This Little Light of Mine

6: 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐲 𝐀𝐫𝗺𝐬 𝐓𝗼𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

Tim hadn't even realized he had fallen asleep on the couch until the following morning, whenever Lucy had come down and woken both him and Bennett up. "You spent the entire night on the couch" she told him, a chuckle following her last word. Tim nodded, and smiled. "Maybe I did, but I wouldn't trade that for anything. Sleeping with Bennett so close, it helped," he told her. "I wanted to put her in her own bed, but she wanted to read books down here. Then she fell asleep, and evidently I did too" he laughed. "Well, it's time for both of you to get ready, we have to leave for her appointment, and specifically before she gets super h-u-n-g-r-y." Lucy told them, spelling out the last word, as she took Bennett's hand. Bennett walked upstairs with Lucy, as Lucy helped her get dressed and ready for radiation.

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Once the family was ready, they headed out to the hospital for Bennett's radiation treatment. Everything was going well, until they made it back to the room for her treatment. Bennett remembered that room. That was the room where the nice man poked her arm and hurt her. It was almost immediately that the five year old's eyes welled up with tears. "Daddy I don't want to get poked again!" Bennett cried, as both Tim and Lucy's hearts crumbled into a thousand little pieces. "I know, Bennie, I know. I hate that you have to get poked. After this, we'll get you whatever you want for lunch, and we'll pick you up some ice cream" He told her, even though the promise wouldn't necessarily make anything better for her.

Through holding her down, Bennett screaming and crying, they were able to give her the propofol to start her treatment. The same routine went on, and then shortly after, Tim and Lucy were brought back to the room and reunited with their daughter.

"There's our sweet girl," Lucy said, as she and Tim hugged onto their baby girl, and each gave her a kiss. "Can we go home now? I don't wanna get no more pokes!" The little girl protested. Tim and Lucy both nodded, "Yes, baby. We're going home. No more pokes today," Lucy told her, as Tim picked her up.

On their way home, Tim fulfilled his promise to his daughter. They went by a restaurant after making an online order, to get Bennett her beloved tacos. And yes, they stopped after that to pick her out some special ice cream, before they headed back to their house.

When they arrived home, Tim helped Bennett out of the car, who made her way into the house, before calling for Max. "Maxy! I'm back!" Bennett called out, as the Belgian Malinois came running towards her, his tail wagging behind him. "Good boy!" Bennett said, as she gave the dog all sorts of pets and hugs and kisses.

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After lunch and a small nap, Bennett requested to play outside. Of course, both dogs went with her. Playtime didn't last too long, before Bennett wanted to sit down for a little while. She plopped herself down on the grass, as Max came and laid down beside her, snuggling up close. Kojo was off chasing a butterfly, per usual. Bennett spent the next little bit outside petting Max, and telling him how much she loved him, and how much she liked getting to play with him.

About an hour after returning inside, it was dinner time. Lucy had made dinner for the family, and they all enjoyed it. Bennett, being Bennett, managed to sneak a little bit off of her plate to give both Max and Kojo. She hated the way dog food smelled, and wanted them to get to have a taste of the good stuff. She wasn't supposed to feed the dogs off of the table, but sometimes she just couldn't resist.

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Bathtime followed dinner, just like it did every night. Bennett didn't necessarily need a bath every night, but she preferred it. She didn't like the feeling of not being clean, and always would request to take a bath nightly. Lucy and Tim never complained, as usually it would help calm her down and get her ready to start winding down for bedtime.

After her bath, Bennett spent some time playing in her room. While her parents wanted to spend as much time as they could with her, they also knew that it was equally as important for her to have her alone time and privacy, too. So, they left her upstairs, with Max, of course. They took that time to spend some quality time downstairs with one another. "So, two days down, twenty-eight to go" Tim said, as Lucy nodded. "Twenty-eight to go," she agreed. "God, I hope this does something. I don't want to feel like we've done this whole radiation thing for nothing, especially with how much it traumatizes her." Tim informed her. "It won't be for nothing, none of this will be," she reassured him. "We just have to wait it out and see how it goes," she told him. "Any extra time we get with her is perfect. Even if we don't get any, at least we will have tried, Tim." Lucy said. Reluctantly, Tim agreed. "You're right, I know. It just hurts so much having to put her through that day in and day out" he told her. "I know it is. But it's what we need to do. For her." Lucy said.

Up in her bedroom, Bennett was playing with her dolls, and somehow, she had managed to dress Max up. She had put a tiara on him, and she had gotten one of her tutus on him. Lucy and Tim could hear the immense amount of laughter coming from their daughters room, as they went up to take a peak and check in. When they saw Bennett playing and the dog dressed up, the two of them couldn't help but laugh. "Bennie, did you dress Max up?" Tim asked his daughter, as Bennett turned around. The little girl nodded excitedly, "Yeah Daddy! He let me do it!" She informed her parents. "Well, isn't he just the best?" Lucy asked, a laugh spilling from her mouth. "Yeah! Bestest dog ever!" Bennett said, "I wanted to dress Kojo up too, but he didn't like it," she said, another giggle escaping. "Well, you play for a little bit longer, and then it'll be time for bed, okay?" Lucy told the five year old. "Okay Mama, just a little longer!" Bennett said, before her parents left her bedroom, to go downstairs and begin straightening up the living room and everything from earlier.

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Maybe forty-five minutes later, the couple made their way back upstairs to tuck Bennett into bed. Bennett had grown relatively quiet over the prior few minutes, which with her, meant she was coloring or reading one of her little books.

Tim and Lucy approached Bennett's bedroom, the light still on. Max was laid on her bed, Kojo on the floor nearby. When they went inside, Bennett was laid on her bed, her head on top of Max's side. She had fallen asleep, with the company of her best friend. Her parents smiled, watching the small child's chest rise and fall as she slept with the dog. They knew she was loving that, and so was Max. Bennett was his girl, and he loved to be nearby at all times. To love her, protect her, and save her if it was ever necessary.

After standing and watching their daughter sleep for a few moments and turning off Bennett's room light, Tim and Lucy retreated to their bedroom. "Well she's had a pretty good day, hasn't she?" Lucy asked, as she climbed into the bed, and slid close to Tim. "She really has. Other than this morning, anyway" he agreed. "I just hope we have plenty more of these good days," Tim said, as Lucy nodded her head.

Little did they know, these good days weren't going to last. Things were getting ready to ramp up, and things would start to spiral. Luckily, though, Tim and Lucy had already raised a very strong little girl, and there would be no doubt that Bennett would fight for as long as she possibly could.