Chapter 18
Craig grabbed the textbook and drove quickly back to the hospital, bursting noisily into the ward where Chloe was staying and flailing the book madly in the air.
"Doctor Warner, doctor Warner!" He yelled at the figure of a man down the hall a ways from him. "Please, you must see what I have found!"
The doctor turned around, startled, and walked silently to the man with an expression of anger on his face. He was about to lash out at Mr. Wesley for being so loud in the small hospital full of patients, but stopped instead when he saw the book he was holding. Craig pointed to the small paragraph about Sir Reginald Hemsby and nudged the doctor to read it.
Doctor Warner read it slowly, his brow furrowed. His expression turned to that of great surprise when he read what they had written about his findings.
"Please, it's our only hope!" Craig cried, exasperated.
The doctor looked at him and nodded his head slowly.
"We must first see if we have a match."
He led Craig into a small operating room and told him to lie on his back as he took a small sample of his bone marrow from his spine after giving him a dosage of morphine to keep him from feeling any pain.
He walked quickly to the small room where Brady sat with Chloe and asked for him to step outside for a moment. Brady did as he was told, kissing Chloe lightly on the forehead before disembarking. He sat outside with Craig as he explained what he had read in the textbook.
Around twenty minutes later, Doctor Warner emerged from Chloe's bedroom with his second sample, disappearing down the stair to the labs.
Brady and Craig stepped back into Chloe's room, where she was asleep again. It was mandatory that the doctor give her heavy pain medicine for the already excruciating pain of having a needle stuck in your spine was tripled when your marrow was diseased. Yet now she seemed to be in a more relaxed state, a soft smile on her lips as she dreamt peacefully, feeling no pain from the killer illness advancing upon her.
It wasn't until later that day that the doctor reappeared on that floor, walking slowly into Chloe's room.
He motioned for Craig to step into the hallway for a moment.
"No match." The doctor said simply, shaking his head. Craig's hopes of keeping his daughter crashed and burned at that moment.
"Does she have any other relatives that may have a match?"
"Her mother…" Craig said slowly, thinking that perhaps Nancy might hold the key to saving Chloe's life.
The doctor shook his head.
"I doubt it. This is a very rare type that your Chloe possess, she seems to be unique in every way possible."
Craig thought hard. Then he jumped up, hitting his forehead with his hand.
"She has a twin brother!" He said breathlessly.
The doctor's eyes lit up, and a smile spread across his face. "Where is he?"
Craig stopped. He was still in New York. "He's not in Salem…" He said slowly, then ran off down the hall to the main desk where the receptionist sat quietly filing her nails.
He picked up the phone and dialed the number to Nancy's apartment in New York and waited restlessly for someone to pick up. It rang once, then twice…On the third ring, he heard the perky voice of Nancy Lane speak up on the end of the line.
"Hello?" She asked sweetly into the phone.
"Nancy! It's Craig."
"Craig! I told you not to call here!" She yelled, her perkiness disappearing from her voice.
"Nancy, you listen to me! This is an emergency! You have to get Shawn down here immediately! I mean now!"
"Why?"
"Just do it Nancy! This is a matter of life and death!" He roared, unable to control his emotions. Nancy now controlled if his daughter lived or died. Yet the fear in his voice must have convinced her because she and Shawn were on the next plane over to Salem.
***
As soon as he arrived in Salem, Shawn was met by his overly anxious father and rushed immediately to the hospital. Shawn was thoroughly oblivious as to what was going on and looked around in confusion as his father rushed him into the operation ward of the hospital.
"Shawn! Ok son, just trust me on this. We need a sample of your bone marrow." Craig said, holding his shoulders and looking straight at him. Shawn nodded his head, the determination in his father's voice assuring him that this was something that he had to do.
The doctor took the sample and rushed away to the labs. While he was gone, Brady and Craig explained the whole story to Nancy and Shawn as they sat in shocked silence. After that had been cleared out of the way, Craig led Shawn in to see his sister. She was awake now and sitting up in bed. The sight of her made Shawn's face overflow with tears.
"Shawn?" She asked quietly, squinting at him. "Is that you?"
Shawn moved closer to her and took a seat by her side.
"It's me Chloe!" He said, holding her hand. Chloe gave him a genuine smile.
"What are you waiting for! Give me a hug!" Chloe cried, and Shawn hugged her, making sure not to hurt her in her fragile state. As they pulled apart, Chloe went on about how much she had missed him, and Shawn said the feeling was mutual. After that, they talked for a while, Shawn telling Chloe more of Jamie-Lynn and his life in the city.
Nancy sat outside as tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks.
"My daughter is dying?" She said in disbelief, looking up at Craig. Craig nodded his head slowly.
"And she got married without inviting me to her wedding?" Craig gave Nancy a strange look. Nancy sighed. "I guess she wouldn't want me at her wedding."
Craig sat down beside her and took her hand.
"Nancy, you haven't exactly been the ideal mother, but Chloe still loves you. She may not have invited you to her wedding because it was a critical point in her life and maybe she just harbored ill feeling towards you.
"Can I see her now?" She sniffed, wiping her tears with a tissue before they fell onto her designer jacket.
Craig nodded and led her into the room where Shawn sat with Chloe. The sight of Chloe made Nancy burst out crying too. There was just something about seeing the usually bright Chloe looking so frail on the bed that tugged at everyone's heartstrings.
Shawn left Chloe alone with Nancy and headed back into the hallway with his father just as Doctor Warner cam rushing back upstairs from the lab.
