A/N: New Chapter! I'm finding my roll again so this is a slightly longer chapter than normal. I'm also happy to announce that I am 1 week away from time off both jobs! This means lots of family time and hopefully a fair amount of writing time. This also means the inability to update due to the lack of usable internet in the boondocks but it is my hope that I will get another chapter posted before I leave and have something to post when I return.

Thanks again for all the follows, the favorites, and especially the reviews. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying the story and I hope you continue to follow it :)


I was so upset with Leo. I get his viewpoint…or at least I think I do. After days of not hearing from him I finally figured out exactly why I was so upset. It was because I had feelings for him and because I wanted to know there was a chance for the two of us. I couldn't let it get to me but it was driving me insane that he wouldn't respond to any of my calls or messages. I guess I deserved it but still…I just wanted to know that he was okay. Though, I suppose that if he wasn't it'd be blasted all over the Boston news stations.

My treatments were approaching way too quickly. I was scheduled for my egg harvesting this very morning and I just wanted to know that I was going to get through everything and chemo and actually have a life to live when I'm all done.

I couldn't eat until after my procedure so I made plans with my mom and sister to have lunch with them. I was so anxious waiting for them to come get me for the procedure. I was super stressing because on top of the fertility stuff and the Leo stuff I had check lists running through my head of all the things I needed to do or pack to prepare for chemo. The big "C-Day" was only two more days away!

I had no idea how I would respond to the chemo or how I would be feeling or how my family and friends were going to handle it since I would be in the hospital for a month. Thankfully, my mom, grandma, and Brenna were handling quite a bit of the details for me. They were making decorations for my hospital room so it wouldn't be so bland and putting together things to entertain myself since I would be stuck in the hospital for a month. Even Beth was a huge help making sure I had cute, comfy pajamas to wear in the hospital and making sure I was loaded up with some awesome dry shampoo for the days I wouldn't feel at all like taking a shower.

I was trying so hard to let them deal with the details but it was hard. As long as I had my own clothes and my computer so I could at least write if I desired I thought I'd be okay but I knew I would feel a ton better if I could just get ahold of Leo before being admitted to the hospital. I just wanted to tell him how I felt in case I never got another chance. Maybe it was pointless anyway. He probably didn't even feel the same about me as I did him.

Hopefully, I would see him at the governor's debate this afternoon. After my procedure I went home to change and take a nap. When I finally dragged myself up for a shower after my nap I felt terrible. They told me the anesthesia could make me nauseous but it was just hard to tell if it was the last of the anesthesia or just the stupid cancer that had me worn down. I texted Beth before my shower to see if she'd mind going with me. I just wanted someone who could get me out quickly if I couldn't pull myself through it all.


When we arrived at the debate there were reporters everywhere. I tried to wave to Leo on my way in but he just turned away. I suppose I deserved his silent treatment but I really hoped we'd be able to make amends. It wasn't looking like that would be a possibility though.

I sent Beth in to watch the debate as I went to my designated area. Raquel and I were overseeing the tapes recording Leo's statement when something changed. His words stopped making sense. They stopped being actual words. It was like his brain couldn't communicate what he was thinking to his mouth and he looked frustrated that he couldn't speak correctly. I rushed out to try to be with him but by the time I got to where he was sitting he was surrounded. I watched him leave for the hospital and wished I could be with him.

I'd learned so many not-so-nice things about Bruce Hendrie so I wasn't surprised to see him enter the stage and begin the debate. What did surprise me is he didn't get far at all into it before everything with Leo began to weigh on him. You could see it in his face and in the way his posture changed. In that moment he was just a dad. One who felt weighed down by his son's cancer. He looked sad, but in that moment he ended the debate and made the decision to be there for his son. It was about time.

After we left the convention center I wanted to go see Leo at the hospital but Beth convinced me to pass on it.

"April, it's your last two days before chemo. How about we just go home and maybe he'll respond to you tomorrow after some of the hype has died down, and if he doesn't, he doesn't deserve you."

"I know you're right. I just have a hard time letting it go. I don't know how I let him get to me like he does but I feel powerless when it comes to him. I just want to be near him."

"Okay, let's just go home. I can start on the packing and then maybe we can all just chill inside and have a movie night. I could totally go for some popcorn with lots of butter."

"Sounds like a plan, let's go."


The night was just what I needed. I got half a bag packed for the hospital and we had an epic girl's night watching chick flicks and eating junk food. I felt like a normal girl for the first time in a month and it was a relief even if I knew it was going to change in a matter of days. I tried to go to bed a little early so I'd be rested for my last day but I was so nervous. I wasn't sure what to expect from everyone. All they knew is that I'd be out for at least a month but no one knew why. I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not.

When I arrived at the office on my last day it didn't take me long to realize something was up. People were too quiet. They gave me things, let me cut in line for the copier, but no one was really talking to me. Even Danny was avoiding any and all conversation with me. On a positive note, Raquel was still a heinous bitch so I guess hell hadn't frozen over.

Everyone knew I was sick. I wasn't quite sure how they found out but the cat was out of the bag. I had one last piece to write before my sick leave and I just wanted to make it a good piece. I wanted to get out of the office early so I could go sit in the park in the sunshine for a little bit. For now, though, I planned on pouring everything I had into this article.

"As I watched Bruce Hendrie at the debate the other night, I didn't see a wealthy businessman or a candidate seeking an office standing before me. I saw a father and I recognized that look in his eyes, that terrible fear because I've seen that same fear in my own mother's eyes, and my grandmother's eyes, and my baby sister's eyes because I have cancer, too. Let me tell you, it's a bitch, and it's an equal opportunity offender. No amount of money in the world, no amount of privilege can make you exempt. Look at Leo Hendrie. And when it chooses you, you're suddenly thrust into a club that you didn't ask to join. You're shipped off to war even though you never enlisted in the army. But you have to put on your armor anyway and know that if you're lucky you'll discover new sides of you, like a will that you never knew you had. And you'll get to see new sides of the people that matter the most to you in the world. As they show you their love and lend you their strength when yours is running low. And then you go off and you fight, you fight like hell, because really, what other choice do you have?"

I hit submit on the email containing my article and began loading all my things from my desk into a box. I should have been surprised that I ended up in the elevator with Raquel but I suppose it was better to end the day with someone who hadn't changed how they treated me.

She lifted the lid on my box to take a look at my things.

"Is that your stapler or are you stealing our office supplies?" she asked.

"It's mine," I said with a small smile.

"Just checking."

"You know, Raquel, you're the only one here who knows I have cancer and didn't treat me any differently. I mean you treat me badly but at least it was normal."

"That's what I would want people to do if I was sick."

"Way to make my cancer about you."

"Watch, you're gonna get a book deal out of this, and every time someone has cancer and writes a book about it, it's a bestseller. I'm not saying you're lucky per se."

I had to smile at her reasoning as I left the building. I gave myself one chance to look back before I headed for the subway station and headed for home. A new life was starting for me.