"What do I do, Cody?" she asked, her voice low and her hands shaking. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You go to Australia. You spend time with her, you research the shit out of this like you did when my mom was sick, you show all four kids how much you love them," he told her, cradling her head gently.

Her gaze floated around the room, noting every part of her that had invaded his space: her dirty clothes on the floor, her makeup in the bathroom, her cat sleeping with his in a pile of clothes, her scripts in a pile on the dresser next to a stack of his, her books spread out across the room. Then her eyes turned back to him, her affect on him quite obvious to the both of them, the lasting impression she had left on him and his heart.

"And what about Gina? What do I tell her?"

"You call her from the car on the way to the airport. We'll book you a flight right now, then we pack and get you out of here. You have your passport right?"

She let out a humorless laugh, "Yeah. Yeah, I used it to trick everyone into thinking I was going to Australia before. But now I really am going."

"Let me book you a flight," he told her, running a hand over her hair. "You go take a shower and then once I'm done, I'll start packing you a bag. Okay?"

She nodded wordlessly, still somewhat in shock over the news her father had delivered. Without even grabbing her phone for music, she went into the bathroom and shut the door. With each layer of clothing shed, she felt lighter and lighter, as if she was shedding the truth and reality of life off of her. And when she climbed into the scalding hot jets of water, she didn't adjust the temperature. Instead, she stood under it.

Time passed as she stood under the rushing water and somehow, it began to cool, and as it did, it's as if a dam inside of her broke. The tears started falling and the noise of that, of her sobs, caught the attention of her boyfriend who was about halfway through packing her stuff. He halted the progress of that to join her in the bathroom, shedding himself of all of his clothes before stepping into the shower with her. He didn't make a move on her, instead just wrapping her up in his arms and holding her close under the lukewarm streams of water.

"This can't be real," she muttered against his chest, her voice somewhat muffled.

"Baby, you know it is," he said gently, remembering the way she was there for him three years prior. "But it'll be okay, you guys will get through this. We'll get through this."

"Maybe it's just a false alarm," she said as she tilted her head back to look up at him as she wiped away tears. "Maybe the doctors are wrong and the tumor is harmless, so they can do laser treatments on it until it's gone. Maybe it's not real."

"Oh, Reyna," he said sadly as she tried to stop herself from crying more.

"I don't want to do this without you," she admitted, looking down at his chest instead of into his eyes. "Every time I've had to face something scary, you've been there for me. From their wedding to senior prom to my first red carpet event."

"Which was a success," he added, making her snort.

"Cody, I literally ran into Mark Wahlberg and instead of apologizing like a sane person would do, I literally told him that his face was aesthetically pleasing. And that he's the love of my life. And then I tried twice in the heels and flubbed an interview, then spilled my drink on Liam Hemsworth. How is that successful?"

"You won the award you were nominated for and you were happy," was his simple response. "But you know what you're going to do now?"

"What?"

"You are going to go face life on your own. I can't leave, but as soon as I'm wrapped, I'm on a plane to join you in Australia. You're going to help figure out a treatment plan for Averi, you're going to hold it together as much as possible so that the little ones aren't scared, and you're going to cherish what time you do have with her. Okay?"

She nodded, resting her forehead on his chest, "Okay. What time is my flight?"

"You have two hours, which means we should get out of here as soon as possible, because of customs and everything."

"Good idea. Let's get out of the shower. The water is cold anyways."

"Also a good idea. You're almost all packed."

"Oh shit," she mumbled as she dried off her legs, her focus not even on that task.

"What?"

"Selene. She's not vaccinated and ready for international travel."

"You're thinking about your cat?"

"Yes?"

"Jesus Christ, you're special. I'm watching your cat for you and then when I come, I'll drop them off with Hayes. Now come on, you have a flight to catch and it's gonna be a long 15 hours."

"I hate international flights," she mumbled, pulling her damp hair back into a bun, which made him wince and look away from her, but she didn't even notice. "They're too long. I'm gonna need sleep and my books."

"Already have your travel eye cover and your book packed," he told her. "Now come on, I wanna get some food in you before you get on that plane."

"Okay," she sighed, turning to look at him. "Thank you. I love you."

"I love you, too," he said gently as he pressed a gently kiss to her forehead. "Now shush and finish packing."

"Okay, Dad."

"No."

•••

protect me from sons of anarchy why did i ever start this show why do i let myself get attached to characters?

HALFWAY MARK

[ 8.16.17 ]