RP LOG WITH justalilcontact | Over

[chasemd]

Rogue pushed her way through the front door, wincing as it slammed against the wall while she struggled through with her shopping bags. She should have been used to having no hands free between Mia and her husband, both of them keeping Rogue more than busy. She didn't complain, though. Not once. She loved being a mother, and taking care of her husband through his cancer was just something she knew she had to do. She wanted to do. It was horrible watching him suffer, so she tried to do as much as she could to make it even just a little easier on him.


He'd been looking better each day for a little while now, so Rogue knew she could trust him with Mia for a couple of hours while she went and prepared for a mini-celebration. Spongebob Squarepants was ten years old. It was a kids' cartoon, but she didn't care. The crazy animation had been something to get her through a lot of late night shit when she'd still been having nightmares, and it was something that had continued to make her laugh. She couldn't help it, everyone had one guilty pleasure. Rogue's was the sponge that lived in a pineapple under the sea. And sex, but these days she never considered that an indulgence. Now it was just something she shared with the Doc. Or did until he got sick. The cravings had taken a backseat while she focused on trying to look after him.

Her bags were full of Spongebob themed plates, cups, and party hats. She had the missing DVDs from her collection, a couple of t-shirts and a few stuffed toys and various bits of licensed merchandise. Basically she'd just splurged on useless crap, but she didn't care. She was planning on enjoying a few hours of insanity and laughter, and maybe if Chase could stomach it, he'd join her. They could both use some light relief in amongst everything. Rogue planned on also using the time to introduce their daughter to her favourite cartoon. At least this way Rogue would have a genuine excuse for watching it if her daughter enjoyed it.

She found Chase and Mia on the sofa, and tried to blow a few strands of hair out of her face as she smiled at them. "Hey, sugar, everythin' okay?"

Chase had been sitting there in a daze. Mia was in his arms, so he knew she was okay. In fact, she had decided the edge of the bandana on his head was hilarious, giggling as she wrapped her little hand around it and tugged on it. Chase hardly noticed. At any other time, he would probably be laughing his arse off at his daughter. He thrived on being a Dad and it was probably what kept him mostly sane through the illness. She was their little ball of hope. He blinked at Rogue's voice, only just realising she was home, and especially now that Mia was reaching out to get to her Mum. Clearly a numb and silent Daddy wasn't the fun she was looking for.

His eyes were wide as he looked up at her and he opened his mouth, but all the words tried to rush forward at once and got caught on his tongue when they had to eventuate into something that actually made sense. "I- Wilson called," was as good as any start. "Just now, he called."

Rogue dropped the bags on the floor, and came over to sit next to him. She took a moment to give her daughter a big smile as she kissed one of Mia's little feet. Her brown eyes fixed on Chase's face as she tried not to look too worried at the news of Wilson calling. The horrible nausea building in her gut said otherwise, and Rogue couldn't help but fear the worse. "Oh... What did he say?"

Chase shook his head in disbelief. "I'm in remission," he told her with small laugh. "The tests... there's no cancer cells left. The chemo worked. I just... I can't believe it. I'm scared to believe," he added in almost a whisper, watching her like she would be able to have all the right answers.

Rogue sat there stunned for a long moment, her mind trying to catch up to the fact that the twisting in her stomach wasn't necessary, and that this would be the right time to smile. "I... Remission?" she repeated, still struggling to reconcile Chase's words with how she was feeling. After another moment she started to smile, her brown eyes lighting up. "No cancer cells at all? Oh Lordy... Doc, that's amazin'. It's more than amazin'! It's... shit, I don't know! Like a miracle... Oh my god!" Rogue couldn't help it, she started to cry, tears beginning to run down her cheeks as she looked at him. "I'm sorry, sugar, I can't help it..."

Chase felt that stinging feeling in his own eyes as he wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter to hug them. "It's okay," he told her, pressing his lips against her cheek before burying his face against her shoulder. "I don't even know how I'm supposed to react! I hung up on Wilson. I was just in shock. I can't believe it. I didn't think... I thought it was going to be bad news."

"Me too," Rogue admitted. "I was expecting you to tell me something had changed and it had gotten worse, or somethin'." She wrapped her arm around him, trying not to squish Mia between them as she clung to her husband. She rubbed her gloved hand against his back and tried to keep the sobbing back so she could speak. "I'm in shock too, but... this is just so... shit. This is the best thing I've heard in ages, Doc. I'm happy, I know I am. It's just takin' a while to sink in."

