The joy of seeing Lacy was unbelievable. I honestly thought I'd lost her for good; that she was... dead.

In my excitement, I forget that she's lying here with cancer.

I look at Genevieve; worried my joy would only turn back to sorrow a few months in the coming future.

"What exactly does she have?" I ask

"Leukemia," she sighs.

"How bad is it?" I whisper.

She shrugs with a sad look on her face.

"I just come here to bring a little light to her day," she says, reaching over to pat Lacy's knee.

Then she looks at me curiously.

"Sooooo... You know her?"

I laugh and grab Lacy's hand.

"We're sisters."

Genevieve's jaw drops. And then, slowly, a look of realization comes over her face.

I'm about to ask her everything she knows about Lacy and what happened but then, I decide right now we should just be happy with her.

We talk and laugh and play with her stuffed animals. I'll randomly wrap Lacy into a hug, just to make sure she's really there.

Then, my phone rings. When I take it out I see its 8:30. I groan and let out a whimper. I left at five! I probably missed dinner and everyone is terrified and...

I answer. Almost immediately mom starts in.

"Oh goodness Bridget! Where are you?" she says, panicked.

"I'm sorry mom! I met a friend out on my walk and we... We walked a little ways more and..."

I look at Lacy. I have to tell them! What am I thinking?

"Mom! Listen I have to tell you something!"

"I don't want your excuses right now. What you have to do is get your rear end home. You scared us all half to death."

"Mom, I-"

"Get home now!!!" she demands. I hear a click and the phone call ends.

I grunt in frustration. She can't even listen when there's news that her daughter, that we've missed two years of being with, is here! And... And she has cancer....

I don't want to leave. Least I discover it was all just a dream. I squeeze Lacy.

"I have to go," I say, regretfully.

"I'll be back ASAP though! Hopefully with Mom, Dad, the twins and Liam."

Lacy smiles weakly.

"Please do Bridge."

My eyes are welling up again so I rush out of the room before I convince myself to just stay and bear whatever wrath would be waiting in the morning.

As I rush down the hall, I remember, I don't know where I'm going. I turn around to get Genevieve, but she's already rushing up from behind me.

Without saying a word we walk out and back to the place we met. I smile at her, though we can barely see each other in the dark. I'm about to go on to home. But I stop. I fling myself at Genevieve.

"Thank you," I whisper.

She returns the hug, hesitantly at first. We release each other and I run home.

______________________

Its nine o'clock by the time I get home. I walk into the house and my mom is on top of me right away.

"Where have you BEEN???"

The rest of the family looks on silently. I can't help but feel like they're all just waiting for me to be devoured by a lion.

"Mom, I can explain-"

"No!" She cuts in. "I told you I don't want your excuses."

"Mom it's the best excuse anyone's ever had," I scoff.

Bad way to put it. She's maaaaad now.

"Don't start with your sass young lady-"

"MOM!" I interrupt.

"Mom it's about your daughter."

She looks over her shoulder at Megan and Michelle.

"What'd you two do?" she asks.

Megan throws up her hands and Michelle says, "Nothing!"

"No," I groan.

I walk into the living room and sit in the couch next to Liam.

"Spill," Dad says.

I look back at everyone sitting here. I don't know what to say. So I decide to just tell what happened.

"Well, I met a friend on my walk. She took me down to the children's hospital because she has some... Friends there she wanted me to meet. I met this little girl with leukemia."

I don't know how to ease them into it anymore than that so I get to the point.

"It's Lacy, guys."

They all give me blank stares.

Michelle speaks first.

"Bridget, Lacy didn't have leukemia."

"She didn't.... But... she does now... She was diagnosed last year."

"But how did she...?" Dad whispers.

"I don't know."

One by one they all start crying. It's Liam who looks up and says,

"I want to see her now."

Without another word, we're all in the car and off to visit her.

When we all walk in, Luke's still at the front desk. His eyes widen and he says, "Can I help you?"

"Can we see Lacy? In room 132?" I ask.

He takes a good look at the bunch. Then says, "Sure. But put these one."

He hands us all little medical masks. As he gives me mine he mumbles,

"I should've given you one last time, don't tell anyone I forgot..."

Then to all of us he says,

"She might be going to sleep. I'll peek for you. Follow me."

Turns out she's still up. When she sees the whole parade of us coming in, it's all she can do to restrain from jumping out of the bed. One by one everyone hugs her, each for what seems a good five minutes.

Then Liam and I get in the bed with her while the others stand around it. Liam scoots up and snuggles into Lacy. Then, like a kid about to hear about Superman he asks, "How'd you escape?"

"Now Liam..." I say gently, not wanting to talk about what happened then.

But Lacy seems all too eager to enlighten us.

"Well the guy that stole me is pretty stupid," she starts, as if telling a funny story to a class of first graders.

"We drove for a while, and then he stopped at a McDonalds and left me in car. There was this baseball bat in his car so I broke the window, climbed out and ran and ran and ran!!! That's when I ran into Genny-"

"Genny?" Dad interrupts.

"Mm-hmm," Lacy says.

"She's really nice! Long story short she didn't know where you guys were so she put me in the orphanage. And then I got sick."

"You'll get better!" Michelle says, trying to convince herself, more than Lacy it seemed.

Lacy gets a faraway look in her eyes.

"Whatever happens, it'll be ok. Genny taught me to be thankful for my sickness became without it I'd still be at the orphanage and I wouldn't have ever found you."

Then to me, "She said that right after you had to go earlier."

The reality of the uncertainty of the future hits me. I can't lose Lacy. Not again and certainly not this way... For good.

Tears come up for what seems the millionth time in a week.

"I'm terrified... Lacy how are you the bravest one here?" I sob.

Lacy looks around at her family nervously. Then she leans in and whispers one word in my ear: "Jesus."

I look up at her. She smiles. For a brief moment the hate I've always felt for the mention of that name tries to resurface. But I push it down. If this Jesus transformed my sister into the little fighter she appears to be right now, maybe I can find the strength to put full trust in Him after all.