Troy and Sharpay had both been stunned by their daughter's question. Sharpay was so taken aback at first that she didn't know what to say. She was absolutely speechless and frozen on the spot. Troy immediately stepped in, something that he had been doing a lot lately when it came to talking to their children. He explained as best he could that he and Sharpay were not getting back together again and that he was sorry she was confused. Once she found her voice again, Sharpay of course added that they both loved her and her brothers very much. The kids were their number one priorities and they would always take care of them. Ella nodded and said goodnight to both of her parents quickly before sleep overtook her. Troy definitely knew it was time to leave after that very awkward moment. So with a quick goodbye to his soon to be ex wife, Troy left his former home a little bit shaken but definitely upset. Upset that they had given Ella the wrong impression and upset that they were in fact not getting back together again. After Troy left, Sharpay checked on Ella before going to bed herself. She feared that Ella might still be awake and quite heartbroken after that little exchange. To her surprise, Sharpay found her daughter sleeping quite peacefully. After going to her own bedroom, Sharpay excused herself from her nightly bedtime rituals and just fell into her bed, exhausted after everything that had happened today.
As promised for the weekend, Chad and Troy took the boys to see the new Transformers movie while Taylor and Sharpay took Ella to see a new Disney Princess movie. All parties had an enjoyable time and it was nice for the Boltons to have a happy day and not dwell on Evan's upcoming biopsy results. Troy and Sharpay were set to go to Evan's doctor's office on Monday for the official results. On Sunday Evan and Ella's basketball games were cancelled due to a bad thunderstorm. Sharpay was somewhat pleased because she wasn't sure if Evan should be playing at all, if he was indeed sick. The last thing that he needed was to overdo it on the basketball court. Although, she was also a little disappointed because she had wanted to see her children actually play with their teammates. She knew how much they loved the game and how good they actually were, just like their dad. Due to the thundering rain, Sharpay and the children spent the day making all sorts of cookies. On Monday, Evan and Ella brought in a couple dozen to their fellow campers. While Aidan on the other hand, brought a few for himself and his grandmothers who were going to watch him at Lava Springs while also working on the anniversary party.
Sharpay grabbed her purse and her keys before heading out the front door. She was more than surprised to see Troy on the other side of the door with his finger on the doorbell, just about to press it.
"Troy, what are you doing here?" Sharpay questioned immediately.
"I thought we would ride together," Troy replied; he didn't want Sharpay to drive to the office by herself. Well actually he didn't want her to drive home by herself; he knew that she wouldn't be in the right frame of mind.
"I can go by myself Troy, I'm a big girl you know," Sharpay responded as she placed her hands on her hips, quick to get defensive.
"I know that Pay," Troy said slowly realizing his mistake of calling her by his favorite nickname for her. Since they were no longer together, he somewhat felt that he didn't have the right to call her that anymore. "Look Sharpay, I didn't want to go alone alright," he half lied, he did want to be with her. He needed the support just as much as she did but he was also extremely worried about her. Sharpay opened her mouth to speak but Troy cut her off, "Lets not fight about this, we'll be late if we do."
"Fine," Sharpay gave in with a long reluctant sigh or least it appeared that way. She hadn't wanted to go alone either but there was no way that she was going to ask Troy. There was no way that she was going to appear all vulnerable to him.
They climbed into Troy's SUV and drove to their son's pediatrician's office. Just like before the ride felt longer than a lifetime. Troy was seriously beginning to wonder if the car ride would ever end. Although a never ending car ride wouldn't be such a bad thing, it would prolong the inevitable bad news that they were about to hear. They drove in complete silence but it was anything but comfortable. They were forced to wait in the waiting room for about half an hour because the doctor was stuck with an emergency case. Sharpay pretended to read People magazine while Troy pretended to read the newspaper. But both were sick with worry and anticipation, leaving them both unable to concentrate on anything else. Sharpay was going through the motions of turning the pages but she barely read any of the words on the pages. Or on the off chance that she actually did, she read the same sentence for about five minutes straight. Her mind just wasn't into it and neither was Troy's.
