.:Author's Note:.

Unedited, please excuse any mistakes.

***

Winston's POV:

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Jonathan's angry voice sounded from his kitchen frightening me and his twins. April and Alyssa glanced at me worriedly before getting out of their father's bed. I followed them to the kitchen, reaching just in time to see Jonathan's fist connected harshly with a nearby wall. The painful groan he released was to be expected.

"Baby, are you okay?" I questioned nervously as he cradled his fist to his chest.

"Do I look okay?!" He snapped, making me step back in shock. April and Alyssa also seemed surprised at their dad's tone of voice used towards me because they gasped loudly. Immediately, my boyfriend realized what he had done, and regret took over his livid features. "Shit! I'm so sorry, sweetness. That was completely misdirected anger on my part; I swear."

I didn't respond. Instead, I sent the girls back to his room so that they didn't have to witness any more of his misdirected anger. Once they were out of sight, I went to the bathroom for the first aid kit before returning to the kitchen and taking a seat on one of the stools.

Jonathan followed suit. Wordlessly, he held out his bleeding fist to me as I took out alcohol pads and a few small bandages from the kit. I then began cleaning his wounds. He hissed from the burning sensation.

"Winston, I honestly didn't mean to do that." He spoke after a few seconds.

"I know." I replied, glancing at his apologetic face quickly before returning to the task at hand. "It's okay."

"No, it's not. As upset as I am, I had no right to snap at you like I did."

"Really, it just surprised me, Jonathan. I'm not hurt by it." I told him truthfully. Just so that he believed me, I put the bandages on his knuckles after I was done cleaning the cuts, and then gave his hand a kiss. "See? No harm done – to me anyway."

"You are a Godsend." He teased, making me laugh. However, quickly I sobered up.

"I assume that was Amanda whom called and annoyed you."

"You assume correctly." Jonathan grumbled. He sighed deeply, and I watched as his eyebrows pinched together in frustration. "She says I'm to expect a subpoena in the mail soon; she's either going to fight for visitation rights or partial custody of the girls. I'm not sure yet. I guess I'll know when I get the letter."

"Can she even do that? I mean, don't you have all the rights – both physical and legal? Plus, she voluntarily signed over all of her rights to Miranda who then signed them to you!"

"I honestly don't know what the fuck she can do. Other than getting the girls' birth certificates changed so that they had my last name instead of Amanda's, I've never been in a legal battle. This is so different from then too. Amanda and I are both the birth parents, and I've heard that birth parents do have some rights. So, if the judge really wanted to, he or she could give Amanda everything she wants."

"That's such bullshit!"

"I know. Honestly, all I can do now is get in touch with a lawyer and see what we can do. I made a promise to Miranda before she passed – that I wouldn't allow our girls to grow up with a loveless image of a mother – and I intend to keep it."

Silence fell between us before Jonathan excused himself from the kitchen to take care of some of the matter.

I chose to return to his room with his girls who were scaredly looking at the door when I stepped in. Shocking me straight down to the core, they burst into tears before rushing over to me and hugging my legs.

"Girls?" I said worriedly as I got down to their height. "Why are you crying?"

"We thought you left cause of Daddy." Said Alyssa between sniffles. "He screamed at you."

"Oh, angels." I smiled sadly, wiping the tears from their eyes. "It's going to take way more than yelling for you three to get rid of me."

"We don't want to get rid of you." April frowned, causing another set of tears to run down her face.

"Yeah, you're the best!" Her sister followed up. Tears of my own brimmed my eye as I chuckled.

"I guarantee that I'm not, but thank you, girls."

"Please don't leave us too." They said simultaneously, making my already leaking eyes widen in shock. My mouth opened and closed repeatedly since I was really unsure of what to say. Why were these six-year-olds so smart beyond their age?

"Please." Alyssa continued to beg, wrapping her arms around my neck and causing her sister to do the same. I sighed as I hugged them back, pressing them as close to my chest as possible.

"I promise, angels. I'm not going anywhere."

***

The rest of the day was spent with Jonathan locked up in his office.

Thankfully, his absence didn't affect our good mood. After the little heart to heart with April and Alyssa, we played a few games and just enjoyed our time together. I even made them a small dinner, helped with their bath, before finally tucking them into bed.

I wasn't sure if I was overstepping my boundaries, but every time I went to go collect Jonathan, he seemed to be busy. It was getting late, and I didn't want the girls to be up any longer than they needed to be. As I was getting ready to head home, my boyfriend made a reappearance. He looked confused as I packed up my things.

"Hey, where are you going?" He questioned, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

"I can't spend another night." I laughed softly as he nuzzled my neck. "I haven't heard from my mother all day, and I just want to make sure that she's okay."

"Where are the girls?"

"In bed. I fed them, bathe them, and tucked them in. I hope that's okay. I won't do it again if it's not."

"It's more than okay, sweetness. Thank you." He turned me around and kissed me quickly. "Wait. What time is it?"

"Almost ten o'clock." I replied after glancing at the cable box.

