Only two more chapters to go 😭
I might have two epilogues but I'm still working on one so I hope I can get it done.

Enjoy this chapter, although it's a little sad. Don't forget to comment & vote ❤️

~ShoamEmily

~

3rd of December, 2009
Michael is 51, Angela is 45, and Jake is 46

Jake: A car stopped downstairs, telling me the kids and Angela were here.

It's been way too long.

"How do I look?" I asked Bill.

He only shrugged and went back to the TV.

"Thanks for nothing," I sighed when a knock on the door was heard. "I'm coming!"

My two beautiful children stood there with Adam. Angela, however, was missing.

"Daddy!" Eric hugged me. Lily hurried to join.

"I'll come to pick them up in four hours. Don't leave the apartment, okay? Mr. Jackson was very specific about it, since they can be recognized now." Adam said.

I nodded, "Where's Angela?"

"Mom's at the hospital," Eric looked up at me. "She has to stay there."

"What? Why?"

"Dad said they want to keep an eye on her."

Why didn't they tell me anything?

"Four hours." Adam reminded before he left.

I crouched down in front of Lily and Eric. "How is your mom doing?"

"We don't know. We haven't seen her in two weeks..." my daughter frowned.

Gosh, Angela must be in really bad shape...

Hugging my children again, I decided I would make this the best day for them.

~

Angela: "Angie... Angie," I heard Michael's soft voice. "You gotta wake up, babe. Dr. Brent is coming to check on you in bit."

"Just a few more minutes." I mumbled.

"Fine, 10 minutes."

I drifted off again. It seemed like only a couple seconds passed when my husband stroked my back soothingly, whispering in my ear that I have to wake up now.

He helped me sit up, then walked me slowly to the bathroom to wash my face.

With shaky hands, I cupped some water, but they spilled.

"Need help?" Michael was by my side.

His fingers ran over my face gently as he wiped the sleep out of my eyes. "There."

I smiled slightly and he leaned down to kiss me. Our lips were about to touch just as we heard the room door open.

We walked out of the bathroom, to see Dr. Brent checking my chart.

"How are we today, Mrs. Jackson?" she said with a small smile.

I lay back down on the bed. "Still exhausted."

"I'm sorry to hear. I just wanted to come back with the blood test results, looks like you'll have to stay here a while longer."

Great.

"But we'll keep going with the chemo, so by the end of next month we'll hopefully see some improvement."

Only next month? But I already started my second round of treatments...

It was the same thing just like last month; two weeks of chemo pills, the IV on the third week, and on week number four I get a break.

A nurse then brought me lunch, but I just stared at it since I couldn't eat anything. Michael shook the doctor's hand before she left.

"Ange, come on. It's either you eat or you get the tube again." he encouraged.

I groaned, "You know I hate the tube."

He nodded towards the plate, making me take the fork and start eating.

~

Michael: Angela went back to sleep after lunch.

I just watched her, counting how many times her heart was beating. She seemed so weak, it honestly tore me to pieces.

Her eyes shot open all of a sudden, her hand covered her mouth. As fast as I could, I helped her out of bed.

She gasped for breath after throwing up her lunch. When she finished, she still struggled to breathe.

"M- Mike, I- I can't-"

I panicked, going over to press the green button above the bed. A few moments passed until a nurse came, but Angela was getting paler.

"What's happening?!" I demanded. "Why can't she breathe?"

"Mr. Jackson, relax, she just needs some oxygen. Help me get her to bed, alright?"

I did as she said, and she got to work straight away, placing the oxygen tubes inside my wife's nose. "Try taking deep breaths, Mrs. Jackson. In and out."

Two minutes later, Angela's breathing evened, along with her heartbeat. I sighed in relief.

"Keep the oxygen in for the rest of the day," the nurse ordered, then fixed her IV. "I'll tell your doctor that we'll continue with tube feeding for now."

Once she left, Angela grabbed my hand tightly, trying to speak. I shushed her, "Rest, Angie."

She nodded, her eyes closing again.

Gosh, my poor baby... What did she ever do to deserve this?

~

11th of December, 2009
Michael is 51, Angela is 45, and Jake is 46

Michael: More exhaustion, more nausea, and even more things went wrong.

"I'm sorry you have to go through all this, Angie," I said and helped her get in the shower. "I wish I could do something to make it better."

"You're here, that's all I need." she kissed my cheek.

