Disclaimer - Tc Callaway and Chris Kelly belong to the likes of Bill Nuss and North Hall Productions. Jake belongs to Diza so please ask her permission before you use him.
Tc and Chris, the 21st Century's own Romeo and Juliet star crossed relationship. They started off believing that they had nothing in common but each other, but in the end, that was all they had.
Timeline - In the start of the first season.
Call It Fate, Call It Destiny, Call It Love
By Diza and Christy Maguire
Tc Callaway and his best friend Jake were dining at a Café for lunch which served nothing over three dollars. They opted for a coffee.
"Tc my man, what's the deal with you and Chris, hey?" Jake asked wanting to know all.
Tc just looked at him. He badly wanted to tell Jake that Chris was the love of his life and he never wanted to part from her but wisely chose against it. "Nothing". He said knowing that if Jake knew Tc's feelings for Chris, then before the day's end, everybody would know his feelings for Chris.
"NOTHING!?" screamed Jake giving the other cafe goers a reason to stare. "Don't play with me man, everybody knows you have something going on, you want her bad, admit it!"
"I'm not going to admit anything Jake." Tc replied.
Silence. Neither of them spoke for a solid ten minutes until Jake decided to break the ice. "Um, Tc there's something I need to tell you."
"What? More crap about me making mistakes?" Tc. Replied sarcastically.
"No." The frustration in Jake's voice sent alarm bells down Tc's spine. Jake looked at Tc and quietly spoke "I'm dying."
Tc looked at him in horror. "Yeah, so am I." He said as a joke hoping that Jake was also fooling around. "So are the waitresses in this Cafe, so is everybody else.... and..." Tc stopped, he could see how distressed his friend was.
Jake looked up, took a deep breath and told Tc everything.
Chris was doing nothing but reading a magazine to keep her mind of Tc. So far it wasn't working. He'd been on her mind for a long time now but even more so since…
She turned the page. The first paragraph made her heart race. It was an article about HIV and AIDS. That niggling little ghost of a conscience was having a field day. She quickly turned the page but the thoughts remained. All she could think was what if…?
Chris jumped when there was a sudden knock on her door. She quickly regained composure and deposited the magazine on the coffee table. But upon her composure took another slide.
"Chris, is something wrong?" It was TC. She pulled herself together and started apologizing while TC stepped past her and into the lounge room.
Chris felt so humiliated she didn't even see the emptiness on her beloved Romeo's face. His head was on his knees as he sat in the lounge sobbing.
Chris was stunned. She'd never seen him like this before and never would have expected it. She sat on the couch next to him and put her arm around his shoulders. "What happened?"
"It's Jake." Tc sniffed.
"Jake the Jackass? Jake-let's-imitate-bodily-functions-in-the-middle-of-an-opera? Jake who laughed when Leo died in Titanic? That Jake?"
"Yes Chris."
"What about him?" Chris said suspiciously hoping that Tc didn't find out what else she knew about Jake.
"He has AIDS and has another six months left to live."
Chris shook her head. "I'm sorry Tc. He swore me to secrecy."
Tc gaped at her. "You knew about this?"
Chris nodded guiltily. "He didn't want you to worry."
"And why shouldn't I?" Tc said irritably. "It was my fault."
"How could it be your fault? You didn't plan this."
"No, but he was the one that got hurt saving me from being run over."
"That wasn't your fault either. Look, I know how you must feel but…"
"You have no idea Chris. How could you? Jake is my best friend and he'll be dead soon."
Tc slunk back in the seat. He was right. She didn't know how it felt but she did know what it felt like to be certain that you'd be the next one to go.
The next week was torture for the three of them. Tc tried to hide his concern which made it more obvious, especially when he tried to help Jake walk up stairs and such. Chris had to watch every word and gesture she made so that Tc wouldn't find out her dark secret and Jake was frustrated because the two of them weren't going out yet.
"I don't have much longer mate and you and Chris act like you just met. She's a pretty girl, go for it."
"And while I'm running around with her, you'll be dying. I don't want that on my conscience."
Jake shook his head. "I'm telling you. If you wait any longer she'll be taken. Girls like her don't hang around for too long."
And so it went on. Tc clung to Jake for support over Jake's illness. Jake tried to push Chris and Tc together and Chris was trying to push them both away so if Tc ever found out he wouldn't be as hurt. As much to say, no one was getting anywhere.
