"Ma...ma?" Burke called out. "Ma...ma," he cried. "Ma-ma. Mama?"

"Jarod!" Parker opened her eyes quickly and shook him out of his sleep. "He said mama. Mama. He's calling his mama. That's me," she said excitedly. "It's me he's calling." She hurriedly into the nursery.

There was no word she could have explained what she felt today. The joy of awakening to have heard Burke's first word had momentarily erased worries of her health problem.

Burke pulled at his mother's hair and jumped up and down in her arms.

Jarod rubbed his son's back. "Oh, you're just a mama's boy, aren't you?" He said teasingly.

"Ma...ma." Again, he repeated and laid his head on Parker's shoulder. "Ma...ma," he squeaked and stroked her face.

"I never expected you two as being the best things in my life. The "Pretender" and his son. And I would have it no other way. I..we have to face the hard truth, that...I might be sick, Jarod, I might be..."

Jarod hugged his family. "We're here for you. Aren't we, Burke? We'll be here for mommy."

"Mama."

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They held hands as they were seated in front of the doctor. Parker lowered her eyes. Jarod studied his face. He was a pretty good judge of character and could almost always read people's faces. This time he couldn't.

The physician flipped several pages of her chart, then, laid it down on his desk. The doctor took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes before addressing them. "There is a lump on your left breast." He looked at Parker, then at Jarod, then back at his patient again. "We need to find out...we need to do further testing to look more into it, preferably within the next few days."

"The baby..."

"You have a baby? How old is your child?"

"He's seven months," Parker answered.

"Well, the sooner we get it done, the sooner you'll be back home with him."

"Doctor," Jarod began, "with your other patients, what is the percentage of a lump like hers that it's..."

"Let's not go there right now. We'll talk more once we diagnose it. But, for now, we should be making arrangements for your stay at the hospital. Alright, you go home to your little one and I'll see you in a few days."

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Their ride home was quiet. Parker sighed leaning her head against the window.

"You hungry?" Jarod broke the silence. "We should pick up some burgers and fries. Honey, call Debbie to tell her we're picking up lunch."

"Debbie is such a great help. Burke loves her. You know she'll always be around, Broots and Sydney, too."

He kept his eyes on the road. "Uh-huh."

"They'll be a great help when I'm no longer around."

The "pretender" couldn't take it any anymore. Suddenly, he stopped his car in a stall fronting a park. "Look at me, Parker." She didn't. "I said look at me!"

"What?" She snapped.

"Stop it! Just stop it! I'm sick and tired of your nonsense talk! Nothing's going to happen to you! Nothing!" He raised his voice.

"Tell me! Tell me you haven't thought of me dying! Because I have. Every time you look at me, I know what you're thinking!"

"Pretending to be a mind reader, Parker? I'm the "pretender" here."

"Quit pretending everything is going to be alright. There's a huge chance that I might not be! Jarod! Let's face the truth I might be dying!"

"Alright! I've thought about it! I've thought of you dying! Is that what you want to hear? I've thought of you dying and leaving us alone! And I can't do a damn thing about it! I can't help you! I want to help you, but, I can't! I wasn't trained to do that! I wasn't trained to not have any feelings for you! I wasn't trained to not worry about you and not to love you! You've always been a part of me and I can't see you not ever without me."

Jarod stormed out of the car. Her heart shattered as she watched him walk away. Parker jumped out, slammed the car door and ran to him. She yanked his arm for him to stop. "Where are you going?"

"Anywhere!" He yelled jerking his arm away from her.

"Jarod!" She grabbed his arms. He hadn't realized she had such a strong grip when he tried to struggle out of her hold and couldn't.

"Let go, Parker! Let go of me!"

"No!" She screamed. "I'm not letting you go!" She held him tighter and hugged him. He struggled a bit, but, she hung to him as tightly as she could, that he finally returned her embrace.

"Don't die on me, Parker. Don't die on us," he cried.

"I'll try not to. I can't promise you that. But, I'll try not to," she said as she comforted him. "I've cried so much, I haven't given you much chance to cry. I know you're angry. I love you. Let's go home so we can cry together."

TBC - Chapter 11