There were only two more days left until Lita's surgery. It had been a long week or so since she found out about the tumor and the surgery. She got everything settled down at work with her boss telling her she had her job waiting for her when she came back. Well, it's not like her boss could fire her in the first place, but her boss was pretty nice about it all. She also told Trish because she was pretty close friends with her fellow nurse although their friendship was nowhere on the level of her and Dawn's friendship, but they were still pretty great friends. Trish told her not to hesitate if she ever needed anything. John told her that too when she told him what was going on. He was always there for her and they were pretty great friends so she didn't feel like she could leave him hanging out in the dark like that. Plus he sensed something was bothering her when she dropped Ethan off at school one day and he asked her about it and she told him.

The past week or so had been spent at two more doctors appointment which were more of meetings with the doctor about the surgery and not any new information health wise. She was thankful Adam was with her every moment. She needed someone because she knew she wouldn't be able to handle it alone. And Adam seemed to be the perfect person for the job because he was great help with whatever she needed. He helped her feel better about the surgery and calmed her down when she was totally freaking out.

She called her insurance company and found out they wouldn't be paying for the surgery in whole. It wasn't like she expected that. At least they would be paying for 75% of the whole bill no matter what it was. It would include the hospital stay, the surgery, operation room fees, surgeon fees, fees for any doctors that came to see her, among others that she didn't even think about. Yup, 25% was still a whole lot of money that would be coming out of her pockets. And she wouldn't even be able to work for like two months. And even when she was able to work, it would only be on a part time basis until another couple of months before she could be full time again. She was trying not to stress about that, but just because she was having surgery and wouldn't be working for a while didn't mean her other bills wouldn't pile on. It wasn't like she didn't have a good career, but it was still going to set her back for a while. It was a good thing she knew how to handle money. She just hoped she didn't have to dig into the money her mom left her because she was saving that for Ethan's college fund.

She still hadn't told Dawn or Ethan anything about the problem. She tried telling Dawn a couple of days earlier, but the brunette had her own news to share with the redhead: She was pregnant. Lita didn't know how she could tell the pregnant woman about her health condition after that bombshell. But now it was the Saturday before the surgery and she knew she couldn't hide this from Dawn any longer.

The two friends were currently at a park after they spent most of the day shopping at the mall after they watched a movie. Breaking Dawn Part 2 to be more specific. The movie had been out for a month now and Lita was surprised it took Dawn that long to drag her to watch it with her. Lita was just happy that was the last of theTwilight movies and Dawn wouldn't be dragging her to any more of those. But that didn't mean she was safe from being dragged around to some other movies she most likely wouldn't watch if it weren't for her friend.

"It wasn't that bad," Dawn continued their little argument about the movie. That happened after the last four movies as well. Dawn always expressed her love for the movie and Lita always expressed dislike. She actually kind of sort of liked the first one, but the other movies seemed to suck.

"You're right. It wasn't that bad. It wasn't that bad because the ending meant that I don't have to watch anymore of those crappy movies with you." Dawn rolled her eyes as Lita continued. "I mean, come on. Jacob, who was at one point in love with Bella, imprints on her daughter! Who by the way is half vampire half human and was like seven years or something in like week. It was stupid."

"You laughed."

"Because I found it stupid."

Dawn rolled her eyes once again."Whatever."

It was quiet for a while before Lita finally spoke up, thinking it was about time she told Dawn the truth."Um, I have to tell you something."

"Oh my God! I knew it! You and Adam are totally back together!" Dawn was a bit too excited about that if you asked Lita who looked up at her friend in shock.

"Um what? Why would... why did you just jump to that conclusion?"

"You two have been spending a lot of time together lately. You two left Ethan at my house like more than once this past week or so while doing... well, I don't know what you've been doing, but you've been doing it together." She gasped."Oh my God! You've been hooking up!"

Lita burst into laughter. She was in need of a good laugh lately and thankfully she could always count on Dawn for that even if it was unintentional on behalf of the brunette. She was actually being serious. "You're really crazy."

"You totally are! Don't lie to me!" That made Lita laugh even more. Why was Dawn so adamant about it and why was she getting overly excited about it all?

"Dawnie," Lita finally calmed down, "No. We're not back together. That's never going to happen." Dawn snorted, Lita ignored her and continued. "We're not hooking up. That would not be good. I mean it almost..." That's when she tried not to wince, but failed and stopped herself when she realized she was about to reveal what happened two weeks ago. But unfortunately for her, she was too late because Dawn caught what she just said.

