So, before you guys read, I just want to thank each and every one of you that share your stories with me. You amaze me with your stories of beating cancer, taking care of someone who did, or even losing someone. So thank you so very much for sharing those with me. I honestly cherish each and every story.
Now, I promised EdwardsEternal a triple update(tonight, tomorrow, tuesday), So fingers crossed! She made me all happy with her Nightingale update.
Thank you to Kyla713 for looking this over. My girls Heather, Nikki and packeh for reading for me, even if it made one of them cry.
Oh, and ADSP will be up soon, too.
I'll leave you to it.
*.*
It was dark by the time I opened my eyes and unwrapped myself from a still sleeping Bella. I knew that that I should wake her, that she needed to eat, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. I wanted her to sleep as much as she could, anything to keep her fears and worries from the forefront of her mind.
A soft knock was what finally made me leave her bed. My father was standing on the other side, holding two mugs of tea with a soft smile on his face. He handed them off to me and said, "I know you don't want to wake her, but she needs to eat and we need to talk."
I set the cups of tea down, and softly sat down on the bed next to Bella and began to nudge her. "Bella, sweetheart, wake up." She turned away from me, pulled the blankets over her head and mumbled a cute "no". I couldn't help but laugh at her as I nudged her again and pulled the covers back, preparing myself to meet a grumpy Bella. "Come on, sweetheart. My dad made tea and dinner is waiting for you."
Bella stretched, turned her head toward me and scowled. "I was comfortable and warm, you know."
"I'm sorry, I really didn't want to wake you. You did look very precious," I said and laughed. "But my dad needs to talk to us and we have hot tea waiting, not to mention food. Now, up you go. Don't make me have to tickle you, because I will."
Her eyes grew wide as a smile spread across her face. "I like moments like this with you. They seem so perfect, and yet at the same time, not enough." Her voice still sounded raspy from sleep, and I yearned to kiss her, but I had to let her lead whatever we would be. She already had so much on her mind, I didn't want to add to it, so I hugged her instead and kissed her cheek, whispering that I felt the same.
She then stood up and walked over to grab her cup of tea, took a sip and sighed. My dad was waiting outside her door, a welcoming smile on his face as he opened his arms for Bella and hugged her.
"Well, Carlisle, I must say, you just might make tea better than me," Bella said as she looked up at my dad.
"Esme taught me well." He laughed and led Bella to her living room where Charlie was sitting and waiting for us. "Why don't you sit and I'll get your dinner, so that we can have a chat."
Bella sat down next to her dad and sipped her tea. Charlie wrapped his arms around her, his face weary and you could tell he'd been crying at some point in the last few hours. He grabbed the blanket off the back of her couch and wrapped her in it, and she indulged him as she burrowed further into it.
My father came back and handed her an Indian take out container, and one to me as well. "Charlie said you loved Indian. Hope I ordered the right thing."
Bella nodded, took a bite and her soft moan went right through me. "So good. Thank you, Carlisle."
"So, I got in contact with a good friend of mine that I used to practice with, Dr. Marcus Doukas. He is an Oncologist OB/GYN, who specializes in ovarian cancer. I can honestly say that he is one of the best doctors in this field. I hope you don't mind that I called him."
"Not at all. I really do appreciate it. I honestly don't know what I'd be doing right now without you all. I would probably still be in my bed, wallowing." Bella then sat her container down, the majority of her food gone, which made me smile that her appetite was a bit better.
"You realize that he practices in Chicago?" Bella nodded, and my dad continued. "I am not trying to step on anyone's toes here. You mean a lot to Edward, therefore you mean a lot to me, as well as Esme. I want to help in any way that I can, and this is how I know best to do that."
"Thank you, Carlisle," Bella said as she cuddled up closer to her dad.
"So, here is what has taken place so far. I called him and told him your diagnosis. He requested we get your medical records sent off to him, and he has since scheduled you for an MRI tomorrow morning so he can better see what he is dealing with. Then we will have a conference call with him and go from there, okay?" My dad sighed and stood up, walked over to Bella and took her hand. "If you choose to stick with Marcus treating you, then we will help you sort out your move to Chicago. Your dad, unfortunately, being the chief in Forks, can't request leave just yet."
