Disclaimer: See chapter 1.
All his kids filed into the room and surrounded his bed. They hugged him gently. Kathleen gave him some balloons that said 'Get Well Soon' and the twins gave him a large puppy that said 'I Love You.'
"Dad, why didn't you want us here?" Maureen asked.
"Well, I thought you'd be angry with me for causing the divorce between your mother and me," he said.
"No, we knew that it was going to happen." Maureen said.
"But I thought…" Elliot said before Kathleen interjected, "We didn't pick sides, Dad. You thought we did, but we didn't."
"Yeah, we all saw it before you and Mom," Dickie said, "I mean, a blind and deaf man could see it."
"You know?" Olivia asked.
"You thought we didn't?" Lizzie said, "We heard everything. Not to mention, we saw how you guys acted with each other."
"I didn't want any of this to happen," Olivia said, "I didn't want to break up your family like I did. I kept it to myself for so long to avoid this."
"Olivia, we don't blame you either," Maureen said, "Mom saw it and couldn't face the truth. She fought with Dad and fought to keep him even though she wasn't happy."
"She tried to hold on to something that just wasn't meant to be," Kathleen said.
"But you two deserve to be together," Dickie said, "Now, more than ever."
"I can't believe you aren't mad at me," Elliot said.
"Me too," Olivia said.
"Why be mad when we wanted it like this? Now Mom is calm and Dad, well, he'll get better with you by his side," Maureen said.
"I love you guys so much," Elliot said with tears in his eyes.
"We love you too," his kids said in unison.
"Come on, guys," Maureen said.
"Yeah, we need to go," Kathleen said.
"Why?" Elliot and Olivia asked.
"The twins have homework, Katie has a test, and I've got a final coming up," Maureen said, "We'll come back tomorrow."
"Okay," Elliot said.
The kids hugged their father and said their 'I Love You.' Walking out, Maureen stopped as the others walked ahead.
"I'm glad you guys are together," Maureen said to Olivia.
Olivia smiled and said, "Thank you. So am I."
Elliot sat back and looked pleased that his kids accepted his relationship with Olivia. Olivia looked back at Elliot and grinned. He patted the bed beside him and she got into the bed next to him and lay down. She snuggled into his side with her arm around his chest.
"That was shocking," Elliot said, "I thought they hated me for leaving their mother, though I'm still a little angry that you called them."
"I told you that they needed to know. I just wanted to help," Olivia said.
"I know," Elliot said. Olivia looked at him and noticed that he was really pale.
"El, are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm just really nauseous and tired," he said. She nodded in understanding.
"Take a nap," she said, "I'll be here when you wake up."
"Promise?" he asked.
"I promise," she said as she kissed his cheek.
It wasn't long before his breathing evened out and she knew he was asleep. She couldn't help but worry about how everything was going to turn out. Now that they were together and finally admitted everything they had kept hidden, she hoped it wouldn't be ripped away.
She was brought out of her thoughts by Fin standing at the door. She smiled as she moved slowly as not to wake the sleeping man. She walked to the door and motioned for him to follow her. They walked a little down the hall, but she stopped and leaned against the wall. She wasn't going to go far from him.
"How's he doing?" Fin asked.
"Uh, well, they took him for chemo and had me tested. Then the kids came by and now he's resting," she said, "I'm scared, Fin. He's so sick. I keep feeling like that now we're finally open and honest about everything and I'm happy that it is going to be taken away at any given moment."
"I know, Liv," Fin said, "But that man is strong and stubborn, you know that. I don't know how many times I gotta tell you that. This ain't gonna beat him. He's gonna get better."
"I wish I had that faith, but every time I am happy something goes wrong," Olivia said, "Is there something wrong with me wanting to be happy?"
"No, there's not. Everyone wants to be happy and loved. Just because something goes wrong doesn't mean you did anything to let it get that way, baby girl," Fin said.
"I'm terrified that I'm going to lose him," she said as she began to cry.
Fin pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.
"Baby girl, he is going to get better. You just gotta believe. Trust me and trust him," Fin said. She nodded and sniffled.
"I'm sorry for breaking down like that," Olivia said.
"We're good," Fin said, "I get why you did. Now, you go back in there and believe that he's gonna get better and let us know how everything goes, okay?"
"Okay," she said, "Thanks, Fin."
"Anytime," he replied.
She walked back to the room and leaned against the door frame. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She chanted 'he's going to get better' in her mind over and over like it was a mantra. She just hoped that the mantra worked.
A few hours later, Elliot woke up.
"How are you feeling?" Olivia asked.
"Like I'm still tired," he said as he suddenly felt ill.
Olivia grabbed the basin as he heaved what was left in his system into it. She rubbed his back gently. After spitting a few times, he nodded that he was done and she took the basin to the bathroom to rinse it out and got him some ice water and an extra cup to rinse with. He did and she took the rinsing cup back to the bathroom and got him a damp washcloth. He wiped his face down.
"Feel any better now?" she asked as an attempt at humor.
"I feel like I've been hit by a Mack truck," he said.
"It's the chemo," Olivia said, "The side effects are like that. Do you want some juice?"
"No, I'm good," he said, "I feel like I'll throw everything up."
"I'll talk to Mara or the nurse and see if you can have something for that, but Mara did say that I have to get you to try and eat while you're awake," Olivia said.
He looked at her and shook his head.
"I'll just throw it up again," Elliot said.
"Come on. How about some chicken soup and ginger ale?" Olivia asked.
"Going Susie Homemaker on me?" Elliot asked with a grin.
"No, just trying to follow doctor's orders," she said.
"Any other time you're trying to fight them," he said.
"I know, but this time it's you. I want you to get better," she said.
"I want to get better too," he said, "And I'm going to. This isn't going to beat me."
She smiled at his strength and willfulness.
"Not with me right here to help you fight," she said.
"This disease don't stand a chance then," Elliot said.
AN: I hope you guys aren't too mad at me. This season is killer on my spare time. Not to mention that Earl and I were battling on this chapter. I hope you did enjoy it though!Thanks for sticking with me!