Frankie's POV

"I'm dying..." I say trying to stop her from assuming the worst. If I let her go on, I'm afraid she might assume that I'm having an affair or that I don't love her anymore. Which isn't true at all. I'm in love with her to the point where I can't climb out of it. Despite looking beautiful, she just is beautiful. A beautiful personality that I just can't help but love... That's why I decided not to tell her.

"You... You're what?" She says in a quiet whisper. She doesn't believe me. Or she wants to at least. For a moment, we're just standing there, in silence. "Frankie this isn't a joke. Death isn't something to joke about. You and I both know what it brings out in people. We see it everyday!" She says in a serious tone that, not gonna lie, I'm very afraid of. That's what'll make her a great mom someday. The fact that she's ruthless... But I don't know if she'll be ruthless after she finds out.

I open my mouth to speak but instead, she does it for me. "It's not the..." She slowly lets out, finally realizing that I am very much serious and knowing what it is.

I give her a small nod, knowing what she wants to say. "Tumor." I whisper, just to make sure that we're on the same page. She lifts her head and looks into my eyes. The pain she must be feeling... "But the doctors said it wouldn't impact anything. I looked at the MRI and the CT scan! I'm not a neurologist but I still knew! It's benign. It was in a spot where it couldn't grow... You were fine."

"I know Maur." I say pulling her in for a hug. But she resists. "NO! No! This isn't possible. I don't understand..." She says falling to her knees. I try and catch her but she takes me down with her.

When I was six, I fell off my bike and hit my head on the curb. My parents took me to the hospital to make sure everything was okay. After going through the whole procedure, I went in for an MRI. That's when they found it. The tumor.

Doctor's went in to operate on it but said that it was in an okay spot to not remove. It wasn't growing and it wasn't impacting me in a negative way. I go in once a year just to make sure it's still okay.

"What happened..." She asks in a small whisper. I let out a sigh because I knew it was coming. I was going to have to tell her sooner or later.

"Four months ago, before you know... I had you know, the yearly appointment." I can't continue. I can see it in her eyes that she can't handle it anymore. Her eyes are suddenly filled with tears that threaten to fall.

"That's when you knew..." She silently says to herself. I give her a small nod. "But how you come you didn't tell me about the appointment? It wasn't on the schedule." She asks all confused. "They called me on my cell and told me that I was due for an appointment really soon. So I took the next opening spot, just to get it over with, while you were in that meeting. I didn't want to interrupt you so I went. I was planning on telling you after the meeting but then they told me... I am unbelievably sorry..." I say still holding her close to me.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" She says, a tear finally lets loose and falls down her soft cheek. "We had four months that we could've spent together doing who knows what! But you just... You wasted it. You put us through so much crap when we would've been just a little bit happy!" She says looking up at me. The pain in her eyes is like a knife right into my heart.

"How much time do you have now?" She says softly as if she doesn't want to know the answer. "Around four, maybe five months... That's if I'm lucky." I answer trying to remind her that this is definite.

She let out a little huff and you can already feel her feeling of defeat. "I uh... I should go to bed..." She says trying to stand up. I let go of her, but she grabs my stomach and pulls me in for a hug. I wrap my arms around her small body and feel a tear hit my chest.

"I'm so sorry..." I whisper, not knowing she wanted to hear it again.

I really am sorry. I just didn't want to be a burden...

Jane's POV

"Well what do you mean when you say Maura's not on the couch anymore?! She was sleeping wasn't she?" Ma says screaming into my ear.

"I don't know. She was-"

But the next thing I know, I'm interrupted by a very loud scream. Maura.

Now she knows.

I can only imagine what she must be going through. The incredibly smart medical examiner who usually is never wrong. But this time, this time everyone was wrong, including her. A benign tumor suddenly turning into Frankie's reason to die. Anyone's worst nightmare.

Being his wife nonetheless, you can never forget that.

Telling Maura was probably hard enough. No one knew about the tumor that had taken over a small place in Frankie's brain. Declaring its new home. He was very secretive about, rightfully so. "Hey so I have a tumor but it's benign so it's okay! I'm okay!" Was not exactly a good date topic. Or a good topic at all.

Geez and now finding out that she's wrong! Oh goodness. Coming from a place of work where being wrong is rarely ever the option, it won't be good.

"Ma, I gotta go." I whisper into the phone trying to make sure that they don't hear me. "No you aren't allowed to go until they make up!" She insisted as she almost took my left ear drum out. "Ma. Listen. He told her and now she uh. It's not good so I'll just call you when I get home okay?!"

I hate being all snarky to my mother. But there's no other way to tame the woman!

Maybe if I get close to the front door, I'll be able to hear better. Okay, I just have to find a way to get out of this bush and- thorn. There is a thorn right there. Oh and there... Ouch! Goodness Maura you need to find time to garden...

Okay, just be quiet and tip toe over there. Can't be that hard right? I mean, there aren't any thorns! I finally get my hands on the cold door and already I'm able to hear them without having to put my ear against the door.

"Why didn't you just tell me..." I hear her let out.

I wish I could just walk through that door right now and defend her. She doesn't deserve. Hell! He doesn't even deserve the freaking tumor. No one does.

Why did he have to do this to her? Why couldn't he just put in his big boy panties and tell her! Would've made things much easier anyway. For everyone.

Maura's POV

Stop crying. Crying gets you nowhere and won't help the damn situation.

Goodness out of all the possibilities, this had to be the one. I need more tissues if my eyes are just going to continue this endless rush of tears. That means I have to go downstairs... But my bed is so comfortable at the moment I just don't want to move.

Is this what it's going to be like from now on? Geez I feel even worse compared to when he filed for divorce. Now I know the truth and I was much better off just not knowing! Not knowing that the tumor wasn't actually benign- like everyone said it was. Including me...

I say the stupid tumor was benign.

I was wrong... In the medical field you can never be wrong. Well, you can. But it's not good to be wrong. It's not good to be certain of yourself, have evidence supporting yourself, and still come out wrong in the end. It's not good!

I shouldn't be blaming it on myself... It's not fair to me. But how can I be thinking about myself in a time like this? Frankie. Out of all people. It had to be him.

Why does this happen to every man I love?

I should just give up now. Grow old alone... But I can't! I can't do that when there are so many wonderful things in life! But I can't do it alone... I wanted to do them all with Frankie. Heck! I still want to do them all with him. But I don't know if I'm even ready to face the fact that he's dying...