AN: Hey. Well. I can honestly say that I didn't expect this story to be so short. I tried, I really did, to make it longer, but I didn't want to stretch the plot, and there was nothing I could do. So, I'm sorry.

To all the readers. Thanks for going out of your way and taking the time to read this story. To stick with it, through the gross short chapters, and the horrible updating. You guys, rock.

To all the reviewers. Thanks for all that, and than taking even more time to review! To tell me when I made a mistake, and just to tell me what you thought of the story. You guys are what kept me updating. You guys, are awesome.

And a final, HUGE thanks, to TureJackVP408 and Alexex for helping me when I was in a rut. They helped me when I needed it most, and helped me actually HAVE something to update with. You guys, are the bestest of the best! :P

So with that, I let you guys go on to read the FINALE! CHAPTER! OF! TAKING CHANCES! Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Only the story, the idea and the clothes on my back! ;)

Courtney's POV

I woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. I was shocked, partly because it was four in the morning and someone was calling, partly at the fact that I had managed to fall asleep despite everything that had happened last night. I picked up the phone.

"Hello?" I groaned out.

"Courtney? Courtney, dear, is that you?" The head nurse said in a frenzy.

"Uh. Yeah. It's me." I said, wondering why she was calling me. Especially since I never really bothered to learn her name.

"Oh. Good. You're the only one Duncan's been calling for." She said. I instantly perked up.

"D-Duncan? Why? What's wrong?" I asked her.

"He." She broke into a sob. "He went into critical condition a little over an hour ago." I was shocked.

"He, he what? He's going to be okay though, right?" I asked, praying as hard as I could that he would, even though I knew it was helpless.

"Courtney, dear, I'm sorry." That was all it took, I broke down.

"How?" I managed to choke out.

"They never got all of it out that day." She said, somewhat confused now. "It was too dangerous to go that deep." I was shocked.

"He knew about it, didn't he?" I asked her as calmly as I could.

"Yes. I just don't know why he wouldn't tell you." I looked over at the picture of the two of us. Than to the picture of me. Than to the picture of just Duncan. He looked so happy. I knew why. I knew exactly why. He didn't want, or need, me worrying over him. I felt tears come to my eyes as I remembered our fight.

"Can I. Can I come down to see him?" I asked.

"Of course." The nurse said. "He wanted you here anyway." I smiled at that, but also cried. I'd said some incredibly horrible things to him, and he still wanted to see me.

"I'll be there in no time at all." I said, not bothering to get dressed, pulling on a pair of flip flops, running out the door and grabbing my car keys, praying I would get there in time.

"Where is he?" I demanded as soon as I got through the hospital doors. Everyone in the waiting room looked at me. It was only than that I realized that I was wearing Duncan's shirt, my pajama shorts that were barely visible, flip flops, and there was no doubting my hair looked like a rats nest. But I didn't care about that. I only cared about one thing at the moment, and that was seeing Duncan before it was too late.

"Right this way." The nurse said, leading me down a familiar hallway. I swallowed.

"He, he's in his room?" I asked her, choking back tears. She looked back at me softly and sadly.

"There's nothing else we could do, and he was more comfortable in there." She said. I nodded. It made sense.

She opened the door, and I walked in. As I walked in, I saw Duncan, looking horrible, but still looking hot, sitting in bed, two pictures in his hands. Our pictures. I thought. He seemed to be focusing on the one in his right hand more than in his left, but he was studying both. He looked up as the door closed behind me. When I saw him, I immediately started to cry. Why. Why was this happening. I saw Duncan make a move, as if he was trying to get up. I rushed over to him and pushed him down.

"Oh no. You're staying there." I scolded him. He smiled.

"Princess." He said, and I could tell it took a lot for him to speak. I smiled at him through my tears, and the feeling came back.

"I'm sorry." We both said at the same time. I shook my head, and he grinned.

"It's not your fault." I said. "I was just mad at, well, everything." He scooted over and looked up at me with his gorgeous teal eyes. I smiled and got into his hospital bed with him. I sat as close as I could to him, and put my head on his shoulder. He managed to wrap his arm around me, and scoot closer. I cried into his chest, while he wrapped his other arm around my waist. It amazed me how strong he was, and not just physically. As my sobs went away, I looked up at him. He looked right back at me.

