Always There

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, but am grateful to JE for inventing them for us to play with. Unlike JE, I am not making any money from them either

A/N: Wow! I have have been genuinely and sincerely surprised at the tremendous support from you guys! Thank you so much. Whether you reviewed, followed, favourited or just read THANK YOU! If I haven't replied to you personally, I apologise. I have been trying to. The three guests that left reviews – thank you so much too . So here's another chapter which won't complete it, so Margaret, you did make me think and because I can't write 'brief' there may be a couple to follow this one. It's kind of taken on a life of its own! Hope you all enjoy! xx

Chapter 2

Support

It was the constant 'beep, beep, beep' had been driving her insane. Yes, initially it had been a comfort as it told her that her beloved Grandma was still alive. But then somehow it had changed. It had become like a Chinese water torture, the tone of it gradually grating, seeming to get louder and louder until she felt as though she couldn't take it anymore. Thankfully, Anne, the older of the regular night nurses must have realized that Steph was losing it and had calmly told her that it wasn't a problem and that she could turn the sound off. The small flashing light, that Steph could deal with.

Now though, the problem was the silence. She had been at this hospital, in this room with Edna for a week now. After three nights of sleeping in a chair, a surprisingly comfortable folding bed had arrived and even more surprising were the good quality sheets that had come with it. Obviously the hospital must have been used to making provision for relatives of the more critical patients, so now at least Steph could grab a few hours proper sleep. Happily, keeping clean hadn't been a problem thanks to the attached bathroom and she was grateful for the nice shower gel and shampoo that she had found in there rather than the regulation hospital soap.

Of course Frank and Helen visited every day and had always bought enough food with them to feed an army. She hadn't thought too much about the Fresh Boston Crèmes that had appeared for breakfast in the mornings though.

But the silence. She didn't want to put the tv on in case she disturbed Edna but then she didn't want to listen to her iPod in case Edna woke and she didn't hear her. And it was too dark at night to read, so all she could do was sit. Sit and think. Not good. She was so, so tired. That was until on the fourth night, Anne came in again, this time with a smart black leather case. She gave it to Steph with a smile, explaining that it was one of those electronic tablet gizmos. It was preloaded with books and movies. As Steph began to protest, Anne interrupted to show her that she didn't need an external light, as it was backlit with its own, adjustable background. She went on to say that it was possible to listen to the movies with just one earplug so that she wouldn't disturb her grandma but she'd still be able to hear her.

It had been a godsend for Steph, especially when she found it had Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Little Women and some others of her favourite titles, as well as Ghostbusters and The Notebook on the movie list. Grateful didn't even come close. Even so, there were times when it was just – hard. Worry and fear were exhausting. Thankfully Edna's pneumonia was responding to the antibiotics, but she was elderly and so took her time to heal. The canker in her lungs, of course, didn't help. Now though, there was at least was a ray of hope where there had been none.

In spite of everything there was only so much you could read, so many movies you could watch. Late at night, there was still time to think. A small smile crossed Steph's lips. Her favourite thoughts, the ones that kept her going, were of Ranger.

He had been true to his word. Every morning he would text her asking if she needed anything. He'd call her during the day just letting her talk. And once his day had finished, he came to see her, sometimes only briefly, but it didn't matter. That was the best part of her day. He had said to her that he'd be there for her and he had been as good as his word. She would have expected nothing less. They would sit and talk and she found herself telling him everything.

"Stephie?" a raspy voice called out.

Steph jumped up. "Grandma? Hi. How you feeling?"

Edna smacked her dry lips together. "Honestly? My mouth feels like the bottom of a budgie's cage. And where's my darned teeth?"

Steph stifled a sob with a giggle. "Ok, well let me just get the nurse and I'll see if we can get you something."

Ten minutes later Edna was sat up in bed having had a drink and Anne explained to her a bit about what had happened. Edna listened and nodded, but said nothing.

"Right, I'll give you fifteen minutes," said Anne sternly. "Fifteen. That's all. I'll be back then to do my next observations and remember, you still need to rest. The doctor will be here tomorrow to explain everything to you." Getting another nod from Edna, Anne patted her hand and left the room.

Steph looked at her grandmother's face. Yes she was thin – even more so now – and yes she was saggy and pale, but at this point Steph had never her seen her look more wonderful.

Edna looked up and held Steph's hand.

"I know you know," she said quietly.

"Know what Grandma?"

"About the cancer. I know."

Steph sucked in a breath. "But… but…. How? I mean, how could you? The doctors here ran tests….."

Edna smiled sadly. "My 'flu vaccine. I had a cough and they wouldn't give it to me. I went back a few more times, still had the cough so they sent me for some tests. Probably nothing they said, but best to be sure. And then they told me. The big C. I was just waiting to find out what my options were when I got sick."

