Francesca lay perfectly still as she felt her body move into the tunnel. Heath anxiously watched through the window, he knew how much Francesca hated these kind of tests.
"Ok Mrs Braxton this shouldn't take too long, now try and relax for us" a nurse's voice echoed. Francesca took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Meanwhile Heath and the doctor were stood outside "She's doing extremely well Mr Braxton. Most women her age would have fallen apart by now"
"Yeah she is pretty incredible" Heath smiled weakly "Hey doc, just wondering if the tests do confirm she is going blind what will that mean?" the doctor looked a little confused "What I mean is how long will it take before…you know its goes completely"
"Its hard to say I am afraid, as you know the symptoms are irreversible. However there are some things we can do to slow down the process so to speak" The doctor explained "Whatever the outcome of today Mr Braxton there will be help and support available for you and your wife, we'll help you deal with this"
Heath didn't reply he just turned back to look through the window, his eyes were fixed on Francesca's shaking hand as she came out of the tunnel.
x-x-x
Brax was just walking along the promenade with Taylor in the pram when he bumped into Charlie "Hi" Brax smiled.
"Hey" Charlie blushed "You on babysitting duty?" she asked.
"Yeah just for a couple of hours while his mum is at hospital" Brax replied without thinking.
"Hospital" Charlie gasped "Is she ok?"
"Yeah she just needs to have some tests" Brax sighed he couldn't believe he had told a stranger his family business.
"Oh right, well I hope she goes on ok" Charlie smiled weakly "I'd better go I'm running late"
"Oh ok" Brax replied boyishly, he watched as Charlie walked away from him "Well dude Uncle Brax blew that one didn't he" he continued to walk until he heard someone shouting his name in the distance. As Brax turned he saw Kim jogging towards him.
"Hey sorry to bother you" Kim gasped trying to get his breath back "But I was wondering if you knew where Francesca was"
Brax just frowned at Kim "I've been trying to contact her but her phone is off" Kim explained.
"Maybe she doesn't want to speak to you" Brax snapped.
"She was meant to be meeting me an hour ago" Kim sighed. Brax was about to walk away but he couldn't help feeling sorry for Kim.
"She's at the hospital with Heath" Brax said "They're meeting me in the Diner in an hour"
"Ok thanks" Kim smiled before turning and walking away.
x-x-x
Heath sat close to Francesca as they waited for the doctor to come back in the room "Thank you for rushing this through" Francesca smiled "We really appreciate it"
"It's ok" the doctor replied "I didn't have any appointments this afternoon so…" he added as he opened the folder with Francesca's results in. Heath noticed he looked shocked.
"What wrong?" he asked without thinking. Heath felt Francesca's grip tighten around his hand. He glanced at her and smiled "Together whatever, remember?" Heath reminded her of a promise they had made to each other.
Francesca nodded "Is everything ok?" she was hoping for good news.
"I'm sorry Mrs Braxton" the doctor sighed "Its not good news I'm afraid"
"Ok" Francesca stuttered nervously.
"The results show that your vision is starting to fade, more so in your left eye at the moment" the doctor explained.
"So what does that mean?" Heath asked.
"It means that eventually your wife will lose all her sight" the doctor said sympathetically.
Heath inhaled and exhaled deeply, he had no idea how to react to this kind of news "How long?" Francesca finally said causing Heath to look at her "How long will it take to lose it completely"
"I'm afraid there is no time scale on this, in some cases it can take 10-15 years" the doctor tried to reassure them.
"And what about other cases?" Francesca pushed.
"Some cases it can take 5-10 years" the doctor replied "I'm sorry but unfortunately we have no way of knowing how long this will take, the only thing we can do is offer you some medication that might help slow the process down a little"
"More medication" Francesca sighed Heath could feel her hands shaking, but he realised instantly it was more about shock than Francesca's condition.
x-x-x
Brax had been waiting in the Diner for almost half and hour, when Francesca and Heath finally arrived "So what did the doc's say?" Brax asked hopefully. Heath just shook his head and watched as Francesca carefully took Taylor out of his pram.
"Hello baby" she whispered as she gently kissed his head "Mummy loves you so much" she added as she started to stand and put him back into his pram "I'm gonna take him for a walk"
"Ok" Heath nodded "Did you want me to come?"
"No you stay; I just want a few minutes to myself" Francesca smiled weakly as she pushed the pram out of the diner and towards the promenade.
Francesca stopped on a bench and just sat for a while "Hello dear" a voice said from behind her "Is everything ok?"
"Yeah" Francesca sniffed and wiped her eyes.
The voice belonged to Colleen; she sat beside Francesca and looked towards the water "It's so peaceful isn't it, the water"
"Yeah it is" Francesca replied before breaking down in tears.
"Oh" Colleen gasped as she foraged in her bag for a tissue "I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you" she added as she handed Francesca the tissue.
"It's ok its not you" Francesca smiled.
"I hope that husband of yours hasn't been upsetting you" Colleen said without thinking.
"Why would you think that?" Francesca snapped "Why does everyone always think that. Look I know Heath has a reputation of being a dog, but you don't know him like I do. Heath Braxton is the kindest, sweetest most caring man I have ever met…"
"I'm sorry" Colleen sighed "I have no place to judge, not many people were a fan of my Les either…mind you he did run off with some floozy"
Francesca stared at Colleen "But that's not important, what I am trying to say is. It doesn't matter what people think as long as you are happy and you believe you are doing what's right for you…"
"Thank you" Francesca smiled "You know you're not really an old bat"
"Well that's good to know" Colleen chuckled a bit, suddenly the women were interrupted by Taylor stirring "You should see to your little boy and don't worry I won't destroy Heath's reputation of being a good for nothing River Boy"
"Thanks I appreciate that" Francesca grinned as she watched Colleen walk away; she also spotted Heath walking towards her.
"What did she want?" Heath asked curiously "You feeling better?"
"Not really" Francesca smiled "But I will…you know why?"
"Why?" Heath exhaled as he sat down and put his hand on Taylor's head.
"Because we have you" Francesca grinned as she kissed Heath's cheek and then Taylor's head. Heath draped his arm around Francesca's shoulders and sat with her for a while.
Sorry for this delayed update I lost my mum recently to cancer and have been a bit anyhow. But I am back on track now. So please review I would love to hear your thoughts x x x
