Disclaimer: I don't own House.

Chapter Seven

Allison barely touched her food, pushing the chicken around on her plate slowly only eating small bits of the meal. Her children seemed oblivious to their mother and shoved their food down their mouths as if there were no tomorrow. She watched them with a blank expression on her face, she couldn't do this, she couldn't tell them. How could she break their world like this, they had never been taught that the world was a perfect place, never raised in a protective bubble, but this would destroy them. She hadn't realised how long she had been sat there but the next thing she knew Chris was groaning at her.

"Muuuuuum!" Her head snapped up and her eyes twinkled bringing herself back into reality.

"What?"

"Can we have some ice cream?"

"Yeah. Yes of course you can." She smiled and grabbed a menu. "What do you want? Two knicker-bocker-glories?" They both nodded at her with big greedy grins on their faces and she ordered the deserts for them. Once the deserts had arrived she watched them dig in to the huge glass bowls that towered up, the long thing spoon digging to the bottom of the glass. Bracing herself she took a deep breath and sat forward.

"Chris, Lilley I have something to tell you." They looked up at her and she carried on. "You remember when Chris was ill a few weeks back? He had the flu, and then he got all them bruises and then I did that lumbar puncture on him. Do you remember? Uncle Johnny came around to baby-sit you that day while I went to work, do you remember?"

They nodded and she sighed. "Well, I've had some very good doctors looking at the liquid from the lumbar puncture and they have done lots and lots of tests on it. And it turns out that Chris is a lot sicker than we originally thought, it's a lot worse than flu." Chris and Lilley had stopped eating their deserts and all their attention was focused on her. "You have something that we call Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, it's a type of cancer."

She knew she didn't have to explain any more, her children had heard her talk enough about cancer and other diseases to know it was serious. Chris looked up at her and swallowed his eyebrows drawn together.

"I don't feel sick anymore." She nodded.

"The achy-ness and the tiredness are all symptoms Chris, you'll have good days and bad days but you're still sick."

"Will I die?" She choked on air as she heard him utter the words at her, she shook her head and reached out and grabbed his hand.

"No, you're not going to die Chris. That's why I brought you to New Jersey, I used to work at this hospital and I want Uncle James to treat you, because he's the best cancer doctor I've ever met." She squeezed his hand gently. "You're going to be fine." She looked over at Lilley. "Lilley? Are you ok?"

Lilley nodded. "I just... are you sure he's not going to die Mum?" Lilley brought her eyes up to look at Allison, who found tears stinging her eyes but she held them back and nodded.

"He's going to be fine." Lilley nodded and Allison decided to get them off the subject. "So tomorrow, Chris your going to get a room in hospital, don't worry me and Lilley will be there also, you just need medicine that the hospital has. Ok? But for tonight we can do whatever you guys want to. Cinemas? Bowling? Ice Skating? Whatever you want."

She smiled, a fake smile that didn't reach her eyes although she tried her hardest to make it. Lilley and Chris looked at each other and Chris smiled.

"Lets go ice skating." Lilley smiled and briefly met her mother's eyes before returning to her ice cream. Allison watched as Chris ate his ice cream just as he had before, but Lilley seemed to be spooning bits onto her spoon and then letting it drop again. Allison recognised her daughter's worried face, Chris had taken this in his stride, but Lilley was suffering, she knew she could lose her brother and that idea worried her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Allison took the children to the ice skating rink and they had a fantastic time, they had been ice-skating since they were four and were experts. It was one of their favourite past times and Allison enjoyed it just as much, so it was often the activity they did during family time. They had twirled on the ice, had races and had danced along with the cheesy music being played overhead.

Allison hadn't skated much, just watched them play and laugh, it could be one of the last times they could do this together. Even though she had told Lilley at the dinner table that Chris was going to be all right, she didn't know for sure. She couldn't be certain; she only hoped that he would be all right, but she didn't have the nerve to tell her eight-year-old daughter that she may lose her brother. Let her have some moments of happiness, let her have some time with her brother were she wasn't fearful that it could be the last, give her some hope.

Later that night Allison lay in her queen sized bed; the covers bought up to her chin the moon peaking through the curtains streaming onto her face. She could hear the gentle snoring of Chris in the next room and the breathing of Lilley, they had joining rooms so she felt perfectly safe knowing her children were next door. She heard the door creak open and sat up in bed a bit to get a look at who was coming through the door. Her face relaxed as she saw Lilley stood there in her chequered pyjamas, it took her a moment to realise her daughter had been crying, throwing back the covers she patted the bed next to her.

"Come on." Lilley ran to the bed and jumped in next to her mother who wrapped her arms around her tightly. As soon as Allison wrapped her arms around her waist Lilley began crying once more, Allison could feel the hot tears falling, wetting her chest. She pulled away from Lilley and saw the tears and gently brushed them away with her hand.

"Oh Lillianna, don't cry baby." Through her tears Lilley whispered.

