Thanks for all the reviews! (And I'm not sure if this is going to be a
happy ending or not, I think it's still too far away to tell. {In truth, I
don't have a clue what's going to happen in this chapter either, I'm just
making it up as I go along . . .})
And Maura Tierney, if I made Sara pregnant like they do in all the other stories, then what would the point of trying to write an original story be? (Sorry everyone who writes those stories, don't take it the wrong way. I LOVE those types of stories). Also, it's not my fault that ff.net has a few problems with the quotation marks (") and apostrophes (') when we upload things, just look at all the stories that have been uploaded since July 20. Unless you don't mind waiting for ff.net to fix itself up and not know what's happening to Sara.
*************************************************
Sara and Nick walked into the lab silently. As they turned a corner, a very satisfied, very happy Warrick accosted them. "Sara, I love you!" he cried enveloping her in a bear hug, "Deb Steinbaum and I are going on a date tomorrow!" Suddenly realizing that neither of his friends was either grinning or poking fun at him, Warrick asked apprehensively, "What's wrong?"
Sara opened her mouth, but when she tried to speak, she ended up breaking down in tears. As she buried her head in Nick's shoulder, Nick explained what had transpired in the course of 48 hours. "The reason Sara kept fainting was because she had this tumor on her spine, it's growing out of it I think, and so the doctors did a biopsy, and it came back positive for cancer."
Warrick, who had been subdued by Sara's outburst, became crest fallen at the word "cancer".
"Oh my god," Warrick said quietly, "Is there anything I can do to help? Just say the word and I'm there."
"Keep it to yourself until we tell the rest of them," Nick replied, thankful that his best friend was being so supportive.
"And don't treat me like an invalid. I want you to act normal around me. Okay?" Sara added.
"Got it on both counts," Warrick promised. "When are you going to tell them?"
"Now, when they're all in the break room. Maybe after Grissom hands out assignments."
"Okay. And just remember, I'm behind you two all the way."
"Thanks Warrick," Sara replied, slightly calmer than she was a few seconds before.
They walked silently to the door of the break room like a funeral procession, but no one made that comment.
Catherine looked up at the slight sound of feet hitting the floor. Almost instantaneously, she knew something was off. "Is everything alright?" she asked, addressing all three of her friends.
Their answer was cut off by Greg, who shuffled in after pulling a double because he had taken a day time lab tech's shift. "So how's our Trinity today?" he asked tiredly, not really expecting a reply.
Yet again their answer was cut off, this time by Grissom. "Why all the long faces?" he asked incredulously. When no one spoke, he continued, "Never mind. I have the assignments for tonight. It all looks like it's pretty straight forward, you should be able to solve them in no time."
"Grissom," Catherine began quietly, the bad feeling in her stomach gnawing at her.
Grissom did not appear to have heard his co-worker, and merely kept going on with what he was saying. "Okay, so we have a break and enter in a local 7-11, an 'accidental' shooting that needs looking into, and an attempted rape case. Warrick, Catherine, take the B&E. Nick you're with me on the shooting. And Sara, you're on the rape case by yourself, since you know how to deal with these types of cases better than the rest of us."
"Um, Grissom," Warrick began as he cleared his throat, "Can Sara go with me and Cath can take the attempted rape? Or can she go with Nick?"
"Sara can't go with Nick, I don't know how to relate to people, remember, Warrick, so I can't take the rape. If it's alright with Catherine, I guess she can switch with Sara. Why?"
Warrick looked over at his two friends, as if to say, "It's your call."
"I don't know how to say this, so I'll just cut the formality, and just tell you straight," Nick began. He looked over at Sara.
"I have bone cancer," she explained simply, as though she had resigned herself to the fact.
Chaos, however quiet, ensued. Grissom attempted to move or say something, only to be struck immobile and dumb at such an inopportune time. Catherine was beside herself, not even attempting to cover up the tears that were cascading down her cheeks. Greg began pacing, every so often bumping into Warrick who had also begun to pace.
