| Chapter 21 Ted was near tears as the last of the test results came in. Dr. Skinner sighed looking at them, "How could this happen?" Ted shook his head, "I don't know. He said his check up six months ago was fine." Dr. Skinners eyes widened, "All this happened in the span of six months?" "I guess so," Ted replied, still in disbelief. "I need to see those tests," Dr. Skinner said, walking over to the phone. He picked it up and dialed his secretary. It was now 8:30 in the morning, and he knew she would just now be arriving for work. The phone rang a few times before she answered, "Dr. Skinners Office, how may I help you?" "Janie, this is Dr. Skinner," he said, "I need you to cancel all of my appointments for today and also get in touch with St. Joseph's Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky in the U.S., I need to speak with the head of their Cardiology department as soon as possible." "Yes sir," she said. "When you get through, transfer the call to Dr. Jackson's office," Dr. Skinner instructed. "Yes sir, I'll get them as soon as I can," Janie said, hanging up. Ted got up and walked over to the window looking out. It was beginning to rain, and it looked like they were in for quite a storm. Fitting, he thought. The weather matched his mood. How was he going to tell Lyn and Brian what was going on? How could he without losing it completely? This is why they tell you in med school not to get involved with patients or treat your own family, he thought. Dr. Skinner walked over to him, "Ted, you don't have to tell them. I think that's my job." Ted shook his head, "I promised her that I'd fix this." Dr. Skinner put his hand on Ted's shoulder, "We're doctors, not God. We can only do what we can, then it's up to Him." Ted sighed, "I know, but this is a little different." Dr. Skinner looked confused, "How so?" Ted turned back to face the room, "Nothing, never mind." Dr. Skinner looked at him for a moment, then dismissed his comment. "OK, let's wait until we talk with his doctor in the states before we go up and break the news," Dr. Skinner said, "Maybe there's something we aren't thinking of." "Maybe," Ted said, "I'll go have my nurse cancel my appointments for the day and make sure she transfers the call in here." Dr. Skinner nodded as Ted left the office. He looked back down at the last results that came in shaking his head, "Such a shame." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara came out of the bathroom to see that Nick was gone. She finished drying her hair and put it in a loose pony tail before leaving their room and going in search of him. She wondered through the house, ending up in the kitchen. Nick was standing in front of the stove, impatiently waiting for something to finish cooking. Tara smiled at him, walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around him. "Morning," she said. He turned to face her, "Morning, yourself," he said, bending down and stealing a kiss. Tara looked around, "So, where are our keepers?" Nick laughed, "Still in bed. Apparently they stayed up a little later than we did." Tara walked over to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup, "I see. Do you ever wonder what they see in each other?" Nick looked at her, "Who, the four of them?" Tara nodded, "Yeah, you think it's just physical or do you think they really love each other?" Nick shrugged, "I'm not sure. I think that Jered and Serenity are just using each other for what they can get. But I'm not sure about Evi and Ephah." Tara walked back over and stood next to Nick, "That's something we need to consider then. If we take Ephah back, and he really loves her, then we have a whole new problem." Nick nodded, "True. Do you think she might be persuaded to change sides?" Tara shook her head, "Not from what I've seen. She's not as gun ho as Serenity, but she still loves what she is. I don't think we'll be able to change that." Nick sighed, "That's a shame." Tara nodded as Nick took the food from the oven. "That smells good," she commented. Nick smiled, "Thanks, let's get some while it's hot." Tara took the plates from the cabinet and Nick scooped them both a portion. "Let's take this out to the patio," Tara suggested. "Great idea. It'll give us some peace and quite before they all get up and we get started for the day," Nick said, taking the plates as Tara grabbed their coffee and silverware. Together they walked out to the patio and enjoyed their breakfast. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I agree," Dr. Cotter said, "That seems to be the only thing left to do." "OK then, I guess all that's left is getting things rolling," Dr. Skinner said. "Thank you for your time Dr. Cotter," Ted said. Dr. Cotter sighed, "Let me know if I can do anything. Brian is dearly loved around here and we'll do anything we can to help." Ted smiled, "Thank you, we'll keep in touch on his condition." "Please do, and tell him we're all praying for him," Dr. Cotter said. "I will," Ted said, reaching over and pressing the button to disconnect the phone call. "Well, why don't we take a few minutes to collect ourselves, then we can head up," Dr. Skinner said, standing up. Ted nodded, wishing he didn't have to do what they were about to. Dr. Skinner put his hand on Ted's shoulder, "I'll do all the talking." "Thanks," Ted said, "I'm just not sure if I can remain professional while