Look at me updating twice in the same day, or shall I say 24 hour period. Thanks for the reviews guys! I appreciate it so much! I know that you guys hate me for choosing the predictable path, but I promise I will get back to that soon. This chapter is so sad! I hope you like it! Keep up the reviews! I may update again tomorrow f can finish another chapter. I just found out that I'm not allowed to go to the party I was invited to. Moms... lol Thanks for reading. I love you all!
Disclaimer: I don't own degrassi
Maya's POV (2 week later)
Cam and I have been keeping my being pregnant from Lexi for just under two weeks, and we aren't sure when it will be a good time to tell her. I want to tell the rest of my family, but at the same time I don't want them to know before she does.
Cam was doing a bit of research and it says to wait until you are showing to tell a preschooler, and although that seems like a long time considering I'm only 6 weeks pregnant, I understand that it is probably the best thing to do.
I am kind of realizing that I am an insane pregnant woman. I have been craving dill pickles covered in peanut butter which is the strangest thing ever. I have had the most crazy mood swings ever. One minute I'm happy and the next I'm freaking out. I feel like my uncontrollable emotions are putting a lot of the stress on Cam, and he is handling it surprisingly well. The only thing that has been easier with this pregnancy is morning sickness. I get a bit nauseous is I get out of bed too fast, but for the most part it's been smooth sailing.
Mickey got here last week, and his host family actually lives pretty close to us so Cam goes to see him a lot. Due to the fact that Lexi's immune system is weak, I don't really want Mickey to bring all of the Degrassi germs he is exposed to in so he isn't allowed over until her blood cell counts are a bit more normal.
Luckily, Mickey understands that I don't want Lexi to get sick, and doesn't take it to heart. Surprisingly, we haven't had any bouts of sickness to get through yet, and I'm hoping that we don't ever have any. It is really dangerous for her to get the flu or even a cold because it can get really bad really fast.
"Mommy, you're so silly. Pickles don't taste good like that." Lexi informs me giggling uncontrollably as I spread peanut butter on a dill pickle.
"Yeah mommy, pickles don't taste good like that." Cam repeats teasingly while walking into the kitchen.
"Well, I like them." I tell the two of them turning and putting the jar of pickles back into the fridge.
"Okay…" Cam says grabbing his car keys off of the counter top. "Where're you going?" I question curiously.
"Mickey texted me, and he needs to talk to me about something… Are you okay alone for a while?" he asks obviously not too worried.
"Are you kidding? We're fine you nut!" I respond smiling before lifting Lexi up and carrying her into the living room.
"Okay. Love you both! I'll be home soon!" he yells walking out the back door.
"Wait!" I yell setting Lexi down and rushing to see if he had left.
"Yes?" he asks with a small grin adorning his face. "Could you pick up some more pickles on your way home?"
"I guess, but seriously M. That is so gross." He responds walking out the door.
"What do you want to do girly?" I ask the four year old curiously as I kneel to her level.
She thinks about it for a moment before responding "Can Kenzie and Nate come over, mommy?" she asks desperately making me feel sad for her.
"Honey bun, I know that you miss them, but I don't think it's a good idea. They could get you sick." I tell her giving her a sympathetic frown.
She takes a breath and a sad pout emerges. "I never see anybody anymore!"
"Oh Honey, come here." I say pulling my upset four year old into a hug.
"How about we call Sabrina? Maybe if she's not busy she can come over." I mention to Lexi optimistically as her face lights up.
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" she nods giddily. Sabrina is a very nice girl who is quite fond of Lexi. She has come to visit Lexi a few times here at the house, and Lexi gets very excited every time she sees her.
Their chemo rounds correlate loosely. Lexi gets chemo for 3 days every 18 days, and Sabrina gets it for 4 days every 17 days. They end up being in the hospital on the same days, and seeing Sabrina always brightens up Lexi's day.
I dial Jim's cell phone number, and he answers after two rings. "Hello"
"Hey Jim, is Sabrina doing anything today? Lexi really misses her, and we would just love to have her over. You're welcome too of course." I say politely into the phone.
"Umm. Hold on just a minute. I'll ask her." He says before I hear a small thud indicating that he set the phone down.
"She says that she would love to come visit her. When would you like us to come?" he asks curiously.
"Whenever you can make it. The sooner the better." I respond to the phone smiling at Lexi as she waits impatiently.
"Okay. We will be over in a half hour or so." He says nicely "See you soon." He closes before hanging up the phone.
"She's coming over." I mention to Lexi as she jumps up and down smiling. "yay!"
"Calm down sweet heart." I tell her laughing at how excited she got.
When the doorbell rings and I let Sabrina and Jim inside Lexi hugs Sabrina tightly. She drags the teenage girl by the hand up the stairs to her room, and I need to remind her to calm herself down.
"Would you like something to drink?" I ask Jim curiously and he responds simply with "No thanks."
"So how is her treatment going?" Jim asks me as I motion for him to take a seat on the couch.
