The New Girl

            By Caitlin "Jinx" Wasson

Chapter Fifteen

Last Chance

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            "Mr. Skinner, you are a match."

            The words played over in his head as he changed out of his suit and into a hospital gown. Only a week and a half before, he had been told that he had the chance to save Rianna.

            There had really been no thinking time between notification and the tests to confirm that he was in good enough health to donate and then sent off to the operating room. They couldn't really afford to wait any longer because Rianna's illness had progressed quite rapidly.

            He knew the risks associated with the operation. They were great and painful but the risks of not doing it were higher; a girl's life was at stake.

            No, not a girl, a woman. He couldn't help but think of Rianna as a little girl. She was small and fragile and innocent. And yet, she seemed to possess a hidden strength and drive that not even the cancer could steal from her. Yes, even though Rianna looked like a girl, she was very much a woman.

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            David paced back and forth in the surgical waiting room. Mulder and Scully sat in chairs, nervously flipping through ancient copies of Seventeen and People Magazine from 1985.

            All of them were extremely nervous. Mrs. Scully, Bill, Charlie, Mrs. Heart, and Mr. Heart were in the cafeteria, leaving them temporarily alone.

            David was the most nervous of all. He had wanted to tie the knot before the operation but Rianna insisted.

            "We'll have plenty of time when I pull through," she insisted. "Don't worry so much."

            When, not if. She had sounded so confident in her words. It was almost enough to calm him.

            But how could he not worry? She was dying and this was the only thing that might save her.

            The doctors expected the operation to last another hour to a total of ten hours. David couldn't wait that long; he had to know that she was alive.

            To his surprise, a doctor walked through the doors, his surgical mask hiding his expression. David walked toward him, nervous but ready to find out what he had to say.

            He pulled off his mask. "Your fiancĂ© and Mr. Skinner came out of the operation just fine. The transplant was a success but it'll be a few weeks before we know if it's effective.

            David nodded. "What's the estimated recovery time?"

            "Two and a half weeks," he said.

            David nodded. "Thank you doctor, for everything."

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            Rianna's whole body felt like lead. She knew it was the affects of the anesthesia wearing off.

            "Rianna?"

            It was Fox.

            "Honey?"

            That was David.

            She struggled to open her eyes and regain consciousness. After blinking several times, she forced her eyes open and took in her surroundings. The walls surrounding her were all white and bleeping monitors checked her pulse and blood pressure.

            "She's coming around," Dr. Readen said. "Rianna?"

            "Hi," she said faintly. "How's Skinner?"

            "He's fine," Dr. Readen told her. "He came out of it better than you, actually."

            "That's good," she said vaguely. "Was it successful?"

            "The signs point to yes," Mulder told her. "But we won't be sure for another month or two."

            She nodded. "Good."

            "Now that I know you're okay, I need to go call Scully," Mulder said. "She's in visiting Skinner."

            "And I need to see my other patients," Dr. Readen said.

            David watched them go before planting a kiss on her forehead. "You're going to live, Rianna," he said. "You're going to live."

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Yeah, that was a short chapter but just enough to wrap this up in a nice, neat, tidy little package and set it up so I can decide on whether I want to write the sequel or not. I kind of would like to, since I really would like to write about Rianna and David's wedding and some other things that I have planned. Also, I don't know if I mentioned this because it's rather important to the sequel, this takes place in mid to late season seven.

Luv Y'all!

Cait