Patterns of eternity

Chapter 3 – Survival of the fittest

Author's note: Thank you all for reviewing my story once again. It's still making me want to write more and more. It's absolutely crazy. Enjoy the next chapter!

December 7th, 2023 - 1pm. Four hours had passed since Piper and Leo received Piper's cancer diagnosis at San Francisco Memorial Hospital. Piper was at work and Leo was at home waiting for Melinda to get out of school and for Wyatt and Chris to come home so they could all talk. He had called Piper several times to find out when she would be home so they could discuss everything only to find out her reply each time was "I don't know" but it was so difficult for her to deal with. In the end, Piper left a co-worker with all her duties for the rest of the day and night and went home to Leo.

Melinda was the first of the Halliwell kids to get home and was greeted by her Dad who came walking down the stairs. His face remained emotionless as he greeted his only daughter "Hi sweetie" the 16-year-old gave a small smile in return "You told me on the phone that I needed to come home as soon as I was done with school. What's so important that I couldn't hang out with Alexis?" Leo chose not to answer Melinda's question and instead made a gesture towards the living room. "Okay, Dad, seriously, you need to tell me what's up cuz I don't read minds…not even with my powers" Melinda looked at her Dad, awaiting a reply. "Mom and I were at the hospital today..getting test results" "oh yeah..Mom said it was nothing to worry about.." Melinda's face was furrowed with worry. All of a sudden, Mom was not just unwell..she must be very ill seeing as her Dad was reacting this way. "Melinda, they found a lump by Mom's ribcage" Leo said in almost a whisper. He refused to say the word out loud. As a doctor he had seen many cases both good and bad but his wife's…he couldn't handle.

It wasn't long until Melinda's eyes faced the floor and she nearly started crying which left Leo feeling like the worst parent in the entire universe because he knew he couldn't make Melinda feel better, not with magic, not with comfort not with anything. "You have to be strong now, Melinda. We don't need that. Be strong, okay?" "I don't get what you're talking about Dad. Mom said it was nothing. It was nothing! Is it cancer? Is it? Answer me, Dad" Leo sat down, putting his head in his hands "Yes. Yes..Melinda, I can't deal with this right now. Call Mom." Those were his final words before getting up from the couch and walking away from the living room, up the stairs and closing the door to the bedroom.

Melinda started crying and got out her cellphone to call Piper, just like Leo had suggested before. In a way, Melinda was happy to be alone in the living room. It wasn't her Dad she needed close by..it was her Mom. She dialed the number and waited patiently to hear the voice of her Mother. "Hey sweetie. How was your day?" was the first thing Piper asked her daughter, when picking up the phone. Having normal every day conversations made it seem like nothing was wrong and she was a healthy person once again. For some reason, Piper had always wanted a normal life for herself and her family but it had never been normal after Phoebe read the inscription in the BOS almost 26 years ago

Melinda was quiet the whole time until it dawned on Piper. Leo had told her. "Dad told you" "…why didn't you tell me, Mom? Why didn't you tell me you were sick?" "Sweetheart, I didn't know. I didn't want to worry you unless absolutely necessary. I'm sorry, Melinda. I should've told you but you're so young" that seemed to frustrate Melinda even more "I'm not a baby! Okay? I'm not a baby anymore, Mom. I could've handled it..it's better than you keeping it from me" at this point, Piper had realized her mistake. It didn't seem like there was anything she could've done any different, though. No matter what, each of her kids would always feel as though they could've been told in a different way. "I'm sorry, sweetie. Wyatt and Chris should be on their way to the Manor right now as we speak. I will be home later and then we can talk..all of us. It'll be okay, honey. I'll receive treatments and it'll be okay." Melinda cried numerous of times while listening to her Mom on the phone who insisted everyone would be alright. 10 minutes later, both Piper and Melinda put their phones down and Melinda sat on the couch just staring into thin air. How could everything go so wrong?

