Love Always, Liv

By: Liv-x-Case-Benson & dcmasters

Ch. 2: Pictures

Casey lay silently in her arms for a long while. "I... it's Parkinson's," she whispered.

"Parkinson's? Where people get really bad muscle tone and shakes?" Olivia asked.

Casey nodded. "Early onset. Stage one."

"How long have you had it?"

"Found out officially a couple of months ago."

"The office...?"

"They don't know. No one except my parents and my brother until now."

Olivia nodded, hugging her tightly. "So is everything controlled with medication?"

"Mostly. Some days are worse than others. Four pills in the morning, two at lunch and three at bedtime."

Olivia kissed her cheek. "Will it progress?"

Casey closed her eyes momentarily. "Yes. When I get to the last stage, stage five, and... I'll get an Alzheimer's type disease," Casey struggled. "And I'll need full time care. "

Olivia kissed her soundly. "I'll still be here."

"I don't want you to promise me anything. I won't blame you if you're not."

"But I will be because I want to be, no matter how hard it will get. Isn't there some type of surgery you could get?"

"When the medication no longer controls the tremors, they can put electrodes in my brain."

"That sounds...honestly, horrifying, but if it really works, that's a great thing."

"When it gets that bad. Liv, I mean this... if you ever want out I'll never blame you, and as much as it will hurt, I will let you go."

Olivia sighed. Just the thought that Casey wouldn't remember her, anything about them if she mentioned it, was scary, terrifying even, but... "That's what love means. Being there for each other no matter what. Yes, it'll be hard, but we'll just have to take lots of pictures to remind you."

Casey kissed Olivia gently, smiling softly. "I love you."

"I love you too. Can we start those pictures now?" she asked, grabbing a digital camera from her nightstand drawer.

"Liv, I look horrendous," Casey replied burying her face against Olivia's shoulder.

Olivia clasped their hands tightly. "Then how about just this? A symbol that I'll always be here for you."

"Ok," Casey smiled.

Olivia smiled, situating their hands between them, held tightly, as the clicks went before the flash. She showed Casey how their hands perfectly fit together. "See?" she said, kissing her cheek.

"We can make a scrapbook if you want?" Casey replied, nuzzling Olivia's neck.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. We should," the detective said, putting the camera back, then snuggling against Casey. "Do they know h...how long it takes to progress?"

"It's depends on the individual, but mine's early onset. I might not even get to stage five until I'm seventy or eighty."

Olivia smiled. "Let's hope so. By then we can explain it to the kids easily," she said, not realizing she'd revealed a dream she wanted with Casey.

"You want kids then?" Casey smiled.

"Well, yeah, do you?"

"Since always."

"I don't know much about this. It's not inherited, is it?"

"It can be. It's not completely proven though."

"Does it depend on how severe it is when you're pregnant?"

"No. But if or when I am pregnant, I can't take my medication."

"So, it's probably best to try while you're still in Stage One?"

"Yes. You should know stress, anger, over excitement, all that sort of stuff can make the tremors worse even when I'm on my meds."

"Well, I haven't noticed until now, I must relax you," Olivia smirked.

"I have to get up in a few hours."

Olivia yawned, nodding. "In that case, I should probably sleep a bit more too."

"Night, Liv," Casey said softly, cuddling close.

"Night Case, I love you."

"I love you too," Casey said softly.

Reviews: helly1bradleywyatt, TKR.87 & dragonsprit