Final chapter before the epilogue, guys! I never thought I would get this far. :'(

June 13, 1994

Michael's POV

It's not good ... not good at all. It's been a few days since we found out Becky's only got a few days, so it's a miracle that she's still alive. Oh, I'm hurting so badly right now. All I want to do is cry, but I have to remain strong for Becky and our family.

Today is the day that Becky and I met, three years ago. Tomorrow is our third anniversary ... if she's here long enough. A lot has happened in the three years we've known one another; on 13 June 1991, we met; on June 14 1992, I found out Becky was pregnant with Miracle; on June 14 1993, I proposed to her ... and now, on June 13 1994, I'm sitting by Becky's deathbed.

She's lost most abilities now. She can no longer feed herself, or have a drink, or shift positions ... she can barely even speak, now. Anything she says is wheezy and almost inaudible. It's breaking my heart, seeing how much she's deteriorating because of the cancer. Quite literally breaking my heart.

For the past couple days, I've been sleeping at the hospital with Becky. Her parents slept here last night, because we all thought she was gonna be gone by morning due to how much pain she was experiencing – but then she managed to overcome it, and here she still is today. It's such a roller coaster for all of us.

Jasper and Charlie are coming to pay us a visit in hospital today – but what Becky doesn't know, is that Jasper and Charlie know she isn't lasting much longer, so they're coming to say goodbye to their best friend. She thinks it's just a normal visit ...

Lisa is also bringing the kids in today, so Miracle can see her mommy for the first time in a few days. Jason and Ollie, I'm not so sure on. They'll probably spend their time in the Day Room, or in the little room that's been allocated only to us.

Whilst on the subject of Lisa; she's still deciding on whether or not to keep the baby. It'll only be a matter of time before she'll be forced to decide, because it'll be too late eventually. I really hope she chooses to keep it; it would make me so happy, even if I don't adopt it myself. As for how she's coping with Alex's death – his funeral was a couple days ago, but I didn't attend because Becky is far more important to me. Lisa said it was a nice service, though.

At the moment, I'm in Becky's room with her parents, at the hospital. We've all been here since at least yesterday, but I've been here longer because I've slept overnight for two nights, not just one like her parents. It's dead silent, apart from our breathing, due to the fact that Becky is sleeping. That's how she's been spending the majority of her time here ...

"My sweet, sweet angel ... " I murmur to myself, gently rubbing my thumb over Becky's hand, despite her being unable to feel it, "I love my sweetheart so very much ... "

There are so many things I want to say, but her parents being here is what stops me. Some of the things I want to say are personal; I wouldn't want them to hear, so I'm having to hold my tongue.

The most painful, yet irritating thing about this "few day" life expectancy is that we haven't got any idea of a precise time scale. I mean, a few days in one's mind is completely different in another's. My main concern, and point is ... we have no idea when Becky is going to give up and stop fighting for her life.

The room's door quietly opens, shattering my thoughts. My head turns to see Jasper and Charlie entering the room, then as soon as they see Becky lying in her bed, Jasper's eyes fill with tears, and Charlie clasps his hand over his mouth.

"Look at her," Jasper gasps, pain visibly striking through him, "My best friend ... my sweet, wonderful best friend. I don't even recognise her ... "

"My God," Charlie adds, bringing his hand away from his face, "What I would give to see the old Becky again ... this one hurts me too much." His eyes fill with tears, as he takes a seat by the bed with Jasper.

"How long do they reckon she has now?" Jasper questions sadly.

"A few days ago, they said a few days. Now it's just ... a waiting game, I guess," I answer dejectedly, "We have no idea when she's going to give up, Jasper ... "

"But she's a fighter," Charlie breathes, taking Becky's free hand in his own, "Such a strong, brave woman. I'm so honoured to be her best friend ... "

"And me ... " Jasper agrees, trying to blink back his tears. Having no success in this, he uses his shirt sleeve, "I just ... I wish there was a way to reverse all this. It's killing me ... "

"It's killing us all, Jasp," I frown, "The most painful part is that there's no way we could have even prevented this. It's pretty much hereditary; her grandparents died from cancer, too."

"Oh, I know. Cancer is such a bitch," Jasper scowls, a single tear running down his cheek slowly, "And it takes a lot for me to name-call like that."

A sigh escapes from my lips, "I know. I wish cancer would get cancer and die itself, for all the pain it's caused us."

"I'll second that," Becky's mother pipes up at last, "I'm sure anyone would second that." She averts her eyes to Becky, who is still sleeping soundly.

I bend down to kiss Becky's knuckles; it's been forever since I've done that. It's also been forever since I've kissed her properly – or at least, it feels like forever. But soon, I'll have to cope without her kisses and affection forever, which hurts me deeply. I can't imagine living without Becky's love and care for me ... I've been needing that kind of care, so once Becky is gone, it'll feel like a huge part of my life is missing.

Just then, Becky ever-so-slightly shifts positions, which is more than she's been doing these past few days, before opening her eyes slowly. Her first sight is Jasper and Charlie, causing her to give the smallest smile you ever saw.

"Hey darling," Jasper smiles down at her, desperately trying not to cry in front of her.

"Hello babe," Charlie greets, only about a second after Jasper finishes speaking.

"How are you feeling honey?" I ask. Then, knowing that she can't answer, I give her options, "You feeling okay? Bad? Nauseous? Good?" She then gives the faintest nod of her head, causing me to smile a little, "You're feeling good! That's great, sweetheart. That's great!"

