Spring was beginning to come around, and with it, a lot of tissues and sniffling. John and Jane both had terrible pollen allergies, but their enthusiasm could not be contained. It was nearing April, and with April, their birthday! Everyone agreed it was odd that John and Jane had the same birthday, but it seemed to be a pretty common theme among their friends. However, due to some hectic scheduling (Jane was stressing about her last finals even though it was still early) they decided to have an early birthday party. A small one, nothing too extravagant. Neither of them were the type to go over the top. Just John and Jane, their dads, and the Striders, the Lalondes, and Jade and Jake (the "Harlenglishes?"). Jane, of course, baked the cake, which was delicious, and the 8 kids sat around playing Cards Against Humanity for several hours, all echoing laughs that varied from subtle chuckles and quiet giggles to obnoxious cackles and snorts.
"It's a game of 'know your audience'", Roxy'd said before they started. John smiled. Roxy was so endearing. They got along pretty well, even though Roxy was obviously closer with Jane. John had even thought, when they were a bit younger, that he would date Roxy. Clearly that never happened, but in the fleeting mind of a teenager it had. Roxy cleared her throat as she flipped over the cards. "Okay, okay… the black card was, 'You have my sword.' 'And you have my bow.' 'And my blank!' Alright… pffft, what the fuck? 'And my penis pendants' oh my lord you guys. 'Goat-Skin thongs', nah, 'poo shaped gummies' nah. 'lesbian stepmom'… damn, hitting close to home there. And then there's, 'japanese handjob' which I'm not sure what that means, 'ass orgasms'… is that even possible? And, oh my god," Roxy's face crumpled as she toppled over in laughter. "'You have my sword.' 'And you have my bow.' 'And my firm buttocks.' Firm buttocks is clearly best weapon, who played this?"
"Thank you," Dirk said, the slightest bit of a smirk on his face as he took the black card. Some of the other notable winners of the night were "this is the prime of my life. I'm young, hot, and full of poor life choices" courtesy of Rose, "If God didn't want us to enjoy the size of my penis, he wouldn't have given us the whole goddamned thing", which was Dave's play, and Jake's win of "one trillion dollars + vigilante justice = BATMAN!" Overall, it was an entirely enjoyable night, one that ended with plenty of laughter.

The laughter and happiness was jolted right out of Jane when she received a distressing message from Roxy not more than 30 minutes after she'd left.

tipsyGnostalgic [TG] began pestering gutsyGumshoe [GG]

TG: JANE OMG
TG: HUGE EMERGENCY
TG: OH MY GOD
TG: FUCKING SHIT
GG: Roxy, what's going on?
TG: OMG NO IM THE WORST
GG: Please, calm down and tell me what is happening.
TG: CALLIES IN THE HOSPITAL
TG: I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO
TG: PLZ HELP
GG: Oh no!
GG: Roxy, please breathe.
GG: Do you think you can drive?
TG: hhhhh
TG: um
TG: yes
GG: Okay. Drive back to my house.
GG: Do your best to stay calm.
GG: Once you get here, please let me drive.

TG: drive where?
GG: To the hospital!
GG: I thought you wanted to see how Calliope is doing?
TG: okay
TG: yeh i do
TG: she'll be glad to see you too
TG: okay im on my way keepin my cool
TG: totally keepin my cool

tipsyGnostalgic [TG] has ceased pestering gutsyGumshoe [GG]

uranianUmbra [UU] began pestering gutsyGumshoe [GG]

UU: jane, dearie!
UU: please do tell roxy not to worry about me
UU: everything is fine.
GG: Oh?
GG: Well she's insisting on visiting.
GG: Just to make sure.
UU: i really do appreciate that but really, i am okay.
GG: I'm afraid she won't believe it until we see you.
UU: we?
GG: Yes, Roxy's worked herself up into a fit, so I decided to accompany her.
UU: ah, i see.
UU: well if that's the case, i'll see both of you soon ^u^

uranianUmbra [UU] ceased pestering gutsyGumshoe [GG]

Jane paced impatiently, waiting for Roxy to arrive. Of course Calliope was going to say she was okay. She seemed like the type who didn't want others to worry about her, which Jane understood. She was usually that way too, but there were times when you needed to let other people worry, and this was certainly one of them! John was hovering a knife over the remains of the birthday cake, trying to decide how large a slice to take. He shrugged and cut himself a large piece, then looked up at Jane as he stuck a plastic fork into it.
"What's wrong, Jane?" he asked.
"My friend Calliope is in the hospital. Roxy and I are very worried about her."

