At 46 years old, Lynette Scavo had been through her fair share of tough times. Growing up with an alcoholic mother had provided Lynette with a variety of life experiences she'd rather not recall. Someone once said that "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" but judging by the knot that was sitting in her stomach, she didn't believe that to be true. When Lynette was diagnosed with cancer four months ago she and Tom had made the decision not to tell her friends or her children in an attempt to keep life as normal as possible, but as her chemo continued she got tired and as she got weaker more responsibility had fallen on her daughter Evelyn. The inevitable happened at a party last week when Lynette had accidently revealed the disease she had tried so hard to conceal. With Evelyn at home at the time Lynette begged her friends to keep her secret for a couple more days. The day had finally come though, when the guilt weighed heavy on Lynette's heart and she new Evelyn deserved an explanation as to why she was so drained all of the time. Lynette had been through so much in her life but nothing could have prepared her for the conversation she was about to have…

It was a cool morning that day on Wisteria Lane, the fall had set in and the leaves slowly beginning to change, making the world appear calm and surreal. While all of her neighbors were still asleep Evelyn tossed and turned in an attempt to obtain some sort of sleep before she had to begin her day. She checked the clock and groaned when she realized it was 4:45 am, too early to get up and too late to expect to fall back into a deep sleep. She turned over towards a small wooden chest that sat in the corner of her bedroom overloaded with picture frames. She loved pictures; it was a way to remember those little moments time tended to steal from people, and her favorites sat closest to her bed. Whoever said you didn't need anyone to survive in life, had no clue what they were talking about as far as Evelyn was concerned. She just figured anyone who would make such a statement obviously wasn't lucky enough to have the family she did.

The first picture that sat on that short oak trunk was a picture of her and Bree at the Governors Ball last year. Looking at the two together you would have thought they were family. Tall and thin, Evelyn donned the same auburn hair and green eyes that Bree possessed. Bree and Lynette had been friends long before either of them had moved to Fairview. They met when Evelyn was four and when Lynette jump started her career it was Bree who watched after Evelyn during the day, she had become an important fixture in her life, and when chaos transpired Bree was often the sounding board which kept her mind at ease. The next photo was of her and her mother when she was twelve. This was one of Evelyn's favorite pictures. It reminded of her of life before the everyday confusion, before the pizzeria, before the extended family when it was just the two of them. There was no doubt in her mind or anyone else's for that matter how much Evelyn loved her family, she really did but she enjoyed those days when her mom would come home from work and they would sit on the couch, watch old movies and talk through the night. She couldn't remember the last time her and her mom had actually done something together other than sit at the breakfast table for a brief few moments each morning. These days their quality time consisted of soccer games, PTA meetings, working at the pizzeria and loud dinners. One of these days she decided they would spend the day together, no phones, no kids just the two of them. She smiled when her eyes graced the next picture. It was a picture of her and Mike Delfino. They gracefully posed as they held up a huge fish they had caught in Fairview Lake last month. When Mike came out of his coma and found out about Susan he fell into a depression and that's when he began construction on the house he now lives in. Always seeing him working on his own, Evelyn offered to help and Mike one day and he accepted. Since then they became close friends, hiking together, watching football games and she even helped every now and then on a plumbing job. Mike teased her consistently about being more of a man than he was but she always laughed it off. She couldn't imagine life without Mike.

Evelyn swore she closed her eyes for mere seconds and when she opened them back up it was 7:00 in the morning. She quickly jumped out of bed and threw her long auburn hair into a clip. Throwing a robe over her pajamas she ran downstairs and started the coffee pot. When the coffee was done she made sandwiches, pulled bags of chips out the cabinets and juice boxes out of the fridge and neatly set three paper bags on the edge of the counter. She remembered when this was the sight she would see every morning, her mother with a cup of coffee in hand standing over the kitchen counter. Out of nowhere Lynette had quickly become tired and Evelyn noticed. She realized Lynette had worked so hard her whole life, she knew it would catch up with her sooner or later. Evelyn admired her mother and would do anything for her, waking up and making breakfast and lunches for the kids was a small gesture in the grand scheme of things. She popped some bread in the toaster and Parker was the first down the stairs just as he was every morning. He was dressed for school and barely awake.

"Hey kiddo" she chimed as she noticed his eyes barely open.

"Why do I have to go to school" he said plopping down in his chair and laying his head on the table.

"Because if you don't go to school, you won't get a job and then you won't have any money to buy that giant robot with the laser beam eyes you are so fond of". Not satisfied with her answer he groaned and turned to lay face down.

As Evelyn set a bowl of cereal and some juice in front of him Porter and Preston bolted down the stairs backpacks in hand and slammed into their chairs nearly knocking them over.

"Whoa Whoa Whoa slow down" she set two bowls in front of them as well.

"He started it he tripped me when I was coming out of the bedroom" Porter said accusingly.

"I did not."

"You did too."

"I did not did not did not."

"Cut it out you two" a deep voice said coming from the top of stairs. Tom made his way down the stairs clad in a pair of jeans and a bright orange Scavo Pizzeria shirt carrying Penny in his arms.

