Part II
Rocky entered the Youth Center and looked around for his friends. He saw Tommy and Adam teaching a small group of youngsters in the basics of Karate and felt a surge of guilt. He had forgotten all about the beginner's class, he'd agreed to help Tommy out weeks ago. Damn. Across the wide floor he spotted Aisha and Katherine in a mini-skirted group of girls practicing some cheer or another. It didn't really matter, all Rocky saw was tanned, toned legs whipping about in sync. That was a sight guaranteed to cheer up any male under the age of one hundred.
Sitting alone at their favorite table was Billy, clearly engrossed in some complicated calculations he was working out on a legal pad. Rocky took a seat with a word of greeting to the team genius, not rebuffed at all when the blond just gave a wordless grunt in reply. The Red Ranger simply sat back and waited for someone to finish their activity and be ready to engage in conversation. Turned out Billy was finished first.
"Sorry Rocky, I was really having a hard time making that calculation work the way I wanted it to," the Blue Ranger apologized when he finally turned his attention from the cramped formulas filling up the sheet of paper in front of him. "But I think I may have found a way to increase the Mega Zord's power by as much as 38 percent," he added sotto voice.
"No problem. I could tell you'd been working on it a while," Rocky assured him.
"Oh? And how could you tell?"
"Easy enough. You smoothie reverted back to being a juice," Rocky grinned, gesturing to the glass of pale red-orange fluid.
"Ew. Guess I should order another. Want anything?" Billy offered.
"No thanks," Rocky replied, biting back the urge to tell his friend all the things he wanted but couldn't have. Like the option to play football, his health back, his future.
Billy stood considering the Red Ranger for a moment, then turned to get his drink. Though far from the most socially adept of the rangers, Billy was incredibly observant and had seen Rocky's not always subtle distancing from the group in the last week or so. It concerned him not a little.
He returned to find Rocky watching the youthful Karate students under Tommy and Adam's tutelage with a wistful expression. That only served to increase Billy's concern, so much so that he had to ask.
"Rocky, is something wrong?" Billy queried, looking Rocky in the eyes with an intensity he rarely showed outside the Command Center
"No, what could be wrong?" Rocky started, but it was clear the Blue Ranger wasn't buying it even as he was speaking. "Okay, yeah, something's wrong, but let's wait for the others, okay?" he conceded.
"Fair enough," the blond agreed, sitting back but still contemplating his teammate. "We've all been worried, actually." He added.
"Um, thanks, I guess," the Hispanic youth replied, feeling oddly touched by that.
He turned his attention back to the Karate class just in time to see Tommy dismissing his youthful students. He and Adam immediately headed over to join the other two boys, smiling their greetings at Rocky, who was apologizing before the team leader had even had a chance to take his seat.
"Oh, Tommy, I'm so sorry. I forgot all about the class," he admitted with a shamefaced look. "I didn't mean to let you down."
"Don't worry about it, man, Adam was here to help out," Tommy reassured him easily. "We kind of got the idea you had other things going on in your life," he added with his own searching look at Rocky.
"Yeah, well, I'll tell you about that when the girls are done," Rocky told him. "How's this crop of beginners looking?" he asked with a grin. Tommy always had amusing ideas as to the student's abilities or lack thereof, and soon the White Ranger was telling them his take on how well – or not well – the more notable students were doing. He was still talking when Aisha and Katherine joined the group.
Ernie dropped off refills for everyone then bustled off, busy as always with the afterschool crowd. Without a word the five teens turned their attention to Rocky, all of them seeming to sense that he had something important to tell them. He squirmed a bit under the scrutiny, but squared his shoulders and gathered his thoughts.
"I guess you guys have kind of figured out something's up with me, right?" he asked, receiving five identical nods of agreement. "Well, last week I went to the Family Health Center for my football physical, and the doctor there – Dr. Robles – he didn't like how my arm was hurting. Remember how I said I must have strained it or something? Anyway, he had it X-rayed, and he didn't like that either, it showed a lump, so he did a bunch of blood work and he didn't like THOSE results either. So then I had a biopsy Friday evening and on Monday he confirmed that I have bone cancer in my left arm. They will operate on it Friday morning and remove the tumor and replace the removed bone with a titanium rod. Then I'll see the oncologist, but both Dr. Robles and Dr. Delmar – he'll do the surgery, he's a great guy – say I'm almost definitely have to have chemotherapy as well. I just told Zordon, he's going to contact Zack's cousin Curtis to take the Red Powers while I'm sick,' he concluded almost breathlessly, staring at the napkin his nervous hands were busy shredding, afraid to see his friends' reactions.
