Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Lizzie McGuire characters.

Chapter 10-Fighting For His Life

Gordo had his chemo device implanted and his dose regulated. Upon returning home, he stubbornly started school again, and his baseball hat once more became a familiar sight in the halls and classrooms.

News of his need for a bone marrow donor made the front page in the local paper and was picked up by the Associated Press national news service. He got calls, offers of money, requests for TV interviews, everything except a compatible donor. He asked for nothing, preferring to stay out of the limelight. By fielding calls and running interference, Coach saw to it that Gordo and his mother weren't bothered.

At school, Larry rallied the football team, as well as the student body, and he and Miranda initiated a bone marrow testing day. A doctor and three nurses came from St. Paul's with syringes and vials for blood samples, along with permission slips. Most of the students lined up after school to have their blood tested for a possible match. The Coach was first in line. Lizzie was second. It touched her, seeing the support and caring Gordo inspired in their classmates. The paper covered that event also, but she couldn't bring herself to read the stories. They left her sad and depressed……and scared. She knew that a bone marrow transplant was Gordo's only hope for survival. He was getting sicker and balder and more gaunt from the chemo and the relentless advance of his cancer. Lizzie, knew time was running out for him. A donor had to be found…..and found soon.

As October faded into November, Gordo was able to attend school less and less. On the days he did come, Larry picked him up and Lizzie drove him home. Yet he rarely wanted to go home until they visited the new stadium, which was now almost fully constructed. Even on cold blustery days, he insisted on going. Lizzie would take his hand and they'd slowly climb the bleachers, sit, and gaze down at the field.

Gordo: "I wish I could play football again."

Gordo said wistfully one November afternoon.

Lizzie: "If those doctors find you a donor in time, you will." she answered.

Gordo: "Don't you ever give up?"

Lizzie: "No. And neither should you."

He entwined his fingers with hers.

Gordo: "When you're up against a superior enemy, sometimes it's okay to bow out gracefully." he said quietly.

She whirled to face him.

Lizzie: "I hate when you talk so negatively. A donor will be found. And you will go to college and play football."

Gordo: "Come on. I don't like arguing with you."

He managed one of his endearing grins.

Gordo: "I'm a lover, not a fighter. Remember?"

Lizzie: "You are a fighter. I've seen you fight to win in your football games. And to me, your life is much more worth fighting for than any game."

Gordo: "I am fighting for my life, Lizzie. I fight for it everyday."

Lizzie: "But you talk about losing the fight, and that really scares me."

Gordo: "I can't win every game I play."

Lizzie: "It's being on chemo, Gordo. It's getting you discouraged. Once you're off it, you'll feel better about everything."

Gordo: "I promise, I won't give up."

Thoroughly depressed, Lizzie changed the subject.

Lizzie: "Our last home game's in two weeks. Will you come? Dad wants you to."

Gordo: "I'm coming. I started the season with the team, and I want to finish with them."

Without Gordo, the Warriors had lost their heart to win and had quickly slipped from their number one ranking as what had been their most brilliant season turned to dust.

On the night of the game, Lizzie and her family picked up Gordo and his mother. Gordo was in a wheel chair because he was too weak to walk.

Gordo's clothes hung on him. His once powerful physique had melted away and his body had turned skeletal as the war against cancer raged within him. Lizzie reminded her self that he'd regained his form after his first bout with chemo was complete and that she should have every hope it would happen again.

The Coach positioned Gordo on the sidelines, at the end of the Warrior's bench. When the team filed onto the field, each player stepped in front of Gordo's wheelchair, removed his helmet, and shook Gordo's hand. Lizzie watched form the stands, a lump in her throat, as Gordo gave each player a high five, a smile, and a few words of wisdom.

At halftime, she watched her father push Gordo's wheelchair out to the middle of the field while the announcer recited his football exploits and the bright field lights glinted off the polished metal of his chair. Cameras flashed as the mayor and superintendents of schools stood with him. The mayor made a brief speech about how much honor Gordo had brought to Hillridge with his talent. He gave Gordon a plaque.

Mayor: "In your honor, the new high school stadium will be called 'The David Gordon Stadium,' and will be formally dedicated as such come spring."

