Expecting the Unexpected Part 2
It took a while but i’m excited to share with you all part 2!! Don’t hate me it’s cute and sad at the same time.
Warnings: LOTS of angst, more fluff, childhood illness
Summary: When Joe gets back from his recent business trip he notices something is up with your new little one. Can an urgent ER trip can change your lives for good
One word. There was only one word you hated more than ever right now. Cancer. Your baby had cancer.
You decided to stay at the hospital while the doctors finished up some other test to completely confirm your daughter’s diagnosis. They didn’t want to leave anything out. You sat at the edge of the hospital bed, Joe next to you. You both felt utterly drained, like everything that made you happy was ripped from your hands, except for each other. You could tell as much a Joe tried to be strong for you, it was very difficult for him, but you couldn’t blame him. You felt the same pain, the same heartbreak.
After a few hours at the ER, the nurse came back with your yawning child, bunny in hand.
“She should be all done for now. We will continue to run tests and look at all the facts we’ve collected but it doesn’t look like her diagnosis will be inaccurate.” the nurse said with a sorrowful frown.
“But she is safe to go home?” Joe said, holding every tear he had left back in his glassy eyes.
“Yes sir, she should be fine. I had the doctor prescribe her some antibiotics and amoxicillin to help ease her discomfort. Again, I am so sorry for this outcome Mr. and Mrs. Mazzello.”
“Thank you.” you managed to choke out. You could feel the tears running from your eyes as you held your sleeping child, dripping onto her snug swaddling blanket.
Joe was trying to call his mom, he needed to know what to do next, what kind of treatments or course of action we should decide. She would know what to do, how to comfort us. She always knew just what to say in these situations. He tried calling her at least six times before he gave up. You had just finished buckling Scarlet up in her car seat when you felt a warm touch on your back. You were quickly twirled around into your husband’s arms, his eyes still wet from his frustrations getting the best of him. You held each other for what seemed like forever; it was exactly what you both needed. You needed his warm touch against your low back. He needed your soft skin nuzzled into his neck, even with the tears on your face. He guided you to the passenger side and helped you into your seat. It wasn’t that you weren’t capable, he just knew you needed him more than ever right now.
The drive home was quiet. The sniffles from each of your noses, small cries every now and then when Scarlet was fussy, but it didn’t bother you. You never realized how much of life you missed before. How the little things were actually big things. The little sneezes, the small glances Joe would give you to ensure you were doing ok, the tune Joe would hum every time you would drive home. But Joe wasn’t humming this time. He was only holding your hand, rubbing small circles against your skin. The tears never seemed to stop for either of you. A single drop would run from Joe’s eyes sometimes but you were always there to wipe it away, placing a kiss to his cheek every time in its place. You were almost asleep from the long drive back when you felt your phone vibrate against your thigh. The caller ID read Lucy in the cute font she had chosen when you exchanged numbers during Joe’s run for Bohemian Rhapsody. You were hesitant to pick up the phone at first but Joe looked at you with his soft eyes.
“It’s ok babe, she’s probably just worried because of the press. You don’t have to answer it if you aren’t up for it.” he said, quickly placing a kiss to your hand just so he could see you smile.
“I better answer it. I don’t want her to be too worried. I have to tell her about- you know, the diagnosis.”
You hated calling it the diagnosis but you also hated reminding yourself that it was cancer.
“Yes Joey i’m sure. She will burn the whole city down if I don’t.” you said, hopefully to make him chuckle a little. It worked, oh how you’ve missed his laugh. You swiftly picked up the phone before it hit its last ring.
“Y/N? What’s going on is everything ok? Why is there a bunch of articles going around about the baby in the hospital?” Lucy spit out. You could tell she was extremely worried just by the tone of her voice and the vomit of words she just threw at you.
“We-“ you tried so hard to explain without crying but couldn’t even form a full sentence without getting upset.
“We took her to the hospital but it’s not good news Lu. Scarlet she- she has cancer. The found a spot on her brain and-“ you were soon cut off by the sobs on the other line.
“Oh my god Y/N/N. I need to come over right away.”
You didn’t want to see anyone right now except for your husband and your baby but you knew she meant well.
“We are still on the way home Lucy. It will be a while before we get back.”
Your home was quite far from the hospital. It was distant from the city so Joe knew you would be safe at home while he was away for work. It was also secluded from the rest of the houses but you didn’t mind the privacy.
“Y/N are you guys doing alright? Rami and I can be over right when you get home.”
“Not really Lucy but we are holding in there I guess.”
