Beca paced for three hours straight. My fingernails were bloody nubs where I used to have perfectly filed and shaped nails. My mom got up and went for her sixth coffee run.

Finally the surgeon came out and pulled down her mask. "The surgery went well. He's stable and we removed a large portion of the tumor." Beca visibly relaxed, but you could see her mind was still working out all the possible things that could go wrong. "We are going to monitor him for another hour or so and if all is well, he will be moved to the recovery ward. You will be able to see him then. Right now, however, I need to speak with the two of you."

She led us into a small room off to the side of the waiting room. I sat in one of the chairs.

"What are we looking at Doc?" Beca asked, still refusing to sit. I grabbed her hand preparing to hear the worst possible news.

"The rehab is long. His speech will be slow, if not absent, for a fair amount of time. Simple tasks like using a spoon and coloring with a crayon will be difficult for a while. What we need from all the adults in his life is to encourage every trial. If he draws a single line or eats a bite by himself, celebrate that. One word is a big deal. He is essentially relearning everything and this time his brain is damaged. There is a chance that he will never regain some functions. This is a reality you need to be prepared for. Further treatments will also follow. As I said we got a large chunk but there is still a small piece that if left alone will grow bigger and more volatile than before. This can discourage young children. It often goes unnoticed due to side effects of the medicine and radiation depression can be a huge problem. You and the family around you need to remain encouraging and positive around Caellum. He needs to see you being strong for him if we want him to fight for this. If it becomes too much, go to another room or leave the house for a while. Cry with each other when he is asleep. Lastly, with all treatments of this type organ failure is a risk. In this case we would need a donor. We always test family first. Which of you is the biological mother?"

"Neither. I'm his aunt biologically. We can have his biological mother here. I will call her after this." Beca spoke up.

"Excellent. We will also test both of you. It's highly unlikely that either of you will be a match, but it is always worth testing. Do either of you have any questions?"

"What about his memory. Will he remember us?" I asked, my voice barely audible. Beca squeezed my hand.

"Yes Mrs. Mitchell. It may be a little foggy for a day or two, but he will know who you are. If you guys love him half as much as I think you you do, he will feel who you are before he remembers it. Meet me back here in an hour and I will take you to see him." She got up and left.

"So far, so good." Beca quipped shakily.

"We haven't seen anything yet. He's got a long road and he's barely off the porch. He's going to be so sick baby. I'm terrified. I don't know if I can be strong while I watch my baby suffer." The tears started rolling down my cheeks. "What if it's too much Beca? What do I do?"

Beca pulled me in tight, squeezing me with all the strength she could muster and kissed the top of my head.

"Take a break. Go away for a night. See a therapist. Anything you need to do to put on a tough face for Caellum, do it. He needs you Chloe. I know it's scary, I'm terrified too, but whatever we are feeling is nothing compared to what he is. We need to be strong for our baby boy. Okay?" I nodded and we sat down on the floor, Beca holding me and singing to me while I cried.

BPOV - 3 Months later

Chloe had been right. We hadn't seen shit. The medicine and radiation therapy made him so sick. It was all I could do to get him to eat soup and have some juice in a day. Chloe's mother and I had convinced her to stay in school for the fall semester and stick it out. If anything went terribly wrong she would be the first to know.

Watching Caellum struggle with his words was the most heartbreaking thing to me. He had adopted Chloe's outgoing personality and to see him struggling to tell you something was hard. The only words he could say regularly being Momma, owie, and Emily. His cousin was the only thing that made him smile anymore. Jesse and Jessica brought her over everyday, no matter where he was. When she came in he sat up and smiled. He would always say her name.

"Emily! Momma, Emily!" he'd clap and shout.

"Yeah Caellum, Emily. And Uncle!" we would always encourage. Hoping that repeating the first word he ever said would jog up some of the other ones.

Some days he would try to say Uncle, and some days he would look at us and with a look that said, "Don't push me woman."

The two of them would play for hours, until one or both of them fell asleep.

Tonight Caellum was throwing up the minuscule contents of his dinner. I was laying in bed with him rubbing his back.

"Momma, owie." he whined weakly. Silent tears cascading down my face, I nodded.

"I know baby. Momma's sorry she can't fix it. What do you want? Show Momma a picture and she'll get it."

"Momma? S-s-sing?" he asked, pointing at his Tarzan poster.

"Yeah baby. Of course."

I started singing the song You'll Be In My Heart for him.

He sat up to watch me and then he started humming the melody with me. The whole song he followed me. When the song was through he kissed my cheek, and cuddled into me. Within seconds he was sleeping. In that moment I had a brilliant idea.