"I appreciate everything you have done for this company over the past several years you've been on the main roster, son. You go back and take care of business and after you've kicked cancers ass again, you're welcome back anytime." Vince McMahon said, patting Joe on the back before embracing him in a tight hug.
He had managed to make his way through the backstage area, telling several of his co-workers what was going on and how he's be away for some time. Overall, everyone had the same reaction. A few of his friends, like his brothers of The Shield, Jonathan Goode and Colby Lopez, were quite emotional over the news.
His addressing to the fans was another thing entirely. He had made it through his speech without many tears, if any, but it was emotional, nonetheless. The fans were supportive, which he hadn't felt in some time. It was nice to feel the unity in the crowd for once, but he wished it was under better circumstances.
And having to relinquish the Universal Championship, a title he had chased for what seemed like years, was heartbreaking for him. He had finally made it to the top of the mountain and was ready to have the responsibility of the company on his shoulders. It was a job he knew he was built for. A job he took incredibly serious.
As he continued to make his way out of the arena, he was met by referees and superstars, technicians and interviewers. Everyone had heard the news and wanted to give them their positive vibes, hugs and well wishes. He had begun to come to terms with the diagnosis he received just days before. He knew what was ahead of him, or at least he had a good idea of what was to come. He was ready to face his illness head on and come out on the other side, perhaps a different man, but a better man.
Once inside his rental vehicle, he realized for the first time he was alone not only physically, but left alone to his own thoughts and devices. It wasn't the most comforting of feelings but he had to get use to being more alone than he was accustomed to.
He had a few comforting thoughts and positive things to keep him going. He would be able to spend time with his daughter and twin boys more than what he had been able to. Also, his family all lived nearby and he'd be able to see them more, too. He wouldn't be facing this entirely alone, and that was comforting for him.
His first appointment was in the morning so instead of being able to rest, he had to get to the airport in order to make it to Tampa. It would be a restless night, anyway and he wanted to begin the appointments and treatments as soon as he could. The sooner he faced it, the sooner he could conquer it and the sooner he could get back to his normal life.
It was 8:07am and Jami was waiting patiently for her first patient of the morning. She knew this appointment would be the longest for her big case as a lot of important materials and information would have to be gone over. In addition, she knew Joe Anoa'i would have to have more tests ran and scans completed that morning and the more she looked at the time passing away, she become more and more agitated. Dr. Smith hadn't arrived yet, either, but that was to be expected. He wasn't due in the office until 9:00 that morning, leaving it to be just her and the infamous "asshole".
"Sorry I'm late. Traffic this morning was…." he trailed off as he came face to face with the last person he expected to ever lay eyes on again.
"Well, good morning to you, too, Mr. Anoa'i. My name is Jami, but I'm sure you had no trouble remembering that, now did you?" she replied, with a smirk planted across her face.
"Oh, this is going to be a long morning." Joe retorted.
"More than a long morning. I'll be the head nurse overseeing your case. I'll be working alongside Dr. Smith and a few other staff members here. But right now, we're going to get you ready for more tests and some scans, if that's okay." Jami replied, jumping straight into the professional aspect of things, taking Joe completely off guard.
"Oh, so this morning I get the kind side of you. No 'asshole' comments or any other nickname you may have up that sleeve?" Joe asked sarcastically.
"No, Mr. Anoa'i. I'd prefer to keep this professional and as easy going as we can. We're going to be working together, too and for my part in what happened the other day, I will offer an apology and ask that we can start over." Jami replied, looking up from the paperwork she was preparing.
"As sincere as that sounded, I accept." he laughed. "For what it's worth, I want this to go as smooth as possible, too."
"Good. Now with that out of the way, I need you to sign a few things before we send you off for your scans." She slid a few papers across the table in his direction and waited for his signature.
"So, you're a nurse, am I correct?" he asked, signing the first paper.
"Yes, I am an oncology nurse which means I specialize and am certified in the treatment of patients with cancer." she responded. "Why? Is there a problem?"
"No. No problem at all." he replied, as he finished filling out the paperwork. "I just like to know who I'm working with on this thing. And, for future reference, I'm not an asshole."
"I'm sure you're not. I may have jumped the gun with that one." she smirked.
"I guess only time will tell and by the sound of things, we have plenty of that." he sighed, the sadness evident in his eyes.
This was a new emotion she was seeing from him. She hadn't known him very long, but to her, she had only seen a few emotions from him, and sadness clearly wasn't one of them. He seemed to carry himself with an air of confidence, verging on cockiness, she dare thought. She wasn't even aware or even considered how he must feel considering he was the patient going through a second bout of leukemia he likely thought would never return. She realized she hadn't been facing his case with professionalism at all. She had forgotten the main reason she had majored in this line of work and that was empathy. Empathy for those who faced difficulties and death every day. She got into her line of work to try and make a difference and to bring some sort of happiness and positivity to her patients' lives.
"I know this must have came out of the blue for you and I am really sorry you have to face this again. I'm also sorry because perhaps I haven't approached this like I normally do and for that I apologize, too." she said sincerely.
This took Joe completely by surprise. He figured they would always have the back and forth banter, the bickering, the arguing. But this was different. For the first time, he felt she expressed real empathy and softness in the words she spoke. Nothing short of sincere and the way he envisioned a nurse should be with her patients.
"Um…" Joe began, clearing his throat. "Forgive me, but that took me by surprise." he finished, letting off a husky laugh.
She shuffled her feet from side to side, staring at the floor, giving off her own small smile.
"Yeah, well, there's more than meets the eye, I suppose." she uttered, finally allowing her eyes to meet his.
"This is going to be…." he began, his mind racing for the appropriate word. His eyes met hers, a small twinkle lying beneath the surface. "…interesting." he finished as he ran his fingers through his long, dark hair and giving her a smirk.