The following months were hard for the Bradfords. The boys were scared to sleep without a light and Kojo protecting them in the hall. Theo wouldn't sleep alone anymore, so he crawled in with the twins or Fei. Some nights Tim and Lucy had to reassure a crying child that they're safe, some nights they had their bed full with the little ones.
Than there was Tims kidney that just didn't seem to recover. He took his medicine, did his usual check ins and took it light at work. It hurt Lucy to see the difference. Most of the time Tim was tired and he looked ill. His smile didn't reached his eyes some days. There was too much to worry about. They tried their best to not get anything through to the kids. But obviously they noticed the change within their father. He wasn't as playful with them anymore, he slept a lot and he came home from work early. So when the questions started to get dropped. Tim decided to tell them. The kids didn't take it as good as their parents had hoped. They cried more at night and any time possible, at least one of them followed Tim around.
This change in their usual happy family was taking a lot from them.
Lucy woke up one day, her arm around her sleeping twins. She looked up and saw the other two in their bed as well. But Tim was nowhere to be found.
She quietly got up and looked for her husband. She heard a cough from the porch and walked to the door. She saw him sitting on the porch a blanket wrapped around his trembling shoulders, he scratched Kojos head.
She picked up a blanket from the couch as well and walked outside. Tim turned his head towards her and smiled a bit. "Good morning baby."
"Hey" she gave him a chased kiss before taking place besides him. "Couldn't sleep?"
He shook his head, "Not really, Fei kicks a lot."
Lucy smiled, "She does. And Finny snores."
Tim nodded, he coughed and winced.
Lucy rubbed his back, looking worried. "It's getting worse, right?"
he sighed, "Yes. It gets worse Luce... which is why we need to make some preparations."
"What do you mean?"
"If I'm getting to sick to get up in the morning, I don't want you to handle everything alone. We should get a nanny or ask Tamara to move back in and to help you out and I'll talk to the big ones in the station maybe we can arrange some financial stability for the kids and you and we need–"
"Stop it. stop it please..." Lucy said, tears streaming down her face, "That's not how it's supposed to go. You're supposed to be healthy and grow old with me, watch our kids graduate and get married and have some grandkids whom we tell our story's to."
"I know baby, I know." Tim wrapped her into his arms, rubbing her back. "I want that too. And I assure you that I won't go down without a last damn fight."
Two years later the day had come. Tim woke up in the middle of the night and he could feel that he wasn't going to o get up. He was dizzy and his head played some tricks on him.
He gently tugged a hair behind Lucys ear and called out to her. Lucy woke and it only took one look at Tim to knew what happened.
"Stay, I'm calling your sister to get the kids." Lucy jumped out of bed and out of their room. A few minutes later she came back in got dressed and rolled out a wheelchair for him. "Let's get you seated."
"I'm to heavy Luce, your back."
"I know I won't get you in there" she tugged at his arms and helped him into a sitting position. Tim groaned. "But I called for some help." She dressed him into a shirt and helped him into some shorts, before a knock sounded on the door. "Come in." Lucy said, and in the next minute Angela and Genny came in.
"How are you doing Timmy?" Genny asked, hugging him real quick.
"I'm fine Gen, thanks for looking after the kids."
"they're doing to be fine."
"Let's get you into the seat of shame Timothy." Tim chuckled on Angelas joke. She smiled at him and looped his right arm around her shoulder, whilst Lucy did the same with his right. Together they sat him down in the wheelchair. Tim was so tired, he hung his head and was about to get back to sleep, when Lucy gently held up his chin. "Please try to stay awake, at least till we're at the car."
He nodded.
They rolled him into the garage and got him seated in the car. Angela went with them whilst Genny looked after the kids.
At the hospital the doctors made some tests and talked Tim through everything that was happening to him. That gave him some medications and prepared a room for a longer stay. It was two months. Visitors came and went. But Lucy stayed most of the time. Tim had to make her go home on some days. They had kids that she needed to look after. Kids that were just as heartbroken by the absence of their father as Lucy. They were much quieter and made sure to get most of the things done by themselves. Lucy helped and cared wherever she could. She would make sure the kids went to bed, than Grey and Luna or Genny would come by to spend the night so she could go and be with Tim.
Starting the fourth month they finally got the good news. There was a donation, and it was reserved for Tim. The little family felt happiness like they did a long time ago. Tim mastered surgery like it was nothing. He felt much better after and Lucy saw her husband again. The one that didn't look like a ghost of himself anymore. They had a long recovery way to go but it was worth it. They helped him back to his old self again. Lucy would notice the small changes. The way his smile reached his eyes, which shined with hope. The way he chased the kids through the house again, the way he picked them up and threw them over his shoulder to tickle them. The way he came back to his workout routine, how he made love to her, how he looked at her with the glint of fear in his eyes.
She told him once that she could read his eyes. That she saw the fear in his eyes and she asked him about it.
"It's stupid but... I really thought that I was going to die and leave you all behind. Now I just...I don't want to take my eyes of any of you. I'm really scared of leaving you all behind. I mean the job I do, the illness that i still have to fight, my age."
"You're not going anywhere. We are all together, and you can't let this fear get over your head babe."
He nodded and wrapped his arms around you, "I love you."
"I love you too. And we're getting through this."
"So we can tell our grandkids about us."
"Exactly."
