Authors Note:
Don't worry, we're just getting to the good stuff! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think and leave a review if you'd like! :)
Chapter Fifty Five
Jacqueline POV:
"Mr. and Mrs. Lawson?" I heard and I woke up to see the doctor standing in Rosa's room.
"Hi." I said as I stood up, and hit Tucker. "Sorry." I said and he laughed.
"Not a problem. I understand you've had an emotional night." He said and I nodded. "I'd like to go over Rosalind's chemo schedule." He said and Tucker and I nodded. "We'd like to have to get chemo once a week. Whatever day works best for you two we can arrange, but we'd like to start this week possibly." He said.
"We can really do any day." Tucker said. "The sooner we start the better." He said and I nodded in agreement.
"How about we start the chemo tomorrow, and see how she reacts with it?" He said.
"Sounds good." I said and he nodded. "Can you tell us the chances of her beating this doctor?" I asked.
"She's in the early stages." He explained. "So she has a higher chance than someone who is diagnosed in later stages."
"Will she die?" I flat out asked him.
"I can't definitively say yes or no." He said. "The medicine is a huge part, but also her will to fight is a huge part as well." He explained. "Those who don't have the will to live, and who don't fight every single day don't live as long."
"Thank you doctor." I said and he nodded before walking out. I looked over at my little girl and than looked back to Tucker.
"She'll fight babe." Tucker said and I took a deep breath. "Rosa has never been one to give up."
"I hope you're right Tuck." I said and he pulled me into a hug. I couldn't imagine life without Rosa, and I didn't want too.
Time Jump – Two Months Later
Clary POV:
Things have been strained around the facility these days. Rosa has been getting treatment weakly and just feels incredibly weak and sick all the time. More often than not Jacqueline and Tucker ask us to watch Nora so that she doesn't have to watch Rosa go through it, but we know Nora wants to be there for Rosa. She knows she's struggling and all she wants to do is help. It was a particularly hard when Tucker and Jacqueline would fight. It was hard to see something coming between them when I knew just how much they loved each other. I couldn't even imagine what they must be feeling, and it sucked that nobody could truly comfort them. Jace and I were lying in bed when we heard a knock on the door. Jace and I were incredibly confused, but got out of bed and headed towards the front door. When we opened it, there stood Tucker, looking incredibly upset.
"Can I stay here for a few days?" He asked and I nodded before letting him inside.
"Can we get you anything to drink?" I asked.
"Coffee would be great." He said and I nodded. I went into the kitchen and made him a cup. When I came back to the living room I handed it to him. "Thank you."
"What happened Tuck?" Jace asked.
"Jack and I got into a fight." Tucker said. "But this one was worse than any other fight we've ever had."
"What was the fight about?" I asked.
"Jack thinks I spend too much time working and not enough time with Rosa." Tucker said. "I try to spend as much time as I possibly can with Rosa, but we both can't just stop working cold turkey." He explained. "I know everyone is willing to help with the medical bills, but it's our responsibility." He said. "I can't keep doing this." He said. "I can't keep fighting with her. It's tearing our marriage apart."
"Did you come here willingly?" Jace asked.
"No. She kicked me out." Tucker said. "She told me that once I start caring about our daughter again I can come back."
"I can't believe she would say that to you." I said.
"We're both incredibly stressed, and I get that she's upset, and frustrated, and watching Rosa go through this is incredibly hard, but I'm struggling too." Tucker said.
"I know." Jace said. "Everyone can see it."
"I just can't fight with her anymore, and if me being out of the house cuts down on the fights, I'm willing to do that." Tucker said.
"You can either stay in Pat's old room, or you can crash with Nora in Jack's old room." Jace said.
"I think I just need to cuddle with my baby for a few nights." Tucker said and I smiled and nodded.
"You're welcome to stay here as long as you want Tucker." I said and he nodded.
"Thanks guys." He said and Jace and I nodded. We made our way upstairs and Tucker went into Jacqueline's old room and Jace and I made our way to our room. We got back into bed and I curled up against him.
