Yay! An update! Sorry it's been so long. Life has been crazy and I got really into writing some stuff for Chicago Fire when I found the time... but I finally found the time last night to update this story and I'll hopefully have a few more chapters for you over the next few days, so I hope you enjoy!

There's a lot of grief in the air in this chapter… sorry…

Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Seven - Big Guns

A week or so later, Brooke walked into the lab and saw Clay sitting by the table, staring into space. She hadn't heard from him or seen him all day and she knew he wasn't in surgery, so she was a little worried about him – and from his stance she figured she was right to be worried.

"Hey…" Brooke greeted cautiously, seeing that he didn't appear to be on top form. "Are you ok?"

Clay remained silent for a moment before speaking; "My dad's dying."

Brooke's face fell, and she gulped. She wasn't sure what the correct response was here. Bucky Evans had never been a father to Clay. He was raised by a rotation of nannies and Bucky would rather throw money at Clay and send him on his way than spend any time with him, but it was still incredibly sad. "Oh" she simply said and cursed herself afterwards for the weak reply. "Of what?" she asked.

"Cancer." He said bluntly as Brooke nodded her head.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Brooke asked, but Clay didn't say anything. Brooke knew not to push. He wasn't one to accept help from anybody readily and she knew if he did, it should be on his own terms.

Brooke simply decided to pull a chair over and sit opposite him—in silence if necessary—just to let her know that the offer still stood. They were only in silence for a few moments before Clay spoke.

"I haven't seen the man in over a year... I barely knew him growing up and now this has been thrown in my lap." Clay told her as Brooke looked at him sympathetically, not really knowing what to say. She could clearly see how uncomfortable this whole thing was for him. How was he supposed to respond? It was his father but at the same time – it wasn't. Now he felt like he would haunt him for the rest of his life if he didn't do anything about his death.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm supposed to grieve." Clay pointed out, but she wasn't overcome with sadness right now. Was she supposed to feel guilty about that?

"I'm maybe not the best person to ask, I had a good dad who I do grieve for so…" Brooke said, wishing she could relate to Clay in some way, but it just wasn't the same.

Lucas walked into the lab with two coffee cups in hand and Brooke let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in.

"Hey, I got you some of your weird tea…" Lucas said as he handed her the cup from behind and kissed her cheek.

"Hey, you have a deadbeat dad, right?" Clay asked.

Lucas furrowed her eyebrow as he rested a hand on the table and the other on Brooke's shoulder. "That's a weird Segway… but essentially, yeah—"

"How would you feel if you found out he was dying?" Clay asked.

Lucas pondered this for a moment; "… what's he dying of?"

"No, no…" Brooke mumbled, trying to stop him before he said the entirely wrong thing.

Lucas realised he should just answer the question in front of him, rather than look for more facts. "Well, I would feel conflicted about it."

"Would you want to say goodbye?"

"I don't know"

"… that's not helpful."

Brooke leant forward in her chair; "Look, I know I don't know what it's like to have a deadbeat dad, but I do know what it's like to lose my dad… and we had a really… good goodbye, if there is such a thing." Brooke asked, almost as a question because she didn't know how to describe her final moments with Ted. They were quite simply full of love. "I wasn't left with any regrets and… I don't want you to be either." Brooke said. She wasn't about to tell Clay what to do, but she was prepared to give her food for thought.

A few hours later, Brooke was working away in the neuro lab when Lucas walked in with two paper bags. He set them on the desk with a smile as Brooke raised an eyebrow.

"What you got there?" she asked as she walked towards him.

"Well, I wanted to bring you lunch, but I couldn't decide and since you've been craving just about everything under the sun all at once, I brought you tacos, meatballs, a burger and of course your Caesar salad with extra chicken." Lucas told her and Brooke smiled widely. He really was catering to all her pregnancy needs. At 25 weeks, her cravings were only being ramped up and she guessed they wouldn't subdue any time soon.

"You didn't have to do this"

"Yeah, I think I did. I know I haven't been the best husband lately, so I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you." He said as he rubbed her arm. Ever since his disappearing act, Lucas had been trying to make it up to Brooke in whatever way he could. He cooked all their meals, he did the laundry—he had even taken point on potty training Sophie.

