The Gift

December 2012

Author's Note: Ejami tale set in the future, EJ and Samantha's daughter Madison is in the hospital, she has been running a very high fever and is tired most of the time. The doctors are running tests to see if they can determine what is wrong with her. EJ and Samantha are not together as a couple, but they are co-parenting Madison. I'll leave the rest of the facts to the story. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I'll answer as best as I can, seeing how this tale popped into my mind today while I was at work and wouldn't leave me alone until I sat down to write it. Hope you enjoy. Please let me know if you like it.

Salem University Hospital

Late evening

"Please tell me the story," Madison requested for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past hour. She was tired and irritable no matter what her mother tried to do for her.

"Honey, I've gone over all the bedtime stories and you keep saying that's not it," Sami patiently explained to her beautiful five year old daughter, who had hair as black as coal and eyes as blue as Blue Bonnet flowers growing wild on the prairie.

"I need Daddy," Madison cried as she rubbed her eyes. "He knows which one I'm talking about."

"Daddy will be here soon," Sami replied, touching her hand to Madison's forehead and then reaching over to get the cloth she had been using to cool her skin. Her fever had not come down in two days and after a visit to the pediatrician's this afternoon, Madison was sent over to the hospital for tests.

Sami had been sick with worry, Madison, or Maddie, as she liked to call her daughter, had not been herself for the past week. She prayed everything would be all right; Maddie was her pride and joy, the sweetest little girl. Sami had called EJ as soon as the pediatrician had placed Maddie in the hospital. He had been out of town on a business trip, but had told Sami he would be in as soon as the Mythic jet could get him there.

"Where's Daddy?" Maddie asked, the tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Right here Sweetheart," came the answer to her question, as EJ came into the room and placed a kiss on her tear stained cheek.

"Oh Daddy, I knew you'd come," Madison wrapped her arms around her father's neck, holding on like she would never let go.

"Of course I would," EJ reassured his daughter. "I came as soon as your mother called me."

EJ looked up and across the bed, to meet the worried eyes of Sami, who mouthed a wordless thank you to him as pulled up a chair and sat down beside Madison's hospital bed.

"Daddy, please tell me our special story," Madison pleaded. "Mommy doesn't know it and I keep trying to tell her and she doesn't know which one I'm talking about."

"Yes, I would love to know which one," Sami added with an upraised eyebrow. "I have tried Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid and Maddie will have none of it."

"Sweetheart, are you sure you really want to hear that one? I don't think your Mum would like it."

"Oh yes she would if she ever heard it," Madison declared even though her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Will you promise to get some rest if I tell you the story?" EJ asked, always treating his daughter with such love and affection that it was rare if he ever denied her requests for something from him.

"Cross my heart," Madison made the sign with her fingers.

"Well then, I guess your Mum will finally learn about our special fairytale."

Sami sat forward, as anxious to hear the tale as her daughter, especially since it seemed to hold such importance to them both.

EJ began to stroke his daughter's hair as he began the story.

"Once upon a time, in a far, far, away land, there was a brave princess warrior, one who was fearless and bold and did not have to rely on others to help her."

"Daddy, talk about her hair," Madison interrupted adding. "I love that part of the story."

EJ kept his eyes on his daughter, not looking as Sami, and continued, "The brave princess warrior had hair the color of spun silk and when the sunlight's rays would shine upon her tresses, there was none in the land that had such gorgeous hair."

"She was pretty, wasn't she Daddy?"

"The most beautiful woman in the land," EJ said quietly.

"Tell me about the prince Daddy!" Madison urged her father onward to tell the tale.

"Well the prince was sent by his father on a mission, one the dark prince didn't fully understand, but he was brought up to respect and honor his family and went to the land of the brave princess warrior, unknowing how his life would change upon meeting her."

Madison smiled and sighed, "Oh now, talk about how they met and became friends."

"Well the dark prince had no close friends growing up, his father made sure that trusting and being a true friend to someone would only weaken you, but then when he met the princess, she changed all that, she became his friend, in fact his best friend. When the prince heard her laughter and saw her smile it simply took his breath away."

Sami took a deep breath, no this wasn't a fairy tale she had heard before, but it was one that her daughter and father most have spoken of many times when they were together.

"Daddy, you have to tell about the magic dance they shared," Madison prompted on her father to continue with the story.

