Goodbye

32

Everything seemed so perfect. Everyone was happy. Sebastian was excelling in school and was getting ready to graduate fifth grade. Francisco was going into third grade. Christine was getting ready to be old enough for preschool and her first ballet lessons. Dot was catching up nicely with other babies her age too.

Steven was about to do his last few shows with his current show, wanting to spend more time with family now. Pippa was staying at home making sure their family didn't result into utter chaos during the day.

Vanessa took the kids back and forth from school, mainly because their school times worked perfectly with her work schedule. Lin stayed at home, working on odd things for Hamilton and what not. Until he started to have the familiar headaches and grogginess from before.

"This can't be happening." He mumbled while rubbing his eyes. The top of his head was killing him and the only thing he wanted to do was lay in bed and sleep. He had never wanted to feel like that again. But here he was, his body forcing itself to stay at the desk to continue working on another thing.

Eventually, when no ideas would come out, he made his way back to bed. He slowly climbed in, letting himself relax in the bed. He didn't know what to do. He knew he had to see a doctor soon, just to rule out everything. He didn't want them to say he had cancer again though... He didn't want to hear those words again. He barely taught his kid about Harry Potter and couldn't wait to teach the other one.

His life was just beginning to get interesting again and he didn't want to see it go away now. Not now. Not ever.

===

Steve and Pippa were enjoying a lazy day with the girls. Pippa sat on the couch next to Steve, his arm draped across her shoulders. Christine sat in between both of them, clutching onto her stuffed rabbit while watching The Incredibles with her parents. Dot was rested on Steve's chest, completely passed out.

"Why does she choose me to sleep on?" He whispered to Pip.

"I've read that all babies actually do that." Pippa laughed.

"I'm watching a movie!" Christine frowned at both of them.

"Sorry." Pippa laughed softly. Dot began to stir in her little nap and she began to cry. Christine let out a loud groan and both of her parents frowned at her. "Let me have her. She's probably hungry." She whispered. Steve passed little Dot over to Pippa and waited until she was in the kitchen to pause the movie.

"Hey!" Christine frowned at him.

"Me and you are going to have a little talk." He said while lifting her up. He carried her into her room and sat her on the bed. "Now, I want to know why you think it's okay to have all of this attitude." He said while sitting on the floor in front of her. She shrugged her shoulders and looked away from him. "You know your baby sister is just a baby. She's going to cry and she's going to make a lot of noise."

"But she doesn't hafta make alotta noise." Christine groaned.

"She is just a baby Christine." Steve said sternly. "She can't use words like you can. She's going to cry when she's hungry and when she needs a changing. She's going to make a lot of noise when she's happy too. You did the same thing when you were a baby too." He frowned.

"But I am a baby!" Christine frowned at him.

"Christine, you're almost three. You're not a little baby anymore. You're going to be a big girl soon. You can't keep having a fit because your baby sister interrupted your movie." He sighed. Christine glared at him and he just shrugged. "If you're going to act like a little drama queen, then I'm going to put you in timeout. Mommy, Dot and I will enjoy the rest of the movie without you." He threatened.

Christine gasped and shook her head quickly. "You can't do that!" She cried.

"Are you going to be mad next time your sister interrupts the movie?" Steven asked her.

"Yes." Christine frowned. He sighed and stood up from the floor.

"Ten minutes timeout. No leaving the bed." He pointed before leaving. Christine broke into a fit of tears but didn't leave the bed. The last time she had disobeyed, Pippa had gotten her with putting her favorite toy on the fridge for a week. She never left timeout again after that.

"How did that go?" Pippa asked while placing a blanket over her shoulder.

"I'm too old to continue parenting." Steve complained. Pippa raised an eyebrow at him and placed Dot up against her chest to burp her. "I mean... Dot, I can handle. She's cute and has no problems. But Tini?! She's adorable and has a bit of issues."

"She's just acting out because she's not the center of attention anymore." Pippa shrugged. She continued to pat Dot's back and heard a loud burp. "There it is." She chuckled.

"Jesus. You wouldn't think a baby that size could do that." Steven laughed.

===

Lin sat in the doctors office, recalling everything the doctor had explained to him. They had run every test again, and got the same results.

"We can keep doing what we're doing. But again, we can't guarantee anything." The doctor frowned. Lin could only nod. He didn't know what to do or say. He knew what he could say, but he didn't want to believe it anymore. He just wanted it all to be over.

The constant toying of everyone's emotions was enough to make them go crazy. He could only imagine how his wife was going to be when he told her. He just needed to find the right time and the right way to say it. But when was it really going to be the right time or right way to say anything?