A/N: SO! Here's the second chapter! I hope you like it! Thank you to those who've reviewed already! I appreciate anything you have to say even if you want to tell me how much this story sucks...which has already happened! :p Well, ENJOY!

"Maura…you… you have stomach cancer."

That was all that Jane could muster.

She watched Maura as she tried to process the news. She had never seen so many emotions flash across the woman's face at once. She was terrified, to be honest. What if Maura hated her now?

"That's why I had the doctors run more test," Jane tried to explain. "Because you couldn't… I mean…"

Jane had no idea what to say. The hurt in Maura's eyes was clearly evident, but she somehow couldn't get any tears out.

"I should have known," Maura whispered.

"What, Maur?" Jane asked, looking at her friend.

"This is all my fault. I should have known. How could I have been so stupid? I had all of the symptoms," Maura spoke a little louder, tears threatening to fall at any moment.

"Maura. Don't you dare blame yourself," Jane scolded her, standing from her position in the bedside chair, "You could not have known. No one could have. Maura…"

For some reason, the way Jane said her name, it sparked something and the tears began. Maura hid her face in her hands as sobs racked her body.

"Maura. Maura, it's okay. It'll be okay. I promise," Jane said, standing to grab Maura's hand.

"Move over."

Jane climbed up on the hospital bed and led Maura's head to lie on her chest, never letting go of her hand. Stroking her hair, Jane whispered comforting words in Maura's ear, trying to calm her down.

Never in a million years did Jane ever think that she would have to tell her best friend such a thing. Hell, she'd been shot for god's sake and they made it through together, right? They could brave this. Maura was a fighter. She would beat it. She had to.

Jane was startled out of her thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Maura, that's the doctor," Jane stated.

"He can come in," Maura said between sobs, "I need to know how bad it is."

Jane got up from the bed and went to go open the door. The doctor nodded in appreciation and gave her a look that she could quite place. Either way, it wasn't looking good.

"Doctor Isles, how are you feeling?" the doctor tried to sympathize, noticing dried tears on her cheeks.

"Can you just give me the results of the tests, doctor?" Maura uttered.

"Well," he began, "the tests were correct the first time. I assume the detective told you."

Maura nodded.

"During the surgery, we noticed some irregular tissue around your kidneys. I wanted to test it before going any further, as to not donate a damaged kidney. The tests came back positive for cancerous cells, but their home seems to be the stomach, not your kidneys. We would like to do an ultrasound to fully understand what we're dealing with here."

"Alright," was all Maura muttered, eyes set firmly on the floor.

"Okay. I'll grab a nurse and we'll get going. Detective, I'm going to have to ask you to leave—"

"NO!" Maura screamed, "I mean… no. I didn't mean to yell, but I want Jane to stay… Jane can stay."

"Alright," the doctor sighed, "as long as it's okay with you. I'll be right back."

Not even ten minutes later, the doctor returned with another nurse. He lifted Maura's gown and put a cold blue gel on her stomach. Maura shivered unexpectedly, but she couldn't tell if it was from the gel or just her nerves.

Either way, Jane was right back at her side, grabbing her hand.

Leaning down, Jane whispered in her ear.

"Whatever happens, we'll get through it."

Maura just stared at the ultrasound screen.

The doctor began his search and was instantly met with three white circles. He made notes on his clipboard, and continued on.

Twenty minutes later, the doctor packed up the machine and thanked the nurse, allowing her to leave.

"You don't need to tell me anything," Maura said.

"Unfortunately, I do, Doctor Isles."

"Wait," Jane interrupted, "Maur, what is he talking about?"

"I have three tumors lining the wall of my stomach, Jane." Maura explained, surprisingly calm.

"Yes," the doctor said, "but it looks like they are only in the first few stages. I think we could remove them with surgery. We caught it early. You'll still need a couple months of chemotherapy, but you have a very good chance, Doctor Isles."

"Thank you, Doctor. When can I go home?" Maura said, no emotion evident in the tone of her voice.

"I'll have a nurse come in and check your incision. After that, I ask that you make a date at the desk for the surgery to be done. The sooner the better, as you know. I'll have you stay here the night before the surgery to discuss chemotherapy options. Other than that, I suggest you take it easy. No work and no strenuous tasks. I suggest you rest as much as possible to let your body do its job. I'm going to start you on a few heavy medications and I would prefer it if you had someone monitoring your intake, just to make sure you're not mixing any medications and what not. Your prescriptions will be with the nurses up front when you schedule your surgery. Other than that, you can go home today. Detective, maybe you could help Doctor Isles get settled in?"

Jane nodded, attentive to every word the doctor said. She wouldn't let Maura down. She couldn't.

The doctor finished his speech and started to walk out of the room, Maura's eyes still glued to the tiled floor.

"Take care, Doctor Isles. I'll see you soon."

Maura didn't respond.

Two hours later, Jane pulled up in front of Maura's house. They made their way in, silently. It had been two hours since Maura had said a word and Jane was worried, but she didn't want to push. Yeah, she wanted to comfort her best friend, but she knew that Maura needed to think right now. When she was ready to talk, she would talk, and Jane would be there to listen.

She made her way over to the couch as Maura went to change, left with her own thoughts. Jane couldn't even begin to imagine what Maura was feeling and that terrified her. Jane had been in life or death situations a million times, but nothing compared to this. She loved Maura more than anything and to see her best friend like this was worse than any situation she had ever faced. She was angry and scared and had no idea what to do because, in this situation, she had to be Maura's rock. But how could she be there for Maura when she herself was on the verge of a breakdown?

"No," Jane thought, "this is NOT about you. This is about Maura. You need to be there for her. She needs her best friend. You need your best friend. You can't lose her."

"I can't lose her," Jane spoke, unable to stop the tears from escaping her eyelids.

"Jane?" Maura questioned, coming back into the room.

Jane quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and put on a brave face before Maura could see her.

"Yeah, Maur?"

"You were crying."

"No," Jane explained, "I wasn't. It's fine. Do you… uh… want to sit down or want to talk or—"

"No."

"No?"

"No, I don't want to talk," Maura said, harshly.

"Maura, I understand that you're feeling a hell of a lot of things right now, but don't you think it would be better to talk about it? You don't have to let it all build up. I'm here to listen," Jane tried to reason with her, grabbing her arm.

"Jane. I don't want to talk," Maura said, pulling her arm away, "I'm fine."

"You're fine? Maura, you were just diagnosed with cancer. You're not fine."

"Jane, I need you to leave," Maura choked out, on the verge of tears.

"Whoa, what? No way in hell am I leaving you right now, Maur. Just talk to me," Jane pleaded.

"I said leave, Jane."

"No," Jane said firmly, raising her voice, "I'm not leaving."

"Fine. Then I will. Goodbye," Maura's voice cracked and she ran toward the door and grabbed her jacket.

"Maura, wait—"

Jane was cut off by the front door slamming shut.

"Did I just lose my best friend?"