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Destiny, by Kristii
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Chapter two... does anyone actually read this?? I'd love some comments
from you all about what you think I'm doing right/wrong...
comments -- aznvballgurl@yahoo.com
Sailor Mars and affiliated characters (c) Naoko Takeuchi
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It was not quite dawn when Rei finally returned home to
Potomac, half the world away from Serena's Tokyo apartment. Her
husband had not woken yet when she entered the bedroom; Rei stood at
his side a long time, watching him as he slept, oblivious to the
promise she had just made Serena...
God, Kyle, I'm so sorry. His face was more relaxed than she
had seen it for a long time, as innocent as a child's, so peaceful...
Standing there, watching him, Rei could not stand the thought of the
pain she would bring to that calm face the next morning. Damn you,
Serena--damn you for dragging him into this. Is it not enough that
Hino Rei must fall to Mars for eternity? Why do you want him, too, as
your sacrifice?
And then, finally, a few minutes before his alarm clock would
start ringing, Rei scribbled a note telling him she had left early for
a doctor's appointment, then left silently for her lawyer's.
----------
It was ten by the time Rei arrived at the office, armed with
the folder her attorney had provided. Kyle's secretary was out when
she entered the antechamber to his suite; taking a deep breath to
steady her nerves, she went straight toward the double doors leading
to his office, then rapped lightly on the door.
A few moments passed, and there was no answer. A small wave of
apprehension rose up in Rei's throat, joining the anxiety that had been lodged
there since the Senshi's meeting. How odd – I know Kyle's in today. After a
moment's hesitation, she knocked once more, then gently pushed open the
door --
-- and froze, stunned at the scene before her:
Kyle was doubled over beside his desk, his body curled up in a
ball of agony. The thick white carpet was soaked with blood where he
had thrown up; he was gasping into a cell phone lying by the bloody
mess, his voice frantic: "Please... help me..."
The folder dropped from Rei's hands, its contents spilling out
haphazardly. She ran to her husband's side, forgetting Pluto's words,
forgetting Serenity; all she could think of was Kyle's pale,
sweat-drenched face; his terrified eyes, filled with agony... "Oh, my
God, Kyle! What happened?"
"Reiko.." Kyle tried to reach out as the girl dropped to her
knees beside him, then clamped his arm back against his stomach as a
fresh wave of pain hit him. "Rei... help me… please…"
"Shh..." Rei took her husband in her arms and eased his head
onto her lap, letting him take her left hand as her right grabbed the
cell phone. "Hello?"
A woman was on the line, her voice concerned. "Sir?" she
asked, "Sir? Can you tell me what's wrong?"
So Kyle had called 911... "This is Rei Hino, at the
Blackwell and Sons building: 1422 Sunrise Valley Blvd." Kyle moaned
and clutched at her fingers; Rei scrunched the phone between her ear
and shoulder, wiping his brow with her now-free hand. "Shh... it's
okay, just calm down... Shh..."
The 911 dispatcher was confused for a moment, but she quickly
realized what was going on. "What happened, miss? Is someone hurt? Can
you describe their symptoms for me?"
"Yes." Rei stroked Kyle's hair as he whimpered softly, biting
down hard on his lip. "Kyle, what happened? Can you tell me what
happened?"
Kyle tried to speak, but moaned instead, his arms tightening
around his stomach. "I dunno... hurts..."
"I know, shh... I know..." Rei held Kyle tighter as he moaned,
his face going paler as he threw up again. "Shh... it's okay..." She
spoke hurriedly to the operator, still trying to calm her husband:
"He's conscious, but his stomach is hurting. He's vomiting a lot;
there's--there's blood in it, a lot of blood..."
"It sounds like your patient's having some sort of internal
hemorrhaging." The woman sounded alarmed as she heard Rei's
description. "Does he have any history of stomach ulcers?"
"I--I don't think so."
"I see... Well, the ambulance is on its way, miss." The
dispatcher paused for a moment, then hurriedly added: "Just try to
keep the patient as comfortable as you can, okay? Don't give him any
food or liquids--no medication either."
"Thanks." Rei snapped the phone shut and turned to her
husband, trying to soothe him. "They're sending an ambulance, Kyle.
Don't be scared... you'll be okay..."
"Rei..." Kyle was whimpering, struggling to breathe normally,
his body tensing further as each wave of pain hit him. The agony must
have been excruciating; Kyle's brow was drenched in cold sweat again,
though Rei had wiped it barely seconds before. "Reiko... help..."
But she could do no more than hold him, rubbing his back and
trying to comfort him with her words. "Shh... it's okay, Kyle," Rei
said softly, realizing how empty her words were against his pain. "Just
relax, breathe... The ambulance will be here any time now. We'll get
you to the hospital real quick--don't be scared, you'll be okay..."
Her words were not enough, however; Kyle's fear and pain were
increasing by the second even as Rei spoke. "Reiko..." He moaned
again, clinging harder to her hand. "It hurts... Rei... hurts..."
