Disclaimer: I do not own these characters
Chapter 6: The Confrontation
"Hey Ma. What are you doing home so early?" Marc asked, surprised to see her home at 4:00 in the afternoon.
"I...I got done early." Lu lied, knowing her son wouldn't believe her if she told him she wasn't feeling well.
"Cool. Hey, wanna see a movie tonight?"
"Not tonight, Marc." Lu answered. "I'm really tired."
"Yeah, okay." Marc tried to hide the disappointment in his voice. He was used to getting that answer from his mother, as it had happened often during the past several weeks.
"There's a pizza in the freezer if you're hungry. I'm going to lay down for awhile." Marc nodded as Lu went into her room, shutting the door behind her.
Later that evening, Marc was sitting at the table doing his homework. A sudden knock on the door startled him.
"Who is it?" He asked as he approached the door.
"It's Dr. Stowe, Marc." Marc quickly unlocked the door, opening it and stepping back to let Dana in.
"Hi Marc. Is your mom here?" Dana asked.
"Yeah, she's here. But I don't think she wants to talk to anyone. She came home and locked herself in her room." Marc answered.
"Will you ask her if I can talk to her?" Dana asked.
"Sure." Marc returned seconds later.
"Sorry, Dr. Stowe. She says she doesn't want to talk to anyone." Dana smiled.
"Mind if I try?"
"Go ahead." Marc nodded.
Dana knocked on the bedroom door.
"Lu? It's Dana."
"I told Marc I didn't want to talk." Lu said, her voice slightly irritated.
"Come on, Lu. I'm not leaving until you see me." Dana replied.
"Fine." Lu said, opening the door.
"What are you doing here? It's almost 9:00." Dana followed her into the bedroom. "I thought you might want someone to talk to."
"Well, you thought wrong. I just need to be alone."
"Lu..."
"Dana, is this about what happened in the ER today? Because if it is, I'm sorry."
"This is not about what happened today. Well, not totally anyway."
"Then what? You don't usually come down here. So there must be a reason, right?"
"You're the reason I came down here, Lu." Dana answered. "I wanted to see you."
"You saw me at work, isn't that enough?" Dana couldn't help but smile at Lu's attempt to make a joke, which was often her way of avoiding a subject.
"Lu, talk to me. Please."
"I don't know what you want from me, Dana." Lu answered, turning away from her to hide the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.
"Lu, I think you do know what I want. I want to know why you've been late to work twice this week. I want to know why you never eat anything. I want to know why you keep locking yourself in your office. You haven't even been going to chat room this week. I want to know why you don't talk to anyone. And yes, I want to know what happened to you in the ER today. That's not like you at all. I've never known you to choke like that. I had to convince that nurse not to report you to Dr. Jackson. Now why don't you just tell me what is going on" Dana paused and took a deep breath, giving Lu a chance to answer. But instead, Lu kept her back towards Dana. When Lu didn't say anything, Dana continued. "Lu, you have been going through hell since that night. And I know that you are trying very hard to put it behind you and move on. But you are trying to do it alone. And I also know that there is something you're not telling us. Please Lu, let us help you." Dana paused, once again waiting for some response from Lu. This time Lu turned to face her, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Dana, what happened in the ER this morning...I don't...I couldn't..." Lu paused, not sure how to tell her partner what had caused her to freeze in the ER that morning. Lu lowered her gaze, not able to look Dana in the eye. Dana reached out and gently touched Lu on the shoulder, speaking gently as she did so.
"Please, Lu. Talk to me." Finally, Lu knew she couldn't keep it to herself any longer. She had to tell Dana the truth, and she had to do it now. She took a deep breath.
"Dana...I think I might be pregnant."
"What?" Dana asked softly. Lu nodded.
"My period is over 2 weeks late...and it's never late. I've been tired, and I haven't been feeling well. I can't eat. I'm a nervous wreck. This morning in the ER, I..." Lu quickly sat down on the bed as her knees threatened to buckle.
"I was doing okay until she started asking if she could be pregnant." Lu said in a low voice. "Then I don't know what happened. I choked. It suddenly hit me that I had that same fear. And I couldn't...I couldn't..." Unable to control herself any longer, Lu suddenly broke down in tears. Dana sat down beside her and put her arm around her, trying to comfort her in some small way. They sat in silence for a moment, Lu's body shaking as she cried.
"Lu, have you had a pregnancy test?" Lu shook her head. "No. I guess I'm afraid of what I mind find out."
"I'm sorry, Lu. I didn't even think to check for pregnancy that night because I knew you were on birth control. Because of that, I didn't give you an emergency contraceptive. You are on the pill, aren't you?" Dana questioned. Lu slowly shook her head. "No. I was for a while, but had to switch to a diaphram. I...I haven't used it since Harry and I broke up. There was no need..." Lu's voice trailed off.