Chase nodded with another slight laugh. "Yeah, me too. I mean, I feel like I should be ecstatic, but at the same time, I still feel like shit and might do for a few weeks yet while I get my strength back. Plus, there will be a bunch of pills for awhile, but that's fine. I think I'm just numb. I was... I really thought I was going to die. I could push it all away and hope I wouldn't, but I really was terrified I was going to die and never see Mia grow up." His own tears spilled over as he brushed his fingers over his daughter's little head. "But I am. I'm going to see it all."

Rogue turned her head to press a kiss to Chase's cheek, her mouth trailing over his skin lightly until she could press a series of kisses to his lips. Her control was still in place, but she'd been wary about touching Chase too much in case it slipped, and she drained him while he was weak. "Yeah, you are. You're gonna see every damn second, and I'm gonna be right there with ya. Oh, Doc... this is probably inappropriate, but I can't wait until you get your strength back so I can remind you just how much I want you."

Chase laughed at her. "Maybe just a little, but only because you're hitting on a sick man," he told her in amusement. "I promise you'll be the first to know when I do have my strength back. It'll be a few weeks for things to heal effectively, but I'm already starting to feel okay, so maybe it won't be all that long."

Rogue brushed her fingers down the side of his cheek as she kept her other hand on Mia's back. "I knew you could get through this, Doc. I knew she'd give you the strength you needed. And I'll have you know I've done pretty well. I ain't mentioned sex once unless you brought it up first. I've been a good girl," she laughed.

"Agreed," Chase said with a smile. "And I appreciate it. It wasn't that I didn't want to do it or talk about it or anything like that. It just pissed me off so much that I couldn't, and then I would get angry and frustrated. So I played ostriches and stuck my head in the sand over it. I know it sucked, and I'm really sorry that it sucked."

Rogue kissed his forehead and rest her hand on his chest. "It didn't suck as much as you think, Doc. It was easy to not think about it when I was more worried about whether you were gonna live, or die. I can actually be patient when I need to be. I don't want you apoligisin' for bein' sick. You couldn't help it. None of this is your fault."

Chase played with Mia's thick, soft hair and met Rogue's eyes. "Do you want any more children?" he asked her quietly.

Rogue held his gaze, her nod barely visible. "Yes," she whispered. "More than anythin'."

Chase's grip tightened a little around her hand. "We should maybe talk about that. About the fact there's a chance I might not be able to have kids anymore," he told her, his eyes sad as they met hers. "And I know how much that hurts to hear because it hurts to say it, but if we just prepare for it, you know?"

Rogue gave another small nod, the tears back. She looked down at Mia and dipped her head to kiss the top of her daughter's. "I know... and I wish I didn't want more kids, but I do. I also know if you're not able to have kids anymore, then I'm just grateful we have Mia. I didn't think we'd have another chance after... after I got hurt."

"I know, and I'm glad we could too. I guess there was the chance there that we could have frozen my sperm, but..." Chase shook his head. "I don't really believe in that so much. Plus, by the time we found out, I was already Stage two. There might not have been any guarantee it would be viable anyway. I want more. I do. I never expected to love being a father so much but she's the best thing I've ever done. But look at Tara and Lachlan. They came to accept Riley was their only chance. If it comes to that, we'll be alright, won't we?"

Rogue smiled up at him, and hugged him tight as she nuzzled into the crook of his neck. "Of course we're gonna be alright. We still got each other, and I really am gonna be okay if Mia's all we have. I don't want frozen sperm, and needles. We already have a beautiful daughter. If we're meant to have more, it'll happen. Just like everythin' else with us."

Chase turned to her, a small smirk on his lips. "What about contraception? Should we bother with it when we get going again?" he asked her. "Besides when you need if it your control is off. I just mean in general."

Rogue smirked back at him, her brown eyes sparkling. "I'm thinkin' no. Let's just tempt fate and see what happens."

"That's what I was thinking," Chase laughed, resting his head against the sofa. "So, if we got lucky some way and a second was on its way, we would be okay?" He knew he was basically throwing a whole bunch of questions at her, but it had been things that had lingered in his mind since he got sick but hadn't let himself stop on while there was a chance he might not survive the cancer. Now he was going to be okay, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with knowing they wanted the same things.

Rogue nodded as she rest her head on his shoulder, holding out her gloved finger for Mia to play with. "'Sides, we both know we're free of STDs, right? Not like we can catch anythin' from each other 'cept more colds. We would definitely be okay."

Chase nodded. "Yeah, none of that. I was just thinking more the pregnant and another baby thing," he told her. "But people deal fine with twins. I'm being optimistic here. Even if I can have more kids, I don't think anything internally will work properly for awhile."

Rogue looked at him, her lips curling slightly. "You get me pregnant with quintuplets and I'll be doin' more than eatin' all your food. How many kids are we gonna stop at? If we get a second, does that mean we try for a third?"

