A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed!
Chapter Fourteen: Keep Holding On
Two weeks after the truck show, Keith was still talking about it. If Natalie would have known a simple trip would make him so happy, she would've have planned one ages ago. No matter how boring listening to him explain the different types of trucks was, Natalie didn't want him to ever stop. She loved to see him still so happy and so excited.
Today was Melanie's October party. Surprisingly, it hadn't taken much begging for Natalie to get Keith to come along, she supposed he liked to get out of her house once and a while.
They were running a little late since Keith had his next chemo treatment at the hospital. The treatment had taken longer than Natalie had expected, so when she saw Keith walking into the waiting room, she immediately stood up and dragged him to the car. She had been so worried about being late that she didn't think to make sure Keith was up for the party. The thought didn't occur to her until she parked at Melanie's house and finally got a good look at him.
At the sight of him, her heart skipped a beat, and instantly she felt bad for not checking with him at the hospital. The simplest way to describe how he looked was exhausted; she hoped it wasn't anything more than that. "Do you feel okay?" she asked, checking to make sure. She unbuckled her seatbelt, not taking her attention off of him.
He shrugged, and wouldn't look her in the eyes. He licked his lips before answering, "Yeah," he nodded, keeping his gaze straight on Melanie's house. "I'm fine."
"Are you—"A sudden tapping on Natalie's window, cut off her question, and she turned to look at who was interrupting them.
It was Melanie, standing there waving at the two of them, a huge grin on her face. She had a bright orange sweater on, that surprisingly looked good on her. Natalie gave one last quick glance at Keith, but he was already unbuckling his seatbelt and opening his door. Sighing to herself, she knew that talking to him would have to wait.
"Hey, Melanie," she smiled, getting out of her car. "Nice sweater," she commented, glancing at the bright orange sweater up close she could see she had a tiny pin of a black cat on the pocket of it.
"You like it?" she smiled. "It's my October party outfit. It's orange, you see, for Halloween."
"Well, you definitely look good in orange," said Natalie, causing Melanie to blush. "I especially like the pin," she added, pointing at it.
"Thanks. I got it from my Mom years ago," she trailed her fingers gingerly over it, before shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "So, what were you guys doing in your car?" she questioned, peering into the car, as if expecting something exciting to be in there.
"Oh, um," started Natalie, but Keith quickly cut her off.
"We thought we had the wrong house," he said, standing next to Natalie and giving her a fierce look. Natalie knew what that look meant.
"Ah, well you're here," she exclaimed, glancing between Natalie and Keith and smiling. "Come on in," she said, ushering them inside and into her kitchen where some guests were socializing.
At Keith and Natalie's entrance, all of the guests turned to look at them. "Everyone, this is Natalie and Keith. Natalie works for me," she smiled, turning to everyone. "Some of you may have seen her before, as you are my faithful customers."
An old man, who Natalie thought looked quite familiar, spoke up. "Ah, Natalie, remember me?" he smiled, looking at her intently through his glasses.
Natalie nodded. How could she forget him? He had talked to her for half an hour about trains while she was at the register. His enthusiasm for trains rivaled Keith's for trucks. "Mr. Brown, you bought a book on trains, didn't you?"
"She remembers," he smiled, his eyes sparkling in happiness.
"Of course I do," said Natalie. "Couldn't forget you."
"You're too sweet, dear," said Mr. Brown, turning to look over at Melanie. "As long as you have Miss Natalie here working for you Melanie, I'll be coming to your store."
"George, you've been coming to my store for twenty years," she stated.
"And now that you've got pretty Natalie working there, I'll be coming more often," he commented, making Natalie blush. She felt Keith step closer to her, in a protective manner. She turned to look at him.
"Jealous?" she asked with a slight laugh. He wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her closer to him.
He shrugged, trying to look indifferent. "Maybe," he finally admitted, giving them all a lopsided grin.
Mr. Brown chuckled. "Don't worry, young man, the way I hear Natalie talk about you, I don't think you need to worry," he commented.
"You talk to your customers about me?" asked Keith, glancing at Natalie, not being about to keep the grin from his face.
Natalie nodded, embarrassed. She was sure she was blushing. "So?"
Melanie introduced Natalie and Keith to the rest of the guests. There were only a few more people that Natalie recognized from Hooked on Books. A lady about Melanie's ago who came in at least once a week with her twelve year old daughter, and an older women who she had seen once before buying a book on birds.
"Oh, how rude of me," said Melanie, turning to Natalie and Keith, "would you guys like anything to drink?"
"I'll have a Coke if you have one," said Natalie.
Melanie nodded, and turned to Keith, who had sat down in the last remaining bar stool next to the kitchen island. "Keith?"
"Oh, um, water's good, thanks."
"Are you sure?" pressed Melanie. "We have tons of soda."
He shook his head. "Na, water's good."
