Thanks so much for the reviews! This chapter is much longer, so can I be selfish and ask for another 10 (or more, of course) reviews? I love to know what you think and if you are enjoying the story. What do you like? Is there anything you would like to see? Did the reunion come too quickly? Review and let me know. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 2 – Testing 1, 2, 3
He allowed her to slumber on his shoulder until ten minutes prior to the appointment, at which time he gently shook her awake. Her eyes blinked, attempting to focus on her whereabouts. She was thoroughly confused for a few moments, something he had never seen before. Eventually she woke fully and sat up, straightening her hair and reaching for her purse.
She held on tightly to Declan's arm as they entered the medical building and took the elevator to the office of their destination. It was unlike any office Holly J had ever seen – save possibly on television. The decorations were beautiful, elegant, and clearly expensive. The waiting room was small, mostly because the patients who visited were not expected to wait. Smiling a bit too much for the redhead's taste, the smiling receptionist greeted them by name and led them directly into an office. "Do you want me to stay?" Declan asked. "I can wait outside." Holly J shook her head- she was not facing this alone. Despite the fact that they were separated, she still felt comfortable with him – she trusted him. Holly J allowed Declan to lead her to a sofa and he sat with her. Within moments, another smiling blond woman joined them, this one introducing herself as the doctor.
"Good morning, Miss Sinclair, Mr. Coyne," she said, reaching to shake their hands. Holly J and Declan both asked that she use their first names, and she sat across from them in an arm chair, ready to chat. She opened a file and Holly J could see her name on the newly minted folder. "Declan called yesterday with some information, but why don't you tell me about your symptoms?"
"I'm fine, really," Holly J claimed, her cheeks flushing. "I think everyone is overreacting. I've just been really stressed lately."
"Okay," Dr. Remarque said with a nod. She leaned forward a bit and looked Holly J straight in the eye. "If everyone is worried, let's put them at ease. In this room, nothing you say is viewed as a weakness. Tell me everything that feels different lately, even if it doesn't seem important. Little details together help us get to the big picture. No more qualifying things as "fine" or "okay."" She was firm but kind and made perfect sense. After a look of warning from Declan, Holly J pursed her lips and nodded; she was not going to argue with him in front of a stranger – especially when the responsible part of her brain knew she was being silly. "Start over. How do you feel differently today than you did, say – three months ago?"
Holly J began listing the litany of symptoms her friends had been noticing and reporting back to Declan. Yes, she was exhausted – pretty much all the time. She was having an extremely difficult time falling asleep and when she did, she never woke up feeling rested. Her head ached most of the time, along with muscle aches that plagued her after being on the go for more than an hour. She was nauseous but she attributed that to the headaches, which also made her sensitive to light and sound. She had trouble concentrating and was easily confused – she had fallen behind in all of her classes. As she admitted these things out loud for the first time, the words tumbled without end. Declan did not comment, knowing that she was trying very hard to keep it together and one glance or interruption from him might send her to the edge.
She was moody and sad a lot, which she blamed on the exhaustion and general aches. Her period had been missing for several months and her appetite was non-existent. Declan sucked in a hard breath when she admitted that she'd passed out – three times. Each time she had been alone but there had been several other close calls when she'd felt the sensation and quickly sat or laid down to avoid a spell. After she finished, her eyes were red from holding back tears. She was angry at Declan for making her face something she was completely terrified of and she was frustrated with herself for not being able to fight the symptoms before they'd taken over.
Dr. Remarque made notes and asked small questions to gain information about the severity and length of the symptoms. She asked about things that were happening at home, the condition of the new apartment she was living in, and if she'd changed any of her habits before the symptoms had appeared. They spoke for almost an hour, Holly J blushing profusely when she began asking questions about her cycle and experience. Declan smiled as he watched the blush creep to her hairline, earning himself an elbow in the gut.
"The symptoms are such a wide variety but they don't point toward a particular ailment. What I'm going to suggest," she said, finally, "is a full exam and battery of tests that will begin to rule out the obvious." She called her nurse into the room and introduced her as Lynne, asking Holly J to follow her to an exam room. Declan looked at her as she stood and she pulled at his hand, clearly indicating that he was going too. Lynne took her weight, height, pulse, temperature, and blood pressure. She led them into an exam room and handed Holly J a cotton gown, asking her to change and told her that she would be right back. Holly J shuttered as the door closed and she felt Declan's hand fall to her shoulders, rubbing gently.
"I'm scared," she said, her voice quiet and her expression unreadable since she was still facing away from him. He pulled her back into his embrace, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.
"I am too," he admitted. "But it's going to be okay. Whatever it is – we'll fix it. And when you have a clean bill of health, we are going to look back at this as unnecessary worry." Holly J nodded, stepping out of his arms and moving over to the wall where hangers were available. She slipped out of her sweater easily but was shaking, making the zipper on her dress difficult to negotiate. Declan stepped in and helped, averting his gentlemanly eyes as the dress came off and she quickly slipped into the cotton gown.
She was sitting on the exam table when the nurse returned, her bare feet swinging nervously. The nurse handed her a cup and pointed her to the bathroom, causing her face to redden again. When she returned, the doctor was in the room, talking quietly with Declan. "Relax," Dr. Remarque said, as soon as she looked at Holly J and saw that the girl was shaking. "Whatever this is, we're going to find it and fix it," she said. "All you can do right now is to try to calm down and let me do my job." Holly J attempted a smile but it was a grimace of sorts. "Hop up there and we'll get started."
