The drive to the hospital was a blur. The only thing Georgie would remember later was turning to her mother in the passenger seat and asking, "What happened to him?"

No response.

"Mom, c'mon. Something, anything."

All Lou could do was shake her head.

Defeated, Georgie turned her attention to the road and pressed the accelerator.

Once they parked and headed inside the hospital and found Lisa in the waiting area, Georgie and Katie got their mother to sit down.

Lisa tried to fill them in as best she could about what happened once they separated, but there was only so much she could say; they'd arrived just minutes before the Fleming girls.

Georgie and Katie had a silent exchange wherein it was decided that Katie would stay near Lou. She did as she was told and took a seat beside her mother.

Only then did Georgie shove off into the corner to make some calls. About halfway into her second phone call, she glanced over to see Katie grabbing hold of and caressing the back of Lou's hand.

Just before Lou retracted and covered it up, Georgie noticed the bruise. And before she could look elsewhere, her mother locked eyes with her.

Luckily, the voice at the other end of the line pulled her away and she no longer had to hold eye contact. "Honey, what happened?"

"Yeah, we don't really know much right now. But you should fly in, if you want."

"If I want to? Georgie, of course I'm coming in."

"Okay, it's your choice," she returned, to which Peter sighed heavily.

"Alright, I'll see you soon."

"Bye."

Georgie hung up the phone and walked over to her family. Lisa wouldn't stop pacing, and she had to hold out a hand to ground the older woman. "Lisa, hey. What happened?"

Lisa stopped in her tracks, looking between Lou and her daughters. "Oh," she said guiltily.

"What?"

"Well, it's just…" she trailed off, looking meaningfully at Lou.

Georgie nodded, understanding. "Ah, so he found out. Great."

"Lisa, I'm sorry," came Lou's voice. "I didn't think that he would react like this. He seemed fine last night."

"Well, he didn't get a wink last night. I'm sure that didn't help."

Georgie inhaled, her grip on Lisa tightening a little. "Wait, was he awake? In the ambulance?"

"Yes, he was."

"So, that's—that's good, right? Means…" Georgie trailed off, realizing she didn't really know what that meant.

"I'm sure it's a good thing," returned Lisa, trying her best to comfort her. She could only hope that her words didn't fall flat to Georgie's ears.

They all eventually settled into the seats, with Georgie and Lisa sitting across from Lou and Katie.

Georgie sat half-facing Lisa, one leg crossed over the other in an effort to avoid looking at her mother.

Once it was clear that Georgie wasn't going to be much help, Katie turned to Lou. "Hey," she said as quietly as she could allow herself.

Lou tipped her head toward Katie in acknowledgement.

"I think you should change your mind about chemo. Things have already gone from bad to worse…"

Lou turned sharply toward Katie, mild panic etched in her features. "Sweetheart, I don't think you and I should be talking about this."

Katie didn't disagree. "I think we both know that you're going to end up back in the chemo suite one way or another."

"Katie, please. Don't do this," said Lou, shifting in her seat.

"I don't think you have much of a choice," continued Katie. "Jack's already in the hospital, Georgie's probably—"

"Don't say next."

"Well, I mean…" Katie trailed off, her gaze flitting over her sister. As the guilt settled in, she abandoned that train of thought. Looking back at her mother, she pleaded, "Mom, c'mon."

"I'm going to handle this. I promise you."

"Handle it how?" The question was genuine.

Lou didn't respond.

"I just don't want them to back you into a corner. I hate seeing you like this."

"Honey, if you keep at it, I'm going to lose it right here in the middle of this waiting room."

The energy seeped out of Katie's shoulders.

Lou became aware of her laboured breathing and tried discreetly to sit up a little to open her airway.

"Okay, I'm going to get something from the cafeteria," said Katie, looking for an excuse to leave her seat.

Lou nodded.

When Katie returned, she came bearing a bottle of water and a snack for Lou, to which Lou immediately declined.

"But it's been hours since you last ate. I don't want you collapsing," Katie countered.

"I'll be fine."

"But you must be exhausted, after everything with Jack," Katie said in a small voice, her gaze dropping to Lou's hand.

"I didn't bring my anti-nausea meds," said Lou, finally being honest with her daughter.

"Well, I mean…" Katie looked down at the supplies in her hand, defeated once again.

Their exchange spurred Georgie into action. Reaching into her sweatshirt pocket, she brought out a pill bottle and held it out to Lou. "Mom, here."

Lou looked almost startled at the revelation, but she didn't move to take it.

Georgie stood and maneuvered herself into the seat beside her mother and sister. Instructing Katie to open the water bottle, she herself took out the medication and dropped it in Lou's palm. Intercepting the water from her sister, she held it out to Lou. "Here," she said again.

Her and Lou held each other's gaze as they made the exchange. Lou was the first to look away.