"I'm scared, Dana." Lu said softly. "What if I am pregnant? What am I going to do? I won't have an abortion. I don't think I could raise it without seeing Kilner every time I looked at the child. And I don't think I could raise another child alone. I dropped out of high school when I got pregnant with Marc. And when I went to med school...Dana, do you have any idea what it was like to go to med school and raise a kid by myself? I spent all day in school, and on the evenings I didn't have classes, I worked in a bar to support myself and my son. There were so many times when I felt like giving up. If it hadn't been for Isabell..." Lu's voice trailed off as she thought about her grandmother who lived in Puerto Rico.
"Lu, I've never had to go through any of the things you did. And I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you. But..."
"Sometimes it was pure hell, Dana. One mistake in high school and..." Lu paused for a moment, then took a deep breath. "When Marc was little I struggled to provide for him. I promised myself that someday things would be better for us. Back then, I spent more time in school than I did with my kid."
"But things are different for you now, Lu. You have a terrific job. And you did a great job raising your son. You should be proud." Lu slowly shook her head. "Don't you see, Dana? I can't raise another child alone. Sure, I have a good job now. But with my long hours at the clinic..."
"The first thing we need to do, Lu, is to give you a pregnancy test. So I want you to come to my office first thing in the morning, and we'll take care of it. Okay?" Lu nodded as Dana gave her a hug. "And the next thing I want you to do, is to get a good night sleep. You look exhausted. I know this first week back has been hard for you." Lu suddenly pulled away from Dana and wiped the tears from her eyes, suddenly feeling embarrassed that she had allowed herself to break down in front of Dana
"I'm sorry, Dana. I didn't mean to break down like this."
"Hey, it's okay. You've been letting it build for much to long. You needed to let it go. I'm going to go now so you can get some sleep. Or I could stay if you'd like me to." Lu shook her head.
"No, you go ahead. I'll be fine."
"Okay, but call if you need anything." Dana said as she got up to leave.
"I will. And Dana?" Dana stopped and turned around. "Yes?"
"Thanks. Thanks for coming over tonight. And thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder." Dana smiled.
"That's what friends are for, Lu. See you tomorrow." Dana left, quietly closing the door behind her. Lu took a deep breath as she lay down, suddenly feeling very emotionally drained. Within minutes she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 6: The Confrontation
"Hey Ma. What are you doing home so early?" Marc asked, surprised to see her home at 4:00 in the afternoon.
"I...I got done early." Lu lied, knowing her son wouldn't believe her if she told him she wasn't feeling well.
"Cool. Hey, wanna see a movie tonight?"
"Not tonight, Marc." Lu answered. "I'm really tired."
"Yeah, okay." Marc tried to hide the disappointment in his voice. He was used to getting that answer from his mother, as it had happened often during the past several weeks.
"There's a pizza in the freezer if you're hungry. I'm going to lay down for awhile." Marc nodded as Lu went into her room, shutting the door behind her.
Later that evening, Marc was sitting at the table doing his homework. A sudden knock on the door startled him.
"Who is it?" He asked as he approached the door.
"It's Dr. Stowe, Marc." Marc quickly unlocked the door, opening it and stepping back to let Dana in.
"Hi Marc. Is your mom here?" Dana asked.
"Yeah, she's here. But I don't think she wants to talk to anyone. She came home and locked herself in her room." Marc answered.
"Will you ask her if I can talk to her?" Dana asked.
"Sure." Marc returned seconds later.
"Sorry, Dr. Stowe. She says she doesn't want to talk to anyone." Dana smiled.
"Mind if I try?"
"Go ahead." Marc nodded.
Dana knocked on the bedroom door.
"Lu? It's Dana."
"I told Marc I didn't want to talk." Lu said, her voice slightly irritated.
"Come on, Lu. I'm not leaving until you see me." Dana replied.
"Fine." Lu said, opening the door.
"What are you doing here? It's almost 9:00." Dana followed her into the bedroom. "I thought you might want someone to talk to."
"Well, you thought wrong. I just need to be alone."
"Lu..."
"Dana, is this about what happened in the ER today? Because if it is, I'm sorry."
"This is not about what happened today. Well, not totally anyway."
"Then what? You don't usually come down here. So there must be a reason, right?"
"You're the reason I came down here, Lu." Dana answered. "I wanted to see you."
"You saw me at work, isn't that enough?" Dana couldn't help but smile at Lu's attempt to make a joke, which was often her way of avoiding a subject.
"Lu, talk to me. Please."
"I don't know what you want from me, Dana." Lu answered, turning away from her to hide the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.