Declan and Holly J both saw immediately why Dr. Remarque was so good at her job – she was extremely thorough. She checked everything – inspecting, palpating, and percussing in places no one had ever touched before, let along examined. She was gentle and thoughtful – leaving Holly J draped for modesty and quietly explaining everything she was doing. She tested the young girl's reflexes, her muscle strength, and her balance. Holly J was embarrassed when she was unable to touch her toes without getting dizzy. "I used to dance," she said. "I've never had trouble."
"We'll figure it out," Dr. Remarque repeated. "Hop back up there and lay back. I'm going to put a bit of pressure. If anything hurts or feels uncomfortable, you tell me." Holly J lay back against the table, trying to breathe normally as the doctor pressed along her pelvis, abdomen, and chest. Although she was covered, she felt terribly exposed. She closed her eyes and attempted to imagine being elsewhere. Her brain had reached Hawaii, with Declan in tow, when Dr. Remarque moved on to a breast exam. After finishing, she moved to write in Holly J's chart – as she had been doing all along. "Have you had a pelvic exam before?" Holly J's eyes opened wide and she sat up quickly.
"Is that really necessary?" She couldn't comprehend much more poking and prodding, especially since she had never had that type of exam before.
"I think it's wise, since you haven't had your period in a few months. And it will help to rule out any problems that may exist. We can have Declan move out to the waiting room," the doctor said, looking at the young man. He stood up immediately, looking at Holly J for direction.
"Stay," she said, hoarsely. "Up here," she said, gesturing beside her. He moved his chair to her side and held her hand as Dr. Remarque prepared for the exam. She had Holly J move to the bottom of the table and pulled out the stirrups, causing tears to spring to the girl's eyes. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to," she said, changing her mind. "This is embarrassing."
"You have nothing to be embarrassed about," Declan answered, moving in close to wipe away her tears. "If you want me, I'm here. I'm too busy looking at your beautiful face to worry a bit about what's going on down there." Holly J smiled and laughed a bit – he was too smooth and if the circumstances were different, she would call his bluff and tease him for being mushy.
"I want my diamond back," she said, with enough sincerity that his heart swelled.
"I'll get you the matching earrings," he promised. "I am in awe of your strength. I didn't know there was so much they could do to a person."
"Neither did I," Holly J said with a scared laugh. "I just want to it to be over."
"Close your eyes. Think about next summer. We'll sail the Mediterranean. Follow the Romantic Road through Europe. They have the most amazing little towns – some date back to the middle ages and still have walls and castles." He continued to tell her stories of the places they would visit together, distracting her from Dr. Remarque's examination. He squeezed her hand reassuringly the few times she grimaced and sustained his monologue to busy her mind.
"All done," Dr. Remarque said eventually. "Everything visually looks fine. I took a few samples for testing and we'll add those to the list. I think we've covered everything we could possibly check on at this stage," she said, smiling at Holly J. "You have been an extremely good patient, my dear. I will rush these results. The last thing I want to do is a blood draw. I'll send the nurse back in."
The nurse joined them a few moments later and had Holly J lay back again and set to work. Holly J gripped Declan's hand with the one that wasn't being leached and turned her head to face him, refusing to watch the process. After the third vial, she began to feel her stomach churning. "I'm going to be sick," she squeaked, scrambling to sit up.
"Hold on," the nurse said, finishing the vial she was on and quickly cleaning and covering the prick. She pulled a container from a nearby cabinet just in time. Holly J groaned as she realized what a sight she was. She emptied the contents of her stomach and continued to dry heavy for a bit longer. The nurse handed her tissues and then a small cup of water, giving her the opportunity to rinse the foul taste from her mouth. Holly J tried to clean up as best she could, despite the spinning action her head was currently experiencing.
After the nurse left, Dr. Remarque returned, a grim look on her face. "Sorry about that, kid-o," she said. She sat on a stool across from them, still looking apologetic. "I wish we could call it a day, but I need four more vials to run the tests."
Holly J raised her eyebrows, staring at the doctor wearily. "Are you serious?"
"Unfortunately. We're going to give you a few minutes to adjust – lay back, relax – and we'll try again."
An hour later, Holly J had been poked twice more and given up four more vials of blood, which caused an almost-fainting spell. She was forced to drink juice and stay lying down. Eventually, after her head stopped spinning and there was no imminent danger of vomit, the doctor rejoined them.
She sat on a stool across from Holly J, who sat up again on the table. "We're good to go with the lab tests – they've been rushed. In the meantime, I want you in bed. No school, no work, no activities. Bed rest. No matter what this turns out to be, your body is telling you that it's tired. So listen. You may leave bed to use the bathroom and bathe. You are to stay in bed until I say otherwise – understood?" Holly J nodded, wondering how she was going to explain that to her mother. "For the muscle pain and headaches, I'm going to give you a high dose ibuprofen. It's safe, but you need to take it on a full stomach so it doesn't make you sick. You can also try cold compresses for the headaches – that sometimes helps. And you need to eat, so I'm going to give you a low dose anti-nausea drug to help keep things down. I'll give you a list of different foods you can try that are easy on the stomach. Alright?" Holly J nodded.
"Any questions?" She shook her head. "No worries," the doctor said firmly. "If you have any questions before I get in touch, feel free to call. I will give you my direct line and pager. Take care, Holly J. I will see you soon." They both thanked her and she left, closing the door so Holly J could change back into her sapphire blue sweater and sapphire and white dress. She was exhausted and dizzy and still slightly nauseous – she was horrified but Declan had to help her more in the process of dressing than he had in undressing. He kissed her neck as he hooked her bra and fixed the straps, steadying her against him.
"Stop thinking," he said quietly. "Relax. Stop being embarrassed and prideful and let me help you." Once dressed, she straightened her hair and accepted Declan's arm, knowing her legs were too wobbly to carry her alone.