Mark woke up to see Chica sleeping peacefully on his chest, her back arching and falling in sync with each of Mark's breaths.

Mark smiled as Chica blearily cracked her eyes open, her mouth stretching wide open as she yawned before standing up and licking Mark's face.

"I'm awake, I'm awake." Mark chuckled sleepily as he ran a hand through Chica's fur.

As he managed to pull himself out of bed, he abruptly fell to the floor when his leg muscle started badly cramping up, causing him to hit the carpet with a muffled thud.

Chica barked wildly as she hopped off of the bed and ran out of the room.

"Chica I'm fine!" Mark called out, grimacing in pain as he massages the muscle before tentatively standing up.

Chica bounded back and jumped on Mark's leg, her front paws landing on Mark's calf.

"You're a good girl." Mark assured her as he pet her before trudging into the kitchen to get them breakfast.

After Mark filled her food bowl up, he started making eggs for himself as Chica happily crunched on her food.

While Mark ate, he watched as Chica ran around with her new toys and occasionally barked at the window when she spotted squirrels running across the yard.

Instantly after Mark finished eating, Chica barked to get his attention as she picked up the leash in her mouth with hopeful eyes.

"Alright we'll go on a walk." Mark smirked as he took the leash from her mouth and clipped her collar around her neck before attaching the leash.

Chica bolted towards the door, practically dragging Mark out the door into the early morning sunlight.

No one was out, leaving the city to them to roam as they walked along the road on the sidewalk with Chica sniffing everything in sight.

Mark wanted to stay outside with Chica forever, but knew he couldn't since he had his first chemo therapy that afternoon.

Chica didn't notice Mark's pace slow as he fell deep in thought, her nose fixed to the ground and tail wagging in excitement as usual.

Her ears perked up when she heard a car approach, causing her to snap to attention and bark.

Mark snapped out of his thoughts and stopped walking just in time to avoid walking into the road and getting hit by the ongoing car.

"Thanks Chica." Mark sighed, relieved that Chica was paying more attention than him.

Before long, Mark reluctantly walked back to the house and got dressed to go to the doctors, his stomach twisted into a ball of anxiousness that diminished his appetite.

"Sorry bub, you gotta stay here." Mark apologized as he locked Chica in her kennel since he wasn't sure how she acted being left alone.

Chica flopped down on the blanket covered floor of her prison in reply and gnawed on her food Mark left for her.

Just as Mark started to leave, he paused at the door and turned around to see Chica's forlorn face, her sad eyes boring into Mark's.

"Oh god damnit." Mark cursed softly under his breath as he unlocked the kennel and scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the car.

During the drive, Mark blasted music through the radio and sang along while Chica howled too, her face lit up with happiness as well as Mark's.

He had almost forgotten what he was going to do until he arrived at the hospital, his uneasiness returning instantly like a punch to the gut.

He stalled going inside by reading through some of the comments left on Mark's latest videos, all of them filled with nothing but kind words of encouragement and hope.

Eventually, Mark got out of the car and trudged inside with Chica on her leash to avoid being late.

"Hello Mark, this way." The Doctor Mark has met yesterday that he couldn't remember the name of greeted him.

Mark walked with Chica down the hall after the doctor, following him to a large sterile room that made Mark freeze in fear.

"Your dog will have to stay out here during the procedure." The doctor told him gently.

Mark hesitantly handed the leash off to the doctor as he stepped into the room.

The doctor handed the leash off to a nurse passing by before joining him, his expression calm.

"Go ahead and have a seat while I get the chemo therapy drug ready." The doctor instructed, gesturing to the dentist-like chair in the center of the room.

Mark nodded numbly as he took a seat and watched nervously as the doctor filled a syringe with a blue colored liquid.

"S-so this is going to get rid of my cancer, right?" Mark stammered as the doctor approached.

"Not instantly, but that's the hope after two to six weeks." The doctor stated.

"Okay." Mark swallowed hard, turning away as the doctor injected the needle into one of the veins in his arm, releasing the cancer killing drug into his body with a push of the handle.

"And you're good for today. We'll call you in tomorrow for your next session." The doctor informed him.

"Thank you." Mark sighed, glad that he was done as he stood up and followed the doctor out of the room.

Chica barked in excitement when she saw Mark again, her tail wagging rapidly as he leash was handed to him.

The drive home was quieter as Mark thought of what the doctor had told him, hoping that time was all he needed to cure him.

Mark let Chica run around his backyard and play with her toys as he hopped into the shower to clean up before dinner.

Mark let the luxuriously warm water run down his back for awhile as he ran his hands through his hair.

He could feel chunks of his hair being pulled out by his hands as he absent mindlessly tore at it, already knowing that it would fall out donned than later.

By the time he stepped out of the shower, all of his hair was gone, leaving him with nothing but a stubble on his head.

He didn't dare look in the mirror as he threw his pjs on and tossed the fallen hair into a bag so he could donate it later.

Chica looked confused as Mark let her back inside as if she couldn't tell if he was still her owner or not.

"Hey Chica-Bica, I know this is weird. It's still me." Mark promised as he ruffled the fur on her head playfully.

Mark gave Chica her dinner before he retreated into his bedroom to eat his reheated Cracker Barrel leftovers alone.

Mark finished eating quickly so he could record, his body tired and his brain restless.

As he stared into his reflection in his camera, he could feel his hands curl into fists at his side before he lashed out, punching the camera lens hard enough to shatter it completely.

Mark threw the camera across the room and yelled as loud as he could, not caring who heard him as he smashed everything he could see before curling up on the ground in defeat.

His body shook with quiet sobs as tears streamed down his face like waterfalls, feeling anger and sadness roiling inside him that made him feel sick.

Chica scratched at the closed door, whimpering remorsefully as she listened to her owner.

After what felt like hours, Mark stumbled into the bathroom and threw up his dinner, his hand bruised from punching the camera and his head throbbing in pain.

Chica curled up at his side and watched over him as he cried himself to sleep on the tile floor.

Chica slept by him despite the cold uncomfortableness, her sad eyes never leaving Mark's face until she too fell asleep.