Somebody knocked at the door, causing John to leave the living room and cross the corridor to reach the front door. When he opened it, he saw a smiling tall man with a mass of dark curly hair, wearing a colourful t-shirt under a grey waistcoat, and holding a bunch of purple flowers. John immediately recognised Brian and briefly hugged him.

“Hi, Brian, thank you for coming” he said with a smile.

“It's always a pleasure to see you and your lady, you know that. May I come in?”

“Oh, sure, sure.”

John stepped aside and let his taller friend in, closing the door behind both of them. Brian took off his shoes, carefully putting them next to the doormat, so it would not bother anybody. John took his bunch of flowers for a second, while he was removing his coat and hanging it to the octopus coat rack. His host gave him back the flowers with a broad smile, showing him the way to the living room.

When Brian appeared at the door frame, the first thing he saw was a way thinner Taylor, curled up under a blue blanket on the couch. Her hair was tied in a messy bun, and her eyes had dark circles under them. Next to her, and therefore closer to Brian, there was Roger, who had just turned to him with a grin. On the floor, beside Taylor, was Freddie, sitting with his legs underneath him.

John walked by Brian and dragged a chair from the dining room, offering it to his guest. Brian thanked him, and before sitting on it, he walked up to Taylor and handed her the flowers.

“Hello, darling. I brought you some flowers, thought that you would like them.”

“Oh, thank you very much, Bri, I love them a lot!”

She tried to sit up, but winced as her kidneys hurt a bit. Roger helped her, and she kissed the tall man's cheek, before he could touch her forehead with his lips. Then, he high-fived his two bandmates and sat down on the chair.

Taylor was gently pressing the flowers against her chest, smiling at everybody. Though her state for the three previous weeks had been bearable, her body got used to painkillers, and they were not that effective anymore. The pain was light, but still terrible.

John cleared his throat and put his hands on his hips, looking at his guests and his wife.

“Does anybody want something to drink? I have coffee, tea, water of course, orange juice, beer...”

“One beer for me, please” Freddie smirked.

“Two.”

“Three.”

“And for you, my dear?”

“Only a cup of herbal tea, darling. Thank you” Taylor said, in a tired voice.

John nodded and spun round to walk to the kitchen. Once there, he opened the fridge and took out three fresh bottles of beer. Then, he took out two small cups and put them down on the work surface. He filled a tiny pan with water and made it boil; then, he grabbed two teabags and poured the water in each cup before adding the bags. He put everything on a plastic tray and brought it to the living room.

The three other musicians were quietly talking to Taylor, with tender voices, as though they were talking to a child. She wanted to protest and tell them to speak normally, but she felt too weak for that. And anyway, it felt reassuring in a certain way. When John came up with the tray, he was welcomed like a king. His bandmates faked bowing down before him, and Taylor's laughter sounded in the whole room, causing John to smile widely. He gave each a beverage, carefully giving the cup of infusion to Taylor and keeping one for himself.

John bypassed the table, leaving the tray on it, and sat on the arm of the couch, enabling Taylor to rest her head on his thigh. When she did, he tenderly stroked her cheek and massaged her head.

Freddie, Brian and Roger opened their bottles and started to drink quietly. Then, Roger turned to Taylor, who was still curled up.

“Hey, darling, if you feel the need to stretch out your legs” he started before patting his lap, “you can put your feet there.”

“Good old-fashioned lover boy!” Freddie whispered.

“Oh, shut up Fred!” the drummer laughed, winking at Taylor.

“Can I?” she asked.

“Sure, sure.”

She thanked her friend and stretched out her legs, resting them on his thighs. John smiled and bent in two to kiss the top of her head. Then, after a few sips of beer, Freddie cleared his throat and frowned.

“So. Is anyone of you two that is finally going to tell us why you summoned us in your honorable lair?”

“Oh, I almost forgot” Taylor laughed. “We have a great announcement to make to you three.”