Georgie was vaguely aware of her heart thumping against her ribcage as she clicked the lid back onto the pill bottle. She was about to get back up and return to her seat, but then changed her mind and settled in beside Lou.

She crossed her leg over her knee and slid the pill bottle back into her pocket.

A while later, news came about Jack. He was awake and talking, and aside from being a little grumpy, he was on the mend.

It was decided that Lisa would go see him first and that if he was up for it later, more people would be allowed to visit his room.

Georgie looked over at Lou and intertwined her hand with her mother's, her sweatshirt sleeve riding up. "He's okay! This is good news," she said, pumped.

But Lou's attention was elsewhere. "Honey, your arm…"

Georgie and Katie's gazes fell, and they both fell into a reserved panic.

"What'd you do this time?" demanded Katie.

"I—I don't know, maybe I bumped it into something. You know, on the way here," Georgie answered, visibly flustered.

"Bumped into what, Georgie?" her sister asked. "That's not even somewhere you could easily bump yourself. I mean, unless you—"

Lou cut her off, not liking where this conversation was headed. "Honey, you know what? I think we should just, just take a moment," she said, turning to look at Georgie. "Why don't you and I take a walk?"

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Georgie complied. Following her mother down the hall, they both came to stand by a window. Lou turned to her, taking a deep breath.

"I must sound so conceited," said Lou, after explaining the situation to her daughter.

Georgie stared out the window, taking in the scene below. There was a long pause before she spoke. "And here I thought you were finally going to agree on chemo."

"Honey," Lou began to say.

"You must think I'm conceited, like I even care about what's going wrong with me."

Lou sighed, leaning back against the window sill. "Sweetie, I was worried. I just wanted you to know that I think you're okay. It's just your body's way of…of dealing with all this. But even so, I think you should get checked out."

Georgie pinched the bridge of her nose, ignoring Lou's suggestion at the end. "Too bad with this whole thing, I don't get to choose whose symptoms I mirror."

Lou's eyebrows furrowed. "What are you…"

"If it was physically possible, I think I would've had a heart attack, too, after what you pulled," said Georgie, finally looking at Lou.

"That's not funny."

"These bruises just aren't cutting it anymore."

"Sweetie—"

"When is my heart going to stop?" she muttered just loud enough for Lou to hear.

Before Georgie had even completed her sentence, Lou's hand went up to cover her mouth. "Shh," she let out, her voice sharp and quiet.

Georgie softened at Lou's miniature outburst. She reached for her mother's wrist and brought her hand down. For a while, neither of them said a word as Georgie took in the mark on the back of Lou's hand.

"What happened here, then?" Georgie finally asked.

"When grandpa went down, I, uh…had to act fast."

"What?"

Lou gave her a look, like the answer was obvious. "CPR. I had to perform chest compressions."

Georgie looked at her mother in alarm. "You should've called one of us."

"There wasn't time to just stand around and wait for someone to come and help. And Lisa was there, of course. She didn't let me go on for too long, anyway."

Georgie half-nodded, somewhat satisfied with Lou's answer. "You must be exhausted."

"It's my own fault."

She didn't know what to make of Lou's sentiment. Was it remorse or a mere admission of guilt? Georgie pursed her lips together.

Lou stood up straight. "But it's fine. I'm gaining strength, and soon enough, we won't have to worry about these bruises, on me or yourself."

The air knocked out of Georgie's chest. "Mom—"

"We're almost there. Back to normal," said Lou, putting a gentle hand on her daughter's shoulder, and then walking past her.

So just an admission of guilt, then.

Georgie returned to the waiting area, her hands stretched almost outward. In this moment, she truly had nothing. Nothing left to give, nothing left to take.

This thing with Lou was going to be the death of her.

As she took a seat beside her sister, Katie asked, "Where is she?"

Georgie barely managed to shrug her shoulders.

Katie took her in, trying to figure out what was going on with her. "What'd you two talk about?"

"Apparently I've gone psycho," Georgie informed.

"Huh?"

Georgie gestured to her arm. "I didn't get this from bumping into anything. It just appeared."

"Why would it just appear?"

"'Cause I saw it on Mom."

"Oh…"

Georgie settled back in her seat.

"Did you see at all where she went?" asked Katie again.

"No, I don't know. She didn't say anything."

"Yeah," returned Katie. "It's hard to even hold a conversation with her these days."

Georgie turned toward her sister.

Katie took this as indication that she wanted more detail. "I tried talking to her about returning to chemo, and she just said that this isn't something we should be discussing. She shut me down right there and then."

"You asked me to fix it, and I couldn't do it. I'm so sorry."

Katie thought about it for a moment. "What're you sorry for? She's the one that broke our trust."

"It's Mom. She can do anything, and it still feels like it's our fault."

