D and AJ entered the waiting room and found the doctor waiting for them. He was talking to Nick and Kevin. Kevin looked over at them as they approached.
AJ
looked at the doctor, studying his face, trying to find some clue as to what he was going to say. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t make any conclusion. The doctor’s face had a sense of urgency to it, but other than that, he couldn’t tell either way. He tried as best he could to prepare himself for whatever he had to tell him.
"There you are. AJ, this is Doctor Allen. Doctor Allen, this is Dawn’s fianc�’, AJ McLean."
"It’s nice to meet you doctor," AJ said, shaking his hand firmly.
"Likewise."
"So, what’s going on? Are Dawn and the baby alright?"
"Dawn’s condition is very serious Mr. McLean," Doctor Allen began.
D looked at AJ and she could see him starting to shake. She grabbed his hand again and squeezed it. Kevin and Nick stood behind AJ, a hand on each shoulder to let him know that they were there.
AJ was grateful for his friends at that moment. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to take the news the doctor was about to give him.
"As you know she came in here in a lot of pain," the doctor continued. "We have been trying to locate the source of the pain, that’s what’s taken so long. I apologize for not coming to talk with you sooner but it was imperative that we find the problem given her condition."
"What did you find out?" AJ asked, his voice quivering.
"We did an ultrasound and found that she has a twisted ovary. We will have to operate."
"Operate? But, what about the baby? Is the baby okay?" AJ was almost afraid to ask.
"The baby is fine right now and is being closely monitored. We will continue to monitor throughout the surgery. We will take precautions to make sure that the fetus is getting plenty of oxygen."
"Is it possible that the baby won’t make it," AJ choked out.
"Yes, it is," Doctor Allen replied honestly. "It is still early in Dawn's pregnancy, the baby is very small, but most pull through this operation perfectly fine."
AJ turned around and ran his hands over his face.
She couldn’t lose the baby, she just couldn't. He felt his whole body go numb. He wasn’t sure how much more he could listen to.
"Are you sure you have to operate?" Kevin cut in.
"Yes. And we have to do so as soon as possible. Not only because of the risks to the baby, but also because of the risks to Dawn as well."
"Risks?? What kind of risks??" AJ whipped around. "What will happen? I mean, you said her ovary is twisted. Will you have to remove it?"
"Yes, we will. We have to remove it and see how much damage has been done. Hopefully, she will still have one ovary that will function normally..."
"Wait, hopefully" AJ practically jumped down his throat.
Kevin put his hand on AJ’s shoulder to try to calm him.
"It’s a possibility that the remaining ovary is also damaged, we won’t know that, though, until we get in and see. We have to take out the twisted one, first. Then we will know more."
"Will she be able to have more babies?" AJ found himself almost crying. "With one good ovary, she would still be able to get pregnant again, assuming the remaining ovary isn’t too damaged. It won’t be easy, but it is possible."
AJ breathed a sigh of relief.
The doctor continued.
"However, given her medical history, I’m amazed that she’s pregnant now". He looked down at her chart. "She was in here a couple years ago with severe internal bleeding. She’s had a cyst removed before, and recently she was in a very serious car accident…"
"A cyst removed?? What are you talking about? When?" AJ interrupted.
"Well, her medical records indicate that she had a ruptured cyst removed four years ago. You didn’t know?"
AJ just stared at him in shock. "No, she never told me that..." His voice trailed off as he ran his hands over his face again.
"I’m sorry. I’m sure she had her reasons."
AJ tried to overcome his shock and focus on the present.
"So what does that mean? Does that have anything to do with what’s happening now?"
"A twisted ovary sometimes accompanies an ovarian cyst. We did find a rather large one when we did an ultrasound a little bit ago. It looks like it has been there for some time."
"She’s had a cyst for a while? Would her doctor have seen it when we went in for the ultrasound for the baby?"
"Not necessarily. The cyst may not have shown up on the ultrasound because it was very small. Some tend to grow very rapidly."
"But it may have been there?" AJ persisted, getting angry.
"It’s possible, yes, but you have to understand that the cysts were not the only factor in Miss Simon’s condition. Her blood pressure was very high, dangerously high. Her file says she must stay off her feet and avoid stress. Considering that her blood pressure was so high, I’m assuming that she was under a great deal of stress."
AJ looked down at the floor guiltily.
"You could say she was under stress, right AJ?" D scoffed, folding her arms.
Kevin glared at her. "Don’t start that shit again D."
D rolled her eyes at him.
"I take it she has been under some stress," the doctor said again.
"Yes, she has, and it was my fault. I promise I won’t put her under any more, just please, make her okay."
He was on the verge of tears.
The doctor nodded and looked down at his clipboard.
"We are prepping Miss Simon now for surgery. You will need to sign this release form." Doctor Allen handed him the form and he signed it.
"Can I see her before she goes in?"
"I’m sorry but they’ve already taken her to the operating room. You can see her as soon as she’s in recovery," he smiled.
"Okay," AJ sighed, disappointed.
He wanted to see Dawn before she went into surgery. He wanted to tell her he loved her and that he’d be there when she woke up.
"Thank you Doctor, for everything."
"Your quite welcome Mr. Mclean," he shook AJ’s hand, excused himself and headed for the operating room.
