Chapter 2

"Excuse me? I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you just say that Kevin has a brain tumor?", asked a flustered Laura.

Kevin squeezed Laura's hand tight. He looked over at her face and saw the fear written all over it. Their lives have changed drastically. He feels like an imbecile. He promised Laura that nothing was going to be wrong, that the doctors weren't going to find anything up in his old noggin.

"I'm so sorry Dr. and Mrs. Collins. Kevin has a brain tumor. It is the cause of all his symptoms recently. Kevin, I have admired you ever since I began working here and it pains me to tell you this horrid news", said Griffin with a sorry look on his face.

Laura closed her eyes and shook her head. She said, "But, but, but I don't understand. Kevin practices a healthy lifestyle. He is never sick. I don't remember the last time he even had a cold. How could this happen? I mean, I don't understand how this could have formed. I need answers. I'm very confused. Maybe another set of tests need to be taken. Maybe there was a smudge on the scans. You could be wrong. Maybe we should get a second opinion."

Kevin shook his head and said, "No. Laura, please. Trust Griffin. He is great at his job. He wouldn't have told us that there was a tumor if he wasn't sure."

"No! No. He could be wrong! Doctors are wrong all the time. They are like the weathermen. Look! Doctors told me that I would never come out of my catatonic state and look at me now! I'm up, awake, aware, and living life. We need a second opinion", replied Laura with tears welling in her eyes.

Kevin turned towards Laura and responded, "Look at me. Laura, please look at me. I know that you proved your doctors wrong. And I am so grateful for that. But, Griffin is as good as it gets. He's telling the truth. Any other doctor would tell us the same thing. Now, we ask Griffin how bad the tumor is and if the problems are fixable. Please. We are a team. Let's fight this together. We don't even know how bad this tumor is yet. So, Griffin, give me the details. Benign or malignant? Where is it? And is it fixable?".

Griffin opened his file on Kevin and took a deep breath. He said, "It's malignant. We could tell by the depth of the tumor. Usually we would perform a biopsy, but it's so obvious Kevin. It's on the temporal lobe, but there is a root that goes deep into the medial temporal lobe, causing your memory loss."

Laura spoke up, "How do we fix it? Or is it too late?".

"Well, it appears the tumor has been growing for quite some time. That's why it has grown into your medial temporal lobe. It needs to come out immediately or else you'll begin to have seizures and soon you'll become immobile and face the inevitable, death," replied Griffin.

"But", said Kevin.

"But, there is only one surgery that takes out the malignant tumor and relieves you of your symptoms", said a hesitant Griffin.

"Well, let's do it. We need to save Kevin's life. Let's do the surgery as soon as possible", replied Laura.

Griffin took a deep breath and said, "Well, there could be one risky side effect to the operation. It's a huge risk."

Laura asked, "What is it? How bad is the side effect? I mean, if this surgery could save his life, we need to do it. No ifs, ands, or buts."

Kevin spoke up and said, "Laura, the side effect to this surgery is some memory loss. The doctors will have to dig deep into my medial temporal lobe and doing so might remove parts of my temporal lobe which contain my memories. No one knows what memories will be removed or remain intact."

Laura couldn't believe what was being told. To save her husband, they had to risk his memories. His memories of her, of Spencer, of Lucy, of his parents, all memories good and bad. "So, you're telling me that we have to risk your memories to save you? He can't have chemotherapy or radiation?", asked Laura.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Collins. I know this is hard to hear, for both of you. It is a very difficult decision to make. The only option of prolonging Kevin's life and getting him back to normal is this risky surgery. I'll give you two the room to discuss your decision. I'll be back in a few minutes", Griffin said leaving the room and giving Kevin a supporting pat on the arm on his way out.

Once the door closed, Laura jumped up from her chair and began pacing the room. "I can't believe this! You swore to me that nothing would be wrong! You told me not to worry! But my gut was right! And now the only way to save you is to risk your memories? You might forget me, our life together. You'll wake up and ask for Lucy Freaking Coe! I don't want to lose you, but no matter what decision we make might cause me to lose you!", Laura cried out with tears streaming down her face.

