Disclaimer: I. Don't .Own. SAW.
A/N: Well, here's the second chapter everybody, and don't forget those reviews!
When John was finally admitted into the hospital and the tests taken, things settled down for a bit. After eating a fairly bland dinner of what he guessed were mashed potatoes, cream gravy and a pitiful looking steak, he reached over for the plans for Billy when his phone rang.
"Hello?"
"John?" the voice was Jill's; sounding a little strained and tired.
"Jill, I had meant to call you-" he was cut off.
"Had meant to call John? When? When you were on death's door?" her voice was bitter, tears in it as well.
"Yes, after all the tests were taken and I was out of here, I don't think that this will be anything Jill, I'll be out of her in a few days."
"Fine. I just called to say that I'd be in tomorrow." And without a good bye, she hung up.
When John had gotten up and put on his bathrobe for a small walk, he spotted one of the nurses, coming down the hall, pushing a younger woman in a wheelchair. She looked to be about 23 or 24, with straight dark brown hair and deep brown eyes that were slightly blood shot.
"Hello…" he said softly as they passed, and she woman looked at him, no through John as she waved. He could see he needle marks on her arm. This disgusted John; she had been a drug addict, though he knew not what she did. He asked his night nurse who told him with a shake of her head.
"That's Amanda Young, our semi resident drug addict, this time in here on an OD of heroin. She's usually in here for self-injury and trying to get over her anti-depressants. Poor girl." She shook her head again, and left John be.
John though about this woman, who probably had wasted years of her life like that, on drugs, and wondering where her next fix was going to come from.
The next morning, John finally decided that he was done with designing Billy, and was ready to go home, and start building his little friend, and show his pric of a boss that a small mime/clown puppet with a moving mouth wasn't going to be so bad after all. And he also thought again about Amanda, and went into the hall again to see if he could introduce himself.
When he went out again, he heard one of the doctors talking slowly to her, like she was still on drugs.
"Ok Amanda, this time, do not take more than one of these in six hours, it won't make you feel better instantly, it takes a few hours ok?" he saw Amanda nod, like a patient who's been through this too many times to count, and knew what the doc wanted to her to get her the hell out of here and back on to the street and on the heroin she probably craved. And little did John know that he wasn't too far of either.
He watched silently as Amanda was rolled out of her room, a small purse in her lap. He waved again, and she recognized him again, and waved slightly as she left. The orderly, a man who was named Zepp by his name tag said, "Oh her, don't worry about her, she'll be back in about three weeks tops, either like she was or dead. The cops have given up on her. Everyone has." He shrugged, and went back to mopping the floor. John went down to the gardens, then back to his room, where he waited for news of his own diagnoses, and then finally go back home, and back to his life.
But it wasn't going to be that easy. In Dr. Lawrence Gordon's office, he learned the truth.
Dr.Gordon sighed. "I'm sorry Mr. Kramer, but you are in the middle stages of a terminal brain cancer, and we caught it too late." He held up the x-rays, which showed a tumor, still fairly small, pressing into his brain stem. So that's what had been causing all of those headaches.
"We might be able to cure it with chemotherapy, but if that doesn't work, it will come back, and eventually cause cut off of circulation to your brain, or hemorrhaging. Either way, it looks like you may have about five years if you respond to some of the treatments…" John tuned him out after this.
What was he going to tell Jill, their friends? He kicked himself silently, their relationship was falling apart at the seams, was this the thing that was going to push her over the edge, was going to drive her away? He didn't know, he didn't want to know. But she had to know about this.
So after receiving some last minute instructions, he indeed went home, to see if he could reconcile himself to the woman he loved, and maybe start on building Billy, who was going to be what he left behind to remember him by.
Another 3-5 reviewsfor the next chapte would be nice...
