A/N: I'm so sorry it's taken me a few days to get this up. This scene is actually from chapter eleven. I was trying to post the deleted scenes in order, but I forgot I had this one. The beginning may seem a bit familiar, but after it's changed pretty drastically. I changed this scene, since, in the original version, I didn't have Natalie getting a job and wanted to add that aspect into the story. Hope you enjoy it!

Deleted Scene #10

***

Natalie nervously flipped through her fifth magazine. What was taking him so long? She had been sitting in the waiting room for over four hours, and she was starting to get a bit impatient.

Ever hour or so she had gone up to the old nurse and asked her Keith's process, but all she had replied with, in a sweet irritating voice, was, "These things take time, dear."

The waiting frustrated her so much that, at times, she wanted to scream, but she knew she had already made enough scenes in the hospital for her lifetime. So, instead, she tried to busy herself by looking through magazines, but it was no avail; she just couldn't seem to pay attention. Finally, she tossed the magazine she was currently flipping through onto the chair next to her, aggravated. There was no use reading something she wasn't even comprehending.

Instead, she sat there, staring at the wall in front of her, watching the hands on the clock move slowly. She tried to keep her mind on other things, but her thoughts kept drifting back to Keith. At first she had been mad at him when he had told her he didn't want her to stay in the same room with him while he was getting his treatment, but then as the minutes drew by, and she had nothing else to think about why he didn't want her to come in with him, she finally understand why he didn't want her to be there. He probably didn't want to seem weak front of her, and plus she knew it was probably really personal to him; she just hoped that in time he'd let her come and be with him.

A quiet voice brought her out of her thoughts, and she glanced up to see Dr. Normandy standing there.

"Where's Keith?" she asked, wondering why Keith hadn't met her in the waiting room like they had planned. "Is he all right?"

Dr. Normandy nodded. "Yup, he's just finished. He's still in the room he was getting his treatment in, since he said he's feeling really tired, and that he wanted to wait awhile before getting up. He asked me to come get you. You drove, right?"

"Yes, of course," she said, as she stood up, grabbing her belongings. As she followed Dr. Normandy down the hall she hesitantly asked, "Other than being tired, he's fine, right?"

"Yup, there is nothing to worry about, everything went smoothly," he informed as they stopped at door to a small room. "If he wants he can rest a bit longer, we surprisingly don't have another appointment for another half hour."

"Thanks," she smiled. "I'll let him know." Once he walked away, she placed her hand on the doorknob to the room, opened the door, and walked in. Keith was sitting in up in a small hospital bed. His left arm positioned on a pillow, which had a white bandage wrapped around his the elbow. She had to look away when she saw red spots of blood coming through the bandage. She made her way over to him, and when he turned to look at her, his eye half-open, she got a good look at him; he did look tired.

"Hey, you," said Natalie, as she stood next to him, giving him a kiss on the lips. "How'd you it go?"

"Fine," he yawned.

"How are you feeling?"

He blinked slowly, as if it was taking him all his energy to keep his eyes open. "Tired," he admitted. His eyes became too heavy for him and they closed against his will; he didn't try and open them again. Natalie sat down in the chair next to him, figuring he was going to rest for a few moments, but then a few seconds later he opened his eyes and asked, "Can we go home now?"

She stood up. "Sure, but Dr. Normandy said you could rest awhile."

He shook his head slowly. "No," he lifted his head and it seemed to Natalie that it took all of the energy he had left to do so. "I just want to sleep in a real bed. Please?"

"Of course." At these words, he let his head drop back onto his pillow, satisfied.

"Thanks," he said giving her a tired grin. She helped him out of his bed and they made their way to Natalie's car. Keith's movements were slow and sluggish, and by the time Natalie made it to the driver's side, after helping Keith get comfortable in his seat, his eyes were already closed, and he was half-asleep.

Keith slept the entire ride home, and when Natalie parked in the driveway, he still didn't wake. "Keith, we're home. Wake up," she called. He didn't even stir. "Keith," she spoke louder, gently shaking his shoulder.

At the movement, he woke up, blinking sleep from his eyes. "I don't wanna get up…I'm comfy," he said, staring at her.

"I betting you'll be even more comfortable in your bed," she said. "What do you think?"