Chris frantically searched through her wardrobe. She had fifteen minutes before she was supposed to leave and she couldn't find anything suitable to wear. Jake had asked her to a social dinner at a café on the waterfront. She didn't know whether to wear casual casual or dressy casual. She chose the latter and decided on a black knee length dress with short sleeves.
Tc was also having the same problem. He'd been uncomfortable around Jake since finding out about the disease soon to rob his friend of his life. Not that there was anything wrong with Jake but what happened if he was hit by a car again. There wouldn't be anything Tc could do except for call the paramedics which by the time they got there could be already too late.
He put the thought aside and grabbed a polo shirt and pair of cargos. After all, it wasn't as if Chris would be there.
"Chris?! What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question." She said giving Tc the once over. "Going fishing?"
Tc glared. "Have you seen Jake?"
"No. He told me he'd be here by now." Chris said looking at her watch.
"He told you that?"
"Yeah. He asked me out for dinner. Why?"
"He asked me as well."
Chris shrugged. "Maybe he just forgot to mention that he was inviting me as well. Apparently your memory slips when…" Chris trailed off. She hadn't meant to bring that up in front of Tc and she was cursing herself that she had. "Tc, I'm sorry. I know how close you two are."
Tc grunted and started drumming his fingernails on the table.
"Why don't we get a drink while we're waiting."
Tc nodded and Chris beckoned the waiter.
The pair stayed an hour before Tc started to get fidgety.
"He should be here by now Chris."
"Maybe something came up?"
"He invited us."
Chris smiled. "In that case I don't think he's planning to come at all."
"What are you on about?"
"He's been trying to get us together for ages now. You haven't seen it?"
"No. Nor do I believe it."
Tc gave another quick glance around the room as if expecting Jake to wander through before rising to his feet. "I'm going to make sure he's okay."
"Mind if I come with you? My car is in for a service and Cory dropped me off."
"Sure." He said bluntly and headed for the door.
"Didn't go well?" Jake asked Tc when he opened the door to them a few minutes later.
"Where the hell were you?! You were supposed to be meeting us there." Tc said angrily and pushed past Jake into the apartment.
"I thought that the two of you needed a little help getting started. I'm sorry if I upset anyone." Jake closed the door behind Chris who'd made a much less aggressive entrance.
"No, just worried us half to death."
"Like I said, Tc my man, I didn't mean to worry you."
"Don't worry about it Jake." Chris said. "We're just glad you're alright."
"Speak for yourself." Tc uttered. "Anyway, I have better things to do than be stood up so I'm leaving." He showed himself out and slammed the door behind him.
"What's eating him?" Chris asked sarcastically.
"I think it's what's not eating him that's the problem. The man needs a girlfriend to keep him sane."
Chris giggled. Jake was always looking to make people laugh. It would be a real shame when he …
"Chris are you alright? You don't seem like yourself lately."
She shrugged. "I can't stop thinking about, well, us."
Jake nodded. "I can understand that. Actually, I think about it all the time too. Probably for a different reason though."
"I mean I'm worried about whether I'll die too but I know I shouldn't tell Tc cause he'll get really angry at you." Chris said, only half listening to Jake.
"He'll get over it. He always does. Have you gone for tests or anything?"
Chris shook her head. "I couldn't. The department demands medical history every few years and Tc is usually the one to process all that."
"What a job that would be. Having to keep everybody else's secrets on your shoulders and not being able to tell anyone. It must be really hard."
"Huh?"
"Think about it. Don't you think Tc has a few things he'd like to confide to you about that he isn't supposed to tell anybody?"
"I suppose, but what has that got to do with me having AIDS?"
"A lot more than you think Chris. What is he finds out one day that your gorgeous brunette friends has gotten herself knocked up by some prick who then dumps her. He'd have to keep that to himself for a long time. Now if you were his girl then he could tell you and not have to worry about breaking protocol cause he could trust you not to tell.
I also means that you could tell him stuff too, like that you think you've got AIDS and he could help you out cause you could trust him."
"But he'd want to know how I got AIDS."
"So tell him the truth."
"No way! He'd get so angry at us both."
"He'll get over it Chris. In a few months we won't get angry with me anymore cause he knows my time is running out. Then he'll need someone to lean on and that's where you come in."