I washed her now buzzed hair, making her flinch a bit. The bald spots she had had gotten bigger, and I knew she hated the way I touched them.

"I want to go home." she sniffled when we were done.

"Baby, you have to stay here, it's for your own good."

"But I miss the kids, the fresh air... Our bed. I hate it here."

"I'll talk to Dr. Brent, see what I can do. Okay?" I kissed her softly.

She nodded, putting our foreheads together. "I- Michael, what if I don't make it through?"

"Don't talk like that, Angie. You'll be just fine, you'll see. By the end of the month you'll be as good as new." I reassured.

"But I feel so weak all the time, I can barely breathe on my own, I can't eat like a normal person... And now my stupid fever is back."

"Shh, you'll see. Soon enough."

"Can you go home and be with the kids? I'd rather you be with them for the night, poor Britney and Luci must be so tired by now. Maybe grab me some new clothes, too."

"Of course," we kissed again. "But if anything happens, I expect Adam to tell me right away."

Angela went to bed and put the oxygen tubes in again. She basically had Adam drag me out of the room, telling me she loves me as I left.

~

When I arrived at Neverland, the house was quiet.

I searched all over, but no one was around.

"Kids?" I called. "Luciano? Britney? Grace?"

Nothing, absolute silence. They're probably around the ranch somewhere.

As if she knew, my mother called. "Hello, mother. How are you?"

"Me?! We haven't heard from you in a week, son! You don't bother to even answer your own mother anymore?" she sounded hurt.

"Mother, you know I've been taking care of Angela. She needs me."

I walked to the bedroom and into Angela's closet, before starting on a bag for her.

"And I have been worried sick about the both of you, Michael! At least answer your phone so I know everything's good!"

"You're right, okay?" I sighed. "But I don't know what else you want me to say."

Mother scoffed, "Can I come see her?"

"Uh, I don't know, it's all very sensitive right now."

"Have the kids seen her at all?"

I stayed quiet because I knew she would tell me off if she knew the truth.

"Michael, answer me."

"They haven't seen her since she checked in."

"Where are you right now?" she said sternly.

I groaned, "At home. Mother, please, leave it. I'm fine-"

"I'm already in Santa Barbara, I'll be there in an hour." she hung up.

Angrily, I pushed some more clothes into the duffle bag as the thought of my children popped up.

Angela refused to let the kids come see her. Understandably so, she still needed to see them as much as they needed to see her.

They need us. And the babies, they probably don't understand why they haven't seen us in so long...

Everything that has been bottling up for the past few weeks finally exploded and I broke down in tears.

~

I stayed inside Angela's closet room until mother got here. When she found me, all curled up in myself, she helped me stand.

"Michael..." she cooed. "Look at you, son. You need a shower and a shave, and while you do that, how about I cook you something real quick? When was the last time you ate a good meal?"

I shrugged because I couldn't remember.

"Are the kids not here?" she asked.

"I don't know."

She rubbed my back, "How's Angela?"

"Getting worse every day. I don't know what to do, mother," I sobbed again. "I'm so lost. And she hates the hospital, but she has to stay there, so I can't even make it better for her."

"But I thought chemo was going to work."

"It will, in a few months. For now she's just... Fading away from me."

"You need to let her see the kids, I'm sure that will make her feel better."

"She doesn't want them to see her like this, mother. They won't be able to handle it, I can barely handle it..."

With a long sigh, she offered again to make me something to eat. When I agreed, she ordered me to take a shower, and I decided to listen for a change.

But as I did, all I could think about was the weeks to come, how much harder they were going to be.

~

While getting dressed, I could faintly hear the kids' voices. It filled my heart with so much joy.

I've truly missed them.

"Daddy!" Jared was the one to notice me first, and ran up to me as I entered the kitchen. "Daddy, daddy, daddy!"

I picked him up, hugging him tightly. "Hey, bubba..."

The rest of my children joined in. My eyes burned with some tears, but I blinked them away.

"Are we going to see mom? Is that why you're here?" Paris asked excitedly.

I looked at mother for help. She cleared her throat, "Not yet, Paris. Your mother is still too sick."

"But she's been at the hospital for three weeks, how much longer?"

"Your mom will see you when she can, Paris."

My daughter looked so sad, it broke my heart.

"Go wash your hands, everyone. Dinner will be ready soon." mother told them.

