A/N: Hey guys! I'm really happy with how quickly I got this chapter done. Enjoy!

Cassandra stood frozen in front of the door to her childhood home. It looked welcoming from the outside, but she knew what lay behind those walls. Inside that house were repressed memories, judgement, and nothing but a cold feeling of exclusion. Despite what the postcard image suggested, there was no love in this home.

"So this is where you grew up huh?" Jake observed. "Long Island, New York"

"Yes" Cassandra choked, holding her breath. Jake placed an arm around her waist.

"You can do this" he assured her. "I'll be right here the whole time"

Cassandra wanted to turn away from the door. She didn't know why she had bothered coming here. She could already feel that it was not going to end well.

Panic set in. Memories flooded her of nights being shut in her room, forced to study for hours on end. One night, in particular would not leave her mind. It felt as if she was there again, watching her parents dump all of her trophies, everything she had ever been proud of, off of the shelf.

This time she really did turn away, trying to push past Jake to run back down the front walkway. He grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Cassie, Cassie look at me" he urged. Her tear filled eyes met his, breaking his heart. "No matter what happens, remember, they can't control you anymore. You've got the life you wanted, you're happy. You call the shots. The minute they upset you enough and you wanna leave, you can march right out this door. But I do think you owe it to these people to at least let them know their daughter is getting married."

"I know" Cassandra whispered, slowly calming down. "I'm just scared."

"You have me" Jake squeezed her hand. "If you start to freak out, think of your happy memories, just like you do to get out of the hallucinations. Stay anchored. Think of home"

Cassandra breathed a sigh of relief. Jake always knew what to say. Turning towards the door, she let new images fill her mind: Jake down on one knee, Ezekiel laughing about some stupid joke, Flynn putting cake on Eve's nose at their wedding. Finally, she saw herself in a beautiful wedding dress, getting married to Jake, and thought of the home that they would create.

It would not be a home like this one. It would have happiness, and peace, and above all love. Renewed by newfound joy, she slowly brought her hand up and knocked on the red door. A brunette woman about Jake's age opened the door.

"Cassandra?" she asked.

Cassie squeezed Jake's hand tightly, trying her hardest to focus on her anchor. It was rapidly becoming harder and harder to avoid the fearful memories trying to creep into her mind.

"Hi Melody" she swallowed. "Are Mom and Dad home? I have some news and I thought that it was best I deliver it in person"

"Your Tumor didn't come back did it?"

"What…no. Look, can I just come in?"

The woman stepped aside, looking confused. Cassandra, still holding tightly to her fiancée, led him inside.

"Who's this?" Melody asked, looking at Jake

"Well actually" Cassandra stammered, hoping that the subject wouldn't come up this quickly. "That's kind of the news. Simplified version, this is Jake. Jake this is my sister Melody"

"Pleasure to meet ya" Jake held out his hand, trying his hardest to make a good first impression. He wanted this experience to be as easy as possible for his girl. Melody seemed reluctant, but shook his hand none the less, grinning sheepishly.

Cassandra faced another onset of panic when she entered the den. There, sitting and reading the newspaper, were her parents. She hadn't seen them in ten years, maybe more. She had barely contacted them, save for a letter when her cancer was cured.

Her mother noticed them first. Jake wouldn't mention it, but Cassandra looked exactly like her. With her red curls and big blue eyes, right now he could be looking at his fiancée in 30 years.

"Cassandra?" the woman asked. Her father looked up. They were in deep now. There was no turning back. "Is that you?"

"Hi mom"

"What are you doing back here dear?" her father asked.

"Well I have some news. Could we maybe sit down?" she indicated Jake next to her.

It was only then that Mr. and Mrs. Cillian noticed the man standing next to their daughter, holding her hand.

"O…of course darling. Please come in" her mother stammered.

Cassandra inched toward the couch slowly, trembling with every step. The feel of the linen couch cushions underneath her brought back childhood memories again. She focused instead on the memories attached to the feel of Jake's hand, which she hadn't let go of.

"How are you doing?" her father asked. "The letter you sent us, we were so shocked, and we never heard from you after that"

"I'm doing well" Cassandra assured him. She felt slightly relieved, warmed by the thought that her father was concerned about her. "I'm sorry I didn't write again I was really busy" she lied.

The truth was she didn't want to write back to her parents. Maybe if she had heard back from them, that would've been different. When they found the magic to heal her tumor, she wanted to start a new, maybe rekindle the relationship with her family. That's why she wrote them. When there was no response though, she knew things weren't going to change.

"We wanted to write too" her mother added "But we were also busy"

"Ya, I'm sure" Jake mumbled. Cassandra slapped his leg.

"So" she continued. "Anyway…I guess I'll get right to why I came here." Fueled by anger, Cassandra no longer held back. "This is Jacob Stone. We started dating a little over a year ago, and, well…on Christmas Eve he asked me to marry him, and I said yes. So I'm engaged"

The reveal was met by utter silence. Cassandra's father's jaw was on the floor. Her mother simply looked confused. She didn't immediately notice, but in the corner, Melody was beaming.

"Cassie" she exclaimed. "That's…" she was cut off by Jane Cillian.

"A very irresponsible decision" Her voice was stern, angry. "I thought you were smarter than that" While one of Cassandra's hands tightened around Jake's, the other balled into a fist.

"Excuse me?" she snapped.

"How do you expect to live in a marriage, to have a family with your condition?"

"The brain cancer is gone Mom" Cassandra rose from the couch slightly. Jake pulled her down, trying his hardest to keep things under control, though he had been silently fuming since they sat down.

"Cancers are notorious for coming back Cassandra" Her father joined in the on the torment now. Cassandra frowned, losing any hope that things would change between the two of them. "Besides, you still have synesthesia, with full on hallucinations!"

"That doesn't stop me from living my life!" Cassandra was yelling now. She was not afraid, only enraged. "Just because I'm different from most everyone else, that doesn't mean I shouldn't get to be happy, to be in love! Jake makes me happy!"

"If you get married, you are not the only one living your life anymore" her mother continued. "You are sharing every aspect of it with your spouse. You are not only living with your condition, you are asking someone else to. That is very selfish"

Jake could not hold in his emotions anymore. He rose to his feet.

"Maam I love your daughter" he stated. "I have since the day we met. I loved her with her brain cancer, I love her with her synesthesia, I just love her, no matter what. So I'm going to marry her, because we both deserve to live a happy life!"

"What about expenses?" her father asked "You never finished high school Cassandra. How do you expect to get a job that pays well enough to support a family?"

"Jake and I both have amazing jobs at this research facility" Cassandra used the lie she always used to describe her work. "It's where we met, it pays well, and it's the perfect job for me. I handle all the math and science work. Plus, Jake is a writer."

"A writer?" her mother snapped. "Cassandra you know that isn't practical. A job in the liberal arts won't put a roof over your heads, or put bread on the table if you decide to start a family"

Neither Jake nor Cassandra was seated any longer. They stood next to each other, knowing, without saying a word, that they were both ready to leave the house.

"We have the other jobs!" Jake shouted.

"I can't believe it" mumbled. "My daughter is marrying an artist"

Cassandra's face was nearly as red as her hair.

"Your daughter" she shouted "Is marrying the most wonderful man in the world, who treats her better than you ever did. More importantly, your daughter is marrying the love of her life."

Cassandra felt herself on the verge of tears. Forcefully, she dragged Jake toward the foyer. Jake opened the door and led her outside.

"And if you're so opposed to this marriage" Cassandra continued. "Don't expect an invitation to the wedding"

With that, she slammed the door behind her, and, once she was back on the sidewalk, burst into tears.