"I don't know Jake. I wouldn't want to lose him."
"You won't. I promise."
"Driver stop here please." Chris asked the cab driver as they passed Tc's house. She paid the driver, jogged up the path to the house to escape the drizzle (Ps, it's still raining in LA) and rang the doorbell.
"I hope I didn't wake you." Chris said as Tc answered the door. She'd spent a long time talking with Jake over both of their situations.
"No, I can't sleep."
Chris smiled sympathetically and made her way inside. "Tc, we need to talk."
Tc nodded. He seemed to have calmed down since earlier in the evening. "Would you like a coffee or something?" He asked her.
"No thanks. I'd just really like to get this off my chest."
He gestured for her to sit.
"I think there is something you need to know about me and Jake."
"You went out? Is that it? Jake already told me."
"Well, yeah but it's a bit more complicated than that." Chris sighed. "We were dating before his accident as well as after it and it was after the accident that things got kinda serious between us."
Tc nodded slowly. "I think I know where this is headed. You slept with him."
"Yes."
"Chris, its no big deal. You were going out with him and really, it's none of my business."
"I know but Jake said I should talk to you because in a few months he won't be able to help me anymore."
"What do you need help with?"
"Well, I slept with Jake after the accident and after the transfusion that gave him AIDS."
Tc sat bolt upright. "So what you're telling me is that you have AIDS too and that I'm going to lose you as well as Jake."
Chris shook her head. "No. I don't know whether I have AIDS. I haven't been tested yet. I've been too scared."
Tc grinned.
"What's so funny?" Chris asked.
"Nothing. It just means that you might not have AIDS."
"But it also means that I might."
Tc leaned forward and grabbed her hand. "You have to have a test. Right now. I'll take you to an After Hours Clinic."
"I could wait until the morning."
"No. If we don't go now, I won't be able to sleep. Come on."
Chris, Tc and Jake had a nail-biting week of waiting for the results of Chris's blood test.
Chris was writing a lengthy report when the doctor rang.
"Ms Kelly, I have the results of your blood work. The test came back negative."
"That's good right? I mean, negative is good."
"Yes Ms Kelly. You do not have AIDS."
Chris thanked the doctor, a lot, before running up to Tc and throwing her arms around him and bursting into tears.
"Chris, what's the matter?" He asked concerned.
"The test came back." She sobbed.
Tc grew grim. "Chris I'm so sorry." He said.
"No! You don't understand. It came back negative. I don't have AIDS!" She shrieked.
"That's great! We have to tell Jake."
Chris looked with pleading eyes at her Lieutenant who came out of his office to see what the commotion was about.
He nodded and Chris grabbed Tc by the hand and dragged him out of the building, not even slowing down to get her keys.
Tc had insisted on driving so they didn't have a crash due to Chris's elated state.
They pulled up at Jake's apartment complex behind a parked ambulance.
"My god." Chris said in a hushed tone.
Tc ran from the car and bounded up the stairs where two paramedics were carrying a stretcher with Jake's limp body strapped to it.
"Police." Tc said in a commanding tone. "What happened?"
"We received a call from his neighbor who heard a thumping noise on the wall. We went in and found him semi-unconscious on the floor. The neighbor filled us in on his condition." The paramedics loaded Jake into the back of the ambulance.
"Jake." Chris murmured and stroked his hand.
"Is he going to be okay?" Tc asked the medics.
"I'm not sure. From what I can gather the infection is in it's late stages so he probably won't survive much longer. I'm sorry."
The doors of the ambulance were closed.
"Do you need an escort?" Tc asked.
Before too long they were flying down the main street with light flashing and sirens wailing. But even with all the noise around them, there was still an eerie silence in the patrol car.
Chris sat looking out the window with tears forming in her eyes. She and Jake hadn't officially broken off the relationship but she didn't think that it was really the time to worry about that.
Tc fortunately didn't have the luxury of thinking about his friend. The traffic was kismetically heavy so he needed all his concentration on the road.
Half an hour later Chris and Tc were allowed to see Jake. He was in the ICU receiving intravenous antibiotics. He had a week pulse, was on a respirator and was understandably unconscious.
Chris sat holding his hand. She was talking to him gently about anything and everything that came to her mind.
Tc leant against a half brick wall and listened. Her voice was soothing to both Tc and Jake. He wished in a way that he could swap places with Jake just so that he could be on the receiving end of Chris's affections.