Taylor blushed and smiled, blindly stretching out her hand for John to take. He entwined their fingers and stroked her skin, with the same facial expression. He lightly coughed and nodded.

“Something very wonderful is happening to us. And I don't really know how to announce it, but...”

“Ah!” Freddie grumbled. “Spit it out!”

“Alright, alright, so... I... I am...”

Seeing that Taylor did not really know how to tell them, he lightly squeezed her hand and looked up to his friends with a bright grin.

“Taylor is pregnant.”

Their jaws all dropped. Brian put down his beer and started to applaude, soon followed by the two others. The couple was shyly chuckling, sharing tender looks at the same time. Roger put his arms in the air and lifted up his chin.

“TOLD YA! TOLD YA!” he shouted. “Wedding, honeymoon, shag-shag-shag, BOOM! Pregnant!”

“You and your subtlety...” Brian chuckled, facepalming.

“Oh, pardon me, Mr. May! I think I found a better way to say it. AND HIS HOLY GOD, JOHN RICHARD DEACON, DISCHARGED HIS HOLY SEMEN IN THE PERSON OF THE BEAUTIFUL TAYLOR DEACON.”

“You fucking moron...”

The group burst out laughing, though John started to blush even more. Taylor tenderly rubbed his shoulder, winking at him. She suddenly felt a warm hand touching her ankle. She looked down and saw Roger smiling at her.

“No, seriously, congratulations, love. And congratulations to you too, Deaky.”

“Yup! Congratulations!” Freddie exclaimed.

“I must say that this little bird in there” Taylor started, patting John's crotch “did a very good job. Thank you, little bird.”

“You all decided to talk nonsense today, huh?” John sighed, with a grin.

“Perhaps!”

They all laughed and Brian winked at Taylor, moving his lips to say congratulations. He did not really know why he did not speak loud, but he did not care. He was happy for them.

Taylor cleared her throat and sat up, crossing her legs. Everybody looked at her. She had stopped smiling, and her cheeks were proggressively turning into their natural colour. A heavy silence had fallen on the room, as they all waited for her to say something.

“I also have an announcement, this time involving only me” she started. “If I decided to tell you about it, it's only because you are my friends, and I trust you entirely. Each of you. You all accepted to play important roles for our wedding, and I thank you again for that. When we were forced to get back to England during our honeymoon because of my health, you were there to help me. Roger drove us home and helped me until I went to bed. Then, I received those wonderful flowers that each of you sent me, and you have no idea of how touched I was. Thank you for all that.”

She paused for a moment, feeling her pain coming back. She clenched a fist and bit on it, closing her eyes, waiting for it to fade away. It took two minutes, and the others had not spoken at all, showing her some respect and ready to listen to her next words.

“As you can see, I lost a lot of weight, at first I lost seven kilos in a week, which is huge... But I forgot how much I lost since the last time I weighed myself. And honestly, I don't want to know. You can also guess that my kidneys are not getting better. Last time, I told you that I had a cyst in one of them. It's true, but not exactly.”

She blushed and let her eyes meet these of Freddie, Brian, Roger, and then John's. Feeling that she was afraid, he stroked her hair and nodded. She took a deep breath and kept talking.

“This cyst is not a normal cyst. It's actually a tumor. It's too big to be removed for now, but I have a special treatment for a few months. Then, if it gets better, we can let it in. If it doesn't, it'll be surgically removed. I would like to believe that if they remove it, everything will be alright, but unfortunately, I don't think it will. Once again, if I tell you this, it's because you all are my friends, and I want to be honest with each of you. I'm not saying it because I want sympathy or anything like that. No. Actually, I don't want sympathy. I don't want to be looked at differently.”

She took a deep breath again, briefly closing her eyelids.

“I have been diagnosed with kidneys cancer.”

