"Are you certain, Benjamin?"

"As certain as I can be."

Sergi and Ben were standing at the window, watching Finn and Connie who were throwing a ball for Bonny, the Tanger's dog.

"I thought he was just tired," Sergi sighed.

"So did we."

Sergi reached in his pocket and removed his handkerchief. "It is such a shock," he sniffed, dabbing his eyes when the tears that he had been trying desperately to hold back started to fall.

Ben and Lilly had just sat them down and told them the news. Hanah had immediately burst into tears and Lilly was comforting her mother in the lounge leaving the two men to talk.

"Does Finn know?" Sergi cleared his throat, desperately trying to reign in his emotions before turning to Ben. "Does he know where he's going?"

Ben nodded. "Yes, he know's we're going through the stone ring to visit Daniel and Carolyn," Ben confirmed.

"Does he know how sick he might be?"

"I think he has an idea although he hasn't said much. Lilly was very upset when we told him what was happening and I think he tried to be brave for her sake."

"He is an amazing boy." Sergi turned to watch his grandchildren again, smiling as Connie skipped after Bonny. His smile turned into a look of concern when Finn then sat down tiredly on the grass. It was then he realised just how sick his grandson really was. He couldn't help but gasp out loud when the realisation of the seriousness of his condition hit home hard.

He felt Ben rest a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He's going to be fine," his son in law reassured softly.

"How can you be sure?"

"Because this is Finn and, like you said – he is an amazing boy."

Sergi reached and patted Ben's hand. "Yes he is," he agreed, nodding slowly. "And you and Lilly are amazing parents and if anyone can get him through this then it's you." He turned to face Ben again. "What time are you leaving?" He asked.

"We have an hour or so," Ben smiled. "So we have time for a game of catch with Finn."

Sergi smiled back. "That sounds like a lovely idea, Benjamin. I'll fetch Hanah."

Sergi turned to leave but Ben pulled him in for a hug. "We will look after him, I promise. If we can get word to you then we will but you need to live your lives and try not to worry."

"I can't promise you that," Sergi sniffed, returning the hug.

"Just leave a lamp lit for our return."

"You know we will."

The men held each other for a while, knowing that they both needed that moment of support.

"Right." Sergi eventually pulled away and cleared his throat again. "I'll round up the girls. We still have that hour." He patted Ben on the shoulder and went in search of his wife and daughter.

After he went, Ben lowered himself into a chair at the table, rested his head in his hands and allowed himself a few tears in private.

He felt he was entitled to that.

xxx

"Look after ma." Lilly pulled her father in for a hug and held him as tight as she could. Sergi had taken them to the Stargate but Hanah had been too upset to travel with them.

"I will, you know I will," Sergi promised, gently stroking his girls hair.

"I don't want to go, pa," Lilly began to cry. "I'm so scared."

"Listen to me, Lilly Lou." Sergi pulled out of her arms, tipped her chin and tenderly wiped away her tears with his thumb. "I know you're scared, we are all scared but you have to try and be strong for your boys sake."

"I k-know but its s-so h-hard."

"I have faith in you, Platon Ashton. I have faith in Benjamin and more than anything, I have faith in young Finn. He has amazed me from the moment he was born. He is a gift from the Gods and the Gods will take very good care of him, of that I am certain."

"But, what if..."

"Ah – no what if's. Finn is going to get better and you will all be returning home before you even know it, you'll see."

"Cara! I forgot about Cara. Tell her that I'm sorry we didn't say goodbye. I don't want h-her to t-think w-we d-didn't think of h-her."

"Oh, Lilly she will understand, you know that. We will all be thinking and praying for you. This is a mere kink in the road of your wonderful long life together Lilly Lou you know that don't you?" Sergi shrugged with a grin, hoping to placate his devastated daughter in some way.

Lilly managed to smile through her tears. "I love you pa."

"And I love you." Sergi tenderly kissed her forehead and when he noticed Ben standing, waiting to one side he quickly pulled her into his arms again for one more hug. "It's time for you to go now."

The cart had been emptied and the Ashton's processions had already been sent through the shimmering event horizon.

Sergi took his daughter's hand and led her over to her family. "Look after each other," he smiled.

"You too," Ben held out his hand to shake hands with his father in law but Sergi ignored the gesture and hugged him instead. He then picked Connie up and swung her around.

"Be good my Constance," he chuckled as Connie giggled and, after kissing her cheek he handed her over to Lilly and turned to Finn.

