted through days of failures and frustrations, just to result in the finishing, beautiful result of a happy Martha. Jack would do anything for her; that's why it pained him when he could do nothing. He wanted to cure her, to save her from this sadness, but he couldn't. This led him onto his next question.
"How serious is it?" He asked carefully, finally pulling away. Martha continued to cry, and struggled to speak.
"I'm having chemo now; I just came out of hospital again and that's why you saw me there." Martha managed to say, before leaning over to the bedside table and taking a tissue. She handed one to Tasha and smiled. "Here." She wiggled the tissue around in front of Tasha's face, and she let out a little laugh.
"I'm so sorry Martha." She said, wiping her face. "Look at me!" Tasha laughed, gesturing to her tears. "You're not blubbering stupidly like I am, and you're the one with…" Tasha drifted off, not wanting to say it.
"Cancer." Martha finished her sentence. "I've cried too much over it, I'm beginning to come to terms with it, but this is new for you. So I understand." She smiled. She looked at Robbie.
"Mac." He began, but he didn't know where to start. "It's not fair." He said finally. Martha smiled; that's all she could do.
"I know." She nodded.
"So that's why you left?" Robbie asked, still deeply upset about the horrible situation that Martha was in.
"Yea. I didn't want you guys to suffer. It was bad enough me having to cope with it, but all of you lot. I wouldn't be able to watch you go through it." Martha said.
"But Martha, we could have helped you through it! Instead, you had no friends for comfort." Tasha said. Martha hung her head.
"Well just seeing you guys now, I can see that maybe I made the right decision, what would you have been like when I had the operation? Or every time I had the chemo. Yesterday was my last cycle, well, hopefully." Martha smiled, yet again. It was obvious why she was smiling; to make her friends feel better. She didn't really feel like smiling, what was there to smile about?
"How did you find out then?" Tasha asked. Martha sighed.
"Well, I found the lump about a week before I left. I got a bit worried, and went to the doctors, who confirmed my fears. He booked an urgent operation to take it out. That's when I began to panic. I was going to tell you all, but I couldn't bring myself to. I didn't want to see your faces, your tears, so I didn't tell you. I left the bay, had the operation, and moved to a B&B." Martha explained. Robbie and Tasha nodded.
"So when you'd been diagnosed with cancer, you went and lived in a B&B, with no one around to look after you or to help you through it?" Robbie asked. Martha nodded sheepishly.
"Yea." She sighed. Jack, who hadn't spoke a word for about 15 minutes now wiped his face, and stood up from the bed.
"I'm sorry." He said, quickly before leaving the room. Martha watched him leave, her heart pumping furiously. She stood up and followed, leaving Robbie and Tasha upset on the bed, comforting each other.
Jack was staring out at the sea again, from outside Robbie and Tasha's apartment block. Martha walked up from behind him, and stood next to him. Jack quickly wiped his face and sniffed.
"Are you crying?" Martha asked. Jack continued brushing his tears away, as if he was ashamed. He turned around to face Martha, all glassy eyed.
"Why didn't you tell me? It must have been so lonely for you, so horrible. You didn't have to do it alone Martha! I would have wanted to be with you." Jack said. Martha's eyes began to fill up.
"But Jack, I didn't want this to happen! Look how upset you are, I can't stand it. I hate seeing you like this, it makes me feel sick to the stomach thinking that I caused your pain." Martha said, wiping away her tears. Jack shook his head.
"No. Martha. Don't feel like that. Of course I'm going to be upset, I love you. I can't bear thinking that you're so ill, and that I can do nothing to help. Then what if you don't get better? What if the cancer doesn't go away? I can't live without you Martha. I tried for 3 months, and they were the worst 3 in my life. But if I knew you weren't coming back, I'd have nothing to live for." Jack said. Martha lifted her finger to his lips.
"No, no. You can't think like that, Jack. If I thought about all the negatives, I'd never stop crying. We have to hope that it's worked, that's the best we can do." Martha said. Jack nodded.
"Yea, sorry." Jack apologized.
"It's fine." She said softly. A smile grew on Martha's face. "You love me?" She asked suddenly, reminding him of what he just said. His face turned white. 'Oh damn it.' He thought, as he tried to come up with an excuse.
"Um, well… I…" he stuttered, earning a laugh from Martha.
"I love you too Jack." She laughed. A huge grin appeared on Jack's face. He'd missed her these last few months, but now everything seemed to be changing. Some for good, and some for bad. Martha smiled at him, this was going to be a lot easier with Jack around, she just had to make sure he didn't get hurt. After a few moments staring at each other, they couldn't bear to be apart any longer, and both leant in for a passionate kiss. She was already feeling a lot better, just by getting back together with Jack.
Jack and Martha were walking along the beach, hand in hand, discussing what had gone off with her for the last few months.
"So you can't have kids?" Jack asked. Martha shook her head.
"No. I can't." She answered quietly. "Well, not the normal way…" Martha said.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked, confused.
"I chose to freeze my eggs." Martha declared. Jack nodded.
"Oh right, so that's better then." He gleamed, squeezing her hand tight. "That gives you the option to have kids in the future, doesn't it!" He pointed out. Martha stopped walking.
"But, I'd like them now." She said gently, staring in Jack's eyes. At first, Jack was confused, but then he slowly began to realise what she was implying.
"Um, well, we're in our early 20's Martha!" Jack said. "It's not that I don't want kids, because I do, but don't you think we're a bit young?" he asked. Martha shook her head.
"If anything, this cancer has shown me that life's too short, and that when I'm ready for anything, I should do it, because no one knows if tomorrow will come." Martha said wisely. Jack looked into her eyes. He could see that she wanted it so much, and that she felt passionately about it.
"Well," he began, pulling her arm so she'd walk along with him. "Don't you think it's a bit soon for us? I mean, we've just got back together, and you're talking about kids." Jack laughed. Martha tilted her head to one side.
"Awww, is Jack scared?" She teased. He laughed.
"No! I just, think it's weird that's all. And also very flattering." He smiled. Martha looked confused.
"Why do you say that then?" She asked, Jack grinned again.
"Because you're planning the rest of your life; with me." He said. Martha blushed.
"Well, I do love you, and I can't imagine being with anyone else." She said. "Please don't freak out." She added quickly. Jack laughed and stopped walking, pulling her gently by both arms.
"I'm not going to freak out." He said, planting a soft kiss on her lips. "Because I love you, and I can't imagine being with anyone else other than you. Even when we're old, I want it to be you that I'm with. I want you to be the one that shares my first house. I want you to be the one that helps me kill the kid after its first parents evening. And I want you to be the one who is the mother of my child." He said. Martha smiled.
"So, you'll have a baby with me?" She asked hopefully. Jack nodded his head.
"Yes." He said. Martha jumped up on him.
"Oh thank you thank you thank you!" She screamed. Jack laughed as he picked her up, and flung her over his shoulder. "Jack put me down!" She squealed, as he ran splashing into the sea with her.