"It almost what?" Dawn asked surprised and happy. "It almost happened? Oh my God. You slut!"

"No."

"Shut up! Don't lie! It totally almost happened! You just said it yourself! Don't take it back now! And that look on your face totally gave it away."

"What look on my face?"

"The look when you realized you said something you didn't want to say. So who, what, when, where, and why?"

"No one, nothing, never, nowhere, and didn't happen."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Adam, kissing, don't know, don't know, and cause you both still have the hots for one another."

It was Lita's turn to roll her eyes this time. "Shut up." She paused for a moment before speaking up again. "Okay. Don't freak out, but yes, we kissed."

"Oh my God! I knew it!" Dawn exclaimed and Lita was regretting confirming her friends thoughts.

"I said don't freak out.'

Dawn ignored her and continued to get excited. "So you two are getting back together?!"

"Told you it's never going to happen, so no."

Dawn calmed down considerably. "Okay. Well, give me the deets."

"We kissed. That's all there is to it."

"No. Tell me what happened. Like why did it happen? What were you two doing before it happened?"

"You're so nosy."

"Duh. Spill."

Lita decided she would let her friend have this because she was about to tell her some upsetting news soon. "Alright. Well, he came over one day like two weeks ago. It was before noon. John was there-"

"What?" Dawn interrupted Lita. "John? Why was he there?"

"My car broke down and I called him up and asked him to take me home."

"Where did you go that morning?"

Lita couldn't help it when a smile formed on her face. She just knew how Dawn was going to overreact when she found out John slept over. "It happened the night before."

Dawn's eyes widened and jaw fell in shock which caused Lita to laugh. "He spent the night at your house?" Lita nodded. She was too busy laughing to say anything. "You little whore! First you sleep with John and then you go off and make out with Adam."

Lita stopped laughing and sent a scowl Dawn's way. "First of all, I did not sleep with John. Thank you very much. He's just a friend. All we did was watch a movie and talk. He slept on the couch and I slept on my bed."

"How were you in your apartment alone with him and not jump him especially with that dry spell of yours. And how that man looks. He is a fine looking specimen."

Lita shook her head. "You're stupid. Like I just said, he's a friend. Just a friend."

"Have you ever heard of 'friends with benefits'?" Lita rolled her eyes at that but said nothing. "I bet he's really good in bed too."

"You do remember you're married, right?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "I don't want him. I'm just saying, you could probably use someone like that. Get them benefits." Lita couldn't help it but laughed at her friend once again, who joined her this time. "Alright so tell me about what happened with you and Adam."

Lita sighed and did as Dawn asked. She told her about their argument and how she spilled the beans about the private investigator. She told her how mad Adam got and what happened afterwards.

"Wow. I love Ethan, but damn that little boy."

"Shut up."

"So what happened when you and Adam saw one another after that?"

Lita hesitated a bit but answered Dawn's question. "Um. He wanted to talk about it, but I said no. I um... I kind of sort of possibly might have told him that um... I was desperate-"

"You bitch."

"-and it was a mistake."

"You slutty whorey bitch."

Lita blinked before she let out a small laugh. "That's new."

"You told him you were desperate and it was a mistake?" Lita nodded in confirmation which earned her a light punch to the arm. "Why the hell would you do that?!"

"Because I was desperate and it was a mistake."

"Liar. You're just a slutty lying liar who lies."

"Okay, first, I would appreciate it if you would stop calling me a slut. And second, it was a mistake. I... That can never happen."

She hated the sympathetic look she was receiving from Dawn. "Just admit that you love him. I know he hurt you, but... I shouldn't even say this much. But I promise you, if you actually hear him out and listen to why he left, you'll be able to forgive him."

Lita shook her head. "No I won't. Because it hurt when he left. It hurt when he kept ignoring me. It hurt when... It just hurt. All of it hurt. It doesn't even matter anymore why he left. If there was a good reason for it, then he should have told me."

Dawn nodded in agreement. She never understood why Adam couldn't tell Lita the truth before he left. "So what's going on with you two? After that awkwardness, you would think you would back away from him, but you two have been spending a lot of time together lately."

Lita looked away and closed her eyes before she replied. "He's just being a good friend. Being there for me when I really need someone."

