Fatal: Part 2 (The Rain)

Chapter 21

The next morning.

Chris and McKayla lay in each other's arms; awake, but not speaking. They were both just...thinking. Both of them were incredibly worried and afraid. They dreaded what was to come.

"I don't wanna get up." McKayla says, breaking the silence, "I don't ever wanna leave this house or this bed or these arms...I just wanna stay here with you forever and not have to worry about cancer or hospitals or dying..."

Chris speaks, "And someday we will, baby. This is just...a different chapter in our lives."

"Yeah, well, I'd much rather not read this chapter and just skip ahead to the happily ever after."

Chris looks straight into McKayla's green eyes, "If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that my princess is going to get her happily ever after. I promise." He says before kissing her tenderly.

When they come apart, they just sort of...looked at each other; and they could see the fear in each other's eyes.

McKayla sighs, "We should probably start getting ready."

"Yeah, we probably should. Let's go shower."

McKayla nods and sits up.

x

Nothing all that sexual happened in the shower. They just sort of...held each other. It was wonderful and heart-breaking all the same. McKayla could have stayed there in Chris' arms with the water falling down on them forever...

x

"You have everything you need?" Chris asks.

"I think so. Let me just double check." McKayla says, looking around the bedroom for anything that she may want or need. She looks in the closet.

And then she sees it.

The black hoodie jacket that Chris gave her in high school.

McKayla gets tears in her eyes and a lump forms in her throat. She takes the jacket off the hanger and clutches it. It smelled like him, it felt like him; it reminded McKayla of him. She needed this.

McKayla puts the jacket on, then walks out into the living room where Chris waited for her.

"I'm ready." She says, her voice cracking.

Chris nods as she walks up to him. Chris kisses her once more, then takes her hand. They grab her things, then walk out of the house.

x

During the car ride, McKayla for some reason paid a lot of extra close attention to what was going on outside. She watched the birds preparing for Spring. She watched a breeze blow some snow off the trees. She looked at other people in other cars. They probably had decent lives. They probably didn't have to worry about dying so soon...

They arrived at the hospital about twenty minutes later. Sophie met them there. When they saw her, she came over and hugged them both for a really long time. All of them were incredibly sad, and terrified over all.

Finally, they began approaching the hospital. With each step she took, McKayla's heart pounded harder and harder and harder. It took all of her will power to not break down in the middle of the parking lot.

When they got to the doors, McKayla turned around and looked outside at the world one last time.

"Kayla?" Chris asks from behind her.

It'd been cloudy, but the sun just then barely began to peek out from behind the clouds.

McKayla sighs, "I'm coming." She says, turning around.

Chris takes one of McKayla's hands. Sophie takes the other. McKayla squeezes each of their hands and gives them a small, sad smile.

They walk into the hospital.

x

Chemo certainly had an affect on McKayla. Her hair began to fall out within only two weeks of treatment. It was traumatic for her, which she felt weird about. It's hair. It grows back. But it still upset her. Everyone understood though.

The first time Chris saw McKayla without her hair completely was one time when McKayla was home for a rest period, and he'd just returned home from tour.

Chris walks into the house with a smile on his face.

"Kayla!" He calls, "I'm back, babe!"

McKayla walks out of the bedroom. She was in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles T-shirt, Batman pajama pants and had fuzzy slippers on her feet. She also had a scarf wrapped around her head.

"Hi!" She says, walking up to him and hugging him. Chris holds her close to him and kisses her temple.

"God, I missed you so much." He says.

"I missed you too, baby."

"How are you feeling?" Chris asks, breaking the embrace.

"Alright, I guess." McKayla says, "I've just sort of been having a lazy day and - damn it." She says, removing the scarf from her head.

Chris' heart fell to her stomach at seeing her.

"I can never get this thing to stay on my head." McKayla continues, "But if I don't wear it, my head gets cold."

Chris brings himself to laugh, "Here." He says. He takes the scarf from McKayla. He then takes off the beanie he'd been wearing and puts it on her.

"There." Chris states.

McKayla smiles, "Thank you."

"See? I told you: You're the still most beautiful girl in the world, even with your hair fallen out." Chris says, "I love you."

"I love you too." McKayla says before kissing him.

x

As he said he would, Chris did end up shaving part of his head, (A/N: The way it was in the Devils Night and America videos, y'know? The devilock or whatever it's called.) Despite some of his protests, he continued to tour and make music because McKayla asked him to. However, he was always only a phone call away if there were ever any emergencies. Luckily, there hardly ever were.

Chris and Sophie also grew much closer throughout the experience, as did McKayla with the rest of Chris' family. They all had more love support than they could ever ask for.

McKayla's cancer sort of yo-yo'ed throughout the time she had it. Meaning, it got better and it got worse; it went away and it came back. That was all pretty stressful.

One of the times McKayla was "better" however, she and Chris moved into the large house on the edge of town that they'd seen before. McKayla's cancer returned soon after though...again.

Chris continued to ask McKayla to marry him, and she continued to decline. Chris didn't mind though. He understood her reason for saying 'no'. He also knew that he'd get her to say 'yes' eventually.

And he did. On that rainy day in April of 2014 when McKayla was back in the hospital for another round of chemo.

Which leads us to another day in April, when things finally started to brighten up for Chris and McKayla...

A/N: Behind the Scenes chapter next.

Be on the lookout for part 3.