Melanie grabbed a Coke and a bottle of water from the fridge and handed them respectively. "Here you go," she smiled. "Oh, do you want to sit down Natalie? I can get you another chair."
"I'm good, I'll just sit in Keith's lap," she said, doing so.
Once she got comfortable on Keith's lap, she opened her Coke and took a long sip. She felt Keith wrap his arms around her stomach and rest his chin on her shoulder. "What's up?" she asked, trying to turn to get a good look and him, but he stopped her and just squeezed tighter.
"Nothing."
"Okay, everyone, If you're hungry we've got snacks on the table," said Melanie indicating towards the food on the table. She had a veggie platter, a fruit platter, and some small croissants with some cheese and bread, and that was just some of it.
Everyone immediately got up and grabbed a paper plate and starting filling their plates with food. Natalie continued to sit on Keith's lap until everyone was done, while waiting she turned to Melanie. "So, where are Dawn and April?" she asked. Not that she didn't enjoy Melanie's company, but hanging out with people her age was a bit more exciting.
"Oh, they're outside, playing flag football with some of their friends. You should go join them, after you get your food of course." She pointed out of the kitchen window and Natalie indeed saw Dawn and April playing flag football with three other friends.
"Sounds great," said Natalie, jumping off of Keith, grabbing both of them a plate.
She handed Keith his plate, and he looked at it. At his dreading expression, Natalie asked, "What's wrong?"
"I'm not really that hungry," he whispered.
"That's fine. You don't have to eat anything. Plus, remember, Mom's having a big dinner tonight, anyway," reminded Natalie as she grabbed a few veggies and put them on her plate, Keith did the same.
Once, they got their food and grabbed their drinks they made their way outside. It was a bit chilly out, but with a jacket it was actually kind of nice. In a few weeks time, Natalie figured they wouldn't be able to do much of anything outside, so it was nice to hang out there for a while. Natalie took note of the clouds, hoping that it wouldn't start snowing until after the party.
As soon as they walked outside, April saw them, screamed, and ran over to them. "Natalie, Keith," she said, giving Natalie a hug. "How're you guys? So glad you came!"
"Your mom didn't really give me a choice," joked Natalie. "I mean, if I didn't show up I would've lost my job."
April rolled her eyes. "You didn't really believe that, did you?"
Natalie took a bite of a carrot dipped in ranch before replying, "Of course not."
"So, Keith, how're you?" asked April, as she grabbed a small cherry tomato from Natalie's plate and popping it into her mouth.
"Hey," exclaimed Natalie, pulling her plate away from April's reach.
"I'm hungry," she complained, trying to grab another tomato, but Natalie kept backing her plate away.
"Go get your own food," said Natalie. "Your mom has enough to feed an army."
"But, I'm lazy," she whined.
"Here, have mine," said Keith, handing her his plate. "I haven't touched it."
"You're too sweet, Keith," started April, trying to hand him back his food, "but I can go get my own."
"Really, eat it. I'm not hungry. Had a big lunch," he lied.
"Well, if you're sure." He nodded. "Gee, thanks. God, Natalie, you're boyfriend is too sweet. Can I steal him for a few days?" she joked, winking at Keith, who blushed.
Natalie snapped back, in a joking manner, "No, way, he's mine."
"Fine," sighed April, "Guess, I'll have to suffer and get my own food all the time. Such a chore. So, you guys wanna play some flag football?" she asked. "We're seriously lacking in people," she mentioned
"I'm not really that good," said Natalie.
April rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Duke was giving—gave—you a tennis scholarship; you've got to be semi-athletic."
"Okay, fine," relented Natalie, rolling her eyes. She took a piece of celery from her plate, and dipped it in ranch before taking a bite.
"Keith? What about you?" asked April, glancing over to him. "You down to play?"
"Sure," he grinned, but Natalie could tell it looked a little forced.
April squealed. "It'll be so much fun," she gushed. Faster that Natalie thought possible, April ate the vegetables on her plate, before running over to her friends, letting them know about their additional players.
Natalie ate the last bite of food on her plate, before glancing over to Keith. "Are you feeling all right?" she asked, making sure her voice was above a whisper, so only he would hear.
She was shocked when he spat out, "Why do you always ask me that? It's driving me insane. I can take care of myself, okay?"
"Sorry, but, Keith, I'm—"
"It's time to play," he said, nodding towards April who was flagging them over.
Natalie huffed loudly as he walked to the group. It was obvious with his response that he wasn't feeling well. She figured if he needed her help, he'd come to her.
She just hoped he didn't wait too long.
They played for about an hour, but then the clouds that Natalie had seen when they had walked out earlier started getting darker and more threatening. It looked like they were going to get their first snow of the winter tonight.
Once they got inside, the grownups went into the living room to talk, while Natalie and Keith followed April and Dawn upstairs, the rest of their friends had left.
They made themselves comfortable on the floor of Dawn's room. "God, it's freezing in here," said April, standing up. "I'm going to turn the heat on," she mentioned, walking out of her room.