Lizzie heard Gordo's mother gasp when the announcement was made and felt Roberta reach for her hand. Tears were all but blinding Lizzie, but she held her head high, feeling more pride for Gordo than ever. His talent might have brought him fame, but his courage in the face of cancer had brought him honor.

Spring. Lizzie wondered if Gordo would still be waiting for a donor or if his bone marrow transplant would be history by then. Spring. The season of flowers and fresh green grass seemed far and fresh green grass seemed so far away. They still had the long, harsh winter to endure.

Lizzie: "Hurry up, spring." she whispered.

The next day:

Jo: "Lizzie, we need to talk." she came into Lizzie's room and closed the door behind her.

Lizzie didn't mind the interruption. She'd tried valiantly all evening to study for her upcoming finals, but had been unable to concentrate.

Lizzie: "What's up?"

Jo: "What are you doing about your acceptance to USC and UCLA?

Lizzie: "What do you mean? I'm not doing anything about them."

Her mother looked confused.

Jo: "You've got to choose one of them. After all, you're graduating in six months and-"

Lizzie: "Mother! What are thinking? I can't go off and leave Gordo. What if he gets a donor? I need to be here for him." she said standing up.

Jo: "Lizzie, are you serious? Are you telling me you're not going off to college just because Gordo isn't?"

Lizzie: "Of course I'm serious. I wouldn't dream of leaving Gordo."

A worried frown creased her mother's brow.

Jo: "You can't put the rest of your life on hold for Gordo's sake. I'm sure if you'd ask him, he'd want you to go ahead with your plans."

Lizzie: "My plans are to stay with Gordo until he's well. If that means postponing college for a year, then that's what I'll do."

Her mother didn't back down, but her expression grew pensive.

Jo: "Gordo's gravely ill, Lizzie. What if…….what if a donor can't be found?" she said haltingly.

Lizzie: "I think one will be found."

Jo: "But honey, what if-"

Lizzie: "Stop it! I don't want to hear all this horrible talk. Gordo's has to get well again. I can't even think about going through the rest of my life without him. I wouldn't even want to!"

She held out her hand.

Lizzie: "Remember this ring? It's more than just a gift. It's a 'promise ring.' Gordo gave it to me. It's his promise that someday we'll be married."

He mother looked dumbstruck and Lizzie felt a thrill of triumphant satisfaction.

Jo: "I had no idea you two were that serious, so soon." she said slowly.

Lizzie: "Well, we are. And as long as I can be here for Gordo, I will be."

Jo: "We need to talk more about this, Lizzie."

Lizzie: "No we don't. I've made up my mind. I'm not leaving Gordo."

Lizzie crossed her arms in stubborn defiance, all but daring her mother to argue with her. She never got the chance. The phone on Lizzie's desk rang and when Lizzie grabbed the receiver, she heard Roberta's anguished voice.

Roberta: "I just called an ambulance to come get Gordo. He's bad off, Lizzie. Really bad. And I'm scared. Can you meet me at St. Paul's?"

At the hospital, Lizzie and her mother learned that Gordo was having difficulty breathing and that his mother had called the ambulance in a panic.

Dr. Portage: "You did the right thing."

He assured her after he'd examined Gordo.

Dr. Portage: "He's still in respiratory distress, so I'm admitting him. I've put him on a respirator."

Roberta cried out and Lizzie felt wobbly on her feet.

Dr. Portage: "It's only temporary, simply a way to help him breathe more easily. I'm ordering X rays to find out why he's in trouble.. As long as he's on a respirator, he won't be able to talk, so I'll keep him sedated too."

Numb, still shaking from an adrenaline rush of fear, Lizzie sank slowly into a waiting room chair. Her mother said a few words to Roberta, then headed for the phone to call Sam.

He arrived to join then in less than thirty minutes.

Sam: "What now?" he asked.

As Gordo's situation was explained to him, Lizzie watched his shoulders sag.

Sam: "Poor kid." he muttered.

Lizzie: "It's not going to go away, is it? It's not ever going to leave Gordo alone." she said to her father.

Sam: "It does seem relentless. This makes no sense to me, Lizzie. Why should a kid like Gordo go through this when he's got so much to live for? I've talked to him about it."

His admission surprised Lizzie, Gordo had never mentioned it to her.

Lizzie: "We've talked too, but we never came up with any answers."

