Once Again

They rode in silence for the rest of the ride to Jimmy’s house. Cameron tried not to show emotion towards the beach side property, but she found it was harder than she thought.

“You’re uh, doing good for yourself Jimmy,” Cameron muttered, looking at the house.

“It’s just a place to rest my head when I’m home from tour. Nothing too special about it.” he shrugged, standing up.

“Good luck you two,” Matt said, giving Jimmy a one armed man hug. He kissed Cameron on the cheek before she followed Jimmy off the bus and toward his car.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she whispered, watching the bus pull onto the street.

“I know,” Jimmy replied, starting his car. “Do you know where the place is?” Cameron nodded, and the only words spoken was Cameron giving Jimmy directions to the clinic.

“Uhm, James Sullivan and Cameron Summers,” Cameron said to the receptionist.

“One moment please,” she replied sweetly, walking into the back. Jimmy and Cam sat around, waiting for someone to come out.

“When we get out of here, I want you to tell me everything that’s been going on with her.” Jimmy said.

“You know everything. She got sick one day, she wasn’t getting any better, so I took her to the hospital. She spent days there with them trying to find out what was wrong. They found the Leukemia and, things have been a rollercoaster ever since.”

“So, is it cancer, or is it a blood disease?”

“It’s basically a cancer of the blood that’s had successful experiments with core blood treatments.”

“Meaning, the child is cured of the illness?” Cameron nodded as a nurse walked up to them.

“Mr. Sullivan, Ms. Summers, we’re ready for you.” she said sweetly. They were led to an office, where a stern looking woman was sitting behind the desk.

“Hello, I’m Miranda Throp, and I’ll be evaluating you two.”

“Evaluating us for what?” Jimmy asked, taking the offered seat next to Cameron.

“This clinic doesn’t just allow two people to create a baby. We need to know that the child will be taken care of and loved, and not just used. Now, I know your situation, but I want to ask you, do you feel like creating a new child together is just for the umbilical cord blood? Like after the transplant is over, neither of you will care for the child.”

“What? No!” Cameron shouted, standing up. Jimmy grabbed her hands and forced her to sit back down.

“Ma’am with all due respect, I didn’t even know about Raven until this morning. I saw her for the first time and I fell in love with her instantly. It’s like my father instinct knew she was in the world, but my brain did not. When I found out she was sick and dying, of course it broke my heart, and I want to do whatever I can to help save her. I’m sure Cameron feels the same way as I do about saving our daughter. However, we’re not the type of people to just breed for whatever reasons they do it for. It took Raven collapsing and having to be taken to the hospital to get Cameron to go along with this. With our daughter, we’ll raise her together, and with any child we may have in the future, we’ll love and raise him or her as if none of this happened, even if the transplant isn’t successful.”

Miranda thought for a moment.

“How will this be paid for?” she asked finally, smiling up at the two of them. Cameron let her breath out in a rush as Jimmy sat back in his chair.

“I’m sure my insurance will cover part of it, I’ll just have to add Cameron and Raven to it,” Jimmy said. “As for the rest, I guess we’ll both work that out. I make enough to cover it all, but I know Cameron will want to add in what she can.”

“What do you do profession wise?”

“I worked for a publishing company, but they,” Cameron hesitated, glancing up at Jimmy before sighing. “They fired me for taking too much time off. Now I’m a waitress at a local restaurant in town.”

“Cameron,” Jimmy muttered, covering his face with his hands.

“Mr. Sullivan, what is your career?”

“I play drums in a rock band.” he replied.

“Doesn’t sound very stable.”

“We’re currently planning our fourth album, our third album sold 2 million copies over the world, and is still going strong. We’ve been on tour for it for about four years now, and I’m not the type to just spend everything I make. I spend yes, but I save for emergencies as well.”

“So, sounds like your band is pretty successful,” Throp nodded her head. She considered things for a moment before signing her name on the paper. “I can see you two are really good people and won’t use the child for anything. You’ll love him or her as if you two are married and raising the child, so I’ll allow it.”

“Thank you,” Jimmy stated, taking the paper from her.

“Please go outside, nurses will be waiting for you.”

“Good luck,” Jimmy said as he was being taken away from Cameron. She nodded and followed her nurse down a hallway, where she saw the bed with stirrups.

“So, we’ll just do a regular examination and see where things go from there,” the nurse informed her. Cameron nodded, wondering how Jimmy was doing.

About an hour later, Jimmy was sitting in the waiting room as Cameron walked out the door.

“Ready?” he asked her, standing up. She nodded and followed him out the door.

“You doing okay?” he asked her as she slid down into the seat.

“They have me on hormones,” she muttered.

“Shit, better not piss you off then,” Jimmy teased.

“How did it go for you?” she asked.

“You want to know, ask the people back there because I am not reliving that.” he replied, shivers running up and down his spine.

“You’ll probably have to,” Cameron pointed out.

“It’s for a good cause I guess,” Jimmy shrugged.

“So, the album really went that good? I’m glad, you guys are finally making it to the big time.”

“Yeah we are, but we’re still the same guys.” Jimmy muttered, staring out the window so he wouldn’t say anything to Cameron.

“Never thought you’d change with fame for a second,” Cameron admitted. “Jimmy, I was thinking, we’re doing all of this for Raven, and she doesn’t even realize you’re her father. How about we go back to the hospital and break the news to her?”

“Only if she’s feeling well enough,” Jimmy replied.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Cameron asked him suddenly.

“Why didn’t you tell me they fired you? Or that you were working at a crummy diner or whatever to support yourself and Raven. Cam, I’ve been there in my life, places like that doesn’t make enough for one person, and with Raven being sick and all, you probably took off a lot of days.”

“It’s not your problem Jimmy.” Cameron sighed. Out of nowhere Jimmy turned into a parking lot, slamming on his brakes while holding Cameron back so she wouldn’t hit her head.

“Not my, it’s not my problem that you’re struggling to raise my daughter? Fuck Cameron what the hell is going through your damn mind? This is our daughter we’re talking about. Not just you, but the both of us, I’m in the equation too. Anything that has to do with that girl has to do with me too. So from now on, no more fucking secrets. When it comes to Raven, no more secrets. I want to know every single fucking thing about her life. I didn’t say anything, but it pissed me off that I had to find out she went through Chemo through her doctor. I need to fucking know these things Cameron. She’s my daughter she…” Jimmy’s voice trailed as he let his head fall against the steering wheel, sobs racking through his body as he let all of his anger, frustrations and hurt out.

Cameron watching him, not really knowing what to do. She never seen him crying like this, so it was new for her to see.

“Okay,” Cameron muttered. “No more secrets.”

“I heard that before Cameron, not even an hour ago.” Jimmy muttered, glancing at her before throwing the car back into drive. He peeled out of the parking lot, not giving Cameron a chance to say anything. They drove in silence the rest of the way to the hospital, where Jimmy pulled up to the front doors stopped the car.

“Aren’t you coming in?” Cameron asked.

“Give me your keys. I’ll get one of the guys to help me bring your car to you, but I think we should wait for this with Raven, She’s probably tired as hell, and I need to calm down before I see her.”

“Okay,” Cameron nodded. She pulled her keys from her purse and handed them to Jimmy, who placed them in the console between the seats.

“I’ll call you and let you know where I parked the car,” Jimmy said before she shut the door. Cameron just nodded and gently let the door close. She stood back and watched as Jimmy drove away before turning around and walking into the hospital.