"So, what do you guys want to do?" asked Dawn.
"Um, what is there to do?" asked Natalie.
"We could play a game…Oh! How about Would You Rather? Have you ever played that?"
Natalie and Keith shook their heads. "Nope, sounds interesting," said Natalie.
Dawn nodded, excited. "Oh, it's great. It's just in my desk somewhere," she mentioned. Standing up she started rummaging through her drawers in her desk, looking for the game. A few minutes later, she exclaimed, "I found it!" She smiled, handing Keith the box.
"So, how do you play?" he asked, looking at the back of the game.
"Oh, well you just like to ask people questions," stated Dawn simply.
"Questions?" asked Keith, just as April walked back in and sat next to Dawn on the floor.
"Yeah, it's pretty much a game about would your rather do this or that," informed Dawn.
At this, April grinned. "Are we playing Would You Rather?" she questioned.
Dawn nodded. "Yup, they've never played it before."
"Well, you're in for a treat," said April. "Okay, Keith, you start."
"Okay." He picked the first card on the pile, his eyes trailed over it and his eyes got wide.
"What's wrong?" asked Natalie.
"Um, I can't ask that," he stated, a blush growing on his face. Keith quickly placed it on the bottom of the deck and grabbed another card. "Okay, would you rather visit England or Italy?"
"England," said Natalie
"Italy," said Dawn and April at the same time.
Keith went to hand Natalie the stack of cards, but they were all staring at him. "What?" he asked.
"Well, answer it," said April.
"Oh, well, England," he informed, while Natalie took the stack of cards from him. "I've always wanted to go there. "
"Really?" said Natalie, interested in this new bit of information he was expressing.
He nodded. "Yeah, I always remember my mom talking about England. That's where she and my Dad went for their honeymoon. We were going to go when I turned eighteen, for my high school graduation but, um, anyways, your turn," he stated, nodding his head towards Natalie, trying to quickly change the subject.
Luckily, April and Dawn didn't pry for more information, but instead, both were glancing between Natalie and Keith, whimsical looks on their faces. "What?" asked Natalie, getting a little anxious at their looks.
"Oh, we just think it's perfect," started April, "that you both want to go to England."
"Why?" asked Natalie.
"Because, that's where you guys can go for your honeymoon, when you get married," finished Dawn.
Both Keith and Natalie blushed at this, and Natalie quickly asked the next question. They played a few rounds, until Melanie walked in with a tray of drinks.
"Thought you guys might want something to warm you up," she said, setting the tray on the floor in front of them all. In the mugs was hot chocolate with extra marshmallows on top. Everyone grabbed a cup, and it warmed them up immediately.
"This is really good," said Natalie, taking another sip. "Thanks a lot."
Melanie smiled. "It was no trouble. So, what are you guys playing?"
"Would You Rather," informed April.
"Really? Ask me a question," she said excitedly.
It was April's turn to ask, so she picked up the next card in the pile. "Would you rather have known love for a short amount of time, or never known love at all?"
Natalie's mind briefly went blank before the heavy tension in the room brought her back to the present. Melanie, Dawn, and April seemed to have frozen as they looked between Keith and Natalie.
She slowly looked over at Keith as Melanie carefully answered the question. "Definitely to know love, even if it's for a short amount of time."
Words from what seemed like forever ago began screaming in Natalie's mind. I'm staying with you until you leave, I don't care how much time we have.
Melanie continued in a soft voice, "It's important to remember that love is an eternal thing. And even if something were to stand in the way of you being with the person you love, you'll still carry them in your heart forever."
There was an emotion that Natalie couldn't recognize playing on Keith's face. And yet, if she were to look at herself in the mirror she imagined she had the same expression on her own. Her heart was pounding as Keith leaned over and whispered so only she could hear, "Forever, no matter what."
Melanie gave them all a strained smile. "I'll leave you guys to it, then. There's plenty of hot chocolate so come get some when you're out," she stated, before closing the door behind her.
"You know," stated April, looking at Dawn. "Is it just me or does it seem whenever we have a party we get great food, but when it's just us, we always get like hot dogs or take out?"
Dawn frowned. "You know what, you're right. Maybe we should have Natalie and Keith over more often."
"Oh, I see, you just want us over so you guys can eat better," said Natalie, faking hurt.
April and Dawn's eyes got wide. "No, we didn't mean that," said April. "We were just joking."
Natalie started laughing. "I was just joking, too" she choked out. "That was too funny. I can't believe you fell for that."
They played a few more round of the game, but then it started getting a bit boring, and they started just chatting instead.
"I really want to become a vet, the state school I'm going to right now doesn't have it, so I'll probably have to transfer, but it's best to just get the general classes done first, you know?" said April. Taking a sip of her hot chocolate, they had already gotten seconds about an hour ago.
"Hey, Dawn?" butted in Keith. "Where's your restroom?"