"Mr. and Mrs. Bolton," Amy the head nurse called out, startling both Troy and Sharpay.
Troy and Sharpay immediately dropped their periodicals at the sound of their names be called. Immediately Sharpay's heart began to beat faster and suddenly the room was getting smaller. She barely noticed Troy take her hand and help her stand up. Troy never let go of her hand so she was forced to follow him back to the doctor's office.
"Have a seat, Dr. Banks will be with you in a few moments," Amy smiled politely before shutting the door, giving them some privacy.
"You ok?" Troy asked, once they were both seated and Troy took notice of her flushed face.
"It's just a little hot in here," Sharpay replied as she unbuttoned the top button on her white blouse.
"I can get you some water from the reception area," Troy began to stand up but Sharpay's hand on his arm stopped him. "What?"
"You know that's not going to help," Sharpay said solemnly as she looked away, unable to meet his face.
Troy sighed before sitting back down, "I know. Sharpay, we're both in this…" Troy wasn't able to finish his sentence because Dr. Banks walked into his office.
"Sharpay, Troy," Dr. Banks walked into his spacious office. Normally greeting Sharpay and Troy was a treat for the distinguished doctor but this was an entirely different occasion. Dr. Banks had actually been Sharpay and Ryan's pediatrician when they were children. He was also a dear friend to Vance Evans and had known him since they were both at East High, eons ago. Now years later at age 60, he was treating Sharpay's children and had been since their births.
"Hi Dr. Banks," Troy and Sharpay both replied, however without the usual enthusiasm in the greeting.
Dr. Banks took a seat at his desk, across from Troy and Sharpay. He had grabbed Evan's file and placed it down on his desk. There really wasn't a need because he already knew the results. "How've you been?"
Troy was about to respond when Sharpay suddenly began to speak. "Dr. Banks, I know that you're just trying to be pleasant and delay the inevitable but can you please just give us the results," she said breathlessly; it took a lot out of her to say that.
Dr. Banks nodded his head solemnly at his friend's daughter. Sharpay was like a daughter to him as well, he watched her bloom from a cute little spunky girl to a beautiful and amazing successful woman. "There's no easy way to say this but Evan's biopsy results came back positive. He has acute lymphocytic leukemia." It truly broke Philip Banks heart to have to reveal the news to Troy and Sharpay.
Sharpay took a deep breath as Troy clutched her shaking hand tightly, "Okay," she said slowly, trying desperately not to cry. Although that wasn't entirely true, she wasn't sure if she wanted to scream or cry at the devastating news. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her. Even though she had somewhat been expecting the news, nothing could have ever prepared her for how she would feel when the words slipped past the doctor's mouth. She'd always had a little glimmer of hope in the back of her mind that the results would be negative; that the whole damn thing was one big mistake.
Troy was reeling from shock as well and was suddenly feeling rather dizzy. It was taking everything in him to sit up straight but he was trying to be strong for Sharpay. He couldn't fall apart in front of her, definitely not. He had been so optimistic, not ready to believe that his son was actually sick. But now he couldn't pretend anymore, it was true, written in black and white, Evan had leukemia. His six year old son had cancer, his six year old son. Evan was just way too young to be going through this. Troy closed his eyes trying to gather his thoughts, "What next?"
"I want you two to know that acute lymphocytic leukemia is the most common form of childhood leukemia's. It has a very high survival rate and I have no doubt in my mind that Evan will be able to fight this successfully," Dr. Banks replied. "I'm going to refer you to an associate of mine, he's a great pediatric hematologist here in the building actually. He'll discuss Evan's options with you as soon as possible."
Sharpay nodded, unable to find her voice. For one thing, she was afraid that if she would open her mouth, she would throw up.
Unfortunately Troy had to disconnect one of his hands from Sharpay's to grab the envelope that Dr. Banks had to give him. "He's a good doctor?" Troy asked, knowing that he sounded like a scared little boy…but it was hard to put his thoughts into sentences at the moment.
"One of the best in the field," Dr. Banks replied. "He'll take good care of Evan, I won't steer you two wrong. I want the best for Evan as well."
