Chapter 5:

"Why hasn't he called yet? It's been over two hours since Tony took Mom!" yelled Jonathan as he stopped pacing and collapsed on the sofa.

"Jonathan, Dad will call when he knows something. You have to try and calm down" said Samantha, although her own voice was betraying her.

"Samantha is right. I know Tony and I know my daughter. She won't allow Tony to give any updates until they know what is going on. We… we just have to have patience" said Mona as she tried to remain calm. Just then, the phone rang. All three sets of eyes turned at once to the phone. Mona finally stood up and picked up the phone.

"Tony? How is Angela… I see… oh Tony…" said Mona as she put her hand up over her mouth. "What did the doctor say… I see… are they admitting her… okay alright… I will. Give her a hug for me okay…" she said as she hung up the phone.

"Is my mom okay? Is the baby okay?" cried Jonathan as the tears he had been trying to hide for the past two hours came flowing down his cheeks.

"Come let's sit down…" said Mona as she walked around the sofa and sat down. Jonathan and Samantha reluctantly sat down next to Mona, knowing bad news was coming.

"Spit it out Mona" said Samantha as she watch Mona try to figure out a way to say whatever it was that her dad told her about Angela.

"Angela is… okay. She… isn't pregnant though. It was a false positive. Apparently some of her blood levels are off. They ran some tests and she has something… some type of abscess or something as well as… as a mass on her uterus. They are still running tests and are going to be referring her to a specialist for possible surgery. They won't know more until she sees the specialist" said Mona.

"Is… is it… cancer?" asked Samantha, her tears now falling down.

"They don't know anything yet. It could be a lot of things that are not cancer. They are going to give her IV antibiotics to treat the abscess and something for the pain. They don't plan on admitting her as long as nothing changes" she said. Both kids were now full on crying as Mona pulled them both in for a hug. Mona could no longer hold back her own emotions, as the three sat there silently crying.

Tony came back into the room a little while later. Angela was resting on the bed, her eyes closed. He could tell she had been crying- her face was slightly red and puffy. He wanted nothing more than to take away all of this pain; better yet, go back in time to just a few hours ago when his world seemed almost perfect. He was lost in his thoughts until the nurse came in to administer the IV medications.

"Oh excuse me Mr. Bower. I just need to place the IVs in your wife's arm" said the nurse. The sound of the nurse's voice caused Angela to open her eyes. Tony came into the room and found the chair next to her bed.

"Did you speak to Mother?" she asked as the nurse began to put the IV into her arm. Thankfully, she was able to get it in the first try and soon left the room.

"I did speak to them, well Mona. She was going to let the kids know. I could hear them next to her so they are all together" he said.

"I hope they are okay with how things… turned out. I know neither one of them was happy about the baby…" she said as she bit her bottom lip, trying not to cry.

"Eh oh, oh eh! They wanted the baby! They needed sometime to adjust is all! They would have come around and I am sure they are upset by finding out…" he started, unable to speak the words.

"Well either way they don't have to worry about that now. Hopefully they can get back to some sort of normal now, at least until I have this surgery, assuming that is what is needed. Remind me before I'm discharged to see about going back to work. I am guessing I will need to be out of work for sometime so hopefully I can spend time getting my staff ready for my absence" she said, the numbness settling in again.

"The kids will be okay but I don't think things are going back to normal Angela. Too much has changed over the past twenty four hours. We need to make sure we are all here for you for whatever lies ahead. As for work, it will get done! You have a great team and they will be able to pick up the slack. This is the time for you to take it easy and heal" he said.

"I'll try Tony. I'm not very good at that unless I have a pretty good reason to… anyway, we have to wait and see what the doctors say. Why don't we try and rest if we can. I think that pain medication is starting to work" she said.

"You rest Angela. Hopefully when you wake up, you will be feeling a bit better" he said as he moved his chair as close to the bed as possible. He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles as she gave him a slight squeeze. Soon, her eyes closed and she fell asleep. Tony managed to put his head down on the side of the bed and soon he was asleep too.

They were both awakened a few hours later by the doctor and nurse. They continued to monitor her vitals and reviewed additional tests and bloodwork. Nothing came back new and alarming, so Angela was given the go ahead to be discharged. She was given strict instructions to take it easy for the next few days- no work, no exercise and no sexual intercourse. She was given a prescription for the antibiotics and pain medication to fill at the pharmacy. They were able to make an appointment with the oncologist for that Wednesday. Tony helped her into her clothing as an orderly came with a wheelchair.

"Okay Mr. and Mrs. Bower, if you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to the ER department. If your symptoms get worse, you spike a fever or any other additional symptoms arise, come back here immediately. I hope things work out for you" said Dr. Grant.

"Thank you doc, we appreciate all of your help" said Tony as he took the wheelchair from the orderly.

"Yes thank you" said Angela as they headed out of the ER. Tony was able to go and pull up the car and help Angela inside. Soon they were heading towards home, making a quick stop at the pharmacy so Tony could put in her prescriptions. By 10:00am, they were pulling into the driveway.