"Just go out of my room, and take an immediate right, it's like right next to my room."
"Thanks," he said, before walking out.
He was gone for ten minutes before Dawn spoke up. "Maybe you should go check on him," said Dawn, putting the game away. "I didn't want to bring this up, but he's not looking so good. Is he okay?"
Natalie frowned. "I'm not really sure. He had a chemo treatment today," she whispered. "He's probably just tired. I'll be right back." She stood up and made her way to the bathroom, but he wasn't there. She checked downstairs, but he wasn't there either, getting a bit worried she was about to make her way upstairs, back up to Dawn's room, when Melanie spoke up.
"He's at your car, dear. Looks like he's looking for something," she informed, pointing outside. She was right; he was in her car, and what seemed to be frantically looking for something under the seats.
Natalie grabbed her coat and put it on before she went outside. It had already gotten winder in the few hours they had been inside, and she was starting to see a few snowflakes fall down. "Keith?" she called, against the wind, but he didn't hear her. She opened the driver's side, and he looked up. "What's up? Did you lose something," she asked.
He looked a bit worried. "Have you seen my pills?" he asked, looking under the driver's seat again.
"Pills?"
He nodded. "Yeah, my bottle of pain pills. I thought I put them in your purse this morning, but they weren't in there."
"Are you sure?" she asked, realizing now why he was getting a bit worried.
"Yeah, I checked your purse like five times. I thought they might have fallen out. I must have forgot…" he trailed off.
"Are you in pain?" she asked, trying to get him to look at her, but he wouldn't stop searching. "Keith?"
Finally, he glanced up, defeated. "It's not that bad," he said, but at her look he added, "Really."
"Keith, you told me that once the pain comes, the pills won't work as well."
"It's fine," he glared. "I don't know why—"
"Look, Keith. If you need those pills, then we should leave so you can take them."
He shook his head wildly. "No, we're not leaving because of me."
"No, we're not," she said softly. "But, we're leaving. Plus, Mom's going to have dinner in about an hour. We should get going, anyways," she stated, walking off before he could argue. She didn't like when he did this, he always put people's feeling before his health, and then he had to pay the price.
She heard the car door slam, and Keith run to catch up to her. He grabbed her arm gently to stop her. "You're not going to tell them, are you?" he asked nervously.
"Tell them what?" she asked softly.
He looked at the ground, and licked his lips before answering. "Why we're leaving?"
"Of course not. Even if I did, Keith, they wouldn't care. They would understand." Sometimes, she didn't understand why he was always so concerned about the topic of his illness coming up.
He nodded, but didn't look so sure. "I know, I know they would, but still…" She stopped him by kissing him on the forehead, hoping this would calm him down, before they walked back into the house.
When they walked in, April and Dawn were downstairs, talking with the last remaining guests. "Find what you're looking for?" asked Melanie.
Natalie nodded. "Yup, but we just realized the time. We gotta go. Big family dinner and all."
April and Dawn frowned. "Aw, that sucks. We've got homework, anyways. It was great that you came, though," said Dawn.
"It was really fun," said Natalie. "Thanks for having us, Melanie."
"It was a pleasure. Hope you had fun. Stay prepared though, there will be more parties at this house."
Natalie smiled. "Excellent."
As soon as Natalie got home, Keith retreated upstairs to take his pills, while Natalie helped her mom get dinner ready.
They were just finishing seating up the table, when her mom spoke up. "So, how did Keith's treatment go today?"
"Well, I guess." Natalie shrugged.
"You guess?" asked Caroline, placing a bowl of mashed potatoes on the table.
Natalie shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, he still won't let me go in the room with him." She followed her mom into the kitchen, helping her grab the rolls and butter and placing them on the dining room table.
"I'm sure he will at some point," pointed out Caroline.
Natalie nodded regretfully. "Yeah, I know. I just— I just wish I could be there with him while he's going through it."
"You're doing as much as you can, dear. I'm sure Keith is very thankful that you stay at the hospital."
"Yeah, I know," she sighed.
"Where is he by the way?" asked Caroline, grabbing a bowl of corn and setting it on the table.
"I think up in his room," said Natalie. "I should probably go check on him."
"Well, dinner's ready, so just get everyone to come down."
Natalie nodded, before retreating upstairs; she let Cynthia and Zach know dinner was ready before checking on Keith. When she opened the door to his room, he was on his bed, asleep. It looked like he had passed out after taking his pills.
She bit her lip to keep back a laugh as she stared at him. Gently, she shook his shoulder to wake him up. "Dinner time," she said when he opened his eyes.
He nodded, and when he swallowed thickly Natalie noticed he grimaced a bit. "I'll be right down," he said, sitting up running a hand through his hair.
When Natalie got downstairs, everyone was already surrounding the table. "He coming?" asked Caroline as Natalie sat down in her normal seat.
"Yup," she said, as she began filling her plate with food. "This looks great, Mom," she said. Caroline to smiled at the compliment.