"Shit! Have I really been in the office all day? I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize; I understand. Did you at least get everything that you needed to do done?"

"Yes, after a lot of phone calls, I finally got a lawyer who I believe is going to help me win this battle."

"Do you need to meet with them?"

"Not until my court date. We got through everything over the phone."

"Well, that's good news." I grinned. "At least your day wasn't a total waste."

"True, but I wish I could've spent more of it with you and the girls instead of dealing with legal bullshit."

"We'll have many more days after this. Positive thinking, baby."

"You're completely right." Jonathan replied before kissing me again. It was a long lasting kiss that almost made me reconsider leaving. However, I knew that I had to get going. I pulled away, licking the saliva between us, before looking up at him with a small smile.

"I really do have to leave." I told him as seriously as I could. Realistically, there was no fight in my tone.

"I know. I'll behave." He promised, but he couldn't hide the childlike teasing in his voice. I disbelievingly shook my head, laughing as Jonathan let me go. I finished packing up my things and left his room, feeling his eyes on me the whole time. He walked me to my car but another few minutes passed before he actually let me get into the vehicle. "Text me as soon as you get home."

"I will. Tell Macy good night for me."

"Will do, sweetness. I love you."

"I love you too." I grinned, receiving another quick peck. After closing the door, Jonathan tapped the hood of my car and stepped away. I started the engine and pulled off from the curb, sending him a honk as I sped down the road.

***

I opened my front door, frowning at the lack of light in the house. Setting my things to the side, I quickly took off my shoes and went in search of my mother.

"Mom?!" I called out, receiving no response. Panic began to settle in me as I checked the kitchen, the guest room, and my bedroom. Coming up empty with every search, I finally checked the bathroom.

My heart instantly dropped into the pit of my stomach.

"Mom?! No. No. No." I chanted, unsure of what to do as I stared at her unconscious body. Blood was seeping on the floor from the side of her head, causing me to move into action after just staring. I moved on autopilot, tears blurring my vision as I called 911 and gave them all the information they needed. I moved to kneel beside my mom, not caring about the blood staining my clothes. Too scared to make matters worse, I didn't touch her.

"Mommy, I'm sorry." I cried. "I-I should've been here. I'm sorry!"

The EMTs came quickly, and so did the police. I stepped aside so that they could do their job. Once Mom was on a stretcher and placed into the back of the ambulance, I got in beside her, not caring to give the cops any kind of statement.

The ride to the hospital seemed to drag on. We couldn't get there fast enough. I got lost in the commotion as they ushered my mother to the emergency room. While I wanted to follow, I was ordered to stay in the waiting area.

There, I fidgeted in one of the seats for hours. People came and went, but not a single doctor or nurse came to give me an update on my mother's condition.

I had half a mind to call Jonathan, but then I remembered that he had his girls to worry about, and he didn't need me to bring him any trouble.

Uncontrollable tears continued to run down my face until I felt like I just didn't have enough water left inside me. My nose turned stuffy and my eyes became puffy. I was more than sure I looked sickly as if I was having some sort of allergic reaction.

I must've fallen asleep, because the next time I opened my eyes, it was to a nurse softly shaking my shoulders. I jumped, looking around the waiting area wildly.

"Is my mom okay?" Was the first thing I asked.

"I'll take it from here." A male's voice said from across the room. I glanced away from the nurse to the man who was in doctors' attire. Quickly, I stood up, walking over to him. "Mr. Monroe, I'm Dr. Samuel."

"Nice to meet you, doctor." I replied, just to be polite. "How is my mother?"

"Your mother had a seizure." Dr. Samuels said seriously as he led me towards – what I hoped to be – Mom's room. "Since she hit her head, we checked the skull for any internal damage and we found something way more alarming. There was an abnormal amount of tissue growth in the brain, which we later identified to be tumors."

"What? No. No, that can't be."

"Immediately, we checked the database for her files and were shocked to find that your mother's medical condition has already been documented. Mr. Monroe, your mother has stage four glioblastoma – brain cancer. This seizure has left half of her body paralyzed."

I stopped walking altogether. My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest and my legs felt completely weak. Only Dr. Samuels' arms kept me from hitting the floor as I burst into another round of tears.

Silently he helped me to Mom's room where I found her asleep while connected to a whole bunch of machines. I couldn't stomach the sight. Still, I slowly sat in the chair beside her.

"You can do something about it, right?" I asked Dr. Samuels. "There's chemo and all that other medical shit!"

"There's nothing that any doctor can do." He told me sadly, making me choke on a sob. "Chemo and radiotherapy will only make her condition worse. I'm sorry, Mr. Monroe."

Dr. Samuels left the room after watching me wail for a few more minutes. The quiet click of the door closing was deafening. I took my mom's hand in mine, pressing it to my face as I tried to control myself. It was fruitless; the tears just wouldn't stop coming.

"I'm so sorry, Mommy. I should've been there."

I should've been there.

I wasn't going to make the same mistake again.