Steph still looked shocked, but managed to speak. "Well it's looking good. I mean you responded well to the treatment so far," she said with a smile.

"Well, the pneumonia is responding. The cancer, well that's another thing altogether.."

"We don't have to talk about that now…"

"Stephanie, stop it. We do have to talk about it," Edna started, her tone soft but pleading. "Baby girl, listen to me. This isn't going to go away no matter how much we want it to. We have to face up to it."

"But I don't want to," whispered Steph, fat tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Oh shhh there, I know. Come here," uttered Edna, reaching out to her baby grand daughter.

Steph went to her grandma and sat on the side of her bed so that Edna could get the arm without the IV in it around her, stroking her hair until she slept.

ooOoo

The next day, Dr Olsen, the oncologist visited Edna. Steph had risen to go but Edna held her back, wishing her to stay. Dr Olsen carefully explained that Edna's cancer was advanced – too advanced – but that there were a few things they could do that may help. The first option was some aggressive chemotherapy. Six weeks worth. Yes it wouldn't be at all pleasant but it could contain and may even shrink the growths a little. The problem was that Edna would have to undergo this every six weeks, meaning six weeks on, six weeks off.

"No," stated Edna firmly. Dr Olsen smiled and nodded in understanding.

"Grandma! Why not?" blurted Steph. "He said the treatment would contain and shrink the growths."

"No, baby girl, he said it COULD contain and MAY shrink the growths."

"But surely if there's a chance you should take it!" Steph shot back, panic rising in her voice. "Are you worried about losing your hair? Is that it? Well don't. We'll get you a great wig. You could have a different colour and style every day, I'll bet…."

"Stephanie," interrupted Edna placing her hand gently over her grand daughter's. "Listen to what the man said. Six weeks of horrible treatment to gain six weeks and then go through it all over again. No, Stephanie. I don't want that."

Steph went to say something but the look on the older woman's face stopped her.

"Enough now, Stephanie. Let's give Dr Olsen a chance to speak."

"Well, a short course of radiotherapy may contain the growths a little," he paused and gave Steph a sympathetic look. "It may give you more time to be with your family. I can't promise anything, but it may be worth a try. And it's a lot less aggressive than chemo. Have a little think about it, discuss it with your family if you want to and let me know. We also have some specialist nurses here, should you or your family, wish to talk to someone else about any of this. "

Edna nodded and then pulled herself up straight, determination in her eyes. "Right, now let's get to the real question. How long have I got?"

Steph startled. "I don't want to know," she said, desperation in her voice.

"I'm sorry baby girl, but I do," replied Edna. "If my time is up, I want to have an idea when so I can get my affairs in order and plan my last days as I want them. So doc, how long?"

"Well, it's difficult to say.." he started.

"Don't give me that," countered Edna. "You're the doctor, you see this every day. Give me the ball park figure."

Dr Olsen smiled. "Ok Edna, here's the deal. I really can't be exact. But what I can say is that, in my experience I would estimate you have around three months left."

Tears of shock trickled down Steph's face. Three months. That was nothing. What was she going to do? At that moment, the door opened and Helen and Frank walked in. Seeing the scene in front of them they froze. Steph could take it no more and grabbing her coat ran from the room. Helen went to follow her.

"Leave her be Helen. She'll be back," said Edna. "She just needs a bit of time."

ooOoo

She didn't know how long she'd been sitting in the park when she felt the tingle on the back of her neck. The tears had long dried up and she was cold, but somehow she couldn't move.

He sat down beside her, just far enough away to not be touching her. He didn't know if she'd want that.

"Been sitting here a long time Babe. You must be cold – and hungry?" he started quietly.

She shrugged silently, the numbness of the situation as well as the cold, preventing any other response.

Ranger was a man who could deal with silence. "So, how about I get you out of the cold and buy you a meatball sub?"

The beautiful blue eyes barely even flickered. They sat there in silence comfortable with each other. He would give her time. She would talk when she was ready.

"She's refusing treatment. I get why, I do, but Ranger I'm so angry. I'm angry at her, at the disease. I have no right to be, but I am. And I'm ashamed of myself. Three months! She has three months at best. And I ran out. My grand mother has just been told that she has three months to live and I ran out. What kind of person does that make me?"

Ranger wrapped his arm around her and drew her close. "It makes you one who loves, who is hurt. It makes you feel hopeless and helpless – and it's something that you can't run away from, can't change."

Ranger brushed a loose curl away from her face. She buried her head in the crook of his neck.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered.

"Only you can decide that, but the way I see it, you have two choices. Either pretend it isn't happening and carry on as normal: or spend as much time as you can with Edna and make sure she's as comfortable and as happy as she can be while she is here."

They sat there quietly for a little while longer before Steph replied.

"Thanks Batman."