"Pretty good. Doctor Pierce says that the number of cancerous cells is going down at a pretty good rate. We are hoping for remission after the next round. He says that due to the fact that her blood cell counts were already messed up they couldn't give her the proper induction, but next week when we go back she is getting a blood platelet transfusion and a higher dose of chemo." I tell him optimistically.
"That's good. It's happening pretty quickly. After Sabrina's first diagnosis she was on chemo for nearly a year before she was in remission. Science is moving along." He adds smiling.
"How is Sabrina's chemo going? Is she close to getting better?" I ask hoping for the best.
"Well, she really needs a bone marrow transplant to make sure that it doesn't come back, but at this point we can't find a match. She is still on the chemo, and slowly but surely she is getting better. We have an appointment next week to check on everything." He adds with a serious face.
"I hope that everything works out." I mention smiling sympathetically. "I'm sure it will." I add.
Cam walks in calling "I brought your pickles and your peanut butter you crazy!" jokingly not knowing that we have company.
My eyes grow wide at the fact that Jim now knows that I eat pickles and peanut butter, and that he can probably connect that with a pregnancy.
"Cam!" I yell nervously signaling for him to come in to the living room.
"Oh, hey Jim." Cam greets with an awkward smile before sitting down next to me and handing me a jar of dill pickles and peanut butter.
"Thanks…" I reply awkwardly looking up at Jim who is staring at us curiously.
"Pickles and peanut butter?" he asks turning his head sideways.
"I eat weird things…" I smile anxiously getting up and hoping that he doesn't put 2 and 2 together.
I walk back into the kitchen with the jars and put them away before walking back into the living room.
"Congratulations!" Jim says grinning. "You told him!" I glare at Cam.
"I guessed. .. Don't worry about it. I won't tell anyone." Jim adds reassuringly.
"It's still really early. We haven't even told Lexi yet." Cam mentions scratching his head.
"Oh… how far along are you?" he asks, and I pause and let Cam answer. "6 weeks"
Sabrina and Lexi come down the stairs and Lexi has a huge grin on her face. "Hey Munchy, are you havin fun?" Cam asks the little girl, and she nods her head excitedly…
Cam's POV (Next week at hospital)
Lexi is looking sicker than I have ever seen her, and it is really difficult for us to see her this way. Her cheeks are sunken in, her skin has a purplish green hue, and she just looks sick. She's back to sleeping a bunch, not eating at all, and acting miserable.
The intensity of her chemotherapy is definitely showing. This is a lot worse than the first round. Seeing Sabrina didn't even make her feel better. They have become so close these last couple weeks, and it is so great that Lexi has someone with cancer to hang out with.
We need to be careful about what we expose Lexi to, and we try to make sure that whenever someone comes over they are absolutely free of illness. Since Sabrina and Jim are on the same boat that we are, we can trust that they are fine to be around her.
Around 4 p.m. on the third day of Lexi's hardcore treatment Jim knocks on the door frame of the room looking sad.
"Hey Jim, what's wrong?" I ask him concerned walking out of the room and guiding him away from the door not wanting Lexi to see him upset.
"It's Sabrina… She's dying." the bearded man cries, and I give him a look of utter and complete shock.
"She was fine just last week. What happened?" I ask him sadly.
"It spread to her brain and her liver is failing." He sniffles looking like he's going to be sick. "She has maybe two weeks." He cries looking so upset that he might collapse right there.
"Oh my god!" I comment trying to wrap my head around the fact that a very sweet teenage girl's life is coming to a short end.
"I'm so sorry, Jim." I say as tears start to fall from my eyes. I embrace the man who has become a good friend in the last few weeks in a hug, and let him cry into my shoulder.
Under usual circumstances it might be weird to hug another man, but given the very solemn situation I think that it is appropriate. He cries miserably, and I can't imagine what he is going through.
"How is she handling it?" I ask him with my eyes red and full of sadness for the two of them.
"A lot better than me. She is so strong. It's not fair. Why can't it be me instead?" he utters out shakily.
I have no clue what to say to him at this point and no clue what would comfort him in a time like this. After about 10 minutes of listening to him sob, he excuses himself to go be with his daughter for the last days of her life.
I meander back to Lexi's room where she is sleeping, and Maya is sitting on the chair.
"What's the matter?" she asks me concerned obviously being able to see my tears.
"Sabrina is dying." I say sadly, and her eyes get wide. "What?" she asks seriously.
"She's dying. She has a couple weeks." I mention not knowing what else to say. Maya raises her hand to her mouth, and starts to breathe really quickly. "What happened?"
"Her leukemia spread to her brain, and her liver is failing." I say sadly, and my wife starts to hyperventilate. "Jim must be so upset… Sabrina must be so upset! Oh my god Cam, what if that happens to Lexi?" she cries breathing deeply and heavily.
"Maya, you need to calm down." I tell her stopping her pacing across the floor.
She breathes heavily a few more times before I put my hands on her shoulder and look into her eyes.
"Maya, Lexi is going to be fine. Calm down." I assure my distraught wife.
"How are we going to tell her?" Maya asks gesturing to our sleeping daughter.
"I don't know, M." I add not being able to process anything at this point.