Just as Natalie finished filling her plate, Keith appeared. He sat down quickly. "Sorry," he muttered.
"It's all right, dear. Help yourself." He glanced around at the food, before settling on some mashed potatoes, and a small piece of chicken, while he was filling his plate, Cynthia spoke up.
"Keith?" He glanced up to her as he filled his cup with water. "Can we play a game tonight?"
His face fell slightly, and Natalie wondered why, but luckily Cynthia didn't seem to notice. "Um, sure. Which one?" He asked, taking a small bite of mashed potatoes.
"I was thinking Clue. Do you like Clue?" she asked, while taking a spoonful of corn.
He nodded. "Clue's fun."
"Great," smiled Cynthia. "It'll be so much fun. Be careful of Zach, though, he cheats."
"I do not," he exclaimed, glaring at Cynthia.
"Do too. I catch you all the time. It's okay, though. I understand, but because if you didn't cheat you'd never win," she shrugged. Zach went to go hit her with his cloth napkin, but Caroline stopped him.
"Zach, please," muttered Caroline, "you're old enough not to let what your sister says bother you," she demanded, causing Zach to glare at Cynthia again. She stuck her tongue out at him, when Caroline wasn't looking.
They ate in silence for a while, but when Natalie noticed Keith shaking while taking a drink from his glass, she felt her stomach fill with dread. He drank half of the glass, and when he set it down he then rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache. He didn't attempt to eat anymore, but instead, placed his elbow on the table, resting his head in the palm of his hand.
"Keith?" spoke up Caroline softly. At his name, he took his head off its resting position to glance at her.
"Yeah?"
She breathed in deeply, and Natalie knew what she was about to ask, and was worried about his reaction. "Dear, are you feeling okay?" Unfortunately, at this question, everyone stopped eating to glance at Keith.
"Not really," he muttered, giving Caroline an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I think I need to go lie down," he stated, swallowing thickly.
"It's fine. Don't force yourself to eat if you don't feel well. I'll save you a plate and you can warm it up later if you want it, okay?" she suggested. At the sight of him, Natalie didn't think there was any way he'd be eating anything tonight.
"All right, I'm sorry," he apologized again, before standing up quickly. Everyone waited until they heard his bedroom door close before they resumed eating.
Natalie didn't, she kept her gaze on where she had last seen Keith. "I should go check on him," she said, concern filling her voice. This wasn't normal, he had never seemed this sick after a chemo treatment before, and it worried her.
"Finish eating, dear. He just needs to lie down and rest. He's probably just exhausted," said Caroline. "He wouldn't want you not to eat."
Natalie shook her head. "No, I think this is bad," she admitted.
"What do you mean?" asked Caroline.
"Well, when we were at Melanie's party earlier he was looking for his pain medication. He's never really complained about pain. Maybe only once before. I don't know, I just have a bad feeling that this last chemo treatment really affected him."
Pete spoke, trying to comfort his daughter. "Well, sometimes stuff like this hits, and the symptoms gets worse. The treatment is building up and it seems to be finally hitting him. The only thing you can really do is be there for him. Chemotherapy, Natalie, is not fun. "
"I know that. But, it's just hard. Hard-"
"To see someone you love, in so much pain and only be able to watch, and not do anything?" prompted Pete.
Natalie nodded, tears building up. "Yeah, exactly," she muttered, glancing at her plate. She wasn't that hungry anymore. She was too worried. "I'm full," she said before walking upstairs.
When she walked into his room, he was laying his bed. He hadn't even bothered to get under the covers or change into his pajamas. She sat down on the bed next to him. "Keith? Is there anything I can do to help?"
He shook his head. "No, I just think I need sleep," he muttered.
"I know, let's get you ready for bed first. How's that sound?" she suggested. She waited for a reply, but he didn't speak up. She stared at him a while, gently running her fingers through his hair before she got off of the bed, and walked to the side he was on. Gently, she took off his shoes, but that was all she could do without his help. "C'mon, Keith, sit up. Let's take your sweater off or you'll get too hot." She helped him sit up, and had to keep a steady hold of him, or she was certain he would've just fallen back onto the bed.
Quickly, she pulled back the comforter and sheets, and helped him out of his hoodie. She didn't bother with the rest of his clothes. When she finally let go of him, she was right, he immediately fell back onto the bed. She pulled the comforter up to his chin, but when he brought his left arm up to his forehead to rub it, Natalie felt her heart skip a beat for. Gently, she grabbed his hand and bought his arm closer to her view. He opened his eyes a bit, to glare at her, as if she was disrupting his sleep.
"What're you doing?" moaned Keith, irritated.
"Your arm, it's bruised," she whispered. She trailed her arm over the crook of his elbow where she was certain his IV for the chemo had been. When her fingers brushed the bruise, she felt Keith visibly flinch.
"Stop it; it's fine," he said, weakly trying to pull away.