"I love you." I whispered, and kissed him before he could say anything. I felt him smile into the kiss as he deepened it. When we pulled away, I grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. We stayed that way, just like that for a really long time. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. He already had. That was when I noticed he was attached to a bunch of wires. I looked at him and he smiled sheepishly.

"Heart monitor and a whole bunch of pain killers." He said. I looked at him blankly and he shrugged, pulling me towards him again. I closed my eyes and went back. Back to when it all began. Back to when I was absolutely horrified at the thought of working with him. When I'd walked through the door, only to see him arguing with the doctor. Then I flashed to the night he decided to help me with the little guys. I remembered Aaron throwing a shoe at him and Travis jumping him. That night was also the first time he kissed me. I think. Then there was that whole outside fieldtrip thing. I smiled through my tears at the memories, than looked up at Duncan. He was smiling down at me. When he noticed I'd caught him staring, he nuzzled his head into my neck. I pulled him closer. Then, the scariest thing of my life happened. Duncan's heart monitor started to go crazy. I looked up panicked, as three doctors rushed in. Duncan shook his head.

"Look, sir, we need to get you help." He shook his head again, and my tears came down faster. No. No this couldn't be happening. "Sir."

"I'm going to die anyway. I don't want to leave." He said, his voice raspy but final. He had made his decision. He then started to cough violently. I watched, helpless, as his coughs started to create blood. But the doctors left anyway, not protesting me leaving, probably knowing I wouldn't leave. I started to cry harder as Duncan's coughing got worse. There was a hint of fear in his eyes as he looked down at me. His coughing ceased. I knew it was going to start again soon, so I wiped the blood from his mouth and kissed him. I kissed him with everything I had. All the emotions I felt. Fear, pain, sadness, anger, happiness and most importantly, love. As I pulled away, I looked at him, and knew it wouldn't be long.

"I love you, Duncan." I said. "I always have, and I always will. Always." I said, the tears falling faster than ever. "You're the best thing that's happened to me in my entire life. I'll never forget you." I said. He looked at me and managed a smile.

"I love you too." He whispered, pulling me to him for one last hug. Then, nothing. The heart monitor went silent, the IV was pumping uselessly. I got angry, no longer caring that I was crying like I'd never cried before.

"No. No, no, no, no, no! Duncan! You can't leave! Not today, not now, not ever! Please, don't leave me!" I yelled as the doctors and nurses rushed into the room. "Please Duncan." I cried. "I love you! Please! Don't die! Don't die, I love you." I continued, even as my yelling turned to whispers. "Please. Please." I kept saying. But as the doctors looked back at me, tears filling their own eyes, I knew it was helpless. It was too late. "No. Duncan. Why? Why!" The nurses came over, pulling me into a hug. I didn't want it, but I was too weak to fight it. All I did was continue to cry, and silently, so that only I could hear, whispered. "I'll miss you, and I'll never forget you."

A year later..

Well, I thought to myself. I made it. A whole year, and somehow I'd made it. Surprisingly, and thankfully, my friendship with Izzy and Bridgette was stronger than ever after my period of refusing to talk to anyone or to go anywhere. I'd even made friends with Gwen. They'd all helped me through a lot. But there was one more thing I had to do, and I had to do it alone. I reached my destination, and sat down on the cold ground.