Rei lowered her head so it was by Kyle's, pressing her face
to his cheek. "Shh... shh... The ambulance is coming, Kyle, don't
worry..." Even as she spoke, she heard the faint wail of sirens,
forty-nine stories below them. "You hear that, Kyle? That's the
ambulance, they're here now. We're going to get you to the hospital,
and they'll help--"
Kyle cried out softly, cutting her words off. He pressed his
hands to his abdomen, bringing Rei's hands with them; she could
only watch, helpless, as his whole body tightened with pain. "Rei..."
He started to retch again, and at that very moment, two paramedics
burst through the doors. The entire board of directors trailed behind
them, their faces confused and alarmed...
The paramedics tried to lift Kyle onto the gurney; he
whimpered and clung tightly to Rei's hand. "Reiko... stay..."
The medics looked at Kyle's terrified face, then at Rei, and
made a decision. "You wanna come with us?" One asked, his eyes
softening. "Looks like he won't come without you."
Pluto's voice sprung into her mind, then, stern and
commanding; Kyle's pleading eyes, however, were more than enough to
drive any thoughts of the Time Senshi away. "Yes," Rei said softly,
looking down at her husband. "Let's go..."
----------
The ride to the hospital was terrible; Kyle's pale face went
whiter each time the ambulance sped over a pothole, and he was barely
conscious by the time it finally arrived at Fairfax General. Two
doctors, one his personal physician, met the gurney at the door to the
ER; they took one look at Kyle and whisked him off to surgery, leaving
Rei alone to wait in silence...
It was nearly four hours before Kyle finally came out of the
operating room; A tall doctor, his dark hair brushed with gray, pulled
Rei aside for a moment as she sat along in the waiting room. "Miss
Hino? I'm Dr. John Lynch." He sat down beside her, his voice gentle.
"I'm the physician in charge of Mr. Kennedy's case."
"Oh--" Rei turned toward the doctor, her eyes inquisitive. "Dr.
Lynch? How is he?"
"Not so good," Dr. Lynch said quietly. "Miss Hino, has your
husband ever complained of any stomach pains? Vomiting? An ulcer,
perhaps?"
"No... why?"
The doctor hesitated for a moment before answering. "As you
probably realized, Mr. Kennedy suffered a hemorrhage in his
gastrointestinal tract."
"Yes..."
"Well... The hemorrhaging itself was not a big problem; we've
taken care of that already, but..." Dr. Lynch looked down at the
young woman before him, his eyes gentle. "The bleeding was caused by a
growth in Mr. Kennedy's stomach lining, just below his esophagus. We did some
exploratory surgery, and..." He paused for a moment, unsure of how to
break the news. "We found an advanced case of gastric carcinoma."
"What--" Instinctively, Rei felt her stomach tightening; her
sixth sense, dormant in the long years since her last stint as Mars,
suddenly sprang into action, screaming trouble: "What's that?"
"Stomach cancer."
"What?!" Rei's mouth dropped open; she stared at the doctor,
too stunned to speak. "But--he's so young," she whispered finally,
unable to absorb the blow. "He's only 28--I thought--you had to be
much older--"
"I know." The doctor looked concerned as he took in Rei's pale
face. "The cancer's very rare in someone his age, but it still does
occur, even if not it's not very common..."
"Oh..." Rei stared down at the smooth white tile below her
feet, tracing the patterns with her gaze; anything, to distract from the
doctor's words and keep back her tears. "Will--what kind of treatment
will he need? Surgery? Chemotherapy?"
"No." Doctor Lynch shook his head gently. "It's too late for
that, Miss Hino. If we'd found the cancer earlier, maybe, but now...
There's already been significant spreading, and there's really no way
to cure--"
"What?!" Breathe, Reiko, Breathe! Somehow, Rei found her
voice again: "How--how long does he have, then?"
"Hard to say." The doctor thought for a moment, shaking his
head. "With proper care, I'd say three, maybe four months--five, even,
if he's lucky..."
"Oh, God..." Four months, Rei, you heard him; four months.
Kyle has four fucking months left to live, and you--you're going to do
what to him? "But--isn't there anything you can do?"
Dr. Lynch shook his head, his eyes dark. "I wish there was,
Miss Hino. But eighty percent of stomach cancer patients can't be
cured, and when you have a case this advanced, well..."
"Oh..." Rei closed her eyes for a moment, silently damning Mars
and Serenity to hell forever. "I--Can I see him?"
"Of course." Dr. Lynch stood, and Rei followed him toward the
elevator. "He won't be awake for a while, Miss Hino, but you're
welcome to sit with him until he does. Just don't wear him out--he's
going to need a lot of strength right now."
"I know."
The two reached the third floor in silence, and Dr. Lynch
flashed a sympathetic smile as he paused by Kyle's door. "I've got to
go, Miss Hino, but I'll be back later to check on Kyle, okay?"
"Sure." Rei watched as the doctor hurried away, then turned
toward the room, gently opening the closed door...
"PLUTO?!"
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