"I appreciate that, but I cannot eat any of this right now…" she confessed as her face fell and she sat down on a stool.

"What's up? Are you feeling ok?" he asked frantically as he sat opposite her.

"I'm feeling a little sad." She confessed. "All the grief in the air, you know?" she said quietly. Between Bucky Evans and the two patients she lost in the ER this morning and having to tell their wailing families, she wasn't feeling so great.

Lucas nodded as he clicked on; "Your dad… I'm sorry."

"There must be something in the water because Harry and Matty rang me this morning saying they were feeling a little sad about dad today too." Brooke said with a little laugh, finding it a little strange that her brothers were feeling the same way without knowing they all were.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked as he took her hand.

Brooke composed herself as she stood up; "I should really get back to work" she said as Lucas nodded solemnly and stood up too.

"Ok. If you need anything, I'm here" he said as he quickly kissed her.

"Thank you, I love you."

"I love you too. And about these tacos…" he said, lifting the container.

Brooke smirked; "They're all yours."

That evening after hearing nothing from Brooke all day, Lucas walked into the lab and found her exactly where he'd left her at lunch, but this time, she appeared to just be staring into space. When she finally realised he was there, she gave him a small but sad smile.

"Hi" she greeted quietly.

"I know you're busy. I just thought you'd like some company." He said as he sat down beside her at the desk. They sat in silence for a few moments while Brooke looked through her microscope, before she leaned back, deciding to take this opportunity to just talk to her husband.

"I really miss him Lucas. Every day." She said quietly.

"I know. Every morning you get up and you go into the bathroom and you just stop and look straight in the mirror for a few minutes. For so long I've tried to work out why but uh—you're thinking about your dad aren't you?" Lucas said. She had done this for as long as they had been together, the second time round that is, and it took him forever to work out why—until now.

Brooke smiled softly; "Yeah. I think as I've gotten older, I've started to look more like him. My eyes are his eyes, I have the same stupid smile lines. Every time I see my reflection I see him. So I just have to stop first thing in the morning and allow myself to think about him. To remember that although he's gone, I have so many memories full of love that I can carry with me for the rest of my life."

"He loved you very much." Lucas assured her.

Brooke nodded; "I know. Even in my terrible bratty years too, he was real trooper." Brooke joked as Lucas smiled. "I know it's sad, but I also think it's good to miss people. Means the love you have in your heart for them is real and true." She said. She missed a whole bunch of people, dead and alive, but over the day she'd realised that that wasn't a bad thing at all.

"That's very true. You're the strongest person I know. I'm very proud to love you." He said sincerely as she kissed him.

"I love you very much" Brooke said quietly, incredibly thankful that she had him in her life in such a momentous way.

"I love you too."

Clay had decided to go see his father after all and he passed away with Clay beside him. It appeared that he wanted to ask for his son's forgiveness and Clay was able to give it. He was glad he went. He finally got that closure. A few days later, in what Brooke assumed was a pure miracle from God, Sophie managed to stay asleep past 5am, so she and Lucas decided to enjoy this free time they had together. Lucas had quickly latched his lips onto Brooke's neck while Brooke hooked her knee around his waist, feeling the heat increase between them.

Before they could get much further however, Lucas's phone buzzed and they both groaned.

"It's probably the hospital" Brooke mumbled against Lucas's lips as he rolled over, so he was hovering on top of her, being careful not to squash her protruding bump.

"When is it ever not the hospital?" he said as he reached over to his bedside cabinet and chucked his phone across the room, causing Brooke to giggle before he attacked her lips again.

Just as Lucas's hand moved to the rim of Brooke's underwear, Brooke's phone started to buzz. Lucas halted and groaned as he buried his face in Brooke's neck.

"Dear God…" he grumbled before Brooke chuckled and pushed him off her.

"I'm sorry, I have to get up… your mom is flying Hargrove and I out to Boston for a VIP patient." She reminded him as she stood up from the bed and lifted her phone.