"We need to sit Jack down and talk to her." Jace said after a moment.
"Why?" I asked.
"Cause she can't keep kicking Tucker out." Jace said. "I can't imagine what they are going through, but I know if it were us, the last thing I would ever do is tell you that you didn't care enough, or that you couldn't come back to the house until you cared more." Jace said. "Jack is out of line, and she needs to know that."
"I know what you mean. You'd be the first person I'd lean on for support if we were in their situation. I can't imagine pushing you away." I said and Jace kissed my head.
"We'll talk to her tomorrow." Jace said. "I'm scared that if they don't work it out, Rosa isn't going to be the only problem they face."
"You think they'd consider divorce?" I asked shocked.
"There is only so much one person can take." Jace said. "Rosa getting sick was the worst thing that ever happened to them, and now Jack is pushing all the blame onto Tucker. I don't know about you, but there would only be so much of that I could take until I snapped."
"I can't imagine them falling apart though." I said and Jace sighed.
"They're already falling apart babe." He said and I took a deep breath. Jace was right. Who knew how far Jacqueline could push Tucker before he couldn't take it anymore. I certainly didn't want to find out, and I didn't want to see my daughters marriage fall apart because she's too stubborn to realize that Tucker is doing the best he can in a terrible situation.
Jacqueline POV:
After Tucker left I went upstairs to spend time with Rosa. It bothered me so much that he didn't spend as much time with her as I did. I mean our daughter is sick and he can't stop throwing himself into work long enough to just sit and hold her. When I walked into her room she was lying in bed. Her hair had fallen out a couple weeks ago, and she liked this hat that Aunt Izzy bought her, and she wore it everywhere. I closed the door and made my way over to the bed and slid in next to her. I thought she was sleeping but she started talking.
"Why do you and daddy always have to fight?" She asked and I sighed.
"Your daddy and I aren't on the same page when it comes to you." I said as I rubbed her cheek.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"I think daddy should spend more time with you, but he is more focused on work, and I don't like that." I said honestly. The girls might be young, but they are pretty smart, and very perceptive.
"Daddy spend a lot of time with me." She said and I was confused.
"No he doesn't baby." I said.
"Yes he does." Rosa said. "Every morning he comes in here and sits with me and we talk about how his day was and what he's going to do that day and stuff." She said.
"When does this happen baby?" I asked really confused.
"Really early in the morning." She said. "I get really sick in the middle of the night, and daddy comes in and sits with me until I fall back asleep. Sometimes it doesn't take long at all, but other times I'm awake until the sun comes up."
"And daddy stays up with you the whole time?" I asked.
"Yup. Sometimes he reads to me, or he shows me old videos of you guys competing or Nanna and Pop-Pop competing." She says with a smile.
"What does Nora do during this time?" I ask knowing that they share a room.
"If she wakes up she joins us, but if she's sleeping daddy just lets her sleep. He doesn't want to disturb her." Rosa explained. I had no idea Tucker did that.
"How come you or daddy never told me that?" I asked.
"Cause it was our own special daddy daughter time." Rosa said. "I spend all day with you and Nora, and I love it, but when it's just daddy and I, it's really special." Rosa said. She always was a daddy's girl, and I couldn't believe that Tucker had been doing that with her all this time.
"You should sleep baby. You have chemo in the morning." I said and she nodded.
"Will daddy be there?" She asked.
"Of course he will. He's never missed an appointment yet." I said and she smiled.
"I love you mommy." She said.
"I love you too Rosalind." I said as I kissed her forehead. I walked out of her room and back to mine. I slid under the covers and couldn't help but feel cold. If Tucker had just told me that he'd been spending countless hours comforting Rosa in the middle of the night I wouldn't have exploded and kicked him out, but I guess I didn't really give him a chance to explain. I rolled over and looked at the empty side of my bed and sighed. I had a lot of apologizing to do tomorrow.