Disclaimer: BHH does not belong to me. Wish it did, coz then I could have my wicked way with a certain Professor, but it doesn't, so there you go. 24 by Jem doesn't belong to me either, I would kill to be able to write songs like her… Okay, maybe not kill… Maim!

Spoilers: All and none… Make any sense? I didn't think so. :D

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Prologue - Josie

Josie sat on the couch, holding the piece of paper in her hands as if she would a delicate butterfly. A small tremor ran through her body, her hands shaking just slightly. Her face was pale, and carried just the faintest hints of pain and fear.

Her mom laid a hand on her knee, and looked at her with a concerned look. "What's wrong honey?" she asked quietly.

Without saying a word, Josie handed the letter to her mom, who took it with another worried look, before looking down to read the contents. Josie's chin trembled slightly, but no sound escaped her bloodless lips.

'Dear Miss Trent.

I regret to inform you that the tumor we found was indeed malignant and has progressed considerably. Regrettably there is no treatment that we can offer you at this time. The tumor has spread, and you have only 6 months at best.

Please consult your nearest hospital in regards to your next move. A list of excellent neurosurgeons has been provided on the next page. They'll be able to help insofar as pain medication, and help with hospice care if that's what you should decide.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. T Warner.'

The letter fluttered to the floor as Kelly gathered Josie into her arms. Tears ran down Kelly's cheeks, but her daughter remained unmoving, unseeing, unhearing.

Thoughts ran through Josie's mind at a million miles an hour, but she was unable to process anything except the thought that she was going to die. Her mom pulled away from her, but she barely felt the movement, nothing was penetrating her mind.

"Josie," Kelly said tenderly, stroking Josie's hair with one hand, her other wrapped around her daughters waist. "We're going to get through this. We're going to beat this. We'll do everything we can, go anywhere we can to get you treatment. I promise you, we'll do this, together."

Josie's heart pounded in her chest, and she felt the urge to run. To just run and forget about everything, run until she couldn't move, couldn't breath. She stood up, the envelope falling from her lap to the floor and started to head for the door, brushing her mothers hand off of her arm. But she didn't make it further than the coffee table before her feet wouldn't move anymore.

Her mom continued to murmur words of encouragement and advice, but Josie just stood stock still in shock, retaining nothing of what was being said to her except for the occasional word here and there.

Eventually, unable to keep still any longer, she paced the floor, while her mother continued to talk, continued to make plans. But Josie blocked it all out, refused to listen to what her mother was saying. Her mind was on overload and she wasn't sure how much she could take before her brain exploded.

"And we'll throw you a party, all your friends can be there," her mom babbled. "We'll have food, and dancing, and we can just have some fun, before we let them all know what's going on."

Josie stopped in front of her mom; something had finally penetrated the wall that had sprung up as she got lost in her own musings. "No mom… We're not going to tell anyone… I don't want looks of pity, I just want to live my last six months like a regular person. You read what the letter said; there's no treatment. I just want to be normal," she cried out.

Kelly stood up and pulled her daughter into a hug. Against her natural instinct, Josie didn't push her mother away. Instead she leaned in, embracing her mother. And the tears started. They stood together for a while, time passed without either of them recognizing it, before they finally pulled apart.

"Are you sure you don't want anyone to know, sweetie?" Kelly queried, trying to ignore the look of emotional pain on her daughters face. "Isn't it better that your friends know?"

Josie shook her head, and wiped the tears away. "No… I don't want the looks of pity… I don't want them to see me in a bad state. I want my friends to remember me as I was before all this happened."

Kelly nodded sympathetically, but worriedly. She knew her daughter would need her friends now more than ever, and tried to convince her of this fact. "But honey, they'll be there for you, to help you."

Josie shook her head again emphatically. "I don't want them to know mom. I'm sorry, please… It'll be easier this way," she sighed, and started to chew on her bottom lip. "Look… I need some time alone, okay?"

"Okay sweetie. But remember, I'm here if you need to talk about this."

Her mom retreated from the room, and Josie sat down on the couch again. She could just imagine the pained look on her friends faces when they finally found out the truth. Z, Corrine, Marshall, Lucas… And Vaughn. She couldn't face them, couldn't bring this to them.

The pain that she felt now would be nothing compared to the pain she'd feel telling them. And all she wanted was for the pain to leave her, to be numb and not feel anything. No, she decided, better to hide it from everyone and just act like she was normal.

She could see her life flashing before her eyes, 24 years of her life. It was true what they said; when you find out you're going to die, your whole life flashes before your eyes, you see everything you've done, and everything you wish you could do.

Logically she knew she had six months in which to do as much as she could, but at that moment it felt like she only had one day.

Been given 24 hours to tie up lose ends to make amends

His eyes said it all I started to fall and the silence beckons

Head spinning round no time to sit down just wanted to run and run and run

Be careful they say don't wish life away now I've one day

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A/N – I know that xXbittersweetxtearsXx used the whole Brain tumor/dying thing with Corrine in 'Losing You', and I promise I didn't steal it off of her. A friend of mine is actually dying from an inoperable brain tumor, and this is sort of my way of dealing with it. And I also know that she would never have been informed by letter, but this is my story, and it made for good writing! So nya nya nya nya nya!