"Oh no, Callie?" Isn't that your friend who…er…" John fumbled with his words, not wanting to seem insensitive. It was obviously a serious issue. "Um. Is she okay?" he quickly revised the question.
"I don't know; she says she is but she always says she's okay," Jane muttered. A car screeched to a halt outside. "That was quick."
"Is that Roxy?"
"Yeah, we're going to go see what's going on." Jane grabbed her bag as she ran out the door. Roxy's hands were quivering as she gripped the wheel. "Roxy," Jane said, opening the driver-side door. "Come on, get in the passenger side. Let me drive." Roxy's face was pale, slowly nodding as she stepped out of the car. It was almost as though she was in some kind of trance, and all of Jane's internal alarms were going off. Still, she slid into Roxy's car, only being vaguely familiar with it, and drove the two of them to the hospital. Roxy didn't say a word, incredibly out of character, and Jane could only hope that once they saw Calliope, Roxy would snap out of it.

Finally, they made it up the hill to Skaia Heights Hospital, and Jane turned the engine off. "Roxy, are you okay?" Jane asked, glancing up at her friend. She seemed to have gained some composure, color returning to her face.
"Jane, I've never had a girlfriend before, and… I knew she was sick. I did. Do. But this is the first time it's really hit me. I think… maybe I was ignoring it because I want so badly for her to be okay, so I don't have to deal with the hurt. And then I feel like shit cause I haven't been supporting her as she fights the deadliest fucking thing I can think of, and I'm only concerned with my own feelings!"
"Has she ever told you about being in the hospital before?"
"No… not really."
"Does she bring up wanting to talk about her fight with cancer?"
"No."
"Then… maybe she doesn't want to talk about it. Listen, you two can talk about whatever needs to be worked out relationshipwise later, but for now let's just show her we're both here."
Roxy took a deep breath. "Okay." Jane reached over the console, hugging Roxy tight. This was the last thing she was expecting to deal with, but she was nothing if not a loyal friend, especially with Roxy. The two got out of the car, keeping close to each other on the walk in. Jane took the lead when they reached the reception desk.
"Welcome to Skaia Heights Hospital, how can I assist you?" the receptionist, who bore a striking resemblance to someone from Jane's class, asked.
"Hi, we're just here to visit. Calliope Bennett."
The receptionist typed something into his computer, looking somewhat surprised at the results. Jane couldn't tell if it was a good surprise or a bad surprise. "Oh, alright. She's in room 1111. Just follow the signs."
"Okay, thank you," Jane said, toting Roxy along behind her as they made their way through the halls. Room 1111 was a few floors up, and after a bit of wandering and consulting several well-placed signs, the girls found the room they were looking for. They peeked in, not wanting to startle Calliope, especially if she was sick, but her lime green eyes met Jane's, and a soft smile invited them in. Roxy practically threw herself at Callie, flinging immediately into a tight hug.
"Callie I'm so sorry I didn't come visit sooner, I didn't know and I-" Roxy babbled incoherently.
"Roxy, darling, it's alright. I told you I'm okay," Callie cooed, patting Roxy on the head.
"Are you really?" Jane couldn't help but ask.
"Oh, yes. Um, surprising as it is to me, the treatment seems to be working. Chemotherapy is quite…intensive and I do find myself feeling frail some days, but overall they think I'm doing better." There was a warmth in Callie's eyes that indicated genuity. Jane's tension dropped as Roxy let up on her squeezing and fell back into an armchair. "Perhaps you were right, Roxy, it is very likely I'll pull through at this rate. That is, if you don't hug me to death," she said, putting a bit of levity into the situation.
Roxy chuckled lightly, her warm nature seeming to return. "Well it's a shame you missed the party," Jane said. "If I'd known you were in treatment today I'd've rescheduled."
"Oh, it's no worry to me. Perhaps I can join you all next time."
"Callie, I'm ssssoooooo glad you're doing better," Roxy finally managed to say. "Why didn't you tell me sooner about your hospital shit?"
"Uh, I didn't want you to worry about me! If I told you every time I came in for treatment and you freaked out like this every time, well, you'd be worried all the time! I didn't want to burden you like that."
"Omg, okay one it's not a burden to me cause you're my gf and I care oodles about 'cha," Roxy said. Jane was glad to hear her regular tone returning. "And two, if you told me about treatment happening every x amount of time or whatever, then I wouldn't have freaked out at all! You silly!" Roxy even let out a laugh. Callie blushed at the mention of 'gf's, and only got even redder when Roxy leaned over and pecked her on the cheek. The three girls eased into casual conversation and laughter as the evening wound down. Calliope seemed glad for the company, and while she did look thin, there was still a joyful aura around her.

When visitation hours ended, the familiar boy came to escort Jane and Roxy out. Jane was glad to see Roxy and Callie communicating, but a knot of worry still dwelled with her. She hoped all the optimism hadn't been in vain.