'Good morning Julie', a familiar voice whispered, as I opened my eyes.
'Morning Melissa', I mumbled, sleepily.
'How are you feeling?', Melissa, who was the hospice nurse that was now living with us, asked.
'Sore', I sighed, trying to ignore the pain in my chest, 'But what's new?'
'I'll give you painkillers in a few minutes', Melissa replied, 'At least you have something to look forward to today though, Mark is coming home.'
'I forgot', I laughed, weakly, 'I can't wait to see him.'
'The kids can't either', Melissa smiled, 'By the way, are you okay to see them? Lucas threw a bit of a tantrum last night because he wanted to, but I knew that it would have been too much for you.'
'Thanks Melissa', I whispered, 'You've been so good to me.'
'Being, don't use the past tense Julie', she replied, smilingly.
'Okay', I sighed, looking up at her, 'Will you get the kids?'
'Of course', she replied, 'Give me a few minutes.'
With that she made her way out of the room.
I laid my head back down on the pillow and sighed, which made me winch as I felt the pain that it caused in my chest.
I knew my time here was coming to an end, and even though I knew that Mark and the kids would be devastated, I couldn't help wishing that it would come. Being in constant pain was not fun, and it was also hard for me to breathe sometimes. It was the most horrific feeling, and I wished that I could be rid of it all.
'Mummy?', I then heard a voice whisper, making me open my eyes.
'Hello Lucas', I said,smilingly weakly as my son looked down at me, 'How are you pet?'
'Mummy, when will you be get better? I want to bake cupcakes with you again', he replied, as he sat up on the bed, 'Your cupcakes are the best.'
It broke my heart to see him so confused, that he actually thought that everything would be okay again.
'Lucas', I sighed, holding his hand, 'Mummy is on her way to holy God, he wants me to make him cupcakes too.'
'Mummy I don't want you to go!', Lucas said, as tears pooled in his eyes, 'I want you to stay here with Daddy and Anna and Ethan and me.'
'I'm sorry baby', I sniffed, wiping the tears that were falling onto his cheeks, 'But daddy will look after you, and so will your nanas and granddads.'
'But I want you Mummy!', Lucas cried, wrapping his arms around me, which made me winch, 'I love you Mummy.'
'Oh I love you too Lucas', I whispered, stroking his thick brown hair, 'You and your brother and sister are the best things to ever happen to me.'
The two of us just stayed like that for a while, holding each other while we cried, but eventually I pulled away and looking into my son's eyes I said, 'Now Lucas, you're going to have to do a job for me okay?'
'Okay Mummy', he nodded, as I wiped the tears from his eyes.
'When Mummy is gone, you're going to have to be a big boy and look after your brother and sister and your daddy', I said, 'Will you do that for me?'
'I will Mummy', he nodded, 'I'll be a big boy.'
'Good boy', I smiled, giving me him another kiss and a hug before letting him go, 'Now, will you make sure that Anna has put her dolls away because daddy will be home later and we can't have the house untidy for him.'
'Uh-huh', Ethan said, as he jumped of the bed.
I watched as he walked towards the door, and when he turned around before he left and said, 'I love you Mummy.'
'I love you too baby', I smiled, and then he left.
Anna and Ethan both came to see me a little while after Lucas left.
They too wanted to know when I would be 'better' and be able to play games with them again.
It broke my heart when they hugged me, knowing that it was one of the last times that I would be doing it.
My mother then called them for their dinner, and I was left alone once again. Which was a good thing really, because I could feel myself falling asleep.
I woke with a start. My chest felt like it was being pricked by thousands of red hot pokers, and I could hardly catch my breath.
'M-Melissa!', I gasped as loud as I could.
Thankfully, it was at that moment that she was bringing me something to eat so she heard me.
'Julie?', she said, when she walked in, carrying a tray.
'M-Mel', I gasped, as she put the tray down, 'H-help!'
'It's okay Julie, it's okay. Try to calm down', Melissa replied, as she typed on her phone, 'I'm going to call an ambulance. Everything will be fine.'
Ten minutes later, I was in an ambulance, withering as my mother watched from the living room window with the kids.
'Julie I'm going with you okay?', Melissa told me, taking my hand in hers and squeezing it.
Eventually, the paramedics brought us to the hospital and I was rushed in and put on an intravenous drip.
'It'll help with the pain Julie', Melissa assured me.
Almost immediately I could feel the effects and began to slide into a deep sleep.
Melissa'sP.O.V:
I paced the hospital hall sanxiously.
Having been a hospice nurse with the last ten years, I recognized the signs that a patient was going downhill.
Julie was defiantly at that stage, and I knew that when she did pass away I would be truly heartbroken.
It wasn't that she was Mark Owen from Take That's wife, it was because she was one of the nicest people I had ever met.
Sighing I knew what I had to do.
I pulled out my phone and quickly typed in Julie's mother's number.
'Mrs Henderson?', I said, when she answered, 'I think you should contact Mark, she's not going to last much longer.'
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Hey guys,
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
Thank you all so much for the support that you've all given me for this story. I never thought it would be so popular.
Love,
Lauren
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