Gabrielle sat patiently on the slab as she awaited for her doctor to enter the room. It was time for her annual check-up, one she had grown quite accustomed to never missing. She had remembered being a teenager and sitting in this same room when Dr. James had delivered the upsetting news years before. Now, almost 6 years later, she had recovered and never looked back. The first couple of months were touch and go, but when she noticed the first sprouts of hair returning to her normally shiny scalp, she was overjoyed. Now, as she pushed her long hair from her shoulder, she smiled as her doctor entered the room, carrying a folder.

"Hello, Dr. James. How are you?" she asked in a cheerful, bright voice.

"Um, I'm quite well, Gabi. The question is, how are you feeling?" he asked, as he took a seat at the little make-shift desk and began writing on her papers.

"Well, fine, I suppose. I had a bad case of the stomach virus that had been going around about 2 weeks ago, but it disappeared within 48 hours, so I didn't need to call. How does my blood work look? Is everything alright?" she asked, as the white-haired man peered above the rim of his glasses and took a serious look at the 25 year-old.

"Well, yes and no. You're blood work showed up alright, until we ran it through the last series of tests. It appears as if the leukemia has returned. Now, don't get discouraged. It's somewhat normal in cases like these for it to return after many years. We'll simply do the series of treatments and pray for the best." he answered.

It took a moment for her to register the information that was just given to her, but after a minute, her hand covered her opened mouth, as she stared forward at the doctor she had came close enough to to consider a friend. She blinked suddenly to fight the tears from falling, as she prepared to answer or deliver a statement of some sort.

"So, that's it? We'll do treatments and and I'll be alright?" she asked.

"Well, we'll see what happens after the chemotherapy. If we have to take another avenue, we will, but until then, there is no sense in worrying about other forms of treatment. I'll have you scheduled for your first chemo visit for next Tuesday. We're going to try to give you the full amount of therapy at a time, which means you'll only return once a month for your treatments. If we see it isn't working, we'll try lesser dosages at more frequent visits. For now, I have prescribed you some vitamins to take to keep your strength up. Just try to eat as often as you can. You know how the chemo can be."

"Yeah...I remember." she replied in a dazed state.

"Here's the vitamin prescription. And please, rest and eat. That's all you need to worry about until next Tuesday, alright?"

"Thank you, Doc." she replied as she grabbed the piece of paper and stuffed it inside her purse before stepping down from the table and walking in a daze towards the door.

As she made it to the waiting room where she would receive her appointment card from the nurses' station, she managed a weak smile in the direction of her life-long friend, John. He had knew about her previous bout with cancer, and now wouldn't be any different, except for the fact he was away from home more than normal people were. As she received the card, she walked towards the smiling face of John as he grabbed her coat. She slipped it on, still not able to speak at the moment, as she followed him quietly out the door.

"So, how'd it go?" John asked, as he opened her car door for her. She slipped inside, still unable to speak at the moment, as he slid in next to her and started the car.

"Earth to Gabi. Are we alive in there?" he asked, with a chuckle. "How did it go?"

"John..." she said, finally finding her voice and looking in his direction. "The cancer. It's...back."