"Someone, say something," Sara pleaded.
"How long have you known?" Warrick choked out.
"Since five p.m. today," Nick replied.
***************************************
"Hi, you must be Sara?" The middle aged oncologist asked as his greeting.
"Hi, yes. Dr. O'Connor?"
"Uh huh. So I heard about you tumor. You think you're up to discussing it and your treatment options?" They were the only two people sitting in the spacious, masculine office full of rich browns of various shades and leather.
Sara sat still for a moment in contemplation. "Yeah, I think I can do that."
"Good. But if you want me to slow down or stop or explain anything over, you tell me, okay?" When Sara nodded, he continued. "As you know, you have bone cancer that's attached itself, for lack of a better word, to your vertebrae. We want to cut it out before it spreads to your vital organs, namely your lungs. Since the tumor is closer to your lungs, we want to operate as soon as possible to prevent such a thing from occurring. You probably guessed that we can't take all of the tumor out without risking cutting your spinal cord, leaving you paralyzed from the chest down, so we plan to supplement the operation with chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and hopefully that will eradicate the rest of the tumor. It's going to be rough going from here on out, I thought I might warn you. Am I going too fast?"
"No. Dr. Wong said the same thing, more or less," Sara replied.
"Ah yes," Dr. O'Connor said with a smile, "He's a wonderful emergency surgeon, but I think that it's his secret dream to have my job."
Sara had to smile as well. "I do have one question," she began, "When are you planning to operate?"
"As soon as humanly possible. Oh, and your insurance should cover this operation, so you don't have to worry too much in that regard."
"I'm already worried," Sara said wryly, "A little more worry won't matter."
"That's the spirit!" the doctor praised, "Keep thinking positive, Sara, and it can do wonders." He paused for a moment, and added with a more serious tone, "Do you think you can get medical leave by next week on Wednesday so that you could come in for surgery? You're going to need a month at least afterwards to deal with all the chemo and radiation."
"A MONTH?" Sara asked in shock, "At this rate, the cancer's not going to kill me, it's going to be the boredom!"
"Trust me, Sara," Dr. O'Connor said sadly, "You're not going to be bored."
******************************************
Sara lay stomach down on the gurney waiting to be wheeled into the operating room. Sitting beside her on either side on chairs were Warrick and Nick.
"Hey, Sara," Warrick said slowly, as though he was trying to find a way to phrase his statement, "You gotta be fine after your operation, or else this is going to be a two sided Trinity."
"Yeah, Sar, I don't know if I can live without you," Nick spoke up right after Warrick finished speaking.
"Speaking, of melodrama," Sara cut in, in the attempt to lighten the atmosphere, "How did your date with Deborah go, Warrick?"
Warrick brightened up at his "favorite topic" according to Nick. "It's great," he replied with his trademark grin, "I am forever in your debt, Sara, for finding me my woman!"
"And here is reason number two why you have to be fine after your operation," Nick continued, "This man," he pointed to Warrick, "will drive me insane if you're not there to shut him up!"
"I can't promise you much," Sara said to Nick, "but if I die, you know that I will haunt Warrick's life for as long as he lives." At Nick's frown and Warrick's sigh, Sara knew that she had used the wrong combination of words. "Not that I'm planning to die," she added, finishing off her statement.
"Sara?" a nurse who seemed to appear out of thin air in the door way asked as she walked in, "Are you ready to be moved now?"
"Yeah, just give us a minute alone, will you?"
"Sure, just give me a shout when you're ready."
"Thanks so much."
"No problem." And with that, the nurse walked out of the room again and closed the door on her way out.
"Okay, guys, looks like this is the deciding match," Sara said with a lopsided grin. "Try not to get into any fights over me while I'm not here to referee, got it?"
"Yes ma'am!" Warrick called out. Nick just nodded, looking at his fiancée in the eye as he did so.
"Good. I expect you to keep your words," Sara continued, "And now, you may kiss me if you want, Nick, and you too Warrick, if Nick doesn't beat you up."