He bent down and opened his arms. "Come here Finny," he smiled and Finn immediately ran into his embrace. "Oh, my boy," Sergi sighed as he held him. "I am going to miss you so much. You will be in all our prayers, I promise."

"I'm going t-to m-miss you too, g-grandpi," Finn hiccupped.

"Take good care of you mami, papi and little sister."

"I w-will."

"I love you so much, just be strong."

"I l-love you too."

Sergi continued to hold his grandson until he heard Ben cough softly

"It's time to go, Finny," he released his hold on Finn, grabbed his hand and placed it in his Papi's hand. "Safe journey all," he smiled, although tears ran freely down his cheeks.

"Give everyone our love," Ben nodded and then lead his family up the small mound towards the Stargate. At the top, they all turned and waved at Sergi.

"Good..." Ben started to say good bye but Sergi held his hand up.

"No goodbyes. We will see you soon," he corrected with a smile.

"Yes, see you soon," Ben returned the smile and took Lilly's hand, knowing without even seeing her face that she was sobbing. "It's going to be okay, Lils," he reassured, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. "We will be back soon."

He took a deep breath and then, after a glance over their shoulders to give Sergi a last smile of farewell, the Ashton family took that final step through the gate, knowing that faith and hope waited for them on the other side.

Xxx

Ben crouched down to check on Finn. "Are you doing alright?" He asked, knowing that first trip through the gate was disorientating to say the least. He needn't have worried though because Finn was looking round the gate room with a huge grin on his face.

"Wow!" He exclaimed, not even trying to contain his excitement. "Are we here? Is this Earth?"

Ben ruffled his boy's hair and his grin matched Finn's. "It sure is buddy."

"Cool!"

Ben chuckled as he straightened, happy that Finn seemed unaffected by his trip. Unfortunately the sniffling and complaining coming from his daughter who was clinging round her mami's neck, told a different story.

"Hey," he turned to Connie and gently stroked her cheek. "It's okay, Connie boo."

"I didn't like that," Connie huffed.

"I know," Ben sympathised softly "but it's all over now." He brushed Connie's curls out of her eyes and kissed her forehead before reaching to stroke his wife's arm.

"Are you okay, Lils?" He asked and Lilly smiled and nodded.

"I'm fine," she reassured while jiggling Connie who was still protesting in her arms. "Is Finn okay?" Lilly stretched to look over Ben's shoulder.

"Finn is just fine, aren't you?" Ben turned and smiled at his son who poked his head round and grinned at his mami.

"It's so cool mami!" He said, still grinning from ear to ear.

Happy that his family were all okay, Ben turned to face forward, his smile growing when he noticed his good friend waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp.

"Daniel," he greeted before making his way to his friend.

"It's good to see you guys." Daniel met him half way and warmly shook him by the hand. "I'm just sorry that it is under these circumstances," he added quietly, careful that Finn didn't hear as he wasn't sure how much the young boy knew about what was happening to him.

"Good to see you too," Ben nodded.

Daniel gave Ben's hand a reassuring squeeze before turning to Lilly. "Hey Lilly," he bent and kissed her cheek. "Welcome back."

"Hi Daniel," Lilly smiled back and then reached up to tuck Connie's curls behind her ears. "I don't think you have met Constance."

Daniel smiled at the little girl. "It is a pleasure to meet you Constance," he greeted warmly but Connie just huffed in return and buried her face into her mother's shoulder.

"That is not very friendly young lady," Lilly scolded but Daniel waved away her concern.

"It's okay, Lilly. She must be very confused. Please don't worry."

"Well, that is not an excuse for rudeness." Lilly shifted Connie into her other arm with a sigh.

Daniel chuckled as Connie then poked her tongue out at him.

"Did you see what Connie did then Papi?" Finn's voice came from behind Ben.

"Is that young Finn Ashton I hear?" Daniel asked going in search of the young boy.

Finn poked his head round his father's legs. "Hey Uncle Daniel," he smiled.

"Hi Finn," Daniel smiled back and quickly gathered Finn in his arms. "It's good to see you."

"It is good to see you too," Finn melted into Daniel's arms and rested his head on his shoulder, his action telling Daniel that they young boy, despite outward appearances, was very tired.

After allowing Finn a couple minutes of rest in his arms, Daniel stood back and inspected his friends.