"Oh, I think the days of my glory, Olympic level sperm are over considering I only have one ball, and multiple births are actually the mother's doing," Chase had to point out smugly. "And yes? Maybe three is a good number? I love one. If we just have one, then we're still blessed, but if we can have more, I think three would be cool."

Rogue looked down at her stomach like she'd be able to glare at her ovaries through her clothing. "The mother's doin'? Are you sure?" She glared at her stomach a moment longer before she grinned at her husband. "You got yourself a deal, Dr Chase."

Chase nodded, laughing. "Yeah, the mother's. Well, technically. If the mother produces two eggs, the sperm are going to run home free. But identical twins, one egg, one sperm... all traditional. They just produce into two little people down the fertility track," he explained. "Do we shake on it?" he joked.

Rogue rest her hand on Chase's thigh and moved it in towards his crotch as she laughed. "I am shakin' on it, sugar."

Chase looked down with a laugh. "No lift-off, unfortunately. I should point out that your daughter is watching your every move, too."

Rogue shrugged. "Wasn't lookin' for lift-off, just shakin' on a deal. Why shake a hand, when I can shake somethin' better?" She glanced at their daughter, and quickly took her hand off Chase. "That's somethin' you're not gonna do for many, many years, and only when you're in love with the boy. Okay, sugar?" she said to Mia. "There will be no randomly gropin' of boys. That path leads to trouble."

Chase laughed when Mia giggled and drooled all down the front of Rogue's shirt. "I don't think she's listening to you," he said with a devious grin.

"She will if she knows what's good for her. Otherwise Daddy might have a heart attack when she brings home some random boy trying to sleep with her." Rogue kissed the tip of Mia's nose, not even thinking about the drool on her shirt. She was used to it.

"I still say she was trying to pull RJ's diaper off the other day," Chase said, laughing even more now. It felt like he hadn't laughed properly in years. "And he was just giggling at her. She wants to know what you've betrothed her to and if you bought her something nice to play with in his pants."

Rogue giggled, and seeing both her parents laugh had Mia giggling again. Rogue shook her head a little as she watched their daughter. "She's either takin' after your deviant ways, or picked up my love of what's in your pants. Havin' seen Riley's dad, even accidentally, I have no doubt his son's gonna have somethin' nice to play with."

"Apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Chase said with a smirk, referring to their daughter and Wee Campbell. He tapped the end of Mia's nose softly. "They get along well, don't they? It's funny, because that other baby up the street we pass on walks, she hates. She cries every time we go near him. But with little RJ, they just love each other. We can shove them both in the same crib, and they're fine together. I'm glad she's got another baby to grow up with. Even if we can't have a second, she'll still have RJ to be close to."

Rogue's smile faded just a little. "Hopefully she follows her instinct... If he makes her cry, she just needs to stay away. She better not try and force relationships. She needs to be able to just tell a boy she's not interested. I love that they're gettin' along now. It's gonna be fun watchin' 'em grow up."

Chase nodded with a small laugh. "That's where we come in. It's not just instinct. We need to teach her all this stuff. And teach Remy to teach her," he added as a hasty afterthought.

Rogue cradled Mia against her as she rest her head against her husband's shoulder, getting all of them comfortable. "He will teach her. Remy ain't gonna let a single boy hurt a hair on her head despite his lifestyle. I think you'll find you and him have got a lot of common views about how Mia's gonna grow up."

"Yeah, but she's still my little girl. He's the first bloke I need to make sure she's safe with. And I know you're going to tell me she is, and I know deep down she is, but let me have my irrational fatherly moment. I'm getting my Daddy mojo back here," Chase laughed.

Rogue echoed his laugh, and turned her head so she could kiss his neck. "You can have any moment you want now you're gettin' your Daddy mojo back. I really am glad you're gonna be okay, Doc. I don't know what I woulda done."

"Me either," Chase murmured and wrapped his arms around them both. "And now we don't need to find out. I can even do it with one ball."

Rogue smirked lightly, covering one of their daughter's ears. "You got enough mojo in the one ball than most guys have in two. And to me... it ain't ever gonna matter. You're still you."

"Well, I think all the mojo transferred into the one ball. So I have one Super Ball, and one fake one. It balances out. But if you ever see me walking in circles, that's why," Chase joked with a cheeky grin.

"I'm sure I can think of somethin' to keep you from topplin' over after walkin' in circles," Rogue returned, grinning as she stroked her fingers over Mia's soft hair. "And for the record... this was even better than sittin' here and watchin' SpongeBob DVDs. He should have a birthday more often. Look what kinda miracles happen."

Chase laughed, shaking his head. "No, this is my miracle. Not a sponge in pants."