Slipping Away (A Larry Stylinson FanFic)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Harry pulled into the driveway and sighed. Gemma, who stayed awake to keep Harry company, looked over at him.

"I'll get Adaley if you get Katie." She murmured and Harry nodded. He climbed out of the car and lifted Katie out, noting at how thin she felt. He carried her into the house and gently laid her on his bed. Gemma walked in moments later and laid Adaley next to her mother. Harry leaned down and kissed both of their head before he and Gemma walked out of the room, silently shutting the door behind him. They walked down to the kitchen and sat down. Anne sensed something wrong and she sat down at the table.

"What's wrong?" she asked and Harry ran a hand through his long hair.

"Gemma and I both think something's wrong with Katie." He said softly and Anne nodded, sitting back.

"So Robin and I aren't the only ones." She said and Harry and Gemma both frowned, looking over at her.

"You noticed something too?" he asked and Anne nodded.

"We noticed that she hasn't eaten much and she looks pale. I think we better skip dinner out tonight, yeah?" she suggested and Harry and Gemma both nodded.

"Next time we come over we'll go out though." Harry said with a smile and Anne nodded, gently squeezing. While Katie and Adaley were asleep he decided to tell Anne what Katie had said at the zoo. As Harry told the story he saw his mother's eyes fill with tears. She smiled as they ran down her cheeks.

"That's amazing, Harry!" she said happily and hugged her son. "And I finally get my granddaughter." She grinned and Harry laughed, hugging his mother tightly. As they continued to sit there and talk Katie appeared in the doorway, leaning heavily against it.

"Harry..." she said and he stood up, walking over to her swiftly. He lifted her up and sat her at the table, brushing some hair off her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked and Katie sighed, resting her head in her hand.

"I don't know. I just feel exhausted and my head hurts." She whispered and Harry frowned deeply. He looked over at his mother who was looking at her worriedly.

"I think we best go to the doctor." Anne said, standing up. Katie shook her head, groaning as she did.

"I don't want to worry Ada." Katie murmured and Anne sighed, gently patting Katie's hand.

"You and I will go. Mum, Robin, and Gems will keep her occupied. You need to you, Katie." Harry said, standing and grabbing their coats. "And no arguing." He said. Anne grabbed his arm gently and he leaned down.

"Take her to Wythenshawe." She whispered and Harry nodded. He helped Katie into the car before taking off down the road. Katie frowned when she saw they were leaving town.

"I thought we were going to the doctor." She said, confusion blatantly obvious. Harry sighed and looked over at her for a moment before looking back to the road.

"We're going to the hospital in Manchester." He said and Katie's frown deepened. "This is something more serious than I think you realize, Katie." He said and Katie sighed.

"I don't have the money for tests." She told him, crossing her arms. Harry sighed.

"I'm paying for everything. You can argue all you want but its happening. We need to know what's going on." He told her and she glared at him before settling back in her seat. They rode in silence. When they got to the hospital Harry walked up to the front desk. He told them Katie's symptoms. They talked their manager who came down, meeting with Harry descretly.

"We can either put her in a room in the emergency room or put her into her own private room." The manager told Harry. He thought for a moment before nodding.

"I want Katie to be put into a hospital room. Our time here is to be kept quiet though. I don't want any of this leaking to the paps." Harry told him and the manager nodded.

"Of course not. We will be sure to give her the most secrecy possible. Follow me." He said and Harry nodded. He made sure Katie sat in a wheelchair before the started off down the hall. Katie looked around her, avoiding the eyes of the nurses and doctors. The manager led them to a quiet room with only one bed. He helped Harry get Katie onto the bed. A nurse walked in and handed Katie a gown.

"Change into this and I'll page the doctor." She said kindly and Katie nodded. The manager left and Harry turned around to give her privacy. When she was done she called his name and Harry turned around.

"How are you feeling?" he asked and Katie shrugged.

"I feel like this is a waste of time." She grumbled but Harry chose to ignore that comment. After what seemed like hours the doctor finally walked in. He talked to Katie and Harry for a moment before nodding to himself.

"I want to do an MRI and a CAT scan on your head. See what's going on up there, yeah?" she asked and Katie nodded begrudgingly. She flipped Harry off and they rolled her out of the room. Harry sat there anxiously and nervously picked at his fingers. When they brought Katie back in she looked exhausted.

"They said they tests will take at least an hour to come back." Katie said softly and nodded, taking her hand in his and kissing it gently. It was the most excruciating hour either one of them experienced. When the doctor walked back in her face was grim.

"We had our best neurologists look at your scans, Ms. Cane." The doctor said and put the pictures up on the screen. She pointed at the pictures and frowned. "Do you know what this is?" she asked and Katie shook her head.

"Katie's brain?" Harry joked and the doctor sighed.

"They're tumors, Mr. Styles." She said and Katie's stomach dropped.

"W-what does that me?" Harry asked, voice shaking slightly. The doctor gave them a sad look.

"I'm so sorry I have to tell you this but Ms. Cane has two cancerous tumors." The doctor told them and Katie felt her world shatter.

"I have cancer?" she asked, face void of emotion. The doctor nodded sadly.

"I'm afraid so and we're not sure if it's operable. There's a lot of treatment options is surgery isn't possible." The doctor told them, trying to cheer them up. Katie looked at Harry and swallowed thickly. The doctor excused herself but neither one of them paid her any mind.

"Harry... I have brain cancer." She whispered and she finally broke down, sobbing loudly into his shirt. He rubbed her back and let his tears fall down his face as he held her, heart shattering.