"Alright Angela, I think you should rest as much as possible today but first let me make you some breakfast. What sounds good to you?" he asked.

"I'm really not that hungry Tony. Just some juice will be fine. I will go and rest upstairs and then we can eat something for lunch" she said. He knew better than to argue with her when she got like this- he knew she was on the verge of shutting down emotionally and he needed to prevent that from happening.

"Alright Angela… let me help you into the house" he said as he got out of the car and headed to the passenger side door. He helped her up, steadying her so that she could walk up the path with only minor assistance from Tony. Once they got to the front door, Angela stopped them from going in.

"Look Tony… I know things were changing before all this happened and we both said what we said, thinking that I was pregnant. If you were having second thoughts about us, I would understand…" she said, biting her bottom lip again to stop herself from crying.

"Eh oh, oh eh… I love you Angela. I loved you before we thought you were pregnant, while we thought you were pregnant and now. My feelings haven't changed; if anything they have gotten even stronger. I am not going anywhere Angela…" he said as he put a gentle kiss on her lips. She simply nodded, hoping he truly meant what he said.

Angela opened the front door to an empty living room. She hoped the kids were keeping themselves busy with friends or homework. No sooner did they shut the front door than all three of them came running in from the kitchen.

"Hi everyone. I would have thought you all would have still been sleeping! You couldn't have slept more than a few hours" she said as she handed Tony her purse and coat.

"Don't worry about us Angela… we want to know how you are doing" said Mona as she came over and gave her a hug.

"I'll be fine Mother thank you" she said.

"I'm… I'm so sorry about the… well everything. And I am so sorry how I acted last night. I feel awful" said Samantha as she started to cry.

"Me too Mom. I am so sorry" said Jonathan as Angela came over to hug them both.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. You both were just reacting to the news honestly. Now that there isn't a baby, hopefully things can get back to normal around here, as much as possible. Hopefully the consultation this week will answer some questions about where I go from here. Well, I don't know about everyone else, but bed is calling my name" she said as she headed up the stairs.

"Let me help you Angela…" said Tony, but she stopped him before he took another step.

"No Tony it's okay. I've got this…" she said as she grabbed onto the banister and slowly headed up the stairs. They all watched as she ascended the stairs and listened for the sound of her bedroom door shutting before they spoke again.

"She's shutting down Tony. I know my daughter- you need to do something…" she said.

"I know Mona, I know… I just don't know what to do! She, well we both, wanted the baby so much and to know that not only isn't there a baby but now we are facing this medical crisis… I don't know what I can do to make it better…" he said as he started to tear up.

"Well start thinking fast Tony!" she said as she turned around, almost running out of the room before her own tears started to fall.

"Tony… if something happens to my mom, what… what's going to happen to me? To our family?" whispered Jonathan, his voice filled with worry and sadness.

"Eh oh, oh eh! Nothing is happening to your mom! She's going to be just fine! Any… issues we may or may not run into in the future, we will tackle together! We are family and families stick together!" he said as he pulled them both in for a hug.

Upstairs, Angela headed over to her bed. All she wanted to do was crawl under the covers and never come out. She sat down on the edge of the bed, contemplating what she need to do next. She found a pad of paper and pen on her nightstand and decided to write out her to do list she had mentally gone over in the hospital. She jotted down everything she could remember and started to prioritize the list.

Satisfied that she covered everything she needed to get done, she opened her nightstand drawer to place the pen and paper. The last thing she needed was someone reading the lists until she had a chance to get everything in order. When she opened the drawer to throw everything inside, she came face to face with the positive pregnancy tests. She had completely forgotten that she placed them in the drawer for safe keeping.

"Well you don't need these anymore…" she said out loud as she picked up the tests and headed into the bathroom. She tossed all four into the garbage can and moved over to the sink. She took a long look at herself in the mirror, barely recognizing herself in her reflection. That glow she saw yesterday, the happiness that seemed to be plastered on her face was gone, replaced with something dark, something sad.

"Pull yourself together Angela! No time for sadness or anger or anything else. You've got four people downstairs that are depending on you and a laundry list of things you need to start doing today!" she scolded herself. She decided to take a shower before trying to get some rest. As soon as the hot water hit her body, she felt an instant release of emotions flooding her mind and body. A new round of tears started to fall, which soon turned into uncontrollable sobbing. A sound she didn't recognize as her own voice came out, muffled by the sounds of the water. It was a cry of pain, of sadness, of grief. Her legs could no longer hold her up as she sunk down to the floor.

"Angela! Are you alright?" asked Tony as he barged into the bathroom after hearing her scream. She couldn't answer him with words, only a look of sadness and defeat. Tony turned off the water and helped her to her feet. He wrapped a towel around her wet body and pulled her into an embrace. No words were spoken as he led her into the bedroom and over to the bed. He helped her into her nightgown as she got into bed.

"Tony… stay with me?" she whispered.

