Snowflakes in July

This story's based on a spoiler that hasn't really been confirmed yet, so it might not be true, but anyway, again, if you don't like spoilers, don't read just in case. Otherwise, enjoy :)

Chapter 1 is very short, but more coming soon.

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Rachel knocked the door gently and entered as her colleague grumbled, "Come in".

She sighed, taking in his depressed, almost guilty expression. She knew all too well how he was feeling. No matter how many patients you had treated, it never got any easier when you had to give bad news.

"Look, I'm so sorry for dragging you out here like this, Rachel. You should be at home, what with the baby and everything. You shouldn't have to come to work when you're on maternity leave; I should have asked someone else, I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't be silly, don't worry about it.", she assured him, interrupting his worried ramble, "Tony's with the baby- it's not a problem. So what's going on?"

He glanced down at the sheet in front of him, " Female, 20 years old, history of addiction, just been diagnosed with a very aggresive form of stomach cancer. She came in a couple of days ago with complaints of strong fatigue and abdominal pain, so I took her in for a CT scan. The results were too hard to confirm, so we called her back for a gastroscopic exam, hoping it could have just been a benign ulcer. Unfortunately, it's definitely stomach cancer, and it's in the late stages." He sighed again. "It's spread to the pancreas and liver. I've contacted several specialists in the city about the results and they've pretty much said that the cancer has advanced too much for any treatment to be successful. We could try, but the chances of recovery are negligable."

They sat in silence for a moment. Even though it was their job, both hated having to deal with situations like this. It was almost impossible to think clearly and logically without being affected by an emotional attachment to the patient. Patients like this were particularly difficult. As the only specialist psychiatric doctor at the hospital, Rachel hadn't been surprised to be called in. They had a strong policy in place to look after patients with a history of any sort of mental health problems, if they were experiencing something that could send them into relapse. She didn't mind helping out. It usually just involved talking to them, and trying to find a way to somehow support them. Anything could spark a relapse- a fight, anything. She would always do her best to help the patient get back on track, and it normally worked. This, however, was different. Sitting in front of someone who's been to dragged Hell and back in the past, and telling them something that would undoubtedly send their world crashing down; that was one of the hardest things anyone could ever have to do.

"How did she take the news?" Rachel asked quietly.

"Not too badly, I suppose", he replied, "She wasn't expecting it, that's for sure. I don't think it's quite hit her yet. The thing is, Rachel, I haven't told her how serious it is. I was worried it might be too much for her to take in. She's so young, and her records show she's still recovering from a drug addiction."

He was speaking hesitantly, shifting about and fidgeting. Rachel immediately sensed his awkwardness and knew he wasn't giving the full story. She looked up at him with expectancy.

"Rachel, it's Belle Taylor".