The diagnosis!
For a long time they sit on the bed, in an intimate embrace. No one knows how or where to begin. Maxwell is the first one to regain his speech.
"My God Fran, finally I found you."
"Oh Max, what are you doing here? How do you know I'm here?"
"I just had to search for you. I couldn't accept the fact that you just disappeared from our lives. Besides, I sensed that there was something wrong with you. I mean your entire behavior, that wasn't you. And then I became skeptical because you never contacted me or the children and no one knew an address or a phone number. So I hired a detective agency, who then came across this clinic via Dr. Goldberg. I smuggled myself in here as a patient and yesterday I saw you being taken out of a treatment room."
Fran's amazement grows with every word he says. She can't believe the lengths he had gone through just to find her. She feels shabby for all her lies and the suffering she put him through. But Maxwell already has forgiven her and all his anger was gone. Now that he told Fran his story he wants to know what is going on with her.
"But that's not important now. What about you Fran? Why are you here?"
She needs to collect herself first, it is still hard for her to accept and speak out the bitter reality.
"I have this stupid thing in my head, a tumor. It's pretty big and it's in a dangerous place."
Maxwell reacts shocked. He has been prepared for the worst, but this diagnosis is a blow to him.
"Oh my God! Please Fran tell me everything, from the beginning."
"At first there were just these headaches, I didn't take them seriously at first. Then I started getting dizzy more and more often and sometimes I could only see blurry or nothing at all. That's when I went to the doctor. He thought it was a migraine and gave me some pills, but they didn't help at all. So I went to another doctor. He sent me to an ophthalmologist, but there was nothing. The ophthalmologist sent me to the neurologist, who ordered a CT scan and that's when they discovered this lump."
"Woah, I didn't know anything about that. Why didn't you ever say anything?"
"I didn't want to worry you, at first I thought it was not so bad and would go away. It wasn't until I saw this tumor that I panicked. During my 'weekend trip' I was actually here in the clinic. They took a tissue and determined the tumor is malignant. They explained to me exactly what they are going to do with me. I didn't understand everything just that much. It's going to take a long time, it will be painful and there's only a small chance I'll survive this all."
Maxwell needs a moment to let this all sink in. He gets up from the bed and heads to the window. He has to collect himself and sort out his thoughts. Fran understands how he must feel and gives him his space. She meanwhile opens the box of chocolates and devoures one. Since the treatment she suffers more often loss of appetite but not with chocolate. Finally Maxwell comes back to her and sits down next to her.
"I can hardly imagine the shock you've been through, and even though I suspect the reason, why did you just leave? Without a word?"
"Because it's best for all of you. The doctors told me what ordeal I have ahead of me. It's going to be hell. I don't want to put anybody else through that. Maa goes already crazy when one of us has to go to the hospital for a routine thing, this thing here is way to much for her. The kids already lost their mother, I don't want them to experience seeing another mother figure die. Niles and Val might have handled it somehow, but I didn't want to burden them with this secret. And you..." She fells silent for a moment. "I love you far too much to put you through that hell."
A big smile spreads across his face. Albeit under tragic circumstances, it serves him good to hear from her, she loves him. He strokes her face.
"I love you too Fran and therefore I will stay by your side. I will walk every path with you and I will make sure you get the best treatment possible. I will do everything in my power to make sure that someday I can carry you out of this clinic as a healthy woman."