"It's wonderful to have you here," he smiled "And I'd love to stay and catch up some more but unfortunately I have an important meeting to attend. I know that Doctor Lam is waiting for you in the infirmary, though."

"Of course," Ben nodded and grabbed Finn's hand. "We had best not keep her waiting," he smiled and then the Aston family followed Daniel as he led the way out of the room, Finn holding his Papi's hand as if it were a life line and Connie still hanging off her Mami's neck.

Their journey was just beginning.

xxx

Ben stood in the observation room, his forehead resting on the glass as he watched one of Carolyn's nurses settle Finn ready for his CT scan. Even from here, he could see how scared his son was and was desperate to go and comfort him but unfortunately, Finn had no choice but to cope with his particular procedure on his own.

This was his son's second scan in an hour. Ben had queried with Carolyn why Finn needed a CT scan as well as the MRI scan the whole family had had as part of their required Earth medical. Carolyn had explained that she wanted a more detail scan of Finn's spleen which had been shown as particularly enlarged on the MRI.

Ben hated having to put Finn through another scan; the MRI had been bad enough for his children. In fact Lilly was sitting with a sedated Connie who had not reacted at all well during her time in the scanning machine.

In a way, he was glad that Lilly was occupied with Connie because, after this scan Finn was scheduled for a bone marrow aspiration and a spinal tap, both procedures were upsetting and he knew that Lilly would hate to see Finn distressed.

As he watched his son, Ben suddenly realised that Finn was trembling and crying so he hurried over to the console to key the two-way intercom.

"You have to stay still, buddy," he told his son. "This won't take long—I promise."

"I d-don't w-want to do it," Finn cried, trying to sit up, obviously looking round for his father.

Ben's heart broke when the nurse then pushed him back down onto the narrow table. If the procedure hadn't been so necessary, he would have marched down there and taken his boy in his arms. Unfortunately, Finn needed this done and, when the door to the observation room opened and Carolyn and her technicians walked in, Ben knew that he had to calm his son.

"Finn, Carolyn is here now. We're just about to start. You need to lie as still as possible. It will be over before you know it."

"Please papi," Finn sniffed, his legs in constant movement as he tried to escape his plight. "Don't m-make me d-do it."

Carolyn took a seat at the console, smiled reassuringly at Ben and then keyed the microphone herself. "Hey Finn, it's Carolyn. We are all ready now. I'm going to start the scanner. Try to relax poppet. You are being so grown up and brave."

Carolyn's soothing words seemed to have an instant effect on Finn and Ben sighed in relief when his boy laid back, closed his eyes and did as he was told.

"That's great," Carolyn praised and then gave the thumbs up to her nurse who quickly left the room. "Okay, this is going to be slightly loud," she warned Finn. "Keep relaxing." She quickly reached over to press the start button.

The narrow table then slowly began to go through the circular scanner and Ben turned his attention to the monitor screen.

"Okay. Here we go." Carolyn pressed a few more buttons and the outline of Finns brain filled the screen. "This all looks good," Carolyn nodded, as she clicked on certain parts of the images. The table moved further in to display Finn's upper torso. "Right. He's got a couple of hot spots on the right side of his neck." Carolyn clicked again. "And." She paused as the scanner moved down Finn's body. "His spleen is pretty enlarged. I'll just get a cross section image of that." She pressed a few more buttons and the scan stopped in its tracks.

Ben reached over and keyed the microphone. "You're doing so well, my love." He told his son. "I'm so very proud of you."

After Carolyn had taken a few more stills, she pressed the button to continue the scan, pursing her lips as the procedure continued. "Okay, several hot spots in the right side of the groin and one on the left," she sighed.

Ben knew the results weren't good. He'd read many scans before and hot spots were not good news, at all.

Finally, after a couple more images were taken, the scan was over.

"You did a great job, poppet," Carolyn praised and then nodded towards her nurse who hurried back into the room.

"Can I?" Ben quickly asked, nodding his head in the direction of his son.

"Of course," Carolyn smiled. "I'm just going to run the results and we will let Finn rest for a while. Unfortunately I do need to do the BMI and spinal tap this afternoon I'm afraid."

"I know," Ben nodded sadly before he turned and gave his son what he hopped was a reassuring smile and wave. When Finn burst into tears after waving back, Ben literally sprinted out of the room.

His son needed him.

Xxx

"Why don't you go to sleep, sweetheart." Ben sat on the edge of Finn's bed and started to run his fingers through his son's silky blonde hair. "You have time to rest before Carolyn does your next set of tests."