Charlie held her tighter as he tried to rein in his emotions. "I promise I will be there for every step that I can. You won't face this without me." Charlie kissed her head softly before hugging her again. "I might have already called Renee." I almost laughed at Charlie's facial expression when he admitted this, as if he was almost waiting for Bella to lash out at him.
I knew that Bella used to be close to her mom, but they hardly talked anymore. There were no hard feelings, but Bella has always felt closer to Charlie than Renee, especially in the last few years.
"So...you told her?" Charlie nodded. "And what did she say?"
Charlie sighed, rubbed the back of his head as he unwrapped his arms from around Bella in order to face her. "I think she doesn't want to believe it, to be honest. I don't think she realizes this is serious, and that you are sick. She told me to keep in contact, to let her know what is going on and that she will try and get some time off from work."
Bella nodded, her face blank from emotion. "Okay, well, at least that is something, I suppose."
We then decided to watch a movie. I honestly couldn't tell you what movie we ended up choosing. I was too into watching Bella, and thinking about how strong she really was and the future that I hoped we'd have. Sometime later, Charlie called into the station, saying he'd be in after Bella's appointment. We said goodnight and I followed Bella back into her room, only wanting to tuck her in.
"Will you stay?" she asked and I nodded, not at all able to ever say no to her. We cuddled and fell asleep, the alarm waking us up way too soon.
*.*
The waiting room at the imaging center was full, and Bella kept fidgeting, her knee bouncing with nervousness. I tried to keep her mind off things, but I knew had I been the one in her position, I would probably be worse and more stressed. My dad tried to engage her in conversation, but Bella was too anxious to give him more than one-worded answers. Charlie wasn't much different than Bella; he wore his worries in plain view in his eyes. You could just see that he wished he could take this all away for Bella, anything for her not to have to deal with it.
Eventually, her name was called. The nurse informed us that we had to remain in the waiting room, and the fear in Bella's eyes tore me apart. I wrapped her in my arms, whispering to her that she would be okay, that we'd only be apart a few minutes. I promised her that I would be right here waiting for her. She gave me a weak smile before following the nurse.
About twenty minutes later, she returned, looking tired and sporting bandage on her right arm. The nurse handed Bella papers as she burrowed into her dad's arms.
"She had a bit of a reaction to the dye we used for contrast, so she's a bit groggy from the Benadryl. Other than that, everything went according to plan. Have a good day."
Bella was quiet on the way home. She laid her hand on my shoulder as she looked out the window until we returned to apartment. We all got comfortable, turned on the television as we waited for Marcus to call. A few hours wait seemed like it dragged forever. My father's phone rang, causing Bella to jump a bit before Charlie got up and turned off the television.
My dad put it on speakerphone so that we could all hear it. "Hello, Marcus. Wasn't expecting you to call until later."
"In my orders, I put that it had to be rushed, results emailed to me immediately. I have the scan pulled up on my laptop now. Now, how is Bella doing?"
"I'm okay, thanks," Bella said, shyly.
"Before we begin, Bella, are you okay with them listening in and with me continuing your treatment?"
"Yes. I want them all to listen, and I trust Carlisle, so I trust you."
"Okay, then. Let's start forming our battle plan, yeah?" Marcus said as we heard papers being shuffled around in the background. "I am looking at your scan right now, and it seems you have a cluster of tumors on the right side of your uterus, in your right ovary. So, I think we need to plan surgery."
I looked over at Bella, tears beginning to slowly cascade down her pale cheeks. I reached out and held her hand with mine, squeezing to let her know I was there.
"How soon?" Bella asked as she held on to my hand tighter.
"Bella, I know you're scared, but you really have a good chance for survival right now. Don't dwell on the negatives. I know that's hard, but we need you and everyone around you to be positive, okay?" More papers could be heard being rustling around in the background and keyboard keys clacking away. "How soon can you guys get back to Chicago?"
Bella looked around at all of us and shrugged, seemingly leaving it up to us to decide. Charlie spoke up first. "I can't leave for at least a week. I need to sort out work. I want to be there when she does have surgery. But if it needs to be sooner, I'll do what I have to in order to get to her."