EJ gave a wry smile to his daughter, "The music started and when the prince took the princess into his arms it felt like she had always belonged there with him. Their movements were in perfect sync, when the princess smiled at him, it broke the barriers to his heart and he knew there would never be another woman for him. This princess was the most special princess in the entire world. He was instantly smitten with her. She was unlike no other he had met before, with her quick sense of humor, intelligence and beauty. While others could not see her kind heart, the dark prince knew immediately that she was one of kind, a treasure to behold."

"How much did the prince love her Daddy?" came the question that she knew her father would always answer?

"With all his heart," EJ whispered, not daring to look up into Sami's eyes for fear that she would know his feelings for her had never changed.

"Now the sad part," Madison said, her mouth turning down at the corners.

"The prince and the princess were kept apart by their families who had been at war with one another for many, many years. Although they tried their best to get the families to end the feud between them, there was no such luck and the princess found another, leaving her prince to face the world alone without her."

"But not before," Madison chimed in.

"Not before," EJ added quietly, "the princess had given him the best possible gift ever, a gift that he could never thank her enough for as long as he lived."

"Because?"

"Because his brave princess warrior gave him the most precious gift that the dark prince had ever received, and that gift was the fairy dust and pixie sprinkled sprite named…"

"Madison," Maddie answered with a smile and closed her eyes to go to sleep.

EJ sighed and leaned over to kiss his daughter once more, "Goodnight my angel, Daddy loves you more than you will ever know."

Sami could not stop the tears that were streaming down her face. She glanced up to see EJ and when their eyes met there was no denying why Maddie insisted her Daddy knew her most favorite fairy tale because it had been one about the three of them.

The Gift

Part II

Sami hastily wiped the tears away with the back of her hand, remembering times when EJ had comforted her when she had cried. She needed to get a grip on her emotions; it had been a very long day, one full of unexpected incidents.

"I'm sorry for crying, it's just…"

"No need to apologize, I knew I shouldn't have told Madison the story in front of you," EJ's tone was laced with regret, he seemed to want to say something else, then shook his head as if he thought better of it.

"She wanted to hear it," Sami nodded and rose up from the chair at Madison's bedside to walk over to the window.

EJ followed Sami and stood behind her, not close enough to touch her, but still Sami could feel his presence. Sometimes she missed the days when EJ would be there for her even when she didn't want him to be and now he kept her at arm's length, careful not to cross a boundary that would lead them into friendlier territory.

Sami knew it was safer that they kept their distance, but on days like today when she saw him interact with their daughter and witnessed the depth of his love for their child, it hurt to realize what she had carelessly tossed away.

"Samantha, we need to talk," EJ's voice broke through her reverie, making her push aside the past and face the present.

"I know," she turned to face him, eyes clear of tears, trying to arrange her facial expression so as not to wear her emotions upon her sleeve.

"What is going on with Madison? I've been on pins and needles ever since I got your call this afternoon."

"I have too," Sami agreed, feeling a knot in her stomach as she looked over to where their daughter was sleeping. "Dr. McAllister sent us over here to run tests when he couldn't determine what was wrong with Maddie."

"She seemed fine this weekend when she was with me," EJ offered up, then added, "but she wasn't very energetic. I just thought it was due to the upcoming holiday parties and the excitement of Christmas being around the bend."

"She's been listless and then started running a fever. At first I thought she was coming down with a flu bug, and then her fever started climbing higher. I gave her Motrin, and then alternated with Tylenol, but nothing helped." Sami shrugged her shoulders, "This afternoon I got scared when her temperature wouldn't budge below 102 degrees, so I decided to take her to Dr. McAllister. When we got here some of the nurses took some blood from her, which didn't go over to well with Maddie."

"I can imagine," EJ almost reached for Sami's hand, then stopped before he could complete the gesture.

"We're not going to know anything until tomorrow so if you want to go home, I'll stay," Sami proposed. "I know you've got to be tired coming in from out of town and having jet lag."

"No, I'm going to stay," EJ shook his head in response and looked around the room in the dark, the only stream on light coming in from the partial opening in the doorway. "You go ahead and go home to your family."

"Maddie is my family," Sami stressed not wanting to raise her voice and wake their sleeping daughter.