Finn was so tired and over emotional. "I d-don't want a-any more tests, Papi," he hiccupped, still crying in reaction to the CT scan.

"I know you don't," Ben sympathised softly "but you need to have them done so we know how to make you feel better."

"But, I don't w-want to, c-can't you just give me s-some E-earth medicine to m-make m-me better?"

"Oh Finn, I wish it were as simple as that but we have to find out what is making you poorly so we can decide which Earth medicine to give you first." Ben gently smiled as he continued to run his fingers through Finns hair. "I know you're tired, my love but we have to do this."

Finn seemed to relax slightly for a moment and Ben hoped that he'd soon be sleeping but instead he started to struggle upright. "Where's mami?" He asked, his gaze darting round the small side room.

"She's with Connie." Ben gently pushed him down on to the mattress again. "Connie is having a sleep and mami is with her."

"Is Connie alright? I heard her crying."

"Connie is just fine. She was very tired like you are and is resting in the next room. Why don't you close your eyes as well, hey?" Ben pulled a sheet up over Finn's shoulders and tenderly stroked his sons tear stained cheek. "You will feel much better if you have a sleep," he smiled and Finn fidgeted a few times before his thumb found his mouth and his eyes began to flutter close.

"Good boy," Ben soothed. "I will sit with you until you are sleeping, Finny," he promised and then sat as his sick sons side as his breathing started to even out.

And, within five minutes, Finn had surrendered to the exhaustion he had tried so desperately to fight.

Xxx

"Hey." Lilly turned her head and smiled at Ben when she felt his hand on her shoulder. "How's Finn?" She asked, keeping her voice soft so not to disturb her sleeping daughter.

"He's sleeping too," Ben started to massage his wife's shoulders. "Connie looks peaceful now," he observed, watching their little girl sleep.

"She was so frightened," Lilly sighed as she relaxed into the massage and rested her head back onto Ben's stomach.

"I know," Ben nodded and planted a kiss in Lilly's curls. "I feel so sorry for her. She must be so confused."

Poor Connie didn't understand what was going on at all. It had been nearly impossible to explain why they were on Earth. They had told her that they were going on a great adventure to a new world and that everything would be so exciting and wonderful but all she'd seen so far were grey walls and medical personel. No wonder she was so scared.

"She will be just fine," Lilly assured with a confidence she was far from feeling. "Sam came by earlier and said that they were sorting out a VIP room for us all for the night. When Connie wakes I'm going to settle her in and find her something to eat."

"That's a good idea," Ben smiled, pulling a chair round to sit at his wife's side. He then reached and took Connie's tiny hand in his. "If I know Sam she will be able to find a supply of games and toys to occupy this one," he turned his head and smiled. "I know she always kept a draw full of things for Cassandra Fraiser, Janet's daughter."

"Connie will love that," Lilly agreed and managed to return Ben's smile. "Will you be alright to stay with Finn while I concentrate on Connie for a while?"

"Of course I will." Ben felt a wave of relief wash over him knowing that Lilly wouldn't be insisting on staying with Finn while he went through the most difficult procedures. "Hopefully we will all be able to stay together tonight," he added, returning to watch his daughter sleep. "We all need some time together."

"Yes, we do," Lilly agreed, reaching over to tuck an errant curl behind Connie's ear. They both sat in silence for a while before Lilly sighed heavily.

"Did Carolyn say anything about Finns scan?" She asked gently, not really sure if she wanted the answer or not.

"She is going to collate all the information together before speaking to us." Ben tucked Connie's hand under her covers and reached for Lilly's hand instead. "We can't rush this," he said, gently giving her hand a squeeze. "They have to be sure of diagnosis before moving forward."

"What is your gut feeling?" Lilly asked softly.

Ben hung his head and took a deep breath. "I think," he said, letting the breath go and looking Lilly straight in the eyes. "That we are in the best place for Finn," he admitted, hoping that Lilly would be able to read between the lines and when a solitary tear trickled down his wife's cheek he knew that Lilly understood what he was trying to tell her.

"We have to be strong for him Lils," he reached and brushed away the tear and Lilly took a shuddering breath.

"I know," she managed to smile. "And we will be," she added and patted Ben's knee. "We are The Ashton's. We are the strongest family I know."

"Yes we are," Ben chuckled and then pulled his wife in for a one armed hug.

"Everything will be just fine, you'll see Lils."