"I don't think I will ever learn to deny you anything, Sara," Nick replied, getting slightly teary.
"Oh, and rule one about this whole thing, no crying unless you're happy. I swear, Catherine was crying for three days straight after she found out," Sara commanded. "Are you two going to kiss me good luck, or are you just going to gawk at me all day?"
"I prefer to gawk, thank you," Nick replied, trying to be as humorous as possible. "Warrick," he addressed the other man, "You go ahead, I want to have the last word."
"Thank you!" Warrick said with the sauciest grin he could manage. He gave Sara a slight peck on the cheek. "Okay, I'm holding you to your word that you're going to be fine," he told her. Sara nodded.
"Okay, man, time to leave," Nick ordered. As soon as Warrick left the room, he knelt beside the gurney. "I want you to know, that I love you," he told her, "And I want you to know that I will always be by your side through everything that's going to happen. I won't let you face this alone, okay?"
"Okay," Sara echoed, her voice slightly thick from the emotion.
"Hey!" Nick complained, "You said rule one was no crying unless you're happy!"
"I'm not breaking rule one," Sara retorted, "I am happy, you know how to do that to me, you big sentimentalist!"
"Guilty as charged," Nick replied with a grin. "Can I kiss you now?"
"Be my guest!" Sara cried. The aforementioned kiss was delivered with such sincerity and love, that she thought that it alone would be enough to make her better.
When he finally broke off the kiss, Nick said, "I guess I've got to call the nurse back, huh?" When Sara nodded, he continued, "I'm holding you to your word too. So if you try pulling any stunts, Warrick and I will personally see to it that you don't go back to work until you promise to take it easy and let yourself heal."
Sara grinned back, "I know you two will. Now go call the nurse so that we can get this over with."
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Nick answered with a mock salute.
Warrick and Nick waved to Sara's retreating form as the door to the operating room closed in, shutting them out.
****************************************
Sorry for all the angst, but if it's any consolation, look at the bright side, Nick and Sara are so in love, that it could move mountains! (Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit . . . )
PLEASE REVIEW!
And Maura Tierney, if I made Sara pregnant like they do in all the other stories, then what would the point of trying to write an original story be? (Sorry everyone who writes those stories, don't take it the wrong way. I LOVE those types of stories). Also, it's not my fault that ff.net has a few problems with the quotation marks (") and apostrophes (') when we upload things, just look at all the stories that have been uploaded since July 20. Unless you don't mind waiting for ff.net to fix itself up and not know what's happening to Sara.
*************************************************
Sara and Nick walked into the lab silently. As they turned a corner, a very satisfied, very happy Warrick accosted them. "Sara, I love you!" he cried enveloping her in a bear hug, "Deb Steinbaum and I are going on a date tomorrow!" Suddenly realizing that neither of his friends was either grinning or poking fun at him, Warrick asked apprehensively, "What's wrong?"
Sara opened her mouth, but when she tried to speak, she ended up breaking down in tears. As she buried her head in Nick's shoulder, Nick explained what had transpired in the course of 48 hours. "The reason Sara kept fainting was because she had this tumor on her spine, it's growing out of it I think, and so the doctors did a biopsy, and it came back positive for cancer."
Warrick, who had been subdued by Sara's outburst, became crest fallen at the word "cancer".
"Oh my god," Warrick said quietly, "Is there anything I can do to help? Just say the word and I'm there."
"Keep it to yourself until we tell the rest of them," Nick replied, thankful that his best friend was being so supportive.
"And don't treat me like an invalid. I want you to act normal around me. Okay?" Sara added.
"Got it on both counts," Warrick promised. "When are you going to tell them?"
"Now, when they're all in the break room. Maybe after Grissom hands out assignments."
"Okay. And just remember, I'm behind you two all the way."
"Thanks Warrick," Sara replied, slightly calmer than she was a few seconds before.
They walked silently to the door of the break room like a funeral procession, but no one made that comment.