The three guests gasped loudly, and Roger spilled his beer all over himself. Seeing a box of tissues of the table, he stretched out his arm to reach it and take some. Brian helped him wipe it off his jeans, and they made sure that the couch was not stained, nor the carpet.

Roger was pale, and he could barely say a word, Brian buried his face in his hands, closing his eyes, trying to handle the news. As for Freddie, he was sitting there in disbelief, unable to take his brown eyes off her. John was biting his lip, sighing. Hearing those words once again was even more terrible than being struck by a lorry.

Taylor bent her knees and got them closer to her, so she could wrap her arms around them and rest her chin between them. Brian finally removed his hands from his face, and pressed his back against the chair, sighing. His face was red, and his eyes were full of tears. Roger suddenly stood up and apologised, isolating himself in the kitchen. The first one who dared talking was Freddie.

“But... No... This is... impossible, how could... how could it be?”

“The doctors at the Royal Marsden Hospital diagnosed me with cancer three weeks ago. I didn't want to tell anyone, and actually, John learnt only yesterday. I felt like I had to stop lying to the ones close to me and to myself as well.”

“But you looked all healthy and all...”

“I know. The painkillers were still new, and strong. Now, they're not. And I acted a bit too.”

“Why did you do that? You know you can count on us, I mean... We're your friends, aren't we?”

“You are. But I didn't want to worry anyone, I didn't want to be looked at differently either... I don't want anybody to see me as a poor girl, or a victim of the disease. I still want to be seen as the crazy girl I actually am... I think.”

“You'll always be our crazy girl” Freddie smiled, friendly taking her hand and squeezing it.

“And how about the baby?” Brian finally managed to ask.

“We went to the hospital this morning, John and I. We saw the doctors who diagnosed me, and I had some basic examinations. They said that I'm only at the first stage of the disease, so it isn't that dangerous for the moment. Not for me, that is. I can have the child, but it is likely that the child will be premature. Or...”

Taylor sighed and bit her lip, not daring to tell the words she had in mind. John guessed them and spoke for her.

“Or stillborn.”

Brian closed his eyelids again, smiling and shaking his head lightly, trying to comfort himself. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he immediately wiped it away with one of his long fingers. Freddie ran a hand through his hair and looked down. Roger was still in the kitchen, and did not make any noise to show that he was alive.

Worrying about him, Taylor asked Freddie if he could put her cup on the table. He nodded and did it, helping her sit up. He grabbed both of her hands and stared at her.

“Taylor, I'm sure that John already told you that, but now, we'd like you to tell us when something new happens. Alright? Tell us when the disease gets better, tell us when it gets worse. We don't want to be left aside. I know that you probably want to fight it alone, or only with John, but I want you to realise that we're here too. And if you need anything, we'll help you. Won't we, Bri?”

“We will. Freddie's right. If anything happens, give us a call. You will never be a burden or anything. We love you, Taylor, and we need to know. We won't look at you differently, but we will help you fight. Our strength and hearts will go to you through those times.”

“I couldn't have said better” Freddie nodded. “So, do you promise?”

“I promise.”

Freddie smiled and kissed her hands, while Brian was still trying to dry his eyes. John had his eyes closed and tried not to cry. Taylor's fragile hand gently squeezed his knee, and he smiled. She tried to stand up, but crashed on the couch. Brian jumped on his feet and helped her up, along with Freddie and John.

Taylor allowed herself to smile for a second.

“Woo, I'm having three very handsome men taking care of me! That was my dream! Thanks, guys.”

They chuckled and helped her stand on her feet. They let go of her and saw that she could stand without any effort.

“I want to make sure that the fourth very handsome man is alright. Do you mind if I leave for a few moments?”

“Not at all, darling” John said while kissing her forehead. “Do what you want.”

“Alright. But I want to do something else before going to him.”

