| 24. Continued Again, depressed, she turned off the television and put her bowl in the sink. She took the six pills that Dr. Harless had prescribed for her when she came to the clinic a month ago. Tomorrow, she'd have to go in for another round of chemotherapy, her fourth since she'd recovered from surgery. Because they had removed both of her ovaries, along with other organs, she wouldn't be able to bear children and was about to go through early menopause. The thought of not being able to have kids crushed her. What even hurt her more was that she was 19 years old, unmarried, and going through menopause. It was all she could do not to feel sorry for herself. Instead, she ignored it. Her career was the more important issue and all she could think about was beginning her own headlining tour, which was set to start in September, when she would hopefully be in remission; a time she anticipated greatly, when cancer would be behind her and her career before her. Meg stretched and went back into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. Then, as she walked into her room and grabbed her bag, she heard a knock on the door. "Good morning, my Paulie!" she greeted, opening the door. "G' morning, Meggie!" he replied, wrapping his arms around her. "Rob's sending a car in about ten minutes, so you're right on time." "Good, good. Feel better?" "Tons. Got the daily meds, so it's all good," she assured him, walking down the entry hall to the living area. "Well I'm certainly relieved." "Why is that?" she asked, picking up her bag. "Because that means I can kiss you," he explained, stopping her. "And you know how much I love doing that." He grinned. "Oh I know you do," she replied, pulling him to her. When their lips had barely touched, there was yet another knock on the door. Paul audibly groaned, "Go away..." "It's the driver..." she sang, backing away and going to the door. When he didn't follow, she said, "Well? Are you coming?" He sighed, "Alright, alright." She laughed, "Well don't look so downcast, Paulie. I'll have lots of downtime today on the set, eh?" He grinned. "Patience is a virtue." 25. Going Public Two weeks later� August 16, 2001 3:15 pm Paul watched Carson Daly and Meg from just barely behind stage. She looked gorgeous, as usual, in a flesh tone dress just barely past her knees and matching heels. Her smile was radiant, though her heart was weary. It had been a hard day for her, as she was not anticipating what she was about to do. After the screams and applause died down from her newly-premiered video, Carson said, "It's been a while since we've heard from you.� "Yeah, things have been really...weird for the past month or two." "Now what happened with�we heard you like, what, passed out at a show in Chicago." "Yes, it was on the Gold Tour on stage at the middle of the last song in my set and I passed out because...I was in a lot of pain and it just sort of over took me." "And you were in the hospital..." "For about a week, where I...," she blew out a breath and quickly took it in again, "I found out that I have ovarian cancer. Um, but the good part is that it can be treated with chemotherapy and radiation. I have a very good chance of living for quite a while after I enter in remission." "Now, are you planning on taking a while off to be treated?" "No, that's the one thing I'm not going to do. I'm still going to promote the album and as soon as I'm done with treatment, I'm going back on the road in late September on a headlining tour." Meg handled it gracefully, though some of the audience members were crying. She was crying inside, and Paul knew it. The interview continued for another minute or so, then the show went to commercial. After speaking to Carson momentarily, Meg walked backstage to Paul quickly. "Let's go," she whispered, taking his hand. With that, they were lead out of the studio by a bodyguard and into a waiting limo. Paul wrapped one arm around Meg as she leaned against him and used his free hand to take her own. "You're amazing, Meggie," he whispered. She looked at him, and Paul realized she was crying. "I love you," she murmured. �I love you. And nothing will change that, no matter what happens.� �Can you promise me that?� �Of course. Nothing would change my mind.� She kissed him and rested her head on his chest. 26. The Ties That Bind 4:38 pm Meg yawned and stood up from where she had just been sleeping on the couch in her hotel room and stumbled to the ringing phone. "Hello?" "Meghan?" Her hands searched for a way to lower herself to the ground, as her legs were suddenly rubbery. She couldn't breathe. When a gasp of air finally submerged, she spoke. "Daddy?" |