"Lu, I think you do know what I want. I want to know why you've been late to work twice this week. I want to know why you never eat anything. I want to know why you keep locking yourself in your office. You haven't even been going to chat room this week. I want to know why you don't talk to anyone. And yes, I want to know what happened to you in the ER today. That's not like you at all. I've never known you to choke like that. I had to convince that nurse not to report you to Dr. Jackson. Now why don't you just tell me what is going on" Dana paused and took a deep breath, giving Lu a chance to answer. But instead, Lu kept her back towards Dana. When Lu didn't say anything, Dana continued. "Lu, you have been going through hell since that night. And I know that you are trying very hard to put it behind you and move on. But you are trying to do it alone. And I also know that there is something you're not telling us. Please Lu, let us help you." Dana paused, once again waiting for some response from Lu. This time Lu turned to face her, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Dana, what happened in the ER this morning...I don't...I couldn't..." Lu paused, not sure how to tell her partner what had caused her to freeze in the ER that morning. Lu lowered her gaze, not able to look Dana in the eye. Dana reached out and gently touched Lu on the shoulder, speaking gently as she did so.
"Please, Lu. Talk to me." Finally, Lu knew she couldn't keep it to herself any longer. She had to tell Dana the truth, and she had to do it now. She took a deep breath.
"Dana...I think I might be pregnant."
"What?" Dana asked softly. Lu nodded.
"My period is over 2 weeks late...and it's never late. I've been tired, and I haven't been feeling well. I can't eat. I'm a nervous wreck. This morning in the ER, I..." Lu quickly sat down on the bed as her knees threatened to buckle.
"I was doing okay until she started asking if she could be pregnant." Lu said in a low voice. "Then I don't know what happened. I choked. It suddenly hit me that I had that same fear. And I couldn't...I couldn't..." Unable to control herself any longer, Lu suddenly broke down in tears. Dana sat down beside her and put her arm around her, trying to comfort her in some small way. They sat in silence for a moment, Lu's body shaking as she cried.
"Lu, have you had a pregnancy test?" Lu shook her head. "No. I guess I'm afraid of what I mind find out."
"I'm sorry, Lu. I didn't even think to check for pregnancy that night because I knew you were on birth control. Because of that, I didn't give you an emergency contraceptive. You are on the pill, aren't you?" Dana questioned. Lu slowly shook her head. "No. I was for a while, but had to switch to a diaphram. I...I haven't used it since Harry and I broke up. There was no need..." Lu's voice trailed off.
"I'm scared, Dana." Lu said softly. "What if I am pregnant? What am I going to do? I won't have an abortion. I don't think I could raise it without seeing Kilner every time I looked at the child. And I don't think I could raise another child alone. I dropped out of high school when I got pregnant with Marc. And when I went to med school...Dana, do you have any idea what it was like to go to med school and raise a kid by myself? I spent all day in school, and on the evenings I didn't have classes, I worked in a bar to support myself and my son. There were so many times when I felt like giving up. If it hadn't been for Isabell..." Lu's voice trailed off as she thought about her grandmother who lived in Puerto Rico.
"Lu, I've never had to go through any of the things you did. And I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you. But..."
"Sometimes it was pure hell, Dana. One mistake in high school and..." Lu paused for a moment, then took a deep breath. "When Marc was little I struggled to provide for him. I promised myself that someday things would be better for us. Back then, I spent more time in school than I did with my kid."
"But things are different for you now, Lu. You have a terrific job. And you did a great job raising your son. You should be proud." Lu slowly shook her head. "Don't you see, Dana? I can't raise another child alone. Sure, I have a good job now. But with my long hours at the clinic..."
"The first thing we need to do, Lu, is to give you a pregnancy test. So I want you to come to my office first thing in the morning, and we'll take care of it. Okay?" Lu nodded as Dana gave her a hug. "And the next thing I want you to do, is to get a good night sleep. You look exhausted. I know this first week back has been hard for you." Lu suddenly pulled away from Dana and wiped the tears from her eyes, suddenly feeling embarrassed that she had allowed herself to break down in front of Dana
"I'm sorry, Dana. I didn't mean to break down like this."
"Hey, it's okay. You've been letting it build for much to long. You needed to let it go. I'm going to go now so you can get some sleep. Or I could stay if you'd like me to." Lu shook her head.
"No, you go ahead. I'll be fine."
"Okay, but call if you need anything." Dana said as she got up to leave.
"I will. And Dana?" Dana stopped and turned around. "Yes?"
"Thanks. Thanks for coming over tonight. And thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder." Dana smiled.
"That's what friends are for, Lu. See you tomorrow." Dana left, quietly closing the door behind her. Lu took a deep breath as she lay down, suddenly feeling very emotionally drained. Within minutes she drifted off to sleep.