#dont worry this is just one of holly's visions

[suncatchr]

Watch your sin, Cain, watch your sin! I'm your brother!

[demadogs]

So it seems like everyone who has been vecna’d so far has a secret/thing they feel guilt and self-loathing over. (Chrissy bulimia, Fred the guy in the car, Max Billy, etc.) So thought experiment: who in our Scooby gang has something they’d feel GUILTY about? It doesn’t seem like to me it would be something we the audience have never been given any kind of clue over. So like I just can’t think of anything for say, Dustin - if he is harboring anything that serious, we have never been tipped off about it. Lucas either. Ericka no (not enough screen time to even say). Steve MAYBE Barb but he doesn’t seem to feel how Nancy does about that, and we already have it happening for Nancy anyway. So for me I am left with Will (ugh my poor gay son, and possible guilt about upside down connections), Mike (internalized homophobia/not being able to love El the way she wants him to? Something else? It’s so hard to know what’s going on in his head), El for her fear she’s just someone who hurts people etc etc, and Jonathan (his secret from Nancy, though it doesn’t seem quite that dire to me)…….that’s it? So 4 of them, excluding Nancy and Max who it’s already happening to. Agree? Disagree? Did I forget someone who would qualify based on what we know? (P.S. Robin also could have gay-related trauma ig but idk she seems the healthiest to me, like she is only worried about society’s perceptions rather than wrestling with accepting herself personally.)

i literally never realized chrissy’s was bulimia omg i thought she was throwing up from panicking after having a vision and her trauma was just an abusive mom wow that went right over my head.

anywho yeah i think the only other logical vecna subjects are will and mike because like you said theres not much trauma that we know of for anyone else, and i really think the audience would be aware of the trauma instead of just randomly revealing that one of them is severely suffering from something. the only way it could be something we “dont know” is mike if thats how they reveal hes gay but thats been implied so its not like that would come from no where.

i made this post talking about why i think mike is more likely be to vecna’d than will because most of wills trauma is upside down related and vecna seems to torment with more human trauma. he also tortures with guilt and shame. nancy and max both feel guilty for barb and billy and chrissy probably felt shame for her ed. i dont think will feels any shame or guilt for what he went through because its something that happened to him, not something that he did. he has severe ptsd but because he was a victim not because of guilt.

mike is completely different. he definitely feels guilt and shame from his internalized homophobia. he probably feels guilty that hes been lying to el and not breaking up with her and he feels ashamed that he loves will instead of her. hes a perfect target for vecna.

the only thing holding me back is the fact that finn said he only met jamie bower a couple times. but maybe he is cursed just not completely? like he has the visions but isnt actually greeted with vecna.

i hope its him instead of will because if its will its probably related to liking mike but we already know that. it would be so much better to make it mike. and i dont think will feels nearly as guilty for loving mike and being gay than mike does so it would make more sense.

it would be SUCH a great way to reveal it to the audience because to anybody whos like “what the hell this came outta nowhere” the vision could show flashbacks of all the moments that they missed. that unreciprocated kiss at the end of s3, “its not my fault you dont like girls”, soft moments with will like “crazy together” and the hand hold, will telling him that its scary to open up to people, not being able to tell el he loves her. it would really make them be like “oh holly shit” and they need that moment. god itd be so good i want it so bad.

[nerd-at-sea5]

isn’t this all enough? pt2 (find pt1 here)

the gang’s all together, nancy and dustin are still friends, and robin wants to go back home. they know what they’ll see, but they don’t want to believe it. steve tells nancy a little bit about robin. there's comfort and it ends on a somewhat happy note.

they/them robin and max, he/they/it eddie, canon everyone else

cw-blood, guns, death, suicide, bad coping skills, sh, smoking

nancy’s pov this time (she refers to the zombies as ‘infected’ dont as me why i thought it would be a nancy thing to do also i’m not the best at writing trauma from nancy’s pov but i tried??) i used google translate for the italian, french and spanish. (i’m still learning spanish lmfao)

the edge that she’s been standing on seems to elongate slightly when she finally steps into steve’s house.