"Why's it bruised?" she demanded.
"Because," he mumbled, closing his eyes. Natalie knew he wasn't feeling well, and it probably wasn't the right time to talk to him about this, but it worried her. "'Cause the nurse had a hard time finding a vein today, so it's kind of irritated it-it's fine," he whispered.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
This time, when he weakly tried to pull his arm away, she let him, figuring he wasn't going to tell her much more. He placed his arm under his covers, as he turned onto his side. "I don't feel well, just want to sleep," he whimpered. "Can we talk about this later?"
"Later's fine. Sleep now," said Natalie, bending down and kissing him on the forehead. There was something about this situation that just didn't bode well with her.
She had a very bad feeling about this.
Natalie jumped up, not certain what exactly had woke her up. She squinted her eyes in the dark, and tensed when she heard the noise again. Heart beating widely, she went to lean over to turn her light on, but stopped when she heard her name.
"Keith?" she asked, recognizing his voice instantly. Her eyes had adjusted quickly to the darkness, and she could see the outline of him standing in front of her door.
"Can I sleep here?" he asked, she saw his form close the door behind him as he made his way to her bed.
"'Course you can," she said. She helped him get under the covers. Once he was settled, he heaved a big sigh as if it had taken him a great amount of energy to come to her room. She lied next to him, their legs spooning. Gently, she began running her fingers down his arm, hoping it would make him more comfortable, and allow him to fall asleep. When she thought he was asleep, she stopped, but the moment she did, he spoke.
"Don't stop," he mumbled, half asleep.
"Okay," she whispered, resuming.
She must have fallen asleep because a few hours later, Natalie felt someone shaking her awake, and her eyes snapped open. "Keith?" she said, voice thick with sleep. "What is it?"
"I don't feel well," he moaned. At the pain in his voice, Natalie sat up in bed, and turned on her light, getting a good look at him. He had circles under his eyes, but that wasn't what worried her. Even though his eyes were half-open, she could see the pain radiating in them, and knew that he must be in a horrible amount of pain. "I hurt."
This declaration set her into a frenzy. "Hurt? Where do you hurt?" she asked.
"Everywhere," he stated, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Has the pain ever gotten this bad before?" He shook his head.
"No," he cried. "I just want the pain to go away."
Natalie sighed. "Sweetie, I can't do that. You took your pain medication, right?"
He gave a small nod. "It's not working at all," he stated pitifully. "I want my dad."
At this request, Natalie felt her heart drop. Quickly, she grabbed her cell phone from her nightstand. "I'll call him, how's that?" He gave her a small nod. With shaking fingers, she dialed Henry's number. On the first call, no one answered, so hastily she redialed again. Finally, on the fourth ring, a groggy voice answered.
"Hello?"
"Henry?" sniffed Natalie, trying to keep the tears back. There was no reason to cry, but she didn't want to see Keith like this.
"Natalie? Is that you?" he asked, suddenly sounding more awake..
"Yes," she whimpered, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
"What is it? Is it Keith?" he asked, his voice full of worry.
"Yes," she stated. "He asked for you. I don't know what to do. He's not feeling well at all. I don't know what to do."
"Natalie, it's okay. Let me speak with him?" he said gently.
"O-okay."
"Go get your mom, can you do that?" he asked.
"Yes," she said, before handing the phone to Keith.
When he began talking to him, Natalie quickly ran to her parents' room. "Mom," she whispered, shaking her. "Wake up."
Caroline did so quickly. "Natalie? What's wrong?" she asked, sitting up and turning on the light next to her bed.
"It's Keith," she stated. It was the only thing she needed to say. Caroline got up, without question, and followed Natalie towards her room.
When they entered, Keith was still speaking with Henry. When Caroline entered, Keith weakly raised his arm to hand her the phone.
Placing the phone to her ear, she began speaking with Henry. A few minutes later, Caroline knelt down next to the bed. "Keith," spoke Caroline, waiting until he opened his eyes. "Sweetie, your dad says you're in a lot of pain." He nodded. "And that you have a bad sore throat and you've been sick." He nodded again.
At this Natalie glanced at him, wondering when he had been sick, and why he hadn't told her. "Keith—"she started, but Caroline held up her hand to silence her.
"Your dad wants to know how bad your pain is on a scale of one to ten. Can you tell me?" He nodded again, regretfully.
"Ten," he whispered.
Caroline told this to Henry, and they talked a few more minutes, before finally hanging up. "Keith, I think we need to take you to the emergency room."
His eyes got wide. "What? No," he said, but weakly.
"You can be given something for the pain you're in," she stated.
He was silent for a while, keeping his gaze on Caroline. "I don't want to go," he whimpered. "I'm fine."
"I'm sorry, dear, but it's your dad's call," said Caroline, making no choice for arguments. He didn't seem to have much energy to fight, so instead he just stared ahead, until something registered in his mind and he looked a bit worried.