Cory tapped on the window behind Tc which made him jump.
"What's up Cory?" He asked her as he left Jake's room.
"The Lieutenant asked me to come down and see if everything was okay." She said almost in a whisper.
"No Cory. It's not okay. He's dying."
"I'm sorry Tc." She said and gave him a hug. "Are you going to be alright?"
Tc shrugged and shook his head. "He pulled a hangnail which started off an infection in his system and he hasn't been able to recover. Ironic really. It's always the smallest things that kill you."
Cory sighed. "I have to get back. Is there anything I can do before I go?"
Tc shook his head again. "Just pray he lives another night."
She nodded and made her way to the carpark.
Tc walked back into the room where a doctor was examining Jake.
"Are you two family?" He asked as he looked at the chart.
"No but Jake doesn't have any family." Chris still had a hold of Jake's hand and didn't look like she was in a hurry to let go.
"Mmm." Said the doctor. "He's listed Wendell Callaway as the next of kin. Do you know where we can contact him?"
"That's me." Tc said.
"Okay then. Ahh, the infection in his hand has spread and it doesn't look like we will be able to combat it. If you have anything to say to Jake I suggest you do it now. He may not make it through the night." With that the doctor gave some instructions to the nurse and left.
Chris looked at Tc with teary blue eyes.
"You go first Chris."
Chris told Jake about the blood test and started to tell him how much she's miss him before she began to cry and couldn't continue.
Tc took her outside the room so she could calm down a little. "Chris, I know this isn't the right time or place." He said when her tears had downgraded to sobs. "But I wanted to ask if you'd go out with me?"
Chris smiled and nodded. "It's what Jake's been trying to do." Chris looked back in the room. "Go on. It's your turn."
Tc walked slowly back into the room while Chris sat on the bench outside.
"You did it buddy. She's my girl. And I've got you to thank for that. Just one thing. Can you say hi to Cory's mum for her? Thanks mate."
An hour late the nurse pulled the sheet over Jake's body.
Tc held his girlfriend as she cried for the loss of a good friend.
Jake sat on a fluffy white cloud looking down on them with a smile on his face. Destiny had prevailed. The two might not stay together forever but each would find love again because of what he'd created.
Tc and Chris, the 21st Century's own Romeo and Juliet star crossed relationship. They started off believing that they had nothing in common but each other, but in the end, that was all they had.
Timeline - In the start of the first season.
Call It Fate, Call It Destiny, Call It Love
By Diza and Christy Maguire
Tc Callaway and his best friend Jake were dining at a Café for lunch which served nothing over three dollars. They opted for a coffee.
"Tc my man, what's the deal with you and Chris, hey?" Jake asked wanting to know all.
Tc just looked at him. He badly wanted to tell Jake that Chris was the love of his life and he never wanted to part from her but wisely chose against it. "Nothing". He said knowing that if Jake knew Tc's feelings for Chris, then before the day's end, everybody would know his feelings for Chris.
"NOTHING!?" screamed Jake giving the other cafe goers a reason to stare. "Don't play with me man, everybody knows you have something going on, you want her bad, admit it!"
"I'm not going to admit anything Jake." Tc replied.
Silence. Neither of them spoke for a solid ten minutes until Jake decided to break the ice. "Um, Tc there's something I need to tell you."
"What? More crap about me making mistakes?" Tc. Replied sarcastically.
"No." The frustration in Jake's voice sent alarm bells down Tc's spine. Jake looked at Tc and quietly spoke "I'm dying."
Tc looked at him in horror. "Yeah, so am I." He said as a joke hoping that Jake was also fooling around. "So are the waitresses in this Cafe, so is everybody else.... and..." Tc stopped, he could see how distressed his friend was.
Jake looked up, took a deep breath and told Tc everything.
Chris was doing nothing but reading a magazine to keep her mind of Tc. So far it wasn't working. He'd been on her mind for a long time now but even more so since…
She turned the page. The first paragraph made her heart race. It was an article about HIV and AIDS. That niggling little ghost of a conscience was having a field day. She quickly turned the page but the thoughts remained. All she could think was what if…?
Chris jumped when there was a sudden knock on her door. She quickly regained composure and deposited the magazine on the coffee table. But upon her composure took another slide.