"Mysterious" Lucas said as he sat against the backboard of the bed.

"I know" Brooke said as she turned to look at him and wiggled her eyebrows.

Lucas smiled; "Look at you being a neuro god. Your dad would be proud." He said sincerely as Brooke smiled softly.

"Yeah, he would be." She said before lifted her silk bed robe she had discard and slipped it on. Before she could tie it, she looked up and saw Lucas smirking at her.

Brooke tilted her head and put her hands on her hips as Lucas took her in. Her little bump was sitting peacefully between her bra and panties and she just looked radiant for it being first thing in the morning.

"What are you smirking at?" she asked as Lucas moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

"You and that cute little bump" he said as he placed his hands on it and kissed it causing Brooke to laugh. "I can't believe there are two babies in there." He said as he stared at it in awe.

"You better believe it Scott because two babies mean double the diapers and double the spit up." Brooke half joked. She did want to make sure that the reality truly hit home for Lucas.

"Oh nothing sounds more appealing to me right now that dirty diapers and spit up." He joked back as he stood up and kissed her before walking into the bathroom.

"Are you off today?" Brooke asked as she started making their bed.

"Oh yeah. Sophie and I have a daddy daughter date day all planned." Lucas said with a smile as he lent on the bathroom door frame.

"Oh, I'm jealous" Brooke moaned. It was rare that they had days like this—and now she was missing out on it. Though the appeal of this mysterious patient Karen had for them was very strong. Karen had given them very little information about it and they were incredibly intrigued.

"Well we may be able to round it off with a really great dinner waiting for mommy when she gets back." Lucas said, trying to soften the blow of the day they would have without her.

"That sounds amazing. I'll let you know when I'll be home, I don't know what the deal with this patient is." Brooke replied.

"Great. I'm going to hop in the shower." He said as he turned the water on.

Brooke smirked; "Want some company?" she asked as she dropped her robe.

Lucas gulped; "Always."

A short while later (though definitely later than intended) Brooke was sitting on the Scott jet waiting to head to Boston. As she set her bag down beside her, Andy joined her on the plane and smiled.

"Well, if it isn't my little neuro protégé." He said in classic Hargrove style.

Brooke rolled her eyes; "I'm not your protégé, just here for this VIP patient."

"And Karen brought the two smartest neuro gods she knows." Andy said proudly as he sat opposite her. "What do you think she's got for us? Spinal sarcoma?"

Brooke shook her head; "We could do that in our sleep. Corimanie technique."

Andy raised his eyebrows; "You know the Corimanie technique Dr. Davis? You impress me."

Brooke glared at him; "As a neuro fellow, that really should not surprise you."

Andy shrugged; "Most neuro fellows I've come across aren't half as competent as you. It's that Davis blood. You know I met your dad on the conference circuit, he called me an asshole on multiple occasions. My arrogance didn't really suit him."

Brooke laughed; "That sounds like him."

Soon enough, they had taken off and arrived in Boston. As they walked through the hospital doors, they were impressed by the newly developed Roe Foundation Hospital that Karen had been working on. They looked around them in awe as Karen came charging over to them in a fury.

"What took you two so long?" she scolded as she motioned for them to follow her.

"Karen, this place is gorgeous—"

"Patient is a 52-year-old female—"

"She's been complaining of neck and back pain for the best several weeks and yesterday the pain reached a fever pitch and the head of ortho insisted on a CT." Karen explained further.

"It would be nice to have a cervical MRI so we know what we're dealing with." Brooke requested.

"Already done" Karen said as she led them into one of the scan rooms.

Brooke and Andy were immediately mesmerised by the large tumour that covered the boards in the scan room as soon as Karen hit the on button. They cautiously walked forward and took it in.

"Oh, will you marry me…" Andy said to the tumour on the wall. It was spectacular. It was every surgeon's dream.

"I have never seen a tumour invade both a vascular and the nerve domains like that before." Brooke commented, almost in disbelief.

Karen gulped; "Me either."

"I always thought a wily brunette would take me off the market but spinal tumour—"

"Andy."