Catherine looked up at the slight sound of feet hitting the floor. Almost instantaneously, she knew something was off. "Is everything alright?" she asked, addressing all three of her friends.
Their answer was cut off by Greg, who shuffled in after pulling a double because he had taken a day time lab tech's shift. "So how's our Trinity today?" he asked tiredly, not really expecting a reply.
Yet again their answer was cut off, this time by Grissom. "Why all the long faces?" he asked incredulously. When no one spoke, he continued, "Never mind. I have the assignments for tonight. It all looks like it's pretty straight forward, you should be able to solve them in no time."
"Grissom," Catherine began quietly, the bad feeling in her stomach gnawing at her.
Grissom did not appear to have heard his co-worker, and merely kept going on with what he was saying. "Okay, so we have a break and enter in a local 7-11, an 'accidental' shooting that needs looking into, and an attempted rape case. Warrick, Catherine, take the B&E. Nick you're with me on the shooting. And Sara, you're on the rape case by yourself, since you know how to deal with these types of cases better than the rest of us."
"Um, Grissom," Warrick began as he cleared his throat, "Can Sara go with me and Cath can take the attempted rape? Or can she go with Nick?"
"Sara can't go with Nick, I don't know how to relate to people, remember, Warrick, so I can't take the rape. If it's alright with Catherine, I guess she can switch with Sara. Why?"
Warrick looked over at his two friends, as if to say, "It's your call."
"I don't know how to say this, so I'll just cut the formality, and just tell you straight," Nick began. He looked over at Sara.
"I have bone cancer," she explained simply, as though she had resigned herself to the fact.
Chaos, however quiet, ensued. Grissom attempted to move or say something, only to be struck immobile and dumb at such an inopportune time. Catherine was beside herself, not even attempting to cover up the tears that were cascading down her cheeks. Greg began pacing, every so often bumping into Warrick who had also begun to pace.
"Someone, say something," Sara pleaded.
"How long have you known?" Warrick choked out.
"Since five p.m. today," Nick replied.
***************************************
"Hi, you must be Sara?" The middle aged oncologist asked as his greeting.
"Hi, yes. Dr. O'Connor?"
"Uh huh. So I heard about you tumor. You think you're up to discussing it and your treatment options?" They were the only two people sitting in the spacious, masculine office full of rich browns of various shades and leather.
Sara sat still for a moment in contemplation. "Yeah, I think I can do that."
"Good. But if you want me to slow down or stop or explain anything over, you tell me, okay?" When Sara nodded, he continued. "As you know, you have bone cancer that's attached itself, for lack of a better word, to your vertebrae. We want to cut it out before it spreads to your vital organs, namely your lungs. Since the tumor is closer to your lungs, we want to operate as soon as possible to prevent such a thing from occurring. You probably guessed that we can't take all of the tumor out without risking cutting your spinal cord, leaving you paralyzed from the chest down, so we plan to supplement the operation with chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and hopefully that will eradicate the rest of the tumor. It's going to be rough going from here on out, I thought I might warn you. Am I going too fast?"
"No. Dr. Wong said the same thing, more or less," Sara replied.
"Ah yes," Dr. O'Connor said with a smile, "He's a wonderful emergency surgeon, but I think that it's his secret dream to have my job."
Sara had to smile as well. "I do have one question," she began, "When are you planning to operate?"
"As soon as humanly possible. Oh, and your insurance should cover this operation, so you don't have to worry too much in that regard."
"I'm already worried," Sara said wryly, "A little more worry won't matter."
"That's the spirit!" the doctor praised, "Keep thinking positive, Sara, and it can do wonders." He paused for a moment, and added with a more serious tone, "Do you think you can get medical leave by next week on Wednesday so that you could come in for surgery? You're going to need a month at least afterwards to deal with all the chemo and radiation."
"A MONTH?" Sara asked in shock, "At this rate, the cancer's not going to kill me, it's going to be the boredom!"