As soon as they were gone, Britney waddled in, along with Luciano.

"Michael, you're home!" she gasped, coming to hug me. "Are there any good news?"

I shook my head, making her pout. "How are you, Brit? How's the baby?"

"I'm honestly tired, and I am just about ready for him to come out... Braxton Hicks are no joke." she laughed a little.

"Well, you have been chasing around nine kids..." Luciano teased.

"Hey, it's good practice."

I smiled at them. The children soon came back, taking me with them to the dining room, where I finally forgot about Angela, even if it was just for a little while.

~

After everyone was in bed, I was called to the living room by my brother-in-law.

"I wanted to show you something." he said, leading me outside to the pool.

We went into the pool house, which has basically been the game room ever since I moved into Neverland in 1988.

"Since I've been here for a while now, I came in here a few times. And I talked to Katherine," he explained when he saw the confusion on my face. "About Angela wanting to come home. How often do you use this space?"

"Not enough, at least since we left in 2004... The kids don't care for it too much, honestly."

"So, what if you clear all this out, turn it into a medical suite for Ange? Get her a nurse to be here 24/7. I'll help you put it together and she'll be home before Christmas."

How didn't I think of this?

"Thank you." I hugged him.

He patted my back, "Of course. Anything for Angela."

~

20th of December, 2009
Michael is 51, Angela is 45, and Jake is 46

Angela: Jada smiled brightly at me as she beat me in a game of 'Go Fish'.

"I thought you'd be better than this, girl. You know, having kids to play with and all." she smirked.

"Hey, it's not fair. I have chemo brain." I rolled my eyes.

"Sure, blame the disease." she joked.

The past month has been so crucial. With another set of treatments, Dr. Brent was sure we'd see results soon. I was less weak the last couple of days, which was probably a good sign.

I shivered a little, so Adam hurried to ask if I needed another blanket. He made a face when I refused.

"You wanna play again?" Jada asked, shuffling the cards.

"You're on." I challenged, only to lose again a few minutes later.

When she laughed at me, I scoffed. "It's rigged."

"Sore loser," she said. "You know, the wrap looks good on you."

"You really think so?"

"It sure does look better than that beanie I saw you with before."

"Thanks for teaching me. Really, it made me feel better about the hair loss."

My friend smiled, "Of course. How's the hospital treating ya?"

"Don't get me started. I hate it, but both my doctor and husband think it's a good idea." I said.

"Whatever helps you get better, hun."

I lay back in my chair, taking a deep breath.

Murmurs were suddenly heard around the room, so I looked around. Michael was walking in with Andre following him, only sunglasses offering some sort of protection.

What is he doing here?

Adam nodded towards him. "Sir."

When he reached me, he leaned down to plant a firm kiss on my lips. "Hey, baby."

"Mike, are you crazy? People can recognize you..." I sighed.

"I'm here to spend some time with my beautiful wife," he smiled and turned to shake Jada's hand. "Hi, I'm Michael. I've heard a lot about you."

"You have...?" Jada gaped at him.

"Yes, thank you for offering Angie support during these difficult times."

She looked at me, "You didn't tell me your husband was THE Michael Jackson, girl... I'm such a big fan. Been one since I was 6."

Michael kissed her hand gently, as if to thank her again. He then turned to face me.

"You ready to go home?"

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, I have a surprise for you."

~

"Mike, I can walk..." I said as he carried me bridal style through the house, then out to the pool.

"I don't want you too tired," he kissed me, stopping at the pool house. "You ready?"

"Why are we at the pool house? Are we gonna play something...?"

He didn't say anything, and instead opened the door. My mouth hung open when I saw what he did.

The room had a complete makeover. It had a full-sized hospital bed, enough to fit two people, along with a bunch of medical equipment.

"Oh, Michael... Is this for me?" I gasped.

"Yeah, Luciano had the idea, he helped me get everything you need. And I hired you a nurse, too. Dr. Brent will come every few days to check on you."

I hugged his neck tighter, kissing him deeply. "You're the best."

"Oh! And before I forget," he continued. "You'll be getting IV treatments at home. I already called Jada's husband, she'll be joining you here from now on."

"I can't believe it. How did you do it?"

"I pulled some strings..."

My husband leaned down to kiss me again, "I love you. I'd do anything for you, Angela."

"I love you more, Michael. Thank you."

After a quick tour, he took me back to the house, where our children waited impatiently for me.