Sam: "There aren't' any. It's just…..life. But going through something like this sure shows what a person's made of, and in my book, no one is made of finer stuff than Gordo."

Lizzie saw a film of tears swimming in her father's eyes, and the sight rattled her. In all the years she'd live with him, she'd never seen her father cry. He cleared his throat.

Sam: "He's like a son to me."

Lizzie: "Don't give up on him yet. He's still got plenty of fight left in him."

And sure enough, by the next day Gordo was breathing easier and had been taken off the respirator. He looked very pale, but he gave Lizzie a smile and a thumbs up. When she came into his room.

Gordo: "We've got to stop meeting like this." he said in a hoarse whisper.

She'd been warned that the breathing tube they'd inserted in his throat would affect his voice.

Lizzie: "Lets go to New York. We could go stay with Steve and Nancy." she said taking his hand.

Gordo: "If only we could."

They were alone, but Lizzie didn't know how long the time would last. Nurses breezed in and out of the room regularly and his mother could pop in at any time. An idea had been forming in her mind for days, and suddenly this seemed like a perfect time to present it She studied the ring on her finger.

Lizzie: "Did you mean what you asked me at the church?"

Gordo: "About marrying you? I mean it." his gaze also fell on the silver ring.

A shadow of doubt crossed his face.

Gordo: "Are you having second thoughts? Do you want to give the ring back?"

Lizzie: "No way."

She seized both his hands and pressed them against her heart.

Lizzie: "Why should we wait to get married, Gordo? Why, when it's what both of us want?"

Gordo: "What do you mean?"

Lizzie: "Lets get married now. It doesn't have to be a fancy ceremony……and we can do it here in the hospital if we have to. Your mother, my parents, Miranda and Larry, Steve and Nancy-if we can get them here quickly. These are the only people who matter in our lives, so they're the only ones we should invite."

She talked rapidly, hardly breaking for a breath, spilling her long pent up emotions.

Lizzie: "I don't need a fancy dress. I could wear the one I bought for the Christmas dance last year. I know it's not white, but who cares? You and I know we've never messed around. And the hospital is all fixed up for Christmas, so the ceremony could be really festive. Besides, don't you think a Christmas wedding would be fun? Every anniversary we'd have two reasons to celebrate. And we don't have to have a reception either. Once you're out of the hospital we could take a little honeymoon to-"

Gordo freed one hand form her embrace and placed his fingertips against her lips to silence her.

Gordo: "Lizzie, stop."

She stopped, and the silence in the room was deafening.

Gordo: "I can't marry you now."

She felt a sinking sensation.

Lizzie: "Why? I know you love me, and I love you. What else matters?"

His gaze roamed her face as if absorbing it.

Gordo: "I do love you. And because I love you, I can't make you a bride and a widow in the same month."

Lizzie: "But the doctors are going to fix you up and you'll go home and wait for a donor. You can't give up, Gordo. You can't."

He looked at her so tenderly that she almost started crying.

Gordo: "I know why I'm having trouble breathing, Lizzie."

She couldn't force herself to ask why. Because not knowing served as a protective shield, and as long as she didn't know, she could hold off the finality of what was happening to him.

Gordo: "I have a tumor in my lung, Lizzie. And the chemo isn't stopping it from growing. They want to cut it out."

Lizzie: "Operate?" she said as if the word were alien.

Gordo: "It's located here."

He pressed his palm against the left side of his chest.

Gordo: "Very near me heart and taking over my lung. Surgery's my best hope."

Lizzie: "When?"

She felt ice cold and stiff, and forming words took great difficulty.

Gordo: "Day after tomorrow."

Too soon! Her mind cried.

Lizzie: "But it will make you better, won't it?"

Gordo: "They think so."

Lizzie: "Will you do it?"

Gordo: "I talked it over with mom and my doctors, and it's what I want to do."

She had fears and doubts. She had a bunch of reasons why he shouldn't go through with it, but she saw his look of determination and knew he would do what he wanted and nothing she could say would change his mind.

Lizzie: "I'll be here for you." she said, and he smiled at her.

Gordo: "The first thing I want to see when I get out of recovery is your face. And when I close my eyes on the operating table, the thing I'll see inside my mind will be your face." he said as he rested is palm on her cheek.

Tears swam in her eyes.