The brunette decided to put the TV on wondering if anything interesting was on today. The teenager quickly got a hold of a nearby blanket and lay down on the couch all bundled up. She didn't get to clear her mind for long before her brown eyes fluttered open to the sound of an incoming text message. "Maybe it's mom" she said out loud, talking to herself. Without looking at the table, her hand reached out and got a hold of the cellphone, located very near her. Melinda looked at the display: 'The best thing you can do for me is to believe…truly believe that everything will be okay. I'm sure this will have a positive outcome' the text read. 'I know, but I'm scared' Melinda typed back and clicked send. 'I'm coming home. I don't want you to be scared' Piper's next text read which comforted Melinda a lot because she'd be able to hug her Mom and try to be there for her.

Piper sat in her office with a diary. With a huge black marker, she turned the pages to the beginning of March of 2024 and made a big dot on one of the pages. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she closed the diary shut, picked up her bag and made her way to the car to get home to family. Of course, none of her family members would ever learn that Piper was putting up an act in front of them all. In fact, she believed everything would be over in March and she'd be dead by then. She sat in her car when her phone vibrated and saw Phoebe's name on her display. "Phoebe…how do I tell my baby sister?" Piper mumbled to herself and she answered her phone "Phoebe..hey. How's everything going?" she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes and tried to sound as normal as possible. It was hard. "Piper. It's been a while" Phoebe said back. She had felt how unwell and tired Piper had been for a long time now and could not help but think that nothing was as it seemed. "Phoebe..I..I have to tell you something" "What's wrong, Piper? You sound upset. Did you fight with Leo?" "No..it's not that. I was at the hospital today to get test results back" Piper took a deep breath as she prepared herself to give her baby sister the worst message anyone could give. "I'm an empath, Piper. I know you've not felt okay for a long time..what did the doctors say? I mean..it is curable, right?" Phoebe was about to breathe a sigh of relief without having heard Piper because she expected it to be a bad infection. "Phoebe...I..I have cancer" Piper found herself struggling with words as she heard her little sister start crying down the phone. "I haven't told Paige or Dad yet but they both need to know. I don't know how to tell them, kiddo. It was hard enough telling you" Piper tried to comfort Phoebe the best she could during the conversation. "Piper..I can't lose another sister." Phoebe swallowed the lump that seemed to form in her throat. "I can't talk right now. I'm sorry. I have to go" Phoebe hung up and threw her cellphone from her as if it had burned her hand. Piper sat in her car just staring out through the windshield of her Jeep. She knew Phoebe would tell Paige and their father even if it was going to be hard. Why was this happening to her? A 50-year-old loving Mother of three kids and owner of a successful restaurant. Life really was not fair.

It was another 30 minutes before Piper pulled into the driveway of the Manor on Prescott Street. She grabbed her purse and climbed out of the car and finally made her way to her house. "I'm home!" Piper called out while hanging her coat on the coat hanger and putting her car keys on the table in the hallway. "Mom" Melinda stood up and ran out of the kitchen into the hallway and threw her arms around Piper. Piper hugged her baby girl back and kissed the top of her head. "What a cruel day" Piper said, sadly but quickly changed the subject as she had not heard Leo "Where's Dad?" "Dad will be home later. He had an afternoon shift at the hospital and will be back for dinner..but Wyatt and Chris are in the kitchen" Melinda looked at Piper and nodded towards the kitchen.

Wyatt and Chris both lifted their hands in a greeting when Melinda and Piper reached the kitchen. They had both reacted when Leo had told them on the phone earlier that day. It hadn't been pretty. "Hey Mom. We're all back home. Dad told us. It's freakin' insane. It just feels like everything's changed. What exactly did they tell you?" "They told me what Dad told you. They wanted me to undergo a Bone Marrow Biopsy right away but it was too much for me. Everything was happening so fast and I just wanted to get out of that office as soon as possible. It was horrible. We've always been able to fix everything. This time, it seems like magic won't even help us and that's scary. It's dangerous to become too dependent on magic. Magic cannot fix everything..it can't fix this" Piper sat down on a chair in the kitchen, looking defeated. Everyone was silent. Perhaps, they were all trying to listen carefully to what their Mom was saying..to maybe figure out a way to save her from having to go through all this. Wyatt was the first to break the silence "I already checked the book. There's nothing in it" "That's because cancer is not a magical disease. People all over the world have had a family member go through this." Piper wished all treatments would be successful so she could watch her kids grow up. They still needed her around. This was confirmed only moments later when Chris knocked a fist into the wooden table. "It's never happened in this family, damn it!" Chris looked at Piper, Wyatt and Melinda as if they were all from a different planet. "Wyatt, you must have overlooked something. Check the book again. Melinda, go find out as much as possible about cancer" Melinda glared at Chris "Take a chill pill, Chris! So bossy…seriously. Where would you like to be buried?" "Buried?" judging from the current look on Chris' face, it held a mixture of shock and confusion. He was mortified when Melinda continued: "If you don't breathe soon you'll die from lack of oxygen" Wyatt held a hand in front of his mouth as he snickered away at Melinda's use of sarcasm.

