Chapter Text
When Evan is born, he opens his eyes and looks out at the world. They flicker, once, twice, but none of the nurses are looking. But Phillip sees, and Margaret feels. The room bathes in red, for just a moment, fast enough to only be noticed if you know to expect it. None of the nurses sees it, but Phillip and Margaret do.
Evan is a regular baby, for the most part. He screams and cries where it's expected, but then he's placed in Daniel's arms and he grows to stone. It's eerie how still he gets, the thousand yard stare no baby should have. Daniel and Maddie don't notice, but Phillip and Margaret do.
When Evan is still and not getting up to anything, Daniel gets better. They do the bone marrow transplant, and at first it's okay; the hospital is low on space and Daniel and Evan stay in the same room. Daniel gets better, slowly, but then Evan comes back home and Daniel's health drops in an instant. The doctor's can't explain it in any way but that the cells aren't grafting, but Phillip and Margaret know.
Evan cries and Daniel cries, and then Daniel comes home to die, and Evan is once again stone, ancient in a way no baby should ever be. Daniel gets better, and only Phillip and Margaret can explain how.
They move Evan's crib into Daniel's room, and Daniel gets better, and better, and better, and then there is cancer no more. Everyone says it's a miracle, with how bad he was, but only two know the truth.
The household starts Daniel's cancer journey with four humans and ends it with the same number. What the fifth occupant is, exactly, no one knows, not even Phillips and Margaret. Sometimes, they can feel it creeping on the edges of their awareness, but no one else seems to notice. Only Phillip and Margaret do.
Evan grows up, like a child should, only sometimes it's wrong. Philip and Margaret can tell, can't really avoid it, but they can ignore it. Or, they can ignore it for all that ignoring a child makes that child act out for attention, and all that this child in particular seems to hold the life essence of a different, more loved, child in his tiny fists. When Evan acts out and gets hurt, Daniel seems to flicker and his health stumbles.
The cancer doesn't come back, because Phillip and Margaret know why it went away, and they know what to do to keep it that way.
Some days, Phillip and Margaret call Evan in sick out school and tell their children to stay clear of his room and let him rest. On those days Daniel feels the healthiest he ever has. On those days Evan is stone trapped on the wall, framed up on display, an ancient being held prisoner in the love two parents hold for one child but not the other.