nancy thinks, at first-it’s because she doesn't have to worry about her infected parents below their feet. not even her parents anymore, she’s guessed that the disease infects the brain, killing and slowly driving it’s victim mad. the colorless and pealing skin, red eyes, loss of hair-all side affects of it. for what feels like the hundredth time since she’s stepped out of her childhood home for possibly the last time, nancy sinks her teeth into the soft flesh of her cheek, without a change in face at the pain.

holly’s curled up in her lap, her breathe is warm on nancy’s legs, the sleeve of her princess shirt was pushed up and nancy can see the new scar slicing from shoulder to just above the blonde’s elbow.

she remembers the scream of pain, the running into the kitchen, only to see her mother, pale and sickly looking, holly’s arm bleeding with a blood soaked knife on the floor, dropped from karen’s hand. she remembers grabbing her sister and shoving a wooden spoon into her mother’s face, the shouting question of ‘are you sick?’ echoing through the room before her mother nods. she remembers it getting worse and worse, her dad swiping at her, drawing blood and nancy realizing she has to do something. nancy remembers the week spent in her bedroom with holly, praying to make sure that neither of them were sick-desperately trying not to listen to the screams from the basement. god seemed to have answered her calls,  but nancy doesn't know if she really believes that god exists anymore.

robin slides onto the couch cushion next to her, and nancy lets her head fall onto robin’s chest without a second thought, the taller instantly wrapping their arms around her, nancy can feel their lips pressing onto the top of her head, then leaning over to do the same to holly.

“stealing my sister, buckley?” 

“she’s a cute kid.” 

robin’s lopsided smile and shoulders shrugging up with it makes nancy unable to bite back her grin. 

when steve comes back into the living room, nancy’s half asleep on robin and barley registers what he’s saying until he bends down to pick up a sleeping holly, she jerks awake and pulls her sister back.

“hey, hey-just was letting you know we’ve got a room for you and robin. holly can stay with max-they’ve already offered. you cool with that, nance?”

“oh. um, yeah-thank you. max, thanks.”

the redhead shrugs, but nancy doesn't miss the smile when holly sleepily wraps her arms around max’s neck when the teen picks her up. the memory of max on her roof one night, passing a cigarette back and forth with robin while nancy chastises them, ‘i wish i had a little sister.’ ‘want to share mine? i think she loves you more than me at this point! robin, babe-put it out.’

she feels hope tugging at her chest again, robin leading her upstairs with a grin, if nancy lets her vision slip enough, then she’s walking up her own stairs, and falling onto her own bed, robin’s sliding an arm around her pink pillow’s and tugging it under their head.

but it’s not, and it’s the silent tears while the taller of the two holds them tightly under the covers, chest to chest, legs pressed together-shaking. soft whispers fading into the night, and slowly, slowly falling into sleep.

the morning is a blur, holly waking them up by jumping on nancy at seven am, a sleepy max still in steve’s oversized ‘queen’ shirt with messy hair apologizing, robin teasing max for not being a morning person while max flips them off, all three knowing robin’s the same way. nancy making her way downstairs, greeted by eddie standing on the counter with a roll of paper towels, the yell of ‘spider!’ and horrible aim while steve stomps on it and chastises his boyfriend for being afraid of something so small, but nancy can see the love.

it used to make her heart hurt, seeing how steve looked at girls with the way he used to look at her-seeing how he looked at robin for a period of time, back in creel house-but then she’s in her car behind the movie theater, kissing robin for the first time and it’s like a puzzle when all the pieces are falling into place.

dusin jolts her out of her mind when he asks for the plan, and steve cracks a glass when robin calmly states, “i wanna go check out my house.”

eddie, max and dustin all look normal at this comment, holly to busy eating her pancake (and nancy’s) to realize what’s going on, but steve is staring at his friend like they just slapped him across the face.

curiosity bubbles up, and nancy has to ask, “that sounds normal enough, what’s wrong steve?”

he glances at robin once more, “well. they...their dead, rob. and it was kinda...erm. brutal, don’t you think?”

the brunette shrugs stiffly, and nancy slides a hand into theirs, watching the muscles in robin’s arm relax, “steve. please. i didn’t get to say goodbye.”