"Well she's all that I've got," EJ remarked with the barest hint of bitterness in his tone. "I'm sure Lucas wouldn't want you to stay here with me, now would he? Although I do appreciate you having the decency to call me when Madison was placed in the hospital this afternoon…"

"As if I wouldn't call you, you're her father EJ. You have as much right to be here as I do." Sami tried not to let her anger get the best of her and start an argument with EJ since that was the last thing she needed this evening. How could EJ go from such a loving and tender tone with Madison to the almost icy reception he was giving her now cut her to the core?

"Thank you for acknowledging that pertinent fact," EJ turned away from Sami as he looked around the room trying to calm down before he began saying things he shouldn't say to her.

Sami just wanted to cry, she'd had a bad day and now to top it off EJ was going to be stubborn and not go home when all she had been trying to do was be considerate and nice to him. "I just thought you might need some rest because I don't know how long we might end up being here at the hospital. I know these chairs aren't very comfortable. I wasn't trying to exclude you."

EJ turned back to face her, noting that Sami was trying not to cry. He didn't mean to take things out on her; he was just upset and worried about Madison.

"Forgive me Samantha, I'm just stressed," He ran a hand through his dark hair then let it fall by his side.

"I am too," Sami nodded her head in agreement. "I'll go on home and let you stay tonight and I'll be back first thing in the morning. Just call me if something happens to Maddie."

"I will, you have my word," EJ promised wanting nothing more than to take Samantha in his arms and hold her, for them to draw strength from one another, but she was another man's wife and for the second time tonight he refrained from his impulse to reach out to her.

"Okay." Sami walked over to Madison's bed and kissed her daughter goodnight whispering, "I'll be back in the morning baby doll." She walked to the doorway; wishing things were different between her and EJ, she stopped for a minute to look back at him, "Goodnight EJ."

When he didn't say anything, Samantha walked out into the hallway, tears now falling over how far apart they were to one another.

He didn't reply until he was sure Samantha had left the room and then whispered, "Goodnight my brave princess warrior."

Then he loosened up his tie and settled down in what had to be one of the most uncomfortable chairs ever designed by man. He knew sleep would be a long time coming if at all that night because he was plagued with troublesome thoughts about what the future would hold for Madison. He couldn't lose her, for as he had said to Samantha earlier; Madison was all that he had left in this world.

The Gift

Part III

Sami was relived to see when she arrived home that the entire household was asleep. Will was home on winter break from UCLA and most nights he was out rather late visiting old friends from high school, but as Sami checked his bedroom, he was sprawled out in his bed fast asleep.

It was a nice change to have Will home; he had grown up so much since he had left for college. Now in his sophomore year, he seemed more like a man, than the young idealistic boy she had sent off with trepidation to California last year. The only drawback to this newfound stage in Will's life was that he was becoming more observant of his parent's relationship, or as the case may be the lack of relationship, at least on his mother's part.

Sami recalled a conversation she had with Will only this past weekend when Madison had went to spend her appointed weekend with EJ. Sami and Will had gone to brunch alone, both wanting to catch up with one another, but Sami definitely hadn't been expecting the turn their conversation had taken after they had finished eating their meal.

"Mom, what's going on with you and Dad?"

"Whatever do you mean Will?" Sami asked wondering if Will could sense the tension she and Lucas had been experiencing lately with one another. Sami had been trying her best to make Will's brief time at home an enjoyable one, but evidentially she had not been as successful in her mission to keep up appearances as she had presumed.

"You're not happy. I can tell it."

"Of course I'm happy Will. I'm thrilled that you are home with us, even if it is only for a short time. I've been so looking forward to spending time with you, to hear all your stories about college."

"I'm not talking about being happy to see me. I'm talking about how sad you seem."

"I'm not sad. Why would you think that?"

"Mom you don't laugh anymore with Dad. I don't see you two smiling at one another or talking much at all."

"Will, I think you're trying to overanalyze things between me and your dad. There's nothing wrong."

"Then why doesn't your smile seem to reach your eyes anymore? It's like you're with us, but not with us at the same time."

"Will, I've just been really busy lately. Having you home and making preparations for the holidays. It always is a busy time of the year and I've had a lot to do. You know you and your sister make me happy. You're both my life."

"Did you just realize what you said? You said Madison and I make you happy, but what about Dad?"

