"Mrs. Hanson, you can see Jessica now." The doctor walked into the waiting room.
"How is she?" Diana asked.
The doctor glanced over towards Chloe and Isaac. "I would like to discuss her condition in a private place."
Diana followed his eyes, then quickly got the picture. "Oh, this is my son and daughter in law, they would find out any ways."
The doctor nodded. "Mrs. Hanson, I'm afraid that your daughter tested positive to HIV. She's in the advanced stages, which is also known as AIDS." Diana nodded, numb to the fact that her oldest daughter was laying in a hospital room, sick as hell.
"How is she?" Diana repeated the question.
"She's in stable condition… And she has been asking for you." Diana smiled.
"Can I… We see her?"
The doctor nodded. "Immediate family only, though, and the limit is two at a time."
"Immediate family as in brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles…?" Isaac asked, squeezing Chloe's hand.
"Immediate family, as in brothers, sisters, and parents. People she has lived with for most of her life." The doctor shot an evil look towards Chloe.
"In other words, not my daughter in law?" Diana challenged, crossing her arms in front of her. Chloe shot a surprised look towards her. The doctor shook his head.
"Only if it's ok with you guys." Chloe shook her head.
"No way. You two go in there, I'll wait out here for Kendall, Zac, and Taylor." She sat back down, letting go of Isaac hand.
"Are you sure?" Isaac asked. Chloe nodded.
"Yes, now go, see your sister!" she exclaimed, giving him a small push.
Isaac and his mother walked side by side, following the doctor. The walked down what seemed like hall after hall, a never-ending circle. Finally, after what seemed like forever to Isaac, the doctor pushed a door open and revealed Jessica. She was sitting up with the help of the electronic bed, and she immediately smiled when she saw her big brother and mother.
"Ike! Mom! Hi!" she said cheerfully. Isaac guessed that either the doctor hadn't told her what was wrong yet, or she was putting on a face for them.
"Hey sweetheart…" Mrs. Hanson was close to crying now. She walked up to the bed to give her daughter a hug.
"Hi Mom… So doc, why did I faint?" she asked. Isaac raised his eyebrows. So the doctor hasn't told her…
The doctor cleared his throat. "Jessica, I'm afraid you're in the advanced stages of HIV, which is now considered…" Jessie cut him off before he could finish.
"AIDS. I have AIDS." Jessie whispered. She looked down towards her hands, not believing what she heard.
"…Yes, you do. Now, there are treatments…"
"How far along?" Jessica interrupted him once again.
"Err… I would give you 6 months to a year, with or without treatment." The doctor said quietly. Jessica sighed, then leaned back against the bed.
"Trent." She mumbled.
"Excuse me?" Isaac asked.
"Trent. My boyfriend when I was 13." Jessica explained. "He was my one and only."
"Now wait a second… This could have come from a number of things…"The doctor insisted, but Jessie shook her head.
"No way. I've never come in contact with anyone else's blood, heck, I've never put a band aid on Mac or Zoë! I've never had any major accident... Nothing. Plus, Trent slept around." Jessica sighed once more.
Mrs. Hanson patted Jessica no the back. "Honey, what's done is done… You can't go back and fix it… But, for now, let's try some treatments like the doctor suggested, ok?"
Jessica shrugged her mother's hand off. "No. He said that it was useless! Mom, I'm going to die… and there's nothing anybody can do about it. Everyone dies sometime, mine just happens to be a little bit early, that's all. All the treatments would do would give me an extra couple of years."
Mrs. Hanson wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. "I just don't want to outlive any of my babies…"
Isaac gave his mother a hug. "Mom, Jessie's right… I hate to admit it. But let her… go peacefully, not with a bunch of machines hooked up to her. Let her live, not try to prevent death in vain."
Mrs. Hanson nodded. "Are you sure that there's nothing…?" The doctor nodded.
"Unfortunately, yes. Your son is right. I would take his advice. My mother died from cancer, a few years back, and I wish that we would have taken her home the last few days of her life." The doctor admitted.
"When can I go home?" Jessica spoke up.
Days later, Jessica was home. Everyone was instructed to treat her as an equal and try to ignore the fact that she was dying right before their eyes. It was hard to accept the fact that in a few months Jessica would no longer be living. Jessica got worse by the day it seemed like, until finally she could barely sit up to eat. She had been home from the hospital for months and so far she has gotten every cold that has came into the house. The whole family was in the house from close to 5 days, until finally Jess closed her eyes for the very last time.