“i think robin should be able to, what’s the worst that can happen. i can go with them.”

“no, nancy-”

before robin can finish their sentence, steve’s dragging nancy into the hall and she’s glaring at him with the now familiar heat of anger boiling up in her chest, “what the hell?”

“nancy. robin’s parents-” he looks around franticly, “they shot themself, nancy. made them climb outta a window and bike here. they heard the shots. haven't been back since. i don’t think they’ve even fully processed it-we don’t, fuck.”

nancy’s anger fades, watching steve push his hands through his hair, seeming debating telling her the next bit of information or not, “what do you mean, ‘fully processed’? have they started or...?”

the question hangs heavy in the air, the journalist in nancy roaring up for a response, “i didn’t let them finish, they’ve....tried. theirs a reason robin’s the only one who’s not allowed to have a weapon in the same room as them when they sleep.”

nancy can’t stop herself from sliding down the wall in shock-steve says it with the knowledge that robin’s attempted to process their parents death by following more than once, and for the first time she wonders if the cut on steve’s upper arm was from an infected or a friend.

her brain doesn't stop tripping over itself, questions and idea’s popping up every single millisecond until she’s starting her car with robin in the passenger’s seat and robin asks how much steve told her.

“what? sorry i kind of-”

“your good. how much did steve tell you? i know he did a bit.”

maybe it has something to due with how holly screamed when she saw nancy leaving and it took dustin and nancy almost 10 minutes to calm her down, or how robin won’t make eye contact with her, but nancy grabs their hand before speaking, “he said that your parents killed themselves. they made you bike here, that you didn’t get to say goodbye and...and..” 

it’s like nancy’s throat is closing up, the words can’t get out and it’s making her feel trapped, unsafe-“that i was going to try and kill myself?”

robin’s voice is deathly quiet, and nancy feels their hand tense in hers, “yes.”

they nod, and nancy sucks in her breathe, holding it for a moment, eyes glued to the road, “why?”

“my family was gone-i had steve and max but...parents, grandparents-you. all gone. i didn’t have anything to hope for, i’ve never been good without my mom. i can’t...i can’t function without talking to her, it hurt so fucking much nance. steve..he found me sitting in the bathroom with a knife on the floor in front of me and then a week later max saw me with eddie’s uncle’s gun in my hands. both ended with crying conversations with steve, and now he’s been to worried to let me sleep alone. so i’m in the living room with dustin and no weapons for me, unless it’s a mission.”

nancy wants to lunge across the car to wrap robin in a hug, to reassure them that there is hope, that it’s going to work out.

but she can’t, so she decides to settle for gripping their hand a bit tighter, pulling them close for a moment when they step out of the car, before watching robin pull themself onto their roof, and into their bedroom, “just like yours.”

nancy has to laugh as she falls in, “why did you want to come back?”

robin sighs, slowly walking around their room, pulling down a poster, selecting a book, dropping a tape into their bag, “i wanted to...i dunno. get closer on it? say goodbye, i think.”

nancy nods, and robin sits next to her, with a voice as low as a whisper, “i never got to tell them about you. i’m so sorry.”

and nancy’s pulling them into a hug, her back against the door just like it was when she sat with her back against the basement, the day when the screams turned to desperate begging, when she finally said it, “i’m in love with robin buckley.” and the begging went back to low howls. she spent the day crying, holly confused and just as sad.

“i wish i could change time. i’d do anything to fix all this.”

but they both know she can’t, no matter how many times they dry each others tears, or kiss wounds.

robin has to slam a shoulder into their parents bedroom to open it, and nancy can’t help but recoil at the smell of decaying human.

she can’t look down, studying robin’s face as they break, the way their eyebrows fall with their mouth, the way tears form after their nose gets red, the way the tears trace between robin’s freckles. gripping the doorframe while words in other languages spiral out of their mouth, “perché non mi hai lasciato andare? j'ai l'impression d'être si seul..”

nancy can’t help but wrap her arms around robin’s waist, they fall, and she doesn't have enough strength to keep them up, she falls with them, and they stay there, she refuses to let go of robin and robin can’t move.