Katie's eyebrows went up. Her sister wasn't wrong.

"I wonder where she wandered off to," said Georgie after a few moments.

"I'll go look," said Katie, placing a hand on her sister's knee. "I'll call you when I find her."

Katie made her way to the top floor of the hospital, deciding to start there and make her way down.

She soon became aware that the cancer ward was up here. She almost turned on her heel and went back, but decided to scope it out, because why not?

It was after-hours, so the ward was quiet, with only a couple of staff members making rounds.

Katie made her way down the hall, took a couple of turns and then found herself in a familiar corridor. She'd been here once before, for only a short while.

Her feet propelled forward and she found her way to the chemotherapy suite.

As she came into the doorway and took in the scene, she retracted, maneuvering herself so she could stand against the wall, and not be seen by anyone in there.

Her mother was in the room, getting hooked up to an IV.

Had she imagined it?

She snuck another peek into the suite, and sure enough, Lou was in there. A nurse was helping her get settled in.

Katie shifted out of sight once again. She became aware of her chest heaving in and out, and she tried her best to still and quiet her breathing.

What was Lou doing in here? Hadn't she all but given up on this whole thing? Isn't that what she had said to her earlier? To Georgie?

After some time had passed, the nurse who'd been helping Lou walked out the room, and past Katie.

Steeling herself, Katie walked into the room. Lou was leaning back against the bed, but still sitting up. Her gaze cast down, she was scrolling on her phone.

"Mom."

Lou's head shot up, the surprise apparent in her features. "Katie, what—what're you doing here?"

"I came looking for you, you just got up and left."

Lou didn't say anything for a bit. And then, "I didn't mean to, it just—just sort of happened."

"So, you're back, I guess."

"I guess," said Lou, giving her a small smile.

"Georgie's going to be thrilled," said Katie, reaching for her phone. "Last I saw her, she looked like a ghost."

"What?" said Lou, sitting up. "What're you talking about?"

Katie stopped what she was doing. "I mean, you must've said something to her. She looked done with everything."

"Call her up," said Lou, agitated.

Katie did as instructed. As the phone rang, she sunk into a chair beside Lou's bed and put her phone on speaker.

Georgie answered on the fifth ring. "Hey."

"Hey, I'm with Mom. Found her in the chemo suite," said Katie. Then added, "You're on speaker."

There was a slight delay on the other end. And then, "Mom?"

Lou rotated the phone and intercepted it from Katie. "Honey, I went back. You don't have to worry anymore."

"So how's this going to work? Once you get bored, are you just going to walk out again?"

Lou glanced at Katie for a quick moment before returning her gaze and saying, "Of course not. I wouldn't do that."

"Well, how can we be sure?" asked Katie, filling in for Georgie.

Lou inhaled sharply, realizing she had to say what was on her mind. She was left with no other option. "I'm, uh…well, I don't want you guys waiting up on me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You two have been great, okay, driving me back and forth from appointments," Lou returned, and then directing her gaze at Katie, "And being prepared with things like water and my meds…" She was now talking to both of them. "But I can't stand being taken care of, not by you two."

"We live under the same roof, how're we meant to just…?"

"We're going to have to set boundaries, honey."

"Has this been your thing this whole time? Couldn't you have told us this earlier?"

"I didn't even put my finger on it until tonight," Lou sighed. "This isn't something we should even be dealing with until years down the line. And even then, I hope we somehow manage to avoid it."

It was quiet on the other end for a while, and then a sob sounded, making Lou's stomach twist. "Georgie…honey, I'm sorry."

Katie could tell her sister was trying to compose herself. A silent battle. She finally sniffled, and when next she spoke, her voice was a tad heavier.

"What're you sorry for?"

"For walking out on you like that, that day at the hospital. You were waiting for me, and I just…I didn't even realize what I'd done until much later."

Georgie didn't say anything.

"I got scared, you know?" Lou offered up.

"Yeah, I know why you did it."

Lou sighed, shooting an apologetic look at Katie, too. But then the voice at the other end drew her back.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Let's figure it out in the morning," said Lou. "Why don't you two go see if Grandpa's up for visitors? Your dad should be here soon, anyways, he'll take you home."

"Mm."

And then it fell silent on the other end.

Katie took back her phone, turned off the speaker and spoke into the mic, "Hey, I'll be there in a few."

Once she'd wrapped up the conversation with her sister, Katie turned to Lou. "She'll be fine. I'm gonna go."

Lou nodded and extended an arm and caressed Katie's cheek. "Wait." She tipped her head forward, indicating to Katie she should do the same. Guiding her daughter closer, she planted a kiss on her face. "Thank you. I love you."

Katie smiled a little. "I love you."

A/N: Story's wrapping up. This chapter is dedicated to my talented bestie Alex, I hope this one doesn't inspire you too much!