we do this." "I don't expect you to. This is your family it's happening to. I expect you to act like the concerned uncle you are, not a doctor telling a patient bad news," Dr. Skinner said. Ted smiled, "The world needs more doctors like you." Dr. Skinner laughed, "Well add yourself to the list while you're at it." Ted stood up and stretched, "Give me a minute and I'll be ready." Dr. Skinner nodded as Ted left the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyn and Brian sat in his room. They had just finished lunch, and both of them were wondering when they were gonna get some word on the tests. Brian was feeling much better, and was getting a little antsy, still being hooked up to all the monitors and not able to move freely around the room. He was trying to concentrate on the TV show they were watching, but he kept looking over at Lyn. She smiled at him, "Yes?" "Nothing, I'm just bored," he said, smiling. Lyn laughed, "And what would you like to do?" Brian blushed, "I don't think we can do it here." Lyn looked at him shocked, and laughed, "Brian Thomas I swear that's all you think about isn't it?" He grinned, "Mostly." Lyn rolled her eyes, "God I hooked up with a horn dog." Brian burst out laughing, "Horn dog? You've been around Nick to long." "So have you," she said, walking over to the bed and sitting on the edge. Brian looked at her suspiciously, "I don't like that look on your face. What are you gonna do?" Lyn laughed, "Just this," she said, bending down and softly kissing him. They broke the kiss and began laughing when they heard Brian's heart monitor speed up. "We better stop that, the nurses might think I'm having some kind of attack and come running," Brian laughed. Lyn laughed, taking his hand in hers and looking deep into his eyes. She loved him so much. She just hoped he knew it. "Hey, I'm gonna be fine," Brian said, seeing the concern in her face. She smiled as he turned her hand and kissed the back of it. Ted and Dr. Skinner walked into the room. Lyn stood up, looking at them. Dr. Skinner walked over to the side of the bed, "Hi Brian, I'm Dr. Skinner. You were asleep last night so we didn't get to meet." Brian shook the mans hand, "Nice to meet you." Dr. Skinner nodded, "Lyn, why don't you sit down and we'll go over what we've found." Lyn sat back down, looking from Ted to Dr. Skinner. The look on Ted's face scared her. He wouldn't keep eye contact with her, and he looked as if he'd been crying. Brian scooted up more in the bed, getting comfortable, "OK doc, let's hear it." Dr. Skinner took a deep breath, "Brian your condition is serious." "How serious?" he asked, feeling a small lump in his throat. "You have a rather large hole in your heart. Your heart is working double time to pump the blood through it, and it has become enlarged," Dr. Skinner started. Brian sighed, biting his lower lip for a moment, "So when do I have surgery?" Dr. Skinner shook his head, "We can't do surgery. The hole is to large to repair." "So if you can't do surgery, how are you going to fix it?" Lyn asked. "We can't fix it honey," Ted said. "So what does that mean?" Brian asked, feeling the panic rise. "Brian, the only option we have is to get you on the transplant list," Dr. Skinner said. Lyn couldn't hide her tears as she reached over and took Brian's hand in hers. Brian glanced at her, his head was spinning with what he'd just been told. How could this happen? He was fine six months ago. "How did this happen?" he asked, looking back up at Dr. Skinner. "We aren't sure. We've been on the phone with Dr. Cotter for most of the morning, going over the results and looking at your tests from six months ago. We just don't have an answer as to how it happened so fast," Dr. Skinner said. "So what happens now?" Brian asked, trying desperately not to cry. He didn't want to scare Lyn any more than she already was. "We get the paperwork done to get you on the list and do the nessessary preliminary tests, then we wait," Dr. Skinner said. Brian swallowed hard, not wanting to ask his next question, but needing to know. "How long do I have?" he asked, a tear leaving his eye. "We aren't sure," Dr. Skinner said, "With the rate this has happened, we just can't say." Brian nodded, "Tell me what I have to do." "We already have the paperwork going, as soon as it's done you'll have to sign in a few places," Dr. Skinner said. "And we have the preliminary tests scheduled for this afternoon," Ted added. "So how soon before he gets on the list?" Lyn asked, wiping her tears. "He could be on in forty-eight hours if we get everything done today," Dr. Skinner said. Brian turned his head away from Ted and Dr. Skinner, the tears streaming down his cheeks. Lyn moved closer and pulled him into a hug, holding him as he cried. Dr. Skinner turned to Ted, "I'll leave you all alone for a while. Page me if you need me." "Thanks," Ted said. Dr. Skinner squeezed Ted's shoulder on his way out. Ted walked over to Lyn and Brian. He made no attempt to hide his own tears. "I'm sorry," he said. Lyn looked up at him as Brian continued to cry, "This isn't your fault." "But I promised you I'd fix this," he said. Lyn reached out and took his hand, "There are some things you can't fix." Ted sat behind Brian on the bed, pulling them both to him. Together they cried, releasing their fears and frustrations with each tear that fell. Chapter 22 |