“Y/N I can’t even imagine the pain you both must be feeling. I’m so so sorry.” she said, her voice starting to choke up. You could tell she was crying too, after all she was your baby’s godmother.
“It’s been really hard Lu. So hard.”
You could feel Joe hold you tighter as the conversation went on. He couldn’t help but cry either. He was sensitive, but this really pushed you both over the edge. Small cries flooded your car alerting you that Scarlet was awake.
“Hey Lu I have to go, Scarlet just woke up. I will text you when we get home okay?” you said, crackling in your voice from the tears.
“Of course. We will be there Y/N. We will always be there for you and Joe. Love to Joe and Scarlet for me please.”
“Thank you so much Lu. See you soon.” Your call ended as soon as the other line went quiet.
You tried everything you could to settle Scarlet down from the front seat but it was no use. You couldn’t tell if she was hungry or pain.
“Do you need me to pull over so you can get in the back love?”
“Please Joey? I just don’t know how to calm her down right now.” a tone of exhaustion in your voice.
He pulled over a soon as it was safe on the side of the road, out of any harm from on coming traffic. Before you got out, you felt Joe’s eyes lingering on you, his grasp for your hands becoming faint. You closed the once opened passenger door and swiftly turned to his gaze again.
“Thank you for being so strong for me I know this hasn’t been easy for either of us.” you poured your heart to Joe.
“Honey that’s what i’m here for. I’m here for you, i’m here for her. You both are my world and I’d give anything and everything up for you both.” he stated, choking back tears.
“Joey you know that you’re allowed to hurt too. I’m here for you just as much as you are for me. I know that i’ve been a mess but you are going through the same pain as me and it’s ok to let it all out.”
Just as you finished those last words Joe fell into your embrace. You’ve only seen him like this once in the 7 years you’ve been together and it was when his dad passed away. You remember the sadness, the pain he was going through, but this was worse. You could feel your shirt becoming damp with tears which only made you want to hold him more. You were rubbing his back just like he did for you hours prior, slow circles from your fingertips brushing against his shoulder blades. You hated seeing him like this, hurting so much, but you knew exactly what he felt like. He pulled away from your hold after he could calm down a few minutes later.
“I’m sorry.” you trembled. You felt like this was all your fault, that you did something wrong. How else could this have happened?
“You don’t get to blame yourself. Stop blaming yourself it’s killing me! This wasn’t your fault!” he sounded almost angry, and you couldn’t tell whether it was at you or the world.
“How else could this have happened babe? I’m with her every second.”
“There is no way that this could have been your fault love. Cancer just happens.”
Those words hit you the most. It just happens. But why to you, why to Joe, and especially why to your sweet, innocent little girl.
After you switched to the backseat, you finally calmed Scarlet down after what seemed like hours. The nurse had given you some amoxicillin to give Scarlet whenever she seemed uncomfortable and this was one of those moments. Those dreaded moments killed you, her cries unbearably sad because she was in pain and all you could do was hold her. Tell her that everything was going to be ok. That you and daddy were gonna help her beat this pain that she was feeling. Even if she couldn’t understand you, your voice still helped calm her down, eventually soothing her back to sleep.
When you finally pulled into your driveway, you felt a sigh of relief wave over your body, hoping the comfort of your own home would almost make this all easier. You both were exhausted. Sleep seemed impossible knowing that your daughter had to experience this disease. Joe helped you out of the car and volunteered to carry Scarlet into the house. You clutched the diaper bag from the backseat and proceeded inside closely behind your husband. You could tell being at home made Joe feel a little better. His spirits lifted from his previous state. You both easily fell into the massive couch, Joe holding Scarlet in one arm and you leaning into his other. Soon, you both quickly drifted off into a well needed rest. The buzzing from your phone woke you up a few hours later.
“4 missed calls from Lucy”
“Crap.” you whispered, trying not to wake you tiny, sleeping family.
You picked up the fifth call from Lucy as soon as her caller ID showed up again, walking into the other room so you wouldn’t wake your snoring loves.
“Lucy? I’m so sorry I forgot to call. We all feel asleep right when we got home. I’m so so sor-“ you barely managed to spit out before Lucy cut you off.
“Y/N it’s fine, you deserve the rest after the day you’ve probably had.”
“It’s only 4:30 if you still want to come over. I think Joe and I need to see some friends right now. It’s been a while.”
“Yes i’m sure. We could use the company right now. Anything to take our minds off of the news.”
“We can be over in 15 is that alright?” she questioned.
Just as you hung up the call you could hear Scarlet start to get fussy again. Running over to the diaper bag you placed conveniently by the front door, you grabbed her bunny and swooped her up from Joe’s arms.
