A Sequel to 'Strong Enough' based on the alternate ending of that story

"Daddy?" His voice was soft, it was obvious he was in pain, "daddy?" He repeated.

Adam finally waking, "yea, buddy hang on" he said as he turned the light on bathing the room in a soft glow.

"What do you need?" He asked him, he'd sent Kim home it had been days since she slept in her own bed and since she spent anytime with Dani.

It was time he stepped up.

Tears filled his son's eyes, "I don't want to die daddy, don't let me die" he begged him, Adam felt the pit in his stomach triple in size.

How do you respond to that? "I'm gonna do all I can buddy, I love you son" he tried to keep from crying but it was impossible his son had verbalized his own fears. Cutting him to the quick, his eyes burned as he cried.

Adam calmed his own emotions, "your back hurt?"

Little Adam shook it off, "not really, the medicine is working" he held up his pain pump, with the push of a button pain medicine swam through his veins dulling the pain.

"You like that huh?" Adam teased.

"It's good stuff daddy" a lopsided grin on his face, an obvious side effect of the pain killers.

He brought his hand to his son's bald head, he would never get used to it, his eyes had dark circles under them, he rubbed his own hair with his other hand, "I got an idea, tomorrow I want you to give me a haircut, whaddya say?"

"Like buzz it all off?" He asked surprised, "you'll let me do it?" His grin growing wider.

Adam laughed, "I take it you'll do it"

"That's awesome! I can't wait" he smiled.

"Scoot over" Adam told him, "let me lay with you for a little bit, that chair sucks"

"I have to go to Aunt Amanda's again?" Dani complained as she packed yet another bag for an overnight stay at someone else's house.

She was like a ping pong ball bouncing between homes. Spending nights with Josh and Amanda, or Erin and Jay, or Sean and Jen.

Kim hated what it was doing to her daughter, what it was doing to all of them, "I'm sorry sweetie, it's just for tonight and then you can go to Aunt Jen's and hang out with Megan, that'll be fun, right?" a fake smile plastered on her face.

All she wanted to do was cry, her daughter's complaints setting her on edge. She wanted to shake the little girl and tell her to shut up and quit complaining. Tell her how awful her brother had it, that he was about to be subjected to stronger does of chemotherapy to complete wipe out his immune system to prepare him for a bone marrow transplant.

That he'd spend days on end in isolation, unable to leave his room.

That's when it ate at her, an overwhelming guilt. Her precious little girl was only five and was struggling as much as Adam was, just in a different way.

She dropped to the floor in a heap, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, mommy. Please don't cry" Dani said as she worked her way into Kim's lap, "I'll go to Aunt Amanda's house, just don't cry" her little hand wiping the tears from Kim's face, "Daddy will make Adam better, Mommy. Daddy  always makes me feel better when I'm sick" she played with Kim's wedding ring, "he just needs to kiss Adam's cheek, it always makes me feel better when he does that"

Kim smiled at her innocence, if only it was that simple.

"Come on, we need to hurry up" Kim told her, she knew she needed to get to the hospital to relieve Adam.