If only looks could kill. Melinda would have been dead right now. Chris threw his hands in the air in exasperation and dismissed pretty much all his family members when he stormed off in a huff. Wyatt and Melinda exchanged looks of confusion but Piper ignored both and stood up, she wasn't in the mood for her kids' silly little games. "You two really need to be nice to your brother. You've been ganging up on him a lot lately and I'm tired of making allowances for you guys. I do not want to see it in my house. You're supposed to help each other out. I'm going to talk to Chris and when I come back, I want to hear some very good apologies"

Piper sent them both "the Mother glare" – A glare only she mastered to perfection when she really meant business. Wyatt and Melinda went quiet and sat down. Piper wished this was the only thing she'd have to deal with. She was starting to feel exhausted from all this but she wanted to comfort her youngest son…make sure he'd be okay. She found him in front of the computer typing like a mad. For a second, Piper was worried about the keyboard breaking from all the hammering.

Piper removed bits of hair from his eyes and caressed his cheek as she finally spoke up."Bossing your siblings around isn't going to solve the problem, sweetheart. Not this time. I'm sorry. I know how much you're hurting. You all are. I know it might seem like Wyatt and Melinda don't take this seriously and that they're just trying to act cool. But they are scared too, honey." Chris turned away from the computer and looked up at Piper. "I'm scared of losing you. Maybe it was wrong of me to believe that you would stick around for a long time when saving Wyatt from turning evil the first time" "Don't say that, Chris. I did not plan on falling ill, you know. I love you guys so much and I will fight. I will not go down without a fight." But Chris didn't seem to cheer up or anything for that matter. "I just don't want to deal with this. It scares me." "Well, we don't get to choose what happens in life. We just have to live and be happy for as long as possible. There will be bumps along the road…you of all people should know this, sweetie. You need to go with the flow and be happy while doing it" "Are you done?" Chris asked and didn't even look up anymore which made Piper feel like she had failed all of her kids. "I'll give you time to yourself but I don't want you to ever feel like you didn't do enough for me. I love you, Chris. I love you and your sister and brother so much. Chris just nodded as Piper moved towards the door and out of his room. Certainly, this would give him time to think things through just like everyone else was having a hard time.

December 8th, 2023 at 9am. Piper had woken up early the morning after the news. Today was the day of her Bone Marrow Biopsy. The doctors had detected some abnormalities in the CT scan they performed a week ago. Cancer. She had cancer. The doctor had told them to come down to the hospital so more tests could be done to find out the type of cancer and find out which treatment was appropriate for the type of cancer. Here they were, back at the hospital once again with a nurse leading Piper and Leo into a small exam room. "Today, we'll perform the Bone Marrow Biopsy. It usually takes 20-30 minutes and after that you will need to stay still for 10 minutes to risk internal bleeding. A doctor will be in here shortly to take you to the OR where the procedure will be performed." Piper said nothing but Leo gave a polite nod and it wasn't long until a young doctor showed up and waved at Piper and Leo to follow.

Piper let go of Leo's hand then just followed the doctor and prayed to God that Leo would follow wherever they went. The doctor led the couple into more sterile surroundings where the anesthesiologist was waiting. Piper sighed heavily as she had to change her outfit to a hospital gown.

Even worse was it when she was asked to place herself on the stomach on the examination table for the doctor to get a clear view of the hip bone. The site was cleaned with rubbing alcohol and sterile towels were placed on the area. The anesthesiologist prepared the needle "Alright, Piper, I'll just go ahead and numb it, it might burn a little bit" he said, he was being very careful to get the exact area that needed to be numbed. Well at least he was kind enough to explain what he did, Piper thought.