"Oh, Rocky," Katherine breathed, tears filling her sapphire eyes. "I'm so sorry."
Aisha didn't speak at all but stood up and went over and hugged her longtime friend, her feelings too jumbled, too big, to put into words at that time.
Adam swallowed past the boulder that seemed to be lodged in his throat and managed to get out his question. "Have they…do they know what your chances are?"
"Oh, yeah, sure. Really, I'm going to be fine. The chemo is just a precautionary measure, just in case some rogue cells are wandering around my body looking for a new home. The tumor is really very small, they sound really sure it's an early stage cancer. I'll be fine. It's just kind of …I dunno….sucky that I had this happen, you know?"
"'Sucky' doesn't even begin to cover it," Tommy groused. He hated things like this, his instinct always was to find answers, fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. Cancer was an enemy he couldn't knock out with a perfect roundhouse kick. He preferred an enemy that could at least be seen and confronted.
"Hey, could Zordon help you?" Tommy asked suddenly, hope lighting up his face.
"I asked. It's that personal gain problem. He probably could help, but then we'd all end up powerless and Zedd and Rita would take over Earth, so that's not a very good plan."
"When is your surgery on Friday? And how long will you be in the hospital," Billy wondered.
"I have to be there at 6:30 that morning; I think he wants to operate about eight or so. And Dr. Delmar told my mama that I'd probably be released from there on Monday if everything goes well. I can come back to school the next week. Mama is calling the school to arrange my absence," Rocky reported.
"Then we can come see you that afternoon, right?" Aisha asked, returning to her seat.
"I guess so. I don't really know how it all works; I've never been in the hospital before."
"You'll be a little dopy from the anesthesia," Billy informed him. "You probably won't remember much of what happens that day. By Saturday you'll be back to normal, or should be," he added.
"You've had surgery?" Tommy asked in some surprise.
"I had an appendectomy when I was thirteen," Billy supplied. "I still remember waking up to find my father eating the ice cream they'd sent for me. Seems he'd been so worried he forgot to eat. The nurses gave him all sorts of grief for eating my food. But the rest of what happened that day? A complete blank."
"Really? Huh, that seems strange, not being able to remember part of a day," Rocky commented with a frown. "I don't like the idea of not remembering."
"My dad told me it was actually a good thing since you may have some pain after the surgery. You won't remember it so it won't bother you. That's what he told me anyway." Billy supplied with an encouraging look. "We'll come see you anyway."
The others were quick to agree, which made Rocky feel much better. Though he was still apprehensive about the surgery he felt more optimistic than he had since the doctors had first said the dreaded 'c' word. One thing being a Power Ranger had taught him was the value and power of teamwork.
*PRPRPRPRPRPRPRPR*
Friday was a bright, clear California spring day; the birds were just announcing the rising of the sun when Rocky and his parents drove to Angel Grove Memorial Hospital. A pile of paperwork was quickly completed and the worried family was led to the pre-op area where Rocky was told to strip down and don the requisite hospital gown. As soon as he was settled in a bed the nurses stared setting up two IV lines, one in each arm. The teen didn't flinch when they stuck in the needles, and he kept up a steady stream of quips and questions with the young nurses, who understood completely that the young man was actually trying to cover his fear of the upcoming procedure.
"Rocky, I'm going to start giving you a sedative, you'll start to feel very sleepy, so don't fight it, just go with it. When you wake up you'll be in your room and the surgery will be all over," the nurse told him.
"Okay, thank you…" he paused and concentrated on her name tag. "…Nancy." He finished, already feeling a bit groggy.
"That's it, just let the medicine do its job, "she encouraged him, smiling at how young he seemed as sleep overtook him. With him now sleeping she let a frown of displeasure show; hell, he WAS young, she thought. Too damned young to be having cancer. She finished assisting with the pre-op prep, then sent out a silent prayer that the surgery would be a success and this young patient would have a full recovery.
*PRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPR*
The surgery went without a hitch, the tumor was removed and the titanium rod was screwed in place. Rocky's vitals remained strong and steady throughout, and he came to in Recovery quite quickly. Still groggy and disoriented he was moved to his room, where his relieved parents could watch over him with renewed hope. Dr. Delmar had explained that they had removed the entire tumor they could see, in addition they excised some extra on each side, plus had removed a number of lymph nodes, which they would test for cancer cells. This would tell them if the cancer had spread. He also recommended a PET scan to look for other tumors, though he hastened to assure the DeSantos' that it was mostly a precautionary measure. The Oncologist, Dr. Kelso, would give them more information when he met with them the next week. But for the surgery part, he assured them it could not have gone better.