"Chris, is something wrong?" It was TC. She pulled herself together and started apologizing while TC stepped past her and into the lounge room.
Chris felt so humiliated she didn't even see the emptiness on her beloved Romeo's face. His head was on his knees as he sat in the lounge sobbing.
Chris was stunned. She'd never seen him like this before and never would have expected it. She sat on the couch next to him and put her arm around his shoulders. "What happened?"
"It's Jake." Tc sniffed.
"Jake the Jackass? Jake-let's-imitate-bodily-functions-in-the-middle-of-an-opera? Jake who laughed when Leo died in Titanic? That Jake?"
"Yes Chris."
"What about him?" Chris said suspiciously hoping that Tc didn't find out what else she knew about Jake.
"He has AIDS and has another six months left to live."
Chris shook her head. "I'm sorry Tc. He swore me to secrecy."
Tc gaped at her. "You knew about this?"
Chris nodded guiltily. "He didn't want you to worry."
"And why shouldn't I?" Tc said irritably. "It was my fault."
"How could it be your fault? You didn't plan this."
"No, but he was the one that got hurt saving me from being run over."
"That wasn't your fault either. Look, I know how you must feel but…"
"You have no idea Chris. How could you? Jake is my best friend and he'll be dead soon."
Tc slunk back in the seat. He was right. She didn't know how it felt but she did know what it felt like to be certain that you'd be the next one to go.
The next week was torture for the three of them. Tc tried to hide his concern which made it more obvious, especially when he tried to help Jake walk up stairs and such. Chris had to watch every word and gesture she made so that Tc wouldn't find out her dark secret and Jake was frustrated because the two of them weren't going out yet.
"I don't have much longer mate and you and Chris act like you just met. She's a pretty girl, go for it."
"And while I'm running around with her, you'll be dying. I don't want that on my conscience."
Jake shook his head. "I'm telling you. If you wait any longer she'll be taken. Girls like her don't hang around for too long."
And so it went on. Tc clung to Jake for support over Jake's illness. Jake tried to push Chris and Tc together and Chris was trying to push them both away so if Tc ever found out he wouldn't be as hurt. As much to say, no one was getting anywhere.
Chris frantically searched through her wardrobe. She had fifteen minutes before she was supposed to leave and she couldn't find anything suitable to wear. Jake had asked her to a social dinner at a café on the waterfront. She didn't know whether to wear casual casual or dressy casual. She chose the latter and decided on a black knee length dress with short sleeves.
Tc was also having the same problem. He'd been uncomfortable around Jake since finding out about the disease soon to rob his friend of his life. Not that there was anything wrong with Jake but what happened if he was hit by a car again. There wouldn't be anything Tc could do except for call the paramedics which by the time they got there could be already too late.
He put the thought aside and grabbed a polo shirt and pair of cargos. After all, it wasn't as if Chris would be there.
"Chris?! What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question." She said giving Tc the once over. "Going fishing?"
Tc glared. "Have you seen Jake?"
"No. He told me he'd be here by now." Chris said looking at her watch.
"He told you that?"
"Yeah. He asked me out for dinner. Why?"
"He asked me as well."
Chris shrugged. "Maybe he just forgot to mention that he was inviting me as well. Apparently your memory slips when…" Chris trailed off. She hadn't meant to bring that up in front of Tc and she was cursing herself that she had. "Tc, I'm sorry. I know how close you two are."
Tc grunted and started drumming his fingernails on the table.
"Why don't we get a drink while we're waiting."
Tc nodded and Chris beckoned the waiter.
The pair stayed an hour before Tc started to get fidgety.
"He should be here by now Chris."
"Maybe something came up?"
"He invited us."
Chris smiled. "In that case I don't think he's planning to come at all."
"What are you on about?"
"He's been trying to get us together for ages now. You haven't seen it?"
"No. Nor do I believe it."
Tc gave another quick glance around the room as if expecting Jake to wander through before rising to his feet. "I'm going to make sure he's okay."
"Mind if I come with you? My car is in for a service and Cory dropped me off."
"Sure." He said bluntly and headed for the door.
"Didn't go well?" Jake asked Tc when he opened the door to them a few minutes later.
"Where the hell were you?! You were supposed to be meeting us there." Tc said angrily and pushed past Jake into the apartment.