"Partner? You're coming, right?" he asked.
She knelt down where her mom had previously been, running her hand through his hair. "Why would you even ask?"
On the way to the hospital, Natalie sat in the back with Keith. She hoped he'd fall asleep during the ride, but apparently he was in too much pain to do so. When they got to the hospital, Natalie thought they'd get right in, and was surprised when she saw how crowded it was.
While Caroline signed Keith in, Natalie found some empty chairs. Once Keith sat down he rested his head on Natalie's shoulder.
Caroline sat next to them a few minutes later. "He's all signed in, they're going to try and get to him soon. He seems to be quite a favorite around here," she stated, trying to get Keith to smile. He did, faintly, but only for a few seconds.
Not fifteen minutes later, a young nurse came walking over to them. "Keith? Come on, buddy, let's get you to a room," she said sweetly. He lifted his head slowly.
When he stood up, he said something that surprised Natalie. "Aren't you coming?"
"Do you want me to?"
As soon as he nodded, she stood up, following him to his room. It was tiny, with a small hospital bed, similar to the one he had been placed in when he had fainted earlier in the summer. The nurse motioned for Keith to sit down on the hospital bed.
"So, I heard you're in a lot of pain?" she stated sympathetically. He nodded. "Keith, can you tell me what the pain feels like?"
He licked his lips before answering. "It's like sharp; I don't know how to describe it."
"Is that how it started out?"
He slowly shook his head. "No, at first it was just kind of dull. It was manageable, that's normally how it is. But this time it's different, it's never been this bad. I can't focus on anything else."
"Did you take your pain medication?"
"Yes, but it's not working," he said quietly. "Can't you just make it go away?" he asked.
"I will, I promise," said the nurse, glancing down at his file. "So, earlier today is when you got another IV drip of the chemo?" she asked. When he didn't answer, she glanced up at Natalie, who nodded. "Did he seem any different to you afterwards?"
Natalie shrugged. "He seemed tired, but he told me he was fine. When we were at this party, he couldn't find his pain medication, so we left to get it at home. Once, we got there is when he seemed to take a turn for the worse, I suppose."
The nurse jotted down this information. "I see. Could you help him into this hospital gown?" she asked, handing her a blue gown. "He's going to be spending the night here."
"Spending the night?" asked Natalie, not sure why she was so shocked.
"Yeah, he needs some strong medicine. If his pain is as bad as he says it is. I'll be right back with everything."
Natalie helped Keith into the gown, and he was strangely compliant. Just as she helped him get comfortable in the bed, the nurse walked in. She did some basic tests on Keith, checking his temperature, and blood pressure. It was very unnerving to see Keith just lie there.
The nurse got some bags set up, and gently grabbed his left arm. But when she went to go get ready to put the IV in his arm, her eyes go wide. "Oh, dear," she exclaimed.
"What is it?" asked Natalie.
"It's all bruised here, have you seen this?" she asked.
Natalie nodded regretfully. "Yeah, I saw it earlier. He told me the nurse, from earlier today, had a hard time finding a vein."
"It's pretty bruised; it might hurt more than normal when I put the IV in."
"Can't you do it in his other arm?"
The nurse shook her head. "Unfortunately, we have to do it in his left arm. It's okay; it won't hurt once it's in."
Natalie watched as she used an alcohol swab to clean the skin before getting the needle. Natalie thought it was rather large. Once she was ready, the nurse began rubbing his arm, looking for a good vein. "Okay, this may hurt for second," she informed.
When the nurse put the needle in, Natalie saw Keith flinch, and hiss. Luckily, it was over soon, and the IV was quickly set up. "So, what're you giving him?" asked Natalie.
"It's just a bit of Morphine. Not much, just enough to make the pain go away so he can get some rest."
"Morphine?" gasped out Natalie. She never expected him to be given such strong pain medication.
"It's not much, but it should help him. He's all set, are you going to stay here?" she asked, looking over at Natalie.
"Yeah, my mom's outside, though. I'll go get her once he falls asleep."
"Shouldn't be long," said the nurse, indicating towards Keith who looked to be having a hard time keeping his eyes open. "Feel better, Keith. If you need anything let someone know."
Natalie watched as the nurse walked out, before grabbing a chair and scooting it closer to the bed. She grabbed Keith's hand, and began rubbing her thumb back and forth over the back of it. "Tired?" she asked, as he yawned. He nodded, his eyes getting heavier by the second.
"I'm sorry," he whispered suddenly.
"What for?"
"For making you come here. We shouldn't have come here, I should have just dealt with it," he muttered.
"There's nothing to be sorry for. You're in a lot of pain, it's understandable. Just go to sleep, okay? We'll talk in the morning," she said. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was getting deeper. He was going to be asleep within minutes. "I love you," she whispered.
She thought he had fallen asleep, but a few moments later, she heard him mumble back, "Times infinity."