it’s almost an hour before their shaking subsides, nancy’s become numb to the smell at this point, watches robin pull a jacket from their father’s closet and hug it around themself, “te veré d”e nuevo, lo prometo.

the car ride back is silent, nancy doesn't let her hand leave robin’s until their inside the harrington’s and she’s pulling robin back into her arms, not caring if she’s four inches shorter, she feels a body hit her legs, holly’s small arms wrapping around both nancy and robin’s.

steve’s chest is pressed to robin’s back, arms on nancy’s shoulders, max and dustin are on either side of them all and eddie’s hand is on their hands.

they don’t talk until their sitting on top of the bathroom counter with nancy standing in front of them, looking up at robin.

“how did you live with them below you?”

she looks down, “i couldn’t kill them. not with holly there, i thought...i thought i was protecting her, it was just more danger.”

robin nods, and surges forward, nancy’s expecting them to hug her, but doesn't pull away when she’s pulled into a bruising kiss.

“i-i’m sorry. i’m so sorry.”

“robin. look at me.”

they do, eyes wet and glassy, nancy let’s her hand drop from robin’s shoulders to their arms, small white scars splattered across them.

“what do you need to do to stay safe?”

‘what do you need me to do to keep you safe?’

it might be the same question, and deep down nancy know it’s not how you should deal with emotions, but her girlfriends voice is shaking so badly-a painful mix of sadness, anger and desperation, that when they ask, “kiss me?” nancy obliges, pressing her lips to robin’s and pulling them down from the counter.

they fall back onto the bed, and nancy pulls away, gently kissing robin’s cheeks, their forehead, every part of their face before gently bringing their foreheads together, “we’ve made it this far, and i’m not giving up on you yet, ok robs?”

robin’s answer is smothered in a hug, pulling nancy on top of them and wrapping their arms around her back, “ok.”

[scourge-sympathiser]

dont worry abt needing to add anything i just wanna share this idea b4 i forget it but also i dont rlly know any1 who likes warriors so,,,

okay i saw a little animation on utube about fallen leaves and while i was reading up on his wiki it hit me

in outcast, after jaypaw has been having dreams about fallen n his death, n after meeting him while looking 4 the missing kits in the tunnels, fallen asks him to stay but jay declines.

what if, unhappy w/ being forced to be a medcat, and wanting to live his *own* life he accepts? and a similar thing to what happened to holly happens where the cave entrance collapses (whether fallen and jay had smth to do with it or it was just convenient, idk), n everyone thinks that jay died saving these kits. but really hes living his best life in the caves. fallen teaches him how to hunt and fight well, bc the caves are dark, 's not like you can see very well even if you weren't blind.

and jay starts having the dreams where he's jay's wing, back in the ancients time, and its a little different where instead of having a crush on halfmoon he (jay's Wing) had a crush on fallen before fallen died in the caves. and thats why jay brings up the idea to leave to the mountains. and when he ends up back in the present he realizes that he once again has a crush on fallen.

and fallen remembers, or recognizes jay as jay's wing and is like "oh... Oh!" and realizes he also, once again, has a crush. and so jay choses that as his full name. Jaywing.

jay starts walking in dreams and having visions of The Battle, and at this point its been a couple of years at this point, the whole thing w/ ashfur happened and the gathering where holly tells after killing ash happens, and jay finds out through holly's dreams, bc shes projecting her own fears, anger, and insecurities hard while she sleeps. and that really makes jay upset but then he talks w/ fallen and comes to the conclusion that it doesnt matter who his real parents were, bramble and squirrel are still his parents to him.

eventually with the battle looming on the horizon, and rock urging him to go, he leaves the caves. and returns to thunderclan. n fallen can follow him due to his powers, and at first the clan think jay is a rogue or loner, but its dove who has Never seen him before who mentions that he's blind just from observing how carful he puts his paws down that everyone freezes before going "jay???"

