I'm sorry that this is a sad chapter. Matty wanted to try and help me get through a similar situation and this 'mission' is the result. All familiar characters belong to Janet. The mistakes and the feelings are mine.

Vital Mission 6 - Rallying Around Auntie Woo

Mary Lou's POV

I was holding myself together until I saw Stephanie. I heard Ranger's Porsche pull into my parents' driveway and went to meet them like the good hostess my mother taught me to be. But as soon as I saw my best friend's face ... I lost it. Being my bestie, Steph had been expecting the breakdown and even let go of Matty's hand to catch me as I blubbered "What am I going to do?" through a fresh round of snot and tears.

Not one to sugarcoat a crisis, Steph said what I needed to hear. "I don't know, Mare, but we'll get through this together. I feel like I'm losing a mother too."

That snapped me back to Mama Bear mode. I lifted my head just far enough to wipe my face with the hem of my T-shirt.

"Mom loves you," I reminded her. "You are losing her too. I'm sorry."

Steph's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do not say you're sorry to me. We're here for you. You're not turning the tables and trying to take care of us. Not this time."

It was then I felt a small reassuring tap on my leg. I looked down into Matty's blue eyes.

"No cry, Auntie Woo," he told me with a seriousness that's a carbon copy of his Daddy's. "We here."

Despite the reason for the visit, I felt my mouth trembling with a smile. "You are, Matty. And I already feel better. Seeing you and Tyler always makes me really happy."

"What can we do?" Ranger asked.

He had freed Ty from his car seat and both Manoso men were now looking expectantly at me.

I wish I had an answer for him. I shrugged as my eyes filled up again. "Make my mother better?"

"Oh ... Mary Lou," Steph said, her voice catching on my name.

Great, now I made her cry too. Matthew wanted to help me stop crying, but he had Ranger's single-minded focus in stopping his Mama's tears.

"Up, Mama," he said, reaching out his arms to her knowing she'd be there.

Steph lifted her son and allowed him to lock his sneakers around her waist and wrap his arms tight around her neck to hug her pain away. Not about to forget about the pain I'm in, she reached out an arm to include me in their huddle.

I felt an even smaller hand on my head and knew who it was before I shifted in Steph's hold to see Ranger standing beside us holding Ty. He had an arm around his wife and Tyler was trying to comfort me by tugging on my hair. I've loved Lenny since I laid eyes on him, but it wasn't until this moment that I knew I'd survive this. The Manosos will make sure of it.

"I wish I could fix this for everyone involved," Ranger said to me. "Is there anybody I can bring in? I know a few people."

Steph choked on what would've been a sob if she hadn't snorted at that. "Understatement of the decade. But is there someone he can call, Mare?"

I shook my head but didn't have the strength to lift it again. "No. Her doctors are all in agreement that her heart has about a month's fight left in it ... if that." My brain still isn't letting me believe that. "I can't lose her, Steph!" I said in desperation.

Her hold on me tightened but she didn't say anything. She couldn't. Not even Batman himself could right this wrong. I can't even be happy that I finally lost that last ten pounds of baby weight I'd gained and held onto for years after my youngest was born. Knowing you have to live through the death of someone you love is not a diet plan I'd wish on anyone.

"Why don't you guys come inside," Lenny said from the still-open front door. "The refrigerator can't hold another casserole and your cuddle puddle is gonna inspire a second round of sympathy food."

I would've told him where to stick his suggestion, but he happened to be right. I won't have to make supper for Dad or my boys for at least two weeks ... and the news has only just started to spread.

But I wasn't ready to go back in and face the end of life as I've known it with the end of my mother's.

"We'll head inside in a second," I told him. "I need a bit of fresh air."

"How is she?" Steph asked.

"Exactly the same except she mostly stays in bed and sleeps a good part of the day. Her heart may be failing, but her personality is as alive as ever ... which means we really should go on in. Dad's running errands while Lenny and I are here to watch Mom, so he'll forgive me for hogging your time. Mom will tear me a new one if she knows I'm keeping you guys from her."

Steph let me go but only so she could glare at me. "You need some TLC too, Mare. Your Mom would insist on it."

"Maybe, but not when Ranger's around. You may not have noticed this, but she has a little bit of a crush on your husband."

"Yeah, well ... who doesn't?"

"Mary Lou," Lenny answered for me. "Right?"

"Right," I was quick to assure him. "I saw you and never looked back … or at another guy."