Kevin watched Laura pace around the room, spouting off her opinions one after the other. Although they have only been together for two years, he can read her like a book. He can tell that Laura is beside herself. She doesn't know how to cope with this kind of news. After a few months of bonding, Kevin realized that in their duo he is the level headed one and Laura is the emotional one. Not that being emotional is a bad thing, but in situations like this someone has to be level headed. Kevin can tall Laura's heart is breaking and she has a thousand different thoughts running through her head, but all he can think of is a way he can survive this and have more time with Laura. The only way to prolong his life is the surgery. Kevin interrupted Laura's spoken thoughts and said, "I'm doing the surgery."

Laura's jaw dropped. "But Kevin, what about the side effects? You'll lose some of your memories! You won't have parts of you that make you, you!", exclaimed Laura.

Kevin stood up and walked over to his wife. He stopped her from pacing and pulled her in his arms and held her. He just held her. Kevin felt Laura begin to sob and he rubbed her back up and down. He placed his head on top of hers and let her cry. He understands that outsiders would think that Laura is being self-absorbed, but he knows her better. He knows that having an emotional reaction is who Laura is and that she knows Kevin copes better when he has to take care of someone else. After Laura's sobs subsided, Kevin spoke up and said, "I would rather risk my memories than risk my life. I hope you understand that."

"But what if you forget me, or your dad, or even Lucy?", asked Laura.

Kevin smiled and said, "Well, you'll just have to remind me."

Laura replied, "But what if you don't believe me?".

"No more what ifs. We will face them if we need to. But, to ease your mind, I'll write myself a letter about my life today and I'll give it to Griffin. If I wake up and freak out about you being next to my bed, Griffin will give me the letter so I will calm down. Is that a deal?", said Kevin.

Kevin wiped Laura's tears. Laura smiled and said, "It's a deal, Doctor Collins."

They sealed their new deal with a kiss. Griffin re-entered the room immediately after their kiss. "So, have the two of you come to an agreement on the best course of action for Kevin?", asked Griffin.

"I'll be getting the surgery. A life lived with missing memories is better than no life at all", replied Kevin.

Griffin gave a melancholy smile. "I think you made the correct decision. I will schedule the surgery for two days from now. That way you can get all your ducks in a row. I promise Kevin that I will perform this surgery to the best of my ability because I admire you and I know what your life means to you. Do either of you have any more questions?", said Griffin.

"Should I fly Spencer in town? He can catch a plane tonight and be in Port Charles by tomorrow? You know, so Spencer can see the Kevin he knows one more time, in the event that Kevin wakes up and has no memories of Spencer", asked Laura with a depressed and worried look on her face.

Griffin replied, "It's up to you."

"But what's your professional opinion? I don't want Spencer or Kevin to regret not seeing each other in the event Kevin forgets him", said Laura.

"If my father were going to receive a risky operation with his memories of me on the line, I would want to see him one last time", responded Griffin.

Laura nodded and said, "Thank you. For everything. Well, um, Kevin if you are okay with asking Griffin anymore questions by yourself, I'm going to arrange Spencer's flight home and call the boarding school." Laura gave a sad smile and left the room.

As soon as Laura left, Kevin said to Griffin, "Before she calls and makes arrangements, she's going to find a corner and cry."

"How are you sure? Do you want to go after her? You can call me with any more questions if you need to", said Griffin.

"When you love someone, you know what their every move is going to be. Laura's the kind of person who puts on a brave face, but when she's alone she breaks down. She needs a few moments alone. I'll go after her shortly because I'm also the kind of person who needs a few moments to collect my thoughts before and after making big decisions", said Kevin.

While Kevin remained in Griffin's office, Laura found an empty corridor and collapsed to her knees sobbing. Laura was just beside herself regarding Kevin's situation. She finally found the man of her dreams. A man who loves her, supports her, makes her laugh, and doesn't judge her. She would either lose him for good if he didn't get the surgery or risk losing the Kevin that knows and loves her. Laura soon felt a body slump down next to hers and their arm wrapping around her body. Laura's teary face looked up and saw the man of her dreams comforting her in his own time of need.