and oh mouse dung, hes no longer a grumpy, scrawny medcat apprentice. he's still on the shorter side but he filled out, muscle no one thought he'd have ripples beneath his coat, he's as strong as a *warrior*. and has the skills as one, too. he can hunt and fight as well as the rest of them, its almost like he isn't blind when he's actually in the zone. but he still bumps into things n trips over roots or uneaven ground.

and yeah the Battle happens and he's out there, using his starsight to fight along side fallen leaves, until the battle is won and fallen reunites with his family, and is torn between staying with jay in the caves and actually going where hes supposed to. jay tells him to go, he'll be okay, and to wait for him.

but wait, if cats can be reincarnated and have powers... why can't the tribe of endless hunting and starclan let him properly live where he left off? so hes given another chance and put back into the tunnels with a physical form, and meets jay again and joins him in thunderclan.

idk thats what i have sorry abt rambling!!

ok actually i kinda lov this? im a suckr 4 ghost romance & jay being like ok actually fuck yall........... i would perhapz move the kit thing a little further down the timeline so tht jay is a bit older tho, maybe

like the idea tht part of why fallen asked for him to stay waz a hint of fimiliarity tht just growz & one day he just like... Seez it on jayz face whn he wakez up from a dream about the ancients- or like maybe jay callz him by a nickname from timez long since passed, tht kinda thing? on one hand im like yea on the other the trope of "i like u bcuz u remind me of a dead personi loved" isnt my fav but like a little sprinkle isnt bad

interesting 2 think of wht would happen 2 hollyleaf with her escape into the cavez long since blocked off by both rockz n the truma of loosing a sibling.... like, doez she stay in the clanz? might be fun if she ended up living in the field tht crow & leaf once tried 2 leave thru, but also he awkwardly still being in thunderclan..... lov tht

n well i just Cannot care about the battle i do LOV jaywing coming out of the tunnelz just likle hai guyz whtz up :3 as if he didnt fake his own death.... also the idea of jay using his dreamwalking ability 2 just check up on his family & see how thy r like. Doing

idk about fallen coming back with a body bcuz tht seemz like more thn starclan or endless hunting could do but also it would be VERY VERY weird 4 fallen 2 come back w/ the regular method of being reborn a kit.......... pursonaly i think it would be fun for him 2 stay a ghost but no longer be attached 2 the cave system- instead just exploring & hanging out with jay who can alwayz sense his presence- other catz somtimez catch glimpsez but hez not like. very tangible most timez.... many catz think jay probably just lost it a little in the tunnelz, not tht he rly goez around like hey evry1 herez my ghost make he just talkz 2 himself, laughz at seemingly nothing, tht kinda thing

..... honest 2 god didnt mean 2 add this much im holding myself back, evn,

[goatpaste]

ooh, i wanna hear about your warrior!jayfeather au!!!

mm there isnt a TON to my AU because its jkjkg been so long since i read po3 or oots

BUT this AU was mostly about my og idea of Lionblaze being a medicine cat

But in short term, Jayfeather is an apprentice to Brightheart, he isnt snappy and their relationship is actually good. she understands him even if not fully blind she knows what its liked to be looked at and treated the way he is by clanmates for disabilities. shes a great mentor.

and when jayfeather starts to discover his powers and has starclan cats start pushing him to this ‘destiny’ and life of a medicine cat they say he must have, he denies this. he believes his destiny is a warrior.

and when he ask brightheart what she thinks she tells him her honest feelings, that she loves and appreciates the work of the medicine cats but is sick of the clans pushing cats with disabilities and differences to be medicine cats when they dont want to. She see’s the spirit of a fighter in jayfeather and the other cats are simply turning a blind eye to it.

Jaypaw turns away from starclans path and makes his own.

he becomes a fine warrior, he’s a bit happier than he was in the life as a medicine cat, yes he’s still grumpy in nature but more stern in ways. He’s strict and keeps everyone on their toes, he leads the pack and its a powerful leader.

i think maybe he’d still have the name jayfeather maybe suggested by leafpool. but i like the idea of him getting another name like maybe Jaystorm, jayheart, or like Jayglow (name from whitestorm, lionheart and then just the typical fire based suffix)

And in later moons not only jayfeather having defied the will of starclans destiny for him, he would visit hollyleafs dreams seeing her pain in not being able to find her power and worry she was falling behind. Jayfeather would stop using his powers. he would stop dream walking and begin focusing on keeping the relationship between his siblings alive and help hollyleaf.  Jayfeather would be furious when starclan visits his dream to beg him to keep on the track of his destiny. often being shown visions of his life as a medicine cat and who he could be if he would only follow what starclan told him.

