A/N: Hello my dears! Here's a new chapter! Thank you so much to everyone who has decided to support me with a nomination for a Profiler's Choice Award! It honestly means a lot, you don't even know how amazing it is, y'all are so kind. Hope you enjoy! Thanks!

"Alright miss Isabel, let's take a look." Dr. Kershaw announced as he read over the report for the twelve year old's count report. JJ held her breath, and hoped that her daughter would be cleared to go for her next round of chemotherapy. 'The sooner we continue the sooner this whole thing is over.' She thought, trying to read the expression on the oncologist's face.

"Hm…there's not much change from before your last round…I think you could use a whole blood transfusion though. Also, if there's little to no improvement again after this round, we may have to adjust your treatment." He paused, skimming over the report once again, before finally glancing at his patient and her mother,

"Nothing to worry about, we're just going to have to keep an eye on your stats and counts, I'll order a full lab workup before we discharge you, but for now you're all set to go for your next round as soon as you get that transfusion."

JJ breathed a sigh of relief, choosing to ignore the nagging feeling that had stemmed from Dr. Kershaw's comment on the lack of progress in her daughter's condition.

"That's awesome!" Isabel chirped, smiling at the doctor and then her mother.

Dr. Kershaw simply smiled at her, then turned to JJ,

"Mrs. Lamontagne, may I speak to you for a minute?"

JJ felt a lump form in her throat, but smiled at her daughter,

"I'll be right back sweetie."

She followed the doctor into the hallway, her heart pounding as she readied herself for bad news. Dr. Kershaw cleared his throat, and looked into her eyes,

"Alright, it's nothing to worry about. As you can probably guess, after the first round of chemo, we never expect any drastic changes, but typically there is a slight improvement, or slight regression, and that helps us figure out whether the treatment plan we've created can continue as is or if it needs to be adjusted. In Isabel's case, some things are improving, such as her iron levels and the amount of red blood cells she has, but other things are getting worse, and in her case, that's her white blood cell count and her platelet count. Now, the platelet count is expected with chemotherapy, and her's is at a level where a simple whole blood transfusion will fix it. My concern lies with the white blood cell count, if that number continues to rise, it means Isabel's cancer is getting worse, and she'll start requiring more intense care. I don't want you to worry, it isn't a big deal at the moment, just be aware. Do you have any questions?"

JJ took a moment, trying her best to follow his instructions of staying calm,

"What will happen if…if her condition gets worse? If…her cancer progresses?"

Dr. Kershaw relaxed his body, obviously trying to keep JJ calm,

"She'll be declared as a stage three patient, and with that will come more frequent blood transfusions, more aggressive chemo, and possibly a bone marrow transplant."

JJ nodded,

"Okay. Thank you, for everything."

Dr. Kershaw took her hand and gave her a calming expression,

"Just have a little faith, she'll get through this."

Xx

After much convincing from Isabel that she could handle sitting for a blood transfusion alone, JJ headed to the parents' lounge to clear her head. As she walked in, she was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a familiar face,

"Lee-Ann!"

The taller woman turned and smiled at JJ,

"Jennifer! Hey, how are you?"

"Okay, I guess. Coping."

Lee nodded, showing JJ her understanding,

"And Isabel? How's she been? She should be starting her next chemo round, right?"

"She's…doing alright. Well, actually no, she's been feeling really crappy. This whole thing has been really hard on her, and her condition hasn't improved at all…in fact, we might have to change her treatment if this next chemo round doesn't change anything. Some of her blood levels are better, but her white blood cell count is getting worse, and if it continues she'll be in the next stage of her cancer. So I'm just sitting here hoping that we aren't pumping her full of chemicals for nothing."

Lee's eyes widened,

"I'm so sorry, I know it's scary. The hardest thing for Chloe was being away from school, not seeing her friends. Also, she can't walk by herself anymore. She should be able to in the new year, but that's months away. It was hard for me to see my little girl who loved to dance and do gymnastics be barely able to move."

JJ's heart broke, and suddenly became thankful that-while she was weak and needed help getting around-Isabel could move fairly well.

"For Isabel, she's been having a rough time with her image. She's never been very self-confident, and losing her hair and being covered in bruises and losing all this weight hasn't been helping. My husband and I have told her that it doesn't matter what she looks like, and she knows that, but I think it's scary for her to be able to see what this disease is doing to her, especially so early on in treatment."

Lee sighed as she remembered her own daughter feeling the same way as she lost control of her body, and how she could do nothing but watch.

"And you hate that you can't do anything."

JJ nodded,

"Yeah. Not to mention I have a three year old son who's whole life is changing, and all I want is to protect him from all this confusion and change. Do you have any other kids?"

Lee nodded,

"An eight year old boy, Josh. He didn't really understand either. He understood what cancer was, and that his sister had it, but he never really knew everything it entailed."

JJ took a deep breath,

"This whole thing has been hard, I'm just glad my husband's as good to us as he is, I don't know what I'd do without him."

"I second that, I hate that I have to be away from Josh to be with Chloe, but I know my husband is a great dad and I couldn't be more thankful."

JJ smiled, then looked at the clock. 'Isabel probably needs me.'

"I'm sorry, I think I have to go."

Lee smiled back at her,

"It's fine, go on. I'll send Chloe over later, I'm sure Isabel could use a friend right now."

JJ gave the taller woman a gentle squeeze on the arm, and headed back to her daughter's room.