My mom put her calendar back into her bag and sat down on the bed, not too far down, so that she was still holding my hand. She gave me a weak smile, and sighed, "Cancer is never an easy battle," my mom told me, I was almost worried about what was coming next. "Radiation shouldn't be that bad, but the procedures could leave you nauseous, swollen, coughing, tired, and you could end up with a lot of fevers. But there are ways to stop that." I nodded, "It's going to be alright." She rubbed my hand with her fingers and brought her legs up into Indian style.

"I know," I whispered, not completely believing myself. "It's just going to take a long time to get used to this." I sighed, and my mind wandered to why my dad was taking so long to get two cups of coffee.

Robbie Ray's POV:

I was serving breakfast to Miley the zombie when the phone rang in the kitchen. I made sure to check on whether Miley was okay before I answered the phone.

"Hello Stewart residence," I answered, watching Miley intently as she slowly ate her soggy cereal.

I heard someone clear their throat on the other side of the phone, and then a familiar voice spoke, "Hey Robbie Ray," Lily's dad replied. "Lily's out of surgery and just thought you and Miley wanted to know."

I switched the phone to my other ear and covered my mouth and the receiver with my hand, "is everything alright?"

When I asked that I heard silence for what felt for the longest time, and I knew someone was up. "The MRI showed that the cancer spread," Mr. Truscott whispered in a raspy voice. "It's spreading in her brain, and – and the doctor says there might be permanent damage if they don't work on it quick enough."

I nodded my head with sympathy, and took the phone into the living room and sat down on the couch. "When did you find out Bill?"

Lily's dad sighed, "This morning." He told me. I took another look at Miley to make sure that she wasn't listening. "The doctor from the office called when we went home to drop off Blake."

"I'm so sorry," I sighed in a whisper, trying to hold back some tears – Lily was like a daughter to me. "What are the doctors going to do about it?"

"We're looking at radiation 5 times a week," Mr. Truscott told me. "For the next six weeks, and that's if the cancer responds." I nodded. "But rest assured that Lily will definitely be there for Miley and Oliver on Wednesday, she'll do radiation in the afternoon and then Lily's free to hang out until 8 pm."

"Can we take her out for dinner before we take her back to the hospital?" I asked, watching Miley walk up the stairs to her bedroom.

"Fine by me," Lily's dad sounded as if he'd smiled. "You've been so good to her Robbie, thank you so much. I don't know what we would do without you and your wonderful family."

"Thank you," I smiled. "It's been great having your family as well. The girls are almost inseparable when they're together."

"Almost?" Mr. Truscott laughed. "They are inseparable when those two are together. I need a crowbar when I come to pick up Lily from your house."

I laughed at this, knowing it to be perfectly true, "and I need the strength of a thousand men."

We laughed again, and I could hear the intercom go off in the distance of the hospital from my end of the phone. "I've got to go now Robbie," Mr. Truscott told me, laughter still evident in his voice. "I'll talk to you later." I nodded and said goodbye before I heard the click of his phone. Then I stared at our portable for a while until I hung up our line, and headed up to Miley's room to get her ready for school. But when I walked in, Miley had her covers over her head, and showed no signs of planning to get dressed.

"Miley honey," I shook her softly. "Are you planning on going to school or not?" Miley shook her head from under the covers and said nothing else. "Don't you have to practice for the play?" Miley shook her head again. "So you're going to disappoint Oliver?" I asked, but Miley stayed silent. "Has Oliver been going to school?" Miley shook her head, and lifted the covers so that I could half of her face.

"Neither of us want to do the play anymore," Miley looked down at the hem of her duvet. "We feel guilty that we're having a good time when Lily's stuck in the hospital." I nodded my head, and waited for Miley to continue. "And to be honest, it's really not that fun without her."

"Couldn't you try and have fun?" I asked Miley. "Wouldn't that be what Lily wanted?"

Miley nodded her head, turning over to her other side so that she wasn't facing me. "She's coming to the performance on Wednesday, right?"

I nodded my head, and put my hand over Miley's shoulder and dragged her back towards the bed so that she was facing me again. "And we're taking her out for dinner later on," Miley smiled. "Now are you going to school today or not?"

Miley looked at the ceiling before she answered, "Could I go see Lily first?"

I nodded, and got up from the bed, as Miley did the same in attempt to get dressed as quickly as she could. "I'll call you into school late," I told Miley when I reached the doorway that attached her room to the hallway. "Say about 12o'clock?" Miley nodded.

So I went downstairs to call the school, and Mr. and Mrs. Oken to see if Oliver would like to come as well. And when all that was settled, Oliver was getting ready as I waited for Miley; I got ready to get into the car in a rush, because I knew that was what Miley was going to be like.

And sure enough, Miley ran down the stairs, taking three at a time, and wearing a completely uncoordinated outfit, that contained two different coloured knee socks, a jean skirt and purple tank top. "You might want to change…" I started, as Miley walked by me, but didn't finish when Miley went out the door and I could hear the car down slam shut.