Then the main affair, Medicine cat Lionblaze. Lionblaze was given to Ashfur as a mentor. But instead of the lionblaze who was powerful and indestructible and grew aggressive in nature, Lionblaze quickly learns to fear the world of being a warrior. he gets his one and only scar when ashfur and him fight in the training area. Lionpaw the apprentice who fought dogs and went unharmed received a nasty scar over his eye. 

When Lionpaw was hurt by another cat who he trusted for the first time he was afraid. he learned to hate fighting and only wanted to protect others. 

When Hollypaw steps down from being a Medicine cat apprentice to everyone's surprise the young Lionpaw steps forth to switch their places in the clan. he would be named the new medicine cat apprentice, and for leafpool she was happy to have any of the kits under her wing.

Lionpaw becomes a good medicine cat eager to learn and be a good student. and when fighting must happen he became a shield for others taking blows to those who couldn't defend themselves and healing when even he couldn’t protect them.

i always love the idea of medicine cat lionblaze being named Lionflower after Goldenflower at the request of Brambleclaw despite leafpool wanting to name him lionfeather or something.

Lionblaze refuses to become a weapon of war.

Then there is Hollyleaf, she was never actually part of the three. she was leafpools apprentice for a short time before returning to apprentice duties under ashfurs training.

Ashfur bitterness excellated by the fighting previously had between him and lionpaw carried over to hollypaw. Ashfur treated her cruelly under the excuse that she needed to ‘catch up’ with everyone else. the abuse from her mentor drove her insane. she only got comfort from her siblings but brushed it off wanting to look big and tough. she is still close friends with cinderpaw despite not being brackenfurs apprentice in this AU because lebians

Hollyleaf is driven into the claws of the dark forest who coddled her anger with ashfur and told her they would make her stronger so she would be stronger than even he is. then later they used the fact that she felt left out of her siblings because of the prophecy.

however with luck jayfeather, against never wanting to use his powers to invade his siblings privacy had begun to worry over hollyleafs distances to her sibling. Learning she was training in the darkforest and feeling left out jayfeather stops using his power and him and lionblaze begin to spend more time with hollyleaf eager to help her figure out her place in their life. 

i dont really have the crowfeather and leafpool is their parents thing worked out or dovewing and ivypool stuff thought out yet this is mostly just early po3 stuff and just mostly about them

i know id love hollyleaf to be the leader of thunderclan after firestar and brambleclaw dies and making ivypool her deputy. bonding with ivypool over being family, similar personalities and desires and once being tricked by the dark forest. 

i also ofc want holly and the three to be nice and not THE WORST to leafpool and also still see squirrel and bramble as their mom and dad.

[morganbelarus]

Congress Created a Health-Care Crisis for Kids Right in Time for the Holidays

Michael Adame of Conroe, Texas, is preparing for Thanksgiving this year like he has for years past. Hes welcoming family from nearby. He expects some 10 to 12 people total to show up. And his wife is going to make tamales in addition to the traditional turkey. Im not crazy about tamales, he teased.

But this year will be different in one fundamental and profound way. Adame will spend the holiday worried that his child might soon lose his health care coverage.

Adames 12-year-old stepson, Abraham, has Down Syndrome and is covered under the Childrens Health Insurance Program in Texas, where more than 400,000 children and pregnant women from low- and middle-income families receive these federal benefits. He goes to a childrens hospital in Houston where Abraham is monitored for a problem with his liverspecifically, to ensure that his enzyme level is where it should be.

I thank God for what we have but if you take this away we wont be able to monitor his liver level, Adame told The Daily Beast. He has regular dental and vision exams as he is growing and maturing and adjusting to a healthy lifestyle.