"We have a match!"
Craig grabbed the textbook and drove quickly back to the hospital, bursting noisily into the ward where Chloe was staying and flailing the book madly in the air.
"Doctor Warner, doctor Warner!" He yelled at the figure of a man down the hall a ways from him. "Please, you must see what I have found!"
The doctor turned around, startled, and walked silently to the man with an expression of anger on his face. He was about to lash out at Mr. Wesley for being so loud in the small hospital full of patients, but stopped instead when he saw the book he was holding. Craig pointed to the small paragraph about Sir Reginald Hemsby and nudged the doctor to read it.
Doctor Warner read it slowly, his brow furrowed. His expression turned to that of great surprise when he read what they had written about his findings.
"Please, it's our only hope!" Craig cried, exasperated.
The doctor looked at him and nodded his head slowly.
"We must first see if we have a match."
He led Craig into a small operating room and told him to lie on his back as he took a small sample of his bone marrow from his spine after giving him a dosage of morphine to keep him from feeling any pain.
He walked quickly to the small room where Brady sat with Chloe and asked for him to step outside for a moment. Brady did as he was told, kissing Chloe lightly on the forehead before disembarking. He sat outside with Craig as he explained what he had read in the textbook.
Around twenty minutes later, Doctor Warner emerged from Chloe's bedroom with his second sample, disappearing down the stair to the labs.
Brady and Craig stepped back into Chloe's room, where she was asleep again. It was mandatory that the doctor give her heavy pain medicine for the already excruciating pain of having a needle stuck in your spine was tripled when your marrow was diseased. Yet now she seemed to be in a more relaxed state, a soft smile on her lips as she dreamt peacefully, feeling no pain from the killer illness advancing upon her.
It wasn't until later that day that the doctor reappeared on that floor, walking slowly into Chloe's room.
He motioned for Craig to step into the hallway for a moment.
"No match." The doctor said simply, shaking his head. Craig's hopes of keeping his daughter crashed and burned at that moment.
"Does she have any other relatives that may have a match?"
"Her mother…" Craig said slowly, thinking that perhaps Nancy might hold the key to saving Chloe's life.
The doctor shook his head.
"I doubt it. This is a very rare type that your Chloe possess, she seems to be unique in every way possible."
Craig thought hard. Then he jumped up, hitting his forehead with his hand.
"She has a twin brother!" He said breathlessly.
The doctor's eyes lit up, and a smile spread across his face. "Where is he?"
Craig stopped. He was still in New York. "He's not in Salem…" He said slowly, then ran off down the hall to the main desk where the receptionist sat quietly filing her nails.
He picked up the phone and dialed the number to Nancy's apartment in New York and waited restlessly for someone to pick up. It rang once, then twice…On the third ring, he heard the perky voice of Nancy Lane speak up on the end of the line.
"Hello?" She asked sweetly into the phone.
"Nancy! It's Craig."
"Craig! I told you not to call here!" She yelled, her perkiness disappearing from her voice.
"Nancy, you listen to me! This is an emergency! You have to get Shawn down here immediately! I mean now!"
"Why?"
"Just do it Nancy! This is a matter of life and death!" He roared, unable to control his emotions. Nancy now controlled if his daughter lived or died. Yet the fear in his voice must have convinced her because she and Shawn were on the next plane over to Salem.
***
As soon as he arrived in Salem, Shawn was met by his overly anxious father and rushed immediately to the hospital. Shawn was thoroughly oblivious as to what was going on and looked around in confusion as his father rushed him into the operation ward of the hospital.
"Shawn! Ok son, just trust me on this. We need a sample of your bone marrow." Craig said, holding his shoulders and looking straight at him. Shawn nodded his head, the determination in his father's voice assuring him that this was something that he had to do.
The doctor took the sample and rushed away to the labs. While he was gone, Brady and Craig explained the whole story to Nancy and Shawn as they sat in shocked silence. After that had been cleared out of the way, Craig led Shawn in to see his sister. She was awake now and sitting up in bed. The sight of her made Shawn's face overflow with tears.
"Shawn?" She asked quietly, squinting at him. "Is that you?"
Shawn moved closer to her and took a seat by her side.
"It's me Chloe!" He said, holding her hand. Chloe gave him a genuine smile.
"What are you waiting for! Give me a hug!" Chloe cried, and Shawn hugged her, making sure not to hurt her in her fragile state. As they pulled apart, Chloe went on about how much she had missed him, and Shawn said the feeling was mutual. After that, they talked for a while, Shawn telling Chloe more of Jamie-Lynn and his life in the city.
Nancy sat outside as tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks.
"My daughter is dying?" She said in disbelief, looking up at Craig. Craig nodded his head slowly.
"And she got married without inviting me to her wedding?" Craig gave Nancy a strange look. Nancy sighed. "I guess she wouldn't want me at her wedding."
Craig sat down beside her and took her hand.
"Nancy, you haven't exactly been the ideal mother, but Chloe still loves you. She may not have invited you to her wedding because it was a critical point in her life and maybe she just harbored ill feeling towards you.
"Can I see her now?" She sniffed, wiping her tears with a tissue before they fell onto her designer jacket.
Craig nodded and led her into the room where Shawn sat with Chloe. The sight of Chloe made Nancy burst out crying too. There was just something about seeing the usually bright Chloe looking so frail on the bed that tugged at everyone's heartstrings.
Shawn left Chloe alone with Nancy and headed back into the hallway with his father just as Doctor Warner cam rushing back upstairs from the lab.
"We have a match!"