In her hand was an envelope addressed to the Hanson family. Mrs. Hanson opened it with tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Dear Family,
"Right now it's about 3:30 in the morning, and I just want to tell you how much I love you all. Mommy, thank you for being there when I need a shoulder to cry on, and thank you for just being my mother. Isaac, you're an awesome big brother, one of the best 3 I've ever met. *g* Your children are blessed to have you as a father, and I'm so proud of you for admitting what you did and still love Chloe. You know what I mean. Chloe, you're one of my sisters, and I love you even though we've only known each other for about 5 years. Thank you for believing in Isaac… He loves you more than you could ever imagine. Taylor, even though you're the one I fought with the most, I still love ya you big ol' lug, and keep on playing the piano. Think of me every time your fingers hit a note. Zac, you're a killer big brother and I know you know it! Keep it up with the kids… You know you were made for it. *wink* Kendall, you're the best "older sister" I could ever ask for. Even better then Chloe… Hey, there's a little spoiled brat inside all of us. I love ya sis! Zac loves ya even more, though. Avery, you were there for me always, and you know almost every single one of my secrets, and you kept every single one of them. I love you. Mac, you're the best younger brother I've ever had. You were the first sib I remember being born so feel happy. Keep on doing what you love most, bud, and don't let anyone drag you down. Zoë, you were born during Hanson mania, and that's been a huge part of your life. You were announced to 10 million people on the net two days after… You were the most famous baby of '98. You're a lucky girl! I love you.
"I've never known life without you guys, nor will I ever, but I want you to know that I'm smiling down upon you with Daddy, watching over you forever. I'm now in God's hands, an angel in heaven, forever living and forever loving you. I love you all more then you could ever imagine, and I don't want you to ever forget that.
"I love you, Jessica Grace Hanson, January 22nd, 2009." Mrs. Hanson's voice was trembling as she read the last words, and she quickly glanced at her family. Everyone had tears streaming down their cheeks, and Isaac and Chloe were just holding each other, along with Kendall and Zac.
"Late at night when all the world is sleeping, I stay up and think of you…" Taylor sang softly, rocking back and forth. Mrs. Hanson walked over to her second oldest and rocked him gently, allowing her own tears to splatter down upon his shoulder. The rest of her children were comforting each other.
The next week went by in a fog. Chloe's 23rd birthday past with no party or excitement, the next day being Jessica's funeral. Chloe really didn't mind, for she wasn't in a parting kind of mood, even though she did get some gifts.
The funeral was a sad reminder that she was only 20 years old. Her boyfriend, Nic, refused to attend, claiming that he wasn't part of the family. Mrs. Hanson insisted, but he refused.
The group took a few months off, planning to go back into the studio to record their 8th album in their sister's dedication. They contemplated over titles until they came up with what Isaac described as the perfect title; 'God's Grace'.
"Sharing with us what he knows… Shining eyes are big and blue…" Chloe sang softly to Dakota. She kept on singing to her as Dakota gurgled happily. Chloe smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead. She set her in her cradle and met Isaac in the long hallway. He put his arm around her waist, then tenderly kissed her forehead.
"You know what I was thinking of?" Isaac said. Chloe shook her head.
"No, what?"
"I was thinking about how life is never the same day to day… I mean, tomorrow things will change… There will never be another day exactly like this, and one day we'll die. That's all life is." Isaac said softly.
Chloe nodded. "But every day, there's something new to live for… Death is a part of life, no matter what we think. We're born to shimmer, we're born to shine…" Chloe sang quietly. Once they reached their room, they walked in and Isaac shut the door.
"Shawn Mullins… An absolute genius." Isaac smiled, walking over to the CD player and picking up a CD and setting it in. He punched in a number, and Chloe smiled when she heard the faint beginnings of her favorite song.
"Sharing with us what he knows… Shinning eyes are big and blue… And all him water flows… This world to him is new, this world to him is new…" Isaac sang softly, sitting down next to her. He moved his hand to the back of her neck, and slowly guided her to his shoulder.
"God's Grace is going to sell millions upon millions of albums, and everyone will remember Jess… Everyone's gonna know how good of a person she was… Everyone's gonna know how good of a sister she was." Chloe whispered, wrapping her arms around Isaac's waist.
"They're going to realize that we're real people… Living breathing people that have emotions." Isaac breathed, resting his chin on Chloe's head.
"They already know, Isaac… They already know."