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Chapter 22 - Custody

Emma looked at herself in the mirror as she vomited again. Her hair had fallen out, and she looked paler and thinner than usual. She was so weak sometimes that it took all her energy just to stand up.

She was at home alone while Leo picked up Cat from school. She had been receiving chemo for over six months now. Dr. Singh told her that typically patients aren't on it for that long, but her cancer was aggressive, and they were trying to keep it from spreading.

Emma tried to make her way back to the bed because she knew Cat would be worried about her if she saw her up by herself. Her daughter acted as her nurse and did everything she could to help her mother.

She had already been in the hospital a few times, and each time she returned, Cat clung to her. Emma had just laid down when she heard the front door open.

"Mommy, I'm home." Cat came running into the bedroom, took her shoes off, and climbed up into the bed, carefully laying next to her mother.

"Hi sweet girl, how was your day?" Emma was looking forward to the summer when Cat was out of school so she could be home with her all day. She knew that was selfish, but cuddling her daughter was the best therapy she could get.

"It was okay, but we only have two weeks of school left. I get to graduate from kindergarten too. I told my teacher I wouldn't be able to go because I have to stay home to take care of you." Emma held back her tears. She wanted to go to Cat's kindergarten graduation because she knew it might be the only graduation she got to see.

"You can go to your graduation, honey. I'm going to see if we can borrow a wheelchair so I can go too." Cat looked at her mom with worry.

"Mommy, you're sick. I can stay home with you." Cat hugged her mom gently, not wanting to hurt her.

"Cat, I want to go. That's a big day, and I wouldn't miss it for the world." Emma kissed Cat's head.

"Okay, mommy, but if you start getting sick, we can leave."

"What's this I hear about a graduation?" Leo walked into the bedroom and leaned against the doorframe.

"I told Cat I'm going to see if we can borrow a wheelchair so I can go to her kindergarten graduation. Do you think you can find one somewhere?" Emma looked at Leo, hopefully. She was so thankful for all the help he had given them these past months. He started staying with them when Emma began getting too weak.

"I think I'll be able to find something. I'm going to order us some dinner. Emma, do you want me to order you some soup?" Leo smiled at her.

"Yes, chicken noodle if they have it. Thank you, Leo." After he left the room, Cat looked up at her mom.

"Mommy, I'll be glad when you're all better, and it's just you and me again." Emma looked at her in surprise.

"I thought you liked your uncle Leo." Emma asked her quietly so her brother wouldn't hear. She watched as Cat looked toward the door as if she was trying to decide something.

"He's okay, but I like it when it's just the two of us." Cat laid her head on her mother's shoulder. Emma wanted to ask her more, but a wave of nausea hit her.

About thirty minutes later, when Leo brought Cat and Emma their food into the bedroom, he noticed how sick his sister was. His niece was rubbing her back as Emma vomited into a small trash can. When he saw blood, Leo knew what to do.

"Emma, I think you need to go to the hospital. You're vomiting blood again. Dr. Singh said you needed to return immediately if that happened." Leo was secretly smiling to himself. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for. While Emma was in the hospital, he was going to put it in her head to give him temporary custody of Cat and power of attorney over her health care decisions.

"Okay, go ahead and call the ambulance so you can stay here with Cat." Leo walked out of the room, and she heard him on the phone.

"Mommy, I want to go with you this time. Please don't leave me here without you." Cat cried as she held on to her mom.

"I'm sorry, honey, but they don't allow kids in that part of the hospital. I should be back in a couple of days, hopefully, sooner than that." Emma let the tears fall as she hugged Cat back. It broke her heart to keep leaving her daughter due to being sick, but she didn't have a choice.

The ambulance came within a few minutes and took Emma away while Leo watched and Cat cried. He put his hand on his niece's shoulder, and she stepped out of his reach.

"Remember what I told you, Cat. If you say anything, it will make your mommy sicker." She ran into the apartment crying, and Leo stood outside smiling.


The next day after Leo had dropped Cat off at school, he went to the hospital to see Emma. He thought this would be the prime time to get her to do what he wanted. When he walked into the hospital room, she looked terrible.

"Emma, are you awake?" She slowly opened her eyes.

"Hi, Leo." She whispered weakly. He sat down in a chair next to her bed.

"Emma, I wanted to talk to you about something. I'm worried about what will happen to Cat if you get any sicker. I don't want someone sticking their nose in your business and trying to take her away." Emma opened her eyes wider

"What do you mean?" Emma was confused. Was he planning on going somewhere and not able to help them anymore?

"I think you should give me temporary custody of Cat. So if you're ever too sick to say who you want to take care of, Cat, it will already be in writing. This would only be temporary until you get better." They both knew she most likely wouldn't be getting better, but he said that to ease her mind.

Emma looked at Leo while she thought about what he said. He was right; if she became too sick to make decisions regarding Cat, who knows what would happen to her? She didn't see any harm in giving him temporary custody of her only while she was sick.

"Okay, Leo. Can you get the paperwork?" Emma whispered.

"Yes, don't worry about a thing. Also, I think you should also make me your medical power of attorney for the same reason. If you become too sick to make decisions about your treatments, I can ensure your wishes are carried out."

"Alright, Leo, I agree we should do that too. Thank you for thinking of all this stuff. I want to be out of here for Cat's graduation. If I don't do anything else, I want to be there for that.

"Don't worry, Emma; I'll take care of everything." Leo patted her hand and left the hospital.

Leo went to his apartment, where he had the paperwork ready. As soon as Emma had told him that she had cancer, he had a lawyer friend of his prepare the documents.

While he was at home, he made a call to get Emma a wheelchair. Leo thought he would give her and Cat that one last memory before he turned their world upside down. After he was done, he headed back to the hospital to have Emma sign.

Leo went to the business office at the hospital to ensure someone could accompany him to Emma's room to notarize. An older woman came out and said she was able to go with him.

When they got to Emma's room, she was awake, and Leo explained to her why the woman was with him. He watched her hesitate before signing Cat's custody paperwork, but eventually, she did.

"Emma, I'll drop these off at the courthouse so they can be filed and made legal. I'm going to pick Cat up from school soon. Do you want to call and talk to her later?" Leo felt like running out of the room to the courthouse, but he didn't want to seem too anxious.

"Yes, I'll call when I think you're at home. Thanks, Leo."

Emma watched as Leo left her room. She hoped she didn't just make a huge mistake, but what he said made sense. If it ever came to the point where she couldn't make decisions for herself, she wanted Cat to be with someone she knew. Emma didn't know why but she had a funny feeling in her stomach.

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