A small smile graced his face as he said, "Yeah." Clumsily, he opened his door, and Natalie followed suit.

"You want anything to eat?" asked Natalie as they walked inside. "I can make you something and bring it to your room."

"No, I'm good," he replied, as he began ascending the stairs towards his room. When he entered, he took his shoes off, before getting into bed and snuggling underneath the covers."

When he was comfortable, Natalie said, "Is there anything I can get you?" She sat down next to him in bed.

"Just stay with me," he murmured tiredly, as he weakly found her hand and grasped it.

"Of course," she whispered. Once he knew she was staying, he closed his eyes and by the time she took off her shoes and got under the covers, he was already asleep.

"Sleep well, partner," she whispered.

***

Natalie was in the process of filling a water bottle, that night, when her mom arrived home from work.

"How's he doing?" was the first thing Caroline asked. Natalie finished filling up the bottle and while screwing a lid on turned to look at her mom.

"Okay. He's just really tired. He's been sleeping since we got home."

"So as far as how he's feeling, he's just tired? No nausea or anything?" Caroline wondered, setting her purse down on the kitchen table, before glancing in the cupboards, trying to figure out what to make for dinner.

"I guess," supplied Natalie. "Like I said, he's been sleeping the whole day, so I wouldn't really know. He just asked for some water, so I better go give it to him," she added.

Caroline smiled. "Ask him if he'd like some dinner. We can bring him a plate upstairs if he would like."

"Okay," Natalie said as she made her way up the stairs. She opened the door to Keith's room. He was sitting up in his bed, his back leaning up against the headboard. He looked just as tired as he had earlier in the day; she hoped he was feeling at least a little more rested. She handed him the water bottle which he took greedily, drinking half of it in one sip.

"Thanks, partner," he smiled as he placed the water bottle on the nightstand. She got on to the bed, cuddling up to him.

"No problem. How are you feeling?" she asked, glancing in his eyes. She hoped he would tell her the truth.

"Tired."

"Really? That's it?" she pressed.

He rolled his eyes as her statement."Yup."

"Good," she replied, still not sure if he was telling the truth. "If you don't feel well, you know you can tell me, right?" He nodded, but wouldn't look directly at her. "Just as long as you know," she kissed him on the cheek. "Mom wants to know if you want any dinner. We can bring you a plate up here."

At the look of disgust his face, Natalie knew his answer before he spoke, "No, I don't think I could eat anything right now. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, but you really should eat something. You haven't had anything to eat all day, except before the chemo."

"I can't," he replied.

"It's okay. You don't need to eat if you don't want to. It's just you might feel better."

He shook his head aggressively. "If I eat anything I think I might be sick," he finally admitted. He moved positions so he was lying back down.

"Are you sure—" Natalie started to speak, but the sight of Brooke nervously standing in the doorway of Keith's room made her stop. "Brooke, hi."

Brooke smiled nervously, her eyes landing on Keith's form. She took one hesitant step forward. "Is he asleep?"

Natalie shook her head. "I don't think so. He's just not feeling very well."

"I'm fine," argued Keith.

"Keith," said Brooke, surprising both Keith and Natalie. "Um..."

"Yeah?" he asked, but didn't budge. Natalie wondered if it was because he didn't want to look at Brooke, or was really feeling too sick to move much.

"I just…I know I treated you really badly and well…I just wanted to apologize…if that's okay."

At this, he lifted his head a bit to glance at Brooke, and giving her a small smile he said, "Yeah, we're cool."

"Thanks," breathed Brooke relieved. She gave Natalie a small grateful smile, while taking a few more steps into the room.

"So, did you come over here to apologize to Keith?" Natalie whispered, not sure if Keith was asleep or not.

"Partly, I also wanted to see if you would want to go to dinner tonight. I'm leaving for Notre Dame in a week."

"Oh, right." Natalie glanced over at Keith and sighed, she really wanted to go, but didn't want to leave Keith when he didn't seem to be feeling very well.

Before Natalie could speak this, Brooke said, "But, if you're busy maybe we could do it some other time," she commented. Natalie got up off the bed, and Keith didn't move, making her think he had fallen asleep.

"I would love to go," Natalie whispered, "but I don't think Keith is feeling very well."

Brooke smiled. "I totally understand. You should be with him."

