Disclaimer: I own nothing Degrassi, except for the character of Jase...

"How many times a week, average, is Jase having these nosebleeds?"

Emma watched Dr. Levy as she took Jase's blood pressure, listened to his heartbeat, and looked into his ears and eyes. "Um, about ten."

"Okay," she said, noting Emma's answer on Jase's chart. "And how about gums? Any bleeding when Jase brushes his teeth?"

Emma swallowed. "Sometimes."

"Okay," the doctor said once again, making another note. "Any flus lately or colds?"

Emma shook her head. "He's been relatively healthy. The last cold he's had was probably over eight months ago."

"Okay. And when you blow your nose, Jase, do you blow it really hard?"

Jase looked at his mother before shaking his head. "I only wipe. Mommy helps me blow."

The doctor smiled at Jase, reaching into her white laboratory coat and pulling out a lollipop. She offered it to Jase with a smile. Jase looked at Emma, silently begging for permission to eat it right away. Emma nodded her head, turning her attention back to the doctor.

"Nosebleeds can be common. But I would like to run some blood work just to check for things like anaemia and low blood count. Jase, would it be okay if you went downstairs and gave some blood to Nurse Nancy?"

Jase made a face and looked at Emma. "Do I have to?"

Emma smiled at her son, gathering his jacket and her purse. She took the forms from Dr. Levy. As she and Jase made their way down the stairs to the first level of the building, Emma tried to tell herself that this was all typical of having a child. Children get sick. Anaemia? Low blood count? Those sounded harmless. Emma could deal with those.

ONE WEEK LATER...

Emma had been told to come back to the doctor's office. Jase's blood work was back and Dr. Levy wanted to see her. Emma's heart was beating wildly in her chest as she followed the nurse to the waiting room. It wasn't the usual examining room Emma was used to taking Jase into. This was Dr. Levy's personal office. These walls had probably heard their share of bad news. They whispered to Emma as she waited, telling her that something was very, very wrong.

Dr. Levy came through the door, removed her white coat, hanging it up on a silver hook behind her closed wooden door. She held Jase's file in her hands, as she sat, not behind her desk, but in the empty chair, beside Emma.

She sighed before beginning, telling Emma that her suspicions were probably true. "Jase's blood work came back. Emma, his white blood count is extremely low."

Emma swallowed. "Okay. So how do we help it get higher?"

Dr. Levy leaned forward, taking Emma's hand in hers. "Emma, Jase has an advanced case of leukaemia. I am so sorry."

Emma lowered her chin to her chest, allowing herself to give over to the pain of this situation. She'd known. She'd known, while others told her he was fine. She'd known that her son was ill. But why? Why was this happening? After everything she had gone through to raise him on her own. Why would God choose to do this to her now?

"I know what you must be thinking, Emma."

"That I don't know if my heart is strong enough to take that loss," she stated simply. She sniffed back her tears and asked, "Chemo?"

"Normally, yes. Chemotherapy is the normal course of action. But not in Jase's case. His best chance is drug therapy and a bone marrow transplant," the doctor explained. "And the faster, the better. You'll need to pull yourself together and contact every member of your family. Your best chance at finding a matching donor will be someone from the same bloodline."

Emma nodded her head. "I'll be tested right away. I'll phone my mother and have her and Jack tested, along with my grandmother. I'll even get in touch with my real father and his family if possible. I'll do whatever it takes to get this sorted out."

Dr. Levy suddenly looked nervous as she said, "I know that Jase's father is not in his life. But for the sake of finding a match, you may want to contact him. Having him and his family tested doubles Jase's chance of a positive match."

One hour later, after having cried mercilessly in Dr. Levy's office, after receiving more information than she could possibly process, Emma sat in her car, thinking over her present situation. Jase would need to go to the Sick Kid's Hospital in Toronto for the transplant. They'd have to go back to the city they had avoided for all of Jase's life.

But Emma realized that she'd do just about anything to save her son's life, even if that meant reaching out to his father...

How will the first face-to-face between Jay and Emma be? What will Jay's reaction be when he finds out that Emma has kept him from his child for the last four years? Keep reading...