Lizzie: "After this operation is over, after you get your strength back, promise me you'll reconsider marrying me right away."

Gordo: "We'll talk about it after the surgery."

He smoothed his thumb across her lips.

Gordo: "Of course, if we do get married soon, your mother will kill us both and the surgery will have been for nothing."

She gave a short laugh.

Lizzie: "I don't care what my mother thinks or what anybody else thinks. I want to be with you, Gordo, for the rest of my life."

His gaze caressed her face.

Gordo: "That's fine with me."

The day before Gordo's surgery, Steve and Nancy flew into Hillridge, lifting Lizzie's spirits immensely. When they walked into Gordo's room, Steve held up his hand.

Steve: "Now don't panic, nephew. We're only here because word got around that you were driving the doctors and your mother nuts. Besides, we were sick of sushi and your mother promised us a good home cooked meal."

Gordo was all smiles.

Gordo: "You came all this way to see me?"

Nancy: "You and Lizzie."

Lizzie had seen the expression of shock that crossed Nancy's face when she'd first seen Gordo and how she'd quickly suppressed it. Nancy gave him a hug.

Nancy: "We've missed you two."

Lizzie: "Did you bring pictures from your honeymoon?"

Nancy: "An album full."

They spent the afternoon looking through the photos and talking. And later, when Lizzie and Nancy went down to the snack bar fro ice cream and Steve stayed behind with Gordo, Lizzie told Nancy that she and Gordo might marry as soon as he recovered from his surgery.

Lizzie: "Would you stay for the wedding?"

Nancy: "Of course we would. After you're married, where will you live?"

Lizzie: "With his mother I guess. She's a lot more sympathetic about me and Gordo than mine. And once he's gotten his new bone marrow, he can finish high school. Then, I'm sure some coach will want him to play college ball. Oh, maybe it won't be a big, we'll known college, but a smaller one willing to invest in him."

Nancy: "So he thinks he can still play football?"

Lizzie: "Absolutely. Once his donor starts working, he'll be cured and go on with his life."

Nancy: "You're a brave girl, Lizzie. Not every girl your age would take on such a marriage and its possible problems."

Lizzie shrugged.

Lizzie: "I love him. I just wish tomorrow was over. His surgery scares me."

Nancy: "He's young and that's in his favor. Plus the doctors wouldn't operate if they didn't think it would help."

They returned to the room, where Gordo's mother had joined him and Steve. Gordo looked drowsy.

Roberta: "They gave him medication, so he'll sleep soundly tonight. But we have to leave now."

Gordo reached out for Lizzie. His eyelids looked heavy and his speech slurred.

Gordo: "The doctor said I could see you in the morning before I go into surgery. Please see me before they put me to sleep?"

Lizzie: "I'll come early."

Gordo: "I love you."

She bent down and kissed him.

Lizzie: "I love you too."

'Here it comes it's all blowing in tonight
I woke up this morning to a blood red sky
They're burning on the bridge turning off the lights
We're on the run I can see it in your eyes
If nothing is safe then I don't understand
You call me your boy but I'm trying to be the man
One more day and it's all slipping with the sand
You touch my lips and grab the back of my hand
The back of my hand

Guess we both know we're in over our heads
We got nowhere to go and no home that's left
The water is rising on a river turning red
It all might be ok or we might be dead
If everything we've got is slipping away
I meant what I said when I said until my dying day
I'm holding on to you, holding onto me
Maybe it's all gone black but you're all I see
You're all I see

The walls are shaking, I hear them sound the alarm
Glass is breaking so don't let go of my arm
Grab your bags and a picture of where we met
All that we'll leave behind and all that's left
If everything we've got is blowing away
We've got a rock and a rock till our dying day
I'm holding on to you, holding on to me
Maybe it's all we got but it's all I need
You're all I need

And if all we've got is what no one can break
I know I love you
If that's all we can take
The tears are coming down
They're mixing with the rain
I know I love you, if that's all we can take

A pool is running for miles on the concrete ground
We're eight feet deep and the rain is still coming down
The TV's playing it all out of town
We're grabbing at the fray for something that won't drown'

A/N: The story is almost over guys! Please review more! Thanks for all your fabulous reviews! The song is "All I Need" by Mat Kearney. Review Again!!!!!