"I'm just saying, this tumour isn't going anywhere any time soon, you know I love my women stubborn." He added, not backing down from his inappropriate comments.

Brooke turned to Karen; "we're going to need to do a biopsy to determine if it's cancer or not—"

"Wow" Andy interrupted; "love the enthusiasm, but I prefer to meet the patient first."

"You already have." Karen announced as they both raised an eyebrow in her direction; "I'm the patient."

Andy and Brooke shared a brief glance, not quite believing what they were hearing. Karen had one of the most complex tumours they had ever seen growing in her spine and it didn't even occur to them that it could be her.

"We – we don't know if it's cancer or not." Andy mumbled out after a few moments of silence. He wanted to make that clear from the outset. He wanted to keep Karen as calm as possible.

"Are you having any numbness, loss of motor function?" Brooke questioned, not quite sure how to react to this. When she didn't know how to react, she tried to stick to the facts rather than let her emotions dictate what came out of her mouth.

"No, just the pain, which is why I need a biopsy right away. I have things to do." Karen said with certainty.

"I think spinal tumour is a pretty good reason to postpone literally anything else in your life—" Andy began.

"I am not postponing a damn thing." Karen made clear. She was due to officially open the new wings of this hospital today and she was determined to do it no matter what.

"I'm assuming by the fact that Keith, Lily and Lucas aren't here, they don't know what's going on. They should be here." Brooke protesting, not enjoying the fact that she was privy to information about her husband's mother that he was not.

"They will know when there is something to know. Now, I've reserved the IRS suite, we can take a biopsy right now." Karen said as she powerfully strode out of the room, determined to not let this get her down.

A short while later, Brooke and Andy were preparing Karen for the biopsy. Andy let Brooke perform the biopsy, but he would be lying if he said he was ok about relinquishing a bit of control.

As Brooke set up the equipment, Andy stood impatiently beside her.

"So, do you think it's cancer?" he asked her.

"Dr. Hargrove that is why we are doing the biopsy. You didn't strike me as a dumb question kind of person." She teased.

"I'm asking if you have a feeling" he said with a sigh.

"Is this a new teaching technique of yours?" she asked as she began the procedure.

"I'm just passing on some wisdom." He said as he hoovered behind her.

"I get it, you're a big gun, there's no one in the world like you." Brooke rhymed off. A surgeon's ego was no joke—especially a neurosurgeon's.

Andy smirked; "Oh, thank you."

Brooke rolled her eyes and continued to concentrate on what she was doing—though it was difficult with Andy breathing down her neck.

"You want to be careful—"

"Hargrove, you're not going to back seat drive a simple biopsy, are you?" Brooke questioned before staring right at him. She'd done these countless of times, she didn't need to watched over like a hawk.

Hargrove took a step back and raised his hands, realising that it was probably best to not poke Brooke Davis. "… nope. You're good."

"Thank you."

The biopsy went smoothly and while Karen took a moment to come around from the anaesthesia, Brooke begged her to let her phone Keith, Lily and Lucas. They should know what was going on, they should be here with her. Karen, however, didn't want to tell them just yet. She wanted a drink instead.

They made their way round to the local bar and sat on three stools.

"Ok, run it down for me." Karen asked.

Andy cleared his throat; "The results aren't in yet, the tumour could still be benign, so let's not worry about that until—"

"Why do we do that?" Karen interrupted. "Why do we refuse to talk about it? If I have cancer?"

"Because we don't know if you do." Brooke said, backing up Andy's stance.

"I might and you tiptoeing around it doesn't make it any better. What are you having Andy?" Karen asked.

Andy looked at his watch; "The sun's still up." He said. Now wasn't really the time for drinking in his mind. It was 2pm.

"He'll have the same as me, tequila neat, make his a double. Brooke?" Karen asked.