The next morning, Natalie woke up with a kink in her neck. She had fallen asleep in the chair next to Keith's bed, watching the snow fall. It looked like it had stopped for now, but the clouds were still around, and she figured it would start up again later in the day. She had been too worried to sleep on the small fold-out bed that was on the other side of the room, so she had slept in the chair so she could be as close to Keith as possible. Her mom had gone home that night, since there was no need for her to stay, and was going to pick up Keith and Natalie once he was released. Glancing at the clock, Natalie realized it was later than she thought. It was almost ten in the morning.
Keith was still fast asleep, lying on his side, facing her. Not wanting to wake him up, Natalie figured that a cup of coffee was in order. She ventured through the hospital, and luckily found some free coffee in the waiting room. When she returned to Keith's room a few minutes later, a new nurse was in the room, trying to be quiet as to not wake Keith.
However, the commotion must have woken him up, because as soon as Natalie sat down, he snapped open his eyes, glancing around the room. "Where am I?" he mumbled.
The nurse soothed him. "You're in the hospital, dear. Don't you remember?"
Recognition crossed his face. "Oh, right," he said, smirking. "This ol' place. You know, you should really just reserve a room for me. Be much easier."
"Looks like someone's feeling better," said Natalie, smiling.
"Uh huh," he smiled. "Much better. When can I leave this place?" he asked, directing this question towards the nurse.
She laughed. "Soon, I suppose. I just finished checking everything and you're good to go. Dr. Normandy just wants to come speak with you two. I'll go get him now."
"Glad you're feeling better," smiled Natalie.
"Me too. Sorry about all of that. I don't know what happened," he muttered, looking embarrassed.
"Don't apologize for something you couldn't prevent," she stated. Just then Dr. Normandy walked in, clipboard in hand. He closed the door behind them before speaking.
"Feeling better, Keith?" he asked. Keith nodded. "That's good to hear, I was informed that you were in quite a bit of pain last night."
"Yeah, I guess," he stated, looking embarrassed. "But, it's gone now so we don't need to worry."
"This is something to worry about, Keith. It seems to me the higher dosage we put you on a few treatments ago, finally became too much. Here's the thing. Keith, I'm going to put you on some higher tolerance pain medication. We can't have you in this much pain every time you get a treatment."
"Can't you just lower the dosages of chemo or something? Maybe have in come in a few times a month instead?" asked Natalie.
"Unfortunately, I can't. Chemo is a very particular process and it's important to stay on schedule. I'm sure that his body will get use to the dosage in due time, but to be on the safe side we'll have him take a stronger pain medication for a few months, hopefully that will allow his body time to get use to it the increased chemo dosage."
"This sucks," said Keith, voice holding a tinge of anger. "I'm sick of taking medicine, and feeling like shit all the time."
"That's chemo for you, Keith," said Dr. Normandy sadly. "It's not the most pleasant thing," he joked.
"Oh, really? I thought it was. I would love to do this every day, because it's just so much fun" he muttered sarcastically.
Dr. Normandy chuckled. "Well, my advice for you two is to just continue what you're doing and keep holding on. You're doing the best you can right now. Think you can do that for me?"
Natalie grabbed Keith's hand tightly. "I think we can manage."
Since Keith had been instructed to take it easy for the next few days, Natalie decided to bring some entertainment to him. After dinner, she led him to her room, and made him sit on her bed.
"So, what're we doing?" he asked.
"Just wait. I'll be right back." She was only gone a few minutes, and when she returned she had a bag full of something.
"What is it?" he asked eagerly, trying to peer into the bag.
"I figured because you couldn't do much, we'd watch some movies tonight." She pulled out a stack of at least five. "And while we watch them, I thought we could eat this," she said, pulling out a large container of chocolate ice cream, Keith's favorite, and two spoons.
"Ice cream?" he grinned.
Natalie grinned back. "So, pick a movie," she instructed. He continued to give her a strange look, his eyes glazed over with something Natalie couldn't place. "Keith?"
"I don't really feel like watching a movie right now…"
"Why not?" pouted Natalie.
"Because," he breathed, pushing the movies and ice cream off her bed as he closed the distance between them. "You always do things that make me want to kiss you." He brought his hand underneath her chin, and slowly leaned in until their lips finally touched.
After a few heated minutes, Natalie gently tried to push Keith back, but he wouldn't let her budge. "What about the ice cream? It's melting."
Gently, he laid her on the bed. He leaned in so close to her that she could feel his warm breath against her cheek and see the different shades of green in his eyes. "Your lips taste much better than any damn ice cream," he growled, before slamming his lips to hers.
Natalie wrapped her arms around his neck holding on to him tightly, making sure that she'd never, ever let go.
A/N: I like to see Keith in pain as much as the next person, but sadly, it had to be done. I've done quite a bit of research on chemotherapy and its symptoms while writing this story, and I hope this chapter was believable enough. Next chapter will be more lighthearted, I promise!
Thanks again for reading and reviewing.