"I'm scared Mummy." Allison squeezed her eyes together to stop her own tears falling; she had no words to say. What could she say? She didn't trust her own voice; she knew that even if she had something to say she couldn't because her voice would give away the tears in her eyes. Instead she pulled Lilley close to her once more and made shushing sounds as her daughter cried herself to sleep in her mother's arms.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chris woke up first the next morning at half seven, stepping carefully out of bed he felt pain shudder through his body and he bit his lip to stop from crying out. Taking a deep breath he felt tears in his eyes, his whole body felt like it was on fire. Once he was stood up he looked at the bed next to him, Lilley wasn't there. Worry suddenly filled his heart, where was she? Stepping forward he made his way into his mothers room and relaxed as he saw Lilley curled up next to his mum. He switched on the light and Allison rolled over rubbing her eyes.

"Morning." Chris nodded.

"Hey mum." She sat up hearing his quiet voice a worried expression on her face.

"What's the matter?"

"It..it hurts." Allison saw the weakness; she saw his eyelids flutter the pain was too much. She jumped from the bed and ran over to Chris just as he fell, she tried to catch him but missed and he crashed to the floor banging his head. Kneeling beside him she carefully checked his body, he had passed out from the pain and unfortunately due to the leukaemia making the body prone to bleeding there was blood seeping from his ear, mouth and nose. Scrambling up she grabbed the phone and dialled for an ambulance. By the time she was off the phone Lilley was awake and kneeling by her brother. Allison ran back to Chris and shouted at Lilley, she didn't mean to but she did.

"LILLEY! Grab a rucksack and put some clothes in, some jeans and a sweater for me and the same for you, and some underwear!"

She rolled Chris over putting him in the recovery position while Lilley ran around the room. Holding her rucksack in her hand she shoved some underwear, jeans, sweater and a brush for her mother in it and grabbed her make up bag and shoved that in also. Then she quickly stripped and pulled on some of her own clothes. As she was tying her shoes, there was a knock at the door and her mother ran to answer it and two paramedics entered carrying a stretcher. Lilley watched with a horrified expression on her face as they lifted her unconscious brother onto it and took him from the room into the elevator. Her mother watched them and grabbed her dressing gown pulling it on before grabbing Lilley's hand and leading her down to the ambulance.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

During the ride to the hospital Lilley sat to the side as her mother told the paramedics the necessary information and her brother was injected with all kind of things, which she assumed, would help him. At the hospital Wilson and some other doctors greeted them with a gurney that Chris was lifted onto. Allison, still in her pyjamas ran along side the gurney that Chris was put on and shouted things out to the doctors.

Lilley followed slowly, dragging her feet watching her mother wheel her brother away. Terrified that he was dying Lilley sat in a corner hid behind some chairs, her knees drawn up to her chest her head resting on her knees, her wavy brown hair falling down her back. She had been sat there for almost half an hour before she felt a figure step in front of her. Opening her eyes she looked at the man stood before her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chase and Foreman had been at the hospital for almost an hour checking on their latest patient when they were paged. Being paged was a normal occurrence but when the page was from Wilson they were baffled. Meeting him down in the ER he explained that Cameron's son had collapsed from intense pain and was now losing a lot of blood due to the AML. The ambulance arrived and Cameron, clad only in her pyjamas and a dressing gown, was the first to climb out before helping the paramedics move her son onto the gurney. Two nurses, Foreman, Chase and Wilson wheeled him into the hospital while Allison told them what had happened and shouted instructions at them.

As they turned a corner pushing the gurney into a secluded room Chase saw the little girl stood by the entrance to the hospital watching them with fearful eyes. As the doors shut everyone began working on stopping the bleeding and helping the young boy in front of them, even Cameron continued to shout orders at them from the edge of the room. After fifteen minutes Chase turned to Foreman.

"You got this?" Foreman looked and him and nodded and Chase turned, pulled off his gloves and left the room even though he could hear Foreman shouting.

"Chase! Where are you going?" He ignored him and made his way back to the entrance. The little girl was nowhere to be seen, sighing he looked around searching near the vending machines and the closest toilets. After all most giving up he made his way into the waiting room and that's where he saw her, huddled in the corner squashed between two arm chairs her face buried into her knees. Walking forward slowly he stood in front of her and she looked up at him, he could see the path the tears had made on her cheeks. With a small smile he offered her his hand.

"Come on kiddo." She looked at him again before taking his hand and letting him pull her up.

"You used to work with my mum."

"I sure did, I'm Dr Chase, everyone just calls me Chase though." She almost smiled.

"I'm Lillianna, everyone just calls me Lilley though." Holding her hand he smiled as they walked along.

"Well Lilley, what's say we go get a coke and then I'll take you to your mum and your brother?" She nodded.

"Ok."

Back to normal chapters.

What do you think?

Please Review!

xxxx