"Club soda please." Brooke asked the bartender who nodded; "Not sure I want to explain to my twins one day that grandma gave them tequila while they were cooking…"

"Oh hush…" Karen playfully scolded. "So, do you think that if you talk about it, it'll scare me? You talking about it not what scares me." She said, not wanting to beat around the bush. "What I will lose is what scares me. I've built a legacy that has finally been removed from a man who almost destroyed something I had worked so hard to achieve. This whole thing finally has my name on it." She said, noting the fact that this hospital would be the Roe Foundation Hospital. Then there's my granddaughter, soon to be two granddaughters and a grandson that I want to watch tackle the world and you don't think that I'm sitting here wondering if I'll get to? There is nothing that you could possibly say that is worse than I have been imagining. Cancer doesn't scare me… my future scares me."

Andy looked at Brooke before she gave him a light nod to let him know that it was ok to talk about it.

"Well… if it is cancer, we are looking at osteosarcoma or a chondrosarcoma." He explained.

"Which means what?"

"If it's osteo assuming it has not spread, we are looking at chemo and radiation that should shrink the tumour and operate with as little chance of paralysis as possible." He informed her.

"And if it's chondrosarcoma?"

Brooke gulped before speaking up; "Chondrosarcoma is brutal. It doesn't respond to chemo, there is a very slim chance we may be able to cut it out without paralysing you."

"Which means I will never operate again." Karen concluded.

"That tequila went right through me…" Andy said quickly as he got up to use the bathroom, wanting to remove himself from this conversation right now. He quickly excused himself as Karen took a large sip of her tequila.

"Brooke, you are among one of the finest surgeons that I have seen in my career at your stage and it is only upwards from here. But that's not the only reason I called you here. You are the light of my son's life. I know Lucas's has been through a lot recently with his grandfather among other things. I'm worried that he's barely holding on." Karen confessed. She worried about Lucas daily and the only thing that brought her comfort was knowing that he had Brooke.

Brooke, however, wasn't sure what Karen was implying, but she sincerely hoped that she wanted her to keep this a secret from Lucas. The way she was talking, it was like she didn't want to burden Lucas with anything else.

"Karen, you can't do this alone and I'm not going to lie to my husband either." Brooke made clear.

"I know… and I don't want you to. I just need you to be his rock. Like you always have been. I need you to know what's coming so you can be one step ahead of any thoughts they may have. Can you do that?" she asked quietly as Brooke swore she saw tears glisten in her eyes. She had never seen Karen so emotional.

Brooke rested her hand on Karen's before nodding. "Of course I can."

A short while later, Brooke and Andy watched from afar as Karen cut the ribbon outside the doors of her brand new hospital.

"Damn" Andy said as Brooke sighed.

"Right?" she said in what she thought was agreement, but he had completely different thoughts in his head.

"No, I mean she looks good. She always looked fantastic—"

"Ok, what is it with you two?" Brooke said as she crossed her arms and turned to face him. "Because you do realise that that is my husband's mother who is very happily married, so if there's something going on—"

"I'm not one to kiss and tell."

Brooke glowered; "That is literally all you ever do." One of Andy's favourite topics was talking about who he'd dated that week.

"Oh, you want details?"

"No, I don't—"

"She woke me up. I was married. Years ago… and then I wasn't. She died and I sleep walked through years of my life and Karen reminded me that I was alive. She sings a mean harmony too. She's my friend."

For the first time, Brooke finally understood Andy Hargrove. The show that he put on, the arrogance, the womanising ways—it was exactly that (most of the time anyway) and any friend of Karen Scott's was a friend of hers.

"And she's in good hands." Brooke said sincerely, seeing how cut up about this whole thing he was.

"I'm a big gun Brooke."

Brooke rolled her eyes; "Yeah, I know—"

"There is no one smarter, no one better than me and my friend… she has cancer in her spine that won't shrink with chemo and I have no idea how to remove it without killing or paralysing her." Andy replied. They'd received Karen's results less than an hour ago and it was what they had feared. It was the worst kind of tumour and they all knew Karen was in for the fight of her life.

"You're right. We have no idea how we're going to do this" Brooke said as she looked back at Karen who was smiling all around her. You would never think that she'd just received some pretty devastating news. "But we will. We will take this on head first and we will beat this… but it's what we do." Brooke said confidently as Andy nodded, ready to take this thing on with everything he had.

Karen!

Andy and Brooke have got this... right?