This Is Me Trying

Chapter Forty-Four

Betty

"Kaya Doss, will you marry me?"

I heard a collective gasp from everyone in the room. I didn't pay attention though. Kaya and I just stared into each other's eyes as I was down on one knee, asking the love of my life to marry me.
"Are you sure?" She asked quietly.
"Sì. I'm more sure of this than I've ever been about anything in my life."
"Yes, Betty. I'll marry you." She smiled with tears running down her face. This time, they were happy tears.

I stood up and slid the ring on her finger, and pulled her into a crushing hug.
"We're gonna fight this. I've got your back." I whispered as we held each other tight.
"I love you, I love you." Kaya said in between kisses.

"Oh my God! Did my bambina just get engaged?" Stefania squealed after a few moments of silence.
Kaya and I laughed and broke apart.

"Sì. I wanted to do something different, but I don't care. I'm getting married to the love of my life." I squeezed my fiancé's hand and smiled at her.
Stefania got up and ran to us, pulling us both into a crushing hug while crying and shouting in Italian.
"I love you too Mamma." I laughed.

Everyone got up and gave us hugs. Stefania declared it was a night of celebrating, and went to the kitchen to cook our favorite lasagna.
Danielle had walked outside as we were all talking.

"Hey, I'll be right back bambina." I kissed my fiancé's cheek and walked outside.

"Mom?" I asked as I walked outside.
"Hey kid." Danielle was leaning against the railing on the deck, staring out at the back yard.
"What are you doing?" I walked over next to her and leaned against the railing.
"Just thinking of when I first met you." She turned and gave me a small smile, her eyes full of tears.
"Oh yeah. Little ole me, scared to death to be on a real set. I was terrified." I chuckled as I gently elbowed her.
"You've come so far since then. You're my baby. My first kid. And my baby is getting married." She wiped a tear away as it ran down her cheek.
"I'll always be your baby Mom. I just really love her. Like you and Mamma. I can't imagine life without her. I want forever with Kaya. Even if our forever is cut short because of..." I trailed off as my words got caught in my throat.
"Hey, come here." She pulled me into a hug, as we cried into each other's arms.

"It's just so messed up. Why Kaya? She doesn't deserve this." I sniffled as we broke the hug.
"We're all gonna help her fight this. No matter what. She's got an army behind her." Danielle kissed my forehead and made me look up at her.
"I love you Mom. Thank you for raising me. Thank you for being the best Mom ever."
"Kid, I should be thanking you. You changed my life for the better. I wouldn't wanna be anything else besides your's and Rory's Mom."

We walked back inside hand in hand, and I immediately went over to my fiancé.
"You look breathtaking." I whispered in her ear.
She gave me a soft smile, and took my hand in hers.

"You sure you want to do this?" She asked softly.
"More than I've ever wanted anything."

Two weeks later

"Hi, I'm Doctor Taylor. I'm Kaya's Doctor." The brunette introduced as Kaya and I walked into the office.
"I'm Betty. Kaya's fiancé." I reached out my hand and shook her's.
"Nice to meet you. Kaya, have you decided on a form of treatment yet?" She asked.
"Uh yeah. I wanna try the radiation and chemo first." Kaya's leg was bouncing up and down.
"Okay. We can get you started as soon as tomorrow, if that works for you. I do need to let you know of some side effects. Fatigue, pain, gastrointestinal problems, skin color changes, weight gain or weight loss, and hair loss. That's just a few of the side effects." The Doctor handed over a pamphlet to Kaya.

"Okay. Yeah. Let's get started tomorrow." Kaya said as she looked down at the paper work.
"Kaya. I know you're young. Besides your fiancé, do you have a support system?"
"Yeah. I have our family. Don't worry about that Doc." Kaya gave her a small smile and reached over to grab my hand.
"If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me. I'll be here every step of the way."

We thanked the Doctor and walked out of the office down to our car.
"We have to go talk to Krista." Kaya sighed as we got in the car.

"Okay, do you wanna do that now or...?" I trailed off.
"Yeah. We need to tell our friends. I'd rather them hear from us than from the media." Kaya leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.
"Okay. Okay. Look at me for a second." I reached over and turned her face towards me.

"I love you. So much." I whispered as tears filled her eyes.
"Will you still love me if all my hair falls out?" She sniffled.
"Of course amore mio."
"If I lose a bunch of weight and can't get out of bed?"
"I'll carry you everywhere you want to go." I leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
"I love you Betty. So much."

We got our of our meeting with Krista, and walked towards set.
"Hey! There's my two favorite love birds!" Jay exclaimed as we walked up.
"Hey Uncle Jay." I quickly hugged him.
"Why the long faces?" Grey asked.
"We have something to tell you guys." Kaya said.

I let go of Jay, and grabbed Kaya's hand.
"What's going on?" Jason asked.

"Uh, it's hard for me to say this. I've been feeling some pains... and I went to the doctor. I have cancer."
There was a collective 'What?' from our friends.
"Stage one. I go for my first round of chemo tomorrow."
Jay walked over and pulled us into a crushing hug.
"Whatever you need, we got you."
"Grazie." I whispered.

"I don't want this to change how everyone looks at me. I've already talked to Krista, and she's working out something. I just want to enjoy my time with my family and my fiancé." Kaya said.

"Wait, did you say fiancé?" Grey asked.
Kaya held out her hand and showed them the ring.

After some congratulations, we invited them over for dinner tonight. Tonight might be the last night that Kaya feels up for family dinner.

We walked off set, and I took Kaya's hand and started to lead her to our car.
"Wait, come here." She pulled me gently and led me to her trailer.
"Did you forget something?" I asked as we walked in.
"I can't wait any longer." She pulled me close and moved her hands to unbutton my shirt.
"Are you sure?" I asked as I slid my hands under her shirt.
"Shut up and make love to me."