Evelyn quickly stretched out hers and grabbed the three year old from him. "Hello my lucky Penny" she said as she rubbed her nose against the little girls and set her down in her seat, pouring cereal into a bowl for her.

"Good morning sweet heart" Tom said kissing her on the top of the head.

"Morning Tom." She handed him a coffee mug as he sat down. The pop from the toaster caused her to jump and she quickly pulled the toast out and threw two bagel slices in. As soon as it was done she spread them with crème cheese and set them on a plate for Tom.

After making sure all of the kids were situated Evelyn turned towards back towards her step dad. "Where's mom?" she asked already aware of the answer she was going to receive.

"She is still asleep; she wasn't feeling really well last night so I didn't want to wake her".

"She needs to go to the doctor" she said as she took a bite out of a now cold piece of butter less toast.

"She is planning on it" Tom replied. Evelyn rolled her eyes knowing that it would never happen. There was no one more stubborn than her mother, especially when it came to her own health.

Tom took one look at his watch and jumped up from the table. "Come on guys we've got to go or we are going to be late". It was like angry bulls being released from their chutes, the twins went flying by her at an unmentionable speed. Parker slowly got up from his seat, pushing his chair in behind him and Tom lifted Penny out of her high chair. Before Tom could ask, Evelyn tossed him a small plastic bag full of cereal and he handed it to Penny. "You're the best".

"I know don't forget it. Christmas is only three months away". Evelyn smiled as she watched them run out the front door. Before she could comprehend the mess she had to clean up in the kitchen, a thought suddenly hit her and she raced to the living room grabbing a neatly covered book report off the desk. She darted out the front door tripping over a metal fire truck in the process, and ran after Tom's car that was already out of the driveway. As soon as she caught up to the car Tom rolled the window down.

"Parker forgot his book report". Tom quickly took it out of her hand.

"Thanks kiddo, see you tonight". She watched his car speed down the street and she took a deep breath and looked over just in time to catch Bree walking out of her house in her bathrobe. She always secretly smiled to herself when she saw Bree early in the morning. Bree always did her best to look perfect all of the time so it was always strange to see her without her faultlessly styled hair and perfectly styled clothes.

"Good morning Evelyn" she called from the front of her steps.

"Hey Bree" she responded as she walked towards her house picking up the paper in the driveway and handing it to her.

"Thank you. How are you doing this morning?"

Evelyn turned to look at Bree and caught a glimpse of concern and sadness in her eyes. "Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost".

Bree began fidgeting with her hands and looked up at Evelyn "No everything is fine I just wanted to make sure you were okay".

"I am fine just tired" she replied as she studied Bree's reaction.

"It seems everyone is these days." There was something Bree wasn't telling her and after a few moments of silence she didn't imagine she was going to give it up either.

"Well I am going to get dressed and start a pot of coffee. The girls are coming over so tell your mom to come on over when she gets up".

"Okay but…" before she could get another word out Bree turned to walk towards her house. A sudden feeling of dread overcame Evelyn and she knew that whatever news it was it couldn't be good if Bree was hiding it from her. She watched her walk into her house and turned to walk home. Forgetting about Bree's standoffish attitude, Evelyn took the time to enjoy her surroundings. She always loved the morning because she loved to watch people come alive. Lights started turning on, and people started climbing into their cars and heading to work, and in a way it was poetic. She stepped up the driveway, waving to Edie Britt, the local real estate agent who was completing her morning run, moved the lethal fire truck from the front porch and walked inside

Lynette awoke to the same sounds she had awoken to every morning for the last couple of months, silence. Obviously Evelyn had already gotten the kids to school and Tom had left the house. She pulled the covers up to her chin and took in deep breath to awaken her muscles and clear her mind. Today was the day. She had kept this secret from her kids for too long. She gently graced the tip of her fingers over her hairless scalp. The feeling of nausea set in as she kicked the covers back and threw her legs over the side of the bed. The floor was freezing to her touch and she grabbed a pair of wool socks from the dresser. All of her kids would be upset, she knew it. Even Kayla would show a bit of compassion; she thought to her current predicament but Evelyn, she knew would take it the hardest. She looked in the mirror with tear stained eyes and saw her daughters pain already reflected in her own. Her mind filled with agonizing thoughts of abandoning her children but she quickly pushed them away focusing on the positive things. Her doctor's confirmed that things were looking up but she knew she wasn't quite out of the woods yet, but she consistently was in search of the horizon. She grabbed her blonde wig out of the closet wrapped a grey sweater around her pale cool arms and opened her bedroom door.

The day went by slowly for Evelyn. After the kids went to school she cleaned the kitchen, despite her mother's attempts to do so, while Lynette had breakfast with her friends. Around ten Tom called and asked her to come help through lunch and she dutifully did so, serving pizza for six hours before she finally came home in enough time to help Porter finish his homework, pick Kayla up and have a cup of coffee with Mike. Later that evening after dinner Lynette and Tom excused themselves from the dinner table and walked into the living room causing immediate suspicion from the kids. Porter leaned his chair as far back as he could catching the two sitting on the couch and talking. He leaned forward causing the front two legs to knock against the wood floor.