“Hey sweetie, it’s ok mommy’s got you. You’re so brave my little one.”
Nothing seemed to work anymore. It had only been an hour since you gave her the first dose of amoxicillin so why was she having so much discomfort still. Her cries woke up Joe and he motioned you to come lay down by him with the baby.
“Aww pumpkin.” Joe tried his best to draw her attention until he thought of something that would for sure work.
With every single beat of my heart
Yes I was born to take care of you
Joe continued singing with his soothing voice at your fussy child, the tune soon lulling her back to sleep. Joe always had a love for Queen, so when Scarlet was born he made sure that she would have excellent music taste. I Was Born To Love You was the song that was playing when she first smiled at you and Joe. He always knew that it would be one of her favorites, even if he was disappointed that it wasn’t Somebody To Love. After Scarlet was finally asleep you swayed her in your arms all the way up to her nursery before placing her in the pastel pink crib. Joe couldn’t help but admire you from the doorway. You didn’t even notice that he had followed you upstairs because you were so encased by your daughter’s little snores, which she was gifted by her ever so generous daddy.
You almost didn’t hear the small knock at the door before Lucy and Rami walked in.
“Hey guys, we brought you some food. We thought you both probably haven’t eaten much today.” Rami empathized as he placed the bags of takeout from The Matchbox Cafe on the counter. That cafe was where you and Joe had your first date. Whenever you both would host your friends when they came into town, that’s where you would go to eat. It was both of yours favorite place to eat.
“Thank you so much. You are so sweet. You really thought of everything.” you stuttered, hugging both Lucy and Rami.
“It’s the least we could do.”
Lucy words helped comfort you and Joe dearly. It didn’t take long before you both had completely devoured your food and were back sitting on the couch again. You cuddled up to Joe as he was talking with Rami, his arm quick to wrap around you again. Lucy only smiled. She knew just how much you both loved each other and that you both were strong enough to help Scarlet beat this.
“So if you don’t mind us asking, do the other guys know?” Rami questioned.
“No. Only my mom knows as of now, and well, you guys too. It’s just so hard you know, to talk about it. We just don’t understand why this is happening. Why us? Why her?” Joe could barely keep his words together.
“Well, if you need anything, and we mean anything, you know who to call.” Lucy had just finished her sentence when you could hear the faint cries of your little girl from upstairs. It had only be a couple hours since you last put her down but you had been constantly checking on her since then. You excused yourself from the group when Rami quickly asked,
“Sure, It’s always appreciated.”
Joe gave you a quick smile before you and Rami proceed to climb upstairs. You knew how well Rami was with kids and he loved them so dearly. He especially loved your little one. Scarlet had always loved Rami, Lucy even thought she loved him more than her but you knew that was definitely not true.
“Do you want to hold her?”
“Can I? I won’t hurt her?” he stuttered cautiously.
“No she just sad I think. She needs some love from her uncle Rami.”
That melted his heart. He carefully coddled her in his arms, never pulling his gaze from her eyes.
“You are such a sweet girl little squirt.”
That was Rami’s nickname for her. No one could quite figure out where it came from but it was darn cute when Scarlet smiled every time he said it.
“You have such a strong mommy and daddy you know that. They love you so so much and they are gonna do everything they can to help you get better.”
His words made you teary-eyed. You didn’t think you had any tears left after the day you’ve had, but one tear still managed it’s way down your cheek.
You all made your way back down into the living room and Lucy swooped Scarlet right from Rami’s arms. She adored every aspect of your child. Joe and you knew how much they wanted to be parents. They were always the first to call if you needed a date night with Joe. As Lucy swayed the little ‘squirt’ in her arms you couldn’t help but pull your attention back to Joe, his eyes fixed on your daughter.
“Joey,” you whispered into his ear.
“We are gonna get through this right? We can do this?”
“I have every ounce of faith that she can beat this. I don’t think i’m the only one either.”
You both quickly glanced at the couple across from you then back at each other.
You fell into the most passionate kiss, not even minding if Rami and Lucy saw, (they were to focused on the baby anyway), but you both didn’t care. He was your rock and you were his. You both were gonna help Scarlet beat this.
@onehystericalqueeen @queens-n-roses @soberandfurious @sevenseasofky @toger-raylor @sincereleygmg @mrsmazzello @myfreakydeaky @readdyyfreddie @mr-stank-i-dont-feel-so-dank @misterbrianmay @heartsarecompatible @deakyspuff @radioxtaylor @everybodyplaythegame @winnielinleigh @slutfordeacy-mazello @benmeadowstaylor
I hope you all enjoyed Part 2! Request are always open!