Since its inception in 1997, CHIP has had strong bipartisan support and been a measurable success, covering nearly 9 million children nationwide. It helped lower the nations percentage of uninsured children from almost 14 percent when it started to about 4.5 percent in 2015. But this year, amid efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Congress allowed the deadline to reauthorize the program to come and go. Almost two whole months have passed since and there is growing concern that no action will come until the end of the year.

Families and state agencies have been forced to scramble amidst the uncertainty. Arizona, the District of Columbia, Minnesota, and North Carolina are expected to run out of CHIP funding next month according to the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). Another 27 states are anticipated to have their funds exhausted by March 2018 (PDF).

In Texas, where Abraham lives, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission has estimated that money will run dry by the end of February 2018. There are concerns that it may come even sooner, putting families like Adames in emotional turmoil just as the holiday season hits.

Hell go on the computer and watch the Minions and put on his goggles and his hard hat, Adame said describing the things his son likes to do. We try to accommodate the things that he enjoys.

And yet, despite the urgency that is being felt by families dependent on CHIP, Congress appears to be struggling to come to a legislative solution.

On Nov. 3, the House passed a bill to reauthorize funding for the program. But only 15 Democrats voted in favor of the measure, criticizing it for draining funds from Obamacare to pay for the reauthorization. The Senate as a whole has yet to take a vote on its own bill, leading to charges from Democrats that Republicans are prioritizing tax reform over the health of millions of children.

Senator [Ron] Wyden (D-OR) is fighting every day to get this urgently needed funding across the finish line before millions of our countrys children lose the health care coverage their families depend upon, a spokesperson for Wydens office told The Daily Beast. As the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee and co-author of the bipartisan bill to extend CHIP funding for five years, he remains optimistic common sense and decency will prevail over partisan politics, and Republicans will put aside the tax charade long enough so essential coverage can continue.

Families dependent on the program have been left waiting anxiously for signs of progress.

I dont understand at all, Holly Keich, a mother of two in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, told The Daily Beast. Its been 10 years that weve been on it with no issues. We send our paperwork in every year. It gets renewed.

Keichs children, a 10-year-old boy and a nearly 6-year-old girl, have been on CHIP since they were born, she said. And during that time, theyve both been healthy. But without the program, her familys finances would be complicated as theyd have to look for alternate options for health care coverage. Given Christmas and her and her husbands upcoming birthday, she said, there might be more coupon clipping in the future.

Other families have turned to GoFundMes and used op-eds to raise awareness like in St. Louis where Myra Gregory said she is worried about her 10-year-old son Roland Williams, who relies on CHIP to help with his affliction from a rare form of lung cancer.

There are so many other families out there that wont even get treatment or be able to find out whats wrong, or know that anything is wrong with their child, Gregory told NBC News. I am very appreciative of all the help that Ive received. But not receiving this is detrimental and can mean my sons life.

In the interim, some states have taken matters into their own hands. In Wydens home state of Oregon for instance, the Oregon Health Authority announced this week that it would work to extend coverage for some 80,000 children and 1,700 pregnant women through the end of April. The move was done at the urging of Gov. Kate Brown, even though it could result in a shortfall in the states budget. Previously, the state had secured $51 million in leftover funds to last through December.

Idahos Department of Health and Welfare intends to look for a means to cover the states children through Medicaid rather than CHIP if reauthorization doesnt happen soon, Chris Smith, public information officer with the department, told The Daily Beast. And there is a similar contingency plan in Arizona.

We expect the current funding to sustain the KidsCare program into December, Heidi Capriotti of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System told The Daily Beast. If Congress takes no action to reauthorize funding soon, Gov. Ducey has a contingency plan to move money from a Medicaid program that covers a separate group of low-income children, into the KidsCare program. The children covered will not see any changes in their coverage or to the program.

In Texas, advocates worry that funding will run out sooner than anticipated due to recovery effort needs following Hurricane Harvey. That could mean that families will receive a 30-day noticeabout the program ending right around Christmas.

Theyre kicking the can down the road but this is one thing they really cant kick down the road, Adame said.

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