Even if I had looked at Ranger, his eyes were always on Stephanie. He wouldn't have noticed anyway.

"Okay, I can do this," I told the group. "Let's go say hello."

Steph let Matty down but held onto his shoulder so he couldn't dart inside my parents' place like he usually does. "Remember what Daddy and I said? Granny Molnar has one of those cool robot beds that can move just by pressing a button. It's different, but not bad or scary."

"I neber scared," he said, puffing up his chest in a show of strength I wish I had.

Steph nodded. "I know. You are a brave little boy, but it's okay to be scared sometimes."

"I not scared."

"Alright then. I won't be either."

That was a total lie and everyone except Matty and Ty knew it. I hit the mother-jackpot with my mom, but Stephanie wound up with the exact opposite. Though everything Mrs. Plum lacked, my mother made up for. So, Stephanie is every bit as scared as I am about living in a world that doesn't have Mama Molnar in it.

"Do you need any help?" Ranger asked me while including Lenny in the question with a look in his direction.

"Before you say you have everything under control," Steph added, "remember that you need to take care of you and the boys too. You can't do that if you're overwhelmed and overdoing everything here."

I appreciated the question and Steph's reminder, but I shook my head. "Mom's insurance is paying for the hospice care. We now have a doctor, nurses, and aides coming here to the house, so Dad and I don't have to worry about how to get Mom up and dressed, out of the house, and into a car. And as Lenny pointed out, the boys are usually here with us, and the neighbors have made sure food wouldn't be an issue. His parents are picking up the slack and watching them at home whenever the kids decide they don't want to spend hours at Grandma and Grandpa's house."

"We're managing," Lenny told us. "It's not easy, but this is what Mary Lou and her Mom want … so that's what they're getting."

Although I wasn't looking at Ranger, I could tell he gave my husband-of-forever an approving nod for that answer. I can't claim my hubby is a superhero like Steph does, but I've never had to doubt his love for me or my family. This awful waiting game is just the most recent example of that.

Lenny had only managed to get the front door closed behind the six of us before my mother's voice could be heard from the back bedroom.

"Where is everyone?!"

I hauled ass to get to her. "You know Dad went to the bank, but I'm right here, Mom," I said, rushing over to the rail of her hospital-grade bed. "I was just letting Stephanie and Ranger in. They brought the boys, too."

Absolute silence rang out as she took a minute to process that. It was like a light had been flipped on as soon as the words registered. "Where's my favorite guy?" She asked the room.

"I'm right here, Mom," Lenny said this time just to make her laugh.

"Hah, very funny, Leonard. I meant Matthew," my mother corrected. "Matty? Are you here?"

"I here for you!" Showing Steph's fearlessness and a lot of Ranger's stoicism, Matty left the safety of his parents' hold and ran to climb up onto the bed.

He was so quick and confident in his movements, he didn't even snag what I bet is a hoodie made of actual cashmere on the metal bed rails. When my brain can start functioning again, I'll have to get lessons on spatial awareness from Matty. I've lost count of the bruises I have on my arms and legs from hitting parts of the bed I'm still not used to seeing in my parents' bedroom.

"Matty!" Steph began, but Mom stopped the protest before it could be fully formed.

"Leave him be, Stephanie. If little Matthew wants a hug from me, who am I to stop him? You let Tyler loose on me too if he wants to follow his big brother's lead."

Ranger took the not-so-subtle hint. "You're looking as beautiful as ever, Mrs. Molnar," he told her.

"You're smart for noticing," was her sassy comeback.

He pressed a kiss to the thin skin covering the back of my mother's hand and made her day by letting go of Tyler so he could crawl up to the pillows and settle right next to Matthew against her side.

I could feel my eyes prickle again with a combination of anger, grief, and a sadness I hadn't known existed until I was told I have a time limit on the time left with my mother. A small wail slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it, and I bit my finger in an attempt to silence a second one. Lenny, being the amazing man he is, was behind me and pulled me into his arms a beat later. I inhaled a lungful of his familiar cologne like my life depended on it, because I feel like it does.

"What am I going to do without her?" I whispered to the man I married.

"You'll love her and miss her and repeat stories all about her to the boys until they're begging you to stop," he said into my ear.

"I know this will be hard to believe right now," Ranger was saying to me. "But trust me on this. If someone is truly loved the way your mother is, they can never die."