"Is it really impossible for me to be asleep through this?" she asked just seconds before the anesthesiologist began to inject the anesthesia. "Yes, we don't like to do it while patients are asleep because it's not healthy being put to sleep, at this point your body is weak and the stuff we use to put you to sleep with is toxic" he explained as he continued doing his job which just left Piper more worried because she didn't know what to expect.

When the area was numb, the doctor turned to the mass of instruments before him and it wasn't long until a syringe was put in place the doctor stopped for a second "Piper, you will feel some discomfort and a strong pain" he explained. At that point, Piper held her breath and then her eyes widened. "Son of a…" she exclaimed and her face contorted in pain as the liquid bone marrow was sucked out.

"Right, I'm nearly done. I just need to do one more thing. This is going to feel uncomfortable too" he said kindly and took out the first syringe and placed another larger needle to obtain a piece of the bone. "You will feel a sharp pain again, but it'll only last seconds then I'm done" Piper yelled as she felt the 'sharp' pain the doctor was talking about. "Alright, I'm done" he said as he removed the needle and the piece of bone, putting it into a container to be sent to the lab. "Piper, you will need to stay down for 10 minutes so we can make sure everything went as it should" the doctor instructed as he put a band aid on the site. "Leo" Piper whispered, she didn't dare moving but was thankful when Leo took a hold of her hand. "It hurts like a mofo. It felt like my spine was being ripped out" to which Leo nodded. He understood. He understood completely what Piper had just been through. He had felt it himself when the procedure itself was done. "Piper, I'll be right back. I need to use the restroom" Leo said and stood up from the chair, he bent down to give his wife a kiss on the cheek then left the room. He had just lied to Piper. He wasn't going to the bathroom. He was going to find out more than what they already knew. They were his colleagues; they had to tell him, right?

"Excuse me! Doctor Morgan!" Leo half yelled as he ran down the hallway and noticed the doctor who had just performed his wife's Bone Marrow Biopsy. The doctor looked up as a dirty blonde haired man walked to him and started talking, he recognized him as Piper's husband and a colleague of his even before he revealed his identity. "How bad is it? Will you please just tell me? Look, if you think I can't handle it...you're wrong so tell me. Now." Leo looked directly at the doctor and awaited a truthful answer. He was tired of not knowing anything about this horrible disease that everyone was saying his wife had.

"It's not that…Leo, we don't know much yet; but I have to tell you...it's not good" he was very honest, even though it was hard to take in.

Leo looked shocked as Dr. Morgan told him that it didn't look good. What was all of this? Leo's whole body felt numb as Dr. Morgan continued explaining that Piper was likely to undergo chemotherapy as well as radiation therapy. Leo went back to the room and tried to keep a straight face. He did not wish to stress out Piper any more than what she already was. After all, he hadn't been diagnosed with a lethal disease. He wasn't the one it was happening to, but he was the one reacting to everything around him.

"This is killing me. It's absolutely killing me, Piper." Leo sat down by Piper's bed and Piper reached up to touch his cheek "we have to stay strong. Both of us. For the kids" Leo's eyes faced the floor. His wife was sick. Very sick. How were they going to get through that? "Leo, listen to me. The best thing you can do for me right now is to believe as much as you can that everything will be okay. I am sure I'll be okay. A lot of people go through this every day and are now in remission. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to fight long and hard until I take my very last breath"

Leo rubbed his eyes and nodded "I've been trying for the past hour. I think about the kids and how to tell them if it's very serious. It breaks my heart. If I could, I would take all this from you. You did not deserve to go through this. You're a good person who does good things" Piper nodded "You don't deserve to go through this either, honey. No one deserves this. I guess I was just unlucky" she said with a slight shrug. "I can't wait to get home from here. We have three amazing kids who will love to help me out while you work your shift. They promised to cook dinner" the more Leo and everyone else was talking about the disease, the more Piper felt herself trying to shift the conversation in different directions. If she could, she would erase everyone's minds from knowing. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Did you like this update? Please Read & Review if you do. I still have plenty of ideas for this story but if you have anything you'd like to see, I'm happy to take on suggestions. - Peanut4ever