"When you need someone?" Dawn asked with confusion present on her face and in her voice. What do you mean? What's wrong? What's going on?"

Lita took a deep breath before opening her eyes again and looking back up at the woman next to her. She could already feel her eyes getting teary before she even said anything. "I have a brain tumor." That came out in a whisper but Dawn still heard it which caused her to gasp in shock "It's not cancerous," Lita quickly added. She thought that was important to add. "So it's not that bad."

"But it still is?" The brunette finally gained the courage to say something with her own eyes getting watery to match those of the redheads.

Lita bit her lower lip out of nervousness before she spoke up. "A cancerous tumor would be worse. But yes, it's still bad because it's in my brain." She then continued to tell Dawn every thing that the doctor told her and Adam. By the time Lita finished, both of their faces were stained with tears.

"Why are you just telling me now if your surgery is on Monday?" Dawn asked through sobs.

"I wanted to tell you earlier," Lita began to explain as she wiped at her tears, "but you told me you were pregnant so I didn't want to ruin that for you."

Dawn shook her head. "That shouldn't matter. You should have told me something. I'm your best friend. I should have been there for you. You were alone."

Lita shook her head. "No. I told you I have Adam. He's been great support for me lately. He's been great help."

"That's good. I'm really happy you're letting him help you." Dawn wiped at her tears and continued. "I don't want to lose you." She broke into tears once again.

Lita couldn't help it as she started to cry all over again as well. "Nothing is going to happen to me." She was still afraid that something would happen to her during surgery, but she felt a little better after talking to Dr. Bailey and Adam more.

"It's surgery Li. Anything could happen during any type of surgery. This is brain surgery. That's a big deal. I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you. You're not my best friend, you're my sister." Lita scooted a bit closer to Dawn on the bench they were sitting at and hugged her with Dawn doing the same. "I came close to losing you once, I don't want that to happen again."

"That was a different situation. Nothing is going to happen to me."

"Two weeks Li. Two weeks. Those two weeks were so miserable." Lita didn't say anything this time. Dawn pulled away from her friend before speaking. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't even be doing this. I should be making you feel better, but you're doing that instead."

Lita shook her head. "It's okay. I... I'm just going to think positive."

The two friends wiped at their faces yet again when they finally stopped crying.

"Christian and I will be there for whatever you need. You know we're always there for you."

"You always have been. Thank you."

"I love you, Lili."

Lita smiled at her friend who returned the gesture. "I love you too, Dawnie."

It was quiet for a moment before Dawn decided to ask Lita something. "How are you going to tell Ethan?"

"I don't know. I just... I can't cry in front of him because I know that will scare him. I really don't think he's going to be able to understand anything, but if I cry in front of him, then I know he'll be scared."

Dawn nodded. "Good luck with that. Um... does Adam know about those two weeks?"

Lita shook her head. "I never told him. It never came up." Dawn simply nodded. Little did she know, he was about to find out pretty soon.

"Wow," was all Christian was able say at the moment when Adam told him about Lita's surgery. Just like the two women, the two men were also spending some time together, but they also had the kids with them. They were too preoccupied with drawing.

"What if something happens to her?" This was the first time Adam was expressing how he really felt. He knew the redhead had every right to be scared and nervous, but he was scared too even though he didn't tell her that. He wouldn't even let her sense how he really felt. He was trying to be strong for her. He didn't really believe something was going to happen to her during surgery, but it still frightened him. Adam looked away from his friend when he couldn't stop thinking about the negative things that could occur. "What if they aren't able to remove the tumor completely? What if radiation doesn't help afterwards if it's needed? What if it turns cancerous?"

"And what if none of that happens? What if the surgery is successful? What if everything turns out to be good? You can't think about the negatives, you have to think about the positives as well."

Adam sighed, finally looking back up at his friend. "I know. I just can't help thinking about the negatives. I mean, I really don't think something horrible will happen to her, but it can. And I... I already lost five years without her and I know she hasn't forgiven me because she doesn't even know anything, but I don't want to lose her again. In some sort of weird way, she's here and I still have her even though I don't. It makes sense to me."

"Dude, you have to tell her. It's about time you told her the truth. You're still very much in love with her."

Adam shook his head. "I can't do that now. She already has enough to worry about, I can't tell her. Not now."

