Lauren was leaning over the garbage can in the ICU. She was sick, very sick. Her stomach was in her throat. She drank a cup of coffee about half an hour ago, and now it was right where it came from. Steven put his arm around her.
"Maybe you should see a doctor?"
"No, there is nothing wrong with me. I'm just worried about Scott, he looked awful. He said me name but he wasn't conscious."
"He knew you were there Lauren. He sensed it."
"I don't understand this. He was fine when I left him last night."
"He has an infection and has gone into renal failure. The doctor said that this could happen."
"Lauren Davis? Steven Harper?"
"Yes?"
"I'm Dr. Reynolds, the kidney specialist and this is my colleague, Dr. Landon. We need to speak to you about Mr. Guber's condition.
"We won't lie to you, his condition is serious. The bullet damaged his kidneys more than we originally projected, although we did suspect from the beginning that a transplant could be necessary."
"How do we go about getting this transplant?"
"Well, we usually ask friends and family to submit to tissue and blood samples to see if anyone matches. Then we put his name on the list and see if a donor turns up that way."
Steven rose, "I'll call his brother, George, maybe he could be a donor."
"Can I see him?"
"Yes, but only for a few minutes."
Lauren walked down the hall to see Scott. All of the machines that he was hooked up to were buzzing and beeping. There was a nurse in there with him, and she smiled when she looked at her.
"Are you Lauren?"
"Yes, why has he asked for me?"
"Only a few times, but yes, he did call for you. I'll leave you two alone."
Lauren sat down by the bed and lifted Scott' s hand.
"It's all right," she said, "I'm here now, and everything is going to be all right. I promise you that. I'm never going to hurt you again, or leave you again. You have to believe that I will stay with you until this is all over, but you have to fight Scott, you have to hold on and never give up. Please, do that for me."
Dr. Reynolds came in, "Miss Davis, Mr. Harper has reached Mr. Guber's brother. He's on his way."
"I need to stay her. He is so sick, he needs me. He knows I'm here, he knows I am."
"He needs his rest, and by the looks of things, so do you. Come on now."
Fortunately, it didn't take long for the doctors to find a donor, albeit an unlikely one. Harry Senate was the same blood type as Scott and the tissues matched in other ways as well. Lauren would be eternally grateful to him for this. She knew that Harry blamed Scott for the destruction of their relationship, that was evident in what he said to her when he told her his decision, "Not for him, for you."
Lauren tried to teach the day of the surgery, she truly did, but every time the door opened or the intercom buzzed, she hoped that it was Steven or Louisa coming to tell her they were both all right.
"Miss Davis? Miss Davis?"
"Yes, Carol, what is it?"
"The bell rang."
"Oh, no homework. You can go."
"No, Miss Davis, the bell rang to start the class."
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that…"
"You're just worried about Mr. Senate and Mr. Guber."
"That shouldn't concern you, Carol, I apologize."
"Miss Davis, how did Mr. Guber get shot?"
"He was at the store where I was held up. The gunman fired into the crowd and he was hit. It was very scary. "
Lauren's eyes clouded over like she was going into a trance, "He was lying on the ground and he asked me if I was all right."
Lauren was shaking, and Carol said to her friend, " Should we get Mr. Harper?"
Looking at Lauren again, another student, Claudia left the room and went to the Principal's office.
"May I help you?" Lauren asked when she saw Claudia.
"Yes, Miss Davis is kind of out of it, and I think she needs to go home."
"I'll send Mr. Harper in right away. Thank you."
Lauren was going into the teacher's lounge after collecting herself and actually teaching her class, she overheard a conversation between Kevin and Marilyn.
"According to Steven, Scott's half of the operation is easy, but poor Harry, they practically have to saw him in half to get that kidney out."
"Yes, but Kevin, Harry is healthy, Scott is weaker and…"
"You kow, after the time we've been spending together, I'm beginning to think my name is but Kevin."
"Kevin, we said…"
"I know what we said, and I can't do it anymore, Marilyn," he said softly, going to hug her.
Lauren entered the lounge, " Hi guys."
"Hey Lauren, how are you holding up?"
"Okay, I'm just waiting for Daniel to call and tell me the surgery was a success."
"Well, it's two-thirty, and this is my free period. Marilyn and I are going to the hospital and see how they are doing. Why don't you come with us and we can all wait together."
Lauren decided to go to the hospital with her friends. She hated hospitals ,the sick sounds and smells. George Guber was in the waiting room along with Crystal and Jonathan Senate. Her own brother as well as Dr. Randolph were talking to them. She rushed at Daniel, " How are they?"
"Harry is grouchy and in pain and perfectly fine. Scott is weak and still in recovery."
"Can I see Harry?"
"Sure, he's in 543."
Lauren went and Harry smiled.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Hi. Is Scott okay?"
"He's still in recovery. How are you feeling?"
Like one of the magician's assistants with the swords…" he laughed and moaned at the stab of pain.
"Are they giving you anything?"
"God knows. I thought that I was in Heaven, when you walked in, that's how I felt. I must be pretty drugged up. But it still hurts."
"Rest then."
"I did this for you. I know that you love him."
"No. I don't know who I love, but both of you are special to me and both of you need me and I will be there."
By the time she finished, he was asleep. So she felt free to go up to recovery and see Scott. She had to wear a mask so he wouldn't get any of her germs, but they did allow her to hold his hand. It was midnight when her brother tried to get her to leave, but she refused.
"What if he waked up and I'm not here?"
"Then someone else will be."
"He'll want me. And since this is all my fault."
Out of the blue, she felt a light squeeze on her hand and from the bed, she heard a weak protest, "No, it's not."
"Scott? It's Lauren," she told him, and he smiled.