"Trust me, Sara," Dr. O'Connor said sadly, "You're not going to be bored."
******************************************
Sara lay stomach down on the gurney waiting to be wheeled into the operating room. Sitting beside her on either side on chairs were Warrick and Nick.
"Hey, Sara," Warrick said slowly, as though he was trying to find a way to phrase his statement, "You gotta be fine after your operation, or else this is going to be a two sided Trinity."
"Yeah, Sar, I don't know if I can live without you," Nick spoke up right after Warrick finished speaking.
"Speaking, of melodrama," Sara cut in, in the attempt to lighten the atmosphere, "How did your date with Deborah go, Warrick?"
Warrick brightened up at his "favorite topic" according to Nick. "It's great," he replied with his trademark grin, "I am forever in your debt, Sara, for finding me my woman!"
"And here is reason number two why you have to be fine after your operation," Nick continued, "This man," he pointed to Warrick, "will drive me insane if you're not there to shut him up!"
"I can't promise you much," Sara said to Nick, "but if I die, you know that I will haunt Warrick's life for as long as he lives." At Nick's frown and Warrick's sigh, Sara knew that she had used the wrong combination of words. "Not that I'm planning to die," she added, finishing off her statement.
"Sara?" a nurse who seemed to appear out of thin air in the door way asked as she walked in, "Are you ready to be moved now?"
"Yeah, just give us a minute alone, will you?"
"Sure, just give me a shout when you're ready."
"Thanks so much."
"No problem." And with that, the nurse walked out of the room again and closed the door on her way out.
"Okay, guys, looks like this is the deciding match," Sara said with a lopsided grin. "Try not to get into any fights over me while I'm not here to referee, got it?"
"Yes ma'am!" Warrick called out. Nick just nodded, looking at his fiancée in the eye as he did so.
"Good. I expect you to keep your words," Sara continued, "And now, you may kiss me if you want, Nick, and you too Warrick, if Nick doesn't beat you up."
"I don't think I will ever learn to deny you anything, Sara," Nick replied, getting slightly teary.
"Oh, and rule one about this whole thing, no crying unless you're happy. I swear, Catherine was crying for three days straight after she found out," Sara commanded. "Are you two going to kiss me good luck, or are you just going to gawk at me all day?"
"I prefer to gawk, thank you," Nick replied, trying to be as humorous as possible. "Warrick," he addressed the other man, "You go ahead, I want to have the last word."
"Thank you!" Warrick said with the sauciest grin he could manage. He gave Sara a slight peck on the cheek. "Okay, I'm holding you to your word that you're going to be fine," he told her. Sara nodded.
"Okay, man, time to leave," Nick ordered. As soon as Warrick left the room, he knelt beside the gurney. "I want you to know, that I love you," he told her, "And I want you to know that I will always be by your side through everything that's going to happen. I won't let you face this alone, okay?"
"Okay," Sara echoed, her voice slightly thick from the emotion.
"Hey!" Nick complained, "You said rule one was no crying unless you're happy!"
"I'm not breaking rule one," Sara retorted, "I am happy, you know how to do that to me, you big sentimentalist!"
"Guilty as charged," Nick replied with a grin. "Can I kiss you now?"
"Be my guest!" Sara cried. The aforementioned kiss was delivered with such sincerity and love, that she thought that it alone would be enough to make her better.
When he finally broke off the kiss, Nick said, "I guess I've got to call the nurse back, huh?" When Sara nodded, he continued, "I'm holding you to your word too. So if you try pulling any stunts, Warrick and I will personally see to it that you don't go back to work until you promise to take it easy and let yourself heal."
Sara grinned back, "I know you two will. Now go call the nurse so that we can get this over with."
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Nick answered with a mock salute.
Warrick and Nick waved to Sara's retreating form as the door to the operating room closed in, shutting them out.
****************************************
Sorry for all the angst, but if it's any consolation, look at the bright side, Nick and Sara are so in love, that it could move mountains! (Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit . . . )
PLEASE REVIEW!