"Thank you," Troy responded. They talked for a few more minutes and Dr. Banks said that he would be in touch. He wanted to be informed on Evan's condition as well. Dr. Banks also gave them so pamphlets on talking to your children and families about cancer. He also said he'd be happy to help them but it was best to be as honest as possible with Evan when telling him about his condition. Sharpay didn't speak one word during the rest of the time they spent in with Dr. Banks.
"Are you alright?" Troy asked the very silent Sharpay as they left the doctors office.
Sharpay shook her head 'no' and made a beeline for the nearest bathroom in the hallway. Once Sharpay finished emptying the contents of her stomach, she walked back into the hallway where Troy greeted her with a newly bought bottle of water and a box of crackers.
"Thanks," Sharpay spoke for the first time as she graciously took the bottle from Troy's hands. "It just came over me so suddenly."
"Let's sit you down Sharpay."
"No, no I'm fine now, I just want to leave. Can…can we go?"
"Are you sure?" Troy questioned, his worry for her had immediately intensified the second she left his side. He almost followed her into the ladies room but thought better of it in case there were other women in there. "I could go get Dr. Banks for you."
"No Troy really, I'm feeling a lot better after that. Besides Dr. Banks can't really treat my shock now can he."
Troy nodded slowly, "Ok, come on then, lets get you home." He took her free hand and led her out of the doctor's office. He was oddly surprised that she didn't attempt to pull away. Once they made it to his car, Troy opened the door for Sharpay and closed it once she settled in. He also gave her the box of crackers which she ate slowly on the long silent ride home. Once they arrived at their destination, Troy quickly got out of the car and ran over to Sharpay's side to help her out. He took hold of her arm gently and helped her to the front door. He pulled out his key so she wouldn't have to and unlocked the front door.
"Are you hungry or anything?" Sharpay asked once they were inside. "I can make you some lunch or something."
"No, I'm fine."
"Ok," Sharpay nodded nervously. "Um…"
"We should talk," Troy suggested.
"Right," Sharpay nodded her head once again. She had been dreading this, talking about it was going to make it even more real than it already was. Part of Sharpay thought, that if they just left it alone, perhaps it would just disappear out of their lives forever. "We…um…we should call that doctor right? I don't want to say anything to Evan yet…I…I don't even know what to say."
"We need to tell him soon though," Troy sighed. "It wouldn't be fair to just spring this upon him."
"I know that Troy," Sharpay said quickly and defensively. "I just…maybe this doctor will have some tips on what to say, he obviously does this a lot. I don't want to scare Evan, that's all."
"I know, its going to be alright Sharpay. I firmly believe that," Troy stated confidently.
"But what if its not?" Sharpay couldn't help but sniffle as she looked down at her sandal clad feet, completely avoiding Troy's intense gaze.
"It is," Troy placed his hands on either side of Sharpay's face and gently lifted it up so he could meet her eyes. "You heard Dr. Banks, this is the most common childhood leukemia, and it has a very high success rate. And our Evan, our boy is such a fighter."
"He is, he really is," Sharpay said, choking back her tears as she agreed with Troy. Evan, really was the strongest little boy that she had ever known. He had to fight this, he just had to. Both Troy and Sharpay were barely surviving as is and if anything were to happen to Evan…if he didn't survive this then neither would Sharpay and Troy.
So sorry that its literally been like forever and a day since I've updated. But computer problems, spring break, and some serious writers block have all been in my way. But have no fear, I'm back on track. Also I was definitely inspired by the High School Musical 2 show at Disney Hollywood Studios over spring break. Clearly its certainly not as good as the movie but it was great to hear all the familar songs once again. Expect another update at the end of the week, I promise (and if for some reason it doesn't happen, feel free to throw rotten veggies at me but don't worry because it won't happen lol). I have a really good majority of it written. And thanks so much for all the great reviews on the last chapter, that was definitely a record for reviews on this fic. Please keep them coming, they do help me write faster, knowing that people are interested. Ok, I'm done, sorry for the rambling!
