Jade had run around a lot that day, but it wasn't for nothing. She and Rose had done something fantastic and she was thrilled. Talk about doing your daily good deed; with what she'd just done, it was enough to suffice the entire year. That's what she thought, anyway.

"Rose, how has Dave been?" Jade asked as the two girls walked down the street toward their respective houses. They'd lived beside each other since they could remember; it made everything so much more convenient.

"He still won't come out of his room. He doesn't eat much either; it's rather worrying," she replied, with a hint of fear in her voice. "Things were starting to look up for him… but then, you know, the incident happened."

"Yeah," Jade frowned, "but don't worry, things will look up… They have to, right?"

Rose nodded, "They do."

The sun was shining bright that day and the weather was warm with a cool breeze. It was a happy day—a really happy day. Flowers of all colors were lined up neatly against the grass and around the pond, shaded by the tall green trees. It was a truly beautiful sight and it made Jade very happy. She almost wished she could live in this moment forever.

"Okay, you know the plan, right, Rose?" Jade said, stopping in front of their houses.

"Yep!" she smiled. "We can do this, no problem."

"I want to thank you again for doing this. Especially for someone you hardly know. It means a lot to me, and to him," Jade smiled in return.

Rose laughed softly, brushing back her short blond hair. "I know, I'm glad to help. Don't give it a second thought, okay?"

"You're not scared?"

"Maybe a little, but it's nothing I can't overcome."

Jade gave her friend a warm hug, "You're the best!"

Rose hugged her back, jokingly saying, "I know~!"

The two parted ways and returned to the inside of their respective homes. Rose walked up the stairs and knocked on Dave's door. "Dave, are you inside?"

"What do you want, Rose?" she heard from the inside. His voice was hoarse and tired. She pushed open the door and peeked inside. Dave was lying on his back on the floor, reading a magazine. His sunglasses were pushed up over his forehead, revealing tired, bloodshot eyes. Rose frowned, "Have you been in here all day?"

"Yep," he replied, without emotion.

Rose sighed. She knew Dave was getting sick of her constantly peeking in, asking if he'd done anything or how he was doing. She knew she had to give him space, but she was too worried. He'd been through all this before and she didn't want it for him, not after all he'd suffered though.

"Are you planning on leaving your room?" she asked.

"Nope," he said, once again, without emotion.

Rose shut the door. Dave was far too angry to deal with right then and frankly, knowing what she was about to face made her not want to even more. She was a bit worried, but it was worth it to see Dave smile again.

She didn't really know John. The only time she'd met him was that very day, when Jade took her up to meet him. She liked him a lot. If ever there was a sweeter boy, she had yet to find him.

John was a cheerful guy, despite his illness and Rose was happy to see that. She was glad to see that he hadn't lost hope; that he was still fighting. It brightened up her day.

She walked down the stairs and spotted her mom in the kitchen, martini in hand. She rolled her eyes, "Mother, how many of those have you had today?"

"Whaaaat?" her mom hiccupped, "three. Only five, sweetie… Eight isn't that much, duhhhh…!" she replied, practically drooling she was so drunk. For a brief while, when Dave was happily visiting his hospital buddy, she hadn't been drinking much. It hurt her to see that because Dave had gotten depressed again, she started drinking again.

"Why don't you give me that?" Rose grabbed the glass from her hand and dumped the remainder in the sink. She steered her mother down the hallway, toward her room and said, "Go to sleep. You need it."

Her mother didn't argue, to Rose's happy surprise. She simply dragged herself into her room, shutting the door behind her. She must have really been exhausted. Over everything that happened, Rose understood.

She went back to the kitchen and sat down. "Wow," she let out a long sigh. "I can't believe we're really doing this… More importantly, I can't believe she's letting us."

She stood back up quickly, racing up the stairs to her room. She was really anxious and she was going in tomorrow, so she had to be prepared for what she would face. She pulled out her laptop and sat on top of her bed, opening her search engine. "Alright," she mumbled, and searched up 'How badly do bone marrow transplants hurt?'