My dad then asked Marcus how soon he could schedule the surgery. "I have an opening for next Thursday, early morning. This surgery would be at least a few hours. With how her scans look, and the size of the tumors, the right ovary and almost half of the right side of her uterus will have to be removed."
"Oh, god..." Bella sobbed and we all rushed to her, wrapping our arms around her. My dad reassuring her that this would be good, it would have a good outcome, that she was strong.
"After surgery, we will then discuss chemotherapy. I am scheduling for you to be in my office Monday, that gives you guys the weekend to sort out arriving in Chicago."
We finalized our plans and hung up with Marcus. My dad left the room to call my mom, letting her know what was going on while Charlie and I held a crying Bella. Charlie was close to falling apart himself, as was I, but I knew I needed to be more stable for Bella. I needed to be a rock.
A short time later, my dad came back out and sat down in front of Bella, taking her hands into his. "Bella, dear, Esme has sorted us all a flight back to Chicago for tomorrow, that way you can get settled in and comfortable. I know it's fast, but we just want to get a move on and you comfortable."
"Okay." Bella nodded and hugged my dad. "So, I'll finally get to meet this amazing Esme you all talk about, then?"
"Yes, and I am to tell you that she plans to spoil you rotten." Such a typical thing for my mom to do, wanting to mother everyone. Yet...the fact she wanted to take care of Bella made my heart swell, and meant so much to me. Much more than I ever thought it would.
"You okay with this, dad?"
Charlie coughed, rubbed his chest, trying hard to keep his tears at bay. "Yes, I trust them, and I know that Carlisle is trying to do the best for you. I'll be there for your surgery, I promise. In fact, I'm gonna go call in to the station and let them know, and then I'll have to head back to Forks. You call me when you land, whenever you need something, even if it's just to talk, you hear me?"
We said goodbye to Charlie later that night, with the promises of constant updates and calls. He said he would call us once he had his flight and time off sorted as well.
*.*
Bella looked around her room, grabbing clothes and odds and ends to pack. "I don't even know what all to bring. My mind is a mess right now."
I grabbed her to me and hugged her. "Why don't you go out and sit with my dad. I will pack your clothes and favorite pillow, and a few books, along with your kindle, bath stuff and anything else I can think of. I'll put your laptop in a carry on. Now go on, let me worry about this, okay?" I kissed her forehead as she walked out toward my dad. I could hear him greet her and a laugh soon followed.
Bella called Charlie from the airport after we checked in for our flight. She seemed happy, chatting up my dad before our flight was called. We got into our seats, allowing Bella to have the window, while I sat next to her and my dad sat on the other side of me.
"What will I do about my apartment? Graduate school?" she asked, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
My dad turned to face her. "Your apartment will be paid. Charlie and I worked that out while you were in for your scan. Don't worry about that at all. As for school, we're barely into the summer. You have awhile to go yet, but you can always get in touch with your advisor and look into deferring a semester. Whatever you choose, Bella, we're right behind you."
She nodded and went back to being quiet as she looked out her window. I pulled out a crossword puzzle book and nudged her shoulder, lifting an eyebrow and handed her a pen. "I'm pretty sure you're smarter than me, so how about a little help?"
"Yeah. Okay, Edward." She shook her head and laughed.
We were wrapped up in our puzzles for the remaining of the flight, my dad chiming in every so often when he was sure one of our answers was wrong. The intercom came on overhead, announcing our arrival into O'Hare, so we began to put things away.
I could see my mom waiting at baggage claim, with a glittery sign welcoming Bella to Chicago. Instead of hugging me or dad, she made a beeline straight for Bella and wrapped her up in her arms, whispering words into Bella's ear, as she nodded and smiled.
"Are you hungry, dear? I thought we could maybe stop off at the Pier, grab a bite to eat, if you're feeling up to it. I also bought you a few things for your room back at Edward's," my mom said, grabbing Bella's hand as she tugged her towards the car park.
The welcome both of my parents had for Bella did something to me that I couldn't put into proper words. There was just something about seeing both my mom and dad holding on to Bella that made me realize that none of us would be able let her go, that she meant too much to all of us now.
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How are you all?