A/N Tissues warning!

"No more tests, please Daddy" Sam whined as he squirmed on the hospital bed.

"It's for your own good" Nate tried to calm him down.

"They hurt!"

"I know, buddy, I know. But it will be over soon."

He saw a nurse coming in again and preparing the instruments for drawing more blood for other tests.

Maggie was standing on the other side of the bed also doing her best to comfort her son.

"We need to take him for some other x-rays" the nice red-haired nurse told them gently. It was never easy when a young child was their patient.

Both Nate and Maggie nodded and they kissed Sam's head before waving good-bye.

"How did Sophie manage to get him in so quickly?" Maggie suddenly asked him.

Sophie had phoned the clinic that morning and then she had come to her house, where Nate had spent the night in Sam's bedroom looking over him, that same morning telling them to get ready and that they were going to already admit Sam for the day.

"Hmm… she knows someone who knows someone" he lied to her waving her off. He didn't tell her that Sophie had pretended to be the Governor's wife and that she called the clinic's director telling him that they need to have great care of her longtime friends

"Yes, well… I'll need to thank her…" she paced up and down the room. "Is she coming here?"

"I guess… later today… she had an audition this morning"

The waiting was unbearable. Maggie kept sitting and then getting up from the chair in Sam's room. She would occasionally pace around and then sit back down. Nate's phone kept vibrating in his trousers' pocket and as much as he tried to ignored it knowing it was Blackpoole ordering to come back to the office, eventually Maggie shouted at him to answer the damn phone. He had tried to reach Sophie too, wanting to know when she was going to be able to get there, but it kept going to voicemail.

A couple of hours later, after Sam got back from his tests, the doctor in charge of their son's care called them to his office.

"Please," he waved with his right hand. "Have a seat"

Nate and Maggie sat at the two seats in front of the doctor's desk. Nate watched carefully the doctor 's face and his actions. He was good at reading people and he could tell that the doctor was preparing himself to give away bad news. Curling his hands into fists he inhaled deeply.

"I'll go straight to the point." Doctor River looked at them straight into their eyes. "Your son's tests showed that his immune system is compromised after running further tests we discovered that the reason was cancer."

Maggie gasped audibly covering her mouth with her hand. "Sam has cancer"

Nate closed his eyes and exhaled. He needed to be strong for all of them. "What are the options, doctor?" he asked reopening his eyes.

"We are specialized in treatments. There is one experimental that could help him. If you give the consent we can admit his as a full patient and start working on give him the dose from tomorrow." He sighed. "I know it's a lot to ask financially. It's a private clinic with its costs and we will have to talk to out administration to see how much your medical insurance can cover."

"Of course we will do anything to make Sam better… and pay anything." Maggie said firmly turning her head towards Nate.

The man nodded, but all he could think in that moment was that his son was sick and he could nothing to help him. "Please be honest, how are his chances?" He knew had it worked, it was all about chances and percentage.

"I…." the doctor was taken aback.

"Nate!" Maggie shouted at him.

"I need to know" his eyes never leaving the doctor.

"If we start treatment right away it can go up to 40%, but like I said the treatment is experimental… someone had a bad reaction from it."

"If we go for regular treatment? Chemo or I don't know… something else?"

The doctor looked down and then shook his head. It was never easy to tell bad news, especially to parents of such a young boy.

"Okay" Nate got up from his seat and Maggie followed. He shook the doctor's hand and left the office.

Maggie looked confused "We will discuss the options and we will let you know" she told him.

"For now I will prepare the papers for admitting him overnight"

Nate walked towards his son's room. His head was down and his hands were in his pocket. He felt like the world around him was crumbling down and he could do nothing to stop it. He hated feeling so powerless.

"And when you get better I will take you to London with me. We will have so much fun…" he recognized the voice of the woman he loved coming from inside the hospital room.

"Can Daddy some too?"

"If he's a good boy" Sophie joked.

A small smile formed on Nate's face as he slowly opened the room.

Sophie quickly turned around and her eyes connected with Nate's. She took a big breath when she saw what was there.

"Will Mom join us too?" Sam interrupted their silence communication.

"We'll be sure to ask her too." Sophie smiled down at the little boy and ran hand through his brown locks, so similar to his father's.

Maggie joined Nate at the door and then rushed to Sam. She needed to have her little man in her arms.

"Mom," the boy tried to say as his mother was holding him tight in her arms. "Sophie said that this summer we can all go to London!" he exclaimed. "That will be so cool!"

Tears started forming in the blonde's eyes wondering if there was ever going to be a summer. "Yeah, it would be cool" she whispered.

Sophie got up and walked to Nate she put a hand in his and the slowly exited the room, leaving mother and son alone.

"What did they say?" she asked trying to find her boyfriends' eyes as Nate was looking down.

"It's cancer" he said still looking down and hiding his face. He knew that if he looked at her he was going to lose all control and he needed to be in control.

"Oh Nate…" she whispered. She felt like someone had stabbed her in the stomach. Sam… poor Sam. She loved the little boy. He had become part of her life. He had taught her how to be a mother and how to have hope for the future. She wanted to be strong for Nate, but she couldn't help the tears already rolling down her cheeks.

"What now?"

"He needs treatment. They say there is an experimental one that could help him… It's a long shot, but still…" he shook his head. The situation had finally hit him, all his emotions were hit him all at once. Anger, sadness, helplessness… "I need to go to the administration office. There are papers to sign, options to see, what if our medical insurance doesn't cover it? What…?" he started rambling and finally he looked up at Sophie. His eyes were red from the tears he couldn't let anyone see. Tears that he had tried to hold for so long that he had made his head hurt.

"Oh Nate…" she quickly took him in her arms and held his head against her shoulder. Soon she felt his body tremble beneath her hands as he finally let go and started sobbing.

"I could lose my son, Sophie" he cried. "I could lose him"

"Shush…" she caressed his neck tenderly and she cried with him. She didn't care about the people looking at them strangely as they passed them by. Nate needed her and she was going to do anything for him.

A/N I know it was painful to write this part, I hope it wasn't too painful to read it. More drama coming in the next chapters... Thanks for reading and for reviewing.