Once Again

Cameron sighed as she walked up to the house. It had been about two weeks since she and Jimmy had reconnected, and Raven was thrilled to finally have her father in her life.

They both heard about Jimmy nearly quitting the band, and Raven was not happy in the slightest. She let Jimmy know that when he showed up the following day. Cameron wasn’t too happy about it either, mainly because she knew it was Jimmy’s dream to play in a band. If he gave that up, then he would regret it for the rest of his life.

“Hey Cam, hey Ray,” Matt smiled as he opened the door for the two of them.

“Uncle Matt!” Raven exclaimed, rushing into his arms.

“How you feeling princess?” Matt asked her as he lifted her up.

“I feel good.” She replied. “Where’s Daddy?”

“Out back working on the grill,” Matt replied.

“Don’t get too close to the grill,” Cameron reminded her daughter as the little girl rushed toward the backyard. Matt smiled after her as he turned back to Cameron. “She definitely gets her energy from Jimmy,” he muttered.

“That she does.” Cameron sighed. “Thank Jimmy for keep her for the day for me please. I have so much to do and this helps me a lot to have someone take her for a while.”

“It’s no problem Cammy. Seriously, go finish your errands. We’ll save a burger for when you get back.”

“Make it a brat with some potato salad on the side and you have a deal.” Cameron laughed as Jimmy walked up to them.

“Hey Cam,” he said to her.

“Hey Jimmy, look, thank you for keeping her for the day. I really need this.” Cameron said.

“Don’t worry about it. She’s my daughter just as much as she is yours. I’m thrilled to have her for the day. Don’t worry, I’ll have her swearing and chasing ducks in no time.”

“James Sullivan,” Cameron muttered with a small laugh. “If you have my daughter swearing, I will personally kick your ass.”

“I’m not Cameron, but go, get your stuff done. Raven will be fine.” Jimmy smiled, wrapping his arm around her head.

“Thanks,” she replied. She quickly walked back to her car and started it. As soon as she pulled out of the driveway, Jimmy went back into the backyard where Raven was running around with Johnny and Zack. Jimmy shook his head as he went back to the grill to finish the burgers and brats.

“Jimmy!” Zack shouted suddenly. Jimmy looked up and his heart raced when he saw the red pouring from his daughter’s nose.

“Fuck,” he muttered, running into the house to grab a rag. He soaked it with cold water and quickly and ran outside toward Raven, who was sitting with her head back.

“No baby, go forward,” Jimmy said, helping her lean her chin against her chest as he placed the compress on her nose. Everyone was silent for a long moment before Jimmy moved Raven’s head. He checked on the bleeding and saw that it had stopped.

“Are you okay?” Jimmy asked as he cleaned up her face. Raven nodded, though she looked a little pale and shaken up.

“Why does that always happen Daddy?” Raven asked, looking up at him with tear filled blue eyes. Jimmy didn’t know what to say. He just wrapped his arms around the little girl as she started to sob.

“Come on, let’s go get you a change of clothes then you sit and rest a while.” Jimmy said, picking her up and carrying her into the house. He carried her up to one the guest room, where he was slowly turning it into a bedroom for her. He had a dresser filled with clothing for her already. He was just waiting to be able to take her to the paint store to chose the colors she wanted on her walls. He already decided if the insemination works and he and Cameron does have another baby, he would turn his second guest room into a nursery.

After grabbing out an outfit for Raven, he helped her change into it before putting the soiled clothes into warm water to soak in for a minute. At least until he could get Raven back outside where the guys could watch her.

“Hey princess,” Matt smiled from the grill. “Go sit down, we’re about to eat.”

“Me not hungry.” Raven muttered. “Tummy feels funny.”

“Why don’t you go take a nap then?” Jimmy suggested with a sigh. Raven nodded and walked back into the house. Everyone watched as Raven laid down on the couch. She was asleep within seconds.

“I’ll be right back,” Jimmy told the guys. They all nodded as he walked back into the house. He threw the throw blanket over Raven before running back up the stairs to try to clean off the blood from the outfit.

“I didn’t think she was that bad,” Brian’s voice said out of nowhere, causing Jimmy to jump.

“I had an idea,” Jimmy muttered, scrubbing on the spot. “I just never expected the nosebleeds to start up.”

“How long has she been having them?” Brian asked, leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom.

“About a week,” Jimmy replied. “She’s getting worse Bri. I don’t know if she can stay strong until…”

“Jimmy, don’t even start thinking like that,” Brian interrupted him. “You start thinking like that, it’s almost like you’re giving up hope on her, and she needs you to stay positive, as does Cameron. Your parents needs you to stay positive. You need for yourself to stay positive. You’ve never been a negative thinker, so don’t start now.”

“I can’t help it Brian,” Jimmy whispered, tossing the shirt down into the water as he braced himself on the edge of the sink. “Look at her Brian. Her strength is hanging on by a fucking thread.”

“Which is why she’s going to be needing you now more than fucking ever man.” Brian snapped. “That’s the exact reason why you have to stay strong for your daughter. She sees you fighting and staying strong, she’ll fucking fight for as long as she can. I hate to be so blunt, but if she dies, then it was meant to happen. You grieve, you move on.”

“You can’t fucking understand it Brian,” Jimmy said, so softly Brian barely heard him. “It’s not fucking like I can just get over it if I lose her. She’s my daughter for Christ’s sake. Parents don’t get over losing their children. I don’t give a damn how long she’s been in my life. That little girl down there is my life now. If I lose her right now, then I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“Then stay strong for her. She’ll try to stay strong for you as long as she can. Hell who knows maybe one day she’ll even get a little better.” Jimmy didn’t reply, just stood there staring into the sink for a long moment. He sighed and took the clothes out and drained the water.

“I need to check on Raven,” he muttered, pushing himself past Brian. Brian watched his best friend walk down the stairs, his heart aching for the man. Sure he didn’t know what it was like to have a child, and a sick one at that. He did know that it was hard to watch this little girl suffering through so much though. Raven Sullivan was in almost every sense of the word, his niece, and he understood when Jimmy said there would be no getting over her if anything happened to her. She was just like Jimmy, and Brian couldn’t picture a world without either one of them.