"Hey." I said to Duncan's tombstone. "How's it going?" I than asked, laughing and wiping at my tears. "I'm doing pretty well myself now." I than wiped my nose on my sleeve, ignoring my tears. "I guess I just came to say, well, goodbye." I choked on that last word. For the longest of times, I had come to Duncan's grave every day, hoping it would help, knowing it wouldn't. It was time for that to end. Today was the day, no excuses. It was the hardest thing I'd ever have to do in my life. But I couldn't leave, not yet. I didn't know why, but I felt like I had to stay. So I just decided to ramble, catch him up on things, like I had every other day. It just felt, right. "Well, Bridgette and Geoff are finally together. I've never seen Bridgette so happy, and Geoff is a good guy. It's impossible to be sad around him. And Gwen is with Trent. She denies it, but we all know she's happy." I smiled. "She's about as bad as you were with keeping up a rep. And Izzy, well, she finally made her choice of guys. We were all really happy when she dumped Owen and went with Noah. I mean, Owen is an awesome guy and all, but he paid more attention to food than Izzy. They're still friends though, so it's all good. And me, well. I'm getting along better with my parents. They don't leave as much. Jack misses you, even though he's only met you once. So do the rest of them, and Aaron feels really bad about throwing that shoe at your head. We just told them that you were gone and that you weren't in pain anymore." I sniffed, feeling more tears coming on. I looked down at my hands, and tried to keep them from shaking. I gently pushed myself to my feet, than looked at Duncan's tombstone. At my request, it was in the shape of a skull. I smiled and wiped my tears. "I guess that's it." I said, knowing this would be the last time I came here. The last day I'd let my grief control my entire life. I was going to go out there, find someone I cared about. For Duncan, and for me. I'd never forget him, never. But I couldn't spend my whole life wishing for him to come back. I'd never love anyone the way I'd loved Duncan, I knew that. But I owed it to myself to try. I took a deep breath. "I love you." I whispered to the tombstone, then turned around. As I did, I saw a couple marching up, huddled close and holding hands. They'd been crying. I watched as they walked towards me. My heart skipped a beat as the man looked up, and I saw these intense teal eyes staring at me.

"Who. Who are you?" He asked.

"Courtney." I stated. "You're Duncan's parents, are you not?" I asked, tears still spilling down my face. The man nodded as the petite woman beside him started to cry. He then looked at me again.

"Wait, Courtney?" He asked, an understanding look appearing in his eyes. "The Courtney who helped Duncan?" I was at a loss for words.

"Uh, yes. How did you. How did you know that sir?" I asked. He grinned a sad grin.

"He wrote to us. Every day, for a while. It only started when you got there though. He wrote about you a lot. And about his condition. We never wrote back." He looked at the grave behind me. "I wish we had." I took a deep breath.

"Sir, ma'am. I don't think he minded. He just wanted you to know he was still there, that he still cared that you knew how things were going, even if they weren't going well." I spoke, and I knew I was telling the truth. The woman looked up, her deep brown eyes filled with tears, and smiled.

"He loved you." She said. I smiled down at her.

"I loved him too." I said. She smiled and nodded, than squeezed her husband's hand. He looked down at her, then smiled at me.

"Thank you." He said, and they turned and left. I smiled through my tears. I turned to Duncan's tomb again.

"That's why you wanted me to stay, isn't it? To tell them that you still cared. That you loved them, no matter what." The feeling I got told me I was dead on. I laughed, and it felt good. I threw out my arms and threw my head back and let out a joyous laugh, as the tears rolled down my face. I than stayed still in that same position, closed my eyes and smiled. I took a deep breath as a gentle warm breeze blew. I opened my eyes, lowered my arms, and looked to the sky in the direction that the breeze had came. The breeze that smelled and felt just like Duncan. I knew then, that no matter what happened, no matter where I went, Duncan would be with me. He was my own personal guardian angel. He was also my role model, my hero. I wanted to be just like him. Strong, independent. To be able to live my own life, no matter what the circumstance. He had taught me how to do all that and more. I just kept looking in the direction and shouted, as loud as I possibly could.

"Thank you Duncan! Thank you! A million times thank you! I miss you, I always will. I'll never forget you. You wait, just you wait!" I said, tears escaping my eyes, but tears of joy this time. "I'll see you again sometime! But until then, remember this. I love you! I will always love you! Always!" The wind blew again, and I swear I heard Duncan's laugh. I smiled and cried. I took one last look at the tombstone, then turned and walked away. This was it. There was no turning around, no coming back. I was leaving for university soon anyway. I was going to study to be a nurse. But not just any nurse. Someone specialized, someone who worked exclusively with cancer patients. "I love you." I muttered under my breath, and the breeze came again. It wrapped around me, and I just stood there giggling. He understood. This was it. It was time to move on. For both of us. I walked. All the way to my car, and drove. I drove to a different hospital, in a different town. I walked in, and walked to the nurses' booth.

"Courtney." I stated. The girl smiled and sent me to the back room for my interview. I sat down on the chair, and answered every question the nurse asked without a problem.

"I have one more question for you." She said. I nodded. "What made you want to help treat the cancer victims?" I smiled.

"Well," I said. "It all started in a hospital room, home to a boy with a mohawk.."

End