The next few rounds of chemo had gone without incident for spencer, and soon the day had come for spencer's first tri-monthly scans.
The waiting room felt like it was getting smaller and smaller with each minute that ticked past on the clock. Every breath dave took incited even more butterflies within him.
Despite how happy the doctors were with spencer's progress, dave couldn't help but be terrified at the prospect of a bad result. Even though he had been assured that spencer's declining ability to walk and use him hands efficiently was a result of the chemotherapy and his weakening body, dave was terrified that it was attributed to his cancer spreading.
Spencer was currently in the large room at the end of the hall, having him mri. A scan that would take up to two and a half hours to complete. And he had only been in there for an hour.
And so dave sat restlessly, in the same waiting room where he had sat the day their lives had been turned upside down yet again.
Derek was sitting across the room, flipping aimlessly through one of the tattered magazines that littered the table in the center of the room. He has asked to come with them to keep his brother company but Dave could tell just by looking at him son that he was anxious and restless just as he was. Ever since spencer's diagnosis, he had been so protective of his little brother. Every test, every procedure made him just as nervous as his father.
Feeling a hand on him knee, dave looked up from him clasped hands to see aaron sitting down beside him, a steaming cup of coffee held out to him.
Taking it in him shaking hands, dave managed to take a sip as aaron put his arm around him shoulders, providing him the comfort he so desperately needed.
"dave, you're shaking," aaron said softly, his voice just loud enough for him to hear.
"i feel sick," dave admitted, leaning forward and setting the coffee down on the table. "i'm just...i'm so scared about what these scans are going to tell us"
Taking his husband's hand between his, aaron tipped him chin up.
"i feel the same...but we have to try and be positive. He's made incredible progress." he said gently, trying to reassure him.
Dave sighed. "i know. I still worry"
Aaron smiled slightly, pulling dave into his embrace and kissing him temple. "i know. We all do"
An hour later, spencer's mri was over.
The radiologist had kindly taken the three anxious hotchner-rossi's to the room where spencer was being looked after until it was time for him next scan, a ct.
Rounding the corner into the room, aaron and derek right behind him, dave smiled when spencer's face lit up.
"hi pappa! Hi daddy! I fell asleep in the machine!" spencer said excitedly, making him parents laugh. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, a nurse seated beside him. Dave couldn't see what the nurse was doing, but it looked like he was adjusting the nj tube.
The radiologist grinned. "he certainly did. The scan went very well. We'll have preliminary results soon, but we'll only let you know if we find something worrying. Otherwise, you'll have the full results within a week's time"
"so no news is good news?" aaron clarified.
"absolutely," the radiologist said with a smile. "i'll be back later to take spencer for his ct scan"
Shaking the man's hand, aaron smiled. "thank you"
"daddy, look! Dinosaurs," spencer said suddenly, turning their attention back to him.
Dave broke into a wide smile when he realised what the nurse had done. He had removed the hypafix that had been holding spencer's tube in place, and replaced it with blue dinosaur stickers specifically designed to hold ivs and nasal feeding tubes in place.
"oh wow! Better than medical tape, hey?" dave said with a laugh. Spencer grinned, nodding at his fathers as the nurse discarded the packing and old tape.
"heaps better"
Pulling into the driveway after their long day at the hospital, aaron put the car into park and sat back against his seat, sighing heavily.
Reaching over, dave took him husband's hand, giving it a squeeze.
"we're gonna be ok. We have to believe it's going to be ok," he said gently, echoing the words aaron had told him so many times.
"i know. We will be," he replied, giving dave's hand a squeeze in reply before he climbed out of the car.
As he went around to the rear door of the car to get his sleeping son, he realised derek was already there, easily lifting his baby brother into his arms.
"you got him bud?" aaron asked, reaching in to grab spencer's feed pump and bag.
"yeah," derek replied as his dad placed the items in spencer's lap.
Walking carefully so he didn't slip on the snow, derek followed his dad to the house. Dave had already let himself in and turned on the heat to warm up the house quickly.
While his parents hung up their jackets and moved through to the kitchen for coffee, derek carried spencer up the stairs.
It frightened him to hold his little brother. He'd never noticed exactly how thin he'd gotten. But now that he could feel him bones poking into him from under him pale skin, he wanted to cry.
His brother was tough, active, strong, and incredibly talented when it came to knowledge. He was never the most athletic but he was not a fragile little kid who looked like he would break if he sneezed.
Reaching spencer's room, derek carefully set him down on him bed, taking the pump from him lap and quickly hooking it back to the iv stand. Hanging the feed bag from the hooks at the top, he moved back to spencer's bed, pulling him blankets up over him body.
"daddy?" spencer mumbled, him eyes half closed as he stirred from him sleep.
"no, it's derek," derek said softly, reaching down and giving spencer's hand a quick squeeze.
"love you derek," spencer whispered as he fell back into an exhaustion fuelled sleep.
"love you too spence," derek said with a smile. "get some rest"
Turning around, he left the room, pulling the door half closed as spencer reached over in bed grabbing his stuffed turtle before closing his eyes and falling asleep. Grinning at the boy, derek shook his head and made his way down the stairs.