By mid-afternoon Rocky was more or less conscious, though his concentration and ability to carry on a conversation were hardly up to par. As promised the other Rangers came by, coming to the room in groups of two or three to accommodate the hospital rules, though they were somewhat lenient, especially in cases such as Rocky's where keeping up his spirits was so important. His parents were more than happy to see their son's friends' show of support.
"How you feeling, man?" Tommy asked, looking at the two IVs still in use, one providing fluids and pain meds, the other pumping in some antibiotics to guard against possible infection. Add in the finger monitor for oxygen saturation and the oxygen tubes in his nose and it was a little disconcerting at best.
"Fine as frog's hair," Rocky replied with a slightly loopy giggle. "Oops, no offense Adam," he added, referring to the Asian teen's animal spirit.
Adam favored his best friend with an indulgent smile, so thrilled to see him okay after being so worried he couldn't be bothered to be offended no matter what the other teen might say.
Rocky's parents looked a little baffled by the exchange, but chalked it up to a combination of Rocky's usual bizarre humor and the lingering effects of the anesthesia. Tommy left after a few minutes, to be replaced by Billy. Then Billy and Adam gave way to Aisha and Katherine. By the time they left Rocky had dozed off again, courtesy of the pain meds and residual anesthesia.
*PRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPR*
Monday saw Rocky discharged from the hospital with a sheaf of papers outlining what he could and could not do for the next few weeks as he recovered from the surgery. That afternoon the Power Ranger team stopped by en masse to provide homework assignments, notes, encouragement and sundry news from school and Zordon. Curtis came along, having accepted the Red Ranger duties. At first he said little and hung back a bit, feeling out of place and awkward in the presence of the former Ranger. But Rocky quickly put him at ease, remembering his own not so distant period of being a new Ranger.
Between them Adam and Billy shared all of Rocky's classes, so they had notes and information on each ready for the recovering youth. Rocky made a show of displeasure at having to do homework while recovering, but it was all for dramatic effect. In reality he was more than happy to have the normalcy of schoolwork to fill the days, the last thing he wanted to do was sit around and worry about the upcoming chemotherapy and where else the cancer may have spread to. Much better to research the War of 1812 or work out the value of A minus C times B squared.
He had a PET scan scheduled for Wednesday, then his first official appointment with Dr. Kelso on Friday. They'd met the intense oncologist on Sunday afternoon, just a quick meet and greet basically, after which he'd ordered the scan to be scheduled along with the office visit. He'd spent scarcely ten minutes with the family, but he'd left them practically spinning from the burst of information he'd provided.
"It was like meeting Alpha 5 paired with Coach Schmidt," Rocky told his friends, referring to the football coach at Angel Grove High. "Just massively intense and weirdly maniacal."
"Sounds fun," Aisha joked, working to keep the visit cheerful. "You could sell tickets to that."
"Rather not," Rocky shot back with an exaggerated frown. "It's bad enough, I don't need an audience. What's Zedd and Rita been up to?" he asked, wanting the subject changed to something else.
"Sent down the Carp A Diem monster yesterday. Billy was not happy fighting that," Tommy reported, giving his longest time teammate a teasing grin. Though Billy's fish phobia was mostly a thing of the past, they hardly rated as his favorite creatures.
"Really? 'Carp a Diem'? Zordon really needs to work on those names," Rocky groaned. "How'd it go?"
"The wolf and bear zords both needed repairs after, but nothing major," Billy supplied, as always more focused on the technical aspects of their duties.
"We defeated it fairly quickly, with little property damage and no injuries," Katherine added, smiling fondly at Billy's perspective. "Curtis did very well, " she added with an encouraging look at the newest Ranger
"How's it feel to be a Ranger?" Rocky asked the other youth with a warm smile.
"It's awesome, man. I still cannot believe I'm a Power Ranger. It's unreal. Like a fantasy come true," Curtis gushed, then stopped, abashed as he realized the cost of his becoming a Ranger.
"Hey, it's okay to be excited. I was. I understand," Rocky assured the embarrassed youth as the others watched with varying degrees of discomfort. "It has nothing to do with me being sick. It IS exciting to be a Ranger, embrace it. Enjoy it. I did. Just know that once I'm well again I'm coming back for my powers," he added as menacingly as he could.
"You got it, man. I know it's on loan only," Curtis reassured him very sincerely. "I can't say I'll likely be happy to give up the powers, but I'll be thrilled to see you back."
"Well, now that's settled, on to the most important question. Did anyone bring me a Jolt Cola?"
To be continued…..