"Oh, Doctor Allen?"
He turned to look at AJ.
"Can you just tell her that I love her, and that I...I just love her with all my heart."
"I certainly will," he smiled and turned to walk away.
They all turned away, but Kevin stopped the doctor as he passed him.
"Doctor, about these cysts..are they cancerous?" Kevin whispered so AJ wouldn’t hear him.
He was afraid to hear the answer. He had lost his own father to cancer a few years back, and he didn’t know if he could go through that again, or watch anyone he cared so much about, go through it.
"The one that ruptured awhile back was not. We will have this one tested once it’s removed. We should have the results back sometime tomorrow."
"Alright," he said quietly. "Please, take care of her."
"I will," the doctor smiled and disappeared behind the operating room doors.
"I can’t believe this is happening," AJ said, sitting in a nearby chair, running a hand through his hair.
"She’s going to be fine. You heard the doctor," Kevin said as he rejoined them.
"I know but the doctor also said that her blood pressure was sky high because of stress I put her under. This is still all my fault Kevin."
"No, he said that stress contributed to it. She had that cyst and that’s what caused it."
Kevin didn’t know what else to say. He hated to see AJ blaming himself.
"You’re right, if that doctor had caught the cyst when we went for the ultrasound this wouldn’t have happened," AJ said, getting angry.
"Oh come on J," D cut in. "He probably didn’t even see it because it was so small."
"He should have been checking for it!"
"Checking for it?" D laughed. "The only thing he was checking for was problems with the baby. She had no symptoms so he didn’t know to look."
"He should have been covering all the bases D!!"
"Oh please! You’re grasping at straws!"
"No, I’m not!! I’m looking at the facts! He knew she had a cyst removed years ago so he should have known. That cyst was probably there when we had the ultrasound and the doctor missed it!"
"That’s not what Doctor Allen said! He said that..."
"Alright, ALRIGHT!!" Kevin shouted, interrupting them. "I’m getting sick and tired of all this fighting shit! You both need to stop right now! We don’t need this. How are we supposed to keep Dawn’s stress level down if you two are constantly fighting?" Kevin looked from one to the other angrily. He was sick and tired of the two of them at each other’s throats.
D shook her head and walked out into the hallway. Kevin turned back to AJ.
"This isn’t the doctor’s fault AJ and you know it. Let’s not place blame on anyone, especially yourself. Let’s just sit down and wait for word on Dawn. Okay?"
AJ looked at him and nodded. They sat down and waited for word on Dawn.
Nick joined D out in the hallway. She was sitting against the wall, her arms hugging her knees. She had her head back and her eyes closed. Nick slid down the wall and sat beside her.
"You’re going to have to get over this grudge you have for AJ," he told her.
"And how do you expect me to do that?" She asked, opening her eyes and looking over at him.
"I don’t know but you’re going to have to find a way. Kevin’s right. This isn’t going to be good for Dawn. Especially if she and AJ work things out."
"There’s no way in hell she’s going to take him back now. He’s done to much and said too many awful things to her."
"They love each other."
"You keep saying that, but love isn’t everything. The trust is gone Nick. Trust is an important part of a relationship. Not to mention he put her in the hospital."
"He did not put her here. You heard what the doctor said. She’s had cysts before and she had another one that caused her condition!"
"But stress was part..."
"STOP! You are so hell bent on blaming AJ that you can’t see the real picture. The cyst is the reason she’s here and you need to accept that and get over all this anger."
Nick got up and went back into the waiting room. D looked after him speechless.
"Where’s D?" Kevin asked when he saw Nick come back into the room. He didn’t look happy.
"Out in the hallway stewing," he said, plopping down onto the couch across from them.
"What happened?" AJ asked.
"She kept going on and on about you and Dawn being over and that you’re the reason she’s here..same old shit. I told her the cyst is the main reason she’s in here and to stop acting like a bitch and get over her anger at you."
AJ and Kevin looked at each other shocked.
"Whoa! You said that to her?" AJ asked, amused.
"In so many words yeah."
"I’m impressed Nick. You’re not as whipped as I thought," AJ laughed.
"I’m not whipped," Nick insisted, sitting up.
"Oh okay. Whatever you say, man."
"Do you think I’m whipped Kev?"
"Nah, I never thought you were. I knew you were," Kevin smiled.
AJ laughed and they high-fived. Nick shook his head at them and sat back.
"And what are you talking about??" He looked at AJ. "You’re the most whipped out of us all!"
"I am not!" AJ defended himself.
He started to get a little sad when he thought back on how he and Dawn used to be.
They were all still laughing and making jokes when they heard a Code Blue come over the intercom. They all froze and looked at each other. D came rushing into the room, her face filled with fear.
"Is that for Dawn??? Please tell me that’s not for her...or the baby!" She cried.
They looked at each other, not knowing what to do. They heard the call again and watched as people ran passed them and through the doors.
AJ followed them and stood at the doors. It took everything he had in him to not run after them. His whole body went completely numb. His heart was pounding out of his chest and he began to shake. He couldn’t move, he could barely breathe.
"Please don’t let it be Dawn...or our baby," he whispered, a tear sliding down his cheek.