"I thought that the two of you needed a little help getting started. I'm sorry if I upset anyone." Jake closed the door behind Chris who'd made a much less aggressive entrance.
"No, just worried us half to death."
"Like I said, Tc my man, I didn't mean to worry you."
"Don't worry about it Jake." Chris said. "We're just glad you're alright."
"Speak for yourself." Tc uttered. "Anyway, I have better things to do than be stood up so I'm leaving." He showed himself out and slammed the door behind him.
"What's eating him?" Chris asked sarcastically.
"I think it's what's not eating him that's the problem. The man needs a girlfriend to keep him sane."
Chris giggled. Jake was always looking to make people laugh. It would be a real shame when he …
"Chris are you alright? You don't seem like yourself lately."
She shrugged. "I can't stop thinking about, well, us."
Jake nodded. "I can understand that. Actually, I think about it all the time too. Probably for a different reason though."
"I mean I'm worried about whether I'll die too but I know I shouldn't tell Tc cause he'll get really angry at you." Chris said, only half listening to Jake.
"He'll get over it. He always does. Have you gone for tests or anything?"
Chris shook her head. "I couldn't. The department demands medical history every few years and Tc is usually the one to process all that."
"What a job that would be. Having to keep everybody else's secrets on your shoulders and not being able to tell anyone. It must be really hard."
"Huh?"
"Think about it. Don't you think Tc has a few things he'd like to confide to you about that he isn't supposed to tell anybody?"
"I suppose, but what has that got to do with me having AIDS?"
"A lot more than you think Chris. What is he finds out one day that your gorgeous brunette friends has gotten herself knocked up by some prick who then dumps her. He'd have to keep that to himself for a long time. Now if you were his girl then he could tell you and not have to worry about breaking protocol cause he could trust you not to tell.
I also means that you could tell him stuff too, like that you think you've got AIDS and he could help you out cause you could trust him."
"But he'd want to know how I got AIDS."
"So tell him the truth."
"No way! He'd get so angry at us both."
"He'll get over it Chris. In a few months we won't get angry with me anymore cause he knows my time is running out. Then he'll need someone to lean on and that's where you come in."
"I don't know Jake. I wouldn't want to lose him."
"You won't. I promise."
"Driver stop here please." Chris asked the cab driver as they passed Tc's house. She paid the driver, jogged up the path to the house to escape the drizzle (Ps, it's still raining in LA) and rang the doorbell.
"I hope I didn't wake you." Chris said as Tc answered the door. She'd spent a long time talking with Jake over both of their situations.
"No, I can't sleep."
Chris smiled sympathetically and made her way inside. "Tc, we need to talk."
Tc nodded. He seemed to have calmed down since earlier in the evening. "Would you like a coffee or something?" He asked her.
"No thanks. I'd just really like to get this off my chest."
He gestured for her to sit.
"I think there is something you need to know about me and Jake."
"You went out? Is that it? Jake already told me."
"Well, yeah but it's a bit more complicated than that." Chris sighed. "We were dating before his accident as well as after it and it was after the accident that things got kinda serious between us."
Tc nodded slowly. "I think I know where this is headed. You slept with him."
"Yes."
"Chris, its no big deal. You were going out with him and really, it's none of my business."
"I know but Jake said I should talk to you because in a few months he won't be able to help me anymore."
"What do you need help with?"
"Well, I slept with Jake after the accident and after the transfusion that gave him AIDS."
Tc sat bolt upright. "So what you're telling me is that you have AIDS too and that I'm going to lose you as well as Jake."
Chris shook her head. "No. I don't know whether I have AIDS. I haven't been tested yet. I've been too scared."
Tc grinned.
"What's so funny?" Chris asked.
"Nothing. It just means that you might not have AIDS."
"But it also means that I might."
Tc leaned forward and grabbed her hand. "You have to have a test. Right now. I'll take you to an After Hours Clinic."
"I could wait until the morning."
"No. If we don't go now, I won't be able to sleep. Come on."
Chris, Tc and Jake had a nail-biting week of waiting for the results of Chris's blood test.
Chris was writing a lengthy report when the doctor rang.
"Ms Kelly, I have the results of your blood work. The test came back negative."
"That's good right? I mean, negative is good."
"Yes Ms Kelly. You do not have AIDS."
Chris thanked the doctor, a lot, before running up to Tc and throwing her arms around him and bursting into tears.