"There talking" he said leaning forward and trying to stay inconspicuous.

"What did you do?" Evelyn asked leaning forward to join the circle.

"I didn't do anything" he chimed as he looked towards Preston.

Evelyn sat back in her chair and picked a piece of cheese out of Penny's hair.

"I bet mom finally found the cool-aid stain on her favorite white suit" Parker added.

His accusation caused Evelyn to nearly spew iced tea all over the table. "You got cool-aid on mom's 900 dollar suit..oh she is going to kill you." Preston immediately looked scared so Evelyn gave him some reassurance. "That's not what they are talking about; mom would have said something to me earlier."

"What do you think it is Evie?" Kayla asked looking concerned. Evelyn turned and smiled at her. "I don't think it's the suit. Mom would have said something this morning". After a few more minutes of silence, Tom walked in the kitchen. The look on his face was enough to warn Evelyn of the impending news, at that very moment she went from worried to scared. "Family meeting guys, your mom and I want to talk to you in the living room". Kayla and the boys went ahead while Evelyn picked Penny up out of her chair, she sighed resting her head on Evelyn's shoulder. She walked into the living and her heart hit the floor when she saw the look on her mom's face. She was always amazed at how the kids could pick up on little things like that. Penny grabbed tight around her chest and Parker and Kayla sat right next to her, resting their heads on either side of her shoulders.

Tom paced back and forth and Evelyn watched him with anticipation, "Listen guys we have been avoiding this conversation for a while now, we didn't want to tell you all because we were trying to keep things as normal as possible for as long as possible". Evelyn didn't know what to say, her mind was going in a hundred different directions and before her lips could even form a question, the words hit her like a ton of bricks to the chest. "Your mother is sick".

"What do you mean sick, like a cold?" Porter asked looking for affirmation in Tom's eyes.

"No Porter, like cancer".

Evelyn felt like she was going to be sick.

Parkers head flew off her shoulder. "Cancer? Isn't that what Aunt Jenna died from".

Lynette decided to take this one. "Yes Parker but that was a different kind. See I have a more common kind of cancer I guess you could say and I am half way through treatment and they are very certain that…"

"Halfway through chemo?" Evelyn asked with enough assertiveness to get their attention but calm enough not to wake a now sleeping Penny. "How long have you guys know about this?"

Tom looked at Lynette trying to search for the right answer to give her. "Honey, I wanted to tell you I just wanted everything to be normal for as long as possible. Listen you guys, everything is going to fine okay. I am just going to be a little more tired from now on. We are all still going to go to games, I am still going to help daddy out at the restaurant everything is going to be okay".

"Are we still going to go to the Gibson's for Andy's birthday party next week?" Porter asked.

Lynette smiled at his innocent question and nodded her head. "Of course you're still going, this doesn't change anything".

The three boys looked at each other and then looked back at Tom. "Are you dying?" Kayla asked.

"No of course not honey" Tom responded. "She is getting better. It is just going to take some time." Stillness filled the room, until Tom stood up "Does anyone have any questions". When silence filled the air Tom excused the boys who went running upstairs to get their pajamas on. It was much easier with the kids then either of them could have imagined. Tom and Lynette turned towards Evelyn whose face immediately looked worn and frozen. Lynette on the verge of tears walked towards her and sat down next to her on the couch. She moved a piece of hair out Evelyn's forehead and ran her hand down her back.

Tom walked up in front of her and tried to take Penny out of her arms but she quickly protested. "No its okay I will put her in bed".

"I don't mind I think you guys need to talk". Tom suggested but when he went to grab for Penny again Evelyn just clutched her tighter.

"I have her seriously".

Evelyn had learned a lot of things from Bree, most of which included things to do with gardening and cooking and cleaning but she also learned that sometimes it's easier to put up that façade and pretend you're happy rather than face that moment when you fall apart in front of everyone. So that's precisely what Evelyn did, it was the only defense mechanism she could think of. She had to get out of that living room. Within a matter of seconds she felt as if she was suffocating. She was on the verge of losing it and she tried to keep her composure the best she could. She stood up and smiled at Lynette "I am going to go put her in bed; everything will be okay I know it" Evelyn kissed her on the cheek and Lynette looked completely and totally stunned. She walked past Tom slightly squeezing his hand "I will see you in the morning".

Evelyn walked into Penny's room and closed the door behind her laying her in her little pink bed. She kissed her on the forehead and pulled the covers tightly around her as if it would protect her from anything. She walked over and flipped off the light switch, backing herself against the wall. Her body felt as if there wasn't the tiniest bit of energy left in it. She slid down the floor putting her face in her knees, not being able to hold it back any longer she let the silent tears flow.

When our children are born we do the best we can to protect them from the things we can control. We keep them healthy when they are babies and protect them from the germs that live all around us. We drop them off at school and watch them as they walk in, protecting them from the evil that walks among us. We do our best to keep them as young as possible for as long as possible and protect them from the harsh realities of life. In this world there comes a point when a mother has to realize she can't guard her children forever, she has to step back and let them find their own way through this ever changing world…