Again, I bend down, kissing her fingers gently to comfort her. Rather than the normal horrible atmosphere surrounding us all, at the notion that Becky has hardly any time left, it's a peaceful, calm atmosphere – it's almost happy. Becky's feeling good, which has brought a smile to all of our faces.

If you had told me, "Michael, by mid-1994, your day will be made just by Becky saying she's okay", a year ago, I wouldn't have believed you. Now, even that fills my entire day with happiness. It's crazy what a few months can do to you.

Then, Becky tries to speak, but her weakness prevents her from doing so properly. As soon as I realise she's trying to speak, I lean closer to her, "What is it, Becky? What do you wanna say?"

She makes another attempt at speaking, but it comes out as a muffled, indecipherable mess. Bless her; it must be terrible being so unable to do the simplest things now.

"I can't understand you, sweetheart. I'm really sorry," I frown, stroking her thumb with my own soothingly, "Can you give me some kind of sign as to what you want?"

She tries to ask for her request verbally once more, but without success, so I resort to giving her options again, "You want ... food? Water? Alone time? Medication?"

At the word "Medication", I can't help but feel sad; that's always been our code word for ... "intimate goings-on", but now I'm having to use it for genuine purposes.

"Oh, sweetheart! I can't understand you!" I cry, reaching one arm to her face, gently caressing it.

"F-Fall ... tine ... " she manages to speak.

"Fall tine?" I cock an eyebrow in confusion, "What does that even mean?" I'm so annoyed with myself right now; I want to help her out, but I can't work out what she wants, "What's fall tine?"

"S-Song ... " Becky breathes, closing her eyes weakly, taking a deep breath.

"Song ... ? Fall tine?" I repeat everything she's already said, trying to piece it together. Then suddenly, an idea comes to my head, "Oh! Becky, do you mean my song? For All Time?"

To this, she opens her eyes, then gives the most tiny nod of her head. She wants me to sing For All Time for her! But maybe, just maybe, I could make it even more special for her ...

"Guys?" I start, earning the attention of everyone in the room apart from Becky, "You'll sing For All Time with me, won't you? You remember the chorus, right?" They all nod in answer to my question, and a large smile forms on my face, "Great! Okay ... let's make this version perfect for Becky."

I take a deep breath, gently squeezing Becky's hand in my own, "We're all gonna sing for you, okay sweetheart?" She nods, so I turn to face the others, "Okay ... one, two, three ... "

We all then sing the chorus to For All Time:

And maybe the walls will tumble ...
And the sun may refuse to shine ...
But when I say "I love you" ...
Baby you gotta know that's For All Time ...
Baby you gotta know that's For All Time ...

As I look around the room, everyone is singing – Jasper, Charlie, Becky's mother, Becky's father, myself ... we're all making it special for Becky. And it's easy to tell; she's smiling at us all.

And maybe the walls will tumble ...
And the sun may refuse to shine ...
But when I say "I love you" ...
Baby you gotta know that's For All Time ...
Baby you gotta know that's For All Time ...

--

It's now about 8:40pm, and we're all still here at the hospital. Becky's been asleep since we finished singing For All Time, so it's been somewhat quiet around here. I'm currently in the little room allocated to only us, with Miracle, Jason and Ollie. It's been a long time since we've spent time together. I've missed them a lot. Lisa is also here; she was the one who dropped the children off. Despite all she's done, she's being a big help to us now, in Becky's final days.

The others are having some time with Becky alone. I've been with her for the past few days; I think it's only fair that I gave the others a little time, without me being in there. And besides, one less person makes it more peaceful for Becky, doesn't it?

"And then Ruby the Rabbit hopped along the path to Sammy the Squirrel's house in the trees. "Hello, Sammy!" Ruby called from the ground below, "It's Ruby the Rabbit!" she added," Ollie reads. He's reading a book to Miracle, who is currently in my arms.

"That's great reading, Ollie!" I praise, trying my best to appear happy in front of him, "Wonderful! Then what happened next?"

"Sammy was overjoyed. He smiled happily because his best friend was here to play! "Hey Ruby!" he called from the tree, "Come inside!" he offered." He continues to read from the book.

"You're doing a great job, Ollie. Keep going." I smile faintly at him, still trying to hide my pain.

Before he can carry on reading, a nurse rushes through the door, "Mr Jackson! Can I talk to you a sec?" she asks, desperation in her tone.

Worry starts to fill me, "Yeah, sure, why?" I stand up from my seat, passing Miracle to Lisa whilst I go outside into the corridor with the nurse, "What's wrong? Is Becky okay? What's up!"

"Mr Jackson, Miss Summers' health is deteriorating fast. The Morphine she's being given is beginning to have less effect on her; she's getting harder to take care of. We're having to give her high dosages to keep her pain levels down."

Even if I'm a doctor, my mind is too numb to work out what she's trying to say, "A-And what? What's that mean!" I question in a panic.

"It means, Mr Jackson, she may not make it through the night!"

At those words, my heart literally misses a beat. However, through all the pain, the anger, the upset, the frustration, the panic, and the numbness, I manage to make my next statement crystal clear.

"Then I want her to be my wife, now!"

Was that the ending you were expecting? I've been planning this ending for a whole year. God ...
The next chapter is the epilogue. I'm going to miss this story so much! :(
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, anyway. :)