"Chris, what's the matter?" He asked concerned.
"The test came back." She sobbed.
Tc grew grim. "Chris I'm so sorry." He said.
"No! You don't understand. It came back negative. I don't have AIDS!" She shrieked.
"That's great! We have to tell Jake."
Chris looked with pleading eyes at her Lieutenant who came out of his office to see what the commotion was about.
He nodded and Chris grabbed Tc by the hand and dragged him out of the building, not even slowing down to get her keys.
Tc had insisted on driving so they didn't have a crash due to Chris's elated state.
They pulled up at Jake's apartment complex behind a parked ambulance.
"My god." Chris said in a hushed tone.
Tc ran from the car and bounded up the stairs where two paramedics were carrying a stretcher with Jake's limp body strapped to it.
"Police." Tc said in a commanding tone. "What happened?"
"We received a call from his neighbor who heard a thumping noise on the wall. We went in and found him semi-unconscious on the floor. The neighbor filled us in on his condition." The paramedics loaded Jake into the back of the ambulance.
"Jake." Chris murmured and stroked his hand.
"Is he going to be okay?" Tc asked the medics.
"I'm not sure. From what I can gather the infection is in it's late stages so he probably won't survive much longer. I'm sorry."
The doors of the ambulance were closed.
"Do you need an escort?" Tc asked.
Before too long they were flying down the main street with light flashing and sirens wailing. But even with all the noise around them, there was still an eerie silence in the patrol car.
Chris sat looking out the window with tears forming in her eyes. She and Jake hadn't officially broken off the relationship but she didn't think that it was really the time to worry about that.
Tc fortunately didn't have the luxury of thinking about his friend. The traffic was kismetically heavy so he needed all his concentration on the road.
Half an hour later Chris and Tc were allowed to see Jake. He was in the ICU receiving intravenous antibiotics. He had a week pulse, was on a respirator and was understandably unconscious.
Chris sat holding his hand. She was talking to him gently about anything and everything that came to her mind.
Tc leant against a half brick wall and listened. Her voice was soothing to both Tc and Jake. He wished in a way that he could swap places with Jake just so that he could be on the receiving end of Chris's affections.
Cory tapped on the window behind Tc which made him jump.
"What's up Cory?" He asked her as he left Jake's room.
"The Lieutenant asked me to come down and see if everything was okay." She said almost in a whisper.
"No Cory. It's not okay. He's dying."
"I'm sorry Tc." She said and gave him a hug. "Are you going to be alright?"
Tc shrugged and shook his head. "He pulled a hangnail which started off an infection in his system and he hasn't been able to recover. Ironic really. It's always the smallest things that kill you."
Cory sighed. "I have to get back. Is there anything I can do before I go?"
Tc shook his head again. "Just pray he lives another night."
She nodded and made her way to the carpark.
Tc walked back into the room where a doctor was examining Jake.
"Are you two family?" He asked as he looked at the chart.
"No but Jake doesn't have any family." Chris still had a hold of Jake's hand and didn't look like she was in a hurry to let go.
"Mmm." Said the doctor. "He's listed Wendell Callaway as the next of kin. Do you know where we can contact him?"
"That's me." Tc said.
"Okay then. Ahh, the infection in his hand has spread and it doesn't look like we will be able to combat it. If you have anything to say to Jake I suggest you do it now. He may not make it through the night." With that the doctor gave some instructions to the nurse and left.
Chris looked at Tc with teary blue eyes.
"You go first Chris."
Chris told Jake about the blood test and started to tell him how much she's miss him before she began to cry and couldn't continue.
Tc took her outside the room so she could calm down a little. "Chris, I know this isn't the right time or place." He said when her tears had downgraded to sobs. "But I wanted to ask if you'd go out with me?"
Chris smiled and nodded. "It's what Jake's been trying to do." Chris looked back in the room. "Go on. It's your turn."
Tc walked slowly back into the room while Chris sat on the bench outside.
"You did it buddy. She's my girl. And I've got you to thank for that. Just one thing. Can you say hi to Cory's mum for her? Thanks mate."
An hour late the nurse pulled the sheet over Jake's body.
Tc held his girlfriend as she cried for the loss of a good friend.
Jake sat on a fluffy white cloud looking down on them with a smile on his face. Destiny had prevailed. The two might not stay together forever but each would find love again because of what he'd created.