It took a moment for Sami to regain her composure to answer Will, but she had tried her best to convince him that everything was okay, although she wasn't entirely sure that her son had believed her.

After Will had left home last year, Sami realized how much she had tried to make a happy home for her son. She had felt obligated to Will to at least give him the one thing he had desired ever since he was a small child. To have his parents together and for them to live as a family together under one roof was important for Will. Sami had done the right thing, married Lucas because she was sure after they were married she would finally find the peace and contentment she had been seeking her whole life.

It was too bad she had been wrong in her thinking that Lucas was her hero that being his wife would make her life complete and whole. Ironic really, considering how hard she had fought to make things work between she and Lucas.

More often than not, especially over the past two years, Sami had come to the stark realization that she had been living her life to please others and in the process of trying to make everyone else content, she had lost a part of herself that she feared she would never be able to attain again. The joy she thought she would obtain over having her family's approval had proved to be of little comfort when she realized all she had sacrificed to ensure their good favor.

Sami went into the bathroom to wash her face before she went to bed, the most depressing thing was when she looked in the mirror, and she barely even recognized who she was anymore.

The Gift

Part IV

Sami arrived back at the hospital as the dawn was breaking. She locked her car and entered the hospital, making her way to Madison's room. Sami didn't want to miss talking with Dr. McAllister as he made his rounds this morning, knowing if she missed him, it would probably be late evening before he came back again to check on Madison.

Sami hoped he would have good news for them, she just couldn't possibly imagine something being wrong with her little girl. Maybe all that was wrong was Madison had been going too much lately and just needed to rest. After all it had been rare since

Madison had turned the age of two that she would even lay down during the afternoon to take a nap; it was almost like Madison was afraid she would miss something if she fell asleep.

The hallways were almost deserted, the morning shift not in full swing yet. It was quiet and dark in Madison's room. Sami immediately was drawn to the figures before her. Her daughter sleeping soundly and EJ's elongated frame in the hospital recliner that was obviously not long enough for his body.

She could see the faint stubble outlining his strong jaw line and how tousled his hair was during his somnolence. His face didn't have the hard planes upon it as it had last night when they had almost gotten into an argument before she had left the hospital. It was nice to observe him like this, his being unaware of her gazing at him, not having to hide her obvious interest in him. She moved closer, close enough to run her fingers through his dark hair, to touch his face and before she realized it, she brushed her fingers across his cheek.

EJ had barely dozed off again, his night being a rather uncomfortable one; since he could not find enough room in the crowded recliner to fully rest. Most of the night he had simply stared at his daughter, without a doubt she was the most remarkable child he had ever encountered. Knowing he was more than a slight bit biased when it came to his child, he was extremely proud of her. Madison was such an inquisitive child. Many times he wondered if Samantha had been like this when she was a child, then he would try to deter his thoughts away from thinking of Madison's mother. Even after all this time it hurt to ponder to much on what might have been if Samantha had chosen to spend her life with him instead of Lucas.

Now in the brief moments between slumber and awareness, EJ could have sworn he felt the barest touch upon his face, without knowing he reached out to see what it was that was caressing his skin. His fingers curled around something soft and fleeting but he caught hold of it before it could slip away from him. He opened his eyes and heard the soft gasp of surprise come from Samantha when she realized he was awake.

Sami pulled away her hand as if it had been burned and placed her fingertips to her mouth.

"Good morning to you too," EJ quipped, his eyes narrowing a bit when he realized Samantha had been the one who had awaken him. He certainly hadn't been expecting her to be standing there when he had awakened this morning.

"Ah EJ, I was just checking to see if you were awake," came the lame sounding excuse from Sami. She really was losing her touch with reality when touching EJ's face had been the most interesting thing to happen to her in a few weeks.

"I am now," he arose from the recliner and stretched his arm above his head, the opening in his tailored dress shirt revealing a bit more of his chest than Sami had seen in quite some time.

"Good, well did Madison sleep well?" Sami turned away from him and went over to Madison's bedside, trying to banish the thoughts of how sexy EJ looked in the morning despite having a less than agreeable nights sleep in the hospital room.

"On and off," EJ stated, as he walked over to the bed too. "There were a few times she woke up, but I would talk to her for a few minutes then she would drift off back to sleep."