Taylor walked up to Brian and wrapped her arms around his tall figure. He jumped lightly and ended up grinning, hugging her. She stood on tip-toe and pressed her lips against the soft skin of his cheek. He smiled and did the same to her. Then, she hugged and kissed Freddie, who whispered a barely audible “I love you” before she went up to John. She pulled her lovely husband into a warm hug, stroking his short hair and kissing the skin of his neck. He wrapped his trembling arms around her, and gently rocked her for a few seconds. He leant in and kissed her lips, before letting her go.

Taylor silently limped to the kitchen, her hands on her kidneys. She stopped before she reached the kitchen door, and peered in. Roger was leaning on his elbows on the sideboard, his red face buried in his hands. When she heard a sob coming out from his mouth, she immediately stepped in and got closer.

Hearing the footsteps coming forward, Roger jumped and immediately dried his eyes, trying to act as if everything was fine. His wet lips tried to smile, but they only stretched into a weird grin.

“Hi, cute little flower” he said, his voice lightly cracking up. “You alright?”

Without answering his question, Taylor wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a comforting embrace. He immediately pressed her against his chest, his cheek against her hair. He wanted to whisper something, but he choked on his voice. She ran a hand through his blond hair, stroking it and massaging his scalp. Feeling overwhelmed, he burst into tears and held her a bit tighter.

“I'm fine, Rog. I swear I'm fine.”

“If you're not, please don't say it. I want you to tell me when you're not good.”

“I'm not good right now because of the state you're in.”

Roger firmly closed his eyes and heaved a long, desperate sigh, before burying his face in her hair. Taylor was humming Drowse, like he did when she was sick. He smiled and chuckled lightly, before pulling away and wiping his tears away.

“Sorry that I'm cryin'” he whispered, sighing. “I don't want you to worry about me.”

“As much as I don't want you to worry about me.”

“You know I like you a lot.”

“Oh, no, I didn't realise at all!” she chuckled.

He laughed and poked her nose. She poked his ribs and kissed his cheek endlessly, stroking the other with her hand. She was staring at her tenderly, like a mother would with his child who had just fallen and injured himself. Like the little boy playing soccer with his friends at the square. This same little boy who made her want to give birth.

Roger kissed her forehead and frowned lightly. He had something in mind, but she could not tell. He sighed and shook his head, before closing his eyes and briefly pressing his lips against hers. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she did the same to him. Roger apologised, suddenly pulling away from her.

“Sorry, it's just that... I thought about this thing you did with John at the beginning.”

“The friendship kiss?”

“Yeah... Sorry, it was dumb.”

“I don't mind. I had forgotten what a friendship kiss was, actually. Suzy gave me one at my wedding. I was taken aback for a moment!”

“Haha... Don't tell John, huh? He would kill me.”

“Don't worry, nobody betrayed anybody, what's the problem? I'm madly in love with him, and this kiss was only full of friendship. I didn't cheat on him. Did I?”

“Well, technically, you did. At least that's the common thought.”

“Fuck the common thought. I gave friendship kisses all my life, even when I was in a relationship with John. He knew about it.”

“He didn't say anything?”

“He knew that I worked like that.”

“Oh.”

“But he would be mad if he knew about yours!”

“Why?”

Taylor sighed and hesitated for a second. Then, she leant in, whispering into Roger's ear.

“He's jealous of your looks. He's not self-confident at all. Every time I compliment him, he says 'you must've mistaken me for Roger'. Whereas he's the most gorgeous man ever to me.”

“Come on! Does he? He doesn't look bad at all! Though I prefered his long hair, I must say.”

“Ha! I knew I wasn't the only one!”

Roger chuckled and smiled at Taylor, before she pulled him into another hug.

“Feeling better?” she whispered.

“Way better. Thank you. And also sorry for bothering you.”

“You're not bothering at all. You're my friend.”

“And so are you.”

There they stood, in the middle of the kitchen, comforting each other in this hug, as if it was a shield against all the ugliness of the world surrounding them. Though none of them thought that it was ugly.