6 months flew by.

They went by just like that.

Ryder was off the hook and out of the system, immersing himself in his studies. The first semester was completed and the books took up the time that Hope didn't. But he was feeling confident about everything. Hope was thriving and started daycare nearby, Lily or Hannah often took turns bringing Hope and picking her up, to relieve Skylar. Everything seemed to be calm on the surface and that's exactly what she wanted them to believe.

She just decided it was better that way. She made an executive decision.

She wanted to hide the truth as long as possible, she wanted them to dwell on this new kind of normal, she didn't want to take it away from them...yet. She wanted to look at Ryder playing with Hope in the garden, watching him lie on the grass next to her, they looked so happy. She would laugh every time Ryder made a funny face at her, it was just so sweet.

She didn't want to ruin the perfect picture, until she absolutely had to.

She made an appointment with Dr Taylor, taking a cab there while Ryder was in school and Hope was in daycare. She didn't want to involve anyone, not Lily or her dad, not even Ryder. She needed to know first.

"Skylar...so good to see you, how's the family?" Dr Taylor said, as she came to greet her and show her to her seat, shaking her hand gently.

"They are doing great! Ryder finished his first semester and Hope started daycare a couple of weeks ago" Skylar said politely.

"And you? How are you coping?" Dr Taylor said and sat down, almost in slowmotion, resting both her hands on the desk in front of her.

"I'm not sure...that's why I'm here" she said quietly.

"You'll be 20 in just a few weeks, right?" Dr Taylor said, looking through her file, but Skylar cut her off.

"Am I going to reach 20?" She said, making Dr Taylor look up and stop flipping through the papers. She cleared her throat.

"You look tired" Dr Taylor stated, trying to prolong the conversation, Skylar noticed immediately.

"I am...I feel so tired all the time, like no amount of rest or sleep is going to help me this time" she said, truthfully.

"I can imagine...being a new mom is tough" Dr Taylor said. Yet again avoding the obvious.

"Doctor...am I dying?" Skylar asked her candidly.

"You always were Skylar..." Dr Taylor said, just as candidly!

Much to Skylar's surprise.

"I just feel different...it's hard to explain, it kinda feels like it's time, you know?" She felt emotional.

Saying it out loud made it too real.

Her reality was a nightmare!

"I don't know what to say Skylar. I wish, I could give you a clear answer, but there is none...some day you just won't wake up, that's what we anticipate Skylar, but you are one of a kind. No one lived this long, but what we do know is, you won't feel any pain, I promise you...you are going to fall alseep, quite peacefully, that's what we know from previous cases, but you know we are only aware of a handful like you worldwide...I wish, I could tell you more. I just can't...honestly? I was doubting your body being able to carry Hope through a full term, but you did it...that's close to being a miracle in my book!" She sighed.

Skylar nodded.

She outlived every single case like her, she had a beautiful baby, she already secured her legacy...not that having Hope was about that, she only just realized the reality of that at this very moment.

"What are the chances Hope has Sleeping Beauty Syndrome?" She wanted to know, an issue none of them actually adressed while deciding to keep her.

"Close to zero...we would have advised you to terminate the pregnancy - if that had been an option for baby Hope" Dr Taylor said, making Skylar give out a sigh of relief. Of course they would have said something.

"Are you in any pain?" The doctor asked her.

She shook her head. She wasn't in any pain, thank goodness.

"I just feel exhausted, and I am out of breath at times. It feels like I have this weight on my chest, it's scaring me, but I am trying to ignore it" she said truthfully. She was trying to ignore the fact that it felt hard for her to breathe sometimes.

"We cannot ignore that, Skylar...I want to give you an oxygen pack, and maybe a CPAP to get you through the night...and if you experience any pain I urge you to tell me, we have means to relieve those for you".

"Oxygen...jeeez, then I really look sick, you expect me to carry a pack around 24 - 7?...I can't...I just can't. What if I refuse?" Skylar felt claustrophbic all of a sudden.

"I strongly advise you not to do that Skylar, the oxygen will have a positive effect on you, I promise you...at least think about it, okay? Maybe talk to Ryder and your dad" she suggested.

"They don't know I have been feeling badly" Skylar admitted.

"I think it's time to let them know" Dr Taylor said, her tone of voice stressed the importance of Skylar doing what she asked of her.

She nodded. Reluctantly.

But she knew Dr Taylor was right. Hiding her condition wasn't fair...she was preparing for the inevitable. Ryder and her dad needed to do the same.

But how can you tell the people you love the most, that you are about to die? She had no idea when...it could be today, it could be weeks from now...months. She really had nothing to go on, except from the fact that she felt it in her core.

She felt like she wouldn't live to see 20...