Sami was about to say something else to EJ, when Dr. McAllister came into the room.

"Mr., Wells, Mrs., Roberts, I'm glad that you are both here. I need to speak to you about Madison's test results."

The Gift

Part V

"Do you mind if we go to my office?" Dr. McAllister asked, holding a file in his hands. Sensing Sami and EJ's hesitation to leave the room he added, "I'll have one of the nurses come stay with Madison until we are finished with our discussion in case Madison wakes up she won't find herself all alone in the hospital room."

"Thank you," they both said in unison before they even thought about it and followed Dr. McAllister out of the room and into his office he used when he was at the hospital. Dr. McAllister had summoned a nurse to stay with Madison until Sami and EJ returned.

As they entered the room, Sami felt a feeling of dread coming over her, if Madison's test results had been okay, wouldn't Dr. McAllister be explaining things to them in her hospital room instead of ushering them both into this office?

Apparently EJ must be having the same thoughts; he looked as concerned as she did when she looked over at him.

"Please have a seat," Dr. McAllister gestured to the chairs facing his desk.

EJ and Sami took a seat as Dr. McAllister had requested and waited for him to speak.

"EJ, Sami, after the initial blood tests I ran yesterday, I think we need to run more tests to determine exactly what is going on with Madison."

"Did something abnormal show up in her blood work?" EJ asked, his concern growing over how serious Dr. McAllister appeared.

"The reason I sent Madison over here in the first place was because of her symptoms, I noticed besides the fever and apparent fatigue that her lymph nodes in her neck felt swollen. Sami, can you remember how Madison winced when I felt of her neck?"

"Yes," Sami answered. "What does this mean?"

"I don't want to alarm either of you, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. When I was going over the blood samples we had taken yesterday from your daughter, Madison has an abnormal amount of white blood cells in her bloodstream. There are two main types of white blood cells, lymphoid and myeloid cells. The lymphoid cells are the cells that are being affected."

"What are you trying to tell us?" Sami interrupted him, her fears mounting by the second. "We both need to know exactly what you think is going on with Madison."

"I believe Madison may be suffering from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. I wanted to talk to you about bringing Dr. Lykens onto this case with me. He is one of the best child cancer doctors in the field of medicine and if anyone can help Madison, it would be him."

"Oh my god," Sami closed her eyes, not wanting to believe she and EJ were actually having this discussion with Dr. McAllister. EJ reached over and grasped Sami's hand into his, hoping to calm her by letting her know he was there for her.

Seeing how upset Sami was Dr. McAllister said in a calm manner, "Sami, I don't want to upset either one of you, but it is imperative that we begin to treat Madison if she does indeed have this disease."

"How do you find out for sure if Madison does have leukemia?" EJ's voice sounded strained as if he were doing his best not to lose his composure.

"I believe the next step we need to take is to do a bone marrow extraction on Madison. We would need to get a sample of her bone marrow. In this procedure, I would insert a needle into a large bone, usually the hip, and remove a small amount of liquid bone marrow for examination. Then I'll examine the bone marrow to determine the extent of the disease. Of course I need your permission to do the test."

EJ looked over at Sami and squeezed her hand in reassurance. "We want the best possible treatment for our daughter, I want no expense spared."

"I'll see to it that you are given the proper forms to fill out. I need to see a few more patients and I'll be back shortly. Please feel free to use my office. I know this is a lot of information to absorb and you both need some time to reflect upon what I've just told you."

"Thank you," EJ stood to shake Dr. McAllister's hand. "Samantha and I will be back in Madison's room in a few minutes. We just need to get a reign on our feelings before we go into her room."

"Both of you having positive attitudes will go a long way in helping Madison cope with what she may be facing in the future."

With that note, Dr. McAllister left EJ and Sami in his office, knowing they both needed privacy after hearing such devastating news about their child.

EJ looked to Samantha, his heart breaking, this couldn't be happening to Madison.

"Oh Samantha," was all he was able to get out before Sami arose, reached up and threw her arms around his neck, clutching him as tightly as Madison had done the night before when he had come into her hospital room.

The sobs that overtook Sami were ones that were utterly heart wrenching. EJ could feel her body shake as he held onto her and his tears started to fall too. The minutes passed while they held onto each other, crying together, both wondering what the future would hold for their daughter.