"Partner, you should go," they both heard a tiny voice speak, causing her to jump up a little at the surprise of finding out he was still awake. "I'll be fine."

"Keith, I really think I should stay with you."

He sat up so he could look at her. "Go," he encouraged. "Please? I'm just going to sleep."

Natalie looked back to Keith and Brooke. "Are you sure?" she asked him again.

"Yes."

"All-all right…We'll be back soon," said Natalie uncertainly. He lied back down, and Natalie closed the door softly behind her.

***

Natalie and Brooke had decided to go to one of their favorite restaurants, Olive Garden. They had just figured out what they were going to order when their waiter walked over. "I'll have the Portabella Ravioli," said Natalie.

The waiter nodded, before turning his attention to Brooke. "I'll have the Spaghetti Bolognese," she said.

"Anything else?" asked the waiter, taking Brooke's menu as well.

"How about more breadsticks?" asked Brooke.

"Great," he said. "Your food will be out shortly."

Once they waiter left, Natalie took a sip of her Coke before saying, "One week left, and you're off to Notre Dame. I can't believe it. I still can't believe we have graduated from high school. Doesn't it seem weird?"

Brooke laughed. "Definitely. It seems strange to be going to college, when it feels like we just started high school yesterday. Everything is going to change; everything will be different."

"I know," sighed Natalie. "I think I'll kind of miss high school."

"Really?"

Natalie nodded. "Yeah, when we look back to it, it's going to be the easy times. I mean, now we have to start acting like adults, you know?"

"Yeah," started Brooke. "It's scary, but fun at the same time." Natalie smiled in agreement. "So, what are you doing about college, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm not going." Brooke didn't look surprised, so she continued with, "I just—I don't want to regret anything."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's say I was to go away to Duke or even spend my days at a Community College. And what if the chemo doesn't work and he—he were to—"

"Die?" supplied Brooke, nervously.

"Yeah, die. I would miss the last few months we could have had together, away at school or focusing on it at least. I just—I can't see any reason to go. Besides, it's just one year. I'll go at one point, but right now he's my life. And, I don't want any regrets."

"Wow, h-he's changed you. And I mean, it is for the best."

Natalie looked into Brooke's eyes. "Yeah?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I said it wasn't, but that was before I knew…I'm just so—"

"Hey," cut off Natalie. "Please, no more apologizing. We're fine now."

"I'm glad," Brooke smiled. "So, how's Keith doing? He didn't look too good today."

"Okay, I guess. He got his second chemo treatment today. He's doing the IV once a month and he has to take his oral chemo treatment, every three days."

"How'd that go? His treatment, I mean."

Natalie shrugged her shoulders. "He was really tired after; he slept the whole day. I don't know really know how he's feeling, other than he's tired; that's all he's told me."

"Maybe he's embarrassed."

"Maybe…" said Natalie thoughtfully. Honestly, the thought had crossed her mind, but she couldn't understand why he would be embarrassed around her for being sick.

Brooke nodded. "So, everything is good between you guys? I didn't realize he was...well living with. Your mom told me he was."

Their conversation was halted while the waiter brought over their food. Natalie took a bite of her ravioli, before answering, "Oh, well, he is. For awhile."

"Why?"

"His dad had to go away on business."

"What about his mom?"

Natalie tensed up; she hadn't realized Brooke didn't know that his mom had died. "Oh, well, she died, almost two years ago."

Brooke gave Natalie a sad look. "How?" she whispered.

"Car crash," stated Natalie solemnly.

"That's awful. He's sure had a rough life."

"You're telling me," sighed Natalie.

"It must suck, though, going through chemo around you." Natalie gave her a shocked look. "No offense, but I don't think I'd want to be that sick in front of my boyfriend's family."

"You're right. I just wish he wouldn't be, you know? I mean, it's not his fault he's sick."

"Just give him time," Brooke suggested. "I'm sure he'll start to feel more comfortable."

"I just hate to see him this way," frowned Natalie.

Brooke cleared her throat. "I don't want this to come out wrong or anything, but it's probably going to get worse. And, honestly, you'll have to be the strong one."

"I know," whispered Natalie, "and that scares me."

"You'll be fine. Keith, he's lucky to have you."

Natalie shook her head furiously. Brooke was wrong, way wrong. "No, I'm lucky to have him."

***