"Always Angela… always…" he said as he took off his shoes and snuggled into her back, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her as close to him as possible. It didn't take long for them to fall asleep, fresh tear stains on their pillows.

Samantha and Jonathan had decided to tackle some of the household chores since they knew Tony would be helping out Angela. He had ran upstairs when he heard Angela's scream. When he hadn't come back down, they figured Angela was alright and needed Tony.

"Alright the first floor bathroom is cleaned and the laundry is started" said Jonathan as he collapsed on the sofa.

"The kitchen is scrubbed clean and I am defrosting a lasagna for dinner. Is there anything else you can think of that needs to be done?" asked Samantha as she joined him on the sofa.

"I don't think so. Sam… do you think I should call my dad?" he asked.

"I don't know dweeb. He's not that helpful and I don't know if your mom would want him to know what's going on until she knows what she's dealing with" she said.

"That makes sense. It's just… I don't want to live with him if something happens to my mom! I want to stay here with all of you!" he said as he teared up again.

"No one is going anywhere okay? Angela is going to be just fine and will be really mad if she knew we were talking like this so put a lid on it alright? Like Dad said, if something happens, we are family, as annoying as you are most of the time, and families stick together!" she said. She was on the verge of tears herself but she knew this was not the time and pushed down her own feelings for Jonathan's sake. She knew what it was like to lose a mother and the thought of losing Angela almost paralyzed her with fear.

"You're right Sam. Thanks…" he said. He heard the washer and dryer ding as the load was completed and headed down to the basement. As Samantha started to tackle the living room, Mona walked in through the back door dressed in a cocktail dress.

"So Samantha, how do I look?" she asked as she twirled around, her dress floating around her body.

"Lookin' good Mona but where are you going? I thought you'd be sticking around because… because of everything…" said Samantha.

"Why should I hang around in gloom town? We can't do anything right now and besides, I am sure Tony will be seeing to her every need. I'll check in tomorrow once I get back from my date…" she said as she grabbed her coat and headed out the front door.

Mona quickly shut the door, clutching her purse to her chest. She was doing her best to shove her emotions down, trying to keep up her nonchalant demeanor, but her facade was slowly cracking. She felt her legs start to give way as she found her way to the bench. She took a seat and took some deep breaths to steady herself. After a few minutes, she was able to regain control over her emotions and stood back up, heading to her car.

"Was that Grandma I heard?" asked Jonathan as he came back upstairs with a laundry basket full of clothes.

"Yeah but you just missed her- she's out on a date" said Samantha as she helped Jonathan start folding the laundry.

"How can she go out when mom is… not feeling well?" he asked.

"I think she is just trying to distract herself from everything. Everyone deals with things like this differently. She's not one to get overly emotional" said Samantha. Just then, Tony and Angela came down the stairs.

"What are you two up to? Chores? Cleaning? Getting along? Okay… what happened to the Samantha and Jonathan that used to live at 3344 Oak Hills Drive?" asked Tony sarcastically.

"We figured you two could use some rest so the dweeb and I decided to get some stuff done around here- no big deal" said Samantha as she continued to fold the laundry.

"You two really didn't have to do that but I appreciate it a lot. You two should be focused on homework. I know with everything today you missed school but I don't want you falling behind…" said Angela as she sat down next to Samantha.

"We're fine Mom, I promise. We are just… worried about you…" he said as he tried to hold back the tears he had been fighting all day.

"Come here, both of you" she said as she motioned for Jonathan to sit on the opposite side of the sofa. "I know you are both worried about me and I can't tell you not to worry because it doesn't work like that. I am going to be seen by the best doctors. Hopefully they will be able to give me answers soon and we can go from there. I'm going to be just fine though, I promise" she said as she pulled them both into her sides for a hug.

"That's right! Angela is going to be fine! But since she's still not feeling well, I will need to help her out. I do appreciate the extra help around here until she's feeling more like herself" he said.

"How about you two head upstairs and work on whatever homework I'm sure you still have to do and then we can all have dinner together. I'll see if Mother will join us" said Angela.

"She's out on a date. You just missed her…" said Jonathan, irritation in his voice.

"Oh… of course she's out on a date! Where else would she be?" she asked with a forced chuckle.

"Alright you two, head upstairs and I'll let you know when lunch is ready" said Tony as they both headed to their rooms.

"Tony we have to make sure they are okay and that we keep reassuring them things will be alright. They both looked so scared" she said as she tried not to cry again.

"They will be okay Angela! You just need to focus on getting better and relaxing! I was thinking of making some sandwiches for lunch if that sounds good to you" he said.

"Nothing sounds good to me Tony but it doesn't sound horrible so I'm sure that will be fine" she said.

"Okay sweetheart. I'll go get started on preparing lunch. If you need anything just let me know. I love you Angela" he said as he leaned down to kiss her.

"I love you too Tony" she said as she watched him head into the kitchen. He was the most caring, loving man she had ever known, which was going to make what she had to do next that much harder.