"Okay, but... what if the negatives actually happen? What if something horrible does happen. Won't you regret not telling her the truth? Won't you regret not telling her that you still love her when you had the chance?"

"She... she doesn't deserve it. She's already stressed out. I don't want to add to it."

"Okay, well I don't think anything will happen to her. She is pretty strong. It's not like she hasn't been through something like this before. Sure it wasn't surgery, but it was still pretty terrible and she made it."

"What do you mean?" Adam asked confused.

"You know, what happened when Ethan was born."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh," Christian finally realized how confused Adam was. "You don't know? She never told you?"

He shook his head. "I guess not. I don't have a clue what you're talking about. What happened when Ethan was born?"

"It probably isn't my place to tell you anything, but um... remember how I told you her pregnancy wasn't all smooth sailing?" Adam nodded and Christian continued. "Well, um. one day her and Dawn were hanging out at the house. Lita went to get some water from the kitchen, she took forever so Dawn went to go check up on her." He shook his head when he thought about what his wife found. "She... She found Lita passed out on the ground in a pool of her own blood."

Not surprisingly, Adam was shocked. "How? Why?"

"Well, early on in her pregnancy, she found out she had a condition called placenta previa which is when the placenta covers the um... the cervix. Her doctor told her it was dangerous for her to continue on with the pregnancy. She told her their was a great chance she wouldn't be able to make it if she went through with the pregnancy. She told her there was a possibility that the baby still wouldn't be safe either." He paused for a moment before he continued. "She um... suggested Li to uh... get an abortion."

"But she didn't. I mean Ethan is here."

"Right. So she was rushed to the hospital. The doctors did an emergency C section and Ethan was born. He was relatively healthy given the surrounding circumstances. He was lucky, but she wasn't that lucky."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"She slipped into a coma and didn't wake up until two weeks later." Now it was Adam's time to be speechless for a moment. "Thankfully she was okay and nothing horrible happened to her while she was unconscious."

"Why didn't she tell me that?"

Christian shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it never came up. I don't know. But, like I said, she's pretty strong. She'll get through it."

Adam sighed. "I hope so."

Later that night, Lita finally decided she was going to tell Ethan what was going on. Telling Dawn had been very emotional and she had expected that. She just hoped she wouldn't start crying in front of Ethan. He was a little kid, he probably wouldn't be able to understand much of what was actually happening. But if she started crying in front of him, then he would get upset and scared and she wasn't going to let that happen. Adam offered to be there, but she said she was okay doing it alone.

"Ethan sweetie," she began to say as she moved over to the living room sitting on the couch, "mommy has to talk to you about something. Can you sit with me for a couple of minutes?"

"Okay." Ethan put down the cars he was playing with and sat down on the couch next to her.

Ethan stared at her, waiting patiently for her to speak up. It took her a while to say the words, but she was finally able to have them leave her mouth. "I'm sick."

"What happened mommy? Your tummy hurts? My tummy hurts when I'm sick."

She shook her head. "No sweetie. My head hurts."

He was confused. "So you're sick because your head hurts?"

Lita nodded. "Yes sweetie."

"Why does your head hurt?"

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. You will not show weakness around him. You will not scare him. "Well, there's something in there that shouldn't be there."

"What is it? How did it get in there?"

"I don't know, but sometimes that happens."

"Are you going to get it out?" She nodded. "How do you get it out?"

"The doctor who is going to make me feel better is going to get it out."

"How?"

What am I supposed to say? "Well-" she started to say something before Ethan interjected.

"How is the doctor going to get inside your head?" His eyes widened. "Is he going to open your head?"

"Yes," she said cautiously.

He grinned. "Cool! Can I see what's in there?"

She couldn't help but laugh and hugged him for a moment. "No baby."

"Why not?"

"Because no one other than the doctor and nurses are allowed to be in the room."

"Can you tell someone to take a picture so I can see?"

She smiled at him. She was happy he wasn't getting scared. She wasn't expecting for him to get scared unless she cried in front of him because she didn't think he was fully able to understand what was even going on in the first place. "I can ask."

"But you're going to get all fixed and be okay, right mommy?"

I hope so. "Yes."

He smiled at her. "Good."

Thanks for reading. Thanks for the reviews. Hope you liked the chapter.

Parts of this chapter were inspired by One Tree Hill. I also borrowed my favorite line from my favorite fictional character, Brooke Davis, 'You're just a slutty lying liar who lies.'